Inside a pastry shop was a man in his mid-twenties. He had a thin figure and average facial features. He was wearing a red polo shirt and washed-out blue pants. At this moment, he was staring blankly at the gadget store across the pastry shop. His attention was focused on the new gaming headgear released by Ethereal Inc., the top virtual reality game company in the world.
Ethereal Inc. released its new virtual game called Ethereal World Online, a game that features a fully immersive experience! Once the player enters the game world, they would feel like it was no different than reality!
Mark has been keeping tabs on this new virtual game for a long time and he had been saving up his money just to buy the gaming headset. He wasn't a hardcore gamer, but the unique features of the game made him decide to try it out.
"It's finally here!" Mark couldn't wait to purchase the gaming headgear, but he was still on duty so he couldn't leave the pastry shop. Furthermore, the manager of the shop was looking at him with a stern gaze. If he walked out of the shop, he would be reprimanded and his bonus might be deducted.
"Mark! What are you standing there for?! Go and call some customers!" The middle-aged manager called out in a cold voice.
"Yes, ma'am!" Mark quickly went to work after hearing the anger in her tone. She was a very irritable woman and provoking her was not a good idea.
"Hello, ma'am, sir! Please check our cakes and breads!" Mark routinely shouted. He has been working in this pastry shop for over a year. He was already familiar with the composition of the cakes and breads. If someone asked him about them, he could even give them two paragraphs for each of their products.
The pastry shop was once famous and it was even regarded as the best in the country, but because of the emergence of new competitors, it slowly lost its appeal.
There were only a few customers who came in to buy so Mark wasn't busy. When lunch break arrived, he immediately asked the manager for permission to leave. They didn't have a lot of customers so the manager agreed.
Mark eagerly grabbed his wallet and walked towards the gadget store across the pastry shop. He noticed that there were quite a few people inside the store, but they were only there to observe the products.
"Hello! Can I buy the headgear for the new virtual game released by Ethereal Inc.?" Mark inquired.
The saleslady realized that he was the service crew from the pastry shop across their store. "Of course, sir! We still have some headgear available." She answered with a smile.
"Get me one. I'll pay in cash." Mark opened his wallet and took out the money he saved up.
The saleslady nodded in surprise. "Alright."
Not long later, the saleslady returned with the gaming headgear. It looked like a full-face helmet up close. "This gaming headgear is 2000 dollars."
Mark counted his money and gave the exact amount to the saleslady. "Here's my payment."
"Thank you. I receive exactly 2000 dollars." The saleslady said after counting the money. She then wrapped up the gaming headgear and gave it to Mark. "Thank you for your support."
"You're welcome." Mark nodded with a smile. His lunch break was only an hour so he had to quickly return to the pastry shop to eat.
"Where did you get that helmet?" The manager of the pastry shop asked with furrowed eyebrows. Mark didn't have a motorcycle so she was surprised to see him come back with a new helmet.
"Oh, this? It's just a toy." Mark replied ambiguously. The manager wasn't a techy person so explaining things to her would be a boring and lengthy process. He might as well save himself the trouble.
The manager lost interest after hearing his reply.
Mark carefully placed the gaming headgear inside his locker. He then grabbed his lunchbox and enjoyed his meal.
After lunch, Mark worked for another three hours before they closed the pastry shop. He then went back home using the public transport.
It was already late in the afternoon when he arrived at his home.
He lived in an 18-meter square studio apartment. He bought this apartment using the money he saved up from working multiple odd jobs for over five years. It was a tough process, but the feeling of having his own home brought a sense of fulfillment that made him feel happy.
Mark didn't immediately try the game. According to the manual, the players can only log into the game starting at 6 p.m. Furthermore, everyone will be forcibly logged out at 9 a.m. This was a rule that was made by Ethereal Inc. to ensure that the players wouldn't stay inside the game world for prolonged periods.
Mark prepared his dinner. He didn't want to eat a hefty meal at night so he only cooked a small bowl of ramen.
While eating, Mark checked the time on his watch.
5:57 p.m.
There were still three minutes before he could log into the game. He quickly finished his meal and put the empty bowl into the sink. He then grabbed the gaming headgear and put it on his head before he lay down on the bed.
The moment he lay down, a countdown appeared on the screen of the helmet.
1:00
0:59
0:58
0:57
…
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.00
Welcome to Ethereal World Online!
That was the last thing he saw before his vision was enveloped by darkness. When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in an empty white space.
"This is…" Mark was stunned when he realized that he could move freely. He tried to jump up and down to test the realism of the game and to his surprise, he found out that it was almost no different than reality!
"Welcome, Player! I am Victoria. I'm responsible for receiving the new players that enter this world." A cute voice suddenly interrupted Mark.
He looked around and saw a small little fairy flying above his head. There were glitters of white light falling off her tiny transparent wings. "Is this an NPC?" He whispered as he tried to touch Victoria. However, Victoria flew higher, preventing him from touching her.
"Player, if you want to check your personal attributes, just whisper 'player information'," Victoria said with a neutral expression.
"Player Information." Mark whispered.
Player IGN: Unnamed
Cultivation: Mortal
Physique: Mortal
Wealth: 0
Vitality: 0.7
Endurance: 1.4
Strength: 0.8
Stamina: 0:7
Speed: 0.7
Spirit: 1.9
(Average attributes of mortals = 1.0)
Mark was offended when he saw his stats. Other than his Endurance and Spirit which exceeded the average level of mortals, his other stats were below average.
The basic stats of the players were determined based on their physical statistics in the real world. Mark was a sickly person in the real world so these stats were completely normal.
"Player, you can now edit your in-game character." Victoria suddenly said while Mark was checking his attributes.
An editing panel appeared in front of him and this also showed him his in-game character which looked no different than his real face.
"I can't change the gender of my character and I can only make some small adjustments to my appearance… This isn't too bad. At least I can change my appearance." Mark edited his facial features. He made himself look more attractive, but because of his average looks, the final changes only made him look a bit pleasing. He then made some changes to his stature and made himself look taller. He also added more muscles to his character since he looked very thin. After adding the final touches, a 6-foot-tall man with short black hair and lean muscles was reflected on the character interface.
Mark was satisfied with the changes he made.
"Congratulations on editing your in-game character! Please edit your in-game name." Victoria's expression was still neutral.
"In-game name? I've long thought about it." Mark typed in his in-game name.
"Congratulations, Wolf of the Grassland! You can now begin your journey in Ethereal, but before you go. Please take this gift." Victoria waved her small hand.
[You received x1 Newbie Gift from Victoria. Do you want to open it?]
'Yes!' Mark thought in his mind.
[You received 1000 Orbes!]
[You received x1 set of Ordinary Clothes!]
[You received x1 Ordinary Sword!]
[You received x1 Ordinary Cultivation Manual!]
[You received x5 Coarse Bread!]
[You received x1 Ordinary Storage Bag!]