After putting the camera at maximum zoom, he was able to read it.
"User ID: 34152"
"Community: (type your ID and add a double hyphen to the end)".
Alec realized that the game ID was the ID of the headset, which wasn't surprising at all. Even looking at the numbers, he could easily notice it was the first five numbers randomized.
The second line however baffled him. What does community mean? Could it b like a meeting of people that played this game? Then it might mean he wasn't the only one playing this game.
This realization surprised him. He stood up and headed to his laptop. He had already forgotten the graphics card he bought for his pc today. How could he remember, when he had a lot going on recently?
Alec wondered what the words on the community description meant. It said type your ID and add a double hyphen on the end. Alec didn't want to put that headset on his face now, not when he was still recovering from the trauma of the game he just played.
What if I can do it on a browser? Alec thought it was possible, so he launched his internet browser and typed his game ID, followed by a double hyphen. As soon as Alec hit enter, the ID on the search bar automatically changed to an URL.
Soon the page loaded, and there was a bar on the middle of the page. "Checking to see if you are a player, please wait...". Another screen popped up, but this time, it accessed his camera and scanned his face, not giving time for Alec to react.
After the scan, the website displayed a welcome screen. "Welcome 34152! Our system detected this was your first time visiting this portal. Let me give you a tour"
"We are generally called the UNKNOWN. This portal was created to bring players together. There are currently 200,000 active players of now, all over the world, you included. They come together here to connect to fellow players to either discuss strategies, join them in-game missions, buy game items, make money from their points, and more".
"This portal is divided into four categories. The "Community" section, the "Announcement" section, and the "Store" section and the "Laundry" section. Each section is self-explanatory, so there would be no need to delve into this".
The tour ended, and there were four categories for him to choose from. He first clicked on the community section, and it popped in a layout, similar to that of Facebook.
Many people were posting on his feed and commenting simultaneously. Some were posting their latest game item and describing how it worked. "Check out my InvisioRobe, this fella can make me invisible for a whole ten minutes?" One post said, and it garnered a lot of comments.
Some posts were about questions and answers, while some were asking for methods in achieving something. Alec was awed looking at this. He didn't waste too much time here though. He checked the announcement section, but this section didn't say too much. It simply posted upcoming events about something Alec was yet to understand.
"January is around the corner. Get ready, as we are about to begin the battle of will! You will be randomly grouped as a team and sent to complete missions, and the winner would be awarded various sets of awards. Make sure you are available before the event begins"
"Event Date: January 01, 2023".
With a raised brow, Alec checked the previous announcements. All of the announcements were similar to each other, all declaring a commencement to a contest. "So one can join teams and complete missions, together?" Alec mumbled.
Why was it even on the first day of the year? Couldn't they just move it in the third or something? alec shrugged and moved to the purchase section. It was then he was greeted with a page full of items to purchase, like an Amazon website.
Alec was enthralled looking at each item displayed. Every item was very special in its way. There was an arrow that could pierce an enemy's weak point, there was even a shield that could block almost anything, including nuclear bombs!
All these items were great, but Alec knew these things wouldn't be free. He looked down at the price tag. "128,000 points?!" Alec was dumbfounded. He checked the item that garnered such massive amounts of points. It was a teleporting-based item in form of an iPad. As much as all these items interested him, he could not afford any single one of them.
At least he knew what those points he accumulated were used for.
He immediately clicked on the last category, which was the laundry section. It turned out that he could even convert his points to actual money. "One point is equal to 500 dollars?" Alec was dumbfounded. He never knew how valuable these points were. He thought it was a reward system the game gave him to mark his progress.
With curiosity, he decided to convert two points to money. It didn't take long, and his phone vibrated, which indicated a message. Alec opened his eyes wide as he saw the credit alert. 1000 dollars?" Alec wanted to laugh in delight, but he controlled his emotions.
As much as he desperately needed money right now, he didn't want to make money off of this game. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to keep playing this game at all. He closed the webpage and sighed. Now that he had money in his bank account, he could finally use it to buy a real headset.
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