Character Creation
[Welcome to Harmony!]
[User 476.236.981, it is time to create your character. Firstly, please choose a Race for your character.]
Half a billion people have played before him. It was an impressive number, doubly so considering the game was only out for two months at this point in time. One could prove Arc Company, the creator of Harmony, to be an enormous existence simply by pointing out that number alone.
A few screens popped up before his vision, each with a picture and basic description. There was the average man, a beautiful woman with pointy ears, and one small person with stubby limbs.
These were the three starting options. Humans, Elves, and Dwarves. The human race was obviously the most popular option, and Mura was leaning towards humans as well.
Being part of the most widespread and common race within the world gives him a lot more freedom than if he were from some more obscure races. Besides he intends to fight with his body so even changing his general physique was a turn-off so no Dwarf. There was still the option of Elves, but why bother honestly.
Human it is.
[Are you sure you wish to choose Human as the race for your character?]
Confirmed.
[As you chose the Human race the Racial Template Synchronization will be skipped.]
[Would you like to alter your appearance? Please note that you may only alter it by 20%]
Mura dismissed the screen. There was no real necessity to bother with such things. He was satisfied enough with his own appearance thank you very much. There was no mean for others to know your appearance unless they have seen you in either real life or social media.
And in that case, there was no complication with them recognizing you unless one intends to live a two-faced life completely separate from their real life. Then again you can only change your appearance by twenty percent so it was not all that effective of a disguise tool.
[Now please choose your Name.]
A name.
An integral part of your identity. A keepsake from your parents, something which couldn't be measured in monetary worth. Yet it was understandable for people to dislike the idea of divulging their real-life identity within a fictional world.
He was of the same opinion as well. However there was no need to name himself something ridiculous like Purple Fighter either.
The realism in Harmony was known to be top-notch, so naming himself something like that would be akin to shooting himself in the foot.
Imagine it. An NPC asks for his name and he answers with Purple Fighter. They would look at him as if he grew a second head or something of such nature. It would be beyond awkward so he will stick to using realistic names.
Soon enough he came up with a simple answer.
Anagram.
Higashi Murasaki.
Higaraki Musashi.
[There are currently 0 players with the name Higaraki Musashi. Are you sure you wish to name your character Higaraki Musashi?]
Confirm.
[Please choose your starting location.]
A large map scrolled out in front of him. It basically consists of one large continent with smaller islands on the outer parts. There were few places from which he could start this adventure, and he chose Rockingham without a second thought. There was no need to mull over it.
[Are you sure you wish to start at Rockingham City?]
Yes.
[Welcome, Higaraki Musashi, to Harmony!]
Soon the endless dark space ceased to be, and he was greeted by the morning sun instead. His surrounding was the inside of a late medieval-style building made from clay and bricks, rather than a house made from lumbers and straws.
It seems civilization levels within Harmony was more advanced than he estimated. From the bits and pieces he heard at school this should be the cathedral, the place where players are teleported into whenever they revive and the designated spawn location for all newer players.
He wasted no time asking a nearby guard for directions towards the plaza. A few seconds into the future and he was en route towards said place.
He has zero motivation in playing this game except for avoiding a talk with his parents since his relationship with them is not the best. They were very nice and supporting but…
Mura heaved a sigh.
As a participant in this game, he might as well as aim for the top. From what he heard the current top rankers of the game were sitting around the 30s in terms of level. Most of them likely started playing the game the moment it was released two months ago.
He might have a large disadvantage here, but if he was going to put actual effort into playing then might as well aim for the top.
As to why he cares enough to put actual efforts into this… Well, obviously it was because this was a game, and he intends to have some fun out of it. He finds the game disagreeable for having too much realism among other things, but not to the point of wanting to curse its creators out of ill-will or anything.
What made him avoid Harmony like the plague was this sense of competitive streaks often evoked in multiplayer games. He had enough trouble holding these urges in the real world, where human capabilities are so very limited. Playing within a realistic imaginary world where one could easily be far more adept than in reality was inherently a bad idea, in that it can tip the balance you had with those urges.
Then again maybe that's for the best. He still remembers the happiness and joy gained from constantly struggling and fighting in martial arts matches. All the excitement from battling and the thrill of fighting, he could regain those emotions within the game if fortune sided with him.
No, luck was no component affecting his emotions. The important thing is to have a proper attitude and surely that goal will be achieved sooner or later. The blood-pumping sensation he had lacked for the past year could be regained through playing this game.
The thing is--
Was that truly what he wished for?
"…That is a sad look you have there."
A familiar and melodious voice entered his hearing. His gaze moved towards its source and was greeted by fair skin, brown locks and blue eyes. Her overall in-game appearance was similar to its real-life counterpart. The main difference was the elongated pointy ears on both side of her head and…
'She increased her bust-size.'
He urgently averted his gaze. There was no need to take special note of such matters. It was only natural for women to change their appearance within games. After all, games are all about wish-fulfillment and self-satisfaction. Women generally care about their physical beauty more than men does. Therefore it was more likely for them to change their appearance to match society's taste.
She smiled at him.
"So, do you want to reach the top here as well?"
"…"
"You've always been obsessed with reaching the summit. For your knowledge, if you wanna get stronger then the first thing you should do is repeated strenuous activities. Say [Status]... please?"
The obedient dog followed his master's order.
[Higaraki Musashi
Level 0
Class: None
Title: None
Stats
Strength: 2
Constitution: 2
Dexterity: 2
Intelligence: 2
Wisdom: 2]
"Player character starts with 2 points in everything... buuut they can be raised through a few means. Generally it's good to have 5 points in your main attributes to start out. So go and hit the gym asap! Don't go through any class-change yet though."
The first thing you do after creating your character is hitting the gym. As expected of the game with so-called high realism Hmm... Surely the progress would be faster than in reality?
"Oh and before you go, what's your character name?"
He told her of his in-game name.
[Player 'Erica' has sent you a friend invitation.]
Erica. One letter off from Erika, which is her real name. Nevertheless.
Agree.
[You are now friends with player 'Erica']
[Please think 'Whisper Erica' to open whisper with Player 'Erica']
He ignored the second notice, considering she was right in front of him. There was no need to whisper to her right now, which is assumedly something along the lines of a chat function. The announcement itself was most likely made as a tutorial to help new players understand that particular use of the [friend list].
Onwards to the dojo then