I have updated and edited this chapter to a point where I am satisfied with it, probably still change a few things here and there over time but this is pretty much the final version and how I always wanted it to be in the beginning, hope you like it!

-----

Chapter 1: Wake up Call

"Yes mum... no you don’t need to worry... yes everything is alright... I love you too mum, alright I gotta go. Bye."

Makoto's fake smile disappeared right after he ended the call.

God, what an annoying woman, could she not just leave him alone for about one week before calling him again?

Mumbling curses under his breath he turned his attention back to the monitor.

Surfing the net for something to catch his interest, Makoto leaned back in his chair and enjoyed a sip of cooled fizzy juice.

Shortly after turning 18 he had moved into a flat of his own, paid by his parents true, but it was his own place and close to the College he went to.

Naturally he did not hate his mother or both his parents in general but he had grown quite spoiled over the years, too accustomed to not having to work for the things he owned.

His phone started vibrating and a quick look confirmed that it was once again his mother.

She probably forgot to tell him something before but after talking with her for two full minutes earlier he really didn’t feel like answering and instead decided to ignore the call.

Maybe in one or two days he would call her back, maybe he wouldn't.

Listening to the fast drumming beat of music, Makoto scrolled down gaming sites and typed in other web addresses, adding new tabs to the few hundred he had already open.

Remembering something he took a quick look to the bottom right corner of his screen and confirmed the time.

His favorite website should be updated at this point.

Typing in the address, a blog popped up and to his delight he was right as the newest post of the day was already written.

Right after reading the bold title his jaw dropped in disbelief.

'FIRST VIRTUAL REALITY GAME RELEASING NEXT MONTH!!!'

Clicking "read more", one paragraph after the other popped up and Makoto glanced over the information in nearly record time.

After finishing and digesting it he stared blankly at the screen for a moment before an ugly smile formed on his face.

Makoto knew what his next move should be so he picked up the phone that was pushed away before and searched through his contacts.

It only took a few seconds for the person on the other end to answer.

"Heyo, sorry I missed your call before mum, I was on the toilet.

Listen, I need to ask you a favor..."

.....

Scanning for user...

New user detected...

Create new account?

"Yes"

Creating Avatar...

Please select a Race.

Bodies of all the races started to appear before Makoto where there had before only been darkness.

Every single one of them had his general build and features but there were slight differences as no one was like the other.

Without even thinking about it he made his choice to stick with what he knew and was used to.

"Human"

Select your appearance.

After selecting the Human version of himself a whole bunch of sliders appeared beside the body in a window.

Unwilling to waste any time and eager to play the game he didn't even bother as he had no real desire to change anything to begin with, it was not confidence that brought this decision but more the lack of it.

As someone who had been a loner for years now he didn't need to worry about other people possibly recognizing him Ingame, as he had been invisible in Real Life for most anyways.

"Leave as is"

Select a Name.

"...Makoto"

Thinking that it didn't matter much as he had also chosen his real appearance, he decided to stick with his own name too.

Who would be stupid enough to use their real name as Ingame ID anyways...no one would find out it was his actual name...right?

Congratulations on creating your Avatar!

You are the 25, 531st player to join the game.

Great... competition...

Choose your starting area.

That was the only thing he was still unsure about as he pondered over the floating map before him.

It showed the Continent, currently the only place in Azalon that you could play in as other areas of the world had yet to be explored by players.

4 small circles marked possible starting locations for the race he chose while red X's and smaller black X's sprinkled the whole map.

Makoto's guess was that the X's showed cities, apparently there was hundreds of them, and the red ones probably symbolized the main capitals of each country as there were only a dozen or so present on the entire map.

Still unsure of what location to pick from, Makoto took his time until he finally selected the southwest area.

It was close to the ocean so he would at least be able to view the boundless sea when he 'pwned' some 'noobs'.

Eager to kill a few mobs and finally get a taste of virtual reality he confirmed his choice.

Beginner Village Salem selected!

A sudden bright light pierced through the map, dissolving it slowly while also blinding Makoto in an unpleasant way.

Once again a voice resounded in his ears and this time it was as if he could also hear the smile that followed with it.

Welcome to Azalon, Makoto.

.....

Blinking away the white dots in his vision, Makoto suddenly had a feel for his body again.

As he moved his hands before his eyes to block out the sunlight that was currently blinding him, he looked around and was stunned from what he saw.

The starting Village was really just that, about 3 or 4 dozen wooden houses that had definitely seen better days with an old man standing at the exit of the Village accompanied by a mob of new players swarming around him, shouting to be heard by the NPC while asking for quests and monsters to kill.

It looked so real that Makoto needed a good moment to take it all in, the breeze that tickled his cheek, the sunlight that blinded his eyes and the smell of ocean in the air, it was truly mesmerizing.

He could sadly only enjoy this moment of awe for a short period of time as another player arrived in a ray of light next to him and nearly ran Makoto over while sprinting towards the NPC at the entrance of the village.

What a bunch of losers...

With a smirk he walked past the horde of new players as he exited the village straight away, not even bothering in trying to reach the poor old man that had his hands full.

After thinking for a moment he said "Open Inventory" aloud and a small transparent box appeared before him, showing him that he started with a small dagger, 10 copper coins and two loaves of stale bread to regenerate health presumably.

Equipping the dagger he swung it around clumsily until he got a feel for it and continued down the dirt path, away from the village.

While they all swarmed one NPC and probably had to wait 30 minutes until it was their turn to even talk to him he was already outside and on his way to grind some levels by simply going hunting.

The early bird gets the worm after all.

Grinning about this absolutely genius idea, Makoto decided to take a detour through the forest as the sun was burning down on him.

Even though it was not real it felt real enough and as a gamer he generally disliked sunlight so even Ingame it was like a natural instinct to avoid it.

Oblivious to the dangers lurking all around him he went deeper and deeper into the woods.

Visibility for the surrounding area had started to diminish and it was quite the challenge to see what was up ahead as Makoto tripped more than once over a hidden root or bush.

The realism in this game is annoyingly incredible...

After about 15 minutes of not encountering any monster or animal whatsoever, Makoto was starting to grow impatient as he was simply wasting time now and just wanted to experience combat.

Luckily he could see a deep and dark opening not far away to his right as it turned out to be a cave of sorts.

Without thinking about it too much and eager to fight his first enemy he went inside and accompanied by a ding in his ears, a system message floated in front of his eyes for the first time.

-You have discovered the hidden Dungeon: Green Forest Cave!-

As the first player to enter this unknown cave you are rewarded for your bravery and courage.

+5 Fame

+100 Experience

Warning! You have entered a dungeon for the first time, caution is advised as certain game mechanics work differently inside dungeons.

Happy about the unexpected gain, Makoto checked his experience bar and was delighted to see that it had already filled up nearly half way.

Without any fear he went deeper into the cave, the temperature started dropping drastically after only a few steps and a slight shiver ran down his spine.

He was soon enough surrounded by complete darkness, to the point that the had trouble seeing even his own hands before his eyes.

After a couple more minutes of slowly progressing forward while staying close to the wall his eyes finally started to adjust, funny enough even that was implemented into the game.

Turning around a corner he could see a slight shuffle before him and two blinking red dots in the darkness.

That was the only warning he got before another system window appeared before him, together with a jolt of pain.

Critical hit!

You have received 102 damage!

You have been killed!

...wait what?!

Unable to even scream or protest, Makoto collapsed lifelessly onto the floor as his already poor vision dimmed further and soon enough all he could see was a single system window.

Do you wish to revive?

Sighing mentally he selected 'Yes'

Well that’s what he got for being cocky...

With another ray of light Makoto revived and was about to turn towards the old man at the gate to also ask for his first quest like all the other sheep before him when he started to notice that it was still pitch black around him.

He could move around again but everything was dark as if he was still...

...as if he was still stuck inside that damned cave...

A cold shiver ran down his back as he quickly opened up the game menu and clicked on the 'help' icon.

"System, why did I not revive inside the starting village?"

Specify your problem please.

Grinding his teeth, Makoto complied.

"I went inside an undiscovered Dungeon and was killed but didn't revive back in the village."

If you die inside a Dungeon you will respawn inside it in an area that is generally called a 'safe' area with no enemies.

Going into a dungeon without a party is not advised as some of these 'safe' areas can be deep inside the dungeon itself, making it nigh impossible to flee without someone else helping

Makoto started to go pale as he read the message.

With slightly shaking hands he closed the Interface and looked around inside the deep and endless dark as the cold crept into his virtual bones.

"Fuck..."

-----

First Chapter done! Now I just need to get the rest updated too ^^.