A slender, beautiful woman stood in front of me. She had appeared in the white void after I had gotten here, and now, she stared at me, not saying anything.
"Uh...hello? Is this for the game 'Tales of the Seven'?" I asked in a direct manner. After all, this wasn't the closed beta of my novel that I was promised. I shrugged.
The woman stood motionless, then her thin lips formed an O. 'She seems to be rather shy...?' I thought to myself.
"Have the gods opened the passage already?" I was not ready for her voice. From her seemingly timid demeanor, I expected a meek, low voice, but instead, she spoke confidently, and her face became expressionless, as lifeless as a stone statue.
"If the gods you're referring to are the developers, then, indeed, I'm here for that..."
The tall woman rubbed her chin. Her long, white hair almost seemed to flutter, though there was no wind here.
She stood, silent, for a few minutes.
I folded my hands. I was starting to get impatient, 'The user experience is really terrible a-
"Please give me your hands."
I moved towards her. In fact, my body moved out of its own jurisdiction, without my control. Now, I was in front of her, and my hands met hers.
She had soft, supple hands, and suddenly, she interlocked her long fingers with mine and looked at me in the eyes.
I was confused, I did not complain, but I was pretty sure I hadn't signed into an eroge.
Strangely, her eyes became mere slits as soon as she did that. She muttered, "The gods number far more than I had thought..."
"What's with the cryptic talk?" I chuckled dryly.
"I apologize for controlling your body earlier," Her tone was a lot more respectful now.
I stared at her, confused. What was wrong with this game?
"It's really oka-
"I've registered you, sir. Please choose a region to start from within the Duvel Empire."
A green interface appeared in front of me. In the center of the scream, there was a map, and it represented a seaside nation, one that I was, fortunately, very familiar with.
The Duvel Empire.
It was the weakest of the empires in my novel, though a lot of interesting plot events happened there. I understood why they chose it as a starter region.
Out of the numerous provinces that dotted the map, only 3 were interactive, therefore, the ones I could choose.
Azoria, Helena and Tomé.
They were all seaside provinces and relatively unimpressive regions in the scale of my novel's world. My eyes glowed when I saw one of the three, however.
Azoria.
It was a lush river province. It wasn't the climate that interested me, however, but its significance in the novel.
"I hope the closed beta's timeline follows the novel..." I laughed out loud. This was too good, way too good. I knew so much about the story, that, as long as they did not alter it, I'd be able to breeze through very easily...
The woman looked at me like I was a lunatic, but she did not say anything.
I, however, wanted to get into the game as soon as possible. I pressed on Azoria, and told the woman, "I'm starting in Azoria."
"Good. I shall send you over, good luck on your journey, player!"
I nodded. I was starting to lose feeling from my legs, and the numbness was traveling upwards. I was dissipating away.
Just as my ears and the rest were about to disappear, I heard a hushed remark.
"What an expected choice."
______
"How much are these apples for?"
"Cockfighting battles! Bets start from 10 Florin!"
I looked around, awed by the scenes of sprawl in front of me. I was currently in a busy market, entrenched between a storm of spices, smells, people, and products.
It was very busy, and I could barely push through the crowds.
I couldn't help but smile.
This was Azoria, the same one as my novel. I looked up. In the distance, there was a large, domed palace, and tall towers with smaller domes around the dome.
In my novel, I had simply described Azoria as taking inspiration from European, Arabic, and Turkish themes. I knew this building. It was the Council of the Thirty, the administrative siege of the city, and the province.
Now that I was sure they had recreated my novel with great fidelity, I wanted to witness the game elements.
'In the guide, they said I should say...'
"Player Information."
(Level 1: Nathaniel)
HP: 200/200
Mana: 100/100
Class: Unclassed
Titles: - Beta Player's Privilege
- Creator's Privilege
- ??????
________
There were detailed Statistics beneath this part, but my eyes remained glued on here. This was strange, I had just started the game, but I had three titles.
One of the three, I could understand. After all, I was part of the closed beta, and they hadn't disclosed how many people were taking part in it, but I could bet it was less than a hundred.
I pressed on it for more details.
(Beta Player's Privilege): The mark of a true supporter of the studio. You start with double the Statistics of an average user.
I chuckled. It was a great benefit, a tad bit unfair, but I wouldn't complain about having more strength.
Now then, I wondered what the second meant.
'Creator's Privilege...' From the name, I inferred an idea, but I couldn't be sure unless I checked it out myself.
(Creator's Privilege): The creator of the world comes equipped with the knowledge of his creation. You can see information about Non-Player Characters, although the level of detail depends on your closeness to the character. You can distinguish NPCs that offer quests.
'Woah...' My pupils were shaking.
I couldn't believe that they had given me such a privilege as the author of the novel, and it was absolutely overpowered on top of that...
By now, I had forgotten about the awkward user experience I had in the white void, and I only had praise for the company, of course. I smiled widely, and pressed on the 3rd title, fully expecting a third surprise.
However, I only frowned.
(???????): ???????
There were only question marks, but there was no question. Had the developers forgotten basic grammar? There needed to be a QUESTION before a question mark...
I sighed. It seemed luck was not on my side, or perhaps it was.
I looked around me. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, completely lifelike, and lively!
Exploring it right now overwhelmed me, however. On top of that, I wanted to check out the drafts of my novel, because they would help me a lot, and I did not remember everything.
'If I remember correctly, the command for logging out should be...'
"Log out."
I closed my eyes.
...
"L-o-g o-u-t."
I was still standing within the busy market of Azoria. I frowned, there seemed to be a bug somewhere. This kind of bug was horribly dangerous, I had to report it to the developers now.
"Report bug."
Nothing happened.
I was feeling a bit impatient. I tried my hand at logging out again.
"Log out."
"Log OUT."
"LOG OUT!"
"Ahhh, youngsters are so angsty nowadays..." I panicked, and a small crowd formed around me.
Why couldn't I leave the game?