Chapter 15: Searching Around

-Leek: As he pressed the button, removing him from the digital world, a mild smile showed on his face. "I sure am gaining some new friends…"

Hakeem, the man behind the character Leek, pulled the blank headset from his head. He did so carefully to not tangle the many wires connecting it to his PC.

He stood and put the headset on the beanbag chair he just got up from. The room again was dark, with the only taste of light coming from his computer monitor. 

-Hakeem: Pulling the padded chair back enough from under the desk housing his PC/monitors to sit on it, he went and checked his messages. "Gray is always begging me to play this damn game. But now he wants to procrastinate!.." 

The monitor housing his messenger application was now open, with the recipient 'DarkGraySpectacle' highlighted specifically.

"Hurry up and get on. I'm already getting tired of playing this by myself." "Also, the player interaction is pretty cool. I didn't expect it to have proximity chat, especially in a vrmmo." "That shit would get toxic so fast imo." 

These messages were sent to his friend Gray, the person who painstakingly took the time to convince Hakeem to join him in Fallen Arc 2: Online, in the first place.

Quickly after he did so the small icon next to the profile picture turned green, and a text loading bubble popped up. "Calm down. Running errands for MA. Getting on in like forty-five."

-Hakeem: "Yeah, right. I'd be closer to an hour-fifty before he'd even think about it." The consistent lies Gray is known to give when referring to time, in any manner, gives little truth to his clear-cut words.

No response to Gray's message was needed as his icon went dim again, indicating the lack of attention he paid to the conversation. Going out to do what it is he found the time worthy of. 

Hakeem chose to close the messaging application. With nothing else to send he replaced the tab with that of a forum, regarding the topic of Fallen Arc 2: Online.

Many argued over the current state of the game, pulled between the mind-space of whether to support or cast aside, the effort of the developers. These were the most vocal players, not the majority.

If drawn with a broad brush, the overall stance on the game was it being revolutionary with implemented features, and phenomenal in nearly every other category. 

A big downside to it though is a lack of clear communication and the still relatively small amount of concurrent players. If an issue arose there was no way to ensure the developers would take it into account, or even receive it in the first place.

He spent little time on each one of the individual forums. Looking at them subjectively, each one would just divulge into an echo chamber of elitists who believe they're always correct. 

One of the three drinks in his mini-fridge was now placed on his desk, beside the weathered keyboard connected to his computer. Hakeem took shallow sips from the can, placing them back on the desk as he continued with his self-acclaimed 'research.'

In the background was a randomly chosen podcast, playing in a headset to feed his craving for distraction. Even with this, he'd go about ignoring it entirely, giving no attention to any topics brought up. 

He was actively searching through multiple wikis, trying to get a better idea of how the game's mechanics work in specific. Not forgetting to take a look at any after-creation builds for magic sub-classes.

-Hakeem: "... None of this matches my stats" He took a deep gulp from the drink, forcing it down with a light cough to clear his lungs. "Hit-Points, Mana, Strength, Agility, then Proficiencies… These aren't even renames, they're entirely different."

Finding out the difference in his character in comparison to how FAO is meant to work let loose a curiosity. 

Fallen Arc 2: Online is a mostly gear-based game focused on the progression and micromanaging of acquired/created items and weapons. Countering this a bit would be the character's background influence on their capabilities.

The original game, where Leek came from, was on a different part of the spectrum.

The gear you could acquire was straightforward, as you'd be able to upgrade one you like, or switch it for a different one with attributes that synergize better with your play style; it was not a focus.

-Hakeem: He checked to be sure no one else had come across this type of porting bug. "Okay, so Gray was right about this being a unique account. If I don't get banned or something, might as well keep playing him." His heart skipped a little as his thoughts.

Moving past the idea of Leek being one-of-one, Hakeem finished answering his question. 

To play a magic caster he could don a class, outside of the traditional Druid, Sorcerer, Shaman, and (relative to background choices) Cleric. Those classes would require the character to be built with them in mind, to begin with.

If you were to build a backstory where you were a merciless murderer then the choice of Cleric would not stand to any value; and say you were born a low-class nobleman, within a family of sorcerers then a shaman would be wholly impossible to spec into.

He remembered when he logged in initially. "Stats/Investments, Equipment, Skills/Special Skills, Backstory, and more were briefed in sections, providing in meticulous detail every aspect of the character Leek."

The entire section at the start screen would be useful to understand who Leek is, and what he would be best suited for.

-Hakeem: "I should probably read that…" He came to terms with the potential soft locks built into Leek. He had already invested in the usage of scrolls to supplement any lack of magic usage.

His interest had been consumed, and run dry, by the actions he took to learn about the game, its general mechanics, and a fun-size amount of the world's lore. 

Instead, he turned to give attention to the podcast, changing it to a video documentary about some obscure concept he wanted to learn more about. 

His feet met the chair's seat as he pulled his knees to his chest, leaning forward a bit more to relieve strain on his lower-mid back.

Before long he found himself down the video rabbit hole, going from one to another, mindlessly disregarding how much he was digesting. His eyes were straining a bit, and his head had a minor tension headache.

Tiring himself out. He went to the beanbag once again, moving it carefully to manage the many cables. He put it on, laid back with all his weight, and waited. 

In time a prompt showed up, different from the type given by FAO. The question came directly from the Full Stream Headset on his head.

'Would You Like to Sleep, With A Wake Up To Fallen Arc 2: Online?' It was silent when it appeared, and wasn't too bright, as a result, it did not disrupt his feeling of sleep.

-Hakeem: "Nice. Hate when games try to gatekeep sleeping, every one of them should do this!" A smirk wasn't too far from fading from his face. 

'Yes' was his choice. So preparing himself he let go of his hold on his body, melting away as the room spun around for a moment, again.