Chapter 3: Horror Realm
The following morning, Jason sat at the nearby restaurant eating his breakfast. The inn where he temporarily resided didn't offer any breakfast, unfortunately. Therefore, many residents of that establishment gathered in the same restaurant.
Jason had black coffee, toast that included butter, and a few slices of bacon. After emptying his plate and mug, he snatched his backpack and hung it over his left shoulder. He had already prepared all the necessary material for his survival, including rations.
It was time to join Perseus and the rest of his party. He remembered the Golden Lion members gaze and hoped that the rest didn't think of him as dead weight. Even if they did, he only had to prove his worth to them. If he didn't pull his weight, he doubted they would give him any valuable ingredients needed for him to become Systemer.
With a sigh, he walked out of the restaurant and strolled the busy and lively streets until he arrived at the designated meeting place. A tall building stood in the vicinity. It was the Realm Traveling Station. Well, not actually. It was only the entrance to the Realm Traveling Station.
The Realm Association took the security of the Realm Traveling Station extremely seriously. There were several System Lords as guards, and even entering the station was a long process. Therefore, most of today would be spent filling out paperwork.
Jason scanned the area. The place looked like a park, which was strange since the futuristic building was right in the middle of it. There were several stone paths that went through a small forest, and there was even a lake with white-feathered swans swimming in it.
At last, he found Perseus and the rest sitting on the nearby bench. There were five of them present, meaning five remained. The meeting time was 10 a.m.
Jason rolled up his sleeve and wondered whether he was early or late. The wristwatch showed that the time was 9.30 a.m. It was thirty minutes before the time of the meeting, yet five had already arrived.
'They sure are professional. That's good.' Jason nodded with approval. The mission's success relied heavily on his teammates; after all, he wasn't even Systemer yet. He picked up his pace until he arrived at the meeting place.
Perseus and the rest only glanced at him before returning to their previous discussions. They all wore armor under their cloaks, and heavy-looking bags with many pockets lay on the ground. Perseus wore a fancy golden cloak with an image of a lion with thick fur.
Jason took a seat on the nearby bench and crossed his legs. He began to wait for the rest of the party members to arrive.
At 9.50 a.m.
The rest of the party members arrived. They shared a word with Perseus before shaking hands. They were ready to go.
"Alright, time to go." Perseus clapped his hands, and all rose to their feet and began to walk to the tall building. However, as Jason walked by, Perseus stopped him and said, "I will tell you your role for this upcoming mission."
"Oh?" Jason stopped in his tracks as he gazed at Perseus arm. He hummed silently because he couldn't move at all when he was grabbed.
'Indeed, the power of Systemer is incredible. He is part of the lowest rank, yet I couldn't do anything against him. I wonder if my revolver can penetrate his skin?' Jason wondered inwardly. It was shocking to even think about whether his party leader would survive a bullet shot. But to him, it was a rather ordinary thought. He didn't feel hostile toward him, but was only curious.
"Since you are the weakest member of the party, the duty of porter happened to land on your shoulders." Perseus handed Jason his backpack. It looked heavy. The mission's length was considered to be one week or maybe a few days longer. However, the amount of stuff that Perseus took with him made others believe that the mission was one month long.
Perseus did this on purpose. He purposely took some useless stuff with him to increase the weight of the backpack. That was to bother the new porter slightly. He believed that by putting Jason under pressure, he would stop having any thoughts of continuing to be a Realm Adventurers.
Perseus, not even for a moment, believed that Jason had the willpower to be Realm Adventurer.
"Porters from Golden Lion have to carry three or four similarly heavy backpacks during our raids." Perseus said with an innocent smile. "Don't tell me that one backpack is too much for you."
Jason picked up the backpack, and his muscles bulged slightly. His face showed signs of surprise because it was heavier than he initially thought.
'Did he put weights there or what?'
Perseus' smile grew after he saw the new porter having some difficulty carrying his luggage. He then turned around and motioned for Jason to follow him. "No time to waste. We need to find a campsite in Horror Realm before it gets even darker there. The nights there are quite strange. Even darkness could swallow you up!"
Jason sighed and put the heavy backpack on his back. He didn't complain even though his knees buckled because of the weight. He sighed and followed after Perseus. They soon entered the futuristic building, where the rest of the party members were already filling out paperwork. Then it was their turn.
After filling out the paperwork, they were led to a separate room. There, Jason finally saw the portal. It had the height of a ceiling and was as wide as three doors. They entered through the portal under the close watch of the ordinary guards, who were only at System Apprentice level.
After stepping through the portal, they arrived at the Realm Traveling Station. It resembled a metro station, with ticket booths and lines of people waiting. Every now and then, flashes of light appeared at the end of the station. It flashed whenever someone stepped through the realm portal.
Perseus and the rest entered one of the lines. All the people waiting in the lines wore armor and wielded different weapons. However, there were also a unique group of people who wore suits. There were also women who had obviously put on makeup before coming there.
Jason watched closely as they bought a ticket and went straight to one of the tunnels. That tunnel had heart symbols engraved on the walls. Everyone going there didn't wear armor, but suits and dresses.
'Is that the Romance Realm?' He wondered inwardly before moving his gaze to other tunnels.
Romance Realm was a dream place for fans of romance. Any kind of romantic encounter could happen there, such as meeting their soulmate. If Jason went there, he would definitely find a girlfriend within a week if he tried.
There were thousands of equally strange realms. Some were dark and gloomy, others bright and sunny. Their destination happened to be one of those dark realms—the Horror Realm.
They waited in line for nearly an hour before finally arriving at the ticket counter.
Perseus turned around and looked at Jason coldly. "Everyone pays their own ticket. That is the rule we decided beforehand."
Jason nodded without answering. He brought his wallet with him because he didn't expect others to pay anything for him—nor did he think that they would share their food with him. They were basically on their own because they were a temporary party, not a Guild. However, in battle, they would assist each other.
They paid for their tickets. It cost five silver coins. Coins were the Realm Currency. Bronze, silver and gold coins were used in every realm. 100 bronze coins were worth 1 silver coin, and 100 silver coins were worth 1 gold coin.
Perseus handed over a piece of paper to the auburn-haired ticket receptionist. It had the coordinations of where they wanted to be sent. Without coordinates, they would be teleported to the contact point of the Horror Realm. Since it wasn't place for humans to live, no one built Realm Station branch there because it would get constantly attacked by Horror Creatures.
After receiving the piece of paper, the ticket receptionist typed the coordinates on the miniature machine. Then, she gave each party member a translucent ticket. However, when they touched it, the ticket entered their bodies as if it was a gust of wind.
Jason left the line and followed briskly behind Perseus and the rest. They entered one of the tunnels, which had gloomy symbols of ghouls, zombies, and ghosts. Then, the tunnel flashed with colors, and all the engravings began to glow as if they were suddenly coming to life. However, that only lasted for a moment, and when they opened their eyes again, they were surrounded by a gloomy forest.
They stood on a paved road. They saw the dark sky and the crimson moon. Jason remembered the crimson light from the stream. He immediately turned serious and looked warily toward the dark forest. He knew he didn't have the luxury of dropping his guard.
"Welcome to Horror Realm, lads." Perseus chuckled and gathered the party members around him. He didn't bother to call for Jason. "Dark Dungeon is twenty klicks towards the north. So, we have to cross this forest. Luckily, none of the stronger creatures are this close. They usually reside closer to Horror City, but we have no intention of going there except if we want to die."
Everyone nodded solemnly.
'Horror City... Sounds interesting.' Jason thought while standing on the sidelines. 'Maybe in the future... Heh, now I would die before even making it to the gates.'
He turned away from the conversation and remembered the ticket the receptionist had given him. It entered his body, or at least it looked like it. However, Jason was certain that it had entered his system. The system was designated to store certain objects. The ticket was something that should never be lost. By ripping the ticket, one would return to the Realm Station.
However, if the person was too far from the contact point—from the current place where they stood—the ticket wouldn't rip. That's why if one was too far and got ambushed, they couldn't just use a ticket to save themselves. It was the limit. This place was, after all, the gateway to the Realm Station. It worked like a phone signal. One couldn't be too far from the power grid for it to work.
'System.' Jason inwardly spoke. In his vision, a holographic screen appeared. It was in color of light blue. Since it was transparent, Jason could see through it; however, the words written were clear. Others also couldn't see his system.
***
[Welcome Human System!]
[Name: Jason Grandhart]
[Rank: ——]
[Age: 18]
[Level: 0]
[Percentage: 0]
[Class: ——]
***
At the bottom of the holographic screen, he saw an image of a small ticket. He felt like he could take it into the real world. However, he didn't dare to do it and instead closed the system. Then he turned to Perseus and the rest, who had decided where to go next. One of them was the navigator, who quickly pinpointed which way they should head next.
'Hopefully Wraiths aren't near. Heh, well, a good navigator could tell if they were going the wrong way immediately.' Jason hummed in his mind while looking at the back of the navigator. She was a chestnut-haired woman. Not excessively beautiful, but pleasant to look at, and quite short for someone her age. At least, she was in her early thirties.
Perseus nodded after hearing the navigator's suggestion. He motioned for everyone to follow him, immediately taking on the role of a leader. They all followed behind him, walking over a ditch and entering the dark forest. The branches were so thick that they could barely see the crimson moon.
Jason pondered whether he should take his flashlight from his backpack. The darkness was overwhelming. They didn't know what was waiting for them, so most of them were extremely wary of the darkness. Then, two of the party members turned on their flashlights. They finally saw each other's backs.
"Whoo..." Jason took a deep breath and followed the group. He was still carrying his own and Perseus luggage. Even a few small beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead. The sweat trickled down his nose bridge before dropping to the ground. Still, Jason smiled.
'Camping trips with my father were a thousand times worse. I have a feeling that this will be far more enjoyable and thrilling.' Jason silently looked at the backs of his fellow party members. 'I hope they allow me to actively participate in fighting. If not, well, I doubt the Horror Realm has a lack of creatures to kill.
'I have only one goal here. Become Systemer. However, suicide isn't on my list. Therefore, I have to be smart about this.' Jason glanced at his hip, where the black revolver slipped inside the holster was. 'Father's gun... capable of killing any creature, no matter if one had Anti-Ghost bullet or Purification bullets. Even normal bullets become formidable. I always wanted to try it...'
Jason smirked as the light of the crimson moon fell on his face.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone