Character Creation

The world around Bjorn evaporated into pixels, then reformed into a dull, empty gray room. Even Bjorn didn't have a body in this space, and could only statically float in the air.

'Hm, I remember this. The character creator is instant, and it will make you into whatever you imagine yourself to be internally. Pretty nifty, for everyone who isn't hopped up on drugs when they enter.'

After recalling a story he'd once read of a player whose character was a horse thanks to them munching some shrooms before logging in for the first time, Bjorn imagined his own appearance.

He had no qualms just being himself, and this way he would look the same as he had in his previous life, too.

As his body formed, a pristine pool of water grew in front of him, reflecting his appearance back up at him.

Instead of looking like his 19-year-old self, he looked more like he was in his mid-twenties.

'Hm, that figures. Mentally, I'm a bit older.'

After checking a few angles and confirming that he was handsome enough, Bjorn reached down and brushed his finger against the water's surface, sending ripples across the liquid.

The ripples continued spreading, running past the water and warming the plain gray walls of the room he was standing in. Slowly, the world around him began to warp, and a deep voice spoke into his ear.

"Welcome to the world of Grandiunon, and good luck on your journeys."

The gray room's walls faded away, replaced by a pristine forest environment. Each player's starting position on the map would be determined by their location in real life, and while Bjorn hadn't spent much time in the game in his previous run-through, he was vaguely familiar with his current position.

His home in Iceland translated to a starting point in the northeast of the game's eastern continent, Sulan.

'I should be- yep.'

Peeking through the trees, Bjorn could see buildings a few dozen meters away. He wasn't in some deep forest, but instead in a park inside of a town.

Many of the starting areas were like this, all around the entire continent. The parks served as both respawn points and as a place for new users to get used to the movement system.

For Bjorn, this wasn't anything he needed to worry about.

Ignoring a few other dots of light that began forming into human shapes behind him, the young man strolled out of the park area, breathing in the clean, spring-scented air.

The sun shone brightly in the morning sky, but the heat it provided wasn't overbearing and instead felt like a nice, comforting warmth on Bjorn's skin.

It wasn't a coincidence that so many casual gamers fell in love with the game.

It was an instant escape from their bustling, cramped city lives into an incredible, pollution-less world.

In the corner of Bjorn's vision, a small icon with a red (!) notification stood out, and it opened up a small menu the moment he thought about it.

There were only a few options on the menu.

Inventory, Tutorials, and Log Out.

Later on, after leveling up, a few more options would be added, but in general, everything needed to be done in-game.

'Clear all notifications.'

The small red (!) that hung over the tutorials page disappeared, and Bjorn closed the menu page. He was confident in his abilities to figure everything out with his years of PvP experience.

'Hm, and I even know what I should do first. I should really thank my buddy for bragging all of the time, it's going to save me a ton of effort here!'

Stepping onto the paved path running along the park, Bjorn's eyes wandered between the medieval Europe-themed buildings lining the other side of the road.

A few NPCs passed him as he walked, and they returned the nods he gave them as he passed by.

'Most combat classes head straight for the training hall, but the real best starting place is actually at a food stall. There are multiple in every city, and if you know the right one…'

Bjorn spotted a small line of customers in front of a relatively unremarkable-looking storefront.

'The food the stall owner gives you food for your help grants the same stats as what you gain from the training mission, and you make some extra money!'

Bjorn felt a bit like a cheat for complaining about his lacking game knowledge and then immediately heading for the best starting strategy, but he brushed it off. This was only something he knew from a particularly annoying and chatty teammate.

Instead of directly going to the food stall owner, Bjorn patiently joined the long line of NPCs waiting for food.

The pace of the food delivery was slow, and the young man had to wait almost fifteen minutes before he arrived at the front of the line.

"Hello, sir. I heard you were looking for an assistant at this food stall, and I'm here to offer my services!"

The grumpy-looking elder behind the counter shot a skeptical look at Bjorn.

"Eh? Who told you that?"

Bjorn coughed lightly into his arm.

"Um, one of the people in line."

It wasn't a total lie. He'd overheard multiple NPCs complaining about the food stall's wait times.

"Fine. Come around and put on this apron. You'd better not be useless."

'Is this how it's supposed to go? He didn't even mention paying me… couldn't they at least make the quest system a bit more clear?'

Just as Bjorn was complaining, a window appeared before him.

-

Quest: Cooking Assistance

Help Old Man Lefty with his food stall.

Rewards: Money, food, XP.

-

It was a barebones description that didn't even give values on the rewards.

'I'm guessing it depends on how well I do, but can't they at least give some estimates?'

Another dinging noise sounded in Bjorn's ear as the window expanded.

-

Rewards: Minimum: 1 bronze, 1 piece of cold food, 1 XP. Maximum: ???

-

'Gee, thanks, system. How bad would I have to do to only get one bronze? You get five for free to start out! This is basically useless.'

"Oi, brat! Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to get to work?"

The shopkeeper's words snapped Bjorn out of his focus on the system windows, and they all disappeared from his vision.

"Yes sir, I'm sorry about that."

The old NPC motioned angrily toward a pile of brown paper bags.

"You can handle the packaging and customer side, hopefully. Don't expect anything from me if you can't."

Old Man Lefty then turned around and walked off to the back of the store, not giving any more explanation.

'Wha… what the hell am I supposed to do now? I don't know anything about this place! At least train me in first!'

Bjorn gave an embarrassed smile to the customer who had now been waiting at the counter for almost a minute.

"I guess I'm in charge now. What can I get for you today, miss?"

The woman's fingers tapped heavily against the countertop as she looked over the menu that she'd already had ample time to view.

"Three fritters, an apple fritter, and two sweetbreads."

The excitement over playing the game in Bjorn's eyes dimmed.

'Hm, yes. What a nice order. It would be great… if I knew what any of those were! How the hell is anyone supposed to complete this quest?!'

After opening up a few cabinets behind the counter and finding nothing resembling a fritter, Bjorn angrily confronted the system.

'Oi! Help me out here! Where's the newbie assistance?'

After a few moments, a translucent window appeared in front of Bjorn.

-

This will decrease your completion rate for the mission. Are you sure you would like to activate system assistance?

-

Bjorn didn't hesitate to agree, and a few icons appeared in his vision, pointing out where each of the items he needed were.

'Finally, thank you! At least it's manageable now.'

After gathering up the items the customer had asked for, Bjorn took a few coppers as payment, then turned to face the next person.

'This feels like a waste of time, but it'll all be worth it once I get the rewards!'

Bjorn continued to rely on the system's assistance, and soon he was able to fill customers' orders just as fast as they arrived. In the next hour, he helped over a hundred people.

The entire time, Old Man Lefty didn't return from the back of the shop, and Bjorn's prepared food supplies started running low.

'Damn, I don't really know what to do… do I shut down the stall if I run out, or-'

"One apple fritter, and hurry up! I've already been waiting too long!"

Bjorn had managed to get the waiting times down below five minutes already, so he frowned as he turned to face the unhappy customer.

His eyes widened a bit when he saw a small green name icon floating over the person's head.

'It's a player! It's already been almost an hour and a half since I logged in, I guess it makes sense for people to be moving around already. Why is there someone coming to buy food, though? It's a huge waste of the little money we get at the start!'