“Good luck in Ashes of Gods, Mark.”

Gabriel’s right hand glittered in a myriad of colors with these parting words as she swiped in the air, creating a colorful tear in space. As if she pulled a curtain, Shesmu’s vision turned a golden white for a second before he saw himself materializing in another place, kneeling on the ground.

 The floor was made out of wood. Shesmu could feel its dry and grained texture. For some reason, even though he already experienced the realism of Ashes of Gods countless times in his past life, he still felt surprised at the sensation. It was as if this was the first time Shesmu entered this world.

Congratulations! New Title Acquired!

Pioneer

Being an adventurer comes with great opportunities. One of them is being able to discover new species, runes, skills, or magic. This title is given to those who reached far and wide and were the first to do something of significance in this world.

Increase in reputation with the allied races.

Being greeted by this notification was something of a first for Shesmu. This might be the first time ever someone starts the game with a special title already given.

Shesmu closed the notification, and while looking up, his eyes crossed with those of a person with high stature. The unknown man’s posture was disciplined, like that of a soldier or a dojo master. He wore a pair of metal shoulder plates, chainmail covered by a green vest coupled with dark green pants. His muscles were bursting out of his vest, scars of battle decorated his face and arms, telling tales of all the wars he survived.

 Suddenly, Shesmu, who was staring at him, felt a great sense of danger. The man in front of him looked much larger. Shesmu’s eyes only could focus on him and only him, not noticing anything of the surrounding. The man felt like a feral beast, a green aura full of ferocity was emanating from him.

Shesmu shook his head to snap out of the illusion he was trapped in.

Bloodthirst passive, huh? Isn’t that a high-level skill? I guess this guy is not half bad. At the very least, he is a Tier II. But to think I would actually succumb to the effect of this skill for so long. I know that this is just a level of one’s body, but... My senses are really no longer as sharp as they used to be. This is weird…

As Shesmu was sitting up, he looked at the man in front of him before stopping dead on his tracks. The man’s eyes were cold. So cold, it sent a shiver down Shesmu’s spine. This time, it wasn’t unintentional bloodlust leaking from him; he really wanted to kill him then and there. 

However, as if everything was but an illusion, the warrior’s cold eyes turned soft, a smile filling his face.

“Hey, young’un, get up. The look on your face is as if you just saw a demon. Hahaha!”

Seeing the man who was just about to eat him alive turn into a kind middle-aged man felt awkward to Shesmu. However, it didn’t take long for him to just shake off that feeling and go with the flow. There were many weird people everywhere. If he were stuck whenever one of them does something strange, Shesmu would not get anywhere.

Once Shesmu sat up, the man started talking.

“My name is Leonard, your instructor. Here, I’ll be teaching you the basics of how to become a brave one!”

As Leonard was talking, Shesmu’s eyes drifted to his surroundings. As expected, he saw the ghosts.

Noticing where Shesmu’s attention went, the instruction tried to clear his confusion.

“Oh, these are the ghosts. They are a representation of your comrades from the golden generation in this plane. Each of you is in a different plane with a different instructor so that none bothers anyone while training.”

Shesmu knew all of this, but he still found it funny how this world’s inhabitants call players the golden generation.

Each of the ghosts was doing something different. Some were listening to their instructors, others already started training, and some just kept fooling around, trying to get a reaction from the other ghosts.

“First of all, we need to know which weapon do you see fit for your style. It may determine your future advancement in the mighty path of the warrior. But fret not, even if none of the weapons here are to your suiting, you can always choose one later. There will always be a master out there that can teach you the way; you just need to find them!”

Shesmu wasn’t really interested in the instructor’s short monologue, so he just replied curtly.

“An arming sword.”

“Oh, we seem to be kindred spirits! Remember young’un, the sword chooses its master, so be worthy lest you get rejected by your own sword! Hahaha!”

Leonard laughed as he patted Shesmu’s back. Each one of his taps felt more like a boulder slamming on Shesmu’s back rather than human hands.

“Hack, hack!” Leonard’s friendly pats hit Shesmu so hard that he felt his bones shaking. 

Goddammit, what have I done to suffer like this! Was he that violent last time?

“Haha, you sure do have a backbone. Most would have fallen to their knees from my greeting pat. Hahaha!”

For some reason, a strong urge to go up and pummel Leonard until he drops dead, burnt inside Shesmu. The only thing stopping him from doing so was the rational side of him that said, “You’re gonna get rekt before you even take the first step, so calm down.”

“Anyway, enough with the rambling, I’m sure that the fire inside your heart is waiting to be unleashed! Come, here is your sword.”

Leonard materialized a long sword in his hand. It didn’t look anything spectacular. In fact, Shesmu could tell from a distance that the sword’s blade was too dull. The amount of damage one could do with this thing was negligible.

Shesmu moved forward to take the sword from Leonard’s hands. Even though the sword was of trash quality, he was excited. It had been quite a long time since he touched a sword, and even if it was a blunt one, Shesmu didn’t mind. He was looking forward to playing around with it. Without a sword in his hands, Shesmu felt that something was lacking. Now, he would finally be able to fill that gap in his heart.

However, when Shesmu took hold of the long sword, it wasn’t joy that welcomed him, but an all-engulfing terror. His hands started shaking, and his eyes were unbelieving. His legs failed him, and he fell down to his knees. He could feel it, and he understood it with every fiber of his being. The sword felt alien, almost as if it was the first time he ever touched one.