When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in a brightly lit building made of white marble. Scattered through the room were dozens of people clustered about, filling the room with the low buzzing hum of conversation.

Looking at the people surrounding me, I saw several wearing white robes trimmed in gold milling about and talking to different people who wore clothing in varying styles.

The one that stood out the most was a short, green-skinned man, wearing a loincloth who was shouting angrily at an elven woman in white robes.

“Day’s greetings upon you, citizen. May I inquire as to your chosen name?”

Turning around, I saw a tall, slender man whose pale skin made him appear like he’d been carved from the same white marble as the building in which we stood. High, angular cheekbones set in a regal-looking face, paired with pointy ears that poked through a curtain of silver-toned hair, made guessing his race easy.

“Kadia, my name is Kadia.” I mumbled, only half paying attention as I watched the screaming green man get carried out of the temple by a man in gold armor.

“I am Farlin, and this is the temple of beginnings. The birthplace of all digital beings who call Kaledon home. Do you require help, or are you already familiar with this world?” The elf asked with a bright smile as he indicated the large hall with a slender hand.

“I would like help, please. Oh, can you tell me what race I am?” I asked, feeling my cheeks grow warm in response to the smile.

Get it together, Kadia! He's just a good-looking guy. You’ve seen dozens of good-looking guys. Don’t forget, a pretty face often hides an ugly personality. Just look at Danica as an example. That vile woman’s beauty is barely even skin deep.

“From your clothing, tail, and ears, I would presume you to be a member of a Yōkai clan. You will need to view your life token in order to confirm this,” Farlin said, and wide-eyed, I craned my neck back, trying to find the tail he’d mentioned.

I have a tail. Oh no! Please don’t tell me I'm one of those weird cat girls from one of Marcus’s anime shows!

Horrified, I stared at the fluffy tail attached to my rear. It was red, same as my hair, though it faded to white at the tip, reminding me of a red fox. The tail, which seemed to have a mind all of its own, swished back and forth behind me in a slow, rhythmic motion. I patted the sides of my head, searching for my ears, and found a pair of furry, triangular ears sitting just above where my round human ears used to be.

Looking down at the clothing I wore, I saw a red knee-length dress in a style reminiscent of a traditional kimono. A wide sash tied around my waist, knotted into a bow at the back, and my feet were clad in a pair of delicate red slippers.

As I admired the slippers, I raised my right foot, wriggling it around in fascination. It didn’t hurt; for the first time in years, my foot lacked the dull, aching pain I'd always felt when placing weight on it. Ever since I’d injured my right ankle when I was fifteen, I’d suffered from long-term instability and recurrent sprains. Even in Avalon, there had been pain, as the capsule registered my mind's expectation of pain and thus manifested it.

Placing my foot back down, I ran my hands over the silky material of the outfit. I felt, rather than saw, a lump beneath the sash on my right side, and found a small silk pouch tucked into the sash at my waist. Pulling out the pouch, I turned it over in my hands, and feeling its lightness, I went to tuck it back into my sash, presuming it to be empty.

“If you open the pouch, you will find your life token and any starting items your life plan includes,” Farlin said, and I looked up from the pouch in my hands. “Life tokens are Kaledon’s version of an identification card and are bound to you. If you leave it somewhere, it will appear back in your pouch or any inventory device you are carrying.”

Opening the pouch, I stared at a faint blue screen, and smiled. This was an inventory screen. What a strange way of accessing it. In Avalon, I’d just needed to think about opening my inventory to access the screen, and it appeared. Looking at the box, I saw six floating tokens, and as I focused on each, a line of script appeared above them.

—

Weapon token, platinum grade. Use this token to gain a random weapon.

60% chance of gaining a Rare-quality item.

35% chance of gaining an Epic-quality item.

5% chance of gaining a Legendary-quality item.

Basic sustenance pack, contains x 2 apples, x 1 bread, x 1 small water flask.

(Bound) Land token. Use this token to claim a 5-acre plot of land to call your own.

(Bound) Housing token. Use this token to create a place to call home, only usable on land you own.

(Bound) Money pouch. This pouch contains 5,000 gold coins. (This item is bound until opened. Once it's opened, coins can be dropped on death unless stored in a bank.)

(Bound) Life token, identification item [Name: Kadia. Race: Kitsune-Yōkai Guild: None.]

—

Kitsune Yōkai? Ah, a Fox demon. Well, that’s better than a cat girl, I guess. Leaving the tokens for now, I closed the pouch and tucked it back into the sash, smoothing down the material as I did so. Once the pouch was tucked away, I turned to the elf, who watched me with his smile still fixed in place.

Aren't his cheeks sore from smiling so much?

“Did you find your life token?” he asked, and I nodded, feeling a light breeze against the backs of my legs as my tail swished back and forth.

“A Kitsune,” I said with a grin, happy I wasn’t some anime cat girl.

“Ah, I thought you might be, either that or a Ōkami Yōkai, a wolf demon. Did you have any other tokens?” Farlin enquired, and I almost answered him, but stopped myself as I remembered something Marcus had told me when I’d started visiting Avalon.

‘Tell no one what you’ve got in your inventory, Kadi. Always underplay how much gold or valuables you have. These worlds are just like the real world and are filled with scum who take advantage of unsuspecting people.’

“Oh, uh, just a sustenance pack,” I lied, and the elf’s eyes narrowed before he nodded, his smile brightening.

“As a new digital being, I suggest you spend some time exploring the city of Caruan before heading to the eastern gates and taking some basic jobs from the guards there. You will need to earn some gold, and the guards will give you a basic weapon if you accept an extermination contract from them,” Farlin said.

I nodded, when I first started playing on Avalon, it had involved a lot of “kill this amount of creatures” or “deliver this letter to this random person” quests. Unsurprisingly, this world followed that trend.

“Do you know if there is a guild called Eternia here?” I asked, wondering if the guild had used the same name when they moved to Kaledon.

“Eternia? Yes, I believe so. From memory, their guild hall is in the eastern part of the city. Most guilds have a hall in Caruan, as it is the second largest city on the continent. Unlike ‘players,’ who often start in smaller towns, digital citizens will all start in one of the four main cities. This allows them to transition more easily to life here,” Farlin explained, and after asking for directions, I headed out of the temple, intent on finding the Eternia guild hall.

I was pretty sure Marcus didn’t know what his mother and our father had done. He’d made it clear over the years that being digital was something he wanted, just as joining the family company was something I’d wanted.

If I can find Marcus, then he can try to fix this. If he reports what happened to the authorities, they will see a mistake has been made.

Wandering through the city streets, I gazed around at the crowds of people. Near a stall selling glowing stones, an elf giggled and simpered, batting her lashes as she clutched at the arm of a muscular green skinned man.

Three short bearded men squabbled outside a shop selling weapons, arguing over who would buy a rare sword for sale. A group of elves twirled around, dancing and playing instruments on a wooden stage as passersby tossed copper coins into a crate.

As I made my way down the street, I stopped every few feet to admire the colorful stalls and stores. Everything could be found within the market, weapons, food, clothing, toys, and even medicinal tinctures.

Stopping at the stall selling tinctures I spent almost an hour talking with the man running the stall.

In Avalon, I played as an alchemist. In that world, it had been a rather simple matter of tossing your ingredients into an alchemist pot and then waiting the allotted amount of time for the potion to be ready.

However, according to the potioneer selling tinctures, the alchemy profession in Kaledon was split into two groups. The first were the potioneers who could create low-level tinctures by infusing herbs into alcohol. The second were true alchemists, who could create higher grade potions. Just as earth's alchemists did so long ago, an alchemist here brewed the potion from start to finish. Unlike so many others, this world appeared to give some realism to the craft.

I strolled through the market, my new vulpine ears twitching in every direction as they picked up the different sounds of city life. The atmosphere was lively, and everyone looked happy, unlike real cities where everyone walked around with scowls on their faces.