Excuse Me, Where Did You Get That Customization?
"Why are there so many...?"
To put it simply, I didn't get to play the game right away like I had hoped. There were just too many tedious settings to configure before actually diving in. Exhausted by the endless explanations popping up in front of my eyes, I started half-assing them at some point. Skip, skip, skip everything...
Entering Customization.
Set character gender and appearance...
※ If skipped, your actual appearance will be scanned via your VR device, and your character will be modeled after it.
Would you like to proceed?
"Yes."
Honestly, it felt like a waste of time. Character customization or whatever, I just wanted to play the game as soon as possible. It wasn't like playing with my current appearance would affect the gameplay anyway. Making my character look pretty or cool was something I could easily do later.
Let's get to the next step quickly.
Class and Weapon Selection
Please select a class. Your initial class cannot be changed.
Weapons are restricted based on your chosen class.
Then, a list of classes began to unfold before my eyes. Though it was a list, the options weren't particularly diverse: Swordsman, Mage, Priest, Archer, Thief, Paladin, Berserker, and so on... There were several, but nothing stood out as unique.
"No Hero or Warlock?"
I had hoped there might be some special hidden classes like that, but unfortunately, there weren't. Those classes sounded powerful just by name. From among the plain options, I picked out a familiar profession.
"It has to be Swordsman."
A weapon I had used for so long that even when my hands were empty, it felt as though I was still holding it. That was what a sword was to me—something far beyond a mere piece of sharpened metal. And those who handled swords professionally were called Swordsmen.
Please select a weapon from the [Swords] category.
Weapons can be equipped or unequipped in the lobby.
When I selected Swordsman, the screen shifted, revealing a completely different scene. Greatswords, dual swords, two-handed swords, one-handed swords with shields, and more... It was a warehouse-like room lined with various weapons. It seemed to be an armory. Following the class selection, it was now time to choose a weapon.
"Hmm..."
I didn't hesitate for long. The outcome of this choice was already decided anyway. From among the neatly arranged equipment, I pulled out a long blade of a familiar shape.
"It's not as good as the one I used to have, but..."
This would easily pass. I gently stroked "it," with its elegant design, as if greeting an old friend.
Once I selected the weapon and gripped the hilt tightly, I was instantly transported. With that strange sensation of teleportation I had experienced earlier, I landed in what looked like a plaza. The vast plaza was filled with countless people besides myself.
Feels like a waiting room.
It was likely a space to hang out before or during matchmaking. As if to prove it, an interface shimmered in front of my eyes.
▶ Play: Normal Match (PvP, Multiplayer)
Ranked matches are obviously locked.
As is typical for most games, ranked matches—where the truly skilled players compete endlessly to climb the ladder—are off-limits to beginners. Usually, there are restrictions, like needing to reach a certain level or play a minimum number of normal matches first. Sure enough, the ranked match mode was grayed out, and I couldn't even select it.
Let's start with a normal match first.
PvP and multiplayer. Did players fight each other in teams? While waiting for matchmaking, I warmed up by jumping around and moving my limbs.
"...?"
Suddenly, I felt a subtle gaze on me. I turned my head and quickly realized where it was coming from.
"Whoa, she's crazy pretty."
"How did she do that customization? It looks so natural."
"Judging by her avatar, she looks like a newbie. How much did she spend on that customization?"
Some looked dazed, some had their eyes wide with surprise, and others squinted as if trying to appraise me. Those gazes were unmistakably directed at me. It was a kind of attention I had never received even during my days as a Hero. They stared at me with fascination, like an animal in a zoo cage, accompanied by a low murmur of whispers. Piecing together a few words I overheard, I blinked as I realized the cause of their attention.
Customization? Just because of that?
Customization. Character appearance settings. In other words, they were staring simply because my character was pretty. Of course, since I hadn't customized anything, this was my actual appearance. Which meant my real face was enough to turn heads.
I knew I was pretty, but is it really this much?
While I was still reeling from the unexpected effect of my unfamiliar appearance, someone approached me with sparkling eyes. It was a woman with red hair tied back in a swaying ponytail.
"Excuse me, where did you get your customization? Could you please share it with me?"
Though her character's appearance was pretty, I felt a subtle sense of artificiality from her. I answered honestly.
"Uh... I didn't do any."
"Wow, so you sculpted it yourself? You're incredibly talented!"
"Sculpted," huh? Did she mean crafting the character's appearance with painstaking, artisan-like effort? I shook my head slightly to deny it.
"No, I don't mean I did it... I literally didn't customize anything."
"Do you take commissions by any chan— Wait, what?"
A moment later, the woman, finally grasping the point of my words, asked in a bewildered tone.
"...So you're saying that's your actual face?"
"Yes."
Even though I nodded, it didn't seem to satisfy her. She tilted her head and kept darting her eyes toward a corner of her field of vision, clearly not believing me.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that. Just tell me, please?"
"No, really, there's nothing to tell..."
The woman clung to me, her large eyes sparkling. My bewilderment instantly turned into sheer embarrassment. I had only come here to play a game, so why was this happening? It didn't seem like we were going to communicate anytime soon. Sensing that things were about to get annoying, I moved my feet. The plaza was vast, offering plenty of space to escape players who showed interest in me.
"Ah, wait! Excuse me! Just a second—"
Feeling the voice calling after me fade into the distance, I kept hopping away.
"Aw, she left."
"Is that so? Was I too pushy...?"
The woman read the text scrolling up a translucent window floating in the air. The words shifted in real-time, reacting to everything she said. It was clear evidence of a live broadcast. The streamer Hanya, whose real name was Han-ah, was a broadcaster on the streaming platform Switch, primarily playing Asteria.
She was in her second year of playing Asteria, and her first year of streaming. Thanks to a recent influx of new viewers, her stream had just escaped the "small-time" status, with regular viewers starting to flock in. For Han-ah, who was streaming while on a leave of absence from college, this was a crucial period. After all, she found games and streaming far more interesting than her studies. She had to maintain this green light and grow her channel to finally transition into a full-time streamer.
Whether it was acting goofy and energetic as usual, appealing with her pretty looks, or showing off skills that were exceptionally high for a female streamer, she had to capture the viewers' attention by any means necessary. In that sense, increasing her subscribers and viewers to scale up her stream was Han-ah's primary goal.
From that perspective, the blonde user she had just met was a massive opportunity. A chance to generate serious hype for her stream. A user with that level of customization quality was a rare sight, even for Han-ah, who had played Asteria every single day for the past few years.
"Ah, what a shame. I should have at least sent a friend request."
Asteria was fundamentally a game with a high degree of freedom. All sorts of playstyles were possible—including things impossible in reality. A man could play as a female character, and a woman could play as a male character, allowing for a sort of gender-bending playstyle. Of course, even if they set up their characters that way, they were usually caught immediately by their voices, earning glares from other players. Recently, however, urban legends whispered of an increasing number of users who used voice-modulation software specifically to play as the opposite gender.
"Oh, come on. Why would someone with that level of customization be catfishing? If she didn't sculpt it herself, she must have bought it for a fortune. She's definitely a girl."
"I told you not to mention the uncanny valley. You're banned."
The "uncanny valley" was a phenomenon that occurred when an Asteria customization lacked polish. It referred to cases where the character had eyes, a nose, and a mouth, and was fundamentally beautiful, but somehow felt non-human and unnatural. This usually happened when someone with clumsy hands did the customization themselves, or when they didn't have the money and bought a cheap, mass-produced customization.
For the record, Han-ah fell into the former category. Despite her clumsy hands, she insisted on handcrafting her customization every time. Recently, however, she had given up on that. Since her stream had grown enough to escape the small-time phase, she had decided to purchase a proper customization. This was highly anticipated news for her viewers, who had been teasing her character by calling it "uncanny valley" or an "android."
"The customization of that person earlier was perfect. Pretty, yet natural like a real face... It's a shame, but nothing can be done. Let's look around and ask if we see anyone else decent."
Vreeeeen!
It was then. A notification rang out from the normal match Han-ah was matchmaking for. Putting her regrets behind her, Han-ah operated the interface to accept the match. The moment she pressed the accept button, her surroundings shifted instantly, revealing a new location.
The battle lobby, where players were sent before the actual battle began.
New people occupied this new space.
7 vs 7. These were her allies for the multiplayer team battle. A total of six other players were waiting in their respective spots, preparing for the game. Han-ah scanned them one by one, brainstorming team compositions that would synergize with her allies' classes...
"Huh?"
She gasped in surprise, letting out an involuntary exclamation as she spotted someone.
A high-quality customization with blonde hair and somewhat indifferent eyes.
The player occupying a spot in the lobby as her ally was the very same woman Han-ah had met in the plaza just moments ago.