Joe materialised in a room along with nine other people, all of them in different manners of dress. A group of three were wearing clothes that Joe would describe as medieval steampunk. One wore a long leather trench coat, another had pointed combat boots laced into button-up pants with suspenders, and the final one wore a black latex corset paired with a cream peasant dress. Joe turned away from the group and saw an older man in the back. He appeared to be in his 60’s and was average height, maybe 5’10” or 178cm, with salt and pepper hair, and the olive-tan skin of somebody from the Mediterranean. He had a softness to him that spoke of good eating. Then, there were two young men, maybe in their mid-20s, dressed in what looked like combat gear, with a very paramilitary aesthetic. One of them was stoic and brooding, with Southeast Asian features, though Joe couldn't exactly pinpoint from where specifically. The other one, a Caucasian man, had a bright smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He was staring at a tiny teenage girl of East-Asian heritage who Joe instantly recognized as his best friend Emily.
Emily had dressed in a silver and navy-blue gambeson with fitted grey pants, and calf length black leather walking boots. Joe was unreasonably delighted that they somewhat matched, if not in style exactly, then at least in colouring. Joe was decidedly not delighted by the look GI-Gamer was giving her.
As Joe made his way towards Emily, he spotted two people who looked to be on their own with no group or affiliation with the other people in the room. A tall woman, and a shorter man in his mid 30’s or early 40’s. The woman had light brown skin, full eyebrows and deep brown eyes, giving her an Indian appearance. The other person was a blond-haired blue-eyed man who had to be at least 6ft5 or 198cm and as wide as two Emilys put together. The guy was massive. His muscles were easily visible through the linen shirt he was wearing underneath a leather vest, and leather pants.
Joe wondered if these two had joined the game solo, or if they’d chosen not to link their starter locations for some reason like he and Emily had to ensure they could begin together. It made him wonder about large guilds with hundreds of players, those who’d managed to secure 10+ full drives. He created a daughter folder in his Mental Notes app, under his ‘New Veil’ folder and titled it ‘To Consider’ it went beside his ‘Look Into’ folder. He popped his errant thoughts into the new folder, then put it out of his mind in favour of observing the most interesting person in the room.
For all the bizarreness of the attire of the people around him, it was the fox person who attracted the most attention. A fascinating creature. They had a mostly human appearance. Their vulpine features were revealed most prominently as fox ears, a tail, visibly sharper nails and canine teeth that Joe could see as the fox-person spoke. They also had what appeared to be whiskers, the roots of which blended into their eyebrows. Red-brown fur that matched their hair covered the backs of hands that rested on the hilts of the two weapons they had strapped on their hips. The fur faded into reddish skin the further up their arms it got. It was visible because the fox-person was wearing an outfit much like Joe’s, except the fox-person’s was sleeveless and in a cream colour.
Without the vulpine features, Joe thought the fox-person most resembled a First Nations resident they’d once had at the Home where he and his mother worked. His name had been John, and he was one of the most jovial individuals Joe had ever met. This fox-person did not look jovial. Instead, they gave off an air of authority, though they appeared personable as well. Joe’s attention was intently focused until it was broken by his best friend poking him in the ribs. He looked down at her, a brow raised.
“You shouldn’t stare Joe-Joe,” she whispered, smiling at the old joke. Joe blinked.
“Do you think they have bleach here?” Joe responded, his voice a quiet murmur. Emily gave him an incredulous look, while Joe went back to staring at the fox-person’s shirt. Its light beige colouration had him absently wondering if they had invented bleach, or if there was some sort of a magical equivalent, and if there was a magical equivalent, was it particularly costly and that was why the man’s shirt wasn't white? More thoughts about chemicals and their potential magical counterparts sped through Joe’s head until another nudge from Emily had him refocusing on the present. The fox-person had beckoned them forward, so Joe made a Mental Note in his ‘Look Into’ folder. He thanked the tech-spirits for AI as he did. Then Joe shook away the thoughts as he and Emily strode forward with the rest of the group to stand around the vulpine stranger.
Stolen story; please report.
Joe’s eyes met the eyes of one of the combat-bros. It was GI-Gamer, the one that had been staring at Emily. His eyes were hard. Joe had seen that look before. It was the same look he’d gotten from one of the men from the warehouse, the one who’d twitched towards his gun before Rudy made them stand down. Joe slung his arm around Emily’s shoulder and hugged her to him. She looked up at him, brown furrowed. Joe gave a tiny shake of the head , to which Emily responded with an eye roll and a bump to his ribs with her forehead before refocusing on the fox-person.
"Has everybody settled in? I believe this is our entire group. Yes?" The Fox man said, pointed canines flashing at his captive audience. They had a subtle accent that most closely resembled Arabian, though Joe was cautious when drawing parallels based on Earth knowledge. As the fox-person spoke, the soft murmurs of acquaintances and strangers died out. "Welcome to the Manor. It is the only such manner in Port Minah, the finest port in Onzak, and your home base for the future while you reside in our great town. I am informed that others of your kind, Visitors like you, get a very similar speech in a very similar manor in many a border-town and village spanning the far reaches of the Onzak Empire.
“Visitors, you are in the Kingdom of Nym. You have been given a quest by the entities that connect you to this world. Your quest? To arrive at Manthanein Institute. The foremost educational establishment for mana arts, natural sciences, and philosophy.” As the man finished speaking, Joe felt that tell-tale tingle at the base of his skull, and before he had the time to analyze it, words popped up in his HUD.
[Quest: Arrive at Manthanein Institute | Accept | Reject]
Well, now, he thought. Several things stuck out to Joe from the fox-person’s introduction and the resulting notification. First, people in this world were aware that Joe, and the other players were not the same as them. This was indicated by the fact that the fox-person had called them ‘Visitors’. It was the same word that was used in the ‘Welcome Notice’. A word that sounded like it came with a capital ‘v’. Whether this knowledge was something inherent to the all the residents of the game-world, or if it was privileged knowledge instead was yet to be known. Second, quests existed, and NPCs could give them out. This probably meant that there were quest triggers waiting to be discovered, and potentially something like a guild system existed in game to help facilitate them. Whether the NPCs had access to the quest system, or if players could issue quests themselves was yet to be determined. Third, there didn’t seem to be a reward system, or if there was, the reward for this specific quest was unclear. This made Joe curious about how the devs planned to incentivise players to accept quests in the first place, or perhaps not being offered a reward was the indication of a chain quest? Joe did not have enough data.
Joe would simply have to accept the quest, then complete it to find out. He should also prioritise gaining more quests. He made a mental note to ‘Prioritise Quests in Gameplay’, then he made a new folder called ‘Gameplay Priorities’. Joe really liked ‘Mental Notes’, they were like his own self-appointed quests. That thought excited him enough that he decided to place all his New Veil related notes into a parent folder he called ‘Quests’.
Joe’s wayward train of thought was pulled back on track when Emily nudged him again to pay attention. His best friend being intimately familiar with his random bouts of introspection made him glad for her as he realized that despite the speed of his thoughts, his inattention had caused him to miss some of what the fox-person had said.
“-will begin your tutorial into this world with a brief demonstration of power, a brief instruction of how to use it, and then you shall be released to make what you will of our world. Whether or not you accept this quest and journey to the institute, whether or not you stay in Port Minah, whether or not you delve into and discover the true potential of your own mind, your own body, and your own spirit, and whether or not you investigate the mysteries and wonders of mana, the choice is entirely up to you. However, heed this message left for you by the great Powers who brought you to our world.
“‘Beyond the Veil there is no EXP, there is no leveling, you will gain no class, nor professions apart from those you cultivate yourself. Instead, you have been given the interface. This will help you track and quantify your progress, refine your skills, and is even capable of automating some of the mana arts that can be studied in this world. How you use your interface will determine how you grow in knowledge and power. Let your progress be your own as you go forth and thrive.’" The message thrummed with a palpable power. The words themselves gave credence to the saying that ‘words have weight’. These words were heavy with intent and promise, and as the vulpine-humanoid turned and beckoned the group forward from the foyer at the entrance of the house everyone in their group was brimming with anticipation.
"Come,” a clawed hand beckoned them. “Let me give you a tour."