Estimated reading time: 7–8 minutes
Chapter 2
Isamu lies restlessly in bed wearing the helmet-shaped gaming device called a Headgear.
Yes, in just a few minutes, he’ll finally be able to play the long-awaited official release of Dream Fantasy.
Ever since winning a spot in the beta test, Isamu spent nearly all his free time outside of his part-time job playing the game.
Not only because the content was genuinely enjoyable, but more importantly, to carry out his primary objective of hunting down newbies.
Thanks to his diligence, he has the game’s overview and early game strategy down pat.
If things go according to plan, he should be able to witness the tear-streaked faces of the popular kids who bullied him.
(Alright, let’s do this!)
It’s a pitiful plan utterly devoid of morality, but Isamu’s heart is clear.
Checking the time on his smartphone, it’s exactly 12:00.
The official version is now playable.
After taking a deep breath, Isamu closes his eyes and touches the button on the side of the Headgear.
Following a sensation like his consciousness shifting, Isamu opens his eyes again.
He’s in a space like the universe, with no physical objects in sight.
As he surveys his surroundings, a translucent panel suddenly appears before him displaying the words 「Please enter your name.」
It’s the familiar initial setup of VRMMOs.
Without a second thought, Isamu moves his fingers and types 「Sieg.」
This is the handle name he’s used and loved since elementary school.
Incidentally, it’s not derived from Siegfried.
He chose it simply because 「it sounds cool.」
Pressing the 「Confirm」 button, what appears next is an option to listen to the tutorial.
Isamu’s answer is of course 「No.」
He already thoroughly familiarized himself with the game in the beta version.
When prompted if he’s absolutely sure about skipping, he selects 「Yes」 without hesitation, and the message 「Well then, have a nice trip!」 appears.
Sensing another shift in his consciousness, Isamu slowly opens his eyes.
What spreads out before him is a fantasy townscape straight out of anime and manga.
In the center is a large fountain, surrounded by several wooden benches.
This is the map called 「Starting Town,」 where you can go shopping and travel to various areas.
Perhaps because it’s right after the release and everyone’s listening to the tutorial, there are only a handful of players around so far.
Without any particular reaction to this, Isamu aligns his index and middle fingers and swings them downward.
Accompanied by a phone-like sound effect, a panel pops up.
It’s the game’s menu window.
In the vast majority of VRMMOs, this gesture is universally used to open the menu screen.
With practiced motions, Isamu moves his fingers several times to access the 「Skill Point Allocation」 tab from the menu.
A page opens up densely packed with countless categories like one-handed swords, two-handed swords, daggers, bows, spears, axes, fire magic, water magic, and more.
In the upper right of the page, it displays 「Remaining Points: 5.」
Dream Fantasy uses a skill system.
By allocating points to your preferred categories, the stats required to wield those weapons and magic are automatically granted.
As such, the conventional RPG stats like strength and agility are omitted.
The only things shown are the current level, remaining HP/MP, and the costs to use combat arts.
(Yup, this looks good.)
Out of the 5 points he starts with, Isamu allocates 3 points to one-handed swords and the remaining 2 points to fire magic.
At that moment—
<One-handed swords unlocked for use>
<Learned one-handed sword skill ‘Double Slash’>
<Learned fire magic ‘Fireball’>
<Maximum increased by 5>
System messages appear before his eyes.
Next, Isamu opens the 「Item List」 page and selects the one-handed sword tab from the wide array of categories.
Choosing the 「Iron Sword」 he starts with and pressing the equip button, an iron sword materializes in front of him.
Grasping it in his right hand, Isamu promptly leaves 「Starting Town.」
☆
A few minutes later.
After passing through a teleportation magic circle, Isamu arrives in a forest overgrown with trees—「Rookie Forest.」
This area is populated by two types of weak monsters, making it the perfect place for beginners to level up.
There are already several players in the forest.
Since they’re here so soon after the release, they’re likely beta testers too.
To avoid wasting effort competing with them over prey, Isamu ventures deeper into the forest.
「Alright, let’s do this.」
Isamu stops once human figures are finally out of sight.
Immediately after, a giant grasshopper emerges from the shadow of a tree and charges straight toward him.
With a composed demeanor, Isamu extends his hand toward the grasshopper and moves his mouth.
「Come forth flames, burn!」
Chanting causes a magic circle to be instantly drawn at his fingertips.
「Fireball!」
As he calls out the magic’s name, a fireball emerges from the magic circle and flies toward the grasshopper.
Scoring a direct hit, the grasshopper transforms into sparkling particles and vanishes from the spot.
Simultaneously, a sound like coins clinking together rings in his head.
Seems he gained some money.
In Dream Fantasy, defeating monsters earns you money which can be used to purchase weapons, tools, and such.
(The consumption is 3, just like the beta.)
Confirming his , visible at the edge of his vision, decreased from 13 to 10, Isamu breathes a sigh of relief.
Had there been any changes to the consumption, his plan would’ve failed spectacularly, but luckily that worry proved unfounded.
As he contemplates this, a giant bipedal rat approaches next.
「—Double Slash!」
Shouting that, Isamu’s body moves on its own, slicing the rat twice with his sword.
Immediately after, the rat disappears amidst a sparkling effect just like the grasshopper earlier.
「Level increased to 2」
Seeing that message, Isamu opens the menu window and goes to the 「Skill Point Allocation」 page.
Allocating the point he gained from leveling up into one-handed swords—
<Damage with one-handed swords increased by 5%>
It’s been strengthened further.
Checking his MP again afterward, leveling up raised the maximum to 15 and fully restored it.
「Yes!」
Everything is going perfectly.
The big grasshopper—Giant Grasshopper—seems weak to fire magic, going down in one Fireball.
The bipedal rat—Giant Rat—can be defeated in one Double Slash.
This is a fact gleaned from repeated testing in the beta version.
Skills and magic of other weapons can’t one-shot them.
Moreover, in Dream Fantasy, leveling up fully restores both HP and MP.
This enables an infinite cycle of defeating monsters in one hit and replenishing the spent with the recovery from leveling up.
Granted, it only works at low levels, but Isamu is convinced this is currently the most efficient way to level.
(At this rate I’ll rapidly raise my level, then go on a newbie hunting spree later!)
Thinking that, Isamu continues defeating grasshoppers and rats for nearly 2 hours.
Sieg, aka Isamu, has reached level 8.
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