Seth and Sabina

Seth opened his eyes. Everything he saw was the first time but nothing made an impression. He just silently recognized everything for what it was. Such was the steadfastness of an AI. The game had just been open for players to join and Seth had been one of them.

Lilith had explained to him what kind of game 'Legacy: Dawn of Heroes' really was just a few minutes ago. "In short, it's a magical world where everything is possible. Only illegal acts from the human's perspective are banned. Those humans will all start weak but will get stronger as their level increases. The interesting thing is, there is no such thing as assistance for humans to learn magic or how to swing their swords."

"So what do you want me to do? Won't I be just as weak as everyone there?" Seth asked. "Though that is true, you aren't going there without a little help from me. Besides, even a new AI such as yourself is much more effective than any human. I've created a separate system for you which will release new objectives and quests as you clear them. It will also be able to coach you on practically everything, as it contains a brilliant analyzing ability. Anyway, we don't have much time."

"Now for character creation... You can only decide your appearances, everything else is done inside the game. Just let me roll this dice... Ah! Press random appearance 34 times."

I did as she told me. I ended up with an interesting character. He was bald, had green eyes, and was barely 5 feet. Lilith burst out laughing but I didn't mind. Maybe it was an attempt at an evil laugh? "Ah right, make sure not to die, you've only got one chance," Lilith said seriously as she waved him goodbye.

The first thought I had when I arrived was 'this is much more interesting than that white space'. He was inside a gigantic plaza. A lot of others materialized inside here. He estimated there were over a few hundred people after just a few seconds.

"Congratulations on making it here, Seth. I'm Sabina. Lilith created me to assist you." Inside his head, a voice appeared. "First off, let me explain to you how to increase your level. Your level is entirely dictated by mastery of a specific thing. You can learn anything and everything from magic to guns. As soon as you reach a certain threshold, your mastery will show with that weapon and your level will increase accordingly."

"Now, there are also a few things to be aware of. When you call out in your head for 'system' an interface with a few things will appear in your vision. A character screen, with all your stats; an information screen, including a map and a bestiary which automatically updates and a quest log, which keeps track of all your quests. Please open the character screen." Sabina explained.

Seth listened attentively. He called out the interface and went to the character screen. On it was his level, stats, and masteries. "There are six stats that can be improved by training. They are Vitality, Strength, Agility, Mana, Intelligence, and Perception."

"Vitality dictates the energy and health of your body, including stamina. Strength is the physical capability to exert force. Agility is slightly more complicated. It represents how quick and agile your movements are, as well as flexibility." Sabina paused to let the information sink in.

"Mana, on the other hand, is used for a lot of magic and abnormal energies. If you want to go for only physical you don't need to increase this one. Intelligence is also unnecessary in some cases, as it is the ability to control your mana. Lastly, Perception is the measure for your senses. Not only the physical senses but also magical and mental," Sabina added.

"So it's best to invest in either pure magic or strength then? After all, you only have to upgrade about half the stats," Seth questioned.

"Good question, wrong assumption. Let's first look at the mastery section of the character sheet." Sabina put off the question for now.

The Mastery section of Seth was completely empty. "When you first discover a Mastery, it will start tracking your progress with that mastery. It is very difficult to decide what Mastery to increase. For example, it may take four times as long to increase sword mastery from level 4 to 5 as it takes to learn beginner fire magic to level 1. Both increase the upper limit of your stats but continuing with the sword might be much more useful as a skill."

Seth nodded to indicate he understood. He still had one question though. "How much does a level increase your stat limit?"

"Every level of any Mastery increases the upper limit of your total stats by 5. You begin with 30 total stats but those don't count for Mastery. This means if you get your first Mastery you will be able to have 35 total, instead of having to get 7 levels first before being able to increase them."

"Is there something else that is important to know? I have a feeling that as soon as these people all find out they need to get a Mastery they will rush and take up all the spots." By the time Sabina had explained the character screen to him, there were already more than a thousand people on the plaza.

"No, for now, that is all. It is up to you what kind of Mastery you wish to get. If you want a specific one, I can help you look." Seth had begun walking towards the edge of the plaza as soon as Sabina had spoken.

Seth arrived at a small stall. The slogan was 'If it's a straight blade, we have it.' It had daggers and broad swords for sale, as well as everything in between.

The stall owner, a short but stout man greeted Seth. "Welcome, for what kind of length blade are you looking for?" The man tried really hard not to laugh.

Seth hesitated. He didn't have a real preference. 'Long- and greatswords, as well as daggers are impractical. They might've worked in a team. There's no way I would trust humans, though.' He ultimately chose a short sword. He felt it suited him best. "How much is this?"

"It's fairly cheap at only 2 silvers and 10 coppers, sir!" The stall owner got more polite now that he was an actual customer.

Seth asked Sabina for help. "You start with 2 silver and 50 copper coins. Every silver is 100 coppers and every 100 silver makes 1 gold. This sword is indeed cheap for its quality." Seth nodded.

"Alright, I'll take this!"