Chapter 4 - 2 : A New World

"Welcome Adventurer, please select your Job and Class."

'Oh, so this is the interface…'

In a clear-white room, Sato stood in front of a platform that held 12 lifelike avatars, representing the 12 main Classes of Infinite Realm, which are categorized into five (5) jobs;

Warriors: Guardians, Berserkers, Paladins

Specialists: Swordsman, Assassins, Rangers

Healers: Clerics, Druids

Mages: Elementalists, Summoners.

Dark Mages: Cursemancers, Necromancers.

The Warrior Jobs focus best in defending but also possess a ridiculous amount of strength. Specialists as their name implies, it focuses on specific weapon types enabling them to fully utilize their weapons leading to them possessing high damage.

Healers focus on healing and buffs with the clerics using light/divine/holy magic and Druids utilize nature/wood/life magic. Mages focus on magical output and damage, with the Elementalists having control of various elements (except Light, Nature and Dark) and the Summoners having the capabilities of having their Summoning fight in their place.

Dark Mages, like their counterparts, mages, focus on magical damage but with control over dark elements. The Cursemancers cast debuffs of various forms while the Necromancers are the dark version of Summoners, possessing control over the dead and the undead.

After taking his time to go through the information of each and every Job, Sato decided on the Swordsman Class, due to his familiarity with melee classes in other VR games he had played.

Once he was done selecting his Class and assigning the twenty (20) free attribute points, from the Beginners package, and adjusting his appearance by 15%, Sato confirmed his Class and the room changed form to another scene.

In front of him stood a black haired six-winged human who had an air of haughtiness with a touch of coldness to his facial features. His beauty could even be said to rival some male models.

"Pay attention Adventurer and behold the great history of our beloved home, Infinite Realm��. Accompanied by the voice of the being, which was in no way as pleasing to the ears as the former, the scene around Sato changed to a display of an unknown place at an unknown period.

"Long ago, there existed an era of clear peace. There was peace between man and beast, gods and demons, good and evil. No hatred, no sorrow, no suffering. A period where dreams were made possible. However, everything always has an end attached to it."

As he got to this point, Sato noticed a tinge of sadness, sorrow and regret in the voice of the six-winged human following which the scene which was earlier displaying a view of the past peace between races changed to one of chaos.

A treasure surpassing all creations and realms, such that it was even desired by the gods, appeared. This led to a war that ravaged the lands and souls a many, 'The Chaos War'. Plants, animals, beasts, elves, dwarves, man, dragons, demons and even gods, lives were lost regardless of race or tribe or standing, by those who desired the treasure. Such a treasure later became known as the '*%[email protected]#'.

''But then, He arrived. The One who stands above all, The All-Father, lead a Legion of gods against the demons and the other races. He succeeded and seized the *%[email protected]#." Looking like a fanatic, the six-winged human said with his arms stretched apart.

"With the power of the *%[email protected]#, he put an end to all wars, sealed the Demons and ushered in a new era. In order not to abuse its power, he sealed the *%[email protected]# away from the eyes of all, including himself, while eliminating the memory of its location. After which the gods entered a hibernation period.

"This is a history not known to many, but as you are chosen by the gods, you have been granted the privilege to know this. You have been summoned to help maintain peace in this realm."

"Select the Kingdom/Empire you would like to spawn in", after the display, a light panel appeared in front of Sato.

"Lets just go for a random selection."

"Since you have selected, prepare yourself.", as if on cue, a bright resplendent flash of light appeared once the angel was done speaking.

System:"Welcome to Black Mountain Town,"

Standing in the middle of a circular platform, surrounded by tons of people, Sato took in the view of his location while taking note of system notification. "Seems like I took my time eh?"

Looking around, and noting that at least 2/3 of everyone around him was a player, he realized that he might have spent quite some time customizing his avatar.

"So this is Black Mountain Town." In a town surrounded on its three sides by a chain of mountains, seeming to occupy a population of 350,000 people, Sato stood on top of a large circular platform while admiring the scenery before him.

In Infinite Realm every city or town was classified into 3 major categories; Primary, Secondary or tertiary. This categorization defines the amount of land, connections and resources available to a town or city. With the distance between each town and the fact that most average players don't have a lot of info on the towns together with being penniless upon spawning, most players are always concerned about their spawning point placing their hopes in the rabbit foots they have prepared or the ladybugs by their bedside with the dream of getting generated in a place with sufficient resources for development.

Black Mountain Town happens to be a primary town mostly rich in ores with a good trade route and a strategic location. As such, one could say that lady luck fancies Sato.

"From the looks of it, seems like I took my time eh?" Taking a look at his surroundings, Sato noticed that 2/3 of the population around him were actually players. Most of which were having conversation with in hopes of obtaining quests.

Once he was done taking in his surroundings, he decided to head to the Town Centre.

In cities Infinite Realm, the Adventurers guild is a place where NPC's submit quests and mission for players to fulfill, as such it can easily be found in any city in a kingdom or an Empire. However, it can't be found in towns. Hence, most NPC's submit their missions in the Town Administrative Centre located in the town's centre, where players can accept them. The town's centre1 was more of a square area in the town and as it's name implies, it is the center of Black Mountain Town's commerce and administrations, housing both the Town Administrative Centre also known as Town Centre2, where missions can be received and the public market.

On his way to the Town Centre, Sato opened up his status window, appearing in the form of an opaque light tablet before him.

[[ Name : Sky Blade

Race : Human

Bloodline : Chosen Ones

Title : Citizen of Fallen Heart Kingdom

Level : 0

HP : 100

Heritage/Legacy :

Class (Job) : Swordsman (Specialist)

Subclass : N/A

Kingdom : Fallen Heart Kingdom

Current location : Black Mountain Town, Black Rock City

Attributes

Strength : 2

Endurance : 4

Vitality : 10

Agility : 2

Dexterity : 1

Intelligence : 1

Willpower : 2

Physical Attack Power : 6

Magical Attack Power : 3

Physical Defence : 4

Magical Defence : 2

Attack Speed : 3

Movement Speed : 4

Free Attribute Point : 0

Skills :

Chop : Active Skill : Launch a heavy strike with full force, causing additional 20% damage. Cool-down : 10 seconds

Horizontal Swipe : Active Skill : Release a horizontal positioned attack wielding an additional 40% attack power. Cool-down : 15 seconds. ]]

In the [[Bloodline]] section, the Chosen Ones referred to the fact that players are not a part of the original world and were summoned over. As such, they were referred to as Chosen Ones.

In Infinite Realm, the main attributes are in line with the Side attributes. The [[Strength]] attribute point is equivalent to 3 [[Physical Attack Power]] points. The [[Endurance]] attribute point is equivalent to 1 [[Physical Defence]] point. The [[Vitality]] attribute point is equivalent to 10 HP. The [[Agility]] attribute point is equivalent to 2 [[Movement speed]] points. The [[Dexterity]] attribute point is equivalent to 3 points in [[Attack Speed]]. 1 [[Intelligence]] is the same as 3 points in [[Magical Attack]]. The [[Willpower]] attribute points equivalent to 1 point in [[Magical Defence]].

The Main attributes also affect certain Hidden attributes, for example the [[Endurance]] attribute affects Stamina and the [[Intelligence]] affects wisdom and craftiness of an NPC and monsters whereas for player, it improves Concentration. Willpower also increases Defence against soul or mental attacks and/or influences.

"It seems I was late, doesn't matter much though. Let's just level up." Arriving here, Sato discovered that there was a large crowd lined in front of the Town Centre, deciding to leave the town.

[[ System : Incoming video call ]]

[[ Caller ID : Emperor Wolf ]]

"Ah, looks like he's finally done."

"Accept call."

Upon saying so, the system panel displayed a man with a slightly chubby face, well combed hair and brown eyes. If Sato didn't really know him well, he might have thought it was someone else. Even though the system only allowed a total of 15% adjustment on avatars, if used properly one could look like a totally different person.

"Looks like someone made good use of the 15% character adjustment."

"Yo bro, what's with that shitty look on your face. You jealous?"

"Says the dude named Emperor Wolf."

"Haha, its cool right, a worthy name for a wolf like myself."

"Yeah yeah, whatever fancies you fat pig."

"Whad'ya say?"

"Nothing..."

"Hmm...Either way, I got sent to a town called Riverdale under Black Rock City, and the NPC's are quite realistic, you can even engage in a conversation with them, I'm even thinking of spending my lifetime here, get married and have kids."

"Of course, if the game wasn't any better than the others, then there would have been no way it would be this popular. And about you getting married, I don't see that happening. I hope you don't go ahead with that silly idea of yours. After all, if you can't get a girlfriend in reality, you might as well not try it."

"Hmph, who said I can't? I just prefer 2-D girls over 3-D girls. 2-D! You hear me. Even Miss Stalingrad can't change my thoughts."

"Stop throwing a tantrum fat pig. Say what you like, doesn't bother me, just head over to the level 0 map, Stone Creek Forest, Let's meet up in the next three hours."

"Alright. Wolf out, Awoo!!!"

"..."

[[ System : Video call terminated ]]

"Since there's nothing to do here, I might as well begin leaving. It should take me a little more than 30 minutes to make it up to the map but with a horse, it should take half of that."

"According to the Novice map, it should take 2 hours by foot from Riverdale Town but 45 minutes by a horse, and that should cost 7 copper coins. I might as well just walk it, I'd pretty much make it before him."

In the game, Infinite Realm is at least three (3) times the size of Earth so as to support player and NPC population. As a result, the scale of the cities are much larger, making it far harder to trek to the map and earn money while levelling up. Hence, the players receive a [[Player beginner pack]] which contains 25 copper coins, a piece of bread, a jar of sour wine, a jar of water, the Novice map and a low tier mortal rank weapon and equipment as a form of starting 'funds' for their adventure.

"Well, since I'm closer to the location, I might as well walk it, but I should check the store first for any consumables that I might need."

Being based on the concept of reality, players can get tired in the game. Hence, they require food and drinks.

Heading to the convenience store, Sato bought 2 loaves of bread at 6 copper coins and a Simple Health Potion together with another consumable spending altogether 22 copper coins.

'Being broke is a blessing few can understand...'

[[ System : Simple Health Potion : Regenerate 10 HP each 10 seconds ]]

...

"Seems like I was right, it took me just 40 minutes(AN; In-game timing). The scenery is quite pleasing to the eye."

Right in front of Sato was a plain, bedazzled with flowers of various species. Ranging from Rose lookalikes to Tulips and Lilies, the plain was more like a scenic environment of natures beauty than a home to wild animals and monsters. At the edge of the plains was a forest with tall evergreen trees and a couple deciduous trees, ranging from 5 meters to 12 meters with the occasional appearance of 15 meter tall trees and even 20 meters.

"Hmm, that's ..."

[[ System : Wild Saber (Common, Level 2)

Name : Wild Sabers (Common)

Level : 2

HP : 240

Physical Attack Power : 12

Magical Attack Power : 0

Physical Defence : 8

Magical Defence : 2

Attack Speed : 9

Movement Speed : 12

Attributes

Strength : 9

Agility : 6

Dexterity : 3

Endurance : 8

Intelligence : 0

Willpower : 2

Vitality : 24

Skills

Claw Swipe : Active: Causes additional +5 damage.

Intimidating Roar : Active : Causes "fear" effect for 4 seconds, depending on prey's willpower.]]

" A level 2 monster... quite strong but I still have a chance, if I lure it to the woods ,"

" Now !!!"

Picking up a stone, Sato waited till the Wild Saber had fully dropped it's guard, throwing the stone with full force right at its right eye.

"Roar": -20 [[Critical]]

Incensed, the wild saber released a roar and chased after Sato when it noticed Sato's silhouette at the peripheral of it's eye.

"Shit, I underestimated it's speed."

The wild saber leaped into the air while performing a "Claw Swipe" with it's right claw, at Sato. Unsheathing his mortal rank Beginner Sword, he turned around and launched an attack at the claw in a bid to defend himself.

*Peng*

The claw landed on his sword, leading Sato to take four steps backwards with his HP decreasing by 9 points, with his right hand wielding the mortal rank sword trembling and feeling numb.

" I have to make sure that skill doesn't land on me. With my defence, I can survive once but thrice, I might be a goner."

"Roar"

Seeing it's attack blocked, the saber got infuriated and launched a normal claw attack with it's left claw, jumping to his left, which was the beast's blindspot, Sato dodged the attack ,turned around and began running into the forest.

Seeing it's adversary and disturber retreating, the beast ran after him. Closing up to Sato, the wild saber leaped once more towards him, but this time Sato moved to his right dodging the attack. This lead to the saber crashing onto a tree right front. Entering a stun.

[[Chop]] -8

[[Critical : Horizontal Slash ]] -17

-4

-3

-6

Arriving at the saber's right, Sato launched a flurry of attacks resulting to a total damage of 38.

Exiting its "stun" state the beast got annoyed once more over its injuries and then launched its attack against Sato. Continuously making use of the terrain for dodging and whipping attacks at its right side, Sato whittled down its HP.

With its HP approaching the 10% mark, the wild saber entered an enraged stage and released an "Intimidating Roar" with an enhanced "Claw".

[[System : Enraged state: all attacks +20% increase in damage, +10% increase in Basic attributes.

Enhanced "Intimidating Roar" : You have gained "Fear" effect, basic attributes have been reduced by 20%, due to "Willpower" stat]]

"So this is your trump card eh? looks like I'll have to use it then"

Retreating with a back flip, Sato took out an item from his bag which he tossed at the wild saber

[[Simple explosive : Causes +50 damage]]

"Here you go"

*Boom!!!*

-40

"Now for the finishing strike"

Leaping towards the wild saber, Sato landed a "chop" eliminating the last HP of the beast.

*Huff* ,*huff*

" That was tough, but at least I'm quite close to levelling up."

'Now time for the loot'

Walking towards the corpse, Sato clicked on the [[Loot]] icon that appeared beside it. After which light particles scattered with the corpse disappearing.

"This is …"