The world had changed. Completely!

The skyscrapers which used to adorn the skies of my city were now replaced with rustic buildings made of wood and brimstone. Before this event, any person would have been hard-pressed to find a building with less than fifteen stories. Now, you would be hard-pressed to find one with more than three.

Concrete roads had changed to ones from medieval times. The best ones had some semblance of stone used. The worst ones were essentially tracks left behind by people who had used the path before.

No vehicles roamed the streets anymore. Modern medicine had been replaced too, replaced by potions with fancy names and hard to find ingredients.

Man had been the unopposed conqueror of the planet for the past few millennia. Man had never been as physically imposing as the apex predators of the planet but that had never hindered him. A combination of necessity and cunning had catapulted human beings right to the top of the food chain on the backs of innovation and development.

Now? We were back near the bottom. We weren’t inherently in danger, with harmless animals roaming the wilderness most times. If you were unlucky, you might come across a monster who, by some weird twist of fate, had managed to escape the confines of its dungeons.

No, the dungeons served as the prison for the truly dangerous creatures. Creatures that were only the stuff of legends and fantasies before this age rolled around. Humans were pretty safe from the monsters that filled the dungeons.

There was just one issue, though. Everything necessary for the survival of the human species as a whole could be found only in these dungeons. Thus, humans had to be brave enough, or insane enough, depending on which adjective you favoured, to willingly enter these prisons that were designed to hold these monstrosities.

It had been two weeks since my adventures with the Minotaur and my ‘friends’. I was currently sitting on a beautiful hillside slope with a perfect view of the setting sun. But I was too preoccupied with my watch to see it.

There, written in small letters, at the bottom of the information about my class were the words, “It is highly recommended that you assume appearances straight from your imagination. Taking on the appearances of acquaintances or public figures may lead to some overlap in personality. This may lead to severe tendencies like narcissism, sociopathy, lack of empathy, psychopathy, lack of moral judgement, emot-”

“Hey, you coming?” My attention was swept away by the question directed at me. I looked up to see ‘MightyMach’ sauntering towards me, an amused expression on his face. I just nodded at him, not wishing to engage in a conversation with him.

“You really don’t like to talk, huh?” I just stared at him with a deadpan expression. ‘MightyMach’ was an average looking guy with a stocky build, the kind of build one is likely to see in a construction worker. I had one major issue with him. He liked to talk. A lot. Not in a condescending ‘I love my own voice’ sort of way. He was interested in people. He wanted to know all their joys and all their woes. An admirable trait, all things considered. But a trait I, personally, didn’t find worth admiring.

He was also too trusting and far too naïve for my tastes. An Achilles’ heel in this new order, if there ever was one. His trusting nature extended to everyone, with no regard for the nature of the person in question. He wasn’t plain stupid though, as evidenced by the fact that he hadn’t yet divulged his real name outright to anyone.

Our real names, the ones which we were born with and not the ones we had chosen for ourselves in this system, were downright sacred. I didn’t yet know the repercussions of someone’s real name falling into another person’s hand but it wouldn’t be pleasant. That was one of the cardinal rules the system had hammered into us right at the beginning. How this system would work for children born after the invasion of this new order escaped me completely.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a chuckle from ‘MightyMach’. “Man, you really need to learn how to talk. It’s quite essential to the gathering we are going to, you know?”

I just gave a non-committal shrug in response. He took the hint and just shook his head before leading the way to our destination.

In quiet contrast to my demeanour, I was looking forward to the event I was going to be a part of in short order. I had a feeling that the upcoming event would be a big factor in the future, important enough to shape the very fabric of this new world.

We soon found ourselves in ‘The Drunkard’s Tale’, the most popular spot for hangouts and meetings. It was the only bar in this town, Aldon, making it very popular and always chock full of people, no matter the time of the day. Aldon was the town that was connected to most of the low-level dungeons of this country. This made it a very popular destination, especially now when no one in this world had figured out the mysteries of this world or cleared a dungeon, for that matter.

My companion looked at the barmaid for some sort of signal and received a nod in response. The owner of the bar just pointed towards a direction in the bar and we made our way to the room which had been booked for us by the host of the evening.

I couldn’t help but look at the barmaid and the owner once more. Human beings generated by the system, their entire existence only two weeks old. Once again, I couldn’t help but marvel at the system and how it completely flipped every belief human beings had in science or religion.

I entered the private room and was almost immediately confronted by the stares of the occupants, most of which held nothing but curiousity, although some did display hostility. Chairs were strewn around the room, mostly unoccupied. I went to the back of the room and leaned against the wall, giving me the view of the entire room. No chance of a backstabbing this way.

The man who stood at the centre of the room just flashed an amused smile at me, probably having gauged some of my thoughts. Judging by the confidence he displayed and the fact that most occupants were now looking at him after the brief gawking in my direction, I presumed that he was the host of this evening.

A girl entered the room shortly afterwards, prompting the host to close the door and bolting it shut. Making his way over to the centre of the room, he loudly exclaimed, enthusiasm lacing his tones, “Welcome everyone!”

He received some half-hearted greetings in reply but that didn’t seem to deter him in the least. He continued, “You might be wondering why you have been invited to come here today. The reason is simple. In this room, eleven of the strongest human beings in this country are currently present, all at the same time.”

This caused everyone to exchange looks. Everyone seemed to involuntarily size each other up as if they would be asked to prove their strength right then and there. I was quite surprised to hear that I was amongst the strongest in this new world. But to receive concrete proof was a pleasant surprise. Of course, circumstances and strength had played a huge role in my gaining of said strength.

“How do you know that?”, one of the other occupants asked.

“Through a neat skill that I was recently able to acquire. And no, I am not telling. We have all got to have our secrets, right?” His exuberance wasn’t lost but his words had definitely led to the tension rising in the room.

This was a problem. A person who could keep tabs on other players was a major player in this system. But most importantly, it provided me with the motivation to never remain in my original form for too long. I was already seeing this meeting as a mistake. An oversight on my part as I had come here in my original appearance. Especially considering the fact that ten other people now knew what I really looked like and my relative strength.

I subtly used ‘Observe’ on him. I was sure it would work on him, seeing as there was no way for him to have scaled me in levels with my huge headstart.

“Name: JadedDragon

Lvl 8

Class: Warrior

Guild: Not affiliated (Maybe associated but observe not high enough)”

I breathed a sigh of relief after looking at his stats, glad that he was of a lower level than me. Other people too were subtly checking him out, although I couldn’t be sure if they were using the same skill as me.

Silence permeated the room for a few moments. I know it sounds cliché but you could literally cut the tension with a knife. Finally, a gruff-looking, middle-aged man spoke up, “Why are we here then?”

JadedDragon spread his arms wide and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have fallen behind. Although we have some of the strongest people on this planet right now in this room, our country, as a whole, has lagged behind. Our country has yet to scale a dungeon, which is a shame considering the levels of some of the occupants of this room.”

A girl who had seemed mildly irritated since the beginning of this meeting, spoke up at that, “How is that any concern of mine?”

In response, JadedDragon only raised his hands in an appeasing fashion before saying, “It is a matter of concern to us, miss. You see, the more dungeons of a country are beaten, the more dungeons are unlocked. You know what this means. Better loot, better equipment. It’s high time our country gained its rightful place in the pecking order.”

The guy could give a speech, I had to hand him that. Even an antisocial pariah like me found himself getting somewhat swayed by his words.

“Guilds are being formed all over the world, as we speak. More and more groups are being formed. Humanity, as a whole, has begun to understand that scaling a dungeon can’t be a personal endeavour, after so many people valiantly sacrificed themselves on the altar of this discovery. They might have been foolhardy to venture into the dungeons alone but their deaths were not in vain.”

His words certainly held truth in them. I had already been approached by no fewer than a dozen people just today with their intention being me joining their guild. Guilds were going to blow within the next week or so. Adventurers not in guilds would soon find themselves to be outcasts, with second-degree loot and equipment. No one could afford that.

“Turkey was the first country where a dungeon was defeated, requiring the manpower of an entire guild which was composed of twenty-two people. Of course, those twenty-two idiots were slaughtered for their pieces of equipment not long after but they were pioneers nonetheless. With that in mind, I have two proposals that I wish to present before you.”

I found myself mildly interested in his ideas. It was true that better equipment was required to survive in dungeons which would grant better equipment. This whole system was a vicious cycle, that much was evident right from the beginning.

He continued, “First of all, I would like all of us to form a group so that we can scale the Golem Dungeon on the outskirts of the town.”

He was interrupted rather loudly after he said that. Everyone voiced their protests at his proposal.

“I ain’t joining a guild with you as its leader, kid.”

“Damn right!”

“Who do you think you are? You are not better than us.”

These loud rumblings of discontent would have been enough to shake the confidence of most people but not JadedDragon. He just smiled at all of the protesting people before saying, “I am afraid you are misunderstanding my position on this.”

“How so?”, I asked.

“Well, I am just floating the idea of forming a group just for the purposes of defeating one dungeon. After that, we go our separate ways. We are the strongest people in this country. It’s only right that we take on the responsibility of clearing the first dungeon. I am sure none of us in this room would like to serve anyone. Everyone in this room has the ambition of forming their own guild, of course. I am not getting in the way of that.”

I nodded in understanding at that. Everyone else seemed to grudgingly accept his proposal, too.

The acceptance of his proposal merely caused JadedDragon to smile as he said, “In the same spirit, I would like to propose a truce. A treaty, if you will.”

Now, I was really interested. If he was really suggesting what I thought he was, I wanted to see how he would achieve it, if he could convince the others.

“What treaty?” The same gruff man from before asked.

“Simple. All eleven of us stay out of each other’s way for a period of six months. After that, everyone is fair game.”

“And why would we do that?”

“Because it would give us the opportunity to maximise our potential. And give all of us a fair chance. No offense but some people here might have been lucky to gain their strength as it stands right now. But six months is enough of a time period for luck to no longer have a major contributing factor to one’s strength.”

I couldn’t help but ask him a question to see if we were on the same page. “Why not call a treaty for eternity? Wouldn’t that serve us better? I mean, the stronger the people of our country, the more opportunities for us all, right?”

He smiled knowingly in response as if he understood my intents once again. “That would be correct but for one thing. Everyone here wants to be the undisputed number one. That means our paths have to cross one way or another.”

“Th forums are filled with articles about how this system can only be beaten if humans stick together. But in this room, we all know that’s lunacy. This system is all about the survival of the fittest. The right to be known as the best. The strongest. To achieve that, we need to stay out of each other’s way for a bit before we go all out on each other. So, what do you guys say?”

I nodded at his response. There was no way I was making peace with all of humanity, not when I couldn’t trust most people as far as I could throw them. Most of the others agreed, albeit reluctantly. One guy though got up and left. But not before saying, “I don’t need this. I am stronger than all of you cowards. Now that I know who you all are, I am coming for all of your asses.”

He stormed out of the room, leaving behind an air of awkwardness. JadedDragon just coughed trying to hide his embarrassment before stating, “Since all of us that are still present agree with our arrangements, let us meet tomorrow at the entrance of the Golem dungeon at noon. Loot will be divided equally, of course.”

Everyone just grunted their assent as they shuffled out of their chairs. I walked out of the bar and caught sight of the man who had stormed off during the meeting. I followed him discreetly without changing my appearance. It was better to know more about him and his accommodations if he posed a threat to me. That is if his threats held any weight.

He rounded a corner into a deserted road in the less populated part of the town. I too reached the corner but only peeked at the road from out of the corner. I saw him entering a building and before long he was on the roof.

I stood there for a moment, making sure to commit him and the building to my memory when something happened that scared the living daylights out of me.

The guy just fell down the building, lifeless, a knife embedded in his chest. Before I could decide what to do in that situation, I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I turned around, only to be shocked by the owner of the hand.

JadedDragon stood there, a calm smile on his face as he looked at me. Before long, he spoke up, looking towards the now dead body, “Shame about him. He was a strong guy. He just had a tendency to make poor decisions, wouldn’t you say?”

I could only nod numbly at him. He let go of my shoulder before saying, “The moment I saw you, I knew you and I were alike. Not just in the matter of strength, you know?”

He leaned conspiratorially towards me before, “You are the strongest right now, you know. In the whole world. Not just this country. And I am number two. I can't help but wonder why that. Nonetheless, you certainly are fascinating.”

He just sighed and said, fake lament filling his voice, “I just hate it when people fail to show good sportsmanship. It just grates on my nerves.”

Saying that he turned around and began walking away. My horror had passed by then and I watched on in mild fascination as he rounded a corner and disappeared from my sight.

Taking one last look at the dead body, I just shook my head and began walking towards my current abode.

There was no doubt in my mind that tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.