章 6: Lag

In front of him he saw the words "Deicide No Gods No Kings" stylized in exaggerated lettering. Underneath the title was a loading bar slowly filling with what looked like a green glowing liquid.

As soon as the bar was filled completely Kevin felt a rush of air as the darkness fluttered around him and he was standing in a selection space where he saw his two accounts. The account window on the right said "press account" which is the one he used during his live streams and was set up to record when he played. The account window to the right simply had "AFKIRL" the name of the guild he and Jessica created in the game. This account was their private one that He and Jessica played together.

Kevin stepped forward into the AFKIRL window and he was thrust into the character select room. Here he could select which of his avatars we would play as. There were five of them all together, each one specialized for different roles in the guild. The room was designed to look like one in the guild hall although it was a separate space just to select which avatar he would play. Normally a player's avatars would be in a blank void-like space standing like statues or in a t-pose. However, Kevin spent real-world money in the Cash Shop to have the selection space customized.

Kevin was a professional Deicide player and spent the majority of his days in the game. He also spent the majority of the money he got from streaming donations, brand deals and tournaments on in-game purchases for his various avatars. On average he would spend roughly half his earnings directly in the game. This left him with some of the most customized characters in the game and placed him well in the highest spenders in the game.

The room was large enough to comfortably hold the six of them. It looked like a waiting room with a hardwood wood floor and a beautiful persian rug. The ceiling had a complex and expensive looking gold and crystal chandelier. The furnishing in the room looked to be hand crafted and polished to perfection by a master of their craft and each one was a piece of art all on their own. Two chairs and two coffee tables on opposite sides of the room. There was a window on the side opposite a door. The room smelled of spiced cinnamon which seemed to originate from a candle on the coffee table in one of the corners of the room.

Four men and one woman were in the room with Kevin although they didn't seem to notice him. They were actually the avatars and playing out predetermined animations until he chose which he will play as. Each looked very different from one another and were members of different fantasy races.

The closest was named Hyperion and was of the celestial race called Hemburs. They were beings made from the fire of the God Hephaestus' forge. He looked like living molten metal with hair that flowed like fire from his head. He sat at one of the wooden tables that despite how hot he appeared to be, did not catch fire. He wore plate armor which was white and highly decorative with gold accents. The armor was tight fitting and seemed to produce a dim light. His helmet was on the table and was just as flashy as the rest of the armor. Hyperion was level 100 and the combat class Cavalryman which allowed him to summon mounts during combat.

Next was a woman named Svaralfer, she was drinking tea at the window looking out into the blank space beyond. Svaralfer is Kevin's only female avatar which Jessica made to be the most feminine avatar she could make. Kevin created an avatar on her account named Kokou that is as manly as Svaralfer is girly. Anytime Kevin played as her Jessica had to play as Kokou and they had to act as if they were the opposite sex.

Svaralfer was a dark elf with flawless gray skin that lacked any blemish. Her face was a mixture of girlish charm and womanly maturity that would not give a solid idea of her age. She had silver hair which flowed in loose curls around both sides of her face framing her beauty. She had black leather armor that hugged close to her slender form. On her right side she had scarlet plate armor interspersed. There was a quarter metal breast plate which terminated just under her chest, also a metal pauldron with short neck guard and armored gauntlet. Her right thigh also had metal plates covering down to her boot. She was the archer class and Kevin's second oldest avatar on this account and was level 150.

Aureole was at the other table eating a never ending steak. He looked the most human out of any of the avatars here. He only wore animal hides with bone armor protecting his extremities. His hair was black and unkempt and he had a short cut beard. Despite sitting at the table and being covered in pelts his muscular frame was obvious. He had a savage danger to his aura which even though Kevin designed him still put him slightly on edge. Aureole was a lycanthrope and could transform into several mythical beasts. He was the assassin class and level 95.

Standing next to Aureole was Kevin's avatar he made as a troll to a toxic player he met and became a continuous problem for them. The avatar was named xxMurder3L0rdD3athKill69xx which even made Kevin ashamed for having named him that. He wanted to change the name but didn't play as him very often anymore so he didn't want to pay for the name change stone.

xxMurder3L0rdD3athKill69xx was an ecratine which looked like what would happen if you mixed a human with a spider. He only had two legs but had four arms and six eyes. He had black exoskeleton which did not reflect much light making it difficult to make out any defining features. His mouth was little more than different interlocking mandibles with two large fangs. He was wearing dazzlingly colorful and expensive looking robes. His belt was covered in potions of various colors some of which glowed. Glowing runes flowed out of him into the air where they dispersed into a sparkling vaper. He was also level 150 and was in the combat class Black Wicca Grimoirist.

Lastly leaning on the wall nearest the door was Kevin's main avatar named Harahel. He was also the most impressively kitted out. Harahel was a member of the celestial people known as angels. His appearance shares many similarities with the depiction of Judo-Christian angels though his skin appears golden yellow. Harahel has short straight brunette hair with lines cut into the sides for style. He also has his facial hair cut into a light chinstrap. His eyes were silver with the computer power icon as his pupils, another change made through the Cash Shop.

As an angel he had two wings which were various dark and light shades of brown and tan. He had five golden rings piercings along the patagium of each wing each with different enchants. When his wings are not in use they were draped over his shoulders giving the appearance of a feathered cloak. When using magic or some sword skills an orange-red halo appeared behind his head which was changed from its original white color using a Cash Shop item Kevin paid for with real world money.

Harahel was a paladin and he wears magically enchanted plate armor. The armor was red with sterling mithril accents and complex engravings. The pauldron for the armor float above his shoulders so as not to restrict movement. He has additional armor which floats around his waist down along his legs. The helmet of the armor was extravagantly engraved with gold and has a crown. Although you cannot see his face when the helmet is on, when using skills an orange-red glow can be seen from the eye holes.

Kevin did not question which avatar he was going to choose. He nonchalantly walked over to the glowing monolith that was Harahel. His silhouetted form merged directly into the waiting avatar and with a brief surge of sensation Kevin opened his eyes as Harahel. He tapped his helmet and it vanished giving him a clear line of sight. This was another Cash Shop ability that made headgear invisible while still offering all the protection they would have otherwise.

Kevin stepped over to the door and opened it as he did a light surrounding him and he was inside of a new space. He was loading into the grand entrance to the guild hall which he had seen many times. What cut through everything was the voice he was waiting to hear this whole time. He turned and saw the pixelated form of Jessica's avatar as the assets still struggled to load in.