DAY 1, TORASIA KINGDOM

You chose to start in Torasia Kingdom. Brave New World has the right to increase or decrease the starting points in the future. Currently, every player begins the game as a human.

Name: Gambit

Race: Human

Class: None

Starting point: Torasia Kingdom

Level: 1

Health: 50/50

Mana: 50/50

Stamina: 30/30

Strength: 1

Endurance: 1

Vitality: 1

Dexterity: 1

Agility: 1

Intelligence: 1

Spell power: 1

Spellcasting: 1

Charisma: 1

Attack: 1; Defence: 1

*You have 10 points that you can allocate to your attributes.

Someone new has opened his eyes for the first time in Brave New World.

“HALLO WELT,” Jonathan Jacob declared. He was from the charming small town of Lienz, Austria. A modest employee at a local finance company. He was here to rediscover himself.

Jonathan felt his existence like a heavy rock, stuck in a high-water river. His comfort zone had long taken some of the basics of life away from him.

He knew many people, but he had no friends. He had a license to drive but was terrified to get behind the wheel. He had no one to call in case of need.

Throughout his life, he would accompany different groups of people. Each group would legitimize him as ‘normal’, what a great honor that was. The group would protect him from imaginative villains.

At some point he realized something. Everyone was moving forward, and he was falling behind.

Occasionally depression would trouble his mind. In the course of time, he had made friends with loneliness and had negotiated terms with his depression.

He would stick to his zero expectations policy, yet subconsciously hope for something magical to happen. Something he thought he didn’t deserve.

Was Brave New World his desired magical encounter?

Jonathan could see medieval buildings. People were dressed in authentic outfits. Everyone was amazed by Brave New World.

The technology that allowed the mind to visualize the world while the user's eyes would stay closed was discussed aloud.

The Conversations with NPCs left players in awe. They behaved naturally, they thought logically. One could not distinguish a player from an NPC. The AI was beyond belief.

The NPCs looked extremely comfortable in this world. That struck as the main difference from the players.

Jonathan noticed these details. He also reflected over his attributes, he was in no hurry to distribute the points. He was wondering about the progression in the game, what class he wanted and so on.

He was walking on a busy stone road when a powerful metallic sound reverberated. A large, reddened blacksmith was giving his all to process a piece of metal. The players were gathered by curiosity. Some were excited about the possible profession and skills, others - about the authentic environment.

Every hit echoed around. Jonathan was impressed by the blacksmith's determination. He was all sweat. He was breathing heavily. However, his eyes were burning, the hammer was landing on the metal piece over and over.

Horse whimpering surprised Jonathan, he turned his head to the busy road. Jonathan barely avoided being squashed by a fearsome black horse. The rider of that horse wore a black tunic at knee-length, long front slit with golden buttons.

A quick look. “Dirty peasant!” The rider looked like a noble.

The noble got off the horse and headed for the red blacksmith. He was stepping confidently, his head was held high. Only now did Jonathan noticed that he was accompanied by two knights.

“Time is up, Hamil! It took me money and effort to obtain ore from a fire golem. Remember what our bet was.” The noble had a smirk.

The blacksmith had an angry face. He tried to speak respectfully to the noble. "Baron Hastra, I need another chance..."

"Hamil, I want the sword of the fire golem today, or your daughter." The noble seemed to enjoy the situation.

Players around, including Gambit, watched the scene in fear. The situation was clear. Could this be a quest? How could it be accessed? The noble and the knights seemed capable to defeat all gathered players with ease.

“I… I don’t have the sword. The material from the fire golem didn’t last long enough, once the fire power dissipated, the ore turned into nothing but ash.”

“YOUR DAUGHTER, BRING HER NOW!” When he noticed the blacksmith is just standing with his head bowed, Hastra sent his knights to find her.

After a minute, a beautiful doll-like lady was dragged by the knights. She was dressed in ordinary garments, just like the other villagers. Nonetheless, her beauty made her shine like a princess. Slender legs, slim waist, developed chest, fragile shoulders.

“That dazzling face and long blonde hair...” Someone in the crowd admired.

“Beautiful little fairy.” The entranced Gambit didn’t realize his own speech.

The noble grabbed her for the wrist and pulled her. She was trying to oppose him, but couldn’t do anything.

*SLAAP*

Gasps could be heard. The old blacksmith was biting his lip to the point of bleeding. The beauty’s face became reddish.

The noble started to shout at her and at the blacksmith. He said that he was taking what it belongs to him and turned to leave.

*SMAAACK*

“Eh?” Aftershock couldn’t comprehend what he saw.

NorthHuntress was also in disbelief. “KEVIN, YOU MORON!”

A smiling player had punched the noble with all he’s got. Funny for him though, the noble seemed in perfect shape, only slightly shocked by the boldness.

“YOU PEASANT!” the noble swung his sword but a female player bumped into him just in time.

“ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?” Nicochan shouted.

The body of the noble lost its balance and his swing went wide enough to miss Kevin.

“Waaah, HE KILLED HIM!” A random shout.

The members of D-gen turned to see the headlessly standing Gambit.

“Wh-what?” Jonathan was in disbelief. “What happened there? The noble was leaving with the blacksmith’s daughter just a second ago.”

YOU DIED!

No items were dropped. No experience was lost.

Your Overall Fame has fallen by 1

Lord Hastra’s opinion has fallen by 5

At level 1, Day 1, killed by an NPC you can respawn in 10 minutes.

“NO WAAAY! M-My second chance in life.” At that moment, he would have cried rivers of tears if he were one of his favorite anime characters. That could have been helpful to relieve some stress for his stomped dreams.

DEADMAN’S TRIAL

You were the first player to experience death.

The hatred may corrupt your soul.

The trauma may hinder your flesh.

Death is not always the end.

But will you let the power flow or will you let it go,

the time will show...

While Gambit was bemoaning his accidental failure, one could say that the D-gen squad was having some issues.

“RUUUUN,” Kevin was shouting while carrying the blacksmith’s daughter on his back.

“CATCH THOSE CRIMINALS!” The noble was mad.

The entire group made a run through the crowded street.

“So now you are performing the retreat tactic? YOU GODDAMN CLOWN!” Nicochan was furious. If she was not chased by Hastra’s guards she would beat the shit out of Kevin.

“They were probably some high-level NPCs. The guy didn’t even blink at your punch. You could’ve stayed there as well and beat him for days until you died from exhaustion!” NorthHuntress was also arguing while running.

Kevin, still carrying the beauty, decided to attempt to defend himself, “DUDEEE, I INVESTED EVERYTHING IN STRENGTH.”

“You did what?” Aftershock replied. He was the other male around. He forgot that Kevin would often ‘dude’ with full liberation, regardless of anyone’s gender.

“I HAVE 11 STRENGTH, DUDE! I INVESTED ALL MY PASSIVE POINTS IN STRENGTHHH.”

Growling sounds could be heard from the direction of Nicochan.

“Your meager 11 strength…” Aftershock was shaking his head while checking his attributes.

“Great way to start Brave New World…” NorthHuntress was mumbling to herself. She was running, trying to save her skin like everyone else. The penalties of dying were still unclear. “We entered this world 10 minutes ago or something…”

“THAT CORNER, QUICK.” Aftershock pointed at a little backwater street.

“Wh-where are you taking me?” An innocent voice.

“Well, I couldn’t let that trash noble have you!” Kevin chuckled.

“THIS WAY!” Aftershock had some lead to everybody else.

‘Did he invested in agility?’ NorthHuntress was thinking.

Now that Kevin thought about it, he felt like he’s the slowest of them all. He had about 20% of his stamina left. He finally decided to let the beauty down. And she started running by herself. Her pace was worse than anyone. Thank god, the knights couldn’t be seen for now.

“THERE, THE HOUSE!” NorthHuntress pointed at a small house.

They snuck in, it was empty. Everyone was breathing heavily.

“What an adventure man, I was so…”

*BAAANG*

You lost 2 HP, current 48 HP left.

“What the fuck?” Kevin was unhappy.

“Dumbass.” Nicochan had dropped a broom over his head.

Aftershock peeked through the window. “I think we lost them.”

“What if my father is in trouble?” The innocent voice again.

“We barely escaped. We would be of no help to him.” NorthHuntress replied

“And what is your name anyway?”

“My… my name is Alicia Wayland.” The beauty told her name.

QUEST: Alicia’s Hidden Talent

You met the daughter of the blacksmith Hamil Wayland.

Her great-grandfather Rondon Wayland was famous far

beyond the Torasia Kingdom.

She has inherited his talent for blacksmithing. Alas, she lacks inspiration.

Find the Rondon’s gloves and Rondon’s hammer to ignite her hidden genius.

QUEST REWARD:

Accepting the Quest provides a +2 affinity with Alicia.

If the Quest is completed, +20 affinity would be added.

Alicia will produce 1 weapon for everyone involved in the quest.

The quality of the product will fully depend on her knowledge to create that type of weapon, knowledge to work

with the chosen type of material and her skill level at the current production time.

The Quest is limited to 5 people.

*Any player in Brave New World can have a total of 5 quests. To accept another, the player will have to decline one of his current quests. That quest will count as a failed one.

“Did you saw it?” Kevin asked. His friends nodded.

“Alicia, you are a splendid young lady, with thin, delicate white hands.” Nicochan already accepted the quest. “I am curious though, did you ever tried blacksmithing?”

“I haven’t touched a hammer in my entire life. Not a single woman in my family has worked as a blacksmith, so I know.” Alicia seemed pure and honest.

“And have you ever heard about Rondon’s Gloves and Rondon’s Hammer?” Nicochan kept digging for clues.

“My great-grandfather wanted his blacksmith tools to belong to the best blacksmith in our family. My father has lost in a crafting competition to his younger brother, Felix Weyland. The Gloves were inherited by him.” Alicia paused for a bit. “About The Hammer… nobody knows its location. It was lost with my great-grandfather’s death.”

“Alicia, I wonder... weren’t you the one, destined to inherit your family’s blacksmith treasures?” Nicochan grinned.

Alicia was lost after that sentence. From her perspective, it was only fair for the best blacksmith to receive the tools. She was confused, and thought, she misunderstood her new friend.

“So, where is your uncle Felix living these days?”

DAY 1, ERATHA KINGDOM, SMALL LOCAL DUNGEON

“This priest had some naughty gaze, eh.” Brian was swinging a basic wooden staff.

*SLAAAM*

A bat died near Empress “He was a fucking NPC. No need to went that far with AI realism. Siddhartha, you bastard...”

“Ani,” Josh whispered. “Even if there are no cameras and monitors involved, you are still LIVE.”

“Reformed, by the way, ha-ha.” Pavel was having fun.

“Grrrr...” Her swings became more energetic. She checked her weapon again.

Very Old Rusty Dagger

1-3 Physical Attack Damage

5% Increased Attack Speed

Durability 2/11

“The 1% experience bonus is obviously low, but I wonder how far can that bonus go with the difficulty progress,” Brian asked.

“If you consider the conditions ‘fighting bats’ and ‘period of 1 day’ it’s nothing special.” Empress paused to avoid an attack. “From what I understand, fighting any ‘Servants of the dark’, in the name of Eratha’s church, should provide a bonus experience. It would obviously be beneficial if it scales.”

They kept fighting in the small dungeon until no bats were left flying around.

*GASP*

Brian seemed very tired. He invested split between Endurance and Vitality. He even had the best stamina in the party.

“It is not written on the weapons, yet their weight and size are obviously relevant to the stamina consumption.” Anissa noticed that the tiredness between all members was somewhat corresponding to their weapon. Dagger, Broken Sword, Staff.

And there is Josh, who insisted to rely on his punches. His state was no better than Brian’s.

“Hmm… Josh, unless you specialize in bare fighting you might want to equip any weapon available.” Empress advised him. “Your movements were wide, you took extra steps to reach your targets.”

“So, I spent excessive stamina by using this large wooden staff, while Josh did the same by using nothing.” Brian was baffled.

*GROOOWL*

They all turned heads, following the noises.

You have encountered the dungeon’s boss

“Fuck me sideways...” Pavel expressed his frustration.

Brian and Josh were exhausted. Running was not an option. And fighting seemed very unfavorable. The situation was grim...