Chapter 6: Welcome to Oakhaven
The blinding white light didn’t last long.
Asher felt a sudden change in temperature, moving from the damp chill of the cave into a pleasant, warm breeze that carried the scent of fresh grass and woodsmoke.
He opened his eyes and blinked against the bright afternoon sun.
His feet were no longer sinking into cold slime. Instead, he was standing on soft green grass at the crest of a high hill.
[Location Registered: Oakhaven Suburbs - Beginner Hub Server]
[Safety Zone: Hostile player actions are penalized within city limits.]
"Wow," Asher breathed, letting out a clean breath.
He adjusted his floating camera drone to turn around, taking in the full view.
Spread out beneath the hill was a massive medieval city.
High stone walls, easily fifty feet tall, wrapped around thousands of tightly packed houses with dark red tilted roofs.
In the center of the city, a towering white castle stretched up toward the blue sky, its flags snapping in the wind.
Hundreds of tiny figures, both native citizens and low-level players, were moving along the dirt roads leading toward the grand western gates.
Back on Earth, the chat section on his stream screen went into absolute meltdown.
The sudden shift from a dark, claustrophobic cave to a vast, gorgeous fantasy land was the ultimate visual hook.
The viewer count column in his vision rapidly updated, surging ahead.
[Current Viewers: 1,500 → 2,100]
[User_Tim99]: Holy crap! Look at the render distance! You can see individual bricks on those walls!
[LootGoblin]: This isn’t a tech demo anymore. This is a full-on open-world game. Look at the scale of that castle!
[NoobSlayer]: Streamer, look at your clothes. You’re still half-naked standing outside a major city. The guards are going to look at you like a crazy person.
Asher looked down at himself and laughed.
His chest was still covered in dried grime from the Sunken Crypt, and his tattered linen trousers were caked in gray mud. He looked like a beggar who had barely survived a landslide.
"Good point," Asher said, looking toward the camera drone. "But before I buy any cosmetic gear from the shop, I need to see what the economy looks like here. Let’s head to the gate."
He started walking down the dirt path toward the main road.
As he got closer to the gates, he noticed other people walking alongside him.
Some were native citizens carrying baskets of vegetables or pulling wooden carts filled with hay. But others had clear, floating blue names above their heads.
[Level 6 Swordsman - GuildLess_Dave]
[Level 8 Mage - FireBaller]
"Real players," Asher thought, his eyes tracking them.
They were wearing basic iron chest pieces or simple robes, carrying standard starting gear.
None of them had floating camera drones above their heads, which meant Asher was the only one broadcasting his journey back to Earth.
As he reached the massive wooden gates, two heavily armored NPC guards stepped forward, blocking his path with long halberds.
Their iron armor gleamed in the sunlight, and their expressions were cold and severe.
"Halt, traveler," the guard on the left barked, his voice deep and booming.
"Oakhaven is currently under high security due to increased monster activity in the outer regions. State your business and present your identification or regional pass."
Asher didn’t flinch.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the heavy metal key he had taken from the Crypt Keeper’s ash pile.
He held it out for the guard to see.
[Item Displayed: Oakhaven Regional Pass]
The moment the guard’s eyes fell on the key, his stern expression melted into pure shock.
He quickly raised his halberd, stepping back to stand at absolute attention. He even gave a small, respectful salute.
"My apologies, traveler!" the guard said, his tone turning incredibly polite.
"I did not realize you were the one who cleared the hidden Sunken Crypt. Only a true warrior could claim the Keeper’s key. Please, enter freely. Welcome to Oakhaven."
[LootGoblin]: The respect! That’s what I’m talking about! Clearing the boss gave him instant street cred!
[GamerGuyX]: Look at the other players staring at him. They’re probably wondering how a naked guy got a rare entry pass.
Asher smiled, putting the key back into his pocket as he walked through the giant archway.
The moment he stepped past the gates, the sheer noise of the city hit him.
Blacksmiths were hammering away at iron anvils, street merchants were shouting out prices for fresh bread and roasted meats, and hundreds of players were gathering in the open plazas, shouting out recruiting messages for dungeons.
"First stop, the Adventurer’s Hall," Asher said aloud, keeping his voice low so the nearby NPCs wouldn’t think he was talking to himself.
"I need to officially register my class and see what kind of quests we can pick up to farm more attributes."
[MinMax_Andy]: Streamer, check your attributes first. Your Strength and Agility are both at 17, but you don’t have an official class yet. A normal player registers their class at Level 1. You’re Level 5. The stat distribution might glitch out the system orb.
"We’ll find out soon enough," Asher replied mentally.
He followed the main stone street, guided by the wooden signs hanging from the storefronts.
After a ten-minute walk through the bustling crowds, he arrived in front of a grand three-story building made of thick oak timber and white stone.
A large shield symbol with crossed swords hung above the double doors.
He pushed the doors open and stepped inside.
The Adventurer’s Hall was massive, filled with long wooden tables where warriors were drinking ale and discussing raid strategies.
At the far end of the hall was a long marble counter where several receptionist ladies were processing paperwork.
Asher walked up to an open spot at the counter.
The receptionist, a young woman with neat brown hair and a clean uniform, looked up.
Her eyes twitched slightly as she looked at Asher’s dirty, bare chest and mud-stained pants, but she quickly forced a polite professional smile.
"Welcome to the Oakhaven Adventurer’s Guild," she said, her voice bright. "How can I help you today, traveler?"
"I’d like to register my presence and evaluate my status for a class alignment," Asher said clearly.
"Of course. Please place both hands on the evaluation crystal in front of you," she said, pointing to a smooth, transparent glass orb sitting on a brass pedestal on the counter.
"It will read your soul data and determine your optimal path."
Asher stepped closer, raising his hands.
Back on Earth, over two thousand viewers watched through the camera lens as his dirty palms touched the smooth glass surface.
For a second, nothing happened. Then, the center of the orb began to spark.
ZZZT.
Instead of a steady blue or green light showing a standard Mage or Swordsman path, the crystal began to flash violently.
Deep purple and bright gold lights spun inside the glass sphere, humming with an intense energy that caused the brass pedestal to vibrate against the marble counter.
The receptionist’s smile completely vanished, her face turning pale as she backed away from the counter. "What... what is wrong with the energy reading?"
[User_Tim99]: Oh boy, he’s breaking the machine!
[NoobSlayer]: SSS-Rank talent hidden passives are too heavy for the starter orb! Look at it shake!
[MinMax_Andy]: It’s because of Ironhide and Shadow Perception. Those are S-Rank and A-Rank passives on a Level 5 character. The starter system thinks he’s a smurf or a glitched boss monster.
The intense flashing continued for five long seconds before the crystal suddenly settled, emitting a solid, heavy gray light that felt dense and absolute.
A mechanical chime rang out from the orb, and a new prompt flashed in front of Asher’s eyes.
[Evaluation Complete.]
[High Physical Defense Multiplier and Balanced Agility detected.]
[Optimal Class Path assigned: Vanguard (Variant Type).]
The receptionist breathed a heavy sigh of relief, leaning forward to check the text rolling across her ledger screen.
"Ah... it seems you have a highly specialized defensive constitution, traveler. You have been registered as a Vanguard. Here is your official Bronze Adventurer Badge."
She handed him a heavy, polished bronze coin stamped with a shield crest.
[Item Received: Bronze Adventurer Badge]
[Description: Identifies you as a registered Rank F Adventurer in the global guild network.]
Asher took the badge, slipping it into his pocket. He looked at his status screen, noting the new class title next to his name.
"Vanguard," Asher muttered, a sharp smile forming on his face as he turned back toward the doors of the hall.
"A tank build with high agility and a gacha extraction talent. This is going to be a fun run."
He stepped back out into the bright afternoon sun of Oakhaven, his eyes locking onto a massive bulletin board in the center of the plaza where hundreds of players were gathering.
It was time to find his first official quest.
