Leon looked at the three men frantically putting on clothes in front of him and couldn't help but sigh.
Creation Points could only construct the players' bodies, not even a piece of underwear. Players had to start completely naked.
Because of this, Leon made sure to summon male and female players separately and prepared clothes in advance. But the players seemed too excited and didn't notice the clothes nearby.
Luckily, he had gone to the male players first. If he had gone to the female players' room and they hadn't put on clothes yet, it would have been truly embarrassing.
After the three male players finished dressing, Leon led them to the female players' room. He confirmed through the door that they were already dressed before entering.
Looking at the three men and two women in front of him, Leon felt excited. He had originally thought getting two or three players online would be good enough, but all five who had registered actually logged in.
[Main Quest: Have at least one player officially log into the game (Quest completed, rewards distributed)]
After happily collecting the rewards, Leon began the new player guide he had prepared.
"Honored guests from the divine realm, welcome to Ember Town. I am the lord of this land, Baron Leon."
"In our world, there are magical creatures called 'Pokémon' living everywhere. They are intelligent, adorable, and possess all kinds of unique abilities."
As he spoke, Leon lifted up a Bounsweet.
"Bounsweet~ (°▽°)/" The Bounsweet cheerfully greeted the players.
"Holy shit, it's so cute!"
"It looks like a mangosteen(check on google). Was it designed based on one?"
"It smells so good. I kinda want to take a bite!"
"Bounsweet! (#Д)"
Hearing this, the Bounsweet immediately hid behind Leon in fear.
"It actually understands what we're saying?!"
"Seems pretty smart."
"Ahem," Leon coughed to interrupt the players' chatter. "As you can see, Pokémon are no less intelligent than humans. Some are even far smarter."
"Both humans and Pokémon are children created by the Creator. We were meant to live together in harmony."
"But due to wars and other reasons, humans and Pokémon are now hostile toward each other. If this continues, an all-out war will break out, leading to unimaginable devastation."
"To prevent this, the Creator chose me as His one and only divine messenger, tasking me with stopping this disaster. He also summoned you, guests from the divine realm, to assist me. In the time to come, I hope we can work together to restore this world to its rightful path."
Finally finishing his opening speech, Leon secretly sighed in relief. He wasn't sure how effective it was, but seeing the excited looks on the players' faces, it seemed to have worked.
Good. He could reuse this script in the future.
"Is this the game's backstory? Sounds pretty cool, but what's the actual gameplay like?"
"This is a full-dive VR game. I'd be happy even if we just played Tetris here. Speaking of which, how do we log out?"
Dylan quickly asked. He didn't want to end up like Kirito from that old anime, trapped in the game forever.
"You mean returning to the divine realm? Look at the back of your hand—there's a divine mark from the Creator. Focus on it, and you can choose to return."
"However, only your soul will leave. Your body will remain here, so make sure you're in a safe place before logging out."
Dylan tried it immediately and found the logout option, which reassured him.
"You've watched too many anime, man."
Ethan rolled his eyes, but he had his own questions.
"Where's the player menu? How do we check our levels and stats? And how do we fight to level up?"
"I don't understand the first part. As for fighting, you command your Pokémon to battle."
"Then how do we—"
"Enough! You'll figure these things out later. Right now, the priority is rebuilding our territory. Follow me."
Leon quickly cut off the players' questions. If they kept going, he might slip up.
He had done his best with the limited time. He gave players a flyover tour of the town as an opening cutscene and let them customize their avatars. But he wasn't a game designer, so some aspects were rough. He'd improve them later.
"Before we go outside, there's one more thing."
"I am the Creator's only divine messenger. My orders are His will. Anyone who disobeys will be sent back to the divine realm and banned from returning!"
Leon made his tone stern. He knew how chaotic "Fourth Wall Breakers" could be. Without strict rules, who knew what they'd do?
"Damn, this NPC can actually ban accounts? That's insane."
Dylan nudged Ethan and whispered.
"Probably the main character. The devs use him to control player actions."
"But banning players just like that? Aren't they worried people will quit?"
As soon as he said it, Dylan realized how dumb that sounded.
Ethan gave him a look.
"Dude, this is a full-dive VR game. Millions would kill to play. They don't need you."
"Pfft—" A giggle came from beside them. A female player with twin buns was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. Your expression was just too funny."
She introduced herself.
"I'm Bell. This is Luna."
"Dylan. Call this guy Ethan. That's Leaf."
"No worries, it was a dumb question. Personally, as long as I get to play this game, I'll do whatever the lord says!"
Dylan raised his voice on the last part, declaring his loyalty to Leon.
Soon, they reached the castle gates. As the doors opened, sunlight spilled in.
"Holy shit, the sunlight actually feels warm!"
"Even the sand looks real. This is just like the real world!"
"I thought only the castle was detailed. The outside is just as realistic."
The players marveled again.
Meanwhile, Walter, who had been waiting outside, stared at them in shock.
He had checked thoroughly, no one else should be in the castle. Where did these people come from? Were they really divine guests?
The thought made the usually composed Walter emotional. If Leon truly had divine guidance, their territory might be saved.
Leon saw the tears in Walter's eyes but didn't comment. He just patted his shoulder and turned to the players.
"This is Sir Walter, our town's clerk and knight captain. If you have questions about the territory, ask him."
"Also, besides me and Sir Walter, you must never reveal your identities as divine guests. Violators will face consequences. If anyone asks, say you're new refugees."
Once the players nodded, Leon issued their first quest.
(End of Chapter)