I don't own ".Hack"

Chapter 1 "Enter The World"

"The World," that was the name of most popular MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) in all of Japan and many other countries. The first day after the full version of The World was released, I was one of the first in line to get it. Yes, I may sound like a loser, playing video games every chance I get, but I wasn't planning on sitting at the computer all day, every day!

I finally got home… when I looked at the clock on my desk it was still before noon, so I decided to start on my character. I logged in, and found myself on the "Create your character" page. It took me a while to think of a name, but finally I decided on "Kurumi".

I made Kurumi a Twin User (one who uses a weapon in each hand), because they focus mostly on agility, which I find to be the most important skill for striking quick and lethal blows. She had long black hair tied back, pale colored skin, and yellow cat-like eyes. She wore a dark-red sleeveless shirt, and grey miniskirt with boots up to her knees.

I hit "Create Character" and was taken to the BBS board where all of the players post whatever information they might need. I decided to skip this for now, and booted straight into the game.

"Umm… excuse me, but-," I was cut off.

"Get out of my face newbie!" some big guy said as he walked by.

I tried to find someone that I could rely on. "Excuse me…" I walked up to two guys who were standing by the Chaos Gate. They didn't seem to notice me, so I continued on.

Even though I was a newbie, I still knew a lot about the game, only because I had a friend who was a beta tester. Up until this point, I could only dream of exactly what it would be like to be immersed into The World.

I finally found someone, "Can you please tell me what server this is?"

He was a big guy with an upper body that looked like a mass of muscles covered with a skinny belt, and a slab of high-level shoulder armor. He was equipped with a giant sword on his back. On his face and chest was a white "X". Actually it was a "Wave" symbol, although it looked like an "X". It stood out a lot, on account of his dark green skin and copper-colored hair, but the weird part was that only his midsection and forearms were a normal skin color.

When I first saw him, I thought to myself… "Why did I open my big mouth, he can kill me with one punch!" But he was actually very kind. I guess whoever said that "Looks could be deceiving," made it up from their own personal experiences.

"This is the Sigma server… aren't you too low of a level to be here?" He said to me smiling. Somehow I felt safe around him.

I looked passed the big guy toward his friend who was very handsome. He looked like a valiant knight. He had beautiful white hair that sparkled from the sun's reflection. He wore bright plate mail, and was armed with a long, elegant dagger… It looked extremely rare and powerful.

He turned towards me, and gave me an evil glance. I squealed and hid behind the friendly, big guy.

"I'm Orca, and this is my friend Balmung." he said as if reading my mind. "You should go back to MacAnu, where all the beginners start their adventure."

I typed in /yes> to nod once, and before I could type in .bye> Orca's friend started walking towards the Chaos Gate, and told Orca to stop talking to a newbie.

"The World" has five basic actions that are programmed into the game to make it look more realistic:

/yes> (nod)

/no> (shake head)

/look > (stare)

/duck> (shrug)

/bye> (wave good-bye)

But of course there are many other programs, and the one I fell in love was:

/triumsmug> (throw head back arrogantly)

And apparently the one that Balmung always uses was:

/lookhard> (Stare hard)

"Take care! Find me when you are a high level, we might let you join out party!" Orca walked away smiling.

A few moments later I traveled through the Chaos Gate, and teleported to MacAnu.

I sighed in relief, and I was surrounded my millions of newcomers. I don't know why I was happy to find myself amongst the low level characters, maybe it was because I didn't want to look like an outcast, or maybe it was because I wanted to start my adventure and to finally join up with Orca. Or… I wanted to be acknowledged by Balmung.

Well… that's it for now. Please leave your reviews, and I'll write more!