I looked around and couldn't help but notice the crowded town I was in. Countless citizens went about their day. Some sold wares, others were working on making buildings, and others were entering the world just like me. I heard someone loudly clearing their throat and remembered the small being that introduced me to this world. I gave my attention to the fairy in front of me.
"First things first, we have to pick your class! The name's Faye and I'll be your guide for the beginning of your journey!"
Hm...Interesting. AI sure is making leaps and bounds, huh?
I smacked the fairy in the head.
"OWWWWWWW! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" The fairy recoiled in pain.
"Yeah, you have a point. That's no way to test your artificial intelligence." I got down to her level and began questioning her.
"Who was the 44th president of the United States?"
"What's the United States?" she tilted her head in confusion.
"What's your favorite sport?"
"Magi-Racing!" she pumped her fist in the air in excitement.
"What's your favorite tertiary color?"
"Are you gonna keep asking me weird questions, or are you gonna help me save the world?"
Looks like they're really selling this 'you were transported to another world' bit. I can get behind this.
"You mentioned something about classes?" I backtracked.
"Oh yeah, the classes!"
Faye went into detail describing the classes. The classes were split into three roles: Offense, Tank, and Healing. Offense had three classes. The classes were Ranger, Wizard, and rogue. Ranger and rogue are no-goes. I want to be in the thick of the action as much as possible. Rangers are archers and rouges are sneaky. Wizard just seems like I would be shooting fireballs from a distance. That also doesn't sound very fun. I'll most likely be playing a tank.
For the tanks, there were three classes: Paladin, Repeller, and Bloodfallen. Paladin has a classic sword and shield. That's alright...but I'll look at my other options. Repeller is a tank class that allows you to store all the damage that someone is doing to you and send it right back at them. Advanced players have the potential to repel attacks tenfold, apparently. And then there was Bloodfallen. A vampire race that heals any damage they take by attacking. This class seems like the most fun!
"And then there's the school of healing-"
"I don't need to know about that."
"Really? That's surprising. Most heroes instantly decide on doing that school."
The playrate for healing is probably so big because people are simply scared of dying. It's a good thing that I'm not. I'll be in high demand because of that. Now as for the class that I'll be choosing... Paladin is just lame. Aesthetics are pretty important to me and I don't really see myself in holy armor. That just leaves Repeller and Bloodfallen. Repeller has a steampunk aesthetic, but I have to rely on people for healing. If I'm being honest... for some reason, people don't like me as much. I always get on their bad side. In that case, I've made my decision!
"I'll be playing as Bloodfallen."
"B-Bloodfallen?! Are you sure? Less than one percent of heroes pick that class! There are skills in that class that make you go crazy and blind with rage."
I put my hand on the fairy's little shoulder and said "We're all a little crazy."
She sighed and presented a small red vial to me.
"This is a vial of Bloodfallen blood. When you drink this, you'll become a level one Bloodfallen."
I took it and drank it like it was a shot. The blood had a sort of metallic taste. I hope this isn't what human blood tastes like. That would really gross me out.
Not even a couple of seconds later, I began to see an empty bar at the bottom of my screen. Next to that bar, it said:
LEVEL 1 BLOODFALLEN
"The empty bar at the bottom of your screen is just one of many uses of the UI magic granted to heroes! That empty bar is your experience gauge! When you complete quests, or defeat monsters or demons, you'll gain experience and the bar will fill up. When your bar fills up, you'll gain a level! Leveling up makes you stronger and faster than before! There's also the HP gauge at the top left of your vision."
Now that she pointed it out, if I focus on the top left of my vision, I can see a large bar that is filled with green to the max.
"There! Now that we know the basics of the basics, we can begin your adventure! First thing you should do is join a guild and do some fetch quests around the city! That way, you can level up. You don't have a weapon, but that's fine because Bloodfallen don't really need them in the early stages-"
"Don't these types of games usually have monsters? I'm just gonna go fight those!"
"I don't think you understand the limits of your power...It's recommended that you leave towns five levels ahead of the recommended level. There are irregularities in this game that will happen and get you killed! PKers could come out of nowhere! A random encounter could happen!"
I don't know what either of the things she's mentioned are and I don't care. I'll entertain her to give her peace of mind at least.
"Alright, fine. Just tell me where I shouldn't go on the map and I'll stay away from that until I'm properly leveled."
"Here, I'll mark it on your map. Speaking of your map, this is the perfect time to teach you more about UI magic. Every hero has User Interface magic, also known as UI magic. UI magic allows you to bring up convenient menus. Most of it can be brought up via voice recognition. Just say 'open map."
"Open Map."
The moment I said that, a window showing the entire area I was in came up. It had various markets, training areas, a church, housing, and a guild hall that I assume is for getting missions. As I scanned the outside of the area on the map, I noticed it was all marked red.
"Don't go to the parts I marked red on the map. ESPECIALLY HERE!" The fairy pointed to the kingdom's gate.
"Got it. I won't."
"Perfect! Happy adventuring! If you need me, just call out my name!" The fairy poofed out of existence. You know, I REALLY hate when people try to tell me what to do.
So I made a beeline for the exit.
As I made my way around the various people and vendors in the city, I used my map to lead me all the way to the entrance of the kingdom. It had one large gate that had a guard stationed at each side. As I walked past the gate, the fairy appeared in a flash of colorful light right in front of me.
"Do you have any concern for your life? You don't even have a weapon!"
"My fists are enough. Besides, you said it yourself: Bloodfallen don't need weapons" I couldn't help but smile as I walked into the forest ahead of me. This isn't just me being reckless or anything when I say that. I did combat training in the army coupled with some martial arts I practiced. That has to count for something here. As I kept moving forward, the fairy tried to stop me by pushing my body and hitting me in the chest. It was honestly more annoying than hurtful. Once she realized it was useless, she let me go past her and I started hearing some weird sounds behind me. I turned around to find tears fall down the fairy's face.
"I don't get it...Why are you doing this? You sound suicidal...If you wanna die, then fine! Go ahead! See if I care!" The fairy poofed away just as fast as she came in.
"Jeez, I just met you. Mind your own business and don't worry about me. A guy like me deserves whatever's coming to him, after all..." I turned around and walked into the thick of the forest.