“Wooaaaah!!!”

 

I and Jade simultaneously utter our astonishment the moment we arrived here, our mouths agape shaping a full circle.

 

We are in Bentengan. We were teleported here from the previous white room, in a circle platform that was made by some kind of stone that was full of lines intersected with each other resembling a circuit. On top of us was a tortoiseshell patterned glass dome. Beyond it was the flock of white clouds running freely in the vast blue sky.

 

A spiral of void could be seen behind us, floating atop the sea of clouds. There’s one streak of light shot out from the platform we were standing, straight to the void gate. Boldly challenged the beast named the unknown void. 

 

I realized we are high height because I could almost see the full view of the island in front of me. A small yet magnificent city taking a small portion of the island, forming a fan-shaped civilization. An odd yet futuristic building structure, hi-tech flying transportation, and far-future culture filled the city which I might not be able to see in real life. The city was bordered by a steel-like wall, and beyond the wall was the carpet of trees. The forest was wide enough that it covered nearly all portions of the island. Looking at it from here, I spotted a section of the forest clogged in white fog. 

 

Many other players started popping up on this platform with the same effect as when Jade came to the white room. Creating a scenery where orbs suddenly appear in an empty place, bursting in million, and forming the avatar of the players. Not only that, the view of many players of different races was a new experience for me because it couldn't be seen in the real world. Human, Elven, Dwarven, Demi-Beast, Droid, and many others. 

 

Looking at the difference between each player reminded me of the half-absurd flavor text when I was designing the avatar I want to use in this game with Jade.      

 

___

“I’m sorry young miss, I was getting too excited.”

 

Jade, after settling down her excitement, bowed in front of me. As for my sister, she has already gone the moment her task here was over.  

 

“Don’t mind it, It also makes me happy seeing you getting excited like that.”

 

Jade was blushing slightly when I mentioned her prior behavior. 

 

Truly, that was quite a sight. Jade, who’s usually strict like a strong wall, was frolicking like a kindergarten child. Even my sister, before disappearing, was wide-eyed because of it.

 

“Now, back to the point, is there any tutorial for this game?”

 

Jade was closing her eyes for a few seconds when I asked that. She was searching for the answer in her database.

 

“From the data I received, there’s none.” She shakes her head.

 

“There’s none huh… so, what do we do after this?” 

 

“Normally, there are other AIs other than me which greet the player. They explained a bit about the world of Bentengan, the islands which are used as starting places, and the various races the player can pick. After the players designed their avatars, the players teleported to their respective starting place."

 

"How do the players know the mechanism of the game then?" I stated a few doubts regarding Jade's explanation. 

 

"At that starting place, the players were given a day to familiarize themselves with Bentengan before the portal to the next place opened. There's no quest, hint, or guidance. They must search for any kind of information they want themselves.”

 

I see… The developers want the players to not just be given the answer if they have a question. They must actively search, learn, and think about the answer, be it individually or in a group. Yep, I'm quite liking that.

 

“Okay then, without further ado, let’s choose immediately!”

 

“Yes, Young miss.”

 

Receiving my order, Jade waved her hand lightly. Immediately, a menu appeared in my view. The names of various races were listed there. When I touched one of them a further text came out.

 

*****

[Human]

 

A versatile creature. Alone they are weak, that's why humans make society. Their power comes when they are grouped together. Because of their high adaptability, they scattered across many islands.

 

"You are asking about Humans?? Ughh… don't mention that name in front of me. They are like rats. You kill one, two more come out. You kill ten, one hundred more come out." ~said the Demon King of the Past.

*****

 

A question mark plastered on my face. What is this? A new kind of joke?

 

Not convinced with the second part of the flavor text, I looked at Jade who also had a list in front of her. She was scowling hard at the list. Most likely, she also had the same doubt as me about this.

 

I touched on the next option.

 

*****

[Elven]

 

Forest dweller. The guardian of nature. With an attractive face and aesthetic body. Nature was their friend. People said Elven was very perceptive at their work. 

 

"That narcissus hard-wooden brain elf?! No! There's no way I am making friends with them." ~complained the loose youth adventurer.

*****

 

It was the same. The second part was a mess...

 

*****

[Demi-Beast]

 

The most various races. In the past, they were mistaken as monsters due to their weird physique. They have special bodies according to their beastly features. 

 

"Fluffy, cutie, hairy beast! This race is the best choice for a fluffy lover. Come! Join me to make a fluffy heavenly kingdom!" ~announced by Fluff lover.

*****

 

No one asked about your furry fetish!

 

*****

[Dwarven]

 

Hermit of the cave. Have a strong body as a result of their environment. Excel at crafting. Do you need any equipment? Ask them. They will magically forge the best one for you.

 

"You stupid son!! How many times must I say Do-not break your toy!" ~roared the dwarven mom to her son's curiosity.

*****

 

It’s better than before but...

 

*****

[Demon]

 

The king of the dark. The messenger of destruction… That was what people spoke about them. In truth, most of the people were misunderstanding them because of how scary the demon faces are and because of the chaos element they held. 

 

“Hahaha! Bow before me my subject, I, the Lord of the Darkness will bring destruction to this land. For those who persist, The mighty me will personally knock them down with Hellish fire and Forbidden Hand of mine!" ~said the Prince of the Demons at the anniversary of the demon capital.

***** 

 

Sounds like a chuuni¹ From Chūnibyō (中二病) is a Japanese colloquial term typically used to describe early teens who have grandiose delusions, who desperately want to stand out, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers.to me...

 

…

 

I rubbed my temple hard. This is the first time I read an absurd flavor text. Did the developer really need to mess it up like that?

 

While I was contemplating my day, Jade tapped my shoulder.

 

"Young Miss, have you already chosen which race to use?"

 

“Do you think I could pick one?”  sarcastically, I smirked, “Especially after the comedy?”

 

Jade smiled bitterly due to my remark. It's clear that even Jade thinks the flavor text was odd.

 

"...No, but I want to inform you I already chose mine."

 

"Oh yeah? What race? I don't see any change in your avatar." I demanded curiously.

 

"It’s a secret~ The change will be applied later. Don’t you think it would be fun when we reveal it later as a little surprise?” She grinned mischievously at me.

 

“Fair enough,” I smirked, returning her grin.

 

"But…" she trailed off a bit. "I think I may not help you much."

 

"Huh? Why?"

 

"As to maintain the balance of the game, the systems placed restrictions for the AIs. One of those is... I can neither access the database nor the network. My function will be limited because of it."

 

"Uuf… That's a pretty shame."

 

"Yes…" she hung her head down, a bit disappointed. 

 

 A second later she smiled slightly though and said "However, I'm already pretty grateful to be given this chance. It's exceptionally rare for an independent AI like me to join this game after all."

 

"Well, If you say so…" 

 

I returned my look to the list. There are other options I haven't looked at. I need to read it carefully and pick the one I want the most. After that, I need to change the appearance of my avatar. 

 

Yosh! Let's give Jade a little surprise.

 

I pumped myself a little in my heart.

 

___

 

In the end, I spent an hour deciding on the race and another hour creating an avatar. Although it took time, I was satisfied. 

 

Human, Elven, Demi-Beast, Dwarven, Demon, Spirit, Dragonewt, Mystic. These are the nine initial races. I read all of the race descriptions, and almost all of it was bizarre. I also tried all combinations of the race, yes, the races could be combined. The Demi-Beast race was an example of it. When you select the Demi-Beast race, further options come out. Full-Beast and Half-Beast. 

 

In the Full-Beast option, I could visualize how much fur, hair, or part of the beast I want to display. While in the Half-Beast case, the amount of the Beast part couldn't be changed in the Half-Beast option. However, as a substitute, I could combine the Demi-Beast race with the Human race or the other available race. Making it Half-Beast Half-Human. Or combining it with the Demon race. Making it Half-Beast Half-Demon. 

 

Another case was when it comes to the Droid race. As the name implies, the Droid race was a race built from technology, in other words, robots. If I select the Droid race, I couldn't combine it with another race. Although, as a reverse, almost all of the other races could be combined with the Droid race. Like changing some parts of the body to robotic parts.

 

The options were plentiful, that's why I took a long time to choose the right one. I can reset it later if I don't like it but... I will be wasting more time if I am going to do that.

 

By combining the breed, I couldn’t predict the result of a breed's combat playability. Especially without any spoiler or leaked information from the developers, I bet even a small change like changing your arm with a robotic arm would affect the performance, but how far it will go, nobody knows.

 

Now, I wonder how Jade Avatar would be? I can't wait to know.

 

___