Project Anima : A Virtual Reality / Reincarnated Tale

Chapter 1.4: Character Creation

Cloaks, daggers, and other thievery equipment of varying palettes emerged, floating and revolving and coalescing around him.

"Please equip yourself to your desire," the vixen said.

Looking up, the man whirled to the selection. He traced a finger across the weapons and outfits, feeling cold steel and smooth fabric on his fingertips.

After a thoughtful moment, he took the desired gear and willed it to equip. A mirror appeared before him, and he checked himself. The reflection of his wolvish avatar wearing the slick black cloak, deep blue vest, grey gauntlets and boots can be seen. A black dagger was clipped to his belt.

Not bad. He grinned ever so slightly.

"Looking good, hero!" the vixen wrapped her arms around his, leaning on his shoulder for a bit. He could feel her fox tail brushing against his back. "Is this your final pick?"

When he nodded, the vixen broke from him. Five, majestic statues formed in the room.

The man inspected the sculptures—one figure was holding a water vase, another perching an owl, another wielding a broadsword, another balancing a scale, and the last playing a harp.

"These are the Five Kings of Virtue," the vixen said. "Temperance, Sagacity, Courage, Justice, and Love."

As the statues breathed and moved, the man eyed them, but found no other detailed stats.

"What does each offer?" he said.

The vixen stuck out a tongue. "You would have to find that out in-game." She gestured to the living sculptures. "Please choose your desired patron and guardian. This will decide the shrine you would visit to gain limited bonuses, as well as other things."

For some reason, the man reached out to the figure holding a scale. The statues disappeared into light.

"From now on, you're aligned to the Patron King of Justice," the vixen said. She waved her hand at the air. "And now..."

A floating parchment and quill appeared before the man.

"Please write your desired username," she said. "The limit is twelve characters. Only letters—no special characters, numbers, or spaces."

Smirking, the man eyed her. "What if my username is taken?"

A chuckle came from the vixen. "No need to worry. The Game System allows identical names, as each player is assigned a unique hash ID, based on their brain fingerprint. This also means you can only make one game account."

"Convenient." He took the quill.

His hand was suspended mid-air. What username should he use?

"Feel free to take your time," the vixen smiled. "The username is final and can't be changed later on. Most of the other heroes also have spent a long time in this phase."

As he ruminated at the spot, a sudden idea came to him. The man wrote it down.

Then he paused.

How had he thought of that name? A strong, existential feeling crept on his spine. When he failed to satisfy the question, another dilemma assaulted him.

Who's viewing all of this?

Who am I?

And...what's my real name?

This time, he didn't interrupt the existential train of thought. His perception melted out of focus. With relentless curiosity, he went deeper and deeper, down the rabbit hole of his existence, until he reached some inaccessible realization in a cognitive abyss far beyond his reach.