New Age Online
<11:03>
Outside a bar, two men were talking to each other loudly with a beer in their hands.
"And remember that time in the lake? That shit was wild."
"Oh yes! My mom slapped my ass so hard that it hurt to sit for the whole week."
"She just slapped you? You lucky dog, my mom beat me with a stick!"
They both busted out laughing. It had been a long time since the lifelong friend met each other. Each of them went the separate ways, but that didn't stop their friendship - real friends can not see each other for years, and the moment they meet again, it would be like nothing ever changed, or at least that's what Huojia thought.
"So, how are the wedding plans going?"
"You know, women. She says she wants my opinion, but when it comes to deciding, I'm suddenly invisible. There is just no winning here."
"Hey, that's what it is. For some, it's just another day, where they only sign a paper, but for others, they were dreaming for that day since they were kids, nothing you can do about that."
The one with the impending lifelong sentence is Kaile, Huojia's best friend. He has short black hair and slanted eyes so pronounced that they almost disappear when he smiles. They are the same height, 185 centimeters, give or take; they might be considered tall by Asian standards, but in the States, it wasn't that rare.
Kaile noticed that his friend was more fit than the last time he saw him, something he pointed out right away.
"Holy shit, you are ripped, bro. What gives? You used to look like a stage 4 diabetes Oompa Loompa. Are you finally looking for that special girl? I can present you some of Lily's friends."
"Shut up, you dickhead! I don't want to hear that from the guy who rolled down the road to go to school and ate pizza for breakfast. I started to work out because of New Ages Online, you know, the VRMMO that's coming today. For the in-game character, they scan your whole body and make an exact copy into the game. I don't want to run around the game with my belly flopping around."
New Ages online is the first VRMMO in history that lets the player be inside the game, moving like they were in the real world, not just moving controllers with a screen in your face, making it attractive for gamers and non-gamers alike.
To accomplish this, it uses the Virtual Reality Pod, or VRP, the latest in virtual reality technology, letting you transfer your consciousness into a virtual world.
"Man, you are a degenerate. The only way to make you work out is through games!"
"Hey now, don't talk like you are better than me, and besides, this might become a business opportunity. Since I retired from Hall of Champions, I have been bored out of my mind."
But how would playing a game make money? Well, it's pretty simple. The company noticed that people would spend real money to progress in other games since not everyone has time to grind all day for gear and levels. Most of their future players are adults who want to relax when they get home after work, and time is a valuable resource. With this in mind, they are making possible the exchange of in-game money to real money, getting world-renowned banks involved in the matter. This way, they can buy better equipment to progress faster and enjoy the game while getting rid of the more monotone chores.
The bottom line is, making money in the game translates to making real money.
*Plink*
"Hold on, Lily just sent me a photo, let me see... What?!"
In awe, Kaile showed Huojia the photo on his phone. In it, his girlfriend was posing next to two Virtual Reality Pods inside their house. However, Huojia didn't look surprised.
"Hey, they arrived already? Lord hail 1-day shipping."
"Wait, you knew about this?"
"Of course I knew about it; this is my wedding gift for you!"
"But they are like 20k each! I can't accept that; it's too expensive!"
"Of course you can. You deserve that and more! You were the one who helped me when I was trying to become a pro in Hall of Champions. Besides, I'm a millionaire! And you played a big part in it - it's the least I can do."
When Kaile tried to reply, Huojia received a message too.
<Your package has arrived at its destination>
"Look, mine has arrived too. The game opens at 13:00, so be prepared - you don't want to miss the opening. I'm running home to set it up before it starts."
Before he could leave, Kaile grabbed his arm with a tight grip.
"Hey, I will pay you back, I promise."
Kaile's words carried a heavy meaning behind them. They both saw how money had destroyed many friendships, breaking the power dynamic and making one take advantage of the other. Although it would never be the case between them, they had an unwritten rule of never lending money to each other.
Huojia looked at his friend dead in the eye and nodded.
"I know you will."
-----
<12:46>
In his room, Huojia was waiting for the servers to open. He couldn't contain his excitement - he has been waiting for this moment for months, preparing physically and mentally for what could be the event of the century.
He was back in his parents' house since they were going to celebrate the Chinese New Year together. That's also why he had to buy another VRP since the one he had was on the other side of the country.
It might look excessive - Why now wait until he goes back to his house? He wants to become a top player in this game, and he knew that hardcore players and gold farmers would be grinding 24/7, taking all the resources.
'It's hard to believe that just four years ago, I still lived here. Look at this; these anime tidies posters, my first trophy. Man, this brings me back. Here I started my career in Hall of Champions, and now it's going to be where I start all over again with New Age Online.'
Eight years ago, he was your average Asian kid, good grades, trying to study to become a doctor, lawyer, or whatever his parents wanted for him. He didn't have anything set in mind, so he went along with what his parents told him to do until one day, Kaile introduced him to Hall of Champions. Hall of Champions was a MOBA-style game where two teams of five players compete against each other and tried to destroy each other's nexus. He had never experienced something that exciting; he got hooked. But Huojia didn't have a computer at home. He used the oldest trick in the book; he told his parents that he needed one for homework, and if you have Asian parents, you know that this always works. The more he played, the more he knew that this is what he wanted to do, making him drop grades in school.
His parents confronted him about it, talking about how hard it was for them to leave their country to look for greener lands, learning a new language in a new place. He knew all of that, and it was why he wanted to try to go pro - believe it or not, esports professionals earn a lot of money. They let him a year to show results, and I will be damned if that wasn't what he did.
To not fall behind in class, he had the help of Kaile, who would take notes for him in class and even read him the notes while Huojia played so he could remember the concepts by ear.
He took the game by storm, climbing to the top of the ladder in the North America server. The feat gained the attention of various professional teams, not only by the time it took him but by his age. He signed for a team, and the rest is history. After six years, he retired from the pro scene since he made enough money from playing and investments to last a lifetime.
While lost in his memories, the alarm in his phone went off.
*Beep* *Beep*
<13:00>
'Oh shit!'
He turned off the alarm and jumped into the pod. Since the game was on the company server, he didn't need to download anything,
As he was lying inside the pod, he closed his eyes, and when they opened again, he was floating in a sea of darkness.
'Wow, this is so cool! I'm floating. Is this how astronauts feel in space? It feels unreal.'
<Wellcome to New Age Online>
A message of immeasurable size appeared before him.
'Ok, this is not a fever dream; I am in the game. Come on, don't blue ball me - let me create my character.'
<Choose your class>
'Nice, thank you. Hold on, are they reading my mind or something?'
<Yes>
'What?!'
<What did you expect? Your consciousness in the server, meaning that I, the system, can read all your thoughts>
'This feels gross. Whatever man, show me the classes!'
<You can choose one of these seven classes>
_____
Warrior: a master of hand-to-hand combat weapons.
Mage: a spellcaster capable of controlling the elements.
Ranger: a scout specialized in exploration and long-range attacks.
Rogue: a scoundrel who uses stealth and trickery to beats his enemies.
Bard: a magician whose power comes from music.
Fighter: a master of martial arts.
Cleric: a person who uses the power of God to heal his allies and smite his enemies.
_____
In the article he read before entering, the classes could evolve if the conditions were met, unlike conventional games where you could choose after reaching a certain level. Naturally, they didn't disclose it to the public, but they gave an example to show how it works: a warrior that killed non-hostile NPC or players would become a berserker, a rage-filled warrior who killed foes and allies alike when they got angry.
'I knew what to choose before you gave me an option. Of course, it's the rogue! I have played assassins in every RPG, and when I was a pro, my main was an assassin. The feeling of sneaking behind someone and bursting him down before he can notice what happened is unbeatable!'
<Now that you chose a class, it's time for the attributes allocation. You can either choose between putting 20 points across the attributes with an 8 ability score base, or roll the dice and let fate decide>
"Hit me with the dice!"
Huojia wasn't a specially lucky person, but putting the points himself would only handicap him. The dice were riskier, but the returns were too good to ignore.
A giant slot with two spaces appeared before him.
'Well, that's not a dice.'
<I didn't mean literally. In the end, it's the same since physics isn't playing a factor here. Just say stop, and a random number from 0 to 20 will appear>
The numbers were moving so fast that he couldn't dream of timing it right, so he just turned his back to the slot and let fate decide.
"Stop."
"Stop."
"Stop."
"Stop."
"Stop."
Every time he said stop, a sound would confirm the result, so without opening his eyes, he just kept saying until he went through the five attributes.
"How did I do?"
The system didn't respond.
"Did I do that bad?"
The system was still silent.
"Come on, say something!"
...
"Fuck it."
He turned around slowly to make it more dramatic as if he was following a ritual.
When he saw the screen, his jaw dropped to the floor.
"What the f..."
_____
<Attributes>
STR: 20
DEX: 20
CON: 20
INT: 20
LCK: 20
_____
"Holy shit! Do you see that? What are the odds? That must be an achievement. Tell me it's an achievement."
However, the excited voice of Huojia was the only thing that you can hear, echoing through the void.
'Did I break the game? Don't tell me I will lose this. If you could sell this character, I'm sure it would go for at least five figures!'
<Wellcome to New Age Online>
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time. Now tell me what do the stats mean."
<Strength measures physical power, Dexterity measures agility, Constitution measures endurance, Intelligence measures magic power, and Luck measures the drop rate. Other uses are for the user to discover by themselves>
"Oh, ok. I like that. You ain't going to babysit the players. Cool. That makes it more interesting!"
<Do you want to be transferred to the world of New Age Online? You won't be able to come back once you go>
"What? Like I won't be able to stop playing once I start? I was counting on that, my guy, yes. Let's go!"