Chapter II: The Meeting

“I’ve come with a proposition. One that even you can fulfil even in that condition. Well, rather than a proposition, a better term would be an offer. Help me out with something and I will help you out.

Currently you seem to have no way of making money, making you almost literally deadweight for your mother.”

I held back the urge to call the MMA nurse to punch him in the face after that one, but I knew there was at least a grain of truth in that statement.

“So I want you to test out a new piece of technology for my company, something even you can test, an VR Capsule. As you know I work for a company called Loki Logic Games, and recently the company wants to expand our testing group for a new type of capsule. This capsule although more powerful than the previous model but it also specially designed to work on people with spinal damage.

Previously when anyone with spinal damage attempted to use a VR capsule the connection area of the capsule overlapped with a part of the spine that did not work and thus the capsule could not perform at it’s full capabilities. This capsule is an attempt to fix that. Having found out about the accident that happened to you my company asked me to present you with this offer;

‘If you test this capsule, we will not only provide you with the final version of the capsule once it is released but a game of your choosing to test it on. We will not, however, guarantee your safety in the case where something goes wrong in the capsule or that you tamper with the capsule on your own.’

Well actually, that is the summary of a 50 page waiver that you will have to sign in the case you accept. Once you have recovered contact me if your interested.”

After saying that he left the room without out even waiting to answer the questions I had.

*****

As risky as it seemed, I was going to have to take my uncle’s offer. His offer hid more than he stated; in all that there was a hidden opportunity to make money: becoming a pro gamer.

As of 2037 Virtual reality had been created. Since then companies started to extend their companies into the newly created and damn near infinite space. Sure I could try for one of those companies but try finding a job that will pay an eighteen year old paraplegic with a high-school diploma enough to create a comfortable life for his mother for the rest of her life. I had to take a risk, I needed to do something that payed extremely well without being illegal. That eliminated just about everything especially since the amount of money I needed was enormous. My best choice to save myself was to become a pro gamer, in other words, a gamer who makes money off of video games.

Three years ago in 2037 the first Virtual Reality Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Game -- VRMMO for short because that is quite the mouthful -- was released. It's name New Beginnings; It was a classic MMO featuring a level system and skills and of course the latest in AI for the monsters. It had a realism of 75%. It was not the last nor was it the greatest.

Two years later, in August 2039, it was released. It featured a whopping 99.9% realism and featured a unique game system: every player starts off with 10 of every primary stat: , , , , , and . These stats could never have their permanent value changed. is randomly generated secondary stat; a stat that could actually change in base value. Secondary stats can also be granted by the main selling point of the game: .

Every skill either adds value to secondary stats or increases the base stats by a percent value or sometimes even both when a condition is met. For example: , at level 1, increases and by 1% when wielding a sword in the dominant hand. Gear works on a multiplying system so superior gear would deal damage based on related stats multiplied by the multiplier it also occasionally had additional effects. However the main factor in damage was how well the sword was wielded; if a person used the sword skillfully it could deal many times more damage than if swung at random. This placed an emphasis on player skill and good because a good, mid-level could be many times better than a good piece of gear.

Every could be levelled to level 30 and a player’s level was a culmination of all their skill’s levels. In addition to there was another unique feature called . On the creation of a character They would automatically be assigned an and a . An strengthens characters depending on specific conditions and also affects how NPCs, and in some cases, players see you. are that have no prerequisite and have a chance to be an incredibly rare skill, however on some occasions they restrict a character, so if they had bad luck they would have to reset their character to get rid of it. There of course was an option to turn off with restrictions but that exempt that character from gaining anything above a basic or . Also to prevent players from continuously restarting their character to get their desired or they have to reach level 10.

The game world was also different than most. On the surface of that massive world, approximately the size of the earth(510,072,000 km²), the monsters are mainly weak monsters and there is an occasional dungeon filled with monsters and treasure. However in every city there is an entrance, a winding road that made its way deep into the earth, twisting, turning, branching deeper into the depths of the earth. Some parts are vast underground forests, others include mysterious castles and holds, endless legions of monsters, countless caches of treasure, and many other things that exceed imagination. The end of this road had never been found. As such both the dungeon and the game were aptly named <>. All of this world is constantly balanced and controlled by a master AI that is referred to as <>.

As with most modern VR games there is a real money auction. Occasionally some gear with rare effects would be sold, and of course potions and in game currency but the main trade was . Some were near impossible to attain normally but could be learned via . When using a skill book, if you met the requirements, you could gain that skill. In rare cases appeared having none of the normal requirements.

As unconventional as it seemed <> exploded in popularity as entertainment and even in the media. People soon began to watch in-game events and tournaments as if they were sport matches. As with most things, If there is demand supply will increase to compensate; the number of pro gamers exploded to accommodate the new found popularity.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

This was the game I needed to play; the game that stood above others. It was there that I needed to find my way down to the deepest depths of the road and create my future in it's worn and winding paths.

*****

My uncle came to pick me up in a company vehicle — a black sedan. Ironically it looked almost exactly like the car that had hit me. Even more ironically this car was taking me to a place where I could reclaim the future that the other had taken.

I was strapped into the special seat that was developed to keep the passenger’s head facing forward and kept them firmly in position so their body would not move too much in the seat.

It was a long, awkward and silent 10 minute drive to the downtown headquarters of Loki Logic Games.

When we reached the front of the building some staff offloaded me into wheelchair and proceeded to push me through the entryway of Loki Logic headquarters.

The entryway reminded me some high-class hotel combined with some alien ship. It was both cool and classy at the same time not to mention expensive.

[Well you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. I’ll wait until the meeting to make my judgments. Who am I meeting anyways?.]

I was pushed into the elevator and then the staff member left. It appeared that my uncle had something to say before the meeting.

After pressing a button on the elevator panel my uncle spoke.

“Graham, be polite as possible we are going to a meeting with the CEO of the company.”

I resisted the urge to respond “I’M GOING TO A MEETING WITH WHO!?”.

[Why the hell am I going to meet the CEO of Loki Logic!? I don’t see any reason to do that if I’m just signing a contract.]

“Umm, I don’t really see why that’s necessary could you elaborate?”

“No”

Ding

[It looks like it’s one of those wait and see cases]

After leaving the elevator I was pushed to the end of the hallway. In front of me was a set of large oak double doors. On the one to my right was a dull metal plaque that held a simple engraving:

CEO

Martin Coté

My uncle soundlessly pushed open the oak doors.

The inside of the office was nothing like what I was expecting. It looked like a simple study that could be found in most house although the room was larger than normal and was about 10mx10m. The floor was a simple maple hardwood and the walls were a simple white. There was an average sized window on the left side. It was furnished with a couple chairs and a solid stained maple desk.

Sitting a the desk was a man who looked about 40 years old. He was dressed in semi-casual clothing — black dress pants and a grey dress shirt but no tie. His hair was thick and black. He seemed to be focused on what ever was on his desk.

My uncle pushed me in front of the desk and then quietly left the room and closed the door.

Having finally looked up from his work he looked straight at me with his light brown eyes.

“Graham I presume?”

“Yes, Mr.Coté.”

He chuckled a bit.

“Don’t speak so formally. Call me Martin.”

[Okay I’m not sure what is with this guy but he is completely different than I would expect of the CEO of one of the world’s largest companies.]

“Alright. Martin why did you want to meet me? I think it should be obvious that you couldn’t possibly meet every single person who takes part in testing like this.”

“As much as I would like to do so you are correct. The reason I wanted to meet you is I am a friend of your father.”

Immediately a storm of emotions rose up in me: confusion, curiosity and a bit of hate. Why had I never met him before? How close of a friend was he to my father? Why did he do nothing for my mother after the fire?

“I can tell you have some questions but please wait until I’m done before you ask them. Your father and I had known each other since high school; we were to the end best friends. In fact your father, your uncle and I dreamt up this company in high school.

At the end of our days in high school there was a falling out between your father and your uncle. Your uncle and I continued the dream while your father went off to law school. One day, 6 years after the falling out, your father came to me and told me that he still could not bear to fully abandon that dream. At the time Loki Logic was in it’s infancy and had just started producing games. He brought to me a concept, a concept which took 17 years to realize. That was the VRMMO The Unending Road.

The concept was unused as it would be hard to pull off but he had more than just a concept. He had started to write the history of a completely new world the world that he liked to call “locus somniōrum” — the place of dreams. Your uncle was never told anything about this because they never did have a good relationship after the falling out. Your father used a alias to write the history and never once stepped foot in Loki Logic games.

He continued to produce the history until the game’s release. One week before he died in the fire he sent me something, he sent me a final piece to add to the history accompanied by a seemingly rushed message. I somehow had the feeling he knew that someone was after him. I doubt he knew that the whole family would be targeted.

I have reason to believe that he hid the identity of the arsons somewhere in the history of the game and the last piece is a key to link it all together.

Originally I had intended to tell you this a little while after you had graduated from high school but your circumstances changed. Luckily our new capsule was just getting tested and you just happened to fit the requirements.

So I ask you, will you search for the truth? and are you willing to take the risk of using an untested technology to do so?”

After hearing the story my mind blanked for a bit then some doubt crept into my mind.

[Is he telling the truth? Did he really know my father? Well I guess there is only one way to find out.]

“I will. I do have a quick question though. How do I give consent if I can’t sign anything?”

“You need guardian consent. I contacted your mother in advance to get her permission. She said ‘Graham, do what you feel you need to; It’s your life.’ and signed the forms in the case that you want to go through with this.“

[Haah… That’s my mom. she does things without telling me and she reads my intentions like a book. Or maybe I am just that predictable?]

“Okay when do I start?”

Chapter II -END