"They are called 'serenity' and 'fury,’ the first and the second among my seven sacred treasures. Gorgeous, right?" she said.

Yongno replied, "Uh, yeah, they look amazing, but how did you make them appear out of thin air? Was it magic...?"

"Oh, my! You're ridiculous. Well, then, what about this?"

The silver-haired beauty then raised her right hand, which bore 'serenity.' The blade emitted soft energy, and…

"Eh?"

Yongno saw an illusion of a rampart. The girl built a vast barrier between them by simply raising her sword. This impressive ability astonished Yongno and made him think the girl was invulnerable, as she could create such a durable defensive structure without restriction.

The girl uttered, "If that wasn’t sufficient, let me show you this one as well."

With a mischievous smile, the girl raised the red blade 'fury.'

Pop––!

"Ha... haha..."

Yongno stepped back as he faced red spiritual energy that looked like a roaring flame. Although he knew the lethal weapon wasn’t targeting him, he instinctively felt horrified. Most people would be anxious if a gun were pointed at them, even if they were assured that the gunman wouldn’t pull the trigger. Likewise, Yongno was terrified by the spiritual energy swirling around since the force could destroy him at any time.

The girl said, "Eh? You're not saying anything. Is this better than the swords, then?"

At that moment, the two blades disappeared, and a red magic circle formed in the air with a beam of light blazing from it. The light beam was targeting the empty space far from Yongno, but the room suddenly heated up. Yongno didn’t know this, but the girl used ‘Hell Fire,’ the most advanced magic spell in the SS rank.

"If this isn't doing it for you, how do you like this one?” asked the girl.

[Owooooo––]

After splitting opening the space, a large wolf showed up. The creature howled without opening its mouth, but the noise echoed repeatedly. Yongno held his breath to avoid the wolf’s attention, but it was useless. The furry beast looked toward Yongno with its huge eyes that were bigger than wheels.

"Ah..."

"Geez, is this not enough too? Then..."

The silver-haired girl began to recite something while making signs with both hands, but Yongno shrieked in surprise.

"Hold on, hold on! That's enough. I believe you! Yes, this is indeed virtual reality!"

"Oh, thank goodness, you trust me now."

When the girl grinned, the giant wolf disappeared as if it were nothing. Throughout this whole process, Yongno had witnessed outlandish scenes that he’d never seen before; he had no choice but to accept that this space wasn’t real.

The girl continued, "First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Marionette Hold, a guide who'll lead the users to the world of DIO."

The girl slightly lifted her dress as a curtsy. This action was so perfect and was carried out in such a polite and respectful manner that Yongno thought she’d practiced for years. He instinctively lowered his head after her.

"I'm Yoo... Yoon Yongno."

"Haha, don't be shy. Anyway, we've wasted too much time, so let me begin my explanation."

"Explanation...? Of?"

"Obviously, the basic operation of DIO. Can you hold your left ear with your left hand?"

Yongno followed her instructions without a second thought. Nothing happened immediately, but after staying there for about two seconds, a blue window popped up.

Although he’d accepted that he was in a virtual space, Yongno was surprised to find a pop-up window right before his eyes. It clearly showed his role as a player in a game.

‘Anyway, does this program react to specific movements?’

Yongno had never seen this new way to interact in other games. Amazed, Yongno observed the window floating in the air. The stats were all zero since he was a newbie.

"If you touch your ear again, the status window will close. Similarly, tap your left hand twice with your right hand to activate the stats and ability window. If you want to see the community list, tap your right hand twice with your left hand. There are also a few other things, but you can learn them on your own."

"Wow..."

The way the game operated felt so cool to Yongno, and he opened the stats and ability window as well as the community list. Right now, there wasn’t anything particular to see since he had no skills and hadn’t added any friends yet.

"Oh, but can I also change my appearance?"

"That is forbidden for a few reasons such as anonymity problems. Then again, it doesn’t seem like your appearance matters once you start playing. You can change it afterward."

"What about a player’s occupation?"

"The option exists, but you don't choose it now. At Level 10, you’ll have an opportunity to change careers."

"A-ha!"

Yongno nodded. ‘Once I’m used to playing the game, I can decide my career.’ However, Mari laughed at him.

"Hahaha."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Do you think that Level 10 is some sort of beginner's level? Does it seem like you'll be able to pick your job soon?”

"Am I wrong?"

"Yes, you are. Unfortunately, Level 10 here is the same as reaching the master level. To be honest with you, most of DIO’s users will never have the chance to choose their occupations and will just grow old and die."

"Is reaching Level 10 that difficult? No matter how hard it is, hunting for a long time would make me level up, wouldn’t it?"

"DIO’s system is based on the user's demonstrated abilities. Therefore, playing this game for any length of time doesn't lead to an automatic level-up, but you do get some advantages."

Mari then took out a clear glass marble from her pocket.

"What is that?" asked Yongno.

"Nothing special. It's for accepting you as an official user. Give me your left hand."

Mari stretched out her hand to him, and Yongno grabbed it with his left hand. With this, Mari placed the marble on the back of his palm.

"Ouch!" Yongno shouted.

"Such a crybaby. Anyway, this is it."

After her remark, Yongno looked at the back of his left palm, finding a blue mark. It had some strange letters in a circle with a few empty boxes.

"Okay, so are you ready to take the test?" asked Mari.

"What? A test? At the start of the game?"

"It's like a mock exam to prepare you for the tests that you'll be continuously taking afterward. Well then, Test Site!"

As she screamed jokingly, twenty doors appeared in the empty room, with each being either red, blue, green, or yellow. Each one had a different word written on it. The five doors on the [Manufacturing] row were labeled: [Weaponry Production], [Clothing Production], [Magic Items], [Art], and [Medicine Production]. On the [Daily Life] row, the doors were labeled: [Cooking], [Information Gathering], [Search], [Farming], and [Medical Surgery]. For the [Adventure] section, the doors were titled: [Gathering], [General Knowledge], [Transportation], [Stealing], and [Training]. Lastly, the [Battle] row had [1:1 Combat], [Escort], [Rescue], [Group Fight], and [Assassination].

"Are these all tests?"

"Yup, right now, you are Level 1. If you pass all these tests, you become Level 2. Eventually, after that, you will enter the world of DIO."

"If I don't pass them, I'll be staying here forever?"

"Those tests are super easy, so that won't happen. Let's see... Shall we start with [Weaponry Production]? Are you ready?"

When Mari pulled Yongno's arm, he was dragged through the door. As soon as this happened, the door vanished, with words materializing in its place.

/Welcome to the [Weaponry Production] test./

/Stage 1 Collect Materials––Mining/

"Mining... Are you serious...?"

Yongno found himself holding a pickaxe. With this, it was too obvious to question what he was supposed to do.

Mari replied, "Yes, start working."

"Gosh! How can you start working already? This is such a brutal game!"

Yongno grumbled but began to follow the rules. He felt bewildered, but just as she said, it wasn’t a challenging task.

Clang! Clang!

Mining the minerals with the pickaxe wasn't too taxing. All he had to do was hold the tool up high and slam it to the ground. The ground wasn’t too firm, and it was actually quite easy for Yongno.

/You gained a new skill - Mining!/

"Eh? Mining?"

"It's a trivial skill. Mining up to this point seems enough, so take the minerals. Here's your sack and shovel."

‘Geez, they are treating people so harshly.’

Groaning, he used the shovel to move the minerals into the sack. He’d only been mining for a short time, but he found many minerals, so the bag was soon filled. When Yongno was done, a word appeared in the air.

/Clear!/

"Eh?"

"You passed."

"For what? Did I really do something?"

"I told you it's super easy."

Mari shrugged, and at the same time, a new window popped up in front of them.

[QUEST

Difficulty Level: Rank 9

Content: Pass the Smithing Stage 1 test.

Rewards: 9th-tier Pickax, 9th-tier Shovel, Iron Ore* 10kg

EXP: 10 Spirits]

"Oh, those are iron ores... No, that's not the point. Anyway, are the shovel and pickaxe also a reward?

"It's the beginning of the game, so we're being generous."

"But these are too heavy to carry."

"Stop being fussy. You're now a user with an inventory."

"Inventory?"

"So to speak, it's something like this."

After picking up the sack of iron ores from the ground, Mari pushed it into Yongno's arms before a square space opened.

"This is...?"

Mari replied, "How's that? Do you understand now?"

Although it wasn't visible like the stat or quest window, Yongno could now envision a compact little space in his mind. Inside were the iron ores that Mari had just given him.

She explained, "It's called an inventory, a sort of individual space provided to all users. The size is 2x2x2, and it can hold up to 100 kilograms. Basically, you can open it inside a dark pocket or bag, but once you’re more accustomed, you can open it anywhere. However, the inventory is quite fragile, so you’d better keep it closed during battle. It’s even worse if you use your inventory to snag a flying attack; also, make sure it isn’t hit by bombardments filled with energy or anything at a high temperature."

She also murmured, "I don’t recommend exposing it to light energy either. That's why the inventory must be opened in the dark. I don't even want to talk about avoiding magic attacks.”

"Then what happens if the inventory gets directly attacked?" asked Yongno.

"It’ll be badly affected, so you won't be able to open it for a while. However, it opens and closes in an instant according to the user's thoughts. As long as you don't foolishly let it be attacked, no problems will occur."