Link Start!

I know it's a bit shameless, but I have a very odd question.

I was almost 100% sure that I had written about some sort of reward box for the mc to open in the Tutorial, but no matter how much I search, I cannot find it.

If you do remember reading about it, hit me up, if not, then it's likely I removed it and simply do not remember doing so, and this is now plaguing my heart and mind.

The usual problems of a writer...

Overall, there will be 5 more chapters today, I'll be posting them one after the other.

Same thing as before, if you can drop a power stone or leave a review, I appreciate it.

Thanks, enjoy.

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"!"

Dale opened his eyes to see himself in a pure white room with no doors or windows.

A perfectly smooth box.

"Okay… Everything's good so far…" He said without panicking

"System check!" He said towards the air

And from the empty space, a voice replied:

[System Check: All systems normal]

[Current body condition: Perfectly fine]

[Would you like to see the details?]

Dale shook his head, he knew very well his body would be fine no matter what happened…

He had long since stopped being Human.

'At first, I did little with the Green Box as even when I was given medication for hallucination, it did not disappear from my sight...'

'I always had the feeling that it wasn't so simple, that there was something extra about it... A secret it held... But I could not prove it, only suspect its purpose and connections to Azimuth and Elden Throne...'

'That continued until the day I learned by accident that my stats could increase by doing certain actions, that I could get stronger, faster, smarter, and more by putting in the right amount of effort in certain actions...'

'Seeing the numbers rise, seeing more Skills appear... Overcoming previously difficult challenges and going beyond them, setting new limits for myself.'

'My growth was so tremendous that I saw myself quickly beating world records... 100 meters dash, bench press limit, fastest reaction time... Everything...'

'It started with a small increase in body strength and soon it became a body that can lift a car without much difficulty.'

'It was something that could only be achieved in my wildest dreams... Albeit, unfortunately, I did not learn how to fly.'

'I got addicted to this feeling. Especially when I started to realize I could grow stronger at an unimaginable speed… That was when my obsession with growth kicked off.'

'My body went beyond the Human limit and so did my learning speed... I became the top of my Class and started to take University lightly... Not that I ever treated it seriously, to begin with.'

'I don't feel like a genius, or a talent unmatched under the heavens, I just feel as if memorizing some things and patterns is simpler now.'

'I am well aware that if those people that were already born talented were given the Green box, then they might've been able to accomplish more, faster...'

'But this doesn't mean I would humble myself too much either, I came here with my own efforts, I bleed and sweated, the System never gave me rewards for free, it just... Opened a way?'

'It sounds coincided, and perhaps it is, trying to explain yourself in any way and be proud of your progress despite the help you were given seems quite low, and that is why I never bragged... Too much at the very least.'

'I don't know where this came from and why it latched onto me, but I will make sure to unravel its secrets… Especially now that I am sure it came from this game.'

"I just have to wait, I've already used my token, there's nothing to fear."

'I don't really have many online accounts, but ever since my body started to grow stronger, I did make several accounts for different activities.'

'It would be too noticeable otherwise... And although I don't know who would seek me out, better be careful then not.'

[You have received an Email from, Elden Throne]

"Oh? Open it!"

[Opening E-mail…]

A large wall of text suddenly appeared in the middle of the white blank room, before its size was reduced to around that of a piece of paper, allowing Dale to grab it without much trouble.

[Welcome back Player Kindred Flamingo, it's been a year since our last talk

There isn't much to talk about since we, just like you, are extremely excited about this game release and we need to make sure everything is running smoothly.

I hope you didn't forget what we talked about last time… It's time for you to enjoy your 10 minutes of exclusive gameplay!

We would like to ask you if it's possible for you to record it and send it to us so we can make a promotional Ad? Of course, send only what you wish, the contract will be linked with this email, take a look when you are ready.

Aside from that, there has been a long-pending question… Would you like to have your game ID shown in the Hall of Fame?

We're also giving you the special Beta Tester Box! Check it out once you get inside the game!

(I fucking found it, I am so proud...)

If you have any more questions, make sure to state them in your reply!

Graciously, Elden Throne.

]

"... Is this all?... I feel like they are playing with me… Hall of fame... I almost forgot about it."

'I already planned on recording all of my gameplay, so that isn't an issue.'

'As for my ID… I can't, I already suffered from people getting on my ass when I played those competitive games to raise some money, I don't want this to happen here too.'

Dale eventually formulated his reply and sent it to them, as for the contract, he planned to take a look at it after he was done with the Tutorial.

[You have received an Email from, Elden Throne]

"Instant reply?... Damn…"

[Hello once again! We read your reply and we would like to clarify some things.

Since the record was made during the Beta, it won't remain there forever, the moment someone else reaches the same level, the record will be switched.

And also, since it's an already informal record, you may leave an alternate false name on the record, you may also change your ID for our game if you so wish.

Albeit changing your in-game ID after character creation is impossible under normal circumstances, it is still possible to use a persona for future public events if they allow for such.

Cheers! Elden Throne.

]

"Huh? That was pretty simple… And it has a completely different tone…"

"Was it written by someone else? Probably, a company has many workers after all…"

'Pretty simple then, I made this name in one day and I don't like it that much.'

Dale smiled, he knew what ID he wanted, and he accepted by leaving a proxy name on the Hall of Fame.

"What time is it now?"

[14:06]

"Hum… I don't know much about contracts, but it would be a waste to leave it like this…"

Dale suddenly smiled.

"Open the chat with my Uncle Willian…"

"Send the contract to him… Yeah, thanks."

With a relaxed impression, Dale lay on the ground of the room and waited.

/10 minutes later…/

[You have received a request for a voice room, Uncle Willian]

"That was fast… Accept."

/Fuom.../

The face of a bald middle-aged man suddenly appeared floating in the middle of the room.

He didn't seem very happy, he even seemed a bit frustrated...

"... Dale? Is this what I think it is?" Asked Willian in a serious tone as he adjusted his glasses

"Yeah? Is it good?"

Willian looked at Dale and said as a smile formed on his lips:

"There is nothing wrong with the contract, it's very short, being just a few pages long and simple, it's very clean and I would even say it's pretty."

"I would like to show it to some of my students due to how direct and efficient it is..."

"But that isn't what matters here. From a legal standpoint, I think it's ok for you to sign it, but it's better to give it more time… Give me a few hours to go through it calmly."

Dale nodded and said:

"I'll be playing Azimuth so I won't be able to reply at once, but I will do it as soon as I can… In fact, BYE!"

[Dale(Nephew) has closed the chat room]

"Dale? Dale... Sigh, this kid…"

"I also wanted to play the game… But fine." He said with some determination

…

While his Uncle sat down to read the contract, Dale logged into the game's Main Menu.

As the world turned black around him, he found himself floating in a dark space as many stars started to shine around him, creating quite a surreal experience.

[Welcome to the Character Creation Menu]

Dale couldn't contain the smile as he heard the gentle voice of a pretty girl… The System girl.

He knew her, she helped him before during the Beta, and it was nice to hear her again.

"HELL YEAH!" He said as he raised his hands high, it looked quite comical since that made him spin in the empty void

[Follow the steps and create your character]

A single gray window popped up in front of Dale, but before he could do anything…

{Detected that host has initiated Azimuth}

{Assimilating Status}

{Process completed}

"?! The green box voice…"

"As I thought, it is connected to this game…"

Dale touched his body, but he felt nothing strange.

At least this time, the green box left his body alone.

'There were very few instances where this voice materialized, the first one was when I received it for the first time, I still remember that acute pain in my head...'

'This is the second time I've heard it, but nothing seems to be happening.'

'It remained silent till now, even as I played other games and had my body grow stronger.'

"I already expected my stats to be high since my body condition is insane, but I did not expect this to happen. I'll have to research it later."

After he was done with that, he continued to check the character creation menu… And he was surprised to see new options that weren't there during the Beta.

[Randomize character sheet?]

"What's this?"

Dale selected the option and another window came.

[By randomizing your character, you'll receive random stat points, a single Skill of a random grade, and you'll get an extra permanent Skill slot]

[DISCLAIMER This action cannot be undone and once your sheet is randomized it stays that way until you buy a new character ticket]

"Yeah… No thanks."

Dale crossed his arms in the void, pondering over what he had just read.

'Azimuth works with a simple system, you buy the game and you get a character ticket, you also get one by buying any of their Pods.'

'You can use the ticket to make a new character anytime you want. But if something goes wrong and you're forced to restart, then you'll need another character ticket…'

'It's not super expensive but it's not the freest thing in the world either, since, for something so mundane as your in-game character, it feels a bit too much to buy one more.'

'And I speak this as someone that has quite some money left to spare...'

'Still, people can say buying a bag of sausages for 20 bucks is expensive before proceeding to go to a restaurant and eating a third of the bag of sausages' contents for triple its price without saying much...'

"I can see some rich people abusing this, I don't think the developers would make such a simple rookie mistake even if they wanted to make money… I didn't expect this, but it doesn't matter to me."

'Unless there is a chance for people to get absurd stats, I don't think anything will change for me, I'll still keep my own body regardless.'

"Everyone starts Azimuth with the same base stats as that of their body… Unless they randomize..."

"Of course, this means people with greater physique are going to have a better time, but it was proven that it wasn't that big of a deal since starting with one or two extra stats in a game where you'll have hundreds later on, is in no way significant…"

'It should only matter to those maniacs that calculate everything down to the .0-ish values...'

"People with higher stats might grow faster, but this isn't a run… At least for 95% of the tens of millions of players that have bought the game."

"So it was seen as more of a stimulant for people to train than something else, especially when people learned they could gain more stats mid-game if they trained their body in real life."

'Even then, it's not much.'

'But if you're an Alpha Gamer, then you ought to hit the gym.'

Dale selected the option to finish the character creator, not changing anything at all.

His appearance was what he was used to, there was no need to change his physique or body proportions, at most, it would make him feel weird as his real-life body wouldn't represent his in-game body.

And he had proven already, the closer the two are to each other, the faster his real-life Skills rise.

[Welcome Dale, proceed to the next part]

Another panel appeared in front of him, this time displaying several images of his body with a name on top of each.

[Please choose a preferred gameplay style:]

[Standard

RPG Style combat assisted by the Game System AI

Similar to other franchises.

#Note, it's what you are used to

]

[Standard: Diminished Interface Mode

Same as the Standard, but system help is decreased, this gameplay mode can be turned on and off, if turned off, the user will go back to Standard mode.

The intensity of the System interface help can be adjusted to a preferred Level.

]

[Tourism

Similar to the Standard gameplay, but:

Immune to PVP damage under any circumstances, and cannot inflict damage to other players.

Can Log Out anywhere and anytime in the game apart from Danger zones and Special areas.

Cannot explore new areas.

Restricted movement in some areas.

You will receive a basic tourism Kit and a big discount on any form of transportation in the world.

Most NPCs will see you favorably.

Most quests are locked for these players.

Pain Reception will be turned towards the lowest value. Can be adjusted.

]

[HardCore

Realism at its finest. Face the cruel side of reality. The true face of Azimuth.

NOT FOR NEW PLAYERS.

HARDCORE PLAYERS ONLY HAVE A SINGLE LIFE.

No Health and Mana bar, fight until your last breath! Manage your resources via instinct and experience.

No system assist. (Cannot be changed)

Skill System rework. Abnormal Statuses rework. Healing System rework. Combat rework...

Damage calculation and statuses are not done by the algorithms anymore. You can be killed instantly and kill enemies instantly by delivering and receiving fatal attacks.

HardCore players will receive a boost to their Stat per Level acquired to balance their weaknesses.

2X Stat gain per Level between Levels 0 to 49, 3X between Levels 49 to 79, and 5X between Levels 79 and 100.

HardCore characters are locked from certain missions, not being able to receive XP from them, but they might be able to receive its rewards.

Pain Reception will be turned towards real-life values. Cannot be decreased.

{WARNING, Status is currently assimilated}

]

"This…"

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Notes

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll post the next one soon.

Peace!