For The Greater Good-World 1: A Corrupted Cove || World//Zero ||

6. Where's My Mentor?

[Art by me :)]

No one's POV:

The moon was high in the sky by the time the ship finally docked along with a wooden platform, similar to that of when Alec first arrived at World Zero. As everyone was retrieving their things from the crew members, with Alec already finding his two suitcases out of the thousands of others, he felt a shiver travel up his spine as he continued to glance around the crowd of adventurers, seeing if he could spot a peculiar girl with long, wavy brown hair wielding a staff. But there was no sign of her. 

As Alec followed the line of others as they went down onto the platform, he skimmed his surroundings with an open heart. So far, the island looked to be rather homey, and comfortable. There was a town full of settlements further ahead on the island, the streets all lit up from lamps glowing a warm, orange hue. There appeared to still be a number of people out, despite the fact that it was very late, and probably past Alec's bedtime. Even if that was the case, they didn't look too tired, and honestly, Alec didn't feel tired either. In fact, finally stepping into the village World 1 had to offer added to his excitement of seeing what else was out there. 

The locals greeted the travelers with smiles and waves. Alec felt like he was in a parade as he trailed along with the crowd, and just like the participants did on their floats, he smiled and waved back, his heart swelling with joy. 

When they got to the middle of town, the bottoms of their shoes met that of a circular base, with a design that reminded Alec of a compass splayed over it. Behind him looked to be a blacksmith shop, where a couple of people were already there waiting on their upgraded armor or weapons. Nearby were what looked to be a row of scarecrows with targets on them, where a few people were attacking, testing out their strength. On the opposite side was a wagon with goods, and next to that was a platform with an overpass that said Pet Master. As Alec peered over everyone's heads to see further into the section, he spotted a play area with a red swing set.

But that wasn't the only thing that caught the boy's attention. To his left, the road ended and led out into an open field, a dirt path guarded by a number of fences leading further through the center of it and under what looked to be a rock tunnel. In the dark of the night, he could see the bulky shadows of something moving, and could hear faint growling beyond the sound of music from the buildings and the crickets. To his right, however, put his mouth agape. With a road guiding his eyes up to it, a glowing blue platform sat after a circular barrier, framing the bank beyond it. His mind began to wander. What was that thing? 

"Welcome to World Zero, Tier Ones!" someone said, causing everyone to turn their heads forward and zip their mouths closed. "We are thrilled to have more of you here to engage and enjoy the beautiful and captivating things that this dimension has to offer!"

Everyone in the crowd clapped, and some even cheered. Alec couldn't help himself and shout as loud as he could. 

"Glad to hear that you all are excited!" commented the speaker. "Trust me, your experience here will be worthwhile! First things first, there are lots of things you can do! You can explore, make friends, and trade using the items that you gathered along the way. As you improve, you will have the opportunity to change from being a Tier One to a Tier Two, and more! However, none of these things come easy. You will have to defeat monsters that will help you level up and get stronger, so you can go into dungeons and get the chance to find something rare! You can get pets, whether to have them as a companion on your journey or to assist you with battles!" 

Immediately, the crowd started talking again, obviously at the mention of pets. 

The speaker shushed them down before continuing on. "If you look in your bags tonight before you go to bed, you will see that we have left you a list of quests that you will need to complete before you can carry on to the next world. The first column is the main quests required for that world, and the second column is side quests, meaning that they are optional. While they are not exactly required, you can still earn some cool items from them! You must check off your completed quests with your mentor, otherwise, your privileges' of being an official adventurer will be limited, or even taken. So always, always, check in with your mentor every once in a while, preferably as soon as you finish a quest." 

Alec's eyes drifted away from the speaker for a moment, their voice falling to the back of his mind, to look back at the blue glowing thing. He tilted his head. Maybe trying to see it from a different angle would've been better? As he tried that out, he glanced his eyes quickly away before looking back at the weird device, and then paused, and looked back the way he did before. Through the crowd of heads and shoulders was the mage girl. The one who saved his life...

Well, maybe saved wasn't the right word, but still. He hadn't thanked her yet. 

Before he could push through the crowd to get to her, let alone even move, he froze in place when the speaker talked again. 

"...That should be about everything! Remember to have fun and please, please, stay with your mentor!" 

After a wave of claps and cheers, the crowd began to disperse. Now was his chance. Alec quickly fled from his spot towards the mage. But just like before she was gone again. He scratched his head, confused. What was the deal with mages, anyway? First Sean disappeared, and now this girl?

"Excuse me, little man," a gentle voice said. 

Alec turned to them. It was the speaker—a woman, with long, white hair that almost looked to flow in the wind, kneeling down to his eye level. She almost looked like an elf, only her ears were as round as his. Or, in other words, she appeared to be an immortal being. Her antlers that protruded out of her head gave him that impression, anyway. 

"Do you know who your mentor is?" she asked. 

Alec, not knowing what to say, shook his head. 

The woman pulled him aside. "Did you check your bag? Your quest list should have your mentor's name on it." 

Alec stared blankly for a moment before coming back to his senses. "O-Oh, no. Hold on." 

Putting one of his suitcases in front of him, he opened it and sure enough, there was a scroll rolled up and held with a bright red ribbon. 

"That's the one," the woman nodded. "Open it, and let me see." 

Alec hesitantly did as he was told, and without skimming through his list of quests, handed it to the speaker. She hummed quietly, tapped her chin, and tossed her head around as if she was looking for Alec's assigned mentor. When no one stood out to her, she rolled it back up and handed it back to Alec. 

"Your mentor must be busy right now," she told him. "Don't worry, though. He will come by soon. I'll send him a message immediately." 

Alec nodded. "Okay." 

"If it will help you, I'll describe him to you, so you know what he looks like. Would you—"

"There you are!" 

Someone's footsteps got louder and louder behind Alec, and he and the woman looked to see who was coming toward them. It was Sean, swinging his staff in his hand as he skidded to a stop. Alec noticed that he still had his ribbon around his palm. 

"Thank goodness you're alright!" he said in a tone similar to his Ma's. "See? The ship ride wasn't that bad, now was it?" 

The woman stood up, staring down at both of the boys. Alec didn't realize how tall she was before she was practically towering over Sean, too. "Who are you?" she asked the mage. "A friend of his?" 

"Yeh," Sean responded. "I guess you can say that."

The woman cocked a brow, a slightly skeptical look on her face. "Okay... well, then can you do me a favor?" 

"Sure." 

She extended her arm out. "Head into that building. The tavern, if you will. And wait with this boy until his mentor comes. Can you do that?" 

Sean smirked and did a funny loop of his hand as he bowed before her. "Will do, ma'am!" 

The woman's suspicion eased as she smiled. "Thank you. Run along now, you two," she beckoned. "It's dangerous to be out late." 

Twirling over his feet with one of his hands on Alec's back, he led the younger boy towards one of the buildings in the town. Alec looked back to catch the woman staring after them before walking away. 

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[Word Count: 1545 words]