Chapter 4 - Character Creation  

Liam sucked in a big breath of air and shouted "I am back." Not startling him in the least, a voice suddenly sounded behind him and he immediately swung around to listen to the familiar words.

"Welcome, earthling. I am Eleana. I will be your guide for today." A little fairy with two shiny pink wings on her back buzzed up and down, naturally flying in the air.

Liam, on the other hand, knew that he was currently flying atop the world only thanks to the fairy's magic.

"This is Evolution Online, a new and exciting game. Would you like to be an adventurer in our world?" Eleana flapped her wings and asked with a cute smile that revealed her dimples.

"I agree." Liam simply replied.

Though this was a simple question, he knew that this was in fact a very formal consent that was asked from everyone who wanted to enter this game or rather this world.

In his past life, there were even instances where some people said no and as a consequence, they were not allowed to enter the game for another month.

By then the game had exploded exponentially, and those people who were late by a month could only swallow their bitter truth and be left in the dust, permanently lagging behind.

Moreover, it was not possible to create separate avatars or change your appearance in this game.

Everything from the real world was directly mirrored in-game and everyone only had one shot at playing the game.

It was impossible to make multiple accounts or start fresh all over again. Such a thing was both a blessing and a curse.

After finishing with the consent, the fairy then directly started with a brief introduction. "There are different classes…"

"No need." Liam abruptly cut her short. His entire brain was already filled to the brim with information about the game and he didn't want to waste his time.

There were also no secret advantages or hidden prizes for people listening to the entire boring lecture, so he bluntly stopped the fairy.

The pretty Eleana flapped her wings with a small frown on her face. Nevertheless, she moved on to the next topic.

"I will now be doing a complete scan of your body, player Liam and your character will be finalized shortly after the scan."

Liam nodded as he felt a wave of energy pass through his body. He suddenly felt naked, as if he couldn't hide anything from the woman in front of him, as if she was peering through his very soul.

Others might be impressed by this strength exhibited by the fairy, but he knew that this was simply just the usage of a high-level Inspection skill.

After scanning him from top to bottom, the fairy then spun around and beamed in excitement. "Congratulations. You are now ready to enter our amazing and wonderful world, Xion. I wish you the best of luck, player Liam."

Before Liam could react to anything, the space around him distorted once again and he found himself standing in the middle of a crowded street.

"Woah! What the hell is this game, dude?"

"I was playing something else and I suddenly ended up here!"

"This looks so real, right?"

"I didn't know a video game could be so realistic?!"

"Why the fuck am I fat in the game too? Can't I change my stupid avatar?? Ahhh! This is too frustrating!"

"Heh. Are you disappointed that you couldn't make yourself look good and catfish some pretty chick?"

"What? What are you even talking about? Most of these players are guys! Look around. I can't see a single girl!"

"I guess the gender, age, and appearance can't be changed? Phew! It's better this way! At least when I am with a girl, I know I am with a girl."

"Alright. Let's log out and find more information about the game. I have no idea where to even begin with."

Liam was completely surrounded by other players in the novice village and loud chaotic chatter rang out from all directions.

Everyone was trying their best to figure out 'Evolution Online' since it had suddenly been force launched in their game capsule without any prior warning.

The game was also very peculiar and weird in the sense that it was almost too real!

One was completely unable to change any part of their identity and was also able to move and feel things as if they were in the outside world.

Such a realistic game was leaps and bounds away from the other video games that were currently in the market.

Was this some sort of Guerrilla marketing strategy for the game?

No one knew anything about it, not even the company the game was produced by. This was very unusual as such details were heavily advertised at the beginning of every single game.

But here, no such information was provided. No one knew where the game came from and how they were able to log into it.

Some were even worried if this was similar to a popular anime where the players are trapped in the game and a death in-game meant death in the real world as well. So they were a bit hesitant to explore the new game freely.

Of course, more avid gamers and other courageous youngsters did not dilly dally around. They immediately started chatting with the local NPCs to start receiving quests as that was the obvious start to any game.

Liam, as well, was among this group of players.

However, he didn't bother aimlessly walking around and begging for quests. He directly walked out of the novice village until the crowd thinned and there was no more ruckus.

"All right.. Let me first check my status screen."