"Haah this really happened and this is really the worst case" I calmed my mind for a moment and tried to rationalize my current thoughts.
"Let's take the positive side…" Ivo tried to think of all the reasons in his head but he finally gave up. "Does that really exist?"
What he saw right now was the city of Ernest which was in the setting of the Destiny game world. There was no mistake. Ivo couldn't possibly not recognize the setting of this city which was so beautiful and pleasing to the eye, especially as a veteran player.
"Of all places why do I have to start from the city of Ernest?" Ivo sighed softly after observing his surroundings.
'Destiny' gave freedom in starting the game. Usually, when new players enter the game, they can choose where they will start. But that was only limited to the kingdom area.
"It would be better if I started from the kingdom capital at least I can survive safely for the first half of the destiny game."
There was an important reminder for beginners in the online forum that discussed 'Destiny'. Never start from the city of Ernest.
The reason is very simple. A beginner player can't go through without knowing the fundamental point of 'destiny'.
It should be noted that 'Destiny' is completely different from other games. If the purpose of a common game is to have fun for its players then 'Destiny' is not like that.
Humans play games as a means to escape from the real world and find their own pleasure in a fantasy world that suits their desires. There may be some who play games not for fun but to support themselves or even compete with each other and so on but the root of it does not change. Humans play games because it is fun.
So, no matter how good the game is, it will not be played if the game is not fun. Besides, who wants to play a game that forces players to start over every time they die? Why would players play a game if all the efforts they have made will eventually be wasted with just one small mistake?
"Even I hesitate to start from Ernest's town even though I have played for 15 years. But what has happened has happened." Ivo shook his head and could only accept the reality in front of him.
His experience playing 'Destiny' for 15 years in the real world made him understand one thing.
Never expect something to go according to your wishes. Everything you do must have consequences.
Ivo observed his body through the puddles of water around the alley where he woke up.
His current appearance was not much different from his appearance when he was 17 years old. There were no defects on his body and it even felt like his current body was better than his previous body. In addition, he could feel that in his body there was 'mana' which was the source of magic.
His face was quite normal for a child his age except for his hair which was quite long. It was a face that always appeared when he played 'Destiny' because 'Destiny' did not have the option to create a character. So someone could only use their real face. "It seems like the features of the game haven't changed."
While Ivo was examining his face, a virtual screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Synchronization with the main body has begun. Please wait a moment]
"Information panel!!!" Ivo exclaimed happily.
[0…10%…25%…43%…]
Ivo waited while staring at the screen in front of him. The numbers showed that the synchronization value had risen rapidly and finally reached 100%.
[Synchronization is complete. The information panel can now be used]
"Open the information panel."
A transparent blue light curtain appeared in the line of sight, giving off a sci-fi feel despite the magical world setting. The panel that appeared did not affect the line of sight.
——————
Name: Ivo
Race: Human (100%)
Age: 17
Strength: 10
Agility: 12
Stamina: 8
Intelligence: ???
Mana: 15
Luck: 1
Talent: -
Skills: -
——————
The 'Destiny' information panel appeared in front of him. Its function was still similar to before. destiny power system does not use levels like other games. To become stronger requires effort, experience, and knowledge to get the desired skills.
When Ivo was about to close his information panel. another panel appeared in front of him.
[It was detected that before you moved to this world, you had gone through various troubles while playing 'Destiny']
[Currently, a special qualification will be opened to pay for all the hardships you have experienced and will be closed after the award is given]
[the first qualification has been met (experiencing destiny for more than 10 years in the real world). The reward will be given]
[choose one of the skills you want]
"Hmm, what is this? Special qualification?" A confused expression appeared on his face.
Ivo looked at the panel again. The panel asked him to choose the skill he wanted. This feature clearly did not exist in the Destiny game. There was nothing like a gift or special qualification given by the system.
To get something like a skill usually requires enough effort and knowledge. In addition, using a skill is not as easy as just saying its name. Players need to learn to control and issue skills manually. This is one of the features that ranks third on the game forum as the most annoying feature in Destiny and the first in the case of death for players.
'I can choose one skill I want?.'
"Then I want World Devourer" Ivo said what he remembered from his past memories.
"Well, it can't be…"
Ivo stopped and was shocked when he saw the panel in front of him. A shiver ran through his body because of the sentence that appeared on his panel
Contrary to his expectations, the Information Panel gave a positive response.
[World Devourer will be selected as your skill]
[Warning!!! This skill cannot be activated because the host's race and body are incompatible with the skill. Do you still want to continue?]
[Yes/No]
"Is this really possible?" Ivo quietly said and still couldn't hide his surprise. He immediately pressed the no button and the panel asking to choose a skill appeared again.
He frowned and looked carefully at the panel in front of him. "Qualification huh… I really can't have something like World Devourer with a human body."
I said it to see if it was possible. Since I've confirmed it, then this is positive news. Having a skill at an early stage would be a huge help and could save me a lot of trouble especially to survive the first half of 'Destiny'.
10 real world years which means more than 86,000 real world hours. This means someone would need to spend at least 16 hours every day just to play Destiny.
There's no way anyone could achieve this, when 'Destiny' has become a dead game in just 5 years.
Ivo thought about it for a while but couldn't come up with a definite answer. "This is really a very difficult choice."
Right now I'm just an ordinary human with very low status and abilities. So I have to consider it carefully.
In theory there are more than 1000 skills that I can choose and can be used with the current condition. Starting with something as basic as magic, or swordsmanship. Or something at a higher level like mastery of the Sword Domain or various high level magic.
"I can't choose something that can be obtained easily or with hard work. Something that can be obtained easily I won't choose."
There was only one choice and it had to be chosen carefully.
He pondered it for a while and chose one. "Heart of fearlessness"
[Heart of fearlessness will be selected as your skill are you sure]
[yes/no]
Ivo confidently pressed the word 'yes' on the panel. Suddenly a pain appeared right in his heart. His heart felt like it was being stabbed by hundreds of needles that were slowly piercing.
'It hurts, it hurts so much. Ack….' Under the baptism of pain, Ivo ran deeper into the alley where he woke up. In a dark corner, Ivo gritted his teeth and raised his hand.
"I have to endure this."
Blue light flowed from his hand and formed a vortex of white light that was so faint that it could disappear with just a slight touch. Ivo who saw it could only smile and continue to produce other vortexes around him.
What Ivo formed was a simple magic that he learned during his time as a Destiny player. The mana usage was quite small for each vortex and could be used quite easily. This was a magic that suited him when his mana capacity had not even reached the first awakening standard.
After 5 vortexes were formed, Ivo directed them into his body and let out a sigh of relief. The pain that tortured him slowly subsided little by little.
"Again. I have to keep repeating this."
…
Ivo didn't bother to count how long this process took, but the sun had set and was replaced by the bright moonlight.
There, Ivo sat leaning back weakly. His face was pale and the clothes he was wearing were soaked with sweat. The Mana he had had already run out hours ago even before the sun had set.
"Damn, I forgot how weak this body was in the early stages. It seems like it's been too long since I started over. Maybe it's been 3 years? The last account I created before suddenly appearing here was created about three years ago."
Ivo could only groan softly without anyone hearing him. In the middle of the process, his Mana ran out after repeating it 10 times. After that, he had to endure this pain for hours until his Mana was refilled and repeated the same process.
Time was something so mysterious even to Ivo. Sometimes the pain would make time go slower and seem like forever, but when he pondered, time would feel so fast like a flash of lightning appearing in the sky.
He understood this very well. Because he had experienced this every day even before coming here.
One year in the real world, 10 years in the game world. Both seemed so long and so short.