"...Alternate accounts?"

  I raise my eyebrow after Harley asked about it while we're eating lunch.

  "Yeah. I get some games are against making another account to avoid cheating or anything. But what about [Isekai]? I heard you can only make one character per account and I'm concerned if anyone tries to create another one. Heck, you didn't make a second one despite you kept going on about making a guide for all [Races] and [Masteries]."

  I see where he's going. It makes sense since the only video games he played are mostly single-player games. Even when he plays gacha games, he never thinks about making another account.

  "You're right about the one character per account rule. However, it's mostly placed there as a precaution against illegal RMT and account trading," I explained. "With ADVR becoming a norm in recent days, the game's developers and publishers do everything to ensure remains safe for all players even in a new technology. Back then, real-money trading was rampant and some players resorted to third-party programs and bots to gain unfair advantage just to make a buck. It's not just in MMOs. Most multiplayer FPS and MOBAs were not safe against those cheaters. While most of their changes can be a deterrent for some players, it's necessary to stop any cheating in the games."

  "I guess that's fair. Even if they gave us those damn Relovo anti-cheats on some offline games," Harley grumbled.

  "I feel you. But I also heard that "alternate account" thing was more of a warning than a rule to me," Brycen spoke up. "I heard Qizuna had to use another account for her [Isekai] streams."

  "That's because his management must have asked her to or vice versa. Having a character with a clean slate should attract some new viewers into her stream." But knowing the girl behind the VTuber, I can guess it was the latter. "Plus, there were in talks an E-sports league for [Isekai] will be set up in the near future. I'm not sure if they have to use an alternate account or not. Either way, those people can ignore that rule depending on their goals for the game."

  "Then what about you? You're currently playing as an [Insignis] character and the site's said that you cannot change your [Race] unless you turn to support and even it may take them a while to process it."

  Yeah, that's true. I'm guessing they set that up because while we can change our [Masteries] and appearances with a special cash shop item, [Races] mostly serve as DNA in our characters and it would be wrong to change them every time. Although I heard they are working on a cash shop item to rectify that, I feel like changing them would be a disservice to this game.

  "Not a chance. Playing as a [Beast Folk] or [Elf] sounds nice, but I want to try a niche [Race] just to make things challenging for me. Besides, I heard playing as an [Insignis] can grant me easier access to some story [Hidden Quests] if I level up some of my [Masteries]. It would be wrong for me to skip them out."

  "Ah, yes. That's your writer's side talking, huh? No wonder why you had to choose a [Race] with a [Storyline Bonus]. But that's not a good reason why you have to create an alternate account at all."

  "He's right, Lucas. While you might get a setback with the rules, you can use it to create a meta character like a [Beastfolk] fighter or an [Elf] hunter," Brycen suggested "Ooh! You can also try going vanilla with [Human] and be a magical musketeer!"

  Huh... They have a point. It would give me another perspective and a good way to create more guides for my blog. But...

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  "I rather not. It's not just because of my writer's instincts, though. Not only it might be extra draining if I have two characters, but I need more time to level them up by sacrificing it for my first," I explained. "It's not just a challenge. But I'm thinking of my future with in the long-term while balancing my time with my studies and college."

  "Right... I forgot you have some real priorities outside gaming and writing. I'm surprised you still think of college after everything David and his goons threw at you."

  Brycen wasn't kidding. While [Isekai] is becoming a video game I love to play, real life comes first for me if I want to have a bright future for myself and my friends. It sounds silly on paper to most people, but I never screwed my priorities over everything. Plus, I see my [Insignis] self as another me. An underdog is full of potential if I work hard without taking shortcuts in life.

  "Well... is me after all and I rather keep my weak character than make another one who is OP. Besides, I'm not the only one who won't make another account." I stared at my friends once I said this.

  "W-Well... I didn't because of the second reason you said," Brycen sheepishly said. "Besides, I doubt having a [Beastfolk] character would count me as a werewolf character."

  "Same here. I still like the concept for my character and I'm not abandoning it any time soon," Harley added. "Plus, I don't want to be in Arvy's shoes after all."

  "Arvy? You mean that guy who made a mess over his alternate account? I'm with you. With how he abused the alternate account thing for his fantasies, I'm glad I'm sticking to one character."

  They weren't kidding. Arvy Johnson was known as an "Isekai edgelord" of the campus. In other words, a chuunibiyou (eighth-grade syndrome). His delusions of being a "regressor" was worse than David and even he doesn't want to do with that guy. I have no qualms about Arvy, but the stunt he made during the first two weeks of the launch really questions his logic sometimes.

  While I started the game a bit late, Arvy was one of a few players on campus who managed to get into the game on launch day. In his attempt to emulate an isekai protagonist, he created a [Human] character who is a "down-to-luck bag boy" who was pushed around by the arrogant and selfish players (in his words, not mine). Other than the [Viper Fangs], most of the playerbase never bothered with each other and they still follow the etiquette when it comes to party play. But Arvy ignored all of that by exaggerating his role whenever he was at a party.

  "Tell me about it. One of my online friends teamed up with him for a [Quest] and while the party leader was strict, he was still a cool guy to hang out with," Brycen recalled from the same memory I had just now. "Arvy, on the other hand, is too blind to see that and insisted that he was a slave driver. He got his wish as a weak pariah but for the wrong reason."

  "Tell me about it. And then, there was his alternate character afterward. His race was still [Human], but he had a different [Mastery] set compared to his first one. Not only that, he now plays as a guy who "regressed from the future" so he could get revenge on his "party betraying him"," Harley answered with air quotes. "Even worse, he tried deleting his first one so he could treat his second one as his main just to sell his fantasies. Even after support said, "deleting the account would take weeks to do so". Geez... What a poser..."

  I nod in agreement. "Yep. The last time I heard of him, he kept harassing them and put out a brief hate campaign, stating they sided with the party who betrayed him. Of course, the support didn't believe and thanks to the party he accused of giving out their statements, he was banned from [Isekai] for abusing the system and harassment of other players. I don't know how long, but some said it might be years or a lifetime. Then again, they are only rumors since Arvy never mentioned anything related to [Isekai] again."

  "Probably for the best. He already made trouble with my friend and his party. I'm not surprised the devs have to update the alternate account rule after Arvy made a fuss about it."

  Same here. But still...

  "Regardless, I'm still not going to create another character for the meta," I reiterate without any hesitation. "Who knows? Maybe I might get my only character with some kind of a weapon or [Mastery] without regressing."

  "Heh... That would be the day."

  Harley and I join Brycen for a brief laugh before finishing our lunch. But after this, I didn't expect that my wordswouldl come true in the most unexpected way possible.

  [Virtual Lycan] will be taking a 2-week break to rest and prepare for the second arc! But you can enjoy the first 3 chapters of it over my with the 3rd one releasing next week! So if you want to be like Christine Luu, go over and enjoy new chapters along with bonus content!