“It’s legit…” Lucian mumbled to himself as he sat in front of his wooden desk, three holographic screens before him, a holo-keyboard and physical mouse on the desk. His personal PC. He sat bent forwards, his face all too close to the monitor as he read the information displayed upon it. Briefly after he sat back and sighed, adjusting his dark-blue glasses as he did.

Lucian is 28 years old, taller than most with dirty blonde hair and light brown eyes. His features were sharp, his demeanour though not as much. Laid back and relaxed, it was obvious in his eyes that he gave little care about things around him.

(“I guess…I could give it a shot. I mean…what do I have to lose?”) He thought while staring at the website, he had been reading up on a game that had caught his interest. He quickly checked his e-cash account on another screen (“Not like it’ll hurt me if I do.”) he shrugged and switched the site to the purchase page, entered his information and checked out.

He glanced behind him, at the VR platform that he hadn’t touched in over two years. It was a tall glass tube with a thick metal cylinder beneath it and one half as tall above it. At the back of the glass tube and connecting the two cylinders was a metallic pillar into which the glass was embedded. Out of the pillar and inside the tube came out an exo-skeletal suit into which the user would put themselves.

Lucian glanced at the tablet like screen on the right side of the machine, a stand of metal that came out from the top held it up.

Download processing; Conquerors Of The Delve

Download Progress; 3%

Installation Progress; 2.6%

Total Progress; 5.6%

The game was downloading and installing into his system, now all he had to do was wait. (“Oh but the character avatar…”) he remembered he should probably update his VR character for this game, after all his was two years old and probably visually out of date and incompatible since it was from a VR shooter.

He quickly turned back to his computer and opened a new browser tab, entering the VR platform’s website ‘VR-DiveSuit’ and logging into his personal account.

Most games required you to create your own avatar using the system’s main character creation page, where you could customize down to the smallest detail. But as Lucian found out and was surprised by, COTD was different.

As he accessed the character creation page and selected the game from a drop down, usually he’d lose some options and gain others depending on the selected game…then the base avatar would load for him to edit.

But here, he was only given a list of more drop down selections. And, a warning message.

[Conquerors Of The Delve] Does not allow fully custom avatars. Your own persona will be scanned and copied into the game on load. You may change small things to customize your character but you will generally look the same.

(“That’s…new?”) Lucian thought, quickly looking up some forums he did indeed find some outrage about it but little response from the developers. And that was years ago, it had completely died down at this point with no change to this system.

Anyone else would have shrugged this off as non-important but Lucian understood the outrage. Some people went online not to recognize themselves. But this also made the game’s loose rules make more sense, someone in-game could easily recognise you in real life with this system in place.

So while laws in-game were only enforced by the players, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t look for ways to ‘enforce’ them outside of the game. Public ridicule was a death sentence for most in this day and age.

(“At least in a way, it makes sense.”) He thought while glancing over the options, setting his selections then looking them over once more.

Hair colour; Charcoal Black

Eye colour; Honey Gold

Aesthetic primary colour; Charcoal Black

Aesthetic secondary colour; Crimson Red

There were only four options, the first two were obvious but Lucian wasn’t too sure for what the second two were. He confirmed his selection and a new set of options came up, with different titles than the previous four.

Racial Bloodline;

Alignment;

[Back]

He was given two selections, both of which were drop down and an option to go back to the previous section. He selected the first one and was given a list of different available races, each one with a short explanation of their kind.

Humans;

Your general Humanoid race, quick-witted and generally moral in nature.

Builders of kingdoms and towns, they are the ruling race of the world of Eden. Holding one of the largest population, they also hold most of Eden’s aboveground territory. Their armies are vast, their cities vaster still.

It is said that the Human race holds the most magic potential on Eden, able to tamper with many more elements than the other races.

They are Knights, they are mages and they are also cut-throats.

Dwarves;

Short stubby humanoids the Dwarf is in some ways a small Human, yet not.

The Dwarves make up for their lack of general wits with their mastery of crafts. They are the best tailors, the best architects, the best engineers and the best blacksmiths. Hairier than your general Human, Dwarves are mighty proud of their prominent facial hair. Although some might say it’s to excuse the female of the race, who are rarely seen under the light of day.

If even recognisable under the moonlight.

Dwarves lack the ability to summon magic to their will but make it up with their mastery of Aether-Tech, bound magical energy merged into constructs of pure wonder and might.

There is a saying in Dwarvish that may explain them better than anything else. ‘An Orc might get offended quickly and a Human might leave the offence to be redeemed for later…But one musn’t offend a Dwarf, for they hold grudges beyond generations. And one day, they will get you back.’

Elves;

The Elf, tall humanoids with long point-ending ears. Generally beautiful and elegant of body, whilst stern of demeanour and traditional of mind. They are proud keepers of nature’s peace and tranquillity, said to be as ancient as the nature they so vehemently guard.

The Elf, unlike Dwarves or Humans, are of a much more magical descendant, as they come from the Fae themselves. Said to have been birthed by the joining of Fae and Drakon, a force of creation and one of destruction. The Elves’ raw magical power is not to be underestimated or faced without preparation.

Albeit not being the blacksmiths the Dwarves are, Elven crafts are still well known within the world of Eden. Enough that the Humans have a saying that goes ‘Only one thing cuts deeper than an Elven tongue, and that’s an Elven Blade.’ Created with magical means the weapons are imbued with it and then enchanted to produce different effects and even spells.

Be it of a supporting nature, or mass destruction.

MarshSkins;

This race births the slow-witted war-bound warriors we all know and love. Be it the short and thin green skinned Goblins, the large and bulky brown skinned Orcs or the lumbering and destructive, also green skinned Trolls.

The MarshSkin have little to offer in ways of craft, they make do with what they find and what they can trade…or steal from other races. Little to offer still in ways of society, as they live in tribes under a single short-lived Chieftain.

Albeit all that, and the smell. They are well-known masters of the art of war.

The Orcish warbands are second to none in their guerrilla tactics, the Goblin tinkerers unbeatable when it comes to make-shift weaponry created at record speed and their Hob-Goblin cousins…The opposite of an offended Dwarf, for they are hellbent on cutting off loose ends. No matter the cost.

Then there is the Trolls. Large beast-like goliaths with the strength of a dozen war-born Elephants. Proficient at only one thing, crushing the opposition in one fell swoop of their massive specially made weaponry.

Many of the neighbouring races look down upon these swamp dwelling tribesmen, for they are their allies.

And it is the MarshSkin’s enemies, who truly know them the best.

Shape Shifters;

Humanoid of shape, they aren’t always so.

The Shape Shifters are several races, some natural while others…less so. From bloodsucking Vampires to flesh-hungry Werewolves, the Shape Shifters are true to their name. Going from humanoid with a slight alteration to their features, directly into what many recognise as beast-like demons by sheer will.

They come in many variations, some monstrous like the Werebeasts and others elegant like the Avians.

The Shape Shifters live in tribe-like clans, each to their own most of the time as each clan prefers a different environment than the other. But together they stand in times of need, and for this race there has been many.

Lucian noticed that the second choice was locked, meaning that he needed to pick a race first. (“These seem interesting”) After reading through each, he decided to give the Shape Shifters a try. Clicking his selection, the second option became available. He selected the drop down for ‘Alignment’ and was presented with what he recognised as sub-races.

[Were]; Shifter of the Beast lineage.

[Vamp]; Shifter of the Fang lineage.

[Mer]; Shifter of the Sea lineage.

[Avian]; Shifter of the Feather lineage.

[Sauros]; Shifter of the Scale lineage.

Lucian wondered how his character might look if he chose something non-specific like Were, Mer or Avian. There were many kind of beasts, fish and birds his character could take liking too…But he didn’t look forward to being a lizard or a blood-sucking vampire.

Mer seemed like it would be a severe disadvantage, so his choices came down to Were and Avian.

(“Hairy beast or Fluffy bird…”) he pondered when suddenly a ringing noise disrupted his thought process, glancing back he saw the download was done. Smiling to himself, and excited to play he didn’t think much further of it.

(“Fur or Feathers?...Feathers it is.”) he made his choice, locking in Avian then confirming his selection.

Your character will be processed with these options. Please enjoy your stay in Eden.

Lucian rose from his chair and walked across the room to the VR-DiveSuit, stripping down to his underpants he stepped to it and suddenly the glass tube opened up from one side like a door. Lucian stepped around the still opening tube and stepped inside. It was quite roomy even for a fully-grown man like himself.

“Equip.” he spoke out and the exoskeleton behind him moved as sensors beneath and above him locating his body. Lucian stood with arms stretched out and legs separate, holding himself as still as possible while the mechanical arms covered his hands with the glove part of the suit.

The suit was open from the front, allowing the mechanical arms to simply put it on his hands, arms, back and shoulders. When there, the suit began to close up around him as mechanical bands closed around his hands, arms and waist then pulled him up from the ground.

Whilst held up by the machine, it continued to cover his lower body with the suit as it also closed around him. More metal bands went around his upper and lower legs giving him a fully equipped exoskeleton on his back that was now attached to each limb properly.

All but the helmet which he had to lower from the station’s ceiling himself. Having fully equipped what it was programmed to, the exo-skeleton went mostly limp allowing him to move around but still holding him up from the floor below.

Lucian reached up and lowered the large helmet onto his head, as he did the tube of glass closed sealing him inside. He took a quick breath to make sure everything was fine, he hadn’t used it in years but the station maintained itself and if something was wrong it would tell him or at worst send a log to the company he bought it from.

He entered a comfortable standing position, checking his visor to see if the station accepted it as a healthy position and then spoke out “Dive.” Suddenly fluorescent blue liquid began filling the tube, and the helmet tightened where it met the suit sealing him entirely.

After a few brief moments of the liquid filling the tank, he was fully submerged in it.

“Boot Up.” Lucian then spoke, and at once both the floor and ceiling began to spin whilst emitting several green laser lights. The lights spun and reangled themselves, reflecting off the circular wall as it spun faster and faster. Until finally, the entire tub was full of green glowing light. The separate lights indistinguishable within the liquid and through his visor.

Lucian closed his eyes then spoke out “Login”.

Before he could feel the warm liquid around him, but now that feeling slowly disappeared and just as slowly it was replaced by the feeling of falling. Lucian could feel himself fall, as air rushed up by him. The feeling got stronger and stronger, until finally he opened his eyes and the feeling suddenly became as real as it could be.

He though was faced with utter darkness, until a blue window popped up in his vision.

Welcome back Raven!

It’s been 2 years, 24 days and 7 hours since you last logged in!

What would you like to play today?

He felt slightly guilty at the window’s sight, it really had been that long… (“Raven…Hah”) briefly he wandered through his memories of games he used to play under that name, starting at the age of 12 and peaking at the age of 17. He had met so many people and played through such amazing games, but it couldn’t last.

His play time as Raven had dropped severely over the years, till he reached a point at the age of 25 that he rarely found time to play and later that year the problems with the company began…ending his playtime entirely.

Now he had all the time in the world, sure the money in his account wouldn’t last him forever even if he rationed. But it was enough for a couple dozen years of living it lazy. His house was fully bought, his vehicle fully paid for thanks to his parents so many years ago. So every day expenses and taxes were all he had to worry about.

Lucian smiled to himself, after so much hard work even if he had lost his job. It all had paid off in the end, so now he just wanted to lay back and enjoy himself.

“Dive, load new game. Conquerors of the Delve.” He spoke to the system, and it complied with a new window.

[Conquerors of the Delve]

Loading.

Unpackaging Character details.

Processing body.

Then a third.

Load Complete.

Warning this game contains Realistic Gore, Profanity and possibly traumatising content.

Knowing this, do you wish to continue onwards?

“Continue?” Lucian awkwardly responded, even with bloody shooters he hadn’t been given this notification.

Definitely not one this persistent.

Unsureness detected. Do you truly wish to continue?

It somewhat creeped him out, but at the same time piqued his interest even more “Yes Dive, continue.”

[Conquerors of the Delve]

Opening.

Starting.