Afterlife Dream

Outside of the tent was the real carnival event map. It looked a lot like the Global Market, only that it had some attractions such as a merry-go-round, an outdoor playground set that consisted of slides and swings and bridges and many other things, and even a huge summer pool for kids to soak in.

"Hey, Antares."

I squinted and saw HellWitch and Lazarus approaching me.

"What's up, guys?" I asked.

"Something has happened," HellWitch told me with a grim expression.

Oh, no.

"Don't tell me that..."

HellWitch nodded before I even finished my sentence. My heart dropped to the ground. I could not believe that even such a fun event just had to have a dark side to it. The Dimensional Master was such a wicked villain.

My heart started to beat rapidly.

"How many?"

HellWitch frowned.

"How many what?" she asked in confusion.

Her weird question to mine in turn confused me.

"How many people disappeared?" I inquired further.

"No one disappeared. What are you talking about???"

"..."

Okay, we should restart the conversation.

"Never mind." I rubbed at my aching temple. "What exactly happened?"

"It turns out that pins are tradeable."

I widened my eyes in surprise upon hearing HellWitch's statement.

"No way!" I shouted. "Really???"

"Yes, really," she confirmed.

That was mind-blowing. I could not believe it.

"That is awesome! Listen, HellWitch, the Dimensional Master stage is worth 500 Life Points!"

It was HellWitch's turn to be surprised. Lazarus' jaw also dropped open in amazement.

"No way. Really?"

"Yes! Aurendiria and I just skipped that stage with free passes!"

"Wow."

"That is one life benefit with one skip."

"The cheaper one, yes."

It was somewhat interesting to see that although the pins were tradeable and could be sold to other players through market transactions, no player was willing to sell any. Those who wanted to buy were aplenty. Advertisements from potential buyers flooded the world chat in the first two days, only to stop on the third day because there was simply no one who was willing to sell.

The carnival event went smoothly from day one.

After the first day's success, it became the sole talk of Afterlife Dream. When players woke up in the morning, they awaited the tarot card in their mailbox with great anticipation. After the tarot cards had been received, they all quickly gathered at the event NPC to enter the carnival stages.

With passing days, event strategies had also evolved accordingly. Players no longer searched for those who had the same tarot cards in order to enter. They went by level. And they also no longer sought for random players to party with. That being said, I decided to party up with my friends for the event. I had enough with Dominion players. Definitely not going to party up with Ninja or PrecisionShot anymore.

We used to be a complete party with 6 people, but now that DragonTalon was missing, we lacked one more person. After we asked around in the guild for anyone who had yet to find a party, Cecilia messaged me and said that she would love to join our team.

I forgot to say that each stage completion also granted us a huge boost in experience. By the end of the fifteenth day, I reached level 120. More players had reached level 150, including Hime and Aurendiria.

When I hit 120, a lot of players congratulated me. Even HinoKun and SakuraChan did. I knew why they were so excited.

Level 120 meant the Fourth Job Advancement Test. I was going to become a Bishop.

The fourth job advancement was to take place at Frozen Tundra Land. As I boarded the ghost ship from Paradise Island, I could not help but think back about months ago, when I was only a level thirty-something mage. Not even a Healer yet. It was my first time traveling to Paradise Island and then to Frozen Tundra Land.

My first time meeting with Aurendiria and then BlackPuma.

Gosh.

Time flew so quickly. And now I was level 120, ready to take on a new challenge.

All my friends had taken the fourth job advancement before me, and I received great tips from them. I already took as many potions and food that I could stuff into my inventory. I was ready. And yet I was also very nervous.

After getting off from the ghost ship port at Frozen Tundra Land, I walked a few maps and had to climb a steep, snowy mountain. No, it was not allowed to fly. The mountain climbing supposedly was meant to test my sincerity in advancing to the fourth job, as the NPC at the base of the mountain informed me.

I hiked up the steep path, heading to the top of the snowy mountain, which bore the name "Peak of Eternal Honor". There was an abandoned castle at the peak where the Fourth Job Advancement NPCs resided.

In order to reach the castle, the players must climb 6174 steps.

Shocked?

Yes, I was also shocked when I heard it for the first time. Thankfully the steps were not that high.

At the base of the staircase, a huge stone stood tall with some words written on a flattened side,

"Welcome, oh thee with courage,

for those without are far from prestige.

One day to claim the Eternal Honor,

Seven days to reflect in the mirror."

The meaning was pretty straightforward. Players who failed the test must wait seven days before they could try again. That was the standard from the very beginning, only that it became poetic once one reached level 120.

I slowly walked up the 6174 steps. The place was so oddly quiet that the sound of my steps reverberated throughout the place as if I was deliberately disturbing the peaceful environment.

Countless pine trees stood tall on both sides of the staircase. The top parts were covered in snow completely while the bottom parts still showed some green leaves and dark brown trunks. Having nothing interesting to look at, I kept my eyes trained at the path in front of me.

The castle was not visible, but an NPC was standing quietly on one of the steps. It had an appearance of a little boy that wore a white cloak with hood. This was the NPC that I was looking for.

"Hello," he greeted me.

I stopped in my track and greeted him back. "Hey."

The NPC went silent.

Now you might be wondering why I did not go on my way and leave the NPC behind. It was because the whole thing was a trick!

Sure enough, after I waited a while, the boy spoke again.

"It is a beautiful day."

"Indeed," I answered. "A very beautiful day."

That was not a lie. The sky was blue and clear from all clouds. The air was refreshingly cool. The beauty of the snowy ground was captured perfectly in time, extending to all eternity.

The NPC went silent again, and so did I.

After waiting for a few more minutes, the little boy took off his hood and revealed long silver hair that cascaded down his shoulders. His left eye was green while his other eye was blue. He looked breathtakingly beautiful.

"Dear Adventurer, you have climbed the staircase three times in a row. Have you understood what it means?"

[Yes] [No]

Yes. Of course. But not because I climbed the staircase three times in a row. It was because I already heard about it from my friends.

The NPC nodded thoughtfully as he scrutinized my facial expression.

"Then, can you tell me what you have gone through ever since you started your adventure within Afterlife Dream?"

This question might sound trivial, but players must not underestimate it.

"In the original version of the game, this is when you are supposed to fill in the game review and submit it on the gaming store platform," ZhaoYun explained to me.

"Okay, but there is no review to write and no rating to give in this version, correct?"

"Nope, of course not. But you still need to answer the question."

"Okay."

"There is no right or wrong answer," Aurendiria told me. "Just be honest about what you have gone through so far. You started with level 1 and you are level 120 now. What do you feel about the game?"

"I mean... I can just say whatever, right? It doesn't really matter."

It was an NPC after all. It would not record my answer.

Against my expectations, all my friends shook their heads furiously.

"Be sincere. Don't say anything weird. The NPC will punish you if you fool around too much," Cecilia warned me.

Erm. Punishment?

"Like what?" I asked curiously.

The others looked at Cecilia who then tossed out dry laughter. "Picture this, Antares. I also thought that the question was silly, so I randomly told the NPC that I enjoyed the beautiful game design and background. And that I also liked the food and drinks selection in this game."