As jake stared into the darkness, he was finally assailed by a bright light. He shielded his eyes for the second time this day and exclaimed, "First the sun this morning, and now this!" Before he could begin cursing as per the norm, he was greeted by a feminine, slightly robotic voice which echoed in the empty white space.

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

"Yes." Said Jake.

"Select a name for your avatar."

Jake took at least thirty minutes to ponder about the name in which he would use. He has always taken forever to pick a name.

Finally, He looked up and said, "Azrael."

"You may select your gender from male, female, or neutral."

Jake looked up in disgust.

"As if I want to play as a tranny...and god only knows what neutral has in store."

"Male, please."

"Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine­ races at this moment, however."

"Suppose I will go for human."

"You may alter your appearance."

“The way I am. Although, I wish you could make my eyes a little less mean.” Jake mumbled under his breath.

"Checking with administrators."

"Wait...Checking what??"

"Request accepted. Eyes have been made meaner."

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

“"Hold on a second, I said less mean. LESS MEAN. Do you understand?"

"Select a city and kingdom you want to start."

"No, no, no, I want my eyes LESS mean..."

"Select a city and kingdom you want to start."

Jake sighed, "Oh well."

"Random..."

"Welcome to Royal­..."

“Skip...”

Jake then felt a great pressure on his body, and everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, they began to adjust to a new world. Jake's mouth was left agape, and he was in awe of his surroundings. The realism of this world was unbelievable, and he could not come to terms with the fact he was laying inert in his bedroom.

He began to jump around and test his new environment out. Obviously, he drew comical looks from most of the crowd, to which he blushed and went to sit down at a nearby bench.

The tutorial had explained to him that he was bound to the starting city for one month game time which translated to one week in the real world. Thus, Jake began searching for things to do. Everywhere he looked, people averted their gazes. His once slightly mean eyes now made everyone cringe in fear and scurry away in the opposite direction.

"Accursed AI! I will have my revenge you robotic wench!" Shouted Jake, scaring people passing by even further.

As he walked, he spotted well built men wearing full plate, and fragile looking men in robes gripping staves. There was no end to the number of new sights he took in, and he assumed he would never grow tired of simply even taking in the sights of this world.

As he walked around, he spotted houses billowing purple fumes, and mages casting spells to aid in construction. Various shrubbery which he had never seen in his life came into view, and guards were doing hourly patrols. Alas, he could take in sights all day, but he was still at a loss for things to do.

"Well, I might as well check the extent of my abilities. Stats!"

NameAzraelPrimary ClassNoneHealth100Mana100Level1Health Regen/Sec.2Mana Regen/Sec.2Strength10Agility10Wisdom10Intelligence10Stamina25Vitality10Attack2Defense0Magic ResistanceFire0%Water0%Earth0%Electric0%Dark0%

"Oh dear, I am very, very squishy..." Jake sighed once more as he started looking for one of the nearby guard patrols which had just passed by seconds ago.

Jake had no interest in money. He was a true hardcore gamer, and simply cared about his character's progression. So obviously, in his years of research, he had come to know of the local training hall which could provide permanent stat boosts.

"It's a start, and I can't travel out of the city so I might as well train."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Jake finally approached the guard and said, "Excuse me sir, by any chance do you know the location of the training hall?"

The guard clicked his tongue as if he had been approached by filth and stated, "You're standing in front of it you fool."

The guard pushed Jake down and continued on his way.

"Disrespectul AI. I swear I shall slaughter them all." Jake mumbled as he made his way inside. When he entered he saw a plethora of users swinging an assortment of wooden weapons at scarecrows. Their tenacity got Jake all fired up and he made his way to the rack of weapons. As he stared at the weapons he recalled his normal preferences. In any other game he would play it safe and maximize defense with a sword/shield combo. However, being in the game and seeing the weapons in front of him, he could not resist the two handed weapons. He loved the thought of walking around with a hammer bigger than himself. Surely then, people would see his strength and want to party with him!

The game itself, however, saw fit to ruin his plans. He could hardly lift the axe and hammer. Not only were they horribly unbalanced, but they were heavy as well. EXTREMELY HEAVY. Jake then dropped the hammer on his foot.

-5hp

"OWWW!" Screamed Jake, much to the amusement of many other people.

Cursing under his breath, Jake then took the wooden two handed sword. It simply felt right in his hands, and was quite balanced in comparison to the other two weapons. Although still heavy, he could swing this one with a bit of effort. The sound of the two handed sword cleaving through the air was ecstasy to Jake. Simply put, his mind was made up, this weapon was for him. Three more swings though, and the sword dropped to the ground. Jake's arms were on fire.

"Seems in virtual reality you are truly weak in the noob stage." Muttered Jake.

As he begrudgingly dragged the sword to one of the scarecrows, he began to strike it rhythmically. This was disgusting. He had to stop every five or so swings to rebuild his stamina, and his shirt was covered in sweat.

6 HOURS LATER...

Strength rises by 1 point. (+1 STR)

Stamina rises by 3 points. (+3 STM)

"NOPE! No more, I can't do this anymore! This is way too boring, and it takes way too long for results!" Jake began to stomp off when he turned to look at the instructor. He looked at the sword in his hands and asked the instructor, "Sir, may I keep this sword?"

The instructor simply nodded and Jake thanked him.

Jake walked outside and checked the stats on the wooden 2h sword.

Wooden 2h SwordDurability9/10Damage1-2A simple oaken two handed sword. Not much use in actual combat.No requirements

"Why is this thing so hard to swing!!" Yelled Jake. As he walked to a nearby fountain, he was dragging the sword behind him while getting laughed at once more. He sat on the edge of the fountain, and began to nibble on a rock of supposedly "Rye" bread. He then took a few quick sips from his canteen. That was all he had in this world. Rock bread, water, and a useless sword...Jake sighed.

He was then approached by a shady old man garbed in a brown traveler's robe.

Jake looked at the man and said, "Can I help you sir? Look, it's been a long day and I kind of just want to relax."

The old man smiled and looked at jake, "Boy, you can help me, and in turn, perhaps I help you. I'm here to offer you a job. Who knows, by the end of it you may even be able to swing that sword properly!"

"Can it be true?" Thought Jake. It was. It was a quest.

T-Ting

Chop,Haul,Cut

Help the old man with his work for a week.

Quest rank F

Must look weak

Rewards: Week's pay, item

"Yes!" exclaimed Jake. I accept.

Quest accepted

"Wait...What do you mean looks weak!" Jake clicked his tongue.

The old man smiled wryly and said, "My name is Horrick."

Jake nodded and said, "I am Azrael."

Horrick nodded as well, and said,"Here is a map to my home, be there at 6:00 AM sharp two days from now and we shall begin."

Jake replied, "Gotcha, I'll be there."

Horrick gave a wave as he then went on his way.

Jake decided to log out for a little bit to eat and rest for a while before returning to the game.

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