Chapter 1: New World
My name, is Lucas Lauwers. 20 years old, male, single, and jobless.
Right now, I am wearing a black t-shirt, black denim pants, and a black cap...why all black? Well, when I was looking at my closet earlier, I found out that most of my clothes are black...with the exception of one very pink sweater…
Before you say anything, it’s not what you think. That pink sweater was a gift from my aunt and till now, I still have no idea why she gave me a pink sweater…
Alright, let’s forget about the color for now. Still, why sweater!? It’s too damn hot this season in the Philippines!...Not like wearing black clothes is helping at all!
I continued to complain about the heat as I walk out of the train station while hugging my bag in front of me.
I can’t afford to be careless here. If my bag is stolen now of all times, I would really kill myself.
Thankfully, I wasn’t robbed and there were no accidents on the way. Maybe I was just being paranoid. But I can’t help it, after a long time of avoiding people, I’m now uncomfortable around them...
I made my way to a tall building with huge letters on top, [IDEA Corp].
IDEA Corp is the company responsible of developing the first ever virtual reality dive technology. ANd of course, the dive gear and game along with it.
No one really knows how these things were made. But what everyone knows is that IDEA Corp is a company that only existed a month before the release of the technology.
IDEA Corp is not a Philippine based company. Their main branch’s location is currently unknown as well and their Chairman of the Board is also unknown.
Such a company has been subjected to a lot of rumors, controversies, doubts, and questions. Needless to say, they became a hot topic instantly and even till now, a bit over a year since the game was launched, people are still talking about this company more than celebrity scandals.
As for me, I am naturally curious, but that’s all. As long as I can play in a virtual reality world, I couldn’t care less about who made it or how it was made.
So, why am I going to this company?
No, I am not looking for a job, nor am I going to pick up girls. I am here to get my full body scan so I can create an account and play the game.
The full body scan isn’t really needed. One can create a character from scratch but I prefer my character to have the same, precise build as me.
In my bag, I brought with me my [Portal] so I can sync it to my account, making me the only person who can use it. It’s not because I’m selfish and I don’t want to share with my siblings. It’s because if I share it to them, I would lose my play time!...Okay, I am selfish! So what!? Bite me!
Anyway, after I earn some money, I can just buy them their own ones as well. I already have it all planned in my head.
First, I would play the game. Become awesome. Sell equipments that I can’t use for real money. Pay back my parents. Earn more money, buy my two annoying little siblings a [Portal] each. Earn more money. Buy an apartment and start living alone. Find a wife in the game. Marry her. Have kids. Then make the kids play as well.
This is currently my life’s plan! Of course, the first few steps are reasonably pretty easy and somewhat feasible...my only problem is finding a girlfriend…
Thanks to me studying so hard to graduate early, and avoiding people so I can’t hear their spoilers, I became an introvert and a loner. Naturally, I forgot how it is to talk to people as easily as before…
Ah, forget it. If I’m single for life then so be it! As for my virginity...
Ahem, I’m getting off track here…
Shaking the weird thoughts out of my head, I walked to the receptionist on the counter of the first floor.
Uwaa, so sexy...ah, no no no, let’s not wander around. I wonder if she noticed I was staring at her breasts? Nah, probably not...Let’s just not look at her.
I dropped my head and only looked at the counter’s desk as I spoke.
“U-uhm…I’m here to have my full body scan and sync my account to my personal [Portal]...”
Oooh, that went better than I thought. I didn’t stutter in saying that sentence! I guess not looking at a beauty helps calm down after all.
The receptionist smiled. “Oh, for the full body scan, please line up on the second floor west wing. You can also sync your account to your personal [Portal] there once you’re done.”
“T-thank you!” I said as I bowed slightly, then turned to leave immediately.
Phew...deep breaths, deep breaths...haaah...that was probably the longest conversation I had with a beauty ever since I became a loner…
Damn, my heart’s still racing and I can’t get her breast out of my mind...uhh, if I do a full body scan while my little guy is nearly standing, will this become my default image?
...No good, let’s calm ourselves in the bathroom first…or wait, maybe this is better?...Nah, let’s just calm down...wait, which way is the west?
+ + +
“Lily! It’s your turn in the [Character Creation Room].” A female wearing the same clothes as the receptionist called out to her as she begun to replace her position.
Lily, hearing her colleague's reminder, said. “Oh, then, I’ll be going.”
“Yeah. Tell me if there’s a cute guy registering! His in-game name, age, and starting point so I can find him later!” Her colleague laughed, to which, Lily rolled her eyes.
“Haha, don’t you already have a boyfriend?”
“So? Am I not allowed to meet other guys then? You should be more worried about yourself. So pretty yet you still don’t have a boyfriend. You should use this chance!” Lily shook her head at her colleague’s answer and walked off, yet, somehow, an image of a man appeared in her mind.
It was the timid man she met just earlier. She had found him interesting as he, like every other man, was staring at her breast but unlike others, this man didn’t dare to look at it twice nor did he look at anywhere on her body, even her face. He only looked down as he talked.
It must be known that once a man sees something he likes, even if he did look away after, he will still look again and again. Yet, this man had surprisingly endured not even looking a second time.
Though he was too timid, Lily had somehow found it very cute. As if it’s fun to see that guy cower in fear!
“Ehh, no way. Am I becoming sadistic?...Forget it, let’s not think about it anymore.” Shaking her head, she entered a room in the third floor and put on the [Portal] connected to a machine as she sat comfortably on the couch.
+ + +
After lining up, it only took 5 minutes till I finally managed to get my full body scan. The line was separated into two. One for males, another for females. This is because one has to strip naked and stand upright in a capsule which then scans your body to get a full 3D render of you so naturally, both sides were split.
I have to say...getting naked and being scanned...as I thought, it’s really embarrassing!
It was at this point, that I began to regret making this decision. But what’s done is done. I can only grit my teeth and brave through it!
...Let’s hope my face wasn’t too red when it was scanned...
After that, I created my Portal account while waiting for the data to complete. The registration was mostly just basic information like username, password, email, brain wavelengths, that kind of thing...
Then, the employee synced that account to the data scan I did earlier and to my personal [Portal].
The entire process only took about 10 minutes if you include the lining ups.
Afterwards, I commuted back home, locked the door behind me, lied down the bed, and wore the [Portal].
The [Portal] isn’t really like a helmet. It’s more like a half mask if anything.
The device covers the upper half of your face and the hardware is mostly on the top part but even then, it is still lightweight. I honestly have no idea how they all manage to make this device nor how they fit it all in but like I said before, I don’t care as long as I get to play.
The button on the right earpiece is the power button while the button on the left earpiece is for the people outside to notify you in game to log off without shaking you hard or forcing the power off just to get your attention.
Switching the [Portal] on, the system booted up and the screen in front of my eyes flashed with images before finally settling with a grid of icons.
There are 4 icons on the screen.
1. World Web- A new kind of internet browser also made by IDEA. No idea why but the internet here is much faster for some reason.
2. World Store - An application store where I also bought [World Gate Online]. Currently, WGO is the only game as of yet but there are a lot of VR apps for normal lifestyle as well.
3. World Home - This is one of the lifestyle VR apps that I downloaded as well. Frankly, it’s just a virtual home where you can customize it however you want or buy furnitures to further decorate it. Why did I download it? Well, apparently, this World Home can also be connected to WGO...not that I want to hear it but the people around me just talk so loud...so I downloaded it for my own convenience.
4. World Gate Online - Of course, do I really have to explain this one?
Yeah, each of them has a [World] word in front...whoever thought of it must be so lazy...
I temporarily ignored everything else and focused on the gate being overlapped with a vortex icon. [World Gate Online]!
“Goodbye old world! Hello new world!” Immediately after I said that in my mind, a white light flashed and I felt my consciousness being sucked in.
Before I knew it, my naked body is already floating in midair, below, a completely unknown planet was slowly revolving and above, the vast, black, starry universe.
I stared at everything in a daze, completely in awe at the amazing graphics of the game.
While I was staring at everything in shock. A white light covered my body which suddenly turned into fabrics of cloths, interweaving and folding by itself.
After a while, I was wearing a simple white shirt and pants which should be my [Beginner's Clothes].
And then, white light converged in front of me which turned into a feminine figure. The light dimmed down and an extremely beautiful blond woman in greek robes stood in front of me.
“As expected of the game developers. Truly an insanely beautiful NPC without any imperfections! I doubt someone so beautiful and perfect can exist in real life after all.”
Blown away by the beauty of the woman in front of me, I unconsciously muttered. Hm? Did she just blush?
Oooh, even NPC are this diverse huh? I can only bow down to the godly developers and animators of this game.
“*Cough* I’m not an NPC.” The beauty NPC gave a wry smile...“Eh?” I was surprised and uttered unconsciously.
“What? Did you already forget me when we just saw each other a while ago?” The NPC, ehh, no. I mean, the woman asked.
A while ago?
Eh? Did I meet any beauties today?
...Wait, those breasts...ah!?...The receptionist!?
Seemingly noticing where I was looking, the receptionist beauty laughed gently. “I take it that you do recognize me. My name’s Lily. I work for the IDEA company as a front desk receptionist and a guide for new players.”
“Ah, yes. Uhm, I’m Lucas...”
You have chosen the name Lucas.
“Eh?” Ah...just now, I just introduced myself unconsciously...
“Ah, oops. Since you introduced yourself, the system recognized it and automatically assigned it to your in game name...well, since it was partly my fault, I can ask someone to change it, what name do you want?”
“Eh? Well...no, this is fine. There’s a lot of Lucas in the world anyway and it kinda feels weird if someone calls me with another name like...I dunno, White Haired Adventurer or something...”
...White Haired Adventurer? Really? That was the best I got? Ugh, such a lame name...Whatever, it’s probably my inner-chuuni acting up again?
Lily nodded and proceeded with the character creation while I was still confused with my inner thoughts.
“Then, please choose your gender.”
“Ah, so you can make a different gender character huh...”
“Haha, that’s right. So when you get in the game, you should be careful.”
...It seems my quest to find a girlfriend in game just got a whole lot harder…
“At least it’s safe to know that I know you’re really a girl...” I blurted out and thought what I said seemed a bit rude but she didn’t seem to mind as she laughed.
“Haha, that’s true.”
As Lily laughed, I obviously chose [Male].
“Then, please choose your race.”
A long list of races appeared in front of me. Some were variants of the main races like [Forest Elf], [Snow Elf], [Cat Werebeast], [Liger Werebeast], [Mountain Dwarf], [Coal Dwarf], and so on.
There weren’t any Orcs, Goblins, or other monsters. It’s mostly [Human], [Elf], [Dwarf], and [Werebeast].
Each race has their own advantages.
[Humans] will have a balanced stat and more adaptive than other race. There’s also the human variant [Demigods] that have advantage in using Light and Holy magic but they are terribly weak when being hit by Dark and Evil magic.
[Elves] have additional INT and DEX stat but weaker in using any elements other than Forest, Light, and Wind. Of course, some variations would differ like the [Snow Elf] which can only use Ice and Light magic.
[Dwarves] have an easier leveling speed in crafting classes and an additional STR and DEX stat but weaker in any elements other than Earth, Fire, and Magma.
[Werebeast] have additional SPD and VIT stat but weak in terms of magic so most players with this race choose a fighting class. Some would have minimal increase in SPD if they chose slow animals like [Were-turtle]...yeah, there was one...who knows? I might find 4 ninja class teenage were-turtles. Heh.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
These are the simplified explanations provided as I scroll down the list of races.
As for me, since I want to be good in magic and swords without being weak on other areas, I choose [Human] of course. Though it’s a bit boorish and normal without any variations, but this is still the best for me.
There was also another copy of me in front of me so I can see what I look like in that race. I tried various races just to look at them but still chose [Human] in the end.
“Then, please customize your character.”
A new window appeared in front of me with various arrows and color pallets.
After playing with it for a while, I decided to only change a few things such as the hair’s color into white and the eyes to red. Emm, let’s remove all those blemishes as well and the eye bags.
I didn’t want to change the height or the build since I’ve already gotten used to this physique. I don’t want to feel weird when I login and logout.
Eh? Why white hair red eyes? Cause it looks awesome...yeah, my inner chuunibyou’s acting up...
I nodded to Lily to tell her I’m done and she nodded back.
...Come to think of it, it’s really embarrassing for me to make such a character in front of a beauty…
Lily just smiled and nodded.
She then proceeded to tell me about the different commands in the game like [Status] or [Inventory], and the [Logout] or [World Home] commands being unable to access in the middle of the battle.
“Well then, that will be all. Which continent do you wish to start?”
Another list of continents appeared in front of me. Well, there’s only 5 though.
* Humus - The land of humans located in the north.
* Elfein - The land of elves located in the east.
* Dwarum - The land of dwarves located in the west.
* Weregath - The land of werebeasts located in the south.
* Amux - The land of opportunities located in the center.
From the holographic image of the world projected in front of me, I noticed that Amux, the central continent, is bigger than the rest. This is also where all races are seen. Though some races are also seen in other continents, but they are scarce compared to the local race. As a human, it’s much easier for me to be in Humus as getting quests in other continents other than Amux, will be a lot harder due to the few people willing to give a quest to a weak human. The same can be said in the other races.
After thinking for awhile, I decided to choose [Amux] in the end since I want to meet other races as well as not take it too hard nor too easy in quests. Amux is basically the central ground and there are bound to have a lot of quests and competition in that continent.
“Amux huh? Well, if you ever arrive in Elfein, give me a call so we can party up.”
“You’re an elf?” I looked at her ears but they weren’t pointy as I expected it to be.
Lily laughed and brushed her hair. “Haha, this isn’t my character. This is just one which was made specially to welcome guests.”
Welcome...more like seduce them...
“Ohh...then, do I get to allocate my stats next?” After thinking of something rude, I immediately shook the thought and asked.
“Your stats will be allocated randomly upon creation with a total of 10. That will be all. Well then, happy adventuring Lucas.”
As she said that, bright lights covered me and I felt the ground hit my feet. When the light dimmed down, I was greeted with a medieval-esque surroundings.
People in armors walking about.
Some wore baggy robes and long staves.
Shadows of thieves speeding along on the roofs.
Priests and priestesses smiling gently.
It truly isn’t a sight you see in the real world.
Not to mention that I also see some flying huge stones in the distance. Those should be the supposed flying cities huh?
Knights riding on wyverns were also flying overhead.
The numerous chatters and roars of humans and beasts.
Truly...a fantasy world!
After looking around for a bit, I looked down on myself and saw my equipment.
Currently, I wore a normal white t-shirt and pants, no shoes, no gloves, no hats, no weapon...ehh, is this really all I have?
I sat on a nearby fountain’s edge and immediately looked at my [Inventory] to see if I had any items.
A blue screen appeared in front of me with even blocks like a grid, below the grid displayed my current money which was 10 Gold. Gold is obviously the currency of this world but there doesn’t seem to be Silvers and Bronze so I guess it’s just Gold.
I need to figure out just how much this Gold is really worth later.
Looking on the item grid, I saw a dagger and a gift box.
Focusing on the dagger and gift, its information popped up.
Name Beginner's Dagger Rank F Damage 1~5 Durability 100/100 Requirements Level 1 and above
Name Beginner's Gift Rank F Requirements Level 1 and above Randomly presents a rank D - F item or equipment to the user.
Ohh, the [Beginner’s Gift] is quite nice.
Let’s open it!
Holding the gift box on my hands, I untied the ribbons and bright light came out from inside.
It’s-!....................................................................................[Beginner’s Shirt]....................
WHAT THE #$%^&*(&^%$#$%^&*(&^%$##%$&^%*(&$#@!!!!????
Why...why...WHY!!!???
Fuck! This...this...this…………..AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!
I could only contain myself so much so I won’t scream in rage in the middle of the city.
Damn it...why is it like this!?
...No...could it be?
I hurriedly opened my status window and upon seeing the numbers...my jaw hit the floor…
Status Name Lucas Level 1 Race Human Gender Male Class No Class 0 Stamina 110 Mana 120 STR 6 INT 4 SPD 5 DEX 3 VIT 2 LUK -10
………………………………………………………………………….Why RNG-sama!? WHY!!!???
I know the total needs to be 10 but is there even a need to have a negative LUK!!!???
This damn system! I swear, I will pour most of my stat points to LUK from now on! My LUK will be so high, you, this damn RNG won’t matter anymore!
Just watch RNG! I will defeat you!!!
After cursing at RNG for a while, I sighed and decided to get a move on.
Well, at least my other stats are higher than normal beginners…
Also, it’s interesting to see that there isn’t any kind of HP / Health Points / Hit Points, the kind that indicated your life. Instead, there’s only [Stamina] which is used for non-magic skills, and [Mana] for magic skills. I guess that just adds more into the game’s realism.
Let’s see here...I need to see how much 10 Golds is worth. I also need to buy some shoes...why do beginners NOT wear shoes!?
After looking around for awhile, I finally saw a leather shop.
On the counter is an uncle, not a beauty, sadly…*cough* anyway, I immediately walked up to him and talked to him.
“U-uhmm...d- do you have any...le- leather shoes?” I stuttered as I asked...As expected, I’m still not used to talking to people. Especially scary looking uncles...fuck, why is a tailor need to be this macho!?
It was already hard enough to talk with a beauty like Lily for a long time...sigh…
“Leather shoes eh? How much are you looking at?” The tailor uncle asked as he gave me a stare...
“Below 10 golds.” I immediately answered.
“Hmm, just 10 gold huh? Well, I’ll show you what I got.”
The tailor uncle went out of the counter and searched the shelves. After a while, he pulled a dozen or so boxes.
After looking through them, I found the ones prized 10 golds had an average durability of 350. Those with 100 durability are worth 2 golds so it’s safe to say that my clothes are worth 2 golds each.
None of them actually raised my defense or stats…
Forget it, let’s just buy the 100 durability one since I will be replacing it later anyways. It’s just a waste of money to buy one with a bit more durability but no additional stat...
I only bought a pair this time because it’s annoying to not wear any shoes so it didn’t matter much.
Then, next should be getting a quest and hunt right?
I already saw it when I walked around so I already know where to get one.
The [Adventurer’s Guild].
Of course, I can just talk to the NPCs to search for any quests but this one is the most convenient one because one, I don’t want to talk to others too much. Two, most of the times, the NPCs don’t give any quests with simply talking to them as they themselves post their requests to the [Adventurer Guild’s] quest board anyway. And three, I’m too lazy to talk to every NPC in this city...
I signed up as an adventurer there for 1 gold and received a card.
Name: Lucas
Rank: F
Team: None
The guild card only consisted of that. I stowed it in my [Inventory] and began to look through the quest board.
As an F rank, I can only look for F rank or one rank higher quests.
Name: Search for Bluegrass Flower
Rank: F
Details: Look for 10 Bluegrass Flowers in Nillwood Forest
Reward: 2 Golds
Name: Search for Blue Slime Cores
Rank: F
Details: Look for 10 Blue Slime Cores in Nillwood Forest
Reward: 3 Golds
Name: Search for Red Slime Cores
Rank: E
Details: Look for 10 Red Slime Cores in Nillwood Forest
Reward: 10 Golds
I saw three similar quests in Nillwood Forest so I decided to take all three of them.
From the information given, it seems dealing with [Blue Slimes] is easier than [Red Slimes]. Apparently, [Red Slimes] have higher attack power and can breath flames...
After choosing the quests, I walked out of the [Adventurer’s Guild] and ran outside the city. I already asked earlier where Nillwood Forest is so I ran towards the west gate.
Upon reaching the west gate, I saw a vast forest in front of me where players were running about here and there with their parties, fighting with slimes.
Hmm...I need to look for a more empty area with as less players as possible…
Thinking so, I ran to the side and surveyed the players, noticing the players lessening as I go by, I randomly chose a spot and started to search for slimes and [Bluegrass Flowers].
*Boing*
Not too long after, a blue goo of...something bounced into my line of sight.
I clutched my dagger and bent my knees in order to get ready for the attack.
The slime saw me as well and suddenly shot forward!
Fuck! What’s with this speed!?
However, my reflexes were still quite good. It should be known that during high school, I’m always the last player standing in dodgeball!
“Guboh!”
HIT!
...Okay, maybe I’m a bit rusty on my skills.
“Geh-!?”
HIT!
...Oh right. I remember now. The reason I was always the last man standing in dodgeball is because...no one notices me at all!
Fuck! This! Thing!
*Slash*
Ooh! I managed to get one hit!
Yah! Yah! Yah!
How do you like this now!
Orarararararara! Taste my Lucas Whirlwind!!!
After about 10 minutes of aimlessly waving my sword, I finally managed to kill it...though, now I’m on the verge of dying...
As for my exp...just 5% full…
I bent down to pick up the core that it dropped. There aren’t any gold or equipments dropped though.
Unlike most games, the monsters here does not disappear, their corpse stays and the players are allowed to directly take its parts. So it’s only natural that it won’t drop any golds or equipments.
Though I heard that monsters also have [Inventories] and at the moment of their death, all items in their [Inventories] drops but to a slime like this, I doubt it would have anything at all.
Some monsters also spew out blood and it can be really gory so there was a command to turn off the 18+ materials and players under 18 years old automatically turns that option off until they reach 18.
Hm?
Suddenly, I noticed a red shadow at the corner of my vision.
You have died.
...Fuck.
Bright light surrounded me and I woke up back in the plaza where I started at.
Player deaths in this game means losing 20% of your exp and dropping one random item, equipment, or gold.
Let’s see which one I dropped…
…
…
…
WHERE’S MY DAGGER!!!???
……………...What the hell…………..just………...fuck this shit…
What am I supposed to use now to fight monsters!?
Uuuu...should I use the real money to gold exchange so I can buy a decent equipment?
But but...I don’t even have much money...ahhh…
I started to wander around with dead eyes and no where to go. I feel like a homeless person...unless I leech off of someone, it’s nearly impossible to advance at this point...maybe I can just focus on crafting?
Yeah...that’s also good right?
Let’s go with the job that can easily earn money. Alchemy.
I walked towards the Alchemy shop, bought a cheap cauldron for 3 golds, and payed for the tuition fee of 1 gold to be taught the skill [Concoct].
The alchemist grandma taught me how to concoct a simple concoction and a new item appeared in my recipes window.
I spent all my remaining money to buy the materials used for [Ointment], and used [Concoct] while in front of my cauldron.
Afterwards, a window appeared in front of me which consisted of the list of recipes I can concoct.
Apparently, if I didn’t have the ingredients required for a recipe then that recipe will be grayed out.
Like that, my hands moved automatically and skillfully mixed the ingredients...it’s weird how there’s no fire needed though…
After 10 seconds, an [Ointment] is made!
Phew, I was worried that with my damn luck, the first one would fail but it seems I was worried for nothing.
...I spoke too soon…
The next few tries had all failed...meaning, I am left with no money, no ingredients, and only one working [Ointment] which will only sell for 3 golds...I cry…
I sighed heavily and decided to sell it anyway. This kind can only restore minor bruises which is only valuable to beginners so I have to go to the plaza where the new players start and hope I can trick them into spending 5 golds…
However, as I walk, I noticed something fall in the alley which I just passed.
WIthout anything to do, I checked if something valuable had fallen and saw a poor old man with nearly no clothes, shivering in the cold instead. Actually, it isn’t even cold but the old man was still shivering nonetheless.
I looked at the [Ointment] in my hand, then the old man, then back again, and finally sighed.
Oh yeah, I still have that spare [Beginner’s Shirt]. Well, I guess it’s better than what he’s wearing right now.
Old man, as a fellow poor person, let me give you a helping hand.
I gave the shirt to him and the [Ointment] as it might help ease his pain.
“Old man, here. I don’t need these things anyway...”
Kuh-! My 5 golds!
“Y-you are...him!...Hair as white as the snow...and eyes as red as blood flow!” The old man’s eyes lit up when he saw me.
I blankly stared at the old man as he continued to spoke...why is he speaking in rhymes? And the last part sounds forced...
“Go and venture the foreign world to seek his key!...That which can open the world’s door and set you free!”
As soon as he said that, I felt my mind break apart and rearrange itself before distorting and folding and warping again and again as I lose consciousness.
However, before my consciousness faded, I heard the final words of the old man.
“Only, you are still too weak...let me pass on to you...my master’s legacy...young man of the prophecy...I hope you will be able to carry my revenge...my...wrath...”
And then, there was nothing.
----------------------------------------
Status Name Lucas Level 1 Race Human Gender Male Class No Class 0 Stamina 110 Mana 120 STR 6 INT 4 SPD 5 DEX 3 VIT 2 LUK -10
Skills Concoct 1.04%