When I awoke, I immediately became aware that I was lying atop an uncomfortable stone slab. I tried to open my eyes, but a piece of fabric covered it. I sat up quickly, and a ribbon fell from my face. It laid loosely upon my face. The process of sitting up detached the ribbon from its resting place.
Looking down at my own body, I saw that I was occupying the body of the character I had created in the sea of darkness. My preexisting body had been the template, so my switch to the avatar had not been that jarring. The body I presently occupied felt like my old body but stronger and larger. I was wearing a blue military uniform that was absolutely covered with pockets and pouches. There were eight pouches on the belt and four pouches on the chest. Based on the shape of the pants pockets, I could tell that they had a lot of space. The belt made me think of Batman’s utility belt. I felt like I could hold an armory of gadgets and gizmos within those pouches.
As I moved around on the stone plinth, I felt a small leather bag against my hip. It had a strap which was slung diagonally across my chest from my hip to my shoulder. I rummaged around inside of the bag. Like the pouches, it was empty.
Looking around, I saw that I was inside of a large room that must have held about fifty stone plinths identical to the one I was sitting upon. Many of the stone plinths on one side of the room held curious players dressed in the same blue military uniform as me. Many of the players on that side of the room had already wandered off toward a door at one side of the room that led to a staircase going upward. The plinths on the other side of the room did not hold players. Instead, they held large, person-sized mounds of ash.
A humanoid figure dressed in a feature-concealing robe stood near me. He - I assume - walked away from me toward a plinth next to mine that held one of the ash piles. I would later come to learn that this individual was an Imperial sorcerer. He concealed his features as a matter of religious observance and a sign of dedication to the art of magic. A moment after the sorcerer reached the ash pile, he reached his hand into it and removed a small scoop of the material.
Using a vial he held in his other hand, the sorcerer placed a single drop of the red liquid held within atop the handful of ash. He muttered something incomprehensible under his breath, and the ash in his hand began to glow faintly. The sorcerer dropped the handful of ash onto the large pile atop the plinth, and the entire pile began to glow.
The pile of ash shifted and compressed unnaturally as it took on a new shape. Before my eyes, it took on an approximately humanoid shape with four limb-like lump and one head-like lump. Then, it began to resolve into a more detailed shape. First, a blue uniform and bag formed from the ash, surrounding the lump in cloth. Then, the ash beneath morphed into a human body. When the process completed after a few seconds, a human woman wearing a blue uniform laid atop the plinth with a small piece of fabric over her eyes. Just as the new player began to stir, the sorcerer moved on to the next plinth.
I looked away from the player before the piece of fabric fell from her eyes. It was illogical, but I felt as if I had breached her privacy somehow by witnessing her avatar’s creation. I thought about speaking to the sorcerer, but I got the distinct sense that it would be a fruitless endeavor. Instead, I swiveled my head around to see all four of the room’s walls. Yep, there was just one exit. I followed a short precession of players as they walked through the single door and up the stairs beyond.
Other players gazed down at their hands in amazement or ran their hands over their face and neck. I brushed my hand against one of the cobblestone walls that ran parallel to the staircase. The rough stone scraped against my soft fingertips in a way that was almost painful. It was an unpleasant sensation, and I wondered for a moment why a multi-billion-dollar company would include such a sensation in their game. I rubbed my sensitive fingertips against my palm as I pondered the sensation. It felt incredibly realistic, as if I had actually scraped my fingers against an unexpectedly rough surface. At the time, I thought that this feeling was the result of my lack of sophistication. Surely, when I experienced more of the full-dive system, I would begin to notice the imperfections in the system.
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When I reached the top of the staircase, I was directed by an NPC dressed in a green military uniform down a long hallway. I could hear the sound of a man’s shouting voice at the far end of the hall. Various medieval weapons - swords, spears, clubs - were displayed openly in racks and cases along the walls, and a steady stream of green-clad NPCs passed by us confused blue-clad players. I realized quickly that we were inside of some kind of military armory or barracks.
We soon reached the source of the shouting. A man dressed in a green officer’s uniform was shouting and gesturing at a series of boxes to his left. The officer stood on an elevated podium as he spoke.
“The Deluvians are a world-ending threat,” was the first sentence I could fully parse. The officer was clearly in the middle of a speech. “It is your duty to take these unholy tools and use them to further a righteous cause. Repel the Deluvians, no matter the cost! The use of these weapons is not the only tool you have been given, however. You may utilize an ancient technique called the Menu if you close your eyes and summon it forth. Now…”
The officer continued to speak, but I stopped listening. I spent the duration of his speech slowly slipping past the small crowd of players that had accumulated around the speaking NPC. The crates he kept gesturing toward had caught my eye. When I looked inside one of the crates, my attention was completely diverted.
The crates held various piles of rifles, pistols, and ammunition. I immediately reached in and withdrew one of the rifles. They were all the same type of rifle: a 1903 bolt-action Springfield chambered in .30-06. I took a few clips which had already been loaded with ammo and stuffed them into my chest pockets. I made sure to load one clip worth of ammunition into the rifle before I slung it across my back.
Then, I moved on to the pistols. They were all 1911 handguns chambered in .45 ACP. I holstered a pistol at my thigh, and I did not hesitate to fill the pouches on my belt with magazines for my pistol. The speaking man didn’t falter in his speech as I took my fill of guns and ammunition. Seeing my furious looting, some of the players in the crowd began to follow my lead. They must have been concerned that they could miss out on the ammo if they didn’t act quickly.
Excited to make use of my new toys, I exited out the door behind the officer who was standing atop the podium. No one stopped me, so I figured it was okay. I walked out into the bright sunlight of mid-day. All around me were tall buildings, abandoned cars, and excited players.
I overheard a nearby player speak. “Remember what the Sergeant said. Our blood is harmful to the Deluvians. You have to bleed on your bullets to hurt them.”
Good to know, I thought as I closed my eyes. I needed to figure out the fastest way to exit the City, so I started looking through my Menu in order to find a map. While I looked, my eyes slid over my Character Sheet.
Character Sheet
Name EnzoTheBaker Level 1 Blood Points 140/140 Mana Points 8/8 Race Revenant Fortitude 14 Strength 11 Agility 7 Wisdom 8
I wondered briefly what “Wisdom” was and why my own score was so low. Briefly, the image of the Dark Souls menu came to my mind, and I wondered what a “Revenant” was. These thoughts soon left my mind when I found the Map. I was only a few hundred yards away from the West Gate and the infinite possibilities that lay beyond it.
Three hours later, I was dead.