My name is Nick Kamogawa. You probably already know that I died in a tragic accident. Well calling it an accident is a misnomer since I actually died in a school shooting incident making it more like a murder.
Don’t feel too bad for me though, I did take down the shooter with my dying will even going as far as to use my teeth as a weapon when my arms got shot to hell. For what it’s worth, I don’t really regret dying. It was pretty inevitable, just some random confluence of events that resulted in me being at the wrong place at the wrong time. When you look at the statistics of it, it’s actually rather unlikely that such an incident will occur let alone actually happen to you. So what it comes down to is that on that day the universe pulled the lever and came up with all lemons on the slot machine that metaphorically represents my life in this case. I even saved a cute girl in the process so all in all not bad for a day’s work.
What really bothers me though is that I always thought death was some black nothingness that sucks the life right out of you and flushes you away to some random after life that’s probably only partially described by religion if they are even remotely accurate at all. Instead I saw a giant white landscape that went on forever. Normally I wouldn’t complain about this, I mean the white landscape could have some spiritual value or symbolism but the picture was ruined by the big green bar in front of me that said LOADING.
…
If heaven if patterned after the matrix then I am going to be seriously upset.
At that moment a ding sounded and a female computerized voice stated
Upload complete.
There has to be an excellent tsukomi for this situation but I was too bewildered to think of one at the moment so I just stared off into the distance contemplating the mysteries of death when I heard a cough from behind me.
“Ah-em”
I turned around to see a man in a dark grey business suit standing there where there was nothing before. Seeing as I was dead I wasn’t really concerned about it so I casually asked him
[What’s up]
“You’re probably wondering who I am Nick.”
[Not really]
“No questions at all?”
[I’m dead the only questions and answers that matter now are spiritual ones and those can only be found through deep reflection]
“Ah, I see then I should probably start by telling you Surprise you’re alive.”
[Eh…]
My brain did an imitation of one of those cartoon characters when they try to stop only to fail and step on the trap or fall off the cliff. So to say the least, I was shocked by his words. I tried to say something but my mouth was not cooperating so I settled for staring like an idiot at the business man.
“I see this has gotten your attention. You can call me Mr. Smith.”
[No]
“It wasn’t funny?”
[Not even a little bit]
Sigh… “Okay I understand my real name is Dr. Tsutomu Akata and I am a researcher connected to the Unicorn Corporation. I believe you know of the company seeing as records indicate you recently purchased a VR capsule.”
[That’s correct I was finally going to join Royal Road with some friends, but enough of that Explain what you mean when you say I’m not dead]
“Why it’s pretty self-explanatory, you’re still alive. Congratulations!”
This man was rather irritating but I controlled myself and did not react with violence.
[Again what did you mean by that]
“Well I’ll start from the beginning so you have a clear understanding of what has happened to you. We’re unsure how much you remember but you were involved in a tragic accident at the university that you attend. One of the students there went on a killing spree with an assault rifle and targeted several different students and staff members. Of the victims you were one of the first ones to be attacked. Miraculously you managed to contain the damage on your own to a minimum number of casualties. The shooter was placed into custody but died after an hour of CPR. You managed to avert what could have been a major catastrophe on your own, regardless of your methods, you are viewed as a hero by many and deserve some kind of reward. So in light of recent events, and with your parents permission, we have successfully managed to artificially resuscitate you and place your mind within a virtual reality that you see around you. Within this space you can customize it however you like. We have uploaded hundreds of different setups and a multitude of cultural entertainment programs that match some of your interests after surveying your recent purchases and internet history.”
[Wait so I’m alive right? Then can I get out of here and go see my family?]
“Unfortunately, No. While you are technically alive your body suffered catastrophic damage and is unable to function properly without life support. We utilized some cutting edge research based on stimulating the brains of coma patients via Virtual Reality signals sent to the brain to revive your cognitive brain functions and basically preserve your mind within this space. Should you attempt to leave and wake up, your brain will receive the input from your body that would immediately shut down your nervous system to protect itself meaning you wouldn’t actually ever wake up. This unfortunately has become your new world.”
I sat there and mulled over the situation. This was not good. The good Doctor was essentially telling me that my life was over and this virtual reality was the only way for me to continue my existence. It was still better than being dead but not by much.
[I…understand. I think… Can my body be repaired?]
“Actually that was the next thing I was going to tell you. Your parents gave signed permission to enroll you in a highly controversial stem cell research trial in which they are going to attempt to clone your damaged organs and then transplant them back into you to observe if there is a rejection. The process will be independent of your cognitive functions so even if it fails you can still maintain the current state of affairs. But on the off chance it succeeds, you may be able to get your old life back.”
[That…sounds great. So I won’t end up becoming some ultra-lame robo-cop without the cybernetic enhancements…
But that doesn’t explain what Unicorn Corp. wants with me.]
“I was just getting to that. In addition to the stem cell research trials your parents have accepted our offer to participate in a study on the development and maintenance of cognitive brain functions over time in a virtual environment. Normally the brains of patients that end up in a vegetative state similar to your circumstances will steadily degrade over time. We have hypothesized that this is because the cerebrum where most thought processes occur is inactive and atrophies as a result. So this experiment will test if a virtual reality is enough to stimulate the brain into developing higher order cognitive functions. In other words your mind will stay here in the VR world while your body is slowly repaired in the lab we have you set up in. The basic outline of the plan calls for you to enter Royal Road as a player and stay there until either your body is repaired or your brain degrades and shuts down. Do you accept these terms?”
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
[Do I get to play Royal Road for Free?]
“Of course, as a participant in our trial you receive unlimited access to Royal Road and all medical bills are paid by us.”
[Then Sign Me Up! I’m ready to do this.]
“Hahahahahahah I like your enthusiasm. Very well then we shall start whenever you are ready. We have also prepared a few bonuses for your enjoyment within the game just to make sure you have a pleasant gaming experience and we have set up a secondary programming loop that sends you back here to Homespace when you die. We have lifted the usual 24 hour restriction to the game because you will experience a different time-space continuum than reality since Royal Road runs at approximately a 4:1 ratio per hour. You will not need to eat since machines take care of that for you but you will need to sleep. Since sleep is mainly a cerebral activity it can be done in game and produce the same effects although you will probably still feel the time difference so you will only need to sleep once every 4 days or so. Anyways enjoy your second chance at life, I encourage you to immerse yourself in Royal Road. Goodbye for now Nick.”
[Thank you and goodbye Dr.]
“Execute start up program code 0010 patient Nicholas Kamogawa, grant full access to the program.”
Understood Doctor, initiating program.
As the doctor disappeared a bright new landscape appeared before me. I was high up in the sky and able to observe the lands below from a bird’s eye view. I also noticed that the Royal Road universe was much larger than the earth judging by the curvature of the landscape, unless they programmed it to be a fantastical realm that is flat instead of spherical or something.
Select the name of your Avatar.
Nick paused to think about this. What’s a cool name for a game character. It’s hard to come up with a cool hero name when you get older than about 12 but this was a man’s romance so he didn’t give up.
[Set name as…Krios]
Select your gender from male, female, or neutral
[What the hell is neutral? No, never mind set gender to male]
Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine
[Dark Elf]
You may alter your appearance. Specify body modifications.
[Lets see… make him a little taller. Change hair color to silver. Add dark red highlights. Change eye color to violet. Remove chin cleft. Lengthen fingers slightly. Perfect!]
Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road-
[Pass]
Select a city and kingdom you want to start
[Morata]
Welcome to Royal Road-
[Pass]
As the view in front of him vanished Krios wondered if he had made the right decision on his race and starting point. He had seen Weed’s recent conquests on the news and was inspired by the footage on the fight against lich shire. He knew he wanted a mage capable class but didn’t want to just be a human cause where’s the romance in that? Other than the Dark Elf stronghold only Serabourg and Morata were open for Dark elves to start at which was unfortunate but he planned to select one of those cities anyways. He saw online that there was news about the resurgence of war between the Kallamore and Brent Kingdoms so those lands were ill advised and the only other kingdom that he was interested in was the Thor kingdom. But unless he started out as a dwarf he would be excluded from a lot of racial quests and have a disadvantage when training his crafting skills. The Plains of Despair had little to nothing when it came to trade making Morata the best choice despite its low levels of technology. However, since he was a beginner player that would not impact his character growth until he gained a lot more levels. As the view came into focus, Krios marveled at the “realness” of the place. Everything he saw, touched, smelled was indistinguishable from real life.
[So this is Royal Road, I think I’m going to enjoy myself here. I don’t even think I’ll miss my old life.]
Krios began to move around touching everything, moving his body, just getting accustomed to the feeling. He was worried that it would be awkward since the body profile was so different but he got used to the feeling relatively quickly. He noticed that he was standing in the middle of a busy square next to an ornate fountain that had been expertly crafted. Small coins gleamed at the bottom of the deep pool. Then once again the universe gave him a bad hand.
SPLASH! Krios had been pushed into the fountain from behind.
[Great now I’m all wet! I better not antagonize anyone for now though since I’m a total noob.]
He swam back up the short distance and pulled himself clear of the pool. A few people laughed at him as he crawled out of the fountain but the perpetrator was nowhere to be seen. As he climbed out Krios received a notification from the AI.
Ding!
You have received a rare skill book from ORIGIN.
[This must be the bonus that Dr. Arata was talking about]
You have learned unique skill Student of the Masters.
By acquiring a unique skill intelligence increases by 50.
You have gained the title The Eternal Apprentice
This developed skill of the ancients has been lost to time but you have rediscovered it!
Fame increased by 100.
Student of the Masters:
Ancient skill of a forgotten race.
A hidden skill that increases the mind’s capacity for learning.
Allows the user to hold a main and sub class.
Lifts restrictions on skills a user can learn.
+5% increase to skill acquisition
+5% increase to skill training
-5% exp gained per battle
[WOOOWWWW!]
Krios’ shout drew the attention of several passerby. Embarrassed, he quickly walked over to an empty alley. The skill was an incredibly useful one. It allowed the user to learn dual classes and increased the proficiency of skill training. The only downside was that it reduced the amount of exp gained from battling making it slightly harder to level up. But the increases in stats would make up for that in the long run since most people neglected to train them as diligently.
[Alright! Something great happened to me right away. I can definitely take advantage of this. Now I just have to find out which classes are for me…]
Krios walked deeper into the alley pondering what kind of path he would tread in this game and where the road to adventure would eventually take him.