I’m Alan Warden... Chief Technician of The Santa María Spaceship. Due to a series of unfortunate events, I became the weakest User in this whole virtual world… And I’m supposed to be Humanity’s Guardian...

He gasped for air while tossing the now useless iron tray. The Weasenox’s corpse beside him.

“We did it, Alan,” Ashley said behind him.

“Yeah... I’m finally level 6... How marvelous…”

***

“We’re celebrating tonight because Alan has finally leveled up. Yay!” Amelia beamed, opening a bottle of wine.

“Are you going to toast 94 more times?”

“Stop being so cranky! Baby steps, Alan, baby steps.”

“This is not enough,” Alan muttered before munching on his steak. "Hey, this is delicious."

"It's from a restaurant on the other side of the town. I convinced the owner to deliver it to me if I paid extra."

"You shouldn't waste your money like that."

"This is a special occasion!” Amelia said, after gulping wine. “What are your plans for tomorrow?"

Alan glanced at Ashley, who was silently chewing.

"I got wind of a dungeon on the town's outskirts. The very first dungeon. I’ll get better gear there."

"I hope it turns out great." Amelia smiled warmly at him.

"I hope so too…"

***

"Nothing on the second floor," Ashley said, strolling towards him.

"And nothing here in the library," Alan said while sitting on a pile of books. "Count Dylak's Mansion, huh?" he said, exhaling. "I bet this place was very popular back in the day."

Ashley remained still, discerning his expression. "We could kill the Weasenox again."

"It would just give me a third of the XP this time, I would have to get another ‘kitchen shield’ and I don't know if it's worth all that hassle."

"I could fight in the front lines while you provide support."

"I can't fight from a distance, you would get all the XP. And if I don't dodge in time, he'll kill me in one hit. Let's forget about the Weasenox for now."

"We could ask Amelia if she…"

"Amelia has helped us enough."

"Can we ask someone from Unus Town if they know about other ways to get XP?"

"I know how. Making errands. But only if an NPC gives you a quest, and by now, all of them have been turned into servants. It would be like taking their job away from them." He lowered his head. "I'll… I'll come out with something…"

***

While exploring the different Apps other Users had developed, he found an 'Online Marketplace', where the low-level gear he needed was sold, but the prices were exorbitant.

It seems that only collectors buy them. 27,000 gold for a bronze-ranking sword is not worth it.

There was also an open public chat, where he asked where he could find low-level monsters. Alan only received disappointment.

GENERAL CHAT

Plxtea: "Lol, what for?"

Concordi: "This guy must have a fascination with Sheepbeets. Does anyone remember those?"

Ballezan: "Yeah, they were pretty infamous because some players use them to relieve stress."

Crepina: "What do you mean? Me not understand!"

"And my question has been buried under the chaos..."

From his place atop a tree branch, he glanced back at the town, sighing. Ashley has offered herself to search for mobs in the entire area. Her higher Vitality and her Wind Blessing lets her run almost indefinitely. I would just be a burden to her.

And I'm here, hiding from Amelia…

He opened his Apps tab and started playing a 3-week old video. A small tournament had been held in Iregorn, and Miss Cosmica was the hostess.

"We're here in the Semifinals! Can you feel the heat from your home?!”

She really is awesome. Not only is she beautiful, but her screen presence is unmatched too.

Alan made the video screen bigger. As high-level warriors showed their conviction on the battlefield, Alan stared at the bottom of the screen, where the Idol could be seen watching the match and making commentary.

"Hey, Level 5, what are you doing there?” the voice of a young man was heard from below. “Wait, you are level 6 now? Cool!"

Alan looked at the lanky guy, of black short hair, wearing a tank-top and baggy pants. Isn't he the guy that tried to steal my rusty sword the other day?

"What do you want? Are you here to rob me again?"

"And let that beauty go rampant? Nah, I'm good!"

"What do you mean?"

"She didn’t tell you?" The guy reached the tree branch with one jump and sat on it with ease. "A couple of days ago, she stepped over the mayor's statue and told everyone that if any of us put a finger on you, she would burn the entire town. Now every resident in Unus is afraid of her."

"That sounds like something she would say…"

"What are you doing?" He pointed at Alan's display with his chin.

"This? Um, how can I show you?"

"There should be a button to toggle the visibility on your window. In the bottom right corner."

"Does it look like an eye?" Alan tapped it, and the guy could see the screen's content.

"Watching Battle Streamings, huh? Who's your favorite streamer?"

"I… um… Miss Cosmica?"

"She's not a Streamer, dude, she's a Sponsor! Anyway, can I ask you something personal?”

"The reason I have such a low level and yet, I'm hanging out with a High Leveler?" Alan exhaled.

“Yeah!”

If Astrid was so confident in making an excuse for me in front of her entire guild, it means it's safe to use it.

Alan replied, trying to not make a big deal out of it: "I was in a coma until a few days ago. Amelia is helping me because she used to hang out with me at the beginning of The Novus. She just wants to help me."

The guy listened to every word with a captivated expression on his face.

Like if we, moving here, had been the most exciting thing that had happened to this town.

"Sucks to be you! But you can at least hang around those beauties, so I envy you. I'm Ricardo, but call me Richard. What's your name?"

"Alan. Could you explain to me what a sponsor is?"

“Eh? Don’t ask me that, dude! I only know the basics! But I know the expert in that sort of stuff!”

***

"You have come to the right place!” Major Dominguez said, puffing her chest.

“I just asked you a question, dude,” Alan said, grimacing.

“Do you have anything better to do?” Ricardo shrugged.

“Let me use Miss Cosmica as an example since she was the one who started the whole thing!” Sarah Dominguez said, pushing Alan to a couch. “Seat down, my young grasshoppers.”

“S-sure, why not…”

“When Battle Streaming took off months ago, she was like a commentator. She would use video footage of others fighting and analyze their strategies. Honestly, she was pretty bad-mouthed at the time, but her assessments were pretty accurate. The following is speculative, keep that in mind! While some of her detractors criticized her for being so harsh against other players without her showing her own skills, some pointed out that for her to be so confident, she must secretly be a high-skilled warrior. Here, let me show you one of her old videos."

Sarah operated her Video Screen and showed both a low-quality video of Miss Cosmica. Her trademark pink hair and her facial features were the same, but her clothes, hairstyle, and lack of makeup made her seem like a shut-in.

"Look at this asshole, trying to connect a hit against Daniel, ‘Living Tower’, Torres, famously known for his Unique Skill that lets him absorb any non-legendary weapon into his armor," a very condescending Miss Cosmica wearing sunglasses said, before laughing out loud. "Look at this guy's face after his lance disappeared inside Daniel's shield!"

"Even her attitude is different,” Alan said.

"Pretty untypical, huh?" Sarah chuckled. "So, as I was saying, once Miss Cosmica amassed a large following, she partnered with one of the most loaded Actives and…"

"What's an Active?"

"One of Novus’ millionaires… And that's when she adopted this idol persona everyone loves her for. She expanded her market by being the first successful singer in the system, but she’s still searching for new talents to sponsor.” She leaned to Alan, smiling widely and making a hand gesture. “If you get picked by her agency, you can earn big."

"How does Miss Cosmica make money, anyway?”

“Mostly through Premium Access to her streams, silly.”

“Is that why I can't watch her most recent videos? They're locked behind a paywall."

"Yep. Although I prefer to wait until they're free," Richard said while eating popcorn.

“I can’t wait!” Sarah cried, startling him. “I must see her as soon as she uploads something, so be grateful for people like me, you freeloader!” She pulled from his cheek.

“T-thanks, Miss Dominguez!”

"Hey, maybe you could tell me something." Alan rewinded one of his previously watched videos until finding a scene, showing a wolf-like beast engaging in combat against a mage. He paused. "Can you train monsters to fight for you?"

"Yeah, there's a class called Monster Tamer, you know?"

Alan quickly thought of Sloochie, and Amelia's comment about her Monster Tamer skill, level 1.

But I don't want anyone from Slime Village to fight for me. At least I know there's a way now. Baby steps, Amelia, baby steps.

"Richard!" Alan called aloud, startling him.

"W-what is it?!"

"You have been pretty helpful today! But can you help me with something else? I'll compensate you, I promise."

Sarah’s forehead wrinkled. “B-but I was the one that explained to you what…”

"What do you need?" Richard replied.

"This town's weapon smith doesn't sell low-level weapons anymore,” Alan said. “Do you know someone that could sell me their old gear, or where I could get some?"

Richard folded his arms and shut his eyes. "Hmm… Everyone has already gotten rid of their gear, so… Ha! It's so obvious!" He beamed. "Follow me."

“You guys leaving already?” a soft-spoken Sarah said.

***

While walking towards the heart of the town, the idea of Richard leading him into a trap did not cross Alan’s mind. All thanks to you, Amelia.

After crossing an alley, they walked down the stairs to reach the basement under Unus' biggest inn, ‘The Moonlight Dream’.

"Do you have any idea how many people live here in Unus?" Alan asked while looking at the two-story building.

"Like less than 200 people, maybe?" Richard said, shrugging.

"And why did you decide to remain here?"

"Hey, pal, let me tell you something before you talk to others down there. That sort of question is not cool here. Get it? Everyone has their reason not to leave this place, it's a touchy subject."

"Understood."

"The owner of this place, for instance, is a very grumpy dude, so be careful with what you say."

"Sure," Alan said, as the smell of alcohol got to him.

Richard opened the door, and they got inside of what seemed to be a bar. Alan noticed that most of the clientele were men.

Phosphorescent blue lights made everything look as gloomy as the people drinking there, sitting on individual leather armchairs. A female employee was serving the drinks behind a metal counter.

"Richard," she waved at him, while the rest of the people stared at Alan. "Have you come to visit Roxx, or my husband this time?"

"Both!" Richard chuckled. "Come, Alan."

"Alan Warden?" the woman called aloud, squinting, gathering the attention of everyone there.

"Do I know you, ma'am?"

"No, but everyone knows you and your pyromaniac girlfriend." The woman smiled, leaning forward. "I'm Brenda, nice to meet you. So! Could you give us the honor of telling us what’s the deal with your mysterious low level?"

Alan frowned, looking at the clientele. Every set of eyes and ears waiting for his reply.

"I… was in a coma."

A collective groan was heard as Brenda tried to quiet the crowd. "Okay, okay! Who was the one that said coma?"

"Lukas did, but he's not here!"

A Video Screen appeared behind the bar counter, showing a betting chart:

* Reasons why Alan Warden is a level 5 *

1 - He has been hiding this whole time (31 votes)

2 - He made an Administrator angry (19 votes)

3 - He died, and the system revived him as an NPC (10 votes)

4 - He’s roleplaying (5 votes)

5 - He was in a coma (1 vote)

“Lovely people,” Alan said bitterly.

“Here.” Brenda served him a drink. “For my comatose friend. On the house. For Alan, Comatose, Warden!”

“Cheers!”

“I liked Alan, The Ghost, more,” he muttered, gulping his drink.

“Come, Alan,” Richard called, leading him to another room at the back.

Alan thanked Brenda for the drink and entered, finding a place filled with weapons, artifacts, and sets of armor Alan had never seen before. “What is this?”

“This is Kristoff’s Fun House,” a bald, overweight, pale man said from behind his counter, without taking his eyes off his Menu Window. “Welcome to my humble shop, Alan Warden.” Despite his words, his tone of voice was cold and coarse.

While Alan looked at the displayed items, Richard whispered at his back. “Alan, I have helped you enough today, haven’t I? Give me 300. That’s what 45 minutes with Roxx costs.”

“Ah, sure...” Alan created a temporary window for Richard to tap.

“Thanks, see you later!”

Although I don’t know yet if coming here was worth it… He frowned and stepped forward. Close to the door was a large display case, showing a human-sized doll of animal ears and a familiar face.

It’s her! The NPC that used to be the mayor.