Chapter 5: The Forest of Dark Dreams
Akio admired his character, gracefully shifting from side to side to appreciate every angle. The sculpted muscles brought him joy, though he often daydreamed of possessing such a physique without ever committing to working out. The wings, however, were his favorite feature – not overly massive, but a matching shade of white to complement his hair. The more he admired his creation, the more he couldn't shake the feeling of being the most stunning character across the three realms, even though he hadn't encountered another player yet.
"Um… okay, we get it. Can you move on already?" the little girl interrupted, her impatience evident.
Annoyed but undeterred, Akio pressed the continue button on the menu. The next slide was straightforward but posed a question that required careful consideration: Name.
"Name?" Akio pondered, contemplating the significance of the choice. In his gaming experience, names varied based on the seriousness of the game. Three Realms felt important, both as an advanced game and as the creation of his father, who invested years into its development. Akio couldn't decide whether to approach it seriously or risk his father's playful mockery.
"Whatever, I guess I'll just choose something random..." he mumbled, opting for the menu's random name generator.
'Harisburg Greater Hoover.'
"What kind of name is that?" Akio thought, surprised by the unusual structure. Dissatisfied, he tried again, typing 'MokuMoku*^*,' only to receive an error prompt.
"Invalid entry, please input a name," the system demanded, eliciting laughter from the little girl.
"What's so funny?" Akio retorted, mocking the girl's amusement.
"Loner, loser, and dumb!!" she laughed, slapping herself awkwardly.
Akio remained unfazed, his primary concern centered around the perplexing red prompt.
"It asks you for a name… not some random words!" the girl interjected.
"A name?" Akio mulled over her words, puzzled by the restriction on usernames in such a popular game. He couldn't help but wonder about his father's intentions during the game's creation. As he glanced at the little girl, a fleeting sense of kinship crossed his mind, considering his father's role as a developer. However, he abruptly halted that thought upon realizing his father wasn't the sole creator. Clearing his mind, he focused on the task at hand and avoided distractions.
"I'll just hit random until I reach something I like," he decided.
'Draphious Shimu.'
"I guess that name will have to do," Akio said, proceeding by pressing the button. Before finalizing everything, he faced the decision of selecting the region for his summoning. Uncertain, he opted for auto-selection and swiftly pressed finalize.
In an instant, the menu and mirror vanished, leaving only Akio and the little girl in the white void. She tapped his shoulder, seeking attention.
"So, are you going to need my help?" she inquired.
"I was thinking about it, but I'm sure you're busy today. Thanks, but I think I've got it from here," Akio replied.
The little girl smiled, sticking her tongue out. "Good luck out there, loser!" she teased before disappearing into thin air.
Akio shifted his focus, anticipating his entry into the world of Three Realms Online with a sense of uncertainty. As he pondered where a player might be summoned, he closed his eyes and felt a sensation as if he were being lifted. The once white void transformed into the vast emptiness of space. Peering down, he saw Earth, now further away than before. Impressed by the detailed loading process, he closed his eyes once more, relishing the feeling of being lifted into something of greater importance. Upon opening his eyes again, he found himself descending faster than expected, prompting a reflexive closing of his eyes and bracing for impact.
'Welcome to the Northern Forest of Dark Dreams,' a prompt announced as he lay on the ground, staring at the sky. Trees swayed with the wind, birds sang, and the grass felt real beneath him. It was as if he had entered a vivid dream where every detail was unexplainably realistic. He marveled at the tangibility of the experience, feeling the texture of dirt, the movement of his tongue, and the moisture of saliva.
Standing up, Akio took in his surroundings—a vibrant and expansive forest. "Very bright green and vast. Must be because I don't go out a lot that this surprises me," he remarked, observing the natural beauty around him. A gust of wind added to the realism, drying a small sweat on his back and relaxing his face.
As he explored the forest, Akio wondered about his equipment. "There should be a menu I can access here somewhere… usually in VR games, it's through some hand gesture," he muttered. Flicking and waving his wrist in various ways, he attempted to trigger the menu. Frustrated, he regretted not taking the tutorial offered by the little girl. After several attempts, he successfully opened the menu by pinching his left hand's fingers together and twisting it so his palm faced upward.
Within the menu, Akio found his inventory, health bar, stamina, and MP—"the basic setup," he thought. Examining the skill tree, he discovered only two skills: Light Magic and Swordsman/Destruction Magic. Both skills had grayed-out moves, making it unclear what they entailed. Akio, a complete novice, assumed he needed to learn these skills through repeated actions. Equipping the seemingly lackluster sword provided, he noted its dull appearance, pondering the need for a blacksmith's touch or serious sharpening.
"Not as heavy as I thought it would be. Could this be because I have the skill tree of a Swordsman available? Usually, skill trees are a pain to understand, but maybe after a few hours of playing, I'll get the hang of it," Akio pondered.
Eager to test a quick theory after noticing his XP bar in the menu, he decided to examine pain sensitivity and health. Running his sword down his palm slowly, he found it wasn't sharp enough to cut, but it felt cold and slightly dirty. Akio was fascinated by how realistic the experience felt, pulling harder until he drew blood.
From the 1000 HP point, it went down by 2 points after a prompt appeared in his menu, indicating -2 HP. Though the wound slowly healed, the blood remained.
"Okay, time to see if I can earn some XP," Akio muttered.
Approaching the first tree, he aimed to slash hard enough for a deep cut, but his swing bounced off as it wasn't straight. Realizing his lack of real-world sword experience would reflect in the game, Akio spent the next hour and a half refining his technique. After numerous attempts, he finally slashed deep enough, causing the tree to crack and signaling its imminent fall. Akio moved out of the way, dropping to the floor to watch the tree tumble down. Wiping his sweat, he caught his breath. In that hour and a half, he gained some XP, but the most noticeable improvement was in stamina. Swinging away at the tree had significantly enhanced his stamina with only a slight advancement in his sword technique.
"Aaa…this is hard. I've never worked out a day in my life. That's probably why I'm finding it so challenging," he said, still trying to catch his breath.
Akio moved on to the next test that had intrigued him from the beginning. He extended his left hand, casting the spell in his arsenal. A bright white light released from his palm, burning the tree bark. Unlike fire magic, which consumes objects, this light magic focused its energy on a single point. Akio wasn't impressed with the light magic or its range. Destruction magic became his next test, using the broken tree to cast a fire spell. It had a slightly shorter range than the light spell, but the fire's ability to cause splash damage was marginally better.
"If I'm being honest, the magic is mediocre and really garbage. I don't know if I should be impressed or mad at this game. Ever since I started, the game has only blown me away visually; other than that, it seems incredibly hard to like. For example, why is the starting magic so garbage? Or why are my sword skills so hard to level up?" Akio shouted.
A rustling in the bushes interrupted his complaints. He turned his head quickly to catch a glimpse of what might be approaching. From the other side of the bush emerged a hideous creature that spooked Akio more than ever. The prompt above the creature's head heightened the tension.
'Twisted Rabid Bunny: Level 3.'
"Level 3? What is this crap! I'm still only level 1!" Akio exclaimed.
The Rabid Bunny made a ridiculous jump, catching Akio off guard. The jump brought it closer, and with its next hop, it would be on Akio. Reacting slowly, Akio's only instinct was to run.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone