Log in.

Once he logged in, his entire consciousness was sucked into the game, and he couldn't feel anything related to the pod or his body was lying in.

But he didn't panic as Joe had already described the feeling and what to expect.

All he needed to do was say 'Log In' and he was in.

He appeared in a pitch-black space, a small gift box appeared, and the game theme song began to play loudly.

"This is it." Damien clenched his fists, his breathing ragged and his heart racing by the second.

His eyes fixated on the giftbox, and he curiously wondered what the gift box was.

The small handle on the side of the gift box started slowly unwinding and in five seconds, the darkness surrounding him cracked and shattered, dropping like pieces of black stained mirror around him.

The gift box, the music, and the darkness completely disappeared, and Damien found himself standing or rather floating in a very vast blue sky.

He could even already feel the breeze that whooshed past him.

Damien sucked in a big breath of air as he marvelled at the feeling.

A voice suddenly sounded behind him, startling him.

He immediately swung around, although he was curious, he kept his mouth shut and listened to the introduction being given.

"Welcome, human. I am Eleana. I will be your guide for today." A little fairy with two shiny pink wings on her back buzzed up and down, naturally flying in the air.

Damien immediately realized that he was currently flying atop the world only thanks to the fairy's magic because of the soft glow that surrounded his body.

"This is Origin Online, a new and exciting game. Would you like to be an adventurer in our world?" Eleana flapped her wings and asked with a cute smile that revealed her dimples.

"I agree." Damien simply replied.

Though this was a simple question, he knew that this was in fact a very formal consent that was asked from everyone who wanted to enter this game or rather this world.

Joe had mentioned that there were instances where some people said no and as a consequence, they were not allowed to enter the game or rather the world for another month.

By then the game had exploded exponentially, and those people who were late by a month could only swallow their bitter truth and be left in the dust, permanently lagging behind.

Moreover, it was not possible to create separate avatars or change your appearance in this game.

Everything from the real world was directly mirrored in-game and everyone only had one shot at playing the game.

It was impossible to make multiple accounts or start fresh all over again. Such a thing was both a blessing and a curse.

After finishing with the consent, the fairy then directly started with a brief introduction. "This is a free world, where you could be anything you want to be but keep in mind that every action has consequences so be careful..."

Damien listened carefully to everything she said. Although Joe had said a couple things, he couldn't have said everything.

When she was finally done, the pretty Eleana flapped her wings with a small nod as she was happy that he was attentive. Nevertheless, she moved on to the next topic.

"I will now be doing a complete scan of your body; player Damien and your character will be finalized shortly after the scan."

Damien nodded as he felt a wave of energy pass through his body.

He suddenly felt naked, as if he couldn't hide anything from the woman in front of him, as if she was peering through his very soul.

After scanning him from top to bottom, the fairy then spun around and beamed in excitement.

"Congratulations. You are now ready to enter our amazing and wonderful world. I wish you the best of luck, player Damien."

Before Damien could react to anything, the space around him distorted once again and he immediately closed his eyes.

When he felt the ground underneath his feet his eyes snapped open, and he found himself standing in the middle of a crowded street.

Voices of several people cut the silence that once existed.

"Woah! What the hell is this game, dude?"

"I was playing something else, and I suddenly ended up here!"

"This looks so real, right?"

"I didn't know a video game could be so realistic?!"

"Why the fuck am I fat in the game too? Can't I change my stupid avatar?? Ahhh! This is too frustrating!"

"Heh. Are you disappointed that you couldn't make yourself look good and catfish some pretty chick?"

"What? What are you even talking about? Most of these players are guys! Look around. I can't see a single girl!"

"I guess the gender, age, and appearance can't be changed. Phew! It's better this way! At least when I am with a girl, I know I am with a girl."

"Alright. Let's log out and find more information about the game. I have no idea where to even begin with."

Damien was completely surrounded by other players in the novice village and loud chaotic chatter rang out from all directions.

Everyone was trying their best to figure out 'Origin Online' since it had suddenly been force launched in their game pod without any prior warning.

The game was also very peculiar and weird in the sense that it was almost too real!

One was completely unable to change any part of their identity and was also able to move and feel things as if they were in the outside world.

Such a realistic game was leaps and bounds away from the other video games that were currently in the market.

Was this some sort of Guerrilla marketing strategy for the game?

Not everyone knew where the game came from and how they were able to log into it.

Some were even worried if this was similar to a popular anime where the players are trapped in the game and a death in-game meant death in the real world as well.

So, they were a bit hesitant to explore the new game freely.

Of course, more avid gamers and other courageous youngsters did not dilly dally around.

They immediately started chatting with the local NPCs to start receiving quests as that was the obvious start to any game.

Damien, as well, was among this group of players.

However, he didn't bother aimlessly walking around and begging for quests since he already had a set plan.

He directly walked out of the novice village until the crowd thinned and there was no more ruckus.

"Alright let me first check my status screen."