The destination of the portal had always been a mystery.
There were five cities where the newly ascended could appear after completing the Ascension Ritual.
Each one had its own advantages, disadvantages, and unique characteristics.
Players had always complained about this chanic. It was natural, because luck rarely favored the unfortunate.
Entire forums had been dedicated to discussing it, with requests and protests.
But nothing had ever changed. The system chose, and the decision was absolute.
Gabriel observed the enormous structure of the portal as the group advanced under the escort of several soldiers.
The construction occupied a large part of a fortified square located in the depths of the Beginner Village.
Heavily guarded at all tis.
Stone columns engraved with ancient runes surrounded a central circle.
The magical energy was so dense that it could even be felt in the air.
Behind him, he heard footsteps.
Then a hand gently tapped his shoulder.
"Hey... Do you know what happened back there?" The only one making the effort to talk to him was Bella.
Gabriel didn’t even turn his head.
"My well dried up."
There were a few seconds of silence. Then he heard a snort.
"Wow... We have a genius among us."
Gabriel decided to ignore her.
Luckily, Bella also seed to understand when insisting was useless. She didn’t bother him again.
Up ahead, the soldier continued reciting his speech. It was evident that he had repeated it until it was etched into his bones.
"The Ascension Portal was built during the reign of..."
No one was listening.
The players were too busy observing the runes, excited about their ascension.
So talked among themselves and others smiled.
Many were nervous because it was an important mont.
Gabriel wasn’t paying much attention either. He already knew every detail, having studied the ascension process long before reaching the required level.
Preparing for adverse scenarios was a difficult habit to break.
Finally, the runic circle began to light up.
A purple light erged from the depths of the structure.
The runes lit up one after another and the energy began to circulate.
The soldier raised a hand.
"All participants must take their positions."
The players obeyed quickly.
Gabriel advanced along with the rest.
The circle glowed with increasing intensity and the magical energy ran across the floor like electric currents.
Then a notification appeared.
_________________
[Teleportation Portal Activated]
[Initiating teleportation]
_________________
The world began to distort and the nearby faces beca blurry.
Shapes stretched, colors disappeared, and space twisted.
Gabriel felt the ground disappear beneath his feet.
Finally, he fell.
***
He had experienced the teleportation channel.
There were no adequate words to describe that transition. It was like crossing a river composed of light, empty of ti and reality.
It lasted barely a few seconds or perhaps several minutes. It was impossible to know.
Then his feet touched solid ground.
A slight unpleasant sensation ran through his stomach, but he ignored it.
Around him, several players weren’t so lucky. So fell to their knees, vomiting imdiately.
It was such a common scene that it had almost beco a tradition for the newly awakened.
Gabriel took a deep breath, holding it. And looked up.
He observed his new ho.
A large, rough, and functional fortress.
Tall stone walls surrounded the area, watchtowers rose above the defenses. It seed built and made to survive, without details created to impress.
The other players began to recover little by little.
Then soone noticed the flag.
And the enthusiasm died.
Silence spread quickly.
Gabriel followed the direction of those gazes.
A flag waved over a nearby wall and he recognized it imdiately.
Bersáic.
One of the five cities, undisputedly determined as the worst.
So players paled, beginning to curse.
Gabriel already knew the reputation of that city.
Few resources, few trade routes, constant beast attacks, and it ford a dangerous frontier.
With scarce opportunities to get rich.
Bersáic.
The city of the north, the sword of the north.
The neglected fundantal wall of the Kingdom of Larnac.
Behind him, he heard a choked voice.
Bella was crouching, her face completely dark.
She seed to be contemplating all the bad decisions she had made in her life.
Gabriel ignored her again.
Soon several soldiers appeared, with armor that was clearly worn.
So showed old scars and so bore marks similar to old smallpox.
They didn’t convey the glorious image many had expected to find.
They conveyed experience and discipline.
"Form lines."
The order was obeyed quickly.
The soldiers began to guide them toward a nearby administrative building.
There they discovered a new surprise.
They had to form a line.
Behind a small wooden table sat a thin official.
With a quill, ink, and papers.
His expression betrayed his greed.
He was in charge of officially registering the newcors.
One by one and without exceptions.
Gabriel watched as the line slowly advanced.
When it was finally his turn, the man looked up.
"Na."
"Gabriel."
The quill moved.
"Origin."
"Beginner Village."
Another line written.
Then ca the real stab.
"Registration fee. One silver coin."
Gabriel remained motionless.
His hand twitched as he barely pulled out a silver coin.
That was blatant robbery and they weren’t even trying to hide it.
The official observed his expression.
"The rules are the rules."
Gabriel clenched his jaw and then placed a small linen bag on the table.
The clink of coins echoed softly.
One silver coin.
He deposited it on the table.
The official showed a smile full of greed.
"Excellent decision."
He imdiately recovered a professional expression.
"I can see you are an intelligent man."
Gabriel felt the urge to hit him. He tried to contain himself... for now.
The official stamped a seal.
"Approved."
Gabriel left without responding. He felt robbed, humiliated, and slightly offended.
But he also made a decision. He would earn a lot of money, a trendous amount of money.
Enough for that coin to stop hurting.
Behind him, he heard an indignant voice.
"A linen bag?"
"They’re only copper coins!"
The subsequent scream was so loud that several soldiers turned their heads.
Gabriel continued walking.
For so reason, that improved his mood slightly.
Once the procedures were completed, the players began to disperse.
The tension started to disappear.
Now they could observe the city with more calm.
The streets with history.
The solidly built buildings.
With their walls and towers.
Bersáic finally stretched out before them.
And from that mont on, it was also their ho.
The cold northern wind struck his face. For the first ti since he had started the ga, he felt sothing different.
The Beginner Village was left behind.
The safe zones, the limitations, the protections... Everything was over.
Now he was in the true world.
Far away, a figure watched the portal.
The Village Chief remained motionless in a corner.
The last traces of energy slowly disappeared from the teleportation circle.
One of the advisors approached.
"Everyone has departed."
The old man didn’t respond imdiately. His eyes remained fixed on the portal.
Especially on the spot where Gabriel had disappeared.
Finally, he spoke.
"I know." His voice sounded tired.
The advisor hesitated.
"Should we report what happened?"
The silence lasted several seconds.
Then the old man slowly shook his head.
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