by Randy Thao
Upon walking in, Dee could only describe it like stepping into a painting. The colors of the world around them soon faded away off to the side of their view. In came, the colors and landscape of Pongblong. The oranges, yellows and reds filled the area around them. Suddenly, they found themselves on the outside of a small village. The ground beneath them took texture and they could feel the gravel from under their feet. There were but maybe six houses, a tavern and a church. People could be seen walking, feeding chickens and children running about. The village people waved at them as they passed, and the kids ran between them chasing one another treating them like any other person there.
"I can't believe this is all so real. Montgomery, you sure did it this time, and I love it haha!" bellowed Bu as he bent down to pat the children's head with his hands. The kids laughed and took off in and behind one of the houses.
Dee analyzed the area carefully. He saw other players in their white suits in the neighboring forest, yet too far to make out anything else. The cool breeze rustled the leaves dancing in the trees. They would need to get going and questing soon. There just had to be some sort of tutorial guide for the initial game play. In-game tutorials were the best way to get players to learn quickly while playing at the same time. It would consist of very simple quests that provided game play basics with starting gold and armor.
"Hey you see that?" asked Dee.
"Yep, I do. Apple Green Village. It appears that we are seeing descriptions of places and things when we focus our attention on it. D-E-E, so that's how you spell your name. Pretty simple. You haven't gotten any stats yet," laughed Bu.
Dee observed. "Ah, so that's how it works. Let's take a look around town real quick."
"Good idea. Every safe location should have some sort of Inn, item shop or place of resurrection," added Bu.
They walked along the dirt path observing everything while navigating through the menus displayed on their cornea by the RT2 Nano-bots. Interesting facts about Pongblong appeared everywhere as well as miscellaneous descriptions about every unusual object. Quality work could be seen in everything from the tall copper statues to a rusty milk can. Adrenaline Corp. had also carefully inserted references to familiar events and pop-culture idols from earth.
Let's take a look in the church," replied Bu and paused for a second. "Dee, I...I just want to thank you for letting me join you. You and I both know that we would only drag others down. You know?"
Dee smiled. "No problem. I can always use some company. If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your arm?"
Bu went silent for a bit as they walked through the small town. The gravel pushing away at their every step crunching as they went. He cleared his throat and started, "Was tryin to protect my girl one evening. The city is always so nice, but who knows what lurks in the darkness."
Bu seemed to have gone into a trance recalling a moment in his life. He stared off into the distance and continued, "Some thugs crawled out from the alley with pipes and bats demandin all that we had. They also wanted to take my girl," Bu paused for a few seconds. His facial expression had changed to anger, and his lips tightened together.
"I used my right arm to block as many of their blows as possible. There was just too many of them. Eventually my fore arm could take no more and snapped in two. As soon as I let my guard down, a bat came swinging pass me and landed on the side of my girls head. Her lifeless body just laid there," mumbled Bu taking a long breath.
"Sorry to hear man," Dee stared in the direction of the church, trying not to make eye contact.
"That's old news. Enough about me. What about you?" exclaimed Bu. Just like that he broke out of the trance. He was his cherry self again.
"Well it's a long story, but I got into a glider accident. Permanent damage from my waist down. Lost my parents as well," sighed Dee.
"Both of them?" asked Bu.
"Yeah," replied Dee in short.
"My condolences. Sir. Finding the strength to keep going is the biggest challenge. We are here aren't we?" Bu smiled.
The church was small in size. In the back was a small wooden altar and on top a book which read "Holy Bible". As they approached the book, options appeared before their eyes. Each their own as if the game had somehow taken control to show them what they ought to see.
As they were getting familiar with the menu options of the church, Dee noticed that even though he was not hurt or damaged by any means, the "Heal" option was lit. The other options such as remove curse and revive player were dimmed out.
"Heal," announced Dee. Red letters popped up that read "Not enough met-coins. Required 5,500. Huh? Hey Bu. Check out the last option. Is it lit up for you?"
"Let me check. Na uh. How do I select it?" questioned Bu.
"Just read it," insisted Dee.
Bu announced, "Heal! It says not enough met-coins. Required 1600. I wonder if I just read it in my head, would it still know. Oh wow, it even knows what I am thinking!"
"That's pretty neat, but why would your required amount be different from mines?" Dee pondered as to what this meant. Had they gotten hurt coming through the portal?
"Hello," said a voice from a small room tucked in the back corner of the church. "My name is Pastor Matt Vincent. I run the church here. As you can see, there isn't much. Would you like a prayer? For your legs maybe?"
"Thanks, but...." right then Dee realized something. It had just dawned on him that in a sense they were injured. This made him rethink his response to Pastor Matt Vincent. "Well yes, we do need your prayers. Pastor Vincent, my name is Dee Rogers, and my friend here is Charles Bu."
"Ah, by the grace of God, you have been forgiven."
Pastor Vincent bowed his head in respect and started back from where he came from. "One advice, be careful of your puppet master. Whether in here or out there, we can still be deceived. Go and enjoy yourself in RTU."
Dee nodded his head in response, but looked confused after the fact. He slowly turned to the altar and hovered over. After putting the two together, he decided to give it another try. He had a hunch that just maybe what he was thinking might work.
"Bu, come here real quick," waved Dee.
Bu walked over still looking around the menu screen. "What is it?"
"Try healing yourself again," told Dee.
"Uh, ok," Bu said as he stood there for a few seconds and then announced, "Heal!" Bu's head shot at Dee. His eyes widen. Something was happening. Something huge. A big smile spread across his face like a child on Christmas day.
"Dee!! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!" Bu lifted his right arm as high as he could and smashed a pew in half. The cast crumbled off into a pile of dust.
"Haha! You're healed!" shouted Dee with joy along with Bu. He held out his hand and shook Bu's right hand and gripped it firmly. After a few minutes of celebrating, they knew what else needed to be done.
"Dee. I think it's about time you get those legs back," encouraged Bu.
Dee set his focused on the book of life. The menus came flying from below his vision. He set focus to the last option in the menu.
"Heal!"
Chapter 9 - Walking Again
The menu disappeared. He hovered back slowly, and there it came. A slight vibrating tingle started in his toes. It scared the heck out of him, because for a long time, he had lost most of the feelings from the waist down. It felt like the circulation had returned to an arm or leg that had fallen asleep, but it came a lot faster. All Dee could do was watch as he wiggled his big toe and then lifted his ankle rocking his feet in a circular motion.
"You feel it? You feel it Dee?" exclaimed Bu. He walked up and stood beside him holding out both his arms as if ready to catch someone jumping out of a burning building. "Slowly man. Take it slowly."
Dee placed his hands on both the arm rests. With his feet, he slipped them down from the foot rest and placed them firmly on the floor. Leaning forward, he pushed himself up from the seat.
Nothing could explain the emotions that he felt in his heart
once again standing on his own. If only his parents were here to see it. Tears filled his eyes, but the joy remained spread across his face.
Dee cried out at the top of his lungs, "I'm standing!"
"Oh yes you are. Take a step," Bu motioned him over.
Dee took two steps and then fell forward. He hadn't walked in years, and this would need getting used to again. Bu caught and held him by the elbow to stabilize him. One, two.......One, two.......One, two...One, two..One two, one, two, one two. Off Dee went a little wobbly and unbalanced still. He ran through the village breathing heavily waving at the children as they chased after him like a mad man. Bu followed behind. The air hitting his face; that so familiar feeling as he closed his eyes to embrace it. He ran out of the village and into the orchard.
"Slow down Dee!" yelled Bu.
Dee slipped on a rotten apple, and that sent him flying into a pile of leaves. He rolled on his back and gazed at the sky. Life had meaning again. He kicked his legs in the air. They were thin and fragile not like how they used to be when he played football.
"Boy, you sure can run," said Bu breathlessly. "Where you learn to run like that?"
Dee smirked, "College football."
"That explains a lot," Bu reached for an apple in the tree and tossed it to Dee.
He caught it with one hand. "Tastes good!"
That whole afternoon they grind the area. Fighting level 1-5 crows, wolves and monsters. They developed a strategic plan to successfully take down monsters in the area. Bu would be the "tank" meaning that he would be the first to engage with monsters and keep their attention focused on him, while Dee being quick on his feet would be the one who mainly did the damages. He is what they call a DPSer, one who does damage per second. Every beast that was killed dropped items, and afterwards, they would also return to dust as they once came. From the low level beasts and monsters of this area, they had acquired basic leather armor and wooden weapons. It was something better than their white starter suits.
"Phew, I'm beat Bu. Look at that, level four!" A pop up blinked in his view. It gave him options as to where to apply his talent points. Agility, Strength, Mind, Spirit, Endurance, Power and Will each have their own perks to give what is needed to perform special moves. Abilities are unlocked at certain levels. The first is at level five. Players are able to choose from a variety of special moves. The moves then can be geared towards classes, but not necessarily. Classes are only placed there to give players an idea of what a class is. They can build their own class by mixing and matching the different special abilities unlocked to them. Of course, it would be smart to have similar abilities to obtain a powerful setup.
Rubbing his stomach, Dee exhaled out, "Let's go grab some food in the village."
"Yes sir. I believe there was some sort of tavern there when we went to visit the church, Added Bu.
Bu went to scavenge the items dropped by the tree Pa-Zongs they had defeated earlier before. These monsters hid behind the trees in the orchard and jumped out at passing players. They fought many of these level three monsters. Bu picked up some met-coins and a wooden club and most of the time just junk.
"Hello fellas!" called a voice. Another player along with two others approached them. Dee set focus on them and could see that they were level eights.
"Just heading back to the village," said Dee with a smile. Bu dropped everything and stood up.
They had to be careful. Not only were they fighting against RTU generated monsters, but players as well. Something every MMO player knew too well. They came a little closer. Dee could tell that they had decent gear and weapons definitely better than what they were wearing. Even one more member in a group like theirs is beneficial in a PVP (Player vs Player) situation.
"How's this area? We came from over that hill over there," he pointed to the west and a small hill could be seen beyond the rows of apple trees.
"Just starting out you know. Bout to get some grub. Maybe catch up with you guys later?" said Bu with a stern look on his face.
"Yeah sure. We'll show ourselves around." The three players smirked and nodded their heads.
As they were leaving, a Pa-Zong popped out from behind a tree. The third player in the back swung his axe like a baseball bat and with one swipe, down it went. They laughed at the puny monster and continued to walk away.
"Let's go Bu. We are only level four so far. I don't want any trouble with those guys," cautioned Dee as they headed back into the village.
They stopped in the small tavern. It was small enough for six tables at most with a chair on each side. A bartender stood behind the counter wiping down glass cups humming to a tune. Liquor bottles lined the back wall of all sorts of shapes and sizes. Crazy enough they were of all different colors as well. Crazy colors. The bartender peered over seeing that they had guests.
"Hello there fellas," greeted the bartender. Dee and Bu waved their hands. The swinging door next to the counter pushed out, and a lady with a white apron came walking in with a pitcher of water and two cups. Almost as if right on que, she walked over and poured a glass of water for each of them.
Patiently she said, "Hi, I'm Wendy. What can I get for you?"
Bu looked at Dee surprised at the natural actions and hospitality of RTU generated characters. He tilted his head with respect. "What's on the menu?"
She explained, "If you focus here." She held up a finger that pointed to an engraved lotus design about the size of a quarter in the middle of her neck. "You should see extra menus and options of your liking."
They both brought up the menu and browsed the list of foods. It also produced a small image view of what the dish looked like before they ordered.
"Oh yeah, let me get some Pig Apple Ribs," Bu said licking his lips.
"I will take the corn rabbit soup," added Dee smiling at Bu. They were going to eat hardy alright, and their stomachs growled in hunger.
"That will be 45 met-coins," calculated Wendy waiting for payment.
Bu's jaw dropped. "Uh, 45? Dee, how much you got?"
"I only collected 4," mumbled Dee.
Both their heads hung with embarrassment. They only had ten met-coins all together. Dee popped the menu back up and re-adjusted their order.
"Sorry Wendy, we will be taking a loaf of cinnamon apple bread and butter," Dee said blushing unable to make eye contact with her.
"Right on, will be right back," smiled Wendy.
They watched as she turned around with pitcher in hand and went back through the swinging door.
Bu let out a long sigh, "So much for them ribs." He pulled out his met-coins and dropped them on the table.
Chapter 10 - The First Quest
The sun started to set beyond the horizon. Beautiful cool oranges, pinks and light blues spread across the canvas of the sky. The wildlife from outside of the village settled down and given to the chirps of crickets. Torches lit up around the entrances for the lone late night travelers. The cinnamon apple bread down to just a few crumbs. Wendy, the waitress, lit up all the lamps on the tables. The flickering flame brighten the room up casting the darkness into the corners of the room. She started sweeping even though there wasn't much to sweep. The bartender now gone from his post behind the counter. Dee and Bu's white suits beneath their leather armor glowed and occasionally pulsed with energy.
"Let's get some rest for now agreed?" yawned Bu. He looked at Dee who was staring into space. "What's on your mind buddy?"
"I'm trying to find where to log out. I mean, there has to be a way to log out of the game." Dee flipped through the menus that came up before him. "Ah there it is. Log o.."
"Hold on there. Not so fast," interrupted Bu. "If we log out now, do we go back being.. you know?" He held up his right hand squeezing and releasing it.
"I was curious myself, and I figure that the only way to find out would be to log out," suggested Dee.
"This just feels so real. I guess it's too good to be true. After all, it's still a game right?" sighed Bu looking sadly. "Looks l
ike it's about eight or nine o' clock. Remember, the RT2 energy transfers happens at midnight on the dot."
"I don't think we will be doing anything more tonight. It would be a good time to log out. I will go first and log right back in to let you know," assured Dee.
Bu nodded, "Right."
Dee stared in front of him as the menu screen appeared. The list of options scrolled up following the focus of his eyes. "Logout!" The menu remained in front of him and so did Bu. "Logout!"
"Let me try. Logout!" announced Bu. "The games broken man. Is this some kind of glitch or something? Mr. Montgomery couldn't have missed something this simple and important."
Dee sat there staring at the table scrolling up and down. There was no other option to choose. Bu started to panic as he got up and began pacing back and forth. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead, which reflected the flickering lamps on the tables. Dee closed his eyes and thought back to when they first arrived to Adrenaline Corp., Mr. Montgomery's speech, then the portals and now here. Something finally registered in his head.
"Hey, I have a feeling that logout option was put there on purpose with no intentions of working," guessed Dee rubbing his lower lips with his thumb and pointer finger.
"What do you mean?" Bu said confused.
Dee recounted, "Think about it. When did we ever log into the game? We came here from the Teleport Station. Then we entered through the PongBlong portal. How can we log out if we never logged in?"
"Why would Mr. Montgomery do that? To fool us?" Bu wiped his sweaty forehead.
"That I don't know. It was definitely put there to make it seem like it was a game. He probably assumed that we would not log out right away. Hence, why we never got any proper instructions," predicted Dee.
"We're stuck here forever?" Bu slammed his fist on the table.
Dee sat intently and focused. "Let's rest for now. We can think better in the morning. One things for sure, we are going to be here for a while. That means we have to reach max level as soon as possible along with obtaining better gear, so we can find a way out of here. At a low level, we are limited to only places like these."