Quest

He walked out into the streets full of students wandering around. He didn't know where the casino was but he was willing to walk around and observe the place. It was good to know the ins and outs of this place since it looked like he would be staying here for a long time.

For the most part, he was following the crowd and watching out for giant holographic signs that displayed the text 'casino'. Most of them were following a third-year like sheep so he blended in with the crowd.

They walked and talked until they reached a place that had a holographic sign that said, 'Console room'. This must be the room where he could play the new game Planets&Monsters. He briefly heard this new game from the news and wanted to try it out.

He walked forward and put his hands on the handprint on the side of the door. It opened and let him into a dimly lit room where cylindrical tanks lined up neatly into rows and columns. The cylindrical tanks had either a red light or a green light on the top to indicate whether it was occupied or not.

Hugh walked towards the corner of the room and chose an unoccupied capsule and opened it up. The inside had a human-shaped indentation that he could lay inside. Once in, the capsule automatically closed as he closed his eyes.

He opened his eyes and saw himself floating in a white endless void. In it was a large holographic menu screen that displayed a text.

<Welcome Hugh>

Capsule Play: 10p/hr.

<yes> <no>

Hugh raised his hand and touched the 'yes' option on the menu. Right after he clicked the 'yes' option, the menu changed into rows of text that had a small image next to it. These were the games that were available to play inside the capsule. 'Planets&Monsters', 'CounterStroke: Galaxy Offensive', 'League of Heroes', 'Fortday', 'Among ours', were the most popular games in the galaxy today. He chose the 'Planets&Monsters' game and closed his eyes.

Once he opened his eyes, he only saw himself looking back at him. This was the character creation portion of the game. He can change his appearance, which he will do because he wanted to test out if his transformation will be activated in the game.

He changed his face into more of a normal-looking face with normal hair and normal body proportions. He didn't have any distinctive features to make sure that he wouldn't be recognized if he ever got caught transforming. He looked like an average guy.

After confirming his appearance, Hugh's surroundings changed into a bustling town. Hundreds of people were walking around with simple clothes, indicating that they were the same as him; they were novices. He looked around himself and saw people with a question mark on their heads.

Multiple people were talking to the same NPC, wanting to get their beginner mission. Hugh followed them and talked with the NPC.

"Hello, traveler!"

"Hi, do you need help with something?"

"What's your name traveler?"

"I'm Huge."

Hugh changed his name to Huge when he was customizing his appearance. He was sure that people will not associate his real self with this character.

"Hello, Huge. I do need help with something. Get me 20 Ruby Berries from the outskirts of town."

A menu appeared right in front of Hugh that indicated his current mission. The text was lined with blue and white giving it a technological feel. He felt it was weird that he had two systems right now, his fat god system and the game's system. The game's system had a physical form that he could see and touch. The fat god system had no physical form and was always present in his mind.

He clicked on his mission and a minimap opened up to the top right position of his sight. It directed him to the outskirts of the beginner town where he could harvest the Ruby Berries needed to complete the mission. He started walking, following the direction on the minimap.

Most of the new players in the town dispersed in different directions since everyone had a different mission. This was one of the most unique things in the game. Everyone will get a different mission based on different factors such as the way they talked to the NPC, the way they dressed, their reputation, and other invisible factors. This would also affect the future missions of each person, creating a different experience for everybody.

The NPC were famous for their individuality and their sentience almost feeling like a normal person. Most people talked about how the NPC were no different from the players if not for the fact that the NPC has a symbol on their heads.

Hugh walked to the outskirts of town until he reached the shrubbery part of town. Hugh bent down and looked inside the shrubs, looking for the distinct reddish color of the Ruby Berries shaped like a gem. The shrub closest to him had no red-colored berries but it had blue berries shaped like a perfect sphere.

Hugh walked to the next bush and found a shining red berry as he searched around. His menu appeared and the ruby berry disappeared from his hands. The quest proceeded as Hugh found more and more berries in the bush.

*Ssssssssss*

Hugh heard a hissing sound from beneath the bushes that alerted him of the danger that was coming towards him. He backed away from the bush and readied himself to fight the creature.

Hissing and zigzagging on the ground, a white cobra came out of the bushes. It raised its head and looked towards Hugh with its venomous fangs ready to pierce Hugh's skin. He remained calm and collected, ready to activate his armor at the right time.

The snake crawled through the grass and reared its head at Hugh. The snake attacked, opening its jaws to take a bite out of his leg. Hugh saw the attack and activated his armor to his leg to protect it from the bite. Silver and brown liquid flowed out from his skin and encased his legs creating new and improved shin and muscles to guard against the snake.

The snake bit down on his legs, indifferent to the armor that protected it. The snake's fangs bit down on his metal skin and created sparks as it wasn't able to pierce his armor. Hugh took this chance to counterattack and used his other leg to step on the snake.

The leg that he used to attack the snake wasn't protected with the armor. He wasn't able to activate his armor in two different limbs so the force he exerted on the snake was weak. His leg felt like it stepped on a cylindrical steel tube as the snake's skin was too tough.

He backed away from the snake. This was the fundamental problem he had with his armor. He had to choose between attacking and defending due to its limitations. He couldn't survive if he foregoes his defense and attacks the snake and vice versa.

*Sssssss*

More hissing came out of the bushes as three more snakes showed themselves to him. He backed even further from the snakes only to hear hissing on his back. He looked back and saw another three snakes circling him around. He couldn't defend against the attacks of 6 snakes at once and he couldn't kill them either. The only choice he had was to transform.

He activated his transformation as his body started to release out steam. His black hair turned into white as beads of sweat dripped down his body. The character he created in this game was not morbidly obese like he was. The character had a normal weight and Hugh was curious what would have happened to his transformation if the conditions were like that.

Surprisingly, the transformation continued like the one in the real world. He was curious about one thing so he took out a berry from the bushes and looked at his reflection.

The face he had now was the same face he had when transforming. This meant that the transformation would not be affected by his appearance. This was a bad thing for him but it wasn't his top priority right now. He still had to deal with the snakes.

A snake from his back lunged forward with its venomous fangs directed at his neck. Without looking back, he grabbed the snake from behind and used it as a whip against the other snakes.

Hugh whipped the snake in front of him and the collision made it stumble backward, disoriented from the hit. He used this chance to stomp on its head, killing it instantly and spreading blood and flesh all over his shoe. He ignored the mess as he continued to whip the snakes into submission until they were all defeated into the ground.

<Warning! Only 1/2 of hp is remaining>

A warning from the game's system popped up in his vision. This left him confused at the situation since he wasn't injured by any snake and he was confident that his regeneration would take care of any injury inflicted on him.

He suddenly remembered an integral part of his system. It was called the 'FAT God System'. The character he had right now was not fat. Hugh wondered if that was the reason his hp was getting low. It may explain the situation if the transformation was eating his life instead due to the absence of fat.

A whizzing arrow shot forth from the darkness directed at Hugh's head. He caught it with his bare hands and looked towards the assailant. In the distance he could see a well armored man that wore a green fedora standing still, surprised that his attack had failed.