As the sleepiness fell away from my eyes, I sat up in bed and looked around my room like I always do when I wake up. The first thing to catch my eye was a slightly small box that was laying on my desk, which I figured was left there by my mom since it was my birthday.
Once I was done with my morning ritual, I got up and headed for the bathroom to wash up, glancing at the box on my way past. On the very top was a symbol that looked like a snake or dragon eating its own tail, while being in a mass of flames. Shrugging while thinking, "That's cool," I kept going and reached the bathroom.
I walked in and looked in the mirror. Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Alex Grenlley, nineteen years old as of today. As I looked in the mirror, I pushed my eye level dark-brown hair back and revealed my homeocromatic eyes, which are unique in my family because everyone who has them is said to do great things. My left eye is brown, while my right eye is green, and they both have a golden ring around the outer edge. I am about 5'8", with a slim, lithe body.
I sighed as I turned away from the mirror, turned on the shower, and waited for it to warm up before jumping in.
After about 15 minutes, I was back in my room, staring at the box and trying to figure out what it was. Deciding to leave it for after college so I could mess with it longer, I got dressed and headed for the kitchen, grabbing my messenger bag along the way.
On my way out my door, I almost ran into a red-haired girl who was my age and the daughter of my moms best friend, and just so happened to be staying with us. "Alex, watch where you're going." She pushed me playfully as she walked by, turning around and sticking her tongue out at me. As she walked backwards, I found my eyes drawn to her like always. She was 5'4", slim, with curves that any man would kill to have for his own. Her red hair was the color of flames, and was about waist length. Her eyes were a reddish brown, like the cinders left over after a fire just dies out.
Laughing, I pull a little liquid filled ball out of my bag and throw it at the back of her head as she turned around, and grinned as it bounced off and right back towards me. "I was watching, but you're just too short to see." I leaned to the side and caught the ball, before spinning around Amber as she tried to playfully shove me again. Still laughing, I got to the stairs, and immediately jumped onto the railing and slid down, expertly keeping my balance and falling to the landing below with a little roll. I grinned as I heard a muttered "showoff..." behind me, then stood up and headed for the kitchen.
Walking in, I grabbed the remote and turned the TV on to one of the biggest fantasy gaming networks, called Unicorn Game Casting. I then grabbed two bowls out of the cupboard and filled them both with cereal and set them on the island bar as Amber walked in.
As I was sitting down though, I froze as I heard two words that were said by the host of the current program. VIRTUAL REALITY.
Turning towards the TV, I quickly turned the volume up, rewound a bit, and listened as Amber watched the TV curiously.
"Today, on this fine morning of September 5, 2045, we have a very important announcement. As all of you, the viewers, know, several of the worlds biggest gaming companies joined together to revolutionize gaming as we know it. They have just announced that they have done exactly that.
They have made a virtual reality device that they are calling the V-Link, which is short for Virtual Link. at the same time, they have developed an MMO game that automatically comes installed on each device. It is called Ouroborus Online. They have released them to the public at all of their branch gaming shops as of today. In addition, Griffon Gaming Studios has sent out about 20 units to random subscribers to their newsletters, and these units are special in that they are free-to-play on Ouroborus Online for the next two years.
But, to all you people that would steal these devices, the company has said that each device can only have one main user, which is connected to the original buyers account, and all secondary users must be approved by the main user."
As the host kept talking about other details he knew about the game, a small picture appeared in the corner of the screen. It was a blue box with a picture of a dragon eating its tail while being engulfed in flames. As soon as I saw that picture, I just about inhaled the rest of my cereal and was halfway up the stairs, with Amber right on my heels, her phone already out and speaking into it at the speed of light.
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I sidestepped into my room and pulled my own phone out, which is, for the record, one of the early 2005 model flip phones. Flipping it open, I sent a mass text to all of my college professors, as well as my friends, saying that something came up and I wouldn't be able to go in today. I then tossed it onto my bed next to my bag and walked over to my desk, where the mystery boss was still laying.
Picking it up gingerly, I rolled it over on its side and confirmed it was for me, before I then set it back down and opened it up slowly, afraid I might break something. AS I got it open, I noticed a sharp gleam of metal glinting in the light, just under the packing peanuts. I reverently reached in and pulled it out slowly, savoring the moment.
The headset looked like a pair of sunglasses with a slightly enlarged frame, and had a silvery sheen to it. As I inspected it closer, I found a set of three micro USB drives plugged into the three ports that I found there. Curious, I pulled them out and plugged them into my computer tower, waiting a second or so for each of them to install any device info, before opening up the file banks on each of them. The first one was titled Users Manual, and had a list of health warnings, device settings I could change, setup instructions, and a list of alternate applications I could use the headset for, such as augmented reality and a 3d virtual camera/projector.
The second drive was labeled Game Data, which had a small description of the races, the world, and various other things which I didn't bother to check in my haste.
And finally, the third drive was labeled Goddess Introduction, But when I tried to access it, an error message appeared and told me to connect the drive to the V-Link before accessing. Shrugging, I copied the data from the first two over to my tower, then plugged all three back into theirs ports, before finally slipping the V-Link on.
As soon as it was settled on my face, I felt an electric tingle flow over me, before a female voice rang in my ears, along with a small window that popped up in front of me, Both of which said the same thing:
New user detected. Would you like to set yourself as the main user and access your account?
YES? NO?
Surprised, It took me several seconds to respond, but before I could, another female voice sounded in my ear. "You may want to lay down before you say yes. The V-Link system works by intercepting your active brainwaves, so if you say yes now, you'll be standing the entire time you play." I looked around the room , alarmed by the unfamiliar voice in my ear, before going bug-eyed as a girl came into my vision. She was a bit taller than Amber, with long black hair that reached her lower back and gold colored eyes. On top of her head was a pair of black wolf ears with white tips, and she had a matching tail wagging behind her. She was wearing a simple black dress that went down to her knees, and a pair of black, knee-length boots adorned her feet. What surprised me even more than her appearance though, was the fact that she was sitting on her knees... In MIDAIR!
"Who are you?!?" I quickly removed the V-Link, then looked around in surprise, since the girl had vanished without a trace. Slightly confused, I put the headset back on, and she was back, only this time she was sitting on the edge of my bed, one leg draped over her knee and looking slightly annoyed.
"Are you quite done yet with being surprised? Me and you both have better things to do than tally around here."
"Who are you though?" I looked at her, slightly suspicious as I remember the third USB drives data files and error message.
"Well, I would have introduced myself already, But someone took the V-Link off." She sighed in exasperation as she leveled a mild glare at me, Causing me to blush a little from embarassment. As I fidgeted, she stood up and twirled around. "My name is Luna Lovecraft, and I am an artificial intelligence formerly in charge of running Ouroborus Online, and I am also the in-game patron goddess of Werebeasts!"