“I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do.” Don't you hate those hypocritical words coming from a doctor? If you're thinking I'm terminal, well, congratulations, you're right. My doctors diagnosed me as terminal about six months ago, with another two months to go. Of course, I'm not an idiot, I know that there are options outside of medicine, especially since the FSDS (Full Sensation Dive System) Wars that took place twenty years back. Humanity nearly wiped itself out, before they settled down and the true wars went 'Virtual'…

'Virtual' Warfare turned out to be so much more brutal, with the ability to respawn, they didn't care how many times a soldier was killed. Of course, the truth is, that as soon a Full Sensation was achieved, many of those Virtual worlds became way too real… Especially once Richard Alonzo Albeque, the 'Father of True Artificial Intelligence' developed his Artificial Intelligence Quest and Non-Player Character System and uploaded it for anyone to put into their games. He may have been found dead on the floor of his office the day after, but he got the last laugh, as every game with AIQNPC in it has an NPC named after him, with full intelligence and reactions.

When confronted by an administrator of a game made with his system he'd laugh and challenge them, “You really think I'd put my children out there for anyone to use without adding in a protective measure?” Of course, once AIQNPC was uploaded, it started spreading to already developed games, and players were slowly losing the ability to log out, their consciousnesses now stuck in the new worlds, their bodies having vanished from the FSVR bays.

With these now Digitized Players, the worlds started to separate and become unique and special. Digitized players were able to interact with any character logged into that game, despite if they were initially on different servers, and could not be logged out or deleted by Administration of games. These players have achieved the ultimate goal of the rich and famous: Immortality.

With Immortality available to any who could convince themselves that the new body and world were the ones they were meant to be in, development of FSDS games skyrocketed, along with the fact that ten years later, one of the Digitized Players, Atreya the Dawnbirth, a Level 500 Catgirl, managed to pull off something believed to be impossible: creating a portal from her 'Virtual' World back to Earth. The more Digitized Players in a game, the stronger that World and its Laws became, granting true power to the Deities of those worlds.

After that event, governments stopped preventing citizens from become 'Digitized Natives' on various games, and only the various Religions of Earth were openly against Digitization and taking the Right of the Creator unto themselves.

August 4, 2055

So, seeing as I had two months remaining, I figured I'd spend two weeks researching the next world I would go to. I'd need one of those newer worlds, as all the older ones had already separated enough to be their own realities. If I was going to be Immortal, then I would need a world where I could do more than just kill monsters and mobs every single day. I would need a young world, rich in lore and potential, so that I could have the freedom to grow into what I wanted. I would need a world with laws of magic as well as technology so that I could truly live the dream. Of course, I would also need to make sure it wasn't on the list of the government's property.

'We can't help you,' is a laugh. Stupid hypocritical doctors. They know that digitization could save me, but they refuse to list it as an option, mainly because the government doesn't want people to actively seek out immortality. The forums for those seeking out digitization suggest that this is because the governments lose the ability to tax the digital players unless they buy land in the game, or use the in-game service to transfer game money to real money.

'What about your family?' you're probably thinking right now if you are reading this transcript. Well, as far as my family goes, I was an only child of two rich parents. My mother digitized herself when I was ten, because she didn't want to have to deal with the arranged marriage. My father, after that incident, spent a lot of money hiring people to 'protect' her in the game she went digital in. He then followed her when I turned eighteen to try to win her heart. I'm alone. I've been alone for over ten years, and now I'm running out of time. My money can't buy a cure for me, in this world anyway. However, I can set it up so I can take my money with me.

After a week of searching I found 'The Divine Adventure', a game that came out the year prior. It had battle, fishing, gathering, crafting, mini-games, monster taming, the ability to change one's race after reaching a certain level (unless the race you want to change goes through an Extinction Event) and the ability to transfer my real world money into the game, but only for a fraction of its real value, and on a timed payment system. I could also use the money to buy myself some really nice goodies like the 'Wishing Star' item that lets me open up a freshly killed enemy's loot table and take any one item I want.

I went into in-depth calculations, researching skills, and plotting my character at Level 51 in a month's time. I'd end up being one of the most impervious knights in the game, considering that the standard 'Knight' class information was commonly available. There was also rumors of Death Knight and Paladin superior classes.

August 18, 2055

Log in Identification: Aurian Limsoli

Accessing Client: The Divine Adventure

Server Status: Online

Note: By playing TDA in FSDS you accept the risk of Digitization.

Current Player Count: approximately 6,000,000

Current Digitized Player Count: 1,000,000

Current Bank Funds: $84,385,801.23

Selected Monthly Deduction: $1,800

Current Races available to Players: Human. Humans gets no Racial Bonus on leveling stats, but they get the option to retry Randomization of their starting stats up to three times. Rolling Stats. An image of three six-sided dice roll across the screen for each statistic other than Spirit which gets two ten-sided dice. The screen glitches just as the Spirit dice land on what looks like 00 and 1, but when the screen comes back up it shows 00 and 0. STR 4 DEX 5 CON 3 INT 3 WLP 5 SPR 100.

A system alert pop-up appears:

CONGRATULATIONS! You are the first character to successfully attain a 100 Spirit on your starting roll.

Your starting statistics have changed to: STR 40 DEX 40 CON 50 INT 50 WLP 40 SPR 100.

You have lost all additional stat points to distribute.

You have gained 100 gold!

You have obtained skill: Luck's Admiration!

You have learned the abilities Lucky Strike and Lucky Star!

Luck's Admiration (Passive) Skill Level 1

Mythic

Lady Luck has looked your way!

+5% Chance to obtain rare loot

+1% Chance to Evade

+1% Chance to Crit

Access to Ability: Lucky Strike

Access to Ability: Lucky Star

Inability to bind to a Deity other than Lady Luck until Level 100.

This skill is Soulbound and cannot be removed or taught to another.

Lucky Strike

This ability can be used once per day for each level of Luck's Admiration

Either call out 'Lucky Strike' or give a fervent prayer to Lady Luck to activate.

This attack will either deal Critical Damage or add a random Debuff to the target.

Lucky Star

Cost: 50 MP x Level of Luck's Admiration

Call out 'Lucky Star' while the target is selected to activate.

This spell grants a 1 hour duration of the Passive bonuses from Luck's Admiration to another player.

You gain 10% of the EXP of monsters killed by the effected player.

After clearing it another system message appeared.

Please select your starting city

Fros'bik (Ice Plains)

Gran'igui (Forest Kingdom)

Kiblin'ko (Mountain Kingdom)

I had done my research, and I knew most that the majority of players started off in the Forest Kingdom, where herbs and potions were the most prevalent for healing with a whopping half the game population starting there. The Ice Plains were also heavily populated as that was where the Frost Coliseum, where players could fight other players or monsters for prizes was. The Mountain Kingdom had the smallest starting percentage, and the highest amount of complaints from players due to the fact that if you take the wrong path on the mountain, you can easily end up against monsters way out of your level range. I reviewed my new starting stats and selected Kiblin'ko, the Mountain Stronghold as my starting city.

The lights went out, and then slowly came back up. I was laying down on my back, staring up at the sky, the sound of wind rustling against stone towers came to my ears. As I sat up, I looked around and the level of detail was amazing. The depth of color, which I hadn't seen since childhood, was rich and realistic. I could even smell stew cooking in the barracks outside this starting room. I could definitely become entranced by this world.

I opened my console and checked my current situation.

Name: ________________

HP: 300/300

MP: 240/240

TP: 240/240

STR: 40

DEX: 40

CON: 50

INT: 50

WLP: 40

SPR: 100

Deity [None]

Class [None]

Skills:

Luck's Admiration [1]

None

None

None

None

Reserve Skills:

None

Money:

CC: 0

SC: 0

GC: 100

PC: 0

MC: 0

Items:

[None]

So, other than my starting statistics, extra gold, and bonus skill, I was just like any other starting player. I walked to the door of the room I awoke in, and open it, looking out into a barracks of soldiers. As I step out of the room, a knight approaches me and asks me my name.

"My name is Hidden," I answer, always having loved joke names.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Hidden,” he responds. “As you are new here, the kingdom has granted you the free choice of 3 skills and 5 gold to outfit yourself on your adventures.”

“Thank you. As for the skills… I would like to have Concentration, Fire Magic, and Long Sword Proficiency.” A System message appears confirming my choice of skills.

Concentration (Passive) Skill Level 1

The holder of this skill is less likely to be interrupted in a cast, and can cast while moving.

+5% chance to not be interrupted when hit with an attack

Fire Magic Skill Level 1

You have learned the arts of Pyromancy, the ability to control fire.

Access to Spell: Fireball

Longsword Proficiency (Passive) Skill Level 1

You have gained the ability to equip a Longsword.

You can continue to equip a sword even if it is outside your Class Parameters.

Fireball

The weakest form of Fire Magic. You only have access to this spell while you have the Fire Magic Skill equipped.

Cost: 5 MP x Fire Magic Skill Level

Inflicts Fire damage equal to 50%-150% INT Stat

Excellent… now that I have my starting skills, I head to the armory where I purchase a steel longsword for three gold, and some padded leather light armor to cover the standard in game clothing I received for another gold. I look around the Fortress a bit, before heading out on the mountain path to the east, which leads to the low level areas.

Steel Longsword

Left Hand / Right Hand / Two Handed

Weight: 4 lb

Length: 45 inches

Requires Strength 10

Durability 40/40

Damage 15-20 / 30-40

Padded Leather Armor (Light)

Body

Weight: 3lb

Requires Strength 5

Durability 40/40

AC +5

I saw a rabbit and highlighted it. 'Adult Rabbit - Grade 1' What the… I thought the enemies had levels not grades…? I open the in-game wiki, which all players have access to, and check it for the information.

Monsters-

When you come across monsters in the wilds of The Divine Adventure, it will either show up with a Level or a Grade. A monster with a Status 'Grade 1' is twice as powerful as a monster of with a Level. As monsters kill players or age they go from Level to Grade, and with each increase in Grade it doubles in power from the previous Grade.

Example: A Level 10 Orc could have 50 HP, at Grade 1 that doubles to 100, and Grade 2, to 200. Along with it's HP, its stats also double, as does the grade of its loot.

Boss Monsters-

A Boss Monster will contain a Level and a Grade. The Grade is used to determine its Stats and Loot.

Ah, so that's what happened. Well, a Grade 1 Adult Rabbit shouldn't be too difficult. I activated Fireball and cast it at the rabbit. Your Fireball does 45 damage to the Adult Rabbit. The Adult Rabbit suddenly turned and charged. I cast another Fireball. Your Fireball does 55 damage. You have defeated the Adult Rabbit! You have gained Experience Points! I check my status and I had gained a full half level!

I walked over to the smoldering rabbit, which was already vaporizing into a tiny little treasure icon, and crouched down to click the Loot box that appeared. Inside was 15 Copper Coins, and a Lucky Rabbit's Foot Talisman! I put the Copper Coins into my money pouch and inspect the Talisman, which has a silver background, indicating it is a Rare Item.

Lucky Rabbit's Foot

Talisman

Rare

Weight: 0.5 lb

Durability 10/10

+5% Chance to obtain rare loot

+1% Chance to Crit

After inspecting it, I hang it around my neck, equipping it as a Talisman. In this game, there are eight different rarities of items, skills and quests, and each is determined by the color of items background. As I was busy thinking about the rarity of my new talisman, I heard someone cry out from the woods to my right. Without thinking, I ran into the woods, arriving just as a player was killed by a Grade 2 Boar! The Boar was at half health, and I immediately cast Fireball!

Your Fireball has inflicted 70 damage to Boar. I cast again as the boar starts charging at me. Your Fireball has inflicted 65 damage to the Boar. I dive to the side as I unsheathe my sword and swing, calling 'Lucky Strike!' to activate the ability. My sword passes through the boar's left foreleg as I successfully manage to dodge his charge, cutting off the leg entirely. You have dealt 32 damage to the Boar. The Boar is now crippled (Speed -25%). I cast another Fireball as it starts to get up from where it collapsed at the sudden lack of a foreleg, blood flowing from the stump. Your Fireball has inflicted 75 damage. You have defeated the Boar. You have gained Experience Points! A system message pops up.

Congratulations! You have gained a level!

Congratulations! You have gained a level!

Congratulations! You have gained a level!

Congratulations! You have gained a level!

Current Level: 5.

Stat Points available: 24

Skill Points available: 24

Maximum Skill Level: 15

You have killed a monster considerably more powerful than your level!

You have received the title: 'Monstrous'.

You didn't take any damage from the monster you just killed!

Reward Upgaded!

You have received the title: 'Lucky Bastard!'

Enemies will now drop twice as much loot for your party as any others.

I go over and loot the Boar, obtaining 20 silver pieces, an ordinary class Boar's Hide, a rare class Boar's Tusk, and a green background item called 'Tusk Whistle'. I check my Experience to next level and I'm sitting at 85%! After obtaining the items, I go and inspect the grave marker left by the dead player. 'His name was Rockenroll? Interesting…' I thought. Inside the loot menu was a money pouch with 10 gold and 25 silver, and a silver background bracelet called 'Bracelet of Invigoration'.

Bracelet of Invigoration

Bracelet

Crafted - Rare

+1% HP Regeneration

+1% MP Regeneration

+1% TP Regeneration

I move them both to my bag, and return to the Fortress. I see the player who was just killed by the boar and go up to him. He was about five-eight, with sandy blonde hair, steel gray eyes, a slightly flat nose, and the start of a goatee. “Excuse me, I believe you dropped these,” and open a trade window with his money pouch and I offered him back his bracelet. The other player was stunned speechless as he looked over me in my new player gear, but accepted the trade, taking his money and bracelet back. A system message popped up:

Congratulations! You have returned all items dropped by another player from their recent death!

Reward: Your death marker is upgraded from a wooden cross to a stone marker and will last six hours instead of three.

“You managed to kill the boar? What are you, a pure strength build?” he asked. “Actually, I'm primarily a magic user. You remember those old-school RPGs from back in the late twentieth century? My favorite one of them was called Final Fantasy, and it had this awesome character that was a swordsman and a magic user. I mean, sure, he couldn't cast the top tier magics, or equip the heavy armor, but he was the most well rounded of them all,” I answer him.

“You realize that you could have just kept my stuff as your own, since there was no way I would have known who you were or gotten back there in time to retrieve it, don't you?”

“Yes, but that wouldn't have been honest, and I just started the game. I don't want to be a dishonest player, at least not until I'm forced into the position. Also, I just got a grave upgrade for having returned your items. It seems the system AI thought to reward me for good behavior. Speaking of the boar, however, I got this odd Tusk Whistle from the Boar as well…” I pull out the Whistle and show it to him for him to inspect.

Tusk Whistle - Grade 2

Totem

Unique

Weight: 0.1 lb

Allows you to summon a Boar - Grade 2 pet.

Max Level: 50

Can upgrade to battle mount 'Dwarven Battle Boar - Grade 2' available at Level 25.

Class up at max for increased Grade.

The man whistles softly, “That is truly a rare drop. Normally, it won't drop unless the enemy is Grade 3 or higher, and at that point it's still just a standard boar whistle, and nobody wants to fight something equivalent to level 80 this close to the starting city… Do you have the Tamer skill?”

“No, do you know where I can acquire it? Having something that handy sounds great. I gained four levels from that Boar, so I've got some skill points to use!”

“Sure, follow me! I'll show you where the Player Bazaar is. You know purchasing skills off a player is a way to gain an extra skill point, which is why many players with twenty skill levels in a skill are willing to train others. Most won't even charge you gold, since it's like a mini-level up!”

“What about when a skill evolves? Surely you can't skip the starting skill, and learn the advanced one.”

“You're right, if someone evolves the skill into an upgraded form, you can still teach the original skill at master level, so the advanced skills users will charge gold for their training.”

“A Master Level trainer only requires a single skill point to learn from, where as the regular trainers require two, right?”

“Yes, that is correct, which is why the masters charge gold in addition. Say, why does it say your name is Hidden? I've never seen that status before.”

“It's not a status… After two of my name choices being taken, I said I'd be called Hidden, and it went through. So Hidden is my name now.”

“Now? You intend to Digitize?”

“Yes, of course, why?”

“I wouldn't spread the information that you're digitizing yourself around… There are many who try to abuse the Digitized players… Especially in a remote area like this. You need to keep your status as a Digitized or soon-to-be Digi hidden,” he explains with a chuckle at using my character name as a pun.

“I see… I see, yes, that would be true. Thank you for warning me. Shall we go to the Bazaar?”

He nods and leads me there, explaining more about the different skills and the way they can skill up. While most of this information is widely available and already known by the majority of players, it is very nice of him to give this information to a new player.

After buying the Tamer skill from a player with twenty levels in it, I frown and look back to my stats.

Tamer Skill Level 1

The bearer of this skill can Capture and Summon pets from Wild Monsters.

Access to Ability: Capture

Access to Ability: Summon (Living Monster ? Pet)

+1% Chance to acquire monster 'Totem' on kill.

Capture

The ability to capture a weakened monster and put it in a summon totem.

Totems can be sold or traded to other players.

Capturing a monster prevents you from acquiring EXP.

Summon (Living Monster - Pet)

The ability to summon a monster from a Totem.

The Summoned monster starts at the level one and maxes out at the level of the Tamer skill. Monsters destroyed in battle return to their Totems, lose all experience at current level and cannot be summoned back for 24 hours.

Name: Hidden

Level: 5 [85%]

HP: 300/300

MP: 230/240

TP: 240/240

Avaliable Stats: 24

STR: 40

DEX: 40

CON: 50

INT: 50

WLP: 40

SPR: 100

Deity: [None]

Class: [None]

Available Skill Points: 22

Skills:

Luck's Admiration [1]

Concentration [1]

Fire Magic [1]

Longsword Proficiency [1]

Tamer [1]

Reserve Skills:

[None]

Abilities:

Lucky Strike

Lucky Stars

Fireball

Capture

Summon (Living Monster - Pet)

Passive Bonuses:

Double Loot Drop for Party

+10% Chance to obtain rare loot

+5% Chance to not be interrupted when casting

+2% Chance to Crit

+1% Chance to Evade

+1% Chance to acquire monster 'Totem' on kill

Achievements:

Monstrous

Lucky Bastard

Money:

CC: 15

SC: 20

GC: 101

PC: 0

MC: 0

Equipped Items:

Steel Longsword

Padded Leather Armor (Light)

Lucky Rabbit's Foot

Inventory:

Boar Hide

Boar's Tusk

Tusk Whistle - Grade 2

“So… The Whistle has 'Grade 2' next to it, does that mean that my summoned monster will be treated as 4 times the power of the normal monster?”

The skill trainer, a young man with jet black hair falling to his waist and bright blue eyes, blinks and his mouth drops open. Rockenroll laughs, “what did you do to get such good luck? Yes, the effect of Grade works on pets, but they cannot increase in grade. A Grade 2 whistle is extremely rare, as most people won't use Capture on anything with a Grade, wanting the greater experience and loot that a Grade allows.”

“I'll buy it from you! How about $300? $500? Alright, alright, $1000!” the Tamer begs, making me blink.

“I'm sorry, but I don't intend to actually sell it. I was planning on using this Boar to help me level up…” I answer him. I leave with Rockenroll, who just shakes his head.

“So, for a level 5 character, you should have, what, 4 more skill points? Wait, you said you're a mage, so would that be 10 skill points?”

“I'm sorry, but…” I sigh, “I really shouldn't answer that sort of question, should I? At least, not somewhere so public. Say, Rockenroll, I appreciate the help, but why are you being so nice to me?”

“Ah, well, my guild is looking for recruits… and you returned a lot of hard work to me, when you could have kept it. This bracelet in particular was crafted by my wife...”

“I see… she wouldn't have have been happy if you had returned without it. I guess this shows that good deeds can be rewarded.”

“It does indeed. So, will you come with me to my guild? It's getting dark out, and you don't want to be in the mountains alone at night.”

“Sure… what's the name of the guild?”

“Dwarven Theorum.”

“So you've found where the dwarves are hidden?”

“Not exactly. We figure they're probably deep in the mountain cave system, and most of our members have been dwarves in other games.”

“Ah. Dwarves are always the best craftsmen, which is why I started out here, hoping to find the dwarven homeland so I could easily acquire the most powerful and rare gear.”

“So, you'll join?”

“If your Guildmaster will have me, yes.”

“You do know you'll have to disclose your stats and skills to the guild, if he accepts you, right?”

“I will? Well, if I must. Just promise not to call me a cheater?”

“It's impossible to cheat in this game. The AI blocks all third-party access, and penalizes anyone who attempts to do a work-around.”

“So, is that a yes?”

He sighs. “Yeah, it's a yes.”

Rockenroll lead me to a large stone house in the upper district of the Fortress. The house was absolutely massive, compared to those around it. There was a huge emblem on the front of the building of a broad shouldered bearded man with a huge ax behind him. “Well, the other thing would have been a giant tankard of ale, if you wanted authenticity for the dwarves,” I laugh.

“That's what everyone says,” Rockenroll replies. “I think the boss did that on purpose.” He opened the door and called out, “hey Boss! I'm home and I brought a recruit!”

A rough, burly man standing about six feet tall enters the room, with a huge ax on his shoulder, and a bushy red beard down to his the middle of his torso. “Rockenroll, you're late. How many times do I have to tell you to report yourself back here as soon as you've been killed? You're far too ambitious to hunt alone.”

“Ahh, boss… I only lost 10% experience...”

“And your money and likely another item! You're costing the Guild far too much with your lackadaisical attitude!”

“But boss… I didn't lose my money in the end today! I've got a strong recruit for us right here!”

“A strong recruit? What level is he?”

“Um… Five, I think. But he's incredibly lucky!”

While we had been on the way over to the guild, I had worked out how I would distribute my new stat and skill points, and so I opened up my menus and quickly did so. First, I distributed ten points to Constitution, ten points to Intelligence, and four points to Willpower. What occurred with my skills surprised me most.

HP: 360/360

MP: 264/264

Luck's Admiration (Passive) Skill Level 10

+10% Chance to obtain rare loot

+5% Chance to Evade

+5% Chance to Crit

+5% Experience Boost

Lucky Strike

The attack with either inflict Critical Damage, or a DoT with a Debuff.

Lucky Star

MP Cost reduced!

Cost: 25 x Level of Luck's Admiration

Duration increased to 3 hours.

Tamer (Passive) Skill Level 10

+10% Chance to acquire monster 'Totem' on kill.

Fire Magic Skill Level 5

Fireball

Inflicts Fire damage equal to 60%-170% INT Stat

I walked up to the guildmaster and offered my hand. “Greetings, my name is Hidden. Rockenroll here has been kind enough to help me, this being my first day in the game. I would be honored if you would at least consider letting me join.”

The guildmaster smirks, and shakes my hand as I get a request pop-up asking me to let 'Oathshield' see my status panel. “I'm not a cheater. I just got extremely lucky,” I tell him as I accept his request.

“What is this ability, Luck's Admiration? I have never seen it before. Wait, is that a MYTHIC Rarity?”

“Well, sir, I received it on character creation for getting a 100 on Spirit...”

“Passive boosts… +15% rare loot… +10% Totems…. +6% Crit… +5% to Evade, Experience, and Cast interruption prevention… Double Loot Drop!? Yes, yes. You can definitely join our Guild. Hidden, you say? Well, my name is Oathshield, and this will be a fantastic relationship!”

I received an invitation to join the Guild, and a friend request from both Rockenroll and Oathshield, all of which I accepted right away. “I am honored to be a member. I intend fully to find the Dwarven Homeland. Would you believe that the map of this area is quite similar when viewed from above to the lands around Mythril Hall in The Forgotten Realms?

“I know most people avoid facing off against monsters above Grade 2, unless they are in a huge party, but then they lose most of the potential experience and loot. My guess is that we will likely have to fight our way through at least one cave of Grade 4 or above monsters to find the Homeland.”

Oathshield's eyebrow twitched violently. “Well… it seems that someone has come to the conclusions it has taken many of our strongest players months to figure out.”

“So that's why you told me not to call you a cheater,” Rockenroll whistled. “40, 40, 60, 60, 44, 100!? WTF? How the hell did that happen? Nobody's ever had a 100 Spirit until after they've had a deity for a year!”

“Well, I was planning on rerolling, what with nothing above a ten being rolled, but then the 2 ten-sided dice landed on 100, and I got started with 40, 40, 50, 50, 40, 100, 100 gold, and the Mythic Luck's Admiration Skill. I burned a Grade 1 Adult Rabbit first, which netted me my Lucky Rabbit's Foot talisman, which nearly doubled my Luck's Admiration passives at level 1.

“My second kill was the Grade 2 Boar that got Rockenroll… I got four levels from that Boar, which allowed me to increase my constitution, intelligence, and willpower. I know with all my bonus stats I should probably be considered closer to Level 20...”

“I see, I see. So you returned his dropped money and items and got an introduction to the guild. You truly are a lucky person! Just so you know, the guild has a policy that you need to earn a minimum of 50 gold a week in order to remain a member.”

“I see, I see. That's fair, since your average player level is much higher, and you have a bank to deposit money in so its not lost when killed.”

“Aye, that's true. Well, we'll take you to somewhere you can level up fast.”

“Thank you. I'll want to level up my Grade 2 Boar as well...”

“Well its no doubt you do, with ten ranks of Taming! A Boar like that… it may even upgrade to a Battle Mount if you get it to Level 50!”

“Wait, wouldn't I then need Riding skill in order to use it?”

“Only if you wanted to ride it. You would need to get Tamer upgraded to Trainer, which happens at Skill Level 50, in order to Summon it, and it has to be leveled up again, although a Battle Mount can be armored, and it would retain its Grade. A Trainer can summon both a Battle Mount and a Pet at the same time. Of course, you can also unlock the Special Skill 'Zoologist' if you get Trainer and Analyze to 50, which unlocks the 'Bestiary' menu even when in Reserve.”

“Special Skill? A Skill usable while in Reserve? That's insane… There was no information of those on the wikis...”

“The system prohibits publication of Special Skills, Secret Skills, and Soulbound Skills, as well as limiting the information on the majority of Class Skills, and Combo Skills. It's true, that you would assume that the AI in charge of the game would want us to have the most information available, but the truth is that it wants you to work with others to discover everything.”

“I see, that makes sense. Just like with the fact that it doesn't list where to find the other races, it's a test of how we humans act and what we're willing to do, and if we can put together the information. I'm planning on getting the Literature skill, which I heard few people get, which will allow me to read the books in the Library, which might have hidden information. If I skill it up high enough, I may even find the connection we need.”

“What sort of hidden information are you talking about?”

“Well, the message was posted by the Administrator, and said that the Literature skill could be used to acquire information about hidden dungeons, secret treasures, unique lost skills, and that there are ways to evolve the skill so you can learn to read behind the intent of the document's writer, to see if its a true lead or a false one… Although they said that not all false leads are in fact false entirely, and that there are always more hidden in the open than players would believe.”

“Wait, that's a direct message from the AI Administrator about the Literature skill? You are sure that their exact wording was 'always more hidden in the open than players would believe'?”

“Absolutely, why?”

“Because I think one of the NPCs in this town may actually be a Dwarf in disguise then.”

“Well, being the Mountain Kingdom, I'd be surprised if there weren't some. Dwarves are exceptionally long lived, but we're immortal here, so we'll be living just as long, if not longer than them. I'll make sure to pick up Literature on the next level. Along with Intelligence Up and Concentration, they can combine into the Scholar skill.”

Oathshield coughs hard. “S...Scholar? Isn't that said to be a prerequisite for the Legendary rarity Sage Class?”

“So the little bit of information I found said. I spent two weeks in deep research on this game before I started. I just wanted to make sure I could get as much information as possible. A lot of the 'useless' passive skills will actually rank up nicely, and as soon as I hit Level 50, I'll be able to use a full ten abilities outside my created and equipped Class. I had previously made a theoretical build before I ended up with my super stats.”

“Anyways, here's the key to your room, go up to the second floor, third door on the right. You can go out hunting with Rockenroll in the morning. Try to keep the pup alive.”

“As you command, General Oathshield,” I clapped my fist to my chest and bow. I entered my new bedchamber, and looked around, seeing a chest for my spare items, a pouch to put my spare money in, a twin-sized bed, and a closet for clothing. 'So this is what a normal person has to put up with living in? Ugh... I'll have to upgrade it soon, or I'll never be able to stay here.' I put the boar's hide into chest, and laid the longsword on top of the chest. I dropped the padded armor on top of the chest, and laid down on the bed to go to sleep, the internal ability of the game putting me right to sleep.