"Begin Link!"
When that system command voice came from Luo Zhen's mouth, the game console worn on his head activated.
The hazy light filtering through his tightly closed eyelids vanished in an instant.
The information received by his optic nerves was cut off, leaving Luo Zhen surrounded by complete darkness.
A moment later, rainbow-colored light suddenly appeared before him, and windows began popping up within it one after another.
These windows were all checking whether the neural signals connected to the various regions of his brain were functioning properly. Only after they all passed could the connection be confirmed and the player descend into the Virtual World.
Thus, one "OK" after another began flashing across the windows, informing Luo Zhen that his brain's neural pathways were being successfully connected one by one.
Then, solemn startup music began ringing in his ears.
At the same time, the sensation of lying on the bed and the feeling of his own weight began to disappear.
When the final "OK" finally lit up, Luo Zhen appeared in a sci-fi-styled space filled with darkness.
"Welcome to the world of 'ALfheim Online.'"
A gentle female voice conveyed its welcome to the game.
Luo Zhen knew what this phenomenon represented.
This was the process that players without character profiles had to undergo when first entering the game—in other words, creating and establishing a character under the system's prompts and guidance.
Thus, at roughly the height of Luo Zhen's chest, a virtual keyboard glowing with blue-white light appeared.
"Please enter your account and password."
After hearing this, Luo Zhen pondered for a moment before naturally and swiftly entering the account he had used since his SAO days on the virtual keyboard and clicking confirm.
"Please enter your character name and gender."
Without hesitation, Luo Zhen entered the character