16 Game World 1: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ : _ _ E _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A _ _ _ _ _ (4)

Once he tapped on the 'Normal' icon, it just remained highlighted in a stronger shade of red. It irritated his sight, so Aectaeon rubbed his eyes a bit to remove the itch. However, when he removed his hands, a new panel appeared. But it wasn't from the game's system.

[[ Warning! ]]

[[ The chosen difficulty has a Chance of 9% ]]

[[ Do you want to finalize? ]]

[[ Yes ]] [[ No ]]

'Chance? What chance?'

Since the word 'chance' was italicized, Aectaeon had the urge to tap on it. When he did, a smaller box panel came into view above the word.

[[ Info: Chance is the probability to gain Letters as a reward for accomplishing missions of differing difficulties ]]

Upon reading the information, Aectaeon hurried and selected the 'Novice' option.

[[ Warning! ]]

[[ The chosen difficulty has a Chance of 6% ]]

[[ Do you want to finalize? ]]

[[ Yes ]] [[ No ]]

"Are you kidding me?" Aectaeon spattered in disbelief, "Do you expect me to accomplish my mission within 15 days with that sh*t of a chance?"

However unfair though it might be, Aectaeon's competitiveness had just been ignited. He clicked his tongue once more as he swallowed his urge to snicker. Without uttering another word, he went on to check the Chances of the rest of the difficulties.

First was the Advanced.

[[ Warning! ]]

[[ The chosen difficulty has a Chance of 16% ]]

[[ Do you want to finalize? ]]

[[ Yes ]] [[ No ]]

Then the Veteran.

[[ Warning! ]]

[[ The chosen difficulty has a Chance of 22% ]]

[[ Do you want to finalize? ]]

[[ Yes ]] [[ No ]]

After his survey, Aectaeon couldn't help but let out a sigh. He failed to bear in mind earlier that the two systems were, in a way, interconnected.

"Of course, of course, there's a mechanism like this. How naive am I?"

Even though he was still uttering his grievances, Aectaeon already made his choice. He had no clue as to how many missions he would be able to encounter. Aectaeon had no room to take it easy. He had to guess the game's title in less than sixteen days or he would face the consequences.

Be that as it may, he shouldn't subject himself to a difficulty beyond his capabilities. In the first place, he wasn't aware of how death in a game world worked.

Would he have to start from the beginning if he died?

Would all of his progress be lost?

Would he lose his memories of the game and the letters he had unveiled so far?

Or would he be sent back to the Obelisk by virtue of his loss?

There were too many factors that Aectaeon had to take into account. He couldn't just select the 'Veteran' capability. It was as if he was welcoming the idea of plunging into danger, only to get himself killed in a territorial war.

"This is the best choice after all." Aectaeon then looked at the rectangular panel right above the middle of the two system panels.

[[ Return Countdown: 15 D; 17 H ; 54 M ; 36 S ]]

The countdown panel for his return to the Obelisk would never disappear. It would always be there to remind him of his time limit.

Sans wasting another moment, Aectaeon finalized his choice. There was no going back for him. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself for his upcoming adventure.

{{ Island of Mahak, Tarnes Sea; April 10, 2040 }}

{{ Would you like to undergo the Tutorial? }}

{{ Yes }} {{ No }}

Without a sliver of hesitation, he chose 'Yes' and said, "Just what I needed. I can't go out there when I don't know a single thing."

Right then, a square panel with a green blinking dot in the centre appeared beside the countdown panel. Thereafter, another panel arose but it's circular this time. Aectaeon readily identified the purpose of the panels.

{{ Obtained 'Map of the Island of Mahak' }}

{{ Obtained 'Compass' }}

Aectaeon touched the map panel to check if he could magnify or minimize its scale. To his relief, that function was enabled.

"Let's see, so I'm at the southernmost part of the island. There are also six smaller neighbouring islands. 8000 square kilometres is a lot to cover. It will be hard to search for missions when the game area is this big."

{{ Mission Objectives }}

{{ O: Pick up a MAS-38; hit the target a total of 10 times }}

{{ O: Pick up a Vityaz-SN; hit the target a total of 8 times }}

{{ O: Pick up Rucksack }}

{{ O: Plant Explosives }}

{{ O: Detonate Explosives }}

{{ O: Escape the Barn }}

{{ O: Return to Base }}

{{ O: Report Incident }}

{{ Accept }} {{ Reject }}

Aectaeon went over his list of objectives over and over again. He could already see his life flashing before his eyes.

He had never held a gun before. However, it wouldn't be a problem for Aectaeon to pick up a gun and start shooting, provided that his targets weren't alive. What Aectaeon was concerned about was the fact that he was a sort of military personnel.

"I was trying to put off my conscription until I'm 25. Look at me now. I might be going into war without a second of training." Aectaeon muttered contemptibly, drawing a shallow breath along.

Still and all, there was no more reluctance inside of him. He had yielded himself to the system, so he only had to follow its directives.

"Remember, Aectaeon, your first priority is to get out of this world with all of your limbs intact."

He then nodded as he tapped on 'Accept'.

{{ Would you like to view commands? }}

{{ Yes }} {{ No }}

After selecting 'Yes', Aectaeon caught sight of something in the corner of his left eye. He quickly turned towards it and saw an arrowhead floating in the air, approximately two meters above the ground.

The human-head sized arrowhead was slightly transparent, having the shade of sunset orange, as it rotated on its own axis. It was directed downwards, prompting Aectaeon to look at where it was pointing at.

"Oh… isn't that a gun?" Aectaeon went on to think for a few seconds before speaking to himself once more, "Is that the MAS-38 indicated in my objectives? I'll have to check then."

Before he walked away from his position, Aectaeon sorted his obliviousness of the commands first. He selected 'Yes' and diligently read what the game's system had to say.