The beginning

It was the year 2138 A.D., and the term DMMO-RPG was not only in existence, but also becoming more common.

Being the acronym for <Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game>, it described an interactive game where one was able to play in a virtual world like it was real life, by connecting a dedicated console to the neuron nanointerface— an intracerebral nanocomputer network composed from the quintessence of cyber- and nanotechnology.

It was as though you entered the game for real.

Amidst a myriad of DMMO-RPGs that were developed, there was one title that shined brilliantly.

Yggdrasil.

It was a game that a highly-regarded Japanese developer released twelve years ago in the year 2126.

No matter which DMMO-RPG it was compared to, Yggdrasil was a game that offered an immensely high level of freedom to the players.

The number of classes that formed the basis of the game easily topped 2000 when you added up the normal and high-rank classes.

All classes had a maximum level of 15, meaning a player had to have at least 7 classes or more to reach the overall level cap of 100.

Furthermore, you were able to just have a taste of various classes as long as you satisfied this overall condition. Although it was inefficient, it was possible to have 100 level one professions if you wanted.

In other words, it was a system where it was impossible to have completely identical characters unless you intentionally made them so.

This level of freedom also applied to the visuals. If you used creator tools that were sold separately, you were able to alter appearances of weapons and armor, interior data, character visuals, and detailed settings of a player's home.

What awaited the players who set off for adventures in such a world was a colossal map. Nine homeworlds consisting of Asgard, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Nidavellir, Midgard, Jotunheim, Niflheim, Helheim, and Muspelheim.

A vast world, innumerable classes, and fully customizable visuals.

It had ignited the artisan spirits of the Japanese players and caused a phenomenon that would later be called 'visual popularity'.

With such explosive popularity behind it, it had reached a level of acclaim where Yggdrasil and DMMO-RPG were considered as one and the same in Japan.

—Alas, that was a story of a generation past.