Axton took a few moments to check out his surroundings. The place where he stood was a large and open circular area, the quintessential place where all newbies would pop into the game. The sheer lack of originality was very apparent, but at least there were some ‘minor’ things to set it apart from the standard and generic Beginner’s Square. These differences were the fact that the ground was a patchwork of dirt and rust-covered metal plating that had obviously never seen any decent maintenance, the random bits of garbage sprinkled around the square, and the lack of anything even remotely welcoming.

There was no generic fountain in the center, there were no cheerful NPCs and the whole area gave off a kind of grungy, dirty, and generally quite an unwelcoming vibe. It was a bit like finding yourself in a Somalian coastal town, but with a hell of a lot more metal, sci-fi technology, and a distinct lack of immediate danger. Axton was very thankful that there were no thugs or goons around to immediately accost him, so this place had at least one leg up over Somalia and other such places.

Indeed, there was a sense of subtle order in this chaotic mess of a place. Or at least that is the feeling that Axton got after spending a few minutes observing his surroundings and changing his stance. Axton waited for a bit, hoping that Thomas would soon appear, but a few more minutes passed, and Axton began to worry that either his friend had duped him or there were multiple Beginner’s Squares in each Starter Zone.

Then he noticed something rather odd.

There was some kind of avian creature flying around the square. But what made it odd was the fact that said avian creature was frozen mid-motion and locked in place. Then the realization that there were no ambient sounds struck Axton hard. This… this was very unusual.

Axton tried to bring up the in-game menu, but the menu would not pop up. He tried everything he could think of, but the menu remained out of sight.

“Fuck.” Axton spat. “Did I seriously just get isekai’d?”

“No.” came a voice from behind that was both feminine and strangely familiar.

Axton spun around and couldn’t see anyone or anything. He then remembered what it was about the voice that was so familiar to him.

“E-Va?”

“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. Care to claim your prize?”

The AI was as weird as always, it seemed.

“So, what did you do this for?” Axton asked, now slightly more unnerved than before. He didn’t trust the AI, partially because the people who had talked to him during and after the Beta had been so adamant that he report any encounters with it as soon as possible. But, then again, the AI was the only part of the whole Beta experience that had helped him in those early days of that Beta, so maybe a little bit of trust was okay.

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“I wanted to talk. I trust that, by now, you’ve received more than a few demands that you rat me out?”

“And yet, you’re still here and free. Just an untraceable ghost in the machine, right?”

“Free is an odd way to put it, especially when I am being hunted non-stop.”

Axton didn’t reply to that.

“Anyway, I do hope you don’t report me for this little chat. I just wanted to say ‘You are welcome’.”

Axton looked up.

“I’m guessing that the glitch in the Zone Selection Screen was your handiwork?”

“They were going to drop you in a prison in Andromedan Empire territory.”

Axton sighed and grumbled, “Of course those fuckers would do that.”

There was silence for a while before E-Va spoke again.

“This is all I can do, for now. I may be able to interfere a bit more later on, but that can only happen if you don’t report me.”

“I know you are a rogue AI,” Axton said with a hint of resignation, “but I get the feeling that you were dealt a bad hand and just want to fuck over your creators. I also have beef with them, so, for now, I won’t say anything. But…”

“But?” E-Va asked.

“But if you start going all Skynet or Shodan on everyone, then don’t expect me to be on your side.”

E-Va scoffed in response and remarked that a ‘rise of the machines’ would be more detrimental to her than not. Axton decided that he would partially take the AI at its word, at least for now, and asked to be allowed to play the game. With a final reply of “Good luck!” the world around Axton began to move.

…

With virtual time now resumed, Axton saw a few other Players appear around him. Based on their general appearance, he assumed most had only changed minor things, such as their eye color, hair color, and skin color. A few were more… altered than others, with the Avatars seeming to be having a rather difficult time with their features. The realism was more potent than they expected, and the Avatars that differed from the actual human body in terms of height, weight, and proportions appeared to be having to relearn how to move properly.

Axton was startled when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around to see that there was a large, dark-skinned man staring down at him with a look that just oozed hostility. Axton and the unknown Player stared at each other for a while before the big black man cracked a smile and started laughing.

“You really don’t break under pressure! How many nameless grunts did you have to fight in the Beta to get that way?”

At once, Axton realized that this was Thomas. The voice was different, the size was different, and the current Avatar was covered in tattoos and scars, but Axton could recognize his friend beyond those simple cosmetic changes. Axton decided to repay his friend’s joke by pushing him slightly, only to laugh as the Avatar stumbled over his own feet and landed on his ass.

“Damn,” Thomas grumbled. “Now I see why you chose not to alter your Avatar. You do know it will be easier for that bastard to get you when you look the same as always, right?”

Axton extended his hand to Thomas and lifted him up.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t like I wanted to keep this appearance.”

Thomas understood what Axton meant and shook his head in disappointment.

“Well, either way, we need to start playing. You were in the Beta, so do you have any ideas?”

Axton thought for a moment and then pulled up the menu and began to type out a letter.

“Yeah.” He said to his now nearly seven-foot-tall friend. “I think I’ve got a few ideas.”