A New Idea (5)

The next couple of months were the busiest Halbringer had been in years.

People were called from different branches and there was a lot of various information to process. The non-fighting troops of Halbringer were being trained by Coiled in terms of combat and, they, in turn, were being taught different basic knowledge regarding skills, items, and characterization. There was an atmosphere of teaching and learning throughout the whole organization. People were taught to have specialized jobs so that the balance of the Halbringer troops would be diverse and in-sync. They were each given a certain type of job to focus on and given instructions of how they should rank up their races. The core five members were also very busy in smoothing out any fine details. Haizel was busy preparing a team that would handle all the finances and resources of the organization in the virtual game. Hunt was also preparing his own team in-charge of information gathering and distribution. Titus was processing a large amount of information regarding different jobs and races in the game to give to the non-fighting and fighting troops. This was very important as they needed a balance of jobs and races to maximize efficiency. He and his team had to look at each person's portfolio and select their best traits and tailor it to give them a job that would maximize their talent and performance in-game. Hinite was busy training Coiled and other troops different martial arts and fighting strategies. While Yama was supervising the overall process and would contribute to any task that was lacking manpower. They were doing everything in order to improve in-game while doing normal Halbringer activities.

It was about 4 months before the release of the game. The focus of the organization had moved to training and practice as they were finished with their early preparations. The part of the organization, that was in charge of going in Underneath, had moved to the underground city owned by Halbringer. The entire underground city was called "Pity" and it was solely run by Halbringer. The city's economy was solely run on illegal goods and services. It was a place of fast travel as no one stayed there for longer than they needed to. There were no decorations or unneeded infrastructure as everything was made to buy and sell. However, there stood a lone structure, reaching the sky. It was left disregarded with no one near it. overtime the bricks had weakened, the paint wore off and layers of dust coated over it. the building surely looked aged. It had been abandoned but was taken over by pigeons fluttering in the rooms and nesting by the windows, spiders building webs and bats sheltered here for the night. The city occupied more than half the entire town's area that it was located in and it also had, in storage, enough food to feed about 10,000 people for a year. The organization members went into Pity and were located in a building that was colossal, to say the least. The atmosphere around it was evil and wary and there were grey walls everywhere. The most distinguishing thing about this building was that it was erect above everything else in the city. However, it was more of a fortress than a building. The balconies were like battlegrounds for snipers to hunt their prey and the spare open gym grounds were like training grounds used to recruit and train armies. Although no one said it, there was a very tense environment in the building as the future of the corporation was in order. There were also multiple contingencies that were formed and familiarized in case of different events like an enemy attack, earthquake, fire etc as underground was not safe of a place.

It was about 3 months before the release of the game. The information finally leaked out about Underneath and most of the world's organizations heard about it. Then the UW officially declared Underneath to be released in 3 months and 19 days. There was little time as the information was dropped quickly for the world to process and they needed more time to be prepared for the changes it would bring to them and their economy. There were many preparations and changes that were needed for these organizations to survive. The upper eons of the Halbringer organization just looked at the preparation they had done before and felt proud of themselves. They were ahead of any competition in terms of resources and preparedness. The release of the game would change the landscape of any economic situation and this would lead to many disturbances in the outside world. After the initial announcement, there was a demonstration done by the UW to authenticate the information about the game. The announcement showed the most immersive tech that the world had ever seen. The demonstration alone became the most viewed virtual experience in the world. Following the movement of governments, there were many gaming clans and studios that were in the process of training troops specifically for this game. Everybody knew the economic effect this would have on the world so no one was wasting any efforts. There were also many unseen forces of the world that were coming out of slumber for this event and many talented players were hunted and even killed for. The rival organizations of Halbringer also knew the importance of the game so they were prepared to fight each other to proclaim the throne of the underground king.

In the 2 months before the release at the game. Halbringer was training troops and preparing them in more advanced aspects of the game, for example, hit ratio, skill development, stats distribution etc. Although the concrete information of the other mechanics of the game was a mystery, there were bound to be some similarities that could be used. All those information might be outdated, but it was still was better than nothing. While the educational aspect of the training was going on, the physical aspect of the training was also in continuation. The elite army of Coiled got faster and stronger while the ordinary troops and members of the financial and informational department we're also getting better on their physical health as it would impact the overall success of the game very much. Not only that, there were many doctors and specialists that were covertly brought to Pity and made to make a specialized gaming schedule for the players to follow so that they would perform at their most efficient.

It was a month before the release of the game. The virtual consoles for the game were finally being sold and they were being distributed by the organization behind the game and UW when working together. The organization behind the creation of Underneath introduced themselves as Ivie Co.D to the world. The virtual gear, although very expensive, was still affordable as the general premise was every nation would be able to participate and enjoy themselves. The idea of modern warfare through the virtual world was still present but still in its infancy. The virtual console was a big black box that was about five meters tall and half a meter wide and, although it looked futuristic with lights flashing around the glass cover, it had a wooden texture. There were blue lines going from the top to the bottom and the color of the flashing lights switch colors red and blue continuously. The inside of the gear was comprised of a helmet and several different syringes that were supposed to be inserted into the body of the person. They were present for safety and nutrition needs. Halbringer ordered the required amount of gear and had it assembled in a symmetrical line formation. Everybody was excited about the game and in just a couple of weeks the game would be out and would be available for everybody to play. The specialists warned that players had to come out of the capsules after every 24 hours. So, there were gyms and other entertainment set-ups that were stationed at the building to keep players at their best mental and physical state.

It was exactly five hours before the release of the game. Everyone in the building was preparing for the initial chance to go to the world of Underneath and fully experience the virtual reality. The five core members of the organization were final checking everything and making sure everything was all right.

"Are all the preparation on your part ready? Tell me all the details," asked Yama. He was overseeing the entire project, so he needed to be informed.

"Yes," said Haizel. "The finance department is ready and we are prepared for the upcoming task. With my assistant, Guru, we are ready to start anytime."

"Ya. Me too," said Hinite. " No.3, No.4, No.5 and No.6 are each responsible for specific part of the quadrants and are prepared to enter anytime."

"The informational department is also on the clear," said Hunt

"I tripled checked everything and we are fully functional for the movement," said Titus

"Nice work gentlemen," said Yama happy. He knew how much hard work and effect needed to be expended. He was proud of his team. He clapped his hands twice and a beautiful woman carrying five champagne glasses came and put them on the table before promptly leaving the room.

"Thank you Garmin," said Yama, looking at his personal assistant.

The four glasses had a black liquid while one of was golden. The five of them held each of their drink and looked at each other.

" You know, at least you could drink alcohol with us," said Hunt

" For a millionth time Grandpa, I told you I don't like alcohol," said Yama

The five of them laughed and said " Cheers" while clinking their glasses together. After the drink, each of them went to their own quarters and disappeared.

Four hours until the game started, the quintuple went over each of their tasks and went over their instructions with their troops.

Three hours until the game started, the troops, both combat, and support, had a little get together and a little feast.

Two hours until the game started. Everyone went near their assigned virtual gear and meditation to clear their heads and focus.

One hour until the game started. Anticipation was in everyone's face.

30 minutes until the game started. Everyone was looking nervous as well.

60 sec until the game started. They started putting on the virtual gear and inserted the needed syringes.

4 sec

3....

2...

1..

0..

Ding!

Welcome to Underneath!