Fantasy Realm [One Piece] [Harry Potter] [Naruto] - [Progression] [LitRPG]

Chapter 48: The Peaceful Village of Dali, Taking Candy from a Baby!

Alex wakes up as a sharp light hits his eyes, realizing the sun is reflecting off his shiny new [Sealion's Might] ring, casting its glare right into his face.

"Hehe, interesting alarm clock," Alex mutters, kissing his new ring, completely forgetting its previous location, etched into the chest of a giant ice monster.

As Alex gets up, he notices that only Zidane is still sleeping. "Guess the protagonist always wakes up late, huh?" he chuckles to himself. "There's much to do and many important decisions to make. I better get my game on, hehe!" Making a bad reference to one of his favorite anime series, Alex pulls out his stack of Tetra Master cards while heading toward the village weapon store, run by a young shopkeeper named Eve. In the game, Garnet could befriend her later. "Even though it's only been a few days, I miss playing. Might as well take some cards off her hands, hehe."

Instead of heading directly to the store, Alex takes a short detour around the peaceful village of Dali, discreetly conjuring a few grenades and stashing them right away. There is a windmill turning lazily in the breeze, countless smaller homes, each housing a single family, and a medium-sized vegetable farm that seems just big enough to sustain the population. "Too small to export anything, though," Alex notes. The village has a few medium-sized buildings like a bar and some local facilities, as well as the mayor's large house. "I'll pay you a visit soon," Alex thinks gleefully.

Along the way, he only occasionally spots children playing and some older villagers tending to light tasks—working the farm or handling things inside the few village buildings. No working adults in sight. Alex knows the secret of the village: most of the adults are underground, working in a hidden facility that produces Black Mages using machines powered by mist energy.

As a child, Alex had loved Dali for its peaceful, serene atmosphere. But now, seeing it with adult eyes and knowledge, the village's dark underbelly disgusts him. "The village leaders and the working adults are sick war criminals," Alex thinks bitterly. Their greed led them to abandon the hard but honest life of farming, instead producing soulless weapons of war, machines that would go on to cause untold suffering and nearly destroy entire kingdoms. "Unforgivable," Alex concludes, his mind focusing on the village's mayor, who is hinted at being a corrupt, greedy, and unpleasant individual. In the game, this is never explored in depth, and worst of all, the mayor never faces any consequences for his crimes.

As Alex finishes his little stroll, he heads back to the weapon store, which stands just across the street from the inn. He is now secretly in possession of six deadly Annihilation Grenades, but his MP pool is completely drained. "Since I have 110 MP now and my MP regenerates relatively quickly, I was able to conjure six grenades, though my head hurts like hell," Alex thinks, satisfied. "This is so convenient. I should always remember to have a few of them ready. It doesn't matter who I face. If I bombard them with enough grenades, there's nothing I can't take down, as long as they hit their target and don't get dodged or deflected."

Alex enters the store and is immediately greeted by Eve, the young shopkeeper, who seems excited to finally have a customer.

"Welcome! Wow, are you a knight? Your armor looks so cool! You're like the dark prince from one of my favorite stories," she exclaims with bright eyes.

"Hello, young lady. I am indeed a proud Knight of Pluto, though I'm not a prince," Alex replies, smiling. "But it makes me happy that you think I look like one."