I Can Finally Play In Peace.
The young man pushed the door open, walked into the tight hallway, and threw his jacket on the ground. In a swift move, he removed and tossed his shoes with a kick across the room, dropping on the couch with a deep sigh.
PII! PIIIIII! PIIIII! His phone started ringing in his pocket, but he quickly tossed it to the corner of the room. "Give me a break," the job calls have been munching on his mind, always called back over time.
PIII! DING! {Jin! Where the hell did you go? Get back to the office. We have a deadline next week, hurry! I want to see you back at your station in less than an hour!} DING!
"Let it all burn down. I'm dead," Jin rolled on the couch, staring at the ceiling, feeling his eyes burning. He's been staring at his monitor a lot at work, and his eyes aren't liking it.
"I wish I could just work at a farm and not care about a damn thing," He stood and stumbled to the fridge, taking a bow of cold macaroni from yesterday. He was too exhausted to cook and didn't want to look at his phone. So he won't order anything.
He dragged the bowl to the table and grabbed a spoon. Only a few bites were enough to sate his hunger. He was used to skipping lunch and dinner for work and usually won't eat until late at night.
He stood and walked to the other room, gently opening the door. This was his personal space, where no one could bother him.
The room looked mostly empty and with no windows, except for a large cocoon-like pod. SensoryV2 is an old but decent VR full-dive set.
Jin patten the pod, "Old, but still running like a champ. You've been my only friend."
In 2040 the unholy child of sensory deprivation pods, VR technology, and neurological medicine emerged to the world as the full-dive. It was called the SensoryV0Beta. And it was known to fry people's brains sometimes.
Right now, the world is playing with the safer SensoryV7Remastered, and Jin's pod is nine generations old, counting the few offshoots releases.
CREEK! Jin cracked the pod open and jumped in. It was time to relax a bit in VR and escape his miserable life for a few hours, or until he fall asleep.
{Welcome, Player Ashforthewin69godblade.} A ringing voice boomed in his head. {We offer a discount on upgrading pods...}
"Skip."
Jin ignored the warning as usual, he didn't have money to upgrade anyway, and it wasn't worth it in the end. His good old pod always pulled through for him.
{Joining the server, Welcome to Atlas Ash.}
{Location, the first layer, beginner forest.}
Jin opened his eyes to the world, staring with a smile at the endless green forest ahead of him. He took a deep breath, listening to the birds chirping and feeling the warm sun on his back.
This was his second day playing. He had spent yesterday's night customizing his character and learning the controls. Today was the day he starts moving in this vast world.
~Menu Open~
{Stats}=>...
{Magic}=>{Locked: No magic known}
{Monsters Index}=>{Locked: No monsters encountered}
{Quests}=>{Locked: No quest triggered}
{Setting}=>...
{LogOut}=>...
***
~Stats Open~
[Name: Ashforthewin69godblade][Race: Human]
[Level: 1] [Exp:0/10]
[HP:10][SP:10][MP:10]
Active stats:
[Strength:1] [Dictate raw power and physical damage]
[Speed:1] [Dictate attack and movement speed]
[Dexterity:1] [Dectate the control over one's body]
Body stats:
[Constitution:1] [Dectate Health Points]
[Endurance:1] [Dectate Stamina Points]
[Willpower:1] [Dectate Mana Points]
Soul stats:
[Arcane:1] [Dectate Magic Power]
[Faith:1] [Dectate Holy Power]
[Curse:1] [Dectate Curses Power]
***
^I watched a video online. A maxed curse build is busted. What was it called again? TheHyperJuju build, right. No, the Berserker build was amazing as well. Gotta love smashing big monsters with big swords.^
Jin cracked his neck, walking forward with a smile reading his stats. ^I will go for a mixed curse and sword build. That would be fun. But I need to find a curse first, and if I remember correctly, there is a quest north of here that rewards a cursed tome.^ He couldn't remember fully what he saw in the video, but he had a rough idea of where to search.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" As he walked between the trees, a woman's scream filled the sky. For a second, he jumped in place and smiled. ^My first random quest.^
***
{Quests+1}=>
***
{Quests}=>{A cry for help: Investigate the woman's cry,}
***
Jin looked around, there was nothing market on his minimap, and he has to rely on his ears to follow the sound. It felt strange at first, but it became intuitive quickly.
He ran across the trees, and slid behind some bushes, staring between the leaves at the dirt road.
He could see a wooden carriage drawn by horses getting surrounded by the short, long ears of green kids. No, those were goblins.
***
{Quests}=>{A cry for help: Save the carriage,}
***
The quest updated as Jin smiled, ^I'm making progress.^ He glared at one of the goblins.
***
[Name: Filthy Goblin Henchgob][Race: Goblin]
[Level: 2] [Kill Exp: 2]
[HP:7][SP:12][MP:3]
Active stats:
[Strength:1]
[Speed:2]
[Dexterity:1]
Body stats:
[Constitution:1]
[Endurance:1]
[Willpower:1]
Soul stats:
[Arcane:1]
[Faith:1]
[Curse:1]
***
^They are only a bit faster than me, but I should be able to kill one or two. The carriage still has two armed guards, so all I need is to distract the monsters.^
Jin touched his waist. He didn't have any weapon on hand, and that was bad. He looked around and picked a thick stick. ^My mighty Excaliber^ He smiled.
It might have been just a stick, but to him, it was his first weapon and is intending to save it as a memory.
***
[Item: Stick]
[Type: Improvised weapon]
[Damage: 2 Bludgeoning damage]
***
Jin looked at the stick damage and at his strength stat. ^I just doubled my damage. I'm invincible!^
BAM! He jumped from the bushes, swinging the staff at one of the goblins. CRACK!
{(2 Stick damage+ 1 strength)x 2 head hit crit x 2 sneak damage = 12 damage.}
{7HP=>0HP}
Jin could see the double-digit damage number pop out as the goblin's HP dropped to oblivion. And he couldn't feel better, "YEAH! DIE!"
Thud! Thud! He rushed toward the second goblin, swinging his stick. CRACK! He smacked it on the head.
{(2 Stick damage+ 1 strength)x 2 head hit crit = 6 damage.}
{7HP=>1HP}
The goblin rolled on the ground, growling as it glared at Jin with one eye. The other goblins turned to glare at him, grunting and flailing their swords.
"Guards! I will distract them, so you..." Jin looked at the guards to follow the quest, but his eyes opened wide.
GHAAAAAAAA! One of the two guards cried, getting hit in the stomach with a large club.
BAM! A six-foot-tall goblinoid stood, glaring at Jin with glowing green eyes.
***
[Name: Hob the Creepy Club][Race: Hobgoblin]
[Level: 11] [Kill Exp: 1024]
[HP:7][SP:12][MP:3]
Active stats:
[Strength:5]
[Speed:4]
[Dexterity:1]
Body stats:
[Constitution:4]
[Endurance:1]
[Willpower:1]
Soul stats:
[Arcane:1]
[Faith:1]
[Curse:1]
***
^A mini Boss?^ Jin gasped.