"Holy fucking shit its here!" I screamed, jumping around my apartment like a child. A thumping sound from beneath my floor communicated to me the wishes of the others living in my building. I stopped and sat on my bed, breathing deeply as an exercise of self-control. What had brought me to this level of emotion I hear you ask, well the release of a new game.
Sure, of course I had played other games before, and you wouldn't be wrong to say that I had been excited for the release of them as well. But if you were to say that I would first counter with, why have you been watching me followed very promptly by the statement that as good as all of those games had been, none of them even nearly compared to what had just been released.
'Legend Has It.'
The first ever full dive game. Yes I know how pretentious that sounds, you're probably thinking Bart, this is real life, not some shitty light novel. That or some snide remark at my name, a choice by my parents that I had suffered for greatly in primary school. Anyway off topic again, yes it does seem rather fantastical for a full dive to have been released but after a swathe of medical and technological breakthroughs, we had arrived at the present. A world that had a game in which you could truly become your character, and I was understandably hyped.
Sure I had used full dive before, it had been around for nearly a year now. But until this point, it was used as nothing more than a convenient place for businesses to conference with each other and a platform for exceptional porn. A medium which I am unashamed to have tried.
'Legend Has It' had been developed at a breakneck speed by two men and anyone who they could pay or convince to volunteer. It was a passion project, an 'MMORPG' that these two geniuses from Silicon Valley had slaved at. They had refused big sponsorships, stating on their social media that they wouldn't "whore out their dream" for big companies. Legend has it was a world in which the player takes the form of a spirit of their own making. A unique idea in which no one plays a mortal character and the players fight for the worship and prayers of the people of the land, (npc's) The concept was somewhat simple, the more prayers or followers, the more power that your character gains. I thought it was interesting as it encouraged a variety of playstyles. For example, I had heard people on the forums discussing playing as evil tyrants and forming a pantheon together.
Oh shit yeah I forgot, pantheons are basically the guild mechanic, if you and a couple mates wanted to help one another then you formed a pantheon and shared prayers from your group of followers.
I stopped my internal monologue and wondered why I had been talking to myself in such a conversation manner. Was I going mad? I shook my head and began walking downstairs. I lived in the space above a small family cafe. A place I was looking to stock up at, I wasn't planning on leaving my room for a while. It was the holidays at my college and without any close family I was planning on boost levelling the living shit out of myself.
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I walked into the shop from a side door into the kitchen and was met by an interior that one would, if they were being kind, describe as modern or technical and if they weren't as clinical and reminiscent of a hospital. It wasn't the nicest place but it sold cheap coffee, food and was close to a university so nonetheless, it held onto a dedicated fan base.
I sashayed up to the counter, a winning smile plaster on my face and my eyes locked with the owner's daughter, the current attendant at the register. She noticed me to if the slight blush and the crossing of her arms around herself was any indication. I leaned against the counter and winked at her.
"The usual?" She asked meekly, her eyes darting anywhere but me.
"You know me so well." My smile reaching predatory levels. It was nice to be noticed, something she did quite a lot of, it wasn't that I was particularly handsome and nor was she. But I was above average and the few perks of a literature degree were seeming smart to girls so I got by.
"Here you go, three muffins, one hamburger and a black coffee." She handed me the bag of my stuff and was tactful in her willful ignorance of how much I consistently bought from this cafe. In my defence the food was cheap and it was either this or the can of beans that was left in my fridge. But those beans looked as though they were older than me and as such, I refrained. Cafe food for me.
Next, I made a show of slapping my pockets and then looking at her bashfully. She looked at me oblivious for a moment before the cutest look of realisation blossomed upon her face.
"Oh no Bart, did you leave your wallet at university again?" She asked, genuine concern flooding her features and voice.
"It would appear that way, I'm so sorry I'll pay you back tomorrow. Promise."
"Ok, you need to take better care of yourself." She said and I had the impression she was going to say more, but I had a game to play and was already halfway up the stairs to my apartment by the time she had finished speaking. All with absolutely no intention of paying her back.
I walked into my room half a muffin already shoved into my grinning face.
"Did you miss me, baby?" I said through a mouthful of a muffin to the dive helmet resting on my bed. I danced toward the setup and lay down next to it and caressed its side. "We are going to have fun you and I." My cackling was muffled by the helmet when it was put on and my vision was filled with large white lettering that read, 'Initialising.'
I lay on my bed, fidgeting slightly as I waited for the initialising to come to an end. When it did and my vision went dark my mind filled with all the possibilities of a new world. My new Eden, where I can be whoever the fuck I want.