Valhalla, the virtual reality machine born from scientific advancement.
Like cars and cell phones before it, its first iteration was a massive coffin-sized contraption.
At first, everyone was skeptical. The fear was that if you climbed inside, that coffin-looking machine might actually become a real coffin.
History repeats itself, right? This reaction was exactly the same as when photography first appeared and people refused to have their picture taken, believing it would steal their soul.
While some people were scared, others eagerly embraced the new technology.
It's not always the case, but at least with Valhalla, the latter group came out on top.
"This is smaller than I thought."
Wolfgar's hands carefully handled the circlet-shaped device.
Made sense. This little machine, smaller than a laptop, cost a whopping $3,500. With that kind of money, you could get yourself a used compact car if you played your cards right.
"Dude, don't even get me started. You know how huge these things were when they first came out? Everyone had to go to Valhalla cafes to use them. It's way more convenient now. But man, dropping cash on it just like that—you've got guts."
Lucian had planned to either take him to a Valhalla cafe—basically the virtual reality version of a PC cafe—for a trial run, or lend him his own device.
That's why he grumbled as he pulled out the Valhalla he'd bothered to bring along.
"What if you drop all that cash and it's not even fun?"
"Well, I decided to do it, so I'm gonna do it right. Even if it's not fun, it's one more thing to enjoy, you know?"
He'd just bought the Valhalla that everyone else already had. And though he didn't show it outwardly, Wolfgar's heart was pounding.
'This is bad. I'm way too excited about fishing!'
He desperately rationalized to himself that he was logging in to make money.
But now that he'd actually bought the machine, all he wanted to do was fish like crazy. Even if fishing in virtual reality felt as empty as swatting flies in the air, he figured he'd be satisfied with just that.
"Alright, put the device on first. The rest is easy."
"Got it."
Wolfgar put on the Valhalla. His brainwaves connected to it. Once the connection was established, Valhalla's messages appeared directly in his mind.
[Hello, new user. Welcome to the virtual reality of Valhalla. Here at Valhalla Inc., we...]
Like installing a PC operating system, Valhalla was chatty as hell. Wolfgar let it all go in one ear and out the other until he saw the message he'd been waiting for.
[Which application would you like to run?]
The default applications installed on Valhalla appeared. Internet, settings, and basic games like Minesweeper were all there.
'Minesweeper's on here too. That game's never gonna die.'
Though this was his first time booting up Valhalla, the application he wanted was already installed. The game was so famous that having it as a default application had become standard practice ages ago.
"Yggdrasil. Connect."
[Warning. This game is a virtual reality game and may disconnect your consciousness from reality. Please play in the safest location possible and connect to the game in a comfortable position.]
"I'm comfortable and safe enough, so connect!"
[Connecting to Yggdrasil.]
At that moment, dizziness like a lucid dream washed over Wolfgar. The strange sensation continued for several seconds, then after a brief moment, everything returned to normal.
When he came to his senses, he already existed in a new world.
"So this is Yggdrasil, a virtual reality game?"
A gloomy, cramped room lit only by candlelight. Appearing there, Wolfgar thought the game was gloomier than expected.
Contrary to that first impression, Yggdrasil's virtual reality was exactly as advertised.
"It really does feel like real life."
He could smell the musty scent of the dark little room. The moss on the walls looked real, and when he touched it with his hand, he could feel its texture.
As he was checking out the cramped room, suddenly a blinding light appeared.
"Welcome, hero. New heroes are always welcome."
"Character creation, huh."
Light suddenly appeared as if a sun had been born in the sealed room. The white light was blinding but didn't hurt at all.
A beautiful angel with pure white wings. Yggdrasil's account creation NPC.
Having played games before, Wolfgar nailed it on character creation and listened to what the angel had to say.
"Hero, please look at your appearance."
"So we're changing appearance."
When the angel gestured, a large mirror appeared to reflect his body. Inside stood a person equipped with leather armor that you'd wear in a fantasy world.
It looked like clothes on a mannequin. Kind of creepy without any facial features.
"What is your true appearance?"
Custom play, possible because it's a game. You could freely change your desired appearance, race, and age.
The only thing you couldn't change was gender. Because of this, a rumor spread among some players:
"You know why you can't change gender? One of the Yggdrasil developers got catfished!"
Nekama. Guys who create female characters in games and pretend to be women.
Of course, it was just a rumor, so the truth was unknown, and Wolfgar wasn't interested in that stuff anyway.
Actually, he wasn't interested in appearance at all.
"Just make it look like my real self."
"I see. So this is your true appearance."
The mirror glowed and the appearance changed. It was the real Wolfgar wearing leather armor.
"Then please tell me your name."
"Wolfgar."
Of course, the name stayed the same too. Fortunately, it was a game that allowed duplicate nicknames, so there was no problem.
Even with the same nickname, it worked because everyone got assigned a different code.
"Are you sure you want this name?"
"Yeah. Just move it along."
He could've thought of some cooler name, but Wolfgar didn't bother.
'I'm just going fishing anyway, so what does my name or appearance matter.'
His brain, which had rationalized that making money was the main goal and fishing was secondary, blurted out his true feelings.
Of course, it was a fleeting moment that even he didn't realize.
"Then lastly, I'll ask. Where would you like to start?"
The angel finally unfolded a map. Like a hologram, part of a massive continent appeared above the floating map. It was the starting point for users connecting with a American IP, and thousands of dots were marked on it.
This was the stage for choosing your starting village.
Having already heard from Lucian where to meet, Wolfgar decided without hesitation.
"Obel Village."
"Very well. Hero. May blessings be upon your future..."
As the angel disappeared, light enveloped Wolfgar. When the light faded, he'd arrived in front of a house in Obel Village.
"This place feels real too."
The fresh, cold air of the mountain village filled his lungs.
Wolfgar enjoyed Yggdrasil's realism, smelling the houses, grass, and flowers around him.
And shortly after, his friend Lucian appeared in Obel Village.
"You here?"
"...Lucian?"
"Yeah, dude."
A slender, blonde.
Wearing plate mail armor like a knight class, Lucian's appearance was completely different from reality.
"Why a girl?"
"It's cool, isn't it? But why'd you keep yours the same? Live a little in the game. Pick a cool name too."
"I'll try it first, and if I like the game, I'll change it. This game has name change tickets or whatever, right?"
"...You can't change it once you pick it, you know? I told you that."
"Did you?"
Lucian had given him clear advice before starting the game. The warning that you can't change your name once you pick it.
"That's how I ended up like this."
Lucian's in-game name was [SupremeWarrior].
It was advice born from experience.
Just then, an old man approached Wolfgar. The tutorial supervisor of the beginner village, Village Chief Darden.
"Welcome! Hero! Beginner heroes are always welco..."
"So where do I fish?"
"After the tutorial."
"Ahem. These days, heroes sure are impatient."
Wolfgar cut off the person—no, the NPC—mid-sentence, leaving him awkward. Darden cleared his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"I don't think I really need it."
The tutorial was obvious anyway. How to use the system window, basic controls, and giving you items and experience.
No matter how amazing the game was, basic tutorials always existed, and they were just as unnecessary.
You could just press, call up, and check various things whenever you had time.
"Do I have to do this?"
"Do it. They give experience and items. And there's fishing in the basic tutorial, which you love."
"Can I just do that part?"
"Dude, if you just say it outright..."
"Ahem! Interested in gathering, are you? If you want, you 'can just' learn gathering!"
[Village Chief Darden's favorability has decreased by 10.]
[Village Chief Darden dislikes you.]
"...Your favorability dropped."
The system that Yggdrasil users admired most.
Favorability.
Favorability that increased or decreased through conversations and actions with NPCs changed how NPCs behaved based on those numbers.
"Tsk. Kids these days... If I were just ten years younger, I'd beat punks like you to a pulp."
Even now, Darden, who'd reached [Dislike] status, grumbled and disappeared from in front of Wolfgar.
"You're screwed too. Even if you finish the tutorial now, you'll probably just get bread and a wooden dagger, right?"
Favorability was a very important system. If you built it up well, some NPCs gave hidden quests, and the rewards were way better than normal ones.
Some NPCs became companions, and some NPCs whose favorability dropped became enemies and attacked you.
At least since this was a beginner village, they didn't attack, but Wolfgar's tutorial rewards had become extremely stingy.
"Well, can't be helped then. All the more reason I don't need it. I wanna try fishing first."
"Ugh. Never mind. This way."
So the two headed north from the village. There was a bridge leading out of the village, and you could see a river flowing under the bridge.
Beginner users who'd arrived earlier were already fishing there.
"Go talk to that NPC over there."
Wolfgar approached Ruben, the NPC standing by the riverside, watching the beginner users with satisfaction.
"Hello. Nice weather today."
"You're telling me. The weather's great. Ah, a beginner hero? Did you come to learn fishing by any chance?"
"Yes. Anything biting here?"
Wolfgar spoke with a friendly smile as he conversed with the NPC. A completely different attitude from what he'd shown the village chief.
Lucian let out a disbelieving snort.
"Ha. This guy's seriously crazy about fishing."
From the moment he whined about wanting to try fishing first, ignoring the basic tutorial, Lucian had expected this situation.
'Yep, you're crazy about fishing. More than your dad even.'
Making the son of a family ruined by fishing go fishing. If you only heard that much, Lucian would seem like less than scum instead of a friend, but he'd really introduced this game for Wolfgar's sake.
'If you don't fish... I introduced it because I was worried about what might happen to you. Did I do the right thing?'
Having been close friends since childhood, he could tell. If left alone like this, Wolfgar might soon completely lose his will to live and disappear.
From the day his father passed away, the depression felt in his voice and attitude had gotten even worse six months after the funeral ended.
Worried that his precious friend might leave, Lucian had introduced Yggdrasil as a last resort.
'Yeah. At least fish in virtual reality. Maybe this way, you'll get your will to live back. And make some money too.'
Lucian smiled quietly as he watched Wolfgar.
Wolfgar was conversing with the NPC with a genuine smile.
"Haha. Not very good fish bite here. At best, you'll only catch trash fish."
"Trash fish. What kind of trash fish?"
"They're called trash fish. Just trash fish."
"Oh. Never heard of that species before."
Trash fish. Usually an expression that lumped together fish species other than the target, but the fish caught here were literally named trash fish.
It was for the tutorial anyway, and the river itself wasn't deep, so only one species lived there.
"Still sounds fun to catch."
"Of course. If you'd like, want to give it a try?"
"Oh. Sure."
Ruben gifted Wolfgar a fishing rod. Plus, he gave him bait as a set.
"What the hell? Why's he just giving it away?"
Watching this, Lucian was dumbfounded. Usually, gathering tutorials made you take money and go to a nearby shop to buy the items yourself. You'd gather and trade at shops, doing two tutorials at once.
But getting items from an NPC? Cases where they handed them over first were rare.
"Dude, my favorability went up."
"What'd you even do? How much did it go up?"
His favorability even increased.
[Ruben is delighted to meet a real fisherman after so long.]
[Ruben's favorability has increased by 20.]
[Ruben likes you.]
"Got this message."
"...Dude. You never even said you were a fisherman."
"True fishermen recognize each other, you know."
What kind of bullshit was that? Lucian didn't know it, but many users had already received fishing rods as gifts from Ruben.
If you kindly brought up fishing as a topic, he'd increase favorability and give a fishing rod and bait as a hidden reward.
The game was so open-ended, and Lucian had no interest in fishing, so he hadn't conversed properly and missed out.
"So this is an item."
[Ruben's Fishing Rod]
+Item Grade: Normal
+Attack Power: None
+Item Description: A fishing rod that can catch fish. You can catch bigger fish than with an ordinary fishing rod.
[This is the rod I caught my first big one with. Huh? Why do I have so many? You'll get hurt if you ask. Fisherman Ruben]
"Pretty good, right? Says you can catch bigger fish."
"They're all trash fish anyway. Fish size doesn't matter. Just a few extras get made during crafting."
"No reel. Must be pole fishing."
Wolfgar opened the bait container he'd received. Inside was bait made from clumped breadcrumbs.
The savory smell was top-notch.
"Alright then."
He immediately set up by the riverside. He clumped bait onto the hook tip and lowered the hook right in front of him.
When he sprinkled some breadcrumbs around the bobber, he could see the fish swarming.
And shortly after, the bobber floating on the surface got sucked down.
'Got one!'
It was his first fishing in six months, but Wolfgar's body moved naturally.
That sensation transmitted through his hand. His wrist moving reflexively.
Using a snap, he pulled the rod upward, and a fish splashed out above the water.
The first moment of catching a fish after connecting to Yggdrasil.
"So this is trash fish..."
Wolfgar's chest tightened. Memories with his father that he'd enjoyed in reality came flooding back.
The fishy smell and sliminess of the fish brought those memories back even more.
[Ahhh! Dad! This is slimy!]
[Haha! You little rascal. Hold it tight.]
After recalling memories with his father for a moment like that, Wolfgar stared at the fish.
Then a small window appeared.
[Would you like to check the item's information?]
'Yeah. Check it.'
When he thought it in his mind, the fish's information appeared.
[Trash Fish]
+Item Grade: Normal
+Item Description: An omnivorous fish you can see anywhere. The basic ingredient for grilled fish.
[Going fishing without me? Trash fish, trash fish.]
"Is it fun?"
Lucian asked.
He'd brought Wolfgar here to let him try this fishing. So he had to like it. It wasn't what he'd hoped for, but he'd already dropped $3,500.
There was no getting a refund at this point.
"...Dude."
"Hm? Not good?"
"It's fun."
Wolfgar was crying. Shedding tears of joy.
"It's so much fun!"
The fishing he'd longed for so much.
The feel of the bite and the water droplets splashing when you catch a fish.
The flapping fish.
Everything was what he'd been missing.
"Well, good thing you like it. Don't do it too much though. Do it moderately and let's go level up. Fishing's good, but this game has way more fun stuff."
"Got it."
"This kid... Can't believe he's this happy."
Lucian smiled, wiping his nose. He wanted to let him fish and show him various other fun things in the game.
He might get addicted to the game, but that was better than being addicted to fishing.
Watching that Lucian, Wolfgar lowered his hook again.
"Just one more."
So what his father worried about wouldn't happen.
Just one more.