《Last Goodbye》


 1 Tutorial part 1

    Looking around, Killian found himself standing in a clearing surrounded by long grass. Four people stood with him, though they were stiff and unmoving. As he walked towards them, the one in front looked at him and moved towards him while the three behind him disappeared.


    "Welcome to the New World, brave hero. My name is Jarvus and I shall be teaching you the basics and to answer any questions you may have."


    Jarvus had slicked back gray hair, a mustache, and was wearing a black suit. He looked like a stereotypical butler.


    "The first thing I need to ask, is if you would like to skip the tutorial? We highly recommend going through it if this is your first time here. Even if this is not your first time here, it could still be beneficial and you can always learn something new."


    Killian didn''t hesitant in his answer. "No, I would like to do the tutorial." This was his first time playing this game, and from the little he heard while in the hospital, it was unlike any other game out there.


    "Wonderful, then let''s continue." Jarvus smiles. "The first thing you need to know is that the currency is the same as what you need to level up. In other words, you will need to find a balance between your equipment and your level."


    "That seems a little unfair." Killian interrupts. "That seems like the definition of pay to win"


    "Yes, that may be how it seems, but that brings us to the next topic, skills. In other worlds, you only need to say out the skill name, or even just want to use it, and the system will activate the skill. Here, there are no skills. Everything you want to do, you have to do yourself. The system still helps you, but only by showing you how to do it. You will see a projection of yourself doing the action, and this is where level comes into play. The higher your level, the less help you need, so the system will show these projections less often. If someone with a high enough level wants to learn something new, they will then need to pay a teacher to teach them. To use magic, they will need to know every symbol needed in their spells. So, there is not much of an advantage in boosting your level past your skill level.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "Besides," Jarvus says and smiles, "there is greater reward with more risk. Killing a level 100 giant at level 1 will give you many more rewards than if you were of a similar or higher level."


    "So how do you level up with money? Am I buying levels?"


    "Mmm, in a way. The currency of New World is Hard Essence. This Hard Essence comes in many different sizes, which determine the amount of Soft Essence they give. You can consume Hard Essence, which gives you Soft Essence, then you use the Soft Essence to Level Up. You cannot turn Soft Essence back into Hard Essence, and if you die, all your Soft Essence is destroyed while you drop all your Hard Essence.


    To Level Up, you call up your Stats, and if you have enough Soft Essence, there will be an option to improve one of your Stats. Your Stats are: Constitution, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Attunement.


    Constitution is your overall health. It affects your endurance, toughness, and resistance to physical afflictions.


    Strength increases your muscles. You can carry heavier things, hit harder, run faster, jump higher.


    Dexterity increases your reflexes and nimbleness. Your body will more easily follow your commands, and be more flexible.


    Affinity increases mana efficiency, using less mana for the same outcome.


    ¡°The most you can increase a stat is to 100, so the highest level is 500. However, after reaching max level, you can evolve, which resets you back to level 1 but doubles your level limit. You with me so far?¡±


    At Kilian¡¯s nod, Jarvus continues.


    ¡°Good, then it is time to demonstrate. All you need to do is climb over the wall,¡± Jarvus points to the side, where a 5-foot wall appears. ¡°The system will you how to do it, and you just have to copy it. This may seem easy, but it is just to demonstrate how the system helps you. Now go on and try.¡±


    Kilian moved toward the wall, and a transparent image of himself appeared. The image moved toward the wall, grabbed the top, and pulled itself up, mounted the wall, then lowered itself down the other side. Kilian easily copied it.


    ¡°Good,¡± Jarvus says. ¡°Now we¡¯ll increase your stats a bit and do it again.¡±


    This time, the image ran and jumped at the wall. It grabbed the top and swung its legs over the top.


    Kilian tried to copy it, but didn¡¯t lift his feet high enough and hit the wall.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, it takes some getting used to, just keep trying.¡±


    This time, the image went in slow motion, giving a clearer image of its form and timing. Kilian tried to copy it again, and this time got over it, though not nearly as smoothly or quickly as the image.


    ¡°There you go, and with even higher stats, you could just jump over the wall.¡±


    The image again appeared, and ran and jumped at the wall, easily clearing it. As Kilian attempted to copy it, he quickly fell. He had put too much force on the ground and tripped. Trying again, Kilian¡¯s foot caught the edge of the wall, falling headfirst down a large pit. Before his scream could escape his lips, he hit the ground and his vision went black.

 Tutorial 2

    Kilian¡¯s vision returned a second later and he was back in the field with Jarvus. He fell to his knees, breathing heavily and trying to calm his racing heart.


    ¡°Sorry about that, but it¡¯s an experience you will need to get used to. Death is a common occurrence here, but it brings us to the next lesson. When you die, you will respawn in the last settlement you rested in.


    ¡°You have a limited inventory space, so everything not in it will drop where you died. You will also keep any gear you have equipped and all key-items you possess.


    ¡°Now take all the time you need, we recommend logging off and taking a break after respawning, but we can continue if you wish.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine. Just need¡­ to calm down.¡± Kilian had started shaking, and his heart wouldn¡¯t calm. It really felt like he was about to hit the ground and break his head.


    It just reinforced his belief that anything could happen, you could die at any time, so you should enjoy every moment.


    Eventually his breathing and heart calmed, and he stood up.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m ready to continue.¡±


    ¡°You sure you would not like to log out? Well, in that case we can continue. My part of the tutorial is almost over, only a few more things you need to know before choosing your profession.¡±


    Jarvus bent over and pick up a rock, tossing it to Kilian.


    ¡°Here. To put something in your inventory you just hold it up, and desire to put it in your inventory. You only have 5 slots, everything else you will have to carry. Technically, you have 7 slots, but two of them are reserved for your Hard Essence and Soft Essence.


    ¡°When you die, you will keep these five items when you respawn, but anything kept in a bag or pouch will stay in the spot you died. Items do not stack, so be mindful of what you may need to quickly grab and what you can afford to reach into a bag for.¡±


    Kilian put the rock in and out of his inventory a couple times. As he lifted the rock, 5 boxes appeared in front of him, allowing him to put the rock in one of them. That box then had a picture of a rock, and to take it out, he only had to grab at the picture.


    ¡°You will receive starting equipment for the profession you choose to learn, while the others will only give you a brief lesson over them. The three professions aren¡¯t exclusive, and are more what role you prefer, they are: Magical, Physical, and Crafting.


    ¡°Randalph the Red will teach you about mana and spell craft, he will give you a grimoire with a variety of beginner level spells.


    ¡°Heracles will teach you about fighting, he will give you a weapon and armor.


    ¡°Balin will teach you a craft, giving all the necessary equipment for that craft.


    ¡°After you have completed their tasks, talk to me, and we will create your body to enter the New World.¡±


    With that, Jarvus walked to side, and the three people from earlier came back. Kilian easily put names to them.


    Randalph was the old man with the long beard, robes, and pointy hat (obviously a wizard). Heracles was a large, muscular man in armor (obviously a warrior). Balin was a short, muscular man with a beard and a large assortment of tools (obviously a dwarf).


    Kilian was unsure of whether to choose Randalph or Balin; he didn¡¯t want to fight, but still wanted to explore and support his teammates.


    Being a mage would let him directly help his teammates with heals and buffs and elemental damage. Being a crafter would let him create or repair equipment and make consumables.


    Indecisive, Kilian decided to complete the tasks before making his decision.


    Kilian walked toward the warrior, since it was the one he knew he didn¡¯t want to do. The other two disappeared, leaving only Heracles, Jarvus, and himself in the clearing. A couple dummies also appeared.


    Heracles became animated, putting his hands on his hips and laughing. ¡°So, you wish to learn how to fight, do ya? Well it¡¯s very easy, you just hit stuff! If hitting it doesn¡¯t work, just hit it harder! HAHAHA!¡±


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.His voice was loud, and his size intimidating. He easily stood six feet tall; had long, flowing hair; and his armor left most of his muscles exposed. He looked straight out of a middle-aged woman¡¯s fantasy.


    ¡°Not really, I just to have fun.¡±


    Heracles folds his arms and nods understandingly. ¡°Yes, the path of a warrior is not for everyone, but there are evils in this world and everyone is required to fight. At the very least, you will need to know how to defend yourself. Mana will run out, consumables will expire or run out, the only thing that will never fail you is your own body.


    ¡°If you want my advice, learn the spear. It can keep you out of reach of weaker monsters, and can be used as a walking stick or handle. Some can even be used as a staff for magic!


    ¡°It has a limited number of attacks, so it¡¯s easy to learn. Just stab and slice! You could also hit things with the blunt end.


    ¡°Of course, there is also the axe, which is also useful in many situations, along with daggers, bows, staffs, swords, or hammers. I can also teach you to fight with your fists.


    ¡°So, what would you like to learn?¡±


    Kilian thought for a moment. It might be fun to learn the sword, the bow would also be useful, and the spear also seemed nice. Kilian supposed it really didn¡¯t matter what he chose, he could always just learn them later.


    ¡°Can you teach me about the sword?¡±


    Heracles laughed. ¡°We might make a warrior of you yet!¡± A sword appeared in Heracles¡¯ hand, and he swung it as he explained it¡¯s attacks. ¡°The sword was designed for use against humans and humanoids, and is generally useful against unarmored opponents, though it can slip past defenses.


    ¡°Swords are designed for Stabbing and Slicing, though it can also Chop. Here, practice on this dummy.¡± Heracles put the sword in the ground and stepped away.


    Kilian stepped forward and grabbed the sword, then turned to face the dummy. Like with the wall before, an image of himself appeared, this time with a sword.


    It then stabbed and cut the dummy the way Heracles demonstrated during his explanation, then disappeared.


    As Kilian stepped forward to copy it, symbols appeared on the dummy in different colors. He stopped and Heracles what they were.


    ¡°Right, I forgot about that!¡± Heracles laughed. ¡°Since you are so low leveled, the system is showing you the best places to attack. The lines are where you should cut or chop, the circles are for stabbing. Squares would be for blunt force. The different colors represent how hard you need to hit to do the most effective damage.¡±


    Heracles stepped up next to him, and drew his own sword. ¡°A little demonstration should clear it up. Now you see how the circle on the stomach is green? It means a light stab is all that is needed. If you stab too hard your sword may get stuck, leaving you wide open for their counter-attack.


    ¡°The symbol will also light up if you hit it correctly, and the color it flashes shows the amount of force you used. If done perfectly, your attack will do extra damage, causing extra bleeding.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to follow the symbols though, it is easier and sometimes more effective to hit your opponent in any way you can. Besides, an actual opponent will be moving, not always leaving their weaknesses exposed.¡±


    Heracles backed off again.


    When Kilian turned to the dummies, the hologram appeared again, this time Kilian saw it striking the highlighted areas, slicing joints, stabbing vitals, and chopping extremities.


    Kilian tried to copy it as he attacked his own dummy, but it was harder than it looked. He frequently hit harder than the color indicated, and was almost never on point.


    He walked back to Heracles, handing him the sword. ¡°Could I try the spear now?¡±


    ¡°Oh? You sure you don¡¯t want to be warrior?¡± Seeing Kilian shake his, Heracles continued. ¡°Very well, then here is a spear. It is used mostly to pierce, but can also be used to cut and bludgeon.¡±


    He then demonstrated how to stab and swing the spear, and let Kilian do as he wished.


    Kilian took the spear and went to the dummy. The copy appeared, and began stabbing the dummy¡¯s vitals.


    It was easier to aim than with the sword, since he used both arms, but it was less fun and felt more like he was just poking at the dummy. Kilian returned the spear.


    ¡°Done already? You managed to hit the weak points and score a critical hit, so you pass. Talk to me again if you want more practice or decide you want to be warrior!¡±


    Heracles stood next to Jarvus, the dummies disappeared, and the wizard and dwarf appeared. Kilian moved towards the mage and the dwarf disappeared.

 Tutorial 3

    ¡°Greetings, novice, I am Randalph the Red, master of the Seven Towers, conqueror of the Boiling Sea, and a decent knitter if I do say so, and I am here to teach you about magic. If you decide the might of magic is your true calling, I shall help guide you on your path and teach you spells to help you progress towards your goal.


    ¡°Should you decide the path of magic is not your calling, I will attempt to help you see the error of your ways in the hope that one day you see that magic is simply superior to all else. So, shall I guide you down the path of a mage?¡±


    The old man asked, though it sounded less like a question and more of a suggestion, like the answer was obvious.


    ¡°I would first like to learn more about what a mage is. I don¡¯t want to focus on combat. I would actually prefer not to fight.¡±


    ¡°Then the path of magic sounds perfect for you!¡± The old man exclaims excitedly. ¡°Is something just out of reach? Raise the earth to make a step! Are you hot? Conjure ice to cool down! Cold? Summon flame to heat up! Did you get lost in the forest? Ask the animals to guide you! Magic can do anything!¡±


    Kilian got the feeling he was talking to a door-to-door vacuum salesman, but it what he was saying sounded like what he was looking for.


    ¡°Sounds good to me, but I would still like the basic lesson first, and to complete the crafting lesson before making my decision.¡±


    Randalph looks a little disappointed, but understands. ¡°Yes, it is always best to know your options. Very well, we will begin the lesson. The first thing you should know about magic, is that it is fueled by mana.


    ¡°Mana is not an invisible energy in the air, but is a resource. It looks like a blue liquid shimmering with stars, but feels like gas. It behaves like a liquid, flowing downhill and filling whatever container it is in, but cannot be grabbed or held. The container must have a rune, which I will teach you later, marked somewhere on it to hold mana.


    ¡°You use mana to draw runes, which are symbols that affect the world. Everything has a rune associated with it, that names it. These runes are the true names, and hold absolute command of the thing they name. There are runes for both general names and individual names. For instance, this is the rune for fire.¡±


    The old man lifts his hand, and with his finger, draws a symbol in the air.


    ¡°With this rune, I can conjure a standard, nameless flame, but drawing a rune alone will not do anything. This is the rune for ball, for flying, and for forward. By drawing these four runes, I will conjure a flaming ball that will fly forward. To activate this spell, you need to encircle the runes, turning it into an array. The size of the array will determine the power of the spell, and the size of the runes will determine how they affect the spell.¡±


    Randalph draws the symbols the same size and the circle large enough to go around all of them. He then holds his palm up to it and it glows, flashes, and a ball of flame shoots out, then strikes an invisible wall before the grass.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°There are an infinite number of runes, and an infinite number of combinations. If you don¡¯t know a certain rune, you can produce the same results with more descriptive runes. Like what I just showed you, the spell used four runes, but if I had instead used the rune for fireball, I could have used less runes, which would then cost less mana to draw.


    ¡°As you probably noticed, I didn¡¯t use a wand or staff, and it looked like I used mana myself, but it was this ring.¡±


    Randalph shows off a sapphire ring, which lightly glows.


    ¡°Some gems can be engraved with runes, which allow them to store mana, and when worn, can be used like a wand or staff. Wands and staffs also have gems embedded in them, but allow more accurate and larger runes to be drawn. They are also more efficient, conducting the mana from the gem to the tip better than the human body.


    ¡°Here is a wand and grimoire, you can practice with them to cast the spell I showed you. Should you choose the path of magic, they are yours, and more pages will be unsealed.¡±


    Randalph produces a short stick with a small ruby embedded on the tip and a thick book from beneath his robes and handed them to Kilian.


    The book only opens to the first page, which is titled ¡°Demonstration,¡± and has the symbols Randalph used to cast the fireball. The other pages felt solid and wouldn¡¯t move.


    In the grimoire was a list of the runes Randalph had shown him, with an explanation for what it meant.


    The wand was like a pencil, but the air is not flat and offered no resistance. As he tried drawing the runes, they came out curved, and not next to each other. It took a few tries, but was able to draw an array that actually activated, but the spell came out warped. The flame flickered and didn¡¯t fly straight.


    He started experimenting with the runes. He drew the array as large as he could, and the runes as small as he could. He drew some runes larger than others. He even drew them facing different directions. Some of the arrays wouldn¡¯t activate, while others produced comedic results.


    Drawing all the runes in a line wouldn¡¯t activate. Having the array too large caused the spell to explode, the runes too small made an implosion. Leaving out the ¡°ball¡± rune made a stream of fire that didn¡¯t travel as far as a ball. Leaving out the ¡°forward¡± rune cause the flame to float in place, leaving out ¡°floating¡± caused the flame to fall. Leaving out ¡°flame¡± wouldn¡¯t let the array didn¡¯t do anything Kilian noticed.


    Things got interesting when he changed the direction of the runes.


    The spell would move in whatever direction ¡°forward¡± faced, and if ¡°ball¡± was sideways would rotate in that direction. He could also multiple arrays, then activate them at once to send a barrage of fireballs flying in different directions.


    Of course, this required a lot of mana, and Kilian had to recharge the wand every couple of spells. This was done by dripping mana onto the ruby, filling it up. At the recommended size the system showed automatically, each rune would cost about 2 points of mana, the circle would cost 2 points, and activating the spell took another 10 points, costing a total of 20 points of mana. The wand could hold up to 50 points, letting him cast 2 spells at most before refilling it.


    His experiments cost much more than that. Good thing the tutorial gave him a refilling bottle of mana!


    Kilian than began to just draw in the air. He had never been the greatest artist, but was still able to draw things that were recognizable. As he was drawing, he began to see an image of what it was he wanted to draw, but he dismissed it. It was more fun attempting to draw what he wanted, and laughing at the end result, than to trace an image already there.


    After having his fun, Kilian returned the wand and grimoire.


    ¡°Well, now that you¡¯ve had a taste of magic, how about becoming a mage?¡±


    ¡°I still want to try out crafting first, but this is definitely my favorite so far.¡±


    ¡°Very well, talk to me if you want to practice more, or decide you want to be a mage.¡± Randalph sighs, moving beside Heracles and Jarvus.


    Kilian moves on to the crafter, Balin.

 Tutorial 4

    Balin looks him up and down. ¡°Hmm, maybe. Boy, what do ye seek? Power, fame, riches? All that and more can be obtained by mastering a craft.


    ¡°It takes true passion to advance in a craft. Ye need hard work, dedication, and the ability to try again after every failure. Any idiot can swing a sword, or copy a picture from a book. A crafter is creating something new every single time, seeking constant improvement.


    ¡°You will never create the same thing twice, always making mistakes and learning from them, improving every time. Learning new combinations and techniques.


    ¡°I can teach ye how to embark on the path of a crafter, and give you the tools you will need, or I can just teach ye the basics of a craft.¡±


    ¡°For now, I would like to learn a basic skill to figure out whether I want to be a crafter or mage.¡±


    Balin taps his head. ¡°That¡¯s smart o¡¯ ya, but ultimately unnecessary. Just because you pick one, doesn¡¯t mean ye can¡¯t do the other, or even all three.


    ¡°Choosing a class here is only to help you get started on a path, not determine your whole life. It¡¯s fine to pick whichever one you like most, then later focus on something else.


    ¡°Still want the basic lesson, or would ye like to choose crafting to start your journey?¡±


    Kilian hesitated for a second, but decided to wait. It would probably be best to get some advice from one of his friends first, though they will probably tell him to pick mage. ¡°Just the basic lesson for now.¡±


    ¡°Very well, which would you like to learn; how to make a dagger, a healing salve, or a meal?¡±


    ¡°What sort of meal?¡±


    ¡°Fish or rabbit, and no, it doesn¡¯t have extra affects, other than filling a stomach and restoring some stamina.¡±


    ¡°Can I learn all of them?¡±


    Balin crosses his arms and laughs. ¡°It is good to try things, to find what you are good at before making a dedication.


    ¡°Yes, ye can take all three lessons, but I won¡¯t pass you until all three are cleared. Still want to take on all three?¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°Very well, then first up is smithing. To make a dagger, what you will need is an ingot, a furnace, an anvil, tongs, a hammer, and a grindstone.¡±


    As he spoke, the various tools he listed appeared around the clearing. Oddly, the furnace was small, looking more like an oven.


    ¡°The first step is to heat up the ingot in the forge. In this case we are using iron, so it is hot enough when the ingot turns white. This is a mana forge, using mana as fuel.


    ¡°Once the ingot has turned white, use the tongs to place it on the anvil. You hammer out the shape, without letting the temperature drop below orange, reheating when needed. Reheating the metal too often will make the dagger brittle, so the faster the better.


    ¡°The less time it takes to craft the item, and the better the material used, the better the rank. From worst to best, the ranks are: poor, common, fine, superior, exquisite, flawless, epic, and legendary.


    ¡°After the shape is made you let it cool, then sharpen it on the grindstone, and you have yourself a dagger. If you can make a common ranked dagger, you will pass the smithing tutorial.¡±


    Of course, Balin did not just explain this process to Kilian, but was also demonstrating it, and moving and talking so relaxed it was like he wasn¡¯t doing anything but standing there.


    Kilian tried to do as he saw Balin do, and as the hologram was also doing, but when he tried to take the ingot out of the forge, the heat forced him back, causing the ingot to melt. His second attempt made him drop the ingot. His third attempt, and he got it to the anvil.


    With the hammer in his hand, Kilian attempted to pound the iron into shape. Like with the dummies, colored shapes appeared on the ingot, showing where to hit and with how much force. There were only squares though, appearing one at a time, and the color changed, requiring harder hits, as the metal cooled.


    Balin interrupted him when the iron cooled to yellow. ¡°Don¡¯t let the metal cool too much before reheating, it takes more time to heat it back up, making the dagger brittle faster. If it cools down completely, you might as well scrap the ingot and try again.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the tip.¡± You could have told me sooner though.


    Kilian put the ingot, which was only slightly thinner than it was originally, back into the furnace.


    Kilian repeated this process he didn¡¯t know how many times. Eventually he found a rhythm in the pounding of metal, and soon after finished the dagger.


    Of course, it was a failure. The squares were hard to hit precisely, and he rarely used the right amount of force. He also had to constantly reheat the dagger, and it broke as he sharpened it against the grindstone.


    Kilian then discovered that he was covered in sweat, and that he had been playing way longer than he had realized.


    Seeing Kilian¡¯s dazed look, Balin laughed.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed boy. You didn¡¯t succeed, but you were obviously very focused. With just a bit more practice you will definitely be able to successfully forge a dagger.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have you know, it took me a whole day to make the progress you did. You seem to have a knack for smithing, how about learning the smith trade from me? You¡¯ll get a complete set of equipment to begin smithing with.¡±


    The offer was tempting, but if he had picked the first tempting offer he found, he would have been a mage and not tried smithing. He told Balin as much, who sighed.


    ¡°Very well, then keep practicing. You were very close last time, as long as you can reduce the amount of times you need to reheat the iron you should succeed.¡±


    Kilian didn¡¯t start crafting again though, he had been playing longer than he realized.


    He had heard the tutorial could take a while, but it had been a couple of hours already. His sister had said she would wait for him to complete the tutorial, and his friends would also help him quickly catch up, but it would probably be best to give them a bit of an update, and ask their opinion on what he should choose.


    Plus, a bit of a break might be good, he hadn¡¯t expected so much excitement. If this is what the rest of the game is like, it¡¯s no wonder so many people are going crazy about it.


    ¡°Log out!¡±

 James 1

    James was pretty easy-going. All he had wanted was to have fun with his friends. Winning was never a priority, he only wanted to enjoy the game, then he started streaming.


    At first, it was just a way to let his friends who couldn¡¯t play interact with the ones who were playing. It was a way to let everyone in on the fun.


    Other people saw them having fun, and more people started watching his streams. Soon, he had a decently sized following, and they started pushing him to do better.


    James started taking the game more seriously: looking for the best gear instead of the best looking, taking more of a leader role in groups, hanging out with the people his chat liked more than the ones they didn¡¯t.


    Everything changed when his channel blew up.


    The people his chat didn¡¯t like started getting harassed. James was constantly told he was too good for his non-famous friends and that he should hang out with other streamers.


    His friends slowly disappeared. They just, one by one, deleted their accounts and stopped responding to his messages. The one that hurt the most though, was Kieran, who disappeared even before his channel blew up.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    His chat never liked Kieran because he wasn¡¯t very good at the game. He could never cast his spells in time and missed frequently. His chat hadn¡¯t gotten to the point of harassing anyone at the time, but it was obvious they didn¡¯t want him there.


    During a quest one day, Kieran just disconnected and never logged back on, taking a key item with him. Kieran never gave any explanation or responded to any messages, and as more people also disappeared, it became known as pulling a Kieran to his chat.


    Even a year after his channel got big, the chat still hated Kieran even though they had never seen him, which only hurt James worse. Kilian had been James¡¯ best friend and was the only reason he had started playing this game.


    James preferred to play simulation games, rather than virtual reality ones. The key difference between the two being that virtual reality is just a helmet while simulations required a pod.


    Virtual reality helmets read and interact with the brain, while pods require actual movement. Most people can¡¯t feel any difference between the two, although they tend to tire faster in the pod. Most prefer using the helmet, since it takes up less room and is easier to use, but James feels uncomfortable using the helmets.


    The pods help him more fully immersed in the game, everything just feels more real when you¡¯re actually moving.


    Kieran used a helmet, and not many games incorporate both systems, which is why they started playing New World, which does support both systems.


    Years later, Kieran¡¯s disappearance still hurts.


    Most of the friends James had when he first started the game have quit, and of the ones still playing, only a couple still talk to him.


    One day, James received an email that made him look at things a little differently. It explained why Kieran had stopped playing, that he hadn¡¯t just run away.


    Kieran had been sick for a long time, and it had only been getting worse. The doctors couldn¡¯t do anything, Kieran was growing weaker and weaker. Eventually he couldn¡¯t even get out of bed and spent most of his day in vr.


    One day, his heart just stopped while playing vr.


    Devastated by the news, James stopped took a vacation from streaming.


    James began wondering what happened to everyone else. Were they doing alright? Did David ever ask Alex out? Did Rob ever open that bar?


    James determined to find out.