An alarm broke the silence of the early morning peacefulness that had consumed Kevin’s room. The loud and annoying chime came from his phone, resting on his dresser. Sleepily, he fumbled with it until it stopped the infernal beeping that disturbed his morning bliss. Kevin rubbed the sleep from his eyes, trying to remember what would possess him to wake up early on a Sunday. Sundays were his days off from work and school, his day of rest and relaxation. Suddenly he remembered.

Jumping out of bed, he burst into life, walking briskly into the washroom of his apartment and into the shower. He quickly cleaned, changed into fresh clothes and left out the front door, almost forgetting to lock the door behind him. Grabbing a fast food breakfast on his way to his destination, he happily walked the streets of the city, sipping his coffee and gobbling his food as fast as he could.

He got to his destination quite quickly on foot. He lived in the hub of the city, everything was pretty much a step away. He stopped outside the local tech store and stepped inside the sliding doors. He was excited, he had saved for many months for this purchase. He went to the gaming department and flagged down a retail expert.

“Hey,” He said to a middle aged man who came up to greet him.

“Hello,” The man greeted him with a big smile, “What can I help you with?”

“I’m looking for a VR Unit that is compatible with Soralya.” Kevin said, his voice couldn’t hold back the pride he felt.

Kevin had worked hard for this moment, saving for many months so he could buy this Virtual Reality Unit. They had only started becoming readily available ten years earlier, but this great technological achievement had been refined to do remarkable things, including host games that had been created for the sole purpose of creating new worlds in which to explore and interact. The most popular and best rated game for the VR Unit was Soralya, a massively multiplayer online game that advertised to have created a new world, and introduced actual AI programs to play characters in the game. AI programming had been created a year after VR units started coming out, it was one of the greatest achievements of mankind, but was strictly regulated to fit into programs and not allowed inside any hardware robots.

Kevin’s roommate, Roman, had owned the game for a few months now and he raved on and on about it. Now, on the verge of delving into this game himself, Kevin was truly excited.

“Ah, yes. We have many different types in stock.” The salesman said as he led Kevin to the VR section.

“I’ll take the best one you have and the game itself, please.”

“For sure, we’ll get that ready for you at once!” The man said, “First I’ll need some ID, you need to be the legal age to play the game.”

“Sure,” Kevin gave the man his ID card. He checked it and with a smile handed it back.

“Sorry, but due to the virtually unlimited content of the game, it has a strict age restriction.”

“I understand.” Kevin was shown the best VR and the game itself. It came to just under what he had in his savings. Upon leaving the salesman stopped him with a warning.

“Now, the instructions are fairly standard. Once you put it on and activate it, you’ll be put into a tutorial. Just remember to always rest your body in a comfortable state before you put it on or activate it. The machine transfers your consciousness to a server, so your body will be immobile and…. Well, for lack of a better term, flaccid.”

Kevin laughed and told the man that his roommate had one, he knew all too well. With a wave goodbye, Kevin practically ran all the way home with his bag of hardware and went straight to his room to set it up. The VR itself was pretty light, a headset without a visor. It looked like a black painted halo what you adjusted around your forehead like a tiara.

Kevin felt weird putting it on, he lay on his bed and plugged it in. He didn’t bother reading the instructions even though he thought he probably should. Nobody reads instructions, right? He opened the game package and found the game to be a small chip. He took off the VR and looked for the place to insert the chip, it was on the left side. Inserting it securely, he put the VR back on and rested comfortably on the bed. With a few short breaths and a shiver of excitement, he turned it on.

Suddenly he felt as if he were falling and everything was dark, then as his falling body slowed, the world got brighter until he stood on a white, tiled floor in an infinite expanse with a white sky. He looked around in awe, it was comfortably cool with no breeze and no smells in the air.

“Greetings.” Came the neutral voice from behind him, he whirled around to see a yellow glowing orb hovering above the tiles ten paces away. “I am your new AI companion available exclusively through this VR Unit. Firstly, what name would you like to give me, and what form would you like me to take?”

“Umm, okay,” Kevin was dumbfounded, “I will name you…. Destiny. What forms can you take?”

“Almost any that you desire.” The orb bobbed up and down.

“Alright,” Kevin blushed a bit. “How about the queen of blades? A character on my favorite show, Kingdom of Denalyr.”

“I will need to search the web. Could you please provide me your wifi passcode?”

“Sure,” Kevin told her the code, he had had it memorized for many years.

“Searching,” The orb said bobbing up and down. Suddenly the orb transformed into a beautiful woman wearing a sensual dress. She was tall and slightly muscular with a gorgeous face and a lustful figure. Her straight blonde hair came down to her waist in a yellow cascade, shining in the white light as the image buffered and became sharp.

“Finished, is this the form you would like me to take?” Destiny said with the sensual voice of the actual actress who played the part in the Series. Kevin’s jaw dropped.

“Yeah,” He said in disbelief.

“Very well, what shall I call you?”

“My name is Kevin… but… could you call me ‘Master’?” Kevin asked.

“Certainly, Master.” Destiny said, “Now, what would you like your home environment to look like?”

Kevin thought about his ideal dream home. “How about a mountain retreat, with a modern looking house next to a hot spring?”

“How is this?” Destiny lifted her slender arm, gesturing to the changing landscape. Mountains with snowy caps sprang up and a lovely house with a wall of windows appeared from the lush valley Kevin was now in. A steaming hot spring rested next to the house, clear and inviting.

“Whoa,” Kevin’s jaw dropped in amazement. He walked down the side of a grassy slope to the edge of the hot spring and knelt down to feel the water. It was warm to touch, and the steam smelled of sulfur. “Wow, this is amazing!” He exclaimed.

Then, he noticed his bare knees. He looked down further and found that he was completely naked. “Ahhh! Where are my clothes!?” He looked wildly around.

“You don’t have any yet, Master. Would you like some?”

“Yes please!” Kevin covered his nether regions with his hands.

“Very well, what kind of clothes would you like?”

“I don’t care!” He said in a panic.

“Very well, Master.” Destiny said. The next moment Kevin looked down to see himself wearing sandals with very baggy pants, and a very ugly knit sweater with a poorly knitted polar bear design on it.

“What the…” Kevin felt like a goof with these clothes, but it was better than no clothes.

“Those are the basics, Master. I’ve noticed you have a game inserted into the VR. I can activate the game and you can start playing immediately, or you can remain here and we can add detail to your VR home.” Destiny said.

“Umm, I’m not sure. This all seems so amazing to me.”

“It’s normal to feel overwhelmed. Know that you can come back here any time and we can add detail to your home.”

“Alright, well we might as well start the game. Will you be in the game too?”

“Yes and no, I am only programed to be a guide in the VR itself, but you can call upon me anytime and we can talk inside the game. I can read you messages, and perform tasks for you while you are in the game. I also serve as a chat function for you with players too far away to hear. I am always with you, and can transfer you back home at any time.”

“Oh, that’s great. Thank you Destiny.”

“Of course, Master. I’m here for you. What would you like to do?”

“Let’s start the game.” Kevin braced himself, not knowing what to expect. He didn’t even know if he’d have clothes again, anything seemed possible in this thing.

“Yes, Master.” Destiny bowed, “Enjoy your session.”

The world faded into darkness and music began playing in the background. Suddenly the light of the world got brighter and Kevin found himself in a glass room in the middle of a field atop a hill. A forest could be seen in the distance, as well as a large city with a spire that touched the clouds above. A storm battered rain against the glass room as lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a crash of thunder.

Firstly, Kevin checked if he was naked. To his relief, he was not. He wore a loose robe with sandals much like the ones he was wearing at his ‘home.’ A figure appeared before him in the glass room. It was a wiry looking man, wearing the same robes and sandals. He had a long white beard that stuck out profusely from his chin.

“Greetings, I am Valen, your tutorial guide to Soralya. I will administer your user name, gender, and race that you choose. The race you choose will determine your starting point in the wide world of Soralya.” Valen said with a mischievous grin.

“Alright, sounds good.” Kevin said hesitantly.

“Oh, mind my manners. How are your today?” The old man offered his hand. Kevin shook it.

“I’m fine, thank you. How are you?”

“I’m an AI for darn sake! I’m great!” Valen yelled, then laughed at the startled look on Kevin’s face. “Now, what username would you like?”

“Umm, how about Paladin?” Kevin asked.

“Already taken,” Valen exclaimed shaking his head, “Pick another one.”

“Oh, uh, how about Reaver?”

“Ayh,” Valen made the sound of an annoying alarm. “Also taken, you’re going to have to pick something unique. We have over a million users logged in right now, most basic names are taken.”

“Okay, how about….. Valen?” Kevin shrugged.

“Bwuahahahaha,” Valen laughed so hard he doubled over, “Alright, that has never been asked for. I like your style kid. You are now called Valen. What gender would you like to be, Valen?” The old man asked with a wink.

“Uh,” Kevin was kind of confused and maybe a little bit curious, but he decided it would be too weird for himself if he became a woman in the game. “I’ll stay male.” The words rolled off his tongue awkwardly.

“That’s okay, kid. You can always make another profile if you feel a bit adventurous.” Old Valen giggled. “What race would you like to be? These are the primary races.” Old Valen gestured to the area outside of the glass room and many different humanoid creatures appeared including human.

“I’ll introduce them.” Old Valen exclaimed, then he gestured to a person that looked human, “This race is called Human, they are industrious and curious creatures who have a tendancy for violence and self gratitude. Very complex creatures.”

“This race is called ‘Alfs’,” Old Valen gestured to a race of short and thin humanoids with no hair. Their skin was different shades of purple and their eyes were big and almond shaped. Their faces were long and thin with slits for a nose and mouth. “These little creatures are stealthy and light, they make perfect thieves or scouts and can jump through the trees like silent monkeys, or crawl through small spaces like shadows.”

“This race is called the Bresh,” Old Valen pointed to a beast like human, very tall and very muscular. They had faces like cats with different patterned hair. “This race are hunters and fighters. They have a tribal and religious code that they live by and are very stout warriors.”

“This race is Varnu,” The old man gestured to a race that looked human, but their skin was dark blue and their eyes were completely white. Tattoos donned their skin in every color imagined. “This race are dwellers of the dark caves, they make great warriors and stealthy hunters. They worship the dark and have a heightened eyesight in dark places. Their culture is very competitive, but well bonded.”

“What do you mean ‘primary races’?” Kevin asked curiously when it was obvious that Old Valen had finished.

“Other races can be unlocked through certain quests and missions in the game, but these are what is accessible to you right now.” Old Valen said.

“Okay, I’ll pick….” Kevin wanted to pick something that would most suit him. In real life he was quite tall, but thin. He kind of looked like the regular nerd, wearing glasses and such, but many people said he was handsome and women had often been attracted to him, as far as he could tell. He didn’t want to pick human class because he wanted something different, something new. “I’ll pick the Varnu.”

“Excellent choice, they are a popular one!” Old Valen nodded sagely. Kevin felt a tingling and when he looked at himself he could see his skin changing to a dark blue. Old Valen snapped his fingers and the glass room turned into a mirror like substance. Kevin saw himself for the first time as another race. He had much of the same features as in real life, but his skin was now dark blue and his eyes had white pupils staring back at him. It was an eerie feeling. “Okay, we’re done! Your VR AI can help you along the way, the help tool has been downloaded into your VR unit. You will now be sent to the Varnu Capital city, Shesh. There you will be able to do whatever you like, from the very start. Anything is possible from here on out. Find your place in this world, and make your legend a reality!” Old Valen winked and snapped his fingers again.

Suddenly Kevin, now the real Valen, was falling again. This came to an abrupt halt in a large cylindrical hall. It was dimly lit with glowing mushrooms growing from a trough of dirt running along the inside of the walls. He looked around and found an open door leading outside. He tip toed forth and looked outside to find a large city inside of a massive cave! The cave was lit with the glow of many massive mushrooms, some of which had been hollowed out and was used as buildings themselves. Most other buildings were made of stone brick that had glowing paint painted onto them.

“Holy moley!” came a voice next to him, making him jump. Another person had sidled up to him, “Isn’t this great!?” The guy said, his white eyes widened in excitement. He jumped down the stairs leading out and once he passed the threshold of the building he was swarmed with other Varnu and some of the other races.

“Join our guild! We’re the best!” came shouts from one person, “No way, we’re the best! Join us!” Came the shouting of others into a great clamor. The other new player panicked and tried to back up into the spawning room but was forced back by an invisible barrier. The mass of guild recruiters hemmed him in, offering weapons, armor, and gold, to join their guilds. The newbie just looked frightened and overwhelmed, like a cat scared by a vacuum cleaner.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into?” Valen asked himself as he peeked out to look at the mass gathering. This was a brand new world, one that he hadn’t expected to find. It was so real, and he wanted to find out how it worked and what adventures he would find. It seemed limitless and fantastic. He would have to get past this throng and start exploring this city.