The day rose shine and bright. 3-B classroom is filled with chatter and murmur since the class isn’t started yet. Tsusuke arrived first then Eiji. Tsusuke noticed Eiji’s tired and looks like deprived from sleep so he ask what happened to him. Eiji just told Tsusuke that he was busy researching that he is awake until three in the morning. Before Tsusuke could ask another question Eiji sleeping in his desk already. Couple minutes after Kaede arrives.
“Mornin Kaede!”
Tsusuke greeted him.
“Mor…nin…”
Kaede replied.
“So you are also lack of sleep?”
“Yes… Kii-chan and I were playing WOTL until two in the morning. Lucky that we don’t have homework or I’ll be late today.”
“I saw Kii-chan earlier… How come she isn’t tired like the looks of you two?”
But before Kaede could answer, he was already sleeping in his desk.
“Geez… What is wrong with you two?”
Morning classes are ended while Eiji and Kaede were sleeping. With devil’s luck they weren’t caught or scolded by the subject teachers.
[Roof Deck]
At lunchtime, they always buy food at the cafeteria and goes to the roof deck where it is not crowded.
“Kii-chan will have her advancement test job soon. But I doubt that she’ll pass it anytime soon.”
Kaede said.
“What?! That was fast dude! I just had my Advance Job-Class yesterday and I almost spent a week just to level up.”
Tsusuke ranted on how fast Kiitani changes job.
“You started just two weeks right? How many hours you spent in the game Tsu-kun?”
“Well, I mostly spent two hours with breaks every time the night comes up in WOTL during weekdays.”
“Most likely you spent twenty four hours in WOTL a day which is ten days more or less in WOTL in total time you spent in the game. While Kii-chan in her last two logins she spent almost twenty days in total time which was last night we played for about seven in the evening after dinner up to two in the morning in real time.”
“Dude, that was hellish…”
Eiji said.
“How come you spend night at the game? Isn’t there debuffs during nighttime?”
“Unlike any other class, Thief based class have additional buff during nighttime. Kii-chan’s job which is Gunman has ability to see during nighttime. Aside from that, the mainly debuff during nighttime is Night Darkness which lowers your stamina and mana every time you fight and there is a chance to instill fear effect. Kii-chan discovered a way to cover it up.”
“What is it?”
Tsusuke intriguingly asked.
“Remember the Reebo Herb which is sold by an NPC in starting towns?”
“Yes, it only cost 2 Gils per 5 leaves and it could restore your stamina but only for two points which is too damn low.”
“Kii-chan brought thousands of it during her Squire-Class since she was using stamina more than an average player.”
“So what of it now?”
“On our second night, we had a tea made of Reebo Herb which is call Reebo Herb Tea and you wouldn’t believe the effect. One gulp of Reebo Herb Tea could give you a buff which negates the Night Darkness Debuff for ten minutes in WOTL.”
“Wait… what?!”
“It’s true. Even I have that buff even though my job class isn’t affect by debuff. I search in the game guide but there is no Reebo Herb Tea item listed. I think any innovations made by players aren’t in there. That is why she is playing non-stop day and night in WOTL.”
“If we could monopolized the item and let no one discover it then you could be rich in no time.”
Eiji suggested.
“What did you said?”
Tsusuke asked.
“Monopolized it?”
Eiji wonderingly answered.
“No! Before that.”
Kaede said.
“I didn’t said anything before that.”
“You said ‘WE’!”
Tsusuke said with a huge smile.
“Aren’t you gonna play WOTL?”
Kaede hesitantly asked for he might get dispirit.
“Well, I am giving it a thought.”
Eiji said.
Eiji didn’t said yes immediately for he don’t want to let Kaede know his intentions but he give a positive response on their question.
“Are we gonna built a guild again?”
Tsusuke asked immediately.
“Well, not now… At least a party should do. I will join you maybe next week. I’ll study the game first before entering.”
Their conversation was interrupted as they heard a girl’s voice.
“Kaede-kuuuuuuuuun!”
A girl shouted who was just in the doorway of the roof deck.
The girl has a medium cut hair just about to reach the bust line. It was Kiitani Miyamura who was calling Kaede.
“There you are Kaede-kun, I was just looking for you.”
“What is it Kii-chan?”
“I was going to ask you about the advancement quest. I am having trouble with it since you left last night.”
“As I expected… Wait, what time did you log out?”
“Almost three in the morning. Teehee ~”
“Woah! You mean you still haven’t changed job for about two days in WOTL?”
“Yes… The practical test where easy but the written test is so hard.”
“I didn’t know what the test are. So I can’t help you with that Kii-chan.”
Kaede said.
Kiitani bloated her cheeks as a sign of frustration.
“Well, you can search it in the game guide.”
Eiji said.
“How do you know that Eiji?”
Tsusuke asked.
“I’ve read last night about job changing test. I’ve read the walkthrough of most of the Job Classes, well, except for the Superior Job Class.”
“So that’s why you are tired earlier researching about WOTL?”
Eiji just nodded.
“I thought you are not playing WOTL Eiji-kun?”
Kiitani asked.
“Yes, I was… But I am giving it a shot.”
“That’s the spirit of former champion I guess…”
Kiitani uttered.
“Hey, did you heard that Otamura-senpai’s guild – Moonlight Vision has conquered another town of the opposite faction.”
Kiitani shifted the topic.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Opposite faction?”
Eiji wonders.
“Oh right, you haven’t played WOTL. The game story is about two faction in a wage of war that is why the game called ‘War of the Lions’. Bearing the white lion crest is the Zeltania Kingdom they reign over the North and Northeast and bearing the black lion crest is the Mitaltzen Kingdom and they reign over the South and Southwest of the continent of Minegard. During the creation of character you can select if you are gonna start as the White Lion Crest or Black Lion Crest.”
Kiitani explained.
“Be mindful if you gonna pick a faction that will serve as your crest. In WOTL if you die ten times your character will be deleted. Only in PVP rooms, guild war, or official tournament are not counted. Opposite faction can kill you and that counts. Players with same faction cannot kill nor hurt each other.”
Tsusuke explained further.
“Moonlight Vision Guild serves the Mitaltzen Kingdom so am I and Kaede.”
“I serve for Mitaltzen Kingdom also, so be surely to pick Mitaltzen Kingdom when creating a character. If ever you wrongly select a faction you can join the opposite faction however you will be titled as ‘Traitor’ and every player in the continent can kill or hurt you even though you changed side. Don’t worry that title will bear only for a week in real time or almost a year and half in WOTL.”
Tsusuke added.
“Also, if you gonna die in player’s hand the player who killed you can loot specific items in your inventory so make sure you won’t easily die in the game Eiji.”
Kaede said.
Eiji seems that the system of WOTL is more complicated than Final Tactics but it is doable. As a player this kind of system is very innovative.
Later that day Eiji left the campus early than normal. Turns out he goes to the nearest Prime Gear store in the town to buy the console and calibrate it. Upon buying he must fill up series of question like personal information, present sickness and diseases, status in life, and sort of other information. Eiji fill it up without any corrections. After filling up the questions, his body was calibrated using a machine that looks like an MRI Scanner in hospitals. One of the assistants told him that he can use the Prime Gear not more than twenty four hours since the real body needs rest and food. Also he strongly suggested to stop at least every eight hours so that the body won’t be strained too much.
Eiji left the store with a Prime Gear and the data game of WOTL. That was all he needs. Before going back to the school dormitory he stop over to a fast food chain to buy something for dinner.
Upon arriving to his room, he took a bath and then eat his dinner. While he was eating he receive a text message from Tsusuke.
‘If you play WOTL tonight give me a reply. Personal Messaging in WOTL has a cost and it will rip your money so I strongly suggest to give me a reply before 9pm this night.”
Eiji watched the clock in the wall and it was 7:44pm. He didn’t replied to Tsusuke because he was to venture alone in his first embark to WOTL. He finished his meal fast and start to read the manual of the Prime Gear. It only took five minute to read the whole pamphlet and it was not complicated as it seems. He wore the headgear that looks like rider helmet and lie down in his bed.
“Prime Gear Initialize!”
Eiji said as the Prime Gear is turned on using voice activation command.
He felt like he was drag to another dimension everything he sees become wobbly and after a second everything becomes white.
‘Welcome to Prime Gear Centra – Please Select Data Available.’
The only data available was the War of the Lions so without a second Eiji select WOTL.
After selecting data he was warped in a twilight zone and two seconds after he found himself to a 4x4 size room filled with color checkered tiles. In front of him is a beautiful girl seating in chair with a desk and on her back is a black door.
“Welcome to War of the Lions.”
The girl greeted.
The atmosphere looks like Eiji was having a job interview.
“I am Cresta. I will be the one who will help you create your character before embarking to the world of Minegard. First of all, every player is mandated to use their first name in the game. You can change you name only if you earned a title. Second, you will be given a chance to change your facial features but not your gender. Third, you will be given a 100 gil, Squire Equipment Set, a normal-class weapon of your choice, and a crest.”
Cresta explained.
“Got it.”
“So what facial features do you want to change?”
“Uhmmm… Just my hair… I want to make it longer not more than an inch and make it slick… no… make it spiky.”
“Oh, a robust type of image. I see.”
Crest said as she was clicking something on board of the desk.
Just a matter of seconds Eiji hair style change. He had now a cool spiky hair just like he wanted. Eiji saw his image in the mirror of the left side of the room and he was fascinated by the change.
“Woah! I really like it!”
“Glad to hear that.”
“Uhmm, can I make another last request?”
“What is it?”
“Can you make my left sideburn much longer? Three inches would do.”
“Hang on a sec.”
In a second, Eiji’s request was fulfilled.
“Perfect!”
“Okay, I would like to ask what weapon would you like to have.”
“What are the types of weapon in the game?”
“There are knife-type, sword-type, two-hand sword-type, bow-type, crossbow-type, staff-type, wand-type, book-type, instrumental-type, pistol-type, rifle-type, knuckle-type, whip-type, hammer-type, spear-type, rapier-type, katana-type, mace-type, katar-type, and special-type. You can’t select instrumental-type, katar-type and special-type because they are advance and specialized weapons.”
“The spear would to do Cresta and as of for the crest can I start with the Black Lion Crest any starting point of town would do.”
“Okay wait.”
As soon as Cresta heard Eiji’s request she input it to the data entry. However Cresta seems to have a problem.
“Uhmmmm…”
“Is there any problem?”
“I cannot put you to the Black Lion Crest nor to the White Lion Crest. The system is rejecting it.”
“Does it mean I cannot play the game or there is a problem with my game data?”
Eiji politely asked.
“There is no problem in your game data because if it was a counterfeit normally would won’t be summoned to this room. As for the game itself you can still play it however you will be summoned to a neutral state.”
“What does Neutral State means?”
“It means you are neither Black Lion Crest nor White Lion Crest. You can kill both of the factions and be killed by them. If you don’t turn mentally hostile to any faction your name won’t be turned into red to them meaning that you are a friendly.”
“Can I party or join a guild if I am in the Neutral State?”
“Normally, both factions can party each other but the PK system will still on. As of for the guild you can’t join neither of the two, but if you create or in a guild in Neutral State members of two faction can join you. PK system on the guild is still on.”
“That could be a problem later.”
“Yes is it. In the earlier patch of the game there is three factions and the third one is the Neutral State. However the game was chaotic since Neutral Towns are being held by two faction and war started to break out. After that the admin decided to focus choosing mainly in the two factions.”
“Why there is still a Neutral State?”
“The game seldom encounter errors like this and since it is not a fixable problem we don’t have any choice but to send a player in a Neutral State with his or her consent.”
“I see…”
“I would like to ask you if you are still gonna embark to War of the Lions and join the Neutral State?”
“One more question. Can I join Black Lion Crest after I enter the game?”
Eiji remembered Tsusuke said about traitor title.
“Players who entered as a Neutral State cannot join any crest as reported to the previous players who became Neutral State.”
Eiji become silent as he thinks of any options.
“Geez… I guess I have no other choice. Good thing about it is that I can be friendly to the two faction.”
“We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience. As an apology you will start with ten bonus stat points.”
“It’s okay. Can I start now?”
“You can start as soon as you enter the door behind me. Additionally, if there are bugs or errors during your game the admins will be pleased if you submit a report, hence you will be rewarded accordingly.”
“Okay. I will.”
Eiji enters the door behind Cresta. As he walks in his vision turns white then in a split second he found himself in a center of a town.
Eiji noticed that there are no maps in the visual interface like he saw in anime and games. Eiji glides in hands in the stat option and filled the bonus points given to him.
“Strength… Agility… Vitality… Dexterity… Intelligence… Wisdom… Luck…”
Strength (STR) refers to the physical power of a character the more strength a player has the stronger his or her physical attacks is. In addition, heavy weapons required more strength.
Agility (AGI) refers to the nimbleness and swiftness of a character. The more agility a player has the higher his or her movement and attack speed is. The higher the agility gains evasion rate.
Vitality (VIT) refers to the physical defense and HP of a character. The more Vitality a player has the higher his or her resistance to physical damage. The higher the vitality gains resistance to poison, stun, and sleep.
Dexterity (DEX) refers to the ability to hit accurately. The more dexterity a player has the higher his or her attack damage using long-range weapons. The higher the dexterity gain a small amount getting a critical rate.
Intelligence (INT) refers to the magical damage and MP of a character. The more intelligence a player has the stronger his or her spell damage. The higher the intelligence the faster a spell could cast.
Wisdom (WIS) refers to the ability of succession using traits. It is a unique stat that involves succession rates of the sub-skills and some of the skills. The higher the wisdom the higher the chance a player could inflict buffs and debuffs to a target.
Luck (LUK) refers to the non-player rate adhere to the surrounding. Luck also the stat for getting critical damage. The higher the luck the rarer the loot a player could find.
All stats starts at five. Each time a player level up five stat point is given. As for Eiji he was given a bonus ten point stat and immediately he used it to level his strength. The damage output soar higher than earlier. That bonus stat point is a huge advantage he thinks that he could battle monsters who are ahead by a level or two.
Eiji ask an NPC guard where he was. Right now Eiji was at the Quartz Town. Also he asked the guard where he could buy items and map. The NPC guard told him that the Armory is at the north side of the town and adjacent to it is the Weapon Shop. The General Supply Store is at the northeast side where he could buy potions and map. Beside the General Supply Store is the Appraisal Building where he could identify and appraise an unidentified items to an NPC with a fee. The Flea Market is at the central road down to the town entrance where Artisan-class and Merchant-class could sell their products.
After that he immediately go to the General Supply Store. A brawny guy welcomes him.
“Good day kiddo, how could I help you?”
“I would like to inquire how much is a map?”
“There are two kinds of map we’re currently selling. The Regular Map which cost 300G and the Overviewed Map which is 1,500G.”
“What is the difference of the two?”
Eiji curiously asked.
“Regular Map has sketch of a selected town however outside the town is blank. You need to visit it first in order to reveal the location. Overviewed Map has the revealed location outside the selected town with a twenty kilometer radius.”
“I see… If I ever wander go off the twenty kilometer radius will the map expand?”
“No. You need to go to Appraisal Building to expand your map or look for a help of a Scholar-Class or Navigator-Class. They can expand the map using a certain skill. Also if your map was lost or stolen you need to buy and visit the places again. Easiest to obtain the location of the lost map is to ask a help of a Tracker.”
“The map is not a permanent item.”
“Nothing is permanent kid. So what would you like?”
“I’ll buy the Regular Map. I would like to explore first the surrounding.”
“Okay, here’s a Regular Map worth 300G. I’ll fetch up a World Map too for free.”
“Thank you!”
Eiji just brought the Regular Map since that is the only map he could afford in the meantime.
“Hey kid. If you ever got a ‘Wolf’s Hide’ could you sell it to me? I’m looking for a good hide since winter is coming.”
Eiji thinks that it was a quest. Normally quest just pops out of nowhere and there are some quest that if you decline you cannot do it again. He humbly accepted the quest given by the store manager.
“I suggest you go to the southeastern part outside Quartz Town. Monsters there are low but they give a good loot to sell. Wolves can be seen there also but be careful, don’t engage them if the White Fang is there.”
“White Fang?”
“He is the Alpha Wolf of the clan. You can immediately recognize him because of his snow-like fur.”
The General Supply Store Manager seriously advised Eiji.
“I will definitely remember that. Thanks for the hint.”
As Eiji left the store he opened the World Map. There are only few landmarks were written. Most of it has only circles and lines connecting to another one. Small circles must represent small towns, the medium ones must be a cities and the larger ones are kingdoms or castles. The line that connects must be the road. The map was like an ancient map used in medieval times – no illustrations nor markings.