Once the following day had arrived, Valyr went through his usual morning routine, ordering himself a hearty breakfast at the inn's dining area before paying the fees for staying at the inn for the past two nights.
After making sure he had not forgotten anything at the inn, he then left the premises, making a short stop at a general store to replenish the rations he had consumed during the journey to Clossbay City.
Though, just as he was about to check out the items he was going to buy at the cashier, he decided to add in two vials each of health and mana rejuvenation potions as well, specifically the Lesser versions of the potions, thinking of the possible worst case scenario happening in the dungeon.
'Well, I'll also be grabbing the Inferior versions as well, just to be sure.' Stowing away all of the items he had bought in a bag he brought along for the journey, Valyr then made his way to where his carriage was, becoming glad to find out that the horses that were going to pull his carriage once more were well taken care of while he was gone.
Hopping on the carriage as he signaled for the horses to start moving, he went ahead and thanked the man who had taken care of his horses while he was away, tossing a silver coin to the latter before proceeding to start the journey back to Astarto Village.
Outside the protection of a settlement once more, Valyr could not help but wonder how much time remained before the beta version began while moving through the vast plains. Recalling that he and Wells had been reminded sometime in the past that only 30 days remained, he then commanded the system to show him the remaining time until the beta version began, his eyes slightly widening from surprise.
Ding!
[Version 0.1b of Greater Beyond starts in 6 days!]
"To think only less than a week remains before a few dozen players get their first taste of Greater Beyond," Valyr could not help but mutter, his gaze focused on the surroundings before him. As he thought about the things he had done so far, he could not help but feel a sense of accomplishment for achieving the first goal he had set for himself when he came to this world, which was to ascend to a Rank 1 class before the beta version began.
Though he had indeed achieved his goal, that did not mean that he would slack off. Instead, Valyr knew that things were only beginning for him as the storyline Veldanyr had during the first version of Greater Beyond popped up in his mind. "The War of the Three Sovereignties."
"I should try to prepare a bit for that during the beta version. Though, whether I make a lot of progress or not during the beta version, it doesn't matter much," he thought out loud. "After all, most of the important things I need to do shall only be feasible once Greater Beyond goes public."
After that, Valyr continued on with his journey, appearing at the periphery of Astarto Village around four days later.
By the time he had gotten past the village's walls, the sun was already in the midst of setting. Nevertheless, finally seeing familiar lands surrounding him, Valyr let out a long sigh of relief. Getting off the carriage, he went ahead and returned the items back to their respective shops, obtaining the initial deposit he had given the shop owners soon after.
After that, he hastily made his way back to the barracks, heading straight to the dormitory room to take a quick nap, only to find himself waking up by the time it was already deep into the night. Lightly scratching his head as he bitterly smiled, he headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower, changing into a set of loose fitting clothes before heading to the cafeteria.
Thanking the heavens that the cafeteria was still open at this time, Valyr ordered a light meal before sitting down on a vacant seat, taking in the somewhat calm silence that came along with being awake late at night. Once he was done eating, Valyr gave the now empty tray back to the cafeteria workers before heading back to his dormitory room, only to fall asleep once more.
Wondering how he had fallen asleep just as he had gotten up, Valyr scratched his head for a bit in confusion before going through his usual morning routine, though he only splashed his face with water since he had already taken a shower the previous night. After that, he changed into one of the new guard uniforms Damian had placed in his room while he was gone, recalling that he had asked for it before he and Tristan had even set off on their journey to Danyhris.
Finding the new uniform quite comfortable to wear, he then made his way to the cafeteria and grabbed a light breakfast to go before leaving the barracks a couple minutes later. Once outside the barracks, he headed to the village clinic, being greeted by the sight of a still sleepy Vera in the midst of waking herself up.
Naturally, Valyr's presence in her clinic swiftly jolted Vera to being fully alert, asking the former as to what he was doing here so early. In response, Valyr asked her if he could get a few vials of Inferior Health and Mana Rejuvenation Potions in preparation for his attempt at the nearby dungeon.
Hearing his words, Vera's eyes slightly widened as she nodded in surprise, telling Valyr to wait for a bit as she headed to the rear portion of the village clinic. A couple minutes later, Vera appeared in front of him once more, carrying a few vials of the potions Valyr had asked.
After Valyr had paid Vera for the cost of the potions, he then stored them all into the bag where the Lesser Health and Mana Rejuvenation Potions he had bought back in the city were before making his way to Tristan's smithy. Surprisingly, unlike Vera, who was still in the process of waking up when he entered the clinic, Tristan was already in the process of preparing for the day by the time Valyr had entered the smithy.
"Oh, well if it isn't Valyr. And here I thought you'd be out for longer before I see you again." Noticing Valyr's presence, Tristan stood up from his seat and made his way to where the former was, giving him a light embrace. After Valyr reciprocated the hug back, he then headed to where the set of armor he had crafted was placed, asking Tristan if he could use his tools for a while to upgrade them.
At that moment, Tristan quickly understood what Valyr was about to do, leaving him no choice but to nod in response as he allowed the latter to do what he needed to do. After that, he sent out a couple strands of mana outside the smithy, their destinations heading to who knows where.
In the meantime, Valyr went ahead and upgraded all of the pieces making up the armor set to Level 15 before retrieving the spear behind his back and upgrading it to Level 15 as well. Once he was done, he then went ahead and wore the full armor set before making his way out of the smithy, telling Tristan to inform Damian and Alfaera that he was about to attempt the dungeon.
Coincidentally, just as he said those words, the two people he had mentioned had appeared in front of him.
