Desmond opened his eyes as a changed man. Well, a changed Elf at least. His sight was sharper, ears more pointy and sensitive and his mind was clearer than ever. The transformation was so ridiculous he could literally feel the magic pulse through his veins.
An Elf was indeed an overpowered choice.
He grinned and took in his surroundings. He was standing in a vast grass field that came up to his knees.
Never in his entire existence had he seen so much life around him. Every one of his senses had been engulfed by the very essence of nature itself.
His face set into one of calm as fresh scent invigorated every ounce of his soul. He took this moment, a monumental beat of his heart to truely understand... This was it. He had made it.
He basked in the feeling of the lightest touch against his skin as the breeze danced over the tiny hairs and the goose flesh of his arms and face.
“It’s so—pure!”
Desmond spun in place to get a better look. He was indeed in the middle a vast open meadow, that tapered off to hills and valleys beyond. The only mark against the perfect cloud like backdrop where a bunch of sparse green trees.
Underneath those perfectly shaped alpines bounced small round creatures, reflecting light off their semi-transparent bodies.
Desmond eyed his clothing. He wore a standard villager outfit that had been cut from a pale green cloth and adorned with elvish silver filagree. He felt something brush under his shirt and pulled it up to reveal a round gear where his belly button should’ve been.
Curious, he prodded it and a series of boxes flashed into existence.
On his bottom right corner of his vision sat an empty box.
Chat:
Viewers online: 0
Desmond stared at the chat box with a sense of awe. The reason he had chosen the streaming option was due to the benefits content creators were given. Streaming was tough, but it had a range of added bonuses and monetary incentives as their audience grew. As a worker who struggled to get above the poverty line his entire life, this was a chance he wasn’t willing to give up, a chance for both fame and fortune.
Right at that moment, a determination burned in Desmond’s eyes eager to prove himself.
He turned from the empty chat box and looked over his character sheet.
Character sheet: Ph0en1x [Title: None]
Health points 35/35
(level one) EXP 0.00%
Class: None
Stamina: 8
Strength: 7
Agility: 9
Wisdom: 7
Luck: 2
Charm: 9
Dexterity: 9
Intelligence: 8
Equipped items: Elvish village garb
Location: Elven Meadows
He froze and his mind raced. Class none? What the..?
“But I chose adventurer!” he shouted in panic.
“Um, hello is there like a game master or something? I think my character’s broken!”
He waited for a moment, but no answer came. He stared at the character sheet, confused.
“What do I do? What do I do?”
Maybe it's just a UI bug or a something. Hopefully, the problem will go away after they patch it, he silently reasoned.
He shook his head determined not to let this minor problem dampen his otherwise exciting first experience. So, he gathered his thoughts and moved towards the trees in the distance.
As he made his way, clouds above drifted revealing the day's rays. A wistful smile played on his lips as the warm sun filled him with energy and a sense of belonging. With this new vigour he quickened his step, and strode confidently through the grass.
“No! it’s GONE!” shouted a voice filled with despair.
Desmond paused and spun to see two elves who seemed to have popped into existence nearby. They were currently arguing, one male and the other female. The male instantly began digging up earth with his bare hands and looked close to tears, while the other had her hands on her hips.
New players? What’s wrong with them? Desmond thought.
He looked above their heads, noticing their names hovering above them. Desmond shook his head in confusion. The male elf's name was... weird, sounding more like an unfortunate disease than a gamer's tag.
For a split second, Desmond was going to approach the crying elf, but after a second glance at his name he was convinced otherwise.
“My pants! Their pockets are normal!” shouted the male elf.
Is he crazy?
Desmond shrugged to himself, choosing to ignore the two and continued towards the trees. He didn’t want to get caught up by some weird players out here. This was his first leveling experience, and he didn’t want it to be marred by something that could lead him down a dark path.
As he approached the trees, the bouncing monsters ahead of him came into view. They looked, to his surprise, extremely cute.
They were perfectly round, with a slight blue sheen, with no visible features and bounce with a childish enthusiasm. Above them, read the monsters' information.
Slime level 1.
There were five of them.
Desmond was loathed to harm the cute slimes. They looked so defenceless. But he read all about what to do to advance in a game like this, and what he needed right now was experience and as a potential streamer, he would need to get stronger. Much stronger.
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“Alright, let's do this!”
His hands patted his chest and legs.
He had stumbled on a significant problem. He had nothing to hit the monsters with. For some strange reason, there were no fallen twigs or sticks left by the tree so he couldn’t even craft a makeshift weapon. For some strange reason, the area was far too clean.
Maybe it's because it’s Elven lands?
His mind raced but the only answer he could come up with was magic. He returned to his original problem with a frown on his face. The current number of deadly objects in reach still was at a resounding zero.
“What to do? What to do... I need a weapon.”
It was definitely a dilemma, but maybe he could use his fists on these things until he found one. They were only level one, after all.
How hard could they be?
Desmond clenched his fists and slowly approached the first slime. When he was in striking distance, he spread his legs shoulder width apart and balanced himself. Once happy, he eyed the centre of his first target and lunged.
“HA!”
He punched the slime as hard as he could, sending his fist straight through its gelatinous membrane and deep into its clear body.
“Huh?”
His hand was stuck.
“Get off!”
Desmond wagged his arm but try as he might the slime clung to his limb like glue.
Crunch!
Red letters appeared above Desmond that drifted into the sky.
Health points -15.
“Oh, shit!”
Health points -15.
Desmond struggled as hard as he could, but the slime wouldn’t let go.
Health points -15.
YOU HAVE DIED!
Everything went blank as Ph0en1x the level one character with no class, died.
Desmond gasped a second later. He clutched his arm and found the slime had gone.
“Phew! What the heck was that?”
Spinning around on the spot, he realised he had been teleported to his original location in the centre of the meadow. He felt his chest and found he still wore the default clothes.
Good. At least I didn’t respawn completely naked.
He quickly peered over to where the other Elves were, checking to see if they had seen his rather humiliating blunder. Luckily, they hadn’t.
“That was a bit embarrassing,” he said to himself. “Luckily, no one saw that.”
Bing!
Desmond glanced over and saw with dread that the chat box in the corner of his vision had appeared.
Chat:
GreenDragon: OMFG LOL!
Viewers online: 1
“Uh, oops,” he said, grinning sheepishly towards the viewer. “I didn’t mean...”
Before he could come up with a good enough excuse, the chat window flickered.
User has left the channel.
“You have gained a new title: the foolish,” said a sweet voice.
Desmond stared at his name above his head, Ph0en1x, the foolish, and sighed.
Hanging his head dejected, he focused his mind on the problem.
“Hey, I found something!” shouted the male elf.
Desmond looked over. The Elf was jumping for joy, playing quite the convincing role of a little kid on Christmas morning. There before him was a floating golden treasure chest with an information box moving above its golden lid.
Golden BETA test box.
You have received a treasure box for helping with the closed BETA.
Thank you for all your hard work. One item per player only.
Items available 3/3.
Duration: 4:49 mins
“Oh bullshit, only one per player?” he stopped jumping for joy as the female elf berated him.
“Well, hurry! Open yours and give me a go after,” she said quickly.
Desmond's ears perked as he decided to go against his better judgment and wandered over to the two elves. As he approached, he saw a glowing box in front of the male elf bounce and glow bright gold. After a few excited more bounces, a burst of stardust exploded from within, shooting out a message.
Congratulations!
You have opened the Golden Beta test box.
You have received a new RARE item!
Desmond’s eyes widened as he spotted the floating box and a sense of apprehension dawned.
Beta players? There wasn’t any mention of beta players on the forums. Who the hell are these guys?
“Sweet, I got a weapon!”
“That’s just a stick.”
“Yes, a rare stick!”
As he approached, another box bounced before the female elf and again a text box floated from the golden exploding box.
Congratulations!
You have opened the Golden Beta test box.
You have received a new UNCOMMON item!
“Trust you to get the rare and not me. Lucky bastard,” she said. Her expression when she said ‘bastard,’ somehow looked endearing. “Let’s see what I got... Ah, I got a ring of accuracy. Not bad.”
“Um, hello,” Desmond interrupted.
They both spun to look at him. Desmond once again silently read the strange name that floated above the male elf:
Clemiticus, Adventurer level 1.
Adventurer? He wondered. That’s the class I chose. So, the class isn’t bugged. I am.
Deciding to temporarily ignore the weird bug, he soldiered on. He didn’t want to miss out on something potentially incredible.
“How do I get one of those?” he asked, pointing to the bouncing golden box.
The two elves shot him a grin as Desmond read the name above the female.
Melly, Ranger level 1.
“No idea, ask him,” Melly said with a shrug. “It says a gift for being a beta tester whatever that means.”
Clemiticus eyed the box, then he too shrugged and kicked it towards Desmond.
“It’s a prized treasure box that grants only one gift to each person who opens it. It doesn’t say you need to be a beta tester to open. Only to acquire the box itself. Got to love them loopholes.”
Desmond slowly approached the treasure box. It had one last item left. This may be his chance to get a weapon. He would figure out his class problem later.
With a tentative touch, his hand fell on the top of the glittering metallic box. For the briefest of moments, his heart stopped.
Clemiticus sighed. “I guess it doesn’t...”
The treasure box burst into a shower of gold as a chat box exploded into view.
Congratulations!
You have opened the Golden Beta test box.
You have received a new UNIQUE item!
He felt his hands tremble as a small package fell into his hands.
“Well, there you go, you’re welcome!” Clemiticus said then focused on his own prize.
Desmond let out a pent-up breath and stared down at the package. With the utmost care, he unwrapped the gift, cautiously tearing each minute piece of cloth away from the prize at a time, terrified he was going to hurt whatever delicate item it held.
As the object came into view, his eyes widened as a small floating box appeared before him.
Unique Class Randomiser Token
You have collected 1/12 unique class randomiser tokens that exist.
Item requirements. Level: 1
Use item? Yes/No.
His heart skipped a beat. This chance meeting was indeed fortuitous. His eyes darted towards the two elves as he said.
“Thank you so much you, guys! This is so lucky…”
Melly smiled and waved a dismissal hand. “No worries.” She jabbed a thumb in Clemiticuses direction. “This guy is a luck magnet.”
While Clemiticus ignored them, too engrossed in his own prize as he swung his new stick with the grace of a headless chicken.
Desmond’s finger hovered over the item; his eyes firmly griped by the word yes. A unique class would definitely increase his chances of getting noticed by the general public. As he glanced towards his peripherals, he spotted the chat box once more.
Chat:
Viewers online: 1
Someone was watching. Lurking in wait.
He turned to the chat and asked. “Should I?”
Chat:
FluffyDinos: Do it!
Viewers online: 1
With a quick nod, his hand fell. His finger landing on the ‘yes’ with a significant thud.
Above him, a twelve-sided dice materialised out of thin air, cut from white marble with gold numbers engraved on each face. It spun over and over in a blur of motion, as it gradually slowed to a stop.
All three elves froze in place, watching Desmond's dice.
Bing! The number 8 flashed into view.
"Desmond has gained a new class," spoke a sweet voice.
“Congrats, I guess,” said Clemiticus.
Melly shrugged.
Desmond’s heart pounded through his ears as he looked down at his character sheet and at the brand-new class that sat snuggly within.
Character sheet: Ph0en1x [Title: None]
Health points 35/35 Mana 25/25
(level one) EXP 0.00%
Class: PortalSmith
Stamina: 8
Strength: 7
Agility: 9
Wisdom: 7
Luck: 2
Charm: 9
Dexterity: 9
Intelligence: 8
Equipped items: Elvish village garb
Location: Elven Meadows