There's no real air in VR, but Erik gasps for breath all the same out of pure reflex. It surprises him when his virtual lungs get filled. Just how realistic is this game? He slowly opens his eyes and wobbles when he gets full control of his avatar just a second later. The weight of his new limbs pulls him backwards and he almost loses balance.
"Careful, it takes a while to get used to your new body," Nala materialises nearby. "I'm afraid that I can't help you physically because I'm not actually here. I'm experiencing the game through you. Draconian brains aren't compatible with the VR technology."
"Oof, I had no idea wings were this heavy," Erik tries to straighten himself. "I won't take lightly ever again when Ryuu complains about back pain. This is no joke."
"You probably won't be able to move your wings just yet, but they should be sensitive to touch already. Try it, please," Nala tells him.
Erik pulls his right wing closer and caresses the feathers. He lets out an astonished cry because he can feel it. What a strange sensation to suddenly have an extra pair of limbs! He tries moving them, but they don't budge. It won't be easy, that's for sure.
Then he inspects his clothes. Celestial fashion certainly wasn't something he was looking forward to. He's wearing a dark green three-layered robe that's very simple compared to what Ryuuto usually wears, but it's comfortable and surprisingly easy to move in. Erik curiously rolls up the robe and finds that his avatar is wearing leggings and high boots underneath.
He isn't super enthusiastic about his attire, but at the very least, it doesn't feel like he's wearing a dress. Now that he thinks about it, the robe isn't that different from wearing a Japanese kimono and he somehow got used to that after a few attempts. He should be fine with a robe after all.
"We won't do much today," Nala says when he stops studying his clothes. "Walk around a bit to find a new centre of your balance and try interacting with whatever interests you. Most things are just objects you can touch, hold or destroy, but some have special properties and you can put them into your inventory."
"Where am I?" Erik takes a good look around. He's standing on a marble platform that's connected to other platforms with bridges, but he can't see much because there are clouds all around.
"Assiath, the Celestial capital city," Nala reveals. "This is the starting point for new playersâthe tutorial zone. By the way, Assiath doesn't need bridges because all inhabitants can fly. They are only in the starting location for beginners who can't fly yet."
"How long is the tutorial?" Erik asks.
"That depends on you," Nala shrugs. "The tutorial ends when you're able to leave the area, meaning fly away. For the Crown Prince, it took only a few hours. The Viceroy spent two days here. On average, it takes around four to six days. Don't worry, there's plenty to do. You will be getting used to your new body and learning the basics of spellcasting."
Erik takes a few unsure steps, trying to balance himself. Walking with wings this huge is like walking with two cumbersome backpacks on each shoulder. No wonder Celestials get frustrated when they are forced to walk for an extended period of time.
"There wasn't much walking on Assiath I presume?" Erik sighs when he identifies one bar in his left field of vision as his stamina. It's getting depleted quite fast.
"Not really," Nala shakes her head. "Celestial cities needed to be considerably light so there wasn't any excess infrastructure. Buildings were floating on platforms and connected by a magical network that was keeping the distances. Well, to be brutally honest, we don't know how that worked. This is just a digital replica."
Erik walks to the edge of the platform and looks down. The clouds aren't as thick as he thought so he can recognise other structures floating below him. Then he looks up and his eyes widen in awe when he spots an intricate system of platforms and majestic buildings.
"I will be here all alone, won't I?" he regrets a bit.
"Unfortunately," Nala has to disappoint him. "We activated various NPCs so the city shouldn't feel completely abandoned, though. Under normal circumstances, NPCs wouldn't be enough for proper immersion, but I'll be focusing solely on your transformation so it shouldn't be a problem."
Erik nods and decides to explore the tutorial area. Whenever he tries to interact with a new object, he gets a mini-quest. After two hours, he's able to confidently walk without wobbling and interact with his surroundings.
"Greetings, cherub," an NPC Celestial suddenly comes flying and lands on the platform in front of him. It's a woman with long blue hair and exotic-looking yellow wings. "I'm here to assist you with your flying practice."
Erik looks at Nala, unsure how to communicate with this NPC lady.
"Just speak normally, it's an AI language model so it should understand you," Nala advises him. "It'd better leave your flying training to an AI instructor since I don't have wings myself."
"I... I'm ready to learn," Erik mumbles in response.
The NPC woman smiles and takes two meditation pillows out of her inventory. She puts them on the ground, sits on one and tells Erik to sit on the other.
"When trying to move wings for the very first time, it's better to sit so that you don't have to focus on your legs and you don't fear losing balance," she explains.
"How do I start?" he asks eagerly.
"First of all, you have to realise that you possess an additional pair of blades," an NPC trainer instructs. "Try to feel them."
Erik does as she says and, after several minutes and some twitching, he senses unknown bones under his skin. It's the strangest experience.
"Moving them is similar to moving your hands," she clarifies. "For now, any movement will do. We can't continue until you accomplish that."
He tries really hard but another hour goes by and his wings don't move an inch. That frustrates him even though Nala assured him that it normally takes quite some time. He tries to recall the feeling when Ryuuto was sharing his flying dreams with him, hoping it would give him a hint, but he wasn't exactly in charge of that so he gets nothing.
Suddenly, an NPC trainer leans towards him and scratches his left wing without warning. The tingling sensation is so vivid that it makes Erik twitch instinctively. Oh?! His left wing did move just now! A small victory.
"Did you do it on purpose?" he asks, feeling much more hopeful now.
"It's a simple test," she grins. "If you didn't react, I'd make you reconsider your choice of a race. Fortunately, you had a perfectly natural response for a Celestial."
"I'm ready to try again," Erik says happily.
"Lord Erik, it's been twelve hours already," Nala announces all of a sudden. "We need to unplug you now."
"What? It couldn't have been," he frowns. "Give me another hour, I think that I will soon get the hang of it and then I can..."
"Initialising the logout process," Nala insists and Erik's virtual avatar dissolves.