"Your future starts now!" The trainer's words cracked the air like a whip. The response was immediate and palpable causing the trainees to stand a little straighter and significantly quieter.
The trainer smiled with appreciation seeing the change in mood. "I see I have your full attention now…good. Now let's get started."
"First things first, let's go over how to access the main menu. You don't have to say anything, nor do you need to give verbal commands…simply give the command in your mind. The system will respond to your orders."
Following the trainer's instructions, Arthos was surprised to see the main menu suddenly appear in his field of vision similar to the introduction video earlier. He fought the urge to make a surprised sound because the other players would identify him as a "scrub".
The trainer continued explaining.
"From the Main Menu you have four options,
Profile - where you can see you Stats, Level, and Job Class
Inventory- where you are able to access your stuff. Total capacity is small at first but will grow as you level and invest in your gear and avatar.
Quests - shows your quests and any notes you add.
Map - like the name suggests, it helps you navigate.
Let's briefly touch on some of these. Tomorrow we will review the rest. First, let's talk about Profile. Look around the room for a moment…what do you see?"
Arthos quickly scanned the room full of trainees…there were maybe 1,000 players in total gathered in sporadic clusters filling the giant room. He noticed all the avatars looked alike…all stood at 5 ft 8 inches with bodies resembling a teenager. There were no notable differences between male and female, the legs, thighs, arms, and chests were all finely tuned and chiseled for athletic performance but without traces of gender.
The avatar faces, however, were the most striking feature of all. The faces looked too perfect and symmetrical to be human. The eyes in particular, looked too expressive…too luminous to be real. Furthermore, although the faces were technically identical there was something about each face that felt unique…like a resemblance to each individual player…like a signature of sorts.
"These are your starting avatars, also known as Trainee Avatars. Even though they are all exactly the same, you will notice small differences in the voice and the face. The more you interact with your avatar, the more it will blend and synchronize with your soul. For example, in the next few days you will see changes appear in your avatar…some will develop more muscle, others will grow taller, larger, and bulkier. Some will look more manly…others will develop curves and appear more feminine."
"Hair, skin color, distinct facial features, height, weight…mana capacity and muscle density will all develop overtime to make your avatar distinctly yours."
An air of excitement could be felt in the room with those words.
"Stats are your lifeblood. HP is your health. If it reaches zero, your avatar dies and you have to start all over…in Avalor there are no respawns. If your avatar dies, you have to start all over from level 1."
No reaction from the class…this was a well-known and distinct feature in Avalor. In fact, veteran plays developed party squad formation and team composition specifically to avoid dying. There was a story in the news of a veteran player who committed suicide after his avatar died in the game…his death note said he spent 5 years leveling and could not bear the idea of starting over.
"MP is your mana power. Most new players make the mistake of thinking this applies only to mages and healers. However, all classes require mana to perform skills. Some classes rely heavily on mana…but it is important to all classes."
"Strength affects physical power, defense and your HP. Intelligence affects your magic power, resistance, and MP. Speed is speed, not much to say there. Lastly, Agility impacts your reflexes, dodging and accuracy. This is specifically important for archers and ranged classes."
"A lot of this will makes more sense as you try it for yourselves. Return to the Main Menu and access the Quest screen. You all will see one quest…talking time is over…it's time to get your hands dirty. Good luck!" The trainer said with authority.
!ALERT!
[New Quest - "Trial by Fire, part 1" has arrived]
[Trial by Fire, part 1 - please line-up by door 87]
Arthos lifted his gaze as he searched for door 87. His search was momentarily interrupted by movement he detected up above. The ceilings were surprisingly high, roughly 30 feet tall and covered in steel-beams like an intricately woven spider-web.
'WOW! This game is so realistic, even the ceilings are covered in electrical wiring…kind of reminds me of an army base…and the ceilings look like they are full of roving camera tracks.' Arthos thought.
!ALERT!
[1:43 minutes left to find door 87]
The countdown alert was like a bomb exploding in a high school hallway. Trainees pushed and shoved causing a stampede as hundreds of new players rushed to their respective doors. Arthos caught in the middle of the rush, pushed his way through the crowd until he spotted a familiar face (or seemed familiar) curled up in a ball as the crowd stampeded past.
"Wain, is that you?" Arthos asked as he pushed and shoved his way to the oddly familiar avatar.
"Arthos? Oh my god! It's you! What are the odds? Well, mathematically speaking given the fact there are 200 new classes every week, each class has 1,000 students…the odds are actually."
"Wain! Wain! Focus…we don't have time for that. The timer is running out and we are in a middle of a stampede here…we need to move fast. What door are you assigned to?" Arthos interrupted the other boy mid-sentence.
The two boys first met four years ago at the Last Stop Orphanage. It wasn't an immediate friendship. Wain was shorter and stockier than average boys his age. His appearance combined with his high intelligence and quirky personality gave him an eccentric aura that tended to repel others. Arthos, on the other hand, was tall and gaunt with golden hair and golden colored eyes. His features gave him a "regal" look that also repelled others as "stuck-up" or "snobby".
"I'm door 87," replied Wain with a bright smile…his prayers were answered. He had been hoping someone would help him get past the crowd of players.
Somewhat shocked and disappointed, Arthos said flatly, "come this way…we are in the same group."
'Oh, great…I'm stuck with the least coordinated guy in here…even his steps look wobbly. Wait…was he the guy that fell down at the start of orientation? It probably was him…why am I even helping him? It's not like we are friends of anything…he is 16-17 years old, same as me and should be able to take care of himself…' Arthos thought to himself as he desperately tried to find a reason to ditch Wain.
!ALERT!
[15 seconds left to find door 87]
"Oh! We made it! We made it!" Wain laughed with excitement as they approached their door. Eight other annoyed faces turned and looked at the pair of late comers.
"Oh great! It looks like we are stuck with two scrubs," said one boy as he eyed up and down the pair of 'scrubs'. His gaze was slow enough to make it clear that they did not belong in the same group.
"Don't get in my way you scrubs…if you do, I will kill you myself," replied another girl.
Before Arthos or Wain could respond, door 87 opened.