The Beginner's Town was the same as the one in the beta of Arcadia. Jack smiled: this would make starting over easier. While most of the other players, new to the sensation of the first 100% full-dive MMO, were still acclimating to their new environment; he, along with a few other beta testers he recognized, disappeared in the town's streets, ignoring the Beginners' Quests. He had only taken the time to choose his Class among the twelve available to beginners as well as his in-game name. These Classes were split in two basic self-descriptive categories: Physical and Magical.
The Physical Classes were Swordsman, Berserker, Assassin, Shield, Archer and Monk. While the Magical Classes were Mage, Cleric, Summoner, Witch, Spellblade and Wizard. Out of the classes, he chose Swordsman. Just like Mage, it was the most balanced Class of its category: it had no particular advantage and no particular disadvantage. A very safe choice, which in Jake's opinion, was the best one as Basic Classes would only determine the direction of a player's playstyle. And later on, other Classes would appear, and could be picked based on what a player wanted. Swordsman was just the Class with the most possibilities with how average it was, while extreme Classes like Monk and Shield were more restrictive.
He had chosen the same in-game name he had used during the Beta: Odin, like the greatest of the Nordic Gods. A corny name, attached with a lot of meaning. As Odin, he rushed through the Beginner's Town. During his previous Beta logins, he had managed to dig out and receive a Hidden Quest. Jake liked to find hidden pieces in games, partly because they were a part of carefully crafted lore that he enjoyed learning about, but mostly because they were a challenging and entertaining way to quickly get stronger. And this particular Quest would make his life very interesting.
He turned right into a dark alley empty except for one beggar, lying in the filth of the street. Slowly, he approached the dark figure who raised its head at his approach. Two dark red eyes peeked from under the hood of its cloak, staring at Odin. Jake stopped in front of it and squatted down, before asking: "You got something for me?" The Beggar chuckled, answering in a raspy voice: "Depends what you're looking for." Jake smiled before saying the Quest's trigger word: "Power."
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The atmosphere shifted. The alley darkened as the Beggar rose, revealing its inhuman height. It towered over Odin, dipping its head and sniffing him. It pondered for a little and then nodded its head in approval, saying: "Prove your power then. Kill ten Mana-blessed individuals and I'll gift you power and an opportunity."
In front of Jake, a blue Quest window appeared:
[The Beggar's Quest:]
Slay 10 Mana-blessed individuals (0/10)
Rewards: Black Cape, Dark-attributed Sword, 1500 XP
(Hint: NPCs and other Players are considered as Mana-blessed)
Jake smiled. This was the Quest he came for. It rewarded PK (Player Killing) and would also help him level up. He had only found this Quest at the end of the Beta and could not finish it. However, he had an idea of its rewards, as he had heard of Equipment like the Black Cape. They were considered Cloaks, which could be worn over other Equipment to hide a Player's information and face. The other rewards weren't bad either. A Dark-attributed sword would be enchanted with the Dark elements, giving it special effects. Its quality would be at least as high as Bronze Quality, making it a very good sword for the early stages. The XP was not very high though.
All Players started at Level 0 and would need 1000 XP to get to Level 1. To go to any Level higher they would have to gain 100 more XP than what they needed for the previous level. So Level 2 would require 1100 XP, all the way to Level 9 which would require 1800 XP. To get to Level 10, the additional XP requirement doubled, meaning it would require 2000 XP. And this would repeat until Level 19 (3800 XP). To get to Level 20, Players would need 4200 XP. This made leveling up a very onerous task, but then which MMORPG was not like that? In the grand scheme of things, while 1500 XP was not much, it was equivalent to one additional Level for Odin.
Jake accepted the Quest, saying: "I'll do it." The Quest window flashed green as it disappeared, and the NPC Beggar nodded, acknowledging Odin's answer. It then sank back down in the same position Odin found him. Odin turned around, leaving the alley. He then walked back to the main streets of the Town. They were already flooded with Players in their starting equipment, bustling around and screaming to create parties. At this point, most were looking for Quests from the Town's NPCs, while some had already headed out to the fields to hunt Monsters and Level up.
And for someone with a Quest to kill 10 Players or NPCs, the Level 0 Players out in the field were a much more attractive target than the Players and NPCs in the Beginners' Town. After all, Jake would have to find a way to cheat a full-dive MMO to kill those under the protection of Level 120 Town Guards, as a Level 0 Player. So, he headed for the Town's open gates, while checking his stats and inventory.