I was brought to one of the secret centers, where I was told that apart from myself, there were a further ninety-nine beta testers there, and the rest were scattered in similar centers around the world. After a huge number of tests and analysis, which lasted for several days, I was finally admitted to the gaming capsule.

When I saw it for the first time, it seemed to me that this was just a great bed: a soft feather bed with a jelly-like pillow, and everything literally adjusted to the contours of my body. However, once I was stretched out in bed, I was covered with a dome, and the entire structure was filled with some kind of dense gas. Strangely enough, it became even easier to breathe, and I no longer noticed what it felt like to be in a new place.

I was in a stone cave, the walls of which were illuminated with multicolored flashing lights, but it was not clear where they originated from. And then it hit me like an electric shock: the flashing lights were in color! I realized that I could see in color! Until that very moment I did not believe that I would ever be able to see in color! Well, if what I had been told about the other senses turned out to be true, then I intended to stay in this game until I could see and feel all the same sensations as people in the real world. Kiyoshi told me that it was possible that my illness could be cured, but he had no idea how long I'd have to stay in the game.

“Good day, Newcomer,” the deep voice sounded as if the speaker was right in front of me.

I tried to see it, but I saw only a wall decorated with colorful ripples.

“Do not try to see me,” he said, guessing my intentions. “It can’t be done.”

I had already come to my senses and so I concentrated: I only have one opportunity to create a character, and then have to live with him for at least 3 game years, so I will restrain myself and bite my tongue.

“Greetings, Cavemaster,” I smiled in a friendly way.

“What is your name, Newcomer?”

“Call me Marten. That will be my name in this world.”

“It's a very interesting name,” the voice said thoughtfully. “In the world that I will open for you, names and titles have a special power. Satisfy my curiosity, Martes: what does your name mean back there, and where did you come from?”

What a strange character, I thought: it created the impression that I communicated with a living being. It seemed that the AI played out the role of living beings just brilliantly! If this was the case, then I needed to communicate very carefully with all the NPCs.

“With pleasure,” I smiled again into the void. “This is the name given to a type of small and very fast animal.”

“Ha!” The voice responded cheerfully. “I believe that if I am not mistaken, they may be small but they are still predators, which are quite dangerous even for larger animals.”

“That's right,” I agreed.

“Thank you, Marten, you have fulfilled my request. For this you will receive a small gift from me, but you will need to find out for yourself what kind of gift it is. Perhaps this will only happen when you become stronger. So, whether you can use it or not, depends only on you. Right now I'll give you a piece of advice: do not say disclose your user name, and do not list your abilities to anyone other than those in whom you fully trust. Actually, it’s better not to tell them either, if you can avoid it. Better not to give out your real name either.”

“So, what might happen ...”

The voice interrupted me, without even letting me finish the question.

“I will tell you no more. Let's begin, Newcomer by the name of Marten. Choose a color.”

What a strange way to create a character, I thought to myself. Why not create a new race? Or would that affect my avatar’s appearance? Well, it seemed that I was not going to get an answer to my questions, so I would choose from what was on offer.

A whole palette of colors appeared before my eyes. It was so beautiful that the amount of choice made my head spin! I do not know how I long stood in admiration, but the voice continued to wait patiently for my answer. Eventually, I chose the color that had attracted my attention from the very first second. As soon as I made a choice, the palette disappeared, and above the selected color appeared the inscription “sky blue”.

Wow, so that's the color of heaven! I was in a state of excitement, and I was so delighted by the beauty of the color, that I forgot to confirm my choice. I came to my senses a couple of minutes later, and confirmed that I had chosen the color sky-blue.

“Thank you,” the voice said. “Would I be right in saying that for you to see a color is something unusual?”

“That's right,” I sighed. “Where I came from, I was unable to distinguish colors, tastes or smells.”

“I see.” There was sympathy in his voice. “Then I will use my privilege and give you one ability that will be very useful to you. Do not be afraid: this is provided for by the rules of this world. This ability was designed exclusively for the sake of people like you.”

“You are hereby given the ability to sense “Three Senses”, Grand Master level (max).

Smells, colors, tastes, their meanings and definitions will become an open book for you.”

“Now choose at most three qualities that are most important for you. Take your time.”

Clouds appeared before me within which names of different qualities floated around. As soon as my mind lingered on one of the inscriptions, the name of the quality increased in size, and similar alternative qualities appeared around it. They had both positive and negative aspects. Seeing some strange word that was unknown word to me, I regretted that I did not know it’s meaning, but immediately a detailed description appeared.

Empathy is a conscious ability to experience the current emotional state of another person without losing the sense of the external origin of this experience. An Empath is a person with a developed ability for empathy.

Thank you, it's not for me, but it's still very interesting ... If I start from the logic of the game, then, by choosing only one quality, I will receive one hundred percent to this quality and by choosing two – it is most likely that this would be divided equally between each of them. After a moment's thought, I chose two: “Resourceful” and “Fortunate”. Now I faced a difficult choice: I did not know what attributes the qualities I had chosen would give to me. Would it be worth taking a third one, or not?

“Excuse me, can I ask a question?”

“I'm sorry, but I cannot answer any more of your questions,” the voice sighed. “These are the rules of this world, and I do not have the right to violate them.”

Okay, I have made a decision: I singled out “Creative” and told the voice that my choice was made.

“An interesting combination,” the invisible voice said thoughtfully. “Let's see which one is the right choice for you.”

I was shocked: these were not the characteristics that would be given to me, but merely the parameters for making a choice! I would like to punch however invented this rule! Next, the silhouettes of five patrons appeared in front of me.

“Here is the list of patrons who are suitable for you. I advise you to think seriously about your choice,” advised the voice sharply.

The invisible voice seemed to be amused by the situation and my mixed reactions. It was easy for him to make jokes, because he wouldn’t be the one that has to run around inside the game for the next three years having made my choices. Okay, let's take a look at what’s on offer.

I looked closely at the first patron offered to me. It looked like a sphere poured in dark blue shades. It seemed that it was constantly on the move and incredibly full of life. Wishing to know more, I received additional information:

The Spheric - appreciates the fortunate and quick witted. Provides help in specific difficult situations. It has a playful character and likes to joke around.

With such a patron you don’t need any enemies, for sure. I moved on to the next one on the list. He was a strong chap, somewhat reminiscent of Hermes, only his wings were on his shoulders. He had a predatory expression.

Avolic – a shape shifter that appreciates resourcefulness and brutal decision making. Helps in shady transactions, political games and deceptions. Sly, it has outstanding fighting qualities.

Again not for me! Are there no good patrons here? I switched to the next one. Surrounded by shadows, it was an almost invisible silhouette of an anthropomorphic creature. It exuded an impression of strength and undisguised arrogance, confident in its invincibility.

Sokt - the treacherous patron of murderers and thieves. It helps only in matters of the dark. Arrogant, cunning and cruel.

What choices am I stuck with? I thought that I had chosen such positive qualities, and so far the patrons are thieves, scammers and murderers. If the remaining two are like that, I will have to settle for having an evil character, although I do not like to do that. So, I looked at the penultimate figure. I saw a strange old man staring at me: in his eyes there was a cunning intellect. Apart from that, he twisted around his walking stick playfully, without slowing down for a second.

Vostrukh - the patron of the capable and quick-witted. Helps those who, in his opinion, deserve it. Sly and cunning, with a strong mind.

Ha, now things are getting interesting! If the last one is no better, then I will stick with Vostrukh, as he is at least the best of a bad bunch. So, to the last one. I was looking at a self-confident creature that looked a little like a fox. Both paws juggled gold coins back and forth, without pausing.

Trickster – patron of those who go through life on their own terms and against the accepted norms. A dodger and prankster, for who the very process of experiencing life is the most important thing.

Sorry, Vostrukh, but Trickster is much closer to me in spirit.

“I have made a choice - it's Trickster,” I told my invisible companion.

“Hmm ...”

I got the impression that the disembodied voice was surprised by my choice.

“Forgive me,” the owner of the voice gradually came to himself. “To be honest, I was 100% certain that you would choose the reasonable Vostrukh, and not such a mischievous person as Trickster. But your choice is sacred for me and for this world.”

The last phrase sounded a bit strange, or at least it seemed so to me.

After a second’s hesitation, the voice turned to me again.

“We're almost done. Knowledge and abilities are a treasure chest of values for every living entity. The world allows every Newcomer to take away with them the best pearl from their collection of treasures. Marten, what of all that you know and are capable of doing, will you bring with you to this world?”

I did not even have to think long about it: a quick and profound analysis of facts and situations is what has fed me all these years. If I wanted to take something into the game, then that's what it would be.

The voice politely waited for my answer, and this time for a change I did not keep him waiting.

“I choose my analytical ability,” I told my invisible companion.

“Let it be so!”

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It seemed to me, that there was again a note of surprise in his voice, but I did not have time to think this over.

“I dare not detain you any longer. We'll meet again a little later, but for now, farewell.”

The cave was gone, and without noticing how it happened, I now found myself on a small hill in the middle of a magnificent meadow. The number of flowers and scents literally intoxicated me. So many new sensations! For me, this was a paradise. I seemed to have lost my mind: jumping, running, and tumbling over. I moved from one plant to another and sniffed each of them. Some plants I even tore off and tasted. On the edge of consciousness, I noticed some messages, but did not pay attention to them: feeling like I could read them later.

Without noticing how it happened, I found myself outside the meadow. A beautiful mixed forest, with a lot of different trees, such as oaks, spruce and pine, stood ahead of me. I enjoyed exploring every branch of every tree.

The Gong.

Suddenly a sound came from behind me, and it made me jump. I turned around slowly. In the meadow was a fairy woman, around half a meter tall. Her arms were bent upwards, and she was crying. She had a very cute childish face, was wearing a long dress of sky blue, and she had six incredibly beautiful translucent wings of an azure color. I tried to return to the meadow, but I encountered an invisible barrier that wouldn’t let me go back.

A message popped up in front of me:

The initial location is closed to Newcomers once they have left it.

“Forgive me, please,” the creature wailed, “but you were so happy that I decided not to disturb you, but ... then you went beyond the boundaries of my meadow so quickly and now ...” The small creature sobbed. “It's all my fault ...”

I waited for the fairy to calm down.

“Come on, its okay,” I smiled at her.

The eyes of the nearly calmed fairy filled with tears again.

“It's not okay, it’s very dangerous!” The creature sobbed. “You could die.”

I did not have time to reply. Another message arrived:

All you have achieved so far is “Not to find the essence of life”. Leaving the initial location without the gift from the fairy, you stepped on the path of self-determination.

Many curses in the world are just waiting for their victims. Your body is unaccustomed to this world, and not protected by the power of the Fairies. You are already affected by a small curse known as “Oblivion”. You have lost your personal reputation of being an “Analyst”. All you can manage to achieve now is a state of “As is”. Now all you have left are memories of the world from which you came, and have to start everything from scratch.

While you do not have a basic “Vorto” or essence of life so far, your abilities will increase by 0.1% every day.

The energy associated with your name will last for 2 months.

The clock is ticking down: 1 month 29 days and 23:59:59 (58 ... 57 ... 56).

The counter moved to the upper right corner and became almost invisible. Only when I deliberately focused attention on it did the numbers regain their brightness.

“Oh great”, I sighed. “I think I’m in serious trouble. Please explain to me what’s going on.” I turned to the fairy.

The fairy, covered her face with her hands, and shook her head. After that, indicating that I needed to wait, she disappeared. So if I needed to wait, then I would have to wait. I still needed to read my previous messages anyway:

You have achieved the rank of “Leader”. Thanks to you, a new patron has appeared in the world. The Trickster’s status has improved: +600 points. At the moment, the status of “Neutral” requires 600 points. To reach the status of “Good” requires a further 400 points.

Your “Agility” attribute has increased +1.

You have discovered the “Herbalist” ability, Beginner level (1%).

You have made your patron smile. The Trickster’s status has improved: +50. At the moment its “Neutral” status is 650 points. To reach “Good” requires 350 more points.

Your “Attentiveness” attribute has increased +1.

I wondered why I was rewarded for “Attentiveness”. It turned out that it was for the fact that I had been peering at the colors of the plants and trying to smell everything.

What an interesting game! As Sam said, attributes and achievements can be gained by actions. I wondered what else could be achieved solely through my actions. Now I really believed that even with the investment of money, it would be almost impossible to catch up with the beta testers.

Enough of all that, it was time to start being clever. I had not even looked at my personal attributes yet. Who was I and what was I? I examined myself. So, I had the body of a young man, lean, and quite muscular. I was wearing narrow black trousers and a dark blue shirt - all of a kind of cloth resembling cotton. My height, I estimated, was about 180cms, although it was difficult to judge. In the real world, I'm 178cms, but here I was a little taller. My skin color had a blue tinge to it, and my nails were sapphire colored. Okay, that’s not the end of the world. It’s a pity that I couldn’t see my own face. Time to take a look at my personal attributes:

Name: Marten.

Race: Newcomer.

Path: not selected.

Class: not selected.

Professions: not selected (3 available).

Basic attributes:

“Strength”: 1;

“Skills”: 2;

“Stamina”: 1;

“Intellect”: 1;

“Attentiveness”: 1.

Resistance: none.

Talents: None.

Abilities: “Herbalist” (1%).

Achievements:

“Failed to find the essence”: a deduction of 0.1% from basic attributes for each day without “Vorto”.

The first day is: - 0.1%.

“Leader” - thanks to you, your patron arrived into the world.

This achievement can be improved upon (conditions are unavailable) - reward (unavailable).

“As is” - while you are under the “Oblivion” curse, you do not have the “Analysis” agility.

Wow, when I got this message, there was not a single word about improvement. It is a pity, of course, that it was not made clear how to improve, but now one thing was clear: I needed to check my messages more often. The rest was simple: I had the abilities of a newborn baby. But what was Vorto, and why is it that I only had two months life left to account for its absence? I needed to find an answer to this as soon as possible! Where was my friend the crying fairy?

Deciding that panic would not help matters, I decided to take a look around me. As soon as I took a few steps towards the forest, I was called by a very pleasant, or what I would describe as an extremely charming voice. Turning around, I saw an incredibly beautiful fairy, almost as tall as me, wearing a translucent silver dress painted with incomprehensible runes. Her wings, which looked as if they had been woven from the wind, covered her back like a wrap made out of air.

“Greetings, Newcomer. What name did you choose in our world?”

“Please excuse me for my impertinence,” I grinned, “but I was instructed not to give out my name, unless it was absolutely necessary.”

“That's right,” the fairy laughed without malice. “Then just tell me, what am I to call you?”

“Call me Dee,” I smiled back. “And how should I address you, beautiful creature?”

The fairy laughed again, and her laughter resembled the ringing of light bells, leaving a feeling of joy and tranquility in my soul.

“Call me Tsi. I am one of the twelve highest ranking fairies in this world.”

“Wow!” I was really surprised.

To meet any higher being at the beginning of a game is unusual.

“Forgive me, Dee, because of my careless student, you are in mortal danger. Leah is the fairy you saw earlier, and she was supposed to be your first teacher in this world and give you a basic “Vorto” ...”

“Tsi,” I interrupted the higher being’s monologue, “I'm sorry, but I have no idea what kind of animal this Vorto is.”

“Oh!” Tsi was a little embarrassed. “I have had no communication with Newcomers for a long time, and I completely forgot that you do not know anything about our world. “Vorto” is a run-of-the-mill word. The basic “Vorto” is what constitutes the essence of all living things. Nothing in this world can exist without this run-of-the-mill word. At the moment, your existence is limited by the energy of your original name. When it runs out, you will die without the right to return.”

As soon as the fairy finished the sentence, a message appeared in front of me.

You have found a serious error, and before the game begins it cannot be corrected. In the case of death without a basic “Vorto” you will be eliminated from beta testing.

“Bleep, your bleep!” I did not even realize at first that swearing is automatically corrected to “bleep”. That means that if I die, then I will be forced to wait until the game is available to everyone. Is this the case?” I looked at the high fairy in hope. “Can you give me this run-of-the-mill word? Would that be possible?”

“I can,” the fairy confirmed.

Hearing this, I sighed with relief.

“But it doesn’t work like that.”

My relief vanished like a mist in a strong wind.

“I do not deal in simple words; I deal only in a rare and higher tongue. Such words can only be obtained after performing complex quests. Also, the lack of a basic rune word creates another problem.”

I gave up, asking the fairy to tell me everything. Things couldn’t get worse anyway. What will be, will be. As it turns out, things could indeed get worse.

“Alas,” the fairy pretended to be terribly upset, “as things stand at the moment you are unable to choose your class and path.”

Clearly, I thought to myself, I was just the kind of entertainment that she had been waiting for.

I sighed: “So what am I supposed to do now?”

The Fairy smiled victoriously:

“There may be something I can do after all. Here!” She clapped her hands.

Your quest: “Find it within yourself” (unique).

Obtain your first “Vorto” by any means, within 60 days.

Reward: Basic Rune Word (a rare one at the very least).

“So how am I supposed to search for that when I don’t even have a class yet?"

“First of all, even though you left the initial location, you are under our protection for the first nine days. None of the humanoid creatures can harm you, unless you attack them first. Secondly, we are now in the sacred forest of the Fairies, and you can stay here for these nine days, and then you will have to leave it and enter the outside world. If you use the time correctly and wisely, then you can achieve even more than in a protected meadow under Leah’s tutorship. As for the rest ...”

Tsi, was not a bit embarrassed, and told me that she had done everything she could, and that now everything was in my hands. After that, the High Fairy just melted into thin air.

“Bleep!” I flew over to the nearest tree and slammed my fist into it. It was painful. Ouch, I forgot that pain also exists here, although I hope it isn’t as bad as it can be in the real world. I began to squeeze and unclench my fist, and gradually the pain passed away. I was not ready to give up on three years of being surrounded by colors, smells and adventures! I had my task and time was on my side. So there was nothing to sulk about. I would go and search for a run-of-the-mill word.