A sheet of glass hovered across the room. I approached, thankful at how easy it was to walk in virtual reality. It reminded me of walking in a new pair of shoes–a touch awkward but familiar and eventually felt normal.
My reflection had been reduced to a silhouette. Ooh, I sensed a character creator. I waved, but the silhouette didn’t wave back. Hmm. Not sure if I found a glitch or if it were going to walk out and start attacking me.
Staring at the glass didn’t trigger anything, so I touched the surface. Still nothing. Really should've insisted on the Auro-ientation.
I racked my brain for any hints Char'd given. Nothing on character creation came to mind, but she talked to me about opening the HUD. "We're working on a customizable menu. Just imagine how it should look in your head, and you'll see it."
My chef-coded brain took the word menu a bit literally and pictured a restaurant menu with each page being a different tab. Status. Skills. Inventory. Quests. Map. Friends. Messages.
The silhouette’s eyes glowed gold–ooh, that was cool, and the menu appeared in front of me.
There was a trio of question marks on the front page instead of a restaurant’s name. Below the ??? was a faded silhouette. Probably where my screenname and a character portrait would go when I finished making me.
Huh, that was a weird thought.
The mirror glowed behind the menu. Golden script appeared on the surface.
Touch the surface and say your name.
“Robin McArthur,” I said, touching the mirror.
Robin Macarthur??? appeared on both the mirror and menu. That was a double no. First, they spelled my name wrong. Second, I made an ass of it and me thinking it wanted my real name.
“McRobin.”
McRobin???
“Perfect.”
A loud ca-thunk came from the mirror. Its surface shimmered, and the silhouette became a full reflection. A mid-twenties Korean man with light brown skin looked back at me. Hmm. He could stand to shave and trim his hair a bit, but he looked good. Though, the gold tunic and trousers were a bit gaudy. Hopefully the outfit changed once I picked my class.
Two large tabs appeared at the top of the screen: Race. Gender.
As much as I’d love galavanting as a Tiefling or embrace my inner short king Dwarf, I planned to stay Human. Boring, sure, but I had my reasons. Notably, the last day of the beta was our wedding anniversary, and it wouldn't be right to celebrate with my wife as anything other than me.
But, I could still play around before locking in.
Each section of my body had its own tab with options and sliders. Char often grumbled about coding all the character creator options. Apparently, one of the noses caused a glitch that emptied out a person’s inventory and fixing that glitch caused three of the ears to not display.
Hmm. Maybe playing around with the character creator wasn’t safe. Didn’t want to accidentally make my calves a little thicker and somehow lose my right hand. Char never reported issues with the Races, so cycling through those shouldn’t be a risk.
The game gave me six to choose from: Human, Elf, Vampire, Avian, Kitsune, and Lacertilia.
So much for Tiefling and Dwarf–let alone being the orc mommy of my dreams. Probably for the best for that last one. Char'd never look me in the eye again.
Race: Human. The most common denizen in Auro. A master of none but himself. Attribute: +0 to Fortune, Luster, Acuity, Somatic, and Kinetics. Racial Trait: Evolution. Gains an additional 5% experience at the completion of a quest or defeated monster.
Not bad, but I wanted to cycle through the other races before locking it in.
Race: Elf. A haughty but reclusive race native to the forests of Auro. Nimble warriors who prefer to win fights from a distance. Attributes: + 2 Kinetics, and +1 Acuity. -1 Fortune, and -2 Somatic. Racial Trait: Danger Sense. Elves can sense the presence and approximate level of all players and NPCs within a two mile radius. This range increases automatically by one mile with every level.
Elf was tempting. Human adjacent, so my wife would accept it, and I'd never felt so damn pretty before. I was more than easy on the eyes; I was a certified snack! All the more reason not to pick it. Char would have zero mercy on anyone who ogled me, especially on our anniversary.
Race: Vampire. Former servants of the Holy Dragon cursed by the Fell Witch to shun his light. Nocturnal casters with a penchant for strong spells. Attributes: +5 Acuity. -2 Fortune. Racial Trait: Nocturnal. Direct sunlight causes a 50% debuff to damage but a 50% buff otherwise.
Changing into a Vampire gave me a snazzy black and red cape and a pair of fangs. I snickered and did my best Bela Lugosi in front of the mirror. It wasn’t a good impression. Personally, I blamed the mirror. Seeing my reflection as a Vampire ruined the immersion.
Race: Avian. Descendants of the Holy Dragon’s most trusted attendants. Brave warriors trained to use the sky and high ground to their advantage. Attributes: + 2 Kinetics. -2 Somatic. Racial Trait: Flight. What? You thought those wings were just for show?
I tried out Avian next. This one came with a whole body makeover. The snazzy cape was exchanged for a toga made of black feathers. My nose and mouth morphed into a beak, and my feet became large talons. Feathers grew out of my arms until they resembled wings. I tried wiggling my fingers but didn't have any! Nah, wings were cool and all but not at the cost of my thumbs.
Race: Kitsune. A race of fox-like people with a mysterious origin. Clever warriors known for their lucky streaks. Attributes: + 3 Fortune, and + 2 Luster. -3 Somatic. Racial Trait: Selective Attention. Kitsune may ignore aggro.
Hopefully Kitsune let me keep my fingers… kinda? Massive paws replaced hands and feet. Each digit was fully moveable like a finger or toe. I flexed my right hand, and the claws came out with a satisfying shing. That was pretty cool. What wasn't so cool was how naked I was. The Avian’s feathers turned to itchy russet fur and a tail. Instead of a feather-toga, the Kitsune's base clothing was a kerchief around the neck. I supposed the fur counted as natural armor, and my reflection didn't show any unsavory parts of my body, but I still felt so weird.
Come on, Lacertilia. Don’t let me down.
Race: Lacertilia. The result of experiments to create a hybrid between human and dragon. Natural predators suited to close quarters combat. Attributes: +5 Somatic. -2 Luster and -3 Kinetics. Racial Trait: All Natural. Lacertilia's have a breath weapon and resistance to their chosen Affinity.
Black and gold honeycomb scales covered my body. Tufts of smoke billowed from my nostrils like whiskers. I had real hands again, but the edges of my fingers were serrated enough to use as weapons. Or, makeshift kitchen knives. I still had a tail but no wings. Couldn't steal the Avian's thunder.
Still no clothes but the scales felt less exposed than the fur. Less itchy too, which was another plus. All in all, I could get behind Lacertilia. Looked cool, felt good, and had utility.
The real question was how Char would react. One the one hand, or was it claw now?, she'd be excited to see me engaging with her game. On the other, she might be upset with me not being me on our anniversary. Then again, it would only be for a few days and I’d still be me when we got back home on anniversary night. Either she’d overlook the peccadillo, or I’d ruin her experience.
Not a risk I was willing to take, so I finalized Human. Two more tabs appeared on the mirror. Class. Affinity.
Char gave the rundown on classes long before the game was in a playable state. Artificer and Performer were for players more interested in role-playing as a craftsman or artist. Berserker and Pugilist were the unga bungas designed to take hits. Sword Dancers, Hunters, Reapers and Piercers were unga bungas not designed to take hits. And Paladins were just designed to take hits.
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Chef, Combat Medic and Priest were there to keep everyone else alive. Sorcerers stood in the back and blasted things with magic. And Spirit Mediums… I wasn’t sure even Char knew what they did. Sounded like the devs had a bunch of ideas and made a hodge podge class that could do whatever they wanted it to do.
Every Class had a separate skill tree depending on a player’s elemental Affinity, but not every Class and Affinity were compatible. At least, not yet. Char often grumbled about not having enough time to implement everything.
Class wasn't even a question. Sword Dancer was a tempting option–what growing boy wouldn't want to be a swashbuckling Jedi? But Char flavored one of the support classes a Chef specifically for me. And I couldn't wait to play it.
Luckily, it was compatible with five of the six Affinities: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Shadow. Sorry, Light. The recipe lists seemed common sense. Water focused on fish and desserts, Air on poultry, and Earth on fruits and veggies. Fire was a bit more creative. Its first two recipes were kimchi and tteokbokki. Charlotte really coded spicy Korean food in the game. My wife really did love me.
Reading the Shadow Chef recipes churned my stomach. Pea and Eyeball Soup? Offal Offering? What would that even taste like? How did anyone research that–I looked away before I threw up. No, not picking the Donner Party class.
I locked in Fire Chef as my Class. The Skills and Equipment tabs on the McRobin menu updated with two passive skills, a pair of recipes, and an Affinity skill. My Inventory was filled with enough ingredients to make each recipe twice alongside a trusty weapon: a wooden spoon.
Passive Skill: Gatherer. Receive ingredients when examining plants.
Passive Skill: Butcher. Receive ingredients from fallen monsters.
Recipe: Kimchi. A party in the pan becomes a party in your mouth! And the party perks you up! Heals HP by five % for ten seconds. MP: 5. Prep time: 10 seconds. Ingredients: Nappa cabbage. Raddish. Spring onions. Garlic. Ginger. Jeotgal.
Recipe: Tteokbokki. If you can't take the heat, slap it on your weapon! Applies Fire resistance and damage to all weapons for the next minute. MP: 5. Prep time: 10 seconds. Ingredients: Garae-tteok, Eomuk, boiled eggs, garlic and scallion, gochujang, Sesame seeds.
Affinity Skill: Firestarter. What can we say, some like it hot! Coat your hand in flame and apply Fire damage to your attacks. MP: 5. Item:
Wooden Spoon. Whether you’re mixing eggs or cracking skulls, never leave home without this kitchen classic!
FLASK flashed on the front page of my HUD. These were the Attributes in Sins of Auro. Fortune. Luster. Acuity. Somatic. Kinetics. Or, in simpler terms, Luck, Charisma, Wisdom, Strength and Dexterity. Alas, it was harder making an acronym without a vowel.
Each Attribute had five points allocated by default, and the game gave me an additional twenty. There were two options, either min max to make the most effective character possible or take the easy route and put four points in everything. Honestly, there might not be much difference.
Support skills scaled with Luster, which made sense to me. The more appealing a dish or song, the more effective it would be. And I'd need Kinetics to wield kitchenware to defend myself. Those two had to be the priority, but the other three were too important to ignore.
High Fortune meant better item drops or improved chances for lucky shenanigans–like creating two dishes with one set of ingredients or not expending an ingredient while cooking. Without Acuity, I wouldn't have the mana to use my skills.
Somatic... okay, that was a dump stat for me. Cooking required finesse, not bulging muscles. While health scaled with Somatic, I'd be safe enough in the back to justify a low amount. And if I wasn't, that's because I wasn't doing a good enough job healing the people in front.
I put five points each in FLAK.
McRobin.
Human. Fire. Chef.
- 10
- 10
- 10
- 5
- 10
Is this correct?
"Looks good to me."
The blue light brightened, enveloping the room. It dimmed into a crepuscular sky. Faded pink clouds swam across a purple sea. It reminded me of the sunsets back home. Even in a world of elves and magic, there was just enough reality to keep me grounded.
And just like reality, I knew a shopping district when I saw one. Window shoppers and interested buyers bustled between stalls, as vendors haggled and hawked their wares.
A kitsune running a jewelry stand caught my eye. Each of his three tails carried a different category of jewelry: rings, necklaces, and lockets. A quartz locket caught my eye.
Char collected quartz jewelry. Bet she'd love this for an anniversary gift, even if she couldn't take it with her.
Quartz Locket. Reduced physical damage by 15 percent. Price: 1000 gold.
Perfect gifts being ridiculously expensive? This was realistic.
I walked away from the stall to find my wife.
"Char?” No response. “Char?” I yelled a little louder. Still nothing. Was she still making her character? I figured she knew exactly what she wanted after all the time spent making the game. Or maybe she had too many babies programmed in and couldn't pick one.
I explored the market to find her or a cheaper gift.
An old Lacertilia woman stitched carpets, whilst singing in a language I didn't recognize. Char would've bragged about inventing a new language so either someone else invented it or it was just Icelandic.
A dwarf molded lumps of earth into custom sculptures--wait, so dwarves were in the game but not playable? The hell? How did a fox and bird take priority over a classic?
Were there tieflings too–yes. Across the way a tiefling swordsmith used the flames from his fingertips to keep the forge alight. His lanky soot-covered apprentice froze a handful of small coals and dropped them in a glass full of something that smelled like alcohol.
Hmm. How did the alcohol taste here? Not to mention the food. Light hints of rosemary and meat tickled my nose. I followed the smells to a large grill.
Prime rib rested upon the sizzling top. Hastily melting butter and honey seeped into the glistening fat. Long green strips, that I assumed were either noodles or cabbage, were being grilled on the sides. The young elf girl working the grill used a large pair of tongs to turn the meat over, revealing its golden brown crust.
She glanced up and noticed me staring at the food. “Free sample?”
My two favorite words. “Yes, please.”
She smiled and fixed me a plate of meat and cabbage-noodles. The prime rib was art, and I wanted to save it for last. Besides, I had an expectation for its taste. I was very interested in figuring out these green noodles. I dug my fingers into them since she didn’t provide me with a fork or chopsticks. Not that I minded an excuse to lick my fingers clean. I’d need to do that for sure given how oily the noodles were.
“Gracious, no!” She gasped. “You're my guest. I'll feed you.”
I blinked, and the cabbage-noodles slipped from my fingers. “I'm sorry?”
“I said, ‘I'll feed you.’”
She retrieved a fork from behind the grill, which she used to gather a heap of my noodles. I opened my mouth and took a bite. The noodles had a spongy texture. Definitely didn't taste like cabbage. More like tofu that had taken a dip in a pond of olive oil. I wasn't impressed but not bad.
“You don't like it?”
“It’s not bad, but I think it’ll shine with some meat.”
She twirled another forkful of noodles and stabbed it into a cut of prime rib. “Open wide.”
I heard a loud cough behind me before taking the second bite. A dark-skinned elf approached my side. I recognized the long chestnut hair reaching down to her back. Unfortunately, I also recognized the hostility gleaming in her jade eyes. But I had nothing to be ashamed of. “Can I help you…” I opened my HUD to see her name.
Screenname: MoonHuntress. Race: Elf. Level: 1 Class: Huntress. Affinity: Light.
She crossed her arms, glowering at me. I was too busy enjoying art to deal with her tantrum but had enough sense to use the fork myself. The meat had a rich flavor and spicy kick to it. The cabbage-noodles absorbed the spice, creating a tempest of rich heat in my mouth.
I pointed at the food. “What is this?”
“The meat is from a cow, and the noodles are made from soy and wild onion.”
“No kidding?”
“Do you like it, sir?”
“It's fantastic together. I can't wait to get my hands on some”
“Robin,” MoonHuntress growled.
“Yes?” I asked without looking at her.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying some free food. You want some, MoonHuntress?”
Her dark cheeks flushed. “Don't call me that. It sounds weird coming from you.”
“Really? I thought it was your name.”
She scoffed. “You know my name, dummy.”
I snickered. “Sure do, Mil—”
Her cheeks turned redder. “Not that one!” She fixed her gaze on the prime rib. “That better be the best damn meat I ever put in my mouth.”
“Can it be second best?” I asked with a grin.
She paused to consider that. “I’ll allow it. Nothing's beating Christmas steak.”
Not what I was going for but alright. “Seriously though, try this stuff. Can my wife have a sample too?”
“Of course, sir.” She swirled up another forkful of noodles and meat.
Char’s scowl slowly but surely dissolved with each chew. “Robin.” She faced me, a tear forming in her left eye. “It’s delicious.”
“I know.” I took her hands in mine and whispered in her ear, “Just imagine what I can do with it.”
Char moaned. She immediately covered her mouth and checked if anyone else heard that. She was loud enough they probably did, but no one seemed that interested. Char squeezed my hand and started running.
“Ahh! Um, thank you, we’ll be sure to tell other people about your food!” I yelled to the elf at the grill.
She waved back and smiled.
This was the second time Char dragged me around today. “Mind telling me where the fire is?”
“I found a quest while I was looking for you. The sooner we get that done, the sooner we can buy meat for you to cook me.”
“Believe it or not, Char, it is in fact possible to eat first.”
She shook her head. “Business before pleasure, Robin.”
I rolled my eyes. “What's the quest?”
She winked at me. “You'll find out.”