I’m about to log in for the first time. I’m just stuck waiting, so I’m streaming over this stupid patch download — like I haven't been waiting long enough, feel me?

Ya’ll know I’ve never been more excited about a new game, especially since Cap_nJim and SkywalkerTony have been on my ass about getting Meta Mercs since it launched. 

Guess some people don’t realize how hard it is to buy a Direct-Link Reality gaming system on a starving artists’ budget. Still, I was able to justify it as a business expense. If you’re watching from an IRS office, that was a joke!

Anyway, ya’ll know RedDev and my obsession. They’re the studio that made Meta Mercs, and that makes them the hottest game developers in the world right now. And lucky me — their HQ is right down the road in Great Oak. 

So, really, I’m playing two games here. The blockbuster looter shooter that you’re here to see… and the job hunting game. 

I just need to get deep into the community. Maybe meet some of the in-game guides and shoehorn my way into a job interview. If nothing else, I’ll be able to create some kick-ass fan art from the game and get RedDev’s attention on social.

Because I’ve tried everything else. And I’ll admit, if I was gonna take one last hail mary shot at landing my dream job, there are worse ways to do it than playing the most badass game ever made.

Alright! Patch is done. 

This is SilkyKD, ready to strike it up!

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

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There were no loading screens. No title cards or opening credits.

Logging into Meta Mercs was like waking up in the morning. You open your eyes and the world is just…there. A ceiling, a bedside lamp, pillows. All of it with some concept artist’s futuristic slant, but there nonetheless. 

Of course, I didn’t know that’s what it would be like going into it. I’d just gotten the game, and I hadn’t even demoed a DLR system before. I was the definitive noob. No stats, no gear, no history with plugging games directly into my brain.

But, man, finally breaking those barriers was a rush. I wondered if it felt this crazy every time you logged in. Then my second thought was that I was experiencing the thing that would end the human race. People used to worry about VR leading to a declining civilization, but stupid goggles and gloves had nothing on this.

Being in a Direct-Link simulation was like being in a high-def dream that I could control. Completely indistinguishable from reality. No wonder I had to save up for a year to get it.

And it was all real enough to be better than reality. There was no doubt in my mind that we’d all be slugs strapped up to DLR consoles before long. Who would still be around to care if the world was falling apart? Nobody.

Boom. That was pretty much the first ten minutes of my reaction.

RedDev had brilliantly set the new user experience that way. You wake up in a futuristic bedroom and walk through an amazing domed city. The whole time, you’re looking up through the curved glass at a cosmic art gallery. Stars, nebulae, massive ships floating by. 

And you go through these huge hydroponic gardens during the walk. You catch the breezes and the smells of evergreen trees and grass. Birds sing and drones buzz overhead. You hear it all.

It’s brilliant because they wanted you to get instantly hooked to the sensations. The realism.

Where you are at that point doesn’t really matter. The futuristic city probably doesn’t even have a name. What matters is that the walk ends at a corporate recruiting station. This is where new characters sign up and log in for the real action.

Guns and greed. The whole point of looter shooters.

The first thing the recruiter asked me was to pick a faction — a corporation I’d be willing to die for.