Second Horizon: Chapter 1

In 2032 Virtual Reality hit the market overtaking the sales of any other next gen consoles sold. The company, GlobalDome, who developed the virtual reality software also made the first game for it called Second Horizon. GlobalDome sold several million copies of Second Horizon which boasted realism on the level of actual life. Even the world in the game was two times that of Earth. This was the start of the first adventure through full-immersion gaming.

The world can be harsh. Trust me, if anyone knows that the best, it’s me. Most of the time I don’t hang out with my friends because making a living through gaming while still in high school is the dream for many adolescents of today. Even though sometimes it is lonely, there’s fulfillment of selling legendary items from recently found dungeons and making thousands of cash. It obviously outweighs the need for friends or a social life.

Recently the game everyone has bending over backwards to get is Second Horizon. However I don’t have to worry about getting up at 3AM and fight through a herd of crazed gamers to get a copy. My father works for GlobalDome and secretly snatched a copy for me. This isn’t just any copy, it’s the first one in line to be sold and first one made!

Right now I am currently fumbling through cords and unboxing the capsule like an eager child on Christmas morning. After setting it up and shimmying my way on the gel bed I close the lid to the capsule. Once the capsule is sealed the bed automatically reads my heartbeat for the boot-up sequence. It feels and sounds like an MRI at a hospital yet somewhat calming. Then the world goes black.

I wake up relaxed in a comfortable office chair across from a beautiful woman with sharp eyes and an indifferent expression on her face. She is sitting behind an expensive mahogany office desk and she is dressed in business attire. This reminds me of one of those crime shows where you walk into your boss’s office waiting to be yelled at for letting the suspect escape.

However the surrounding area doesn’t fit in whatsoever. Everywhere is white and devoid of any material items! Before being allowed to observe anything else my thoughts are interrupted, and the awkward silence finishes.

“Welcome to Second Horizon, luckily you are the first to login and also own the first copy of the game. This allows you to pick the hidden race Demon Master. The Demon Master can choose to start with one of the two exclusive classes. Shadow Denizen or Hell’s Collector. A word of warning though: should you choose to be a Demon Master and decide on a class, it becomes impossible to switch classes later on in the game. Furthermore it will be impossible to ever be above negative intimacy with the Holy Order. You will start out as hostile which can become negative in time.”

What?! A hidden race? That is unreal, just think of the benefits of having something as valuable as this. A hidden race is a race that is the akin to the first person in history who found diamonds. The possibilities of such is 1 in a million. However it is not all advantages, there is still the negative intimacy with the Holy Order, one of the major powerhouses of Second Horizon. The Holy Order regulates power nobles attain in order to keep peace, similar to checks and balances. Not only that they also own many temples that players can receive quests from to help level up faster. This could be a setback for later when I am on the road to getting stronger.

First figuring out what these two classes mean before deciding should be the best option.

“Umm, Ms. AI ca-“

“It’s Ms. Olivia.”

“Oh, ok…Ms. Olivia, can you tell me what a Shadow Denizen and Hell’s collector involves?”

“Yes. A Shadow Denizen is fairly simple. The role you play is similar to a Rogue/Assassin from other games. However the skills used more relate to what you would expect from Hell. Such as enchanting your daggers or other small arms with hellfire that would penetrate any armor and apply a curse or hex on the target for a limited amount of time. Another would be to use a combo of attacks in quick succession to induce fear which will slow movement speed or stun the person, and even make them see hallucinations of the worst of tortures discovered in the depths of hell.”

Holy Hades! Isn't this a little much? I understand the game needs the player to be 17 years old but this could seriously wreck someone’s mind!

“However remember that this comes at a price. Every time you die you have to experience Hell for the duration of 15 real life minutes for each time you use an attack like the hallucination. Not all skills are pretty and rosy.”

This is a little out of character for her. It doesn't fit the overbearing evil boss/strict librarian persona of hers.

“Okay well, you were going to tell me about Hell’s collector then right? This Shadow Denizen is a bit too dark (no pun intended), so I might come back to it later.”

“Yes well, the Hell’s Collector is interesting to say the least. As the class name states you collect from Hell. What this means is you pull different types of demons from hell. Such as an imp, succubus, even a demon king if you level up high enough. Each demon will have different styles of combat and even their own personalities. Whether or not they follow you is based on your overall player level combined with your combat prowess. When you call them from Hell they will become your servant if they deem you worthy. This could involve a duel or a certain game or even a quest, it depends on which one you summon.”

This is a lot to take in, the two classes are unique but my play style has always been to get up front and personal with a weapon; not me hanging back and letting other people fight the front lines for me. However the fact that the Shadow Denizen’s skills are that morbid feel like a turn off. I always liked to stay at least somewhat positive in my gameplay. The hell’s collector also will let me fight many other monsters higher level than me because of my servants and also larger groups than one monster at a time.

“What sort of weapons does the Hell’s Collector use if the Shadow Denizen uses daggers?”

“I was hoping you would ask that. A Scythe.” Her eyes look proud while her face remains stone cold.

“Well, are there any other perks to being a Demon Master that I should know about?”

“Yes, and it is the aesthetics! Every 40 levels you will get different features a demon displays. At level 40 you get horns, at level 80 you get a tail, etc.”

“Hmmm, however is there a way to turn off such features if I am in a village or city where the Holy Order is dominant?”

“Nope.”

“Guh-?! How is that supposed to be a perk?”

What kind of nonsense is this?! I can’t walk up to a Holy Order guard with a black pointy tail sticking out of my rear while asking for directions! What excuse am I gonna use? “Sorry man I played a real hardcore game of pin the tail on the demon last night.” Also a Scythe will be difficult because it will take more accuracy to land blows in the area’s I aim for. However if I work at it while my demons are attacking at the same time figuring out a rhythm could be easier. This is most likely the best option for fights to gain experience both for my level and style.

“Well, are you going to make a decision or keep staring into space?!” Olivia shouted irritated.

Ah that’s more like her attitude.

“I have decided! Hell’s Collector.”

“Good. Now that you have chosen, will you add tattoos? This is only available for the Demon Masters.”

Tattoos? I never really thought about it; well I don’t have to worry about growing old and skin sagging with a tattoo…getting off-topic.

“Yes, I would like one on my neck with two Scythes crossed with each other similar to the skull and cross bones.”

“Very well, now that the character creation is almost complete you need a name, choose wisely this cannot be altered later on.”

Well, that is easy, ever since I heard Hell and scythe it clicked. The name of the one who sends the souls to the underworld.

I grin at her and announce proudly:

“Grim”

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This is my first chapter and first time trying something like this. I hope you all enjoy it. if you have any suggestions to improve my sentence structure I would be glad to have the feedback.

Thanks!