Kit walked over to the shiny metal capsule and looked at his reflection on the surface, he almost didn’t recognise himself with a smile on his face. ‘I need to do this more often, hopefully the game will improve the amount I smile.’

Kit made sure his hands were at his side so he could investigate the gaming capsule without opening it. He peered in through the glass covering. Inside was a soft, fluffy white mattress, it looked like he would melt into it on contact.

Above the mattress was a blue stripe that wrapped around the gaming capsule. Holes the size of small buttons could be seen scattered around in the blue panel. A soft blue light illuminated the inside of the gaming capsule, it looked like it would be a peaceful place to sleep.

“Kat, I feel like this time I will be victorious.” Kit turned to Kat and enveloped her in a hug, squeezing a little bit too tight.

“Kit, I’m not toothpaste. Little bit softer buddy.”

Kit let go of Kat and turned back towards the gaming capsule. “Sorry, I did not mean to squeeze so hard. I’m going to start now, if I linger, we might have another hiccup.”

“Ok, message me if you need anything. I’ll be waiting for you to cook me some food, so learn some good recipes.”

“How did I know that’s what you would be after.” Kit gave her a small smile.

He would forever be grateful to his sister, which is why he found it hard to deny any requests from her. Not only did she drop out of university to support him through school, she was also part of the reason he could start his adventure today. On his eighteenth birthday, Kat had given him enough money to hire the gaming capsule and the supply of nutrients for three months. All he had to do was save up for the three-month subscription.

It was the only time she had given him something not related to anime. Kit would always be indebted for the chance of being able to realise one of his dreams, even if it did come with a time limit. Because he would not be working during the three months, this would put a strain on Kat and their finances. So, Kit had made a deal with Kat.

If he could make enough money in game to support the ongoing subscription and rental, along with enough to contribute to the household budget, he could continue to play CAL. If he could not achieve this, he would have to quit CAL and find a job.

Kit did not want to do this, mainly because the first time you used the immersion technology was the best result you would achieve. It was unknown why, but if you changed the chip the next device would not offer the same result, it would be a lower quality. That’s why it was important to buy the capsule you started with.

CAL offered all it’s players a chance to buy their capsule outright, so they could keep their chip. If he kept his payments up, he would not lose this chance. Kit still could not believe he had this chance, and it was about to start.

Kit stared at the entrance to his dream. He placed his palm flat on the glass dome. The raspy old lady voice that had smoked too many cigarettes, accosted Kit’s ears.

“Greeting Kit Vintage, would you like to initiate login?”

“Yes please.”

A soft click was heard, the glass covering lifted automatically revealing the soft white mattress. A sigh could be heard from the machine, and stairs emerged from the metal base of the gaming capsule. Kit placed his foot onto the step and a thud echoed in the room. He continued his climb into the capsule.

Kit sat on the white mattress, it moulded around his body. Kit was encased in a thick, plush, velvety material it was the most comfortable thing he had ever sat on. He glanced a Kat one more time, smiled, and laid down on the soft bedding.

Once he was settled in place the glass covering closed with a soft click. A low hum could be heard, and then a weak putter sound was heard all around him. Kit felt like thin smooth snakes were starting to cover his arms. He glanced down to see three clear thin tubes moving across his arms.

The tubes stopped at the bend in his arm, he then felt a tiny prick coming from the ends of the clear tubes. He remembered that he would need to be given the nutrients, essential to sustain his body for the five days, from intravenous infusions.

As Kit watched, the tubes a murky grey, brown fluid spread through the tubes and entered his system. He could feel the cool fluid creep up his arm. It was an unusual feeling. Kit’s eyes started to feel heavy, he closed his eyes and all he could see was the darkness behind his eyelids.

A few moments later, Kit was standing in a room the size of his whole entire house. The room was a little unsettling, the entire room was white, even the rug on the floor. It made it hard to distinguish the furniture in the room. Kit could make out a couch, TV, coffee table and a bookcase. All the books inside the bookcase where white. It looked like a study room.

The only colour in the room came from a small black cat sitting on top of the coffee table. It’s fur looked sleek and smooth there was a shiny gloss to the coat. The cat was a little unusual, it was wearing a bright orange shirt with CAL written in bold electric blue letters. Kit stared at the cat’s forest green eyes the cat returned his stare, it didn’t move except for occasionally blinking its eyelid’s.

Kit was unsure if he was supposed to interact with the cat. He hadn’t received a prompt from the raspy voice about the steps he had to take. He glanced around the room for a clue, nothing stood out amongst the white. When his gaze returned to the black cat, it was licking it’s front paw, paying him no attention.

He started to walk around the room, he picked up a book off the shelf. There was no title and when he opened the book, it was just a bunch of number coding on the inside.

“Well, that was not helpful.”

“Did you really think it would be?”

Kit turned around to see where the voice came from. The black cat has stopped it’s actions and was once again staring at him.

“Was that you who just spoke?”

“Is there anyone else in the room,” replied the cat.

It looked strange to see the cat’s mouth move and a human voice to be heard. It was a gritty sound with a slight growl at the end of the speech. Strangely, it is what Kit thought a cat would sound like if it talked.

“Oh, hello I’m Kit. Are you here to help me login to the game?”

“Ah, this is another stupid one.” The cat gave what Kit felt was a disdainful look.

“Yes, I will help you login, I am the all amazing CAL. It is your pleasure to meet me.”

Kits eyes widened, he did not realise this was the famous AI system CAL.

“Why are you a cat?”

Kit realised his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. He had just offended the overlord of the game he was about to play. It could make its own decisions about the CAL world, handle the game play of NPC’s without the need for interference from the designers, and oversaw all players in the game. It was like a GOD of the CAL universe.

“….”

CAL’s tail started to flick back and forth, like a cat’s does when it is annoyed.

’Crab sticks! I’m screwed.’

Kit’s heart started to pick up speed, he quickly explained himself.

“Sorry, I did not mean it like that. I meant you are the majestic CAL. I thought they would have given you a more regal look.”

CAL tilted his head to the side and examined him from head to toe. Kit’s heart started to pound, and his palms became sweaty.

“Maybe you are not so stupid. I thought the same, but the creators wanted a cute friendly approachable look to my avatar. So, I ended up with this small body. This horrible shirt is also their idea. Apparently, the humans would be able to identify me if I wear this, though you humans seem to be quite slow and cannot realise this fact.”

Kits heart slowed down after hearing CAL’s response.

“Well player Kit shall we start?”

“Please.” Kit bowed in case his apology was not enough, he really did not want to get on the bad side of CAL before he even started.

“Please choose an in-game name.”

Kits mind stuttered, he forgot all the names he had previously came up with. ‘All I can think of is my own name, this is bad.’

“Do you not understand the question?”

“N-no, I u-understand,” stuttered Kit.

“U-um, is Kit available.”

CAL gave Kit a slow blink.

“And I thought this one was not stupid, the game is literally called create a legend. What kind of epic name is Kit? Lucky I am a professional or I would not let the brainless ones in.” CAL sighed as if talking to someone else in the room.

“Player name is available. Kit is now your confirmed identity in game.”

“Thank you, I will work hard to make myself into a legend.”

“At least this one is polite.” CAL gave him another once over with his forest green eyes.

‘This is so unnerving, I feel like CAL keeps revising his opinion of me. Hopefully it’s a good impression once I’m ready to start. ‘

“Do you wish to change your appearance? You can change up to 25%, but remember you will have to get used to your new physique when starting.”

“Apologies CAL I’m not sure what you mean by getting used to your new physique.”

“I’ll give you an example. If you change your height to a taller version of yourself, you will not be used to moving around in this form. Your balance will be out because your centre of gravity will have moved. You will be like a baby learning how to walk, adjusting to it’s body and movements.”

“Oh, thank you, then I will just alter my hair then.”

Kit hoped that altering his appearance would be enough to not be recognisable in real life. He had heard stories of the leader board players getting recognised in real life, due to not changing their appearances.

The leader boards were where most CAL players aimed for, these were the legends that playing CAL had produced. They were numerous categories to aim for, each profession and sub profession had a list of top players. There were also ones for dungeons, PvP, guilds, treasure hunting and exploring. They were just the ones Kit could think of, off the top of his head.

If you were lucky enough to have your name on the list you received prize money and gifts from CAL, they were not a small amount. The leader boards had created millionaires, it was cutthroat business. Players spent thousands in game to try to get themselves a chance to rank among the legends.

CAL tapped his paw on the surface of the coffee table, it was like he knew Kit’s mind had wandered and he was bringing it back in to focus. CAL removed his gaze from Kit and turned to a floor length mirror on a white frame with two legs.

Kit could see his appearance reflected at him in the mirror. It was the same Kit he had seen this morning in the bathroom mirror while brushing his teeth.

“Look in the mirror for appearance alterations.”

Kit looked at his straight brown hair, he had always wanted to add colour to it. When he lived at home with his mother, she had never allowed Kat or himself to dye their hair. Apparently, that was a gateway to being a delinquent, he could never understand his mother’s way of thinking.

Once he lived with his sister, he was not game enough to dye his hair, his sister already had an obsession with colouring her own hair, he did not want it to leak over to him. Kit looked at his brown hair as he was about to ask CAL how to change the colour, a colour palette appeared next to his profile.

Kit slid his finger over the palette and watched his hair change from brown to green, red, blue and then he stopped on purple. ‘Holy carp! That is so cool, this purple looks good.’

The purple colour enlarged, and more varieties of purple appeared, Kit slid his finger across the palette until he was happy with the variant of purple. ‘This purple is even better, though I think it reminds me of one of Kat’s anime characters. Maybe her obsession has started to affect me.’

It was a vibrant purple that faded into magenta at the tips. ‘Yep, definitely an anime character, but I like it.’

“CAL I’m happy with my appearance.”

“Player Kit, appearance changed 3% would you like any further changes.”

“No thank you CAL.”

“It gets further from a legendary appearance, it looks like an eggplant.” CAL was talking to someone Kit could not see again.

‘I am now sure the comments from CAL were meant for me to hear, am I supposed to respond? Should I apologise again? I will just ignore it for now.’

“Player Kit, appearance change confirmed, please select class specialty.” The green eyes were gazing over him again.

A menu popped up in front of Kit, he could still see the white room behind the writing, it made it hard to focus on the words.

“Excuse me CAL, is there any way I can make it so I can just see the menu without the background being seen.”

The little cat sighed. “Just say open menu.”

Kit did as he was told. The background disappeared and he could see black neat writing that looked handwritten, he was expecting a times new roman font. The menu had a list of the professions available to choose from.

There were 12 classes available, Swordsman, Shield Warrior, Berserker, Ranger, Holy Knight, Dark Assassin, Cleric, Druid, Sharman, Elementalist, Summoner and Necromancer.

Kit had already decided on a swordsman, besides his desire to open a restaurant, he wanted to experience sword fights. When he thought about a hero for some reason, he always had a picture of a man with a sword. He loved watching sword fight scenes in movies, and he guessed he liked reading Kat’s manga that have swords involved.

‘If Kat ever asked, I would deny it though.’

“CAL I would like to choose a swordsman.”

“You look a little soft to me, are you sure you want to be a swordsman?” CAL was giving him a piercing look.

‘Should I change my mind? That did not sound too encouraging.’ Kit could feel himself start to panic, he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. He could feel the tightness in his chest closing in, as he rubbed his hands on his pants once again, he felt a rough scratch across his wrist. He gazed down to see the bracelet his sister had given him.

He felt a little calmer after seeing it. ‘Stick to your plan Kit.’

“Yes, CAL I’m sure I want to be a swordsman.” Kit gave CAL a determined look.

“Maybe you will do ok, or not, time will tell.” CAL licked his paw as if he was indifferent towards Kit.

“Well let’s continue, Player Kit class specialty confirmed. Swordsman, please choose a starting village.”

A small world appeared floating in front of Kit slowly spinning around, it looked like a miniature version of earth. There were six continents and thousands of islands all covered in tiny dots most were in grey, but some of the tiny dots were light and sparkled like stars.

Kit focused on one of the lights, a menu then popped open, and information appeared.

‘That was amazing were they all towns, the sparkling ones must be starter towns.’

Continent: Fornax

Starting Village: Sweet Meadow

A small village surrounded by meadows filled with grass and herbs attracting small wildlife.

‘I don’t really mind where I start, so I’ll go with this one.’

“This one sound’s nice CAL, I’ll start here.”

“Did you just pick the first one you came across?” CAL squinted his eyes and gave him a sharp look.

‘Ah, that’s definitely a mad look, I need to think of something to fix this quick.’

“Yes, I knew wherever I started CAL would make it exceptional. I also figured you would guide me to the correct choice first, and I trust CAL’s judgement.” Kit bowed his head once again for good measure.

‘I hope flattering works or I’m guessing I’ll be in for a rough start.’

CAL eyed him from head to toe once again.

“For all your fumbles at the start you are a wise human, of course I would provide you with an extraordinary experience. You were also right, Sweet Meadows will be a good start for you, if you can take advantage of it. That is entirely up to you though.”

The little cat bowed it’s head. “It was nice meeting you player Kit. Enjoy your new world.”

“Thank you, CAL. I’m happy to have met you too.” Kit bowed his head one last time.

“Player Kit, class specialty swordsman. Starting village Sweet Meadow. Please enjoy your adventure in Create a Legend.”

“Starting in 3, 2, 1…”