Chapter 77: The journey to Zenith city XV

The inn is even more packed then before now that its the time NPC's get off the day shift, I look around Giovani's pub and see plenty more NPC's and players. I'm surprised that NPC's are capable of tolerating so many player in one location, and the barkeep wont turn them away since they are paying customers. I think the funniest part of all this is more players have started playing The Shattering. More and more began to watch my family play, soon players and NPC's alike were having fun and also learning to play. They had to borrow some decks from others, but many don't fully grasp how important this game will get.

At least the tension from earlier is gone, the inn is getting kind of loud and I'm not fond of such volumes. I step outside to catch some fresh air and stop my ears from ringing, I look at the well crafted road that is illuminated by the warm sun and see some couples and guards walking to their homes, most businesses aren't closed yet. Shifts are changing though, and I'm positive the evening shift is getting ready for work. I lean against the cool stone wall and think about everything that's happening. The biggest thing on my mind is J&X, while they are planning something its hard to guess what.

In the 5 years I played many truths were discovered about Ancients World, and some of them more disturbing then others. While we could never get J&X to admit it, many theorized that Ancients World was in fact another world that did exist. There is tons of lore that players eventually found that hinted at this, but J&X never responded to such rumors. When Ancients World real name was discovered it confirmed the theory for many. Gaia is the name of the world players called Ancients World for years, I have thought about this before when I made my wish to come back. Now that the system is acting different and J&X is in a panic I can assume that something is happening.

It cant be something so drastic to create a reaction like this though, why would J&X risks such dangerous consequences. The answer hits me like a bolt of lightning, they risked it because it was worth trillions of UWD's. I cant say for certain about what's happening, but I know that being as strong as I can be is important. Along with securing the safety for my family, in terms of goals I have hit them all. I just cant shake my instincts that something bad will happen, and my instincts are rarely wrong about this sort of thing. I continue to think and ponder other things, and I'm soon interrupted by a familiar voice.

I look in the direction and see nobody, I remember how short she is and I look down to meet her annoyed eyes. "I asked you a question. Are you just going to ignore me like the jerk you are." She doesn't know what a real jerk is, many would prefer jerks ignore you instead of pay attention to you. I just raise my head and try to erase her from ruining my train of thought. "Looks like you haven't changed since I met you earlier this morning. Why are you at my favorite hangout place, I meet my new friends here all the time." I don't need to know these things about her, I don't even know her name. She doesn't seem to get the hint and decides to lean on the same wall as I do. "You don't like to talk much do you. Is it because you are so rude with your words that you drive people off, or is it because you don't like girls?" I'm starting to get annoyed here, this girl obviously has some problems in her head if she goes around talking like this to everyone.

I roll my eyes at her and just sigh, she gets pretty pissed at my lack of care for her words. I decide to answer her question with one of my favorite quotes. "They say the more a man talks, the less he thinks. After meeting you I can see it applies to women as well." She gets red in the face after that sly comeback, I don't usually talk to people in Ancients World and I do that for a reason. Everyone wants what others have, be that information, gear and items, or just pure jealousy because someone has a better class then you. "If you want to go in, you can rest easy knowing I wont stop you. I'm sure there is someone in there that enjoys your company." She huffs in anger and finally leaves me alone. I sink myself back into my thoughts and enjoy the silence now that its returned.

I know that there are many great dungeons near Zenith, but all of them require you to be at least tier 1 to enter. I also know of a few hidden and solo dungeons as well, I'm sure that they will be great for exp. It really comes down to if I want to get my mana aura after my tier up quest or hit some dungeons to get stronger for it. The gamer in me is telling me to go for the mana aura, but the thinker and planner in me says go for the dungeons. Going for the dungeons and getting stronger for the mana aura is something most wouldn't do, but the gap between me and the top players is big enough for me to do that.

So the only question that remains is when I'm all done in Zenith, do I finish my legendary quest or look for something else. I have a chance to free an imprisoned species and learn lore about Ancients World I didn't know before. My mind is made up, when I'm all done in Zenith I'm finishing my legendary quest. I look over to the walls the sun is near and see beautiful shadows being casted, I still have a few hours of daylight left and I should spend more time with my family in Ancients World while I can. I can hear that its settled down some, but there are still cheers here and yells there, it really is something to experience in this time period. Pubs are some of the best places to hang out.

I stop leaning on the wall and head back inside. I look over to my family and see the same annoying girl from earlier. Why would she be over there, she said that she was... Oh, talk about a mood dampener. So that must mean she is Snow Princess, didn't think she would be so short after everything I heard about her big personality. I walk over to my family and we make eye contact. "What are you doing here? You said that you would be glad I left you alone." Not my exact words, but she got the message. My mom looks over at me with a confused face, I don't think my mom knowing how rude I was to a lady will be good.

I sit next to mom and look over at Snow Princess with a slight smile. She begins to look at my face and then my moms, she goes back in forth between the 2. I watch the horror spread across her face, she gets up with a fury. "I cant believe your this horrible mans mom! You told me he was a sweetheart that was the light of your life." My mom looks at Snow Princess with anger, a quality about my mom is if you insult her children you best start praying. Snow Princess sees how badly she screwed up and sits down with an eep. My mom looks over at me looking for an explanation.

I just sigh and contemplate what I should say, if I say I was mean to her for no reason I'll get an ear full. On the other hand, I could just use Snow Princesses personality against her. "I met her at the bank this morning. She lied to a bunch of other players to get the lines shorter, she even tried to add me to her friends list because I had a lot of money." Everything I just said is true, and its not like mom needs to know about my dismissive attitude towards this annoying girl. I like woman as much as any guy would, but I have a type myself. She is loud, annoying, and demanding. Add that all up you get a high maintenance girl, that's a no from me. I like quiet, sincere, and short haired ladies. Why short hair, its a sign of low maintenance. If you think about it, a mans schedule works around the time a woman washes her hair.

Short hair equals low maintenance, while this isn't a one size fits all you can tell a lot about a person by the way they act and take care of themselves. I can use all of this against Snow Princess, since she fits the high maintenance model. I'm not trying to pick on her, I'm trying to get the point across. I don't want her bugging me, and the way she acts bugs me. "Is this really true? I didn't peg her for the type to cause such a scene." My mom speaks in a teasing manner, looks like she wants to join in on the fun. We both know that Snow Princess isn't a bad person, just someone that you can only take in small doses. I look over to Snow Princess and I can see frustration and anger, along with red cheeks from holding in her voice. I think that's enough for one day, now its time to have fun with my family.