《Fantasy of the Old World》 Prologue: Responsibilities Creator¡¯s Space: Welcome to the creator¡¯s space. This is where I, the creator, inform you of various things regarding my story. This is my first attempt at writing anything so I hope you don¡¯t have huge expectations, but I will say that I am excited for what¡¯s to come (even if I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to get there). Additionally, any advice or criticisms are welcome and you can leave them in the comments below. If I get too many then I will add a thread where you can post ideas. Additionally, this prologue might make it seem more like a romance but I intend to make the story driven by action and comedy (though it still kinda is a romance). Anyway, thank you for giving this story a chance. Enjoy! ---------- I was breathing hard, with sweat on my brow. Dropping my stance, I bowed to my opponent and then Sword Master Nakamura spoke. ¡°Amelia, that was your best match yet. I am proud of your improvement. We will talk later about your strategy.¡± ¡°Yes master.¡± I replied with a wide smile on my face, happy from the praise. His sweet voice suddenly turned harsh, ¡°You on the other hand, Ken, why did it take you so long to beat the Princess? Did you believe that the fight would be easy just because you are ranked third of the mid-level students? Did you start to lack confidence when you saw the fire in her eyes? Come, let me beat that confidence back into you.¡± Ken stood still with fear on his face, knowing what was to come. He knew that he had no excuses. The Princess, who was only ranked 15th, had been above his expectations and he hesitated because of it. Master Nakamura¡¯s voice changed back to his sweet tone, ¡°Amelia you are done for the day. Tomorrow is your 18th birthday and from what I hear, you will need your rest.¡± ¡°Yes Master.¡± ***** After taking a quick shower and changing out of my gi and into some maid clothes, (REAL maid clothes without short skirts and frills), I made my way back to the Palace. Although it is called the Palace, it is more like an extremely fancy skyscraper. It has reflective gold windows covering the entire building, opaque on the outside, and four smaller skyscrapers connected on the corners to look like the towers of an old castle. I used the servants¡¯ entrance as usual, to not attract attention from the Nobles and other various guests. I greeted a few maids and stewards and told one of them that I would like to speak to my father. Then I made my way to the elevator that would take me to the top floor, MY floor. This was my gift for my birthday this year. Normally I wouldn¡¯t ask for so much, but now that I am an adult I wanted to live on my own. Unfortunately, because I am the Princess, I have certain responsibilities given to me by my father. Responsibility #1: Stay safe. It is the most important responsibility and also the hardest, (at least for me). Basically, I cannot leave the Palace grounds without guards and I definitely cannot live by myself like a normal person. So, I asked for the 300th floor, which has always been my favorite place in the Palace because it¡¯s the only place I can see the Atlantic Ocean surrounding the entire Royal Court. Did I mention that the Royal Court is an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? Anyway, the entire floor might have been too big for me, but my father insisted that it would be easier if I took the whole thing for security reasons. The only people allowed onto the floor now are maids once a week, people I invite, and myself. When I requested that not even my father would be allowed uninvited, he nearly broke down in tears. I wanted to be as independent as possible and if I let my father up without being invited then he would basically try to live with me. ***** After arriving at my home, I took a real bath, changed into a simple purple sundress that I bought online (with money that I earned myself), and then sat down at my computer to browse the internet, anxious for tomorrow to come. After 30 minutes, I got a call from my father saying he would arrive in 10 minutes and I gave him today¡¯s passcode for the elevator. The King was a big man, but not considered burly. He was only 5¡¯10 but always seemed like he was well over 6 feet tall. It was his presence that made him seem so big. But as always, as soon as he saw his daughter, his aura would disappear and he would act like any other father in the world. ¡°Daddy!¡± I said excitedly while jumping into his arms as he came out of the elevator. ¡°Hello dear Lia. How have you been?¡± he replied with a big grin on his face. He wore one of his favorite black business suits which was popular over a century ago. I think it was from around 2010 or 2040 or something. His short black hair, (unlike my long blond hair), was parted on one side and was perfect as always, making me want to mess it up. Unfortunately, I have responsibilities. Responsibility #2: Do not hinder my father¡¯s work. Messing up his hair could make him waste valuable time. This is also why I sound excited to see my father even though we were living with each other until just last week. The King always has to work, so we rarely spend a lot of time together. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°I¡¯m fine Daddy. Go wait in the lounge while I get you some tea.¡± After grabbing the tea that I had made a few minutes before, I made my way to the bare living room with only a few pieces of furniture. ¡®This place looks too empty, I really need to buy more decorations.¡¯ I thought after setting down the tea and sitting in the armchair across from my father. ¡°So what do I owe the pleasure of being able to see my princess today?¡± he asked after taking a sip of his tea. Usually I wouldn¡¯t like being called princess, but when my father said it, it was different. He always called me HIS princess, which is very different from being called THE Princess. ¡°I have something important to ask you.¡± I said nervously. I knew the answer that I hoped for, and I knew my father was likely to give me that answer, but I still couldn¡¯t relax as this question was the most important question I have ever asked. ¡°Go on.¡± my father said curiously. After taking a deep breath I asked seriously, ¡°What kind of man will you allow me to marry?¡± My father, who I made sure was in the middle of taking a sip of tea, coughed a little and I smiled after seeing his reaction. ¡°What made you start thinking of marriage all of a sudden? Do you have a boyfriend that I don¡¯t know about? Is that why you wanted your own floor?¡± he spoke very quickly and nervously. Seeing as he would likely keep making assumptions, I interrupted him early on. ¡°Calm down daddy! First off I don¡¯t have a boyfriend and I don¡¯t have anybody that I like yet.¡± I could see him visibly calm down at these words. ¡°Now then, I will tell you why I asked after you give me your answer.¡± We sat in silence for what seemed like several minutes, making me nervous again. He then opened his mouth and spoke slowly. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you what kind of man you can or cannot marry, but I want to warn you to not fall in love with the wrong man. Make sure that he is somebody that loves you and not because you are the Princess.¡± I smiled widely as he spoke because this was the answer I was hoping for. As the Princess I have responsibilities, but not as many responsibilities as most other princesses. My future husband will not inherit my father¡¯s title, as the King is raised from birth to become the King. My worry came from my other responsibilities, mainly the third. Responsibility #3: Be presentable to Nobles and other important figures. I was worried that having a husband from a different caste would be looked down upon, and therefore disallowed. I jumped into his arms again hugging him tightly. ¡°Thank you daddy. I love you.¡± Letting go after a few seconds, and sitting down in my own seat, I continued, ¡°As to why I asked, I¡¯ve always been worried about my future for the same reasons you are worried. Everybody that I meet knows that I am the Princess, but three years ago I found the solution. Tomorrow I will turn 18 and be allowed to play the first virtual reality mmorpg ¡®Fantasy of the Old World¡¯. I will finally be able to meet new people and experience life like a normal girl without putting myself in any physical danger. Someday, in this game, I might meet somebody whom I will fall in love with, and will only tell him who I am if I am sure that he loves me.¡± ¡°I understand your intentions, but how do you know people won¡¯t recognize you?¡± he asked a little nervously after hearing the words physical danger, instead of just danger. ¡°Daddy, there are over a hundred million people playing this game, and if the Nobles and guests cannot recognize me when I am wearing servant¡¯s clothes, I doubt anybody else would recognize me as long as I change my hair and avoid wearing fancy dresses.¡± My father sighed and then said, ¡°I understand, just... be careful, okay? Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to get back to my work.¡± ¡°Already?¡± I pouted. ¡°I was hoping to tell you more about the game, since I¡¯ve been waiting for three years I know a lot about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lia dear. You can tell me all about it tomorrow at dinner. Goodbye my princess, I love you.¡± ¡°I love you too daddy.¡± After my father left, I sat in the lounge until my excitement boiled over. ¡®Only 12 o¡¯clock, what am I supposed to do for the next 8 or 9 hours?¡¯ Deciding to talk to some people that I met in an online chat room, and then do some cleaning, I went over to my computer and logged in. After a few minutes typing, I decided that it was impossible. I can only think about the game right now. So I decided to watch more videos of people playing in the Old World on the website of the game¡¯s top news station FWM (Fantasy World Media). When it was 7 o¡¯clock I was unable to wait anymore so I lied down in my bed and hoped to fall asleep even a minute earlier. ***** Year 2163, June 17th On the top floor of the tallest building in the world, in the center of The Royal Court, built in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, The Princess of Earth, Amelia River, was finally able to start working on the last responsibility given to her by her father. Responsibility #4: Find happiness. Chapter 1: A little taste of freedom Creator¡¯s Space: Hello everyone. Here we have Amelia creating her character, entering the game for the first time, and explaining some of the rules that make this game unique! Next chapter we will see more of the outside world. I don¡¯t know if I will do that for a whole chapter or if I will start the fighting in game as well. Probably the first option because my chapters so far are somewhat on the short side. Additionally, I got a single follower! This is my first time writing anything so the first follower makes me feel somewhat accomplished. Additionally, go read Warhawx¡¯s fictions as his stories are my favorite on this site and are what inspired me to start writing this story. Anyway, thank you for giving this story a chance. Enjoy! ---------- When I opened my eyes, I was in the middle of an endless sea of yellow grass with a light gray sky overhead. Looking around, I quickly spotted where I was supposed to go¡ªa big dead cottonwood tree, with branches spreading out like lightning. ¡®The Gatekeeper¡¯s Tree.'' I was not surprised at my surroundings, mainly because I¡¯ve seen this place hundreds of times online; so I was also not surprised when the cloaked figure came out from behind the tree as I approached. ¡°Welcome traveler, I am the Gatekeeper and this is my realm blah blah blah. I am a great being who allows you to come here blah blah blah. I will reward you if you defeat the evils plaguing my world blah blah. You will be known as a dimension traveler blah.¡± ¡®Ugh, it¡¯s the monologue. Let me create my character already!¡¯ Because I have heard the speech many times before (online), my impatience surfaced. Unfortunately, the Gatekeeper does not like being interrupted so there was little that I could do to change my situation. After several minutes of waiting¡ªstaring at the Gatekeeper with glazed eyes¡ªI finally heard what I was waiting for. ¡°Now, who do you want to be when you enter the Old World?¡± A perfect copy of myself slowly grew straight out of the ground and started copying my every move¡ªa girl, about 5¡¯4 with soft rounded facial features and extremely long blonde hair. It was a little strange because unlike a mirror, my actions weren¡¯t reflected. If I circled right, she circled left. ¡°Disable movement.¡± I commanded, making it much easier for me to get a good look at different angles. I kept the human race and changed my hair to a messy bob cut just below my jaw, bangs swept to the side, and a few strands on the same side coming down to my collarbone. I decided to keep everything else the same as I quite like how I look. Father always says that I look just like my mother, and I''d have to agree. I just had one temptation¡ªbreast size. It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t like my chest; B cups are good! Frankly, I don¡¯t see what the big deal is with other women always saying they want them bigger. But now that I had the option, I was strangely tempted. ¡®Everyone on the internet says that boys like big breasts. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to change them a little would it? Wait, but what if the extra weight distracts me during battle? What am I even thinking?! Keep them the same Amelia. You don¡¯t need bigger breasts to prove yourself.¡¯ ¡°Accept appearance.¡± I said determinedly, before I could think any more about the subject. ¡°What would you like to be called?¡± ¡°Liana Lane.¡± ¡°Now, select your class. Would you like me to recommend your class?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The recommended class feature lets the VR pod scan your brain to find the classes that fit your personality and talents best. Almost all of the top 10,000 players (C rank players) used this feature, with only a handful of exceptions. Playing a class that you are unsuited for in the Old World is an extreme liability. For example, a warrior who cannot handle pain cannot fight effectively. The Gatekeeper handed me an old scroll which held the results of the scan. The first option that showed up was a bard type class called Strolling Minstrel, specialized in acting and storytelling. I was surprised at how accurately that describes me, but the class did not fit my ambitions. I laughed when I saw the second option on the list¡ªthe Sheltered Princess class. Honestly I wasn¡¯t expecting this one. I quickly considered what it would be like if I was a princess in this world as well. Of course I decided against it. I was happy that the class that I wanted was only third on the list¡ªSpellSword, a swordsman (or swordswoman in my case) adept in magic, usually coating or infusing their blades with magic to deal elemental damage. I read about a few more classes (some that I found interesting), and then I decided on the SpellSword class like I thought I would. Not only is it flashy, it is difficult to master and it complements the Shishin-ryu sword style as well. ¡°Blah blah choose basic equipment blah.¡± Not even bothering to listen to the Gatekeeper at this point, I chose full leather armor (because cheap metal doesn¡¯t conduct magic very well) and a katana with runes etched along the sides. The runes, only available at the start for certain classes, allow mana to pass through the sword easier. ¡°Starting location.¡± Those were the only words that I heard this time and I wondered if the Gatekeeper knew that I wasn¡¯t paying attention to him. Suddenly another scroll flew my direction and hit me in the forehead with surprising force, knocking me off my feet. ¡®Yep, he knew.¡¯ Rubbing my head, I opened the map and looked around at all the starting towns and cities. The town that I wanted was in the southern most kingdom of the central continent¡ªLazra of Karahan, the desert kingdom. There are two main reasons that people start in Karahan, despite the heat and sand. The first are the many pyramids and undiscovered tombs that people love to explore. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, mummies, booby-traps, hidden treasure¡ªit¡¯s every adventurer¡¯s dream. The second reason is the coliseums, at least one in every town and city. This is the reason that I chose to start there. In order to become stronger and find determined, hardworking people that judge me by my actions¡ªI must make myself known. ¡°I¡¯d like to start in Lazra of Karahan.¡± I said relieved that the character creation is finally over. ¡°Blah blah good luck blah.¡± ¡®Wait, is he actually saying the word ¡®blah¡¯? How long has he been doing that?¡¯ My thinking was interrupted by a bright flash of light and a clash of thunder, imprinting the dark figure under the tree in my vision. ***** When I regained my sight, I found myself just outside of a small town with square yellow stone buildings, surrounded by miles and miles of sand and a bright sun glaring down at me. ¡®Freedom.¡¯ The first thought that came to mind was a bit different than I expected. Gone was the excitement that I hid my emotions under. Instead, the word sounded almost bitter. ¡®I have nobody to protect me here.¡¯ Anxiety and loneliness welled up inside of me. I almost wanted to logout right then and there, but recalling my mother¡¯s last words calmed me down. ¡®Remember, as long as you feel emotion, you are human.¡¯ My mother was amazing. When she died of sickness 5 years ago she left us with those words. The words were directed to my father who was born and raised to be the King. Many people don¡¯t consider him human, and before he met my mother he even believed that himself. Little did she know (or maybe she did) that I felt the same way as him. I still do a little bit. I was given everything I needed from birth, unable to even reject many things that others would call luxuries. The only real friend that I''ve ever had had insulted me before he left the Royal Court 10 years ago because I didn''t have to work like everybody else. Of course I beat him up afterwards, but let¡¯s just say that there were many times after that where I believed myself to be less than human. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Anyway, because I believe that any emotion is a good emotion, this is exactly how I wanted to feel¡ªscared and alone, but hopeful. ¡®I can finally earn my own place in the world.¡¯ With a few tears in my eyes from the sudden emotion, I decided to head to the training center. Walking down the main street while following the map that I found in my inventory, I saw many merchants sitting on colorful rugs or in wooden stalls, selling their wares. They were protected from the heat by many different colored awnings hanging above them. Jewelry, cloth, and foodstuffs were the most common merchandise being sold. Karahan is one of the least popular starting kingdoms (people don¡¯t want to deal with the heat and sand) so I saw only a few players¡ªdimension travelers¡ªidentified by a name written in the air above their heads. The main road was still pretty crowded with residents though. As I came upon the training grounds, I felt like I was at my limit. I wasn¡¯t REALLY, but the sand in my clothes and the bright sun beating down on me was something that I definitely was not used to. I drank some water from my canteen and examined the training grounds. It was an area about as big as a football field, half covered in sand, with many different types of targets spread around. I quickly found some shade underneath a 10¡¯ tall sandstone wall. ¡°Open status window.¡±
Name: Liana
Titles: None
Class:SpellSwordRace:Human
Level:1Gender:Female
Experience:0%Rank:121,574,220 (G)
Status
Stat Points: 0
Health:100Stamina:93%
Mana:100Mana Regen:2/sec
Stength:10Intelligence:10
Dexterity:10Wisdom:10
Constitution:10Perception:10
Charisma:0Luck:0
Resistances
Armor:30Magic Resist:10
Fire:0%Water:0%
Earth:0%Air:0%
Lightning:0%Gravity:0%
Light:0%Dark:0%
Class Skills:
Sword Mastery (passive)(1) Infuse Mana (1)
Learned Skills:
None
Created Skills:
None
Normal so far. ¡°Open class skills.¡±
Class Skills:
Sword Mastery (passive)(1):Mastery of the sword and sword skillsIncreases sword damage by 5%
Mana Infuse (1):Infuses equiped weapon with Mana (5/sec) up to (20/sec)Weapon deals damage proportional to mana comsumption (1:1) Prevents weapon durability loss by 10% when infused
Pretty standard stuff. ¡®Okay, time to create some skills.¡¯ That¡¯s right! In this game you don¡¯t earn skills by doing certain actions repeatedly. Though there are other ways to learn skills, the main method is to create them yourself. Almost anything can be a skill, but that doesn¡¯t mean they all have beneficial effects, for example, sneezing. I mean, it might give you a small increase in pollen expulsion per sneeze, but how are you supposed to level that up? You can¡¯t just ¡®get better¡¯ at sneezing. That¡¯s actually another thing. Skill levels and effects directly correlate to your actual skill level with the skill. That sounds confusing. I mean, you can¡¯t just level up a skill by using it a lot, you have to actually get better at using the skill (though resistance skills are a bit different). These rules make it so all skills are unique to a player, depending on how a person chooses to improve themselves. Everybody is completely unique. Anyway, the first skills that I need are my sword stances, my breathing technique, and some minor mana manipulation. In order to get more experience I should start with mana manipulation. I could start with my breathing technique but I think that I¡¯ll get better results if I create that one while I am physically exerting myself. ¡°Create skill, Meditation.¡± To create a skill you must first speak the name of the skill and then demonstrate it. If you perform better, you get higher increases in effects but it becomes harder to level. So although I could have meditated for only a few seconds and still gotten the skill, I decided to meditate for 30 minutes, an average amount of time for me. I cleared my thoughts and focused my consciousness inward. It felt a little different than meditating outside the game because I could clearly feel an energy swirling around inside of me. I decided to focus completely on the mana (inferring that the energy was my mana) and tried to learn how it moved. I also started using my Infuse Mana ability so that I could observe it and learn how to focus and move the mana myself.
New Skill: Meditation (1)
Focus your consciousness inwardIncrease in mana regen by 200% while meditating Sensing and manipulation of mana is increased by 50% while meditating
Your rank has increased by 254,722
¡°Remove rank notifications.¡± If I received a notification every time I increased my rank, I wouldn¡¯t ever see the end of them. Once I was done, I had learned a little about my mana. I could move it around a little, but not enough to create noticeable effects. One thing that I did notice was that my sword forcefully drew out my mana when I used Infuse Mana, instead of letting me controlling the amount. I could not get the output down to the minimum of 5 mana/sec nor could I raise it to the 20/sec maximum. My consumption was static at 10 mana/sec and changing that amount was much harder than I expected. ¡®It looks like I¡¯ll need to spend more time learning about mana.¡¯ Deciding to do that later, I got up and walked over to a scarecrow that nobody was using. While training my Infuse Mana skill, I then started creating skills for the eight sword stances of the Shishin-ryu style (Ryuu, Tora, Kame, Hou-ou, Usagi, Fukuro, Kuma, and Hachidori), as well as my breathing technique. I had to take a lot breaks for cooling off, refilling my mana, eating, resting, filling up my canteen, etc. ***** Eight hours had passed since I first logged on, it was now evening and the sun was setting. ¡®The damn sand itches. The damn sun is too bright. The damn heat is too hot. Damn. Damn. Damn.¡¯ My stamina was low; so while regretting my decision to start in Karahan, I decided to log off for today¡ª¡®stepping through the dimensional gateway¡¯ as the Gatekeeper called it.