I reached up and ran my hand through my long, braided hair. It was on odd feeling, especially considering my hair was only a couple of inches long at it’s longest. However, the cracked, yellowed fingernails adorning my callused, green hands were even more unnatural. I quickly swiped away from ‘Orc,’ not wanting to spend my days looking like I didn’t care about my hygiene. The feeling of fangs in my mouth was probably the last straw. I’m sure I’d get used to them… but I didn’t really want to.

     Instantly my face morphed in shape, becoming thinner, almost malnourished. My skin blackened before taking on a slight red tinge. The tusks in my mouth retracted as horns grew out of the top of my newly bald head. The feeling was uncomfortable to say the least, but at least it didn’t hurt. I messed around with the character creation a bit, adjusting the style of horns on my head, favoring a spread of smaller horns similar to a head of hair over the stereotypical two horns on my forehead. I kind of liked how that looked, so I read the background information on the race.

     “The demon race is the main antagonist on Araenea. Having consumed all the resources on their own world, they invaded this one through a dark ritual that opened a portal on the south pole. The corruption that spread out blackened the ground in the vicinity, clearly marking their territory. Having allied with the various oppressed races of the world like the orcs and dwarves, they seek to eliminate the gods of this world and replace them with their own. Should that happen, the corruption currently limited to the area around the portal would cover the globe, permanently weakening the original denizens of Araenea and, eventually, lead to their demise.”

     Playing the antagonist could definitely be fun. Most games tried to leave at least some moral ambiguity, but it seemed The Drifting World went with a more basic setting, letting players control the outcome and lore of the world through their own efforts. Normally I imagined my character more as a paragon of justice, frequently rolling something akin to a Paladin, but maybe it was time for a change of pace. Then I noticed my feet were hooves and my previous determination melted away in an instant. Instead, I browsed through the various races until I found one that caught my eye. The dark forces in the game consisted of Demons, Orcs, Dwarves, Vampires, and Lycans, while the forces of Araenea included Humans, Elves, Elementals, Gnomes, and Treants.

     Obviously, I’d seen Treants in games before, since they were somewhat of a fantasy staple. I’d never seen them as a playable race, though. Selecting Treant turned me into what appeared to be an old man with ancient bark for skin and long twisting branches serving as antlers. After messing around with the character creation a bit, I managed to completely remove the horns and replace the ancient looking bark with something a bit fresher. With the pitch-black eyes reflected at me in the mirror, I looked a bit like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. Maybe it was silly to model my character after a comic book that was more than a century old, but I’ve never been one to let what others though of me get in my way.

     After confirming my character creation choices, a window popped up asking me to select my character name. After typing in ‘Groot’ and pressing ‘Enter,’ an error message popped up to tell me that “The character name ‘Groot’ is already in use. Please select a different name and try again.”

     … This is why I normally didn’t take so long in character select when games launched. I’d just gotten so caught up in how realistic it all felt that I’d lost track of time. I mean, the name didn’t really matter that much (as long as I didn’t end up with something like xXxTreeShadowxXx), and Groot was kind of a joke to begin with, but I still felt disappointed. Regardless, I started trying other names.

The character name ‘Spruce Willis’ is already in use. Please select a different name and try again.

The character name ‘Birchslap’ is already in use. Please select a different name and try again.

The character name ‘Forestree’ is already in use. Please select a different name and try again.

The character name ‘Mystree’ is already in use. Please select a different name and try again.

     Damn it! None of my puns were available! In a panic, I started typing in anything I could think of, not wanting to be left without something too embarrassing.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

Character name ‘Chemistree’ accepted. Initiating tutorial. Please select a difficulty. Rewards will vary based on difficulty.

Easy – Intended for players new to gaming.

Medium – Intended for players who are new to VR games.

Hard – Intended for players who are experienced with VR games.

Hell – Intended for experienced players looking for a challenge.

     Finally! A name that worked! When they’d announced the record sales of 20 million pre-orders, I guess I hadn’t really internalized just how many players that really was. I couldn’t even imagine how hard it would be to get a half-decent name in a few weeks. As for the difficulty, the choice for me was obvious. Maybe it was pointless pride, but I always did enjoy playing through games on the highest difficulty. If they were offering bonus rewards to start, how could I refuse? After selecting the ‘Hell’ difficulty, my vision slowly faded to black as I lost all sensation from my body.

***

     My vision slowly returned, but I seemed to be floating in the sky, looking down on a vibrant green forest. “The forests of Araenea used to be vibrant and filled with life.” A deep voice narrated the opening cinematic. “But everything changed when the demon’s Portal opened.” I heard an explosion in the distance and a dark pulse of energy erupted out towards me. “Your forest was particularly close to the south pole and felt the effects most severely.” After the pulse passed through, it seemed to suck back in towards its source. At the same time, the forest below me seemed to blur, forming mirror images as it seemed like the trees’ very essence was being sucked out of them. “At the time, you were but a sapling, unaware of the world, shielded by your decaying brethren.” As the camera zoomed in on the forests, the mirror images of the vibrant trees slowly blew away, and the trees quickly decayed. Blackened limbs crashed to the ground around me as the camera zoomed in on a small pocket of green, hidden away in the gnarled roots of a dying tree. “Somehow, even in your unthinking state, you managed to hold onto some of the fleeing life energy.” Inside the pocket made by the roots the pull didn’t seem to be as strong, and the energy seeped back into the ground around a small sapling. “And from this catastrophe came new life, a new beginning, a new race on Araenea.” The camera faded to black once more.

     The same scene reappeared, but this time the sapling had grown into an actual tree. “Now, nearly 50 years later, the cultivated life energy you’d hoarded has grown into something more.” The center of the trunk started glowing green, the same green I’d seen previously around the sapling. As I watched, the green glow grew brighter and the bark on the trunk seemed to crack. “Although you’ve been granted life, you’re deep in the demon’s territory.” The cracks spread across the bark and slowly turned into the shape of the character I’d just created. “Your vengeance against the demons will have to wait.” The Treant stepped out of the tree and opened its eyes. “For now, you only have one goal.” The camera rotated around behind the Treant and started zooming into first-person. “Survive.”