He entered through the door, making his way inside the connector that led to the first chamber. While he was walking, he passed by other connectors that led in both left and right directions, but there was something uncertain about them.
A huge surge of mana was coming from the left side, which seemed like it belonged to someone ridiculously strong, and from the right, a similar amount of mana resonated, but it was completely opposite.
It felt like mana radiating from multiple individuals. The combined pressure was strong, enough to make the air feel heavy, but something about it was unusual. Each wave carried a different mana signature, a unique structure that separated one source from another.
Because of the waves, goosebumps crept all over Emil’s body, and a bead of sweat appeared on his forehead, and that’s why he increased his pace, trying to pass through the connector as soon as possible.
He travelled for a couple of minutes until he finally reached the grand chamber of the tower. Valera was still sitting next to the mana sphere; her eyes remained fixed on the same book that she was reading before.
Emil tried not to make any sound while walking because he didn’t want to indulge in any more formal greetings, but sadly for him, Valera raised her gaze from the book and called out for him.
"Where are you going, Newbie?" Her voice was soft; she studied Emil for a second before continuing. "You just returned from your first dungeon, and now you’re making your way to somewhere again?"
"A hardworking lad, hmm?" She asked as she closed her book.
Emil leant forward slightly before quickly straightening his back. Despite trying to maintain his composure, he scratched the back of his head, a faint hint of nervousness showing through.
’Uh... why is she asking me all of this? Can’t she just mind her own business? Or am I supposed to explain everything I do now?’ He kept his thoughts to himself because he knew if he said his thoughts out loud, his relations inside the tower would worsen.
"Senior Sara told me to visit Asteria and aid her apprentice with her task."
"Hmm, if that’s what it is, then sure, go ahead, but make sure not to pick unnecessary trouble because the world isn’t soft towards our kind."
Her words carried enough weight to make Emil understand what she meant. He already knew how much worse the other classes treated the summoners, but hearing it from an NPC like her confirmed to him that even the NPCs in better classes would discriminate against him.
"I’ll make sure not to cause any major tremor out there, senior," Emil muttered lightly, bowing his head as he turned towards the main gate and started walking; his steps remained unusually steady.
Valera watched Emil’s back as he walked away, but there was only one thing curling inside of her mind. ’Child, you don’t know about it yet, but... society should not treat you like someone ordinary because you’re someone who can twist the fate of us summoners.’
She gulped and pushed herself back up. Now standing on her two feet, she looked towards the connector from where the dangerous waves of mana were radiating, and the mana signals certainly belonged to just one person.
"I shouldn’t delay informing the tower master about this. A talent like his cannot be left unnoticed for long. Whether it brings changes within the Summoner Towers or draws attention from outside forces, everything depends on what that child chooses to do with his future." She muttered softly, her expression turning serious.
༺━━━━━━━༺༻━━━━━━━༻
Emil had already left the tower; he was standing in the middle of the forest, wondering about which direction he should go in. He had already looked at the enormous tree which carried the board, reflecting the distance and directions that led towards the city of Lumina.
But then a strange idea appeared inside his mind; he subconsciously travelled towards the backside of the tree, and there was another wooden board hung across its branches. Multiple characters were written across it:
[The City of Asteria – 1 km]
Next to it, an arrow imprinted with red colour was directing towards the direction in which Emil had just walked, and next to it was written the following: [Keep walking forward in a northern direction.]
A faint smirk tugged at his lips as he turned towards the northern direction and finally began walking. Unlike before, his steps were no longer steady or relaxed; they were hurried, with just a single thought curled inside his mind continuously: reaching his destination as soon as possible.
He had already cleared half the journey when footsteps fell inside his ears, and they definitely didn’t belong to any animal because they weren’t hurried. From the memories of the previous owner, he had also understood one thing, and that was this game isn’t a simple ’open-world fantasy’; it only seemed colourful from the outside, but inside?
Player killing was a common experience in this game, and most players didn’t even care about it, even with the severe penalties attached to such actions. The game was filled with players willing to go to any lengths for profit. Whether it was earning even a sliver bit of money or obtaining equipment.
Emil knew that if they were a player, he could get in absolute trouble because he was not strong enough yet to defend himself from hunters who preyed on the weak.
A golden-coloured portal appeared beside him; golden mana waves, which were traced by black outlines, sprayed out through it. The clear visuals of huge monuments, buildings, and even castles made out of beautiful golden sandstone stood there proudly. Atlas stepped out through it, and the moment he did, the portal vanished right away.
Atlas glanced at Emil once before lowering his head slightly, a gesture that carried both respect and acknowledgement towards Emil’s presence beside him. His massive great axe remained firmly held in both hands, its weight steady in his grip as he prepared himself for the battle that awaited.