This is the old version of Alteration, I decided to put it back up because the new rewritten Alteration is past the points it had in common with this old version. It's a good reminder for me what mistakes to avoid at all costs and some of you might be curious to check it out. There are so very mild semi-spoilers here that haven't been touched in the new one but that's just background lore and it was also changed partly.

If you do continue, don't expect much:P, and do check the new Alteration out first!

***

Swords.

They are tools which need much attention to be made. Every weaponsmith puts a lot of blood, sweat and tears into his work. Their desire is to make a weapon which will be like an extension for the users arm, something with which the user will feel secure and self-confident.

In fact, such a tool is in the hands of a young man at this very moment.

He has short,straw colored hair which is waving around as he thoroughly examines the sword from every corner. He is quite tall and wears some kind of black leather armor. The armor has a pattern of a dog-like face on both shoulders,other than that it is pure black.

The young man makes a few quick stabs in the air. After that small practice he sits down and puts the sword on the ground in front of him.

He mutters quietly to himself to sum the analyze of the blade.

-''Solid blade… bad balance… artfully decorated hilt, but very bad grip…''

Again another common butter knife… I don't understand people who pick looks over efficiency…

The man suddenly stands up while holding the sword horizontally with his hands. He then speaks loudly but with a bored tone.

-''Item analyze, on!''

A white light surrounds the sword, while the man just continues to speak.

-''Material: steel. Type: one-hand sword. Style: common. Blade type: standard. ''

The light vanishes, but nothing except that happens.

…Huh? Oh, I forgot to turn it off.

-''Identification, expert mode off.''

Two windows appear in front of him and he starts to read them.

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]Identification complete.

Success! 67% completion.

Expert mode bonus.

Identification +6[br][/br][/col][/box]

-''Sigh…''

I missed something again… well it doesn't matter.

He then proceeds to the other window.

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]Dinner in 15 minutes. – Rose 18:45[br][/br][/col][/box]

-''Local time!''

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]18:58[br][/br][/col][/box]

Just in time.

-''Log out!''

Everything around him slowly faded and turned into a refreshing green color.

Thank God I customised that horribly white end screen.

* * *

A young man which looks just like the adventurer gets off his chair and takes his AWS(Artificial world simulator) goggles off.

His room is rather small. Most of the space is used up by a cupboard,desk and a table. The weird looking chair in which

he sat before is placed in front of the table. Judging by the low seat and soft cushions it is made for relaxation. Only the armrests have some technological parts in them. It looks like the parts measure various body conditions like heartbeat and similar things.

He left his room, headed down the stairs and finally entered the kitchen. His father Caleb was just taking a pizza out of the oven. He was in his very late thirties and was athletically built.

Although he looks quite cheerful his life wasn't an easy one. Caleb and his wife got married while they were still in college. They had their son a year after the wedding and their daughter two years after that. Despite having kids they both finished college with quite good grades. Later on the childrens' mother died in a car accident. This accident hit Caleb very hard but he made a promise that his kids won't wanting for anything . Now he is trying to balance the roles of a successful lawyer and a father.

-''Oh Blake! Finally got up from Alteration,eh ?''

Blake ignores the remark and heads to the table. His sister Rose is already sitting there and looking at him.

-''So?''

-''What?''

-''What do you think about the expert mode?''

-''Ah that. It is interesting.''

-''But?''

-''But it isn't really my thing. I just want to see the stats of items, constant guessing gets boring very quickly.''

-''Still,the skill point boost is quite useful. A higher level in Identification makes it much easier to notice secrets…''

-''That doesn't change the fact that it is painfully boring after some time. Another problem is that it doesn't just hide the

item windows, it hides all the windows! It was just a coincidence that I stopped and saw your whisper on time.''

-'' I'm sure that it will be fixed in one of the next patches,it just came out so it isn't weird that there are some imperfections.''

-''Okay,enough Alteration talk. Pizza time!''

Caleb put smilingly the sliced up pizza on the table and let Blake and Rose dig in.

After the first assault on the pizza ended Caleb faced Blake and started chatting with him.

-''So what are your plans now that summer holidays have finally come?''

- ''Well I just bought Alteration yesterday after school, so I plan to play a lot with it. My friends and I are also planning to

meet for bowling or watching a film, but we still haven't decided when.''

-''To be honest this game worries me. Don't you forget about our agreement! You will hit the gym at least twice a week and do a morning jog every second day.''

-''Yes, yes. It's a deal.''

-''The same goes for you Rose. This Alteration is said to be a technological revolution but you must stay fit and healthy.''

-''Okay.''

Their chatting continued till late in the night.

After they finished, Blake went to sleep and his consciousness slowly drifted away as he thought about Alteration and the countless possibilities that come with it.

Morning came with all it's beauty. Birds flew happily through the air, which was clean and refreshing. It was sunny and the dew shone. The sun came also through Blake's window in his room. He slowly started waking up just to suddenly spring out of his bed. He then reaches for his clock and sees full of terror that it's 8:07.

Damn it. I'm late!

He proceeds to changing his clothes in record time. Soon after that he already stands in the hallway with his bag and puts his shoes on. While he does that his father comes out of his room still half asleep and asks him:

-'' Why on Earth would you wake this early up now that you can compensate for all the sleep that you have lost in the last months?''

Blake puts a really confused expression on.

-''Huh? What do you mean… damn I did it again!''

-''Sigh…you sure did. Your brain really doesn't function properly early in the morning,but do we really need to have this conversation each and every time you have holidays? This time it's even worse than usual because today is Sunday…''

-'' …Sorry…''

-''Now that you have finally actually woken up I can go back to sleep,right?''

-''Sure.''

Caleb was quite cranky and he rushed back into his bedroom. A minute later sounds of snoring came out of his room.

Unbelievable,I could have slept for another hour or two if I hadn't made this dumb mistake.Well there is no use crying over spilt milk… I might as well go play Alteration.

He headed into his room and sat in his comfortable chair.

Ahh…this is the best.

********************

Today was the day where he chooses the race and class of his avatar. Up till now he was in the tutorial stage in which he learnt the most important stuff of Alteration. All his items from the tutorial will be transferred to the actual game after he defines his avatar.

He used most of his last day to gather as many items as he could get in the tutorial. This would give him an early gold advantage when he sells the unneeded things, furthermore he will have something useful regardless of the class he picks as he made an effort to have a wide variety of starting armors and trinkets. The latter wasn't as important because he had a good idea of what he will choose.

The game was booting up and Blake just patiently watched the logos. After that, everything around him became black.

The artificial world loaded bit by bit.

First he could hear the chirping of birds and the soft sounds of trees which the wind rustles. After a few moments he could sense the smell of leaves and the aromatic scent of wet wood. When he started to feel the wind in his face he knew it was finished.

Blake opened his eyes and was once again amazed by the simulator. Everything was so…realistic. He could still feel a difference between the real thing and this but damn,this is quite close.

Next to him stood a bright white being. Blake noticed that it was looking at him so he closed his mouth that was wide open until now and greeted it.

-''H…Hi.''

-''Greetings adventurer! Your journey awaits,do you wish to define your origin?''

…My what? I guess this is where i choose my race.

-''I do.''

-''Will you use you real body as a base?''

-''Yes.''

-''Very well. Now choose between these 32 races.''

32 avatars appeared in the forest. Blake and the spirit were in the center and the avatars made a circle around them.

Each avatar was looking differently as they were different races, but you could see that the base look was still Blake's…in most of them.

He didn't think much about which race he would pick before so he first determined which races he surely won't pick (fairy,goblin,elf etc…). In the end he left 3 races: werewolf,pyron and classical human.

His reasoning was pretty simple: werewolves were awesome,pyrons were a race which he never heard about,but they look like bulky humans whose body is made of…the best description would be solid fire. He let human be in his final selection because he thought that he couldn't go wrong with it.

Maybe I shouldn't go with pyron…and neither werewolf. They are quite flashy and they don't really suit the class I want, as they look quite aggressive and combat oriented. I should first check their racial traits out.

-Racial traits: werewolf!

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]Damage while the moon shines upon you: +25%

Starting impression: -10 social points

Resistance against silver weapons: -40%

Racial ability: Terror howl[br][/br][/col][/box]

I don't really like this. The starting impression reduction is bad because i want to explore this world,not just fight and hunt.

-Racial traits: pyron!

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]Fire damage taken: -55%

Water damage taken: +40%

Fire mastery:+10 points

Weapon durability: -15%(except high tier material weapons)

Armor durability: -15%(except high tier material armor)

Starting impression: -5 social points

Racial ability:Immolation[br][/br][/col][/box]

This is a really flashy race…It gives much,but takes just as much in return. It would take qute a lot of gold to constantly repair the armors and weapons. The impression reduction isn't as bad as the one before though.

-Racial traits: human!

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]Merchandise price reduction -15%

Magic resistance: -3 towards all magic

Starting impression: +3(just to humans)

Mana:+5%

Line of sight: +1

Racial ability: Adaptability[br][/br][/col][/box]

Now that's more like it. It doesn't give anything special for combat, but it has great utility with the price reduction which is simply awesome and sight enhancer which will be good for exploration. If I go to some human city then that +3 impression will save quite some time and effort in the long run. Yeah,I'll go with that.

-''I pick the human race.''

-''Are you sure?''

-''Yes.''

-''Now lets proceed with the class selection.''

-''I know what I will pick.''

-''Then say,what's your choice?''

-''Nature seeker.''

-'' You may now proceed to the game…''

-''…ake!''

Suddenly Blake heard a noise that didn't come from the game.

* * *

He took his goggles off and asked:

-''What is it?''

His father told him from the kitchen:

-''Jogging time!''

-''Come on,but I just made my avatar!''

-''No buts,you can continue after the jog!''

-''Aww…''

Blake put his sports shoes on and went grunting out of the house.

After the long jog and light exercise with his father, which consisted of 100 push-ups, 200 sit ups and 50 pull ups, he finally dragged himself to his room and collapsed on his chair. Needless to say , after all that Blake was dead tired. He didn't usually do sports so this morning was quite out of the ordinary for him. The pull ups at the end nearly killed him…

He couldn't even whine because his father also did all these exercises alongside him. You would think that he lacked the time to do regular exercises, but he somehow always found time. When he didn't, he made sure to exercise twice as hard next time.

Blake put his goggles slowly on and relaxed in his chair. He just recently bought the Alteration system so he couldn't know for sure,but he suspected that his progress was autosaved when he rose from the chair.

* * *

The scene which awaited Blake when he put his goggles on was familiar. Everything around him was refreshingly green.

Huh...What now?

-''Erm…Alteration…?''

A window came up in front of him:

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]Alteration in sleep mode. Do you wish to continue?[br][/br][/col][/box]

Good. Saved by the autosave.

-''Yes.''

The game started up much quicker this time because it was just in sleep mode. Blake found himself inside the forest a blink after he said the command.

A familiar bright spirit stood in front of him.

The only thing that is left now is him sending me off to the real game.

-''Hi!''

-''…Greetings…''

Is it me or does he look a bit different now? He is glaring at me.

-''Umm… everything alright?''

- ''Certainly. Disappearing in the middle of a conversation is a normal and polite thing to do…''

Wait,wait…What?!

-''Ah… I'm sorry for my behavior earlier. Where did we stop?''

- ''You chose your class and I was just asking under which name you want to be known?''

Could it be…?

-''Before we proceed,I'd be glad to hear your opinion on my class.''

-''Oh my, I could tell it to you,but there is a certain danger that you will vanish in the middle of my answer.''

Yep. This is an AI. I have never seen one before… How much money was invested in this game? Are the other NPC-s AI-s too? No they couldn't be…they are probably something between an AI and a VI, that would be ideal.

-''I'm not going anywhere, I promise. It couldn't be helped back then.''

-''Couldn't be helped you say? Very well. Your choice was a human nature seeker. The race/class compatibility is good enough. The class itself is quite rarely picked. It requires much time in the start and later on it requires a lot of work and luck. I can't say much about your offensive and defensive strengths and weaknesses because of the nature of the class. Do you understand?''

-''I do. Everything will be determined by my hard work.''

-''And luck.''

-''If you say so.''

-''Are you satisfied with your answer? Can we go on?''

-''I am. Yes.''

- ''Choose your in-game name!''

-''Blake.''

Well that way I won't need time to get used to it. It would be awkward to be called by another name.

-''Done. Choose now your starting town.''

A map appeared in front of Blake. He studied it for a few minutes and then asked:

-''What is the name of this town?''

-''Borcena.''

The town was on a hill and surrounded by a thick forest and a volcano that was a bit farther away.

This will do.

-''I pick Borcena.''

The spirit remained silent.

-''…I choose Borcena.''

-''Oh don't worry I heard you the first time. I just though that this was a good moment for your little vanishing trick so I didn't want to bother you.''

-''Look…I'm sorry, it couldn't be helped.''

-''It's ok. Now lets get you to Borcena.''

The spirit snapped his fingers and a white portal opened in front of Blake.

-''Step in the portal. With that your journey will begin.''

Blake stepped in the portal and waited a few seconds. Nothing happened. He tried stepping out,but he then noticed that he couldn't move his body anymore.

-''First time portal travels take a minute for the body to adapt. By the way I kind of missed Borcena with the portal. ''

-''…Please repeat the last thing you said. I think I misheard something.''

-''I missed Borcena with my portal. I'm sorry. Well it can't be helped.''

-''Are you serious?''

-''Quite serious ,this will teach you a thing or two about the value of manners.''

I don't like where this is going.

The portal around Blake started shining and a strange shiver went through his body.

-''Bastard…''

That was the last thing that Blake said before he vanished with the portal. The spirit remained in the forest and laughed cheerfully.

Everything around Blake was black. He only felt the hard floor beneath and the heat all around him.

Where did that damn spirit teleport me to? If I ever get a chance to repeat the tutorial I just might show that spirit what actual bad manners look like… Now lets see, something here must suggest where I am…

Blake slowly started walking forward. He couldn't see anything around him so he started to touch and analyze everything he could. After a few minutes he realised that boulders and rocks were nearly everywhere.

He concluded that he was in a cave,but that didn't help him out much.

I'll walk in this direction and stick to it,I will eventually get out that way .I hope… If only there was some light.

Blake's wish was fulfilled after ten minutes of walking. He could see a bright light in front of him. As he walked towards it he saw more and more of his surroundings,there wasn't anything interesting though. When he finally arrived at the cave turn from which light came he was speechless.

The turn was actually an entrance to a huge space in the cave. The only problem was that the entrance was ten meters above the ground…and that the ground was covered in lava.

Looks like I'm inside of the volcano. The spirit didn't lie about ''missing'' Borcena a bit. That or the game designers have really questionable taste.

A very small path connected the entrance with the opposite side,like a bridge. Blake didn't notice it immediately at first because it is really quite small and the lava distracted him. The path looked quite dangerous and was in a state where Blake wasn't sure if it could carry his weight.

It would be bad if this breaks and I fall in the lava, but I really don't want to waste more time with turning back. This looks like a great place for me to gather some good items. I wonder how difficult this dungeon is?

Blake stated walking forward.

What was that?

He suddenly stopped and stood completely still while staring at the lava. Something was moving in it.

Some beings were moving through the lava like it was nothing.

They look like some kind of big fire hedgehogs. I hope they don't see me. If they have any kind of ranged attack I'll be instantly killed. Wow,there are so many of them,like a small army… I should proceed very carefully,I need to stay undetected.

Blake started to silently crawl towards the end of the path. It led to a small room that was made inside the stone wall. The only things there were a chest and a long forgotten torch on the floor.

Huh, dead end? Doesn't matter,at least I will get some items which will hopefully be rare. Maybe the spirit made me a favor when he teleported me here. Oh! I still don't know the name of the volcano.

Blake wasn't far from the hedgehogs so he whispered.

-''Location status!''

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]-Lorasawa. [br][/br][/col][/box]

Now back to the chest…

He opened it after a few moments of struggling with the rusty lock, which eventually crumbled.

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]3xHeat pebble

A small stone which has highly compressed fire magic in it.

Durability 10/10[br][/br][/col][/box]

This looks very good,it will fetch a nice price.

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]Armband of the scorched

Armor: +15

Health:+20

Fire resistance: -5%

Although being well made this armband hasn't brought much luck to its previous user.

Material: Cloth[br][/br][/col][/box]

This one is great! Too bad it is counterproductive in this dungeon. I mustn't forget to equip it later.

Blake headed back to the huge part oft he cave and was greeted by a spectacular scene.

The hedgehogs played with each other! They took lumps of lava, somehow forming orbs, and threw them in the air where they would scatter in all directions. Blake was astonished to see something this great.

Awesome… I wonder if I could too…

DON*DON*

WHAAA...? Oh a window appeared.

[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#7499c4 bgcolor=#d2e4f2][br][/br]Observed play of the baby flame hedgehogs.

Ability gained: Lava orb

After oberving the beauty of this unique and rare sight you have been inspired and you developed an ability which will let you share this sight with many other adventurers,or simply make it possible to play with the little hedgehogs. [br][/br][/col][/box]

Ohhh… It says that I can now play with them. Does that mean they won't be hostile if they see me? This could let me discover many other items which I otherwise couldn't reach. Having a bit fun with the hedgehogs is quite appealing too.

-''Lava orb!''

Blake inspected the orb which didn't burn him for a bit after he made it and then turned his attention to the hedgehogs. They were still happily throwing their orbs around and still hadn't noticed him. He then walked a bit nearer to the hedgehogs until he was above them.

The orb was the perfect size to fit in his palm and a bit bigger than the ones the hedgehogs make. Blake was a bit scared at first that the orbs will reach and hurt him but luckily they weren't thrown that strongly.

Blake stretched his arm out with the orb in it. He was nervous and just let let the orb fall down towards the hedgehogs. In mid air it lost its form and fell apart. They were shocked when they saw Blake at first,but they immediately started jumping excitedly around when they noticed that he played with them.

When Blake saw the reaction he started to generate more orbs and throw them down in different directions. The hedgehogs looked like they were having a great time.

After some time Blake noticed that the ground trembled a bit. A second later a gigantic flame hedgehog entered his field of vision. Blake broke out in cold sweat.

And that must be the mother… I'm done now.

***

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy Alteration.