「The big secret that a lot of game companies have been hiding has finally been revealed. The next title that is being worked on by PlayConsole, X-Block, Ninetenduo, and many over companies, is called 【Pervasive Stars】. It is a persistent galaxy similar to the old game, 【ADAM Online】, and will feature the latest in AI technology. Not only that, it will be available on all consoles, including a special VR ready function for those who can afford it.
The game is set as a space sci-fi, and has no other genre, as the developers feel that it wouldn’t do it justice. Their aim is to create a fully functioning universe, as close to real life as possible, and allow complete freedom to the players and their actions, as well as the resulting consequences. Apparently, I could also become a galactic reporter in the game if I so wished.
Alongside the announcement of 【Pervasive Stars】, they have announced that they will be holding a lottery over the next month, with fifteen lucky tickets to be won. From what they have told me, they are confident in how successful this game will be, and have decided to give 15 lucky players a chance to have a head start.
Players can be independent, part of a company or a faction, and with enough clout and 『Expertise』, they can even create their own player factions and companies, or even an independent state.
Winners of the lottery will be given a chance to create their own faction, exactly as they imagine it and describe it, as long as it is balanced. The exact words the developers gave were “If it is balanced and fits, we’ll work hard to include it and even put it into the lore. The same goes to a game mechanic.” This means there is a possibility for the winners to make their own game mechanic as long as it is balanced and fits in the game without problems, they will consider it seriously.
You can purchase a ticket from your local….」
Turning off the holo-screen, Jonah focused on eating his instant noodles while thinking about his budget. Hmm… I’ve already bought a whole lot of games and done my weekly shopping, so I only have… Damn, not enough. I’ll have to get it next payday. Hope they don’t cost too much. Thinking up to here, he gave out a sigh.
As an avid gamer and writer, Jonah worked to feed his hobbies. Of course, he made sure to live in a reasonable amount of comfort. And the noodles were a comfort to the current him, who was tired from having to do overtime. Originally, he had planned to cook some fried rice, but it would take too long to prepare. Time that he didn’t feel like sparing.
Slurping down his noodles, he washed his bowl straight away after finishing, and then stretched his body. With a groan, he exhaled deeply as he spoke aloud to himself. A usual occurrence for he who lived alone. “Right, shall we start the daily gaming?”
Moving from the kitchen, through the dining room and living room, he closed a door behind him as he entered his computer room. Under a large desk was a gaming rig that was fully kitted out with all of the best parts that he liked, and it wirelessly connected to all of the devices in the room.
“System, start.”
With those words, all of the devices in the room began to light up as he sat down in his ergonomic gaming and reclining chair at the desk. The tower began to hum as OLED lights of a dim blue illuminated the dark room. On the wall in front of him, a device attached to the wall began to project a screen, sized as three 4K monitors with text floating in the air, made visible thanks to the black wall padding behind it, designed for use with holo-screens.
In the top of each corner of the room, lightboxes lit up and started tracking all movements in the room. On top of that, there were more in the bottom corners, and an additional four, each placed in the middle of each wall, in order to have full coverage. Built into the walls were also some high quality speakers. They needed to be good too, considering the room was measured at 10m x 10m. Along the walls, props could be seen here and there, such as different kinds of seats with different heights, handheld objects, and even some small stairs.
All of those were part of the VR system, so that he could arrange them to feel more immersed while playing a VR game. Such as sitting on a seat or on stairs, walking up some stairs, holding a sword or bow or gun, even some props for if he was pretending to eat and drink.
After a couple of minutes of text flying across the monitors at high speeds, it seemed the startup checks had finished, and he was free to start doing things. Resting his arms on the desk, he began using the keyboard and mouse. A bit underwhelming, but useful nonetheless. Too many times, he had had an accident when using the holo-keyboard. Getting a game booted up, he used the loading screen as a chance to put on his AR glasses, and glancing around the room.
What he could see around him was a whole bunch of virtual objects he had set up for himself, including some shortcuts to VR and AR games. Augmented reality had improved well over the years. Making a programmed gesture, a screen appeared in front of his hand, showing some settings. Motion capture had improved fast alongside VR, to the point that his full setup could track all of his clothing and body movements accurately, without having to use body trackers.
Leaning down, he picked up a ball, and began bouncing it off the wall, the system producing light thuds to imitate a real ball hitting a solid object and bouncing off. While he couldn’t feel the ball itself since it was AR, he had adapted well enough to cradling the ball and holding a non-existing object.
When the game finished loading up, he got down to business. It was mostly getting the daily things done and keeping his guilds organized in the multitude of multiplayer games he played. Since he was too tired, he wouldn’t do much more than this tonight.
After an hour or so, he had finished his usual checks, and found that it was already midnight. With a yawn and a sigh, he stood up and took off his AR equipment, walking towards the room’s exit. “System, shutdown.” With those parting words, the lights in the room dimmed before turning off as he closed the door behind him.
Going to bed straight away after changing into a shirt and boxer shorts, he retired for the night, making sure the air conditioning was at a suitable temperature.
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One week later…
“Ah, shit… I forgot I was gonna buy a ticket, and I’ve already spent my credits on in-game purchases… Better make a reminder to my comm-pad…”
… So he says, while in the middle of playing a game on the weekend. Living alone, Jonah had no one but himself to rely on to remember about these things. Aside from acquaintances who he forgets the names of, his true and close friends all live in different cities. His family is also living rurally, and he’s an only child. No luck in getting a visit from any of them, aside from a Dys-Call every now and then to catch up.
Speaking of which, he looked at Dys-Chord to see he had a message from an ex of his, wondering if he was up to game for the night. Having finished his daily checks, he shrugged as he started a Dys-Call with them, turning on the VR pairing so that his own figure was broadcast to them.
After a short wait, the call connected, and he turned around in his chair to see another desk and chair in his room. Of course, only through his AR glasses. Waiting a few more seconds, the fake and real desks became lined up as the system adjusted things to suit. Looking over at the figure sitting next to him now, Jonah shook his head before getting comfortable in his seat.
“You know, one of these days, you’re gonna get sick by playing in just a shirt and panties, y’know. The amount of times you’ve forgotten to turn on the AC, I’m not sure if you’re an idiot or what…”
“Oh shut it, Jay. And I still believe that the saying should be 「Idiots don’t know when they’ve caught a cold」 rather than 「Idiots can’t catch colds」.”
“And here we have Jennah, nickname Jen, who is Mai Waifu, and takes the role of tanker when we game together.”
“Are you still monologuing as if you were in a story? I swear, if you weren’t so good with your tongue, I would’ve dropped you sooner.”
“... We have this conversation every time. When are we gonna say something new?”
“When we get a life, so… Never. Ever. Otaku Life, Banzai.”
“Seconded. Anyways, what game we going with today?”
“Let’s go 【ADAM Online: Galactic Conflict】. With that announcement for 【Pervasive Stars】, I’ve been itching to go on another marauder-spree. Got your ticket yet?”
“...”
“Knew it. Spent it on games, right?”
“... Shut it, Jen.”
“Fine fine, Dearie.”
With a pout as he looked away, Jonah sighed since he couldn’t deny it. As they both looked at each other again, they gave a small knowing smile as they started gaming together. Jonah had been in a relationship with Jennah for a few months, but eventually they both realized that they didn’t suit each other romantically. Well, they did stay as friends with benefits every now and then, when either of them was feeling stressed.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Similar to this, Jonah would play a game with an ex or with his friends every few weeks or so. It was something of a habit, nearly a tradition for them, in order to stay connected with each other. Sometimes, it would also involve alcohol, to see who could perform the best while intoxicated. All of the usual shenanigans friends would get up to as gamers.
After several hours of gaming, Jonah logged off as he had been sleepless lately, having to take overtime due to a new employee who was struggling to get up to par with their workload. Before switching off his computer, he pulled up his notepad containing all of his writing ideas, and added a few things he thought of while playing and talking with Jen.
There were dozens of notes, some which had been expanded on, and some which were just a few words, and all of them were things that sparked his imagination and creativity. While he didn’t earn much from his web novels since he did it for fun, he still had a fair amount of them because of the amount of ideas he had. Writing was an outlet for his creativity.
The new notes he had been putting in were related to space sci fi, for the off-chance that he won that lottery and got to make something he wanted. Even if he didn’t, he had enough ideas to make another story if he wished to.
Shortly after, he went to bed, making sure he had a reminder to buy a ticket on his next payday.
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One more week later…
Jonah walked along the street on the way home from work, headphones on and dressed in a suit. He could buy the ticket online, but he liked to get the exercise by walking to get his groceries and any other tasks which he could hold in his hands. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people that would also do this, even in this day and age where there were more efficient forms of transportation. Even the roads were multi-lane and multi-story, allowing a lot more traffic to flow through without clogging up.
In a more peaceful part of the city where he lived, there was a nice and small shopping district that he liked to frequent. Walking through and glancing at the shops on either side, he took note of the change of products being sold, which would indicate how out of touch he was with the world compared to his last visit.
Entering the usual grocery store, he made his way around the place and picked out a few things he felt like having for dinner. Hmm… I haven’t had bacon and eggs in a while… nah, I got a sweet tooth tonight. Let’s have custard. With that decided in his mind, Jonah bobbed his head to the music as he picked out some custard mix and some extra milk to go with it. Everything else needed was already in his cupboards.
Heading through the self checkout, he swiped his card and left after confirming the purchase was successful. It was much simpler having a single card and a single currency in the world now, and just selecting the account after swiping. Security had obviously improved over the years, so it was nigh impossible to steal from them. Unless you happened to be a veteran hacker.
Just as he was about to walk out of the store with a plastic bag of groceries, he stopped his feet and facepalmed, before turning out. I forgot the damn ticket again.
Going to the lottery counter just past the checkouts, Jonah purchased just a single ticket and left. He never believed he would ever win a lottery, and so he would only buy a single ticket. That way, at least his chances weren’t absolutely zero, and he would have even a thousandth of a single percentage of a chance to win.
Promptly making his way home while mouthing the words to the song he was listening to, it was another 20 minutes before he got to the door of his small house. Despite living in a large city, there were some districts for people who preferred the quiet and simple life, living in a small house rather than those large apartment buildings. Though this was only possible because there was enough technological development to renovate high-rises in even higher complexes. Practical and efficient, while still looking nice.
Placing his warm and pulsing thumb print onto his ID card, he swiped it through the security lock. After a second, it gave a light beep followed by a few clicks as the door was unlocked. Putting his card away, he opened the door and went inside, locking the door behind him.
Time for another night of gaming, with his close friends this time. He was looking forward to it, too. A nice five-player fireteam. Each of them were skilled at games, and also worked hard at their jobs. Precisely because they worked hard, they played even harder to relieve the stress and boringness of their days.
Grabbing a mobile holo-screen drone out of the lounge, he started it up and left it following him around as he started cooking custard.
“Change channel to Gamer’s Daily News.”
As the music channel went silent, the new channel appeared as the drone floated just in the corner of his vision. Getting a pot ready and getting the custard started, he kept an ear out on the news.
「... two weeks and there are already tens of millions of people in the draw to win one of those 15 spots. Even with the low cost of a single ticket, that is a lot of credits in the pool. The companies, who have taken to referring to their collaborative group as 『SynTec Studios』, have announced in a press conference earlier today that they will divide the profits between paying the involved companies, development funds, and subsidizing the game upon release in accordance with the amount they receive. Later profits will then be used for future projects, research advancement, and charities.
No new information about the game has been revealed, but they have stated that they will reveal details once the lottery is finished, as the winners will also need to know this in order to plan their factions.
In other news, a shocking development in 【ADAM Online: Galactic Conflict】. An infamous, nearly legendary group of Marauders have struck again, hitting dozens of key systems related to logistics for other player Companies. After being halted by an allied Armada, the Marauders known as 『Warlords』 made a quick retreat, leaving wreckage everywhere they went. If not for the quick response of several major Companies combining their efforts, it is expected that the damage may have destabilized the entire Ocelot Sector which is known for being one of the highest combat region at the moment with several NPC and Player companies fighting for dominance at all times.
As a positive, the smaller independent players and companies that have had unfortunate events happen due to having previously settled in the Ocelot Sector, have now begun to strike it large thanks to the amount of salvage they have recovered in the aftermath. Some speculate that they were tipped off about the movements of 『Warlords』 so that they could prepare for looting.」
“Heeeh~ so we’re still known even after all this time? Well, it’s fun to be the villain sometimes.”
Leaving those lines behind, he finished making his custard after a few more minutes, and turned off the drone, letting it fly back to its dock as he sat down at the dining table. Putting the music channel on, he slurped up his custard one spoonful at a time as he contemplated about what he and his friends would play tonight.
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End of the month…
Tomorrow would be the day that the lottery results would be revealed. Jonah sat in his office at work. While he called himself a manager, his actual position was Project Leader for a game programming company. If he was going to work to afford his hobby of gaming, may as well learn how the games work, or at least that was his motivation. But now, it was just a lot of overtime and sleepless nights.
While working on the assignments he had to get done, he got a call from reception saying that there were men in suits asking for him, saying it was important. While he didn’t know what it was for, he didn’t want to just turn them away. Making sure things were in order very quickly, he took the elevator down to reception.
As he approached the reception desk down the hallway, he could see three men in suits, two of which looked more like bodyguards. The third person, a woman, had a stoic appearance, but didn’t seem like a bad person in his eyes. As he reached them, their eyes met. With a small bow, as was a habit of his, he spoke up.
“Hello, I’m Jonah Ellis, who you’ve asked for. May I ask who you are?”
“I’m sorry for the abrupt nature of this visit. My name is Julia Harriette. I work for SynTec Studios, and was told to pick you up for an important meeting.”
“That’s… Oh, of course.”
Julia seemed to speak a bit quietly, not wanting their conversation to be overheard. Jonah may be lacking in some ways, but he had enough insight to know that things were happening that required haste and secrecy. While he didn’t know what for, he knew it would be best to go along. If problems happened with work… Well, he could ask for compensation, hopefully. His team was good, so they would be able to manage without him for a bit.
“Then, would it be okay if we leave immediately? We already have a vehicle ready.”
“Sure, just give me a moment to give some last minute instructions to my project team.”
“I understand. We’ll wait for you outside.”
With a nod and polite bow, Julia went outside, followed by the two men. One of the kept Jonah in the corner of his eye, most likely to make sure he wasn’t going to disappear. Feeling the seriousness of this situation, he spoke to the receptionist.
“Sorry about this, Elly. Can you mark me as absent for the next few days? I should have enough sick days backed up to cover for it.”
“Sure thing, Jonah. Seems serious. Things alright?”
“Yeah. I vaguely can guess what’s happening, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
Like that, Elly returned to her computer and began typing rapidly, working through the system and marking Jonah as early leave for the day, as well as rescheduling any appointments he had. And of course, notifying the parties who he had a meeting with that he couldn’t attend.
Jonah took off his wrist terminal and laid it on the receptionist’s counter. Expanding it, he made an impromptu datapad and logged into the network with his company ID. Navigating to his project team, he opened up a group message and started typing out a simple thing to notify everyone that he would be unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances. He recalled the things his team members needed to do, and made clear some instructions for each of them to help them out for now, before leaving a parting message of “Good luck avoiding a Death March.”
With everything sorted, he closed his terminal and strapped it back on his wrist. Waving goodbye to the receptionist, he went to the entrance to see a typical black car seen in movies for secret things. With a bow and a nod to Julia, he got into the back alongside one of the bodyguards, while Julia sat in the passenger seat, with the other guy driving.
After they had started moving down the driveway, Julia felt it was time to start explaining things.
“I’m glad you came along without any qualms. I heard that the others who were picked up so far had all given their guides quite a bit of trouble.”
“You’re welcome. Well… I understand you’re just doing your job. I don’t quite understand the situation yet, though. Am I allowed to know at this point?”
“Well, you won’t be allowed to contact anyone for a day or so, so I guess I can explain it now. Before that, do you remember that incident a few decades ago when the ADAM Online sequel was released?”
“If I recall correctly… They held a competition to gain interest in the game. The winners were to be given some unique items in the game, as well as the chance to be sponsored by them.”
“If you know that much, then you must remember what happened because of that.”
“Yeah. Some of the more crazy and fanatic gamers assaulted the winners and tried to take their place. And some jealous people got desperate and caused mayhem because of their gaming addiction.”
“Exactly. Which is why this time, SynTec Studios has taken precautions, and decided to gather the winners before things were announced publicly. Even privacy has its limits when the people in question may choose to boast about it.”
“... Then that means…?”
“Congratulations, Mr. Ellis. You’ve won the right to create a custom faction in the upcoming game, 【Pervasive Stars】.”