32 Alyx's Decision

Alyx didn't expect that kind of response from the Drul in front of him. He thought of all kinds of responses by the Drul and his subsequent replies but this completely stumped him and did not make much sense to him.

"What is wrong in talking to strangers?" Alyx asked Ax. Alyx thought it might be a rule which Ax did not inform him.

*Don't know, it is not mentioned anywhere in the information available to me. It might be some unwritten rule.* Ax replied in a nonchalant manner.

Even though Ax had access to a large amount of information of every floor there are always some unwritten rules established by the users. These rules might not be recorded as they are of little significance to the Aons.

"Sorry, I'm new here and never heard about such rules." Alyx immediately apologised to the Drul in front of him as he did not want to come across as someone who was deliberately trying to mess with him.

Alyx immediately thought that the Drul in front of him might not be an Aon from the way he answered the question and it was further reinforced by learning that he knew about the unwritten rules established by the users. As far as Alyx was concerned such actions and efforts to understand users would not be taken by an Aon.

But Alyx was not discouraged and wanted to learn more from the Drul in front of him.

"Sir if it's not an inconvenience to you can you please enlighten me more about the proper way of conduct on the second level." Alyx was just trying to sound as respectable as possible so as to please the person in front of him to stay and answer his queries. He did not know the proper etiquette of Drul and can only hope that Ax can take care of his body language and speech while conveying it.

The Drul looked at Alyx in a strange manner as if looking at some kind of unique creature. It is rare for someone to know the customs of his race and speak in their language so fluently. He thought that Alyx might be an Aon but he quickly squashed such idea as no Aon would behave in such a subservient manner to other races.

"First of all you should not ask others of their name or any other information relating to them as that information can be used by pirates to find their planet's location and raid them. Many others prefer to stay anonymous to prevent unnecessary trouble."

Alyx was shocked upon listening this as he didn't think of that aspect. He just assumed that there is peace established in the universe under the Aons and they would not allow such things to continue. Furthermore in the first level since users talk freely he didn't expect such a problem existed. Before he could raise his doubts the Drul continued.

"If you want to have casual conversation just go to the first floor, this is not a place for you. Pirates are a threat to smaller civilizations so they know how to behave here and are taught what to divulge and what not to divulge. "

Upon hearing this he understood the meaning behind his earlier words. Since a civilization is weak they would only allow loyal citizens/soldiers to enter paradise to collect information and do trade all the while keeping their location a secret. They might have come in contact with Aons and the Aons might have found some useful or important resources near their region. So instead of forcefully taking them they exchange it for access to Paradise. If pirates know their location it would be a huge catastrophe for such civilizations with no self-protection measures.

Aons have no real benifit in protecting those civilizations as those resources will end up in their hands in one way or another. So the words said by the Drul make sense. Most of the users in the first level are from developed civilizations which have enough strength to protect themselves so the restrictions on their citizens is lax so casual conversation can be held in the first level. Whereas the population on second level is very small and encounters with such small civilization members increases.

Alyx did not know what to ask the Drul after such a reply, he was hesitating whether to continue or not. Although he became an Aon he did not have the arrogance that other Aons have and was still thinking on how to talk with the Drul in a polite manner. Any other Aon would have immediately lashed out at the Drul for his transgressions.

"From the way you reacted you must be some spoiled brat from a wealthy planet. I assume that you entered the second level on a whim and did not learn much about it before hand, but since you are here I'll treat this as a favor you owe me and tell you some basic rules here."

Alyx had a short conversation with him and learnt many things which were not available in the information Ax has access to and it greatly helped him. If he did not know that information he would be angering many people with his actions.

Later Alyx parted ways with him and they both went their separate ways. Even till the end the other person did not disclose his name and just talked to Alyx in a mysterious manner. Alyx asked how he can repay the other person just out of curiosity as the Drul was not willing to disclose information and learned that he will approach Alyx if there is something that Alyx can do.

Alyx logged out of Paradise and returned to his residence on MBN and just laid on his bed thinking about all the things that he experienced.

In the end Alyx decided to study under Neo and become an expert in the field of creation and manipulation of life.

It was not a decision taken in heat of the moment but one thought after going through all the request boards on second level as most if not all can be solved by learning about this field. He had a unique advantage as he was under the care of Neo a renowned and leading figure in the field. Even Neo had interest in Alyx because he expected Alyx to have a unique point of view which might yield unexpected results. Neo was just investing in Alyx and not expecting any immediate results. Neo can be said to be a gambling addict from the way he runs MBN.

Alyx immediately brought the books recommended by Neo and started studying them. It was completely new field to him and he has to spend a lot of time to learn from the basics. He did not take any missions in the meantime as he had enough CP to last him for few years if he uses them entirely on his research.