“Okay, sounds good to me!”
As they got closer and closer to the entrance Dusk noticed something odd. The city was filled with the sounds of despair. When he looked into the eyes of its residents, the temperament locked within was pure horror, as if they had just seen the underworld and its damned minions. Some players were even vomiting and fainting, while others were clutching their head or hugging their knees. Others were laughing. The players were acting as though it were the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. But all the buildings seemed to be intact. Nothing appeared to be amiss, save for the erratic behavior of the players surrounding him.
Several unhappy voices swirled into his ear in their cursed cacophony.
“This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.”
“This isn’t real.”
“This is all just a nightmare.”
The ones who were laughing were saying things like, “This is all just a big joke, you’ll see.”
The entire scene was a hellish pandemonium; quite unnerving to say the least.
Stacy poked Dusk on the shoulder. “Hey, Drake, why are the people around here going crazy?”
“I’m not sure, I’ve been wondering that myself, Stacy. Let’s just find the exit and get out of here.”
The feelings of comfort and excitement were gradually beginning to erode, like a cliff wall being pounded by a raging river. Dusk could notice that this was affecting Stacy as well. She normally always had a smile on her face, but right now she had an aura of anxiety about her. As they finally reached the exit, they hit an invisible wall. There was a barrier that prevented their passage. A towering red phrase loomed in its unnerving glory before them.
“Please open message,” it said.
“I guess it must mean the message that I ignored. Stacy you should read it too. Say menu and then click on the message to read it.”
“Okay.”
Greetings, Players.
Welcome to War of the Elements. This is a one of a kind virtual reality MMO. Everything experienced here is as real as the real world. There are quests, raids, mini games, professions, battlegrounds, arenas; almost everything you could ask for in an MMO is here! However, there is one major difference. The Nexus System puts you into a dreamlike state unless you log out of the system. If you don’t do that, you can never wake up. Fortunately for you, even in cases like these, a system administrator can log you out. Unfortunately for you, I have bypassed those systems so a system administrator cannot log you out. They are frantically searching for a countermeasure to override the hacking I did to the Nexus System as we speak, but I doubt they will find one, as it is a new state of the art virus that constantly changes its codes automatically. You will notice there is no logout option. In other words, if you don’t log out of this game, you will be trapped in a dreamlike state forever.
The Nexus System cannot be removed from your head once it is on because of the safeguards, but if someone did manage to forcefully remove it from you, you would still be stuck in that dreamlike state. But fear not! When the creators built the Nexus System, they installed a chip on each model. Each chip has a unique identifier that tracks your name, location, browsing preferences and more. The government has been using these chips to track your activities; there is no such thing as privacy in this world anymore. But alas, I have gone on a tangent. The point of this is, once this event is broadcast on the news, you will all be evacuated to various hospitals around the world. I imagine a few select households are already beginning to figure out what is happening. Either way, the outside world cannot save you. You all are the only ones who can save yourselves. The only way to logout of this game is if you complete the final objective.
There is also more to this than simply that. There are items that are required to complete the objective, and to obtain these items, all the races must work together. However, you can also complete the objectives another way. By killing those who acquire these items, you can acquire the items for your race... so it is fully possible to complete the objective for your race alone. In fact, it is probably simpler this way. If one race gives all of the items to me, I will log out everyone from the game who picked that race. Those key items are not the only items you will inherit if you kill a player. You will inherit all of the gear and crylla (currency) that they previously owned. So if you kill many players, you can amass a fortune. Be aware though, that if you make a hobby out of killing players, you will get a bounty on your head. As to the topic of “death” here, you normally get one life. But there are exceptions, so let me go into detail.
If you die to a computer controlled monster, you die.
If you die to a player in the open world, you die.
If you die during a PvP battleground, you will be respawned at the PvP spawn area.
If you die during a PvP arena, you will be incapacitated until the arena ends, at which point you will respawn at the last place where you queued for the arena.
If you duel someone, the duel will stop when one player reaches 1 Health Point or if the duel is forfeited by a player.
If you want to know what the final objective of this game is; I simply am not going to tell you at this time, too bad. If you progress far enough in this game, you will begin to uncover just what the final objective is.
Even so, I’m not completely heartless... I’ll even give you all one hint as to clearing this game. The colored obelisks play a major role.
P.S. To prove to everyone that this message is real, 5% of players who open this message will die right away. If you don’t open this message within thirty minutes of logging on, you will die regardless if you are within that 5% of players. With that being said, I hope you all enjoy your experience in War of the Elements!
Dusk’s eyes grew increasingly wide as he read over the entire message. A thunderstorm was beginning to brew over Bermia as the skies wrapped the city in a cloak of shadow. At that moment he looked to the side and caught a good look at the first scar that would change him forever. A fellow phantom with dark hair that curved into waves was clutching his neck for dear life.
“Hey, are you okay?” Dusk reached out to him. The man continued to flail wildly, hoping to grasp sweet oxygen. “Stacy, heal him right now please!” he pleaded wide-eyed as everyone’s eyes took in the horrific spectacle.
“Drake, what’s wrong? This is uptight, even for you. Relax.” Stacy attempted to soothe him, having no idea of the true severity of the situation.
“This isn’t a game, Stacy! Hurry up!” Dusk shouted.
“What do you mean? We’re in a game...”
“Stacy!”
Stacy was desperately lost, hoping for someone to guide her. Dusk was making the situation seem increasingly serious, but...
“How do I heal him?”
Dusk felt like he had just joined the dying man in choking. He was struck speechless as he swallowed his words. Come to think of it, he didn’t know how to use an ability here either. The normal mouse and keyboard methods wouldn't work here. How was he supposed to help when he was oblivious?
It would seem everyone else around them was having the same problem. Some people merely gazed at the man in fear, while others were desperately trying to figure out a way to save him. As the dark haired Phantom’s body fell to the ground limp a female monk covered in dark skin quickly tried to perform CPR on him, hoping this would work the same as in the real world. After one minute she realized it was fruitless as his lifeless body dissipated into several particles of light, never to be seen again...
“Drake, what happened just now?” Stacy was dumbfounded, but still relatively calm. She didn’t yet realize the grim truth.
“He’s dead.” Dusk uttered his cold proclamation.
Stacy sucked in her breath, gasping at the statement. “What are you talking about? I may be a newb at MMOs, but don’t players just revive after they die?”
“Normally, yes they do. But this is different.”
“How? You’re not making any sense, Drak
e.”
“You still haven’t opened yours? Open the message and see for yourself...”
“You mean this blinking mail symbol that’s been bugging me since I logged on?”
“That’s the one,” Dusk answered.
“Okay.” Stacy slowly moved her arm, her pointer finger becoming ever closer to the prospect of a possible death.
Dusk swallowed hard, closing his eyes like he was about to receive a shot from a large needle. He wasn’t a religious man, but right now he was praying with every fiber of his being that Stacy wasn’t a part of that unlucky 5%. Ten seconds later he struggled to open his eyes, as if they were shut with glue. Upon opening them fully, he noticed that Stacy was still very much alive and in this world, still reading the message in front of her. His shoulders dropped as he breathed the biggest sigh of relief in his life.
“Are you all right, Drake?” Stacy seemed concerned.
“Finish reading the message.”
Stacy did as requested, scanning over the contents of the unsettling news.
“So you’re saying that man was part of the unlucky 5%?” Stacy asked, connecting the dots.
“Exactly. This is not just a game.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute,” Stacy replied calmly.
“What are you talking about? You saw what just happened didn’t you?”
“He was probably revived somewhere else, we just didn’t see it. C’mon, Drake, stop being so gullible. There’s no way someone could get away with something like this.”
An idea suddenly popped into Dusk’s mind.
“Let me see something real quick, Stacy. The game said we couldn’t log out right?”
“Yeah, so?”
Dusk brought up the menu, his eyes frantically darting to and fro, looking feverishly for a log out option. No matter how intense he peered into the menu and searched, he could not find it.
“It’s not there, Stacy. There’s no option to log out!” Dusk shouted.
“For a nerd you sure are stupid! I’ll find it, don’t worry.” Stacy proclaimed proudly as she brought up the menu, scanning through it for a full ten minutes before letting out a defeated sigh.
The last bastion of his self-control had just been broken down as the nail of truth was hammered down with a resounding smash through his consciousness.
“They hope we enjoy our experience on War of the Elements? Like hell!”
Dusk punched the wall next to him with all of the fury that was pent up within his fleshly shell.
“Who does this maniac think they are?”
“Drake, why are you getting mad?” Stacy questioned. “This is obviously a big joke from some prankster. Even if it wasn’t, the authorities will figure out how to save us before long, you’re worrying too much.”
Dusk wished he could believe all that, but he had an ominous feeling that this wasn’t a joke. The feeling was stuck to him, like an unwelcome leech. His first thought was to level up as much as he possibly could while being as safe as possible about it. Then he looked at Stacy. He was originally going to leave her behind and level on his own because she would slow him down. He couldn’t do that now. He definitely couldn’t do that.
~~~~~
The absolute blackness had vanished as quickly as it had appeared when light once again beamed into Tsuki’s world. Looking at her urban surroundings, she felt as if she had gone back in time about three hundred years. This was the capital city of Bermia, where she would begin her mission inside the virtual realm. The first thing she noticed was her new body, which she herself designed—those silvery strands of hair that flowed down majestically—that skin which was as smooth as silk. She now found herself a driver in her new creation, piloting its movements. Her new body felt almost natural to her, almost as if she had never left her old one. The senses were replicated to an almost near match. It took a lot to impress her, but the implementation of the controls for her new avatar pleased her greatly.
After she had finished admiring her work, she couldn’t help but notice something which shouted out to her eyeballs, making its unpleasant existence all too obvious. She was dressed in a shoddily patched together red robe, with a rather beaten up bronze sword attached to her hip. She cringed in disappointment at this abominable choice in clothing. The clothing itself made her feel as though a thin film of filth was seeping directly into her body. This would not do. She would have no choice but to bear with this for now. Being a fashion guru, she would ditch this assortment of rags for something more appealing the very first chance she got.
Before she could put another thought together; her user interface (UI), had appeared in front of her eyes, telling her she had five messages. She had expected this when she entered this world, as her mission here was not a solo one. She had friends whom shared in her goal; inside of this world and outside of it. Together they had formed a group which would set out to do great things for the world. This was merely a step in fulfilling that purpose.
As expected, when she opened the messages, which had waited patiently for her in cyberspace, they read thusly.
-Welcome to War of the Elements! IMPORTANT: Please Read.
It’s probably just a tutorial of some sort; I’ll ignore that for now, Tsuki mulled to herself as she dismissed this seemingly trivial tidbit.
-Omni has requested you as a friend.
-Reaper has requested you as a friend.
-Scarlet has requested you as a friend.
Promptly accepting the invitations, she came along to the last message which caused her interest to crescendo. It was a voice message from Omni.
“Karla, when you get this message, please go to the Gate of Stone as soon as possible. There is something of paramount importance that we need to discuss.”
Karla steeled herself, attempting to quell her thirst for answers for the time being. She brought up her map, scanning it for a few minutes before her eyes locked onto their target. Having found the Gate of Stone on the map, she began the walk towards her friends, wondering what fate awaited her on her arrival.
A few minutes later she spotted her old friends conversing with one another beneath the colossal stone gate.
It wasn’t hard to spot her friends in a crowd at all. They stuck out like a huge neon sign in the dead of night.
Reaper was a large man covered in dark armor. If not for the charcoal colored armoring, you would catch the sight of his muscles rippling. Just like in real life, he was extremely strong in the physical sense. He was attempting to chisel his body into a muscled piece of art. On top of his sturdy frame rested a semi rounded face with mocha tinted eyes and flaxen hair, which were merely a few threads in thickness, barely inching itself above a buzz cut. A lethal bronze scythe was affixed to his back.
Scarlet was a slim yet athletic woman whose very presence set the air ablaze around her. Her scarlet hair, from which she was so aptly named, danced in the wind like wildfire. Her harlequin green eyes sparkled with ferocity, matching the jungle green cotton outfit which was designed to camouflage her amidst the shrubbery. She currently had two pistols locked in place by a singular holster on each hip.
Omni was the leader of their group of friends, throughout all the journeys they had undertaken in the gaming world and beyond. Far from Reaper’s level of pure physical strength, his body was instead carved into a lean build. That lean body was clad in poorly made blood colored armor. A humungous sword lay across his back. His dark brown skin directly contrasted with his pure white eyes—there was no iris, no pupil, just nothingness. The endless void of snow locked within looked as though they would be some type of X-ray vision. In truth, this wasn’t too far off. Omni was an individual who could supposedly see past a person’s facade into who they truly were. This man was not someone who could be lied to.
These three were Tsuki’s friends, worlds apart in their appearance and demeanor. What caused their worlds to collide were a common goal and the ideals which they held dear. They formed a guild, travelling throughout severa
l different games, never staying for too long, but always making their mark. They were nomads of the gaming world. Their collective, known throughout many different places in cyberspace, was dubbed Phoenix.
They were the calm eye of the storm amidst a turbulent sea of panic-stricken players. Just what was going on?
Omni was the first to notice her presence. His white eyes turned in her direction, piercing her, silently informing her of the solemnity of the situation.
“You’re here.”
“Hi, how are you all?” Tsuki replied, keeping a cheerful air about her for the time being.
“Bored, we’ve been waiting here for an hour. What were you doing?” Reaper asked. He thought they were supposed to get a head start on this game, but Tsuki had kept them waiting. There were probably people ahead of them by now.
“Chill out, boy.” Scarlet stepped in to defend her female comrade. “We both know she was making her doll, and just look at her. It was worth it wouldn’t you say?”
“See? She understands.” It was times like these where Tsuki was grateful to have another woman around.
“I’d ditch that clothing the first chance you got though, it’s hideous!”
“I know right!”
“Hmph,” Reaper scoffed. He hadn’t the least interest in this fashion discussion.
“Karla, have you opened the introduction message yet?” Omni inquired.
“No. So it’s actually important then?”
“Indeed it is. Read the message, and then we will talk.”
Tsuki did as instructed, scanning over the contents of the message carefully. As she did so, the tension within her body continued to tighten itself into knots as a silent rage boiled inside her. The trio studied her carefully with bated breath, hoping she wasn’t one of the unlucky victims picked from the lottery of death. This was one lottery they wanted her to lose.
“What is this?” Tsuki asked, taken aback.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if it was some sort of practical joke,” Reaper surmised. “After all, who would have the knowledge and resources to actually pull this off?”
The Virtual Realm Page 3