Cicadas were singing their summer song, birds were waking up and shaking the trees. With a clear sky, the world seemed at peace if not just for a moment. The year was finally coming to an end in a few months and there was very little to think about except that he was one more year closer to death. That was until the serene natural world was interrupted and the order of all things came to an end. 

“You’ve got Mail,” a smooth feminine yet synthetic voice echoed in a dark room illuminated by a trio of monitors and LED lights from an open-air computer tower. “Would you like to read it?”

Silhouetted by the contrast from the light and darkness that permeated the room, a young man leaned back in his wheelchair. His head was shaved bald, his entire body was hairless and an IV drip was on a pole standing beside his chair. 

“Yes…” A low voice escaped his lips as he cleared his throat. He was only nineteen, but he had already lost the mobility of his legs and was soon going to lose his voice completely. With a light tap of his right mouse button, the new message appeared.

‘Hello, Jack Dwyer! You’ve won the Early Access ticket to the Eternal Dragon Online Character Creator(EDOCC). Would you like to download the package? By hitting the download button, you automatically agree to all terms of service.’

Staring at the little blue URL link to the terms of service, Jack was skeptical of even bothering to read it. Was it going to be any different from any other Terms of Service than other games? Rules were typical, that was for sure. Shrugging, “I’ll… Just read them later… There’s nothing else to do…” Maneuvering his decaying husk of a body, Jack tapped the [Download] button illuminated on the screen.

[22%…43%…78%...100% Download Complete.]

A bright scroll-themed screen appeared on the center monitor once the download was complete, as the email client automatically opened the game application when it finished downloading. Staring at the information that appeared in front of him, Jack Dwyer leaned back into his chair.

“Welcome to Eternal Dragon Online, one of the world’s finest Online Cultivation RPGs! Press Start Now to Continue to the Character Creation Segment!” A colorful menu appeared the moment Jack tapped the space bar. It covered the essentials such as body type combinations and individual limb selection.

Without much of another word, Jack began to cycle through the head styles first and kept doing so for hours. There were hundreds of them combined with different jawlines, and hairlines to match along with different ears. So without hesitation or any reserve, he gave his character a handsome jawline and a rectangular hairline. As he began to cycle through hairstyles, he pulled up a textured hairdo with short hair on the sides and longer hair on top, the fringe is somewhat swept to the side for a unique close. Once he finished his thick, yet sharp, eyebrows he moved onto the further in-depth body customization. Like himself, he chose a meso-ectomorph build with an athletic compact tone. This made him muscular and lean, but still broad enough to have a well-built frame.

Once he was finished with the bodily sculpting that gave him a mildly toned abdomen, he used the scale to make his character approximately six feet tall. The average Chinese male stood five foot six inches in height, so he was sure to stand above all of the NPCs. A small titter left his lips as he continued.

Selecting the skin tone menu, he paused for a few moments and pursed his lips. “Do I want to be pale, or tanned?” There were several dozen choices, including unique forms with blemishes and blemish-free choices. After a short period of contemplation, he chose the light peach tone.

Zooming into the face, he set his hair color to black with a subtle raven blue sheen to it. Next, he chose to have his eyes be an enigmatic purple that gave off a mystical glow. 

“Looking like an immortal already,” Jack started going through the particle effects, noting a handful of choices that he could apply to various actions. None of them, however, seemed all that interesting as many were ambient and not something that could just be turned off.

Moving onto the next tab, his character was now in a loincloth and various selections of clothes had appeared. Most of them were based on Chinese and Korean martial artists, scholars, and the like. Lavish robes were also a choice and all of them had different starting statistics.

Many of the selection available had loose fitted and baggy pants for ease of movement; it was the same with the torso garments. Ultimately Jack chose the tang styled Wing Chun robes made of cerulean blue hemp-like material. From what it showed on the screen, all of the choices were simplistic and not too flashy. The robes cut off right above the shin and were split on either side from the waist down. He chose to have black baggy pants with leg wraps and kung-fu ankle-high boots.

Going through the accessories, he put a black sash belt around his waist and a pair of rectangular glasses.

“Are there not going to be any facial hair choices…?” Jack’s gaze shifted over the various tabs he could choose from, but he didn’t find anything on facial hair. Even the facial tab didn’t show anything. With a frown across his lips, he hit the [Next] button and yet another screen appeared. A groan left his lips as he was getting annoyed now, his gaze drifting to the clock in the lower right-hand corner. “It’s almost supper…? Jesus,” He shook his head before looking over the last screen that gave several starting scenarios.

---

[War Orphan, forcefully inducted into a Random Dark Sect.]

[Chosen One, the Eternal Dragon Sect spoils you thanks to an ominous prophecy.]

[Traveling Cultivator, you no longer have a Sect and have few resources.]

---

“There isn’t much information here with these choices…” A small complaint left Jack’s lips as he peered over the three different choices. War Orphan made it so he had no parents, Chosen One made it feel as if he was part of something special. In the end, there was Traveling Cultivator, a choice that made him think the character would just be a normal cultivator. 

Hovering his cursor over War Orphan, he watched as his character shrank to about thirteen years of age. The moment he moved it away from the choice, it returned to his original design. 

“Oh? So there’s an aging mechanic in this game? Thoughtful…” Hovering the cursor over the Chosen One, his chosen clothes seemed to convert into higher quality material. Though again, it also made him look around sixteen years old. The moment Jack put it over the Sect Initiate though it reverted to the previous quality. “Huh… If I remember correctly, there is an in-game shop… Buying items with currency will be easier than acquiring things from farming… Though, the only two viable choices are Chosen One and the Traveler. Tch! But an Ominous prophecy? Really? Oi...”

[Auto-Choosing in 60s... 53s...45s...]

“Son of a bitch!” Jack cursed under his breath before he ended up selecting the Traveling Cultivator. It was like choosing the medium difficulty rather than hard or easy. Though considering what the prophecy may consist of, there was no telling what kind of problems it could come with. When the [Continued] button appeared, he immediately tapped the space bar and it moved onto the naming screen.

“...Since it’s a Chinese Cultivation game… Should be Chinese right? Or maybe I could choose a Korean name…” Tapping his chin in thought, he tiredly let his eyes droop slightly. “Wei Feng...?”

Typing in the name he had come up with on the spot, Jack grinned as he pressed enter. Expecting to have completed the character creation, another screen appeared to select the character’s starting weapon.

---

[Dao (Single-Edged Sword)]

[Jian (Double-Edged Sword)]

[Qiang (Spear)]

[LongBow]

---

The four choices were once again also basic in choice. Each of which had their fight style and preferred distance. Having a single-edged blade or a double-edged blade made a very big difference in combat. However, Jack was rather surprised to find that the Ji, the halbert, was not a weapon choice.

Without much of a thought, he chose the Jian, a double-edged sword. While he knew that a spear often won against that of a sword, in a cultivation world, a sword can become just as versatile and powerful. 

Another screen appeared in front of him when he chose the double-edged sword, at the top, it displayed forty-five skill points(SP) and twenty-seven cultivation points(CP). Under these displays were four different columns that were distinctly labeled Skills, Magic Realm, Physical Realm, and Cultivation Realm. Awkwardly enough the Skills were just normal ones you were to see in an MMORPG such as cooking and fishing. 

Between the point display and the columns was fine print, which stated: ‘Each realm unlocks the usage of new generic skills related to their fields. Advanced and unique abilities must be acquired in-game.’

“...In-game?” Jack’s eyes narrowed on those words as if there was an entire game attached to this character creator. “Strange…” A mutter left his lips as he began to select his current build.

Each stage has three levels: ‘Minor, Median, Major’, and each of these in the realms costs three CP. Each realm had at least ten stages, which was rather impressive. The names of the physical realms were based on Chinese chess, those were a bit more distinct from the English-European variant. They’re the Soldier, Cannon, Chariot, Horse, Elephant, Minister, Advisor, General, King, Emperor.

Based on the print beneath each of the different levels, more physical prowess is added to the character as well as unbelievable physical feats. A King was capable of destroying mountains! The horse stage seemed to be the strength of about ten above average human beings, whilst the others above it were far more enhanced.

The idea of being able to interact with the very environment of a game world was a godsend. Especially if there were other players.

Jack leaned back in his wheelchair with a grin across his lips. Though before he decided to drop all of his cultivation points in one place, he began to read into the other sections.

Besides the physical realm was the Magic Realm starting with Mana Conduit, Initiate, Intermediate Apprentice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Intermediate, Advanced, Intermediate Master Mage, Master Mage, and ArchMage. Increasing one’s level of magic increased one’s ability to learn skills as well as their intelligence, constitution, and mana consumption. It even increased the amount of mana one could absorb, hold, and regenerate.

The very last one appeared to completely stop the aging of the character. An aging mechanic, while not unheard of, was not often implemented in games, though that didn’t seem to be a deterrent. 

“I wonder if you could play as your children when you die…” He uttered under his breath in thought, thinking about how that was similar to another game he had tried. “Maybe switch between them?” A small snicker left his lips as he shifted in his wheelchair, letting his imagination go wild until his gaze rested upon the Daoist cultivation section.

The Cultivation system was rather simple and like the others had three levels to each stage. Based on their experience and CP point requirements, they were rather ground worthy. Qi Condensing Stage, Condensed Qi Foundation Stage, and Core Formation Stages all had a life expectancy of one hundred years. Each one increased the Qi gage by a varied, undisclosed, factor. Silver Core Foundation Stage, Silver Core Refining Stage, and Silver Core Stages all have a life expectancy of four hundred years. They seemed to be part of the process of making a Gold Core. As seen in the next three which were the Gold Foundation Stage, Gold Formation Stage, and Gold Core Stage. Like the ones before added three hundred additional years to make a seven hundred years life expectancy. The end of the Mortal Cultivation Realm was the Advent Soul Stage that ended at a thousand years. 

It didn’t seem as if it was possible to reach the next stage within the character creation section. A light sigh escaped Jack’s lips as he saw this and shook his head. The immortal stages were something he wanted to see.

Without much hesitation, he dumped eighteen CP into the Cultivation Realm and nine into the magical realm. Out of all of them, the physical realm seemed to be the easiest to level compared to the others. It required less experience and time, but at the same time remained just as difficult. 

The only problem was the lack of physical skills that appeared on the list to choose from. However, there were plenty of fanciful abilities that came with magic and Qi cultivation. Both of which could easily be used to make up for the lack of strength, but still ultimately leave him vulnerable.

Tapping his bottom lip with his thumb, Jack peered over the skills. Based on their rankings they cost a certain amount of points. With the humming of his computer’s fans calming his mind, lulling it into a sense of peace as he contemplated what he could choose… His mind began doing ceaseless equations.

The only problem was, there was no telling how much stronger some of the enemies were in the other world. As a traveling cultivator, Jack was ultimately alone as Wei Feng.

There were also many skills there that were involved in Qi infused items, such as pills and crafting. Though it wasn’t entirely informative other than efficiency buffs and a handful of debuffs. 

“Being an alchemist wouldn’t be a bad idea… Good money comes from that,” Jack was tapping his lower lip again as if it was one of his quirks. “I’ll need money to form my Sect and to gather followers...” That’s when his eyes traced over some of the elemental affinities related both to Mana and Qi Cultivation. 

Poison affinity increased the efficiency of poisons and antidotes whilst lessening the efficiency of other unrelated medicines. Then there was Yin and Yang, Negative and Positive, elements. They were the exact opposites of one another and had many different applications. Even the fine print allowed Jack to see that taking on these affinities could unlock other related skills and abilities.

Each affinity even had their forms of meditation, this was something that could also allow the increase in one’s cultivation stages. That was just another alternative to constantly grinding experience. 

One of the main ones that he immediately chose was Qi Condensing Meditation, Twelve Paths Meditation, and Fourth Gate Meditation. These were all used to focus the transportation, flow, and condensation of life energy. Each of the ones selected cost three points leaving him with thirty-six points left to choose from.

Enhanced sight and hearing were the next. Though these two each cost one point and seemed to have upgradable stages of their own. There were even some that increased the efficiency of body strengthening methods.

It appeared that the Qi Cultivation Realm came with a lot of passives, though it wasn’t much of a surprise. The effects of increased Qi was common knowledge to those who knew it, such as the alteration of one’s density to become as heavy as a mountain or as weightless as a water bear.

Teleportation and Astral projection was also one of the many feats that could be done by Qi Cultivation, but also Magic if developed enough. 

A sigh escaped from Jack’s lips as his eyes flickered from the Magical Realm and to the Physical Realm. These two umbrella categories were the exact opposites of one another, but when he looked at Cultivation, it was hard to tell the difference between them all. Magic could do a large number of what Cultivation could do, and Qi Cultivation could do things with both of them. The only difference was, Qi Cultivation kept one from being conquered by others.

A frown remained ambiently across his lips now.

There was no information referring to the ratio of the other members of the world. Though this was just a character creator, a new game with a new world with very little information left Jack rather stumped. 

Magic helped against magic, but how many magic users was he going to come across? If he only had Qi Cultivation but average strength, how quickly was he going to get pummeled by those above or even beneath him? The very thought of being beaten was unsettling.

In all consideration though, the game was focused on Qi Cultivation, so that may as well be one of the focuses of the world too. Not that he knew all that much about it other than the bits and pieces found within the creator.

Sighing inwardly, Jack decided to switch the magical realm over to the physical realm, filling out the first Stage known as Soldier. Just as quickly as he did, the Mana related cultivation skills vanished from the list and were replaced with physical abilities.

The elemental affinities were still there, each of which is one point each. Yin and Yang were a must, so Jack didn’t hesitate to select them as they were bundled into one. Next was metal, wind, and fire. This left him with thirty-two points and opened up additional skills for him to learn. With a swift scroll down, he noticed there were enhanced affinities for the ones he had already chosen, making them three points each. These increased the efficiencies and unlocked even more advanced skills, something that was rather tempting since there weren’t that many unique abilities available on the list.  

He went on to choose poison and lightning as his next affinities, bringing his available points down to thirty. 

Moving back up to the top of the list, he immediately began to analyze the technique and schools of techniques he could go into. Due to his choice of weapon, there seemed to be several sword-related arts to inspire learning.

One of them however caught his eye, Two Swords Divine Meridian, which seemed to have formations and techniques based on the use of two swords. European showmanship often depicted two swords, at least in Denmark, though only a few times has it been shown as practical in cinematics and the use of other weapons. Whilst it was a showy bundle of techniques, was he really in need of ‘aw and ohs?’

Pill Creation was a single point and he selected it, before moving onto Medicinal Knowledge and Cooking. While Jack selected these items, he could see that all were upgradable. Instead of upgrading them, he chose to select the Six Palmed Eternal Stance which was six unarmed combat techniques used to disarm one or multiple opponents. It was one of the prized, widely known, stances of the Eternal Dragon Sect. The particular stance started out weak, but it got extraordinarily strong alongside its user’s Core Formations with additions to upgrades.

The next one he selected was the Long Fist Style, an existing martial art from Northern China. The fact that it could be used with and without weapons made it highly versatile, not to mention there was the Iron First technique that went well with his Qi Cultivation. 

After selecting those techniques, it left him with only twenty-one points in his balance.

Rather than focusing on martial techniques, Jack narrowed his selection to cultivation techniques once more. Selecting the few that he saw known as the Core Absorption Technique and the Mystical Beast Core Absorption Technique, as well also a Meridian Acupuncture Technique. Expelling energy blasts from his hands, though minuscule due to his low Qi cultivation, made sure he could effectively use his affinities. This further unlocked skills such as Poison Touch, High Wind Jump, and the like. These were all simple skills and techniques he could use in tangent with what he already got.

“Come to think of it, if the affinities only add ten percent…” Jack’s gaze shifted back towards the upgrades to the affinities. His eyes centering on ‘Lightning II’ which cost three points. “It appears they add twenty-five percent at second upgrade?” Pursing his lips he clicked Lightning II, increasing his affinity to thirty-five percent total followed by doing the same with fire and wind. “Now I only have three points left…”

Mumbling inaudibly to himself, his finger tapped against the mouse button impatiently as he sifted through the skills he could grasp. In the end, Jack decided on Journeyman Level Alchemy.

Pressing [Next] without looking back, what appeared to be the final page appeared, for selecting one’s starting packages. It was based on real money purchases and only one could be selected for the game. There were plenty of games out there like this, and there was even a skip option for players who didn’t want to go with one of the three premium options.

---

[ Cultivator’s Beginner’s Package ]

[ 250x Crystal Coins ]

[ 5x Soul Nourishing Pills ]

[ 1x Jade Spatial Storage Ring (Small) ]

[ $9.99 ]

…

[ Cultivator’s Intermediate Package ]

[ 500x Crystal Coins ]

[ 10x Soul Nourishing Pills ]

[ 1x Escape Talisman ]

[ 1x Jade Spatial Storage Ring (Medium) ]

[ $49.99 ]

…

[ Cultivator’s Master Package ]

[ 1000x Crystal Coins ]

[ 20x Soul Nourishing Pills ]

[ 2x Escape Talismans ]

[ Mystical Beast Contract ]

[ 1x Jade Spatial Storage Ring (Large) ]

[ $99.99 ]

---

“Well… I’m dying, so I might as well order the Master Package. Whether or not the game comes out in time… It doesn’t matter. My money goes to the state anyway,” Jack scoffed at himself as he clicked the Master Package and put his debit card information into the billing screen that appeared. The moment he hit enter though… EVERYTHING went blank as if the world had turned off all of its lights.

“What just happened…?”