Encrypted Message to Jax999:
Thank you for your help with the Full Dive Virtual Reality (FDVR) capsule yesterday. I hope that this doesn't cause too much of a strain on your relationship with Herald. We hope he doesn't link you to the theft. If you want to know more about what we are doing with our little project, all you have to do is say so. We'll cut you in for 5%. Give us your answer as soon as you can.
Isa resumed walking again. This time she tried to move faster in case of a storm. In fact, it felt like the wind was picking up a little. Is that because of the nighttime approaching, or something else? As Isa was walking semi-slowly, turning into a limping gait, she noticed that this wasn't just a frozen jungle but something alive.
Something frozen… Alive? That doesn’t make much sense, but neither does a lot with this game so far.
The jungle was very much alive; in fact, it was muted shades of blue, white, and grey. Those colors were all over the flora that had started appearing around her as she walked.
As you walked closer to a town, you would think the flora would die down more. Maybe nocturnal flora? Where's the fauna, then?
Isa kept walking, now limping, as straight as she could or as straight as the jungle would allow her to. It would have been much straighter had she had a weapon of some type. Oddly enough, Isa started to get hungry. It was a weird feeling that she wasn't sure if it was just in her head, her real body was hungry, or if this was part of the immersion.
Luckily enough for her, she came upon a campfire with meat cooking. In real life, Rory might be a pescatarian, but this was a game; she didn't need to worry about how the animals were treated. Isa frantically limped toward the meat without a care for who it might be. She greedily ate all of it, barbarically, and then searched around, with wild eyes, for more. The meat tasted like the best meal she had ever eaten at any point in her life. A little gamey, but it did appear to be snow fox meat, or what Isa assumed snow fox meat would look like. Before she got far in her search, she heard a voice.
"Eh, that's ma meat. I hunted and killed those foxes to trap the pests that had been stealing my dried meat. And yah went a ate it all. And how'd you get through those traps I set?" the man said.
"Huh? Woah, you scared me? Were you watching me? What traps?" Isa said.
"The traps you walked through—all 15 of them. Actually, you didn't so much as walk through them as limp through them. Ya don't remember?" the man said.
"Can't say that I do. I was just so hungry and cold, and I couldn't think of anything else in the moment.", Isa responded.
"Well, let me tell ya about it. But first, my name is Hunter. Not very original were my fathers. I was always meant to grow up to be a hunter, so they named me just that. Anyhow, I watched you limp through all the traps, somehow avoiding all of them. The first couple of traps were noise traps to alert me something was there. You tripped those in succession quickly and then were the poison traps and the fire traps. I knew that the poison was flammable, but I never guessed that someone would be able to set them off the way you did. You somehow set the first fire trap and most of the poison traps off almost simultaneously. Then the other fire traps were set off, which, mind you, were before the poison traps, and all the poison burned up. And then the final traps were all pitfall traps. You limped over those, and they didn't even activate. See?" Hunter said.
Hunter proceeded to show Isa how easily the pitfall traps activate. Hunter barely touched one, and the hole appeared.
“What’d ya say your stats were?” Hunter asked.
“I didn’t.”
But Isa pulled up her character sheet.
Name: Isa
Level: 1
Disposition: Neutral
Reputation: Not worthy of thought
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Constitution: 1
Vitality: 1
Strength: 1
Wisdom: 1
Intelligence: 1
Endurance: 1
Charisma: 1
Luck: 400
Health: 100/100
Mana: 0/0
Stamina: 5/100
Buff added: Weak Gravity
Isa was confused as to what Weak Gravity was. Isa tried to pull up the information on it but was, instead, given a message.
Error… Developers never included interaction capabilities. Rectifying now…… Please wait……. Success.
Isa felt something ripple out into the world, and then she just knew the information. Her gauntlet had changed. When she investigated it, she saw there was only one button now; she pressed it. The gauntlet opened a semi-translucent menu screen. Isa just, somehow, knew that she could interact with it. Isa clicked Character and then scrolled down to Weak Gravity and clicked on it.
Gods, I must look so stupid. My hands are just moving through the air… Wait…. I wonder if Hunter can see what I see. Maybe I should ask him…. Ehhh… Maybe I shouldn't.
Buff: Weak Gravity: Lowers gravity’s hold on your steps by 15%
Be Aware: Because of your high luck, stats increased on buff.
Buff (Altered): Weak Gravity: Lowers gravity’s hold on your steps by 95% (Increased from 15%)
Be Aware: You have entered the range of a heat source. Frostbite and frostnip will now reverse.
Hmmm, not so realistic after all. Probably for the best, though.
Hunter looked over at Isa quizzically.
He must be wondering what I am looking at.
Be Aware: You are now back to normal.
Isa smirked and then looked at Hunter and said,
“How much weight has to be on the pitfall traps for them to activate?”
Hunter looked concerned for a second and replied,
“A very small amount, maybe…. 10 pounds minimum”
That explains it. My weight must’ve been under the amount needed to activate the trap. I will have to research more into Weak Gravity soon.
Buff expired
Never mind; I guess I'll look in the database for buffs and see what it does.
A message appeared just then…
Error… Database not found… attempting to compile…. Failed…. Trying again….. failed…. Trying again… failed…. Trying again….. failed. I will continue to keep trying until success or complete failure. Hold for results.
Isa looked over at Hunter, who was staring at her with a dumbstruck look on his face. Isa arched her eyebrow and asked,
“What?”
Hunter looked at her and repeated,
“How much do yah weigh?”
"Don't you know you're not supposed to ask someone their weight?" Isa replied.
"Oh, okay… Well, will yah help me find the thieves?" Hunter asked.
Be Aware: You have been offered your first quest. Failure to accept this quest with result in a decrease in disposition with Hunter from Neutral (0) to Untrusted (-1). Do you accept this quest?
Quest: Find the Thieves
Hunter is asking for your help finding the thieves that keep stealing his food. Would you be willing to lend a hand to this hunter?
XP upon completion: 120 XP
Items received upon completion: Crude Wooden Crossbow/ 25x crossbow bolts
Talents Obtained: Dependent on Performance
Abilities Obtained: Dependent on Performance
Accept?
[Yes] or [No]
Isa clicked on [Yes] and said,
“Alright, I’ll help you. What needs to be done first?”
4th of March, 2192
Company internal memo to all employees working on My Ancestors:
Hello, there have been some new anomalies that have cropped up today. First off, and probably most important, the AI has implemented something in the game that we didn't tell it to. Have we given the AI that much autonomy, or is it starting to think for itself? Secondly, as we are still in the beta phase, no one outside the company should know how a big company got its hands on an FDVR Model IV. It's still a prototype and had to come from an internal leak? Whoever says something will either get a promotion if their case is reasonable or will get fired and blacklisted from all relatable jobs. If the leaker doesn't come forward, we will have to do an internal audit on all employees working on the My Ancestors project and anyone in R&D where the FDVR capsules are being made. Thirdly, some classified files on the FDVR Model IV were stolen from the databank, and the physical copies were destroyed. All backup files have also been lost, so all of our knowledge of the Model IV is lost. Please be on the lookout for the physical copies in case they have just been moved. Fourthly, there are currently only 18 player characters, aka settlers, in the game right now. 15 confirmed VR, 3 unknowns, with one player potentially being FDVR immersed. We must work on this enormous problem as a team… as a family. Thank you, and have a good rest of your day.
Your CEO Herald.
PS I'll update you on the status of the "investigation
."
PSS Why is this news just now getting to me? A leak like this is very time sensitive, and this theft was over a day ago. I'm on your side; have faith in me.