When Scott comes to his senses, he finds himself in an overcrowded place with people excitedly chattering with each other.

An uncomfortable feeling lodges itself in his chest. He has never liked crowds; being in the middle of all these people is making him feel claustrophobic.

He suddenly feels the need to get away from it all as soon as possible.

His eyes dart around his surroundings. The town of Lucis is huge, with modern brick houses at the sides and numerous trees adorning the spaces in between. The roads are also neatly constructed with stone and lead to multiple paths.

The area Scott is currently in seems to be a park where numerous beginners like him start out. Most of them look like teenagers and only a few appear to be in their thirties. Their costumes also look gaudy and honestly impractical.

Scott looks down at his plain, neat clothing and is glad that he didn't pick out something flashy. It surely isn't good to stand out in this game, after all.

So... what am I supposed to do here now? Scott wonders as he starts walking out of the park, tuning out the loud voices in his ears. Am I given a mission or what?

Soon, he finds himself standing before a weapons shop. I wonder if I have money to buy equipment, he muses as he checks his stats.

Hologram boxes appear before his line of sight, revealing his statistics. His HP and MP are full, and his EXP bar is empty. It looks like he needs about 100 points in order to level up.

That can be taken care of by fighting monsters... Scott thinks absently as he searches for the amount of money he currently has. There it is... 1,000 coins.

Is that a lot?

Realizing that he will need to go inside the shop to check, Scott pushes the door open and walks inside.

There is a man with a friendly smile standing before the counter. Behind him are shelves filled with weapons of all kinds. Scott suspects, however, that they are only there for design. It is usually typical of an RPG game.

"How can I help you, young man?" the NPC asks amicably.

As he says it, a large frame appears before Scott's line of sight, revealing pictures of different weapons and their respective stats and prices. There is a category tab at the uppermost corner, so Scott clicks on it and presses the Swords button.

As he mindlessly skims the pages, he finds one that immediately catches his attention.

It is a thick, wide glass blade, one that seems too heavy to lift for an average person. However, pain doesn't exist in this game, so it is completely safe for a player to wield any weapon they so wish.

Looking at the price, he sees that it costs 900 coins. Close enough.

He taps the Buy button.

Almost instantly, the glass sword materializes in front of him. Scott stares at the hilt before hesitantly gripping it with his right hand.

This is... cool. Scott blinks as he tries wielding his weapon. It feels light in his hand, almost like dragging a feather. It is definitely convenient for battle.

Satisfied with his purchase, Scott walks out of the shop, tying the scabbard of his sword to his back. As he checks his inventory, he sees that he currently holds two healing potions, one revival potion, and one teleportation stone. He doesn't know what the stone is for and how it's going to be used, but he figures that he'd soon discover it through his journey.

As Scott steps towards a crossroad, he pauses in his tracks.

Now what?

There isn't any direction he needs to go. He hasn't been given a quest, wasn't approached by anyone, and there are too many people around. He can't even distinguish NPCs from regular players, because the NPCs here seem to be sentient and act just like real people. It's confusing for a new player like him, but it adds a great touch of realism to the game, something that Scott finds undoubtedly fascinating.

However, he is still in the predicament of not knowing where to go. Perhaps he should look for signs in his surroundings?

"Hey!"

Scott turns around at the sudden sound.

What greets his eyes is a guy walking towards him, sporting a friendly smile on his face. He looks significantly different than the others with his wavy black hair and cerulean eyes that seem to sparkle under the sunlight.

“Who are you?” Scott asks warily, studying the boy’s expression.

“My name’s Gaven,” the guy replies, his smile widening as he holds out a hand for Scott to shake. “Gaven Loxer.”

Scott hesitates only for a moment before accepting Gaven’s handshake. “Scott Wayland. Why are you talking to me?” he asks bluntly, never one to beat around the bush.

Gaven blinks at him, then seems to hold back a chuckle. He sees Scott's unimpressed face and finally releases a laugh. “Sorry, it’s just that… you’re so stiff, man. Loosen up a little.”

“You spoke to me just because of that?” Scott says flatly.

Gaven shakes his head, amused. “Nope. You’re a beginner, aren’t you?”

Scott nods slowly, the tension in his features softening somewhat.

“Well, you seem to have no idea where to go, so I’ll guide you to the mission roster!” Gaven offers. “I’m actually here on a quest, but I’m willing to help a fellow player out.”

“Mission roster?” Scott inquires.

Gaven nods. “A mission roster is a large signboard near the entrance of Lucis Town. You can access quests there and accept those that you want to do.”

Scott is quiet for a moment. “Is that all there is to this game?” he asks. "Just finding quests and fulfilling them?"

“Nope! Every quest has its own story,” Gaven tells him with a smile. “Since you’re a beginner, the missions that will be shown to you will lead you to the path to creating your own story here in Dream World. It's fun, and it's a great way to start the game!”

With that, they begin walking towards the entrance of the city. Scott glances at Gaven who seems to be checking something on his phone.

Interesting… there are even cellphones here. I wonder what they’re mainly for.

“What type are you?” Scott asks, unable to contain his curiosity. For some reason, he feels comfortable talking to Gaven. The latter has a calm, friendly air about him, and the way he speaks is relaxed and assured.

Gaven looks at him, his lips curving into a grin. Scott notes absently in his mind that Gaven seems to like smiling a lot. “Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine,” he says.

“Usual type,” Scott answers.

Gaven hums, looking thoughtful. “It does suit you,” he drawls. “But being a Usual type is tiring. You’d need to buy high-stat weapons, useful accessories, and collect Guardian stones in order to defeat boss battles.” Then he laughs. "Not as difficult as being an Inventory type, though! It's hard to earn a lot of money here."

Scott frowns. “How long have you been playing this game?”

Gaven pauses for a moment. “About a year already, I guess? I don’t keep track of time.” In a swift motion, he snaps his fingers. A small dagger materializes out of nowhere, and Gaven catches it in his hand easily. He turns to Scott with another smile. “I’m a Sword-Magic type, level 30.”

That’s pretty high, Scott thinks as he stares at the small weapon. He must be really good at fighting.

When they reach the entrance, Gaven gestures to the large signboard where a few excited-looking players are lining up.

“That’s the mission roster,” he says. “Just pick the one that resonates with you the most. But remember, you gotta choose carefully. The very first quest you pick will be the foundation for your life here in this game.”

Scott nods. “Got it.”

“Then I’ll be going ahead,” Gaven says pleasantly, patting Scott’s shoulder. “Good luck on your adventure ahead. Maybe we’ll even be seeing each other again soon.”

Scott watches Gaven’s retreating back. He has more questions about the game, but he thinks that it's best to learn them all himself, after all. Besides, it's what makes games fun, right?

Hopefully, he’d enjoy this. At home, it's all darkness, all emptiness. Here, there are many things that interest him, and they prove to be a great distraction from reality.

When his turn is up, Scott stares at the signboard hologram and logs in by placing his palm on the sensor. When the list of beginners’ quests shows up, he scans the titles and the summaries of their contents.

Looking for someone to help me farm… Scott reads in his mind. Help with tending the store… A search for ancient relics in a small temple…

As Scott finds himself on page three, the topmost post catches his eye.

HELP IN RETRIEVING A LOST SWORD IN LAKE NADIS

"The owner of the sword, Harrington, would like to enlist someone’s aid in retrieving the sword he accidentally dropped in one of the largest lakes of Lucis. The player who accepts this quest will first meet with Harrington at the aforementioned lake and undergo an important test."

Requirements: Level 1, Usual Type/Sword-Magic Type/Inventory Type

Rewards for success: 10,000 coins, Hellfire Fragment x 1

Sounds good. Convenient, too, since the location is within Lucis. Without any hesitation, Scott presses the ‘Accept Quest’ button.

I’m a swimming athlete, after all.