[Congratulations! As the first player to join world Midgard, you have unlocked a bonus gift!]

[Bonus gift will be added to inventory.]

[Congratulations! As the first player to join world Midgard, you have unlocked a bonus title!]

[Title ‘Gilgamesh’ will be added.]

[Congratulations! As the first player to join world Midgard, you have unlocked a bonus skill!]

[Skill ‘LOCKED’ will be added.]

Immediately, Midgard treats me well. The system’s notifications are almost too good to believe. I was the very first player to join Midgard. It paid off to hack into Nexus, even if it was only for the countdown clock. I’m starting this race with a head start! “System, where am I?” I call out to the void. Though, since I don’t have a body I guess I don’t have vocal chords either, so it’s more appropriate to say I thought it loudly.

[You’re in the avatar creation screen for Midgard. To begin, please select a username for other players to recognize in the game.]

An empty text box shows up in front of me, or in front of my perception of the world. I stare at it blankly. Everybody always made fun of me for using ‘Betsu-Betsu’ as my username, and even my sister who never played VR knew about it now. So, I might as well rebrand. I fill the box in with a name, and the system echoes it back to me.

[Your chosen username is: Kazesoku. Is this correct?]

> Yes

> No

I select yes. Immediately a spotlight falls on me. I’ve been given a body, with pure white skin and a smooth plastic texture. A placeholder model. I glance around, and see six creatures around me also with spotlights on them. Each one has a label and basic description above it when I focus on it. I go through them in order.

[Human {Recommended}: Humans are the species with the highest population in Midgard. They face no discrimination on any floor or level. They have equal aptitude for all forms of combat and all skills. They are the most balanced race to start with, and can support any style of play.]

[Elf: Elves are the species with the second highest population in Midgard. They face discrimination on floors or levels run by Dark-Elves. They have aptitude for long range weaponry and stealth. They do not have aptitude for heavy weaponry or defence.]

[Dark-Elf: Dark-Elves are the species most prone to war in Midgard. They face discrimination in any floor or level save for those run by Vampires or Dark-Elves. They have an aptitude for magic. They do not have an aptitude for physical combat.]

[Vampire {Not Recommended}: Vampires are the least populated species in Midgard. They face discrimination in all floors and levels save for those run by Vampires. They have an aptitude for stealth and enchantments. They do not have an aptitude for magic or sunlight. WARNING: This species suffers massive debuffs when in open sunlight, debuffs when partially exposed, and slight debuffs when slightly exposed.]

[Dwarf: Dwarves are the greatest blacksmiths in Midgard. They face discrimination on floors and levels run by Elves. They have an aptitude for heavy weaponry and defense. They do not have an aptitude for long ranged weaponry or stealth.]

[Beast-Kin: Beast-Kin are the strongest of the races in Midgard, but they cannot use magic as a consequence. They face discrimination on all floors and levels. They have an aptitude for heavy weaponry and close quarters combat. They do not have an aptitude for magic or enchantments]

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Oh? It’s a fantasy game? It sounds like it might be an RPG! And it has recommendations for the players too? I wonder if that’s tailored to the system’s knowledge of each person’s style of play, or if it’s universal. Either way, I confidently make my selection. I always love a challenge.

[Error.]

[Because of your title, you must select Race: Human.]

Oh, how annoying. I got locked into a human because of a title I earned before the game even started? It better be worth it. With a sigh, I turn back to the basic human model and select it. I’m expecting to be given a character creation screen, as there was in Romgard. Instead, the system informs me:

[Administrator has locked character creation and modification screen. Your randomly created character model is being applied now.]

The first thing that loads is my head, and now with an actual pair of eyeballs I can watch my body form. A shimmering blue code extends down from my neck, and leaves my body in its wake. I look at my body, which is loaded with a preset outfit. I’m wearing a navy blue leather tunic, with a cream colored undershirt. There’s a black belt which has a brown scabbard holding a short sword and a pouch, through which the Nexus system intuitively gives me the understanding that’s how I access my inventory. I have cream colored pants and heavy hiking boots. “System, go into 3rd person perspective.”

[Error. Action has been locked by the administrator. Would you like a mirror to observe your face?]

Locked again? What’s Ki Atama playing at? Did he put the game out before the servers and system was ready for it? But he’s brilliant, he single handedly pushed VR technology decades if not centuries forward, there’s no way he would have miscalculated this badly…Unless he’s trying to enhance immersion in this game. By disallowing 3rd person perspective, he could be forcing the players to treat the world more genuinely and feel more connected with their avatar. Fine, I hold my hand out and acquiesce to the system, a mirror forming in front of me. Let’s hope I didn’t get saddled with anything awful.

“Eh?!” I’m way more attractive. My jawline is angular, my skin is still smooth and light, my cheekbones are pronounced but my face isn’t square. Although my eyes are a boring brown, my hair is an eye-catching bright turquoise blue. Everything about my face, my nose, my eyebrows, my lips, they’re all strikingly handsome. I could already see this face plastered all over social media, people wondering who I was. A smile tugs on my lips, and I find out while watching my reflection that even when I smile I still look great. “...Sweet.”

[Character model generation complete. Allocate stats.]

[Player Profile: {Kazesoku}

Title: Gilgamesh

Lv. 1 - 0/100 EXP

HP: 100/100

ST: 100/100

MP: 100/100

Strength: 1

Dexterity: 1

Constitution: 1

Intelligence: 1

Presence: 1

Skills: LOCKED,

You have 5 Stat Points to distribute.]

5 Stat Points? Just enough to get each core stat to level 2 if I wanted. And as the most balanced species, there might not be a whole heck of a lot of purpose in trying to min-max…But at the end of the day, I’m a gamer. Everything into Dexterity.

[Error. During Character Creation, the maximum level core stats can be raised to is 3. Dexterity has been raised to Lv. 3.]

…The system isn’t letting me get away with anything, is it? Fine. I guess I’ll have to think a little more. Being a purely physical fighter, investing into strength and constitution, might not be a good idea this early one. Especially since the beast-kin race was geared towards physical stats anyways. But I can’t afford to let my hit points be low enough that I’ll be taken out in one shot. I have to put 1 point into constitution. And I’m stuck with the human race anyways, so I might as well learn magic. Plus…It’s magic! I’m a nerd, of course I want to be able to cast spells! I put the rest of my points into intelligence. My dexterity and intelligence are both at 3, my constitution is at 2, but presence and strength are both still at 1.

[Character creation complete. Loading into the world.]

That’s it? What about my class? I guess I’ll unlock it during the course of the game. A progress bar appears in front of me, the loading bar to put me into the game. But since I have some time, I reach into my pouch and access my inventory. My username is at the top, followed by my finances. Underneath is a 6 by 5 grid, with 3 of the 30 slots filled.

[{Kazesoku} Inventory: 1G 5S 5BC 10C

> Bonus Gift

> Beginner Short Sword

> Health Potions (x5)]

My bonus gift is still wrapped? I select the item.

[Congratulations! Your bonus gift is: Urdr’s Tear. Item description: A crystalized tear of the ancient god Urdr. This tear will activate once upon the owner’s wish after the owner has died, and allow them to take one more action before their death.]