Sunlight slowly seeped into a grand hall, blending effortlessly with the mana-powered lighting system to illuminate all that was within.
The atmosphere crackled with a festive vibe, though no decorations suggested or inspired such a feeling.
In this undecorated yet festive hall, a particular youngling was currently parading in an outfit that couldn't have looked any more out of place and ridiculous; even when compared to the chaotic fashion sense eminent in the hall, the absurdity of this youngling's dress sense felt lighter.
After leaving the Guardian's office, Rex had begun to explore the Dome's hall as he waited for the Cosmic AI's integration to complete.
The exploration had been a very rewarding experience; everything looked brighter, more vivid, and so full of life. He noticed similar architectural styles to that of Alderom; every single structural detail had a genuine artistic touch to it.
He could not yet pin down if the improved observation was a product of his increased stats or simply a special feature of the VR world of Cosmic Ascendance.
It was a known tactic that some Virtual Reality companies employed specific colors that stimulate certain areas of the brain to increase addiction to their VR worlds, but he could not shake the feeling that what he was seeing was not a product of such underhanded plays.
Apart from admiring the beauty of the majestic hall, Rex had made some progress in mapping the humongous hall that felt like a city center. There was a registry where players could pick up Dome quests and missions, and an in-house restaurant named 'Cosmic Chops,' where he had bought himself a steak chip snack he was currently munching on. The taste was exquisite.
Rex could not help but think about how the developers of Cosmic Ascendance really went all out to develop a very satisfactory lifestyle aspect for the game. It was already a predominant feature of most recent VR games, but none could match up to Cosmic Ascendance yet.
[COSMIC AI INTEGRATION COMPLETE]
The progress bar finally disappeared from view, causing Rex to grin madly—an action that did not bode well for his already pitiful social bearing in the hall. He literally saw a pair of female players widen their distance from him following his grin, but he couldn't care less; his several-million-credit purchase was finally online.
[HELLO PLAYER REX...] A chat tab appeared in his view.
'Do I need to speak out loud to communicate with it?' Rex thought, hesitating to speak. Even though he was feigning unbotheredness, he did not want to further hurt his pitiful social standing by rambling aloud as he communicated with the AI.
[THERE WILL BE NO NEED FOR THAT, REX...]
[I CAN DIRECTLY ANALYZE YOUR NEURONAL WAVES TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION]
'I can also directly relay information by interacting with your neuronal frequency.' Rex felt a voice in his mind.
Rex registered the communication as a baritone male voice; he associated it with a feeling rather than a sound because it didn't feel like a typical voice. It felt more like his mind was spouting words in a different voice from his inside voice.
'Scary,' Rex could not help but think.
'There is no reason to find it scary. In the world of Cosmic Ascendance, I am as much a part of you as your legs are,' the Cosmic AI responded to his thought.
Rex suppressed his growing discomfort and tried not to get so conscious of his thoughts, which he was subconsciously doing. The AI kept silent.
'What exactly can you do?' Rex asked; it was the one question he had been waiting to ask since his 100 Gold left his wallet.
'I am configured to offer assistance in whatever tasks may be thrown my way, no matter how impossible or simple they may be.'
'Don't tell me I've been scammed for an exalted piece of trash,' Rex sobbed in his heart as he heard the AI's reply.
'Well, offer me assistance to reach Level 5 of the Warrior's Cave,' Rex spoke sarcastically.
'Very well, sir,' the AI responded.
'WOW, so you can really do that?'
'Of course, Sir.'
'To improve our already high chances of reaching Level 5 of the Warrior's Cave, I will make a list of tasks we should complete.'
'Hold on. You mean I already have a high chance of completing the mission?'
'Yes, of course. You currently have a 37% chance of successfully reaching Level 5 of the Warrior's Cave, and a 55% chance if you were to challenge the cave with a group.'
'But if you were to challenge it with a team of similarly skilled players, your chances would stand at 95%.'
'WOW! It's that easy?' Rex asked excitedly.
'NO. For the vast majority of players, these chances are more than halved.'
'Why is that?' Rex asked. He already had an assumption about why his class was different from others: the generous rewards the system was showering him with left and right, the unique skills his class offered him, the Overlord branding that boosted his innate attributes by half of their current value in its base state and could even more than double them when fully activated.
'According to my analysis, as a prismatic tier class, you receive 3 stat points per upgrade; the only other class that receives this amount of stat points per upgrade is a Legendary tier class.'
'Wow! So how many stat points do other players receive per up—'
Rex abruptly stopped his walk as he almost collided with a striking woman who now stood directly in his aimless path.
"So—sorry for that," he immediately apologized, trying to find a new path that wouldn't lead him into another direct clash with the lady.
As he shifted his walk path, she also shifted with him, her cleavage largely on display—a result of his height advantage and the fact that the crochet-like light armor she wore took the job of pushing it up very seriously.
Rex finally took better notice of the lady: her hair was rose-red and seemed almost too lively; her facial features were moderately above average but dangerously attractive in a way that hinted at trouble.