Martial Destiny

"Huh? Where am I?" Julius asked, realizing that he was no longer in his apartment.

A completely new world surrounded Julius. In this world, he seemed to be floating on some clouds. It was strange because it felt as though he was above the sky, but when he looked up, he could see an exact reflection of what was below him.

His own body seemed to merge with the environment. It felt as if he didn't have a body and was just a consciousness drifting around.

It was a strange sensation, but at the same time, it was incredibly comforting.

'Is this [The Gates]?' If that was the case, then the level of realism in the game left Julius speechless.

"Hello, new cultivator. Welcome to a new world. Here, the gates will open to an impressive number of new opportunities, but beware, the dangers are just as frequent." Suddenly, a deep, powerful voice echoed next to Julius.

'Huh?' Julius was taken by surprise by the voice, as he had just looked in that direction. A moment ago, the area had been exactly the same as the rest: an endless expanse of white clouds.

When he turned his face, Julius was shocked by the changes that had occurred.

'I'm definitely in the game,' he thought while observing a large temple in front of him.

The temple stood atop a pyramid, resembling an Aztec temple, but all the materials were made of a type of white stone and gold.

At the base of the temple's stairs, a monk sat in a lotus position, with both hands together. Julius initially thought the monk was watching him, but upon closer inspection, he noticed that the monk's eyes seemed to be sewn shut.

[Name: DAO] [Level: 0]

It was the visible information above the monk that confirmed he was officially in the game.

'I just hope he doesn't interrupt my sleep,' Julius thought, realizing that the game seemed to allow him to play even while he was sleeping, which was quite impressive.

"I am responsible for welcoming you to this new world. Unfortunately, your current condition is unsuitable for the planet you are about to enter. Because of that, I will take a quick look at your fate and allow you to choose the path that suits you best." The monk's left eye, which had been sewn shut with a red thread, suddenly opened.

With this, Julius's vision turned completely red.

For a moment, all Julius could see was pure red.

In fact, it was more than that, as it seemed that Julius's very existence had merged with the color red itself.

As his existence fused with the infinite redness, he began to realize that this red was much more than it appeared. It was so complex that he couldn't even comprehend what it was, leaving all his senses confused.

Unable to understand what was happening, it felt as though he was submerged in a world of pure red, the only thing his brain could register.

But in the next second, everything returned to normal.

'What are these screens!?'

Almost everything returned to normal. As the red faded and was replaced by other colors, Julius noticed four different screens in front of him, each with different colors and designs.

The first screen was orange, with an image of a black round shield. The second screen was red, with an image of a sword. The third screen was yellow, with an image of a fist. The fourth screen was blue, with an image of a cannon.

"In front of you are four different paths that fate allows you to choose from at this moment. Contrary to what many believe, fate is simply the result of countless choices made in the past. Right now, you are living one fate, and tomorrow you will live another. So, new cultivator, choose carefully among the options before you." DAO, the monk in front of him, explained the meaning of the screens.

'Got it. So these are the class options available to me. Strange, there are classes shown in the trailers that aren't available here,' Julius thought.

Mages and assassins were featured in several promotional videos for the game, but it seemed they weren't among the options he could choose.

"Hey, this is false advertising! The trailer clearly showed an assassin and mage class!" Julius thought, considering the possibility of suing the game company for false advertising and maybe making some money from it. His eyes gleamed with excitement.

Unfortunately, this moment of joy didn't last long.

"As I have said, a person's path is shaped by the choices made in the past. You reap what you sow, even if you don't realize or doubt it; this universal law is absolute. Your past actions have made it clear what paths are available to you. Guardian, swordsman, pugilist, and sharpshooter." The monk had already closed his left eye, as if to show that his decision would not change.

'So even the choices are part of the game's lore?' Julius realized that the classes, or rather, the paths, suited him quite well.

He had always had an athletic build, so he had a natural aptitude for sports. When he was younger, he even tried some martial arts and rose quite high in the ranking system.

'So that's why I got the [Path] of Pugilist,' he concluded, thinking that the Pugilist path was likely due to his athletic nature. He imagined that the [Path] of Guardian and Swordsman were also linked to his physicality, as he had never held a sword before.

And the Sharpshooter path was likely a result of his one year in the military. Even though he wasn't an expert marksman during his time in the army, he was by no means mediocre.

Logically, the [Path] of Sharpshooter seemed like the best choice, but Julius wasn't too concerned with that. He just wanted to have fun and dive deeper into the world of conspiracies.

"Honestly, I think I'd have more fun as a Pugilist or Swordsman," Julius thought, dismissing the Guardian option. It didn't make sense to him to stand in front of a bunch of monsters and just take hits.

"Ahhh... I choose to be a Swordsman," he said, not wanting to spend too much time thinking about it, simply following his intuition.

"I understand." Again, the monk's left eye opened, and once again, Julius's vision turned completely red.

As the colors returned, the previous screens were gone, replaced by new ones.

But it wasn't just the screens that had changed. Julius himself was different.

His ethereal form had returned to its original shape. His physical features and characteristics were the same, but he was now wearing old, tattered clothes and a light leather chest armor.

In addition, his forearms and shins were armored with leather, and a sword was hanging at his waist.

The new screens in front of him displayed:

[You have received a Mana Body]

[You are now able to interact with Universal Energy]

[The Celestial Will recognizes you]

[You have received the ability to view your own status]

[The Lord of the Sword Path recognizes you]

[You have received the ability: Reinforced Body]

[You have received the ability: Energy Slash]

[You have received the ability: Pursuit]

'Looks like I'm ready for the game,' Julius thought as he realized the creation process had finished, and he was now ready to start playing.

"Congratulations, young cultivator. With this, you will be able to survive and walk the path of the sword. However, even this will not be enough to repel the demonic forces. Because of that, the heavens will give you a gift." This time, the monk's right eye opened, and Julius's vision turned completely blue.