Chapter 2: Chance Meetings

Each race and continent has its own unique playstyles which players both loved and hate.

When you choose a continent, it doesn't mean that you are stuck in that place. Merely, that is where your starting point will be. After reaching level 10 and getting a class, players are able to use the teleportation portals on the continents that let them teleport in each continent.

Only the Central Continent area is still locked as no one knows the way to reach it. Some had tried using boats, only to die from the monstrous sea creatures of enormous proportions. Some tried to fly but the distance is so vast and there is no such thing as unlimited flight. Moreover, the sky is also home to dangerous flying creatures.

Regarding each continents' features, the dwarf race lets you start in the Northern Continent. The continent has a wide range of mountains and caves as well as monsters that roamed the lands. Dwarves can choose to be either a Blacksmith or Guardian.

Blacksmith is a very popular class where the players can use monster parts and turn them into weapons and armor. Dwarves are also known for their tenacity and sturdy bodies which makes them a popular role for tanks.

Players joked that if you want to play Monster Hunter, go to the Northern Continent!

In the Eastern Continent, the werebeasts are divided into 12 tribes. Cat, Dog, Cow, Fish, Bear, Monkey, Spider, Bird, Lizard, Snake, Rabbit, and Dragon.

Actually, Dragons are a similar race to the Lizard tribe. But because of their haughty and arrogant personality, they separated from it and formed their own tribe. Upon choosing the werebeast race, the subrace is decided at random. A lot of players had chosen the Lizard subrace but only 1 out of 50 players managed to turn into a Dragonewt. It's a very rare race.

Each subrace naturally has its own advantages and disadvantages depending on its characteristics. And although you can choose from a lot of classes unlike the Dwarf race, you still needed to take into account the characteristics of your race.

The Western Continent is filled with forests and beautiful sceneries. Even the monsters aren't ugly and disgusting. Those players who simply wanted to enjoy the virtual world often chose this continent to relax or chill. 

Elves have a high intelligence and dexterity but low vitality and strength base stat so a lot of them are either Archers, Mages, Gunners, Healers, or Assassins.

Lastly is the Southern Continent.

Here, players randomly spawn from 20 different countries. They can enjoy a Kingdom Building genre or explore the lands as Adventurers. At the moment, no players have become Kings but there are some who managed to become nobles.

It is a Continent with a lot of competition and wars so the major guilds all have their bases here.

There are also various guilds based on the other continents but their battles aren't as intense as the Southern Continent. Of all the continents, the Southern is the largest with a lot of lands that are up for grabs to build bases and start a city.

As Humans, although there aren't any racial advantages, there aren't disadvantages either.

After deciding on the race and continent, Lucas continued to research more on the game.

In the past, he didn't think that he would be able to get to play the game and he always felt jealous when he sees any information about it in the internet so he had never bothered to know more about it.

Now that he has the game, he needed to know the basic stuff so he could play properly later.

Time passed, after finishing up breakfast, he continued his routine and went off to work.

Even while working, he was still scrolling through his phone to know more about the game.

Of course, he still paid attention whenever someone comes into the convenience store.

He heard the door open so he placed his phone down on the counter without turning the screen off since he will just pick it up again later once the customer leaves.

The customer this time was a familiar-looking woman.

She had long blonde hair and wore a pair of sunglasses as well as a fashionable scarf around her neck.

Lucas felt that he had seen her somewhere before but couldn't remember.

Maybe a celebrity?

Lucas laughed at the thought. What kind of celebrity would go to a small convenience store like this one personally or alone?

The woman didn't look at any of the foods and snacks on the shelves but instead directly walked to the counter.

She glanced at the phone that Lucas placed down recently and saw the screen.

"WGO? You play?"

"Hm? Ah, no. Well, not yet. I just got the game and it's still installing so I'm looking through some info..."

Lucas answered unconsciously after suddenly being asked.

Perhaps the voice was familiar to him after all, he finally remembered where he had seen her before.

Lucas glanced at the condoms displayed behind him.

The woman chuckled.

"You remembered me?"

"Ah well, it's not something you can easily forget..."

Lucas chuckled wryly.

Right, this was the woman who had bought five packs of condoms in the past...

It has been a few months since then, guess she had already run out...

"Are you...buying some again?"

"Yep. Give me ten packs."

"T-!?"

Lucas nearly choked when he heard that.

As a virgin with no girlfriend since birth, the courage to buy a single pack of condoms was something Lucas didn't have. Yet this woman is buying ten packs in one go...

Lucas sighed in his mind, thinking that he was indeed too shy and timid. This must be normal for the popular people, huh?

The woman smiled.

"I'm joking. I haven't even used up the ones I bought before. And I only bought those since I lost in a punishment game with my friends. Give me a pack of cigarettes. That one."

Lucas chuckled and shook his head. She looked so confident that time that he thought she was very experienced.

He picked up the cigarette pack that she pointed at and placed it on the counter.

"You smoke? Or another bet?"

"It's been a while but...well, I just feel like smoking."

"Well, we don't really know each other so I can't say anything. Still, we are instructed to advise customers buying cigarettes to advise caution. Smoking is bad."

"Are you really instructed to say that?"

"Nope. But it's written on the pack anyway so I'm just saying it out loud."

Lucas laughed as he scanned the pack and received payment.

The woman chuckled and shook her head.

After paying, she nodded to Lucas again and turned to leave.

Lucas picked up his phone again to look at the time. There were still a few more hours till his shift ends.

Like that, Lucas passed his time while browsing for info about WGO and manning the counter. After his shift ended, he walked out to go to his next part-time job in a cafe.

He took orders, made lattes, and delivered them to the customers.

After he took the order for a table in the smoking area, he found a familiar person.

"Hm? Oh, it's you again."

"Haha...I know this is strange but I swear I am not stalking you. I also work here."

"Relax, I didn't think that."

The blonde woman laughed and puffed one last smoke.

Lucas placed her cup on her table as she ground her cigarette on the ashtray.

Though a coincidence that the two of them had met again, they are, after all, strangers. So it was natural that Lucas only nodded to her in greeting before leaving to continue his work.

The woman gazed at his back for a while in deep thought before turning to her drink and wallowed in her thoughts.

Lucas sighed as he returned to taking orders.

It sure is a small world. She must've been living nearby if she goes to the convenience store he works at and the cafe he works at as well.

After some time, his shift ended once again.

He was excited to go home since he would be able to start playing.

On his way home, Lucas decided to splurge a bit and...ordered takeout in Mcdonalds for dinner.

He ordered a 2 piece chicken! Can you believe it!?

Just 1 piece is fine for a single meal yet he bought 2 pieces!

Lucas felt rich as he held the takeout and walked back home.

As he walked back to his apartment, he passed by a park. It was already dark out and there were hardly any people around. However, he could vaguely see a familiar blonde-haired woman being surrounded by guys under a lamp post.

Lucas froze.

"Don't do it, Lucas. Don't do it. Don't..."

Lucas mumbled to himself and attempted to walk away, pretending not to see anything.

But...another voice in his head kept shouting at him to intervene.