NOVEL WEB 3 – Choosing skills
5 skills. I have to pick 5 skills. Seems that these are not related to the game at all.
I had to analyze everything carefully. First, let's talk about Phantasy Reverie Online. Why was the game so popular? The reason for that was in the freedom it granted the players. Yes, it had a main story, but it was an open world created to perfection. You could literally do anything you want, go in any direction you want with no level restrictions.
But this is why I also say it's hardcore. One step in an over leveled area and you're dead. And death has a harsh penalty in this game. You really didn't want to die, because upon dying you lose all your money and stuff you pick up. Not to mention your exp gauge resets to 0.
Of course it's safe to assume that dying in this new world would be permanent, with no restore points.
Another reason why the game was popular was because the character creator was really in depth. I created my ideal waifu. Of course, when the Goddess said I'll be reincarnated as my char, it's safe to assume she meant stats and gear wise.
Although I read some fiction about gender swap… I doubt it will be that case. I should ask later just to be safe. She did say "high performance body" so I doubt my waifu fits that description.
What I need to do now when choosing these skills is making them complement my character. In Phantasy Reverie Online, the game possesses a system that allows player freedom to its maximum. Not only are you allowed to craft any weapon you can imagine, you can tailor it to whatever need you have.
You want to have a sword that can turn into a fishing pole if you suddenly feel the urge to fish? You can do that. You want to make arrows that turn into tar and slow down your enemy? You can do that. Heck, you can also create your own NPC’s, your own dungeon or castle and become a boss. Like I said, the game has a main story and raids, but they aren’t required. The amount of stuff you can do is huge.
The hardcore playerbase has multiple characters because of this. Yeah, not gonna lie, depending on what your goal is in game, there will be builds that will excel in one area but are completely garbage in another. And since the game launched they only released 2 skill reset tickets. Without those, resetting your character, picking different classes or relocating your skill points is impossible.
The game apparently had no level cap. Basically, you could level up indefinitely. But level 150 was the player base cap. Although I loved the game, I focused more on gear and farming and just having fun than leveling. I was only level 142 in the game, but I could hold my own on what the game threw at me up to the latest patch. Just for example, from level 149 to 150 you need like 10m exp. But if you want to go from 150 to 151… it’s an absurd 60m exp. The exp requirement increases heavily.
Taking all this into account most of these holographic skills automatically become useless.
“I guess there’s honestly just one way for me to go. The way I play a game will be… first this one!”
Rank A Skill, Recovery - The recovery rate of physical strength, magical power, self-healing power etc., all dramatically increases. The initial recovery rate increases over 5 times the norm. It further increases depending upon the skill level. I never had a healing skill on me because of my unique traits and always had to rely on consumables. So having one of these is a safe bet.
“For the next one let’s go with…”
Rank B Skill, Rapid Growth - greatly increases the experience gain of the user and his ability to adapt to various situations. This skill looks like it was made for me, especially since I never managed to get to the 150 cap.
“After that… I can’t be sure if my weapons from the game will work as intended… so as a back up plan, let’s go with this.”
Rank B Skill, Crumbling Fist - grants the user potent ability in fighting with their bare fists. If I go with this description I should be able to fight without weapons, a thing you couldn’t do in the game.
“Next… let’s go with this one.”
Rank A Skill, Berserker Blood - user’s physical abilities vastly increase the more damage he sustains. Going by this, if I were to be left with just 1 HP left, I should turn into an unstoppable juggernaut.
“As for the last one… it has to be this one. Don’t judge me. Every man dreams of this.”
Rank S Skill, Slave Seal - The user can control someone by touching and marking a seal on the target.
…….It’s possible to make any number of slaves with absolute obedience.
A harem is every man’s dream. And if I ever get lonely, I can put this skill to good use.
It didn’t take me the entire 24h to pick these skills. Although there were a million to go through, after thinking of some stuff, like a search engine, they seemed to have narrowed down. And I went with the skills mentioned earlier.
The goddess made her appearance again.
“You seem to have found a satisfying combination.”
“Aye, this was the only possible combination suitable for me.”
“Heh, for an S rank skill, Slavery Seal proves you are a man. The A rank skills are pretty modest? As for the B rank skills, I’d honestly forgotten that there were skills like that…… Humans are truly fascinating.”
“Are you trying to make fun of me?”
“Nope, I’m honestly praising you. You can’t survive in that world if you just pile up random strong skills. You took your character into account, it seems.”
“Speaking of my character… you realize there’s a slight problem, right?”
“You’re talking about the gender? Yeah, I noticed, but don’t worry. It’s a small inconvenience. I can work around it, so that it won't be awkward for you. And note, that world won’t feel like a game world at all. It will be as real as you see me right now.”
Good. So she’ll be able to make my char a male or transfer my stats to me. That’s reassuring. Honestly, if I were to base this experience off anime, I’m glad I will start at my previous level, having no menus might be confusing and if I were to encounter an enemy… there’s absolutely no way to win in a “battle”.
However, using the tricks at my disposal, it’s quite possible to stay alive, with meticulous training and preparation.
“Alright, it's time to reincarnate you. You’ll probably be confused at first, but you’ll get on your feet rather quickly. I’ll also make sure to give you the most powerful Tutorial ever. So take care and try your best not to bore me.”
“Wait! About my classmates… will I see them again?”
“Well, you won’t be reincarnated in the same kingdom but there’s a high probability for you guys to meet again. They’ll still look the same, except they are going to have powerful skills of their own. They might not recognize you anymore, though.”
“What’s that supposed to…”
“Look, I enjoy a good conversation like any Goddess, but our window is getting tighter. Have a nice life, kid. And remember who you owe it to.”
Without waiting for my reply, the goddess snaps her fingers.
My body is turning into particles of light.
I will now be reborn.
I pray that this world will treat me kindly. I can feel my consciousness fading away. Mother, father… little brother… maybe one day I can get back to you. But until then… please stay safe and try not to miss me.