Starting from Zero

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I appeared at the gate of the Lost City the next morning. Everyone arrived except for Yuri. Rose would come too but both of us are red name, and the bracelet can only hide one person so she chose to go attend her research instead.

Yuri showed up a bit later. We all moved out towards the city. Oh this gonna be fun.

It\'s a pity that Red Moon tailed me as well.

Actually only me, Yuri and Razor are waiting to see the cities. The others have been to the places countless times. I was trapped in the dungeon quest and then got red named. Yuri has been isolated in that garden. And Razor is like a sting in everyone\'s eyes, nobody would listen to him. He had no choice but to avoid any places with dense crowds.

Now finally, we can go enjoy ourselves! As our first destination, we chose one of the three biggest system cities--the Celestial City. The place is quite eye-catching when we\'re still a good distance far away. It\'s 5 times as big as the Lost City, and I heard the city has two levels, the other half is underground! Really unimaginable. Such a huge city, comes with its own dungeon village! There\'s no way to build something like that in real life.

We see more and more players as we get closer. Some small groups rush around for their own business, and some are simply enjoying the sunlight on the grass. [Zero] is not just a hack-n-slash mmorpg game. It got more playable content than anyone can imagine. To attract more players, those developers tried very hard to copy all kinds of concepts from real life. There are many casual players here who enjoy the game in ways other than fighting, such as hunting. Obviously you can\'t carry a gun and shoot at animals as you like, but here, they get to hunt however they like. Many came to this game to realize their dreams too, such as climbing a high mountain. The game even set up some safe mountains without monsters on them, just for these players.

We saw a group of people sitting along the city moat, each holding a fishing rod in their hand. There\'s a flag beside them, the...Angler\'s Fishing Club?

"What\'s this?" I\'m at loss. This is totally new to me.

Wayne explained: "They are non-fighting players who loves fishing. Normally you need to travel to watersides right? Well, you don\'t have to do that here in the game. The only problem is you can\'t actually fill your stomach in here, but no one cares! If you want to eat fish you buy them at the market. Those people simply enjoy the process."

Yuri pointed at one of those people. "What\'s that mark on their back? Their guild emblem?"

Elfy: "No. That\'s a combat-free protection mark. People who don\'t fight can go apply for the combat protection system, that\'s when you get those marks on you. They can\'t fight with us and we can\'t do any damage to them either. They can choose to disable the mark if they want. You can switch that protection on and off how many times you wish but...you need to wait for a week to change your status, and each application costs quite a sum."

"So they are invincible against any attacks!" Razor is surprised. "That\'s a lot of advantage!"

Hawk: "Not really. They\'re invincible but they don\'t have any damage either. They came here to enjoy their lives in another way. Ordinary players usually don\'t have any interactions with them."

"Makes sense." Yuri nodded in understanding. "So they cannot fight, are there any other restrictions?"

"Not that I can think of. They can usually open up a shop or something." Elfy continued. "Normal players sometimes apply for this system to grind their side classes too. One of my blacksmith friend just did it recently. He built a big weapon shop in the city so he can develop his forging skills!"

"These developers are so creative. They actually merged some game systems like the SIMS in here." Razor exclaimed.

"Let\'s move! Into the city already!" Yuri urged us.

I\'m waiting to see the biggest city in the region too. The Celestial City also has a city moat but it\'s not wide, not as big as the Lost City at least, so the stone bridge leading to the gate is relatively short. But the bridge is really broad in width--I would say it\'s more than three times wider than the Lost City one. Understandable, since the Lost City acts as a fortress so it doesn\'t need a wide bridge to increase its defense difficulty. The Celestial City on the other hand looks like a commercial city, it needs to look good.

We reached the gate after passing through the bridge. There are many NPC guards stationed under the three gateways. Three guards carrying broadswords stand on each side of the big middle gateway, while only one stands under the smaller, side gateways. I also see two riders watching the main gateway on their horses. Their equipment looks really shiny but...I don\'t think these guys are coming to the battlefield when there is an actual war.

Our view opened up when we went through the gateway. The central road in front of us looks well maintained. There are many structures around us but they\'re mostly low buildings without any fixed patterns or unified styles. In comparison, all buildings in the Lost City look like temples and some religious architectures. I like the look in there way better.

Countless vendors are selling their stuff on the roadsides, either on the ground or on simple stands.

"Are these NPCs or players?"

"Both." Hawk explained. "Those on the ground are players, NPCs don\'t do that. But those with stands or bars can be players too. You can\'t see it from here."

I scouted the area and wow, that\'s tons of stuff. I don\'t even know what most of the items are used for.

"How do you use these? Or, are they usables at all?"

"Oh these." Elfy looked at the counter I\'m pointing at. "Those are decorations. You can put them up on your house if you buy one."

"House?" Me, Yuri and Razor asked in unite.

Wayne: "Well didn\'t I take you to my house last time?"

"But why would anyone buy a house?" Razor asked.

Wayne began to lift his finger one by one. "For many reasons. First, as a storage. You can also put your items into the bank but that comes with a small service fee. Second... You regenerate your HP and MP several times faster when inside your own house. Next, as shelter. A private house is non-destroyable, and no one gets in if you don\'t allow them to, no matter it\'s police or city guard or city mayor or whatever. You can also sleep in there. Sleeping in your house grants you a better buff than sleeping outside. Private waterbeds and air cushions are also a lot cheaper than those in hotels and inns. Of course, the most important..." Wayne whispered into Razor\'s ear. "You can do \'business\' with your girl in there without being seen."

I looked at the dense buildings around us. "These are all private houses?"

Wayne nodded. "They are. But don\'t judge them from the outside. The spaces in there are individual and can be a lot smaller or larger than what you can see here. You can also set your preferred styles and patterns, or choose from existing ones if you\'re lazy."

"Sounds good. But this is too crowded. It\'ll be better if I can get a house outside the city."

"You can." Wayne continued. "As long as you can pay for the land and the construction work, the system will build your house where you point. You can build them anywhere as long as it\'s not any irrational places like on top of water or inside volcanoes. But still, you\'d better build one close to a city or you\'ll have a hard time traveling around. There are some restrictions. First, houses outside cities cannot use virtual spaces, so the interior size equals to how big it is on the outside. Each player can buy up to five field houses, each house can be no larger than 50k square meters and the total size of five houses must be within 200k SQM. Each house can have two levels of basement below and six levels above, but house towers and cabins can reach all the way to the 10th level. A single level must be lower than 8 meters, while the whole building cannot go beyond 50 meters, basement not included. As long as you follow these lines you can design your house however you like, or ask the system to make one for you. If you can make the full payment in one go for both the land fee and construction fee, you get 10% off. Or you must pay 30% of the money as down payment, and at least 10% each following month if you go hire."

When he finished he found us all staring at him with our mouths open.

"...I don\'t know, are you their salesman or something?" I joked.

Wayne though, answered in surprise: "How did you figure that out? I have a quest here asking me to sell 10 villa houses. I mean non-city houses. If I can finish the quest they\'ll give me one for free!"

Everyone rolled their eyes.

I didn\'t show it but I\'m actually interested in a field house now. It will feel nice if I can build a home somewhere!

"What are they doing? The crowd over there." Yuri dragged on my clothes. "Let\'s go see it Ziri!"

"Uhm. Alright!" I saw it too. Curious.

We squeezed across the crowd and found a player selling companion eggs on the ground. Most people around are non-combat players, which means they mainly raise companions as pets, so low-level companions with cute looks are well accepted here.

Yuri picked up a sample companion--a bunny with really long ears---and stroked its fur. "She\'s adorable!"

Elfy picked another one. "Indeed. Too bad I will need a companion who can help me fight."

The vendor turned to Elfy. "Oh pardon me lady, but there is an auction center in the middle of the city. The very first companion auction sale across the land will be held there later today. You can go have a look."

"Really?" Elfy jumped. "Let\'s go!!"

Elfy dashed ahead while we followed her behind. For some reason I can see quite a lot of people gesturing at us.

I approached Wayne. "Why are those people pointing at us?"

Wayne looked around. "Huh really... I don\'t know."

Hawk and Razor joined us, while Razor asked in worry: "Is it because of me again? Oh no..."

Hawk looked at him. "I\'d say so, with that look of yours."

Red Moon nudged between us. "Oh come on idiot. Look at what you\'re wearing for god\'s sake! And look what the others are wearing! Are you blind?"

She spoke that aloud. I gave her an angry look.

"Don\'t give me that look. I\'m talking about you! Hawk and Elfy are just beyond standard, but yours are beyond common sense! Look at yourself, all black, and shiny, and is that an antenna on your head?" She pointed at the horn on my helmet. "Those wings! Can you at least try to hide them? Now everyone knows you can fly, rich boy!"

She was pretty true but I\'m still getting annoyed in the way she said that.

She didn\'t stop though. "How about you call your eye-catching horse and ride on the road? That\'s will draw more attention, mister."

I summoned Night Shade in frustration. "As you wish!" I intentionally tried to make the scene showy. "Get on. The city is big. It\'s too slow to run."

"But...we don\'t have enough horses?" Yuri asked.

Elfy waved her hand. A snow-white pegasus wearing silver barding appeared, which caused a lot gasps from the bystanders.

"I logged on too early this morning so I took it and went for some grinding. Now it\'s grown enough. So, with Ziri\'s mount and Sunshine, we have three horses. Oh, we have seven people? Now that\'s a little..."

I jumped onto Night Shade and gave orders. "Razor, you take pegasus with Wayne. Elfy and Hawk take Sunshine as usual." Then I picked up Yuri and put her in front of me.

"What about me??" Red Moon yelled from behind.

I released my dragon cord and caught her wrist, then I tied the other end onto my saddle.

"You walk!"

We received even more glances along the way. Well, let them stare. They\'re not doing it for any bad reasons anyway.

Wayne is holding the bridle while Razor is standing straight on the pegasus\' back. He says he can see farther this way.

The couple is riding on Sunshine as always, with Elfy sitting on Hawk\'s shoulder. She\'s almost as tall as Razor.

I\'m pulling on the bridle in one hand while keeping Yuri in front of me with the other hand. Red Moon is trying to get rid of her restrains, without any success, so she can only get dragged in the back like a prisoner.

Most people would get astonished by our bizarre group. I think the majority are just amused by how I\'m dragging a beautiful girl behind a horse. But for now, no one stepped up to stop us. Probably because we look pretty strong. Red Moon mumbled all the way in the back. I can\'t hear her clearly but I\'m sure she\'s cursing my family.

Don\'t care. You\'re the one pestering me. Let\'s see who loses patience first.

We reached the auction center. Hawk asked me to go with him but I refused.

"No, nono. You know my companions are probably better than anything they may sell. Besides...I\'m in the red now. I still owe someone over a hundred thousand Crystals! Even if I see anything good I won\'t be buying it."

Red Moon looked at the sky. "Humph! So a cheaptard was just acting rich!"

I pulled on the cord in anger and dragged her close. "What did you say?"

She didn\'t repeat it but started to scream instead. "Help! I\'m being assaulted! There is a pervert!"

Damn it. This is the city center, tens of thousands of people are waiting to get into the auction zone. Now they all heard it.

A crowd soon gathered around me. They aren\'t doing anything yet but I\'m afraid it will happen sooner or later.

"Oi young lad, now you shouldn\'t do that." An old man wearing the combat-free mark walked to me. "Do ya feel ashamed, harassing such a fine young lady on the street?"

Ok, there\'s no way I can explain myself out of this. The circle is getting smaller. Someone is already reaching for their weapons.

Yuri suddenly pulled off my helmet. "Stop it sisters! The auction is starting! Let\'s get inside!"

All people around looked between our faces and gave out an "Ohhhh!" before they scattered away. Someone\'s still looking back but I don\'t see aggression anymore.

The old man said gladly: "Ah, so it\'s just two ladies having fun. Sorry for that."

"Oh don\'t worry." I answered. "Your intention is good sir, and we should learn from you." I can still remember to respect the elders.

After the scene cleared up we decided to split. Razor, Hawk, Elfy and Wayne will be attending the auction, while Yuri and I will visit somewhere else. Yuri\'s companion slots are already full so there\'s no point for her to buy any more.

As for Red Moon...She won\'t leave me alone.

We are seeing around the streets so I un-summoned Night Shade. We first asked around for the entrance where we can reach the underground part.

It\'s a whole business street, everyone here is selling their merchandise.

Yuri chose a grand-looking clothing store first. The owner is a slim, middle-aged gentleman. He came to us when we entered the door. "What\'ll it be, my friends?"

"Oh uh, first time we came to a store like this. Are these all equipments?"

All these colorful garments don\'t look like they can offer much protection.

The owner smiled. "They\'re decorative wears. You can equip them over your armors."

I checked the blades and spikes on my armor. "...Are they not gonna tear up if I wear them?"

"Well, try it on!" He picked out a scholar uniform and put it over me. It...completely covered my armor outfit! The uniform doesn\'t have a headwear but my helmet disappeared. The most important part is that the clothes suit me just fine, my broad armors didn\'t puff it up as I expected.

"Looking good, sir!"

"Ohh this is neat!" I looked at myself in the mirror. "Now I don\'t need to worry about getting salutes from people because of my equipment!"

Yuri rushed to the lady\'s section and began to dress up. They don\'t even need a fitting room in here, you simply equip the clothes and it will fix on you. Red Moon was just having a staring contest with me but she\'s now enjoying the dressing up with Yuri as well. Sigh. No girls can resist pretty clothes.

Looks like they totally forgot about me so I chatted with the owner. "Will these clothes break up?"

"Yes of course, or I\'ll lose a lot of business! They\'ll break after you\'ve worn them for 500 to 1000 hours, depending on its price. Expensive ones break slower. You can come buy another one, or buy the same one you like as long as you remember the serial number."

"So the Durability decreases over time? Will it break faster if I go into combat?"

"Nope. It only wears with time, in a fixed speed. The attributes and durability of your original equipment still apply."

"That sounds good!" I browsed over the stalls. A wizard robe caught my eye, I wonder if I can wear this thing to pass myself as a mage so I can play some dirty tricks on enemies.

"How much is this one?"

"This one?" He seems somewhat troubled. "This robe has some bonuses."

"But I thought they\'re merely decorative?"

"Well, normally yes. But this one is special, and it is the only special one I ever sold."

"What kind of bonus?"

"Apart from hiding your equipment...There\'s a [Demagogue] skill on it. But there\'s no explanation about the skill. You sure you want to buy it?"

"Why not? An extra skill isn\'t a bad thing."

"Well this stuff\'s expensive!"

He\'s doubting me!

"How much is it?" I\'m already taking out my credit card.

"Ten thousand Crystals."

"What??" I dropped my card onto the floor. "No kidding? As in, 15k dollars??"

"Told you. Normal people don\'t spend so much money on this kind of item. The price is determined by the system. I only sold two of them since the beginning of this game."

Well this is embarrassing. I only have....7349 Crystals on me. But I already--

"Ziri! Oh? You want this robe?"

I nod. Darn it they\'re back.

"I don\'t think I have enough money though."

Red Moon seized the chance. "Ah ha! Poor guy. Beg me and maybe I can lend you some money!"

"Never. I\'d rather go find a prostitute job than borrowing money from the likes of you."

Yuri came up: "How much you need? I\'ll pay it."

"No, no. Now I shouldn\'t do that."

"Um, I haven\'t thanked you for getting me out of that garden. I saved up something in there so I can just pay for you this time. But you\'ll have to pay me back!" She giggled. "If you really don\'t want to borrow my money for free, you can pay me some extra interest later."

Ugh. Now I can\'t refuse that.

"Alright!"

Arrrrgh I got myself even more debt now! I need to think up something to earn money real quick or I\'d be in serious trouble if this keeps on.