Conquering the Crests of Life

Turn 10 | Genesis

Turn 10 | Genesis

On cue, an ethereal, blue sphere of light engulfs your body.

You blink, slightly startled.

A welcome message appears, asking for some basic information. Hesitantly, you tilt your head down to see if your hands are still there. When you find that they are indeed there, you use them to feel around your eyes.

Feeling only your face, you sigh in relief. There is no headgear to shock you and no monsters to attack you here.

The welcome screen flickers to remind you of its presence, so you get to work by filling out the blanks. You're not dumb enough to put your real name in the server and instead input "Jane Doe" in the box asking for a name. For a VR name... you put "Nameless," for now.

Once you click to the next step, a mirror phases into existence. It shows a reflection of yourself, accurate to the finest detail. Next to the mirror is a multitude of sliding options and input values. Must be the avatar creation step.

"Wow, there are so many options..." Some options can manipulate your stature, hair, eyes, and outfit.

"Let's not spend too much time on this. Look at the bottom note." Luna points to some words at the bottom of your vision. It reads:

｢ Project what you desire your avatar to look like, and it will be reflected here. ｣

Project...? You just need to... imagine what you want? Link technology sure has progressed far in the past few years. Though intrigued, you're not very keen on changing your appearance. But for the sake of anonymity, you close your eyes and let your imagination run wild for a moment. When you open your eyes, your jaw slackens at your altered reflection.

The avatar retains traces of your overall stature, but the changes you thought of were depicted exactly as you imagined.

Slowly, your fingers card through platinum blue hair secured in a high ponytail, with not a single white strand to be found. The light blue color is interrupted by shocks of magenta and light yellow that replace your normal deep purple highlights. Two locs of intertwining magenta and yellow escape your ponytail and frame your face on both sides. Your hair looks and feels wilder and longer than usual while maintaining elegance and grace at the same time. Sharp, teal green eyes sparkling in wonder greet you instead of your usual gold.

Despite the blend of colors looking pretty in an aesthetic sense, your face feels a bit too unnatural.

Honestly, you've never understood the appeal of being something you're not. Changing an aspect of yourself, even just physically put a bad taste in your mouth.

After you finish evaluating your dramatic facial transformation, your jaw drops even lower at your detailed outfit. Although you've never directed a real orchestra or band (only ever through the digital screen of music software), you took inspiration from the traditional conductor outfit and put your own spin on it

Most noticeable is your white coat. It has long sleeves and cascades down into butterfly-like coattails with a magenta lining underneath. Twirling around you can see various golden music notes, clefs, and staff lines adorning the coat's outside. Underneath your coat is a teal green shirt and white leggings. Finally, a pair of boots that match your eyes wrap up your avatar's design. Now, this outfit you could get used to!

You squint at the mirror. "I think I made my face too different. It feels weird."

Luna views your avatar with a critical eye. "I recommend you keep it. It's flashy, but at least you won't be recognized."