Customization

I rushed out the door, wearing a bathrobe and nothing else. At least I have something to wear for now.

But how the hell am I supposed to get clothes with my pockets clean?

I walked into an outfitter and was immediately greeted by a lot of cool, fantasy clothes and a smiling woman in her 30's.

"Welcome," she waved. "Can I help you?"

"Um," I'll just go with the same excuse. "My only set of clothes got stolen, and my money was in it, so..."

"Oh dear," she said in a sympathetic voice. "Pick any set you like, dear. Don't worry about the money."

That was easy.

I just smiled and gave a short bow to show my gratitude, and picked a simple white suit. Then, after changing in the changing room, I looked into the mirror and scared myself.

My hair was white, and my irises were red due to a lack of pigment. Bright red from my blood vessels.

I needed to code an iris colour for my eyes before I scare the lady to death. At least I get to customize them, I guess.

I coded some blue pigment in only half of the gene that determines eye colour, and black for the other half. Looking back in the mirror, I discovered that I now had a dark red left eye and violet right eye.

That looks sick. Even better with my white hair. Even better with actual clothes.

I thanked the lady and walked out of the shop. I put my hands in my pockets, only to discover 20 gold coins.

Normally, as a good boy, I would walk back and give her the money. But I'm not in the situation to do that. So I gave a deep bow towards the shop and ran off with the 20 gold.

I used half of the 20 gold to buy oranges, and using my marketing skills, I sold them all for another 20 gold, accumulating 30 gold minus the 7 gold I used to pay the fee for living and eating at the local tavern.

By the end of the second day, I had 50 gold.

By the end of the week, I had 400 gold.

Money you earn from marketing isn't linear. It multiplies exponentially. That was one thing I learned from economics.

I went back and paid back the money I "borrowed" and money for the clothes to the lady, and gave 10 coins to the lifeguard for lending me a bathrobe.

The next day, after making my bank count 1000 gold, I started making my way back to the tavern, only to discover it full.

"What's happening?" I whispered to Shane, an adventurer that I've chatted with a few times during mealtimes. Yes, I can taste.

"Don't you know? Guess you weren't lying when you said you were new," Shane replied. "Tonight is the guild selection night. People are celebrating right now."

Guilds? I chuckled lightly. Back when I was playing the game, I was the leader of the largest guild in the game, the Lunar Crest.

"So is there a requirement to join a guild here?" I asked.

"Well, that mostly depends on the guild you're applying for," Shane said as he pointed outside. "You can go take a look at the posts of each guild."

"Thanks a bunch, man," I gave Shane a fist-bump and ran out the door.

I went to the biggest post. A big crescent with the name "Lunar Crest" was printed on the front.

This was my guild's post. At least the guild I used to own.

There was a long line. I knew that no one would recognize me now, so I just went to a smaller guild's post.

"What do I need to join?" I asked.

"Well, we have a minimum level requirement of 10, and you must know magic of any sort," the post owner replied. "Can I see your profile?"

Shoot, the profile. I never got one.

"Um, I'll be right back," I dashed away with the post owner looking at me, confused.

"Usually, you would get your profile at the monument," I pinched my chin. "Where would the monument of this town be located at?"

I pondered deeply, completely forgetting about the fact that I had a map.

"It would most likely be right in the centre of town," I concluded and started dashing at superlumic speed.

I was right. The monument was right on top of the fountain that was in the middle of town.

"If I recall correctly, I just have to put my hand in the water to create a profile, right?" I murmured as I put my hand in the water.

Suddenly, the statue became bright, and I successfully overcame my instincts to close my eyes (from all the time in the tunnel). I rose my hand up, only to discover it skinless and back to a bunch of 1's and 0's.

"Please don't tell me I have to rebuild myself," I closed my eyes as the light faded away. My hand returned to its normal state.

Hovering beside me was my new profile. It had my face, my race (I was able to deceive the monument), my gender, and my class - which I had yet to pick, and was about to.

"Let's see. Magic might be a good choice, but depleting my mana would also reduce my physical movement," I thought deeply.

I was a veteran at the game, but I suffered not being able to make decisions. It was a good ten minutes before I finally picked my class.

"Ugh, I'll just go assassin," I shrugged my excessive thoughts off, as the word "Assassin" got printed on my profile card. "Guess we'll go back to looking for a guild."