Chapter 0: Magic Elf
I went to a game store near me to browse as usual. In a world of online games, these places were like historical monuments themselves. I couldn’t believe some companies still produced physical copies. It was even more odd because this was a PC place.
A PC game place that still sells physical copies!? That was the first thought I had when I visited at the start. The titles they sold were not renowned at all. It made me wonder how small studios could afford it. Most of the time, they would simply put their games on online marketplaces.
Perhaps I should have thought something was wrong?
But the games I bought always ended up being hidden gems. That’s why I clutched a new game in my fingertips. The cover showed a beautiful elf girl in a fantasy setting. The back of the game showed in-game footage of spectacular dungeons.
If the art inside was actually like that, I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity. The only thing that struck me as odd was the game had an R-18 rating. It was rare for porn games to have intricate details. Most modern devs wouldn’t do it. They’d not have a gorgeous game tainted by that rating.
That was another detail that reeled me in. I was like a fish swimming for games, and this thing flopped down in front of me.
I ran home with this game in my hands and flung my apartment door open. The game beckoned me.
My PC purred as I turned it on. A click of a button, and the disc tray pushed out. I plopped the CD in and waited for the title screen. There it was in shiny bold letters: Hysteria, World of Dungeons.
The screen panned over a vivid, green landscape, and I could hardly contain my excitement. I clicked on the start menu, and I was instantly brought into character creation.
The first setting asked me the gender of the character. It was normal for me to play as female characters. My excuse was the same as every other dude. I loved watching females more than males, so why wouldn’t I play as a girl? It didn’t matter which game it was, I would always play as a girl. This even extended into erotic games.
Next, was the races. There were many to choose from. Humans were a given, but there were elves, orcs, and even goblins.
However, there was only one choice for me. I wanted to play as an elf. Not only were elves beautiful, but they were gifted in magic arts. Plus, roleplaying as an elf seemed fun.
Once I selected Elf, I was surprised at how many customization options there were. I made an elf with purple hair and dark purple eyes. Her height was set to be 5ft 2in tall. It seemed that was the shortest I could go for an elf. I made her build petite and her skin was painted in an almost ghostly white.
Then it was time for class selection.
For mage classes there was Witch, Sorcerer, Shaman, Warlock, Healer or Mage to start. I wondered what the differences were, but panning over them gave me some information.
Basically, these effected your background and different stat increases. Witch gave the highest bonus to mana, mana recovery, and a huge boost to spell casting. However, it came with its own issue. A witch was automatically seen as a criminal.
Sorcerer made the castings of attack magics faster, and gave you a boost to mana pool. You would also have a good standing among mages, but it seemed you would be funneled into attack magics.
Shamans were masters of healing or there were dark shamans who wielded death itself. Neither of those options seemed good to me.
Warlock was a criminal type like the witch, but this one was a master of summoning with bonuses that reflected it.
Healer seemed much like a shaman, but it also added buffs and a boost to water and spirit magic.
Mage was the so-called master of none. There were only small bonuses to each category, but a mage could specialize in anything or nothing. Mages also started out as neutral, so NPCs would neither be hostile or beneficial at the start.
After thinking it over for a bit, I selected mage. As a new player, it would be better if I wasn’t funneled into something. Plus, this gave me the option of trying many domains of magic.
As soon as I selected the class, there was another screen prompting me to select a background. I was surprised to learn that each background could effect your stats.
The first background was a noble in the elven kingdom. This background would raise my lore stat and give me a small boost in charisma.
Another background was a poor struggling mage. These backgrounds were even more boundless than hair choices. And every single one of them would add or take away stats. The only neutral one was a townsman, but that seemed awfully vague and boring.
There was one that managed to catch my eye. It gave a huge boost to stamina and mana recovery, but there was some other hidden stat. The intrigue of a hidden stat boost was high. That must’ve meant that not all stats were seen on the character creator.
I furrowed my brow and selected it: escaped lady of the Verusian family disaster. The only problem selecting this was my strength stat took a big hit, but it didn’t matter if I was going to be a mage.
The moment I selected that, it came time to name my character. The last name was locked by default. It was greyed out, and I couldn’t change it.
My name had become Sarah Verusia. I moused over the “Create Character” button and clicked on it.
The instant I did, my vision went white.
“Flashbang!” A high-pitched whine left my throat. “Stupid comp…”
When I finally opened my eyes, my room was gone. Trees surrounded me on all sides, and green bushes and shrubs littered the ground of a forest. Thin black robes draped over my petite form.
My hands automatically reached for my face, and my fingers traced over pointed ears.
Once again, that small voice left me. “Are you fucking kidding me!?”