As entertaining as FIS was, getting out of it was not something he enjoyed. Sure, most of the stasis gel had been sucked back to its container, but that was the crux of the problem—most, not all.

Waking up all slimy wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Gah, will he have to shower every damn time he uses Sarcophagus? Great, just great.

He looked at his bed for a second. So…the every time he finishes his FIS session, he’ll have to inadvertently cover his bed with that damn slime as well?

Wait, that sounded wrong.

…

Ah, fuck it. He’ll just move the bed to the middle of the room. As awkward as it may be, it still was better than this.

After he had changed his clothes, leaving the dirty jumpsuit in FIS, he took a quick shower, wanting to get the gel’s remains out of his hair as fast as possible, a surprisingly easy task to do. To his wonder, when he returned to his bedroom, the gel on both the bed and the jumpsuit disappeared seemingly without any trace left. Evaporated? A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

Dariusz looked at a clock. Still five more hours, eh? Wasting time behind PC it is, then.

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Apparently, opinions on FIS and PR were much more…divided, than he had previously expected. He had seen, both in person and in various media, how some people were wary of the new technology—that’s what always happens with every new invention—but as if some kind of a floodgate has opened with the oncoming release, tons of new articles and comments appeared. Mostly negative.

People were genuinely afraid.

He…could understand them, in a way. All of the shown gameplay videos, just as his recent FIS experience, were realistic enough to mistake them for real life. And with a whole new world, one that is inhabited by not only humans but also completely different races, with their own history? With AI that could speak and think as any human could? A big change was coming, and change was almost always synonymous with unknown.

But, ironically one may think, humanity doesn’t only fear the unknown. It also seeks and tries to understand it.

Yes, people were anxious and unsure, but so were they excited to explore this new world of Project Revelations. Heh, if only they actually knew what it’s called; DEM Entertainment kept with their tight-lipped policy, which meant players didn’t have any idea about the world itself other than the short gameplay teasers.

Despite that, people were still extremely hyped, Dariusz and his dad being prime examples. And so did the most of the internet, he guessed.

So, some people were scared of DEM essentially playing gods, while other people were too excited for various reasons to actually care.

As far as FIS itself goes, he’d found out he was not alone in his experience with almost getting a heart attack hearing its AI. Nor being disgusted with the stasis gel. The good news about the latter? It really does evaporate when not directly in contact with some kind of stabilizer installed in FIS.

Other than that piece information, he had already found tons of news forums on PR, as rare as any news on the game’s lore and mechanics were.

It didn’t mean there weren’t any, though.

For lore, the most important information was the nature of players—rather than being transported beings from another world, they were instead ‘Awakened’; people who have regained memories of their previous lives and through this gotten interest of one of many gods. Though nothing particularly novel, to Dariusz it still seemed more interesting.

Mechanic wise, PR’s creators decided to revolutionise the industry. Throwing away the old class system chosen at the character creation, DEM replaced it with…well, another class system. Though they all are called ‘classes’, player’s skills, background, and current circumstances all take part in determining in one’s class. For example, if your initial skills are mainly melee focused, you could get a ‘Warrior’ class which then could evolve depending on your future skills, into a ‘Knight’ if you learn horseback and other knightly skills. But, depending on your backstory you could be instead a ‘Fallen Knight’ as a disgraced noble, ‘Knight of Insert God’ if you worship any specific god, ‘Royal Knight’ if you get approved by the ruler of your country et cetera. This, alongside the possibility of having more than just one class, made the entire system much more flexible and player dependent than your usual kind.

Now, his main problem? He had no idea what to make.

He wasn’t alone in this dilemma, as he saw countless other messages begging for some suggestions for making their characters. A shrewd archer? Ruthless gladiator? Wise mage? More tropes he was tired of

Well, he still had almost five hours, it should be enough time to think of something interesting.

----------------------------------------

He was wrong, it wasn’t enough; he still didn’t find anything interesting and unique enough and it was already four p.m.

Maybe a muse will strike him during the actual character creation? He could definitely hope. Or pray, praying could work too.

Dariusz sighed in resignation, getting into FIS once again, this time without any more surprises. Immediately after he activated the machine, he was once again greeted by a blue window, though with a new addition.

Welcome to your Personal Space, Dariusz Sławomir Zargar

Character Creation for Project Revelations has been opened.

Huh, cool. He turned to where PR’s door was only to find it different. When before it looked exactly like the entry to his bedroom—a dark wooden door with a simple design—blocked by chains, now it looked much more regal. Though still made of wood, that much he was certain of, the material was of a much higher quality, something even he who had barely any knowledge of woodworking could say. Dark, almost black wood with intricate, silver geometric and floral designs that reminded him of Arabic art but no exactly. Masterfully done.

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

In one word, beautiful.

“What am I doing, admiring a door of all things?” He laughed at the ridiculousness of this situation. Well, he still is a craftsman, albeit a journeyman goldsmith; he could be excused for cherishing a work of art, right?

Dariusz opened the door, finding behind it…well, something even more awe-inspiring.

A circular chamber with a domed ceiling, a structure that heavily reminded him of some kind of a temple to a foreign god. Everywhere he could see were murals, not even the tiniest piece of space was free from various depictions of what he presumed were the most important events to whoever built this structure—epic battles between nations, heroes duelling with each other and slaying monsters, alliances and treaties being written, monuments to gods and kings being erected, and so many more.

“Amazing…” Quite frankly, he was overwhelmed. Enough to forget it was ‘just’ a game.

Or to miss the person in the centre of said work of art.

“It warms my heart to see someone appreciate Amyu’s art, unlike my previous guest. Come, Wayfarer, take a seat.”

Dariusz turned to his speaker, startled by the voice. There, near a long, rectangular table, sat the man who had just called to him. Being too focused on paintings on the wall to no notice a man directly in front of him? That wasn’t smart, at all.

“Ah, thank you,” Dariusz said abashed, moving closer and doing as the man suggested. “Dariusz Zargar, it’s a pleasure,” he finished with a polite smile. Once again, just because he was an AI didn’t mean Dariusz had to be rude. If he was an AI, that is—he could also be a DEM employee.

“I am Anahlya, the pleasure is all my.” He looked…peculiar; definitely human-like, but the colours were wrong—too vibrant, too strong. Tall, definitely as high as his father if not more, with a skin so pale it couldn’t be healthy, black messy hair that seemed to suck in the light as if made of vantablack, and vibrant, shining even, hazel eyes.

He probably isn’t a human. Some kind of a divinity then, perhaps? That’s what often happens in such stories.

His choice of attire wasn’t something he would have expected either, although still relatively normal. A robe-like garment of what he presumed was silk, coloured deep Tyrian purple and decorated with the same silver designs he’d found on the door leading here. Beneath it he could see a piece of scarlet clothing, a shirt most likely though he wasn’t sure.

The one thing that really stood out though, was the black half-mask he wore, completely hiding the lower part of his face. Unlike the rest of Anahlya’s clothing, this mask was mundane, matte and without any decorations. Dariusz was almost certain he was amused right now.

“As you might have guessed already, I will be your Coordinator for Character Creation. Shall we begin?” He smiled cordially. Probably. His eyes definitely looked like he was smiling, but Dariusz couldn’t be sure of it.

This would get annoying quickly, wouldn’t it?

A new window appeared in front of him.

Character Creation

* Questionnaire

* Simplified

* Detailed

* User’s Idea

Warning! The last option, User’s Idea, would be under scrutinization of both your Coordinator and Grand Director and is not guaranteed to be accepted by either of them.

Huh.

“As you can see, there are four options.” Anahlya started with a jovial tone, hands on the table and supporting his head. “The first one, Questionnaire, is fairly simple; you’ll simply have to answer a set of questions after which I’ll make a prototype character for you which we’ll then further develop. In that case, you could say I’d work as a Game Master of pen and paper RPGs.”

That sounded nice actually.

“It’s my preferred option because it gives me a better idea as to what kind of a person a player is.” Anahlya looked at him, any amusement disappearing from his face—or rather eyes—leaving only sternness reminding him of an old teacher of his. A good man who really cared for his students, but also someone who really didn’t have any tolerance for bullshit. To end this image, he adopted a much more formal way of sitting.” Although all of us highly appreciate your willingness to play roles you haven’t before, it’s better to keep with something you’re actually capable of.”

Dariusz slowly nodded at that. Normally that wouldn’t be as problematic, in PR? If, and that’s a big if, Anahyla really is an AI, then he’s a good foretaste of the rest of the World “Like someone too nice deciding to play as an evil overlord, for example?” He actually could see something like that happen.

Anahlya’s eyes closed as leaned into his chair, losing any previous strictness and instead appearing to completely lose any remaining will to live. Ouch. “You have no idea. A friend of mine, Anamiwi’s her name, decided to vent her pent of frustration on me after exactly such case. Boy won’t survive for long if he even makes it after his tutorial.”

“I see…So, other options?” As entertaining as learning that might be, he still had to make his own character.

“Yes, right.” He returned to the dignified, royal even, mannerism Dariusz witnessed when he first saw his Coordinator. He was shaking his head as if that act would magically make him forget the last minutes of conversation.” The Simplified method gives all tools to you and I don’t have anything to say in that matter, so you can make whatever you want. Detailed is the same, but with everything more…well, detailed, rather than being your usual archetypes.” He sighed, clearly frustrated. “The frustrating part of both these methods is that Players rarely ask any questions. But I have for time for memes, so I have that going for me, which is nice.”

…what.

Dariusz looked at his Coordinator, bemused. Did he really hear it right?

“Personally, I prefer older ones, from the twenty-first century in particular.” Okay, he couldn’t see his mouth, but Dariusz was sure Anahlya was grinning right now.

He chuckled weakly, wondering if other Players had similar experiences with their own Coordinators. “And the last one?”

"Ah, this one is the most interesting. You see…” He leaned in a conspirational manner, speaking with a hushed voice.

He could play along, why not.

“It’s literally anything you want,” he finished, before once again sitting normally. He radiated smugness.

Meanwhile, Dariusz was dumbfounded, which must have shown on his face as Anahlya continued talking after a moment.

“And I do mean anything. As long as both the Grand Director and I deem it interesting enough, it’s fair play. So, go wild.”

…everything possible? “ You can’t…no way there are no limits.” Right?

“Nooope. For example, one of the recent Players was a transmigrated crusader from Jerusalem. I can hear his chants of ‘Deus Vult!’ from here.” He laughed.

Everything. Possible.

“Listen,” Anahlya started with a calm, almost fatherly tone. “Your imagination is the limit. Perhaps you wish to bring your characters to life? Or maybe you wish to make gods from your mythologies and ancestors proud? It doesn’t matter what exactly it is, as long as you make it interesting it’s possible.” The dignified persona returned. At this point, Dariusz wasn’t sure what to think of those behaviour changes.

His gaze slowly turned towards his neck, gears of his mind spinning faster and faster. There it was, a pendant and his first creation as a journeyman goldsmith. A robed man with a crown holding a ring, the lower portion of his body hidden feathered wings. A Faravahar.

Make his God and ancestors proud, huh?

He grinned. That gave him an idea.