The next day came in the blink of an eye. More so, the city looked different in the morning.

Tony sat by the bus window, watching the endless stream of people moving through the streets. Merchants pushed carts loaded with goods. Children ran between stalls while vendors shouted their wares.

It was usually busy.

The only thing that differentiated Monarch City and the other three Guild cities is that each inhabitants was considered to possess the innate talent required to awaken as Players... unlike in the Commoner city, where this phenomenon is more of a myth than reality.

Across from Tony, Kratos had his usual relaxed posture, one hand supporting his cheek while the other held another manhwa. The only difference with his attire is that instead of having his sword crossed at his back, he left it to hang diagonally at his side.

But...

What really mused Tony was how Kratos kept finding all the manhwas he had been reading as of recent. True, he hadn’t checked out the desks yet due to his busy schedules, but does the previous Tony love manhwa this much as to have so many of them?

And they were all interesting books.

"You’ve been staring outside since we boarded this bus. Is everything alright, little brother?"

"Yeah. I’m just thinking."

"Thinking? A problem shared is a problem solved. What could be eating your mind with thoughts at such a young age?"

"Young age? I’m eighteen, for crying out loud."

"But still..."

Tony scoffed and turned his attention back to the window, once again looking out through it.

Before he had been rummaging through his mind with the letter Sandra had left him the other night, and then there was also the system’s quest.

Sandra’s letter didn’t seem to make any sense at all. She had written it to make him not worry much of her well-being, as things in the guild seemed to be taking another toll.

However, he didn’t understand why his heart was fluttering the least bit at the thought of her safety. Now, for some reason, he didn’t want to see her get hurt and instead wished for her to always be safe.

But if there was one thing her letter was making him feel, it was making him feel that everything is going to turn out wrong and in an awful way soon enough.

What could it be that has warranted so much attention for top-ranked players of the guild? Why will she ask him to take care of himself? Why will she "promise" out of the blue that she will be alright and that he doesn’t have to worry about her?

Everything just screamed danger to his thoughts.

And then, there was the system’s quest, which had come out of the blue as well. Just the moment he had approached her letter, the quest materialized.

He called it up again, and it appeared before his face with a familiar chime.

[Major and Minor Quests Received.]

[Minor Quest: Completely Clear an F-Rank Dungeon.

Time Limit: 48 hours

Objective: Level up as much as you can.

Reward: +1,000 FGP.

Failure: 50% of all stats get drained.]

---

[Major Quest: Raid the Abandoned Village {Defeat the Village Boss}.

Time Limit: 30 days

Reward: ???

Failure: None.]

The more Tony looked at the system’s quest, the more confused he became.

The system had given him a minor quest, which he was supposed to complete with two days at most, and attached to the quest was even a punishment should he neglect it.

’I was getting worried about not getting quests from the system. Now I got one; how can I neglect it?’

And so to say, it was an F-rank dungeon for crying out loud. That should be easy peasy for him considering how much he had advanced of recent. And there was also another catch.

The system hadn’t specified that he should solo the dungeon. Meanwhile...

His gaze turned to Kratos, whose attention was once more buried in his book.

’I don’t think he would want to lend a hand. Besides, F-rank monsters are mere chickens in his sight. Tsk.’

That said, there was the major quest.

To raid the Abandoned Village, and it even went ahead to specify that he should defeat the village boss.

’Where did I hear about the Abandoned Village again?’

His mind turned out to be a bit foggy, but all he knew was that all these areas were located on the second floor. If anything, as a starter, he was sure the guild wouldn’t allow him to outright begin to clear regular dungeons.

If anything, he was going to start with the tutorial grounds in the second floor set out for newly awakened players.

In that case, he wondered if other newly awakened players had also been invited to collect their Player IDs today as well. If that’s the case, are they also going to be willing to test the tutorial grounds immediately?

Well, that remained unanswered until he got to the guild and saw for himself. However, there was one other thing about the major quest that is troubling.

’No punishment? And the reward is locked?’

How can a minor quest have a punishment attached to it, and one that would weaken him by a very substantial amount at that? And yet, a major quest bears none?

What is going on, really?

***

Soon, the bus came to a halt in front of a district, allowing both Kratos and Tony to alight from it before it moved on. Then, both of them crossed the road to the other side and began making their way forward.

Soon, the buildings of The Monarchs Guild became larger and taller, and as expected, looked more expensive than other buildings in the city.

The district looked more like a small city in a city. Massive stone structures towered over the surrounding streets.

In each building, the bold symbol of the guild shone out on their top wall front. A golden crown with the large, capital alphabet "M" with a golden sword that ran through its middle in half.

Tony discerned the views in their full glory. If he were to relate it to his world back on Earth, he would say the district looked more like an estate that had been dedicated specifically to government officials.

Now then, guided by his inherited memories, he led the way, Kratos trailing his step until they arrived in front of a familiar building.

This building was the Guild’s auditorium, and it was familiar to him because he had accompanied Sandra the year before to come and collect her own Player ID at the time.

And now that he was here, it also became clear to him that today was more like an induction of the newly awakened players. More like, a day especially dedicated to players of his caliber.

Waving the thoughts off, Tony stepped into the auditorium and was immediately greeted by the enormous lobby. Crystal chandeliers hung overhead, and multiple reception desks stretched across the room.

Magical screens that were illusioned to float in the air displayed quests and announcements and, more importantly, how the ranking system worked.

Tony immediately paused in his steps and looked over, taking note of the rankings.

F Rank → Level 1 - 20

E Rank → Level 21 - 40

D Rank → Level 41 - 70

C Rank → Level 71 - 100

B Rank → Level 101 - 130

A Rank → Level 131 - 160

S Rank → Level 161 - 200

’Wait, don’t tell me that Sandra has advanced to an A-rank player in just one year. When next I see her, I will verify her level,’ Tony thought, trying to imagine how powerful Sandra would be in battle especially with her tri-elementalist class.

And then, his point was also proved. The rankings ended at "S," and just like he presumed, it meant that Kratos’ real power was equivalent to five S-rank players joined.

"Little brother, I will wait for you over there," Kratos said, pointing at the audience seat section. "Go get your player ID, and we will plan out next steps."

Tony nodded, a surprised expression on his face.

Kratos was really good at acting in weird ways. This minute, he would seem not to care; another minute he becomes overly concerned, and in another minute, he’s acting all serious.

Well... whatever.

Tony pivoted and headed to one of the reception desks. The receptionist smiled professionally on seeing Tony approach her.

"Welcome to the Monarchs Guild. How may I assist—"

Her voice stopped. Her eyes widened.

’Is this a human being? How can a human be so handsome? Will he exchange contact with me? Am I finally going to marry soon?’

A blush plastered on the receptionist’s face, oblivious to her.

Tony noticed this and seemed indifferent to it. Why should he be surprised?

Those gathered in this auditorium might not have paid attention when he entered, but he knew if they did, what happened in the street when he went to get himself a sword would surely happen again. Or so he thought.

He turned to where Kratos should have settled, and his suspicion was immediately confirmed.

The young-old swordsman was busy collecting female contacts.

"Sorry, is there any problem?" Tony turned back to the receptionist, acting as though nothing concerned him.

"Uhm... nothing at all," the receptionist immediately said in panic, as she tried her best to conceal her emotions to no avail.

"Well, uh, my name is Lyra. Sorry, I mean, what is your name, sir?"

"Tony Starke."

The moment Tony answered, her face turned blank.

It seemed her plan won’t work anymore, plus, is this really the popular Tony Starke? How had he changed this much?

"Hello, miss. Please, I’m in a hurry. I’ve come to claim my ID. A new awakener."

"Right away."

The receptionist rifled through some files in the desk of the counter she was occupying and clicked some buttons in the system before her. It didn’t take long to process, and a card was immediately printed through one of the machines that was stationed beside her.

"This is your Player ID, sir. Please do not forget to log in to the Player Forum during your leisure."

Tony collected the card — a plastic card — and his eyes swiftly scanned the details on it. It still carried exactly the details as when the supervisors had scanned out of him.

However, it seemed this receptionist didn’t pay attention to details due to her fantasy earlier; if not, Tony wondered what her reaction would be considering that of the supervisors.

Tony turned to leave but paused and returned.

"I was also going to ask, how can I visit the tutorial grounds? I think I’m ready to face it..."

Tony didn’t finish his words when applause caught his attention, followed by a grumpy voice he didn’t recognize its owner.

"Not so fast, Mr. Tony Starke. Haha, not when I’ve come all this way so that I can have fun."

Tony was surprised to see that the words were addressed to him. Plus—

His eyes scanned the people who trailed behind the voice’s owner like he was their leader. And on the other side was another group.

The stranger thing about what was happening right now was that, although he didn’t recognize these beings, he recognized their attire very well.

"The situation is... what is really going on?"