I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 381

Chapter 381: Marisa Kirisame and Reimu Hakurei

“Age of Aquarius” features a highly realistic character customization system.

On the forums, I have seen many gaming experts praise the character customization system in this game, calling it a groundbreaking design, much like the game itself.

Regardless of whether you want to create a man, woman, loli, or shota, all body types and face shapes can be made. The data is extremely complex, to the point where even professionals find it overwhelming.

The game is set up such that everyone is born with a mechanical skeleton, similar to the robots in “Terminator” or “Transformers,” allowing for free adjustment of size and body shape.

Therefore, theoretically, a character’s mechanical skeleton in the game can be set to any body type and gender. Men can have broader upper bodies, women can have wider pelvises and thighs.

This setup perfectly avoids so-called “discrimination.” You can choose any gender you want, any body type, skin color, and appearance.

Because the customization system is so complex, many people have to hire professional modelers or art students to help with the customization. This led to the emergence of “Aquarius Artists,” who specialize in this for profit, just a few days after the game launched.

The most interesting aspect is that the game system allows users to upload custom images for their introductions and avatars. Some professionals in this field simply replace their avatars or signatures with payment codes.

Once the other party scans their avatar and makes the payment, the design draft is transferred to the buyer.

Moreover, “The Age of Aquarius” does not differentiate between “main” and “alt” accounts. One person corresponds to one account, one “main body,” and the individual’s ID number is tied to that person’s “main body” in the game on “Aquarius Planet.”

However, this does not mean that players cannot create alt accounts. In this game, alt accounts take on a different role, which is the “body.”

It cleverly mimics the old “main and alt account” tricks of previous online games. In this game, a person’s equipment and physical strength are directly tied to their initial “mechanical skeleton.”

Creating an alt account is like earning money in the game and then applying to the central system to use another “mechanical skeleton.” You then transfer your “consciousness” into this new skeleton, customize the face, and equip the new body.

It’s said that since the game’s launch, many top players have created a bunch of alt accounts: a loli account, an uncle account, a big sister account. These “bodies” are usually kept at home, and when they want to experience a different role, they just connect their “main body” to it.

For example, Gabriel has two “bodies”. One is a black-haired ordinary person used mainly for building relationships with NPC neighbors and developing life skills. The other is a white-haired “angel” with wings and claws, used specifically for live-streaming dungeon runs to showcase skills.

NPCs cannot understand the concept of “main and alt accounts.” For someone like Gabriel, who has two accounts living in the same house, the NPCs just think of them as a well-coordinated “yuri couple.”

The white-haired angel goes out to work every day to earn money, while the black-haired girl stays home to do housework. When Gabriel goes out as the black-haired girl, NPCs are much more friendly, since they see her more often.

Of course, as casual players, Xiao Mo and I haven’t deeply engaged with the game. We mostly log in to wander around, treating it as a 3D game for enjoying scenery and music.

However, appearances still matter. I’ve never been comfortable playing games where the characters are too ugly—I’m an “appearance enthusiast.” In most games, if I decide to keep playing, I’ll make an effort to improve the appearance by buying costumes or styling hair.

Therefore, for “Age of Aquarius,” Xiao Mo and I specifically asked Gabriel to help design our in-game avatars when she had some free time. We thought it would take several days to complete the designs, but surprisingly, she finished them in less than two days and even had Su Yunjin deliver the specialized customization materials.

“You have new mail, please check your inbox.”

As expected, after logging in with Xiao Mo, I received an email from Gabriel. It contained the design blueprints for our personal avatars and the materials needed to create our bodies.

“Hehe, if only the materials for creating bodies back then were this simple,” I heard Xiao Mo murmur softly beside me as I checked the inbox.

“What’s wrong?”

I tilted my head. “Feeling homesick, my dear wife?”

“Huh?” Xiao Mo snapped back to reality.

“No way! I’m not like some little kitten who cries in her sleep having nightmares, begging for hugs and burrowing her little head into someone’s chest.”

“Huh?”

I was stunned. “I… cry in my sleep having nightmares?”

“Did I say it was you?”

Xiao Mo turned away. “I didn’t mention any names, did I?”

Darn it…

“I’m not going to argue with you. Let’s go to the Aquarius Hall and set up our bodies first.”

I moved the mouse and opened the friends list.

“Xiao Mo, accept the party invite.”

“Ding! Jialan Xiamo has joined your party.”

To modify our bodies, we needed to go to a specific area in the game called the “Aquarius Hall.” This building is located at the center of each major city, similar to the Arasaka Tower in “Cyberpunk 2077.” However, in this game, everyone can visit it. The first floor is called the “Aquarius Hall” and is mainly used for players to alter their appearances.

In the game’s setting, even if the “people” here are modified to look exactly like humans, they are not actually human, just shells that look like humans. The materials we provide only cover the surface of the initial robots, simulating skin, eyes, hair, etc., according to the settings, there are no internal organs.

“Honey, you are so cute! Come here for a hug!”

“Go away, we’re just one wall apart. If you want a hug, wait until tonight!”

“This character customization system is amazing. It even lets you use a voice changer. Wow!”

As soon as Xiao Mo and I entered the “Aquarius Hall,” I saw two very familiar characters at the entrance, Marisa Kirisame and Reimu Hakurei.

The blonde girl wearing a black and white magician’s hat and dress, and the black-haired girl in a red shrine maiden outfit with a bow on her head, were showing off their affection at the entrance of the Aquarius Hall, under the names ?Marisa Kirisame? and ?Reimu Hakurei?.

These two characters must be from the ’90s, right?

Quietly grumbling to myself, Xiao Mo and I entered the “character modification” area at the back of the hall, placing the blueprints and related materials into the system.

Xiao Mo and I didn’t ask Gabriel to make any changes to our appearance. The faces and bodies were entirely modeled after our real-life looks, “Yin Nuo’er” and “Yin Xiamo.”

Gabriel even said that my face perfectly matches Eastern aesthetics, with a perfect loli face according to the golden ratio.

“Ding! Your modifications are complete.”

After a brief modification animation, a long string of attribute changes appeared in front of me. For example, after adding skin to my hands, agility decreased, attack power decreased, defense increased, and facial attractiveness increased. There were so many changes that I didn’t look at them closely.

Anyway, it makes sense. Originally, we were just a metal skeleton covered with a layer of skin, so attribute changes are inevitable. This game is indeed made too realistically.

“Nuo’er?”

As Xiao Mo and I finished customizing our bodies and were about to leave the hall, passing by the “couple” at the entrance, Marisa suddenly spoke up using the public channel.

“Are you Nuo’er and Xiao Mo? Really?”

“Who are you?” I switched to the public mic. “Are we friends?”

“It’s me!”

At that moment, Marisa’s voice suddenly changed to that of a middle-aged man. “Jiang Wei!”

“You…”

I looked at this Marisa, then at the “Reimu Hakurei” next to her. “Then this must be Sister Ye Zi?”

“Hello there.”Reimu Hakurei waved at us.

“We didn’t recognize you both earlier because you had the default appearance at first. Hehe, it’s rare to see you two playing a game. Let’s add each other as friends.”

“How did you guys…”

I looked at Jiang Wei, then at Ye Zi. “How did you manage this?”

“I spent a lot of money to have someone design the appearance and outfits, and I bought a voice changer. Finally living the dream.”

Marisa switched back to the female voice from earlier.

“This game is really amazing. Nuo’er, collaborating with Sikong Yue on graphics cards was the best decision I’ve ever made. We… we might be on the verge of getting rich.”

“……”

……