The full-dive VRMMO is a game that can fulfill childhood dreams of becoming a hero, and today’s advanced VR technology makes this possible.
It detects human brainwaves, allowing players to realistically experience role-playing as sorcerers or warriors in a fantastical world alongside friends, without needing to move their bodies.
Those who aren’t great with people might prefer offline games, even VR games. But I personally love online games! Although I’m not the type to join teams proactively, I really enjoy seeing and feeling the excitement when players interact with each other.
And now, right in front of me is the first edition of the latest VRMMO, “Atlantia Online,” which is making waves for successfully extending perceived playtime!
My luck was always terrible in the initial lottery draws, but Lady Luck smiled upon me this time! Thank you, goddess!
Everyone can create their characters in advance before the official service starts tomorrow. With my heart pounding, I put on my VR gear and plunged into the game world!
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Upon regaining consciousness, I found myself in a world of pure white. Suddenly, a pink sphere appeared before my eyes as I looked around.
“Hello! Welcome to the world of Atlantia Online! I’m the game’s navigation system, NO.009! Feel free to call me Nine!”
Oh, this sphere is the navigator. Its voice sounds like a lively kid.
“Nice to meet you, Nine. I want to pre-register right away.”
“Nice to meet you too! Before you register, I need to confirm something. Have you visited the game’s official website?”
“Yeah, I read through the website’s contents.”
“Thank you. Since you’ve already viewed the website, I’ll give you the simplified explanation! If you want more detailed information along the way, just let me know.”
I see. The official website’s pre-release information provided basic explanations about the game’s world, the initial races you could choose, skills, and other details. It would make sense that the initial explanation changes depending on whether you read it or not.
“Alright, first please enter your player name!”
The keyboard appeared midair, prompting me to enter the name I’d decided beforehand. I generally keep my in-game names consistent with this one.
“Plana-san, right? Please wait a moment while I check for an existing name with the same spelling. ……Yes, it’s all good!”
Good thing there’s no overlap, or I’d have had to add a number at the end. By the way, the name comes from planaria, my favorite creature. I love how they have this dazed look (?) yet possess incredible regenerative abilities.
“Next is the race selection! You start with six basic races: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Lizardman, Beastman (Dog), and Beastman (Cat)!”
This is the one from the official site. In this game, players start with one of six basic races, but if they find another race’s village in-game and perform the Reincarnation Ritual, they can change to that race.
They call these derivative races. The official site showcased examples, including a rabbit-like beastman, a giant-like creature, and a race with a silhouette featuring a single, heavily armored arm. If the race chosen is closely related to the initial basic race, the conditions for performing the Reincarnation Ritual are eased. Each race has slight differences in stats, so one must consider these factors when choosing their initial race.
My choice was the Lizardman. They have high Strength and Agility but lower Intelligence and MP. They’re also weak to cold, but can move faster near water or swamps. I chose them because they look cool and can move quickly.
“Your race is Lizardman! Next, please set your gender and avatar appearance. For the basic Lizardman race, please note there are restrictions on the scale color you can choose.”
It was mentioned that some character creation options are restricted by race, but for Lizardmen, it’s the scale color. Indeed, you can only choose green-based scales.
Lizardmen likely have derivative races; their scales can vary depending on the specific race. No problem!
Although they are called lizardmen, they don’t resemble lizards entirely. They’re more like humans with scales growing in places and a tail. Hmm, how should I make them? If I make them too handsome, that feels like a loss in its own way.
After much deliberation, I decided on a male gender, with longer hair styled with a gentle yet masculine look. The haicolour is grey, the scales are a light green, and the eyes are amber. Height is average, just like in real life! If the height differs too much from reality, it feels off and affects gameplay.
The gentle-looking style is because my real self has a somewhat intimidating face, and it always saddens me when people I meet for the first time get scared. So, I wanted a less intimidating appearance in-game. This way, I can chat normally with NPCs and other players. I wish my real self could be like that too….
Alright, I’m satisfied, and told Nine the setup was complete. Making the appearance really is a time thief—it’s been nearly an hour already.
“Thank you for your hard work! This avatar can be changed until the game starts. Please contact us when launching the game if you wish to change it again. Finally, let’s set your initial skills! While the base skill slots at Race Level 1 are 10, you can only choose up to 5 skills from this list as your initial skills.”
This information was also on the official website. They are selling it as having high freedom. Instead of a job system, it uses a skill system. The number of skill slots can be increased by one every 10 levels and through special quests.
“Build your own unique character by combining races and skills, then adventure across a vast world!” That was the game’s tagline.
Well then, what should I do?
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…After agonizing for about 30 minutes, the skills I chose were [Swordsmanship], [Body Enhancement], [Farseeing], [Appraisal], and [Water Magic].
For weapons, since I wanted to start with the basic sword, I chose [Swordsmanship]. My Strength and Agility are naturally high, so I took [Body Enhancement] to use them even better. I took [Farseeing] because I want to spot enemies quickly. As for [Appraisal], since this game doesn’t have an [Appraisal] skill, you can’t tell what new items are or see detailed stats (like attribute resistances) without it. That would be inconvenient, so I made sure to take it.
Lastly, [Water Magic]. Lizardmen have low Intelligence and MP, but since being near water boosts their stats, I figured water attributes might have some beneficial effect, too? So I picked it up. It might be useless, but I’ll move it to my reserve skills if it does.
A reserve skill is one you possess but have removed from your active skill set. This means its effects won’t activate, and no proficiency points will be gained while it’s reserved. Since we can freely change our active skills in towns or safe zones, there’s no need to stress too much about our initial skill choices.
“Alright! Nine, initial skill selection complete.”
“Plana-sama, thank you for your hard work! That completes the registration process! You can still change your initial skills before the game begins. Please let me know if you want to make any changes!”
“Got it. Thanks for guiding me.”
“Not at all! It’s my pleasure! Well then, Plana-sama, please look forward to the game starting!”
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After completing character creation, I logged out. My consciousness returned to reality, and I took a breath.
Everything’s ready for tomorrow now. Ah, I wish tomorrow would hurry up. I’m bursting with anticipation, but there’s nothing I can do about it. My stomach’s growling for now, so I’ll prepare dinner while rechecking the official website.
Author Note:
・Why Beastmen have two basic races
During development, a meeting was held to decide whether the basic Beastman race should be dogs or cats. However, the dog and the cat faction refused to budge, and the meeting became inconclusive. As a result, both were ultimately implemented….
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Dog Faction: “Dogs are smart, cute, and loyal to their owners—they’re perfect for the base race!!”
Cat Faction: “Huh? Cats are free-spirited, smart, and cute—they’re way more suited for the base race! Cat-eared maids are super popular, aren’t they?!”
Dog Faction: “Dog-eared maids are cute too, aren’t they?!”
Cat Faction: “Shut up, you idiot! Do you want me to cat-harass you?!”
Dog Faction: “I’ll dog-harass you right back! Go bury yourself in my Samoyed Maru-chan’s fur!!”
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Section Manager: “Both are cute, so it’s fine to implement both as basic races. We have a Labrador and a tabby cat here too.”