Chapter - 5

Adam kept himself steady, his feet planted on the soft ground as he looked around the place where he had landed. It wasn't quiet. It was a busy area, with other players appearing around him. It looked like a starting point, a drop zone for everyone new. Eight other people, represented by their game characters, were close by.

They were also looking around, some looking at him, some looking at their own floating windows, checking their characters and stats just like he had done.

For a moment, Adam's eyes caught some strange symbols floating above some of the other players' heads. It was like little icons hanging in the air above them. Beside these symbols, he saw the word "Anonymous." Ah, yes. He remembered this feature clearly from his past life, the life that was now his future knowledge.

The "Anonymous" tag was a game feature that players could choose to use. It allowed them to hide their real player names, the names they picked when they first joined. Seeing it again reminded him of why players used it. It was a way for careful players, or players who were planning something big, to avoid drawing unwanted attention.

If you were really good, or if you found great items early on, some other players might try to follow you, steal from you, or even attack you just to get your stuff or stop you from becoming strong. Hiding your name with "Anonymous" made you harder to find and track. It was a clever thing to do if you wanted to be a strategic player.

Some of the other players looked at Adam with curious eyes. You could see the look on their character's faces in the game. Their expressions seemed to show two things: awe, like they were impressed by him, and maybe a little bit of envy, like they were jealous.

It was clear why they were looking at him like that. His appearance was striking, really standing out compared to everyone else around him. And his gear, his clothes and weapons, looked amazing. It wasn't beginner stuff. It looked like premium gear, expensive and powerful.

It was all left over from his achievements in the much older version of the game, trophies from his hard work back then. His gear was in stark contrast, a strong difference, to the much more modest, plain-looking outfits and simple gear the other new players were wearing. They were clearly just starting out with the basic clothes the game gave them.

"They must think I'm rich already," Adam thought to himself. A small, faint smirk, a little smile that showed he found it slightly funny, crossed his face. His outfit, the sleek black clothes that fit him perfectly, combined with the sharp dagger strapped to his waist, definitely gave off a certain feeling.

He looked mysterious, like someone you didn't know much about, but also someone with authority, someone who knew what he was doing and was powerful. The way he looked wasn't just for showing off, though.

He remembered from the old game that this specific set of clothes and the dagger, worn together, gave him helpful bonuses. They provided stealth, making him harder to be seen or heard when moving quietly, and speed bonuses, making him faster. So, his look wasn't just cool; it was also really useful in the game. It was both stylish and functional, helping him play better.

As Adam continued looking around at the other players who were just starting out, he noticed their eyes seemed to be stuck on his outfit and his equipment. They kept looking at his black clothes and the dagger, like they couldn't believe a new player had such cool stuff right from the start. "Yep, it's just as I remembered," he murmured quietly to himself, feeling a sense of validation.

It confirmed that his old gear was still considered valuable and looked impressive in this new version. As he looked at himself through the game's view, his eyes tracing the detailed lines and shapes of the graphics, he was amazed again.

The realism of the game world was breathtaking. It wasn't flat or simple like games used to be. It was incredibly detailed, like looking at the real world. Every thread in his black clothing seemed real.

He could almost see the texture. Every seam where pieces were sewn together was perfectly rendered, drawn out with incredible detail. The dagger's metal looked shiny and solid. It was hard to believe this was just a game; it felt incredibly real.

Slowly, one by one, the other players started to move away from the starting point. They began dispersing, spreading out into the large area around them. Some of them headed towards a dense forest that was easily seen on one side of the area. They probably thought it was a good place to start exploring or finding some low-level monsters to fight and gain experience points.

Others just wandered off in different directions, looking curious about everything around them. Adam let out a quiet sigh as they left. It was time for him to focus too. His gaze shifted away from the players and looked at the surrounding structures, the landscape that marked this starting area.

Adam turned his attention specifically to the ground and the layout of the land. He quickly realized something that his memories had already told him. He hadn't just landed anywhere in the vast game world.

He had spawned at the very edge of a Beginner Village. This was exactly where he had started in his previous life, the old version of the game. This was the basic safe area for new players to begin their adventure.

To his left side, the forest he had seen others heading into loomed large and dark, its tall trees reaching high into the sky. They formed a thick, natural boundary around the area, a wall of green separating the village area from the wilder parts of the game world. He remembered this forest very well.

He had spent a lot of time there in the old game, learning how to fight and level up. He knew it was home to different types of monsters. It wasn't just full of easy creatures. It had three types of monsters, ranging from very harmless ones, like the slow, wobbly slimes that were easy for beginners, all the way up to surprisingly strong beasts for a starting area.

He specifically remembered the ferocious Boss Wolf, a tough monster for players just starting out, usually around Level 20. It was a mini-challenge early in the game. Knowing this level of detail felt incredibly powerful.

Adam looked towards the edge of the forest. He even gave a slight smile as he thought about the monsters waiting inside. He quietly said to himself, "I have to go there after some time. That forest is a good place to start getting stronger quickly, maybe even finding some useful items I know are there." But he added to his thought,

"But before that, I will analyze some things first." He needed to take a moment to confirm some things. He wanted to be sure that everything else he remembered about this starting area, this village, and the surrounding environment was exactly the same as it had been in his previous life.

Only by confirming this could he fully trust his memories and use them to his advantage. He needed to know if the monster locations, the important items, the quests, and everything else he knew were still here, in the same places.

As he looked more closely towards the village itself, the area the players had spawned around, he saw that it wasn't just bordered by the forest on one side.

It was surrounded by forests on all sides, almost like an island of safety in a sea of trees. At the very center of the settlement, the heart of the village area, stood a truly massive tree. Its trunk was thick, and its towering form, reaching far higher than any of the village buildings, was like a symbol, a landmark for the place.

The giant tree's branches stretched out incredibly wide, casting a comforting, cool shade over a large part of the village area. It looked like a welcoming gathering spot. Underneath its shade and among the simple buildings, Adam could see NPCs – Non-Player Characters – going about their daily routines, like they were real people living their lives.

He saw farmers tending to virtual crops in small fields, their actions repeating like they were programmed. He saw merchants setting up their stalls, arranging virtual goods, getting ready to sell things to players.

And he saw children playing near the base of the massive tree, their small character models running around and making sounds. It looked peaceful and normal, a little digital community.

As Adam continued to observe, the NPCs in the village started to notice him. Their character models turned their heads, their programmed eyes landing on his character.

They whispered among themselves, their voices low digital sounds, and their eyes quickly darted towards his distinctive appearance – his white hair, blue eyes, and black clothes that made him look very different from a typical new player or an ordinary NPC. He clearly stood out.

Adam smiled slightly at their reactions. He was a new, different face in their familiar digital world. He raised a hand in a friendly greeting towards them. Some of them, the merchant or the farmer models, waved back briefly, short little programmed waves, before they quickly went back to what they were doing.

Their gestures felt more polite, like they were coded to be civil, rather than genuinely warm or welcoming like they were truly happy to see him.

"Huh. At least they're not ignoring me completely," Adam muttered under his breath, a small internal comment. It was a small suppression of a chuckle. He found it a little bit amusing that even in this game world, the NPCs had their own simple behaviors and reactions to strangers.

He took a deep breath of the digital air, feeling its surprising freshness again. With his quick look around the village done, and seeing the NPCs and the general layout confirming it was indeed this specific Beginner Village, he turned away from the settlement. He headed purposefully towards the dark, towering forest that marked the edge of the safe zone.

He didn't intend to stay in the village for long, maybe just for a quick rest or to use a service if needed later. But for now, he had much more important matters to attend to.

Testing his new class and especially that mysterious new skill, "Reality Manipulation," was his top priority. He couldn't waste time doing simple beginner quests or talking to NPCs right now.

The atmosphere felt different, thicker somehow, as Adam stepped across the invisible line that marked the forest's boundaries. The ground beneath his black boots changed immediately. It wasn't flat and grassy anymore; it was uneven, a mix of rough rocks, loose dirt, and tangled roots that made each step he took require more care.

He had to watch where he was going. The towering trees rose up all around him, their dense leaves blocking out a lot of the sunlight, casting long, deep shadows everywhere.

Thick bushes were spread out, hiding a lot of the view ahead and to the sides. Adam's keen eyes, the blue ones in his avatar form, scanned the area quickly and carefully. He needed to make sure no one else, no other players or watchful NPCs, were around to see what he was about to do. He needed privacy to test his strange new power.

Finding a small clearing somewhat hidden by bushes and trees, Adam stopped. He summoned his system window again, the sleek blue interface popping up in the air before him. He used the system controls to navigate, to move through the menus, until he found where the information about his class should be.

He needed to see what the game itself said about the "Administrator" class he had been given. He typed "Administrator" into the search bar within the window, hoping to get a detailed explanation. A moment later, a new text box filled the screen, showing him exactly what he wanted to know: the description of his unique class.

Administrator Class-

This unique class grants the player control over multiple aspects of Row Online. With this class, the player's skill tree develops in relation to administrative abilities. Additionally, the Administrator can access skills from other classes, unlocking unprecedented versatility. The higher the level, the greater the accessibility.

Adam's eyes widened as he read each line of the description. His mind started buzzing even faster than before, racing with ideas and possibilities that seemed almost endless. This class wasn't just strong; it was on a completely different level from anything any other player in the game had. It was leagues above the fighter classes, the magic classes, the rogue classes, everything.

"With this... I could take on even the top players in the future," he thought. Not just the current top players who were maybe Level 5 or 10 now, but the incredibly powerful players he knew would become famous trillionaire warlords in the years to come. The thought sent a surge of excitement through him, powerful and electrifying. This wasn't just a second chance; this was a chance to have absolute power, to change everything.

But the intense excitement was quickly cooled by a growing sense of caution, a cold feeling of worry that crept in. "If anyone, anyone finds out about this class," Adam murmured quietly to himself, the sound lost in the forest noises, "I'll be in danger – not just in the game, where they might try to hunt me down, but in real life too."

Memories from his previous life flashed before him, sharp and clear reminders of how dangerous things became because of this game. He recalled terrible stories he had heard, news reports he had seen, about players who had found unique, rare items or received special rewards in the game.

Once other players or even real-world criminals found out, those players were targeted in the real world. Some were attacked and robbed for their gear in the game. Others were physically injured, sometimes badly. Some, he knew with a cold certainty, had ended up even worse off. Real life and the game were already becoming mixed in terrifying ways even before the full reality merge happened.

"I can't let that happen to me," Adam resolved firmly. He clenched his fists again, this time with determination. His voice was a strong whisper. "I'll keep my identity hidden at all costs. No one, absolutely no one, can know who I really am in the real world." In the game, he would only introduce himself, if he had to interact with anyone, as AlphaBoss.

That was his game name, a separate identity. AlphaBoss was the character, the person in the virtual world. The real Adam, with his future knowledge and the Administrator class, would remain a secret. He couldn't afford to let the two connect.

His decision was made. It was a necessary rule for survival in the world to come. Adam closed the system window, making the blue screen disappear. He looked around the forest again.

The dense leaves on the trees, packed together tightly, and the natural sounds of rustling leaves in the wind created an eerie, slightly mysterious atmosphere.

But it also felt calming in a strange way; it felt private and safe for what he needed to do next. He knew this quiet, hidden spot deep inside the edge of the forest was the perfect place to test his unbelievable new abilities without anyone else seeing him and drawing attention.

Adam took a deep breath, focusing his mind. He needed to concentrate on his newest and most mysterious skill: Reality Manipulation (Level 1).

He still didn't have a clue exactly how it worked, or what he could do with just Level 1, but he was incredibly eager, very excited, to find out. He knew that whatever it was, it was powerful. He also remembered the line in his status window: "Stamina: 5." That was quite low for a powerful skill.

"I'll need to level up," he thought, "and I'll definitely need to increase my Stamina stat if I want to use this 'Reality Manipulation' skill effectively." Powerful skills usually cost energy or stamina to use.

Despite knowing he might be limited right now by his low level and low stamina, Adam felt a surge, a rush, of confidence. This skill, even at Level 1, had immense potential. Its name alone promised incredible power. He knew, with absolute certainty, that he was only scratching the surface of what he could do with it.

He knew that with practice, with leveling up, he could unlock abilities that would seem like magic, or even godlike powers.

As he stood there in the forest, the sounds of nature – the distant birds, the wind in the leaves – surrounding him, Adam felt a strong, renewed sense of purpose wash over him. He wasn't just the gamer who logged into an old account. He wasn't just a player trying to get strong in a new game.

He was different now. He was an Administrator. He was a master of the game's fundamental mechanics, someone who could potentially control how the game worked. The weight of this identity settled on him, heavy but also empowering.

Adam standing tall among the trees and shadows. His piercing blue eyes were scanning the mysterious forest around him, not just looking but seeing the possibilities hidden within the world and within himself. He felt a deep readiness, a fierce determination. The real journey, his second chance in this new reality, had only just begun. And with his future knowledge and impossible powers, he was more than ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.