Lucas sat in his darkened room with both of his knees hugging his chest and pressed against the desk. He chewed on the nail of his left thumb while he continued to scroll with his right. In the reflection of his eyes you could see the sole source of light; a web forum.
Tens of posts rose to the top of the glowing screen until finally Lucas had found the one he was looking for. He shuffled the mouse across his desk and a soft click echoed as he expanded the old post. His eyes trailed over the words, and a frown etched itself onto his face.
Biobyte's news release 'Dustspire' to be released exclusively for the Astral Dive gaming pod. Hundreds of corporations prepare for the launch.
It was not long before the soft sound of another click closed the web browser entirely and the sound of a chair's creaking echoed. Lucas briefly glanced down at the time and swallowed hard.
4:32AM
He noted that six hours had passed since he began his foray on the web forums and scrunched his face. His hands came up and removed his glasses so he could rub his temples. Countless hours wasted, and he was no closer to an answer.
Will it work?
Lucas took a moment to relax his shoulders as he exhaled, attempting to release with his breath all of his frustrations. It did not help. Before he knew it, his left foot was on the ground bouncing up and down.
A sudden urge hit him and he threw himself up, attempting to move across his room as quickly as possible. In his rush, his left foot found itself trapped between the desk and his chair's leg. The sudden arrest of his forward motion brought Lucas tumbling down.
His elbow cracked against the floor with a dull thud, a jolt of pain spreading through his arm like static. He sucked in a sharp breath, cursing under his breath before he picked himself up off the ground. Lucas stepped over the piles of clean laundry that littered the floor of his room and slipped through his half opened door into the void that was the hallway.
With one hand trailing along the wall, Lucas made his way to the repurposed guest room. Once his fingers felt the door frame, he stopped and reached inside. He fumbled briefly before a soft click of the lightswitch brought about a blinding flash.
One hand attempted to fend off the harsh blue light while Lucas entered the room. Unlike his own, this room was clean and empty save for what looked like a spaceship escape pod that took up the center of the space. Hooked up to its back were dozens of tubes all for the express purpose of keeping the occupant of said space pod alive.
It hummed slightly, and faint blue LEDs let Lucas know it was still running. As he stepped to the right, an open panel revealed itself. It was a mass of cables and poorly soldered electronics that made Lucas swallow hard.
It'll work. It has to.
He was taking a huge risk tampering with what was probably the most expensive piece of equipment in his home, but Lucas had exhausted all of his options already. It was doubtlessly worth more than any Astral Dive pod but the fact that it was used, and he couldn't move it himself added to the dwindling amount he would have received for it.
After a deep breath, Lucas pressed the release on the pod's lid which brought about a faint hissing before the pod opened. Without hesitation, and with practiced movements, Lucas stripped his clothes and sat in the pod.
He eyed the various needles and closed his eyes while he tried to relax. Slowly the lid descended and the pod began to seal. Once all of the diagnostic checks had finished running, Lucas felt a familiar sharp pain as multiple needles poked him. He tried not to squirm as the multitude of liquids began to enter his body; slowly a feeling of drowsiness overtook him.
Instead of the comforting lull of sleep, Lucas found himself in the pod's 'therapeutic environment.' He looked down at his feet and wiggled his toes through the simulated grass, making sure he had not messed up one of the more important features of the hybrid pod.
Now or never.
With a thought, Lucas opened the command line for the virtual environment and began to type on the floating keyboard that appeared before him.
admin# conf t
admin(config)# repository AstralDive
% Warning: Repositories configured from CLI cannot be used from the MedTech web UI and are not replicated to other MedTech nodes.
If this repository is not created in the MedTech web UI, it will be deleted when MedTech services restart.
admin(config-Repository)# url disk:
Repository AstralDive now points to local storage.
admin(config-Repository)# exit
admin(config)# exit
admin# application upgrade prepare astraldive3v5.tlu AstralDive
Upgrade package astraldive3v5.tlu prepared in repository AstralDive.
admin# application upgrade proceed
Application upgrade in progress…
[#-------------------] 5% Complete
[##------------------] 10% Complete
[#####---------------] 25% Complete
[###########---------] 55% Complete
[####################] 100% Complete
Upgrade successful.
Rebooting…
Now it was time for the moment of truth. Lucas waited patiently as he was pulled mentally away from the bright field of grass into the dark void of his dreamless mind. After five or so minutes, Lucas noticed specks of light breaking through the emptiness of his consciousness like the stars in the sky. He felt his feet on solid ground and he looked around.
Instead of the grassy plains of the MedTech pod, he was now in the landing zone for the Astral Dive gaming pods.
It worked?
Remembering the dozens of posts he read, Lucas grasped towards the stars above and was greeted with a library of games. All were greyed out except one. The art for this particular game was a lone monolith towered towards the heavens themself. At the bottom, looking like it was carved from some, the name 'Dustspire' sat.
Without hesitation, Lucas selected it and watched in wonder as the area around him transformed. A wooden cabin sprung up around him, and Lucas could hear the crackling and feel the heat of a fireplace behind him.
A mirror rose from the ground showing off his appearance. Then a floating window of gold manifested with tabs and tabs of options for him to customize his appearance. If it had been a few years prior, Lucas surely would have spent hours upon hours just customizing his avatar and debating his race and starting location based on what kind of character he was trying to roleplay.
Unfortunately he had to be a bit more pragmatic than that. He had already spent months planning out his build; which started with him selecting the Inimicus race. They were a race of fiends that looked similar to elves but with a much wider variety of skin tones. The main reason Lucas selected Inimicus was less for its appearance and more for their bloodline talents that could be unlocked in the game.
It also helped that they had one of the starting locations that Lucas desperately needed to enact his plans. After selecting his race and skipping through the customization options, he was left with a reflection in the mirror that showed him exactly what he would look like with elvish ears, red eyes, and an ashen lavender colored skin.
Character name: Zariah (Available)
Lucas entered his usual gamer tag and once he was told it was available, he pressed enter. Once more, the scene around him changed from the idyllic log cabin to a city square. Instantly, Lucas was assaulted with the smell, sight, and sounds of a bustling renaissance era city.
One hand moved to shield his nose from the stench of unwashed players and NPCs while he squinted and took in his surroundings. A large orc with gleaming silver plate armor had his hands cupped around his mouth as he shouted, "Looking for a healer! We have one tank, two dps and a utility." Off in a dark alleyway, Lucas could faintly makeout the sight of a ratfolk in a heavy trench coat trying to peddle his wares, "Stanley has wares if you have coin."
The sounds of a hammer on metal echoed over the crowds and the buzz of conversations flowed past Lucas as tried to orient himself. It was amazing, truly, and he could feel the start of a smile tugging at his lips before he shook his head.
Remember your goal.
Lucas took stock of his belongings, his hands running down his body as he pat anywhere he thought there would be a pocket. As he did so, he noted the white tunic and brown pants he wore. His toes wiggled in their leather prison, electing a nod from Lucas. They were well worn and tied tight. Affixed to his hip via a small string tied through a hole in his waistband, he found a small coin pouch with 10 silver coins.
Thankfully, he started with the average amount of capital—the minimum being three silver. Weary of losing his small fortune, Lucas undid the knot holding the pouch to his waist and retied it so the pouch rested on the inside of his pocketless pants. He then mentally checked it off his todo list and took a step in the direction he believed his first destination to be.
Snowraith wants to add you as a friend. Accept? (Y/N)
Before he could even take a second step, a popup filled his vision. Without hesitation, Lucas accepted the request and decided to wait for the message he knew was coming. Sure enough, in the corner of his vision he saw he had a few messages from his new friend.
Snowraith: Lucas? Holy cow! I haven't seen you online in forever! Why didn't you text me?
Zariah: How did you know I started playing?
Snowraith: When I started playing I sent a request to all of your usual usernames! Smart huh? Only you would immediately accept without sending me a whisper like 'reason for add?'
Zariah: . . .
Snowraith: What city did you start in? I'll remake my character so we can start fresh together. What build are you going for?
Zariah: Healer. I'll wait for you in Arvedell.
Snowraith: Cool! Give me 10 min.
Within the confines of Evelyn's Astral Dive gaming pod—where her unconscious body lay—her lips twisted into a soft smile. Inside Dustspire the sound of metal clinking echoed out, each sound bouncing off the small cave walls that surrounded a group of four individuals positioned in a diamond formation. Startled, a small woman holding up the rear and peering into the darkness behind dropped the dagger she had held up.
The woman, wearing naught but a thin robe and sandals, lunged forward trying to pluck the falling dagger. In her haste, she grabbed the blade and sliced her finger. Crimson drops turned into a miniature river as blood began to trail down her index to her wrist. "Ouch!" She gasped in pain and her grip loosened on the dagger, allowing it to tumble to the ground with a thud.
At the sound of rattling metal, an exclamation of pain, and subsequent thud, the three members in the front of the formation turned around; two of which had their eyes narrowed. Evelyn, garbed in a full set of scale mail, winced and sucked in a breath upon seeing the smaller woman's injury. She whispered, "Sorry, GaleW1ng! I didn't mean to startle you."
Behind Evelyn, a man covered head to toe in ebony plate mail shook his head and lifted his visor. "What's going on? We've only just started this dungeon." He then muttered something under his breath that Evelyn could not quite hear. The last member of their group, another man wearing a simple gambeson and holding a long walking stick, shrugged and tilted his head in the direction of the other two in the group as he propped himself up with his walking stick.
Now at the forefront of everyone's attention, the bleeding woman—whose other hand was wrapped tightly around the wound—glared at Evelyn, "The rattling of her armor scared me! I wasn't ready for it since we were trying to be stealthy." She pointed her wrapped finger accusingly.
Evelyn spoke up, her tone a bit soft as heat began to rise to her cheeks and flush them red, "I got a little too excited and I was trying to contain myself." Her hand moved up to her face and tried to move an errant strand of hair behind her ear as she struggled to find a reasonable explanation. Failing, she offered an awkward smile, "I'm sooo sorry guys but my boyfriend just started playing so I'm going to go remake my character and join him."
Nothing was said as a multitude of expressions found their way onto the faces of Evelyn's companions. GaleW1ng had craned her neck forward and tilted her head, her mouth slightly agape, and the man wielding the walking stick had to catch himself as he lost the support of the stick he was leaning against momentarily. Finally, the man in ebony pinched his nose and let out a heavy breath, "Now? Right after we started? Can we at least get to the first mini-boss?"
Once again the echoes of metal rang out as Evelyn began taking off her armor, fumbling with the straps and buckles, "I'm sooo sorry, I'll make it up to you guys later okay? You guys can sell my gear to make up for the losses since I'll be using a new build to match Lucas."
One by one, Evelyn tossed her weapons and armor onto the ground until she was only dressed simply in a tunic and pants. She fanned herself with her hand and let out a breath. "Wooh! It was so hot in that thing. Anyways take care guys!" Leaving behind her stunned companions, Evelyn selected the 'return to menu' button and disappeared from sight in a flash of white.
The dark and humid cave around her rippled as her surroundings were replaced with the main menu's landing screen. Instead of the default log cabin new players had, she was situated in a lavish room that reflected her character's total wealth. Positioned in the center of the far wall, stood a golden framed crystal mirror. From where Evelyn stood, she could perfectly see her full body.
She lacked her usual drakescale armor and arsenal of daggers, swords and spears, and was clothed exactly as she was when she left the dungeon. For a moment, Evelyn admired her emerald green skin and rippling muscles for probably the last time. As usual, a golden menu floated beside the mirror and she pulled her attention away from her impressive shoulders to the bottom right corner where a little trash can icon sat.
Without hesitation, Evelyn pressed on the icon then, after a pop-up, confirmed her decision to delete her character. The once clear reflection dimmed as the crystal mirror was replaced by the polished silver mirror everyone started with. The next time Evelyn glanced at her reflection, blonde hair and green eyes peered back. Beneath her bare feet, Evelyn felt the absence of her fur rug replaced by warm rough wood. She noticed the soft glow of the fireplace behind her before she felt its heat and she watched as the golden menu was populated with dozens of tabs.
Evelyn knew this day would have come, and amply prepared for it. She lifted her hand towards the double arrow at the far right side of the tabs and clicked it. The row of tabs changed to the last page and upon finding the preset tab, Evelyn selected it. Greeting her was a large list of randomly generated appearance presets the game had created; sorted by race.
Evelyn moved all the way to the bottom where the locally saved presets were and selected the third portrait. Subtly, her appearance in the mirror changed. She looked almost exactly as she normally did, with the exception of her now pointed ears that poked through her hair and her blue eyes.
Briefly, Evelyn went back and checked over each tab to make sure nothing was out of place before going to the bottom of the character creator window and entering a name.
Character name: Vaelith (Available)
It was one of the many character names she used in games to match Lucas and upon seeing it was available she ended the character creation. Before she was transported, she danced in place a little before finding herself in Arvedell. Her heart thudded in her chest as she took a single step, her eyes wide open and eager. As she had hoped, a pop-up filled her vision.
Zariah wants to add you as a friend. Accept? (Y/N)
Not needing to think, her finger found the 'Yes' button. Her other hand reached towards the minimalistic HUD and pulled up the social window. Gone were the hundreds of friends she previously had, replaced with a single name. Evelyn clicked on Lucas's character name and sent him a party invite—which he instantly accepted. The moment the party was created, Evelyn gained a faint presence at the back of her mind, gently informing her where her party member was.
Spinning on her heels, Evelyn jumped with her arms spread wide.
Half expecting it, Lucas braced himself as Evelyn jumped into his embrace. His usual scowl softened into a smile as he wrapped his arms around the blonde elf draped in the same white tunic and brown pants he was. She squeezed him tight and locked her fingers behind him. Her head bumped against his and she showed him her pearly whites as she stared into his eyes, "I missed you dummy."
The words dropped a weight on his chest and his smile tightened, "I know. I missed you too, Ev. Got in my own head again." Lucas strained his neck and kissed Evelyn on the forehead. His lips parted to speak when someone cleared their throat behind the couple, "Eh-hem. Could you guys take the PDA somewhere else? Some of us are trying to enjoy our fantasy. Not see people living it."
Lucas loosened his embrace with Evelyn—who took his hand in hers and locked their fingers—and turned to face the speaker. His previous expression hardened into a comfortable scowl as he eyed a much taller figure. Evelyn's hand gently squeezed his own and he pulled his eyes away from the stranger. "Sorry about that!" Evelyn apologized, slightly bowing to the stranger. She tugged Lucas in the opposite direction, pulling him through and past people until they left the city square.
"Where to first?" Evelyn asked over the surrounding conversations as she led Lucas through the cobbled streets of Arvedell. "Alchemist Guild," Lucas quickly responded, his whole day more or less having been planned before Evelyn's appearance. "I'm assuming you already researched everything beforehand?" his girlfriend asked without turning.
"I memorized and practiced enough in a few sims." Lucas mentally shoved his urgency down, "Where do you need to go?" He looked over at Evelyn, his eyes watching as her ice blue eyes trailed over each building before turning towards his own. "Same place! I wonder if you'll score higher than me." She pursed her lips and tapped her chin, "I was an adept member before I deleted my character."
Pressure threatened to strangle Lucas as he swallowed. "Don't you dare try and apologize!" Evelyn raised both of their arms in the air and opened her mouth wide. Her teeth clamped down on Lucas's forearm before she released him, "If I hear you apologize to me I'm going to bite you. I did it to play with you. I only started playing these games because of you anyways, dummy."
His chest felt lighter and he even managed to grin as he provoked Evelyn, "Sorry." Unsurprisingly, she responded by chomping down on his arm. "A treat for the lovely couple?" An aged voice asked from Lucas's right and he looked over to find a young man with bright pink hair holding up what looked like candied fruits.
Remembering Evelyn's sweet tooth, Lucas pulled her closer to the food stall. Adorning a crudely assembled stand was a large wooden sign that read 'W1iiyWanlCa's Candy Stand.' The poor table did nothing to detract from the overflowing amount of different candies put up for sale. Behind the pink haired man, who wore a mint green chef's hat and double-breasted jacket, was a sign listing the prices.
Looking at Evelyn's enlarged eyes, Lucas did not hesitate to pull a silver coin from his pouch and held it up to the man, "Two candied strawberries." The man smartly placed both into Evelyn's waiting free hand and he bowed slightly before taking the offered silver, "Thank you kindly for your patronage! Please remember dear ol' 'WakyW1ll' the next time you crave sweets. We have branches in every starter city."
From his pocket he pulled out a sky blue handkerchief and dabbed at the corners of his eyes before dramatically blowing his nose, "It's so rare to see players enjoying—hey! Wait! Where are you going!?" The pink haired man called after Lucas and Evelyn but the former, not interested in conversation, and the latter, engrossed in her treats, simply carried on down the cobbled road towards the Alchemist Guild.
The surrounding merchants laughed and Evelyn looked up after emptying one of her skewers of its fruit, "I've been playing this game for a year and I still can't get over how tasty the food is. And no weight gain!" Lucas chuckled as he viewed the mix of players and NPCs around interacting. The attention to detail from the smells to the sights made Lucas briefly forget that this was just a game.
One I need to exploit.
His mind did not manage to wander far as they stepped onto a new, much larger street. In stark contrast to the previous street, the buildings here were twice the size and instead of brick, they looked like they were carved from large quarried stones and other unknown materials. Crowded before each of the guilds Lucas could spot, were thousands of people.
"I bet none of your research mentioned how packed the guilds are in the starter cities." Evelyn nudged him, her last skewer bare and the sweets they once held now stored in the veritable pit that was her stomach. Lucas closed his eyes and tried to remember any possible alternatives. There were other things he could do in the meantime, but without visiting the Alchemist Guild first he wouldn't have a reason to visit most of the places.
Lucas jerked forward as Evelyn tugged on his arm, he glanced at his girlfriend as she gestured behind her with her head, "Come on, newbie. I'll show you how it's done." Eyes rolled in response to her taunts and Lucas reached out to take the empty skewers from her hand. Due to the intense crowding, he tightened his grip on Evelyn's hands as they zigzagged through and over others.
Despite this not being the starter city for many of the races people could play in Dustspire, Lucas noticed many said races lined up in front of each of the guilds. As they made it closer to the entrance of the Alchemist Guild, Lucas overheard players complaining.
"Damn corp players! It's bad enough everyone wants to be an adept for the passive, but a three hour long queue?" The high pitched squeaking that was their voice did nothing to detract from the frustration in the speaker's words. In response, an equally high voice chirped, "I guess we'll take the L and TP to another city. Man! I had so many quests around this area too."
Instead of continuing straight, Evelyn moved towards the right and past the crowds waiting to just enter the guilds. They followed along the side of the guild through the alley between the Alchemist Guild and the Merchant Guild. Once the passageway opened up into a backstreet, Evelyn stopped and spun around, "help me look for a discarded glass bottle."
Evelyn released her hold on Lucas and began to sift through some of the litter dotting the backstreet. He refrained from voicing his confusion and released it with a long exhale. Following her lead, his eyes began to study what he thought was player refuse. Gently prodding each pile with his leather shoes, Lucas managed to find a few copper coins which he pocketed despite the grime that covered them.
"Over here!" It wasn't too long before Evelyn called Lucas over, and he jogged over to where she was. He bent down to get even with her squat and peered at the empty potion bottle on the ground. Lucas raised a single eyebrow and made a show of looking down at the bottle up at his girlfriend then back again.
"Don't be such a drama queen, newbie. You'll bow down to my majesty soon once I save us hours waiting in line." She flashed him a toothed grin and picked up the potion bottle. She then waved her arms in the air, drawing shapes in the air as she chanted, "Abra Kadabra!" Her arm blurred forward and Lucas winced as he heard glass shatter against the Alchemist Guild's back wall.
Briefly, runes flashed over the surface of the wall before fading from view. "There it is!" Evelyn shot up from her squat and skipped over to what Lucas had initially guessed was a random spot along the wall. She raised a finger and began to trace what Lucas could only assume was some sort of glyph. Glass cracked underfoot as he moved closer and when he finally reached Evelyn, she had finished drawing.
Glowing lines began to etch themselves in the stone, the pattern matching exactly what she had traced out. Once the glowing sigil was complete, Lucas felt faint vibrations and watched in awe as a hidden entrance revealed itself. Out of the corner of his eye, Lucas noticed Evelyn stand up straighter, trying to make herself seem taller despite their similar height. With his right foot, he stepped backwards into a deep bow, "One thousand apologies, Your Majesty! I was but a fool to question your vast knowledge. Might you explain to this dullard what exactly you did?"
A snort of laughter drew Lucas's attention and he straightened from his dramatic bow to see Evelyn covering her mouth and holding her stomach as she giggled. The sight and sounds of joy seemed to erase the lingering pain in his chest, and for the first time in months Lucas felt some of his exhaustion fade.
He smiled and waited patiently as Evelyn regained her composure enough to explain. "One of my previous guildies managed to make it all the way to Master Alchemist and learned that each of the branches have hidden entrances. Lots of the bigger guilds know about it, but we try to keep it under wraps."
Finished with her incomplete explanation, Evelyn felt around and grasped something invisible and tugged it towards herself. The hidden door, now much more visible that it was opened, looked like it was just an extension of the wall. It did not look to move on any visible hinges, leading Lucas to believe it worked entirely on magic.
"Newbies first," His girlfriend gestured towards a veil of darkness that prevented Lucas from peering into the guild. Taking a deep breath, Lucas took a step forward while he mentally tried to recall everything he needed to get done here. He felt hands pressing against his back before he was shoved head first into darkness, his girlfriend taunting him from behind, "No need to be so dramatic, dummy."