Setting Up

Whoosh!

Not long after confirming his choice, the contents on the holographic screen changed one more time. Taking a quick glance over the new content that was on the holographic screen, Jean could not help but mutter, "Ah. The perks of the Assassin class."

In some role playing games, the perks that a different class gave was the fact that their damage was based on another stat instead of the usual Strength stat. Of course, there are those that offer more perks when choosing a different class, such as certain abilities, certain boosts, and so on and so forth. As for the perks Jean was looking at right now, the amount of perks he had obtained from choosing the Assassin class was more plentiful when compared to the TIMMORPGs he had played back then.

"The user's attack shall now be based on the user's Strength and Agility stat. In exchange, a single point in either Strength or Agility shall only increase the user's attack by 0.7 points rather than 1 point. In addition, the damage variability of the user's attacks has been decreased to a 5% deviation rather than the original 20% deviation."

"Due to the user's class being inclined towards the Agility and Dexterity stat, each point towards these two stats are twice as effective when compared to other classes. The amount of points in Agility needed to achieve a 2 m/s increment in movement speed has been reduced to 5 from 10. As for attack speed, the amount of points in Agility needed to achieve a 1 hit per second increment has also been reduced to 5 from 10."

"The user has obtained a passive skill: [Keen Reflexes]."

It took a few minutes for Jean to digest the information that was given to him, getting to the conclusion that he had to base his decisions around these perks if he ever obtained status points. Not only that, he also had to take into consideration the equipment he would obtain, skills he would master, and even the environment he was fighting in. Then again, since he was just starting out, there was no need for him to think that deep into the matter.

He looked at his father after he had finished reading through all of the class perks and asked him, "Dad, what kind of perks did you get when you chose the Warrior class?"

In response, John scratched his head as he tried to recall the perks he had obtained back then. After a short while, he then replied, "If I can remember correctly, class perks weren't a thing before the second version of the World Net was released."

He then added, "Speaking of which, we're playing on the second version right now."

"Was there a difference between the first version and the second version?" Jean asked after hearing the words said by his father.

"A ton," John replied briefly. "The first version of the World Net was like an RPG in its early stages. It had the basic features, but didn't have the features that made MMORPGs stand out. When the second version came out, they added a lot of features like class perks and equipment enhancement, allowing the World Net to feel even more like an MMORPG. We'll see what the next update brings pretty soon."

"So…what perks did you obtain?" Seeing as his father went off topic, Jean steered the topic back to the right track, even though he was grateful that he learned a bit about the history of the World Net.

"If I can remember correctly, the effectiveness of the Strength and Defense stat was doubled. Not only that, I also obtained a skill called [Primal Roar]," John answered Jean's question after clearing his throat. Not long after, John asked, "How about you? What perks does the Assassin class get?"

"I can allocate status points onto Agility and obtain a boost in my attack. Also, just like your Strength and Defense stat, the effectiveness of my Agility and Dexterity is doubled. As for the skill I obtained, it's called [Keen Reflexes]. I don't know what it does though," Jean responded to John's query without any complaints since the class perks could be considered to be common knowledge amongst the World Net users anyway.

"I see." John nodded in response. "Are you close to finishing the setup?"

"Not yet," Jean answered back as the information on the screen was changed yet again, asking him if he wanted to modify his appearance. Although he had fun changing his appearance on the other role playing games he played back then, he thought that since it was work, it would be rude to have his appearance on the World Net be different from his appearance in real life. Then again, he thought that if someone had a deep grudge with him, they would surely hunt him down in real life. In the end, he decide to just modify his appearance a little bit.

He modified his facial appearance quite a bit, replacing his pitch black irises with that of a light green color. Not only that, he modified the style of his hair to be decently short, a hairstyle that greatly fitted an office worker. Of course, he made one more modification, adding a small patch of hair below his chin.

If one were to compare the appearance of the previous Jean with the Jean that had modified itself, it was akin to comparing to a decent looking teenager to a young adult who was quite well off in life.

Whoosh!

"Please input your name." After becoming satisfied with the changes he had made to his appearance, the content on the screen changed yet again, telling him to input his name. He thought about the name he would use in the World Net, but even after a couple of minutes or so, no good name came out of his mind. With that, he decided to ask his father.

"Dad, what name do you think fits me?" Jean asked in a slightly expectant tone. As for John, he rubbed his chin for a few seconds, pondering over possible names that his son could use. Thankfully, John was able to think up of a good name for Jean, answering Jean's question with a light smile on his face.

"Do you want to have a name that would make people fear you? If so, ShadowKiller_Xx will be a great fit!"

"…" Jean was at a loss for words. He did not expect his father to actually give him names that seemed to have come from an era before he was even born. Eventually though, he overcame the shock and asked him, "H-how about another name?"

"Oh? Don't like that?" John had a slight frown on his face as he pondered one more time. After a few more seconds, he then said, "Darkblade77!"

"…"Jean was already surprised the first time, but it was shocking that he was surprised by his father's naming sense a second time. Clearing his throat to catch his father's attention, he then asked his father, "Uh…dad…what name did you input…?"

"Mine?" Oblivious to the feelings of his son, he grinned with great joy as he replied, "Xx_SilverAxe47_xX!"

"Oh my god…" Jean could not help but mutter as he inwardly cringed at his father's naming sense. He decided then and there that if there ever came a time where he needed to name something, he would definitely put his father's opinions as last priority.

'I guess I'll just have to think one up myself again,' Jean thought to himself, becoming silent for quite a while before a satisfactory name surfaced in his mind.

Whoosh!

"You have inputted the name — Tenebris. Would you like to confirm your choice?" Although Jean was quite satisfied with the name, the holographic screen in front of him decided to make sure that he wasn't regretting his choice. Of course, since he was satisfied, he confirmed that he was satisfied with the name, allowing him to proceed on further with the setup.

While this was happening, John, who was behind Jean all this time, could not help but peer into his son's status screen, noticing that his son chose a name like Tenebris. He could not help but inwardly sigh as he muttered to himself, "If only he used a name like Xx_VoidBlade17_xX, that would make our names be matching."

"Please select the location where you would like to spawn when entering the World Net." This sentence right here was the last step of the setup before Jean could go about his day in the World Net. Not knowing where the best location was, he turned to look at his father before asking, "Dad, the system is telling me to select a spawn location. Do you know where the best location to spawn is?"

"Oh, that," John replied with slight indifference. "To be honest, there's not that much benefit in choosing a unique spawn location. Choosing the option where it bases it on where you live is already sufficient."

Obtaining the opinion of someone who had been in the World Net for far longer than he was, he selected the option that his father chose, the holographic screen informing him that his spawn location was at Halus City, the city where he was currently in.

"Please enjoy your usage of the World Net." After finishing all of those things, these were the last words on the holographic screen in front of Jean's field of vision before dissipating into thin air, allowing him to finally see the great view in front of him without being blocked by a holographic screen.

"I'm finally done," Jean turned around to face his father. A moment of silence ensued between the two of them because of that, with both of them staring at each other's eyes for a few seconds. Eventually, Jean was the first to break the ice as he asked, "Dad, how do you check information on skills?"

"Eh?" John was slightly startled by his question, responding with, "That's the first question you ask? Shouldn't it be a question about your status screen first?"

"Eh?" This time, Jean was the one slightly startled. He had a thought that the World Net's status screen was similar to the status screens from the RPGs he had played before, but it seems that this wasn't the case?

"Isn't the World Net's status screen the same as the status screens on the other RPGs?" he asked with a hint of curiosity.

"There's more to the status screen on the World Net, actually," his father responded, explaining the World Net's status screen to Jean. "There are three types of status screens in the World Net: General Stat, Specific Stat, and Special Stat."

"To open them, you just have to say the word 'Open', then add the type of status screen you want to open," John added. "Try opening the general status screen."

Jean nodded to his father's request in response before softly saying, "Open General Stat."

Whoosh!

In an instant, a holographic screen appeared in front of Jean's field of vision once more. This time though, the holographic screen was filled to the brim with words and numbers, instead of just words like before.

———————

Tenebris (Cleaner Rank)

———————

Level 1 (0/200)

Class: Assassin

———————

HP: 100/100

MP: 50/50

Attack: 14 (13-15)

Defense: 10

Movement Speed: 10 (4 m/s)

Attack Speed: 10 (2 hps)

Range of Vision: 50 meters

———————

"What can you see?" Noticing that a holographic screen had appeared a distance away from his son's face, he asked.

"Well…I can see my name, some sort of rank beside it, my level, the experience I need to level it up, my class, and then some other stats," Jean replied in a slightly lackluster manner, knowing very well that his father knew these stats like the back of his hand.

"These are your general stats, in other words, the most basic information one could obtain from a user," John explained. "As for specific stats, these are the eight stats that affect your general stats. As for special stats, these are percentage-based stats that have different uses, their strength dependent on how much points you allocate on a specific stat."

Hearing his father's words, he embedded these explanations in his mind, knowing very well that his father would surely not be inside the World Net for very long…or the fact that his father might be busy with other things in the World Net, leaving him alone to experiment for himself.

"Hmm…" While Jean closed the general status screen in front of him, he was pondering as to what he was going to do next. Although he had many things he wanted to try out, he knew that it was better for him to start off with the guidance of his father, someone who had been in the World Net for a long time. With that in mind, he then asked, "What should I do next? Should I check my specific and special stats?"

"Nah, you'll view them sooner or later. There's no point checking them right now." John waved his hand left to right in response to Jean's question, expressing his disapproval. "What you need to do next is very obvious though."

"What is it?" Jean asked back in slight eagerness, his fists clenched as he had an idea on what his father would say. He just asked about checking specific stats and special stats to see if there was any advantage to check it before the thing in his mind.

"It's time to…" Seeing his son's fists clenched, he could not help but have a smile on his face as he tried to make his answer seem mysterious.

"Kill stray bits and obtain equipment of course!"