[Ascension]

[Rosenweil Capital City: Lowtown]

Hecate walked out from the dungeon, Rosenweil Waterway and set her feet at the Lowtown of Rosenweil Capital City. The Lowtown in this city was referring to the slum area of the city. The place where many impoverished citizen Natives live... Or it should have been.

Surprisingly this place was connected to a dungeon that Players could explore.

The dungeon was supposedly the city sewer system. However, it was frequently infested with monsters such as slimes, rats, and many other things that required the army to clean it regularly. But now, the existence of Players changed everything.

With a smile, Hecate greeted the guards stationed at the entrance as she took out two small bottles of beer from her inventory.

"Good work. Phebes-san, Carlos-san!"

"Oh just in time, I was getting thirsty!" | "Thank you, miss!"

To enter Rosenweil Waterway, the Players have to take a small quest to obtain a passage permit. She already knew their names from an earlier quest.

The two guards accepted the gift without reservation.

It was true that they were thirsty after standing for hours. Until their shifts ended, they couldn't move from their position and had to endure the hunger and thirst. A beer was what they truly need in their boring work routine.

Especially when the one who handed it was a cute girl, that was a plus for an eye candy!

Not long after, the familiar system window appeared.

Hecate glanced at the system log with a glee.

Just 2 beers with a cost 1 (One silver coin) for each beer and she could earn 2 Karma points, it was a very cheap bargain. Not taking it would be foolish.

♦♦♦

 

Other than the unified gold coins issued by the system, the Natives also used another coinage as a subdivision. However, it was not covered by the system and could only exist as another item in an inventory slot. It was like how Hecate collected a bunch of unknown coins in the ruins, they were just another item occupying the inventory.

At Rosenweil Kingdom, the coinage that they used was:

• • 1  Gold coin = 100  Silver coins = 10000 Copper coins.
  • 1  Silver coin = 100 Copper coins.

A single night in the inn at the city costs 7, while the cheapest food, a Rye Bread costs 10-15. However, since these coins took up a space in the inventory, collecting them was a hassle.

Note that every Player has Weight Limit on their inventory.

When the total weight of the items in their inventory exceeds a certain amount, they will get a certain penalty according to the percentage of their Weight Limit.

• • If the weight exceeds 50%, the players will receive 10% stat penalty debuff.
  • If the weight exceeds 75%, the players will receive another 20% stat penalty debuff.
  • If the weight exceeds 90%, they can't activate their skills.
  • If the weight is, or exceeds 100%, they can't put any more items into the inventory unless they take out some items.

A coin or two may not be too much trouble, but imagine if the Player collected 1 million coins. Their sheer weight alone could make any Player helpless from the weight penalty.

This was why it was important to exchange their Silver and Copper coins to Gold coins.

♦♦♦

 

The two guards drank the beer with delight.

Carlos finished gulping down the beer and looked around at their surroundings. There were many Players who came in and out from the sewer, carrying weapons and chatting happily with their friends.

• • Male Swordsman: "How many rats left for your quest?"
  • Female Mage: "Just 4 more and I'm done."
  • Male Archer: "I still short 6 more."
  • Male Swordsman: "Okay! Let's do this again after we restock our supplies!"

Looking at these energetic Players leave, Carlos commented.

"Perhaps, this job is not too bad. We just have to stand guard here to prevent monsters from breaking out from inside...
But I guess that's no longer necessary."

"Hahaha... I agree! Now there are Players who clean the sewers for us.
We can just relax and leave the job to them. We stand here doing nothing and then we receive our salary every month."

Phebes responded Carlos's words with a laugh.

♦♦♦

 

After the emergence of the Players, the army did not have to clean the filthy sewers from the monsters anymore.

With a few Copper coins or Silver coins, they can just issue subjugation quests in the Adventurer Guild and the Players will happily slaughter the monsters in the sewers. Sometimes, they would even clean up the monsters for free, which was very helpful for the army as well.

Note that the sewers were filled with waste water, even the army was unwilling to step inside that place. Regardless of that, the Players still willingly took the job.

The supposedly dilapidated Lowtown Area, which was the only way to the sewers, also flourished due to the existence of Players. Usually, only the poor or thugs would take residence in this area. The public order was bad, and the sanitary was awful. No one who was rich, especially the nobles, were willing to step in to improve the living conditions.

It was understandable, since they really hated this place and viewed it's residents with disgust.

But now, the Players actively helped the people in this place and solved each of their problems. They did not ask for much of a reward and were mostly satisfied with anything that got in return. Before long, the Lowtown was no longer known as the slum area.

Phebes and Carlos were unable to understand why those Players willingly did hard work for cheap like that. But... what can be used should be used. If the Players were willing to do it in their place, then why not take advantage of it?

It's not like the kingdom will take a loss if the Players were so motivated. On the contrary, this situation gives the kingdom so many benefits. This was like if the Players politely gifted them a pillow when they were sleepy, why refuse?

It's just that...

Sometimes the Players did various strange behaviors and performances. Some examples of these were stripping off their pants and then performing a weird dance in public, or harassing natives by touching their breasts or butts.

When that happens, even the guards would have a headache trying to handle them.

♦♦♦

 

Carlos shifted his glance to above, looking at the vast sky. His gloomy expression could be seen clearly.

"I'm just worried that our jobs will no longer be needed and we get fired later ...
This is a very nice job with a good salary, you know? What can I do for living if I was jobless...?"

Carlos sighed with a frown. Phebes did not say anything.

Noticing their anxiety, Hecate smiled.

"What are you saying, Carlos-san? There is no way you won't be needed anymore.
Your jobs is the most important in this place, you know?"

She then elaborated.

"Without anyone to guard this place, what will happen to the city if there is a monster breakout?
The Players will not always be here to save the day.
Many lives depend on your shoulders! You should stand tall and be proud of your job!"

Hearing her words, the two guards were stunned and became silent. This was the first time someone would say about their job like that.

It was true that the Players will not always be here, they would be absent sometimes for no reason. For this, the Natives know nothing about it. Only the Players, including Hecate, understood that they would be absent because they couldn't login during the server maintenance.

During that time, what if monster breakout really happened?

That was something Carlos and Phebes did not dare to think about. Realizing the importance of their job, their expression become softer. Carlos smiled and Phebes patted Hecate's head gently.

"Miss... You are a good girl... Yes, that's right! We are Knights."

"You are right Miss...! We the Knights have always lived to protect the citizens and we take a pride in doing it.
As long as we are here, no monster shall pass through this place!"

Once again, the system window appeared.

Enjoying the pat, Hecate secretly grinned.

'Too easy...'

Just a few words can earn 2 karma points. These guards are so simple to please. Absolute bargain!

♠♠♠

 

Having saying the goodbye to the two guards, Hecate walked out from the Lowtown.

Under normal circumstances, she might not meet them again after this. After all, Rosenweil Waterway was just a low level dungeon. It was not worth anything to her to visit.

She headed to a Blacksmith shop in the East Center of the city.

It was the time to meet Dalmagna, her Blacksmith mentor.