When Dac got off work in the evening, he carried his briefcase and walked into a software store near his home.
Dac Wendell is an IT engineer, also known as a programmer.
He works in a software company, developing office software.
He loves his job, and besides that, he is also very passionate about game.
Like many young people working in Xia, he has not bought a house yet, but has chosen to share an apartment with others.
It's a bit like the plot in the recently popular "Friends."
In "Friends," Monica, Joey, and Chandler live in a top-floor apartment next to a coffee shop called Central Park.
However, in the apartment Dac shares, there are only him and another high school teacher named Sean.
By the way, that high school teacher also has a girlfriend named Elizabeth.
In other words, he is currently sharing an apartment with a couple.
In the evenings, Dac, who is still single, often gets a headache from the sounds coming from next door. Although they occasionally try to keep their voices down out of consideration for Dac, you can't guarantee they won't get excited sometimes.
To cope with this situation, Dac often puts on headphones and immerses himself in music.
Or he plays game to get through this agonizing Time.
Overall, as long as Sean and Elizabeth aren't doing anything intimate, they get along pretty well.
They can watch TV together, discuss their favorite comics and characters, and sometimes even invite friends over to play role-playing game.
By the way, all three of them are actually heavy role-playing game players.
They also really like video game.
It's just that occasionally, this young couple will do things that are more enjoyable than playing game, and that's when Dac feels a little lonely.
This software store is located in a commercial area near his home, where there are many electronic products and digital products, as well as some small software stores. Dac often goes there to buy some commonly used software or game.
As soon as he entered the small store, the owner greeted him warmly.
"Hey, Dac, there's a really great new game out recently. Do you want to try it?"
The store owner, Myron, is quite familiar with Dac. They've had drinks together and even tried to pick up girls together.
But in the end, they often mess things up.
Sometimes Myron would also come to Dac's apartment to play game with them.
To this day, Myron, like Dac, is a bachelor.
So they have more in common when it comes to game.
"What kind of game?"
Dac said, walking over to the nearby shelf and rummaging through it.
In the software store, there were many game discs, displayed separately against the walls. In the middle were many drawer-style software boxes, piled high with a large amount of software.
Sometimes, it wouldn't even be labeled outside what it was; you'd have to pull them out one by one and look through them to find out.
So there was also a kind of treasure-hunting fun in it.
Fortunately, the game Myron was promoting today was displayed separately and in a relatively prominent position.
Myron walked over, took down the software box, and handed it to Dac, "Eternal Ashes from Pokeni Company. It's a very interesting turn-based game. It's said to have a lot of role-playing elements in it."
"It's said?"
Dac looked at him suspiciously.
"Sorry." Myron smiled, "Actually, I haven't started playing yet. I just glanced at the introduction and thought you'd like this game."
Hmm…
How should I put this?
Dac didn't refuse on the spot, but just held the box and turned it over to look carefully.
Many random elements have been added to the game.
At the same Time, the game is advanced by rolling dice.
It applies classic DND gameplay as its foundation.
It tells the story of a grand magic feast. In the game, you will play as an Ash Bringers whose soul has been stripped away, embarking on a journey to find your soul.
The game has diverse gameplay, rich side quests, and a high degree of freedom.
Becoming a Demon or becoming a Warrior depends on your choice.
"It looks pretty good," Dac thought.
But it might also be because he himself really likes DND and is a heavy role-playing game player.
I wonder what other players think of this game.
So far, Dac really hasn't played a particularly good electronic game with a role-playing mechanism.
The main reason is that role-playing itself is a game that particularly requires multiple people and imagination. If played alone, Dac is not sure if this game can meet his expectations.
Let's turn it over and look again.
On the cover is a knight wearing an iron helmet and holding a Claymore.
It should be a knight.
However, the surrounding light is very dim, so the entire face is shrouded in the shadow of the helmet, and the face is not visible.
Behind him stood a circle of strangely shaped [Humans].
Or perhaps they can no longer be called humans, because there are green-skinned guys, some with a rat's head, and some particularly strange-looking Druids…
The long-eared elves inside are well-drawn, which made Dac feel particularly pleased.
In short, it generally presents a Diablo fantasy style, coupled with a beautiful drawing method.
Both the art style and the gameplay introduction at the back were quite appealing to Dac.
Looking at the price, Dac couldn't help but gasp.
A price of 49 US dollars is not cheap.
But it's not expensive either.
Some game can sell for 99 US dollars.
As if seeing the hesitation in his eyes, Myron quickly put his arm around his shoulder and said,
"Bro, if you want it, I can give you a discount. How about 45 US dollars?"
"Hmm… okay."
...
Dac took the game disc and returned to his rented apartment.
His roommate and his girlfriend didn't seem to be back yet.
Dac put down his briefcase, then returned to his room, changed into comfortable clothes, and sat down in front of the computer.
He put the game disc into the optical drive and then installed it according to the instructions.
This process takes some Time.
So Dac stood up, walked out of the room, and made himself a cup of coffee.
It is now the Time of optical drives 3.0.
The read speed of the optical drive is roughly 16 Times that of the 1st generation.
If it were a few years ago, the installation speed would be even slower.
Before '91, game on computers were still burned on floppy disks, and a floppy disk only had a capacity of a few MB.
He just looked, and the required hard disk space for the Eternal Ashes game is 256MB.
According to the original floppy disk capacity of 1.44 MB per disk, it would take 178 floppy disks.
Thinking of this, Dac couldn't help but sigh at the rapid development of technology.
With CD-ROM, one disc is enough.
And with the continuous development and progress of future technology, it is possible for a single disc to break through to several GB, or even tens of GB, in recording capacity, right?
...
After waiting for about 10 minutes, the game was finally installed, and an "Eternal Ashes" game icon appeared on the desktop.
In the middle is a Claymore, surrounded by a circle of red light at the bottom.
At first glance, it looks a bit like the mouth of an evil dragon.
The light is the open teeth, and the Claymore becomes the part on the evil dragon's forehead.
What a well-designed desktop icon, Dac thought.
...
He placed his coffee cup aside, pulled out his chair, and sat down.
Then he put on his headphones, double-clicked the icon, and started the game.
The sound effects from his headphones startled him.
Because it sounded like a sudden roar of a Demon.
Dac composed himself, smiling and letting out a sigh of relief.
Okay, Pokeni Company, you're really good at setting the atmosphere.
The game started, and the entire game interface filled the entire screen.
A pitch black.
Immediately following, a pair of eyes opened from the darkness.
As its gaze quickly traversed, it pulled all the way from the abyss to the ground.
The entire ground was a vibrant, green world covered with forests and grasslands.
A long, long Time ago.
On this continent, war broke out between humans and other races.
In the war, countless casualties, blood flowed like rivers.
Humans, who were clearly at a physical disadvantage, were defeated again and again.
Eternal Ashes, like Diablo, begins with static images on a parchment scroll.
Coupled with a heavy, metallic UI interface.
It looks very epic.
In the picture, human knights wearing armor charged, while in the Dac shadows, pairs of green eyes lurked.
Around the humans were strange green-skinned fellows, looking like goblins or something.
And they were also clashing with Dwarves and Centaurs…
In short, it brought together many elements of a magical world. Just this series of battle scenes, even as static images, immediately ignited Dac's passion.
At this moment, humans discovered and inherited power from the deep abyss.
Humans, possessing the power of the abyss, quickly rose to become the strongest on the continent, thereby defeating other races and enslaving them.
Then, after countless ages, the continent split again.
War never ceased.
And whether it was humans, elves, or other different races, they all discovered this terrifying power from the deep abyss.
The balance of power gradually shifted.
Excessive use would cause people to be enslaved by black magic, thereby losing their own souls.
The soulless enslavers began to run rampant in this world.
Once they died, these rampaging beings would turn into a pile of Eternal Ashes, scattered by the wind.
So they were called "Ash Bringers."
Ash Bringers, having lost their reason and souls, only obeyed the call of the abyss.
Now, the call of the abyss has come.
The Abyss Messengers launched an attack on the continent.
And you, as a former Ash Bringers, still retain a shred of sanity after losing your soul.
You!
Are about to embark on a journey to find your soul!
Buzz!!!
A pair of eyes suddenly opened in the darkness.
The game sound stopped abruptly.
...
Fortunately, Dac was prepared this Time and wasn't startled like the first Time.
Next, he entered the character creation interface.
Having experience with Diablo, Dac was quite familiar with this.
But… Dac felt very strange.
From the very beginning until now, this game doesn't resemble a turn-based game at all. Instead, it gives him a feeling of a [Magic World American Comic Version of Diablo].
"A journey to find one's soul?"
Dac chewed on these words and couldn't help but smile.
The character creation interface has many options:
First, you must choose your race. Currently available options are:
Human.
Kaka Clan: The Kaka Clan is a race of plant-like people, truly plant people in the literal sense. Their entire bodies are covered with green branches and leaves, and they can obtain nutrients through photosynthesis. Adult Kaka Clan members can even grow several meters tall.
Some Kaka Clan families will grow simultaneously within a single body, like the relationship between a large tree and its branches.
They can produce their own [food], supply themselves, and also produce fruits and juices…
Akasha Insectoids: Akasha Insectoids are intelligent species that evolved from bee-like magical creatures.
Their evolution originates from the blessings bestowed by the Amber Tree (Shalash). Although the Hive Mind transcends each individual Akasha Insectoid.
But unlike those flesh puppets without their own thoughts, each Akasha Insectoid has its own complete thoughts and personality.
Akasha Insectoids grieve for the death of their companions and will sit by a campfire and drink heartily with like-minded alien companions. Insectoids who embark on the "Heavenly Path" with the goal of becoming "Heroes" will also share their experiences with travelers they meet along the way.
Due to their lawful good nature, Insectoid wanderers are often very popular with travelers. They are willing to provide armed protection for caravans hitchhiking or provide shelter for fellow travelers with their blades and magic, and no Insectoid will choose to actively become outlaws such as bandits or thieves.
Therefore, Insectoids are well-liked by other order-aligned factions and creatures. As for those chaotic evil beings, unless the ill-intentioned ones first attack the Insectoids or their companions, Insectoids can often communicate with the other party with a 'turn a blind eye' attitude, or even achieve limited cooperation.
...
The character selection interface alone offers as many as 8 different races.
Terrifying, is this game actually that complex?
Dac was a little stunned for a moment.
But in his heart, he was unusually happy and excited.
To be honest, seeing these dazzling settings and descriptions, he really had a feeling of playing a role-playing game, and choosing different races would also cause his character's appearance to change.
These changes are very clearly reflected in the character creation interface, and the central character image is visible to the naked eye.
To be honest, Dac could spend a whole day just looking at the race and character settings.
If he delayed any longer on this interface, he probably wouldn't be able to leave.
Forget it, forget it, for the first Time playing, he'd better just choose Human.
After the selection was complete, it was Time to choose a profession.
Dac also chose the most familiar, Mage.
At this point, the selection was complete. He entered his name in the character creation field—
Dac
...
The game officially began.
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