Civilization

Evan eventually finishes his presentation, clicking a button to turn off the screen. At the same time, Kingston had just woken up from his sleep, dazed as he only caught a glimpse of the screen he slowly speaks his mind.

"Damn… That was a lot of content. I'm so glad I slept through that all." - Kingston

"Don't worry, you didn't miss anything." - Sabrina

"So, who should be I joining?" - Alice

"Isn't it Sam's, Pa Kaua? Like he is our employer…" - Adam

"I thought that didn't matter to you?" - Alice

"Uhh… It's called loyalty." - Adam

"Shut up, Adam. You ain't fooling anyone." - Sabrina

"MY GOSH! Who hurt you?" - Adam

"Anyway, looking at it objectively! The best places for a new person to start would either be Bone City, or Pa Kaua. Both 'look' to be the easiest places to start, with a lot of help from NPCs and players that are already there." - Nina

"And with the alliance between Devel and us, it will be even better." - Ian

"Alliance? What alliance?" - Evan

"Ah, I forgot to mention, but at the meeting over at Turquoise, we had a good run-in with Devel, and an alliance was mentioned. We took the offer and also formed an alliance with Crystal and Bleu, Infinity, and Adventure's Alliance." - Ian

"WAIT! You met THE Crystal?" - Evan

Rushing over to me faster than a cheetah attacking its prey, Evan grabs onto my shirt and pulls me close to him.

"What? What? What about Crystal?" - Ian

"DUDE! ARE YOU SERIOUS? IT IS THE CRYSTAL!!! One of the TOP female gamers of the century. A cold ice queen, that would freeze you with her gaze, and if you got unlucky or lucky enough to approach her, she would shut you down and step all over you, JUST like the dominatrix she is. An unbelievable sight to behold. A GODDESS, to us peasants. Plus I have a few posters of her in my old room. BUT, you are saying you saw, talked, and met up with her?" - Evan

"Uh… Yea? She was nice. Maybe a little cold at first, but once she opened up she was a warm and kind person." - Ian

"She was nice… huh?" - Rebecca

"Bad choice of words, Ian." - Kingston

"STOP! STOP! STOP! I DIDN'T HEAR THAT! CRYSTAL IS MY ICE QUEEN!" - Evan

"Ignore that idiot, Ian. What is the alliance supposed to achieve?" - Sabrina

Turning to Sabrina, who had gotten off her chair to pull the fan-crazed Evan back to his seat, I notice she had a slightly jealous look on her face. Her mouth was pouting a bit as she snuck glances at Evan.

"The alliance between RavenStar and Bones is vital for Sam's growth in the game. We already know that he was having some difficulties with Bones's players attacking him or his NPCs. Even during the event, there were instances where there would be some conflict. This alliance will prevent that, giving Sam some time to reinforce his troops and his village. Furthermore, there was an agreement to conduct a trade route between Bone City, Pa Kaua, and the village containing the Knights of the Round.

A trade route will help with resource management, both importing and exporting. It will create a road structure between the three villages, and create a more stable territory, after all, all three villages are in the range of the Horde. More players will be able to travel between the villages, constantly eliminating any threats, and eventually, they will expand their area of influence further and further outward.

As for the alliance with Infinity and Adventure's Alliance, it was just my networking. Talking to them, and eventually, the topic of an alliance popped up, taking advantage of the time, I accepted it. They are both located in the South, fighting off Reaper's army in real-time, compared to us having to be transported into the Glemt. While we have no way of communicating in-game, there might come a time when we do eventually meet them. It's better to be friendly than to be enemies in my opinion." - Ian

"Understandable. I guess I have to find a way to be connected with Sam soon then, I want to reap the benefits as well." - Sabrina

"If you can make a trade from your village, Sabrina, to Sam's then the trade route will be connected to 4 villages." - Nina

"Exactly. I think that was what was going through Sam's mind too, even though he didn't mention it." - Ian

"There is more to this game than I thought…" - Alice

"As I said, Alice, don't worry about it. Just follow orders. It will be easy." - Adam

After a bit more discussion, eventually, it was time to have some food, and with Alice nearby, she went ahead to prepare our meal. The rest of the day passed by quite quickly, with everyone doing their own things. I even had some time to myself to talk to Selino, as I walked along the perimeter of Sam's abode.

"Selino. Are you there?" - Ian

"..." - Selino

"Selino… I know you are there. Just say something." - Ian

"Deary~ You were the one that ignored me first." - Selino

"I know. I know. I did it, so I didn't need to think about another person inside my own head, but I gave it some thought, throughout the day. Well… I can't ignore you forever…" - Ian

"That's right, deary~ We are connected as one being now. So, entertain me. What did you want to talk about?" - Selino

"It's about our situation, and well, what are your thoughts on this world, compared to yours? I'm curious about what is going through your head as you look through my eyes, experiencing what I am experiencing." - Ian

"Hmm… Our situation is unique, to say the least. I didn't expect that to you my world is a game, but at the same time, I understood that there was a different world out there, after all, I know about the merge. What blew my mind the most was the difference in culture between our two worlds. While yours is built by only humans, for humans, my world is divided into so many different smaller worlds, built for that specific race.

Your advancement in technology is far greater than anything I have seen. Even dwarven creations may pale in comparison but, there is no mana in this world. No magic. Which is the defining difference. Mana in our world is what gives it life, whereas here, technology gives the world life but also takes it. There are pros and cons in both worlds. OH! Maybe~ that's why there is a merge, to combine both pros and cons." - Selino

"An interesting theory, Selino. I never thought of it like that. I'm glad you are enjoying yourself, and discovering all of this." - Ian

"Oh, don't worry deary. I am having my own fun here." - Selino

"Ah, huh. Is there anything else you have to tell me?" - Ian

"Not really~ Oh maybe~ But don't worry, I'll tell you when the time comes." - Selino

"Right, right. You never want to tell me anything." - Ian

"Well, did you know this saying, Ian deary~ A secret makes a woman, woman. Maybe you need to do some research on ladies~ I'm going to sleep now! Talk to you in the morning, deary~" - Selino

"Sigh… Goodnight." - Ian

Using that as a cue, I made my way back to my room, where I saw Rebecca already preparing the bed. Talking to her for a bit before sleeping, I found out she was feeling excited about all the new things that were about to happen in the game. Like a child, she talked and talked until eventually, she fell asleep next to me. Giving her a kiss on her forehead, I tucked her in and went to sleep next to her, holding her tight.

The next morning, after breakfast, Sam calls everyone to an underground facility. Following Adam and Eve, we walked into an elevator that took us to B5. The moment the doors opened, we were greeted with a small corridor, leading to a singular pair of steel doors. Tapping a card on the side of the door, Adam leads us into the room. At this point, neither of them had told us anything, even with Evan pestering them all the way down, but I guess they didn't need to.

Once the doors opened, standing in the middle of a large enclosed white room, was Sam. Leaning on a metal rack, he had an enormous smile on his face, as he motions us to come over. The sheer size of the room was comparable to a football stadium, and all of this was underground.

"WELCOME! EVERYONE! This is our training room. Today, everyone here will be training to use their weapons. Why, you may ask? Especially since you didn't need to do it prior to today. WELL! That is because, our intelligence team has unearthed some information over at Aqua's headquarters. They have a specialized team, working with their players to develop martial arts skills. Even if it is a basic sense of it.

I wondered, why are they doing this, but then I realized. The capsule… They must connect more with our brains and our motor actions. Which means you should be able to use real world skills in the game, or at least replicate it enough to help with in game battles. WHO KNOWS! BUT! I don't see any harm with just having a good work out session while we wait for things to be delivered. SO! Take your weapons!" - Sam