Erik twisted back and forth anxiously in the immersion chamber. He always got a sense of claustrophobia right before a dive, even if he couldn’t see anything because of the sense-wear that covered most of his head. The reason that his heart was pounding so was only in part due to the sense of being entrapped. He had been waiting a long time for this particular mmorpg to be released. The company behind it, Kalon, had proudly boasted that it would be the biggest joint dive in history, and Erik knew that it was no idle boast. There was something about the first few moments when everyone were scrambling over each other like a pack of feral dogs to get to the leveling spots that made him smile in anticipation.

3… 2… 1! The numbers on the screen were accompanied by a deep male voice, and it sent a new wave of adrenaline surging through his limbs.

Erik swept the intro aside with one hand. He was far to worked up to watch it now. Instead, he swallowed hard as the sense of his body went numb and the world went dark. This was the part he hated, but he should be able to choose character soon, and then his mind would adjust to the new reality. He was already making plans for what he should do first. It was something he knew by heart now, but it was still something he went through over and over again before new games came out.

He frowned. The loading had been slow, and now flecks of white were starting to appear and push the darkness aside. It looked like mist but didn’t quite behave like it. He smiled uneasily. This was a full immersion game, so the game-makers would do their best to deceive the gamers into thinking it was real. It receded quickly though and gave way to a new reality.

The new world glittered after recent rainfall. Erik drew a deep breath and smelled moss before he saw it clinging to nearby trees. He turned away from the greenery and noticed two things at once. The first was the ruins of a city, and the other was his body. He was still in his real one.

He cursed quietly and looked down more carefully as if that would change something. This was a full immersion game, meaning that the game-makers would go to extraordinary lengths to make you believe it was real, but you were still supposed to be able to choose your own avatar. Worse, he was still clad in jeans and a worn white t-shirt. Something was clearly wrong here. Had Kalon taken water over their heads when they had decided to make this the biggest joint dive in history?

Erik moved his hand slowly from left to right over his field of vision and said “menu.” In a clear voice, but nothing happened. He frowned and tried again. Nothing. “Disconnect,” he said and waved his hand to the left. Nothing.

He looked around again at the sound of voices. Others were also waving their arms about, trying to get the menu to appear as well, and failing by the looks of things. They were clad in mundane clothes, or what passed for mundane back home.

A thought struck him. Maybe you were supposed to search for your gear, like a treasure hunt. But that still left the problem with his body. He was no athlete by any means. In fact, he would accept ‘pudgy’ as a compliment by now. That was what happened when you spent all your time in immersion games and only went back to eat fast foods. He had been a professional gamer for two years now, which enabled him to leave the real world behind.

He snapped out of his reverie and looked around. This had to be some sort of bug, he refused to accept anything else, but what was he supposed to do when not even the menu appeared?

There were still spots were the strange mist covered the land, but it gave way into a forest even as he watched.

He settled down on a nearby rock and waited for a while. By the seven hells, it sure was warm. He had barely moved, yet was already sweating. But any time now there would be an announcement that there had been an error, something. He was already composing an angry mail to the company in his head when he started noticing things. There was a strange plant that twisted up the side of a tree like a snake with giant plumes falling down its sides in a beautiful display of blue and gold. Among fern, brush and elm stood a short, wide tree with fruit that shifted colors from red to violet depending on where the sun touched its smooth surface. Strange insects buzzed around him, and a giant bird flew overhead. His breath caught when he looked up. There was a long streak of red, clearly visible even in daylight. Was it a gas-cloud? A smile curled Erik’s lips. This part was enjoyable too.

He found a stick, shoved into the dirt and put a stone on its shadow's end. Knowing which way the sun moved was valuable too. He walked around and peered into the brush, and soon found a path made by animals. It should lead to water, provided they needed it to survive of course. He wasn't overly worried about them being dangerous since the initial spawning point tended to be safe.

Players had been scurrying around like ants while he had waited, and now they were gathered in several groups, most of them carrying heated discussions. He approached one which looked promising – no shouting for instance – and put on a friendly smile.

“Hello. I’m… Crow.” He caught himself at the last moment and cursed himself for the slip. It was considered poor form to discuss anything from your real life since it would ruin immersion for others, and it was typically newbies who made the slip.

“Thomas from Leicester,” a man with dark hair and matching beard said loudly. “I know what you are thinking, but I’m not in an avatar, so it would be strange to use an alias for me. Besides, this is real.”

Crow barely managed to stop a smile. A serious gaming company like Kalon would go far to trick gamers into thinking it was real, like hiring people to convince them of it, and Thomas looked the part. His broad shoulders and slim waist made Crow all to aware of his own shortcomings. “If you say so.”

“I’m Mel,” said the girl to Crow’s right. She didn’t extend a hand for Crow but somehow seemed distant and polite at the same time.

“Look, man,” Thomas said. "Look at the detail of everything. It's far too good for computers to handle. And we are in our real bodies as well."

He had a point. Crow had already noticed the stunning visuals, but thinking they had been transported somewhere just because of that was ridiculous.

"We might find our avatars in a while. Perhaps its a bug or perhaps they are just giving us a scare, but we should still find some water." Crow said. Perhaps he had been mistaken about them, maybe they weren't as experienced as he had thought. He looked around again and spotted a couple of other groups which looked promising. The experienced ones would be looking for others to team up with while the newbies ran around and argued.

"I'm with him," Mel said. "You have a plan don't you?"

Crow looked down into her clear blue eyes. She was short - her head barely reaching his shoulder - and her white hair and pale skin gave her a doll-like beauty. But there was something about how confidently she stood which was what had made him approach them to begin with.

"So where do we go?" Thomas asked cheerfully. Apparently, he still wanted to play despite thinking it was real.

Crow still thought he might be a plant, in which case it would be a waste of time to make friends with him since he would leave in a week or so when he had sowed enough confusion.

"We find water," Crow said instead.

"And then we hunt?" Thomas said.

They were newbies. Crow sighed inwardly. He would have to teach them everything and most likely fall behind. But then, it was unlikely that he would be accepted into a strong group. They would take one look at his oversized frame and laugh at him.

"No, then we level," he said. "But let's find water first."