Looking at the enthusiastic expression of his older brother and sister who were curiously exploring the new 'virtual' world around them and learning what the game had to offer. Girisia, the youngest of the siblings, felt frustration instead.
He recalled the time when he came to this world for the first time, standing beside his siblings having similar feelings of glee as them. But that feeling is only alien to him now, the current picture only caused pain.
It was 6 months ago that he came to this world and possessed the body of a beggar who survived on scraps. Though this doesn't mean he was a stranger to this world, this world itself was a game his siblings used to play and have played for the past 10years of his life.
Though it seemed this revival in the past is not without a price, looking at the empty spot beside his siblings, he knew that he may not exist in the real world anymore. He had already waited for a while for a different 'him' to log into the game, but from the way his older brother and sister were leaving the area, it seemed they were not going to wait for someone other to log in too.
Instead they were more interested in this realistic 'virtual' world.
"Did I die in the real world?... Was that the price I had to pay?... Or is it something worse?" Crazy ideas keep filling Girisia's mind, he tried making sense of things, but nothing was coming to his mind. He had lived in this world for 6 months now and he knew that this was reality and not a virtual world like his previous ignorant self used to think.
The more he thought the angrier and more frustrated he got, going as far as to nibble on his nails. His current disheveled face with dirt stains and a beard filled with grime made him look like a madman, but for most players around him who were still ignorant about the world, they considered him a background flavor NPC and didn't think to approach him due to his looks.
In his previous life, before he died in an accident, he was a 10year veteran player of this game. A game that has taken the whole world by storm due to its realistic graphics and AI. But that was not all, the game also boasted a time differential of ⅛, which was later used by companies in work settings to save time.
But now that he thinks about it, it was virtually impossible for anything in the world to achieve what this game did, such good things can't exist without a price. And for him who just obtained a chance for a do-over and to fix past mistakes, it became more apparent that a massive price had to be paid, but sadly he didn't know what price it would be and what he had to pay with.
There were countless conspiracies going on in his mind, countless thoughts that muddled his head till he felt light, but the one that made him most frustrated was his apparent absence from this timeline.
Girisia even thought of meeting his siblings and explaining to them who he was, but he was not sure whether it would be a good idea. He did want to meet them and even ask about what happened to the earth version of him, but he didn't dare to do it. He was scared of the truth, being ignorant about his alternate self is better than knowing what happened to him.
As for the other reason, he also didn't want to cause further pain to his siblings and confuse them. Though his relationship with his siblings has gone sour in previous life, family is still family.
But none of the conspiracies in his mind held any value in the present.
"I… I need to concentrate on the present!" The bleeding pain from his fingers woke Girisia from his stupor, he had nibbled on his fingers till they bled, but it also brought some clarity to his mind. Rubbing his fingers on his dirty clothes, Girisia cleaned off his drool and blood as he looked at his status screen.
Race: Karabit
Class: None[1]
Trait: None
Racial Trait: Blood Infusion
Title: Beggar of The Riber city
[FSP: 2] [KP: 10] [Exp: 21]
[Stats]
STR: 0.6
CTS: 1.2
DEX: 1
INT: 0.7
SPR: 0
WIS: 1.3
Passive Skills: Tenacious[lvl1] | Danger Discernment [lvl1]
Active skills: none
Overview: A no name with no power, it's better you keep asking for pennies on the sidewalk.
Warning: Due to conflict over the player and NPC template, some of the player rights have been revoked.
Girisia has been living in this world for 6 months now, though it can't be said to be living. The first couple of months he wasted in self pity and scrounging the trash to survive and even though he had a system and hence able to level up and get stronger while possessing some good passive skills, he didn't dare venture out into the unexplored territory, nor did he try to look for jobs that give him good experience as no one wanted to employ a mad beggar.
As for why he feared going outside to explore and fight monsters that roam this wasteland?
It was because he understood one fact since the day he was thrown into this world and that was, he can't revive like players anymore.
Girisia feared death a lot and experiencing it one time in previous life hadn't changed that part of him one bit. He stayed inside the walls for the same reason, all he wished was to survive.
But after meeting his siblings and seeing the arrival of the player, Girisia knew that he can't remain inactive and if he wants to live, he needs to strive for it. And he also wanted some answers on the way.
"With these stats, I won't even survive the beta run of this 'game'." Usually a player starts with all of their stats set at 1 by default. They also gain additional bonus on one of the stats depending on their race, so the total stat of a player starting the game is 7 by default and this is without using the two additional stat that a player can add to whatever stat they desire.
While Girisia does have the two free stat points in his hand, compared to a normal level 1 player, Girisia lacks 3.2 stat points in comparison.
Though what differentiates him from normal players is his NPC template, the only way a player can upgrade is by using experience points and knowledge points, in which the former can be gained through all kinds of activities from questing, to killing mobs to farming to cleaning the road, while the later can only be obtained by completing certain quest or filling certain requirements.
As an NPC he is not as restricted by these two things completely and hence it is his one advantage over the players.
"The game hasn't begun for real, this is only a closed beta with few chosen and lucky players, I still have a lot of time to amass strength and capital before the players truly enter this world." He recalled how happy his brother seemed when he was gifted 4 keys of the game by the developers. Among which he gave one to his subscribers while keeping the other 3 for personal use. And this became the key to the early entrance of Girisia in this new world. A new world in a game that came to be known as Nirvana.