《Grim Beginnings》
Prologue
Prologue
2037
For the past twenty years, digital realism and the immersive qualities of video games have grown tremendously. VR, or Virtual Reality, headsets expanded from players having to move the physical body to interact with a less-than-real world to truly connecting with the mind. Players can actually lie down in their beds and be completely transported. One can experience all the sensations of the physical world without any of the dangers. Players who are particularly good at the new gaming style can quickly rise up in stardom like any athlete.
***
John mopped the front entrance of the middle school while listening to the Video Game Informant podcast over his headphones. The twenty-five-year-old, slightly balding janitor didn¡¯t care about much in life, but video games were his one true joy. Not that he was any good at them. The best he¡¯d ever done was win a couple of local tournaments, which had amounted to a grand total of $70 and a new wireless mouse. It was not something he could rely on as a sole source of income.
There was this new game though, called Kingdoms & Valor. It was a VRMMORPG (or Virtual-Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) in a fantasy-based world. And it required the newest virtual reality headset, with which players could experience almost everything! All five senses would be engaged, so people could feel like they were living a brand-new life in a magical world where mysteries waited to be discovered! It was a gamer¡¯s dream! John had been saving up to buy the headset and game since he¡¯d learned about it eight months ago.
Truly, all he ever bought were movies, books, and games. He was a particular fan of the classics and a variety of older series. Most were classified as ¡°nerdy,¡± like Starfighter Foxy 64, but they were what interested him. It was not like he had much else to spend it on. He had no family, and the only friends he had were online. He didn¡¯t care about anything else. Nothing really motivated him. John did not believe he had any purpose at all, actually.
John¡¯s musings were interrupted by laughter loud enough to be heard over his headphones. He looked down the hallway and saw two teen boys scoffing and laughing at a girl as the trio walked in his direction. There were always a few stragglers after the initial end-of-day wave of students leaving school. The two boys had short hair. One was skinny, and the other¡not so much. The girl had long, straight black hair and carried a bedazzled pink backpack. She was unhealthily thin, and her skin had an abnormal yellow tinge. John knew immediately who she was. She was Becky. He did not know her personally, just that she was very sick. There had been posters throughout the school advertising a fundraiser for her treatment. She did not acknowledge the teasing boys as she focused straight ahead, looking out the glass door and watching for her mom¡¯s car to pull up. Her stern look and increasingly red cheeks betrayed the anger she was holding in.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
¡°Ha ha! Look at the sick girl¡¯s car!¡± the nasally-sounding chubby boy said while pointing at a very rusted vehicle struggling across the parking lot toward the front doors.
¡°Stop it!¡± she yelled at them, tears swelling in her eyes. ¡°We can¡¯t afford a new car because my medicine is so expensive!¡±
The portly bully continued undeterred. ¡°Aww, the sick girl is crying. Maybe if your parents had adopted a normal kid instead of you, they would have a nice car and wouldn¡¯t have to deal with such a sick crybaby!¡±
John dropped his mop and sprinted toward them. ¡°Hey, you punks get out of here!¡± he said, waving his arms to shoo them on toward the school entryway.
The two boys ran out the doors, laughing the whole way.
John turned back to the girl. ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked.
She sniffed and wiped her eyes, then looked up and nodded.
¡°Good. Now, I might get in trouble for saying this, but those boys were acting like straight douche-canoes.¡±
Becky laughed, and her red face returned to its usual yellow tinge.
John smiled as he walked with her toward the doors.
Before anything else was said, a car horn honked twice from outside. Becky¡¯s mom¡¯s car had made it to the front of the school.
¡°Thank you, sir,¡± the thin girl said before running out to the car.
John¡¯s mood turned bittersweet as he watched the girl wrestle the car door open and climb in.
I wish I could help her.
***
The hooded figure leaned over the enchanted well. His skeletal hands grasped the edges firmly as curiosity overtook him. Knowing his time was limited, he was desperate to find his champion. Searching through the alternate universe of possibilities in the well, the figure considered desirable attributes. The person must be a warrior, a competent leader, loyal, and like himself, familiar with death. In a world without magic, though, it had not been easy. The figure did find an avenue, fortunately, through the humans¡¯ technology. It had shown them a way to interact with the basics of magical power. He searched frantically against the clock to locate the person. He wanted¡ªno, he needed¡ªthe best. Then he found him. His champion!
¡°Yes!¡± the hooded figure said in his haunted tone of voice. ¡°Hahahaha! Yes!¡± he cackled maniacally, lifting his arms in the air and clinching his fists in celebration.
The only other noise accompanying his laughter was the sound of his chains dragging on stone and clanging against each other, echoing inside his dark prison. Though he knew the end was near, he had found a way to have his vengeance. He would be free.
Chapter 1 May 18, 2038 (7 months later)
¡°Alright, everyone. It¡¯s been an intense evening of competition, but all good things must come to an end!¡± the announcer proclaimed. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get on with our final event!¡±
The crowd roared.
John still couldn¡¯t believe he was at the final stage of the Kingdoms & Valor World Championship. The fantasy-based game had been played at a professional level since its release and already had become the highest-grossing game ever! Though John had never been good enough at VR games to get paid, this one was different. A twenty-five-year-old janitor, he¡¯d become one of the top players in the world in only two months! He¡¯d spent his days cleaning up vomit at his local middle school and his nights cleaning up his enemies in a fantasy world with spells and spears. Then it had only taken another couple of months to find a professional team and sponsors. The Straight As focused on Death Magic and Undead effects, an unorthodox style as Life Magic was long assumed to be the top magic discipline, and it had taken them very far.
The team¡¯s charitable nature, being part of something bigger than themselves, also really hit a chord with John. They had been donating half of all profits to St. Baldrick¡¯s Foundation for kids with cancer, and the nonprofit organization had directly helped a child named Becky with her treatments. With their help and contributions, she had made a full recovery. She had even become the team¡¯s number one fan. He¡¯d never really had friends or a worthwhile purpose before. Now he had a job he loved and was helping children in need. He had found his calling. Once this tournament was over, he planned to continue trying to make a difference with his life by being a full-time professional gamer.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
¡°Now, to bring out our first contenders. First, we have the Straight As with their captain, Ace!¡± the announcer said.
Hearing his avatar name called, John snapped out of his daze and looked toward the curtain separating them from the stadium.
He and his team walked out from the stadium entrance and headed toward the right side of the raised stage with the table where their six computerized headsets waited. John couldn¡¯t hear anything over the thousands of fans cheering all around him. State-of-the-art gaming chairs were neatly lined up in front of each player¡¯s station. The team sat down, put on their headsets, and adjusted their settings. The headsets were made from a gel-like substance that surrounded the players¡¯ eyes and engaged their nervous systems.
John heard the familiar hum of his equipment as he lost sensation with his real body and aligned with his avatar, Ace.
An advantage of putting on their headsets first was that they could not hear the cheering for the home crowd favorite team, In 4 Life. John had met them once before. They were rather overconfident and had an obnoxious team captain who was ridiculously muscle-bound both in real life and in the game. He was the gold-standard definition of a sore loser and was well known for getting in fights with both teammates and opponents alike post-match. Once the Straight As saw their opponents¡¯ avatars fully load, the countdown started.
John¡¯s avatar looked at his team as they nodded. He smiled, excitement causing his heart to beat rapidly in his chest, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡±
The audience counted down with the timer, ¡°Three, two, one, fight!¡±
Chapter 2 - Sore Loser
¡°Die, punk!¡± a minotaur member of the opposing team yelled as it activated a Barbarian-class talent called Berserker¡¯s Fury.
¡°Watch out!¡± John yelled to his teammates, but he was too late.
The minotaur swung his greatsword clean through one of the Straight As who happened to be the team¡¯s healer, then swung repeatedly at John¡¯s last teammate, Abraham. The barbarian managed to get one good hit in, causing severe damage before a Death Magic Shield of Translucent Bones was cast by the player.
¡°Crap!¡± John muttered, frustrated.
¡°What do we do now!?¡± asked Abraham, whose now-wounded avatar was a skeletal mage.
They were outnumbered. Both of them were injured and did not have much in the way of healing magic. The opposing team was in a much better situation, with their minotaur captain serving as the team tank, taking and giving most of the damage, while the two Life Magic mages could only cast buffs and heals, maintaining a protective shield continuously.
John knew time was limited. He could see cracks starting to form on Abraham¡¯s shield. They needed to eliminate the number advantage of the opposing team. He could try summoning a death creature. Unfortunately, one of the opposing team¡¯s two mages, being masters in life magic, would kill it off quickly.
¡°Give it up!¡± the minotaur said while repeatedly swinging his sword. The brute wasn¡¯t running out of Stamina because he was constantly being replenished by one of his mage teammates.
Where can I catch them off guard? Where can I summon a creature that they kill immediately? Well, their shield covers them completely, except for the ground, of course. John¡¯s introspection struck an idea. ¡°Rimi,¡± he said to invoke his spell. If he couldn¡¯t summon a creature out in the open, he could conjure a ground-dwelling Ghul to burrow over and catch them off guard, he hoped.
Hearing John¡¯s incantation, the opposing team¡¯s two mages went on high alert and stopped casting buffs on their tank. The pair looked all around them for a portal somewhere. Suddenly, a gray hand with open sores and sharp claws appeared from underground and grabbed one of the mage¡¯s legs. In an instant, the player was pulled down and completely engulfed under the ground before anyone could respond. Only a brief, muffled yell had been heard.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
It worked! John thought.
As the other mage looked down and the tank looked back to see what had happened to their teammate, John and Abraham capitalized on the distraction. John ran toward the minotaur while conjuring a Death Magic handaxe in his left palm. Abraham buffed him with increased death damage, increased weapon damage, and a poison weapon spell. By the time the minotaur turned back, John was right on him. With a primal yell, he took his translucent magical handaxe and sliced right through the neck of the player¡¯s avatar.
Kingdoms & Valor was just a game, but it had very realistic special effects. John felt arterial blood spray on his face as it erupted from the decapitated body of the minotaur before the hairy brute dropped to his knees and collapsed on the ground. Though the players couldn¡¯t hear it because of their full immersion, the audience erupted at the dramatic turn of events. The last opposing player was so flustered by the situation that he completely forgot about the Ghul under his feet and quickly suffered the same fate as the other mage.
¡°We did it!¡± John yelled out. He and Abraham high-fived and gave each other congrats with their avatars. A loud clap echoed as John¡¯s flesh touched the bony hand of his teammate.
¡°Let¡¯s go celebrate, man!¡± Abraham replied.
¡°Good call. Let¡¯s go,¡± John said.
The skeletal mage disappeared.
John took a moment to savor his time as Ace and being in the game that meant so much to him. Then he logged out, took off his headset, and, as he opened his eyes, was struck suddenly with a sharp pain in his chest. He blinked once and looked down, finding a knife sticking out of his chest. He looked up at the muscular minotaur player standing in front of him, his hand still holding on to the weapon and a smug look plastered across his face.
Screams of terror erupted from the crowd.
¡°How do you like that, you cheating bitch?! No one beats us and gets away with it!¡± The musclebound player pulled his knife out of John¡¯s chest with a wet thunk.
John sat there stunned. Warm blood ran down his body. Everyone around them stood wide-eyed, completely thrown off by this real act of extreme violence.
The attacker raised his hand to go for the killing blow.
John¡¯s mind raced. My life is over? Just like that? There is still so much I want to do! With a strange mix of melancholy and fear, he thought, If only I could get a second chance!
The knife came down, and John¡¯s world went black.