"Oh look at all these giddy fellows" murmured the college student as he approached the enormous human snake that stretched far beyond the interior of the humble games store. No one nearby was supposed to hear that, he had simply been adding a statement to the anxious atmosphere. Unlike some of the more enthusiastic gamer, whom he had hoped weren't still standing here, Nathan hadn't camped out by the nearest store, coped up on caffeine to stave off sleep while quivering for the release of a "world shaking phenomenon", instead he opted for complying with normality and hobbling into college for a few hours of education. It was a half day anyway, not that his decision would be any different. One way or another he was going to nab a copy today missing on a few day 1 deals meant little to him and he was certain stores were over stocked from fear of angry nerd backlash. And so at 2 in the afternoon, Nathan stood with the line shuffling a few feet every few minutes, thankfully having the foresight to eat something before turning up. There was a strange serenity to the centre, the few passerby that were glanced in their general direction, probably because it was the largest gathering of humans any shop within 10 miles had seen, in fact probably much further than that. Nathan wasn't one for over exaggerating, but he'd have to agree with anyone that figured the town's entire collection of gamers had turned up for the occasion. Naturally the reason for the gather went without question, ToK had taken the net by storm, absorbing an unfathomable amount of money during it's development stage, and producing an unreal level of "hype" following it's successful birth. Now that mere mortals were being granted the opportunity to be graced by a real dream-come-true, Nathan was more surprised that society hadn't been scarred by flocks of men and woman abandoning their jobs for this day. An hour and a half later, mercifully earlier than he had expected, Nathan strolled homewards swinging a rather large plastic bag back and forth. He was ever grateful for the student "funding" that had partially went in to the greatest time black hole he had ever purchased, grinning to himself over the irony of the purchase. Perhaps the dull minutes spent walking were the calm before the storm, it was at least a fitting way of putting things. Home was quite, as usual, despite living with his parents, it was more accurate to say that he lodged in their home, the house would be empty for at least another two hours. He listened to the kettle bubbling he waited for the obligatory Malestrom synch process, he imagined it was a rather torturous time for some, but a necessary evil to open Paradise's doors. The Maelstrom was finally done by the time his mug was half empty, Nathan immediately snatched the headgear he had kept within arm's length, quickly checking the fitting before slipping it onto his head, he would have let out a small whistle is amazement as super advanced technology sprang to life infront of his eyes, but his lips had already spread to a massive grin "Afternoon, Paradise" He said, leaning back into the single padded chair in his room. [centre]<> <>[/centre] "Ah, voice only?" He asked the air, half expecting an answer. Immediately characters flew onto the space before him, followed by a harsh error sound. "Oops, urrm...[i]B-I-S-H-O-P[/i] no error this time, it was more sensitive than he'd realized. He was nowed faced with a choice, fully pretend to be a different character and forget his humanity for his time in game, or go with a bog standard human. He'd already decided this one before his purchase though "Race: Human, can't ditch my little fighter now" He then immediately released a "Whoa" as he felt the hold of reality's laws become overwritten by new artificial ones, the screen briefly faded to white forcing his eyes closed from the harsh glare. When he reopened them he was greeted by a pleasant mix of light green and deep blue, a lazy afternoon sun cast a peaceful light over the new land in stark contrast to the white from before, fields of green swayed slowly in a gentle breeze, and a select few windmills dotted the distant view. Though that wasn't all that was visible in the distance, easily nabbing his attention was large(ish) village, fairly closeby though he assumed stamina from walking with a non-issue. A cobblestone path lay before him, clearly leading him towards the village, he sighed happily as he took his first few virtual steps, a reliably generated beginners zone, he had seen it countless times, but it had been a long time since such a sight had actually pierced him with a sense of anticipation, that silly grin from before was still plastered on his face as he made his way towards the hearty cheers that floated out from the village.