…
*Swing* The door opened wide as Seoyeon and Khairix's footsteps rang throughout the store, the cashier greeted them with a bow and a friendly smile.
Khairix looked lost and confused, looking around him, admiring even the tiniest of details, "So this is the Overworld. It's very different from how I'd imagined it." He said as he inspected a potted plant in the corner.
Seoyeon smiled awkwardly and apologized to the cashier, "He was just summoned." He said with a faint laugh.
The cashier simply nodded, as she asked Seoyeon about their order, "I'd just like two bowls of noodles, please, your specialty."
*Creak* The door leading to the kitchen swung open and then closed as the cashier went to the back. Seoyeon sat down on a seat, gesturing for Khairix—who was still too busy surveying his surroundings—to sit down as well.
Khairix quickly sat down across from Seoyeon's seat as he cleared his throat, "Mind my strange habits, Master Seoyeon. This is my first time in the Overworld."
Seoyeon rested his head on his palm, talking in a slow and calm manner, as he looked at Khairix, "I've been meaning to ask you, this "Overworld," are you talking about Eioth?"
Khairix clicked his tongue, "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk."
"Master Seoyeon, Eioth refers to the entirety of this world—including the many realms connected to it. The Overworld refers to this realm, the main central realm in which all other realms are connected to."
"My realm is connected to the Overworld as well." He said with an elaborative expression, as if he'd been waiting to express this knowledge to someone curious enough to ask.
Seoyeon leaned back onto his chair, amused; "Oh! So Eioth is the collective name of the many realms connected to the Overworld and the Overworld itself, so this world is basically many different worlds."
"Precisely!" Khairix said.
…
"Well, what're your thoughts on the Overworld as of right now, Khairix?"
"It's a rather interesting place, Master."
"I expected it to be shabbier, dirtier, like a ruined world, not this beautiful place… And the scent, this aroma, it smells so good. What is it?" Khairix asked with a curious face, looking around him as he tried to find the source of the smell.
"It's the smell of your food! Thank you for waiting!" The cashier from before said as she brought out a tray with two bowls of noodles.
"Oh, thank you." Seoyeon expressed his gratitude as he lifted the bowls off of the tray and placed them onto the table.
The cashier bowed before returning back to the counter with the tray in hand.
The food in front of Seoyeon looked delicious, the aromatic, savory broth, paired with the thin, soft noodles, the rich and juicy beef, small pieces of diced scallions on top, and a soft boiled egg cut into two,
"I remember going to this place so many times when I was new to Withering Moon simply because of its nice atmosphere." Seoyeon thought to himself as he smiled.
He grabbed a spoonful of the broth and drank it, the warmth passed through his throat as a savory kick could be felt on his tastebuds.
Seoyeon looked across from him only to find Khairix having seemingly ascended—his face grinning and showing pure satisfaction as if he had reached the pinnacle of emotions.
"Master, do tell, what is this delicacy in front of me? My tongue feels like it has tasted pure bliss." Khairix said in a calm, slow voice—in contrast to the enthusiasm he had shown earlier.
"You've never had noodles before?" Seoyeon replied.
Khairix looked down and stared at the noodles in amusement, "Noodles, huh? It's a gift from the heavens."
…
Soon afterwards, the two finished their food and got up to leave. However, a notification from his phone had caught Seoyeon's attention.
He opened the notification, it was from Alicia.
[Hello, Player Han Seoyeon. Is everything well? I was going to ask you if you had some time to meet with me in person to discuss something important.]
Seoyeon replied,
[I don't know how you managed to get my phone number, I recall you giving me yours but not me giving mine to you. Also, unfortunately not, I will be busy for the next few days, how about we discuss it here?]
…
After a while, Alicia responded;
[You wrote your contact number on the form given to you by the World Association during your evaluation. Moreover, I wanted to discuss it with you personally but texting should be alright.]
…
[Player Han Seoyeon, I want you to join the Player Tournament that will be held in 1 month.]
…
Seoyeon paused for a brief moment, snickering at Alicia's request,
[Why should I?]
…
[If you don't want to join, then that's your choice. Just know that first place will receive an award of 150,000 Credits.]
His eyes lit up for a moment, as a faint smile formed on his face.
…
[I'll join, but can I keep my identity anonymous? I do not wish to attract unnecessary attention to myself.]
[Fine by me. Good luck, Player Han Seoyeon. I trust that by the time the tournament comes, you'll have some more tricks up your sleeve.]
Alicia wasn't in front of Seoyeon, but he could already imagine her mischievous grin, knowing that she more or less got what she wanted.
Seoyeon sighed, "150,000 Credits? That's not much in the endgame but it'll help me out a lot right now."
Khairix turned to look at Seoyeon, "Is something the matter, Master?"
Seoyeon shook his head, "Nothing."
…
Khairix glanced at Seoyeon before staring off into the distance once more as the two walked along the sidewalk,
"I apologize for my insubordination earlier, Master. I was merely trying to gauge your reaction to identify whether you were a threat or not. I do not want to serve anyone connected to Laurente Silver." He said with a stern, yet sincere expression.
Seoyeon let out a faint chuckle, "It's fine,"
"Speaking of, you wouldn't have died even if my blade had gone through your neck, right? Surely there are constraints binding the master and their summoned heroes?" Khairix tilted his face and looked at Seoyeon, beaming with curiosity… And for better or worse, a lack of knowledge.
"Hm? No, I would've died had I not stopped you with my Abyssal Chains."
"Huh!? Isn't there anything—like a system constraint—that would stop any sort of significant attempt at betrayal or treason from a character?" Khairix exclaimed.
"Not really—no, characters are usually loyal to their master for three reasons: They're either afraid of their master's power, they simply have honor and wouldn't wish to harm the person that summoned them to the Overworld, or their owner has something or promised something they want—like how you serve me because you want to take revenge on Laurente Silver."
"Do not mistake my intentions, Master. I did not mean to brush off on you as a parasitic worm. I do have honor and do want to serve you. Albeit, avenging my sister comes first." Khairix replied in a scornful, but somehow gratifying manner.
Seoyeon laughed, "Sure."
…
"Ah, that reminds me, where are we going?" He asked Seoyeon.
"We're going to train, we're not defeating Laurente Silver in our current states." Seoyeon replied as he called for a taxi.
…
The two got in as Seoyeon muttered out their destination, "The Luo Border." The mere utterance of the words seemed to shake the driver to their core as they hesitantly looked back, "Are you sure about this, ma'am?"
Seoyeon nodded, remaining silent, as the taxi driver slammed on the gas pedal and began driving off. However, a thought lingered in Seoyeon's mind, "Ma'am!?"
…
As the car slowly left Aleunyr City, they began going through tall woods, scenic beaches, and vast fields as the car ride felt longer than eternity.
Seoyeon turned to Khairix who seemed to be completely out of his mind, almost foaming at the mouth, "What is this metal beast… Master? …And what kind of spell is it casting on me?"
He laughed earnestly at Khairix, "This is a car, it's a machine, not a beast. I'm sure you have cars in your realm too, right?"
Khairix nodded flaccidly, his energy completely down the drain, "We do have… Cars… But I've never ridden them that much, Master…"
*Blegh* Khairix nearly vomited as Seoyeon panicked, the driver instinctively exclaimed, "Don't vomit in my car!" As a chaotic scene unfolded within the taxi.
…
A few hours later, Khairix was sound asleep, as Seoyeon leaned his head on the car window, "This trip's going to cost me a lot of money, I better withdraw the credits I have stored in the SSS-Class Credit Card as soon as possible."
He summoned the card, as it manifested into his palm.
[300/300 Stored Credits]
[You have converted 300 Stored Credits into Credits]
[0/300 Stored Credits remaining]
…
"Hm, now that that's out of the way, let's focus back on the task at hand." Seoyeon thought as the taxi driver soon spoke up,
"We're nearing the Luo Border, I can only take you so far, you'll have to walk on your own for the rest of the journey, is that alright?"
Seoyeon replied swiftly with no hesitation, "It's fine, thank you."
…
The atmosphere grew grimmer as a thick fog covered the outside of the vehicle, vast plains with not a single tree or person spanned what little Seoyeon could see outside, as the temperatures got colder.
The blades of grass were dull, they were a desaturated bluish-green, the skies were gray and depressing, with lightning in the horizon.
The mood inside of the vehicle wasn't any greater, the taxi driver hesitantly asked Seoyeon,
"Excuse me for my curiosity, but why the Luo border?" He asked in a worried voice.
Seoyeon took a moment as an awkward pause settled in, before he eventually spoke up, "I have some business within the Luo district."
"Alright, I won't ask any further." The taxi driver replied.
…
Soon, even with the thick fog, Seoyeon could see a faint silhouette of a colossal wall in the distance, a massive, brutalist, concrete wall, reaching the heavens.
It tore through the area as if a massive being had placed them there as a fence, it kept any would-be intruders out.
Seoyeon began thinking, his mind racing with memories of WIthering Moon once more, as he looked out of the window, eyes half-closed and relaxed, yet strictly serious.
"Even amidst Withering Moon's bleak ambience, the Luo district—and the entirety of the Zars Region—were too depressing for the game, they were simply too grim and dark, the people suffered, stores and shops ran on blood money and cutthroat business ethics…"
"No government wanted to claim the Zars Region ever since a massive rift appeared at its center, spewing bug-like creatures and wild beasts everywhere, as well as abyssal monsters."
"Since then, local crime groups and syndicates ran the place, while the common people who were left behind suffered under the oppressive and dystopian system used in most cities in the Zars Region."
…
"When Withering Moon first released in 2013, many players flocked to the Zars Region, expecting action and a lot of fights, only to be met with starvation, drought, hunger, and poverty… Even critics commented on it, saying it was an absolutely horrible region and a disgusting sight, even in a game rated for players above the age of 16."
"Of course, it's not like anyone even cared about age ratings… Still…"
"The only thing I remember of that place is how much it reeked of alcohol, the absurd amount of brothels in every alley, and the occasional corpse in alleyways, probably a patron of a casino who got a little too frustrated with losing everything…"
Seoyeon sighed, clearing his mind, and looking at the sleeping Khairix beside him,
"I still have something I need from there, though…"
…
He looked outside once more, and then realized that they had already arrived, and that the wall was already upon them.