Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Back into the game!
After calming down a bit, I leave my room and join my family in the kitchen for dinner. My parents don't really care about my gaming since I do it in my free time and it doesn't affect my career, but don't want to talk about it because they think other things/hobbies are better.
We chat a little about the day then I leave to take a shower and brush my teeth before bed. Entering my room I decided to check the net for the feedback of people on the web about the game.
Opening the internet I scroll through the gaming forum posts.
The general opinion was split in two parts. The majority who loved it and those that don't.
[Isolation Eden is the BEST game made in the last couple of years!]
[This is the next level role playing experience. Is LARP still needed?]
[Why can't we edit more of our features?! This game sucks!]
[Is there a way to at least somewhat control my character? I need help!]
[There is a bug! I just started playing and died. I had a full character reset with all memories lost!]
…
The positive ones were all pretty standard publicity and ideas shared by the players. The noob questions were mostly just stacked with more noob questions and there is rage about the almost non-existent character editor. But the bug posts are gathering a lot of attention.
The players that had their characters die had to restart with their characters again like a clueless Nil. Their rage and frustration were aimed at the part where their future advanced characters might die and have to start over from scratch. The posts started to dominate the forums so much that the company gave out an immediate response with a broadcast.
[Hello our dear players! We hope you had fun with your first experience playing the game. Well for the ones who didn't, we made this broadcast to explain the situation about character deaths. We strived to make the game as realistic as possible that includes death and character appearance.
For the appearance, it's your body, so if you are dissatisfied about it, do something about it! We don't promote an unhealthy lifestyle and encourage you to keep yourself fit and healthy. The only ones with exception are ones with disabilities and diseases. But you were asked about it while buying the game, at that time you can get an assist token, where an assistant will help you over the connection, to get you a normal body type.
Now about character death. If your characters would just respawn after dying, other characters wouldn't have fear or emotional attachment. So character deaths are final. When restarting you can leave the character the same and it won't affect the world, because it will be transferred to another server of the game, with all irrelevant memories gone.
But if you are worrying that you can't get to play as your character repeatedly dies, we can guarantee that it won't happen. Because every time the character dies, it does keep some information that is crucial to its survival. This will allow it to have a better start every time it dies.]
The live feed of the broadcast got filled with complaints that this realism sucks and similar remarks.
[For the ones still complaining, this is the core part of the realism of our game, so it won't change no matter how much you complain about it.]
˝Now that I remember, my character seems to be cautious and somewhat crafty from his behavior, so I don't have to worry that much about this.˝ I try to reassure myself before putting the helmet on.
[Notice. You are required to scan your body in a T pose and some stretching poses every time before you login so we can update your character appearance and mobility (Doesn't apply the ones with the assist token). So if you become stronger and flexible, your character will be stronger and flexible, that way your character survivability will also become better.]
˝Haha, they weren't joking about promoting a healthy lifestyle. If the players like this game, it will be a good motivation for weebs and hikikomoris to start going to the gym.˝ I laugh my ass off on the account of the unfortunate unfit gamers.
I scan myself in the few instructed positions and retire to my bed, starting the application.
My consciousness reappears in the gray room with a notification popping up.
[When do you want to set the alarm timer?]
I look at the clock in the corner of the room. It shows 10 pm.
˝Set the alarm to 8 hours so 6 am.˝
[Alarm set. Starting game.]
…
I reappear as a ghost in the cathedral and look around. I float around a bit but run into an invisible wall.
˝So this is the part where I can choose where to appear? So this must be a barrier, so that I can only do it near where I left. But how do I do it? Just decide to materialize…?˝ My words are cut off since I materialized 3 meters above round, where my ghost body was floating.
Just in the last moment, I land on my legs and roll to kill the drop momentum. I have cold sweat while the stuff I had while I disappeared fell behind me on the floor.
This scene made everyone in the cathedral stare, with some grumbling and snickering here and there.
I sigh, pick up my stuff and look around with the hopes of finding anyone from my group. But alas, no luck with that, so I walk alone to the information booth where I am greeted by another attendant. An male cleric, with brown hair and green eyes.
˝Hello! I am one of the Nils that joined the cleric guild… How long was I away resting my spirit? I have no clue.˝ I greet nicely, but become confused as I don't know how long I was away resting.
˝Hello! You were away for about a day. So what can I do for you?˝ He responds courtly.
˝Am I the only who has come back from resting from our group?˝
˝Yes, you are the only one who has awoken till now.˝ He reaffirms me.
˝Alright, I read through this holy magic theory book over the night yesterday. Do I need to read the other four books first or can I start my training already?˝
˝Good. You can go exchange that book here for the other basic books, or you can go to the guild member booths and search for a tutor that will teach you how to use the holy magic theory. I would advise you to do the latter and after tutoring come exchange the book, so you can read in your free time.˝ He gives me some useful suggestions.
˝Thank you! I guess I will go find a tutor. Will see you around then, bye bye.˝ I wave and leave toward the guild booths at the right side of the cathedral.
The booths were also adorned with ornamental carvings and behind the counter there is a whole wall spanning bookcase that could be called a small scale library. Behind the counter there was a silver haired, white eyed man with pointy ears- an elf.
˝Welcome to the cleric guild administration counter, how can I help you?˝ He asks with a neutral face.
˝Hello, I am a new Nil guild member. I have studied the holy magic theory and was told that I can get here a tutor on how to actually use it. Can you help me?˝ I ask with a curious yet innocent expression.
˝Yes, let me get the list of the currently available teachers.˝ He walks to the bookcase and searches for a moment before dragging out a book.
He opens it on the counter and turns the pages. In the meantime my stomach grumbles.
The elf glances at me for a moment before looking down.
˝You can decide on a tutor, but I advise you to go to the market to get something to eat first. Magic takes a lot of energy and we don't want you to just collapse in the middle of training.˝ He explains patiently while still turning the pages.
˝Yes, I will do that right after finding a tutor.˝ I answer awkwardly.
He nods and stops on a page, he turns the book around and pushes it to me.
˝Here you have the available tutors, their race and their teaching cost.˝ He points at the page.
Tutors of holy magic theory
Ruvaen Grexisys-Elf-65 red dew
Horhur Runechest-Dwarf-70 red dew
Kograr Wargut-Dwarf-50 red dew
Ingrid Rehakova-Human-40 red dew
Shelah Stoltzfus-Human-50 red dew
Enno Brassel-Fairy-60 red dew
Jhanandra Lucyne-Elf-1 orange dew
˝I didn't know we had to pay for tutelage. But hey, no one till now has explained everything that should be known for someone like us. But can I ask why this Jhanandra is so expensive?˝ I ask the elf.
˝Certainly! The tutors all put down their own rate based on their insight and knowledge of the subject. If you just want to learn how to use holy magic, you can pick anyone from these, but Jhanandra is an elf that dedicated her life to research holy magic. She will have a deeper understanding and will explain it in more detail, which should also make your learning and later research easier if you decide to study it.˝ He explains with a proud expression.
˝Can you explain it in more detail?˝ I ask hopefully.
˝Well, she will probably help you activate your mana core, teach you how to manipulate the mana efficiently, how to effectively use and collect karma strings, as well as teach you at least one spell for free. If you are a good student, you will reach further with her as your tutor than others.˝ His behavior became more prideful, probably because she is a fellow elf.
˝I decided, I want Jhanandra to be my tutor. At what time do I have to come for the lecture?˝ I ask the attendant.
˝In about 2 hours at the least. She researches late into the night, as she sleep in late.˝ He answers with a slight frown.
˝Thank you! I will be back by that time, Goodbye.˝ I say my farewells and leave for breakfast.
Walking through the city I enter the market area, all the buildings here are multilevel shops which belong to merchants and crafters with catwalks[1], which are tightly connected in a circular layout around the square with stalls of smaller merchants around them.
I decided to go look around the stalls for cheap food, since I will need the dew for learning skills from my tutor, and I can't waste too much on food.
I stopped at a stall that was grilling some meat and vegetables which released a very sweet aroma. The stall is manned by a pair of hobbits by the looks. They are short, curly haired, with short pointy ears and big but not hairy feet .
'Wait, what is a hobbit and why do I know what they should look like?' I thought confused.
˝Hello! Can I ask what it is that you are grilling?˝
˝Welcome! This meat comes from a Toskr squirrel. It has juicy and tender meat, marinated with our special honey sauce. This here is a mix of local vegetables and fruit, grilled and covered in honey.˝ The hobbit man answers while continuing grilling.
He has short brown curly hair, brown eyes and a muscular build even if he looks like a 10 year old.
˝Isn't it too sweet with all that honey?˝ I ask.
The female looks at me a bit more carefully and exclaims.
˝Ah! You must be one of the new Nils! Well in the fairy country everything is more or less sweet. Fonn, give him a piece to try.˝ She nudges the man.
The girl has long dark blond hair with hazel eyes, along with a childish charm.
He nods and gives me a piece on a toothpick. The smell is so nice, that I don't even care that it came from a squirrel.
˝Wow! This is so good! How much for a portion?˝
˝A portion is 3 red dew.˝ She answers.
˝I'll take it!˝ I exclaim.
Fonn starts to put the portion on a solid wooden leaf and I glance at the pair's characteristics.
˝So… Like you guessed, I am a Nil. So I am a bit interested in which races are available and their characteristics. Can you tell me about your race?˝
˝Ah, so you are curious? Well, we are brownies, small wingless fairies that are tied to the earth and home. We rarely travel since we like the coziness of our homes too much, but have two magic elements instead of one, like the other fairies. We are mostly skilled in earth and fire magic. That's why we are good at cooking and crafting. By the way, my name is Hes. What is your name?˝
I take my food and introduce myself.
˝My name is Baldr, nice to meet you two. Do you have anything interesting to tell me about this place? I want to understand this place a bit more before I have to return for training.˝
˝Well, this is the South End market square. The buildings around here are mostly merchant houses and crafting guilds. The merchant houses have a bigger array of products, sometimes even from foreign lands, while the crafting guild are all here to attract potential customers for their members or to gather materials. Here in the center are stalls of local small businesses.˝ Fon explained while he continued to grill.
˝And what are you training? A combat class, right? Since you look like you don't know about the crafting guilds and merchant houses.˝ Hes asks.
˝Yes, I am training in the cleric combat class. I just came out to eat right before I started training.˝
˝Oooh, we got ourselves a cleric~. Well thank you and come again! Rush hour is about to start so we won't be able to talk anymore.˝ He explains.
˝Ok. See you again sometime!˝ I say goodbye to the two brownies and leave.
I finish my meal while looking at the market square a bit more before returning to the cleric guild. Just as I am walking through the door a tall and slim elven woman with white hair and yellow eyes rushed with a ton of things in her hands, crashing into me from behind yelling ˝I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!˝
She crashes onto the floor with all her belongings, while I was sent in a straight line towards one of the guards.The guard doesn't even flinch and sidesteps causing me to crash into a pillar.
˝Ah sorry! I didn't see you there!˝ She stands up and runs towards me.
She pulls me off of the pillar, puts me down on my back and chants a spell. A white light glowed on her hand started to heal my scratches and my nosebleed.
Shaking my head, I looked at her again; she looked like a beautiful angel and her panicked expression made her look even cuter.
˝A klutz…˝ I muttered.
She blushed with embarrassment, stood up and left to pick her belongings without saying anything anymore.
'Shit, did I say that out loud?!'
I panicked and hurriedly stood up to help her.
˝Um, hello sorry for what I said earlier. I was still absent minded a bit after that crash. Let me help you.˝
She looked at me and pouted.
˝It's ok, it was also my fault. But don't call me a klutz!˝
˝Haha, I won't do it again. My name is Baldr, a new Nil in this city, what's your name?˝ I ask with a smile.
˝My name is Jhanandra Lucyne. This towns researcher of holy magic.˝ She said with a proud smile.
[1] Catwalks: platforms to allow non flying species to access the buildings and stands.
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