Hero's Fate is a VR game where players have ultimate freedom.
They can completely go outside the main story and create their own.
Thanks to the powerful AI that manages the world, every dialogue and every NPC is unique, which increases immersion for the players.
The main element of the game is combat.
You can level up, build your own skill set, and customize your character.
This led the majority of players to RP, keeping a certain concept based on their avatar or a background story they created themselves.
It was the most popular aspect of the game, right after the combat system and the freedom.
Almost every player is doing an RP, which makes the game even more popular among people who enjoy acting like their own character.
Of course, I'm one of those players.
My character has a white horn, long white hair, and wears ancient clothing similar to ancient Chinese robes.
That's right. My concept is a white dragon who polymorphed into a human and wears this stylish ancient Chinese clothing.
The name of my character is Aurelion Frostvein.
It's so cool.
One miss was that I can't change the race of my character...
To be honest, I just wanted old-fashioned, cool-looking clothes, and what's better than ancient clothing?
I can't create my own stylish clothes, so I copied one I saw on Google.
What can I say?
It looked cool.
"Hmph, how dare a human enter my territory?"
I said it in a deep voice, using an AI voice changer that made my voice magnified and magnetic.
It felt almost surreal.
"Eeik! I-I'm sorry, p-please don't kill me... hic—"
A somewhat exaggerated reaction, but I like it.
It means my RP is great.
Although I kind of feel bad that she's trembling.
In front of me was a woman, about 16 or 17 years old?
She doesn't have a player name tag, so she must be an NPC.
A demi-human, or what one would call a beastkin.
She was wearing an oversized robe—no, rather, she was just small and the clothes were normal-sized.
About 150 cm?
I'm exactly 190 cm.
One could imagine how small she looked, at least to me.
If not for her mature face, I'd think she was ten years old.
What's more, she had black hair.
In the modern world, black hair is pretty normal, but in this fantasy world?
It's some sort of curse.
There's a massive belief among NPCs that people with black hair are associated with the evil god.
Which is why most NPCs with black hair are either hated immensely or killed right away.
What was she doing here in the middle of the great forest?
This forest is full of monsters above level 700.
I get that NPCs aren't real people, but they at least have enough intelligence not to dive into dangerous areas like this.
Unless she was forced to be here.
That would make sense...
Not that it matters.
It's an opportunity to try out my new build while doing an RP in front of an NPC!
My heart accelerated as I cleared my throat, still looking at the NPC with cold eyes and a magical aura.
That's right!
I have this useless skill that gives me a magical aura.
Other than that, it has no benefit.
[Skill Name: Magical Aura (Lv. Max)]
[Rank: Mythical]
[Description: Passively emits mana that pressures everyone regardless of level and race.]
[Bonus: +0 mana, +0 charm]
Of course, it's great for RP if I want to be a powerful white dragon.
It's a requirement.
After adjusting the AI voice changer to make it even more exaggerated, I let out a sigh.
The trees shook around me, the grass swayed, and the NPC in front of me trembled even more than before.
She kept her head down, not daring to look at me, while her legs shook constantly.
Yet she was trying not to fall down.
Admirable.
Well, I'm not a bad guy, but I'm sorry, little one.
You'll have to witness my build.
"Do you want to know what happens to those who enter my territory...?"
Through the exaggerated AI voice changer, the air vibrated.
A cold, magnetic voice rang out, and even I was surprised.
I might have turned the setting up a bit too much...
Now, after saying that, it was time to test my new skills.
Or rather, my only active skill at the moment.
I looked at my status window.
[Name: Random Skills (Lv. Max)]
[Rank: Unique]
[Description: Upon activation, a random maxed skill will be activated. It is random.]
[Bonus: +150 charm, +150 mana]
A skill that was meant to be a joke, created by me.
That's right!
This skill exists purely for RP!
[Username: The Great White Dragon
Race: Human(?)
HP: 100/100
Mana: 100(+100,149)/100(+100,149)
Level: 1
Stats:
Strength: 10
Speed: 10
Defense: 10
Magic: 99,999 (Maxed!)
Remaining points: 0
Skills: Random Skills (Lv. Max), Magical Aura (Lv. Max)]
That's right!
With 99,999 Magic, any offensive magic skill would be devastating!
I managed to achieve this absurd build through a series of very specific conditions.
If anyone saw this build, they'd report me for cheating right away.
I mean, who has 99,999 Magic at level 1?
No one except me.
Using sacrificial skills, I sacrificed all of my levels, skills, and stats to raise my Magic stat and create this skill.
I'm back at level 1, but at least my Magic is maxed, and I got a Unique-rank skill, the first one ever.
Of course, since the skill relies on luck, I have countermeasures.
[Equipment]
[Headgear: White Horn of an Ancient Dragon (+1350 luck)
Torso: Lucky Fabric (+800 luck)
Leggings: Lucky Fabric (+800 luck)
Accessories:
Ring of Luck (+1000 luck)
Ring of Fortune (×2 luck)]
A total of 7,900 luck!
I should be able to pull a great skill.
Watch me!
I stretched my arm to the right while maintaining my cold stare at the NPC.
She looked blankly at me, then at my outstretched arm.
[Random Skills activated.]
[Wind Blade Magic (Common) activated (Lv. Max)]
The world went silent.
Without any warning or flashy magic circle, a shockwave erupted in the great forest.
Trees bent, grass swayed, and immense mana surrounded the scene.
"KYAAAAA!!!"
Wind blasted everything around me.
Debris and trees flew up, and the direction my arm was pointing got erased.
Literally erased.
I could see the bright sun that had been hidden by the dense trees.
Half of the forest was gone, as if someone had pressed a delete button.
I heard a tree collapse behind me before my senses came back.
I was surprised by the power too.
The NPC looked at me with horror, her eyes flickering between me and the destroyed forest.
Her trembling became more prominent, and she was barely conscious from fear.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She looked ready to cry, but she was somehow holding it in.
Suddenly, I felt bad.
But I had to maintain my act.
I deliberately increased the intensity of my magical aura and stared at her coldly as I pulled my arm back, as if what I had just done was a casual thing for me.
That's what I wanted her to think.
I slowly approached her, and she crawled backward.
It seemed she couldn't even talk from fear...
Well, enough scaring her.
I should get to safety before monsters attack us.
I'm already satisfied with my RP build.
Hehe, I can't wait to see everyone's reaction to it.
"S-stop!!"
The NPC shouted at me in fear.
Oh no, now I feel really bad.
I should comfort her.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you..."
She looked at me in confusion.
While trembling, she pointed at herself.
"D-didn't I intrude on your territory...?"
Well, I did say that, but that was just me doing RP.
Okay, time for an excuse.
"I see that you and I are destined to meet. So I won't hurt you."
I lowered the intensity of my AI voice changer, making my voice a lot softer and less cold.
But I kept my poker face, without a hint of warmth.
As I reached my hand toward her, the world froze.
Literally.
The wind, the birds, the dust, everything.
Everything except the NPC, who was now smiling at me from ear to ear.
Her mouth was like a void, with no teeth, only endless darkness.
I had no idea why she had changed, but it sent chills down my spine.
"Die."
She stretched her arm toward me, and I felt space crumble.
The very space around me.
[Space Erasure (Unique) activated (Lv. Max)]
[Warning! Imminent death incoming. The user is in danger!]
I felt the world lose its color, and in an instant, the space around me crushed me.
[You've died!]
[Lucky set hidden effect activated.]
[Reviving...]
...
When I woke up, I saw an endless grass field.
The wind, the warmth of the sun, the smell of the grass.
Everything felt so real.
"Where am I?"