MMORPG: Rebirth of the Mortal Online - Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Second Decade
Creak—the door opened.

Adam stepped through the opening and entered a normal-looking inn room. It was smaller than the one in the Safe Area with one bed tucked in the corner, a plant sitting on the windowsill, and a small wooden table in the center of the room.

A set of thin, lacy curtains covered the window. The sound of rain tapping against the glass sounded soothing and calming. The rain was slowly calming down as well.

At the bed, a soft-looking woman stood up and bowed gracefully. “Welcome to the New World, Adam.”

“Muriel.” Adam said, closed the door, and took a seat at the table.

He then finally managed to relax himself and let out a satisfied smile. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t do much.” Muriel humbly responded and sat on the other side of the table. “You did all the work.”

“The Council of Mercenaries must be a bunch of hard-headed old geezers, aren’t I right?”

Muriel giggled and nodded, “They indeed are. Just, don’t say that near anyone else. They are widely respected.”

“I can’t imagine all of them agreeing with the score.” Adam crossed his legs. “Did they?”

“No, they didn’t.” Muriel shook her head. “There was a vote.”

“How did it go?” Adam asked. He knew he obviously won the vote, but wanted to know the total score.

“4-3,” Muriel said.

“May I ask who voted for which?” Adam asked.

“Why do you need to know?” Muriel tilted her head in confusion. “You shouldn’t know any of them.”

“I am a curious being.” Adam smiled. “Please?”

Muriel sighed, her cheeks blushing slightly, and then said, “Alright, geez.”

Adam interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them, waiting patiently for Muriel to continue.

“Alistair Fairchild, Athena Battleborn, Orion, and Zephyr voted in your favor.

“Ambrose Hawthorne, Bartholomew Ravenscroft, and Aria Darkstar were against it.”

“I see, haha.” Adam laughed. “I guess those three weren’t convinced. Oh well.”

“They had their own motives to vote against.” Muriel said and then smiled. “The truth is that you deserved it.”

“Mm…” Adam nodded and smiled gratefully. “Ron said I became a Mercenaryman, is that correct?”

“I’ll need to give you the blessing first.” Muriel said, then signaled with her finger to move closer. “Come on closer.”

Adam leaned across the table, and Muriel placed a hand on his forehead, closing her eyes in concentration.

A small light entered his head through the forehead.

Ding, ding!

A sound of notification rang throughout his ears.

***

[Name: Adam Palestar]

[Level: 1]

[XP: 0/1000]

[HP: 500/500]

[Rank: Mercenaryman]

[Weapon: Steel Shortsword + Round Shield]

[Shinecoin: 0]

[——SKILLS——]

[—Little God—]

[—Basic Blade Handling—]

[Inventory]

[Log Off]

***

“Ah…” Adam opened his eyes and saw his stats. ‘Yeah, just as I remembered. My health rose from 50 to 500, and I am now officially level 1. I am around twice as strong as before.’

“Congratulations.” Muriel said with a smile.

“Mm.” Adam leaned on the chair’s backrest and let out a sigh of relief. “I am in need of a good rest.”

Muriel stood up, placed her hands on her abdomen, and bowed.

“This will be our farewell. I’ll need to return to the Safe Area to do the final report and prepare for another group of recruits. It had been a pleasure.”

“Oh.” Adam stood up, approached her, and offered a hand. “I was lucky that I got you as my Handler, I’ll owe you.”

Muriel looked at the hand, smiled, and shook it gently. “No, thank you… I am now one of the S-rank Handlers.”

“Haha, your status has increased?” Adam asked curiously, as he wasn’t too sure about the world of Handlers and how they operated.

“Mm.” Muriel nodded. “As I am one of the six S-ranked Handlers, I’ll be Handler for the most promising recruits for now.”

“Mm, I see.” Adam nodded and let go of her soft hand. “You deserve it.”

“Be careful out there; the New World is full of dangers.” Muriel tiptoed, planted a soft kiss on his cheek as farewell, and then left the room.

As the door closed, Adam scratched his cheek and took a seat on the bed.

“Whoo…” He heaved a sigh of relief and stretched his limbs. “Alright, time to return…”

With those final words, he opened his interface and pressed the Log Out button for the first time ever. His avatar started to dissipate into nothingness, and soon he had disappeared from the room.

After a month of long tutorial, Adam was finally returning to the real world!

…

Somewhere in the New World.

The rain poured down in sheets, casting a shroud of mist over the empty streets of a large city.

At one of the buildings, lights were lit up, and loud commotion sounded from the inside that even the sound of rain hitting the ground couldn’t silence.

Drunken mercenaries laughed, sang some rowdy songs, and danced around the room with reckless abandon. The barkeeper had his hands busy, pouring drinks for the rowdy patrons who cheered with each round.

At the corner table, a messy, red-haired person napped with his face planted on the table that was filled with empty glasses and spilled beer.

He was snoring loudly, a stench of alcohol wafting from his body.

At that moment, a grin-faced person slammed another cup of alcohol on the table and laughed loudly. “Calamity, wakey, wakey!”

“Ngh…” The drunken man raised his messy face; he had scary crimson eyes and long red hair that was dirty and stained with alcohol. “What’cha want, ya dick?”

“You’re so unslightly.” The grin-faced person pinched his nose and waved his hand in annoyance. “Well, I happened to receive some news that might wake your drunken ass up!”

“Not interested, burp!” Calamity said lazily and burped loudly in response.

“Are you sure?” The grin-faced person showed his usual yellow-toothed grin. “Well, it happens so that you aren’t the latest S-ranker anymore. Haha. Congratulations!”

“Huh?” Calamity’s eyes shrank in response, and he sat slightly straighter. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“A new S-rank recruit just came straight from the womb of Mortal Online!” The grin-faced player laughed loudly. “I guess there’re now six of you monsters out there, haha!”

Calamity’s eyes turned cold. “Who is it?”

“Mm, some guy called Adam Palestar.” The grin-faced player responded, giggling like a child. “Apparently he beat the fuck out of the tutorial’s caretaker, haha! What a fucking monster!”

“Adam Palestar…” Calamity whispered coldly.

…

All around the New World, a new name appeared on everyone’s lips—Adam Palestar, the newest S-ranked recruit.

First, all the associates with the Seven Ancient Guilds received the news. Then, the word started to slowly spread like wildfire in every corner of the New World.

Wild rumors about the newest S-ranked recuirt started to spread—he was apparently a three-meter-tall monster with hands the size of basketballs. The news of his arrival was met with both excitement and fear.

Excitement from weaker mercenaries and fear from those with more experience about the ongoings of the New World. His appearance could spark a Guild War. It all depended on whose side he was going to join.

In either way, his arrival was going to shift the power dynamic of the New World.

This signaled the start of the new age—the second decade of Mortal Online started with a bang.

It was a sign that everything was about to change.

…

End of the First Volume – Regression.