The room looked like it belonged in a doctors' office. All it needed was a fake skeleton and an exam table.

"Do I know you?" Samuel asked.

"In a way, yes," she said. "I'm constructed from memories of people you found assuring and honest in your life."

"Do you have a name?" Samuel asked.

"Yes," she said. "My name is Erica, I'm an employee here to help make your entry go smoothly."

Neither spoke for a moment.

"How long have I been dead?"

"Roughly sixty-eight years," she replied.

"Do you know how old I was when I died?" He asked.

A file appeared before her. She opened it and began to read.

"Samuel Lucas Black," she paused. "It's nice to meet you. Male, eighty-seven years of age," she paused again. It was much longer this time. "And you were acquired from New York State Prison Network."

"Huh," Samuel said. "I died as an old man in prison."

"It appears so," she said.

"I was born in twenty-twenty," he said. "That puts my death in twenty-one oh-seven."

"Well," she said. Her smile had turned tight. "The average life span hit one-hundred and fifty. As such, being in your eighties was closer to the early side of mid-life."

"That's not as bad," he said. "I guess."

They fell into another stretch of silence.

"Do you have any questions before we get started?" Erica asked.

"Is there anything you can tell me about this game?" Samuel asked.

"Yes," she replied with a smile. "The current game-world that needs people is set in something akin to what is commonly called The Wild West."

"As in cowboys?" He asked. "Why?"

"Our research shows that it has a steady interest and plenty of room to grow to maintain an audience," Erica replied. "There are plenty of fantasy elements to make it interesting."

Samuel cocked his head to the side.

"What happens now? I'll be an NPC?" Samuel asked.

"Do you have experience with games?" She asked perking up.

"I lived in a town in the middle of nowhere," he replied. "I know what video-games are."

"If you were to accept you would be a part of the D.A.R experience," she said. "You would be a part of the active cast, rather than a background member. Your adventures, whatever they turn out to be, will be broadcasted for people to watch. There is wide variety of content that catches interest. One of the top one-hundred channels is a merchant."

"Sign me up," he said. "What happens next?"

She smiled.

"We'll transfer you into the world," she replied. "After you create a character, that is."

"I get to create a character?" He asked. "I thought I was the character."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"In a way, yes, you are your character," she said. "But we like to give people a choice. The system will assign skills that correspond with those you had in life. Your stats will be something you can customize for yourself. Scanning your physical abilities doesn't translate effectively."

"Alright," Samuel said. "Let's get started."

"Great," Erica said. She flashed a bright smile. "Please step onto the plate."

The wall in front of him slid away as he stepped up onto the plate. A menu hovered in the air.

  Beastkin - Dragonkin - Dwarf

  Elf - Goblin - Human

  Kobold - Ogre - Orc - Troll

"That's quite the list," Samuel said.

"These are the fun range of intelligent species. As a member of the Active Cast you have access to all of them. Players aren't able to choose Goblin, Ogre, Dragonkin, or Kobold. Just so you know, if you choose one of those you will start in their designated areas. Each option has a number of subsets," Erica continued. "Each race comes with extra skills and modifiers to your stats."

"Do I get to choose what I look like?" Samuel asked.

"Yes," she replied. "And you can choose your name."

Samuel smiled.

"I would hope so," he said. "What about classes?"

"The game is based on skill trees," she said. "You earn experience completing tasks. They can also give you reputation, negative or positive, which factions around the world. You buy new skills with your experience points."

"Thanks," Samuel said.

He selected Elf. The other listing faded away. Three options slid into place.

  Moon Elf

  Royal Elf

  Wood Elf

"Royal," Samuel said. "As in they are tall, uptight, and pretty?"

"Pretty much," Erica replied.

"What are the differences between Moon and Wood Elves?" Samuel asked.

  Wood Elf +2 Agility +2 Dexterity

  Moon Elf +2 Agility +2 Wisdom

"Moon elves focus on magic while their woodland kin prefer shooting people with different means," Erica said.

"Is there an option for half-elves?" Samuel asked.

"That's under the Human option."

Samuel nodded as he let the information settle in. He selected Wood Elf. A short, lithe humanoid with rich golden skin stood before him. Its eyes were blank, it had no hair, and it looked more like it belonged at the North Pole than in the forest. The facial features were all sharp lines. A menu appeared next to the elf.

  Replicate Appearance?

  Yes/No

"What does Replicate Appearance mean?" He asked.

"The template will look like you do now, with some modifications due to race," Erica answered. "Skin tone, height, and some features have a limited range."

Samuel transferred his likeness onto the elf before him. It was definitely prettier. His new body had a diamond shaped face with a jaw that was accentuated with pointed ears.

  Height – Build

  Eyes – Nose – Face

  Skin - Hair

Samuel added a little more muscle but kept the build athletic, aiming for a look that would fit for a middleweight boxer or gymnast. The eyes he set to a center glacier blue and an edge of green with a vertical slit. He kept the skin the default color since it looked good and reminded him of lion fur. The only option left was one he had dreaded.

  Name

"I don't suppose I could just use Samuel?" He asked.

"You could," she replied. "It just doesn't sound very Elfy."

He studied the elf before him. Keeping something close to his name would make things easy. Shortening to Sam would be even better. Wood elves needed something forest sounding to finish things up.

"Sam'uel Willowthorn," he said.

"That is some clever use of an apostrophe. Now to the stats," Erica said. "Your racial bonuses will be added after you've assigned points. The scores are based on a scale of ten. They all start at five and you have a total of seven to assign."

"Can I lower a score for extra points?" He asked.

"Yes," she replied. "But five is the average, anything less and you will see some negative outcome."

  Unspent Points - 7

  Agility – 5 Charisma – 5 Constitution - 5

  Dexterity – 5 Intelligence – 5 Strength – 5 Wisdom - 5

"What's the different between Agility and Dexterity?" Sam'uel asked. "They are usually the same thing."

"Agility refers to your movement while Dexterity is coordination," Erica clarified. "It's backflips versus card tricks."

"Got it," he said. "Anything else I should know?"

"Charisma effects how much reputation you earn per encounter," she said. "It can also determine the price of good and what services are available. Intelligence factors in to how much skills cost. If you want to do any sort of magic you will need a good Wisdom score."

Agility and Dexterity were already boosted once his racial bonus was applied. Not getting hit was important, but it was also a good idea to take some damage. Erica had gone out of her way to the importance of Intelligence and Charisma. He had no plans to use magic, which meant Wisdom was a dump stat.

Sam'uel Willow Thorn

  Agility – 7 Charisma – 6 Constitution - 8

  Dexterity – 7 Intelligence – 9 Strength – 5 Wisdom - 4

"Are you finished?" Erica asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"You're going to be stuck with these scores for a very long time," she cautioned.

"I'm good," Sam said.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," she said. "Let's move on to skills and equipment."