After the opening scene and selecting your name, you’ll find yourself in an empty street. There will be a voice that will ask you to go towards him. Find a glowing silhouette of a person in the street ahead and approach him to allow Walter to manifest. After the brief conversation, run straight ahead to another silhouette in front of the broken statue head to meet Jonathan.
After the opening sequence, you’ll wake up from your nap in Lake Mikado. Your friend Issachar will greet you and will mention something about the Gauntlet Rite. The game will take you to the castle town and Issachar will attempt to ask a luxoror for directions. After the conversation, you’ll have the option to select your destination.
The rite is being held in Mikado Castle. However, you can check the other locations to speak with the townspeople and learn more of the back story if you want. Mikado Castle has three locations. You may want to go to the Aquila Statue Plaza to progress with the story.
During the ceremony, you’ll get your turn in the rite and as expected, the gauntlet will choose you. The head of the samurai, Sir Hope will escort you out of the plaza and to your quarters. Here, you’ll fall asleep as part of the story.
When you wake up, a fellow Samurai named Walter will talk to you. He’ll mention to head to the Naraku Entranceway to start the training. The shops won’t be open for now and they’ll be marked as “???”for the meantime. You can explore the areas outside the Aquila Statue Plaza if you want. Otherwise, select Naraku Entranceway to continue.
Here you’ll meet the other apprentices. Once Hope arrives, he’ll brief you of your current mission and receive basic supplies and stipends. You’ll get 300 macca and Healing Water x5. After this, you can save your macca or check the newly opened shops (Q’s Blacksmith and B’s Apothecary). Your money won’t be enough to get you some new gears and you’ll only be able to afford a few sundries. When ready, head to the Naraku Entrance.
A few steps away lies a couple of boards that you can read. You can also interact at the edge of the ledge then press the down arrow key to jump down to the lower floor. Head towards the door and the gauntlet will display Burroughs, your gauntlet’s navigational AI. She’ll offer to explain how to use her controls and the menu. You can go ahead with the tutorial or skip it. Once you’ve unlocked the menu, save your game first.
Proceed through the door and you’ll use the gauntlet to perform an area scan. During this event, you’ll automatically start your first Quest.