"The first thing you need to know about Rosengard, DevilWalker, is that every town above a hamlet level in population has these buildings. Weaponsmith, armorsmith, weapon shop, armor shop, Alchemist shop, mage shop, a sundry shop, a church square, and lastly, an adventurers building. Pretty much everything I just listed to you is self-explanatory as to what it is unless you have any questions?" He said, trailing off to give me a chance to ask.

"Nah, simple enough. I'll interrupt if I have a question," Colin said as they left the building and stepped into the sun. Immediately outside, the building sat a large and well-manicured lawn with entirely green grass. Along the edges of the yard sat weapon racks carrying everything from knives to spears to shields and bows. Across the yard from them sat practice dummies, each wearing an assortment of armor plates, leathers, and what I thought was chainmail.

Beyond the practice fields, stood sturdy buildings that looked like they all belong in a fantasy world, all built of cut stone bricks supported by thick wood frames. The roof was tiled with smooth gray ceramic that looked more than strong enough to walk on. Human noise reached me from between those buildings as we strolled onto the practice field.

"Fair enough, DevilWalker. Each of the buildings that I mentioned a moment ago will have a sign above the door indicating what the building is. A filled beaker for the alchemist shop, sword for weapon shop, sword and anvil for the weaponsmith, and so on. Pretty straight forward." he said as we passed a short woman.

She stood up to my armpits and was as burly as any gym rats Colin knew back in the real world. She wore her thick brown hair in a ponytail and was dressed like a martial artist gi stylized with a bronze sickle. Her wrists were wrapped in red bandages that trailed up her thick arms with brass knuckles worn openly on her fists.

As I stared, the man that was giving me what I assumed was the starting tutorial continued talking. "Every town, no matter the size, also has a cartography shop. It is highly recommended that you always pay a visit to these shops and buy their maps. Trust me when I say that they are always worth it. But exploring on your own has its own benefits, so there is no real wrong path."

"Okay, thanks for the advice. What else?" Colin asked as they walked into the crowd of buildings ahead of them. The bustling crowd ahead of them were now visible and were easily heard since the whole street was filled with moving bodies. The congested area ahead of them were with people of every tone, size, and shape going about their business without delay or anger at any one member of any particular race.

It was a weird sight but very heartwarming to see dark-skinned people mingling peacefully with light-skinned people. There were even fantasy peoples blending and mingling without issue. Given the history of the real world in the past ten years, including the Racial Solidarity Riots and serial racial murders, this sight felt odd but like a vision of the future as it should be. As unlikely as that seems to be because of each side's agenda and ideology.

"Everything alright? You spaced out there for a minute," the NPC asked, looking right at my face.

"Yeah yeah, everything is alright. I just got lost in thought for a minute. Please continue," Colin said before smiling at one simple and impolite fact. "I am terribly sorry for this, sir, but I never did ask for your name."

The man looked at me quizzically for a moment as if thinking about that statement. He then smiled and said, "no need to apologize. I didn't introduce myself either and rarely any newcomers as for it. My name is Eldrin Rem, I am the guide for new players and captain of the city high guard. It is a pleasure to meet such a polite player, such as yourself." Okay, now I had questions. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me that you are the high guard captain? What is the high guard captain? And what are you doing escorting players? And do all uhm, non-players know that this is a…" he said floundering, for a few seconds while he tried to find the polite way of saying game world.

"What? game?" the high guard captain took with a smile. "Yeah, I know this is a game, but I AM one of the few who do. I was blessed with the knowledge by our goddess, Helene. She charged a few of us with the duty of helping some of you players with your journeys. I am one that helps at the beginning of your adventures."

Confusion hit him first. That was followed almost immediately by both comprehension and amusement. "So what, you have a unique trait or something? Knowledge Meta skill?"

"No, no, no, nothing quite so obvious. We are just the blessed of Helene. As long as we are in service to our goddess and do our duty, we reap the benefits." he said with a contented smile.

"Really? What kind of benefits?" Colin asked, genuinely curious. "Well, the most important one is that we cannot be killed." He told me with a straight, albeit still smiling face. Colin's eyes widened with surprise, "Now that is a benefit. Any way that I can get some of that action?"

"As much as a player's help could come in handy, no. Only someone of this world can get the blessings of Helene," he said with a hearty chuckle.

His smile widened as he was led into the crowd, and they started to work their way through it. Yet again, He was astounded by the amount of sensory information that he was getting from the game. It really felt like he was navigating his way through a large crowd of people. All talking or grumbling about their day, smelling like they needed some kind of bath, all wearing rough spun clothing and hard leathers about them.

He'd almost lost Eldrin while wading through the sea of moving people and down the cobblestone street.

"So, what's next for this tutorial?" Colin asked as he caught up to the waiting Eldrin.

"We are getting you your starter equipment. A weapon, armor, and other utilities like water and food. After that, I will explain the way combat works briefly before I have to get back to what I was doing." he explained.

"What were you doing?" He asked as he looked around for any hanging store signs that might indicate where we were going to stop.

"This city is built on top of some old ruins that had sunk into the earth. There's an entrance somewhere around that area. Don't ask where, please. I won't tell you unless I can be sure you'd survive the experience." Eldrin said as we turned into another street, and we were greeted by a sign that hung from a large wooden sawhorse. The sign read 'Clyde's Arms' and sat just to the left of a door that was heavily reinforced with thick iron bands. "I think the owner's a little paranoid," Colin said, gesturing at the door. Eldrin gave me a confused scrunch of his eyebrows until his face brightened in understanding. He let out a small chuckle and explained, "It's a small detail with every one of the main shops that I listed to you earlier. It makes it harder for stealth players to sneak in and steal their wares. Let's just say that there are enough unseen defenses in these shops that it would be…" he paused to find the right word. "Inadvisable to attempt to steal their stuff."

"I see," Colin said, pondering his words. It wasn't like stealing someone else's stuff was something he'd considered since starting the game. Hell, Colin didn't even know there was a mechanic in that game that allowed theft from an NPC. Maybe this meant that there was a lot more freedom in this game than he initially thought.

Nodding in approval at Colin's thoughtful look, Eldrin walked up to the shop and opened up the shop door for Colin to enter. "Enough with all this talk of warnings and misdeeds. Please, enter and allow me to introduce you to the shop's proprietor."

Taking Eldrin's lead, Colin stepped inside the shop and was quickly astounded by the sheer fantasy of the shop he'd stepped into.

Racks and shelves lined the two walls to his left and right, and every one of them was ladened with weapons of every variety. From small blades like daggers and penknives to heavy axes, bows of various sizes, and even a single flintlock pistol sat on these shelves and racks, all ready to be sold. A counter that curved out of the far wall in a half-circle sat into the far wall where the more ornate weapons hung neatly on the wall.

Behind the counter, two other things immediately caught Colin's attention. First was the shop's proprietor, who was imposing figure even with his only medium height. The man, who I assumed was Clyde, stood roughly five and was built like a professional weightlifter. His heavily muscled frame was bronze-colored and covered in a slightly sooty assortment of cotton and leather clothing. Adding to the man's already imposing figure was the fact that his head had no hair on it but a well-groomed beard that gave him a scary biker vibe.

The second was the set of stairs behind the counter that went down into some sort of basement. The passageway was dark, but Colin found himself curious as to what could have been down there. Maybe his workshop if he actually made the weapons too?

"Hello there, Welcome to my shop. What can I do for you?" the man asked the two of them. But since Colin had been staring at him for a few seconds too long, he guessed that he wanted Colin to stop.

Before Colin could stammer in confusion because of a lack of funds, Eldrin walked in front of him and addressed him. "Hello Clyde, would you please give him the deluxe starter choices, please. Of course, on my copper."

Clyde snorted in amusement as he turned his gaze to Colin, "the deluxe starter choices are simple. You can pick any two items in the shop that are non-magical and are valued at less than five copper coins together."

Colin looked at Eldrin and gave him a sheepish look.

"Which part confused you? Deluxe starter items or copper coins?" Eldrin asked with a grin.

"Uhm… both, I guess," Colin said with a shrug. "I really don't know anything."

The shop owner snorted derisively, "That's obvious. You must be from somewhere deep in the boonies to not know what copper coins are?" Clyde questioned rhetorically.

Colin gave Eldrin another confused look, and the man turned around to face him directly. Whispering, Eldrin said, "most people don't know where you adventurers come from. Some will think you simple or uneducated of you claim to not know the simplest of things like money. They are conditioned to never know where you come from by the gods, so don't bother trying to explain your ignorance. The gods will play with their minds if you do," he warned.

"Fair enough," Colin said, looking at the giant man Clyde then back to Eldrin. "How do I know what is less than five copper coins?"

"From what I was told, the numbers look the same in our worlds, so that is not a problem. There are three main values of money," Eldrin started to explain quickly. "Bits are the smallest value, and they are small, flat, and square. A coin is bigger than a bit but is round instead of square and is worth a hundred bits. Lastly, the plate is roughly the same size as a coin but is eight-sided is worth a hundred coins and ten thousand bits. If you look over there," he said, pointing at a plain-looking dagger that's just sitting on its shelf. "You can see the price tag. What does it say?"

Colin peered at the price tag for the dagger, and it read; 60 CB - simple steel dagger

He told this to Eldrin, and he nodded, "the CB stands for copper bits. That dagger is worth 60 copper bits."

"So those arrows," he said, pointing to some that laid on a shelf, "are worth 20 copper bits because they are marked CB?" he asked, checking to make sure the logic followed.

"Correct. Likewise, copper plates are marked as CP on price tags. Simple enough, right?" Eldrin asked. Colin nodded and then asked the other questions, "Why deluxe starter items, and how will I pay for these? I have no money as far as I am aware."

Eldrin looked at Clyde then behind him at the window then right back to Colin. "Unfortunately, I don't have much time left before I need to get back to my duties. So here's the gist of it. You will get the deluxe starter items, which are just higher quality gear that every player can find useful. If you're curious, you can look inside the pack that Clyde will give you when you are done choosing your weapons."

"Okay, but why do I get these deluxe starter items?" Colin reemphasized.

The look Eldrin gave him was something between confusion and annoyance. "How can you not know that? You are the one who paid for the magic that brought you here, are you not?"

Colin's eyes widened, "I did not buy it myself. Oh, she is gonna get it later for doing this without consulting me first. This must have been very, very expensive."

Eldrin shrugged, "I have no idea, but I assume so. These starter items are not cheap, but the gods provided for you to have them so… yeah."

A light buzzing filled the air as something, and something on his belt vibrated. Looking at it in bewilderment, Colin reached for it and raised an eyebrow at the flip phone that he pulled off his belt. Opening it, he felt his annoyance at Mckenna vanish and get replaced with mild panic.

It read; 'Weren't you gonna activate PlayShare so I could watch? You do realize that I can make sure you regret it when you come out of the game, right.'

Looking at Eldrin, Colin asked, "how can I change the game's settings?"

The man shrugged, "from what I was told, you just need to open your status screen and look for the gear-shaped button. From there, I don't know. People of this world cannot access that function of the status screens. And before you ask, just say; 'open status' to see your status screen."

Nodding, Colin did as he was told and said, "open status." Name: DevilWalker Level 1 Class: none Subclass: none Health:100/100 Mana: 0/50 Status: Normal Personal attributes: Strength: 10 Dexterity: 10 Speed: 10 Build: 10 Intellect: 10 Wisdom: 10 Charisma:10 Luck: 10 Observing the blue screen in front of him, Colin found that there wasn't much to look at. He read through the values before shrugging and moving on from them for now. They were interesting but not helpful right now. Colin did make a mental note to ask about these statistics later and figure out how he could use these abilities to the highest effect. But for now, he looked a little lower and found the gear-shaped button he was looking for and wasn't sure how to activate the function. So Colin tried the first thing that made sense and touched the button.

There was a little resistance to the translucent screen as he touched the button, barely enough to tell him that he'd done anything at all. Once he pulled his finger away, a second screen overlapped the first and showed the game's many settings options. Pain settings, gore amounts, language filters, sexual content were listed in a downwards scrolling screen that Colin took a few seconds to look through. In the end, of course, he found the PlayShare option near the bottom. So Colin turned it on, closed the options menu, and grabbed the flip phone to tell McKenna that it was on.

After a few seconds, the phone buzzed in my hand and told me that it was running and that his body was tamper-free.

A sigh of relief escaped him as he looked back at Eldrin and asked, "Where were we?"

"You were about to choose your weapons, and then I was going to give you the beginner quest so I can get back. My duties are kind of pressing," Eldrin said, gesturing at the shop.

Looking around the shop, Colin now found a few new people looking at some of the weapons around the shop. They all wore leather armor or protective metal plates on various parts of their bodies. The four of them seemed like they knew what they were looking for as they picked up items and bought them. The four of them must have stepped in while he was looking at the game's settings and were paying him no mind, so Colin did the same to them.

Turning to the nearest shelf, he walked up to the dagger that Eldrin had pointed out only minutes earlier. Picking up the small one-edged blade, Colin tested the balance and weight and nodded in appreciation. It was a little heavy but balanced well to act as both a hacking tool and a stabbing tool. I looked a little closer at the weapon, and another window appeared. Simple Steel Dagger. Proficiency required: none. Damage + 4 to 7. Special: +0.5% critical chance per personal blades skill level, Throw - 20 feet. Durability: 52/52.

"It isn't bad for a starter weapon. But you can choose another if you'd like," Eldrin told him. "There are weapons in here that don't need as much finesse as daggers. The ax over there is a good choice for a beginner," Eldrin said as he gestured across the shop.

"Can I get a gun?" Colin asked, seriously.

"Not for five copper coins," Eldrin told him, shooting down that in an instant. "Maybe when you get one when you earn more copper but not for the moment, I'm afraid. Even the lowest firearm is worth around 10 copper coins."

"Wow, that's… a lot," Colin said as he looked at Eldrin quizzically.

"Yeah, it is. Since that does not include ammunition for the weapon, it really is."

"Hmmm," Colin mused as he thought about what he could do. In theory, he could pick anything and be alright. His training in real life was extensive enough that Colin was confident in his ability to pick up anything in the shop and use it passably. But several times, he found himself looking at the dagger that sat there, calling out to him like an old friend. If he couldn't have a gun, a knife or two will do. So Colin picked up two of the simple Daggers and reached for the only other thing in the shop that caught his eye. Pouch of basic throwing knives. Proficiency required: Lv. 1 Personal Blades Skill. Damage + 2 to 4. Special: 60% chance of retrievable ammunition, Throw - 30 feet, Ammunition 10/10. Durability 20/20 The Pouch of basic throwing knives could hook onto his belt and wouldn't encumber him in the slightest. Eldrin watched him curiously as he walked up to the front counter with the three items and set them down on the counter.

"Interesting choices. Why did you pick those weapons?" He asked, curiously.

Thinking for only a second, he said, "let's just say that these are weapons that I am more comfortable with using." Colin said, obviously not telling the entire truth.

Thankfully for him, Eldrin just nodded and paid the man for the items, and Colin strapped the dagger to his right hip and the throwing knives to the belt under his spine. All of the blades were in the most optimal place to be grabbed in a hurry, and he was sure enough that this would do for now.

"Excellent, you look ready to do some good for the world," Eldrin said as he gestured to all of Colin dramatically.

"I'm at least ready to do stuff. Let's see what there is to do and go from there," Colin told him with a coy look. The look simply told the man not to push the issue, and given his blanched expression, Colin was sure enough that the man got it.

"That's the way to tell the NPC," A man announced as he walked up to stand beside Colin. He stood maybe an inch or two taller than Colin and was certainly broader with his metal chest plate and gauntlets adding to the effect. A round shield sat comfortably on the man's back with a mace in a sling on his waist. The man's brown hair sat slicked back in a kind of greaser style cut with a face underneath it that looked like it was chiseled out of granite. Hard and strong.

"Seriously, never let an NPC tell you what to do. They are just here to give us quests and pay us for it," he said with a self-affirmed nod. He then leaned forward slightly while stroking his chin thoughtfully, "If I had to guess by looking at your gear… are you new to the game?"

Eldrin looked annoyed that he was being interrupted and insulted by the man in front of them but stayed quiet to let Colin talk here. He was talking to him after all. Even if Colin was sure that he wanted to beat some sense into the moronic player.

"Yeah, I'm new. Just started today. Why?" Colin asked, watching the imposing man closely. The way he stepped into the conversation that Colin was having with Eldrin both annoyed him and activated all of his old triggers. The man moved like someone who expected to be listened to, and that could spell trouble.

The man cracked a smile that made Colin wonder what he might be thinking behind those hard eyes of him.

"My screen name is MonterayRevial, but people just call me Monty. I lead a party of players, and we could use a fifth in our group. Especially a rogue type like you, if your weapon choices are telling the whole story. Would you be interested in joining our team for a little while?"

Looking the man up and down with a confused look, Colin turned to Eldrin and gestured at Monty. "What do you think?"

Eldrin shrugged. "Your choice, DevilWalker. I suggest that you do your beginner quest first, but… it's your life."

"DevilWalker? Kickass name dude. But don't worry, we could easily help you do your beginner quest first if you'd like. It's ridiculously easy and can have it done within the hour. What do you say? Shall we team up?"

Before Colin could say anything else, A screen jumped in front of his face. MonterayRevial has invited you to join his party. Will you accept it? Yes or No? Thinking it through, Colin figured that it might be a good idea to have some help with the beginner quest since it was his first day. He had no idea how combat worked, how experience was gained since he'd seen the leveling system, or how to get a class… it was on his status page and figured that Eldrin was going to explain how to get a class before he hurried off.

"I don't even have a class yet. Shouldn't I get one before we head out to the beginner quest?" Colin asked, tentatively.

"Nah, you can pick up the class ahead of time, but you don't need it," Monty assured him with a shrug. He then leaned in close and whispered to him, conspiratorially. "You really shouldn't worry about it too much, though. Any experience you get goes immediately towards leveling up when you get your class. Sounds good, right?"

Nodding along, Colin looked at Eldrin for confirmation that he was right. The NPC guide nodded after releasing a small sigh and explaining further. "He's not wrong. You cannot actually progress in strength until you choose a class, but the experience gained doesn't just vanish. When you do choose a class, you get all the experience added retroactively to your class. I'd still recommend choosing your class first-"

"But it is not necessary, trust me. I've played three different characters, and I didn't choose a class right away for my second. I know this for a fact," the man said with a smug nod.

Colin took one more look at Eldrin, who looked resigned with whatever choice he was going to make. It gave Colin a pang of guilt to see the guy who'd been explaining the way this world worked look downcast, but Colin always did what he felt was the best thing for his goals. If he could gain some in-game experience before choosing his class while using these guys to make the experience easier, then he would use them.

"Alright," Colin said as he accepted the party invite. "Can I get the quest, please, Eldrin?" Colin asked the helpful NPC politely.

"Fine. The quest is simple. Inside the forest outside the city, a group of semi-intelligent animals have been attacking anyone who gets too close. This includes merchants that follow the main road here. The mission is simple, quell their numbers and reduce the threat. This isn't too dangerous, or the guards themselves would deal with it. Would you be willing to help? I am, of course, offering a reward for success." he asked me.

Suddenly, a screen popped up in front of Colin's face; Quest: The Newbie Quest. Objective: Reduce the threat of the advanced animals outside the city walls by killing a number of them. Objective; kill ten advanced animals in the given area. Reward: 20 copper bits and an item upgrade from Eldrin. Time limit: None So far, this game had simple enough mechanics. Colin hoped that its simplicity would continue because he would hate to discover that it got more and more complex as things went on. While he figured that would be okay in the long run, Colin did not want to have to figure everything out quickly.

"So DevilWalker," Monty asked, "you ready to go?"

"In a minute. I am pretty sure I still have to grab my starter gear," Colin told him as he faced Eldrin again. "Do I just go up there and ask Clyde?"

Eldrin simply nodded.

So Colin did just that. He walked up to Clyde, put his forearm on the counter, and said, "could I get my starter items, please Clyde?"

Clyde snorted, "a polite quester, that's rare. Keep it up, boy. It may help you out," he said as he reached under the counter and produce for Colin, A simple one-pocket backpack made out of brown leather. He explained the contents quickly, "Three days worth of food and drink, two three hour EXP booster pills, One potion of minor healing, one potion of minor resting, two home runic stones, and one firestarter. Backpack included in the items for free. Now please, Get out of my shop so paying customers can come in. But be sure to have a pleasant day," Clyde said with a playfully wicked tone.

"Yeah yeah, we're leaving. Rude ass NPC, talking to customers like that. See if you get more business from us. There's more than one weapon provider in the city!" Monty yelled as he lead Colin bodily but in a kind of friendly way out of the shop.

"So DevilWalker, I take it there is nothing else you need to do before we head out?" Monty asked loudly as he was guided away from the shop.

Colin thought about it and was honestly unsure. He simply did not know enough about the world or what he could do here. He just didn't know.

"I don't think so," Colin hedged. "Is there anything else a newbie should get?"

"Nah," One of Monty's companions said dismissively. "The armorer doesn't offer any free starter gear or nothin'. It's kind of janky, but what can ya do?" The man said. His own build was more thin and wiry compared to Monty. His hair was dark and made into a crew-cut, and his entire being made Colin cautious. Almost like the man gave off a bloodthirsty vibe that Colin was familiar with.

"Alright!" Monty announced. "Let's go kill us some beasties."