1 Chapter 1 - Gaia's Paradox!
Year 2218
Humanity has advanced in ways even humanity itself would never have believed to be achievable a few hundred years ago. One of the most domineering changes is the way humanity has improved virtual reality as if it is now an alternative dimension of the reality we know!
...
"... Ah, it has been a while since I have faced formidable opponents!"
An old man sitting on a well-carved wooden chair exhaled a heated breath, as if he was just out of a sort of ecstasy, while looking from a distance and holding a helmet-like object in his hand. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but it does not seem to bother this old guy as though this reminded him of something exciting.
He just logged off of his favorite virtual game, Gaia's Paradox, an extremely realistic first-person shooter that allows players to dominate through sheer skill, while still preserving the classic role-playing game grind that allows players to farm for better gear to help them on the more competitive side of things.
"Mr. Feihren, dinner is ready." A feeble female voice can be heard outside the creaky door of this time-worn room.
"I'll be there in a minute."
Gama Feihren, the old guy in the room, answered timidly. He stood up, fixed himself, and wiped his sweaty face. Even though this old man is in his 80's, he has a very good physique, which is evident from his well-formed muscles and still-toned skin. One would not easily believe that this guy would be on his deathbed in the near future.
His great physical state was all due to his previous career. He was a high ranking official in the continental military, responsible for handling an army of fifty to over one hundred thousand soldiers. General Feihren G was an outstanding officer with both the prowess to lead people properly in a chaotic situation and a personal strength that exceeds what most would define as 'normal', a good role model for the future generations of the military.
He went downstairs and greeted the maid, but after he finished eating, he immediately went back to his room. It has not even been 10 minutes since the maid came upstairs! The maid just sighed helplessly as she watched the old man's figure disappear as he was hurrying back to his room.
"Maybe it's for the better. He seems to be looking healthier, even though he spends most of his time in that game."
The maid that has been taking care of Feihren fervently believed that playing those games is much better for an old man than doing nothing and just idly waiting for his time to arrive.
...
Gaia's Paradox
Inside the game, Feihren entered an event instance to obtain a Mythical tier object, the Eye. Besides the huge amount of resources needed to activate this event instance, it has specific requirements such as class, weapon, and skill limitations. Making even the players with the best, and most varied, gear in the game have some difficulty completing these limited-time events.
But on the contrary, Feihren was looking forward to this. Limitations in classes and weapons would mean that one would rely more on pure skill, which Feihren does not lack. Even though this is virtual reality, similar to the real world, the abilities one can apply do not completely rely on the physical attributes. This game's unique contribution to the mass-produced virtual realities of today is that it has a neuro-transmitted aspect, which helps a player with faster reaction time and cognitive instinct have an edge. Naturally, Feihren would be one of the people that find this extremely useful.
80% of the gaming output would come from the game's simulation of the body, with the inherent stats applied to it, and 20% would come from the cognitive ability of the person playing. Since it is just a simulation, this game does not let the player's real body move, removing the unnecessary space one needs to play this game. One could just play this game while sitting down, literally!
Feihren entered the instance without hesitation and started the event.
...
"Instance Event: Eye of the Deity; Clear the dungeon that holds the divine eye, which was stolen by General Evan. A group of 250 military-grade enemies are dispatched in the dungeon."
"Event requirement: 500,000 gold"
"Event restriction: Players could only use 1st stage advanced classes"
"Event restriction: Players weapon limited to guns with a fire rate below 25 rds/min"
"Event restriction: Players weapon limited to guns with a range below 30m"
"Time limit: 30 minutes, the player will be forcefully removed after time limit"
"Event reward: [The Eye] (Mythical Tier) Description: A futuristic looking monocle, believed to be owned by an old god"
"Effects: Within the duration of 30 seconds, removes the range limit of any weapon, adds a damage multiplier of 1,000%, does not contain true strike, and can be affected by evasion."
...
Within 20 minutes of starting the event, Feihren already finished off around 200 of the soldiers in the instance with ease. With the fire rate restriction, Feihren chose one of his beloved weapons, the AKM-Variant he customized personally.
[AKM-V] (Feihren Gama custom grade)
"Damage: 150-230 (+400)" "Max damage (HS): 560 (+800) (2x multiplier)"
"Effective firing range: 350m (-330)""Durability: Perfect durability (∞)"
"Cyclic rate of fire:
600 (-400) rds/min"
"Practical rate of fire:
Semi-auto 40 (-15) rds/min
Full-auto 100 (-65) rds/min"
When he customized it, he increased the damage which in turn sacrificed the fire rate and range of the weapon, making it the perfect choice for this event.
After clearing the dungeon within 25 minutes, Feihren noticed that no notifications have popped up on his game menu stating he finished the quest! With 5 minutes left, he hurriedly ran into the deepest parts of the dungeon, only to find The Eye placed on top of a wooden table in a suspiciously simple looking room. Instincts told Feihren to be cautious before approaching The Eye, but with only 2 minutes left he had no choice!
Just as he was about to grab the Eye, an ominous chill ran down his spine. Turning to the entrance of the room, he noticed a figure standing there. It's General Evan! 'Wait, this doesn't seem right... The quest did not state that a boss class monster would appear, but come to think of it, deity class items do not show up that easily without a heavy price to pay' Feihren smiled bitterly as he took a glance at the enemy in front of him.
...
[Boss: General Evan] (5 Star Deity grade)
"HP: 4,000"
"Head Gear: Holo-Crown (Mythic) (able to absorb 15 headshots per 10 durability) (Durability: 500)"
"Armor: Absolute Guard (Mythic) (70% true damage absorption per 10 durability) (Durability: 800)"
"Main weapon: Old God's SCAR-L (Divine) (Effects: Deals 200% armor piercing damage per 2nd shot)
...
'What the hell is this?' Feihren sighed inwardly as he blankly stared at the 2-meter tall guy in front of him, which amazingly did not tower above Feihren. They both have almost the same height!
'Not that the height matters, but what is up with this guy's equipment?' Feihren, as one of the prominent players himself, he was not easily startled by deity class enemies even when their HP is ten times his own, but… headshot absorption? True damage absorption? Armor piercing? The hell is up with that?
As General Evan stared at Feihren, he calmly assessed that this guy has a considerable threat level. As an AI made to be an enemy of the players in this extremely realistic virtual game, they have human-like situational awareness, even though it is only on the level of basic scanning, understanding, and reacting.
But in the next instant, Feihren grabbed the Eye on top of the desk and attempted to equip it. 'What the heck is with this guy?' Evan was caught off guard, as he thought that he and his equipment itself would be enough to scare players into not attempting, or even thinking of getting the Eye in front of him.
'And what is up with the Higher ones (Developers) thinking of not letting me be able to carry the Eye on my own? Like seriously, can't I just be carrying it so people would challenge me and stuff'?' Evan sighed inwardly with his AI heart full of doubts towards the decision made by his 'creators'.
...
As soon as Feihren grabbed the Eye, a notification appeared in front of him.
"Congratulations on finishing the event instance (28:40)"
"Congratulations on obtaining event reward: The Eye"
With only a minute and 20 seconds left on the timer, he finished it, he finally finished it! He only has to grab this reward and it's done?!
Feihren was joyous as he heard these notifications appear in front of him, but his smile was immediately changed to bitterness as he soon realized that Evan was still charging towards him, preparing to shoot! Panicking was not Feihren's forte, but in front of 'danger' he had to think and react quickly.
Just as he was about to fight back, a cold sensation started at the back of his neck, running down the entirety of his spine! Confused as he was, he still attempted to pull out his weapon when he saw his hand glow. As a matter of fact, his entire arm started to glimmer with a white and yellow radiance as it slowly dissipated into the air.
"What is happening?" Surprisingly, it was not Feihren who was startled, but Evan. As an AI, he was in awe and in deep confusion as to what is happening to the player in front of him. 'Is this part of the event?'
*Poof*
Just like that, Feihren's whole body disappeared into nothingness in a matter of seconds. 'Gone?!? He's gone?' General Evan was left there in stunned disbelief until the entire instance reset.
…
[Author's Note: Power Levels that exist within the game]
Refer:
Weapon/ Item/Monsters &Beasts Tier:
- Common Grade
- Uncommon Grade
- Rare Grade
- Epic Grade
- Legendary Grade
- Mythical Grade
- Deity Grade
Character Tier/ Character Level (Every 1*= 20 levels)
1-5 * Beginner Class – Lvl 1-100
1-5* Intermediate Class – Lvl 101-200
1-5* Professional Class – Lvl 201-300
1-5* Expert Class – lvl 301-400
1-5* Master Class – Lvl 401-500
1-5* Grandmaster Class – Lvl 501-600
1-5* King Class –Lvl 601-700
1-5* Saint Class –Lvl 701-800
1-5* Demigod Class –Lvl 801-900
1-5* Divine Class –Lvl 901-1,000
