by Rick Scar
“Hey,” said the guy. “Angela told me you’ve been trying to choose a class for months. Can I help?”
Will frowned trying to figure if he looked like he needed help.
“What do you want?” asked Will without blinking.
Angela stepped in, “This is Pak Cheong he’s a part-time consultant in our center and a Lost Lands legend. A sensational game, you may have heard of it. You, as our regular, can ask him for advice if you want. Free of charge, of course.”
“Legend, huh?” Will thought it was a great chance to clarify some things he read about and got straight to the point, “I have a couple of questions unrelated to classes.”
“Shoot,” said Pak.
“How well can one do in the game if one was to play alone?”
“Well, it depends on your goals. If you’re not into epic quests or dungeons, that would normally take at least five people to complete, then you’re good, just play for fun. There’s a lot of people who simply want to escape into a world of sword and magic, depths of space or underwater realms. The downside here is that you will probably be spending more time respawning than playing, and that impedes your character development. Different games have different penalties—from deleveling to debuffs so harsh, you wouldn’t stand a chance against a lousy low level mob. There are also time outs, where you die, but you don’t die, meaning you just get kicked out from the game for a day or two. It’s fine if you’re a casual player, but if playing is your bread and butter, death is the worst-case scenario for you.”
“Right,” Will nodded and paused to think something over. “Have you ever killed tougher enemies? I mean, like, ten times stronger than you.”
“Sure. Once. But then again, every situation is unique. What do you know about exploits?”
“You mean using game bugs to your advantage?”
“Exactly!” Pak nodded. “Those are hard to find in modern games. The developers tend to get very nosy when it comes to this kind of stuff. They follow top gamers on social media, read forums and blogs, watch tutorials—anything they can find. Then they fix it and release updates. But gamers are a slippery type, right? We can’t find one, we make one. Some even manage to make some coin off of it by selling them, but, I’ve got to tell you, it’s tedious as hell, you have to know the location inside out, and waste a billion lives, which, as you can tell, is not easy.”
Will hasn’t learned anything new from that and, wondering if he should speak frankly, gave Pak a puzzled look.
“Listen, as you can probably tell, it’s more about money for me than fun, and the problem is that I don’t know which class is right for that.”
“Hmm. You don’t come across as a real noob, indeed. You’re too focused, even when you play. Sorry, peeked at you while you were in there. Uhm, never mind. Opinions split, as they say. People tend to be very fond of the class they represent. I for one am making good money playing a Paladin. It’s not about the class, it’s about the player. If you’re not all thumbs, and you got what it takes, then go for it—pick one and show them what you got.”
“Sounds like they’re paying you for getting people hooked,” said Will with a smile. Pak answered looking cunningly.
They were talking for half an hour more, during which time Will was actually learning a lot of useful things. When they finished, Pak handed Will his business card,
“Here, I’d like to play with you sometime. In case you have any questions, be sure to contact me too. Free of charge. I have connections that could use a smart and motivated guy like you. Think about it.” Pak waved his hand and headed back to the reception.
“See ya,” said Will looking at the card and walked outside.
Chapter 3. An unexpected twist
The next three months were dedicated solely to learning. Will continued his communication with Pak, better known in gaming communities as LightTerror, who was providing him with some helpful links and tips, just like he promised, which, finally, helped Will make his decision. The Rogue. This class seemed to suit all of his needs and game style: good damage dealing potential, stealth, the ability to pick locks and get through high level areas without the need to battle every enemy in it. A little time has passed before Will received an invitation to a secret forum from Pak. A place to discuss RMT, ToS, mining, twinking, botting, MQ’ing, and such—sort of a dark side of the gaming world. No one was giving away their top secret strategies for making a living in MMOs, but basic principles were made clear, which was more than enough for Will.
As it turned out, people were not only selling outfits and gear, but also tip-offs about raid bosses, epic quests, instances, and many other things. Clans would pay top dollar for any kind of insights that would make them more influential. But, perhaps, the most profitable asset was video blogging. Every top gamer in every clan had a video channel—millions of views, tons of ads, and unbelievable revenues as a result. Many television channels aired video game shows as well. Pak had a contract with one of those. The money he was getting was not anywhere close to what top gaming stars were making, but good enough to buy a new apartment, new car, and other sweet life attributes. Games, that Will always thought of as mere entertainment, appeared in a whole different light, and he was never going to back out. He was certain about one thing—taking a chance was worth quitting both his jobs.
The advertising campaign started two weeks before the release. The public went nuts! “It’s colossal! A groundbreaking game!” screamed every tabloid and TV commercials. First trailers that Will saw on VideoWorld made his jaw drop. What he saw was nothing like the many games he tried at the gaming center. Those two clowns at the restaurant were right, it was a new era of virtual reality.
The official site of the game was up and running. The forum section got instantly flooded with new topics and thousands of messages. A built-in translation tool was helping people from all over the world share their excitement. The game craze was gaining momentum day after day. Soon enough, more detailed information on game mechanics, character development, and available game classes and races was introduced. This one was different from any other game. The world of Ascension was built in a way that a player being level 1 could kill a level 50 or level 100 enemy. That, however, was not an easy task to accomplish—roughly 0,00001% chance, but a chance nonetheless. The higher the level of NPC or other player was, the more difficult he was to deal with. The more unwary you were, the less of a problem to your enemies your high level was—they would kill you despite you being ten times stronger than them. Two weeks felt like a day with all this fuss about the game. The game that became the most debated topic on the internet before its release.
Corporate people who stood behind the AI felt secure about their creation, but not about the servers. It took their finest scientists ten years and some serious brainwork to make this miracle named The Emperor—the very core of Ascension. The Emperor was the pinnacle of AI evolution—the first machine to ever step beyond Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. This AI could interact with human consciousness directly. Subordinated to The Emperor, AI Imitators and more advanced AIs were in control of NPCs—from simple mobs to quest NPCs. Those advanced AIs could learn and evolve without affecting the balance in the game, meaning a simple Ggoblin from some barbaric tribe could become the leader of that tribe and rule the area, but could not take over the world, unless that was consistent with the scenario. It was things like this that were The Emperror’s jurisdiction. All of this was explained in full detail on the game’s site.
Will was lying nested in the capsule. The headrest with sensors felt soft to the touch. The young man closed his eyes and sank into the dark. In a moment, a beam of light started moving in, sucking Will into it. An incredible panoramic bird's eye view laid out before his eyes. Beautiful mountains with snow-capped peaks were stretching to the valleys in the north, where miniature towns with castle towers and cathedral spires sprawled. Deep blue seas and oceans rested peacefully in their shores. In the distance, you could see a giant tree with
its crown above the clouds, and either giant birds looking like dragons, or dragon-like birds soaring around it. The entire scenery was filled with glorious magnificence and splendor.
A gravelly, raspy voice, like that of an old man, started the narrative. It was carrying Will away into the story of how it all began,
“Thousands of years ago, in the times of ancient Gods, a great Evil brought chaos and destruction into this world; countless deaths, suffering and despair to its habitants. A portal from the Netherworld had been opened. The disciples of Darkness ruled the continents for hundreds of years in blood and murder, until Gods decided to put an end to this. They sacrificed their flesh to perform a ritual and seal the portal. So the world was divided in a hundred Floors, and each was locked with a fraction of their souls. As centuries passed, the memories of that horror slowly faded into oblivion, and people were seeking to unlock the gates to put the fractured world back together again. Prophesy has it, that, when the last seal shall be opened, Gods will return to reunite with men… Are you willing to fulfill the prophecy and become the one true hero who opens the gates? Many have tried and failed. Remember, what was once locked may best remain that way…”
“Wow!” the story gave Will chills. He watched the world changing right before his eyes: forests turning into barren deserts, huge oceans drying out and refilling with water again. He saw entire races getting extinct and new ones being born; great empires ravaged by war turning into ruins. He saw Gods fighting forces of Evil, and epic battle scenes made his heart skip a beat. He watched the world being torn apart.
The developers did a superb job—it appeared as something more than just a game to Will. It was very realistic and thrilling, and made him want to start playing already. He was still very much dazzled when a menu popped up. A beautiful female voice made him pull it together,
“Would you like to create an account?”
“Yes!”
“Scanning your physical parameters, please, wait. This may take a moment…
Synching complete.
Would you like to customize your appearance now or leave your current parameters?
Note: to protect your real life identity, a security protocol will be applied to your character (see par. 24.2 Safety measures.).”
“Leave current parameters.”
“Done!
To optimize your gaming experience you can adjust your sensitivity settings. Higher settings will make your adventure more realistic. Use this option with caution—sensation of pain may feel very real. When playing in high sensitivity mode, you will get more reward in the game. Whether it’s real adventure you seek or just an amazing experience, you can always change these settings in the menu. Resetting sensitivity from higher to lower will make all your rewards and bonuses unavailable to you until you go back to your previous settings. Choose wisely.”
Will had read about it, but he didn’t remember rewards being mentioned.
“What are the optimal settings?”
“Optimal is 50% and below. If you want to expand your perception, 60% and above is recommended.”
Considering the pros and possible cons, Will wanted to make sure he got it all right,
“If set to 100%, can that hurt my physical body?”
“No, this is impossible. You will only feel the so called phantom pain. The game interacts solely with your mind.”
“Fine. Set to max.”
“Done!
To change these settings, you will have to restart the game.
Choose your race from the list below.”
This was a long list—Undead, Goblin, Half-Demon, Suldar, Dwarf, Reptiloid, and many more. Will had seen it on the website before, so he wasn’t going to peruse it. He knew exactly what he was looking for,
“Human.”
“Choose your class.”
“Rogue.”
“You have chosen your race and class successfully.
Enter your name.”
“White RAVen.”
“Congratulations, this name is not taken.
Would you like to select the Floor? You can skip this step to have it selected for you randomly. Only the first three Floors are available to you now. The higher the Floor, the higher the level of its habitants…”
“Select for me.”
“You selected random Floor.
Loading…
Player character created successfully.
Appearance created successfully.
Loading…
Loading compl… #Error/#…
Have a great adventure and good luck, White RAVen!”
“Wait, what?”
Everything went dark again, and then a flash took Will to the starting location.
Chapter 4. First steps toward a dream
“Congratulations! You are the first visitor to Skiavra village.
+25 Influence Points.
You can exchange Influence Points for valuable skills or information to help you navigate around the world of Ascension. You can also spend it on building property or purchase land with it, but spend it wisely—you never know when you may need it.
Awarded the title: Pathfinder.
Description You’ve discovered opened the unexplored territory for the first time.
+2% XP in the territory of Skiavra.
+1% Speed.”
Having read the message, Will closed it and looked around. He found himself in the middle of what seemed to be the central square of Skiavra. A statue of a short woman in a dress, in the center of a fountain, was raising her hands up like she was begging from Heavens. There were small wooden houses around, and a few shops that belonged to local artisans. The young man looked up. The sun was shining bright and it was warm; gentle wind was softly touching Will’s skin. It was hard to believe a game could be like this. Skydome Corp. really did make a masterpiece of a game.
“Hmm, it’s kind of empty in here. Usually, central squares are crowded with players. Must be some remote location or something… By the way, how do I know which Floor I’m on?”
The developers on the website were not particularly clear on that: “We do not intervene in the gaming process unless we absolutely have to.”
“All right, let’s get busy.”
After all, that is what it was all about—hard work. In Ascension, the inventory was linked to the finger ring with the infinity symbol depicted on it, and twenty slots to start off with. To expand its capacity, you would have to pay a visit to the Magic Academy. There was no overhead visual clutter in this game—instead, to view the information about an NPC or a monster (like name, rank, health bar), one would have to use the Inspection Skill. This basic apprentice-level skill was available to all new players and could be further developed as they leveled up—the higher the level, the more information. If your PC were to die, it would automatically loose all, or most of the items in their possession.
Will opened up the inventory, to see his starter item set. Five slices of bread to replenish health, a pair of pants, a shirt, and some boots—nothing fancy, regular threads, so one didn’t have to play naked. There were also a few copper coins, and a set of low-level lock picks to handle simple locks.
“Well, I’m a rogue, aren’t I?” thought Will. After examining the inventory, he switched to the character details window. There were no surprises there either—standard stats for the given character class. With that, Will’s character got ten Attribute Points and one Skill Point. Every level up meant five Attribute Points and one Skill Point for every fifth level.
Setting goals in the game is vital for any good player, otherwise, the risk of winding up with a gimp character is imminent. Since Will was planning to play solo, mobility and maximum damage were his priorities. Thoughts of what he might need on a raid or in a dungeon were cast aside—his objective was melee skills.
Yes, melee damage dealers are as fragile as glass in the beginning, but, with appropriate gear and tittles, this can be fixed no problem. Keeping that in mind, Will did not hesit
ate to distribute his Attribute Points as he saw fit: +6 Agility, to increase damage dealt with ranged weapons and damage from daggers; +1 Energy, to use non-magic class skills (+10 Power increase for each Attribute Point spent on it, much like with Stamina); +3 Strength.
Next stop - Skills and Skill Levels, of which there were five: Apprentice, Journeyman, Master, Grandmaster, and Legend. Will looked at the three Skills available, and went for the passive one—At Gunpoint. “Frequent use of this skill helps you level up. Passive skills upgrade over time, depending on how often you use them to your advantage.” read Will out loud.
“You learned a new skill.
At gunpoint. Passive skill (Apprentice).
Increases all ranged weapons mastery level.
+2% Chance to deal critical damage with ranged weapons.”
Will looked around again and headed toward the shops to see what they had in stock and to familiarize himself with the price range. When he walked into the nearest one, no other players were in sight, and the shop keeper was dozing off in the corner. The merchant shuddered, as if he had sensed someone’s presence, and smiled at Will,
“Welcome to my shop. May I interest you in reasonably priced gear, light weapons, or jewelry?”
“Hello,” said RAVen, as he strolled among the shelves with wares. A nice looking dagger drew his attention. He picked it up and applied Inspection. What he saw made his eye twitch,
“Twenty one gold for a dagger?!”
“Needle of Despair (Gold).
Damage: 107-125
+7% Chance to deal Armor damage
+4% Chance to Dodge the incoming attack
+5% Chance to cause the target to bleed over 7 seconds
Requirements: 90 Strength, 104 Agility.