[Welcome to Arcadia Online]
The blue coloured screen lit up in front of me as I found myself standing in the simplest form of dress-up. A grey coloured half T-shirt and green half trousers that reached slightly below my ankles.
Standing on the brown mat, in this white lit room, I saw walls on three sides while the front one held a Japanese-style, double sliding door.
[Tutorial Quest!]
[Accustom yourself to the surroundings!]
[Requirements to complete the quest:
Walk 20 steps
Jump 10 times
Do 10 Sit Ups]
This was a method designed by the creators to make the user feel natural in the body provided by the system. In a way, it was a good thing on its own as the newer users, especially the differently abled ones, would be able to experience walking properly or do other tasks. Plus since it wasn't a hard task so nobody had any problem doing it. I recalled the reasons why this quest was placed in the first place.
The developers wanted a sense of realism for everyone no matter who it was, so they designed the game in such a way that everyone would learn things from ground zero whether you are a gamer or not. This way people who don't know anything about games won't feel lost while playing this game for the first time.
[Quest Completed!]
[Chain Quest: Open the Door to begin the prologue!]
Nodding at the command, I walked towards the door, sliding it open from both sides only to find a very very familiar scene in front of me.
It was a brightly lit room with magnificent windows opposite me that showed me the beautiful night sky. On the left side, there was an ancient wooden door that was laced with gold and on the right side there was a garden connected by another double sliding glass door.
The room itself was empty except for the meditating white robed man who was sitting at the centre with his eyes closed. He was handsome in every way possible, whether it was his serene face or the elegance of his posture, he was a breathtaking figure to look at. His white pony-tailed hair that reached up to his waist looked as if it were worn out of the purest silk in the world. He was the God of Light, Aaron.
-BAM!
The wooden door on the right opened up as another man with strikingly similar features to those of Aaron, entered the room. If not for the black hair and black robe, it would be impossible to distinguish between the two right now.
God of Darkness, Orpheus I recalled.
His eyes were blazing with hatred as he shouted," What's the meaning of this Brother?!!! How dare you kill my apprentice!!"
Aaron opened his eyes slowly as he observed Orpheus and with a sad look, he answered," he deserved what he deserved," but this answer made Orpheus even more ashen.
With his sword coated with black, he dashed towards Aaron, as Aaron himself prepared to fight against Orpheus.
"Stop it," Another one appeared in between the two. His eyes were grey, just like his robe and his hair, worried sick as he stood between the two brothers looking at one before turning to another. He was the God of Rationality. The neutral God, Conrad.
"You both should be the last ones to fight against each other. Please listen to me," he pleaded with great effort, but alas both the Gods didn't hear his words as they jumped at each other. Obviously, Conrad too, stepped in between them as all three almost reached each other.
Time slowed down to zero, as a screen appeared in front of me.
[Choose your Faction]
When I looked at Aaron a screen appeared
[Light Faction]
[+10% Favorability with the Light Continent
-10% Favorability with the Dark Continent
Starting Location: Light Continent]
Turning to Orpheus another similar screen appeared
[Dark Faction]
[+10% Favorability with the Dark Continent
-10% Favorability with the Light Continent
Starting Location: Dark Continent]
And finally, my eyes set on Conrad
[Neutral Faction]
[No favourability with any faction
Starting Location: Dark/Light Continent(Can be chosen)]
Without wasting my time, I chose [Neutral Faction]. While it did not give me any favorability, I guess it is a fine price to pay if I want that Special Class of mine.
As soon as I chose the [Neutral Faction], the fight began with Conrad pushing both the Gods away from each other.
"Conrad! What's the meaning of this?!" Orpheus was filled with hatred. His murderous eyes wanted to reach Aaron and slit his innards apart. Finding an obstacle to that action, he wasn't happy in the slightest bit.
"Teacher!" x 2
"Sensei!" x 2
Two young disciples ran through the door from which Orpheus came through, and another two from the Garden on the opposite side.
"Orpheus. Do not be blinded by your love. Your disciple was beyond saving. It wasn't the first time he had done something like that. If you even fail to understand that much, then perhaps it is time I put an end to your life as well," Declared Aaron as he looked at Orpheus.
This shocked the 4 disciples as they looked at Aaron, who continued," Make sure there is no interference in the battle between us."
The two disciples behind Aaron nodded with a slightly hurt expression while the other two disciples prepared themselves for a brutal fight.
And once again the time slowed to zero as another screen appeared in front of me.
[Choose your God!]
I sighed as I looked at the disciples behind Aaron.
His eyes are brown, just like his short rocky hair. Wearing the metallic robe of brown and silver, he controlled the floating debris around him as his skin, previously jade white, was now turning mud brown. He was the God of Earth, Albedo.
[Warrior of Noir, the God of Earth - Albedo]
[+10% Earth Affinity
-10% Air Affinity]
Beside him was the fairy-like girl, with eyes blue as the ocean itself and the bluish purple hair that reached up to her waist. She wore a tightly knit dress that hugged each and every part of her body below her neck, leaving only her hands and feet open. Her blue eyes, filled with nothing but regret and sadness, observed the opponent with a kind expression.
[Goddess of Water - Eliza]
[+10% Water Affinity
-10% Fire Affinity]
The Goddess of Fire, Freya, just like her element was completely covered in red. Her eyes, her ankle-length hair, her dress, everything was burning as if they were the very embodiment of fire itself. One could see the fury in her eyes as she gripped her spear towards Eliza.
[Goddess of Fire - Freya]
[+10% Fire Affinity
-10% Water Affinity]
And beside her was the calm and collected Boy. The kid who felt like he was in a peaceful garden, if not for the dozen air blades revolving around him at an insane speed right now, it would be impossible to tell if he was interested in this battle at all.
[God of Air- Vayu]
[+10% Air Affinity
-10% Earth Affinity]
I sighed before turning to Conrad again who was making a really hurried and sad expression. His eyes were narrowed at Orpheus while both his hands had grey spheres positioned against the two Gods.
[Non-Believer]
[You do not wish to follow any God]
The God I want to choose is not present here. He was captured and imprisoned somewhere within the game. While I could choose one God here and then betray and choose another, I would rather not have the [Title: Betrayer] which decreased the Affinity to a particular element by 50%.
The screen began to play as the Gods began fighting each other. All 6 Gods raged against each other while the God of Rationality was trying his best to stop this madness. His eyes looked left and right as he used his spells to cancel the attacks of both sides but alas, he was but a lone God. There was a limit to how much he could have done…
The fight continued for another minute or so as each God displayed their prowess. And just like all things come to an end this fight too reached its conclusion,
Finding his chances, the God of Darkness, Orpheus used a Forbidden move… His eyes burned black as he dashed towards Aaron, under the horrified gaze of the other Gods.
-Slash!
And he slashed the head of Aaron off his body with a maniacal smile that seemed nothing but sinister in the eyes of the beholder.
"Justice has been served, son!" he shouted as he looked up at the sky while his body withered in front of the others. A single tear trickled through his cheeks vanishing in its path before it could complete its path.
This enraged the God of Water and Earth, as they ran towards the God of Fire. Conrad, who wanted to stop this madness, was already on his last leg, but still he used the rest of his power to stop the 4 kids from fighting but using his remaining power.
Time stopped for the 4 kids as Conrad slowly began turning ashes himself. Perhaps he too had pushed his limits at this point.
"Hopefully you will think more clearly about this in the time I have given you," Conrad spoke as he too turned to stone and withered like a rock. The eyes of the 4 Gods shook as they saw another one of their elders dying in front of them, but their bodies frozen through time, they could only observe this and do nothing.
[Prologue Ended!]
[The user will be transported to the second half of the tutorial in 30 seconds!]