Gathering Information

I stepped out of the tiny corridor between two buildings and looked around.

There were two things on my agenda as of right now - one, ask the locals of this village, Xiyang, for information on the eight regions of Ascentia, and two, see if I can find another 'player' from my old reality to talk with.

I had been working on the second mission, until A.R.X.A. interrupted my plans. I wasn't complaining though - I found out more answers from her than I ever would've from the person of my old world.

Though... the reliability of these answers was a different matter.

A.R.X.A. was by no means my friend. We were 'allies' at best, and even then it wasn't exactly certain that she would help me when I needed it.

There were two pieces of evidence I had to support my conclusion on A.R.X.A.'s alignment:

One, the fact that she didn't tell me about the other method I could see my loved ones again - having them come over to this Reality Plane as well - and two, the fact that I couldn't log out of the game before she contacted me.

According to her, someone had severed my connection to my old reality, somehow. That was the jolt of electricity I had felt shoot through my body while running earlier.

But the problem was, prior to that, I had already tried logging out of the game once. There was no reason it shouldn't have worked. Despite this, the log-out tab on my System had been greyed out, and still was, even now.

The only explanation for this was that someone had fiddled with my System to make sure I couldn't get out of this game.

As for my connection to the old Reality Plane being severed, that served as a kind of bonus for whoever this entity was, a kind of insurance to ascertain my current situation - stranded in a new Reality Plane with no way out. Not in the short-run, anyway.

Now, I wonder... just who could've had the powers to mess with my System? The one who designed them, of course - A.R.X.A.

In other words, even if my connection to my old Reality Plane had not been severed, I still would have been stuck here, thanks to A.R.X.A. She was dead set on using me as a tool to relieve her of her boredom, though I had my doubts about her true motive.

Perhaps it was because I somehow managed to enter an 'out-of-bounds' area back when I jumped off that cliff, speaking in video game terms. That might've pissed her off, since that pit of darkness may have been her lair here in this Reality Plane or something.

That's what I assumed, anyway. It's not like I would be getting any answers from her regarding the matter. It's unfortunate, but there was nothing I could do to reverse what has already happened.

For now, I decided to just follow my agenda. Gathering information about the eight different regions of this island came first. I headed back to the blacksmith that had called out to me when I first entered this reality.

"Ho, it's you again," he said, upon spotting me. "Did ya manage to catch up to the other newcomer?"

At first, I had thought this guy, along with everyone else who wasn't a 'newcomer', was nothing more than an NPC. But now that I know the truth about the multiverse, I realized that these people were all real people too - just of a different reality plane.

That being said... I wonder if the other AR games out there are also different reality planes, controlled by A.R.X.A. Probably not, though, since food and water didn't exist there. Ascension: Online was the only AR game that contained them.

"Unfortunately, I didn't catch up in time," I replied to the blacksmith. "So, I've come back to ask a few questions, if you don't mind."

The blacksmith scratched his head. "Well, I don't necessarily mind, per se, but..."

He gestured towards the weapons on display all around him, and I immediately understood.

"Sure. I'll buy something from you," I agreed readily. "It's only fair, after all."

"Heh. I like ya, kid," he chuckled. "The name's Ming Yi. Nice to meet ya."

I nodded. "Igarashi Kaze. Likewise."

Upon hearing my name, Ming Yi's eyes widened for a second. "That name... are you from the Nihon province, perhaps?"

Nihon... that sounded oddly close to Japan's name, from my old Reality Plane.

"... Sorry, where is that?" I asked.

"Ah... I forgot, you are a newcomer. I'll explain what I mean later - but for now, what kind of weapon do you like using?"

"Hm..." I fell into thought. "I've never really used a weapon before. Any suggestions?"

"Well, from what I can see... your body is kind of slim and you lack muscles, so a heavyweight weapon is out of the question," Ming Yi replied after some observation.

"A simple dagger is probably the best choice for you right now. Oh, but don't worry - with some training, you'll get stronger, and be able use to heavier weapons in the future."

"Alright, I'll take a dagger, then. Any recommendations, in particular?"

The blacksmith took off a dagger that had been hanging on the stone wall behind him. "Here. This one's my best model."

He handed the weapon over to me, and I inspected it gratefully. It wasn't anything too exquisite - a simple black handle, with a short yet sharp, silver blade. If I had to compare it to something, I would say it looked a lot like a short, deadlier version of my old world's kitchen knives.

"I don't have a keen eye for good weapons or anything, but this should work," I replied after some thought. "How much for this?"

"Since I like ya, only 50 gold," he said with a beaming smile that showed all his teeth.

I gulped. 50 gold... that was half the money I had right now. I didn't think this Ming Yi man was trying to scam me here, but... ah, whatever. It wasn't just the dagger I was buying, after all. This was a necessary expense, for the sake of getting information.

I opened my System with a hand swipe gesture and went to the inventory tab. I clicked on the gold coins icon and set the quantity as 50 on the prompt that appeared. I clicked 'Confirm' after that, and immediately, in my hands appeared a heavy pouch.

I closed up my System and looked inside the pouch. Indeed, gold coins lay inside it. I didn't bother counting exactly, but it should be around fifty.

I handed the pouch over to Ming Yi, who accepted it gratefully. "Thanks. Pleasure doin' business. with ya, kiddo."

I nodded. "Now. The information...?"

"Ah, yes," Ming Yi took a deep breath in preparation. "What would you like to know?"

"About this world. I heard there were eight different regions on this island - what are they?"

Ming Yi nodded. "Yep. As you said, this island, called Ascentia, is split into eight different territories. The one we are in right now is called Azrine - the Land of Nature."

"I see..." I murmured in thought.

"Humans and elves are the dominant races here, though demihumans can sometimes be found too, though they tend to distance themselves from the outside world."

"Hold up, there are other races?"

Ming Yi chuckled. "Yep. There are a total of six intelligent races in Ascentia - humans, elves, demihumans, dwarves, vampires, and demons. Humans, by far, are the most populous, though."

"I see..." I murmured.

This reality plane was literally just like a fantasy world, looking at it from my old reality's perspective. It was perfect material for a video game - which was most likely why A.R.X.A. decided to introduce this reality plane to ours under the guise of an 'Alternate Reality game'.

"Are there any other regions you know a lot about?" I asked.

"Hm... well, I'm not the best person to ask about this," Ming Yi said. "I only know about Azrine, not much beyond that. Matter of fact, no one here in Xiyang village knows much about the info you're looking for. I would suggest goin' to a bigger city - there is one nearby, called Tianyin."

Then, he pointed to his left - my right. "If ya keep headin' that way, you will reach the gates of this village. There, ya can ask one of the guards to tell ya how to get to Tianyin."

"Tianyin City...I see," I said, looking in the direction he had pointed. It was the same way I had just come back from. "Thank you."

"No problem, kiddo. Hope we meet again."

I nodded and bid farewell to Ming Yi, my new dagger in hand.