'Contacting VPN...' The wait was short. 'Checking account details... Account details verified. Account details accepted. Connection to VPN established.'
Richard scanned over the internet browser to a padlock emblazoned button, when he focused on it, a drop-down panel appeared with a microphone icon on it. He eyed it shortly and spoke. 'A hard day's knight.' As the words came, the icon changed from black, to red, to orange and to green. The voice of his computer answered. 'Vocal patterns identified. Password accepted.'
He reached under the padded straps of the headset and scratched his scalp. It was time to get comfortable. When the drop-down panel changed to a list of Web Protocol addresses, Richard opened one in a new tab and waited for it to load. The VPN made it difficult for Richard to be traced over the net, which was especially helpful as it also allowed him to visit domains on the web that had been blacklisted by his government. Unfortunately, with his connection being run through a series of international addresses before reaching the target domain, data transfer was slow, even on the country's celebrated National Web Service.
He waited patiently for the address to load. When it did, a simple bulletin board style site was presented, reminiscent of those of old. There were no images or animations, only a list of threads created by anonymous users. Richard scrolled through until the name of a familiar thread appeared: Secrets of a Popular Game. He entered the thread. The body of the page was short but detailed, written by Richard previously. It read:
Information sought. New player seeking help playing The Law of War.
Unable to find details on game play, navigation/ geography and player etiquette. Any help appreciated.
There were three replies. The first simply stated, “LOL”. The second was somewhat more detailed.
Are you willing to pay? Information regarding The Law of War is never free.
The first thing Richard had thought was that this was a scam. That was the previous day. But today he was desperate. The laughing out loud reply was from a user like most others, with the handle Anonymous. However, the second reply was from someone calling themselves Broke. The third reply to the thread was also from Broke, repeating their first message.
Richard had spent most of his waking hours thinking about whether to reply or just give in on his search. If this particular message board, which was famed for its use as an information gathering resource, could only present him with scams, then the search was over before it ever truly began. Something in his gut made him think otherwise. The risk was tempting. He spoke, commanding his computer to reply, his new message was short and to the point.
How much will it cost?
He supposed that any reply would come during the night, but oddly that was not the case. Several seconds later, Broke sent another message.
To continue, please post an email address for us to contact you by. Thank you.
Well OK... Richard thought to himself, but posting his personal email address was a silly thing to do. Instead he replied with one of a number of dummy email addresses that he had created for other things, and awaited an email message to come. If the message board was anything to go by, he expected it soon, but it did not come quickly at all.
What did arrive in the inbox for the throwaway email account were a number of spam, scam and nuisance mails. Likely from people trawling the boards for email addresses to abuse, or from bots that automatically collect addresses and send paid-for emails, such as adverts or even viruses.
It was at least an hour before another message came through on the thread. Richard waited patiently, watching some game play videos of other games while he did. It was a simple message from Broke:
An email has been sent, Subject: #1765WWH
And there it was in his inbox, a email titled “#1765WWH”, containing a link to an unknown Web Protocol address. Richard felt secure enough to try it, so with a focused stare the link changed from blue to purple and a new tab opened.
Slowly a simple chat screen opened up with a user list on the right side and the content window on the left. Only two names were on the list, User #1 and User #2. User one typed a message first.
User #1: 27 – 07 – 2229. Transaction 213.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
User #1: Your request for information regarding The Law of War Online has been processed and is ready for delivery to an email address of your specification.
User #1: We have calculated the cost of this transaction as being 55.04 Credits to be paid upon receipt of the download link.
User #1: Before deciding on the transaction, we request that you restate your needs and possibly any other extras that will then be recalculated in the price. You can also ask questions during the chat session, though answers will be short, as the information package provided to you will be more than sufficient.
User #1: Thank you.
Richard sat and stared at the text for a moment, contemplating. He spoke, his voice to text software did the rest.
User #2: I'm not sure that I can trust you, how do I know this isn't a scam?
User #1: The Information Broker does not involve itself in scamming activities.
User #2: That's reassuring...
User #1: A table of contents and basic breakdown of the documentation you have requested has been sent to the previous email address provided to us. It is our hope that this content relieves you of your doubts. We will await your response. Thank you.
With speed he found the email and the file. The email client had done its own anti-virus check, but Richard downloaded the files to a quarantined drive and performed his own scan. It was clear. He opened the file to find a text document, formatted neatly with table of contents and a synopsis of the greater file yet to come. Everything looked above board, with brief but clear descriptions of the listed subjects and answers to Richard's queries. In this case, the full documentation would contain details of The Law of War's nations and their individual player cultures and perceived etiquettes, as well as game play mechanics, which seemed to mostly be about character and account management.
User #2: OK. Everything looks good to me, let's carry on.
User #1: Please restate your information request and any additional needs. Thank you.
User #2: The file you sent looks like it covers what I asked for initially, but it might be missing some things.
User #1: Please elaborate and we will do our best to adjust the document.
User #2: Well, you see, the synopsis says I'll be told about player etiquette, but I'm not sure it'll cover my problem.
User #1: Please elaborate and we will do our best to adjust the documents.
User #2: OK, well, it's.
User #2: It's just that other players seem to not recognise me. Everyone either ignores me or can't see me or... I did have one person chase me, but I ran.
User #1: One moment please.
User #1: We are currently determining the correct information for you. For the sake of accuracy may we ask a number of questions, of which none will undermine your privacy?
User #2: OK.
User #1: What in game nationality were you given? What gender is assigned to your avatar? What Job Class have you accepted? What nation are you aligned to? What was your location when your problems occurred.
User #2: I'm not sure what nationality I am, I've only had one game session after training and I was dropped into some city afterwards with no guidance. I'm male, I don't have a Job Class yet and I don't think I'm aligned to a nation. I'm a brand new player.
User #1: One moment please.
User #1: We have been given permission to speak to you openly. Your problem may well not be solved through purchasing our services, we suggest that your issue should be troubleshot by The Law of War tech support.
User #1: If other characters can not recognise you for the most part, then this may well be a tech issue and not a game play or etiquette issue.
User #2: NPCs can still talk to me, and like I said, that one player chased me.
User #1: One moment please.
User #1: From what we know, if NPCs can recognise your Ghost, then players should also be able to. Are there any other details you could tell us that may help determine an answer to your problem?
User #2: Not really no... Wait. Maybe.
Richard thought for a moment, about his child like appearance in the game, about his biometric hack allowing him to use his sister's age restricted account. I can't go into detail, what if they find out what I've done? What if I get fined or sued? This is too dangerous!
The other user was left with one last message in the chat.
User #2 has disconnected...