Souta's vision began to slowly return to him. He was unsure of where he was. There was no way of deciphering where he was. Was this hell? Why was he here? He had no clue. Souta's mind began to run rampant. All the memories of his life. The day he was born. The day he first talked. The day he first walked. His first day of school. His parents divorce. Moving in with his mother. What was supposed to be a fresh start. In his new school he was bullied relentlessly. He and his parents had lived overseas and once they split his mother took custody and left to pursue a career in the west. His accent, the way he looked, the way he dressed. It was all mildly different from what was acceptable in his old home. He kept contact with his father but naturally with the same distance he had completely lost all contact with him after about the age of fifteen. A tragedy.
Souta's mind came to a halt after memories of his father stopped. A green 'Start Now' button flashed in front of him. What? What was he starting? He was already dead. Was this Satan's way of toying with him? What could he possibly gain from starting now in hell?
Unless..
Come to think of it, that button looked identical to the one in 'Into Our Paradise.' It was strange. He suspected something. Perhaps the afterlife was some kind of vision from your own life that you lived. Souta could sit there all day and night theorizing but the truth was he had nothing to lose honestly. Outside of the button was pitch black darkness. If he walked away from it he would only be met with a void, and in every void was something hiding in the darkness ready to pounce on you like a victim. Of course, Souta's instincts only spawned from what happens in video games but rest assured he wasn't going to take any chances whatsoever.
He slowly lifted his finger and pressed the button, a satisfying 'ding!' noise coming right after his action. Soon after an artificial voice followed.
"Welcome to your paradise new player! Please choose a name!"
Souta instinctually chose his own name, typing in the letters from the keyboard thet spawned infront of him before he took a pause. Players typically only received this screen when they were starting a new save. A new save meant starting from level one with nothing.
Are you serious? He had spent all that time in the real world, to the point where he was level 999. Now he has to start over? That being his first thought was proof in the pudding that human life in the real world had ran him completely mad. What the fuck even was this? Was he just dreaming?
Souta decided that whatever this was, it was best if he didn't use his real name like before. If it was the same game he didn't want to be called the same thing and draw attention to himself. It would be easier to escape this world under an alias than it would with a renowned name and if anyone recognized him from before there was a large chance that he would be crushed, given his reputation in the world.
Souta typed the word 'Sakuen' into the screen. He made sure he had no last name so he couldn't coincidentally be apart of any family, and if he had to shorten the word 'Saku' wasn't that bad of a nickname. It was close enough to his real name but far enough to be unidentified. He pressed enter and confirm to confirm his name.
"Please select your class."
Sakuen was given five options. Knight, Mage, Archer, Healer, Brawler and Rogue. He knew each class had different benefits and abilities. Knight's for a full suit of armor and a sword to battle with. Mages specialized in magic and the use of Mana. Archers specialized in ranged attacks. Healers specialized in healing and eliminating ailments to teammates if they so choose. Brawler's were brute strength monsters that could rip a man apart with his bare hands. Rogues specialized in theft, mimicry and manipulation in order to crush their opponents.
In his time, at least in the computer version of the game he was a high powered mage with thousands of different spells. However, this time he thought differently. If he had to choose, or even redo his level 999 character in the game he would've easily chose Rogue.
There was no doubt what he was going to choose here.
He tapped the 'Rogue' button and confirmed. A notification popping up in the left hand corner of the screen. A message this early on? You have to at least complete the tutorial in order to access game chat. What kind of system is this?
Sakuen tapped the notification before it took him to a message.
"Congratulations! With your new life, you have chosen a different path! As a reward, you will receive the skill: Dorobō. This skill allows you to steal mana reserves from any and all things in order to gain EXP.
Interesting. This was a skill that did not exist in the initial game, that and your innate skill needed to be unlocked through leveling and grinding through the game. It being given to him this early on…it was proof that he was not playing the game he was accustomed to. The rules had clearly changed.
Sakuen closed the notification and continued his registration. He received three healing potions, three mana restoration potions, daggers that were native to his class and a map, that had to naturally be filled out once he had stepped into the world. Sakuen already knew that to fill out the map it takes a player at least ninety plus hours in game. and thats if you have guides and such. It was a good thing that he had memorized the map already, and knew where certain items and locations were whenever he needed it. He still kept it in his inventory just in case for now. He didn't know how different things would be once again.
"Would you like a tutorial of the basics of the world?"
Sakuen pondered on the question. It was true that he was an expert of this game, but playing as a character with a keyboard and entirely as himself were two different things, and he had no choice but to play. He pressed the yes button.
"Players will traverse the world of 'Into Our Paradise' in order to establish themselves as a legend who's name echoes throughout the land! Any time you want to check your EXP, Stats, Inventory, Map or anything it can be accessed through the chip in your wrist." Sakuen looked down at his wrist, a small black chip was implanted in his arm. He went to touch it with his hand, but when he rubbed his fingers on the device it felt completely smooth. As if it weren't there in the first place. It almost grossed him out how the chip formed in his skin with his veins surrounding it. He shook his head and kept listening.
"Once a player levels up, he is allowed to choose which stat he wants to pour points into. The goal is to balance out your stats in a way that both benefits your goals and your class. Using the chip on your wrist also let's you view your health bar. Unfortunately, once that bar depletes players will die, and be erased from existence itself for the rest of eternity. Please be cautious of your life when traversing Paradise. There are not many instances where a second chance can be given."
Sakuen kept this in mind. 'Into Our Paradise' both in the real world and this one only allowed a player one life. Once they completely died they would have to start a new save. He highly doubted that he would be allowed another save if this one were erased completely. The system was right, the save being erased would be the same as him being erased.
"Once players level up, they also may learn many new skills. Players can also learn new skills through a variety of methods, and the possibilities are virtually endless! Every skill comes with its pros and cons, so please be mindful of that as well! Last but not least, remember to always have fun! We created 'Into Our Paradise' as a tribute to life and cherishing every second of it. If you have any questions, feel free to use your chip and our assistant 'Tobit' will be at your service! Happy gaming Sakuen!"
In that moment a bright flash enveloped the entire area, completely consuming the darkness in it's entirety. Sakuen covered his eyes, wondering what this new world would bring him.