"Ha ha ha," Red could only awkwardly laugh at the sudden conversation.
Red looked around to see if someone heard the shout, but everyone seemed too busy to care.
The staff's eyes widened in disbelief, a mix of awe and surprise etched across his face.
"You're a newborn legend! I-I mean, your skills... They're incredible," the staff member stuttered, barely containing his excitement at what he had watched a while ago.
"Thanks?" Red unsurely answered.
He felt uneasy as he thought someone had already recognized his identity. However, that would also be impossible, since he already dyed his hair black and his face had matured compared to back then.
He looked completely different now that he had gotten much older.
The staff smiled, flashing his pearly white teeth. He has short curly black hair, tanned skin, and a slim body. His dark brown eyes expressed his excitement over the matter.
"Oh, I'm Mark, by the way. It's my first time seeing you here." Mark introduced himself as he pointed to the small nameplate on his shirt.
Mark realized how weird it was for him to suddenly start a conversation without introducing himself.
"I'm Red," Red also introduced his name.
"I'm still a newbie… It's my first time playing again after a while, so…" Red's voice was filled with humbleness as if he was shy with what he showed a while ago.
"Woah! That even made you better!" Mark exclaimed loudly, surprised by what he heard.
This man in front of him defeated his enemies in just 6 minutes, and he dared to call himself a newbie?
"You know, I've seen a lot of people playing that game in here. However, it's either they're average or a piece of trash. There's no in-between."
With how Mark sees it, most— no. Almost all of them would be considered the latter one.
"And what you showed? It was so impressive!" His genuine admiration caught Red off guard.
Red chuckled at Mark's eager voice. It seemed like he was really sincere when it came to praising him.
'Is this what happens when you don't play for too long?' Red thought.
It was unexpected and odd, but he liked the feeling of being praised.
Witnessing such a person skillfully playing the game, made Mark want to download it once again and play it too.
Mark was also a player of the game back then, but just stopped because he lost connection with it. In his mind, the game wasn't really fun anymore, with its new players getting more stupid.
"Wait. Lemme get a Coke for you. It's on me."
"Thanks," Red looked at Mark as he hurriedly ran over in front of the internet cafe where the staff's desk and a ref refrigerator filled with drinks were located.
Red tilted his head to the side.
Who would have thought that on his first day of coming back to the game, he would encounter a situation like this immediately?
Red chuckled softly. A sense of familiarity washed over him.
Red remembered the days when he was recognized everywhere he went—his gaming prowess making him somewhat of a celebrity.
'What a good old time,' Red sighed.
Alone, Red navigated through the game's menu. His mind was filled with memories as he scrolled through the familiar options, pausing momentarily at the "InterDawn" mode.
Red, clicked on the mode.
With a deep breath, Red confirmed his choice and found himself transported into a serene landscape within the game—a peaceful starting point for players who were seeking adventure.
It's been so long since he explored this world.
"Here's your coke." Mark placed the can of Coke on the table.
Mark pulled out the available chair on the side and sat beside Red as if they were friends. He watched Red as he explored Dawn's Dominion, the world where InterDawn takes place.
"Woah! Your adventurer looks cool!" Mark's eyes gleamed with amusement.
Red's character was wearing a sleek black coat adorned with intricate golden accents on the chest to his shoulders. The coat draped elegantly over his frame. He paired it with black pants and black boots.
It was a custom outfit that he made.
His striking red hair, vibrant as the color of blood, added a vivid contrast against his dark clothes. It created a strong and agile appearance for Red's character.
In the character's hand was a black stave with a golden end that was somewhat glowing. It was a personalized weapon he created called "Eight Treasures."
"I've made this adventurer for a while now." A faint smile carved on Red's lips.
In Rise of Dawn, all the characters were called "Adventurer".
What's good in this game was that a player can customize his own Adventurer or character.
They players given the freedom to mix and match everything they like — customizing their overall look from head to toe.
The only downside was you could only customize your character twice.
After that, changing anything except your clothes wasn't allowed at all, even if you pleaded with the developers.
However, this was different in terms of customizing weapons.
At your account's creation, you are free to choose one weapon to help you at the start of your journey.
As your exp and your gold coins increase, you are free to sell your weapon and buy a new one, or upgrade your weapon using in-game items that can be obtained from clearing up dungeons, slaying bosses, and achieving a certain level.
"Huh?" Mark's eyes squinted as he noticed Red's character in the game. "You belong to the Nomad Class?"
Mark couldn't believe what he was seeing.
'I thought he either belonged to Assassin or Mage with his moves earlier," Mark was utterly speechless.
Currently, there are 7 available classes in the game. These were Ranger, Fighter, Support, Assassin, Mage, Barbarian, and lastly Nomad.
The players in the game can pick any class they want for their character. However, this was very important since your ability to learn skills would depend on what class you chose.
For example, a mage can't learn the skill of "sword shadow" or "bullet rain" even if she wanted to. This will be the same for an assassin who would want to have skills related to healing.
Among all of them, the Nomad class was the only one to be considered by players, not really a class. The reason was, that it was a class when an adventurer does not fall into the category of the other six classes.
Even though Nomad was the most balanced class among all of them, no one really wanted it, since you wouldn't gain any advantage at the start of the game.
Only a few thousand initially picked the Nomad class because of its ability to learn all available skills. However, among all of them, only a few succeeded in strengthening their agents.
It was because those who chose it did not know how to maximize their adventurer's potential. One more thing was that their weapons limited their skill usage, making the nomad class somehow useless.
How can you possibly use the skill of bullet rain when your weapon was a sword?
Those who miserably failed had no choice but to change class since they kept dying at the hands of other classes.
"It's unusual, isn't it?" Red chuckled.
He was already expecting Mark's reaction as he had heard it numerous times.
"Yeah…" Mark sighed before continuing.
"I heard the first one to be successful in that class is BaBaoFan. Do you know him?"
"…"
Red does not know what to answer.
Why would he go to the lengths of changing his name from BaBaoFan to RedBaoFan if he'll just say his identity freely to everyone?
Mark glanced at his side with Red's silence.
"Why are you silen—Oh!" Mark's eyes widened when he realized something.
Red's in-game name was RedBaoFan.
'RedBaoFan… BaBaoFan… and your class…"
Mark felt the excitement rushing through his body with his new discovery.
"Don't tell me…" Mark's eyes widened. His excitement was greatly showing.
Red's heart thumped loudly at the sudden suspense. He didn't know that he would get caught this easily by a stranger!
"Are you also a big fan of BaBaoFan?!"