***Birth***

“Welcome~!”

After logging into DIO, Merlin saw a familiar face. There, with her white hair, was a tall, slim, and young-looking girl. It was the guide who welcomed every user, Marionette Hold.

“Ah, Mari. Good timing. That symbol you stamped on my forehead-”

“Wait! Wait! Since you recognize me, you’re probably a beta-tester.”

Mari raised her right hand and stopped Merlin from approaching any closer. From the speed of her reaction, it seemed that this was preprogrammed.

“If you recognize who I am, don’t you remember me?”

“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t given the information that was gathered during the beta test. I’m essentially a new NPC guide. However, if you’ve interacted with them before, the main server’s NPCs will still recall you.”

“So, you don’t remember me….”

Merlin groaned. While he knew that he was in virtual reality, Merlin couldn’t help but feel surprised that someone he’d been around for a better part of a month couldn’t recognize him.

“Yet, since you’re a beta tester, you can skip the Level 2 test. Would you like to take this option?”

“Yes, I’ll skip it. I don’t want to be bothered.”

/You have reached Level 2!/

/Your authorization level for items has increased!/

/Your ability capacity has increased by 100 points!/

In an instant, he skipped the extensive amount of time that he’d initially spent on...