Second World

”Right!” Jack recalled after getting reminded by Peniel. He immediately turned back to the counter.

The girl still smiled politely at him, ”is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Storm Wind?”

”I wish to exchange my points,” Jack said to her.

The girl then brought out the exchange items interface. Jack scrolled to the top where the Exclusive items were. The four exclusive items were still there on the list, naturally, as since he was the first one to become a Silver adventurer, he was also the one with enough points to take out one of the items from that list. The Skill Book, interestingly, had its stocks reduced to nine. Someone had spent their 30 skill points for one of the Skill Book.

Jack didnʼt put much thought into it, he clicked on the Technique Book: Body Double. His Adventurer points automatically were subtracted. He checked his Adventurer Badge and saw its Adventurer points were still 111, but his available points now only had 11 points left.

The Technique Book materialized on his hand. He inspected it.

Technique Book: Body Double (Rare Consumable)

Grant the skill: Body Double

Restriction: Mage class

When he saw the description, he was dumbfounded. ”This is a skill for Mage class?” Jack asked Peniel.

”Yes. Why? Is there a problem?” Peniel asked.

ʼI was thinking of becoming a Healer once I become a level 15 Magician,ʼ Jack answered in his mind.

”Oh…,” Peniel just realized she had not informed Jack about which class the Body Double skill is for. However, instead of admitting that she had been careless, she said, ”Why be a healer? A Mage is a better class!”

ʼReally? I thought every class has its own specialties? So then no one class should be better than the others?ʼ Jack said as he remembered the Fairyʼs words a few days ago. That was also how VR RPG class systems worked in his past gaming experiences.

Peniel was annoyed that Jack used her own words against her. She asked, ”why do you want to be a healer anyway?”

ʼI thought it would work well if used in conjunction with my melee prowess, it would keep me survives in combat longer.ʼ

”Well, itʼs your fault anyway for not telling me your plan from the start. You canʼt return the book anymore, give it to your friend then if you donʼt want it!” Peniel said in a sulky tone.

Itʼs not that Iʼm blaming you, sister, Jack thought helplessly.

ʼWell, itʼs not that Iʼm determined to be a healer anyway,ʼ Jack said. Since fate had given him an opportunity to learn a Mage skill, he might as well choose that class then. Jack stored the book away into his Inventory Bag.

ʼShall we go check the Silver Hall?ʼ Jack asked Peniel to try to change the topic.

”You should go get your Advanced class first. The quests from this Adventurers Association all had time limits. Itʼs better if you only pick them when you have no other things to do.”

ʼAll right,ʼ Jack agreed.

He then walked over to Bowler and Flame who had already finished submitting their quests some time ago, they were sitting on one of the benches waiting for Jack.

”Shall we pick another collaborative quest?” Bowler asked excitedly.

Jack felt bad after seeing the guyʼs spirit, but he had to prioritize his class change. Peniel had informed that attributes increase between advanced class and basic class were different, hence he needed to change his class as soon as possible before he gained another level.

”Sorry, I have an urgent matter to attend to. Maybe another time,” he told Bowler.

”Oh… All right, no problem,” Bowler replied. He tried to sound cheerful, but Jack could hear a hint of disappointment.

Flame was more indifferent. She simply nodded and said, ”good luck with your matter.”

She then asked Bowler, ”you want to do quest alone or together? There is a quest for two people there, but there is also another one for four people, it gives more rewards. We could ask John to join.”

”No! Not that guy!” Bowler immediately rejected. ”Iʼve put The Man in my friend list. I will ask him instead.”

Flame shrugged, it was fine for her either way.

Jack bid them farewell and then departed from the Adventurers Association. As he exited the building, he didnʼt notice John entered. John went directly to the Bronze Hall to submit his quest. He also didnʼt see Bowler and Flame who were still inside the hall. Considering it was a very large hall, and there were many people roaming around inside, it made sense that they didnʼt notice each other. John went to one of the empty counters to submit his quest.

After receiving his rewards, he was grinning. He said to himself, ”a few more points and I will have enough for that Body Double technique book, hehe.”

Before he chose another quest to take, he opened the Item Exchange list again to make sure the book was still there. When he reached the top part of the list, his hand froze. He blinked his eyes a few times to make sure that they were still working properly. He looked again. There were only three items left in the Exclusive list. And it had to be his target the Body Double Technique Book that had gone missing. He thought he was very fast already in accumulating points, there was someone even faster?

”DAMN IT!” He shouted bitterly.

Bowler who was a few counters away peeked out. ”Who the hell was it cursing inside this place? Hope the guards throw him out,” he said.

Jack was looking around after he exited the Adventurers Association building. He realized he had no clue what to do to change his class. He then asked Peniel in his mind, ʼwhat should I do to advance my class?ʼ

Peniel soon replied, ”that will depend on which class you want. You said that you want to be a Warrior instead of a Knight, in order to learn that Technique Book Gilbert gave you. Is that still valid?”

There was still a hint of annoyance in her voice. This Fairy was really a moody one, Jack thought. He then answered her, ʼyes. I would still want to become a Warrior.ʼ

”Then go ask the locals for direction to the Warrior Academy.”

ʼWarrior Academy?ʼ

”Yes, find that place, then go and apply in order to become a warrior.”

Jack proceeded to ask the natives following Penielʼs instruction. Following the direction provided by them, he came to the edge of the Business district which was closed to the Noble district. There were a series of huge and luxurious buildings lined up along the street, with many guards patrolling along this street.

Not many players could be seen around this street, most were NPCs. Maybe because not many players understood the purposes of the buildings here yet. Jack approached one of the buildings, it was a white painted stone building with rib vaults and large stained glass windows. There was a high tower at the back of the building. Several men and women in white robes can be seen under the open vestibule at the buildingʼs entrance.

When Jack came to the vestibule, he could see inscriptions beside the entrance doors. It was written Healer Academy.

”Can I help you, sir?” One of the women in a white robe greeted him with a polite smile.

”I am looking for Warrior Academy. I was informed that it was on this street?” Jack said to the woman.

”It was the second building that way,” the woman answered.

Jack thanked her and went on his way. He passed a building that had an insignia depicting a sword and a shield, he would assume it was the Knight Academy.

The next building after it was a little bit more modest compared to the others. It was made of wooden and steel materials with pointed arches and clustered columns. Jack went to the entrance of this building. There was a large man in a viking getup that stood guard at one side of the entrance and on another side was a placard. He looked at the engravings in the placard, which read Warrior Academy. He had arrived at the right place.

”whatʼs your business here?” The Viking man asked when he saw Jack was about to enter.

”I would like to apply to become a Warrior,” Jack answered with respect.

The Viking man scrutinized Jack from head to toe, before asking, ”you are a Fighter?”

”Yes,” Jack answered.

”You already reached level 15?”

”Yes, I have.”

The Viking man nodded, ”okay, go on then. Find an overseer named Gruff. He will let you know what to do.”

Jack thanked him and entered.

😉