2 First Steps

[Launch day]

Alex had spent the last week stocking up on nutritional snacks and coffee in preparation for the big release. After all, he was planning to do what he did best: Conquer. In order to conquer it, he had to have an advantage over everyone else.

He had taken leave from his part-time job and had completed all his due work. The apartment was spotless. As for his friends, they had been uninterested in the game. One had lost all interest when he learned that the game was set in a world without guns, while the other was busy with work. Only one had also purchased it.

The DreamGear had arrived the day before by mail. Alex had already synchronized it all that was left was to wait for the launch time. Morphis had done an intensive analysis of the game. It had concluded that the encryption was quite good by earth's standards. Furthermore, the game database used blockchain technology to ensure that there was no tampering with it. However, as insurance, Alex had asked Mordis to protect the game from the shadows from both external and internal attacks. Better be safe than sorry.

During the week, Virtum Entertainment released more information about the game. The game was set in a fantasy universe, with gods and monsters. The main plot of the game was the colonisation of the newly discovered continent of Novus by the four great human empires. The empires were competing with each other to control the land. Unknown to them this 'new' continent was an ancient land with many different races, both good and evil, both peaceful and chaotic. The players would start at the already build settlements along the coastline. These would be the only structures built by the empires. Players would have to help their own empires to construct alongside NPCs the towns, cities and fortress on this continent. That made the player's starting point very important and created a sense of competition between players.

The developers didn't acknowledge the existence of other races nor deny it, preferring to let the players discover it on their own. They did, however, announce a partnership with several banks in both Europe and Asia to allow players to exchange gold coins for money, encouraging people to join the game in the hopes of making money from home. This resulted in a spike in game sales worldwide.

---

As the launch neared, Alex placed the slick black helmet on his head and after making sure that everything was in order he logged on.

A spiral of light transported him into an endless snown white space. His body was made out of a semitransparent ghostly avatar. Suddenly, a voice spoke out.

"Welcome to the Dream Space. The game Novus will be available in five minutes. While you wait, you can create your character. Do you wish to proceed with Character Creation?"

"Yes"

"Very well, loading Character Creation... Only the human race is available. Generating character."

A spitting image of Alex appeared in front of him: a slender young man stood 170cm tall with a well-defined jawline and greyish-blue eyes. His short messy golden brown hair matched the tattered jute clothes he wore.

"Do you wish to modify your character? Please note that you cannot change your gender."

"Yes, change the hair colour. Silvery white. Oh, and did you replicate the tattoo?"

"Very well changing colour... Done. Yes."

The mirror image of Alex turns around and his tunic disappeared revealing a majestic dragon tattoo etched into his right shoulder.

"Good. Save the character."

"Please reconfirm. Let me remind you that your character is bound to your DNA. If you wish to create a new one you will need to delete your current character."

"Confirm."

"Character Bounded to Alex Chase. Novus has been released. Good luck and enjoy your adventure."

Alex became one with his clone and the environment faded to black, transitioning him to a breathtaking scene. He stood on the deck of a caravel flying a silver flag bearing a golden dragon, approaching a pier. The pier alongside four others linked the sapphire blue water of the Barren Ocean to the emerald green plains of Novus. A large village stretched ahead of Alex, surrounded by a wooden palisade and a dry moat. People of all ages populated this settlement. Soldiers patrolled the vicinity while engineers and workers laboured tirelessly to provide shelter for the constant influx of people. Craftsmen, not to be outdone, were busy crafting tools and clothes to equip the population. Everywhere, the golden dragon flew high.

"Alright, we are here. Welcome to Novus, good luck with your future endeavours and don't get yourselves killed."

After the vessel docked, the players disembarked. They all headed towards the desk at the end of the pier. An official sat behind it with a huge scroll and a feather. Behind him stood four fierce-looking soldiers. As players approached him, he asked their names then followed by handing the player a crystal wish that served as an ID.

"Simply Umbra"

After a grunt from the official, his crystal in hand, Alex's adventure started.