{ Asgard }
{ Álfheim }
{ Vanaheim }
{ Niðavellir }
{ Midgard }
{ Jötunheim }
{ Helheim }
{ Niflheim }
{ Múspellheim }
"Now… where should I spawn?" I muttered as the nine realms floated before me like options on a celestial roulette wheel.
Each one shimmered with its own aura. Some warm and radiant, others cold and foreboding.
The names themselves sparked recognition mythical, powerful, divine.
Helheim felt safe. Familiar. A known zone.
That's where the main cast would eventually converge.
But the keyword there was eventually.
They wouldn't appear until years into the beta timeline.
Hoping to meet them now would be like trying to fish in a dry lake.
So that left me with a decision to make, a real one.
One that could determine my early game survival and growth.
I hovered over each name, weighing their implications, their symbolism, their potential gameplay mechanics.
Álfheim likely light and ethereal.
Múspellheim probably hellfire and pain.
Niflheim now that was the logical pick cold, slow-paced, and maybe less contested.
But then my eyes landed on Niðavellir.
Why Niðavellir?
Honestly? I don't even know.
My logical side screamed Niflheim.
But my gut, my ever-reliable gut pointed to Niðavellir, and if there's anything I've learned after living for over a century.
It's to always trust my gut over my mind, especially when my sanity is in question.
With a tap of a finger, destiny was set.
{ Entering Realm : Niðavellir }
Darkness.
Complete, suffocating, visceral darkness.
I appeared in what could only be described as a colossal underground cavern.
The kind of darkness that wasn't just the absence of light it was a presence.
That felt heavy, as if it was breathing.
Moisture clung to the stone walls, the air was thick with mineral dust and the faint smell of moss and metal.
My footsteps echoed off stone with a damp crunch, my bare feet reminding me that yes I was still wearing no gear.
A faint glimmer in the distance broke the shadow's hold.
Cautious but curious, I crept toward it. My eyes adjusted slowly, revealing a winding trail of glowing moss stretching ahead.
On the cavern ceiling above, clusters of crystals refracted that mosslight like constellations.
It was beautiful, in a haunting sort of way. Like walking through the bones of a fallen god.
But beauty doesn't equate to safety.
I glanced around, half-expecting a tutorial window or some AI to pop up with a cheery "Welcome to Niðavellir!"
Nothing.
"Really, devs? Not even a welcome mat?" I muttered, rubbing my arms.
It was cold here, yet not freezing cold.
The kind of chill that made you feel alone.
Unwanted.
Still, if there were no monsters around yet, it probably meant the devs weren't entirely sadistic.
At least they let players orient themselves before throwing them to the wolves.
Right. Time to make a choice.
Find a settlement and risk dying on the way, or start grinding and risk dying slower?
First, let's check the stats.
---
{ Status Screen}
Name : Eion
Race : Aster
Alignment : Lawful Neutral
Epithet : None
Level: 1
Racial Level
Aster 1
Job Level
--None--
Stats :
HP : 1
MP : 1
PhyAtk : 1
PhyDef : 1
Agility : 1
MagAtk : 1
MagDef : 1
Resistance : 1
Special : 1
Total Stats : 9
Skill Points : 0
Trait
--Mana Body (Locked)--
Increases base MP by 3 and Magic Attack by 1
Skills :
--None--
Passive:
--None--
Active:
--None--
Equipment:
--None--
-----
"What the...?"
These stats are a joke.
No skills. No gear. No passives unlocked.
This game is harsher than I thought.
Well, at least I now know my racial trait. Doesn't help much yet, but it's a start.
Looks like I'm built to be a mage.
Why not a warrior?
Simple it's all because my reflexes aren't what they used to be.
My mind's "FPS" just doesn't cut it anymore.
So I chose a long-range, strategy-based playstyle instead.
Less twitch, more think.
I just hope I won't regret this later.
Anyway, enough talking. I need to hunt.
Time to find a monster to be my stepping stone.
My rise begins now!
--Fifteen Minutes Later--
"God damn it, what kind of rat is this?!"
{ Giant Rat }
Yeah, it's literally called Giant Rat. Should've been an easy kill, right?
Wrong.
This thing was tougher than any rat has any right to be. one hit shaved off one tenth of my health.
I've been whittling at it for over five minutes, and it's still going strong.
"So this is what starting out feels like, huh?"
I muttered that while stepping backward from the rat, which looks more like a boar with anger management issues.
It stood at nearly half my height at around 80 cm, paired with shiny red eyes that gleam like rubies.
It hissed and lunged at me again fangs like cracked daggers, and fur so greasy it could probably slip through a locked door.
I stumbled to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding its teeth.
Barely.
My leg still caught a swipe and started leaking some sort of white liquid.
Oh so thats what an Aster blood look like
"Okay! Cool! It bites and slashes. Love that. Fantastic design choice, devs." I shouted, not that they could hear me.
I'm starting to think it was some sort of a vampires pet or something.
I might seem pathetic for struggling against such a weak creature, but for your information fighting it wasn't like playing your average MMO.
Where they do that standard MMO telegraphing, with glowing windups or dramatic pose shifts.
But there isn't any at all here, apparently YGGDRASIL is just built different I guess.
It just attacked and it never stopped.
But after a while I did learn some of its patterns.
Here's what I've figured out:
Pattern 1: Body Slam
Pattern 2: Claw Swipe
Pattern 3: Claw Stab
Pattern 4: Bite Dive
Pattern 5 (follows a successful bite): Pin, then Kick-Away
How do I know this?
Don't ask, let's just say my current HP is only at half of what it used to be.
One more hit and my health will be in the danger zone.
It jumped again, higher this time and I instinctively threw myself flat.
It landed behind me, skidded, turned, and came in for another go before I could even stand properly.
I kicked at it.
Missed.
It slammed into me like a hairy cannonball and sent me tumbling.
My health bar dipped into the you're one combo away from death zone.
Glorious.
"Is this normal? Is this what rats are like here?" I spat some dirt.
"You give one a name tag and suddenly it thinks it's a raid boss?!" I shouted, feeling unfair.
The rat growled and charged again. but I barely managed to roll aside.
Okay, new plan.
Stop talking.
When it came at me again, I sidestepped not cleanly, more like a drunken stumble and sent out a rough uppercut from under its jaw.
It shrieked.
Not in a cool, dramatic way more like a toddler having a meltdown at a grocery store.
Still, I hit it. Progress.
It backed off for the first time, tail swishing angrily.
Alright, maybe I can finally defeat it here.
But before I could even finish that thought, it leapt again this time taking me by suprise.
"THE HELL—"
WHUMP.
I hit the floor. Again.
The rat tried to pin me, but my elbow rammed into its snout, just enough for me to wriggle free and scramble back.
This thing was fast as hell.
The devs must be out of their minds for putting such a strong monster at a beginner area, or maybe I just suck at the game.
Which is impossible, so yeah the dev needs to do some emergency balancing.
One more lunge.
This time, I met it head on with a straight, slamming towards its face as I got knocked back.
It screamed again, flailing wildly.
"Yeah, not so tough when your nose's busted, huh?!"
It turned, wobbling.
Bleeding.
It could barely stand.
But it didn't go out without a fight
It did one last charge.
But alas it is useless in front this great I, for I have predicted its move.
I jumped, wrapped my arm around its neck, and drove my elbow into its head.
It convulsed.
Snarled.
Froze.
And then poof.
It became nothing but Light.
Gone.
It disintegrated into shimmering motes, and I collapsed backward.
A jingle rang in my ears.
{ Congratulations! You have leveled up! }
I blinked at the message.
Then at the few gold coins it left behind.
And then I laughed half relieved, half insane.
"That… was a rat," I wheezed. "A. Freakin'. Rat."
Welcome to the game, I guess.
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