"Who do you think this hero is?"
"I don't know, but they must be some legendary person for the game to recognize them as such."
"I heard they were a demi-god coming down from the heavens."
"I think it's going to be some super powerful mage!"
"Well, whoever they are, I'm gonna be the one joining the party and saving the realm!"
Players had gathered in a plaza outside of the city hall after hearing that the hero was in a meeting with the leadership of the city. Hundreds of them were crammed into the small space, and each of them were all wondering the same thing. Just who was this hero?
Every class type imaginable was in the plaza, waiting for Alex to come outside. Every person was ecstatic, and they had a good reason. Despite how expansive and deep the game was, there hadn't been any massive in-game events. This was the first of its kind, so everyone wanted to be in on it.
"Alexander, I'm not quite su-" Charles tried to warn Alex about the assembled crowd before he stepped outside, but it was already too late. Alex pushed open the doors and had to shield his eyes from the sun before the sudden quieting of hundreds of voices dawned on him.
Every pair of eyes was on him as he took a step out towards the plaza, transparent nameplates hung above every single person here.
Someone covered in plate armor shouted out from the crowd, "Yo dude! Get out of the way, we're waiting for the Hero!" As soon as his shout broke the silence, dozens more joined in and piled on to what he was saying.
There were some very unpleasant words said, but Alex understood the gist of it. He was blocking these fine people from seeing the Hero. Not one to stand in the way of others' goals, Alex planned to disappear into the crowd and let them wait for this hero of theirs.
Unfortunately for him, Charles stood right behind him. The old man cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the players. "Show some respect dear adventurers. Young Alexander here is the hero promised to save our realm. You would be wise to be kinder to him." His admonishment came in a tone that Alex had never heard the older man speak in, and he prayed to never have Charles speak to him like that.
Everyone in the square looked from the old man to Alex, and then back to the old man. Laughter erupted from every single one of them. "HAHA this guy? The Hero? Suuuure, and I'm an all-powerful demon!"
More jokes came at Alex's expense, and the laughter of the players only deepened. Alex frowned at their actions. If he was back on Earth he wouldn't have cared, he was used to the mocking and laughter of others. But in another realm where he was the hero?
Rage threatened to overtake him. His anger came quickly, but he didn't lash out. Even if these people didn't believe it, he was the hero, and striking members of the same faction would not end well. His reputation would probably get ruined.
What Alex didn't know was that humans were considered one of the weakest races in War of the Realms: Online. Character creation was just as extensive as the realms the players fought in, but nobody ever picked the human race. It was the most limiting race in terms of class choices, it had the slowest progression rate and worst of all, it had a warning.
[Picking this race enables 'hardcore' mode. Death is permanent, and a new character cannot be created. You receive no stat boosts and excel at nothing.]
After seeing that message, nobody chose the human race. Besides, in a fantasy world filled with all sorts of majestic creatures and dozens of races, who wanted to be human?
It seemed that even the game realized this too because the human race was the only one without any extra perks or sub-races. Elves had a boost to intelligence and dexterity, and it had three sub-race options to pick from. Dwarves had a strength and endurance boost while boasting an impressive four options for sub-races.
Needless to say, Alex was the only human player in the entire city of Fareon. "C'mon human trash, move out of the way. We need to be ready for the hero." An Elvish player stepped forward and grabbed Alex's wrists to pull him off the stairs. 'BestArcherEver' was that player's name. Alex committed it to memory and shrugged him off.
"Right. My bad, I'm pretty sure the Hero will be coming out soon." His words were void of any emotion. Being called trash in another world had shaken Alex to the core. Even rebirth couldn't save him from the truth.
Charles called out to him, but whatever he said fell on deaf ears. Alex pushed his way through the crowd and disappeared from sight. The old man sighed as he lost sight of the hero.
He had tried to warn Alex about the crowd, and the potential that they wouldn't accept him since he wasn't wearing the amulet, but the young man had stepped outside before he could stop him.
He knew Alex would have a hard time due to being a human, it was something Charles had dealt with all his life, and he had tried to spare Alex the same pain. "Fools. All of you are fools."
With no direction in mind, Alex stormed out of the plaza and walked around the city. He should be angry. He should be sad. He should've defended himself. He should be outraged that these players laughed him off as a joke.
Instead, he felt nothing. He felt empty. An empty cold filled his entire being as he walked. This stupid world was the same as Earth. He was stupid for thinking things would be different just because he was a so-called hero. How could he forget?
"Trash!"
"Useless!"
"Weak!"
"Alone!"
Every single word he had heard his whole life echoed in his head. The players in this 'game' were just as bad as the family he had served. They treated him like nothing simply because he was different, or because he was lesser than them.
And that stupid fucking elf. Alex would carve scars into his flesh if it was the last thing he did. He would inflict unimaginable pain on all of them. He would see that they suffered.
In the back of his mind, Alex was aware of a distant dinging sound, but he was drowning in an intense and sudden hatred that he felt towards himself, and the other players from the square. If only he was stronger. If only he had more power. He could prove them all wrong.
Absent-mindedly, his hands reached into his pocket, and he wrapped his fingers around the cold silver chain hidden away there. He knew that all he had to do to get his revenge for himself was to use the amulet. He didn't need to know what it did to know that it was a powerful artifact.
Just as he was about to pull it out and hang the amulet around his neck he bumped into something. No, not something. Someone. He was pulled from the edge of darkness and looked up into a pair of silver eyes that radiated warmth.
"Wanna form a party?"
Moments ago
Eliza sighed as she left Minerva's shop, no closer to her goal than before. This quest of hers was getting more infuriating as more time went on. She opened her quest tab and confirmed that no progress had indeed been made.
Legendary Seedlings collected: 1/4
Early on in the game she had picked up something called a Fireling's Seed from an enemy she killed in a dungeon. With it came a unique quest that had her travelling all over the realm; the promised rewards seemed worth the hassle at the time.
This was her fifth day of non-stop searching for a new seed, but once more she ran into nothing but a brick wall. There was no information about these seeds or where she could find them. Fareon, being a new city to explore, had reignited the excitement in her heart about possibly finding anything related to the seeds. Minerva's store had been the last hope.
She mentally crossed out Minerva's shop from the list of stores and NPCs she could visit a list that was finally out of names. This dumb quest was a fool's errand; she should just give up on it. However, her own stubbornness wouldn't let her; she had already dedicated a ton of time to this quest, and she was going to see it through to the end, no matter what that took.
Eliza started mumbling to herself, thinking of a new plan to discover more of these seedlings. Maybe she needed to level up more, or maybe she just had to read a bunch of herbology books?
There were a multitude of paths she could take, but they were all outlandish ideas and impossible to achieve in her current state. She needed a party if she was to really get anywhere with this quest of hers.
Her silver eyes alighted on the sole player walking down the street in her direction, a human who looked like a complete noob. He hadn't set his nameplate to transparent mode, he didn't have any gear, and it looked like he had just now discovered how shit the human race was in this game.
This 'Alex' guy could be worth partying up with. He wouldn't ask questions, and he would never be powerful enough to steal the seedlings if he ever uncovered their truth. He was the perfect candidate.
She waved at him to try and get his attention, but either he was too focused on something else, or he just didn't see Eliza. She would just have to be more direct. She stepped onto the same path that he was walking on and set them on a collision course.
Within seconds they collided in the middle of the street and Alex looked up from his feet, straight into her eyes. Forcing a smile to her face, she asked him the most direct question she could think of. "Wanna form a party?"
Alex blinked at her words. A party? With him? Didn't she know he was just a piece of trash? Couldn't she see that he was worthless? She would be better off forming a party with literally anyone else.
Just as he was about to refuse her offer, she reached out a leather bracer wrapped hand, "I've never formed a party, but I figured if there was ever a time to do it, it's now. Besides, you look like the capable sort. I don't think I could bring myself to trust those idiots in the square."
The girl's words broke through the downward spiral of thoughts Alex was suffering from, and a glimpse of light shattered the darkness that had threatened to consume him. He didn't know how truly close he was to crossing a line, but he was grateful for this person. They stopped him from doing something he would have regretted.
He wouldn't forgive the players in that square for laughing at him, but the anger he held towards them subsided. He really only held any resentment for the elf player; he could never forget the way the other man leered at Alex.
A smile cracked his features as he reached out and gripped her hand with his own. Her hand was soft to the touch, and Alex had to remind himself to pull away after an appropriate amount of time. "You'd be right not to trust them, they aren't reliable in the slightest. I'm Alex by the way."
"Nice to meet you Alex, I'm Eliza. So, wanna party up?" Her words were full of kindness, and Alex paused to finally get a good look at the person who had inadvertently saved him.
Eliza's autumn colored hair was full of curls and kept tucked behind her pointed ears. Like all elves, her features were fair, and she had an undeniable beauty about her. Her pale skin only complimented and highlighted her other qualities, like the silver irises that Alex had first gazed into.
She was dressed in fighting leathers adorned with a multitude of sheaths that could hold daggers or throwable items. Two intricately designed blades were strapped to her back, and a belt containing potions was wrapped around her waist.
To Alex, she seemed like the most capable fighter he had seen, but she was also the first person he had actually looked at closely.
Alex nodded his head, she might be a total stranger, but something about her made him feel like he could trust her.
"Yea, let's party up. You can probably tell, but I'm a bit new to the game." He bashfully rubbed the back of his neck, pretending to not let on that he knew far more about this world than any other player.
Her beautiful features twisted into a frown, and she pursed her lips, "Hm, I can't seem to invite you, why don't you try." It was odd that the game flat out refused to acknowledge her request to form a party with Alex, but it was still a relatively new game and was bound to have some bugs every now and then.
Alex quickly opened his menu, made his way to the party tab, and found Eliza's name on the list of hundreds of names of players to invite.
He might be new, but he had experience navigating the in-game system due to having an actual system himself. It was pretty self-intuitive, you just had to read and use your mind to actually figure out how it all worked.
[Are you sure you want to invite Eliza Shadowkin, Dark Elf, Level 8 Ranger, to your party?]
[Know this! As a Hero you may only have five others in your party at any given time. Members can only be replaced if they are killed in combat and are of no use to you. Choose wisely.]
Alex clicked the 'yes' option on the menu and waited.