Chapter 3: C003—Rein
[ Congratulations! You've just unlocked the Unique Race, 'Sakuya', a half-spirit and half-human! ]
[ Do you want to acknowledge it? ]
"Wait! Gaia, who's Sakuya? Is this a dark matter race?" Archy was thrilled with the discovery and asked with persistence, not expecting to uncover something as significant as a Unique Race.
"I was just joking, but Gaia took it seriously! The community is going to be shaken by this fact!"
" Sakuya is a clan, they're a race of humans from the early stage of mankind, and they possess supernatural powers to change their existence and become spirits "
"Ah, a clan? Is the Sakuya clan still around in this world?" Archy wanted to gather any information that could assist him in playing as that race.
" None of them live on the main planet, and that's why we want to bring back this Unique Race, you're the chosen one! "
Archy was shocked by what Gaia had just told him about the Sakuya race, because according to him if Gaia wanted a race in the Crossof Realm, it would be easy for them to do so since the first stage, but the game had instead hidden the fact about the Sakuya race, and now Archy was the only one who would be a Sakuya on the main planet.
"Wait, Gaia? So, are there other planets that players can inhabit?" Archy had just realized what Gaia had said, 'She said that there are no Sakuyas on the main planet, then—'
" Gaia can't answer your question "
"Secrets, huh?" Archy nodded repeatedly, now he understood how the A.I. in the game works. "Gaia, are there any other races besides humans on this planet?"
" Gaia can't answer your question "
"If that's so... Gaia, how many races are there in the Crossof Realm?" Archy threw out his last question for Gaia and waited for an interesting answer from it. But Gaia didn't immediately respond, there was a long pause between them until Archy wanted to open his mouth again...
"Gaia, how many—"
" More than you can think "
His mind exploded as if a bomb was planted inside it, the answer didn't make him give up but rather made him more excited to explore the VRMMORPG Crossof Realm, for him, this would be a pleasant journey to explore a world full of mysteries and end it by becoming an Emperor.
He was so sure that he will become an Emperor one day.
Archy's eyes flared and lit up as he delved into Gaia's words. Now, he had made his decision. As long as there was hope, he would never give up in the face of challenges and war with other players.
"Then! I will show you an adventure more than you can imagine, Gaia!"
" We will wait for it, Successor number 1,000 "
A pop-up screen appeared after Archy spoke these words...
[ You've become the Sakuya Race! ]
[ (!) Human Race benefits are removed, changes to Sakuya Race benefits... ]
"Did they also change the benefits? Because Sakuya is a Unique Race... the benefits will be better, right?" Archy began to imagine how much of an advantage it would be for him to play as a different race than other players and he missed some important screens.
[ You've just learned SSS Passive Skill, Ashes ]
[ You've just learned SSS Skill, Morph ]
[ Attribute points retribution has changed! You've been punished (-2) and will receive only (8) points of retribution every time you level up. But you get (2) points that will be distributed to random attributes every level upgraded ]
Archy paid no attention to the screen at all, until he finally came back from his pointless daydream, and the screen disappeared from his view, not thinking about anything else after that, he began to be diverted by something else.
"What's going on here? Is this some kind of curse or something?" Archy was surprised to find himself surrounded by clouds of dust that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
The dust enveloped him, making him feel like a bag of trash that had attracted flies.
—Swoosh!
Archy could never relax in this game. Previously, it was clouds of dust. Now, a large chunk of silver suddenly raced toward Archy and stopped right in front of him. This drew his attention away from the Sakuya race, Archy was getting excited about it.
Not only a slab of silver but there was also a metal stick on top of it.
"Maybe I could die if this continues!" said the former professional player of the VRFPS who had always been shot by random bullets.
" Carve your nickname in this stone "
" Don't forget about the hopes you want to bring into the Crossof Realm "
The dust continued to swirl around him, but he paid no attention to it and simply allowed them to behave impulsively around his avatar. Archy reached out to grab the metal stick that was stuck inside the silver slab in front of him, but...
"Wait a minute!" He was shocked, staring blankly at the stick.
—Swoosh!
I failed to grab the stick, even after a second try. Then I tried to grab the silver slab, I could feel the texture of the object, but couldn't grip it at all.
'What's going on here?'
My mind began to race and tried to divert my attention by giving me the thought that I was in a dream, but I rejected it and realized that I was currently in virtual reality!
I can see my hand, even the things were visible to my eyes, yet I couldn't touch them at all!
"Gaia? What do you mean by CARVE? I don't understand..."
" Carve the stone, with the stick, try it "
"Carve? How do I carve it?"
" With the stick? "
For me, it was either I was so dumb that I couldn't understand what Gaia was saying or there was something that I missed! My brain was throwing all kinds of ideas at me to solve the problem, yet the thing I was stuck on was...
"Is it possible for someone with no fingers or hands to carve their name into the slab?" I shook my head nonstop, knowing how stupid the question was, 'I don't care, I just had to!'
" What do you mean by no fingers and hands? "
" We've collected your data before and you have a complete body without scratches "
" Did you become disabled all of a sudden? "
"Even an AI can't understand my thoughts! How am I supposed to do?!"
—PING!
The sun has been shining brighter for me lately, even in virtual reality! Random helpers continue to come for me when I don't ask for their help!
[ (!) Morph Skill will help you ]
"Morph, who???" My mind couldn't comprehend the words, I began turning my head around, searching for the Morph guy the system mentioned, but I couldn't see anyone besides myself, the dust, and my loneliness in the dark space.
—DING!
Another helper came to him, it was a screen that popped up, reminding Archy of how reckless he had been. He smiled when looking at the screen, "Hehe...." the awkward noises he made, he then realized he needed to do the meditation routine again after this stupid situation.
"I need to improve my breathing technique!"
[ Morph <SSS>
You can change your avatar into other living creatures, (1/1)
- Human ]
Archy couldn't believe what had just happened a few minutes ago, it should be something that could have been solved in a split second! Yet he was so lost, "I'm not going to tell anyone about this! No one should know! Not even myself..."
He wants to know how to erase certain memory after that.
"I choose Human!"
—Sheesh
Archy found himself in an awkward position as the dust suddenly became active and started to circle him at a fast pace, "Relax guys.. I'm okay with y'all knew how stupid it is!" he said, trying to calm the situation.
But the dust continued to swirl around him faster and faster, it making him feel like he was standing in the midst of a typhoon. The motion of the dust was making him nauseous and he desperately tried to escape and get out of the typhoon, yet no one was coming to his aid.
"Gaia? Can you help me???"
" From who? "
"Can you please get rid of the dust for me? I can't stand this typhoon anymore, please ...."
" Close your eyes and stand still, you will be fine "
Archy follows the instructions and somehow it works....
'What happened?' all of the dizziness and vacuum-like sensations he had previously disappeared, then he remember someone, "I should ask her! I really should!" he need to find some sense about what just happened to his Avatar and Archy only know her, the Goddess of War.
" Now you got some hands "
" Please carve your nickname on it "
"Did you say something, Gaia?" he got some trauma to touch something now.
" Carve the silver, with the stick, try it "
Yet, Archy tried to trust Gaia's words, so he followed the instructions again. He looked down at the object and approached it with determination, using both of his hands, he reached out to grab the silver slab.
—plug
He touched, he grabbed, and he hold the stick. Archy pines up his head like a baby who's trying to get approval from the parents after doing something unexpected. He really wanted some validation for the success of grabbing the stone.
" Are you winning, Son? "
"YES, I DID!"
'So.. that was my skill, right?' he thought about the Morph Skill.
With renewed determination, Archy began to carve out the stone with all the expectations he had for playing the VRMMORPG Crossof Realm. Archy confidently declared as he carved his nickname into the stone, "The only nickname that suits me and my hopes ...." His nickname started shining brightly as if they were etched into the stone and the words he said got recognized by the universe.
"This name will conquer the world, once again!"
[ NICKNAME ACCEPTED ]
" Your hope is written in the universe "
" All the requirements for entering the Crossof planet have been completed "
[ System processing data .... ]
Archy stared far into the stars that shone in this spacious space, it was shining more brightly than the others, 'Can I approach those objects?' he chuckled afterthought about it, like a little child that just discovered something fun and mesmerizing, "Did I just started a new arc in my life?"
Archy rarely experiences something that his mind thought this is so fun to do, he used to follow how other people were feeling if they were laughing, he laughs, if they were mad, he mad too, but if they're crying, he gonna smash that person who made his friends sad.
Archy doesn't want another sadness to interfere in his life.
Doing everything by himself is the only sadness that he wants to remember, which is related to the death of his parents, and must live with his grandmother.
When other children the same age as him go on vacation with their parents, he must sit at home and watch his grandmother make handicrafts. But he only realized lately, that watching his grandmother knit is a fun activity, it has trained him to be patient and follow the expression of his grandmother, which is to remain calm and smile in doing anything.
"Grandma ... I will say your greetings to him."
[ System has finished processing data ... ]
" Congratulations on starting a long journey! "
[ You are invited to enter the Exclusive Zone ]
[ Go to Exclusive Zone within .... ]
[ 10 ]
[ 9 ]
"E-EXCLUSIVE ZONE?!!"
" Enjoy your journey and be careful! We will wait for your development in the Crossof Realm .... "
[ 2 ]
" The man who's gonna conquer the world with his majestic nickname .... "
"Wait-wait-wait-WAIT!!" he doesn't understand what just happened to this game.
" REIN! "
" I love your courageous for using that nickname again "
Swoosh—
Rein speeds toward the planet at an impressive rate, and he began to think this game was broken and something goes wrong from the start.
"I SHOULD BE HEADED TO THE TRAINING ZONE! NOT THE EXCLUSIVE ZONE!"
"WHO INVITED ME TO THAT PLACE, DAMN IT?!!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone