Edge chose Silver Citadel on the Southern Continent as his starting zone, just as he had the last time, but he knew that it was a waste of time. If he had chosen one of the other 7 starting areas on the Southern Continent, he would have received a message stating that the server was full and redirecting him to Silver Citadel.
At release, Divine Frontiers deliberately assigned a player’s starting zone according to the physical location where the player’s habitat pod was stacked, while striving to maintain the illusion of choice. Prior to the first expansion patch, physical location mattered while the game ‘got to know’ the individual player. With ordinary virtual life, including games, physical location was mostly irrelevant in the current era, but not for Divine Frontiers.
The environmental catastrophes that had reformed the physical world almost 400 years ago had left very little habitable landmass, leaving humanity with no choice but to form a New World by living in virtual reality. The Old World simply housed stacks upon stacks of habitat pods with the remaining land used for farming and the various industries needed to support the production of nutrient fluids and the hardware that supported the new “real world” of virtual life.
Virtual reality was highly developed to deliver any experience that could be imagined but Divine Frontiers broke new ground with the sophistication of its AI. The game learned by directly tapping into the thoughts, emotions and physiological reactions of players via the players habitat pod and the extra load of initial data being collected on millions of players at launch could happen much faster by ensuring they chose servers more closely located to the player’s habitat pods.
As soon as Edge clicked on Silver Citadel, a portal of wispy black and purple fog opened slowly in front of him. A deep, ominous voice said: “Enter the Citadel, if you dare, adventurer”.
As Edge stepped into the portal, he was transported to the peak of a high mountain where a large golden temple stood as the only structure. Directly in front of the temple stood a winged angel, at least 7 feet tall, with gold-tipped, white wings unfurled to a span of at least 20 feet.
“I am the Angel of Destiny,” the deep voice said. “I will endow you with initial skills to survive your entry into Divine Frontiers but my domain ends here. Once you enter the Silver Citadel, it will be up to you to forge your own destiny and become powerful.” The angel waved his hands and 12 images appeared, 6 on each side of him.
“Would you like me to explain your choices, adventurer?”
Edge shook his head and walked directly to the Sword icon and touched it. He had no need to go through the explanations and tutorials for the other classes. He knew the Slayer class inside and out from his past life.
A screen popped up in the center of Edge's vision, admonishing him to carefully choose to allocate his first 5 skill points and explaining that once allocated, they could not be changed without substantial reagents.
Edge ignored the warning and quickly allocated all 5 of his points into agility. Most melee players put their points into strength so that they would do more damage, but Edge’s fast-leveling strategy required run speed, attack speed and the ability to dodge hits, all governed by agility.
“You are a very decisive young adventurer,” said the Angel, his brow furrowing. “I sense something unique about you,”
Edge paused, looking warily at Destiny. This comment had not been part of the game dialogue in the past. He had been decisive in his last life too.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Edge liked melee play and there had only been four choices. He had wanted to be a damage dealer, not a tank like the Guardian Knight class, and he had wanted to dual-wield swords, which also ruled out the Marauder class. He did not want to rely on stealth and poisons, which ruled out the Assassin class, leaving him to quickly choose the Slayer class. At the time, he went with prevailing video game wisdom, which was to dump all his points into strength for early game.
He had been so excited to start the game; he had made his choices just as quickly as he did this time. Was the new dialogue because of the agility choice, or was there something more going on here?
“What do you mean by that, Lord Destiny?” Edge asked. “What could possibly be unique about me at this stage?”
“There is a powerful aura around you. You have been marked by the Goddess of Fate, whom I serve.”
“Marked?” Edge said, alarmed. “What do you mean, "marked"?”
“The Mark of the Lady means she has looked deeply into your soul and is interested in your journey,” the angel said with a frown.
Edge stood up straighter, all his sense on alert. He had never met the Goddess of Fate. Why would she be interested in him? When had she marked him? Did this have anything to do with the fluctuations in time?
Edge took a deep breath, tamping down his emotions and quieting the questions roiling his mind.
“Why would the Lady of Fate take an interest in me?” Edge asked slowly, in a calm voice of casual interest, despite his still heavily-pounding heart.
He had learned in his past life that the Non-Player Characters in the game responded just like humans. He had to tread carefully without giving away how much he really cared about this information. This was a high-status NPC and in addition to clamming up and refusing to give Edge any further information, there was always the risk that an NPC could be offended and take aggressive action.
“The Lady’s mind is unfathomable to her humble servants, nor am I privy to her designs. I know not what her plans for you are, if any," he said sharply, "but she has noted your existence and that is a rare thing.”
“When you say ‘marked’...is that like ‘a mark of her favor’ or ‘a mark of doom’?”
“It is a mark of interest. She will be kept apprised of your progress. Do not presume interest to confer any special status upon you, human,” His eyes blazed as he said this, as if Edge had issued a dire insult. The angel's eyes had been a cold, ocean color, but now they looked like blue flames.
“Of course, Lord Destiny. I am but a lowly human,” Edge said, with a bow. His show of respect placated the angel enough to return his eyes to normal and Edge risked another tentative proble. “I just wondered if you could give me any further information about how the Goddesses’s mark may affect me. I am ignorant of the ways of the Gods--I know little of their values and aims and I would deeply appreciate any advice or insight you could offer me, exalted Lord.”
The angel looked at him with a penetrating stare for so long that Edge began to wonder if he would be struck dead for offending an angel before he even officially entered the game.
“It is unwise for lower beings to involve themselves in the politics of the Gods,” the angel said. “I will tell you only this: The Divine Lady never forces or dictates, nor does she coddle. She may sometimes lay out a path, as an invitation to begin a journey. It is up to the individual to choose well and work hard, for the path of the Gods is never smooth and the outcome is always uncertain.”
Edge didn’t know what to make of the cryptic comments but the angel was already moving his hands in a circular motion around the Slayer icon. In seconds, Edge found himself at the gate of the Silver Citadel.
Two fully armored knights stood guard at the gate. A steady stream of players dressed in novice cloth armor, as Edge himself was dressed, made their way towards the fifty foot gates into the city.
Edge did not join the throng. He knew there was nothing to do in the city until you reached level 10.
Instead, Edge turned west along the road and headed to the level one area, Oakridge Village. The strange encounter with the Angel of Destiny would have to wait. His plan depended on leveling quickly.
Edge was starting without the support and resources that the large and elite guilds had. They had man-power and funding. He had knowledge and a head start. He would have to make the most of them.