Today was like any other—hot, humid, and stunk of pollution and death.
Normal life in a large city.
For Elijah, though, today was going to be different. He had been saving his money for years now, scraping by on the least amount possible from his Universal Basic Income check, then saving the rest.
Working as an indie developer for the last three years, he'd released a dozen games. They weren't particularly innovative or groundbreaking, but the minimal revenue from their sales added to his savings every month.
Now, Elijah finally had enough money saved for his dream.
A Fully Integrated Virtual Reality, or FIVR, pod was available second-hand, and he had the money to buy it.
His heart felt like it might explode out of his chest as the delivery drones installed it inside his apartment. The sleek metal glinted in the fluorescent light as he looked over it carefully. The refurbisher had done a good job. The paint of the pod, usually worn and chipped on used models, looked pristine to Elijah, and the carpeting inside the pod felt brand new. They had even gone so far as to stock up the nutrient water tanks. The tanks could keep someone alive for years. Perfect for extended play, or even the months-long dive into another world he was planning.
He sat down on the hard plastic seat inside the pod and pressed the button to indicate he would need the full extended session kit.
His cheeks were already sore from smiling so much as the glass cover slid down sealing him inside. He fidgeted inside the pod, waiting for it to fully activate and take him to his dream a decade in the making.
As his vision blacked out, his mind was transported to the virtual interface. The pod would handle all of his body’s various needs while he was immersed. Tubes, needles, and wires would be inserted and placed all while he was lost in the bliss of escapism.
Mentally, he clicked on the indicator he was presented with for the one game that had been purchased for the rig. He’d purchased it years ago. Something to look at regularly as a reminder of what he was working towards.
+-----------------------------------------------+
| Lordship of Sorcery |
+-----------------------------------------------+
The planet of Astoria materialized beneath him, as if he were floating high above it. The sensation of falling seized him, as if he’d just stepped off a cliff. There was no wind or rush of air, but his stomach lurched and every instinct told him that the ground would be rushing up to meet him any second.
Instead of the ground a beautiful, dark-skinned woman with gold-fringed, black feathery wings flew upwards towards him. She came to a rest a few feet in front of him, her wings flapping in a slow steady rhythm..
“Welcome, mortal, to the lands of Astoria. I am the Goddess Fate. According to your biometric profile, this is your first time joining our world. Would you like to experience the tutorial?” She spoke the words in a soft, feminine voice, both aloud and in his mind before reaching her hand out towards him.
A floating blue box appeared in front of him. There was a vibration in the back of his mind, something that felt both alien, but also instinctive, as he looked at the box. His eyes hovered over the options, and he could tell that he could will his choice to be made in the same way that he had selected the game in the interface for the pod.
[SYSTEM PROMPT]
Start Tutorial?
1) Yes (Recommended)
2) No
Elijah briefly considered skipping the tutorial. After all, he was a game developer himself, and this was a fully immersive virtual reality. How hard could it really be to learn how to play it?
Still, if the devs had spent the time, money, and resources to implement a tutorial, it had to be important. He reached out and mentally selected the 'Yes' option.
“A wise choice, mortal,” Fate spoke both aloud and in his mind again. “For countless years, I have watched endless heroes come to this world. Some do great deeds, some commit dark atrocities. Others are here for the simpler pleasures. No matter how their stories unfold, they all start at the beginning. What is your beginning hero?”
She smiled at him and spread her arms wide, manifesting the next menu from the holy light spilling off of her.
[CHARACTER CREATION]
Choose your beginning:
1) I was a Soldier (Recommended)
2) I was a Bandit (Recommended)
3) I was a Farmer
4) I was a Scholar
5) I was a Prisoner
6) Let Fate Decide
He looked over his options a few times before his eyes focused back on the Goddess before him.
“Goddess Fate, can you help me understand my options? I understand that my choice can have major consequences depending on what I choose, so I want to make sure I make the right choice for myself.”
The Goddess smiled at him in a way that made him feel warm and cherished. She waved her hand towards the menu. The Soldier and Bandit options glowed with a deep purple light.
“If sword is to be your forte, then these options are the best choice for you. One choice, the Soldier, allows you to follow the path of law and order, unlocking classes such as Fighter, Paladin, and Guardian. The other recommended choice, the Bandit, is for those who wish to live outside the confines of rigid social structures, unlocking classes such as Barbarian, Berserker, and Warlord.”
With another hand wave, the two choices faded back to the faint blue of the menu, causing the Scholar option to be highlighted.
“If you wish to follow the path of magic, to wield powers unimaginable at your very fingertips, the Scholar option is the choice for you; it unlocks classes such as Mage, Warlock, and Sorcerer.”
Elijah considered this option for a moment, though he was uncertain of what the difference between a Mage and a Sorcerer was.
Fate didn’t give him a chance to ask as she waved her hand again, highlighting the Farmer option as the Scholar option dimmed.
“Of course, the world is made up of more than just combat. Life can be meaningful without war. The Farmer option is for those more gentle souls, unlocking the classes of Alchemist, Enchanter, and Crafter.”
Her hand waved again. Elijah expected the Prisoner choice to be highlighted next, but the menu simply took on its original appearance with no sign that Fate planned on explaining the choice.
“What about the Prisoner option? What classes does that choice unlock?”
Fate remained silent as if she hadn’t even heard him. That made him uneasy, but also deeply curious. Surely there had to be some way to get more information.
“Can you explain the options again? This time, explain all the options?”
Fate smiled at him again, restarting her explanation. He sat through the whole thing, but just like last time, she seemed to be done after explaining the Farmer choice.
He was curious about the option, but also deeply concerned that it may be bugged. What if he chose it and there was no way to continue forward? Starting over wasn’t an option for him if he made the wrong choice.
If he chose Prisoner, surely there would be an inciting incident to break him free from captivity.
Right?
But, if so, who would his captors be? Would breaking free cause him to be a wanted fugitive from civilized society? Perhaps he would be a prisoner of bandits and breaking out would mean fighting through a bandit camp.
He mulled the choices over for a long time, trying to decide which route he wanted to go. There was always the random option as well, but he quickly put that out of his mind. He was torn between Soldier and Scholar. He didn’t want to potentially lock himself out of the big settlements by choosing Bandit, and the Farmer option didn't draw his interest, as he wanted to experience fighting. To make his choice harder, he was still torn on the potentially bugged Prisoner option.
He steadied his thoughts, forcing himself to focus on the options of Soldier or Scholar. He was going to select one of the two, until his curiosity overrode his better judgement.
“An interesting choice, mortal. Perhaps it shows a willingness to overcome and adapt, or that you do not mind binding your path to others. Whichever it is, know that your fate is your own, but Fate is always watching.” Came the double-speak of Fate, she waved her arm and the menu disappeared as she faded from existence.
The world blurred around him, darkening until he thought he was blind.
He felt his body smack against hard as he was unceremoniously dropped into a dank, musty alcove deep underground. His senses were bombarded by input. The rough stone beneath him, the sound of water rushing somewhere in the distance and a foul, putrid stench that was a strong contender for the worst thing Elijah had ever smelled in his life.
He looked down at his hands; they were a perfect recreation of his real ones. He was in awe as he traced a finger across the lines of his palms, the small paper cut just behind the nail on his right thumb, and the jagged scar from the time he had almost cut his left middle finger off with a circular saw.
Every scar and defect recreated with perfect accuracy. It bothered him, games were meant to be fresh beginnings.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
A new box popped up in his vision, pulling him from his thoughts.
[TUTORIAL]
Hint: Say "Stats" to activate your stat menu.
Simple, effective voice activation, he thought.
“Stats.”
In front of him appeared a menu. At first, it appeared to be completely opaque, but as his mind adjusted, he soon realized that he was aware of, and could ‘see’, everything behind it. It was as if his mind was split between what was in front of him and the game’s menus.
His mind struggled to rationalize the two images he was seeing. He blinked a few times trying to focus on one rather than the other.
[CHARACTER STATS]
Name: Elijah
Class: Prisoner
Level: 1 (0 / 10 XP)
Health: 5 / 5
Mana: 0 / 0
Strength: 1 (Beginner)
Intelligence: 1 (Beginner)
Dexterity: 1 (Beginner)
Constitution: 1 (Beginner)
Skills:
- (None)
He frowned when he saw his stats. He’d seen plenty of streamers start new characters in this game. They’d all started with higher stats than this which annoyed Elijah. He’d saved for years to be able to play this game and found himself playing a garbage character and it was his fault for choosing this class.
The voice of Fate spoke in his mind once again.
Your humble beginnings mean that you don't start with much, Hero; however, great adversity can lead to the greatest of gains. Would you like me to show you how ranks work?’
When the option popped up he clicked the recommended ‘Yes’ option.
[PROGRESSION RANKS]
Beginner: Levels 1–9
Apprentice: Levels 10–19
Journeyman: Levels 20–39
Master: Levels 40–69
Legend: Levels 70–99
Celestial: Level 100
Six tiers. Each one above Beginner shining with a faint light. Apprentice and Journeyman's lights, blue and green respectively were dull—hardly visible past the light of the background. Master shown with an easy purple light, but Legendry's gold and Celestial's red each shone brightly. The prize at the end of the game. As bright as stars to cement their places as the top tiers.
Go now, my hero. You have everything you may need to escape this place. Fate is watching you.
Elijah grimaced, walking forwards to the bone gate; he looked at it closely. The bones had huge gouges taken out of them as if something had been chewing on them, the ropes lashing them together looked rotten, and the smell was horrible. Elijah had to force himself to breathe through his mouth to stop from puking.
He reached for the gate to try to break one of the bones or snap a rotting rope, but to no avail. He wasn't the strongest in the real world, but he felt that his real body could have snapped the bones easily. His strength stat of one was going to be a problem if he couldn't even break a rotting bone in half.
Out of the corner of his eye, a pop-up box appeared for a half second, but it disappeared before he could look at it. He stopped what he was doing for a moment, wondering about the strange occurrence.
Was it a glitch? A hidden easter egg? Whatever it was, it was gone now.
Footsteps echoed down the passageway on the other side of the bone gate. He looked around the cell for somewhere to hide, or anything he could use as a weapon, but the cell was completely bare. He grabbed at the dry-rotted ropes that lashed the bone door together, trying to untie them. A scrawny-looking goblin with a huge wooden club came around the corner and into his line of sight. Its lips split into an evil grin.
The creature rushed forward smashing its club into the cage, right in front of Elijah’s face.
The bone cage cracked and splintered. Small shards of the cell door sliced into his hands and face. The force of the blow caused him to fall backwards.
Blood dribbled from the cuts. Shock faded to pain, the realism of the game making itself apparent. Elijah could feel each individual wound.
[STATUS]
Damage Taken: 2
Remaining Health: 3 / 5
The game had been touted as hyper-realistic. The pain barely dulled below what would be experienced in real life. For Elijah’s generation, that wasn’t a deterrent, it was part of the appeal. Raised on padded corners and consequence-free entertainment, a little pain was worth the cost of feeling something.
The goblin laughed at him, baring its razor sharp teeth once more. It reached into its loincloth and pulled out a rusty iron key. With a smooth motion it pushed the key into the lock and the door swung open.
Now that it was in the same room as Elijah an information box hovered over its head.
[TARGET INFO]
Goblin (Level 1)
HP: 10 / 10
Elijah once more found himself getting angry at the game. This stupid creature—a tutorial mob—had twice the health he did. It felt unfair and unbalanced to Elijah. He’d spent years working on properly balancing games, especially the all too important tutorials. But this felt wrong—like the game wanted him to fail, like it was laughing at him right alongside the goblin.
It laughed again, bouncing the club in one hand.
“Me no taste human before. Me hungry,” It snarled as it stepped into the cell. Its sharp, saber-like teeth glinted in the torchlight as it approached him.
Elijah’s fingers gripped the ground beneath him, and something sharp cut his palm. A long sliver of bone, roughly the size of a dagger had found its way beneath his hand.
[STATUS]
Damage Taken: 1
Remaining Health: 2 / 5
The sharp bone cut into his hand, and he grimaced as his health dropped perilously close to zero. He watched as the goblin raised the club above its head. He wasn’t going to die to the first enemy he encountered in this game. He refused!
Elijah sprang up and drove the bone shard he was holding into the goblin’s throat. Blood geysered from the wound. The creature grasped at its lacerated throat, dropping the club. Then it too dropped.
[COMBAT LOG]
CRITICAL SNEAK ATTACK!
You've landed a blow in a weak spot on an unsuspecting enemy.
Damage x5.
Damage Dealt:
2 [Crude Bone Dagger]
x 5 [Critical Sneak Attack]
= 10 damage
~~~
[COMBAT LOG]
You have killed Goblin!
XP Reward: 2 XP
Current XP: 2 / 10
He breathed heavily. He’d gotten lucky killing that goblin, but if there had been more of them, or if he hadn’t gotten a critical strike, he would have died.
Elijah was annoyed with himself, he’d saved for years to play this game and he’d made it more difficult than he had to. He couldn’t just re-roll his character like most games. His pod and biometrics were keyed to this character, if he wanted to start over he’d need to buy a new pod. That wasn’t an available option to him, for obvious reasons.
He took a few calming breaths and counted down from ten. This was just a video game, the devs wouldn’t have set up a starting class that was impossible, would they?
His eyes flickered over the menu floating in front of him. The same one he’d seen while trying to break out of his cell. It had popped up when he’d attacked the goblin, and this time he’d been able to keep it open.
[DEBUG PROMPT]
Target: Goblin (Dead)
Debug this entity?
1) Yes
2) No
“A debug menu? That doesn’t seem like something I should have access to,” Elijah mused as he caught his breath. He was relatively familiar with the sort of information available inside of debug tools. Being a game developer, he’d coded plenty. Even though they were simple single-player games on old school mouse and keyboard, he’d always removed these tools before release to the public. It was shocking that a large production team had managed to let something like this slip through.
Part of him was worried he'd get banned if he used this tool, but the curiosity was too much for him. He reached forward to tap the ‘Yes’ option.
[DEBUG VIEW: GOBLIN (DEAD)]
Goblin_(Dead) {
Entity_ID: NPC_GOB_DEAD_021
Class: LOOTABLE_ENTITY
Collision_State: TRUE
Respawn_Timer: 7200s
Respawn_Counter: 7033s
Respawn_Location: SELF
Loot_Table: NULL
Despawn_Trigger: LOOTED && TIMER
Faction_Tag: NPC_FOE_GOBLIN
XP_Multiplier: (Default_2.0)
}
His pulse was still hammering, his wounds still stinging, but at least this made sense to him. Elijah used a very similar structure when coding his games. Not the needlessly obfuscated variable that some studios used.
Code made sense to Elijah. It had rules. It had order. It didn't laugh at him and try to eat him!
“This debug menu is a straight-up backdoor to the game. This is huge.” He whispered, facing the goblin while considering his options. He couldn’t resist playing with the menu, even if it risked a potential ban from the game.
He wasn’t going to survive long in his present state, and if this gave him an advantage, he was damned well going to take it.
Elijah could select the individual variables within the metadata and with a mental command, change them.
He tested out the menu by changing the Entity_ID tag to read ‘NPC_GOB_DEAD_020’.
“Weird. Nothing happened.”
His eyes slid down the list to a new option:
Confirm Changes?
His paranoia tweaked at the option. Would making changes to the Metadata cause the creature to respawn in front of him? He knew he was being paranoid, but considering he only had two health points remaining, his paranoia could be the difference between living, or being sent for a painful respawn. This dungeon was going to be hard enough without looking for additional trouble.
His eyes caught the Faction_Tag line.
Maybe I can make him fight for me?
He selected the option and tried inputting NPC_ALLY.
When he mentally clicked away from the option he felt a burning pain behind his eyes and the option reverted itself. His eyes began watering from the pain.
There was a tickle in the back of his brain, just barely noticeable through the pain. He could sense he was on the right track, there was something he could change it to, he just had to figure out what.
Each time he tried something new the pain behind his eyes grew more intense. He was about to give up when finally one of his changes solidified.
NPC_ALLY_GOBLIN
The pain behind his eyes had gotten worse with every incompatible edit, but it was suddenly gone, replaced with a euphoric sensation.
Was the game rewarding him for figuring it out?
His eyes landed on the Confirm Changes option again. With a deep breath he focused his will on accepting.
The debug menu blinked out of existence as he confirmed his changes. A flash of green light, so bright that it left spots in his vision, filled the cave. When it died down he could see the goblin in front of him.
Alive.
He held his bone dagger out in front of him, readying himself for a fight. His hands shook as the adrenaline coursed through his veins again.
A burning sensation shot through his brain, so intense that he doubled over, holding his head in his hands, the dagger dropping to the ground beside him. The entire cave shook, sending dust and rubble cascading around him. Fear gripped him, thinking for sure he was about to be crushed under the stone as the cave collapsed.
Fate’s voice spoke to him again. This time it wasn’t the clear and controlled speech he’d heard her use before. It sounded far off, slurred, like she was shouting at him through a drunken haze. Underwater. A mile away.
Congratulations, Hero! You have discovered a unique Class. The Class: “Reality Warper” is now available to you. Would you like to replace your current Class ‘Prisoner’ with ‘Reality Warper’?
A new pop-up appeared in his vision, the lines of the box crisp and clear despite the world blurring around him from the pain. Elijah didn’t care, didn’t have the capacity to even consider it. He just wanted the pain to stop.
His eyes couldn’t focus on the ‘Yes’ option. He reached out a hand and swatted at the choice. To his relief, the option selected when his fingers passed through the box.
The pain vanished as if it was never there.
Then the whole world began shaking again.
[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT]
THE WORLD QUAKES!
A Player has unlocked a new unique class: Reality Warper.
