Adam and Paul, along with dozens of other players, were staring at a building that didn't fit the surroundings at all.
Compared to the old stone structures around it, this one had perfectly smooth glass walls that caught the light so cleanly they looked almost unreal. Above the entrance there was no sign or plaque only a pulsing, golden glow shaped like the number 100.
The glow reflected off the cobblestones, washing the nearby walls in shifting amber light. Some players stood mesmerized, whispering theories about what it meant others just stared, silent, as if afraid to step closer.
"What is that place?" asked a player named NicNieWiem.
"Supposedly it's where you can buy items at least that's what my mate told me before we logged in," replied a young-looking boy standing beside him.
It's only been a few minutes since launch, and there are already dozens of players in front of the shop… Adam thought, realising that in a few more minutes there could be hundreds, if not thousands.
Without hesitating, he pulled Paul who was gawking at the unreal-looking building like everyone else and headed for the doors, which sensed their approach and slid open without a sound.
Used to the sight, Adam stepped inside and looked around.
The black-glass floor reflected their silhouettes like a mirror. Each step rang softly and then dissolved, as if the building absorbed every possible disturbance.
The air shimmered faintly, and delicate runes flickered across the glass floor like ripples on water. Each pillar hummed with quiet energy, threads of light winding through its surface as if the building itself breathed mana. Even the silence felt enchanted, expectant, like a temple waiting for a prayer.
At least this hasn't changed.
"Where are the shelves, the goods, any counters or anything? Isn't this supposed to be a shop?" Paul asked, looking around at the dozen or so players ahead of them who were standing still and moving their fingers in midair.
"You don't need any of that. Come with me," Adam said, walking a few paces further in.
Paul followed, still puzzled, passing two pillars that supported a ceiling of pure white glass.
As soon as they passed the pillars, a blue hologram blossomed before them transparent as mist, arranged into three separate columns.
"That's your shop," Adam said with a small smile, giving Paul a sidelong look.
"Have a browse and then pick one basic weapon you like and a few green Apples," he added, already focusing on his own screen.
Paul only nodded, fascinated, and began sliding his finger across the blue system panel.
Adam glanced at the three icons glowing with their own light. The first was a pair of silver crossed swords: weapons.
The second was a golden loaf of bread: food. The third, a heavy smith's hammer striking a black anvil: tools.
Without thinking long, he tapped the golden loaf and scrolled down in search of green apples.
[FOOD]
[Loaf of Bread - 5]
[Waterskin - 1]
[Red Apple - 2]
[Green Apple - 30]
[Honeycomb - 15]
"Here we are," he muttered, tapping Green Apple five times.
[+5 × Green Apple]
[Cost: 150]
[Balance: 1000 → 850]
Beside him, Paul was glaring at the crossed-swords column like a child whose sweet had been stolen.
"Why are there only cheap, trashy weapons here? No divine swords for millions of coins or anything like that?" he asked, poking the air repeatedly.
"Because this is only for basics. Better weapons you get crafted by a Blacksmith or as drops from monsters," Adam said, not looking over. After a moment he added, "The shop is only useful at the start meant as a crutch for beginners. You'll notice there isn't even any armour."
With a defeated sigh, Paul looked over the mundane options.
[Wooden Club - 50]
[Wooden Sword - 70]
[Wooden Spear - 100]
[Wooden Bow - 70]
[Short Sword - 250]
[Common Sword - 200]
[Common Spear - 300]
Without further debate, Paul tapped the Wooden Bow.
[+1 × Wooden Bow]
[Cost: 70]
[Balance: 1000 → 930]
"I bought a bow," he said, glancing at Adam, whose gaze was fixed ahead.
"A bow?!" Adam blurted, pulling his eyes from the panel. "Didn't expect that from you, I'd have bet on a heavy sword. Just remember to buy arrows about 100–150 is best."
At the mention of arrows, Paul scrolled down quickly.
[Wooden Arrows (×50) - 50]
[Common Arrows (×50) - 200]
"Should I take wooden or common?" he asked aloud, weighing the choice.
"Grab fifty wooden and a hundred common."
Taking the hint, Paul tapped once on Wooden Arrows and twice on Common Arrows.
[+1 × Wooden Arrows (×50)]
[+2 × Common Arrows (×50)]
[Cost: 450]
[Balance: 930 → 480]
He switched to the golden-loaf icon and searched for green apples.
"Why does a green apple cost 30 when a red one is only 2? At this rate I'll be broke in no time," he grumbled.
"You can buy red if you like it's your call but I recommend the green ones," Adam said, a touch cryptically, tapping "Short Sword" three times on his own panel.
Paul bit his lip, then tapped Green Apple five times after all.
[+5 × Green Apple]
[Cost: 150]
[Balance: 480 → 330]
"I bought the damned apples," he said, noting that Adam seemed to be finishing up as well.
Adam nodded, then turned toward the exit. "Grab ten loaves of bread they taste awful but fill you up best and five waterskins."
Already resigned to being poor after leaving the shop, Paul tapped Bread ten times and Waterskin five times.
[+10 × Loaf of Bread]
[+5 × Waterskin]
[Cost: 55]
[Balance: 330 → 275]
They could at least add a multi-buy menu if I'm paying this much…
Muttering inwardly, Paul closed his screen, jogged after Adam, and asked as he looked around, "Where do the things we bought appear? I've only got 275 coins left."
"They're already in your inventory. As for coins if it's any comfort, I've only got 30 left," Adam said, heading for the doors.
"What did you spend that much on?" Paul asked, curious.
"Nothing special just bought three Short Swords at once."
"Why three?" Paul frowned.
"Common gear breaks fast in combat. I don't feel like running back here every five minutes, so I stocked up," Adam said with a sideways glance.
"Makes sense," Paul admitted, holding the door for a player named JedenZgred.
"Now that we've got food and weapons, time to go hunting," Adam said as the doors parted silently before them.
"What are we hunting?" Paul asked, following Adam as he turned right out of the building.
"Nothing fancy boars. I mainly want to show you the combat system and a certain skill we can get by fighting them," Adam replied, pushing through the growing crowd outside the uncanny building.
"A certain skill?"
"You'll see in due time," Adam said, and there was a spark of excitement in his eyes.
"For now, what you need to know is that this game doesn't have 'stats'."
"Stats? As in Strength, Agility, Mana?" Paul asked, recalling what his mates used to chat about over beer and PCs.
"More precisely they exist, but they're not shown," Adam said, heading south toward one of the city's four gates.
"Not shown?" Paul couldn't understand why an MMO would hide something like that from players.
"From what I've heard from someone on the team he's a good friend of the developer the creator is obsessed with making the game mirror reality as much as possible."
"Mirror reality?"
"Exactly. That's why you don't get typical visible stats like Agility, Strength, or Mana. Likewise, weapons don't display damage values or durability."
At that, a red light went on in Paul's head.
"Then what's the point of grinding levels? If there are no character stats and no weapon stats, we can't get stronger…" he said, sounding a bit disgusted at the thought of levelling in a game where grinding seemed pointless.
A huge grin spread across Adam's face as he looked at Paul.
"Who said we can't get stronger? Who said there are no stats?"
"Er… you did?" Paul replied, baffled by Adam's sudden enthusiasm.
"I said they aren't shown. Doesn't mean they don't exist. You just can't see them," Adam answered, the grin widening.
"To mirror reality, the dev hid the stats from players?" Paul asked, feeling oddly unsettled by Adam's smile.
"Exactly. Grinding still matters because to beat stronger monsters you have to be faster, stronger, have more mana. You just don't see your numbers or the enemy's. All you see are levels. You have to judge for yourself whether you're strong enough to win or whether you should retreat."
Paul frowned, realising for the first time how different this world was from any game he'd played.
"Isn't that boring? I mean won't fights just come down to whoever's the higher level if we can't view or allocate stats?" Paul asked, not understanding why Adam was so excited about this system.
Seeing Paul still didn't quite get it, Adam looked ahead. The gate out of the city was already open.
"Less talk, you'll understand better when you see it with your own eyes."