1 New Game Begins

Normally, MMORPGs allow us to choose between races, basic classes, appearances, you mention it. This MMORPG is one of a kind. The second I "woke up" in this realm, I'm in a barn. Combination of mud and something stinks mixes perfectly under my leather boots. I never expecting this opening from a game, let alone MMORPG.

I still remember the facebook page of the game named "Age of Clans". Other than the features I can find in any other MMORPGs systems, I read something that hook me about the game; "so real, you can't tell if you're in reality or just playing game". That was not kind of hook to get me excited, instead I'm trying the game to prove the claims. If the developers meant by "reality" is that we cannot choose where we born, from whom, and that everything was given randomly, they are telling the truth.

"So, Gail, did you forget how to bath umbalomba?" I heard someone calls me outside the outdoor barn.

I turned to the voice and find a young man with bright pale yellow cowboy hat. He always smiling as if his life is perfect. Intuitively, I know that his name is Hugo, and he was my childhood friend, while the truth is he was only an NPC in this game. Though this is the first time I ever met this humanized script and codes, I already have artificial memories about him and our childhood. He always better than me, has better house, better incomes, better job, and better life. Maybe that's why he smiles better too.

"Nah, no worries, I do this every single day," I continue my work. I put on my gloves and grabs the bucket contain clear water and ready to brush umbalomba.

"Alright, I need to leave somewhere for some new business. You better not slacking off while I'm gone," he said jokingly.

"Sure, leave it to me," I told him as I begin to hold my breath from this stink beast and brush his whole shitty ass. I am not kidding, this is what I'm doing to be able to eat everyday. Since Burdio conquer the green and snowless Snowhill Village, I need to pay taxes monthly. Back then, I just need to shoot some wild rabbit or deers in the woods. I only need to worry if I can eat or not. Now I need to worry if I can pay taxes to be able to keep on living in a house where I was born.

And then, I was amazed to realize how realistic this game is. It planted fake memories about someone named "Gail" with this kind of life, from this small unfortunate village. For a second I forgot that I am actually just playing a virtual reality MMORPG. This game requires me to sleep to enter the game, it using subliminal hypnosis, and works the same with lucid dreaming. Maybe we should stop using "virtual reality" to call this game, instead let us use "lucid dreaming game".

Let me tell you about this 19 years old creature called "umbalomba" named "James Bond". This creature is one year older than me, and if he was human, he was considered a grandpa. Umbalomba normally has 15 years life span, just like a happy and healthy dogs. But the size is massive! More like an elephant than a great dane. Umbalomba's character is between pork and dog. It is smart animal, can understand human words pretty well, but it also a lazy bum like cats. in it's younger days, umbalomba was a wild beast, with swift moves and great sense of smell. Made them a perfect horse for hunting, and perhaps better hunting partner than dogs.

Umbalomba supposed to be cute looking despite it's savageness. It has thick hair all over his body that is waterproof just like golden retriever. This umbalomba is sick. On my first day work in Hugo's barn, he asked me to clean out all those ticks and bath James Bond daily. I didn't mind picking up those ticks, but this beast just smells so bad I threw up twice a day. After a week working at Hugo's, I find some ticks on my hair and my mom laughed when she find one inside my ear. If the weather is too cold to bath, this beast's smells stays in my body, in my hair, so when I lay on my bed, I still can smell it very well. That's when I realize that I turned into umbalomba slowly.

This is a very disgusting and inhuman job.

I must be an idiot who doesn't have any capabilities in life if this job is the only thing I can do for life.

I am not an idiot, I know it, mom knows it, and Hugo knows it. I am a great archer. I can aim perfectly jjust by judging my target's reflections on puddle. I know how to sneak in between trees to hide my body and spies my target. I am strong enough to climb the tree in a second. When I was ten, my father passed away, and my brother, Byrond left Snowhill to train as a knight in Burdio. Since my mother wasn't a hunter at all, I have to do something to feed us everyday. I was following a senior hunter named Ruben. He was such a drunkard and short temper. When the hunting is successful, he will criticized me for minor mistake I made, but when it was not really good day, it was hell to be around him. Though I must admit that Ruben taught me so many things. I can say that I learned almost all of my hunting skills from him.

Aniway, Hugo told me on my first day that things will gets better. So many opportunities will come in the future. He has so many business ideas, such as breeding umbalomba, or sell them to Burdio army as mount support. He even share his ideas to create security organization in Snowhill under Burdio's watch. He told me that the watcher squad will need a great sharpshooter like me. Back then I believed in everything he said.

Day goes by, I still picking up ticks resides in James Bond's skin. Don't think about how I stay alive when I eat nothing when playing games. This game works like lucid dream. Since I haven't find any other players, I guess I'm still in a tutorial mode.

Hugo said nothing to me, but I begin to see some Burdio soldiers visit him for dinner. I heard some laughters, and chatteries. Judging from what I heard, they are talking about business. Could it be that it was the watcher squad Hugo was talking about in the past?

A few weeks later, a tower was build outside the village. Some men are hired as wathers, Ruben is one of them. Hugo still say nothing to me.

So I approaches him and dares to told him, "hey, you know I can aim with my bow and arrows, don't you?"

Hugo stunned for a while, rolls his eyes slowly as if he was recovering from his shock, which is unnecessary, because he only answered, "yeah, so?"

"I don't want to picking those ticks again, nor bath your umbalomba. Don't get me wrong, I love your dad's umbalomba, but I am more than that. Please let me be one of those watchers!" I told him that.

"Okay..." he inhales and stares the ceiling, "... let me arrange that for you, okay? Because this squad was formed under the supervisory of Burdio military, I need their permission too."

"Alright," I believe my friend. He was my friend, he knows who I am, and what I'm good at. He will support me.

... right?

On my way home, I passes the watch tower. Ruben was there, laughing at me. "Hey, umbalomba nanny! I can smell you from this height!"

I just laught back at him, because I know that I'm a better archer than him. Ruben just a drunkard who has reputation as senior hunter. More than that, he just all complaint. Besides, soon I will stop doing that dirty work and begin to do what I should do, be where I should be. I pick up a chunk of gravel and throw it to a trash can about six meters away from where I stand. It hit the spot perfectly. I knew I still have it in me. Sharpshooter Gail of Snowhill.

When I return to work on the next day, I asked Hugo about the watcher squad. He answered, "oh, it's under process. Just wait a few longer. Until then, please make sure you clean up James Bond's shits."

I still cleaning up James Bond's super smelly shits today. A day after, he said the same thing and picking the ticks. A week after, I still brushing James Bond's smelly body with horse brush. Almost a month pass by and today Hugo scold me, "when is the last time you bath him?"

"I don't know, maybe three days ago," I answered.

"Three days? Hah! It's been ten days since the last time you bath him!" Hugo is really mad because his house is filled with James Bond's odor. "I pay you high for this job, if you can't do it, I better do it myself, and you better find another income to pay taxes!"

Normally, I would hold myself from speak up, but this time, cannot hold it any longer. I am so sick of this job, this smell, this tick, and I cannot even approach the girls I like because they would not want to have a boyfriend who clean up a beast to pay taxes. So I told Hugo this, "you know what I am able of. I am a hunter, and you once promised me that things will gets better. Now Burdio made you the chief of the watchers, you have the power to put me in the squad. Why did you keep me here?"

"Too many watchers right now, if all boys works as watchers, no one will work in farm, and we will running out of ransoms. Would you sacrifice your friends for your own personal wellness?" he asked me.

"You ...." I run out of words. I could not say anything anymore. I am so disappointed to him.

"If you can't do this anymore, I will find another worker. This is your payment, you don't have to come tomorrow, and you may go home right now," he throws a pouch with some coins in it. Not much, I guess.

"Fair enough. Thank you, my friend," I grabbed my payment and leave his house, say goodbye to the stinky old beast.

When I got home, I could not say anything to my mother. She was hoping to buy some woods to fix the roof, a preparation for autumn that comes in days. I sit by the dinning table, filled my potter mug with tea and sips it. Tea always helps to calm my moods.

Then I saw a letter on the table. It was a certificate. Written under the name of Byrond Marshall, my older brother.

"He's back?" I asked my mother curiously.

"This morning, just when you left, he returns," mother answered.

"Where is he now?" I asked unpatiently, so excited to see my brother after ten years appart.

"In the back yard. He missed you too," mother smiles.

I hurriedly rushes to the backyard and find a large man with large torso, muscular arms. He cutting the woods with an axe. He changed so much, but I still notice him as my brother, Byrond.

"Brother!" I rushes to him and we pats each other's back while hugs each others.

"Gail! You have grown very well," he smiles proudly.

"You too, brother. I almost not recognized you at all!" I replied.

"You still hunting?"

Though it is not a proud thing to told him that I clean up a stink old umbalomba to pay taxes and feed mom, I still tell him the truth. But my brother pats my shoulders proudly, "awesome! You are so young, yet you know the best you can do at the moment. I see it as an awareness to responsibility, I am so proud of you!"

He grins and pats me rapidly, I feel my shoulder crushes.

"Stop talking about me, how about you? I saw your license, you are a knight now, we can be rich!"

"Well," he inhales. "Knights have two division; paladin and warlord. Let me explain you how they work. Warlord is a pure warrior. He has paladin's tankiness, but using dual swords or a spear to fight. Meanwhile Paladin is a defender. He has more defensive skills than warlord, though smaller damage to deal with. If you more to a solo player, you warlord is best for you. But if you more to a teamwork, then paladin is better choices."

At this moment, I begin to remember that after this whole drama with my NPC buddy, everything is a game. I guess this game decided from my mental state that warlord and paladin is the best choice for me.

"So what class did you pick?"

"I still undecided, if you read the license, it just announces me as graduated. I still need to go to Burdio's military base to decided. Then, I will have to do an exam to get the real license as warlord or paladin," he answered.

"I see..."

"Hey, want me to train you? I can share you some of the basic training as a knight."

"Sure! Let's train!"

He throws a wooden sword so we can do sparing. He teach me how to handle sword correctly; how to swing, thrust, or strike. Some basic moves. We train until the sun sets and the moon rises. We drink wine and laughs the whole night in the backyard.

And before the sun rises, he told me, "Gail, I want you to take my identity."

I stunned. We just laughs together and talking about silly things, and all of a sudden the atmosphere turned serious.

"Leave Snowhill, you don't need to take mom with you. Grab the horse, take my license, and choose between paladin or warlord. Go to Burdio, join a clan and be a hero," Byrond continues.

"What do you mean, Byrond?" I asked this NPC.

"You heard me. Do it," he repeats.

"No! I am an archer, I use range to fight. Knights fights in close range, I will be dead in seconds!" I told him, though my mind screams at me that Byrond's idea was a better choice than stay in Snowhill as a shit cleaner.

"This is not your place, you belongs out there. From now on, you are Byrond Marshall, the knight," he said.

"Then, what about you?"

"I retire," he said.

"Retire? You are an NPC!"

"I am not an NPC," he said, quite shocking. "Let me tell you something. This game is so realistic, you have to be active or you will only play this MMORPG in this remote village. Byrond your brother is a set up from the game program. Before you play this game, I already play it, and this game tries to make me stuck as a shit cleaner under an NPC named Hugo, so I run away and find a town name Burdio down there. Even in Burdio, some NPC tried to fail me in knight academy. This game is nuts, I tell you! I hate it! I don't want to play this game anymore, so I returned and ask you to take my license, my hard work," he explains.

"So ....," I tried to pick up the puzzle as some other gamer who is a real people, real gamer, explain how to play this game for me.

"I retire, I give you my license. You are supposed to escape Hugo's farm and begin your path as knight, hunter, or mage. But since you just wait for good news from Hugo, the only path left for you is hunter," he explains.

"Huh? Why is that?"

"Because the registration season for knight and mages are already over when the watcher squad was formed in Snowhill. Believe me, I've through this yesterday in-real-life time," he said. "I was curious so I googled this game's guide and it was said that condition to be mage is to leave Snowhill before knights of Burdio comes to vissit Hugo. Path as knight is under condition that you follow those Burdio knights when they left after dinner with Hugo. If you missed everything the only path left is as assassin or archer," the senior gamer explains.

"Well, I love archery, so I don't mind," I answered.

"Outside Snowhill, there's so many gamer start their own clans. Too many people uses your class. So it will be hard for you to find place in big clans," he said.

"Really? So that's all the benefit of being a knight? To be accepted in big clans?" I doubt it.

"This game is shit, I tell you. Paladin has small damage, so they are depend on other gamer in order to farm or level up. But big clans need paladin. Paladin is very important to clans. If you become one, you will live a pleasure life."

"But, ... for what?"

For a while, Byrond just stares me, as if he tries to hide something about Paladin from me. Then he said it again, "I am retiring, take my ID and license, go to Burdio and become a paladin, then have a fortunate life. Goodbye, brother!"

As he retire from the game, he disappears like morning mist under the sun. Byrond is dead, and I'm going to follow his advice.