《Un(taming) the beast》 All things start on a bad-note right? Have you ever believed you were something special? A soul that would transcend others or lead people? Sometimes a fate is bestowed upon oneself that paves the path of others like a lighthouse leads the way of ships during the night with their flame. On other occasions you are just one of the moths that flys in sacrificial delirium towards the brightest flame around you. But what if something , that has been burned in your mind , is whispering sweet nothings to you telling you that your flame is the strongest and the brightest of all the small candles? Would you believe that call to greatness even though the imprinting in your mind has done nothing for you except demand sacrifices? ¡ª¡ª¡ª---------------- While Benedict Gray was checking up on his long term stocks , again and again a pop up appeared on the virtual screen he was operating. >the other world< an exciting new adventure awaits! Was the headline while a 3d image of a dragon and a company of various humanoid creatures were challenging it. A virtual reality based on the latest system of quantum generated world forming enabled one to dive into this new world. The interface device that was used with this brand new game has been out for years and hasn''t changed much since it''s publish kent 30 years ago with the first vr games. What changed were the places one could " dive " into. Ben with his somewhat disheveled dark blond hair that reached his shoulders and the piercing ice blue eyes wrinkles his brows in displeasure as he swiped away the felt 100 add of the same kind in the last 5 minutes. " Best ad-block available my ***" he muttered to himself. Ads the bane of existence even 200 years after the creation of the intraweb. Ben thought. For some this exciting new game with all the promises of better execution regarding the general immersion and feeling of being part of the story not just a bystander and the promise of absolute freedom concerning the choices one makes would have been a welcome ad. For Ben on the other hand this ad was a curse. ''Nothing more vexing then being reminded of the years wasted being in therapy'' he thought. Numerous session with the most glorified of shrinks went down just the other day , when Ben received a rather large packet of carbonized fiber. After it floated , self autonomed parcel delivery , into his living room , so a member of current society wouldn''t even have the chance of injuring their backs, a loud mechanical voice required identification. Ben was just a thought away of disposing of the 70cm-70cm piece but his curiosity got the better off him. With a swipe off his hand in the general direction of the packet a confirmation sound rang out and immediately his home hologram decoder was hacked. Now he really wanted to slap the b***h who was the sender of this packet as her image appeared standing ontop of the clunky black parcel that was laying on his carpet. " Hi , Ben !" The perky voice of the sender was transmitted over the audio as if it originated from the 3d image of her. " You know I''m missing you. Haven''t heard anything from you the past 5 years! How could you do that to me, I''m your fianc¨¦! That''s horrible!" more garble and nargel were audible but Bens mind short circuited. " Hive record the scene and send a illegal charge off hacking into your unit with the instigator name of Lili-ann Ward." The deep voice that sounded off a mid between husky late until the morning activity and vocal chords being used as a tire tube for driving on a gravel path came from Ben. " Lili-Ann Ward not found in data-base. Lili-Ann Ward-Gray found. Hive advises against criminal charges of your soon to be spouse Mr. Gray. "His home server replied in a mechanical tone. Normally Ben would have a laugh whenever the virtual Ai that governed his home referred to itself in third person , something which Ben had a fantastic time in teaching the program ; but not today. He was just pissed off. "Keep that idea and stick it up your virtual ..." " Acknowledged the beings designated as Homo sapiens tend to reason on emotion instead of logic. " Ben scratched his head in irritation and sighed loudly. Then he began counting from ten backwards just as the shrink pre-described. Laughable , 400 years after the 21st century and the psycho doctors still defy the novelty of progress. Ben thought. Meanwhile the illegal act was recorded analyzed deemed a offense and a court notice was sent to his fianc¨¦. The hive minimized the 3d image and muted it , since it was a forces program that expired as soon as it was over and couldn''t forcibly be shut down. The box opened and inside lay the collar shaped device of the first gen. dive systems. Numerous scratches on the mat black surface and dulling of the sapphire in the mid of it told of its age. Why first generation some would ask , well this was the device Ben has used for over 10 years of his life and the reason he had gone to a quack. His mother. A seasoned virtual gamer that made billions or the precise trade of exchanging virtual blows with people and tricking the system when the first gen came out 30 years ago. Even his Grandfather , the late Benedict Gray Senior , was a famed veteran of multiple games. Although that was before the time of the Virtual reality hype. This helm was one of the two devices his mother had bought on its release date , may she forever remain on her lake view estate overseeing the forever eternal lava lake of hell. Even though Ben couldn''t prove a damn thing but he swore that hitler , musselini and the antichrist himself visited her often. For brunch perhaps or for some R&R. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Especially his helm , the one he trained with ever since his 5th birthday since his mother was convinced that her legacy would shine brighter if her son carried on the prestige the Grays had earned through 3 Generations of Gamers. Will not could. A fact nothing left to chance. Just like his mother he began training all those years ago using the latest sniper rifles and dancing on the corpses of my enemy in simulated programs before Ben went over to the competitive play at the age of 8 and dominated the e-sport ladders for another 3. Then he switched to fighting games alla street fighter and tekken style. Which he dominated just as well. Genius player , marketing Bad-boy and just like a wolf with his bone he never gave anything up willingly. In 21st century terms ; if you want my world championship titles take the goddamn controller out of my cold and dead hands! Was the slogan the PR company came up with. That year with its retro revival of the 21st century games was a bane to Bens mind. But Ben was drawn to the recently rediscovered rpg games. Levels , quest , attribute points , skills and such. Nothing beats the essence of dynamic role play with fast paced action he thought. A big argument latter , with the torturing mistress of Styx-vill Athens Greece , Ben packed up his own acquired millions and started on a generic titled vrmmorpg that was the latest trend in competitiveness. Weekly team based battles with ye old sword and board , cloth draped magicians or armored crusaders with holy powers. Ben reveled in those days with his elfen highly specialized dual sword master. But sooner rather then later he was kicked out of the team because he stole everyone''s spotlight and the highly specialized build he pursued was lacking compared to the red Mage classes. Hybrids. A warlord level warrior with sundering earth magic and pocket Heals. Arcane archers that rained hell from 200 yards away. Summoners with legions of undead or constructs while still being able to eat damage like a Adamantium covered Tank. Ben fell behind with his short sighted ness in the late game. His mother ... His fianc¨¦ ... His career ... And his glory all but disappeared in the blink if an eye as he tried to correct his elfen characters play style to shook the world once again. Off to the shrink he went. At the age of 26 , 5 years after he quit gaming , the b***h of fianc¨¦ that refused to sign the legal papers of the divorce sent him the one thing he never wanted to see again. Addiction to spotlight , the simplest term his Shrink gave the condition Ben was diagnosed with at the age of 20. Addiction to the glory he achieved in Games lead to the Shrinks conclusion of Ben having to quit playing any Games and lead a normal life. Ben chuckled at the notion while he eyed the black weathered necklace critically. After the relapse at 19 that lasted until the age of 21 Ben even surprised himself as he completly forgot to think about games. All of his Old posters and the framed gold weight belts of World Championships went into attic and he simply quit. " Just checking it out won''t hurt ... " Ben said out loud to no one in particular. After the words left his mouth he carried the device to the nearest desk and carefully placed it down. He handled it as if it were raw eggs or a new born baby. After a few swipes and waves Ben landed on videos of > The Other World<''s Beta. What surprised him were the missing health / mana / stamina bars in the 1st person viewer standpoint he was watching the video from. Also the lack of any quick slots for skills. The gamestyle he was used to from the old times. The more he watched the more amazed Ben became with the game. Flurries of motion , the 2 people that were pvping ( Player vs player) had done so in ultra speed. Parry after parry. Counters , feints , dodges and even a few ripostes. Things he still knew from his VR days of Streetfighter or Tekken. Well besides the fact that in those days he used crowbars , broken bottles and even sometimes the overly acurate projectile weapon... okay it was a manhole cover but still those things flew pretty darn good! Even though his coordination had become rusty and the occular muscles in his skull lacked , he should be able to see all the details of this fight but much to his surprise he missed quite a few attacks and defending moves. The next scene showed 2 people just talking and the conversation flow was exceptionally good , almost as if it was a scene from a Hollywood production. This confused Ben , but then the video stopped and in big letters > The other person was a NPC < flittered across the scene. Some would believe Ben would be trying to catch flys with his open mouth as he was in complete shock , but let us not mention this anymore lest he grows embarressed. Multiple landscaped filled the scene and even more then anything else this fascinated Ben. Even though he just watched a video , the mystic atmosphere of the magical forests or the barren wastelands was transmitted over the Vr screen in-front of him. " Should I give it a try?" Ben muttered under his breath. " Yeah , I should. I''m definetly not addicted to gaming anymore. " Thus the Story of Ben in > The Other World < begins. But not as you think. More fails then anything entails as he acclimatises to this completly new system of VR gaming. Old grudges are settled one way or another as he takes his life back into his own hands and he just maybe ... continue the Legacy of the Grays! Guess who''s back , boys! The story to build upon a legacy Chapter 1 Even though Ben had his past glory he never was overbearing. More inward then outward and seeks to avoid trouble were ways to describe him. Naturally exceptions define the rule , since every person has buttons you should at best avoid pushing. Not that his mother or ex fianc¨¦ ever tried to skirt around it. Although Ben knows it''s a bad idea to return to gaming , considering the relapse into addiction , he believes that he is strong enough to overcome it. "I''m just going to play casual" he said. "What could possibly go wrong"he said. "No way I''m going to return to the spotlight"he said. Like this Ben tried to justify the relapse he will most likely experience. He almost lovingly patted the necklace like device after putting it on. A crocked smirk appeared on his face , that as his shrink knew was just too rare for the 26 year old to happen. "Hive download the other world software into your unit and connect this dive device into your mainframe." He commanded. A few audible beeps and boops later his home unit accomplished given task. But before Ben could connect , the release timer still had 4 weeks to go before the actual shift of the game from beta into full version. "Time to do some research!" Ben happily exclaimed as he started to dial up a few old " friends". Quite a bit of time , brain cells and bribes later he had what he wished for. Information that shouldn''t be public or known to anyone besides the alpha or beta players. Even though those players signed a contract to not divulge any information nothing that a big wad of cold hard cash can''t fix. Especially to the new and upcoming gamers on the scene. Ben always knew that connections had a certain value to them , even though he doesn''t care about the obligations that adhere with being a 3rd generation gamer monarch. Yes , monarch. Bringing enough fortune , honor and glory to your country in terms of electronic athletic championships and evola nobility title. Sir Benedict Gray. The lowest title of duke was still something that amused Ben to no end. Especially since it''s just in name. No subjects , tax collection or deflowering the virtue of maidens on their weeding day. His grandfather and mother as well had nobility titles. Considering these nobility titles aren''t passable to your children or spouses. But there were still some obligations. Ball dances , gatherings and in general favorable looks if one attended such fund raisers. We all , as the upper class , have to help the poor and less fortunate , a certain 80 year old governer once told him as he gifted 10million dollars to a fundraiser. Hypocrite. After all that was 4% of his tax revenue and EVERY last penny was directly retransferred to his bank account , since it''s tax deductible. Ben at the thought shook his head as a displeased facial expression danced across his brows. He used a finger to stroke along the blue sapphire attached to the dive necklace and immediately was immersed In a virtual copy of his living room. Just with a blink if the eye he switched from reality to virtual. No buffering or loading required. Even though a macro second was wasted scanning his house. He slowly strutted to the biggest room in his virtual and real house. The play room. As he pushed open the doors a smirk of the crocked variety flashed across his lips. Consoles , tvs , computers , old flipper games and least but not least a 16.2 audio system filled with old 1980s rock and some new wave techno. Every geeks dream. But what Ben was looking for was the big space in the middle of the room. A basketball sized partitioned off court with glass walls. As he opened and closed the door to the place behind him that appeared empty from the outside , numerous swords , axes , pole arms , spears , shields and knives greeted him. Even though this was a virtual copy of his home these items existed in and out of this space. A collection one would call it. Ben on the other hand used this for training purposes. He just chose virtual space because the time bending. 4: 1 , one day in real life is 4 times the pace in virtual reality. "Time to get started then." He said while looking over the weapon rack. His eyes immediately fell on the bastard sword that was a exact replica of his elfen dualswordsmans favorite weapon. ''No I''m not going to make that mistake again.'' Ben thought. Ben stepped closer and picked up 2 axes. Cleavers one would call them. About 60 cm in length and sharpend. Heavy weapons considering the axe head alone was twice the weight of a equally long sword and that was just the iron. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. But somehow they felt right. Next Ben strapped a round shield that was just a tad bigger then a buckler to his back. He then pushed a spear through the bucklers straps and he felt like he was armed to the teeth. A grin appeared on his face again. If his shrink could witness he 3 smiles a day today he would probably do backflips and maybe pray to whatever god he worshipped. Sure , even Ben knew 3 weapons and a shield couldn''t be wielded at the same time , but from the information he acquired there were benefits mastering numerous weapon proficiencies. The axes sharp edges seemed to cut through the air with a howl as Ben made them dance across the space in front of him. For a period of 2 hours he made himself familiar with the cuts , bashes and cleaving strikes these weapons entailed. Finished with this he made lightning quick moves with his arms and released them. With 2 loud thuds they embedded themselves in the wooden walls Ben had configured up in the virtual space. Next up were the spear and shield combo. Some could say the defensive position of right foot behind shield outstretched and horizontally readied spear was a Greek hop lite stance , but others immediately figured out this style was more leaned towards the old Germanic tribes that fought off Rome in the first guerrilla warfare war. Ben bashed and stabbed , thrust and swiped and ever danced across the whole room fighting imaginary foes. All the while the trademarked smirk of the marketing bad-boy played across his features. "Yeah nothing beats this ..." Ben remarked to no one in particular after he stopped his dance of death. Another switch of arsenal and now with the shield on his right and the axe in his left he began a new set of motions. While the dual axes gave of a feeling of forcefulness , while the spear shield combo held a steadfast appearance the axe and shield emitted a grave inkling of coldness. 3 styles three different motion sets. Even though these motions appeared fluid and masterful this was as far as Bens knowledge went with weapons besides a bastard sword. Still Ben felt revitalized by the motions and next practice was throwing the axes as if they were hatchets. After a few commands a straw dummy appeared for targeting pleasure. --------------------------------------- "Welcome to >The Other World<. Game will go live in but a few short moments. You may proceed to finalize the character creation stage. Input background story now." A sexy hot female voice resounded in the encased stone walls. Ben naturally logged in 2 hours early in real life measuring too 8 hours in this virtual space to create his character. 8 hours to create a story , for the character , wasn''t nearly enough but as per his informant during the story phase just handle certain key parts of your soon to be alter ego. Namely name , place of birth , age and wishes of the future. Everything else would be automatically updated as you play out everything else. "Angorod Ironskin a just came off age Dwarf. Born in a human town as his parents peddled there to give the pitiful humans a display of true dwarven blacksmithing. A natural born paragon fighter or champion of the dwarven kingdoms is his life long dream! " Ben opted to record his speech instead of typing it out. His informant gave a simple understanding of the background story; even if you wish to be the half dragon half demon born wizard and acquired master fighter that once opted out of the god of lights realm , if you gave a good enough story why , how and who the system made it possible to some extent. But in reality how the system accomplished to ''balance '' out every character at the start with the myriad of story''s Ben or the now named Angorod knew nothing about. His story was simple but had hidden meaning. Dwarfs alone had a high fighting capability , grew older then humans , fought beings numerous times their own size on a daily basis and naturally were gifted in strength and skilled trade. But not only had he , Angorod , never seen the kingdoms under the mountains but also yearned for them. Partially that would open certain quest lines from the beginning ; or so his informant had told him. The very idea of giving your own character a story would spice things. It was not only novel but also increased the immersion of the players to feel part of the world. And after this would be the true test of character creation begin! Ben thought to himself as a smirk appeared on his face.