Chapter 25. Different [Teleporting back to Planet-XA83] [Time left: 00:36:02] It wasn't Earth anymore, whatever had happened caused our planet to change and now it was called 'XA83.' What was waiting for me there, I had no idea but it was a little exciting and scary. The unknown was scary, no doubt about it but it was also exciting. For me, personally, it was much better than a regular routine. I never expected to be someone who liked adventure. open to roaming in an unknown world with my life on the line. I also had to find my parents and my other friends. I want to believe that I was strong enough to help or get them out of any trouble they dive into, I only needed to find them before it happened. Time passed as I was lost in my thoughts only to be brought back by the timer. It was finally time. [Time left: 00:00:02] [Time left: 00:00:01] [Time left: 00:00:00] [Teleporting] And I was brought away. It was cold. That was the first thing I felt about my surroundings, but that was not all. The air was a little fresh? I was not sure but everything felt refreshing. I was about to my open eyes but I dodged instead by leaning and taking a step to left. I reached for my axe but it was not there, still, my instincts kicked in. A big step forward to where the attack had come from and my fist was just about to collide with something when I heard a shout. "Stop! Stop! I am sorry! I didn't mean to do it. I was scared and- and-" That was when I opened my eyes to see a middle-aged man, forty probably. He had a knife, dagger to be precise, in his hand, likely to be the weapon which I dodged. He did appear to be genuinely scared. The people around us backed away, most of them scared but some were ready to either fight or run away. Though none of them gave the aura of a seasoned fighter or a warrior but I didn't want to judge people only based upon that factor. There were only two people I had met after 'the thing' and they were probably ridiculously strong. It could be that only strong people gave out such an aura or it was just me being a little weak to detect it properly. "Enough, just be careful. That weapon can kill people not just monsters, look around before you use it. We aren't in the tower anymore." The man had just kept talking all the time trying to wiggle his way out but I had no plans for me. "Thank you! Thank you so much," he said as he moved further and further away. I looked around to find myself standing under the same building where I stood before The Record teleported us away. Everyone was staying a good distance away from me but who wouldn't after seeing such a demonstration of strength. The strange thing was that I could see items appear and disappear. That was probably the storage unit but how was everybody else using it, was there a manual that came with it? I wanted to ask how they were using and I even started walking towards the guy I was to beat up, but a roar made everybody halt their actions. Weapons started to appear as everybody got alert. A figure came out from a small passage that was between two buildings, but it was nothing to scared of. 'It's a goblin chief, just some dog with all bark and no bite.' But the people around me did not think so. "Why is this thing here?! Why now?!" I heard similar shouts all around me. Some were scared, some chose to hide. Some people came forward and tried to get everyone together. "A Disaster level Threat! Every non-combat class to move back, now! Hide or something don't be a hindrance. People willing to fight, bring out weapons and armors, get ready." 'Huh, disaster level? What? A goblin chief is at the disaster level?' "You, hey you? The long hair man!" "Uh, yeah?" One of those leaders came to me. "Are you going to fight or hide?" The tone he used was that of a superior, but I didn't feel much about it. He was one of the people trying to get everybody together, already getting a plus point from me. But still, this was confusing and I couldn't help but ask. "Is this all necessary? It's just one-" I was not even able to complete what I was about to say as he cut me off. "If you don't want to help just say it. We won't force anybody. Just don't get in our way or start a scene." He walked away not letting me even finish my sentence. 'Let's just watch at first. I'll help anybody that's about to die.' I looked around and grabbed some decently sized rocks and spoke to myself. "Some aim practice I guess." 'Did I hear that right? Aim practice? Is he high, did the tower give drugs out as a reward? But it's not my place to say anything either. I'm not going to fight either.' Why did I have to walk the peace path? The choice had to be made right after fighting those monsters, I was scared, I wanted a safe and comfy shelter where I could just hide away from everything. But not everything happens as we expect it to be. The city we built in the tutorial was usually attacked by monsters and during those times everybody was useful warriors, crafters, the medics and healers were the most useful of the bunch. Everybody was except the normal people. And the reason was also pretty simple, the people who chose peace did not get quests. Not a single one of us got a quest and when you fight monsters in big groups, the experience is divided based upon your contribution. You did not get experience from completing quests nor did you get experience from fighting monsters, and so the gap just increased. We were looked down upon, no one said it but everyone thought of us as freeloaders and that was true. A year was enough for me to realize that I need strength to be respected in this new world. 'The Merge' had changed everything from, moral values to the value of human life. Everything. At the end of the day, it was a problem I had to face, something I had brought upon myself. I did not even notice that the fighting had begun, I wanted to see how that man was reacting, was he scared or still as boasting as he was previously. And what I see just blows my mind. Right of my body.