NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Tutorial
It was a holiday the following day, so I logged in at the same time as the game’s launch.
Then, I was immediately prompted to make a character inside an empty room, but I found it too troublesome, so I just chose random. However, it seemed that the status and occupation were apparently already decided from the beginning and were not chosen at random.
In my case, I became a Summoner. It’s that job class that allows you to summon monsters and such. I was not going to prioritize attacking in game anyway, since being able to spend my time exploring the World leisurely with monsters was already a dream come true. So I guess the result I got worked out fine in the end.
An information screen pops out, and I start the tutorial part of the game as a Summoner.
[Welcome to Elysion Online. This game is a VRMMO which is designed to allow you to experience another world]
After the welcome message disappeared, the initial walkthrough began.
The game was a typical VRMMO where players would initially start in a town and eventually move on to the field to fight monsters.
[You can interact with various countries and NPCs, so please try to actively engage with them. However, please note that if excessive contact occurs, then there is a chance that you will be reported. If this happens between players, please notify the GM immediately so the management could take appropriate action]
So sexual harassment and the likes are prohibited. I guess that’s a given. I can totally see Kaito being put in jail for this.
One thing about this game though, is that people are free to battle. It also seems like any action that could hurt you in real life like kicking and punching could deal damage. However, it is also said that players could deal more damage the more skills that they acquire and use.
In addition to that, it seems players could also take fall and underwater damage.
Fall damage occurs when you jump from the second floor of a house. It seems that the damage increases with altitude. So if you’re flying through the air on a Pegasus and you fall off the horse, then you won’t be saved. I think it’s at a level where you would normally experience trauma, but I’ve heard that it’s designed to fade to black so that you don’t get traumatized.
The same goes for underwater damage. This is the damage that occurs when you are underwater. Simply put, it’s a type of damage that shows you can’t breathe underwater. However, it seems that you can reduce or nullify the damage with swimming skills, magic, equipment and items.
As for skills, it seems that there are six main categories of skills.
Basic Skills
These are skills that mimic normal actions.
Ex: Bare-handed, Swimming, etc.
Martial Arts Skills
These are skills that allow you to use Martial Arts.
Skill levels increase with regular use of weapons.
Ex: One-handed Sword, Staff, etc.
Production Skills
These are skills that allow you to produce things.
Simply using a skill increases your skill level.
Ex: Gathering, Logging, Mining, Blacksmithing, etc.
Magic Skills
These are skills that allow you to use magic.
Simply using a skill increases your skill level.
Ex: Fire Magic, Wind Magic, etc.
Limited Skills
These are skills that can be learned for particular jobs.
Simply using a skill increases your skill level.
Ex: Summoning Magic, Alchemy, Ninjutsu, Fighting Spirit, etc.
Special Skills
These are skills that can only be learned after special conditions are met.
Simply using a skill increases your skill level.
Apparently, some of these skills are automatic and some are used manually. I thought it would be good to have them all on auto, but I guess not. I guess it’s going to be kind of a spoiler if they added any examples of Special skills.
Also, it seems you can use skill points to acquire skills. You start off with 25 points at first, but you can increase them by leveling up and completing quests. However, if you don’t spend them, then there’s a chance you won’t be able to get the skills you want.
Furthermore, it also seems like you can learn any skill that has been released. It seems that this allows even Wizards to fight with swords, but it’s not always easy due to their status builds.
Next up is the explanation of the Martial Arts Skills. These are so-called special moves that require a weapon to activate. It is said that each skill classified as a Martial Arts Skill has its own martial skill, but similar weapons may also be used with the same skill.
The advantage of Martial Arts is that it takes little time to activate a skill. Moreover, it doesn’t even consume any stamina. However for Major Techniques, it was said that the larger the skill, the longer it takes to cool down. After all, it would be unbearable if your opponent instantly unleashed another big skill.
The downside of this, however, is that these skills tend to be fixed. Of course… it would be strange if someone who doesn’t know much about a skill mastered one so suddenly after all. The other downside of this is they have to shout out the name of the attack. This could be embarrassing for some people.
Next is the Magic Skills I am interested in.These skills have casting times. Weak magic has short casting times, while stronger magic requires more time to cast. Moreover, it seems like magic users cannot move while chanting, and the spell will be cancelled if they receive attacks.
Although powerful, this is a skill with many openings. The first six types of magic include Wind, Fire, Earth, Water, Light, and Darkness. Furthermore, it seems that staves will have no elemental attributes.
Next, it seems that monsters also have attributes, and each have their own weaknesses. The contents are as follows:
Wind is strong against Water.
Water is strong against Fire.
Fire is strong against Earth.
Earth is strong against Wind.
Light and Dark are weak to each other.
And lastly, no attribute has no weaknesses.
This magic relationship is pretty standard in games, but I’ve heard that each magic type has its own characteristics. For example, Fire Magic is mostly attack-heavy, Light Magic is mostly used for healing and recovery, and Dark Magic is often said to be an abnormality.
Next, let’s talk about the quests. The game is basically a typical VRMMO where you take on various quests to earn money and items as you clear the field.These quests are said to be available to players who belong to a Guild.
There are five types of quests:
Subjugation Quests —– These are quests where players take down monsters.
Requests —————— These quests do not require the player to kill monsters. If you fail, then you can redo these quests. However, there are also some quests that you cannot redo.
Special Quests ———- These are quests with special conditions. Sometimes, you are forced to take these quests. Cannot be rescheduled.
Admin Quests —— These are quests hosted by the administrators. Joining is optional.
World Quests ———- These quests are separate from the administration Events and involve all players. Forced participation.
Those quests sure look awesome… But what’s up with that World Quest?
Next, let’s talk about the system.
First is the Fright System. Critical Attacks, Martial Arts Skills, or Failed Invocations will frighten players. When this happens, the frightened player will not be able to move for a few seconds. Because of this fright system, players will not be able to use their Martial Arts and Magic Skills as much as they like.
In addition to the fright system, there is also what they call the Chain System. This is a damage bonus that occurs when you make a series of attacks. The more attacks you take, the more damage you incur. It is a system that makes good use of the fright system.
Next is the meal system. There is something called a Satiety Meter, which decreases over time, especially when battling and moving.
When it runs out, it seems the player will become hungry, all their stats will drop, and they will not be able to move. In other words, if you get hungry in the field, then that’s the end.
Players can regain their HP by eating food. Apparently, there is no risk, so people can still eat even while they’re full, and they don’t need to worry about obesity or anything.
As for the all-important Experience System. If a party is troubled about points distribution, then this system will do it automatically for them. This means that the higher the number of people in a party, the less experience you will receive as an individual. Furthermore, when you die in battle, you won’t get any experience value, but the experience value from using skills will remain.
[If someone in your party dies, what will happen to their share of the EXP?]
[Their share of experience points will be divided among the surviving members of the party]
I see. So people who die too much get left behind all the time. That’s a pretty strict rule, isn’t it? But it seems that you can get experience points from producing items too.
Next is the Friend System. This is a system where players can give their Friend Code to other players so that they can email or chat with them. Since we can’t go on adventures by ourselves, this system will be a great help.
Next up is the Dueling System which is used to solve trouble between players. The Dueling System allows you to fight in a special field called the Dueling Field, where you can apply for a duel in advance. Apparently, monsters cannot enter or spawn in the Dueling Field. Moreover, if you kill your opponent in a duel, it will not be treated as a death.
And then there is a separate system in a duel called the PK System. PK stands for player killer, which is basically the act of killing a player.
The advantage of this is you get the Items and Money of the player you killed. However, the downside of this is that you will be placed on the wanted list of people to watch out for if you do it too much.
Incidentally, if you’re caught by NPCs (e.g. guards) for misbehaving, you’ll be put in jail and won’t be able to do anything until you’re released.
Moreover, Junior Highschool students or younger players are prohibited from PK’ing or being PK’ed. Well, isn’t that a given? In some severe cases, even College Students are prohibited from doing this.
Last is the penalty for dying, which is also known as Despena. First, all your status points will turn back to 1. Recovery is also said to take longer, depending on the level. In addition, all items in your possession will disappear at random. If you run out of rare items, then you’re going to feel a dent.
And this concludes the explanation of the game system.
Now, let’s move on to the explanation about Summoners.
A Summoner is a Job Class that uses Summoning Magic to summon Summoned Beasts. Furthermore, there are also cases where summoning could fail. The success rate depends on the player’s skill level, but it seems like the first summoning is fixed.
But isn’t this limitation pretty strict? Because if it fails the first time, won’t that be in vain? That’s not going to happen, is it…? Is there a kind of Relief System in place?
I was thinking about that, but there seems to be more points to note.
[Once a Summoned Beast has been summoned, it cannot be re-summoned. Also, there is a limit to the number of Summoned Beasts that can be summoned, so please think carefully before you summon them]
There is a limit on random summons!? Rather, if there aren’t any restrictions in place, then the number of Summoned Beasts will infinitely increase, and that’s going to be a problem, so I was pretty worried about that. At any rate, I’d say that summoning should be done with careful consideration of the restrictions.
Now, there are two main types of Summoned Beasts. Animal Summons and Demi-Human summons. That was all the explanation I got. Maybe it’s because the explanation will get long and boring if they give examples. It would’ve been fine even if they did, though.
Apparently, each of the Summoned Beasts have their own personalities. There are needy or spoiled types, and then there are brusque types too. Basically, they will do whatever their Summoner orders them to do, but there will also be times where they won’t, so I was told to train them properly. So education is also included in the role of the Summoner.
I was further warned.
[Please be aware that if you abuse the Summoned Beast or do anything unpleasant, the Summoned Beast may run away or go out of control and attack you]
So they’re not going to impose a ban penalty on those. I would have placed a ban if it were me, but that’s the kind of rule we have to follow, I guess. It’s not like I’m going to do it anyway.
Now, regarding the Summoner’s Despena, it seems the Status Down will occur, but the Item Despena will not occur. However, if the Summoner dies first, then the Summoned Beast will automatically disappear. So the moment I die, my defeat is confirmed.
And this concludes the Summoner’s introduction. Now it’s time to summon.