Chapter 2: Wake Up

A gentle breeze dances across my skin, enticing me to wake up with the gentle forest smell that accompanies it. My eyelids flutter open and I pull myself into a sitting position. I begin to yawn, but I don't even manage to finish the yawn once I hear my voice.

"Hello?" I say, moving my mouth so I can get acquainted with it. Internal organs are really hard to account for in character creation, so the shape of my mouth doesn't feel different in most ways. The voice is definitely different though, much softer and feminine. I'd experimented with the voices in character creation a bit before getting my perfect voice.

Humming to myself happily, I continue my inspection. My body is still perfect and it still sends me over the moon to see it. I push myself off the ground and find my balance.

While this body may be perfect, I'm definitely not used to it yet. I take a few tentative steps, feeling the different weights of my body. Every step fills me with glee, however uneven the steps may be.

I've never been very graceful, my body always feeling stilted and clunky when I move in it. Unfortunately, I can still feel some of the same barriers here holding me back. My body doesn't feel clunky though, it feels… Different. Good different, but definitely something my mind is trying to adjust for. I start walking in circles, just pacing around. I find myself unbalanced and drifting from the circular path I was trying to follow. I sigh a little at the sight. It seems like VR couldn't change my lack of coordination.

Still a little unsteady on my feet, I clumsily try to pull the sword on my hip out of its scabbard. The sword feels heavy and uneven in my grip. I hold the sword two handed, even though it looks like a one-handed sword. I take a few practice swings, feeling the awkward weight of the sword in my hands. I stumble a little at the last swing, having put too much oomph into it.

As much as I’m a blade kind of girl, I have to admit that I've never held a sword before in my life. I take a couple of deep breaths and approach a tree nearby. I stand unevenly next to the tree, tightening my grip on the handle of the sword. I let out a loud "hyah!" as I swing the sword into the tree. The impact against the tree with the dull sword makes the sword vibrate, my hands stinging a bit at the strike. I step back, still holding the sword tightly. Hands slightly stinging from the first try, I take a couple more cursory swings at the tree, trying not to rattle my bones with any more strikes like that.

As I'm attacking, I can feel myself getting tired. Not exhausted, just tired. My arms are a little sore, but admittedly much less sore than they probably would be if I did that with my normal arms. I pause my striking, panting slightly at the exertion. Even in VR, I'm suffering for my lack of exercise.

Carefully, I try to put the dull sword away. I struggle a bit with the length of the sword and the position of the scabbard, but eventually it slides into place.

Stretching gently the best I can, I begin jogging down the forest path I've spawned on. My feet thud heavily against the dirt path as I jog, memories of previous gym teachers berating me for improper running form. After only a while, I can feel myself starting to get winded by the jog. I stop next to a tree, sitting down tiredly as I catch my breath. Dang, this game really isn't forgiving with the realism.

As I'm sitting and catching my breath, the forest moves around me. Every once in a while, I can see squirrels, rabbits, and all manner of woodland creatures in the distance. So it isn't surprising when there's a rustle in the bush beside me. I tilt my head curiously at the shrubbery, trying to catch sight of whatever woodland creature is brave enough to get this close to me.

Instead of a bunny or any creature I expect, the creature that emerges is big. It looks like a rat for the most part, if rats were the size of a medium-sized dog. Its appearance startles me from where I'm sitting and I fall backwards, attempting to crawl away in reverse. The rat is much quicker than I can backpedal on my back and starts nipping at my legs and feet painfully.

I roll backwards as quickly as I can; the maneuver is enough to throw the rat off for a second. Long enough for me to properly get to my feet.

I reach for the hilt of my sword and struggle to pull it out of the scabbard. The huge rat starts scurrying towards me again; panic hastens my attempts to free my weapon. I finally get my sword out, gripping it tightly as the rat scurries closer. I swing the sword at the rat in a heavy downswing; the hit connects and staggers the rat from his approach. The hit doesn't seem to be very strong as it continues advancing after a second.

Instinctively I jump back from the rat’s approach, feeling a rush of wind as I'm suddenly several feet from the rat. A small green bar in the corner of my vision depletes by about an eighth. I just Dashed. I wait for the rat to get closer, watching the green bar slowly fill back up with each second. When the rat gets closer I focus my mind on my intent to Dash, this time taking a quick step forward. The step swiftly carries me several feet past the rat; it looks around in confusion for me. It seems like that little maneuver threw it for a loop.

Seizing the rat’s confusion, I sprint quickly towards it. The sound of my footfalls is enough to get the rat's attention again, and it turns around just in time to catch my sword with its teeth. The rat falls over this time, dazed. As it tries to pick itself back up, I slam my dull sword down into its side. This time, it stops moving. The light leaves the giant rat’s eyes as its form fades away like ashes being carried away in the wind. All that's left behind after the body fades away is a single coin. I pick up the coin, looking it over. With the rat taken care of, I sheath my sword again, still clumsily fumbling to get it into the slot. I'm glad this thing is dull, otherwise I'd be worried about cutting myself.

I pull the leather bag off my back, opening it up to look for somewhere to put the coin. Instead, though, a menu pops up above the bag as I open it. Looking through the menu, I recognize some basics that I didn't actually think would fit inside this bag. Most notably, a bed roll. Additionally there appears to be a basic canteen and three rations. Also listed in the menu are two separate currency markers. One looks similar to the coin I'm holding, but gold instead of copper. The other is in a more square shape.

I don't have any of the curious square currency, but I do have one hundred of the round currency. I slip the coin I just acquired into the top of the bag and watch the number tick up to one hundred and one.

I fiddle with the bag a bit longer to understand how it works, before finally slinging it back over my shoulder. The green bar that had been depleting at my use of Dash before is now completely filled again. I run my eyes across the few peripherals I can see, but the only things present are the three bars, one blue, one red, and the green one from before.

I mentally ask for the menu and it pops up in front of me silently. I start walking down the same path, poring over the various menus.

I note the absence of any values to the various bars in my status, they're all just filled certain amounts. I huff a little bit at that, but there's nothing to be done about it right now.

After becoming comfortable with all of the various menus and equipment on my person, I’m able to focus my efforts entirely on searching for more rats on my way down this path. The sun is finally starting to set in the sky; several hours have passed since I first spawned in. I'm watching another rat fade away, this one leaving behind three coins instead of the one or two coins I'd seen up until this point. This is probably the twentieth rat I've beaten at this point. I'm inching closer to level two, slowly but surely.

I keep my sword out, letting the point sit against the ground as I hold it in one hand. With my other hand, I open my bag and slip the coins in without taking the bag off my back. I’ve been walking for a while now and my body is really starting to feel the exhaustion set in. It's only one afternoon, but it's been one heck of a work-out.

Despite the exhaustion though, I feel as if I could go for a while. I know that I'm tired, but simultaneously I also know that I have more fuel left.

I pick up my sword and I'm about to try putting it back in the scabbard when I hear a scream. It’s a very brief scream, filled with fear. I worry for a second that I might not have heard it from the right direction, but as I turn towards where I think the scream came from, I hear a distinctly canine yelp.

I grip my sword tightly with both hands and decide that time is of the essence. I use my dash skill liberally, crossing several feet with every step. I come out of each dash a bit clumsily, trying to avoid trees as I look for clear paths to dash through. On the fifth dash, my stamina bar is more than half-way depleted. I find the source of the scream, though.

In a small clearing lies a smaller foxperson, their ears are laid flat against their head in fear. Approaching them is a large wolf, almost the same size as the person being attacked. The person winces away as the wolf lunges at them.

The sole of my boot grinds against the ground as I take one step, activating Dash to close the distance. The background rushes by me and I come out of the dash just in time. I swing my sword down hard against the wolf as I come out of the Dash. The wolf lets out a familiarly canine yelp as the swing connects. I pant gently, adjusting my grip as I position myself between the fox person and the wolf. The wolf turns its head to me and I can see blood trickling down the side of its face as it snarls at me.

I turn my head, keeping the wolf in my periphery, but checking on the person behind me. They're looking at me wide eyed, their ears perked up in wonder instead of splayed back in fear. "You okay?" I ask quietly. I keep my tone low and quiet, partially out of habit in how I normally talk to people, but also partially so as not to alert the wolf.

The fox shakes their head, eyes flicking to the side as they presumably check their status. "I'm alive, barely. That wolf took out half my health in one hit, be careful."

I nod almost imperceptibly, adjusting my grip on the sword once more. "You a mage?" I ask, looking down at their robes.

"Yeah. I'm low on mana, though," they respond. I look at my recovering stamina bar, noting that it's just over half-way filled by now. The wolf growls, pulling my attention away from the foxperson. Foxboy, probably, but I know better than to assume.

The wolf charges and I brace myself for the attack, looking for an opportunity to parry or anything. I'd dodge, but that would make the poor fox behind me the target instead. The wolf gets close, swiping at me. I try to raise my sword to block, but I'm too slow to act. The claws scratch deep into my arm, my health bar dipping just above half health. I go on the offensive before the wolf can get away, slashing for an exposed section of the wolf’s neck. The dull blade manages to make a decent cut, and I Dash past the wolf.

Now behind the wolf, I back up a couple of steps. Hoping that I've estimated the distance correctly, I Dash forward and find myself within perfect striking distance of the wolf’s rear end. Focusing on my other skill, I decide that now's a good time to try it out. I let out a loud yell as I swing my sword once and then twice in an X shaped pattern, "Cross slash!" The words seem redundant as the Cross attack is already slightly glowing, my stamina bar draining by a third, leaving me with only dregs of stamina left.

The wolf spins on me in an instant, crying out in pain as it swings at me. I stumble out of the way of the swipe, managing just barely to dodge the swipe. I steady myself on my feet, lunging back at the wolf for a swipe of my own. It’s too tired and hurt to dodge, so the blade hits the wolf, cutting its pelt slightly. It seems to be the last straw for the wolf as it collapses to its side, the light leaving its eyes. I drop my sword, falling to the ground to rest.

You have reached lv. 2! +5 skill points +1 ability point.

"Uh, wow. Damn." I look up at the fox person as they speak. "Umm, thanks, by the way. I thought for sure that was gonna be my first death. And, hey, you hit level two, congrats!"

"You can see that?" I ask, tilting my head.

The fox person nods, pointing above me a bit. I tilt my head up, but I don't see anything. "It's right above your HP bar. You, uh, didn't take the Scan ability though, did you?" I shake my head, popping open my menu. I scroll through the general abilities, seeing many basic abilities that I may have overlooked in character creation. Foremost is Scan. I use the Ability point I just earned to unlock it.

It settles itself amongst my other abilities, with a toggle switch. I toggle the ability on and the change is instantly recognizable. My health, stamina, and mana bars are labeled with numerical values. Navigating to my status page, my experience bar similarly has a numerical value now. I sigh in relief at the sight.

I turn my eyes towards my companion and note that they're also level two. Their health is also lower than mine in total, but only by ten or so points. "That's loads better, thanks for letting me know. Leave it to a mage to know the secrets, huh?" I say, my voice still low and quiet.

They look away a bit, scratching their head in what seems like embarrassment. "I don't know about that. I didn't know enough to keep me alive, clearly." They lift a book so that I can see it. "Being a mage is actually kinda tough. I dunno that it really suits me."

I shift in my position, scooting forward, settling cross legged in front of them. "Difficult how?" I ask.

They flip the book open where I can see, to one of the first pages. On the page there's a symbol, followed by a phrase in a language I don't recognise. Following that is an explanation of the spell, it appears to be a simple fireball. "To cast spells I have to visualize this symbol while saying the chants. It helps that I have this book, but I'm kinda dreading the moment my spell list expands considerably." I nod, looking at the book. I blanch at the prospect of having an entire book filled with spells, needing to flip through to find them.

"Well, uh, shoot. Good luck with that."

"Thanks." They hold out their hand. "The name’s Fox. Fox Farrowsorrow"

I chuckle at that, shaking their hand. "A little on the nose there, no?" I glance up at their ears.

"It's uh… My last name in real life. I just thought it was a cool name to go by. Then I saw the fox features, and, well…" They chuckle.

"Well, nice to meet you, Fox Fox," I say, chuckling at my own joke quietly. "My name’s Astraea." I feel my chest swell in happiness at the fact that I can finally introduce myself as, well, myself. "And, um, can I get your pronouns? Mine are she/her," I ask.

"Huh, pronouns?" They tilt their head.

"You know, like, uh, he/him, she/her, they/them, that sort of thing. You can't always tell easily in virtual and I don't want to get them wrong."

"Oh, right, like the character creator explained. Uh, just he/him then I guess!" he says, looking down at himself. "Dang, do I look that feminine that you can't tell?" He pulls at his own robe.

I shake my head, "Nah, I just don't like to make assumptions about people. I'd rather they tell me what they want. I would say you present as… Kinda androgynous?" The foxboy looks up at me thoughtfully and then back down at himself.

"Damn, you think so? That's kinda cool, I can vibe with androgynous," he says, picking himself up off the floor. I nod, standing up from my sitting position. He doesn't seem too bad. "Well, it was nice to meet you Astraea, I hope we can see each other again sometime!" He cheers, his tail wagging behind him excitedly.

"Do you want to add each other to our friends list? I think I'll be playing solo for now, but it'd be cool to meet up again some levels down the road maybe," I offer, pulling my friends list up.

"That sounds great!" he says. I can see him tapping the air in front of him and I'm able to see what it looks like from the outside to watch a person tap through their menu. His tail is still wagging a little behind him, one of his ears occasionally flicking to the side. Looking at him, I can tell that he definitely lives up to the energy of a fox.

We exchange details, departing on our own ways. We split the spoils from the felled wolf, resulting in a twenty-four coin profit for me. I'm able to orient myself towards the trail pretty easily, continuing on my journey to the nearest town. Thankfully, I wasn't that far out of town when I got distracted, and I make it easily into town as the sun is starting to set.

On the walk I distribute my skill points after some careful deliberation. I put two into strength and three into agility. I could even out my stat distribution at later levels; currently those seem to be the most important to my build.

The town is a lot to take in, and I get a little self conscious around all these people. I make my way to the closest tavern, trying to keep to myself as much as I can. I manage to get a room easily, only spending five coins on the room. I strip myself out of most of my adventuring clothes, leaving my underwear on as I slip under the sheets. Warm satisfaction settles in the pit of my stomach as I enjoy the feeling of the blankets against my skin, just enjoying the feeling of my body. I feel dead tired, but it’s a very satisfying exhaustion.

SylkWeaver

Have another chapter of this! It felt barren with only one chapter on there. Next chapter should be in a day or two, so, look forward to it!