Eleftheria Online is a new VRMMORPG, or Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game being developed by Dytika entertainment, promising another life for countless individuals seeking an escape from the tedium of their every day life. Creating a virtual world larger than Earth with just as much detail, the game seemed too good to be true. However, with the implementation of several A.I. operating independently of one another, Eleftheria became a possibility. Dytika had plans to attach real-world value to the in game currency, known simply as Coins, providing players with a way to not only spend more time within the game, but to trade their Coins for physical currency, similar to cryptocurrencies in how they operate. Given the current economic struggles the average citizen experiences in their day-to-day lives, Dytika found a perfect blend of affordable technology and a free-to-play game that came pre-loaded on every full-dive system, allowing the average person to afford the console with relative ease.

Thankfully for players like Samuel Barnes, the console was achievable and offered the foundations to climb out of poverty, as well as experience a side of life that hardly anybody has been able to experience in recent years. Clear skies and fresh air, resources readily available and plenty of laughter. While Eleftheria was very much a fantasy role-playing game, it was also a simulator of sorts. Dytika knew from the beginning of their development that a large portion of their population would use the game as a means to escape their miserable realities, and strived to provide a framework for them to build upon. Almost everything could be done within the game, anything from alchemy to mundane construction, the game had a basis for it. While the game was the first of its kind, a unique approach was used among the RPG genre, given that the game lacked a class system, allowing players to choose how they wanted to play. For Samuel Barnes, this was perfect as he planned to become a farmer utilizing body enhancement magic, selling his produce to support himself and his brother in the real world and within the game. Samuel had learned from various interviews with the Eleftheria development team that players would be able to claim land within the game so long as they were willing to pay taxes on the land, which was a necessity as they didn’t wany players to claim too much land and prevent others from enjoying the game. The players would be encouraged to build their own settlements and invite NPC’s governed by lesser A.I. to join, describing that the term ‘Lesser A.I.’ simply meant that their governing didn’t affect how the game ran, as a major A.I. would be described as something that operated the physics engine of Eleftheria. The more Samuel that about it, the more he was excited to end his shift at the warehouse and log into Eleftheria for the first time. He had a notification sent to his phone when his package arrived, and had his brother quickly pull it inside before a thief snatched it off his doorstep. Only being able to afford a small two bedroom apartment in the under-bowels of the city left much to be desired, and Sam had hoped that Eleftheria would fill those desires. Of course, his first big expense would be getting a console for his brother to use, since he had long dreamed of a game like Eleftheria, as well as experiencing it with his brother. But for now Sam’s thoughts were just of getting home and logging into what he was sure was going to be a life-changing experience for himself and his brother Alexander.

Exiting the warehouse Samuel made his way through to the subway station, which doubled as a quick transportation through the city, as well as an entrance to the hastily constructed tunnels that housed over half of the city’s population. Only the rich were able to afford property above ground, and the rest of the real estate in the cities went to corporations that used the area to construct massive factories and warehouses, catering to the consumer culture that had devoured the world. The passageways that might be called streets were damp with stagnant water, neon lights lit the way when the publicly installed lighting had failed, creating a low electric hum as Sam passed by the homes of many people, as well as drinking establishments and some grocery stores claiming to sell fresh food that was clearly nearing the end of its life. Nearly every shop had a sign displaying the buzz words that pulled people in, cigarettes, beer, and lottery. Sam had to dodge several puddles of unknown origin as he made his way toward his residential district, an area of the city that was still controlled by the zoning regulations from above ground, preventing any shops from popping up. This however had the unfortunate circumstance of attracting criminal activity to the area, since people were more often than not, away from home, leaving their hovels they call home unguarded and ripe for the picking. The police hardly ever patrolled the section unless they were looking for someone, which proved to be infrequent, as the danger posed to them was higher than the reward they may receive from bringing someone to justice.

                Sam arrived at his door, a dingy looking wooden door, the mismatched metal numbers displaying his apartment number nearly falling off from their rivets. It wasn’t much but apartment 3051 B was his and his brother’s. Sliding his key into the lock and turning harder than he should have to, the door unlocked and readily swung open. Inside was a relatively clean appearance, with concrete floors and warm lighting. On his right was the bathroom, which featured a walk-in shower that Sam had to install himself, much to the chagrin of his landlord. To the left was the kitchen, a small island with a portable stovetop and sink, with storage underneath for pots and pans. And lastly, in front of him, two rooms attached to the livingroom, an open area lacking furniture aside from a simple chair for Sam to sit at when he wanted to be social with his brother.

“Alex, I’m home!” Sam called out to his brother. The door on the right side of the livingroom opened up. Alex rolled out in his wheelchair, the package from earlier in his lap.

“Hey Sammy, how was work?”

“Boring, as usual. That manager has it out for me and gave me the heaviest orders today without access to a power lifter.”

“Well, you do kind of deserve it after calling his wife all sorts of names that even dad would have been shocked to hear.”

Sam had to chuckle; his brother had a point.

“Well, yeah. I guess so. But I won’t take back what I said, she was definitely flirting with Jim from the reception desk behind his back.”

The two chatted for a while before preparing their meal, not talking about the package that had arrived until Alexander couldn’t take it anymore.

“Okay. What is in the box?”

“A Dytika entertainment console for Eleftheria.”

“A WHAT?!” Alex exclaimed

“You know. One of those full-dive consoles that lets you live another life in Eleftheria online.”

“I know what it is, Sam. How did you get the money for this?”

“Work.”

“Not what I meant, smartass. Aren’t these stupidly expensive?”

“Yeah, but I was able to buy it from my savings. I want to get one for you too.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“How? We have payments to make, you can’t get one for me.”

“Actually, Dytika is planning on allowing currency exchange between the game and the real world. I was hoping to earn enough Coins to purchase you your own system. I’ll supply you while you go on adventures, that sort of thing.” Sam smiled at his wheelchair bound little brother, imagining him running around like he did when he was a kid.

“Alright. Eleftheria doesn’t come online until tonight at midnight, right?”

“Yup.”

“I’m so jealous.”

“Yup.”

Finally the time came to log into Eleftheria, registering his account and the display name Sammy The Farmer, he was prompted to engage the full-dive technology. Asking if he was laying down and in a certain position, Sam selected “Yes.” The feeling of falling that is normally associated with going to sleep crept into his body as his mind began to dream, his consciousness now interfacing with the Dytika console allowing him to feel and experience all of the sensations available during his initial login into the game.

“Welcome to Eleftheria Online!” A splash screen covered his vision, with a small timer counting down the time remaining to log into the game for actual gameplay. Behind the screen he could see a world full of fantastical trees, unreal landscapes and untamed wilderness. A new prompt appeared, offering him the chance to enter his character creation prior to the game launching, which of course Sammy responded to with a resounding “Yes.”

“In order to make changes to your avatar, simply imagine your own perception of yourself and make the modifications you wish to change.” The prompt closed and a slightly idealistic version of Sammy appeared before him in a mirror, moving in the same ways he felt himself moving. The sensation was weird, but not uncomfortable, like he was dreaming, but having concrete feedback from his motions. Opting to eave his tousled brown hair alone, and only slightly changing his height and frame to be a touch taller and more muscular, Sam had nearly finished his character, he wanted to make sure he was moderately attractive, so he spent a while correcting imperfections in his teeth, and getting the color of his eyes just right. The end result was a moderately handsome man with chestnut brown hair that fell in loose curls, and greyish green eyes. His teeth were white, but not unnaturally bright, as was commonly seen in the commercials for dental care products. His countenance could be described as pleasant.

By the time that Sammy had finalized his character design, the game was nearly ready to launch. Sam waited eagerly to get into the game, looking forward to playing something new as well as having a potentially new form of income.

“3”

“2”

“1”

The world became a white blur around him as the opening scene to the game played. Sam was floating above a medieval city, below him children dashed about the streets, playing with one another and causing general mayhem within the market. People of all shapes, colors and sizes mingled here and there, shopping from stalls as the scene changed to a lone girl in the woods, wielding a bow with a quiver of arrows, stalking some small woodland animal in the distance, she drew back her bow and let loose an arrow, the scene fading as the arrow embedded itself in a tree next to a rabbit. This scene was of a man in plate armor, fighting against a gelatinous creature in what looked like a sewer. A ball of fire erupted as the gelatinous creature burst, dropping a few coins on the floor of the sewer.

“Welcome, to Eleftheria Online.”

The scene faded as a map opened up before Sam as he looked around for different regions. He knew he didn’t want one that was too populated, and opted for a small region near the outskirts of the starting world map, taking note of the region’s name. “Oshana” which was a mostly flat region with a moderate amount of forest to take up the land. The city here was more of a large town, with no walls or any real defenses aside from the town guard. In a word, it was quaint. Making up his mind, Sam found himself standing near the town’s central fountain. His sudden appearance didn’t seem to phase any of the NPCs in the area. Sam immediately opened his character status screen and looked over his stats.

Strength: 1

Dexterity: 1

Stamina: 1

Constitution: 1

Mana: 1

Luck: 1

Skills: None

A small note at the bottom of the screen stated that each player started with these basic stats and would level up as they did actions within the game world. Skills could be acquired via practice or purchased by coin from a vendor.

Sam looked around, taking in his surroundings. The trees in the town were large, looming over the buildings, giving everything a fantastical sense of perspective that made Sam giddy. The leaves were large and cast beautiful shadows on the cobbled streets that the townsfolk were walking on. Several other players had chosen this area as their starting location and were all marveling at the sight. Sam opened his inventory to find that he had a basic set of tools fit for adventuring, and decided to start checking out some of the local establishments. Of course, in any RPG the first place to go would be the tavern, which finding was easier said than done. With a little help from some NPCs in the market he found his way to a tavern by the name of “A Good Knight’s Rest”. The exterior was simple, timber frame and stucco walls, as well as some cobbled walls near the base. The door was solid oak, and easy- but heavy to open. Inside several patrons were nursing drinks at their tables, some eating stew that smelled positively delicious and caused Sam’s stomach to rumble. Sam approached the bar, having his gameplan in mind. He wanted to find some work to get some beginning Coin, a necessity if he wanted to claim land and begin his farming nearby.

“Hello, what can I do for you?” The bartender asked while wiping a wooden mug clean with a rag.

“Yes, hello. My name is Sammy. I’m new to these lands and I was hoping that you could point me in the way of some work. Of course, I am willing to do any work that you may need done around this tavern as well.”

“If I had a Coin for every time a person asked for work around here I’d have earned none. If you’re willing to help me clean the tavern tonight then you’ll have a job. I have to warn you though, some of our nightly patrons get to be a little messy, and the work isn’t easy. I won’t need you until then though, so if you want to come back around sunset, I’ll welcome your help.”

Sammy had been prepared to pester the bartender a lot more than he did, he instead got the job immediately if he chose to accept it, which he made sure to convey his acceptance to the bartender before stepping out of the tavern. Players ran by, being chased by guards left and right. Laughter and shouts filled the street, as NPCs and players mingled, causing chaos with one another. Finding his way toward the market, Sammy decided that he would try to figure out prices of materials that he would need to start his farm.

A person wearing a green tunic and plain cotton trousers bumped into Sammy as he hurried by, falling to the ground. Sammy offered the small figure his hand to get back to his feet. As the figure began to climb to his feet, ignoring the offered help, Sammy noticed that the man’s ears were pointed, but mostly obscured by his hair. The man looked fearful at the player as he scurried off into an alley way. Brushing the strangeness of the encounter away, Sammy continued into the market, finding a food vendor, who was selling grains, oats, and several vegetables, taking a mental note of how much the items cost. While the wheat was only a few Coins per bushel, the more processed the food was the higher the cost. Flour was much more expensive than wheat, which made sense as it was labor intensive to produce. As Sammy began looking for someone who may be able to sell seeds, he was interrupted by the town guards, who had cleared a section of the market to make an announcement.

“If you have seen a suspicious individual wearing a green tunic, please step forward and aid us in the capture of this fugitive. Their presence in this town is forbidden and they will be executed upon capture.”

Sammy immediately thought about stepping forward but decided against it, stepping away from the crowd as stealthily as he could. Several players had stepped forward to assist the guards, drawing their attention away from the man who was leaving the market, heading toward an alleyway in the middle of the town. A sense of excitement filled Sammy’s mind, as he thought about going on a quest to save the elf from certain doom, getting a reward from the game, despite there being no evidence of such a thing existing in Eleftheria. Sammy found the alleyway that the elf had entered, glancing over his shoulder and making sure that nobody was watching as he stepped foot into the musty alley.