Prologue - This should be good.
My head was spinning as I lay on the ground. I didn't dare open my eyes until the world decided that it was tired of turning around and around... I was sure I was going to throw up. Minutes passed as I waited for the world to finally feel like going back to it's usual, still self. I could hear the birds chirping, the wind in the trees, and my heart still beating after twenty years of pumping.
Daring to open my eyes, I found a blue and partially cloudy sky above me being obscured by large oak trees. I could feel the cool spring air on my skin and in my lungs, telling me that I was alive. Or at least I thought I was alive. You never can be too sure when the last thing you were told was that your brain was being hardwired to a machine.
I sat up and stretched, being grateful that the world had decided that it would take a break from being a ballerina. It looked like I was in a forest, as per the norm with starting areas in games nowadays. It's always a forest or plains or some other green, nature-y area. However, I was taken aback at the sight. It looked so real, so alive. The forest wasn't too dense — you could swing a large stick and not hit a tree — but it was vast. As far as the eye could see, trees in all directions.
It was to be expected. After all, it was virtual reality. I was the lucky one who scored the only invitation via a lottery, to a beta test of this new VR technology. The creator of the tech was all too eager for me to start playing this test game that they had based in Equestria, the dream home for any little girl. This didn't deter me from entering, of course: I was a fan of the show in fact. I recalled that I had asked what kind of game the beta was, and with a chuckle the creator said it was an RPG.
Something was bothering me, however. No matter how hard I tried to remember, the creator's face and voice just wasn't there. I couldn't even remember if they were a man or a woman. Maybe it was the effects of the VR tech? In the end, I didn't dwell on it too much. After all, I had a game to explore!
As if on cue, a floating, white screen appeared with a quiet pop. It read in black letters, "Greetings, Grant Connors! Welcome to the ESReP beta!" Below the message was a small button that read "next." Guessing it was a touch interface, I pressed the button and the text was replaced. It now read, "Do not be frightened by these new surroundings! This virtual reality technology is meant for the ultimate immersion experience! We have directly connected your brain to our ESReP server, making everything seem real!"
Following the same procedure, I moved the text along. "Now that you're in the game, why not look around and feel how real this game really is!" Moving my hand along the grass, I could feel everything: the dirt, the individual blades... it was like the real deal. "You may be wondering what the objective of this game might be, and that is to explore and have fun! But do be careful, there are monsters around! You may find these useful!"
At the bottom of the screen, there was what looked to be a long, silver VHS compartment with a button that read "eject" below it. Pressing the button forced a silver tray out of the compartment and out of the screen. It was unlike anything I had seen before; it would have been impossible in real life due to the flat nature of the screen. It caught me completely off-guard to say the least!
On the tray was a steel saber in a black, polished scabbard, begging to be picked up. Just above the sword was a deck of orange-trimmed playing cards. On the backs of the cards were the pictures of a feather and a paperweight, both in orange of course. However, on the front was nothing: just a pure white face.
The text seemed to have advanced when I pressed the eject button and now read, "A simple weapon and your 'Deck of Cards' inventory template! Whatever you collect on this brand-new adventure you are about to embark on can be stored in these trusty cards! Just tap the item with the card to store it, and flick the card to bring the item back! Be mindful of what you can and cannot store, however. Large objects suck as buildings and trees cannot be captured by these cards."
It seemed simple enough. Using one of the ten cards that I had at my disposal, I stored my new saber in one of the cards. The saber appeared on the blank face of the card with the text, "Standard Adventure Starter" underneath it. Looking back up at the screen, I pressed "next" and the text continued. "You may find this storage system simple, but you may have some anxiety about your new weapon. That's okay! Press next to continue to see your 'Battle Arms Index'!"
Following the instructions, I was greeted by a screen with five, horizontally arranged, green-trimmed cards at the top of the screen with a keyhole underneath each card, two of which were filled. The first 'filled' card had a picture of a fist on it and had "Fist" written underneath. The second card had a picture of a saber on it and read "Single-edged Blade" underneath. Under this arrangement was what looked to be a key-rack.
"This screen is your 'Battle Arms Index'! Whatever weapon-keys you find in the world can be placed here to 'unlock' the skills to fight with these weapons! It will feel as if you have fought with them your entire life! As with your inventory, however, there are limitations. You can only 'unlock' a certain amount of weapons and fighting styles at a time." It was simple enough. I just had to keep my eyes out for keys and keep track of what weapons I was using.
Pressing next, I was greeted to a status screen. On the left were all of my stats, like attack, defense, level, experience, strength, agility, magic... Oh, wait. What? Magic? This game should be a helluva lot more interesting once I find a spell or two. On the right was a full-body portrait of myself with my hands in my jean pockets, looking bored. Understandable; I was getting tired of this tutorial anyways. I was the same as I always was: brown hair, brown eyes, white tee-shirt with a dark blue hoodie, blue jeans, and a simple pair of running shoes. There was no text on this screen due to what I believed to be it being self explanatory.
Moving along, the text returned to it's original screen: a white background with black text. It read, "Good luck, Grant." Then the screen disappeared on it's own.
Wait, what just happened? It was rather unorthodox for a game to just end a tutorial like that. Well, the game was in beta, so I didn't dwell on it for long. Pushing myself off of the ground, I began to look around the forest. Walking up to one of the trees, I reached out and felt the bark. If I didn't know I was in VR, then I would probably have believed this was real. Hell, even the sound of the birds sounded real. Although I was no bird watcher, so I really couldn't tell you if the birds singing belonged here or not.
Retrieving my saber from the card, I slipped the scabbard into my belt and practiced drawing it. It was strange holding the sword: the grip seemed to fit my hand perfectly, and the blade was light and balanced so well that it felt like it was meant for me. I guessed that this is what the tutorial meant. I gave the saber a few swings before sheathing it. I think I would be fine if I could find a weak monster and see how the combat worked.
Now then, how do I open the menu? The screen disappeared before it told me, so now I had to figure it out. First, I tried simple things like clapping my hands, spreading my fingers quickly, and moving my arms apart, but they didn't work. This could be problematic. I closed my eyes and began to pace back and forth. The trigger would have to be something fast and nonrestrictive. I snapped my fingers to keep me on track, but I soon stopped because I had run straight into a wall.
Opening my eyes after recoiling, I found the status screen floating in front of me. Apparently, I managed to summon it while I was thinking. What did I do to...? Oh, wait. Snapping my fingers again, the screen shrunk and quickly disappeared. I felt like an idiot: it seemed so obvious after I had done it. Snapping would probably be the most efficient and fastest way of bringing up my status.
A sudden sloppy, squishing sound came from behind me. Drawing my blade and turning on my heel, I confronted the enemy. It was a small, lime-green slime creature with beady, black eyes. Typical first enemy, this should prove to be a simple battle.
