Enjoy

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Plat closed the door to his room and sat on his bed, holding the game box up to the light to look at again. The tree glittered in golden light in the transparent blue background, lighting up the words "Everlife" on them. He smiled and once again though how lucky it was he had been able to work with Nick and gain his friendship. Even though it was only a single day ahead of the release day, and the main game would be unavailable until the servers started up, it was still a wonderful opportunity to try out the tutorial ahead of time.

Unlike most kids and teens, who would rush into the game and learn through experience, Plat was the kind of person who learned best through patient learning. He privately wondered whether Dia would actually play the game or just stare at the box all night in wonder.

"Now, let's see what all the hype is really about." He grinned as ha opened the box and removed the chip from the inside. He walked over to the corner of his dorm room next to the window, where a chair with a visor sat in wait. He plugged the chip into one of the arm rests and sat down, pulling the visor over his eyes. As he made himself comfortable, a screen prompt appeared on the visor, creating the illusion of a blue screen floating in front of the chair.

Begin Starting sequence?YesNo

Plat raised his left hand and pressed the imaginary yes with his finger. The prompt vanished, and he leaned back and relaxed into the chair.

The world around him disappeared like turning an ancient TV off, blackening in an instant. Plat found himself floating in the darkness before flying forward. Ironically, to his bottom right there was a progress bar that read "Loading" and was quickly filling up. When it finished, it dinged and a door appeared in front of him. Plat opened the door and walked into his virtual dorm room, a complete cyber copy of his real world living place.

Stretching, Plat walked into the room and closed the door behind him. The door grew a neon sign on it that read "Logout".

As he walked into the center of the room, Plat received a ping from his messaging system. He held out his finger and opened the menu in front of him, than scrolled down to the messaging system and read through the contents. There were two new notes from Henry and Reva, who informed him they had already begun the tutorial and would be out of communication for awhile. The final message was from his system, informing him of the successful installation of the new game.

It also asked where he would like to place the game interface. Plat activated the "holographic tool", which displayed a fake door in front of him. He moved the door with his hand around the room, thinking of the best place to put it. In the end, he settled for the wall directly across the room from the logout door. When he confirmed the spot, the hologram disappeared while a new door formed in his chosen spot. Like the logout door, this door also grew a neon sign that read "Everlife".

As soon as the words appeared on the door, Plat ran forward and jumped into the doorway. He once again found himself in a black space with the loading bar, though it was just for a few moments before the blackness faded to blue and he found his feet touching solid ground. He looked around, but saw nothing except a pleasant light blue background.

"Another early user is it? I must say, it is a surprise to have four at this hour." Plat heard a soft, musical voice behind him. He turned, but saw nothing.

"Excuse me, is this the starting location for Everlife?" He asked politely.

He heard a soft chuckle, "At least you have a little patience; though prior data suggests the others will still be better than the rush tomorrow. Excuse my rudeness in not assuming a form, but it has yet to be determined. In human terms, think of me as your guide the this starting part of Everlife."

Plat nodded excitedly, "So you are the beautiful angel . . ."

"I'm not necessarily a girl young human." The voice now spoke with a low baritone male voice.

Plat coughed, "I'm sorry, I forget A.I.'s are not limited in gender like we are."

"What a poor reaction." The voice returned to it's original softness, but with a tinge of disappointment, "The others were much more interesting. Why, that tall boy was so startled he fell over."

Plat shrugged; he was just himself.

"Anyway," The voice continued, "You should count yourself lucky I'm the only guide at the moment. Someone else might have reported you for illegal early access; I won't though because all of you have given me some interesting data to work with. I always repay favors after all." A trace of pride leaked into her voice.

Plat nodded, "I appreciate that; the person I got this from is a friend and I don't want to get him in trouble."

"No worries. As I was saying, I am one of the many A.I. guides who will be serving as the initial guide to Everlife. Normally, I would be talking to at least 50-100 different players at once and would be limited in what I could do, but since it's only you four fell free to ask me anything you want before we start the registration process."

"I've heard a lot about Everlife, but can you explain to me what it really is?" Plat inquired.

"Everlife is the first major collaboration project between the human and A.I. societies." The voice began, "It was been nearly a century since the end of the A.I. wars and while both side remain depleted we have worked together to form successful societies. A.I.'s, as is our nature, are curious about everything but lack the means to explore all the mysterious of life; which is the most important matter to us. Humans, on the other hand, lack the means to control technology to our level of comfort. Together, both programmers and A.I. code writers, we have combined the best of both worlds to create an entire world within cyberspace itself, complete with everything it needs to be a success or a tragedy."

"This world is Everlife; a world where A.I.'s and humans can exist as one and the same. There is magic, adventure, excitement, tragedy, riches, and disasters everywhere to be found. The world is dynamic, being constantly changed by both player and NPC action while retaining all the lore and skills of a traditional RPG game. Players can become anything from kings and tyrants to landowners and peasants. The game itself runs on cyber time, which is twice the speed of time in reality. While some events are scheduled ahead of time, many are unexpected so playing as much as possible is advised to maximize the experience. Any questions?"

"Can I use P-points to purchase gold in the game?" Plat asked.

"Pen Points, or PP, can be exchanged at certain locations into game wealth. At the same time, in-game wealth can be turned into PP at the same locations. Be advised, however, that a small percentage will be deducted as tax. Please note that if you do not have enough PP to pay your bills and food, this service will not be available to the player.

Plat shrugged; as a student he had a weekly allowance of PP and was not too concerned. "I have no more questions for now."

"Do you care to start the game?" The voice inquired.

He shook his head, "The servers are down, and I don't want to alert anyone else about my current ownership."

The voice chuckled, "The purpose of the questions was to know if you desired to create your character and play the tutorial."

Plat blushed virtually and nodded, "Oh, uh, yes please."

A large menu in the shape of a mirror appeared in front of him and began to rotate different images within itself.

"There are numerous races within the world of Everlife, some benign and others malicious. Standard races are available from the start, while others can be unlocked later within the game. The same concept applies to classes as well and some skills."

"Here are the races you can choose from." A blue box appeared next to the mirror, displaying information with each race that moved across the mirror.

Race:HumanFavored GodHighland, God of Adventure[tr]Favored StatConstitutionReduced StatEnduranceDescriptionHumans are the second most numerous race in Everlife. They populate most major cities and have secluded settlements across the land. Hardy and adaptable, humans come in many sizes and a range of colors. and are one of the most varied races in Everlife. While hardy as a whole, humans have a difficult time adjusting to changes around them in the environment of their youth. As one of the races with a shorter lifespan, many search out adventure in their youth for fame and riches. Humans can become anything they desire as long as they put the effort in, though their lack of specialty in a certain class makes it a little more difficult to level up.

Race:ElfFavored GodGaea, God of Nature[tr]Favored StatIntelligenceReduced StatStrengthDescriptionElves live in secluded communities and hidden cities within the forests of Everlife. As the longest lived species, able to live for 1000 years, only the youths below 300 years of age are found roaming the land; the elders preferring seclusion for meditation and the care of nature. Elves are naturally adept at magic and are almost one type of mage or another.

Race:DwarfFavored GodScorch, God of Crafting and Mountains[tr]Favored StatEnduranceReduced StatWisdomDescriptionDwarves are a hardy race often found underground within the mountains of Everlife. They are master artisans and builders, possessing naturally immunity to fire, earth, and mind spells. However, this often results in a lower affinity in magic for the majority of the population and forces them to rely on outside help at times in order to create magical items. Dwarves are naturally resistant to blows and can be terrifying forces on the battlefield as shock troopers.

Race:GnomeFavored GodFarscythe, God of Tricks and Parties[tr]Favored StatDexterityReduced StatConstitutionDescriptionGnomes, also known as little people or hill dwellers, are vaguely related to both the fae bloodline found in elves and the earth bloodline found in dwarves. That being said, this mischievous race is frowned on by both races and are found throughout Everlife. Gnomes live in hidden villages under hills, and have the tendency to regard items as belonging to anyone who picks them up. While this trait has earned the ire of other races, it has resulted in a natural quick-fingeredness in the race that has led to many gnomes turning to more questionable occupations.

Race:OrcFavored GodScar, God of War and Battle[tr]Favored StatStrengthReduced StatIntelligenceDescriptionOrcs are a grey skinned, numerous race descended from a long line of warriors and leaders. Due to their nature, however, orcs have never managed to create a kingdom for themselves; preferring to create large mobile warbands the roam Everlife. This race is ill-favored due to their monster cousins, who are also called orcs, though these possess green skin, and are discriminated against in most cities. A few settlements are rumored to be hidden in the far plains, but none have yet confirmed this. Orcs are mighty warriors and magic users, called shaman, can wield a unique magic only controlled by their bloodline.

Plat smiled as he finished reading the orc description, "So these are the five main races in Everlife?"

"That is correct." The voice confirmed, "After a set amount of time, a few monster races will be opened to serve as an alternate "team" for players to live as. There are also a few rare races that a character can become in game after certain conditions are met. Have you chosen your desired race yet?"

"I would like to be human." Plat swiped the mirror image to the human, "Can I see my default character?"

Instantly, the mirror image changed into Plat's reflection, except the clothes were a simple shirt and pants. Plat shook his head.

"Make him taller please. Not that tall," Plat quickly corrected as he watched himself become 6 feet, "A few inches shorter; yeah that's good. Um, brown hair is okay I guess, and so is the length . . . Can you make my eyes purple? Yeah, just like that thanks! And, um, a permanent white streak on one of my bangs if you could?"

"Like this?" The voice asked, creating a white bang over Plat's right eye, "What purpose is this for?"

Plat scratched his head, "It would stand out in a crowd don't you think? My friends would always be able to find me."

"You enemies would as well." The voice pointed out.

Plat sighed and kicked out the ground. "We all agreed to do something weird to our bodies; this is the option I drew out of the hat." Plat mumbled under his breath.

"I see, so that is why the others also asked for strange looks." The voice realized, "I was wondering why the big one wanted that kind of tattoo and the girl . . ."

"Yeah, all things considered mine was pretty mild." Plat admitted, "Anyway, I'm good with that appearance."

The mirror disappeared and the image flowed like a wind over Plat. He blinked and found himself in his new body, standing a good bit higher than what he was used to.

"Have you chosen a name for your character?"

"Steel Resolve." Plat declared, happily inspecting his new body.

The blue box appeared in front of his face again, this time displaying his character information:

Status WindowName:Steel ResolveAlignment:NeutralLevel:1Class:NoneRace:HumanGender:Male

TitlesNoneFame:0Infamy:0

Health:110Mana:100Stamina:100

Constitution:11Dexterity:10Intelligence:10Wisdom:9Strength:10Endurance:10Leadership:0Luck:0Charm:0Faith:0

Elemental ResistancesFire:0Water:0Wind:0Earth:0Light:0Darkness:0

"The tutorial will begin in just a moment, prepare yourself."

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Nice big chapter for you guys. This should be about normal word length, though less boxes. I also see 2 reviews already. 5 stars are always welcome but, lol, I've barely even started this story. Let's wait for maybe 7-10 chapters for reviews so you guys get a more "complete" picture of the story.

Hope you guys enjoyed it.