Chapter Three: Legend Conquerors Online

Alexia is sitting up in her bed, looking into a small mirror and fixing her hair. She tries brushing the white bangs in her face to the side, but finds that it blocks the vision on whatever side they're on.

"My hair is too long. Well, I guess I haven't cut it since… hold on… Have I ever had my hair cut?!" Alexia sighs, coming to the realization that she has never actually had her hair cut in the ten years that she's been alive, "Oh well. Might as well try to do something different." She then moves her bangs in between her eyes and on the sides of her face, "Alright. That works well enough."

Then the door comes open, and Arthur appears from behind it, "Afternoon, Alexia," he says with a wide smile.

"Arthur! Yay, I was hoping you'd visit today!"

Arthurs sets the large box in his hands down and hugs his sister, "Don't I make it a point to visit you on your birthday? It's good to see you, sis."

"It's great to see you too," says Alexia as she hugs her brother tightly, "How are mother and father doing?"

Arthur departs from his hug, rests his face in his hands, and sighs, "They're themselves. But, let's not worry about them. How are you doing?" he asks, sitting down at a chair beside Alexia's bed.

"I'm doing great. I just finished a good book this morning and Miss Erica said that she can get me the next volume," she says cheerfully.

"Well that's cool. However, if you're going to be a nerd, don't just be a book nerd," says Arthur, picking up the present next to him, "This is for you. Happy birthday."

Alexia begins to tear into the package like there's no tomorrow. After tearing off all of the brightly-colored paper, the young girl finds a large box with what seems to be some sort of head gear pictured on the front of it. Then there are the words, "X-Nerve 2030," written in white over the picture. Then there's another, much smaller and thinner box with what seems to be an open expanse of land in the light of the rising sun depicted on the front. The thinner box also has the words, "Legend Conquerors Online," written on its front.

"Now way…" Alexia says with eyes full of amazement, "... Is this…"

"The newest and most advanced line of X-Nerve, right off of the assembly line. Full-dive technology. So safe that even someone as sickly as you are can wear it. And I have a good feeling that you'll like the game as well."

"The game?" she asks, picking up the smaller box.

"Legend Conquerors Online. This is one of the most advanced and possibly one of the greatest games that our family's tech department has ever produced. This game has twelve different maps, each one is the size of Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa put together. It also has a massive amount of lore. Not only can you go around in your own, personally-made avatar, but you can also take quests, fight powerful enemies, use magic and weapon skills, and even build your own nation."

"Build a nation?!"

"That's right. You can create fortress cities, construct massive armies, and even engage in wars with other player's countries."

Sparkles of amazement appear in Alexia's eyes, "That sounds awesome! So you're saying that if I work hard enough, I can create my own country and beat up monsters?!"

"That's right. And the best part is that this game has just come out of the beta testing phase and it still has a few months left until it's released to the public. Which means, you'll have quite a big head start on the other players who want to build their own country."

"That sounds awesome! But, are sure that it's safe for me? This thing basically puts my body to sleep while my mind wanders off right?" Alexia asks.

"I talked it over with Erica. Your body is definitely physically weak, but you have a strong mind and a strong will to boot. Even if you're asleep, it won't cause any harm to your body. You'd basically be having something close to a lucid dream. Only one where your avatar is connected to the internet and you're constricted by the rules of the game."

"Arthur, do you think I'll be able to walk in this game?" Alexia asks while looking down at her sickly, thin legs hiding under her covers.

Arthur smiles, "You'll be able to do a lot more than walk. You'll be able to run, sprint, fight, cast magic, and wield strength and power unlike everything you've ever seen before. That's the beauty of this game. You can be and do anything you want, regardless of who you are in the real world. And that's why I got this for you. I want you to live the way you want to live. And though it's not the same as living in the real world, I'm hoping that you can have fun."

A small tear forms at the edge of Alexia's eyes and she hugs her brother, "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Arthur answers as he embraces her back. He then detaches, "So, what do you say about cracking this thing open and trying it out?"

"I don't mind, but what about you?"

"I have a little device that will allow me to talk to you while you're inside of the game. I also have a device that will help me see what you see inside of the game on the television screen. I'll be with you for the entire way, so you don't have to worry. But before I can speak to you, you have to customize your avatar."

"Customize?"

"Yeah. Like you have to choose your race, the type of warrior you are, your name, your hair and eye color."

"Sounds awesome," she answers with a smile.

At that point, the brother and sister pair begin to tear into the cardboard box with the headgear inside of it. After opening it up, they find a large headset that completely covers the eyes and ears that has a velcro strap that allows it to attach to the user's head. After that, they open up the small, thinner box and take out a small, SD card-like object and insert it into a small slot that sits on top of the section that covers the eyes. Arthur secures the headset onto his little sister's head, but does not slide it down her face to the point where it covers her eyes and blocks her ears. After that, Alexia gently lays her head down on her pillow.

"I'll call you when you get to the other side," Arthur says with a laugh.

"Don't say it like that! That just sounds creepy!" Alexia answers with a concerned look and tone.

"You don't have to worry. These things have been tested thousands of times and have been proven to be 1000 percent safe."

"I know. I'm just messing with you," says his sister with a wide smile.

"You've always been a mischievous, little imp."

Alexia smiles and her brother moves the headset over her eyes and ears, and presses a button on the side, activating the machine. A few seconds later, Alexia's body falls asleep while her mind drifts into the game. Arthur takes a look at her monitor just to be safe, realizes that nothing has changed, and starts setting up the device so that he can talk to his little sister while she's in the game world.