《R.A.B. Online (Discontinued)》 Chapter 1: Development and Testing, Is it game time yet? *Crack* "ah shit", I said. Dropping into a lower stance and trying to make myself less noticeable while nervously looking around. Knowing the branch I just stepped on would most likely have alerted nearby enemies. Satisfied that I didn''t see or hear anything I stood straight and continued his trek through the simulated forest. "This isn''t like her at all" I mumbled. Suddenly hearing the beat of wings I looked up, only to see a cavernous maw closing over me. With panic setting in I dropped my center of gravity and pushed off with the ball of my right foot. Pushing in extra energy with my left leg and letting my momentum carry me into a roll from my left shoulder to my right hip, smoothly bringing myself back to a standing position. I turned to look at where the dragon was passing overhead. *RUMBLE* *CRACK* *RUMBLE* Losing my footing and crashing into a bush as the giant thing landed and shook the ground I glanced up to see what the hell this thing even was. "ah shit" I said, as roaring flames consumed me and the forest both.
Appearing back in the virtual lab I looked over to the opposite side of the lab "GOD DAMNIT EVE, I swear to god. I can understand a pack of wolves, a group of goblins or any other mob. So what the fuck? a GOD DAMNED DRAGON?" Eve, looking completely unabashed said "Well Mike, during the tests your reflexes showed to have a 63% reduction in the time it takes for you to react so I added a +63% modifier to the RNG spawning system." Pushing a lock of her red hair back behind her ear she turned her screen around to show me "The test showed that under duress the pathway that governs the muscle groups you used to dodge had an increase of 0.04%, a near eight fold increase compared to when you were up against wolves." Pausing for a second and realizing she used the spawner I wrote for debugging that goes to a database of enemies and pulls an appropriate enemy for what''s being tested. Goblins for learning weapon swings, wolves for learning how to dodge a telegraphed lunge, and of course, the dodge now or die category consisting of larger monsters such as the titan ape who stands roughly 8 meters high and loves to use an over the head hammer-fist style attack fairly often. Looking at the screen I saw the chances of me getting a dragon was 14% being 2% for each type and being 7 types that were on that particular list of 50. Looking into those mischievous blue eyes I sighed, realizing I screwed myself on that one. ¡°Alright, well, since the test was good and that being the last critical test before launch I say we wrap everything up here and head out early. 59 Minute rule for everyone if reports are done by 1500. Let me know if you have any questions.¡± I said to the team. A young man named Eric, raised his hand ¡°umm, sir, what''s the 59 minute rule?¡± While Face-palming I said ¡°You work for my contracting company so you should know we pay by the hour unlike most contractors right?¡± ¡°Yes¡±, he said.¡°Then you know that we round up, so that if even one minute is worked you get paid the hour. So the 59 minute rule means you clock out 1 minute into the our but still get paid for the other 59 minutes.¡± I said. ¡°Not only that bu- ouch!¡± Looking to see who pinched me I saw Eve. ¡°You''re doing it again,¡± she said, and seeing my look that said he''s easily been with us long enough to know she continued, ¡°he''s only been with us for the past 2 weeks as an intern and this is his first time in the virtual lab so there hasn''t been any time dilation for him.¡± ¡°Oh, that explains a lot actually.¡± Seeing as how we were spending a lot of our working time in 60x time dilation labs our days were punctuated with 10 minute work 50 minute assisted recovery sleep cycles. Squeezing in almost 90 hours of work a day with a 0700-1600 schedule. So every day seemed like 2 weeks, including weekends so I''ve been seeing him in the waking lab for what feels like 28 weeks and me none the wiser. ¡°Well as I was saying, Not only that but¡± glancing at Eve making sure I wouldn''t be interrupted this time ¡°today''s the last day, we get paid, in bulk, for every dilated hour we''ve worked.¡± It took nearly a full 15 seconds for that to even start to register. Eve, being my right hand woman and the smartest person in the room aside from myself, realized the implications first. Looking around the room at the dawning of realization in the room gave me no small amount of pleasure. Eve, looking at me with quarter dollar sized eyes ¡°how did you?¡± grinning at her and the team I said ¡°gotta love fine-print, funny how you can change all hours worked to all perceived hours worked and as long as it doesn''t offset the line it''s hardly noticable since it doesn''t push the rest of the document down¡± Mouth hanging open as she does the math while mumbling ¡° 90 hours daily, 350 days, for 5 years, $80 an hour.¡± Freezing in shock and then looking at the new interns in dismay ¡°but wha-¡± Interrupting her I quickly said ¡° regardless of time spent with the contractors all interns hired under said group will earn 15% of the median income for the total contract. Which basically means that when we get the bulk pay for the contract they will get 15% for what we got across 5 years, which is what? Like 2 million? Serves them right for trying to slip in giving up rights to all patents and tech we make while in the contract.¡± With a smug smile at my petty, albeit ridiculously expensive, revenge I glanced at the clock and told Eve to send the invoice to the company today before leaving. Hearing a sigh I heard Eve mumble ¡°So that''s why you pushed for hourly instead of a flat rate for finishing the job.¡± Nodding to myself and knowing that I only pushed for it because I didn''t know how long this project would last and if it went over estimates I would at least need to break even. Deciding to act like I totally planned that out instead of it being from a moment of genius while I was pissed off I said nothing as I logged out of the virtual lab.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Jumping out of the very comfortable recliner that served as base of operations and entry point into the virtual lab for me I pulled my smartcard out of the armrest slot and proceed to get up and leave the room. Winding my way through the office, glancing through office windows and into cubicles with the pods of my team watching them all wake up one by one, last of course being Eve who I tasked with sending the invoice. Hearing the exec office open up I upped my pace and practically ran down the stairs to make it to the parking lot. Not afraid, I just do my best to avoid any bitching and considering what I pulled this might end up being a huge pain in my ass. Hopping into my truck and starting her up I heaved a sigh of relief, ready to get the hell out of here before shit hit the fan, no doubt when they got the invoice of almost 350 million dollars across our 20 or so employees there would be some very pissed of ¡°Where Software¡± execs calling once they realized I had already left for the day. 1507, only been maybe 6 minutes since Eve sent the invoice and my phone started vibrating. Deciding that it''s a binding contract that has already reached fruition so it''s too late for them to really do anything, I decided to forward all calls to Eve. Sure, she wouldn''t be too happy about it but considering the payday we just got I don''t think she''ll mind nearly as much as she normally would. Considering the situation and how much she loves to get under peoples skin and see them get pissed off, she might actually thank me. Looking to the building and seeing a short fat man waddling as fast as he could towards my truck I couldn''t help but let loose a grin as I slowly left the parking lot. Thinking about random things on the way home to wash away the days labor is one of the best things to do, kind of like a mental washing machine. My thoughts eventually led me full circle though and I was wondering how the recent changes we made to the biochips software would affect everyone in real life and inside the new game Rab Online, I smiled in anticipation. Just thinking that me and mine were the ones to design the software to allow people to effectively gain weeks of muscle memory in just a couple short days while playing a video game set me on edge. Not wanting to spoil the experience of the new game for anyone in our lab, it was completely devoid of any systems so it was effectively a real life simulator with some tweaks to add in random fantasy mobs while still keeping some of the mechanics found in classics such as the roll from one of my favorites called Dark Spirits. We found that all motor skills worked on inside the simulator forged the same type of connections inside the cerebellum portion of the brain. I was seriously excited, thinking about going in game with skill level assists that will do minor corrections which will translate into them being moved into muscle memory which will in turn be applicable in the real world. I couldn''t wait to go in-game, go do a massive training montage and then, very stoic-like and serious, tell Eve ''I know kung fu.'' Just 3 more days and it would be launched. My excitement couldn''t be contained. I could already see the face-palm Eve would do. Hopefully it would get a laugh. Pulling into the driveway at my home and hitting the clicker for the garage I slowly pulled in and turned off my engine, closing the garage behind me. Phone buzzing in my pocket I take it out and swipe the screen to check my email.
Read Sender Subject
Where Software Character creation has been opened
Headbook Eve tagged you in a post
Acirema Bank New deposit
Headbook Eve tagged you in a post
* Headbook Eric added a photo
* Where Software Purchase confirmation ¨C Rab Online
* Where Software Purchase confirmation ¨C Top Tier Account
Looks like I got 4new emails. Hmm, Eve tagged me in a post saying shes decided to start playing Rab Online when it opens up. Nice, I''ll have to see if I can meet up with her in-game. Clicking on the bank I held my breath. 32.5 Million was my new current balance ¡°Hahahaha hot damn.¡± I exclaimed, talking to nobody in particular. That would handle the house, my truck, all the bills I could incur for the forseeable future and plenty to spare otherwise. Paying off all debts, creating another account and pushing enough for bills for practically the rest of my life. Looking at the roughly 28 Million left in checkings I instantly put 20 of it into a CD so I could draw interest from it, no sense in not playing it smart and not living off interest that I didnt have to work for. Checking the other headline Eve tagged me in it seems my stunt with the pay hours had already hit some social site headlines, ''what the hell, it''s only been like 45 minutes?'' I thought to myself, amazed at how quickly the news was spreading. Luckily we all had non-disclosure agreements that went two ways, we couldn''t release any info on the game that we were helping develop critical systems and interfaces for and they couldn''t release any personally identifiable information about us, so as long as nobody on the team was stupid enough to advertise that they got a few million overnightthen we should all be able to stay anonymous. Jumping back to my email after my excitement for finally being able to retire after nearly 70 years of working if you count time dilation in with it. I saw the headline of the last email and got even more excited, running down into the basement where my mancave slash gameroom was located I hopped straight into my VR Pod. Sure, with the chip I could literally just lay down on my gaming couch and play just by closing my eyes but the VR Pod added quite a few options, least of which being hydration and calorie control units that would allow me to receive necessities while in-game. It also had an emergency logout function in case I was in desperate need of a bathroom break to avoid cleanup. Something the couch users had no tactile feedback for and would be ejected after the fact. Sliding into the egg shaped pod and feeling the gel encapsulate my body I relaxed and lay back until I started to feel weightless. Popping open a virtual terminal via my biochip and checking to make sure I had all my personal upgrades on my biochip up to date and that there were no errors I breathed a sigh of relief that I didn''t have to do any updates, load times are a buzzkill. Setting the terminal to continue simulations on a few of the experiments I had been testing outside of work I waved it away. Closing my eyes I gave the mental command for Rab Online to start.
Welcome to R.A.B. Online
Chapter 2: An awkward introduction After closing my eyes and seeing the welcome message I opened his eyes, only to be greeted with a blankness, no feeling.... of anything? Mentally frowning I attempt to bring up a menu, I''ve never ventured into the actual game, or any VR game for that matter butI don''t think this was how it was supposed to go. Spurred on by my attempt to bring up the menu the system responded.
Initializing, Please wait....
Would you like an automatic startup scenario based upon your personality. Deity will be preselected. Note: (Biochips scanners can determine root motivations based upon brain activity recorded within the last year)
Yes No
Being completely lazy and ready to start creating his characterI mash yes without a thought.
Caution Choice cannot be reversed, would you like to continue?
Yes No
Seeing the promptI immediately pressed yes. ''It''s just a lip-service for roleplaying most likely, no point in wasting time.
Connecting to Bio-Chip
Connection Established
Caution First full immersion dive flag set to true, Continue?
Yes No
''First dive? But I''ve effectively spent over a decade inside simulations. Sure the realism is toned down to allow for the much higher time dilation while still allowing the user and the server running it to not be burned out. Deciding it doesn''t really matter I brush it off and click yes again.
Calibration routine enabled
The world began to revolve, flashing and twisting in my vision. The originally completely black background slowly morphed into what looked like a lounge, a large square table with rounded edges sat in the center of the room, a dark midnight blue table cloth accented in gold around the edges draped across it. Nearest to me was a comfortable looking office chair and across the table sat a sofa, large enough for three people to sit on. The details of the room slowly coming together as my sight sharpened. Hearing a rhythmic buzzing I look around the room. Seeing nothing to cause the soundItry to listen for the source, coming into focus far more quickly than his sight the buzz became a ticking. Guessing calibration meant that the game was effectively connecting the chip to all ofmy senses I let out a sigh by habit, *haaa* startled at the sound of an actual sighI realize I already have a body, ''when did that happen?''. Breathing in I smell the unique scent of lavender wafting in the room. It looks like I was steadily gaining all of my senses, ''guess the calibration explains why everything is coming into focus so slowly''. My breath caught as I felt searing pain across my entire body, his clothes felt like they were taking skin off, breathing felt like glass was cutting into his throat and chest.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Error
Custom Bio-Chip detected.
Warning Where Software and all affiliated parties are not held liable for any effects caused by the use of unapproved hardware and/or software. [section 15 subsection 4 paragraph 9] Do you wish to continue with calibration?
Yes No
Still disoriented from the flash of pain I manage to look through the messages after a few minutes. Gaining my bearings I makes a mental note to let Eve and the rest of the team kmow about the issue, all the long-term members all had beta chips installed. Although not experimental they had the service development kit included the team needed to create and modify the chips functionality. Irritably I tried slamming the yes button, my body however made no move, since the calibration had yet to give me control of what I guessed was my avatar. Confused I looked down ''Why can''t I move the body? I was perfectly able to sigh earlier, maybe unconscious commands are the only ones registered.'' Making a note to ask one of the neuroscientists on the team since they should know. I sent a mental yes command as I did with the previous menus.
Calibration continuation confirmed.
Initial sequence failure... Alternate sequence enabled. Please wait...
Starting to feel pinpricks of pain I started worrying if that brief flash might be repeated. Luckily it seemed the change in the sequence the system mentioned kept the possible pain to a minimum. It felt more like my entire body had fallen asleep instead of just an arm or a leg. After 45 grueling seconds of what seemed like laying in a bed of needles the sensation finally relented, sighing in relief I brought my hand up. Smiling in relief at my newfound freedom I started testing out my new body. It felt remarkably real, ''Only ever being in a watered-down version makes the contrast from themthat much cooler''. Curious I started patting myself to see how accurate the sensationwas, arms, check, legs, check, face, check, feet *tapping his toes on the ground* , check. Patting myself on the butt. *AHEM* Looking up I see an old man sitting on the sofa next to a couple of women, caught in an awkward position I try to just put my hands in my pockets. Sliding along the outside of the shorts I notice there aren''t any pockets. ¡°haha¡± laughing nervouslyI give up, knowing any chance I had of not looking like a complete weirdo was now completely gone. ¡°umm, Hi?¡± I said. The old man adjusted his old-fashioned suit. ¡°Yes, hello. My name is Surak. Welcome to my humble abode.¡± the old man said, thankfully ignoring my earlier embarrassment. ¡°You know, I thought for sure you''d be some hot chick with big boobs.¡± I said with a smirk. ¡°ah, yes, well. Each drifter is matched up to a deity based upon their personality and preferences. Typically I don''t have many drifters entering into my home, you are actually the first after the initial migration.¡± Surak said, completely ignoring my comment. ''Initial migration? The closed beta most likely''. ¡°So who are you exactly?¡±I asked. Surak tilted his head slightly, ¡°I am Surak¡± he said again. ¡°hahaha, no, I mean I got sent to you for a reason, so why did I get sent here to see you out of any other possible god?¡± Iasked doing my best to hold in the chuckle threatening to escape. The old god straightened his back and looked me straight in the eyes ¡°I am the Surak, the warrior god of protection and healing. Those champions in the world below bearing my name can boast of a constitution and vitality virtually unrivaled, for the protection of those they cherish they stand as an iron bulwark against the tides that threaten to consume the lands.¡± Frowning, I remembered the notification about preselecting a god. Shrugging and decided to go with the flow since it was already too late ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Motioning to his right the old man said ¡°This is Marcel, she will be taking you to the adjacent room for you to pick a new persona for your travels as a drifter,¡± motioning to his left ¡°and this is Alexa, she will help you customize your persona for the world as well as helping you choose your equipment, afterwards¡± motioning towards Mike ¡°you will return here and be allowed to choose a blessing based upon your earlier decisions.¡± Standing up I turn towards Marcel and said ¡°Shall we?¡± Nodding she lead the way through a door on the right. Passing through the doorway I heard what sounded like whispers coming from the main room, all I could make out was ''pervert'' and ''fondling himself''. With a partially red face I looked around the room, seeing it the same midnight blue everything else was with only a single glass display case near the center of the room I made my way towards it. Marcel took a spot beside the glass case, as I stood in front of the it and what looked like fog flooded the case, condensing into an identical version of me ¡°Holy shit, that''s pretty cool¡± I said, raising my arm as the doppleganger mimicked my action in a similar but not quite mirror-like fashion. Marcel seeing the pink in my cheeks that was slowly receeding, smiled knowingly.Waving her hand, she opened up a screen with a long list. ¡°These are all the possible races that you are allowed considering your guardian deity.¡± she said. Letting loose a whistle I asked ¡°so there are more than these? There are nearly a hundred.¡± She nodded once and continued ¡°Most races are available to all gods; However, any race whose nature is diametrically opposed to the guardian deity is blacklisted.¡± Looking at the massive list of races I slowly push through the list. The ones that seem the most interesting are....... Chapter 3: Character Creation Going through the listsI saw everythingI could think of, humans, elves, golems, constructs, Elementals, Centaurs, Minotaurs, halflings. Clicking on one to get a description I press on the humans.
Race Human
Stats 100% equal effectiveness
Racial Bonus +10% to skill acquisition +10% to skill growth
Racial Detriment
Notes Low-tier race 5 free stats per level +1 to priority stats per level
¡°Hey Marcel, what are priority stats?¡± I ask. Marcel clasped her hands together and smiled, ¡°Priority stats are considered the most important stats to the races, Trolls get a +10 bonus to vitality per level, elves get a +1 bonus to intelligence, wisdom, dexterity and agility until they reach level 10 and pick a class. Humans get +1 to all stats.¡± Confused at the random distribution I grimaced ¡°Wouldn''t that mean that certain races have a large advantage over others in terms of stats? How do they balance this shit?¡± At this Marcel simply nodded. Seeing howI seemed to be waiting for more of an explanation she smirked ¡°I''m so glad you asked, each race is given a rating based upon difficulty. As humans are the most numerous, there is no danger while growing up, no rite of passage or any obstacle to them getting stronger they gained a low tier designation. The choice in races are tied to each drifter as well as their chosen god. Since you seem to be a top tier drifter you are able to pick from any race. Be warned however, the higher the tier the more difficult it is when starting out. Disadvantages range from being unable to enter into sunlight without instantly dieing, with those such as vampire ancients, to being unable to gain experience when not alone; However, since you asked, there is no balancing. For every risk there is a reward, the creator felt it fit to grant greater rewards the greater the merit. Similarly, if you choose a more difficult race, such as the titan your eyes keep lingering on there are a myriad of benefits and consequences, like if you fail your rite of passage after reaching level 10 you will lose all experience and return to level 1.¡± Nodding my head in thanks I looks back over the races. After another hour or so of going through the races I notices a trend, low and mid tier races have flat scaling where you get X amount per level. High tiered races tend to have scaling bonus''s that increase over time. The dragons for example start out with the same stats, get 12free stats per level and an extra 1% increase in each stat per level for each stat over 100 and while that may sound ridiculously underpowered for a dragon at the lower levels that 1% is eventually going to become a huge bonus, if all 8 stats get pushed to 100 thats 8% per level. Unfortunately dragons are a race locked to the dragon god Marduk, according to the error message I keep getting. Not only that but
Race Dragon
Stats Stats 200% equal effectiveness
Racial Bonus +12 free stats per level Dragons Physique [get N% increase in each stat permanently per level(N = number of stats exceeding 100)]
Racial Detriment Can''t equip weapons Can''t equip armor Can''t use consumables
Notes Top-tier race Rite of Passage pass rate 0/19872 (0%) Failure of Rite of Passage results in deletion of character and locking of race for the account
Judging by the RP pass rate, nobody in the beta test was able to complete it and get past level 10. ''Wonder what it could be, its probably a decent surprise considering the fail rate.'' The character deletion and race lock sound kinda harsh though. Passing through quite a few more I keep coming back to this one.
Race Titan (sub-races available)
Stats Strength 200% effectiveness Agility 50% effectiveness Dexterity 100% effectiveness Consitution 150% effectiveness Vitality 150% effectiveness Intelligence 80% effectiveness Wisdom 80% effectiveness Luck 100% effectiveness
Racial Bonus +0 free stats per level Descended from the divine [Top-tier growth variable (varies for each sub-race)]
Racial Detriment Vulnerable Youth [Pain settings Locked to 150% until rite of passage is completed] Of Flesh and Blood [Pain settings can be pushed no lower than 90% after rite of passage]
Notes Rite of Passage pass rate 0/0 (varies for each sub-race)
¡°Ouch, who the fuck could complete this shit? I practically shit a brick when I stub a toe, can''t imagine that at 150%¡± I said to myself. ¡°Not many have even moved past level one due to the Vulnerable Youth detriment¡± Marcel replied immediately ¡°they tend to get bit by a wolf or get stabbed through the neck or chest by a horned rabbit. After the first death drifters tend to remake into a different race.¡± seeing the challenge accepted look in my eyes she smirks ¡°Also, the +0 in stat points per level is constant for all the sub-races, increases in stats are tied to special actions, depending on the sub-race. Ah, and before you even try to ask, there is no pain tolerance skill. Everything here depends upon you yourself.¡± Seeing that smile reaching her eyes I want to pick the titan. Even knowing that most likely it would end in failureI still wanted to knock that smirk off her face, considering the disadvantages of the titan it should come with quite a few advantages. A full minute passes by as I weigh the pros and cons, glancing at the 0/0 I knows I can be the very first to even attempt the trial. At the very least I''ll make it to that and yell "FIRST!!!!" into the forums. Finally decided I click on the titan
Descendants of the primordial deities, titans are blessed with incredible strength with a constitution to match. They gain their strength and unique abilities from the primordial gods they descend from.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. You have chosen the Titan race, would you like to finalize this choice?
Yes No
Please pick a subrace
Shadowborne Titan Descended from Erebes or Nyx, these titans feel at home in the shadows, being smaller of body than most other titans they tend to be much quicker. [Strength 150% effectiveness] [Agility 90% effectiveness] [Harder to see while within the shadows] [Gains unique stealth related perk ¨C user selected]
Earthborne Titan Descended from Gaia, these titans are borne from the earth and in turn while in contact with the earth, they receive the protection of Gaia. [Constitution 200% effectiveness] [Vitality 200% effectiveness] [Dexterity 75% effectiveness] [Stone skin passive while in contact with the ground, direct or indirect] [Gains unique body related perk ¨C user selected]
Waterborne Titan Descended from Pontus, these titans are borne from the water and in turn have an innate healing aura surrounding them [Vitality 200% effectiveness] [Constitution 115% effectiveness] [+5% to natural regeneration] [enables regeneration in battle] [Gains unique aura related perk ¨C user selected]
Fireborne Titan Descended from Hemera, these titans are borne of fire and in turn have an innate aggression, focusing more on destroying their enemy than protecting themselves [Strength 300% effectiveness] [Constitution 100% effectiveness] [Vitality 100% effectiveness] [Healing received +100%] [Gains unique attack related perk ¨C user selected]
Looking over the choices these four seemed the coolest, for some reason being a titanic assassin just seems oddly fascinating to me, unfortunately it''s grayed out so it looks likes the Old Man doesn''t approve of this lot. The fireborne is also grayed out, ''guess he''s never heard that the best defense is a good offense.'' Seeing the last two I cross off waterborne, seems like a support and while supports are the unsung heroes of every game, I still want to be a frontliner ''or at least I did want to be, not sure what it''s gonna be like with those dumbass pain settings'' I thought to myself. Clicking on Earthborne and finalizing it another window pops up, looking at the glass container he sees a nearly 3.5 meter tall looming figure. Grimacing at the possible complications of having a literal hulk walking around in what is most likely to be a ton of human sized cities he looks towards Marcel with a winning smile. ¡°So Marcel, being the beautiful and diligent worker that you are is there a way I can make my character more... umm, my size?¡± A small laugh like wind chimes echos in the room as she looks at the small screen, ¡°The easiest way, and the only one available to you right now, is to pick the compact body perk.¡± Scrolling down I looked for the perk.
Compact Body
Due to being born deeper within the earth your body has absorbed more of the earths essence while under immense pressure resulting in a smaller, denser body. [Constitution + 50% effectiveness] [Vitality + 50% effectiveness] [Dexterity +25% effectiveness] [Agility +25% effectiveness] [Weight:Volume ratio +50%] [Size -35%]
Looking at the glass I watched as the hulking monstrosity that looked like a 10 foot body builder slowly morphing into an amazingly well defined tall young man, barely distinguishable from human, if a bit on the tall side, maybe around 6''6 to 6''8. Finalizing yet another choice I was happy to see.
Character creation completed Checking chosen god Checking chosen race Checking chosen perk
Calculating Divine growth.... Defensive only choices confirmed Pain settings over 100% at creation confirmed
Divine Growth Shield-Trainee (CRE - C rank, Race-locked, Evolution Available)
Every blocked attack temporarily increases all stats by 10%, stacks 100x, evolution at level 11. Lasts until end of battle Every 100 blocks will increase the lowest stat by 1 ~ ¡°Everyone has someone they want to protect, but if you can¡¯t protect yourself, what makes you think you can protect anyone else?¡± ~
Divine Growth - NextEvolution
[Shield-Apprentice (BRE)] [Every perfectly blocked attacked permanently increases all stats by (1%)] [Every attack blocked while in the protection of yourself or a teammate who would otherwise die will permanently increases lowest stat by (1%)] ~ ¡°Heroes aren¡¯t necessarily the ones taking down the bad guys, sometimes a hero is just someone who risks their life to protect those around them¡±
Gawking at the possible gains. This is basically infinite growth as long asI could reach level 11. Not exactly sure what ¡®perfectly blocked¡¯ means but consideringmy only way for growth was something that appeared to be skill-based it couldn¡¯t be that difficult or else he¡¯d be stuck at lvl 1 stats forever. Deciding it was tomorrows problemI looked to Marcel who was already heading back to the center room, business as usual it seems. ¡®Wouldn¡¯t hurt them to be a little more warm and inviting would it?¡¯ Mike thought sourly. Glancing over at the dark haired beautyI couldn¡¯t help but take a second longer to gaze at her, Marcel was average in all her looks, practically nondescript, Alexa though, she was adorable. Not in the attractive way, more like a doll than anything else, looking to be maybe 5 foot even, dark auburn hair, sea green and blue eyes in a blue and gold-trimmed dress that matched the room, oddly enough not clashing with her hair or eyes in the slightest. Following her into the left roomI felt a change asI walked through the door.I felt colder, she seemed to shrink before me asI followed along. Inside the room stood a simple mirror. Walking up to itI saw¡­.. myself? Iwas taller, defined. Seeing the pink in Alexa¡¯s cheeks he looked down, barring the boxers he was effectively naked, shruggingI said ¡°hey, if you wanted to strip me you could have at least asked¡± eyes growing wide and face practically glowing ¡°I din¡¯t.. Bu I¡­ and ¡­. SURAK!!!!!¡± she screamed in anger after her barely decipherable squeaks came out. ¡°Hahaha, no worries little one, I was just teasing you. So what are we here for?¡± Puffing out her cheeks at me she pointed at the mirror and mumbles ¡°customization¡± and then stomped out of the room. ''Guess I''m not getting any more explanation'' I thought with a sigh, my fault I guess. Moving over towards the mirror I waved my hand, poked the mirror, tried voice commands, a menu wasn''t coming up. ''Mental commands maybe'' I thought. A window full of sliders popped up, height, weight, muscle tone, and a label merely labeled [length] followed by [girth]. ''A mans gotta do, what a mans gotta do'' I thought to myself with a grin. A Quarter of an hour later I walked out of the room sporting said grin, height adjusted to the minimum at 6''3 waist slimmed slightly, more muscle tone, the only thing left unaltered was my face, it''d be too weird to look into the mirror and not see myself. Walking with an extra 5 inches of height is decidedly easier than the foot of height from earlier. Sitting down in the chair, I looked over to Old man Surak sporting a gentle smile not unlike my grandfather he said ¡°Welcome back my child, I see you''ve found the persona you wish to take on as you drift through the world below. I''ll be sending you to the center of the continent. Due to your choices your body must be [born] in a mountainous region that can only be found where I''m sending you. All Earthborne will be gathered at this town. Learn from them, learn their ways, learn how to survive and grow. You''ve been given a great gift, a great chance, in the hands of another it could become naught but a burden, use it well and it will become your strength, just as the allies you find and gather will become your strength. Good luck.¡± ¡°Oh yeah by the w-¡± I tried to ask a few more questions but was mercilessly cut off as Alexa slapped a disc onto the table. My vision changed and all I could see was darkness.
You have been logged out, the game opens in 42:47:31
Jumping out of the podI texts Eve, warning her about the pain spike due to the chip.
Mike : (By the way, how advanced is the AI in this game, one of the character creation npcs got mad at me and to get even she did a forced logout by ending character creation.) Eve : (Deep learning algorithm set up and a biotic computing platform. It has the potential to become a real AI if given the time.) Eve : (Did you ask her for a sandwich > if you did you deserved it) Mike : ( I would never be that insensitive ) Eve : ( Tom is still recovering from the clown prank you pulled last year, he flinches every time he sees a balloon ) Mike : ( Sorry, gotta go grab dinner. I''ll be back later.) Eve : (This is not how you dodge a text, it''ll be here when you get back) Mike: (The number you have dialed is currently eating guilt-free pizza, please text back later)
Tossing my phone in the drawer I plop down on the gaming couch, too lazy to go upstairs, grabbing some sleep. ''What am I gonna do with 2 days of nothing to do''I lamented. ''I''ll have to see if I can get some info on the game from some contacts in the gaming company'' management didn''t likehim much anymore but ground-level he still made a few friends. YawningI laid back, making plans to fill the hours till launch, ignoring the vibrations coming from my coffee tables drawer. Chapter 4: A night out with friends *Ring ring ring* *Ring ring ring* *Ring ring ring* Hating the world I grab the phone, ¡°What do you want?¡± I say grogily, trying not to drop the phone as I lay it on my face and hope it sticks ¡°Well hello to you too, it''s me¡± Eve''s voice sounds from the phone ¡°You''re me? Like, from the future?¡± ¡°I know where you live¡± shes says, irritation becoming mildly noticable ¡°Well I hope I know where I live¡± "You better hope I don''t have a knife when I see you" "If your future self stabs you, is it assault or self-mutilation?" ¡°haaa, I give up¡± ¡°but I would never give up.... WAIT!, YOU''RE NOT ME!!¡± Not hearing a reply I start to wonder what she''s doing. ¡°Eve?..... Eve I was just kidding¡± *dial tone* Sitting upI pop open messenger,
''Dinner, tonight, on me. If you call back'' ''Followed by cheesecake?'' ''Deal''
Less than a second after hitting the send button my screen showed Eve calling again. ¡°Hey, sorry about that.¡± ¡°I know how you get if someone wakes you up.¡± ¡°Either way, cool stuff to tell ya'', you''re going to play the new game right?¡± ¡°Of course, you and the others on the team practically begged us to.¡± ¡°Alright, well, if you can, pick a high-tiered to top-tiered race.¡± ¡°I''ve seen some of the requirements for top tiers, I think I''ll stick to high-tiered.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Ok, just don''t go lower, the boosts are worth the cost as long as you make it, the scaling is insane.¡± ¡°Considering 85.3% of the population was low-mid tier during beta with another 14.4% being high tiered we probably wont be part of the 0.3% to get one of the top-tiered picks. Getting high-tiered is where I''m aiming¡± ¡°1 in 300 doesn''t actually sound that bad.¡± ¡°For normal people? Not at all, unfortunately this is from the professional statistics since that''s the pool of people they grabbed for the initial beta those stats are based on.¡± ¡°It''ll be alright, even if they were pros the statistics shouldn''t sway all that much, considering the nature of the game¡± Eve and I continued to talk, trading tidbits of info wecame across while surfing the web, potential roles, promising to meet up in game when we got the chance. Ending the callI got up from the gaming couch, stretching with a groan. Checking the cabinetsI grabbedmy last cereal bar from the box. ''Well I was wondering what I should do with all that time.'' Swiping the screen and checked the countdown and saw there was only22hours left. ''I slept for 13 hours? Damn no wonder I feel so good.'' He thought, proud in his newfound freedom of being able to sleep in as much as he wanted. Seeing a yellow caution icon he scrolls down on the notifications, it''s 4 hours old?
Caution
Bio-Chip working at 80% capacity for a period of [6] hours. (Warning suppressed ¨C Upgrades in progress, downgraded to caution)
''That''s strange, I should have the newest updates, maybe a hotfix?'' frowning at the 6 hours ''A very large hotfix.'' He thought to himself. With a mental shrug he gets up, He walks over to the computer, checking headlines for anything noteworthy.
Paraplegic takes first step ~ Where Software gives second chance to walk again.
Looking at the first headline, ''We''ve known for years that realistic VR lets people experience walking again''I thought irritably, ''they must be running out of things to talk about if that''s the number one headline. Secure in my knowledge that the world is at peace and that the North Naerokdictator hasn''t started world war 3I logged off. Hesitating, ''should I build a shelter? I could be the overlord and call it Chamber 111.'' With thoughts of a pending nuclear apocalypse and giant irradiated ratsI press the power button on the screen and got up. Spending the day doing random chores around the house to waste time until his dinner with Eve. It soon reached near the promised time and he headed to the restaurant they had decided on. The old pizza place they usually go to. Walking in he saw Eve, and 19 other people from his team. Making a beeline for EveI said, ¡°I thought we were going on a date?¡± a smile threatening to ruin to joke. Surprisingly her face went red ¡°sorry, I thought we were going out with everyone, that''s what you usually mean when you say that¡± she said. The grin breaking through I tried to say something to cover it up at least a bit, unfortunately the high heel stabbing into my foot is telling me its already too late. ¡°Well next time I ask you out it''ll be just the two of us.¡± I said through the pain. Only to be met with more weight added to the heel. Thankfully she let up after another half second, face still a very cute scarlet, almost matching her red hair in brightness. Standing in front of the crowdI yelled ¡°All right ladies¡± winking at Eve he continued ¡°everything''s on me, drinks included.¡± Hearing everyone cheerI laughed and ordered pizzas and a beer for everyone else except Eve,I grabbed her a fruit-flavored alcoholic drink and myself a whiskey sour. Settling back, munching on my food,I was genuinely happy spendingmy time with everyoneI had spent the last 5 years getting to know. Ordering another whiskeyI got comfortable, ready for the long night of socializing. Eyeing the karaoke machine and looking to see who was getting drunk the fastest. ''Wonder who''s getting embarrassed tonight? There''s always someone''I thought to myself. Findingmy 2nd drink emptyI ordered another..... Chapter 5: The night before and the way forward. *Baa-duum* *Baa-duum* *Ba-dum* *ba-dum.ba-dum.ba-dum.ba-dum* Waking up to the sound of drums inmy ears, I blearily looked at the cieling, seemingly alive and pulsating in my vision with every heartbeat. I put my arm over my eyes, bits and pieces coming back to me of the previous night. All in all it didnt seem too bad. I remembered a not half bad karaoke session, everyone going up to take their turn. AfterwardsI went to the bathroom, talked to the guy in the urinal, can''t remember about what though, the group deciding it was time to leave right after. The rest is a blur,I don''t even remember howI got home. Sitting up,I immediately decided that was a horrible idea and immediately fell back down and passed out as fast as humanly possible. Hoping the sleep along with a little help from the biochip would help my headache. "Start system purge of alcohol" This was a function that had been added by Where Software as an additional selling point for hardware to go with the game, guilt-free binge drinking.
No All-Purpose Naturally Occuring Nanobots detected, begin synthesis of ANON''s?
Yes No
Not remembering that he had to make them first he groaned. Clicking yes he grimaced at the message.
Initialization of ANON''s beginning expected task completion time remaining
37 Minutes
''I''ve had this chip for 2 years, why didn''t I do this shit in that time frame?'' I thought, berating myself formy lack of preparation. Head still throbbing,I swiped my phone to look at the countdown.
00:40:31
''Damn, how much time did I lose? Whatever, I''ll just sleep the rest of this off and get online later.'' Checking my messages before logging back on.
Headbook Eric Vought has tagged you in a video
Headbook Eve Salisa has tagged you in a video
Popping open the video Eve sent me, I felt a chill up my spine. It was the video ofme singing karaoke, with 19 shares already. Hesitating, not knowing whetherI really wanted to know or not, I hoveredmyfinger over the screen. ''The sweet bliss of ignorance, or the wisdom of learning from your mistakes, gotta pick one now mikey''I mumbled under my breath. Clicking on the video results in instant regret. The sound coming out ofmy mouth sounded like a mixture between trying to communicate with a blue whale and a pissed off koala bear while simultaneously mimicking the death throes of a kid who swallowed one too many marbles as dance moves. Thankfully the video ends before it gets any worse.OpeningErics video, it seems normal, ''Oh I''m getting up?'' Watching myself on the video walk towards the adjacent wall with a window looking out into the patio for patrons wanting to drink outside. ''At least this one seems somewhat normal, probably just me falling or something.'' Trying to console myself after the previous embarassmentI hear the unmistakable sound of a zipper. The angle doesn''t show anything but judging by the steady stream running downthe back of the man who was leaning against the window frame, it''s obvious what happened. The man, becoming angry bolts up from his chair and starts yelling through the window.I hear myself mumble an unintelligable response, only being able to catch "a pirate has to mark his booty" or something along those lines, followed by a "would ye like to spitshine me cannon balls?". Eve and Eric can be heard in the background, laughing like crazy. Some of the memories snapping into place, not noticing how absurd it was to talk to someone who was IN a urinal. Cutting off the rest of the video before my already fractured pride is permanently damaged. Silencing my phone I made sure the alarm would override the volume settings I lay back, covering my face with a pillow railing at the injustice of every embarassing moment being constantly recorded. *Ding~~~* Groaning at the sound of a doorbell I slowly got up and made my way to the door. Peering through the peep-hole I see Eric and Brian, flanked by Eve and Liandra. The people that were expected to be part of the 7-man dream team. Why 7? because its my favorite number. Opening the door, I squint through the sunlight, my head starting to throb just a tiny bit harder than it was before. "Get inside before my head explodes" motioning them inside and closing the door behind them, Liandra and Brian plopping down on the living-room couch while Eve took a seat beside me on the sofa, Eric, jumped onto a nearby recliner and leaned back with a sigh, ''seems like he''s almost as hung over as I am'' I think to myself. Liandra, with a small smile said "Arrrgh capitan, did ye be enjoyin'' the grog?" grimacing at how the first words were already poking at the previous nights escapades I knew it would take until the next time they went out for someone else to take the reigns and dive headfirst into embarassment before I would hear the end of this one. "Not as much as i would have enjoyed frisking an attractive mannequin." Liandra''s mouth snapped shut, face turning beet red. Brian was the first to open up "Hey man, house rules" followed by Eve "yeah, we can only make fun of the person who most recently embarassed themselves" Overruled and outnumbered I gave up and threw my hands up in surrender "Fine, fine, I get it. So did everyone already get into RAB and make their character?" In unison they all spiritedly yelled "YES CAPITAN!!" The volume pushing my headache slightly further along as I felt his blood pressure rising as a vein popped out on my forehead "at least say captain right, and not so loudly please" I say with slight annoyance. "Nay capitan, we be needin'' the accent" Eric said from the recliner, kicking his leg over the armrest to face the rest of the group. "Aye, aye" the other three responded out of sync but still in agreement. Accepting reality for what it was I decide to let it go and just rough the waters till someone else falls overboard. "Alright, well theres only another a little bit of timeuntil it launches what did everyone pick?"If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Looking to Brian he said, "Wardancer, I liked the lore since it reminded me of the spartans, but instead of large phalanx''s they use small highly skilled teams. What mostly drew me was they use either 2-handers or they duel wield, they are high-tiered as well. " Swiveling our view to Liandra "I picked an High-elf, it starts at mid-tier but can gain scaling bonus''s based on your patron diety so it borderlines on high-tier, I''m planning to go the mage route so I can light things on fire. Ah~ but not in the creepy pyromaniac way, in the killing things with fire way." Eric, smirk evident, says "as if that helps your case, killing things with fire is the next step." Ignoring the glare she leveled his way he looked to the center of the others "I picked the Seedling Treant, they can grow their own minions as well as healing and buffing them and the support magic isn''t restricted to only minions, the seedling subrace doesn''t get anything but healing and support spells though so it relies heavily on a team or its minions. It''s counted as high tiered so it fits in with the groups standards." I looked to Eve and said "So we''ve got sword fairy, a pyromaniac, Healbot and?" Ignoring the complaints from Brian and Eric, Eve said "I picked the Mother Dryad, they are a low-tiered race at the start; However, as their rite of passage they have to find barren, uninhabitable land and start a grove. Depending on the size of the grove, the benefits effectively scale the larger it grows. Lore seems to indicate that space travel is available, I thought I would take the game and make my grove on a barren world. If that fails then I can just have Liandra burn down a forest or ten and make my grove from that." Everyone just stared dumbly at her, seeing her face beginning to flush after a few seconds of silence I slowly say "That idea.... IS GENIUS! Imagine the bonuses that would get. Though, the lighting fire to half a continent to make a grove of your own is kind of psycho it''s still a good idea if you only consider bonuses." Turning to the other two he said "I also think we should help her find a barren planet, we don''t need the kind of reputation that would come up from having torched a landscape. Plus, if it manages to cover the entire planet, that would basically make that planet hers right?" turning to Eve "What are the rules of the groves?" Pouting, probably from being called psycotic, she replied with a sharpness that spoke of her annoyance towards me "It''s considered to be mine, by right, and the system should support me in that." With an evil laugh I said "so that means you could usurp an entire planet and we could use that as a base?" she shook her head "While that should technically be possible, if it was that easy then everyone would do it. There are most likely either limits set in place by the system, which doesn''t seem to be Where Software''s style for this game, or there are a massive number of natural barriers to help keep it from happening." With everyone except me having shared, they all looked at me with expectation. Telling them about the Earthborne Titan, the perks he got and the growth rates they were all floored. Listing the demerits, no stats per level, pain settings set to make you endure extra pain and never able to reduce below 90% even after level 10, they all nodded their heads. "Not only is the stat scaling balanced with the removal of flat gains, at least until the later levels, theres even a deterrent to picking your class, that''s hardcore Capitan" Eric said, adding a slight accent to the last word. Wincing at the joke I nodded, looking at my watch "alright, theres only10 minutes left till shit starts hitting the fan." Leading them downstairs everyone claimed a pod with 2 spare ones off to the side for the still yet undecided final 2 teammates, I quickly grabbed a quick bite to eat and used the bathroom, double-checking to make sure it was actually a toilet this time, then headed downstairs to my little pod just in time for the launch.
00:01:57 Time left until launch would you like to start login sequence? Please note that time will not be dilated until the countdown reaches zero.
Yes No
Bootup sequence initialized Please wait.....
I lay there, with eyes closed watching the images that flooded my mind, screens at the forefront, relaying information about what was currently happening. Slowly everything begain to fade, replaced with darkness. Then another screen transitioned into view.
Grow by Reaching Across Boundaries Because nothing, given enough effort, is out of your reach.