As I entered the main gate building, I spot Elizabeth at the edge of my vision along with 4 people. One seems familiar, I remember him being the one Elizabeth had a friendly banter with earlier during our 1st class. I approach them slowly, suppressing my bubbling social anxiety about meeting strangers, and acted as politely as I can.
"I hope I didn't make you guys wait?" I said apologetically as Elizabeth saw me approaching.
If I had known they were already here I would've come a bit earlier. I spent my time at the library while waiting for the allotted time since I don't want to stand in the main gate building for minutes just waiting awkwardly.
"Ohh no no! we just arrived earlier than expected." Elizabeth vehemently protested
That makes sense. It is only 3:25 the last time I checked.
"I can't believe you managed to recruit another member this fast." Said the familiar boy.
"Ohh I forgot to introduce you guys. Katherine, these are my friends. We all came from the same high school."
She introduced them to me one by one careful to not overwhelm me.
"This is Lenna my best friend"
Lenna is shorter than me. She had long brown hair with a side bun and a homely face. She seems laid back and greeted me with a smile.
"This is Benny the support of our team."
The guy named Benny is a meek-looking boy with glasses and short-cut hair. He's kind of cute, like a little puppy you would want to protect.
"H-Hello." He greeted
"A pleasure," I replied
"This other guy is Romel." the guy from earlier bickering with Elizabeth approached me.
"Nice to meet you, Katherine, I heard about you from Liz. Don't worry I'm pretty skilled. If you got me on your team, I'll be sure to carry you." He boasted while thumping his fist against his chest for added effect.
He sure seems confident in his skills. Is he that good?
"Nice to meet you too," I replied politely while giving him an acknowledging nod.
"The chubby guy over there is Reynolds"
A portly guy a little bit shorter than me with brushed-back hair greeted me with a gentlemanly bow.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Katherine."
His plump figure is quite a contrast to his gentle demeanor.
"Don't we have too many players?"
I asked.
In CoA, a team match only consists of 4 players for both sides totaling 8 players in-game. The team composition varies depending on the team but the most popular and well-balanced one is the 2 supports and 2 carries comp. Carries are usually Champions that lean towards damage-oriented builds. They mainly deal damage in order to eliminate the enemy team. Supports however have many variations. They can be healers, crowd controllers, tanks, buffers, and debuffers, among others. Their main purpose is to support their carries into dishing out as much damage as they can or hindering the enemy team to do so.
"Ohh it's ok, Lenna doesn't really play and is only here to watch our game. And Raynold said he wants you to be able to join so he won't be playing."
"Anything for you miss Katherine," Raynold said with a gentlemanly smile.
I forcefully smiled at him and just nodded, I mean I don't know how to reply to that.
Elizabeth for her part walked beside me with her face nearing my ears "Just ignore him, he's weird like that whenever he sees a beautiful face." Elizabeth whispered conspiringly.
"I-I..... see," I said taken aback by the compliment
So, he's a textbook example of a simp huh.
"June said his team is already there waiting for us. Ready to go?" Elizabeth asked me.
"Okay, lead the way then," I spoke politely.
To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this. This would my first game in a long while, more than 2 years to be exact. Thankfully I still played single-player VR games as a pastime so hopefully, my skills haven't rusted that much.
--------------------------
While chatting on the way,
We arrived at the VR cafe after a 5-minute walk. It was a modern commercial building with a slick and futuristic design. Going inside, the interior of the VR cafe was dark, almost unlighted with the exception of green, blue, and red lines in the walls and ceilings lighting the place for the enhanced ambiance. There are also hundreds of VR pods that my eye can see and most of it is occupied. I noticed the staff also sanitize the pod after a user finished playing which is a plus. There are also plenty of televisions that hang on the ceiling that replays professional games, mainly of CoA but also a few other games that I do not recognize. I'm not used to playing in VR cafes but with this atmosphere that they got, I cannot refute its appeal. During all of my inner musings, Elizabeth already approached to counter.
"Hey, Anna! Is June already here?" Elizabeth asked the lady manning the counter.
She had lots of mini computer screens surrounding her with CCTV footage playing. You can see almost all of the VR pods in the place if you look at those screens.
"Ohh Liz, he's already waiting for you guys on the 3rd floor. You can find your reserved pods there if you go into the room on your right side after taking the stairs. The pods are #'s 315 to 318." The lady politely explained
"Thanks! Let's go guys." Elizabeth enthusiastically led us upstairs into a huge room where I saw another batch of about 20 VR pods each with ample space with each other. There are plenty of other customers aside from us. Near the unused VR pods, we saw a man waiting for us in the corner of the room.
"Took you long enough. I thought your team chickened out Liz."
A guy in his late 20s with a clean-shaven head, who would not look out of place in a gym, taunted Elizabeth.
"We got here as early as we could, June. Unlike you, we have classes you know? And who's afraid of who? We destroyed you in our last betting match."
"You were just lucky back then. We improved our team play the last time we fought. don't expect it to go your way. We also have a new player joining us today." June said smugly.
"Is all your team already here?" she asked
"They're already playing, they got bored waiting for you guys to show up. Anyways, same as last time?"
"No bets today, only a normal match. We're also playing with a new teammate from our university."
"Ohh, already forced another member to join your team? Well, it's no surprise considering your nosy personality." June teased while glancing at me as if wanting me to confirm.
"Hmmph I am not THAT meddlesome.....right?" Elizabeth looked at me pleadingly.
"You are though." I shrugged.
June burst out in laughter while Elizabeth pouted.
"Hahaha well let's just play with no bets. But the looser still has to pay for the VR pod usage"
"Fine, just don't regret it after we beat you guys." Elizabeth conceded
After finalizing the stakes, June left for his VR pod.
"D-don't we get to warm up first?" Beny chimed after June left.
"Don't be scared. The enemy would be enough as a warm-up." Romel boasted.
"You guys go create a lobby, I'll just lend Katherine one of my accounts," Elizabeth added
We each took a VR pod of our own, and I took the farthest one #318. As I opened the pod, I felt a sense of nostalgia. It has been too long since I was going to play CoA.
"Add me on VR chat and I'll send you the username and password to one of my accounts. I already told you my info, right?" I nodded and she continued.
"Also don't think about winning or losing. Focus on the game and have fun." She smiled brightly
What a kind person, I needed the reassurance with me being already this nervous about playing. Well, I doubt we will lose anyway considering that they already beat the enemy team in their last bout. I'm not that weak that my joining them would drag the team down.... even if I haven't played in a while...probably.
"Are you sure it's ok for me to use your account?" I felt conflicted.
"Of course! I don't really use it that much since I always play carry. You know how to play support right?"
I nodded
I haven't actually played support since I play mainly carry but I've fought plenty enough times to know all its strength and weaknesses and what to do or not to do when playing it.
"And don't worry, we have the same height and body size so you won't feel much dissonance when playing my character."
What she was referring to is the real body vs VR body dissonance.
it happens when the proportions of your body are different from the body of the avatar you made. This makes your movement awkward and laggy, making it impossible for you to play at your best. This is why all the guides you would see for beginners, many of them will strongly suggest the use of the full body scan when creating a character. This will make your avatar as coordinated as possible with your original body. Of course, this still doesn't stop guys from creating a female character and regretting it later on in higher levels of gameplay. Honestly, I can't understand why they do that.
"Then I'll log in now." I stepped inside the open pod and then pressed the button for it to close. The smell of detergent permeated my senses. I can see the VR pod was well-sanitized and regularly maintained. Seconds later a robotic female voice resounded through the pod.
*Please put on the nerve gear.*
I obliged. I grabbed the nerve gear placed in the middle of the pod. This is the main feature of the VR pod, the nerve gear. The nerve gear sends fake signals to your head at a frequency unique to the brain. Then the nerve gear produces artificial waves to stimulate the brain to provide artificial senses for the virtual reality that you will experience or something like that, I'm not a neurologist so I'm not on point with the details but that's the gist of what I read in passing interest.
Though I sometimes have the irrational fear that there is some kind of overblown conspiracy device that will fry your brain to mush if you die on a game. But the VR pod had been studied and cleared of any dangers and there are no reported cases of anyone's brain getting fried so there's that.
*Vital signs green, mental state green, emotional state green, preparing for virtual dive.*
*Loading 26%..... loading 59%..... loading 100% complete. Initiating full dive.*
All my senses suddenly became empty in a split second then came back anew like it was never gone. I immediately find myself in a space with planets beautifully and artistically aligned. It must be the VR background. It can be changed depending on the user's preference like the background of a desktop computer.
"Show all apps," I called.
A list of apps suddenly appeared in front of me and I suddenly regretted it. It was numerous. different games, social media outlets, networks, and many other things I did not recognize. There were over 50 apps installed here. My VR pod only has about 20 apps and I don't even use half of them. I guess I'll just have to use the search menu as opposed to opening the app manually.
"Search and Open VR messenger."
I sent a PM to the account that Elizabeth told me about earlier and after a short while, a sudden ping lingered at the edge of my vision. It was Elizabeth accepting my friend request. Along with a message for the username and password of her account. I memorized both then proceeded to open Champions of Andartha.
I was teleported to a relaxing plain with the statue of a goddess who I presume was Andartha in front of me. The statue's eyes were closed and you could feel the sorrow in its demeanor. After that was the account prompt from the game. I immediately input the username and password of Elizabeth's smurf account. What greeted me was a character with an IGN of Beth. It has Elizabeth's body proportions geared with a cleric-type robe and her beautiful facial features.
So, she even used the face scan to copy her face to her 3d avatar. I don't think I have the courage to do the same since if it were me, I'll customize my looks. Strangers seeing a realistic 3d version of my face even in an online game feels wrong to me. Though she did say that she streams so I guess it's not an issue for her. I guess streamers are built differently in confidence factor huh.
I hit the 'Start' button.
Loading.....
Loading.....
Loading complete
The smell of fresh air suddenly filled my nasal senses and the hustle and bustle of the town flooded my view. As I walked around, a sense of nostalgia suddenly run through me. If I'm not mistaken this is the port town of Melos. A town that can be accessed in the later stages of the game. considering this account is max leveled, that makes a lot of sense she would be here. This town brings a lot of memories. This was the town my sister had a quest that was too hard for her involving a certain skilled NPC. In the end, I was the one who completed the quest by beating the NPC for her...my sister. My heart suddenly dropped.
*Warning: mental and emotional state fluctuating.
Player is Advised to take a break.*
I dismissed the notification. Calm down. I took a breath and tried to calm myself. I forced all the thoughts outside my head and cleared my mind. I need a distraction.
I looked at my inventory. She has a purple set with a purple weapon. Pretty good actually. The strength of a set is linked to its rarity. White is normal, Blue is rare, Purple is epic, gold is mythic, and red has the highest grade of legendary. Pro players usually have all legend gears and weapons but you won't know unless they show you, their gears. And for a pro player, showing your gear is taboo cause if it was somehow leaked, their enemy will surely know their strengths and weaknesses based on their stat build and resistances.
Her weapon is called Staff of Resolute Thorns. It increases the effects of healing skills. It also has a weapon skill. Weapon skills are what make getting a higher-tier weapon more important than an armor set because some weapon skills can change the tide of battle. They are that strong.
That is why a good blacksmith is needed in any pro team.
Thorn burst: Conjures small thorns that impede the enemy's movements.
Cooldown: 21 seconds.
Cost: 50 mp
Quite potent but not comparable to red weapons. still has a fast cooldown for a purple though and it doesn't need to be channeled.
I then took a look at her stats.
It is..... quite a strange build she has and that is me being kind in my description. It's a hybrid of dex and int. It is like she wanted to be a support mage but then decided being a DPS carry is better and changed stats priority mid-game. No wonder she made another account, this must have been her 1st one since it is full of newbie mistakes. While it may not matter that much for casual players, this type of build would be disastrous when you play on a competitive level. That is probably why she readily lent it to me.... how depressing.
Well let's look at the bright side, it suits me fine with me being a DPS carry player back then. I won't have that much damage as a full DPS-oriented build but I can still use support skills, so in other words, a Jack of all trades kind of character.
I checked the settings. The auto translator is on but the voice changer option is off. It seems she likes to use her real voice even in the game. Streamers really are built differently.
While customizing the settings to my preference a sudden notification popped.
Player Lizbeth has invited you to a PVP lobby. Would you like to accept? (y/n).
I accepted the invitation.
Notice: you will be teleported to another location. Some tasks or dungeons may fail if teleported, do you want to continue? (y/n)
"Yes"
*zfff*
I teleported. In an instant, my vision became blurry, then replaced by a huge round table that can fit more than 10 people and still have room to spare. Looking around I saw a very large Victorian-style room with lavish accessories and designs. I instantly recall that this is the lobby match. Seated on our side of the table is Lizbeth, (who I'm certain is Elizabeth) KingRomel,(Definitely Romel), and Ozz (Benny by the rule of elimination). On the other side are our opponents. On the right side is GigaChad (June probably based on his muscular body type). And 2 other people I am not acquainted with who are currently... flirting in their little world. Get a room you two! Even their in-game name, Dan<3Kay and Kay<3Dan also compliments each other.
"Is my character, ok? No dissonance whatsoever?" Elizabeth broke me out of my musings.
"I feel perfectly fine when I was walking around town earlier. Except maybe for the chest area. How do you walk with these things."
I groped my enlarged breast as if prove my point. Feels soft actually. I might actually get used to this. Wait a sec, is this considered sexual harassment or something?
"It's not that bad! But still, looking at my 3d designed facial features having a conversation with me at that is kinda unnerving."
That is why you should not readily lend your account to just anyone. Hope this would be a lesson for her. What if I was actually a creepy stalker, which I'm not of course, then this would not end well for her.
"I don't see the problem though, your face looks pleasing to the eye."
"Hehehe thanks." She said proudly.
Tsk, not the reaction I was hoping for. I was hoping she would be caught off guard and act bashfully cute or something.
"How long is your last member going to make us wait!?"
All of the attention suddenly turned towards Romel.
"Patience, we also waited for you guys to arrive you know? Our last member is just finishing a dungeon, he will be here soon." GigaChad (Nope, I'll just call him June) replied.
"He did a dungeon? Those things take too long to finish." Romel argued.
"Not for him though, he's pretty skilled," June explained
"Who exactly is your last player?"
Elizabeth inquired
They look pretty confident and reassured that they would win, their ace player must be really good for them to have this much positivity.
"I supposed there is no harm in telling you now. Our last player is Chu." June said proudly.
"You managed to poach him?! I thought he only plays 1v1 PVP."
Elizabeth exclaimed.
"I worked around it. I have my own methods." June said smugly.
"T-that's unfair, is it? Chu is a ranker" Benny worriedly said.
"Really now? It's just a normal match where the loser pays for the winner's VR time cost and not a high-stakes betting game. And don't tell me you guys forgot your captain is also a ranker." June said as he looked at Elizabeth as if proving a point.
I was a little bit shocked. I didn't expect Elizabeth to be a ranker. There are 2 separate leaderboards for rankers. One is the team rank and the other is the 1v1 rank. Given that, for a player to have a ranker title, they need to be at the top one thousand players in either team matches or 1v1 leaderboards ranking at the end of a PVP season, which regularly calibrates every 2 months.
"Don't tell me you're chickening out this late in the game? It's not like it's a betting match either. We just need a little practice fighting another ranker." June taunted.
"No, we'll continue the match." Elizabeth finalized.
"Good then let's wait for a bit, he PM'ed me that he's almost done with the dungeon."
"Who is this Chu?" I whispered to Elizabeth next to me.
"Chu Xiaolong a 1v1 ranker. A well-known player around here. I heard he always plays 1v1 betting matches in this VR cafe and that he has not lost even once in a 1v1 scenario. He is a Chinese second year studying at our university now that I remember." Elizabeth replied
"That is.... honestly impressive."
Those ranking leaderboards are filled with pro and tier 2 pro players and for him to place in the top 1k on 1v1 taking into account CoA's massive player base is an incredible feat.
"Don't worry too much, doesn't matter if we lose as long as we have fun!" Elizabeth reassured me.
Losing is no fun for me back then though. For me, winning is what makes matches fun. Celebrating after winning is 'fun'. That was my thought process in the past but now, I'm not quite sure if I'm as driven toward winning as I was then.
"Uh-huh."
I just nod though. Each has their own way of enjoyment and I wouldn't want to put a damp on her enthusiasm.
Just then another player arrived via teleportation. He is wearing a set you would expect from a Taoist with a Longbow attached to his back and a pair of small butterfly swords to his waist. Looking at his ign it reads NumbaWan. I gotta give him credit, even his name feels like he works hard to become number one in CoA, very admirable. A little bit off in the spelling department but you can't blame him, English is not his native language I suppose.
"Finally, you're here! Good to go Chu?" June asked his teammate.
"Ready, let's finish this fast, I have something more important to do later."
Wow, how edgy.
"I see... You can start whenever my team is also ready." Elizabeth chimed in.
"Ok! time for our revenge match!" June pressed something unseen to me then a timer starts counting down.
Game starting in 3.... 2..... 1....!