[i]Finally![/i]

Aerin looked eagerly down at her VR equipment. Shadowfall had just come out, and she had been forced to spend the whole day working. With the record sales numbers being reported, it was amazing that she had even got her hands on a copy this late. She'd finally arrived at her house after what seemed like the longest drive of her life (though in reality she had been speeding the whole way.) VR games were more than a mere hobby to Aerin. These were her life. Her job, she knew, had really become just a way to fund this hobby. And as everyone knew, Shadowfall was supposed to be the best VR game developed yet!

Unable to wait a moment longer, she pulled the helmet down over her head. She practically screamed the startup command, adrenaline pumping through her veins as light spread across her vision. After a brief introduction, the game brought her to one of the largest character creation databases she'd ever seen. This was awesome! She paused for a moment, wondering what sort of character she should make. The last fantasy-type MMO she'd gotten into, she'd played a tall, fair-haired elf woman. She'd liked the character, but the incessant flirting from the males of the game had gotten kind of irritating. Didn't those idiots realize it was just an avatar? She could be a dude for all they knew!

That gave her an idea. Scrolling through the pre-set body types, she picked the most ridiculously buff male build she could find, then went into details and added further enhancements. She chuckled to herself. Nobody would flirt with this character! She named him after herself (finally, an advantage to having such a masculine name) and entered the game.