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Chapter 1

This is the story of an idiot by the name of Don. He was by no means stupid, but throughout his life he stubbornly stuck to a single principle. Be a man. Now this may seem harmless at first, but his definition of manly was whatever action was the exact opposite of cowardice. In the 4th grade when he saw a 6th grader picking on his little sister during lunch, he decided the manliest course of action was to pick up a chair and smash it against the bully's back. During a high school field trip into the wilderness he decided the manliest thing to do was explore the wilds on his own. He was found five days later.

When Don was challenged, he would never back down. When he saw a fight, he would jump in, regardless of whether or not he knew any of the people fighting. Needless to say this code of conduct got him into nothing but trouble.

There was however a reason for such foolhardiness. When Don was eight, his seven year old sister fell into a river and was dragged away by the current. Don knew she didn't know how to swim but he didn't know either. He did nothing but stand there, afraid to do anything. Fortunately his sister was recovered half a mile away with only a broken leg, but to this day she still walks with a slight limp, something Don blamed himself for due to his inability to act.

To ensure he never froze up like that again, he decided to condition himself for bravery. The best way to do so was to stick to his rule in all possible circumstances regardless of the consequences.

After high school he started college. He was an undeclared major at a community college trying out different things while working at an electronics store.

His manager said, "Donald, I need you to do inventory. Finish before leaving, ok?"

"Yes sir," he answered.

Inventory meant he was to record how much unsold merchandise they had in the store, something that took hours, even for a small store like the one he worked at. The store specialized in video game and console repair. Don didn't play video games much, but he could intuitively understand how something worked after taking it apart. He could fix almost anything and was a valued employee.

Don checked off various amounts of computer components and basic hardware parts from the shelves onto a clipboard. It wasn't something you could use to build a supercomputer, it was more like stuff for hobby projects like build your own robot. Besides electronic parts, batteries, cheap cell phones and various chargers, the back of the store was where advertising billboards that came out whenever something was on sale were stored. The largest of which was a full sized mock up of a armored warrior wielding a greatsword looking fierce, an advertisement for the virtual reality game that came out two years prior, Royal Road.

Don wasn't that much of a gamer, but he was a die hard RR fan, despite never having played before. At home when he wasn't studying he was on his computer, looking up the latest information of RR or looking through various hall of fame videos on the internet. His sister called him crazy but his favorite video was of the first person perspective of a man who spent hours hitting a scarecrow at a training hall. Any lesser man would not have been able to spend endless hours doing something so mind numbing, Don felt only a real man could perform such a feat. On the comments below the video, one explained that the user in the video was gaining extra stats by hitting a scarecrow for a month. Things like this spurred Don to look for any additional information he could on Royal Road, he was as much of an expert as he could be without playing it.

There were other VR games besides Royal Road of course. There was Universe, a sci-fi game where you could explore planets, fight alien races, and try to conquer it all with fleets of starships. Or for something smaller there was Desert Gun, a shooter game that had every type of firearm imaginable as well as a few unique vehicles, it took place in a vast wasteland filled with monsters and secrets. One VR game that gained popularity for a while was Hero, the game where you could become a super powered hero or an evil super powered villain. But none of these VR games ever gained the popularity Royal Road had. The AI that powered Royal Road was unique among unique, the programming was decades ahead of its time and gave the game's quests, NPCs, maps, dungeons, and adventures a degree of quality that no other game could match. That and the price was the best for the package. Universe technically had more to offer than Royal Road but all those worlds meant more servers to run it and more servers mean a higher price tag to play. Desert Gun wasn't a bad game but the players who relied on the auto assist for targeting were always slaughtered by those who could do it by instinct. Unless the player was gifted, most grew bored with getting shot repeatedly by snipers from a thousand yards out.

Don finished cataloging everything half an hour before quitting time. Immediately after he went to a back area to look at the capsule stored there. A capsule was the full immersion hardware for all VR games. Eugine, the man he worked with caught him staring at it and said, "Will I be the best man at your wedding?"

Don rolled his eyes. His friend knew that Don had that capsule on layaway for the past six months. Paying for college and his share of an apartment as well as the cost of living spent almost all his pay each month. What little he had left was enough to pay for a monthly subscription to play royal road, but it was not enough to buy a capsule even if he saved for a year. What he had done was use the store's money to buy a broken capsule someone brought in, then fix it up himself and buy it using a layaway plan. His manager approved doing so but Don wouldn't be able to take it home until the final payment was taken out of his check. And since it was the end of the month, that would happen at the end of this shift.

Don said, "You can be the flower girl." Eugine tried to slug Don's shoulder but even without looking back Don dodged and walked around saying, "Not today man." Eugine smiled and said, "Start out in Haven kingdom and I'll show you who's the man."

Eugine's parents bought him a capsule months ago so he was already playing Royal Road. And as any friend would, he never let an opportunity pass to rub it in Don's face. Don's parent had actually offered to buy one for him like they had for his sister, but he declined on the grounds a real man should not rely on others.

Eugine asked, "So what race you gonna choose?"

Don said, "Don't know yet, Barbarian, Dwarf, maybe Orc.”

“Those are so common. You’re an expert on Royal Road, so why not do try to do something no one has done before.”

Don thought on it for a bit. He had wanted to become a powerful warrior, but a Barbarian Warrior was not exactly an original concept. “What do you suggest?” he asked.

“How about an elf?”

Don sighed, and after a moment said, “Besides playing as an actual woman, that is about as far from manly as one can go.”

Eugine smiled, “And that is why you should do it. Think of it as a challenge. The path to make a manly elf isn’t something most people would take. You may end up walking a unique path.”

Don felt slightly annoyed with how easily Eugine was able to push his buttons. But that didn’t make his point any less valid. Of course Don didn’t want a cookie cutter adventure, he wanted something that was his own.

“I’ll think about it,” was his answer.

When his shift was over and his paycheck through, he got the OK to take the capsule home. He had already borrowed his roommate’s van to drive to work that day so he could load the capsule himself instead of paying to have it delivered. Of course since his roommate wasn’t there he would have to carry the thing to the second story of this apartment on his own. After an exhausting thirty minutes carefully navigating it up the stairs and through his barely large enough door, he successfully got it inside and in full working order.

After plugging it in and setting it to run a self diagnostic he called up Unicorn Inc. to get an account. The whole thing took less time than he thought, the diagnostic still had another twenty minutes before being completed. Of course he could have plugged and played but he didn’t want to take any chances, he would make sure the capsule was working at 100% before going into Royal Road.

He decided to take a short walk around his apartments. The brisk air was refreshing and the moon was bright. Although it was the end of the month it was in fact a full moon, the second one that month. After he felt the chilling wind against his bones he decided that walking around at night without shoes and socks was not the wisest decision so he hurried back to his apartment.

As he walked back inside his cell phone went off, for a moment he was worried it was Unicorn Incorporated telling him something was wrong but a quick glance at the caller ID calmed his nerves, it was just his sister.

-Hey Lisa.

-Did you start yet?

His sister was also aware today was the day he got a capsule.

-Not yet, I will in another minute though.

-Oh good, start in Hiritol, Trisden kingdom.

-Is that where you are?

-Yea, I wanna show you around.

Don knew Hiritol was a recently discovered city in Trisden Kingdom. Trisden was on the eastern frontier, south of Rosenheim, east of the central part of the continent. It wasn’t a bad place to start but Don always tried to be independent in any situation and starting where she was implied relying on her. That being said, he always had difficulty saying no to his little sister.

-Is there a training hall there?

-Yes, yes, there’s one of those here.

-Alright I’ll start there.

-Ok, see you there, all noobs login at the same spot their first time so I’ll be waiting there for you.

-Ok, see you soon.

During the call he heard the tell tale Ding* that signaled the diagnostic went fine. He jumped in the capsule, closed the top, and waited for it to start.

Connect to Royal Road?

Yes|No

He answered, "Yes."

-The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?

“Yes.”

-Select the name of your Avatar

“Don.”

-Select your gender from male, female or neutral

"Male"

-Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary thirty-two races that are currently available.

‘Thirty-two?’ Don thought. He had of course kept himself up to date on Royal Road’s race selection availabilities and he knew there to be only thirty-one races available at the time, meaning another race he was unaware of was currently available for selection.

“View Selection.”

A ring of races appeared before him he could scroll through. Each one bore the appearance of what he would look like as that race along with a small description of the race’s features.

“View initial Stats.”

Another window appeared along with the image of each race. When a player starts a character, that character has fifty stat points. What those stats were and how they were distributed was dependent on the race chosen.

Human Initial Status WindowHealth 100Mana 100Strength 10Agility 10Wisdom 10Intellect 10Vitality 10Luck 0Leadership 0Attack 2Defense 0Humans have a wide variety of possibilities, with no real specialty.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Humans were a nice round race, they could be warriors or mages, thieves or archers, or anything really. A good race for those who haven’t decided what they wanted to be. Don flicked the ring of races, letting it come to a stop on its own where it landed on Dark Dwarf.

Dark Dwarf Initial Status WindowHealth 90Mana 100Strength 8Agility 9Wisdom 9Intellect 12Vitality 12Charisma 0Leadership 0Attack 2Defense 0Dark Dwarves are a subclass of dwarf. They are not as strong but they have a great talent in magic. Dwarves start out with the Handicraft skill, are unable to ride a horse, and cannot reach above advanced in weapon masteries regardless of class.

Dark Dwarves were an interesting race, they could not go head to head against an elf in magic power but they made a good base for a swordmage class. Don slowly rolled the cursor over each race, looking at its traits and stats, not only to get familiar with each, but to find this thirty-second available class. This list had, Orc, Half-orc, Gnome, Fairy, Barbarian, Halfling, Ekril, these were all races whose availability he already knew of. Finally he got to the elf selection.

Wood Elf Initial Status WindowHealth 80Mana 120Strength 8Agility 12Wisdom 12Intellect 10Vitality 8Affinity to Nature 0Leadership 0Attack 2Defense 0Wood Elves have the greatest respect for nature, their bodies are not the strongest but they have the greatest connection to the natural world of any race.

High Elf Initial Status WindowHealth 80Mana 120Strength 8Agility 12Wisdom 11Intellect 11Vitality 8Affinity to Nature 0Leadership 0Attack 2Defense 0High Elves pride themselves on their magic and bowman skills. Though weak in body they have a high potential for many forms of long distance combat.

Lunar Elf Initial Status WindowHealth 100Mana 100Strength 9Agility 11Wisdom 11Intellect 9Vitality 10Affinity to Nature 0Leadership 0Attack 3Defense 0Lunar elves are born with innate wanderlust. They love to explore, are adept fighters, though are not as skilled in magic as other races of elf. Lunar Elves can learn explorer skills regardless of class and have a strong connection to the heavens.

Note-This race can only be chosen during the interval a blue moon, or second full moon within the same calendar month is in the sky over the region the player is registering from.

Don almost felt his heart stop. Between High Elf and Dark Elf was the race he had never seen before, a race that was only available during a blue moon. Blue moons are not common, in fact they only happen about once every two to three years. it was entirely possible that this was the first blue moon since Royal Road came out. After checking through the other races Don was certain he would go with Lunar elf. Of course it wasn’t as powerful as a Barbarian but making it stronger would be a worthwhile challenge.

“Lunar Elf.”

-You may alter your appearance using the index.

Don’s features as a lunar elf were shown before him. His original appearance wasn’t bad, but it was fairly plain. His appearance as a lunar elf however, seemed handsome to say the least. His hard features were made slender, his stocky body made taller, his tan skin made pale with a slight hint of bluish hue. That along with silvery white hair and piercing green eyes with minute golden specs throughout made him something that would probably attract stares.

He opened the menu to begin changing his appearance closer to his old self, but as he was doing so he remembered his sister. He thought, ‘Crap, she’s been waiting this whole time!’

He didn’t want to make her wait any longer so he said, “This appearance is fine," and started without changing it.

-Your account has been created. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road.

-Select a city and Kingdom you want to start.

“The City of Hiritol, Trisden kingdom.”

-Welcome to Royal Road.

A blinding light flashed and disappeared. He could now see the world around him. He had finally made it, he was in Royal Road.

Among the groups of people walking about the starting point was a little girl sitting on a bench, looking very annoyed. Don approached cautiously and said, “Hey...”

At first she looked up thinking it was someone bothering her, but slowly she recognized his features. “Don?” She said.

“Well, yea. Sorry for making you wait.”

Her faced turned into one of shock at his appearance. Even a few other people started trying to catch a glimpse. “You choose an elf?" she asked.

Don explained the conversation with Eugine, as well as the story behind the Lunar Elf race.

She remained silent for a moment before asking, “Did you get anything else?”

“Like what?” He answered.

“Well, dwarves get handicraft, maybe lunar elves get a starting skill as well.”

It was worth a shot to find out. Don said aloud, “Show Skill Window.”

Skill WindowLight of the Heavens [Max] 00%

Gives a buff dependent on what celestial bodies are in the sky.

Duration: 2 Hours.

Mana Cost: 100

Can be used once per day

After describing it his sister said, “So not just the moon, but anything? Try it out.”

“Alright, Light of the Heavens.”

The sun’s light seemed to become insanely intense for an instant, everyone in the area noticed and winced.

Solar Buff

+10% Fire Affinity

+10% Strength

“Got ten percent bonus to fire affinity and strength.”

“Only ten percent for a maxed skill huh.” Don and his sister both made the assessment that the skills strength was dependent on the strength of the light source. The sun was long past its peak so it may be able to give much stronger buffs.

“Ok, that's enough for now. First things first, My name here is Sierra. Don’t call me by my real name, what name did you choose?”

“Don.”

“Typical. Ok Don, would you like to be my friend?”

Sierra has sent a friend request, would you like to add Sierra to your friend list?

Yes|No

Usually family members are automatically registered to a User's friend list. But Don had not registered his sister or parents as family members. It had been an attempt at independence but it hadn't work out too well.

Sierra has been added to your friend list.

"Hey, can I be you friend?" A beautiful user walked up to Don wearing a flowing orange dress.

Lola has sent a friend request, would you like to add Lola to your friend list?

Yes|No

Don started to sweat. In the pursuit of Manliness, Don had overcome many obstacles, but this was something that had never happened before.

"Umm, well... I .. ahh.."

Three more women came up to him. "Hey there handsome, wanna be friends?"

"No, I saw him first, Be my friend."

"No! He's mine, be my friend!"

Brittney has sent a friend request, would you like to add Brittney to your friend list?

Yes|No

June has sent a friend request, would you like to add June to your friend list?

Yes|No

Trish has sent a friend request, would you like to add Trish to your friend list?

Yes|No

Don was short on breath, it wasn't exactly that he was shy around women, it was that he had no confidence in being able to talk to them.

"Ehh, well, you see.. I ah.. Don't know any of you so.. please... ahh..."

He was practically whispering near the end. His sister grabbed his hand and started running. He frantically followed, though his shortness of breath from attempting to talk made him slow. After a few minutes they stopped so Don could catch a breath.

Sierra gave him a, -That's what you get for making me wait- look before cracking up. She said, "Was that the first time a beautiful women asked you to become her friend?"

Don gave a grimace. His current girlfriend that took him half a year to ask out was homely. Not unattractive, but you'd never see her on the cover of a magazine. With his plain face and stocky build, his original appearance never gave him this kind of problem. He had no experience what so ever, and his sister seemed to enjoy it.

Don denied the friend requests and thanked Sierra for helping.

She exclaimed, “Ok, lets go explore the city!”

But Don had to stop her here. “Wait a moment. I can’t rely on you completely. I’ll be free to chat of course but I would like to start at the training hall for now.”

Don expected his sister to be upset but she sighed and said, “How did I know you were going to say that...”

Sierra took out a large sack and handed it to Don saying, “You are not allowed to refuse, this is enough food to last until you can leave the city and hunt for yourself.”

Don took the sack and thanked his sister graciously, after which she showed him to the training hall.

Don stood before the massive building, his hands shaking with anticipation. This was it, this is where his adventure would begin.

Chapter 2 The Manly Training

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