Please speak your first name:

The text box flashed into being before him as he waited. He assumed the periods of bright light had something to do with loading and synchronization between his mind and the VR gear. According to a statement from GenTech, the amount of time the process took would decrease as the software adjusted to each individual until a seamless experience could be maintained. Chris thought for a minute as to what his name should be. He considered, for a moment, going with something completely different before coming to the conclusion that having a different name might become confusing. “Chris.” he said, surprised at how his voice had deepened a little, probably based on his new stature.

“Thank you, Chris!” Instead of a text box, the system now addressed him audibly with a silky female voice. “As a member of the Dwarven race, you have the option to pick an established house within the Dwarven Kingdom or to forge a new house of your own name. Which would you prefer?”

He thought about it for a moment before answering. “I believe I’d like to start my own house, if that would be alright.”

“Certainly, Chris! Might I ask the surname of your new House?”

Chris didn’t have to think long. “Duskheart.” It was a name he had used in countless other MMORPGs, and it rolled easily off his tongue.

“Chris of House Duskheart it is. May your days be numerous and may your house rise to prominence! My name is Endrea, and I am a part of the artificial intelligence behind Albion Live. It is my job, should it be required, to guide new players as they venture into Albion. You are welcome at any time to deactivate my assistance simply by asking. Please note, I am not able to share game secrets or other confidential information with players. You are welcome to ask any questions you might think of, however, I am not required to answer them should I deem the information forbidden.”

A small blinking icon of a mote of light appeared in the bottom right corner of his vision. “Should you require my assistance,” the AI continued, “simple select this icon or say my name. Please wait as I initialize your heads up display.”

As Chris watched, status bars, a mini map, and other standard HUD items began to appear in his vision. His health and mana were displayed in the upper left corner of his vision, and the mini map in the top right corner.

“The standard options have been activated. You are free to customize them to your personal preference or even remove them completely for full immersion, however, it is recommended that you leave them as they are until you reach level five. Thank you again, Chris, for purchasing Albion Live and good luck on your journey!”

With that, the icon dimmed and he was alone once again. The progress bar centered at the bottom of his vision continued to fill, so Chris took a moment to open up his character stats page.

Character Info Name: Chris Duskheart Level: 1 Gender: Male Race: Dwarf Influence: 0 Titles: None Health: 100 Mana: 100 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 10 Constitution: 10 Agility: 10 Endurance: 10 Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 10 Luck: 10 Wealth: 25 Gold Equpiment: Starter Chest - A chest containing beginner items. Property Deed - This deed entitles you to a piece of land outside the gates of your starting city.

“Well,” he thought as he glanced over his stats, “At least my character is balanced to start.” A small chest sat in one of his inventory slots. He accessed it, and was awarded the promised twenty five gold, as well as a starting outfit, a pack of tools, and a simple iron dagger. He quickly equipped the starting outfit and dagger. Neither did anything for his stats, but at least he was clothed and armed. Glancing quickly at the tool pack, he noticed that it contained all the tools necessary for basic crafting, including a shovel, pickaxe, hammer, and axe.

He closed out his inventory as a melodic chime alerted him to the fact that the loading process was almost complete.

Please be sure to check your immersion settings before entering Albion.

He quickly pulled up the configuration menu and set his immersion settings to standard. Getting hurt in the game would cause him to feel pain - although his body would not be damaged - and he would feel the affects of his diminished height. He would also retain the slightly opaque status bars and mini-map, although they wouldn’t be truly visible unless he purposely looked at them. Some might choose to go with full immersion, but Chris wasn’t quite ready for that. He also changed the notification settings, so that they wouldn’t pop up in his field of view, but could be accessed via another icon next to Endrea’s mote of light.

Another chime informed him that loading and synchronization was complete. He closed out the menu and prepared himself before selecting the Continue button before him.