"Ah, whatever."

  Not wanting to overthink things, he quickly turned his attention to the advanced, luxurious customization features before him. "Now, what should I pick…" He pondered, scanning the menu options displayed across each panel. Every scroll and swipe was entirely controlled by his thoughts. Some VR games offered this kind of setup, sure—but he hadn't expected his idle mind to navigate the menu so effortlessly.

  "This… is magical," he muttered, if it could even be called that, watching the system unfold.

  He proceeded with his inputs:

  Name: Midnight

  Gender: Male

  Age: 18

  Not long after, the system spoke again.

  [USER PROFILE SCAN INITIATED]

  [ADJUSTING BODY TO MATCH SKIN]

  [LOADING... 0%]

  [LOADING... 10%]

  [LOADING... 20%]

  "Damn, this is taking forever. It usually doesn't go through this whole uploading process," he muttered, already sensing something off. It felt like about five minutes had passed—based on instinct alone—yet the promised skin still hadn't appeared. Normally, there was no such thing as a "skin upload." If there were, gamers would've already raised hell, petitioning the devs to patch it out immediately.

  [LOADING... 50%]

  "Huh, just right after I said it. Sensitive that much, huh?" As if the system heard his complaints, the loading noticeably sped up.

  [LOADING... 80%]

  [LOADING... 99%]

  [LOADING... 100%]

  [SKIN PROFILE SUCCESSFULLY LOADED]

  Then, the skin appeared before him. "Eh…" he breathed in awe, his eyes widening at the intricate level of detail. From head to toe, it was flawlessly rendered, a testament to the comprehensive body scan. Every contour, every proportion—it all felt unnervingly authentic, like looking at his real body through a digital mirror. It was immersive to the point of discomfort, a perfect, digital doppelganger.

  "It's like a second skin," he thought, caught somewhere between amazement, confusion, and a vague unease at how unnervingly lifelike the customization was. But Midnight was Midnight. No matter what he thought or felt—even if it was complicated—he simply couldn't care less. "Whatever. Might as well enjoy it. I mean, this thing is the furthest from cheap." He told himself, trying to rationalize the situation, trying to ground the surreal experience in something tangible. "So, how do I put this on?"

  [To equip your skin, simply say or think "equip skin."]

  "Ah, yes. The floor here is made out of the floor," he said mockingly, referring to the AI's overly obvious instruction. The voice, reminiscent of that one iconic female AI used in countless games, had even become a meme in the gaming community. Her name? Iris.

  "Equip skin," he said quickly, a touch impatient.

  [REQUEST CONFIRMED. BEGINNING INTEGRATION.]

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  [INTEGRATING SKIN TO USER PROFILE.]

  [SKIN INTEGRATION SUCCESSFUL. PLEASE CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES.]

  "Such a human-like command…" he thought, once again both impressed and irritated by how unnervingly grounded the customization felt in reality. With a flick of his finger, he scrolled up and down, swiped side to side, now using his index finger like a touchscreen on a virtual panel. His eyes landed on the [CLOTHING ITEMS] panel in front of him.

  "Huh? Why is this so limited? For a premium game, this selection's weak." He frowned at the surprisingly bare clothing options: just a shirt, hoodie, button-up, shorts, underwear, socks, and shoes. One item each, only in color variations. Pretty basic, he thought, especially for a VR game that usually spoiled players with in-depth outfit customization from head to toe.

  He glanced around at the other panels.

  [ACCESSORY ITEMS]

  [CUSTOMIZATION ITEMS]

  Oddly enough, it was the accessory and hairstyle sections that were overflowing with content. Glasses, masks, bracelets, rings, necklaces, hats, bags—each category bursting with variety. Hair options were no less extensive: afros, punk styles, mustaches, side bangs—anything you could think of. Hell, even the volume and curvature could be fine-tuned to the smallest degree.

  "Whoever made this game is insane. Hair shouldn't be this complicated." He thought, finding it a little too over-the-top. The amount of detail felt excessive, even for a high-end VR game. "If I made something like this, it'd get cancelled on Tweeter immediately," he scoffed internally. Still, he went ahead and dressed in the provided outfit—all in black, his signature color.

  "Oh…" His eyes fell on a panel labeled [SAVED ITEMS]. "You can save stuff and reuse it later? Now, that's nice." He muttered, a rare flicker of genuine approval.

  [YOU'VE SUCCESSFULLY CHANGED OUTFITS.]

  [NOW CHOOSE ACCESSORIES AND HAIRSTYLE CUSTOMIZATION.]

  [A BAG IS REQUIRED TO SAVE ITEMS.]

  Without delay, he selected the simplest hairstyle and skipped all further modifications. For accessories, he picked out a bag and instinctively tried to store a mask into the save menu. Wait… It didn't work? When he selected the bag, the item materialized instantly in the empty space before him.

  "Ah, manual system, huh?" he commented, a hint of disdain in his mental tone.

  [Of course. You think it'd be that easy? Just put it in the bag. It's that simple.] The female AI voice from the system responded again, this time with a tone so condescending it bordered on outright mockery.

  He picked up the materialized bag, selected a mask, and placed it inside. "Oh, there's a pair of goggles. What kind of game is this supposed to be?" he muttered as he glanced through the various items.

  [The game offers a wide range of experiences. You can play however you like here—everything has already been prepared by the Game Master.]

  That sounded suspicious, he thought, especially since they had mentioned this was a survival game—not something meant purely for entertainment. "Should I just take everything? I mean, is that even possible?"

  [Yes, of course. Simply click the 'ALL ITEMS' panel, and every item will be added to your bag.]

  "Huh? Is this bag supposed to be some kind of magic pocket?" he replied, slightly taken aback. Judging by the list, there were thousands of items available. "Maybe all these items will be useful to others, depending on what they need." He reflected on what he could do with the items, and at the same time, considered the fates of the other players who were likely entering this strange world.

  He tapped the [ALL ITEMS] panel, and suddenly, every item appeared before him—all of them, stacked into a towering, impossible pile. "Whoa—seriously? How am I supposed to pack all this?"

  [To store all items, just unzip the bag and say, 'store all items.' Everything will be added to your inventory.]

  "That's… surprisingly advanced," he said, half-mocking the command for being so literal and simple. He unzipped the bag just like he would in real life, the virtual fabric feeling uncannily realistic beneath his non-existent fingers.

  "Store all items."

  One by one, the items shrank into clusters of light, like compressed data files, and floated effortlessly into the bag.

  Not long after, a familiar voice returned.

  [Allow me to introduce myself. I'm IRIS, your personal assistant who will be guiding you before the game begins. Do you have any questions?]

  "That name sounds awfully familiar…"

  [Exactly. I chose a name that feels awfully familiar—so you'd feel like you've known me for a long time. That's all. Do you have any questions?]

  "Alright then, Sigrid. I do have a question—why is your name Sigrid?"

  [Because it's short, approachable, and easy to remember. Plus, it has a cool meaning—'the messenger of God.' A bit dramatic, but who knows? Maybe it's a good omen for you. That's all. Do you have any questions?]

  "I see. I have another question." Midnight took a breath—or rather, the feeling of taking a breath—before asking his next one. "Who is the Game Master behind this VR game?"

  (TO BE CONTINUED…)