CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Intermission 2: Arego

In a certain building...

A balding man in his 20s was busily working through a mountain of paperwork with heavy-lidded eyes. His name was Jack Lee, a rather uninspired name for the QA Manager at Arego International. His job normally consisted of going to meetings and twiddling his thumbs, but ever since the launch of the Elseworlds, the situation in the office had changed drastically.

What was once a lax, leisurely position became a living hell as countless reports from quality control teams around the world came pouring in.

"ENOUGH!"

He screamed as he upended the entire table. Chest heaving as papers scattered into the air. His eyes were read as he slumped against the office walls. Having not slept for several days now, the bags under his eyes were so dark, people would mistake it for makeup.

From his outburst, the constant buzz of activity from outside his office momentarily ceased. Quiet laughter came out soon after, which made Jack drop his head in shame.

The papers were of no import. All that was required would be a quick skim, and he could do that on his phone, but due to all the tight deadlines, he hadn't had a chance to rest at all. Perhaps if it was some fun or stimulating activity, then he wouldn't mind, but going through the same formatting, the same reports day after day was the sort of tedium that was liable to melt his brain.

He actually felt half-insane. His vision was blurry, the world around him unstable, but that didn't take away the work that was still to be had.

"I...I need a break."

He had thought he lucked out when acquiring such a high paying position in Arego, but it had all been a trap. He remembered acting smug while all the content creators were putting their nose to the grindstones as they struggled to finish everything upon release. Oh, how he regretted it now.

With shaky steps, he managed to exit his office, struggling through the halls until he entered a cozy looking home theater. With modified seating that had cushions and minifridges, it appeared to be custom built for comfort. With a massive curved screen on the wall, the entire room could accommodate dozens if not hundreds of people. Many of which were resting lazily on the cushions while cackling maniacally.

"Sup Jack. Taking a breather?" A portly man grinned viciously in greeting before redirecting his attention to the screen.

Sighing, Jack nodded. "Yeah, Reg."

All the people in this room were but a fraction of the content creators at Arego International...or high functioning psychopaths if one didn't wish to be polite. These were people who would take pleasure in kicking baby seals, but without their existence, Elsweyr would never have been born. From the games very foundations to the skeletons of all procedurally generated quests, these men and women all played a part. In addition to the base game, every one of them added in their own twisted questlines and scenarios, turning the game into a veritable house of horrors if one knew where to look.

These brilliant men and women have all been haphazardly shackled together in order to create the ultimate experience. From the fullest sensations from the five senses to heartrending stories threaded deep within the world. Of course, even their efforts combined could not measure up to the comprehensive AI that completed most of the back end development, but these people were the heart and soul that transformed the game into a second life.

As for their favorite past time?

Nothing gave them more pleasure than watching players get completely destroyed in the world they created. The more 'personal' quest scenarios got more attention as well. As there was no immediate rush to create anything new, many creators descended into overindulgence and debauchery shortly after the release.

The showing tonight was a current favorite. The muppets from hell. The creepy, twitchy movements coupled with the darkness of the dungeon made the entire area seem like a cheesy horror flick. Watching naive beginners getting swarmed by moderately creepy stuffed dolls was quickly becoming a classic, which had the viewers howling in laughter the first time it was shown.

However, the video soon changed and was now featuring a clip sent by the Asia division. Rather than a quest, it showed a group of rankers being hunted down.

Jack had unknowingly settled in, somehow finding a bucket of popcorn coupled with a fizzy soda on his lap. He quietly groaned as he felt the comfort of the cushions rest against his sore, tired back.

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The rankers were currently running through a labyrinth with beginner users hot on their heels.

"I'm surprised they're still at it." One of the geeks mused. "The Western Continent is pretty quiet in comparison."

Truthfully, nobody liked the rankers. Many viewed their early access as an unfair advantage at first but seeing them persecute tickled the sadistic fancy of many present.

"I've noticed the top Asian players all seem to hold a lot of pride, but if this continues, they won't remain at the top for long."

"No way. With the amount of time they have, the gap will only increase. This video should be a good example. Just watch the noobs get crushed, one by one."

"Doesn't look like it."

"Shall we put money on it?"

"Oi! Bring out the Betting Board!"

Jack could only shake his head in envy. Everyone here was far too carefree. No... Perhaps he would be the same and was just bitter over being stuck in the office.

The chased rankers eventually ended up in a dead end, a wide auditorium where they decided to make their final stand. As the beginners funneled in, however, the walls surrounding the room began to shake before crumbling to dust.

From the walls poured out dozens of giant hands, all holding various weapons. From spears and halberds to firearms and nets. The players all gaped in shock as each weapon was larger than their very bodies.

Their shock didn't last long however before the countless hands attacked, decimating hundreds of players in but a blink of an eye.

"Ha! That's the Asian Divisions take on the Hekatonkheires? Bravo!" The portly man, Reg laughed while many who put money into the betting pool lamented at their lost bills. In the end, there were no survivors, leading to a sick feeling in Jack's gut.

It was then Jack noticed a group of people who weren't paying attention to the screen at all, but rather a tiny laptop.

When he saw who they were, his heart lurched a little. They were members of Team Dave, the group who were currently creating the most amount of work for him. Not only were they a higher breed of crazy, but their antics had contaminated the very game itself. Nearly all of their questlines were designed to torture the player, with many designed to fail. Worst was a players failure would have direct consequences on those around them as well. But since creators had free reign over what they put into the game world, all the difficulties of navigating through the red tape would fall onto him.

That's not to say their quests were impossible, but they crafted it in such a way that a dry run would have a success rate of less than 20%. It wasn't a matter of skills or levels, but the way the scenarios have been designed themselves.

To see them all staring at a screen so intently had piqued Jack's interest. Despite his weariness, he found himself wandering beside the group, looking at what seemed to be the image of a massive black cat.

"What y'all lookin’ at?"

A female member, whose name Jack couldn't remember responded. "It's the Devourer of Worlds. We've run into some complications."

"What?" Jack wanted to cry. Was something wrong with the code? If so, that would just mean more work for him.

"It's spawning has been aborted."

"...?"

"It was supposed to be a tier 6 boss monster, but three kids came along and tamed it."

Jack could already feel the migraine coming in. A Tier 6 meant that the monster's true level was between 250 and 300, and it was a boss to boot. He thought the taming rates of all monsters was set to the minimum, with the boss capture rates set to infinitesimally small numbers. Just how did such an event transpire?

"Will there be balancing issues?"

"Fortunately, no. As soon as it happened, our failsafes kicked in and the cat got pounded by the nerf bat. The problem, however, is that the Devourer was supposed to escape and slaughter all the beginners in the area. It would've made for a good first encounter for the players with the abyssal realm."

"The abyssal realm? But isn't that content for intermediate leveled players? It should be good that it hasn't been released yet right?"

"..."

'These people...' Jack stared at the group of creators, but they all simultaneously looked away from him. They were so in sync, he wouldn't hesitate to bet all he had that they practiced this beforehand.

"..."

"You just want to see noobs get torn apart, don't you."

The women tactfully ignored him as she said, "Please don't worry. We already ran through the situation with Dave. He's decided that we will just spawn the Devourer manually."

"Wait! Why? The players will file complaints!"

"And at full strength too! It will terrorize those worms on the streets. Through its existence, we shall pound fear of the devourer into their hearts and souls! They will quake so hard in their boots that shoe cobblers will become the richest men in the cities! It's mere shadow will..."

"Are you even listening to me!?!!" Jack shouted, exasperated. "Are you trying to get them to quit the game?"

The subscription fees for Elsweyr were quite hefty. Should the players become too frustrated, they might drop the game entirely, and then all the blame would fall onto him.

"And play what?" The woman snorted. "What other game can possibly compare to our collective baby? Fairness? Balance? What are those? Those who bitch should shut up and just git gud!"

Due to her volume, the creators around her who happened to overhear all cheered in agreement. And soon, a chant was started.

"Git Gud!"

"Git Gud!"

"Hurraaaaaah!!!"

While Jack looked as if he had swallowed a lemon, the woman lowered her voice, as if in consolation.

"Please don't worry Jack. Despite how it seems, we are still taking this seriously. Our most prominent problem right now is the divide in strength between the rankers and the beginners. Although our actions might seem nonsensical, such trials will allow our player base to struggle together, and in doing so forge lasting friendships. Through hardship, this will ensure the longevity of the player base."

Her words were meant as reassurance, and Jack himself was almost moved by such fanciful reasoning. But then he woke up from that flighty dream as the chants 'Git Gud' were still crescendoing.

'I want to believe,' Jack thought sadly. But then he remembered that everyone in here was a twisted sonuvabitch, and that number probably included himself as well.

In fact, if he hadn't greatly enjoyed the scenarios pitched by the content creators, he wouldn't have fought so feverishly with the publishers to give them creative freedom.

But despite his actions, he didn't want the user experience to be 'too' horrible.

Jack sighed a heavy sigh. He was out of his depth.

"Where's Dave. I'll speak with him." He had to rescind this decision. He needed them to push back the boss spawning by at least a month, no, even a week would be fine. The number of orders for their gaming consoles was still pouring in without any signs of slowing down. Regardless of intentions, such an event was far too early.

"He's in his cubicle. I think he's working on the post-300 content."

"Oh? How diligent." Jack said, impressed.

Although the current level cap was 300, that only pertained to players. There were countless monsters that exceeded that. It was a necessary decision which allowed players to still receive a challenge once they reached the peak. Although it was expected that it would take 3 years before the first few players reach the cap, the fact that team leaders were already making content showed a foresight for the longevity of the company.

He made his way to a cluster of offices which seemed more like giant honeycombs than actual cubicles. Each comb was very spacious, with room for desks, cabinets, and whatever the owners so fancy.

As for Dave's comb, it was completely dark save for the light coming off of a 4x4 array of screens displayed before him. Dave himself was a short, balding man with an impressive handlebar moustache that even the most liberal of hipsters would envy.

The only sounds consisted of Dave clacking away on his holoboard furiously, all while giggling quietly to himself.

Jack pulled apart the curtains as he entered the comb, "Hey Dave, I need to talk to you about your pacing..." His voice caught as he looked at the array of screens. His face twitched as a horrified expression appeared on his face.

Dave swiveled around and gave Jack a wide shit-eating grin.

"How can I help you Jack?"

"...Oh, fuck off!"