VRMMO Reality Merge Amplification System - 1
*Crash*
*Thunder*
* * *
"Oh god… Oh god why…"
Chen Li raised his head with great difficulty. Where was he? What was going on? He had no clue.
The last thing he remembered was…
"… F*ck, did I die?!" Chen Li's eyes opened wide. The dull ache that was permeating throughout his body was gone in an instant. "I… I…" He could not believe that he remembered of giving his last breath!
After a moment of silence, he started looking around as if to reject those memories!
"… Where am I?"
[Host identified]
[Gathering statistics]
[…]
[Calculating…]
[Amplification System invoked]
[Selecting amplification amount…]
[…]
[Amplification Amount: 100]
[Selecting amplification area…]
[…]
[Amplification Area: Basic Attributes]
[Notes: All gained basic attributes will be amplified by 100 times.]
[Time until Mysteries Online real-world merge: 182:11:58:01]
Chen Li stared at the blue panel in a daze.
[Name: Chen Li]
[Age: 15]
[Sex: Male]
[Race: Human]
"… My name isn't Chen Li, and I'm not 15 years old?!" Chen Li looked at his hands as if they would prove him right. But… Unfortunately…
"The F*ck?!?"
His hands definitely looked like they were 15 years old! He immediately ran to the bathroom to take a look at the mirror.
"… This not happening… This is not happening… This is just a dream. Yes, I'll wake up soon." He closed his eyes and navigated through the house with his hands. It wasn't until the touch of soft fabric, did he stop and threw himself on his favorite couch.
To be fair, it wasn't just his favorite couch. It was the only couch in his house! Which also doubled as a bed, since he couldn't afford a mattress!
"…" Chen Li froze as these irrelevant details came up one after the other. He slowly opened his eyes to take a look at his surroundings.
'This… is the one room apartment that I rented…' He thought in silence.
The more he looked, the more he remembered.
His name was Chen Li. He was going to be a high-school student in three weeks. His parents were dead, and he had no relatives. The only way he could afford to rent his own place was through working his ass of at a domestic newspaper company. And the only reason he wanted his own place, was to play a VR game!
As the feeling of remembering his life subsided, Chen Li finally realized what was going on.
He really died back on Earth. Then, inexplicably, he was transmigrated. Into the body of a 15-year-old orphan.
Not only that, but he also had a System!
"F*ck, everything's like a web novel…"
Of course, Chen Li was an avid reader in his previous life, and was somewhat familiar with the VRMMO genre.
Unfortunately, it wasn't his favorite genre. In fact, it couldn't even enter his top 10! He did not detest the concept, but he did not like it either!
"Mysteries Online… That's the same game that I wanted to play… No, the kid wanted to play…" The memories of the kid named Chen Li were difficult to differentiate than his own. Chen Li found the sensation incredibly off putting!
He immediately tried to gather his thoughts. 'Ugh, but I guess this is fine. If I can't even tell the difference between his and my own memories, I won't randomly slip up. Isn't this the unspoken rule of transmigration? Never tell anyone that you're transmigrated. Makes sense, I suppose…
Besides, I died. It's not like rejecting this body will do me any good. I've nowhere to return to.'
Death by becoming one with the pavement… just thinking about it made Chen Li shudder. The sensation of his bones getting broken, and the horrifying realization of seeing parts of his body as nothing but mangled meat… Chen Li lightly slapped himself to disrupt those thoughts.
At least the kid was much more fortunate. Food poisoning wasn't pretty either, but it was much preferable in comparison!
"Cha Chicken…" Chen Li raised a leftover fried chicken box. After his last day at work, he had bought the last batch of chicken from a random fried chicken joint. "Now I know why it was half-off. F*cking pieces of sh*ts…"
Food was a convenient way to cut costs for the previous Chen Li!
'He thought if he could become a pro-gamer, everything would be fine.' Chen Li sighed. 'Well, maybe you really would've been fine by playing Mysteries Online. It's the game that the System has mentioned after all.'
[Time until Mysteries Online real-world merge: 182:11:55:47]
Chen Li glanced at the full-dive VR capsule, right behind the only furniture in the house, the brown couch.
The previous Chen Li had not only bought the capsule, but also subscribed to the highest speed connection available. It took him a month just to get the necessary health report and the permission from the child protection agency!
"Let's see, the game was going to launch in 8AM, there's still three hours. Sh*t, wait, the queue!!"
Chen Li immediately raced to the capsule. Thankfully, he had practiced getting inside more than a hundred times already, so he was ready to log in under a minute!
"This is so frickin' weird man…" Chen Li took a deep breath to shake off the strange feeling from remembering the kid's memories.
Then, he closed his eyes and logged in!
-Time until Mysteries Online Launch: 02:57:03-
-Place in Queue: 9031104-
'Sh*t…'
* * *
What could Chen Li do but wait?
So he waited!
Three hours of staring at the timer ended up being an excellent opportunity to stabilize his thoughts!
-Time until Mysteries Online Launch: 00:00:41-
-Place in Queue: 9031104-
'I remember inserting the nourishment caps unit. They were the cheapest ones, but still… I should be fine, right? I felt fine even though the kid died. This should be how transmigration works… Probably?'
-Time until Mysteries Online Launch: 00:00:14-
'If the nutrition packaging is correct, those caps should last for about a week. I won't starve to death, right?'
-Time until Mysteries Online Launch: 00:00:01-
-Time until Mysteries Online Launch: 00:00:00-
-Place in Queue: 9031104-
-Place in Queue: 9031002-
-Place in Queue: 8532178-
Chen Li was quite worried about staying for hours in the queue, but nearly half a million people entered the game in a matter of seconds! Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the queue count changed once again.
-Place in Queue: 1758200-
'F*ck, those are some mighty servers… I guess that's to be expected from a game that'll become reality in 6 months.'
A few seconds later, Chen Li saw the welcoming screen.
- Select your path -
-------------------------------
- Ruler -
- Adventurer -
- Craftsman -
- Peasant -
Original Chen Li wanted to become a Warrior so he could grind money in the short term. After all, he couldn't even afford the next month's rent! And that was only two weeks away!
'… Isn't selecting ruler is best way to play these games in web novels?
But on the other hand, my "cheat" is about basic attributes. Adventurer makes sense as the least risky choice.'
Mysteries Online, like its name, was shrouded in mystery. Marketing budged of the game was unprecedented; it wasn't an exaggeration to say that nearly every human being alive would've heard of the name. Yet, no one knew what the "game" played like!
"I choose the Ruler's path."
By Chen Li's reckoning, if he failed, he could still utilize his cheat with a new character. Probably.
- Entering the World of Mysteries –
- Evaluating Player's condition –
[Amplification Activated]
[Amplification Activated]
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'Uh, OK? Then, where're my attributes?'
Unfortunately, no answer came, and no status screen popped up. Instead, a moment later, another message appeared.
- Welcome, Player! -
- Please remember to be mindful of your manners! -
Grey nothingness surrounding him suddenly changed into green steppes. In an instant, his body had weight, and sensation of rough fabric enveloped his body.
"… What's with the gaudy robe? Why is it so red, and so vibrant?!"
A voice reverberated in his mind.
|You have chosen the path of the ruler. But what kind of ruler will you be?|
Underneath Chen Li, a dirt path appeared, seemingly leading to the horizon. Chen Li looked around but saw nothing else of interest. With nothing to do, he started walking down the path. Gradually, the rugged path became wider. Sometime later it transformed into a rough stone road. As Chen Li walked, the rough, unevenly sized stones gradually became more uniform.
'Looks almost like roman roads…'
After almost half an hour of walking, Chen Li finally stopped after seeing a sudden change. The road further was now split in three. One led toward the shadowy mountains in the distance. Another went through the green steppes as usual. And the last one, led to a forest bathed in sunlight.
'… Looks like some convoluted mechanism to select the starting alignment? Or maybe location?'
Chen Li stood at the crossroads and inspected the paths as best he could. Aside from their destination, the roads themselves changed as they went further. On the shadowy mountain side, stones became visibly darker and less orderly. While on the forest side, they were made from precisely cut white marble.
'… That's not really a choice, is it? I mean, for a game it might be a choice, but isn't this going to merge with reality?'
Chen Li ignored the middle path, which remained the mostly unchanged, save for becoming wider later on.
'If this is about alignment, then the shadowy side is evil, middle one should be neutral, and the forest one should be good. Hmm… I guess even if the player can choose to switch their alignment later, the alignment of their starting location would stay the same…?'
Since he had no idea what was going on, Chen Li freely speculated, knowing that this wasn't a simple VR game.
'Alright, I'll take the forest then!'
Choosing the evil side may have been tempting in a real video game, but since this was reality, Chen Li decided he would rather choose the stereotypical good side!
As soon as he stepped on to the road leading to the forest, his surroundings started to change. Mighty mountains filled the horizon, trees started popping up left and right. Sounds of birds, insects, a pleasant breeze brushing on the trees... Life, was overflowing!
Soon, another crossroads appeared. This time, one led to deep within the forest, with the path being swallowed by overgrowth in the distance. One led toward a huge tree, while the path itself became white as snow. And on the last one, the path became more and more ornate and ended with a clearing. Beams of light from the sky illuminated the empty space, giving it a rather lofty atmosphere.
'Huh…'
First two, Chen Li understood pretty well. But the last one, especially those beams of light, seemed unclear.
'Could that be some sort of holy kingdom as the starting point? Why a clearing though? There's literally nothing there but short grass!'
Chen Li couldn't help but think that the ornate road meant a sophisticated civilization. He clearly didn't want to go to the deep forest, and interpreted overgrowth as distant, uninhabited lands. The middle path that led to the big tree seemed decent, but like before, it seemed to be there to provide a halfway point.
'Spending six months in potential wilderness, or in a civilized place, where I can gather information and make connections…'
He had already chosen the path of a ruler, if he failed and (maybe) became an adventurer later, knowledge he gained could work in his favor!
Or so he thought…
Chen Li entered the ornate path, but before he could reach the clearing, the scenery completely transformed. He was now standing above the clouds and climbing stairs made of light.
"… Alright…?"
5, 10, 30 minutes. Chen Li climbed the seemingly endless stairs. After an hour, he felt something peculiar!
He was, finally, getting slightly tired!
'… Oh. Oh… Ooohh… Is this because of my attribute cheat?' Then another possibility came to mind. 'Or is it because this is a "VR game" mechanic?'
Chen Li climbed the stairs for another half an hour, but moving was becoming noticeably harder every passing minute! Finally, when he couldn't bear to lift his legs anymore, the same voice reverberated in his mind once again.
|So be it!|
[Amplification Activated]
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Chen Li started falling as the surroundings changed once again. Rather than crashing on the ground, he found himself standing inside a dimly lit warehouse, with rows and rows of chaotically stacked weaponry.
Some weapons looked simple and familiar, while others had alien designs. Swords, staves, flintlock guns, automatic rifles, sci-fi guns, glowing blades with dozens of edges, the amount of variation was simply staggering!
'… Do they want me to select one? Could this be a class selection?'
Chen Li fell into deep thought.
His 100 times amplification cheat seemed to work only for basic attributes, according to the System at least. Hours later, he was still in the character creation part of the game, so he couldn't check whether the cheat was working. But considering the fact that he died, then transmigrated into a fantasy world, there was no reason not to trust the System.
'Something that'll scale well with basic attributes; that's what I need.
Physical classes should work well, in theory. Effectiveness should be reduced with ranged classes like Archers. But what about magic classes?'
Was Mana a basic attribute? In the first place, did this game have mana, or magic? There was no answer to these questions, at least not yet.
'… Should I log out and look for some more info? Some people must've posted some basics by now, or maybe there'll be streamers that explain the game as they go along…'
This made sense to Chen Li. In hindsight, he thought he should've waited for some news to come up before logging in! Blindly selecting a class based on his unfounded assumptions would surely be much worse than starting late!
But… Unfortunately…
- Cannot log out until character creation is complete! -
"Well, sh*t…"
Chen Li sighed, then tried to remember the current trends of the gaming scene. The previous Chen Li was an avid esports follower. And thanks to his job at the newspaper company, he did have some inside knowledge, even if little!
'The kid wanted to become a warrior because melee classes were cheaper to grind with, or at least in other games they were.'
Chen Li was inclined to reject melee classes after giving them some thought. If this game was going to be merged with reality, why would he want to be a tank? Or a berserker? Or an assassin? They seemed to be high-risk high-reward classes in reality! One good hit, and it was all over! And in case of a tank, Chen Li wasn't fond of the idea of enduring considerable amount of real, physical pain!
After experiencing a gruesome death once, he wasn't fond of the idea of experiencing any sort of pain, least of all in regular intervals!
Through the process of elimination, he decided on a ranged magical class. Whether he became a wizard, or a magic archer, he didn't really care that much in the end.
Chen Li gave all weapons a wide berth, fearing that even brush with his clothes would somehow automatically select that weapon! Due to random weapon placement, his progress went slowly.
Thousands of bladed weapons were promptly ignored. Spears were never given another glance. Countless blunt weapons were treated like air. Modern weapons could only receive a look of disdain, if they were at all noticed!
Chen Li only focused on bows, and other obviously ranged weapons with magical properties. Though since he didn't have a status check function, he could only classify a weapon to be magical if it was glowing! A rather unscientific classification for his tastes, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances!
And of course, the warehouse also had the weapons of magical classes. Staves, wands, books, crystal balls (probably), and more were scattered around. Some were made of bones, some looked like they had liquid bodies. Cold, hot, bright, dark, all sorts of magical weaponry continuously eroded Chen Li's judgment.
He became more indecisive every passing minute!
'… This is like choosing a class in an MMO based on their end game gear.' He couldn't help but think. 'What am I looking for? Will I end up choosing the most awesome looking one?'
He shook his head in frustration, but still couldn't overcome the urge to look at everything, twice (if possible), before making a decision!
Therefore, Chen Li spent the next five hours inspecting the weapons!
The game could wait! In fact, he didn't mind spending a few days here; he had enough nutritional fluid in the capsule anyway! To him, choosing the right class was much more important than getting a head start.
Chen Li wasn't even going to try to become the most powerful, or the most famous person of the game. Since reality was going to merged, what he needed the most was stability! Every other concern was secondary!
Finally, his choices went down to three. A holy looking wand made of unidentified materials, giving him a soothing and safe feeling. A black and white staff with swirling elemental energies; easily the most magical looking weapon in the entire warehouse. And a simple bow infused with lightning, which somehow gave Chen Li a feeling of immense explosive power that no other weapon could.
There were some compelling exotic weapons too of course, but Chen Li eventually eliminated them because he thought they were a bit too unorthodox!
'I guess if I'm unhappy about my choice, I could look at other players that use those exotic weapons. Then, if or when I end up recreating my character, I can safely consider them…'
Chen Li felt content knowing that he reviewed every single weapon. Thrice. There were so many obviously useless weapons, anyone choosing them would most certainly reroll their character after a few days! Clearly, these five hours were time well spent!
'Let's see… This wand that radiates pure white light, looks like a Priest-ish weapon. Becoming a healer class is fine, but if I don't have any offensive power, I'll end up getting pushed around. Tempting, but not ideal.
The staff looks like a stereotypical Archmage weapon. Should be a safe choice, right? Even if Mana isn't a basic attribute, it should be influenced by some basic attribute at least.
Honestly, compared to the staff, the bow looks a bit uncertain. Lightning around it implies being fast, which is good for an archer, I suppose. But…'
After laying all the cards on the table, Chen Li arrived at a decision rather quickly.
'Alright, Archmage staff it is. If I reroll, I might go with the bow, depending on how archers perform in the game.'
Without delay, he grabbed the hovering staff.
|So shall it be…| The voice spoke once more.
[Amplification Activated]
[Amplification Activated]
[Amplification Activated]
Surroundings darkened. For a while nothing could be heard or seen. Chen Li couldn't even hear his heartbeat, or feel the sensation of breathing. In total darkness, he waited, until a panel appeared in front of him.
- Welcome to Mysteries Online! –
- Pleas#e e$jo%y...... -
[Evaluating…]
[…]
[Assessing priority…]
[Override Initiated]
[Game Message: Welcome to Mysteries Online!]
[Game Message: Please enjoy your stay!]
[Game Message: And remember to be mindful of your manners!]
Dull gray UI of the game flickered and was replaced by the blue panel from the System.
Then, in an instant, a flash of light, strange smells, and a cacophony of crowd noises overwhelmed Chen Li's senses. Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he saw a huge city with countless number of people going about their day.
If Chen Li didn't know this was (somehow) going to be merged with reality, he would've been amazed with the game. There was nothing even close to something like this in the previous Chen Li's memory!
People of all races walked around, bought strange goods, laughed and talked to each other. Everything felt so real that Chen Li could detect the strange scents coming from the spice vendor below! Interestingly, the vendor looked like a dwarf with a mighty beard and short stocky build.
'Yeah, he definitely looks like a dwarf from this angle…' Chen Li watched the crowd below with interest. 'That looks like an elf, wow…'
Words could not describe the elegance the elven woman exuded while she walked through the market streets! Chen Li couldn't help but stare as she negotiated with a donkey eared man.
'F*ck me, even the way she carries the groceries is unreal!'
Chen Li reluctantly averted her gaze to look at his surroundings. There would be time to gawk later!
He was at a balcony overlooking the market streets, sitting on a wooden chair. Both the floor and the walls were made of a material he had never seen; looked white stone, but was strangely soft, and warm to touch!
'Ok, looks like this place is safe for now. Let's check my status…'
[Name: Chen Li]
[Age: 15]
[Sex: Male]
[Race: Seraph]
[Class: Chaos Sorcerer]
[Level: 1 (0/5000)]