Chapter 1: The Bitter Taste of Start

  The golden hue of the late afternoon sun filtered through the classroom blinds, casting long, dusty shadows across the rows of empty desks. The air in the room was stale, heavy with the scent of chalk dust and floor wax, a smell that Yuta had come to associate with boredom. He stared at the analog clock on the wall, watching the second hand tick with agonizing slowness. Tick. Tick. Tick. It was the kind of silence that only existed in a school after the final bell had rung, a heavy, suffocating quiet that pressed against his eardrums.

  Yuta shifted in his seat, the hard plastic digging into his back. He adjusted the strap of his bag over his shoulder, the weight of his textbooks digging into his collarbone. It was a physical reminder of the calculus exam that had thoroughly dismantled his confidence earlier that day. He wasn't a bad student—in fact, his teachers often praised his logic—but he lacked passion. He was just Yuta. The guy who sat in the middle row, who got average grades, and whose life felt like a looped animation of waking up, studying, eating, and sleeping.

  But today was different. Today, the loop would break.

  Stepping out of the school gates and into the bustling noise of the city, Yuta took a deep breath of the exhaust-filled air. Cars honked, pedestrians rushed by with their heads buried in their phones, and the giant digital billboards flashed advertisements for things he couldn't afford. He pulled his own phone from his pocket, the screen cracked slightly at the corner, and checked the message from Ren again.

  “Server goes live at 18:00. Don’t be late. Remember, invest in Metabolism first. Trust me. This isn't like those other trash games.”

  The game was called Elixir Online. In a market flooded with generic fantasy RPGs where players swung giant swords that defied physics or cast meteors with a lazy wave of a staff, this one dared to be different. The marketing campaign had been cryptic but intriguing: "No Skills. No Mana. No Destiny. You are what you consume."

  There were no inherent classes. No "Warrior" or "Mage" presets. Everything—absolutely everything—came from what you put into your body. You wanted to be strong? You drank a draught of Giant’s Strength. You wanted to shoot fire? You threw a volatile concoction of liquid flame. You wanted to survive a fall? You gulped down a feather-weight potion before you hit the ground. It was a game about preparation, resource management, and chemistry.

  Yuta hurried home, his pace quickening as the anticipation finally began to override his exhaustion. He dodged a businessman running for a train and weaved through a group of laughing students. His apartment was quiet when he arrived; his parents were still at work, leaving him to the solitary comfort of his room.

  He tossed his bag onto the bed, not bothering to change out of his uniform yet. He walked over to his desk, where the sleek black helmet sat like a crown waiting for its king. It was a standard VR dive unit, nothing fancy, scuffed slightly from years of use, but it was his gateway.

  He spent the next hour meticulously preparing. He went to the kitchen and drank two glasses of water—hydration was key for long dive sessions to prevent the "VR hangover." He changed into loose sweatpants and a breathable t-shirt. He adjusted the blinds to block out the setting sun. Finally, at 17:55, he lay down on his bed, his heart rate climbing slightly.

  He pulled the helmet over his eyes. The darkness was instant.

  Initializing System...

  Biometric Scan Complete. ID Verified: Yuta.

  Neural Link: Stable (98%).

  Connecting to Global Servers...

  The sensation of weightlessness washed over him. It started at his toes, a tingling numbness that raced up his legs, then his chest, until his physical body seemed to dissolve into pure data. The hum of the city faded, replaced by a soft, synthesized choir of ambient noise.

  When he opened his eyes, he wasn't in his room anymore. He was standing in a white void, an infinite expanse of nothingness. A character creation interface floated before him, minimalist and sleek.

  It didn't have the usual sliders for "Cool Factor" or "Jawline Sharpness." Instead, it presented him with a mirror.

  His avatar was a carbon copy of himself: average height, messy dark hair that refused to stay neat, and dark eyes that looked a little too tired for a seventeen-year-old. He could have made himself taller, more muscular, more heroic. He hovered his hand over the "Modify" button. He could give himself blue eyes. He could add a scar.

  "Why bother?" he muttered to himself, his voice echoing strangely in the void. "It's just me."

  He left the appearance default. Then came the real choice. The text appeared in the air, burning with a soft white light.

  Select Your Constitution:

  Iron Stomach (Resistant to nausea and vomiting)

  Glass Blower (Higher dexterity for crafting delicate items)

  Scavenger (Heightened senses for finding raw materials)

  Quick Metabolizer (Buffs activate 50% faster, but duration is reduced by 20%)

  Ren had said to invest in Metabolism. "Trust me," he had said. But Yuta hesitated. Quick Metabolizer sounded risky. If a shield potion ran out mid-fight because of the duration penalty, he was dead. Iron Stomach seemed useful, but boring—a passive defense against bad food. He looked at Glass Blower. He liked the idea of making things, of being self-sufficient.

  But his eyes kept drifting to Scavenger.

  Heightened senses.

  In a game where resources were power, finding those resources was the most critical step. If he couldn't find the ingredients, he couldn't brew the potions. If he couldn't brew, he couldn't fight.

  "Resources are king," Yuta reasoned aloud. "You can't burn mana you don't have."

  He reached out and tapped Scavenger.

  Constitution Selected.

  Generating World...

  Welcome to Aetheria.

  The white void shattered like glass.

  Sensory data flooded his brain with the force of a physical blow. The smell hit him first—sharp pine needles, damp earth, and the faint, sweet scent of crushed berries. Then came the sound: the rustling of leaves in a breeze he could actually feel on his skin, and the distant, rhythmic chirping of insects.

  Yuta blinked, his vision adjusting to the vibrant, high-definition colors of the starting zone. He stood in the middle of a small, rustic village square. The architecture was charming, all timber and stone with thatched roofs, reminiscent of old countryside cottages but with a distinct fantasy flair. Lanterns hung from the eaves of the buildings, but they didn't hold candles; they glowed with a soft, swirling blue bioluminescent liquid.

  Players were materializing around him in flashes of blue light. Some looked at their hands in awe. Others immediately started sprinting, testing the physics engine. A guy in a loincloth jumped into the village fountain, splashing water that realistically soaked his avatar.

  Yuta didn't move yet. He took a moment to just breathe. The air felt cleaner here than in the city. Lighter. He looked up. The sky was a deep, impossible azure, dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily.

  "Okay," he whispered. "Step one: Interface."

  He made a pinching motion with his right hand, a standard gesture. The main menu materialized in the air with a soft woosh. It was stylized to look like a leather-bound alchemist’s journal, complete with the sound of turning pages. He tapped on the 'Status' tab.

  Name: Yuta

  Level: 1

  Health: 100/100

  Stamina: 100/100

  Toxicity: 0/100

  Satiation: 50/100 ??

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  He noticed the emoji next to his Satiation stat. It was a neutral yellow face, neither happy nor sad.

  50/100. He was already half-hungry? That seemed harsh.

  "Toxicity," Yuta read the stat below it. That was the catch. Every potion had a toxicity value. If he drank too many, the bar would fill up. If it hit 100... well, the forums speculated it meant instant death or a permanent debuff.

  He tabbed over to his 'Inventory'. It was a grid representing a belt pouch and a small backpack.

  1x Flask of Spring Water

  1x Dry Biscuit (Rank D)

  1x Minor Vial of Vigor (Grey Quality)

  He tapped on the vial to inspect it.

  Item: Minor Vial of Vigor

  Rank: D

  Effect: Grants +5 Strength for 300 seconds.

  Toxicity: 15

  Flavor Text: Tastes like copper and old socks. Drink responsibly.

  "Old socks," Yuta chuckled. "Charming."

  He closed the menu and looked around. The village, named 'Riverwood', was coming alive. NPCs walked with purposeful strides, carrying crates or sweeping storefronts. They didn't have the blank stares of older games; they looked busy, annoyed, or tired.

  Yuta approached a large wooden board near the center of the square. It was the request board, usually the source of starter quests. A crowd of players was already jostling for position.

  "Kill 10 Rats?" one player shouted. "Seriously? That's so cliché!"

  "Where is the weapon shop? I want a sword!" another yelled.

  Yuta avoided the crowd. He hated waiting in lines, even virtual ones. Instead, he wandered toward the edge of the village, away from the noise. He found a small, dilapidated shack with a crooked sign that read 'Old Man Hobb’s Curiosities'. Smoke puffed rhythmically from a crooked chimney.

  He pushed the door open. A bell jingled overhead. The interior was dim, smelling of dried herbs, sulfur, and dust. Shelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, packed with jars containing strange, floating specimens—eyes, roots, colored liquids.

  "Shop's closed for inventory," a voice croaked from the shadows.

  Yuta squinted. An elderly man with wild white hair and thick, magnifying spectacles was hunched over a workbench, grinding something in a stone mortar.

  "I... I'm just looking," Yuta said, feeling surprisingly awkward. The AI's tone was so dismissive it felt real.

  The old man looked up. His eyes were sharp, intelligent, and magnified to comical proportions by his glasses. "A new arrival, eh? You look soft. Bet you haven't even brewed a tea, let alone a tincture."

  "I picked Scavenger," Yuta said defensively. "I know how to look for things."

  "Hah! Looking is easy. Seeing is hard," the old man grumbled. He pointed a stained finger to a shelf behind Yuta. "Prove it. See that blue bottle on the third shelf? Fetch it."

  Yuta turned. There were dozens of bottles on that shelf. Five of them were blue. He paused. Was this a test? A hidden quest? Or just flavor dialogue?

  He stepped closer to the shelf. The bottles looked identical at first glance. But he focused. He let his Scavenger instincts take over.

  He noticed subtle differences.

  One bottle had sediment at the bottom.

  One was slightly chipped.

  One glowed with a faint, unstable pulse.

  The fourth one was dull.

  He reached for the glowing one.

  "Stop!" the old man barked.

  Yuta froze, his hand inches from the glass.

  "That one's volatile. Touch it with your warm, clumsy hands and the thermal shock will blow a hole in my wall," the old man said, sounding more amused than concerned. "The one next to it. The cold one. Bring that."

  Yuta swallowed hard. He carefully withdrew his hand and picked up the dull blue bottle. It was freezing cold to the touch, condensing moisture from the air. He brought it to the counter.

  "Good," Hobb muttered, snatching the bottle. "You listen. That's rare. Most of you 'Travelers' just run around breaking my pots looking for coins."

  System Alert: Hidden Quest Triggered.

  Quest: Hobb’s Errand.

  Objective: Deliver the Cooling Draught to the Blacksmith.

  Reward: Empty Vials (x3), Basic Herb Guide.

  Yuta smiled. It wasn't a glorious quest to slay a dragon. It was a delivery job. But the reward—Empty Vials—was exactly what he needed. In this game, a container was just as important as the liquid inside.

  "I'll do it," Yuta said.

  "Don't drop it," Hobb warned, returning to his grinding. "And don't drink it unless you want your insides to freeze."

  Yuta stepped back out into the sunlight. He held the bottle with both hands, treating it like a newborn baby. He navigated through the village, avoiding sprinting players who were testing out their movement speed. He found the blacksmith’s forge by the sound of rhythmic hammering and the heat radiating from the open structure.

  The blacksmith, a towering woman with soot-stained skin and muscles like coiled steel, wiped her brow as Yuta approached.

  "Delivery from Hobb?" she asked, her voice booming like a cannon.

  "Yes," Yuta handed over the cold bottle.

  She uncorked it with her teeth and downed it in one gulp. Steam instantly hissed off her skin, and she sighed in relief. "Ah. That hits the spot. The heat in here gets unbearable without a coolant potion."

  Quest Complete.

  Received: 3x Empty Glass Vials.

  Received: Basic Herb Guide.

  Yuta opened his inventory. The Basic Herb Guide was a book item. He tapped 'Read'.

  Skill Learned: Basic Herbalism (Passive).

  Now, when he looked at the ground near the village outskirts, small shimmering outlines appeared around certain plants.

  "Okay," Yuta thought. "Time to try this out."

  He walked out of the village gate. The starting area was a gentle rolling plain called the 'Verdant Lowlands'. Slimes—the classic RPG fodder—bounced around in the tall grass. They were translucent blue blobs, about the size of a large dog.

  Yuta watched a player nearby try to fight one. The player, a guy with spiky red hair, punched the slime. His fist just bounced off with a wet shluck sound.

  -0 HP floated above the slime.

  The slime retaliated, ramming into the player.

  -5 HP

  "Why can't I hit it?!" the player yelled, swinging wildly. "This game is broken!"

  Yuta observed. The player wasn't using any buffs. He was trying to use physical force in a world governed by chemical reactions. Yuta looked at his own inventory. Minor Vial of Vigor.

  He uncorked his vial. The smell was indeed metallic and musty. He hesitated, then took a sip.

  It was bitter. Incredibly bitter. It tasted like licking a rusted pipe. The taste lingered on his digital tongue, making him grimace. But a second later, a surge of heat rushed through his veins. His arms felt lighter, the muscles taut with sudden energy.

  System Alert: Strength increased by 5. Duration: 300 seconds.

  Toxicity: 15/100.

  He felt a slight nausea, a dizzy spell that lasted a second—the toxicity taking hold—but he shook it off. He approached a solitary slime that was minding its own business near a rock.

  Yuta didn't have a weapon, so he balled his hand into a fist. He wound up and punched the slime.

  SPLAT.

  His fist connected with solid force. The slime deformed under the impact, rippling violently.

  -12 HP (Critical Hit).

  The slime wobbled, its health bar dropping by half. It lunged at him. Yuta, feeling the adrenaline of the buff, sidestepped. He wasn't faster—he hadn't taken a Speed potion—but he was alert. He swung again, a downward hammer blow.

  SPLAT.

  The slime burst into a puddle of blue goo.

  Experience Gained: 10.

  Loot: 1x Slime Gel.

  Yuta stood there, breathing heavily. He had killed a slime. It was the most basic achievement possible, yet it felt earned. He had to consume a resource to do it. He had traded a portion of his toxicity bar for the ability to fight.

  "If I had missed..." Yuta murmured, looking at his hands. "I would have wasted the potion. The toxicity would still be there, but the mob would be alive."

  The weight of the system began to sink in. Every action had a cost. You couldn't just spam attacks. You had to commit.

  He sat down on the grass, watching the digital sun begin to dip toward the horizon. The sky turned a brilliant shade of orange and purple. The graphics were stunning, the physics of the grass bending in the wind incredibly realistic. He opened his Basic Herb Guide and began to read the first entry.

  Silverleaf: Common herb found in shaded areas. Used as a base for minor healing salves. Warning: Toxic if consumed raw.

  He looked around. Near the rock where the slime had been, tucked in the shadow, was a small plant with silver-veined leaves. He carefully plucked it.

  Item Acquired: Silverleaf (Quality: Normal).

  He placed it in one of his empty vials. It wasn't a potion yet, just a raw ingredient. But he had it.

  For the next hour, Yuta didn't fight. He didn't race to level 2. He just walked along the riverbank, looking for herbs. He found two more Silverleaf plants and a red mushroom called Fire-Cap. He dodged a few aggressive boars, knowing he didn't have another Strength potion to fight them.

  He realized he was smiling.

  Back in the real world, the calculus test still had a failing grade on it. The city was still loud and gray. But here, he was an apprentice alchemist with a pocket full of weeds and a toxicity headache.

  He sat on a small hill overlooking the river. Another player sat down a few feet away, a girl wearing a starter tunic that looked too big for her. She was trying to skip stones on the water, but they kept sinking.

  "You have to use a Flat Pebble," Yuta said instinctively. "The round ones don't use the physics engine right."

  The girl looked at him, surprised. Her avatar had bright green hair, likely a custom dye. "Really?"

  "Yeah. Try that one." He pointed to a jagged, flat stone.

  She picked it up and threw it. It skipped twice before sinking. She laughed, a bright, genuine sound that seemed to cut through the ambient noise of the game.

  "Thanks! I'm Aiko."

  "Yuta."

  "This game is weird, huh?" she said, looking at the water. "I tried to eat an apple earlier and my character choked because I didn't chew it enough. A red emoji face popped up and everything!"

  Yuta laughed. "Yeah. It's weird. But... it's interesting."

  "Are you going to be a warrior?" she asked, eyeing his empty belt.

  "No," Yuta patted his pouch where the Silverleaf was stored. "I think I'm going to focus on gathering for now. Maybe brewing later. What about you?"

  "I want to find a potion that lets me fly," she said, looking up at the sky. "I heard there are floating islands way up there."

  Yuta followed her gaze. High above, barely visible against the twilight stars, were faint silhouettes of landmasses. The scale of the world was immense.

  "Good luck with that," Yuta said. "Don't fall."

  "I won't if you brew me a feather-fall potion," she teased.

  Yuta paused. A customer already? "Deal. But it'll cost you."

  "Cheapskate," she grinned.

  They sat in silence for a while longer, watching the virtual world transition into night. The bioluminescent plants began to glow, turning the plains into a sea of neon blue and soft pink.

  Yuta checked his clock in the menu. He had to log off soon for dinner. But for the first time in a long time, he wasn't dreading the next day. He had a plan. He had three Silverleafs, a Fire-Cap, and a promise to brew a potion he didn't know the recipe for yet.

  He opened the menu to log out, but hesitated. He looked at his toxicity bar. It had dropped to 5/100. His body was recovering.

  "Slow and steady," he whispered to himself.

  He pressed 'Logout'.

  The world dissolved into white, and then he was back in his dark room, the helmet pressing against his face. He took it off and rubbed his eyes. The silence of the apartment returned, but it felt less oppressive now.

  He walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As he drank, he found himself analyzing the liquid—its temperature, its clarity—imagining what stats it would give in the game.

  He chuckled, shaking his head. "One day in, and I'm already hooked."

  He set the glass down. The journey had just begun, and for Yuta, the path to the top wouldn't be paved with swords or spells, but with glass vials and the patience to fill them, drop by drop.