Second World

The crowd outside couldnʼt see what was seen by Jackʼs eyes. All they saw was the blue sphere flickered with lights. But in Jackʼs mind, it was flooded with images. It was jumbled up at first, Jack couldnʼt make heads or tails on what he saw. But they soon arranged themselves in a neat fashion.

The items were arranged in rows. Jack could shift through them with a thought. If he counted them, he would find the number of the items to be exactly one hundred. He chose to focus on one of the items, one that looked like a sword.

Sword of Havoc

”What the…,” Jack focused more on the sword. There was only an image of the sword and the name, no description of the grade nor the damage value.

The heck, he thought in his mind. He turned to Honuren who was beside him.

”There is no description on the items?” He asked.

”No, there isnʼt,” Honuren replied matter of factly.

”But… then how do we know the value of the item we picked?”

”You donʼt.”

”But…”

”The reward is a gift. If you get a rare item, then you are blessed by Gods. If you get a normal item, itʼs still better than those that cannot make it to rank one hundred. Just take it as a trial of luck,” Jack wasnʼt sure if Honurenʼs words were meant to console him or just asking him to stop being wishy-washy and just get on with the reward choosing.

Jack let out a sigh, he helplessly continued browsing the wares.

Swift Hand Amulet

Bag of Coins

Skill Book

Jack shifted through the items one by one and read the names. This was pointless. In the end, he thought he might just make the decision based on how fancy the itemʼs name sounded or how cool the item looked. He saw a cool-looking magic staff and thought to himself if he should just choose that staff. He was still using the basic staff he got when he started the Magician class. It was certainly lacking compared to his Fighter sword.

”Wow, there is also a Harness of Soul,” he suddenly heard Penielʼs voice.

ʼWait, you can identify these items?ʼ He asked telepathically.

”Of course, who do you think I am?” She replied with an arrogant tone. ”I told you I hold in my mind every knowledge there is to know about the world, right? That certainly includes magic items.”

ʼWow, perfect! Then you can help me make a decision. Whatʼs this Harness of Soul you mentioned?”

”It allows you to record your soul. If you die in the wilderness, you can come back to life with the condition same as when you make the recording. Every recording requires coins, and there is also a limit in which you can only revive three times. After that, the Harness of Soul will disintegrate. But I guess it is useless for you since you have that Immortal Soul thing.”

ʼOkay, letʼs browse through other stuff then,ʼ Jack said and shifted to the next item and had Peniel described to him the itemʼs description.

”Stack of Fire Shell. It contains six pieces of Fire Shell, a consumable item that can be thrown and deal 200 points of fire damage.”

ʼA grenade then. Next.ʼ

”Sheet of purple silk. An uncommon material that is used for Blacksmith job.”

”Swift shoes. Uncommon equipment that increases movement speed.”

”Warning Tent. An uncommon tent, this is the one that I told you which has an alarm function when monsters get near. Maybe you should select this one.”

ʼLetʼs continue browsing,ʼ Jack said.

Time passed as Jack was checking the rewards selection. The crowd gathered started to murmur and getting impatient.

”Why the heck does he take so long?” One of the people grumbled.

When around five minutes had passed, Honuren told Jack, ”you have one minute left. If you donʼt pick an item once the time is up, one item will be selected randomly for you.”

”What? There is a time limit?” Jack was dumbfounded. He was only halfway through.

ʼChange of plan!ʼ he told Peniel. ʼNo need to describe to me every item. You will recognize the itemʼs worth from its image, right? I will shift through the rest and you pick for me the one you consider the most valuable.ʼ

”Hehe, you are going to let me do the decision?” Peniel teased.

ʼStop joking, we are running out of time!ʼ

Jack then swapped one item after another. Stopping just long enough for Peniel to look at the image.

”Thirty seconds,” Honuren informed.

Crap, Jack cursed in his mind. ʼPeniel, not yet?ʼ Jack asked anxiously.

”Donʼt rush me,” she retorted.

Jack was speechless, thirty seconds left and she said donʼt rush her.

When another ten seconds passed, Jack considered to just pick the Warning Tent that Peniel had described previously. However, he heard Penielʼs excited voice.

”What the..! This thing is also here? That one! That one! Choose that one!”

Her excited voice was a bit hysterical. Jack looked at the item she indicated. It was a simple cube-shaped box. It looked like it was made from stone with some strange carvings on all its six sides.

ʼWhat is that? It doesnʼt look that impressive. There are still some items left to check,ʼ Jack protested.

”Stop arguing and just pick it! The time is almost up!” Peniel shouted in exasperation.

Hearing the urgent tone of her voice. Jack decided to trust her. He extended his hand. ”This one,” he said to Honuren.

Honuren looked at him intently. ”I must say, you having a High Fairy guiding your selection could be considered cheating…, but I will let you off this once.”

He gave Jack a meaningful smile and then waved his hand. The box disappeared from the selection shelves inside the Sphere.

”Itʼs inside your storage bag already,” Honuren told him. ”Well done, young man. I wish you all the luck. Next!”

Another orb descended as Jack thanked Honuren and walked back towards the group of White Scarfs. He made a quick look at his storage bag and found the box there. This was better, this way, no one would know whatʼs the treasure each of the one hundred rankers got.

He spoke with Peniel as he walked, ʼI was scared for a moment there. I thought he was going to disqualify me. He could see you even when you are hiding in your separate dimension.ʼ

”Of course he can,” Peniel replied. ”He is a Demigod. You have done well to treat him with respect. He could disintegrate you with a simple thought if you draw his ire.”

ʼA Demigod?ʼ Jack was astonished. He didnʼt expect the old man to have such an incredible background.

”Yes, he was one of the Demigods under the God of Pride.”

That was cool, Jack thought. Just in Tutorial phase and he had already met with one Goddess and one Demigod. He suddenly remembered another thing. ʼWait, he said you are a High Fairy? Does that mean you are not just any normal Fairy?ʼ He asked.

”Of course I am not just any normal Fairy,” Peniel replied with annoyance. ”You think the Goddess will just pick any normal Fairy?”

As he walked and conversed with Peniel, he was bumped by someone. He turned and looked at Warpath who was glaring at him.

”Lucky punk,” Warpath said to him in hostility and continued walking towards Honuren. He was the second person who got picked by the orb.

”Whatʼs his problem?” Jack said as he watched the guyʼs back.

😉