“Heeeey! Atteeeention! Can you hear meeeee?”

Mina’s voice was directly injected into Erika’s consciousness.

“Ugh... yes, I hear you. You can stop shouting...”

“Okay! This shit works then!”

Even though Erika’s eyes were closed, a login screen appeared in front of her. A virtual keyboard popped up and requested her to enter credentials or to sign up.

Erika easily set up a new account. She only had to connect it with “FluffyCuteling”, the social network user which she used for other games.

“Pft, FluffyCuteling? Are ya for real?”

“It’s a cute name~”

Erika ignored the objection and logged in. Next, she was asked to confirm her payment details. God Vessel Online was a pay-to-play game, with a free trial of two weeks.

Erika didn’t have the means to pay for a subscription, so she accepted the trial. In these two weeks, Erika would have to deliver Mina to Trilz City.

【Please input your nickname】

“My, isn’t a username enough?”

“That’s how them NPCs will call ya.”

“Huh, I see.”

Non-Player Characters usually addressed the players by the handle name. However, in VR: all dialogues were voiced and conversations flowed like in real life. Bizarre handle names were a great recipe for silly and awkward conversations..

“What nickname did you pick? Something like ‘Mini’?”

“Bah! As if! Just ‘Mina’, plain and straight!”

“Isn’t using your real name a bad idea?”

“Who cares? It’s not like I’m the only ‘Mina’ in the world”

“Hm, fair enough.”

Erika also wasn't the only “Erika” in the world. Regardless, she didn’t want to take the risk. As FluffyCuteling, she was often addressed as “Fluffy” or “FC” by other players.

『Fluffy』

She entered her nickname and proceeded to the next screen.

【Welcome to God Vessel Online. Your avatar will now be randomized.】

【If you have an Avatar Customization premium coupon, then please enter it now.】

"My, I need cash to customize my appearance? So cheap~"

"Who gives a crap? It's a first-person game anyway."

But my avatar must be a cute little girl!

Erika silently sobbed and continued to the next screen. She could already imagine herself spawning as an amazon.

【In this game, your primary abilities are determined by the runes you are infused with. Please select the rune you wish to be born with:】

Four rows appeared on the screen. Each row was decorated according to a different element and offered runes to choose from.

[Fire] [Power]

[Wind] [Speed]

[Water] [Communication]

[Earth] [Synthesis]

Other than watching RosemaryQueen’s GoVe videos, Erika’s knowledge about the game system was very poor. She decided to consult with Mina.

“I started with [Power], it’s da shit! [Speed] is also rad, if ya can get the hang of it.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure I’m made for physical combat. I’m a fragile little girl, after all~”

“... says the Titan.”

Erika read the brief description of each rune. The [Communication] rune attracted her attention the most. This rune was mentioned before in RosemaryQueen’s videos.

[Communication] allowed to interact with all manners of creatures in the world of GoVe. It was described as an essential asset, for those who wanted to tame and command familiars.

I wonder if I can make a fluffy army with this~

Erika recalled her dream, in which she was surrounded by thousands of fantasy kittens. Inside a VR - cuddling with all that fluffiness was a real possibility. This convinced her to made her choice.

“Huuhh? Why the heck did ya pick that one? That shit doesn’t sound useful for combat!”

“There’s more to RPGs than just combat.”

“Realllllly? I pretty much went BAM and WOOSH and beat the shit outta stuff! That’s the most fun!”

After a brief loading screen, a peaceful, green scenery stretched in front of Erika’s eyes. However, her body didn’t materialize in the game’s world. She merely spectated on a scene from outside.

“A long time ago, Gods ruled the world in harmony.”

The deep and mysterious voice of a woman echoed in Erika’s head. A silent, yet grandiose, melody played in the background.

“Under the watchful guidance of the Gods, there was peace and prosperity for all. But eventually, the harmony was distorted. Gods succumbed to greed and selfishness, bringing ruin upon the land.”

The peaceful scenery was sharply replaced by visions of destruction and catastrophes. The whole world was torn asunder by the raging forces of nature.

“In the end… the Gods were no more.”

The storms dispersed, leaving only static silence behind. Though the raging forces of nature subsided, the scars of the worldwide destruction were still apparent.

“What little remained of the Gods’ powers was crystallized into runes and rained upon the land, shattering and scattering far and wide.”

The devastated scenery gradually regained its former color. Shambles turned into cities and scorched lands into forests.

“But Gods are no creatures mortal. Even with their powers gone and their existence erased - their desires still linger in this world even now.”

The scenery became pitch black. Nothing was displayed anymore.

“From within the thickness of the Gods’ desires - a new life form will sprout. A being adept at using the runes of the Gods, an immortal with the potential to reshape the world: a God Vessel.

Do you yearn for the overwhelming power of Gods, sealed inside the runes? Or do you wish to restore balance and harmony to the ravaged land?

Awaken now… God Vessel.”

The darkness dispersed like fog.

“I see. I play as one of these God Vessels.”

“Yeah! The goal is freakin’ world domination! Collecting all ‘em super runes to become a god! Cool shit like that.”

“I believe you’re simplifying it, but sure.”

A new environment was rendered in front of Erika. She finally felt her own weight pressing against the floor. An ambient, mysterious music played in the background.

So this is VR...

She moved various parts of her body, to check the realism and the scope of control. Her movements felt stiffer than normal, but she gradually grew accustomed to it.

Erika stood inside a hall. The walls were made of worn-out stone, with visible cracks here and there. A staircase stretched upwards in front of Erika.

A mysterious woman awaited at the top of the stairs. She was clad in an ominous black robe, and half of her face was covered by a hood. When Erika locked her attention onto the woman, a small info screen popped up.

【TIP】【To speak with an NPC (Non-Player Character) simply approach them and strike a normal conversation, as you would with another person.】

In addition, a name tag appeared above the woman’s head:

【Minerva】

It notified Erika of the NPC’s name, even though they haven’t even spoken yet. Such divine revelations were common in MMORPGs.

“Say, Mini.”

“Grrr! I’m not Mini, ya dumb Titan!”

“You think it’s a tutorial NPC?”

“Dunno, I started in a different place. The first guy I met was a dumb baldy who thought he was hot stuff. I-I mopped the floor with that old fart!”

Mina spoke with shaky pride. She unwilled to admit that she was, in fact, thoroughly defeated.

The hooded woman had an eerie aura around her, but Erika decided to strike a conversation anyway. Erika pushed her stiff legs in order to ascend the stairs. She got gradually used to her avatar and decided to check her sense of touch.

“... huh?”

Her eyes opened widely.

“My, my...”

She blinked in disbelief. Her palm were unbelievably... tiny.

“Heh... haha... what’s this?”

Erika touched her own hands. They were indeed small and soft, just as she perceived them. Looking further down, she noticed that her long legs were replaced with that of a midget. On top of that, her well-shaped chest turned entirely flat.

“I-it can’t be...!”

“Huuuh? What the heck is wrong with ya?”

As a midget, Mina had no way to understand the shock and excitement that Erika felt. Erika noticed a tall mirror in the corner of the hall and ran toward it.

“T-this is...!”

The figure reflected in the mirror was that of a small girl, presumably 10 years old. Her light blue eyes blinked as she examined herself from head to toe. Erika retained a black hair, but her tan skin turned snow white. She now looked a lot more like her mother’s daughter, rather than her father’s.

“I-I-I’m small!?”

Erika hugged her own adorable figure in thrill. It was body she could only dream about. A body with reasonable height, which wouldn’t make others mistake her for a classmate’s mother.

“T-this random generator is amazing! It gave me the perfect avatar!”

“Huuuh? What’s so damn amazing about it? Looks like a dumb kid to me.”

“Exactly! I-it’s small! A-and cute!”

“Well duh, all players begin as kids in this dumb game.”

“Wha-!?”

Erika nearly fainted from shock.

“T-this is impressive game design!”

“Huuuh? Is it really? I’d rather have a tall and strong avatar... especially tall.”

“You can’t appreciate it because you’re a Mini~”

“B-bah!”

Mina wanted to bite off Erika’s head, but she was too mentally scarred to retort. Indeed, Mina couldn’t appreciate an avatar with roughly the same height as hers... sob.

This game is off to a great start~

Smiling from ear to ear, Erika hopped up the stairs to reach the hooded NPC at the top.