In the year 2061, humanity developed a VR system that immerses the user in a simulated virtual reality, which they call as Full-Dive. Having all of five senses available while in a virtual world, Full dive immediately became the world's trend after its launch.
In the following year, a game company created an online Fantasy ā Sci-Fi RPG game called Grand Nexus that opens its server worldwide immediately right after its announcement.
The game uses Full Dive technology for the players to feel and experience the Sci-Fi ā Fantasy settings the game company meticulously created.
Inside the game, a player's virtual avatar looks exactly like the player itself, but the perks of this game is that a player can tweak their avatar's height, skin tone, and body structure to their desire.
In this game, there are five classes to choose from when you register an account. Like all fantasy-oriented MMORPGs, players create a character with its usefulness in PVP and Guild wars in mind, so Grand Nexus's characters have four commonly involved and suggested classes in this area based on player surveys worldwide, which are the following:
The [Warrior class], has the balance between attack and defense. Commonly seen on the front lines alongside the Shielders. Heavily armored and equipped with their signature gigantic broad sword, they are the class that is a must on every battlefield especially in a guild war.
[Shielder], a class that is well known because of their rock hard defense, a versatile vanguard that can be paired with any classes because of their complementary skills that support attacking units such as taunting the enemy or immobilizing them, commonly called Tanks. Heavily armored same as a Warrior, but they can be easily distinguished because of the gigantic shield that they carry that only their class can equip.
[Arcanes], known as the magician class, adept in using the four elements water, fire, earth, and wind to created devastating attack combos to eliminate foes in an AOE (Area of Effect) or ST (Single target) but can also use minor support spells such as healing and debuffing. Because of their high damage output potential, their low tolerance for receiving attacks and their equipment's having lesser defense balances the game.
And last of the four commonly used classes is the [Ranger], almost all RPG games have this class, good in long-range combat and high mobility, Ranger class is a good choice for those who love long-range target elimination. Can use either a bow or a rifle to cast long-range snipes or dual wield pistols or submachine guns for close-range combats. But because of their advantage to eliminate enemies in guild wars and PVPs, a Ranger class when using a bow or a riffle will have a decreased attack speed and lowered defense rate.
These are the four classes that most players are using in the game because of their good contribution in battle, especially in raids and guild wars.
And the last class that players neglects and on the bottom of the list due to its low contribution in guild wars and raids and because of its difficult skill triggering requirements in combat, has a lower defense ratio compared to Warriors and Shielder, because of the equipment that has almost the same aspects as those of Arcanes and Rangers, yet has no AOE attacks or long-range capabilities unlike the latter.
The only advantage it has is its high attack speed and mobility compared to the recent four classes mentioned, other than that, its stats are recessive compared to the four, and can only carry one type of weapon used in close combat, and has a very short range.
This class has a zero creation ratio in the game for the past few years after the official server opens worldwide because before one can create the character, the player needs to pass a certain mock battle that is next to impossible to accomplish.
[Ding Dong]
The doorbell rang and heavy footsteps are heard closing in towards the door from the inside. Outside, a deliveryman is waiting for the house's owner to open the main door while carrying a parcel in his hand.
"Coming." A voice of a man said from the other side of the door.
When the door opens, a man around his late twenties appears in front of the deliveryman.
"Please sign here sir." The deliveryman said as he points to a blank space on the paper he is holding.
"Thank you for using our service!" The deliveryman added before he leaves the customer and went back to his delivery van.
'It's from my sister abroad.'
The man who received the parcel immediately went back to his room and unboxed the parcel. Inside is a box of a game console of some kind.
'What is my sister planning when she sends me this?' The man thought and searches further in the box in case there are other things his sister sent him and found nothing except for the game console and a letter.
He opens the envelope containing the letter and reads it carefully.
'To my dear brother Kyle, happy birthday to you! It's been three years since I last saw you. I hope you are doing well. I found this cool game when I was shopping and thought of you and your upcoming day, so I intended to make this as a present in regards to this special event, did they delivered it in time?...'
'Yeah, it's a day earlier.'
'ā¦I know you are into computer games when we are still little and this is the most popular game out there. I think you heard about Grandā¦ something? Anyway, just try it.'
"Love sisā¦" The man named Kyle said after he finished reading the letter.
'She can just text me instead, such an old-school sister.' Kyle thought as he takes the game console out of the box containing it and plugged it into his computer, the console has a shape similar to that of a PS, but with no controllers with it, rather it comes with a pair of electronic goggles which players use instead of a keyboard or joystick.
"Experience Full Dive reality with Realink." An automated voice said after he pressed the power button of the console.
'So this is the famous Full Dive the world is talking about.'
When the console booted, a tiny green light started blinking on one side while the monitor of his computer revealed an installer wizard of the game.
Kyle agreed on the terms and conditions and started installing the game after accepting the compatibility of it with his device.
After the game was installed, a shortcut appears on his desktop along with the game name.
[Grand Nexus]
He opens the client and a small window pops up, requiring the username and password to log in.
'This is a bother.' He thought, considering that he needs to register an account first to be able to play the game.
But when scanning the log-in window, he found under the username and password bar another means of registering an account.
[Log in using Google or Email]
'Oh, there it is. The easy way.'
After logging in using the said method, a slideshow explanation appears on top of the log-in window, teaching the user how to use the Full Dive system. Reading it carefully, Kyle then memorized the necessary precaution and safety procedures on using it.
'So I first need to find a flat surface to rest my unconscious body.' He thought and went over to his bed just next to his desktop.
'Then plug in these VR goggles.'
After plugging in the goggles, he wears them and rests his body on top of his bed. He noticed that the goggles cover most of his upper head especially his ears.
'Must be the speakers.'
A text then appears on the screen.
[Launch Full Dive?]
While under it is a yes and no text box.
"Yes."
Then the "Yes" icon started blinking and the screen is then filled with white blinding light that forces Kyle to close his eyes.
When he opens his eyes back, he found himself standing in a white room with a huge menu screen floating in front of him.
And an automated voice from before then again speaks to him.
[Welcome to Grand Nexus. Please choose a command below.] [Start game] [User Guide] [Option] [Exit]
Kyle is in awe because it is his first time using Full Dive but replacing his awe is the thrill he feels because of this new tantalizing environment.
"Start game."
[New user foundā¦ no existing characters.]
"Huh?"
[Please proceed to Character creation.]
Then the huge screen in front of him swipes to the side and was replaced by another screen that is smaller than the previous one, showing different character classes with their definitions in different selection windows.
The guide voice then speaks again to him.
[Please swipe to your desired character and press 'confirm' after selecting.]
Kyle took his time on selecting a class because this game only provides a player to create one character per account and he doesn't want to regret it afterward.
'I think I'll go for the warrior class.' He though and swipes to the window on the screen where the character is located.
[Warrior, a class that is balanced in both attack and defense. Commonly used by players globally who love to wreck the front lines, are you sure about this class?]
"Hmmm, now this is hard." He said, knowing that it is a commonly used class then there is nothing special about it except for the known capabilities it has.
So Kyle swipes here and there on the different classes to check on them and noticed something on the lower part of the screen.
'Character recommendation?'
He then pressed the button on the screen and a window with some questions appears, like what kind of attack damage the player wants to inflict, preferred combat range, and others. After answering the questions, a random character appears.
"Slayer?"
[Slayer, a melee type magic and physical damage inflictor. Has high mobility and quick attack speed, best in one on one battle and espionage.]
Kyle then went to its stats windows and found a shocking revelation. Its status is lower than that of a Warrior and Shielder when it comes to melee combat, with no long-range attacks like Arcanes or Rangers, the only difference is that the character has high agility and dexterity and can deal both physical and magic damage when attacking.
"Oh, definitely not this. I'll go with either Shielder or Warrior." He said and pressed the exit button to remove the disappointing view out of his face but was surprised because after pressing the exit, the window still doesn't close.
[For using the Character recommendation option, you already let the system choose the perfect character for you. Hence, you cannot select other characters except for the recommended one that matches your playing style.]
"You should at least tell me that beforehand!"
[Please confirm the character.]
"Ah, fineā¦" he said in defeat as he presses the confirm button on the screen.
[Character selected, proceeding to avatar merge.]
The screen in front of Kyle expands and slowly approaches him. As it passes thru Kyle, the clothing he is wearing also changes to that of the default of the character.
Kyle scans his being as his clothing change into the character's basic avatar design, an iron chest plate under a black long roll overcoat complementing it with a pair of military-grade black combat boots and black pants with thigh plating on the left side.
"Really? Isn't this going too "light" for a fantasy game armor?"
After which, the game guide then begins its tutorial.
[On your upper-left screen, three color-coded gauges from the top to bottom are the following:]
[Red gauge is your HP bar (Health/Hit Points), the Green gauge is your SP bar (Stamina Points) and the Blue gauge is your MP bar (Mana points).]
[The yellow gauge on your lower left screen is your EXP bar (Experience Points) that you need to fill up to gain level, on leveling up you gain status points and skill points.]
'Oh, it's just like the normal MMO.'
[On your right are four unique icons aligned vertically, the first having a head icon is the Character Menu, in this menu, you can check your avatar's status such as your status points and skill tree.]
Kyle then pressed the head icon and a window pops out in front of him showing his character level that is currently in level one and status points, consisting of STR (Strength), AGI (Agility), DEX (Dexterity), INT (Intelligence), VIT (Vitality) and STA (Stamina). After each stats category is a plus icon on the right of each and below are the available status points that he can add to each field.
Under it is a letter "S", Kyle pressed the button and another window appears revealing the character's skill tree.
[The second icon below that has a bag image is your inventory, containing the items you bought from shops and items you receive from monster drops. In here, you can also equip and unequip items for your character.]
'I think I don't need to explore it anymore.'
[The third one having a gear icon is the game menu, in here you can adjust the game settings to your desired setup, and lastly is the Quest Menu, which holds the active quests you have in the game.]
[Items such as health, stamina, and mana potions are inventory activated.]
'That explains why there are no hotkeys found on the screen.'
[As you level up, skills on your skill tree will be unlocked and you can use your skill points to learn the desired skills.]
[Skill activation for this class is fully automated when in battle it activates depending on the actions you take.]
"What? Just how can I even use my skills then?!"
[End of the basic tutorial, proceeding to special mock battle simulation for this class.]
"A mock battle?"
[Commence battle tutorial]
A humanoid dummy then appears ascending from the ground of the white room. It's a faceless robot in which the ball joints that connect its limbs are visible while a portion of its upper body has a plating that protects the wirings inside.
'It looks like a mechanical skeletal system with some iron plating covering the wirings and the motherboard on its chest.'
[Equip first the designated weapon for your character class.] [A default-starting weapon is available in your inventory.]
'Weapon huh? Let's see what this class has in store for me.' Kyle thought as he presses the inventory button.
"Let's seeā¦ titanium daggers, ten HP pots, 10 SP pots, 10 MP pots, and an Ether potion."
'What? That's it? Just a dagger?'
Kyle realized that the only equipment that is meant for attacking in his inventory is a pair of titanium daggers. Leaving him with no other options, Kyle equipped the daggers.
After equipping, the daggers along with their sheaths are instantly strapped on his waist with a belt that holds the scabbards of the daggers on each thigh.
[To attack, use the weapon at hand and strike the enemy.]
A red arrow then appears on Kyle's screen pointing downwards on the humanoid dummy telling him that it is the target for the battle tutorial.
Although it is just a game, Kyle feels awkward on attacking the dummy, because, in most RPG games he played, the avatar or game character attacks automatically when a designated button for an attack is pressed. But for this game, the player itself is the one who's doing the attacking.
'How should I do this?' he thought, as he draws one of the daggers hanging on his side.
Second doubting, Kyle slowly swings the dagger his holding to the shoulder of the dummy. The swing is so forceless it looks more like a gentle shoulder tap.
When the dagger hits the surface of the dummy, a damage counter pops out from the head of the dummy and he was surprised by the number he saw.
"Zero? Really?!" He yelled as he throws the dagger on the ground hitting the left toe of the dummy and another damage counter pops out. The number surprised Kyle because it is far better than the first damage he dealt to the dummy.
'One hundred fifty?' as he looks on the toe where the dagger is pierced and then pulls it out from it.
[You deal damage the way you can deal damage in real life.] [A head strike could be either an instant kill or a critical strike, the same goes when you attack the neck or pierce the heart.]
[Striking other vital parts can either be critical or pure damage. Pure damage ignores armor and other defenses.]
Hearing it, Kyle grasped the basic concept of how to attack an enemy.
'So it's more on how you deliver the blow to the opponent.' He thought as he pulls out the other dagger and stabs the dummy on its head and neck.
But the daggers were deflected and couldn't penetrate the head and the neck of the dummy, on the same time Kyle was pushed a bit backward by a shockwave.
"Hey, why are the daggers deflected?"
An exclamation point icon then appears on his screen with running words from right to left stating:
[Not enough STR]
Kyle then opens his character menu and checks on his avatar's strength.
'Just ten points?!'
Kyle also noticed the five available stat points he has.
'Okay, I'm adding it all to my strength.'
After adding all his available stat points, Kyle resumes his attack on the dummy on the very same spot where he failed, and this time the daggers penetrated the head and the neck of the dummy and an elimination notification pops out from it as the dummy fell on the ground.
After a few seconds, the trashed dummy pixels out, removing itself from the place.
[Basic attack tutorial finished.] [Proceeding to actual combat simulation]
Another dummy of the same kind appears ascending from the ground again but this time, it holds a sword in its right hand. As it completely ascends, the dummy takes a step forward and shows its combat pose to Kyle, startling him at the same time.
[Commence battle.]
Before Kyle could even react, the dummy charged forward while pointing its sword forward as it runs towards him. Kyle, on the other half, impulsively ran away for his life because he didn't expect something like this to happen.
The two are running around in circles as the dummy chases Kyle with its sword while Kyle runs away further from it. He then noticed that he is coming closer to a red marking on the floor and thought that it might be a prohibited area but still continues on running further away from the one chasing him.
As he passes thru the red marking on the floor, the dummy stops chasing Kyle and returns to its previous position where it spawned. Kyle then stops on running when he noticed the dummy stops chasing him and was amazed at the fact that he could even run continuously like that. He also noticed the drop on his SP bar that is also filling up quickly.
[Please return inside the red mark.] The automated voice said, and it continues on saying the same words as if the voice wants Kyle to return back immediately.
Kyle then realized one thing.
'Oh, I get it! It's what MMORPG players call as a duel field. It sets a limitation to where a duel can continue.' He thought remembering a particular game he played and the time he accepts a duel invitation from another player.
"Hey game guide, why is my stamina regenerates quickly?"
[When doing physical activities such as running or lifting, your SP bar drops down dramatically, but also regenerates at the same time depending on how much you allocate on your Stamina.]
'So the more stamina I allocate in my stats, the faster it regenerates.'
[When stamina gauge drops, your avatar will move slower until it reaches zero where your avatar completely stops from moving.]
"Really now?"
But he also wonders why it fills up immediately. So he checked his status window again and was amazed at his stats as he reads them.
[STR: 15, AGI: 20, DEX: 15, INT: 5, VIT: 10, STA: 20.]
'That explains a lot.'
[Please return inside the red mark.]
"Yeah, Yeah, I'm going in." He said as he walks thru the red marking on the ground, reentering the duel field.
'I think I just need to defeat it then.'
Kyle grabs his weapon, a pair of titanium daggers, and readies himself for a possible attack.
'This is just a game, this is just a game.' He chanted in his mind again and again.
'It looks awfully realistic but it's still a game for god's sake.'
[Commence Battle.]
And the dummy began attacking again, but this time Kyle didn't run away as he did earlier. He focuses his attention on the enemy.
'Is it just me or this thing moves a bit sluggish?' he thought and just noticed that the dummy has a somewhat slow movement. Then a lightbulb is lit in his mind and he realized the happenings earlier.
'Rightā¦ that dummy can't even catch up with me while we are running; noā¦ it can't even get closer.'
The dummy swings its sword vertically towards Kyle with all its might, but to Kyle, the swing has somehow deteriorated when it comes to speed and he easily dodged it.
The attack didn't end there, the Dummy chains its attack, combining the previous vertical swing that Kyle dodged to a horizontal swing that Kyle still managed to dodge in time but left a shallow cut on his avatar's chest and a damage counter appear on top of his head.
'It's a light damage but it definitely cuts down a visible sum on my HP.' He thought while looking on his HP bar that drops quite an ample amount. He also noticed that the number that appears as damage is white instead of red.
[Receiving Pure Damage neglects armor and defenses. Pure Damage is distinguishable by having white numerical damage instead of red.]
'So it's a Pure Damage, that's why it really took a portion on my HP.'
[Active and Passive skills tutorial Available.]
'Good, now I can use some skills.'
But before the game guide tells Kyle how, the humanoid dummy resumes its barrage of attacks, swinging its sword like a mad man while Kyle dodges it with everything he got.
[Passive skills. These are the skills that automatically trigger when certain requirements are met. Check your Character Menu and press the "S" icon below then]
The game guide explains the first part of the skills tutorial to Kyle while he continuously dodges the attacks of the dummy while receiving a few damages, at the same time he follows the instruction of the Game guide's voice opening his Character Menu.
As he opens the "S" icon, the Skill Menu opens revealing two buttons on the upper part of the Skill window namely, Active and Passive.
[Then select "Passive skill" on the Skill Menu]
He follows the instruction and immediately pressed the "Passive skill" button, after which, a skill tree with different level categories appears, starting from level one up to the max level of 150. The skill icons that are unavailable due to not reaching the level required for it has a lock icon on it while the skills available for his current level are dimmed.
'There are only three passive skills available.'
He learns one of the skills that catch his eyes by spending a skill point for it and a system notification pops on his screen.
[You have learned "Auto Dodge".]
[Requirements met, Auto Dodge activated.]
After activation, his body automatically dodged every attack the dummy throws him, with swift and precise dodging that the scene looks like as if it is a scripted play with perfect synchronization of attack and dodge by the players.
Amazed, Kyle reads the definition of the skill while his body automatically dodges the attacks.
[Auto Dodge: Skill activation (Passive) activates only when receiving pure damage, normal and critical damage are not ignored. Can't dodge magic damage. CD: 5min, Duration 1min.]
'So I only have less than one minute then.' He thought as he scans further for any possible useful skills that are available at his current level.
And he found a useful one.
[Counter Sense.] [Skill definition: Counters an attack before receiving it and inflict two times the damage to the attacker.]
He used another skill point and spent it to learn the skill and a system notification then again pops out on his screen.
[You have learned "Counter Sense'.]
But the system notification ends there and the skill didn't activate.
"What the?"
'I'm in trouble, the "Auto Dodge" is about to wear off and the skill I just learned didn't activate.'
[Active skill.]
The game guide's announcement caught his attention.
[Active skills are skills that activate whenever the player wants. It can be either a Damage Dealing skill, Crowd Controlling skill, or Support Skill. Go to your Skill Menu and press the Active skill button.]
Kyle then checks the Active skills he has while the effect of "Auto Dodge" is still active and found only two skills available in his current level which are: [Stealth] and [Wind Walk].
"Argh, these are useless! There are no attack skills for my current level!"
"Fine anything will do!" He said as he spends the skill points on both skills and learns it.
[You have learned "Stealth"]
[You have learned "Wind Walk"]
And a moment passed after that and no system notification pops again.
"What? That's it?"
Kyle is currently worried about how useless the character class is, and what's worrying him the most is that the only useful skill he has only had a few more seconds left before fading.
'I need to make a run for it!' he thought and begins on running.
[System Notification: Skill "Wind Walk" activated. Movement speed is now five times the normal.]
[Skill "Stealth" activated. Entering Camouflage state.]
'What?'
Kyle's avatar slowly became distorted as he runs, as if light bends away from him and his avatar's body became almost see-through. He stops running for a moment and scans his current state.
He then turns his gaze back to the training dummy and he noticed that it halts from moving.
'I'm no longer visible to it, am I?'
He confirms it by going closer to the dummy and started waving his hands on its face a few times and it didn't react.
'It really can't see me.' And a bright idea pops on his head. He draws out his daggers to test if it really doesn't see him. He is about to stab it using one of the daggers he has when suddenly the game guide announces something.
[Training Dummy activates "Clairvoyance"]
Then the head of the dummy gazes in his direction and immediately blocks his dagger by holding his hand and instantly stabs Kyle with the sword it has.
Kyle realized something odd about it and started screaming as he cripples in pain.
[System Warning: When receiving Critical Damage, please lower the "Pain Receptor" in your settings to prevent the Full Dive gear from sending pain signals to your brain.]
"Stupid game guide, you should also tell me about that earlier."
But the dummy didn't even let him use the menu and continued on attacking until a warning appears on his screen while blinking slowly.
[Warning: Low HP]
'I lost too much HP now.' He thought while he endures the agonizing pain of being hacked and slashed by the dummy.
The warning became severe as the text on his screen blinks wildly while the attack continues on he tries to grab his dagger and plans at least deal some damage to it.
'This thing pisses me off.' He thought as he stares at the dummy while slowly losing his consciousness.
[Warning: HP level critical]
[Warning: HP level critical, please use HP potion stored in the bag.]
'Ahā¦ game over I think, I didn't even finish the tutorial. Guess I'll try next time.'
His eyes became heavy and his vision on the dummy that's attacking him is starting to get blurry until it came to a point that he can only see is just total darkness, a blackout, but the warning continues on.
[Warning: HP level critical]
[Warning: HP level critical]
[System Notification: Requirements metā¦ Counter Sense activated]
The avatar automatically moves on its own and counters the attack of the enemy as it deals a massive amount of damage to the opponent equals to the number of times it attacks until he completely ravaged the dummy leaving it into scraps.
Slowly regaining his consciousness, Kyle wonders what exactly happened. The dummy is in a scrap as if a wrecking ball smashed it while the warning of him having low health is still blinking on his screen.
[Warning: HP level critical]
[Warning: HP level critical]
[You leveled up!]
[Gained 5 stat points]
[Gained 3 skill points]
[All status increased by one]
[Unlocked new skill/s]
[You received "Leather greaves" in your inventory.]
[You received "Leather vambrace" in your inventory.]
'Looks like I pulled it off.' And a loud sigh came off from him, knowing that the tutorial had ended and he can now start playing it.
[Phase one of combat tutorial endedā¦ Proceeding to phase two.]
"A Phase two? You gotta be kidding me!"
And soon after, multiple training dummies ascend on the field, each wielding different types of weapons either it is for melee or ranged combat. They keep on spawning until a swarm of training dummies filled the tutorial field.
[Phase two: Sound of War, commence.]
[Survive until the timer endsā¦]
A timer appears on top of the tutorial field, the allocated time is two hours and thirty minutes.
[ā¦ or eliminate all enemies.]
An impossible scenario appears in front of Kyle's, he thought of how difficult it is to defeat one and now he is facing hundreds of it just for a tutorial for the basics of the game.
'This is impossible! The people who created this game are a bunch of psychos. It's not balanced and the difficulty level for beginners is too high!'
And a grin appears on Kyle's face.
"I'm starting to like this game." He said to himself as he remembered how he enjoyed playing high-difficulty games and overcame every one of them back in the days.
'Two hours is a lot of time.'
Kyle opens the game settings and lowers the "Pain Receptor" to zero. At the same time, he opens his inventory to use an HP potion to recover his health. A green light glows on the surface of his entire body after he used the potion and his HP gauge fills up to maximum.
He then checks his stats window to add the remaining stat points he has and on to his skill-tree window to learn another skill that is now available to him.
"Come on let's make this quick!" He shouted to the training dummies as they charge forward while surrounding him on all sides.
But Kyle, instead of being overwhelmed from the sight, holds his ground, challenging the charging foes in head-to-head combat at the same time a loud battle cry came out from him.
"I'm going to trash you all!" He shouted as he crushes the first one that reaches him.
Meanwhile, in Lorencia, the biggest town in Grand Nexus. A server announcement echoes throughout the town and attracted the attention of the other players especially the high-leveled ones.
[Server Announcement: The first "Slayer" class has been successfully created.]