The following moment, Aron made his way towards the closest city, a place called Luzin.
As mentioned before, each city had its specific uses within a certain country, and because of this, experienced players knew exactly where to go in certain cities if they needed something specific.
Luzin, for instance, was known as the City of Trade, a sprawling urban hub where merchants and all kinds of businesses could be found in every corner, from humble street stalls to massive stone emporiums.
It did not take Aron too long to remember the map and navigate through the dense crowd of NPCs walking around the stone-paved roads.
From what he could see while he walked, the only other players he noticed were most likely those with the Citizen role, people who had been granted a sum of money from the game the moment the system activated.
Most of them were probably looking for businesses to buy or something relating to long-term wealth.
As for the other Extractors, none of them were likely to be in the city of Luzin yet.
If anything, they should be out in the wild or near the Summoning Grounds, trying to understand how to effectively fight and survive in this new world.
But since Aron knew most of what they did not, his method of preparation was very different from what they had planned.
"Good morning, traveler! What can I get for you today?"
The man behind the counter spoke with a huge, practiced smile on his face while looking back at Aron.
Kylee's Blacksmith Shop.
This was the name written on the weathered wooden sign at the front of the building before Aron took the initiative to walk inside.
When compared to the other high-end shops around the trade district, it was not anything impressive at all; it was the kind of modest workshop that anyone could see and easily dismiss in favor of more glittering displays.
But Aron was well aware of what he could get from such an unassuming place.
"I would like to purchase a weapon, please," Aron asked, wasting no time as he pointed directly at the red-hilted dagger hanging on the counter at the side of the shop.
The man, looking no older than thirty, turned his gaze there and was immediately surprised that the young gentleman would go for something like that.
He let out a small, honest chuckle.
"Mr, I know I hung it on the wall, and because of that you might think it is some grand, legendary weapon. But I assure you, it is only a white-value weapon—the lowest of the low. I only put it up there because it was my first work as an apprentice, and I keep it for sentimental reasons more than anything else."
'Just like in the game.'
That bit of dialogue confirmed it even more. The world was following the script of the beta perfectly.
"It is a beautiful blade. I want it," Aron replied firmly.
The blacksmith was quite confused, but seeing as the man before him was choosing to ignore his warning and still wanted to buy the blade anyway, he had no choice but to simply oblige a paying customer.
"If you insist."
The man walked out from behind the counter and moved toward the shelf.
After picking up the dagger, he moved towards Aron and stretched it out towards him.
"There you go. That will cost you exactly 1 credit point," said the man, clearly disappointed to have wasted his time on a customer that only wanted to get something so cheap and useless.
Aron took the dagger from him, feeling the weight of the metal in his palm. A screen immediately popped up.
[Name: Useless Dagger.
Special Effect: None.
Durability: 100.]
It was the same blade; nothing had changed from his memories of the beta.
Confirming this, it was only natural that Aron would pay the man for his service.
He swiped the air before him, opening his account balance, and the blacksmith did the same. Once this happened, a small string of light connected both their screens, allowing the digital currency to be transferred instantly.
[1 credit point has been deducted.]
"T-thank you for shopping here," the man said, showing a somewhat fake gratitude as he prepared to return to his work.
Only for his face to spark up with renewed interest when Aron spoke again.
"I would like to get something else."
…
The 'Useless Dagger' was the name the creator of the game had given to the weapon, mainly because of its multiple bugs that they could never seem to fix for some reason during the development phase.
While Aron was pointing out each bug about the weapon during the beta, he had noticed how its shape would constantly change or how its numbers would reduce and increase at will.
Each of these bugs usually caused the developers extra time to fix, and they were relentless and hardworking when it came to making sure every weapon was without flaws.
All but this one single dagger.
Aron held the dagger in his hand while seated on a stone bench just outside the main street.
Since he had gone shopping with the mountain of money he had obtained from the chest, he had also purchased some new clothes.
Wearing his thin hospital patient wear would look weird and draw too much unwanted attention in a fantasy setting.
Also, each piece of clothing he bought had its own stats that would help him survive in the coming days. He was now dressed in a dark, durable traveler's tunic and trousers that felt far more comfortable than the rags he had arrived in.
'If I remember correctly, the bug that the creator could never fix from this dagger consisted of two main things. One was the fact that the durability was always at 100% regardless of the damages taken or the intensity of the fight. And the second was the fact that its hidden stats were constantly changing depending on the specific enemy being targeted at the time.'
To be fair, the latter bug was something Aron had never bothered to report to the developer.
He knew it could help him battle the future bosses and high-level monsters that would eventually plague the lands.
Having no special skill effects was bad enough for a basic weapon, so this glitch was almost as though the dagger had gained its own unique skills by accident.
Aron rested his back firmly on the bench, his face turned towards the bright, harsh sky of Dynasty.
'Now that I think about it, this game is absolutely unfair. So many rules are hidden, and not many can be learned until someone has been used as a scapegoat. During my beta testing days, I died way too many times due to pure ignorance and negligence of the hidden mechanics.'
He sighed once again, a heavy sound that carried the weight of his past struggle.
He remembered the times when Lauren would often spend her night just watching him play from his bedside.
She would comfort him when he raged at a difficult boss, despite not knowing a single thing as to why he was barking at the monitor. She was the calm to his storm, and that memory felt more real than the digital world around him.
He did wonder if there was a chance she had also been sent into this shitty world.
But he knew just how to confirm it.
Because just like him, Lauren actually understood the starting mechanics of the game from watching him so intently.
That meant there was a chance she would know exactly what to do, even if it was just a little bit of knowledge.
'She is probably waiting for me there already.'
Aron stood up from the bench, pulling the hood of his new cloak over his head to cover his face as he slowly disappeared into the midst of the NPCs and players crowded all around him.
He had his gear, he had his credits, and he had a weapon that broke the laws of the game.
His next target… was the Zone.
...
[A/n]
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