Immersion Online: The Noob: A LitRPG Novel

by Evan Klein

  “So I am going to be playing the game, a cyber-cop of some kind?” I asked.

  “Pretty much,” he responded. “But there is more. Real world players, they are called Starborn in the game by Realmborn, can be cruel or kind. Shannon believes in free will – lots of free will – just not to the detriment of the game. Players have nearly endless freedom in the game. They can declare war on other leagues and take over their league halls if they are victorious. Some high-level players find pleasure in simply killing low-level players just for kicks. But some just want to mess with the game.”

  “This makes no sense. Isn’t there costumer service to complain to?” I asked.

  “In a nutshell…it is not so easy. Shannon’s game has several trillion lines of code, with more code constantly written by programmers and the A.I. itself, and it is not so easy to track down the code that needs deleting or editing. With so many players, and cutting-edge artificial intelligence, and a virtual world five times the size of Earth, the servers are already strained, as is the customer service. Sometimes the A.I. treats these aberrations as a virus and fights back which can cause the game to glitch or for entire sections of it to freeze. Characters are in the middle of a great battle and all of sudden it looks like someone hit pause on the vid screen.”

  He paused his explanation for a moment and continued, “Safeguards have been put in place. Most major cities have powerful magics protecting them that make them safe zones for players and Realmborn. Players cannot harm other players and the Realmborn in these zones without great penalties being assessed – such as the loss of levels, prestige or even permanent banishment from the city. New and casual players can thrive in these areas and feel safe. We have people – families – who just create characters and travel to these virtual cities. Some of which are as grand as ancient Greece or Venice during the Renaissance. Of course, once you leave these safe zones, once you trek out into the wilds and unknown which makes up ninety percent of the virtual land mass, pretty much anything goes. For those three percent who want to push the limits, she has even created a few cities and hundreds of borderland towns where pretty much anything is permissible. Most major cities also have what is called a grey zone where most behaviors and dark impulses are allowed – theft, murder, torture, kidnapping – you enter there at your own risk. Players even have to sign a real-world waiver freeing the company of any psychological, spiritual or emotional damage done to them in the zones. Some have returned with real world P.T.S.D. The Realmborn in those areas are powerful or are programmed specifically for that region and they are more than a match for any Starborn. Only players who can really handle themselves will wander into these zones. There are a few things still not allowed even there. Shannon does not allow the rape of players or Realmborn. Even though it might be happening in an online setting, the emotional scars can linger. She definitely doesn’t allow any kind of pedophilia. Slavery is also forbidden. Other than that, every dark impulse is pretty much allowed in these grey zones. All the major cities have them. The problem is when characters try to bring that beyond the zone.”

  “How so?” I queried. “Well for example. In Fairmount, one of the major cities of the Northern provinces, there is a very successful potions merchant who owns a shop in one of the safe zones. He only sells the rarest of the rare – like Demoncin, Atomic Distortion, Philer’s Bane and so on.” I shook my head at the names of these potions not having any idea what they do. Haggerty continued. “This is all he does for a living. He is able to turn the online profits into real world crypto-coin that he uses to pay his mortgage, send his kids to private school and so on. Well two weeks ago, he was robbed. One morning he logged on, entered his shop, and all of his potions and elixirs were gone. He’d been wiped out. A year and half of his life’s work gone in a flash. We’re still investigating how it happened. The eye crystals we have placed in the rafters of the buildings all around the city should have seen something. They were put there just for that purpose. The All Seeing Eye of the Gods as the programmers call them. However, the thief or thieves left no cyber footprint on the mainframe and the guards who normally patrol the areas were put to sleep – which shouldn’t be possible either - so we need a real live person to investigate in house so to speak.”

  “So is that the plan? I am heading to Fairmount, is that right, to investigate this theft?

  “No. You aren’t heading there. A former F.B.I agent took over that position just last week. She’ll sort that whole mess out. No my friend. We are sending you to the largest, busiest, and deadliest – and some would even say the most beautiful city in all The Great Realm – to Grandview, to take on the role of one the city constables.”

  Chapter 3: Character Creation

  I didn’t have any idea how the game’s interface worked – only that once I logged in, I would feel like I was in another world – one of sensory input where I could breathe the clean air, and taste a draft of mead, and feel the slash of a rapier across my arm. A courier from the company had delivered and setup the interface hardware the day before. Twenty years ago, Shannon had improved upon outdated technology that required a player to wear sensory gloves, a haptic suit, and 3D goggles. This older technology was still in use by many so called immersion companies. Ten years later, her company had mastered haptic technology that stimulated your nerves directly— by connecting wires and mini processing to your nerves and brain stem. Minor surgery was required for the implant and for someone to experience true immersion. There were dangers to this as there was to all minor medical procedures. (Not that that it prevented half a billion people worldwide from undergoing the neurolink surgery). Her current technology, the one Immersion Online utilized, did not require a haptic suit or possibly dangerous minor surgery. It now consisted of a mesh cap for my head with goggles that came down over my eyes and sound dampeners which covered my ears. There were also a few wireless electrodes (for no better term). I attached one to each forearm and thigh, and one on my chest. The only other device was the foot long, black control box that sent signals to the cap and the electrodes.

  Shannon’s company had about ten thousand satellites in geo-synchronous orbit that brought the game to life. And hundreds more were being sent up every single week. The black box grabbed those signals from orbit, sent them to the goggles and caps, which emitted some sort of wave, or maybe it was a pulse, into the brain that immersed you into the world. It didn’t really matter to me. I didn’t know how my cell phone or my self-driving car worked, but I knew how to activate and use them and that is all that mattered.

  One moment I was lounging in my easy chair and the next moment I was thinking, “Holy shit!” My living room disappeared and in its place was… how best to describe... a void. A dome of light surrounded me, but I couldn’t see its source. Beyond the dome, a mist swirled. A woman’s gentle and motherly voice spoke to me: “Welcome Charlie Mason to Immersion Online. The most wonderful and expansive of all of the virtual games.”

  “Hello,” I said to the disembodied voice.

  “I am Angelica, your immersion guide. Until you reach level fifteen, I will guide you through character creation, allocation of attributes, skill choice, class specific perks and leveling up. Think of me as your personal guide to the lands, people and mythology of The Great Realm.”

  “Appreciate the help. I’m new to all of this gaming stuff,” I said. It felt weird talking to someone I couldn’t see. Though I guess it’s like talking to someone through your phone, watch, glasses or other communication device.

  Haggerty had explained Angelica to me but said I needed to experience her to really understand. The Angelicas were A.I. assistants provided to in game employees until level fifteen. All other players were provided with an A.I. assistant (a Roberto, or Tamberline, or Edwin series) up to level ten. We had continued the conversation about the new job late into the afternoon. He explained that since I was a noob (he had to explain that a noob was either someone new to the game and real low level or as in my case had less than
zero experience in immersive gaming) my first goal was to gain some experience with the game mechanics and interface, and to get a feel for the people and lands of the virtual world. I would spawn (that is what the Realmborn call it when the Starborn suddenly pop out of thin air) into a starting player zone where I could gain experience and levels, and more importantly, learn the subtleties of the game. I would remain in that beginner region until I was between levels twelve and fifteen and felt I had a good control of the game mechanics – probably about a month’s worth of playing time if I really grinded it out. He said these noob areas are full of easy quests and that I should accept them all, even if it is just to deliver some flowers or a necklace across town from a busy merchant to the woman he is smitten with. (Haggerty must have done a quest just like that when he was leveling up because he would never use a word like smitten.) He explained that at lower levels it was relatively easy to gain levels. It became increasingly difficult at the higher ones. I would have to let him know when I felt ready with the game mechanics and role-playing an in game avatar. He didn’t want to throw me into a player hotbed like Grandview without a deep grasp of the game as some of the top players and most famous leagues used Grandview as their home base.

  Before I manifested in Grandview, the game administration would raise my avatar to level fifty which is a very decent level for a player character and is higher than eighty percent of current players. My characteristics, skills and abilities would be adjusted accordingly. I would also be equipped with unique and useful artifacts. Dozens of powerful men-at- arms, women-at-arms, non-binary-at arms, as well as a nearly indestructible golem, would be at my command as well. The game administrators needed me to enter the game with a certain amount of authority and thus the boost to level fifty, the equipment and the troops.

  No one other than the game administrators would know about the sudden increase in levels. The game currently has a player cap of level one hundred which only a very small percentage (less than half of one percent) of the most diehard players have been able to reach in the eighteen months the game has been live. And most of them had been beta testers allowed to keep their characters when the game went live. The level didn’t really matter that much as the position came with some good perks that would ensure some authority over higher level characters if push came to shove. I finally broke my reverie and focused once again on Angelica.

  “The first thing we must do is choose your race which is vital as certain ones are granted bonuses or penalties. Your race are can affect the reaction certain Realmborn or Starborn have towards you. Like in the world of the Starborn, racism and dislike for others based on their appearance, beliefs or religion abound in The Great Realm. For example, goblins are the mortal enemies of dwarves and they will always be hostile to one another. There are over twenty five races from which to choose. However, as an in-game constable, you are limited to only fifteen of the possible playable races. Once you choose a race, you will never be able to change it, except through very powerful and very expensive transfiguration magic. Would you like me to list the choices available to you?”

  “You can skip the list. Please make my character a human.” I had reviewed the list the night before. There were some of the common fantasy world choices like elves, dwarves, gnomes, and half-orcs; even I had heard of these. There were more exotic choices like atlantans (a race who could fly) to merpeople (an aquatic race who could travel along the water as rapidly and smoothly as I could upon land). This fantasy thing was all new to me, so I decided to keep the character I created as similar to myself as possible. Most races have either a neutral or friendly disposition towards humans, which would give me an advantage in my new position.

  “Great. You are established as a human. Now let us take care of your appearance. You can make your character as plain or exotic as you prefer. Like race, your physical appearance – other than something like hair color – cannot be altered.” With that, a hologram of myself popped up in front of me. “Since you have chosen a human, we can use your current appearance as a template or start from scratch. We also need to choose your anatomical sex – male, female, hermaphroditic or androgynous.”

  “Angelica. I would like to use my current physical appearance as a template. I will also remain an anatomical male.” I had already decided to use my current appearance as a template, but with a few alterations. In my youth, I had been fairly good-looking and well built, so I decided to use that as my form. “I do want to make a few changes, however.”

  “What changes would you like to make?”

  I looked at the holograph of myself. I stood a little over six feet. I still had a head of raven black hair…though thinning in some places. Gray hairs tinged my goatee and mustache. I was told that some players spent hours tweaking and altering their character appearance. I had no such desire and planned only a few alterations. “Please fix my receding hairline and remove the gray from my facial hair. Remove the laugh lines and wrinkles from my face. Make me look around ten years younger. Add two inches to my height. I also want to appear muscular and well built.” The latter I didn’t choose out of vanity but for a psychological advantage against opponents I might face. One last thing,” I suddenly remembered, “You can disable the settings that will allow for my hair and nails to grow in game.” For an unknown reason, some players wanted their hair and nails to continue to grow. They would trim their nails in game and go to an old style barber to get their haircut. It just seemed like a waste of in game time and resources.

  “I have saved those setting,” Angelica calmly stated. “Before we move along, now is a good time to choose a name for your avatar.” I had known all along the name I was going to use. I had picked up the nickname Mace back in college and saw no reason not to use it in game. “Please set my name as Mace. Do not identify it is a first or last name.”

  “Hello Mace,” Angelica said pleased. “Now we will assign your attribute points which are an essential aspect to gaming. There are three categories of attributes: physical, spiritual and meta-physical. Physical attributes include Physical Strength, Physical Fortitude, Hand-Eye Coordination, and Nimbleness; Spiritual attributes include Mental Acuity and Mental Fortitude; and Metaphysical attributes include Providence and Allure. I am now required to provide a description of each one. New players such as yourself may not ask to skip this description. A more detailed explanation of each attribute can be accessed any time in the Great Realm Player’s Guide and Compendium.”

  Physical Strength dictates how much weight you can carry, lift, and wield. It also influences the amount of damage you cause with a weapon, such as a bastard sword or war hammer, or a body part, such as your hands or head. It effects things such as bashing, battering, bending, and brawling. Tanks, soldiers, barbarians, and brawlers are some of the classes that rely on strength. Your physical pool, (think of it as a well of ambient physical power) is impacted by this attribute. The higher your physical pool, the more powerful some of your skills and perks are.

  Physical Fortitude, the second attribute, goes hand in hand with Physical Strength. While Physical Strength determines how much weight you can lift, fortitude effects how long you can lift it before fatigue sets in. This trait also determines how long you can wield your sword or run from a monster before exhaustion overtakes you and you need to rest or drink a magic elixir to regain stamina. This trait also influences how much physical damage your body can endure. This trait directly relates to your stamina bar – one of the three bars – along with damage points and physical / magical pool. Some philosophers of The Great Realm argue that Physical Fortitude is more important than Physical Strength. Being able to wield a great two-handed sword that inflicts massive damage is useless if you can only get three or four strikes in before you become tired and fatigued. Of course, the dwarf philosopher Froneus would argue that all you really need is one good strike with that same sword to bring down the mountain troll.

  Hand-Eye Coordination is the best friend of archers and thieves. It effects t
he accuracy of an archer’s shot or a rogue’s knife toss. It allows thieves to pick the most complicated locks and disable the most complex booby traps. It lets a thief remove a pouch of priceless rubies from a noblewoman without her knowledge.

  Nimbleness determines your speed – not only how fast you can run – but how fast you can draw your knives and release them. Conversely, when the dagger is hurling towards your chest, this attributes gives you a chance to dodge it, sometimes by a simple side step and other times by great acrobatic maneuvers. Nimbleness and providence combined can result in some astounding feats.

  Mental Acuity determines your ability to tap the magical reservoir of The Great Realm. The strength and duration of your spells increase along with this attribute. Also, many spells require a certain Mental Acuity score in order to cast them. Your magic pool is also partially determined by this attribute. Spell casters spend heavily on this attribute and the one that follows.

  Mental Fortitude determines a number of things. For a spell caster, it can affect your ability to cast a spell when there are distractions around, such as a hobgoblin trying to split your head open with an axe. This attribute influences your resistance to certain magical attacks, such as Charm and Finger of Death. This attribute also helps to determine your magic pool.