Noah’s frustration grew as he repeatedly typed in his username on the virtual keyboard. He attempted to log in using the gaze input method, which he was most familiar with. Fixing his gaze upon each character displayed on the keyboard at the center of his vision for a moment, but to no avail.
Sorry, the username “Roh” does not exist.
He then tried using his fingers, which were tracked and mapped in-game with the specialized VR gloves he wore as part of the complete kit. This proved a much more efficient form of input as it provided accurate precision and zero lag. However, despite his efforts, the outcome remained unchanged.
Sorry, the username “Roh” does not exist.
Sorry, the username “Roh” does not exist.
What the hell is going on? I’ve been able to log in without a single issue since the beta was released a month ago. Probably won’t make a difference, but maybe if I try the voice recognition instead.
Throat feeling dry, his voice a bit crackly, he spoke his name aloud. “Roh”.
Sorry, the username “Roha” does not exist.
Roha. Fucking Roha? I never said Roha. Stupid voice recognition.
Gah… for crying out loud!
Oh wait, they just updated the hardware to be able to read thoughts using brainwave reading technology. That will be the most accurate input.
Relaxing his muscles, he took in a deep breath to gain some composure from his current predicament.
Roh, you stupid fucking game! To his horror, the prompt appeared.
Sorry, the username “Roh, you stupid fucking game!” does not exist.
Hmmm…that’s a little too accurate!
After a moment, he tried again.
Sorry, the username “Roh” does not exist.
“Damn it, you piece of junk!” he yelled. He ripped off his headset and threw them aside. He stared at the headset. The logo “Aztech Q-VR” emblazoned on the front.
Let me send the game developers a message. Ask them what the hell they think they are playing at?!
He quit the game and returned to the home screen of the Aztech Q-VR, the latest VR kit powered by a quantum processor making use of qubits rather than the defunct binary digits. For all its power of making super-realistic, immersive worlds with the most impressive graphics and intelligent AI, and at such high frame rates that never dropped, Noah couldn’t even perform the simplest of tasks such as logging into the game.
A blinking red dot caught his eye. In a user interface (UI) this usually signaled a new unread notification. Noah clicked on it and it revealed an email sent by the game developers of Age of the Behemoths.
Email sent by Aztech Q-VR Devs at 11:00 pm on Friday 4th September 2037.
Dear Customer #5732210,
We regret to inform you that the game “Age of the Behemoths” has received a code injection attack on the server today, resulting in many deleted accounts.
We apologize for the huge inconvenience that this has caused and are shocked at how this has occurred since the data on our servers were encrypted by the state-of-the-art quantum cryptography algorithms.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
To ensure complete security moving forward, we have updated our game to utilize nodes and sharding through the Blockchain technology, along with our quantum cryptography algorithms, to fully decentralize the system. Thus, we will no longer have to rely on servers which, if they go down, becomes a bottleneck. With complete decentralization, if a single node or partition is affected, then all the information is still shared by any remaining ones. It also ensures that all game data sent via the smart contracts are public, which guarantees trust among all parties involved. The sharding will also enhance scalability and therefore stability running the game, which will prevent any issues from occurring when more and more new players join the game.
You may notice a few unique game changes as a result ;)
We hope you continue to play ‘Age of the Behemoths’ and enjoy the new updates!
Yours Sincerely,
Logan Mills
Lead Developer of Aztech Q-VR
Noah closed the email. Well, that’s a bummer. Luckily, I only spent a few hours on the beta. It was pretty limited anyway. Attempted three Behemoths, all in one area.
I wonder what the new changes are?
This time, he went over to the [Create New Account] button and clicked on it instead of trying to log in. He set a new username and password and was then asked to connect his Blockchain wallet.
Even though he already had a wallet, since all physical currencies known as fiat currencies had gone digital for over two decades, the only currency he stored on it were stablecoins as they were backed by physical assets like gold. Everything else was just risky. They were usually manipulated. But it wasn’t as though he disliked the technology entirely as it did make for some interesting use cases, especially for adding exciting gameplay features. It was more that most game designers either still didn’t know how to use it properly or they were greedy and thus purposely utilizing it only to line their pockets with cash by milking their players, particularly their hardcore fans, which he thought was ironic. They're always trying to cash in on their tokens and NFTs for huge gains. However, the allure of earning gold in the game, stored as cryptocurrency tokens, was tantalizing. The best part was that there was no risk on his part, since he wasn’t investing any of his own money. He was simply earning by playing the game. During the game’s beta phase, the gold he earned was restricted to in-game use only. The developers were cautious, not wanting players to impact the broader economy prematurely. This decision ensured that potential bugs or imbalances did not inadvertently disrupt the digital financial ecosystem. But now, with the game’s official release, he was brimming with anticipation. His grand plan was to become so proficient in the game that he could amass substantial earnings, potentially transforming his real-world circumstances for the better.
Once his wallet was connected, he moved onto character customisation. I really enjoyed the character I played with during the beta, so I think I will just stick with the same selections as before. Noah browsed over the menu selection presented at the center of his peripheral vision.
Select Race:
Dragon-blood
Drow Elf
Dwarf
Gnome
Half-Elf
Half-Orc
Human
Moonweave Elf
Orc
Shapeshifter
They will most likely add more races as DLCs in future updates, but it’s not a bad starting lineup to be honest. Hmm…it’s a tough choice but I think I will go Dragon-blood again. I really enjoyed playing it in the beta and didn’t get a chance to develop it further. I could do with the raw magic power. And let’s be honest, it’s probably the most badass of the lot. Gotta love me some runic power.
Dragon-blood
Dragon-bloods are descendants of the order known as the Scions of the Dragons. Keepers of the Sanctuary, and especially the mighty beasts within. They were chosen by arcane masters of power to save all the races from the impending doom. Ancient runic magic, inherited among Dragon-blood kin, passively courses through their veins. Once awoken, this pulsating power, passed down through their ancestry, can do a great many things, from warding to raising the dead. This power allows many to live over 300 years. However, such primal magic carries heavy consequences as it originates from the fury within, therefore its downside is in the challenge of trying to maintain control.
Racial Attributes:
Abilities: +30 to Magic Power
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral – You value your freedom. (Chaos inherited from the Dragons within them and Neutral from their human form)
Language: Common Script and Draconic Script
To give myself a slight intellect boost, I’ll choose to play my character at my actual age of thirty-one. Fortunately, as a Dragon-blood, I still look like I’m in my twenties, thanks to our youthful appearance that’s similar to that of Elves. It’s interesting to note that Dwarves and Gnomes often appear much older than their actual age, which is something I won’t have to worry about.
Age: 31
+3 Intellect
-1 Strength
-1 Agility
Pity about the Strength deduction, but it’s fine I will make up for it.