Where will your feet take you?
The opening text fades, and darkness engulfs Azusa—no, Pepper. A soft chirping of birds reaches their ears.
Cautiously opening their eyes, Pepper is greeted by a sprawling vista: lush green plains and distant, towering mountains.
"Whoa…! This is Shanfro's world. Unreal—it moves like my real body!"
Inspecting their virtual form, Pepper marvels at how naturally their hands, fingers, legs, and torso respond.
"First, gotta check my stats. RPG rule: always know your character's status."
Though new to VR, Pepper leans on old RPG habits, pulling up their status screen.
PN: Pepper
Level: 1
Job: Backpacker
HP: 10
MP: 10
Stamina: 30
Strength: 20
Agility: 20
Dexterity: 10
Skill: 10
Endurance: 10
Luck: 10
Equipment
Left: None
Right: Self-Defense Knife
Head: Leather Cap
Torso: Leather Clothes
Waist: Leather Belt
Legs: Leather Boots
3000 Mani
Skills
Slash
Thrust
As the job description promised, Backpacker boasts high Strength, Agility, and Stamina for carrying supplies.
"Skill's for weapon handling, Dexterity's probably precision… Luck's obvious. Support role, so I'll keep distance and escape if it gets hairy."
Pepper's focus shifts to their skills: Slash and Thrust.
"Jumping straight into combat would make me panic. Gotta test these first."
Gripping the knife reverse-hand, Pepper shouts, "Slash!" and swings. Then, "Thrust!"—jabbing the blade forward. No enemies, just learning the motions.
"Hmm, that's how they work… Wait, what?"
Post-skill, Pepper notices a cooldown timer ticking.
"Got it. Skills have cooldowns—stronger ones cost more. So much to learn…"
Trial and error build knowledge; preparation is key for battle. With RPG wisdom in mind, Pepper starts exploring.
An hour into the game, Pepper treks through the exploration area, checking items—sticks, stones, berries—while consulting a simple map.
They've scoured the starting zone, testing their Explorer's Child origin for item drop boosts, but notice no change.
"Maybe Luck affects drops? Whatever, I'll figure it out in Fastia."
The map shows "Fasteia," likely the first town, derived from "first." Tutorial hubs typically offer beginner gear and guidance.
"No guarantee I won't run into enemies before town. Stay sharp."
Knife in right hand, a stone from the inventory in left for throwing, Pepper moves cautiously, eyeing trees and bushes, scanning for threats.
Then—a rustle from a tree behind. Spinning around, Pepper's vision flashes black.
Danger! Instinct screams. Pepper dashes forward as something crashes into the ground, cracking it.
"Gyagya!"
"Not a gremlin…"
It resembles a horror movie monster: leaf-like ears, tattered rags, wielding a crude axe of stone and wood tied with rope.
"Gyagigigi!"
"Whoa!"
Despite its small size, the monster swings its axe vertically with startling speed. Pepper backsteps to dodge.
"Switch gears. It's a monster—beginners can handle this, right?!"
"Gyagigyaa!"
As the monster swings again, Pepper hurls the stone at its head. Fueled by high Strength and Agility, the throw misses the forehead—but smacks its right ear.
"Gya?!"
The monster's axe slips, crashing into the ground. The stone shatters, dissolving into polygons. Pepper raises the knife, thrusting at the monster's left eye.
"Take this!"
A fierce stab finishes it. The monster dissolves into polygons, a triumphant papa-n sound signaling Pepper's level-up.
"Level up! Hell yeah!"
Amid the joy, items drop from the defeated monster.
"Drops, huh? Let's see… Goblin's Handaxe. That was a goblin?"
Mistaking it for a gremlin, Pepper's surprised. There's also a tattered waistband, but one item stands out.
"…"
Goblin's Eyeball: a slightly rare drop from dagger kills. Problem? It looks too real—like an eyeball plucked from a human corpse.
"…Sealed away forever."
Pepper buries it deep in the inventory, vowing to erase the memory.
Continuing cautiously, alert for more monsters, Pepper finally reaches Fasteia, the first town.
One step forward, a vital step.