A pale young man was sitting in front of a computer; his messy dark brown hair was hastily tied back to reveal his deep amber eyes. His eyes were focused on his computer monitor that displayed the current most popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, or MMORPG for short, with his only friend. As they played, his friend asked him a weird question with their voice hidden by a voice changer, “Hey Felix, have you heard about that mysterious new game that just came out?” The pale young man, Felix stretched as he took his eyes off the monitor and glanced down at his phone before answering with a teasing smirk, “John_Doe2619, what are you talking about? You really need to be more specific; there are countless new games in this world. Just for the record, I’m amazing at mystery games to the point where they’re kind of boring.”
The person on the other end before quickly responding, “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I’m talking about that game, a new MMORPG that randomly appeared on the market. I heard it was made along with an entirely new console. The only odd thing is no-one knows where the game and its parent company came from. Usually in the gaming community there are hints, you know developers always want their new games to be a hit, so they advertise and drop small hints, stuff like that. However, there was none of that this time, the company just appeared and made an entirely new console, all seemingly funded in-house. Even the company page was made the day the game appeared, it’s… odd. Though maybe I’m reading too much into this.”
Felix’s curiosity was piqued because he was tired of playing the same game all the time. While it was fun, after reaching max level, it turned into which guild is stronger. As one of a duo, he felt out of place because they both had no desire to be tied to a guild, but they did occasionally play with John_Doe2619’s friends that made a small guild for their friend group. At times Felix wondered if he was the one keeping them away from guilds, but he never brought the topic up.
With practiced ease he quickly logged out in a safe place and opened a search bar before he asked, “How curious. Maybe you are, I don’t know about things like that, but I was just thinking of finding a new game for us to play. Our current one has devolved into guild competitions, and they keep monopolizing dungeons, so the while the gameplay was amazing, playing it has gotten kind of boring. Anyway, what’s that game called?” His friend sighed as they spoke, “I doubt you’d want to… Never mind you’ll see, it's called [Realms of Realism]. The game’s page should be the first or second option when you search “Realms of Realism Game”. I am patiently waiting to hear your reaction.” Felix shook his head as he typed, ‘Odd name aside, what could be so bad that they’d react like this.’ Felix’s thoughts were suddenly halted when he opened the page and saw the cost for the new console, $800.
“I must be hallucinating. Are they really asking for $800, just for the helmet.” Felix’s hesitant voice made the changed voice laugh with what could only be glee, “That’s not even the most expensive price. That’s the cheapest one, keep reading, look a bit further down the page.” Felix’s hand quivered slightly as he slowly scrolled further down only to feel like he was going to faint from seeing the most expensive option, “This has to be a joke. There’s no way someone would pay $1,000 just for a special capsule console, besides aren’t those the things those rich athletes use. What can it do, send someone into the game? Or is it made out of gold?” Felix’s eyes focused on the small text next under the astronomical price and almost felt like punching his monitor.
Reading a bit more Felix let out a sigh, “This is crazy, just listen to this blackhearted company’s statement, “Once purchased no refunds shall be provided.” Basically, if you buy this and you don’t like it then you lost $1,000 for something you don’t want.” Felix’s voice echoed in his empty room; he didn’t even have a mattress instead he was sleeping on a pile of pillows. “Alright, alright, stop skimming and actually read what they are offering.” John_Doe2619 said with a serious voice and Felix temporarily put his personal opinion to the side and began reading from the beginning.
After he finished, he was silent before he quietly spoke up, “Hey, do you think they’re serious?” John_Doe2619 was silent, but Felix knew this was a silent agreement. After a few seconds of hesitation, Felix spoke up, “Fine, I’ll take the plunge on the very small, almost insignificant, chance that it is real. I mean it’s almost every RPG fanatics dream to enter the game and experience it firsthand, even with the demerits such as gruesome sights and smells. Wish me luck.” John_Doe2619 panicked voiced echoed out of the phone, “Are you crazy? I know you’re not rich, so don’t make such a large purchase so easily.”
Felix had already purchased the most expensive option without blinking after he got the confirmation E-mail, he calmly responded, “If it is fake then it’s no big deal. I inherited my house, and I have already paid my bills for this month. If push comes to shove, I have to use some of my savings. If it is fake, then I’ll treat it as a really expensive bed, I meant to buy one anyway. Oh, I just read that $1,000 is the reduced price, so if you want one, make sure to buy it before the limited sale goes away. This reduced price is only for the first one-hundred people, I wonder if there will be a special gift for being one of the first one hundred.”
John_Doe2619 was speechless they forgot Felix’s curiosity got them into more trouble than they thought was possible. While the slightly regretted telling Felix, he had already begun scrolling through the page to see details of the game, but all the game tab had was a sentence, “It is your salvation.”. Felix only rolled his eyes as he clicked away, ‘So much for knowing what class to pick. Being able to use Magic would be nice, but what kind? Offensive is so common, I wonder what kind of Support magic they have. I guess I’ll see. This feeling of mysteriousness is kind of fun too.’
After gathering their thoughts John_Doe2619 finally spoke, “Fine, I’ll join you in this insanity. It’s only $1,000, I’ll just refrain from socializing and buying new things for a while. I’ll have to dip into my savings but isn’t that what we save money for.” Felix smiled and felt slightly better about himself now that he dragged his friend into it, but on the surface, he said, “You don’t have to do that.” Before he could finish, they cut him off, “Tone down the smugness next time. I have to get offline now, goodnight. Talk to you later.” The hung up before Felix could say anything, “Talk to you later.” He muttered to the empty room. After this brief moment in his life, Felix fell back into his usual routine, forgetting about his impulsive purchase until the day it arrived a two weeks later.
Felix was woken up from someone constantly ringing his doorbell. He angrily stomped his way to his front door, ‘It’s three in the morning on a Tuesday. When I find out who it is, I swear I’ll…’ When he looked through the peep hole, he saw a woman wearing a suit standing at his door with a suitcase. With a cautious heart, Felix slightly opened the door and asked, “May I ask who you are?” The woman’s stoic expression morphed into a bright smile as she introduced herself, “Hello. I’m a representative from the Nirvana Company. Are you Felix Ingram?” Felix narrowed his eyes as his thoughts flashed through his head, but he answered honestly, “Yes, I am Felix Ingram. How can I help you?”
The woman opened his suitcase and pulled out a stack of documents. “If it isn’t a hassle can I come inside? It’s just a formality, but I need you to sign a few documents before we can install your gaming capsule.” Felix’s eyes flickered with realization as he opened the door with an embarrassed expression, “Sorry, I forgot it was being delivered today, and I had no idea you would be so… early.” The woman had a thick face as she maintained his smile, so Felix moved aside, and the woman entered.
The woman’s eyes didn’t wander around his empty house, but rather he sat down on Felix’s old, but well maintained, couch and she handed the trailing Felix the documents she pulled out earlier. “As I said earlier, this is only a formality. These documents are basically stating that you own the first gaming capsule and because you’re the first one to purchase a capsule you have a lifetime warranty and a free random gift pack in [Realms of Realism].”
The woman pulled out another contract, “This is a contract that you won’t disassemble or re-sell our product to a third party, only you will use this capsule, and you understand that any problems that may arise from playing too long is not our fault. Basic legal paperwork to protect our company and you. Do you have any questions?” The woman spoke with a professional tone and Felix responded as he carefully read the Deed of Ownership and contract line by line, “Not right now. Let me read though these first.” The representative remained silent and watched Felix read.
After rereading it multiple times to ensure there were no legal loopholes or he was selling off his human rights or his wealth or anything that might come back to bite him in the future, he signed both. “I have a few questions.” The representative looked at Felix’s signature on each of the documents as she responded, “That is what I’m here for.” Felix nodded and didn’t hold back, “First, when will my Capsule arrive? Second, when will the servers for [Realms of Realism] be online? Third, are you able to share any information about [Realms of Realism]? Fourth, why is it called [Realms of Realism]?”
The representative looked up and easily answered, “First, we can install it right now, I brought it and a few workers to install it with me. Second, the Beta test will open in two days, but it’s only open for the Capsule players at first, but only the first one hundred have extra benefits. While the first three players having the best benefits, you won’t regret your decision Number 1.” She gave Felix a sly wink before she continued, “After a week, we will open the game to the rest of the players, this is one of the bonuses we give to all early capsule players. Third, unfortunately I am not. As a personal service to you, Mr. first player, I will give you a piece of advice. Train and nourish your body as much as possible. It will immensely benefit you in the future.” Her serious gaze made Felix feel slightly uncomfortable as his thin body squirmed under her powerful gaze and he finally made up his mind to finally start his gym arc. “As for your final question, you will understand later. If that is all, shall I go bring in your gaming capsule?”
Felix thought about where to put it before nodding, “Alright, how much space do you need?” She thought for a moment before pointing at the couch, “About the size of this couch, give or take a bit. I don’t know the specifics, but from what I can see, you have plenty of space. Where do you want it, upstairs or downstairs?” Felix looked down at his couch and his cheeks slightly flushed, “Upstairs. That’s where I keep all my consoles. I apologize if that’s a hassle.” The representative nodded and stood up, “That’s fine, it’s what we pay them for. Please lead them to the room you wish to install it and ensure than nothing is in the way. I, thank you for your patronage. I hope you enjoy [Realms of Realism] and don’t forget my advice.” Just as she was about to leave, she stopped, “Oh, I recommend logging in today so you can get scanned to make your character’s body. The system will tell you the rest. You will get a copy of your deed and contract within the week.” After she said her piece she left just as easily as she came.
Felix knew he didn’t have anything to clean up, nor did he have anything to hide. He honestly didn’t have anything at all. An empty house with mostly empty rooms, he only had the bare essentials because his only hobby was playing MMORPGs during his free time. He didn’t like collecting things because he would hate to sort through them to find something, the only thing that was close to another hobby was cooking. Felix’s pessimistic thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps, he looked out the door and saw a group of five muscular men carefully carrying a large capsule with surprising ease, looking at his thin arms, he once again reaffirmed his decision to start his gym arc.
There were no words spoken, instead they followed Felix up the stairs and into his bedroom. Felix carelessly tossed his pillows that he used as a bed into a corner along with his work clothes. The men got to work while Felix sat in his computer chair next to his computer and slightly twisted the chair side to side as he watched them with a tired expression. After what felt like forever for Felix, but a normal Tuesday for the workers, they finished the installation before they all looked at Felix in unison. ‘How scary, they haven’t said a word to each other this whole time. Why are they just staring at me?’ After a small staring contest, that Felix lost, one of the five walked over and placed a plastic bag with a thick book inside in his hand before leaving with the rest of the group.
“How surreal.” Felix muttered as he followed them downstairs. He watched them leave and enter a pick-up truck that quickly drove off followed by a large semi-truck and followed by another pick-up truck. Felix stood in his doorway for a bit, breathing fresh air for a few seconds before closing and locking his door. ‘I wonder if my neighbors think I’m involved in something shady… am I involved in something shady? I’ll worry about that when the police knocking on my door. I didn’t do anything illegal, at most I’d be a victim, I think. Though it is surprising that I was the first person to buy a capsule, I guess the rest wanted to go for the cheaper option to lower potential losses. Thinking about it like this make me seem like an impulsive person.’ Felix’s thoughts were completely on the mark.
When people with too much time and money saw the high price, they didn’t even blink, but they still hesitated. When it comes to purchasing unknown machinery that claims to be able to send a person's consciousness into a game, from an unknown developer that appeared out of nowhere, caution is paramount. While Felix purchased without even the most basic research on the company, those with money and connections were looking into the validity of the information given before making a purchase. Even the most impulsive of them at least made sure the company actually existed before purchasing so they could have a target to blame for their poor choices if it was a scam.
Felix looked down at the thick book in his hands with a sigh threatening to escape his lips, but he swallowed it back down. Tearing open the thin film that covered the book, Felix began to carefully read through the hardcover instruction and maintenance manual. ‘What a heavy book and a hardcover, they put a lot of money into this. According to this, if a blackout happens, if fully charged, the battery can last up to a month. To charge the battery, just remove it and leave it outside or plug it into another power source. The battery is solar powered. How advanced, I wonder how long it takes to charge. All the components are completely waterproof and durable enough to survive an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. Why would it need to be so durable? Are all of them this strong or is it just the first one hundred? I bought something this amazing on a whim. I was planning on using it as a bed if it was fake.’ Felix was slightly stunned, but accepted it quickly, mostly because what was done is done, the money has been spent.
After thirty minutes, Felix finished reading the entire book, except the parts in different languages. Felix tapped his bony finger on the hard cover before he decided to act on the advice of the Company’s Representative. Standing in front of the largest indoor machine he has ever had in his house aside from normal utilities like a fridge and a large freezer. Felix followed the instructions he just read to the letter, he easily opened and climbed into the capsule. As he laid down on the softest cushioning he had ever felt, he gently ran his hands over the smooth interior, ‘How soft. My idea of using this as a bed was indeed the correct one, but first things first. I have to make my character.’
Ignoring the surreal feeling in the back of his mind, Felix closed the capsule and powered it on. With a flash of blue light, Felix felt weightless, and he appeared in an empty void. Looking down at his slightly translucent hands, Felix saw right through them. Just before he attempted to push his right hand through his left hand, a disembodied voice spoke in a surprisingly warm voice, “Welcome, First, you are the first to own a Nirvana Capsule. When [Realms of Realism] begins you will be given an Iridescent gift pack. Anything from a divine weapon or skill to a trash weapon piece or skill can be inside. Unlike other games [Realms of Realism] has Eleven Treasure Ranks. From highest to lowest are Iridescent, Mythical, Legendary, Epic, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Rare, Uncommon, Normal, and Trash.” Eleven seemingly normal swords appeared in front of Felix before they began to produce different colored lights. From left to right it went, Iridescent, Platinum, Orange, Purple, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Blue, Green, White, and Dark Grey.
The warm voice continued to explain energetically once Felix familiarized himself with the colors of the Treasures, “While there are ten Life Ranks that are listed from strongest to weakest; God, Emperor, King, Duke, Prince, Leader, Elite, Rare, Uncommon, and Normal.” This time nine similar white dogs appeared, but the intelligence in their eyes drastically varied, the final three looking at Felix with expressions of disdain, the middle three were carefully observing Felix and the final three were looking at Felix like he was a treat.
As Felix shifted uncomfortably under their gazes, the warm voice appeared again and the twenty-one phantoms vanished, “With every three Ranks, with the exception of trash, there is a different generalization. Normal, Uncommon and Rare are generalized as Low-Tier. Bronze, Silver and Gold are generalized as Mid-Tier. Epic, Legendary and Mythical are generalized as High-Tier. Iridescent is the only other exception sitting at the top as the Supreme Tier.” The warm voice faded away and Felix did his best to remember all the information that was suddenly forced upon him.
‘That was simple, but I just wanted to make my character.’ As his tired thought faded from his mind, the warm voice spoke up again, “Unfortunately, [Realms of Realism] is currently offline, but you can create a character based on your current body. Don’t worry about needing a wheelchair or any other form of assistance required to live a normal life, in [Realms of Realism] all players are given a perfectly healthy body, so all players have the same starting point. If you have a capsule, you get scanned every time you play, but if you have a helmet you have to manually scan yourself if you want to update your character. You can only change up to 10% of current appearance and if you want to change races, please say so. When you are finished, please inform me, but please know you only have one chance to make your character. Have fun.”
Suddenly Felix saw a mirror image of himself appear in front of him. ‘Oh man, I’ve never been good at character creation. Hmm, what to do. First, I should change my eye and hair color so I’m less likely to be recognized in the real world, 10% really isn’t that much. My dark brown hair can become black, I think that’s within the 10% change, as for my amber eyes… I have no idea; amber eyes aren’t that rare so it should be fine. What does a handsome face look like? I don’t know, but I think I look perfect as is. I don’t care anymore; it’s too much work to modify my appearance.’ The longer Felix gazed at his barely changed character, the more he felt it was perfect. Mostly because he’s the kind of guy to hit the randomize button a few times to make an RPG character, in other words he doesn’t actually care what he looks like, and he felt he’s already quite handsome.
‘As for race, I’ll remain a human. That’s not me being xenophobic, I swear. I just have no idea what other races there are. I don’t even know the name of the basic classes.’ The more Felix thought about it the more he realized being the first isn’t necessarily the best. There’s no information to learn from, no guide to follow, but the unknown world ahead of him made his heart burn with anticipation and curiosity. As he mentally locked in his character’s appearance and race, he felt lost, ‘What do I do for the next two days? Well, first I should use all of my paid time off to take a week off so I can play nonstop. What else… I have to go shopping, clean my house, now that I think about it, I have a lot to do for the next two days. How do I leave?’
“Uh, disembodied voice, I finished making my character.” Felix spoke into the void, and the warm voice reappeared, “Are you sure you wish to use this appearance for your character? Estimating amount changed, 3%. You have 7% left do you wish to change anything further?” Felix fell into deep thought as he stared at his character before he looked at his hair and then his character’s hair before deciding, “Can you please remove the changes to my appearance?” The warm voice spoke up with a chipper mood, “Understood.” Felix’s character was once again a perfect mirror of him and he nodded his head with a relieved smile, “Thank you, much better. I knew it my normal look is best. Having a secret identity isn’t my thing, I don’t care if someone recognizes me, I mean I’m not popular or important, so it doesn’t matter that much. I mean in novels, those rich psychos with nothing to do always go after those god-like damage dealers. Damage dealing isn’t my thing, I always left that to John_Doe2619. I always play more of a support role, it got to a point where they called us the Strongest Sword and Shield. Those were the days, but running away from guild recruiters was a pain.”
As Felix began to reminisce about his glory days, the warm voice spoke up, “Current character appearance has 0% changed from initial scan and original race, Human, has not been changed. Would you like to make any modifications?” Felix gazed into his clone’s blank eyes for a bit before shaking his head, “No, thank you for your assistance and the information.” The warm voice seemed to hesitate before speaking, “That is my duty. If you wish to lock in this appearance and race, please name your character, please note that you cannot change this later and it will impact how others will treat you.”
Felix looked at his reflection and sighed, “Using a gamer tag would be best for anonymity, but that’s impossible at this point.” Felix hesitated for a moment before smiling bitterly, “How about this, my name is Felix Ingram, since you look like me you can take half of my name, Ingram. That way my family name won’t end with me, it will live on as the name of the First Player in [Realms of Realism]. I’ll be Felix and you’ll be Ingram.” Felix as spoke to his clone, he pointed at it with a pose he thought looked cool, but naturally it couldn’t respond, but the warm voice did, “Are you sure that you wish to name your character {Ingram}?” Feeling kind of silly, Felix confirmed, “Yes. Now that we’re talking about names, what is your name, or would it be serial number? I don’t know.”
The warm voice hesitated again before it continued to do its job, “… Your confirmation has been acknowledge. I wish you glory in [Realms of Realism]. I’ll see you later, Felix. If our paths cross again, I look forward to seeing how you grow..” Felix’s eyes slightly shook at the overly familiar female voice that seemed to be speaking right next to his right ear, as he felt a pair of warm arms lazily drape over his shoulders. Before he had time to turn his head, just as abruptly as he arrived in this empty void, he woke up in the capsule. “What was that? Why did the disembodied voice suddenly get so close? Was it ever disembodied? Is that what ASMR feels like? I still have goosebumps; I really don’t like being touched. Or would that be I’m not used to being touched? I don’t know, all I do know is… They were warm.” Felix muttered the final part as memories of what he could never get back flashed through his mind before he sat up and shook his head. “I can’t dwell on these negative thoughts; I have things to do.” Felix said in a low voice, as if he were convincing himself.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
The rest of his day was mostly routine. He washed up, ate a simple breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes before he left for work. At work, he asked for a week off using all of his accumulated paid time off, “Is there a reason for this sudden request for a week off starting Thursday? You know our company is pretty flexible when it comes to family matters.” When he saw Felix’s face darken, he suddenly remembered that Felix was now an orphan and awkwardly walked away. Anyway, after that brief interlude, he got his time off request approved, for a variety of reasons that worked in his favor, first, it was the slow season, second, his role wasn’t that crucial to the overall workflow and finally, even if he wasn’t there his co-workers could easily cover his share. That final fact that made Felix feel slightly useless, but he brushed it off and returned to work the rest of his shift.
When he clocked out for the day, his co-workers were all going to a nearby bar to blow off some steam and they invited him with good intentions, “Hey, Felix! Do you want to come with us? It’s good to let loose every now and then.” Felix flatly refused, “Thanks for the invitation, but I don’t like the taste of alcohol. I have something to do today, so I’ll be leaving now.” After he said his piece, Felix left. “Sometimes I feel like we live in separate worlds.” His co-worker muttered as he watched Felix’s back vanish into the crowd before he turned back to the rest of the group.
Felix’s plans were visiting a grocery store, ‘I should fill up my fridge with ingredients, I’d prefer to not need to leave home during my vacation. I also need…’ Felix went through a mental check list of everything he needs for his home as he walked through the store with his phone’s calculator open. After spending more than he would like to, Felix was walking home when he got a message from John_Doe2619. Slightly shifting the weight on his arms as he opened their message, {Hey, did you get your capsule yet?} Before he could respond, they began to send a barrage of messages, {I got mine today.}, {They were here so early lol. It was kind of a pain.}, {It makes me feel like I’m doing something bad when they come so early.}, {They arrived at six in the morning, I guess it wasn’t that early.}, {I’m slightly surprised I’m the third person to buy a gaming capsule. I guess that makes you the second. It’s kind of a shame that we just missed the first slot, the gold medal, the absolute beginning lol.}
Just as Felix thought he could respond, they send another text, {I almost forgot to ask, did you set up your character yet? What’s your name in game. It felt so realistic, but that empty space made me feel kind of isolated. I got chills when I heard that cold robotic voice. Oh, I got a Legendary gift pack when the servers start, did you get one too?} Felix waited for a bit before responding, {Someone’s excited. I don’t even know where to start. I’ll text you back when I get home. I’m walking and my arms are full right now.} Felix slid his phone back into his pocket and focused on not collapsing from the strain. The burn in his arms made him reaffirm his decision to enter his gym arc.
After putting away his groceries and supplies, Felix sat on his pile of pillows and took out his phone again. Thankfully John_Doe2619 didn’t text him an entire essay while they waited. {I’m free. I took a week off work just so I could play unimpeded. I got the inside scoop when they dropped off my capsule, Thursday is the day the servers open.} Felix slightly hesitated and decided not to tell them he got the first capsule, {That sucks, I guess we just missed it. My in-game name is Ingram, but what do you mean cold robotic voice? I didn’t think it sounded even remotely cold.}
As Felix hit send, he thought back to this morning and the advice from the representative, ‘Should I tell them to train their body too? I don’t know what they look like, but the representative made it sound so important.’ Felix was torn between telling them outright and being vague about it. {I’m going to start working out, laying down for prolonged periods of time while we play this game might have a negative impact on our physical health. Do you want to join me in keeping ourselves healthy?} As he sent it, Felix felt this was too abrupt of a tone shift, but what was done is done. {What are you saying lol. Sure, why not. Let’s stay fit so we can play longer.}
Felix knew he wasn’t a saint, but he was a person that shares the best with those he cares about, so he was happy that the one person he cared about listened to him. ‘Maybe I should tell them… it won’t be too late to tell them the real reason when we meet in game. I wonder what kind of character they’ll be playing this time. Well to do that we have to find out what kind of classes this game has.’ His thoughts were interrupted by a text, {Wait, did you say the servers open in two days?!} Felix slightly chuckled as he responded, {Yeah, learn to read.} They ignored his playful jab, {Are your only now telling me?!} Before Felix had a chance to respond he got a phone call. Answering it revealed the changed voice of his only friend, “I can’t believe this. Usually, games of this nature have a much longer wait time to ensure as many players as possible get online when the time comes. How am I going to get a week off now? My boss is so strict when it comes to using paid time off. I’m going to get chewed out for not sending it at least three days in advance, I could have gotten away with two days in advance if you had told me earlier.”
As John_Doe2619 panicked voiced echoed throughout his empty room, and Felix laughed, “I love how just putting in the request for the day after the server opens doesn’t even occur to you. I mean we’re all going to start on the same footing, well kind of. If someone who worked on the game plays, then they will definitely know more than us. I doubt much is going to happen in the half-day you’re not there. Besides Thursday is the beta test, which is only open to the first one-hundred capsule owners.” Their anguished voice erupted again, “Oh come on, you kept that from me too?! All the more reason I can’t miss a second. Can you imagine only having ninety-nine competitors on a world server. Think of all the experience we can gain, think of the level gap between us and the people who come after. Should I fake a family emergency? No, that won’t work.” As they agonized over it, Felix absentmindedly said, “Why don’t you put in your request now? I mean I assume you can do it online and someone can see it tomorrow morning. Then you can say you forgot to put it during working hours earlier and you might get away with it.”
After a moment of silence they responded, “That could work. I’ll call you back.” Before Felix could say anything, they hung up. Felix just sank into his pillows with a tired sigh, “I’m really not that good at socializing.” Felix closed his eyes and let his drowsiness saturate his body, but he didn’t fall asleep because John_Doe2619 said they’d call back later. ‘If this game is like a normal RPG, then I want to play a role that lets me stay in a safe place, isolated from everyone else.’ Felix ended his thoughts there because he had a feeling that he’d get a phone call soon.
When he heard the familiar ringtone, Felix opened his eyes and picked up, “Hello again. How did it go? Did it go through, or will you know tomorrow?” John_Doe2619 happily spoke, “I got the time off, but I also got warned to put my requests in earlier next time. Anyway, now that I’m not stressing out anymore, want to play a game?” Felix yawned before he refused, “Sorry, as much as I’d like to. I have work tomorrow and its nighttime for me.” John_Doe2619 paused before speaking, “Same it’s nighttime here too. Hey, I appreciate you.” Felix placed his phone on his chest as he rubbed his eyes. As he stretched his arms and legs to help his blood flow, he asked, “Yeah? What brought that on?” John_Doe2619 paused before speaking, “I know I’m a weird person. I hide everything about myself; I haven’t even revealed my real voice to you even though we have known each other for almost three years now. Sometimes I wonder if you get tired of… of me.”
Felix’s eyes sharpened as he sat up with a serious expression, “I don’t care about things like that, we all have our secrets. All that matters is whether or not you consider me a friend.” John_Doe2619 went silent, and Felix quickly spoke to cover the awkward silence, “I mean, online anonymity is important for safety. I don’t know where I was going with this.” John_Doe2619’s began to laugh, making the slightly melancholic atmosphere vanish without a trace. After they finished laughing, they took a deep breath to calm themself. After a few seconds of silence, they spoke, “When we start playing this new game… I… I…” They stopped and Felix softly spoke, “Take your time, I can wait.” Soon they spoke up in a small voice, “I wish you were a bit more curious about me. You’ll learn something about me when the game starts in two days. I’m going to sleep.” Felix was used to the abrupt ends of conversations.
He looked down at his phone before sighing, “The problem isn’t curiosity, but I know what to ask and what not to ask. Keeping people at a distance is what keeps me safe. I refuse to experience that pain again.” Felix plugged in his phone before laying back onto his throne of pillows, his physical exhaustion was blown away, in its place was his usual mental exhaustion. Felix closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.
The next day was the same as the day before, boring. Waking up to an annoying alarm, laying on pillows for an hour longer than he should before getting up, going to the bathroom, taking a shower, making breakfast and his lunch, packing his lunch, eating breakfast, brushing his teeth, play on his phone for a while before it was time to leave. On his way to work, try not to bump into anyone or gain any attention so he doesn’t have to engage in conversation with someone, enter the office, stare at the clock, ignoring the chattering of his co-workers, until it was time to clock in. Work until lunch, eat lunch, work the rest of his day doing a job he doesn’t care about. Clock out, refuse attending an unnecessary social gathering, walk home while ignoring the crowd around him.
When Felix got home, he took off his shoes and collapsed on his worn-out couch. ‘Another long day has been completed. Tomorrow is the day; it would be a lie to say I’m not even a little excited.’ Although his thoughts said he was excited, his expression wasn’t even close to excitement, it was closer to an apathetic gaze that was directed at the ceiling. Suddenly Felix’s phone rang, breaking him out of his daze. Looking down, he expected it to be John_Doe2619, but instead it was an unknown number, ‘Spam, I’ll ignore it. If it’s important they’ll leave a voicemail.’
Leaning back on the couch, Felix listened to his phone’s ringtone and felt his heartbeat in his chest. ‘What do I do? Should I go to bed early? I mean I don’t know the exact time the beta server, or servers, will open. I don’t have anything else to do.’ As Felix thought about what to do to help pass time, his phone rang again. Glancing at it, Felix saw it was the same number. ‘Now that I think about it, I never got spam calls before. The only person that knows my number is John_Doe2619. Now I’m curious.’ Following his curiosity, Felix picked up but remained silent. After a few seconds of silence, a gruff male voice spoke, “Hello, is this the phone of Felix Ingram?” Felix’s curious expression slightly warped as he responded, “Yes, who am I talking to?”
The gruff male voice coldly spoke, “That doesn’t matter. What did you hear when you made your character?” Felix felt confused but he asked, “What are you talking about exactly? I don’t know how you got my…” He was cut off, “Shut up and answer my question.” Felix’s eyes turned cold, and he hung up and blocked the number without a word. “Who does they think they are? There are three things I truly hate in this world. On the top of that list is being told what to do without a reasonable explanation. I’m not a servant in the Middle Ages, why should I listen to someone’s one-sided orders. Now I’m mad, taking a nap sounds amazing right now. I should text John_Doe2619 my current plan.” Acting on his thoughts, he shot them a quick text before stomping his way upstairs while grumbling, “That stupid… I’ll set an alarm for eleven PM. They might open the servers at exactly midnight, this company clearly isn’t against doing things early, or maybe our time-zones are drastically different. Whatever, I don’t care. Stupid phone call, ruining my mood.”
Casually tossing his work clothes into the dirty clothes basket, Felix put on his pajamas and brushed his teeth before laying down in the open gaming capsule with his phone resting on his chest. ‘This would make for an amazing bed, once you get over the slightly claustrophobic feeling when the lid is down. I don’t have trouble breathing and I’m not lacking in space, just knowing that when it closes, I’m in a completely enclosed space makes my mind panic slightly, but it’s comforting in a way. An odd mixture of conflicting feelings. I realize everyday I’m a man filled with contradictions. I want to be left alone, but I feel lonely at times. I want to leave this world, but this world has all my things.’ Felix’s rampaging thoughts faded like the setting sun as his fatigue caught up to him.
On the other end of the phone, a black-haired, blue-eyed man was tightly holding a phone with a furious expression, “Did that worthless trash just hangup on me? Me!? Heaven’s Chosen. How dare he? Felix Ingram, you are the first to disrespect me this way. I’ll make your life a living hell in [Realms of Realism]. You’ll come crawling to me, begging for a forgiveness I will not provide. How can I be second place!? I’m better than the rest of those cannon fodder that lucked out, why couldn’t I have… it wasn’t like this last time. Is this a punishment? They don’t even know what’s coming. No, it’s okay, I’ll still have a massive head start with a Mythical gift bag. People with loose mouths are truly worthless. Only a few million and that moron sold out all their player’s information to an outsider.” The man spoke Felix’s name with barely contained wrath. He slammed his phone on the desk and picked up the top document from a stack of documents,
{Name: Felix Ingram | Age: 23 | Occupation: Office worker
Character Name: Ingram | Player Number: 1
Father: Ted Ingram (Deceased) | Mother: Mary Ingram (Deceased)
Sibling(s): Eldest Brother; Tomas Ingram (Deceased) | Older Brother; Bart Ingram (Deceased) |
Younger Sister; Beth Ingram (Deceased) | Younger Sister; Emily Ingram (Deceased)
Notes: Most of his family on both sides are deceased and the rest avoid taking about him like his even his name brings misfortune. Has no personal or work friends. Isolates himself indoors.}
“So much basic information with just a name. The power of money is quite scary.” The man absentmindedly commented as he read Felix’s personal information without a hint of guilt. “So, he’s an orphan. While I could figure out what happened, I don’t want to spend money on someone I can’t remember. He must have been useless. I doubt she would take an interest in someone with failure in his future. Now I’m even more upset, such a useless person met her. Felix Ingram, once a failure, always a failure no matter how lucky you are. I’ll let you hold on to her blessing for now, I have more important things to do. I’ll let you grow like livestock. I’ll let you gather your wealth before I kill you and take it. After all, I’m the protagonist of this world, why should I do all the work.” The man had a disdainful expression as he tossed Felix’s information to the floor before stepping on it, leaving a black shoe print on the white paper. With a twist of his foot, the paper tore and he left it down there for his secretary to pick up later.
“Sorry Seth, in this life you won’t be my rival. What’s mine is mine and what you had will also be mine. I won’t be second to anyone again. This time I’ll be the hero. I’m feeling generous, so I’ll let you be extra number two, right behind that livestock. Once you both fatten up, then it will be time to reap countless benefits.” The man’s laughs echo in the empty room, making his secretary outside shiver. ‘My first order of business is taking the Gem of Perfect Growth; it’s a shame that such a useful treasure is only available during the beta test. You won’t get your first growth opportunity Seth. I have until the end of the week to obtain it. The seventh day is when manage to obtain it, so I have six days to snatch it.’
The man’s face suddenly turned black as he remembered something unpleasant, ‘I thought I managed to forget it, I guess trauma sticks with you. That swindler, I forgot how many people fell for her tempting words and bought that useless junk, only to realize it wasn’t a hidden quest piece, but instead was worthless junk. When she didn’t refund our money…’ The man habitually shivered before suddenly getting furious, ‘That was the first time we felt the power of an NPC, all because of that junk that lowered the value from what it was made of. I’m still mad about the permanent debuff that I got when I died at her hand, it was completely irremovable.’
The man took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. ‘That reminds me, when I’m strong enough I have to find and bully her. I should use that high ranked curse scroll on her… No that would be a waste of a precious early game resource just for some petty revenge.’ The man looked up at pile of documents before a malicious smile formed on his lips, ‘This time, I’ll make all those future rankers my own people using the information they gave me. I just hope my random spawn point isn’t too bad.’
“Adams, your father is calling for you.” The secretary said after knocking and entering the room. The young man, Adams, nodded and his malicious expression transformed into an innocent smile as he turned to her and gently answered, “Okay, I’ll head over right away, thank you Sasha.” She nodded with a blank expression, but a flash of disdain appeared in her eyes as she turned away. Adams clenched his fists before releasing them with a sinister smile. “Before I enter [Realms of Realism] I have to clean house first. Sasha Tomas, Tony Mare, Jones Smith, Smith Jones, Rex Flint, Oliver Dix, and my lovely father, Wayne Jackson, all have to go. They’ll only get in my way; I don’t have time to pacify them and play at the same time. There’s too much to do and I can’t stop time anymore.” Adams sighed as he looked out at the skyline before his expression changed back into his usual fearful one as he quickly rushed out of the office, with Felix’s picture being illuminated until the door closed.
At exactly eleven, Felix was abruptly woken up by his usual annoying alarm. “I think I should change that alarm. Hearing it everyday is getting old.” Felix rubbed his eyes with a yawn as he absentminded said something he was never going to do. As Felix laid in the capsule, he picked up his phone and stopped his blaring alarm. “An hour to go. What to do. Now that I think about it, I never call John_Doe2619 first. I mean I don’t know what to talk about outside of games. I guess we could chat about we think [Realms of Realism] is going to be about.” Felix yawned as he stretched his arms before he continued.
“I wonder what the overarching story is going to be. Perhaps an ancient evil’s reawakening or maybe an attack from otherworldly beings… wait a second, wouldn’t that make us the bad guys in that scenario? That could be fun in a way, but I don’t think I have it in me to be a villain like that. Actually, aren’t players a great evil when there’s enough of us? I don’t think there’s anything we wouldn’t kill if given enough players and decent reward. Have I been a villain all along? Now that I think about it, killing monsters to grind for levels is technically destabilizing the Eco system, at least when the monsters are animals.” Felix’s tired mind began to run wild, and he said whatever came to mind.
After making up countless random scenarios, Felix returned to his original thought and called his only friend. As the phone rang, Felix suddenly felt bad, ‘It’s eleven at night. Wouldn’t I be ruining their sleep quality? Who am I kidding, a gamer with the game they’ve been keeping eye on being on the verge of release. Sleep quality is the last thing on most of their minds.’ Before Felix’s thoughts could begin to run wild again, the ringing ended.
A familiar distorted voice groggily spoke, “Felix, what do you need this late?” Felix heard a yawn and slightly felt bad, but he spoke up regardless, “Sorry for waking you, I just wanted to see if you were going to wait up with me. No, sorry what I meant to ask was, I have no idea when the beta test will start, do you want to chat with me until right before midnight and see if the server comes online this earlier?” Felix took a deep breath and calmed his tense nerves and slowed his pace, “Sorry, I’m saying too much too fast. Let’s make this simplistic. Do you want to chat until eleven fifty?”
With another yawn and what sounded like the distorted shifting of blankets, “Sure, why not. I mean the company clearly has no problem doing things during the early hours of the day.” Felix rolled his eyes as he spoke, “You have no idea.” Soon they spoke about their usual nonsense, “I’m sure dinosaur meat would taste amazing, otherwise why were there so many carnivorous and omnivorous dinosaurs?” Felix suddenly said and John_Doe2619 when silent for a second before speaking, “How did you get to dinosaur meat? We were talking about what the kinds of food you would think they’d add to such an expensive game. I really want to crack your head open to see how your mind works, but at the same time I’m afraid I’d catch your stupidity.” Felix symbolically clenched his chest as he spoke, “Oh, how you wound me, but if you think about it for a second, you’d realize I’m right.”
You could imagine how John_Doe2619 rolled their eyes as they responded, “I think the truth is more in line with that fact dinosaurs were huge, meaning they had huge stomachs. A huge stomach equals a huge appetite, I think a single dinosaur would completely consume one of current forests with ease, meaning eating something close to yourself in size would be much more filling and sustainable for the long term.” After finishing their tirade, Felix only replied with a bored, “Okay. Anyway, do you think there’s going to be fantasy races in this game?”
The sudden change made John_Doe2619 feel slightly deflated, but they hesitantly answered, “I don’t know, maybe? It’s called [Realms of Realism], what if the realism means only normal everyday things will be included. Could you imagine if it was a shooting RPG game? I think I’d go crazy, I don’t particularly like guns, I mean they’re kind of intimidating, right? It’s not just me, right?” Near the end their tone became more frantic. Felix thought about it for a bit before answering, “I mean, I guess. They’re just so removed from everyday life, I don’t really have a desire to see or own one, I’m not a gun fanatic. So, in a way I guess they’re kind of intimidating, besides Magic is way cooler than bullets.”
“It makes me kind of happy we agree on this point. Oh, it’s eleven forty-eight. I guess this the end for now… I’ll find you in game, if its online and then we can chat more.” Before John_Doe2619 could hang up, Felix asked, “Wait a sec, I never got your character’s name. It’s kind of hard to meet up when I don’t know your name.” They fell silent before suddenly hanging up. Felix looked down at the disconnect screen with confusion, “Why didn’t they tell me? I guess, it won’t be too hard to find them in a crowd of one hundred, but it might be a bit tiring to introduce myself one-hundred times. I should have asked for her character’s characteristics.” Felix belatedly realized and lightly smacked his forehead before sliding his hand down his face.
“Then again, I have no idea what to expect. It could be one of those games where each person is randomly send to a location when they start. This severe lack of knowledge is really getting old. I know I should plug my phone in, but I’m feeling lazy right now.” Felix sighed as he laid back and closed the capsule, after tossing his phone onto his bed of pillows. With a burst of blue light, Felix reappeared in the empty void. “And now we wait.” Felix said with a straight face.
Roughly ten minutes passed by until in the blink of an eye. In the depths of the empty void, a small iridescent dot appeared before rapidly expanding filling the void and drilling into Felix’s body. With a burst of pain that made Felix close his eyes and curl up in pain. He felt like something happened to him, but the pain and iridescent light faded like nothing happened. Instead, a translucent shimmer appeared in front of him. “What is this?” Before Felix could gather his thoughts, he felt someone shove him from behind and he fell into the translucent doorway before vanishing.
In the void a warm voice spoke, “I hope you are prepared to suffer hardships young one. I never thought that mana could exist in that form, how peculiar. As is, becoming a mage is an impossibility. I’ll assist once, just once, just this one time. His soul barely has any tethers to reality; all I want to do is ensure he makes a few more bonds. I’ve broken the rules by helping directly, but I really do hope he gets a good welcoming gift. My punishment for breaking the rules shouldn’t be too bad, maybe a slight drop in authority at most. All I did was temporarily add two zero turning a single digit into a triple digit for one day, that’s the limit of what I can do. It’s been a very long time since I saw such an unlucky soul.” The transparent woman sighed wistfully.
Unlike what he thought might happen, Felix didn’t feel a sense of weightlessness, or a bout of dizziness. Instead, it was like he closed and opened his eyes. Before Felix’s mind could catch up, he realized he was on his feet in a large, empty courtyard surrounded by tall walls obscuring his view. Felix swallowed his saliva as he looked around for any sign of life, all he saw were piles of dust. Upon a closer inspection, the courtyard was in a state of disarray with countless deep cracks on the walls and buildings. ‘Where am I?’ Felix looked down at his hands, seeing a plain white shirt and pale grey pants. As he pinched himself, to his surprise it hurt, then he got excited, ‘I guess it wasn’t false advertisement. Now what? Usually in games there’s a novice village or a place where we can gain our first class.’ Felix looked around again, but he only saw a broken-down empty courtyard and walls.
‘Is this my starting zone? What do I do? On that note, how do I open my inventory, they said I’d get a free gift pack.’ The moment the word, [Inventory] appeared in his mind, a very small grey room the size of a coffee table appeared in his mind with a tied palm sized iridescent bag floating in the middle. Seemingly out of instinct, Felix grabbed the bag, and it appeared in his right hand as the room shattered and vanished from his mind like it never existed. Felix’s face darkened as he realized this was the kind of game where your inventory is whatever you can carry on your body.
Felix felt like crying. ‘I see, no wonder I got a strange look from the representative. I really need to go to buy some weights as soon as possible. Wait, since a strange space appeared, does that mean magic exists in this world?’ Felix felt his breathing become labored, but he calmed himself down, ‘Calm down me. Let’s not get too excited, using what I learned then this should work, [Status Board].’ Instead of a normal status board all that popped up was a message on a slightly translucent white background, {Choose a starter class. Option One: Novice Physical | Option Two: Novice Magic.}
‘This is an easy one. While Physical skills are strong, they mean you have to get close to monsters. I know I’m not courageous, I mean I get a heavy feeling in my stomach when I see a large dog, let alone a wolf that would eat me alive.’ Felix made his choice without much of a mental struggle. It’s a shame he didn’t know what the warm voice said.
