Chapter 5: Chapter 5: OLD FRIEND, NEW ELEMENTS, AND IDENTITY ANOMALY
The familiar warmth slowly seeped into my consciousness as the vertical Full-Dive light swirl completely faded. My eyelids opened slowly, no longer meeting the cold transparent glass of the Game Capsule, but instead greeted by the sight of a sturdy oak wooden ceiling with a natural aroma. I woke up on the soft straw mattress covered with linen in a small inn room in StoneBrook’s Commercial District.
I took a long breath. Here, in this Second World, my lungs felt so spacious. There was no stiffness, no tormenting ache in my joints, and no bitter aftertaste of medicine on my tongue. I felt an extraordinary surge of energy in this virtual body. With reflexes that had long died in the real world, I raised both arms above my head, stretching my body in a long, relaxing motion.
However, the stretching movement suddenly stopped midway. As the thin beginner’s robe I wore was pulled along with my arm movement, I felt a foreign yet very real weight and pressure in my chest area. My gaze dropped downward, staring at two large, prominently bulging mounds clearly visible beneath the cheap cotton fabric. They stood firm, swaying gently with my panicked breathing.
I froze in place, touching my own chest with trembling fingertips. Oh my god... My mind immediately compared it to the visualization of the real world I had just seen a few minutes ago. The scale and size of this Elf girl’s chest... felt even larger and fuller than Mira’s, my personal maid with her hourglass figure. The reality that my virtual body was an extremely beautiful Elf girl struck my consciousness again like a sledgehammer. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heartbeat, then got up from the bed.
I walked toward the slightly open wooden window of the room. Outside, the dawn sun had just risen, casting orange and gold hues that split the thin mist above StoneBrook’s red-tiled roofs. Virtual birds chirped cheerfully, creating an incredibly authentic medieval morning atmosphere.
Ding!
A chime different from the usual system notification suddenly echoed near my ear. In the bottom-left corner of my vision, a red envelope icon was blinking rapidly. Someone had sent me a Private Message (PM). I frowned, feeling puzzled. I had only been playing this game for a few hours, and I hadn’t added any players to my friends list. How could there be an incoming message?
I flicked my hand and opened the personal message panel. Holographic text lines floated in front of me:
[Private Message] From: Arthur
"Bro! Where are you?! I know you’re definitely playing this game, and I’m very sure you’ll use that legendary nickname you always use in old games! Reply quickly!"
I paused for a moment, staring at the sender’s name. Arthur... My confusion only lasted a few seconds before a wide smile bloomed on my lips. I immediately knew whose account this was. He was my best friend since junior high school, the only outsider who remained loyal in visiting me at home and in my private medical room even when my body had become completely paralyzed due to leukemia.
The reason he could find me so quickly was perfectly logical. Before performing Link In to Second World Online, every player had to synchronize their capsule device with their global Chronos Tech ID account, which was integrated with real-world contacts. The SWO system automatically sent notifications to close friends if any of their contact IDs created a character with a similar name or used a commonly used default name on other platforms.
With my new slender fingers, I typed a short reply on the holographic keyboard:
[Private Message] To: Arthur
"Just woke up from the inn bed."
Barely three seconds passed before his reply came back at incredible speed. Typical of him, always impulsive and fast-moving.
[Private Message] From: Arthur
"What?! Just woke up?! You let your character sleep in the inn right after the server opened?! Oh my god, Bro! That’s a total waste of grinding time! People out there have been fighting over rabbits and wolves since dawn to chase levels, and you’re snoring away?!"
Reading his scolding full of a hardcore gamer’s ambition, I chuckled softly. My laughter sounded very clear and feminine in the quiet room. I replied with a slightly fake annoyed tone:
[Private Message] To: Arthur
"I’m not a hardcore level-crazed gamer like you. I have my own rhythm."
[Private Message] From: Arthur
"Hahaha! Yeah, yeah, I know. Your characters have always had weird styles. Let’s meet up! It’s been so long since we played together in a team since... well, you know. I miss our monster-hunting moments. Let’s meet now!"
Seeing the phrase "since... well, you know," my chest felt a little warm. He deliberately avoided mentioning my illness to spare my feelings. He treated me the same as before, as if I were still the healthy young man he could hang out with anytime.
[Private Message] To: Arthur
"Okay, wait for me at the city’s main gate. But give me a bit of time, I need to go to the magic district to buy some basic magic skills first."
[Private Message] From: Arthur
"[Thumbs Up Icon] Ready! Don’t take too long, Hahaha!"
I shook my head at his silly joke at the end of the message. I closed the blue holographic screen and prepared to leave the room. However, just as I was about to step toward the door, my gaze landed on the small mirror hanging near the wardrobe.
My steps suddenly halted. I had just remembered one very, very crucial fact.
My body was now a woman! And not just an ordinary woman, but an albino Elf girl with goddess-like beauty, silver hair, and a chest that was... extraordinarily prominent. The panic that had subsided returned to grip my throat. How would Arthur react when he saw his pale-faced best friend from the real world suddenly turn into a beautiful female character in SWO? He would definitely laugh his head off until he rolled on the ground.
I massaged my temples, covered by smooth silver hair, and let out a deep sigh of resignation. Oh well... my adventurous spirit tried to console itself. At worst, he would only laugh at me for a few minutes, then tease me. Considering the insane compensation of more than a dozen free Skill Points I received from the GM due to this system anomaly, being laughed at by my own best friend was an extremely cheap price to pay.
I walked down to the inn’s ground floor, gave the NPC receptionist a small nod, and stepped out onto StoneBrook’s stone streets. The fresh morning breeze blew gently, playing with the hem of my beginner robe as I walked with relaxed steps, triggering the recovery effect from my Slow Walking skill, which had now surpassed its basic limit.
My first destination was the Magic Tower or Beginner Magic Shop located in the northern district of the city. The building was easy to recognize with its tall, dark blue conical roof and a dimly glowing transmutation circle symbol above the door. The moment I stepped inside, the aroma of old books, herbal ingredients, and floating magical energy particles greeted my nose. Behind a long wooden counter, an old NPC wizard with a long white beard was busy writing something.
In front of me, an automatic transaction screen appeared, displaying a list of basic magic scrolls that beginners could purchase with copper coins or initial contribution points. However, seeing so many available elements Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Water, Light, and Darkness I was suddenly struck by immense confusion.
These basic magic scrolls didn’t cost much for the starter level, but they required Skill Point (SP) investment to activate. I stood frozen in front of the holographic screen, thinking hard with my high Intelligence (INT) attribute. In theory, the Fire element had the highest damage output, while Earth offered solid defense. But considering my static combat style that relied on long-range accuracy with a bow due to the Albinism debuff, I needed something that could support mobility and control enemy movement from a distance.
After pondering for several minutes, my final decision fell on two complementary elements: Wind and Water.
Wind would provide projectile speed and distance manipulation, while Water had essential abilities to slow enemy movement or provide freezing effects when combined properly. I pointed my finger and selected the basic Wind element magic.
Ding!
[System Notification]
You have detected the energy structure of Basic Wind Element Magic: [Wind Arrow].
Activation Cost: 2 SP.
Do you wish to learn this skill?
[Accept] / [Decline]
Without hesitation, I immediately pressed confirm. "Accept."
Ding!
[System Notification]
You have detected the energy structure of Basic Water Element Magic: [Water Ball].
Activation Cost: 2 SP.
Do you wish to learn this skill?
[Accept] / [Decline]
Once again, I pressed "Accept," spending a total of 4 SP from my massive compensation savings. A refreshing cool sensation seemed to flow into my virtual bloodstream, swirling around my heart area before finally settling at my fingertips. In Second World Online’s mechanics, basic-level magic actually didn’t require a magic staff at all. A staff was merely a special amplifier for those pursuing a pure mage build. For a hybrid character like me, basic magic could be cast directly with bare hands or channeled through other weapons.
I stepped away from the magic shop counter and took the time to open my character status screen to evaluate the remaining unallocated attribute points. Yesterday, after the instant level-up to Level 3, I still had 6 Attribute Points (AP) untouched. With tactical finger taps, I distributed them evenly to strengthen my path: 3 points into Intelligence (INT) to increase Mana (MP) capacity and magic damage, and the remaining 3 points into Dexterity (DEX) to further sharpen precision, hand speed, and arrow penetration.
After finishing the magic matters, I headed to my next destination: StoneBrook’s Carpenter Workshop. I needed to buy a proper bow and arrow supply, since the bow I used yesterday at the training hall was only a free loan weapon that couldn’t be taken outside the city.
The carpenter workshop was filled with the sound of saws cutting wood and the fragrant aroma of oak shavings. Here, Second World Online’s system once again showed its revolutionary detail. On the workshop wall was a large bulletin board explaining the existence of Production Skills (Life Skills). The game provided very deep non-combat profession paths, from Tailoring, Blacksmithing, Alchemy, Farming, Cooking, to Carpentry and many more. All these skills had their own evolution trees that were just as complex as combat skills.
Seeing the rows of woodworking tools, an old memory resurfaced in my mind. In the real world, before leukemia took away my physical functions, besides practicing archery, my hobby in my free time was making small wooden handicrafts in the backyard workshop. Planing wood and assembling things with my own hands always gave my nerves an incredible sense of calm.
I approached the NPC workshop owner, a big muscular man wearing a thick leather apron. After paying some initial copper coins from my inventory, I bought a [Standard Hunting Wooden Bow] and two large quivers containing a total of 60 iron-tipped wooden arrows. This bow had much better quality than yesterday’s training bow; its finish was smooth and the string had the right tension for my high DEX stats.
However, before turning to leave, I pointed to a basic scroll in the corner of the rack.
"Sir, I also want to buy the license and learn the Carpentry production skill," I said.
The NPC looked at me with a surprised gaze, perhaps finding it strange that a beautiful silver-haired Elf girl wanted to dirty her hands with wood shavings and saws, but he still handed over the scroll with a respectful nod. I spent 1 additional SP to unlock the skill, registering it in my status sheet as a hobby that might be very useful for crafting my own arrows in the future if I ran out of supplies in the middle of the forest.
With the wooden bow elegantly slung over my left shoulder and the quiver tied to my slender waist, I walked slowly toward StoneBrook’s main gate. Following the instructions from the Slow Walking skill, every step I took was done with calm grace, keeping my stamina bar full thanks to the passive regeneration effect from the Stamina Regen sub-skill I unlocked yesterday.
The area around the city gate looked very crowded and noisy. Hundreds of new players of various humanoid races were running in and out, forming hunting parties, or shouting to find additional team members to slaughter low-level monsters in the outer grasslands.
In the midst of that chaotic crowd, my gaze immediately locked onto a male character leaning against the stone wall of the gate. The character had a sturdy build, wearing beginner leather chest armor, short golden hair that shimmered under the sunlight, and a pair of bright blue eyes radiating high almost narcissistic confidence.
I let out a breath and held back an amused smile. That was my best friend. And what made me shake my head was the fact that floating above his head was a green icon displaying a very familiar identity name: Arthur.
That silly guy really used his real name from the real world as his nickname in a Full-Dive fantasy game. He hadn’t changed at all; always straightforward, never hiding behind a fake name, and always wanting to be the center of attention with his striking golden hair.
I gathered my courage and slowly walked toward his position. The distance between us grew smaller. When I stood right in front of him, only about two steps away, I stopped.
Arthur seemed to notice someone approaching. He lowered his gaze from the crowd and turned toward me. The next second, his blue eyes widened perfectly. I could see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. His gaze swept over my entire appearance from my long, silky silver-white hair, the signature long pointed Elf ears, flawless snow-white skin, to... the pair of deep, ruby-red eyes staring at him with a lazy look.
He looked both mesmerized and extremely confused. My Elf girl’s face was replicated based on the basic structure of my real-world face (ignoring the pale effects of the disease), so even though it now looked extremely feminine, beautiful, and delicate, the underlying bone structure of my cheeks and eye shape still had a very strong resemblance to my male version. Arthur, who had been with me for years, clearly recognized that extreme similarity, and this face also greatly resembled my little sister.
Arthur’s mouth opened wide, forming a perfect O shape. His gloved hand rose, pointing straight at my face with a heavily trembling finger.
"Ri...?! You... You’re Ri...?!" he shrieked in a high-pitched voice, ready to yell out my real male name, Rian, in the middle of the crowded city gate.
Hearing the first syllable of my real name almost escape his lips, the panic in my chest exploded instantly. If he shouted a male name in front of this beautiful Elf girl, I would instantly become the spectacle and laughingstock of all the players in the blink of an eye!
Without wasting a single millisecond, my Elf body which had high Dexterity (DEX) stats moved with extremely fast reflexes. I stepped forward, closing the distance between us, then raised my slender, delicate right hand.
Slap!
With precise movement, I pressed my small, soft yet powerful palm directly over Arthur’s mouth, tightly covering his lips and cutting off his sentence before my real name could echo in the open air. My glowing red eyes stared at him with a sharp, emergency-threat-filled gaze.
Comments