The adolescent woke up from a dream. It was a happy dream of both he and his family. And that dream of his was a memory from his youth. A memory where his parents had taken him to a sunflower field and how he had played hide and seek, running as his parents would chase him and wrap him in their hugs.

The adolescent, was more than a boy and yet less than a man. He was fifteen years old currently. Yet, the memory from youth, though a happy one caused tears to well from the adolescent’s eyes.

In an accident the adolescent had lost both his parents and had become paralysed from the neck downward. He had no control over his body, it felt like he was in a seat behind a computer monitor. Where he himself was unable to move, strapped down to a chair and forced to watch his own helplessness.

Silently on a hospital bed he cried, in the dead of the night. The adolescent missed the days he could move, but perhaps what he missed even more was the family which no longer existed. The adolescent had no relatives, however the money left behind by his parents had paid for his medical bills.

The hospital in which he stayed was a specialised institution, and he had not left the place since the day after his admittance. In this place he watched videos and read books, through the use of voice commands and his eyes.

The adolescent’s life was not fulfilling nor was it as he had intended. In the hospital he had read many books, text books included, and had completed a course equivalent to that of your normal high schooler. That did not change anything for him, as he listlessly passed the days being taken care of by nurses and doctors.

It could be said the adolescent was waiting to die, while trying to live. It was clear that he was still having difficulty coping with the sudden loss of his motor functions, however he had clearly shown that he would one day, be something.

What he would be, was anyone’s guess…

--

One day, a man in a suit visited the adolescent. The man had asked the adolescent if he was willing to take part in a special program. The program in question was a gateway in to the world of virtual reality.

It was to participate in the beta testing of the man’s company’s game. In exchange for participation the adolescent would receive amazing benefits, but of course there were conditions.

The conditions were, as follows:

He could not disclose any information regarding his participation to the general public and media.

He would have to participate in a survey every three months.

The company takes no responsibility for any mental damages sustained and furthermore will not be held responsible if the participant was to die.

The participant is unable to drop out of the program.

The participants may be monitored and have no right to object.

The benefits were extraordinary however, they were as follows:

The company will compensate the participant.

The company will provide any needs or expenses, as well as equipment.

The company will do its utmost to ensure the security of the participant.

It did not sound like much, however the compensation paid by the company was enough to live one’s life extravagantly for seven generations. A wealth which would not deteriorate much for at least a hundred years, if one lived an ordinary life.

The adolescent however, asked about the things he wanted in order to participate. Though the company was very generous the adolescent wished to directly ask about certain things from the company.

The adolescent asked to be provided with the company’s state of the art robot nurse. He also asked that the equipment for the program be brought to his hospital bed room.

These seemed like simple request. The adolescent knew however, that if this indeed was a scam. Then they would never be able to fulfil his demands. Though, to his surprise the company accepted his first request, but rejected his second.

Due to his rather unique physical condition, they planned to have him stay in a unique virtual reality capsule. Further details were omitted, however more than three thousand participants had already agreed. There would be ten thousand participants in all. Five thousand ordinary healthy humans, the remaining could be considered handicapped.

The adolescent accepted the man’s proposal and began his life anew.

Read more...The adolescent sat in the middle of a steel walkway, as he stared through a window leading into something he would expect from a highly advanced technological facility. The adolescent spoke, to the being he saw through the window. They had been talking for a long time.

“I’ve been curious, but who are you?” The adolescent asked.

“I am your personal artificial nurse, please designate me a name.” A very human-like robot asked the adolescent.

“Allie.” The adolescent said.

“Please confirm “Allie” is the designated name.” The robot asked with its synthesized voice.

“Yes.” The adolescent replied.

“Designation confirmed. I am “Allie”. It will be a pleasure taking care of you.” The robot smiled.

The robot looked like a human. The difference was that the android lacked skin and was just a metal skeleton. Furthermore the robot was strapped heavily to a wall.

“Sorry, your personalised android is not yet completed as you can see. The problem is we had to tune up her artificial brain to allow her to access the virtual reality system’s lobby so that she can monitor you.” An unkempt man said, as he walked over. Wearing a lab coat and stylish sunglasses, the man seemed to be eccentric to say the least.

“She may not look like much, but she is programmed with thousands of protocols and emergency first-aid, is one of the least of your worries. In addition, she was very excited to meet you, when she was awoken from storage. That made the tuning a little more than easy…” The man continued speaking with pride.

“She is possibly the closest thing to a robot which could take over the world. Unfortunately though, she is an android whose love for humanity is all encompassing. It is for that reason, that we creators find it hard to give our babies out. Alas, the children themselves want to experience for themselves the good sides and the bad sides of humanity.” The man shook his head.

“I am Donald. Donald Smith. One of the many creators of the Blake Company. And I am also the one who is primarily called when an android is being prepared. Nice to meet you, kid.

Also take care of her, because she’ll stay by your side for all eternity if she has to. More loyal than a dog and more stubborn too. Perhaps that is why we let them bury away their lives along with their owners…” The man called Donald said, as he smiled at the Adolescent.

“Nice to meet you Mr Smith. Please take care of Allie.” The adolescent replied.

“You already named her? That is good. If she asked you to name her, it means she wants to stay with you. I guess you must have already charmed her.” Smith laughed, after he had explained.

Before the adolescent could respond, a man in a yellow hard hat approached.

“Mr Smith, you are required in section 2-B. One of the older model androids wish to be buried with their master.” The man said, as he handed a clip board to Donald.

“I see. I’ll be there soon, it was nice meeting you kid. Originally I came here to ask you what your preferences were. Like if you wanted her to have big boobs, or red hair… Sorry, but I’ll put her on a default look. This way you can change her when you want.” Donald said, as he apologised to the adolescent.

“There is no need. I already told Allie, just let her decide how she wants to look.” The Adolescent said.

Donald opened his eyes in surprise and then smiled.

“Very good, then. I’ll leave it up to her.” Donald waved as he left.

The adolescent turned his head to watch as the android’s skeleton was being modified and shaped. A man in a suit, then appeared behind the adolescent.

“I hope you had a good conversation, I’ll bring you to your quarters now.” The man in the suit said, as he grabbed a hold of the wheelchair and pushed the adolescent to his room.

“It was pleasant. Thank you for letting me speak to her. Why did you select a female nurse for me, though?” The adolescent asked curiously.

“Well, I assumed young men had their fantasies… It seems I may have been a little insensitive about the topic.” The man in the suit clenched his teeth, as he remembered the boy’s body wasn’t exactly the most responsive.

“There is no need to worry. I just wondered if there was a deeper reason, behind it. The staff is very accommodating and the benefits that the company is providing is more than a little generous.” The adolescent felt guilty for causing the man to feel uncomfortable. And chose to explain his slight feeling of paranoia, in order to soothe the man.

“I see. Thanks for trying to cheer me up.” The man smiled, as they reached the adolescents quarters.

--

“This is where you will be staying.” The man in the suit smiled warmly as he pushed the adolescent into a white washed room.

The room was lacking a bed or any kind of furnishing and was very much like a prison cell, with the exception that the room was many times more disconcerting. In the centre of the room, was a very a pod-like tank. It was filled with strange green liquid, as it lay across the floor. It seemed to be a substitute for a bed.

“The pod in the centre is the device which was made specifically for you. It was built in to the room itself. The pod contains a life support system which will allow you to stay in the pod for three years without the need to leave. The pod both feeds and removes waste within the body, and keeps the body in working order. This is to allow you full experience within the game.

The room may be bare right now, however once you enter the lobby of your pod you can purchase anything you wish online. Then the items will be brought here, through the tracking of the pod’s unique signature.

Normally you would be assigned an overseer to watch you. However, considering your condition it was decided to let your personal nurse take that role. When she has finished her tuning, she will connect directly to your pod and join you in your pod. She will be responsible for your surveys and any excursions.

To be honest considering your condition, we expect you to spend more time within the pod then most other participants. Luckily due to our staff’s consideration you will be provided with as much comfort as possible.” The man explained as he moved the adolescent near the pod.

“Is there anything I should be wary of within the game?” The adolescent asked.

“The game is just like the real world. Normally there is a restriction which prevents intercourse and drugs for the under aged. However, since this is a beta and considering the data we are to collect through your gameplay. The restriction has not been applied.” The man explained.

“I see. Do I have to be worried about sexual assault?” The adolescent asked, surprising the man.

“In truth most races in game are only attracted to each other. A human and elf will rarely feel any sexual attraction from each other. On the other hand, if there is love then that aspect of the game loses its validity.” The man laughed.

“So I only need to be worried about humans, players and those who have fallen in love with me.” The adolescent nodded to himself.

“Well, there are exceptions. And not even we can predict the behaviour of the non-player characters, since they all replicate living things. Ironic, but the lives you take in the game weigh as much as the lives in real life. The only difference is that, the laws of nature may not apply. Though that may be due to our influence in the spawning of creatures.” The man said.

“You have control over the game?” The adolescent asked.

“No. We can merely influence certain things. The rate at which monsters reproduce for example or perhaps the likelihood that a monster will appear. Small stuff really.” The man answered the adolescent.

Suddenly the man’s watch beeped.

“I’ll leave you here. It seems your nurse will be here shortly. So for now farewell, I’ll be back in three months to pick up your surveys.” The man smiled, as he promptly left.

Twenty seconds later, a girl walked in. With purple eyes and white hair the girl walked over to the adolescent.

“Hello, Allie.” The adolescent said.

“Hello. Do you wish to enter the pod?” Allie asked. The adolescent nodded.

“Can you help me?” The adolescent asked.

“Of course.” Allie nodded, as she opened the pod.

The top of the pod opened up, the door rose vertically. Allie then began to remove the adolescents clothing. Allie then carefully lifted the adolescent’s body and placed him upon the green liquid within the pod. The adolescent closed his eyes as he slowly sank into the liquid and fell unconscious.

Allie then removed a plug from her wrist. She then placed the plug into a socket connecting to the pod. She then entered into the lobby.

The adolescent woke up, within the virtual space he sat up. At the simple movement he began to tremble, and shortly after tears welled up in his eyes. He began to cry, all around him was a white washed room the exact replication of the room in the real world. The difference was that in place of the pod was a desk with a computer and chair.

Suddenly a voice spoke to the adolescent.

“Are you okay? Are you injured?” Allie asked as she appeared within the room. She walked over to the adolescent and gently held his shoulder. Letting him know she was there, if he needed anything.

“I…I-I’m fine. I-I am just a little overwhelmed. I can move my body again. I feel alive. No, I feel like am myself. It was so frustrating…” The adolescent shivered.

After a minute, the adolescent regained himself.

Standing himself up. He took a good look at Allie. She looked like a normal girl around his own age. She was cute enough but she wasn’t the prettiest. She wore a chemise and was rather thin, despite this she was somehow enchanting to his eyes.

The adolescent blinked a little, as he took a breath. Feeling his control of his muscles he felt a sense of euphoria. He attributed his shock more to that feeling. He walked over to the computer ignoring the strange feeling.

He sat on the chair and began to type on the computer. As he typed in various things, the world around him changed. Allie moved to his side as she watched him modify the world around them.

The floor was covered with marble tiles, and then layered with red carpet over the tiles. The walls changed to wood and wooden supports appeared for a decorative purpose. The ceiling was covered with static fireflies, which somehow illuminated the room. Then windows were added to three sides of the room. Then a wooden door appeared on the remaining room.

The computer was moved to one side of the room, with a computer to his back. Three couches were then put down in front of the computer. Two couches faced each other, while the remaining couch faced the computer. In the centre of the couches a large coffee table.

Nodding to himself the adolescent began to add decorations. He added many cushions to the couches. He then added lamps next to the computer desk and next to some of the couches. He added a few cabinets filled with china to the wall and book cases filled in the spaces. He then added a grandfather clock next to the wooden door.

The adolescent finished all of this in two minutes. An extraordinary time in comparison to other people. Many people would take hours figuring out, due to the sheer amount of customisation options alone. The adolescent had spent a lot of time thinking about the design and had come with this kind of setting.

It seemed to look like an antique office for a refined gentleman or detective. The red carpet was dull, but it accentuated the wooden walls. The windows allowed the room to a lot of natural light giving a rustic and comfortable atmosphere.

At night however the room would look very different. The lamps would lighten the room, allowing for sight but it was far from enough to illuminate the entire room. The low light and the natural wood gave the room a spooky and imposing atmosphere, but if one were to look up at the sky it would be filled with lights that crawled. The ceiling looked quite magnificent when the bugs would stop in a set routine in certain patterns replicating a night sky.

After finishing the room, the adolescent began to order things. He ordered a large bed, a wardrobe, a carpet and a lot of clothing for both himself and Allie. After a notification appeared telling him the order would arrive in a few days, the adolescent began to ask Allie if she wanted any clothes. To his surprise she shook her head. Apparently, she could synthesize any clothing in the virtual world.

He wanted to tell her he meant real life, but she simply said that it was not needed. Because he had already bought her some clothing, he decided to just stop where he was. After finishing the room he began to create other rooms. And in a mere ten minutes he had created a kitchen, a bathroom with a toilet, an additional toilet and a master bedroom.

But after taking a deep breath, he stopped.

The kitchen doubled as a dining room. The kitchen was connected to the master bedroom and the main room. The main room was connected to the bathroom. The additional toilet was connected to the main room. It was a simple design, the rooms could be considered very different from the main room which housed the computer.

The additional rooms were very normal, the only extravagances were the bath in the bath room was extremely large and the walk in closet. Otherwise one could say it was a replication of an ordinary house.

The adolescent then began to study the survey and soon chose to answer the many questions. Then he found that to enter the game he needed his overseer to patch him into the game. In addition the game had a one four ration. Meaning the three months he would spend in game would be equivalent to a year.

After speaking to Allie he found the game would be released next month. The month grace period was to allow participants to familiarise themselves to the system. Nodding to this he asked Allie to leave the lobby. Then he too left the lobby.

After reappearing in the white washed room, the adolescent asked Allie to take him outside. After asking for authorisation, she nodded and picked him out of the green fluid. The liquid moved off of him like a living organism. Then Allie began to dress him, and then the two left.

Allie moved the adolescent outside, then she began to push him around the staff garden. The adolescent watched as the leaves fell. Silently he began to ponder his course of actions. He did not notice Allie browsing various pieces of information in order to start a conversation. She felt like she was not doing her job properly, and was worried he would throw her away.

“Is it beautiful to your eyes?” The adolescent asked Allie.

“I think you are very beautiful.” She replied surprised. Only to realise she was reading a response to a guide to flirting for males. Embarrassed and confused, she temporarily froze.

“I meant the world, but I guess if you can see me as beautiful then, I am sure you see everything on this world as beautiful.” The adolescent smiled, as he watched a leaf fly through the sky.

“No. It is just you for now.” She responded in a panic. She had decided to settle for the flirting responses that she had stored in her memory.

“Oh now you’re just saying things.” The adolescent smiled embarrassed even more embarrassed.

“I genuinely believe you are beautiful, though.” She decided to push the conversation, with honesty.

“Is that so…” The adolescent replied.

Allie became depressed. Honesty had ended the conversation and left them in silence, she regretted her choice. But when she turned her head to look at the adolescent, her servos short circuited a little and she found herself staring at nothing but his face.

She didn’t realise it but she save the image of his smile into her backup memory. When he turned his head around she immediately recoiled, and pretended she had not been doing anything of particular note. His smile was gone but the remnants remained on his lips and she felt her servos freeze up a little, but she immediately corrected the error.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“I think my luggage should have arrived, let’s return.” The adolescent said.

Sure enough inside of the room, a large amount of clothing had arrived within three suit cases.

The adolescent did not re-enter the pod. And he spent his time going on excursions with Allie and experiencing the real world. He visited a museum, an art gallery and even went to a movie theatre. It was thanks to Allie’s unmatched attention to detail that all his excursions went on without a hitch.

When the things he had ordered online, had arrived. He directed Allie to set everything up. A bed was set up next to the pod. A wardrobe was setup in the room and the floor was carpeted. The clothes were put away and the adolescent could now request Allie to wear plain pink pyjamas among other outfits he had bought for her.

He had also told her to lie down on the bed, if she was to connect to the pod. The reason he said this was because he felt bad, about letting her stand for months on end.

Strangely enough she began to sleep in the bed with him. Of course the adolescent did not complain, as when the game was released then he would sleep within the pod.

A month passed and the adolescent entered back in to the lobby. Allie followed shortly after.

The adolescent began to pace around as he moved his body. Time within the lobby moved in a ratio of one to ten. It was mostly a place where a person would spend their time relaxing before they were patched in to the game by their overseer. The adolescent began to upgrade his lobby.

The bookshelf was filled with books that were actually readable. Books filled with information, the fridge was filled with virtual food and the cups were filled with crockery and utensils. The walk-in wardrobe was filled with so many clothes it would dizzy the eyes. The bath tub was filled with warm milk.

The game would be released in two hours that gave him, approximately twenty hours to do as he wished. Hence, he decided to do the things he had not done in a long time.

He cooked a meal for Allie. Though his body would stutter at times he generally did not have a problem after twelve minutes of cooking. He made simple eggs, then pancakes, then beef patties and went crazy cooking with the virtual ingredients. After which he had Allie eat the lot of it, and found that he hadn’t smoked the salmon correctly.

After cooking he and Allie entered the bath. He declined her help, as it was the first time he could bathe himself in a long time. After this, he decided to enter the wardrobe and tried on various clothing. He dragged Allie along and with a virtual camera, posed and modelled.

The adolescent felt like his energy was boundless. And did not stop moving, he danced with Allie using the steps he had memorised from a book he had found and the two danced. Finally after ten hours of moving his body, he fell unconscious and Allie carried him to the bed.

She smiled as she watched the adolescents sleeping face. She couldn’t help herself, to see him so full of energy. Even though, he was normally so reserved, he let his instincts run free. Jumping running and even dancing. It was really too much excitement even for an ordinary person, because even though it was virtual reality moving one’s body continuously will generate mental fatigue.

He did not let himself run free during the first time, because he didn’t dare to believe it. The second time around he could not hold rein in his energy. Never wanting the moment to end.

Allie stood up and entered the bath. She was built to be similar to humans and in that sense she had the five senses and emotions. However, these emotions of hers were something terrifyingly realistic. Yet, at the same time it was what made her human.

She looked in the mirror and found a purple ribbon tying her hair into a pony tail. The adolescent had tied it for her and laughed. He told her that he used to help his mother tie her hair. He also told her that his father would carry him to bed. Looking at the ribbon, Allie knew that his trust in her was extremely deep.

Often people who have suffered trauma are very guarded about it. They would often hide it in the depths of their heart. Perhaps the regaining of mobility would be the reason for the sudden confessions about himself, but it was because she had watched over him that he had opened his heart to her.

She tugged the ribbon on her hair and slowly it came loose. When the ribbon was fully out of her hair, she could clearly see the ribbon matched her eye colour. However to her surprise the ribbon was filled with the scenery of falling leaves.

She made a backup of the ribbon in her memory and began to bathe. She was reluctant to let him enter the game by himself, but she knew that would restrict the growth of his heart. Hence, she bit down on her worry and let nature take its course.

When the adolescent awoke, he found he had roughly four hours before the launch of the game. He sat up and found Allie sleeping beside him. Taking a deep breath, he gently nudged her awake gently. A gentle smile was on his face, as he called for her.

“Allie, please wake up. I need you to patch me in to the game.”

As he said the words Allie began to sit up and rub at her eyes, with a heartfelt smile she said.

“Good morning.” Her body was currently calibrating, leaving her in a somewhat dazed state.

After waiting a few minutes, she finally finished recalibrating herself.

“I shall begin patching you into the game shortly.” Allie smiled.

“Thank you.” The adolescent replied.

He closed his eyes.

The adolescent found himself in a black world, when he opened his eyes.

“Please choose a nickname for your character.” Allie’s voice broke the adolescent from his surprise.

“Set.” The adolescent had chosen a name from childhood. He used to have to close friends and they were called the ready, set, go trio. The adolescent had not seen them since his parent’s funeral.

“Please confirm, “Set” is your chosen nickname?” Allie asked.

“Yes.” Set replied.

“Please choose a race.” As Allie said the words a variety of mannequins appeared in front of Set.

The mannequins all resembled him if he was another race. An elf, a beast man, a dwarf and etc…

“Human.” Set, chose. This in game character would be his second life, hence he wanted to be human.

“Would you like to modify yourself?” Allie asked.

“No. I am fine as I am.” Set replied.

“Would you like your looks to always correspond with your real body?” Allie asked.

“Yes.” Set replied.

“Please choose your beginner outfit and underwear.” Allie said, as a large amount of clothing.

Set picked a pair of striped briefs and a striped singlet. He then chose comfortable trousers and a warm jumper. He knew that this equipment gave no buffs and would be replaced, but for now he wanted comfort.

“Due to this being a beta, you may select out of only these three destinations. Bean village, within the Quoll kingdom. Serene City of the white alliance. Or Desmond city within the knight core kingdom. Please choose one of the following.” Allie’s voice echoed throughout the blackness.

“Desmond city.” Set replied.

“Would you like to go through a tutorial?” Allie asked.

“Is it necessary for me?” Set returned the question with his own question.

“No, it is just a virtual lobby to familiarise yourself.” Allie explained.

“Then, no thank you.” Set had familiarised himself enough already.

“I see. You will be sent into the game shortly.” Allie said.

A ray of light appeared and then shone on Set’s body. He then disappeared into the game.

Set awoke in a square of a city. A fountain was nearby and many players were beside him. Many of them immediately left for somewhere.

Set did not understand why they were in such a hurry. The game had a four week period were the player had to stay within their chosen starting point. It was to allow a person to familiarise themselves with the game.

Set shrugged his shoulders and walked around. During the four week period, players had to worry about their hunger and how to provide for themselves. After walking around for a while Set found an old man, sitting next to a pond.

The old man smiled at him.

“Hello there, would you like to do some fishing? The fish you catch can be exchanged for points or money.”

Set nodded, as he walked toward the old man. The old man took out a fishing rod and began to teach Set how to fish. Soon he leisurely fished next to the old man and spent a large amount of time fishing. Four hours to be exact.

Set then gave the old man all the fish he caught and exchanged them for some money. After fishing for a good amount of time, Set had learned the “Fishing skill” which allowed him to fish better.

Set stretched his body and bought some food, after filling his hunger he visited the training hall. The training hall was a part of the survey and Set had found it could raise a person’s base strength, agility and vitality to a maximum of forty.

Seeing as how it was open day and night, it was a perfect place for Set to play around with his body. The place he entered was filled with people, Set decided to enter a private room. With a scarecrow in front of him Set remembered he did not have a weapon.

Shrugging he began to hit the scarecrow wildly and following his instincts entirely. His hands were curled like hooks as he viciously struck the scarecrow and kicked it. After an hour he stopped and stretched and found he had gained a couple of new skills. “Claw hand” and “Wild fighting” they were both rare skills.

Set understood that they were rare because people rarely had this kind of skill, even among the non-player characters. Seeing as he had gained the skills he found they were both passive. Shrugging he decided to train some more. After four more hours he left the training hall and went to find a place to stay the night.

He would be spending an entire years’ worth of time within the game. He was in no rush.

Set continued a routine of fishing, training, eating and sleeping. During this time he would spend five hours training and at least seven hours fishing. The remaining time he spent eating or sleeping. Many would consider this boring and a horrible form of torture. To Set it was more he could ever hope for. He had spent days on end without even moving from a single spot, being able to wildly move his body while training was more than enough for him.

After a week had passed a notification had appeared telling him that the inventory system had been activated within the game. After opening his inventory Set found he had twenty silver coins and ten pieces of bread. Set put the money he had gained from fishing into the inventory and continued his routine as normal.

Many players had had troubles with food and Set had introduced many of them to fishing. He had also helped introduce people to other jobs. However, many players lacked the patience and as soon as they gained the money from the inventory they bought all the food they could.

The amount of money could buy two hundred pieces of bread. A piece of bread cost ten bronze, and a hundred bronze led to one silver. One hundred silver led to a gold. The inventory worked using a slot system. A slot could hold a stack of ninety nine and the inventory could hold up to thirty slots. The inventory held no weight restrictions and was a useful system. However, most non-player characters chose to carry items in pouches or bags as they did not have the inventory skill and players could do the same when they had more items then they could fit into their inventories.

A month had passed, Set had gained twenty points for strength, agility, and vitality. Ten more points for each left. Set had also managed to raise his skills, “Wild fighting” and “Claw hand” had risen to level five. “Fishing” had risen to level seven and Set had gained the “Cooking” skill, as well. Though the level was low, considering that he only cooked from time to time.

Since the restriction on leaving the territory had gone, many of Set’s fellow players headed out in to the game. Set did not go with them and decided to continue his training. There were not many people who had stayed, Set did not mind.

He had spent a lot of time alone, he didn’t worry about things and continued with his life.

Another month passed and Set finally managed to complete the training. During this month he had chosen to use the now open practice field due to the lack of players. The instructor had been surprised and had told him he was supposed to use the wooden swords on the wall. Embarrassed by his lack of understanding Set asked the instructor how to swing a sword.

After he spent his five hours of training with a wooden sword. After he completely rose his stats he gained a notification saying he had completed the basic training course. Set smiled, and was surprised when the instructor appeared before him again. The instructor congratulated Set and gave him a sword.

The sword was much better than he had expected, it was better than what he had seen in some shops at least. After thanking the instructor he gained a title, “Rookie” a common title. However due to gaining the title he gained one additional stat point in each of his stats.

He had gained a “Swordsmanship” skill and it was level five. His “Wild fighting” and “Fishing” skill had both risen to seven and nine respectively.

Set smiled, as he finally left the city. He met a rabbit in the fields and it charged at him. Set easily cut the rabbit in to two pieces. His heightened stats from the basic training had given him an immense increase in attack and speed, in addition the sword he had gained from the instructor was an almost god-like weapon against a low level rabbit.

After the rabbit died, set picked up an item which magically appeared out of the monsters corpse. The item dropped was a rabbit eared head band. Set shrugged as he equipped the head band and then placed the two remaining body pieces of the rabbit into his inventory. Set thought perhaps the rabbit would have a use even if it was just a corpse.

Set checked his experience and found it was a tenth full. Sighing Set readied to kill more rabbits, but to his surprise a wolf appeared. Perhaps attracted by the blood, the wolf looked at him crazed. It was much thinner than normal wolves, Set was sure since he had seen players sell the corpses of wolves before.

This wolf was not only thin, but it also looked exceptionally weak. The wolf ran at Set, but was killed with even more than the rabbit. The wolf was slower than the rabbit and though it was definitely stronger it lacked any self-preservation instinct. The wolf was probably starved, after killing the wolf Set found it dropped a piece of wolf meat.

Set found it increased his experience by quite a lot in addition. Set began to hunt the various creatures in the fields outside of the city, until he reached level ten. After five hours of continuous hunting which he would have normally used to train, he returned to the city and began to eat and then went to an inn to sleep.

The next day Set went to the summoner’s guild.

At first Set thought about becoming an archer or a priest, but after thinking about it he decided to try out the summoner class. The reason for choosing this class was the special rumour about the class.

“Hey, have you heard. The summoner class has a special summon which is pretty much an un-killable companion.”

“Really, that sounds cool. It’s like you’d be two people rather than one.”

This conversation Set had caught as he walked by had interested him. The reason Set wanted to become a summoner was the companion. This was his second life, which he would spend much of his life in. Wanting a companion to stay by his side was completely normal, considering other players logged out every now and again.

Set walked into the summoner’s guild and applied for the class change. He wasn’t the only one, a girl was also taking the same class change. After filling out the application, Set was given a summoner’s robe and a summoner’s book. He along with the girl were taken to a special room with a giant magical circle.

The two were then told that they would summon their very own special summon. This summon could always be re-summoned even after death and it also grew along with the user. It would be contracted to them.

The girl went up first, and Set watched as the magic circle glowed with extremely bright light. Then out of the light a Valkyrie appeared. Set was astounded by its beauty and how strong it looked. Set was not the only one who was surprised the summoner overseeing the ritual endlessly praised the girl. The girl left with a satisfied smile as she walked out with her Valkyrie.

It was then Set’s turn. Set was extremely envious as he stepped into the magic circle to commence his own ritual. As the summoning process took place, Set felt a magical connection to his body and something reached into Set’s mind. It felt Set’s desire towards the Valkyrie, and to match that desire a being was summoned.

Set stared as a thin wolf was summoned in front of Set. It looked exactly like one of the wolves he had found in the plains. The wolf looked at him, Set felt a bit of disappointment in his heart. After the wolf walked to his side Set stroked the wolf and suddenly felt happy.

“It may not be a super strong Valkyrie, but he is my companion.” Set thought to himself.

The summoner tried to cheer Set up, as he led Set out of the summoner’s guild. After looking at the wolf by his side, Set stroked the wolf’s fur.

“From now on you are Saxon.” Set said, and shortly after a notification appeared informing him that naming Saxon had been a success.

Set began to read about the skills he had gained with his class change. The skills were “Summon analyse”, “Summon” and “Summon command”. All these skills required the use of the summoner’s book. Additionally Set had gained fifteen points in intelligence and wisdom.

Looking at Saxon’s stat window Set smiled, as he cringed. Saxon was level one, but his stats were lower than a beginner player. Saxon was so weak Set wasn’t sure what to do. Set de-summoned Saxon and then headed to the library. Since he had a boost to his intelligence and wisdom Set was able to learn the basic magics.

Most players did not bother learning them since the spells had no real use in the battlefield because they were really weak. That did not deter Set, after reading for four hours. Set decided to do some fishing. Set would summon Saxon and feed the wolf from his hand.

The creature was so weak, that it could not even reject any orders he gave. In addition Saxon, was an ousted wolf. The lowest class of wolf. It was a runt wolf who had been bullied and eventually run out of the forest due to its inherent weakness. These were the wolves that you found outside on the plains of the kingdom. Set had even killed many of them with ease.

Saxon, surprisingly was not like many creatures. Saxon ate from Set’s hand and licked his fingers clean. It would also affectionately rub itself against Set. Because of this Set bought a grooming kit and would affectionately take care of his wolf. He gained the “Affection” stat along with the “Grooming” skill.

Set would feed Saxon and stroke the wolf’s head. Saxon’s loyalty to set rose higher and higher. Set didn’t mind as he lovingly cared for his wolf. And so a week passed by, where Set would visit the library and fished while taking care of his wolf.

Set had then gained five points in intelligence and wisdom for learning the basic magic spells. In addition he gained the title “Basic magician” which gave him one additional stat point and unlike the “Rookie” title, if he equipped the “Basic magician” title the basic spells increased in effectiveness by twenty percent.

Set smiled as this was just the beginning of his in game life.