“Isn’t this amazing? What did I tell you!”

Despite the low quality air that was undoubtedly filling my lungs from the moment I materialized into Haven, I had to admit: this was amazing. Finn's stories hadn’t done it justice. Even the in-depth reviews failed to convey just what it would be like to finally walk around inside Virtua. Literally. Despite knowing my body was back in my dorm room laying still, I felt like I was walking on a city street in every meaning of the word.

“Actually, I think if anything you undersold it,” I said, refusing to give him full credit. “This place is like…it’s like nothing I could’ve imagined.”

“It doesn’t get old either. I swear every time I log in I’m amazed by something new,” Finn said.

That wasn’t hard to believe. It had been a whirlwind since I arrived and immediately sent Finn a friend request. A part of me still hadn’t settled from the disorientation from my welcome session with ATHENA but it was largely outweighed by the overwhelming fact that I was walking around in what might as well be a full-fledged city. One of the first lessons Finn had given me was the distinction between players and ve.

As Finn went on about some of the key spots in Haven, I spotted a woman passing by across the street. A woman beautiful enough that my jaw went slack and my neck turned shamelessly to look at her as she stopped outside a shop window.

She was dressed in a slick, burgundy dress that hugged her curvy frame in all the right places. Her red hair fell down her back, her bangs tucked neatly behind her ear. Electric blue eye-liner lined her eyes, which from a distance appeared to be a darker shade. I nearly made my way across the street if only to get a better look at her seemingly perfect features. A thought crossed my mind as I stared: was this what it was like to spot a model in real-life?

“Finn, hey, Finn,” I tapped him on the shoulder. “Look at her. Does every girl look like her here?”

“Hm?” Finn turned his head in interest but immediately a frown formed on his features, “Man, that’s not a user that’s an ve. If you look at someone and don’t see a username above their head then they aren’t a real person.”

I looked at the woman for a moment longer before I turned to look at Finn. After five seconds it was just as he said, his username appeared in lowercase neon letters surrounded by brackets.

“Does it really matter? I mean she’s gorgeous,” I said.

“Does it matter,” Finn rolled his eyes and sighed. “God, you’re such a newbie.”

I looked startled as he pulled a handgun from his side. Its design was sleek and like nothing I had seen in the real world. It looked more like something out of a sci-fi movie, which, given our setting I supposed, was fitting.

“You can’t do this,” he pointed his gun at a passerby and pulled the trigger. Immediately, “To a user.”

“What the fuck?! Finn?!” I shouted, my face stricken with distress.

“Relax, man, it was a ve. See, no username. No lootdrop,” Finn shrugged.

“Still, that’s fucking psychotic!” I couldn’t take my eyes off the now lifeless digital corpse laying on the sidewalk.

“Atticus, you’ve got to relax. Besides, look around you, does anyone seem to care?”

I did as he said, glancing around. Anyone that came up as a user seemed completely unphased. In fact, most were busy doing their own thing or minding their own business. Some of the passing ve’s gave us a weary look but ultimately no one said anything and no one stopped to show concern for their now dead compatriot.

“See? This is Haven, this is par for the course around here,” Finn said with a smirk, as he patted me on the back, “You’ll get used to it. Now if this was one of those medieval worlds you might be in trouble.”

I still had a hard time wrapping my head around what he was explaining to me. Sure, I knew part of the appeal of Virtua was the escapism and wish fulfillment that it offered. You could be a paper pusher in your real life and a kingpin in Haven. But did that mean just killing blindly? I mean, the ve had looked human. Even the blood that had gushed from him was real enough to make my stomach turn. Maybe I should’ve started out in a more beginner friendly world.

“Are you coming?” Finn called from a few paces ahead of me.

I snapped out of my thoughts and finally looked away from the corpse on the ground. I glanced across the street but saw that the red-haired woman had disappeared. I stowed away my disappointment and followed after my best friend.

“Listen, you’re going to get laid in Haven, okay. But your first hook up can’t be with a ve. That’s like cheating,” Finn began.

I nearly asked him if it really mattered but I was scared of what kind of example he might whip out next. At the very least I didn’t want him to murder a passing NPC just to prove a point.

“Is that where we’re going now?” I asked.

“No, no. Now we’re going to the weapon shop. You are woefully, underprepared for a city like this,” he said.

“You told me to come here.”

“I know, that’s why I’m going to spot you a weapon this time. Next time, though, it’ll cost you.”

I couldn’t help but notice that Finn carried himself with a certain confidence that he didn’t have in the real world. Was that what playing Virtua for a year did to someone? It made sense. Outside he might just be another college student but here…well, he was clearly someone. I wondered how much of that had to do with the city itself. Haven looked like the kind of place that shaped a person for better or worse.

From the towering skyscrapers that blotted out the sky, to the vibrant neon lights that only made the ugliest parts of the city shine: it was clear this place had character. It was dangerous and I could feel myself getting sucked in with every step I took. How on earth could the real world compare to this? I knew that was a potentially harmful line of thought to go down, but I couldn’t help it. It was like something out of fiction had been made reality. No wonder people got addicted.

“Here we are: Steele Ammunition!” Finn declared as he stopped in front of a shop.

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I looked up at the small sign. It had certainly seen better days. Some of the lights in the letters had gone out, and some letters were downright missing. The building looked narrow from the outside, tucked between two larger buildings like it had to suck in its stomach just to fit.

“Looks quaint,” I said.

“Looks can be deceiving. Besides, you won’t find better deals anywhere else. Come on.”

Finn led the way inside and he was partially right. There was a bit more space once inside. The dirty walls were illuminated by the few lights that were left, a few of them flickering on their last legs. Not that anyone was there to judge the decor. Neon signs cast a glow on the hardware that people were really there for: weapons of all shapes and sizes that lined the walls. There was a smell of metal and oil in the air, mixing with a tinge of electricity burns. It was clear the shop had seen better days – or maybe it was always this beat-up. One thing was for sure; it had lots, and lots of guns.

“Is that you, Finn?” a voice called from the back of the shop.

A stout, burly man emerged from behind a workbench and piles of boxes that had to be considered some kind of fire hazard. He was a balding man with round cheeks. What hair didn’t exist on his head had fled to his face where a mustache that was decidedly not in line with the theme of the world twirled at the ends. Well, they did say you could be anyone. As I watched him waddle up to the front counter I noticed the username that flashed above his head, just as Finn said it would. It made me wonder just who this man was in his real life.

“I see you’ve brought a friend,” the stout man assessed me. “A little thin on the bones.”

Finn laughed, “Go easy on him, he’s new.”

“Ah, so he’s fresh meat!”

“That look in your eye makes me nervous,” I said uneasily.

“Don’t worry, he’s just salivating over the idea of gauging you for your creds,” Finn said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “Unfortunately, this one is on me, Gus. Gus meet Atticus, Atticus meet Gus.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Gus said.

“Likewise.”

He extended a grubby paw in my direction to which I returned the gesture, not expecting to nearly have my arm pulled out of its socket as he gave it a hearty shake. He was stronger than he looked. My reaction must have been written all across my features as Gus let out a hearty laugh.

“Rule number one of Haven, kid, never judge a book by its cover.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”.

As I rubbed my shoulder it struck me for the first time that I could feel the soreness.

“So you’re getting your first weapon, eh? Can’t do much in this city without one,” Gus said as he settled himself into a chair.

“Really?”

“Oh, yeah,” he waved a meaty hand, “Don’t get me wrong, people find work doing all kinds of things in this world. What do those ads say: you can be anyone. It’s just for most people that means getting involved in some kind of crime. Not to mention you need them for most bounty chasing and any ‘quests’ you might get.”

“I guess that makes sense,” I said.

“Jeez, you really brought me a green one didn’t you, Finn,” Gus barked a fit of laughter.

“I haven’t gotten around to filling him in on everything!” Finn retorted, “I wanted him to experience it for himself.”

“I suppose that’s fair enough. So, what’ll it be, Atticus? Weapon of choice? We’ve got Disruptors, Shredders, Incinerators – ”

“Whoa, whoa, I’m not made of creds now, Gus.”

The weaponsmith gave another one of his hearty chuckles, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “It was worth a try. So it’ll be a Scrambler then.”

For a moment, he disappeared beneath the counter and I was left to wonder where exactly he would fit under there. Before I could raise my question he emerged and placed a pistol on the counter with a thud. It certainly didn’t look as stylish as the one Finn had flipped out earlier. Though, given how easily he had blasted a hole in someone’s face, maybe something less sophisticated wasn’t a bad idea to start with.

“She might not look like much but she packs a punch in a jam.”

I picked it up from the counter and weighed the weapon in my hand. It was slightly awkward as outside of a nerf gun and the toys in the arcade I had never actually held a weapon in my hands.

“It’s heavy,” I noted.

“Of course, it is, “Gus laughed, “It’s the real thing!”

The real thing. The conviction that Gus spoke with nearly convinced me. If I hadn’t just put a headset on an hour beforehand I might’ve even believed him. It certainly felt real. Or at least what I imagined a real weapon would feel like.

“So, what do you think?” Finn asked.

“You’re the one paying aren’t you?” I elbowed him in the ribs, “We’ll take it.”

“Perfect! And as a newcomer special, I’ll even throw in some extra ammunition,” Gus declared.

“You’re too gracious as always, Gus,” Finn said.

“Only at a price!”

He winked at me as Finn stepped towards the counter. He placed his wrist against the only piece of tech that didn’t look like it was worn down which beeped for a moment before flashing green.

“Don’t say I never got you anything,” he said as he turned towards me.

There was a brief notification that flashed showing that I had received a carton of ammunition. My eyebrows raised and I looked at the shop keeper. Gus merely gave me a toothy smile and a wave.

“Alright, let’s head out. See you around, Gus!” Finn called back as we exited the store. “Damn, looks like the rain arrived.”

I looked up to see that the skies had darkened and rain pattered against the ground. Some had pulled out umbrellas while others seemed completely unphased by the change in weather. The toxic haze mixed with the rain giving the city an eerie, atmospheric fog. It made the giant metal buildings look like industrial giants, towering over us. I had to admit, it had its own soothing beauty, especially with the rain falling like this.

For a moment, I merely stood and took in the change in weather. The smell of the rain was what struck me most. Its scent was authentic. Startlingly so. More than that I could feel the rain drops as they fell onto my head, soaking my silver hair and falling down my cheeks in wet streaks. I extended the palm of my hand and watched as droplets splashed and spread across my skin, providing a cool sensation. There was only one thought that ran through my mind: this world was incredible.

I looked over at Finn to see he was now donning a raincoat. I reached for the hood of my own jacket and pulled it over my head.

“So what’s next?”

“Whatever you want! I was thinking we could find you a girl or – ” His sentence was cut off by the sound of a notification alert. Finn went silent for a moment as he pulled up some screen that was invisible to me. Suddenly, a wide smile spread across his features. “Oh, this is perfect!”

“What is?” I asked, still in the dark.

“They just put a bounty out that we can collect. Looks like it’s nearby too.”

“A bounty?”

Finn was already on the move, “I’ll explain it later. All you need to know is people put out bounties, anyone can do it from your grandma to the mayor. You collect the bounty, you get money. It’s one of the easiest ways for beginners to earn some cash. Assuming you don’t bite off more than you can chew and you get there before anyone else.”

“Makes sense,” I said, feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement knotted together, “You said it was nearby?”

Finn nodded, “It says they were last spotted in the Kizuna District which is right around the corner. If we’re lucky we’ll beat anyone else to it.”

“Who are we looking for exactly?”

“Some girl apparently. Doesn’t seem like it’s anything major so this should be a piece of cake if we find her before anyone else,” Finn said as he picked up the pace.

What other choice did I have but to take his word for it.