Chapter 14 - Knowledge

During his short journey throughout the city, Yuki learned some very interesting things about his surroundings. For starters, the outer parts of it were constructed of 30-meter walls which all intersect to form a hexagon. At each intersection, there was a cylindrical tower which measured to be 50 meters. At the pinnacle of each tower, there was an archer stationed to shoot any monsters that might try to enter the city. Yuki already knew that each archer was an NPC that could kill any monster by adjusting its damage output to the exact HP a monster had. This meant that the city was a safe zone in which no harm could reach a player.

On the inside, the city was a bit bland. It was somewhat medieval since it only had small shops which sold weapons and potions. There were plenty of trees and fountains all around however, there was nothing that particularly stood out. It was like every other starting village in an average video game. Everything was made to be simple and easy to navigate which made sense as the entire planet had changed completely.

After passing by many stores, Yuki arrived at a store that he deemed worthy of his money. From the window, there was a golden sword with a red aura emanating from it. It seemed to call for Yuki. He was completely enticed by its beauty. The ancient text written on it made him want to buy it even more. Without a second thought, he rushed into the store to buy it.

There was an old guy in the store, no one else seemed to be there. He looked at him impatiently.

"Hey, how much is this sword," Yuki asked as he pointed to the golden sword.

"That'll be a hefty 30000 silver young man," the old replied to Yuki, expecting him to back off since what kind of kid would have that much money.

Yuki stood there and thought about it for a bit. He only had 36,900 silver. If he were to spend a majority of his money on something, it should be on grenades and smoke screens as well as healing potions. He was expecting to fight someone with unparalleled intelligence.

"Make it 25000 and I'll buy it," Yuki retaliated.

"27500, take it or leave it," the old man had made his final offer.

"Deal!" Yuki said.

[Extract: 27500 silver]

Yuki handed the money to the old man and began walking towards the sword.

Although he had wasted a good deal of silver, he managed to haggle down the price of something he wanted. This satisfied him. The basic sensation of victory was a human's primal instinct for happiness. To feel as if you are the one creature that stands above all others. This feeling was what all humans desired.

As he took the sword out from the display, another one that seemed to be the same replaced it. While this startled Yuki, he knew why this had happened.

"Hey, are you an NPC?"

"Yes, you are correct in assuming that," the old man replied.

Yuki began to calm down. Everything in the store was an extension of the world. It functioned like any other game store in which every item would be infinity restocked. Now that Yuki had acquired this revelation, he wanted to go to other stores and see if any of them had the same concept as this one.

Just around the corner, Yuki spotted another weaponry store. He was hoping that he would find some smoke grenades in there for his upcoming battle.

Once he entered, a smile came across his face. There was every type of grenade he could ever need or want. There were other weapons such as axes, swords, guns, and spears as well. However, Yuki already bought the melee-type weapon he would use and he was very proud of that fact. Although, what excited him the most were the potions in the store.

Within the store, a middle-aged man was wearing a black suit. He looked to be in his 30s and had a very serious expression on his face. Everything seemed to be organized neatly. Other than the cashier, 2 other people were shopping in the store. Yuki didn't mind them, all he wanted was his weaponry.

"Good afternoon, can I have 10 smoke grenades, 4 HP regeneration, 2-speed boost, and 3 damage boost potions?" Yuki asked with a smile.

"Will that be all?" the man replied.

"Yes, that'll be all for today," Yuki said anxiously.

"Okay, your total comes to 190 silver," the cashier said with a dull voice.

[Extract: 190 silver]

Yuki handed the man the money and waited as the cashier went around the store taking the items from the shelves. As he removed each item, a new replica replaced it. This confirmed Yuki's suspicions. However, this phenomenon made sense. In a world where you could wish to have any superpower you want, why would anyone choose to have an ordinary shop?

Yuki concluded that Zero automatically filled out each city with the necessary things to help humanity continue to exist. This helped reassure him that everyone won't die of starvation or from a lack of materials. While this brought ease to his mind, he feared one thing. That being; the construction of a government.

Having a higher power existing would mean that people begin to lose their freedom. The government would eventually introduce laws that will "protect the people '' but are meant to keep the higher-ups in power. It will create a world in which everyone is a machine again. History would once again repeat itself. This was why he wanted to reach level 100 first. By having his limiter broken, he would preside over the world as its one true ruler and would forbid any system which tries to take away people's freedom by making them dependent on others. When someone is dependent on others, they lose the freedom to lead their own lives and in turn achieve their true dreams. Unlike everyone else, Yuki didn't want to become the strongest for a selfish reason, he could have everything he ever wanted. He was the king of all creation and stood at the pinnacle of everything that has existed and will exist. All he wanted was to give humanity the freedom it never had.