Chapter 70: The Worst City
He leaned back slightly on the bed, relaxing his muscles. The modest environment enveloped him, with a homely warmth.
Tyrants and blood crystals, huh? It could be my greatest fortune or the worst trap.
He recognized that he needed to maintain coldness. A reflection consumed by greed was doomed to failure. His past had been the greatest source of learning; after all, he was an orphan, barely surviving.
A plate of food meant a lot back then. It could help him survive the unease.
Silence spread in an unusual tranquility. He had forgotten when something so insignificant had impacted him in that way.
The only source of light came from the silver threads that crossed the window, coming from the moon, creating a beautiful appeal.
He gripped the sheets beneath him, opening his inventory. An egg rested on his legs. It was faintly warm, expressing life.
Its dark surface disappeared into the environment. Only that trace of warmth revealed its existence.
When he finally held it, he felt again the intrinsic connection that had formed between them. It was a primitive language based on sensory sensations.
He could feel the deepest impulses of the creature forming under the shell. Its growls, its dissatisfaction, and its fervent vitality.
Evidently it was hungry.
A primordial dependence that was born from the egg and allowed him to know it with certainty. Caressing the shell with both hands, he remembered his distant childhood.
He was a child who had not managed to understand the world, until he was torn from his innocent vision of phenomena. Surviving thanks to his own desire to live.
His hunger and helplessness from the past were not too different from the innocence of his unborn pet. But he had never had anyone to take care of him.
He pushed those thoughts aside, laughing mentally.
Memories were what managed to bring him back to his principles. Quickly a fine cut appeared on the palm of his hand, from which a dense thread of blood poured.
It slid until it finally reacted against the shell. It was the best food for the egg and its gestating pet.
It was absorbed with immediacy and voracious ambition. From the depths of his being he felt the satisfaction of that being, reacting with joy.
The creature drank without restraint. Believing it was its natural right.
Gabriel did not avoid it. It was the exchange between them, feeding his own curiosity about what kind of creature would be born from the egg.
When the egg finally stopped absorbing, the connection changed. The anxiety evaporated along with the hunger, with a deep feeling of satiety transmitted through their mental connection.
He would swear he had heard a small grunt of satisfaction, with a shameless burp.
Finally he withdrew his hand, caressing the shell one last time. Their connection was cut when he felt it fall into a deep sleep again.
He stored the egg in his inventory again.
His body weighed too much.
Mentally he was not much better either.
His battles had been significant. Enduring constant mental and physical stress within the limits of the dungeon.
Obtaining new doubts in the process.
Ending up discovering a true path of evolution for his class.
It had been enough for that day. He closed his eyes and disconnected the interface.
***
The helmet emitted a slight beep.
The darkness that enveloped him disappeared.
He slowly opened his eyes inside his small apartment. The room remained exactly the same as before he connected.
Only now his muscles hurt.
He slowly moved his arms.
His body always felt much clumsier after remaining motionless for so many hours.
He stretched with his joints resounding.
His diet had improved since he started earning money, but it was still insufficient.
High-quality nutritious formulas continued to be too far from his economic possibilities.
He would have to settle for much simpler methods.
Driven by motivation, he placed both hands on the floor and began doing push-ups.
His breathing quickened quickly, while the repetitions kept accumulating. His muscles burned until he had to surrender.
He got up with difficulty, counting to thirty. It was a modest number.
He looked at the ceiling.
"You are capable of more." He said, smiling with self-criticism.
He was not even able to say it with irony.
Then he prepared a simple dinner. He ate slowly and fell deeply asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
***
When he opened his eyes again, he was disoriented. His usual schedule had extended.
He ended up rubbing his eyes on the bed.
"Another day... I suppose I should be grateful."
His tone did not reveal overflowing happiness, but it was not monotonous either.
He immediately went to the bathroom. He needed to enjoy a moment of peace.
The water ran slowly over his body, relaxing muscles that continued irritating him.
When he finished drying himself, he raised his gaze to the mirror.
The silver strands continued growing.
The anomaly had quickly become part of his routine. Its presence no longer caused a state of confusion in him.
He passed a hand through his hair.
"Someday I had to get used to it."
A slight smile appeared on his lips. It lasted only a second.
Inside his room, he remembered the push-ups he had done. Deciding to continue with his small physical conditioning ritual, he repeated and extended his exercise session.
It was probably insufficient, but it only consisted of a habit to improve his state of health. Long hours of inactivity could cause irreversible changes.
After training, he prepared a modest breakfast. While eating, he opened the forums that constantly boiled with new information and funny occurrences.
The news appeared one after another.
Updates, discoveries, theories and complaints.
But above all there was an official announcement that stood out.
They announced that a great event would soon open within the limits of the game.
The most exceptional results in different dungeons would receive special rewards directly from the system.
The news had caused a real stir.
There were thousands of players discussing strategies.
There was also a large part that had divided with the intention of guessing what kind of prizes they would deliver.
Gabriel read for a few minutes.
"Moderately interesting..."
He had heard rumors before, but he had never paid too much attention to them.
His priorities usually evolved with a speed difficult to match.
After doubting for a few seconds, he finally opened the advanced search. Writing a particular word.
Tyrant.
The results began to reproduce in front of him.
But he was not surprised when his disappointment grew. The vast majority only spoke about the known Pseudo-Tyrants.
There were guides, documented combats, rewards and debates about their background story.
There was nothing exactly useful. He continued scrolling down, reading for a significant time.
After insisting, he had read publications that were interesting. But they were mostly theories.
A particularly interesting thread was titled:
"Will there be creatures that are the evolution of Pseudo-Tyrants?"
With an evasive but interesting comment: "Big things always leave traces. I think I’ve almost discovered it."
Gabriel slowly reviewed every file that could be useful to him. But he could only form fragile conclusions from vague information.
Who is hiding these little bugs so actively? Power does not always consist of controlling... it also consists of hiding. If someone is making such an effort to keep them out of sight, then there must be something more at play.
Gabriel slowly rested his legs on the small table.
His brain was working at full capacity.
The game had been running for relatively little time, but there were already enough talented players to begin noticing the connections.
It was impossible to hide the existence of such important events forever.
Sooner or later someone would find them and it would be impossible to hide.
He continued reading.
The vast majority usually got lost in superficiality.
"Maybe they are enemies reserved for high-level dungeons."
"I’m not even level fifteen yet, bro. What are you talking about?"
"I am the chosen one to discover it. Remind me in two weeks and I’ll tell you."
Gabriel let out a small laugh.
"How naive..."
Their assumptions were not exactly wrong. But those monsters already existed.
And apparently it was highly guarded information.
He regained seriousness in an instant.
"The powerful are always them... The powerful," he murmured, closing the pages.
Gabriel remained silent observing the ceiling.
It was ironic.
Within the huge panorama, he barely represented an insignificant stone.
He had no backing, resources or contacts.
But even so he had been the one who ended up challenging the natural hierarchy. And what had always characterized him was his desire to survive.
All paths must be obstructed. As long as I manage not to submit to their control, I will be able to go unnoticed.
He had to continue growing through his own opportunities.
In the past he had made mistakes that he could not afford to repeat. He had been forced to run and hide... Another persecution would mean a betrayal of his ideals.
At that moment it only depended on him.
He quickly got lost in the forums, investigating in depth different aspects that intrigued him.
He analyzed the players who had stood out from the beginning. The clandestine movement of money.
The conflicts that had achieved the greatest reaction and information about the growing guilds.
He organized the information within a mental map. Detailing each piece in its corner.
Only when he finished did he return again to one word.
Bérsaic.
Dozens of publications appeared immediately.
"The worst starting city."
"Don’t waste your time."
"Mediocre quests."
"Horrible rewards."
"Completely useless zone."
Gabriel read one after another. The more he read, the more his smile grew.
An indisputable fact was that too many players abandoned Bérsaic as soon as they had the opportunity.
A large part had practically ignored it only because of its reputation. But the information provided by Bella had crushed that prejudice.
A dungeon that hid a completely unknown Tyrant.
With a trail that guided him to mysterious organizations.
With The Despots being an active organization.
The coincidences kept accumulating. Massaging his temples, he murmured:
"Bérsaic, Bérsaic... A firefly considered useless, what real value do you have?"