Eventually, Jake noticed that the town was pretty large, despite being simple. The buildings weren't even three stores tall, and they were all gray for some odd reason. In some places, Jake could find some boards that had potions or hammers in there, but when he approached, he didn't find any weapon or potion being sold. After a while, some players appeared and gave the NPC a weapon and some coins to repair. A player brought some herbs from the other shop, and the NPC turned them into potions. However, neither process was instant.
"This game is getting hella weird by the minute," Jake thought.
At least he could control his avatar with a single thought, and the graphics were amazing. So amazing that he felt like he was actually walking in reality. He could feel his footsteps, the wind, the sunlight…
Eventually, Jake found a large concentration of players in a certain plaza, and in that place, he also found a massive purple crystal. Now and then, players disappeared, touching the crystal, and also now and then, some appeared and left the area.
When Jake approached, many laughed at him while looking at his clothes… that was the problem of not having a character creation screen. Everyone could see him barefooted and in his pajamas. Meanwhile, the vast majority of players were wearing armor and carrying some flashy-looking weapons… he certainly looked out of place.
"I guess I will go solo… veterans are annoying in this kind of game," Jake thought.
Just as Jake had predicted, that was the most important part of the town. It was there that players received missions and returned from missions after receiving their rewards. While there were thousands of players in there, no one was looking for parties, though. Jake also couldn't see guilds recruiting. The system probably doesn't divide players like that, at least he thought so since he didn't find any symbols on the avatars around.
Welcome to the Crystal Server. Please, select one of the missions available.
Survive against the Fire Slimes for five hours - Reward: 10 fame, 100 coins, and a basic weapon of your choice.
Survive against the Giant Bats for five hours - Reward: 30 fame, 300 coins, and five small health potions.
That was what Jake could see when he approached the crystal. It seemed that only two options were available for newbies. Based on what he had heard, higher fame unlocks more missions. In any case, those sure were some weird missions. Most people wouldn't endure playing a game for five hours without breaks. It was pretty hardcore. That being said, Jake was ready for that. Without any hesitation, he picked the first mission in order to learn the ins and outs of the game.
Please, select a starting weapon.
Three icons of weapons appeared in front of Jake, a sword, a bow, and a wand. Putting the two first options aside, it seemed that fighting with a wand would be hard without any skills. That being said, Jake had already decided to use a sword and become a warrior inside the game.
You obtained the Short Sword.
Durability: 10/10
Skill: Bash (0%) master this weapon to obtain the skill permanently.
Bash: increases the power of your next attack by five percent per level.
Cost: 01 stamina
You have learned the skills: Analysis and Appraisal
Analysis: it shows you basic information about items. At higher levels, you can even analyze the weapons of others.
Cost: 02 mana
Appraisal: it shows you the basic information about players. At higher levels, you will be able to see even the full skill list of a target.
Cost: 02 mana
Jake finally gained some new skills, and when he finally learned another important thing. He had to master weapons that probably work by defeating monsters to gain skills. That was another interesting feature of the game since he couldn't level. His status will probably increase by leveling up certain skills. Regardless, getting new items and mastering them will be the most important thing to do there.
Attention! While on a mission, leaving the game and dying will result in the failure of a mission. If you fail, you will lose all the progress of your character as well.
"What? Now this is a bit too much…" Jake muttered in shock.
Jake already knew that the game was weird. Still, there was no point in complaining. He was being paid to play one hundred dollars a day as well for every day that he doesn't die and completes at least a single mission.
Without asking if Jake wanted to proceed, the game teleported him to another place. Jake saw himself standing in the middle of a village on fire. The houses were made of wood, so they were burning quite nicely. The place was also covered in a lot of smoke, so the vision of Jake's surroundings was quite bad. Jake then saw something approaching while making a squishing sound and emitting smoke. It was a fire slime…
Fire Slime Lv 01
Health: 15/15
The information granted by Appraisal was minimal, but Jake couldn't care less about it. He was worried about the fact that his feet were killing him due to the heat. While he was worried about that, the slime opened its mouth when it got twenty meters away from him and used Fireball. Jake moved to the side instantly and dodged the attack. While he felt the heat, he didn't lose his health.
"I guess my reflexes from my middle school days didn't abandon me…"Jake muttered while smiling.
Jake played soccer in middle school, and he was a pretty fast player. Who could have thought that he still had such motor skills? Still, there was no time to celebrate. The fire slime was preparing another attack. Instead of waiting, Jake raised his sword and dashed toward the slime. While that was his first time holding a sword, he sure felt comfortable doing so… the game was really amazing in more ways than one.