My Ex-Girlfriend is the Strongest Guild Master and I'm the Weakest! Chapter 52: Baby Steps

I'm Alan Warden, Chief Technician of The Santa María. Due to a series of unfortunate events, I have beco the weakest User in this entire virtual world... and I'm supposedly the one to save humanity.

He gasped for air while tossing aside the now-useless iron tray, the corpse of the Weasenox beside him.

"We did it, Alan," Ashley said from behind him.

"Yeah... I'm finally level 6... How marvelous..."

"We're celebrating tonight because Alan has finally leveled up. Yay!" Alia bead, opening a bottle of beer.

"So what? Are you going to toast 94 more tis?"

"Co on! Stop being so cranky! Baby steps, Alan, baby steps."

"At this rate, The Singular will conquer all of Novus," Alan muttered before munching on his burger.

"So! What are your plans for tomorrow?"

Alan glanced at Ashley, who was silently chewing.

"We've got wind of a dungeon northeast from here. Eurola's very first dungeon. I'll get better gear there."

"I hope it turns out great." Alia smiled warmly at him.

"I hope so too..."

"Nothing on the second floor," Ashley inford as she entered the library, where a grim-looking Alan was sitting on a pile of books.

"So that's it?" Alan asked, looking around at his surroundings. "Count Dylak's Mansion, huh? I bet this place was very popular back in the day."

Ashley remained still, discerning his expression. "We could kill the Weasenox again."

"Nah. It'd just give a third of the XP this ti, and that ans buying another 'kitchen shield' from that guy. I don't think it's worth all that hassle."

"It's okay. I can use my knife and fight in the front lines while you provide support."

"And how do I do that? I can't use your bow. You'd get all the XP, and if I don't dodge in ti, it'll kill in one hit. Let's forget about the Weasenox for now."

"We could ask Alia if she--"

"Alia has helped us enough," Alan raised his voice, before exhaling. "Sorry, but I have to do this on our own. If we depend on Alia for every single obstacle we face..."

"Let's ask soone from Unus Town if they know about other ways to get XP, then."

"I know how. Making errands. But only if an NPC gives you a quest, and by now, all of them have been turned into servants." He lowered his head. "I'll... I'll co up with sothing tomorrow..."

And just like that, two more days passed without any progress. Ashley offered to search for mobs in the entire area, since thanks to her high Agility and Wind buffs, she could run almost indefinitely. She even reached the next town in less than an hour, but without any good news.

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Private ssage

Ashley: It's as if every single monster below level 20 has gone extinct. At least that is what people have told . I will try the next area. But it seems that the more I distance myself from Unus Town, the stronger the monsters I find.

Alan: It's okay, Ashley. Forget about the monsters. Have you found any bronze-tier gear for ?

Ashley: No. Only silver gear is currently sold in every store I visit. But I will keep looking.

Alan: Thanks, Ashley. I owe you one. I'll do my best from here.

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Yes, using the Navinet all day long while hiding from Alia. I don't want her to see like this. Let's see if people from other regions know sothing.

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EUROLA'S GENERAL CHAT

Techguy: Guys, do any of you know where I could find monsters level 10 and below?

Plxtea: Lol, what for?

Concordi: This guy must have a fascination with Sheepbeets. Does anyone rember those?

Ballezan: Yeah, they were pretty infamous because so players use them to 'relieve' stress.

Crepina: What do you an? not understand!

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And my question has been buried under the chaos... he exhaled, opening another window, showing the Bronze-Tier gear he needed.

Although I found them on an app called 'Eternal Market', the prices are exorbitant. It seems that only collectors buy them because 57,000 gold for a bronze sword is just ridiculous.

Alan furiously swept those windows out of sight, leaving the most dreadful one still active. It was a user ssage Board, discussing what happened in Londorus days ago.

So people think that the now-called 'Nuke Dragon Event' was a test from the Moderators. Test for what? Who knows? Others believe what the Londorus Tis is saying, that it was so sort of revenge from so Ex-Shooting Stars against Astrid. There are also theories about this being a declaration of war from what they call 'Non-Rankers', powerful begrudging Users that have never shown their true strength and hide from the ranking system. And lastly, a very small minority have ntioned The Singular, but without the information Alia got, there's no way they can get to the sa conclusion as her.

"Which only leaves with the only thing that calms my nerves..." Alan opened a five-day-old video of a tournant held in Iregorn where Miss Cosmica was the hostess.

[ We're here in the Semifinals! Can you feel the heat from your seats?! ]

She really is aweso. Not only is she beautiful, but her screen presence is unmatched too.

Alan made the video screen bigger. As high-level warriors showed their conviction on the battlefield, Alan stared at the bottom of the screen, where the Idol could be seen watching the match and making comntary.

"Hey, Level Five, what are you doing there?" the voice of a young man was heard from below. "Wait, you are level six now? Cool!"

Alan looked at the lanky guy from his place atop a tree. He had black short hair and wore a tank top and baggy pants. Isn't he the guy that tried to steal my sword the other day?

"What do you want? Are you here to rob again?"

"And let that beauty go rampant? Nah, I'm good!"

"What do you an?"

The guy reached the tree branch Alan was sitting on with one jump with ease. "She didn't tell you? A couple of days ago, she stepped over the mayor's statue and told everyone that if any of us put a finger on you, she'd burn the entire town. Now everyone in Unus fears her."

"T-That sounds like sothing she would say..."

The guy shrugged and pointed at Alan's display with his chin. "What are you watching?"

"This? Um, how can I show you?"

"There should be an eye icon in the bottom right corner of the screen."

"Ah, got it. Do I toggle it on?"

"Yeah, like that. Oh, you're watching Battle Streamings, huh? Who's your favorite strear?"

"I... um... Miss Cosmica?"

"She's not a Strear, dude, she's a Sponsor! Anyway, can I ask you sothing personal?"

"The reason why I have such a low level and yet, I'm hanging out with a High-Leveler?" Alan exhaled.

"Yeah!"

If Astrid was so confident in making an excuse for in front of her entire guild, it ans it's safe to use it.

"I was in a coma until a few days ago," Alan replied, trying not to make a big deal out of it. "I've been out of the ga for three years. Before that happened, Alia and I used to be friends, so..."

The guy listened to every word with a captivated expression on his face.

As if we, moving here, had been the most exciting thing that had happened to this town in a long ti.

"Dude! Were you really in a coma? Sucks to be you! But at least you can hang around those beauties. I envy you, buddy! I'm Paulo, but call Paul. What's your na?"

"Alan. Hey, you're a Battle Streaming aficionado too, right? Can I ask you sothing?"

"I'm just a casual fan. But I could bring you to an expert that's really into that stuff!"

"Do you want to know more about Battle Streaming AND Miss Cosmica?! You've co to the right place!" Major Dominguez said out loud, puffing out her chest.

"Dude, what gives?" Alan whispered to Paul, narrowing his eyes at him.

"This is the only way you'll get your info," Paul shrugged, grabbing the popcorn bowl and getting comfy. "Besides, do you have sothing better to do?"

"Co on, Alan 'Level Five' Warden, have a seat!" Clara yelled enthusiastically, pushing him to a couch. "Did you know that Miss Cosmica is not only the Novus' biggest and brightest star but also the one that popularized Battle Comntary?"

Clara adjusted her glasses and turned on her enormous video screen, showing a low-quality video of what seed to be Miss Cosmica. Her trademark pink hair and her facial features were the sa, but her clothes, hairstyle, and lack of makeup made her seem like a shut-in.

"Look at this asshole, trying to connect a hit against Daniel, 'Living Tower', Torres, famously known for his Unique Talent that lets him absorb any non-legendary weapon into his armor," a very condescending Miss Cosmica wearing sunglasses said, before sneering. "Look at this guy's face after his lance disappeared inside Daniel's shield!"

"Wow. Is that really her? Even her attitude is different," Alan comnted.

"These are her humble beginnings," Clara continued. "She'd use video footage of others fighting and analyze their strategies. Honestly, she was pretty bad-mouthed at the ti, but her assessnts were pretty on point. The following is speculative, keep that in mind! While so of her detractors criticized her for being so harsh against other players, so pointed out that for her to be so accurate in her assessnts, she must secretly be a high-skilled warrior." She suddenly squealed, hugging her arms. "Could you imagine that?! Seeing her kick ass while wearing her signature outfits? She'd look like a fierce, but beautiful amazonian space princess!"

A feminine fighter, huh? Like Astrid? Alan thought, recalling in his mind the videos Marissa sent him, showing Astrid fighting her discontent ex-guilders. Nope... She looked quite aggressive and ruthless. As if a dragon had taken human form...

"As I was saying," Clara continued, "once Miss Cosmica amassed a large following, she partnered with one of the most loaded Actives and..."

"What's an Active?"

"A Novus' millionaire..." she replied, nonchalantly. "And that's when she adopted this idol persona everyone loves her for. Although she expanded her market by being the first successful singer in the whole Novus, she's still searching for new talents to sponsor." She leaned to Alan, smiling widely and making a hand gesture. "If you get picked by her agency, you can earn biiig."

"That sounds nice, but how does Miss Cosmica make money out of that?"

"She charges to get access to her Premium content."

"So that's the reason I can't watch her most recent videos. They're locked behind a paywall."

"You can wait until those videos are free," Paul said, munching popcorn. "That's what most people do."

"I CAN'T WAIT!" Clara cried, pulling Paul's cheek. "I couldn't live without watching her newest content! So be grateful that people like maintain her channel afloat, you dirty freeloader!"

"T-Thanks, Miss Dominguez!"

"Hey, maybe you could answer this." Alan rewinded one of his previously watched videos until finding a scene, showing a wolf-like beast engaging in combat against a mage. He paused. "Can you train monsters to fight for you?"

"Yeah, there's a class called Monster Tar, you know?"

Alan quickly thought of Sloochie, and Alia's comnt about her Monster Tar skill, level 1.

But I don't want anyone from Sli Village to fight for . At least I know there's a way now. Baby steps, Alia, baby steps.

"Paul!" Alan called aloud, startling him.

"W-What is it now?!"

"You've been pretty helpful today! But can you help with sothing else? I'll compensate you, I promise."

Clara's forehead wrinkled. "B-But I was the one that explained to you what..."

"Count with , Alan!" Paul replied, proudly. "What do you need?"

"This town's weaponsmith doesn't sell low-level weapons anymore. Do you know soone that could sell their old gear, or where I could get so?"

Paul crossed his arms and shut his eyes for a mont. "Hmm... Everyone has already gotten rid of their gear, even , so... Ha! It's so obvious! Follow ."

"Y-You guys leaving already?" a soft-spoken Clara said, watching them go without saying goodbye.