Project Overworld

The buildings here at the center were much more elaborate. Some had stone foundations while others were entirely made out of stone bricks, omitting the thatched roof.

The museum was one of such. It was a huge construction, with much more surface than the town hall. It only contained one floor, though, unlike the the municipal building.

Keith took a step inside and was astonished by the prowesses shown by the museum's builders.

The interior was vast and open. There was no walls in the middle of the building to carry the roof's weight. Instead, only a few pillars were erected here and there to make sure the visitors would have the best possible view out of the whole surface.

- "Hello, customer." A masculine voice reached to him.

Keith turned towards the counter located near the entrance of the museum and thought : 'Oh yeah, I shouldn't be dreaming like that in the middle of the passageway.

He approched the receptionist and asked :

- "Is the museum open for visit?"

- "Yes it is. It will cost one fine branch of wood and one large stone."

- "Excuse me?" Keith suddenly let out, confused.

'Wait, did they create an actual economy revolving around crafting materials?' He pondered.

- "We're not that interested in money at the moment. In fact, lots of materials were needed for the constuction of the museum and we're trying to refund the cost in materials so we can start working on other community buildings."

"Makes sense." Keith muttered to himself before looking up his inventory. 'Wait, did he talk about money? Hm, let's not think about that for now. Why don't I give this museum a try? I've traveled over thousands of miles for the purpose of visiting this city after all.'

Keith had, in fact, all the materials needed. He always had some in case he needed to craft something out of the blue.

- "Will this do?" He asked the man while tending some materials.

- "It sure does. If you may wait, a guided visit will be organised in half an hour from now. The guide will explain in depth the origins of each object exposed here."

'It is quite surprising, but it's a lot better than watching players fighting against each other.' Keith concluded as he remembered the full on war he witnessed a few months ago.

He decided to take a tour of the museum while waiting for the guide.

The way the building was agenced made the trip enjoyable. As for the exhibitions themselves, they were protect behind some wooden boxes. Only a glass window would let the visitors catch a glimpse out the inventions.

A sign was placed under each display, showing off the name of the creator and when it was made for the first time.

Keith suprisingly discovered that Midgard's players imagined a whole calendar for Project Overworld.

The date shown off by the signs all indicated "Year 1" followed by the month and the day of creation.

He did not see the time pass by until a group of people started buzzing sound near him.

Intrigued, Keith listened to what they were talking about.

He overheard someone explain : "And here you can see the inventor of glass itself. He was the first to melt sand in a correct way to obtain this transparent material. We immortalized this glorious invention as of the first year since the launch of Project Overworld, at the exact day of the third of March."

'Oh, it must be the guide. I haven't noticed half an hour as already come by.' Keith tought for himself. 'However, this date is pretty inaccurate. I already invented glass more than a month and an half before that.'

The guide continued through her presentation and Keith followed the group around to have some explanations on the various inventions.

He was more interested in the community development than the creations in themselves. He wanted to understand how this whole civilization was founded.

However, even after half an hour of explanations, Keith's questions were not satisfied.

In the end, he decided to go and visit other buildings.

The receptionist back at the town center did talk about a commercial center.

Keith's interest was piqued and he decided to look around for it.

It took him a few dozen of minutes, but he finally came by the largest building he saw up until now.

It seemed to contain three floors while measuring at least three hundred feet wide and long.

Keith was astonished.

'Must be it. Let's go inside'

The building had entrances one two main roads and the influx of player was gigantic.

It seemed like the entire city population gathered there, to buy or to sell.

The whole first floor was like a giant market. Players were supervising their stall while others would look for interesting tools and materials.

Most of the activity gathered here while the rest of the commercial center was a bit more peaceful.

The last two floors were made for more permanent shops ranging from a forge to a barber shop.

Most of the shops were restaurant and cafes but there was everything one could search for in this commercial center.

The more he discovered the city, the more Keith felt like he was exploring a real world city.

'Well, we're all coming from the real world after all. They must have had strong inspiration from modern cities while making place for medieval necessities.'

Before noticing it, the sun was already setting. Most of the sellers here had already started packing up their belongings while the buyers were preparing to go home.

Keith thought it would be a good idea to disconnect at a nearby tavern that he spotted on his way there.

The inside actually looked more like an hotel. There a small bar in a corner, but no such thing as a huge tavern hall.

Keith approched the receptionist and asked for a chamber.

However, he quickly realized his delusion upon earing the words coming out of the receptionist's mouth : "Sure, it will cost three coppers for the night."