Corbin had been playing Trasformazione Online, on and off, for three days. The game had been quick to download and easy to install. The adventures were exciting and a bit more innovative than the other games he'd played in the past and, already, he was enjoying the ability to "speak" to NPCs and interact with them on a really amazing level. Whatever natural language software was running on these servers, the characters he interacted with always seemed live and able to respond in real-time.
A fan of fantasy epics, he'd decided to start out in the game's Fantasy setting. He created a slender, lithe elven wizard (he always preferred the shooters) and soon had amassed a large number of kills with the intuitive magic system. He'd not, yet, tried to go into any of the bigger, instanced dungeons or quests but that was mostly because none of his friends were members of the game yet.
This one, though, sounded too interesting to pass up.
One of the NPCs, when he'd casually typed in "What's Up?" had responded, "You will be if you dare to face 'the Paths of the Minotaur' in the fastness of Elivar Island."
Clicking on the info that the NPCs offered, Corbin found that Elivar Island was a difficult-to-unlock game zone that was reputed to have high-risk but high-reward quests on it. This one, "the Paths of the Minotaur", sounded cool.
The mighty Minotaur was once a mortal man named Avarros who spurred the advances of a Goddess in favor of his lover, another man named Kethos. Insulted, the nameless Goddess cursed the man to have all the masculinity he could ever want: he would be big, strong, and vital like a bull. But he would also be half-beast. Horrified by his transformation, Avarros ran off into the wilderness of Elivar Island to hide his face. His lover, though, Kethos, could not let go and went off to find him. Their tale of thwarted love and tragic metamorphosis has spawned countless tales and legends. But can you find the truth? Set out along the path that Avarros took and see if you can find the essence of the transformation that took him from the mortal world...
Corbin was intrigued. It was rare enough for a video game to talk about gay characters; fewer portrayed them in a sympathetic light. Also, he'd always loved Greek myths and the Minotaur had always been one of his favorites. Despite the level of the adventure being about two higher than what his character had, he clicked "Accept" and left the NPC for the transit hub to get to Elivar Island.
Within a half hour, he was there.
It took him some time to weave his way through the winding paths between towering trees with purple flowers and impassible walls of ferns but, soon, he was standing in front of a vine-draped cave entrance.
There, on a pedestal in the opening, was a green, glowing potion flask.
Curious, he clicked on it.
Do you wish to drink the potion and begin the path...?
Corbin clicked "Yes".
A wave of dizziness washed over him. His heart began to race and his breath started coming in short, quick gasps. It didn't feel like a heart attack or stroke but, clearly, something was wrong. He tried to stand but found himself too wobbly on his feet.
His shoes felt tight and his shoulders bound in his shirt. He groaned and saw a shadow growing out from beneath his field of vision. On the screen before him, he watched as the camera view pulled back to show his character, caught in throes of metamorphosis. He gasped and stared.
As brown, shaggy fur started to spread and grow on his formerly-slender elf, the same started happening to him in the physical world. His clothes felt like they were shrinking as his body expanded in layers of fat, bone, and muscle. His character, likewise, split his seams and burst from his clothes. Corbin groaned and fell backwards, his chair spilling to one side. A tail grew from his spine and his ears migrated to the top of his head. A pair of black, polished horns grew from his temples to the sides and his face finished forming itself into a muzzle. His groin pulsed and swelled, his sex expanding to bovine or equine size. His feet grew hard and thick as his goes merged and his toenails became dinner-plate-sized hooves.
The blood rushed in his ears and his eyes were soon swarmed with darkness. He passed out.
Hours later, he woke to a chime of an incoming message.
Shuddering, he raised himself up and -blinking- stared at the screen. His character was standing, idle, but now was a massive, strapping Minotaur. Over it was a message that said "Transformation Complete: Start Your Quest. One Wish Granted When Quest Completed."
His own hand, as he reached for the keyboard, was monstrously huge. Thick fingernails -the color of black laquer- tipped his fingers. He stared, stunned, at his body.
He'd become a huge, towering Minotaur.