Jay Michaelson was never a fan of heights. In fact, he hated them. Which is exactly why he hated where he was right now—36,000 feet above where he should be, surrounded by 100 other people and 90,000 pounds of metal. To get over his fear, he typically listened to music and played some games on his phone. Unfortunately, his current favorite game also had a ton of ads.
[You lose. Watch this ad to gain 3 lives.]
Ugh! He hated ads. They were almost never worthwhile and the 30 seconds they lasted was usually torture…but he needed those lives. Way of the Journey was a tough game and he was determined to beat it! When he clicked yes, he was immediately surprised by the game graphics. Where most prefer a cinematic trailer, it seemed that this one was entirely gameplay—one of those new virtual reality games as far as he could tell. It was staged in New York City and there was madness everywhere. Monsters flew in the sky and drilled beneath people's feet, attacking people, cars and buildings alike. But they weren't alone.
At first, it was just one guy in some clearly high-level gear swinging a sword at a monster in front of him, but he was quickly joined by a female archer who easily took out the flying monsters with bolts of fire and lightning—probably class skills, Jay assumed. More and more people with all sorts of classes joined the fray. Not just fighters and archers, but several different kinds of mages and even a beastmaster and his pet joined until the last visible monster was defeated. As they surveyed the scene, a blue box appeared.
[Congratulations. Wave 1 defeated. You have received 500 gems and an additional 1000 xp]
[Level up! You have reached level 2.]
As players cheered at their rewards, the video panned up to the sky, where a dark cloud was forming, eventually turning into the words "Seventh Sun Online. Available later today". It looked awesome! Jay may not be huge on virtual reality, but there was no way he was passing up on a game like this. He immediately hit the link and signed up for the pre-registration. He was a bit disappointed it wasn't out yet, but it wasn't the end of the world. He still had to get back on solid land, after all, and it even said he'd get a reward for registering ahead of time! Now Jay definitely wanted to get back on the ground. The ground… wait, I hate airplanes! Someone get me off this thing! Fortunately, the comm system sounded just as Jay was starting to freak out again.
"Attention everyone. We are nearing New York City. We will begin our descent momentarily. Please fasten your seatbelts, stow your trays and turn off all cellular devices. We hope you enjoyed flying Blue Skies."
As the plane got closer and closer to the ground, Jay felt safer and safer. He may not have his phone to distract him, but his thoughts were preoccupied with what he'd seen of SSO. What should his build be? Should he focus on close combat or stick to ranged, as he usually did? Optimize his main stats or be an all-rounder? What kind of pets would he want? SO MANY QUESTIONS! And he didn't have nearly enough answers.
Jay absentmindedly grabbed his bag from the overhead bin, hitting the person next to him in the process. With a quick "sorry!" Jay slung it over his back and walked to the exist, already pulling out his phone to check out SSO's wiki. It might not be released yet, but surely someone had compiled all the important stuff—classes, races and the strength of seen monsters—into an easy to read article already. But surprisingly, there was practically nothing. A few of the base classes were listed, like warrior, ranger and mage trainees, but not even the beastmaster was listed (although it was quite popular in the forums). Instead, the gameplay trailer he'd seen was featured prominently on the webpage with some of the basic lore.
[SSO is founded by players for players. Your actions determine everything. Want different items in the market? Make them! Want harder monsters to fight? Go dungeon diving! Want to level a mountain or rule a city? All of this and more is made possible in SSO. Utilizing a state-of-the-art integration system, it'll be like you're really there. Magic is at your fingertips. Use it well.]
"They must really value player feedback", Jay thought. It never hurts to have a good poll system, after all. *DING* A notification popped up on Jay's phone.
[Welcome to Seventh Sun Online. If you have any concerns, don't hesitate to ask. The game is officially open and we hope you enjoy!]
As Jay opened up the game, he realized there was no character creation option. "I guess it makes sense. I'm my character, after all. Let's see about those launch rewards." With a quick tap, Jay opened up the rewards box that appeared on screen. It looked like two different vouchers of some kind and some of gems mentioned in video. He assumed they were probably the main currency in the game, so it couldn't hurt. With a click, he gained 100 gems. Not as many as that wave clear, but still a good start for a beginner. As for the vouchers, one looked like an item selection and the other was a class selection. While it was odd that he needed a voucher to choose a class, maybe it was normally based on hard work or chance? "Man, I'd have hated to get stuck with a flying-based class!"
[Item voucher redeemed. Your choices are:
- Rare beginner weapon: You can choose a rare suitable weapon for your chosen class. If you do not have a class, you may select your weapon upon gaining a class.
- Integrated lenses: You can see monsters without your phone.
- Unique title: You receive a random respected title. You will be entitled to land based on title gained.
- Integrated pet: You receive a random pet that levels with you. Rarity is between common and special (common, uncommon, rare or special).
]
The beginner weapon would be helpful early on, especially if he didn't start with any good gear, but it didn't say that it would level, whereas the integrated pet did. Jay figured that meant it probably would only be good for a few levels, and even then he might not be good enough to use it well. The lenses were a bit odd. Whereas the other options seemed to clearly affect the game, this one didn't make much sense. If he's playing the game, he'd already be able to see the monsters. And if he doesn't have his phone, how could he see them? He'd put that one off until he could make better sense of it. A unique title sounded cool, but being a land owner didn't seem like that big a deal. Surely he could claim land later on, anyway. The integrated pet sounded pretty sweet, though. A powerful companion that leveled up as he did? That sounds sooo strong. It'd be like fighting two of me. Besides, he could totally be like that beastmaster in the video. Then again, it did say it could be a common pet, too, and that would totally suck. What use is a cat or a frog in a battle against monsters?
So. Potentially awesome beastmaster? Or mysterious integrated lenses. Although now that he thought of it, both had the word "integrated". Maybe the lenses would get better as he leveled up? That might be pretty cool. Maybe he'd be able to see invisible monsters or something like that. Either way, he was totally NOT choosing a weapon or title. "Hmm. Whatever, I'll narrow it down to these two, then choose randomly." With that decided, Jay dismissed the title and weapon, closed his eyes and clicked…And nothing seemed to happen. When he opened his eyes, everything still looked the same. He looked down at his screen and saw he'd chosen the lenses. Hopefully they'd serve him well in the future.
That solved, Jay tapped on the class selection voucher. Instantly, tons of options filled his screen. It seemed they were broken down into archetype, style and finally class. There was also a rarity sorting option, so Jay could assume some were better than others. Since rarity typically meant strength in games like this, Jay decided to start with that. When he chose "rare or above", there were still nearly 200 options! After going back and changing it to "special or above", there were significantly fewer. Seven options filled his view.
[ Class selection: special or above]
[Combat Tribred (special): This class specializes in no particular area of combat, but instead seeks to master them all. While it may lack the depth of a more specialized class, the Tribred is a monster on the battlefield, capable of flaming axes, dazzling arrows, basic AoE spells, and more.
Seven-fisted Brawler (special): Focused entirely on melee strikes, this class is for those that like to get up close and personal. It may not have range, but who needs range when you can send your enemies flying?
The Immortal (unique): With each strike, you grow stronger. Each hit may not hit as hard, but the longer you fight an opponent, the more strength you sap from them and the more you gain in turn. Ideal for big bosses and single combat.
Hunter of Artemis (special): The most feared hunters in the land still run from these elite women. Their marksmanship is legendary and they work great in teams. *This class is only available to women*
Odin's Spearman (unique): Gifted by the Gods, the bearer of this class receives unique spear skills with a heavy focus on the throwing spear. Strike down your foes from high in the sky with this unique class.
Beastly Conjurer (special): Summon a champion of immense strength or an army of foot soldiers. While your physical stats may be lacking, never underestimate the power of conjuration. You may summon any beast you have defeated at a level equal to or lower than your own. The weaker the summon, the more you can command.
Elemental Archmage (unique): Employ the very world around you to bend to your whim! Fire, ice, earth, or air: it is all yours to command. Devastate entire waves single-handedly with the might of elemental magic. Choose a specialty or command them all. The choice is yours. *Only 3 archmages permitted at any one time*
]
…Wow… These classes were insane. Stealing the strength of your enemies? Weapons literally gifted by the gods?? Complete control over the elements??? And he could choose any of these? Well, almost any. He clearly wasn't a woman, so he couldn't be a hunter. Still, that was never an option in Jay's eyes. And there was no way he was choosing a class that said had "high in the sky" in its description. Just, nope! Who would give up the chance to have magic just to throw some spears from the sky? Madness! And considering how rare the beastly conjurer and the elemental archmage were, he could tell they were probably really strong. The first was practically a one-man army and the second was so good there could only be 3 at a time. Wait…Did someone just take one of the spots!! Nope! Mine! Jay quickly chose the elemental archmage as quickly as he could. Impulsive? Absolutely. Worth it? TOTALLY! Now he just had to figure out how to play.