1 I Bought THE Game!

It is the year 2149. Similar to what happened in the 2000s, civilization hasn't progressed as much as we wanted. In 2050, there was a movie showcasing what the world would look like in the next 100 years. It showed teleportation machines, time machines, world peace, and much more. Sadly, none of those happened...

Humanity has progressed in some ways. We have flying cars, robots, and affordable supercomputers, but we are continuously decreasing in technology.

Thankfully, we were blessed with one thing: the completion of VR. Three years ago, it was publicized that 'realistic VR' came into reality. We have been close since the 2100s, but it wasn't complete or feel truly real. That said, there has only been one console that supports this type of VR. It is known as the RVR.

RVR uses new technology that uses your sleeping state as a controller, allowing you to depart from Earth and enter the game. They announced that the system was completed six years ago but had many issues related to safety. Now, it's entirely safe.

Since the technology is new, they priced RVR at a high price of 8,265,480 yen (80,000 USA Dollars). Typically, this would be somewhat reasonable; however, in the 2100s, there was a cash decline, lowering the price of everything. It's somewhat back to what it was like in the 1980s and 1990s but not as cheap.

If I had to describe the change, everything dropped by half to what it was in 2020. In that year, a 20oz would be 2$, but now they are 1$. The cost of RVR would be around the price of a car at that time. Now, it is twice as much as a car...

Because of this cost, barely anyone owns one. Those who do are mostly rich people, but some have saved enough money, like me... When it was announced, I wanted it, but I had nowhere close to the cost. That was then... Today, I have finally saved enough money to own my very own RVR.

Well, I had enough money because I have already boughten it! I also quit the job that allowed me to earn such an excellent piece of equipment. Apart from school, I can play on it all the time!

Ah, yes, school... I'm 18 years old, meaning that it's my last year of school. Afterward, I'll be going to college, but there will be plenty of time to play! Speaking of which, I didn't only buy the console; I also bought a game.

Not a customary or regular game, mind you. I bought THE game. Yes, the game that everybody knows and has watched in videos, Vernal Legends. It was the first game to be released when RVR came out, produced by that same company. It was released about ten days after RVR.

Vernal Legends is an MMORPG with real intelligent NPCs. Out of all the games for the RVR, this one is the most expensive, being around 100,000 yen (1,000$). That said, it has the best gameplay and graphics than the rest of the games.

Due to the cost for both the game and console, there is a low database of players. I believe that only 1,000 of the players are active. The ten most active, all streamers and recorders, have only made it to 2% in the game completion records.

I recall the first milestone: after one year of the game's release, the top player got to 1%. They were rolling in popularity, so much in fact, that they created a channel and posted videos. Those videos were viral due to no one being at that point in the game...

Anyway, this can not last any longer! I, Nasu Atsuo, swear to all the games I have beaten that I will be the first to complete the game. I mean, my title as 'completer' will be ruined if I play this game and don't finish it. I can't let that happened!

Who's complete, you may be wondering? He's a somewhat famous person known for completing all types of games. Even games that no one has yet to complete - he does. Some believe that he uses cheats or hacks in the game, but others have watched him in the game and can say that it is skill and persistence. Though, many ignore him since completing games isn't that all-important.

Though, if I complete Vernal Legends, they might start noticing me. That said, I don't want to be famous or whatnot; I want to play the game to completion. And that I will!

...

It's four o'clock. I have plenty of time for my first experience inside the game. If I go to bed at 1, I also have plenty of sleep for classes tomorrow. I can tell all of my friends about it too! Well, my singular friend...

Anyway, I already set up the equipment and the start-up for it. I had to let it scan my entire body and the insides of my mouth. I have already eaten a hearty meal, and the game is inside.

"Right, it's go time!"

I shuffle up to my bed, holding the RVR, a headset looking device. After making myself comfortable on my bed, I initiate the system by saying the on phrase.

"System Start!"

A dink sound went off in my ear. Afterward, my consciousness fades into the dream world, where I can escape into the game's world.

Some time passes after I fell asleep. When I regained my consciousness, I awoke to an open room that you would find in a mansion. A young maid great me.

"Welcome, Heavenly one number 1153, to our world: Vernal! I'm your maid, Kiho."

Kiho, the maid in front of me, is extremely beautiful. She has luscious flowing long black hair with the typical maid hairband in it. She also has pale skin that helps her stand out in her black maid outfit. Quite stunning...

'I'm glad that she's my maid!'

"I will be with you throughout your adventures in this world. Though, only in the room. This is the system's room, a place where you can exit to return to your world. You will also be forced here if one of the emergency settings activates."

Kiho points at a chair for me to sit in. Not wanting to be rude, I follow suit and sit down. Once I do, she pours me a cup of green tea.

"Now then, before your adventure can start, I will have to create your entry. This includes your character sheet, spawning area, difficulty setting, and a few more things. First, would you like me to explain this world and about the current news from some of the kingdoms?"

"Umm... Sure!"

I don't get the news part, but having the world explained to me will save me time. Though, I have read some mechanics through some online books so I could prepare myself.

"Understood. Vernal is a world filled with magic and monsters. You, a heavenly one, are task with helping society by completing the natives' quests. The quests I mention uses a unique system, meaning that quests are always changing and follow the 1st come 1st served rule.

"Currently, out of the millions and millions of quests, only 2% have been completed. That percent mostly pertains to the main quests, but it also comes from some personal quests. Speaking of which, there are six types of quests: main, personal, exclusive, side, challenge, and team."

Ah, this is something I heard about already! Well, the types, I mean... One way to complete the games is to do quests, the main purpose of the game.

Main quests are quests that everyone can do all the time, meaning multiple people can do the quest.

Personal quests are quests from NPCs. Since they are from the NPCs, they decide who can accept them and the reward. Plus, there are millions of them since the NPCs create them.

Exclusive quests are quests personally for you. Either the system or an NPC created the quest for YOU to complete it. These are rare unless the Populus notice you.

Side quests are... side quests. They offer less reward than the main quests but usually offered when doing the main quests.

Challenge quests are quests that challenge the player in some way. It has a mechanic to adjust based on the player so that it is always a challenge. The rewards are bountiful, though!

Lastly, team quests are quests that require a party to complete. The party doesn't have to be made up of all players, though. NPCs are acceptable, but they have to agree to accept the quest. The reward is split automatically among the party members. Those that can't go to the NPCs go to the player members instead.

Kiho explains this too, but I ignored most of it since I know it...

"... Next, I'll explain the time mechanic. This world is faster than in your world. Every year that passes in this world, only an hour passes in your world. You will feel the time delay too, so it will feel as if a year has passed. To clarify, you will not age in your world, but you might need some time to adjust yourself back to reality.

"In this realm that you're currently in, time moves faster. Every hour here, two hours pass by in your world. That said, it'll feel like two hours are passing. It is to help you train if you are granted any time.

"Now, this world uses a skill point system. You'll start with some points that you can use to unlock skills or to increase your status. To earn more points, you must complete certain quests, age up (when your birthday passes by in this world), level up, or defeat monsters."

Ah, I also read up on this part. To play the game effectively, you have to use certain ways to fight monsters or complete quests. Skills unlock based on your jobs. If you are a blacksmith, you'll get blacksmithing skills. You can not get swordsman skills as a blacksmith, so you'll have to change jobs to use or buy them. That said, when you switch, you can no longer use your old blacksmithing skills.

Plus, you have to pay a huge toll to switch jobs, in-game money, of course. I heard that players don't bother changing since the cost is high.

Anyway, points can be used to increase your status too! Your status is your strengths and weaknesses. It tells how much HP you'll have and how fast you move. This game uses an old system (of RPGs) used in the 2000s. There are nine stats: Strength, Constitution, Defense, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, Willpower, Perception, and Luck.

Strength is how physically muscular you are. The value of your strength will determine how much you can carry, a part of your physical damage, and strength to carry or lift objects. Like the old times, you have to have a certain strength value to use certain weapons (because of their weight).

The constitution stat reflects your sturdiness. The value of your constitution is your health, immunity, sickness, and resistance.

The defense stat is your resilience to damage. The value coincides with how much damage you'll take. Wearing armor increases this stat.

The dexterity stat is how fast you are, both physically and mentally. The higher this stat is, the quicker you move, think (requires skill, I think), and affect your agility.

The intelligence stat is how knowledgeable you are in magic and fighting techniques. Combat jobs include either a fighter or magician. Fighters use weapons (means swordsman or martial artist) and ki to fight or to consume ability. Magicians use mana to cast spells. (The actual ki number or mana count)

The wisdom stat is your strength in either fighting or magical jobs. This value shows how much more damage they will do or your power level in ki or mana. There is a required value for some spells or skills...

The willpower stat is your mental strength. The higher this value is, the more resilient you are from mental diseases, effects, and fear.

The perception stat is how perceptive you are. Having a high perception stat allows you to notice the slightest movement around you or find objects.

The luck stat is how lucky you are. The higher this value is, the better drops you get from monsters, chests, bags, and a few more. Also, this stat can increase your chances of chance related events.

Again, Kiho explains this to me, but I ignore it since I already know it.

"Okay, that should explain almost everything. Before starting your character sheet, I will explain the current news in some of the kingdoms."

...