Midnight Dragon Studios wasn't a new game studio during the advent of [ADVR]. Rather, it started out as one of the studios headed by a big-name publisher with several triple-A titles under its belt. But in 2043, the head developer left the company to start his very own independent studio where he used all of his experience and passion to create the games he and every gamer would want. From RPGs to strategy to first-person shooters, most of them garnered huge praise from critics and players alike. While he had some misses, he took their criticisms at heart and avoided temptations and greed that most companies were leaning in these years corrupted his beliefs.
Eventually, he met a kindred spirit on a Halloween night online in 2049. An anonymous author who had written several fantasy best-sellers in recent years. This meeting and the recent VR breakthrough became those very sparks that would give birth to the world's first VRMMO released on [ADVR].
That developer was Wilbur Giffard and the writer in question was Wayne Enigma, the pioneers behind
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[Players Behind the Brotherly Duo]
"Wow... I never knew Midnight Studios had a lot of history before [ADVR] existed."
Kazuki wasn't kidding when I saw the brochure he got from the lobby counter. I barely heard about them whenever Zac was talking about video games before [Isekai] and I was surprised at how many games this Wilber guy made before [ADVR].
"I'm more surprised that this year is their 7th anniversary and they opened their studio the same day as Halloween. And [Isekai] just had their first anniversary a few months ago," I said as looked around the venue packed with guests and influencers. "To think Dad managed to get us some invites to their exclusive party before their livestream celebration in a few hours. It's too bad Zac and Damon aren't beta testers like us. Then again, Zac might be too busy trying to get a date for the Halloween college party back home..."
"Speaking of Halloween, I've been meaning to ask you about something, Hayate..."
"Hmm?" I raised my eyebrow. "What about it, Kaz?"
"...Are you sure that's your Halloween costume?"
Ugh... If he meant by my yellow jacket, green scarf, brown fingerless gloves, grey shirt, green shorts, and brown boots with a toy bow and a bag of arrow darts, I can't deny it. This party allows us to cosplay as our characters from the game and I'm not much of a creative guru like Mom and Kazuki. "Give me a break. This is all I could afford thanks to my college tuition and part-time job. At least yours is much better because of your Art Club friends and Mom."
Looking at Kazuki's outfit, he's much closer to his character,
"I can credit them for making a real-life version of my [Plasma Staff], but the rest is all Mom and Annie's cousin. I wouldn't got this cool costume without their help," Kazuki explained. "You, on the other hand, might need Arin's "fashion emergency" course as she calls it."
"Please... Don't push it..." I swear, if she laughed like with Zac and Damon, I'm not logging into the game for weeks. "But seriously, wouldn't you imagine if the game still runs for 7 years, we might still play it? If anything, we might get bored doing the same old thing."
"True. But I can't say the same if we're around."
I smiled when I heard those words. "Even if we drift apart as we get older?"
"Well, if we do, we might find ourselves back together, whether, in the real world or the world of
Heh... He always has the right answer for everything. As expected of my little [Insignis] mage. "And you'll always be my creative younger brother. Even though you might do something crazy from time to time."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"
He starts flailing his arms in his poor attempt to "punch" me while I hold him gently with my hand with a laugh. Yeah. We might get older in 7 years, but I have a feeling things will still be the same with the two of us.
"Ow! What the heck?!"
Uh oh... Looks like our little play fight almost made a little accident. I look up to see a familiar guy adjusting his...wolf mask? He seems to be wearing a strange tribal costume of sorts, yet his gloves have some runes resembling [Signs]. He must be another [Insignis] player, though there's a chance he might be cosplaying a monster.
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"Sorry, sir! I didn't mean to hit you!" Kazuki quickly apologized with his hands up. "Uh... Nice...wolf monster costume, I guess?"
I hear the man behind the mask groaning. I have a feeling he didn't wear it by choice. "It's okay, kid. It's my fault for not seeing you two," the wolf cosplayer said. "Do you guys know where the buffet tables are? My friends are waiting there and I barely see the map thanks to this dumb mask!"
I thought so...
"The buffet table is at the right corner not far from the booths," I answered. "But should you remove it before you start walking? It's a bit crowded in here, you know."
"My friend insisted on wearing it for the photo ops. But you have a point. I don't want to injure another guest like your little friend here."
Just like that, I see the man removing his mask right in front of us. To my surprise, the identity behind it turned out to be...
"Lucas?!" I blurt out as soon as I see his blue-rimmed glasses and brown-swept short hair. "You're also invited in here?!"
"Lucas? As in that Lucas Lowell guy we met at the [Monarch of Light] launch party a year ago?" Kazuki asked.
"Launch party?" After shaking his head from the mask, he opened his eyes to see us. "So you two must be the same brothers we saw back there! And those costumes..."
Crap! I almost forgot our characters were almost the same as our real selves. "U-Uh... We merely saw some characters in the game and thought we might cosplay them for this party!" I quickly sank on the spot, trying to avoid any suspicion raised at us.
"Nice try. But at this point, you two are barely unrecognizable with your clothes alone. Plus, you really need to change your hair once in a while, "Wind"."
The moment I heard my in-game name uttered by another player in real life, I just hung my head in defeat. Damn, I didn't expect we managed to make our names in the game so fast...
"In his defense, he's not very creative with character creation..." Kazuki muttered.
"Please, don't..."
Lucas then chuckled with a smile. "Don't worry. I'm not the type to out players in the open. But the [Hair Stylist Coupon] is at half price in the [Adament Market] until Sunday. You could try using it to change your hair to differentiate yourself from your character." He then turns around and waves as he walks away. "Anyways, have a happy Halloween, guys."
We wave back at him while I keep my staggered smile on him.
"Thanks for the tip, Mr. Lowell! See you!" Kazuki shouted before turning to me next. "You should take his advice. You have enough money for it, right?"
I groaned. "I guess. However, I can't say the same about how he managed to recognize you and didn't mention your IGN, "Kazu"."
"Well, it's basically the same whenever you call me "Kaz"."
I rolled my eyes before we went off to another area. "You're lucky I'm in a Halloween mood today or we have a lot to talk about our identities."
"Speaking of which, why is Mr. Lowell wearing a wolf costume in the first place? Is it really a werewolf monster like in those rumors a year ago?"
Now that he mentioned it, he does remind me of them. But what are the odds he might get involved in them?
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[The Player Behind the Beast]
God... That was so embarrassing... Thank goodness the only ones who saw it were those brothers from last year's launch party. I didn't expect them to be the players behind those characters who turned the game's main lore upside down. Sure, I did know thanks to a certain someone, but I didn't expect how similar are they in terms of appearance when I met them again in person.
That aside, I'm still pissed as I carry this damn wolf mask around. Thanks to them, I managed to reach not only the buffet table but also the very person who forced me to have it for my costume...
"Hey, bud! How's the wolf mask? Hope you have a howling go- ACK!"
I shoved the mask on Brycen's head before he could finish. "You're lucky not a lot of people saw it! How the hell are you expecting me to wear this monstrosity with those tiny eye holes?!"
I heard him cough before he removed the mask from his head. "Give me a break. It's the only mask I found at the budget store. The last mask I had was taken by my Dad for his Halloween party with Mom. Besides, I don't feel like your costume is complete without it."
This again? I pouted while I adjusted the fake wolf ears on my white wig. "It is for me. Besides, I thought the "true form" of my character is supposed to be a secret and I'm only cosplaying as a [Beast Folk] character to avert any suspicion."
"A [Beast Folk] who wears an outfit with several runes created by [Insignis]..." Harley muttered. "Seriously, Luke. You might think you're slick, but your clothing choices still scream, "I'm an [Insignis]"."
I groaned. "At least it's a costume!" I sighed before we moved on to another topic. "I still can't believe she invited us to this party. And we're not even beta testers ourselves."
"Well, you kinda deserve it," Brycen said. "You did make a name for yourself, even if it's not as public as those brothers. Besides, who would even say you're the only [Insignis] who became the strongest physical fighter out there?"
I smirked at the mention of it. "Well, I did have a little help."
It's not just their help. In fact, if it wasn't for my risky decisions, I wouldn't end up in this party in the first place.
Because let's face it, who would believe an [Insignis] player like me ended up turning my character into a powerful werewolf?
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[Happy 7th anniversary, [Artificial Fantasy]!]
[We will see you soon, [Virtual Lycan].]