Ryan sighed as he looked at the three players in front of him, frantically trying to put on clothes.
The Creation Points could only form the players' bodies, not even underwear, so the players started out completely naked.
Therefore, Ryan had deliberately summoned the male and female players separately and had prepared clothes in advance. However, the players seemed too excited to notice the clothes nearby.
Thankfully, he had come to the male players first. If he had gone to the female players' room and found them still undressed, it would have been truly awkward.
Once the three male players were dressed, Ryan led them to the female players' room. After confirming at the door that they had also dressed, he pushed the door open and entered.
Seeing the five players—three males and two females—Ryan felt quite excited. He had initially thought getting two or three players online would be great, but to his surprise, all five had logged in.
[Main Quest: Have at least one player officially log into the game (Quest complete, reward issued)]
After happily claiming his reward, Ryan began the player orientation he had prepared in advance.
"Esteemed visitors from the Divine Realm, welcome to Firefly Town. I am the lord of this place, Baron Ryan."
"In our world, there are marvelous creatures known as 'Pokémon.' They are intelligent, adorable, and possess a variety of special abilities."
As Ryan spoke, he held up a small Pokémon called Bounsweet.
"Bounsweet~ (°▽°)/" the Pokémon greeted the players cheerfully.
"Oh my god, it's so cute!"
"It looks like a mangosteen. Was it created based on that fruit?"
"It smells so good! I want to take a bite!"
"Bounsweet! (#Д)"
Hearing this, the frightened Bounsweet quickly hid behind Ryan.
"It can understand what we're saying?!"
"Seems pretty smart."
"Ahem," Ryan coughed a few times to interrupt their chatter. "As you can see, Pokémon are not much less intelligent than humans. Some are even far more intelligent."
"Pokémon and humans are both creations of the God of Creation, and they should live together in harmony. However, due to wars and other reasons, the relationship between humans and Pokémon has become hostile. If this continues, a decisive battle between humans and Pokémon is inevitable, and when that happens, countless lives will be lost."
"To prevent this, the God of Creation chose me as His sole messenger to stop this conflict. He has sent you, visitors from the Divine Realm, to help me. I hope we can work together to set this world back on the right track."
Finally finishing his opening speech, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, unsure how well it went.
Judging by the excited looks on the players' faces, the introduction seemed to have been well-received. Yes, this could definitely be used again in the future.
"Is this the game's background story? It sounds pretty cool, but I wonder what the actual gameplay will be like."
"This is a virtual reality game. I'd be happy even if it was just Tetris in here. By the way, how do we log out?"
Bryan quickly asked, not wanting to end up stuck in the game like a certain character in an anime from a few years ago.
"Are you talking about returning to the Divine Realm? The mark of the God of Creation is on the back of your hand. If you focus on it, you can choose to return to the Divine Realm."
"However, only your soul will return; your body will remain here, so it's best to find a safe place before you return."
Hearing this, Bryan tried it out and found that there really was a log-out option, which reassured him greatly.
"You've watched too much anime," Vrix said, shaking his head, though he had a question of his own.
"How do we open the player interface? Where do we see our levels and stats? How do we level up through combat?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. As for combat, you'll be commanding your Pokémon to fight."
"Well then—"
"Enough! You'll figure out those things in time. For now, the priority is to rebuild our territory. Follow me," Ryan interrupted, stopping the players from asking too many questions that could expose any flaws in his hastily prepared world.
He didn't have the luxury of time, and considering how much he had achieved already, it was no small feat. First, he had the players' consciousness tour the town, serving as a sort of opening cinematic. Then, he granted them the authority to create their physical forms, adding in a character customization phase.
But since he wasn't a professional game designer, some things were inevitably lacking. These could be improved later.
"Before I take you outside, I need to emphasize one more thing."
"I am the God of Creation's sole messenger. My commands are His will. Should anyone disobey, I have the authority to send them back to the Divine Realm and strip them of the right to return to this world!"
Ryan's tone grew harsher. He knew too well the chaos "the Fourth Calamity" (the players) could bring. Without strict rules, there was no telling what kind of trouble they might cause.
"Wow, is he saying this NPC has the power to ban us? That's intense."
Bryan nudged Vrix, whispering.
"He's probably the game's protagonist, meant to control our actions on behalf of the developers."
"But this game is hardcore. Instant bans? Aren't they afraid people will quit out of frustration?"
As soon as he said this, Bryan realized how ridiculous his question was.
Vrix looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Dude, this is a virtual reality game. Plenty of people are begging to play. They won't miss just one player."
"Pfft—" A giggle came from nearby. They turned to see a female player with twin buns covering her mouth, stifling a laugh.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just, your expression was too funny."
After apologizing, the female player introduced herself.
"Hi, my in-game name is Isabell. You can call me Bell. This beauty next to me is Stella."
"Nice to meet you. No need to introduce my game name; it's right above my head. Just call me Silent Walker, and this is Shadow. That guy over there is Leaf."
"No need to apologize. My question was dumb. Honestly, I'll do whatever Lord Ryan tells me to do if it means I get to keep playing this game!"
Bryan said, deliberately raising his voice on the last part to show his loyalty to Ryan.
As they spoke, they reached the entrance to the castle. As the doors opened, sunlight slowly poured in.
"Whoa! The sunlight actually feels warm on my skin!"
"Even the sand particles are so clear. This is just like the real world!"
"I thought only the castle would feel real, but the outside world is just as lifelike."
The players were once again filled with awe.
Meanwhile, White, who had been standing guard at the door, looked at the group in surprise. He had double-checked before, and besides Ryan, no one else should have been in the castle. Where had these people come from? Could they really be visitors from the Divine Realm?
Realizing this, the usually composed White became excited. It seemed that Ryan had truly received divine guidance, and the territory was finally saved.
Seeing the teary-eyed White, Ryan said nothing, merely patting him on the shoulder before turning to the players.
"This is White, the Knight of Firefly Town. He is both the scribe and the captain of the knights. If you have any questions about the territory, you can ask him."
"Also, aside from White and me, you must not reveal your identity as visitors from the Divine Realm to anyone else. If you do, you will face the consequences. If anyone asks, say you are newly arrived refugees."
After seeing the players nod in understanding, Ryan issued their first task.