Blood Moon: The Great Thief

*BEEP*

The Alarm clock beeps once and after that, a hologram displays itself above it. A woman dressed in casual attire smiles broadly as she looks at the young woman laying in the bed.

This is the latest model of Artificial Intelligence that has been released to the public. I named her Violet. Her main purpose is home security but has plenty of other uses. For example, telling the news and keeping you up to date with latest trends. It can even call for takeout food based on your preference and sign packages off. But this is getting off track. Back to the story.

"Happy Birthday Miss Luna. It is July 24th 2550. The time is 5:30am and the first thing on your schedule is exercise. It is scheduled for 5:40 am. You have 3 unchecked messages. Would you like me to play them?"

As I listen, I slowly stretch my self.

"Sure, play them." After saying this I go to my wardrobe and find some workout clothes and begin my morning workout. Starting out with simple stretches and going onto doing 50 situps to work on my core. Next, I do 3 reps of 20 squats. While I am doing this, Violet plays my messages. The first one is from my father.

'Good Morning and happy birthday Scarlett. I won't be able to come back today but I'll be there next weekend. But don't be upset yet. Afterschool today, you will see a suprise gift to make up for me not being there. I hope you will like your present.'

Next is from the class representative, Lisa...

'Happy Birthday Scarlett! Were gonna have a mini celebration with the class at that Restaurant across the street from the school. Also, there is a new MMO coming out on saturday but if you buy the newest VR Cabin, you get it for free. Anyway, our Student Council is hosting a get together on it and I am also gonna be there. I also hope to see you there.'

As the message ends, I think to myself, 'I really don't want to go but I would waste everyone's time and money if I didn't show up. I guess I'm stuck going there...'

I was about to sigh to myself when the next message interrupted my thoughts.

'You have been randomly selected from the top students in your county to participate in the early release of our brand new MMORPG, Creed of the Fallen. You also have been sent the newest model VR Cabin and it will be arriving at your house in 1 hour. All we ask of you is to livestream your entire play session and relay your experience to our company and you will get to keep the equipment as payment as well as a bronze growth equipment set that you can upgrade along the way using other equipment. If the equipment has more than 1 special ability. The system will choose from what you don't have on your set already. We hope you enjoy our game.'

"..."

I stop doing my excercises and ask Violet a question.

"Give me the latest information on the MMORPG called Creed of the Fallen."

"Yes... Creed of the Fallen is the first VRMMORPG to utilize what is known as the Dream Battle Simulation Technology which is what the military uses to trains its soldiers. It puts your body in a light sleep while it projects the chosen simulation into your brain. As the first public pioneer of the technology, the game company is working with the military to ensure that there are no problems with the equipment. The new VR Cabin model that comes out with the game is said to stimulate the muscle in the body and comes with a nutrient solution that stimulates the cells in the human body. As for the game itself; It is a fantasy mmorpg but has elements of the past and present. For example, there are carriages and there are also hovercars as modes of transportation. The game has 3 modes. Assisted mode, Half-manual mode and fully manual mode. Assisted mode makes it so the game performs the action or skill for you. This is generally for people who have never played a vrmmorpg before. Half-manual mode is for people who have some familiarity with vr games but are not used to being in combat. Manual mode is for people who are very familiar with vr games also people who are familiar with combat. The game is set to release on Saturday. Would you like to clear your schedule for Saturday?"

"Go ahead and clear my schedule for Saturday and sunday."

"Right away."

After listening to my messages, I spend another 30 minutes working out before finishing and taking a shower. Then I make a small breakfast.

While eating breakfast, my doorbell rings as I was reminded that I would be recieving a vr cabin to promote that new game. I got up and made my way to the door and tap the display on the wall and three people show up on the camera feed.

"Package for Miss Scarlett Luna."

I open the door and greet the 3 people. 2 of them are wearing the game company's branded working outfits and the other one is wearing a business casual outfit.

"Good Morning Miss Luna. I am Chris Hansen, and I am the representative for the Dogma Gaming Company. While these two are installing your cabin, I hope you can complete this survey."

"Sure, come on in." I invite them in and ask the other 2 to install the cabin in my bedroom while I bring Mr. Hansen to the living room so I can do this survey. "What's this survey for?"

"Oh, Its just to recommend what game operation mode you would like to use. Alright lets begin. Do you have combat experience?

"No combat experience but I have trained with my father since I was young. My father is in the military currently and doesn't have time to teach me so I just learn and practice on my own."

"Great, next question. Do you have experience with other VR Games?"

"No, never thought of playing them. I just tried to study hard to get into a good Academy."

"Oh, what academy are you aiming for?"

"Eclipse Academy in the capital."

"Great, That's near the company."

"Why is it great?"

"It's great because all of the early players will be invited to visit the company for a tour in 2 months and bring any feedback they have. Whether its yours or your friends."

"Oh, Alright."

"Next question. Would you choose 2 classes and what would they be?"

"You can pick 2 classes?"

"Not at first but after you become Lvl 10, you can either stick to one class or choose a secondary class and use it in tandem with the primary class."

"What classes are there?"

"In the game currently, there are Thieves, Berserker, Hunters, Rifleman, Knight, Warrior, Paladin, Mage, Cursemancer, Summoner, Cleric, Holy Mage, Swordsman, and elementalists. Out of these classes, which 2 do you think suit you the best?"

"... It would probably have to be the Thief and the rifleman."

"If you as a thief were going up against a knight with high defense, and low mobility setup, how would youj handle him or her?"

"Oh, that's easy. I would play with them until their emotional state became imbalanced and kicked them off the game."

"That's... very sinister."

"The winner is king. How I won wouldn't be important."

After a couple more questions, the installers came back to the living room and said that they were finished and were waiting on us so Chris placed a contract on the table.

"What's this for?" I ask curiously as I read what the top of the paper says. 'Partner Program'

"This is the Partner Program contract for you since you are gonna live stream your play session. The early release starts at 5:30 pm this evening so make sure you clear out your schedule. The contract states that you are to livestream at least once everyday for 3 hours a day. It also makes it so that when your viewers watch the stream for a certain amount of time, you and them get rewards sent to your mailbox or your personal storage of you have one. There really isn't anything too bad. It might as well say "do those things and you keep your vr cabin." Is this fine?"

"Sure." I sign it right away and Mr. Hansen takes it away and shakes my hand. After the contract was signed, Mr. Hansen and the 2 installers left my house while I also left my house to go to school.