The notification didn’t say who the player was. Arthur knew it was him, of course. Everyone else was in the starting village, and to reach a big city, they needed to be level 10.
Arthur, on the other hand, reached it while being level 1. Not only that, but he was in a city no other player could reach.
The rewards went straight into his inventory the moment he reached the city. A title called City Explorer, 10 gold coins, and reputation within the Dragon Kingdom’s territory.
[City Explorer: This title grants +5 to all stats.]
Arthur couldn’t hide his happiness. A smile formed on his face as he clenched his fists. He remembered the player who got that title back then, and because of the added stats, that player managed to level up much faster than everyone else.
It was basically free levels, and five points made a huge difference during the early stages of the game. Arthur opened the menu to check how his stats were at the moment.
[Name: Arthur (#0769)]
[Class: Soul Artisan (SSS)]
[Title: City Explorer (Rare Tier)]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 0/100]
[HP: 70/70]
[MP: 30/30]
[Attributes:]
[Strength: 1(+5)]
[Agility: 2(+5)]
[Vigor: 1(+5)]
[Intelligence: 1(+5)]
[Free points: 0]
The stats were pretty low, and his HP was lower than usual too.
Unlike other players, Arthur wasn’t very good in combat.. The title he just earned would certainly help him, but it wouldn’t be enough, especially because of the kingdom he was currently in.
’How can I level up when the weakest monsters here are level 100?’
Things were pretty bad for him. Players were supposed to reach the Dragon Kingdom in two years, and the highest-level players at the time would be at level 100. All the monsters there were level 100 or higher.
So, Arthur wouldn’t be able to fight. It was impossible. All he could do was stay inside the city and try to progress through the game.
But how? He had no idea. Leveling up his crafting skills would be possible, for sure, but he also wanted to fight and have fun.
’Can I find a way to leave this kingdom?’
Arthur decided not to think too much about it. He approached the front gate. Two soldiers in red plate armor came to greet him. Their armor was pretty badass, with helmets shaped like dragon heads.
"Stop right there!"
"Who are you, and why do you want to enter the city?"
The guards could tell Arthur was weak. He had the simple clothes every new player got, and his aura was non-existent. No one felt anything from his presence. It was like he was completely invisible.
"I just want a place to stay. It’s dangerous outside."
One guard approached Arthur and checked all of his pockets to see if he had anything illegal on him. Nothing. Arthur didn’t even have a weapon, since his class didn’t let him start with one.
"Look, kid, I don’t think you have the money to stay in any tavern, but the church is helping homeless people. You might get a bed and some food there. Maybe you can even find a way to make a living for yourself. But please, don’t make a fuss inside, I don’t want to kick you out."
"Understood," Arthur said with a respectful nod.
Arthur could speak their language. The reason was simple: the kingdom was a place where players from every kingdom converged, so when the expansion dropped, any player who reached the city automatically learned the languages of every kingdom.
This allowed the players to work together. Before that, players couldn’t easily reach other kingdoms, and some were even at war.
’This will be handy for me, for sure.’
Knowing all the languages basically meant Arthur could get the best quests in every kingdom, and even trade across all of them instead of just one. This was pure gold for him.
Anyway, Arthur entered the city, seeing how it bustled inside, people walking in all directions. He saw lots of vendors on the streets.
Most of the citizens were human, but he spotted a few lizards and orcs too. It was a city where all races were welcome, which wasn’t the case in some places inside the game.
No one noticed his presence. Everyone was busy with their own thing. Some worked for others, some ran their own shops, and adventurers headed out to fight monsters and level up.
All of it felt so real. Arthur had seen the game before, so he wasn’t shocked by any of it. But the first time he’d seen it, he could barely believe it.
’The players must be amazed by how real this is.’
Arthur knew the layout of that city pretty damn well. He’d tried so hard to buy a house there last time, but the big guilds controlled everything, so he never managed to get one.
So he went straight to the church. It stood in the middle of the city. In front of it was the city’s main square, with trees and grass, a stream cutting through the middle with a wooden bridge over it. Quite the charming place.
Arthur had often sat on one of those benches, relaxing and passing the time.
It was much calmer now without the players, just the NPCs going about their business.
Arthur saw a priest drawing water from a well right in front of the church. He walked over to talk with him.
"Hello, father," he said respectfully, "I’ve heard you can give me shelter? The guards mentioned it."
He went straight to the point. The priest looked at him and chuckled.
"Another one? They keep sending everyone my way these days... Follow me, child."
The priest opened the church’s wooden doors, going inside with his water bucket. Inside, Arthur spotted rows of wooden benches, where people gathered for mass.
The altar was for the Dragon God. They worshiped a dragon in that kingdom, which wasn’t surprising.
Arthur waited on one of the benches until the father came back to speak with him again.
"So, what do you need?"
Arthur scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Food, water, shelter, money..."
"..."
The priest was speechless.