1 Prologue
What comes to mind when you imagine a failure? Someone who is bullied for their looks and unremarkableness? Someone who is scorned by their family and disowned for their incompetence?
No, that's not a failure.
A failure is a nobody. A ghost that is invisible to everyone. Someone who matters to no one, even themselves.
I know what being a failure feels like. I know how it feels to be looked through like you aren't even there. Sometimes, I find it comforting. Like no matter what I do, no one will ever care. I am not pressured to do anything or have any important responsibilities.
But you don't care about my feelings, right? I am a failure after all. At least that's how I was when everything began in that small town.
Back then, I was a simple boy who just graduated from school with no avenues to pursue. I was an orphan which was quite common after the era of the energy crises.
Humans knew of the issues with climate change and the limited amount of fossil fuels, but the oil industry had a chokehold on governments everywhere, so no changes were made. That was until it was too late. When less and less oil was being dug up, the world's economy crashed the same month. The world hadn't prepared enough and that is when the energy crises started.
Nearly half of the entire planet lost electricity within the year before other means of energy sources could be built and maintained. But the damage was already done. Many countries engaged in war due to international tensions rising from the power outages. The less fortunate countries looked to their allies for help, but when they received none, they lashed out. This caused the third major world war otherwise known as the "Crisis Wars".
These lasted for several decades, at least until several of the biggest countries combined forces to subjugate everyone else to stop the wars. After the Crisis Wars, the world came under one banner, under one nation, called Gaia, named after the Greek goddess of the Earth.
During this time, there was at least a semblance of peace. But inwards, the joined governments would rarely come to a consensus and major decisions would take several months to several years to be solved. This time was known as "The Stall" and was only a prelude to the largest hurdle humanity had come across.
During the last few months of The Stall, tensions between the factions of governments were at their peak. The populations of the previously individual countries were mixed up together and several escalations broke out, resulting in a lot of deaths and further polarity between them. All of this culminated in a single day, simply known as "Day 1" because this was the first day where the Earth would never be the same and a new age started.
What is known publicly today is that at exactly midnight, every nuclear weapon around the world initiated its launch sequence. Each missile had a different target, consisting of only Gaia government facilities and figurehead locations. Videos from that day show enormous mushroom clouds devastating major cities. The shockwaves vaporized everything near the collision point, shaking the ground with such magnitude that the entire world felt the tens of thousands of explosions.
The cause of this sudden activation of every nuclear weapon remains unknown today, but many speculate a rebel group of hackers managed to break through the several layers of security. But with the lack of anyone claiming responsibility and the new problems brought by this catastrophe, no one investigated the cause.
Due to the apocalyptic event, an estimated 8 billion people perished, leaving only 500 million. Those who survived put aside their differences and congregated in Antarctica, where the nuclear winter was less dense and safe for life to endure until the world returned to normal.
Antarctica was deemed the new Gaia. Due to the worsening atmospheric conditions from the global nuclear winter, the land was dug out to create massive underground cities capable of being completed due to the perseverance of humanity. For the foreseeable future, they could only wait until the world returned to normal.
That's all I could remember from history books. I wasn't much of a student, so sorry if it wasn't very accurate. I never bothered looking too much into it because why should I? These were the circumstances and nothing could change them. Why focus on the past when it has no consequence for me?
Nowadays, several centuries after Day 1, Gaia is still centered in Antarctica with several colonies spread all over the world where the climate has stabilized. We even have a colony on the moon and Mars which boasts several million. Safe to say, humanity was back on its feet. Adaptability was our strong suit and it has been proven time and time again.
This brings me to today. Currently, I am playing a full-dive virtual reality game called Path to Power. It was the most popular game in the history of humanity where mostly everyone spends their time. Artificial intelligence has automated almost every job and anything it can't do can be done within Path to Power. It wasn't just a game but another world that enticed everyone to take part.
I wasn't any different. Even being the failure I am, I still wish for the success stories I heard on the news. But with the current me, it was impossible.
Path to Power was a game developed by PTP Industries that was originally designed to be a simple VRMMORPG but was expanded upon infinitely when its popularity skyrocketed due to its realistic graphics, perfect full-dive technology patented by the company, and artificial intelligence that was indistinguishable from a real person. The game was released a decade before I was born and is still growing to this day.
To summarize exactly what this game is, I'll read an advertisement released around the time the game was garnering attention.
— — —
'Embark on an epic journey in the ever-expanding lands of Path to Power, starting in the quaint town of Havenbrook that surrounds a challenging Dungeon Tower. Conquer the tower's trials to progress to the next town, each with its own tower, unlocking unique powers and abilities with every victory. Your path is unique to you, and the shape your power takes is limitless. Order your Full-Immersion tank today to begin your thrilling adventure on the Path to Power, where triumph in each tower propels you into increasingly powerful and enchanting lands, revealing the true extent of your capabilities. Shape your destiny and become an unstoppable force in this immersive fantasy experience!'
— — —
Sounds great, right? That's what I thought as well years ago when I finally saved enough credits to purchase a full immersion tank. I remember being so excited when it arrived and the delivery bots set it up in a spare room of my cheap apartment.
The tank was a large matte black capsule with a translucent window on top. I hurriedly opened it and laid down on the soft padding meant to keep you in an optimal state for prolonged use. Once I initiated the start-up sequence that I had memorized from many online tutorials, two cables with suction cups at the end extended from each side of my head.
I quickly grabbed them and stuck them to my temples. The tank recognized the successful connection and the lid closed over me as I waited eagerly for the process to complete.
"Welcome, user," a soft female voice said in my head.
The sensation of someone speaking directly in my head surprised me but I quickly acclimated to the feeling.
"Please provide your personal information through voice confirmation so I can register this device to you."
A holographic screen was then projected in my vision through my retina. This was directly sent to my eyesight from the connection to the tank. The screen showed a blank information form with multiple lines to fill out vital information.
I cleared my throat and my still childish voice rang out. "My name is Percy Anderson… My birthday is… I live at…"
I quickly gave it all my information which it instantly processed and the next screen popped up. It was only one line.
"What name would you like to use as your alias within Path to Power, Percy?" The voice asked. "You can not change your alias once confirmed, so choose wisely."
I had been thinking of my alias for a long time until this day, so without hesitation, I gave it my new name.
"Perseus," I said with confidence.
I chose this name after looking for names similar to mine online. Perseus was a hero in Greek mythology and the son of Zeus. He was the one who slayed Medusa, the evil gorgon woman who could turn people to stone just by looking them in the eye. I chose this name because Greek mythology wasn't very popular and many people didn't know who Perseus was. With it being so close to my real name and sounding badass, it was a perfect fit for who I wanted to be in Path to Power.
"The name 'Perseus' has not been chosen. Do you wish to choose this name?" The voice asked after confirming its availability.
"Yes."
"Welcome, Perseus, to Path to Power," the voice said in a more excited voice than before. "Your journey will now begin. May you find the path that suits you best."
A translucent green liquid began to fill the tank but I didn't panic. This liquid was nutrient-rich as well as suitable for breathing and could sustain an inhabitant for multiple days straight. One supply bag of this special liquid had a limit of 5 days and was pretty cheap to buy in bulk.
But before I could experience what it was like to be able to breathe the liquid, my consciousness slowly faded to black before quickly brightening. Once my vision returned and got used to the harsh sunlight, I eagerly looked around at my surroundings. I was on one of the platforms for new players scattered around the borders of the first town in Path to Power, Havenbrook.
Several other people were appearing and leaving from the platform to the town ahead. Havenbrook was a simple fantasy town with cobblestone streets and wooden buildings that got denser the further into the center. But what attracted my attention was the towering structure in the middle of the town. It eclipsed the buildings surrounding it by nearly 50 meters and was made of smooth limestone.
But before I could explore the quaint town, a holographic panel appeared in the center of my vision that was only visible to me and the familiar voice of the game assistant rang out in my head.
[Welcome to Havenbrook, Perseus. Every new player must start by completing their random user creation that assigns them various characteristics. Characteristics include race, class, inherent skills, and your beginning loadout. When you are ready, you can press the roulette button in front of you. Best of luck!]
In Path to Power, character creation was random to maintain the balance between people who have experience with these games and those who are new. It was a controversial decision that only recently was accepted because many thought that they would get a trash start if their luck was bad. But so far, no one has experienced a bad start.
PTP Industries made sure that no player started below a certain threshold of opportunity available to them. While some managed to get potentially powerful characters and others were more ordinary, there were no "bad" characters given to anybody, which soothed most of the public's worries.
I took a deep breath in anticipation. This character creation would determine my future in Path to Power and how far I could go. While ordinary characters could be as powerful as everyone else at the start, that was only for the first few towns. Past that point, the strength difference becomes more apparent. This is why the argument against a randomly assigned character is still controversial.
Without thinking too hard, I firmly pressed the button on the screen in front of me, which gave me a satisfying tactile feeling. Once pressed, the screen expanded into a normal status screen. Every section was rotating through the countless combinations and starting with the race, every section locked into place one after the other, cementing my character's status.
Once everything was locked into place and every section was filled with information, my face filled with excitement and anticipation slowly faded as I read through it one by one. After reading through everything, I stood on the arrival platform dumbfounded, disbelief flashing through my eyes.
