PROLOGUE

Offline, I was a contractor. Employee number 00019348. That was how Greedy Robots Inc. identified me as. But in-game, I went by the alias Cruel. 

My job online was rather simple…to amass an ‘x’ amount of virtual gold as per contract… remit… then repeat. Plain elementary. 

It was the job that I've always wanted. I get to play subscription free, and then earn my keep at the same time. 

The playground where I'll be playing this time around was Helion Online. A VRMMORPG that doesnt give a flying fuck about mmo traditions. The only game of its kind that had the balls to fuck itself. Players included. In fact, today marked Helion's first day of its third incarnation after it was first destroyed by Eternia’s Rain on its debut, and was later on decimated by the Silver Cataclysm on its second.

On a business stand point, it might have been a total dick move to purge an entire game for failing to complete a world level quest... but guess what? Helion made 'dick move' work. In fact, it was that sole feature that drew gamers from all over the globe, eventually cementing the game to its current status as the world’s greatest VRMMORPG yet, two years in a row. 

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Players didn't need the same formula of generic hack and slash. They were all tired of it. They wanted something fresh. They wanted a game with a purpose. A game that could fuck and challenge them for real. Not just some safe mediocre game with shallow story line. They wanted a VRMMO where they could put their entire virtual lives at stake. Somewhere with grave consequences when mistakes were made. Something that would hold them accountable for every action they made inside the virtual realm.

Thankfully, folks at the Rainbow Abyss Studios listened. The developers of Helion Online gave all the players just 'that'. All twelve inches of it and even more. 

Of course, being rudely fucked twice came with a very valuable lesson. It was all about hating double penetration and saying no to a three-way in advance. Players this time around were hungry for a victory. They wanted to beat the game so bad that they were willing to do just about anything to secure it. In other words, to successfully cock block the third Extinction Level Event or ELE when it comes slammin against Helions door. 

Gold is god. And one of the many tactics that the Whales (corporate sponsored players) planned on employing this year was to procure an unbelievable amount of in-game currency in the earliest and shortest time possible. It was the oldest tactic in the book but also the most effective. They plan on buying every gold there was with real world money to secure the win. And of course, whenever there was a demand, capitalism was there too. That’s where we gold farmers come in. 

Avatar construction completed… 

Race combination accepted… 

Recalibrating stats… 

Welcome... 

This… is Helion Online. I am Cruel. And I work here.