The alarm rang, its musical trilling piercing through the darkness of the room. A hand slid out from under the sheets and moved around in the darkness trying to find the source of the noise. It found it eventually. A smartphone with a matte black back that had a silver version of Samsung's logo. The hand grabbed the phone and pulled it under the sheets, and the owner of said hand turned it on to cancel the alarm. When it happened, the phone's bright screen felt like someone threw a flash bang at the owner. The sensation eventually calmed down as the owner of the phone lowered the brightness. The alarm continued to make its noise, and the phone itself showed the time as 5:00 AM. He sighed. Putting his phone back on the nightstand next to his bed, the owner tossed aside his sheets, so he could get out of bed and begin his day. Once the sheets came away, they revealed a young man in his late teens. His mussed auburn-colored hair was short and sticking out every which way. He had a pair of golden-brown colored eyes which leaned towards the gold end of the spectrum, making it appear unnatural. His skin was a healthy pinkish white, and there were signs of a developing tan from spending a lot of time out in the sun. He was currently wearing a pair of pajamas which consisted of a pair of navy-blue sweats and a short-sleeved black v-neck t-shirt.
This was quickly divulged for some workout clothing. He changed into a sleeveless black gym shirt, a pair of cargo shorts, and a pair of red and black running shoes. After washing up fast in the bathroom to look presentable for the public, he would sneak out of the house while his aunt and uncle were asleep. He put in some earbuds from a high-quality brand, queued up some running music, and began his three-mile run. This was his daily routine. The teenager would wake up every morning at 5 and start his run, do a series of core exercises for an hour, and start practicing martial arts for 30 minutes. Once he was finished after two hours of training, the young man would get back home and hop into the shower, and he would make breakfast for the family. One of the benefits of waking up early is that you get to go to school with a full breakfast in your stomach instead of rushing off with a piece of toast like some cliché anime character. Even though he went to an American school, he specifically avoided taking a seat by the window because of its cursed nature. Ah, well. He didn't have to worry about that today. As it was a Saturday! He could take a day off without a care in the world. The teen got back home from his two-hour workout session and took that shower, revealing a toned body that was the result of years of physical training. He got out of the shower feeling clean and put on fresh clothes.
This was a long-sleeved navy-blue shirt with a white front, a black hoodie with a white front, a pair of navy-blue jeans, and black sneakers. He then got downstairs and began setting up the kitchen. He cooked a standard meal for a family of four with coffee to complete it. The smells lured his family downstairs who were in a zombie-like state at the moment. That would change once they have coffee. Once everyone was more alert, they would start speaking like normal people instead of grunting and moaning. The young man's uncle, Peter Salazar, was the first to speak up.
"So, what's everyone's plans for today?"
The teenager shrugged and finished his toast. "I'm going to be spending the next few hours trying out a new VR game I got."
His cousin, Helen, looked at him. "A new fantasy game?"
He nodded. "Yup. Although I can't really talk about it because I don't have a lot of information about it."
Uncle Peter nodded and said, "The reason I'm bringing this up is that we're going to be absent for most of the day as it's our anniversary. So, can we trust you two to hold down the fort?"
Both teenagers nodded and gave an affirmative. Pleased by this, Uncle Peter and his wife, Aunt Alicia, would finish eating and depart from the dining room, so they could get ready to go out. The teenager took care of the dishes and the cleanup. The two said goodbye and watched the adults leave the house. Once they were gone, Helen turned to look at the boy.
"Johnny... it isn't THAT game is it?"
John looked at her with a startled expression. 'She knows about Terrasphere?'
This was quickly divulged for some workout clothing. He changed into a sleeveless black gym shirt, a pair of cargo shorts, and a pair of red and black running shoes. After washing up fast in the bathroom to look presentable for the public, he would sneak out of the house while his aunt and uncle were asleep. He put in some earbuds from a high-quality brand, queued up some running music, and began his three-mile run. This was his daily routine. The teenager would wake up every morning at 5 and start his run, do a series of core exercises for an hour, and start practicing martial arts for 30 minutes. Once he was finished after two hours of training, the young man would get back home and hop into the shower, and he would make breakfast for the family. One of the benefits of waking up early is that you get to go to school with a full breakfast in your stomach instead of rushing off with a piece of toast like some cliché anime character. Even though he went to an American school, he specifically avoided taking a seat by the window because of its cursed nature. Ah, well. He didn't have to worry about that today. As it was a Saturday! He could take a day off without a care in the world. The teen got back home from his two-hour workout session and took that shower, revealing a toned body that was the result of years of physical training. He got out of the shower feeling clean and put on fresh clothes.
This was a long-sleeved navy-blue shirt with a white front, a black hoodie with a white front, a pair of navy-blue jeans, and black sneakers. He then got downstairs and began setting up the kitchen. He cooked a standard meal for a family of four with coffee to complete it. The smells lured his family downstairs who were in a zombie-like state at the moment. That would change once they have coffee. Once everyone was more alert, they would start speaking like normal people instead of grunting and moaning. The young man's uncle, Peter Salazar, was the first to speak up.
"So, what's everyone's plans for today?"
The teenager shrugged and finished his toast. "I'm going to be spending the next few hours trying out a new VR game I got."
His cousin, Helen, looked at him. "A new fantasy game?"
He nodded. "Yup. Although I can't really talk about it because I don't have a lot of information about it."
Uncle Peter nodded and said, "The reason I'm bringing this up is that we're going to be absent for most of the day as it's our anniversary. So, can we trust you two to hold down the fort?"
Both teenagers nodded and gave an affirmative. Pleased by this, Uncle Peter and his wife, Aunt Alicia, would finish eating and depart from the dining room, so they could get ready to go out. The teenager took care of the dishes and the cleanup. The two said goodbye and watched the adults leave the house. Once they were gone, Helen turned to look at the boy.
"Johnny... it isn't THAT game is it?"
John looked at her with a startled expression. 'She knows about Terrasphere?'
He nodded. "Yeah. What about it?"
She pursed her lips and gave a disgruntled noise. "... Nothing. Just be careful while playing it, will you? I've had a friend who played it before the Agency shut it down. She was on her second death. Any further than that and she might've died."
John looked at Helen with a cheeky grin. "Really? Those rumors? You seriously believe them?"
Helen stared at him with a determined expression. "I'm not messing around here, Johnny. You could DIE. I know I won't be able to stop you from playing even if you now know that, but all I want is one thing. For you to be careful."
John was taken aback. His cousin was usually never like this, but he understood where she was coming from to an extent. After all, he nearly died in the real world when he was younger. He sighed and nodded. "I get it. I really do. I'll be as careful as I could possibly be. Satisfied?"
Helen nodded, and the two went to their respective rooms. While Helen queued up her Twitch stream and Dark Souls, John would begin to set up his VR gear, so he could mess around with Terrasphere. He managed to load up the client and got into the game. Opening his eyes, John found himself in a spacious that put the one he had to shame. It was a light gray color, yet everything looked particularly spartan in design. In front of him, was himself. This surprised him as the figure that wore his skin was wearing the same clothes. He was given the option to go into the game as himself, but he found that to be lame. Instead, he chose to craft his avatar into a different person entirely. It was a weird feeling seeing himself being turned into a girl when he moved the slider, but that feeling would fade in time. Instead, it was replaced by a desire to create the perfect character in his mind's eye. This inadvertently led to him taking three hours to customize his avatar, but it was worth it. He was now prompted to input his username, where he would punch in "Valen". Once he hit "finish" the room dematerialized, and he would soon find himself elsewhere.
The Scarwoods was a dangerous place. It was home to monsters of all kinds, such as the deadly Scarwolves that made it their territory. Of course, John wouldn't know this as he appeared in said forest. It was bright out, marking the time to be in the middle of the day. Most of his surroundings consisted of thin trees and shrubbery, with a few of those trees showing claw marks on them. The first thing he noticed was the warm and gentle breeze on his skin and the rustling of leaves as the wind blew past. He knelt down and touched the grass with a bare hand, only to pull back in surprise as he actually felt it. Everything was as real as the real world. He didn't know whether to be impressed or terrified of the developers. Eventually, he noticed the weight on his chest and the long hair that blew into his view. John, or Valen as he is called in the game, looked down to see he had actual breasts that were confined by the basic tunic he now wore. He moved through the forest, unaware of the danger, and found a stream nearby. Kneeling, he saw his reflection in the water. Valen was now a girl. This was it. The singular truth that he was in a genuine virtual world. He was about to try and find his UI when he heard some howling.
'Those were wolves. What are wolves doing here?'
Valen looked around for any weapons that he could use, but he saw nothing. Then the first couple of wolves came to him. Then another. They didn't look like normal wolves. They looked bigger than normal and had scars, hence their name. Choosing to do the smart thing, Valen turned around and baled. This triggered the wolves, forcing them to leap into action. And thus, the chase began.
John looked at Helen with a cheeky grin. "Really? Those rumors? You seriously believe them?"
Helen stared at him with a determined expression. "I'm not messing around here, Johnny. You could DIE. I know I won't be able to stop you from playing even if you now know that, but all I want is one thing. For you to be careful."
John was taken aback. His cousin was usually never like this, but he understood where she was coming from to an extent. After all, he nearly died in the real world when he was younger. He sighed and nodded. "I get it. I really do. I'll be as careful as I could possibly be. Satisfied?"
Helen nodded, and the two went to their respective rooms. While Helen queued up her Twitch stream and Dark Souls, John would begin to set up his VR gear, so he could mess around with Terrasphere. He managed to load up the client and got into the game. Opening his eyes, John found himself in a spacious that put the one he had to shame. It was a light gray color, yet everything looked particularly spartan in design. In front of him, was himself. This surprised him as the figure that wore his skin was wearing the same clothes. He was given the option to go into the game as himself, but he found that to be lame. Instead, he chose to craft his avatar into a different person entirely. It was a weird feeling seeing himself being turned into a girl when he moved the slider, but that feeling would fade in time. Instead, it was replaced by a desire to create the perfect character in his mind's eye. This inadvertently led to him taking three hours to customize his avatar, but it was worth it. He was now prompted to input his username, where he would punch in "Valen". Once he hit "finish" the room dematerialized, and he would soon find himself elsewhere.
The Scarwoods was a dangerous place. It was home to monsters of all kinds, such as the deadly Scarwolves that made it their territory. Of course, John wouldn't know this as he appeared in said forest. It was bright out, marking the time to be in the middle of the day. Most of his surroundings consisted of thin trees and shrubbery, with a few of those trees showing claw marks on them. The first thing he noticed was the warm and gentle breeze on his skin and the rustling of leaves as the wind blew past. He knelt down and touched the grass with a bare hand, only to pull back in surprise as he actually felt it. Everything was as real as the real world. He didn't know whether to be impressed or terrified of the developers. Eventually, he noticed the weight on his chest and the long hair that blew into his view. John, or Valen as he is called in the game, looked down to see he had actual breasts that were confined by the basic tunic he now wore. He moved through the forest, unaware of the danger, and found a stream nearby. Kneeling, he saw his reflection in the water. Valen was now a girl. This was it. The singular truth that he was in a genuine virtual world. He was about to try and find his UI when he heard some howling.
'Those were wolves. What are wolves doing here?'
Valen looked around for any weapons that he could use, but he saw nothing. Then the first couple of wolves came to him. Then another. They didn't look like normal wolves. They looked bigger than normal and had scars, hence their name. Choosing to do the smart thing, Valen turned around and baled. This triggered the wolves, forcing them to leap into action. And thus, the chase began.
