As the ceremony came to a close, it was time for the students to head off to their designated classrooms. Despite being in the same year, they weren't actually classmates, which meant that they would only see each other during the lunch break.

He made his way to the classroom entrance, where he noticed two guys from earlier walking in. Upon closer inspection, he couldn't help but notice that they were rather handsome, and it seemed that the girls around them had taken notice too. Wanting to blend in, he quietly slipped inside and found an unoccupied seat. It didn't really matter which seat he chose though, since the homeroom teacher would reassign everyone in a few days' time.

A few moments later, their homeroom teacher arrived. She was a middle-aged woman with an infectious enthusiasm, and she introduced herself as Fumiko Kawano. She spent some time explaining various aspects of the school to the class, particularly since they were all freshmen.

"Now then, let's all introduce ourselves. I've done my part, so it's your turn now," she said with a warm smile.

Starting from the first row on her left, each student stood up one by one and introduced themselves.

Yuuki's eyes widened in realization as he looked down at his seating assignment. "Shit... I'm fifth," he muttered under his breath, realizing he had unknowingly chosen a seat in the very front row.

His heart began to race as anxiety overtook him, but he tried to remain calm on the outside. As the girl next to him finished introducing herself, it was now his turn. He stood up and walked confidently to the front of the room beside their teacher.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Sakurazaka Yuuki, and I'm 15 years old. I'm an avid gamer and I hope to..." he paused, feeling a moment of hesitation before deciding to go for it. "I hope to make some friends and companions this year. And if any of you play Tower of Eternity, I'm available to play anytime!" With that, he gave a quick bow and returned to his seat.

As the introductions continued, Yuuki couldn't help but feel that some of the other students were giving him strange looks. He knew it wasn't necessarily because of the way he had introduced himself, but rather because of the mention of Tower of Eternity. One of the other students, Eiji Todo, even gave him a smile. Even without meeting him in-game, Yuuki could tell that Eiji was a skilled player. While he was certain that he had never met Eiji in Eternal World before, he was sure that he was at least a middle-tier player based on how he acted. Deep down, Yuuki felt a sense of excitement. Perhaps, other than Yohan, there were other players he could befriend in real life.

After the introductions were finished, the teacher wished the class good luck and handed out their schedules before leaving. She had encouraged the students to get to know each other before the first period.

Suddenly, the girl seated to Yuuki's right turned to him and spoke up.

"Hi! You mentioned that you play games?"

"Y-yeah, most people are playing Eternal World, right? So..."

"I know what you mean. I play it too, although I'm not that good at it. I played it last time, and I'm planning to play again this time around."

"Really? Well, we could play together, I guess." Yuuki said, scratching his head nervously.

Although he was aware that the girl talking to him was quite beautiful, he didn't seem to notice or be affected by it. All he really wanted was to make some friends. He had been withdrawing from society for a while after becoming a gamer, and now he saw this as a new opportunity to change that.

"Great! What's your IGN? Mine is..." She paused for a moment to correct herself. "Oh, I'm Rumi Suzuki, by the way. My username is Feiruru."

"Feiruru... that's a really cute username," Yuuki said with a small smile.

Rumi replied enthusiastically, "Right?! And yours?"

"Uh… my username's a bit controversial to say here so… can I just add you later when the game's released?"

"Why? Does your username contain a slur?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no, nothing like that… Can you just please wait for me to add you?"

"How will I know it's you then?"

"I'll DM you before adding you. Is that okay?"

"Sure, that works for me."

They continued to chat and went through the normal school day, attending classes ranging from math and science to P.E. Fortunately, it was now 3:20 and the school day had ended. Rumi said goodbye to him as she walked away, and he reciprocated. Currently, he was looking for Yohan so they could hang out and talk. "Ah, there's that bastard. Yohan!" he shouted, immediately catching the attention of his friend as well as some other students who were staring at him.

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Yohan came running over with a smile and asked, "Hey, what's up?"

"Can we play? The game is getting released in a bit."

Scratching his head, Yohan replied, "Sure, but not right away, maybe around 7 PM?"

Perplexed, Yuuki immediately asked, "Why?"

"Unlike you, I have a life," Yohan teased. "I need to see my grandfather later. I won't be long, just a few hours, so just sit tight and wait for me. We'll be playing all night anyway."

"Fine, fine."

"Alright then, I'll be going ahead," Yohan said as he headed off in the opposite direction.

Yuuki began walking back home alone, but he couldn't contain his excitement, no matter how much he tried. He kept grinning and picked up his pace as he walked.

After arriving back home, Yuuki wasted no time in putting his things away and taking a bath. With his excitement reaching new heights, he finally approached his gaming capsule and opened it up. He lay down inside the capsule, and wires began connecting to his forehead. Soon, his consciousness was transferred to the virtual world.

In no time, he found the Tower of Eternity among the long list of games, and he was transported to a massive lobby that looked like a forest, where he joined millions of other players. Just like in the previous game, there seemed to be no customization option for avatars at the start, and only players' real appearances were used, with customization options available in various shops later on.

Looking up, he saw a four-minute timer. He had intentionally taken a long time bathing to avoid waiting, and there were still a few minutes left.

The first thing he did was check the interface. The interface window came up, with options such as [Inventory], [Forums], [Social], and more. But he clicked on [Character], and a status window appeared, displaying his skills and character stats.

[Username: Samurai_HeroHero

Revivals Left: 7

Title: None

Alignment: True Neutral (Starting)

Reputation: [Expand/Collapse]

Level: 1

Health: 300

Stamina: 150

Mana: 100

Stats:

Strength: 0

Dexterity: 0

Vitality: 0

Resistance: 0

Magic: 0

Stat Points: 15

Skills: None]

It appears that the leaker was correct in their information as there is no class system in the game. However, the stats system seems to remain largely unchanged. Only time will reveal what other discoveries the players may make, as the developers have emphasized that Tower of Eternity is all about exploration and uncovering secrets.

To aid in this pursuit of knowledge, the game features an in-game Wikipedia called the [Eternal Library], which players can access through their interface from anywhere. Here, players can share information on everything from monster behavior and abilities to the unique features of different regions.

While waiting for the game to start, Yuuki allocated his stat points into Dexterity and Strength, with 8 and 7 points respectively. He then searched for [Feiruru] in the add friend option, even though she appeared to be offline, he sent her a friend request.

As the timer approached the 3-minute mark, all the players were immediately transported and materialized outside the gates of a small town in a forest. It was clear that players were transported to different areas based on their numbers, but for Yuuki and the other players in his vicinity, this was their starting point.

The NPCs were equally shocked by the sudden appearance of the players. Some of them quickly picked up nearby objects to use as weapons and demanded, "Who are you!?" Others ran to a nearby wooden house to call for the Mayor.

When the Mayor arrived, he was surprised to find thousands of strangers waiting outside the town gates. He stepped outside to confront them and introduced himself, saying, "Listen to me! I am the Mayor of this small town! We are not hostile to you, so we want to know your intentions!"

One of the players in front responded, "Hey! Isn't this supposed to be a newbie town?!"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that. We are just a small town, please leave!"

The players protested, "Leave already?! You won't even give us any quests?! We just arrived here!"

"Quests? You want quests?! Go kill monsters in the Black Zone!" the Mayor replied.

The situation was becoming increasingly tumultuous as angry players protested to be allowed into the "Newbie Village." Amidst the chaos, however, one player stood out as a natural leader. With confidence, he approached the gates and addressed the mayor.

"Good day, Mr. Mayor. My name is Ahn. You see, we are outsiders and we don't know anything about this place. If you would kindly let us in, we promise not to cause any trouble. We simply want to gather information about our current crisis."

Although hesitant, the mayor ultimately agreed to let the players enter. "Very well," he said. "But be warned, if any of you cause trouble, you will be dealt with severely. I suggest you all behave yourselves."

The gates were opened to the cheering of the players. "MasterAhn! He's the third-ranked player in the Eternal World!" exclaimed one player.

"Wow, that's really MasterAhn! He's so cool!" added another.

Yuuki joined the crowd heading inside the village, but a few players blocked his way.

"What do you guys want?" Yuuki asked, visibly annoyed.

"We just want to talk, Samurai_HeroHero."

"We don't even have any gear, yet you guys want to act like this?"

MasterAhn, who appeared to be their leader, approached him.

"Yo, mister Yuuki."

"You know my real name?"

"Of course, we have many sources."

"You guys really won't let me go, huh?"

"As the top-ranked player in the Eternal World, of course I would like to have you in GND."

"I've declined your offer so many times in the past, quit it, I'm not going pro."

"Fair enough, it seems you really aren't interested. But if you ever change your mind, we're friends in-game," he sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, bye." Yuuki annoyingly said while walking inside the gates.

As the timer hit zero, an explosion erupted behind them. Even though they were unarmed, all those outside the gate got into a stance, prepared to use their fists if necessary. Suddenly, a cold voice echoed from within the cloud of dust that had been thrown up.

"Get lost, I'm not in the mood for this." A teenager emerged from the smoke, wearing a red poncho over black clothing. His bushy gray hair and angry face made him look menacing, and he was covered in blood from his torso to his right hand.

Ignoring their hostile stances, the guy simply walked past them and into the town, as if they were nothing more than small fries.

"Who is that guy?" Yuuki wondered.