《Do You Dare to Dream?》 The Beginning of the Maddness It was the first day of the beta of Do You Dare? The game had rocked the world at its discovery. The first VRMMORPG with full immersion, where your choices affect the game. The creators had been closed mouthed, so no one had any idea what to expect. Nathan looked at the headgear in his closet. It had been a gift from his father, a smirk appeared on his face. Let¡¯s see how immersive it really is ¡­ He put on the gear. All was black for a moment, and then he heard a ding.
Do You Dare to Dream?
YesNo
¡°Yes.¡± Anything is better than this.
Welcome to Do You Dare? We hope you enjoy your trip to another world.
A mirror appeared before him with a note taped on. Nathan picked up the note.
customize your avatar
Nathan looked at himself, ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± The mirror vanishes. His surroundings melt from black into that of an empty room. The only thing in it was a scroll floating in midair. Picking up the scroll he read.
I ______, pledge to be a part of the (1, Mage. 2, Melee. 3, Ranged. 4, Builder) school
Ah, this is where you choose your class. ¡°I Zariel, Pledge to be a Melee School.¡± As Nathan said this a door opened and an old man walked in. ¡°Come in Zariel. We are ready,¡± The man said before walking out the door again. Nathan followed behind and saw that on the other side there was two more old men dressed similar robes. They had been in hushed conversation, but had turned to look as he came in. ¡°You are here, but are you worthy?¡± The oldest spoke. He pointed to a straw dummy on the other side of the room. ¡°Let us see how you fare against this, before you may enter our sect.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Along the wall there was a table with everything from swords to axes, to hammers on it. Finally Nathan¡¯s eyes rested on a sword, best to stick with the Basic. He picked up the sword and swung at the dummy. That took much longer than I had thought. Nathan was panting as her turned back to look at the examiners. There was only two still in the room. Did I fail? The Head nodded. ¡°Good job, you managed to pass.¡± The one who had brought Nathan into the training room returned holding a platter with four cups on it. ¡°You must be thirsty, have a drink.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Nathan said reaching out for the blue cup in front of him. He could feel his energy returning after drinking it. He suddenly noticed that each cup was of a different color. The Head examiner¡¯s cup was white, while the one who had brought him in had a green cup, a quick look was all that Nathan needed to know that the one¡¯s cup was black. The Examiner with the black cup set down his cup and looked at Nathan. ¡°You should rest, you¡¯ve had a long journey.¡± Nathan sighed. They took him to another room for him to lay down on. As he closed his eyes a ding rand in his ears.
Do You Dare to Dream?
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¡°No,¡± he whispered, ¡°I want to live it.¡± His vision went black as it logged him out. Nathan frowned as he pulled off the gear. What was that about? he turned to the computer to check if anything new was posted. Several hours later Nathan was startled by his mother slamming the door open. "Oh," she sighed in relieve, "Oh, thank god. You''re safe." Tears started streaming down her face. "Safe from what?" She looked at the bed where he had left the gear. "Safe from being trapped there forever." Chapter One -Willow
Do You Dare to Dream?
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¡°Yeah! Why else would I be going to sleep?¡± I rolled my eyes, silly computer. Next thing I know I looking at ruins. I look around ¡°this isn¡¯t sleep.¡± I mumble seeing the undead. Ghosts, zombies, wraiths, you name it! Soon, much too soon they slowly turned to me. ¡°No, no, nope! Not dealing with this!¡± Crap! I glance around before running down a less populated street. Gotta get outta here! I thought franticly. This is why lazy people like me should stick to normal video games! I soon spotted a less crumpled building, not that that was saying much. I clamored over some rubble into the first, and apparently only, room panting. I sighed, gotta know if I screwed myself over. Glancing around I saw most have given up. At least I hope so¡­ no! No time to think like that! Maybe I can use the rubble to fort up this place? Yeah, should probably do that. I can relax afterward. After such thoughts I, still painting faintly, got to work rebuilding. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Ya know, this place must have been beautiful once. Still could be¡­ I ignored such thoughts, and the reminders that ghosts can go through walls. Wouldn¡¯t do me any good, I only have basic building skills. Wait, what will I be doing for the doorway? I thought after climbing back down the growing wall. I should be able to get out, but that might allow them in¡­ And it would be very difficult to do! But it still could be useful¡­ Oh screw it! I¡¯m doing it! I thought resolutely. Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll met I fighter to take care of the dirty work. In the end that wall was not quite like the rest. I wedged the stones around a loose door. That¡¯s how it was normally built in the old age, right? Time to test it out! I reached out a hand and jerked the handle. Crash! Oops, guess I should work on that¡­ later. Hmm, time for a break! I clapped happily, I so love slacking. Too bad I like the result of hard work better.
Congratulations, you have built a safe zone. No Monsters will spawn inside. Please note that this does not stop them from entering and overtaking the safe zone.
Chapter Two -Xylia A Meeting to Never Forget
You have entered a safe zone, no monster can spawn inside though they can wander in.
I freeze as I read the message. A safe zone? This is a safe zone? I look around at the roofless room i had just climbed into. The walls may have once been amazing but now they were just stones piled upon each other. There''s a door? Why didn''t I go that way? Crash!
You have been hit with a chair and lost 15 hit points.
"That''s my head!" I shout before I could think. I turn around to face my attacker. Standing behind me a girl. Tall, Very tall. She was wielding a chair as a club. I shudder as I looked at the chair. It was old, so old that it almost looked like it was deteriorating right before my very eyes. Please tell me that i didn''t get any splinters! "You''re the one invading my Base!" she shouts back at me. "Oh," I say taking a closer look at her. Olive skin, and very long, very curly, dirty blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. "Ya," she replies, lowering her chair for a moment, "I rebuilt it myself." "You mean that you fixed it up?" I ask startled. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings."Of course, I would never pass someone else''s work off as my own." She says. I stare wide eyed at her before turning around and giving the safe zone another look. While it was shabbily made, for a beginner with no experience or tools it was simply ... "Amazing," I whisper. "Right!" she says jumping into the room. "I''m Willow Lion, a Builder. What about you?" I jump down after her. "Xylia, Ranged." I say setting down my bow. She smiles brightly. "Perfect!" Willow clasps my hands, as she says "Will you form a party with me?" I blink. What? Perfect how? Oh... "You want me to defend against mobs trying to get in." "Yep." she says, "So will you?" I shrug, "Why not?" "Form Party with Xylia!" She says and a message popped up in front of me.
Willow LionHas asked you to join a party. Do you agree?
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"Yes!"
Congratulations! You have formed a party with Willow Lion.
"by the way," I ask, "where did you get that chair?" She looks down at the chair she was still holding. She shrugs and drops it before responding, "I found it while I was looking for materials." I nod. Why did she bring it with her then? Willow let out a sigh. "I''ve been on for a while so I''m going to log off to get something to eat. Be back soon," she says. "Log out." She frowns. "What?" I ask. She turns to look at me. "I can''t log out." Chapter Three -Willow ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t log out?¡± Xylia asked. ¡°I can¡¯t log out¡­ I can¡¯t log out!¡± I am flipping out. Ghouls may as well be walking in. ¡°Maybe there is some different command for it?¡± Xylia suggested hopefully. Yeah maybe that¡¯s it¡­ yeah! Or it might just be a bit buggy from the new technology! ¡°Yeah, maybe!¡± I grin at her. But what would it be¡­ hmm. ¡°Game menu.¡± ¡­nothing, so something else? But what? ¡°Do you have an idea what else might work?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe you have to enter the character menu first?¡± she replied thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s a long shot to be sure, but worth the shot.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± I cheered. It¡¯s nice to have a friend around. ¡°Character menu.¡± I said confidently. It has to do something at least! ¡°So what¡¯s on it?¡± she inquired as I studied the tab.
Willow Lion
LocationTitles and AchievementsClass
Undead Ruins If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.Time spent: 5 hours (will wake soon) saved spot Undead RuinsTitles: Dreamer of the Undead Ruins Achivements: built a shelterBuilder days: 0
¡°Well on the top it says ¡®Willow Lion¡¯ and under it shows My Achievement of building the shelter. Of to the left side it says that I¡¯m a builder by class and has been so for zero days...¡± ¡°What else?¡± Xylia ask after I trailed off. What does the right side mean? ¡°On the right side it says I have been sleeping for a few hours and might wake up soon. It also says I¡¯m occupying the Undead Ruins.¡± ¡°You mean that we¡¯re coming back here? And wait, are there other places we could have ended up?¡± Xylia asked. ¡°Apparently.¡± I answered whispering looking horrified down at her. Chapter Four-Xylia ¡°Character Menu!¡± I say. The blue screen popped in front of me.
Xylia
LocationTitles and AchievementsClass
Undead Ruins Time spent: 1.5 hours (3.5 left) saved spot Undead RuinsTitles: Dreamer of the Undead Ruins Achivements: noneRanged days: 0
I turn to Willow, about to speak when she yelps, pointing past me at the doorway. Spinning around, I see a couple of zombies. I glance around looking for my bow. Did I drop it climbing over? I let out a sigh when I saw it lying on the ground. Dashing over I picked it up and drew it. Letting out my breath I let the arrow fly, starting at the crack of the drawstring. Swallowing the bile rose to the back of my throat as the arrow pierced into the zombie. Oh, stop it Iris. It¡¯s just a game. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The zombie stumbled back. A blue screen popped over (his? its?) head.
Lesser Zombie level one 86/100 health
¡°Get OUT!¡± Willow shouts throwing a stone at the zombie knocking it down.
Lesser Zombie level one 56/100 health
She picks up another stone and throws it as well. After the third stone its health bar dropped to zero. Its companion shuffled forward as if nothing happened. I let another arrow fly at it. This time the zombie didn¡¯t stop walking forward.
Lesser Zombie level one 89/100 health
I keep on shooting, not bothering to look at the health status. After the eighth arrow it finally fell. I glance over at where Willow stood armed with more rocks. Noticing that I was looking she gave me a sheepish smile. Rolling my eyes I approach the corpses in the entrance and pulled my arrows out, shivering at the clammy touch of their flesh. Is this really only a game? As I looked over the bodies into the unknown I gasp. A horde of the undead were coming. I turned to Willow. She wasn¡¯t looking at me however, she was looking at a screen in front her. ¡°It¡¯s time for me to go,¡± she said, looking up at me. ¡°Guard the base.¡± She then disappeared into a pillar of light. ¡°It¡¯s your base!¡± I complained, ¡°at least take care of it yourself.¡± I turn back to face the incoming horde. ¡°Whatever. Bring it on.¡± The Descent "Safe from being trapped there forever." Nathan stared at his mother. ¡°What do you mean?¡± he said, standing up. His mother stood there for a minute just looking at the helmet. When she did speak it was barely more than a whisper, ¡°Several of the other beta testers are still in the game.¡± Nathan¡¯s heart was in his throat. Could it be¡­? ¡°Why does that mean that they are stuck? They could be still playing.¡± His mother looked up at him, ¡°They were supposed to play for no more than three hours straight before being kicked off.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just a glitch. It¡¯s only the first day of the beta.¡± His mother burst into tears, ¡°what would I¡¯ve done if you were to leave too?¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Nathan patted her shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡± Yet. After a moment she calmed down. ¡°Of course.¡± She looked at the clock and cried out ¡°Oh shit! I¡¯m going to be late for work. See you later tonight!¡± she gave Nathan a quick hug before dashing out. Nathan let out a sigh, and sat back down the computer. He looked up the news about the Do You Dare? Beta. After they reached a certain part the beta testers were either locked in or kicked out. One of the beta testers said that he couldn¡¯t login again after being kicked out. Nathan looked at the helmet. Is it truly locked? He put the headgear on and everything went black. He waited for the screen to pop up. Nothing happened. Chapter Five - Learning is Cheesy Willow PoV I woke up panting, surprisingly it didn¡¯t feel like I spent the night lifting stones. What is happening at my base? I sigh. Nothing I can do about it here. I glance around, it¡¯s a different room then before. Same style, just like it¡¯s a bedroom waiting to be decorated. Spotting the wardrobe I walked to it. I scratched my armpit. When did I get so sweaty? It¡¯s so gross, I haven¡¯t even been working. Well, unless it counts the walls I rebuilt when I was asleep. I sighed pulling out a pair of yoga pants and robe like shirt and undergarments. I put them into a wadded ball, undergarments center. I then looked around again. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any books here I might need to get. I smile then walk out to find a bathing area. -----Time Skip Five Minutes----- ¡°Are you lost?¡± the old instructors voice called. Great, now I¡¯m that kid who has to be walked to the bathroom. ¡°Yeah¡­ I was trying to find out where I could take a bath. Pretty intense dreams yah know.¡± honesty¡¯s the best policy, right? ¡°Yes¡­¡± he smiled. ¡°As it is part of your first week being late and getting lost is normal. We also were late to getting to you to give you the tour.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Tour away sir!¡± I saluted him. Maybe I will have a guide in this game through him. ¡°Follow me,¡± He said turning away ¡°first stop the showers.¡± I grin walking after him. ---------------------------Time Skip Two Hours-------------------------- ¡°I will not memorize this place in one week.¡± I deadpanned at him. ¡°You will, I have faith in you.¡± He said walking to one of the very large bookshelves. Well mental note, this is the first place to learn the paths of. Having all this learning potential would really be a good thing. ¡°So how are we starting?¡± I questioned him. ¡°We are starting with basic materials. You can¡¯t do anything without them.¡± Cheesy learning quotes, you never lessen that lesson, do you? -----------------------Time Skip One Hour----------------------- A maid wearing a really cute brown kimono walks in carrying a plate of cheese, crackers, and apples. ¡°I find most students work best with brain food.¡± ¡°Yes, I shall learn cheesy.¡± I grin. I absolutely love this guy.