Blind Gunner

5.

I had hoped to get an hour or two of sleep after returning home from the hospital, but it appears that plan failed. A message from the bank arrived on my phone. The boy isn't fooling around. He had already deposited funds into my account. That means I can't go back. Back off, or I'll have to return all of the money. I need that money right now. I guess as long as this job isn't too bad, I'll take it.

“Should I start playing now?”

Yoga is very busy. Of course, I can't disturb him. He said he would only help me from Friday to Sunday, the rest Graf would teach me.

I began browsing on a whim. Neo sent me a link to a website with information about the 9 Guardians, including discussion forums. I immediately asked to join the forum, hoping that someone would assist me if I got into trouble. It didn't take long to wait; only 30 minutes later, somebody added me.

“Hi… dear, welcome to 9 Guardians Indonesian!!” Someone, or perhaps an engine, messaged me!

“Thank you for letting me join this group. Nice to meet you; I'm new here!" Everyone greeted me warmly. Didn't expect that the game that has been released for 7 years still has many players, unfortunately, I don't understand what they're talking about. Maybe this is the chat of experienced players who already know the ins and outs of this game. This is where I am still a newbie and feel like a foreigner. I chose to remain silent and listen to what they had to say.

On a whim, I opened the PC to log in to 9 Guardians while continuing to monitor the forum discussion. It was just after noon, and the place was already crowded.  walked through the crowd, watching the players one by one. Some of them decided to wear large shields with iron armor that looked like black dragon scales. There is also a white bear costume that appears to be very cute. I felt like I was being drawn away from my real world, to a place that I could only read from story books and be a part of.

I walked through the entire Filanesia city. Memorize the location of each NPC (Non-Playable Character)  and understand the function of each of them. Walk past a row of classic-style houses with green roofs. The main street is tiled in gray with a mix of emeralds and overcast colors, with a large bridge and 70s street lamps along the bridge. All of that is then combined with soft soothing music. I'm currently in Filanesia, which is a save point accessible to all players of varying levels. The area is extremely crowded and serves as a major trading hub.

From a distance, I noticed a crowd in the town square. In the center of the 50-meter diameter area, there is a large statue of a goddess known as the god of wisdom, who is the main character of the game's main quest. Regrettably, Yoga prevents me from completing the main quest until I reach level 200. He wants me to use the main quest experience points to help me complete the goal of returning Monck to the latest level cap in a year.

"Cik, what are you doing here?" A player with IGN Yooga messaged me. 

“Did you have to work!” I was surprised when this young doctor can be logged in to 9 Guardians while may be still in the hospital at this hour.

"On a break time. Turn on discord! I have something to show you.” I followed Yooga, he brought me into the crowd.

"Cik, could you hear my voice?" We communicate via discord. Yoga's voice sounded very low. "Sorry if it's slow, I only log in until 1 o'clock".

"It's fine," I didn't even think he could log in in the middle of his workday.

"This is a task for you after I log off later. First, you learn all the existing skills in Monck. Next, you learn to play with random parties, then try dungeons!”

"Does it mean?" I do not understand. “Random parties?” Can't he use a language that's easier for me to understand?!

"Use chat messages to invite players and make a group. Then Dungeon," Yoga stepped back from the crowd. A large virtual screen with the names of the players is located near a building with rows of colorful stained glass. Some of the people whose names are on the screen are also present. Yooga pointed to the screen and said, "This is a dungeon."

"That screen?"

“No,”

Yooga asked me to follow him. We took the rocky path into the forest. "Should we go to the palace?" My only guess came when I noticed the roof of a large, majestic structure across the forest.

"Yeah, I'll explain the chapter 1 mission a little later." The Celestial tower is located within the palace. There are already 300 floors there as of today."

“That must be very high?!”

"No. Not that high.  We should defeat certain monsters to progress from the first to the second floor. The difficulty increases as the level increases. The team in the top 100 that completes the challenge in the shortest time will have their name displayed on the previous screen. It will only open 10 floors in one day and will be reset every 30 days. So take advantage of this opportunity!" That means the names on the screen in the middle of the city are great players!” I see now. That means the names on the screen in the middle of the city belong to great people.

"They must be great people. The one whose name is displayed on the screen!"

"There are no PVP (Player Versus Player) or guild war features in this game. We usually only show the team's strength or the guild's greatness from the dungeon. This tactic is also used by guild leaders to entice new or desired players to join their guilds. Guilds with members in the top 10-20 will typically find it easy to recruit new members."

For a long time, I remained silent. Taking in the scene in front of us. Some were still following, coming from the dense forest that separated the palace and the city. "Are they lining up to get into the tower?"

"Yes," said Yoga. 

Because there are so many people, this is where I start to feel threatened. Even though they weren't real people, they seemed very close to me. "I want to try," I don't know what possessed me to say that.

"I can't accompany you. My break time is almost over,” Yoga said goodbye. He had to get back to his job.

...

“Looking for a party!” I sent a message. I was hesitant to invite someone outright, afraid that they would reject me.

"Would you like to join us?" One of the Phantom IGN players replied to my message. "We still need two more."

“Ok,” I chose to agree.

I felt very inferior when I was with them. My team's lowest level is mine. Phantom was at level 200, while another IGN Evolver player was already at level 205.

“Sorry, but I'm new here”.

"It's ok. We just have fun,” Phantom is very friendly. His words calmed me down. We waited for a long time at the tower's door, perhaps nearly 20 minutes. Phantom, the team leader, sends a message to see if any players require the team, but to no avail. "Start with 3?" There didn't seem to be any other option, or we'd be the last team to enter the dungeon.

"Let's wait until it's full!" We're bringing garbage right now!"

“Don't say that! We are starting from a newbie!” Phantom stared at me. “Let's start with 3! We can't wait for anymore.”

“Ok,” yes… there is no other choice. We were forced to start with 3 people. “Phantom, are U tanks?” They both turned to me.

"Yup. Let me hit first," he smiled. I like him, he is very friendly. We entered a wooden door with a lily flower pattern on it and gold ornaments. A long hallway with black tiles and rows of iron soldiers lined the left and right of the hallway greeted us as soon as the door was opened. This is my first time trying the celestial tower. "I hope we can find 1 more inside," yes I also hope the same thing.

At the end of the hall again I saw an armored wooden door. We stopped in front of the door, while I saw several other players heading for a portal. “Start from the first floor! Monck new here!” Evo said. 

“Yups!”

I see, we have to start the celestial tower from the first floor because I've never been here before.

“Don't be a burden for us, dude!” I ignored Evo's words, focusing on what I had to do now.

Behind the wooden door was a misty swamp area, not the room I had imagined. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the sound of insects. Thousands of cranes flew away as a result of the noise we made while walking through the thick, sticky green mud. As soon as the wooden door closed by itself, the warm air outside dropped dramatically and oxygen levels depleted. I was fooled by the door.