Vance suddenly found himself in a great white space that seemed to continue on forever. In front of him however, the game’s system messages continued to appear.

Welcome to the Character Creator of Eternal Legend Online! Unfortunately due to a rapid increase in new players we have had to set a time limit on the amount of time you when creating your character. After 30 minutes all unchosen features for your character will be chosen at random. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and hope that you will continue to enjoy the world of ELO!

At that moment, Vance new he had to hurry with his character creation, but he also knew he couldn't rush it. If he rushed the creation of his avatar it would most likely come out ugly and unappealing looking.

With that in mind he looked through the list of playable races.

Race:

HumansHomunculi

ElvesDark Elves

DwarvesGnomes

BeastkinDemons

Several options immediately attracted his attention while he lost his interest in several more. He could almost immediately opt out of choosing humans, elves, dwarves, and gnomes for his character for several reasons. Elves and Humans were so overdone and boring that there wasn't any point in choosing them, while the height disadvantage from dwarves and gnomes would make things annoying and make transitioning from real life to VR more difficult. On the other hand, Homunculi, Dark Elves, and Demons caught his eyes. These were races that you usually saw as opposing factions or as enemies in games and not as playable races. Meanwhile Beastkin were left as a maybe because everyone loved a good catgirl!

For the now though, Vance brought up the system displays for the races he was interested in playing.

Homunculi

Homunculi are an artificially created race that resemble humans. Their most distinctive feature is their varying hair and eye colors, which most people consider strange. Homunculi were originally used as slave labor for humans, however after a revolt of the Homunculi they were deemed their own race; currently they have the protection of the elves. Homunculi have drifted out to all regions of the world and often adapt to the culture and customs of the area that they are living in.

Racial Skills:

Artificial Eyes (Passive)Enhanced sight and better night vision.

Analytical Mind (Passive)Faster thinking and casting speed.

Synthesized Body (Active)Enhanced strength and speed for 15 minutes. Can be used once a day.

Former Slave (Passive)Treated poorly in human populated territories.

Dark Elves

Dark Elves are the less popular cousins of forest dwelling Elves. After being banished from the Elven forests, they were forced to flee to the Abazu Great Desert where they have since adapted to desert life and formed large caravans that roam the sands. Their survivalist nature and ability to adapt to harsh environments has caused them to be able to live in areas most would consider inhospitable.

Racial Skills:

Desert Dweller (Passive)Improved Heat and Cold Resistance.

Conservative Nature (Passive)Able to go extended periods with little Food, Water, or Sleep.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Desert Teachings (Passive)Improved efficiency with dual wielded weapons and Dark type Magic.

Outcast (Passive)Automatically distrusted by forest elves because of your ancestry.

Demons

The most warlike of all the races, Demons believe that only the strong have the right to rule. In their land to the East, they live in a feudalistic system which is constantly at war, with each individual Demon Lord trying to defeat the other Demon clans to gain control over the throne. The Demon who does rule is pronounced the Demon King, however their reign never lasts long. The longest a single Demon King has ever ruled was 5 years.

Racial Skills:

Born Soldier (Passive)Improved EXP gain for all bladed weapon based classes.

Bloodlust (Passive)Improved chance to frighten enemies.

Ancestor’s Anguish (Passive)Increased Strength and Endurance the closer you get to death.

Noble Savage (Passive)Moderately feared by all other races.

Vance took some time to consider his options. As a result of their former slave status, Homunculi would most likely start in human territories which would make the beginning of the game hard for Homunculus players. For Dark Elves the distrust from forest elves could be handled but starting in a giant desert would be such a pain. You would have to take great care to conserve food and water and balance out your meals to stay alive, in other words, way too much of a hassle for Vance to put up with.

Finally there were Demons. Vance came here for an interesting and exciting time, and to him, combat sounded like one of the most enjoyable things you do in this game. The only downside was being moderately feared by all other races, but this could be turned into a plus side. If you were in combat with a human or an elf or what have you, and you  scared them, you would have a much easier time fighting them then you would when they weren't afraid of you.

With that in mind, Vance clicked on the Demon race and was brought to the character customization screen. In front of him was himself. Well, a version of himself that had red skin and reptile-like eyes, but still definitely Vance. Vance began to slowly but surely change parts of the character in front of him until he became the ideal character.

First he put a pair of slightly small but noticeable horns on his forehead. They were like the classic oni horns that you would see in a lot of ancient eastern culture. Then he changed his hair to be a rough scraggly mess that rested on top of his head, reaching down to his eyebrows, he had always prefered his hair long. Then he removed the 5 o'clock shadow that was already on the character and made all of the body hair a deep auburn color.

Next he moved onto the eyes, he kept the same reptilian slit irises but changed the color from a sparkly gold to a blood red. Then he changed the skin color from light red to a pale white, greatly contrasting his hair and eyes.

Vance left most of the facial features unaltered except for very minute fixes of small problems like puffy lips or long eyelashes. In the end Vance was looking at a more idealized and demonic version of himself. Bright red eyes and hair, contrasted on a pale white body with just enough muscle to appear muscular without losing his skinny look.

Finally it was time to move onto one of the best parts of Character Creation in Vance’s opinion, class selection. He excitedly brought up the class prompt and began to look at the classes.

Classes

Warrior:

SwordsmanAxeman

PikemanBrawler

Berserker

 Light:

ArcherAssassin

BardScout

Tamer

 Magic:

MageSummoner

ElementalistHealer

Shaman

 Crafting:

ChemistBlacksmith

TailorCook

Carpenter

Just as Vance was about to go in depth on the specs of each class, another System Message appeared in front of him over the class selection.

We sincerely apologize, but you have exceeded your 30 minutes time to create your character. Your class will be selected for you and your spawn will be a randomized point within Demon Territory. We again sincerely apologize for this and hope you will continue to enjoy ELO despite this!

“shit…” was the last word out of Vance’s mouth before he was dragged out of the Character Creation area into the Great Unknown.