003

[The servers officially opened at 8:00 AM.]

[Starting the game 'New Beginning'.]

[The game has a 2:1 time dilation, which may increase over time or in certain areas.]

"Welcome to a new beginning for you and your world. This world will be your starting point, and where it takes you is unknown. The decisions about your path are all up to you. I am the main AI, Thea, and I will be observing your journey.

The world is diverse and bountiful. You must explore its possibilities and secrets by yourself. I wish you luck and success in your new beginning."

[Character found!]

[Welcome, Lucifer, to your New Beginning!]

[Please choose your starting point.]

[Eastern Continent] [Western Continent]

"Western Continent."

[Showing all human starting points.]

[Blackwood Village]

[Kemp Village]

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[Violet Vain Village]

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"I choose Violet Vain Village."

Alex knew that each village offered only one unique quest. Some quests rewarded items, stats, or classes, while Violet Vain Village offered something different: a title. This title had the potential to grow to the highest rarity!

The quests ranged in difficulty from lowest to highest significance and impact:

Common, Uncommon, Rare, Unique, Epic, Legendary, Epic Continental, Legendary Continental, Mythical, Epic World Quest, Legendary World Quest, and Mythical World Quest. Thea had explained these rankings during the tutorial. Alex had never encountered an Epic World Quest or higher, and he hadn't even heard of a Mythical Quest. The Continental quests were extremely rare, and he had only heard of one Epic and one Legendary rank.

Alex spawned in the main square of Violet Vain Village, which was bustling with NPCs and players exploring their surroundings.

"Wow! It feels so realistic!"

"I know, I can even smell the fresh air and the aroma of food."

"OMG! I can feel the texture of the stone!"

While players marveled at the game's extreme realism, Alex had already left the town square and headed towards the church. The church was the largest building in the village, constructed with pristine marble and adorned with painted glass windows. Guarding the entrance were two guards. However, when Alex tried to enter, he was halted.

"Halt!"

"You don't seem to be from around here! Show some ID!"

"I need to see some ID before I can allow you inside."

"I'm sorry, I don't have any ID on me."

"Then I'm sorry, but we can't let you into the church."

"Uhm, alright. Please excuse me."

"That's weird. I don't remember needing an ID to enter a church. Well, that's alright. I should be able to get one from the Village Chief," Alex thought.

Alex made his way to the Village Chief's house, noticing that most of the players had left the village, likely on quests or other objectives. Although he might fall behind initially, the unique quest held greater importance. To start the quest, he needed to enter the church and speak with the holy symbol, which was alive and conscious. Finally arriving at the Village Chief's house, he saw a long line of players. As he approached the house, some players noticed him and immediately began shouting.

"Hey! No skipping the line!"

"Yeah, no skipping! Wait your turn!"

"Yeah! We all want a quest!"

Alex glanced at them for a few seconds, realizing their mistake. They were wasting their time because the Village Chief only offered a few rare quests under specific conditions.

Ignoring their protests, Alex continued towards the Village Chief's house. The players grew enraged, hurling insults at him, but he paid them no mind. As he entered the house, he found another player engaged in conversation with the chief.

"So, if you need anything done—"

"Hey, what are you doing here? Can't you see we're in a conversation?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to ask something of the Village Chief."

"Well, it can wait. We're discussing something important."

"No, no, it's fine. What do you need, young man?" the Village Chief inquired.

"I was wondering if you could issue me an ID?"

"Hoho! Of course I can. Mike, can you fetch an ID card from the desk?"

"Yes, sir."

Mike retrieved a blank, thin silver card and handed it to Alex, who smiled at the familiar sensation. The card was lightweight but made of metal.

The Village Chief said, "Just place a drop of blood on the card, and it should bind to you."

"Thank you, Village Chief. Have a good day."

"Haha! You too, young man."

Alex left the Village Chief's house and made his way to the church. On his journey, he dropped a drop of blood on the card, which glowed for a few seconds. The card now displayed blue writing:

[Name: Lucifer

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Status: Commoner

Affinities:

Basic-

Fire: A

Water: A

Wind: A

Earth: A

Advanced-

Space: S

Time: SS

Darkness: SS

Light: S

Spiritual: S]

"Wait what? I don't remember my affinities being this good, beforehand I only had a C rank for the basic affinities and an E rank in the advanced abilities. Did my regression cause changes to my abilities?" Alex had thought, that's when a blue screen popped up again.

[Detected an Affinity Increase Ticket.]

[Would you like to take the test now?]

"Yes"

After confirming, Alex vanished from the village. He found himself inside a black room with multiple images flashing before him. He stood there for an unknown amount of time. When he reappeared, he was back in the village. To external observers, he had disappeared and reappeared within seconds. While Alex had gone through countless images, his mind had been sedated, and time around him had warped. After a few minutes, he regained his focus, shook his head, and checked his ID card again for any changes.

[Name: Lucifer

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Status: Commoner

Affinities:

Basic-

Fire: S (A)

Water: S (A)

Wind: S (A)

Earth: S (A)

Advanced-

Space: SS (S)

Time: SSS (SS)

Darkness: SS

Light: SS (S)

Spiritual: SS (S)]

[Detected SSS affinity and at least S affinity in all elements. You have gained the titles 'Blessed by Mana' and 'Watched by the Spirits'.]

[Blessed by Mana

Rank: Gold

Effects: Increases intelligence by 50%, Increases Wisdom by 50% Condition: Must have SSS rank affinity.]

[Watched by the Spirits

Rank: Gold

Effects: Increases control over mana by 50%, Increases mana purity by 5% Condition: Must have at least S rank affinity in every element.]

[You have achieved a great accomplishment! Your legend has grown!]

Alex looked down at his status card in disbelief. He had gained two titles with phenomenal effects for practically no cost. His affinities were even more extraordinary and powerful than he had initially realized. The higher the affinity for an element, the easier it was to control, and the stronger its effects and strength became. Certain ranks were required to utilize elemental variants. For example, a C rank Water affinity was needed to use the ice element. The requirements varied based on the variant element. Holy and Demonic elements required an S rank affinity in Light and Darkness, respectively. Alex had no idea what the variant affinity of Time would be, but he should be able to use it. While contemplating the variant element for time Time, a blue screen appeared before him.

[Would you like me to show you all the variants you have the qualifications to use?]

"Wait, you can do that? Yes, I would appreciate it."

[Fire: Lightning (C), Solar (S)

Water: Ice (C), Poison (S)

Wind: Mist (C), Sound (S)

Earth: Metal (C), Nature (S)

Space: Gravity (SS)

Time: Celestial (SSS)

Darkness: Demonic (S)

Light: Holy (S)

Spiritual: Soul (SS)]

A/N:

I forgot to mention that I won't be able to upload on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays. I also have work today, but I already had this chapter finished, so I decided to post it.

If you like this book so far you should check out my other work, A Last Wish!