Chapter 1: Ambitions of a Pervert
The new MMORPG: Sanctuary, had just been released and was about to begin in five minutes. As I lay back in the high-tech comfort of my gaming capsule, I couldn't stop my thoughts from spiraling. The developers had made some big promises: that the game would be a fully immersive, second-life sandbox experience, that its realism would be like nothing ever seen before, and most importantly, at least to me, they promised free rein on character creation. The Beta testers had even shown that they were able to create characters as strange as a butterfly. There wasn't any fifteen-times-faster time bullshit either. Time inside the game passed normally, and if someone wanted to spend years living inside a game, that was what Deep-Stay capsules were for.
Like the one I was currently lying in. Deep-Stay technology had actually been around for a few years already, although it was mostly used by hospitals, rich people, specialized workers, and, somewhat controversially, prisons. The capsules could keep someone's real body fed, hydrated, clean, exercised, and medically monitored while their mind remained inside some kind of virtual world for months or even years at a time. Several older MMORPGs had partnered with governments and corporations to use them, and there were also virtual environments created specifically for Deep-Stay programs. The biggest controversy came when prisons started using them. Instead of keeping thousands of long-term inmates awake in normal prisons where they could fight, attack guards, escape, destroy things, and cost the government a fortune, certain inmates could now be placed into secured Deep-Stay facilities for ten, twenty, or even more years. Inside, they worked as miners, farmers, crafters, builders, hunters, or whatever else the game or virtual facility needed. In games, a lot of what they gathered or made entered the actual player economy, which meant the companies involved also made money from it. Calling it forced labor caused one hell of a political shitstorm, especially when some inmates were assigned to the programs instead of volunteering, but governments argued that prisoners were safer, guards were safer, escapes were almost impossible, and keeping a sleeping body alive was technically cheaper than running a normal prison. There were lawsuits, protests, investigations, new laws, more protests, and all the other shit people did whenever something new pissed everyone off, but eventually, like most controversial things that stuck around long enough, people got used to it.
Sanctuary wasn't part of any of that yet. The game hadn't even officially opened, so there obviously weren't prisoners already running around inside it, although there were rumors that several governments were watching the launch closely. If Sanctuary became as successful as everyone expected, I wouldn't be surprised if prisoners started appearing here within a few years. I knew more about the whole situation than most people because I'd spent fifteen years working as a prison guard, which was also why I found the whole thing kind of fucking weird. I'd spent years watching people serve decade-long sentences behind concrete walls, and now some of those same kinds of prisoners were getting placed into fantasy worlds where they could spend ten years mining magical ore, crafting swords, building towns, or doing whatever else their program required. They were still prisoners, their accounts were restricted, they couldn't just log out, and depending on their sentence they might be forced to work most of the time, but they were also getting to live in another world.
After fifteen years of dealing with inmates, riots, paperwork, lockdowns, fights, and every other bit of bullshit that came with working in a prison, I'd decided that if convicted criminals were getting access to Deep-Stay technology, I was damn well going to try it myself. So I pulled some strings. A lot of strings, actually. Between people I'd met through work, a few favors I was owed, and a very large amount of my own money, I'd managed to get myself approved for a civilian Deep-Stay capsule and a one-year contract. The important difference was that mine wasn't a prison capsule. I wasn't trapped in here. If I wanted to log out tomorrow, I could. If something happened in the real world, the capsule could wake me up. If I made it through the entire year and decided I'd had enough, I could simply leave, but if the year passed and I decided living in a fantasy world was better than going back to normal life, I could extend the contract. The capsule itself could keep me inside for years if I really wanted it to. Honestly, I had no idea how long I was going to stay. Maybe I'd get bored after three weeks, or maybe I'd still be playing five years from now. That was part of the excitement.
Like millions of others, I'd bought access to the game, signed the waiver, and waited for the countdown to reach zero. The moment it did, my consciousness dropped into a sea of darkness, weightless, silent, and cold. Then, in a flash of blinding light, I found myself standing in a vast, empty white room, sterile and quiet except for one thing: a glowing golden status window floating in the air in front of me.
| Welcome, Player, to Sanctuary. Please enter the name you would like to go by in this world. Then you will be able to customize your character. |
A soothing female voice read out the text from the window as well. Without hesitation, I typed in my go-to gaming name: Scarlett.
| Name accepted. Would you like to enter a last name? This will alter your starting point in this world. |
"That's new." I shrugged and typed in the last name of a character from a fanfiction I had been reading.
| Last name accepted. You will now be known as Scarlett Ashborn. Please create your character. There are no restrictions on customization, though your character must remain the same gender as in real life. |
Perfect, this was what I had been waiting for. "System, I know you said there are no restrictions in character creation, and that's awesome, but there is one thing I have to know before I start this game. Is sex and R-18 stuff allowed in this game?"
| Yes, as advertised, this game is a second life; it just contains more magic and adventure. Anything that you could do in the real world, you can do in the game. |
I couldn't prevent the perverted grin that appeared on my face. "Perfect. Scan my body right now and show me what my status would be without changing anything, then we will get started on my character creation."
| Scanning |
| Scan complete. Here is your base character sheet with no alterations or class selected. |
| Name: Scarlett Ashborn |
| Gender: Futanari |
| Race: Human |
| Titles: |
| Job: |
| Level: 1 |
| Exp: 0/200 |
| HP: 50/50 |
| MP: 20/20 |
| Rank: F |
| Threat Level: Low |
| Str: 15 |
| Con: 13 |
| Agi: 20 |
| Int: 15 |
| Chr: 20 |
| Luck: 10 |
| Will: 30 |
| Attribute Points: 0 |
| Inventory: 0/1000 |
"Okay, not bad for a human, I guess. Now we are going to do some serious editing." I rubbed my hands together while looking over the floating screen. "System, just so you can help me achieve my goals, I'm going to let you know that I am a huge pervert."
| Understood. |
"I want to create a race that focuses on transforming into inanimate objects. Anything I can picture or see. It can't be bigger or hold more mass than I am, but I want to be able to become basically anything else. A sword, chair, blanket, clothes, jewelry, whatever." I paused for a second before my grin widened. "Obviously, I'm probably going to spend a ridiculous amount of time as bras and panties, but that's not the point."
| Understood. You wish to create a race whose main ability allows transformation into nonliving objects while retaining your consciousness. |
"Exactly. Let's make that the first racial skill."
| Please describe any limitations you wish the ability to possess. |
"It can't transform me into living things, and I have to know what the object looks like well enough to picture it. I shouldn't be able to become something bigger than the amount of mass I actually have. Smaller is fine, though. If I turn into something tiny, the extra mass can just be compressed or hidden by the skill or whatever explanation you want to use."
| Accepted. Suggested Skill Name: False Form. |
| False Form: Freely transform into any nonliving, non-magical object equal to or less than the current body mass. |
"Works for me. Next thing, there can't be a time limit. This is a racial ability, not some spell I'm casting. If I want to turn into a necklace and stay that way for six months, I should be able to."
| Accepted. Suggested Skill Name: Endless Mimicry. |
| Endless Mimicry: No time limit on object transformation. Can maintain object form indefinitely. |
"Perfect." I thought about what else I wanted for a few seconds before another idea came to me. "I also want to be able to alter whatever I've become without completely transforming again. Small things, like changing texture, color, shape, making little spikes, stuff like that. Maybe even manifesting small parts of my actual body."
| Please provide an example. |
My grin immediately returned. "Say I transform into a pair of silk panties. I want to be able to make the fabric softer, tighter, change the pattern, maybe grow little spikes if I wanted to be an asshole." I paused for a second. "Or grow a tongue."
| Accepted. Suggested Skill Name: Subtle Shift. |
| Subtle Shift: Slightly alters object form to produce hidden effects, like pricking spikes, distracting patterns, or shifting textures, that can surprise or discomfort those who interact with it. You can also manifest parts of yourself onto whatever you have turned into, for example a tongue inside of some tight lingerie panties. This skill can be instantly activated with no cast time. |
"Yep, definitely keeping that." I was already imagining a dozen things I could do with it when another thought hit me. "Oh! One of the racial skills I definitely need is a skill where whatever I'm transformed into cannot be identified as anything other than what I am..." I stopped and frowned. "Damn, that sounded confusing. Anyway, if I'm transformed as a black silk bra, then any identification used on me by any level of anything or anybody will only identify me as a black silk bra. Inspect, appraisal, magic, some Level 10,000 god looking at me, whatever. As far as any identification ability is concerned, I am exactly what I'm pretending to be."
| You wish for your transformed state to completely hide your true race, identity, level, abilities, and living nature from all identification abilities. |
"Exactly. If I'm stupid enough to turn into a chair and start running down a hallway, obviously people can see a fucking chair running around. I just don't want someone to look at me, use Inspect, and immediately get a notification saying, 'Hey, this pair of panties is actually Scarlett.'"
| Accepted. Suggested Skill Name: Undetectable Presence. |
| Undetectable Presence: While transformed through False Form, all identification, appraisal, inspection, detection, and similar abilities identify the Stillkin only as the object being imitated. The Stillkin's race, level, identity, status, skills, and living nature cannot be revealed through identification abilities while transformed. |
"Perfect."
Several golden windows appeared in front of me before combining into one.
| Character Created |
| Name: Scarlett Ashborn |
| Gender: Futanari |
| Race: Stillkin |
| Titles: |
| Job: |
| Level: 1 |
| Exp: 0/200 |
| HP: 100/100 |
| MP: 50/50 |
| Rank: E |
| Threat Level: Medium |
| Str: 16 |
| Con: 100 |
| Agi: 15 |
| Int: 15 |
| Chr: 25 |
| Luck: 10 |
| Will: 30 |
| Attribute Points: 0 |
| Inventory: 0/1000 |
| Magic: |
| Skills: |
| Job Skills: |
| Racial Skills: False Form, Endless Mimicry, Subtle Shift, Undetectable Presence |
"Damn, that's awesome. Let's continue working on the race, then I will alter the appearance. Actually, if I am creating a new character and I'm pretty sure a new race, I'll write a history on the race, and then you can flesh out some of the details of the race and character."
| Understood. |
After a few minutes of thinking about what I wanted this new race's history to be and rewriting it half a dozen times in my head, I finally decided on a halfway decent history that I was happy with and typed it into the race bio window that had appeared as we were creating my race and character.
| Here is the history of the Stillkin: The Stillkin weren't born, they were made. Not by design, but through chaos: divine misfires, botched rituals, cursed items meant to last forever. Souls torn from their bodies were crammed into weapons, armor, jewelry, anything that could hold a trace of magic. What should've been eternal prisons twisted into something else. From that endless pain and torment came the Stillkin: beings forged of memory, identity, and mimicry. At first, they were trapped, echoes stuck inside silent objects. But some were stubborn. They learned to claw back shape, build a body, walk, speak, and live. Now they move through the world like anyone else, wearing humanoid forms shaped by will. But the object still lives beneath their skin. With a thought, they can shift into any object they want. They can make a sword sprout barbs in the wielder's hand, turn a bedroll into a maw, or turn a bra into a torturous spike-tipped mouth. Most people don't know they exist. And the ones who do? They whisper about ghosts in armor, tools with opinions, and beings that are almost real. |
"Yeah, I like that, I like that a lot. Now let's work on my character; I want to have a sexy Amazonian body with a huge cock, pale white skin, and the biggest boobs ever, like the size of giant watermelons. Bright blue eyes and long, flowing, wavy black hair. I should also have a slim waist, wide hips, and juicy thighs."
After an hour or so of micro adjustments to my character, I was finally happy, the character I had created was amazing, and I was able to give her some E Rank clothing, which made her look so fucking hot. I couldn't wait to actually be her.
| Character created, have a pleasant gaming experience. |
As soon as those words were spoken, the world flashed and my real body disappeared. I was now standing in the body I had made, and it was a glorious feeling. Before I could really get used to it, though, another prompt appeared.
| Greetings, Scarlett Ashborn. Now that you have created your character, you will be placed into the world. |
There was another flash of light, and I found myself standing before a giant mansion that looked like it had been abandoned. There were scorch marks, rubble, and one half of the mansion's wall was just gone. I also seemed to be surrounded by towering trees, and I could hear water rushing somewhere nearby, so I assumed there was a river close to the property.
| Dear Player, because you gave your character a last name, you have spawned in front of an abandoned mansion. What you find and what it contains is up to you to find. Unlike other players who just gave themselves a first name and are placed in a beginner village, you have been placed in this mansion. If you die, you will respawn here. You have also been given the privilege of being able to leave and find a city whenever you want, unlike other single-name players who have to reach Level 10 before leaving their villages. This mansion is the reward for giving yourself a last name. What you find and choose to do with it are up to you. We hope you have a pleasant gaming experience and enjoy playing Sanctuary. |
After reading that, I immediately wanted to start exploring the dilapidated mansion in front of me, but first I had to look at my stats. "Status."
| Status |
| Name: Scarlett Ashborn |
| Gender: Futanari |
| Race: Stillkin |
| Titles: |
| Job: |
| Level: 1 |
| Exp: 0/200 |
| HP: 100/100 |
| MP: 50/50 |
| Rank: E |
| Threat Level: Medium |
| Str: 16 |
| Con: 100 |
| Agi: 15 |
| Int: 15 |
| Chr: 35 |
| Luck: 10 |
| Will: 30 |
| Attribute Points: 15 |
| Inventory: 0/1000 |
| Clothes/Armor: E-Rank Beginners Loin Cloth, E-Rank Beginners Bra, E-Rank Beginners Boots, E-Rank Beginners Gloves |
| Magic: N/A |
| Skills: Inspect: You can glean information about things 50 Levels above yourself. |
| Job Skills: N/A |
| Racial Skills: False Form: Freely transform into any nonliving, non-magical object equal to or less than the current body mass. Endless Mimicry: No time limit on object transformation. Can maintain object form indefinitely. Subtle Shift: Slightly alters object form to produce hidden effects, like pricking spikes, distracting patterns, or shifting textures, that can surprise or discomfort those who interact with it. You can also manifest parts of yourself onto whatever you have turned into, for example a tongue inside of some tight lingerie panties. This skill can be instantly activated with no cast time. Undetectable Presence: While transformed through False Form, all identification, appraisal, inspection, detection, and similar abilities identify you only as the object you are imitating. Your true identity, race, level, status, skills, and living nature cannot be discovered through identification abilities while transformed. |
I couldn't help staring at the last couple of racial skills for another few seconds as a very perverted grin slowly spread across my face. I had an entire fantasy world in front of me, a body I'd spent an hour designing, a race built almost entirely around letting me become whatever object I wanted, and a full year in a Deep-Stay capsule where I didn't have to worry about going to work tomorrow morning. Yeah, this was going to be fun.