0 Prologue
“This is Ron, bringing you the biggest gaming news! Last night, a legend died! You heard me right folks. News was released earlier this morning on one of the biggest guilds in one of the most popular zombie VRMMORPGs, Apocalypse: Day Zero. The guild, Ramify, released the cruelest PK in history in video format. Let's watch as some of the biggest players in the game kill one their own, The Admiral.”
The annoying man on the laptop screen was replaced by in-game footage from the someone's viewpoint. It showed a team of people fighting zombies nonstop. Their teamwork was impeccable.
“A quick rundown: the guild is entering one of the hardest zones in the game, Atlanta, Georgia. The zone was made where you would have to shovel zombie after zombie to take even a step. And that's just the horde level zombie! The streets are strewn with one of the highest amounts of special zombies seen! Atlanta is topped only by the biggest of cities, including New York and Vegas. Ramify seems to be in the middle of a high level quest to make their way to the capital building in their group of twenty four. And that's where the drama starts! Only three blocks away from their goal, the guild gets hit by a massive horde, called by the death screech of a banshee. With very little options on their platter, the team follows the guidance of their tactician, The Admiral. That's this one, in the white.”
The clip pauses as it's focused on a man in a spotless white uniform. While every other player seems to be trying their hardest to mince as many bodies as possible, he can clearly be seen avoiding the fight and directing the ring of people surrounding him, protecting him from the undead monstrosities.
The clip resumes playing, the sounds of gunshots, screams, and the sounds of flesh being sliced or smashed resuming at its intense volume. The video taker seemed to be on the inside of the ring, near the middle. The player had an assault rifle and was being conservative with his or her ammunition. The anchorman was relatively silent as the group moved as a single mass towards an open door, vaguely seen through the deteriorating bodies. The video continued as four gunners, the camera man included, straddled the doorway while laying down cover fire for their retreating comrades. One huge bear of a man brought up the rear, cutting down zombies one after the other with his stop sign, now battered and bent. A massive metal desk was used to block off the doorway. Half of the group rested, while the other half set out in pairs, probably to check for unwanted guests or other entry ways.
“The horde was valiantly fended off, buying time for the guild. This is where we'll skip, as the leaders of the group just spend time planning while the others rest. Unfortunately, we don't have footage of the planning, as Red Barrel, our camera man, is actually pretty low ranked inside the guild.”
The video was set in fast forward while Ron rambled, effectively causing me to start to ignore him. My interest picked back up when Red Barrel and his guildies started to climb stairs, emerging at the top of a building. He and a few other gunners walked to the edge of the building to shoot down the climbers, mid-level specials that scaled the side of buildings. Some bathers cleaned up the ones that had already made it to the top. The gunner looked over the edge to see a sea of bodies. He, as the anchorman pointed out sometime earlier, took aim at the climbers and started to assist them on their way to the crowd. The gunner, now out of targets, looked around. The Admiral stepped closer to the edge to gaze down at the horde. A few grenades went off in the mass of bodies, but it had barely made a dent.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“These three players, the ones approaching The Admiral, are arguably the most popular players of ADZ as well as the highest ranking members in the guild, Ramify. The beauty on the right is Anna Rosalez, with the title The Huntress. She's been claimed to be the best sniper in the game. She's the gunning expert of Ramify. The Russian looking man on the left is Boris ‘Grizzly’ Bershov. With his strength, he can wield almost anything that can be called a weapon. He's been seen favoring street signs though, perhaps showing a bit of his humorous side. And in the middle, the big shot himself, Jake Pressley. An expert in anything he tries, his nickname is ‘First,’ which is his rank since the game came out. Let's watch and see what unfolds.”
The trio walked over to the officer, striking an unheard conversation, causing The Admiral to turn around. The Huntress and First were pretty calm, but unease was plainly apparent on Grizzly’s face. The Admiral’s face couldn't be seen. The conversation seemed to heat up, just to abruptly halt. The Admiral turned back around to the audience beneath him. First wore a ferocious smile as he raised his leg. A kick uncoiled, launching the man off the building. His uniform disappeared passed the edge.
The laptop was slammed close and thrown on the bed. Though it was already months ago, it still infuriated him. I watched it one more time to remind myself what all of my efforts, past and future, strived for.
Revenge.
I grabbed my checklist, thinking about the few months I used to prep myself.
1.get money for new toon and preset2.pray for a good starting location3.start game4.buy custom skills5.grind6.travel/ quest7.grind8.grind9.10.
The rest was blank. I didn't want to get caught up in my plans to be unable to improvise. The first two items were checked off, but I kneeled once again and prayed my heart out for a good location.
Once done, I stood and slipped into the capsule.
I was finally ready.