Standing and watching the throng of guild recruiters hassle the newbie, Valen was trying to find a way to get past the crowd. There didn’t seem any way around them, except over perhaps. Valen went down the steps and stopped before the invisible barrier. The newbie was cornered up against it looking at Valen for help. Valen motioned for the guy to crouch down. The guy looked confused, but he crouched anyway. The recruiters hesitated then, wondering what he was doing.

Suddenly Valen jumped onto the newbie’s back and then jumped off his back and over the crowd. He landed on some guy’s shoulders and leaped off of him to land in a roll on the other side of the throng.

“What the hell?” He heard before he ran off into the city. “Hey, wait!?” The mob started to chase after him, leaving the newbie still crouched and very confused.

“Your Agility is now level 2.” Destiny’s voice rang out in Valen’s mind. “DingRinger7 has invited you to a duel.”

“Who!?” Valen yelled as he ran through the unfamiliar streets, people gawking at him as he and the gang of recruiters passed by.

“I’ve highlighted him.” Destiny said calmly, “Would you like to duel?”

Valen looked over his shoulder at his pursuers. A long beam of light stretched down from the cavern ceiling to a person in the mob of pursuers. It was the guy he had landed on in the throng. He was huge and muscular with threatening looking armor.

“Oh ****.” He said, and bleeped.

“That would be the censor for the game. It automatically censors any swear word uttered by you or by anyone else in the game. Would you like it to remain on? I can turn it off at any time.” Destiny said.

“Yeah sure, whatever. I’m being chased here! Is there any place I can hide nearby?” He said as he turned a corner and jumped over a cart of cabbages. The surprised woman pushing the cart stopped in confusion only to have the mob trip over it and smash it to pieces.

“I’m sorry, but you would need to obtain a city map before I can determine a route for you.” Destiny said in a drone.

“Damn it!” Valen exclaimed as he ran on.

“Would you like to duel DingRinger7?” Destiny repeated.

“No!” Suddenly Valen started to slow, his movements becoming sluggish compared to his quick flight earlier. “What’s happening?”

“Your stamina has depleted, you need to rest in order to replenish it.”

“Great, this keeps getting better and better.” Said Valen sarcastically.

“I’m glad you are enjoying it.” Said Destiny.

“I’m being sarcastic!”

“Oh.” Destiny sounded disappointed.

Valen looked back to see the few of those who had continued following him far back along the street. He turned a corner and found an open door to a building. He went through the doorway and slammed the door behind him. Valen turned around to find himself in a house with lavish furnishings and a roaring fireplace.

“Hello?” came a female voice from the kitchen.

“Hey! Hi!” Valen slowly made his way into the living room as the woman, a Varnu with long black hair and white glowing tattoos, appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Aaaaah!” She screamed and lunged at him, beating at Valen mercilessly with her wooden spoon. She struck him to the floor with one well placed strike. The hits didn’t hurt, but it jarred and disorientated him.

“Health at eighty percent,” Destiny informed him.

“Stop, stop, please!” Valen pleaded to the woman.

“What are you doing here!?” she demanded, “I’m calling the Watch!”

“Wait! I’m hiding! There are people out there chasing me.”

The woman paused, “Alright, but as soon as they pass, you’re out of here! Got it!?” Valen nodded in thanks.

She marched to the window and posed as if lounging and enjoying the environment. Valen got up but backed up into the corner of the room so that he couldn’t be seen through the window. A few people could be heard running past and stopping near the window.

“Hey Lady! A guy went by here just a moment ago. You see where he went?” One of the people outside said.

“Yes, he passed by going that way, into the market. Why?” She said in her sweetest voice.

“Thanks,” One of them said and they continued on.

When it was safe, Valen sighed in relief and slid down the wall to land on his rump by the fireplace.

“Why were they chasing you?”

“They were cornering Newbies by the spawn point and recruiting them, I managed to slip by them.” Valen told her.

“Oh, you’re one of them.” She said in a tone.

“One of who?” He asked.

“Those that have come from another world.” She said.

“Are you not…?”

“I was born here, but my husband is of your kind.”

“Your husband?” He asked.

“Yes, his name is Derek, but his Username is Feral7.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you could marry, well, your people.” Valen was amazed that they would allow that in the game.

“Oh yes, it’s becoming more common since your people started coming to our world a year ago.”

“Wow.”

“Would you like to rest here? You’ll need to, after that run. I know that your kind are fragile after you first enter our world.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“I’m cooking lunch for myself, you can have some if you like. It’ll help you replenish your stamina.”

“Wow, thank you. I appreciate it.”

“No problem, just no funny business!” She pointed her spoon at Valen and he flinched, “My husband will be home soon and he has shown me many techniques for self defense.”

“Yes ma’am.” Valen nodded.

“I’m Venna, by the way. You are?”

“Valen,” Valen waved shyly and she laughed. She went back into the kitchen and Valen began to wander the living room. He went by the fire and felt the heat from it. He never imagined this game would be so in depth. He wondered… He stuck his hand in the flames and bleeped, pulling it out of the flames. That had hurt, but there were no burn marks on his hands. He looked around and found a painting on the wall of Venna and someone else. It was another Varnu, like him but with the same white tattoos on him as on Venna. Could that be her husband Derek?

Venna came in then with a plate of food and set it down on the table. “Here is some Cheken Stew, it should bring your stamina back very quickly.”

“Thank you very much.” Velan sat down and took a sip, not sure if he should ask what a ‘Cheken’ was. The stew was warm and tasted gamey, with the spices it tasted great. “Is that Derek in that picture with you?”

“You mean the painting? Yes, we had that painted a month ago. He is quite dashing.” She smiled.

Suddenly a flash of light blinded Velan on the couch, stunning him and making him jump. In the living room appeared Derek in the virtual flesh, standing next to the fireplace. He saw his wife and greeted her with a warm smile, then he saw Velan and frowned.

“Who are you?” He demanded.

“Hey, I’m Velan.” He offered his hand to Derek and Derek shook it grudgingly and confused. “Your wife Venna hid me from a mob of recruiters that was chasing me through the city.”

“Oh,” Understanding flooded across Derek’s face, “I see. Hello love.” He embraced Venna and gave her a big kiss.

“Hello handsome.” She purred. Velan suddenly felt like a ghost.

“Um, I should go.” He got up. “Thank you for everything, both of you.”

“No, no stay.” Derek put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a new player right?”

“Yeah, just got the game today.” Suddenly it felt odd to call it a game. It seemed so much more than that.

“Let me give you a tour of the city, I’ve got nothing else to do today.” Derek suggested.

“Oh, sure. That would be great.”

“Don’t stay away too late, love.” Venna said with a wink.

“I’ll be back soon, babes. Just a quick tour, it’s the least I can do.” He smiled and kissed her goodbye.

Valen waved and thanked her again for the food, then stepped outside with Derek. Derek gestured to follow.

“We’re going to a pub so you can take a look at bounties. They are the best way to make some cash. Many AI in the game post missions and bounties to the board and reward in gold. Most bounties will involve solving world problems like harvesting needed ingredients and taking out bandits. If a player has a particularly bad reputation in the city, the Watch will put out a bounty on his head, a cash reward for anyone who can defeat him.”

As they were walking through the streets and Valen was drinking in all this knowledge, a group of people streamed past, jumping off of the side of buildings and doing flips off of fences.

“What are they doing?” Valen asked.

“They are in a group, improving their agility and stamina through parkour.” Derek smiled. “You improve stats by practicing here in the virtual world. They more you improve stamina, the longer you can run. The more you improve agility, the faster you can move. The more you improve strength, the more damage you do with your weapon and fists, and so on, and so on.”

“How high can you get it?”

“Well, I knew a guy who had gotten his strength to such a high level that he could lift a cart of carrots over his head.” Derek said.

“Wow, what happened to him?”

“Well, his powers were noticed by a prestigious guild and they took him in. He moved into the guild stronghold and that was the last I saw of him. He’s probably the leader of a squad somewhere, playing a major role in some clan war.”

“And you? Why aren’t you doing that?”

“Because I fell in love with this city and I want to keep it the way it is. A player became so powerful that he challenged the AI chieftain of the Bresh and killed him, now he is the chieftain, according to their government structure. A player also took control of the Human kingdom through inciting a rebellion. I don’t want that here, I want to keep this place ruled by the Varnu Matriarchal line. Some people call me a loyalist, but I just do what I can to protect the power in place here.”

“So there are political and power struggle in this world too?”

“Oh yeah, and that’s just in the main cities. You should see what it’s like out there in the world outside the capital walls, once you leave these walls, the PVP is intense. Here, it’s mostly policed by the Watch, but out there you have to fend for yourself.”

“Huh, what happens when you die?”

“You are spirited away to either your bought home, or your place of in game worship with a major drop in stats.”

“Wow.” Valen said as they got to their destination. It was a big building with ‘Granite Pub’ written across the building in glowing blue paint. The building wasn’t in fact granite but it didn’t seem to matter to the many patrons inside. The place was packed.

“Is it always so crowded here?” Valen shouted above the din as they entered.

“Yeah,” Derek shouted back and rolled his eyes. He pushed forward and moved through the crowd with Valen in tow. They went to the right hand wall of the pub, which wasn’t much of a wall. Instead it was a huge board where many people were sifting through pages magically appearing pinned to the wall. With every small flash of light, another page appeared on the wall.

“Let’s find some easy ones for you to do.” Derek shouted at Valen next to him. “You can hold five at a time.”

“Alright,” Valen squeezed into the throng at the board and started looking them over. There were so many, pages upon pages. He looked through the board directly in front of him and found one gathering herbs for a mage at the Shesh University. He took that one, then took another for defeating a roving band of creatures called Raider Cats. Valen heard Derek shout his name and moved over to join him. Derek showed him three pages he had found and motioned him to follow him outside.

“Whew, now we can talk.” Derek said.

“Why is it so crowded?”

“It’s a major hub for questing and drinking.”

“Drinking?”

“Yeah, people can buy alcohol there using the money they earn in game. It affects the mind just like regular alcohol, but it doesn’t have any of the negative effects on the body.”

“Couldn’t you still become an alcoholic?”

“No, because the chemicals aren’t actually entering your brain. It’s a simulation. Your brain doesn’t get addicted to it, but it also doesn’t feel exactly the same as you would if you drank for real.”

“Oh, alright.”

“You’ll understand if you ever try it, but I think it’s a waste of money and time.” Derek stated, “Let’s see those missions.” Velan handed over the papers.

“Whoa, this one is for hunting down Raider Cats. They’re pretty dangerous.”

“I want some action though.” Velan said.

“You have to start small, but I suppose you have nothing to lose.” Derek said hesitantly. He handed the papers back to Velan and motioned him to follow again. “So what role would you like to play in the game?”

“I don’t know, I’d like to be something of a spell warrior.”

“Ah, multi-class huh?” Derek smiled, “It’s not easy and it’s hard to master, but very effective. What you’ll need to do is buy spell books to learn spells and practice very much to increase your willpower. Work on your agility and stamina too. Everyone has mana as well, that’s what you use for spells, but when you run out, you get dizzy and can’t cast anymore, so watch that.”

Velan just nodded and followed Derek into a spell shop. The shopkeeper was a robed woman that smiled and greeted them.

“Hello, how are you today?” She said in a cheerful voice, her curly brown hair bouncing with her movements.

“Very good, thank you.” Derek smiled back. “My friend here would like some offensive and defensive spells for beginners.”

“Very well, here is what I have.” She motioned for them to follow and she led them around her library to a bookshelf by the front window. “This whole unit contains all the spells for beginners.”

“Thank you.” Valen said politely, the shopkeeper smiled and left them alone. They sifted through a few. “How am I going to pay for this?”

“You’re not, I am.” Derek said. “I had no help in the beginning and it was a mess, I want to help you out.”

“No, it’s okay. I can do this on my own.” Valen said firmly.

“Forget it, I’m helping you out.”

“No, I can’t accept your charity.”

“What if I gave you some spell books and you did me some favors in return?” Derek asked, trying to compromise.

“Like what?”

“Well, when you get powerful enough, I would like your help hunting down some underground players that are trying to get the Matriarch killed. They are somewhere in the city, or have a group outside the city. Me and my guild have been trying to find them for months. They want to take the throne themselves, and this whole city will turn into chaos if they do.”

“Alright, that sounds fair.”

“Good, now come on.” Derek had taken three spell books from the shelf and led Valen to the woman.

“We would like to purchase these.” Derek told her.

“Very well, that is one hundred gold each.” She told him, Derek nodded and held out his hand. She took his hand and shook it, then Derek started to walk out.

“What happened?” Valen asked Derek as he followed him outside.

“I paid.” Derek said, then comprehended the confused look on Valens face. “You pay through a hand shake, your VR AI will approve the transaction upon the situation.”

“Huh,”

“These are yours now,” Derek gave Valen the spell books. “Read them.”

“Right now?”

“Yeah, it won’t take long.”

Valen opened up the first book, on the pages were instructions on how to perform the spell, it was a spell for creating a shield around his body to absorb damage. He tried the spell using the hand signal the book instructed in pictures. It took a few times of trying but with Dereks guidance he managed to cast the spell by making a fist with his arm bent upward at a right angle, then bringing it down to his body in a sweeping motion. His skin glowed blue while it was active and the spell book disintegrated into ash in his hands.

“Mana down to eighty percent.” Destiny’s voice told him. He looked to Derek but Derek seemed to think this was all normal and gestured for the next one.

The other two turned out to be a lightning strike spell that was pretty exciting and very loud, and a flamethrower spell that was so bright that Valen had to squint. After learning the spells, Valen felt a little dizzy. Destiny had informed him that his mana was down to twenty percent, but she also added that he had gained a level in maximum mana.

“Wow, these are awesome.” Valen told Derek.

“You should be a master mage in no time. Don’t forget to grab a sword or something after you complete those missions! Some armor too.”

“Will do!”

“Alright, I’ll add you as a friend and I’ll check up on you when I need you. Here’s a map of the city, I have tons.”

“Sounds good! Thanks again, Derek.” Valen said and they waved goodbye to each other. Valen suddenly noticed that he felt hungry.

“Destiny, I’m hungry. Where can I get a bite to eat?”

“It is impossible to satisfy your hunger or void your bladder and gastrointestinal track while you are in the VR. To do so you will have to log out.”

“Oh, alright. Well I need to make some money at least before I log out.”

“I can activate a quest for you?” Destiny suggested. Valen looked at his hands and noticed the quest papers glowing and then disappear.

“Um, sure,” Valen said, actually quite unsure, “How about that Raider Cat bounty?”

“Very well, Master. I have highlighted your path.”

A faint glowing trail flowed across the ground at Valen’s feet. “Perfect!” Things were now moving along, thanks to Derek. “Also add Derek as a friend, will you?”

“Who, Master?”

“That guy who led me around and paid for my spells.” Valen said.

“His username is Feral7.” Destiny stated.

“Okay, add him please.”

“Yes, master.”

Velan then travelled along the trail lit for him through the city. Soon he came to one of the exits of the city, a natural tunnel running in a crack along one of the massive caverns walls. There was a checkpoint there where many of the so called ‘Watch’ stood guard at the mouth of the smaller cavern. Valen stood at the threshold of the checkpoint as the Watch members watched him with mild interest. After he stepped out of the city, he didn’t know what to expect. He shouldn’t even be doing this quest, according to Derek, but it was like he had said. What did he have to lose? He stepped off into the darkness with adventure on his mind.