Unnamed

I took a deep breath as I examined the scene before me. The air here was fresh and clean, standing in stark contrast the abundant smog in the real world. My lungs did not burn as I enjoyed the cool sensation of normal air.

The entire process was artificial, in reality my lungs were still filled with the stale air of an air purifier. These things had become a necessity in the real world, as were portable respirators. Man kind had truly not been kind to mother earth.

This on top of many other influences had caused the virtual world to become increasingly popular. To an extent, the virtual world was the new true home of humanity. Bloodlines online, promised to be the next step in virtual evolution. Each NPC had its own artificial intelligence. They could learn and interact with players. The game had promised to provide an immersive world, and realistic NPCs were the start.

I smiled as I saw the scene before me. Countless players could be seen rushing forward. Each of them had been influenced by their respective bloodlines. The most common amongst the crowd were the blond haired Light bloodline. Each of them seemed to have an attractiveness that shined above the other bloodlines.

This was the major draw of the Light bloodline. They were given increased charisma, meaning they were more attractive and started with a higher reputation with all of the factions, excluding the shadow faction. They started with a hated reputation with the shadow faction.

If the light bloodline was equivalent to playing in easy mode, than playing as the shadow bloodline such as himself was equivalent to playing nightmare mode. The light bloodline while not the most numerous amongst the npcs, were often in prestigious positions. Almost all nobles were of the light bloodline, and the capital city was ruled entirely by the light bloodline. The King was of the light bloodline, and it had been that way for generations.

For a player to travel to the capital they would need a minimum reputaion requirement, as well as have obtained a noble title. The requirements were rather steep, but the game company had advertised this point rather extensively. The biggest draw point for players, and the focal point of the advertisements, was the beautiful princess. The game company had intensively set the princess as a motivation for the players.

Because of the high charisma value of the Light bloodline, their bloodeline abilities often involved the holy element. This meant that the strongest healers and paladins came from this bloodline.

The bloodline had such a large influence on the world that churches had been established in their name. They were the only bloodline to have done so. The churches denounced the shadow bloodline, who had stood in rebellion against the oppression the Light bloodline put on the other bloodlines. The rebellion had been short lived. and ended with the shadow bloodline being banished to the realm of shadows.

The influence of the church had made the shadow bloodline into villains, and had caused those who were of the shadow bloodline to be persecuted. Their starting reputation was one step lower than any other bloodline, and an entire two steps lower than those of the light bloodline.

As a result those NPCs who were of the shadow bloodline lived on the fringes of society, often so poor they could barely survive. To date not a single person of the shadow bloodline had a nobel title, and their opportunities were miniscule.

These factors combined assured that only a fool would chose the shadow bloodline. This became more apparent to me as I stared at the tide of players rushing towards the novice village in front of me.

I could see the beastial features of those who had taken a beast bloodline, and the halo of those who had taken the angelic bloodline. The thick elemental energy in the air should the abundance of those who had taken an elemental bloodline. I was the soul person who had been arrogant enough to chose the shadow bloodline.

I could only shake my head as I examined the group of players rushing forward. I soon found myself one of them, as I rushed towards the start of my new adventure.

The starter cillage was small, but carried a lot of different NPCs. Most of these had players crowding around them, as the sought to get a quest.

I had no plans on joining the que, the distrustful eyes of the Npcs as they glared at me proved that this would be an ill advised venture. I could only shake my head. I did not believe that the game company would not give me a way to advance.

I slowly made my way through the village. The village was rather modern in appearance, with most of convinces of the 2,000's. It was not uncommon for me to see an Npc talking on what appeared to be a cellular phone.

This did not strike me as odd. Bloodlines online blended magic and technology in a way that it was seamless. What was available in reality was also available here. Unfortunately, that was as far as reality blended with the game. Their still existed many of the things you would see in a typical fantasy setting, such as monsters and mounts.

Most of the people in this world would use a mount rather than a technological vehicle, as the roaming monsters and bosses could easily destroy these things. That was not to say they did not exist. The gnomes were have said to have established a railroad, and the goblins had crafted blimp like magical vehicles. They were common forms of transportation for those who could not afford a mount. There was also the tank like carriages that were pulled by beasts that had been tamed.

No matter were you looked this world was special, and I knew that the game had a huge future ahead of it. The only uncomfortable part seemed to be the glares of the Npcs.

After almost an hour of exploring the village I found an NPC that I could approach. He was of the shadow bloodline much like myself, however he seemed almost feral. It was obvious from the way he looked and smelled that he had not bathed in weeks. To make matters worse he appeared to feasting from the waste of the butcher.

The only positive note was the man did not glare as I approached, rather his feral eyes seemed to have softened a little. I took the initiative to talk, but the malnourished man flinched as I spoke.

The man did not need to speak, as the system had already given me a quest.

<The feral Shadow part 1>

You have approached one of your brethren who seems to have gone feral. You must return him to a normal state. Open close inspection you see that he is badly malnourished. Collect 5 Forest hares to feed your brethren, they are located on the north end of the town, near the edges of the forest.

I nodded as I recieved the quest. It was a typical starter quest. It would be to collect the corpses of a relatively easy monster.