Zell seemed dazed when she vanished; he decided to focus on that tiny white computer to finish the last question.
"Lord Zell, will you finally complete this last section?"
He slumped down onto his chair, tired after withstanding that beautiful woman's pressure, but Zell didn't complain, quickly pressing his fingers to open his last choice.
Suddenly, the last screen popped in front of him.
—|Please Choose Two Bonus Add-Ons|—
—Special System
You will be reborn with a system customised for you, and the system will be your servant and under your complete control.
— Random Skill
You will receive a random skill above Tier One from the start; this skill will be unique and bound to your existence.
—Mystic Aura
A unique aura that hides your strength from others.
Stops people in the real world from noticing changes in you; looks, money, ability, attitude.
Aura will cancel upon any criminal activity or extreme actions.
—Double EXP and SP Gain
The amount of experience gained from quests and combat will double. Skill points earned from feats of strength and levelling will also double.
— Soul Weapon
You will receive a weapon bound to your soul that can grow alongside you. No matter how powerful you become, this weapon will follow you!
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Zell looked at the screen with a tired expression. He saw more abilities further down, like endless stamina and another status. You could gain these skills for free if you completed the last dungeon before the merger.
'I think the stamina would be fun with women. However, the soul weapon sounds amazing. This is something my class already had.'
—|Magic Knight Facts|—
A Magic Knight uses two weapons, one black gauntlet with a crystal embedded inside and a core which forms their class specialisation.
Greatsword - Forms a gigantic sword nearly 200cm long.
Longsword - Forms a sword 120-150cm long.
Spear - Forms a spear around 220cm long.
Great Axe - Forms great Axe around 180cm long.
Heavy Axe - An axe over 200cm long used for defence
They use the gauntlet to channel quick spells with the runes embedded within the gauntlet, cutting down required chant times by 80%. Useful for both defence and offence. The gauntlet is a powerful weapon itself.
"No matter what I choose, there will be regrets. That's just the person I am." Zell said to himself. "If possible, I would love three or more, but since it's not possible… I will consider properly."
A long silence followed. Even his breathing became shallow as he focused on the screen—various scenes played in his mind.
"Lord Zell, this support angel could certainly help your choice! Please rely on me more!" Veronica said with an eager voice. But he ignored her completely.
Zell slowly crossed off various choices, his hair now messy from how much he rubbed and scratched it. This idiot ruined such glossy hair!
—| Exp and SP gain doubled|—
He selected this first; levelling in the game was very slow. He only knew the basic details of his new class. He was hoping for his old taming class again.
'I hope my second class is not random, or they grant me the same one as before.'
After choosing his first add-on, the list suddenly vibrated, and a new skill rushed to the top. Many others turned grey and vanished. He wondered if the skill differed from the normal one. It felt like someone was guiding this.
Maybe, Veronica?
—???? System
The ultimate system created for you. Built to fulfil all your desires, cover any shortcomings and save your life in times of need.
"This feels like a scam, where they take your money. You get the first half of your gold premium coins; the rest are regular coins anyone can use. Say, Veronica, is this system worth me losing those cool add-ons? Or should I file a complaint?"
He smiled despite his words. Something about this screamed fate. He wondered if his remarks about the second class caused this. His desire to meet those cute pets again surpassed being some extraordinary, super robust, magic swordsman.
'Well, it's not like I can choose anything else. Let's get this over with.'
"It seems you already decided without my input. Well, it's not like I cared, anyway! Hmph."
Moments after he pressed enter on the last screen, the white room shuddered as if an earthquake had happened. Before his eyes, the computer faded out of reality; his hands passed straight through the area it used to be.
He tried to sit before falling to his ass. The damn chair vanished too! Zell tried to steady himself as the shaking worsened, and he fell again.
Until silence, no more earthquake or noise.
His room filled with silence, only the indistinct sound of Zell's soft breath as it calmed down from the stress.
"Veronica?"
A few moments passed as Zell waited here despite the computer and chair having vanished from sight, wondering what would happen next and feeling like they had scammed him for real. Zell dropped onto his back, looking into the sky as he contemplated his life in that horrible world.
Melancholy filled his gaze.
Zell joined the game almost a year later; once it was already in full swing and its economy was steady, most guilds had already formed their fierce markets, but he still lacked any support as a solo player and would often get ripped off.
'The first few levels were difficult in my previous life. Why didn't my class gain any combat skills before level 5? They should have made it a subclass that unlocked the Tamer at level 10, like a summoner!'
His class was called Tamer, which sounded incredible. Zell liked to train pets in games and unleash them on his enemies. The most important thing was these would evolve into 3D humanoid women. He could even customise them before they developed, which he spent hours doing!
He spent hours trying to catch up to everyone else. Yet his pets were not for combat with only some niche special abilities; a fox could find secret paths, a wolf could dig for treasure, and a badger emitted a healing aura.
Zell reached level five and unlocked the pet battle function. This allowed him to make some progress. Briefly, he considered giving up, but thanks to his cute girls and Rika, the single combat pet who cost his entire month's wage for an actual money event.
By the time he got to level ten, it was too late; his world ended forever, changed into a hellish land, struggling to get by and survive.
Slowly, his eyelids fluttered, each time growing heavier. It was like someone forced his eyes shut as he drifted into a deep sleep. Unaware of a beautiful rabbit woman with glossy white hair down to her waist and two floppy rabbit ears, with thick fluffy tufts of fur.
"It's been so long, master; you still care about us even after we failed you?"
"This time, we can fight!"
She was Rika, his beloved Blaze rabbit and only combat pet. Her fists crackled with a dark red flame. As she watched the beautiful young man fade into a mirage, her body followed him.
-
-
Several hours later, inside a small room with dirty pots and cans on a cheap Ikeda desk with two monitors and a mini VR headset.
A small, makeshift bed tucked under the desk, with the bedding of a certain monkey prince, a handsome boy, lay in a deep sleep. His black glossy hair, sharp brows and beautiful peach lips were utterly out of place in this room.
He had fallen out of a movie or novel. Why was he so handsome? Yet, In a trashy room with a funky smell?
On the wall was a calendar. It showed today's date
—| Jani 1st, 2173 |—
Today is the release of Astral Online! I booked three weeks off from work. Let's grind and have fun!
Happy 19th birthday
Myself
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