Chapter 2: Zaphro
The moment Zeke pressed the login button, his world shifted.
It was as if he were being transmitted—no, transported—to another dimension. Everything around him turned to pitch-black. He felt himself falling into the void. There was nothing but endless darkness… until a red light slowly came into view, resembling a scanning beam.
"Welcome to Enigma Online!" greeted a voice from the shadows.
It was an NPC—an AI assistant—clad in sleek black armor. A humanoid figure that seemed both mechanical and majestic.
"To start, choose your character type," the AI continued.
A virtual screen flickered to life before Zeke's eyes, displaying three main character races: Humans, Elves, and Angels.
"Ooh… this looks awesome," Zeke murmured, intrigued.
He began browsing through the categories. The Human race offered three classes: Warrior, Mage/Caster, and Archer.
The Elves had four: Warrior, Wizard, Archer, and Specialist.
But it was the Angels that truly caught his attention. They also had four sub-classes: Warrior, Musician/Caster, Archer… and the final one—something called Unknown.
"Unknown? What's that one?" Zeke asked the NPC, his curiosity piqued.
"Unknown is an Angel sub-class that excels in high-damage attacks. It can learn both melee and ranged skills. Also capable of force manipulation. Recommended for veteran players only," the AI explained.
Zeke grinned. "Okay then—I choose to be an Angel. Sub-class: Unknown."
"Good choice," the AI said. "Next step—create your game avatar."
Another screen appeared, this time showing his customizable character.
He started with the hairstyle—a clean upward style, almost like it had been gelled. He picked a slightly golden yellow color for the hair. For the outfit, he went with a casual but striking combination: a white shirt underneath a black leather jacket, paired with matching black pants and shoes. A white bandage wrapped around his right fist added a touch of mystery.
Then came the weapon selection. Not many options were available at the start, so he picked a beam sword—a laser-like blade reminiscent of those in Star Wars.
"Well done. You can now name your avatar," said the AI.
"Zaphro," Zeke replied confidently.
"Creating avatar. Please wait two minutes. You will then be teleported to the starting area. And by the way… good luck!"
The NPC vanished, leaving Zeke alone in the dark.
Two minutes passed.
» Avatar creation complete!
» Game loading...
The sensation of falling returned. Zeke clutched his stomach, feeling slightly dizzy, but the darkness soon faded as light poured in from all directions.
He opened his eyes.
"Whoa… cool."
Zeke was now inside his game avatar—Zaphro.
He stood within a glowing circle of light. This must be the respawn area, the game's starting point. He glanced at his virtual screen and saw the name of the zone: Village of Light.
He began to walk around, hoping to ask questions or chat with other players—but something felt… off.
There were no other players around.
He brought up his map and initiated a scan.
» Scanning for nearby players...
» No players detected.
"Huh?" he muttered.
He pulled up the in-game manual and searched for information about the Village of Light. According to the guide, this was the central village for Angel-type characters. So why was it completely empty?
Then, off in the distance, he spotted a bulletin board. Curious, he approached it. The board displayed the ranked Angel players.
There were only six names on the list—and his was one of them.
Suddenly, another notification popped up on his screen:
Congratulations! You have received a gift box!
A rare system message appeared: an Ultra Rare Gift Box containing exclusive in-game items. Zaphro opened it eagerly.
Inside was a complete Legendary Armor Set and an Epic Weapon: the Ancient Reaper Sword.
"What the—? These stats are insane... and they're just giving this away?"
He read the message attached to the gift. It turned out that the system had a hidden reward for the first player to log in at a specific moment—and Zeke happened to be that lucky player. The event wasn't announced to the public. It was a personal system event, and only he knew about it.
There were no level restrictions on the items. He could equip them immediately.
The sword had 1800–2500 base damage, while each piece of the Frozen Angel Armor provided +250 armor and +1000 HP. With a full set, his stats instantly skyrocketed.
From a base HP of 200, he now had over 5200 HP. His defense was boosted by an additional 750 points.
He opened his Character Stats screen with a simple upward swipe of his right hand.
Here's what he saw:
---
Level 1 – Zaphro
Race: Angel
Sub-class: Unknown
HP: 200 + 5000
Defense: 10 + 750
MP: 300
SP: 250
STR: 30
DEX: 25
INT: 25
VIT: 30
Dodge Rate: 30 + 25%
Movement Speed: 100 + 25%
Elemental Resistance: All at 10
---
"Perfect timing," he said to himself. "Leveling up should be a breeze now."
He exited the safety zone through the South Gate, entering a field known as Ulmir—a wide grassland filled with beginner monsters ranging from level 1 to 15.
The first ones he encountered were Level 1 Grass Snakes. Their only attack was a venom spit, which did a measly 5 HP of damage. Zaphro shrugged it off and dispatched them with a single hit.
He continued hunting more monsters: Wild Dogs (Lv. 5), Small Pigs (Lv. 3), and Green Vipers (Lv. 10). Every kill dropped loot—Venom Sap, Viper Fangs, Pig Tails, and potions for HP, MP, and SP.
In just five minutes, he had already reached Level 5.
At that level, his sword unlocked a skill: Frost Field—an area-of-effect (AoE) attack that created a frozen zone. Any enemy inside would take -100 HP per second. At max level, it would deal -1000 HP per second.
He kept grinding for another hour. By the time he was finished, Zaphro had hit Level 15. His inventory was full of loot.
He returned to the Village of Light, found a Merchant NPC, and sold all the common drops. He earned 457G—not much, since they were low-level items, but enough to get started. He kept the potions for later use.
With only thirty minutes left before his next class, Zeke decided it was time to log out. The game offered two logout destinations: his pad or his school.
Naturally, he chose the latter.
» Logging out...
» 30 seconds remaining...