Marcus found himself back in the library. It had not been destroyed by the demon lord’s attack. Marcus liked that. He was currently referencing certain books and the Global net regarding the major factions. He wanted to be well prepared for the next stage of the major quest.

There were ten major factions on Una. The Dwarven Kingdom. The Elven Kingdom. The Human Kingdom. The Undead Kingdom. The Gnome Kingdom. The Feliur Kingdom. The Dragon Kingdom. The Mercenaries. The Magicians. The Librarians.

Seven of the ten factions were attributed to a particular landmass. The remaining three seemed independent of a landmass and seemed global. However, they were headquartered at the central landmass.

There were a total of eight landmasses in Una. Seven land masses surrounded the central landmass. Turanous was the central landmass. Surrounding Turanous were the landmasses of Umanahash, Artorios, Golimath, Urtor, Felinile, Chandrosh and Reyarth. He was currently on Umanahash, the landmass of The Gnome Kingdom. The Elven Kingdom was present on Artorios. The Dwarven Kingdom was present on Golimath. The Undead Kingdom was present on Urtor. The Feliur Kingdom was present on Filinile. The Dragon Kingdom was present on Chandrosh. Finally, The Human Kingdom was present on Reyarth.

Turanous contained the representatives of the other species. They were not major but minor factions. Marcus wondered which faction he should join. He was currently reading everything he could find about the factions. He wanted to join a faction which would help him well as an adventurer without taking undue advantage of him. Till now he had not found any faction related to the land masses advantageous.

He considered The Mercenaries. He did not want to be a mercenary. He considered The Magicians. He was not sure whether he could join The Magicians if he did not want to pursue a path dedicated to magic. He was more inclined on a hybrid path of development.

That left him with The Librarians. However, The Librarian faction did not feel much inclined with adventuring. It felt as if the faction was more interested in research and study. Marcus enjoyed that but he was also an adventurer. How would this fit with what he wanted? He was now in a dilemma and he started to re-read all his notes on the major factions. He did not want to hurry. He would make an informed decision.

Marcus considered The Dwarven Kingdom. It seemed that the quests for this faction would include a lot of drinking and a lot of head bashing. Why was this sounding so cliched? The Elven Kingdom was recommended for healers and support adventurers. He was neither of the two. He considered going to The Human Kingdom; meet a majority of fellow humans; hope someone would remember him. But he dismissed the idea. Based on his research, the quests of The Human Kingdom seemed very random and self absorbing. Much like human nature, he mused.

He did not have to reject questing in The Undead Kingdom. The Undead Kingdom did it for him. Only Undead can quest successfully in The Undead Kingdom. Other species did live there but the major cities and the capital city had an aura in which only the undead thrive. There had been no records of other species surviving this aura.

This left him with The Gnome Kingdom, The Feliur Kingdom and The Dragon Kingdom. The Dragon Kingdom was a big no no according to records of many adventurers. The Draconians were a hostile species and the dragons, yes Marcus had read right, there were dragons on Una. The dragons of Una did not like any other species other than Draconians and they only communicated through them. Marcus felt this would be a logistical and communication nightmare.

He considered The Gnome Kingdom and The Feliur Kingdom. Based on his research, it seemed that they did have normal quests and were considerate towards all the adventurers. However, Marcus believed that a majority of the adventures joined these two factions. Considering the repository of names of each of these seven factions, Marcus found that The Gnome Kingdom and The Feliur Kingdom had the most adventurers aligned to them.

The Mercenaries were an interesting faction. Marcus felt that they were too focused on money though. The Mercenaries had a few sets of rules and they took quests operating on those sets of rules. Marcus did not want that.

The Magicians were focused highly on magic and its study. Marcus had checked. The adventurers associated with The Magicians faction were all mages. He was not one. Well not a dedicated mage. And he saw that there were highly rare records of hybrid mages in The Magicians. They would mostly be the exceptions who had somehow survived the faction but not thrived in it.

Finally, there was The Librarians. Their primary focus was knowledge. The Librarians did not mind what type of quests the adventurers did as long as the adventurers kept on bringing in information, old or new. Being associated with The Librarians did include a lot of research work and paperwork. Marcus was sure that a majority of the adventurers would find that boring. Marcus was not sure himself.

Marcus finally closed the notes that he had made and rubbed his eyes. How long had he been here now? He could not remember. His stomach grumbled. He wondered where he could find some food.

As he got up to go, Marcus was stopped by a librarian. Marcus recognized him. It was Tarkar.

Tarkar beamed as he hailed Marcus, “It is good to see you well adventurer Blank.”

Marcus replied, “And it is good to see you well non adventurer not Blank.”

Tarkar frowned at that but did not comment. Marcus had a feeling that Tarkar had not registered what Marcus had said. His loss.

Tarkar asked, “If I may ask, what are you doing here in the library?”

“Researching major factions.”

“Ah!” nodded Tarkar, “Understandable. You would need help in that matter. Do you not have any adventurer or non adventurer contacts you can discuss this with?”

Marcus said slowly, “I do have some adventurer contacts but I am pretty sure what they would have to say. I want an unbiased neutral opinion. Secondary research is a good first step in that case.”

Tarkar laughed at that. He said, “That it is. My advice is to find a representative of each of the major factions and let them describe to you how good or bad it is to be a part of that faction.”

“And I believe you are here to tell me about the wonders of The Librarians faction?”

Tarkar laughed again and said, “No. No. No. Nothing like that.”

“That was a lot of Nos.”

“Yes they were. I am here on another errand. I simply happened to run into you. Although, if you are considering The Librarian faction, go talk with this adventurer named Thimble Thinker. He is currently in Solaris and can tell you more about our faction and how he has integrated well into it.”

“I will consider it.”

Marcus then bid Tarkar farewell and started off towards The Tools of the Trade. He was hoping to catch Sinanan there. He had to turn in her quest after all.

Marcus reached Sinanan’s smithy to find her working. Marcus was surprised. Sinanan looked up from her work to see Marcus walking slowly towards her. She grinned.

Sinanan said, “I owe you thanks, Marcus Blank. You saved Solaris and purged the evil blacksmiths. Now, I am the only blacksmith left. Work has been pouring in. They are talking about bringing one more blacksmith but I see myself overworked for the next few weeks.”

Sinanan looked happy. Marcus said, “So, I did find out what Charthuk was up to after all.”

Sinanan laughed and said, “That you did. Consider that quest complete. I know I had promised only experience and no reward, but considering what you have done, I have something for you.”

Marcus muttered, “It was a team effort you know.”

“Yes”, replied Sinanan, “But you are the one I gave the quest to. You are the only adventurer that took my necklace quest where many other adventurers declined it. And you are the one who did not throw me under the bus even after knowing my history. And now, I have gone from almost unemployed to overworked because of your actions, your contributions, even though they may be small compared to other adventurers. That is why I want to reward you.”

Marcus was blushing. He did not think he did much to stop the invasion but Sinanan had high praise for him. Sinanan went into a back room and brought out a small box. She opened it and Marcus saw her taking out a circlet. Marcus could feel that this was no ordinary circlet. He read its description.

Circlet of Hope

Physical Resistance: Wearer Level

Magical Resistance: Wearer Level

Spell Slot 2

Description: A Legendary Circlet once worn by the King Ganamush the Benevolent. The wearer of this circlet would be blessed with the King’s protection giving them resistances equivalent to their level. It binds to the wearer who wears it and can only be given to a non adventurer after the adventurer is done with it.

Marcus was gaping after reading the description. This was a very very very good item. It was circular and in the front it had a circle in the centre with two axe type shapes surrounding the circle. It glowed with a white sheen and a tinge of yellow. Marcus could not identify the material it was made with. However, Marcus doubted whether he could identify materials to begin with.

“This circlet”, said Sinanan, “was given to my father by Thanandara for the services that he rendered. My father considered it too valuable to be sold. He always wanted to give it to a worthy adventurer. I believe you have earned that title.”

Marcus did not even know what to say. This was too much for him. He just wordlessly accepted the circlet and equipped it. He got a notification.

Do you want to bind the Circlet of Hope to you?

Yes No

He selected Yes and at once felt change in him. He knew that his overall physical and magical resistance had increased. Moreover, he earned 500 points of experience from completing the quest. That was a total of 1,500 points of experience earned since yesterday. He had levelled up because of this and reached level 18. He now had 8 points to use. He put 3 in wisdom and 5 in vitality. He checked his status.

Name: Marcus Blank

Race: Human

Designation: Adventurer - Rank 1

Age: 25

Current Location: Solaris

Adventurer Statistics:

Adventurer Level: 18

Experience: 180/380

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 15

Intelligence: 15

Vitality: 15

Agility: 10

Wisdom: 10

Luck: ???

Health: 130

Mana: 120

Active Effects:

None

Passive Effects:

Stamina Regeneration - Level 4

Well Rested - Level 1

Twinblade Proficiency - Level 7

Alcohol Tolerance - Level 1

Stealth - Level 3

Description: The anomaly is now not just an anomaly and is taking his baby steps on being an adventurer. Best of luck to him!

Spells known:

None

Spells Equipped:

None

Spell Slots: 2

Physical Attack: 18

Magical Attack: 23

Physical Resistance: 11

Magical Resistance: 9

Critical Attack Chance: 5% (max 25%)

Critical Attack Damage: 11.25% (max 51.25%)

Status:

None

Social: 600/1000 (Neutral)

NAIF: 950/1000 (Neutral)

Solaris: 2300/4000 (Very Positive)

He had levelled up quite a number of stats it seemed. He did frown though. He had forgotten one thing. He had increased his wisdom but he had no active spells.

Marcus said, “Thank you Sinanan. You have no idea how useful this gift of yours would be. I would like to ask you though. How do I learn to use active spells?”

Sinanan laughed at that. She said, “Go to a shop named Enioro’s Enchantments. They would help.”

Marcus thanked her and left. He wondered about what spell he would get. However, on his way he met the Ori brothers and Kyrie.

“Marcus”, hailed Orin, “Where are you going?”

Marcus explained what he was going to do and all of the Ori brothers groaned. Kyrie raised an eyebrow and turned to Orin, “Are you really sure about this? Him? Him!”

“What’s going on?” asked Marcus.

“Come with us”, said Orin. They walked up to a nearby cafe and sat down. They each gave an order of coffee and some sandwiches after which Orin said, “You know Marcus, for a person who researches a lot, you do not know much about adventuring and adventurers in general.”

“I thought we already established that, didn't we?”

Orin shook his head and said, “Wait till you reach a major city Marcus. The quality of spells in a town or a village are of inferior quality as compared to even the smallest city. I mean if you are desperate to get into magic you can start with a simple spell. However, it is better to wait till you get to a city, have some money. Spells are expensive.”

“How expensive?” inquired Marcus.

It was Kyrie who replied, “The cheapest and the weakest spells are at 10,000 units. I know. I checked. And this is a normal shop rate. NAIF rates are ridiculous.”

“Why would anyone buy from NAIF?” asked Marcus.

“Desperation”, replied Kyrie. She did not elaborate further and so Marcus let it go.

Marcus then said, “Very well then. I will look for getting spells once I reach a city, albeit a city well stocked with high quality spells. I was thinking of moving out of Solaris soon. I had not decided when though. Was a bit preoccupied with some other research.”

“Which faction to join, I presume”, guessed Orik.

Marcus nodded. Orin said slowly, “Would you be interested in joining The Dwarven Kingdom?”

Marcus thought for a bit before answering, “Do you want me to join The Dwarven Kingdom Orin?”

Orin gave a short laugh, “Gork no. A gorking monkas like you would not survive a week in our faction.”

“Oh, so you are already aligned?” asked Marcus with surprise.

“Considering that we are dwarven royalty, I don’t think we have much of a choice”, said Orim.

“Oh yes. I had forgotten about that”, Marcus turned to Kyrie, “What about you? Are you aligned to a faction?”

Kyrie blushed when Marcus asked her a question directly and shook her head. Weird behaviour according to Marcus.

Their sandwiches and coffee arrived and they were busy for a few minutes, eating and drinking. They were done with the sandwiches fast and were now slowly sipping their coffee. Kyrie was drinking lemonade though. Marcus had noticed that she had ordered a salad. Must be a nymph thing.

Marcus said, “So what are you all going to do?”

Orin said, “We are going to Golimath. We will slowly make our way to the capital city of Karzasham. Kyrie here, will tell what she is going to do herself. Because I do not know what she is going to do next.”

“Thank you Orin”, said Kyrie rolling her eyes, “I am thinking of a faction to join first. After I decide that, I will see which landmass I land on. However, before I join a faction, I wish to form a team. I need another adventurer. I did not find any good candidates in Solaris. I think I will go to Opulential. Maybe there I will find someone good.”

“What are your criteria for a team mate?” asked Marcus, now curious. He had thought about being in a two person team earlier. However, he had not realized that the two person team would need to be in the same faction. Else it would cause complications. That way, Kyrie’s idea sounded better.

Kyrie said, “I am very much interested in Adventurer versus Adventurer. I need a teammate who would understand and accept this. I mean I would prefer Adventurer versus Adventurer over normal adventuring. There was no one in Solaris who was okay with that.”

Marcus stared at Kyrie dumbly. Then he said slowly, “What is Adventurer versus Adventurer?”

The table exploded in laughter. There was some swearing involved as well. However, most of the swearing was done by Marcus after seeing the reaction of the others. Orim fell down clutching his stomach in laughter.

Marcus grumbled, “Thank you for your support everyone. I feel so much better that you have explained to me what Adventurer versus Adventurer is.”

They all missed his sarcasm as that statement elicited a new round of laughter.

“Oh fuck off you assholic bastards. Stop laughing and tell me what this Adventurer versus Adventurer nonsense is.”

It took some time for the laughter to subside.

Kyrie finally said, “Adventurers can fight other adventurers in the game world. This is basically called Adventurer versus Adventurer. Each town, city or village has a separate arena where adventurers can fight each other. This is done for prestige, money or growing your skills. I am currently the reigning champion of Adventurer versus Adventurer in Solaris. And as I said before, I am sort of addicted to it. My teammate should understand this. Any city, town or village I visit, I am not going to leave until I become the champion or till I reach a point where there are no more opponents at my level. And as I said before, the majority of the adventurers do not understand this.”

Marcus nodded, “I see. That would mean that your teammate might want to move on to the next city or village or town but you would not until you are satisfied with your Adventurer versus Adventurer status.”

“You get it”, said Kyrie cheerfully, “I also have another criteria. I am a water nymph. As a result, I need to go to a water body once a month. The bigger the better. And before you ask, no, filling a tub with water does not count. Nor does a water body be surrounded by any form of technology. It has to be purely natural. I need this to survive.”

“That’s understandable.”

“So you see the difficulty I have with finding a teammate. I thought someone I fight with in the Adventurer versus Adventurer arena could be a good potential teammate. I was, however, wrong.”

“You are right. Opulential will be a good place for a potential teammate.”

“There is another option”, said Orin slowly.

Orin looked at Marcus pointedly. Marcus got what he was trying to say. Marcus sighed and said, “Kyrie, I think Orin is trying to set us up as teammates.”

Orin frowned and Kyrie laughed. She said, “I know. He told me the same thing. That you and I have the potential to be great teammates.”

“On what basis may I ask?” asked Marcus to Orin.

“On the basis that you both need teammates and I have a feeling that you would easily be able to accommodate Kyrie’s criteria”, replied Orin.

Marcus thought about it. He did not mind Kyrie’s criteria. They were not that preposterous. Just challenging. After all, he would get more time to read about the history of Una, the Game world and the Game masters. He had been thinking about that recently after Mára’s defeat. He really wanted to know more about this world. He wondered where his motivation came from. It was as if a force was compelling him to know more about this world, especially the game masters and the system they designed.

This is ridiculous, thought Marcus and shook his head. He looked up to see the others staring at him. It seemed that he had been lost in thought for some time now.

Marcus cleared his throat and said, “I do have my conditions though. First, I would be spending some time in the library in each of the cities, towns or villages that I visit. I believe you could be doing your thingy then. Secondly, if we get a critical quest where lives are at stake, then that quest takes priority. No Adventurering versus Adventurering at that time.”

“I don’t think that’s the correct connotation but continue”, muttered Orik.

“Thirdly”, continued Marcus, “I would like to get out of debt from NAIF fast. I know my debt may not be much but for some reason, I do not trust debts. It is currently one hundred and fifty thousand units and I do not want it to be even 1 unit. I know it is weird for an adventurer but these are my conditions.”

Kyrie thought for a moment. The dwarves looked at both Marcus and Kyrie alternatively.

Kyrie said slowly, “You only have a debt of hundred and fifty thousand units?”

“That is what troubles you”, said Oril, “I know it is large but it is nothing to be worried about.”

“That is large!” exclaimed Kyrie. She now frowned, biting her lip. Marcus had an inkling what was troubling her.

“Kyrie”, said Marcus carefully, “What is your debt to NAIF?”

She muttered something and Oril said, “What was that? Didn’t catch that.”

“One million two hundred units.”

There was a large silence after that. Everyone stared at Kyrie who looked very uncomfortable.

Then Marcus gave a short laugh, “And here I was worried about my debt.”

“Marcus”, chastised Orin.

“Sorry”, said Marcus, “But how is it this much?”

Kyrie answered by putting her bow down on the table. They all examined it.

Orin said, “By the gorking hairy ass of Gromlin. This is a hereditary item. From your home world. Integrated into Una’s system. Still. It would not cost so much.”

That was when Kyrie shared with them the information on the dress and the shorts she wore. There was another minute of silence before Orin said, “Okay, this is gorking unbelievable. Who the gork are you? I mean look at this gear. I mean the clothes are necessary for your survival and this bow. Are you royalty?”

Kyrie shook her head and said bitterly, “No, just someone who trusted NAIF and got into a lot of debt.”

The others did not have anything to say to this.

Marcus said after some time, “You know what Kyrie. Let’s give this a trial run. Let’s go to Opulential on foot rather than teleporting there. We can pick some quests in the wild if there are any quests in the wild and we can see if we can fight well in synchronization. What do you say?”

It was Orin who replied, “I think it is a ridiculous idea. There are no quests in the wild. There used to be. But there were some… accidents. In short, your idea does not work.”

Kyrie said, “True. I also need to go to Opulential fast. There is a natural waterfall near it. I need to go there for my monthly visit. I cannot waste time in the wilds. How about this? We do a trial run in Opulential. Will you be okay with that?”

Marcus thought for some time and said, “That could work”, he extended his hand forwards, “Potential team members?”

Kyrie shook it, “Potential team members.”

Then they all left. The dwarves left for the portal to their kingdom, which was on the North side of Solaris. Marcus and Kyrie left for The Flying Sow. Marcus wanted to talk with a gnome named Thimble Thinker before leaving Solaris.

As the Ori brothers watched Marcus and Kyrie walk away, Oril turned to Orin and said, “Orin, are you absolutely sure this is the right choice?”

Orin nodded, “Yes Oril. She will be safe this way. Now come on. To the portal.”

***

Leyda looked at the retreating backs of Marcus and Kyrie and she smiled. It seemed that the dwarves had given an initial push. Things were going according to her plan. They were together for now and Leyda would ensure that they would remain together. After all, one of them was her ace.

Leyda walked away from the two of them and disappeared. She moved on to her next task. She had to convince her champion to lead after all. Rauros would have already done it by now. She should hurry. She would weather out this invasion with the least casualties possible.