VRMMO Reality Merge Amplification System - 3
[Game Message: Log Out Successful]
"Ugh…"
Chen Li moaned with pain inside the capsule. The exit was much more abrupt than he thought it would be!
"F…F*cking hell…"
After a brief struggle, he gave up on trying to get up! Even moving his fingers became an ordeal. Arms, legs, torso, all his body parts felt as if they were made from lead. How did original Chen Li even live with a body like that?!
The current Chen Li closed his eyes inside the capsule. Was this normal? Could it be that the boy was scammed with an aftermarket capsule? Did the nutritional fluid contain some sort of poison? Was he going to die because he didn't go to a hospital after his transmigration?
Even though he was wrestling with depressive thoughts, Chen Li's panic that was bordering on claustrophobia, still tried to desperately take him out of the capsule. This was the first time he was being restrained, and the effect was so unsettling that his thoughts became increasingly erratic.
But all was not lost! What felt like a forever later, finally, Chen Li managed to move his fingers!
He wasn't paralyzed! He wasn't going to starve to death!
Relief came like a tsunami; breathing became instantly easier.
Slowly but surely, movement came back to his fingers, then his hands, arms and legs.
"…Ha… haha… hahahaha…" Chen Li took a deep breath and did not mind the tears trickling down!
'Everything's fine. Everything is fine! Yeah… I'm fine…'
First thing he did was to check the IV connected to the capsule. Nutritional fluids aside, the capsule had to continuously inject chemicals into his blood stream to enable the full dive experience. Though there were safeties in place, if something went wrong, Chen Li had no one to depend upon.
'F*ck, I'll just leave the cannula on…' He felt too tired to handle such a delicate procedure when logging back in!
Finally, after resting for more than half an hour, he was able to lift the capsule door.
"S…Something must've gone wrong… This shouldn't be that taxing to my… to my… body…"
The single room apartment was same as the last time. Nothing but a couch, a giant capsule, and a worn-out suitcase that served as a clothes cabinet. Only extras were the empty fried chicken boxes on the ground.
'Open status.'
[Name: Chen Li]
[Age: 15]
[Sex: Male]
[Race: Seraph (Locked)]
[Temporary Race: Human]
"… F***ck…"
Chen Li got up and started looking for his phone. Despite having a high-speed internet connection, his only way to connect to it was through a mobile phone, with a mobile plan.
The original Chen Li couldn't afford to buy something that had modern wireless access. Though the phone itself seemed fined to Chen Li from an Earth 1.0 point of view, for the original Chen Li's world, it was downright ancient. Which phone that was made in the last decade didn't have a fully transparent body?
Thankfully, even if old, the browser was still working. Chen Li immediately went to the Mysteries Online unofficial forums. Just as he expected, internet was buzzing with Mysteries Online related content.
The most eye-catching he could see was a topic with quarter million comments.
-- Permadeath?! --
This was a thread that the original Chen Li read, and even participated in. Unofficial forum residents had mercilessly teared apart the original poster's permadeath feature wish, and the thread was soon forgotten.
Chen Li sighed with a weary smile and clicked the last read button.
-- AngelicAssassin24: I just died after falling down the stairs (I think), and now I can't even see my character on the lobby! I get the point of connection penalties after death (I played The Legendary World for 4 years). But isn't permadeath a bit too much?
-- DigitalDeathwish: Wait, you died? 666! Is that a world record?! Anyway, after death penalty your character should come back, just wait a day or two, and contact support if you still can't see anything. Just to be clear, there is no permadeath in this game! Period.
-- NightWolf88: @AngelicAssassin24 I spawned at a battlefield and got decapitated a few hours ago. I felt so sick that I couldn't even stand up! My character was gone when I tried to log back in a few minutes ago. Time to generate new character is 95 hours! @DigitalDeathwish I already contacted support, I hope they can figure it out.
-- PixelWarrior: @AngelicAssassin24 @DigitalDeathwish @NightWolf88 I got an answer from support, permadeath is an intended mechanic. Here's a screenshot: permadeath_support.jpeg
Permadeath was an unusual feature for a VRMMO to be sure, but was it worth getting 250k comments on? Chen Li scrolled down to see if the entire thread was full of same comments.
-- CosmicCataclysm(Admin): I'm merging the threads regarding permadeath and character limits to create a megathread. Everything you (dis)like about them will go here. Otherwise :ban!:
'Character limits?' Chen Li straightened himself unconsciously, which turned out to be a mistake, as the sudden movement seemed to have pushed his digestive system off the edge!
* * *
Between fear of death and worrying about missing crucial game time if he got hospitalized, Chen Li sat on the toilet bowl with a vacant gaze. Though overall sensation of his body seemed to be improving, at this point there was no doubt that something was going on.
Was it because of his transmigration? Was it because of the capsule? Or could it be because of the original Chen Li dying due to food poisoning? Same thoughts and same worries came back.
Whatever the case, Chen Li decided to deal with it after he became stable enough to leave the toilet bowl.
'What was that about character limits? Can you make more than one character?' He thought while sweating profusely. Finding the correct post took some time due to general slowness of his mobile phone.
-- ThunderBolt777: Hey, I had a hardware bug during creating my creator and was forced to log out. When I logged back in with a different capsule, I saw a "Remaining Characters: 3" message. I thought it was extra character slots but when a finally created a character, that menu disappeared. Screenshots attached. (Stay away from Blackboard 208 series of capsules btw, I felt like dying after the forced logout!)
'… Remaining? The wording looks way too deliberate.'
There were other posts that confirmed the same thing, but none of them had any evidence. It wasn't until a famous forum user recorded the bug-test personally, that the character limit was confirmed.
'They reproduced "the bug" just hours after launch. Damn, these people are dedicated…'
-- CursedDivinityIsHere: First of all, DO NOT try this at home. Seriously. Just watch the video, I was barely able to cobble two sentences together after the forced log out. I'm not going to discuss the safety mechanisms of the capsule technology because it is off topic, but I'll just leave this here. Forced log outs should not produce any physiological symptoms! Either something is very wrong with the capsule I've tested, or there's something wrong with the game!
-- Here are the reproduction steps.
-- 1) …
After the initial paragraph Chen Li only skimmed at the rest of the post and watched a clip of the video that showed the character limit. Unlike the other person, CursedDivinityIsHere had 5 remaining characters.
This being the internet, naturally, speculations were everywhere. Though even the wildest ones couldn't even come close to the Chen Li's conjecture!
'There's permadeath, and there's a character limit. There were no special editions of the game, nor is there any cash shop. Could it be that the limit is somehow related to the person?'
He had theorized his natural Magic attribute was at 1. This was a huge assumption, of course, one that relied on the human desire to find patterns. For all he knew, the Seraph race could give +17 bonus to all attributes, and the remaining +54 may have been from the Chaos Sorcerer class. Maybe.
But, if the "game" was as fussy as humans about neatly rounded numbers, Chen Li having +1 Magic attribute could be possible. His Soul attribute being +5100 would also suggest having +1 Soul attribute as base.
'… If my Soul attribute is 1, others could have 2 or more. The game did analyze my condition before character creation, after all.'
What about his amplified attributes though? If the character limit is tied to the person, wouldn't his cheat allow him to have more characters?
'… Ugh, I can't really think about that now…'
Chen Li started browsing newbie forums, primarily to find guides. More than 9 hours had passed since the game's launch! Surely, someone would've assembled all the scattered information about the game into an easily digestible form by now.
Thankfully, his assumptions were correct. Another famous streamer, known for his hours long guides, had made a neat little newbie handbook.
'200k likes and 5k comments.' Little memories about original Chen Li's job resurfaced. '… Doesn't look bad for a guy that got kicked out from an esports team.'
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Character Creation
The game will first scan your physical abilities to determine your in-game stats. Unlike other games, your appearance will be fully preserved within the game! If you are thinking about streaming be sure to enable filters to hide your face and wear a mask inside the game!
Attributes are divided into four groups. Generally speaking, the attributes average to 8, with one or two points added/removed depending on the person. I've anonymously collected stat information with a secure submission procedure; the results are on the table below. If you want to contribute, click THIS to learn how to submit proof!
A: Average, M: Maximum
Might Group
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Strength (A: 8, M: 10)
Constitution (A: 9, M: 10)
Endurance (A: 7, M: 12)
Reflex Group
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Agility (A: 7, M: 9)
Dexterity (A: 8, M: 11)
Perception (A: 8, M: 9)
Mental Group
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Intelligence (A: 8, M: 17) (Yes, this isn't a mistake. Please stop messaging me about it!)
Wisdom (A: 7, M: 10)
Willpower (A: 6, M: 11)
Energy Group
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Magic (A: 1, M: 4)
Spirit (A: 1, M: 9)
Soul (A: 1, M: 3)
…
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'… Wait, there's no Divinity?'
Though Chen Li couldn't remember the exact amount of his attributes, he was certain that he didn't imagine a completely new attribute!
'Was it because of the Seraph race? Did it give +1 to Divinity?'
Since there wasn't any more information on it, Chen Li threw the thought back in his mind and continued reading.
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Once the game determines your attributes, you will enter character creation proper.
A) Path Selection:
There are 4 primary ways to play the game. There will be separate guides for them in the future. Here's a summary for now.
1. Ruler: Upon starting the game you will be transported into three different types of land, depending on the choices you make during the race selection. The mechanics behind the selection is poorly understood at this point. All of the three developing lands are equally dangerous, whether they're Demonic, Cursed, or Desolate doesn't matter.
This path will make you an aristocrat off the start, but the difficulty curve isn't for the faint hearted!
Think of it as The Conqueror Online, but with Devils' Souls difficulty.
2. Adventurer: Upon starting the game you will be transported into a fringe city, where dungeons and monsters aren't as dangerous as the ones around the border.
Think of it as your normal VR MMORPG.
3. Craftsman: Upon starting the game you will be transported into a major city. The starting city and their facilities will be random. You may end up as a blacksmith on city with no access to iron!
The crafting in this game is extremely detailed, and extremely realistic; I cannot stress this enough. DO NOT assume that you can become a crafter just because you played one in a previous VR game!
4. Peasant: Upon starting the game you will be transported into the countryside surrounding one of the major cities. The gameplay consists of interacting with the locals, and doing simple jobs such as farming, bartending, and so on.
Think of it as "My Life in a VR Village" but with better AI and an extremely immersive full-dive experience.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend starting as a ruler. The difficulty is simply too high, and NPCs in this game act very inconsistently. Some streamers were betrayed by their subject just because of their looks! So far, we also know that death is permanent. You WILL lose your character and all your progress if you die!
B) Race Selection:
This section only requires you to walk until either you can't take it anymore, or by saying "I'm done." How long you can walk depends entirely on your physical condition.
The only way to start as a non-human race is to choose the correct sequence at the crossroads. So far the information is limited, and we only know how to become a Gnome.
Gnome: Choose the middle path at the first crossroads and immediately run to the first box that you encounter off-road. Courtesy of MysticDragon123, click on the link to watch a clip of it.
…
---------------------------------
'Walking to a box changes your race? What? Is that serious?'
Looking at the comments and the clip mentioned, Chen Li couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. The Mysteries Online had sold half a billion pre-order copies! Over 10 million people in Chen Li's region had queued for launch! It was a reality merge game on top of that! Wasn't this a rather sloppy job compared to the weight behind the game?!
'What would've happened if I walked toward a tree? Would I have become an elf?' He wondered as he used the last toilet paper in his apartment.
His condition improved by the minute, which made him more aware of the subtle and not-so-subtle cues from his body. The latter being the noises made by his stomach.
Unfortunately, the kid had spent his last money on the fried chicken. Both his wallet and his bank balance were empty. To make things matter worse, he had quit his job yesterday! Original Chen Li had boarded on the Mysteries Online train without looking back!
'… At least the water is working. It should take the city a week or two to realize the bills are a month overdue…'
Chen Li decided to take a shower while he could. Sensation of hot water running down his body seemed to rejuvenate him, albeit slightly.
'How can I sell in-game gold…' He wondered as he used the only towel in the apartment to dry himself.
The Mysteries Online developers had gone on record multiple times saying that the game would never have microtransactions. Even a currency shop wasn't on the table! This was a truly momentous decision, especially considering that decisions like this indirectly bankrupted at least two international gaming companies in the past!
Of course, the community dissected those statements to ad nauseam. How could a VRMMO not have pay to win elements?! Over time the statements were stretched and exaggerated. Some became confident that even player to player transactions would be banned!
Nevertheless, even if the "game developers" prohibited such acts, when there were whales, there would be RMT!
'I should be able to make some quick buck with my attributes. Hunting should be easy, but starting at the capital of some empire is a problem…'
According to the guide, monsters appeared on cities that were close to borders. So did the players!
He hung the small face towel on the clothesline inside the bathroom, opened the tiny window, then stood still to let the excess moisture on his body evaporate.
The more he spent inside the "real" world, the more he would be at a disadvantage. Chen Li picked up his phone and continued where he left of with the guide,
---------------------------------
C) Class Selection:
Warning!!
The moment you touch an item, you will choose your class! Be VERY careful about not touching anything until you've made your final choice!
…
---------------------------------
Chen Li instantly felt better upon reading the warning! He truly had made the right choice by meticulously inspecting everything for hours!
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The number of items you see will depend on how far you walked on the race selection. If you couldn't get to the crossroads, you'll only see a few! The current record for most items belongs to SilverEagleXxX (as of day 1). Click on this clip to see what the class selection looks like with 151 items.
The fancier the item looks, the better your class will be. This is very important! Because some classes are absolutely useless!
Second Warning!!
The classes are UNBALANCED!
A Swordsman is weaker than a Swordsmaster at level 1!
We do not know the mechanism to change classes at this point. There are many streamers that are trying to find the class change mechanic.
Be. Very. Sure. Of. The. Item. You. Touch.
---------------------------------
'Damn… I think I got lucky…'
Chen Li noticed the discrepancy about the item numbers at once. If the guide was accurate, this was all thanks to his cheat! Without hundred times amplification on his base stats, there was no way he could climb that stairway to heaven!
Unfortunately, the guide was over after the last warning. At least to Chen Li!
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If you liked the guide so far, you can read the rest by donating $299, or read the even more detailed extended version for only $599!
As always, more guides will follow!
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'… F*ck, this guy didn't quit being an esports player for nothing…'
It was quite unfortunate that Chen Li's bank account was empty. The balance was at $0.00; not even a cent was left! Chen Li couldn't help but be impressed by the original's resolve. The Mysteries Online was either going to be the kid's salvation, or his end.
Shaking his head, Chen Li took a general look at the unofficial forums and social media platforms. His main objective was to understand the lay of the land, where people ended up with, and how were they playing "the game."
A title caught his attention.
-- Anyone else feel wrecked after logging out? --
There were only 2 responses; clearly this wasn't a common occurrence for the player base. The original poster didn't include any information either and only asked the same question as the title.
-- ToxicTsunami: I'm fine here. What are you on about?!
-- NyanStorm: What class are you?
Chen Li moved on quickly since there was no information to even speculate properly. Soon he found what he was looking for.
-- Buying ALL Gold!!! Must be in Marksburg City!!! Buying ALL Gold!!! (Closed) --
-- xXShadowXxKiller69 (Timeout): As the title says! No upper limit! Bring everything you got!!! Serious offers only!!!
1Gold = $1000
1Silver = $100
1Copper = $10
-- X_RadiantRage_X: A wild whale has appeared!
-- NicklessNick: Big boss xXShadowXxKiller69, I am at the Marksburg City, could you post your picture so I know how to find you?
-- BigDong444: @xXShadowXxKiller69 Who are you scamming with that?! 1 gold coin is worth at least 50k you f*cking ret*rd!!
-- X_RadiantRage_X: @BigDong444 Wait wat?!?
-- BigDong444: @X_RadiantRage_X look at the rates on moexchange.gold and compare. I've already reported this idiot for scam.
-- CosmicCataclysm(Admin): Mysteries Online Unofficial forums is not the place to perform real money transactions! :LOCKED!:
Chen Li narrowed his eyes and silently tapped on the link; half concerned that it was a scam link that would hijack his phone. Thankfully, his fears didn't come to pass.
'1 gold goes for $76000?! F*ck that's really three zeroes!'
What would internet look like without scam sites? Neither current nor the previous Chen Li had any idea. The original planned to wait until a big exchange appeared and overtook the others. There was no way of differentiating legit sites from fakes before the game's launch!
'If the developers know the game's true nature, there's no way they'll leave the gold market alone. The biggest exchange should be affiliated to them somehow.'
Chen Li shook his head. This was a problem for future him, since he didn't have any gold to sell right now!
Of course, he still studied how the gold selling works for future refence.
'They use the in-game whisper function? I guess it makes sense that such a thing would be present in a game. Maybe it gets unlocked after the regional chat? … Money transfer is done before the gold exchange. That's not bad.'
After noting the details, he switched his attention to live streams. Conveniently, most streamers put their playstyle on the title. But the distribution wasn't as Chen Li expected!
'How come Peasant is the most popular?! What the f*ck?!'
Browsing the streamer's names, Chen Li somewhat understood the reason, though that didn't do anything to alleviate his shock at the discrepancy!
IAmNotBusy, a non-gaming streamer, had the highest viewers by far! Over 15 million people were watching his Peasant gameplay! In contrast, the highest Ruler streamer had only 30k!
How could Chen Li not be curious? He immediately clicked on IAmNotBusy to see what the fuss was all about!
What greeted him was the streamer in third person, talking with a blonde woman. Though Chen Li couldn't see clearly from his phone screen, it looked like her ears were slightly pointed upwards. It was the chat scrolling at lightspeed that confirmed his suspicions! Everyone was spamming :WarmEILF: and :WarmMILF: emotes.
The streamer gave a half smile at the elven woman and leaned on his wooden rake with confidence. "What brings a beauty like you to a place like this…" He asked while no-so-subtly eying her body.
Chen Li rolled his eyes and switched to the Ruler stream with 29k viewers.
"We need those supplies milord…" Said a wrinkled man with white beard. A group of people were standing around a table, some looking at a rough map in silence, some watching their lord, the streamer, with concerned eyes.
While the silence prevailed, Chen Li's eyes were caught by the chat.
-- shoulda killed them!!!
-- :PWordKill: :PWordKill: :PWordKill:
-- What's going on?
-- If he killed those villagers his vassals would've left! It was a no-win situation you guys!
-- @3 Refugees stole all the grain and ran away.
-- Boooring!!!!!!1!
-- Pay money to get cucked inside a game :FXSmart:
The streamer lowered his head, seemingly in deep thought. Some of the "NPCs" present glanced at each other without changing their expressions. One "NPC" on the right slowly moved his hands toward his chest. The movement was almost imperceptible; what made it noticeable was the person's nervous head movement.
It was unfortunate that the streamer didn't have third person vision!
-- Watchout!!
-- Mr streamer!! @RichHandsomeTall69!!
-- Hey @RichHandsomeTall69!!
-- @RichHandsomeTall69 Lookout!
-- Here it comes!
Chen Li blinked, and the streamer collapsed on the ground, his groans transform into wet splashes a few seconds layer. The screen went blank, and the stream cut off.
-- F
-- F
-- F
-- F
Chen Li's mouth dropped. Did he just watch this guy get assassinated by his own subordinates?!
The shock lasted for good a while. Chen Li too, had chosen the path of a ruler, after all.
'… Looks like the guide wasn't joking…'
With permadeath system and a limited number of characters per person, how could he not be concerned?
'Then again, I do have 100 times more attributes than anybody else. I should be fine as long as I steadily increase my level, right?' He thought as he wore his capsule suit.
Chen Li spent the next hour watching random streams, looking at random posts, and gauging the player base reaction. Information was scarce, as expected, since the game was released only 12 hours ago!
'There are gods, churches are powerful except when they aren't. Twelve continents. Three major empires, with all of them claiming they are the strongest. Useless…'
Finally, Chen Li felt he should log in and play for real! But first, he thoroughly checked the capsule to make sure everything was up to specs. Just to be on the safe side, he even ran a full self-diagnostic cycle, and opened a new IV route as he waited. When he was completely convinced that there was nothing wrong, and the capsule was utterly safe, he sat inside and logged in.
[Game Message: Logging in to Mysteries Online]
[Game Message: Welcome, Chen Li]