Create Your Character Ch. 01

Lucas pressed the button. His PC whirred to life, an array of colours filling his bedroom. He'd been waiting for this day for a while now, but it was finally here. A new game from an unknown developer had taken the world by storm when it showed off its trailers over the past year or two - and it was finally releasing.

He had learned to temper his expectations a little, as things could obviously change between trailers and release. But from the sound of the reviews that had been pouring in, Sub Rosa seemed to be the real deal.

It supposedly had generation defining graphical fidelity and the most detailed character creation ever made. The only drawback, depending on your outlook, was that the base character you were given to play with was locked to your system, and there were no trades. It also seemed like the initial character customisation options were fairly basic, but you earned more by playing.

It seemed pretty obvious to Lucas that they were worried about players dropping off. But, he kept returning to the reviews, it seemed every outlet was majorly impressed and hadn't been able to put the game down.

As his mind returned from its wander, he refocused on the screen, just as the download bar reached 100%. For Lucas, there was nothing quite like the joy of launching a new game for the first time. He didn't have much going for him these days: his job was relentlessly bland, no one in his apartment block would give him the time of day, and his ex girlfriend was living it up on holiday with her personal trainer. He needed this escape.

The name Sub Rosa appeared on the screen. It was an under-stated menu, but it looked well designed and inviting. Then he spotted the flashing text repeating under the title: "No SR Headset detected".

"What headset? What the fuck?" Lucas muttered under his breath. Just then there was a knock at his door. He answered, only realising too late about the Cheeto dust smeared on his sweater. "Sign here." The voice bluntly said. He obliged and took in the fairly large package. It was addressed to him, but he hadn't remembered ordering it.

He opened the package in a hurry and was shocked, but delighted to see a high tech looking headset with the letters SR in stylish font on the side, and the subtle translucent image of a rose. He beamed, it looked like something out of Ready Player One, or the matrix. It was closer to a helmet than a headset and was lined with all sorts of nodes and wiring. There was a single card placed inside the package, it read: Dear Lucas, thank you for purchasing our first ever game. We wanted to keep this part a surprise until launch - we hope our world is everything you dream of.

He raced back to his computer, headset in tow and wires flailing behind him. He inserted all the wiring and lowered the helmet on - it fit perfectly. As he did, the message changed, "Welcome to Sub Rosa".

It melted away as Lucas felt his vision fully absorbed by the headset. It was like the most immersive VR he'd ever experienced, about as close to lifelike as you can get. Had he not been so adrenaline filled he may have felt the small prick of a needle jabbing the back of his neck, drawing the slightest amount of DNA back into the helmet.

The game loaded up, Lucas' life about to change forever. He stood in what appeared to be an upscale apartment's walk in closet. A floor length mirror in front of him and clothes either side. The mirror has symbols all the way down the sides, each denoting an element of the customisation process. In bright letters projected onto the mirror the words "Create Your Character" lingered.

Lucas pressed to begin.

Immediately Lucas was struck by the sheer amount of options available, even though a lot of them were greyed out to be unlocked later, there was still a lot to choose from.

What he hadn't realised however, was that the person in the mirror was indeed himself. He hadn't clocked at first that it was strange, but after a moment it dawned on him. "Wait... how the hell does it know what I look like?!"

He reached up to his head, the avatar matching his movements. He grasped what felt like the side of his head and lifted, to his surprise the helmet did come off, even though it had felt like he was just touching his head.

He looked around the room, nothing had changed, but on the screen his avatar was frozen in position, as if paused. "No fucking way..." he breathed incredulously. He had yet to play a single second of actual gameplay but was already becoming obsessed with the sheer effort that must have gone into this game.

He spent a while making adjustments to his character. He "fixed" all the things he perceived to be wrong with his body: he made himself slightly taller; more muscular; his face more symmetrical; and of course, made his penis thicker and longer (he was pretty disturbed by how close the original avatar's cock was to his own, but moved on pretty quickly).

When he was finally happy with his creation he turned to exit the closet. When he did so there was a jarring buzzing sound, a sharp shock in his neck and the game appeared to crash. He removed the headset, slightly disappointed. He rubbed his neck where he had felt the sting, it was slightly sore and inflamed but it didn't hurt too bad. Then a notification popped up from his game manager, update available for Sub Rosa, day one patch.

He hadn't realised how long he'd been tweaking his character, it was already nearing midnight and he had work the next day. Begrudgingly he set the download going and decided to hit the hay. That night he seemed to sleep deeper than he had in a long time and woke extremely well rested, for the first time in a while in a good mood!

Lucas got up, eyes still bleary, and made his way to the bathroom. He rubbed his eyes and began his morning routine, but was stopped in his tracks when he opened his eyes. He was looking in the mirror at the version of himself he had spent sculpting the night before, chiseled abs, a light stubble, and an impressive dick.

He pinched himself to check if he was dreaming, he was not. He was on cloud nine for the rest of the day, he got dressed and made his way into work.

Over the course of the next week, his neighbours did double takes and one of the cute ladies on the reception desk even began giving him a polite smile and wave as he left for work.

It was similar at work too, everyone seemed to be treating him nicer, and strangely it seemed like he was working on more interesting projects.

He had been playing his game every night to try and unlock extra options, and while it was slow going the game was incredibly fun. It seemed like his imagination was the limit, each time he left the closet whatever he encountered was exactly what he wanted to play, even if he didn't know it consciously. He'd only been able to unlock small things so far, but he was still having the time of his life, and the excitement still hadn't worn off.

That Friday night was his first time not playing the game though. As he was leaving work, a very attractive blonde woman had stopped him on the street and asked him for a drink! He couldn't believe it and of course jumped at the opportunity.

One thing led to another and she invited him over. They greedily made out in the elevator to her apartment, she even slid her had to the inside of his trouser leg. When she did, the making out stopped and she stared into his eyes, shocked. "Are you serious?" She asked, eyes full of lust. He just kissed her again and once they reached her floor she practically dragged him to her door. She couldn't get them inside quick enough.

They made it to the bed and she figuratively tore his pants off, mesmerised by his now perfect dick. She looked entranced and even drooled very slightly before she began sucking his dick like her life depended on it. He thanked himself for putting extra points in endurance but was shocked it had counted for this too. Eventually she pushed him back onto the bed and climbed on top of him. "I can't wait anymore" she whined, and as she positioned her vulva over his cock he could actually see it dripping. He slid inside her with ease despite how much he could feel her stretching to accommodate him. She was lying with her head buried in his neck and her hands were digging into his back, she was already shuddering "h-how is it this good?" She asked. As she did, he slid almost all the way out again, before pounding his member as deep as it would go.

She screamed in delight, legs quivering as she toppled sideways onto the bed, unable to support herself. She limply reached out and tried to pull him onto her, failing miserably with her shaking hands, she just whispered "... more". To which he happily agreed. He positioned himself in front of her opening and slid himself inside. She pressed her hands to her chest as her eyes rolled and her back arched. He continued until he too came harder than he ever had. As soon as he lay back she nuzzled in, not wanting to let him go.