Time passed and it turned out that not all one million people were taken at once, but in small portions, and I was one of the first. The aim was to improve the quality of the services of the various tower spirits and battle instructors, and also to clear up various problems in the selection and training of candidates. A process in which I was also actively involved. I regularly talked to the tower spirit about various problems they were facing, and he would often repay me with nuggets of information about the game.

"You know Meridin, I'm really mad that you are not one of the lucky few who get to start with special classes," he said one day. You had helped us so much, and you had to start with some ordinary class. It's just not fair."

"Can I ask you to do something about it?" I pleaded.

"I'm trying, I really am. Other than saying a few good words before the battle instructors about you, I don't think there's anything else I can do. I have very serious limitations that I just can't break."

"Don't worry about it. And what are these special classes?"

"A small minority, randomly selected people, will start with classes much stronger than the rest. These classes will vary and be completely unique. My advice is to be wary of them, especially in the beginning. While not all of them will be combat oriented, the ones that are will be far stronger than the others."

The tower spirit's words got me thinking. I soon came to the conclusion that I couldn't do much for the special classes. However, I definitely had to keep away from them. Meanwhile, my strategy for creating my own class and for my future development was slowly taking shape.

Here's what my thoughts were.

1) This wasn't some computer game where you click your mouse and everything just happens. No! Whatever skills and weapons you have, you have to actively use them. That means fighting in person and killing, getting wounded, feeling pain and fatigue.

I didn't want to experience any of these things. Especially the killing part. Somehow, I couldn't see myself fighting using swords or other such weapons, getting dirty with the blood of my opponents, and looking for someone to constantly heal me of my wounds. I needed a class that didn't fight in close combat.

Not to mention that I didn't feel at all confident in my close combat capabilities. Maybe you've heard of the ten thousand hour rule?

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According to it, I needed hundreds or even thousands of hours to become good enough at archery. I highly doubted I could have stayed here, in this room practicing my crossbow that long. And one skill always went hand in hand with other skills. For example, archery also required the skill to maintain and repair bows. Crafting arrows. Sneaking up on a target and skills for hiding in ambushing animals.

2) As mentioned earlier, I needed skills to heal myself.

3) It would also be nice to have a speed skill. In order to hunt monsters faster and to quickly gain experience or whatever it was they were doing to use in this game, and more importantly, to run away from danger.

4) Which implied that I also needed defensive skills.

5) But no matter how good your skills are, someone can always attack you unexpectedly. I needed some early detection skills for that. As Sun Tzu says, "Only fight battles you are sure to win, and you will never lose a fight." I definitely wanted to avoid any opponents stronger than me!

Some might say that Sun Tzu was a coward, and for that I would cleverly avoid arguing with them.

6) And maybe it would be even better if I had the skills to hide and camouflage myself. This was so I could fight mostly in fights where my opponents should have avoided me but failed because of my superior skills… or lack of knowledge of ancient quotes.

7) Also, it would be pretty good if I had skills to earn more money and resources.

Even though I had a plan, I kept delaying my choice, hoping to make the most of the free accommodation, food and especially time in this strange room.

One day, after about five months, the spirit said to me:

"It's time, you are the last of the one million participants. I know you've made your choice a long time ago, enter your class, pick your starting gear and go through the door to the next stage. Thank you so much for your help. Try not to die in the game." here the tower spirit smiled warmly and looked me in the eyes. "I have high expectations for you. And just so you know, I have bet a lot of money on your progress. So please do not disappoint me and die in the first hour or something."

"Thanks a lot, ghost. I'll miss our conversations… As well as the free food.", I winked at him and looked at the screen.

With a slightly shaky hand, I slowly entered the information into the section for creating a new custom class, then selected the skills one by one and chose which skills to have and how to upgrade them. Then, I reached the equipment choices, got my starting gear and then finally, with slightly moistened eyes, I said goodbye to the tower spirit again, and headed for the door.

"Just to let you know that the stuff you've got stashed in your pockets will disappear once you walk through the door." said the spirit of the tower.

"Hey, you could have closed your eyes for a minute."

"It's not that easy. Maybe if you had spent another thousand years practicing, you would have stood a chance." The ghost laughed and I felt a magical force nudge me towards the door, and all sorts of hidden items from the samples in the shop fell from my clothes.

"See you again when I conquer the tower!" I shouted, and the next moment the world spun around me and I was with my first instructor.