Vol 2 Chapter 1.08 (1/2)

Chapter 1: The Raid

Part 8

The island of Lao Thai followed a Chinese theme. However, that did not mean that it was an exact copy of China. It only had a very strong Chinese vibe.

The city of Payang lay on the southern tip of the island.

Countless tower-like buildings filled the large city. With a population of fifty thousand, this was a place for the over three thousand adventurers who had lost their way in Sky World. Many airs.h.i.+ps were anch.o.r.ed at the airport, and trade with other islands flourished. People, goods, and information were exchanged for money. Many more adventurers came to this island for this convenience.

Jun heard from Alice that there were about sixty thousand players roaming Sky World. About five percent of those players came together in Payang.

It was a bustling city. Many people were moving down the streets at all times. Many establishments, not just shops for ordinary people, serviced adventurers around here. Only on this island was an auction system established..

Furthermore, the presence of so many people meant that trouble could also sprout up more easily&h.e.l.lip;

“Hey, wait! Don’t be violent!”

Jun heard that as he entered a hidden alleyway. It came from a shop nearby. “Second-Hand Store” was written on the quaint little stone building’s front sign.

The term/concept of the “second-hand shop” was said to have been first used by Yuuji Horii, developer of the famous RPG, Dragon Quest. Considering that those shops traded in all sorts of items, not restricted to just weapons or armor, and that anybody would instantly recognize the name of that game, the store became fairly well known.

In other words, it was a shop selling miscellaneous items that served people who knew of Dragon Quest, namely all the adventurers who went in.

“Trouble in that store?” Jun thought to himself as he tilted his head. “The shopkeeper was&h.e.l.lip;”

Jun opened the door. Stuff had been scattered all over the place. A big man twisted a short young girl’s arm from across the counter. Though the young girl struggled violently, she would not let go of the bag in her left hand.

“I told you to give that to me! I said I would pay as much as you wanted!”

“No! This is for other customers! Please leave already!”

The two of them, franticly struggling with each other, did not notice Jun’s entry. That came in handy, as Jun could quietly observe the situation. When he squinted, he could see their character names floatingabove their heads. The girl’s name was&h.e.l.lip; Ryuka. Even if Jun had not met her before, he would have known that she was one of the owners of the store. The other, pushy guy was&h.e.l.lip;

Zakka. His guild was called the Illusionary Brigade. It was a large guild of over fifty members. Even though they were known as diehards who were willing to PK, causing such a racket in the center of town&h.e.l.lip;

“Hey, stop it.”

The man turned around, still holding Ryuka’s arm.

“Stay out of this!. Shut up.”

“I’ll call the guards.”

Ordinary people in Sky World were no match for those kinds of people who wouldn’t easily give in. However, when such adventurers acted violently in town, the city government would deal with them by force.

In most games, it was forbidden for towns to become battlefields. In some of them, whenever somebody acted violently, strong guards would come and defeat the perpetrator.

In Sky World, Knight Golems, took on this role as city guards. As soon as they catch wind of a disallowed act being committed in the middle of the street, they would rush in and subjugate those involved.

This man would have been killed by the Knight Golems. He let go of the girl, and then, with a stern look from Jun, left the store.

Jun peeked his head out the door and waited until Zakka disappeared into the crowd of people out in the main street. Afterwards, he sighed and closed the door.

“Ah, thank you. You have my grat.i.tude, Jun.”

Ryuka got up and brushed the dust off of her skirt.

“What happened?”

“He came in saying that he would buy me out&h.e.l.lip; that he would buy everything in the store. When I said that I couldn’t do it in antic.i.p.ation of other customers, he responded with violence&h.e.l.lip;”

As if she was remembering what had happened, the short girl s.h.i.+vered. She was scared. Such violent situations were bound to make her feel that way.

“I’m an elementary schooler, so I guess he might have just been teasing me.”

“Does that have anything to do with it? That guy was vicious.”

Instructional tablets were given out to a few elementary school students as well. Consequentially, there were a few of them who ended up in Sky World.

Ryuka’s situation was complicated. Her younger brother wanted to play some games, and so he installed Sky World on her tablet.

“It’s my fault for having given my pa.s.sword to my little brother,” Ryuka said, as she smiled bitterly. “Well, my little brother was the one who was playing games, but the one who came to this world was me. I’m actually a bit happy about that. He’s still only four years old. If he was the one thrown into this world, surely he would have no idea what to do.”

Ryuka was her brother’s name, and was reserved for boys. It was probably used somewhere in Dragon Quest.

Her real name was Momoko Tamas.h.i.+ro. She didn’t enjoy this world and wanted to return home soon. She told Jun she had spent her first week in here crying and hoping for just that.

Though many people had wanted to install Sky World, that same feeling was probably widespread. Even now, there were many players in the city who would confine themselves inside. Sometimes, they fought monsters just outside the city, just to earn enough money to survive. Their ability to adventure was comparable to that of any ordinary person. They had lived their lives in comfort, indulging themselves in whatever they could possibly want.

If somebody made it to Aion on the first island ring, these days trapped here would end.

Believing in that, they would hide themselves until the storm would come to end. Jun thought that in their case, that was probably the one best choice. They had been dragged to this world against their will. It was not fair to expect them to be as active as Jun, who had come to this world voluntarily.

On the other hand, some of them got back on their feet. Being a shopkeeper was a childhood dream of Ryuka’s. In this world, she felt she could realize her dreams.