──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
[ Player ]
‣ Name: Handa Yamamoto
‣ Level: 0 ( 0.00% )
‣ Faction: Vampire
‣ Trait: Nocturnal
[ Stats ]
‣ HP: 100/100 | MP: 25/25
‣ STR: 3 | DEX: 5 | INT: 5 | VIT: 5
‣ Unallocated Points: 0
[ Skills ]
[ Inventory ]
‣ x1 Random Skill Card
‣ x1 Starter Weapon Selection Chest
[ Quests - 1! ]
[ Social Hub - Locked ]
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
'Damn, for a dream, this status screen isn't bad.' Rito thought, scratching his head as he stared at the glowing interface.
Then his eyes landed on the word "Vampire" next to his faction.
'Vampire, huh?'
He paused, thinking for a second before shrugging.
'Eh, I'll take it. At least being a vampire has some style.'
'Better than being a boring human or some tree-hugging elf.'
The memory of how he got here floated back into his mind.
It had started with him standing in a blank, white void. In front of him floated screens, each showing a different faction.
There were familiar options:
Humans—boring.
Elves—too sparkly.
Demons—edgy but overdone.
Beastfolk—nah, fur wasn't his thing.
…
A voice echoed in his head:
"Choose your faction."
Rito had scratched the back of his head, scrolling through the choices with a lazy flick.
'Man, this dream's really pushing me to make decisions. What's with all the effort?'
His eyes landed on a glowing random button at the bottom of the screen. Without thinking twice, he smiled and tapped it.
'Random's the way to go. Keeps things exciting.'
Back in the present, he laughed to himself.
'Hah, fangs it is.'
Curious about the other sections, he let his finger hover over them. With a tap, they expanded one by one.
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
[ Trait: Nocturnal ]
‣ Gains +30% to all stats during nighttime or in complete darkness. However, suffers a -20% stat penalty when directly exposed to sunlight.
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
'Yep, figures. Classic vampire stuff.'
'But hey, I'll take stat penalties over being vaporized the moment I step into sunlight.'
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
[ x1 Random Skill Card ]
‣ Draw a random skill. This skill can range from 1-star to 5-star rarity.
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
He chuckled, shaking his head.
'Even in this dream, gacha's following me.'
Then, in an instant, he locked in, closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and looked upwards with an overly serious expression.
'Please, RNG gods, just this once! Don't give me something lame like Blood Boil Level 1.'
With a tap, the screen glowed, and a set of cards appeared, floating in mid-air. They shuffled back and forth, glowing in different colors—plain, bronze, silver, gold—before one finally stopped.
It was gold.
The card flipped over, revealing its details.
[ Ding! You've received 4-star skill: Bloody Frost Bat. ]
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
[ Bloody Frost Bat ] ( ✯✯✯✯ )
‣ Summons a bat made of blood and ice that seeks out an enemy, colliding with them to deal ice damage and reduce their attack speed. 10% chance to freeze the target for 2 seconds.
‣ Type: Blood & Ice
‣ Cost: 5 MP per bat summoned
‣ Cooldown: 30 seconds
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
'A 4-star? Isn't this ultra good? The gacha gods actually answered me? This is a first!'
Reading the description, he grinned.
'Wait a sec… it's basically a kamikaze bat. I summon it, it smashes into someone, and boom—freezing damage.'
'And as long as I have enough mana, I can summon a bunch before the cooldown starts. Not bad at all.'
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
[ x1 Starter Weapon Selection Chest ]
‣ Open this chest to choose your starting weapon. Options include swords, axes, spears, and more.
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
Rito unlocked the chest and took the spear. It was his go-to weapon whenever he had a choice.
[ Ding! You've received x1 Steel-tipped Wooden Spear. ]
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
[ Quests ]
[ 1 ] Slay monsters and reach Level 1.
‣ Progress: 0/1 Level
‣ Reward: Access to Social Hub, x5 Bread Loafs, x5 1L Bottled Water
‣ Penalty: Death
‣ Time Left: 2 hours
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
Rito stared at the quest screen for a moment, raising an eyebrow.
'Oh? Isn't the penalty a bit extreme?'
'Death for the first quest?'
He'd played his fair share of games, but this felt... different. The penalty didn't seem like something he'd expect at the start. Weird, but okay.
Rito swiped the screen away, closing it. Finally, his attention shifted to his surroundings.
He was in a small, entirely white room. Everything around him was white—walls, floor, ceiling—except for a wooden door in front of him. It was a strange place.
Without hesitation, Rito walked straight toward the door. As he moved, he couldn't help but notice how real everything felt. It wasn't like the VRMMORPGs he'd tried before. The sensations were way smoother, more lifelike.
He stopped in front of the door, then gave himself a sudden slap across the face.
SMACK!
"Shit, that hurt!" he winced, rubbing his cheek.
'And I'm not even waking up… is this really a new reality? Or am I just going to snap out of it in a few minutes?'
An idea popped into his head.
"Forget this." Rito smirked. "Time for my secret technique."
Instead of reaching for the door, he walked over to the corner of the room.
"Oh, I'm not waking up? Alright, here we go."
Rito whipped out his "Excalibur" and began releasing his sacred water.
As he finished, a small laugh escaped his lips, cracking slightly.
"Fuck. This isn't a dream at all."
He glanced around, half expecting reality to shift or the room to fade. But nothing changed.
'I should've woken up by now… but I'm still here.'
Clearing his thoughts, he brushed his hair out of his eyes. Something caught his attention—it was white now. His hair, completely white.
"Oh, right. Vampire faction." he muttered, piercing it together.
Reaching up, he felt around for his teeth. Just as expected, his fangs were there, sharper than he remembered.
He licked his lips, a flicker of amusement crossing his face.
'No point overthinking it. Let's just finish the first quest.'
With that, he darted toward the wooden door, grabbed the handle, and swung it open.
Rito stepped out of the door, only to be greeted by a blinding wave of sunlight and an endless expanse of desert.
The golden sands stretched out as far as the eye could see, shimmering under the oppressive heat.
Before he could even take in the sight fully, a series of screens popped up in front of him.
[ Ding! You've exited your private space. Re-entry will be available after 6 hours. ]
[ Ding! The "Nocturnal" Trait has been triggered. -20% to all stats while exposed to direct sunlight. ]
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
[ Stats ]
‣ HP: 100/100➞80/80 | MP: 25/25➞20/20
‣ STR: 3➞2.4 | DEX: 5➞4 | INT: 5➞4 | VIT: 5➞4
──────── · · ◈ · · ────────
A strange, heavy sensation washed over him. His limbs felt sluggish, his movements slower than before.
"What the hell? Out of all places, it had to be a desert?" he muttered, dragging a hand down his face.
The bright sun felt like it was mocking him, and the heat made every step feel like a challenge. Squinting into the distance, Rito let out a sigh.
'Well, this is just fantastic. First quest, and I'm already nerfed.'