The buzzing of the circuits still resonated in Arzane's eardrums as his digital body took shape. A blinding white light enveloped him, then slowly faded, revealing a complex urban setting, somewhere between cyberpunk and dark fantasy. Levitating buildings, robotic NPCs with almost human faces, wandering adventurers laden with strange armor and weapons: he had just landed in Erasthia, the game's starting city.
> Welcome to the world of "Genesis: The Eternal Hunt."
A crystalline female voice, artificial but warm, vibrated through the air. It was ORIAS, the world's master artificial intelligence. She chose no pseudonym, race, or path for the players. She was there only to guide... or observe.
A floating interface appeared before him.
[STEP 1: CHARACTER CREATION]
Username: Z3RO
Starting Race: Human
Gender: Male
Base Class: ⚙️ Techno-Mage
Specialty: Drone Manipulation, Energy Amplification, Object Hacking.
---
Arzane knew exactly what he wanted. His avatar looked like him... only better. Same dark complexion, same determined gaze, but a slightly more athletic build, a few blue circuits along his left arm, and a glowing technomagic prosthesis at the nape of his neck.
> "Z3RO... the Code Hunter. That sounds good."
Not a second to waste. He searched his basic inventory: an inactive drone pod, a pulse pistol, and a hacking interface tomogram. He immediately started the initiation quest, but ignored the mundane quests offered in town. > "No time to deliver apples to NPCs for 5 credits. We'll start farming right away."
Leaving the city, the outer areas were teeming with Cyber-Wolves, Residual Energy Slimes, and Corrupted Data Creatures. With his mastery of the drone, he could attack from a distance, while hacking enemy movements on the fly. A voice-analyzing AI integrated into his equipment whispered suggestions:
> "Combo: Close-range attack + hack = Guaranteed critical damage."
The first fights were intense, but Z3RO made it through quickly. He climbed to level 5 in less than two hours. His combat drone evolved into the Type-02 "Spectre," capable of assisting him with a secondary tactical AI.
But what he was really looking for wasn't just power. It was escape. He forgot the tiny room he lived in, the 5,000 CFA francs he had to manage each week, the unstable Wi-Fi, and the doubtful looks from his family.
> "Here, I'm Z3RO. Not a broke kid. Not a useless dreamer. A fucking pioneer."
He saved his progress in a zone sanctuary. The servers were buzzing with activity. Thousands of players, of all races and classes, appeared every minute in Erasthia. None had yet caught his attention. But somewhere, in another corner of the map, another player had just arrived.
> The meeting wasn't for today. But fate was beginning to pull its strings...