Chapter 1 : Before The Dive (Part.1)

. . . lan . . .

"*slams desk* Alan!"

I reacted to the sound and i woke up to my laptop work desk, trying to collect my conscience. "*groans* What's The Matter, Vince?" I clear my eyes with my left fingers.

He point his hands towards the monitor in front of me that is still left on, currently on it's screen-saving mode showing a picture of dark blue sky filled with brimming countless stars.

Guy tilts his head to the left and covers his left ear, trying to hear me clearer. "(annoyed) Hu~h? What's the matter, you sai- You sleeping on the job is the matter!

I'm in need of your assistance, so go on with your work and save the documents"

I recall the first time i know of him. (Jack Vincent, man's a gruff and buff bearded redhead ponytail guy wearing a chocolate polo shirt and dark blue jeans, which turns out to be my co-worker here in the company.

He were assigned as my partner months ago by the higher ups with the job for playtesting, coding and debugging to some extend.

Guy's a loudmouth for my liking but hey, i say a having harsh company is better than having none at all)

I exit the screen-saving mode, type in 'twistedfate' to log in and then continued typing on my unfinished work alongside the other programs and softwares that are open on the sidebar. " *typing noises* Okay okay, calm down now, will you? Just what have i done to make you being so rud- *coughs* (in low-pitched voice) Great, my throats a drought, hang on a sec" I pick up my bottle in the left pocket of my bag and drinks it.

I put it back and continued where i left off. "*gulps* Haah, that does it. Now get away from my sight, can't focus with your macho ass staring"

He furrows his brows. "I wasted a total of 15 seconds just so you can drink your fair share of bottled liquid and tell me to buzz off? You're lucky this big guy here's the one assigned as your 'partner' rather than that four-eyed freak, you know that?

*sighs* I'll be waiting in my desk, so here's hoping you'll make it a short one" He walks toward his workdesk heading to the right, just 10 feets away from my position.

"... Does he not realize he's talking to another four-eyes himself? Hmmph"

Alan Hasani. 25 years old, graduated from an I.T. themed college at 22, currently single and is still a virgin, i have a far-sight problem and live with my family inside a two-storied house around the neighborhood on Wellington after moving in 2 years ago.

I'm your ordinary average company worker, no matter how you look at it even if you work at a famous or professional, established company and my fashion says that for me.

Transparent prescription glasses? Check.

Buzz cut and metal earrings? Check. Company-branded shirt and jeans? Check.

Black-colored socks and leather boots? All-Ace Check for the company's sake of their public image.

So what do i work as, some may ask?

Well, i am a model animator, a tech geek, an enthusiast reader and others but most importantly, a writer.

Having the experience for creating sci-fi and fantasy novel stories and sometimes mixed with politics in it, you can say i am quite talented in the industry.

I had 3 other books finished aside from my best-selling one with the theme of thrilling mysterious mythology. Later on, i managed to gain the Top 10 position 3 times in a row for the last 6 years on the site i wrote these books at, and it was at some point weeks after that i was scouted out by some men in black and was given an invitation to work as a writer by a new-brand game company named 'Altaris Studio.'

Building's a big four-stories, located within New Zealand, Wellington.

The first and second floor are for the development team consists of programmers, animators, designers, writers, playtesters, and others.

Third and fourth is of course for the higher ups and it is comprised of the bosses, directors, executives and the likes of your typical corporate figures.

Every team has their own room, aside from the middle-room in each floor that has their own purposes.

There's a session in a month where all the staff gathers in each middle-room, all in accordance to their own floor.

Here in the second one, we all can pitch our ideas for the game's development.

Me? I pitched some ideas for exploration, side quests, bosses and the endgame enemies.

Some of ours are kept in and others fed off to the trash bin because some of the higher ups got satisfied with the results and it will be if they said so, and there's little to nothing all of us the staffs can do about it.

Here i am on the second floor working on some part of the lore for this game that is a complex MMO FPP-RTS Science-Fantasy RPG, 'Projekt Greyworld'

The name came from the the term 'grey', they are the elements of which is the main random modifier of the game. Whether it's enemy placement and behaviour, buff items, passive skill effects, unknown arsenals, uncharted areas and even the battlefield itself.

How and what do they look like, i do not know as this is an idea pitched by another person in the company who works as the other writer way longer before me and i do not know their identity or any kind of reference for me to notice them, not even their voice or aliases.

Anyways, what i was doing at my laptop before is writing a random encounter involving a corrupted spirit in despair that'll show us a hidden door showing it's way to a dark maze and this could happen anywhere within the game, yada yada~. It took me a while to continue where i left off.

After 2 minutes of typing, i saved my work. "*typing stops* Hey, come here it's done!" I wave my right hand at him, signaling him to come by.

The guy walk towards me and squints his face to check the lines one by one. " *humming* Solid work, have you done the usual?"

I tilt my chair facing towards him. "Saved the document and already have another in backup, what do you take me for? A dumbwad?

Say, do you really need to shout so much just for waking me up just now? Could've just sprinkled some cold water on my face for that matter.

Lucky for us that there's only 4 out of 50 or so people in the room like usual, could've been given a sentence for disturbing the peace inside it by the higher ups. I can only wonder what the security's got on cam.

*sighs* God, you know what? Let me tell you this again.

You Are Such, A man-child at your forties not thinking the more rational, less barbaric way beforehand.

How come i, your junior, is the one giving advices to make you behave like a proper adult should? It's getting pretty silly lately, and the main cause is mostly you . . . " I ranted on his incorrect behavior for the action he did, for seconds countable by fingers.

He holds out his right hand, closing my mouth, signaling me to stop. "Whoahoho~ there hold up with your rambling a sec for me, four-eyes. (mocking) Who do you think you are, thinking you can lecture my behaviour, Me, as your senior~? My mom? Also, i swear if you told her this..."

I shrug my shoulder and look away from him, knowing fully of the consequence if i were to do so. "(mocking) Tell her what? That her son wants to go back to her mama's pouch~?"

He leans his right hand to my desk and closes in to me. " *laughs* (grins) Won't let you off the hook easily again if you try to do it one more time...

That aside, i need you to analyze what's causing some part of the ground inside the 'Chaltra' starting area to deform unnaturally and make these Loads of Massive Spikes out of the ground, trapping the playtesters by it's l and forcefully Dived them out instantly when they set foot on it.

I think you need to recheck the animation for entering the portals that plays out in it, and tell the programmers on odd stuffs.

You know what's at stake here, do you not?"

Remembering what happens to most game studios out there in this dynamic, modern age. "Aside from losing our chance to make a first impression and possibly ruin the company's reputation? Oh Right, there's also us having to regain back our customer's trust, loads of refunds to be handled, and patches to be made post-launch on the first day. There's still lots i can think about, need me say more?"

The guy backs off from me with his eyes widened. "... Tsk. Seriously, the heck is with Alfy being confident that this won't make us worry more and tries to convince the others that it's a 'feature' that acts as a secondary death boundary 'wall'?

Still haven't figured out the reason they hired him in the first place and have us clean up after his fine mess"

Alfred Hayford. Brat's a scruffy long-haired ginger always wearing his favorite bright blue hoodie over the company's branded clothes.

The guy we're talking about is one of the many map designer in this floor and more often than not, he's considered as the 'main pitcher' of the company. By 'main pitcher', i mean that he's the one who states the wildest idea he's got whenever there's a meeting like rotating arena corridors, enchanted firearms and munition, real-time elemental crafts, and the latest portal arsenal i just mentioned. He's not a bad guy per se, it's just that being immersed in his own mind, he always talk what he has in mind whenever he wants it

I weight my head on my right hand facing him on my desk. "Well it's not our place to think on why he's still here and not on there, but there's no point if he has done himself loads of service to the company.

Besides, you saw his idea for the 'portal arsenal'? I'd say it was stellar.

And if you ever try to drag yourself in trouble with him, you gonna spend the night on the debugging department"

The debugging department is the equivalent of doing an all-nighter for a piece of unfinished art for some national gallery.

It's messy, rough, troublesome, and having a talk with a police while they're checking your transport might be better than this accursed room.

That's what the people that came out of it agreed upon, and Vince is one of them people...Yikes.

I'm just lucky enough not to experience whatever kind of bother it contains within.

His mouth shows a little bit of a forced smile. "I would rather Not, Thank You~!

It's been an experience and since you're the one who said it, i'd do my best to avoid interacting with him as long as i possibly could, what with that guy's attitude. Speaking of the maps, you sure about this stuff ?"

I raises my right eyebrow from hearing that. "Whatever do you mean?"

He gestures from right to left with his hands. "I'm saying that while you increased the frame-per-second ratio with the cost of decreasing the folliages and adding mists to the surroundings, won't it just annoy the players ?"

Returning to the position where i face the monitor again, i type in along. "I like to differ, being fascinated by the unknown is always within our instincts. Especially if it's an unconquered 'grey' forest"

(It's just so happen i have to deal with most of the troublesome tasks. Sheesb, why do i have to do the map design troubleshooting again?)

Right right right, we use the term 'GREY' as the main random modifier of the game. Whether it's enemy placement and behaviour, buff items, passive skill effects, unknown arsenals, uncharted areas and even the battlefield itself.

He sticks all his fingers widened on top of my heas like spider legs. "Right, of course it is. Man what would it be to take a peek inside this head of yours ? I bet there's only the nerdy dweeb and the boorish stuff"

I can't help but be agitated, recolecting an unpleasant memory of the past. "Your mistakes that i had to cover up back in our early months party is still in it. Would you like me to state it Out Loud, Too~ ?" I face him with a wide smile and squinted eyes instilled on my face.

He scratches his back while backing away. "... Sorry"

"You bet. Now go on back to your workplace" I wave my right hand like it's buzzing flies off, shooing him away

The guy walks again to his own seat. (Finally, with this peace of mind, i can continue to do the animation set i've previously worked on one of the main "job" you can acquire for the Main Character. His/Her name is still to be determined)

"Taskmaster", the one job i'm working at currently, is an 'Hard to Learn, Easy to Master' all-rounder job with the slowest growth rate as it requires a lot of experience to be accumulated and the mastery it needed to do the combos.

The one thing that intrigues me however is that you can not learn the common elemental magic like Fire, Earth, Wind and Water as easily like your typical Magician in a fantasy setting.

But in exchange, you are granted the ability to learn rare, ancient and taboo magic like Lightning, Time and Gravity Manipulation more hastily like that of a renowned Wizard.

There are still many more to know but i still haven't decided on the ultimatum yet.

I began on the finishing touch on the HUD for this particular job for an hour.

Health, Stamina, Mana, Nano, Arsenals, Inventory, Buff and Debuffs, Hints and Tips, Visual and Audio ques, and the likes of your typical mix of RPG and Sci-Fi elements on-screen. I had fun doing it, so i guess this is what they meant by having a dream job come true.

*beep beep* Hearing noises coming from near my left hand, i look at my wristwatch. 18.24 P.M.

I look out the windows and before i know it, i might have skipped dinner. (Owh ? It's pretty dark out there, i guess this is where i go to that new place. Maybe i should invite Vinn before he goes straight to the playtesting room tonight)

*knock knock* I feel the desk being knocked twice from my right. "Oy Alan, you there, yet?"

I stretches out when i see him. "Hmm~? Ah. Sure do, what's up?"

"Well, it's almost past 7 p.m, so i thought of taking a break tonight on the new cafe just around corner. You coming?" He shows a thumbs up directing towards the stairs down.

"Guess we had the same idea. I was planning to go there yesterday, but my little brother just have to show up in front of the company's door"

*door opens and closes*. Having done our job, we both packed our work attires and we chat as we walk to the cafe.

Unfortunately, as always, he keeps on about rambling about his kid's nigh perfect scores, my status being unmarried at the age of 25 and lastly about my little brother just yesterday.

Guy walk forwards, facing me backwards. "Ey, don't that mean he acknowledges you?"

I am conflicted by this. "Acknowledges me? Ri~ght, he acknowledges the one who always leave him at daycare and have older bro to pick him up. Pretty sure i didn't do much with him in daily life"

He points me with his right index " *finger snaps* But you must've bring him some pleasant memories, otherwise, why would he just stands for like 10 minutes, fidgeting with his bag?"

(... I'm not so fond of socializing back in my country, but i did know of a moment where we mostfully enjoyed our time having fun on some waterpark. I miss it)

I scratches at my uncut moustache. "... I guess i did. So, what should i do to repay this kind favour of yours, Sir Vincent~?"

His tongue is sticking out, showing a look of disgust. "Blegh, gross! I'm not fond of these bromance moment, man.

Wanna repay this heartful advice from your senior?

Ya better bring him some gifts for waiting all that time standing around"

I maintain myself a poker face. "Oh now it's your turn to be my mom, huh? Pfft. Damned Pedo"

The guy walks up to my right, facing the way we're walking while giving me a light-punch. "Ey man, who you calling a Pedo ? This nice guy just want his kid to greet him from work is all, and having your brother wait for you is no different"

I take his last word sincerely. "... I guess it is. Well, there it is just in sight. The 'Bamboo Forest' Cafe"

This building used to be a rundown DVD-centered shop, but it can't keep up with the modern generation up-to-date.

The logo is written in Latin fonts with green marks like that of a bamboo's outer skin.

People come and go with a satisfied look on their faces from the glass door infront of us, making me want to go inside even more.

I feel a thud on my back, turns out to be Vince patting me. "Hmmph, let's enjoy ourselves to the fullest tonight, aye? But i guess i won't drink tonight so my smell won't make my kid run from me. Besides, i still have some important matter in the company"

I walk towards the cafe's entrance. "Eh. You do what you do best"

(That's a seldom sight. For him to actually reward his kid by not drinking 'The Usual' , i guess here more than just meet the eyes.

When i think of how i have to throw out some habits of mine just to take care of my children, IF i were to have children... Ngh, i'm not sure i can be a dad myself)

Speaking of family, me and my father just happened to be called to this country thanks to his accountant job and my achievements.

My mother works as a math and chemist teacher in one of the high school around town.

My big brother who is 2 years older is out of town on business as a manager of a car company.

My little brother is 7 years old and is still on kindergarten. The reason he is left behind a decade is a result of both me and my big brother becoming independent back in our home country.

And so that is the reason why i'm being wary of any potential bad guys preying on my little brother, not excluding my partner beside me who's still rattling on about him.

(But it's not all dust and ashes, after all, good things doesn't last forever but they stay inside) We walk up towards the glass door, and i silence my thoughts.

*Bell rattles*

. . .