"Ah... how long has it been since I had this? Fifteen years?"
Suddenly, it was almost as if the homeless man was an entirely different person from the man Sami had met seconds ago.
He shot Sami a look and asked, "Where did you get this, friend?"
’Friend? So alcohol really changes people?’
Sami smiled weakly and shrugged. "I told you, I don’t remember."
He looked away and added, "When I woke up, that was among the few things in my possession."
The old man stared at Sami for a moment before looking away and taking another long, greedy swig. Then he held the pouch out slightly to admire it, mumbling, "There’s a lot of White Tigers back in my hometown in the Outer Kingdom of The ’Wilds.’"
At that moment, a notification suddenly appeared for Sami.
[You have learned the name of a Realm: Kingdom of The ’Wilds’.]
"...?!"
[This location shall be added to your map.]
Suddenly, a map popped up before Sami.
"I remember when I used to go out with my father and a few other hunters to hunt them. They were not a lot back then..." As the man continued to speak, Sami’s attention had already left him to the map.
He could see District 7 as a tiny spot on the map. Far from that spot, he could see a very large dot, several dozen times larger than the entire district.
That was the Realm, Kingdom of The Wilds.
’What is this?’ Sami began to have a bad feeling. ’Wait... is earth merging with all this other places?’
At this moment, he began to understand a bit as to why the notification had always said: Transporting the Player Outside their District.
His face somehow managed to become paler than it was already.
Unbeknownst to his inner turmoil, the old man continued speaking after taking another drink.
"What happened to us was a tragedy, you know." He began gesturing with his hands. "This green fog suddenly came out of nowhere. Many animals and creatures of the wild began to behave strangely, with some becoming something else entirely. We all had to flee our hometown, Greenhaven."
’Wait... green fog? Greenhaven?’ Sami turned to the man. ’Is that the name of the place where we went to hunt down the White Tigers for the Food Quest?’
The man turned to him and asked, "Strange, right? So many strange things are happening these days. Nowhere is safe anymore. I tell you!"
He sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I miss the Kingdom of The Wilds. It’s a shame I can no longer travel back there."
Sami arched a brow. "This isn’t the Kingdom of The Wilds?"
The man turned to look at Sami. "You really don’t know anything?"
Sami scowled. "Do you have memory problems old man? I’ve said it so many times now already. I’ve lost some of my memories after getting bashed in the head."
The old man scoffed. "Look who’s talking. An amnesiac telling me I have memory problems. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black."
Sami scratched his head in mild embarrassment, while the man clicked his tongue and drank again. Then he shook his head and said, "This is Mersmer’s Kingdom. This town is called Town of Respite."
Suddenly, another notification popped up in front of Sami.
[You have learned the name of a Realm: Mersmer’s Kingdom.]
[This location shall be added to your map.]
Just like before, a large spot appeared on the map, though this one was very close, even touching the Kingdom of The Wilds.
While Sami was still studying it, the old man’s voice grew cautious. "Be careful here. The people of this town worship ’Death.’ They do not uh... they do not treat outsiders like us very kindly."
’Death?’
Sami turned to him. He watched the man take another gulp before wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve.
Seizing the opportunity, he shifted closer and lowered his voice. "Actually, there’s a name I could remember after coming back from the pangs of death. Although, I’ve searched everywhere but I can’t find this person. She goes by the name uh... Michelin Hayes."
The old man bobbed his head back and his eyes glinted with recognition. "Ah Michelin Hayes..."
’He knows her?’ Sami began to feel like things were going smoothly. He couldn’t help but feel his heart race in excitement.
But then, the old man shook his head and scowled. "Nope. Never heard of the name."
’This old fart!’
Veins popped in the side of Sami’s head.
"Look at me. I sit here all day. How am I supposed to know someone like that?" The old man clicked his tongue, dumbfounded that he was even asked such a question.
’Well. He’s not wrong. I’ll change the question then to something else.’ Sami looked pensive for a moment, before asking, "Do you know about weapons that have strange powers and can do strange things?"
The man who was about to drink from his pouch paused, with the spout near his lips. His eyes lingered on Sami for a brief moment before he looked away and took a gulp. When he brought down his hand, he said softly, "I heard the Emissaries of Death possess weapons like that."
"Emissaries of Death?" Sami arched a curious brow.
The man shifted slightly as if the words terrified him a bit, before leaning in. "Death is sacred, especially in a town like this that worships ’Death.’ They believe that one must not take a life without divine sanction and that only the God of the Dead can choose when a person’s time is up. Because of this, it is illegal to kill somebody in this town. The only people who have the right to do so are the Emissaries of Death."
Sami thought for a bit before asking, "What happens if a person kills another?"
"Then the person would be killed by the Emissaries of Death. I heard that just by looking at the dead body, they have a way of telling who the killer was. They can also track the killer down and would not stop until they eventually catch and execute them."
Sami swallowed. ’But Michelin is an Assassin. If one cannot kill another in this town, how can she be an Assassin here?’
He was still having that train of thought when another realization hit him. ’Could it be that Assassins are called the Emissaries of Death over here?’
That seemed to be the only logical explanation as to how that was possible.
While he was still processing this, the old man shook the pouch and frowned when he realized it was getting light.
"Honestly, there’s no reason why a person should take a life by themselves. If one wants another dead, they could just go to the town guild and register that person for death. If their reason is valid, the guild will then send out an Emissary of Death to send the person to Death’s embrace."
’Yup. That definitely sounds like Assassins.’ Sami nodded inwardly.
Looking back at the man, he asked, "How do I meet these so-called Emissaries of Death?"
"You don’t," the man replied quickly. "Nobody knows who they are except those who run the guild."
’Hm... that makes things complicated.’ Sami frowned.
The old man smiled. "Why do you want to meet them? Are you in the mood to die?"
"Huh?" Sami arched a brow.
The man then added wryly, "Anyone who meets them usually ends up dead."
’Ah...’ Sami bobbed his head back.
Then, with a pensive expression, he asked, "What happens if a person kills an Emissary of Death?"
The old man shot him a look, then burst out into a small, mocking laugh. "Kill an Emissary of Death? Who would be stupid enough to try that?"
"Why?" Sami asked, frowning. "Are they that difficult to kill?"
The old man looked up as if in thought, then shrugged. "Well, it’s not just that they are difficult to kill. But no one would even try that. Word is that killing an Emissary of Death would place Death’s Mark on the killer. From that point on, they’re certain to die the most brutal death imaginable a few days later."
’Welp. There goes my thought of killing Michelin.’ Sami swallowed as he felt cold dread wash over him.