Chapter 2 - Release Day

Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...Buzz...CRACK!

"Ehh?... What time is it... I'm not ready to wake up.... Ughhhh. Well, I guess it's time to get out of bed." As I get out of bed I see the wreckage of my once-new alarm clock. It broke after I smacked it across the room. "Darn" I think to myself, "I really need to stop punching those. I'm going to go broke if I keep having to buy more. Now I don't even know what time it is." I look around my rather small studio apartment. I keep it tidy, and I have several gaming consoles as well in it. But after today, I will never need one of them again. I walked over to the calendar on the wall next to my bed. I could have used a phone or an electronic calendar, but I preferred the paper ones (also, I didn't have enough money waste on things like that either). It hit me that today was the release day of New Destiny Online, the latest and greatest VRMMORPG. I started literally shaking I was so excited. Normally I wouldn't get too excited about games, I mean I play a lot of them but it's not really my personality to get super hyped up for a game. But this game is different. This game is New Destiny Online, or NDO as most people call it. It offers near 100% realism and the best part is that it also has two of my favorite things involved in it. Space and magic. I have always wanted to go to space and that is on par with my interest of magic. NDO will be set in the year 2887, when humanity has just finished colonizing the Solar System and is looking to expand beyond it.

I stand up and cross the room, heading to the bathroom. I am still just in my boxers. As I brush my teeth, I look at my rather well-toned body. It is one of the few things I am proud of, though I can be a bit of an introvert sometimes. I then dress and as I dress I realize it is 4 A.M. in the morning. I am shocked before I remember I set my alarm clock for 3:45 so I could be at the NDO office soon. NDO has decided that everyone can either order the device for NDO (which looks like a helmet with V.R. goggles attached) or pick it up in real life. NDO is also said to accelerate time 4 times over, so an hour outside is equal to 4 hours in game.

I hurry to the NDO office. Luckily, because I am early the line is short. I am waiting in line for hours and hours until at 12:00 the office/store opens. As the line moves inside an employee stands on a table and says, "The first 50 people in line at every store will get a gifted account with a surprise reward." People start to rush forward when the man says that. The then security comes out and makes everyone get back in line. I count the number of people in front of me and there are 46 people, making me number 47. "Whoa", I say to myself, "that was close. I almost didn't make it." I eventually reach the front of the line where I pay for my gifted helmet. It costs nearly $2000, but I have been working odd jobs to save up enough. I quickly hurry out through the store and back to my apartment.

I unlock the door and collapse on to the bed. I put on the helmet and hear, "Welcome to Character Creation!"