Game Start - Chapter 1: A New Story

Gazing out through the vast and lush grassy plains, Asterr was sitting and enjoying the view. The grass was soft and comfortable like a cushion, and the sun was radiant and bright as can be. And, for a moment, he swore he could even feel a gentle breeze brush across his chocolate colored complexion , but this was impossible. The world he is in is virtual.
Kaito Uriamuzu is playing an online game known as Archaios Sword, a fantasy MMORPG, created by Dark Delta corporation. It is one of the few games that use virtual reality technology.
“Kaito- I mean Asterr! I see you finally logged on!” A voice called out to him from behind. “How’s your VR helmet? Are the graphics too overwhelming?”
Asterr looked back at the man with long, green hair tied in a ponytail. “Oh, Xhikaru! There you are.” He adjusted his glasses. “VR...? Oh...! Yeah it’s pretty intense since it’s my first Kabuto Game...”
Kabuto was the name of the Gaming Helmet used for Virtual Reality games. It works in combination with almost every modern gaming console and platform, but only works with certain games or applications. Some people believe that it’s unnatural to use because of how addictive it is. Others fear it because of the many fictional stories associated with virtual reality, but the truth is, it isn't any more harmful than playing a normal video game. However they are quite expensive.
“I had to give up an arm and a leg to play this game Xhikaru, it better be better good...”
Xhikaru flicked his white robe. “Oh come on, 1000 dollars is a small price to pay for such a large step into the future! And trust me, you’re going to lose a lot of hours to this game.”
Asterr sighed and stood up to face Xhikaru. Being just as tall as Xhikaru, he also had spiky, neck-length blue-green hair. “So what now” He asked. As he spoke you could clearly see his sharp fangs.
“What do you mean “what now”, start playing the game! You haven’t even done the tutorial!” Xhikaru frowned and planted his face into his palm.
Asterr was shocked. “What!? How did you know!?”
“One, you can only get your weapon from the tutorial quests and you only have your bland armor equipped” He replied laughing. “Anyone can see that!”
Asterr’s attire was composed of a green clothing and simple silver plating covering them. Compared to Xhikaru’s white robe with golden lettering along the edges and the thin, shiny green armor underneath, the difference in level was obvious. “Dude, what level are you anyway?” A window popped up in front of Asterr. This displayed Xhikaru’s name, level and the percentage of how much HP he has. “Level 46?!”
“What did you expect? I’ve been asking you to play for months. I should be even stronger, but I didn’t want you to be too far behind...” Behind the smile and innocent-like face, it was quite obvious that he was gloating his superiority. “Either way you still have a long ways to go. Head back into town and do some quests.” Xhikaru quickly tossed him a book.
Asterr struggled to catch it but it somehow ended up in his grasp. The book then vanished and appeared in Asterr’s Inventory Menu. It was entitled “Starter Guide by Xhikaru”.
With a gentle sigh, Xhikaru released a small smile. “Once you reach level 10 or so, message me, and we’ll talk more.”
“Huh? You’re leavi-” Before Asterr could finish, Xhikaru had already vanished leaving golden rings of energy and blue sparkles in his place. He assumed it to be a high level transportation skill. Doing as he instructed, Asterr left for the starting town, Logart, with a goal now in mind.
The first quest given to all players to start was known as “Gnome Hunting (Lv1)” and to start it, he had to find an NPC known as William. Logart was a small town which resembled more like a village. Since it was the first location players unlock, only people who recently started playing were there. This only included a handful of people including Asterr.
Following his map into the heart of town he finally ran into the NPC known as William. Taking notice of the white information window appearing over the NPC as he got closer, Asterr assumed this to be the symbol for NPCs involving quests. “William right?” He addressed the young red-headed man clad in armor.
“Hm? Ah, you must be the new guy. So you want to be an adventurer correct?” He greeted Asterr with a smile.
He nodded in response. Kabuto Games are well known for their intense sense of interactivity. To Asterr, and probably many other players, it felt no different than talking to a real person.
“Great, then first you’ll need this item.” William handed him a round object. “It’s called Giabelle’s Core. The truth is not everyone can become an Adventurer. Adventurer’s aren’t immortal, but if killed, they are revived in both body and soul thanks to that item given to us by Giabelle, Goddess of Life.
Asterr pulled the item from his inventory into his hand. The blue orb was bright and warm. It almost felt as if it was alive in his hand. The Kabuto helmet also partially gains access to all the five senses in some games.
“If you’re worthy of becoming an Adventurer then the core will fuse into your soul. There’s no penalty for failing.” William assured. Of course his explanation was just for the sake of the game’s story. This part of the quest is impossible to fail.
Pressing the orb, options opened up for Asterr on what to do with it. By pressing “Use”, it disbursed into tiny glittering light, scattering all over his body.
“Wow, it looks like a huge success! Only 1 out of 1000 people pass the trial. If I understand correctly, you’re an Erifian Warrior correct? Then take this Sword.” Next to William was actually a large, wooden holster containing many types of weapons and trinkets. With it, he pulled out and gave to Asterr a weapon known as the “Sword of Yuhuan”, a katana blade with a gold and red decorated handle and sheathe. “I hope you understand that sword isn’t free. The truth is we need your help. The People of Logart have a Gnome problem. If you kill a few, then you can not only keep the sword, but I’ll throw in some potions as well.”
Asterr accepted the second part of the quest and obtained five potions.
“Excellent! Gnomes are no joke. They’re small blue creatures with red-hoods. They look harmless aside from the fact they wield giant hammers. They often attack travelers in search of food and currency.” William’s expression became more serious. “Recently they’ve expanded territory near town instead of deep in the forest. Your job is to only take out a few and report back. Our own men will take care of finding their homes. Good luck...”
The quest sounded easy enough, but Asterr thought it best to further prepare. The currency of the game or rather Greirayne, the setting, is known as gull. A nearby NPC with a purple circle for an indicator appeared to be selling items. Asterr started with 800 gull and health potions cost 100 a piece. To start with, he bought four, and ventured into the forest outside of town.
The town seemed to be protected by a barrier of some sort, projected by mystical runes upon the ground. In game terms, this barrier was more than likely the safe zone.
It didn’t take long for him to spot a Gnome. “This shouldn’t be hard” he thought to himself as he charged at the creature with his sword in hand.
The stubby little creature took notice of him and quickly evaded his assault. In that short window of time, it took action and swiftly proceeded to swing it’s hammer into his back sending him into the dirt.
“Oh shit... Let’s try that again...” Getting up and dusting himself off, he approached the troll once again. He began clashing exchanges with the Gnome with his blade. The Gnome had impressive reflexes, but was noticeably slower. It took multiple hits from Asterr’s swordsmanship. With a final blow, the creature was slain and was reduced to what looked like shattering glass.
Sheathing his weapon and resting on the ground, he took a moment to double check his status. He thought he did well against the creature but the truth is he only had about 60% of his health remaining. Health Potions restore up to 20 HP which did plenty considering he currently had a maximum of 14 HP; a full recovery could be made. But instead of using it right away, he decided to save them for when he really needed them. Before continuing the quest, he decided to read the book given to him by Xhikaru which he pulled from the black bag around his waist.
For level 1 monsters, Gnomes are actually incredibly strong in terms of physical attack. However they also don’t have the best defense or speed, making them somewhat tanking monsters.
As he read on, the guide not only provided information about monsters, but quests as well that would help the player reach level 10 as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that was all the useful information it supplied. Asterr read the end of the last page.
“What the- Volume 1!? For more information purchase Volume 2 from the Byakko Guild Store!? Asshole! Well, despite not being complete, this is still a pretty useful guide...”
Returning it to his inventory, he finished his quest by successfully killing two more Gnomes.
Heading back into town, he realized he reached Level two after killing the final Gnome. Originally he thought he could just attack and kill anything he saw, but unfortunately this task required a little bit more thought. To him, it felt more like hunting and stalking your prey rather than basic killing; this required much more thought.