Arthur didn’t have many friends to play Chronos Online with.
That was maybe one of the reasons he ended up playing most of the game alone. Sure, he’d made a few friends inside the game, but he’d never met any of them outside it.
Maybe this time would be different. His mind wasn’t really focused on that, though. What he needed was money to help his family, and maybe, a little less stress.
Last time, he’d tried so hard to become a successful player that it stole some of the fun out of the game for him.
’Above everything else, I’m going to have fun. I don’t want a miserable life like last time.’
That was Arthur’s new mantra. With that in mind, he put on his game helmet and lay down on his bed. The game was already loaded through the cloud, and all he had to do was wait for the server to open.
The seconds seemed to crawl by, and only in the last minute did Arthur finally realize this was actually happening.
It wasn’t an illusion. He really was here, on launch day. The possibilities were endless.
Eyes closed, Arthur slipped into a light sleep induced by the game helmet. Everything around him went dark, and then he opened his eyes to find himself inside a white room.
"Welcome, player. This is the tutorial, where I’ll explain the game’s basic classes, and where you’ll adjust your appearance."
The person speaking was well known in the game as the Starting Goddess. She was the first woman players saw the moment they entered the game.
She had long, entirely white hair, flawless skin, and a long white dress that showed off part of her slender legs.
Many swore they’d search for her inside the game, trying to find a way back to that tutorial room. No one ever managed to find her.
Recording wasn’t allowed during this part of the tutorial, which meant every player only ever saw her once, during their entire journey through the game.
Arthur already knew all of this, so he didn’t pay much attention to what she was saying. He thought she was pretty, sure, but his mind was on other things.
While she talked, he started adjusting his appearance a little. The reason was simple: anonymity. You couldn’t let your character look exactly like you did in real life.
It was another form of protection for players. Though, of course, every famous figure ended up famous in real life too.
But those players had money to protect themselves from any trouble. Arthur didn’t.
He changed his hair from brown to black and made it longer, reaching just below his shoulders.
His eye color, green, stayed the same. Small adjustments to his face, nothing more. Still him, but not exactly. It was hard to explain.
The moment he finished adjusting his appearance, checking himself in the room’s only mirror to make sure everything looked right, something happened. Something unexpected.
The tutorial woman always followed a script, saying the same thing to every player. Up until that moment, everything had gone exactly the way Arthur remembered.
But the instant she finished explaining the classes and asked Arthur to choose one of the starting options, she froze, her face twisted into shock.
That was when Arthur snapped back to attention, actually paying attention to what was happening in front of him, because this wasn’t part of the game’s intro script.
"What’s wrong?" he asked, looking at her.
"I don’t know why, but you already have a class. You won’t be able to choose a different starting class."
"What?"
Frowning, Arthur quickly realized what was happening. The special class he’d gotten right before he died, Soul Artisan, was already bound to him, even at the very start of the game.
But how? Logically, he should’ve had to get the class again inside the game, since all he’d done was go back in time the moment he died.
’Not sure if this is good. The class isn’t great in combat early on, and leveling up matters a lot right now.’
He wasn’t actually sure the class was bad in combat since he’d never tested it, but because it was related to crafting, Arthur figured it probably was.
This was not good.
"Well, you’ll have to start with this class."
The next part of the tutorial was where players chose their starting region. The game world was divided into several kingdoms, each with its own language and customs.
Before the game launched, the company had released files describing each region in more detail, letting players study up on the game ahead of time.
Arthur already had an idea of where he wanted to start, but that was assuming he had a combat class. Now, with his new class, he had no idea. His whole plan had just been thrown off.
"Impossible," the woman said again, pulling Arthur’s attention back to her once more.
Things were getting very strange. First the class had already been bound to him from the start, and now, Arthur couldn’t even choose where he’d be born!
His starting point would be somewhere else, somewhere he wasn’t expecting.
"Y-Your starting spawn is the Floating Dragon Kingdom. I’ll send you there now."
Arthur blinked a few times, completely in shock, but before he could say anything, his body vanished from the white room.
Once the woman was alone in the room, she raised a hand to her ear and began speaking, almost as if communicating through some device, or maybe, mentally.
"Something strange happened with one of the players. I need to talk to you."
Arthur slowly opened his eyes. His body was on the ground, soft grass serving as his bed.
He slowly stood up, and in front of him, saw something extraordinary. A city that would eventually become famous and serve as the main home of many players.
"Dragon City!"
A massive city, full of buildings made of stone. Houses, shops, a castle, and more.
At the entrance stood an enormous metal gate with iron bars, and above it, at the top of the wall, a gigantic dragon statue.
The city was a favorite among players for its aesthetics. Besides having everything players wanted, it floated in the air!
Or rather, the entire kingdom floated on an enormous chunk of land. The city had been built near the edge, giving everyone who lived up there a privileged view.
And the most incredible part was that the island was constantly moving.
This was the Dragon Kingdom, a region that would only be unlocked with the first expansion, almost two years from now.
But one player had arrived far ahead of schedule.
Arthur clenched his fists as he stared at the city. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or upset about what was happening, but getting there first would give him plenty of good opportunities.
He walked toward the city, and the moment he got close to the gate, a global game notification went out to every player.
[A player has arrived at a city. Rewards will be granted to this player.]