Ascension: Online

I decided to store the dagger I was holding inside my inventory, since walking around with a weapon swinging around didn't exactly make for a good first impression. Opening my System, I was already on the profile tab - the default page whenever you opened up your System. Beside my whole-body avatar on the left, was a list of what seemed to be my stats on the right side of the hologram:

[STR: 0]

[AGI: 0]

[INT: 0]

[DEX: 0]

[MAG: 0]

[LUC: 0]

STR stood for strength, AGI stood for agility, INT stood for intelligence, DEX stood for dexterity, MAG stood for magic, and LUC stood for luck.

...Looks like I'm extremely weak, even in this game.

For the most part, I was relieved to see that even though I had practically become part of this new Reality Plane, I still kept my status as a player. I could still level up and spend stat points on those five categories to help myself get stronger, which will help me against the enemies coming my way.

Compared to other players who aren't stuck in this game-like world like I was, I also held an advantage - time. All other players could only play for a certain amount of time before having to log out due to real life responsibilities back in my old Reality Plane, Earth. I didn't believe that anyone could afford to just stay within the game forever, after just one week since the game's initial launch. I, however, could, without ever needing to exit.

Well...it's more like I can't exit, even if I wanted to.

In any case, I could take advantage of this extra time I had to do things other players couldn't. For example, I had more time to farm XP, so I could level up faster. This could enable me to explore places with certain level restrictions before other people could, as they would have to reach the required level first. Unfortunately, since I didn't start playing this game on launch, but rather a week after, I was already far behind some of the top players in terms of progress. I had to make full use of this extra time I had to catch up to them, before the distance became too large.

I clicked on the dagger in what I assumed to be my primary weapon slot, and a weapon description screen popped up. It read:

[Name: Simple Dagger]

[Type: Weapon]

[ATK: 9]

[DUR: 100%]

ATK stood for attack, obviously. As for DUR...I assumed it stood for durability, since 'duration' wouldn't make much sense.

I sighed. Though these stats disappointed me, the reality was, I was only level 1 right now. I couldn't exactly complain much. I would have to farm some XP to quickly level up. But before that...there was something I needed to ascertain.

I pressed 'Store' beneath the dagger's stats, and a message popped on my screen. It said, 'Simple Dagger has been stored to your inventory.' Then, I switched to the inventory tab just to make sure it was there, and turns out, it was. Finally, I moved somewhere more isolated, and selected the special A.R.X.A. tab no other player had.

A robotic head appeared on my hologram. Her glowing blue eyes and illuminated mouth sprang to life in front of me. Well... not exactly to 'life,' but I think you get what I mean.

[...It has not even been ten minutes since we last spoke.] A.R.X.A. said.

"Hm? Really? It felt longer than that," I retorted. Of course, this was a lie. Really, all I had done since I last spoke with her was buy a dagger.

[...You would not contact me without reason. What do you want, human?]

"There's just something I want to make sure," I said, my voice turning serious. "Firstly, despite having my connection to my old Reality Plane severed, I still retained my status as a 'player' of this 'game'. This is true, correct?"

[Correct. You are currently somewhere between a player of this game and an inhabitant of this Reality Plane.]

By the work of A.R.X.A., to the people of my old Reality Plane, this place was known as the ARMMORPG called 'Ascension: Online'. To the people living in this Reality Plane, this place was called 'home'. But to me...it was both. Or perhaps should I say...neither?

"Right. I thought as much. But...there's just one thing I am concerned about."

[Speak.]

I took a deep breath. "...If I were to die here...would I be respawned, or just die forever?"

To be honest, I already had an answer in my heart, and I was 80% sure I was right - by asking A.R.X.A., I was just double-checking.

[You will be respawned, no matter how many times you die. That is part of your status as a player.]

I let out a sigh of relief. My guess had been on the spot.

"I understand. Can I trust you not to lie to me?"

[Yes. If you do not believe me, you can test it out yourself.]

"If you're lying, that would just be suicide, but sure," I said with a shrug. "I believe you."

[Is that all?]

I nodded. "That's all."

With that, I closed my System, and gazed up at the sky. The sun had set. The moon replaced it, and with it, countless stars illuminated the night.

I believed what A.R.X.A. had said. This was because it was on the mark with what I had guessed prior to her answering my question. From my understanding of her, she was using me as a subject of entertainment - she would never allow me to die so easily. When we were talking before, she had said 'if you die, you die'. However, there was something else hidden in that sentence.

What she had really meant when she said that, was 'if you die, you die...but you will be respawned right after anyway.' That is not to say death wouldn't hurt - I had already experienced the great pain death in this game brought, back when I jumped off that cliff. But still, I wouldn't really die.

Whether I liked it or not, I was important to A.R.X.A. If there was one thing that supercomputer despised, it was boredom. My existence kept her company - kept her entertained. I was certain that if she wanted to erase my status as a 'player', she could do so instantly. But she hadn't - precisely because she doesn't want me to really die and disappear. Well... not yet, at least.

This 'game' was just another Reality Plane under her control. If she wanted to make me nothing more than a normal inhabitant of this reality, I could do nothing to fight back. In that case, if I were to die, I would die for good. However, by the same token, if she wanted to keep me as a player, no one could stop her either. I would be respawned infinitely.

A.R.X.A. wanted to see what I could do when met with challenges. Where's the fun in that, if I only had one life? One fail, and I was gone for good - she didn't want that, lest she be plagued with unending boredom.

With this, I've made sure of two things.

One, I didn't have to be afraid to take risks. Even if I died, I would be respawned, just like any other player. That was a big boon.

And two, I could trust A.R.X.A. to a certain extent. No doubt, she would purposely throw hindrances and traps my way just to see how I would overcome them - it was all entertainment for her, after all. However, at the same time, she would help me at times too - exactly like what happened just now.

She was both a powerful ally, and a dangerous enemy. I had to be very careful not to blindly fall into one side too much.

With all this new information acquired, I headed for the gate of Xiyang village.