Ascension: Online

"Hah… finally done!" Hina-nee let out a deep breath of relief and closed the book she had been reading.

"What did you learn, Hina-nee?" I asked with a wry smile.

"Hm… before that, I'm hungry," she snickered, then turned to me with the sad puppy dog eyes. "You wouldn't let your precious onee-san talk for an hour on an empty stomach, would you?"

I met her gaze, and after a momentary mental debate, I sighed and gave in, standing up. "Yes, yes… let's go, Hina-nee."

"Yay! Kaze-kun is the best!" she leapt up and hugged me tightly, like an innocent child.

Sometimes, it was harder to tell who was the older sibling between the two of us.

*****

The two of us decided to just go eat without informing the others, since if we talked about our findings in front of them, they would obviously wonder why we were talking about that. I could just say I wanted to find out more about the 'lore' of Ascension: Online, but that was a questionable excuse. Moreover, with Ichigo and Horiya there, it would be difficult for Hina-nee and I to have a proper one-on-one conversation to exchange our findings.

We went to a different restaurant from the one we ate at last night, since that one was too expensive to be eating everyday. Even if we were rich, that didn't mean we had an infinite amount of money. What we needed was a stable income supply - something other than completing quests and whatnot. Something akin to a 'job' in this new world…

But that comes after. For now, we just needed to share our discoveries with each other.

"So, Hina-nee, are you full now?" I asked once we were finished eating.

She whistled. "Yep! Thank you, Kaze-kun!"

I sighed. "Don't mention it. Now then, what did you find out in that book about Ascentian myths and legends? You were engrossed in it for quite a while."

"Well, of course I was!" she exclaimed. "The fables and fairy tales of another world… how can I not be interested?"

I scratched my cheek awkwardly. "Uh… so, did you find anything that was useful to our current situation?"

She nodded. "For the most part, the book was filled with stories just like the myths and legends of our old world. But among them, there was one in particular that stood out."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"It's a tale about Astrasil, the massive tree at the center of the island."

"Hm… according to A.R.X.A.'s information, that tree is closely related to our goal of Ascending."

"Indeed. The tale I speak of is in fact about Ascending."

"Interesting. Let's hear it."

Hina-nee took a deep breath, and began summarizing the story to me.

"To explain, I would have to begin with the history of the tree. Astrasil, also known as the Tree of Life, could be said to be the origin of all creation on Ascentia. According to legends, Ascentia gave birth to the six races - humans, elves, demihumans, dwarves, vampires, and demons. Two members of each race, one male and one female, were suddenly materialized one day in a shimmer of light. The various races expanded from there. Civilization was created, and kingdoms formed one by one."

"I see… so Astrasil is akin to the God of this world," I murmured in thought.

"Correct, Kaze-kun. Some people even refer to Astrasil as 'the Mother'."

"So… what does that have to do with Ascending?"

Hina-nee smiled. "You see, because they see Astrasil as 'God', the various races of Ascentia believe that by Ascending, they can be granted any wish they want."

"Any wish… but this is just mere speculation, no? There's no way to guarantee that's really true."

"It is mere speculation, but it is one that everyone believes in. Think of it like the concept of an afterlife back on Earth, except everyone believes there really is one."

"So, essentially, everyone living in Ascentia share one common belief?" I conjectured.

"Pretty much. There's no evidence to prove this conjecture is true, but at the same time, there isn't any evidence that proved this conjecture to be false, either," Hina-nee replied, shrugging.

"The Devil's Proof, huh?" I murmured, referencing the well-known logical dilemma, also known as probatio diabolica. Basically, what it meant in this case was since there wasn't any proof that disproved Astrasil's wish-granting abilities, that meant Astrasil could very well have such powers.

Essentially, failing to disprove a given statement in fact proves said statement in a way. That was the heart of the logical dilemma known as the Devil's Proof.

"That said, the two of us know that it's true since A.R.X.A told us," Hina-nee continued. "Astrasil clearly does have sort of special power if it can allows us to cross realities back to our old world."

I nodded. "But… this is actually pretty troublesome."

"Hm? How so?"

"I told you about the eight tablets, correct? If what you say is true, then not only would we have to compete against other players attempting to beat this game, but also the natives of Ascentia who are trying to have their wish granted."

Hina-nee tilted her head. "Ah… I see, that's true. But it's not like that'll stop us, right? Hehe~"

I sighed. "Yeah… was there anything else you discovered?"

"Not that much. I did find a few interesting tales about love and stuff though, if you want to hear them!"

I immediately put a stop to that. "No thanks."

If I let Hina-nee start telling stories, there would be no end to it, and I wasn't keen on spending the rest of my day listening to her ramble. There was still one more place I would like to visit - it had, just like Qilian Library, attracted my gaze when I first entered this city.

The name of the place?

The Hunter's Guild.

*****

After paying, I led Hina-nee back to the library to pick up Ichigo and Horiya. As for Jim, he said he had a class to teach in the afternoon, so he couldn't accompany us. Unfortunate, but that was fine - he could check the place out on his own later.

"Geez, Igarashi, can't believe you just went off to eat without even telling us," Ichigo muttered in complaint as he chewed on a meat kebab.

"Eat with your mouth shut," I reprimanded coldly. "Also, I already bought you those kebabs as payment, didn't I? So quit whining."

"He'sh right, Ichigo, thish shtuff ish good!" Horiya mumbled with his mouth full of food.

Clearly, he had not been listening to what I said, despite saying I was right.

I facepalmed and Hina-nee patted me gently on the back in comfort.

We arrived at the building I was looking for soon after. Though it was only two stories tall, the overall size of this place was on par with Qilian Library. The reason for this was the structure of the building - instead of being tall and skinny like the library, this one was short and extremely wide.

"The Hunter's Guild…?" Ichigo murmured as he read out what the sign above the entrance wrote. "Igarashi, was this what you wanted to show us?"

Without responding, I walked inside.

It was bustling with people. Because of this, it was extremely loud, and I had to cover my ears at first. After a few seconds though, I got used to it.

I surveyed our surroundings. Some people sat at tables drinking beer and laughing, while others were lining up behind receptionists to speak with them. A third group was looking at the bulletin board that seemed to have various notes pinned on it.

From young women to old men in their retirement ages, this place had it all. Humans, elves, and even demihumans came and go in this building - all three races that inhabited Azrine, the Land of Nature.

Despite the cheerful atmosphere, however, I felt the tension in the air with just a single glance. Hina-nee did so too, but Ichigo and Horiya still seemed painfully unaware. It was clear that the various races were sticking to themselves, despite all of them being in the same building. I noticed that no group sitting at the same table had members from different races, and that the demihumans around all had an expression of resentment on their faces - some fear, some hatred.

In fact, I judged the only reason there weren't any fights breaking out was because of the various strong-looking people sitting around, filled to the brim with high-quality equipment and armor.

In all honesty, I didn't really care if a fight broke out here, as long as it didn't come to us one way or another. I just came here to check things out, since the name 'Hunter's Guild' interested me. From experience, this should be something similar to an Adventurer's Guild from isekai manga. If that was correct, then this would mean a stable source of income for Hina-nee and I, as well as a good way of farming XP. Who knows? Maybe some quests will even trigger if I join.

Having made my decision, I stepped forward and entered the shortest line to meet a receptionist, with the others following behind me.