Raven walked up the castle’s front stairs, smooth and golden tiled. The entire thing looked awe-inspiring. But at night, it was utterly terrifying. Sleek white, ghostly almost. Rising two times higher than the highest buildings, it’s gothic architecture not helping the shivers it brought to onlookers.

Reaching the top of the couple dozen step climb, he was met with a pair of wide open archaic-gold wooden doors. The doorway, Raven noted, was more than large enough to allow a Troll in. Flexing his shoulders back to relieve the cold that suddenly fell upon his back, he stepped inside.

Raven followed the long hallway he was met with, glancing about at the more than creepy statues that were built out of the walls, popping out at him like phantoms and full colour at that. The torch light that flickered with the slightest breath only made it worse.

As he walked suddenly a window popped into view, making him take several steps back and pale severely.

You are entering a scenario instance.

Players will be hidden to reduce mesh clutter and increase immersion

Continue onwards for cutscene.

Raven tapped away the window and moved onwards, sighing in relief as goosebumps riddled his body. Silently he reached the hallway’s end, a closed singular wooden door. He turned the knob, it easily opened.

Raven pushed it open, revealing a massive hall within. He glanced at the long wooden seats across the entire room, the flat backs they had. He studied the raised altars up front and then the stained glass images replacing the windows on either side, up front and even above.

Raven realised this wasn’t a castle, this was a place of worship. This was a church.

(“Did I take the wrong entrance or is this the wrong place entirely?”) He asked himself.

“Ah, and here arrives another.” Spoke a voice from his right, as a knightly looking man stepped out of the shadows. Wearing a mix of white armour and golden robes the Knight also wore no helmet, showing his light brown long hair and blue eyes.

As the Knight approached, Raven glanced at their name.

{Holy Alliance} Commander Paladin Bolen Stuart [Level 90] (NPC)

“Welcome, dear new friend.” Bolen greeted “I am Commander Stuart of the Human citadel of Staghelm, member of the Eden Holy Alliance.” He forwarded his hand to Raven, which he shook “Ah, speechless?” the paladin asked, gesturing at the hall around them.

“Confused really, but yeah that too.” Raven admitted.

Bolen chuckled “Yes, yes. This must all be very confusing for you, summoned to a different world by the Gods to aid people you know not. Speaking of people, I gather you have met your fellow Conquerors by now?”

Raven was not surprised in the slightest by the NPC’s reaction, sophisticated speech recognition and speech creation had long been part of the gaming industry “I have, friendly bunch.” He bitterly replied.

Bolen smiled apologetically “Prideful bunch, yes, yes. That aside, Eden would not be what it is without you.” He gestured for Raven to follow, and he did. Following the Paladin Commander through the middle path till they reached the altar’s stairs in front of which a small pond of water lay. Bolen walked around it, stopping where the pool lay in between them.

“Why you’re here, what the Delves are…I believe the best way to explain, is from the very beginning. “ Bolen said as he raised his right gauntlet forward, blue energy flowing down from his finger tips and into the water “In the beginning, there was Eden. Within it, there was Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Marshskins and Shifters as there is today. But unlike today, peace was void.”

As he spoke, the water flowed up and formed shapes, showing Raven the five different races “There was five people, and where there is difference, there is issues. War blazed alive, with the Humans pushing into Marshskin territory. The flames got fiercer when the Dwarves joined the Humans, having always hated the Marshmen. Yet both where unprepared for the relentless force the Marshskins where, both Human and Dwarf losing territory instead.”

The water continued to take shape, showing battlefields, sieges and seemingly moving onto singular duels “The Humans then called onto the Elves, using their attractive words to turn the prideful against the Marshskin. The Holy Alliance was then formed, between Human, Dwarf and Elf. The war raged on for many generations, as territory changed and shifted. Then they appeared, out of the jungles and caverns.”

The water now showed an open field of grass, two massive armies clashing with each other. To one side there was a thick jungle…and out of it an even larger armada flowed out “The Shifters, tired with the bickering, tired with the damage to their beloved nature. They joined the fighting, but targeted both sides instead of picking one.”

“The fighting became absurd, lives being lost left and right without pause. Death plagued Eden, a stench that oozed down to the very depths. Waking what should never have been reawaken.” Bolen’s tone became deadpan as the water showed the bottom of a cavern…a large pile of…something laying within as two torch-bearing warriors stood tiny before it.

The creature’s massive wings shifted, as it uncoiled and rose to face the intruders. “A Dragon woke from its millennial slumber…” the water shifted, to a burning city as a goliath of a winged serpent flew over. It spewed out long waves of flames, melting away the stone and disintegrating anything else. “As the harbingers of disaster that they are, the Dragon wrecked havoc upon all of Eden. An unstoppable force of cruel nature. It burned down entire cities under a night, turned fields of crops into a burning wasteland by day…”

“Scorched entire armies to ash with a single breath.” Another battlefield, the water now showed. But this time it was different, as the two armies both ran together from the colossal monster that drowned them in its blaze. “The massacre seemed endless, as the single being of chaos brought each race into a corner. Five cities remained, one for each race to hide within as the Dragon prowled the outskirts. Laughing, amused by their weakness. Each race wondered who will fall first. Which race, will be met with extinction’s blade first?”

Raven listened attentively as he watched the imagery in the pond, four cities with a large distance between each other and a serpentine creature with massive wings walking around them. “These five cities were Blackcarn, Lion’s Edge, Pridemount, WarpingWoods and Jadefalls. To this day, only one of those cities remain.” Bolen continued to tell “Jadefalls, originally Elven it is where the five races joined arms up against the beast.”

“It is where they stood their ground, and awaited the annihilation which was sure to come.” The Dragon, Raven saw in the water was now approaching a single city as figures moved within and manned the walls. “The End was nearing…But before our final prayers reached their conclusion, They answered.”

The water shifted and flowed about now, taking no describable form “The Gods saw fit to save us, and through their power they summoned you. Conquerors of another world.” The water rose higher and finally took shape, Raven’s shape “You came in swarms, thousands upon millions of you. Without any sort of line of command, without any plan or formation. You horded the Dragon, moving in ways we thought impossible. Summoning magic beyond our very knowledge.”

Raven had heard of this event, it was the game’s open beta event where millions of players around the world connected to test the game’s mechanics. He saw pre-recorded livestreams and dev hosted recordings. It was entitled by critics as the third most epic large-scale battle in the history of VR gaming.

(“Moved in ways you thought impossible? Hah must have been the lag.”) He inwardly chuckled, as Bolen continued telling the tale.

“The Dragon’s chaos fell to your own. As we watched in terror behind our walls. But it did not end there.” The water shifted to show the corpse of an oozing beast, as the ooze flowed down and into the ground “The Dragon’s death brought out the corruption that lay within it. It oozed into the land, diving deep into Eden’s core corrupting the world itself. Turning what used to be this world’s source of power into a source of maddened creation. The Dungeon Core.”

The image shifted away, as if going deeper and into the ground before taking the form of a large glowing sphere. As the ooze flowed into it, and suddenly the water’s very colour turned dark. The torches around the hall dimmed, as what used to be a pool of water rose entirely and turned into a dark warping of images.

Raven saw the bright core at its centre, darkness leaking out and digging through what he figured was Eden’s ground. Creating vast hollow spaces within, inside which warped creatures of nightmare were formed out of the very earth.

“The Dungeon Core dug out and created Delves, the lands beneath our own where the creatures of Chaos gain birth. Down there somewhere…back then and even now they grow, evolve and march. Upwards and towards our cities with one goal in their beast-like minds.” Bolen’s voice rose as his tone grew harsher “To bring the destruction upon our homes that the Dragon could not. So that they can make the entirety of Eden their own and solely their own.”

The images of dark liquid collapsed back into the pool, as it regained its colourless and reflective form. The torches also regained their full brightness, and Raven found himself looking down at a kneeling Bolen.

“I have kneeled before more of you than I wish I could remember, but kneel again I shall. As the lives of my people, lay within your hands to save and protect.” The Paladin spoke with emotion “You came to us, brought by the hands of Gods who knew nothing but bicker. You defeated what we thought would be the end of us all. Truly, we could never show the appreciation that is due. But even then I ask of you, will you continue to fight? Will you, Conqueror of another world…help us still?”

Raven was no roleplayer, so he was unsure as how to answer. The story obviously required him to answer the Paladin’s question, as embarrassing as it might have been. He thanked the developers for hiding other players at this moment…”I will, I’ll fight.” He responded with conviction.

Bolen’s kneeling form stiffened “Thank you, Conqueror. As representative of the Human race and member of the Holy Alliance. I sincerely thank you.” He rose to meet Raven’s embarrassed expression “And again, welcome to our distraught world. Welcome to Eden. I won’t hold you for much longer.” He took a ring out of his…where did he get that ring?...

“Here, wear this at all times. It is the symbol of a Conqueror, show this to the blacksmith, tailor and whoever. Their services are yours, as limited as they might be compared to what your people can craft…” said Bolen as he forwarded the crimson ring, a black hand made out of some dark jewel embedded on the top.

Raven took the ring in hand, rolling it about he noticed an inscription on the inside ‘We fight, not for glory, not for spoils. We fight because we must. Because it is right.’ Were the words inscribed in clear English.

“Your people created that ring, the shape and the words inscribed.” Bolen added, seeing him read the words within.

Raven put the ring on and looked up to face the Paladin “So with this…I can get my basic equipment?”

Bolen nodded “Yes, be it sword or staff, armour or cloth. You have access to them all. But if you wish for better equipment it is your people who have that capability I’m afraid. The city will teach you the craft but it is up to you to improve further.”

(“So in today’s language…I can get basic equipment only from the NPC stores. Anything of a higher tier is solely player made? That’s absolutely insane.”) Raven thought as he stared down at the ring.

“After you are done gathering your due equipment,” Bolen continued “I would suggest if you have not already, to look around the magical areas your people call Spawn Points. Experienced Conquerors will introduce you to your abilities and capabilities there.”

“Already have been, but thank you for the reminder.” Raven thoughtlessly responded, he sometimes forgot it was just an NPC.

Bolen smiled “Yes well, good faith on your journey ahead Conqueror. That the Gods glance at you if the time requires need, and give due aid where is needed.”

(“Break…a leg…is what I think he meant?”) Raven mused as he stared at the Paladin awkwardly.

And the Paladin stared back, seemingly in confusion now “Is there…anything you seek to ask?”

(“Hm…Would an NPC know?”) Raven thought before putting his idea into words “Could you explain to me the differences between a Conqueror’s capability due to race?”

Bolen chuckled as he smiled apologetically “I’m afraid even I am not privy to your people’s secrets. I hear only those who join Guilds are passed down the information, I am unsure as to what it may be though.”

Raven sighed in frustration “Right…thanks.” He briefly waved the NPC goodbye and began walking away, now lost in his thoughts once more (“What is going on…Tiana didn’t seem that secretive at first…Hell she even told us-me…She only told me that there even IS a difference between races!”) he scratched his chin as he walked, now reaching the still open door. Not even noticing as it closed behind him.

(“It cannot just be stats, else I could get together a group of newbies and we can math this shit out. It has to be more, skills, spells…passives? I honestly don’t know…”) Raven opened several windows and menus, looking through them for the tenth time. His skills, spells and summons windows were entirely empty except for the basic UI. He had none.

His character page on the other hand only gave basic information.

{Character Page} Raven Conqueror Level - 1 {Statistics} Strength / 5 Constitution / 5 Agility / 5 Intelligence / 5 Wisdom / 5 Health - 10 Stamina - 10 Mana - 15 Physical Defence Multiplier - 10 Physical Damage Multiplier - 10 Magical Power Multiplier - 10 Spell CastSpeed Multiplier - 5 Physical AttackSpeed Multiplier - 5 Mobility Multiplier - 5 {Specializations} Weapon Mastery [ Unselected ] Level 0/30 Elemental Mastery [ Unavailable ] Level 0/30 Companion Mastery [ Unavailable ] Level 0/30 {Racial} [Locked]

Yet sure enough, there was a Racial section which was locked. This struck Raven as odd, the developers obviously wanted the player to know that there was something about Races they didn’t know yet. Tiana pointing it out but never explaining it could have been accidental on her part…or was it also on purpose?

He didn’t know, and this frustrated him.

To the point that he barely noticed he had already walked through the entire corridor and reached the outside. Taken out of his state of deep thought by notifications.

Item Acquired

[Ring of the Conqueror]

[Quest Log] Window has been unlocked

[Achievement!] Completed Introductory Scenario!

Raven’s eyes widened to their fullest as he read the second notification (“Un…locked?”) his mind did a black flip and several barrel rolls as it processed this one word. Seemingly laying forth a new world of possibilities before him.

He froze halfway down the stairs, as he stared at the ground before him (“If simple things like a quest book need to be unlocked by actions or achievements then…The racial differences don’t essentially need to be stats, spells or skills. They could be something entirely different…a separate system entirely maybe? Hell even a…”)

Raven swore he felt his brain implode. As he glanced at his level, then at his Specialization levels. He was level 1 yet…each of his Specs were level 0. Then where…did that one level come from? A design flaw? He doubted it, the game seemed too polished and aged for something like that to be left around. Even as a joke between developer and community.

So he had somewhere to start, the secret everyone kept from new players to handicap them had to do with some hidden Spec that gave levels into your Total level. But what was it exactly? What did it do?

He was about to find out. Raven quickly opened his browser, returning to his last search. The information before him was useless as it was, so many lies hiding away the truth. But now he had a keyword, a parameter he could enter into the search to decrease the lies and hopefully point out the truth.

Raven searched for something about Race and Specs that had to do with the game, leaving the search vague in the most part but with specific keywords to be listed. He then arranged the search by date, bringing up the oldest first. (“For someone to lie about something, there has to be that something to lie about first.”) he mused, while scrolling through the different forums, blogs, videos and social media posts. Opening anything of interest into a new tab.

What he found, surprised him even further.

Out of all the sites he glimpsed over, Raven sorted through the obvious bullshit until he came to this one video…Entitled ‘A Conqueror’s message and why I quit COTD.’

Raven sat down on the stairs, making himself as comfortable as possible before playing the video which only he could see or hear.

It began with a man, sitting back in his chair with arms crossed, pale faced and bloodshot eyes. He was bald with green eyes, yet still somewhat good looking. The man seemed distressed as he stared into the camera, seemingly having cried some time before starting to record.

“Ugh…where do I start? Right, It’s March 2036, Tuesday night here in wonderful city of Warsaw...” He had a thick polish accent about him “Who am I? You might ask. Well…If the name Calibor doesn’t ring a bell, I guess it doesn’t matter. What matters is what I’m about to tell you.” He gestured around him “This video is posted on a public property video streaming site. Only I can take it down. But that doesn’t mean they won’t try.”

Calibor sighed deeply “And by ‘They’ I mean the new COTD community as of yesterday morning. Congratulations by the way. You beat me.” He chuckled, looking somewhat unstable “Us ‘Casuals’, will get the hell out and make way for the bullshit economy you’ve been fighting to create. Tell me, giant companies of the world. Are you happy? Do you feel accomplished now?”

He leaned in closer to the camera, his annoyance clear “To those that don’t know what I’m talking about, be it new or just somewhere in the future…COTD use to be a simple game, just your average MMORPG. Released in 2032, and from last year having an open market connected to the real life economy. That’s where the shit began. Companies began investing in the game, hiring ‘Players’ and creating ‘Guilds’ in a movement to take over the game’s community.”

He lay back in his chair, covering his face with his left hand. Distraught at the thought “The publishers and developers don’t care, they’re getting paid either way. Hell with this they’re getting even more.” Revealing his face once more Calibor looked into the camera, yet his eyes seemed to be looking through it “Over the past year, my guild and several others have been fighting this take over. We’ve been fighting…Yesterday? The fight ended…” he sighed once more “We gave up, we couldn’t take the constant harassment anymore.”

He leaned forward and down, grasping his bald head with both hands in frustration “COTD is no longer a game, but a business centered around entertainment and trade…It’s a fucking casino. Companies making money by training ‘Players’ in the way of underhanded scamming and other practices. Who knows what else by the time you’re watching this…”

The man that called himself Calibor rose from his chair and grabbed the camera, staring deep into it as he said “This is why I quit COTD, because the rich are powerful and the poor are weak. So the rich employed the poor, and paid them to get rid of each other until they owned everything in the rich’s name.” He grimaced as a tear slowly leaked down his left eye “Friends…I’m sorry I couldn’t fight longer…Players that I fought against…” he chuckled, with no humour in his tone what so ever “You’ve let me down, fucking sellouts.”

He put the camera down, as it showed him tap away at a holographic screen “This is Calibor of the Nindo guild, first to ever reach the level 60 cap and top player in the Delve leaderboards…I’m the weak, the poor…I’m the loser. And I fucking quit.”

The video ended there.

Raven was…baffled by what he witnessed. Never had he before seen a grown man shed a tear. It further deepened his understanding of the environment he now found himself in. COTD wasn’t just a game, it really was a virtual life. (“Released in 2032…checks out, so does the 2035 update. 2036 this guy quit and supposedly the greedy took over huh? That was…8 years ago.”)

He sighed whilst swiping away the video, the disturbing information poking away at his brain as he continued to research deeper. Sure enough he found not just information but actual pictures taken in-game proving Calibor’s existence. He wasn’t just a member of the Nindo guild, he was the leader…

And within one of those pictures Raven noticed something, as he glanced over a core-member group picture taken in 2033. On the game’s first anniversary. His eyes froze on a single member, out of the other three dozen. Standing behind the player character named Calibor, a male Mer with dark green hair, crimson eyes and red fins.

A female Mer stood, short blue hair, violet eyes and fins. She wielded a long white staff with black vines encircling it and beside her stood a massive Chaos Harpy wearing what looked like a bikini.

This Player, Raven noted…was Tiana.