FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

All of a sudden I'm abruptly jolted awake....my eyes still feel groggy, and my body aches all over. Shit...what time is it? I probably need to get up for school soon, if I haven't overslept already. I creak my eyes open slowly...is that...? What am I looking at? White mist? And what am I lying on exactly?

Then it all comes back to me in a blur. Data Industries, the game, the experiment, everything. In an instant I'm wide awake and jump to feet.

"Where the hell am I?" My voice echoes off into nothing as I turn rapidly, trying to take in my surroundings. The place literally stretches on infinitely in all visible directions, the ground covered in a thin layer of mist. Is this how the game is supposed to be running? Oh shit...what if something went wrong and I'm trapped in this place? There's no other living thing here...where are the other players?

As my anxiety builds, a feminine voice speaks from some unknown origin point, "Initial matrix construction completed. Initializing: Character Creation."

Character what now?

Before I could make any proper reaction, a strange figure rose from the mist a few feet directly in front of me.

It seemed to be an anthropomorphic wolf...the exact same height as me, and a similar build. Slim and skinny...not much muscle or fat on my bones. The figure was naked, except for some grey boxers that match his grey fur. His expression was bland as he stared off into nothing, standing perfectly still.

I stumbled back in pure shock. That thing looked so real, what the fuck?! After a few brief moments of hesitation I finally stand back up and cautiously walk towards the man...wolf...thing.

The voice said 'character creation', so does that mean this is my character? I know it makes me sound arrogant but I'm not impressed. The wolf in front of me looks...small and frail. Normally in an MMO you always play as these jacked/ripped hero's that are six and a half feet tall. This wolf pales in comparison to those stereotypical figures. Plus the soulless expression the wolf has is depressing...but maybe that will change when I play as him...? If that makes sense.

"Initializing first process: Race Selection. Player, choose the race for your avatar." The feminine voice speaks again.

A small horizontal wheel appears in front of me at chest height. Next to it appears an empty panel. The wheel looks like it can be rotated, kind of like scrolling through songs on an ipod, and on each section on the wheel was a different picture of an animal.

I shakily reach a hand forward, and scroll the wheel to the left a single space to a picture of a panther. The wolf figure in front of me instantly changes into one of a black panther.

Holy shit! Again, I take a few steps back in surprise...this is all so...so...surreal. It just all felt and seemed so vivid! The anxiety inside of me slowly begins to transform into something else entirely...the gravity of this game really hitting me.

Excitement began to boil inside of me...this is like a dream come true, a fantasy come to life. Beyond anything I could have imagined. I begin to grin like a moron as I hurry back up to the wheel and 'my avatar'.

I also take note that the panel next to the wheel has filled up with a description of some kind. Upon closer analysis it seems the panel just describes the race that is currently selected.

I begin switching through all of the races, grinning stupidly the whole time. The panther changes to a lion, then a tiger, then an eagle, then a lizard, horse, bear, otter, badger, a dragon, monkey, gorilla, cougar, lynx, rhino...Jesus...how many options _are_there? The whole time the panel shifted displaying new information on each species. After a full few minutes of scrolling it soon became obvious there are just too many options to choose from. A stupid idea formed in my head and I grinned even more.

I placed my fingers on the currently selected species, and swiped to the left hard, with all the strength in my arm.

The results were spastic to say the least. The wheel spun and spun, becoming a blur of color from the pictures of all the animals. Meanwhile the figure was unidentifiable, becoming a shifting blob of limbs, fur, and colors.

"One...two...three!" With that, I slammed my fingers back onto the wheel, stopping the selection...

The furry figure, after a few more seconds of rapid mutations, cemented into its final form as the species I would be playing this game as. The physique didn't change at all, staying slim and skinny. The fur remained short and trim, however the color shifted to white with patterns of black stripping through it. The ears on top of the animals head became short, only protruding a couple of inches. The muzzle of the beast-man also became stout, only about an inch-and-a-half long. Finally, the eyes became a sparkling sapphire blue, completing the formation of the creation.

"Marble fox, huh?" I read the species name aloud to myself. The grin on my face didn't falter for a second. This was incredible...beyond any expression or notion. I stand admiring the specimen that would represent my existence for the next two months. After taking it all in, I decide it's time to advance. I quickly double-tap on the image of the fox.

The feminine voice returns once more, "Race Selection complete. Race selected is, Marble Fox. Initializing second process of Character Creation, Class Selection. Player, choose the class for your avatar." At those words, the pictures of the animals on the wheel vanished, instead being replaced by strange icons of sorts. The icon currently highlighted is that of a 2-handed sword. I glance at the panel hovering next to the wheel. Instead of a description of species, now the text reads Warrior and provides a brief explanation of the class. Finally, the marble fox figure in front of me changes to look the part, now wearing heavy grey armor and wielding a bastard sword.

"So fucking cool..." I whisper to myself, my excitement starting to build again. I begin flicking through the class options and similar to the race selection, there was an unbelievable amount of choices. They included stereotypical options such as warrior, cleric, black mage, necromancer, paladin, ranger, and rogue. But then classes that I never could have imagined started to come up like phantom, phase walker, staff dancer, blade artist, sky scriber, alzonian, essence hunter, mage fixer...god damn there's so many, this is insane.

"Let's try this again." I say to myself. Giving up on ever making-up my mind, I resort to the same tactic I did selecting my race. I place my fingers on the wheel, and flick to the side with as much force as possible. Once again, insanity ensued as the clothing of the fox rapidly changed along with his stance representing the class.

"One...two...three!" I repeat the process and slam my fingers back on the virtual wheel, stopping it.

The marble fox's stance shifted so he's turned to the side and hopping from one foot to the other. His attire changed to a dark-blue light cloth, wrapped up in multiple layers. The cloth wound up and up, covering everything including the lower half of the fox's face. Finally, the furry wielded a short dagger in one hand backwards. The almost stereotypical look told me exactly what class this is as I turned to read the panel.

Class: Ninja

Ninja's are incredibly lethal assassins in The Kingdom. They specialize in moving swiftly and undetected until they are within striking distance of their target. There, they perform an immense amount physical damage in a short period of time. After effectively bursting down a single target, ninjas easily slip back into the shadows and repeat the process on their next unfortunate victim.

Pros: Fastest class in the game, 2nd best stealth-effective class in the game, extremely high single target burst physical damage

Cons: Very low durability, damage output falls off hard after a few seconds of burst, heavily reliant on speed stat

My grin stretches even farther. This is it. This is where it all begins. I double tap on the new icon. "Class Selection complete. Class selected is, Ninja. Initializing third process of Character Creation, Body Rehabilitation." I anxiously waited for the next step, my excitement starting to make me feel giddy. However, that excitement slowly died down as nothing occurred. For a full few minutes, it was just me and this marble fox standing literally in the middle of nowhere. I turn in multiple directions, seeing if anything else appeared from the strange mist.

"Ummm...Hello? I shout to no one in particular. What's going on? Or more importantly what isn't going on? The nice announcer lady said 'body rehabilitation' so...does that mean I'm gonna become this fox thing?

All of a sudden, I begin to feel extremely light-headed. The sudden change makes me stumble backwards due to imbalance. Then drowsiness sets in, like a thick blanket that clouds my mind. With this warm numb feeling wrapped around me, and the dizziness, I tumble backwards and land on the solid floor in a heap. I try to push myself back to a standing position, but the effort is futile. The sudden combination of exhaustion and dizziness has my mind in a puddle and I can barely think straight. My eyelids begin to feel like led, and after a few short seconds I'm out cold.

Again, I experience waking up feeling like a bag of bricks. I slowly stand, trying to blink the exhaustion from my eyes. What happened? The last thing I remember was falling asleep...the game was doing something called 'body rehabilitation'...wait, does that mean...?

"Body Rehabilitaion complete. Initializing fourth and final process of Character Creation, World Integration." The feminine voice interrupts my thoughts abruptly. Body rehabili-whatever complete? I glance down, and let out a feral yelp of surprise.

My body is now an exact replica of the fox that was standing in front of me a second ago, which I now notice has vanished. My mouth, or maw-thing, hangs open wide as I slowly stretch out my new limbs in amazement. I examine my new body thoroughly, closing and opening my fists, curling my toes, wagging my tail, and of course run my fingers through my new bristly fur. It doesn't take long for my grin to return to my face which I assume is exactly the same as the foxes. The only difference is the clothing; the cloth I'm wearing is a lot lighter and thinner in contrast with the thick woven garb the fox had been wearing. I suppose the stuff the fox had been wearing is 'end game' gear. This crap I'm wearing right now is 'n00b stuff'. It seems like my body now completely resembled the form of the fox I had been looking at a second ago.

After a brief few seconds of examining myself, the woman voice returned. "Buffering complete, commencing World Integration. Have fun in 'The Kingdom' player." I turn around and expect to see the endless misty landscape, but instead I'm greeted with a blinding light which quickly expands and grows until it's completely surrounding me.

I have to shield my eyes to prevent myself from going blind, and grunt in surprise and discomfort. The light only grows more intense, trying to sear its way through my hands and into my eyes. "Gah..." I have to bring up both of my arms in order to fully block out the blinding light. A little smirk returns to my face as I feel the fur of my forearms brush with fur of my face, reminding me of my new form. My ears are filled with a loud constant hum, which I only assume is coming from the source of the light. The light and noise completely engulf me and my senses, and I can only crouch down and pull my arms up higher trying to block it all out. Jesus Christ...now what was happening?

But as quickly as the light came, it faded away. The humming also receded from my poor sensitive ears. Instead it's replaced with the noise of a gentle breeze, and a light scuffling of footsteps coming from all around me. There's also a soft murmur of many voices. Is this...am I in...? I slowly lower my arms, stand up, and open one of my eyes by a crack. What I saw caused me to snap my eyes wide open and start looking around my new environment. To say I'm awestruck would be an understatement.

I was in the center of a beautiful small village square. The ground's paved with patterns of light brown and cream-colored bricks. All of the houses surrounding the opening were made of the same material in beautiful designs. A fountain as tall as I am stood in the center of the opening and all of the brick patterns seemed to use it as a central point. But the most prominent feature is the town's people. All of the furs were walking at quick pace, all of them dressed in some form of fantasy garb or armor to match the time period. I saw every race imaginable as the 'people' go about their business. Some are standing in circles, deep in conversation. Others are sprinting towards some unknown destination. I even catch a glimpse of two tigers, one male and one female, holding hands as they took a romantic stroll. This village may be small, but it has a very alive community.

Just the sight of this world made my excitement soar to new levels. My stupid-looking grin returned as I tried to take it all in. This is...is just beyond any description. This world is _alive._It's vivid...surreal...unbelievable...I can no longer contain my energy or excitement...I need to start playing this game. But how? Where do I start? This whole world is enormous.

My answer came in the form of a small text box that appeared before me at eye level. 'Snap your fingers in order to open the main player menu.' Taking a final look around my new setting, I did as the text requested, held up my hand and snapped my fingers. The text box elongated until it formed a simple looking menu. The options read as:

Character

Skills

Quests

Inventory

Crafting

Mail

Party

Friends

Map

There are a lot of options that I make a mental note to explore later. However, the mail option is gently glowing, prompting me to tap it in the air. This transformed the menu into a wide rectangle, displaying a basic inbox interface. Received mail on the left, and the selected mails content on the right. Since I just started playing I didn't expect to have anything in my inbox, but a single newly received mail proved me wrong. The subject read, Welcome! I tap on it and read my message from Data Industries

Hello player, and Welcome to 'The Kingdom'! If you're reading this message that means you have successfully completed the Character Creation process. Now it's time for you to begin your journey through the game. Remember, your main objective now is too assemble the best character and party that you possibly can in order to participate in the final tournament in the 'Arena of Divine Kings'. So you will want to do this as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Now here are some additional challenges that you will face. First off, only players will mainly be active in this world. That means NPC's will remain complacent and offer quests. So, do you notice the players around you?

_ _ I look around me, looking at all of the active furs around me once again. A bear was editing something in his menu, a stag was swinging what must be a new sword, testing its weight, a large party of 7 furs were talking and laughing as they moved down a pathway, and finally there was a koala taking a nap on a nearby bench. That makes me crack a smile, as I return to reading.

Not all of them are actual players.

_ _ Wait, what? This is starting to get confusing.

We have incorporated an additional 4,000 computerized players into the game. That means if you encounter another player, there is a chance they are artificial. And every single one of them will lie_and say they are an actual player. At the 50 day mark, all artificial players will vanish. This will impose the challenge of trying to find any_ real participants that may be your allies.

Great....so now my job of finding Chris, Cole, Sarah, and Lilly just got a lot harder. So how am I even supposed to figure this whole thing out?

Second, the 'Arena of Divine Kings' is a hidden area. Its location will not be revealed. However, there are multiple clues scattered throughout 'The Kingdom' that hint at its location. Find these clues in order to give yourself a starting point as to where it can be found. That's it! Now go forth player and begin your quest!

P.S Attached to this letter you will find a couple of gifts from Data Industries. Just tap on the icons to add them to your inventory.

The mention of 'Arena of Divine Kings' sends a shiver down my spine as I recall the words of the Data Industries employee. "Whatever you fucking do, do NOT go to the 'Arena of Divine Kings'." But it's going to be at least 45 days until I need to worry about that, so I push the thoughts out of my mind.

Well so far this is kind of straight forward...I guess. I glance down towards the bottom of the letter and notice it has a section titled Attachments. It displayed three icons, each one I guessed represented a different item. I tap on the first one, a picture of an odd-looking box, and see a description pop-up.

Eye of Truth

Consumable

_Allows you to detect if a single-player is an actual participant of 'The Kingdom' or an artificial player once. _

Well that seems odd...they set up a challenge for the players but then they give them an item that instantly lets them solve it? I shrug, deciding its best not to read too deep into this. I tap on the icon once again, causing it to vanish and a small 'Added to Inventory' sign to appear quickly and then fade out. I repeat the process with the next item, a small slip of paper.

Inn Voucher

Key Item

Can be traded to any inn-keeper in order to rent a room for seven days.

Crap...this just reminds me that I'll have to be actually _providing_for myself during my time in this game. I try not to think about it too much as I add the voucher to my inventory as I click on the third and final item.

Sharnon Coin

Currency

An incredibly rare coin that can be traded for exclusive goods and services throughout 'The Kingdom'.

I don't really know what to make of the last object, so I just add that one to my inventory as well. Now that I was finished reviewing the letter, I snapped my fingers once again, causing the mail screen to close leaving me facing the village once again. Even more furs were going about doing certain activities.

Wow...so this is it. This is the game. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in, tasting the fresh air. It's just so realistic. I'm still struggling to wrap my head around the whole thing. But I've wasted enough time just standing around doing nothing. I need to get moving.

I snap my fingers once again bringing up the menu. I begin to select the different options, trying to acquaint myself with the mechanics of 'The Kingdom'.

Day: 1/50

Player: Ryan Harrison

Species: Marble Fox

Class: Ninja

Level: 4

Current Location: Laya Treeline

The last remaining Stogwart Toad let out a load aggressive ribbit as I finished slicing through another with my short dagger. After the first toad drops dead I immediately turn to face the large brown frog, who had puffed itself up, trying to look intimidating. With a quick flick of my wrist I shift my dagger so I'm now wielding it backhand.

I perk-up my head as I see a glowing sign appear above the head of the monster, reading 'Sludge'. Shit, it's going to use a skill! That's a first.

The frog immediately seized up, a loud gurgling coming from deep within its stomach. After a few seconds, the Stogwart Toad gagged as it opened its massive mouth and hurled a large purple ball of slime.

In the blink of an eye I precisely threw my dagger, so it stabbed in between the eyes of the ugly frog, causing the monster to recoil with a yell of pain. I immediately perform a back-flip, dodging the sludge as it splattered in front of me, sizzling into the ground. I then launch myself forward towards the creature in pain, as my leg begins to glow a dim gold as I activate my own skill, 'Concussive Kick'. I whip around in mid-air and slam my foot into the side of the beast, sending it toppling to the ground with a squelch. Finally, I lift my arm and activate the second skill I know, 'Palm Force'. I strike my palm forward as if hitting a target in front of me, but instead the frog a few feet away let out a groan of pain as my strike connected with it through the air. The frog gave a final gurgle before it exploded into a puddle of purple goop.

I stand there for a couple more seconds, feeling my heart racing and looking at the puddle that used to be a monstrous frog. I crouch low to the forest floor, as I begin to catch my breath. When they said this game was going to be realistic...they weren't kidding. The combat isn't just standing in the same spot and hacking and slashing at one another, you need to move and be versatile. Every action you take counts. Everything in this game is real...so the fights to the death are no different. I glance at the health bar that's located in the upper left-hand corner of my eye, proud of the fact that I didn't take a single hit while fighting those four frogs.

I stand back up and approach the 'corpse' of the toad in order to claim my prize. I reach my hand out until it's hovering above the puddle, which causes a small 'Loot' button to appear, that I quickly press. A list of two icons, each represents an item, forms. I first add the 'Stogwart Mushroom x2' to my inventory, planning on selling those to a merchant later for some gold. But what I'm really after is the second item, its text highlighted in gold signaling it as a quest item. 'Stogwart Poison'.

"Looks like that's the last ingredient that he needs." I mutter to myself. With my quest completed, I start to exit the woods back towards Laya Village so I can claim my crumby low level reward and be done with it. It is true that this game is significantly more...alive and active than other normal MMO's. The NPC's actually have thoughts and feelings, and from what I can tell they actually create their own dialogue. They don't just relay the same mouthful of subplot over and over again. However the quest style has remained relatively the same. That means most of the quests are along the lines of 'Collect X of these' or 'Kill Y of those'.

I gaze upward and shield my eyes against the illuminating sky. The sun was beginning its decent, giving everything a faint orange tint. It looks like this would be my last quest for the day. So when I get back to town I should probably find an inn in order to sleep for the night and sell some of the crap that I've collected throughout the day...

I felt a deep gurgling in my stomach, making me wince from hunger. I put my other hand over my food-derived tummy...That's right, I still haven't eaten anything since I've entered 'The Kingdom'. I probably should fix that as well.

Suddenly a loud roar erupts from somewhere to my left. I instantly drop behind a nearby tree, trying to hide from any potential threats. The source lets out another gruff roar, which sounds like it belongs to a bear of some kind. But it sounds like there's some distance between me and it.

I poke my head around the tree, and confirm my suspicions. The source of the ruckus is indeed a large non-anthro bear, currently standing on its hind legs. However, it's isn't facing me since all I could see is its back. The beast is slashing at something or some_one_ in front of it, but I can't see anything. I stand up and come out from my hiding place in order to get a better view of the fight. Just as I do though, the bear let out a large yell of pain as two golden slashes brutalized the animal, sending it toppling to the ground defeated.

Standing triumphantly over his kill is a large dragon with blue fur. The guy's probably about 6'5 and has a nice build. Not flawlessly chiseled but definitely has some definition, 230 lbs. if I had to guess. His eyes are a sharp gold, and has two pitch black horns sticking out from the back of his head. In addition, the underside of his muzzle and front of his throat were bald with light blue scales, different from the rest of him that was covered in lush blue fur. The dragon character also has two large wings sticking out of his back, however they're folded up tightly. His armor appears to be 'low leveled', judging by its bland and leathery appearance but definitely screams 'warrior' someway. The same goes for his copper one-handed sword he's sliding back into its sheathe.

That's when the dragon finishes his looting and looks upwards, finally noticing me. We lock eye contact, both of us a little surprised by one another's presence. I'm kind of uncertain what to do in this situation...I haven't interacted with a single other player since I've started playing this game...

We just gaze at one another, uncertain of what to make of the situation. Back in the real world I was kind of an unsocial shit that hung out in the corner. Interacting with new people definitely isn't my forte.

As the awkward silence stretches on, I start to notice his...features. The bright and sharpness of his eyes...the solid strong jawline...the dragon's quite...handsome I guess. Wait what?!? Nononononononononono...this is a game there isn't any time for that.

The dragon finally raises his hand in a meek welcome. "Uhh...hey there." He offers an unsure smile.

What am I doing here? Why am I still standing here with this guy? Maybe I should try to make a friend, it couldn't hurt right? I keep on staring at the friendly dragon trying to decide what to do. Unfortunately, after some internal debate my hesitant nature wins over.

I don't have the heart to look at the dragon as I turn and walk away, heading back to the village.

I start unwrap the bandage-like cloth that makes up my...shirt...thing. I hadn't bothered to actually look at the official name of the armor. I untie the final knot, and slid the entire shirt off, leaving my naked from the waist-up. A little shiver runs through me as my body tries to adapt to the sudden cold. I decide against removing my leggings.

The inn room I rented for the night is nice enough. The furniture's a little bare, a small table and chair right next to the bed. The bed however is extra plush and soft. Only a single candle's illuminating the entire room. I walk up to the single window, and take a look at the landscape of Laya Village.

It's a nice little village to be honest. The nice rows of houses all had illumination coming from their windows, some of the other players and NPC's shadows moving in the light. The whole environment is just alive and realistic. People moved, had their own motives, and did what they need to do. It really transported me into this fantasy. Everyone else is living a life as in-depth as my own...and this thought brings up the recent memory of the dragon I had encountered in 'Laya Treeline'. I wonder what he had been doing...completing a quest? Gathering crafting materials? Farming experience? I don't know....but it doesn't matter. Odds are I'm never going to see him again. But why did I just walk away like that? Until I find my friends it couldn't hurt to make new connections. But of course that would require me not to be pathetically shy.

Frustrated with myself, I extinguish the candle and curl up under the blankets of my temporary bed. Thankfully I managed to salvage enough gold to afford this place for a night without using my free voucher. I decided to save that for an emergency in gold. I let out a sigh of content, enjoying the fuzzy feeling of my fur being rubbed by the smooth sheets. My eyes close as I drift off to sleep...