Chapter 5 - Around Bonfire

Two Items on a flat stone have names of Seed of Life and Gaia Tears.

Seed of Life is an Item made of a green jewel in the shape of a rugby ball with a size of a smartphone. At the bottom, half of this jewel is covered by gray roots.

Seed of Life allows me to create a second Avatar in Ark Fantasy Online. This item also allows me to freely choose a Special Race for my new Avatar.

The following item is Gaia Tears. This item is a light blue liquid stored in a luxurious little glass bottle. Engraving of golden leaf and the complex pattern is the thing that made this bottle luxurious.

Gaia Tears is a companion item for Seed of Life.

If I pour Gaia Tear's liquid into Seed of Life's jewel, my second Avatar will get a Unique Skill randomly.

Gaia Tears are not for consumption. If a player drinks this Item, she/he will not get a Unique Skill. The thing she/he will get is death. That happens because this item is equivalent to a deadly poison if being consumed.

Under a night sky decorated with millions of stars, I read Flavor Text of Gaia Tears and Seed of Life to six of my friends.

"Two items cannot be used separately. The Unique Skill you get will be selected randomly. It was a precious reward. But, at the same time, those rewards make the recipient get distressed," commended Mathias.

"If Vier makes a new Avatar, I will no longer be the weakest member!" cried Izayoi who is all smiles.

Creating a second Avatar and obtaining a Unique Skill may sound ordinary as the grand prize of a world-class PvP tournament. However, in Ark Fantasy Online, the mystery rewards or both items were extremely valuable.

I can say both Items are valuable because despite having a Reincarnation System - a System where a Player can create a new Avatar and get half of Basic Statistics from the previous Avatar after the player sacrifice their Avatar to the God Altar - Ark Fantasy Online does not allow its players to create a second Avatar, one player is only allowed to create one Avatar.

Therefore, creating a second Avatar is a valuable reward.

And an Avatar must be at level 100 to be able to do the reincarnation ritual.

As for Unique Skills. A Player can earn it by completing a Nightmare Quest.

A Nightmare Quest, at a minimum, takes one month to be completed. And a normal Nightmare Quest usually takes approximately two to four months. And the longest time a Nightmare Quest able to be completed was is six months.

Worse, all of that doesn't include the time it takes to defeat hundreds of high-level monsters, search for Rare or Legendary Items, complete dozens of Sub Quests, and follow the story of the Nightmare Quest.

Nightmare Quests are so complicated to be completed Because of that, there are not many players who take the Nightmare Quest. And if there are players who take it, most of them will give up because the burden of the Nightmare Quest is so heavy. And even if they don't give up, they will fail because of the challenges given by the Nightmare Quest itself.

Therefore, Unique Skills become extremely rare.

From the rumors I've heard, there are only three players who have acquired Unique Skills since Ark Fantasy Online was launched ten years ago.

With that knowledge, I can state that Unique Skill is extremely valuable.

As for the reward that allows me to choose Special Race as I please...

I can say, this reward is a freebie. This reward is the same as the free drink we get when we buy a set of special menu for today in some restaurant.

"I'm will not be the weakest member," I said to Izayoi.

"Why or how that can be?" Izayoi asked confused.

"Because I still have this avatar even though I made a new avatar."

Izayoi freezes. a few moments later he shouted, "THAT IS UNFAIR!"

"Poor Izayoi, he will always be the weakest member." Dishonesty strikes Izayoi cheerfully.

"Gah!" Izayoi received damage.

"That is true, he will always be useless." Honesty launched a sudden attack.

"Ack!" Izayoi received a critical hit.

"Hey don't say something like that, he is a good secretary." Eden used a healing spell.

"Oh… thank you." Izayoi was healed by 100 points.

"Okay then. We can call him a useless in battle secretary."

"He is pretty so he can be a good secretary."

"No…" And Izayoi down.

The PvP maniac can't take that teasing. He didn't like the fact that he always do the papers work than the fighting when we must defend our territory.

"Oh yes Vier, what Special Race would you choose for your second Avatar?" asked Eden who give up to save Izayoi.

I want to answer that question with the phrase 'I don't know' but unfortunately, before I spoke, the Ancient Dragon had already opened his mouth.

"That's it! Vier! Choose an Ancient Dragon! You can become one of the ten strongest Players in AFO if you choose Ancient Dragon. Isn't that amazing? Ancient Dragon, you have to choose it." Agnis, who almost bit me, gave me a suggestion that it was an insistence.

I'm not a Hardcore Gamer. I don't want suffering when I'm supposed to be happy when I playing a VR games. That's why...

"No Agnis, I'm not going to choose the Ancient Dragon."

"Why!?" asked the black dragon who couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Because he won't be able to visit cities in the AFO. It also means he can no longer promote our Familia. And that would be a big loss for us." It was Eden who gave Agnisdesmo an answer with a sharp gaze.

The black dragon instantly fell silent.

After blinking few times, Eden turned and looked me in the eye. "If there is a possibility to change gender, do not hesitate to be a woman. And make the Avatar as gorgeous as possible. That way, you'll be the perfect Sales Promotion Girl!"

Eden's proposal made me freeze. My mouth also gaped because of it. The thing she just said didn't cross my mind at all.

Isn't this mean I can be a woman?

And then... Izayoi who heard Eden's proposal quickly ran to me and grabbed my shoulders tightly.

The G.I.R.L. swung my shoulders while saying. "That's right Vier! Use a female Avatar just like me. You'll understand how happy this is. You'll always be surrounded by female players. You're going to see a lot of beautiful scenery that you shouldn't see. I assure you, you won't regret it! Therefore, create a female Avatar. Never hesitate."

Izayoi's gaze is so sharp, as if, she wants to hypnotize someone. And I can say, that gaze is a little scary.

But, it's working on me. I've been hypnotized.

Honestly, if it can be done, it's not a bad idea. As a woman who has always been miss-guessed as a man, I want to experience a life when a woman is truly regarded as a woman, not for the reasons that Izayoi said earlier.

I'm tired of living pretending to be a man.

And that doesn't mean I feel disgusted when a woman loves me as a man. It's just, I want those women to see me as a woman and love me as a woman instead of a man.

I don't want to once again experience an episode where a woman rejects me after they knew I'm a woman.

My desire to make the second Avatar becomes stronger.

Izayoi still looked at me and shook my shoulder. No longer able to tolerate Izayoi's intensity, I pushed the G.I.R.L. away slowly. then...

"I'll consider your advice. But, you have to remember that male players can only create male Avatars," I replied with a lie.

"Aww..." Izayoi makes a voice without passion. He who limp also dropped his shoulder.

"I'm sure, female ancient dragons are exceptionally beautiful." The Ancient Dragon made a strong nod after saying his piece of mind.

It's a good thing to ignore Agnis' words. What he just said is crazy. And... Everyone knows, female Ancient Dragon who have gigantic and scaly body can't be said to be beautiful from a human point of view.

"If you're going to make a gorgeous woman Avatar, I'm going to raise your salary by a hundred percent." Eden, the High Elf smiled at me and then a victory sign using her index and middle fingers.

"Are you serious Eden?"

"Of course," she replied confidently accompanied by a strong nod.

It was an extremely attractive offer. With double earnings, I can make my dreams come true sooner. It's a tempting offer, but....