Chapter 11 – Newbie Abel

There were hundreds of major cities all over the world of Faeron, thousands of towns and even more villages. Within the main square of Velskryn, Kingdom of Veridia.

Flash

With a flash of light, Abel appeared in the central square before Velskryn castle, the capital of Veridia.

"This…" Abel was momentarily stupefied with what his eyes were seeing. Countless avatars, players and NPC's, came and went with purpose but they all looked so real. Although he read numerous times about the full immersion, reading about it and even imagining it could never truly compare to experiencing it in person.

"This is unbelievable!" Abel couldn't hold the awe within himself and muttered out loud. He was astonished with the 'reality' of the world he was in. There were countless noises within his vicinity, people chattering and others haggling over goods. He looked up at the dark night sky and spotted 2 moons, one was full and starting to wane while the other was a dim red crescent that would probably start to wax with time.

The time in Faeron was synced up to the time in the real world, with different areas corresponding to different time zones in the real world. The area Abel was in was slightly ahead of his own time zone but when it was night in the real world, it would be later into the night in-game. There was no discrepancy in time-flow however. Abel had read some rumors online that the next significant upgrade to virtual reality technology would be time dilation and once it was figured out, people would essentially be able to live "longer". Abel didn't put much stock in these rumors but it was fun to read what people's imaginations could come up with.

Abel crouched down to touch the ground and he could feel the rough and gritty surface of the brick layered ground. He could even feel the dust on his fingertips and was astounded at the sensation.

"Look at this guy. He's definitely a newb!"

"Hey don't make fun of others, you were no better than him when you first logged on."

"It looks like he's never used a NeuroNex pod before."

There were some users that threw some fleeting remarks at the newb that apparently just logged on. While most were tame and joked half-heartedly with one another, there were some that spoke on with disdain.

No matter how thoroughly Abel had prepared himself, he was still left reeling in shock to the experience. He was bewildered by the noises, smells and views that came at him all at once but it was temporary. He disregarded the remarks around him and soon calm down. The various differences also began to catch his eyes. The people around him were clad in armor, leather vests or ancient and fantasy styled clothing.

While not everyone was dressed for battle, the overall style was entirely different from normal. The majority of those around him were wearing coarse linen pants with tunics just like him, some had leather straps for fastening while others had hoods that were swaying at their backs. A majority were wearing cloth shoes while some had leather boots. The latter usually carried around weapons and had a couple of pieces of leather armor on their person. He could see horses pulling beautifully adorned carriages in the distance, probably belonging to some rich merchant or noble.

Close to where Abel had shown up, he could see a large bulletin board with a large map showcasing Velskryn in much detail with a map displaying the other regions within the Veridia Kingdom.

'I should get started' Abel clenched his fists and made a few small jumps in the area he was standing. He crouched down and jumped up. He had to make sure that his body was exactly the same as it was in reality.

"What the hell is wrong with this freak?!"

"Hey hey hey, look at this weirdo…"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Man this guy's got more than just a few screws loose eyy"

"Nah I think he changed the dimensions of his body too much so he doesn't feel comfortable now, wouldn't be surprised if he was a fat and ugly bastard in reality"

"It shouldn't be so bad that he can't even walk to the training citadel…"

"That's why I said he's probably really really fat in real life hahahaha"

While his actions drew a torrent of disdainful remarks and a lot more laughter, he paid no heed to those around him. Even a flood of verbal abuse wouldn't deter him from stopping his tests. After half a minute of making a small joke of himself in public, he started making his way to the training citadel.

Although a person wouldn't be confined to the city or any region upon logging in, Abel found out it was better to take your time and check out your city before heading out to challenge monsters and trying to level up. In fact, a majority of the people that suffered were those trying to go out and slaughter monsters straight away like in other virtual games. The avatar dynamic along with the completely different power-scheme caused the downfall of many 'expert' gamers.

There were countless professions within the world of Faeron, from magic wielders like sorcerers, mages, shamans, summoners, arcanists and more. There were also pure warriors like swordsmen, spearmen, rangers, archers, knights, berserkers and so on. Every major class would have many sub categories within them so the professions were truly endless. For example, you could start out as a classic archer but then advance to an elemental archer. There were also support and artisan professions that had various different abilities and could even aid in battle. The choice was immense and beyond measure, assuring the players of unrestricted flexibility and freedom.

With the fall of so many 'experts', recent users had learned they should start off with the very basics; do some simple quests to earn some EXP or coins and learn some skills. Even skills such as tailoring, cooking, painting or calligraphy might come in handy later on. Painting would aid in drawing up maps of the area that could be sold in different regions while calligraphy could get you started as a scribe that was a good magic support class to get into the mystical crafts. Tailoring could help mend cloth armor or even make brand new clothes while cooking was deemed necessary for those that dreamt of going out on long adventures. There wasn't a known limit to the amount of skills you could learn, irrespective of your profession, as to whether you could level them up to a degree where they're deemed useful is a whole other matter.

There were 7 levels to any in-game skills; Greenhorn, Trainee, Adept, Expert, Master, Grandmaster and Legendary. Each stage had 3 sub-levels within them from beginner to practiced and then proficient, basically a low, middle and late stage.

Abel made his way through the central square that was brimming with players selling their wares. He spotted a few who set up stalls to buy and sell their goods after a long day of adventure. Not many players would go out and fight monsters at night as monsters were at least 10% stronger in the evening, depending on the otherworldly second moon. If it was a crescent like tonight then it would merely be a 10% increase, at half-moon it would be 20% while a full moon would see an increase of 30%. The percentage would increase or decrease depending on the red moon's waxing and waning and it was known as the lunar bane cycle.

 After taking a casual look, Abel no longer tarried and made his way to the training citadel that was just at the other end of the central square. It was quite a prominent area with walls that were no less imposing than the royal castle that was behind him.

The citadel's exterior was built from some dark, impressive stone while its architecture seamlessly blended with the surrounding area. Banners bearing the insignia of crossed swords and the emblem of the royal house fluttered in the island breeze. The Royal emblem featured a vibrant green crest against a backdrop of silver vines. At its center was a crowned oak tree, representing strength and resilience while silver tendrils denote the kingdom's fertile lands.

Abel already knew there were four sections within the training citadel, three of which were currently useless to him. The challenge grounds were as its name implied, an area where challengers could duel or fight, whether as a sparring exercise or battle to the death, the latter would often draw crowds and make some money for the citadel. The training chambers were mostly reserved for higher level professionals that wished to train and test out their skills in private. The hall of achievements was a grand chamber showcasing the names and deeds of legendary warriors. It also described fabulous battles and heroic feats within the game's lore, inspiring current and future generations to strive for greatness. This was also where the players that finished the training course would have their names placed, although the players hadn't achieved anything 'great', it seemed to be a system easter egg and would provide you with an ordinary weapon upon completion.

The training grounds was the reason Abel made this place his first stop. It was filled with different training courses that could help the player get accustomed to their new bodies while also serve as a location to learn basic combat skills. He intended to finish the training course in the fastest time possible or at least train all night before logging out for breakfast. While players would usually use this training course to get accustomed to their different sizes, physiques and new races, Abel was gunning for the skills he could learn while also getting a weapon that would save him a silver coin that he currently didn't have. Every player would start with 10 copper coins, 10 loaves of black bread and a water canteen.

The copper coins were the lowest denomination of currency in Faeron while 100 copper coins would make 1 silver coin and 100 silver coins would make 1 gold coin. Apparently, there was a higher denomination than gold coins but not a single player had even seen it before much less used it, it seemed to be exclusive to the high ranking and noble NPC's. The 10 loaves of black bread would hopefully be enough to keep his satiety levels from dropping for a couple of days while the canteen could be refilled from one of the many fountains or wells for free throughout the city.

As Abel stepped into the training citadel, he caught the eye of one of the instructors nearby. These battle-hardened but old warriors would patrol the grounds, offering guidance and insight to those who came in.

"Young traveler, I believe you've arrived in the kingdom of Veridia very recently." The instructor started a dialogue with Abel as soon as he saw him.

"Yes sir!" Abel knew better than to ignore a high-leveled NPC, besides he was here to learn so being polite was a must.

"You should strive for excellence when completing any of the training tasks, otherwise you'll regret it when you face monsters out in the wilds." The old instructor seemed to be pleased with Abel's politeness and carried the conversation. "First, go to the obstacle course, once you pass this fledgling test I'll teach you how to adequately wield a weapon of your choice." After pointing to the obstacle course, the old instructor walked away and went back to patrolling the area.

Abel made his way to the start of the course, a short running track with a tall wooden wall at the end. The wall was about 10 meters in height and covered in vines and vegetation.

"I'd like to start this course." He politely told the bored-looking attendant that was half dozing off on a chair.

"Go on kid, start whenever you're ready"

Abel took a deep breath and dashed towards the vined wall. As he approached, he eyed the sturdiest looking vine and leaped up to it, grabbing it and pulling himself up while kicking off the vegetation at his feet. Once he reached the top, Abel was rewarded with a panoramic view of the course but he didn't care for such a thing as he had read up about it online. After jumping down, he grabbed onto a soft and weak looking vine, stunting his harsh fall into something manageable then dashed onto the next section, the mud pit crawl.

Just as its name implied, the mud pit crawl was a 200-meter-long rectangular quarry that was filled with a special alchemical mud, testing your leg strength in a quicksand-like substance that didn't dirty your clothes but would pull you back as you advanced forward, bringing you to a crawling speed. Abel breezed through this section as though he was taking a walk instead of crawling, his eyes only concentrating on his next challenge – the log bridge.

The log bridge was a series of floating logs suspended over a narrow stream to test one's balance. Participants had to cross the rolling log without slipping to a fall. Most players who chose a foreign race would take a few days to a week on this challenge as their center of gravity would differ greatly than in reality but once they got the hang of it, anyone can easily pass it. After reaching the other side of the stream, Abel made quick work of the monkey bars challenge. Suspended above a pit of soft sand, this section demanded upper body strength, coordination and careful timing to navigate from one bar to the next. Once he landed, he glanced at his final obstacle – the tangled rope forest.

A dense thicket of hanging ropes made up this last hurdle, where almost every foreign-race player would spend another week before passing. Abel forged ahead without a worry, he would duck, weave and crawl through the entwined obstacles as though he was back in Verdant Forest on Luminara. When he finally came out the other side without getting tangled by any ropes, the attendant was looking at him gob smacked.

"15 minutes and 33 seconds… that's a record!" The timing was murmured lowly as though in a daze but the attendants voice grew louder towards the end.

"Is there a reward for breaking a record?" Abel replied curiously, both inwardly surprised at his speed and a little confused as to why people found it so difficult. Then he remembered that most of those that came for this course would be adjusting to a completely different body so they would take much longer. What Abel wasn't aware of however, was that there were many other players that saw value in passing the training course within their respective kingdoms and that all the training courses were actually linked and in sync.

"Y-yes there is, you get a chance to learn more skills from the instructor and depending on his final evaluation, you could receive an active skill or a piece of equipment." The attendants reply was quite to Abel's liking and he couldn't have been happier at the decision he made to finish the training courses as fast as possible.

"Good going lad, I knew my eyes haven't gone bad just yet." The instructor that spoke to Abel earlier on was now standing before him, looking at him with a gaze filled with appreciation. "Come, follow me. I'll be sure to teach you well."