Entering the World Net

Receiving the Net Actualizer with both hands, Jean felt like he was dreaming. Although he had always wanted to enter the World Net, he didn't expect that his parents would allow him to enter it on his 17th birthday. He pinched himself on the cheeks, as well as slapped himself on the hand before finally accepting the fact that he had actually obtained a Net Actualizer from his dad.

"What's with the pinching and slapping?" John could not help but laugh at the expression on his son's face. "Are you seriously in shock that much that you can't believe your gift to be a Net Actualizer for your 17th birthday? Anyways, me and your mom decided that the right time for you enter the World Net was around 17 years old back then. Judging from how you're acting, it seems that we were right on the mark."

"Eh?" Hearing what his father said, he could not help but ponder over it for a bit before asking, "So…you're telling me that I could've entered the World Net at a younger age?"

"The World Net doesn't have an age restriction, so it would be fine for us to let you in at the time the World Net was first announced," John replied to his son's question, reminiscing about the life his family had about 5 years ago.

Before Omni decided to abolish all forms of physical currency, John was actually a well-off person, allowing Jane and his two children to live in a decently sized house without worrying where their food would come. Although everyone in the household was shocked after listening to the CEO of Omni that the money they had was now useless, it also gave everyone a sense of hope that they could go beyond their current living state and live a lavish and relaxing life until the very end of their lives.

Surprisingly, even though John was the breadwinner of the family, the one that was most excited to enter the World Net was his son, Jean. Unfortunately for Jean, even though there were no restrictions on what age a person could enter the World Net, since John thought that his mind had not matured yet, he decided to postpone his entry to the World Net, gifting Jean a system that allowed him to play TIMMORPGs with the physical currency he still had before it became valueless.

It only took a few seconds for John to reminisce about the matter, before looking at Jean and saying, "Your mother and I thought that since you were around 12 at that time, you would definitely be exploited by some shady people in the World Net. Although the company is aiming to turn the World Net to feel like a TIMMORPG, it's still work in the end."

"Imagine a situation where we gave you money to obtain items in the World Net for you to grow stronger. What if people extorted the money out of you? What if people swindled you for the money we gave you, selling you crappy items at multiple times the original price? Although it sounds quite absurd, it still happens in the World Net," he continued, making sure that Jean knew the reason why they barred him from entering the World Net at a young age.

"I understand." Jean nodded, feeling warm in his heart that his family showed concern for him…even though it was a topic related to money. He then asked his father, "But why give me the Net Actualizer at 17? Why not at a later age? If you guys told me the reason early on, I wouldn't even mind waiting for it until I'm like 25 or something."

"We don't know what happens in the future, son," John replied while getting closer to his son, playing with his hair soon after. "You might grow angry at us and decide to buy one on your own, which would make you act impulsive when deciding. Impulsiveness is something that is frowned upon in the World Net."

Just as Jean was about to ask more questions regarding the reasons behind giving the Net Actualizer at the date of his birthday, John interrupted him from talking any further. "We also decided to give it to you on your birthday since it's a weekend, allowing you to enjoy the World Net without worrying about school tomorrow."

Soon after, John pushed Jean on his back, leading him up the stairs as he said, "Alright, alright. Let's go and enter the World Net. I'm sure you're raring to go in right now."

While pushing Jean up the stairs, he looked at Jane and said, "Hon, me and Jean might not eat lunch and dinner later, so it's fine for you to cook less."

"Alright then." Jane nodded with an understanding smile. "I'm sure he's excited to finally enter the World Net, it's understandable. Just make sure to make him leave the World Net every now and then, okay? I've heard of people giving up on reality and deciding to just live their lives in the World Net. I don't want that to happen to him, okay?"

"Don't worry," John replied with a grin. After that, he pushed on Jean's back even harder before saying, "We'll be off then."

Whoosh! Bang!

"Ow! That hurts, dad!"

"Stop whining! Hahaha!"

And with that, John and Jean had left the first floor, leaving Jane and Jason alone to themselves. Jason could not help but notice the smile on his father's face while he was walking up the stairs, looking at his mother before asking, "Mom, when will I be able to enter the World Net just like big bro?"

"Depending on how your brother acts, you might enter at 17 years old, or perhaps, even a few months from now," Jane replied to her son's question with a light smile.

…

Bang! Thud!

The door to a room on the second floor was closed with a loud bang, with one of the two people that entered the room lying flat on the floor in slight pain. The two people that entered the room were none other than Jean and John, with Jean lying down on the floor. The room they entered was Jean's room, to which Jean had no qualms about it.

"Well then," John sat down on Jean's bed before looking around the room with a mischievous smile on his face. "Does my son perhaps have some stuff he doesn't want to show me? Perhaps…something indecent?"

"Dad, the internet has been established for a long time already. Only collectors would have physical copies of those things," Jean said in an indifferent manner as he gradually stood up, rubbing the spots that hit the floor first. He then sat beside his father as he continued, "Also, you know very well I don't read those kinds of things."

"Sure, sure, sure," John flashed a grin towards Jean before reverting to a smile on his face. He then extended his right arm, where he wore the Net Actualizer, then said to his son, "Go ahead and wear the Net Actualizer. You can't enter the World Net if it doesn't have any contact with your skin."

In response to this, Jean nodded before wearing the Net Actualizer he received from his father on his right arm as well. After that, he then asked, "What's next? Is there a power button or anything on the Net Actualizer?"

"Nope." John shook his head in response before shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know how the Net Actualizer is being powered, but I'm definitely sure that it's always on. The only thing it's waiting for is a sound of confirmation from the person wearing the Net Actualizer."

"No verification whatsoever?" Jean asked yet again. There was a good reason as to why he was asking these sorts of questions, with all of his questions being related to privacy. It wouldn't feel nice if one day he found out that the Net Actualizer was actually spying on him.

"None at all," John replied with a shake of his head once more. Just as Jean was about to continue asking more questions, John decided to answer all of his questions at once, telling his son, "Don't worry about the Net Actualizer invading on our privacy, seeing as your questions all revolve around it. The Net Actualizer doesn't have a camera, nor a voice recorder on it, so how could it record our actions? Also, a person that stole a Net Actualizer can't use the Net Actualizer they stole since the password of a Net Actualizer is usually the genetic code of the person wearing it."

"Now, does that ease your worries?" Letting out a sigh, John asked one more time. Seeing his son nod his head in response, John then said, "Finally, we can enter the World Net."

"To enter the World Net, just close your eyes then say the word 'Enter'," John told Jean the method to enter the World Net, before lying down on the bed. He then said, "Look at how I do it."

With that, Jean's eyes were fully focused on his father. As for John, he took in a deep breath before closing his eyes. After a few seconds in silence, he then said the word, "Enter."

Swoosh…

As soon as John was finished saying the word 'Enter', his body gradually transformed into ones and zeroes that dissipated into thin air. Of course, this shocked Jean as he had no clue as to how one entered the World Net anyway. But fortunately, Jean had an idea as to why this was happening when one entered the World Net.

"The World Net is ultimately a place made out of ones and zeroes…though I don't know how the company transforms molecules into ones and zeroes," Jean said to himself as he watched his father gradually disappear from the bed. At the very instant any traces of his father had fully vanished from his bed, he then laid down on the bed as well, taking a deep breath before closing his eyes just like his father.

Then, a few seconds later, he said, "Enter."

Swoosh…

Just like his father, when one looked from afar, one could see that Jean's body gradually turned into ones and zeroes before dissipating into thin air as well. As for Jean, being the recipient of this feeling, he felt that his body gradually became more and more weightless. Eventually, the feeling of weightlessness stopped as a piercing light made him open his eyes a minute or so later.

Whoosh!

In that instant, a vast world was brought into Jean's field of vision. In front of him was the view of a city that was styled after the buildings of the medieval era. Not only that, in front of his field of vision, there were also a lot of people dressed in unique clothing. There were some that wore heavy armor with a greatsword behind their back, there were some that wore robes while covering their faces, then there were some who only wore leather armor yet the weapon on their waists exuded a power that could easily intimidate someone.

Just as Jean was about to go ahead and walk without a goal in mind, a holographic screen appeared in front of his field of vision, slightly startling him in the process. Fortunately, he was someone who had entered multiple TIMMORPGs before entering the World Net, so he was somewhat used to pop-ups like these. On the holographic screen were the words "Welcome to the World Net" written on it.

He looked at it for a bit and tapped on it, wondering why there was no response from the holographic screen. But before he was about to lose his calm and slightly hold a grudge on Omni for having a UI with a slight learning curve, a person tapped on his shoulder, making him shudder a bit as he turned around.

At the moment he turned around, he could see very clearly a well-built man that wore silver plate armor which easily reflected the rays of the sun. On the man's back was a giant two-handed axe that exuded a feeling that anything that stood in its way would inevitably be cleaved into two. As for the man's face, there was a long scar under the man's right eye. Nonetheless, it was still a face Jean could easily recognize. He was at a loss for words for a bit before finally finding the words to say, stammering, "D-d-dad?"

"Yeah, it's me," the armored man, who was actually Jean's father, smiled in response. "Anyways, I see that you're about to lose your cool from the welcome screen. The system is voice activated. Try saying 'Continue'."

"Continue?" Jean had a bit of doubt from the words his father said, but after the content on the holographic screen changed, he now realized that his father wasn't trolling him or anything. Then again, what kind of father would play pranks on their son if it revolved around work?

Whoosh!

"Please select your class." These were the words written on the holographic screen. Soon after, those words gradually made their way towards the top before giving Jean six classes to choose from. These six classes were encapsulated in rectangles, with a description of the class appearing beside the rectangles a few seconds later.

'Warrior - A class known for their impressive melee combat prowess and their tenacity to fight against multiple enemies alone. They are also known for their ability to fight against enemies surpassing their own combat power. Their main stat is Strength and Defense.'

'Defender - A class known for their impressive prowess to defend their allies even if they were up against multiple enemies. They are also known for their insane levels of defense and health. Their main stats are Defense and Vitality.'

'Assassin - A class known for their ability to blend in with the surroundings. They are also known for their insane attack speed, allowing them to hit multiple times in one second. Their main stats are Agility and Dexterity.'

'Mage - A class known for their ability to cast spells. They are also known for their insane firepower when fighting against multiple enemies. Their main stats are Intelligence and Wisdom.'

'Priest - A class known for their ability to heal. They are also known for their buffs that allow others to exert power beyond their limits. Their main stats are Vitality and Intelligence.'

'Psychic - A class known for their ability to bend reality and cast illusions. They are also known for their attacks that can't be avoided. Their main stats are Wisdom and Perception.'

After looking over the six classes that are available, Jean could not help but look at his father and ask, "What class did you pick, dad?"

"Warrior," John concisely replied.

"What should I pick?" Jean asked once more.

"I can't help you with that," John replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "Choose a class that your body is well-suited to, or choose a class that you're very familiar with."

"Hmm…" Hearing his father's response, Jean decided to think about his class very thoroughly. He knew very well that classes in the World Net couldn't be reset, unlike in some of the TIMMORPGs he played back then. In other words, it meant that the class he chose would be the path he would take in the future.

"My body's on the thin side, so I'm not cut out to be a Warrior or a Defender. That means I could go ahead and become an Assassin, a Mage, a Priest, or a Psychic," Jean started thinking out loud, making sure that he didn't disturb others. As for those that saw him while passing by, seeing what was on his holographic screen, they decided to ignore him and continue walking.

"I don't wanna be on the back lines as support, so Priest is a no for me. I don't really like fighting from a long range, so Mage is also a no for me. Hmm…what do I like to do? I like to fight against enemies with close combat, having a superiority over them in terms of technique or skills, and I always want to be the first one to attack."

At this point in time, Jean could not help but laugh inwardly as he said, "Then again, I've chosen that class multiple times in those games I've played. Why not choose the same class for this one then?"

Whoosh!

"You have chosen the class — Assassin. Would you like to confirm this choice?" The words on the holographic screen changed after Jean chose his class.

Without any shred of regret, he replied, "Yes."