Fletcher recognized everyone in front of him.
These people were some of the most talented in the first generation of players, which is why they were able to make it to this floor so fast, even though the tower had just opened.
The Spanish-speaking man was from Mexico. He was someone whose family had been murdered by the cartel, and on the run from them, he decided to jump through the portal in hopes that it would take him to heaven, where he could reunite with his family.
Did he find heaven?
No. What he found instead could've been considered Hell as he found himself almost dead on numerous occasions.
Dante Moruga was his name, and in a year, he would be the right-hand man of someone very powerful in North America.
But as of now, he was nothing more than a clueless person who was hoping to find an answer from the man wearing a mask.
First, he asked his question in Spanish. Then, when he didn't get a response, in the little English he knew, he tried to ask the same question.
What are we supposed to do?
He knew that there was a boss awaiting him, but how was he supposed to find him? How was he supposed to defeat him with no weapons? Who were all these people in the town that he couldn't understand?
There were a lot of questions he wanted answers to.
But as he stood there, the masked man gave no response.
The only reason they knew he was a real person and not an NPC like some of the people they had encountered in the town was that above his head was "Lvl. 3 - Uno".
Turning to the crowd of people behind him, he gestured for somebody else to try.
In a variety of languages, Fletcher was asked an array of questions, and to all of them, he gave the answer of—
"..."
Nothing.
Ignoring them, he continued walking into the town. He needed to submit the quests and accept new ones. He had to repeat what he did a few more times before he met the conditions that he was searching for.
As he was a few steps in, people were still asking him questions, following him.
He pretended like they didn't exist, but as soon as someone grabbed his arm by force.
BANG!
He punched the man with so much force that he flew across the street and continued to slide for a few dozen more meters.
"Don't touch me," he said in English.
"..."
"..."
Everyone was stunned. They didn't expect such hostility. Yeah, he may have been grabbed, but did that warrant such a response?
Wait, he knows how to speak English?
The ones who spoke the language immediately began asking him questions, saying things to him even louder because they now knew he understood.
"Help us. Please! We're confused."
"When we get back to the real world, I'll give you a million dollars."
"Uno. Is that your name or an alias?"
A few people gave up trying to get a response out of him. They could tell it was a waste of time and started trying to make sense of what they needed to do.
Some others had stopped talking but were observing Fletcher closely, wanting to copy whatever he was about to do.
Whatever the case may be, Fletcher continued moving along as if he were still the only player that was on the floor.
He didn't have the luxury to waste time explaining things or befriending anyone. There were many things he needed to get done in a very short amount of time. Once the floors are still filling up, it'd take much longer to accomplish things, and resources would become much more limited.
Also, this Uno character of his, this persona he was playing, he had to get it into people's heads that he was a villain. Someone for them to rise against in the future.
For now, the most they were thinking about him was that he was a prick or a selfish asshole.
That was fine.
For now.
In a bit, they'd get to see more of what he meant by a villain.
When he submitted his quest, he spoke in the language that was spoken by the townspeople of this floor, which stunned the people who had followed him into the shop, as it wasn't a language that any of them recognized.
Were any of them sure now that this person before them was actually a fellow human from Earth?
Continuing this process, he submitted the quests and reaccepted them.
Those who were bored with watching this gave up and joined the others who had begun to realize that they could access this thing called a status screen.
The one who discovered it was a gamer who was ranked number 1 in one of the most popular Esports games in the world.
Fletcher knew that eventually, one of them would discover the concept of money, and they'd be able to purchase the basic communicator earring that would allow them to understand most languages on Earth, as well as the language that Fletcher had surprised them with earlier.
Leaving the town, a few people were following him, but as he traveled through the fields, slaying monsters, it left a chill in them.
Not wanting to risk dying without a weapon in their hands, those few turned back.
Alone once again, Fletcher made his way to the end of the map where the boss was awaiting him, then he made his way back to the town.
Rinse.
Repeat.