Once the couple reached the top of the hill, Astrid still had the energy to jump and twirled like a child. “See? I told you the view would be fantastic from here! Look at that clear blue sky and the super green fields!”

“Y-Yes! J-Just give me a moment, p-please,” the young man behind her said, trying to catch his breath.

“Ah! I told you there was a river nearby.” She beamed, stretching out her arms. “Come on, Alan, fill your lungs! The air smells especially good around here!”

The panting Alan followed her gaze, finding a top view of the region. Apart from the Beginner's Town, 300 yards away, he could see the Virmion Woods in the distance, and a blue mountain on the horizon.

That's the place where we started our adventure a week ago, and after all this time, I still can't believe that I'm here...

Long gone are the sights of sterile lands, gray clouds, black seas, and dry rivers of the old Earth. Just like the Alvearium Enterprise's advertisements said:

' The Novus is a new beginning! Do and be whatever your heart desires! '

Yeah, sure, at least until the Santa María arrives at its destination...

“Do you like what you see?” Astrid asked tenderly, locking eyes with him.

For a moment, Alan stared at her cute, impossibly immaculate perfect face, and at her beautiful, strikingly blue eyes.

“I do...” he muttered before shaking his head. “I mean, yes, this is a truly astounding view! It really warms your heart to experience what Earth was supposed to look like hundreds of years ago. Am I right?!”

He then laughed out loud, making her tilt her head.

“Okaaay...” She grinned for a moment, before narrowing her eyes. “But what's with that other gloomy face you had just a moment ago? Were you thinking about something negative again, Mr. Warden?”

He swallowed before replying: “Maybe?”

She released a loud sigh and grimaced.

Oh, shit!

Making her upset, even in the slightest, was one of his worst fears.

Come on, Alan, your days of being a freaking loner are long gone now, so be a good boyfriend and fix this!

But before he could open his mouth, she grabbed his hand. “Have I ever told you I find your sulky expression especially cute?” she asked in a serious tone of voice, leaving him speechless. She then grinned. “Come on, the Town Hall must be open by now!”

As they ran down the hill, Alan could feel the wind hit his face and fill his lungs with pure air.

The sensory feedback is amazing. I can feel the muscles in my legs working and my heart thumping like crazy... Which is kind of creepy! I could even swear that Astrid’s soft hand is the real deal!

He blushed at the realization and admired her shiny, short, golden hair.

Even her beauty has some added ‘filter’. The Novus does its best to render our avatars as the most flattering version of ourselves. That makes me wonder... What will happen to all of us once we have to get out?

“What’s wrong?” Astrid asked, stopping at the town's outskirts. Her gorgeous features seemed like something out of a dream.

What if everyone wants to remain here, living the good life, instead of working, building, and colonizing our next home planet? How will people react once our forced slumber ends and have to leave this filtered perfection? Will they feel disappointed and cheated after remembering that real life is full of imperfections?

“You know,” she started saying, after studying his lost-in-thought expression. “Who cares if this is all an illusion? We should just enjoy what the Novus is offering us and live to our fullest. Don't you agree?”

He dropped his shoulders and looked at her apologetically, half-smiling. “Am I that easy to read?”

“Like a book.”

He chuckled. “Sorry for zoning out, Astrid, it won’t happen again. Come on, let’s get that guild license!”

This time, he lead the way while pulling her gently by the hand as they traversed through the busy streets.

They were now residents of Unus, the beginner's town designated to welcome every new inhabitant of the Eurola region. Its shops and restaurants were small, and the only two-story buildings were the Town Hall and the Moonlight Dream Inn.

Although most of the Users had already parted toward more advanced areas, the couple had decided that the Caeruleum Mountain, the Virmion Woods, and Dylak’s Mansion still had a lot to offer.

Yeah, why should I care about a future that is still so far away? Who knows, maybe our target planet is full of poisonous gas or is already occupied by indigenous, dangerous aliens, and The Santa María will have to set a course for another destination... Maybe we’ll be stuck here in The Novus for a hundred years more, while we enjoy a semi-immortal youthful life!

Wouldn’t that be great?!

“Aww, come on!” Astrid cried at the sight of people gathering around the Town Hall. “Look, there’s already a waiting line! We should have come earlier.”

“No problem, that’ll give us some time to come up with a good guild name. Hey, I got one already. How about ‘Shooting Stars’?”

Astrid quickly grimaced. “It sounds lame and girly.”

“What?! No, it doesn’t! And didn’t you tell me you loved astronomy? Astronomy… Astrid...”

“I have a much better one! We could become the ‘Death Bringers’!”

“Pass. Do you want to scare everyone we meet? What about ‘Snakes of Power’?”

“Nothing could stop the ‘Army of the Dead’!”

Alan frowned. “You want a grim-sounding name? Fine! ‘Callers of the Void’?”

“‘Black Tide… of the Dead’!”

“‘Time Slavers’. ‘Titan Hunters’. ‘Defenders of Insanity’!”

“Oh, oh, this one’s romantic! ‘Lovers of the Goddess of Death’...” Astrid intoned in a macabre voice, opening her eyes wide and putting both hands against her cheeks.

“What’s with your fascination with death?”

“Well,” Astrid started saying, puffing out her chest, “if I'm going to worship something, what could be better than the Great One herself? The one that visits us all when our time comes.”

“What's with that logic?” he asked, frowning, as a woman of curved figure and short blue hair approached them, wearing a wide permanent grin.

“Good morning, aspirant heroes! Are you here to get your Guild License?” she intoned in a sweet voice.

Alan immediately could tell she was a Non-Player-Character, just by looking at her fox-like ears.

“Yes,” Astrid hissed, after noticing that Alan was examining the NPC from head to toes.

“Perfect, you’ve come to the right place!” The fox-eared woman smiled gently at them. “Fill out these forms while you wait in line, please.” She waved at the air and materialized a System Window that hovered in front of them. “Thank you and have a nice day!”

Alan beamed as the woman left. “T-thanks!”

“She’s already gone, dumbass,” Astrid said, snatching the floating window. “And control your hormones, okay? She’s not even real. Well, nothing here is real anyway, but you know what I mean.”

“You got the wrong idea,” Alan muttered, peeking back at the servant who was talking to the next people in line.

Although she acts and talks just like any of us, The Novus Developers gave the NPCs special features to avoid being confused for a regular User.

Alan stared at the NPC’s animal ears, and then at her metallic hands, not covered by skin, unlike her face, neck, and thighs. Finally, he gazed at her stacked bosom and wide hips, covered by a maid’s attire.

And from what I’ve heard from reliable sources—which I talked to while Astrid was not around—NPCs' breasts are mostly just decoration. According to them, they feel like touching an iron breastplate. NPCs are basically the closest we have to regular automatons, here inside the Novus.

“Are you done staring, you creep?”

Astrid communicated a: 'will you stop and help me fill in these forms, you pervert?’, through her glare.

“Come on, Astrid, aren’t you curious about their programming?” he asked, with a shine in his eyes. “Are these NPCs another kind of advanced AI, or do they just repeat the same things over and over again?”

“Here it comes,” she exhaled. “Curious Alan. No, wait, I have a better one. 'Alanytical'.”

He chuckled. “I like how that sounds. Besides, why would I stare at another woman when I have the Goddess of Beauty by my side?”

She smirked. “Good point!”

She's right. I don’t have the time to ponder on the moral implications of how living here will affect us in the future. The only thing that matters to me right now is the girl in front of me. The girl that confessed to me before entering the cryo-chambers...

We haven’t even kissed once!

“What is it?” she asked, giving him a funny look.

“I was just thinking of how lucky I am,” Alan said, bluntly, making her blush.

“L-lucky? What are you talking about?”

“Because we’re together, of course!” Alan put both hands on his hips. “Being with you in this world will make it a hundred times cooler!”

“And why are you acting so proud, you dummy?” She giggled. “Are you that happy to have such a cute girlfriend?” she asked while playing with a strand of golden hair. “Even though my personality is not that great? You know I can be a little bitchy sometimes...”

“I wouldn't use that word. Fiery and bold suits you better.”

“Ding, ding, ding! Another good answer!” Astrid got closer to him. “If you'd have agreed with me, I'd have punched your lovable face.”

“Why don't you try something different?”

“Something like this?” she whispered while closing her eyes.

This is it! The moment I was waiting for!

Before their faces could be less than inches apart, both realized they had gathered the attention of everyone in line. The surrounding crowd was smirking dumbly at them and nodding in unison.

Oh, come on!

Astrid backed off immediately. “A-anyway! Let's finish with this paperwork so we can finally get some lunch, yes? Just put your finger here.”

Alan pressed his thumb against the window, and the system automatically registered his User ID.

Scanning...

User #29318, Alan Warden—

Guild registration—COMPLETE!

It’s okay, we’ll have plenty of smooching time later. After all, we have all the time in the...

Alan squinted to read the form’s info.

Guild Name: ‘Shooting Stars’.

He looked for her, finding her a few feet away, buying food from an NPC street vendor.

Alan felt tickles in his cheeks just by staring at her smile, which seemed brighter than The Novus’ sun, and by hearing her voice as melodic as the sirens he had yet to meet. Are there even sirens in The Novus?

“Let’s take our guild to the top of the world!” Astrid beamed, handing him a hotdog.

Her smile fills me with joy…

“Yeah. As long as we’re together, there’s nothi—”

WARNING!

ALAN WARDEN, YOU HAVE BEEN LOGGED OUT OF THE SYSTEM!

WARNING!

ALAN WARDEN, YOU HAVE BEEN LOGGED—

“Alan?” Astrid called out to him as the bun and sausage fell on the floor. She looked around in panic, but he was nowhere to be found. “ALAN!”