The Port City of Tunus
"Huah haah huah"
*Ding-ding*
"Welcome to Quick n Easy Marke- oh young Kal it's you. This is earlier then usual no? Did you sprint here? Why are you so out of breath, you look half dead."
The short old man looking at the customer who had looked like he had just run a marathon was concerned he was being chased.
"This is urgent I'm on a time limit I need the regular times 2."
"The regular times 2? That's 2 packs of reds, 2 energy drinks, and 4 instant ramen."
"Oh and a 7 hour energy."
"What are u preparing for an exam? I didn't know you went to school."
"School? Old man you know me better than that, theres a game releasing today I've been waiting for."
"Ahhh the new virtual reality game the Tv said was coming out today."
"Haha even you've heard about it hu- AH FUCK its already 8:45."
"No cursing in my store!"
"Sorry, here's the exact change I'll see you in a couple of days again, bye."
*Ding-ding*
'Such a peculiar kid.'
That was the only thought the store owner had as he watched the teenager run out of his store and almost get hit by oncoming traffic running across the street.
"Huah haah huah"
It had took Kal way longer then he thought it would have to get the things from the store and make his way back home, even running.
'Time is 8:56 PM and the game opens its servers at 9.'
*Click clank*
'If done right it should take 3 minutes to lock up, cook the ramen, turn on the VR device, and drink the first energy drink of the night. If I hadn't practiced doing this all last week in anticipation for this very moment, I could've been too late.'
*Chomp* *Slurp*
With 3 minutes to go till the release of 2nd Chance, Kal's heart raced faster and faster. The same game that since it's announcement had amassed a fan base of millions of people across the world, waiting for the game said to change gaming in it self, was now less than 5 minutes away before it was open to the public for the first time ever.
The game that would cement itself in history as the first fully immersive VRMMORPG, said to have mechanics like no other, excited someone like Kal more then your average person.
Growing up playing games sometimes 20+ hours a day made him normally want to try any game that had hype behind it however this game was different.
Even though the developers of the game tried to hide any information about the game from the public, information got leaked 2 years ago that the game was being developed. Even in two years however, only a few key points had been leaked about the world the game was set in. It's said that the leakers faced legal trouble for their actions but Kal didn't care at all. What he cared about was finding information about the game. In his eyes he looked at the leakers as Hero's of the modern era.
With the 2 years of constant data mining and paying off sources close to the game theses were the 4 only things that were known about the game by the public.
• The world the game took place in was supposedly scaled to the size of Earth itself.
• The game supposedly had enough quests that even if you were to spend a whole lifetime on the game you may only scratch the surface of what's available to you.
• The game was so realistic it gave certain people panic attacks and nightmares upon logging off in beta testing, some people never wanted to log off at all enjoying their lives inside the game rather then the real world itself.
• There was no pay to win, no matter how rich you are you could only transfer in game money out not real money in.
The reason most of these were only supposed was because even for Kal, someone who checked updates on the project almost daily, the information that did come up wouldn't stay up for long only making fans more excited to play for the aspect of the unknown.
'1 minute left.'
"Capsule on."
*Whirrr*
"Scanning user….user identified as Kal….starting program 2nd Chance."
Kal's heart raced faster then it may have ever raced before. He had a lot on the line going into this game and now the only thing between him and this new world was a title screen counting down.
10
9
8
"Huah huah"
His heavy breathing almost masked over the sound from the capsule counting.
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
"2nd Chance launching."
In the blink of an eye Kal's vision changed from the title screen to a large room that looked to be in the shape of a cube. The large room didn't seem to have a light source but was dimly lit. He was truly in. He almost doubted it himself with how real everything already seemed. He could feel the ground beneath his feet while taking a few steps around exploring, his breath felt warm on his hand, and when he jumped up he could feel the weight of gravity bringing him back down.
"Hello Traveler."
Kal heard the loud voice of a female and stopped exploring his new surroundings. He could not see who it belonged to nor hear exactly where it was coming from, but the voice continued echoing across the room.
"You seem to have awoken an innate talent that has been recognized by the Gods and higher beings alike. Do you wish to proceed with enlightenment?"
'Enlightenment?'
With nothing known about the things that consisted inside the game Kal had no clue what that could mean.
"Uhhh what exactly is this enlightenment you talk of oh great mysterious voice?"
"Enlightenment is the ability to break one's limits and access the innate abilities passed down through human history. The power to shape your spirit, power that you will strengthen and grow through perilous journeys that could eventually lead you to the peak of mankind itself. Any further questions?"
"…"
'There's no way I'm supposed to understand what she just said right?'
"I'm sorry but I'm still lost. Is there like a class selector or something."
Suddenly a golden light started to grow behind Kal. By the time he turned around there was a woman standing above 5 meters tall looking down on him radiating a bright aura.
Kal was shocked and had almost fallen over from the encounter. Even if it was a game it truly looked as if a golden giantess was standing only about 10 feet away from him.
"Are you a god of this world?"
The female figure slowly started to walk closer towards Kal. With each step he felt as if the floor was shaking.
"I am Luce, servant of Sabi, goddess of energy and creator of life."
"…"
'Again she's saying things like I'm supposed to already understand them.'
"So Luce right? What exactly is this enlightenment you speak of."
"Enlightenment is the ability to break one's limi-"
"No no no you said that already. I mean what does it do for me."
"Tch"
'Did this npc just tch at me? What the fuck does tch even mean, isn't her job to help out new players?'
Luce starting to look annoyed at the small being below her continued.
"Enlightenment is what separates you from other mortals around you. Most mortals hit enlightenment naturally but as you're not from this world you will go through a process to determine your worth."
Suddenly screens started to pop in front of Kal surprising him, showing images of different groups of people. Barbarians, Assassins, and Knights were just some of what looked like thousands of occupations being shoved in Kal's face. It felt almost overwhelming to him but he also suddenly felt excited. This already felt different then any other game he had ever played.
"You will pick 8 of these occupations that you gravitate towards and upon choosing, a frame for your spirit will be set."
Kal observed the occupations for what seemed to be hours and it seemed to start showing on Luce's face that he was taking too long.
'Why does it feel like she already hates me.'
"Ok Luce I'm done."
"Ughh finally I swear it seems you humans get slower and slower with each passing century."
Kal's face slowly distorted at the remark from the giantess but calmed down reluctantly scared she might squash him.
"Hmm for a human this does seem at the very least interesting."
'Was that her attempt at a compliment?'
Kal's occupations he chose were listed as followed:
Mage, Assassin, Martial Artist, Knight, Strategist, Barbarian, Inhuman, and King.
Kal didn't know to what extent King meant nor what an Inhuman was, as it was the only occupation with little to no text, but that's exactly why it piqued his interest. He had already felt that each occupation before it made up for what the others lacked so he thought it wouldn't hurt to add. His goal was to create a character with little to no weakness and even though he knew that was bound to be harder then it sounded he felt with his prior gaming experience he could confidently say this build felt the strongest.
"Hmm King huh? Egotistical aren't you dear mortal."
Before Kal could say anything back a white light suddenly flashed. Once it dissipated all that was left was a blue portal that seemed to show the inside of a cabin of sorts.
"Through that portal is where your journey begins mortal, I bid you farewell."
Suddenly Luce disappeared and Kal was left alone with the Portal.
'I'm not gonna miss her at all.'
Kal approached the portal slowly, took a deep breath and walked through.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waiting on the other side of the portal was a small room made of wood. Just from the sounds outside he could tell he was on a boat, it even smelled like the sea.
Kal looked for a door and walked towards it. Before he could turn the knob a man who looked drunk swung it open. He had a large stomach but for some reason even drunk he felt strong.
"SAILOR! What are you doing in your room still. We are about to dock in Tunus if you don't hurry I'll make you work double!"
'Who is this man and why can I smell the alcohol on him. Maybe they made this game too realistic.'
Suddenly the man grabbed Kal by the arm and started to guide him across the ship.
"This way"
Kal started to look at his surroundings and noticed a large port like city coming into view.
"SAILOR! This way hurry these crates need to be brought up to the front first. DOCKING COMMENCING!"
'Why is he so loud'
Kal moved boxes till his arm felt sore. At one point he felt as if he should just run away as he had already at this point made it on to land, but didn't as he wasn't sure what would happen to him if he did.
"Ain't she pretty sailor"
By this point Kal had already learned that the name of the drunk man barking orders at him was Captain Dolle.
"Yes Captain the city is very stunning the architecture is beautiful like nothing I've ever seen."
Kal wasn't lying. The city the ship had docked in named Tunus was one of the most breathtaking sights he had ever witnessed in person. With smooth stone floors and market areas as far as the eye could see, as well as a large watchtower made of what looked to be marble and quartz seemingly looking down on the pedestrians walking by going along with their daily lives, it felt almost tranquil.
"Huh? No not the city my boy the lady over there with huge jugs!"
Kal looked at him pointing towards a lady that seemed to be transporting some sort of vegetables and gave him a disgraced expression hoping no one heard his words and would associate himself with the drunk old man.
"This is where you said your stop was Sailor, I thank you for being a part of this crew."
Suddenly the Captain seemed serious and saluted Kal. He then grabbed something behind one of the crates and handed it to Kal.
"Here, this Cutlass is what I used during my early days at sea. It may not be the best blade in the world but it will get the job done. Something about you reminds me of me when I was younger and it's not like I use it anymore so you should carry it now."
Kal didn't know how to feel being compared to the drunk old man but still was glad to have received an item let alone a weapon without having to do much.
"Oh and before I forget here's your pay 2 silver ($20 USD)."
With this addition Kal felt his once tired arms regain their strength. With a weapon and some money he felt that the reward for the labor seemed to be higher then he initially expected.
"Goodbye young sailor if we ever run across each other on the sea let it be on friendly terms rather than hostile."
With that Kal said goodbye to the captain and started to walk down the large dock. Slowly he started to feel himself running and he only kept running faster and faster out of excitement for the new world in front of him. He had finally gotten off the dock and had barely managed to take a few steps onto the stone paved streets of the port city before he was halted to a stop by a man in full armor running towards him at an alarming speed.
Kal felt as though this may be his first fight already and drew his new sword, but before he could even ask the intentions of the man the ironclad man blurted out.
"Traveler do you any interest in joining the Knight training academy? All you need is your own weapon and it seems you have that covered already."
Kal didn't seem put off by the idea of becoming a knight but before he could contemplate the request of the young severely out of breath knight a booming voice could be heard reaching both of their ears.
"TRAINEE! Have you found anyone who looks useful to join this years training camp yet."
Kal looked to see who the voice belonged to and set his eyes on a man standing what must've been 2 meters tall in bright red armor with a sword on his back that looked almost as tall as he was. Kal didn't know understand how but for some reason he could already sense, this man was dangerous.