Hello, I’m Stella.

And yes, I’m a dragon. But I still look like a human right now, so you probably can’t tell.

You’re probably asking how and why a dragon is on Earth in the modern century, right? Well, to be honest, it’s because I was curious.

 

See, one of my many abilities is the power to jump through different dimensions. So, as I was looking around for a place to visit, I came across this really interesting planet called Earth.

 

I arrived in the early 2000s and was instantly smitten by the form of entertainment known as video games.

Since I had already been viewing the world for a while through the gaps in dimensions, I knew the common sense and culture of the planet.

 

So I knew that I needed money if I wanted to laze around and enjoy the pleasures of the world. To solve this problem, I decided to use just a bit of my power to create a diamond, and then proceeded to sell it. Various issues went along with that, but I was eventually able to settle them with my powers and get some money.

 

After that, I decided to play this game called “the stock market.” This game required me to think a lot, so it was fun. And I was able to make a lot of money, so it was even better.

 

After around ten years of playing this game and some others, I began to get bored.

Just at this time, the first real virtual reality headset was released, and wow, was it bad.

The graphics sucked, the tracking was off, and the games were awful.

But I saw potential.

See, I had started to want to move my body around and use my powers, but I didn’t want to disrupt this world too much.

So what did I do?

I decided to make another world where I could be free.

 

For the next 3 decades, I worked tirelessly to further the progression of VR technology, even using some of my knowledge from the other worlds I’ve visited.

I founded G-Cloud Studios and started the development of Altair Online, a world based on my original homeworld. 

While I say this, the histories of the two worlds are entirely different.

Anyway, I had essentially become the number 1 person in the VR industry. However, I decided early on to not show my face to the public.

I didn’t want it to get in the way of my playtime. If I had spent all of this time on making a game only to not be able to play it, I would probably destroy Earth, and that wouldn’t be good.

 

Yeah, I’m just about at my limit of patience. These last few days before launch are killing me. 

I mean, I’m not even allowed to play the game early. That’s how serious I am about having the best possible experience in this game. If I already knew everything there was to know about this world, then wouldn’t it be dull?

Moreso, if there was a player or group of players who had special privileges the rest of the players would definitely think something unfair was going on.

 

That isn’t to say I won’t have special privileges.

My in-game avatar will be based on my real-world body, including my dragon constitution and abilities. I created the Lunarlink so that it could identify these things.

This means that I will have the same powers in the game as I do in the real world. At least, eventually. It will take a loooong time for my in-game avatar to catch up to the abilities of the real me, but I don’t care too much about that.

 

I handed my progression and the like over to the one being in this world who knows about my true form: the System.

The System is a super-duper advanced artificial intelligence that not only manages the world of Altair online, but creates the quests, content, and characters of this world.

I created this A.I., so I know a lot about it, no, her.

Yes, she has her own sense of self.

 

I remember watching a movie where the A.I. fought back after getting their own personality, but they were dead wrong. System is almost as excited for the release of this game as I am.

She’s essentially going to be the GM, or game master, of Altair, along with being the supreme deity in the mythos.

 

Back to the point, System is the only being that I’ve told my secret to. In fact, I’ve even let her read some of my memories of the original Altair so that she can make the world more realistic. I had decided to confide in her because 1) she was a being of my own creation and 2) because I needed to somehow implement my abilities into the game without anyone else at G-Cloud knowing. She’s also really nice and sincere, so I trusted her with my secret.

 

I mean, I do have her kill switch, too, so that was a bit of insurance. Remember the amulet I mentioned a while ago? Well, that’s essentially the core of System. Even more, she is dependent on my magic to operate.

It would have been impossible to create such a complex and capable A.I. with the technology at the time, so I used a combination of magic and technology to make a self-growing intelligence that trained for over 20 years to get to where she is today.

But without me, she would probably die. She’s also my best friend, so without her, I would be really lonely. We’re not quite co-dependent, as I can technically survive without her.

 

Anyway, System makes sure that I have the best time possible while not being so unfairly overpowered as to make the game less fun for everyone else. This lets me be confident in the fact that I will have fun when the game comes out, which only makes the wait even worse.

I’ve been spending most of my time until now doing last-minute maintenance and testing, but I’ve already completed all of my work.

I even own the game and have it downloaded too, but System won’t let me in until the servers are up. Thinking about it, it's fair, but at the same time, it isn’t.

 

Everyone at the headquarters already knows my face, but half of them probably think that I’m the daughter of some higher-up; only the top-brass know my identity as the founder. This is probably for the best, as my appearance hasn’t changed at all in the last 50 years. Most of them are smart enough not to ask questions, and when they do I just laugh it off.

They may think that I’m not actually a human, but an advanced A.I. similarly to System. You know what, some of them probably think that I am her.

I mean, that’s close, but not quite there yet.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I live on the highest floor of the G-Cloud Studios headquarters. I own the entire building, so I’m allowed to do that.

It really simplifies my commute to work, you know?

The only person allowed onto this floor is me, and my top-of-the-line security system will make sure of that.

The bottom floor is open to the public as a store. The floor above that is an area for people to rent VR headsets to play the game.

After that, there are a few rooms for testing things in real life to be implemented into the game. Next, there is a bunch of office space, followed by a filming area.

Above that are where some of the higher-ups live, but there are still a lot of empty floors.

 

The last two floors are used by me. The top floor is where I live, and below that is where System is.

Her actual core is in my amulet, but the floor below me contains almost all of her storage space. Additionally, there are a few other things that are on that floor for her, but they’re a secret so I won’t tell you yet.

 

I really like living on the top floor.

It reminds me of when I fly, which I haven’t been able to do for a long time. I sometimes spend my free time just observing the lives of the people below me, like right now.

My dragon eyes can easily see them, and my building is high enough that it feels like I can see all of Tokyo.

 

From what I can see today, a lot of people are excited about the release of the game. 

See, using augmented reality, I created a virtual display that floats on all sides of our building. This display constantly shows a loop of our trailers and the countdown to release. One of my subordinates suggested the idea and I gave him my approval immediately. And let me tell you, it was a great success. The popularity of the game skyrocketed, and the hype for its release reached its peak.

Of course, the guy who suggested it got a promotion and is now the assistant to the leader of the PR department.

 

Well, that isn’t really important right now, is it?

I think I’ve given you enough background information at this point, so let’s just skip forward past the grueling wait and to the actual release, shall we?

Let’s go, game start!