The day before the launch, in a group chat that does not contain John:
"Hey guys, since we are off school, why don't we all work together in Eternal Online. I'm sure we could advance faster if we form some sort of guild or alliance."
"That sounds like a great idea! We could team up and go on adventures together!"
"Or we could gang up and rob people's stuff."
"REEEEEEEEEE"
"Shut up Steve!"
"Shut up Steve!"
"Shut up Steve!"
"Seriously though, this sounds like a great idea. Because it is a massive game, there will probably be multiple spawns. If we get to choose our spawn, choose the place at that comes second to last if all the places are in alphabetical order. That way, we can work together straight away and if anyone has the same idea, they will either go to the first or last place. Also, who will be the guild leader?"
"Will, the guild leader is obviously going to be you. Does anyone object to this?"
"REEEEEEEEEE"
"Shut up Steve!"
"Shut up Steve!
"Shut up Steve!"
*****
Back at John's house, a flurry of taps and clicks could be heard as John read every article on Eternal Online that he could find. He had discovered that not only did the game stimulate senses other than sight, it also contained the latest artificial intelligence and would remain in a sort of dynamic equilibrium so that the NPCs would maintain the predator populations, predators would maintain prey populations and the game would function with or without players.
Finally satisfied with having learnt all he could about the game, John leaned back in his chair and yawned. He had not slept well since his birthday to stay up researching the game because when he decided to do something, he would do it well! Going to his bed, he decided to have a long 12 hour sleep before starting the game at midnight when the game would begin.
Darkness filled his room when the alarm woke John up. Immediately awake, he took off his clothes to let the game calibrate better and moved over to the egg-shaped capsule that took up most of his room. He pressed an LED button and the top opened up with a hissing sound to reveal what looked like a really comfortable coffin inside. He got in and the lid closed, surrounding him with darkness once more.
*****
Slowly, his vision turned blue and he found himself standing naked in a blue room.
"My, my, aren't you the bold one." A voluptuous woman teased, approaching him.
John panicked, covering himself, but he had no-where to run in this small blue room. "I I I thought... compatibility... b-better." John stuttered, shocked at the scene before him. He thought that he would get a menu screen that would ask him what class he wanted.
"Don't worry, my memory is partially wiped after I deal with every player. It is my job to give you a class. Unless, you don't want me to forget you..." she teased.
"I pick melee class!" John shouted. He had thoughroughly researched each basic class and thought that this one would get him the closest to his dream.
"You're no fun." the woman sighed, "Well, good luck adventurer. I hope we meet again. If we do, tell me the code [59756D] and I will help you." A sly expression briefly formed on her face before John's vision went black.