Chapter 1 – Character Creation.
"You trash bastard!"
"You think you will get away with this!"
"Why the heck did you do that?! What did we ever done to you?"
"We were supposed to win that match!"
"Because of you, we lost the tournament!"
"You are kicked out of the team!"
"…."
The man lying on the bed opened his eyes.
"Fuck me…. Those bastards won't even leave me alone in my dreams. I just wanted a quick freaking nap. Why the heck do I have to dream about them of all people?" – said the man while getting up from his bed.
The man with black hair and a scar on his left cheek got up from the bed and looked at the weird box-like device that was lying right next to his bed.
[Download Completed.]
"Fuking finally. What kind of game downloads 8 fuking hours? I have no internet problem or anything." – said the man as he looked at the small screen on the device.
"I mean, I would completely understand, since sometimes with very shitty connections the games can sometimes download the whole day…. But I didn't have any problems like that."
"Well, this isn't a simple game, but an advanced one, so maybe that is the reason why it took so long."
"But they really need to do something about this for crying out loud." – said the man while looking at the headgear device that was charging and a weird box-shaped console.
[It's year 2058, and this year, the age of games changed completely.]
[The games are something we all love and enjoy, right? Things like computer games, maybe games on our telephones, or maybe a console game. Some people also enjoy games that are very simple in nature, while others enjoy games that are complicated. Some people enjoy games with an interesting plot and story, while some other people just want to enjoy the gameplay. There are many reasons why people are playing the games and why they find them enjoyable.]
[There exist countless games. Straight up millions at this point.]
[And there is no way there is not a single one out there that won't fit you!]
[Heck! The new games are being made each day!]
[Sometimes these new games also introduce new types of games or games with specific gimmicks.]
[You don't like new ones?]
[There are still many old games that are still popular!]
[Poker, chess, and other stuff that were made ages ago are still kicking around. Games will never die in the hearts of the people nor in history.]
[And there will also be a game out there that you will enjoy no matter what.]
[...]
[Now let me ask you something.]
[What if you have the ability to play a game?]
[But not like playing a game where you play on a computer on the board.]
[No, no, no, no, no.]
[This isn't what I'm talking about.]
[What I'm asking is this.]
[If you obtained the ability to enter the game ITSELF?]
[We know, right? An idea straight up from some fantasy novel where characters goes into the world of a game. Just fantasy, right? Something that is just some wishful thinking….. But what would you do if that wishful thinking became reality?]
[Let me introduce you to something beyond just mere wishful thinking.]
[A reality forged with fantasy and technology.]
[Avriones]
[The thought that nobody would expect the reality had become a reality. A game where you ENTER the game itself!]
[The newly released game that utilizes the first-ever system called "Neuro Connect", A.K.A "Dive".]
[What does it do? Simply put, it transports your consciousness and the mind into the game. Making you go into the different world itself, making you the character in the game.]
[Aburd and stupid, isn't it?]
[I mean, no matter how you look at it, this seems like some sort of fake ad or something like that..... But no.]
[This is the new reality!]
[This is the new stage of evolution of the gaming world!]
[This is the new beginning of the world of games!]
[This is the age of games!]
(Honestly? This does sound completely fake... Hell, they even said it themselves.) - thought the man as he held his phone and watched the video.
(Still, considering the legnts they went through to even set up special public testing areas.... I couldn't say I didn't ended up getting quite curious.)
(So I went and attended those public test areas.... And honestly? I was expecting something like improved old VR, with better sense or something like that.)
(But it wasn't it.)
(When my turn came up for the test.... They told me to go into some weird capsule thing.)
(I mean, I was expecting a headgear or something... And not this thing.)
(At first, it didn't make any logical sense, since there was straight up no room to move around inside of that thing.)
(This started getting.... Wierd..... But after I got in and they turned on the game, the thing that shouldn't have been real had started happening.)
(It was a real deal. I was literally in some weird grassland. I could walk, run, or even touch the grass like in real life. There was even something like where I could shoot a fire out of my hand like magic. I thought they drugged me or something while I had the device on myself, but that wasn't the case. It was all real.)
(When the time limit was up, and I was logged out, I couldn't understand what the heck that was? They even showed the footage of me not moving inside the capsule at all. I was so freaking creeped out and confused because I was moving a lot inside of the game, how the heck didn't I even move an inch or anything?! I even asked some people who were waiting outside in the line, and they confirmed that I really wasn't moving....)
("Am I still in the game?" "Is this real?" "By any chance, nothing is real and even the real world isn't real?")
(I was so fuking confused that it took me a few days to calm down. Something that came straight out of the novel was literally real, and I experienced it.)
(Obviously, it didn't take long for the world to be taken by the storm because of this. Literally they already run out of the special VR equipment called "VR neuro connect set." Or VRNCS. The company wasn't expecting them to run out immediately out of those things when preorders started.)
"Honestly, I was even lucky to manage to get one in the first place."
VRNCS consists of 2 things. The VR neurolinker and the neurolinker console.
VR neurolinker is a device you put on your head that covers your eyes and ears, while the neurolinker console is pretty much the thing you put the game card into that contains the game; the thing itself looks like a fancy box.
Honestly, I was expecting something well… bigger? Like the helmet would look like a biker helmet or something similar. When I went to the beta testing, they put us into a capsule-like device, a very big device.
It was definitely weird finding out that I can still go into that world without needing that capsule. But still, from a big device to this? It is.... Very confusing indeed.
But still, I'm not complaining if I can play normally with this thing.... But does it really work? Wasn't that capsule big in the first place to fit all the technology and whatnot inside? How the hell does it work with this thing that is way smaller than the whole coffin?
It was really weird holding this headgear when I got it. I mean, from the weird big capsule to this? I'm not complaining and all, but would that really work? Wasn't that capsule big in the first place because it needed all the technology stuff inside of it?
"…."
"Welp, I should forget it. I still don't bloody know how in the seven hells and heavens they manage to make THAT thing in the first place."
"I think I should just forget it and enjoy the game."
"The servers will launch at 14:30. In just a few minutes, the servers should be online."
"…."
"Wait, but won't it be a problem when tons of people log in at the same time? Won't I end up waiting in the queue?"
"…. Ah fuck it."
"I'm logging in as soon as the servers are open." – said the man while unplugging the headgear device from the cable and putting it on his head.
The man walked towards his bed and then lay on top of it before taking out his phone.
[14:28]
[14:29]
[14:30]
(NOW!)
The man quickly put on the device and activated it as he lay on top of his bed.
For a few seconds, the device started turning on, with nothing really special going on.... However, suddenly something started happening to the man's senses and vision.
His vision that was completely blocked by the device was pitch black, not allowing the man to see anything... But without warning, the colors suddenly started appearing all around the man, moving as if they were dancing before then combining together and turning into pure white space, before then once again transforming and becoming a white and black colored room.
"?"
"Huh."
(This is... Wierd?)
The man began touching his head, trying to feel the device he put on, but he couldn't feel anything.
"I really got into the game? I can't feel that thing I just put on me."
The man looked at his hands. What he saw was a black and white pair of hands that didn't resemble his own.
"But why do I look, well… like nothing?"
[Neuronlinke consol account.]
[Login]
[Quit]
"?" – the man noticed a floating panel in front of him appearing out of the thin air.
"Oh, this is a logging-in area or something?"
"So, do I touch it?" – said the man before touching the [Login].
After pressing it, the keyboard appeared in front of the person.
"Oh."
The man began typing on the floating keyboard.
[Login Successful.]
[Downloading Data.]
[Establishing connection.]
[…]
[…]
[The game is ready for launch.]
[Selected game: [Avriones]
[Start the game?]
[Yes/No]
[Yes]
As soon as man pressed the yes button, the scenery began to change once again. The room that the man was currently in began falling apart right in front of his eyes, before then disappearing.
And right as one space disappeared, a brand new one took its place, replacing the black and white space with a medieval-looking room made out of bricks.
"?"
"The space around me changed again?"
[Welcome to the [Avriones].]
[Please log in to your [Avriones] game account.]
"Hm."
The man began looking around, trying to understand where exactly he was right now.
(This looks like a temple or something? From a black and white room into a temple? Visually? An extremely nice medieval vibe so far.)
Anyway, by the looks of things I have to log in again.)
"…." – the man began typing again on the keyboard.
[Logging completed.]
After completing the logging procedure, the floating panel disappears and is replaced by a brand new one with a different appearance.
[Greetings, new player!]
[It seems this is your first time logging in, and you also do not possess a game character yet.]
[Do you wish to begin creating a new character right now?] [Yes]-[No]
[Yes]
[Character Creation Process shall now begin.]
"?"
After the message popped up, the room began glowing with the faint light from the ceiling, and a moment later, many different floating windows appeared near the man.
[Before you begin your character creation process, allow me to tell you few important things.]
[In the game [Avriones], players can play however they want. They can become a farmer, alchemist, blacksmith, cook, adventurer, knight, hero, a villain, saint, bandit, or even a king. It's all up to you.]
[To grow stronger or develop new possibilities, you need to level up, and leveling up possesses a few effects.]
[The first effect of the leveling up is +1 to all stats.]
[The second effect is the granting +10 stat points. Those points possess a special effect, using those points, you can increase any of the stats of your own choosing in any way or shape.]
[The third effect is the granting of +10 skill points. Those points can be used to acquire a new abilities and skills for the user.]
[Now let's talk a bit about the skills and stats.]
[First stats.]
[There exists multiple different stats in the game, each one provides the different benefits.]
[Here are the basic stats.]
[Health (HP)] – [Health stat represents the user's HP. When the HP of the user reaches 0, they die. Each health point provides 10 HP.]
[Mana (MP)] – [Mana stat represent user MP. Most of the skills in the game require the user's MP to be used; without it the player won't be able to use the skill that requires MP. Each mana point provides 10 MP.]
[Stamina (SP)] – [Stamina stat represent user SP. Stamina is used whenever the user does any form of physical activity like sprinting or swinging a sword. Also, some skills uses the user's SP to be activated. Each stamina point provides 10 SP.]
[Strength (STR)] – [Strength stat influences different things. Most notable is the user's physical strength.]
[Agility (AGI)] – [Agility stat influences the user speed and movements.]
[Intelligent (INT)] – [Intelligent stat influences many different things. One of the main things it influences is some of the skills performance.]
[Vitality (VIT)] – [Vitality stat represent user defense stats. The higher the endure stat is the higher user defense is. Each point of vitality stat provides 2 defense.]
[Those 7 stats are known as "Basic Stats"; each and every user as well as being in this world, possesses them.]
[There also exists something called "Extra Stats". Unlike "Basic Stats", they need to be acquired via a specific method or means.]
[The function of these "Extra Stats" varies. Sometimes specific skills rely on them, while sometimes some of them influence the user's being, just like "Basic Stats".
[Now let's talk about the skills.]
[The most common method of acquiring the skills is via use of the skill points. Some of the skills are related to one another and form a skill tree. Some of the skills allow you to see their details before acquiring them but some stay hidden with their details until you acquire a skill that belongs to the same skill branch as them.]
[To unlock new skills, you can pick you need to meet special conditions or/and acquired one or more related skills.]
[Skills also possess levels. By using the said skills or doing something related to them, you will be able to make them stronger in the process.]
[You need to be careful when picking a skill as well as when distributing stat points, but in the end, you are free to choose what you want.]
[You shall be given 110 stat points as well as 110 skill points. Please use them wisely. In the character creation you are able to reset any changes if you had changed your mind on something, so take your time.]
[You can start first by picking your skills and distributing stat points to them now, or do it later after making the avatar.]
"Huh. This seem interesting?"
"So, I don't pick a class and I'm good to go, but I chose what I skills I want to pick? This does seem interesting. I think I will pick my skills first."
"What do we have here.....Oh.....Ohhhhh." - the man looked at the skill window and quickly realized that the number of options he had available wasn't a small number.
"…. Wow…. Okay? There is a lot. There are also some windows with [???]."
"I guess those are the unlockable ones.... But bloody hell! Just how many are there!? The list just stretches on and on!"
"..."
"Anyway, is there anything interesting? Maybe…. Hm...…?"
[Basic Necromancy] – [80 points] – [Class: Necromancer]
(Necromancy? Huh. Normally in the games, necromancers are the enemies that use necromancy to create undead enemies. It's quite rare, but there are few games that does have something like playable necromancer class.)
[Upon acquiring this skill, you will be automatically granted the rank skill.]
[The class skill grants the user a special passive ability that will have 2 effects. The first effect is an power up, while the other is an ability to unlock skills.]
[The class skills possess ranks and once they reach level 10 and level up once more, they will rank up, resulting in you upgrading the class skill, making it stronger, while also unlocking an new possible skills you can buy.]
[Basic Necromancy]
[Passive] – [Category: Class]
[Allow user to use a power of the necromancy to create an undead servant that will follow orders.]
[Upon acquiring, generate an extra stat [Necro Mastery]. This extra stat allows user to control an undead creature under your command.]
[Upon acquiring will generate a skill [Undead Page] level 1.]
[Increase the [Necro Mastery] stat by 5 times this skill level (Current bonus: 5 points) and whenever this skill level is increased, also increase the level of the skill [Undead Page].]
[Undead Page]
[This is an storing type skill that allows you to store monsters. The registered monsters within the book will have 3 different effects.]
[1 – The registered undead won't be counted as part of the skill limit, meaning that you are allowed to summon 1 extra undead from a specific skill, if the registered undead was born using that skill.]
[2 – Ability to store undeads. An registered undead will be able to be stored within this skill and be summoned later on.]
[3 – Resurrection. The registered undead will be granted the ability to be resurrected after the death.]
[Notice: This skill cannot target specific special types of undead for registration, such as summon type undeads with the limited time. Some skills will be not affected by the effect number [1], meaning that the number of the maximum amount of undeads you can have won't be increased. And most importantly, the stronger the undead is, the more space it will use for the skill.]
[Upon acquiring this this class, you would unlock an ability to acquire the following skill.]
[Bone Dart] – [10 skill points]
[Active] – [Cost: 30 mana] – [Cooldown: None] – [Category: Spell / Necromancy]
[Shoot a barrage of darts made out of the bone. Dealing magic – necrotic damage. Damage scaling: 20% of the user current intelligence stat]
[Increase the damage scaling by 2% times the current skill level. Current bonus: 2%]
[Necro Shot] – [10 skill points]
[Active] – [Cost: 50 mana] – [Cooldown: 5 seconds] – [Category: Spell / Necromancy]
[Shoot a projectile made out of the rough mana containing necrotic element. Deal magic – necrotic damage. Damage scaling: 50% of the user's current intelligence stat]
[Increase the damage scaling by 2% times current skill level. Current bonus: 2%]
[Create: Lesser Skeleton Servant] – [Cost: 20]
[Active] – [Cost: Depends on the created creature] – [Cooldown: None] – [Category: Create Creature / Necromancy]
[Use the corpse of the dead being killed by you to summon an undead creature: Lesser Skeleton, a humanoid skeleton monster.]
[The summon creature level will depend on the corpse that was used, as well as the user's current [Necromastery Stat]. The level of the created monster cannot be higher than the user.]
[The targeted corpse requires to have a minimal amount of mass for the skill to activated. Multiple smaller corpse can be used together for filling out the necessary mass.]
[The number of the lesser skeletons servants that the user can control: 0/2 (Increases by 2 every time this skill levels up.]
[Create Lesser Skeleton] – [Cost: 40]
[Active] – [Cost: Depends on the target] – [Cooldown: None] – [Category: Create Creature / Necromancy]
[Use a corpse of the dead being killed by you and raise it as an undead creature known as lesser skeleton.]
[The skeleton stats as well as its cost depends on the corpse used for its creation.]
[If the target corpse had higher level than you, the created skeleton will have its level reduced.]
[The stats of the undead will be lower compare to its living form. The decrees of stats penalty will get lighter based on the skill level.] [Current Penalty: 60%. At level 10, the penalty will become 50%.]
[Number of the lesser skeletons you can summon: 1/1] [The number of the max skeletons you can summon depends on the skill level.]
[Skill Options] [X]
"Huh…..."
"That seems…. Quite interesting? There are some skills that create undead, well, this is an necromancer class, that is obvious."
"..."
"Hm…... Meh. I will go with [Necromancy]. I mean, many people want to become a necromancer and control their own army of the dead. This does seems like a fun thing."
(I mean, who wouldn't want to become an necromancer? Pretty much everybody wants to be a necromancer since… Well, lets be honest. The theme of necromancer is reacquiring way too many times now.)
"But what should I pick then? [Basic Necromancy] needs 80 points, so that means I can only pick: [Bone Darts], [Necro Shot], and [Create: Lesser Skeleton Servant]."
"...Eh. [Create: Lesser Skeleton Servant]."
"I mean. What the point of having picking necromancy if you can't even make undead right?"
[Do you wish to pick those skills? Your choice cannot be changed after you done with the character creation.]
"Yeah, I want to."
"Now let's distribute those stats."
"…..."
"Hm…... I think this will do."
[HP: 11->26] [MP: 11->26] [SP: 11->21]
[STR: 1->11] [AGI: 1->11] [INT: 1->11] [VIT: 1->11]
[Undead Mastery: 1->31]
(I've put 10 into everything and 20 more into undead mastery. I don't know how important different stats are, but it may be a good idea to kept it balanced? Well, I can always just my stat points into other things later on after I screw around.)
"So now I think I've made my character."
[Character - Avatar creation]
[In this step, you will create the appearance of your avatar and who they are.]
[First, you need to select your starting race.]
[Each race possesses its own benefits, but some races also possess downsides, so be careful.]
[Some races may possess sub-races, while some other races may allow you to pick some new skills related to their race.]
[Pick carefully because the race cannot be changed later on.]
"Huh. Yet again there is a lot to choose from." - said the man as he looked through another long list of options he could choose from.
"Fuck me. How many things did they add to this game?"
[Human]
[Race Passive]
[Gain 1 extra stat point and skill point every level.]
[Receive bonus +0.5 extra stat point and an extra skill point on the start.]
"…. Well, I definitely don't want to pick a human. Seems too bland. Elves don't really interest me that much, nor do dwarves. Maybe orc? Hm…. Nope. Orc seem more like a brute type than a mage. On top of that, its race passive doesn't seem to be good for me."
"Well, there is a lot, so maybe there is something for....?"
[Unliving]
[Unliving are a people or a beings that were once living being but died. However, when they died, their bodies were infected with necrotic mana and somehow fused and mutated for an unknown reason, which resulted in them not turning into the regular undead, but an undead that retained all of their previous life memories and personality.]
[Unlivings are part of the undead race, but they are truly not pure undeads; they are classified as half undead and half alive creatures.]
[Benefits]
[Increase the performance of the skills and other abilities with necrotic, dark, poison, and curse elements and skills by 25%. Stackable with itself.]
[Increase defense against Necrotic, dark, poison, and curse attributes and skills by 25% Stackable with itself.]
[Decreases the effect of the {poisoned} type statues' effects as well as the {cursed} statues' effects by 15% that are affecting you.]
[Downsides.]
[Decreases healing received from the light, holy elements, and skills by 30%. Stackable with itself.]
[Increase damage taken by light, holy elements and skills attacks by 30%. Stackable with itself.]
[Decreases the performance of the light, holy elements and skills used by the user by 30%. Stackable with itself.]
[Sub Race]
[Sub race of the choosing will be one of the available races and one of their subrace, but with only 50% of the benefits and downsides effects.]
"Huh…. "
The man pressed the [Unliving] and moments later, a data like particles appeared in the middle of the room that combined together and formed a skeleton in the middle of the room.
"…. So…. It's a skeleton?"
"Hm…. It does seem interesting. It increases the performance of some types of skills with necrotic attribute, but it has some downsides regarding the light and holy elements. They became weaker when used by the unliving undead and they even receive bonus damage from them. Pretty much light and holy stuff is their weakness and that can stack, so 30% bonus received damage does seems pretty bad."
"…. I think I will go with this."
"I mean, being undead and being a necromancer as well seems very classic and interesting. Like a lich. I'm kind of down for it."
"For the sub race…. Hm…. Em…. What the heck do I want?"
(Humans are still no go... Same with orcs, elves, dwarves, goblins, demi-humans.... Is there anything interesting? Maybe is there some race that works well with the-)
"?"
"Demonoid? Angeloid…...?"
(…. Demonoid. A humanoid creature that belongs to the demon race. Angeloid. A humanoid creature that belongs to the angel race.)
(Huh, so you can become a demon or an angel? In this game?)
(Should I pick one for my sub race? Obviously not the angeloid since angels are usually about light and holy stuff, and that probably won't work with the unliving. Then should I go with the demonoid?)
"Undead demon huh?"
"This does sound interesting and it increase the INT stat and MP, but it also possesses weakness to the holy and light. Picking it may seem good, but won't it become even more vurnable to the light and holy element?"
"…"
(Nah. It is not really speaking to me.)
(I mean, undead demon does sound fun and everything, but I don't really feel like picking it..... Maybe I will pick it if there is nothing as interesting as it?)
(Still, what should I look for?)
(I've noticed that some races with heavy downsides usually have huge buffs and stuff.... But again, maybe I should look for something that just fits the undead theme? Is there something that boosts necrotic element here?)
"Strength buff, nope.... Endurance buff, also nope...?"
[Lizardman]
"Lizardman? As if the humanoid lizard monster from fantasies?"
"They even have this thing as an option? Huh. Nice I guess?"
(Anyway, what does it do?)
[50% of the race benefits and downsides due [Unliving] as the main race.]
[Benefits]
[Defense and magic defense increase by 2.5% (5%)]
[Sub races]
[Green Scales] [Black Scales] [Red Scales] [Blue Scales] ...
"Fuck me. This race also have several sub races."
(…. Hm. Well, maybe they have something interesting.) – thought the man before beginning reading through the different sub-races ' details and effects.
"...Crafting, this isn't it…...Fire element resistance. It would be nice if that was holy or light resistance, then maybe I would pick it...Hm? Hey, wait."
[Lizardman] [Dark Green Scale Tribe]
[Increase the performance of the skills and other abilities with necrotic elements and skills by 15% (30%).]
[Increase basic against defense necrotic element and skills by 15% (30%).]
[Decrees performance of the holy element and skills by 10% (20%).]
[Increase damage taken from holy element and skills by 10% (20%).]
"…. Huh."
(It's quite good? I mean forget the down side but the benefit works well with the unliving?)
(It doesn't have a lot of benefits, but that single benefit suits me very well.)
(I mean… I could go with an race that could somewhat negate my unliving race negative passive…. Or I could just ignore it and focus on powering up a single thing while also strengthening my weakness.)
(…..)
"Ah, screw it. I'm going with it."
"Undead lizardman lich.... Sounds fun."
[Race: Unliving] [Sub Race: Lizardman – Dark Green Scale Tribe]
In the middle of the room, the skeleton changes its appearance into that resembling the lizardman.
"Okay. Now for the customization. Let's see…."
"…Cosmetics… Huh. Can I add something like tattoos onto my bones? Oh! I can even paint all of them in different colors!"
"How about I make the bones dark green? Since I picked the dark green scale tribe."
"Oh! Add a spine spikes, yea it looks quite good now."
The man continued messing around with the character creation for some time and with some other things. Before long he finished with everything he needed to do, including the character creation.
"…. Uff. Nice. I think I made it look good."
In the middle of the room, a skeleton lizardman with a dark green colored bones and spiky spines stood still as the player inspected his creation.
"Well then. Skills picked. Stats distributed. Equipment picked and the avatar made."
"I don't care how much time I spent, but I'm finally satisfied with the results."
"Well then. Let's start the game."
[Do you wish end the character creation process?]
[Yes]
[Beginning constructing the character.]
[…]
[Character construction finished.]
[Please select the starting equipment.]
[The starting equipment had been selected.]
[Now please choose the starting area you wish to spawn in.]
[Yes]
[Starting Area]
[Chose a starting area where you want to begin your journey.]
[Some of the starting areas will allow you to start in them, while others will not allow you to start in them depending on your race.]
"Huh. So, I can chose starting area based on what race I picked? That's kind of nice."
"Anyway, what do we have here?"
"[Lizardman V'v town, graveyard town Avon, Adventurer town Aan] are recommended starting locations and some other stuff. The Adventurer town Aan has the recommended written on it."
"Hm.... Meh. Let's go with the graveyard town. Since I will be skeleton and all."
[Starting location had been chosen.]
[Last step.]
[Character name.]
"…."
"Name….."
"…."
(Well, it's not like I can use that name anymore…. I guess I will go with this then.)
[Name: ClownFrog.]
[Are you sure about this name?]
[YES]
[All steps have been completed.]
[Warning! Please make sure to check if everything is alright before you press [Create the character].]
[Are you sure you want to create this character?]
[YES]
[Are you sure?]
"I already clicked yes. Why the hell are you asking again?"
[YES]
[Character creation completed.]
[Character: ClownFrog had been created.]
[You have an character player ready.]
[You are now able to log into the Server.]
[Do you wish to go in right now?]
"Yeb."
[Starting up the logging in.]
[Stand by.]
(Well then… Let's see what that world has to offer.)
Chapter 2 – The Start.
[You have been teleported to the starting area: Graveyard Town - Avon]
The blue and white data like particles appeared and gathered, forming a skeleton lizardman.
"…. Huh." – said the man while looking at his hands.
[Player: ClownFrog]
The man beginned inspecting his whole body that was no longer that of an human, but instead an skeleton lizardman.
(I'm freaking skeleton and I have a tail…. And I can move it to my will? How the hell does that work?)
"…. F-...Wow." – said the man while trying to walk, only to stumble.
"…"
(Okay…. So having an different body from the human requires you to get used to it?) – though ClownFrog as he had some problems with walking after becoming the lizardman.
(How the hell did not mentioned it?!)
(Also, how do I move the tail around?)
"…."
"Huh." – ClownFrog looked around, analyzing his surroundings.
(This place looks… Interesting?)
(I mean, I did chosen this area and all, but holy shit. Just look at this place. The details and all. And this place also have a vibe of the graveyard, well, it does have graveyard in its name and all.)
"…"
"…. What now?"
(I mean…. They did stated, the developers, that the game does not have anything like an main plot line and the players can create their own plot, find one or influence one, meaning that I'm… Straight up free to go do anything?)
(But what about…. Well, beginner quest or something? Something that will make me get used to game and stuff? I was at least expecting this.) – though ClownFrog while looking around for anything that stands out in the starting zone that would point out to something like an quest giving NPC often found in games.
"Hm?"
(There is a board and there is something written on it.)
Player ClownFrog approached wooden board that was near the spawning area.
"Blacksmith shop, alchemy shop, material shop, adventure guild…... Huh. So, it's like an information board." – ClownFrog read through the informations written on the board.
(So, they put something like this in each starting zone or something? Well, that seems useful…. Anyway…. Adventure guild? In novels and manages, the adventure guild is the location where you can find and take on quests…. So maybe I should go there?)
(The arrows is pointing that way, so if I just in that direction I will find the adventure guild?)
ClownFrog beginned walking through the town while looking around, spotting many different people that each belonged to the different races.
"…."
(Skeletons, humans, orcs and some dwarfs. Are they NPCs or a players?)
"…."
(This seems to be a place. A board with a sword and mage hat, so that means this is adventurer guild.) – thought ClownFrog as he found an building with an hat and sword, before then entering it.
"…"
(Em…. Is this a right place? This place kind of looks like a bar?)
(Well, in some novels and fantasy mangas the adventure guilds were often depicted with part of them being a bar or an dinery.)
"Excuse me. The unliving lizardman over there near the entrance." – said the female voice from afar that catched ClownFrog attention.
"?"
ClownFrog turned around and saw a female dark elf behind the counter waving at him.
"Yes?" – ClownFrog as he approached the counter.
"You are new here, correct?" – asked the female dark elf.
"Em…. Yes?" – replied confused ClownFrog.
(Em. Is she NPC? She is an NPC, right?)
"I see. By any chance did you came here to take any quest? If so, would you like telling me your current level so I can suggest you some quest?"
"Em. Well, I'm current a level one."
"Hmm… Alright. Then I recommend picking the quest herb gathering or wandering rabbits quest. They are good for the beginners." – said the female dark elf while pointing with her finger at the board filled with many different papers that were attached to it.
"I see, thank you."
"…"
(OKAY. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?! WAS THAT PERSON REALLY AN NPC?!?!)
(She felt like real person and talked like one.)
(She called out to me when I was looking around and even asked me a question.)
(Is she something like super A.I NPC that acts like a real person?)
(I mean, they did stated that the NPC will be like real people…. BUT THE FUCK IS THIS?! THIS FELT LIKE SHE WAS REALLY AN REAL PERSON?!)
"…."
(Wait, should I be even surprised about this?)
(I mean, they literally made this THING and all. The game straight out of the novel. Should I be really surprised at this point about hyper realistic NPCs?)
"…."
(Yep… Lets just forget it and just go with it.)
(Anyway, she said something about the herb gathering and wandering rabbits, right?) – though ClownFrog as he walked towards the quest board.
"…."
"Ah, found it."
ClownFrog reach his hand towards the request attached to the board and as soon as he touched it, a floating winddown appeared.
[Quest: Hunt Wandering Rabbits]
[Repeat Quest]
[In the western and north area outside of the village there a rabbit monster can be found called wandering rabbit. The monster possess a brown colored fur with green eyes.]
[Slay: 5 wandering rabbits and bring 5 wandering rabbit meat.]
[Reward: 25 copper coins / EXP]
[Do you wish to accept the quest?]
[Yes/No]
"Oh. It works this way?"
(So, I just press this and I'm good to go?)
[You have accepted the quest: Hunt Wandering rabbits.]
(Huh, may as well pick the herb gathering quest, she asked me about.)
[You have accepted the quest: Collect Healing Grass.]
"Please take care." – said the female dark elf to the ClownFrog before the unliving lizardmen left the adventure guild.
After leaving the adventure guild, ClownFrog headed straight towards the town gate and left the settlement, before then heading straight towards the hunting grounds.
"…."
"Huh."
"I though this place, be well…. Dead?" – said ClownFrog to himself as he looked around.
(I didn't see a lot of grass of plants around the town and when I left, but after I walked a bit, I can see grass and some plants here and there. I honestly this place would be more grim. Like withered plants and dead grass, but this place is just… Creep forest type of theme. The trees also look like they are haunted somewhat…. Huh. I wouldn't be surprised at all if I were to find some ghost wandering around in here.)
"…."
"Should be worry if a ghost popped up or something?" – said a freaking skeleton.
(Anyway, I think it's a good thing I picked a spear for my weapon.)
[Beginner Spear]
[Simple made very normal spear.]
[Rating: Common]
[Attack Power: 4-7]
[Durability: 12/12]
(I don't have any skills that can use for the combat expect [Create: Lesser Skeleton]. But that skill needs me to have a corpse to use it in the first place.)
(Pretty much it means I have kill something without use of the skills or anything else.)
(….)
(It won't hard or anything right? I didn't screwed up by not picking a single attack skill, right?)
While walking on the round, a sound of rustling could be heard coming from the bushes nearby before moment later a bunny jumped out of it onto the road.
[Wandering Rabbit] – [Level 1]
"!"
ClownFrog quickly took out his spear and aimed it tip towards the rabbit monster.
(Wandering rabbit, this is the monster I was looking for.)
(Okay. First fight. It's just a rabbit, so don't be so nervous.)
The rabbit monster beginned chagrining straight at the ClownFrog. The undead lizardman noticed that and tried stabbing the rabbit with his spear, but the exact moment he tried attacking, the rabbit jumped, dodging the attack and head butting ClownFrog in the chest.
"!"
"Ow?! That hurt?!"
"You bastard!"
ClownFrog launched attack yet again with his spear, this time stabbing the rabbit.
"Why you! Just- DIE!"
ClownFrog and the rabbit continue brawling around with ClownFrog trying to stabbing and smacking it with the spear while the rabbit kicking and head butting him. Before long ClownFrog manage to stab the rabbit monster once again and killing it.
[You have slain: Wandering Rabbit – Level 1]
[You have received 4 EXP.]
"…. Fuck me…."
"This was bit harder than I thought? I thought it would something like very easy or something since this is a start and all."
(Anyway, I can tell that I sucked right now with the spear. Well, this may have been obvious. I never in the bloody hell used a spear in the real life.)
[Item Drop]
- [Wandering Rabbit Meat] x1
- [Wandering Rabbit Fur] x1
"Oh, I got something. I got the meat I needed for the quest."
(I think it was good idea to split my stats at the start. I don't know how hard it would have been if I didn't do that. Maybe I should also think of getting some combat skill as well.)
(Anyway, I should get going and hunt the rest of the rabbits.)
"But first."
ClownFrog turned towards the rabbit corpse.
(Time to test it out!)
"[Create: Lesser Skeleton]!"
[Insufficient Body Mass – Skill has been canceled.]
"…."
"Wut?"
"[Create: Lesser Skeleton]."
[Insufficient Body Mass – Skill has been canceled.]
"…."
[Insufficient Body Mass – Skill has been canceled.]
[Insufficient Body Mass – Skill has been canceled.]
[Insufficient Body Mass – Skill has been canceled.]
"…" – ClownFrog tried multiple times cast the skill, only to get the same message each time.
"Fuck me in the ass."
"Why the fuck I can't freaking use it?!"
(I used all of my freaking skill points because I wanted ability to summon undead, but now you telling me that I can't FUKING USE IT?!)
(By any chance did I just wasted all of my skill points?)
"…...Fffffuuuuucccccckkkkkk...…"
"…"
"Status open. Skills."
[Create: Lesser Skeleton Servant] – [Level 1]
[Active] – [Cost: Depends on the created creature] – [Cooldown: Non] – [Category: Create Creature / Necromancy]
[Use the corpse of the dead being killed by you to summon an undead creature: Lesser Skeleton, a humanoid skeleton monster.]
[The summon creature level will depend on the corpse that was used as well as user current [Necromastery Stat]. The level of the created monster cannot be higher than the user.]
[The targeted corpse requires to have a minimal amount of mass for the skill to activated. Multiple smaller corpse can be used together for filling out the necessary mass.]
[The number of the lesser skeletons servants that the user can control: 0/2]
"Hm…. It says that I can use some small corpse together as the sacrifice. So, do I need to use 2 or more these rabbits corpse to summon anything? It is quite small in the first place."
(…. I think I'm idiot. I did read that skill description during the character creation before I had picked this skill and I somehow manage to forget about this detail.)
"Em…. So can I take this rabbit corpse with me or something?"
[Corpse cannot be put into the inventory.]
"Well, that sucks."
"Hm…."
ClownFrog grabbed the rabbit corpse by the leg and lifted it.
(So… I can't put it in the inventory, but I can still grab it…. I can swing it… So, I think I can move it around like this?) – though ClownFrog as he swinged around the rabbit corpse.
(Well, what if I put 2 rabbit corpse on top of each other? Would that work?)
ClownFrog beginned walking around with his spear in hand and caring a corpse of the rabbit on his shoulders.
After some time ClownFrog manage to encounter another rabbit monster. Afterwords, ClownFrog put the rabbit corpse down and beginned fighting the rabbit once again.
[You have slain: Wandering Rabbit – Level 1]
[You have received 4 EXP.]
"Fuck me. Its dead. I really fuking need an attack skill."
"Anyway, let's see if it will work now."
ClownFrog lifted the rabbit dead body and put it on the top of the other rabbit body.
"Okay work this fuking time. [Create: Lesser Skeleton Servant]."
[Insufficient Body Mass – Skill has been canceled.]
"OH FUCK OFF!"
While raging, another wandering rabbit suddenly appeared near ClownFrog.
"…." – ClownFrog looked at the rabbit while holding his spear.
[You have slain: Wandering Rabbit – Level 1]
[You have received 4 EXP.]
"I swear for the love of the god. If this won't FUKING work!"
"[Create: Lesser Skeleton Servant]."
"…"
After trying to activate the skill once again, a magic circle appeared beneath the rabbit corpse.
"!?"
The rabbit corpse sinked into the magic circle and seconds later, a humanoid skeleton appeared.
[Lesser Skeleton Servant] – [Level 1]
"YES! IT FUKING WORKED!"
In front of the ClownFrog an humanoid skeleton stood.
"…."
(Em…. Not like I'm complaining or anything, but it doesn't have a weapon or anything. Does it fights with its fists or something?)
"…Ah! Before I forget. Where was it…. Here."
[Undead Page] – [Level 1]
[Undead Page is a special skill that allows the user to register and store their undead servant.]
[When the creature is registered, it will gain the fallowing effect:
-The creature register in the undead page will be able put into the it and recalled at any time.
-The registered creature upon death will be able to resurrect later on.
-The registered creature will not take the user max creature limit counter (For example you could control 3 skeletons when the limit of the skeletons is 2.). However, some undead creatures will take more than one slots in the undead page.]
-The number of the same type of the registered undead monster cannot be higher than their max amount (If you can only have max of 2 skeleton servants, you cannot register 3 skeleton servants.)
[Undead Page registered monsters] – [O/1]
[ ]
"So, do I press this and then this?"
[Do you wish to register: [Lesser Skeleton Servant – Level 1]?]
"Yea."
[You have registered [Lesser Skeleton Servant – Level 1] to the [Undead Page].]
[Undead Page Slots: 1/1]
[Lesser Skeleton Servants: 0/2]
"Okay. Its registered now."
(And then let's see how strong you are my dear friend!)