Chapter 1-Login:

  Hello! Welcome to my first story on this site. I decided to make this story on a whim. I don't know how long this story will go, but I hope you all enjoy!

  --------------------------------------------------------

  “Would you like to enter the world of Sacred Sword?”

  As I put on the helmet, these words echo in my ear.

  “Yes” I reply.

  Immediately, I’m sucked into a swirling pool of light. As I fall down an endless tunnel, I start to get nauseous. But then the light open up before me.

  Below me I can see a gigantic continent. On the edges, the continent abruptly fall away, revealing a bottomless pit. At the bottom of the pit, I can see fire and magma.

  Each corner to the world is different. The top of the world is covered in an enormous mountain range.

  To the right, I can see a sea that extends before turning into a waterfall.

  And to the left, I see a tree that extends all the way to where I’m currently standing

  “Welcome to the world of Sacred Sword,” a voice tells me.

  I turn to my left. In front of me stands the goddess on the front cover from the front of the video game box. However, a picture is different from the real thing. She gives off a majestic air, and I’m immediately intimidated.

  “My name is Hermia,” she says.

  “Pleased to meet you,” I reply. “My name is Chris.”

  “Hello Chris,” she says with a smile.

  I start to blush and she giggles. “Would you like to create your character?” she asks.

  I nod and I’m taken to the character creation area. Before me are a million different versions of me. I see myself as a troll, a dragon, an orc, a goblin, and, of course, a human.

  “Please choose your race. Then you can customize your character,” Hermia tells me.

  I immediately look over a couple of the cooler race. I look at each characteristic, racial bonus, and tiny detail. I want to use every opportunity I can to gain an advantage over other players. Otherwise, I won’t be able to accomplish my goal.

  “Alright,” I say after a while. “I choose human.”

  “Are you sure?” Hermia asks. “This choice is permanent.”

  “I’m sure.” I reply. “I want grow strong. Although humans start the weakest, they have the highest growth potential.”

  “Very well,” replys Hermia. “Then how would you like to customize your character?”

  I look over the choice. After toying with the idea for a while, I decided to leave my appearance as normal.

  After finishing the character creation, my new body/normal body walks over to me and we merge. I examine myself but there’s no change. Well, I didn’t really expect any, but it's nice to get some confirmation of the facts.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Once I’m finished, Hermia appears in front of me again. “Well done Chris,” she says. “Now, what path would you like to take.”

  In front of me, I see another million different versions of me. This time, each of them is in a new getup. But, unlike last time, my choice is immediate. “I want to be a swordsman!” I say.

  “Are you sure?” Hermia asks.

  “Yep!” I reply. “Swords are a man’s romance.”

  Although I get a couple strange looks from Hermia, after a little while the swordsman walks up and merges with me. Looking down, I now see I’m covered in armor. Sweet!

  “The character creation is complete,” Hermia says. “Would you like to view the tutorial?”

  “Sure!” I reply.

  In Sacred Sword, each death is permanent. Which means, once your character dies, you have to restart. I don’t want my hard work to go to waste, so I decided to train up before entering the game and hunting mobs.

  Once again I’m teleported. However, now in front of me is an obstacle course formed from wood. I realize I am on top of the gigantic tree to the west. The branches on the top actually form the training area.

  Immediately, I run over, a wooden sword, and start swinging at a training dummy. But as my sword hits the dummy, I feel a jarring sensation. I drop the sword.

  “Ouch!” I yell.

  In front a me, a little screen pops up. In the screen, it displays the correct way to hold a sword. I try to follow the instructions displayed, and try hitting the dummy again. Although it still hurts, I at least can hold onto my sword now.

  Taking a deep breathe, I grab a hold of my sword and swing again. Over and over I swing at the dummy. Gradually, the sword in my hands gets more comfortable. The swings get more smooth.

  Beside me, I see Hermia watching me. Although I assume the tutorial must end at some point, Hermia makes no motion to come and get me.

  Intrigued, I decide to continue on with the tutorial. Each time I make a mistake, the screen would pop up and show me how to hold the sword properly. Eventually six hours passed. Tired and impatient, I decide to end this stupid test of the tutorial system. Seriously, who makes a tutorial that last six hours or more.

  But, before I leave, I decide to put everything I have into one more sword attack. Channeling all my might, I smash my sword into the dummy with a scream. “HAH!”

  “Huh?”