After confirming my starting point I got hit by a sudden sensation of weightlessness, as if I was floating in space. With a quiet ?plop“ my vision was filled with a scene of a dreamlike little village with 20-ish buildings in European midivil style. In the distance I could hear birds chirping and a gentle breeze sweeps through my bones. I turned my head upwards and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. The air tastes like fresh forest on a midsummer day after a rain shower. I open and close my hands a couple of times while enjoying the stunning view.
If I wouldn’t know it any better, I’d think this is all real. Amazing how far the next gen of VR technology has come.
After looking around for a few more minutes a cute little black feline with green eyes was floating into my field of view.
?Nyahello~ I’m Nel.“ Purred the little fellow.
?I will now start guiding you through the beginner tutorial for new players. As you might have already noticed the UI (User Interface) is currently hidden, so that you may enjoy your first impression of the game unimpeded. To bring back the UI please think >>Options<< and the option menu will open before you.“
?Options.“ A transparent panel opened in front of my eyes with all the various settings, from sound to UI and more, that you can find in every game. Though there is also a setting for smell and taste now, compared to older VR games, interesting. But thinking further it does make sense, as the devs wants everyone to enjoy SLOF to their fullest. You probably would have difficulties to do so if you’re playing as a zombie with the stench of rotten flesh.
?Let’s continue. You can either adjust your settings with the premade options, or you can fully customize it to your liking by just thinking about how you would like your Interface to look like. We are especially proud of the later function and the devs spend dozens of sleepless nights to make it possible! Nyahaha. By the way you can also change my avatar, though I’d say everyone likes cats, so there really is no need to do so.“ ;)
While it is tempting to play around with the settings right now I better stuck to the base layout for now and make adjustments whenever I feel like it is lacking. Though I’m impressed how convenient it is that the interface will adjust to your thoughts.
?I have marked the next guild on your mini map to start your journey, as it is recommended for every player to first register with a guild. Players are not limited to one guild, they can in fact register with every public guild there is in Second Life Online Fantasy. Though keep in mind this only is true for non-player guilds, as each player can only join a single player run guild.“
As Immerwald is only a small village there aren’t many building around, so the guild building is only a couple of meter away from me. From outside the guild looks more or less the same as any other building in the village, the only noticeable difference is that over the entrance two sings are hanging. After concentrating on the two signs a note pops up, saying it is the Adventurer Branch store and Trade Branch store of Immerwald. As I enter the through the inconspicuous wooden door I get greeted by the lone guy behind the wooden counter, who looks like your typical shojo protagonist’s love interest pretty face.
?Welcome dear traveler! Is it your first time at a guild? Then let me quickly explain, this is the adventurer branch of Immerwald, which doubles down as the trading branch store as well. As you can see our modest village doesn’t offer many buildings, so we’re sorry for any inconveniences this might cause.
First for the Adventurer Guild. If you register with us you’ll be able to do a various kinds of quests. There are for example extermination quests where you’ll have to slay a specific amount of a certain typ of monster. Then there are gathering quests which require you to gather specific materials. The higher your guild rank is the more quests you’ll get access to, which will also offer better rewards. Guild ranks are from the lowest F to the highest A, though in rare cases there is the special rank S too. At the moment the only person who owns S rank is the guild master who stands on top of our organization. New recruits will start with the rank F and to increase your rank you’ll have to complete quests and earn the trust of the guild. If you want to accept a quest you can either bring the quest you want to take from the quest board on the left side of the counter, or you can directly accept it through your Interface by looking at the quest and thinking >>Accept Quest<<. The guild will also buy monster parts and gathered materials from you.
Now for the Trade Guild. When registering with the Trade Guild you’ll get access to the selling function of the auction house, where you can sell your goods to other players. Players who are not registered with the guild can only trade with others face to face, or through their mailbox. You can increase your guild ranking with the Trade Guild by simply selling stuff through us or by completing various commissions. The commission board can be found on the opposite side of the quest board. Commission are accepted the same way as quests.
That should cover all the basics, if you have any further questions or need help please come see me anytime.“
?Are there any registration fees for registering with a guild?“
?The first registration is free of charge any additional registration will cost you and the fee will increase incrementally, starting with 100 G from your second guild registration.“
Geld: The in game currency of Second Life Online Fantasy. Each player starts with 1,000 G of pocket money.
?Ok, then I would like to register with both guilds please.“
?Thank you very much. Please put your hand on this touch-plate. The device will register your mana and teach you the >>ID card<< skill.“
New Skill acquired: ID Card
ID Card: An ID card that shows all your affiliates and ranks. Currently you are registered at the Adventurers Guild (F Rank) and Trade Guild (F Rank). With each rank increase you’ll be getting more benefits at your registered guild. Work hard!
?Let’s see what quests I can get.“ I concentrate on the quest board and a transparent interface pops up.
Quest: Collect 10x Common Healing Herb
Reward: 100 G
Deadline: none
Rank: F
Quest: Slay 5 Forest Goblins
Reward: 500 G
Deadline: none
Rank: F
Quest: Deliver 3x Forest Rabbit Meat
Reward: 1,000 G
Deadline: none
Rank: E
Each quest has also a picture of the target with a short description.
Common Healing Herb: Can be found everywhere. Is the base ingredient for healing potions. Do you really need an explanation for this?
Forest Goblin: Goblins who life in the forest. Who would have thought…
Forest Rabbit: Rabbits who life in the forest… Don’t let yourself be fooled, they might look cute but you’ll never gonna catch them in a melee ;)
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?Looks like they are all repeatable beginner quests with low difficulty, though I do wonder what’s up with the description of the Forest Rabbit“
?Ah that is because those little beasts are quite fast on their paws and pretty shy, so usually you’ll need to lay traps for them, or shoot them from far away.“ Answered the guild employee.
?Mh… well there seems to be no penalty or deadline so I take all three.“ Unfortunately there was no commission from the Trade Guild available that I could finish any time soon.
?I wish you good luck out there!“ Shouted the employee as I was leaving the building.
?Nyahaha. That concludes the introduction for the guild system. Now let’s us take a closer look at your >>Inventory<<.
?Inventory“ A transparent window appears, with only one line of information.
Items: 0 / Geld: 900
?As you can see, you have currently no items in your inventory. For the currency there are 900 G left from you starting allowance after deducting the registration fee for the second guild membership.
We decided to not limit our players in the amount of inventory space, be it slots or stacks. Feel free to praise the devs for their generosity! This also means there is no bank or chest system to deposit your items, so there will be no risk in ever getting stuck on a quest again because you forgot to pick up the quest item at your bank beforehand. ;)
Now you might be wondering if you’ll not be losing track of what is in your inventory over time. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! The search function will automatically tell you about the amount of a specific item in your inventory or if you have the item at all.“
Cover me surprised, finally a game that doesn’t charge you extra, just to keep your items with you or forces you to go back to town to empty your inventory. ?Praise the devs, lol.“
?Nyahaha, right so! Now we are nearly at the end of the tutorial phase, only weapons and skills are left. Before we start with the skills please choose your starter weapon from the Starter Weapon Chest which should be now in your >>Mailbox<<“
?Mailbox“ There it is.
New item acquired: Starter Weapon Chest 1x
Starter Weapon Chest: Contains one wooden weapon of your choice. For choosing a weapon just think about which one you want to use and a wooden variant of it will be automatically be equipped. Please go to >>Character Status<< if you want to check what gear you have currently equipped.
Let’s go with sword, dual-wielding is just to much fun in VR games. Though it looks like I need to get a second sword on my own unfortunately.
New weapon acquired: Wooden Sword 1x
Wooden Sword: 1-3 Damage / +1 Strength / +1 Stamina
?You have chosen a melee weapon for your starter weapon, so you’ll get the base skill >>Swing<< with it.“
New skill acquired: Swing
Swing: Swing your weapon at your enemy and hope you’ll hit them ;)
?Well that’s promising lol. Btw Nel, what would have happened if a character can’t use any weapons, e.g. a slime?“
?The player would still receive a starter weapon of their choice, as those offer additional attributes they could make use of. But instead of the matching weapon skill they would receive a usable combat skill. In the case of a slime they would receive >>Tackle<< for example. Now this concludes the tutorial for Second Life Online Fantasy. If you’re unsure about where to go next, have a look at your >>Map<< We hope you’ll find your second life here to your liking and that you will stay a faithful long term customer! Nyahaha!“ ;)
Oh right, Nel only marked the location of the guild on my mini map earlier.
?Map“
Map: Your map will automatically update during your journey. Please keep in mind that events and player actions can alter locations and you’ll need to visit them again to keep your map updated.
No surprise that they are making use of events to change the world, though I’m a bit curious what kind of player actions can alter it.
According to my map I only have discovered the central area around the village well and one building is markt as Adventurer Guild & Trade Guild. I probably should check out the other building as well and see what they offer.
?Hello there young fellow. What can I do for you?“ Greets me an old but very friendly lady as I walk into the building next to the guild. As this building has a counter and a couple of wooden shelfs filled with goods for sales it must be some kind of store.
?Good day, what kind of products do you sell here?“
?We are the general store of this little village. So we sell all kinds of little knick-knacks that are useful. Our most popular items are common potions and work tools. Please have a look at our current stock.“
With a budget of only 900 G I can’t really buy much yet, but after browsing the list of goods for a minute I decide to buy the following items:
Common Harvesting Knife: Increase the success chance to gather materials of common rarity. Doesn’t require proficiency in Harvesting to use.
Quantity: 1x
Price: 400 G
Common Woodcutter Axe: Increase the success chance to receive wood of common rarity when felling trees. Doesn’t require proficiency in Wood Cutting to use.
Quantity: 1x
Price: 400 G
?A pleasure doing business with you lad. Please come visit again whenever you’ll need something.“
?Bevor I leave, are there any other places you can recommend checking out here in Immerwald?“
?I see you’ve already visited the local guild. If you need food or ingredients to cook you can visit the local grocery store on the other side of the guild, as we don’t have any places to eat besides the local food stall next to the well during the week. Also I would recommend you to visit the small village church, as it’s the only place here where you can learn the >>Return<< skill.“
?Wow, thanks for the tip! Have a nice day and until next time then.“
?Save travels adventurer!“
I quickly glance at my map and see that the building I just was in has now the label of General Store above it and the one to the other side of the guild, Grocery Store. Also the building on the opposite side of the guild and the well is now labeled as Village Church. So you don’t have to visit every place yourself, as the information you are getting from NPCs will also be taken into consideration, nice.
The village church looks a little bit like a European forest chapel. When I enter the building, there are only two rows of pews for the believers and a small wooden altar with a nice little stained glass window, depicting a deity. In front of the altar stands an old kind-hearted looking priest. And as the door closes behind me he turns around and ask me in a gentle voice.
?Brave adventurer how can I, a humble priest of a little village church, be of help to you?“
?I heard from the friendly old lady from the general store, that I can learn the return skill here?“
?Ah yes the return skill it is. Please stand next to me in front of the altar and place your hands on top of it.“
As I place my hands on the altar the priest mumbles some unrecognizable words.
New skill acquired: Return
Return: Once every 3 hours you can return to the place you registered as your home, free of charge. You can also travel between the cities, towns and villages you have already visited, by paying a service fee, which will depend on the distance between the two places. As you currently have no other places registered Immerwald Village Church will be automatically set as your place of home.
?It completely slipped my mind, but am I really allowed inside here as an undead skeleton?“
?Worry not! Our deities aren’t that petite, they do not differentiate between anyone, be it an undead, an animal, or human. Though be warned, they do not take kindle to people committing crimes.
Now as you have just begann your journey in this world let me give you a little something.“
New item acquired: Common Healing Potion 1x
Common Healing Potion: Restores 5 HP
?Good luck adventurer, may the deities blessing be with you.“
?Thanks gramps!“ I turn around and leave the church.
So I have done everything in the village for now, so let’s go and farm some juicy exp in the forest!
Also if anyone is wondering, this is how my Status Screen looks like:
Status Screen:
Name: Eisteufel / Race: Skeleton / Level: 1
Health Points (HP): 13/13 / Mana Points (MP): 6/6
Stamina (STM): 6 / Strength (STR): 5 / Agility (AGI): 3 / Intelligence (INT): 3 / Willpower (MND): 3
Equipment: Wooden Sword / Common Harvesting Knife / Common Woodcutter Axe / Common Shorts / Common Shirt
Guild Membership: Adventures Guild, Trade Guild
Phone Call with Chris
Before I make it out of the village my alarm goes off.
"Oh already time for lunch, the time flies when you’re having fun. Also I can’t forget to call Chris or she’s going to be livid later."
I get up from my bed, go to the kitchen, take a premade chicken marsala from the freezer and put it on the stove. Next I put some rice into the rice cooker.
"Yummy! Good thing I prepared all my food in advance, I’m just too old to be living on fast food delivery for a whole week. Ok, time to call Chris."
"Hi Chris! How was your flight?"
"Hey Tom, the flight was hell! Our boss was talking non-stop… Thinking he is the most important person in the universe…"
"That sounds horrible!"
"How is SLOF?"
"SLOF is fantastic! If I wouldn’t know any better I’d think everything in game is real. And the implementation of taste and smell really is something else. Though I don’t know if I’ll be saying the same if I meet something that smells horrible."
"Haha, with your luck you’re probably gonna turn into a zombie and won’t be able to get ride of the stench,"
"Well… actually I choose skeleton as my starting race, so you might be right lol."
"Yikes, if you really turn into a zombie I’m not gonna group up with you for sure lol."
"Don’t worry you can adjust smell and taste in the settings, in the worst case. Btw my name in SLOF is Eisteufel."
"Mh? Eis, like the German word for ice cream? I don’t think skeletons are as good tasting as ice cream Tom. Your naming sense is horrible as ever lol."
"It’s because I choose ice-grey eyes, but yeah I never have any good ideas for my character names…"
"Sorry but I have to hang up. Room-service just came and you know how fast the food turns cold if you don’t eat it right away. Can’t go out either or else I might run into our boss and he definitely would pressures me to join him for lunch, ugh!"
"No worries and enjoy your food!"
"Thanks! Till later."
"Bye."
