After a few seconds of darkness and a sensation of moving, much like sleeping during a car ride, I could see again. And what I saw was flowers … flowers everywhere. Well, almost everywhere—I was apparently standing on a wooden platform elevated slightly above a meadow full of wildflowers. Roughly the size of the hut my home instance was, the platform bore host to a stereotypical wooden sign, an even more stereotypical wooden treasure chest, and me.
That treasure chest looked pretty tempting for all that it was a wooden box with leather hinges. If I were to hazard a guess, it likely contained assorted starting equipment: weapons, armor, potions, and maybe a few coins. But first things first, flickering at the lower left of my vision were several pale seafoam green boxes, probably system messages…
No. That’s a second or third thing. First things first. I was standing, not flying, so that meant this was the game and not the home instance. Looking down, I saw a flat chest, white dress, yellow sash, dark legs, and simple white shoes. A fringe of dark red hair floated in front of my eyes when I tilted my head downard. Then, my hands flew to my ears and in passing I saw how small and dainty my hands were, with delicate fingers ending in coral-painted nails. Touch confirmed that my ears were indeed drastically different in shape. And other new sensations made themselves known, not the least was the swishing of my tufted tail, quite a bit different from the tail my mermaid-faerie hybrid of a hivatar had.
Argh! My manly pride...I’ve loaded into the ECHO as a young Beastkin girl instead of the elf or human guy I was probably going to be. But … no need to panic; it could be fixed. All I would have to do is log out, delete the character, and start over—this time only making the character whose body I intended to inhabit instead of playing around with all the character customization options available. While the game is limited to one character per account and one account per person, it had allowed for deleting and restarting. I remembered skimming over that in the slew of legalese while calibration was finishing.
All I had to do was figure out how to log out, but maybe one of those possible system messages would provide that information. Focusing on the slightly distracting flickering in the the corner of my vision, I tried to look more closely at them, and … they expanded!
Now, instead of a bunch of little flickering and bouncing boxes in the corner, I now had a host of status boxes surrounding me. Idly, I wondered how it would appear to others, but I cannot imagine seeing the status boxes of other players; wouldn’t that totally break the immersive experience of the game?
System Message: Welcome to the world of Elemental Chrysanthemum Homeland Online, Madelyn Alexis. To begin your journey—
Okay, that one could wait. My eyes flicked to the next one:
[System Broadcast] Madelyn Alexis has earned the unique Achievement “Image is Everything” for being the first character to spend over six hours in character creation!
Wait, what?! They certainly didn’t need to tell everyone that! And was it really that long? I know I had spent a while, but it certainly didn’t feel like most of the night. But even more disconcerting, maybe, was the next message:
System Message: You have gained the unique Perk “Destiny’s Designer” for completing the unique Achievement “Image is Everything.” Reputation gain is increased by ten percent. Reputation loss is decreased by ten percent.
I hadn’t even started playing the game yet, and little Madelyn Alexis had already earned something no other character could gain, at least if that’s what the “unique” meant. If I deleted her, then would the achievement and perk lost to the ether forever?
The next two messages, though….
System Message: You have earned the rare Achievement “Fairy’s Favor.” You have gained 2000 Home Instance Customization Points (1000 base, doubled for being the first to earn the Achievement). Cousin, I almost took this away for making me wait so long while you were apparently trying to see every possible character customization option. I was so very bored!
[System Broadcast] Madelyn Alexis is the first player to earn the rare Achievement “Fairy’s Favor” for completing [hidden requirements]! Rewards for the achievement are doubled!
“…” I, quite literally, was speechless. This character which I was accidentally logged in as was getting all sorts of unique rewards without even playing yet. What was going on!
System Message: A “Ring of Limited Wishes (charges: 3)” has been added to your inventory by GM Nazhai.
I still didn’t know how to access the inventory yet, so I glanced down again at my fingers. I wasn’t wearing any jewelry, so I’d have to figure that out later. Maybe. But there were still messages to go through.
System Message: CONGRATULATIONS! As the 50,000th created character, your character account has been upgraded to the Hero edition. You have been awarded the following:
* 500 Home Instance Customization Points
* Rare Title “Hero”
* Limited Perk “Chrysanthemum Hero”
* 1 random starter accessory
* 100 silver coins
* 1 unique Perk or Trait. Please [select] from the Hero Edition limited list.
I’ve never been one to use the “orz” emoticon in text or messages, but there was nothing that captured my conflicting emotions better. I sunk to my knees on the platform, the feeling of the dress strange but yet familiar against my legs, and stared at the seafoam green message box. It and the others sank with me, staying at eye level, and as I stared at it, all four instances of the word “Hero” shimmered and stretched out, becoming the word “Heroine.” Rubbing salt into the wound….
Argh! My manly pride … with all these unique rewards, could I really justify deleting Madelyn Alexis and making a new character? I was going to have to spend my time in the game as a little girl, wasn’t I? Sure, I had played girls in games before—who hasn’t?—but being in VR is quite a bit different than seeing a character on a screen.
Hesitantly and a bit uncertain as to how to do so, I tried to select the message as instructed. Directing my focus to the word in brackets, I was able to expand it into a new message box which displayed a list that continued to leave me speechless. Yes, starting like this was something that I wouldn’t be able to throw away.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Hero / Heroine Edition Limited Traits and Perks (select one)
* Ownership of a home in your starting settlement. (Homes can be purchased or earned through gameplay, but you start with one.) [Unavailable: claimed by Tatebayashi Yumeko]
* Rare Perk “Familiar Companion” (Rare Perks and Traits are not unique, but difficult to obtain. However, you start with this.) [Unavailable: claimed by Melody]
* Unique Trait “Agile Hero” [Unavailable: claimed by Lynica]
* Unique Trait “Brilliant Heroine” [Unavailable: claimed by Jacqueline Spellsworn]
* Customizable Unique Accessory [Unavailable: claimed by Lukas]
* Unique Perk “Skillful” [Unavailable: claimed by Leanna Sidhe]
* Customizable Unique Weapon [Unavailable: claimed by Jaymee]
* Customizable Unique Armor Piece [Unavailable: claimed by ]
* Unique Trait “Hero’s Resolve” [Unavailable: claimed by Mystarian]
The list continued for a while past those, and even had pagination markers, but apparently the ones already claimed bubbled up to the top of the list. Nine were already claimed, and I would be the tenth at character number 50,000, so it looked to be that every five thousandth created character was upgraded to hero (or heroine…) status. I had no idea how many characters would be thus upgraded, but the chances of me getting so upgraded a second time were very small. Additionally, the “a deleted character” who had claimed one of the rewards suggested that deleting Madelyn Alexis and recreating myself as a male human or elf would mean that I wouldn’t have access to what she had earned for me by serendipity. At least, for reasons already explained to me, it didn’t feel unnatural to be a young Beastkin girl. And … I looked down at myself as an extra reminder … at least if I’m going to play a female character, it isn’t one with a figure like the Tallemaja had—or, indeed, like many of the other female characters I had looked at the customization options for. My manly pride might not have been able to handle having breasts larger than my twin’s are!
Still … it presented a challenge. She and I hadn’t exactly planned on playing together, but we also hadn’t exactly planned on playing separately, either. I didn’t think I would want her to see me like this…. I mean, it wouldn’t be anything more than a teasing comment or two, nothing mean-spirited, but … argh! My manly pride!
Anyway, enough introspection! Back to the list of possible rewards. Now that I’ve decided to stay with Madelyn Alexis (albeit with reservations), I needed to find something in the list of Heroine Edition Limited Traits and Perks that would suit both her and me. If there was Agile Hero and Brilliant Heroine, then the other st- ah, attributes, should likewise be represented. And there they were: Strong Heroine, Enduring Heroine, Willful Heroine, Charismatic Heroine, and so on.
After looking at what they granted, I was a bit upset that the Agility one had already been claimed. Lynica, my nemesis, I will remember your name! Each of them raised the associated primary attribute by 10%, and since I had decided on Agility as my main focus, it would have been perfect. While going from 10 Agility to 11 Agility at the start might not be much initially, going from 100 Agility to 110 Agility later on was the equivalent of two whole character levels.
Then again, plans do change, and the body I was inhabiting was a very real reminder of that. I was going into this thinking that I intended to play an agile archer-type, but it may turn out that I don’t find archery fun when I’m the one actually doing it rather than just pressing buttons on a screen. Who knows, I could end up tanking despite my concerns about pain, being a spellcaster, or even just settling down in a town as a shopkeeper’s assistant. Of those, the spellcaster was far more likely, but the point was that a bonus like this should be chosen for utility rather than min-maxing on a gameplay style I wasn’t even yet sure suited me.
So stats were out. Attributes. Whatever. Likewise, the assorted “gain five levels in a specific skill” were out. Sure, an additional five levels in Archery right at the start could make things a little easier, but if I were to switch away from a bow later on, that bonus would be completely wasted. Besides, I hadn’t even chosen any skills yet, so choosing a boost to a skill that I might not even take... Well, I might not be the greatest at planning ahead, but even I could see that far!
Maybe that’s why the home and the companion were chosen right away, even if they weren’t unique. They’d always be useful and weren’t specific to a certain playstyle. Well, granted, a home in a starting settlement might not be convenient if it was too far from what developed into the central hubs of the game world, but it was still owning a home. In games before, those were generally prohibitively expensive, and gaining one was a mid-to-late-game goal.
While choosing a starting boost to a skill was out, the list of skills that could be boosted was giving me some ideas about a build. Coupled with my earlier ruminations, both Archery and Daggers skills would probably be secondary skills and the primary skill slots would be dedicated to things with more utility such as Evasion or Farsight.
Still, none of this was getting me any closer to choosing a reward and I had already spent way too much time not playing the game. Nevertheless, it did take several more minutes to parse through the pages and narrow my options down to a handful or so.
Elemental Heritage (Unique Trait): When this Trait is chosen, select an element. All non-elemental physical or magical attacks have a 25% chance (+1% per 5 Trait levels) of being that element. Gain a toggleable cosmetic Aura of that element.
Unique Spell (Unique Perk): When this perk is chosen, select an element. Gain a random, unique, evolvable spell of that element. Spell evolutions can be chosen at spell levels 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100.
Forgetfulness (Unique Perk): At the cost of one charge, you may forget a learned primary or secondary skill and replace it with a new skill. (Skill experience is permanently lost which may affect derived attributes.) 5 charges. Restore 1 charge per 90 days. (Skills otherwise may be forgotten at any time in the tutorial instance for no cost, once per year for no cost, or by visiting specialized skill trainers and paying a high fee.)
Race Relations (Unique Perk): When this perk is chosen, select a racial archetype’s subrace. You are additionally considered to be of that subrace and gain access to its racial and subracial trait at a reduced effectiveness. Your appearance does not change, but characters that learn of your dual-race nature may treat you differently.
Imperial Lineage (Unique Perk): The great Zulathan Empire collapsed many centuries ago, but you bear the blood of emperors and empresses in your veins through an unbroken matrilineal line originating in a collateral branch of the family. What benefit could this have?
Stunning Linguist (Unique Trait): You are able to speak, read, and write two additional languages besides Common without needing to take the relevant Skills. Gain an additional language every fifteen Trait levels. (Languages may include “dead” languages such as Old High Zulathan or specialized languages such as Gutterspark or Imbued Runic.) Note, you will not be able to read or write languages without a written form (such as Liturgical Tauron) nor speak a language without a spoken form (such as Imbued Runic).
Faux Finery (Unique Perk): Your worn or wielded equipment (clothing, weapons, accessories, and armor) always appear to be of the highest quality and with rare or epic special effects (such as a singing sword, a cloak of ice crystals, or a flaming tiara). This is cosmetic only (the appearance of a flaming sword does not do additional fire damage, for instance) and the equipment’s status screens will not be concealed.
Decisions, decisions….