World Keeper

Chapter 327: Aurivy’s First Look

“Welcome in, Aurivy I assume?” The silver woman appeared standing in front of Aurivy within an endless black void. There was a small smile on her face as the first true person joined her within this land.

The person in question, a young demoness with pitch black hair and bright yellow eyes, looked around the black void in excitement. “That’s right! Looks like the graphics need to be improved in the display, though.” She muttered when her eyes settled on Vivi.

Due to the device that she was using to connect to Vision Expanse, Vivi’s body looked more artificial than normal. Although she was still fairly realistic, Aurivy could make out several rendered polygons along the woman’s curves. Yet Vivi only gave a light laugh. “That will improve as your world does. As a goddess, you will be able to see this improvement personally.”

“Well, you’re right about that!” Aurivy nodded her head excitedly. “Now, could you make me a halfling real quick? I don’t mind playing as a demon and all, but if this is going to be my admin account, better to go with something comfy!”

Vivi responded with a slight nod, Aurivy’s body shrinking. Her wings melted into her back, her horns doing the same on her head. Her skin lost its deep red color while her hair began to turn a vibrant pink. Soon, Aurivy was standing there in the same body that she possessed as a goddess. “Is this better?”

Aurivy took a moment to glance down at herself, giving a very satisfied thumbs up. “Perfect! So, what are we going to do for classes, or do I get the Keeper treatment as an admin?”

Vivi simply shook her head. “No. I’m afraid that Vision Expanse is a world that does not possess classes in the sense that you are used to. The governing force of the world is instead Skills. If one does not possess the skill to perform an action, then they will find themselves having a far harder time doing it.”

“Skills… I remember you saying that admins could grant those. So if I want to make myself a complete badass, I just need to grant myself the right skills? Well, aside from that godlike admin power that you told me about before.”

“That’s right.” Vivi agreed after a brief moment. “As an admin, you could theoretically grant yourself any skill that you desire. Normally, there would be a tutorial fairy guiding you through the process of character creation. However, given that you yourself are on an admin account, you are automatically upgraded to receive my personal help.” There was a warm smile on her metallic face as she spoke.

“I gotta say, I am not against that. So, what all do I have to do to handle the creation process? I’ll be going through all of this again later, so might as well learn what I’ll need to do now.”

Hearing her question, Vivi closed her eyes for a moment. “You’ve already chosen your race. As Vision Expanse is a game heavily focused on exploration, it begins with only a single spawn point. As players explore the world, more will be added, including a kingdom that is primarily dominated by halflings.”

“When you first begin play, you are allowed to choose a single starting skill that will determine your early gameplay experience. It is strongly suggested to choose either a combat or production skill, so that you may earn the funds necessary to train later skills.”

After Vivi explained that, she waved her hand, a blue light escaping her palm and forming a window in front of Aurivy. She could see a vast list of skills appearing in front of herself. There were different weapon proficiencies, magic specializations, and crafting skills listed. However, there were also a few other utility skills, such as navigation, diplomacy, or pick-pocketing.

“Aww, you mean that you have to buy skills with currency in this game?” Aurivy asked, a little deflated at that comment. It had been the one thing that had somewhat annoyed her about her time in Twilight’s Hold, as it meant that people would be unable to train skills on their own.

“Not quite.” Vivi denied with a shake of her head. “If you purchase a skill, then you will start with a basic level of proficiency with it. However, it is possible to train your own skills over time. Doing so is simply more difficult in the long run.”

She hesitated for a moment as she looked for the proper words to explain herself. “If you train a skill yourself, you will be able to still make progress in that skill. However, if you seek the aid of a tutor, you will gain an experience boost in that skill based on the skill level of the instructor. It is also possible to train the skill yourself, than gain that boost by later seeking a tutor. But until you do so, you will be operating with a penalty.”

Aurivy perked up when she heard that explanation, her eyes practically shining. “Cool! Then I’ll choose the Navigation skill for now. I have enough combat experience with various weapons that I should be able to fight proficiently with those, even without the skill to do so.” Vivi gave a small nod at that, and the list in front of Aurivy disappeared.

“Now, normally you would have to choose your spawning location. However, since there is only one such location, that is not possible at this time. Once you finish this process, you’ll have your own tutorial fairy bound to your account. At any point in time, you will be able to contact me if you require my assistance with anything.”

Aurivy gave a playful salute when she heard that, making Vivi blink briefly in confusion. “Yes, ma’am! Is there anything else that I need to know before I go?”

“No, I believe not. The tutorial fairy will be able to tell you anything important once you arrive.” Although Vivi was a bit confused by Aurivy’s gesture, she was still enjoying talking face to face with someone.

Soon, Aurivy would be able to see the image of Vivi shattering, appearing as if shards of glass were falling all around her. In its place, she found herself in a large city, standing in the middle of a wide circular path. A small, repeating beep sounded in her ear for several moments until she focused on it, unable to pay attention to the various demon’s in the dark surroundings through the noise.

A gentle glow flew out of Aurivy’s body, hovering up in front of herself. A figure appeared within the glow no more than three inches tall, distinctly female with green hair and a pure white dress, wings fluttering behind her back. “Welcome, player, to Vision Expanse! During your gameplay, you will be able to ask me for any information that you need! It is my job to help ensure that you have an enjoyable gameplay experience!”

“Please state all your available functions.” Aurivy immediately spoke up, her eyes focused on the tiny fairy.

“Very well! I can identify the properties of any item for you, so long as it is within your level and skill range. I can also provide information on locations that you come across, based on your experience there and the popularity of the region. Furthermore, I can connect with other fairies to allow you to exchange messages with other players, and inform you on the usage of skills and systems!”

Aurivy gave a satisfied nod as she heard that. She had never been able to test out the fairies in the last game that she played, so she was quite curious how they worked. “Alright, then can you provide me any information on the area we’re in now?”

“Checking data. You are currently located within the Endhoven Empire’s capital city, Endhor. This is a popular trade city where you can find items of various levels and quality. For more detailed information, please converse with local NPCs to receive information on the current standing of the city.”

Aurivy nodded her head again, looking around. Her eyes were having trouble adjusting to the darkness, but as she was in the city of a nocturnal race it was only to be expected. Thankfully, the glow of the tutorial fairy helped her to make out various features of the people standing around her. There did not seem to be any obvious mages. Nobody wearing heavy robes, or carrying a large staff.

It wasn’t until she found her eyes training on a particular, elderly demon that she noticed the glint of metal at his hips. A pair of wands, one with the shape of a star at the tip and the other a more uneven, natural spike. She mentally noted him to be the likely mage trainer, and let her eyes continued wandering.

Soon, she approached the man who was positioned the closest to where she had appeared, her fairy following just over her shoulder. “Welcome, adventurer.” The man said in an emotional voice, though Aurivy felt more as if it were a rehearsed line. “My name is Kristoph, the head of house Malum. I welcome you to our city.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Kristoph.” Aurivy bowed politely, not sure just how much detail went into their ability to read the words and body language of players. “Could you tell me what’s going on with the city? I’m afraid I just arrived.”

“Of course.” He nodded his head, though even that seemed to be a measured action. “Unfortunately, the city of Endhor is experiencing troubling times. Only recently, there was a great war that shook our empire. We have managed to keep the area around the city relatively safe for travel, but beyond that… we have lost almost all contact with the other cities.”

“I see…” Aurivy could practically taste the quest. However, this was her admin account, not her casual player account. “If one wanted to train themselves physically, where would they go?”

“Please elaborate.” He spoke simply. “Do you wish to train martial skills, or experience live combat?”

This was the first real sign that the man had shown for having a limited vocabulary, but it only made Aurivy give a brief sigh. “Live combat for now.”

“Ah! Very well, then! If you leave through the southern gate of the city, you will find yourself on the road. Though most of the road is safe, there are the occasional bandits and wild animal that you can hunt. If you are looking for more danger, leave through the western gate. Aside from these two, there is still the north gate, however your level is still far too low to survive there.”

Aurivy gave a small nod, thanking him for his information. Even without that navigation skill, simply being the Goddess of travel allowed her to be able to instinctively understand which direction was south. As such, she cracked her knuckles, beginning to make her way in that direction. “Fairy, could you explain the magic used in this world?”

“Certainly!” The fairy responded energetically. “In Vision Expanse, all items possess magic, unless it has been specifically drained from them. The shape and nature of this magic depends entirely on the structure of the item that it possesses. As an example, your clothes possess a weak defense enchantment that will be able to lessen the damage of minor attacks.”

Aurivy’s steps faltered as she heard that. She hadn’t thought to ask Vivi about the world’s magic system when they were talking previously. “So, you mean that I can’t use magic without an item?”

“With the player’s current skill level, it is impossible to recreate the magical structure without using a focus item.”

Aurivy suddenly found herself wishing that she had chosen a magical skill instead of navigation. She had purposely chosen the skill in order to give herself a ‘hard mode’ to play, and was almost tempted to simply grant herself the skill now. However, she refrained from doing so. Even if she had the tools to cheat, she wanted to at least experience the game normally for a bit. Once the game was truly released, she’d be able to create her regular player account, and would have a better idea of what she wanted to start with.