Chapter 001

Thoughts are presented like (- thought -).

Game text (panels) are presented like (-- text --). If I’m not too lazy in the future, I might do actual panels, but for now...

***

Ansel Fillmore was a somewhat quiet young man.

He spent most of his days inside, alone, playing video games or doing whatever it was kids did on the internet. He rarely ventured out, aside from school, or special family occasions. Although even with his family, he spoke very little. At one point, his parents wondered whether the boy they raised for the latter half of their lifetimes was mute. Even his siblings, two younger sisters at the tender age of 12 and 13, had stopped talking to the boy not out of spite, but due to the lack of feedback on Ansel’s part.

Along side Ansel’s quietness, he had a natural glare. With his sharp eyes, and a mouth that naturally formed a frown, Ansel’s facial aesthetics made him sink even deeper into social isolation. Ansel tried to fix this issue by practicing smiling in front of the mirror. Although this did nothing, (since his glare would naturally come back if he even lost a moment’s concentration) the exercise of making faces in front of the mirror had grown into Ansel’s own daily routine.

Though it did have some setbacks, like when one particular sister saw this daily practice and ended up with nightmares for 2 weeks straight.

In the end, to fix his problem, Ansel opted to grow his hair out so it just barely covered his eyes.

Despite appearances though, the young man’s real problem was not his glare. Since he was a brat, the stem of his quietness had always been his fear of rejection from others, or in short, he was very shy. It wasn’t that he preferred to be left alone (which was what most teachers he met thought) and it wasn’t that he was pissed of all the time which led to him to silently brood all the time (which was what his peers thought). The man was simply shy! No one understood this, and the poor man, left with all his insecurities and isolation, continued even deeper into the confines of social ineptness.

Well, along the way, that quiet insecurity festered into an antisocial personality. One that matched every bit of his wicked scowl. Although that longing for social connectedness still lingered deep within (despite Ansel’s own attempts to convince himself otherwise).

Nowadays, Ansel enjoyed his relatively peaceful life of isolation. Being at the tender age of 17, he still lacked social experience, and did not know what it felt like to go out and enjoy life the normal way teenagers his age did. Instead he immersed himself in single player activities.

Whether these activities be books, the internet, knitting, really, it was anything. As long as it involved nobody but himself, Ansel was sure to have done it. Out of all these activities, his one passion were video games.

He loved video games. With their sometimes intricate storylines, their addictive gameplay, their sometimes terrible graphics, he loved almost every type of video game he ever played.  He especially liked MMORPGS. Although, admittedly, MMORPGS were his worst genre, there was something about controlling a small avatar through a computer screen that he just couldn’t get used to, but nevertheless he loved them. He loved the concept of exploring a vast new world, having adventures, making friends (something he unfortunately hadn’t had the chance to do so far).

From a different perspective, it could be seen that he was simply running away from reality, but that was fine with Ansel. As he loved putting it; “Reality was just a shitty video game anyways.”

Right now, Ansel was waiting in line at a local electronics store.

He frequently darted his gaze from left to right, aware of all the people around him.

The store he was in was located inside a large shopping mall, and unfortunately (in Ansel’s mind), the mall was packed with people. Luckily, the store itself was less crowded, but for Ansel, this didn’t matter. The mere presence of people made him uncomfortable. Just the thought of speaking to the clerk caused his stomach to rumble.

He desperately wanted to leave. He wanted to just dash out the front door, sprint back to his house, lock himself in his room, and curl up under the warm blanket he kept in the closet. But something  stopped him from fulfilling these fantasies.

Ansel had a mission. A purpose. He had specifically pushed forth through this perilous challenge in order to fulfill his goal.

That goal was to pick up a new video game.

Through sheer force of luck, he had somehow managed to win a raffle for a free copy of Worldview, as well as a complementary console for the game. Worldview, to put it shortly, was Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Now, it wasn’t the first of its kind, but it was heralded as the best. For over a year now, this game dominated the VR market, as well as captivated the hearts of a vast multitude of people, ranging from old  folks who enjoyed the leisure splendor and new bodies the game provided, to young kids, who relished in the adventure and fantasy.

WorldView also used the newest VR console, the Dream Drive. The Dream Drive system was known to everybody as the messiah of all Virtual Reality consoles. Constructed by the leading industry of Video Games, The Tonkatsu Corporation, It used a technology that immerses users in a dream-like state. It not only allowed the body to rest while the mind played, but it also boasted a 99.9% realism factor. While in this lucid state, the mind could control and replicate almost all aspects of the human body while creating an environment that was almost identical to reality.

The very nature of the Dream Drive system allowed it to break free from the bonds and restraints of a contemporary console and their mechanics. Since the console acted as a web of dreams and in a sense, ran on the players’ connected desires, it was, for the lack of a better word, an alternate reality.

Not just a game, but a separate reality, a second life. That was what the Dream Drive console represented. And of course, this applied to World View. If Dream Drive was a new reality, then Worldview was the new world for which to enjoy this reality in.

World View Online was completely independent from the corporation. The employees and staff held no control whatsoever. Instead it was run by an AI that acted as god. There was no pre written script, no planned adventure, it was through the actions of the players that determined the fate of the Game.

For Ansel, this meant one thing. He hoped that being able to fully control a virtual body, he’d fare better at VRMMORPGS than regular MMORPGS. Rather than confined to an on screen avatar, he believed that if he had something with a more direct control over, the results would be different.

Winning this raffle really was quite a stroke of luck for indeed. Previously, he never had the chance to purchase WV. It wasn’t like VRMMOs were something super expensive, with a little bit of saving, he could have probably purchased one quite easily. But Ansel who had no sense for money, completely wasted all his savings on trifle things, like other video games, or manga and comics.

He couldn’t save enough money to buy himself the game he so desired. To put it simply, his will power wasn’t strong enough. Although, now, with this event that Ansel considered nothing short of a godsend, he would be able to finally immerse himself and experience the game he had heard so much about.

So with his prize before him, there was simply no way Ansel would just give up, especially when he was so close.

Ansel motioned forward to the waiting clerk, a bushy haired young lady with a pair of rounded spectacles. The line had already passed, and currently Ansel was the only one in front of the clerk.

The lady beamed a compulsory smile before asking, “Hello, welcome to R**io Shack, how may I help you?”

Feeling the sweat trickle down his back and his lips begin to tremble, Ansel took a shaky breath before he gulped down his nervousness, and spoke.

“U-umm….I-I-I’m here to p-pick up my prize.”

The clerk expressed an understanding gaze, before she asked.

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“Ah, then would you happen to be Mr. Fillmore? The one who recently won a free copy of World View?”

Ansel nodded curtly.

“Oh, that’s good. Good for you. Just sign here…”

The clerk rummaged around the back of the counter for a minute before she pulled out a formal slip of paper.

She handed Ansel a pen before motioning for the boy to sign.

Ansel took the pen, and with clumsy motions, he hastily signed the document. He handed the pen back to the clerk with a slight trepidation. He was afraid that the clerk would notice how much sweat the pen had accumulated.

Looking over the paper, the clerk nodded to herself before she excused herself and went to go retrieve Ansel’s prize. A short moment later, the lady came back with a large box and a plastic bag.

“Here you go Mr. Fillmore.”

She placed the box down onto the counter.

“In the box is the complementary DD system, and in the bag is your copy of World View.”

Ansel mumbled a quiet thank you, before he scooped up the box along with the bag and made a break for the exit. The clerk could only utter a surprised and hasty, “Good bye!” As she watched Ansel’s receding figure through the frame of the window.

****

Now back at home, within the comforts of his small bedroom, Ansel eagerly began work on setting up the new console.

Despite its simple looking structure, the device itself was rather difficult to set up properly. But with a little bit of time, and a whole lot of effort on Ansel’s part, he had successfully hooked up the new system.

Ansel took the headset, and eagerly lay in bed. Since users would be basically put into a sleep-like state, it was recommended that any and all games (although WV is currently the only game available for the DD system) be played while the user was lying prone in a bed or somewhere comfortable.

Not wanting to risk any damages (to himself or his new console), Ansel obediently followed all the safety guidelines before he began playing.

He slipped on the headset/controller, which was basically just a Sleeping Mask coupled with a few sensors. He placed the sensors onto his forehead before he laid back and flipped on the power button, located on the side.

Instantly, his world turned black.

He attempted to move his body, but he found out that he couldn’t. Nervous and excited, he decided to just wait in the dark.

After a minute or so, a small flash appeared, and in an instant, a floating panel appeared before him.

--Welcome to Dream Drive. Are you a new user?--

Ansel hesitated for a minute before he replied with a firm, “Yes!”

--Would you like to create a new account?--

“Yes.”

--Please wait a moment while the system scans your brain waves….--

Ding!

--...Scanning complete. What is your desired username?--

Ansel pondered for a moment. He knew that right now, he was simply registering his Dream Drive account and not for the actual game itself, so he decided to use his real name.

“Ansel Fillmore.”

--Ansel Fillmore....checking availability…..--

Ding!

--Username is available, would you like to register as “Ansel Fillmore”?--

“Yes.”

Ding!

--Registration complete. Welcome Ansel Fillmore. What would you like to do?--

The panel gradually disappeared only to be replaced by a floating icon that resembled a cloud.

-Finally! Now this is where the real fun begins!- Ansel thought to himself.

Once he had finished registering his DD account, he immediately set out to play his new game.

“Open WorldView!”

--Accessing WorldView Online….--

Ding!

The scenery before Ansel changed. This time, his vision was enveloped in a world of white.

As his eye’s (or at least his vision) adjusted to the glaring white, he could make out a figure in front of him.

The figure could be best described as an Angel. With a floating halo, and pristine white wings to match. The angel took on the form of a well endowed, pretty blonde lady.

The angel stared blankly at Ansel. Ansel responded by staring back.

He had noticed that he had finally attained a body. Unlike that disembodied form he previously had, now he regained control of his arms, legs and body.

He put his knuckle to his chin, as he continued to stare at the Angel.

After a while, Ansel was the first to  break the silence.

“Umm... .am I dead?”

The Angel widened her eyes before she let out a charming laugh,

“No silly! You’re about to enter Wilhelm for the 1st time, traveler. I’m here to guide you. My name’s Luna.”

-Wilhelm? I think that was the name of the world in the game...but besides that, this person….-

“Oho~ Do you happen to be an NPC? If so, they sure are life like….”  Ansel leaned in closer towards Luna and marveled at how realistic the girl looked. If he hadn’t known before hand, he would have surely mistaken her for a player.

Luna stared blankly at Ansel, before she made a confused face.

“NPC….? What is that?”

Noticing his mistake, he tried to quickly brush it aside.

“Ah no, nevermind.”

Ansel noticed, that unlike in the real world, he could talk quite well within the VR. Granted, the conversation was between an NPC, but still, to Ansel, it was progress.

“Anyways, I’m here to help you out traveler. First of all I’d like to know your name.”

At Luna’s words, a panel appeared in front of Ansel.

--Register Avatar name: --

Ansel thought for a moment. He had already decided on his username before hand, but he still hesitated. After all, deciding you're in game name was important.

After some deliberation, Ansel replied back.

“I’d like to be called Nero.”

Ding.

--Successfully registered as Nero.--

After Nero had chosen his name, the panel began to disappear. He could now see Luna again. next to her, was a life sized copy of Nero’s appearance.

“In Wilheim, Travelers have the option of choosing their starting race. You can choose from an option of 9 races. Would you like to hear what these races are?”

Without even thinking about it, Nero immediately answered.

“No thanks. I’d like to stick to being human.”

Nero always prefered to stick to the default race.

“Very well then.” Luna Answered. “You can also change your appearance. Would you like to change how you look?”

Nero deliberated for a bit. He did kind of want to change his face a bit, if only to get rid of his perpetual scowl. In the end though, he decided against that and instead opted to just stick to his real appearance.

“I’d like to stick with my normal appearance, if that’s fine.”

The angel nodded understandingly.

“Okay then. After that, the only thing left for you to decide is the location of your starting city. Would you like to see a map?”

Nero shook his head. “No, I’d like to pick a random location.”

Truth be told, Nero had started playing the WV blind. He didn’t really know anything about the game, so rather than agonizing over where to start, he decided that it would be better to just start at a random location and let the system decide for him.

“Very well then. Let’s see…..How does the Renthein Settlement sound?” Luna asked while she had a finger to her head, indicating she had chosen long and hard to come to this decision.

Nero nodded in agreement. It didn’t matter to him, he was too excited to care as to where he would start off.

Luna smiled, and waved him off.

At first confusion struck Nero before a glowing light emitted from under his feet. His vision once again turned white, but not before he saw a glimpse of a new panel pop up in front of him.

--Welcome traveler, to the world of Wilhelm.--