=Lux=

[Lux Nocturne]

[Prince of night, Myth crafter, Thaumaturge, Grand archmage, God slayer]

[True blood vampire]

[Independent]

The information just sort of appeared in my head, it was like I was reading a character screen from Mythic Age with my mind’s eye. It felt strange, but it was convenient to say the least. If this was how inspection magic was going to work then I’d just have to get used to the weird feeling, after all this was my chance to start over in a world of magic and fantasy similar to the game world of Mythic Age. I had already sacrificed a lot to get here so I wasn’t going to be turned away by the little stuff.

Looking around I saw a collection of people of all types, and given how many races were available for players in Mythic age there were plenty of types to be had. There were the veterans that were already checking their equipment and gear, these were the type that accepted the call while taking it at face value and with the full expectation that they would be sent to a new world. There were also some casual players and newbs strewn about in the crowd that were excitedly making fools of themselves, one such person happened to be standing next to me and he was playing with his new cat ears and tail with a disturbing grin on his face. Then there were the ones who were panicking, the people who probably accepted thinking the call was a new in-game quest or update and were now freaking out.

I felt a little sorry for that last group. It was surreal in the extreme watching my body die as it laid in the dive pod, and if everyone else had seen similar visions of their own bodies then I can understand why some of the people around me seemed to be having panic attacks. Still there wasn’t much that could be done about those poor people, the call had been very detailed and explicit in its wording. There was no going back once you accepted, no return to the world you were born to once you accepted.

I think there might be a handful of suicides once those panicking people figured that out…

Closing my eyes I tried to recall the exact wording of the call I had accepted. There was something about this new world being similar to the game world of MA, a bit about there being a limit to how many people could go and things being on a first-come-first-served basis, and that paragraph on the death of your original body and the repurposing of your mortal soul. There wasn’t much on what this new world would be like, and there was nothing mentioned about what we were expected to do once we were there. It was a concern of mine, I didn’t particularly have any desire to go slay demon kings, topple corrupt nations, or fight evil gods. I was genre savvy enough to know that people don’t just get called to a different world for no reason, especially not when it is a large collection of people who will be reincarnating as their uber powerful MA character avatars.

Still, no matter what twist or catch comes with the call I’ll accept it. Because no matter what it is it’ll still be better than spending another day living the life I left behind.

*

=Ark=

[Ark Nova]

[Champion of light, God slayer, Weapon master, Demigod, Golden King]

[High human]

[Myth Seekers]

I felt a smile grow on my face as I mentally read off the results of the inspection spell I cast on myself. I really was Ark, Ark Nova not Milly Spruce. Looking down at myself I saw golden plate armor with azure inlays instead of a ratty sweater that was two sizes too big for the mousy girl wearing it. I could also see everything clearly without those thick lenses that used to be necessary if I wanted to make out anything besides colorful fuzzy shapes.

The thing I was worried most about wasn’t even an issue, a quick check down below assured me that I hadn’t become exactly like my character was in-game. I was Ark Nova, just gender swapped so that my sex didn’t change along with my world.

A nervous laugh escaped me as I felt deeply relieved, I wanted to cast away my old body and identity but I hadn’t wanted to become a man in the process.

I reached a hand down to my bag and felt a sort of mental stock of what the bag contained just appear in my mind, mentally selecting a plain mirror I felt it appear in my hand before I even came in contact with the cloth of the bag.

“Glad that works the same as it did in the game…”

My quiet mutter went unnoticed, and when I brought up the mirror and saw the person reflected in it even I forgot what I had said. A goddess stared back at me, a goddess with deep and vibrant blue eyes, a perfect heart shaped face marred only by a beauty mark under her left eye, and long wavy golden hair that reached her shoulders. She couldn’t be me, even if she was crying softly like I was and matching my every movement the beautiful person staring back at me in wonder from the mirror couldn’t actually be me.

I had designed my avatar in Mythic Age to be very handsome, the avatar was made to embody my ideals of male beauty after all, so it would make sense that a female Ark Nova would be beautiful. It would make sense, but…

“Is this really… me?”

I stroked the image reflected in the mirror as I thought back to the mousy girl that was too small and too plain for her own good. She had been a shy and quiet girl, a girl who was mercilessly bullied at her boarding school because everyone knew she had no one to stick up for her, a girl who would escape the pain of her life by plunging herself into virtual realities where she could be powerful, popular, and beautiful. When I looked into the mirror I didn’t see that girl, I couldn’t even make out her shadow. I remember watching that girl die though, curled up in a small sad ball in her cheap dive pod.

I saw myself smile in the mirror.

“Milly Spruce is dead, but Ark Nova…

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*

=Gram=

[Gram Freid]

[Dragon slayer, God Slayer, Giant slayer, Dragon lord, Sword saint]

[Dragon lord]

[Independent]

The first thing I did after inspecting myself like the mysterious voice suggested was to check my bag. Lux had put a lot of features into his item bags, so it wasn’t hard to check that everything was still there. Mentally reading through the inventory I saw that everything I had stored inside my bag was still there and had made the trip with me.

Looking around at the crowd of other players that were around me I didn’t see anyone I knew, that was fine. I knew for a fact that Lux had accepted the call, and Zee wasn’t the type that would turn down a chance like this. I’d just have to look for them when we got to this new world, but that in and of itself could take some doing.

“No chat feature, mini map, or friends list to rely on… Tracking down the people you know could be difficult if we are all sent to different locations.”

That would be hell on the guilds since numbers were a big factor in their strength, but it would be even harder on us independent players. It’s harder to find an individual than it is to find a group, well at least that’s usually the case.

“Knowing Lux he’s going to set up somewhere near a major hub of activity, probably make some big tower or castle to advertise his location to clients. As for Zee, well… Zee will probably end up tracking us down before we could even start looking for him.”

Besides, Lux was the priority here. Zee could take care of himself in pretty much any situation, but Lux was more of a crafter than a fighter. Sure he could hold his own, especially at night when those vampire racial bonuses kicked in, but he is still the weakest of the three of us. Plus he doesn’t have any revival abilities outside of his vampiric traits, so of the three of us he’s the only one that’ll stay dead when he’s killed.

I shook my head as I palmed the hilt of Fang, I owed Lux and Zee far too much to let either of them die. New world or not, my job wouldn’t change. I was those two’s guardian devil, and god help whoever lays hands on my friends…

*

=Rex=

[Rex Regime]

[Demon king, Sin eater, Apostle of world’s end, dogma breaker, Arch devil]

[Arch devil]

[Hellspawn]

I closed my eyes as the inspection magic faded away, it was about what I expected. This identity wouldn’t make me any friends in this new world, but it would almost definitely win me a few enemies. That was fine, enemies were more fun anyway.

I’ll need to carve out a piece of this new world for myself, and from there build up the guild into a kingdom that can both support and protect me. It’ll be a challenge, but I love challenges. The key will be how I manage my resources and how I handle interacting with the natives of the world.

I looked around me and I saw people fondling their new bodies or chattering away with those around them. Only a handful of people seemed to be assessing themselves and their equipment. There should be one thousand players total that were called to the new world, so I was only looking at a small fraction of the players who had chosen to go to the new world. Still I wasn’t impressed by what I saw.

In Mythic Age I had been one of the top players in terms of personal combat, feats, and guild ranking. I knew that there had to be a few players on my level who had chosen to come to this world, and those players would be my enemies. They might not kill me since this wasn’t a game anymore, but they certainly wouldn’t let me do what I pleased either.

“Players like Ark Nova and Creed are the ones that I’ll have to watch out for. Even neutral players could pose a problem for me like the infamous Polus or that assassin Zee.”

I felt a thrill run down my spine and my new spade tipped tail. In my old world I had been a nobody, a corporate drone at the bottom rung of society. In Mythic Age I had clawed my way to a position of power and authority, I had been a respected guild master and a feared top tier player. In this new world… in this new world I planned to be a king among kings, perhaps even a god if I could manage it…

*

=Rem=

[Rem Morpheus]

[Rabbit Slayer]

[Beastkin (Sheep)]

[Independent]

I curled up on myself as I cried. This was just supposed to be an update or game patch, right? That’s what that guy at the head of our party had said. Go on and accept it, maybe we could get some unique items or meet up with a guild recruiter or something. That’s all it was supposed to be, just some dumb knew raid area the game was introducing…

I kept seeing it, my body getting shocked inside the custom dive pod until it went still. That shouldn’t have happened, the dive pods were supposed to be totally safe. There were tons of tests run on each new version of them before they got released to the public, Daddy was even the president of one of the companies that worked to inspect dive pods and other full dive platforms. This shouldn’t be possible.

“I-it’s… It’s all just a dream… T-that’s right! A dream… J-just a dream…”

That’s all it could be, but why did everything feel so real?

“Oh would you relax already sheep lady? You read the prompt, same as all of us, so you know damn well this isn’t some dream.”

“Lay off man, she might not have read the call like us. She might’ve just skimmed it and accepted the call thinking it was some new update or patch for the game…”

“Oh, then she’s both loud and a dumbass. God, this is why they shouldn’t have sent the call to newbs in the first place.”

“Heh, Yeah. Should have put some sort of level requirement on the call!”

“And how’d they do that if there are no levels in MA? Dumbass. Think a little before you speak…”

“What’d you call me?!”

“My mate here just called you a dumbass because, newsflash, you’re a dumbass…”

“Let it go Craim, they ain’t worth sweating over…”

I could hear people all around me, talking, shouting, laughing, whispering, and arguing. It was all just more proof that I wasn’t dreaming right now and all this was actually real.

Why? Why didn’t I read that message prompt before I accepted? Why did this even happen in the first place? Different worlds, reincarnation as a game character, a summoning you can’t escape from? It was like I was stuck in one of those cartoons Erica was obsessed with.

I didn’t want to be here, I loved my life and I didn’t want to run off to some fantasy world! I had things I needed to get back to, family, friends, school, everything! I couldn’t be here! I needed to get back, to log out!

I felt a hand come to rest on my shoulder. I looked up and I saw what looked like a cross between a ninja and the grim reaper. I screamed.

“Hey, hey! Relax! It’s just a mask, ok!”

The ninja reaper took off its skull and behind it was a face, a pretty face.

“This better?”

I could only nod as I choked on another sob and tried to put myself together. Daddy always said that first impressions were the most important, and I agreed with him. Still, I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to act right now. I was still hoping this was all a dream.

“Good. Ok, well… Ah, um… Look, I’m not good at the whole touchy-feely thing but it seems like you could really use a friend right now miss sheep.”

I just nodded as I looked into the kind face of the girl who was talking to me. Suddenly the girl reached out her other hand and grabbed one of mine. I felt the smooth leather of her glove slide against my palm as if it was a liquid, and as I watched her face broke out into a bright smile that looked like it could melt ice.

I felt my heart skip a little and my face flushed. I don’t know why, I’m straight and I’ve never felt like that with another girl. I like guys, I do.

“Name’s Zee. Assassin for hire, and occasional friend for those in need…”

I nodded again as my face burned redder. I had no idea what was going on, with me or with this whole situation, but I was glad I wasn’t alone right now. Mustering up my courage I opened my mouth to speak.

“I’m Sari-… Ah, I mean! My name is Rem…”

She put back on her terrifying skull mask again, but for some reason it didn’t seem as scary to me as it did before.

“Rem, huh? Alrighty then Rem, do you want to hang with me for a while? Like until you can figure something out for yourself?”

I nodded and tried for a smile of my own this time.

“Yes, I’d like that Zee. And you were right, I really needed a friend here…”