Chapter 10 - Information

The man stood there in front of the many people. He sized everyone up and the more he looked, the happier he became. It was as if he was reading a story that revealed secrets on every page.

"Wonderful! This many humans stayed alive!? This will be great for our kind in this world! You have all passed the test! This is a great accomplishment!" The man spoke with a huge smile.

Niko looked at this man with a strange look on his face as his mind began to think, "T-test? Does he have anything to do with that beetle monster killing everyone?"

Taking Niko out of his thoughts, a short man spoke while stepping towards the man with anger, "What!? A test!? Lives are on the line here!? People died!"

The man grinned and spoke, "Good."

The short man's face became red as if it was being burnt by fire. His mind filled with anger and shock after hearing what the armored man said. The short man began to walk towards the armored man with tight fists, but then he quickly came to a halt and stepped back wide-eyed.

The armored man, grabbed the hilt of his sword as if he was ready to pull it and slash it towards the short man. His eyes looked sinister as a grin that reached the sky was planted on his face.

"Listen up! It would truly be a pity to kill you here. I recommend you shut your mouth. They died because they were weak. Death in this world occurs daily and if you're not able to accept that, you should kill yourself right now. This goes for all of you." The armored man's deep voice echoed throughout the crowd.

Many people's hearts began to race as they felt chills down their spines. The orb spoke of this, and as they had just seen it, it was true.

The man continued, "In this world, it's us humans versus everything else. We need to rely on each other to survive, and if you are weak, you will prevent the progress of humanity in this world. There is no equality in this world and If you are weak, you are better off dead. Women, men, elderly, teens, or whatever you see yourself as there will be no exceptions. If you aren't useful to the human race… You are better off gone. That's why it would be a pity killing any of you. You are all courageous humans that would have a high chance of becoming higher level and useful."

Niko felt a very strange feeling. The rules of this world were extremely barbaric and scary. The complete opposite of civilized Earth.

The armored man looked around the grassland, pointed towards a lone tree, waved, and said, "Come. Let's talk over there. There are too many distractions here with these corpses."

Niko and the crowd followed the man as they move towards a lone tree in the grassland. Stepping over or walking around the dead bodies on the floor, they approached the tree. The tree was eight meters tall with a thick trunk and full of leaves. Niko walked forward at a faster pace to get closer to the armored man, not paying attention to anything else. The green orb followed him as if his movements did not affect it at all. Niko was now, staring at the man's back as he used his skill.

[Celestial Probe]

…

[Name: Marcos Rocha]

Level: 11

[Skills]

Piercing Sword of the Flaming Deity

"So powerful! That skill sounds so powerful as well!" Niko was admiring the man as they walked towards the tree.

After reaching the tree, The armored turned and said, "Alright! You can all sit down now around this tree and relax. I need to say a few things and make sure you are all introduced to this world. For those who are wondering, My name is Marcos, and I am a recruiter for the human settlement nearby in a low-ranked layer. Ask me any questions that come to mind, however, remember that I am oblivious to most things as well. "

Some people were taken back, however, it did not take long for someone to ask, "Layer? Human settlement? Recruiter? What does that mean?"

Marcos smiled, "Hmm… That's usually the question asked by people... Well, this world isn't exactly like our old one. Obviously, you see… Based on things we have found and discovered, this world is not a spherical planet but a flat plane. Think of a flat plate with different biomes, weathers, and other things that make up the world on it. There is also a day and night cycle like Earth. This flat plane possesses layers, which are territories of the world that are organized towards a certain rank. There will mostly be lower leveled monsters in a layer that is lower ranked and so on. Of course, not all monsters will possess the same level, as ranks are a range between certain levels. Bosses do appear here and there like in video games, and naturally, their levels would be higher. The closest you get to the center of this world, the higher the ranking of the layers becomes. Think of layers as territories. Some people say, at the center of this world is where we will be able to find a way back to earth, but no one knows."

Marcos paused letting everything sink it in.

¨For those confused about ranking, think of ranking as a range between levels. Starting from the lowest, ranking F- which is between levels two and five. Next is rank F which is between the levels of 6 and 10, and so on. This is how layers work. If a layer is ranked F, expect most monsters to be from level 6 to 10.¨

Marcos continued, "Remember, this world is extremely strange and even the first people summoned here are completely oblivious to many things. As for being a recruiter… There is a settlement that was created by some of the first humans that arrived in this world. The small settlement is located on a layer that is rankless and I am stationed at this spawn point. After the first humans built the settlement, they realized that humans who first were summoned into this world would usually spawn in the same area every time. There are ten other spawns near here with one hundred people respawning on each…"

Marcos took a deep breath of air and continued, "You see… The world is so massive, that whoever created this world, is able to separate one hundred thousand people into groups of one hundred and scatter them throughout the outer layers, and only a few of the spawn points are used each time. The closest one hundred to one another would spawn together on these spawn points. You are lucky to have been spawned in this part of the world as not only is there a human settlement nearby, but this is also a layer without a rank. That's why, I am ordered to make you all go through dangers, to get rid of the useless."

As Marcos finished, someone else asked, "If this layer is rankless, how come, those powerful monsters we're here to attack us? And why would you want to recruit us?"

Marcos answered once more, "Just because this is a rankless layer, doesn't mean you won't see any enemies. Those monsters came from that jungle, and from there on, the layers are ranked. However, those monsters were not as powerful, as they were the weakest of the weak. Many of those could've been taken out by two of you at once, I would never send in monsters that are impossible to handle..."

Marcos continued, "... The reason I would be recruiting you all would be because, many people lose their lives in this world, therefore, we are always in need of new manpower. There is also another human settlement nearby, however, I would recommend staying away from them as they are extremely heartless and cruel."

Many people understood this, not every human thought the same and some weren't even in the right of mind, therefore this was only natural. As surprisingly no one seemed to be asking another question Niko asked, "What about the first humans to arrive here? Is there any information on them…?"

Marcos looked at Niko and then at the orb that orbited his body with curiosity. The man's head tilted and squinted his eyes, looking at the orb. "Oh! Right… Those fellows… They were very special…"