After drifting through the endless darkness, Ekant felt his consciousness settle.
When he opened his eyes—
He found himself standing inside a pure white room.
There were no walls. No ceiling. No floor.
Just endless white stretching in every direction.
Before he could even process it, a translucent screen materialized in front of him.
〈Welcome to Eternal Arcana of Magic, New Player〉
Ekant froze for a moment.
'This… already feels different.'
He had played VR games before—only a handful, barely enough to count on his fingers—but none of them had ever felt this… real. There was no delay, no sense of wearing equipment, no faint awareness of the outside world.
He felt present.
Completely.
Another panel smoothly replaced the first.
〈Please create your in-game character〉
A new interface unfolded in front of him, far more complex than he expected.
At its center was a mirrored image of himself.
Same face.
Same proportions.
Same clothes.
The bed pod's advanced system had perfectly replicated his physical appearance down to the smallest details—body structure, posture, even subtle muscle tension.
Ekant raised his hand.
The reflection raised its hand too.
He frowned slightly, then paused.
Before doing anything else, he focused inward.
Slowly, carefully, he inhaled.
Air flowed freely through his nose.
He exhaled.
Smooth. Natural.
"…Thankfully," he murmured softly, his voice echoing faintly in the white space, "I can breathe properly here."
That alone eased his mind more than he expected.
Only then did he turn his attention back to the character creation interface.
He studied every option carefully.
Face adjustments.
Hair.
Skin tone.
Build.
Minor cosmetic tweaks.
Revealing my real identity here wouldn't be smart, he thought.
Even though this was a game, he had no intention of drawing unnecessary attention.
Rather than making drastic changes, he skillfully altered small details—just enough to avoid direct resemblance, but not enough to look unnatural. The process was smooth, intuitive, almost instinctive.
After about a minute, he leaned back slightly.
'Honestly… anything is fine.'
'I'm here to enjoy the game.'
With that thought, he pressed Create.
The interface dissolved.
This time, instead of text appearing silently, a female AI voice spoke aloud—clear, calm, and oddly expressive.
〈Your character has been created successfully〉
〈Please proceed to choose your name〉
A floating keyboard appeared before him.
Ekant stared at it.
He thought for a moment.
"…Hmm."
Then he smiled faintly.
"Well," he muttered, "I've been using the same username in every game so far."
"Might as well continue."
His fingers moved.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The keyboard vanished.
A new system message appeared.
〈Name: NoName〉
〈Are you sure?〉
〈User's ability to name characters is truly garbage…〉
〈Please wait a moment…〉
Ekant blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"…Did the system just insult me?"
He stared at the message in disbelief.
So much for neutrality.
'I thought the system only made recommendations, he thought dryly. Didn't expect commentary.'
Still, he shrugged.
"Anyway," Ekant said aloud, "this IGN has been with me since my first game."
The system paused for half a second.
Then—
〈Thank you for not wasting time〉
〈Proceeding to the next process〉
"…Yeah," Ekant muttered. "It's definitely mocking me."
But he let it go.
A new interface unfolded.
〈After analyzing your neural pattern, adaptability, and preferences〉
〈It is recommended that you choose: Magic〉
〈You may still choose from the following paths〉
〈Magic〉
〈Cultivation〉
〈Shinobi〉
Ekant didn't hesitate.
He had always played magic-based fantasy games.
Spells.
Mana.
Control.
Knowledge over brute force.
Magic suited him.
He selected Magic.
〈Character creation complete〉
〈Path confirmed〉
〈Name registered〉
〈You will be teleported to the Beginner's Forest in 5 seconds〉
Ekant took a slow breath.
Here we go.
The countdown began immediately.
<00:05>
<00:04>
<00:03>
<00:02>
<00:01>
The white world expanded—then shattered into light.
And in the blink of an eye—
He was standing inside a forest.
A real one.
Towering trees stretched upward, their leaves forming a dense canopy that filtered sunlight into shifting patterns. The air smelled fresh, alive. The ground beneath his feet felt solid, uneven, natural.
"…Damn," Ekant whispered. "This looks… real."
Too real.
Two translucent options appeared in front of him.
〈Profile〉
〈Settings〉
"Profile," he said.
The interface opened instantly.
Name: NoName
Path: Magic
Bloodline: None
Body: None
Legacy: Yet to Unlock
Essence: 108 (Magic)
Strength: Yet to Unlock
Defense: Yet to Unlock
Ekant stared at the screen.
Then at his hands.
Then back at the screen.
"…So," he murmured slowly, realization settling in, "I'm basically so weak…"
Reality had hitted him real hard in virtual reality.
What his brother Tiyan told him was average states for a player though forgetting that some players may get weak states.
"…that I probably couldn't even kill a mosquito."
Well, with his states he can barely kill any monster in the weakest line of pry.
Anyways the forest remained silent.
Unimpressed.
And thus—
His journey truly began in the game.