PonPon pops into the middle of an empty field. Squinting, he waits for his eyes to adjust to the blinding sunlight after four hours in the relatively dark character creation area. Fine-tuning every single setting in existence, PonPon had painstakingly crafted the perfect avatar, ensuring every strand of fur was just perfect, every hair-strand sublime perfection.

Adjusting to the bright light, PonPon lowers his furry paw and gazes at the peaceful meadow.

Sunlight glitters on sparkling flowers, the wind is pleasantly lukewarm on his cheeks, birds twitter from the distant tree-line. Bugs buzz, the ground full of long grasstalks and taller flowers.

Reaching out a hand, PonPon just barely nudges the closest such flower. As he does, a little sign pop up above it; *Purple Poppy* it says. He huffs, pulling his hand back and staring up at the breathtakingly lovely sky—a perfect light blue with only a single artful white cloud. It looks kind of like a rabbit, he thinks, tilting his head.

He hasn't taken a step yet, preferring a moment of solitude and gentleness before he starts exploring. And the armor is heavy, too—he's not entirely sure if he'll even be able to walk. It hardly makes a lick of sense; the armor is entirely made of leather.

It doesn't even have any stats.

Frowning to himself, PonPon tears his sight away from the view and with furrowed eyebrow, he loudly thinks *status status status* until the aforementioned page appears before his eyes. Transparent, a mellow dark purple color with yellow-white text, it lists his character's info (*name: PonPon, Level 1, HP: 10, MP: 10*) followed by the basic stats (*strength: 2, wisdom: 1, agility: 2, stamina: 2*).

Gulping, he then manages to open his inventory by furrowing his eyebrows even more. The only thing inside is the aptly named *Basic Newbie Armor*.

He sighs.

A great big trumpet sounds loud in the meadow, then, PonPon flinching and wildly gazing around the calm meadow. It doesn't appear to have been disturbed at all, but the horn continues undaunted for a full ten seconds, then confetti bursts into existence over him, raining down. "What the-?" he mutters, holding out his hand at the same time as the status page disappears, replaced by a blank new page.

Text appears.

*Welcome, PonPon! Please choose your starting quest: Crush one (1) bug, find one (1) butterfly, walk three (3) meters.*

PonPon stares at it in silence for so long it becomes awkward, time slipping away from him as he tries to choose. The fact that they're all so easy—seemingly—only makes the choice more difficult.

He hasn't read any guides, done any research; he does in fact know nothing beyond the game's promotional summary.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Will his choice have consequences? Will it effect his experience in the game?

...But then, does he care?

He's not here for work, not here to make sense of the universe. This isn't a philosophy lesson and he's not obligated to make the most optimal choice.

"Alright," PonPon says out loud, listening to the growly voice. He brushes a hand over his arm, simply observing the large musculature and the thick layer of gray fur inter-spaced with white. He tugs on a few strands of fur, too, just to feel the sting.

"Alright."

PonPon gazes back at the screen. Puffs up his cheeks like a chipmunk and picks the option that seems like it'd have the loveliest result.

*Find one (1) butterfly*

New text replaces the old one. *Congratulations! You've received your first quest! New achievement unlocked: Official Quester!*

Blinking at the screen, PonPon rubs his eyes. Nothing changes. Hesitantly, he says "Thanks?" and the text vanishes, the screen going with it.

A noise, some kind of a tiny beep, and a steampunk stylized exclamation mark appears at the top left corner of his vision. Narrowing his eyes, he concentrates until a new—tiny—screen appears at the top of his vision.

*Active Quest: Find one (1) butterfly*

"Okay," PonPon says, shaking his hands. He jumps, once, on his spot and feels the loud thud as he hits the ground again. His toes—the claws on his paws—dig into the earth, and he claps his hands. Rests them on his waist as he glances over the calm, peaceful meadow. Eyes still wide, he somehow manages to accidentally takes a few dozen pictures in quick succession, the ka-ching of the artificial camera noise taking him completely by surprise.

Breathing out steadily with a paw on his chest, he freezes until the noises stop. Only then does he dare blink, dare to look around.

Right. A butterfly.

Inhaling, he tries to pinch his nose, realizes he has some kind of humanoid snout instead, and ends up just kind of waving his hand in the air for a second. PonPon then takes his very first step in the game. Instantly, another loud trumpet sounds out and he swears, ducking his head. "Shit," he murmurs while new text appears on a brand new screen.

*New achievement unlocked: One Giant Leap for Beastkin*

"Sure," PonPon says in a rather dry manner, the text thankfully vanishing very nearly right away.

He wonders how many achievements the game has.

Refocusing on the butterfly, he succeeds in crouching down and leans forward, staring at the grass around him and thoroughly studying every single detail he can spot. Which isn't an insiginifcant amount, as his eyes are vastly superior to mere human orbs of vision. Still, the only animals he spots are a few snails munching on something. He leaves them to it.

Humming, undaunted, he continues his search. With the company of the warming sunlight strong on his fur and the birdsong traveling with the gentle breeze, the passing of the time is a mere backdrop of his brand-new adventure.

At one point he snorts, the motion pulling strangely on his new snout, as he spots a family of snails moving in a single line over grooves in the earth.

But finally, there is a butterfly. Beautiful, pink, sitting on a tall yellow sunflower, the wings flutter as he nears, and a trumpet sounds before he even has a chance to catch it.

*Quest Complete: Find one (1) butterfly. Reward: 1 point added to your wisdom stat.*

The announcement is quickly followed by yet another trumpet.

*Congratulations! You've completed your first quest! New achievement unlocked: Supreme Quester!*

He huffs on a breath, a cloud of air escaping his nose.

The pink butterfly flies away, then, straying over his hands for a few heart-stopping moment before it rises in the air, staggers from side to side and goes off toward another flower. He stands, still, in place staring after it. It seems to trail glitter in the air.

And the camera goes off again.