Chapter I
Game Start
Part 1
The NightWalkers Internet Cafe started out as a simple 10 unit Computer and Internet station run and managed alone by a middle-aged man after his wife died. It had been on business for ten years, and now it had grown into a two-storey two-building business. The main building had twenty computer units on the first floor for a variety of purposes and thirty on the second floor dedicated solely to gaming. In the annexed building, the first floor had a snack bar and a small resting lounge, as well as rooms rented by some of the employees. The annexed building’s second floor was the latest addition. There were fifteen private rooms which could be rented on an hourly basis, with VR units in each room.
Joshua dela Cruz was an employee of Night-Walkers Internet Cafe. He was a fresh graduate with a degree on Computer Engineering. With the rise of Virtual Reality Technology, it had become one of the most popular courses, resulting in a huge influx of Computer Engineers and increasing the competition.
Joshua came from an average family, and with no connections to any of the major companies leading the development of Virtual Reality hardware and software, he was unable to land a job. Luckily, he came upon an obscure job advertisement on-line from the Internet cafe, which happened to be just within the district of the apartment he had stayed in during his college and while job hunting. He got the job after the nerve-wracking first interview and moved in. He was now staying in one of the employee rooms, with the rent deducted directly from his pay. His work was simple. He just had to make sure all the units were in top condition.
A few minutes past midnight.
There was a group of people inside the resting lounge. They were all employees of NightWalkers, excluding only those who were currently on work shift. They were sitting on Monobloc chairs arranged in a messy circle facing inward. Their attention and eyes were focused on a woman in a white shirt with the NightWalkers logo printed on its front and back. Her name was Stephanie Rivera, the owner’s daughter.
“Sorry to call you all here on such short notice, but this was the only time when most of you are free.”
She took out printed papers from a folder and handed them out. Joshua and the other employees started reading the contents of the hand-outs and some of them had surprised expressions on their faces.
“The income from the new units fell under the expected calculations. It has been a year since the second floor was added, but the profits barely increased. We were planning on further extending the annex to install more VR units, but with the current lack in popularity of this new feature, the plan would be put on hold. This idea I am presenting now came into mind while I was talking to one of the customers a few days ago.”
The hand-outs presented a proposal of starting a guild in one of the currently trending VRMMO game, Warring Factions Online. The purpose of the guild was to earn money through real money trade and at the same time, advertise the Internet cafe.
“We can’t back out of the annex extension plan as we had already pre-ordered a set of new VR units. What we need now is additional budget for the construction and the initial monthly costs as well as a constant stream of customers for the VR units. Those two were the foundations of this proposal.”
Some of the employees nodded in agreement, while others like Joshua were still a bit confused.
“Who will be playing?”
“Everyone, of course. Play on a schedule outside of your work shift. As this will be considered as part of the job, you will receive overtime pay as well as a commission depending on your contributions in the game.”
“How about the units?”
“Since everyone will be playing on different schedules, you will take turns in using ten of the older VR units until the new ones arrive. Choose someone who you would be sharing with. Of course, you would be playing on different accounts. Energy costs as well as subscription costs will be deducted from your pay.”
“What!?”
The surprised reaction of one employee was laughed at by the others.
“Don’t worry. I’ve done calculations and if you do well, you’ll be able to earn a lot after the first month. You’ll be losing most of your free time, though. You are not obligated to spend all of your free time on this, but take note that this is sort of a part time job for you, and the more time you spend on this, the more you’ll earn.”
“Most of us here have spent at least a year working here, so I’m sure all of us old-timers support this idea.”
“Well, earning more isn’t half-bad.”
“I think this is interesting.”
All of the employees present gave their approval except for Joshua. He was the youngest employee here as well as the newest. He had started here a little over three weeks ago.
“Joshua?”
Stephanie asked, seeing his hesitation. He was surprised as he didn’t expect for them to even ask for his opinion.
“I think it’s a good idea.”
She smiled at his answer, then clapped her hands once.
“Well, that’s set. You can go go back to rest, or maybe even start playing right now. I’ll go tell the others on my own.”
None of those involved expected that this simple plan to improve the business would result in earth-shattering fame.
Part 2
Next morning, a little less than half of the employees had already started playing the game. The guild will be formed after a month. Their current task was to get used to the game and strengthen their character.
Joshua was on day shift. There were two others tasked with maintenance like him, one night and one graveyard shift. After the meeting last night, he did some research regarding the game, and the massive amount of information was too much to take and comprehend in just a few hours.
Warring Factions Online was a space-themed VRMMO. Players choose a faction to join after creating a character and then were sent to a random city in a random planet under control of that faction. There were currently three factions: The Federation, The Union, and the Empire.
The primary goal of the game was to allow one’s faction to become the strongest in the universe. There were constant wars in the borders between factions and over neutral space. Aside from the faction-controlled areas, there were still many unexplored regions. The universe was vast after all.
Aside from this goal, the players were left to do as they see fit. They can stay in their starting planet and set up their base there and become the governor of a city. They can also decide to buy a ship and travel to other planets or explore distant places in the universe. They could be merchants or pirates. They could be miners or soldiers. The limits of what a player could do depended on his imagination.
The game also boasts of its intense PVP system. Aside from the constant wars between factions, players could also join the competitive inter-faction arena and raise their rankings. Top rankers were rewarded with in-game credits, rare materials and items, as well as real-life limited edition freebies. There were arenas for 1v1 fights, party versus party, and also guild vs guild, with different modes like space dominations, base raids, or simple infantry combat.
Lastly, the game had a special companion system. Players can hire NPC companions to accompany them in harvesting resources, exploring the vast space in their ship, and even join in the arena. They can change the NPCs equipments and modify their AI using the exclusive AI script editor that came with the game to improve their combat strategies and skills.
Warring Factions Online did not have player levels. Instead, it made use of a comprehensive skill system and a very deep crafting system. The players set their stats during character creation and were permanent. They could only be improved depending on the equipments and skills the player have equipped, as well as items that temporarily increase stats for a period of time.
Joshua’s shift starts at eight in the morning and ends at four in the afternoon. Since he doesn’t eat lunch during his work hours, he would quickly go to the snack bar after work to buy and eat instant noodles boiled in hot water.
After the short meal, he went to the main building’s first floor. There were currently three employees behind the counter. One of them was Nicole Castro, a woman in her mid-twenties with a cute childish face. Because of that she was always mistaken as a high schooler. She was the first person he got to know here, and he was now sharing a VR unit with her. Her work schedule starts at three in the afternoon and ends by eleven. She would then sleep after work, and only play in the morning. This meant that Joshua could use the VR unit right after his shift all the way to morning until it was Nicole’s turn.
“Uh… I came here to register a personal card.”
Like other Internet cafes, NightWalkers Internet Cafe adapted the account card system where cards were used to access both the computer and VR units. For non-regular customers, they use the public account card which they borrow from the counter and return before they leave. For regulars, they register a personal account card which they can take wherever they go. They were also entitled with discounts depending on how long they used a unit continuously, and free hours for their accumulated monthly usage hours.
All the employees already have their own personal account cards except for Joshua.
“Stephanie already knew about it so she already asked us to prepare one beforehand. Here, take it. She said that the registration cost would be deducted to this month’s pay.”
Nicole made a mischievous smile as she handed the card over the counter while Joshua had a bitter one. Stephanie was a very kind, responsible, and attentive boss. Her only flaw would be that she seemed to be quite trigger-happy when it came to wage deductions.
“Thanks. I will be using the VR unit now.”
“You can take it from my room. I left the door unlocked, so please lock it for me after you take it. And also sorry if it smells a little. It was quite hot this morning so I think I sweat a lot.”
“D-don’t worry about it.”
Joshua felt a little shy. The mention of sweat made him think of strange things. Nicole was a woman with a wonderful body and a pretty face after all. Add that to the fact that he was quite weak and inexperienced when it came to interactions with women. He had always been that way since he was young.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
When he left, Nicole giggled as she watched his back disappear into the annexed building. She found his reaction quite cute.
“Despite your face, you’re actually a witch.”
The other female employee said with a smirk. The only male among the three sighed as he remembered his first month working here and how this innocent-looking woman had him in the palm of her hand for quite some time. In his mind, he wished Joshua luck.
Part 3
The VR unit was composed of two parts, the system unit and the helmet. The system unit was a black rectangular box that looked like a small suitcase. The top part can be lifted like a notebook computer, revealing a keyboard on the bottom part and a black flat screen beneath the lifted part. It was also slightly heavy.
The helmet was connected to the system unit with a long and thick flexible tube. The system unit was then plugged into an electric outlet and connected to the Internet via wireless connection.
Joshua booted up the system unit and placed the helmet on his head. He smelled a sweet citrus scent. It was Nicole’s shampoo. His face reddened for a moment before he shook his head. A window appeared on the system unit’s screen telling him to insert his account card. There was an external card reader attached to the side of the system unit where he inserted his account card.
A list of games installed was displayed on the monitor. He quickly found Warring Factions Online under the “Last Played on this Unit” category. He clicked the icon and a prompt appeared telling him to find a comfortable resting position before using the “Game Start” voice command.
He lay down on the bed and took a deep breath. He had not told others, but this was actually his first time playing a VR game. Finally relaxed, he opened his mouth.
“Game Start.”
Welcome
To
<< WARRING FACTIONS ONLINE >>
Account Card System detected.
Preset values detected.
Loading preset values… Done!
Your character’s appearance will be generated using the preset values in your Account Card. You may change this appearance up to a maximum of 5% deviation for free. Any major change will cost a specific amount depending on the degree of variation and will be charged to your account card.
Note that the setting of Warring Factions Online is in space and your character will be wearing a full body spacesuit armor, hiding your appearance most of the time.
Inside the infinite black space, notification windows appeared which was quickly followed by the character appearance generated using the preset values. It stood facing him, and it looked exactly just like him.
‘How did they get the exact values!?’
He was shocked at what he saw but then remembered the events on his first day of employment. He underwent a full body scan under the guise of a physical checkup. There was also a house rule that all of the cafe’s employees were required to undergo the same “physical checkup” every 6 months.
‘So that was what it was for…’
After seeing the note in the window notification, he decided to keep his appearance. He still was not used to VR games so suddenly seeing a different person when looking at his reflection might feel a little strange. Also, he didn’t want to add more deductions to his pay for this month.
Distribute your stats and choose eight skills.
There were six stats in Warring Factions Online. Strength determines how much load one can carry, allowing the player to equip heavier armor and weaponries. Agility enhances the response of the spacesuit armor, making movements smoother and faster. Dexterity improves the player’s ability to handle complex structures, improving weapon accuracy and ship control. Technique modifies crafting chance of success and property generation. Intelligence affects research and exploration results. Charisma improves leadership skills, be it as the governor of a city or as the leader of an AI squad.
He had 240 stat points to distribute. All stats start with 10 points, the minimum possible value, while the maximum was 100. Joshua was not sure of what kind of character he was going to make so he distributed all the points equally, 40 each, for a total of 50 points for each stat.
For the skills, he chose Basic Weapons, Basic Armors, Exploration, Research, Engineering, Leadership, Basic Ship Navigation, and Basic Ship Combat. There were other specific skills but just like in the stats, Joshua was unable to decide on a specific direction for his character.
Congratulations!
You have received a new Title!
Jack of All Trades
A balanced stat and skill build is your most prominent characteristic. Although you are outshone by those with specialized builds, you can do a lot more of things than them. Do not give up and nurture yourself. One day, you might become the King of All Trades.
Enter your character’s name and state its pronunciation:
There were no restrictions when making a character’s name. It was even possible to have the same name as another player. In case a name was too offensive, players could submit a report to the game management.
He spent a few minutes thinking and finally ended with XByte, read as ‘Cross Byte’.
Choose a faction to join in: Federation/Union/Empire
Without hesitation, he selected Union. It was already decided that all of the employees would choose Union as their faction.
Character Creation Complete!
His vision slowly faded into black. After a few seconds in darkness, he opened his eyes and found himself inside a room similar to that inside of an airplane, except that there were no windows and all the seats were sets of one on each side. A X-shaped seatbelt was buckled across his chest, above a piece of unfamiliar chest armor. Inspecting the rest of his body, he was entirely covered by armor parts made of the same material. It reminded him of Master Chief of the previous century’s gaming era. As he was wondering on what to do, a voice came from the assumed plane’s speakers.
“Citizens of the Union of Free Planets, we welcome you aboard the space transport vessel Dragonfly. You have been chosen by your respective planetary governors to ‘volunteer’ in the development of the newly discovered planet in the frontier of space exploration efforts. As of now, the planet is designated with the name U53. We will be arriving in a few minutes. We thank you all for your future endeavors. Have a safe trip.”
The announcement ended. Joshua realized that they were in a spaceship designed for transport purposes. Instead of an airplane, it was more of a spaceplane.
As he was finally about to relax, the ship started to shake violently. He heard the screams of people all around. He had not noticed it before as he was buckled securely in his seat, but it seemed like he was not alone in here.
“Everyone calm down! We have been ambushed by an unidentified vessel, but we are almost at our destination. I repeat, calm down! We are almost—”
The message was cut short as a huge explosion came from the rear. All the power inside the ship was lost, turning everything pitch black. Even though there were emergency lights, Joshua still couldn’t see clearly as the violent shaking still kept on going.
Suddenly, the surrounding walls started to glow red and a loud roaring sound could be heard coming from the outside and overlapped with the non-stop screaming of the other passengers.
Unable to handle the heat and pressure, the ship broke apart. The seat where Joshua was buckled to was launched outside, taking him along. The view that entered his vision felt him with fear and awe.
Right now, he was at a very high altitude. He could see mountains, forests, rivers, and seas. There was a desert right beneath him. It seemed like the ship he was riding had just entered this planet’s atmosphere, and broke apart right after breaking through. He saw the other passengers fall out of the remaining part of the ship which continued to break apart in the distance. After a short moment, the ship exploded, catching many of the falling passengers within the blast radius. The shockwave of the explosion reached Joshua, sending him flying faster closer to the ground while spinning around wildly.
“What do I do!?”
He started to panic, unable to figure out what he needed to do to make it out of this predicament.
A huge amount of sand was thrown into the air as his falling figure made contact with the ground.