《Mortal's Game (Gods Online)》 0.1 The owner of Jupiter Enterprises lounged on a comfortable beach chair on the deck of one of his many Mediterranean mansions. This outrageously wealthy and powerful person was currently¡­ hiding. His wife had caught him checking out one of the nymph servants. No matter how many times he argued that he had simply asked for her to look on the floor for his car keys, she never believed him. The fact he had never bothered learning to drive didn¡¯t help his case. ¡°My lord, your daughter is here to see you.¡± He startled. How the blazes did she find me! Standing a few meters away is his secretary, servant, tailor, analysist, advisor, tactician, bodyguard¡­ daughter Athena. He stared at her for a moment trying to work out how she had located him but gave up. She was too clever for her own good. ¡°Which one?¡±, he replied gruffly. ¡°Artemis I believe but it may be Diana, I can never tell them apart. Her personality doesn¡¯t change between iterations unlike most of us.¡± Ouch that was a sore spot for her. Athena didn¡¯t particularly like her Minerva iteration. ¡°Let her join me¡±, he said slightly eager. He had been sitting alone for the entire afternoon. Completely out of character for the party enthusiast.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. He looked up as she sat down beside him. She had an excited glint in her eye which was interesting. Other than that she looked the same wearing her usual black dress and silver jewelry. She spent most of her time overseeing Hunter Corp. A subisidiary of Jupiter Enterprises. Nothing to be excited about so he was curious. ¡°So¡­ Whats up?¡± he asked her. ¡°We¡¯ve made something pretty awesome.¡± She smirked. ¡°Awesome? Who¡¯s we?¡± he asked. ¡°Umm Hephaestus, Morpheus, Your father and grandmother.¡± ¡°Gaea¡¯s involved!?¡±, I asked shocked. What exactly have they made¡­ ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask me to get involved?¡± And I can¡¯t believe they managed to wake Morpheus up! She cringed. ¡°Well your power wouldn¡¯t have helped¡­.¡± ¡°So why are you here?¡±, I asked somewhat grumpily. Nobody likes to be left out. ¡°We need your permission to go ahead with our creation¡±, she smiled. She flashed the deadly puppy dog eyes at me. But every father gains a hardened soul to that particular attack. ¡°What exactly is this creation?¡±, I ask sternly. But kind of curious. Anything that involves someone as powerful as grandmother is nothing to laugh at. She smiles at me, ¡°What¡¯s your opinion on video games?¡±. My eyes widened. 1.01 Chapter 1 Michaels awoke in alarm. He frantically rushed out of his room and into his en suite bathroom. Emptying his bladder he let out a long sigh of relief. Leaving the bathroom he was met by¡­ ¡°Good afternoon Michael!¡± said a disembodied voice. When Jenkins was first installed it had scared the bejeebers out of him but now he was sort of used to it. ¡°Good afternoon Jenkins¡±, he calmly replied. ¡°Any emails or phone calls while I was asleep?¡± ¡°There were 7 emails 4 of which is categorized as spam The other three are from Daniel Estrisden, Samuel Carlson and a notification from Jupiter Enterprises, 2 phone calls from Sara Estrisden and a text from Annabeth Estrisden.¡± Michael passed back through his bedroom subconsciously avoiding the clothes strewn across the floor. He mused on what his family wanted, the email from his father was probably sent by his secretary. His father never contacted him directly. Hmmm 2 phone calls from his mother was not a good sign. Perhaps the text from his sister is to warn him that his mother plans to call him?... Why he received a notification from his father¡¯s work he had no idea. Seeing the trash left over from the party the night before in the lounge and bar area as he walked towards his study he paused and¡­ ¡°Jenkins?¡± ¡°Yes, sir¡± ¡°Send the usual email to ¡®Mary¡¯s cleaning service¡¯.¡± His stomach rumbled. Seems like he missed lunch. ¡°Jenkins order choice designation 4 from the ¡®Red Dragon Chinese Restaurant¡¯¡±. A few seconds passed and while waited he sat down in his chair opposite his computer.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Accomplished, sir¡­ You have received two new emails. Red Dragon Chinese Restaurant order confirmation and Mary¡¯s cleaning service reply.¡± ¡°Thanks, Jenkins¡± Moving his mouse to turn on the screen Michael proceed to type in his password and log in. From there he clicked the internet browser and then to his email account. Okay, delete the order confirmation it will arrive when it arrives. Mary¡¯s cleaning service: ¡°Hello, Mr. Estrisden our cleaners shall arrive at 15:30pm. As you have yet to provide a key for our cleaners to use it is required that you be present. If 15:30 is not suitable please reply and state a suitable time.¡± Huh seems Mary has become more professional last time I emailed her I got ¡®be there soon¡¯. 1530 isn¡¯t bad I¡¯ll just hide in here while they clean up the travesty which is my lounge. Okay next, Samuel Carlson: ¡°Hey BROOO! Sweet party! Now about that wall no matter what anyone says it totally wasn¡¯t might fault Someone pushed me! Well anyway, can¡¯t wait for the next party catch yah then.¡± Who the fuck is Samuel Carlson!... Okay I¡¯ll check my walls after this. Hmmm now fathers turn: ¡°Dinner tomorrow. 6pm don¡¯t be late.¡± Charming as always perhaps he wrote it himself? His secretary¡¯s usually make him sound nicer than he is by making his orders sound like requests¡­ Can¡¯t wait for dinner. ¡°Jenkins. Set reminder for 4pm tomorrow ¡®dinner with parents¡¯.¡± ¡°Yes, sir¡± Now that¡¯s done he can look into what ¡®Jupiter Enterprises¡¯ wants: ¡°Your order of the Gods Online capsule will on Wednesday the 17th of July (2 days away) please ensure that you are present for this delivery. The VRMMORPG game ¡®Gods Online will be preinstalled and it will be ready to play at 23:00 your time on Friday the 19th of July before then the character creation service will be open.¡± My order of what¡­? 1.02 Chapter 2 (Owner of Jupiter Enterprises POV) ¡°So what¡¯s the deal with this competition you¡¯re running?¡±, I asked Artemis beside me. I learnt that she had been heavily involved in the business aspect of this ¡®Gods Online¡¯ ensuring that the capsule past safety checks and that Jupiter Enterprise would ¡®mortalise¡¯ the process making it appear that the game and capsule were developed and that the capsule didn¡¯t just materialize in the warehouses ready for delivery. Probably the most mind numbing and tedious process. The fact she was willing to do it showed that she was excited for the release. Which is¡­ soon. They really waited a while before informing me. Artemis flashed me a dazzling smile. ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s pretty simple. We as gods place a small part of our divinity into the game world. In the game we appear as gods which players and npc¡¯s alike pray to. The competition is to see who can gain the most experience. And similarly to player¡¯s experience represents potential power.¡±, She grinned at me. I really hoped she had everything thought out. ¡°And how do we gain¡­ experience?¡±, I question her. ¡°Well there are fundamentally 3 ways for us to gain experience. Through prayer, through sacrifices and through monetary donations. Although the amount of experience gained has a lot of variables.¡± ¡°Sacrifices?¡±, I asked her quizzically. I haven¡¯t had something sacrificed to me in a long, long time. ¡°Players can devote monster kills to their deity in return for faith and some assistance with the kill. The god then decides if they wish to take the monster drop or a percentage of the experience.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°So why do the players choose to pray to us. In these sort of games only the priest and paladin classes pray to the gods. The rest only give cursory notice.¡± ¡°The simplest way is to grant unique abilities, quest and weapons to our followers. Pretty much meaning if a player doesn¡¯t actively follow a deity then that player would miss out. What do you think?¡± ¡°Smart¡±, I reply smiling at her wide eyes. If it is as she says, then this could prove to be a fierce competition. I better get planning my faiths ability trees. Makes me even more annoyed that she¡¯s delayed telling me. ¡°How is this going to be regulated, what¡¯s to cheating?¡±, I ask the obvious questions and I can tell that she¡¯s ready for it. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to cheat. The game world mechanics ensure that we can only use the experience available to us and said experience is constantly spent on improve and strengthening our followers. And nobody would be pleased if a god somehow started to cheat. It could possibly break the world and force us to abandon the project on top of that.¡± ¡°Which would be aggravating.¡± And painful¡­ for the culprit. Very painful. ¡°So which of our fine gods and goddesses are going to be competing¡±, I ask curious. ¡°Pretty much everyone. Some of the truly minor gods and goddesses are going to wander the game world granting quests and they will have hidden shrines which can grant additional bonus abilities.¡± ¡°By everyone¡­. You mean¡± ¡°Most of the Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Norse gods are involved.¡± And as if anticipating my next question. ¡°Our Greek and Roman iterations are separate. You will understand when you see the available map.¡± ¡°What about the Norse and Egyptian gods?¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t available to players at the start. They will become accessible once new races and areas are discovered. It was a long argument but as the brains behind the operation I put my foot down.¡±, she says while giving me a dainty little smile. I guess that if I want to win I need to put in a little study time¡­ 1.03 Chapter 3 Michael Estrisden (POV) It took a moment to find the ¡®Gods Online¡¯ website. The ¡®Gods Online¡¯ site was an offshoot of Jupiter Enterprises main site. The site was rather bare. There were 5 tabs on the top of the screen. Home (which he was in now), About, News and Media, Forums and Pre-Order. Home had 2 trailers, well more accurately a trailer and an interview with one of the developers. He figured he may as well see what he was getting into. Going full screen and making sure the resolution was 1080p he sat back to watch the trailer. Which was only 25 seconds long¡­ The first thing he realized was the camera was in a first person perspective. The second was that the graphics were ridiculously good. The cameraman/player was in dense forest. He was holding a nocked bow and seemed to be moving forward painfully slowly. Reaching a bush, the player peeled it back revealing¡­ an empty clearing. Well that was anti climatic but Michael guessed what was about to happen. He had watched the Jurassic Park movies after all. The player heard something and started to turn. Michael paused the video and reset it at where the player peeled back the bush. Raising the volume of his speakers he clicked play. Now he could hear a growl and really muffed steps coming from somewhere behind to the right of the player. Or that¡¯s what his speakers suggested anyway. The player abruptly turned to his right. Frantically swinging his bow around to face whatever Michael heard. The player got a half second glimpse at the jaws of a large feline before the screen went black. Cue dramatic Music:Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Join us in Gods Online¡± ¡°Damn that would give me a heart attack if that was me¡±. Well anyway it seems like this game is going to be awesome. Still can¡¯t believe this game is coming out though. Even if I spent most of my time either drinking or working on making Jenkins more useful, he probably should have still heard something¡­ He stood abruptly. Although he wanted to watch the next trailer pretty badly. He was making an executive decision. He needed to check his phone to find out why Sara was texting him. Furthermore, (and more importantly) he had to brush his teeth and probably have a shower. Fundamentally, brushing his teeth. He felt like he had eaten something seriously bad. Never mind quick and easy fix. Stretching and yawning he walked back through the house. He froze, his eyes widened. ¡°Fucking Samuel Carlson!¡± There was a massive crack in a wall in his lounge. ¡°How the fuck did he even manage that?¡± Breathing heavily, he closed his eyes and gave himself a moment where he wasn¡¯t looking at a massive crack in his wall. ¡°Who do I even need to call to get this fixed?¡± I¡¯ll ask father¡¯s secretary. He always knows what to do. With that decided and making a sub-conscious note to punch Samuel Carlson next time he saw him. (Even if he had no idea who the fuck he was) Michael walked into his bedroom. Searching through the pair of jeans he wore last night. Finding his phone. Realizing it was out of battery. Plugging it in. Acknowledging that it would take a few minutes he decided that washing up was his best bet. So: Stripping and grabbing the towel behind his door. He entered the bathroom. 1.04 Chapter 4 Michael Estrisden POV ¡°So what can you tell us about Gods Online?¡±. The (extremely pretty) developer replied, ¡°We had a talk a bit earlier on what we wanted released to the public. It¡¯s quite hard to find the right balance. We want to entice players but at the same time we don¡¯t want to ruin the learning experience.¡± She waited a moment. (probably just to annoy the viewer) She continued, ¡°What we decided is that we are willing to give a brief overview on character creation and the available map, which is on the website.¡± The interviewer, ¡°Well I¡¯m eager to know more.¡± She smiled, ¡°On release there is only going to be the Human race available to the players¡­ but there are 4 cultural locations to choose from. We have the Vikingesque Barbarians in the North, there are the Imperials, those from the Kingdoms and then there are the Sand people, Desert dwellers in the South. Each choice has different attainable skills and abilities. With each having advantages and disadvantages.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. (The interviewer) ¡°Although I¡¯m intrigued with the setting you¡¯ve suggested won¡¯t players be annoyed at having limited choices early on?¡± She smirked, ¡°Our intention is to ensure that players have something to search for. A reason to explore the world. It also guarantees that the world grows with the player base. There will be an estimated 500,000 players in game upon launch. That may sound like a lot but the world is massive. This way the players stay connected but when the player base grows people will start to look outwards and find new challenges.¡± ¡°Anything else you can tell us about Character Creation?¡±. She replied, ¡°The player will look like the best version of themselves.¡± The interviewer (sounds confused), ¡°What do you mean¡± She stood up, ¡°And that¡¯s all we have time for today.¡± She flashes a grin and the video ends. ___________________ Man she could have at least answered the question¡­ Remembering his phone on charge Michael went back to his bedroom and flicked on the screen. From Annabeth Estrisden: ¡°Come see me before dinner tomorrow! :D¡± I wonder what she wants. Replied, ¡°K Cya tomorrow¡± There was a buzz from the intercom, ¡°Mr Estrisden, there is a delivery for you from Red Dragon do you want me to send it up?¡± Seems like its lunch time¡­ or is it dinner. Whatever I¡¯m hungry. 1.05 Chapter 5 Michael Estrisden POV (Tuesday 1630ish) Exiting the lift Michael nodded to the security guard behind his desk. From there he exited the apartment complex and a few seconds later entered the back seat of a black SUV. Within moments the car entered the traffic. It was all very organized and Michael took a moment to feel awesome. That feeling dissipated by the time the car hit the fourth red light in a row. His family home was about half an hour from the city center. During the wait he read the forums tab on ¡®Gods Online¡¯ website through his tablet. It seemed Gods Online appeared without warning about a month ago. From there its popularity quickly rose. A resounding theme was one of surprise, it seemed nobody had heard of the game before the trailer suddenly came out. The very idea of a VR game with such high graphics was unfeasible. That was until ¡®Gods Online¡¯ arrived. Another common theme was outcry at the exorbitant price of the capsule. It was around $3499.99 for pre-order. With the capsule came the game, with a 6-month free subscription. Michael was rather sympathetic to those that couldn¡¯t afford the price. Perhaps if they had longer than a month to save up it would be different. Thankfully, (for those who couldn¡¯t afford it) Jupiter Enterprises declared that in the following months the capsule would reduce in price. If the forums were anything to go on. There were hundreds of thousands of people waiting for the price to drop. If not more. Michael really had no idea how he had failed to hear of the game until the email yesterday. The games advertisements really seemed to be everywhere. He had passed at least three billboards advertising it while passing through the city.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. There was also a massive argument on which territory would be the best place to start. Michael really found it confusing. There was almost no information on the territories other than their name and what kind of territory they are. The Vikingesque territory was a kingdom, the Kingdoms were a mix of cultures, The Empire seemed to resemble the Roman Empire, it was suggested that the Sand people were tribal in nature but like the rest very little was known about them. Whether they even had cities was unknown. Michael figured he¡¯d make a spontaneous decision when he was in character creation. Perhaps there would be more info there. The SUV pulled into an exit on the motorway and realizing he was nearing home he turned off the tablet. Michael was curious about what his father and sister wanted. Especially since both seemed to think it was important enough to talk in person. Though likely his sister just wanted something. She would be better able to put her wide eyes to greater success face to face. Although his father was intimidating he was far more anxious about his mother. He had yet to return his mother¡¯s calls. She wouldn¡¯t be pleased. He had spent last night racking his brain on what he may have done to spark a phone call. If he knew he could have produced a feasible excuse. Unfortunately, this plan was going to backfire as he no idea what he had done wrong. Heading down the long driveway into his family¡¯s property proper. He took a moment to admire this picturesque garden which was so near the center of the city. The house proper was separated into several different buildings. From a library to swimming pool there was quite a variety. The main house was three floors tall and while roomy, Michael had always wondered why it wasn¡¯t bigger. As the car at the closest point to the house Michael thanked the nameless driver and exited the vehicle. With a heavy sigh Michael knocked on the thick door. 1.06 Chapter 6 Entering the house Michael gave a nod of acknowledgement towards the Butler/castellan of the property. Arthur gave one of the trademark bows in his repertoire. It was the welcome bow, he also had a sarcastic bow, you¡¯re an idiot bow, I¡¯m going to tell your parents as soon as I leave this room bow and the rarest of all and one which filled Michaels heart with pride, the that¡¯s a surprisingly good idea bow. Leaving Arthur and his bows behind him he travelled up a flight of stairs and then followed the corridor to the very end. Opening this final door, he was greeted by: A painting of himself with rabbit ears, a top hat while carrying a fancy china cup. ¡°What the hell is that monstrosity?!¡± His little sister¡¯s eyes widened, tears literally started to form around her eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t *sniff* like it?¡± Michael could only stare in horror at the monster which he had a hand in creating. ¡°It¡¯s actually¡­ really quite excellent. I was just err surprised that¡¯s all¡± he answered swiftly. Trying to avoid eye contact. His sister suddenly let out a snort of laughter. ¡°You¡­ *snort* should have seen your face! I should probably say that I was bored one day and I figured I¡¯d give it to you as joke for your birthday.¡± ¡°But¡­ Rabbit ears? Really!?¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°You looked kind of cute if I don¡¯t say so myself.¡± Michael could only look upon her with horror. Trying to switch topics he asked: ¡°So what¡¯s so important that we had to speak face to face?¡± His sister suddenly appeared shy. (Damn she¡¯s a good actress.) ¡°Well it¡¯s kind of embarrassing really¡­¡±, she said shyly. Michael just gave her the look. You know the ¡®get to the fucking point Anna look¡¯, he had perfected it over the years. Annabeth suddenly appeared serious. This was business. ¡°Well there¡¯s a party on Thursday¡­ but Mum-wants-you there.¡± That last part was spoken incredibly fast but it was lost upon Michael. He was stuck on the ¡®party¡¯. My cute little anti-social nerdy annoyingly unknowingly beautiful na?ve sister is going to a party. He was frozen in horror with a tinge of pride that she was finally growing up. Just to reconfirm: ¡°Sorry I think I misheard did you say you are going to a party?¡± ¡°Well¡­ yeah¡­ but only if you come.¡± Michael asked her quizzically, ¡°Umm why do I have to be there.¡± Annabeth snorted grumpily, ¡°Mother said the only way I have permission to go is if you chaperone me. She believes that unsupervised I could get into trouble and or embarrass the family.¡± (I wonder if father will notice if one of his swords go missing) Nobody is getting near my sister! Hmm this is probably why mothers been calling. I¡¯m not in trouble? Smiling to himself at the image of him swinging his sword at anyone that approached his sister at the party. ¡°Michael you still there?¡±, Annabeth asked worriedly. ¡°Oh sorry was just pondering. I¡¯ll speak to mother don¡¯t you worry. We can talk after dinner, right now I have to go see father.¡± And with a last cheerful smile he walked out the room. Moments later: ¡°You don¡¯t happen to know where he is do you?¡± Annabeth grinned, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s at¡­ the ¡®Arena¡¯¡± Michaels eyes widened in horror. 1.07 Chapter 7 After walking travelling down the stairs. Michael slipped out the patio doors and followed a path to his father¡¯s dojo. A while ago, Michael must have been 11 or 12 at the time, his father suddenly decided to have a dojo built. Being rich and pompous normal sports weren¡¯t good enough. Oh yes! It wasn¡¯t golf, cycling or even boxing for his father. Father must have spent a fortune on personal trainers teaching him fencing and various martial arts. Being smart, Michael avoided the place like the plague. Of course when his father wasn¡¯t there Anna and he had enjoyed wildly swinging blunt swords at each other. Smiling faintly Michael remembered getting thwacked on the head by Anna after Arthur distracted him by entering the dojo. (It was a terrible moment to get ¡®caught in the act¡¯). Upon learning that he was playing with his swords father swiftly signed him up for instruction in the blade. (Honestly Michael was surprised it took this long. After spending a fortune to have the building built most parents would ensure it was put to good use. But that¡¯s his father 3 years later and suddenly he was signed up.) This led to a rigorous year where ¡®Master¡¯ Cao decided to whip the pretty rich boy into shape. (If you can¡¯t teach the father to stop being a stuck up workaholic perhaps you can teach the next generation.) Now how it became the dreaded ¡®Arena¡¯ this was where his father came to ¡®test¡¯ how much he was improving. Pretty much he would appear every now and again and duel he or Anna. Generally, he appeared when they wanted something. (¡°Mother can I get this new video game?¡± -a wild father has appeared- ¡°Come with me¡­.¡±) That was pretty much it. If they didn¡¯t win they never got what the desired and when you¡¯re surrounded by rich friends its socially awkward when somebody doesn¡¯t have something. For Anna and he these challenges were both terrifying and stressful. To them they ¡®needed¡¯ these items and if they had to cut down their own father in a swordfight¡­ (Obviously they rarely won, their father had been training for years beforehand, furthermore, he was more diligent in his training.) Entering the dojo Michael suppressed a shudder, he quickly saw his father practicing various stances. He recognized a couple from his own training. His father was alone. (If you discount the 2 bodyguards on opposite corners of the room.) ¡°Grab a sword and armor,¡± his father stated once he drew near. Michael quickly moved to the sword rack. He chose a dueling longsword. (From what he learnt battle longswords were different. Don¡¯t ask him how.) And yes, longsword. His father decided that real men use real swords, not rapiers or foils. Michael prepared mentally for the soon to arrive painful thwack. After putting on the weird armor which was all white. (It was a sweat inducing 45 seconds as he rushed in an effort to not keep his father waiting) Without speaking Michael walked until he was on the line. 5 meters from father. The first match was a short bout. Michael swung wildly completely forgetting his training and received a painful strike to the ribs in return after his sword was deflected wide. ¡°Do better¡±, his father stated.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The second match was 15 seconds long. Michael played defensive. No more wild swings for him no siree. It ended when Michael went for what he perceived as an opening. His father had stepped wide of the swing. Another painful hit, this time to the left shoulder. ¡°Once More¡± This time the match was a tie. Wanting to win Michael focused on the battle. He circled his father occasionally exchanging strikes. Strike, step back, parry and continue circling. It lasted for around 20 seconds. Michael avoided risks. (He really didn¡¯t want to be hit again) As the bout dragged on Michael began to get tired. He had avoided the gym for the last month or 2 and now his ribs would pay the price. Realizing this Michael rushed in switching from stance to stance in an effort to find an opening in his fathers defence. Suddenly he saw it. Switching stance once more and launching an all out attack he managed to hit a satisfying strike on his father¡¯s ribs. The satisfaction disappeared when he felt the hit on his right shoulder which came milliseconds later. ¡°Good fight, work out more,¡± his father said. His father entered the changing room (which had been checked by a bodyguard moments before). Meanwhile Michael returned the swords to the rack and removed the armor. Taking a seat on a bench he waited for his father to come out. Arthur suddenly entered and quietly placed 2 glasses of iced water on the bench beside him. ¡°Dinner soon¡± and then he was gone. Michaels father reappeared after 3 or so minutes. Michaels glass was near empty. Father sat quietly on the bench drinking from his glass. Michael refused to be the first to break the silence. ¡°I need you to play that game¡±, father suddenly said. ¡°umm, why?¡± he replied. ¡°Because its impossible.¡± ¡°Continue¡± ¡°It never existed until a month ago. As CEO I know all major developments and investments made by the company but suddenly this capsule appears. The owner suddenly, after decades of ignoring the company appeared and informed us of ¡®Gods Online¡¯¡±. ¡°But¡­ how could it not exist.¡± ¡°Well on paper it exists and to pretty much anyone it could have existed for years without them learning of it but¡­¡± ¡°To you its suddenly appeared.¡± ¡°Yes, the files were suddenly added. Jupiter Enterprises suddenly owns a company I¡¯ve never heard of. I¡¯m fairly certain Hunter Corp is behind it. An independent subsidiary run by some family relation of the owner. If you¡¯ve watched any interviews you¡¯ve probably seen her¡­ Artemis Hunter CEO of Hunter Corp a private security firm and a developer behind ¡®Gods Online¡¯. ¡°Interesting¡­ but I don¡¯t understand what you want me to do.¡± ¡°Just play the game and let me know what it is like. Jupiter Enterprises is putting a lot of money and its reputation on this and I can¡¯t afford to fail. Especially over some stupid game.¡± ¡°If it works Jupiter Enterprises will be making a lot of money.¡± ¡°It already has but reputation is sometimes more important than money. It needs to work and nobody understands the science behind it and nobody will explain it. Even to me the CEO. Anyway we can talk after dinner.¡± ¡°Oh yes Arthur said it was soon.¡± ¡°Come¡± father stood up and left the dojo. 1.08 Chapter 8 Michael Estrisden POV Dinner was as always fancy and kind of gross. Don¡¯t get me wrong everything tasted delicious. As in 5-star restaurant delicious. The problem was:
  1. It reminded him of home
And
  1. It tasted like the chef was trying too hard.
The funny thing is nobody in the family particularly liked this fancy small tasteful cuisine. One of the happiest he had seen his mother was when he stumbled upon her eating a burger. With her hands! That was a particularly nasty afternoon, it left him feeling dirty¡­. Well anyway, dinner was kind of quiet. Same old same old. Anna had a weird smirk on her face like she had caught onto a joke nobody else had. I didn¡¯t even want to know what was going on within her mind. Mother nibbled delicately on her dinner, perfect table manners as always. (You don¡¯t fool me mother!) Father is in a world of his own you wouldn¡¯t think he was at dinner with his family. The small talk revolved around the weather, mother¡¯s charities, Anna¡¯s end of year exams and who Michael had been spending his time away from his family with. All in all, it wasn¡¯t memorable but it ensured he stayed in his mother¡¯s good graces. A happy reminder of his childhood. I can¡¯t wait to go home. After dinner, his mother cornered him before he could make his escape. He had planned to spend 25 ¨C 30 minutes hanging with Annabeth. Give her an invitation to stay at his apartment whenever she was in town or wanted to escape the house. (Hopefully she never took him up on that offer)This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°You¡¯ve been ignoring my calls sweetie¡±, she smiled. (The smile terrified Michael) ¡°Well err¡­ umm¡±, he stuttered. She raised an eyebrow. ¡°To be honest I spent the entire time trying to work out what I did wrong¡± he said defeatedly. ¡°Have you?¡± ¡°Have I what?¡± ¡°Done something wrong?¡± she asked more amused than evil now. ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­ well I hope not. You know I hate disappointing you mother.¡± Sara Estrisden laughed a little. ¡°Yes you do. I make sure you do. Well I¡¯m sure your sister has told you by now. You are chaperoning her on Thursday.¡± ¡°She did mention it. Although I¡¯m not arguing I don¡¯t understand why you can¡¯t hire one of those professionals that escorted me when I went partying at her age.¡± (The professionals were pretty much a younger version of Arthur. Worst night ever.) ¡°Well we kind of want her to enjoy herself¡­ For you we wanted to make sure you didn¡¯t get into trouble.¡± She smirked. (That doesn¡¯t sound fair.) ¡°That hurts you know mother.¡± he gasped. While wiping fake tears. She laughed and pulled him into a brief hug. ¡°Goodnight Michael, get home safe.¡± she dismissed him. ¡°Goodnight mother¡±, he smiled thanful to be heading home. Walking through the main lobby, nodding to Arthur as he passed him. His phone beeped. ¡°I expect reports¡± ¨C Father. 1.09 Chapter 9 After waking on Wednesday morning Michael spent several hours working on Jenkins code. As a simulated intelligence Michael, could add interactions, orders and responses that kind of thing. Usually he just added takeaway order designations. Today though he was hoping to have Jenkins connect to his mobile phone while was in the game. This way Jenkins could inform him if there is someone on the intercom. If he receives emails. He could order food while in the game. Furthermore, Jenkins would also be able to inform him if the fire or any other alarms go off. He would hate to die because he was immersed in the game while the building burnt down around him. This all came about when Jupiter Enterprises released some images of the capsules with some information. An example of which is that the Jupiter phone and tablet platforms can connect to the capsule. To be fair Michael was just killing time. He was super excited about the capsules imminent arrival that he was just trying to keep himself busy. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t particularly accomplished at coding so the coding that would take some of his nerdy friend¡¯s half an hour or so, took Michael 3-4 hours with lots of trial an error. Michael preferred it this way. Although he had initially had a couple of clever fellows do the coding for him. He had soon realized that it was more fulfilling to do it himself. (It wasn¡¯t particularly difficult. The SI came with instructions for easy use.) Only when the coding became too complex did he have trouble and occasionally he was forced to call in a friend.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. When he was done, he grilled himself some sausages and had a simple sausage roll. He was curious to see whether the coding worked. Usually it would be simple to test but for this he would have to wait until the capsule arrived. Perhaps he would be forced to arrange a fire alarm test with the apartment block manager. Putting that to the back of his mind he drummed his fingers on the plate. He had received an email informing him that his capsule was on its way. He relaxed in his chair after informing Jenkins to shuffle his music playlist. It played quietly in the background. The intercom beeped. Jenkins spoke moments later informing him of said beep. ¡°Mister Estrisden¡±, said the man at the front desk. ¡°There is a delivery here from Jupiter Enterprises here for you.¡± (deskman was starting to sound excited he must have realized what the box was.) ¡°Shall I send them up?¡± Michael hopped out of the chair and hurried to the intercom. Composed himself. ¡°Yes, send them up.¡± 1.10 Chapter 10 Michael Estrisden (POV) There was something weird about the delivery men. It took me several minutes of quiet observation to work out what it was. They were too focused. Upon knocking and entering. (Easily maneuvering the man-sized box through the door, impressively professional). The leader asked, ¡°where do you want the capsule placed.¡± Michael had already decided on the larger of the two spare bedrooms and he said so. While leading the men to said bedroom. Well anyway they were too focused. They never looked around at his (very nice) apartment. Ignored the view of the harbor as they passed through the lounge. Upon arriving in the room, they worked swiftly. Removing the box from its packaging. The leader typed in a passcode and hand print on the side of the capsule. After that he beckoned me forth to create my own passcode and to imprint my hand. This started up the capsule and I could now hop in and launch the character creation.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. What was weird was that the men were not once distracted during their work. Even those that had nothing to do stood silently focused on the capsule. They were super observant. I could feel their eyes drilling into my back as I typed in my code and placed my hand on the scanner. Thankfully, the weird fellows left as quickly as they came. I chalked them up to being paid well and them not wanting to mess it up. Plugging in my phone I opened the capsule. It all looked super high tech. (and comfy) I could see the position my body was supposed to lie. Where the brain scanner thingies connected to my skull. Although I was worried about whatever process allowed my mind to go virtual in this capsule. I was far too eager to get into character creation to let that stop me. Lying down and pressing a button which automatically shut the capsules door. After it closed I repeated the line that were on the capsule information page. ¡°Startup Gods Online¡± 2.01 It felt like I was travelling in a car super-fast. A combination of g-force and motion sickness. Well that¡¯s what it felt like anyway. This feeling lasted a few seconds and when it was over I was facing a black screen. I had no body to move around in. It was a very disconcerting experience. For the next few seconds I began to get worried. Just when I was about to start panicking. -Synchronization Complete- As soon as the message appeared. I realized I now had a body. And it was naked¡­ After that the black disappeared. It was replaced by white marble with some gold decal. There were majestic pillars which held up the massive room. Overshadowing all this were the thrones. Each throne was massive. As in if there were people sitting on the throne he would only be able to touch their ankles. All in all, it was pretty much how I imagined the pantheon of the gods. The graphics were ridiculous! ¡°Well aren¡¯t you gorgeous!¡± called a chirpy voice behind me. Spinning around I realized that one of the thrones was occupied. As I gazed upon her, her appearance changed. Her face and body flickered. I thought I saw hints of crushes I had ''when I was younger. After a few moments, she molded into what I felt was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. You¡¯ve got to understand, she wasn¡¯t ¡®hot¡¯ she was beautiful. I could automatically tell that she didn¡¯t represent lust. Gazing upon her I felt adoration. I needed to protect her. I love her. And suddenly those feelings were gone. My mind was clear. ¡°Right back at you¡±, I smirked. Something about her made me cocky. She giggled cheerfully, ¡°well aren¡¯t you fun! The last guy that came through here was stuttering.¡± She stage whispered, ¡°He wasn¡¯t as good looking as you¡±. ¡°umm thanks¡­ Is this the character creation?¡± he replied. She pouted, ¡°Straight to business then?¡± He struggled to ignore the beauty in front of him. ¡°Please¡± Her cheerful appearance suddenly disappeared to be replaced by a stone-cold Ice queen. It was very dramatic. That was until she broke down giggling. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m the goddess Aphrodite and you are¡­¡± She stared off into the distance. ¡°Michael Estrisden. Pity you don¡¯t have a middle name. I find it far more dramatic when I say someone¡¯s full name¡±, she smirked. ¡°Moving on¡± ¡°First choose a name, I advise a normal sounding name. It would be terrible to be constantly introducing yourself as ¡®Noob Slayer¡¯. Also there are no numbers.
Choose a name
I had thought about this for the last few days. ¡°Aloys¡± (Alloy) Don''t ask me where I got it from.
Are you sure you wish to select ¡®Aloys¡¯? You must delete your character and start again to change your name.
¡°Yes¡± ¡°Aloys is a cute name.¡± Aphrodite smiled at me. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to look out for you in the game. Next up¡­¡± ¡°There are four races to choose from at this stage. I cannot provide you with any information other than what is on the website. Hopefully you have read what is on the website¡­¡± She left an opening for me to answer. ¡°I have¡± ¡°Good, okay please select one of the four options in front of you.¡± A screen appeared in front of him.
Barbarians Follow a mix of ¡®Norse¡¯ Gods and ¡®Greek¡¯ gods.
ImperialsUnauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Follows ¡®Roman¡¯ gods.
Kingdoms Follows ¡®Greek¡¯ gods.
Nomads Follows a mix of ¡®Roman¡¯ Gods and ¡®Egyptian¡¯ gods.
It¡¯s a pity there¡¯s no more information. (Other than that it now says Nomad not Sand People, perhaps a late change.) He assumed that the information would get updated after people start logging in. The company was obviously enjoying the whole secrecy factor. I came to a sudden realization. I looked back at Aphrodite to see her smirking. ¡°Which should I choose¡±, I asked. Hoping that I was right. She smirked. ¡°Why should I help?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ My charm?¡± Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. (Scarily similar to his mother yesterday) It almost made him gulp but he stayed composed. After a minute, long staring contest. Just when I was going to choose a random race¡­ ¡°Fine, you win. Just don¡¯t tell anyone I helped you. Maybe pray at one of my temples sometime¡­¡± She winked. ¡°Definitely,¡± I said eagerly. ¡°Okay, what type of character do you want to play?¡± ¡°Umm I was thinking archer swordsman with maybe a little magic.¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Well for a little magic it doesn¡¯t matter which race you choose. The archer and swordsman combo is bit more difficult.¡± I waited. ¡°You should choose Kingdoms or Nomad. The nomads have a racial skill which helps archery but long term it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡± I was curious about this racial skill. I was generally curious about the Nomads in general. But¡­ He didn¡¯t want to spawn in a desert. He had always hated sand at the beach and living in sand just seemed like an awful idea. The foods probably horrible. So, he chose Kingdoms. ¡°I choose Kingdoms¡± Aphrodite nodded. ¡°I hate sand too. Although, I look great in a bikini¡±. She winked again. ¡°I bet you do.¡± I smiled back. ¡°You got some more options to choose from. Each has advantages and disadvantages.¡±
Noble Part of the Aristocracy. You join a pre-existing house. Your reputation is dependent on the success of your house. Slots Remaining 527/1000
Merchant Business minded individuals. Your reputation is dependent on your wealth. How you gain this wealth, how you spend your wealth. Slots Remaining 249,993/250,000
Commoner The peasantry. Your reputation is dependent on your own achievements. Slots Remaining ¡Þ/ ¡Þ
I didn¡¯t like the sound of disadvantages. I could guess that although noble sounded good there would be a ton of repercussions. I could get by with just choosing commoner, it would probably be the simplest to play but¡­ It seemed noble is a one-off opportunity. The slots would be definitely be taken after the first wave of players. The fact there were still slots available was lucky. I must have been within the first 600 or so players to start. Looking up he saw 527 slots drop to 526. I looked at Aphrodite. She smile, ¡°I can¡¯t help you with this. All I can say is that there are clear advantages and disadvantages in the role you take up.¡± He chose noble. Aphrodite nodded. ¡°With your wealthy background you would probably be more comfortable as a noble.¡± Did she just call me a snob? I grinned. ¡°Is there anything else to do.¡±
Choose Name of House
What the hell, ¡°Estrisden¡±.
Are you sure you wish to select ¡®Estrisden¡¯? Upon selection, this house will be permanently part of the game. Even if you delete your character it shall remain.
¡°Yes¡± Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. ¡°Someone¡¯s proud of his money.¡± ¡°Well I just figured father would get a kick out of House Estrisden being part of the game¡­ maybe. She smirked. ¡°Anything else?¡±, I asked. ¡°Nope, that¡¯s us.¡± ¡°How about any last-minute advice?¡± ¡°Not really, just choose your deity wisely its important.¡± She gave me a last wink and the screen flashed black. I felt the whole G force, motion sickness for a moment until I awoke in my capsule. 2.02 2.2 He blinked and materialized within Morpheus¡¯ dreamscape. Arriving he analysed the throne room, the setting of the Gods Onlines Character creation, it was a tad dramatic. A vivid bright white marble and some super shiny gold. The unnaturalness of the colours was the only tell that this was a dreamscape not the true world. It was going to be one hell of a game. Lots of mortals will flock to unknowingly participate in the competition. Looking to a throne nearly opposite the one he sat on he stared into the eyes of a primordial. She wasn¡¯t truly a ¡®god¡¯ in the term child of the titans. Love is ancient, older than Death. Love was born when grandmother first gazed upon her creations. Although, it never truly developed though until it was granted to mortals. It was interesting that she chose to act as she did. Lovably annoying as always. ¡°You know why I¡¯m here¡±, he stated. ¡°It was an accident, promise. I got carried away flaunting my divinity. It¡¯s been a while since we could.¡± ¡°You almost enthralled him¡±, he stated again. Her eyes quivered. ¡°Sorry¡­¡±, she said softly.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Just be glad that he never realized. This is your only warning. The other deities won¡¯t be pleased if you ruin this game.¡± She nodded. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡± There was a moment of silence as he gazed upon her. The power in his eyes ensured that she realized his seriousness. After a moment, more he stood he smiling graciously. ¡°Anyway it¡¯s great to see you.¡± (he made a point of looking her up and down.) He moved in for a hug. Aphrodite giggled as they embraced, stepping away. ¡°I never truly realized how distant we had become. I haven¡¯t seen you in almost 50 years. Some gods even longer.¡± Zeus nodded, ¡°I know exactly how you feel. I personally haven¡¯t seen Hermes since he sailed from Britain in the 17th Century. (Of course with a little effort he could locate his divine signature and materialize next to him) This game will probably change all that. We will talk and make compromises as we all compete. Hopefully nobody takes it seriously when I tear down their temples. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy?¡± ¡°Oh it¡¯s been great; the whole movie Hollywood situation is awesome. I started a chain of businesses which catered to celebrities and models that want to look good.¡± That sounded like her. He nodded, ¡°Beautifying?¡± Aphrodite giggled, ¡°of course.¡± He stepped back, it was time to go. Another player was coming to this instance. Sitting back down on his throne. He dematerialized, leaving a strong smell of ozone in the air. A message. One he hoped she would heed. A few seconds after he was gone. ¡°Well that was a whoopsy¡±, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. 2.03 2.3 Climbing out of the capsule, Michael released a heavy breath. His laborious breath may make him appear exhausted but he wasn¡¯t tired. He was just feeling a tad overwhelmed. Lying spread-eagled on the spare rooms bed. He pondered the many factors contributing to the games ridiculous awesomeness. What truly confused him was Aphrodite, was she an AI? An incredibly well coded SI? Perhaps it was just an actress payed to play the role. The third option just seemed unfeasible though. There were far too many people constantly creating characters. No way they would have enough people to cover every single instance. Man, she was gorgeous though. He lay there for what seemed like hours. Although, it was more like 10 minutes. He was constantly going back over and analyzing every single moment. Damn I never got to check my appearance. What was it the developer said? Getting up he walked towards his laptop. ¡°Jenkins, what time is it?¡±, he asked. ¡°It is 12:47pm¡± was the reply. Michael halted mid-step. ¡°Man that seems weird. Although, all the novels all have the time dilation but it just didn¡¯t seem possible. I wonder how they did it¡­¡± He continued walking to the laptop. Keen to check the website. There weren¡¯t any updates on the main page of the website. It was only when he had the site open that he realized there were unlikely to be any, the character creation had practically just started after all. Perhaps there would be another interview tonight. Clicking on the video he remembered the developer discussing character creation in he skipped to the end. ¡°The player will look like the best version of themselves.¡± ¡°What do you me---¡± he halted the video. Interesting, I never truly noticed a difference. Although, there wasn¡¯t a mirror or anything. My body seemed the same. I didn¡¯t suddenly gain six pack abs like I had spent years working out at the gym. Perhaps he got an awesome hairstyle???? He clicked onto the forums tab. Automatically he noticed there was a new discussion thread labeled ¡®Character Creation Discussion¡¯. Okay there are only about 100 posts to look through¡­ Scrawling through it only took about 15 posts before he lost interest and the information seemed to repeat itself. When he was finally done, he rehashed the information in his mind. Most players said that they lost weight and gained height. Nobody knew how their face looked because there were no mirrors but most noticed that they got a haircut. Most were now thinking of getting said haircut in real-life. (cos it looks ¡®Dope) Everyone was confused about Aphrodite. Between those she talked to. (It seemed she never spoke to everyone) There were arguments over whether she was an AI or just cleverly coded. Of course, a few people suggest actresses but it was quickly shot down. Seems interesting. Of course, nobody had more information on the starting races or the starting locations so Michael soon lost interest. Leaning back on his chair Michael thought about ways he could pass the time¡­ 19:30 (ish) ¡°Jenkins¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Order designation number 7 at Vesuvius Restaurant.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Right away, sir¡± Michael waited for confirmation, a few moments later¡­ ¡°You have received an email from ¡®Vesuvius.com¡¯¡± ¡°Thank you, Jenkins¡± Michael smiled. Sitting casually on sofa in the lounge. Michael had a thought. Pulling out his phone he searched through his contacts until he found Arthur Henderson. It took a few moments as he didn¡¯t know Arthurs surname¡­ Well now he does. Text message: ¡°Arthur, would it be possible for one of fathers practice swords be sent over to my apartment? Would appreciate it. Thanks¡± Reply: ¡°Immediately, sir. I must inform you that optimal training parameters includes space which your apartment does not provide. Please be careful. I would hate for you to damage the furniture.¡± Michael snorted. Smarty-pants. Doesn¡¯t mention anything about hating the fact I might hurt myself. It didn¡¯t take long for the pizza to arrive and with it he decided to check on the ¡®Gods Online¡¯ website. Perhaps an interview had been released. When he refreshed the webpage he was pleasantly surprised to be right. Sitting back, taking a large bite out of a slice of pizza. He pressed play. It was the same developer as last time. (The ridiculously pretty one.) ¡°So what questions do you have for me today¡±, she asked. Interviewer, ¡°Well what information are you willing to part with.¡± ¡°While I am unwilling to discuss the game system, how it was created and the names of the people behind it. I am also unwilling to provide information on the game that hasn¡¯t been released yet. I am however prepared to discuss character creation.¡± ¡°Okay the first thing I want to say is that I was incredibly impressed with the graphics. I can¡¯t wait for the games release on Friday. What I want to ask is, why did you release the different social classes as a factor? Isn¡¯t it limiting to those who never get the opportunity to choose.¡± She smiled gently, ¡°It¡¯s a matter of variables, while the lack of choice is unfair to those who never got to choose. The fact is we wanted to create variety. There isn¡¯t any advantage. If anything, there are arguments that say that ¡®Commoner¡¯ is the easiest play style. The noble and merchant options create responsibility. A merchant has to look after a business. A noble must do what¡¯s best for their house. In comparison, a commoner simply does what is best for himself.¡± (Michael took another large bite of pizza) The interviewer seemed to struggle to hold himself back. Wanting to ask more questions but knowing that they wouldn¡¯t be answered. ¡°Sounds interesting, I¡¯m curious to see how that plays out. Last time we talked you mentioned that the player will look like the best version of themselves. Are you willing to go into more detail?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s simple.¡±, she smiled. ¡°The player is automatically made healthier. They lose weight, their skin is cleaner and smoother. In some cases, they can gain a few inches in height. They usually get their hair cut and styled. There are also some other changes like teeth being straightened and nails being trimmed. For some people the changes are big, for others it¡¯s hard to notice the difference. Anything else?¡± ¡°That¡¯s incredibly cool, I was wondering if you have any data from the character creation. Do you know how many spawned at each location?¡± ¡°I do. I even memorized it just in case you asked¡±, she smirked. ¡°Firstly, all the noble slots were taken. 153,253 out of 1,000,000 merchant slots were taken. And everyone else chose commoner. Location-wise. 136,271 chose Imperial. 148,204 chose Kingdom. 110,091 chose Barbarian. Therefore, 105,434 chose Nomad.¡± (Michael was impressed that she remembered all that. Wouldn¡¯t it have been easier just to write it all down.) ¡°Does that mean that all 500,000 of the pre-order capsules were delivered today? And that they all logged in?¡± ¡°Honestly we were just as surprised as you. If you think about the fact for this to be possible some of the players chose to have the capsules delivered in the middle of the night just so they could create their character at the same time as the people here. And yes, roughly everyone had logged in within an hour of receiving their capsule.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty amazing. It seems ¡®Gods Online¡¯ is going to have quite a dedicated player base.¡± The developer stood up. It seems she was going to cut another interview short. Michael groaned in frustration. He wanted to scream, ¡°Tell us what you know¡± but fortunately he didn¡¯t. It would have been embarrassing. She shook hands with the interviewer and walked off screen. Giving one last dazzling smile to the audience. 2.04 2.4 Thursday morning saw Michael back in his SUV. Leaving the house had been a tough decision but he had refused to spend another hour glancing longingly at the Gods Online Capsule. The car parked on the opposite side of the road to his destination. Michael nodded confirmation to the drivers questioning glance. Gathering up his bribes he grasped the plastic bag handles and exited the vehicle. Once the door closed and Michael had stepped away from the car the driver pulled out and went to get himself lunch. Michael checked both ways before crossing. The bribes he carried were light but he hoped they would be sufficient to soothe his conscious. Before entering he checked his surroundings noting the clouds indicating potential rain. Sighing and bracing himself Michael opened the door and entered. Before he adjusted his eyes to the indoor light a human cannonball struck him. With both arms and both legs wrapped around Michael the girl called out, ¡°Mikey!¡± For a worrying moment, Michael teetered off balance but luckily regained his balance. Stroking her head tentatively he reprimanded the girl, ¡°Isabel you know how I dislike being called Mikey.¡± Not perturbed in the slightest Isabel gazed up at him revealing a Cheshire grin. After a moment of matching his stare she released wild hold on him. On her own 2 feet Isabel bounced excitedly. Her gaze was firmly held by his bribes, hidden by the thin plastic they were tantalizingly out of reach. Pausing, Michael took the moment to truly look at the child front of him. She was truly adorable. Asian around 5-6 years old. Her face was cheeky with mischievous eyes. Long straight dark hair that reached down her back. This wasn¡¯t what drew Michael¡¯s attention. He saw the healthy look to her skin and hair. Her jeans and sweater were clean and looked well kept. Overall she looked happy and healthy. Which was good. Michael truly worried about her between visits. Smiling he took her grasping hand in his free one. Together they walked deeper into the orphanage. Isabel sustaining a constant stream of chatter. They were met at the reception by Mother Junette. Before you ask she wasn¡¯t religious, for some reason she requested that as her title. At the time Michaels, now deceased, grandmother (the founder of Mary-Anne Orphanage) had commented on its oddness but the title had stuck. Mother Junette was beautiful in an intimidating sort of way. While she must have been in her late 40¡¯s by now she had aged rather well. Most importantly her age had never stopped Michael from admiring her figure. When she wasn¡¯t looking of course. Although, he was certain she had noticed once or twice. She smiled as she approached. ¡°Good Morning Michael, I¡¯m glad you came. Isabel has been bouncing off the walls since you informed us you were visiting today.¡± Michael felt a twinge in his consciousness. He should visit more. Shrugging it off he replied, ¡°It¡¯s good to be here, how have things been.¡± As a group, they began walking further into the building proper. ¡°It¡¯s been good just now but I worry about the older children in the next few weeks. It¡¯s the same every Summer, there is only so much to keep them occupied. The younger children go off to camp but the older ones are stuck underfoot. It¡¯s impossible for us to find them all jobs.¡± She sighed. Michael nodded conciliatory. Thankfully, he was saved from answering by the massive squeal which erupted from the dozen or so young children inside the downstairs games room. There were three games rooms delegated for the different age groups. The younger children were banned from the older kid¡¯s rooms unless otherwise invited. Which happened surprisingly often. Anyway, Michael beamed out at them and as they stopped what they were doing and began to come towards him he surrendered his presents *cough bribes*. Other than the dress he gave to Isabel (she was his favorite) Michael mostly gave toys away to the children. It didn¡¯t matter if they all got them they treated them as a collective. At some point everyone would get to play with them. He also handed off a smaller bag to Mother Junette. Inside were the latest console games. (For the older kids) He could hand them to them himself of course but he knew that wouldn¡¯t go down well. Although his family owned the orphanage and they were all fed, clothed and sheltered on his parents charity. There was a difference between knowing they gave you stuff and having someone practically your own age giving you charity. Everyone has their pride. Best if Mother Junette subtly adds the new games to the pile. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Michael spent a little time with each child. Isabel clung to him the entire and thankfully she accepted that she couldn¡¯t have all his attention. He asked each child how they were, mostly if tried to subtly find out if there were any problems. Mother Junette and her staff were extraordinary at keeping order and looking after the children but sometimes little things slipped under the radar. Though not truly critical he found out that 8-year-old Tom had lost a shoe in P.E and had been too embarrassed to tell the staff. Michael made a mental note to mention it to Mother Junette before he left. Once he had completed his circuit with the kids he sat with Isabel and watched ¡®Shrek¡¯ on DVD. Michael enjoyed it thoroughly. As Shrek concluded Michael gave Isabel a hug then headed up to say hello to the older kids. He joined Marc, David and Alica on the sofas in the top floor games room. They were chatting with ¡®Suits¡¯ on in the background. Of course, the topic of conversation was Gods Online. They talked with envy about the people that had pre-ordered the game. They knew without a doubt that they wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it. Eventually Michael mentioned that he had a capsule. While stricken with jealousy they demanded information on what the character creation had been like. They seemed disappointed that he didn¡¯t know anything more about the game than he did. After 45 minutes or so Michael begged off and headed back down the stairs. The questions had gotten ridiculous. They wanted to know everything down to the finest detail. On the way downstairs, he thought about buying some capsules for the orphanage. Only those 18+ would be able to play it but there were 4 of them that were 18 already including David, Alicia and Marc. Alonso was turning 18 later on in the Summer making 5. Lost in thought Michael didn¡¯t even notice when Isabel took her customary place on his arm. As they reached the reception he reached the decision that he would purchase them if there was a way for people to pay real money for items. It might be a good way for them to make some extra cash. Decided he began to head for the exit. He was met at the reception once more by Mother Junette. ¡°Tom needs new gym shoes,¡± he remembered. Mother Junette raised an eyebrow. Making Michael jealous. He wished he could do that. ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± she smiled. Drawing closer to the door he gave Isabel a last hug. Tentatively stroking her hair. Mother Junette surprised him. ¡°I hear you have that new game.¡± At his nod she continued, ¡°have you thought about which god you will worship.¡± Confused Michael simply shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean.¡± As far as he knew you didn¡¯t need to worship any gods. Why would he? This time it was Mother Junette who appeared confused, only momentarily then realization flashed across her face. Then annoyance. Then she smiled matronly once more, ¡°Well enjoy your game dear, have a nice evening.¡± Michael was a little dazed over the previous conversation as he got into the car. Then he shrugged it off. He had a party to get to. Michael sighed. Walking Isabel back inside the word ¡®whoops¡¯ flashed across the mind of the Queen of the Gods. 2.05 2.5 Michael never realized the true extent of ¡®Gods Online¡¯s¡¯ popularity until he was at his sister¡¯s party. In his vast experience party conversation was not centered around a video game. He talked a little with some of the party goers but it felt weird talking to Anna¡¯s friends. Especially, once they began hitting on him. He stayed sober the entire night, he had his fear of his mother¡¯s repercussions if he didn¡¯t. His sister didn¡¯t actually drink much either which was a relief. The party was generally just weird. They separated into groups then started talking about Gods Online. The 17 year old¡¯s moaned and whined about not being allowed to play it. While the 18 year old¡¯s most of which had the game. Gathered together to find out where everyone was spawning. Later in the night Eric¡¯s sister found him hiding in the kitchen. She wore a beautiful dress, conservative but elegant. She attracted far too many gazes for Michaels liking. The first thing she said was, ¡°I¡¯m going to need to buy that game.¡± She released a tiny twinge of revulsion at the idea of playing a video game. She was very school focused was his sister. She never used to be. Like him his sister had played when they were younger. Now she just wanted perfect grades while he tried to find adult things to do. Like manage his business. Well not anymore. Now he was hyped for Gods Online. ¡°Dads making me play it¡±, he replied. He patted her gently on the shoulder, commiserating, receiving death glares in the process. She looked up in surprise. ¡°Why?¡± Michael laughed slightly, ¡°he has his reasons I¡¯m sure,¡± Michael shrugged his shoulders in emphasis. ¡°You should ask dad to pre-order a capsule for your birthday. They¡¯ll be impossible to get their hands on for a while, if it turns out to be any good. I intend to ask mother to get 5 for Mary-Anne¡¯s.¡± Anna looked kind of curious. In that moment he realized that they had been heading towards the door. Stepping past someone¡¯s bodyguard she stated, ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered why you don¡¯t just adopt her.¡± ¡°Who?¡±, he asked knowing full well who she was talking about. Anna simply raised her eyebrows. Before saying, ¡°Its funny she has adopted you. Now you just have to adopt her.¡± Michael sighed, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to mother about it.¡± Ending the conversation. Once they were back in the car driving back to his parents place Annabeth asked him some questions about Gods Online. Turns out she had made an early exit because she was embarrassed that she didn¡¯t have a clue what they were talking about. After answering some of her questions she sat in a pondering silence. Michael enjoyed it. She left him with a hug. He waved to his mother from the car. Then the car started for his own home. He spent the drive perusing the internet searching for any new information. There wasn¡¯t any. All the new posts on the forum was conjecture. Frustrating as hell. Finally home he sent the driver off to pick up some dinner. Then headed up to his apartment. Once in his apartment he was struck with boredom. It was around midnight so he could have went to bed but he wasn¡¯t exactly tired. He was also hungry. Dinner should be here in around an hour, depending on what¡¯s open. Although late, most take-away restaurants should be open. Someone must feed the drunk party-goers. Eventually his eye was drawn to the spare bedroom containing the capsule. Then a thought struck him, curious he entered the spare bedroom. Typed in his code, placed his hand against the small screen next to the code keyboard. One of the lights next to the typed in code flashed green. Then the capsule opened. Lying in the now closed capsule he wondered whether this would work. It was possible that the game wouldn¡¯t launch but he was curious. And bored. Mostly bored. ¡°Startup Gods Online¡± There was the now familiar rush then suddenly he stood once more in the middle of the character creation area. He once again admired the graphics, was thinking of walking around but then he was interrupted.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Someone¡¯s keen¡± came a voice of amusement. Michael spun round and became face to face with Aphrodite. ¡°I missed you¡±, he smirked. Aphrodite laughed. It was glorious. Incredibly musical. She raised an eyebrow. (Damn he wished he could do that.) ¡°I was bored¡±, he continued. Aphrodite laughed once more. ¡°No doubt, anybody would be bored after a party like the one you just came from.¡± Realizing her mistake she swiped her hand and he forgot what she said. This time she said, ¡°Well how can I entertain you?¡± Followed by a distracting wink. ¡°I was wondering if you had a mirror¡± Aphrodite smirked, ¡°You¡¯re the first person to ask, its actually been kind of funny. Especially seeing how curious people were about how they looked.¡± This said she waved her hand and a full-sized mirror materialized hung on the column nearest Michael. Looking at himself Michael was kind of disappointed. He looked almost exactly the same. His hair was styled. (It was quite cool). There was also a slight beard. Where currently he was clean shaven, his character¡¯s beard made him look like he had forgotten to shave over the last few days. But. Instead of appearing unkempt, his character¡¯s was tidy and refined. (Cool) He appeared a few years older than he currently was which was fine by him. Curious at Michaels look of disappointment (and a little insulted), Aphrodite asked, ¡°So, what do you think?¡± Michael sighed then stated, ¡°It¡¯s kind of boring.¡± ¡°Boring?¡±, Aphrodite asked affronted. Noticing her expression Michael was quick to placate her. ¡°Well the hair style is awesome and the beard is cool but¡­¡± ¡°But what¡­?¡±, she asked. ¡°It¡¯s kind of boring, there¡¯s nothing to make me different than anyone else.¡± ¡°What would you want?¡±, she asked curious. ¡°I dunno¡­ Maybe a different hair colour or eye colour. Something that makes me stand out. It could be subtle but being special would make me feel better.¡±, he grinned. Aphrodite nodded to herself. Then stood unmoving for nearly a minute. Meanwhile Michael took a moment to inspect the room more closely. There wasn¡¯t much to see. Massive room. Massive columns. Massive thrones. White marble with golden decal. Then she was back. ¡°I¡¯ll think about adding something ¡®special¡¯ to your appearance. When you log into the game proper it should be there. Now, anything else?¡± ¡°Is there anything else to do?¡±, looking around at the rather boring room. (once you get used to its magnificence) Aphrodite smiled at him. The room flashed black then recreated itself. Almost like a slow-motion blink. Michael re-orientated himself. He was now standing on a deck. There was a brisk breeze and a slight chill. Which was not surprising seeing how it appeared he was on top of a mountain. The view was incredibly. From his angle he could see lush forests. There was a river flowing through the forest starting from the mountain then heading into the distance. It was incredible. It was fortunate he was in a game otherwise he would be flinching back from the sheer drop. Even so, he could feel his stomach doing belly flops. ¡°It¡¯s incredible isn¡¯t it.¡± Michael gave a start as he realized that Aphrodite was leaning against the banister beside him. She was human sized now. Exactly his height. Looking at her he found himself lost within her eyes. Then she bumped him with her shoulder, embarrassed he looked back down upon the forest below. After a few moments of silence. Feeling the cool mountain air. Aphrodite bumped him once more. ¡°Look¡± She pointed to their right. In the distance flew a bird. What made this bird incredible was its sheer size. Even from this far away it appeared massive. Michael felt excitement then the excitement gave way to a little bit of fear. There was no doubt in his mind that at some point he may have to fight a creature with a similar size. Then the excitement was back. Man this game is awesome. Aphrodite smiled but then said, ¡°You need to log out now. I¡¯ve notified the administrators that people could still log into the character creation area. You¡¯ll have to wait for the game to start proper like everyone else.¡± Michael nodded then confused he asked, ¡°How do you log out? In the character creation, you logged me out for me.¡± Embarrassed, Aphrodite replied, ¡°Simply will it. Just think that you want to log out. If you¡¯re having difficulties with that in game you can log out from your status screen. If you¡¯re in combat or somewhere with danger that¡¯s stops you from logging out but you still need to log out. You can will yourself to do an emergency log out. This kills your character but logs you out.¡± Michael tried it. -Log Out- The screen went black. He felt the weird movement then he was once again lying inside his capsule. 2.06 2.06 His late-night dinner consisted of burgers, fries and salad (the salad was barely touched) his driver and he sat and watched the news while digging into their meal. Michaels thoughts kept drifting off to his time spent with Aphrodite. Eventually he managed to gain some focus and after a reminder from Colin (his driver) he called his business manager. When Michael had finished high school he had average grades in everything but Art Design and History. Realizing that unlike his sister he was ill suited for the world of academia Michael decided to use his skills at design in his own business. Thus, he went into estate development. He would buy land and develop it. He would then with the advice of architects on retainer construct new properties. Occasionally, they would bank the land and save it for later. Starting his own business Michael soon realized that business management wasn¡¯t in his skill set. So, he hired fresh uni grad Melanie to do that for him. His next realization was that if you had money it was surprisingly easy to make more. Between he and Melanie they usually chose profitable areas to develop. All and all a successful business. In which Michael could relieve his boredom. Melanie for some reason enjoyed her side of the business. Making contacts and keeping an eye on their tenants. As his call rang straight through to voicemail Michael smacked his forehead at his stupidity. Ending the call Michael closed his eyes with a sigh. Glancing at Colin he was pleased to note that he looked equally sheepish. What kind of moron calls somebody at 2am. Feeling annoyed at himself he decided to call it a night. Colin sensing his mood gave his goodbyes and disappeared out the door. Friday morning (almost afternoon) found Michael bright and eager in his apartment. He had started his morning off with a jog around Old English Bay. Returning he had picked up fancy sandwiches from his usual bakery. Then arriving in his apartment, he had sent an email to Melanie. He had informed her that his schedule would become busier due to him working on a new project for his father. He had told her to email him if she came across anything that she couldn¡¯t handle. (He doubted there would be) A quick glance at Gods Online forums found that while discussions and arguments had gone rampant no new information had been released. Disappointed and a little bit smug that Aphrodite had shown him something everyone else would kill to see. Michael logged off his computer and decided to find something else to do. In the end, he spent the afternoon practicing his sword stances. After thoroughly stretching he finally decided to call and Annabeth and ask if she wished to have a friendly duel. She was willing. So around 5 o¡¯clock he was opposite Anna. Armored and armed they faced off eager competitive grins on both their faces. This time around she wielded a single falchion. When she was younger Anna tended to dual wield the weirdly shaped blades. Releasing a flurry of blows which Michael struggled to defend against. Unlike his near shoulder length longsword her blades were far shorter but no lesson painful when they struck.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. As soon as the bout began Eric danced back trying to give himself room. As he thought Anna at once stepped forward to close the distance. When she dual wielded her blade Michael would constantly have to readjust his stances to ensure that she wouldn¡¯t use one of her swords as leverage to send the other under his guard. Therefore, as if remembering their childhood matches Michael stepped backwards and set into a defensive guard. Fortunately, she only had one blade so after deflecting her blade to the side before she got within reach Michael found himself on the offensive. The greater reach of the longsword kept her safely at bay and eventually her blocks weakened enough for him to place a soft strike on her side. Breathing heavily after what was probably only a short match Michael watched glumly as Annabeth, carefully rubbing her side, swept over to the sword rack and picked up her secondary sword. Once again ready for the next bout Anna smirked at his heaving chest and started the next match. Like before she sped at him to close the distance. This time however Michael found himself on constant retreat. He was forced deflect numerous blows falling backwards or leaping to the side to avoid near strikes. Michael breathed heavily, sweat dripping down her brow simply analyzed his opponent. Forced backwards he waited for the inevitable. Annabeth fell into a pattern. While the pattern was dangerous, incredibly difficult to defend against Michael simply had to wait for his chance. Then he struck. Caught between stances she lost her balance as his two-handed swing impacted heavily on her blades. Losing her rhythm Michael was quick to take advantage. Moving straight into a thrust which gently tapped her chest guard. Displeased Annabeth went straight into a third match. Michael embarrassingly exhausted failed to defend against her new pattern. The match went: Strike! Strike! Strike! Ouch! Gingerly rubbing his side Michael avoided the vindictive expression on his sister¡¯s face. Not wanting to face her again now that she had her rhythm Michael suggested practicing their stances. As they moved from one martial arts stance to another she said, ¡°I¡¯m getting a capsule for my birthday. (In a month¡¯s time) According to father it will coincide with the second batch of capsules.¡± Michael nodded pleased and amused at Annabeth¡¯s disinterested expression. As her brother, he could tell that she wasn¡¯t as disinterest as she pretended. Within her was the little girl that used to beat or occasionally let him win at video games. Re-interest had sparked within her no doubt to the detriment of future God¡¯s Online players. He was certain she would spend the next month of her holidays practicing her sword skills in apreparation or interrogating him over the content. Michael was simply thankful that he was her brother. After their time in the dojo they had another family dinner. Michael too excited in anticipation of God¡¯s Online and found himself picking at his food. Even without any true information about the game he found himself making wild conjectures and rehashing what he had already seen. The amazing graphics, the realism, it was unbelievable and he would be playing it soon. His father wasn¡¯t home, no doubt working on the business side of God¡¯s Online. It was a big day for Jupiter Enterprises. 11pm would reveal the game to its players and possible buyers. As the meal progressed Michaels excitement was palpable. In return his sister shot him looks of jealousy. Straight after the meal hugging his mother and promising to call his sister after he finished playing. He bounded off to drive home. Tonight, he had a game to play. 3.01
3.01 ¡°Startup Gods Online¡± There was the familiar gut wrenching rush amongst the blackness before Michael was once again standing in a white marble hall. Although it was probably the same building but it was obviously a different room. There were no majestic columns or thrones. It was rather ordinary. Except for that is the doorway. It stood in the center of the room drawing the eye. A rectangular doorway. It was made of light. The center was golden and as it expanded outwards the light altered to sky blue. The outline of the doorway was a solid white. Instinctively Michael knew that he had to continue through the doorway to enter the game. Although incredibly eager Michael still took the time to look around. The room was unadorned. On opposite sides of the room, facing the edges of the light built doorway were two normal doors. They were built out of wood. Interestingly, they had no handles in which to open them and whether through knowledge given by the game or instinct he knew that they were locked. Realizing that he was dawdling Michael stepped forward towards the game entrance. Hesitating a moment before once against stepping forward and through. There was a flash of light and Michael became Aloys. In the game Aloys realized that he was within a carriage. It was rattling along. Incredibly uncomfortable. Every bump on the road sent shockwaves into him and his ass was beginning to ache. Glancing to his right and out of the nearest window gave him a view of a dirt road. Past the road was a thickly wooded forest. Behind him he could hear men talking through the carriages wooden paneling. Michael shook the impulse of sticking his head out like a dog to find out where they are and who was talking. He was seated quietly for a couple of minutes before anything happened.
-System Message- Welcome to Gods Online. This message is to give you some crucial information about the workings of the game. Firstly, there are three different kind of system messages. Orange is information about the game. Green is information that a denizen of the world would know. Blue is your character¡¯s information showing experience and status. Secondly, it is advised that you don¡¯t address the worlds denizens as NPC¡¯s. It may be subtle but you will lose reputation points with any local that hears those words. For the best gameplay experience treat the local¡¯s as real people with real desires. Also, this message is to inform you on how to open sections of the interface. Simply will a certain screen open by focusing or saying specific words. ¡°Status¡± ¨C Opens Status Page and character information. ¡°Inventory¡± ¨C Gives access to your inventory. Reveals a room to which you alone can see into. ¡°Retrieve [input name of item or picture it in your head]¡± ¨C Removes item from your inventory and places it in your hand or on the floor somewhere around you. ¡°Grimoire¡± ¨C List of known spells and spells seen. Only adds spells if you know the name of the spell and you have seen its effect. ¡°Bestiary¡± ¨C List of slain or seen monsters/animals. Only monsters/animals have been seen and you know the name of can be added to your bestiary. ¡°Identify¡± ¨C If you see a monster/animal or spell which is added to your bestiary or grimoire you can ¡°identify¡± its name and if known average level. ¡°Loot¡± ¨C Within range of slain enemies removes corpses and leaves loot. Only works if you have the requisite tools. ¡°Reputation¡± ¨C Shows your reputation with affiliated factions. "Quests" - Shows current quests ¡°Convert coinage¡±- If you have sufficient currency the game will convert copper coins into silver or silver into gold or gold into platinum. ¡°Party- Will open the Party Interface¡± ¡°Invite [Input name] to Party¡± ¨C Will invite a player to your party. Player has to be with 10 meters. ¡°Friends List¡± ¨C Opens Friends List interface ¡°Add [Input name] to Friends List¡± ¨C Adds friend to player to friends list providing the added player agrees. We hope that you enjoy the game, Jupiter Enterprises
After the sudden info dump Michael sat in silence for a few moments. He read and reread the screen before willing the screen to disappear. It was strange to get used to. Simply thinking something to happen then it would. To emphasis this Michael willed his ¡®status¡¯ page open and he was surprised when it opened.
Name: Michael Age: 21 Race: Human (Kingdom)Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
Location: Unknown Level: 1 Faction: House Estrisden
Distributable Status Points: 5 Allegiance: Unchosen
Hitpoints: 50/50 Stamina: 50/50
Health Regeneration: 5/s Stamina Regeneration: 2.5
Vitality: 5 Mana: 50/50
Strength: 5 Mana Regeneration: 0.25/s
Agility: 5 Intelligence: 5
Dexterity: 5 Wisdom: 5
Luck: 5 Charm: 15
Bonus: Blessing of Aphrodite - ¡°You¡¯re Special¡± = +10 Charm
It took a moment for Michael to take in the new information but it was truly quite simple. He wasn¡¯t quite sure which stats effected what but it wouldn¡¯t be hard to work out. He guessed that except for the +10 charm he had the same stats as everyone else. He smirked at the ¡°You¡¯re Special¡± bonus and one thing for certain was he wasn¡¯t complaining. He wondered if there would also be a corresponding change in his appearance. She had said that she would look into it after all. Noticing that he had 5 distributable points Michael took the time to apply them. Straight off the bat Michael felt the need that he had to start moving in the direction that he wanted his character to go. He had stated to Aphrodite that he wanted to play a ranger. Being able to move between bow and sword. As a lone player hunting monsters appealed to Michaels although he knew he didn¡¯t have the necessary hunting skills. He intended to learn them. Now where should he designate his points. After several moments of deliberation Michael finally had to face the truth. The problem was he truly had no idea how to progress and had to acknowledge that 1 level wasn¡¯t really going to make a difference on the character. A ranger was an incredibly diverse role and if he had his way he would probably learn a little magic at some point. Realizing that there would probably be no noticeable difference. He decided to spread the points around. He increased vitality by 1, Strength by 1, dexterity by 1, agility by 1 and luck by 1. Luck seemed like an odd choice but Michael had decided that his first few levels would be devoted to getting every stat up to 10. He felt that would be a good base in which to start his character from. Result: 2.75 + Hp = 10 x Vitality HP regen = Vitality / 10 Stamina regen = 0.25 ag + 0.25 vit Mana = 10 x intelligence Mana regen = 0.05 x intelligence Staminia = 7.5 x vitality + 2.5 x agility
Name: Michael Age: 21 Race: Human (Kingdom)
Location: Unknown Level: 1 Faction: House Estrisden
Distributable Status Points: 0 Allegiance: Unchosen
Hitpoints: 60/60 Stamina: 60/60
Health Regeneration: 6/s Stamina Regeneration: 3/s
Vitality: 6 Mana: 50/50
Strength: 6 Mana Regeneration: 0.25/s
Agility: 6 Intelligence: 5
Dexterity: 6 Wisdom: 5
Luck: 6 Charm: 15
Bonus: Blessing of Aphrodite - ¡°You¡¯re Special¡± = +10 Charm
Finished, Michael decided to test out the other parts of the interface. With that in mind he simply went down the list, hoping he hadn¡¯t forgotten something. If he had, he was certain he would remember it when he needed it. First things first. ¡°Inventory¡± What happened next was slightly discomforting. His peripheral vision darkened and blurred making it impossible to see anything at the edges of his vision. The rest of his view was taken up by the inside of a white room. It was odd. He could feel the caravan under him but the room in front of him seemed incredibly real. The room was cube shaped and from what Michael could see not very large. At a guess it was around 1m in length and height. So, large enough to crouch inside but not high enough to stand in. As his eyes adjusted to the brightly lit inventory Michael realized that he already had several items inside of his. There was a metal canister (probably water), a loaf of bread (looked unappetizing), what looked like a leather coin pouch and an iron sword. Curious Michael tried to reach for the coin the pouch but found that his hand didn¡¯t enter the room. Then after a few more equally unsuccessful swipes of his hand Michael decided to do the weird thing where he willed the pouch to come to him. And it did. He only removed the coin pouch, the rest wasn¡¯t particularly useful at the moment. Adjusting the strings that tied the pouch together revealed 2 silver coins and a dozen copper. A treasure trove. Michael smirked at himself. It seemed wealth was going to have to be earned. Strangely this excited him, wealth had always been in his life now was his chance to prove that he didn¡¯t need it. Several minutes of contemplative silence later and several minutes of restraining his dog-esque instincts there was steady increase in noise at the front of the carriage. The carriage itself slowed. There was the rattle and creak of a gate opening. A drum of hoofbeats. Then there was the chorus of hellos and how do you dos. Then the carriage started up again. Michael at the edge of his seat struggled to resist the growing grin on his face.