"Lady Bella, your package has arrived." A blond-haired girl wearing a simple maid dress, carrying a heavy box almost too big for her to hold, enters the room. "If you don't mind me asking, what's in here?"
I glance over at her from my bed, slowly moving my hand to the remote to raise myself. "It's four dive gears. When I ordered them, I remembered you wanted some for your family but couldn't afford them."
Since the accident four years ago, I've been bedridden in a room filled with medical equipment that occasionally emits beeps. The wallpaper is white and gold, with small shelves drilled into the fair wall holding plastic-wrapped stuffed toys, awards, and pictures that my family gave me when they go on trips.
"Are you sure you want to give us these? They're 50,000 each," she says with a shocked expression as she makes her way over to the window to open the white blinds. "Together, it's almost a year's salary."
"I got permission to do so, and you have served us faithfully for quite a while, so think of it as a thanks for all your hard work over the years and the hope of your continued service for many years to come," I say as the bed finishes rising. "That said, do you mind helping me set it up? Use the sanitary wipes over there and run the cables around the back of the bed."
"Yes, Lady Bella." She takes out an adult headset and starts to wipe it down after setting aside the cables. It's a large black helmet with a semi-transparent visor for setup and augmented reality. "By the way, do you want me to link it to your PC or just run it solo?"
"Link it to my computer. That'll let me play normal computer games inside of the dive," I say, lifting my head just enough to let the helmet go on. "It'll be nice to play some old favorites again." A few clicks of cables and adjustments of my head later, I'm ready to start the calibration process.
**First-time startup detected. Please lay down flat in a comfortable position before continuing calibration.**
I let out a long sigh as I hit the lowering button, and the motor starts to scream at me. I really need to get that replaced.
**Calibration started. Lay as still as possible to get the best results.**
The dive gear starts to vibrate and hum as it gathers general biometrics of my body. From what I've read, it uses the data to better simulate the game world and create a default avatar to use as a base for any game I go and play. The data won't be sold off to big corporations due to laws put in place, but it still feels intrusive.
**Calibration complete, displaying results. Once setup is complete, you can modify your base avatar and correct general bio data as needed.**
Through the visor, I see my sickly body clad in simple white undergarments. Most of my muscles have faded into practically nothing, with my arms being the last thing that has any real strength left. Though the skin is a little too dark, and the hair is nonexistent. I guess I need to add that in later.
**Computer connection detected, please enter username and password to establish a link. This can also serve as your device credentials when used as a standalone if you wish.**
After logging into my PC from the dive gear, it fully activates, pulling me into the virtual world and sending me to the avatar editor. How would I like myself to look? I first change the hair color to silver; it's not my real color, but I have a theme in mind. Next, I make my eyes a light blue, fill out my body, and give myself a slight chest that won't get in the way. Next, I add some midnight blue clothes; they won't be used in the games themselves, but some do take it into account for starter equipment.
What should be the first game I play with this thing? I could go play New Life Fantasy. I did reserve an account when I was trying to buy the headset, and the videos coming out of it make it look like it's loads of fun. Alright, I'll start with that one before my reservation expires.
No sooner than I have the intent to load up NLF, its startup screen appears before me. I let out a long exhale... maybe a virtual exhale, not that it matters as I tap the screen. Next thing I know, I'm standing inside a well-furnished room with the walls lined with books going all the way to the ceiling.
"Hello, I'm Sila," a calico bipedal cat says as it jumps into the seat behind an elegantly carved desk. "I will be walking you through character creation." I can't help but wonder if I loaded up the wrong game. This cat thing is very cartoony, and if it wasn't for its butler-like clothing, it would be out of place.
"Thank you, Sila," I say, bowing as if I'm wearing a dress. "I created an account a little while ago with a bio attached. I know it said the character was finalized, but would it be possible to change a few things before I start playing? And before you start, can you not do the cat talk?"
Sila lets out a chuckle. "Very well, Miss Luna. As for your request to change your character, we can accommodate it as long as it's not just to avoid a hard-to-play race."
"Thank you." The race selection screen appears in front of me as I scroll through, looking for the inhuman races, mostly monsters and animals. "Um, I thought specter was a starting option."
"Management changed it to be a request-only option due to players complaining about how hard they were to play. I can let you select it, but may I ask why you want to play a specter?" She walks over to one of the shelves and holds up her hand into which a book flies. "They're easy to get to the first evolution, but they have no real defense until you get a body."
"I'm aware. I like a challenge, and that doll race looks like it'll fit my character if I can get it," I say as Sila walks over to me, holding out the book for me to take. Cracking it open turns my body into a small sphere, white with a ghostly midnight-blue tail coming off the back. I take a moment to float around the room to make sure I know how to move.
"Most people aren't able to move so quickly without a human form. Quite impressive."
"It doesn't seem that hard to do; I just have to imagine that I'm swimming." I float down to Sila's level. "About my bio, it says I was the princess of a fallen nation called the Moonlight Kingdom. Will that cause any problems with the NPCs if I act that out? I don't want to mess with the world lore too much, and I've read that player activities can affect the course of the world."
"Please remember to call them residents. As for your question, it won't be a problem in the slightest. We have made things so that roleplayers can fully immerse themselves. In addition, you can get a noble title by getting in the
good graces of the noble families or by unlocking it through other means." Sila gets back into her seat and starts to look at me as if trying to peer into my soul. It must be my imagination. "Just as a reminder, as a specter, you have to use the special start. Also, we don't have skill lists or anything of the sort; what you can do is directly tied to what you learn on your own. In short, if you want to learn a spell, you need to learn the words and remember them to use it, same with all other skills."
"That sounds like a nice challenge." I redistribute some stats while I have the chance, pushing myself more towards magic and dexterity. Until I can evolve, any strength and defense I get will be useless. "A few more things until I get teleported: did my medical disability number go through? I don't want to receive those 'you have been logged in too long' notifications or just be booted out for being on too long. After that, when it comes to skills and magic, all I need to have is the stats to use it and not have to learn it in-game?"
"Yes, we will not bother about being logged in, though you will still be asked to log off when we need space to allow other users on," Sila takes some paper out of her desk and starts writing something down. "As for the second question, most of the beginner skills work like that while the higher-level ones need to be learned in-game or researched through trial and error."
"Well, that's all I have for now. Go ahead and send me to my spawn." As soon as the words leave my lips, I'm engulfed in a spectacular blue light.
YOU ARE READING
Princess Luna of The Moon Light Kingdom
FantasyA young girl finally gets her dive head set but when she logs into her first game she discovers more than she was expecting.
