Chapter 1

-The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?

“Yes!”

-Select the name of your avatar.

“Meadow.”

-Select your gender. Male-

“Male.”

-Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race-

“Human.”

-You may alter your appearance.

“Get rid of all blackheads and blemishes on my body, remove all hair on my face and neck, except my eyebrows, and sharpen my nose.”

I was 5’11’’, 160lbs, and in the prime of my life, but a nasty early habit of picking my nose had rounded and flattened it too greatly. Placing a perpetual Band-Aid over the offending finger had done wonders to cure me of that accursed addiction. I had just obtained a haircut, styled my hair, and looked my best. Years of working out had increased and toned my muscles, which had a side effect of lighting up my girlfriend’s eyes. My sprinting and tight diet had helped me shed some fat and water weight. This first scan was very important. The appearance could never be changed, no matter how skinny or how fat a user became later on. The problem with changing appearances was that in many cases it just looked too unnatural. A fat person who had once been of normal weight would have a good chance of generating a natural-looking slim avatar because he or she could visualize it perfectly. If one had always been fat, it would be much more difficult. I didn’t like the bodybuilder body type, as it would be impressive but cumbersome. It wasn’t practical for my tastes, especially in the movement department.

-Your account has been activated. Your stats and class-

“Pass!”

-Select a city and kingdom you want to start in.

“Verennial City, Nophen Kingdom!”

We had thought about starting in an elf city and kingdom due to their enhanced beauty, but I was afraid all the hot male elves would steal away my Yun-Jin, and that my morality would be eventually toppled by all the hot female elves. It would also ruin our real lives, as everybody in real life would seem ugly. All in all it wouldn’t benefit our relationship.

“Welcome to Royal Road!”

Flash

There was a flash of brilliant white light, but I knew that already and had covered my eyes in advance. Only once I discerned many sounds of movement around me did I stand up straight and look around. There weren’t too many people in the game yet, but I didn’t want to stick around and have to talk with possible coworkers I knew. Perhaps I should have changed my appearance more. Having already memorized the map of the Citadel. I briefly stretched, jumped up and down a couple times, cracked my knuckles, and took off quickly towards the Smithy. Before entering, I briefly stopped to fill my canteen at the fountain. I coughed as soon as I went inside. The place was quite large and smoky. I could hear the clang of a blacksmith at work in the back. There was a bell over the door that rang, and I heard a gruff voice shout.

“I’ll be right there! Just wait a second!”

Rolling my eyes, I looked around. I mostly saw swords, breastplates, and helmets; there were also armored gloves and boots around. I heard a crash, a curse, and whipped around to see a huge man with a bushy beard bend over and set a metal table upright.

“Damn, I’ll repair it later… Anyway, what can I do to help you?”

Although I had beginner clothing, I was slightly muscular so thankfully I didn’t look weak.

“I’d like to apply for a job.”

The man stared at me for a second, then roared in laughter with his head thrown back.

“Ha ha ha! Listen, boy, I like you and all, but I don’t have the kind of business in which beginners like you can meddle with yet. Most of my work is too expensive for you to ruin.”

“Well it may not look like it now, but soon enough you’ll have so many weaklings like me that need cheaper equipment. I’ll work on cheaper items that you’ll need made while you work on the more expensive stuff. You might have some others who’ll want a job. Give it to them, but me first. I can only work so many hours a week. In return you can decide my pay and your cut of what I make, within reason. Deal?”

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

“Hmm… lets see your stats first… Complete beginner, huh? Well, you need to have repair at intermediate to learn blacksmithing. I’ll regulate you to grunt work such as cleaning, repairing, and sharpening until then. If you get smart with me, or you mess up an order, you’re fired on the spot. I’ll pay you 1 silver ever hour you work, and feed you with edible food. The reduced pay should be offset by the skills you will learn by the time you leave. Deal?”

Ping!

You have received a job offer as blacksmith assistant.

Pay: 1 silver her hour worked.

“I accept. My name is Meadow. Nice to meet you.”

“My name’s Horaim. Let me give you the tour. ”

He proceeded to show me the different tools, and how to use, clean, and maintain them. He taught me repair, sharpening, and identify. Handing me a brillopad, he walked away to greet a customer. Taking a deep breath, I proceeded to clean and polish the equipment, floor, and materials. I thought it was stupid, because they would only become filthy momentarily, but I found that cleaning and polishing frequently prevented equipment from losing durability and effectiveness. The layers of dust and soot proved to be extremely difficult to clean, and soon I was soaked in sweat. I drained my canteen and refilled it at the grimy sink. I made sure to clean the faucet until it was sparkling first. After a couple hours a message popped up.

Ping!

Strength and Endurance rise by 1.

Polish (Beginner (0%))

Polishing metal will increase its durability and defense, and also temporarily increase the attractiveness of the wearer.

Later on…

Vitality and Dexterity rise by 1.

Usually with cleaning, dexterity wasn’t needed, but for more delicate objects putting too much pressure on it would scratch and damage it, so the extra care I used to gently clean and replace things like a sweaty leather handle and such helped my dexterity, albeit only moderately. I kept using the identify and repair skills on anything I could touch. The identify skill failed to activate a lot, but I kept trying anyway. For most common items it seemed that the probability of identification success increased with more proficiency, while more uncommon ones were simply impossible at this stage. I wasn’t allowed to touch any unfinished works, but there were quite a few finished products lying around. These were just in bad condition. Sharpening and polishing different weapons yielded additional stats, although I made sure not to sharpen too much as to lower durability. In the span of four hours I had cleaned only a quarter of the equipment and workplace, but Horaim didn’t seem to think I wasted my time after inspecting my work.

“Impressive. You work slower than most but take care to do a good job on what you do work on. Speed will come with time. I’ll double your salary to 2 silvers per hour. Here’s eight. Have this sandwich, too.”

Relationship with Horaim has increased. (+2)

“Thanks a lot, Horaim. I’ll be sure to come back soon.”

I munched on the sandwich. I wasn’t exactly on par with Yun-Jin’s cooking, but the healthy slab of meat inside was a heck of a lot better than the stinking rye bread I had tearfully eaten to avoid death.

Ping!

Your satiety level has maxed out.

Your strength and vitality rises by 2 for a period of 2 hours.

Relieved and energized, I walked out and headed straight for the Training Hall. I had almost arrived when a message suddenly started to flash before my eyes

“REAL LIFE INTERFERENCE. LOG OUT IMMEDIATELY.”

Noo! My temporary buff! I accessed my menu and chose “LOG OUT”, bracing for the worst.