He tried to take a step but found an invisible barrier awaiting him, and so he ended up as though he’d kicked the thin air itself.

'Huh?' It was confusing. Everything was now. Then he kicked at it - and surprise, there was pain in the game as well and for a moment he walked around in a small circle, cursing the world and his curiosity.

With due course, Josef scratched his head and looked around to see if there was a reason, he couldn’t go any further as the grass had suddenly produced a woman on the opposite side, out of the grassy fields and on to the platform. As she moved through it, a wave of energy coalesced across the invisible barrier, making it wiggle like a drop of water had fallen on to a pond. Flowing cloth across her - demure, and not salacious.

She was making her way toward Josef.

'Hello, Adventurer.' The woman said. She was dressed plainly: an all-white dress down to her ankles: she looked saintly.

'I am Book. I am an AI of Sanctity Online.' She smiled at him, probably designed to be most un-alarming as possible. She was young with disarming features and blonde hair that reflected the sun, in a dress with a sunflower pattern on it.

Josef nodded and would awkwardly wave, not sure of how to respond to the AI. They were just game characters. In a video game he’d play on a close he’d just have to push the A button or something.

This required a response.

'Hey.' It was a weak response.

‘Is that all you’ve got?’ The AI crossed her arms in an annoyed manner, but any half decent adult would see it was just a ruse.

'No, I’ve. Well, I ‘unno how to respond to you.' Josef would shrug admitting his mistake to her.

'This is new for you. You’re an adventurer from another world. Not everybody knows that though. Try not to mention that to NPC?' Perhaps the AI was just being very clever, linear storylines allowed a person to give the illusion of thought while still being drawn to the same conclusion. Josef would look from one side of his face to her, confused. The paradox of an NPC making sure to not talk to NPC about being NPC. He didn’t respond.

'But your name doesn’t fit in here, not with them. So…Who are you called?' She asked him. A box appeared like it had before in his face, only now he’d learnt the tutorial.

You have the one-time opportunity to choose your name. It cannot be changed after it is selected unless you delete and remake your character, so choose wisely.

The name may not include:

-Numbers

-Profanity

-Restricted characters

-Religious figures

'My name….' Josef thought to himself. They just HAD to ask the hard questions first.

'It’s always difficult, so please take your time.' The woman smiled, her hands crossed in front of her while her fingers interlaced with one another.

Josef had thought of many names before sitting in the capsule, but none of them seemed to stick.

'Well, I’ve been thinking of other ways to work my name. Any ideas?' Josef asked of the woman…. Woman AI thing. She was very convincing.

'Of course. Here is a list of ideas that begin with your name.' The AI would respond accordingly, implanting a list of names inside his mind, none of which seemed to sate the need.

'I need a strong name. Like Dad. …Or….' He mumbled. Ash was the name of his father.

'AshenKing… or….?' He kept thinking. Something did click, and he thought about the name.

‘Ashur? No… that’s stupid.’ He was having inner turmoil and some anxiety about the choice. Josef saw the woman waved her hand at him – his eyes catching on to her mouth moving as she had hummed a few words first.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

You have been affected by a charm.

All negative mental effects have been stripped.

The woman appeared to have cast it on him. She seemed apologetic.

'I’m sorry, option paralysis can cause discomfort. This may help.' She spoke. Her hands were by her side now.

Josef took it on the cheek, not really feeling all that bothered about it now. He scanned through the other names that he had considered, but finally settled. It didn't seem too hard- Ash had been the name of his dad, and he was just adding a fantasy-ism across the end of the name.

'I am Ashur.' Josef concluded, feeling happy with his choice – and to confirm it a box appeared in his vision again. The man clicked his teeth with some little bit of annoyance. The decision had been made, he didn’t need help reinforcing that belief.

Are you sure?

Josef already ticked the box yes, as he had already learned how to do it.

Confirmed. You are now ‘Ashur’.

'Well, Ashur. It’s a pleasure to meet you.' The woman would extend her hand out to shake his. Ashur would sort of spin, seeing their area once more as if he couldn’t believe his position. Ashur smiled - nodding. That was good, and he liked the way it rolled off her tongue.

'You too.' Ashur would respond, accepting the name with full arms. The woman would step back a few times, using her open hands to welcome the man. He himself would take a step forward, and the same thing would happen as he passed through the barrier.

He was Ashur, and he was an Adventurer.

'Thank you for joining me. Please, come and see the statues with me.' She would say and began to walk towards them. They were five large statues, depicting the various races.

'In the world of Libergaea there are five primary races that you may play from. You will be given the opportunity for any appearance changes shortly.' She would explain as Ashur looked up at them. They were at best ten meters tall or so – plenty enough for him to crane his head.

The first was the human, devout and standing tall with its back pinched and chest out, wearing plate armour and holding a mace.

'The most common race among adventurers, the stalwart and adaptive humans have taken the most desolate of conditions and made them habitable.' She would first say, and the statue would stare back at Ashur: or so it was his imagination.

'The second are the elves, elegant and proud: fair denizens of the land and privy to magic and craftsmanship that the fair bounty of Libergaea provides.' Ashur remembered seeing the elves a lot throughout the plot he had put in his head. Which, by the way, was still insane.

The statue was true to its name: there were two elves, side by side and of different statues: but the pointed ears and thin figure were the giveaways. On one, was a bow and holding a dagger. The other was a wizard – as evidenced by the gown and hat with staff.

'Boring stereotypes. Of course, they’re automatically sneaky bastards.' Ashur had played a few games before, it seemed to be the common theme - he'd had far too much time on his hands since the accident. But would turn to the third statue as the woman began to explain.

'The third is the Dwarf, hungry and loyal, true to their word: though further obstinate in exchange for their masterful craftsmanship and are more colourful in nature than any other race in tradition and language.'

The Dwarf was, as you’d expect, bearded. It held a Warhammer in one hand and their other hand rested on an anvil- hunched over and daring someone to challenge it; like a dragon of the anvil, encapsulating all trade as their own.

'The fourth is the Orc, though wildly thought to be dumb are not so: they are a clear and concise race who, while tribal hold great virtues and honour to their culture.'

The Orc statue was the largest of the statues: hands tucked underneath its stare and bare chest, dressed in nothing but furs and a belt: they were simple looking enough. Ashur would begin to walk out when he realized that the Orc statue had many smaller statues behind it like a hidden meaning of a sort. It was like a small background to them where you could see the different kinds of Orc: others had horns to make them look demonic, others had tusks.

The most differential one, and which Ashur had moved on as the woman started speaking about the orc was the fifth statue: they were lizards. Actual lizards: they looked humanoid in nature, but the statues identified their very textual skin- scaled. There were five of them on the statue, of varying appearances and looked likely to show the great differentiation in them all.

'The fifth and last are the Lizard folk. They are the natural born of the world and have grown to the best of the races: they occupy lands green and find the positives in anything from warfare to culture and are usually the least favoured of the races.'

'Not the Orcs?' While Ashur appreciated the preface, he had already decided he was going to be a human. As Book had spoken, she had moved to the centre point before the statues and turned to face Ashur.

'You will need to choose your race.' She had finished her spiel, and Ashur nodded. He would give it some thought. It didn’t look as though he’d get unique benefits to being any specific race (that he could see). Would it change the starting zones? But - his mind had snagged on the thought of the looks.

'Can I see what I’d look like as a Dwarf? and I’m fine to keep my appearance the same.' He answered the two questions and she would humble him, doing a small curtsey with a nod of her head.

'Very well.' She spoke.