Game Start

Edgar proceeded to keep his eyes closed as the snipping of the scissors cut off the remaining parts of him that he wanted to throw away. The pile of hair under his chair was getting sucked up by the underground vacuum system without a sound. He imagined how much hair there would have been in the old barbershop. The banter he would have probably received from the regulars and barbers. He couldn't help but smile at the memory.

The idea of playing Atlas Life became more and more intriguing to him as he thought about it. It was perfect.

The other chance at life that he so desperately was attempting to reach out to. The life that pops saw for him, perhaps he could try to start in that other world. If the rumours of the game really lived up to expectations. It wouldn't be impossible.

After all, it is 2097. Gamers even in the early century imagined that this day would come at one point. The point that VR would become almost unrecognisable to real life. While many other gaming companies have come close, none have imagined the scale that Atlas Company has promised. Millions of quest lines, deep intriguing storylines, sword and magic, medieval-inspired setting, and unique classes. It was a gamer's wet dream.

If it truly lived up to the hype, Edgar thought it was a great idea. He could live a life in a different world. What an intriguing thought. Hopefully, it'd be better than this one he's currently stuck in.

He decided to read up more on the game, if he was truly going to decide to play it, he at least needed to know more about it.

With his haircut done, he decided to check out the commotion. It was rare to see so many people line up in front of a store. There was no benefit really to lining up, other than some minor limited purely collective rewards. It was a window into the game's possible future if all went well.

The game would start at six pm and if he ordered it at least four hours before, the gaming helmet should arrive just on time. Edgar looked at his watch and realised he had more than enough time. He called an electric car to his location and started ordering the headset. It was expensive. It cost around two thousand dollars but had multiple payment plans to make it more affordable for players.

If all went well, players would be able to pay off the initial cost of the helmet anyway. It was an investment. This thought was what kept Edgar's dream alive. He had that much money left in his bank account, but there wouldn't be much left until next month's allowance from his parents.

He'd have to work hard in order to pay off the helmet and make sure he had enough food left for the month.

It had been a long time since Edgar had planned ahead this much, or put any real effort into anything. It felt good. It felt good to finally have something to look forward to. Something to work for.

He placed the order for the Atlas state of the art Virtual Gaming Helmet(VGH). Within four hours, a drone would arrive at his house and deliver it to his porch. In the meantime, he'd research all he could on the game and everything he needed to know beforehand.

It had been a long time since he tried so hard for anything. He'd forgotten the feeling of it. It filled him with excitement to think of what he could try and achieve from the bottom up. Perhaps this was the excitement most of the gamer's fans were feeling. An escape from the real world, but also an opportunity to achieve something truly great. It was more than many could ever ask for.

Edgar would be sure to take this opportunity by the throat, and never let it go.

--

As the countdown to the game's release got closer and closer, Edgar became more and more confident. At the very least, he wouldn't go into the game fully unprepared. While he may not have much experience in VR games, he believed he wouldn't be at too much of a disadvantage. In fact, from what he'd heard, it seemed like the controls and overall mechanics of the game were quite intuitive. It would require some time to get the hang of everything, but he had always been a fast learner.

He looked at his watch and looked at the delivery drone arriving at his place.

"Finally" he spoke out loud as there were only minutes left until the server opened.

He quickly picked up the large box and unwrapped his gaming helmet. It was sleek and black with the circuitry hidden underneath everything. He could barely hold his surprise at the magnificently crafted helmet. He was having trouble believing that the VR game that would revolutionize gaming could be accessed through this helmet.

He took the equipment to his room and followed the instructions in order to log into the game. He would create his character in advance and wait for the servers to open inside. He'd learned he could do this through some forum that talked about how to minimise idle time. It was a forum for hardcore players. The type of people that would clear a raid alone while you were still hunting chickens.

He'd take some of their advice, but he wanted to explore this new life by himself.

He put his newly purchased VGH and laid down on his bed. Apparently, once the helmet was put on properly, all he needed to say was…

"Atlas, enter"

As soon as he uttered the words, he felt a small prick on the back of his head and his eyesight went dark. He felt his consciousness slip away and quickly come back, but when he opened his "eyes", all he could see was darkness with a small text saying "Loading...."

He had entered the game and was on the loading screen.

"What? What the heck is a loading screen," Edgar thought to himself as he had never experienced a game having to load before. With the speed of most smartphones and computers, loading screens were problems of the past. Yet now he was experiencing the grief of gamers decades ago.

The loading screen only lasted a moment before a ray of white light startled him and caused him to focus. The scenery had changed into an eagle-eye view of the world of Atlas Life. Mountains and deserts were shown, villages and sprawling medieval cities, volcanoes, and jungles. It showed the players a tiny speck of the world, yet it was enough to incite an overwhelming excitement to adventure and explore all that they were shown.

Even on the loading screen, they could tell that this game was something else. It didn't feel like the other types of virtual realities. It was just too real.

Edgar clenched his fists as he started feeling some of that excitement too, something he hadn't felt in a long time. It seems that his idea to start the game was a wise one.

The tour of the vast world lasted a couple of moments before it led each player to their character selection screen. Here, some of the most important decisions would be made. However, just as Edgar was pondering his decision on his class and race. He heard a voice in his head.

[Fret not. The decisions you make here will not be as important as the ones you make inside the game.]

The voice was surprisingly human, and he trusted in. The voice that spoke was a version of Atlas. The AI that powered the game. Each helmet sold had a subvariant of Atlas in order to ensure smooth access into the game and for various other reasons.

Edgar's shoulders relaxed as he understood the voice's intentions. It made sense. It would be silly to think that your future would be decided by a couple of decisions early on in the game.

[Edgar Bloom]

[Lvl 0]

[Hp 0/0]

[Mana 0/0]

[Str 0]

[Int 0]

[Agi 0]

[Vit 0]

[Cha(Charisma) 1]

Thankfully, there was no class selection this early into the game, and all it required him to do was to place his 20 attribute points as he pleased. He decided to place 6 on strength, 8 on agility, 3 on intelligence, and 3 on vitality.

He confirmed his placement and he finally logged into the game.

[Edgar Bloom]

[Lvl 1]

[Hp 100/100]

[Mana 0/0]

[Str 6]

[Int 3]

[Agi 8]

[Vit 3]

[Cha(Charisma) 1]