I, as my video game character in our world.

 

What's the last thing I can remember?

 

===

 

The last minutes of German classes were running when...

* Ding dong *

The school bell rang, and the school day for our class ended. I was just out in the hall when someone tapped me from behind.

"Hey, Sam! Will you play with us later?”

It was my classmate Kevin. Kevin was one of four classmates who, besides me, played Styx Worlds.

"Ah! Is today the release date for the new update, right?”

I knew about the update, of course, but I rarely played with them, and they thought I was just a casual gamer.

"Yes, and it would be cool if there were five of us today to try out the new dungeons."

He looked at me with enthusiasm.

“Is it ok if I let you know if I can via Chapp¹ Should I use Whatsapp or the fictional Chapp? later? I don't know if I have the time today...”

It was only half a lie since I had to meet with my other guild members.

"Damn! You rarely have time to play with us!”

Visibly disappointed, he gave up and set off.

“Styx Welten,” short “SW,” an MMORPG, which was the first MMO in the world to use the latest generation of VR technology. Sure, the VR technology is nowhere near as far as it is described in a wide variety of animes, but the realism factor could be increased quite a bit with special pressure clothing or glove controllers. Besides, SW could only be played in FPP.

What Kevin didn't know was that the account I used to play with them was just my second account, my main account was the first rank on the European servers, my main character held the most records in the various rankings.

SW had a unique ranking system because almost everything that could be done was listed, such as dungeons, raids, or like other MMOs, the PvP.

Also, there was an unusual combat system, the so-called weak point-system, because every player or NPC had at least one or more weak points. The vulnerabilities were more evident on some monsters or characters than others.

I led every solo raid and every solo dungeon, and in some of them, I was even up to 1 minute ahead of the other players. I tried to analyze every single raid and identify the particular weak points of the opponents.

The group dungeons and raids presented a more difficult challenge because I couldn't fight them alone and needed capable group members. So I founded a guild and asked the top four ranked players who followed me, in some solo rankings, to start a guild with me. Together, we set some records and held first place in almost all dungeons and raids in SW!

When I left the school building, I took out my headphones and turned on my music. I lived only a 10-minute walk away from school.

I strolled through the streets with one eye on the screen of my smartphone. I opened the web browser.

Let's see what today's updates include and what will be added in the Monday updates.

It doesn't matter…

It doesn't matter…

Ah! Every player who created its account a year ago on the release date (May 20, 2021) will receive a first-year gift for playing Styx worlds. Accounts in one of the top 10 rankings receive a second option for the gift.

Cool! Let's see what this other option offers. So far, only the random gift box is known!

I walked close to a bus stop over the main street and branched into the opposite road. The street ended in a dead-end. The last house on the right side was my family's house.

I walked over the doorstep, took off my shoes, and hung my jacket in the cloakroom, and went down the hall to my room. I slipped through the door into my room and locked it behind me.

Nobody is at home, but I don't want to be disturbed anymore!

I tossed my backpack aside and changed my clothes. I switched from regular street clothes to sweatpants and a simple T-shirt.

Now I can start!

I put on the pressure plate vest and put on the controller gloves. Then I sat on the gamer armchair and got everything ready.

I switched on the VR glasses, and the screen immediately opened.

It is connected to the Styx Worlds server...

...

Welcome back, adventure.

The screen changed, and I came into the character selection. In addition to my main character, I had two more to choose from, but these weren't interesting. I, of course, wanted to play my main character, Siana von Tyrn.

My character Siana von Tyrn was a half-human and half-dragon. There were no classes in Styx Worlds, just skill trees, which would enable everyone to learn everything, but that would be like a “jack of all trades, master of none.'' If I had to title Siana's class, it would be “Deathdancer” because I did acrobatic stunts with her skills and fans with blades.

Log in!

Loading...

...

100%

I appeared in a familiar environment. It was our guild house.

2.30 pm… another hour until the others come online. I should look for a first-year gift.

I opened my mailbox.

The mailbox is empty.

Huh? Have the gifts not been distributed yet? Well, maybe I should check out the new region.

I opened the door and was about to leave the guild house when an NPC got in my way.

A bug?

"Miss!"

The NPC opened an automatic dialogue with me.

"Yes?"

I answered, irritated.

"This is for you."

A letter appeared in her hands.

"For me or our guild?"

"A letter for her, miss, from my mistress!"

The NPC bowed and turned away. I looked down at the envelope and looked for the addressee

Which mistress?

The envelope was empty, and only a “My Beloved” was on the front. I opened the letter.

_______

My Beloved,

You will know when the time has come.

                                                                      In love,

                                                                                 XXX

                                                                                 _________

So what is that?

I looked up and looked around, but the NPC was already gone. I dropped the letter in my hand.

*cling*

Something had fallen to the floor, and I looked at the source of the noise.

"What is this?"

I picked up the shiny something from the floor. A window immediately opened.

Marching Order - Captain Bronwall needs this marching order to allow someone through his blockade.

A marching order for Bronwall...

A quest window opened.

Find Bronwall.

I activated the quest immediately and received a marker on the world map. I followed the tag and looked for the closest teleport point.

I teleported to a small village not far from the captain's whereabouts and immediately made my way there.

I could hear a voice from a distance. The sound was initially incomprehensible, but as I approached my destination, the voice became more understandable.

"You have no marching orders. You're not allowed to enter!"

The same sentence repeated over and over.

A group of players gathered in front of a crevice.

"Hey! Let's go through!”

"Let us through!"

Different players screamed and complained to the NPC, who answered with the same sentence.

I pushed my way through the players. When I got close to the NPC, he immediately responded to me.

"Miss, the captain is over there."

The NPC guard made a tiny gesture and let me pass. I could hear some players getting upset and cursing me, but I ignored them and followed the NPC's directions.

An NPCs guard without a helmet was my target, with "Captain Bronwall" above his head.

"Ah! Adventurer, you received my message! A new path suddenly opened in this rock face, and we had to prevent the masses from entering! Everything beyond this crevice is unknown to us, and we need someone like you to help us.”

The quest window opened again.

Quest updated - explore the new area.

As soon as the quest told me, I left the camp to cross the path.

* Bing *

I hadn't gotten very far when I received a message in my mailbox.

Oh, that's the annual gift!

I immediately opened the message.

This menu works with voice prompts, if you understand that, answer with “yes.”

"...Yes…"

What if I didn't understand? Should I have answered “No”?

Welcome adventurers, on behalf of RedPanda Inc., thank you for your loyalty to the past year. The following options are available as a reward.

Possibility 1: You have 20 random boxes for your loyalty and also five additional boxes for each ranking in the top 10. Available boxes: 325.

-Alternative-

Possibility 2: Obtaining random exclusive clothing that can only be obtained here! The more often your account is in the top 10 rankings, the higher is the probability of receiving an (unique) clothing set. (No guarantee)

My clothes are already high-end, so the boxes can't offer me anything, anyway.

My decision was made.

“I'm taking opportunity 2.”

The screen disappeared, and a black box with question marks appeared. I tapped the box, and the lid opened with a *Tara*.

Congratulations! You received: Casual outfit (Unique)

What is this!?

The outfit consisted of 5 pieces of clothing and two daggers. The five pieces of clothing were red-brown sneakers, black tights, brown shorts, a dark red hoodie with ears, and the last part was a black t-shirt.

...OK? And what are their stats?

I checked the stats of the clothes and was amazed.

WTF! The values ​​are higher than my armor, and what is that for a passive bonus effect!

The bonus effect was called “adjustment” and, strangely enough, didn't contain any further descriptions.

Next, I switched to the daggers. Both daggers looked the same, except that they were different colors. One knife was blue, and the other one was red. Both had a slightly inclined blade. The daggers also had bonus effects. The effect of the red dagger was "The target's weak point radius is increased by 10%.", and the blue blade had the effect "Agility is increased by 150% for 30 seconds when an enemy has a weak point was struck down."

Awesome bonuses!?

* Bsst *

Everything suddenly went black, and it was as if the fuse had blown out, but when I tried to take off the VR glasses, I no longer filled my own body.

What's going on here!?

I don't know how long I lay in the darkness, but suddenly a small crack of light appeared. I immediately tried to reach for the light. The walls around the break were motionless.

I hit the wall as hard as I could. Surprisingly, the wall burst at the first try, and I was able to climb out.

What's going on here!? And where the hell am I!?