[{Guardian Ogre} has been slain! Dungeon to the 2nd floor is now opening…]
The ground shakes. I get a bad feel, and I start backing up from the center of the crater. I look for Momo, and to my relief she’s regained consciousness. In fact, checking her player profile which is still shared with me, she’s leveled up. As a result of that, all of her stats have been recovered. She locks eyes with me, “Did we win?”
“We won. But let’s get out of the crater…I have a funny feeling-” I’m cut off by a crashing noise. A massive tower sprouts from the ground of the crater, shooting upwards higher and higher all the way to the sky. Momo and I were inches away from its walls, and in shocked fear Momo instinctively jumped behind me. The tower continues to rise, until I’m convinced it’s pierced through the sky. And sure enough I get a notification when I observe the tower.
[Dungeon ‘Rapunzel’s Tower’
Maximum party size: 20
Required for entry: 1 party member must have ‘Tower Key’ item]
“...That. I had a funny feeling that was going to happen,” I mumble to Momo, who must have gotten the same notification as me when looking at the tower.
“Rapunzel’s Tower…? And the Tower Key item. Where do you think we might be able to find that?” I hold my hand out and access the key through my inventory, summoning it in front of me. “Oh! Nice! Did you get it from the ogre? Ah! Also! You haven’t told me your name yet, who are you? Thank you so much for saving me, I would’ve been down to my last life if not for you. Do you want to go back to Trestar together?”
She just rambles, doesn’t she? That’s convenient, it gave me some more time to think about a new name. I can’t share my profile with her, so I just say, “Aoi. My name is Aoi. And yes, I’d love to go back with you. I’ve been…hunting in the woods pretty much since the announcement. I was at the very edge of the stands, so I ran as soon as the barrier was lifted, what’s the colosseum massacre?”
“Oh! So, have you been keeping yourself in the loop on any of the guilds or anything then either?” I shake my head as the two of us climb over the logs around the edge of the crater, “Ok! Then I’ll just go through everything! Let me know if you already know some of this and I can skip past it!”
= = = = = = =
Momo and I approach the edge of the city, the massive beige walls getting closer and closer. My make-shift hair dye would only get me so far, and I had used half of my berries for it. But more pressing was processing everything Momo told me.
Going in order made it easier to rationalize, even if Momo told it out of chronological order. After I was teleported out, some of the players thought that my words were encouragement for them to fight among themselves. One player killed another, and screamed about how much EXP he got, so suddenly it became a bloodbath. It’s come to be called the colosseum massacre, and around 10,000 players ended up losing one of their lives before getting out. The city itself is a safe zone, which is why that number isn’t higher. Outside of the colosseum and the red-light district, players can’t harm each other in the city. The players who did murder others were marked with a red username, which is why in order to join a guild and when introducing yourself, it’s become fairly standard practice to share your player profile…Which is really inconvenient for me. Fortunately, killing a player also leaves a mark on your wrist, which I lack. It must be because of Ki clearing my rewards and punishments tab before teleporting me from the colosseum. That’s how Momo knew I wasn’t a ‘bad guy’. How differently would she think if she knew I was the one who started the colosseum massacre?
After that, the players began forming guilds. Different players teamed up for different reasons. The murderers from the colosseum massacre teamed up and created the ‘Thanatos’ guild, stationed in the red-light district. There have been 4 other major guilds which have cropped up, but 1 stands among them all: ‘The North Star’ guild. It’s reached the maximum number of players that can be in a guild, 20,000, and is the primary source of hope and has the goal of clearing the game. The other 3 guilds focus on one primary objective each. ‘Treasure Trove’ focuses on items. ‘Private Eye’ focuses on information about the game and other players. ‘Aegean Shield’ focuses on protecting players who got trapped in this game and are in reality too young to be trusted on their own. Apparently, there are hundreds of players under 13, and certain players over 13 who are just not mature enough to be on their own. There’s a daily meeting between these 4 guilds to discuss what they’ve learned and share information each day.
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That’s where me and Momo are heading. She’s a member of ‘Aegean Shield’, since she’s only 17 herself. I guess I’m only 19, so I’m not too far off from that guild’s demographic either…
“Do you think they’re going to reward us for finding the tower to the 2nd floor?”
“...Maybe,” I mumble back to her, still lost in thought.
“So…Aoi, what level are you? Since you don’t want to share your profile,” she comments, pouting and puffing her cheeks in annoyance that I haven’t shared it.
“Level 7.”
“Wow! That’s pretty high level! What class are you? Ah! Wait! Have you done the class quest yet?” I shake my head, and Momo gasps, “Woah! You got to level 7 without even picking a class? That’s bonkers! We should do that since we have some time to kill!” She grabs my hand and drags me through the city gate. A massive archway of beige stone, with a giant oaken sign that reads ‘Trestar’ labeling this city. “It’s a really easy quest! It’s literally just meeting with an NPC and telling them what class you want! Ah! Also! You should join our guild, you might be pretty strong but you’re such an airhead! We’d help show you the ropes of the game!”
She’s calling me an airhead? I’m slightly insulted. I could probably help program a game like this in just a few years, and she needs to show me the ropes of the game? “...I’m not an airhead,”
“Ah! We should stop by the exchange vendor first! I have some monster drops from hunting, and I bet you do too! Oh! Also, we should-” Momo’s just too energetic for me, and I find myself passively going with the flow. Trading my loot didn’t sound like a bad idea though, most of the drops in my inventory were pretty useless.
= = = = = =
4 hours later, and I’m finally taking the class test. I kneel on a pillow in a wooden room, a fireplace in the middle of it. An old woman sits across from me, sipping on some tea. She’s an NPC, the first one I’ve seen. The NPCs of Typiskgard were pretty flat, and the NPCs of Romgard weren’t much better. I wonder how the NPCs in Midgard are…
[{Fortune-Teller} offers you a quest! Quest ‘Class Assignment’! Do you accept?]
I select the checkmark on the screen that pops up in front of me. The old lady looks at me with a grim face, “Young hero, you have such a hard journey ahead of you. I do not envy you. But I will offer you what protection I can. Answer my questions true and honest…” she throws something into the flames, and smoke erupts forth. I can see nothing but the smoke, and the old lady narrates over it, “Are you a warrior who seeks to fight with their strength? Their wit? Or their magic?” As she speaks the smoke shifts and transforms into different shapes. A sword, a bow, and a book. Interesting. But since I need to be a solo player because of my reputation in game…I need to stay balanced. I can’t afford to sacrifice anything.
“I’m a warrior who seeks to fight with all 3.”
The shapes crash into each other, a new billow of smoke rising from the fire. “How interesting…” the old lady murmurs, “How do you intend to defeat your foes? With one critical strike, or death by a thousand paper cuts?” Again the smoke shifts, forming into a sword or a shield. I’m tempted to select both again, but…
“A critical strike.”
The sword of smoke glows, and the shield poofs away. The fire flickers and sends forth a new plume of smoke. The questions go on in such a manner, asking me about my intentions with my power, what I plan to hunt, what my preferred weapon is, and various other questions. It reminds me of that ancient MMO Wizard101, and the questions it would ask you before assigning you a school of magic. Eventually the test comes to a close though, and the smoke fades. The fire has turned to nothing but a few embers, and the old lady reaches into them. She’s unharmed by the heat, and pulls out a small pellet, handing it to me. “You are…A Bounty Hunter.”
[Class ‘Bounty Hunter’ assigned]
[Quest ‘Class Assignment’ complete! +500 EXP!]
[Level up!]
[Skill ‘Weapons Improvisor’ (Passive) unlocked!]
As soon as the last notification pops up, the old woman disappears completely. I rise, and inspect my new traits while heading out of the building to meet back up with Momo.
[Class ‘Bounty Hunter’ - You are a fierce warrior! No matter what you put in your hands, you are able to use it to bring down even the greatest monster or most terrifying player! Equally adept with all forms of fighting, this class is able to specialize every 10 levels!
Note: Skill Tree unlocked until Level 10.]
[Skill ‘Weapons Improvisor’ (Passive) - You will be able to use all weapons with some level of proficiency, even if never seen before. You will also be able to use non-weapons as though they were weapons with efficiency.]
Interesting. I’ll still be able to specialize as I level up, meaning even though my class is a jack-of-all-trades, I should be able to spec it so that I can fight how I want at high levels.
“Aoi!” Momo calls out to me, waving her hand frantically. I look up, and see her standing next to two others from her guild. Or, from their white and red uniforms, I assume they’re from her guild. “The meeting’s happening in 5 minutes!”