Alex noticed he was floating. He was-underwater!

“Pvaaah!” He stood up, the water breaking and rolling off of him. He noticed he was only wearing the game’s basic underwear. “Huh? What?” He looked around. He was in a lake, clear and cool, the sun high above the clouds, perfectly warm with the scent of pine trees from the forest around him on the wind. “Vha…” He stared, slack-jawed. Birds flew past, casting shadows and reflections on the water. He shook the drops from his hair, and noticed it was now blonde. “I…I can’t believe it.” he marveled. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn he was outside right now.

“Ahoy, stranger!” Alex turned to see a genial old fisherman smoking trout by a fire. “Seems like you could use a hand.”

“I am vell enough on my own.” the vampire answered reflexively, turning away. But then he could feel it. For nearly seven hundred years, he had felt it. The constant hunger, the thirst. The bane of every vampire’s existence, and the greatest joy when satiated. The thirst for blood, wet and warm and wonderful, the one addictive downfall that had led humans to destroy vampires whenever discovered. Every vampire over twenty years had learned to manage it. Alex was perfectly experienced in controlling his baser urges, holding back whenever his thirst demanded with a will of steel. He had indulged, but never lost control or had an accident in over three centuries. It was a constant pressure in the back of his mind, almost a comfort in familiarity. His body constantly wanted blood.

And now, the thirst was gone.

He held his head, staring into the reflective lake. He-He wasn’t in his body anymore. He didn’t feel the bloodthirst.

He looked around, the world so much brighter than before. He could hear the chirps of birds and the wings of insects. Not only that, a faint, pleasant tune was audible, BGM in his head. The afternoon sun had no strange tingle, unaffecting him in the slightest. He clenched and flexed his hands. Alex felt strong. And freer than he had in years.

“You alright there, traveler?” the fisherman asked. Alex paid him no heed as he walked off, delighting at his new body. Then he smacked into an invisible wall.

“Ow! Vhat the-?” he growled, rubbing his nose.

“It’s part of the start-up program. You can’t go without taking your starting equipment.” the fisherman said, pointing to a crate beside him. “Fortunately, I just so happen to have a spare set of clothes. They might be of service.” He opened the box containing pants, boots, a brown shirt, and a belt. The vampire stared at them dubiously. Commoner’s clothes.

“Those’ll do for now, until you can level up and gain gold and equipment.” the fisherman said. Shrugging, Alex donned the clothes.

“Many thanks, good sir. Vhat should I call my savior?” he asked.

“People call me Gil. I’m always fishing at the Lake of Origin.” Alex paused, gagging at the name. Far too on the nose for his taste. There was a sudden rustling in the bushes.

“Huh?”

“Rarrararrarararaarara!” A three-foot tall green humanoid dressed in rags jumped out, brandishing a club. His beady eyes seemed to glow above his sharp teeth.

“Oh no! A goblin!” Gil cried in fright. “Please traveler, save me! There’s weapons in the box!” Alex looked down to see the clothes had been replaced with hardened wood and steel in a flash of light. He hurriedly dove in. There was a shortsword, dagger, handaxe, spear, and cudgel. He took a moment to stare, then gasped as he remembered they were under attack. He shot his head up to see…the goblin hadn’t moved, still menacing a shaking Gil.

“Um...is, is this supposed to happen?”

“Save me traveler, there’s weapons in the box!” Gil cried, the goblin howling again.

“O-Okay.” He turned back to the weapons. The thing didn’t seem too tough, so he’d go with his favorite. He picked up the sword and knife, only to have the dagger vanish from his hand. “Vhat!?”

“Only one, traveler! I can’t afford to replace two!” Gil cried. Alex’s expression darkened, but he held up the sword.

“Very vell. Leave this to me.” He snarled and charged, leaping to slash open the goblin’s throat, before the monster even knew what was happening. “Done.” The goblin whacked his knee with the club. “Ow! Son of a *bleep!* Vhat!?” he cried incredulously.

“Real Fantasy Online is a game for all ages!” Gil said.

“That-but I…” He stared at the goblin. The green humanoid wasn’t dead. He didn’t even look injured, save for a small glowing scar on his neck. “I killed him!”

“You have to hit him more than once to reduce his hit points. Attacking vital spots gives a small damage boost!” Gil called out. Alex stared as his vision had a popup screen next to the monster, proclaiming it to be a goblin, level 2, with 28 out of 37 hit points.

“Nine! I cut his *bleep*ing throat, and that only did nine damage!?” The goblin hit him on the hip. “Ow! Stop doing that!” he shouted. There was a brief flash of -3 in front of him.

“Check your health!” Alex thought ‘screen’ and his status appeared. He currently had 24 out of 29 HP, and 15 MP. “Make sure it doesn’t drop to zero! If you die, you’ll be revived five minutes later with a hefty experience point fee!”

“Thanks so much.” Alex scowled. Ok, this wasn’t like actual combat, he didn’t have the ability or stats to end it in one hit. He glanced at his leg; there was a sting when the goblin whacked it, but other than that it was fine. Loss of hit points didn’t seem to translate to much loss of stamina or injuries. He narrowed his eyes. That presumably meant the same went for the enemies. “Very vell!” He used all the speed and skill he had, the sword flashing with techniques honed over half a millennia, impacting through the goblin like pudding, who couldn’t dodge in time. After thirty seconds, he stood back, panting. The goblin screeched and threw his club, but Alex easily sidestepped and finished it with a thrust. To his surprise, the goblin disappeared in a burst of light, leaving behind a small sack with 8g on it. He picked it up, and sure enough he counted eight small gold coins.

“Thank you, traveler!” Gil said gratefully. The bushes rustled again, and out popped a growling wolf. “Oh no! That must be the goblin’s steed! He’s angry at you for killing his master!”

“That’s vonderful. Don’t suppose I could svap this for a spear, could I?” Alex asked, holding up the sword.

“Only one, stranger! I can’t afford to replace two!”

“Of course you can’t.” Alex sighed, shaking his head.

“Don’t worry! He hasn’t attacked yet. This is an excellent opportunity to use your magic!” Gil said.

“R-Really?” Alex said, wondering. The wizard did say all classes had it…

“Indeed! Check out your menu! It will give you the available spells, how to activate them, effects, MP cost, and cooldown time!” Gil explained.

“Um…ok…” Ignoring the wolf, he saw that he had only two spells available: Magbolt, which cost only 1 MP and had a recharge time of one second, and Hitcrease, costing 5 MP and boosted his attack power by 5% for ten seconds. “Uh…” He glanced at the wolf, sixty feet away. “Let’s try Magbolt.” The popup said to twist his palm up, then point it at the enemy. To activate magic, he had to say the spell’s name out loud, or the system wouldn’t recognize the command. Alex flipped his palm. “Magbolt!”

A searing blue bolt of pure destructive force launched from his palm, arcing to hit the wolf with a yelp. He checked the damage, grinning at the hit. “Only 4 HP gone!?”

The wolf snarled and leapt, aiming for his throat. Alex had fought dogs and wolves before, it was easy to see coming. He stuck his sword out. “H-Hitcrease!” he shouted, feeling silly. The sword glowed and the wolf impaled itself up to the hilt, before sliding off and a -10 appearing next to it. The vampire gaped.

“That-that vas so much stronger! Vhy even have the other one?” The wolf shook itself and bit at his legs. He absently smacked its face with his boot, dealing three more damage and felling it. The corpse flashed and exploded, leaving behind 60 gold and a grey pelt. “Vhat’s this?”

“That’s a Wolf Pelt! Monsters will occasionally drop valuable items that can be used for trade or crafting!” Gil supplied.

“In…deed.” Alex said blankly.

“Thank you, noble hero! I can tell you’re ready to be an adventurer. Go forth, and make your legend a reality!” Gil gave him a thumbs-up and went back to fishing. Alex shook his head.

“Vhat a strange man. Or program.” He turned and made his way into the forest.