( Welcome! )
As soon as Zero blinked his eyes, the scenery in front of him changed. And there appears in front of him is a single window.
( ... )
[ What is this place...? ]
With that question, he looks around the place he's now standing in.
He now seems to be in a small town - where medieval-looking houses stood on the ground which composes only of dirt and grass. There are a few trees around, but they seem to be only planted to give shade for the blinding light that was coming from the sun.
There are also people walking around staring at him. They have confused looks on their faces, wondering how he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere - but of course - Zero doesn't know that those were their thoughts.
( Hmm... this must be something like a starting town... But... There doesn't seem to be any players here... ) as he looks around, he reached this conclusion.
And as every player would do in the game, he just ignored everything after, thinking nothing much of the place and deduced that its people are nothing but NPCs generated by the game. And even though they have varied expressions as they look at him, he still ignored them - it was not a shock to Zero anymore to see them(NPCs) make complex expressions - as the current generation of A.I's in any games can do as much as to create random in-game facial expressions.
[ Hmm... Is this a new part of the game? There're so many places like this, too... I wonder which server I end up in... a new one perhaps...? ]
With those words, he turned a look at the same window in front of him.
( Notification!(1) ) the window that was just in front of him changes its text, again, to a familiar icon.
Zero pointed a finger at it and opens it.
( Welcome, Zero! You've been granted your wish for a new adventure! )
( You now have been transported to a new location... )
( Please complete the tasks provided below: ) after these texts, two tabs appeared.
( {T}Get your first weapon! )
( {P}Level up! (1-1000) )
[ These are... ] Zero gasps in surprise.
The two windows that appeared are both familiar to him.
They're missions provided by the system when you first play the game. It is there to provide guides to the players and give them rewards.
Although they disappear after you level-up to 200, and Zero hasn't seen them for years in the game, he still remembers what the two Icons {T} and {P} stands for -
{T} - for temporary tasks which gives the player time to complete it. You will be given a reward for finishing them, but even if you do not, your progress won't be affected.
{P} - for passive tasks. It's a continuous task that won't disappear unless you gain a certain level. There is no reward for completing it, but it acts as a reminder to complete daily tasks in the game. One of the best examples would be the task to level up to level 100 - to be able to receive permanent Mythical items.
[ What are these two doing here...? ]
Since Zero is already at the max level, these windows shouldn't appear on his character anymore. As they disappear after you reach level 200. That was why he was more than confused and surprised to see them appear in front of him again.
[ Wait... Does this mean...!? ] as he realized, he started to panic.
"Welcome, Zero! You've been granted your wish for a new adventure!" was the first text on the window that had first appeared in front of him. The message was still there on the left side of the tabs and he looks at it. There is no way he would ignore such a message. And he ought to try -
[ Stats. ] he whispers the word, and immediately, another window pops up in front of him.
( Showing Stats >>> ... )
Name: Zero
Race: Bahamut(Humanoid)
Level: 1
Health: 20
Stamina:40
Strength: 10
Magic: 8
Physical Defense: 2
Magic Resist: 2
[ This is... How did this happen...? ]
The message was not a joke - his level really returned to 1.
Why did his level reset? Did his account finally got hacked after all these years? Or are the game masters are just playing a troll on him? He doesn't know; he doesn't have the answer. But one thing for sure is that he's distressed about the situation - Who wouldn't be after the character they have built for years has suddenly disappeared.
Zero tried to calm himself down and started to work his brain again.
( Umu... This should be because of that system notification I got earlier... But changing my character like this... That shouldn't be possible without them even asking or mentioning anything about something like this happening.. )
[ Better call the GMs for help... ] as he said those words, he removes all the windows that are displayed in front of him -
[ Logout. ] and he muttered.
With this word, he should be launched out of the game and the headgear will turn off.
But a second had passed... And it's still not working.
Soon, a moment, but it still did not.
[ Logout. ] he tried again, but as expected, it turned out still the same.
Since he won't be able to call the GMs inside the game, as they have their own private address which he can only access outside, logging out would be a vital task to do if he wants to get their help.
[ Menu. ] he tried a different command this time.
( Menu )
---{Settings}---
---{Account}---
---{Friends}---
---{Currency}---
*Click!
He clicked the 'Settings' icon, hoping to manually log out from the game, but as the original command, it didn't work.
*Click *Click *Click
He tried to click it many times but it still did not function as it should.
[ What the hell is this? Don't tell me I'm stuck inside the game... ] although he was calm at first, this time, as all did not work as it was supposed to, he couldn't become more anxious.
And as he started to have a worried expression on his face, the people that are walking past him started to stare at him more.
And that was then that a kid had called for his attention.
[ Umm... Onii-san... Is there anything wrong? ] the kid says to him.
She has twin tails for her hair and her height is only almost 1/3 of Zero's. She tugged his clothes and she looks at him as if he has done something bad.
[ Onii-san...? ]
[ Ahh... ] he only stares at the kid without answering.
Sure, NPCs can start a conversation with a player, but there was never one that tugs someone's clothes before. And yes, they can physically attack players, but intentionally touching one was still not a thing.
Furthermore, Zero seems to be able to physically feel her touch. He can feel his clothes getting pulled by the girl, which is not possible in the game, even with the headgear.
[ Appraise... ] he said the word, barely audible to the girl.
( Can't Appraise. )
( Well... I expected that to happen... )
Appraisal only works to people and items with a lower level than the one who uses it. But since he got nothing to lose, he tried it to the girl, hoping to see if she's not an NPC, but a player.
But because it didn't work, he was not able to find out.
[ Umm... what was that onii-san? ]
[ No, it's nothing... Anyway, what is this place? ]
[ You don't know, onii-san? This is Azir town! ] she threw her arms into the air as she said the name of the town. And her face was written with excitement and joy as she did so.
[ Azir town...? ] Zero stared at her for a moment and repeated the name of the city, trying to remember if there was such a town in the game.
( I don't recall any starting place with that name before... )
[ Are you an adventurer, onii-san? ] the girl interrupted his thoughts.
[ ... ] Zero paused for a moment as he hears her question.
He was familiar with the word as he heard it many times in the game before.
( That's right... If I remember correctly, NPCs do refer to us players as adventurers or heroes in the game... But why... This girl seems to have her own thoughts... )
He doesn't know why since he never really communicated with any NPCs before while using a headgear, but as he continues to have a conversation with the little girl, he felt as if she was a real person.
[ Hey, are you an adventurer, onii-san? ] the girl repeated the question.
[ Ah, yes, I'm an adventurer. ]
[ Oh! Then, Then! Want to come to my father's shop!? We sell weapons to adventurers! ]
[ Really? ]
( Does this mean she's the starting guide...? Hmm... but that not seems to be the case... Anyway, this is not a mere coincidence... ]
[ How about it, onii-san!? ]
[ A weapon shop, huh? In that case, yes, can you take me with you? ] he answered as he looks at one of the tab displayed in his vision - ( {T} Get your first weapon! )
Since he really doesn't know how to fix his current situation, he just decided to get along with the little girl for now. And then, as usual, the system will fix itself and he will be able to log out. He can call the GMs after and ask for help, but for now, he'll try to play the game.
[ Un! Thank you, onii-san! Then, take my hand, onii-san! ]
[ Take your hand? ]
[ Un! ] the girl nodded with a big smile on her face.
Touching an NPC is a thing in the game. In the current generation, technology was already advanced to allow players to touch NPCs with their character, that is only, they won't really be able to feel their skin.
But as Zero did as she said and took her hand...
[ ...! ]
There was that feeling -
The feeling of touching another person's skin. And as he bends a little over, he was also able to smell the smell of soap in the girl.
( But that shouldn't be possible... ) Zero thought.
No matter how advanced their technology is, it still wasn't in the phase where it can artificial feeling of senses inside the consciousness of the brain.
It was then that he realized that he must not be inside a game anymore.