The first rays of the morning sun started to peek through the curtains of a spacious room, illuminating the fair face of a young girl sleeping soundly. Feeling the warmth of the sunlight on her face, her brows furrowed slightly before she unconsciously shifted position, hiding herself under her covers.

As her face started to relax again, and even though it should have been a leisure day since the summer vacation started not too long ago, it seemed that life had other plans for her as her phone started to ring.

Recognizing the ringtone as a call and not an alarm, the young girl opened her sleepy, deep blue eyes slowly, before extending her arm towards her phone on her bedside. The phone's light glared at her, making her squint her eyes while looking at the caller's name. At the realization that it was her parents, she couldn't help but frown deeper before answering.

"Stella, your father and I have to go on a business trip. We don't know when we're coming back, so we contacted an old friend of ours to look over you. You're gonna be transferred to the school they are managing starting next year. It's a prestigious private school, they have an affiliated dormitory where you'll stay. Our flight is here so we have to go, someone will come to fetch you today to help you move, I'll send you his information. Take care."

From start to finish she wasn't able to say a single word. Though she wouldn't have been able to say anything anyway. Her parents had always chosen everything for her and she had little to no say in the matters regarding her own life.

Looking at her phone's screen going dark, only reflecting her own sleepy face, she let out a tired sigh before throwing her phone on her bed. As a yawn escaped her mouth, she considered going back to sleep for an instant but decided to get out of bed and prepare herself. She didn't know how much time she had left to prepare herself before the person her parents sent would come.

She stretched her body before taking a change of underwear with her and entered the bathroom. Once finished with her morning routine, her long lustrous black hair still a bit wet, she approached her wardrobe and put on comfortable clothes before taking out the suitcase under her bed.

She scanned her room with her eyes, looking for the things she wanted to pack and take with her. It wasn't the first time she had to move out and change place, so she was used to it and had little personal affairs apart from the clothes and other fashion accessories her mother bought her.

A laptop, headphones, a phone charger, and a picture frame. Though this time one more item made it into her suitcase. Still left untouched, packed tight in its case. She's been looking forward to using it ever since it came out and will soon have the opportunity.

A few hours later, a man with short brown hair and an ironed black suit, finally came ringing at the door. After going through the verification process to make sure that it was indeed the person supposed to drive her, Stella finally opened the door to greet him as the middle-aged man bowed respectfully to her.

"Young miss, pleased to meet you. I'm Leon and will be your chauffeur for today. Is this all the luggage you'll be taking with you? If there's anything you need help with before we depart, do not hesitate to ask and I'll do my utmost to meet your needs."

Stella nodded to the man as she handed him her suitcase. She didn't even give her old lodging one last look before getting in the back of the black luxury car, waiting for him to sit behind the wheel and let him know that he could start driving. This place didn't have any good memories nor meaning to her as she lived here by herself only for a short time, while the one that did was long gone.

The trip was done mostly in silence as Stella kept her head against the glass, her delicate features not betraying any emotion, while Leon kept his eyes on the road. He dared not start a conversation other than asking her at regular intervals if she needed a stop, leaving them listening to the faint music coming out of the radio.

As the current song reached its final note, the radio host's voice echoed before the next one could start.

"This was such a nice song by the young and promising IRyS, her new single was actually made to promote the new VRMMO 'Ezmara' supposed to come out in the days to come. There's a huge hype behind it and millions of fans all over the world are excited to see if it will live up to it!"

Leon planned on changing the station but saw in the rear-view mirror that his passenger seemed to have an interest in the subject discussed by the host and so retracted his hand.

"Are you also interested in this new game young lady? My son's been pestering me every day to buy it for him ever since it's been announced. Though I understand him, for back in my days it was every kid's dream, we thought that it would never exist, or at least not in our lifetime. But now it's here and will come out in just 2 days, it's crazy."

With a slight smile on her face, making her give off a melancholic feel, the young girl looked back out the tinted window before answering :

"Yes, my brother was really excited about it and we were looking forward to playing together …"

Sensing that it was a touchy subject and she didn't want to talk about it any longer, he dropped it and focused back on the road as the music started blasting once more.

After many long hours of driving, they finally arrived without any mishap in front of the school's entrance as the sun started to set. Leon helped Stella out of the car before taking her luggage back from the trunk and handing them over. After making sure that she had everything, he bade her farewell, leaving the young girl standing alone in front of the school's massive golden ornate gate.

As Stella looked at the gate she couldn't help but feel that the words her mother used to describe the school didn't give it justice. With her status, she was invited into numerous villas and mansions each more beautiful and majestic than the next, but she wouldn't be surprised if this new school of hers was actually a world heritage site.

The finials of the long fence surrounding the school complex were all made of gold, just like the school's prestigious name, 'National Royal Academy', written in big letters above the ornate gate adorned with coats of arms.

Through the gaps in-between the bars, she could see the majestic-looking buildings full of history and their beautiful gardens, giving her the impression of having gone back hundreds of years in the past and joining the royal court.

Feeling the cold wind hitting her face and making her hair flutter, she decided not to stay standing idle any longer. As the sky visibly turned darker by the second, Stella pulled her luggage behind her, making her way to the guard post she saw a bit earlier near the entrance.

Seeing her approach, the guard in charge stood up and waited for her to come at a close enough distance where he didn't need to shout to be heard:

"Young lady, sorry for asking this out of the blue, but might you be Miss Stella?"

Though surprised by the fact that the guard knew her name, Stella still answered positively to the man who smiled in return as he explained.

"Good, I was informed by the principal that you would be coming. Sorry, but, may I inconvenience you to show me a proof of identity while waiting inside for a moment? I was tasked to call him the moment you arrived. It shouldn't take too long."

After taking out and handing over her identity card to the man, she was invited to sit inside the guard post while he went back to his seat to make the call. As he looked over her card, the call went through before ending only a few seconds later.

Giving back the card to the young girl, the guard couldn't pass on the rare opportunity of speaking to someone during his lonely shift.

"The principal is on his way and should arrive any minute now... I saw on your card that you were sixteen, are you transferring directly into the high school section? That's rare, most students start from our middle school curriculum."

After putting her card back in her bag, Stella looked up at the guard with a faint smile.

"Yes, my parents are often away from home, so they decided that it was better for me to stay here as they are acquainted with the principal."

With a little pity in his eyes, the guard found another topic to continue the conversation.

"Your parents are lucky to have a daughter like you! I wish mine could learn a little from you, she's a real little devil!"

As a sigh escaped his mouth, and even though he was complaining, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise up when he thought of his daughter.

"For them to know the principal, what do they do for a living?"

As her brows furrowed a little, Stella looked out the glass door, glancing at a lone figure approaching with long strides.

"They are managing a new-technologies company. From what I was told, they studied in the same school as the principal in their teens and have kept in contact ever since."

Before the guard could ask any more questions, the door was suddenly opened by a friendly-looking man in his early forties, his hair starting to take the same gray shade as his short beard.

Though he was trying to hide it by acting unfazed, his rosy cheeks and disheveled hair betrayed the fact that he came running here, making Stella smile at his attempt at looking cool, but she didn't expose him. She stood up from her seat and shook his hand with a small nod of her head.

"Uncle Mares didn't need to personally come to greet me. I could have found my way to the dormitories by myself."

With a bright smile making wrinkles appear on his face, the principal let out an embarrassed laugh while shaking her hand.

"Your parents asked me to take care of you, how could I not? They would have me killed if anything were to happen to you! I must say, you've taken after your mother, you became quite the beautiful young woman. I remember you being this tall the last time I saw you."

Stella politely thanked him before they left the guard post after bidding farewell to the guard. Once outside, the cold wind seeped through her clothes, making her body shiver. Mares, seeing that she was only wearing a thin, dark blue summer dress that left her arms bare, took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

During the ten minutes it took them to arrive at the dormitory she'll be staying in, Mares used this time to give her a brief explanation and history of the different buildings they passed by.

As the guard told her before, the National Royal Academy includes both the middle-school and high-school curriculum, though both their teaching buildings, cafeterias, and dormitories were separated. Usually, the students would join in the first year of middle school only to leave in the last year of high school, but in very rare cases would there be a transfer student like Stella joining in the middle.

Once inside the dormitory's hall, Stella took the principal's jacket off her shoulders and gave it back as he handed her the key to her room with a smile. Attached to it was a keychain with the number 11 on it.

"I asked the staff in charge of the lodgings to not assign anyone else to your room so you can be alone, if there's anything you need or miss you can just ask me."

As Stella heard him she couldn't help but frown and voice her thoughts.

"I must thank Uncle, but if possible, I wish to ask Uncle Mares to not give me preferential treatment and treat me like any other student. I don't mind sharing a room."

Seeing Mares sigh before agreeing, a faint smile appeared on her face as she expressed her thanks.

After bidding farewell to the principal, Stella's gaze wandered around the hall and couldn't help but marvel at how the dormitory's interior was as luxurious as its exterior. The floor and walls were adorned with marble and gold, and so were the pillars holding the ceiling where a huge crystal chandelier hanged down.

Taking her luggage up the stairs in search of her room, Stella thought of how she didn't see anyone other than the guard and principal ever since she arrived. Though after some thinking she came to the answer that most, if not all the students, probably went back home for the two-month summer vacation.

As she pushed her key into the keyhole, the sound of her door being unlocked resounded in the empty hallway. Stella pulled her suitcase inside then felt around in the dark for the switch, flicking the lights on and revealing a cozy two-person room in front of her.

After she made sure to close the door behind her, she put her suitcase on one of the two beds before looking around. For a school dormitory room it was quite spacious, though simple. With two single beds and wardrobes on one side, while on the other was a pair of desks, the room also had the luxury of having a private bathroom equipped with a shower, vanity, and toilet.

As she finished the tour of her new place, Stella styled her hair into a ponytail, only leaving her bangs tickling her face, before taking out her things from her bags and start arranging them in their respective places.

Feeling tired from both the long ride and the moving, she only took the time to switch off the lights and untie her hair before collapsing on her bed. The moon visible from the double window slightly illuminated the room, giving her barely enough vision to look at the picture frame on the nightstand, a faint murmur escaped her lips as her heavy eyelids closed themselves and she fell asleep.

"Only two more days to wait."

To Stella, those two days felt both slow and fast at the same time. After waking up the following day, apart from eating and sleeping, she simply spent her time touring the school and searching for any kind of information she could find on the internet.

As the time neared and only a few minutes separated her from the moment she had been waiting for these past years, Stella finally took out the package she's been keeping sealed and opened it, revealing a dark, full-face helmet, two sets of bracelets, and a bunch of sensory pads.

Following the instructions given with it, she pasted the pads on various key places of her body such as the joints before fastening the bracelets over both her wrists and ankles. After she made sure everything was in place, she put on the helmet and pressed the power button, making a loading screen appear in front of her asking her to not move while it scanned her body.

Once the process finished, and after lying down on her bed as asked, she orally agreed to the prompt displayed on the screen and suddenly felt like she lost all her senses as everything turned dark.

First came back her sense of touch, as she could feel the smooth sensation of the floor under the sole of her feet, then light started illuminating the place, filling her vision before disappearing, leaving her standing in front of a full-length mirror reflecting herself in the nude.

Stella couldn't help but marvel at how perfectly her face and body were scanned, from her charming, cold eyes, straight eyebrows, button nose, and cherry lips to her height, weight, and even her three sizes. If she wasn't aware that she now was in a virtual world she would have no doubt that she was standing in front of a real mirror.

Though recent, full VR games weren't new on the market per se but were mostly either FPS, racing, or sports games with a limited amount of players at the same time in the same place. 'Ezmara' on the other hand was the first of its kind, being a pioneer of the MMORPG genre and the first to add a full-body scan, letting the players use their own appearance in the game.

Her train of thoughts was interrupted as a female voice that could only be described as divine resounded in the space surrounding her.

"Hero, I must thank thee for heeding my call. As prophesied, in our time of need, when the forces of darkness began to encroach upon our world and hope began to dwindle, brave souls would listen to our prayers and descend to our aid, helping the four races protect Ezmara and repel evil. Hero, which race do you wish to join in their effort?"

As the goddess' voice faded away, various symbols started to appear all around Stella's reflection. She reached her hand toward the mirror, and just like with a tactical screen, pressed on the first symbol in the top left corner.

A list of four different symbols appeared, each representing a different race. Humans, Elves, Demi-Humans, and Demons. As Stella pressed on the different races, she saw her avatar change slightly each time. Though the modifications were minimal, each race apart from the Humans had its unique traits making them recognizable.

When choosing the elves, her ears became elongated and pointy. The Demi-Humans had access to a variety of sub-races with different kinds of animal ears and tails. While the Demons had a range of horns settings.

Since she already knew from the start which race she was planning on using, she validated her choice then went on with the character creation before a prompt suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Be advised that the bigger the changes you make to your in-game appearance, the harder it will be to get used to it."

As she closed the pop-up, she looked over the different appearance options, each having an indicator of how much the change to this specific setting would affect the player. The ones having the most influence on the player's immersion being the height and weight sliders.

Wanting to have the best experience, Stella didn't waste time changing a single slider, going straight to the next screen where the game asked for the name she wanted to use and a virtual keyboard appeared.

Typing in her usual username 'Moonlight', Stella agreed to the terms of service before a feeling of weightlessness overwhelmed her and her vision was once again basked in light.