Chapter 7: Entering the Game
.....
The sky was already dark the moment Shin exited the 'All Gamers Shop.'
He was too exhausted because there were a lot of procedures that needed to be done. What's more, this was his first time playing a game; and more especially a VR game.
Therefore, he didn't have any records on the Central Server of the 'World Gaming Org.', so he needed to fill up a lot of forms that were required for the necessary procedures.
What was even more annoying was that his VR Helmet was going to be finished after two days and going to be delivered after another day because they were going to run a system check before bringing it to him.
When Shin arrived at the parking lot, he saw a group of people flocking in front of his car.
He frowned while walking towards them.
He didn't have the energy to entertain these thugs. All he wanted to do was to get in his car and went home to get some rest. And as he starting to get near them, those thugs also noticed his arrival.
"Hey, kid! This is not your business, so don't involve yourself," one of the thugs said to him while giving him a vicious glare, while the others were trying to surround him.
The frown on Shin's brow turned even higher when he heard that guy. 'I'm not in the mood to play with these guys.'
Shin continued to walk towards them while saying. "I'm not going to be involved in what you are doing. I just want to get in my car, and you are blocking my way."
A guy with spike earrings and a black Mohawk haircut walked out of the group. He was wearing a black leather jacket and grey camouflage pants with military boots. He had a fierce look on his face and also had a black eyeliner in the corner of his eyes.
He had a skull ring on his right-hand index finger. One looked at him and you could tell that he was a delinquent. He seemed to be the leader of the group.
He stared at Shin while smilingly said, "Oh? So, you are the owner of this toy? How about you lend it to us, and we will let you go? Don't worry. We will take care of it properly."
Shin was getting annoyed, so he glared at him and said. "I don't have time to play jokes with you, so get the hell out of my way, or I'm going to break your bones."
The corner of the smile of the Mohawk guy twitched when he heard Shin. He looked at Shin as if he was saying 'you are a dead meat'.
Shin ignored his look and continued walking forward as if he didn't care about the thugs, well actually, he really didn't care about them.
One of the thugs with a baseball bat became agitated because of Shin's attitude. He sprinted towards Shin while swinging the bat at his hands; he was targeting the back of Shin's head.
The other thugs were laughing as if they know that Shin's head was going to get blasted. But they stopped almost immediately when they see what had happened.
Contrary to their expectations, before the bat on their friend's hands managed to land on Shin's head; the latter was already leaning forward, barely dodging the swing. It was as if he has eyes at the back of his head.
And while Shin was leaning forward, his left leg was simultaneously kicking backward in an upward motion. The kick landed to the chin of his assailant, resulting for the guy to be thrown in the air.
The 'Baseball bat guy' was still in the air when Shin threw a roundhouse kick at him, and then he sent him flying towards a tree in the parking lot.
Then other thugs only recovered their senses when the guy already hit the tree. They then turned their heads to look at Shin as if he was some kind of monster. But a few seconds later they started shouting and pulling their weapons while throwing their-selves at him.
Shin dodged left and right while throwing some random punches and kicks at them. He didn't even have to use some kind of martial-art techniques to take care of these kinds of opponents.
A few moments later, the thugs were all rolling on the floor while weeping about their bodies.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Then Shin heard a clapping sound behind him. When he turned around, he saw the 'Mohawk Guy' looking at him.
"So, you do have some skills, huh? But it is only enough for these small fries. How about showing me what you are really made of?" said the Mohawk guy before suddenly disappearing.
In a blink of an eye, he already reappeared on the left side of Shin while throwing a powerful right punch.
'Fast' Shin was surprised at first but was still able to deflect the punch by using the back of his left hand. But before he managed to throw a counterattack, his opponent disappeared once again, and then reappeared at the other side.
Shin frowned his brow because of the sudden shift but was still able to dodge the attack by taking a step backward.
He was about to kick his feet when the same thing happened once again. He was doubtful before, but this time he was sure about the technique that his opponent was using.
'Assassination Arts: Shadow Waltz '
It was a martial skill that can help the user to repeatedly change his direction while they are moving at a breakneck speed; it could also confuse one's opponent.
'Too bad you picked the wrong guy to mess with,' said Shin in his heart while dodging easily, he calmed his mind and regulated his breathing.
He was entering the 'Deep Meditation State' since it was the best counter for this kind of skills. Even if his opponent was moving at an extremely fast speed, he could still estimate the moving trajectory of his opponent.
And the moment Shin felt his opponent's trajectory, he read the timing and used a martial skill of his own to greet his enemy's attack.
'Yin-Yang Arts: Reversed Flow'
When Shin's palm collides with his opponent's fist, the Mohawk Guy felt as if time had stopped moving, then he sensed that all the force that he put on his attack was being sent back at him together with the impact of his extreme speed.
Yin-Yang Arts was a Martial-Art style that focuses on balancing and counterattacking. Fighting a force with an equally strong force and returning the power of your opponent together with your own strength.
Then the mohawk guy was sent back flying. Shin wanted to go after him, but he changed his mind because he was too tired for it, and the other things that happened to him the whole day.
Even though he was suspicious about the guy's real purpose, he was not in the mood to interrogate the guy; he was just going to tell Captain Bernard on what had happened, and then his adoptive father was going to handle the rest.
As for it being a coincidence? Well, there was no way that Shin was going to believe that a street thug just happened to learn a high leveled assassination skill.
Then he got in the car and started driving home so that he could have his rest.
In an alleyway not too far away from the parking lot, a slim guy saw what all had happened.
Once Shin's car was out of sight, he picked up a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He then dialed a number on his 'Advance Watch.' A few rings later, the person on the other side answered the call.
A hologram appeared above the watch and showed a silhouette of a guy. Then that guy in the hologram asked, "How is it?"
"Not optimistic, sir, our guy didn't even manage to last for more than two minutes. Much less, getting a blood sample from the target." said the man with the cigarette.
The person on the other line nodded before saying, "Hmm. Dispose that useless trash and come back here. Those guys are going to investigate what happened if they are not idiots; and they will find out what happened."
"Roger that Sir," said the man with a cigarette before hanging up and taking another puff on his cigarette. Then he started walking towards the parking lot while folding the sleeves of his shirt, revealing a black serpent tattoo on his right arm.
.....
It has been three days since Shin ordered his personalized VR Helmet. He and Arthur just finished their daily morning training and sparring.
"Is your so-called preparation done?" asked Arthur before drinking from his bottled water.
"The hell with that! There are a lot of things that need to be considered. I can't even decide what race I should pick." Shin replied.
"Haha. So much for being an academic type of student. Let an expert like me give you a bit of advice if you can't decide on which race you want then go for the random selection function." said Arthur while laughing, then he added immediately after. "Even though Nagas and Human race don't have subraces they still have a lot of advantages that can be used. And if you go with the random selection, you can have a certain chance of getting a special race or hybrid race."
Shin brow turned upward before asking, "What is your character race?"
Arthur smiled mysteriously and said, "Me? Well, it is a secret. I will tell you once you catch up to me. But I can tell you what Big Sis character's race, she is a 'Half-Elf' a hybrid race."
Shin got surprised before saying, "Big Sis is also playing the game?"
Arthur looked at him with an 'Are you an Idiot' face while saying, "Do you believe that everyone is a 'shut-in' like you? What's more, the game is a vast 'money printing machine.' How can a business-minded person like Big Sis not play?"
"And if you know who Big Sis is in the game, then you will be shocked to death." Added Arthur before going inside the house.
.....
The VR Helmet that Shin had ordered was delivered to the Villa. He hurriedly wrote his signature on the holographic form before taking the helmet to his room.
The helmet was colored black like what he requested. He ran the necessary steps before putting it on his head. He lied on his bed and closed his eyes before muttering "Initiate System Login."
Then Shin felt that he was being pulled by a vacuum as he heard the system notification.
SYSTEM: Initiating System setup
SYSTEM: Checking User's Identity
SYSTEM: DNA Confirmed, Identity Confirmed
SYSTEM: Scanning Brainwaves
SYSTEM: No Injury detected
...
...
...
...
...
After a few moments, Shin found himself inside an empty White Room; he felt that his head was spinning because of what happened.
Then he suddenly heard another system notification.
SYSTEM: Welcome to your personal Virtual Room, User: Shin Kinghad.
SYSTEM: Please select which Server you want to connect.
When Shin saw that, he chose the «Destiny's Fate» server.
Then an angel appeared in front of him. Smiling, the Angel said to him, "Welcome to «Destiny's Fate» please tell me your IGN (In-Game-Name)."
Since Shin already thought of it, he said directly. "Sickarius "
"IGN available, are you sure about it?" The Angel said to Shin. And when she saw that Shin nodded his head, she asked another question, "IGN confirmed, Now please select your character���s race."
Then different kinds of races appeared in front of him. Their faces are the same as him. And after a few moments of consideration, he said to the Angel. "Initiate Random Selection"
"Random Selection System is a lock on pick. Once the system picks a race for you, you can't change it anymore," said the Angel, asking for Shin's confirmation.
'I don't believe that my luck is not as good as Big Sis,' said Shin before nodding head for confirmation.
The characters in front of him spun around him. Shin closed his eyes as if he is praying to get a special race or at least a hybrid race.
The moment Shin opened his eyes, his mind turned blank.
"What the hell?" said Shin. He looked at the Angel with some intention to complain, but before he even opened his mouth, he was sent into a dimensional rift by the Angel before saying.
"Since you Initiated Random Selection System, your starting Empire or Kingdom is also going to be randomly selected."
"And please enjoy your stay on Atlas World and have an amazing adventure."
....
Swoosh!
Blag!
Shin fell from the sky. His face landed first.
"D*mn Angel!" said Shin before taking a look around. He saw a lot of players walking on the street wearing beginners' clothes; some were wearing slightly better clothes.
He frowns his brows because what he sees are players of different races. From what he knows, mixed races shouldn't be living in cities and villages of varying Kingdom/Empires together.
He opened his map interface and took a look at it.
Map: Current location 'Saint Heaven' Kingdom (Neutral Kingdom)
"So different races can live together in a neutral kingdom," said Shin before opening his character status window.
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Name: Sickarius
Race: Human
Level: 0
EXP: 0/100 = (0%)
HP: 100 (+ 0.5 regen/sec)
MP: 100(+ 0.5 regen/sec)
Stamina: 200(+ 0.5 regen/sec)
Physical Attack: 10 - 10
Magic Attack: 10 – 10
Major Stats:
STR - 5
INT - 5
AGI - 5
VIT – 5
Minor Stats:
DEXTERITY: 5
WISDOM: 5
ENDURANCE: 5
Special Stats: (Not yet available)
Title/s: None
Fame: None
Skills: (Currently None)
Undistributed Stats: None
Available Skill point: None
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"Sh*t if only I chose another race, then I should have a special skill and racial trait," Shin curse because of his rotten luck.
After calming himself, he walked to the village chief's house to take some starting quests.
And while he was walking on the street, he saw a lot of people walking alongside him, while others were selling some things besides the sidewalk.
Then suddenly, a signboard catches his attention. 'Training Grounds'
Shin walks towards it when he was standing at the entrance. He looked through it and saw a group of people training inside. Most of them are NPC(Non-Player Character), while there are very few players.
He got curious and walked inside it. The moment he entered the training grounds, an NPC walked towards him and smilingly said. "Oh! Youngblood! You look like a talented young man, but you look so thin, and you can't even wield a proper weapon with that kind of body. You need to build up some muscles to become powerful, come on in and train your body."
SYSTEM: Quest initiated; do you want to accept? YES or NO?
'Ah! An instant Quest?' Shin was startled at first because of the immediate notification before accepting it.
SYSTEM: Quest Accepted
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Special Quest
Quest Name: Training
Quest Details:
Trainer Paul thinks highly of you, so he invited you to train in his 'training grounds.' Train your body and build up some muscles so that you can be more powerful than your peers.
Quest Conditions:
Train for a week
Quest Progress (0%):
Training Period 0/7days
Quest Reward:
???
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Shin's eyes almost burst out of its sockets when he saw the details of the quest. "What Kind of quest is this? Getting a Special Quest from off the bat? Is this the famous saying 'Fortune always comes after Misfortune'?"
...….