New Eden Live to Play, Play to Live

ood got delivered, he ate while looking ravenously at the New Eden launch icon on his desktop.

Time had flown by that day, and 6 PM was getting close. The game was launching at 6 PM and the handbook recommended that players log in fifteen minutes before, to create their characters, as that function would be unlocked for them a little before the game was.

Alexander strapped the helmet on his head and laid his gaming chair back down. As soon as the clock showed 5:45 PM, he tapped the preset launch button on the helmet to start up New Eden.

The game launched with the helmet, and Alexander felt his body sink into the ground. He felt like he was falling for a short while until everything stabilized and he was upright again.

In front of him stood a svelte man with pointy ears. He looked like any typical elf from fantastical stories. He walked up to the man to ask him how to create his character. Once he got closer, the elf spoke to him first.

”Ahh, welcome to New Eden young man. Are you here to experience the adventure of a lifetime? ” The elf said, smiling.

”Yes, I am. ” Alexander proudly declared.

”Very good, young man. You look determined. That is good, as your adventure will be fraught with unknown dangers and enemies beyond mortal reason. Are you ready? ” The elf asked.

”Yes, I am ready. ” Alexander responded, barely containing his excitement.

”Ahh, but first, what should one call you, young adventurer? ” The elf asked as an empty bar appeared before Alexanders eyes.

Over the bar, Enter your name, was written. Alexander used the same name he had used for all his games in the past. He typed in Astaroth and tapped on confirm.

”Astaroth, hmm. A fine name indeed, for a young ambitious man like you. Young Astaroth, do you wish to pick a different race than humans to start your adventure? ” The elf continued.

As he said that, a selection of different races popped in front of Alexanders eyes. Among them were dwarfs, elves, gnomes, orcs, and many others.

Alexander scrolled through all of them, looking at their different racial traits and starting stat bonuses. Among them, one particularly stood out to him.

It was a grey-skinned Elven race, called the Ash Elves. It had no starting stat bonuses and its racial trait was just a vague sentence about how they were a rare race of elves rarely seen in the open world, that no one really knew much about them.

”Whats this race? ” Alexander asked the elf, pointing to the Ash Elf.

”Ahh, I do not recommend that race, young adventurer. It is but a subrace of us, great elves, and has no good points to offer you at the beginning of your new journey. ” The elf said with a look of disgust.

”Also, if you pick this starting race, your point of departure will be unknown and might be too dangerous for a fledgling like you. ” He added.

”So you say its dangerous to pick this? ” Alexander asked.

”Yes, young Astaroth, it is a risk not worth your time. ” The elf said, brushing the race aside with a swipe of his hand.

Alexander looked at the elf with incredulous eyes. He then swiped back to Ash Elf and looked at the elf man with a sadistic smile before pressing confirm on his starting race.

White light flashed around him as his body reconstructed to match the Ash Elfs slim physique. As the surrounding light faded, he saw how the elf looked at him with disdain, now that he went against his recommendations.

”Do as you wish, young adventurer. I only wish to add this. Do not come back with complaints when you realize you have made the wrong choice. ” The elf said, looking at him with clear hatred.

”We will see about that. ” Alexander flatly replied.

”I love challenges. ” He added.

”Very well! ” The elf harrumphed.

”Have the adventure of your lifetime, as short as it will last. ” He added sarcastically.

The elf then swung his arm towards Alexander, and the world around him spun, before becoming black. All Alexander could see was a big white timer, counting down in front of him.

The timer showed 4 minutes left. He guessed it was the time left before the game launched officially.

”Huh, I didn even get to choose my class. Weird. ” Alexander spoke out loud.

He waited for the timer to reach zero, and in the meantime, he accustomed himself to controlling this new body. The size of this body was pretty close to his, so it took little.

He assumed they made the game like this to not throw people off with weird body sizes.

Four minutes passed by quickly and the timer was nearing its end. As the last few seconds flashed by, the surroundings changed. The black made way for bright colors.

The nothingness around Alexander switched over to a flight view of a bright new world. He was flying over a continent in the world of New Eden and could see the cities, forests, mountains, and other sights to behold.

An announcement sounded all around him.

*WELCOME TO ALL, IN THIS NEW WORLD OF ADVENTURE CALLED NEW EDEN. MAY YOUR FUTURE BE BRIGHT AND YOUR PATH BE FILLED WITH THE BODIES OF YOUR ENEMIES. LET YOUR NEW LIVES BEGIN!*

As soon as the announcement stopped, his body spun again, as he got teleported to his starting point. When he finally opened his eyes, he could see around him what appeared to be cave walls.

He was in a small alcove made of stone, and it was lit with only a small lantern. He could see no furniture around him except for the small cot he was lying on.

”It finally begins. ” Alexander said, grinning from ear to ear.