Otherworld Invasion Force - Plugged in
Start of part 1______________________________________________________________
I broke something important. Yeah, I broke my neck.
Unfortunately I’m not so lucky as getting hit by a truck and dying instantly. Then going on fantastical adventures in a fantasy world with op abilities and people throwing themselves at me to make babies with me.
Fortunately I’m not unlucky enough to have something completely ridiculous happen to me. Such as being summoned to another world and forced to be a hero against my will with no way of ever returning home. Only to be betrayed in the end and for it all to have been pointless anyway.
Instead of that I jumped off a two story building into a pool after going out drinking with my friends. I hit the bottom and snapped my neck along with a few other things. I might have been able to make a full recovery if it hadn't been for my friends who were too intoxicated to realize they shouldn’t be letting my head move around. The cold truth in the end is that I became paralysed from the neck down. Now I was laying in a hospital bed a few months later with no idea what happened.
I opened my eyes to the white of the hospital. A Nurse noticed me awake and told me about what’d happened. Was I really that much of an idiot? I wondered but realize that, yes, I was that much of an idiot. Thankfully due to modern medical care I can live a long and full life even like this. I won’t be doing any walking or moving around. But I can use a VR headset at least. I was going to become one of the fabled “Plugged in” or “Bedridden cyborgs” or the so called “No life hero”.
While I was Comatose my parents went through the liberty of getting a camera with a view of the entire room and a monitor mounted on the wall behind my bed. It feels like I’m already wearing the heavy duty VR headset that’s required for this kind of long term discarding of the material world.
They’re all ready and raring to send me off to the world VR it seems. I just have to wait for my parents to show up. Mostly because the hospital requires for either the patient's family or friend’s to be present and awake before they can plug me in for the next 60 odd years.
Don’t get me wrong I’m 19. I’m legally independent and an adult. I can speak for myself, though maybe not intelligently, I just can’t actually move my mouth and speak at the moment. Then again... if they give me a few years to learn how to type with my eyes using the motion recognition thing!
Nope, not going to happen. I wouldn’t have the patience for it. I’d learn just enough to tell them to pull out my life support.
I don’t know how much time passed.
My parents arrived and I was plugged in.
Now I will admit that this wasn’t the only option that my parents could've gone with. However, although there are stemcell treatments and cybernetics I could get to fix my spinal cord. My parents don’t have half a billion that they can throw around unless they sell their business and their house and all their belongings. Then even if you did fork out 500 million for the treatments or cybernetics there are complications that show up later on that cost even more money to treat.
My parents were pretty sad. Obviously my mother had been crying and to my surprise the emotionless mask of my father had very clearly cracked and began to crumble.
Come on guys. It’s not like I can’t carry on the business in a few years like you planned...
Is what I wanted to say. But I get why they’re sad. There are still so many things I had to do in real life. I’d like to think I’ll be dreaming. But no, it’s all my reality. I just won’t be able to interact with real life that easily.
They both promised to talk with me and message me regularly and then they turned on my VR headset and the real world fell away. Like the ground was taken out from underneath me.
I was standing in endless darkness. A window opened in front of me asking if I wanted to allow permission for a third party application to run. It was the software for the set up they had going in my hospital room. I pressed allow and what seemed like the darkness opening up, giving way into a world of light that unfolded in front of me.
“How’re you doing?” My mother asked while looking worried.
“I’m doing fine. It’s a bit empty in here at the moment... But I’ll browse the internet latter and make it some place nice to sit around in.” I smiled as I jokingly looked around at the blank empty nothingness.
My parents and I spoke for the longest time we’d ever spoken to one another in years. It was actually pretty fun. Funny how I took a lot of things for granted and only now realize how much of an idiot I am.
They both left after a few hours and I was left alone.
I stared out at the hospital room after they left. They’d turned the screen off for me and I disable the display. I floated there as I thought about what to do first. Then with a shrug I decided “why the hell not?” and with a chuckle I updated my status on all the social media site I was signed up to with “Just joined the Plugged in Club! Got a life long membership.”.
I had a few thousand that I was saving up for a house. I went and bought a life simulation attachment for my virtual interface. Which is what this black void place was. The Life sim attachment came with various foods and drinks that I could just pick at random as well as simulated bodily functions and such. I turned off the need to go to the toilet, because screw that. I don’t like doing it in real-life why would voluntarily do it here?
Next I looked through the real-life category. First I picked out a sky with a simulated day and night as well as a weather system that I set to match the area I’m logged in from. Then I added a dirt ground, then grass and on top of that a modern style house.
Time to go interior decorator on this shit!
Is what I’d like to say. But it came with a default setting for each room that filled it with furniture. I’ll probably move things about latter. If I find something I like I can just add it in.
I changed the fridges settings and pantry so that it linked up with the life sim attachment and while I was at it I did the same for all the taps in and around the house. While I was doing that I realize there weren't any clocks in the house. So I added one in the kitchen, the living room and an alarm clock in my bedroom.
Now the VR headset remains active even while I’m asleep in real. In fact the heavy duty headset induces sleep. So in here I actually don’t need to sleep because in real life I’m already asleep. But I left the sleep cycle on in the life sim attachment’s settings so I will need sleep. It’s auto-disabled for games that don’t support sleeping though.
You might find me weird for wanting to sleep. But I enjoy staying up late and feeling horrible before going to sleep and waking up the next day feeling great. Also it’ll help me keep my sanity. No sun, no sleep, nothing familiar around and no daily needs, it’d be weird if I didn’t go insane after a while.
Nine or so hours after my parents left I finally had everything done. Feeling satisfied for now I went to the fridge and took out some fast food. I chucked to myself as I realized that despite all the options the first thing I go to grab is some fast food.
Sitting on the couch in my living room I added channels for the massive TV. Not that I have anything against doing nothing but playing games. But there’s so much more to the internet than just games and porn.
After the 200th channel I stopped. This is a good amount of variety. I think?
I started feeling tired so I went to bed and slept.
That was the first day of my virtual life. Honestly it was pretty interesting.
I was woken by the beeping of a new email notification…
W0UV9erboud53
to me
Dear, KillerMEGA18
We of O.W.I.F. would like to extend our condolences in regard to your situation and we would like to invite you. To join in the BETA testing of a VRMMORPG that we are currently in the process of making.
The game mentioned is Dreams of Auore. With Dreams of Auore we at O.W.I.F. strive to bring to life the VR Survival RPG in ways never before seen. Our main goal is to make Dream of Auore seem almost like a completely new world. Never before touched by the hands of humanity. Making use of thought acceleration technology. We intend to maximize the play time of our players, while making the smallest impact possible on their daily lives.
Make no mistake this is in fact a job offer. We would like you to play our game and give us your opinion as well as report any bugs you notice. We would also like for you to be involved in our streaming team and to write on our forums about your experiences while playing the game. This is to promote the game so that we might had a successful launch.
Estimated time of employment is for 2 years.
Guaranteed employment for 11 months.
If you deem to accept our offer we will pay you $19 an hour.
Work on your own schedule.
If you are interested in our offer please follow the attached link and you can begin registration. We will be in contact.
Sincerely, W0UV9erboud53 of Other World Invasion Force.
Is Other World Invasion Force a new game company? This seems kind of sketchy…
Feeling skeptical I look up Dreams of Auore and found the web page. On the site front page was a video that went for 14 minutes.
The video auto ran and a first person view of a young man in his mid teens and wearing a brown leather rag around his waist came into view. He was fiddling with stick and string and, though it took a minute or two, eventually made what looked like a bow. It then quickly went through a cameo of the boy picking up dried sticks and whittling them down with a flint knife to make arrows. With bow and arrows in hand the boy ran through the woods until he found a boar. He skidded to a stop, readied his bow and let loose an arrow. It struck the boy cheered and the scene washed over with another scene.
The Archer boy had gotten older and was wearing leather armor over cotton clothing. On his waist was a leather belt with a knife sheathed in it. Over his shoulder was a bow of much higher quality craftsmanship. He was walking through a shanty town made out of poorly made wooden huts. As the archer walked he walked by an old man with particles of light weaving between his fingers as he worked some kind of arcane magics. The archer noticed the old man and spoke some inaudible words, the two smiled, joined hands and the scene changed. This time the boy let loose an arrow into the air and the camera followed it as it flew. A beast three times the archers size came into view and the arrow struck it’s hide. The Beast howled and panicked and from the bushes ran seven other people to join in the battle. An old wizard in a long robe with a staff. Two warriors wearing heavy metal armor, one was a man and the other a woman, both used swords and shields. A man in leather armor wielding a giant two-handed sword. A woman with a strange glowing glove on each hand, wearing very light armor that seemed to be made mostly of cloth and reinforced in places with leather and iron. Lastly was another man who held in his hands potions, on his back was a very large backpack. The potion man threw one of his potions onto the ground by the beasts feet and it exploded into a foul purple mist that killed all the plants it touched. The beast moved away from it as fast as it could and the battle continued.
A vicious battle ensued. The party came out victorious, but the archer was crushed and killed midway through the fight. The video ended zooming out from the forehead of a sleeping child with a makeshift bow laying nearby.
That was kind of cool. But what game doesn’t have some cool CG videos to promote their game… Not convinced I looked around on the Official site. I had to put in my date of birth, which I guess made sense. I looked around the Official site but I couldn’t really find any gameplay videos. I managed to find some screenshots and there was a big glaring R18+ in the top right hand corner which made me narrow my eyes.
I ended up checking out forums and sites that were either talking about or jumping on the dreaded hype train over Dreams of Auore. From what I gathered Other World Invasion Force are known for making top quality VR games. This is apparently their first MMO and their biggest project and people are going crazy wanting to get into the closed BETA.
I went back to my email. This still seems sketchy even if there is an actual site and stuff. This could still be some kind of grand scam… then again I could say that same about most things if I’m that untrusting.
Also I kind of wanted to play this game now. At the very least to see what it’s like…. so screw it!
I clicked the link and it took me to the official site. I checked and rechecked the web address multiple times until I was satisfied and then filled in my information. Everything was there including where they should end money to me. It didn’t seem any sketchier than buying a game from a site and I was done. I submitted it and left it all in the hands of luck. I crossed my fingers and hopped I wasn’t being scammed. Just to be sure I set up my VR interface to notify me if there is activity in my bank account.
The next day I got another email from W0UV9erboud53. I’m just going to call them Wouver from now on… The email said my application had been accepted and that they were happy I accepted their invitation. The email said that the link at the bottom would send me to download the launcher from their site. I followed the link and it sent me to their site like Wouver said. The page was mostly empty except for a picture in the background from the main page and a button in the middle that said download launcher with BETA underneath in green.
I clicked it, the launcher downloaded in a few seconds. I executed the launcher and the game started downloading. Good, seems like this is actually legit. I was actually pretty happy that I quickly got a job for my new life on the net. Even if it did pretty much fall into my lap. The pays $19 an hour which is crazy good considering that not only do I just have to play the game and be around while they’re streaming, but I also don’t need to sleep. I can play 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if I want!
The email said that the Closed BETA starts in 9 days and that there would be a stream everyday until the closed BETA ends. I would be streaming on the second day after the Closed BETA starts and every second week after that. The streams will apparently be viewable only on their Official site and through a special app for VR. “Because, reasons” was their only explanation…
Now I say streaming, but that’s not entirely true. people watching up in VR will be able to watch us as we’re doing things. But for everyone else it will just be edited and processed compilations of our gameplay. This is because While playing the game, due to the thought acceleration hardware, 1 hour in real life is equivalent to 12 days in game. So in game we experience 12 days in only 1 hour of real life time and 1 year real time is a little under 300 years in game. There have been debates about using this technology in schooling. However many people are still worried about it’s effects on young children and so it unfortunately hasn’t been implemented yet. In fact your not even allowed to use VR equipment unless your over a certain age. The age restrictions change with each country. This is because VR has a lot or pornagraphic games on it the let you experience things you can’t in real life. Like having the body of someone of the opposite gender and experiencing sex as that gender. I haven’t delved into that part of VR yet. However I have played a few VR games in the past and it was quite the experience.
I spent the next 9 days working with Wouver to get in contact with the other streamers and members of Other World Invasion Force. We set up our schedules in greater detail. I join in with the stream before me at 11pm my time, we will play together until they have to go offline at 4am the next day my time. I would then stream until 10am the next day and stop streaming. The stream when then change to the streamer after me and I would play with them if they need help with something. Essentially since I can always be online I’ve been made into the helper.
Anyone needs help? Then they message me and I come running. Is essentially the set up we decided with since I don’t need to sleep. I kind of feel taken advantage of, haha. But more money for me and I’d be playing anyway.
Now today is the day. The start day of the Closed BETA. I launched the game and signed in.
Presented with the character select screen I selected create character. A message popped up saying that I didn’t have a gene pool and so I would be given the default gene pool. I didn’t really get what it meant. but my guess is that you can get extra option for character creation latter on.
I pressed OK, the window closed and another opened.
“You can only make one character until you unlock more character slots. Unlock more character options by progressing your bloodline.”
I pressed OK, bloodline must be the progression line or something. This window closed. The screen changed to a third person view of a girl in her late teens to early twenties in what looked like a potato sack with holes cut in it for the head and arms. Off to the side were customisations options in various tabs.
I found that when I tried moving the girl moved as I had wanted to. It was strange looking watching myself through a mirror.
The customization options were various things like gender, eye colour, hair color all the colours were pretty standard. The options to change the shape of body parts and such were numerous and covered everything I could imagine. Even some things that I felt a bit weird changing the size and shape of. There was also a clothes on, clothes off option. I had at first thought was just going to show me the underwear my character was wearing. Apparently you don’t get underwear...
Mutations, there were only two options in this tab which were different colored eyes or purple eyes. The only species I could select in the species tab was Primordial Human. It’s discription read, “A Species representing the first of humanity in Grethusis. One day the sun descended to the earth and granted the power of magic to what is now the holy land of the elves. This new found power gave birth to many races. Elves, Oru, Gerit, Pheldehi, Jeat and many more all came into existence on the day the sun descended. It was from that day forth that the sun continued to descend behind the horizon into the great sea’s of the south and rise again, it’s fire extinguished. Only to descend again into the south great sea and be relit by the flame of Orphila and rise again in the sky. Human’s were not born during this time. The humans came into being when the hand of Utla, God of Darkness, covered the sun with his hand as it hung in the midday sky. It was in this god brought darkness that the first of humanity came into being and so they carry with them darkness wherever they go.
* Dark Elemental Affinity ++
* Light Elemental Affinity --”
Needless to say it seemed that at the start you only got the bare bones of the character creation. Even the starting race wasn’t very good… Though the lore was appreciated.
I knuckled down and started making my character how I wanted her to look. I took different poses and mostly just wasted a lot of time playing around with the options available. The options for hair only changed the length and how curly it was. I thought about playing as a guy but decided against it after playing with the male option for a bit. It just didn’t feel right.
The first thing I did was edit the overall shape and tone of my characters body. I went for a toned and slightly curvy look. I always found those girls that had bodies like stick figures to be repulsive. Next I moved onto the face. I could spend the next few hours making myself look stunningly beautiful if I wanted. I didn’t really see the point though. I was happy with being average and maybe even slightly below average in looks. So I spent a few moments making my character look slightly similar to myself in real life. Then I shrunk the characters breasts because the default breasts were ginormous. Lastly I did some more in depth edits to the arms, legs, shoulders, neck, waist and hips. Over all I ended up with a character that gave off a sleek and toned, almost with an athletic feeling. Her hair was brown and curled slightly in spirals. Her eyes were green like jade. She looked like a normal person with an average face. Her teeth were a bit crooked but nothing glaring. Looking at here I could confidently say there was nothing unattractive and yet also nothing uniquely attractive. My character just looked like a average girl you could meet anywhere.
Finished with appearances I pressed next. The view changed to me looking through my characters eyes. It was a bit disorientating because suddenly I felt everything. The feeling of the rough fibers of the potato sack clothing I was wearing. The creaking of the muscles in my legs and lower back that felt like I was moving for the first time after a long time. I stretched my limbs and back feeling my muscles protest and bones crack and pop as I moved.
It felt really good to move around, like I hadn't gotten out and moved for years. It’s really incredible that they’re able to put this kind of sensation into the game. After stretching and getting all the kinks out it was a lot easier to move. Just the tactile response alone already made this game far better than it’s competitors. Not to mention the graphics, the textures and lighting looked real. If I didn’t know better I wouldn’t of thought I was playing a game.
After I finished stretching a soothing voice, that I couldn’t really pin as either male or female, spoke.
“Please try speaking.” Was what it said.
“Okay.”
I said in a high pitched feminine voice that sounded like I was singing. It felt strange to hear someone else's voice come out of my mouth. My voice echoed a few times off in the distance. That was also kind of eeri.
“Your voice is currently set to it’s default settings. Default voice settings have be decided on by your appearance options. If you would like to change your voice settings please say “Open Vocal Options”. If you would like to move on please say “Move on”.” The voice said without any real emotion.
If the vocal option default is decided by appearance then it’d probably be fine to keep it like this. “Move on.” I said after taking a moment to think about it. I’d already spent 4 hours on making my appearance so let's just move along.
“Then we will move on. In this next section I will ask you questions. Please answer them honestly.”
There was a pause.
“You hear a battle in the distance. I prey to Orphila for her to give favor to the just and continue on my way. What do you do?” The voice asked me.
“I’d go see how things are. If it’s someone that needs help, then I’d help them.” I answered after a short moment's thought.
“I see... “If”... Very well. Then you arrive and find that there are 4 Elven warriors fighting a losing battle against 9 Oru Axemen. I have left and gone on my way. What do you do?” The voice asked.
“Do I have any weapons, tools or armor?” I asked.
“No.” The voice answered.
“What's the situations of the battle? Are any of the Elves or Oru unable to fight?” I asked further.
“In addition to the 4 Elves and 9 Oru there are 5 Elf corpses and 2 Oru Corpses. The 9 Oru are all relatively injured. However they have strong vitality and thick hides. A normal weapon with your current strength behind it would not be able to pierce its green hide. The Elves all seem relatively unharmed except one that’s missing an arm, blood pours from the wound. They appear tired. All the dead Elves appeared to of been killed with a single blow. The Elves are all using long swords and have bows over their shoulders. However the Oru are too close for them to make use of their specialty, the bow.” The voice said.
“Are there any weapons on the ground?” I asked, crossing and arms and frowning. The Elves in this scenario are kind of useless.
“Yes.” The voice answered.
“What are my choices?” I asked after the voice failed to elaborate.
“Before you lays a shield, a sword, a staff, a axe, a bow and a spear. Which do you choose?”
“I pick up the spear and join the battle.” My reasoning being that the Oru can kill in one hit so it’s better to keep my distance and stay mobile. I didn’t go with the bow because they require precise aim that I don’t have in order to be effective. At least that’s my reasoning.
“You take in your hands the spear and join the battle. The battle turns in the Elves favor with your assistance and the battle is won. However the Elves then turn their blades on you. You are captured and bound. They speak words you do not understand and bring you with them back to their village. Be careful child of the other skies. Do not throw your life away without resolve.”
Everything went black and I realize I was laying down with my eyes closed. I sat up and opened my eyes. I found myself laying on a bed in a room made of wood that looked like it grew in such a way that floor was flat and smooth, while the walls were chaotic and bulbous in places. A hole in the wood by the bed I sat in let the air and sunlight in. I looked around in a slight daze when a window suddenly opened in front of me.
“You have received the Elven Village Savior background story.
* Rehl Residence permit x 1
* Learned the Elven Language
* Relationship with the residents of Rehl + 100
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
* Gained 1.3 Ability Points(AP)
* Gained 4 Skill Points(SP)”
I closed the window and opened my Status Screen. We received very limited information about the games systems before hand. Honestly it was kind of a bother. What we were informed of was how to open all the different menus and to bring up the help screen if we forget. That was about it, haha.
KillerMEGA17
Unamed
18y 7m 21d
Primordial Human
Unclassified
PF
13.26
MF
7.69
Pwr
1.1
Spd
1.2
Flx
0.9
Lng
1.3
Cap
0.8
Ptl
1.2
Mag
0.7
Mnd
1.2
Lck
0.7
Skl
0.9
Level
1
AP
1.3
SP
4
Looking over my stats there were 10 categories I could spend Ability Points on. Power, Speed, Flexibility, Longevity, Capacity, Potential, Magic, Mind, Luck and Skill.
I decided to put off spending the points and just read over the explanations. They were all self explanatory enough. Though it seems you character has a limited lifespan which is interesting.
While I was looking at my status screen I heard a knocking from the door. Startled I looked up, “Who is it?” I asked on reflex and silently regretted it instantly.
“It’s me, Neipht. Open the door I have food.” Boomed a gruff voice from the other side of the door. A voice that demanded to be listened to. I scrambled out of the bed and opened the door. There stood a man much taller than me. His voice didn’t match his youthful clean shaven face at all. He had pointed ears and wore a heavy cloth garb that seemed to be treated with some kind of waterproofing substance. He nudged me with a plate of food as I stared at him.
“Honestly little shade, it’s been 2 years. You need to learn to recognize someone when you see them. Come on. Take the damn plate I’m not going to hold it as you eat.” He smiled as I took the plate in one hand and accepted a fork like utensil with the other.
“Eat quickly. You're going with the scouts at sun rise today as well. None of them Know the Shade language.”
A notice window opened.
Assist the Elven Scouts in making contact with the Shade group.
* Scouts spotted a large number of Shades coming into being near the village. Convince them to leave.
* Requirements: Rehl Village relationship 20+
* Rewards: Rehl Village relationship +2, Monster Meat Jerky x 1.
Of course I have to accept. I pressed accept and the window closed.
I bobbed my head in acknowledgment, “I’ll get dressed after I eat. Do you have any clothes for me to wear?” I started eating as soon as I finished talking. I had to hurry after all.
Of course I was already wearing cloths, but they seem more like pajamas than going outside or work clothes. Neipht stared at me for a moment before sighing and pointing to a wardrobe in the corner of the room.
“Your clothes are all there. You should know this by now. I don’t know why I have to keep telling you. I swear if I ever met an Elf that was as forgetful as you I’d send them to Grand Heildath to get taken care of until they return to the soil.”
“Maybe it’s just a property of my species?” I smiled. Then realizing I had food on my mouth I wiped it on my sleeve and handed the plate back to Neipht.
“Why do I live in your house anyway?” I asked as I moved toward my wardrobe Neipht had pointed out earlier.
“My house? No this is your house. Though I suppose I practically live here, hahahah!” He chucked to himself for a time before settling down.
Neipht exited the room, “But of course let me remind you since you seem to of forgotten again. I live next door and you work with my son, we're practically family. Have a nice day Little Shade.” WIth the he closed the door and I heard his footsteps thump away from the door.
I sighed took a look at my interface. The area I’m currently in is called My Room. It’s pretty bare other than a wardrobe in the corner, a few draws and a bed right next to a glassless circle shaped window. All the furniture had depictions of leaves and flowers carved into the wood. It made them look very expensive.
Opening the wardrobe I found a large number of clothes made from fine and brightly colored fabrics. I quickly found what looked like underwear and put them on my bed. Since I was going out with the scouts I’d have to wear something I could walk in for a few days if I had to. I found some leggings, A darkly colored shirt made of thin fabric and a overshirt made of a thick pale green fabric. It seemed to of been treated with the same water proofing as Neipht’s clothes had. Lastly I found some worn leather pants that looked like they’d been worn a lot and some sturdy looking leather boots. I changed out of my pajamas and into the layers of clothing I’d prepared. It seemed relatively cool outside from what Neipht was wearing.
After I finished changing and put my pajamas in a basket with other dirt clothes I left my room. The area name changed to Little Shade’s House. I opened my stats to check if that had actually become my name and well… yeah, apparently my name is Little Shade now.
On another note I thought about spending my Ability and Skill points before I left. However I wasn’t sure what to put my Ability Points into and I didn’t even have anything to put my Skill points into yet. So I decided to leave it for now, though it seems most likely I’ll be putting my points into Potential and Skill. Because they seem like they’ll give the most result later on.
I stepped out my front door and the crisp chill of the morning air brushed against my face, giving me goosebumps. I was instantly glad I wore layers.
“Hey.” A calm male voice said off to the side. I jumped slightly.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to surprise you.” He held his hands up when I turned to scowl at him. He smirked and lowered his hands.
“Who are you?” I asked since he seemed to know me as well. Geez I me feel I’m suffering from amnesia.
“It’s me, Neipht’s son, Lephtal. I wanted to come wake you up. But father said it wasn’t right for an unmarried man to enter an unmarried woman's house without being invited.” he smirked when he said women. Brat! Though he’s probably more than twice my age…
“I’m going along with you and the scouts to talk with the other Shades today it seems. Please take care of me.” I said deciding to be respectful to my elders. Even if he looks like he’s 16.
“Yep. Follow me, we’re meeting up at the armory. We have some equipment ready for you there. We might run into monster on the way after all. Also the Oru that are still running around. We need to be careful to avoid them.”
The Elven village was amazing. The entire village was on top of the trees. Bridges spanned from tree to tree. Wooden platforms were suspended between multiple trees. The village stretched as far as the eye could see with the rippling wooden platforms each connected to one another. Looking through a gap in the platform it looked like we were at least 800 meters up. Not to even mention the platforms even higher up in the giants trees the Elves called their homes. The tallest tree had a diameter of at least 1 kilometer or more, I couldn’t tell to was quite far away, but it towered above all the other trees and had countless Elves living in it. They almost looked like termites with all the hole in the wood and people entering and leaving. The sun was still down so the entire tree was lit up. It was mesmerizing.
“When are you going to get used to the Chiefs tree? Every time you see it you look at it like it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever looked at.” Lephtal shook his head and started walking.
Honestly I think it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever looked at that wasn’t a painting…
I stared at it for while long and ran to catch up to Lephtal.
Arriving at the Armory which turned out to be a building built onto a platform only 2 or 3 platform from my house. Waiting for us outside were 3 men and 2 women, all of them elves of course.
“Little Shade, I’d like you to meet the other scouts. This is Jut.” Lephtal walked up and slapped the shoulder of a male Elf that looked even younger than him.
“It’s to meet you Little Shade. This is my first time meeting a Shade.” Jut gave me a slight bow. Not a japanese bow, but one of those old timey gentleman bows.
“It’s nice to meet you, as you know I’m Little Shade.” I replied with a smile.
Lephtal when through each of them and introduced them to me from there. Next was Neyh another male and the only elf I’ve seen so far whose hair isn’t brown like mine. His hair was a pale green. The Ulfali a female elf with the same eye color as me. Hue who was a male elf with scars all over each of his arms. Lastly was a female elf called Freya who was the tallest and most muscular of the group.
“We’re all ready already. Hurry up Little shade. we need to be back by the day after tomorrow” Said Ulfali as she began pushing me toward to armory door. I went in and they all waited outside.
A grizzled elf with a face full of scars and only one eyes looked at me critically from behind a desk. “Vambraces, one for each arm. A chest plate, shin guards, a bow, a quiver with 15 arrows, a sword belt and a longsword.” As he said them he reached below the desk and thumped them down on top of it.
“Did I miss anything missy?” he smiled, I think?
“No… But I wouldn’t know even if you did.” I walked over fiddled with each of them until I worked out how to put them on. I kind of wish there was just a equip button I could press and then it was equipped.
After I finished putting it on a window opened up.
* “You have Reinforced Waterproof Over Clothing
* +1EXP
* You have Reinforced Worn Leather Pants
* +1EXP”
Apparently this counts as crafting? I mused as I did up the last clasp on my vambraces. I glanced at the Elf at the front desk who gave off the feeling of being a grizzled old man. “You need me to return these when I get back I assume?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
The Grizzled Elf simply waved his hand and said, “Nah, they’re yours. They didn’t tell you this yet because it’s still a secret. But the chiefs council has decided you’ll be in charge of keeping order in the growing Shade presence for the area in and around Elven territory.”
I scrunched my nose at that. What are these NPC’s arbitrarily deciding for me? “Do I get any say in this?” I asked, not trying the hide the displeasure the new brought me.
The Grizzled Elf chuckled, “Nope.” and I left while remembering to kick something on the way out. Which only made him laugh harder.
I met up with the others and we set off.
On the way to the village they filled me in on the details.
The Human settlement is by a Lake the Elves considered sacred. In Elven legends the Lake of Dawn as it’s called was the site of a tremendous event. There was a battle with a monster as large as a mountain and an Elf called Dawn gave their life to seal it. The seal took the form of a lake and so was the Lake of Dawn.
I am to persuade the humans to leave and move to another area in the forest that the Elves have no issue with them claiming.
When we’d arrived we found that the Human settlement only had 17 occupants. They noticed us as we approached and grabbed various stones and heavy looking sticks.
“Stop right there!”
Yelled a woman that stood at the front of the group. She was the only one with an actual weapon. It was an axe that seemed like it should be too large for her to even lift. Nevertheless she seemed to have no trouble lifting it with both hands despite her lack of muscles. She must have put all her points in Strength.
Needless to say we stopped in our tracks immediately. Neither I nor the Elves wanted this to be a hostile encounter. Though we were ready for if it turned out to be.
The axe lady narrowed her eyes at us and looked us over.
“What are you? Elves?”
She seemed to become slightly more vigilant.
“Get the fuck outta here!”
I looked at Ulfali who was at my left with a questioning glance. She seemed confused.
“I don’t know what she’s saying. You're the shade here. Speak with your people.”
Well that's just not helpful…
I stepped forward. When I did the axe lady became vigilant again and seemed ready to fight.
“Get the fuck back! We ain’t afraid to kill you if you cause us trouble!” The axe lady screamed hysterically.
I sighed and opened my mouth to speak, thought better of speaking my mind, close it, waited until I’d worked out what to say and then spoke. I don’t know how I’d be viewed if they knew I was a player. It’s fine if they know I’m human though.
“Okay. I won’t get any closer. We just want to speak to you for a bit and then we’ll leave.” I said as calmly and slowly as possible without slurring my words.
“Fine! Say what you want and leave!” Axe lady shouted back at me.
“My name E’al(Little Shade). I’m a human(shade) like you. I’m representing the Elven Village nearby in regards to an issue with the location of your settlement. The Elves would very much like you to move to a more suitabl-”
“SHU’UP! SHUT! THE! FUCK! UP!” I’d noticed her getting more irritated with my every word as I’d spoken and seems she finally exploded.
“I-I’m sorry if I offende-”
“NO! This is our land!” As the axe lady said this she raised her weapon high and all the other human stepped forwards with their improvised weapons ready. When they stepped forward the Elves all unslung their bows and readied arrows. I did the same, though much more clumsily.
“I’m sorry I tried.” I sighed.
“Don’t worry about it Little Shade. These Shades are just to used to being little better than animals. We’ve had Elves that ended up like this in the past. We call it Monsterfication. It’s common for people to start turning into monsters in high stress environments and on land with a high mana concentration. This is why we didn’t want them here. Seems like we’re too late.” Jut explained to me with a pained expression.
AUTHOR Notes:
Locations:
Rehl, village of the Elves. Suspended high in the trees above the forest floor resides the elven village of Rehl. Made of four quarters, the merchants quarter, the military quarter, the magic quarter and the education quarter. Each quarter is further separated into districts.
Lake of Dawn, the elven hero Dawn sacrificed her life to seal a great beast. This seal took the form of a lake and to this very day the seal remains. Large amounts of magic gather around the lake which make it dangerous for the untrained to remain in the area for long. Monsterfication will occur in those that are too weak to resist the residual mana in the air.
Characters:
Little Shade(E’al), Primordial human(Shade), 18yo. Toned and slightly curvey. Her hair was brown and curled slightly in spirals. Her eyes were green like jade. She looked like a normal person with an average face. Her teeth were a bit crooked but nothing glaring.
Neipht(Friend from the next tree), Elf, 179yo. Well built with a clear cut chin. His hair was black and flowed in the air like silk string. His eyes were an icy blue that seemed to glow like neon lights. He looked like a heroic man that very well just might have achieved a great many heroic deeds if he’d had the drive to.
Lephtal(Like a Brother), Elf, 32yo. Tall and lanky with well toned muscles. His hair was a dark brown and unkempt. His eyes were blue like Neipht’s but with flecks of green around the irises edges. He looked like an unruly teen that spends most of his time at the movies with friends or doing something stupid. Even though he looked to be 16 he have a kind of confidence to him that made it obvious he was much older.
Jut(Stupid youth), Elf, 27yo. He was slightly shorter than Lephtal and had a lack of any obvious muscles. His hair was a light brown, almost blonde. His eyes were a deep blue like sapphire. Since he looked like he was 13 he looked like a young teen hanging out with the big kids. The way he was being treated gave that feeling as well.
Neyh(Pale hair), Elf, 65yo. A man with a slender build. He looked like he’s probably really flexible more than possessing any kind of physical strength. His Hair was a pale green. Making him one of the very few elves I saw with hair any colour other than black or brown. He also had purple eyes which made him stand out from the rest as well.
Ulfali(Clean Fawn), Elf, 48yo. A short woman with large breasts and although well proportioned she has the equivalent of twig arms and legs. How she can even wield a weapon without hurting herself can only be explained through game logic. She had pale blond hair. Her eyes were the same jade green as my own. When the game comes out there will probably be pornagraphic drawings and such of her within the week.
Heu(Calm and experienced), Elf, 83yo. He was absolutely covered in scars. How he survived any one of them I have no clue. He had unremarkable brown hair and brown eyes. He had a hardness to him. Like he’d been through many battles and seen many friends die. Maybe even had to kill a few who’d turned against him. My imaginations just running away with me from all those scars.
Freya(Tall & muscular), Elf, 120yo. She looked the oldest of the six. She was taller than all of us by a foot. She had muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger during his bodybuilding days. Her hair was white and seemed to clump together like she hadn’t washed it for a few days. Her eyes had a ferocity to them, but also a kindness. They were yellow and glowed faintly in the same way Neipht’s had. She was the only elf I’d seen with white hair and yellow eyes so far.
Status info:
PF, Physical Fortitude. It represents my overall physical health and stamina. It’s restored through sleeping, eating and hydrating myself, like by drinking water as one example. When depleted completely you die.
MF, Mental Fortitude. It represents of overall mental health and concentration. It’s used not only for magic but also to protect myself from bad status effect like sleep, charm and confusion. It’s restored through resting and avoiding physical activity for a time. Sleeping will restore it completely. When depleted completely you become unable to move and collapse. If conscious you remain conscious but are is a state similar to paralysis.
Power, Speed and Flexibility are all self explanatory. Though they all have effects on physical attack and defence they do so to different degrees. They each also have unique bonus effect.Power lets you lift heavier things. Speed allows you to perceive things and move at a faster speed. Flexibility lets you move your body beyond its natural limits with greater ease.
Longevity is the stat with the greatest effect on Physical Fortitude and Physical Defense. It extends how long you can run for without becoming exhausted and extends how long your character can live for by 1 year per point allocated to the stat.
Capacity affects how much you can eat at once... It also has the greatest effect on Mental Fortitude and cast speed.
Potential effects how quickly you can increase stats outside of leveling. Things like exercising, reading books or creating things grants bonus stat increases. It also increases the number of Ability points you receive to allocate per level.
Magic and Mind both increase Magical Attack and Mental Fortitude. Magic has the greatest effect on Magical Attack while Mind has the greatest effect on Magical defence.
Luck affects a large number of stats. It also increases drop rates and critical damage.
Skill effects how quickly you can increase your skills levels outside of leveling and allocating Skill Points. The more you use a skill the stronger it will become. It also increased how many Skill Points you receive to allocate per level.
Level increases by gathering 100 EXP, or Experience points. You gain 1 EXP if you defeat an enemy of equal or greater strength. You can also gain EXP by crafting something you haven’t made before or by making more of that item at a time. You can’t gain EXP by killing enemies without first gaining a Classification which represents your way of life.
End of Part 1_______________________________________________________________