A thought of his wife crossed Aaron's mind. He smiled and answered without hesitation:
"I'd like to be called Angel, please."
"Understood, Angel. Your username has been successfully recorded. I wish you a pleasant adventure."
Suddenly, Aaron was propelled forward at an incredible speed. The space around him warped, then turned pure white. The light was so bright he had to close his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them again, he found himself on solid ground, surrounded by a great crowd of people walking and running in every direction. This was it! He had finally arrived in *Your Second Life*—the new world!
The grand square was simply magnificent. The game's resolution was so high it was impossible to tell it apart from the real world. Everything was monumental: the buildings, the imposing statues whose sheer size commanded respect. Massive pillars framed the plaza, adding even more grandeur to the breathtaking courtyard. It was simply surreal.
Around him, more and more players appeared by the second—this was the starting plaza, and everyone was discovering the game together. For Angel, who had no desire to get to know the others, it was time to look for his first hunting spot. He had no time to waste and kept his main goal in mind: to be among the best players in the game. He started moving and was surprised at how easy it was to get around. The gravity felt slightly lower than in real life, giving him the sensation of being more agile and faster.
Angel explored the city only briefly before heading straight out to farm. After about ten minutes, he reached the first hunting area. There weren't many people there yet—most players were still trying to figure out the mechanics and unique features of the game.
He took a moment to bring up his interface with a wave of his hand. Everything was new, but surprisingly intuitive. The developers had clearly spent a great deal of time making the game as precise and realistic as possible. After a few minutes of careful searching, he opened his statistics menu. To him, this was the most important part. His vast gaming experience had taught him that good stats and good gear could completely change a player's life. He needed to think about improving both as soon as possible. The stats were relatively simple:
STATISTICS
ANGEL
Level : 1
Class : none
HP : 10
MP : 2
ATK : 1
DEF : 1
INT : 1
SPD : 1
DEX : 1
CRIT: 1
Well, nothing special so far, Angel thought. These are the usual stats you see in other RPGs. For now, I'm very weak—I need to improve fast.
About twenty meters ahead was the entrance to the first hunting zone. It was a special area where each player could complete the combat tutorial. Angel stepped forward and entered the combat zone.
Combat Training Area
He could see the game's first monsters—just basic blue slimes. When targeting them, he could see their names, levels, and HP percentage. These slimes were only level 1 and didn't seem very strong, making them perfect for getting used to the combat system. Since Angel had no gear and no money yet, he decided to kill a few slimes to earn enough to buy a decent weapon.
He approached cautiously and engaged in combat. To his surprise, despite their low level, the monster attacked fiercely, dropping his HP quickly. The sensation of being hit was unusual—it was more of a very mild pain, somewhere between uncomfortable and slightly painful. After a few somewhat clumsy punches and kicks, the little monster breathed its last and vanished, granting 3 experience points and 1 bronze coin.
"Filia, can you tell me more about HP recovery, please?" Angel asked, testing his digital companion's usefulness.
"You recover 5% of your HP every thirty minutes. HP and MP are fully restored when you level up."
"Hmm… thanks, Filia," Angel replied, a little annoyed. "Five percent HP is too little. Considering what I lost in my first fight, I need to be more careful. I have to level up quickly so I don't have to wait for HP recovery. I have no potions, so I need to be cautious."
Aaron had realized that controlling his character wasn't as easy as it looked. He decided to train alone for a few minutes before trying another fight. This time, he attacked the slime by surprise and unleashed a much faster combo. The poor monster only managed to hit him once before disappearing. Perfect—this was the way to go.
Angel now had 5 HP left and regretted losing so much in his first battle, but it was all part of the learning process.
He glanced at his experience bar—three more slimes and he could already level up. He had to kill them with his last 5 HP. He tried the same approach as before, but this time the slime landed a critical hit just before dying, dealing 2 damage in a single blow. Not good—he was down to just 3 HP.
"This game is harder than it looks," Angel thought. "We're at the very beginning, and I already have to worry about my health. They've set the difficulty high. But then, that makes the experience much more realistic—very interesting."
He didn't get discouraged and attacked another nearby monster. His understanding of the combat system was improving, and his strikes flowed more smoothly. This time, the slime only managed to deal 1 damage before dying quickly.
"Filia, what happens if I die, please?" Aaron asked, needing to think carefully about his next move.
"Each time you die, you lose 1 level," Filia replied instantly. "If you are at level 1, all of your experience will be reduced to 0. You will also be sent back to the cathedral and unable to fight for twenty minutes."
Losing a level and being unable to fight for twenty minutes—hmm, that's harsh…
Since he didn't want to wait and had nothing to heal himself with, the choice was simple: either kill the next monster and become one of the first players to reach level 2, or die like a total noob and embarrass himself.
Despite his vast gaming experience, this time he wasn't feeling cocky. It felt like he was putting his real life on the line in every fight, and the extreme realism of the situations unsettled him deeply. But deep down, adrenaline was coursing through him, and he couldn't see himself playing timidly right from the start.
There was no more time to hesitate—Angel had made up his mind. He came here to be one of the strongest players. If he started getting scared in the training area, he'd never make it.
Angel slipped behind a slime wandering nearby and attacked it by surprise. His first strike landed perfectly—a critical hit that doubled his damage. He couldn't have hoped for a better start, but the monster, now enraged, retaliated immediately. This wasn't good—the slime would probably get another hit in before dying, and Angel's HP was down to 1. One more hit and he was done for. His daughter was waiting for him—he couldn't afford to die like a noob in the very first hunting ground. Pouring all his strength and soul into his attacks, he tried to finish the enemy quickly, but the little slime was preparing an attack. Angel had no choice. As the monster struck, he used all his reflexes to sidestep, pulling off a perfect dodge. The blow grazed him but didn't connect—he took no damage. Without waiting, Angel struck again and again until the slime vanished. His heart was pounding, and he'd felt fear as if facing a rabid dog in real life. It was funny to think such a pitiful situation had scared him so much. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he caught his breath. The game's realism was truly extreme, and he appreciated every detail.
As the monster died, he heard a small sound.
*Diling!* He had leveled up.
Angel took two minutes to recover from the rush. The starting difficulty was surprising—he hadn't expected it. Many players would probably die here if they weren't careful. The developers clearly wanted new players to take their time getting used to the game instead of rushing in. Angel hadn't taken much time to get familiar with his character before jumping into battle, which had put him in immediate danger.