Alex Silver watched on with anticipation as his virtual reality capsule was installed. The two technicians had been at it for 2 hours and their work was coming to a close. Soon.....very soon, he would finally be playing LifeCraft. After its release last year, it still remained the first and the last virtual reality game in creation. Such was it's popularity that people could even make real money from selling items online! Millions of players from across the world logged in daily, and the number of accounts being created was still growing.

Unfortunately for Alex upon the games release he'd been unable to afford the capsule needed to play the game. At a grand price of £10,000 for 1 capsule, combined with his very low college funds, playing the game had become a distant dream. Until now.

His parents had somehow come into money, and as such were very generous is his monthly allowance. So generous in fact, that in 1 year he'd managed to save up for a capsule as well as pay off all his student loans.

Movement from the technicians brought Alex's attention back to them. They had finished the set up!

The technicians offered to help him set up his account but Alex politely declined. He'd been gathering information about the game from day 1, it would be a breeze. Thanking them profusely for their work Alex all but slammed the door on their backs. Pleasantries were nice and all, but LifeCraft awaited!

Alex entered the capsule

.....

Weclome to LifeCraft!!!

Choose character name

"Frost!"

Choose character race:

                 Human

                 Elf (High,Dark,Wood)

                 Dwarf

                 Halfling

                 Barbarian

                 Orc

"Human!"

Choose character appearance

"Default!" According to the online descriptions he'd read this choice would give his character his current features.

A 5ft 11inch muscular figure stood before him. Brown hair and grey eyes framing a boyish face. Locks of hair fell across the figures left eye. Broad shoulders gave the figure an intimidating presence.

Confirm appearance

"Confirm!"

Choose starting location

"Goldkeep!"

Alex had put in a lot of research into good noob starting locations. Goldkeep easily trounced all other locations in his view. As a small town in the westernmost of the discovered world, it was a good place for a player to make a name for himself. It also happened to be sparsely populated due to the severe winter weather, players and npc's being attracted to warmer climates.  

Confirming his starting point, all the system messages in few disappeared. Leaving Alex standing alone, anxious to begin his new life!

A white flash filled his entire world, blinding him instantly.

.........

Frost studied the town he now found himself in. Goldkeep. Standing in the town centre he could see several merchant stalls dotted around and a few stores. The few roads around the town centre were sparsely occupied by wooden shacks, presumably where the towns residents lived.  

Turning to the small water well behind him, Frost studied his reflection and noted the tattered clothing he wore. Actually that reminded him....

"Status!"

NAMEFrostLevel1Job???Titles???Health10Health regen0.1/secMana10Mana regen0.1/secStamina10Strength1Intelligence1Wisdom1Agility1Vitality1Stat points available25

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hmmm........

Frost had the beginnings of an idea with what to do with his 25 stat points, but first he had to make sure the news forums had been accurate. Running over to the furthest store from him, Frost looked up at the book emblem carved above the door. He smiled. Opening the door he strode in.

The inside of the shop was a mess. Books littered the floor, floor boards were overturned and well.....everything was broken. Slowly moving to the centre of the bookshop, Frost noted the many bloodstains that painted the walls. It looked like someone had slaughtered cattle.

"So the news forum is outdated," He muttered to himself, from what he'd read this bookshop was pristinely kept by an elderly man. Supposedly the old man gave hints on how to attain certain classes, all in the past now. It was supposed to be his golden ticket!

Although speaking of elderly men.....  

Frost spotted a pair of legs peeking out from behind an overturned table, he'd almost missed it.

Cautiously approaching the body he quickly identified it as belonging to an old man. Probably the man in question. Watching the old man in his eternal rest, a sinful thought raced through Frost's mind. Morals fought greed and lost within seconds.

"I need it more than him!" Frost said to himself

Reaching down to the old man, Frost began rifling through his pockets.

Acquired: Ring of The Scholar

A bit more riffling later...

Acquired: Sprite's tear  

Acquired: An Elders Journal

It was almost too much to believe. Frost had to fight back tears of joy as he attained the items. Sure it was sad that the old man had died, but his loss was Frost's gain!

"Identify"

Ring of The ScholarType:ArtifactDurability:4 / 10+5 Intellegence

              +5 Wisdom

Sprite's tearType:CDurability:10/ 10When consumed grants +10 to 1 stat

An Elder's JournalType:Quest ItemDurability:2/ 10Open Journal to start Quest

"Yes!" Frost screamed. At his current level 1 the ring alone was a game changer. But the tear as well?! Such a reward with so little action.....It brought a tear to his eye.

Equipping the ring and placing the journal in his inventory Frost was left staring at the tear. "What to do, what to do?"