ALTER REALITY: Online

Leon helped his father onto the bed, then carefully placed the helmet on his head. The cool padding inside wasn't stuffy or restrictive; instead, it felt soothing, the chill against his skin almost refreshing, and the helmet's weight was so light it was barely noticeable.

"It's a bit loose," Noel muttered.

"Give it a second," Leon replied. "The recalibrating tech is about to kick in."

As they waited, the helmet's padding began to shift subtly, adjusting to the exact contours of Noel's head. It was as if the helmet was tailoring itself specifically for him.

When it finished, there was no discomfort at all. It felt natural, almost as if it had become part of him.

Noel's eyes widened, curiosity giving way to surprise as the helmet locked perfectly into place. Before he could say more, a soft, almost childlike voice echoed gently inside.

"Voice recognition sequence initiated."

Noel blinked. "Leon… I just heard a childish voice."

Almost instantly, a soft chime followed.

"Voice confirmed."

From the side, Leon spoke up, sensing his father's confusion. "The voice you heard is the advanced AI that runs the game. One word is enough to register your voice and lock the helmet to you. No one else will be able to use it."

Noel nodded in understanding. Moments later, crisp text appeared on the helmet's display, instructing him to read the command that would transport him into ALTER REALITY.

Noel glanced at Leon. "Will we meet after I create my character?"

"We can, but you'll have to clear the First Instance before that." Leon replied.

Noel inhaled deeply, letting the information settle. "Alright then. Let's do this."

His heart pounded with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness as he uttered the command. 

"Initiate Drift."

As soon as Noel spoke the activation command, the helmet's surface lit up and the root-like lines on it glowed softly. A faint hum reached his ears, and then his vision began to blur. The familiar sight of his room faded, disappearing into darkness.

Then came a sensation unlike anything Noel had ever felt. He was floating, weightless, free from his body. The darkness around him began to shift as shapes and colors slowly formed into something real. 

He found himself drifting through a vast gray expanse, smooth and reflective like a mirror, gently rippling like liquid metal.

Above, the sky swirled with deep blues and purples, lined with glowing patterns that looked like constellations forming and breaking apart.

As he marveled at the view, a holographic display flickered to life in front of him, detailing his first objectives.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Welcome to ALTER REALITY.

Choose your character's appearance. Your face and height will remain the same as in the real world. You can only choose the body type.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

Noel's attention turned to several panels floating in front of him, each displaying a different body type.

His eyes lingered on the variety of options, from a stout build to a figure so ripped it bordered on absurdity. But one caught his attention: a lean, muscular physique that reminded him of how he used to look before his tragic accident.

A flicker of nostalgia surfaced within him. Before the accident, before five years in a wheelchair reshaped him into someone he barely recognized, he had been in his prime.

The softer, heavier version of himself now wasn't who he wanted to be remembered, especially not in a world where he had a choice. He selected the lean, athletic build without hesitation, feeling a surge of satisfaction as he looked at the chosen panel.

It looked a lot like his younger self, with firm lines and defined muscles. The only difference was his neck, which wasn't as thick as it used to be.

And his face had turned a bit younger too, matching the body and bringing him back to how he looked before the accident five years ago.

Once he made his choice, a prompt appeared asking him to choose a name.

The next prompt appeared, asking him to choose a name. There was a catch, though: his first name would remain 'Noel,' just like in the real world. It was the same for everyone who entered the game. Only the last name could be customized, and it couldn't include any numbers or special characters.

As he mulled it over, a name surfaced from his racing past: Veloce.

Back during his most triumphant race at the Italian Grand Prix, commentators had called him Noel Veloce for his lightning-fast moves on the track.

Once it was confirmed that no one had taken the same name, it was finalized, bringing him to the next step. A giant spinning wheel appeared, divided into four distinct sections: 

ELEMENTAL CATEGORY, WEAPON CATEGORY, MARTIAL CATEGORY, and VARIANT CATEGORY.

Within each section of the wheel, there were talents specifically related to that category, further divided into sub-sections.

ELEMENTAL: Fire Innate Talent, Water Innate Talent, Wind Innate Talent, Lightning Innate Talent, Earth Innate Talent, and more.

WEAPON: Sword Innate Talent, Spear Innate Talent, Saber Innate Talent, Bow Innate Talent, Dagger Innate Talent, and more.

MARTIAL: Iron Body Innate Talent, Physique Innate Talent, Muscle Expansion Innate Talent, Bone Reinforcement Innate Talent, and more.

The VARIANT CATEGORY, however, was different. The options within it were too many to count, shifting so rapidly that Noel couldn't focus on a single one.

As he went through what was on the wheel, another display popped up.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Initiating the random draw to determine Drifter Noel Veloce's Innate Talent. 

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

Immediately, the wheel began to spin with bright colors as Noel watched in anticipation. The arrow slowed down and entered the Martial category.

For a moment, he was certain that would be his draw, but then the arrow inched forward, just enough to cross into the Variant category by the tiniest margin.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

You have received an Innate Talent from the VARIANT CATEGORY: ⧼Grade-5⧽

Grades range from 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. This Innate Talent is permanent and cannot be changed, even with another device. A new Drifter account cannot be created for you anymore.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

A sense of unease settled in his gut. 'Liability? Of all things…' A Grade-5 was average, but the name stung even more.

'I was already a liability in the real world, am I one in this game too?' The thought sat heavy in his mind, reminding him of the legs he had lost.

Before he could sink further into frustration, a screen appeared, prompting him to think the word 'Status' to open his Status Screen.

Noel took a deep breath, trying to push down the discomfort building inside him, and did as instructed, hoping the Status Screen would give him answers about his Innate Talent.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

 ﴾ STATUS ﴿

Name: Noel Veloce | Age: 42

Race: Lesser Human ⧼Male⧽

Level: N/A | Tier: N/A

Life Energy: 25/100

Strength: 10 | Agility: 10

Vitality: 10 | Endurance: 10

Spirit: 10 | Luck: 16

Health: 100/100

Stamina: 50/50

Spirit Energy: 50/50

Undistributed Stats: 0

INNATE TALENT:║LIABILITY║⧼ Locked ⧽

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

- Except for Luck, every other Attributes starts from a base stat of 10; the same for every Drifter.

- Each Attribute affects different aspects of your performance and can be improved by allocating Stats earned through leveling up. They will be explained in detail when you have Undistributed Stats at hand. 

- Drifters need to kill a monster to unlock their Innate Talent.

- In 3 seconds, your consciousness will merge seamlessly with the virtual body you selected and you'll be sent to the First Instance, where you must either survive for 12 hours or kill 100 monsters to clear it.

- Remember: In this world, only those who adapt, fight, and endure will survive.

- Initiating First Instance…. 3..… 2..… 1….. 

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

As the countdown ticked away, a sudden thought shot through Noel's mind. "Wait… does this mean I'll be able to walk again?"

There was no response. The question lingered for a brief moment before the countdown reached zero. Everything around him blurred and twisted, and then everything faded as he lost consciousness.

≿━━━━━━༺❀༻━━━━━━≾

Author Note: 

ALTER REALITY: Online is the 1st Side Story of EARTH's ALPHA PRIME, a LitRPG System Survival novel that has completed 3 volumes so far. 

The revamped version of EAP Volume 1, 2 & 3 are now live on Kindle. You can find them on Amazon by simply searching the book title or go through the link provided here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DR53YMV2

≿━━━━━━༺❀༻━━━━━━≾

Exclusive artwork for every free chapter is now available on my PATRE0N page! You can find the link in my Discord server.

 ╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Discord Link for 'Earth's Alpha Prime' :

https://discord.gg/P6cWGg2G

 ╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯