It was already 5 A.M as the small team of six hurriedly pressed on their computer keys filling the room with the sound of soft rapid clicks and the occasional slurping sound of someone drinking their coffee.
"All world maps are functioning properly." A woman named Arian finally broke the silence.
A man swiveled back in his chair. "All structures and landscapes are all working perfectly." He announced to the room.
"So, Eric and Arian will be going to sleep first it seems." A very tired man said jokingly as the room was momentarily fill with tired chuckles.
"Yeah, right Johnny with all the caffeine I just had it'll be near impossible. which is why I'll be helping you out!" Arian said brightly.
" Shit Arian you're an angel!" Johnny replied relieved.
"I'd like to help someone out too." Eric said as he scanned the room.
"I'm almost done here so I'm good." A red haired man said.
"ok so Ax is good. How about you Malick?"
"I have a bit to go but I think I can handle it. " he replied.
"that leaves Stacia. " Eric said while looking at her back as she typed away swiftly. everyone could tell she was in the zone and hadn't heard a single word that was spoken in the room. Stacia was feverishly typing in codes and checking them over for any flaws. She checked both her screens over and over with each updated code line she made. The scripts had to be perfect. Stacia and her team were working on re-creating the fictional world of her most beloved novel.
The A.I engine was close to being practically human except for a few responses the A.I had problems with but the thing was that the A.I they were using was a learning A.I system so it had to be interacted with to feel more human. Stacia was in charge of creating each individual personality traits and types for all 75,000 NPC's and she was on her 38,566th NPC. Of course 12,000 of those were copied and pasted from 8 different character types she had pre-made but the rest of them had to be different to insure the realism.
Stacia jumped in her seat startled by Eric who placed his hand on her shoulder to get her attention.
"Geez Eric you almost gave me an erection!"
"..." Eric stared at Stacia for a long moment. " I think you mean heart attack?"
"Isn't that what I said?" Stacia answered back.
"um... Kay, so, I was wondering if you needed any help since I'm done on my part." Eric said as he smoothed Back his chocolate colored hair.
"YES OF COURSE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY PERSONALITIES I'VE MADE?" She asked wide eyed in obvious distress.
Eric raised his hand and tapped the top of her screen where her work history was displayed.
"38,566." He said smoothly. Stacia clicked the enter button on her keyboard.
"And now it's 38,567. Guess I should have a seat and catch up to you." Eric smiled. Stacia scoffed.
"You can try." She challenged.
"I type the fastest so it shouldn't be a problem." he smirked at her trying his best to be upbeat but it was obvious that he was tired. Stacia rolled her eyes. Eric rolled up his chair next to her and signed into the computer next to her. After a moment of silence Eric spoke.
"I'm surprised there's not a lazy type in your personality traits." Stacia stopped in her tracks and slowly turned her head towards Eric.
"Oh, my God, Eric please add that trait to the list." She was in utter disbelief by her own over sight. Eric laughed and started typing away.
"Yes, ma'am."
It was now 2 hours later and the sun was raising in the distance spilling its sunlight into their office room. Johnny and Arian Finished the underwater world map and it's functions about an hour ago. Malick and Ax finished around the same time 30 minutes ago. that left Eric and Stacia.
"I think you guys should stop right here it's already morning and you guys need your rest." Arian said to them. Eric Nodded his head in agreement.
"She's right Stacia. We can finish the rest later." Eric patted her shoulder. He was right. she thought. She could barely keep her eyes open anymore.
"Yeah you're right. But let's test the VRN at least once before we call it quits." Stacia sluggishly stood up from her chair to grab her virtual reality nerv head set. There were only 10,000 personalities left to uploading and write. stopping here would be fine. Now she just needed to test it out for 3 minutes or so just to check its playthrough. She plugged in the headset and sat down in her chair.
"I'll be out for 3 minutes." she said.
" Kay let us know how everything looks and feels." Arian said cheerily. She put the head set on reclined in her chair and pressed the on button on the side of her head set.
A loud zap accompanied by a spark startled both Eric and Arian. Stacia went limp.
"STACIA!!" Both Arian and Eric cried out. Startling Ax who had fallen asleep on the couch in the room. Malick and Johnny rushed over.
"WHAT Happened!?" Malick asked in a panic.
Johnny checked her VRN plug. " Plugged her VRN into the A.I Engine. It must have short circuit. " Johnny deduced.
"I'm calling an ambulance!" Ax announced.
However he stopped dialing upon hearing Stacia's loud snores. Everyone froze in the room staring at her.
"She's just sleeping." Johnny verified.
"Should we take off her head set?" Arian asked.
"Nah. just let her sleep with it on since it will block the sunlight." Ax said in-between yawns.
"I'm going to the guest room. " Arian said.
"I'm sleeping on the carpet." Johnny said.
Eric sat back in his chair and inclined it and closed his eyes. Malick did the same and just like that no one noticed that Stacia's monitor was uploading something it shouldn't have.
---Stacia's POV---
I opened my eyes to see a ceiling which was not supposed to happen. I blinked a couple of times just to be sure I wasn't imagining things. Nope I was still looking at a ceiling. I sat up only to realize I was sitting on a full sized bed with yellow and white bedding. I looked around the small charming room. I knew the design immediately. It was a room in a rental house in the city of Olivia in the kingdom of Olivia. These were the rooms we'd place NPC'S in. Players or those who decide to play as the MC are supposed to start in a coach where a tutorial NPC teaches you how to play the novel. I looked around the room searching for clues about where I was on the map. The full size bed I was on is flush against the wall with a large window that looked over into the shopping strip. There I noticed the bakery Leopo's directly across. which meant I was in Bakers lane. Despite my concern my excitement got the better of me and I couldn't help but to look outside my window there I saw the hustle and bustle of the city. I was in the re-created world of my favorite fantasy/ romance novel. Every detail had to be perfect and I was happy to see that it was. I had set my VRN for 3 minutes which meant I had around 30 minutes to spend in the simulation. I happily jumped out of the bed. I took a good look at the room the dark wooden floor boards creaked gently. Just as described in the book. the walls were a pale off white color with dark wood trim. next to the bed was a small sitting area with two light cream colored arm chairs with a small coffee table with a tea set resting atop it. There was a small stove and an open door leading to a bathroom with a tub. I briskly walked to the only other door in the room and opened it. Before I stepped out I paused at the sight of my hand. players who played on free mode should be see through until they customized their avatar which I had not. I quickly ran into the bathroom looking for a mirror. I had expected to look like the MC but I found myself looking at the avatar of an NPC. The players had two options. one was free mode where you could roam about the map and explore as well as take on jobs like you would in any RPG. The second option was to play as the novels MC herself and play your version of the novel. There was no option where you could use an NPC avatar. The avatar I was in was a character Malick had designed most NPC's were randomly generated but this one was especially designed. There were at least 25 versions of this avatar. Variations in hair eyes and skin colors. This particular avatar had amber colored eyes, light brown hair and light neutral skin. lips a nice pale gradient of pink and long lashes. She was a bit on the petite side. And she wore a knee length circle skirt in a brown color with a white apron. She wore flat shoes also in brown. She would be considered pretty but quite plain. I sighed as I shook my head. we were going to have go through the whole system to figure out what went wrong. Till then let's test the rest of this out. I walked out into the hallway and dashed down the stairs.
"Oh, my young lady slow down!" an elderly woman who I immediately recognized as the owner of the downstairs restaurant scolded me.
"I'm sorry Landlady!" I shouted as I rushed out the front door. There in front of me was the bakery Leopo's. In the novel
the young son of the bakery had a huge crush on the MC. I walked in and the bell above the door chimed.
"Hello, welcome to Leopo's!" Leo said cheerily. I smiled at him endearingly. Leo didn't stand a chance against the MC'S love interests but he had the courage to ask her out anyway and that is why I gave him the likeness of my favorite male model. I walked up to the counter and rested my elbows on it. I Rested my chin in my hands and admired my art work.
"um... miss? Can I help you?" Leo said not breaking his cheery attitude.
"Oh. Sorry handsome I've never been here before." I smiled at him sweetly.
" In that case have a free sweet roll from us!" He quickly got a paper bag and wrapped up a sweet roll for me. "here you go. Come back for more if you find yourself craving sweets." He smiled brightly as he handed me the bag.
"Thanks." I said as I walked. "I guess an NPC is still just an NPC. He didn't even flinch when I called him handsome." I gave out a long dissatisfied sigh. Oh, well. I thought to myself.
I explored the city and spoke to various NPC'S to check the quality of realism in their conversations and reactions. some felt realistic while others felt a bit flat but the separate AI engine we were using was the type where the A.I would learn and evolve. Which should help in its realism development as they interact more with other A.I and people.
"Hmm... the sun's setting? Did I not set the timer for 3 minutes in real world time? Maybe I accidentally hit the wrong button? oh, well I guess I'll just log out from screen menu." I lifted my hand above my head and made the open screen menu gesture but nothing happened. So I tried several more times. I sighed heavily when it didn't work.
"Looks like another glitch. Guess I'll just have to wait until the head set kicks me off. How long is that? eight hours? that's like 3 days in game? No almost 4?" I sit down on the grassy hill overlooking the castle of Olivia. I'm currently in Burke Park. In the novel Burke Park is where the MC finds a fairy named Hilde. She helps Hilde escape from the Pixie named Viers. He had an unusual obsession with Hilde and tried to win her affection but Hilde refused. He somehow thought holding her captive would help him win her over. When Viers finds out what MC did he cursed her with bad luck which lead her to meet the 3rd male lead. Sorcerer Finnigan from east lake.
"Since I'll be stuck here for a while guess I'll test a few things out." I stood up and walked down a winding path leading to a thicket full of beautiful wisteria vines. I pushed the thicket slightly up to reveal a small hidden doll house. I knocked on its front door. After a few seconds the door slowly opened.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT HUMAN!?" A very angry voice spat.
"You." I replied coolly. There was a long silence.
"Are you mad woman?" The voice now sounded much calmer but suspicious.
"No." I giggled. "just intrigued." I had wrote his personality code myself so I knew what he would like to hear. I could hear a hmph followed by a grumble. He was still invisible to me which meant he still didn't want to reveal himself.
"How do you know about my house here in the thicket?" His voice was full of suspicion. Of course he'd be weary of me there are people in this world who catch Pixies and fairies to sell or to experiment on.
"saw you one day and couldn't help but follow you. I Decided to introduce myself to you today. " I spoke sweetly hoping I was still in a good position.
"WELL BE GONE PEST!" The door slammed shut.
Looks like I'll be coming back tomorrow.
-----------End of chapter....