Eve scrutinized her body thoroughly. She looked different although felt the same. It was as if she put on a new skin.
"So this is it."
Eve was summoned into a land, vast with grass and sweeping wind and the sun that hung high in the sky at the horizon. It was an empty borderless land of short greenery.
She turned her head around but there was nothing else except herself and the expansive space of nature.
"Where are the others?" she wondered. "Perhaps they were transported elsewhere."
<< Welcome To Alderix, Player #157 >>
A familiar feminine voice popped up in her head again with the welcome message. She heard and saw it as well. It was only then that Eve realised that she was not wearing her Synapse gear. That was the whole point of the Synapse-Nerve (S-N) link that she underwent and the switching of command mode.
The Synapse was designed to become invisible in Alderix albeit the core of the gear is stored within the spine of the players to allow them access their Synapses. Even though Eve did not have the physical gear on her, she could still access the device by thought.
"What is this place?" Eve inquired of her Synapse.
<< Player's Current Location Is Called The AnteRoom (A-Room) >>
Eve skimmed over the message and read further down to the description of what the A-Room was. Beside the description button was another one that read 'Expand', she chose that option just to see what it offered.
The screen that she viewed in her mind manifested physically before her and became tangible and even large for easier manipulation.
"I thought as much," she said, before clicking on the description button for the A-Room.
<< The AnteRoom (A-Room): >>
<< The A-Room is the first location in the world of Alderix where players are taken into. The A-Room has no specific designs and varies in their appearance. Players are expected to finish the tasks offered in the A-Room before they can proceed through the Gates of Alderix >>
"Tasks? I wonder what kind of tasks it offers."
Eve went over the screen one more time and saw different buttons with different words on them. Stage, tasks, collapse, description and so on.
As a character, she was tagged with the name 'Visitor' pending when she creates a proper character.
She tapped the 'Task' option to see what it had in store for her and a drop-down menu appeared with a list of things required for her to pass the level of the AnteRoom
<< Preliminary Level. Level 0: AnteRoom >>
<< Task(s) For Current Level >>
<< 1. Create An Avatar >>
<< 2. Activate Avatar-Player Synchronization >>
<< 3. Activate Official 'Player' Card >>
"Hmm," Eve breathed. She folded her arms and rubbed her chin while pondering on the type of character she wished to make.
She already had in her mind what her avatar will be called and what she would look like but she still needed to incorporate the details, so that it all ties up to the perfect picture in her head.
She selected the 'Create Your Avatar' tab and waited to see what would happen.
Another drop-down menu appeared with an empty avatar template that she'd to fill in herself.
<< Create Your Avatar >>
Name: ???
Age: ???
Sobriquet: ???
Race: ???
Level: ??? [Pass Through The Gates Of Alderix To Unlock]
Grace: ??? [To Unlock In 'Tower of Babel']
Grace Type: ??? [To Unlock In 'Tower of Babel']
Class: ???
Skills: ???
Inventory: ???
Coins: ???
Experience Points [EXP]: ???
Mana Core Points [MCP]: ???
Life Points [LP]: ???
>>
"That's a lot of things to fill up. It seems I cannot receive all of them at this level."
Eve took her time in filling up the empty template with the necessary information needed. It was easy for her since she already knew what kind of character she wanted her avatar to be. Within minutes she was done, after which she sought to save her progress.
What is not saved, did not happen. In essence, unsafe progress in Alderix was lost progress. It was that simple.
<< Do You Wish To Save Avatar >>
<< Yes >> << No >>
"Not sure there's any other thing I'd like to add to Nyx. I don't think so."
Eve hit the save button and her avatar profile appeared. She read it and liked what it said.
<< Synchronise Avatar, Eve Nyx, With Player #157 >>
The instruction was rather simple and all she had to do was accept the synchronization. Eve did so and was engulfed by rings of green light that circled her, changing her form to match the avatar that she had created.
<< Avatar-Player Synchronization Activated >>
<< Avatar-Player Synchronization Complete >>
Eve was amazed at how advanced the world of Alderix was so far.
"I wonder how it will be when it launches if this is just a beta test."
Eve's appearance changed within the rings of green light and looked exactly as she built her character to be. Her ears lengthen and became pointed, her face and skin tone remained the same as the real Eve.
She tapped on 'View Avatar' to see what she had created and her avatar's profile dropped.
<< Avatar Profile >>
Name: Eve Nyx
Age: 23
Sobriquet: [None Achieved]
Race: Elf
Level: ??? [Pass Through The Gates Of Alderix To Unlock]
Grace: ??? [To Unlock In 'Tower of Babel']
Grace Type: ??? [To Unlock In 'Tower of Babel']
Class: Sorceress
Mana Type: Fire
Skills: ??? [None Achieved]
Inventory: ???
Coins: ???
Experience Points [EXP]: ???
Mana Core Points [MCP]: ???
Life Points [LP]: ???
>>
Most of the details of her character, Eve Nyx, were still empty and this was not because she refused to put them in, she could not. It required that she completed the current preliminary level in the AnteRoom before she can gain access to further development in her avatar.
<< Official Player Card Activated >>
<< Player #157 Is Now Known As Eve Nyx >>
"That's great. I was never good with the numbers after all."
Eve was now officially a player in the world of Alderix and was about to be riddled with rewards from the preliminary level.
<< Player, Eve Nyx, Has Completed The Preliminary Level >>
<< Task 'Create An Avatar' Completed. [Reward: +10 EXP] >>
<< Task 'Activate Character-Player Synchronization' Completed. [Reward: +10 EXP] >>
<< Task 'Activate Official Player Card' Completed. [Reward: +10 EXP] >>
Eve looked at the reward prompts that were rapidly popping up with an unsatisfied look. She expected more rewards but understood that her character had not done much yet to earn any massive rewards or points for development. She had not even started the game.
"I guess we'll just grow on our way in the game."
<< Level 0: AnteRoom Has Been Completed. [Reward: +10 EXP] >>
<< +1 Level Up. Eve Nyx Is Now A Level 1 Player >>
<< Eve Nyx Has Earned +200 Life Points (LP) >>
<< Eve Nyx Has Earned +200 Mana Core Points (MCP) >>
<< Eve Nyx Has Earned +500 Coins >>
<< Level 1 Fire Magic Achieved. Basic Fire [Tier 0] Manipulation Achieved >>
<< The Gates of Alderix Have Opened Up To You >>
"That's more like it!"
Eve was now a player that was ready to start her journey in the world of Alderix.