Game Start

Leo slowly opened his eyes to see what he could only describe as the roof of an old wooden cabin. Panic and confusion surged as he sat up abruptly from the bed he was laying on. . 

'What the?! I thought I was dead! Where am I?!' Is this heaven?!'

His brain couldn't understand what had happened or where he was. The last thing he remembered was the counter hitting zero and both his lungs and heart stopping. The sickening feeling of death that experience invoked sent a shiver of fear down his spine. 

It took him a minute but the idea that a wooden cabin where he was all alone was heaven seemed a bit ridiculous to him. He could only assume that he was alive somehow. 

He patted his body, making sure that he was in one piece but he was not relieved in the slightest when he felt bits of himself that shouldn't exist. 

'Why the hell do I have Cat ears and a tail?!' 

He now had an extra set of ears on the top of his head and a cute fluffy tail reminiscent of a small kitten. What sort of sick twisted joke was this?! He could only groan in frustration as he had too many questions and not enough answers. 

Swinging his feet off the bed, he quickly stood up with a hop. A small smile involuntarily formed on his lips as he looked down at his feet. It was only a few days ago that he was unable to lift his head, let alone stand or walk. 

While his arms were still slender for an 18 year old man, it was far better than having his muscles atrophied to the point he was practically skin and bones. 

"I can't stand here all day. I need to figure out where I am". 

Seeing nothing in the room that could help him figure out where he was, Leo could only make his way to the door. He reached out to the doorknob when a mysterious semi transparent screen appeared right in front of his eyes. 

-Welcome to Ascension of Souls Online. 

-You have now entered the World of Melodia. 

-You are currently in the Beginner Village (Beastkin). 

-Please Confirm your Status and set your Character Name. 

-To check your Status, Please say [Status] 

-Please Note. Due to the Blessing granted by the Forgotten Goddess: Discordia, your body is currently in the process of being upgraded. Until the upgrade is complete, you will be unable to log out. 

-Remaining Time until Completion: 163 hours, 14 minutes, 57 seconds

'That's like a welcome message for a video game..'

Leo winced as his memories came back to him. He was in fact inside of a Neurological VR game that his sister Luna had bought for his 18th birthday. She had taken the time to explain some of the nuances of the game and character creation to him but at the time he didn't really listen nor care. 

After all, he was terminally ill with a disease so rare that they would probably name it after him when he died. The last thing on the mind of a man about to die was how to play a video game. 

But he could never tell her that. How could he turn down the kind intentions of the only family he had left in the world. Luna had practically raised him for the last four years, the least he could do was indulge her desire one last time. 

That was the mindset he had going in but things took an odd turn when creating his 'character' he was approached by a large but really weird faceless puppet in a penguin tuxedo. The puppet had acted like a cute little girl despite their masculine frame. 

Perhaps if he had ignored it, things wouldn't have panned out the way they did.

'Oh my~! Do I have something on my face my dear boy~? If you keep staring at me, I might blush~'

"What face?!"

'Hoo? You can see through the illusion?! Hahahaha. This is getting interesting~!'

He would never forget the way that puppet had laughed so eerily before melting into a weird ink like egg. Nor could he erase the woman who had 'hatched' from the egg. A beautiful fairy-like woman who claimed to be a goddess.

"Did someone figure out a way to slip drugs into a game console? How else would I be tripping balls right now?" 

'H-How Rude! I am a Goddess you lil brat! The name is Discordia!'

....

His mouth twisted into a scowl, his brows furrowing as he realized he couldn't recall anything after that. It was as if there was a fog obscuring his own memories that he couldn't see through.

'It's best that you forget about that woman for now. You won't be able to find out anything now as you are…' 

…..

'Am I going crazy? I thought I just heard a voice that wasn't my own in my head….' 

'No. You're not going crazy my child. We are a Persona or 'Ego' of the Bracelets on your wrists. The Equipment you chose with your life on the line…'

Leo was stunned as he looked back down at his wrists where a plain somewhat silver set of cuff bracelets were wrapped around his wrists.

'What in the world? A lot of people are going to be checking in to the mental hospital if they hear that.'

'That's very rude. We are not so common that the average individual will be graced with a presence remotely close to us.'

Leo was skeptical about that but he chose to ignore the voice as he reread that notification. 

"Body upgrade? What is that supposed to mean? Wait… I can't log out for almost a week?! If I wasn't already on an IV, I would be dead from malnutrition long before then!"

'Your body in the other world shall remain safe. It is undergoing a metamorphosis to adapt to our power'

"Okay… Yeah, I have gone insane. A video game affecting reality is just nonsense. Fine, I will play along for now. Arguing with an AI schizo voice won;t help me either."

'We have no idea what 'AI' or 'Schizo' voice mean but we feel like we are being insulted… you are a very rude partner'

"Take it however you want to see it. Lets see…. Ahh. [Status]"

Another large screen appeared before his eyes, a detailed description of the current stats of his Avatar. 

-Character Status

-Name: [Not Set]

-Race: Adaptive Beastfolk

-Title: N/A

-Class: N/A

-Age: 18

-Level: 1 (0/100exp)

-Status: Sickly (Body Upgrade in Progress)

-Health: 70/70

-Mana: 30/30

-Attack: 20

-Defence: 10

-Dodge: 38

-Strength: 4

-Endurance: 2

-Agility: 10

-Dexterity: 9 

-Intelligence: 7

-Wisdom: 3

-Charisma: 10

-Luck: 10

Free Points: 0

Skills: Chimerafication (Innate Racial), Invocation of Evolution (Sealed), Bond of the Zodiac (Sealed), Appraisal (Innate), Battle Sense (Innate)

Equipment: Star Bracelets (N)(Growth)

Oh? For a child who has stood on the doorstep of death for so long, your status is quite impressive…Wait what? Why is our grade Normal?! Quickly [Appraise] us Child!

The crazy voice seemed a bit unnerved by the (N) next to the name of the only equipment he had listed. With nothing to lose, he opened his mouth. 

"[Appraise]"

Star Bracelets (N)

A pair of bracelets that have a trace connection to the stars. Potential for Growth

Innate Skills: Invocation of Evolution (Sealed), Bond of the Zodiac (Sealed),???,???,???,???,

Stat Bonuses: 

N/A

Uprade Status: 0%

[... We are going to go cry now. Don't bother us]

He could hear the despair tinged in the soft 'voice' of the bracelets, leaving him somewhat bemused. After a few moments of silence, he turned his attention to the door leading outside once more. 

"Alright, if my name needs to be set before I go out, I will just go with the name everyone calls me: Leo". 

A confirmation message showed up, wanting to confirm that Leo wanted his name to be [Leo]. Without hesitation, Leo confirmed his choice. A loud ding akin to that of a bell rang out inside of the cabin and the door in front of him slowly swung open. 

On the other side of the door, there was a beautiful scenic village akin to one you might find in the countryside. Taking a step out, Leo couldn't help but marvel at the realism as he could feel the heat of the sun on his skin and could smell the fragrance of flowers on the wind from a nearby garden. 

Taking a deep breath, He couldn't help but smile broadly. While it may be just a game, this was his first step outside in years and he was going to make sure he enjoyed every moment of it. 

With bold steps, he set out to explore the village and begin his journey. This is where his game would start.