PLAYER SYSTEM C4 DAWN VILLAGE

Jack scrolled through the list of hats, skipping over flashy helmets and ridiculous accessories—until one item caught his eye.

[Clockwork Top Hat]
Style: A tall leather top hat with exposed brass gears gently ticking along the sides. A small chimney pipe protruded from the top, emitting a faint wisp of steam.
Detail: A functional clock dial sat on the front, synced with the in-game time.
Variants: Coal Black / Brass Polish / Crimson Engineer

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Now this… has character.”

He tapped the Buy button without hesitation. His starter coin balance—100—dropped to 90.

The hat materialized on his avatar’s head with a quiet puff of steam.

“Nice,” he muttered, admiring it. The aesthetic was both practical and stylish—just enough flair to feel cool, without screaming for attention.

Next, the store offered him the option to purchase beginner weapons and armor.

But Jack shook his head. “Nah… beginner gear’s fine for newbies, but for a veteran like me, coins are better spent on potions.”

Instead of spending coins on equipment, he selected the Free Starter Gear set. His avatar was instantly dressed in a worn, priest-like robe—gold and white fabric faded and tattered, with faint crimson stains trailing the hem. The robe had a silver sash and a soft hood, giving it an oddly ceremonial feel.

Then he looked at the weapon the system had assigned him.

A dagger.

Jack scratched the back of his neck. “Really? A dagger? I’ve got a class that’s part priest and part warlock, and they hand me a toothpick?”

He chuckled to himself. “Guess the system couldn’t decide between giving me a staff or a cursed tome, so it split the difference.”

He gave the robe another glance.

“The outfit too. Even the game’s confused about what to do with me. My class is half light, half dark, and now I look like a holy assassin.” He smirked. “As if it couldn’t tell whether I’m a boy or a girl, so it just slapped on something unisex to play it safe.”

Jack shook his head with a laugh. “What a mess… but I kind of like it.”

Still amused, Jack opened the potion tab and used the rest of his coins to purchase HP and MP potions. Preparation first—fashion later.

Then came the final step: choosing a name.

“Hm… what should I call myself?” he mused aloud. “Something that reflects both sides of my class… light and dark...”

He paused, tapping his fingers against his arm.

“Larkight,” he said at last.

It sounded strange at first—he’d replaced the “D” in “Dark” with an “L,” then mashed “Light” onto the end, tweaking the spelling just enough to make it unique.

“I’ll figure out how to pronounce it later. Larkayette? Larkite? Whatever sounds cooler in the moment.”

He tapped Finish.

The void around him twisted and churned. That familiar kaleidoscope of color returned—but this time, something was different.

Heat.

A warm, searing sensation surged through his body—flesh, bones, even his mind.

“Ugh…” Jack winced as pain flared—brief, sharp, and then gone just as quickly.

And then, silence.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a new place. A notification appeared before him.

[Welcome to the Beginning Point: Dawn Village.]

He found himself standing in the center of what looked like a medieval village square. All around him, flashes of light shimmered as new players materialized one by one. The area buzzed with murmurs, gasps, and excitement.

Simple wooden houses with thatched roofs framed the plaza. A stone fountain stood in the center, water trickling peacefully as birds chirped somewhere in the distance. The air was crisp and fresh, with a faint scent of trees and wildflowers carried on the wind.

Jack took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. “Damn… this game’s even more realistic than I expected. I can practically taste the trees in the air.”

Just then, a nearby player—a thin elf avatar with sharp features and an arrogant smirk—turned toward him.

“You serious?” the elf scoffed. “Taste the trees? What are you, an idiot?”

Jack blinked, caught off guard.

The elf crossed his arms. “Yeah, the game’s realistic, but it’s not that realistic. They tone down the sensory effects so your headset doesn’t fry your brain. You think your headset can simulate flavors in the air? Please.”

A few nearby players chuckled at the comment.

Jack simply rubbed his nose awkwardly and took a few steps away from the group. "Jeez, hostile much."

He glanced at the treetops swaying in the breeze and muttered to himself, “It really did feel like I could taste it though… Maybe the latest BEYOND model has enhanced sensory calibration…”

Just then, a system notification appeared before him:

[The PLAYER system has detected new attributes in your current stats:
• Endurance
• Dexterity
• Wisdom
These have been added to your base stat structure.]

His eyes widened slightly.

“Wait... new attributes?”

He quickly pulled up his status screen—and sure enough, three new categories had appeared beneath the standard stats.

Jack’s lips curled into a small grin. “So the system’s evolving my stat layout on its own… adapting as I go.”

He opened his status screen and took a closer look:

[Name: Larkight
Race: Half-Human, Half-Demon
Class: Twilight]

Level 1
Strength: 11
Endurance: 11
Agility: 9
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 11
Dexterity: 9
Charm: 14
Luck: 8

Skills:
• Healing Light (Light Ability)
• Grasp of Gloom (Dark Ability)

Items:
• Holy Warlock Basic Gear
• Cursed Basic Dagger

Just seeing the stats made Jack grin. "Nice. Starter skills from both the priest and warlock trees—exactly what I hoped for."

He checked the gear more closely. At first glance, it looked simple, but a quick inspection proved otherwise. Both the robe and dagger provided minor stat boosts—+1 to some attributes here and there—perfectly appropriate for free gear.

But what really stood out?

5% bonus spell effectiveness for both light and dark magic on the robe. And the Cursed Dagger? A 3% increase to dark spells and a passive debuff effect on enemies. It wasn’t called “cursed” for no reason.

“For basic gear, this stuff’s actually solid,” Jack thought, satisfied.

He finally looked away from his interface, taking in the warm, sunlit surroundings of Dawn Village. Birds chirped in the distance, players milled about the cobbled square, and NPCs tended to their shops and homes.

“The game must’ve defaulted me to Dawn Village because it registered my class more as a priest than a warlock,” he mused. “If it had leaned the other way, I probably would’ve spawned in Dusk Village with the dark-side players.”

He watched as players excitedly rushed to nearby NPCs. Some were already shouting at them.

“Come on, just give me an easy quest and some exp already!” one guy barked at a smiling shopkeeper.

Jack chuckled inwardly. “Idiots. Do they really think these advanced AIs will reward rudeness? They clearly didn’t read the pre-release guidebook.”

Just as expected, an elegant blue-haired NPC with sapphire eyes approached a group of rowdy players. Her voice was gentle, polite—almost too polite.

“The summoned heroes are truly blessed. It is my honor to ask for your help,” she said sweetly, her eyes glinting with something beneath the surface. “Somewhere deep in the forest, a weak creature awaits. Please defeat it, and accept my humble gratitude.”

She pulled out a pouch of silver coins.

The players nearly tripped over each other to accept the quest. Most of them didn’t even read the description—they just tapped “Accept” and ran off.

Jack shook his head.

“Bunch of morons,” someone muttered nearby.

Jack turned to look—and spotted a masked player standing off to the side, arms crossed.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who knows how to read.”

He turned back to his surroundings, thoughtful.

“I’ve read the guidebook. I know the mechanics—the AI behavior, the race and class synergies—but I haven’t learned much about the world itself. That’s what I need to focus on now.”

He took a step back from the bustling crowd. “No need to rush. It’s not always the flashy quests that lead to progress. Sometimes brains beat brawn.”