Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
"Haaaa!"
Thorne stood up from his bed and stretched contentedly.
"It's morning already!" He exclaimed, looking out the single window in his room.
'I've been playing all night.' He thought, shocked.
No wonder there was a limit to the time spent in the game. Without proper supervision, most people would play all day and not go to work. The government pulled a smart one here.
Stretching, he realized that he wasn't tired even after playing all night. The game was truly undeserving of its price... not that he was complaining though.
The clock read 6: 30; meaning he had just under an hour to get ready and meet up with Old Lu, Boss and the others so they head to the Castle region. In short, he was late.
"I'll have to run again." Running through the crowded alleys just wasn't something to look forward to.
Twenty minutes later, he rushed out of his apartment, fully clothed in work attire. He kept his hard hat under his arm and his tool belt over his other shoulder so they wouldn't hamper his mobility.
The air in the Coops was thick with the smell of smog and garbage as he darted through the narrow alleyways of the slum, heart pounding in his chest. The last time he was late, it took Old Lu several minutes of pleading before the boss let him off. If that happened today, when boss had repeatedly emphasized the importance of today's job, he was as good as gone.
The buildings on either side of him were dilapidated and crumbling, their walls covered in layers of grime and graffiti. Children played in the streets, their laughter echoing off the walls as they dodged Thorne when he passed.
He could hear snippets of conversation from the people he passed. One group of drunk men was arguing heatedly over a game of cards, their voices rising and falling with each round.
"Seriously, this early morning…?" He cursed inwardly as he run pass.
As he rounded a corner, he overheard a group of women chatting in a doorway, their voices hushed and urgent. "Did you hear about Maria's son?" One worrisomely obese one was saying. "He died in his sleep."
Thorne felt a pang of sympathy for the woman. Deaths were rife in the Coops, but it did hurt him anytime he heard of someone's death. The Coop was a wretched place. Diseases, filth, pests, gangs and poverty tortured its residents every single day. He remembered when a green younger him had promised he would end all this when he grew up, now he only looked back and mocked himself for his naivety. He really wished he could but he was powerless and couldn't do anything.
Further down the alley, he caught a glimpse of a young lady leaning over what looked like the dead body of a young man, weeping uncontrollably.
"Is this her?" He sighed.
As he kept rushing through alleys, Thorne occasionally heard people weeping over dead people.
'Life in the Coops.' he thought.
Soon he neared Old Lu's and saw the old man waiting for him outside the tall apartment building. Seeing that there was no sign of the van that was to convey them, Thorne's heart stirred.
"Old Lu, Old Lu, where is everyone?"
"Did the boss get angry and leave?"
He asked frantically. He really didn't want to lose his job.
"Hey, calm down"
The old man lifted the panicking kid and shook him soundly. Yes, lifted him up!
Old Lu was an abnormal old man. From Thorne's memories, the only actual different between his young self and his now eighty five year old was his bald head and greyed out beard. Aside those, he remained a burly ripped muscular man always in a tank top. He was lifting heavy weights at construction sites and knocking other's teeth out while people his age were lying weakly in beds with smiling family members who wanted them dead, at their bedsides. The man was just built different.
"You good now?"
Thorne hurriedly nodded. He was already feeling lightheaded from the shaking.
"Put me down, you old muscle head."
Old man Lu chuckled gruffly and dropped Thorne, rewarding himself with the yelp from the kid when he fell
Then he stretched out his muscles and gruffly said.
"The Boss isn't coming today. Heard his son, Hakim, died." The old man shook his head thoughtfully.
"He was a good lad, the poor man is devastated."
Then he turned around, walking into his apartment.
"Take the day off. I could have called to tell you, but I didn't. Wanted to see the look on your face when you dragged your body back. See you later, kid."
The death of the boss' son stunned Thorne. Why were there so many deaths today?
His solemn mood however was broken the instant he heard the old man's words.
"You old muscle head." He cursed
"Hahaha!" Old man Lu's laughter could be heard from inside the building.
Thorne shook his head helplessly and started his trip back, cursing the old man all the way.
He spent the rest of his day, resting and reading articles. He had initially wanted to log into the game, but was disheartened that he could only log in at seven pm each day so he decided to read articles on the game instead. One particular one caught his interest.
[An analysis of 'Nexus' by Supreme Horseface Po.]
Who was the Supreme Horseface Po you may ask? Well he was a renowned gamer in the VR industry. Not only was his skill good but his analysis on quests and the nature of the game were top tier. He was almost unmatched in that field. Thorne hurriedly clicked on it.
[A game clouded in mystery, where people were lost and bewildered. I, Horseface Po, the divine, took it upon myself to shower you with my grace and enlighten your feeble minds with my divine intellect. My…]
"Ah yes, his usual bouts of crap."
Thorne skipped to the good part which was paragraphs away. He was sure that if not for his analytical skills, Supreme Horseface Po would be locked up in a mental facility. His delusions were just too grand.
[Constructs and Cores.]
In the game, there are five different construct types which my divine self took time to grade and analyze.
Blue Constructs
They are all animal constructs with the only near humanoids being the ape types. They possess the Protostar Stellar Core, whose energy output is pitifully low. They were not given starshards, neither do they have a section on their status window for it, meaning they can't and will never use starshards. They can only improve their physiques and use brute strength to kill beasts.
Personal Grading: Primitive Trash!
Red Constructs
A developed branch of primitive trash. The only difference between them and blue constructs are the fact that they are humanoids, well most of them are. A few in there choose to remain top tier trash despite their color. They have the Red Giant stellar core with an energy output better than blue constructs but still low (more like red garbage stellar core)
They can't use starshards.
Personal Grading: Trash of a different shape and color.
This guy was just asking for a beating. Thorne could already imagine what the comment section looked like.
[White Constructs]
All humanoid. They can use starshards and were mostly given ones that temporarily boosts certain aspects of physiques (starshard explained later in the article). They possess the White Dwarf stellar core with a good energy output level.
Personal Grading: Normal
[Purple Constructs]
The crème de la crème. Rare elites possessing the Type O Supergiant core with an excellent energy output level (3000 units and above). Beginning State of Solidity stats and Integrity stats are higher than the rest. Rare elemental type starshards.
Thorne was certain that this guy was a purple construct in-game.
[Golden Constructs]
A bunch of pricks. They actually refused my interview. I won't even bother analyzing them until you people beg me.
Personal Grading: Arrogant Pricks.
[STARSHARDS]
...