I’ve just received my new tech gear, the Wireless Immersion Fantasy Environment. I’m one of the first alpha testers of this unit and it connects to all the existing games in my collection and there’s a new one I purchased last month I’ve never used.  However, the first issue I have to deal with is where to have the thing installed.  It’s the size of a queen bed and has a canopy that can raise and lower.  I’m told the canopy design, which looks like something you’d see in a castle, was necessary but minimized so it’d only look expensive, not girly.  I have them install it in the guest bedroom that was completely empty.  Having no girlfriend or family to use the room, it’s gathered dust by the boat load in the last few years.

“Just a few things Mr. Jonathan, it’s rather simple after all.  The time dilation is four game hours to one in any game that does not currently specify one.  Reality levels can be increased through the menu to almost 95%, any higher and your physical body will die, for any of the five traditional sense so be careful with touch as it controls pain. The drawer in front can be filled with raw foods, vitamins, liquids, and other nutrients if you want to spend more than eight hours per session in VR.  It’ll break it down and clean the artificial junk from it, so it doesn’t matter what nutrients you use.  The tank next to the drawer needs to be more than a quarter full of water or the log out process will be initiated. This water is used to flush waste out of the immersion gel so don’t kink the hose we connected to the drainage system.  Before we finalize everything, we need you to sign in to the existing computer and helmet system and accept the interface request. When that’s done, and you’ve signed the NDA, also called a non-disclosure agreement, we’ll be done.”  It takes all of two minutes to complete the interface acceptance and sign the agreement.  “Oh, since it will allow you to play in your sleep, we’ve included automatic bathing functions that you can enable or disable on the outer control panel.  Enjoy your games.”

Shooing the long-winded representatives from the apartment and locking the doors, I dump in the nearly expired leftovers filling my fridge grateful that I don’t have to throw them out, but I think I’ll skip out on the moldy meatloaf sandwich even so.  Since it’s summer vacation and my bills are auto-drafted from the trust fund I inherited, I may as well spend as much time in game as possible.  I flip the automatic systems on, strip, and climb in.  Just before I could change my mind, the canopy descends and seals snugly around me. The sleep inducer takes hold and moments later, I presume, the standard light novel interface of a large white room surrounds me.  I take a few minutes to customize it, since I can rest in here if necessary, and set this home room to real time with a countdown clock showing how long the life support system has before I need to log out.  It shows a whopping seven days.  Finally, I turn to the new game, “Survival Instinct.”

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Welcome Player

Interface upgrade in progress….

Initiating Player Creation…..

Summoning Goddess…..

Installing unique skill library….

A winged elf, with the anime-style half-moon eyes and silver hair appears in a wide clearing of a dead caldera. “Good morning Jonathan. I am the elven goddess in charge of Heart’s Wood Forest and the surrounding lands where we currently are.  Although you are human, you may choose any of the following humanoid races for our world: Humans, Elves, the Fae, or Halfling. And before you ask, Dwarves, Giants, and cold-blooded races are not available to you due to limitations of your magical interface to prevent harm when your soul returns home.  Humans have the worst magic and best qi, while the Fae are the opposite.  You’ll find the Elven races to be the most balanced.  If you choose Halfling, you may choose the races of each of your four grandparents and your basic features and stats will be generated based on how you pair them up.  Some Elven and Fae races have heightened senses in different environments.  These will of course come with lower resistance to damage that affects these senses.  Do you have any questions?”

Jonathan thinks carefully and decides, “I want to look very human, but be a Halfling.  Can I have mother’s parents be a moon elf woman and a human, while father’s family be a fairy princess and human hero?”

The goddess nods and displays the resulting possibilities.  “Here are four results, two male and two female.  It is recommended that you choose one of the men as a starting base.  And all characters start with a ten year old body that will grow toward the template you choose.  This growth is completed in the tutorial as you practice your basic skills.  How you practice these skills control what stats you will have and their growth when you enter the game at level one.”  Choosing the less muscular one not wanting to be seen as an oaf by the other gamers, he chooses to skip the tutorial.

“Are you certain?  Your stats will be randomized if you do not use the tutorial and those stats will affect how close you are to the model.” He nods and the scene changes.  Now on a small path a few dozen yards away from him, a clearing with a guarded gate appears. “Before I go, I will give you a blessing Jonathan and allow you to change your name.”

He thinks for a moment, “Drake should be my name since I have a desire to be as strong as a dragon.”