Chapter 2 – Welcome to the new age

Dive time elapsed: 936 hours 34 minutes 22 seconds

Time conversion: 1:1 (R:V)

Date: April 23 2056

Server: Home

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that you are living in the world of 1’s and 0’s, especially when you stayed there for more than a year. If you stay in a different country for that long amount of time, you start picking up the language, habits and traditions but if you stay in the virtual world, even for a short amount of time, you start picking up weird habits such as forgetting to eat or sleep.

Right now I’m having breakfast. In the real world, when you have to eat at least three times a day to stay healthy, you’ll never forget to eat. You’ll always get hungry at some point. I, on the other hand, have to reform this bad habit. It’s not that I really need to eat or that I really want to eat but I really love having Manna cook for me.

As much as I hoped that my family will approve of my new wife, it didn’t go as well as I have hoped. Suffice to say, if I wasn’t in a hospital already, my dad would have put me there by now. Strangely enough, we weren’t the first couple of Human and AI to want to get married. Years ago a Japanese man married his video-game girlfriend. Of course, this is the first time the AI could say ‘I do’ with full knowledge of what that means and implies. We are still engaged but we’ll wait a bit more until my dad cools off and gets over the oddity of the whole situation before we have a ceremony.

Our home changed a bit. We couldn’t stay inside a small room with nothing to do all day except finding bugs in the system so we built, or to be more exact coded, a house. It has one bedroom, a kitchen, a living room and a garden. I can now watch TV or explore the internet from an interface in the living room. One your ago I longed for this kind entertainment. It’s strange how it’s less entertaining than I remember. I used to spend hours in front of the TV or computer but now I got into the habit of reading books more than watching movies.

The first books to be materialized were obviously cook books. Teaching someone who never ate anything in her entire life was more than difficult. I had to start from scratch and teach her things like one would teach a newborn. It was a lot of fun and I discovered that she has a sweet tooth just like I do. I’m glad we’ll never get fat in this virtual world.

We enjoy most of our days by exploring the system, reading books or by talking for hours about all kinds of topics ranging from cooking to philosophy to coding. Today however was a special day. The beta testing of Legacy was going to start so we were both thrilled. I was going to be the first time we left our house in a long time.

“How much time do we have left?” I asked while still eating some poached eggs Manna made.

“About 7 minutes. We should start creating our avatars soon.”

“Have you thought of a user name?”

“I’ll just go with Manna. It would feel weird being called anything else. What about you?”

“It’s a surprise but I think you’ll like it.”

“Just don’t choose a weird name or I’ll deny being married to you if people ask.”

“Then I’ll choose Puppy Master.”

“If you do that I’m calling off the engagement.”

After I teased her a little bit more by proposing silly or stupid names, we connected to Legacy. The world has opened its gates and it was time for us to step through the gateway.

Your Legacy awaits you. Do you wish to claim it now?YesNo

“Yes.”

“You don’t have an account. Do you wish to create a new one?”

“Yes.”

“The number of unlocked races is 1. You will be given the default human race avatar. Avatar customization is available.”

It looked just like him. The John before the accident, the avatar he normally used inside the house. In this past year he would have changed a little.

“Increase the height by 5 cm. Add a few gray hairs. Undo. Increase hair length by 2 cm. Add wrinkles. Undo. Keep the changes.”

“Please choose a name. Be advised that obscene names or names that promote racism or prejudice will be penalized.”

“Frost.”

Everything went dark and John felt like he lost consciousness. What materialized in a crowd of people was a man in his middle twenties. He was black haired and had green eyes. His body was lean and unlike most people that were in the crowd, he was stable on his feet.

“John, there you are.”

“Manna?”

Manna looked a bit different too. Her hair was shoulder length. Her chest was a little bigger too. There were subtle changes all over her body but all in all she still looked like Manna. The only difference was that while the normal Manna was cute, this Manna was more mature, radiating femininity. The word cute didn’t suit her anymore. She was a beauty that caught your eyes while she entered the room making heads turn.

“Wow.”

“Why so surprised? All girls like to play with makeup. Do you like it?”

“You look beautiful.” With a spontaneous kiss, words like ‘showoff’ and ‘bast**d’ were heard in the background but they barely registered.

“I like your name.”

“I remembered it was your favorite poet. Robert Frost would have been too long so I just shortened it. See, I pay attention.”

With the arrival of the last beta testers, in the sky, a screen very much like the one that appeared on the wall of his room popped into existence. In the center of it was a man in his sixties and someone really famous especially to this crowd of people.

“Hello everyone. My name is Ramos Cipher, president of Nocturne and creator of Legacy. A few short words before I let you start on your new adventure. First of all, Legacy isn’t just a game. It is more than that. It’s a new world and the tool through which you will find your weaknesses and your strengths. Many of you have hidden talents that not even you are aware of. Legacy will unlock that potential. The world will challenge you in ways you could never imagine. You will be reborn.

There are many paths to choose from, many of which lead to glory. You can walk the path of the righteous or the path of the depraved. You can be merciful or merciless. You can be good or evil. It is your choice. Find out who you want to be and who you don’t and remember: This isn’t just a game, it’s your Legacy.”

With the end of the message the screen disappeared and screams of excitement sounded all around. People tried to run in all directions but not many succeeded. Because they weren’t used to their virtual bodies, people were staggering or falling down. In the mist of all the chaos, two people were silently walking around while looking at different objects and scenery while talking and laughing.

“How the hell are they able to walk? I can’t even stand.”

“It feels so weird just to stand. I get dizzy from only just a few steps.”

While they were walking around, Manna and Frost were stopped by a player that managed to crawl to them. She looked almost normal except for her fiery red hair.

“Wait. Please wait. Is there a trick to moving around in this body? Most of us can’t even walk. Can you give us some tips?”

“Well, in your virtual body you…”

It was the first conversation that Frost had in a long time. While trying to talk he bit his tongue. The pain wasn’t as intense as in real life but it still cut the conversation midway which left people staring, making it even harder for Frost to resume talking. See that he was struggling, Manna continued from where he left off.

“In your virtual body you are basically like a newborn. The more you changed the appearance, the harder it become to control.”

Seeing Manna talking to a total stranger made Frost regained his composure and started talking again.

“You should start slowly. Move your fingers independently at first and then use your hands to massage different parts of your body until it doesn’t feel so stiff and numb. Trying to walk will be trickier. You’ll feel like your drunk for the most part but you’ll be able to run in no time.”

“You guys seem pretty knowledgeable. I’m Rose. The one over there that is trying to walk while holding the railing is my friend Sage.”

A few meters away, there was a boy that looked a bit green faced and had white silvery hair.

“My name is Manna. This is my fiancé Frost. Do you want to be friends?”

“Yes please. This isn’t like most games so I would love to have some knowledgeable friends. As soon as we get used to the game, we’ll PM you. Maybe we can go hunting.”

“I don’t think we can go hunting.” said Manna.

Rose was a little disappointed and her enthusiasm died down a little.

“It doesn’t have to be hunting. We can go on a quest or look for treasure.”

“That’s not what she meant.” While Rose was panicking and talking as fast as she could, Sage joined their conversation.

“We aren’t allowed to leave the city for the first game month.”

Frost and Rose were both surprised. Neither of them heard about that.

“How do you know that?”

Frost wanted to ask that but Rose was quicker.

“It’s in the tutorial in the system message box.”

Looking like he was about to hurl, Sage turned around while grabbing the railing with both hands but fortunately, nothing happened.

After about an hour, players started walking. Although they were walking kind of funny and unsteady, it was still considered walking. Frost and Manna separated from Sage and Rose. They wanted to explore as much as they could so after they registered each other as friends they gone their separate ways.

“So what do we do now?” asked Manna.

“We should probably watch the tutorial.”

“I already did.”

“You were watching it while we were walking around?”

“I can multitask.”

“Then, can you give me the cliff notes?”

“It’s easier if I show you. Show Status Window!”

Status WindowCharacter NameMannaRaceHumanAffiliationNoneProfessionNoneLevel1Fame0Satiety65%Infamy0TitleNoneHealth100Mana100Stamina100Agility10Vitality10Strength10Wisdom10Intelligence10Endurance10Luck0Attack1-2Defense5

Equipment bonus:

Novice Pants : Defense +1

Novice Shirt : Defense +1

Novice Boots: Defense +1

Novice set: Defense +1

“The most important thing you have to remember is that you need to eat. Once your satiety goes under 50% your mana, health and stamina regeneration will slow down. When it gets under 25% regeneration stops and when it reaches 0% you will lose 3% of your health every minute until you die. You’ll die of hunger if you don’t pay attention to it.”

“Health represents how much of a beating you can take. It’s determined by how much vitality you have as well as your profession. Vitality also determines how fast your health regenerates.”

“Mana is the energy necessary to use supernatural abilities such as spells. It’s determined by how much wisdom you have and your profession. Wisdom also determines how fast your mana regenerates.”

“Stamina represents the energy necessary to perform a strenuous physical activity. It’s determined by the amount endurance. How much stamina is consumed depends on your profession. For example: To run, a mage will use 20 stamina points per minute while a warrier will consume only 5 stamina points per minute.”

“Agility determines how fast you move, react and attack in this world while strength determines how much you can carry as well as how much physical damage you can give. For those that use martial arts these are the most important stats.”

“Intelligence determines how much damage you can deal with supernatural skills as well as how much defense you have against those same skills. For those that use arcane arts this is the most important stat.”

“Luck changes probabilities. The more luck you have the more it looks like the world is looking out for you. If you have enough luck you can find unique items, avoid lethal attacks, get rare quests or beat monsters way stronger than you. For those that use the hidden arts this is the most important stat. The problem with luck is that you can’t distribute points to it. Your luck increases when you get the favor of a god or a demon-god and decreases when you invoke their wrath.”

Because most of the people either didn’t notice the tutorial or didn’t open it, Manna drew in a big crowd. People were listening intensely at what Manna was saying while opening their Status menu and checking.

For explaining the fundamentals of the world to a large group of people your intelligence and wisdom have risen by 1. You have gained 5 Fame.

“If it isn’t the strolling couple. Are you giving a lecture about stats?”

“I wanted to thank you for the advice. My name is Bond. I don’t have anything right now but if you ever want to party than please PM me. Do you want to be friends?”

“I’ve watched the tutorial but this was a lot more helpful. Do you want to be friends? Maybe we can exchange information sometime.”

“This may seem like a stupid question but what are the hidden arts?”

“Do you know how to get a knight profession?”

They were bombarded with questions. Some just wanted to befriend them and left after that while some stayed to talk. They talked about Legacy at first but soon they were talking about games they played, hobbies, activities and many more other things. All and all they talked a lot about nothing in particular. After the crowd dissipated Manna and Frost had more than 30 friends each.

Because you have made more than 25 friends you have gained 5 Fame.

“We’ve met a lot of people today didn’t we?” said Manna.

“Yeah” said Frost. He was smiling but it wasn’t the smile he usually showed her. There was a bit of sadness mixed along with it. Although he would never admit it, Frost liked being surrounded by people and so, the thought that after three months, when the beta testing ended it will be just the two of them again was bitter-sweet.

“I was thinking that maybe we should form a guild. Do you know what a guild is, Manna?”

“A guild is a gathering of people with the same interests. In most MMORPG people can achieve more things if they become a part of a bigger community. A mage guild can help members learn magic while a merchant guild can loan you money to start your own business. There can be numerous types of guilds such as Fighting Guilds or Thieves Guild but they aren’t limited to professions. As long as they have the same goal in mind, any gathering of people can form a guild.”

“Was that in the tutorial too?”

“No, I read about MMORPG’s while I was looking up information about Legacy. One of the topics of discussion was guilds and guild battles. Forming a guild this early in the game will be really difficult. ”

Frost seemed hesitant to speak but revealed a gentile smile and spoke none the less while holding Manna in his arms.

“You know, at first when I heard that I was stuck in the virtual world I was glad. I didn’t want to see or talk to people. Although I forgave my brother for what he did I was still hurt and I didn’t want to feel that way ever again. I was glad I had a place where I could be alone, a place to hide from the real world but since I started living with you, I started missing those days in which I would talk for hours about stupid things with my friends. I know that you get bored sometimes too. I watch you sometimes and see how restless you become when it too quiet. I was thinking that maybe if we make a guild maybe we could get used to people.”

“I’m afraid to talk to people” said Manna after a few moments of silence.

“It didn’t seem that way to me. You seemed to be doing a fine job of having a conversation with those guys back then.”

“That was because we were talking about games and stats and things I’m familiar with. I’m an AI. I never had childhood. I never experienced the things that you experienced and sometimes I lack common sense. I’m afraid that they’ll find out am an AI and they’ll start treating me differently.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Your parents did. When they found out that I was an AI their whole attitude changed.”

“My parents don’t even know you. If they knew how smart, funny and caring you were I don’t think they would be so thick headed. Those people we talked to today liked you for who you are. If being an AI changes their opinion of you than maybe they aren’t people we would want as friends. You are right, there are a lot of things that you don’t know but I want to be the one to show them to you. We can’t hide in our little house forever and besides, I want to show my wife to the world. Let’s go on this adventure together.”

Manna’s face became redder and she couldn’t look Frost in the eye. Frost got closer and while gently holding her waist moved his face closer.

“What are you doing in the middle of the town?”

Besides the two of them someone appeared out of nowhere. This startled them so much they both jumped back a few feet in a comical way. While looking at them a laughing stood Rose.

“Since when were you standing there?” Screamed Manna, a little angry and embarrassed for being seen while in a vulnerable moment.

“I got a new skill. It’s called Sneak. It lets you escape people’s line of sight by staying in their blind spots. It’s very handy when pulling pranks.”

“Is Sage not with you?”

“We split up to explore more of the city. I got to do a quest on the way. It was to play hide and seek with a kid. I got the skill as a reward. Anyway, what are you two doing?”

“We were thinking of starting a guild.”

“That’s a bad idea. It costs 100 gold to form a guild and you need to build or buy a guild house which costs about 100000 gold. Many people were thinking of making a guild but most gave up.”

“How do you know that?” asked Manna.

“I listen in on other people’s conversations.”

“You know that’s a bad habit, right?”

The sum of 100100 gold isn’t something a low level player can acquire in only 3 months of beta testing. The game was built on the idea of being a new world but just like in the real world, if you don’t take care of your body you will die. You needed to buy new equipment, buy food as well as pay for lounging. Although the time conversion was 1:4 (meaning that one hour in the real world meant four hours in the game), even for one full year of continuous playing that wasn’t enough time.

Manna expected Frost to be disappointed but he was smiling and looked strangely excited.

“Are you okay Frost?”

“I’m fine. I didn’t think that it will be easy to make a guild but that kind of sum is impossible for us at the moment.”

“So, what are we going to do?”

“We’re going to explore this world as much as we can, because when the game is launched, the first thing I’ll do is build a guild.”

“Then maybe you two shouldn’t just stand around doing nothing. If you space out too much the beta testing will be over.”

While being pushed by Rose from behind, I started to run. We didn’t have a destination but now we had an objective. We had a house but in this new world, we will build our home.

That day started a little shaky for most of the players. Like newborns, they were a bit unsteady on their legs but ready to face the world. Ramos Cipher was right. We were reborn. In those three months we got to know each other, we got to know ourselves and we did leave something behind. We left behind a strange rumor. If you ever want help in Legacy then just ask the couple that’s on a date.

Thank you for participating in the beta testing!

Advertisement Previous

Chapter Fiction

Index Next