Prologue I

A young man was lying in his bed inside a sizeable bedroom. The room had a single window looking outwards to a gray sky with fumes of smoke rising from the chimneys of massive factories.

The rest of the room was covered in white tiles, and with all the medical equipment around the bed, it was evident that this was a hospital room.

The only unusual thing was the existence of an NNI, Neural Nano-Interface, which, while common elsewhere, seemed out of place in a hospital room.

The year was 2126, and everybody had an NNI in their house. People used it to play games and watch things in VR.

The room seemed ordinary, except for the medical gear surrounding the young man's bed and some tubes connected to his body. The equipment kept track of his vital signs.

For some, it served as entertainment. While for others, it provided an escape from reality.

Well, who could blame them? The reality they were living in was no better than hell itself. In a world where just living another day was considered an achievement, no wonder people found respite in the virtual world, the world of games.

The young man was the perfect example of it. He had already lost his parents- in an accident and had no other siblings. The only silver lining in this situation was that his parents had left him a sizeable chunk of money.

He also lost the ability to move in the same accident. One of his father's friends was looking after him in his hospital.

The young man had long black hair, a gangly physique, and an unusual pale skin.

He lay with his eyes closed, yet he wasn't asleep or unconscious. This was evident from the movement of his pupils, visible beneath his closed eyelids. A wire from the NNI was connected to the back of his head.

~Scene Change~

'Today is the day when Yggdrasil releases, huh?' He thought while looking at the watch on his wrist inside his personal Virtual Space. His face bore an unmistakable smile.

He was standing in an open field, with the sun high in the sky. This was his personal Virtual Space, which he had bought a couple of months ago. Here, he could do anything he wanted, invite anyone, and watch anything he wanted.

"Well, I better get ready. Don't wanna miss the launch." He spoke while opening the menu and choosing to see his game collection.

[1. CelestialVista VR

....

2. StellarShift

....

3. Yggdrasil]

Clicking on the icon of Yggdrasil, a colossal tree, he entered a scene enveloped in darkness.

~First Person~

I found myself floating in the void with the massive logo of Yggdrasil shining above my head.

"Yet another game for myself to conquer!"

I eagerly anticipated the game's release for multiple reasons.

Firstly, it promised the most extensive content I had ever encountered, surpassing any other game in my collection. As a self-professed perfectionist, achieving 100% completion in games brought me immense satisfaction.

Beyond that, the absence of an end game fueled my excitement. This unique feature compelled me to craft my own end-game experiences.

And the fact that I play-tested it during its open alpha and beta versions, I knew most of its mechanics. So, I planned to leverage this knowledge and become the game's strongest Player.

[Welcome, to Yggdrasil!]

I heard a feminine voice inside my head, and a screen appeared before me.

[Please choose a specie.]

[Humanoid]

[Demi-human]

[Heteromorphs]

I quickly chose the [Heteromorphs] option. The reason was simple: Heteromorphs had Racial Classes, which gave the Players unique skills, resistances, and immunities. Because of this, I wouldn't have to get specific Job Classes to get resistance and immunities.

On top of this, Heteromorphs received more Stat Points with each level, meaning that typically, a Heteromorphic Player would have more raw stats than the Players of other species.

I had a particular character I wanted to play; to do so, I needed to choose a Heteromorphic race.

After choosing the race, the content on the screen changed.

... 

[Please choose a race]

[Angel]

..

[Brain Eater]

..

[Demon]

..

[Nephilim]

..

[Skeleton]

..

[Vampire]

...

I chose the [Vampire] options because I had a character I wanted to create. The panel's content changed once again; this time, it asked me to customize my appearance.

...

[Preview]

[Name: -]

[Racial Class(s): Lesser Vampire(0)]

[Current Level: 0]

[Available Levels: 0]

[Available Stat Point: 27]

[HP: 0]

[MP: 0]

[Agility: 0]

[Phy. Atk: 0]

[Phy. Def: 0]

[Mag. Atk: 0]

[Mag. Def: 0]

[Resistence: 0]

[Special Ability: 0]

...

So, I had 27 Stat Points to allocate to my different stats, and I had to choose an appearance.

I already had a plan for my appearance, so without wasting any time, I started customizing it. A few minutes later, I was done.

(Image)

I now looked like the main character from an anime from the last century called Noblesse.

Being unable to move and having ample time, I delved into anime from the last century. While exploring, I stumbled upon an anime titled "Noblesse" that captivated me.

"Now for the final touches."

I then started allocating the Stat Points and chose a name for myself. Now, my status looked like this;

...

[Name: Cadis Etrama Di Raizel]

[HP: 4]

[MP: 0]

[Agility: 5]

[Phy. Atk: 5]

[Phy. Def: 4]

[Mag. Atk: 4]

[Mag. Def: 0]

[Resistance: 5]

...

After finishing this, I chose my spawn location to be in the starting town of Jotunheim, one of the 9 available worlds.

[Selection Confirmed! Please enjoy your new adventure!]

I heard the same feminine voice, and my sight was consumed by a bright light. A few seconds later, I found myself standing in the starter town.

Because Jotunheim was the realm of the giants, all the buildings, made of stones and ice, were massive. Many giants could be seen going on about their day.

"Well, Let's get grinding!"

I shouted while running toward the town exit. The first thing I needed to do was to get a Job Class. What it might be doesn't matter; all I need is a way to power-level myself up to a respectable level.

Once I exited the town, I encountered a rugged landscape characterized by rocky terrain and hills of varying sizes, their surfaces jagged and uneven.

There wasn't any greenery, so to speak of. Some trees were in the distance, but they looked like they were made of grey rock.

I randomly picked a direction and began walking. As a beta-tester and a savant gamer, I knew how to quickly get a Job Class. In Yggdrasil, Job Classes could be gained in several ways, one of which was performing a task.

The task could be anything, from killing a monster with a punch to drinking a potion. So, the first thing on my agenda was to find a low-level monster.

And, as luck would have it, I encountered my first enemy a few minutes later.

[Stonekin Level 2]

It looked like a small humanoid made of grey stones. Cracks on its skin, and its eyes were glowing bright blue. It was exiting from an unsuspecting fissure on the side of a rocky hill.

With my 5 points in Agility, I quickly sneak up to it and punch it in the back. And because I had 5 points in Phy. Atk, it died immediately.

[Congrulations for killing a level 2 Stonekin! You have received 60 Exp.]

[You have leveled up!]

[Available Job Class(s): Martial Trainee, Fist Trainee]

I quickly chose Martial Trainee as my first Job Class and allocated the available level to it. In Yggdrasil, whenever a Class is leveled up, depending on its rarity, extra Stat Points are rewarded in addition to the Stat Points one gets from leveling up.

So, at the moment, I have 4 Stat Points. Which I allocated to Phy. Atk and HP.

[HP: 4 -> 6]

[Phy. Atk: 5 -> 7]

"Let's continue grinding!" I picked up the drop that the Stonekin dropped and entered the fissure from where it came from.

~Time Skip~

2 months had passed since Yggdrasil's release, and I must admit, its leveling mechanics had become a personal favorite. Within this short span, I ascended to level 45, unlocking numerous new Jobs and Racial Classes.

However, none of them proved to be exceptionally powerful. But something else was of even greater importance.

Which was the lack of good gear. Even after 2 months, I only had Medium Class items.

So, to solve this predicament, I chose some production-oriented Job Classes. But to make anything good, I needed raw materials and Data Crystals.

I decided to go on a little excursion. I exited the main room of my base, which I built last month.

It comprised only a handful of rooms, one serving as a storage area and the other dedicated to production. The base's entrance was on the side of one of the many mountains on the outskirts of Jotunheim.

I exited the cave and started my journey toward a farming zone. Along the journey, I encountered a few low-level monsters. But I chose not to engage with them as they would consume precious time.

After an hour, I reached the farming zone—a vast ravine veiled in dense fog. Towering cliffs- adorned with jagged rocks and ancient markings enclose the rugged terrain.

The ravine's surface mirrored its rugged depths, featuring jagged terrain strewn with sharp pebbles. This proved to be an exceptional farming zone, teeming with monsters of level 50 and beyond.

"SHIT! SHIT! I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE LEFT HELHEIM!"

I heard someone shouting from deep within the ravine, and due to the dense fog, I failed to make out their appearance.

However, I still kept my guard up. Even though Jotunheim was teeming with Heteromorphic Players, it wasn't uncommon for Human and Demi-human Players to come here and kill Heteromorphic Players.

This was because there was no penalty for killing Heteromorphic Players, and it was a condition to unlock a specific Job Class that had been discovered recently.

As the shouting drew closer, I saw a black bipedal goat running away from a cyclops.

[Cyclops Level 55]

'Well, at least he isn't a Human Player.'

I pondered briefly before taking a stance and readying one of my most powerful skills.

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

I shouted before activating my skill and lunging toward the Cyclops- who was about to hit the goat with his massive wooden club.

The bipedal goat heard my shout and jumped to the side before I passed right before him, jumped, and punched the Cyclops right in its forehead.

And because the goat had already damaged it, my punch could kill it.

[Congrulations for killing a level 55 Cyclops! You have received 2,500 Exp.]

'Hmm, no level up? Maybe the goat took some of the EXP, seeing that he had dealt some damage to the Cyclops.'

I mussed while dismissing the notification and moved toward the goat.

"Hey there," I greeted him while sending a greetings emoji. Yggdrasil could not mimic facial expressions or mouth movements for all of its advancements.

"How are you doing, ...?" I continued while checking his in-game name.

[Ulbert Alain Odle]

"Wow, what an over-the-top name you have."

"Huh! Look who's speaking, Cadis Etrama Di Raizel!"

He outlandishly shouted.

'Wait? Is he one of my kind? Let's test that.'

After some testing, I was sure. Ulbert was a fellow Chuunibyou. After some time, we decided to traverse the ravine together. And that was the start of our friendship.

~Time Skip~

It had been 6 months since Raizel and Ulbert started grinding together. They had reached level 100, but none were pleased with their character build.

As in any RPG, it took time to create a robust character build, and as it stood, neither Raizel nor Ulbert had any powerful Classes. 

Raizel had a few martial arts, production, and magic-focused Classes. While Ulbert had all the magic-focused Classes, none were particularly powerful.

At the moment, both were trying to conquer a dungeon. 

"Ulbert! Take its rear! I'll attack from the sides and command your summon to attack from the front!"

They were fighting the dungeon's final boss, Demon Lord Lilithrax. Its level was 105, and it had some very powerful skills.

It stood at an impressive height of 15 feet, with two horns on its head and two wings on its back; fire trailed its wings while he held a giant battle axe. Its face was hideous, while he had hooves for feet and goat-like legs.

"Got it!"

Moving toward its rear, Ulbert cast a 10th-tier spell.

<Reality Slash>

An ethereal slash made of mana manifested before Ulbert before traveling toward the back of the neck of the dungeon's boss. When it struck, the boss turned around, focusing on Ulbert.

He raised his battle axe to attack him; however, before he could do that, a blur moved from the side and collided with the dungeon boss, making it fall.

The blur was a 10th-tier demon summoned by Ulbert called Demonic Dragon. It boasted high physical stats but was unable to use magic.

Not wanting to waste time, Raizel jumped and attacked the boss's weak point- its tummy- with his most potent single-target attack.

"Shattering punch!"

Although it wasn't necessary to yell out the names of the attacks to activate them, it was considered a common courtesy to do so. Also, it wouldn't seem cool if he didn't yell out the name.

His punch brightly shone, and upon contact, the dungeon boss died.

[Congrulations for defeating the boss of the Demonic Grove dungeon.]

[You have been awarded with 50,000 EXP.]

[The dungeon now could be used as a Guild Base; the Player would need a Guild Formation scroll to make it into one.]

"We finally did it!"

Ulbert shouted in the same outlandish manner while walking toward Raizel, who was now inspecting the drops from the boss.

"That we did, and you were right. This boss does drop high-quality Data Crystals."

Raizel remarked, displaying to Ulbert a radiant crystal with sleek contours emanating a vibrant blue hue. 

It was a Data Crystal- the building block of Yggdrasil. It could be used to edit various aspects of the game, like changing appearance, changing abilities, creating personal weapons, creating NPCs, etc.

However, harvesting Data Crystals was difficult as they did not usually come with the same quality as they always did. So, finding a dungeon where one could gather high-quality Data Crystals was significant if one wanted to create powerful items.

"Where did you learn of this dungeon?" Raizel inquired Ulbert while storing the loot in his Item Box.

"I paid good money for this information. I met a Player who needed money, so I gave him 10K gold, and in return, he told me about this dungeon."

Answered Ulbert while dismissing his summon. Raizel was shocked.

"That's good; we only need to study the boss's attack pattern. Then, we can harvest as many Data Crystals as we need. However, I am still confused; why do you need this many Data Crystals?"

"Remember that spell I was talking about a while back?"

"I think remember; the 10th-tier one, right? The one that summons hordes of demons?"

They talked while walking toward the dungeon's entrance. It was only the start of their playing session, and they wanted to farm some EXP and Data Crystals.

"Yes, that's the one, the 10th-tier spell <Armageddon - Evil>. I heard that there is a World Item that allows its user to summon an infinite number of demons. I want to create an item to imitate that. To do so, I would need to add many instances of the spell to the new item, which would take a lot of Data Crystals."

"I see, I see. For that, you might need thousands of high-quality Data Crystals."

"Yeah, I know. That's why we are going to farm them in this dungeon. With the boss's drop rate, we might be done in a few days."

"Yeah, I hope. On another note, have you decided what kind of character build you want?" 

"Isn't it obvious? I want to play as a powerful demon and to do so, I need potent magic-focused Job Classes. What about you?"

"Well, I have a vague idea about it, but I don't think it might be possible in Yggdrasil."

Yggdrasil was a game where Players needed to travel and uncover the game's secrets. There was little to no information available online. Even the game's developers didn't provide information regarding the simplest stuff, like food mechanics, loot mechanics, etc.

Because of this, information held tremendous value. That's why Raizel was shocked earlier.

"Hooh! Tell me about it. Maybe I can help you."

Ulbert inquired Raizel as they reached the dungeon's entrance.

"I suppose you haven't seen the anime Noblesse?" Raizel inquired while turning his head toward Ulbert.

"No, never heard of it."

"Well, it was an anime from the last century. I liked its MC, so I named my character after him. I want my character build to also reflect my love for that series. But I don't think there would be any class that would allow me to do that."

"You can't say that for sure. Who knows, maybe there are such classes out there."

"Well, even if they are out there, we must travel a lot to discover them."

"That's for sure."

With this, they happily chatted about their plans to create their dream character builds.

~Scene Change~

"Do you even hear yourself? You think that a mixed build can defeat me! The Great Demon Goat of Destruction!"

Ulbert shouted in an outlandish manner while Raizel was overlooking the creation of his new weapon. It had been 3 years since they discussed their dream character build, and many things have happened during these years.

Notably, they had joined a small clan of fellow heteromorphic Players called Nine's Own Goal. At the moment, the clan has 20 members, and all of them are at level 100.

Some of them had production-type classes, like the guild member who was making Raizel's new weapon. At the moment, they stood in the smithy of the clan.

Numerous forges were placed along the room's wall, with multiple workbenches on the opposite side containing different tools. In the middle of the room, three people stood.

One was a bipedal goat- Ulbert-, the second was a humanoid with red eyes and a white tuxedo- Raizel- and the last was akin to a giant crab.

The crab's in-game name was Amanomahitotsu, the chief blacksmith of the clan. Amanomahitotsu's game avatar appearance was that of a heteromorphic crab-like monster, similar to a fiddler crab. A type with an orange-yellow color and four hands, one of which was a giant crab claw, goggles, and smithing attire.

"Can you lower your voice, Ulbert-san? I am trying to concentrate here." Amanomahitotsu reprimanded Ulbert, to which they later sent a sorry emoji and began speaking in a low voice.

"So, you are going for a mixed build of a magic caster and a warrior, am I correct?" Inquired Ulbert.

"Well, calling it a mixed build is kind of wrong. But in a broader sense, yes. I am going for a mixed build, but my main focus would be on the magic."

"Hooh, have you found any suitable classes for it?"

"I suppose. I have completed the prerequisites to unlock some of them, but all are Job Classes. I want to find some Racial Classes as well."

"Hmm, what are your current Racial Classes?"

"I have Lesser Vampire(15), Vampire (10), True Vampire (5), and Vampiric Mage (5)."

After some time of silence, Ulbert spoke.

"Well, I don't know any Racial Class you may find attractive. Why not ask one of the information guilds? I heard Punitto-san has some connections with them. You could give them some pieces of Divine-Class armor, and they might give you some information."

"You know what, that's the first sensible thing you spoke in a long time."

"HEY, WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN?!"

Ulbert shouted while Raizel sent a giggling emoji.

"Ulbert-san, do you want me to ban you from the smithy?"

"Sorry, Amano-san."

"Hump," Amanomahitotsu then returned to his work. After that, some time passed in silence- before it was broken by Ulbert.

"Hey Rai, wanna make a bet?" 

Raizel replied, intrigued by it.

"What kind of bet?"

"You said that a mixed build could be powerful, right?"

"Yeah," Raizel answered while sending a confused emoji.

"So, here's the bet. You are going to fight me when your dream build is complete, and if you win, I'll give you a World Item, but if I win, then you need to change your race to a Succubus and act as my bitch." Ulbert continued while he sent a smirking emoji.

"Interesting, then better start looking for that World Item because I don't plan to lose."

~Scene Change~

'Even though I accepted Ulbert's challenge, beating him with a mixed build would be very hard, considering he had put all his stats in MP and Magical Attack.'

Raizel contemplated as he traversed the forest of Midgard- one of the nine worlds of Yggdrasil. Towering ancient trees created a thick canopy, casting dappled sunlight on the forest floor. The air was filled with the earthy scent of moss and blooming wildflowers. Sunbeams played through the foliage, illuminating fern-covered grounds and moss-covered stones.

'Damn, this looks beautiful.'

Raizel mused while observing the beauty of the forest. As a human living in the dystopian world of the 2100s, he naturally loved beautiful landscapes.

Even though he couldn't escape the hospital bed, he was acutely aware of the world outside. Like many people in the dystopian world, he liked natural landscapes and spent hours inside his Virtual Space, just observing the natural landscapes from the previous century, well before the nuclear war started.

He sighed, shook his head to get rid of these intrusive thoughts, and refocused his attention toward his goal for the day. He was in Midgard because he was searching for an item.

During his journey in Helheim, he had gathered some information about an item that could grant him an upgraded version of the True Vampire Racial Class.

Although it was dangerous for someone like Raizel to traverse Midgard alone, the reason was that he was a Heteromorph. 

To date, there was no penalty for killing a Heteromorphic Player. Because of this, many human and demi-human Players made it their life goal to kill them. And it was just a cherry on top because there were many incentives, like unlocking powerful Job Classes that were potent against Heteromorphic Players.

On the other hand, if a Heteromorphic Player killed a human or a demi-human Player, their location would be broadcast to all the nearby Players for half an hour as a penalty.

Because of these reasons, not many Heteromorphic Players dare to venture alone into the human or demi-human-dominated worlds, Midgard, Alfheim, and Asgard.

Although Raizel was alone in Midgard, he used a ring to hide his race, and only level 100 Players specializing in divination magic could discern his true identity.

The ring was known as {The Ring of Illusions}, a cash-shop item. It allowed its wearer to imitate any race as long as the wearer had killed a Player of the same race while wearing it.

'According to the information, the item was held in the basement of a mansion in the middle of the Halcyon Forest in Midgard.'

Rizel looked around while contemplating his location. It had been a few hours since he had started his journey and should have reached the middle of the forest. Yet, he didn't find any mansion.

'Guess I should continue my search.'

With this, Raizel continued his search for the mansion. And after an hour of searching, he saw a ruined mansion in the distance.

"Ah! There it is."

He exclaimed while increasing his speed. The mansion had an eerie aura around it; it was made up of stone brick with many cracks riddling its exterior; some of its windows were shattered while some had cracks in them- stained with blood; a part of it lay in complete devastation, while vines made their way around its exterior.

While observing its exterior, Raizel moved toward the main door. A golden plate was attached to the door, and it read;

(Welcome to the abode of the Origin Vampire, Nosferatu)

Raizel pushed open the door and found it to be cloaked in darkness. But because of his passive dark vision, he could see everything clearly.

The inside mimicked the outside. Cracks traversed the wooden floor, fragments of furniture lay scattered, and shards of glass were strewn about.

He didn't linger aimlessly; instead, he headed toward the basement. Its entrance became evident with a staircase leading downward at the far end of the vast hall.

The basement was unremarkable; it had a solid stone floor and a single stone pedestal in the middle, with a dagger on top of it.

Raizel moved near the pedestal and picked up the dagger. At that moment, a translucent screen opened before him, and its content read;

[Are you prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice? Are you truly willing to surrender yourself for the sake of a greater power? Can you fathom letting go of your hard-earned achievements in pursuing something far grander?]

[If yes, lunge the {Cursed Dagger} into your heart]

'So, do I need to sacrifice my entire build to get this class, or does it only affect the Racial Classes.'

Raizel contemplated as he tried to scroll down the screen, hoping to uncover more information. But alas, nothing of value was written there.

"Hmm, this is a gamble, but I'm willing to take the one."

Even though Raizel was at level 100, he wasn't happy with his build and wanted to redo his entire build from scratch. So, seeing this as an opportunity, he lunged the dagger into his heart.

It passed through his armor- the same white suit Raizel wore in the anime- and his skin.

'Well, it's not surprising. Some reward items are one-time use and can possess qualities such as nullifying the Player's defenses.'

After a while, the dagger disappeared, and a notification popped up before him, which read;

...

[Player Cadis Etrama Di Raizel's data has been reset.]

[Surpulus EXP and all unspent Stat Points have been reset to zero.]

[All Racial and Job Classes have been deleted.]

[The new Racial Class: Origin Vampire has been awarded.]

...

Raizel dismissed the notifications after reading them. He was eager to check out the new Class and its new abilities, but he needed to level it up first.

"Time for grinding!"

To be continued...