WAR OF THE ELEMENTS
THE VIRTUAL REALM
First Published in Great Britain 2015 by Mirador Publishing
Copyright © 2015 by Daniel Perusko
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission of the publishers or author. Excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
First edition: 2015
Any reference to real names and places are purely fictional and are constructs of the author. Any offence the references produce is unintentional and in no way reflects the reality of any locations or people involved.
A copy of this work is available through the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-911044-15-4
Mirador Publishing
Mirador
Wearne Lane
Langport
Somerset
TA10 9HB
War Of The Elements
Book One: The Virtual Realm
By
Daniel Perusko
Prologue
Dusk watched the sun finally set beneath the lush green horizon. The sky was a mixture of various shades of pink and purple, with a slice of the sun shining down upon him. This world could be very beautiful sometimes, he reflected. Yet he knew that this picturesque scene served to mask the cold, dark truth of this world. Even with this beautiful scene before him, all he could picture were the faces of his friends and comrades twisted in horror, right before the life left their eyes forever—their bodies vanishing into complete nothingness. That was how death worked here in this world that was separate from the real world but mirrored it all too well. Three lives were stolen today. The death tally of this world reported almost half a million deaths. The three deaths he witnessed today would be added to that body count.
How many more will die? How many more people will have to be sacrificed before we can get out of this sick nightmare? A heavy sigh escaped him as he contemplated his situation. How had he gotten himself into this mess? How did he find himself in this unending hell called War of the Elements?
Chapter 1
September 15, 2018
It all started on a normal boring school day just like any other—the daily grind of an eighteen year old college student. To Drake, reality was boring compared to the fantasy world. He believed that in the realm of fantasy the possibilities were endless. To him, the plot of the real world had no direction. The graphics were mediocre, and the gameplay was boring. He had been immersed in the enticing flames of the gaming world for so long he began to regard people as no more than characters in a game. But he was not alone. In this new digital age, many people of his generation retreated into their rooms, diving into new virtual worlds instead of facing the harsh storm of the one world that truly mattered. The new uprising trend for the young generation was to bury their faces in their cell phones, their portable windows to the world of the artificial. They texted and typed to so many of their friends on social media outlets, not noticing the countless swaths of people right in front of their faces.
Well, not that Drake could blame them. The world of the digital was all too tempting. The internet was the only place left where people could be truly and utterly free. Drake had accepted this as truth years ago, turning his back on reality entirely.
He had discovered MMORPGs at the tender age of nine. MMORPGs stood for Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. The endless potential for fun and discovery caught his eye. It was a completely different world; one which was more vibrant and alive with no shortage of things to do. The object of the game was to progress your character as much as possible to the max level, best gear, and most achievements possible. One could do many different things in an MMO: fight monsters, craft items, band together with others to do dynamic and static events... fight other people in what are called player vs. player battles, and more. There are so many things you could do in an MMO; Drake considered it less like a game and more like a second life. He had spent the last nine years playing these MMORPGs—his one oasis amidst the endless desert he knew as reality.
When he heard about the newest MMO that was coming out, War of the Elements, he pre-ordered it immediately. Four million others around the world shared this mindset, pre-ordering the virtual haven themselves—a record for pre-orders on an MMO. It was no surprise though, because this was the world’s first Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Role Playing Game (VRMMORPG). Many people in the real world use a medium to escape the stark reality that lay before them. Some resort to drugs and alcohol. Some resort to crime. At least Drake’s addiction wasn’t harmful to others or himself, he mused. It was also a hell of a lot cheaper than most addictions.
“Class dismissed,” the professor stated flatly, snapping Drake out of his haze.
“Finally,” he mumbled to himself.
He trudged down to his car as he had done many times before, but this time was different. This time, he was fizzing with anticipation—the path to his temporary oasis clearly lit before him. He couldn’t wait to get home to experience his new prize, when suddenly he felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned to see his best friend Stacy smiling at him. Her chocolate colored hair was tied in a ponytail. Her caramel brown eyes beamed in delight. Her skin was painted cinnamon. In terms of height she only came up to his chest. The chocolate colored woman was wrapped in tight blue jeans and a pink shirt with a kitty face plastered on the front. The pink fabric stopped just above her navel. She was always bubbly and cheerful, often wearing a smile on her face. At times this annoyed him, but more often than not he enjoyed her company.
“Hey,” she grinned.
“Hey yourself. What’s up?”
“Not much, I was wondering if you wanna hang out since class is over?”
Thoughts of the game danced inside his head. He wanted to immerse himself in it without distractions from anyone, even his best friend.
“Sorry, it’ll have to be another time,” he answered, feigning regret.
“Oh, I see. You’re going to play that new virtual reality game aren’t you? War of the... what was it again?”
“War of the Elements.”
“You are such a nerd.” Stacy giggled with glee.
Drake’s face twisted into a scowl. If only Stacy had played videogames more often, perhaps she could understand him better. Sometimes he wondered to himself how he could be best friends with this woman, as their minds often resided in different dimensions altogether. Almost as if reading his thoughts, Stacy continued her joyful speech.
“Oh relax, I was only kidding. I’m actually going to play that game too! So I was hoping you could help me with that, Drake.”
“Help you? How so?”
“Well you’ve played these games for years haven’t you? You should know your way around them.” Stacy seemed convinced by her words.
“No, I’ve never played a game in my life,” he said sarcastically.
“Very funny, but I know you’re the king of nerds,” she laughed. “So basically, I want you to help me pick out a race and... I also want you to hang out with me on the game while teaching me how to play!”
Drake emanated a sigh of heartfelt disappointment; he had wanted to level alone. He would be fine with teaching her videogames over another genre of games, but in MMOs you needed a combination of speed, time, and skill to reap the richest rewards. Stacy would weigh him down like an anchor, forcing him to trudge along as his peers at the top of the MMO pyramid left him behind in the dust.
“Oh, one more thing, Drake... if you level without me I’ll be really mad, but I’ll probably get bored of this game within a week so don’t worry too much about it.”
One thing about Stacy was she was not easily fazed, but if you were able to dig under t
hat carefree plating, she turned into someone else—a real Jekyll and Hyde. The intensity of her anger was like a demon unleashed from their infernal bowels beneath the Earth. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, he figured.
That settled it. This game had ceased to be a solo affair. He would have to level with her and teach her the ropes. Well, it wasn’t all bad; he really did enjoy his friend’s company. Still, if she was slowing him down for too long, he’d level without her even though she would be livid. He could only remain chained down for so long before he burst through the shackles of mediocrity.
“So, Drake, what race should I pick?” He was snapped out of his train of thought. Each race was tied to a nation. The Harians, which were the equivalent of humans in this world, started out in the Bermian Empire—an empire that focused on strength through innovation and versatility.
“I’m picking the Harian race,” said Drake. “They are tied to an empire which believes in...” he was promptly cut off.
“Blah, blah. I don’t care about the lore behind it. I just want to play the same race you’re playing, so Harian it is!” A crack formed in Drake’s patience. He really wished she cared more about details sometimes. “So what is your name gonna be on there (War of the Elements), Drake?”
He stroked his chin, good question. “Hmm, my name will probably be Dusk.”
Stacy laughed. “What kind of a name is that?”
“Never mind that, what is your name going to be?”
“Stacykitty of course!” she responded vibrantly.
“How original.” Dusk rolled his eyes, trying not to chuckle.
“You shouldn’t be surprised, Drake. You know I love cats!”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
He had grown up with cats all his life as well, and they had often been his most prized companions. This was one topic where Dusk and Stacy were on the same wavelength. Still, Stacy was absolutely obsessed with cats to the point where he often wondered about her sanity.
“So, the game officially opens at 6:00 PM Eastern time, can you be on at that time?”
“Yep, sure thing! This is gonna be so fun I can’t wait!” she replied joyfully—almost as if she was on a sugar high.
Dusk could only smile in agreement. He hoped she was a quick learner.
“See you there then, Stacy.”
“Yep, see ya!”
Barren, desolate—words like these summed up Drake’s apartment; the carpeted wasteland where he spent most of his time. His lack of creativity was apparent. He walked through the living room of desert couches and his big screen TV—a window into the world of endless propaganda and celebrity culture. He went into the kitchen to pop a TV dinner into the microwave. The culinary arts also escaped him. Some people were overwhelmed with passion when it came to cooking, but he was only concerned with the utility of the matter. Whether it was a meal from a five star restaurant or a microwaved corndog made little difference to him in the end. When the box of radiation finished nuking his formerly frozen feast, he took it back into his room and set it on his jet black desk. The one theme of his apartment is that most of his furniture was black, except for the beige couches in the living room. Drake felt the black reflected his soul—a boundless void. As he set the food down, he gazed into the object where he spent almost all of his time: the internet, on his computer—his personal gateway to the lush oasis that was always waiting to take him in with open arms. It was currently 5:00 PM, one hour before the launch of War of the Elements. He used this time to surf the internet looking at news articles. Some of the headlines were titled as such...
-Suicide bomber kills 40, injures 143 in market area.
-Woman kills husband in crime of passion.
-Man found guilty of kidnapping 10 girls who were under 12 years old.
-Relations between U.S. and Russia intensify, war expected soon.
This was exactly why he couldn’t wait to truly escape this world and enter the realm of virtual fantasy. The real world seemed to be teetering ever closer to hell by the day. He figured it was only a matter of time before the planet had sunk into a fiery abyss created by man’s own machinations. He had already downloaded the patch onto his Nexus System—the title this new virtual reality system went by. It was simply a pair of high tech goggles which had a visual interface for the user wearing them. The commands to sort through the menus normally worked entirely by voice, though one could hook it up to their computer through the USB port and use a mouse and keyboard to sort through menus if desired.
It was 5:30 PM now. Still not time yet, huh, Drake mused to himself impatiently. He figured he’d use this remaining time to take a shower. Showers were a method that melted his worries and stresses away. The sound of the running water, the heat and the steam; it all soothed his apprehensive mind. This was his chamber of relaxation, even if momentarily. He turned the handle and waited for the piping hot droplets to touch his skin. As soon as he felt the balmy fluid, all of the worries left his body with the rising heat. He closed his eyes and thought about the game that he was about to plunge into. He would be entering another world, leaving this old one behind. He thought about how Stacy was going to play with him. Originally the idea of this grated at him. He wanted to go hardcore and race to the finish line, leaving the rest of the gamers to look on in envy as he surpassed them.
On the other side of the coin, he always enjoyed Stacy’s company. He was sure there would be fun to be had in spades. Reaching max level could wait. Drake lay down in the bathtub, emptying his mind into the warm water as he sat in complete relaxation for about ten minutes, trying to calm his nerves for what was about to come. After completely cleansing his mind and body he walked back to his room, fully refreshed and ready to dive into War of the Elements. He sat there like a statue for five minutes, barely able to contain the overflowing anxiousness within him.
~~~~~
Karla relaxed the tension in her muscles and sighed as she shut the door slowly behind her; it had been a long day. This was her shelter from the harsh storm of this world. Though it had started out plain, she spruced up her apartment to her liking. Through the efforts of buying various plants, paintings, and scented candles, she had turned her ordinary apartment into a slice of nature. This was exactly what she needed to refresh herself after winding down from a hard work day. If it were up to her, she would be living in a secluded area with only the trees and animals to keep her company. She wondered if any such place even existed anymore.
It didn’t used to be like this. But now you couldn’t walk two feet without bumping into another human being—without seeing a car pass by. Many of these humans were after the same thing: money—the almighty dollar. They chased these pieces of paper like a dog chasing a bone, selling their souls to the highest bidder and forfeiting their dreams just to hold the green between their fingers. Karla would never lose herself to the whiff of green bills. After all, there were more important things in life than money.
She currently resided in New York City, a city where money was their guardian deity, their way of life. She would rather be anywhere else but there. The millions of people around her were like a thick mist choking her, suffocating her. Still, that is where she needed to be at that moment, a necessary evil to fulfill her purpose. Her thick skin would allow her to get through this stage in her life. Right now she was a caterpillar hiding, burrowed within herself. But she would eventually move onto the next stage and become a beautiful butterfly; stretching her wings for the entire world to see as she flew away from the polluted clouds, heading for clearer skies.
She headed straight to her bathroom where her bathtub, her bubbling hot spring resided. She ran the water as she lit the scented candles around her personal fountain of life, waiting for the bubbling water to fill the tub to her liking. She raised her blouse over her long golden hair, throwing it to the side. Her skirt and nylons followed until she was completely bare.
She slowly immersed herself in the divine fluid, letting out a soft moan as her milky b
ody made contact with the hot water, the soothing salve for her spirit. She cleansed the refuse from her body and mind and prepared herself for what lay ahead.
She would be entering a new world now, one that rested entirely within the virtual medium—the world’s first VRMMO, dubbed War of the Elements. Now satisfied that her vessel was pure, she drained the water and dressed herself in a thin black nightgown. In twenty-four minutes, it would be time to start her mission inside the virtual world.
Chapter 2
It was 6:00 PM; it was time.
“Log on,” he said.
“Greetings, Drake,” the automated female voice responded. “What can I do for you today?”
“War of the Elements,” he answered, while grinning from ear to ear.
“Acknowledged.”
It was at this time where the Nexus System paralyzed his body so that he wouldn’t hurt himself in the real world with his movements in virtual reality; much like your brain paralyzes you during sleep for the same reason. The Nexus System also linked with his brain to read his mind so it would know what he wished to do without him saying it vocally. The electrical signal that went from his brain to the nerve that connected to his arm for example would normally move his arm. In this case, however, it would be intercepted by the Nexus System, moving his arm in virtual reality but not in the real world. Doing a force shutdown was not possible, from the user’s end at least. To unlink your brain from the Nexus System, you had to follow the logout procedures. Naturally there were extensive security measures in place, because if a virus was ever to spread across this system, the repercussions could be catastrophic. A force shutdown was not possible from the user’s end, but a system administrator could do so if there was risk to a user and they couldn’t log out by themselves for whatever reason. The Nexus System was now intercepting his brain’s electrical signals, the process had started...
The Virtual Realm Page 1