Chapter 2

"How long have I been here?" I decided to ask after I had already reviewed hundreds of classes and skills.

"It hasn't been any time at all." The tower spirit answered me.

"This is strange…Another one of those weird answers. This is what.. the fiftieth of them?" I remembered the past hour of difficult conversations with annoyance and tried again.

"Had I been wearing a standard mechanical watch, since I got here, what time would it have read?"

"One moment please... approximately 3 hours 45 minutes and 23 seconds."

"Interesting.. and in the outside world?" I asked.

"I can't answer that question." answered the spirit.

"But you just did. You said that no time has passed."

"One moment please...I'm sorry, you shouldn't have gotten that kind of information. Please don't think about it and ask questions related to it."

"Okay, whatever you say spirit." I said sarcastically while considering the new nugget of information.

"So," I thought, "is it possible that time has stopped or what... slowed down relative to the outside world? Maybe it would be a good idea to take advantage of that somehow!"

While I was considering what to do with this new information, I turned to the tower spirit again.

"Could you please put a clock marking time in one corner of the screen?"

"Done. Is that okay?"

"Super, thanks."

I continued to look and ask questions as the hours passed and I asked.

"I looked at most of the listed classes and none of them completely appealed to me. Is it possible to make a new class to my liking?"

"It is possible. Please take a look at the necessary information on the screen."

In the website, on the screen in front of me, appeared a new section related to making a new class. It turned out that the new classes could choose a few starting skills, each of which had a cost. They then had a certain number of points with which to improve their skills. And finally they had another type of points with which to purchase their starting gear. It was pretty complicated, and it even turned out that you could transfer some of the points into others.

There were also a number of hidden limitations that only became apparent when you come across them. All in all, it was quite annoying. "Freedom and free will have their drawbacks," I thought.

Again I set about looking at the various options, while deciding to try and stay here in this place as long as possible. Since time had stood still, it would be a good idea to make the most of it.

Not long after that, I started looking at the different weapons and objects in the room. I played with them while the tower spirit watched me silently.

"I think it's time to pick a class and move on. Most of the players who decided to move on have already picked a class and are getting ready to start." said the spirit of the tower.

"If I delay a bit more, will I start after them?"

"No, everyone will start together."

"So I have more time." I replied while looking at a crossbow and trying clumsily to load it.

"Tower spirit, can you please put a target a few feet in front of me?"

"I can but I won't." answered the ghost showing a little bit of his annoyance of all the questions he had to answer. "My job is to help you choose your starting class, not to help you practice with weapons. If you choose a class with a crossbow, you will have an instructor to help you with learning the necessary skills and the various tactics needed to use that weapon."

"That's a good idea." I said, noticing an opportunity to get more information. "Once I choose a skill related to archery and improve it by adding more points, how will that change the instructions the respective instructor will give me?"

"More points will give you more time with the instructor." the ghost replied.

"And the complexity of the skills he's going to teach me depends on what? For example, if I put more points on crossbow shooting, does that mean he'll show me more advanced techniques than if I put less?"

"Not exactly. What you do with the instructor is your business. Depends a lot on the skill, the instructor, the time you have to train together, and how well you absorb the knowledge and practices. Naturally, you have to first learn to walk before you can learn to run."

"And if I manage to learn to 'run' quickly and I have a lot more time with the instructor, will he continue to teach me more, and more advanced techniques, or in other words, if I learn fast, does that mean I will learn a lot more in the time with my instructor?"

"Of course. That is the purpose of the time constraint. If there was no time limit, some people could stay as long as they want with the instructor."

"How interesting." Hearing that, I decided to try my luck. "I'm glad you and I don't have a time limit."

"This, this... you... please wait.... we may not have time constraints for now, but I have filed a complaint with higher authorities and if you delay too much, one will be placed on you."

"Okay, no problem." I replied, shooting a crossbow bolt from my already loaded crossbow.

"So the skills are taught by an instructor and there are time limits for learning a particular skill. That's good to know," I thought.