The platform to create an avatar was little more than a floating window in the middle of unending darkness. Jeremy was slightly troubled at the prospect of creating his character. He had been so excited about what he was going to do in-game that he hadn’t planned out what he was going to look like.
Welcome to the avatar creation process. Please choose your avatar’s name.
Like with the appearance, he hadn’t given his name much thought. After musing on it for a few seconds, he decided to go with a nickname some people called him. “Remy,” he shouted out. There wasn’t a keyboard present so he assumed that it was voice-activated.
Please choose your avatar’s race.
Human-No bonuses or demerits for learning skills
Elf-All magic-related skills rise 20% faster. All combat-related skills rise 10% slower. All crafting-related skills rise 10% slower.
Dwarf-All crafting-related skills rise 20% faster. All combat-related skills rise 10% slower. All magic-related skills rise 10% slower.
Orc-All combat related skills rise 30% faster. All magic-related skills rise 15% slower. All crafting-related skills rise 15% slower.
Random-90% chance of getting one of the four main races. 9% chance of getting a sub-race of the main four. 0.975% chance of getting a special humanoid race. 0.025% chance of getting a monster-type race.
Warning: Some exceptions apply for skill bonuses and demerits.
More information available.
He thought about what he wanted to look like, but since he didn’t have a picture in mind or any particular inclination to one of the races, he decided to take a chance and roll the dice.
“Can you give me more information about the random option?”
Each registered account is permitted to create one avatar using the random option. Once used, the random option will not be available again for another three months.
If the race given is a sub-race of one of the main races, the player receives the benefit of increased strength and affinity for a certain set of skills. Some examples are dark elves and their increased affinity for dark-type magic, Hraodarg orcs and their gift for certain types of magic and combat, and Valta dwarves who can craft magical items.
If the race given is a special humanoid race, players will receive a marginalized race who isn’t normally seen in the general population or who have an extremely low reproductive rate. These races can learn certain unique skills that aren’t easily learnable by most players. They also have varying bonuses and demerits of their own. Some examples of these races are beastmen, dhampirs, gnomes, and fairies.
In the rare event that the given race is a monster-type race, players will receive races that are often not regarded favourably by the other races. Many of these races are not at all humanoid but bestial in nature, often giving severe demerits for skill acquisition and training. They are however able to use certain skills which others cannot acquire. While these races may give friendship with other monsters, they also greatly limit the interactions with other players and NPCs.
“Alright then, this looks like it could be fun. I wouldn’t mind being a demon or a dragon,” Jeremy said while smiling wickedly. "Is that possible?"
Due to the significant difference in power and the likelihood that they would disrupt the balance of the game, dragons,demons and certain other races cannot be chosen as playable races.
“Ohh…” Jeremy visibly deflated at hearing this, though he did understand why it wouldn’t be wise to give such an overwhelmingly powerful race to any one player. “It doesn’t really matter anyway. Let’s go with random.”
By picking the random option, you have forfeited the ability to modify the avatar’s appearance or choose the location you wish to be spawned at, and they will be randomized instead. Do you, Remy, understand and accept these terms?
YES/NO
“Yes.” He would be lying if he said he wasn’t even a little apprehensive at giving up complete control, but more than that, he was excited.
As verification, please reaffirm your decision. Do you, Remy, understand and accept these terms?
Jeremy was getting a bit impatient by now. He didn’t want to waste any more time. “Yes, yes, can we hurry this up? I want to see my ava-“
Before he could finish speaking, the darkness of the world was replaced by a blinding white light and he was transported into the game.
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“-tar.” Jeremy was a bit miffed that he hadn’t been given the chance to view his appearance beforehand, and he was a bit disoriented at the sudden change in scenery. All around him were giant trees and plants, with animals flitting about. It was a beautiful forest untouched by humans.
There were a few things that were strange to him. The first was why he ended up in the middle of nowhere, why the trees were so enormous, and why his body felt so different. He took stock of his own condition, but although he felt different, it didn’t feel wrong or unnatural. He could see and hear just fine, could move his limbs and tail, and he felt steady on his four paws. Hang on…why do I have paws and a tail?...And why am I covered in black fur?
He frantically looked around until he found a small pond nearby. He peered into it and was shocked at what his reflection showed him: triangular ears, golden eyes, and sharp teeth. He was unmistakeably a cat.
“Status and skill window,” he cried out, somewhat surprised that he could even manage a human voice.
Status WindowNameRemyRaceMagical Beast: PanteraLevel1TitleNoneFame/Infamy0/0Health150Mana230Strength12Agility15Stamina25Wisdom13Intellect11Attack1-3Defence0Magic Resistance10%Able to speak with animals and bestial monsters
Unable to communicate with most sentient races
30% stat boost at night or in dungeons
Can learn all types of magic except holy magic
Magic-related skills improve 15% faster
Can only learn certain applicable combat skills
Combat-related skills rise 15% faster
Cannot learn crafting skills
Magical nature hidden to most players and NPCs
Can be contracted
Cannot acquire fame or infamy through traditional methods
Respawn location after death set to forest and wild areas
Quests cannot be received from sentient races, with few exceptions
Has access to unique racial skills
Can only eat raw meat for sustenance
“More information on Pantera race and Magical Beasts.”
The Pantera race is a very rare species that have not been seen or well-documented by the sentient races. Their abilities are not well-known, but they are rumoured to possess magic and shape-shifting skills. Because of their reclusive nature, it is unknown if their shape is that of a large housecat or a wildcat, as both shapes have been sighted. While not strictly benevolent creatures, they are presumed to be highly intelligent and not mindlessly destructive.
Magical Beasts come in many shapes and forms. Unlike traditional monsters and chaotic races, Magical Beasts are usually borne from rather ordinary animals. While the mechanics of the transformation aren’t understood, scholars agree that an extraordinarily high saturation of Mana in the environment can act as a mutagen for normal animals. Unlike sentient races and monsters that can manipulate Mana, common beasts have no way of doing so. This also results in them having no immunity to Mana and is highly susceptible to its effects. The ambient Mana seems into the mother’s womb and fundamentally alters the newborn’s structure. Heightened intelligence is a common effect from this transformation, but it usually also accompanies a marked increase in strength and magical abilities as well. The resulting creature is of a completely different species from its parent, and can grow in unexpected and terrifying ways.
Well. That’s certainly interesting. I guess I’m not a common housecat after all, and from what this tells me, I probably have a few very useful abilities. “Skill window.”
Skill WindowMain SkillsClass SkillsRacial SkillsMystic Blood[Lvl. 1]-Allows visualization and manipulation of Mana at a primal, elemental level.
Primal Instinct[Lvl. 1](Passive)-Provides instincts that are much stronger and sharper, and gives the ability to sense danger. Skill rises as you listen to your instincts.
Wild Beast’s Constitution[Lvl.1](Passive)-Body strengthens and grows through hunting experience. Skill adds to natural defence, strength, health, stamina, and durability of fangs and claws.
[Unlocked at Lvl. 5]
[Unlocked at Lvl. 50]
[Unlocked at Lvl. 100]
[Unlocked at Lvl. 200]
“More information about Mystic Blood.”
Mystic Blood [Lvl. 1]-This skill allows the user to see the strands of Mana as they condense and come together. It also lets the user manipulate Mana directly, without incantations or rituals, sacrificing attack variety for speed. At higher levels, the ability to see Mana becomes stronger and clearer, eventually giving the ability to intuit spells while they are being cast. Higher levels also increase the strength of magic, the control over it, and grants additional properties.
Other forms of magic cannot be learned until skill reaches Lvl. 25.
Attack power: Variable
It seemed to be a useful skill that was quite flexible in many ways, yet also quite limited in others. With time he would grasp the intricacies and the limitations of this skill. However it was somewhat disappointing to learn that he wouldn’t be able to learn any other forms of magic for quite some time. He wasn’t sure exactly how long it would take to raise the skill level, but it wasn’t going to be anytime soon.
In the meantime, at least he had a few skills to look forward to, one of which could be learned rather quickly. Getting to level five wouldn’t take too long to do, since raising levels were considerably easier than raising skills. All he had to do was get used to his body and his first skill, and then start hunting things.
On that note, he was quite surprised at how well he took to his new body. The musculature, the skeleton, the scale of the body, and even the senses themselves were completely different from his normal body. Hell, he even had a tail, but nothing felt off. By all rights, he should have been sprawled across the ground trying to get his limbs to work. He shouldn’t be moving with this sort of ease.
Of course, he knew why he was so comfortable with this body. It was all thanks to him and his invention. Besides helping in combat skills by subconsciously guiding the body, it was also used in cases like this, where players got avatars that were markedly different from their normal bodies. Still, his invention worked even better than he imagined it would.
The I.M.C.S. worked by expanding and adding to the cognitive functions of the brain. It was like a USB in a computer, two separate objects that could fit together and share data. The only difference was that it wasn’t a static form of data. There was an A.I. unit in each system that continually updated the information through continued use. By polishing and adding to the system, players could eventually become accomplished martial artists in-game.
Usually this would be done gradually, over a period of several months. Most players should remain unaware of the system, as it ran in the background. However in Remy’s case, with such a radically different avatar, the system had no choice but to respond just as radically.
Unlike other players, Remy would experience more of the bleed-through effect as the brain absorbed so much more information. It would be slightly disorienting to switch bodies whenever he logged out, but fortunately he prepared for something like this. He had several safeguards in place that would prevent the thoughts and instincts in-game, so that he wouldn’t get used to it when was logged out. He also had a slightly log-out process so that he and other players in similar circumstances could detach themselves properly from the system.
Since he was the one that designed this system, he didn’t have any concerns about its safety. He and Legendary Games had literally run hundreds of tests and almost two years of experimentation to verify its safety. At worst, the side-effects involved a mild disorientation when players log-out, but that passes within five seconds.
Turning back to the aspects of the game, there were a few things that he was concerned about, chief of which was this condition about his being able to be contracted. He wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but he didn’t have a good feeling about it. Since he couldn’t do anything about it at the moment, he decided to put it out of his mind for the moment and focus on more important things.
It was time to get a feel for what his body could do. When he first logged-in, he had been too preoccupied by his appearance to notice much else. Now that he had the time, he realized just how different everything was.
Besides the musculature and the skeleton, his senses were the most readily noticeable things. They had all improved dramatically. He could hear the soft flaps of a bird’s wings and could smell the loamy scent of the earth. His human senses seemed dull and inefficient by comparison.
Next he tested out the other parts of his body. He couldn’t explain how, but somehow he just knew how to retract and extend his claws and how to move his tail with ease. Unfortunately, since he was only a little larger than a housecat, his claws were kind of wimpy-looking. He doubted that they could do any real damage beyond breaking the skin.
Although his I.M.C.S. gave him a plethora of information, it was by no means perfect. He soon found out that while it was easy to walk about on all fours, it was considerably more difficult to run on them. The first time he tried, he ended up tripping over himself and landing in a twisted heap.
Luckily he picked up the trick quite quickly. Within thirty minutes he was proficient enough to run in a straight line. In another hour, he was able to make sharp turns and leap and bound over obstacles. He was pleased with his progress and rather enjoyed the free and easy nature of living as a beast. However he quickly ran into another problem, food.
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In the corner of his eye, there were four translucent little bars; red for health, blue for Mana, green for stamina, and yellow for satiety. While the first three bars could be replenished by resting, satiety could only be topped up by eating food. If it got too low, it would result in hunger pangs that got increasingly stronger. If it hit zero, it would drain the health bar and cause death. At the moment, the bar was quite low, with less than a quarter of it left. He had already started feeling the slight ache of hunger.
When he checked his inventory, he was dismayed to find out that there was no food inside. There were only thirty copper pieces. He berated himself for not thinking to look inside beforehand. If he had, he would have gathered some food immediately. Then again, he hadn’t thought about the inventory since there was nothing physical to look at. Like the status window, it simply appears as another window, invisible to everyone else. It was certainly convenient, but it only provided a small amount of storage space, not much bigger than a knapsack. Anything else would require him to carry around a physical backpack or magical storage device.
However at the moment, storage wasn’t much of a concern to him. He had to find some meat, and quickly. Unfortunately, the creatures in the forest were likely several times stronger than him. He needed to find a small, relatively weak animal like a rabbit or a squirrel.
Since he was now on the hunt, his newfound instincts kicked in, and he treaded carefully through the brush, keeping his eyes and ears open. One advantage he had over the other animals was his Mystic Blood. He had practiced a bit with it, and he had a reasonable grasp of the mechanics.
At the moment, all he could do was direct the Mana to his claws and paws to strengthen them, as well as shoot Mana from the tips of his claws as small blades. It wasn’t very strong, but it could be useful. As he padded alongside the bushes and tree trunks, he made sure to hug the shadows and blend in. He had to stalk his prey, staying out of sight until he found it, and then attack the unsuspecting animal.
He walked for several minutes, trying to detect some prey. At times he had to hide and stay still, so that a stronger animal would pass him by. He narrowly escaped danger from a large lizard and a small bear. They were at least thirty levels above him, so they could kill him with a single blow.
Finally, he heard something. A small animal was walking through the grass making a soft rustling noise as it moved. Remy slowly turned his head until he could isolate the source of the noise, and then carefully walked towards it. He did his best to avoid the large grass, and quietly moved closer. Eventually he saw the source of the noise. A small red squirrel was eating a few berries off of a small bush. Its back was turned towards Remy, and was completely unaware to his presence.
Remy took slow, quiet breaths, not wanting to scare it off, and just when he had crept close enough, he leaped towards the squirrel. He thought he had done everything right, but he must have made some sort of noise that gave him away, since the squirrel dropped the berry and bolted. Remy tried to give chase, but the squirrel was too fast and too small. Since he was still getting the hang of his new body, he wasn’t able to catch it.
“Damn it!” He was more than a little irritated at his clumsy attack. He needed to find something else, and fast if he didn’t want to starve. It was at that moment that he heard the snap of a branch under an animal’s paw.
Fortunately, or perhaps it was unfortunately, a rabbit showed up that was a bit bigger than he was. While it was certainly a good source of meat, there was the small problem of it being stronger than he was. From the fact that it didn’t bolt when it saw him, it wasn’t the slightest bit afraid of him. It also didn’t help that the little number over its head was eight.
“Hi there, I’m new to the forest and just wanted to meet the neighbours.” The rabbit stared at him with its small red eyes. “Not much of a conversationalist, are you? And here I was going to invite you to dinner.”
“Eh?” He must have been hearing things, since he could have sworn that the low menacing voice came from the rabbit.
This time it definitely came from the rabbit. “Okay, this is a little weird, and I think it would be best if we parted amicably. What do you say, friend?”
“Holy s***! What kind of messed up animal are you?!” Remy yelled as he ran away, the murderous rabbit hot on his tail. “Goddammit, all I wanted was a meal, and now I have a psycho, mutant rabbit after me.” The rabbit was certainly faster than him, but Remy was more flexible and a bit smaller. He kept a distance between then by running through small holes and over obstacles.
Still, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake the killer rabbit. With his stamina running low, he decided to try something else. He unsheathed his claws and used them to climb up a low hanging tree and settle on a branch. It was barely more than one and a half metres up in the air, but from what he saw from the rabbit’s first leap, it was just out of reach.
When the rabbit got to the base of the tree, the first thing it did was try to jump up and get him. Fortunately for Remy, its paws caught nothing but air. “For a rabbit, you aren’t very good at jumping.” Remy taunted the rabbit gleefully from safety. It was a risky move, but it wasn’t a stupid one. If he couldn’t out-run the rabbit or beat it in a straight fight, the best thing to do was to let it get bored and move away.
Unfortunately, this was no ordinary rabbit. Instead of getting bored, it seemed to grow more determined. Even Remy’s Mana attacks from his claws, which he decided to call Mystic Claws, didn’t deter it from coming at him.
He used the attack whenever the rabbit was at the peak of its jump, so as to preserve the power. As a result, there were bloody lines all over the white fur, concentrated on the head and chest. While he had launched numerous attacks from the branch, the little red bar over the rabbit’s head had only gone down by about a fifth, and Remy had exhausted his Mana.
“You just won’t give up will you? Now while I certainly appreciate the attention, you’re coming off kinda stalkerish. Just let it go, I’m just not that into psycho carnivorous rabbits.” At his remark, the rabbit renewed its efforts to get to the tree, but continued to fall short.
Although Remy spoke cavalierly, he was actually watching the rabbit keenly, and was satisfied to see signs of exhaustion. Unlike the real world, losing stamina in Legacy was very different. For one thing, people and monsters have way more stamina than they normally would. It wouldn’t make for a good gaming experience if someone ran a hundred metres and then had to stop to catch a breath.
For that reason, they also didn’t really feel the effects of using up their stamina until it dipped below twenty percent. Once it did, then it was only a matter of time before their stamina ran out completely and they collapsed onto the ground, their muscles seized up and immobile.
Unlike most sentient beings, and even other animals, the rabbit didn’t seem to notice or care that it was running out of energy. This worked to Remy’s advantage, as he was able to monitor the rabbit and instinctively tell when it was time to strike. He wasn’t thinking of running anymore, now he was getting ready to hunt.
He saw the moment come when the rabbit leaped once more. As the rabbit rose up, he took the opportunity to jump down and sail over its head. He timed it perfectly, and was able to pull his back legs in and then thrust them out explosively. He caught the rabbit right at the back of its head, kicking it down and sending it crashing face-first into the tree.
The sudden action, coupled with the exhaustion, was enough to stun the rabbit and render it immobile for a few precious seconds. Remy didn’t waste any time at all. In fact, he was already on the ground before the rabbit hit the tree, and was already on his way towards it.
While the rabbit was defenseless, Remy pounced on its back and seized the rabbit’s neck between his fangs and bit down viciously. He did his best to clamp his jaws down and tear through the arteries and muscles. At the same time, he used his claws to rake deep furrows on the rest of the body. It wasn’t neat or elegant, he just wanted to do as much damage as possible in the few moments while the rabbit was defenseless.
The attack was brutal, ripping out the flesh around the throat, cutting into the soft underbelly, and tearing the muscles and tendons of the limbs. In the real world the rabbit would have already died from the wounds. Then again, in the real world, there wouldn’t be a rabbit quite like this one. The thing about Legacy was that realism had to be tempered with practicality.
While it would make sense that anatomy and the natural laws of the universe would work exactly the same as in the real world, the excessive blood and gore that would result from a truly realistic death tended to put some people off. The other main reason was the mechanics of combat itself. If wounds behaved as they did in real life, a stab to a vital organ would be equally deadly to a level four hundred monster, as it would to a level one monster. There would be no balance whatsoever in the game.
However, while he understood that it was necessary, he wasn’t altogether pleased when he felt the rabbit twitch and start to move from underneath him. Remy quickly leaped off its back and put some distance between them.
Although it appeared to be in quite a bit of pain, the rabbit managed to get up and turn towards him. Since its health had dropped so drastically, Remy was worried that it would cut its losses and retreat. Fortunately this wasn’t the case. Instead, the rabbit bared its fangs and glared at him, eyes blazing with hate and fury. It really was insane. Or maybe rabid, if they even had rabies in the game.
It tried to run towards him, but with all the injuries on its body, it was considerably slower than before. Remy found it easy enough to avoid. He stepped out of its way with a certain amount of grace, and managed to swipe a paw along the side of its face as well.
It wasn’t a terribly powerful blow, but it did knock the rabbit’s head back slightly. It was a risky plan of attack, to dodge and counterattack by a hairs-breadth. One wrong move, and Remy would have been killed with one hit. He had to constantly keep on his toes and be highly aware of his body.
For several minutes they danced around each other like this, the rabbit with reckless linear charges, and Remy with elegant, acrobatic turns. Eventually, Remy’s continued efforts paid off, and the rabbit was close to death.
The rabbit was bleeding heavily from dozens of wounds, while Remy was near exhaustion. They faced off against each other, knowing that it would be the end. “I’ve really got to thank you for being such a moronic opponent. If you were any smarter, I would be dead by now.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Seriously you need a better catchphrase.”
They charged at each other, fangs ready to pierce and maim. This time, the rabbit managed to sink its teeth around Remy’s shoulder. It was a painful wound, but it wasn’t fatal. Remy on the other hand, managed to duck his head below the rabbit’s, and bite the rabbit at its throat. He fiercely clamped down on its throat and twisted violently, delivering a killing blow.
Congratulations, you have managed to kill the mini-boss: Corrupted Rabbit
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
You have unlocked the skill: True Nature
Having killed the beast, Remy let out a huge sigh of relief. After all, he didn’t win because of strength or skill, but due to luck and the enemy’s poor judgement. Still, he did manage to win, and in the wild, that’s all that really mattered.
With the battle over, he then went to pick up the loot. Unfortunately in this case, the loot was just the rabbit’s carcass. Unlike other players who would have the meat cut off and on the ground for them to pick up, due to Remy’s race, he had to deal with the whole animal, which was actually not a bad deal, now that he thought about it.
The animal’s carcass would normally break-down after five minutes unless something was done to it. It was so players wouldn’t have to see the rotting corpses of the monsters they killed. Instead, it would decompose into dirt.
Before he dealt with the matter of food, he decided to see what his new skill was. “Information on True Nature.”
True Nature [MAX]-A transformation skill to unlock your original form. Unlike other transformations, this one does not drain Mana or have a time limit after use. To return to your sealed form, skill has to be used again. All stats rise by 15%. Health and Mana increase by 30%. Mana cost: 50 MP.
Intrigued by the skill, he decided to test it out. “True Nature.” After calling out the skill, he felt a change occur in his body. He paid attention to this change, so that he could summon it again without calling out the name. The transformation was quite tame and fluid. It was painless too, and all he felt was slightly warmer.
One second he was a small house cat, and the next thing he knew, he had grown to the size of a wild cat. He searched for a small puddle to look into, and was surprised to see that his body had changed into one that resembled a jaguar. His fur was still a solid, uniform black, but his claws and fangs had turned from tiny protrusions, to serious weapons. He was well-muscled and looked deadly.
He was busy admiring his new body, when the hunger pangs kicked in. It wouldn’t do to spend all day preening over himself. He had to eat quickly.
Now that he had a source of food, Remy was a bit conflicted regarding what to do next. His human sensibilities were whispering to him to cook the meat and then eat it, but his much stronger animal instincts were yelling at him to dhow down immediately. Eventually he decided to heed his instincts, and went to gorge on the rabbit.
He bit into the rabbit, and felt the hot iron tang of blood slide down his throat. A small part of him felt disgusted at his actions, but the new animalistic part of him only thought that it was an exquisite feast. He quickly went to work, and stripped the body of its meat and edible organs.
He swallowed the flesh in large chunks, as he didn’t have the necessary teeth for chewing. Once he swallowed down all the edible meat, he used his raspy tongue to lick the bones clean of any remaining flesh. Once he finished eating, all he felt was a feeling of contentment, and a desire to laze around in the sun. Well, his instincts were telling him to do it, so who was he to argue against it? He walked around until he found a quiet, secluded spot.
After looking around, he settled on one of the trees to nap in. It was a large tree, with plenty of cover from the sun, as well as long, thick branches that could support his weight. Remy used his claws to dig into the bark and climbed up onto a sturdy looking branch high in the air. He stretched himself out and draped his body over the branch, and shifted until he found a comfortable position. Remy relaxed his body and closed his large, golden eyes so that he could sleep. He would wake up and hunt a little while later.
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