Chapter 437: Dreams of Ascension

Luke and the others had taken over a table inside a bustling tavern. Camlann was nothing like the ruined Safe Zone or the capital of the tutorial. It was alive, a real medieval city, fully functioning, sprawling, and loud. A massive circular kingdom encased by high walls, so large that it needed its own naval transport system just to help people move around the districts.

Evangeline took a long gulp from her tankard of beer. “Whereever Princess Rhiannon is right now, this one’s for her.”

Everyone raised their drinks in agreement, everyone except Luke.

He didn’t feel like drinking. Didn’t feel like eating either. His focus was locked on the map of Camlann he held in both hands. The city had been intentionally built in a perfect circle, its districts shaped like eight even slices of a giant pizza.

The military back at the village had given them money, but Luke still didn’t quite understand the economy. Everything was coin based: bronze, silver, gold. Different sizes meant different values, and the whole thing felt unnecessarily complicated.

“You’re really going to stare at that map instead of talking to us?” Evangeline asked, lifting a brow. “It’s our last day here.”

“We’ll see each other again in the modern world, but you’re right. It’s rude to ignore everyone at the table.” Luke folded the map and slipped it into his pocket dimension.

Mason returned to the table after speaking with the attendant. “Order whatever you want. Today it’s on me.”

“In that case, I want the most expensive thing on the menu,” Evangeline said, laughing.

Eleanor ordered a plate of meat so huge that Luke did a double take.

“Now that I have a super body, eating actually feels fun,” she said with a grin.

Jack was busy examining trinkets he’d bought from the outdoor market, among them a tiny statue of the Goddess of Kindness. The fair outside had been enormous.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to retire and open your own business?” Evangeline teased. “I guarantee this place has room for a new shop.”

Mason nodded. “My family runs a forge and a weapon store here in Camlann. Even though this is the ‘center of the world,’ the population isn’t actually that big. People are always moving out.”

“Moving out? Why?” Luke asked.

Mason took a sip of beer. “Because Camlann is the starting city. A stopover. From here people head to other kingdoms where the cost of living is cheaper. There are ‘embassies’ from every realm scattered through the districts, usually more than one. They offer everything: housing, jobs, relocation. This place doesn’t have a ruling nobility, and it’s not rich in minerals or dungeons. The other kingdoms… they’re basically gold mines begging for labor.”

“I think I get it. Sort of,” Luke said.

Jack placed a pamphlet on the table. It was for the Adventurer’s Guild. “Look, this is pretty cool, right?”

“Adventurers earn their living killing monsters, like we did in the tutorial,” Mason explained. “Collecting monster parts, doing quests, dealing with temporary dungeons, all that stuff.”

None of it was new to Luke. Not because he was an expert on the New World, but because these were the kinds of things he’d read about in webnovels and old fantasy stories.

“And if I want to keep leveling up in the system… what do I even do here?” Luke asked. “There’s no Midnight King or Midnight Lord for me to hunt down. This is an entire new world. How am I supposed to level?”

Everyone at the table turned to stare at him.

“Did I say something weird?” he asked.

Evangeline let out a laugh and drank again. “Cinderella, we just crawled out of one nightmare and you’re already asking for another. Why can’t you just relax?”

“If you’re thinking about that insane idea of kidnapping Allison…” Eleanor began.

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“He wouldn’t actually do that, right?” Jack asked.

All eyes landed on Luke.

“Kidnapping? No. That plan sucks. It depends on pure luck, and even if I managed it, what then? They’d just come after her again,” he said. “I dropped that plan.”

“Good,” Eleanor muttered.

I’m going to kill the Dragon Queen instead. That fixes everything.

“Whatever you guys decide to do with your lives,” Mason said, “you’ve got enough money to do pretty much anything. Whether here in the New World or back home.”