“I like your name! So valiant!”

The ardent man called Fleeting Time, whom Carl recognized to be the battle cleric, stood at the front of his unassuming group with hands on his hips, emanating confidence and vigor. He was a bearded, grizzled human with the appearance of a war-ravaged, but dignified warrior, scars miring his visage. He had a heater shield swung over his back, a scepter hanging by his waist on one side and a bag on the other, and he was quite well armored for this stage of the game, wearing a full gambeson under his priest robes and cloak. Even though gambeson was just a cloth armor, it should not be look down upon, as it consisted of many layers, and was very efficient at stopping cuts and stabs for its weight. It was definitely better than Carl's meager leather armor, and only slightly more cumbersome.

The imposing team leader was accompanied by Looming Oak, another human male, very tall and burly, in his mid-thirties, clean shaven and suave. Heavily armored and carrying a large backpack, he was surely the designated pack mule and tank, as hinted by his tower shield and war hammer.

The other two were young, delicate elven ladies – Merciful Breeze, a white-robed healer with a wooden staff and diadem, and Lissome Shot, an archer clad in a green-trimmed, elegant leather armor. They just stood meekly next to Oak, looking rather dejected for some unknown reason.

“Thanks, I'm playing a knight,” Carl acknowledged with a courteous smile.

This revelation immediately prompted raised brows, as his interlocutor eyed him from top to bottom.

“Well … I might not look like one yet. We're all just too poor to begin with,” Carl explained himself, suddenly ashamed.

“You're not too big, either. How did you allocate your attributes?”

“All in mental constitution.”

Everyone sharply recoiled, looking at each other with uncertainty.

“Magic is going to be very important in the long term,” Carl disclosed with assurance.

“Good point,” Fleeting Time agreed. “But how do you expect to make do until then?” he asked with a doubtful tone. “Is it perhaps … by tagging along with strong teams?”

Carl instantly understood the allusion. They thought he was a fraud trying to take advantage of any protection he could find. They weren't exactly wrong …

“Good luck with this bunch, buddy,” some guy shouted at them with a hint of mockery. Carl turned around and saw a full party of players walking towards the dungeon entrances, noticing the swordsman who addressed him.

“They've been standing there for at least fifteen minutes, rejecting everyone who offered to help. Enjoy your fleeting fortune!” The man made an obvious pun before disappearing in a sparkling light.

Carl looked back at the battle cleric and understood. He knew this situation was too good to be true. And if they didn't deem other players satisfactory, why would they welcome a newbie like him?

Fleeting Time scowled. “Ignore him, that youngster is too full of himself. This generation …” he shook his head, “… they have no respect for anyone. You, however, seem like a fine lad. The only question is … are your skills up to par?”

Carl scratched his head with embarrassment. “To be honest, I've only just arrived, and was on my way to the arena when I heard you.”

Fleeting Time nodded with a warm smile and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“I like you, Charles. You will make a great warrior, I'm sure of that. But you really should head to the arena first and temper yourself for a few days. Because this game is something else entirely. What you've experienced in traditional VR doesn't compare. This world is ruthless, unforgiving, and callously brutal. The horrors of battle are not something the unaccustomed can even fathom. Hardcore players are falling apart like scared children when things go sideways. There's public outrage at the difficulty set by Cybercore, and this is only a tutorial. There's countless petitions to lower the bar, and millions have already signed them.

Momentarily, the vicious lion flashed in Carl's memory. He brightened up on the spot.

“Oh, no-no, I have a number of fights under my belt. Don't worry. I've suffered my share of combat wounds,” he grinned widely, beaming.

“Oh?” Fleeting Time raised his brow once again, this time with peaking curiosity.

“And I hope, with all my heart, that the difficulty will remain as it is. I cannot praise Cybercore enough for designing this marvelous realism. Here, we can sharpen our resolve in the most dangerous ways, without the limitations of physical harm,” Carl balled his fists and raised his arms, steeling himself with a fiery poise. “How is that not the most amazing thing ever invented?!”

The grizzled man studied Carl for a while, slightly squinting, then glanced at his team members, who likewise revealed their interest, having livened up.

“Alright!” he acceded vehemently. “Let's see what you've got, brother Charles!”

“Finally!” Lissome Shot exhaled exasperatedly.

Merciful Breeze breathed out with relief as well. “Let's hurry then, because I'm seriously getting sleepy,” she seconded.

Carl rejoiced. What a golden opportunity!

“Woah, young ladies! Weren't you the ones pushing for more runs with big eyes? I wanted to quit for today hours ago, and now it's on me?” Fleeting time challenged the two girls, who only rolled their eyes at him flippantly. “Well, we'll be going on our last expedition tonight, brother Charles. Let's make it count!” he announced with fervor.

“Carl is fine,” the boy corrected. “And no worries, I'll give it my all.”

“Ha! I'll hold you to your word!”

Following which, Carl was invited to join the party, which scrambled impatiently, eager to resume their adventures.

“You should operate the terminal and accept the quests for wolf pelts and wolf population control, brother Carl. All this generic stuff related to the tutorial can be automatically resolved through the system, you don't have to talk to any NPCs. No queue, no downtime, just pure action. Take advantage of that while you can!”

“Awesome!” Carl agreed and took both the mentioned quests from a fancy crystal terminal next to a nearby portal, receiving a HUD information board.

[Active Quests] (2)

(Tutorial Quest)

Retrieve the pelts of wolves found in the instanced dungeons. Rewards depend on the wolf species:

Gray Wolf (common, mortal) – 4 Silver Sterlings;

Gray Wolf (alpha, mortal) – 6 Silver Sterlings;

Gray Wolf (prowler, mortal) – 8 Silver Sterlings;

Black Wolf (common, mortal) – 10 Silver Sterlings;

Black Wolf (alpha, mortal) – 15 Silver Sterlings;

Black Wolf (prowler, mortal) – 20 Silver Sterlings;

Albino Wolf (common, mortal) – 30 Silver Sterlings;

Albino Wolf (alpha, mortal) – 45 Silver Sterlings;

Albino Wolf (prowler, mortal) – 60 Silver Sterlings;

Dire Wolf (common, mortal) – 20 Silver Sterlings;

Dire Wolf (alpha, mortal) – 30 Silver Sterlings;

Dire Wolf (prowler, mortal) – 40 Silver Sterlings;

Horrid Wolf (common, evolved) – 5 Gold Crowns.

(Tutorial Quest)

Help manage the population of wolves in instanced dungeons. Rewards depend on the wolf species:

Gray Wolf (mortal) – 1 Silver Sterling;

Black Wolf (mortal) – 2 Silver Sterlings;

Albino Wolf (mortal) – 1 Silver Sterling;

Dire Wolf (mortal) – 5 Silver Sterlings;

Horrid Wolf (evolved) – 1 Gold Crown.

“Wow, so much?!” Carl reveled in delight.

“Haha, you'll see for yourself, whether it's much or not,” Fleeting Time laughed boisterously. “The guaranteed bounties aside, pelts have to be manually recovered. We'll be going to a den of black wolves, and if we're lucky, we'll find a few albinos among them. Although albinos can also spawn among gray wolves, the chances are much lower, and we may run into a dire wolf there from time to time. Meanwhile, black wolves themselves pay a nice sum, and they're great for grinding some starting capital. Just remember, they are no pushovers!”

“I'm ready, let's go!” Carl went forward with initiative.

The whole party stood before the inviting portal some five meters high and wide, which had an alluring turquoise vortex spinning within it and producing a low, relaxing hum. Everyone then received a system prompt, informing them that the team leader had chosen a dungeon, and they all accepted, instantly dematerializing into dazzling light.

A pleasant embrace engulfed Carl's senses for a split second, and then he found himself in a lush, verdant space, brilliantly illuminated by the mid-day sun.

“Huh? No time zones?” he readily caught the gist of it.

“Precisely. The sun won't move,” the old cleric confirmed. “Liss, Mercy, go ahead.”

“About time!” The young female archer eagerly sprung into action, going for a tall tree, while the other elven girl sprinted quietly towards a nearby hill. They were in a forest, but it wasn't uniform, with many clearings, rocky highlands and grassy knolls, as well as treacherous depressions overgrown with bushes, which served as excellent hiding spots – the kind of place where packs of wolves would establish their den.

“Aren't we going to join in on the search? Is the density of mobs this high?” Carl questioned his two male companions.

“Not absurdly, but it's enough that we have to be careful not to get overrun. Unlike gray wolves, those aren't easily intimidated. Despite behaving territorially, black wolves are so aggressive they'll join forces the moment they hear us fighting nearby. And the girls have racial proficiencies, so there's no point in us wasting our efforts. We just need to be ready to come to their aid at any moment.”

“Oh, okay. By the way … err …” Carl tried.

“You may call me Uncle Time,” the cleric grinned childishly.

“Right, Uncle Time, can I ask you about your system announcer? Because mine is … annoyingly flirtatious …”

“Yours too?! That Cybercore. And they dare demand payment for changing it. Someone seriously overstepped there,” Fleeting Time vented his outrage with harsh disapproval.

“Way to take advantage of the elderly, Cybercore. Not cool,” Carl thought to himself, connecting the dots.

“What about you, brother Oak?” he asked.

“Mine isn't as bad, though I would like to change it, too. But the girls say theirs are fine,” the strapping man spoke for the first time in his deep voice.

“Hmm. You previously mentioned something about petitions, Uncle Time. Can every player submit their own?” Carl investigated, now that he found others sharing a similar predicament.

“Yes, but it's much better to open an official forum thread and get it running. Otherwise your suggestions will never get noticed in the sea of requests. And there already is one for this case, so you might want to put your signature on it, although with how busy Cybercore is now, the chances are slim to none I'm afraid.”

“Oh, well, we should try anyway.”

An awkwardly quiet juncture followed, when the three men looked about waiting for a signal from the scouts.

“Don't take this the wrong way, Uncle Time, but you seem very aged and knowledgeable. Did you perhaps play Ethereal Empire?” Carl engaged in small talk to break the silence.

“It's that obvious, isn't it?” Fleeting Time laughed loudly. “I've been a gamer ever since I can remember. I like to think I'm still a child in an old man's body. And I can also tell, that you're very young. You have this youthful zeal about you that I like a lot,” he nodded with approval.

“Since we're on the topic, I'm curious,” Looming Oak interjected, “how are you planning to fight, brother Carl?”

Beaming with anticipation, Carl pulled out his weapons – holding the knuckle dagger in his left in reverse grip, and the battle karambit in his right in hammer grip. “I'll just get down and dirty,” he said simply.

“And you're experienced with that?”

“A bit,” Carl smiled modestly.

“We'll see about that,” Fleeting Time said jovially, seeing Lissome Shot returning hastily with an excited expression.

“A large pack with two albinos on the prowl! Close to twenty of them, with one alpha!” the elven girl shouted from a distance and indicated the direction.

“Two albinos?!” Carl jumped for joy.

“Well, brother Carl,” Fleeting Time looked at him with upbeat expectancy, “are you up to the task?”