At the same time as the cheery, mechanical voice rang out, Mino suddenly found himself floating in the air. Surrounding him was a beautiful canvas of darkness and stars. It was like he had suddenly been transported to space as soon as the game started.
He looked at his hands. His hands and body were see-through and blue-tinted like he had suddenly become a ghost. But before Mino could question anything, two squares with similar design to his body popped up in front of him.
[Log in] [Register]
Since it was his first time, Mino tentatively moved his hand over to the second button and pressed 'Register.' Unlike what he thought would happen, it was like pushing a real button or screen instead of his hand passing right through it.
The next second, a bunch of empty fields requesting his information popped up. His full name, his mail, his number, his address, and a bunch of details had to be filled in before he could continue.
Mino was a little skeptical about giving so much information to a game, but it was too late to back out now. He was also enticed by the brief glimpse into virtual reality he had already gotten from this introduction.
He could feel he was in a virtual reality and that he wasn't controlling his real body. But it was incredibly well done. There was barely any delay between his thoughts and the movements of his body.
After he had filled in his personal details, the next thing he needed to write was a username.
"Cinder, I guess," he said while moving his fingers to the holographic keyboard. His eyes widened in surprise as the words he said appeared in the empty field.
"No, no! Not I guess!" He hurried to fix it, worried that his username would become something lame. Fortunately, he needed to confirm everything before his username was etched in digital stone.
"Cinder. Just Cinder," he repeated.
[Cinder_Just_Cinder]
Mino sighed. Verbal commands were pretty neat, but he would stay silent and stick with the keyboard for now.
After his username was settled, Mino was faced with another choice.
[Naturalist] [Traveler]
Brett had mentioned Naturalists, and Mino knew that was what he was supposed to choose, but he didn't know what either option meant. Fortunately, there was a tiny question mark beneath each option.
Mino skimmed each option's description, hoping he understood it correctly.
Traveler seemed to be standard gaming. If he chose that, Mino would have access to things like levels, classes, stats, and system-assisted skills and skill acquisition. It was what one might expect from a classic RPG.
After reading the explanation for Naturalist, Mino understood why he had to choose that one if he wanted to become a token miner and earn some cash. Naturalists received bonuses when exchanging items for tokens and tokens for money. Looking purely at the financial benefits, it was the obvious choice.
However, if he chose Naturalist, he could forget about acquiring a class, leveling up, or getting a system to help him in-game.
'...I still don't even know what the game is about.' Mino muttered inwardly as he chose Naturalist.
Having a class like mage or warrior seemed like it would be a little more fun since he would be able to get skills and shoot fireballs and stuff. But he wasn't here to have fun.
Mino felt his stomach rise as he suddenly dropped like a stone. At the same time, the space around him transformed into a blue sky and a vast field of green grass. Skin-colored squares also folded onto his body, mimicking his appearance in reality.
Mino frowned as he held out his hands to the sides to steady himself.
All of a sudden, everything suddenly felt much more real.
[As you have chosen the path of a Naturalist, the alterations you can make are minimal.] To the sound of the now gentle and human voice, a mirror appeared in front of Mino, reflecting his appearance in full. Well, almost. His private parts were hidden behind a mosaic.
Mino frowned as he looked at himself in the mirror.
"Doesn't that mean people can recognize me in the game?" Mino wasn't famous or anything. He was just paranoid.
[With the increased synchronization rate of a Naturalist, differences between the avatar and reality can cause psychological disorders,] the voice helpfully explained.
"I see…Thanks for the explanation." Mino decided it wasn't much of a risk anyway. There was no way anyone would recognize him in the game. Even if they did, why would they bother looking for him in reality?
"Um, Miss Mysterious Voice, this is the last step before I enter the game, right?" He asked after deciding he didn't need to make any adjustments.
[That's right.]
"What is this game about?"
[...]
The mysterious soothing voice was silent in a way that made Mino feel like it hadn't expected that question.
[Sisyphus was a man punished by the gods to roll a stone up a hill, but whenever he approached the peak, the stone would fall down, forcing him to repeat the process endlessly. This game is built upon that legend. The sole objective provided to the players, Naturalists and Travelers alike, is to climb Sisyphus' Mountain while overcoming endless trials. Of course, since this is not a punishment but a game, it is a little different from the legend.]
"I see…So, what's at the top of the mountain?"
[You will have to climb it yourself to find out. Are you ready to begin your climb, Cinder?] The voice asked.
There was only one answer.
"Yes," Cinder said, bracing himself.
[Then I bid you good luck. No matter what trial you face, remember to keep your head high and your gaze higher.]
While the voice spoke its encouraging words, Cinder's surroundings faded away.