A feminine voice like a soft summer breeze whispered in my ear, “Welcome, weary traveler, to Aerlhiz Eternia. Loading your profile.”

At least they were straight to the point.

“You have one preregistered Founder’s character and three unregistered Founder’s characters available to you. Which would you like to use?”

I took a step forward and, as I did so, the darkness was blasted away with a bright light that nearly blinded me. Soon, I found myself in the middle of a field atop a hill. I was on a cobblestone path and off in the distance stood four intimidating stone circles, with a path leading to each. The far left path’s stones gleamed like polished silver while the other three appeared to be just basic gray rock.

I shrugged and headed down the path with the brighter stones. The moment I stepped on it, a strong breeze lifted me and carried me all the way up the path to the middle of the stone circle, where I floated, unsure of what was to come.

Small wisps of light surrounded me, and that’s when I realized I was in my old body, or at least the closest proximity to it. The game had pulled the framework away from me and spun it around allowing me to see myself.

The voice asked, “Would you like to use your normal body as the basis for your new character, Never?”

“Oh, hell no!” I screamed. “No, no, no, this is a new chance for me. A new lease on life! I want nothing to do with who I was!” I watched in slight horror as the features that made my face faded, giving it almost a mannequin-like appearance.

“What age would you like your character to be?”

I checked the slider. It went down to 10 and up to 65, where it simply said “Elder.” I toyed with it a bit, watching the figure before me have basic changes to its stance and build, but with no effect on its stats. You could be a 65-year-old man, unbelievably sprightly, and able to chop down trees with a single swoosh of an ax.

Knowing what I’ve seen in games past, I chose the age of 15. So what if people see me as a kid sidekick? Let them underestimate me, or pity me. I could get dragged around for some raids. It also helped that I knew most people would be choosing something in the 20- to 30-year-old range, with a few people probably going in the 40s and 50s. Being significantly younger, I could blend in with the NPCs so much better.

“Age chosen. Please choose gender.”

“Male,” I stated. Just because this new start for me was going to bring a lot of changes in my life, it didn’t mean I felt like changing everything.

“Please choose your race.”

I flipped through the different options. There was your standard human or Domsana as it was called here. There didn’t appear to be a standard elf class, though; in its place was a race that looked like a strange hybrid of elves and orcs called the Rivirdi.

I wasn’t sure if I would choose this race, but I wanted some more information, so I kept a small window that popped up in the soothing voice read to me the information is it also appeared on my screen.

“The Rivirdi are the union of two lost species of Aerlhiz: the Cirkenar, a noble forest race known for their longevity and beauty, and the Arkoos, a nomadic green-skinned warrior race that had for years been at war with Cirkenar. The two species had nearly fought each other to extinction and brought the world into a flaming hell age. However, it was the crucible needed for the remnants of both races to become allies. Over the course of two ages, their offspring became the Rivirdi. The remaining Cirkenar and Arkoos had submitted themselves for execution for the crimes they had committed over the course of millennia, knowing that their progeny would live in peace and harmony.

“The Rivirdi come with the following bonuses…

“Night vision: This allows you to see in almost utter darkness for a range of 20m as if it were merely dusk. This racial ability will allow you to alter your vision to see during twilight hours as if they were normal. There is no penalty for being in bright light.

“Rugged: While the Cirkenar were a more fragile race, they lived among the trees in the wilderness and were their masters. The Arkoos were tough and hardy species, and while the meeting point is not as hardy as the Arkoos, you are still considered rugged, taking 5% less damage in combat.”

The Rivirdi seemed appealing, although I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be in a body of a swimmer’s build with olive skin, long, pointed ears, but if I decided not to be human, a Rivirdi seemed like a good choice.

To the next race.

Oh, boy…what stood before me looked only partially human; the rest of it looked like a 5-foot tall rat. Might as well hear it out.

“Verminus: While, at first glance, the Verminus race appears to be something that Domsana would try to quell, it quickly became obvious that their high intellect and proficiency with invention made them a valuable ally. With a keen sense of smell and an insatiable urge to build, the Verminus do not stay within your typical villages in the traditional sense. They have made their havens the outskirts and abandoned places, turning the discarded into treasure.

“Verminus have the following attributes…

“Iron Stomach: the Verminus are resilient against most poisons. It is rumored that it is impossible to actually kill a Verminus with poison. Any poison attacks or damage is reduced by 50%.

“Tinkerer: all Verminus have an instinct to craft and can do so much easier than any other race. All Verminus require -1 item for any crafting recipe. If you have +1 of all items required, you are guaranteed an exceptional crafting bonus and need only use one recipe.”

Well, that looked like the best option for stats, but there was no way I was gonna walk around as a giant rat. So, we’ve got three races down; looks like two to go.

Next was a figure that could have been crafted out of clay, a golem of some sort, perhaps. It had thin, pointy features and a strange blue light emanating from between the cracks of its surface and where its eyes should be. It had curved horns and pointed teeth. For all intents and purposes, this should be a bad guy but there was something about it that made it seem nonthreatening

“The Solomon: the Solomon are a race descended from fallen angels and djinn who have no crimes or evil associated with their being, and have decided to earn their place among the gods of Aerlhiz. To do this, they have fashioned golem bodies of mystic clay to inhabit. Wise and eternal, the Solomon are masters of magic, but also, due to their earthen body, unbelievably well-suited for being tanks.

“The Solomon have the following bonuses…

“The Kiln: a Solomon only possesses the body that they have crafted, it is not their true flesh. Due to this, when they fall in battle, they have the option to respawn in their old body at 10% health instead of going to the respawn location. Please note that utilizing The Kiln has a cooldown of two hours, as well as requiring a triple respawn timer once triggered.”

“Topsy-Turvy: the Solomon are equally proficient in magic as well as fortitude. However they cannot be both at once. Once per day, they can choose physical or arcane alignment. Choosing arcane doubles their magic proficiency and strength at the cost of half of their HP; choosing fortitude grants them double HP and defense at the cost of halving their magic abilities.”

That was an interesting mechanic. In many games, races sort of got locked into whatever role you wanted to play. Elves being healers but also having speed lent them well to Ranger, Thief, and Healing classes, but on the whole, they weren’t going to be very good at being a tank. The Rivirdi seemed like they were not as fast as your normal Thief would be, but they would certainly be hardier than an elf; could be a good backup tank.

I had to give Alchemy Studios credit: these races were pretty well thought out. I mean, even the Verminus, which looks like they should be an Assassin and Thief class, were also a crafting class. You’d want to have one on your party because you’d be gathering enough component parts and having someone who could throw together health packets and potions was always a good thing

On to the final race.

What appeared before me was a sort of demi-human with deer-like features. Being male, a small pair of antlers started on the brow line, not prominent enough to hide the long ears. The strange thing about this creature, though, was that it appeared to be in flux. Parts of its body were made out of water, others sand, some lava, and yet others, hard stone. Muscles appeared to be a mix of soil, brambles, and thorny vines. These parts were in motion though the body was not.

“The Xiddei: a race of elemental halflings that were once the dominant species on all land and sea in the world of Aerlhiz. Unfortunately, due to this arcane nature their life forces were used as batteries in the war between the Cirkenar and the Arkoos. While many races will have slight changes to appearance based on the lens that they originate from, the Xiddei actually change their form to fit the environment they are in. Xiddei traversing the desert will be made out of sand and bone, but the moment that crosses into swamp land, its flesh will become mud and sticks.

“The Xiddei have the following racial bonuses…

“Perpetual Attunement: Xiddei will never suffer from negative effects based on terrain difficulty. Their bodies will simply adapt and become the most efficient they can be. The Xiddei will never suffer any movement penalties.

“Day and Night: Xiddei have a dual nature. Being so close to nature, during the day, their attack abilities are at -25% effectiveness, however, all healing and support abilities increase by 25%. This reverses at night, when predators come out to prey on small animals.

“One with the Land: Xiddei need little rest, as they can actually melt into the earth to regenerate health and remove status effects. Please note, in so doing, that all attacks to the land that they are bound to create aggravated damage to the Xiddei when they awaken. The resting time is reduced by half, but unlike normal resting, once this hibernation starts, you cannot exit it.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

So, support class that had some tanking abilities, probably had a minor ability in magic as well.

I realized I’d completely ignored the racial bonuses for the Domsana, so I quickly switched back to it and read up.

“The Domsana: Placed as arbiters by the gods following the Cirkenar and Arkoos extinction event, looked down upon by the other races, and seen as the frail little brother that must be looked after, the Domsana have shown themselves to be the ultimate Jack-of-all-trades.

“The following bonuses are available to all Domsana characters…

“Little Brother is Watching: all Domsana characters have a bonus involving investigation and research benefits. Any time a member of your party raises a skill level in a weapon you use, you have a 25% chance to also raise that skill level.”

Okay, I had to laugh. Alchemy Studios had always put in small in-jokes in their games and the phrase “Little Brother is Watching” had been a long-used term on the social network known as HiveMind. Even though it was already going to be what I chose, to find out that just partying with someone could raise my weapon skills or abilities, not to mention getting bonuses in research, I’d be able to blast through gearing up.

“Coinbiter: all Domsana gain +10% currency in battle. At level 15 all Domsana learn the ability Roulette, a passive ability which, when chosen, raises this to 25%. The bonus is randomly given to a member of the party; all bonuses involving Coinbiter can be increased an additional 5% for each Domsana in the party.”

So, I’m not going to be particularly good at any skill sets, but I could definitely play this to my advantage. It seemed all racial bonuses were about learning and giving; I was more for the first, not so much for the second. If I could get a party with a bunch of other Domsana, eventually, it will balance itself out.

“Oathbreaker: being the arbiters for the world of Aerlhiz, the Domsana have a +50% diplomacy bonus; this includes all such attempts with any factions tied to The Void, even persuading them to switch alliances to the Aerlhiz Protectorate. Three diplomatic failuresin a row, if Oathbreaker is used,will result in your character being bound to The Void and labeled an enemy of the Protectorate for a full month. You can choose to utilize Oathbreaker at any time during a diplomatic action.”

The voice was suddenly replaced by a nasally male who piped in my ear, breaking my immersion: “This is one of the developers. The Oathbreaker ability is something we’re still testing and unsure will go live in the final version. At first, we were thinking of having this be people choosing between The Void or The Protectorate and realized having The Void as a playable faction wasn’t in the best scope of things for the initial launch. It might be eventual DLC, so if this goes away please understand. That is it. Thank you, Founder.”

Well, there is no time like the present. Being able to absorb the knowledge bases of those around me, as well as having a bit of extra coin, was certainly better than being able to see in the dark a bit better or, Heaven help me, being a 5-foot rat or elemental halflings. As awesome as the Solomon sounded, I wasn’t sure that was the sort of body I wanted to be stuck in, especially for being Never. I’d never played an MMO under that moniker where I didn’t play just a basic human.

I selected Domsana and begin to tweak my appearance. I gave myself short black hair with a white streak starting above my right eye, going back over my scalp. What can I say? On my Let’s Play channel, my icon was a skunk. My real body had hazel eyes, so I changed it up. I decided to go with an almost iridescent baby blue. I shook my head and tweaked the color palette to red.

Oh, yeah; I want to look like someone you don’t want to mess with. For clothing, I had a simple tunic, which I colored black with gray highlights. I went with a slightly tanned skin tone a few shades darker than what I was normally. My blunt nose became more elven. I give myself pronounced cheekbones and a wiry frame. I still packed on some muscle, not that it mattered, and then looked for options and customization only for Founders, finding little more than a different skin for the tunic, allowing me to add spikes on the shoulders.

I added a few braids that only Founders could get on the side of my head, and allowed them to drape over my left pectoral. Satisfied with how I looked, I moved to the accept button; there was a bright flash and soon I was where the character model had been. I’d switched bodies. I looked down at the body that I had become accustomed to all my life. It began to slowly lose its features, turning back into that mannequin like form I’d been in the loading server. A font of water appeared to my right, spraying up a fine mist which congealed into a mirror. The voice rang out again as I looked over myself.

“Would you like to make any changes? Please note: this is final until you receive a Transfiguration spell, allowing you one set of alterations to your body, but not race or gender.”

I nodded and flexed my biceps. I felt alive, powerful.

I swiped my hand over the word “yes”; the mirror turned back into water and settled in the font, which then vanished.

“Very well, Never. Please select your starting class. Note that you can freely swap classes in Aerlhiz Eternia, after you complete the tutorial. You will only be allowed access to a few starter classes but, at level 15, you can expand these to a secondary system. At level 35, the mastery classes will become available. The final level in the game is 50, at which point, you can select the exalted classes.”

That was interesting; making us learn basics before moving on to more specialized means of doing things was certainly a step in the right direction.

“I have a question for you,” I said.

The voice paused as if processing this before saying, “Please state your question.”

“How do classes work with the prestige system?”

There was another pause. My guess is they had only put in so many answers to only so many questions and it was trying to figure out the best possible answer it could. The more players that came in and the more questions asked of it, the quicker this thing was going to be working. Anyway, I was in the final stages of an alpha test; I can’t expect everything to work perfectly.

“All classes unlocked before the prestige at level 50 will remain unlocked for your character at level 1. This does not mean that the abilities you have unlocked will be readily available, but you will have access to their most basic levels. All abilities will naturally unlock at the levels where you unlocked them last. Your goal should be on your first prestige to re-unlock these as fast as possible, so, after further prestiges, they are earlier natural unlocks.”

I paused before asking, “How many prestiges are needed to get a one-star rating to get out of here?”

“It is the intention of Alchemy Studios not to require a single prestige to earn the one-star rating. Attaining the final level and defeating the King of The Void will earn you the first of three stars.”

“But as soon as I hit 50, I can prestige, come back to level 1 and become more of a monster to fight the King, right?”

There was a pause, but no answer came.

“Fine, fine, fine. Okay, so I don’t have to prestige to get checkmate, but I’m probably going to have to be here for a couple prestiges.”

It was then that the nasally voice pumped back in my ear.

“Hey, Never, this is Matthew Sinclair, one of the head developers here at Alchemy. I need to know how you know about the prestige system. That isn’t even supposed to be told to the players until they hit level 50. We aren’t expecting any of you to get that far for weeks, maybe months.”

“The lady who was in charge of our getting in—I think her name was Ms. Levicia—she told me about it.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. Did she tell everyone that the curveball we set for the endgame? You hit 50 and the Blood Hunt starts?”

“Blood Hunt?”

“Oh, great, so she told you about the prestige, but not the Blood Hunt. Great. Now I’ve given you even more information you shouldn’t have.”

“Listen, if it makes it easier for you, I won’t tell anyone about the prestige system. I already told her I won’t tell anyone; I just need to know how it works.”

“Fine. Stuff might get changed by the time you get there anyway. So when you hit level 50, you gain the attention of the King of The Void. He places a Blood Hunt on your head, at which point, you will be given the option by the gods of Aerlhiz to avoid the Blood Hunt, returning to level 1 with everything you’ve unlocked in order to regather your forces, gain skills and proficiencies you may have lost at the benefit of faster leveling and proficiency gain. Currently we predict most players will only need to do this three times or so, that doesn’t get you the other stars. You don’t get to know that information yet. You can prestige as many times as you want, but the XP bonuses cap after the third go around.”

“Okay, well, I don’t mind waiting around and power-leveling a bunch of stuff to become the sheer beast in this game. So, my guess is that once I select a class, I’ll be put into the tutorial?”

“You got it, Never.”

“Am I also to assume you’re going to give me a friend to help me through it?”

“I wouldn’t bet against it.”

“Well, I better sharpen my dagger if I want that achievement, shouldn’t I? I think I’ll start off as a Thief because I will be stealing the World First for a lot of these things.”

“In that case, I shouldn’t be the one to stop you from claiming that ever-important singular achievement for doing the tutorial,” he said with a sarcastic chuckle.

I paused. There was a second hidden achievement. Damn. I might have missed it, had I not had this info.

“Okay, level with me. I’m already AGI property, and I already know about the prestige system, so tell me at least this or I swear to God I will tell everyone that I run into what I know. Is there an achievement for killing the helper and one for letting him live?”

“No. As with all Alchemy games, it is possible to gain 100% completion and no, you never revisit the tutorial once you’ve completed it. Might I add: if I find out you’re spilling the secrets of the prestige system prematurely, I’ll turn you into a giant dung beetle that gets killed over and over by every new player.”

I gulped. They were able to rewrite my head and thoughts with patch updates. It wouldn’t really be that difficult for them to simply choose my brainwave patterns as the AI governing some small random level 1 creature.

There was an odd sensation of movement in my head, and I knew that whatever communication systems the developer had been using had been terminated. I look forward at the mannequin that had been my body and behind it, six pillars rose, each with different armor and weaponry. The first one seemed simple enough.

“Warrior class,” the feminine voice continued. “Warriors are good with single- and double- handed swords, and can also use daggers. Warriors can also equip full shields as well as half shields.”

I looked to the right and saw a slightly baggier version of the outfit I was wearing, except it was wrapped with gray cords around the wrists and lower legs. Its tunic also had a hood.

“Thief class: Masters of stealth, Thieves can use short swords and daggers. They can also use half shields.”

I noticed the system wasn’t actually telling me about any class bonuses. This might actually be something to get patched later, I thought. Then again, at level 1, it was probably all about your starter abilities and the bonuses would come with them.

Next was a gold and white flowing robe with an ornate wooden staff capped by an orb.

“Life Mage,” the voice stated. “Life Mages are primarily healers. At higher levels, they can call upon the will of various good-aligned deities for seriously damaging and damning combat spells.”

To the right of that was a red and black hooded robe. I expected to see a similar staff but instead I found a war scythe that looked cool.

“Dark Mage,” the voice continued. “Dark Mages have been blessed by the good-aligned deities of Aerlhiz. Despite their name and appearance, everything in Aerlhiz is based on duality. They are the opposing side of nature; brutal, vicious. Their battle scythes cut the strings of fate where their counterpoints, the Life Mages weave them.”

To the right of that was a multicolored, almost jester-like costume.

“Troubador: they live for their party and are the basis of all support classes. Early on, Troubadors have access to swords and sickles as well as enchanted musical instruments.”

Oh, God…not the Bard class.

Finally there was a simple white gi, iron braces, but no weapon beside it.

“Disciple: skilled in unarmed combat, a Disciple is his own weapon. The Disciple cannot start with an equippable weapon and must gain proficiency 1 through exposure from teammates. As they are always learning, they can eventually gain mastery over any weapon class. Please note: the Disciple’s ability to learn from any weapon class does work with the Domsana’s inherent ability.”

Okay, I was gonna start off as Thief. Once I got that down, I would totally switch over to Disciple until I’ve got my basic masteries down.

This was going to be awesome.

I quickly selected Thief and felt the clothes shifting on my body, becoming a nice meeting point between what I had chosen for myself and the basic uniform of my class. With that, a dagger appeared in my hand and the voice returned…

“Sacrifice your past to enter the world of Aerlhiz Eternia.”

I looked at the mannequin and didn’t think twice. I brought the dagger up and as I pierced its chest, a light flashed, flooding my sight.

When I blinked and could see again, I was in the alleyway behind what sounded like a tavern, due to the raucous crowd within.