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"!"
Dale opened his eyes to a white room.
"Okay… Everything's good… System check!" He said towards the air
Just when he said that, a voice replied:
[System Check: All systems nominal]
[Current body condition: Perfectly fine]
[Would you like to see the details?]
Dale shook his head, he knew very well his body would be fine no matter what happened…
He had long since stopped being Human.
'Ever since I learned by accident that my stats would increase by doing certain actions, I got addicted to this feeling. Especially when I started to realize I could grow stronger at an unimaginable speed…'
'My body went beyond the Human limit and so did my learning speed… I don't feel like a genius, I just feel as if memorizing some things and patterns are simpler now.'
'It started with a small increase in body strength and soon it became a body that can lift without much difficulty.'
'I don't know where this came from and why it latched onto me, but I will make sure to unravel its secrets… Especially since I am sure it came from this game.'
[You have received an Email from, Elden Throne]
"?! Open it!"
[Opening E-mail…]
A large wall of text suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, before its size reduced to around that of a piece of paper.
[Welcome back Player Kindred Flamingo, it's been a year since our last talk
There isn't much to talk about since we, just like you, are extremely excited about this game release and we need to make sure everything is running smoothly.
I hope you didn't forget what we talked about last time… It's time for you to enjoy your 10 minutes of exclusive gameplay!
We would like to ask you if it's possible for you to record it and send it to us so we can make a promotional ad? Of course, send only what you wish, the contract will be linked with this email, take a look when you are ready.
Aside from that, there has been a long-pending question… Would you like to have your game ID be shown in the Hall of Fame?
We're also giving you the special Beta Tester Box! Check it out once you get inside the game!
If you have any more questions, make sure to state them in your reply!
Graciously, Elden Throne.
]
"... Is this all?... I feel like they are playing with me…"
'I already planned on recording all of my gameplay, so that isn't an issue.'
'As for my ID… I can't, I already suffered from people getting on my ass when I played those competitive games to raise some money, I don't want this to happen here too.'
Dale eventually formulated his reply and sent it to them, as for the contract, he planned to take a look at it after he was done with the Tutorial.
[You have received an Email from, Elden Throne]
"Instant reply?... Damn…"
[Hello once again! We read your reply and we would like to clarify some things.
Since the record was made during the Beta, it won't remain there forever, the moment someone else reaches the same level, the record will be switched.
And also, since it's an already informal record, you may leave an alternate false name on the record, you can also change your ID for our game if you so wish.
Cheers! Elden Throne.
]
"Huh? That was pretty simple… And it has a completely different tone… Was it written by someone else? Probably…"
'Pretty simple then, I made this name in one day and I don't like it that much.'
Dale smiled, he knew what ID he wanted, and he accepted by leaving a proxy name on the Hall of Fame.
"What time is it now?"
[14:06]
"Hum… I don't know much about contracts, but it would be a waste to leave it like this…"
Dale suddenly smiled.
"Open the chat with my Uncle Willian… Send the contract to him… Yeah, thanks."
With a relaxed impression, Dale lay on the ground of the room and waited.
/10 minutes later…/
[You have received a request for a voice room, Uncle Willian]
"That was fast… Accept."
The face of a bald middle-aged man suddenly appeared floating in the middle of the room.
"... Dale? Is this what I think it is?" Asked Willian
"Yeah? Is it good?"
Willian looked at Dale and said:
"There is nothing wrong with the contract, it's a very short and simple contract, it's very clean and I would even say it's pretty, I would even like to show it to some of my students."
"But that isn't what matters here. From a legal standpoint, I think it's ok for you to sign it, but it's better to give it more time… Give me a few hours to go through it calmly."
Dale nodded and said:
"I'll be playing Azimuth so I won't be able to reply at once, but I will do it as soon as I can… In fact, BYE!"
[Dale(Nephew) has closed the chat room]
"Dale?... Sigh, this kid… I also wanted to play the game…"
…
Dale on the other hand was currently floating in a dark space with stars shining around him.
[Welcome to the Character creation Menu]
Dale couldn't contain the smile as he heard the gentle voice of a pretty girl… The System girl.
"HELL YEAH!"
[Follow the steps and create your character]
A single gray window popped up in front of Dale, but before he could do anything…
{Detected that host has initiated Azimuth}
{Assimilating Status}
{Process completed}
"?! The green box voice… As I thought, it is connected to this game…"
'It appeared after I played it, and it remained silent till now. Even when I played other games.'
"I already knew my stats would be high since my body condition is insane, but I did not expect this to happen. I'll have to research about it later."
After he was done with that, he continued to check the character creation menu… And he was surprised to see new options that weren't in the Beta.
[Randomize character sheet?]
"What's this?"
Dale selected the option and another window came.
[By randomizing your character, you'll receive random stat points, a single Skill, and you'll get a permanent Skill slot]
[DISCLAIMER This action cannot be undone and once your sheet is randomized it stays that way until you buy a new character ticket]
"Yeah… No thanks."
'Azimuth works with a simple system, you buy the game and you get a character ticket, you can use it to make a new character. But if something goes wrong and you're forced to restart, then you'll need another character ticket…'
'It's not super expensive but it's not the freest thing in the world.'
"I can see some rich people abusing this, I don't think the developers would make such a simple rookie mistake even if they wanted to make money… I didn't expect this, but it doesn't matter to me."
'Unless there is a chance for people to get absurd stats, I don't think anything will change for me.'
"Everyone starts Azimuth with the same base stats as that of their body… Yeah, this means people with greater physique are going to have a better time, but it was proven it wasn't that big of a deal since starting with one or two stats in a game where you'll have hundreds, later on, is in no way significant…"
"People with higher stats might grow faster, but this isn't a run… At least for 95% of the tens of millions of players that have bought the game."
"So it was seen as more of a stimulant for people to train than something else, especially when people learned they could gain more stats mid-game if they trained their body in real life."
Dale selected the option to finish the character creator; he didn't change anything at all.
His appearance was what he was used to, there was no need to change his physique.
[Welcome Dale, proceed to the next part]
Another panel appeared in front of him, this time displaying several images of his body with a name on top of each.
[Please choose a preferred gameplay style:]
[Standard
RPG Style combat assisted by the Game System AI
Similar to other franchises.
#Note, it's what you are used to
]
[Standard: Diminished Interface Mode
Same as the Standard, but system help is decreased, this gameplay mode can be turned on and off, if turned off, the user will go back to Standard mode.
The intensity of the System interface help can be adjusted to a preferred Level.
]
[Tourism
Similar to the Standard gameplay, but:
Immune to PVP damage under any circumstances, and cannot inflict damage to other players.
Can Log Out anywhere and anytime in the game apart from Danger zones and Special areas.
Cannot explore new areas.
You will receive a basic tourism Kit and a big discount on any form of transportation in the world.
Most NPCs will see you favorably.
Most quests are locked for these players.
Pain Reception will be turned towards the lower value. Can be adjusted.
]
[HardCore
Realism at its finest. Face the cruel side of reality. The true face of Azimuth.
NOT FOR NEW PLAYERS.
HARDCORE PLAYERS ONLY HAVE A SINGLE LIFE.
No Health and Mana bar, fight until your last breath! Manage your resources via instinct and experience.
No system assist. (Cannot be changed)
Skill System rework. Abnormal Statuses rework. Combat rework.
Damage calculation and statuses are not done by the algorithms anymore. You can be killed instantly and kill enemies instantly by delivering fatal attacks.
HardCore players will receive a boost to their Stat per Level acquisition.
2X Stat gain per Level between Levels 0 to 49, 3X between Levels 50 to 79, and 5X between Levels 80 and 100.
HardCore characters are locked from certain missions, not being able to receive XP from them, but they might be able to receive its rewards.
Pain Reception will be turned towards real-life values. Cannot be decreased.
{WARNING, Status is currently assimilated}
]
"This…"
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Notes