1 Game Start

Jayce Walker sat in their living room, watching the tv with complere focus and full attention. In the year 2030, technology flourished and the items utilized by the people were greatly improved. Smart appliances were almost applied everywhere. The TV he was watching had a staggering 100 inch screen and a 8K resolution, it was almost lifelike. In it being played was the trailer for Ascension, a new VRMMORPG.

With only a week left before the official release of the game, Jayce pleaded to his parents to buy him an Aurora Game Helmet (AGH) which will be used to play Ascension. The helmet costs around 5,000 credits. An average family with a decent job can earn up to 10,000 credits, so you can just imagine how expensive it was. The currency from the old times were trashed and it was combined into a singular form which was the Federation of Earth's Alliance Credits, or credits, in short.

Nevertheless, it was still sold like hot pancake worldwide. The AGH was the first virtual gaming helmet to be released in the market. It was gaming's biggest step towards the future. The AGH has a built in internet connection. It can also detect the user's heartbeat, pulse, blood pressure and other vital signs and if it goes down the limit, it will automatically contact the emergency service and disconnect from the game.

The AGH is also wireless, making it very convinient to use. The battery in it is also capable of usage of 1 year 24/7 use. It also prevents overheating with the use of its advanced anti-heating system and cooling structure. Any sort of malfunction with the helmet will prompt up immediately in the user's screen and if it is severe enough to the point where it can harm the user, it will automatically shut down. It also has a manual disconnection if the voice recognition is having problems.

Due to the very high demand of the AGH, it's price kept bumping up the market. The retail price from Zenith Company, which was 5,000 credits, still remained the same but it's reselling price can reach up to 7,000 credits due to its limited supply. The AGH was pioneered by Zenith Company itself but due to its complicated structure and advanced mechanism, they collaborated with other companies in creating it. They combined their talents and delivered the greatest game that they could create. They were launching the product with only one million units in the market, spreading it all over the world. As expected, it was sold out immediately.

Jayce was able to snag one up for himself after constant begging to his parents. It was due to the connections of Jayce's father that he was able to procure one.

Jayce was currently in the second year of college taking up a business major. His father is currently the Police Chief in their location while his mother owns a fast food restaurant that she herself manages.

Currently it was summer break so it was the perfect time to play Ascension. Talks and articles related to the game were popping up here and now. It was branded as the most anticipated and popular game of this year. Ascension is the first ever VRMMORPG with its gaming helmet. This is a must have game for all the people out there.

Ascension is also governed by a system AI that oversees the whole game, it is called the Azur Overlord. With its advanced coding, programming and settings, no type of hack or virus can penetrate the system. No BUGs can also be exploited because if there are any inconsistencies from the game's main framework, the Overlord will fix it immediately.

After watching the trailer again for the nth time, Jayce went back to his room and grabbed his phone. He sent a message towards his other three friends in their group chat.

Jayce (The Cool Guy): Please for the love of god, tell me that you guys have secured an AGH already?

His message was immediately seen by his friends. Arthur, one of his buddies, sent a gif showing a famous actor rolling his eyes.

Arthur (Swimming King): Yes Jayce, we already did. Stop whining lmao

Stephen (Horrors are my thing): Mine's coming tomorrow so don't worry.

Jayce (The Cool Guy): That's good, that's good. Cool cool cool. How about you, Lance?

Lance sent a sad emoticon.

Lance (I love Swords): Well about that..

Jayce (The Cool Guy): ....

Lance (I love Swords): As much as I really want to play with you guys...

Stephen (Horrors are my thing): Rofl, Lance is just screwing you around Jayce. He got his AGH already yesterday

In response, Lance sent a laughing emoticon.

Jayce (The Cool Guy): I hope you trip over something, d*ckwad

Arthur (Swimming King): HAHAHAHAHAHA

Jayce then proceeded to close the chat application and searched for relevant information in regards to the game. Arthur, Stephen and Lance was Jayce's closest friends since they were in elementary. They were also in high school together and they also attended the same prestigious university in their country but they had different majors with each other.

Arthur is a major in engineering, Stephen is a major in architecture while Lance is a major in finance. After they graduate, the four of them could easily make a firm or a company with their own expertise.

One of their greatest hobbies was playing games. Ever since they were in elementary, they played different MMORPG games. You could say that they were very experienced gamers. However, when it came to Ascension, its VRMMORPG gameplay would bring forth a whole new stage upon them. They may like to fool around for now but when it comes to games, they are deadly serious and passionate about it.

In terms of physical abilities, the four of them practice martial arts so that they could defend themselves and have each other's backs. While Jayce was mainly in kickboxing, his other three buddies were mostly interested in swimming, archery and fencing but they still practice martial arts also from time to time.

>>A few days later

Jayce was really excited in playing Ascension. All of them were in their respective houses. Jayce already read the manual of AGH for a million times so he was really familiar on how to operate it. After glancing at the time located in the top left screen, it showed that there was only a few seconds left before the game would be launched.

The AGH ran on voice recognition in regards to its activation and shut down. After a few moments, a clear and cripsy beep sounded inside the helmet. It was the signal that the game has officially started.

"Game start!"

Jayce muttered inside the helmet.

Jayce's vision seemed to zoom in towards space outside the planet and hyperjumped towards a certain blank area in the galaxy. The next thing that he saw was that he was in a room with metallic tiles and walls that seemed to expand infinitely. Few meters away of Jayce was a gigantic medieval castle door and on each side had a torch lighted up.

Then a man in mid fifty's wearing a butler suit appeared between the castle door and Jayce. The man had a walking stick with him and his voice carried a sense of authority.

»Gatekeeper«

Lvl: ????

'I bet he can kill me with just a snap of his fingers.', Jayce beckoned in his mind.

[Welcome to the World of Azur, lost soul. I am the gatekeeper tasked to keep the balance of all things, to keep the justice in all trades and keep the peace in all sides. What is your name?]

'This is the part where you should be giving the name of your character, I guess.'

"Aureus Silvermoon"

The gatekeeper nodded slightly and smiled.

[A fine name. May I ask, what do you hope to achieve in the World of Azur? Do enlighten this old man.]

The gatekeeper chuckled. He gave off a gentle yet deadly aura, one that can easily if you do something wrong.

"Well, I guess I aim to enjoy my stay in Azur and ummm.. Become the best among others with my friends."

[Ah, I see. Conquest for power with happiness. Some say that the road towards the strongest is the loneliest path. Do you agree?]

"No."

The gatekeeper seem to doubt Jayce's response.

"I intend to become the strongest but I will never abandon my friends for power."

The gatekeeper saw the Jayce's firm resolve in his eyes.

'Outstanding..'

The gatekeeper murmured to himself. He smiled and proceeded to ask another question.

"And what profession do you intend to take into, Aureus Silvermoon?"

"I want to become a mage. I've always admired them because they can cast spells, and other stuff.."

"An archer can also cast spells by using barrage of arrows or an acolyte can heal and buff allies. Why be a mage?"

'This gatekeeper is asking a lot of damn questions. It's like being on a research defense with a fearsome panel.'

"I just think it would be cool I guess. You know, blasting lightning, summoning meteors, throwing fireballs.."

The gatekeeper broke into a hearty laugh after hearing Jayce's response.

"Well then Aureus Silvermoon, walk towards the castle door and you shall see your reflection. But let me give you a gift before you proceed, this is a way of showing my personal gratitude.

The gatekeeper handed out an orb with spectrums of rainbow colors inside it. Jayce dumbfoundedly extended his hand and the orb went inside his body. He felt his mind become clearer, more aware of his surroundings and his sense more keen.

The gatekeeper then coughed and Jayce snapped back to reality. It was as if he forgot that the gatekeeper even gave him something.

'What happened..? Did I fell into a daze?", Jayce thought to himself.

"All right then. Head towards the castle door to proceed." The gatekeeper smiled and he vanished in thin air.

Jayce followed the gatekeeper's instruction. When he was just a meter away from the castle door, he saw a hologram of his self. You can customize the features on your character but you can never change the sex. Your customization can only slightly to alter your character's face as per rule of the system.

Aureus Silvermoon only had a different hair and eye color from the original body. The hair style was also changed but not to a great extent. After being satisfied with the customization, Jayce pressed [Confirm]. The hologram disappeared and the castle door opened. He stepped forward and his body was pulled towards Azur.