Welcome to Star city! Make sure you stop by our Bazaar!

The husky female voice rang out as the world was building around me. My eyes follow the lines up as strip by strip the city loaded into view. I saw the star-shaped peak where the lines collided, smiling as the blue skies peeked through.

The sound of trickling water tugged my ear making me turn around. Several pillars stood in the middle of the fountain, spiralling up like a staircase. Each pillar adorned with colourful gems making it look like a rainbow.

I drifted my fingers through the water feeling the sway of the cool liquid dance around them.

“Oh cool, the touch is as immersive as the smell.” I said as I watched the water drip down my fingers onto my palm. “Alright, let’s check out the menus and heads-up display (HUD) before anything else.” I said, wiping my hand on my pants before standing up.

I looked to the bottom left where most games kept their menu and saw a small icon. I placed my finger on it and swiped in front of me making multiple screens appear.

This was a cluttered mess....

It’s an MMO so I figured there’d be a lot of menus for crafting, guilds, you know things like that. But this is obnoxious, I can’t see a thing.

So before I began reading what the different menus were, I did what I did in every game. I realigned my HUD making everything accessible, nice, and organized. Now when I go fight monsters or do quests, nothing will impede me.

With that out of the way, I can finally play.

I looked around the area, watching as the city life filled the park. It felt alive here, something I don’t experience in the games I play. But that reminds me of something.

I have no clue where to begin.

I should level or get some gear, anything to get used to the game. It’ll make teaching easier on Touya.

Goal number one, learn the basics before Touya logs on!

I began to check the different menus. Navigating my journals, logs, character setting, trying to find any starting point. But aside from making it so my hate didn’t appear, and learning I had a bow and twenty arrows, I found nothing.

“Okay, how about I try the chat.” I thought. “This game has a huge community, someone out there must have the answers.”

My lips pursed when I opened the chat. The text flew by as gold sellers, and people recruiting for things I knew nothing about took over. Though I did see parts of a heated conversation about whether a hot dog is a sandwich or not.

“I bet any question I have would get lost in the wall of text… Let’s try something else right now.” I said closing the chat. “I’ll try finding an NPC, they’re usually placed to help out.”

I walked up the steps and began looking around the park, examining the people I walked by. “Oh boy.” I thought, seeing that there is no difference between any of these people. Are the people in fancy clothes players? Maybe, but some of them were walking dogs, and I doubt a player doing that.

“Down with the bourgeoisie!” Some screamed as they ran by in nothing but their boxers. Chances are they’re a player, so I can ignore that.

“Hold up, let’s try finding a guard, they’d have to be an NPC.” I thought as I made my way out of the park, my eyes peeled for a guard. It didn’t take long before I found someone with a star emblem on their armor. Fingers crossed this person is a guard.

“Excuse me, can you tell me where to get a quest?” I asked as I approached the ironclad woman, my hand rubbing the side of my neck.

“Pardon? Did you need directions?” She asked as she tilted her head.

“Lost?” A voice from behind asked.

I turned around to a knight with folded arms looking at me. He stood as tall as I did, covered head to toe with red ornate armor, making me assume they were male only by voice. I could tell he was Tanto though, he had a pair of black horns pointing inwards coming from their helmet.

“Yeah, a little.” I said with a soft chuckle as I scratched the back of my head. “The game sort of dropped me here without any hints.”

“Yeah, LLO doesn’t believe in hand holding. Buuuut lucky for you, I’m a certified mentor.” He said as his arm unfolded to point to himself. He must have noticed my confusion cause he went on to explain. “The mentor system gives bonuses to players who help beginners, as well as letting them know who are new to the game. So if you like, I can help you learn the basics of the game.”

“I’d love that.” I said with a sigh of relief. I held out my fist to him and smiled . “You can call me Wayra.”

“I’m Renato.” He said as his fist tapped mine.Much to my disappointment, I was the only one who made my fist explode.

“So first things first. Let’s form a party. Do you know how to work the menu?”

I nodded to him as I swiped it open.

“If you tap towards me you’ll get a drop down. You’ll be able to find ‘invite to party’ in that list. Press it and you’re good to go.”

Doing as Renato said, I got him invited to the party.

Renato joined the party!

Following the prompt, I noticed my party list appeared in the top left corner of my vision. The list showed our names, health, mana, and our class. But between Renato’s name and class sat a star with an M in it.

“What’s with the star? Are you some kind of general?”

“Not yet.” He chuckled. “It means I’m a mentor. So if you see someone with that icon in your party or when searching a name, don’t be afraid to ask them for help.”

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“Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Alright, now follow me.” Renato said as he turned on his heel. “Before we leave the city we should go get you some gear. There are lots of hidden quests to get gear for leveling. So you’re not stuck with what you have now. Any idea of weapons you wanna use?” He asked as he walked towards an alley.

“Kind of, I watched some videos and I thought the great axe looked pretty cool.” I said as I chased after him.

“That’s convenient.” He said, looking back to me. “I use a great axe too, so I’ll show you all the cool tricks. I’ll have to go get you one though, I’ll have you talk to an NPC for some good armor. She’ll send you to a warehouse. You can scope it out and figure out how you wanna get in while you wait, but don’t go in without me.”

“Got it, don’t enter.” I said as I reached for a wallet that wasn’t there. “You sure you wanna pay? I can get you some money.”

“Really? I didn’t think you would start with any money.” Renato said with a chuckle.

“Oh… I guess you’re right.” I said as I scratched my head in embarrassment, chuckling with him as I did.

“Don’t worry about it. I get more than enough from this to make it worth it.”

Renato began to explain how the mentor system worked in great detail, so here are the spark notes. Everyone can level sync to help new players or friends, but mentors get more exp and mentor points. He said mentor points are the main draw cause it's an easy way for players to get crafting materials and money.

The only downside he mentioned was how long it takes to become a mentor. Renato said it took him a few months to pass the trial, let alone meet the requirements for the trial. With how much effort it takes, I can see why most people don’t bother with it.

“We’re here.” Renato pointed ahead to a store front built into the side of the mountain wall. A small staircase led up to a wooden door, beside it a sign hung with words ‘Blazing Trails’ embroidered on it.

“Does the quest start the moment I step in or?”

“Nope, you gotta go in and talk to the big gal in the back. She looks gruff and hard to talk to, but she has a soft spot for low level newbies.” Renato said as he began to walk away. “I’m heading to the Bazaar. Remember, wait till I get there to go in.”

“Wait, how will you find me?” I called out to him.

“Dark green dot on the map indicates party members.” Renato said, pointing up to the mini map.

“Got it. I’ll do my best!”

I hopped up the stairs into the blazing Trail. Inside were walls and cases lined with weapons and armors, but not a customer in sight. Looking into the back I saw a large woman, most likely a Gramando, covered in protective gear who sat in front of a forge. She kept smashing on the piece she was working on, not reacting to the sound of me entering.

“Hey, I was hoping to get some armor made by you.” I asked, my eyes darting around unsure if she would respond to start the quest.

“Eh!?! Speak up! Don’t you see I’m hammering here!?” She snapped in an unsympathetic gruff tone as she raised the mask protecting her face.

“Right! I want to get some armor made by you please!” I shouted this time, hoping it was enough to get the message across.

“Simmer down, I aint deaf.” She said as they slid their hammer into their belt. She began to examine me, humming and hmming as she did. “You know, it’s polite to introduce yourself.”

“Right! Sorry, I’m Wayra.” I said rubbing the back of my head.

She chuckled as she took off her helmet “Arianna. You know, I got a good set in mind for you, but there is a bit of a snag.” She said with a sigh. “A group of Karusaga stole the materials I need to make them.” She said, pointing to the empty crate. Arianna stood up and walked over to me. “Make you a deal, you get all my materials back, and I’ll make you the set for free.” She said, holding out her large hand. “We got a deal?”

“Of course.” I said, grabbing their hand. This prompted a banner to appear saying Quest accepted and my journal to update.

“Great, I’ll mark their base on your map.” A system ping went off as a new icon appeared on my map, highlighting a change.

Opening my map I noticed a star on it. I assume this was the mark she was talking about. I opened my journal next, noticing that the quest was being tracked. This one’s called ‘Arianna’s Shinies’. Weird name.

“Be careful though. The Karusaga can be a tricky bunch.” She said waving me off.

“I’ll be back quick so you don’t have to worry.” I said as my hand moved back to my hair.

“Sounds good. Oh, one more thing.” she said walking back to where her forge is. She went around a corner where I couldn’t see, but I could hear the sound of boxes moving and metal clanging. “Here we go.” She said coming back around the corner with a sparkling short sword. “You can use this if you get in any trouble.”

I took the sword from her and nodded. “Thanks, I’ll be sure to make good use of this.” I said as I added the sword to my inventory.

“Alright get on your way kid.” She said turning me around and pushing me out the door.

“Is this how all the quests feel?” I thought as I walked down the steps, my eyes peering to the mini map so I know what direction to go.

As I walked through the streets I began to notice how populated the city was. The way Renato took me and how the shop looked, made me feel this area was more empty. It wasn’t the Bazaar or park, so I started to assume outside of those area’s you only saw a few NPCs here and there.

But it’s not like that.

I'm surprised to see all these different people. Adventures, workers, people on their day off, all walking around. I’ve played some VRRPGs before and usually the towns are sparse, only filled with npcs to guide you or give quests. But the liveliness of this game and speaking with Arianna, it made me wonder if the NPCs were more dynamic.

With these thoughts swirling around my head I arrived at the star on the map. In its place stood a warehouse, a stone building with a large number five on the printed on the front. Outside of the building sat a mountain of crates stacked high enough to reach the windows.

I leaned against the wall, planning a way for Renato and I to get in. During my surveillance though, I didn’t notice any noises or lights. The building seemed empty. Wouldn’t this be the perfect time to get the stuff?

“I know Renato told me to wait, but it’d be quicker and less trouble for him if I got it over and done with.” I thought as I pushed off the wall.

The front door had a lock on it forcing me to climb the crates around the side. After the climb, I peered through the window to see a walkway. I wanted to look further into the warehouse, but I couldn't pass the piles crates.

“Guess I’ll have to climb in.” I thought as I propped open the window and slid through it, being careful not to make a sound as I did.

I crept along the walkway till I could see around the crates. A dim light shined in the middle, but with a quick scan I was sure no one was around.

“Better safe than sorry.” I thought as I opened my map.

The map changed to the inside of the building allowing me to figure out the materials were in the lit area. I didn't see any other dots inside the building, so I took this chance to slink down the stairs and into the dim area.

I examined the area as I stepped towards it. It looked like a nest. It had four futons and a bunch of books, instruments, and toys strewn about it. But behind the two futons sat a chest.

I stepped closer to the chest, examining the outside to see if it was a mimic. Yet, it was just a chest, nothing more or less. “Weird but this is a beginners quest after all, probably got lucky with timing.” I thought.

That’s when the whole warehouse began to light up.

I turned to the front door to see a group of four small bird people. They’d almost look like human children if it wasn’t for the bird head and a set of wings on their back. They wore baggy clothes and each carried a small bag. I wasn’t sure if I should swoon from how cute they looked, or panic because I got caught. Either way, I had to figure something out.

“Who are you squawk?” The light blue bird asked as they all dropped their bags and reached for their weapons.

“Well… that figures huh.” I thought with an awkward smile.