3 Exploration (2/2)

Niko inspected the surroundings before anything. The hole wasn't too deep and for this reason, the man wasn't injured. The hole was a replica of a hollowed-out cube, made out of gray stone as the walls inside of the hole were filled with tribal patterns. Niko also noticed that not far away from the wall was a ladder, that allowed movement out and into the hole. The thing that caught Niko's interest the most was the open tunnel entrance on one of the walls of the hole.

¨Maybe this is one of those places with rewards that the orb spoke about...¨ Niko murmured to himself as his gaze moved towards the man.

The man inside of the hole still didn't notice Niko standing above him as he himself began to look at the surroundings.

Niko´s suspicion towards the man vanished as he didn't look to be anyone dangerous.

¨Hello?¨ Niko called out from above, startling the man below as he took a few steps back and looked upwards. A surprised and uneasy look appeared on his face as he spoke, ¨Hey...¨

Noticing that the man was cautious, Niko raised both hands, ¨Don't worry! I'm in the same position as you, I also haven't seen anyone around yet… How did you get down there?¨

The man shook his head and sighed, easing up slightly more, ¨The hole was covered in leaves and I fell for it… But now that I look at it...¨ The man's eyes moved towards the open tunnel on the wall, ¨This might not have been so bad after all...¨

¨Indeed, this might not have been a misfortune for you… This could be one of the rewards that the orb spoke of… I'm Niko, by the way. ¨ Niko spoke as he walked towards the ladder.

¨Ah! I'm Louis It's a relief finding another human again, I'm guessing you are Belgian as well?¨ Louis asked.

¨Nope. This world has a system that allows us to understand one another. Like one common language amongst all. Hey, how come you're alone? You didn't stay back to read the booklet...¨ Niko responded as he began to adjust himself to use the ladder.

If this was one of those places that awarded the adventurous, Niko had to explore it. Finding his sister is the number one goal at this moment, however, he was unable to begin heading towards that goal. Therefore, his current goal was finding power. Until he obtained power, he would be unable to find his sister.

¨Like everyone else I just ran towards a direction. In the beginning, there were a few people near me, but as if they were teleported, they disappeared. One guy who was near me climbed trees and began going from tree to tree looking for anything he could find. I tried the same, however, I was not experienced in such a thing and became tangled in vines and other crap… I was only able to free myself moments ago... Wait, you stayed to read the booklet? What was in it?¨

¨Tap!¨

¨Crack!¨

Niko landed on the leaves and sticks that littered the bottom of the hole and spoke, ¨Just a brief description of the world and a few useful techniques. The information wasn't enough for anything but to give us an idea that this was similar to an RPG game. Also other than status, you can call out the word analyze in your mind to check certain objects and their abilities. I haven't tested this yet. It has to be true, right?¨

Niko couldn't trust this man in front of him, therefore, he did not speak of the full contents in the small booklet. Although the booklet was small, it possessed plenty of information, that allowed one to understand things much better.

As Niko spoke, Louis listened carefully as if he was memorizing everything.

Niko continued, ¨Also, there is an inventory, just like in the online games. If you hold anything on your hand and call out the word store, it will move it to a storage space somewhere else. This won't work in the preparation world as it needs a certain object that will be given once we are in the other world. It should be some kind of watch, but there is a limit to how much you can store…About the space of a closet.¨

Louis nodded with a smile and extended his hand for a handshake, ¨Thank you, my friend.¨

¨No problem.¨ Niko said while giving a handshake cautiously, then he moved his eyes towards the opened tunnel on the wall, ¨So… What about that tunnel over there? Should we go in?¨

¨Mhm!¨ Louis nodded as he turned to look at the tunnel ¨This should be one of those things the orb spoke of, we need to go in! Time is passing by quickly!¨

Louis was eager to enter as he wanted the same as everyone else. He wanted to survive.

¨Wait!¨ Niko stopped Louis, ¨The orb also spoke of dangers, therefore, we should be careful while inside. We need to work together. The orb spoke as if this was a trial for humans, which means we must all stick together.¨

Niko spoke this, however, in the back of his mind he was always cautious. Humans were greedy. He himself was a greedy person, and there was not a person besides his sister that he trusted. Once greed filled the mind of a human, they would be unable to care about relationships. For this Niko was still cautious of Louis even after the friendly exchange.

¨Right! Let us go then!¨ Louis said with a smile.

Niko smiled back and said, ¨After you.¨

Both of them walked towards the open tunnelway slowly, as if checking for any defects around them or the tunnel.