Gleaming skyscrapers dominated the skyline, casting a sharp contrast against the murky, smog-coated lower city below. Julian tore his gaze away, directing his attention to the towering structure ahead. His mood darkened as he beheld the pristine windows and immaculate lobby of the studio his father had once worked for. Enigma Realm Studios stood not only as a titan in the virtual reality gaming industry but also as an empire, its influence extending far beyond the virtual realms it produced. It was the pioneer in launching revolutionary new games, allowing players to exchange in-game currency for real-world money.
Their innovative concept had garnered attention worldwide, becoming a gamer's dream and enticing even those who had never touched a game before to yearn for a chance to be part of the company's beta release. The closed beta phase had been invitation-only, and to everyone's surprise, not a single leak had emerged during or after the testing period.
Three weeks had elapsed since Enigma Realms announced the conclusion of the beta phase. Now, the first wave of players had been invited to join the game for a second trial run, aimed at ensuring no bugs had slipped through the cracks. Invitations had been distributed randomly, flooding the online market with eager buyers.
Once, Julian might have happily sold off his chance to experience the first-of-its-kind virtual reality game. The sale would sustain his family for a lifetime.
At least, before the company seized his father's work.
Growing up, Julian wanted nothing more than to experience the game his father had spent a lifetime creating. Although his father seldom spoke of the project, as it had been in development, Julian had eagerly expected the day he would dive into his father's top-secret project.
Twenty years later, the game was completed, his father incarcerated, and their family left in ruins.
As Julian shot a dark glare at the studio's sign upon entering, memories of his father's betrayal flooded his mind.
He showed his pass to the guard before proceeding to the waiting room, where scornful looks met his arrival. Paying them no heed, he chose an empty chair near the window, distancing himself from the others. Accustomed to the distrustful glances and disdain of the lower city's inhabitants, he pressed his face against the window, peering out at the upper city. Despite its affluence, he knew it held no place for him or his family anymore.
With a pang of longing, he gazed beyond the wealthy districts to the outskirts of the city, where the lower city lay hidden. His family had been forced to move there after his father's incarceration, forsaking their former life of comfort. It was simply something they no longer had the luxury to afford.
Not that he wanted to stay anywhere near the traitors who had betrayed his father. When an invitation arrived, beckoning him to join the game’s trial run, Julian's resolve shifted. They had unknowingly presented him an opportunity for retribution against those who had shattered his family—and sealed their own fate.
He would be the downfall of their company even if it took a lifetime.
He would make it rich in the game, buy Enigma Realm Studios out from under them—and let those bastards watch as he destroyed everything. Pixel by pixel. Polygon by polygon.
The thought of shredding his father’s lifelong dream sent a pang through his chest, but Julian forced it aside.
As he made his way to the waiting room, he flipped through the small book the receptionist had offered him.
A knock at the door interrupted his perusal, and he looked up to see a woman with a clipboard entering the room. While others eagerly awaited their turn to enter the game, she ignored them, striding forward to stand in front of him.
"Julian, correct?" she inquired, to which he nodded affirmatively.
"You're next. Please follow me," she instructed, leading him to what he presumed to be the V-Link room. Excitement coursed through him, momentarily overshadowing his reason for accepting the invitation. In a few minutes, he would immerse himself in a gamer's dream.
And take his first step into his father's prized creation.
"Have you reviewed the terms and conditions?" the woman asked as they walked.
"Yeah," he replied nonchalantly, recalling his cursory glance at the terms while in the waiting room. The distraction offered by the document had been preferable to enduring the distrustful gazes of the upper city elite. Anything, even the hypocritical terms of a game he’d come to despise, was a welcome alternative to the urge to just set the place ablaze.
He couldn’t afford to succumb to such rash actions, not when the company covered their theft by framing his father for leaking confidential information. Everyone muttered behind his back, calling him the “traitors son” or “gutter rat.”
Because of those baseless lies, no one would hire him, even in the lower city, and if he tried to hide his identity, someone inevitably figured it out. The city might not hold a candle to the towering buildings and fragrant air of the upper city, but Julian would rather drink from the rancid river flowing behind his current home than rise to their taunts.
It was rather surprising to him that Enigma Realm Studios had allowed him to join the trial run. But perhaps they believed he had inherited some of his father’s genius and wished to exploit him as well.
They would be sorely mistaken. Julian had little interest in virtual reality games anymore—and even less in helping the company solve anything.
“Very good. Thalesium provides you choices on race and class, have you given any thought to your selections?”
Julian thought back to the letter, vaguely recalling a pamphlet in the envelope with his invitation and realizing he had tossed it aside. If the dog hadn’t shredded it, it was probably still under his desk. In his haste to accept, he’d forgotten all about it.
“Not really. Figured Id wait til character creation.”
He would be a warrior, of that he was certain. Most warrior classes could use any weapon, and had a few limited opportunities to use magic or spells. The choice was a simple decision. He certainly didn’t see himself hefting around a shield, or doing nothing but blasting magic from afar.
A warrior was also his best bet for gaining levels quickly—and racking up a lot of gold.
“Don’t worry, you’ll have an opportunity to try out the different races. We thought it better to allow players to experience them firsthand before committing.”
Julian smiled, hiding his irritation. A generous idea like that had probably been his father’s suggestion.
They reached the V-Link room faster than Julian expected, and another shiver of excitement raced down his spine.
It was almost time.
“Welcome to V-Link System Portal. Insert your card over there, and the system will do the rest.” She pointed to the card slot in the nearest wall.
“Take this as well.” She held out a thin gray strap, like one for a watch, but without any discernible way to fasten it.
He took it, fumbling for a way to put the thing on. It was heavy, far heavier than the silicone appeared, and after a few moments, the woman motioned for him to touch the two trailing ends together. A series of tiny blue dots on the strap burst with light as he did so, and Julian watched with shock as it shrunk, fitting his wrist like a well—tailored glove.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“The wrist strap links your mind with your in game avatar. Make sure you never take it off.”
“Ah, thanks.”
He stared at the strap with a bit of concern. If he had to keep it on all the time, he hoped it was at least waterproof.
“Of course. May the Gods bless your adventure.”
Julian watched as the woman left, closing the door behind her. Was she not going to explain how to enter the game?
He scanned the empty space, feeling a pang of isolation. Virtual reality gaming was commonplace in the upper city, but for someone like him, it was an impossible dream. The lower city may as well have been a completely different world. No one down there could afford a virtual reality game. If they somehow got their hands on one, the cost of a system capable of running the game was beyond them. Even if half a dozen families pooled their resources, it still wouldn’t be enough.
A mechanical voice drifted from a speaker on the far wall, and Julian moved closer to make out what it was saying.
Insert your card here to begin the character selection process.
Glancing once more around the empty room, Julian pondered how he was supposed to enter the game. There was no chair, no virtual reality headset, not even a computer.
“Okay. Well, here goes.”
Julian slid his invitation card into the slot. Moments later, the wall opened up, a faint blue screen taking its place. He whistled lowly despite himself.
Was this what it was like in the upper city?
He couldn't help but wonder what their lives would be like if they turned their attention on the lower city instead of wasting their resources on extravagant technology. The fancy plasma screen was overkill, in his opinion.
Couldn't they just use a regular television and be done with it? He supposed it was just another difference between the upper and lower city. For the lower city, such displays of wealth were unthinkable. It was as natural as breathing for the people of the upper city.
He smirked, wondering how long anyone from the upper city would last if they deigned to set foot beyond the barrier. The smog, so thick you couldn’t set foot outside without a mask, would be enough to cure them of any lingering curiosity.
A disembodied voice spoke, interrupting his thoughts, the words sounding as if they came from beyond the wall.
Please select your class and avatar.
He tapped the screen, selecting the warrior class before scrolling through a long list of character options. He’d expected as expansive character builder, with seemingly endless options for facial features, skin tone, and even tattoos, but it seemed Enigma Realm Studios had opted for pre-built character models instead.
Julian groaned, resigning himself to a quick and boring selection process. Although he hadn’t had the pleasure of playing any virtual reality games since his childhood, even in normal games, designing his character usually took hours. The process was relaxing to him and one of the few aspects of RPGs that he enjoyed. It was fun to imagine himself in body types he could never pull off in real life, and even more enjoyable to lose himself in a fantasy world for a few hours.
Who wouldn’t want to add a few inches to their height? Or have six-pack abs?
As he skimmed through the options, Julian was surprised to see several androgynous figures alongside the usual male and female ones.
A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. His father’s work, no doubt. Julian was surprised they kept it in the game.
Before his arrest, his father often spoke of the desire to create a more inclusive gaming experience. He, like countless gamers, was sick of the scantily clad and overly femanized game models, sick of buff men with perfect proportions and flawless features, and wanted to see a game that catered to the average individual as well as those who didn’t quite fit “the mold.”
Julian swiped down the line past the female figures, dismissing them immediately. Some people he knew might get a kick out of playing a busty woman or tiny little girl. He certainly wasn’t one of them. Julian went past the burly men, and filtered out the scrawny ones too. It would be weird to run around as some muscle-head, but he didn’t want to run around with spindly arms either. His body in real life may not be in the best shape, but he was fit.
Four options remained, two male and two more androgynous in appearance. He clicked on each of the avatars, wanting to compare them before making his decision. Each carried a plain wooden sword, the starting weapon of the Warrior class. Their clothes were also identical, a simple cotton slip that looked like a giant t-shirt. Julian leaned closer, zooming in on them as he inspected each of the avatars' body types. Finally, he settled on one that most resembled his own height and build.
Moving around in the game would be easier if he stuck to an avatar most like himself.
He did, however, make sure to pick one with a bit more muscle. Perhaps it would give him a strength advantage.
The screen shimmered and his selection grew to full size; the screen expanding to the floor as if a mirror to his own body.
To continue, please enter the V-Link Chamber.
He flinched, his attention consumed by the overt display of wealth. A sour feeling welled in his stomach, and Julian swallowed a sudden bout of nausea.
How much did all of this cost?
When the screen cleared, Julian realized it was not a screen, but some sort of holographic projection. Another wave of nausea overcame him as he wondered how many families a single floor of Enigma Realm Studios could sustain. The building was one of the tallest in the upper city, easily over a hundred floors.
Staring at the glimmering blank space for a moment, Julian hesitated, before reaching out to touch it with his fingertips, only to see his fingers disappear.
Thrusting his entire arm in was a disconcerting experience. Although the arm vanished from his sight, he could still feel it, still feel his muscles flex as he wiggled his fingers and waved his arm around.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and stepped inside, a cool sensation as if he’d just passed through a thin veil of water sliding across his skin. Once inside, a floating sensation enveloped him before the world swept out from under his feet like a rug and everything went black.
Moments later, light seared the back of his eyelids, and Julian carefully opened his eyes, a golden screen floating in the darkness in front of him.
Seven different race choices were displayed on the screen. He cycled through each one, feeling them slip over his body like a set of clothes and fuse with the virtual form of his consciousness.
After clumsily stumbling around as a Drageen and an Elf, he dismissed the two races and they vanished from the holographic display. The Drageen’s tail was too hard to move in, and the long slender ears of the Elf felt like he had weights hanging off his head. He’d never been one for earrings, though his ears were pierced years ago. Perhaps that was why the elf ears felt so foreign.
The remaining option was human, with two sub-groups to choose from: Delver, or Therian.
He clicked on Delver, nodding at the sub-groups starting abilities. With boosted experience for characters under level twenty, it would make for a good choice.
The other option, Therian, had two starting abilities, however both were hidden, the words glitching and pixelated.
“How the hell did a glitch that obvious make it through beta testing?” Julian growled out, dismissing the sub-group immediately.
Going into a game with unknown abilities was foolish, especially if there was no way to start over.
When he tried to select Delver, an error message rang out in his head, accompanied by a series of low beeps.
Delver character slots maxed out. Please select a different sub-group.
He backed out, deciding the uncomfortable ears would be a worthwhile tradeoff for increased mana recharge. He’d get used to them, eventually.
Elf character slots maxed out. Please select another race.
A vein ticked to life above his left eye.
“Fine,” Julian hissed softly.
He would go with Drageen then.
Drageen character slots maxed out. Please select another race.
He growled, going back to his last option and jamming his finger on the selection screen.
If Enigma Realm Studios wanted to make it hard on him, fine.
He couldn’t wait to tear the company apart.
Therian selected, please wait for the transfer to Thalesium.
Julian closed his eyes, remembering the woman’s warning while he struggle to collect himself, still seething with irritation.
No matter what virtual reality game you played, the transfer between character selection and game world was rather unsettling. This one, apparently, was worse. Every participant of the beta had been close lipped about the game itself, but there was one detail that the company didn’t seem to care about.
Connecting to your avatar.
The game connected your consciousness to your in game avatar through the nerve endings in your feet. Although there were many theories floating around, no one seemed to know exactly how the company had accomplished the feat. Julian dreaded experiencing it himself, expecting the initial connection to be rather… interesting.
His feet were incredibly ticklish.
Despite his mental preparations, he had to fight not to wriggle as the sensation spread through his feet and up his legs before spreading to the rest of his body as an overwhelming barrage of information assaulted his senses. He stumbled, collapsing to the ground on weak limbs when his mind landed in the game.