Chapter 1—Into the Ikaruga Server!—

It was another early autumn morning as I prepared to get ready to go to school again today. I had only recently started 11th grade, although I wouldn't exactly say I was enjoying it yet… my friends were what usually made school bearable for me. I was always thankful I had them.

After I had eaten for the morning, I got dressed for the day. Today I put on my white shirt and blue jeans with my blue jacket, black fingerless gloves and white tennis shoes. I also made sure to comb my blonde hair for the day, which went halfway down my neck.

I then kept preparing until I was done, at which point I stopped to play a video game really quickly, before I needed to head off to the bus stop. I loved the imagination and the possibilities that were present in video games… they made life look almost dull by comparison. Even though I enjoyed my life, I would love the opportunity to have a real adventure someday…

Once it was time, I saved and turned the power off, then I headed off to the bus stop and rode the bus to the campus, and then I went to my first class for the day. I made my way through my first three classes… and then it was time for the lunch hour. Since I brought my own, I didn't need to go get it from the cafeteria like everyone else did. I just headed further in, to the tables and sat down, waiting for any of my friends to come trickling in. I started eating my lunch until I eventually saw one of them coming up:

It was Zachary. He was a new student at my school, but he was a good guy and he had gotten to know a lot of people really quickly. Today he was wearing a red shirt and dark gray shorts and had black sandals on. He had short black hair and was of average height.

He then came up to my table and when he closed in, he said: "Heyyy, Mark! How've you been doing today?" "Alright, thanks for asking. How about you, Zachary?" I asked. "Everything's going great so far!" Zachary answered. He then went on: "So do you mind if I sit here?" "Not at all! I'd be glad if you did." I said back. "Right on!" Zachary said as he had a seat.

He then went on: "So how are you enjoying your classes? Any favorites?" "Ah, it's all school… I guess I'd say art and music. There are a lot more possibilities on a piece of paper or a canvas than in any other class here and I like how music doesn't feel as serious as the academic classes." I said back. Zachary then laughed and said: "Heh-heh! You've got an artistic mind, alright!" and then he went on: "I'm enjoying my world history class, myself. It's neat getting to study history from all over the world!" I then smiled and said: "You're more disciplined than me. It's cool you have such a broad mind and perspective, though." Zachary then laughed.

After we finished eating our lunches, it became easier to keep up a more dynamic pace in the conversation. By then, Zachary said: "So what do you do for fun in your spare time, Mark?" "I like playing video games, drawing and occasional card games. Sometimes I'll practice singing too." I said. "Cool! Judging by those hobbies, you sound like the imaginative type." Zachary said. I then grinned and said: "Yup, you could call me that, alright! I just love the element of creativity and adventure that's present in fantasy. Earthly life is nice, but I long for the excitement and thrills of a world like the ones from my video games too."

Then I went on: "How about you, Zachary? What do you do for fun?" "I like reading and video games myself." Zachary said. "Well it sounds like we have a common hobby then! What do you play, Zachary?" I asked. "Mostly adventure and role-playing type games, although there is this really cool one that came out recently…" Zachary began, and then I said: "What's that?"

"It's called 'Digimon View'. It's an online game that lets you actually log into and enter cyberspace. The game itself has five servers, but you get assigned to one server. Everyone on your server are like your teammates and you have to work together to become strong, because once a year, a championship is held to determine which server is the strongest and you want your server to win it. To do that, you also have to raise these creatures called 'Digimon' which are creatures that can fight battles and have an artificial intelligence that lets them interact with you, as though they were living creatures. The side who does the best at the Digimon battles is the champ for that year. And there's more too! You can share videos of your battles, post on message boards and have futuristic chats with other people in real time! It's really fun and a great way to interact with lots of people." Zachary said.

I then grinned and said: "Wow, that sounds really cool! Does it have any fees?" "Nope! It's free to join! As long as you own the necessary equipment to enter cyberspace, you could join without having to spend anything." Zachary said. "Dang, that's amazing! I should check that out!" I said. Zachary chuckled and said: "I recommend you do! If you ended up getting assigned to the same server as me, that'd be really fun!" I smiled and said: "That would be neat! Thanks for telling me about that, Zachary. I can't wait to see what it's like."

We then talked a little bit longer before Zachary said: "Well I'd better get to my next class. It's been a lot of fun talking to you though, Mark." I smiled and said: "Same to you, Zachary!" and then he went off. I then left the cafeteria and walked around the campus a bit before I went to my next class. I sat through the rest of them before I took the bus home. When I arrived, I unlocked the front door and went in before locking it behind me again. I then went upstairs to my room and unpacked my things before I decided to do my homework first thing.

This wasn't like me, but I knew how I was with new video games: I usually really got into them and the excitement was hard to stop. I was sure this online game, Digimon View, was going to be the same type of thing, so I didn't want to have it get interrupted by homework.

When I finished, I put my things away and then booted up my computer before I did a search for the site. I found it pretty quickly and then went to work reading over the terms and conditions—I already had the equipment necessary to enter cyberspace and used other online services where I entered it and disappeared from Earth, so I knew my parents wouldn't think anything of it. They also were coming home late, so I knew I had plenty of time before I'd have to potentially explain anything. Everything looked reasonable, so I created my account.

The next step before I could enter was to choose 3 Digimon to accompany me through Digimon View. It was possible to create more Digimon, but I needed 3 to start with. The game had premade packs of 3 Digimon, but it also had an option to let you manually choose 3 from a large pool of Digimon at a low level. I liked the idea of having more control over what Digimon I would be using, so I looked over the available options… and saw there were pages of them!

Nonetheless, I looked them all over—every last one. By my level of dedication and the thought I was willing to put into this, it felt like I was already getting excited about this game. Eventually, I ended up deciding on my Digimon—one was a bipedal fox Digimon named Renamon, one was a Digimon like a bear cub named Kumamon and the last one was a quadrupedal mammalian Digimon named Tapirmon. Once I was done with this step, everything was all set to go, so I immediately logged in!

I then felt myself being digitized as I entered cyberspace… as I entered, I heard a female voice say: "Thank you for joining Digimon View, an online multiplayer community for players like you. We are delighted to have you in our community and hope you will enjoy your time here." I guess this must be an overhead announcement… the voice then went on: "Digimon View is comprised of five servers—Amaterasu, Izumo, Asuka, Yamato and Ikaruga—where users compete with users from other servers every year to determine which server is the strongest and the next year's champion. While users will spend most of their time on their server, visiting other servers is still possible. As a new user, you will now be assigned to your server… selecting…"

And then there was a brief pause before the voice said: "Selection complete. You have been assigned to the Ikaruga Server. Please speak to the staff in the entry chamber to retrieve your Digimon, as well as your digivice—a tool used for managing your Digimon, recording battle videos and communicating with other users. Your digivice will have a help section to explain its features and Digimon View in further detail. We hope you enjoy your stay!"

Soon I arrived inside of a glass tube with doors attached to it inside of a container in a large room with tan walls—and there were people in here too! There were also computer terminals scattered around… I saw the doors on the tube open and I stepped out before a young woman turned around and approached me before she said: "Welcome to Ikaruga City! This is our entry chamber where we welcome all new users to Digimon View!" I then smiled and said: "Thank you. It's good to be here!"

The young woman then nodded and said: "Since you're a new user, you're still going to need a digivice and your Digimon, so come with me—I'll give them to you." I nodded and we went to one of the nearby terminals before she started typing on it and she looked up and said: "What was your name, young man?" "It's Mark." I said back. She nodded and said: "Alright. I'll program it into your digivice now…" and she typed on it a little bit before she said: "Now hold out your hands so I can materialize your digivice in them."

I did so and then I saw a square device that looked like a tablet appear in them! It was on the larger side though and didn't really fit in my hands, so I grabbed it by its edges and took a look: it had a screen with arrow keys on the left side, three buttons on the right side and a switch on the top. The young woman then approached me and said: "That's it—that's your digivice! Here, I'll show you how it works."

And she began to teach me how to use it. The arrow keys and buttons were used to navigate the interfaces on the digivice and the switch on the top switched what mode the digivice was in—it was set to the middle by default, which was the 'management mode', where I could use the digivice to use items, switch my Digimon around, check message boards and more! The left was the 'dynamic camera mode', which created a satellite camera that floated around and filmed battles. And the right was the 'hologram mode', which let you chat with other users that were online by having the digivice create a three-dimensional hologram of the other person you were talking to as you were communicating with them in real time!

When she was done, I said: "Wow, that's great! Thanks for teaching me about the digivice—it'll come in a world of handy, I'm sure!" "You're right about that, Mark! Be sure to try using it before you leave the city too—in fact, you won't be allowed to leave the city until you develop a farm island at your Digihome, which you can only access from your digivice when you're in a city. It's where you can heal your Digimon too!" The young woman said. "Oh really? I guess I'd better get on that then… as soon as I've met my Digimon, that is!" I said. The young woman then smiled and said: "Yes, that's right! I'll scan your digivice to extract them from it and materialize them in cyberspace. Back up for me, will you Mark?"

I did so and she used the computer terminal a bit before she said: "Okay, it's time!" and then they all appeared before me—on the left was Renamon, a fox Digimon that walked on 2 legs. It had yellow-orange fur and a white underbelly. It had 2 arms that had long purple gloves with a yin yang symbol on them and that had a string that bound its paws so that they looked like hands. It had 2 ears, 2 eyes and a pointed black nose. It was tall, standing at 5'2 tall. In the middle was Kumamon—a gray bear cub-like Digimon with a white underbelly that walked on 2 legs. It had blue wristbands all around its paws and forearms and a blue belt diagonally around its right shoulder and the left side of its hip. It had a blue cap on backwards and its little ears were sticking out. It looked 2'10 tall. And on the right was Tapirmon, a four-legged mammal Digimon, yet it floated upright above the ground. Even though it was called a Tapirmon, its face was actually more like a horse's… it had brown fur and a silver helmet that covered its nose and the top of its head. It had 2 tusks at either end of its jaw and flappy ears with 4 points on each. It had a brown back and a blue-violet underbelly with a cloud around its lower body. It looked 2'2 tall.

As I saw them, I could feel my excitement welling up. I smiled and said: "Hi everyone! My name's Mark and I'm a new tamer here. We're going to be working together, so I can't wait to start exploring Digimon View and spending time with you!" They all then smiled and Renamon said: "Hello, Mark! I'm Renamon. I'm excited to start our adventure!" She seemed eager enough. Kumamon then said: "It's nice to meet you, Mark. My name's Kumamon. Let's help our server do well." I found it interesting that he already knew about our server's collective goal. Tapirmon then said: "And Tapirmon's my name! This'll be fun! Let's have a good time on our adventure." I had to say, I liked his good attitude!

The young woman then smiled and said: "You all seem like fast friends." I then turned to her and she went on: "Well now that you have what you need to get started, I'll let you get going—nothing's better for gaining experience than learning by doing!" I smiled back and said: "Okay! Thanks for all your help too!" I then turned to my Digimon and said: "Alright everyone! Let's get going!" They all then said: "Yeah!"

We then headed for a door at the opposite end of the room and stepped out… to find ourselves on a walkway that was in the middle of a common area with windows on all sides! There were potted plants around and fountains too… there were even some people who were behind counters with computers, which were doubtlessly help desks.

"Wooow… it's sure impressive enough…" Renamon said. I nodded and said: "Yeah. These are some pretty nice-looking headquarters." I then went on: "Well, why don't we head outside? I'd like to see more of Ikaruga City too." "Sounds like a plan." Kumamon said. We then headed through the area and took a door outside before we looked around…

It was a medium-sized city. Besides the company headquarters for Ikaruga City we were just in, there were some places for tamers to meet and socialize—as well as swap information—and shops that sold items to heal Digimon with, but I didn't have any of the game's money (which were known as BITs) yet… but one thing that I found interesting was that they had a card shop here! It turns out that they have their own card game in Digimon View, which involves you playing Digimon cards that can battle each other and you can use program cards to strengthen your cards or weaken your opponent's cards from your hand… it looked fun! I'll have to look up the rules on my digivice when I have more time later.

Once I had looked over the city, I decided to check out the Digihome that the young woman who had helped me had mentioned. She had said it would be accessible from my digivice, so I tried using it and quickly found an icon for it on the opening menu. I selected it and it asked me if I wanted to be transported to it (which I confirmed) and we were teleported away!

The next thing I knew, I was transported to what looked like a wooden beach house on the shore of an island. There wasn't anything else here though… "So this is a Digihome, huh? Not bad. It's small, but it looks like home." I said. "Yeah. It's quaint, but also relaxing. I like it!" Tapirmon said. "So what were we doing here again?" Kumamon asked. "We need to develop a farm island… I wonder, could that mean… developing this?" I asked. "I'm not sure, but it seems like it would be in our best interest to do. Let's do it!" Renamon said. I nodded and we started by going into the house and looking around… there was a computer set up in the corner on a table with a chair and there were some cabinets, but not much else…

"Well this certainly looks rather bare. How are we supposed to develop this place with no tools?" Renamon asked. I paused before I went up to the computer and said: "Maybe we don't need any. If this is a cyberspace, maybe we can just use the computer to write them in, like a program…" "Mark?" Kumamon asked. "Let me try this." I said. I then sat down and tried using the computer. Soon I saw an interface for developing the island!

"Oh, this is perfect!" I said. "What is?" Tapirmon asked. I then turned to them and said: "Everyone, I want you to go outside. I'm going to try adding a few palm trees. If you see them, come in and tell me, okay?" "Okay! Leave it to us!" Kumamon said. Then he, Renamon and Tapirmon all went outside.

I then started using the computer to add some palm trees around the area. It wasn't long before I heard my Digimon say: "WOOOW!" together from outside. I guess I must have done it right… I then smiled and got back to work before my Digimon came back in (and I turned to them) as Renamon said: "Whatever you did in here worked, because some trees have appeared out there!" "Yeah! They really gave this place a nice, island feel! Good job, Mark!" Tapirmon said. I then smiled and said: "Thanks, Tapirmon. Well, I'm not quite done yet. Let's see… maybe I can add some furniture in here too…" and then I used the interface to add a couch too!

My Digimon all then turned around and when Tapirmon saw it, he said: "Wow, neat! What's that thing?" "It's called a 'couch'. It's something comfortable you sit on. Do you all want to try?" I asked. "Okay! I'd like to see what human furniture is like." Renamon said. Then she, Kumamon and Tapirmon all sat down on it and Kumamon started to push himself up and down on it as he said: "Ooh, soft! This is pretty nice." I laughed and said: "I'm glad you're all so excited. Well sit tight—I've got even more developments in store!"

I then added hammocks outside, a storage shed and even a volleyball court! I then took Renamon, Kumamon and Tapirmon outside and when they saw it, they all looked impressed. Renamon ran over to the volleyball court, Kumamon went to the hammocks and Tapirmon went to check out the storage shed. When they each arrived, Renamon said: "What's this?" "It's a volleyball court." I said back. "Volleyball? What's volleyball?" Renamon asked. "It's a game where you try to hit a ball around over the net so your opponent misses it and can't hit it back to you. It's a fun game." I said back. "That sounds neat!" Renamon said. I smiled and then I heard Tapirmon say: "What is this thing, Mark?" "It's a storage shed. It's where you can store extra stuff if you have too much. I thought it might come in handy in the future." I said. "Very wise! That's some good foresight, Mark—it's always better to be prepared in advance!" Tapirmon said. I smiled and said: "I'd say you're right!" Kumamon then said: "What are these things?" "They're called 'hammocks'. You lie down and rest in them. Given that this is an island, I thought they'd be just the thing if you ever need to sleep or recuperate." I said.

"Wow! They look neat. Can we try them, Mark?" Kumamon asked. "Well Mark's going to need us to explore, Kumamon! We can't take it easy just yet." Renamon said. "Well actually, it might be a good time for that—I was hoping to look up some information on my digivice and learn more about Digimon View, so that would be a good way for you to get recharged and not get bored during the whole thing." I said before I went on: "Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Renamon, Kumamon, Tapirmon, why don't you all give them a try and take a nap?" "Okay!" Kumamon said before he hopped into it and said: "Wow! This is even comfier than it looks!" and he stretched out and lied back.

Tapirmon and I laughed when we saw it and then Tapirmon said: "I wouldn't mind seeing this for myself either! I'll take you up on your offer. Thanks, Mark!" and he floated over to one and got in it before he lied down. Renamon then sighed and said: "Well, I guess it would be a good way to ensure I'll head out at full strength… okay, I guess I'll try it too." And she went over to the last hammock and got in it before she lied down too.

I then smiled at them all before I began to look at my digivice to start to learn more about the world of Digimon View. I was excited to get all prepared for our big adventure together!