From what he could remember in his past life, there were seven professions at the start of [Apocalypse].
And just like he had expected, those seven appeared in front of him.
[Warrior], [Mage], [Archer], [Cleric], [Assassin], [Summoner], [Beast Tamer].
Riley's gaze hovered over the seven options for sometime, pondering over what would be the best for him.
In his past life, he had gone along with the Warrior profession, because he felt like it was the best for his talent.
However, he later realised that was a mistake, as the warrior class actually turned out to be a terrible fit for him, because of his poor physique.
Besides, his talent was just too weak, something which further slowed him down.
But now that he had a second chance at this, he decided he wouldn't go with the warrior profession.
"Assassin." He muttered, letting out a low sigh.
There was a reason he decided to go for this particular profession, and that was because it could later evolve into one of the most powerful classes in the game.
Though Mage was also a class like that, he never really liked it much.
He preferred to be one who stayed and fought from the shadows, and he didn't plan on showing off too much within the game.
[Congratulations! You have become an assassin!]
[Entering into the world of Apocalypse!]
Immediately, the scenery around him wrapped, and the next thing he knew, he appeared in a what seemed to be a village.
[Player "A Random" has entered the Novice Continent!]
'So this is it… I'm really back here.' He thought, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh air of the village.
However, his attempt to relish in the nostalgic air was soon shattered as he heard the exclamations of the others around him.
"Wow… I can believe I'm finally here! It all looks so real!"
"The news on those forums didn't lie at all, this game is a masterpiece!"
"I wonder if what I heard was true… then this could be my chance to lose my virginity…"
"Damn those Beta players, why couldn't I have been one of them?!"
Their incessant chatting quickly filled the air around him, and his face twisted into a frown.
All around him were other players who just like him, weren't chosen as beta players.
Each of them was putting on a pair of ragged leather trousers and white shirt, and their ages ranged from fifteen to sixty.
Riley looked down at himself, only to find the same set of clothing, and except for the pair of daggers at his sides, he wasn't much different from the rest.
DING!
A light chime suddenly sounded in his head, and above his vision, a translucent interface hovered in the corner of his vision.
[Welcome to Novice Village 1736!]
[Generating Status Window…]
[Novice Quest: Reach Level 10 and defeat the village boss monster to unlock access to the first city. Failure to complete this task within a month means the players would remain trapped in the Novice Continent.]
Riley's gaze hovered on novice village quest, and a strange glint flashed through his eyes.
Another notification soon appeared in front of him, breaking him out of his thoughts.
[Status Window Generation Complete!]
[Player ID: A Random]
[Level: 1(0/100)]
[Profession: Assassin]
[Class: Apprentice Assassin]
[Talent: Gluttony (SSS)]
[H/P: 30
[M/P: 60
[Magic Damage: 6
[Physical Damage: 2
[Magic Resistance: 6
[Physical Resistance: 1
[Attributes: Strength: 2; Agility: 8; Vitality: 3; Mana: 6; Endurance: 1]
[Skill: Stealth(level 1)]
[Rank: F]
[Description: Temporarily Boosts Agility By 50% for 10 seconds, and masks the user's presence. Deals 15 points of damage to target + 100% of user's spirit to target. Cost: 10 Magic Points. Cool-down: 3 seconds]
[Attribute Points Available: 0]
[Skill Points Available: 0]
[Equipment: Basic Cloth Shirt, Basic Leather Pants, Basic Daggers(common)]
Riley nodded as he stared at the status window floating in front of him.
It was pretty much the same as it was in his past life, except for the fact that he was now an Assassin, and also had an SSS-level talent!
The prior knowledge of his status window was another reason he chose the assassin profession.
Perhaps it was because he used to race when he was younger, but his agility had always been an edge above the rest of his stats.
With his assassin class, he could now make the best use of it.
He then turned his attention back to his surroundings, taking some time to observe everything going on.
There were already conflicts breaking out among the panicked players, and some players had even started attacking each other.
Nonetheless, that wasn't his business, as long as they didn't involve him in their issues.
Most of the buildings in the village were built with wood and rocks, giving them a somewhat medieval vibe.
But what caught his attention were the people moving around the village.
They were humans just like them, but they weren't dressed in ragged leather pants or white tops.
Their clothing was more 'normal', though most were still quite plain in appearance.
They simply went about their normal day, merely casting glances at them once in a while.
'NPCs…' Riley thought, his gaze lingering on one of the man passing by.
The man's eyes briefly met his, and the NPC narrowed his eyes, before turning his gaze away.
Riley noticed a few of the players try to approach these NPCs, only to get ignored.
The wiser ones simply stayed behind as they had already read in the online forums that these NPCs wouldn't answer them no matter what they did.
The reason for that was the low Reputation rank.
There were eight reputation ranks, while were Hostile, Wary, Neutral, Familiar, Friendly, Respected, Revered and lastly, Bound.
Their current rank with the NPCs was Neutral, so the NPCs wouldn't try to interact with them, neither will they even reply them.
Riley sighed, moving away from the crowd of players.
Though everyone thought of the inhabitants of the game as NPCs now, the situation would change later… after 'this stage' was over.
'Whatever, I'll just focus on getting stronger for now.' Riley thought, heading towards the village's exit.
There were four exits from the village, which were south, north, west and east, each one leading to different areas in the game.
The one he was heading to was the east, which led to the notorious spiked rat zone, one of the most annoying monsters at the start of the game.
However, he already knew how to deal with them, so he wasn't too worried about facing the rats.
Besides, he needed to find powerful monsters to devour with his talent, so he could grow stronger, and be ready for what was to come.