World Seed: Game Start (2 page)

“
Can
we just agree to pretend that this part never happened?” I
asked in a somewhat hopeful voice, to which she smirked wider,
shaking her head. These days, self aware NPCs like this were fairly
common, and in all rights were treated as any other member of the
online communities. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when
this one displayed such a behavior. “Okay… then can I
please get something to wear, miss? There’s a bit of a draft.”

She
held her stomach, laughing at that, while at the same time a simple
outfit formed around me. A thin white shirt, brown cloth pants, and a
rope belt holding it in place. No doubt the starter outfit for Neo
Life, depending on the chosen race. “Sorry… Just can’t
believe so many people went and did that.”

Well,
at least it wasn’t just me, then… .

“
Okay…
so… character creation?” I asked hopefully, wanting to
immediately change the topic away from my previous nudity.

The
AI immediately assumed a business-like pose, nodding her head
seriously. “Right. So, welcome to the character creation
servers of Neo Life. The first Artificial Reality gaming experience.
My name is Aria, one of the AIs in charge of the game, and a local
deity. I’ll be assisting you throughout your tutorial. If you
choose to follow my teachings once present in the game world, I will
continue to assist you as possible. Otherwise, it will be the task of
one of the other local deities to do so.”

“
Right…
let me guess, a ton of different gods and goddesses, one for each
aspect of the game?” I asked, and she nodded her head with a
smile. “And guessing you don’t really choose us, we just
‘choose’ you based on what kind of character we develop?”
Another question, another smiling nod. “Alright, then I’ll
just worry about that stuff later. Mind helping me out with races for
now?”

“
As
you wish. Are there any special requirements you have for your
desired race, or shall I list all available options?”

“
Hmm…
well, let’s keep it humanoid. Since I’m not virtualized,
I don’t want to have to keep switching between two and four
legs.” I answered with a nod. “Also, eliminate any races
incapable of using magic. This is a fantasy game, after all. It would
suck if I didn’t have access to magic.”

As
my first prerequisite was listed, a list of several dozen races
appeared in front of me. With my second requirement, that list was
further narrowed as races such as Clockwork, Android, and other
artificial life forms were removed. Right, I said that this was a
fantasy game, but really it’s fantasy-scifi. Imagine it as one
of those old fantasy games, but fast forward it enough that they have
space ships, beam sabers, and teleport pods. Of course, most of these
things run on mana, but it is still a vast game.

Looking
through the remaining list, I instantly dismissed Human. I spent
enough time as a human already, I wanted something new. Though, not
THAT new, since I wasn’t going to play a dwarf. In the end, I
eliminated all but the various elven races. Even here, there were
seven different elf races to choose from. Highlighting them, I asked
Aria for a comparison between their differences.

I
spent a good ten minutes looking over the seven listed races, much to
the dismay of the AI goddess in front of me. In the end, I selected
the Half-Elf race, with a Woodland Elf heritage. After selecting
that, I could feel my body shifting. “Finally, now, onto the
next step. Your starting stats will be built on your existing body,
and can be increased through the tutorial.”

Looking
down to myself, I saw that not much had really changed, aside from my
body becoming more streamlined. My hair grew out several inches,
turning a light brown color, and although I couldn’t see my
eyes, I knew they had changed into a dark green. I still kept the
little bit of a belly I had previously acquired from my extended
career of playing video games, but with any luck I could work that
off fairly easily.

“
Now,
would you like to begin the tutorial?” Aria asked me with an
innocent smile. How can you not trust that smile?!

Chapter 1: The
Trials

“
Alright,
let’s get started on the tutorial.” I said, nodding my
head to the AI. In response, the world once more shifted drastically.

As
the second window faded away, I was left standing in what looked like
a modern gym. There were various weightlifting devices nearby, and
just as I was deciding what to do, I heard Aria speaking up, despite
her not being visibly present in this instanced area.

“
You
may test and train your starting Strength stat in this enclosure. The
harder you push yourself, the more you will be rewarded. While in the
tutorial, you will be able to train your stats faster than in the
game itself. However, the longer you spend in the tutorial, the
further ahead everyone will be once you begin. Presently, there are
11.5 hours remaining, due to the time compression, before the game
servers open.”

I
gulp a bit hearing that number. That should be a 5:1 ratio, if I’m
not mistaken. Curious, I decided to ask while I had her attention(not
knowing whether she was going to keep watching the entire time), “How
many trials are there?”

“
There
are trials for Strength, Agility, Wisdom, Magic, and Combat. You may
spend as long as you want in each trial.”

I
nodded my head, and got to work. The character I wanted to build
didn’t need to be too heavily focused on strength, but it
needed enough to be able to hold its own. As such, I did something I
haven’t done seriously in many years. I worked out. In one
corner of the room, there was a thin metallic bar leaning against the
wall. Recognizing it, I went over and picked it up, choosing to use
this as my workout tool.

This
is a Grav-Bar, a device capable of altering its own weight by
manipulating how gravity impacts it. Using it, I gradually increased
the weight until I had trouble lifting it, and then began my workout.
Last time I bothered to check, I could bench press eighty pounds.
I’ve never really had that much strength in my arms, honestly.
But now, I needed at least basic strength, seeing as I’d be
fighting in a fantasy-like world.

Gradually,
I felt as my virtual body grew stronger and stronger, having to
increase the weight on the Grav-Bar several times. At the end of the
first hour, I was able to repeatedly bench press 100 pounds.
Thankfully, it seemed as though I wouldn’t get exhausted in
these trials, because I didn’t have to take any breaks before I
finished. “Okay, Aria, I’m ready for the next trial.”

Really…
that just doesn’t inspire confidence. I shook my head at the
prompt, before I found myself standing on a wide log, with a series
of other logs propped up on their end around me.

“
So…
this time I’m supposed to jump around like a monkey, and not
fall off?” I asked the disembodied AI voice, who responded back
with a simple yes. Having my answer, I shrug, and begin casually
walking between the logs close enough to walk between. That lasts for
about five logs, before they start gradually growing further and
further apart as I move away from the starting area. Soon, I’m
forced to make small jumps to get to the next log, and have to be
careful.

On
my twentieth or so log, I completely miss the jump, slamming face
first into the side of the log I was aiming for, slowly sliding down
it while I feel the bark scratching up my face. I’ll tell you
now, it did not feel pleasant. And as soon as I had hit the bottom, I
found myself standing back on that first log in the center of the
field.

With
a sigh, I once more began to walk and hop through the logs, noticing
that it was just a bit easier this time. Unlike strength, the build I
wanted focused heavily on agility, so I had to stay here quite a
while until I was able to reliably do these. As such, it wasn’t
until three hours later when I finished this trial, satisfied with
being able to casually leap between logs just over two meters apart,
and cover some a bit further with difficulty. By this time, however,
my fave was feeling very sore from all the failures.

Really?
That’s only a 12? I was hoping for at least a 15… I
shook my head again at that message before waiting for the scene to
shift again. This time, when I arrived at my next trial, I found
myself sitting down at a small table in a well lit room. In front of
me was an eight by eight chess board, though nobody was sitting at
the opposite side.

“
Don’t
worry, still here.” Aria spoke up as the first pawn moved on
the other side of the table. “We’re just going to do this
for a while, until I beat you enough that you’re satisfied.”
There was an obviously mischievous grin in her voice as she said
that, and it only made me more determined to win!

…
Two hours later, and fifty seven losses, with no wins…
I was hanging my head in shame while the AI kept laughing merrily.
“Just… just get on with it…” I said,
knowing I truly would never be able to beat this AI. It was like
playing against a dozen different grandmasters all discussing
strategy behind your back.