Exodus Online
Prologue
The gray sky was filled with dark black clouds. The air smelled of an impending storm. It was the kind of day that would make you want to not get out of bed. However in Aaron’s case he had to go to school.
Aaron was an introverted person who studies diligently and gets good grades. He had turned 18 this year, and was a senior in high school. He was 6 feet tall, had a slightly muscular build, light brown eyes, and short hair. His life motto was “No friends, no enemies, no problems”.
He got up and started his daily routine. First he fixed his bed, then he went to the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth. He went back to his room to put his uniform on, and went down to eat breakfast, just like any other normal day.
However, today slightly differed from other days. It was the day the new game titled “Exodus™”, would be launched worldwide. The game was developed by the most advanced AI of all time. Five years in the making, using all games popular and unpopular from the last century as references. It was dubbed a miracle game, a game that would change gaming experience forever.
Like the good hardcore gamer he, was Aaron had pre-ordered the game and all the necessary equipment to play it. All he had to do was get through the day at school, and it would be smooth sailing from there. He already had his name picked out, his class, and even what he wanted to do when he started.
It took a while, but he managed to decide on Dual Wielding Katanas, with Magician as his secondary class to strengthen his swords and allows his sword to use elemental properties in battle.
The reason it took him so long to decide, was because every class you could imagine was available in the game he had to pick one main class at level 10, and at level 200, he gets access to his secondary class.
It was said to be one of the most outrageous ideas in games. Imagine a priest fighting upfront instead of standing in the back healing, or maybe even a necromancer that wasn't squishy, or even having a dancer as a main source of damage The possibilities were endless.
As soon as he was ready, he left for school. As a senior he already had his license, and his parents were nice enough to buy him a car. He turned the ignition and backed out of the driveway; the school was only a 5 minute drive away. When he pulled into the student parking lot he saw the government’s final recruiting effort. There was a sign with big bold black letters that said “Gamer Recruitment”.
As luck would have it “Exodus™ Online” was to launch on a worldwide scale.
It was due to the nature of the game, and the objective: raise your level, conquer new lands, set sail towards unconquered territories and establish your kingdom.
As dumb and cliche as it might seem, this was virtual reality we are talking about a second world, and many countries saw this as their opportunity to redeem themselves, or even to get revenge. Due to this every country was engaged in a wild recruitment campaign for gamers to build and strengthen their virtual army.
When he walked by. Someone called out to him.
“Hey you! You look like a gamer how would you like to fight for good ol ‘merica? I can promise you will be paid accordingly depending on your performance in game, hell, we’ll even provide medical, dental, and life insurance.”
‘ Here they go again with this crap. I don’t give a damn about fighting for the pride of my country in a virtual game. All I want is to grind, level up, get some badass armour and maybe even meet a cute girl.’
“Sorry, not interested” Aaron answered and walked away.
He slowly approached a pair of automatic doors. When he walked through, he saw students walking in groups while having a conversation in the hallway, couples walking to class together, and teachers yelling “The bell is going to ring soon!”.
‘My last year in this shithole’
He walked towards the hall where his first class was, and after walking 5 minutes he walked in, he was surprised at the scene that greeted him.
Chairs and desks were pushed along the walls, and in the middle of the class was a big map, with the teacher standing on one side explaining the beginning areas. He also explained his hypothesis as to where good hunting grounds would be located in proximity of water, food sources, and shelter.
“Aaron, you are welcome to join the class today at the launch.”
“I’m sorry but I haven't bought the game yet Coach Johnson.”
Looking annoyed Coach Johnson responded.
“I called your mother she said that you’ve got one of the first 100 manufactured copies in the States.”
‘Thanks mom, thanks a lot.’ He thought.
Now embarrassed Aaron replied.
“ I don’t do well with groups. I am a solo player, sorry.”
“What a tool. I bet he thinks he’s better than us. Let’s hunt him down when the ban for player-killing is lifted.” The class raged.
All except one girl, Luna Eidos the class outcast, and candidate for weirdest girl of the year based on the schools underground website. She was quietly sitting in the corner of the classroom drawing while reading some weird comic with two guys on the cover page.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
‘I wonder if she’s going to play the game. Well I doubt it. She doesn’t seem like the gamer type.’
Throughout the day, none of the classes were held. Class time was used for strategic meetings that covered every aspect of time game. A day ingame was 6 hours in real life.
The school had planned time for meals, bathroom breaks, and even offered excused absences to those who wanted to devote themselves to the game. But these students were also given homework.
When the bell signaling the end of the day finally rang, all hell broke loose. It was as if a fire alarm had been pulled, and everyone was rushing out of the school.
Bodies collided with one another, feet were stepped on, while others were trampled. No one cared. They wanted was to get home as quickly as possible and prepare for the worldwide launch that was held later that day.
Aaron sat in silence as he knew this would happen. Thinking he was the only one in the classroom he started to hum an old tune from a movie he had watched when he was younger.
He was startled when he heard a chair slide behind him and saw Luna get up and walk out of the door.
‘What the hell! I didn't even notice she was here’
Soon, he started to gather his things and was about to leave when Luna walked back in.
“ Please take this” She said giving him a note sealed with a heart shaped sticker.
‘.....’
“Ummm, Thank you.”
‘What the hell am I supposed to say?'
“So..... Are you going to play Exodus™ Online?” Asked Aaron nervously.
‘Wow why the hell did I ask her about a game. This is why I’m single’
“Yes, I will start playing today” Luna answered in a shy small voice.
‘Damn shes so cute. Screw my motto if she wasn’t so weird, I would definitely go for it.’
“Oh, ok well if you want you could give me yo—”
Luna didn't even let him finish his sentence she simply walked away.
‘Well that went well...’
Not wanting to run into Luna again, he delayed his departure for a few minutes. He then walked out of the school premise, towards his car.
***
Headlines
- Germany opens dedicated gaming buildings for Exodus™ Online.
- France invests millions in securing internet connections.
- United States rumored to have trained gamers for 5 years in preparation for the game.
- Exodus™ Online is dominating the World Game Market.
- Rumored Real Currency in-game Auction House proved to be true.
As Aaron continued to scroll down the News Site, he soon lost interest. Everything was about Exodus™. It seemed as if the whole world was waiting for this game to launch. In actuality they were all waiting for it to launch.
Only 30 minutes remained until the launch. Aaron lay down putting on his Busby™
You were allowed to create your character and select a starting position 1 hour before the actual game launched.
“Welcome to Exodus™ Online."
“Please select a name”
“I AM DA ALMIGHTY DRAGON”
“Character Names may not include spaces, symbols, or numbers”
‘...’
“IAMDAALMIGHTYDRAGON”
“The name you have selected is too long. Please select another name.”
‘Thanks for crushing my dreams’
“Mazoku”
— Name has been registered
“Would you like to alter your characters appearance?”
“Change eye color to red. That is all”
— Your character has been created.
“If you have a region exemption code please say it now. ”
“ I don’t have one.”
“Very well, You will be starting in the United States Beginner Region. Please select a starting town.”
A holographic map appeared in front of Aaron. Countless towns were shown listing each bonus that came from each town and the monsters that appeared around each one.
“ Random” He said in a loud voice.
The game will be launching in 10 minutes. You are free to wait here or log out and return at the time of launch.
‘ 10 minutes what to do, oh i forgot the....’
To be continued.
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I am baddiez! I am but a baddy surrounded by goodies. If you see anything you don’t like or someplace you think I may be able to improve on my writing feel free to comment.
Also would like to thank AnmesicCat for helping proofread, Vereliosi for helping
with my writing, Zxilios for reading and giving me input, and Sunny for being cute ;)