This Is Perfect!

Isn't this the best? "Only ten minutes left now."

The place we were currently at was the rest area in Fantastic Land, which had been given away for free when the Fortuna Divergence first launched. We were in its VIP-only zone.

Fantastic Land had kept receiving updates ever since the FD Capsule launched, turning it into far more than a simple amusement park. It had become a gathering spot for FD Capsule users. New areas were constantly added so people of every taste could be satisfied. Thanks to that, even though the space was now much larger than before, it was still packed with users.

Until just a moment ago we had been skiing in the winter zone, but with time running short we headed to the rest area. When I checked the clock, exactly ten minutes remained.

With only about ten minutes left until Black Dragon Legend opened, the once-noisy amusement park began to fall quiet. Everyone was probably getting ready to log in.

Utoplay had hidden the information so thoroughly that almost nothing had been revealed. The only way to learn anything was to actually enter the game.

"They're probably starting with customization first, right?"

"Yeah, I bet so."

I agreed with Jo Kwang-hoon's guess. There was no way they would disable customization entirely.

"Everyone's gonna start out as total hunks and beauties."

"Well, that might be the case. So are you planning to customize yourself into a total hunk too?"

"I'd love to set it exactly at Oh Sung-woon's level, but honestly I'm too lazy so I'll skip it."

That was a little unexpected. I had assumed Jo Kwang-hoon would go for it.

"I'm skipping customization too."

"You idiot! You don't even need customization! Doing it would only make you worse off!"

Jo Kwang-hoon got worked up all on his own even though I wasn't trying to boast. He really must be envious of my looks.

In FD Capsule games that don't offer separate customization, your real-life appearance is reflected in-game exactly as it is. The capsule automatically scans your body and syncs it to the game. Therefore, if you didn't customize in Black Dragon Legend, you'd be playing with your real face and body.

By the way, I had never once used customization. Honestly I didn't need to, and it was a hassle. Even in my previous life I had never spent more than five minutes on it.

"What about you guys?"

"Not doing it."

"Me neither!"

"Same here."

Kang Yu-ri, Hong Ha-roo, and Baek Do-hee answered one after another.

Honestly, I had expected them to refuse. It would be hard to be prettier than these three, after all. All of them were basically idols who drew the most attention at school.

As I thought that, I idly imagined the three of them actually forming an idol group. They would probably become insanely popular. The center position would likely go to Kang Yu-ri or Baek Do-hee, but surprisingly Hong Ha-roo might end up with the biggest fanbase.

While having such trivial thoughts, I turned to the one person who still hadn't answered.

Exactly as expected from Gil Young-woong. If I had to pick the person with the highest self-love among our group of six, it would undoubtedly be him.

To be honest I have pretty strong self-love myself, but in front of this guy it couldn't even be called that. He genuinely believes he is the most perfect human being on the planet. He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doesn't even need anyone else's acknowledgment.

Still, well, Gil Young-woong really is handsome.

If we're only talking about appearance, he's actually a pretty great guy...

"So in the end none of us are customizing. Saving time is nice."

"I'm excited."

For once Hong Ha-roo wore an excited expression without mentioning food.

"I wonder how many delicious things there'll be in that world?"

As expected...

In the end she was getting excited about food again.

"You can look forward to it. I heard they invested in Black Dragon Legend so heavily it's like they poured every won Tyche had into it."

Kang Yu-ri spoke with clear pride in her family's company.

While we chatted, the ten minutes flew by and the countdown finally began.

Thirty. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight. Twenty-seven.

Almost every user connected to Fantastic Land started shouting the numbers. We joined in, yelling at the top of our lungs.

The instant the countdown hit zero, the translucent game waiting window that had displayed [Connection Unavailable] changed to [Connection Available].

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠immediately clicked the icon depicting a black dragon.

Before pressing Yes, I looked around at my friends and said,

"See you on the other side."

When they nodded, I clicked Yes.

When I regained my senses, I was standing inside a room roughly ten pyeong in size. It was completely empty.

"?"

After standing there for about five seconds, something flashed in front of my eyes and a person appeared. It was a rather cute girl wearing a neat maid uniform.

"Welcome, Oh Sung-woon-nim. I am the helper who will assist you in beginning your new journey in this world. Please treat me well."

"Ah, yeah. Nice to meet you."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

She was clearly an NPC, yet her expression was incredibly natural. While I was still a little surprised, the maid helper spoke again.

"First, I will explain customization."

Just as I expected, customization was available.

"In The Legend of GranKaios, customization is possible. However…"

She paused for a moment before dropping the bombshell.

"Only random customization is available. Direct customization is not possible."

"...Excuse me??"

What did she just say?

"Furthermore, once you confirm your customization, it cannot be changed midway. The only method is to delete the character. Therefore, we strongly recommend you choose carefully."

Is this for real?

Only random customization? What kind of insane game was this? But the real shock wasn't over yet.

"The first ten random customizations are free. After that, each customization will cost one million won. Please note that even if you delete your character and create a new one, you will not receive another set of ten free attempts."

"......."

The situation was so absurd I couldn't even speak.

One million won per random customization…? Not a hundred won, a million?

"You're not joking, right?"

"No. The helper does not joke or lie to users."

"Ha..."

Kang Yu-ri definitely said something about Tyche not being obsessed with money… Wait, did she say they wouldn't allow pay-to-win?

She said they wouldn't allow pay-to-win, but that didn't mean they wouldn't make money. Was this their angle? Even with these ridiculous prices, the people who wanted it would still pay? They were overflowing with confidence.

It felt like pure arrogance—like they believed no matter how they ran their business, we'd have no choice but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to play their game anyway. Certainly, even at these prices, the whales would still bite.

"I'm skipping customization."

"You are certain you wish to skip customization?"

"Yes."

"Then the game will proceed with the basic avatar scanned from your capsule."

Most people would probably give up on customization. With rerolls blocked too, there was no way out.

At least there won't be a flood of perfect hunks and beauties.

Thanks to that, my friends and I had actually benefited. So I decided to think of it positively and move on.

"Next is the initial class. Please make your selection."

The moment the helper spoke, a blue window appeared before my eyes. Inside it was a long list of classes.

"Once you choose a class, can it never be changed?"

"No. Opportunities to change from the initial class will appear very soon."

"So it won't stay the initial class forever..."

"Correct."

Good. In that case… I'll pick this one.

I selected Brawler.

The reason I chose Brawler was simple. I just picked the one I was most familiar with.

My father is a UFC champion, and I had inherited his talent. I inherited it very well.

Following the training method my father taught me, I had continued training from childhood to the present without missing a day. Our house was full of exercise equipment thanks to him, and I had also trained at the gym. Of course, I had slacked off a bit recently after getting addicted to full-dive VR games.

Anyway, that was why Brawler was the class I was most comfortable with.

"Next is your status."

Once again a blue window appeared before my eyes.

"Is this a gacha too…?"

"When you press the button, a total of 50 stat points will be randomly distributed."

"So this also comes down to luck…?"

"Yes. Rerolling is possible even after the points are assigned. Each reroll costs one million won. However, you are limited to ten attempts."

One million won per reroll here too? And no free attempts at the start?

With a ten-time limit, infinite rerolling was impossible. Pay-to-win was thoroughly blocked.

"I see."

It all came down to luck, huh.

"Heh heh..."

This is perfect!

With a laugh that flowed out naturally, I pressed the stat distribution button. A sound effect like a spinning roulette wheel played, and the zeros began to change.