<h4>Chapter 52: Baby Steps</h4>
<i>I''m n Warden, Chief Technician of The Santa María. Due to a series of unfortunate events, I have be the weakest User in this entire virtual world... and I''m supposedly the one to save humanity.</i>
He gasped for air while tossing aside the now-useless iron tray, the corpse of the Weasenox beside him.
"We did it, n," Ashley said from behind him.
"Yeah... I''m finally level 6... How marvelous..."
+ + + + +
+ + + +
+ + +
+ +
+
"We''re celebrating tonight because n has finally leveled up. Yay!" Amelia beamed, opening a bottle of beer.
"So what? Are you going to toast 94 more times?"
"Come on! Stop being so cranky! <i>Baby steps, n, baby steps.</i>"
"At this rate, The Singr will conquer all of Novus," n muttered before munching on his burger.
"So! What are your ns for tomorrow?"
n nced at Ashley, who was silently chewing.
"We''ve got wind of a dungeon northeast from here. Eur''s very first dungeon. I''ll get better gear there."
"I hope it turns out great." Amelia smiled warmly at him.
"I hope so too..."
+ + + + +
+ + + +
+ + +
+ +
+
"Nothing on the second floor," Ashley informed as she entered the library, where a grim-looking n was sitting on a pile of books.
"So that''s it?" n asked, looking around at his surroundings. "Count Dk''s Mansion, huh? I bet this ce was very popr back in the day."
Ashley remained still, discerning his expression. "We could kill the Weasenox again."
"Nah. It''d just give me a third of the XP this time, and that means buying another ''kitchen shield'' from that guy. I don''t think it''s worth all that hassle."
"It''s okay. I can use my knife and fight in the front lines while you provide support."
"And how do I do that? I can''t use your bow. You''d get all the XP, and if I don''t dodge in time, it''ll kill me in one hit. Let''s forget about the Weasenox for now."
"We could ask Amelia if she--"
"Amelia has helped us enough," n raised his voice, before exhaling. "Sorry, but I have to do this on our own. If we depend on Amelia for every single obstacle we face..."
"Let''s ask someone from Unus Town if they know about other ways to get XP, then."
"I know how. Making errands. But only if an NPC gives you a quest, and by now, all of them have been turned into servants." He lowered his head. "I''ll... I''lle up with something tomorrow..."
+ + + + +
+ + + +
+ + +
+ +
+
<i>And just like that, two more days passed without any progress. Ashley offered to search for mobs in the entire area, since thanks to her high Agility and Wind buffs, she could run almost indefinitely. She even reached the next town in less than an hour, but without any good news.</i>
-------------------------
<strong>Private Message</strong>
Ashley: It''s as if every single monster below level 20 has gone extinct. At least that is what people have told me. I will try the next area. But it seems that the more I distance myself from Unus Town, the stronger the monsters I find.
n: It''s okay, Ashley. Forget about the monsters. Have you found any bronze-tier gear for me?
Ashley: No. Only silver gear is currently sold in every store I visit. But I will keep looking.
n: Thanks, Ashley. I owe you one. I''ll do my best from here.
------------------------
<i>Yes, using the Nav all day long while hiding from Amelia. I don''t want her to see me like this. Let''s see if people from other regions know something.</i>
---------------------------
<strong>EUROLA''S GENERAL CHAT</strong><strong> </strong>
<strong> Techguy: Guys, do any of you know where I could find monsters level 10 and below? </strong>
<strong> Plxtea: Lol, what for? </strong>
<strong> Concordi: This guy must have a fascination with Sheepbeets. Does anyone remember those? </strong>
<strong> Ballezan: Yeah, they were pretty infamous because some yers use them to ''relieve'' stress. </strong>
<strong> Crepina: What do you mean? Me not understand! </strong>
<strong> -------------------- </strong>
<strong> <i>And my question has been buried under the chaos...</i> he exhaled, opening another window, showing the Bronze-Tier gear he needed. </strong>
<strong> <i>Although I found them on an app called ''Eternal Market'', the prices are exorbitant. It seems that only collectors buy them because 57,000 gold for a bronze sword is just ridiculous.</i> </strong>
<strong> n furiously swept those windows out of sight, leaving the most dreadful one still active. It was a user Message Board, discussing what happened in Londorus days ago. </strong>
<strong> <i>Some people think that the now-called ''Nuke Dragon Event'' was a test from the Moderators. Test for what? Who knows? Others believe what the Londorus Times is saying, that it was some sort of revenge from some Ex-Shooting Stars against Astrid. There are also theories about this being a deration of war from what they call ''Non-Rankers'', powerful begrudging Users that have never shown their true strength and hide from the ranking system. Andstly, a very small minority have mentioned The Singr, but without the information Amelia got, there''s no way they can get to the same conclusion as her.</i> </strong>
<strong> "Which only leaves me with the only thing that calms my nerves..." n opened a five-day-old video of a tournament held in Iregorn where Miss Cosmica was the hostess. </strong>
<strong> <i>[ We''re here in the Semifinals! Can you feel the heat from your seats?! ]</i> </strong>
<strong> <i>She really is awesome. Not only is she beautiful, but her screen presence is unmatched too.</i> </strong>
<strong> n made the video screen bigger. As high-level warriors showed their conviction on the battlefield, n stared at the bottom of the screen, where the Idol could be seen watching the match and makingmentary. </strong>
<strong> "Hey, Level Five, what are you doing there?" the voice of a young man was heard from below. "Wait, you are level six now? Cool!" </strong>
<strong> n looked at thenky guy from his ce atop a tree. He had ck short hair and wore a tank top and baggy pants. <i>Isn''t he the guy that tried to steal my sword the other day?</i> </strong>
<strong> "What do you want? Are you here to rob me again?" </strong>
<strong> "And let that beauty go rampant? Nah, I''m good!" </strong>
<strong> "What do you mean?" </strong>
<strong> The guy reached the tree branch n was sitting on with one jump with ease. "She didn''t tell you? A couple of days ago, she stepped over the mayor''s statue and told everyone that if any of us put a finger on you, she''d burn the entire town. Now everyone in Unus fears her." </strong>
<strong> "T-That sounds like something she would say..." </strong>
<strong> The guy shrugged and pointed at n''s disy with his chin. "What are you watching?" </strong>
<strong> "This? Um, how can I show you?" </strong>
<strong> "There should be an eye icon in the bottom right corner of the screen." </strong>
<strong> "Ah, got it. Do I toggle it on?" </strong>
<strong> "Yeah, like that. Oh, you''re watching Battle Streamings, huh? Who''s your favorite streamer?" </strong>
<strong> "I... um... Miss Cosmica?" </strong>
<strong> "She''s not a Streamer, dude, she''s a Sponsor! Anyway, can I ask you something personal?" </strong>
<strong> "The reason why I have such a low level and yet, I''m hanging out with a High-Leveler?" n exhaled. </strong>
<strong> "Yeah!" </strong>
<strong> <i>If Astrid was so confident in making an excuse for me in front of her entire guild, it means it''s safe to use it.</i> </strong>
<strong> "I was in aa until a few days ago," n replied, trying not to make a big deal out of it. "I''ve been out of the game for three years. Before that happened, Amelia and I used to be friends, so..." </strong>
<strong> The guy listened to every word with a captivated expression on his face. </strong>
<strong> <i>As if we, moving here, had been the most exciting thing that had happened to this town in a long time.</i> </strong>
<strong> "Dude! Were you really in aa? Sucks to be you! But at least you can hang around those beauties. I envy you, buddy! I''m Paulo, but call me Paul. What''s your name?" </strong>
<strong> "n. Hey, you''re a Battle Streaming aficionado too, right? Can I ask you something?" </strong>
<strong> "I''m just a casual fan. But I could bring you to an expert that''s really into that stuff!" </strong>
<strong> + + + + + </strong>
<strong> + + + + </strong>
<strong> + + + </strong>
<strong> + + </strong>
<strong> + </strong>
<strong> "Do you want to know more about Battle Streaming AND Miss Cosmica?! You''vee to the right ce!" Major Dominguez said out loud, puffing out her chest. </strong>
<strong> "Dude, what gives?" n whispered to Paul, narrowing his eyes at him. </strong>
<strong> "This is the only way you''ll get your info," Paul shrugged, grabbing the popcorn bowl and gettingfy. "Besides, do you have something better to do?" </strong>
<strong> "Come on, n ''Level Five'' Warden, have a seat!" ra yelled enthusiastically, pushing him to a couch. "Did you know that Miss Cosmica is not only the Novus'' biggest and brightest star but also the one that poprized Battle Commentary?" </strong>
<strong> ra adjusted her sses and turned on her enormous video screen, showing a low-quality video of what seemed to be Miss Cosmica. Her trademark pink hair and her facial features were the same, but her clothes, hairstyle, andck of makeup made her seem like a shut-in. </strong>
<strong> "Look at this asshole, trying to connect a hit against Daniel, ''Living Tower'', Torres, famously known for his Unique Talent that lets him absorb any non-legendary weapon into his armor," a very condescending Miss Cosmica wearing sunsses said, before sneering. "Look at this guy''s face after hisnce disappeared inside Daniel''s shield!" </strong>
<strong> "Wow. Is that really her? Even her attitude is different," nmented. </strong>
<strong> "These are her humble beginnings," ra continued. "She''d use video footage of others fighting and analyze their strategies. Honestly, she was pretty bad-mouthed at the time, but her assessments were pretty on point. The following is spective, keep that in mind! While some of her detractors criticized her for being so harsh against other yers, some pointed out that for her to be so urate in her assessments, she must secretly be a high-skilled warrior." She suddenly squealed, hugging her arms. "Could you imagine that?! Seeing her kick ass while wearing her signature outfits? She''d look like a fierce, but beautiful amazonian space princess!" </strong>
<strong> <i>A feminine fighter, huh? Like Astrid?</i> n thought, recalling in his mind the videos Marissa sent him, showing Astrid fighting her discontent ex-guilders. <i>Nope... She looked quite aggressive and ruthless. As if a dragon had taken human form...</i> </strong>
<strong> "As I was saying," ra continued, "once Miss Cosmica amassed arge following, she partnered with one of the most loaded Actives and..." </strong>
<strong> "What''s an Active?" </strong>
<strong> "A Novus'' millionaire..." she replied, nonchntly. "And that''s when she adopted this idol persona everyone loves her for. Although she expanded her market by being the first sessful singer in the whole Novus, she''s still searching for new talents to sponsor." She leaned to n, smiling widely and making a hand gesture. "If you get picked by her agency, you can earn <i>biiig."</i> </strong>
<strong> "That sounds nice, but how does Miss Cosmica make money out of that?" </strong>
<strong> "She charges to get ess to her Premium content." </strong>
<strong> "So that''s the reason I can''t watch her most recent videos. They''re locked behind a paywall." </strong>
<strong> "You can wait until those videos are free," Paul said, munching popcorn. "That''s what most people do." </strong>
<strong> "I CAN''T WAIT!" ra cried, pulling Paul''s cheek. "I couldn''t live without watching her newest content! So be grateful that people like me maintain her channel afloat, you dirty freeloader!" </strong>
<strong> "T-Thanks, Miss Dominguez!" </strong>
<strong> "Hey, maybe you could answer this." n rewinded one of his previously watched videos until finding a scene, showing a wolf-like beast engaging inbat against a mage. He paused. "Can you train monsters to fight for you?" </strong>
<strong> "Yeah, there''s a ss called Monster Tamer, you know?" </strong>
<strong> n quickly thought of Sloochie, and Amelia''sment about her Monster Tamer skill, level 1. </strong>
<strong> <i>But I don''t want anyone from Slime Vige to fight for me. At least I know there''s a way now. Baby steps, Amelia, baby steps.</i> </strong>
<strong> "Paul!" n called aloud, startling him. </strong>
<strong> "W-What is it now?!" </strong>
<strong> "You''ve been pretty helpful today! But can you help me with something else? I''llpensate you, I promise." </strong>
<strong> ra''s forehead wrinkled. "B-But I was the one that exined to you what..." </strong>
<strong> "Count with me, n!" Paul replied, proudly. "What do you need?" </strong>
<strong> "This town''s weaponsmith doesn''t sell low-level weapons anymore. Do you know someone that could sell me their old gear, or where I could get some?" </strong>
<strong> Paul crossed his arms and shut his eyes for a moment. "Hmm... Everyone has already gotten rid of their gear, even me, so... Ha! It''s so obvious! Follow me." </strong>
<strong> "Y-You guys leaving already?" a soft-spoken ra said, watching them go without saying goodbye.</strong><strong> </strong>