《Isekai (not) Dream Come True》 1. Beginnings
  1. Beginnings
The year is 2160 and it has been ninety years since the birth of Neural Helmets. In the past, Neural Helmets exist purely for amusement and entertainment but people with bold ideas created new world where one can have alternate lives. If not because of mental and body impact caused by prolonged connection to the virtual world, some probably would chose to stay and forget their real lives. But assuming a virtual world do exist on a condition that the user will never be able to log out again, would people really take the chance and live another life? Today for the first time, the company housing the most controversial game called Baru Rugee sent their top employee to be exclusively interviewed by Global News Channel. ¡°So Dr. Miranda, what exactly does Baru Rugee mean?¡± A stunning gorgeous woman wearing a tight black skirt casually asked while comfortably seated on a sofa with her legs crossed. ¡°Well¡­ to start, Jenny¡­ It is pronounced Ru-Gi meaning ¡°Start¡± and Baru means ¡°New¡± so we therefore have new start but in this context, it means rebirth.¡± ¡°I¡¯m learning something every day.¡± Jenny seductively giggled without being obvious but her face can¡¯t hide the fact that she just had an ¡°ahh¡± moment having finally learned what it means. ¡°Can you give us a brief history of how the game created or started?¡° ¡°In the interest of clarifying rumors, it all started around ninety years ago during the early days of Deep Dive MMORPG. A student finishing her doctorate by the name Tomiko Himari and don¡¯t ask me what that name means as I¡¯m not Japanese. I just live in Japan and¡­.¡± ¡°Ha ha ha¡± There was a loud audible laughter from the crowd including Jenny. ¡°As I was saying, Tomiko Himari was a psychology student and she proposed that virtual world addiction can be cured by what caused it but her dissertation was immediately rejected causing her scholarship to be revoked so with her future on the line, she used her abilities to salvage what she can, then later contacted a few fellow students and formed a team to create their own virtual world. Now as we all know, it was the golden age for realistic virtual industry and at that time, while thousands of ideas were competing with each other, Tomiko had one simple proposal and unlike popular games where they offer alternate lives which are temporary, her goal is to bring this experience to a new level and make it permanent. She proposed to make Isekai a real thing, an actual Isekai where log out is not possible. And ridiculous and unappealing to many as it sounds, many elderly people actually love the idea and luckily for Tomiko, a wealthy businessman was willing to invest in the project. I¡¯m sure everyone has heard of Ikhet Lawayan and. . .¡° ¡°Wait. The¡­ ¡° Jenny interjected. ¡°Before we talk about Ikhet¡¯s origins, the idea of not being able to log out, didn¡¯t we have those ideas the past two centuries?¡± Dr. Miranda paused then continued, ¡°We did. In fact that¡¯s how it all started. We have stories centering about being transported to a new world and not being able to return back to earth. Then the idea of Isekai exploded that in the year 2000¡¯s to the 30¡¯s, TV shows became saturated that the word Isekai has been redefined numerous time to a point it just means another world. And it was also during this period that the digital realistic world was still at its inception. Then, forty years later in the year 2070¡¯s, Neural Helmets were introduced. It was a thing of marvel. With the help of artificial intelligence, anything can be made possible in another world. It was the peak of Isekai. But while majority of people seek thrill and fulfill their fantasies in the worlds they created, somewhere in Kawagoe, Japan, Himari and her team developed their first prototype of replicating the same old earth, devoid of magic and filled with suffering. Unlike your typical fantasy world, there will be no cheats, no quests, no clear objectives and just plain old earth and it is as realistic as it gets. You start as a baby and die as you would like you would die in the real world. It took them a year to finish the prototype and after six years of convincing old people in their death beds to participate in their experiments, then followed by a lengthy scrutiny of the hundreds of brain patterns of all participants, the project was soon determined to be successful and registered the named Baru Rugee. And guess who could not wait to be the first official player of Baru Rugee?¡± ¡°Let me guess. Old Ikhet Lawayan?¡± ¡°Indeed. Despite countless and better virtual worlds, he¡¯d rather re-experience earth. With his time running out, he could not wait to be reborn but unfortunately when he connected to the program, it was no longer the Isekai world the team had created. Not even ten minutes after Ikhet connected, Tomiko and her team noticed an unusual brain patterns. It is as if Ikhet connected to a fantasy game instead. Thinking that someone tampered or hacked the system, Tomiko forcefully terminated the program. Thinking that Ikhet has been logged out, never did the team anticipated what happened next. Ikhet¡¯s brain was mysteriously fried and was deemed irredeemable.¡± The atmosphere in the room changed but Jenny maintained a warm smile and asked, ¡°And what happened afterwards?¡± ¡°The entire operation was suspended and while the only explanation is that someone tampered with the system, evidence showed no signs of changes nor corruption. The system was replicated multiple times and when compared to the original program, everything was the same and not even a single clue of deviation was found.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. And to this day, the realm Ikhet¡¯s consciousness connected to remains a mystery. Whether it is a game he connected to and what is going on, we don¡¯t know and even after all these years, a lot about the system can be answered by ¡°we don¡¯t know¡±. But what we do know is that everything Tomiko and her team created is still perfectly preserved and functioning and continuously operates without running out of power.¡± Seeing that Dr. Miranda paused, Jenny posed another question. ¡°So if the studio was shut down, how was MM-X discovered?¡± ¡°MM-X otherwise known as Mysterious Matter X is a literal panacea and was discovered one month after the incident. The weak and wrinkled body of Ikhet was mysteriously rejuvenated but without a soul. For a ninety-year-old body to suddenly transform into a twenty-year-old man, the director of the hospital reported it to authorities and it was a matter of time before the secrets of the studio was revealed. The government did not disclose anything and in an attempt to unravel the mystery, they made it appear that Tomiko and her team was at fault and as punishment, they were forced to enter the game they created. Sadly, when the team entered their digital world they created, there was no option to log back out and force disconnect means death. Three died and the rest was subject for observation. In an attempt to understand Ikhet¡¯s rejuvenation, the country invited leading experts from other countries and in less than year, the results rocked the world. The plasma separated from the blood of Ikhet can cure all existing illness, re-grow any missing body part there is, and lastly, reverse aging and can extend one¡¯s life. The bad news is that all succeeding participants could not emulate the production of MM-X.¡± There was silence in the audience and sensing the weird atmosphere, Jenny remembered the other questions she must bring up. ¡°I did read the recent story and it was gruesome that every part of his body was experimented on. There were even news that succeeding participants were fed to insects but given the moral dilemma, as someone working with the company, would you be willing to sacrifice in hopes of becoming the second Ikhet? ¡°Ha ha ha¡± This time, it was Dr. Miranda¡¯s turn to laugh. ¡°First, as an employee of Rugee Studios, not once did I receive a dose of the mysterious potion. Secondly, if there is a guarantee that I could replicate what happened to Ikhet, then I will selflessly offer my body to science.¡± Jenny knew they have limited time and limited questions to ask but upon hearing the last sentence of Dr. Miranda, her instinct as an experienced TV personality told her to follow up. ¡°So, from what I¡¯m hearing, participants die in our world but gets to live another life in another world? What makes you so confident they are indeed transported to another world and not the artificial technology at work?¡± ¡°Setting aside MM-X as solid proof, advancements in brain imaging allows us to translate thoughts into data and build an image of that data and from that data alone, we can easily tell apart if there is interference from the original thought and on this case we can tell that participants are having a life on the other side. It is for this reason we believe their consciousness had been transferred to another world while their physical bodies stays on earth. We can read those pulses and electronic activities in the brain like a sequence of numbers. It is difficult to explain but in simple sense, you know how in Math we assign ¡°x¡± as a variable? It is the same thing but on an elaborate scale of endless representations. Say, a person eating a burger. Let¡¯s assume that, that data series is called B as in burger 0-0-0-0-1. Now assuming that person is a male so we turn the first zero into 1 and say that person is in a restaurant so we turn the second zero into 8 as well and so on. So a series called B-1-1-1-3-4-0-8 can be interpreted as a boy eating a restaurant with her mother while surrounded by strangers. And we are not even considering what they are wearing, the color of their eyes, and all other intricate details we can think of. And to give you an actual example,¡± Dr. Miranda turned on his phone and showed sequence of random alpha numeric characters towards Jenny. ¡°That second isolated sequence out there, B-3-5-0-4-7-6-0-0-1-C-4 has been simplified summarized to means our subject is on a date with a co-worker in a nice restaurant.¡± ¡°I think my nose is going to bleed just looking at them.¡± ¡°It takes a while to get use to them and if you¡¯re interested, you can start with something simple, scroll up on the first page and I think there is one that says 011-345-5xxx, that can be interpreted as someone falling in love with someone.¡± Jenny was stunned for second. ¡°Did you just give me someone¡¯s number?¡± ¡°Whooooooo!¡± The atmosphere in the room changed again and a few in the audience got excited. ¡°That¡¯s actually my colleague¡¯s phone number and he thinks you¡¯re cute.¡± Murmurs of jealousy erupted among the crowd and some even stood up shouting that Jenny take their number as well. ¡°Anyway, setting aside his disgusting flirtation, the reason the Studio is going public is primarily to search the second Ikhet. He died of old age three months ago and we have yet to find cause of MM-X. In hopes to understand what many experts have missed, almost everything about Baru Rugee has been made public. In turn, we hope everyone can share their findings or even volunteer to play Baru Rugee. We hope to find success by involving every country in this shared collaboration. I¡¯m sorry but I need to go. I thank your station for allowing my presence.¡± Jenny refused the interview is prematurely ending to so she asked, ¡°Can you at least tell us what exactly is in the plasma that can cure illness and extend one¡¯s life and is it possible it was just a human mutation? It¡¯s all chemicals. Why can¡¯t we replicate it?¡± ¡°You can find proof that it is not a mutation on the information we have shared. Again, we don¡¯t know. Believe me we¡¯ve done all that. Our best guess right now is that that we are dealing is a matter from the 4TH Dimension and that we as beings from the 3RD Dimension have no ability to sense or perceive this matter. Thank you again for you time.¡± Meanwhile, inside a VIP lounge at an airport, an obese game addict is munching on a piece of chicken legs as he watched the TV. His name is Reginald Merldoza, single, jobless, on his early forties and is set to fly to Japan in the next hour. Contrary to what Dr. Miranda said about volunteering, he was actually abducted while playing inside a game capsule a week ago. It took him great effort to contact authorities only to find out the people who abducted him is the government itself. From then on, at least six people came to convince him to give up his wasted life but in turn, they will ensure his relatives will live in comfort. He thought it was a prank but on the fourth day, a professor and three historians from China and Japan came to visit and explained the details of what he will be doing in exchange. Accordingly, he will be entering a game but unlike the games he is familiar with there is no option to logout which means good as dying. And apparently, the game world he is entering has close similarities that of ancient china where martial arts exists. For the entire time, he just stayed quiet and listened but in truth, there are many things that are unclear to him just like the existence of a miracle drug called MM-X. MM-X had always remained a mystery and many believed it to be a hoax and a propaganda of the government and including him, he just never had the time to think about it. As far as he knows, he has a Nerve Gear Compatibility of Point-9 and had been a full time gamer selling in-game items to support always-hungry stomach. Now that his daily cycle had been interrupted, he just hopes that the game waiting for him really does exist. Whether he will die or not, at least he can rest knowing his mom and brother will be supported by the government. 2. The Perfect Isekai Candidate
  1. The Perfect Isekai Candidate
It is the middle of the night and while everyone is peacefully asleep, a man in his fifties just opened his eyes and is contemplating if he should answer the ringing phone on a table not far from his head. If it was his wife calling, it would be easy to grab and turn it off but judging from how many times it rang, he was positive it is work related. The man let a long sigh before then turned on the lamp and answered the phone. ¡°What do we have?¡± ¡°Good evening, Dr. Miranda. A perfect candidate was brought in this evening and had a mild stroke. His body is predicted to collapse if he experiences another stroke so I think we need to encapsulate him now.¡± ¡°A perfect candidate? That¡¯s the first time I¡¯m hearing that from you. Tell me about him.¡± ¡°Forty two year old male, a Point-9 Nerve Gear Compatibility, MMORPG game addict, single, no known friends, detached from society, obese, the list goes and to summarize, he will volunteer to be reincarnated in an another world even without our invitations.¡± Upon hearing the nerve gear compatibility, Dr. Miranda¡¯s eyes squinted as he knew that it was indeed the perfect candidate he had been looking for. ¡°I¡¯ll be there in an hour.¡± Dr. Miranda stretched his hand then hung up the phone. As someone related to the creator of the game, he had been forced to study the world of Isekais. For as early as 1984, ideas of people being reincarnated or transported to another world started and further gain popularity between 2010 and 2030. And most of these stories starts with ordinary guys whose presence is only known by flies and cockroaches then suddenly got transported to another world by some weird miracle but mostly being hit by a truck and when they get to the other world, they become the sun at which the world revolves around. But is that really the case when someone gets reborn or transported to another world? For the past ninety years, experts across the globe had been studying the brain activity of every participant of Baru Rugee and not once did they come across a data suggesting that a subject has mystical powers which is completely different from the brain patterns of the first player. While there are differences between the brain activities per subject, they all follow the same pattern. They start as babies, then toddlers, going to school, adolescence, adulthood, then finally, the brain activity stops which indicates dying of old age. This all happens in a span of 3 to six years before their brain activity stops and die. Except for the first player, he had a completely different and unique brain activity and everyone believes this is the key to MM-X. In only they could replicate this one more time. More than ten thousand people had volunteered to participate in the experiment and two thirds had already been cremated but a third is still being kept for further experimentations. All in the name of Mysterious Matter X, an item capable of healing all diseases and have the ability to rejuvenate one¡¯s body. But for almost nine decades, there had not been any progress in studying Baru Rugee Game until one day, someone pointed out that they have all been sending participants with low Nerve Gear Compatibility. So when he heard Point 9 Nerve Gear Compatibility which is incredibly rare, it sparked his curiosity and excitement once more as the first player and the same compatibility level. Maybe this time they will get a different result. After almost thirty minutes, Dr. Miranda arrived at the studio while wearing his pajamas. The security was tight but his secretary was already at the gate waiting for him. ¡° Coffee?¡± A woman in glasses smiled while holding a cup of coffee and folder. Technology came a long way and instead of digital pads, nothing beats the security a paper has to offer.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Thank you. Where¡¯s he?¡± Miranda took the cup and the folder her secretary was holding. ¡°Medical Compartment Three where a team of surgeons are on standby.¡± Dr. Miranda and his secretary entered the building and after walking a few halls, they finally arrived at the room where the participant is resting. Miranda ignored the group of doctors at the entrance and softly knocks then slowly entered the room. ¡°Is it true that my soul is really being transported to another world?¡± As soon as Miranda closed the door behind him, he heard the participant spoke. ¡°Should I call you Reginald? Or Regs?¡± ¡°People just call me Reggie.¡± Miranda looked at Reginald lying on a hospital bed with his hands behind his head. ¡°I heard you don¡¯t want to call your mother or your brother. What about someone you hate? At least you could make their lives miserable one final time.¡± ¡°Ha ha ha¡± Reginald curled then lifted his huge body and sat on bed. ¡°You¡¯re very funny, doctor. I was watching your interview earlier and I can¡¯t help but wish I have your ability to make people laugh. Do you think I¡¯d be able to learn that skill on the world you are transferring me to?¡± *Sips Miranda took a sip from his coffee then looked at Reginald. ¡°Truth be told, I¡¯m not at all being funny. It just so happens that the way I say things and the things I say sometimes fall under the category that make people laugh.¡± Reginald forced a smiled and did not respond. ¡°You know, we won¡¯t be officially starting until next week. There is no rush and if you wish to be able to see your mother or your little brother, we can have someone pick them up or we can arrange a confe¡­¡± ¡°There is no need to console a guy like me, doctor. If there is a person I¡¯d like to speak with, then it would be my ex-girlfriend but pathetic I may be, I¡¯m not that kind of guy. My only wish is to start the uplink tonight, now if that¡¯s possible.¡± In the past, Dr. Miranda would persist in consoling participants but after speaking to hundreds of them bravely accepting their fate, he had become indifferent but still tries to convince them and show compassion. This time he did not respond and prepared the wheelchair. ¡°Can you stand up?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ve embarrassed myself enough already. I can walk.¡± Mirada smiled in response then said, ¡°Alright. Follow me.¡± ¡°Prepare for uplink.¡± Upon opening the door, Miranda instructed his secretary then walked across the hall. Meanwhile, Reginald followed silently. In truth, he wanted to take off his hospital gown and parade his monstrous and grotesque fats. Initially, he was afraid but the more someone talks him into being transported to another world, the more he got excited to the point it caused him a mild stroke. He had always wished to be able to go back in time and correct his mistakes but hearing he will completely start a life in a new world, he felt it was a blessing he had been waiting for. After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the room where the game capsules are located. There are currently fifteen of them lying in one big room and had been perfectly preserved. Upon entering the room, Reginald was surprised on the sizes of the game capsules lying on the floor like coffins for real pigs. ¡°You can choose one to your liking.¡± Reginald did not respond and walked straight towards the center most capsule then pressed the black button to open it up. ¡°Do you need assistance positioning yourself?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a kid.¡± Dr. Miranda watched as Reginald positions himself the capsule. This is his first time seeing someone actually excited to participate in the game knowing that they will die in the real world. For a person to be excited, Reginald must have gone through a lot. ¡°I think I¡¯m ready.¡± Miranda looked at Reginald one last time. ¡°Remember, we cannot communicate with you while you are in the game but we can read your thoughts. If you need to relay something, bite each of your ten fingers.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t have any wishes?¡± Reginald slowly inhaled and after deep breath, he sighed. ¡°Is anyone able to access my phone? There is¡­¡± ¡°You mean this?¡± Miranda interrupted and took a photo from the folder and slowly showed it in front of Reginald. Having done this more than a hundred times, he had seen all sort of people and while most of them wants to be able to hear their loved ones¡¯ voice one final time, Reginald was slightly different but predictable. As soon as Reginald saw the picture of his ex-girlfriend, his eyes began to form tears. It is not because he still loved her but he curse the day he chose to immerse himself into games to forget her. He is just happy that he could truly finally have a clean start. ¡°Thank you.¡± Miranda slowly closed the capsule then pressed the start button. There was slight electrical noise indicating the uplink had already started so he exhaled in relief. The truth is, it is still unclear whether a new world really awaits Reginald. Data suggests there is life on the other side but having analyzed all results from more than ten thousand participants, there are currently 42 known patterns each one will experience. But what does not make sense is for all participants falling under one pattern have exactly the same brain activity as if they have been pre-programmed. And the biggest problem is that none of them ever tried to bite their fingers like they have been instructed to. While it leaves a bad taste in his mouth to have humans as test subjects, Miranda just hopes that this endeavor will bear result this time. 3. Tutorial
  1. Tutorial
Inside a bright white room, an obese middle-aged man just opened up his eyes staring at the fluorescent light on the ceiling. He just woke up from a dream when he was a child. The man is none other than Reginald. ¡°Where am I?¡± He lifted his hand above his face and when he saw his palm, he immediately remembered Dr. Miranda instructing him to bite each of his fingers. ¡°The game! I¡¯m supposed to be transported to another world but why am I¡­¡± Reginald thought then rolled his huge body and slowly got off the bed then walked towards the door. Looking around, he can tell that he was on the same room where they had him rest after treating his mild stroke and even the hospital gown he is wearing is the same. ¡°Hello?¡± Reginald can¡¯t help but shout. ¡°Anyone?¡± Feeling a little worried, he turned the knob and gently opened the door and when he saw what was on the other side, his face contorted in confusion. Right outside the door is small green field around fifty meters wide with a pine tree in the middle. The tree is casting a shadow like it is mid-day but there is no sun as the sky is pitch black and everything past fifty meters is covered in darkness but the area is fully illuminated like a sunny day. ¡°Hello?¡± Reggie looked around again hoping there is another door but after a few minutes of silence, he decided to take a step outside. Reggie is not wearing any sandals or slippers but as soon as his feet landed on the grass, he heard a female robotic voice in his mind. [Welcome to New Earth Tutorial. You have been chosen to become a hero candidate by a foreign god. As favor, this tutorial zone will serve as your advantage. The stats you gain will be bounded to your soul when you officially reincarnate. The setting of the tutorial will be the same as a standard game you are familiar with.] [Countdown in 1 hour. Initiating opponent based on soul potential. Initializing complete. Loading Swift Hellhound. Kill as many monsters you can to gain bonus stats. Clue: All hellhounds have soft necks. Good luck!] ¡°Soft neck, my arse. Hello?¡± Reggie shouted. ¡°Knock it off already.¡± Reggie looked towards the tree as above it a figure that suddenly materialized saying 59:59:53 and continues to countdown and following that, a huge wild wolf appeared below the tree as well. *Rawrr!!! *Rawrr!!! Reggie was scarred witless upon seeing the rabid and salivating monster but thanks to the chain around its neck and legs which is tied to the tree, it could not free itself. However, similar to the countdown above the tree, there is another number above the wolf¡¯s head and is ticking as well. 57 , 56, 55 ¡­. Reggie instinctively knew that once that countdown hits zero, the chains restricting the wolf¡¯s movements will be released. ¡°System!¡± Reggie shouted. Having played countless Deep Dive MMORPG and if this is indeed a standard game setting, then standard procedure is to think of ¡°System¡± to bring out the character menu or panel.
Select Job Class
Mage Cleric Swordsman
Knight Assassin Necromancer
Archer Change Class More¡­
As a chosen hero by a foreign god, he allows you to freely change Class during the tutorial but know that these Classes may not be applicable in your next life. If you die during the tutorial, soul transfer will commence right after.
Reggie was not surprised when the Blue Menu appeared before him. As a game addict, he had seen far better designs. He does not know if he is being played by Dr. Miranda but he will play along for now. ¡°Choose Swordsman¡± He did not even need to press the icon and it was automatically selected.
Reginald ¨CLevel 1 Swordsman Available Skills
Strength 1 Slash
Intelligence 3 Parry
Agility 1 Horizontal Strike
Dexterity 1 DASH- Movement SkillThe story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Mana 30 Heaven¡¯s Might -Passive
Unallocated Points 0 Heaven¡¯s Fury
Status Obese More Skills on Level 10
¡°Equip Sword¡± As a gamer, just looking at the character menu, the design really does fall under the category of standard MMORPG but to further test it out, he thought Equip Sword and just as expected, it materialized on his hand. Reggie smiled but when the sword appeared on his hand, the tip immediately fell to the ground. *Tzzzk! ¡°Damn! Heavy.¡± Reggie did not realize the sword weighed so much it instantly buried itself into the ground. ¡°Realistic effects, huh?¡± Reggie clenched his teeth then held the sword with his two hands. ¡°DASH!¡± Reggie shouted. Even a noob knows that the perfect time to strike the wild beast is while it is restricted. For most advanced games, skills must be learned but given the skill that came along with the Class he selected are all pre-set, then he trust that the system will move his body automatically to perform a dash. And just like he predicted, a warm surge of energy spread from his chest down to his feet followed by his body automatically moving into a position to prepare and execute the skill but before his body could move any further, Reggie felt something was amiss. [-1 mana] *Swish! In a blink of an eye, Reggie¡¯s body looked like it teleported ten meters away but the next instant, he felt the toe on his left foot cracked followed by an unbearable pain around his ankle. ¡°Arrgggghh!!!¡± Reggie lost his balance causing his huge body to roll on the ground. Arrgggghh!!! Reggie ignored the dirt on his face and curled and shouted in pain. [Your obese body can¡¯t perform another DASH. Impaired movement due to injury. Please move to the safe zone to recover.] [Swift Hellhound will be released in 30 seconds.] [Your obese body can¡¯t perform another DASH. Impaired movement due to injury. Please move to the safe zone to recover.] [Swift Hellhound will be released in 29 seconds.] Due to agonizing pain, Reggie almost forgot where he was and with the notification ringing in his ears, the more he grows confused. He had played so many so-called realistic games and experienced pain but none ever come close to the damage his foot is experiencing now. And no matter how ¡°realistic¡± games are, one can easily tell if they are in a digital world or not. By simply contracting the muscles involved while defecating, these minute movement cannot be replicated in the virtual world. And lastly, from his experience, this level of pain should have had already forcefully disconnected him from the game. Reggie composed himself and closed his eyes. There can only be two possibilities as to where he is now. Either he was tricked by Dr. Miranda to participate on an MMORPG where they have perfected everything that he can no longer tell the difference between reality and games, or a different world really exists. [Swift Hellhound will be released in 21 seconds.] [Swift Hellhound will be released in 20 seconds.] Despite the pain reverberating from his foot, Reggie calmed himself as he thought of his current predicament. He could just kill himself now but assuming that he really will reincarnate upon death, then he would not have had gained any bonus stats. If for example this is all Miranda¡¯s trickery, then he should be able to find clues later. Regardless of what¡¯s going on, since he decided to participate anyway, he may as well play the game seriously. ¡°Change Class¡± As soon as he thought of the magic word, the blue menu appeared before him again.
Select Job Class
Mage Cleric Swordsman
Knight Assassin Priest
Archer Change Class More¡­
As a chosen hero by a foreign god, he allows you to freely change Class during the tutorial but know that these Classes may not be applicable in your next life. If you die during the tutorial, soul transfer will commence right after.
As a game veteran, the most logical way is to choose Cleric or Priest and heal himself but since his obese body will prevent him from performing any combat skills. ¡°More¡±
Select Job Class
Mage Cleric Swordsman
Knight Assassin Priest
Archer Change Class Enchanter
Rune Master Elementalist Necromancer
Summoner Warrior Freelancer
As a chosen hero by a foreign god, he allows you to freely change Class during the tutorial but know that these Classes may not be applicable in your next life. If you die during the tutorial, soul transfer will commence right after.
¡°Switch to Summoner Class¡±
Reginald ¨CLevel 1 Summoner Available Skills
Strength 1 Summon Sting Bee
Intelligence 3 Stalking Shadow Slave
Agility 1 Taunting Puppet
Dexterity 1 Experience Transfer
Mana 29/30 Sever Connection
Unallocated Points 0 Summon God- Ultimate
Status Obese More Skills on Level 10
As soon as he saw the list of skills, the spell, Taunting Puppet immediately caught his attention. Taunting Puppet- It doesn¡¯t attack but taunts all opponents in 20 meter radius. Can take up to 20 normal attacks or six stronger attacks or 1 explosive attack. Can be upgraded to receive ultimate attack. Creates a vulnerable opening towards any entity that inflicts its body any harm. It can be moved. As a gamer who had not missed a day being in a gaming capsule for the past 20 years, he had played far worse than what he just experienced. Assuming that this is a standard game with a twist of realistic pain, then the only way to deal with it is to not experience the pain. [Swift Hellhound will be released in 15 seconds.] [Swift Hellhound will be released in 14 seconds.] As the countdown reaches zero, Reggie pulled himself up and crawled towards his sword. It was thrown away earlier when he lost balance. [Swift Hellhound will be released in 3 seconds.] [Swift Hellhound will be released in 2 seconds.] [Swift Hellhound will be released in 1 second.] Clank! Reggie looked at the intimidating eyes of the hellhound. Having been freed from the chains restraining its body, it looked at him like he was little mouse. Reggie is baffled the system used the word ¡° standard¡±. Not only is this place not user friendly. Assessing the strength of the hellhound, it exudes an aura that of a mini-boss and it is the reason he instinctively wanted to rush and kill it while its movements were limited. Rawrrrr!! Reggie smirked as the hellhound swiftly ran towards him. If this was the real word, he will cower and run in fear but as long as this is a game, then he is confident with his skills. Unmoving, he carefully observed the movement patterns of the hellhound and when it was a few meters away, he slightly raised his left hand to his side. ¡°TAUNTING PUPPET¡± As soon as Reggie casted the spell, a one meter scarecrow appeared a few feet beside him. [Swift Hellhound has been taunted. Diverting all attention and attacks of the monster.] Crack! The black hellhound revealed its sharp teeth but instead of biting Reggie¡¯s head off, its neck shifted to attack the puppet burying its teeth against the sturdy wood. At the same time, Reggie held the sword with his two hands and with all his might, he raised the sword, and made a vertical strike against the vulnerable neck of the hellhound. ¡°Die for me!¡± Zzzkk!!!! 4. Exploiting the Tutorial Zone
  1. Exploiting the Tutorial Zone
Reginald is sitting on his buttocks as he observed the severed head of the hellhound he just killed. His heart is still racing from the burst of adrenaline and with his face and body splattered in blood, he looked like a character from a horror movie. Reggie wanted to wipe himself clean but before he could take off the hospital gown wrapped around his body, he saw the body of the hellhound started turning into dark mist and after a few more seconds, it disintegrated into nothingness including the blood stains on his clothes leaving on the dirt he accumulated from tripping due to failed skill execution. Surprised, he looked around as he held the sword again with his hands. [Successfully killed Swift Hellhound. Gained 100 XP. You are now Level 2. Need 100 XP to reach Level 3] [Ready to face another Swift Hellhound? Y/N (Automatic release after thirty minutes. You can increase the level of Hellhounds for multiplicative XP)] [Impaired movement due to injury. Please move to safe zone to recover.] Reggie felt exhausted and would like to just lie down on the ground an sleep but upon reading that another Hellhound will be released, his mind went on alert again. He is still confused and has many questions but he can¡¯t just ignore the threat so he force his body to stand and use the sword as a cane and limped towards the white room he woke up from. ¡°I swear to god, Dr. Miranda. I will throw my feces on your face.¡± Reggie cursed as he endured the reverberating pain from his broken toe and twisted ankle. Reggie felt his consciousness is fading away but having dragged himself towards the white room, his body looked like it is being baptized by the heavens that he is literally glowing. ¡°Ahhhhh! That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about.¡± Reggie lied on the cold floor and with all the fats in his body, he looked like a real pig. [Your body is regenerating. All skills are disabled within safe zones.] Just a few seconds ago, he felt like passing out but upon reaching the white room he woke up from, he felt like is body had been restored to what it was like the first time he opened his eyes. Reggie clench his teeth. He just hopes that all these is not Dr. Miranda¡¯s test. Right now, he needs to figure out how to actually gain bonus stats. ¡°System!¡±
Reginald ¨CLevel 2 Summoner Available Skills
Strength 1 Summon Sting Bee
Intelligence 3 Stalking Shadow Slave
Agility 1 Taunting Puppet
Dexterity 1 Experience Transfer
Mana 29/30 Sever Connection
Unallocated Points 1 Summon God - Ultimate
Status Obese More Skills on Level 10
Aside from the Unallocated Points, nothing has changed. Since he has time before the next trial, he will study the game a bit closer. Strength ¨C Blesses the body with natural power. Ten Strength points maximum allowable gain during tutorial Intelligence ¨C Rewires the body to be able to cast spells faster. Grants 10 Mana for every point allocated. Ten Intelligence points maximum allowable gain during tutorial Agility ¨C Grants body to move faster. Ten Agility points maximum allowable gain during tutorial Dexterity ¨C Grants mental power to detect moving targets like time has stopped. Ten Dexterity points maximum allowable gain during tutorial Mana ¨C Blesses body with Magic Affinity needed to synergize with other stats. Grants 100 Mana for every point allocated. Note: Can only allocate all gained stats into one category and can only allocate gained stats once.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°I knew it.¡± Reggie exclaimed. If there is one thing that is obvious, there is nothing for health points which means that anyone can max up his stats and still die with a blunt in the head. It is precisely like he predicted and it is the reason he was able to successfully kill the hellhound. Judging from the speed and strength of the hellhound he killed, had he chosen other Classes, he may not have stood any chance at all. This game literally assessed his initial base stats as he is on the real world. Had he been a body builder, he reckons his base Strength should be around four which can stand toe to toe with that wolf. Or had he been a martial artist, Strength, Agility, and Dexterity would probably all set to three giving him a superior advantage. Too bad he is obese with slight cunningness his body can¡¯t even perform a simple DASH. If possible, he would like to start as Swordsman or Assassin assuming of course that this is a standard game as they will always be unparalleled with PVP (Player versus player). At this point, if base stats is all derived from someone¡¯s body status in the real world, and the opponent being calculated based on Nerve Gear Compatibility, then he can conclude that he is meant to become as Summoner. He could have chosen a spell caster but with an opponent having ¡°Swift¡± added to its name, couple it with minimum point of Dexterity, he probably would have died after casting one spell. If there is any consolation, the class he selects in the tutorial zone is not permanent. Since there is no point is sulking over not being able to select a Class to his liking, he may as well just stick to being a Summoner for the next hour. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Summon Sting Bee ¨C Summons a bee that stings living targets causing them to feel agonizing pain. The pain is directly proportional to the skill level. Depending on character level and amount of mana infused on the summon, additional effects will be triggered. Stalking Shadow Slave- Summons an imperceptible shadow that stalks an opponent. It can be detected by people with higher mana or special skills. Taunting Puppet- It doesn¡¯t attack but taunts all opponent in 20 meter radius. Can take up to 20 normal attacks or six stronger attacks or 1 explosive attack. Can be upgraded to receive ultimate attack. Creates a vulnerable opening towards any entity that inflicts its body any harm. It can be moved. Maximum of two puppets can be summoned at a time. Experience Transfer ¨C Transfer all or some experience points to your summoned creature raising their levels and abilities. Stat points gained from leveling can be taken away if experience points being transferred exceeds current experience points. Sever Connection ¨C Some attacks can inflict harm to its summoner and to prevent receiving damage, you can sever you connection to a summoned unit turning them into a monster while regaining its current level and abilities. Cool down period is 24 hours. Summon Wandering God ¨C An exclusive ultimate ability that allows you to summon a god who can grant your wishes. But remember that all wishes can¡¯t come true. Summoning ritual will be revealed when conditions are met. As Reggie is reading through his skills, he expected how useless his initial skills are but something inconsistent caught his attention so he scrolled and looked at the definition of Mana again. Mana ¨C Blesses body with Magic Affinity needed to synergize with other stats. Grants 100 Mana for every point allocated. ¡°Did they miss to type in the maximum allowable points gain on Mana? It¡¯s clearly a bug if they don¡¯t.¡± Reggie read through the skills again. To any computer games out there be it virtual or not, before it is even released to the public, it will be tested a thousand times to prevent and fix any errors or possible bugs that can be exploited which could potentially ruin the game. And who are the best tester of a game? It is none other than experienced gamers themselves and layers of artificial intelligence. He believes this level of mistake should have been spotted otherwise intentional. While Reggie is not a professional gamer, he does have decent calculating skills and comprehension. As he was reading the description of each skills, his mind is already analyzing possible combinations which can be synchronized with his stats. These are all necessary to build a working character which then enables him to determine possible weakness but in this case, he discovered a possible exploit. If only possible to allocate gained stats to all categories, then maxing everything will be possible. ¡°Only one way to find out.¡± Like expected, Reggie felt his body had been fully rejuvenated and his mana had been restored fully as well. He then stepped outside at least two meters from the entrance then looked at the timer above the tree. 44:35:02 ¡°System, is there a limit to how much mana one can gain?¡± Reggie thought hoping to get a response however, after ten seconds of silence, he shouted, ¡°System, is there a limit to how much mana one can gain?¡± Although he already knew the System is not an entity he can interact with, he still attempted to initiate an simple inquiry. *Exhale! Reggie let long sigh before finally making his move. ¡°System, raise the level of hellhound by one and release it at once!¡± [Mutated Swift Hellhound successfully initiated.] *Clank! *Clank! In just one breath, a new hellhound materialized near the tree and this time, more intimidating and a height twice the size of the first monster he faced. With its restricting collars removed, its gazed upon Reggie like it just spotted a snack. ¡°Come at me you freak!¡± *Swish! Reggie did not need to fully understand the monster¡¯s abilities nor its real level but one thing is certain, he is faced with a boss monster level and his eyes can¡¯t follow its movement and when it appears, it will have had already launched a deadly sneak attack. ¡°TAUNTING PUPPET!¡± Reggie casted his spell nearby then held the sword with both his hands. CRACK!!!!! In an instant, a huge claw pounced on the wooden scarecrow that Reggie Summoned but thanks to its magic ability, it instantly regenerated as well taunting the monster again however at this time, Reggie saw a worrying notification. [Puppet received 1 Strong Attack. Five remaining.] Reggie knew this is all a game so there is nothing to be afraid about so calmed himself and after filling his lungs with air, he then took a step forward, then raised the sword with both his hands then finally aimed at the exposed neck of the hellhound. ¡°Die you monster!¡± *Splash! *Rawrr!!!! The mutated hellhound gave off a deafening roar and while it wanted to defend by retreating, its entire body felt like it had been hypnotized to continuously attack the wooden scarecrow. ¡°Die!¡± Reggie swung the sword again at the same spot causing blood to gush and splash out everywhere. Having no skills to utilize, he can only swing the sword like a barbarian. [Puppet received 1 Strong Attack. Two remaining.] ¡°Just die!¡± Reggie was about to summon another puppet but seeing the head of the mutated hellhound is about to be severed, he continued to swing the sword on the same spot. *Splash! *Thud! [Mutated Swift Hellhound successfully defeated. 2000 XP gained. 20 Stat Points gained.] [Hero had reached Level 21. Max Level had been exceeded within the tutorial zone. Please allocate stat points and get ready to be reincarnated to a new world.] ¡°Ha ha ha ha¡± Reggie softly laughed and with the blood from the monster which showered him, he gave off a sinister aura making him more scarier that the monster he killed. He was expecting the monster will only give out 500 XP max but much to his surprise, it even gave him four times the reward. ¡°TAUNTING PUPPET¡± Reggie casted another scarecrow and willed it to move inside the white room. [Taunting Puppet has been moved to a safe zone. Cool down of ten minutes before it can be moved again.] ¡°System, transfer all experience points towards the Taunting Puppet in the Safe Zone.¡± [Caution, transferring all experience points will reverse Level to One removing all Stat Point gained. Would you like to proceed? Y/N] ¡°Let it be done!¡± [Points successfully transferred. Summoned Taunting Puppet is now Level 21.] [Your level has reverted to 1.] Reggie smiled having confirmed that the Taunting Puppet has no level cap. Which means that he can level it as much as he wants and before the countdown reaches to zero, he will use his Sever Connection ability to turn it to a monster. And lastly, given that his puppet will still retain its abilities which is to exist and take damage and not attack, he should be able to kill it and gain substantial amount of Stat points and allocated it all at once to Mana. If this game is really bugged, then he will have an exceptional amount of mana on the next phase or reincarnation as this world describes it. [System, ready another hellhound. Make it the same as the monster just now.]