Kaneki hadn't been able to get more than a step into the building before a flyer was shoved into his face.
"Hello, hello! Welcome to the Barracks! How may I help you today?" Kaneki stared at the brightly coloured print, taken aback by the enthusiasm of the greeting. It was… an advertisement for a bar? Before he could take more than a cursory glance at it, it was smoothly swept away to reveal the speaker. Or, more accurately, her face, which was suddenly brought up close to his. "Oh, fresh meat? It's been a while!" she commented, pushing her face closer to Kaneki's. Panicking, he leaned backward, until-
"Ow…" And that was how Kaneki found himself on the ground for the fifth time within his first two hours in Gaiasphere. At this rate, by the time he logged off, he'd be black and blue. Distantly, he was aware of high-pitched cackling. Groaning, Kaneki pushed himself up onto his elbows.
Hiding her smile, Clover offered him a hand. "I'm beginning to think you need to improve your dexterity," she remarked, chuckling at his incoherent groan. Kaneki scrambled up, straightening his clothes. Turning to the woman, he found her literally doubled over in laughter. Wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, she finally composed herself long enough to look Kaneki in the eye.
"Ah, it's things like these that keep me young!" Her feline tail, red as her hair, twitched in merriment as she patted him– hard – on the shoulder. "Sorry about that! I'm Circe. And you are?"
"Ka-Kafka. Nice to meet you." Kaneki winced under her (hopefully) good-natured blows. "I'm here for my first class quest? Clover told me I could get information here."
"Clover! It's been way too long. Come 'ere and give me a hug!" Circe wrapped her arms around Clover, lifting her off the floor. After a tight squeeze, she set her down, stepping back before surveying her from head to toe. "It looks like you've gotten stronger. And you're a guide now? Aw, you're growing up so fast!"
"Circe!" Clover protested, face practically glowing red. "I'm already level 19! When are you going to stop treating me like a newbie?"
"Oh, sure, you're definitely all grown up." Circe cooed, ruffling Clover's hair. "Wait 'til you get your second class, then we'll talk."
Clover puffed her cheeks out in embarrassment, enduring the barrage of questions Circe was throwing at her. Kaneki was beginning to feel oddly neglected. "Um…" he began, trying to get their attention.
Ignoring him, Circe began chattering away about a mutual friend (Corvus?) and how she hadn't seen him in so long, have you seen him around, Clover? No? He must be off grinding by himself again. How's the guild, by the way? She's been meaning to drop by for ages but between the bar and her work at the Barracks, she's been hard-pressed for time-
"Um. Excuse me?" Kaneki tried again.
- and honestly, the Barracks have been slowing down a lot, since most people who want to play Gaiasphere have already, so the Barracks in Reedtown is seriously deserted now, maybe she should start spending more time at Metropolis or Alexandria? Maybe she should start investigating the huge hacker incident; a lot of people are interested in th-
"EXCUSE ME."
"Hm? Oh, Kafka! Forgot about you for a second. Just catching up with lil' Clover here. You wanted information on the classes?" She smiled, tapping her chin. "It's gonna cost you!"
"Circe!" Clover elbowed her. "Don't bully Kafka. He's been having a bad day so far."
"Oh, is he? Why? I didn't think a lot of bad things can even happen between spawning and Reedtown. It is the beginner area, after all. Or one of them, anyway."
"Well, it happened in town… and it's beside the point." Kaneki tried to backtrack before his eternal hatred for the demon feline could be brought up. Too late, though, because Circe's slitted eyes had lit up with interest.
"In town? The only things in towns are NPCs and some pet mobs. Well, there are players, but it's not that crowded around here. Did you get beaten up by a NPC? Or a pet mob?"
Kaneki couldn't help flinching slightly at her words, hoping Circe hadn't noticed. Scratching his cheek awkwardly, he stammered, "Let's not talk about this-"
No such luck. With a wild twitch of her ears, she exclaimed, "You got beaten up by a pet mob?!" before falling into another fit of giggles. Sighing, Kaneki turned to Clover, before noticing she was stifling titters of her own.
"Traitor. You're dead to me," he muttered, which only sent them into another round of laughter. After an eternity, they both calmed down enough to talk again, Kaneki tapping his foot all the while.
"My sides hurt! Kafka, you're a riot!" Circe sank onto a sofa, gesturing for him to do the same. She pulled Clover onto the seat next to her, fussing with her hair.
Tentatively seating himself across from them, he grumbled, "I'm glad someone is enjoying my suffering. You just spent five minutes rolling on the floor, and I don't think it's very clean."
"It's just a virtual body, I could care less. Next time I log on, it'll be good as new. Right, where were we?"
"You were going to help Kafka with his class. For free." Clover interjected, with a stern expression.
"Stingy! Fine, it's your first night, I doubt you have anything anyway. You're off the hook, for now! I guess I should begin with the lore.
Gaiasphere is supposed to be a planet with magic flowing through its metaphorical veins. The air, the plants, pretty much everything is infused with mana, and has some inherent magical properties. Allegedly, up 'til about a hundred years ago, the world was at war. It was race against race, and the fighting was so intense the planet started to get sick. So Gaia, the goddess, manifested herself in the form of the hero, who brought an end to all that. And the races called a truce and started living more peacefully. Hence some of the older-looking NPCs are scripted to dislike you if you're of a different race, or even outright refuse to speak to you.
Basically, this continent is the old battlefield. It's called Armistice, because of that. People literally placed houses and towns where their camps were, so you can go from, say, a human town, to an elven forest by climbing a hill. It's all scattered around, split into zones, and the NPCs aren't likely to be hostile or anything. Right now, we're in Reedtown, way to the southwest, but as you head further in, the zones get larger, and the bigger cities appear. It's basically the beginner zone, and people usually hang around here until they get their second class, before heading off to another continent.
Oh, you should probably note it gets a lot harder to level after about level 30. Most players in the game are about level 30 or 40. The highest player is level 84, I think? Anyway, that's why you have to eventually switch continents, to find better exp.
You don't have to worry about that for a while yet, though! I'll just continue with the storyline. So this is a hundred years later, and people are mostly living in peace. However, there're always monsters to attack towns, cause destruction, all that stuff. Players are the metaphorical children of Gaia, who went into slumber after her stint as the hero. She grants you some access to the mana of the planet, which you can improve as you get more skilled. Different people obviously harness that power a different way, right? So, that's where you get the classes and subclasses and all that complicated stuff.
Even within classes, people tend to use their abilities and skills differently, so there are no two players that play exactly the same. Hence, the few skills Gaiasphere provides in are incredibly basic, because they're meant for you to customize and adapt to your own style of play. Passives and buffs are pretty generic though, there's not much to really change. When you start to grind up your active skills, like spells and attacks, you're going to want to go practice on a dummy or something. You have to use a skill more than once to learn it. Or if you're a really hardcore gamer, I guess you could practice skills on monsters. Some people say it feels more natural, and so it's better for unlocking skills. To each their own, I guess.
"Is your brain bleeding yet? I've been talking for quite a bit. Let's take a break, shall we?" Circe gracefully stood up, stretching her back. "Do you have any questions?"
"Um, who's the highest leveled character in the game?" Kaneki asked. "If it's really as hard as you say, how could they have gotten to level 80 when most people are level 40?"
"Oh, him? It's interesting that you've asked. Well, he's known as a genius, in Gaiasphere, if nowhere else. Rumours have it that he's associated with law enforcement IRL. His username is Arima, and some suspect that's his real name, too. It's terribly difficult to find him in-game, so most people only ever hear of him. He's a part of a guild called the Wardens." Circe ticked the facts off on her fingers, rattling them off as if she'd said them a thousand times.
"I've heard of that guild name before. I think some people were discussing about how they didn't have information on a player killer?"
"The Wardens… they're a complicated group. Basically they're an unofficial enforcement guild. Unofficial in the sense that they're not backed by Gaiasphere's staff, but they have the in-game influence of an official moderating force. They own a lot of land and provide some services for players, such as run marketplaces, open stores, organize boss-hunting parties, and the like. However, what really gives them their name is their goal to punish rule breakers and hackers. There are no real rules in Gaiasphere, but there are unwritten laws that most people would naturally follow. The Wardens go after the people who break these laws: PKs, hackers, scammers, people like that.
"Oh, and by the way, since this isn't about your class, this info isn't free. Since I'm such a kind and generous person, I'll let you pay me back later. You can just owe me for now!" Winking, Circe shot him a smile that chilled him to the bone.
Looking pleadingly at Clover, all he received was an apologetic grimace and a shrug. How much was information worth in this game, and how worried should he be? The sudden gleefulness that Circe was displaying was… unsettling. Exactly how screwed was he?
"Ah, my throat is parched. Wait here while I get a drink, okay?" Circe disappeared through a door Kaneki hadn't noticed before. Actually, looking around, the room was a lot bigger than it had seemed. Between getting accosted by Circe, and her interesting, albeit lengthy, rendition of the game's lore, Kaneki hadn't gotten a proper look at the place.
It was as big as it had seemed from the outside, with grandiose banners and columns that lent an air of sophistication, not to mention the many armchairs and sofas that dotted the room. This room appeared to be nothing more than a waiting room, with only one NPC in sight. There appeared to be flyers posted on the wall near the entrance, promoting certain guilds and shops that were based in nearby towns. Kaneki also noticed several doorways leading out of the room, each decorated with banners of different colours.
Clustered around each doorway was a table and weapons on display, and posters and booklets scattered on the table. They looked like promotional or information booths of some sort, and they were nearly identical to each other, save the colour and the weapons. The chairs behind each desk were pushed back messily, as if the occupants had left in a hurry.
In all, the room gave the impression of a lively, colourful space, and it was clearly meant to be impressive as well as inclusive, especially to the new players trickling in to complete job quests. However, there was one discrepancy. The entire room, in its enormous entirety, was completely empty, besides Kaneki, Clover, and the single NPC.
"Clover? Why is this room empty?" Kaneki glanced around, suddenly noticing the overwhelming silence.
Clover hummed. "Well, there are a lot of reasons. One, it's pretty early in the day. People either aren't home yet or they just haven't gone to bed. Two, they're out doing quests and stuff. But probably this place is mostly empty because this Barracks isn't used as much anymore."
"Why isn't it used as much? Isn't this the first Barracks that people ever come to?"
"Well, yes, but most players move on really quickly because they want to play the rest of the game. Plus, there's next to no benefit to coming back to the starting area once you're over level 10. It's just too little of a challenge, so people don't come here as often."
"Is it always completely deserted, though?" If this Barracks wasn't in use, why was it so cluttered? Though NPCs tended to ignore the items players left around to enhance the realism of the game, Kaneki knew the environment would start to revert back to an unblemished state after a while. Hide had certainly complained about NPCs moving his 'hard-earned loot' because he hadn't checked back on it in a while, to which Kaneki asked why he hadn't just placed it in storage in the first place, and received the answer, "Why would I do that? It's more exciting this way!"
"Not completely deserted! There are still new players, and there will always be players who want to come and try to convert them to their class. Most people are just offline right now."
"Yeah, I guess it's pretty early to be sleeping. Why are you online, then? I mean, I'm online to test out my new VR console and Gaiasphere, but you don't really have a reason, do you?"
"Actually, I was taking an afternoon nap! After you log off, I probably will too, and then log back on at bedtime. We should probably decide on a time before you log off, so I can be online when you do your first class quests and stuff."
Kaneki checked the time in the menu. "It's 17:44," he read, "So, 5:44. My alarm is set for 6:30, and I'll probably have dinner and wash up before logging back on. Honestly, it'd be a really, really early bedtime for me if I logged on right after finishing. Is accidentally waking up too early possible? Because I don't want to randomly log out while fighting…"
"The VR console puts you to sleep until your scheduled wake-up time, so I don't think it's possible to wake up too early. You can wake up if your real body is disturbed or something, but waking up naturally is really hard, or even impossible." Clover shrugged. "I've never had that happen to me, though! I've only heard about it."
"That makes sense. I guess I could log in earlier today, then. The faster I get myself settled, the better." Kaneki considered his options. Most people would probably log on between 9:00 to 10:00 at night, but since it was Friday, people would either log in earlier to play longer, or later, after going out with friends or family. The problem was, which was it? And, for that matter, did Kaneki want to log in earlier, before the crowd, or later, so he could get the multiplayer aspect of VRMMORPGs? For that matter, how much traffic did the Gaiasphere servers even get, anyway? Would it be crowded, or had the game developers adjusted for the rise in popularity? Then again, wouldn't it better to meet more players to make the game more fun?
Was Kaneki overthinking this? Probably. Ignoring the voice in his head that told him to stop worrying and just do it (Hide, shut up!), Kaneki thought about how Clover would manage to log on with him. Obviously, she would have a schedule of her own, and though she was enthusiastic about helping him, Kaneki felt guilty that she was sacrificing her time for this. He hadn't been making very rapid progress, and despite her patient assistance, he didn't want to impose. At least not more than he had already.
It'd be better if there wasn't a large gap between her normal log on time and today's. Especially since she was so young, Kaneki didn't want to disrupt her routines too much. "When do you usually log on? I mean, if you don't mind my asking."
Clover looked surprised. "Me? Um, usually I sleep at 9:00 or 9:30, but I'm fine with earlier! At least for today."
Kaneki really didn't want to force Clover into sticking with him for so long, especially because he'd probably be messing up and causing her trouble. But it was precisely that reason that he needed a guide player, and Clover was emphatic about her eagerness to help.
Slowly, he asked, "Would... 8:30 be a terrible inconvenience for you? I know it's early, but…"
"Oh! Don't worry! I can definitely meet you at 8:30! I just need to tell my mom."
"Really? I'm so sorry that you have to do this…" Kaneki felt another pang of guilt. How old was Clover, exactly? She looked young, but Kaneki had assumed it was an effect of her race. Pixies were meant to look cute and childish, right? If Clover was actually 12 or 13, was she protected from creepers or harassers? Despite Gaiasphere's high approval rating and relatively healthy community, there were always a few of those.
"Honestly, it's fine! My mom will understand." Clover reached out and squeezed his hand in reassurance. "Now that that's settled, you still haven't picked your class! We should hurry. I'll go find Circe!"
Clover scampered off, disappearing through the same door Circe had. Kaneki took the opportunity to poke around the room a little more. Picking up a pamphlet from one of the tables, he flipped it open, wondering what it was for.
It was an information packet on warriors, and their various subclasses. It was clearly player-made, and seemed to be more of an advertisement than a valid source of information. Before he could begin reading, though, he heard a crash come from outside.
Turning around, he found Clover and Circe returning from wherever they'd gone, drawn out by the loud sound. After looking out a window, Circe shrugged, and waved it off. "There's nothing special outside. Someone must've dropped their gear, or something. Why did I come out here again?"
"You have to help Kafka, remember? You left on a break and never came back." Clover nudged Circe back into her chair, nodding at her expectantly.
"Oh, right. Sorry about that, Kafka! I was just caught up in PMing someone else, you know how it is." Circe settled herself comfortably in her seat before continuing, resting her chin on her hand. "It seems that you don't have a lot of time! It's too bad, I'm an excellent storyteller."
"Circe, you aren't here to tell stories! You were supposed to just tell him about the classes so he could get started!"
"Oh, but it's more fun this way, isn't it? I'm sure Kafka would prefer to hear the lore, but I'll keep it short.
Now, where was I? Players harnessing Gaia's power? Yes, players are sent by Gaia, and are granted powers. Even before that, though, a player's natural affinity to different types of magic are determined by their chosen race. For example, Clover, as a Pixie, has a high affinity towards magic-related classes, because of the background lore that gives her a boost in her intelligence and wisdom. I, on the other hand, as a Bastet, have an edge in agility and luck. Something about cats and their nine lives, I think. You're a human, so your race is unique in the fact that they don't lean either way. It makes it a lot easier in some ways, but harder in others. You don't have to work around disadvantages, but you don't have any passives that will help you along."
"Wait," Kaneki interjected. "How about the skill 'Your Own Path'? It gives me some bonus EXP towards my class. Doesn't that count?"
"That's the one skill that humans do have. Clover, if you'd share an example with Kaneki?"
Clover nodded. "Kafka, your skill gives you a 10% boost, right? Well, for the class Shaman, Pixies have the passive 'Spirit of the Land'. It gives us +15% mana recovery rate, +5% to wisdom and intelligence, and a +10% boost to our class EXP. On top of that, because Shaman is a mage, Pixies have the skill 'Magic in Your Veins', which gives another 5%."
"Skills aren't the only thing that matter, though. You have to think about your own natural inclinations." Circe leaned her cheek on her hand. "Like I said before, Gaiasphere is a unique experience for each player. You, personally, might be suited for a certain class, even if your race isn't. That's one of the reasons why you're able to get a second class later on. It gives some measure of flexibility. Though, I suppose this doesn't really apply to you, seeing as you chose to be human."
Kaneki sighed. Despite Hide's previous teasing, he was suddenly very relieved that he had chosen to be a human, rather than anything flashier. Yes, he could admit that Circe looked very striking with the feline characteristics of a Bastet. Yes, it seemed useful to have the heightened senses of a Pixie. But was it really worth the headache that was forming, even though all he'd done was listen to the complicated mechanics of class-matching?
Circe laughed at his visible confusion. "Well, don't worry about it too much. Most of it is intuitive, after all."
"Yeah," Clover agreed. "I just picked what I liked, and it worked out just fine! Even if you do mess up your class, the roles are super broad, so it's easy to adapt to your own style. Gaiasphere wouldn't be such a popular game if it wasn't possible to play the game."
Reassured, Kaneki nodded. Settling himself more securely into his seat, he took a deep breath before saying, "Okay. I'd like to hear about the classes now."
"I thought you'd never ask," Circe drawled, smiling. "Well, I guess I should start with the basics.
Like most MMORPGs, Gaiasphere has a few core classes, with sub classes branching off as the game progresses. The class that has the most paths is, by far, the warriors. The reason why there are so many players who choose this path is because it's the most broad. In fact, many people complain it's too broad. Warriors are those who take up weapons in defense of Gaia, using mana to strengthen their attacks, or even casting spells, though their specialty lies with their weapons. There are countless subclasses with warriors, so there are so many different types that it's difficult to define them beyond that.
Mages, as you may have guessed, focus primarily on magic and spells. They are born naturally gifted with mana, able to manipulate it as they wish, using it to summon the elements or inflict status effects on enemies. Most mages choose to specialize in one element or area, but there are some powerful mages that don't, also.
Healers, well, they heal. They're also called clerics or priests. Their unwavering faith in Gaia gives them the rare and coveted ability to heal themselves and others. Called on a holy mission to protect the planet, they wield divine weapons to eliminate their foes. It's a common misconception that they are weak and only good in a party, but I've seen a bishop solo a Level 50 boss, buffed to all hell. He just kept casting 'Genesis', one of the high-level skills, and the boss didn't stand a chance.
Last, but not least, the rogues. Rogues are supposed to be those who hear Gaia's call, but prefer to do their fighting from the shadows. This class extends from ninjas to bowmen, though not every rogue actually fights quietly. In fact, ninjas have some of the flashiest skills in the game. Sometimes the lore doesn't really match up with game mechanics, but the basic idea is there. Rogues tend to be light-footed and agile, though not always.
And of course, there are a lot of classes that don't fit into one main class or another, but somewhere in between. You play up to level 16 as one of the basic classes, and then you get to specify which subclass you want. However, it's just a name. You don't gain anything from specializing, and the skills you had access to before don't change. It's more of a formality.
"Well, that's the short version. There's a lot more to learn about the system, but seeing as you're so hurried, you can just figure it out as you go along. That's how a lot of people learn, anyway."
Kaneki nodded and thanked her. Somehow, even though he knew more, he didn't feel like he had the slightest clue as to what he wanted to pick. Somehow, knowing that it didn't really matter much in the end hadn't settled his nerves – he still had no preference either way.
Clover reached out and clasped his hand sympathetically. "I know it can be overwhelming at the beginning, but Gaiasphere is really fun! You'll get the hang of it."
"Thanks, Clover," Kaneki replied, somewhat weakly. "It really doesn't matter if I mess up now, huh?"
"Nope! Just go with what you want. It's usually the best way to decide."
Kaneki checked the time. It was 18:02, leaving him with about a half hour to finish up before logging off. That should be enough time to finish the first quest. But before he could go on to doing that, he had to choose a class.
Kaneki was terrible at making decisions. He was never a bold child, and the meekness that his teachers tried to coax him out of followed him into adolescence and now, into adulthood. Hide had poked and prodded him in an effort to push him into being more assertive, but it had never worked. Hide would always give up, scolding him gently about how he let people walk all over him. Kaneki, well, what could he do? It was better that someone with a strong opinion get what they wanted, since they clearly wanted it, when he didn't care much either way. It wasn't a big deal.
Except now it was. He was the only one who could choose his own class, but he hadn't the slightest clue what he wanted to be. It wasn't like Hide could show up and choose something for him, shaking his head good-naturedly. Kaneki had to choose this for himself, and if he didn't like it, or couldn't do it, it would be all on him. He didn't have any experience with games, either. Kaneki had always preferred reading to playing video games with Hide. Making a choice was growing harder and harder each passing second that Kaneki pondered. What did he even want to be?
The sudden ping of an incoming message startled Kaneki out of his thoughts. Pulling up the new message, he tried to shake off his indecision.
[From: Naga]
[To: Kafka]
[Subject: Hurry up you goof]
[Hey Kafka! God, it's so weird to type that instead of your name. Anyway, I'm guessing you're at the Barracks by now. Am I right? Of course I am. I know everything about you, including the fact that you're definitely overthinking which class you wanna pick. So, as your best friend, I'm here to tell you to STOP WORRYING. You better PM me back with the class that you picked!]
Unwittingly, Kaneki felt a small smile begin to form. Despite all their differences, Hide really knew him well. It comforted him, just a little, to have Hide's encouragement. It helped quell the anxiety, at least.
Now that he had calmed down a little, an old childhood fantasy began to tickle at the edge of his mind. It was nothing but a daydream, formed after a day at the library, flipping through the novels in the fantasy section. He'd never told anyone about it, and had forgotten it himself not long after. Well, if it was resurfacing now, he might as well follow it, right?
Kaneki took a last look at the PM before closing it. Clover was still waiting expectantly for his answer, smiling encouragingly. He might as well say it all at once, before he lost his nerve. He could do this.
"I want to be a warrior."
I'm back, and it hasn't even been a year! (Haha...)