Chapter 43: Pavilion (2/2)
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When Rakna took a step on the second floor of the Pavilion, he was mildly surprised by how quiet and empty it was. What the stairs led to was a spacious lounge room with sofas and even what appeared to be a TV on the wall.
”Are you wondering why the place is so vacant?” Gray asked as if he knew what he was thinking.
”Yes. How come there isn't anyone here although there were so many people going up and down the stairs?” Rakna inquired as the two continued to walk toward an open corridor.
”Well, the Pavilion is quite special. It is a place filled with what we called 'Filter Dimensions'. First of all, when you enter the building, it will separate Hosts and even Locals from anyone that they don't know or have never interacted with before. Have you ever played an RPG? You can see it as a sort of lobby.”
”I see. What about the second floor then? What kind of filter is there in place?”
”Guild, Friend, and Party filter. People that don't have any of these in common can't enter the second floor together. You and I can because we're in the same Guild, obviously. And, if we consider how small our Guild is, you can guess why this 'lobby' is so empty.”
”This is more thought out than I expected,” Rakna remarked as they passed by several doors with plates saying things such as Training Area 2, Vault, Personal Area, etc…
”Yes, I'm sure you noticed that the System is quite thorough from many aspects. Well, while we get to the Awakening Room, let me explain to you a few things you can do in the Pavilion.”
”Back to the beginning; when you take the stairs to the right, where your friends went, you're led to a place that serves as a sort of hub with no second Filter Dimension. There are meeting rooms there for Guilds, leisure lounges, the Venue, as well as access to Board Quests, something we'll get to later.”
”Then, there's the left staircase, what we just used. What you have access to here is a lot of things. There's the Vault, where you can store items and money if you want since you do have a limit to how many Talys you can have at once. Pets and mounts can also be left to the Vault where they'll be taken care of in another dimension for a fee.”
”After that, we have the Training Areas composed of stuff like gyms, arenas, gravity rooms, etc. In the same kind of spirit, there's what we call Personal Areas. It's generally used by Hosts who want to train alone and be protected from any sort of spying. I swear on my hat that nothing could even intrude that room once you're in. Not even the guy sitting at the top of the Rankings.”
”Then, we have the Guild Shop. There's not really a point in you going there for now since you need a special currency that is only obtainable by doing Guild Quests or Raids,” he said and mused for a moment. ”That's the gist of it, I think,” he concluded then turned to the right as they reached the end of the corridor.
”The only things left to tell you about are these,” he said as he pointed at two double doors facing each other in front of them. He pointed to the right, ”This one leads to the Main Shop. It's where you went after the Initiation. The other door is what we're here for; the Awakening Room.”
Rakna glanced at the doors of the Shop and thought of something. ”Hey, does the shopkeeper stay the same as the Initiation's?”
”Hm? No, usually not, since most of the Initiation's shopkeepers are Hosts from higher Plateaus needing to do it in order to complete their Trials.”
”Their Trials? Those even include things like keeping the shop for new Hosts?”
”Yes, Trials are very varied, honestly,” Gray shrugged. ”Why are you asking that question anyway?” He asked then displayed an even wider red grin. ”Do you have a crush on the Lady of the Nine-Tailed Clan's Fox Branch? She was your shopkeeper, wasn't she? I heard she was a stunning woman. Did she get through you?”
”Shut up, clown,” Rakna replied indifferently as they stood in front of the Awakening Room. ”Hurry up and open this.”
Gray chuckled and simply tapped on the door with his finger. The doors instantly slammed open as if pushed by an invisible force. Rakna inspected the room as he entered after Gray. It was quite small compared to all of what he had seen in the Pavilion.
The walls were dark gray, the lighting was dim, the ground covered in carpet, and the ceiling was dark blue in color. It felt very confined overall and the only thing present in the room was an orb hovering above the ground in the center.
”Well then, it is time,” Gray said as he closed the doors behind them. The room was now drowned in darkness and the only source of light was the faint glow coming from the orb. ”All you have to do is simple. Touch the orb and channel your mana into it. If you focus, you should be able to feel your mana going throu-”
”No need to explain. I already have Mana Control,” Rakna interrupted him.
”Oh,” Gray exclaimed. ”Guess I should've expected that. In that case, go ahead. The magic that will resonate with your very existence and carry you through countless battles from now on will be uncovered here,” he declared then stepped back to the corner of the room.
Rakna breathed in and placed his hand on the orb. He closed his eyes and slowly guided his mana inside of it. The effect was immediate. The orb started shining and the room's very atmosphere became heavy. The ceiling lit up with hundreds of small blue dots and Gray felt a shiver coursing through his body.
His eyes became wide in shock as he watched what was happening. The ceiling and the walls were continuing to light up with dots of cold blue light. Then, these same dots were all suddenly linked together by lines like constellations before something manifested itself above the orb along with a wave of cold air.
”Ice…? No, this is…” Gray muttered then he got a proper look at what had just appeared above the Awakening Orb. He first let out a chuckle, then a few more, and finished with a laugh.
”Hahaha, honestly…” He smirked. ”You really have talent to spare, don't you?”