When he reached the offshore of the city, the rumbling sound had already reached his ears. The bustling sound of the streets and people inside was a little too lively.
He entered the city and noticed that the streets were filled with people. Some of them were completely clad in armour; some were discussing their strategy for upcoming dungeon raids.
Vendors selling a bunch of goods had their shops placed at every corner of the street. Some were selling weapons, some were selling potions. But one thing was common in all of these:
not a single one seemed to be emptying as people continued to barge in and out.
’I didn’t expect the city to be this crowded with players.’
’It’s been ages since the game launched. Why are so many people stuck at the start of the game?!’
A bunch of questions appeared inside his mind, but he shook his head lightly just to forget all this and focus on his quest.
He made his way towards the heart of the city, crossing street after street that looked much the same as the last. However, the city centre was an entirely different sight.
A massive fountain stood at its centre, crystal-clear water leaving it gracefully into the basin below.
Surrounding it were enormous wooden notice boards, each decorated with posters that flaunted the locations of nearby dungeons along with their respective difficulty tiers.
He closed the distance between him and the boards and started reading the characters written across the posters.
═══════════════════
BEGINNER DUNGEONS
═══════════════════
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[Slime Dungeon]
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[Recommended Level: 1–5]
[Distance: 1.8 km]
[Location: East of Lumina City]
[Monsters: Green Slimes, Blue Slimes]
[Description:
[A beginner-friendly dungeon with weak monsters. Perfect for first-time adventurers seeking experience, Copper Leaves, and basic crafting materials.]
───────────────────
[Forest Wolf Den]
───────────────────
[Recommended Level: 3–7]
[Distance: 3.2 km]
[Location: Northern Greenwood Forest]
[Monsters: Young Forest Wolves]
[Description]:
[A slightly more dangerous dungeon inhabited by swift wolves. Suitable for players looking to improve their combat skills and obtain beast-related materials.]
═══════════════════
And a lot of dungeons of a similar kind were there, but he wasn’t looking for any of this. He kept searching until he found the dungeon related to the goblins.
───────────────────
[Goblins’ Dungeon]
───────────────────
[Recommended Level: 1–5]
[Distance: 1 km]
[Location: West of Lumina City]
[Monsters: Green Goblins]
[Description:
[A beginner-friendly dungeon with weak monsters. Perfect for first-time adventurers seeking experience, Copper Leaves, and basic crafting materials.]
───────────────────
A faint smile stretched across his face as he started stroking his chin lightly. ’This is what I was talking about.’
He directed his hand forward and snatched the poster from the board. He gave it a second look in case he had seen wrong, but then he folded it and slid it inside his pants.
"West side of the city, huh?" He muttered to himself as he looked around to know which route led to the west.
A few metres away from him, a building was there that was selling goods only to those players who were official members of the building’s private programme. It was all displayed on a board mounted to the wall.
But next to the building, a large sign forged from pure metal hung from an iron pole. The polished surface reflected the surrounding lights, causing it to gleam faintly. The sign was divided into four arrow-shaped sections, each pointing in a different direction. Upon them were engraved the words North, East, West, and South.
Without wasting any more time, Emil walked towards the sign that was directing him west. An alley was there, which allowed him to walk through easily, but it was so thin that it was divided into only two lanes. One lane was meant for going, and the other was for returning.
Emil walked on the left side of the alley for a couple of minutes before he finally reached the exit.
He found himself standing in a place that was heavily crowded with players; most of them were standing in groups, making it obvious that they were part of the same party. Some were alone and trying their best to convince someone to let them join them for the raid.
His gaze shifted towards the portals radiating waves of mana. The energy flowing from them was emerald green, indicating that they were Green Gates, dungeons considered suitable for beginners. A long row of such portals stretched across the area in a perfectly straight line. In total, eight Green Gates stood side by side, awaiting challengers.
Next to these portals stood a gigantic panel which was purely related to the rankings, reflecting the names of people who cleared the dungeon, and next to their names was the time at which they cleared it.
Emil closely studied it, but his attention was fixed on the first place, which was occupied by a party of five, and they cleared the dungeon in twenty-five minutes and forty seconds.
A faint grin appeared on his face, and another wave of emotions erupted through his stomach, which gave him sudden goosebumps. ’I definitely would like to clear this dungeon before this team... but I’m scared that I’ll not be able to.’
’But I definitely hope I’ll be able to with the help of my summon.’ The image of the giant beast-man surfaced in Emil’s mind, a towering warrior standing nearly ten feet tall, wielding a massive six-foot axe with ease.
A trail of excitement lingered through Emil’s body, and he failed to control the urge to summon his giant beastman.
A portal radiating fierce golden mana with a faint tracing of black waves at the end of it opened beside Emil. The same giant stepped out through it; his enormous axe remained intact in his grip.
The moment he stepped out, he lowered his head as if he were paying his respect to Emil.
All the players present there looked stunned when they noticed the giant; some were even gasping because of his size. No one there had ever seen such a being in the first city, at least.
Mutters started to erupt in the surroundings.
"How can they allow such a monster in here?!"
"Yeah, it’s the first city... What if that beast attacks any of us?"
But before anyone could continue, a voice fell inside their ears. "Why are you all acting scared? That thing is nothing more than a summon."
The voice belonged to a man. A mocking grin spread across his face as he continued,
"And not just any summon, but a summon from the class ranked dead last among all classes." The moment those words left his mouth, he burst into laughter.
A/N
Readers, if you’re reading this book, please let me know in the comments if you like it... It’ll increase my morale, and I’ll be able to write more.