Ambrose sipped on his favorite beverage, the red can of sugary liquid fizzling down his throat. His addiction to the carbonated drink had appeared in his early teens and stuck with him until his final days on this earth. If there was one thing he would miss, it was leaving behind all the caffeine and sweets granted by the modern world. Albeit the fact that most of today’s produce was subpar compared to what it had been in the early twenty-first century.

Climate change had hit like a pregnant lady raring to go. There was no in-between from the fierce storms that rocked the world and the natural disasters that struck every town from the east to west. By the time Ambrose had been born the world had turned into a sloshy shitbowl. Unappealing from every angle. That was why he couldn’t help but have abated breath as he waited for his download to finish.

In light of the apocalyptic world, a sanctuary had been created in the form of Eden. In every biblical sense, this virtual world was meant to be humanity's paradise from the encroaching destruction that mother nature wrecked. A world larger than a dozen Earths promised centuries of exploration and adventure, not including the hidden lands underneath the waters and ground. A pre-disaster haven filled with lush wildlife, fauna, forests, and more. No smoke or smog caused by numerous factories would ever damage the world thanks to Eden’s unique appeal.

Eden was full of fantasy and magic straight out of myths and legends. It was the dream world for an entire global population that had only heard tales of an unmarred world. There were other, smaller worlds that had been created, but Ambrose and the majority of the world had their eyes only set on Eden. Ambrose idly wondered how whatever was running the world would be able to handle billions of permanent players, all downloading their consciousness into the game to live out the rest of their lives.

The world was bigger than anything that had been attempted by any virtual game before, with hints that the world could expand forever as areas were discovered. Kingdoms and Empires of all shapes of sizes dotted the continents and islands. There were numerous advantages and disadvantages to where and what kingdom you started in. If you decided to start your new life in a populated area you might have a tough time fighting for land and resources with the thousands of other players. Environment, climate, materials, wildlife, and dozens of other factors could make it or break it when starting a new life in this foreign land.

Ambrose already had a rough idea of where he wanted to start his new life, but it didn’t hurt to take another look at some of the limited information presented to the world. The secrecy surrounding the project of Eden was stunning, only bits and pieces of the game system and developer had made it to public ears.

The Developer, the name which the person who made Eden was given, was a mysterious man. He had appeared out of thin air offering a solution for salvation and then left just as fast. Only through a few beta tests into the virtual world did the global powers begin to take this opportunity seriously.

Everyone in Eden would be given a clean slate. There were no inborn advantages such as hereditary wealth or power that could be brought into the game world. Eden was in all intents and purposes, a fresh world for which humanity could imprint upon. Of course, each starting race would provide benefits and drawbacks but there was no such thing as “daddy’s money” anymore.

“Ding!” The sound of the download echoed through the small underground apartment. Ambrose sighed, grabbed his phone, and sent a final text to his mother and father.

“I’m going in, I love you both, goodbye.” Ambrose’s heart shattered as his finger hovered over the SEND button.

Some didn’t view this new world as a savior, only as a demon’s temptation. This belief was common among the older generations and caused many of them to shun anyone who would abandon their physical bodies for one in the game world. His parents had cut off all contact with him when they learned of his plans of going virtual. He had tried to explain his reasoning but their cold gaze had affected Ambrose in more ways than any amount of hate-fueled words.

He shifted as he felt his eyes lower. The cable connecting the download cord to his memory chip, located in the back of his head, slid into place. Ambrose gave one last heavy breath as he left Earth.

Eden was black, a horizontal white line spreading across the horizon providing the only relief that Ambrose hadn’t just doomed himself to hell. There was no entrance ceremony, only an ever-growing white light that seared itself into Ambrose’s “eyes''. Ambrose didn’t yet have a sort of body, only a white wisp-like soul that floated in the air. The light of the world shuddered and with a bang, the scenery shifted to reveal the top of clouds overlooking a beautiful land.

Mountains crested upon outer space, rivers cut through the land like veins of life, islands dotted the oceans like rafts in stormy waters. Ambrose gasped at the vibrancy of it all. Earth was a mere shadow compared to the simple transcendence that the world of Eden was. Two moons circled the massive planet, each the size of what Earth was. A massive sun was in the center of the galaxy, scaled to make sense for a planet as big as Eden to inhabit life. Ambrose guessed that even if it was a game some sense of normal was necessary.

The scene shifted again as a forest grew up from the ground, vines crawled along the trees and birds flew across the sky. A deer sprung into action and Ambrose was swung in a chase as his disembodied soul floated with the fleeing deer. Just as fast, an arrow flew out from the bushes and into the throat of the brown-coated doe. The creature collapsed as bright rich red blood pooled at the bottom of the corpse. A short woman that would have only come up to Ambrose’s knees walked out from the green vegetation and began butchering the creature.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Shift.

Two men engaged in feudal combat heaved bastard swords at one another. Their plate mail serving more to hinder their movements than to help. A roaring crowd watched with revelry as the champions sought to spill their opponent's blood. A decisive swing ended the match with a helmed head flying through the air. The surviving duelist brought his hands up in victory as the crowd cheered.

Shift.

Dozens of these scenes appeared before Ambrose’s mind and he watched each one with rapt anticipation. It felt like an epic slideshow of possibilities that could happen in the world of Eden. When it finally ended he could help but pant with excitement. A sudden chuckling drew his drawn attention.

Flowing bright blue robes, a messy blonde-haired head, soft green eyes, and an average build made this man seem like the young student that had just gotten out of bed.

“It's mesmerizing, isn’t it?” The man sighed as he gazed down at the stunning world. Ambrose had returned to the starting point with a view of the entire solar system.

“Yes, it is,” Ambrose had turned back to carve a mental map of the world for when he eventually went down. The sigh of the man came again.

“In any case, I’m here to greet all migrating souls to this new world. I suppose I should ask you where you’d like to start?” The A.I. asked Ambrose, following along with the bit of character creation that had been documented in prior beta test runs. This A.I. or god, as they were referred to ingame, would help him along with choosing his starting location and a myriad of other things.

“I’m looking for somewhere remote, preferably on an island of sorts. Maybe in the north?” Ambrose had lived in the hot and humid land of the equator for his entire life, even being underground didn’t help the hot rays of sunlight that seeped through everything. An image of something close to twenty-first-century Alaska was what Ambrose had in mind. The A.I., sensing Ambrose’s thoughts, pulled up one of the larger lands located in the northern part of Eden.

The Alaskan look-alike was filled with mountainous terrain, rocky shores, towering trees, and plenty of hidden valleys to build Ambrose’s future home. Ambrose fell in love with the land almost as soon as he first set his eyes on it.

“That one,” Ambrose’s voice was soft.

“You have selected Norsege Isles, entering character creation.” The god said in its auto-generated voice.

Ambrose didn’t get to have a choice in the race that he could pick, each one depending on the player’s starting location. It seemed that the Norsege Isles went along with the common Scandinavian theme of the strong blue-eyed blonde-haired Viking like human, there were other fantasy races that could be played, but even Ambrose didn’t want to change to something different. There were supposed to be different race selections depending on chance and location but it appeared that Ambrose had only been allowed with the common human archetype, besides a halfling of sorts that Ambrose didn’t bother with. The 6’6’’ long blonde hair man with half his locks tied together to form a ponytail was much more attractive than Ambrose would’ve ever hoped to be. Living his life below ground filled with disease, mutations, and danger had horribly scarred Ambrose. Shedding his old body and adorning this new one was practically a Christmas present when he expected coal.

It seemed that character generation was randomized beyond that point, he wasn’t allowed to modify anything but the tiniest of things such as tattoos or other markings. Ambrose decided to go with the safe route and not do anything extra. The towering giant of a man, known as a Norse, stared back at him and when he clicked [FINISH] there was a flash of white light and then Ambrose was staring through the eyes of his new body.

His rough calloused hands gently examined his muscular frame, his bare body not feeling anything despite being in outer space. His strong jaw clenched as he tested out every part of himself. A satisfied grin filled his face as he turned to the god.

“I'm ready for the next section,” the god nodded before continuing.

“Please assign your skill points,” a new blue screen appeared in his view.

Eden didn’t conform to the narrow view that most games did, limiting its players to a single class. Characters could grow in any number of directions, some making more sense than others, but the independence that it brought was a relief to the free-spirited humans that were now going to inhabit the land. Of course, that didn’t mean a person focused on blacksmithing would excel in leadership.

“Each migrating soul starts out with five skill points, not counting the points given out by various races. Since you chose a Norse race, you gain the innate skills of [Cold Resistance (Apprentice I)] and the skill [Wilderness Survival (Apprentice I)],” the god summoned two vague screens in front of Ambrose to show him his two innate skills.

“Skills points are valuable, and the easiest way to learn skills and can only be acquired through leveling or quests. The only other ways to learn skills are through either learning it through hard work, skill books, or quests. The only way to increase through the ranks of skills is to either spend the skills points or by using the said skill. Using a sword to kill things will eventually allow it to progress in the skill [Weapon: Sword].

"The ranks are classified as (Novice), (Apprentice), (Journeyman), (Master), (Grandmaster). Each rank is further divided into five separate levels, only when reaching the fifth and accomplishing some feat worthy of advancement will you rank up to the next one in the line.

“For example, if you have the skill [Butchering (Novice V)] then you’ll need to successfully butcher a creature of sufficient difficulty before advancing to (Apprentice I). Easy enough to understand?” The man smiled like he knew Ambrose didn’t fully understand what had been said.

“It’s a bit confusing but I think I can get it. I’m ready to pick my skills.” Ambrose nodded at the AI and the man snapped his fingers. In a flash, a veritable world of skills appeared before Ambrose’s eyes. He took an unconscious step back.

“It is important to realize that all skills can be learned automatically, but that's not necessarily a good thing. A person with [Construction] may know how to build a house, but will not know how to lay a stone foundation without [Masonry] or won’t know how to properly prepare the materials such as wood without [Woodworking]. All skills build upon each other, amplifying and increasing the end result. That is why it is best not to spread yourself out too thin.

“But enough of that, can I help you find the skills you are looking for?”

Ambrose briefly looked over the first skills he saw, seeing some strange ones like [Weather Sense] or [Pickpocketing], they were interesting but not what he was looking for.

“Yes, I’m looking to become a farmer while also having the skills needed to start raising animals.” Ambrose immediately saw the skill list shrink by over half.

“Farming, hmm, not many have chosen a profession like that so far.” The god looked at Ambrose curiously.

“Yeah, I figured that too many people are going to want to be adventurers or warriors and that's just not the life for me. I just want to settle down and enjoy life for what it used to be,” A strange smile crept up onto Ambrose’s lips as his memory filled with the dark past that Earth forced upon its remaining inhabitants. The god scratched his bare chin while talking.

“If that's the case then you should probably invest the skill points into things like [Farming], [Taming], [Alchemy], and the magical skills [Earth Manipulation] and [Water Manipulation]. But that would also depend on what kind of farm you’re going for?” Ambrose tilted his head in confusion at the words.

“What do you mean by different farms? Is there something else besides solo farming?” Ambrose inquired.