Chapter 17

Two weeks after the closed beta test of Another World ended, the open beta test has finally begun.

The biggest difference between the closed beta test and the open beta test is the presence or absence of a limit on the number of users who can participate. The closed beta test had a limit on the number of testers, while the open beta test has no such limit. Although I am not a developer, in my opinion, the closed beta test focused on checking for any critical issues in the game's progression, while the open beta test is designed to operate in a form closer to the official service, allowing for load testing on the servers and fine-tuning of game balance, with the aim of conducting a test that is more in line with the official service.

The open beta test will last for a month and a half. It feels like a somewhat awkward period, but if we do the math, the official service launch is expected in mid-July, which means they are aiming to start the service during the summer break for students.

However, as the world's first VRMMORPG, I wonder if such a tight schedule is really okay. Since it's an unknown game system, there could be any number of issues, and I think a longer testing period would be better. However, unlike console games, online games can be updated—meaning the game can be fixed—so even if some issues remain, the service can still be launched as long as there are no critical problems. In the past, there have been cases where MMORPGs launched officially but had so many issues that users complained, saying they were "paying to beta test," and the support forum for the game's operation was flooded with angry posts.

I hope that doesn't happen with Another World.

As I mentioned earlier, software updates—specifically, game patches—are currently being applied to fix issues and add new features. It's taking quite a while, which suggests that there were many issues found during the closed beta test and a lot of new features have been added. While waiting for the update, I'm browsing the official website of Another World to check the updated content.

Indeed, there are many bug fixes, but there are also some new features and specification changes. Since there are too many bug fixes to go through all of them, I focused on the new features and specification changes.

One of the new features is the addition of a gift inventory. This is a dedicated item inventory for receiving items, such as paid items or items distributed by the game's operation during events. Paid items are items that can be purchased with real-world currency and used in the game. For example, in other games, paid items might include items that double experience points for a certain period, items that increase movement speed, items that reset status or skill points, and items that decorate a character's appearance differently from armor.

Although it's still in the beta test phase and the details of the paid items are not yet clear, it seems that as a thank you to participants in the open beta test, five "Book of Blessing" items, which double experience points, will be distributed.

This is a very welcome addition.

Additionally, there are some changes to certain bad status effects. Bad status effects refer to status abnormalities that put the player at a disadvantage in combat. The bad status effects include poison, burn, slow, paralysis, sleep, and seal.

Poison and burn are conditions where the player takes damage over time—DoT (Damage over Time). There have been changes to the poison status effect. The damage amount and duration have been reduced, and different poisons can now be applied based on the skill used. For example, if there are two skills, A and B, that can cause poison, and both are used, the player will suffer from both A's DoT and B's DoT. However, all poisons can be removed using skills or antidotes.

This change is particularly challenging for classes with low HP, such as assassins and hunters, which have a variety of poison skills, but it's a positive change for them.

Slow, as the name suggests, reduces movement speed. For example, a water-based spell in the mage class can sometimes cause the slow status effect.

Paralysis and sleep are status effects that prevent the player from moving. Paralysis prevents movement for a certain period, and sleep does the same, but the player can wake up and act again if they take damage.

The final status effect, seal, prevents the use of skills for a certain period. As a mage who relies heavily on magic skills, this is a status effect I need to avoid.

However, since there are recovery potions for most status effects, you can buy them to deal with these issues. Paralysis and sleep can also be cured by a healer's status recovery skill. In the early stages, there won't be many monsters that use status effect skills, so if you can form a party by then, it shouldn't be a problem.

...Can I even form a party? In the closed beta, I only managed to form one once.

Well, there's no point in thinking negatively. I need to be proactive during the open beta.

I plan to play as a mage again during the open beta. Since I have the "Book of Blessing" and there is information on good hunting grounds for monsters from the closed beta test, which is available on the strategy wiki, I might be able to reach the second job class if things go well.

The second job class is a more powerful class than the first job class, such as the mage. To reach the second job class, you need to reach level 50 in the first job class and complete the corresponding second job class quest.

For combat-oriented first job classes, you can choose from three second job classes. For example, a warrior can become a knight, who is strong in both offense and defense; a paladin, who has high defense and can use healing magic; or a berserker, who has low defense but specializes in attack skills. Mages also have three second job classes.

The first is the wizard. This class focuses on the mage's strengths and is a powerful magic user with high-damage magic skills. It is considered the strongest class in group battles.

The second is the sage. Unlike the mage, the sage has fewer attack skills but can buff allies and debuff enemies. While it is not strong in solo battles, it can significantly increase the overall damage output in a party.

The third is the summoner. This class summons creatures from another world to fight. The summoner can also fight personally, making it a strong class in solo battles due to its ability to manipulate enemies with multiple summons.

All of these classes are appealing. According to the strategy wiki, the recommended class is the sage. The sage's buffs are separate from healer buffs and affect all party members, which can significantly increase the party's overall damage output. It would also be more enjoyable to see your own abilities improve and contribute to the party.

However, in my opinion, raising a sage is challenging. This is because many of the sage's skills depend on the "Spirit" stat.

The "Spirit" and "Intelligence" stats affect MP, magic skills, magic attack power, and magic defense power. "Spirit" significantly increases magic defense power and affects the effectiveness of healing and buff skills. "Intelligence" significantly increases magic attack power and affects the effectiveness of attack skills. While increasing "Spirit" also increases magic attack power, it does not increase as much as "Intelligence," and vice versa. The power of skills without specific notes follows these rules.

This means that the sage's skills, which depend on "Spirit," have a different power dynamic compared to the mage's skills, which depend on "Intelligence." Since the stats are set and cannot be changed once allocated, if you plan to become a sage, you need to allocate stat points to "Spirit" from the beginning. However, the mage's initial skill, "Mana Bolt," depends on "Intelligence," making it difficult to raise a sage from the start.

Considering this, I think it's best not to aim for a sage in this beta test. That leaves the wizard or the summoner. Both have their drawbacks. The wizard has powerful skills but takes a long time to cast and recast, and the summoner consumes MP continuously while summoning, making it easy to run out of MP.

Hmm, what should I do? I compare the skills of both classes. Thinking about skill builds is quite fun. Imagining how to create the "strongest skill build" with limited skill points is not just something I do; there are heated discussions on Another World's forums. Some enthusiasts have even created an unofficial skill simulator, which allows you to simulate which skills to acquire at each level. Using this, I spend about ten minutes comparing the skills of both classes, trying to fit the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle.

While doing this, I realize something. Maybe I can eliminate the drawbacks. I start manipulating the skill simulator, and to my surprise, the skill build I imagined fits perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle.

Hehe, this is great. It's true that it requires a lot of skill points, so it might not be possible to complete it in the time-limited open beta test, but it sounds interesting and worth trying.

Just as I'm immersed in my new goal, the update finally finishes. Alright, let's get started.

I log in and start setting up my character. The character data from the closed beta was deleted, so I have to start from scratch. My name, of course, will be Chaos.

The character setup allows you to change the gender and appearance. I usually try to make the character look like me, so I'll do that again this time. After creating the character, a mischievous thought comes to mind, and I suddenly increase the weight parameter. The character becomes noticeably fatter, and I can't help but laugh.

Wow, if I get fat, I'll look like this. Of course, it doesn't affect the stats, and being fat or thin doesn't matter. You could even create a fat thief or a young warrior if you wanted.

Thinking it would be fun, I experiment with different hairstyles, such as a voluminous style and silver hair with odd eyes. In the end, I create a fat, strange character with tall, spiky hair.

I went a bit overboard with the settings. Let me reset the weight and change the hairstyle... There, back to normal.

I'm ready to start. A selection screen for the starting location appears. I can choose from Maukt, Stulbressen, and Clermont. Maukt is the capital of the Castar Kingdom, Stulbressen is part of the Vaiskel Empire, and Clermont is a city in the Commune Union.

Last time, I started in a forest with nothing around, so it seems they've changed it to be near a city. It might have been a bug before.

Since I've already been to the Castar Kingdom during the closed beta, I'll choose Stulbressen. Fortunately, the Vaiskel Empire area is also covered in the strategy wiki.

Here we go, a new adventure begins!

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The hero Chaos, who became famous in the Castar Kingdom for defeating the Elder Treet, went missing for a period after his victory. King Wilfred of the time commissioned the Adventurer's Guild to search for him. However, the existence of Chaos was leaked by adventurers accompanying the military, and many people pretended to be him to claim the reward, leading to the cancellation of the search.

During the same period, a person with the same name as Chaos appeared in the neighboring Vaiskel Empire. Although he was a mage with black hair and a similar appearance, his eyes were blue and black, which was impossible to change at the time, so the Adventurer's Guild treated him as a different person. However, considering his achievements, the current prevailing theory is that he was the hero Chaos himself.

How and why he changed his eye color is still a topic of debate in academic circles. One theory suggests that he used a secret technique to change his eye color to avoid being too famous and restricted in his movements. However, this theory is countered by the argument that he wouldn't need to use the name Chaos if that were the case. Another theory suggests that he acquired a magic eye due to an accident during his disappearance, and a more outlandish theory suggests that "Chaos" was the name of a group of excellent mages, and the person was a different individual but related to the group.

Even today, Chaos remains a well-known hero in the hero tales. Many mysteries about him remain unsolved.