I took a deep breath before opening my eyes and attempted to look around at my surroundings. I was in a dark room and couldn't see if there was anything in it, even after my eyes had adjusted. After a moment a glowing circle appeared on the ground in front of me, I stepped on it and a large screen lit up in front of me, blank until words started to show up like they were being typed.

'Hello.'

It typed out.

'Here in the starting lobby you will assign yourself to a species, find your mage skill, and design your character before starting the real game.'

A body-length mirror appeared in front of me and a small section of the screen turned into a list of different species names.

'Please choose a species.'

I scrolled through the list and looked at all the different options. Human. Knight. Fairy. Mermaid. And Random. There was a little note that popped up next to the random option.

'Note: If you choose random, you may be assigned to a species that is not on the list.'

I didn't care, I pressed the random button so hard that I thought that if it was real I might have broken it. The word 'Elf' popped up above the mirror and when I looked back down at myself, I could see that my ears were in fact pointy and my brown eyes seemed as if they were glowing a bit. Then the list cleared away and the screen split in half, showing a bunch of different outfits.

'Please choose an outfit for you to start out with. If you wish to change your clothing later in the game, you can do so by visiting shops all over the game's map. However, your clothing options will be affected by the type of species you are.'

'Can I not change my appearance?'

I thought as I scrolled through all the outfits that you could definitely tell were made for Elves. Finally, I found one that I felt would suit me best. It looked like a dark blue dress lined with gold and large slits to expose my thighs. The dress also covered my shoulders and a thin net fabric covered my forearms and the back of my hands as the sleeves were held in place by gold rings around both my middle fingers. The same fabric on my arms wrapped around my legs all the way down to my ankles, where they were held in place by golden anklets that wrapped down the top of my foot and around my big toes. However, it didn't have shoes just like the rest of the starting outfits for the Elves.

I had to admit, even though I would never wear this in public in the real world. Even if I went to a Ren fair or even a gaming convention. I'd be too embarrassing with how revealing it is. Yet I had never felt more like myself.

'Now spin to see what magic you shall possess.'

The screen read and a button showed up on the screen along with a large list of what looked like different skills with an arrow pointing at the center slot. There was no names of magic on the wheel, I guess to not spoil anything.

'I don't get to choose?'

My hand was moving on it's own. I could feel my pulse racing even inside the game, which is usually hard for games to get down, even for nerve gear. I was hesitating. I jumped into this game so fast, but who knows if I'm already too late to changing my mind?

I just want to see. I could be hallucinating. A complete one in a billion chance that I got a game the same day that it gets posted to the news that Nerve gear prisoners were set free.

I thought about leaving. I could still leave. I had to be able to still turn around. To change my mind. But what will be waiting for me if I leave? And if I don't show up to school tomorrow? 

I could feel myself suddenly calm. What would happen if I did get locked in here?

'I wouldn't have to face tomorrow again.'

I felt my body rack a flinch from the tips of my fingers all the way down my legs to my toes. I wouldn't have to face them tomorrow. I could just be me with my silly little game. And if I do wake up in the morning in the real world, then no harm no foul. Right?

I took a deep breath and slammed my hand on the screen. Words blurred passed my eyes, and I couldn't force my eyes to understand any of it as the wheel spun. I couldn't help but hold my breath as it started to slow down and the words became somewhat legible, but I still couldn't make out what any of it said.

'Celestial Spirit Mage'

I was finally able to read as the wheel jolted to a stop. The circle I was standing on started glowing brighter, blinding me as my hair and skirt blew around and I closed my eyes from the light. The wind died down into a nice breeze and I opened my eyes to see that I was standing out in the open, in a town square.

And my heart raced, as I looked at what had been waiting for me. Everyone around me was crying and a few were holding each other. If nobody was crying they looked like they were going through a mid-life crisis.

Then suddenly an image showed up in my vision and a boy that looked to be somewhere around my age appeared. He had black hair that hung in front of his black eyes.

"Hello." He said. "My name is Zeref, the creator of this game." I looked around at the people that were around me and I saw them looking forwards and we're concentrating on something that I couldn't see. Our HUDs must be personal, so only we could see them. "And now that the last few of those who were privileged enough to earn their chance to play this very special game has finally arrived, now the real game can truly begin."

I held my breath as I could hear my own heart pounding in my ears.

"As all of you know, I'm sure, that there was a game that was released a few years ago that captured ten thousand players in a game called Sword Art Online, and after two years the game finally ended to where there were some complications and some of the players that survived the game had been sucked into another game. And just recently was that game beaten." Zeref said and I could feel my fingertips shaking. "Well, I'm proud to say that I was influenced by these games and created one of my own." He smirked. "I'm sure most of you have checked by now, that none of you are allowed to leave this game."

I breathed out and swiped my hand down in the air and my menu appeared. I looked at the bottom corner and the sign-out option was dulled and I didn't even try to select it. Zeref leaned forwards in my vision, feeling like he was getting right up and in my face. Not just through the screen, but physically like he was getting too close to me. Like he was trying to size me up. He placied a hand behind his back with his other arm in front of him, in a bow.

"So, welcome everyone." He looked up to the camera and an evil smirk was drawn on his face. "To my world."