By the time we made it to Connor's house it was pitch black. The clock in the beat up truck read 4:10 pm, but between the clouds and over a foot of snow we could barely see 40 feet. After we left Beth's place, it'd gotten bad enough that I just called my dad and told him my plans. He was fine with it, and really happy I awakened my mindscape. Apparently, it's a family trait and mom is going to take some time off work to teach me some super secret family technique.
Anyway, we nearly got in a wreck at least 5 times, and I think the only reason we made it there in one piece was Connor's enhanced reaction speed. I was nearly in a panic, thinking we'd turn into popsicle's the same day we got the implants. Meanwhile, Beth rolled her window down, sticking her head out like a dog and screaming, "WOOOHOOOO" as we did donuts (not on purpose) in the middle of the busiest intersection in town.
Connor's place is fantastic, after his mom died when he was ten they got tired of their mansion in the Hamptons. He'd always talk about how empty it was, and his family didn't like having tons of servants underfoot. With just Connor and his dad, a 7,500 sq. ft. mansion with 8 bedrooms and 10 and a half baths, not to mention the guest house the size of my house, it got to be depressingly empty.
When his dad retired, they moved out here they sold the and old place, buying much smaller one. Only 2,500 sq. ft., it was in a gated community near the Broadmoor, so it was still expensive and nice, just not ostentatiously so. When he'd turned 15, Connor had managed to convince his dad to finish the basement and turn it into a massive gaming room. It had a bar, pool table, Foosball table, giant couch, 5 extremely nice gaming chairs, a 70 inch TV and every gaming system known to man. This wouldn't be the first time the four of us pigged out on terrible food, staying up all night playing video games... Just this time it was actually our homework! How cool is that?
Anyway, when we finally got past the gate guard and made it to his place, his dad was out front waiting for us. He smiled, obviously relieved when he saw us. Holding is phone up and saying, "Yeah, they got here safe... No, I don't think they got in a wreck."
From the other end of the line we could hear Beth's mom yelling, "What do you mean you don't THINK they got in a wreck?!?!"
"Well, Connor's truck has so many dents in it, I'm not sure if any are new or not... Yes I'll make sure they didn't get in a wreck." Looking at us, we shook our heads no, and he said, "They're fine, definitely no wrecks. We've got the whole place packed with supplies, don't worry. Yes, I'll make sure they don't drink too much caffeine again..." The conversation seemed to go on and on and on.
Connor's dad was about 40 years old, and looked as if he was in his mid 20's. Cultivation does that for you. Just over 6' tall and handsome enough, (I'm a dude so ask Beth whether or not he's handsome) he's retired now and spends his days cultivating. Some rumors are going around that he's quite the player, but who would blame the guy? He's widowed, rich, and good looking. Anyway, he's the cool, laidback parent of the group. As long as we don't go crazy, smoke pot, or drink more than 1 beer he just leaves be. The fifth gamer's chair is his, he joins in every now and then. He's amazing at first person shooter games.
By the time he'd managed to get off the phone, we'd all made our way down to the basement and Rick was on the phone with Alexandra Taylor. Apparently the weather had gotten so bad the school had decided to just have everyone else stay there. Honestly, it doesn't sound that bad. Get everyone together to do the tutorials and go through the game together. Ehh, I'd rather be at Connor's. Better food, and there hasn't been a game yet that we couldn't pwn.
Anyway, Connor's dad made us tell him all about our day, the line, the test, the implant's we got. He was suitably impressed when we told him about the scholarship. I winced a bit when we got to the part about Connor buying us upgrades, but his dad just shrugged it off.
"Spiritual tools are incredibly powerful, if you really get the opportunity to use one $1,000 is nothing! Plus, it's much more expensive to upgrade implants after they're installed. Great job." Then, he just went upstairs, answering another call, undoubtedly from one of our parents.
"Must be nice" I muttered under my breath at the thought of just casually letting my kid use $17,500 on other peoples kids... Then again we'd been best friends for years, and friends can be invaluable.
I wanted to just jump right into the tutorial, but decided to take a bathroom break first. After we'd all gone through the ritual, getting ready to sit still for several hours, we all got into our gaming chairs. I set mine up to massage me at random intervals to keep my muscles from getting sore, and closed my eyes.
It took a few moments, then a blue screen popped up.
*Start Tutorial?*
*Warning, after starting the tutorial you will be unable to leave until it is completed. Expect to spend four to six hours in the tutorial.*
* YES . NO *
I thought yes, and then nearly threw up as a wrenching motion seemed to pull my soul from my body. When I'd regained control of my body, I found myself sitting at a desk in a familiar classroom. Another blue screen popped up.
*Subject is currently an advanced senior level student of Gifted Academy, special tutorial instance started*
To my surprise, Mr. Gibbins phased into existence, excessive nose hair and all.
"Sam, congratulations on becoming an advanced student!" Mr. Gibbins was all smiles as he continued, "This is a recording so just hold questions till the end, most everything will be answered." A chalkboard then appeared in midair and as he talked, "The VR Implant chip was invented as a communication, training, learning, and entertainment tool by an alumni of Gifted who goes by 'The Shade'. He is an extremely powerful Dark Elementalist. Now, lets get the easy stuff out of the way first." For the next thirty minutes or so he taught me how to use all the features. How to call, it even let me connect with cell phones not just other VR Chips, enter various menu's, etc...
When we opened the shop, I was shocked to find thousands upon thousands of entries. I narrowed it down, looking for cultivation manuals. Apparently, outside of some special family clans all the greatest cultivation manuals in the world had been gathered and could be traded for using something called SC. I looked around and finally managed to find out it stands for 'Shade Credit'. Bit narcissistic to name what would probably become the most important currency in the world after your nickname but...
Finally, we came to a training hall and Mr. Gibbins began to get more serious. "Every person who gains a chip is gifted a free basic level cultivation technique. This isn't to say its a bad technique, no they're the best technique's in the world, just that you only get the first few levels of them. Now, for Dantian and Heartforce cultivators, they get a body refining scripture that matches their main affinities. For Mindspace cultivators however, they get a choice. Since Mindscape cultivators are able to sense world essence as soon as they awaken, they are able gather it immediately which means they can skip the body refinement stage if they so choose. I advise you NOT to skip body refinement, cultivation is like building a skyscraper. You need a foundation, and the most basic foundation it the body. Without a strong foundation, you're likely to suffer cultivation deviation and after a certain point it's nearly impossible to fix the problem. So now, you have a choice to make."
The blue screen pops back up.
*Choose your free technique*
*Body Refinement Mind Refinement*
Without a second thought, I chose body refinement. I would've been tempted to pick mind refinement if I hadn't talked to my dad earlier. After all, you can't start using magic until you are at least a 2nd rank mind refinement. It's why magic is exclusive to the Mindscape Cultivators, because only they can safely refine their mind, but my dad said my mom would teach me our families technique. Since that's the case, I can train both!
After choosing body refinement, Mr. Gibbins started talking again as if no time had gone by. "Since you've chosen body refinement, you may also choose a single weapons skill to get started."
*Choose your free weapons skill*
*Basic Sword* *Basic Heavy Weapons* *Basic Marksmanship* *Basic Hidden Weapons*
*Basic Staff Fighting*
"Damn, I bet if I'd chosen mind refinement I could've learned a spell!" Cursing my bad luck, I looked closely while thinking... 'Swords require a ton of training to get right, heavy weapons are too slow, marksmanship would be pointless. Why shoot when I fling spells? Hidden weapons is a bit interesting, but I need something I can block with. Mages always use staff's anyway, might as well get good at fighting with one.'
I picked Basic Staff Fighting, then stood there waiting for the surge of information to flood my brain... it never came. 'Damn, in all the books they pick something and then they immediately know it. I was hoping it'd be the same here.'
Mr. Gibbins started talking again as I was complaining, "Your chosen attributes are Light, Air, and Lightning. Light affinity too low to begin training, Air and Lightning both qualify. Best possible manual found."
*Ding*
*You have received 1x Basic Staff Fighting Manual, 1x Basic Staff and 1x Basic Storm Titan Body Refining Manual*