August 12. 2044 Queens NYC,
Magnus Laid on top of the bed that came with DDVRP. As he psyched himself for the first time he would launch Heroes of Distant Worlds. The most hyped-up videogame of all time.
He had already made his character on his laptop with the complementary app of the game before he decided that he had chosen the most interesting powersystem. Well perhaps not the most interesting but the one that resonated the most with him.
He laid back and actively thought. ‘Neural Link Command. Launch Heroes of Distant Worlds’
The mental chime acknowledged the command and the Pod turned on with a static whirl as it powered up.
… … …
Darkness, then Pain! Lots and lots of Pain!
New memories clashed with older ones. Magnus could not understand what was happening but deep down he knew, something must have gone wrong. He could feel how memories invaded his mind, trying to rewrite who he was. He fought back.
He hung on bare threads, holding into anything that made him who he was. “I am Magnus Willian Jones. I was born in NYC in 1996. I grew up in Queens. I graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School, went to Ranger College while I worked as a busboy in restaurants and did construction, and finally had a promising career as a government employee. "
He kept repeating facts about himself and what made him… He kept on high alert until the fight for Identity subsided and the other being inside his head faded into silent nonexistence.
He did not come unscathed; some memories were not his own inside his head, but most of them were or so he thought… no, he was almost certain he was still Himself.
Magnus tried remembering what had happened before he fought for existence and the continuation of his identity, it came to him with memories of excitement and wonder that now turned into bitterness and hate.
The new Deep Dive Virtual Reality Pod must have malfunctioned. Fucking Edison and their neural link chip. And fuck Alon Tusk, that Australian bastard.
Alon Tusk CEO of Edison Corporation purchased some Quantum chips… or manufactured them? He never paid attention to those details, but he remembered the advertisements.
Edison Entertainemnt launching quantum servers in USA. thousands of times faster than regular servers. And then their new DDVRP that if you had the Neural Link chip you could just slide in and go into “unique worlds” that would feel almost real life-like.
Alon Tusk even came out to reassure that they were using quantum mumbo-jumbo to ensure a unique playtime experience for each player… “your own personal fantasy or sci-fi universe” yada yada yada.
He did not want to believe it at first. He dismissed the first reviewers as paid shills.
But time passed and in less than a year the new “epidemic” of people that withdrew from real life to be in the DDVRP world started.
Let me tell you, the conservatives went apeshit calling for a ban on it in the entire country. Physical rehabilitation centers were in an all-time high demand, for if you spend days on end laying without moving it leads to muscle atrophy.
The world was crazy. And Magnus was not immune to the hype. He could not afford to spend hours on end inside the VR game. Because of the nature of his job, but a few hours a day he could do. And he could afford the 10 thousand dollars needed to purchase the demonic pod.
And now he was here.
He opened up his eyes and looked around. The coarse blanket that was covering his body was itchy. The light that shined into his eyes gave him sharp pain in his eye sockets. And the dust in the air made him sneeze. He could barely recognize that he was in some kind of church or a really small cathedral if he had to guess by the stained glass windows.
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“What the fuck” he muttered. The graphics… they were not supposed to be this good. I mean they were good. But this was too much, and this being the first release of the DDVRP also did not include the feeling of touch. Maybe in a few years, perhaps another few decades. But not at the moment.
Something was wrong. Really fucking wrong.
“ Young man, You are awake. You passed out after using a Status Awakening Orb. Thanks the Father for his mercy” Said a Priest as he made a circular motion around his chest with his closed fist before placing it on top of his heart, he was dressed in some light coffee-colored robes with dark brown embroidery around the end of the sleeves and neck.
Magnus sat up from the cot he was laying in and rubbed his face with his hands, especially his eyes, the pain was subsiding but it was still annoying.
“Come, young man, let's get you something to drink,” the priest said. He guided his unsteady steps to what seemed to be a side door that ended up opening up to a small office. There he handed him a clay cup with some ale.
Magnus refused the foamy drink, his addiction whispering in the back of his mind that no one would know. “I don't drink alcohol,” he said out of reflex and the priest apologized briefly before he poured a new drink of what resembled water. After a taste, he confirmed that yes it was water.
“Young man, You are burdened with great purpose. But the Father does not give us more than we can carry. The Legacy that you have inherited might weigh on you heavily but it is also a blessing. A blessing that we must keep in mind and give it focus. A responsibility to do his will for the good of the empire…” The priest went into preacher mode and Magnus turned him off.
Legacy. The Videogame called it The Bloodlines mechanic. There were many, almost endless mechanics you could choose from as a system to gain power in the game. Some of them varied minimally, and others were totally different. ‘fucking Quantum mumbo-jumbo’ he cursed in his head.
His fucking luck… Of course, he would get some kind of error. His body was either dead or maybe comatose in his apartment. The fact that he could feel, taste, and see in such details screamed to him that this was his new reality.
For some reason it made sense. Like a 6th sense telling him that he could not go back and that there was no way out of this hole. surprisingly he was Ok with it.
He did not hate his past life, his mother passed away at the ripe age of 87 having lived a good life and enjoying her retirement for a while. His sister lived her own life, he would miss her, but that was that. And he has not had a pet for almost 20 years. He did not have any attachments to his old life.
“Young man,” The priest said and he finally snapped out of his self-loathing.
“Yes, forgive me. I was contemplating my purpose.” Magnus chimed in, and the priest made a nod before doing the circle motion once again. As he placed his first on top of his heart Magnus guessed that this was some kind of religious gesture.
A flash of memory from this body came to him and it confirmed what he suspected, and he winced as he mentally beat down the intrusive memory into the back of his mind.
“Status,” He said out loud as he willed to open his Character sheet, it also worked wonders to make the Priest shut up as he read.
“Character:
Name: Magnus Alucard Isveig Lucious Ergram
Age: 18
Race: Legacy Human.
Alignment: True Neutral
Rank: Stone [incompleate]
Bloodlines:
Main: Jotun.
Secondary: Aesir, Vampiric Red Dragon, WereDireBear.
Status: Healthy
Aether: 60 [(Core+Mind+Con+1/2Strength)x10]
Aura: 75 [9Core+Con+Strenght+1/2Dexterity)x10]
Stats:
Strength: 2*
Dexterity 1*
Constitution: 2*
Mind: 1*
Core: 3*
Habilities/spells:
* Racial:
Interface.
AutoLoot
Inventory
Allspeak.
* Bloodline:
- Jotun[⅛]:
[12%] Giants Constitution [3*]
- Aesir[¼]:
[0%] Marital instinct.
- Vampiric Red Dragon[¼]
[0%] Impale
-WereDireBear[¼]:
[0%] Enhance”
He wanted to keep on reading, to explore more of his status, but he had a suspicion that the priest wanted him gone. Or was it his intuition telling him to book it as soon as possible?
“Thank you for your help. But there is a lot to process, i would like to rest for now” Magnus said as he rose from his seat, the light no longer hurting his eyes, he adjusted to this new younger body surprisingly easily.
“Yes, Yes.” the Priest said as he got up.
“Let us finish with the ceremony and then you can retreat and get some rest”
The priest then guided him back into the infirmary, before they exited into the main hall of the church. There was an altair where the priest stood, he gestured for him to stand in front of him.
The priest waited as he did, not understanding fully what he was expecting him to do.
“Kneel” the priest whispered to him.
His eyes went wide, Kneel? His body was repulsed by that idea before he could control himself his mouth answered.
“I kneel for no one,” he said with venom in his voice, and immediately cringed at the edge he was projecting.
The priest sighed and shook his head before reaching up and placing his hand on top of Magnus’ head.
“We pray now for, a new Hero is born, the endless paths of possibilities lay ahead, we pray for forgiveness for kindness, for empathy and understanding. In these troubling times, we pray for peace and God's will for us.” The priest dipped his finger in some pouch he had hanging from his neck and then made a circle on Magnus’ forehead. “May Father watch over you in his infinite wisdom and compassion”
“Amen,” Magnus said in reflex. that answer made the priest raise an eyebrow, but he did not questioned him.
“May your path be prosperous and your harvest bountiful” Said the priest, Magnus repeated the same phrase and the priest responded with a nod then turned around and went into doing whatever priests do in this world.