Chapter 19 - The Settlement

¨Look! There!¨ Simon pointed at the mountain that wasn't too far away from them. The mountain was about the size of an average mountain. The mountain was in the middle of two other mountains and the biggest of the three. The tree mountains almost looked like three claws pointing towards the heavens. They had traveled overnight and luckily there weren't any more problems as Marcos and Lana were much more cautious as well as the beginners.

On this walk few people spoke trying to kill the silence within the group, however, after everything that they had experienced so far, all they wanted to do was process everything completely. They were physically and mentally tired.

Niko was impressed by the location of the settlement from afar as he believed that Marcos didn't lie.

As they came closer and closer to the mountain, they entered a forest like a biome which was also rankless. The trees were fairly big and parts of the canopy connected to one another, allowing sunlight to pass through, creating a magical feeling within the forest. Sounds of metal on metal could be heard in the far distance as they approached the mountain.

The mountain dwarfed them as the settlement stood under it like a god looking down on the world. There was a dirt road that leads towards the settlement and a few people could be seen walking here and there. Some had armor parts while others looked like they were just summoned. These people didn't pay much attention to these beginners as they were focused on their own problems. Many of these people were either dirty or possessed many scars on their faces, showing the beginners that even after entering this place, life was still hard.

Although the settlement was on the foot of a mountain there was still a wooden wall and gate that blocked anything and anyone from entering right at the foot of the mountain. The gate was made out of thick dark brown wood that was as high as a two-story building. The gate was also made out of wood and outside of it were two people who seemed like they were guarding it.

The two tall male guards wore leather armors and held wooden spears on their hands, as they greeted Marcos and Lana and allowed them to enter. Voices were instantly heard coming from the inside.

¨Trading a small dagger for two blue shards!¨ A woman said as she held out a common-looking dagger.

¨I have a nice ax for just five red shards! Come on people, it gives your strength one point!¨ A man who looked tired said.

As they walked past the gate they were welcomed by something they didn't expect. The place was lively and full of people talking and trading. The streets were wide and outside of the sheds and inns were people talking and trading. Everyone in this group of beginners was in awe as they expected a much worse atmosphere filled with death and sadness. It truly looked like a game world. It was almost like these people had accepted this world and they were just trying to live in it.

The word ¨Shard¨ Stuck into Nikos´ mind as it seemed like it was one of the currencies of the world. Many of these people were looking to trade their items mainly for these things. Marcos had told them that there weren't any coins or bills, therefore people traded for useful items. Niko also noticed that there were different colored shards like blue, green, and red, which made him wonder what was so important about these shards.

¨Why are there so many people here?¨ Someone in the group of beginners asked.

Marcos smiled and said, ¨This is a commonplace for people to trade as the inns are also located here and it's also near the safest east gate.¨

Looking around Niko quite admired the settlement. The streets were fairly wide as two cars would be able to move on them, and the architecture of the many structures in this settlement gave him a medieval vibe just like in the video games. The houses were made out of stones and wood and the streets changed from a dirt road to the rocky ground.

The many beginners felt slightly safer as they were surrounded by so many humans and buildings, there was a slight feeling of home again, but nothing like how it was. Marcos told them to follow him as he was going to take them towards the newbie part of the settlement.

…

After walking past various people and buildings and moving up the mountain closer to the newbie area, the new people asked a few questions about the settlement and their surroundings.

¨Only Chinese players? What happened to the whole human race thing?¨ Simon spoke to Marcos. They had just walked past a group of people who called themselves the Chinese Dragons. From what Marcos told them, they were like a clan, and although Marcos said they weren't officially a clan, they were still recognized by everyone. They formed a huge party and completed missions together. They were also fairly talented as well, however, they only accepted Chinese people into their group, which was interesting.

¨There are many reasons for this, some people just can't let the past go, while others feel better around those they can relate to, I don't know man.¨ Marcos shrugged.

¨Why would they need such a huge group though?¨ Louis added.

Lana was the one who answered this time as she said, ¨Maybe they are going to take on a dungeon, who knows, there have been a few dungeons found lately.¨

¨Dungeons?¨ Niko asked as it piqued his interest.

¨You guys will find out more about that later, we're almost at our destination. We are heading to the biggest place in our settlement and it took a while to create something like this. This is only for the beginners, therefore, after today you guys will never return here.¨ Marcos said as he looked forward.

Looking around, Niko realized that the buildings that surrounded them looked like apartments and the people who were around here did not possess as much armor as the people near the gate. On the doors of many of these buildings were numbered, from 100 to 125, there were many of these.

¨We are here.¨ Lana said spoke as she looked forward.

Everyone else followed her gaze and in front of them was an open wooden gate that led into the mountain. The gate was the height of two people and as wide as five, it looked just like the wood from the gate without any decorations or patterns. These people wondered how they were able to dig with a mountain, but as they thought about the many crazy skills that existed they understood.

As they entered through the gate they were welcomed by an inside made out of wood and stones. There were wooden pillars here and there along the walls and a few lanterns placed evenly as they walked further into the mountain.

Marcos stopped, turned, and said, ¨This is where I will stop guiding you all. Just keep moving forward and you should approach a desk with a person there, After talking to that person you will all stay in a room and rest for a while and someone should come by to take you from there. Maybe in the future, some of you might survive long enough to partner with me on a mission. Lana who was next to him nodded and they began to walk back. Many people looked at their backs with mixed feelings. Although they met the man a day ago, they held admiration towards the people who saved their lives.