《Ignition》 Igniting a new era and drugs? Frederick Dare awoke to the sound of drilling. To some, the urbanized sounds were disturbing. But for Frederick, this was the start of a new life. Frederick was a 21 year old, with wide green eyes and slick black hair. He recently got hired as a bartender in a nightclub. The pay wasn''t high, but it''s plentiful for his new life. Not so long ago, he used his mother¡¯s funds to buy himself a small, but functional apartment. Frederick left his parents, no matter how much he hated doing so. It was much needed because he had to earn money, in order to free his mother from his drunk and abusive father. Having been helped by his mother once, he vowed to make enough money to help pay for a divorce for his mother. Perhaps it was a twist of fate, or pure destiny, but his life just turned sharply for the better. Over the next couple of months he started forming a routine of his own. By day he would go to the local dojo and learn some Wing Chun style martial arts (so he can keep his father under control when he visits home). By night he would be bartending at the bar called The Eagle. Even though he doesn''t get much sleep, he works persistently to help his mother. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Hey buddy, have you heard? Rumors are spreading about a new product called Delusional, it''s said that once you try it you can''t stop wanting it.¡± overheard Frederick. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. I can¡¯t believe one of the regulars that tip me so well actually does drugs - thought Frederick. As Frederick whipped out a pina colada, he couldn¡¯t help but keep listening in to the conversation. ¡°Dude, it¡¯s real. The new company, Magic Mirror created Delusional. They said they would be releasing something extremely special... If you know what I mean,¡± the man smirked. Oh man, it seems like I am right, they are doing drugs. What should I do about this information? Eh, they''re probably drunk when they heard about this and are talking about something they think they¡¯ve heard. I refuse to believe that the nice people that give me good tips are actually druggies. On the very next day, Frederick was listening to the radio, and it turns out the company Magic Mirror is going to release a completely new and revolutionary Virtual Reality equipment called Delusional. The CEO of the company really wanted the rumors to make people sound like drug addicts just for fun. It is said that they will be releasing a game along with the equipment the very same day, called Ignition. Game? or No Game? Beep-Beep-Beep! Frederick woke up to an explosive reminder of his alarm clock. ¡°Time to head to the dojo then,¡± thought Frederick. He headed to the kitchen just to find out he was out of bread. ¡°I guess I will just have to go buy some later,¡± he sighed. He proceeded to make scrambled eggs. The smell of his ¡°wonderful cooking¡± permeated the air, to everyone it was equivalent to smelling vomit, but to him it smelt like well.. who am I kidding it smelt like crap. He headed to the dojo hastily, too embarrassed by his own cooking. He smiled as he just remembered that the shifu (chinese not japanese so no sensei stuff) was going to teach him to use a weapon this time. Frederick walked into the dojo and my shifu greeted me, whilst holding four wooden short swords. He bowed to a 90 degree angle, and pressed his hands together with one fist and one palm. ¡°Ahh Frederick,¡± his shifu chuckled, ¡°how many times have I told you that it isn¡¯t necessary to bow to me? I appreciate it, but we¡¯re friends.¡± The shifu was called Chen Fa. To be frank, he was quite old, wearing a long, grey beard. He had a chubby face, with wrinkles here and there. His martial skills are, nonetheless, remarkable. But as people always say, ¡°don¡¯t judge a book by its cover.¡± ¡°Master Chen, we must still be respectful, as you are my uh --shifu,¡± Frederick said. Frederick insists on this because shifu gave him lessons half price due to his current family situation. ¡°Oh please, there is no need,¡± Chen pressed. ¡°Now, let¡¯s do some warmup,¡± Chen said, not giving Frederick a chance to talk back. They ran around the dojo for 10 laps. Frederick¡¯s chest heaved by the time they did 4 laps. He was used to doing laps, but he was too excited to learn to wield a new weapon. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Today shifu explained he was going to teach Frederick the art of dual wielding two swords. As the weeks went by, Frederick became more and more fluid when switching between different sword forms. Eventually when Frederick wielded his swords like they were extensions of his own arm, the shifu started sparring with Frederick (with blunt blades). Thanks to this, Frederick has excellent reaction times and has learnt the importance of dodging, parrying, and counterattacking. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- News about Magic Mirror Industries began circulating once more about how beta tests of Ignition has ended and the new products will be released in a matter of weeks. Preorders are available on the official website. The forums for Magic Mirror and Ignition already created guides and tutorials on how to get started, and some tips to keep in mind. Magic Mirror Industries is a big company, and the news of this has influenced the city greatly. Advertisements were hanged on walls of big buildings. Stores for Magic Mirror Industries were being built. Many, many people posted on various social media with #HypeForIgnite or #MagicMirrorHype Magic Mirror is hosting a lucky draw to award the first 25 names they pull out of a box. A long queue of people assembled to put their names in the box, within 15 minutes of notice. Frederick decided not to participate, since this will interfere with his routine. The lucky draw will take place at January 20, 9:30 in the morning, on Worth Street, New York. In fact, it was only one day away. Never mind its Game, not no game! Later on that night, Frederick arrived at the bar earlier than usual. He felt a bit woozy in the head, since he drank wine for the second time in his whole life. ¡°Hey, hey! You in there?¡± A man in a tux clicked his fingers at the half-awake Frederick. ¡°Sorry man, I¡¯m just a bit tired. What do you need?¡± replied Frederick, preparing a glass. ¡°No, no. Not a drink, I am just try¡¯na tell you something, Fred.¡± Frederick nodded along wearily, finally recognising his boss. ¡°So, I know now -- about your family that is. The pay here is probably not high enough for you to support your family. I told your mother all about Magic Mirror, and she decided to put your name into the lucky draw box.¡± ¡°Wait what? How is that supposed to help me with funds?¡± Frederick shrieked, snapping out of his dizzy spell. ¡°Well, I¡¯m just getting to that. If you were to win the lucky draw, and receive the game and the equipment, you can make videos,¡± the boss said. Before Frederick can speak again, he continued, ¡°if you make videos, you can get paid for having advertisement slots in them. You can still come work here, if you play the game in the morning. Just think about the outcome, okay? You might not even win.¡± Frederick took a deep breath, he can¡¯t take in all this information. ¡°Okay, I guess I need to change my routine again. Blah blah blah, moral of the story: playing games solve all the problems,¡± he said sarcastically. ¡°You don¡¯t have much of a choice,¡± his boss stated. Due to all the problems in his family, he barely passed high school, and never went to university. Frederick wasn¡¯t well educated, so he couldn¡¯t find a decent job, or even a good university. His boss was right, he didn¡¯t have a choice. If he ever wanted to see his mother again, he would need to earn more money. ¡°Fine! Fine, fine, fine! I have no fucking choice. I know that. Okay?¡± Frederick shouted, his hand forming a fist and slammed the table. His anger subsided a bit, his face was glowing hot, with beads of sweat trickling down his hair. He clamped his hand against his mouth, whispering, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m really sorry. I¡­ I...¡± Frederick¡¯s boss patted his shoulders, and handed him a tissue. ¡°I understand you are touchy when it comes to your parents. Sorry, it all came to you at once. Just think about it okay?¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. His boss turned away and started to leave. ¡°Remember Fred, the lucky draw is tomorrow!¡± He shouted as he walked towards the door. Frederick looked down. If he were to play, he would have to cancel lessons from the dojo. But at the same time, he might not even win the lucky draw. He really wanted to free his mother from his drunk dad, but¡­ Dojo. There were so many risks of going both ways. If he doesn¡¯t win the lucky draw, he would go back to his normal routine, going to the dojo and working in the bar. He would get enough money to free his mother, but that would take a really long time. ¡°Hey yo, ye havin¡¯ trouble?¡± A regular asked, seeing the frustration in Frederick¡¯s face. ¡°No, not at all,¡± Frederick replied, forcing a sweet smile. ¡°That smile ain¡¯t real yo,¡± the regular said, in a matter-of-fact voice. ¡°Well¡­ I guess I am over thinking about things quite a bit,¡± Frederick said, sighing. ¡°Ayy, have a drink,¡± the man said. The regular looked like he was in his mid-30¡¯s, with shaggy hair, and a gruff voice. He was basically a replica of a dwarf, except he was much taller. Frederick laughed, ¡°No dude, that can¡¯t happen.¡± ¡°It heals stress laddie.¡± ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t - it¡¯s all to do with my history¡­¡± ¡°If ye say so.¡± It was getting late, about time he leaves work. Talking to the regular got his mind out thinking about the situation for a while. Perhaps after weighing the pros and cons, getting the machine won''t be so bad. It''s not like its a high chance anyways, its like a 25 out of a billion. The next day, Frederick goes and turns on the radio for the lucky draw. The first 22 names were called and Frederick felt better knowing he would not have to break his routine. Then the next name called out¡­ ¡°Frederick Dare, Frederick Dare, Congratulations you have won yourself an all new delusion VR machine.¡± Chapter 4: Character Creation Authors notes: Sorry for the late chapter, but I would appreciate it if you could rate my fiction so far. Its slow but I promise now that the background of Frederick is established it would be more exciting. ------------------- Frederick slumped on his pillow, he just talked to his shifu, who only shook his head in despair. --The Next Day-- ¡°Hi Master Chen. I¡¯m afraid I have some news for you. I have to stop taking your lessons in order to gain more money whilst working, I recently got a new day job. With the bartending and the new job I may not have time to spar with you like before.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too bad. All the other disciples aren''t nearly as hardworking and talented as you, why else would I fake spar, to beat up?¡± ¡°... YOU BEAT ME UP ON PURPOSE? Come here old man lets do this one last time and see who beats who up.¡± They both got into their sword stances and began. Frederick began circling Master Chen, Master Chen doing the same. Suddenly Frederick nimble slashed at Master Chen. Master Chen expertly dodged wasting no time to counter attack, only to be met with air as Frederick rolled behind him and tried to thrust both swords into the masters back. The master did a backflip, ducked low, turned around and chopped at Fredericks legs. Frederick not really caring just kicked the old man in the face as he jumped to dodge the swords. Master Chen let go of the swords and used his hands to protect his face. Frederick saw his master unarmed, and charged at him. Master Chen easily dodged and slipped past Fredericks guard and delivered a series of ip man styled punches (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5HGDE3qveM). Frederick on the floor nearly passed out. The Master helped Frederick up on his feet and congratulated him for making him get disarmed. With that, Frederick reluctantly left the dojo. Shortly after he got home, a loud knock came from his door. As he opened the door, two burly men came marching in asking if he was Frederick Dare. He said ¡°Yes, but why are you in my home?¡± They told Frederick they came to install the VR equipment. Frederick told them to install it in the corner of his living room. After everything was settled, the two men left and Frederick climbed into the VR pod for the first time and closed his eyes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next second when he opens them, his vision has dark. It began to get progressively brighter. A woman greets him. ¡°Hi, how are you doing, my name is Sara. I will be your guide today. How do you feel?¡± says the woman. ¡°I feel great actually, like I can run a 20k marathon.¡± ¡°That is because in this room, you do not experience fatigue. This room is known as your starting location when you enter any VR pod, you can furnish this now or later.¡± ¡°Can I please furnish this now? It¡¯s kind of open and empty.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Sure, just imagine what you want the room to be like.¡± Frederick quickly thought of his own house, but there was an study room. ¡°Nicely done, most people don¡¯t get it the first try. Since you are here, I suppose you want to play the game?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°First you need to place a portal in this space, it can be placed anywhere.¡± Frederick decided to put it on the in the study room. ¡°Please step in to initiate the next phase.¡± Frederick stepped in. The room changed before him and he was staring at a replica of himself in 3D. ¡°Which race would you like to be in this game. There are four major races, the elves, the dwarves, the humans and the Ocrs. Would you like a general description of all the races?¡± ¡°Yes please.¡± ¡°The elves are separated into 3 subspecies, the high elves, the wood elves and the dark elves. The high elves specialise in holy magic and can level this 120% faster than other species that do not specialise in this. The wood elves are more specialised in the hunting aspect of the game. They give 120% increase in bow mastery. The dark elves specialise in assassinating. They give 120% increase in dagger mastery and blend in quite well in darkness.¡± As Sara talks about the different races Frederick¡¯s appearance kept changing to that race to show Frederick how it looked like. ¡°Dwarfs are a single united race that just love to mine and craft things, keep in mind they are short in stature but are are typically stronger than the other races excluding the orcs. They give 120% increase in when crafting. The Humans are an all rounded race, they give no buffs or debuffs. (Races that specialise in different aspects are often lacking in others. The elves are lacking in defence and vitality, dwarfs have a height disadvantage and orcs are dumb) However the humans are really adaptable and can become very successful in a variety of different trades given time and effort. They are also one of the few races where you can level up all your stats by working hard enough to train for it. The orcs are great at using blunt force and give 120% increase in blunt weapons, but they can¡¯t learn magic. Frederick after deciding for a while, picked human. ¡°Would you like to alter your appearance?¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°Choose your starting location, it¡¯s between Horn, Pipe and Fan¡± ¡°Horn, please¡± With that Frederick was once again teleported. Hiatus with slow chapters Taking a break to play some mmo rpg to get some inspiration. Will still ry and update, but I recently started school so please bear with me. If there is a mmo rpg you recommend without the need of a subscription fee and is playable on mac, please comment the name and if possible link in the comments section.