Eric’s consciousness tore apart. Then, like a rubber band snapping back into place, his body reassembled with a violent jolt.
He was submerged in liquid, encased in a soft, squishy tube. He tried to open his eyes—nothing. His limbs refused to move. Panic surged as he attempted to scream, but the liquid filled his mouth, muffling him into silence.
The tube suddenly contracted, squeezing him forward. He struggled to grab hold of something—anything—but his arms were pinned tight against his sides.
A baby’s cry pierced the air just before his mind slipped away.
Eric woke to a world of blurred shapes and spinning colors. He vaguely felt himself fall to his hands and knees. As the haze lifted, he found his hands—not the tiny, fragile hands of an infant as he’d feared, but those of a child, maybe five or six years old.
“What the crap was that? A bit disorienting?” He groaned as he sat back, then froze at the sound of his own voice—a high-pitched squeak of a child. “Understatement of the year.” Had he just gone through some type of birth?
Shaking off the memory, Eric sat up and took in his surroundings. He was in a vast grassy field enclosed within a domed cave, roughly the size of a football stadium. Light radiated from the pure white walls, casting a soft glow over everything. He reached out and pressed his hand against the nearby wall—solid and perfectly smooth.
At the cave’s center, two pedestals stood side by side. One held a large crystal that shimmered with an inner light, while the other cradled a grey cube about the size of a baseball. Scattered throughout the field, other children wandered aimlessly. They all wore the same simple outfit: a black tank top and tan shorts. Eric looked down and found he was wearing the same thing.
Without warning, a swirl of blue particles condensed beside him. A child materialized out of thin air, his expression dazed and unfocused. Eric stumbled back in surprise.
“Woah, you scared me,” he blurted, his child voice still unfamiliar. He shook his head and tried again. “Do you know where we are?”
The child didn’t respond. His expression remained blank as he turned and walked away in awkward silence.
“Freaking NPC,” Eric muttered under his breath.
He took a closer look at the other kids. They moved with the same mechanical stiffness, their faces devoid of emotion. Every so often, a new child would appear in a burst of blue light, just like the one before.
A girl approached the pedestal with the grey cube. The moment she touched it, the cube dissolved into blue mist and flowed into her. A second later, more mist erupted around her, swirling around her for twenty seconds before solidifying into an outfit—a sleeveless tunic and long leather pants. Without hesitation, she reached for the crystal and vanished in a puff of blue mist.
Another child stepped forward and touched the crystal without taking the cube first. Nothing happened.
“Looks like you need to grab the cube before you can teleport out,” Eric muttered to himself. “This is different than I expected.”
He climbed to his feet, only to wobble as a wave of vertigo hit him. He wasn’t as tall as he was used to—his center of gravity felt off. It took him a few seconds before he was confident he wouldn’t fall on his face.
A coughing fit caught his attention. About twenty feet away, a boy with tanned skin and a shaved head was on his knees, gasping for breath before collapsing face-first into the grass.
Eric couldn’t help but laugh as the boy went through the same disoriented struggle he had moments earlier. Definitely a real person. Eric walked to the newcomer.
“You doing alright?” Eric asked.
The boy lifted his head and looked at Eric. “Who’re you? And—whoa, is that my voice?”
Eric chuckled and stepped forward, offering a hand. “I’m Eric. You?”
The boy hesitated, then his eyes widened with recognition. “Eric?” He let out a short laugh. “You look different. It’s me—Ben.”
Ben reached up and clasped Eric’s hand.
The moment their hands touched, a faint flash of light appeared above Eric’s left wrist. A small, semi-transparent screen materialized, hovering just above his skin. No matter how he moved his arm, it stayed fixed in place.
The screen displayed:
<Become friends with Piper? Yes | No>
Eric stared at it, confused. Before he could react, the screen faded away on its own. However, a small green circle had started blinking on and off over his wrist, like a watch with a silent alarm. Curious, he poked it.
The screen reappeared, and Eric pressed the Yes button. His finger met a cool, almost fluid resistance, like pushing against a thin layer of floating water or condensed air. The notification cleared, and replaced by a new one:
<You have become friends with Piper.>
“Cool beans,” Ben said, glancing at his own wrist, though Eric couldn’t see anything. They probably couldn’t see each other’s screens.
“I know,” Eric replied. “After all these years, we’re finally friends.”
Ben snorted.
Eric tapped his wrist to close the screen and took another look around. “This is so surreal. We really are in a game. It feels real.”
“Yeah, and we even have stats and everything,” Ben said. He had a distant expression, like he was reading something invisible.
“What? Where?” Eric asked.
Ben pointed at his left wrist. “You saw the flashing button on your wrist, right? Try pushing that button again.”
Eric shook his head with a grin. “Geez, you’ve been here for, like, ten seconds and you’re already figuring the game out.”
Ben laughed, but his focus remained on the invisible screen.
Eric glanced at his left wrist again. The green circle had turned white. He tapped it. A massive display appeared fixed in place in front of him.
At the center of the screen stood a six-year-old boy with bright red hair and vivid green eyes. Above his head, the name <Syn> hovered. It was the character he had painstakingly created. Throughout his years of gaming, he always tried to make this same character.
The boy copied his every movement. When Eric reached up and touched his face, the figure on the screen did the same, mirroring his shock before his expression shifted to realization. His heart pounded as his perception shifted. He was a different person. He was someone new. A wide grin spread across his face.
I am Syn. Syn is me.
Syn’s gaze shifted to the left side of the screen, locking onto the section labeled Stats.
<Syn [Level: 1]
Low Human [Tier 1, Copper], Male
Attribute Points: 0Attributes [Stats]:
- Strength: 4 [Power: 4 ∣ Carry Limit: 4]
- Endurance: 4 [Stamina: 4 ∣ Armor: 4]
- Agility: 3 [Dexterity: 3 ∣ Speed: 3]
- Mind: 3 [Mana Regen: 3 ∣ Perception: 3]>
To the right of his character, he found more information:
<Orbs [0 / 1]
Mana: 5 / 5
Carry Limit: 0 / 4
- (Empty) – 5 / 5>
Syn had a general idea of what these attributes meant, but he had no idea about the Orbs. It used Mana, so maybe spells or abilities?
Everything felt different from Prestigious Realms, the game he had played for years. Would his knowledge even be useful here? As expected, his stats were low or empty. A fresh start, new mechanics, a whole new world, and fresh enemies to fight. Syn couldn’t keep the grin off his face.
Below his displayed character, Syn found five button icons with different images. He could guess what some of them meant, but he still went through each, which opened up a new screen.
The first was for Notifications. They were separated into different categories: General, Battle, Quest, and Social. The only notifications he had were becoming friends with Piper.
The next two buttons were for his Skills and Inventory, both of which were empty, though his Inventory could hold 12 items.
The next button was for Quests. Surprisingly, he had one:
<[Quest: In Progress] Your First Orb
Description: Welcome to the Realm of Beginnings! Learn the basics and begin the Trial.Complete the following (0 / 2):
- Collect the Orb on the pedestal. (0 / 1)
- Assign Orb to Slot 1 and equip it. (0 / 1)
Reward:
- Ability to teleport to the Trial through the Mana Crystal.>
Syn nodded. So that’s why the girl was able to teleport. His fingers twitched with the urge to complete the quest right away, but he forced himself to wait. He’d at least meet with the others.
Finally, he tapped the last icon: Social. It opened a chat list.
<Friends (1)
- Piper (1 new message)>
A smaller window popped up, resembling a text message on a phone.
<Piper: Testing, 1, 2, 3, testing.>
“I got your message,” Syn said, smirking. “Riveting stuff.”
“Hey, I put a lot of thought into that,” Ben said with mock offense. “This is different from the game we played. No health bar, just Mana. And a ton of empty stats I have no clue how to use.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Syn said, a goofy grin spreading across his face.
“You know it.” Ben grinned back, his boyish smile fitting his new body perfectly. Once again, his perception shifted: Ben became Piper.
Piper glanced around, his eyes landing on the crystal in the center of the cave just as another NPC teleported away.
Before Syn could ask about the quest, another swirl of blue particles materialized a few yards away. A girl appeared—then immediately screamed as she fell flat on her face.
Syn grinned. Another new arrival.
She had the same standard outfit as everyone else, but had long, dark blue hair spilling down her back.
Syn stepped over with a laugh and extended a hand. “Here, let me help you up.”
The girl groaned, pushed herself up slightly, then took his hand to stand. “Thanks, kid.”
A notification flashed on Syn’s wrist:
<Become friends with Trist? Yes | No>
Eric gaped at the girl. “Todd, is that you?”
“Yes? Do I know you?” the girl responded, then noticed her wrist. “Friend? Syn? Wait, Eric, is that you? Why are you a kid?” She looked at her hands. “Why am I a kid?” She was talking fast.
“I think the better question is, why are you a girl?” Eric asked.
“Oh, right,” Todd said, pulling her hair in front of her face. “I guess I did make a female character. I kind of forgot. Oh well, it should make the game more interesting.”
Syn shook his head in bemusement. Todd was always a little eccentric. And Trist even more so.
He started explaining what he and Piper had figured out so far, how to open the menu, and what little they knew about the game mechanics.
“That’s about it,” Syn finished. “Piper, did I miss—wait. Where’d you go?”
“Ben’s here too?” Trist asked, perking up.
“He was a second ago. Ah—there he is.”
Piper stood near the pedestals, flipping through his menu. Syn and Trist walked over to him.
“Figure something out?” Syn asked.
Piper looked up, distracted. “What? Oh—yeah, I think so.”
He pressed something on his right arm. Immediately, blue mist erupted around him, swirling like vapor before condensing into a sleeveless tunic and tan long pants—simple, durable, and practical. Like with the others, it took about twenty seconds.
Trist let out an impressed whistle. “Woah, that’s awesome, Ben.”
Piper blinked at her. “Who? Todd, is that you?”
“Took you long enough to notice me,” Trist laughed as they shook hands.
Syn asked. “Don’t you think it’s weird he’s a girl?”
Piper shrugged. “People do it all the time in games. He’s done it before. So have I. Heck, you’ve done it too.”
“That was a completely different circumstance and you know it,” Syn muttered. “Guess I’m the only one who finds it weird.”
Trist waved off the conversation and turned back to Piper. “Anyway, where did those clothes come from?”
Piper motioned to the pedestal beside him. “Just pick up the cube and follow the prompts. There’s an Orb inside.”
Syn reached out and grabbed the cube. It instantly disappeared from his hand, dissolving into blue mist. A moment later, a new cube appeared in its place. Trist wasted no time grabbing it.
Syn checked his notifications.
<You have found Tutorial Loot. Items added to your Inventory:
- Basic Tunic Orb x1>
A soft ping notified Syn that he had made progress on his quest. He opened his Inventory, found the Orb, and immediately assigned it to Slot 1.
<You have assigned Basic Tunic Orb [Neutral, Tier 1, Iron] to Slot 1 [Body].>
A rush of warmth flooded through him—like sinking into a hot tub while sipping hot chocolate. His first armor! Excited, he checked out the Orb details:
<Orbs [1 / 1]
Mana: 10 / 10
Carry Limit: 0 / 4
- [Body]: Basic Tunic [Rank 1 (Low)] – 10 / 10>
- Weight: 1
- Armor: +1>
Neat. His Mana had increased by 5, but since he wasn’t wearing the tunic yet, his Armor and Carry Limit remained unchanged.
Curious, Syn tapped on Basic Tunic, bringing up a description window:
<Basic Tunic
- [Body, Neutral, Tier 1, Iron]
- Description: Behold, the outfit that says ‘I’m completely new, and I want the world to know it.’ Each person receives this Orb in the Tutorial Realm. It offers a slight increase to Armor. You should upgrade it as soon as possible so you don’t stick out as easy prey.>
Syn smirked at the sarcastic description of the armor.
Following Piper’s example, Syn glanced at his right arm. It had markings he hadn’t seen before. A thick blue line ran from his wrist to his elbow, labeled <10 / 10>—probably his Mana. Above it, a solid blue circle contained the number 10, with a 1 positioned above it. Slot 1’s Mana level? He’d have to test it later.
For now, he copied what Piper had done and tapped the blue button on his arm.
Blue particles erupted from his chest, swirling around his body. Slowly, they began to solidify. A thick leather vest materialized over his torso, and long brown pants formed around his legs. The clothes fit perfectly, as if tailor-made for him. The twenty-second activation time meant that he’d probably have to have it on at all times he was expecting danger.
Syn checked his stats again. As expected, his Armor and Carry Limit had both ticked up by one. A notification confirmed he had completed the quest and could teleport through the Mana Crystal.
“What the . . .” Trist’s voice rang out. Syn looked over to see Trist had equipped her gear. She had on Tunic as well, but the collar was a bit wider. Also . . . “Why am I in a skirt? No way this offers the same protection!” A leather pleated skirt fell just above her knees, leaving her legs exposed.
Syn burst out laughing, and Piper was holding back a smile. Trist glared at them. After he recovered, Syn asked, “Isn’t it because you’re a girl?”
“That’s sexist,” Trist huffed. “Will all my clothes be like this?”
As they bantered, a new child approached them. He had short brown hair, an average build, and an average face. Syn recognized it as the default character without any edits. His steps were smooth and confident.
“Yo, what’s up?” the boy called out. “Are you the guys from the lab?”
“Yep, we’re the civilians,” Trist said as she extended her hand. “I’m Todd—or Trist. Whatever you like.”
The boy took her hand. “Name’s Tyson. Wait, Todd? You’re a guy?”
Trist grinned. “Not at the moment.”
Tyson, one of the military guys, chuckled. “Fair enough. Easiest sex change I’ve ever seen. What’s the deal with this . . . screen?” He gingerly touched his arm. “Woah! That’s cool. Friends with Trist? What’s that mean?”
Syn explained how to accept the friend request, open up the character screen, and equip the Orb.
“Games sure have evolved since last I played,” Tyson mused, scratching his head as he skimmed the details on his arm. “It’s been a while since I’ve played anything.”
“Not this far,” Syn said, still with awe in his voice. “This is incredible.”
“Any ideas why we’re kids?” Trist asked.
“I can think of a few possibilities,” Piper answered. “Maybe we’ll age up as we progress. Or we’ll just age up naturally over time.”
Another person jogged up to them as they were talking. He looked like an identical twin to Tyson; another default character from the military. He introduced himself as Aaron, and they showed him the ropes as well.
“So, why are you the default characters?” Syn asked. “Could you not make your own?”
“We were in the middle of training, so we asked the office to make them for us.” Aaron spoke with a clear and precise voice. Syn found it somewhat comical to hear a kid speak so seriously. “They must have not bothered.”
“We didn’t have the time or inclination either,” Tyson added; he was much more friendly and casual. “Man, I was so confused when we got our orders. Play video games for a month? I thought we were getting demoted or discharged, not thrown into some secret government project.”
“We were told to test this game to see if it can be viable for training,” Aaron added.
“I can see the applications for that,” Piper said. “You’ll be able to train without the fear of serious injury. Plus with the time dilation, you’ll be able to train longer.”
“I’m still skeptical,” Aaron said. “I don’t think it’ll carry over very effectively in the real world.”
They heard a shout a short distance away. A boy had fallen to his knees looking dazed, revealing him to be a player. The group walked over to the newcomer. The boy was identical to the other two military guys. Aaron and Tyson looked at each other and broke out laughing.
“I can’t believe they gave you the male default character, too, Carol,” Tyson said between laughs.
Aaron helped Carol to his feet. Carol looked around and quickly got adjusted to his new situation as his compatriots explained their situation.
Tyson put his arm around Carol’s shoulders, still laughing. “At least now you’re officially one of the guys.”
Carol gave Tyson the stink eye, then smirked. “Oh please, I’ve always had more balls than both of you combined.”
Carol twisted out of Tyson’s arm, grabbed his wrist, and threw him over his shoulder in one fluid motion. Syn expected Tyson to land right in front of Carol, but Tyson flew five feet before skidding to a stop.
Carol rushed to his side. “Woah, sorry, didn’t mean to do that. You alright?”
With Carol’s help, Tyson got to his feet. “Yeah, just caught me off-guard. What’s this? The number on my arm decreased.”
“Really?” Piper jumped in. “How much? Did it hurt? Anything stand out?”
Tyson looked up, surprised at Piper’s interjection and intensity. “Um, it’s at 9 now. So, just 1? And, no, it didn’t hurt much, at least compared to real life.”
“I see, I see,” Piper began mumbling to himself. “I wonder how it calculates the damage. Is our Mana our health? Odd that it’s linked to our clothes. Will we deal more damage if you get hit in a more sensitive location? What if . . .”
Tyson turned to Trist. “Is he alright?”
“Yeah,” Trist replied. “He gets like this whenever we start a new game. He likes to figure out all of the details.”
“He goes into his own little world,” Syn said with a laugh.
“That was pretty weird,” Jason interjected. “Carol shouldn’t have been able to throw Tyson like that.” He flexed. “I do feel different, aside from being a child.”
“We are in a game,” Carol said. “Maybe we have super strength or something silly like that.”
“I want to try something,” Trist said. She bent her knees and jumped as high as she could. She jumped at least three feet in the air. Nothing too incredible, but much higher than would be otherwise possible. “Woah, that was cool.” She then sprinted off, running faster than she had any right to go.
Syn and the three military guys looked at each other. Syn shrugged. He took two steps and jumped as far as he could. He felt the wind push past him as he easily jumped about ten feet away. Syn laughed as he tripped and rolled to a stop. Syn jogged back to the group, who were doing tests, like jumping or lifting each other above their heads. Tyson and Carol even started to spar.
“I guess we are stronger,” Tyson said. “At least, comparatively with these smaller bodies. Oh, my number went back to 10.”
Syn nodded. “We do have Mana Regen. Wonder how we can increase it.”
Piper spun to Syn. “Syn, I want you to hit me as hard as you can.”
“You what?” Syn asked.
“Punch. Me. In. The. Face.” Piper said slowly, pointing at his face. “I want to see what happens.”
“I don’t know-” Syn trailed off.
Trist zipped back over to them, breathing heavily. “What’s going on?”
“Piper wants me to punch him in the face,” Syn said flatly. Piper nodded.
“Is that it?” Trist said. Before someone could stop her, she stepped forward and punched Piper on the chin. Piper crumpled to the ground.
Right when Trist was punching Piper, a new person approached them. He had dark brown hair and pale skin. He rushed over as he saw Trist punching Piper. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Trist quickly pointed at Piper. “He asked for it.”
The new boy rubbed his temples. “Just because you look like a child doesn’t mean you have to act like one. Help him up. When you touch your hands, you should get a friend request. Press right here to look at your notifications.” He pointed at his wrist.
“We already took care of that,” Syn said as extended his hand to the new boy; it didn’t hurt to improve his impression of them. He really wanted the job.
The boy shook it without hesitation. Paul. His name flashed in Syn’s notification log, confirming he was one of the Mythic employees. It seemed like everyone else was going to use their real names.
“Good, that will make things easier,” Paul said, nodding in approval. His gaze swept over the group. “I see you’ve assigned your Orbs as well. That’s good progress.” He glanced around. “Looks like everyone’s here except—”
“I’m here!”
A girl with black hair and dark skin, matching her real-world appearance, jogged over, slightly out of breath. “I’m here,” she repeated, looking flustered.
“Ashley, good, good,” Paul said, taking charge. “I told them to send me first, but they can never get it right. Before we start, does anyone have any questions?”
Carol’s hand shot up. “Yeah. How do we go to the bathroom?”
Paul sighed and massaged his temples again. “What did I just say about acting like children?”
“I’m serious,” Carol insisted. “I don’t think I even can. I checked. It’s like I’m a doll. Completely smooth down there.”
As if controlled by the same intrusive thought, everyone instinctively checked their pants.
Silence. Then, Carol continued, completely unfazed, “I mean, I’m a guy here, but I don’t even have a di—”
“Yes, yes, thank you,” Paul interrupted, cutting him off. His tone shifted from weary babysitter to patient instructor. “I was going to explain this anyway. Your bodies aren’t flesh and blood—they’re pure Mana. No organs, no biological functions. You don’t even bleed.”
To demonstrate, Paul ran a fingernail across his palm, slicing the skin. Instead of blood, a thin blue line appeared with mist flowing from the wound. The line was already shrinking, knitting itself back together.
“This,” Paul said, holding up his hand, “is what happens when you take damage. You lose Mana. And your Mana is contained within your Mana Orbs. Since you’ve already equipped your Tunic, you should have noticed that you had to link the Orb to your body slot.” He gestured at his right arm. “You can easily track and activate your Orbs here.”
“How do we get more Orbs and slots?” Syn asked.
Ashley raised her hand. “I’m, I can answer.”
Paul nodded for her to continue.
“Um, you get more slots by leveling up your Orbs.” She nervously avoided looking at the others. “If you open your menu, do you see the Low next to your Basic Tunic? That’s your progress to the next level—kind of like experience in other games. It goes from Low to Mid, High, and finally Max. Once you reach Max, you can Rank Up your Orb and gain a level. When you do, you’ll unlock a new slot.”
She took a breath before continuing, gaining confidence as she talked. “Two things to note: first, every time you level up, all of your Orbs will be harder to Rank Up. Second, your maximum level is 10, but you can keep Ranking Up your Orbs indefinitely. Your slots will correspond to different body parts: body, head, face, feet, hands, two weapons, two spells, and a summon.”
“How do we increase the Orb’s tier?” Piper asked. “Also, what does Iron mean?”
“You won’t need to worry about tiers for a while,” Ashley answered. “As for Iron, that represents the rarity. You increase the rarity by feeding it specific materials. The progression is Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum. But since our race is Copper rarity, we can only upgrade our Orbs to Copper.”
“Thank you, Ashley,” Paul said. “You’ll be able to Rank Up your Orb during the Trial.” He shifted back to his earlier point. “Now, back to Mana. When you take damage, the Mana in your highest slot Orb will decrease first. If an Orb reaches zero, you’ll lose access to whatever it was linked to. When you restore Mana, it always refills your lowest slot first. So, it’s smart to put your most important Orbs in the lower slots. Using your Orbs also consumes Mana, and if your total Mana reaches zero…” Paul paused for emphasis. “You die.”
Syn let that sink in. The idea of his life being reduced to a number was unsettling, even in a game.
“What if we don’t like the Orbs we have equipped?” Piper asked. “Can we swap them out?”
“No,” Paul answered simply. “You’re stuck with what you have.”
“There is a way,” Ashley interjected.
Everyone turned to her. She blushed and looked down at her feet but continued. “If you die, you’ll lose some experience. And if you lose a level because of it, the slot with the lowest progress will be destroyed, along with its Orb. Once you level up again, you can assign a new Orb to that slot.” She hesitated, then added, “Another way is when you Tier Up. That resets your Orbs, letting you assign new ones.”
A brief silence followed as everyone processed this information.
Paul cleared his throat. “Yes, well… Thank you, Ashley. I stand corrected.”
Piper raised a hand. “You mentioned we can change our slot order. How do we do that?”
“Only at Mana Crystals,” Paul said, pointing to the glowing crystal on a pedestal nearby. “Mana Crystals are a crucial part of the game. You can use them to teleport, enter your personal Room, and rearrange your Orb slots. You’ll find them in Settlements and Dungeons.” He crossed his arms. “But only the Mana Crystal at Alpine [Outpost] connects to the outside world and lets you log out. That’s also your spawn point. If you die, that’s where you’ll respawn. No other Mana Crystal in the Realm does that.”
Paul turned to Carol. “Does that answer your question?”
Carol had a blank expression. “About why we don’t need to go to the bathroom? No, not at all. I’m gonna be honest, most of that went right over my head.” He swung his hand over his head. Tyson and Aaron nodded in agreement.
“I see,” Paul said slowly. “I might have gone deeper than I should have. The short version is that the AI didn’t feel the need to copy human anatomy. So no need to go to the bathroom. You’ll get used to it. I think it might be best to separate into our different groups now. Ashley, can you handle the civilians?”
“Y-yes,” Ashley said nervously. “I think so.”
Paul pulled the military triplets aside while Ashley took charge of Syn’s group.
“We’ll be in your care,” Trist said with a bright smile.
That seemed to ease Ashley’s nerves a bit. “Yes, before we start…” She glanced at the pedestal. “I should grab my Tunic, especially since it looks like you’ve already figured it out.”
She picked up the Orb and equipped the Basic Tunic. A leather tunic and pants materialized over her underclothes.
“What the—” Trist blurted, staring at Ashley’s outfit. “Why do you get pants while I’m stuck in a skirt?”
Ashley hesitated. “Um… I think you selected ‘Feminine Clothes’ during character creation.”
Trist froze. “Oh, oh crap.” She smacked her forehead as the memory came back to her.
The group chuckled at her expense, and Trist’s face turned bright red.
Syn smirked. “That’s what you get for playing dress-up with your character.”
“Why is that even an option?” Trist groaned. “Is there a way to change it?” Her eyes were pleading.
Ashley shook her head. “Afraid not. It’s tied to your character model. The AI has some… quirks. There might be a way to change it in-game, but we don’t know of one yet.” She hesitated before adding, “Technically, you could log out and remake your character, but I don’t think they’d let you back in if you wasted a dive just because you didn’t want to wear a skirt.”
Trist grumbled but accepted her fate. “Might as well make the best of it. I’ll be the hottest girl in the game.”
After shaking their hands to befriend them, Ashley asked in her soft voice, “Do you have any questions?”
Piper’s hand shot up. “I’ve got a bunch. What does each of the Attributes mean in the character sheet? How are they different than Stats? What’s the best way to increase the Rank of the Orbs? What-“
“Whoa, slow down there, buddy.” Trist clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Let her answer one before you ask another.”
Ashley gave a grateful nod. “Thank you. And, um… Ben?” She turned back to Piper, looking a little nervous. “I just want to say… your work has helped us more than you realize. It used to be my job to dig through all the data, and I constantly referenced your website and videos. I even made a guide for the new players based on your research. When I found out you were coming in for a dive, I had to join the team!”
Piper blushed and looked away. “Thanks,” he mumbled. Ashley realized what she said and blushed as well. An awkward silence settled between them. Syn couldn’t help but smile.
Trist slapped Piper on the shoulder. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a fan. Anyway, Ashley, can we go through Ben’s questions?”
Ashley cleared her throat, snapping back to the topic. “Right. Um… Attributes! We have four: Strength, Endurance, Agility, and Mind. Each one is tied to two different Stats. Go ahead and check your character sheet.”
<Syn [Level: 1]
Low Human [Rank 1, Copper], Male
Attribute Points: 0Attributes [Stats]:
- Strength: 4 [Power: 4 | Carry Limit: 4]
- Endurance: 4 [Stamina: 4 | Armor: 5]
- Agility: 3 [Dexterity: 3 | Speed: 3]
- Mind: 3 [Mana Regen: 3 | Perception: 3]>
Ashley continued. “You’ll get Attribute points when you level up, which increase your Attributes, which will then automatically boost the corresponding Stats. Such as, increasing Strength will boost both Power and Carry Limit. Stats will then increase the capability of your character. Not many things can increase Attributes, but you can use items and Orbs to increase your Stats.”
“Ah, like the tunic increasing our Armor,” Syn nodded. “Could you go through each of the Stats? I have a general idea, but it’d be nice to know the specifics.”
Ashley nodded. “No problem. It’s actually easier to follow if I write it down, so you can reference it later.” Ashley sent each of them a message about each of the Stats:
<Power: How much damage you deal with weapons.
Carry Limit: How much weight you can carry, including Orbs and inventory.
Stamina: How long you can push yourself before tiring out.
Armor: How much damage you can block from attacks.
Dexterity: Your precision and fine motor control.
Speed: How fast you can move.
Mana Regen: How quickly you restore Mana.
Perception: How fast you process the world around you.>
“Keep in mind this is only the basics of the Stats,” Ashley asked. “Each has hidden values that can completely change the way you play.”
Piper grinned as he looked over the details. Syn smiled. He’s probably already creating tests for each thing.
As Syn read the final Stat, he grew excited. “Does Perception mean what I think it means? Is that like time slowing down? The time dilation?”
“Basically,” Ashley nodded. “Just be careful with that one. Unless you increase your Speed, you’ll feel trapped in your body. Another thing to be aware of is Gender buffs. Girls will have a higher Agility and Mind, while guys will have higher Strength and Endurance.”
“That’s why!” Trist exclaimed. “I was wondering why those stats were higher. Finally playing as a girl is paying off. I’ll play the assassin like I always do. Move and attack fast. Just wish I wasn’t in a skirt.”
Piper spoke up. “Tank for me. I’ll probably boost my Endurance for the high Armor.”
“Man, this is unfair,” Syn pouted. “I want to be a mage.”
Ashley tilted her head. “It’s possible—just not common. Mind gets a 20% boost for girls, so most mages end up being female.”
“Maybe if we find a gender swap potion, you could use it,” Trist teased. “After me, of course.”
Syn grinned. “I’m sure if you used it, it’d glitch the system and you’d still be stuck in skirts.”
“Oh, ha ha,” Trist replied dryly. “I bet I could pull it off. All it takes is confidence.”
“Does something like that exist?” Piper asked Ashley. “Gender swap potions or stuff like that to permanently change your character?”
“Yes, though not through potions,” Ashley said slowly. “We have three support items: Meals temporarily alter your Stats, Pills offer permanent effects, and Shards offer one-time special abilities. I am not sure if a Gender Swap Pill exists. We haven’t encountered one before, but Prestige is a big game.”
Trist shrugged. “Pity.” She yawned and stretched. “Can we play now? I’m more of a learn-as-I-go type. If we let Ben keep asking questions, we’ll be here all day.” She eyed the Mana Crystal, watching enviously as an NPC teleported away.
Ashley glanced over at Paul. “I suppose that’ll be fine. Let me just-“
Before she could finish her sentence, Trist let out a “Woop!” and touched the Mana Crystal. Ashley stared at the spot Trist had disappeared from with her mouth open.
“Is she, er, he always like that?” Ashley asked.
“Jump into a shallow pool head first?” Syn asked. “Yeah, basically.”
Chapter 1 | Table of Contents | Chapter 3
TheXtra Path 
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