[You have selected the class: Dark Mage]
[You have chosen the name: Raze]
[Transporting you to the world of Nexon]
Ray had seen all the classes in action, he knew what all the classes were capable of doing.
When it was time to pick, he chose Dark Mage. Why? Simply because the Dark Mage's spells were powerful—pure destructive power.
It was a class meant for offense, unlike the all-rounder spellcaster, who could attack, defend, and heal. Ray had no desire to join any party long-term, but if it would serve him, he would in the moment.
With that decided, his vision was overwhelmed with blinding light. When the brightness receded, he was facing a village.
[Welcome to Whitewood Village]
Ray blinked, his eyes adjusting to the brightness. The village ahead was small but alive. Wooden houses lined the dirt road, and the smell of smoke mixed with the fresh, earthy scent of the countryside.
People—NPCs, Ray reminded himself, walked around going about their business. The sounds of the village buzzed in the background, and for a moment, it felt so real.
He looked down at his hands in surprise to see them still his own. It was as if his real body had been brought here.
He felt weightless, almost as if he belonged in this world. Ray moved around a little, testing his body, jumping, and stretching. Everything felt perfect.
His clothes were simple commoner-style tunic and pants but they didn't feel out of place. Ray looked about the village, taking everything in. The sun overhead was warm, and the breeze tugged lightly at his hair.
"This is it," he muttered to himself with a smile on his face feeling a mix of excitement and curiosity.
There were no guiding arrows, nor was there a map leading him his way, just village noises and the rare bird song.
He didn't have a clear-cut direction as yet, but he knew the initial few steps here in the game were important. Sure, WhiteWood Village was small, but it was a start, at least.
He would be able to get a general idea of how the world feels, the mechanics and the available resources.
Ray did not plan to hold out here for long, but the village could be used for gathering some intel, but players level 5 or higher aren't allowed in the village since it was the beginner village.
He strolled along the road and met at least several NPCs. Some of them chattered to each other, other walkers huddled with their eyes on the ground.
From afar, he could catch certain scraps of conversation: they spoke of the war against the Demon Kingdom, some very far-off lands, and all those weird rumors.
By this time, it was already starting to feel much more than just a game.
Ray turned a corner and spotted a small group of players standing together. There were four of them. Their names floated above their heads, clearly marking them as players, not NPCs. One of them noticed Ray and walked over.
"Hey, Raze, right?" the player said, smiling after seeing his name on the top of his head.
"We're heading out on a quest to clear out some goblins near the village. Want to join us?"
Ray studied the speaker. The player wore a sword at his waist, probably a knight or swordsman, though his name—Tootling, it was kinda funny. But that wasn't Ray's concern. This was an opportunity to learn about the game mechanics in action.
"Sure, tell me more about the quest," Ray asked.
"Some goblins have been attacking the village," Tootling explained. "We're going to clear them out. There should be around 20 or so goblins. We'll share the loot equally and don't worry, we have a healer with us, too."
Ray raised an eyebrow. Healers were a rare class, and not very popular. No one wanted to play a class that only helped others, especially when healers couldn't be done solo. If you were a healer, you likely already had a group.
Ray wasn't bothered by that. If he was going to test things out, this was a good chance.
"Alright, I'm in," Ray said.
"Great," said Tootling. "Let's go confirm the quest." With that said, the group turned and began a casual walk toward the end of the village where a small building stood.
Ray hadn't looked over his stats yet, but he knew the basics. He already knew that his starting spell was fireball.
The system had posted all the starting stats online a month ago so that people would know exactly what they were getting into. He could cast Fireball without even thinking about it.
He paused for a moment, then opened his interface just to confirm.
[Name: Raze]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 50/50] Health Point
[XP: 0/50] Experience Point
[Ap: 0] Attribute Points
[Class: Dark Mage]
[Coins: 0]
[Title: None]
[Rank: None]
[Spell(s): Fireball]
[MANA: 50/50]
[STR: 5] Strength
[AGI: 15] Agility
[STA: 10] Stamina
[VIT: 20] Vitality
[INT: 30] Intelligence
[SPL: 50] Spellpower
[Inventory]
[Map]
[Log out]
Ray skimmed over the stats. Nothing out of the ordinary. His stats were pretty normal for a Dark Mage class: high Intelligence and Spellpower. His Strength, Stamina, and Vitality were low but it was normal for a mage, it would have to do for now.
After the group arrived at the building, a board was outside where different quests were placed on papers.
Several NPCs were congregated around it, reading through notices on various quests.
Most of these sounded quite mundane, like gathering herbs or slaying wild beasts. One caught his attention, though: in red letters and warning, there was this notice:
[Defend the Village from Rogue Goblins - Level 5 Required]
Ray's eyes stayed on the quest for a moment, and that was understandable as the quest could only be done solo by a level 5 player.
That must be the reason why this group of his was searching for another player - it was the right chance for them to team up and get used to the group quest system.
The group stopped in front of the board, where the NPCs were talking about several quests. Ray stepped back a moment and watched.
Tootling went in and came out some second later. "Alright, let's go," he said, then led the group toward the outskirts of the village where the goblins were said to be lurking.