Chapter 1

Thank you for your patronage.

I will gradually revise it.

When I finished my usual rounds outside and returned to the company, my underperforming superior made a snide remark.

He doesn't understand that trust can't be gained by only interacting superficially with clients.

Well, since he became the deputy manager due to his uncle being the president and his father being the executive vice president, his performance doesn't matter.

It's part of my job to protect such a superior, and during new customer development, I have to offer half of the results.

I think I might be on track to become a team leader by next spring because I can show such consideration.

Dealing with such a superior is stressful, so I take a break by playing the world's first full-dive MMORPG, "Smart World Gate," or "SWG" for short.

SWG completely separates reality from the game, and while playing, the real body is in a sleep state.

The selling point is that you can play during your sleep, and the quality of the realistic virtual world is so high that it has sold thirty million copies worldwide.

My avatar in SWG is a golden-haired elf, with the main job being a magic archer and the secondary job being an alchemist.

As usual, after finishing work, I took a shower, ate dinner, and logged into SWG.

"Where am I?"

Upon logging in, the avatar should normally appear at the last logout point, but I don't recognize this place.

I've already cleared up to the 30th floor, so this is a place I don't know.

It's not clear, but the place I'm in now looks like a school gymnasium in the real world, with basketball hoops and a stage.

Many people around me are standing in a daze, just like me.

Moreover, the number of people is incredibly large, not just ten or twenty, but it seems there are hundreds, filling the gymnasium.

As I was thinking about this, people started to make a commotion.

If they don't understand the situation, it's natural for them to panic.

I also want to shout and curse, but from my past experiences, I know that such actions won't lead to constructive thoughts, so I maintain a calm appearance.

I observe the surroundings for a while.

Some women are crying, and others are silent like me.

The commotion doesn't subside, and some people start to cause trouble.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work. I will now explain the situation you are in, so please listen carefully."

There is a stage in the gymnasium, and a blonde woman has appeared on it with a microphone.

My first impression was that she looks like a foreign celebrity.

With her blonde hair, well-defined features, and eccentric outfit, she looks like an entertainer you'd see on TV or the internet. Her navel is sparkling.

"Who are you?"

In such situations, she often has the power of life and death over us, so I think such rude remarks might backfire.

"I said, please listen carefully."

The blonde woman has a smile on her face, but an incredible pressure is overwhelming us.

It's an exaggerated description, but the pressure is so intense that it feels like being launched on a rocket, making it hard to stand.

Some people actually collapse, gasping for breath.

"Please be careful not to cause too much trouble."

She smiles brightly as if nothing happened.

At this moment, everyone must be thinking that they shouldn't defy this blonde woman.

"I will now send you to the world I manage. To put it simply, you will be sent to another world."

Another world, I had expected it.

However, the words hit me hard and feel heavy in my heart.

I understand that this is a one-sided command backed by force.

"In my world, you are free to live as you please."

Even if she says we can live freely, it's hard to accept easily.

The problem is what kind of world it is and what benefits we can receive.

As I was thinking this, the blonde woman pointed to someone, and a handsome man in his twenties raised his hand.

"Yes, you may speak."

When you raise your hand, you are allowed to speak, which makes me think, "Is this a school?"

"Thank you. I have a question."

"Yes, please go ahead."

The blonde woman's response to this man is much softer than to the previous one.

Was it because he raised his hand?

"What kind of world do you manage? And what benefits do we get by going to that world?"

The handsome man asks a direct question. He has good nerve, something I can't do. But it's a good question.

"Well, in my world, science hasn't developed much. It's most similar to the medieval era on Earth."

Her beautiful face still has a smile.

However, her gaze is sharp, as if evaluating us.

"However, my world has a level and skill system that is not used on Earth."

The audience starts to murmur. I don't make a sound.

I think it's not a good idea to move or speak without her permission.

Without any basis, another part of me says to comply.

"As a benefit, you can choose your race, and select ability values and skills."

"Can I ask one more question?"

"One more question only."

"Thank you. Can we return to Earth from your world?"

"…It is possible to return."

People smile with joy at the unexpected answer.

"However, not all of you here can return. I have gathered a thousand Earthlings here, but only ten, ten of you, can return to Earth by meeting certain conditions."

A shocking one percent!

"What are those conditions?"

Idiot, that's two questions!

The moment I thought this, the pressure hit us again, and hundreds of people crouched on the spot.

"I said one question only."

What a harsh reprimand, it feels like several times the gravity, making it hard to breathe.

After a while, the blonde woman seems to be satisfied, and the pressure is lifted. She starts talking as if nothing happened.

"Then, I will give you the benefits."

As the blonde woman speaks, a monitor-like screen appears in front of my eyes.

The semi-transparent screen displays "Appearance."

I can't see the semi-transparent screens others are looking at, but the surprised voices around me suggest they are invisible to others.

"The points are displayed at the bottom left of the screen. As long as you have points, you can edit yourself. There is no time limit, so please edit carefully."

I have 2,500 points. I don't know if this is a lot or a little.

I also don't know if others have the same number of points.

But this is all the points I have now.

Following the blonde woman's instructions, I tap "Appearance" on the screen.

The image that appears is my familiar real-world appearance.

There are also "Race," "Age," and "Gender" options.

I don't like my plain appearance.

When I tap "Race," various options appear, from typical fantasy races like humans, elves, and dwarves to more exotic ones like vampires and goblins.

In such a situation, since I logged into SWG and ended up here, I expected the system to be similar to SWG, but it's completely different.

I tap "Elf" to see my appearance change to a golden-haired, long-haired, long-eared, and handsome elf.

The facial features are mine, but each part is refined, making me quite handsome.

I feel a bit happy and start changing my height and hair color, enjoying the changes.

When I look at the bottom left of the screen, the points have decreased to 2,200.

I wonder if I can revert, so I change back to my original appearance, and the points return to 2,500.

When I tap "Confirm," a message appears: "Race is Human, appearance remains unchanged. Confirm? YES/NO."

The points remain at 2,500.

Phew, changing the race consumes points.

I choose "NO" for now.

Changing to an elf costs 200 points, and other races with attractive appearances also consume many points.

Conversely, changing to races like goblins or orcs not only doesn't cost points but increases them.

Even if I keep the race as human, changing my appearance slightly reduces points.

I understand that the more changes I make, the more points are consumed.

I make my body more muscular, correct my droopy eyes, make them big and double-lidded, and increase my height by five centimeters.

This consumes 35 points, leaving me with 2,465 points for the next setting.

Next is age. Changing my real age of 26 to 20 costs another 30 points.

Since I'm six years younger, I decide to keep it, thinking it's worth the points.

"Gender" remains male, so there's no change in points.

Next, a list of abilities is displayed.

Name

Information: Human, Male, 20 years old

HP: 150

MP: 100

Strength: 30

Endurance: 25

Magic: 20

Agility: 25

Dexterity: 35

Charisma: 25

Luck: 5

"Human" seems to be the standard appearance for Earthlings.

Well, it means human, so it's probably correct.

I don't know if the various abilities displayed on the screen are the standard for humans.

The ability composition is far from SWG, and I'm almost certain it's not SWG.

Moreover, there are no "Back" options or similar symbols, so once confirmed, it seems I can't change them.

Since there are elves and "MP" and "Magic" in the abilities, I think there's a high probability of magic existing.

The blonde woman mentioned a world with skills, so I'm unsure how to balance the points between skills and abilities.

Among the abilities, luck is the lowest, so it's reasonable to think I'm not good at magic.

In that case, should I increase strength and endurance to be a front-line fighter?

...Wait a moment. I was only thinking about combat.

But just like on Earth, there are production jobs and non-combat, non-production jobs like merchants.

The world I'm going to probably has a variety of jobs.

So, there's no need to focus on combat.

Moreover, the blonde woman said we can live as we please, and I'm not suited for close combat.

There's no reason to choose combat just because it's long-range.

This is not SWG, and there's a possibility of living without combat, so I'll aim for a non-combat role.

Wait... She said ten people can return to Earth, right?

To return, some conditions must be met.

Can non-combat jobs meet those conditions?

I don't know... What should I do...

I can't do anything about what I don't know. I need to think of a non-combat job that can handle some combat.

The idea of increasing dexterity, which has the highest value, comes to mind.

However, there might be a life-or-death battle right after being sent to the other world.

I should think that the blonde woman might do that.

I should consider whether to prepare for immediate combat or focus on production or merchant roles. A balanced approach won't work.

I think the blonde woman wouldn't like that, though I have no basis for this.

...Okay, let's go with this.

Increase luck. It costs 7 points to increase luck by one.

I increase luck to 100, consuming 665 points.

Luck can't be increased beyond 100, so this must be the maximum.

I also increase dexterity to 100, which costs 130 points.

I add a bit of hope and increase charisma to 50. This is my ego!

I think for a while. Maybe MP is needed for production? In many cases, MP is consumed for production.

If that's the case, having high dexterity but low MP might be a problem.

So, I increase MP to 150, consuming 50 points.

This leaves me with 1,565 points.

With the abilities set, I click "Next" and confirm with "YES."

Name

Information: Human, Male, 20 years old

HP: 150

MP: 150 (+50)

Strength: 30

Endurance: 25

Magic: 20

Agility: 25

Dexterity: 100 (+75)

Charisma: 50 (+25)

Luck: 100 (+95)

Next, I think about skills, but an unexpected screen appears: "Please decide your growth modifiers."

This system could negate the previous ability increases.

However, I have to decide to move forward.

The current growth modifiers are displayed from "HP" to "Charisma."

Wait... Where's luck? ...Is luck fixed based on the previous abilities?

If so, making it 100 was the right choice.

The growth modifiers are all "C," which is typical for humans in most games.

The growth modifiers seem to reflect this.

When I change MP from "C" to "B," it costs 20 points, and from "B" to "A," it costs 30 points.

Surprisingly, there's an "A to S" option, which costs 50 points, and an "S to EX" option, which costs 100 points.

I increase MP to "EX," and I also increase dexterity to "S" and charisma to "A," leaving me with 1,215 points.

The last screen is for skills. I'm not sure if it's the last, but at least it's the skills screen.

It took a while, but I'm finally here.

There are four types of skills: "Active Skills," "Passive Skills," "Magic Skills," and "Unique Skills."

Generally, "Unique Skills" are powerful, so I'll start from the bottom.

When I tap, a long list of skill names appears.

From standard ones like "Sword King" and "Sage" to more humorous ones like "Comedian."

I go through them and then focus on "Magic Skills," "Passive Skills," and "Active Skills."

I plan to use all my points to choose skills.

Thank you for your visit.