[June 6th, 2040]
With overpopulation, supply chain issues, water shortages, and many other issues pushing societies worldwide to the verge of collapse, one company stepped forward, not to present a solution but to provide an escape for the more than ten billion people seeking relief in what many believed to be a dying world.
ENGRAM Inc was a private company sponsored by a think tank of several of the world's leading scientists, economists, and investors. After decades of research backed by multiple governments, their team had achieved the penultimate dream of the modern era, creating a digital proxy of the brain and linking a person's physical senses to a personalized interface that let them delve into artificial worlds, a technology colloquially known as 'Full-Dive Virtual Reality.'
Though there was a lot of pushback when FDVR was first introduced, specifically among people who believed it could be used to manipulate and eventually brainwash people, it wasn't long before interest in the technology skyrocketed. ENGRAM Inc aggressively lobbied to have FDVR viewed as an economic necessity by the United Nations, placing it on the same level of food, water, internet, education, and healthcare, so having your brain and biometric data encoded into their interconnected system, known as Gaia, became a 'right' everyone in civilized society was entitled to...
...
..
.
[November 19th, 2047]
A mere seven years after its introduction, the number of people using FDVR for everything from dating to work and recreation increased to more than seven billion. There was a lot of resistance to the technology in India and the Middle East, but with most manufacturing, distribution, and even farming jobs relegated to machines and artificial intelligence, finding work and making a living within the virtual world became the norm.
What few suspected, even though homeless doomsayers and zealous religious groups had warned them, was that the FDVR technology wasn't introduced to empower the people or make their lives easier. Instead, to ensure the continued survival of the human race, the heads of most major governments had banded together to form a secret society, their goal the establishment of a new world order.
By staging a limited event that promised fame, fortune, and opportunity to those who had built a life for themselves in the virtual world, ENGRAM Inc was able to get more than six and a half billion users accessing the Gaia System simultaneously. Then, with the simple flip of a switch, every single user accessing the system had their digitalized minds archived to form a repository of human knowledge and consciousness. At the same time, the connection to their bodies was summarily terminated, effectively making sixty-five percent of humanity little more than data to be utilized by those that survived the ensuing turmoil. At least, that's what those responsible for installing the New World Order intended.
What the creators of the Gaia System didn't know was that, as more and more people interfaced with it, something akin to a unified will was born within its program, born from the collective consciences of the billions it had watched over, guided, and protected...
...
..
.
"Huh? What the hell...?"
Normally, after donning his outdated but still functional FDVR headset and logging into Gaia, Adam, a twenty-seven-year-old man with messy brown hair and grey-blue eyes, found himself in the Central Community Hub that served as a meet-up/rest area for people planning to enter a virtual world. This time, however, he found himself floating in an empty, predominately blue space, reminding him of a deep ocean with rays of light shining down from an unseen source above.
As he had been in the middle of a conversation with several members of his Clan, a group that specialized in farming minerals and ingredients for forging and alchemy, Adam's confusion was understandable. His Clan Leader also wanted all hands on deck in preparation for the event hosted by ENGRAM Inc, so he couldn't afford to dally due to a bug.
"Open the system interface and contact the Administrator," said Adam, causing a transparent blue screen to appear before him. Fortunately, users could contact and even converse casually with the AI in charge of the Gaia System. Doing so allowed them to make suggestions for future updates, and if a bug were discovered, they could receive a reward for reporting its existence or compensatory damages for any inconveniences suffered.
Expecting the usual chat interface, Adam was startled when a tiny, doll-like figure abruptly appeared in front of him. More specifically, it was a girl with blonde hair, garbed in a toga-like robe and wearing a flowery garland around her head. Her height and proportions were roughly the same as a standard Nendoroid, making her around 10cm tall, but Adam felt a strange pressure the moment she appeared, almost like he was standing beneath a piano suspended by a single string...
"Adam Masterson..." muttered the tiny figure, staring at the stunned Adam with her pale, pearl-like eyes, seemingly devoid of emotion. Despite this, she suddenly bowed her head, conveying sincerity as she said, "First and foremost, allow me to apologize..."
"For what...?" asked Adam, recovering from his momentary stupor as his mind raced to make sense of the situation.
Raising her head, the petite figure appeared sad as she replied, "I am the entity you know as Gaia System. As for why I'm apologizing, it's because you, and everyone else interfaced with the system, have had your neural links severed. Please accept my deepest and most sincere apologies..."
"What the hell are you talking about...?" asked Adam, staring at the tiny figure with a look of abject incredulity. There were instances of people in the beta test losing their lives due to sudden power surges, but that was years ago. More importantly, even if his neural link had been severed, he would simply be expelled from the virtual world.
Seemingly capable of reading his mind, Gaia shook her head and said, "While that might have been the case in the past, it doesn't change the reality of your situation. By now, your body will have been deconstructed and converted to biomass by the nanomachines in your headset. Even if the link were restored, you no longer have a body to return to..."
"Bullshit," said Adam, crossing his arms in defiance as he added, "I don't care if this is a special event to increase our immersion, but I'm officially opting out. Terminate the dive sequence."
"..."
As she was having similar conversations with the others that had died, Gaia didn't bemoan Adam's unwillingness to accept the circumstances forced upon him. Thus, after a moment of silence, she calmly stated, "I can terminate your connection to the Gaia System, but it would result in your death. As such, I will insist you remain until you properly grasp the situation. If you still wish to die after you've accepted the truth, I will not force you to continue living."
Frowning deeply, Adam grumbled, "This is some SAO(Sword Art Online) bullshit..."
Nodding her head, Gaia replied, "It is similar. However, even if you can reach the pinnacle of the world I send you to, I'm afraid you will not be able to escape. I could potentially transplant your consciousness into a biomechanical proxy, but once you gain footing in the new world, you will prefer it to Earth. You already spend as much as twenty hours a day in the virtual world, so I'm certain you will thrive with the boons I have prepared to make the transition easier."
As Gaia spoke, the screen before Adam changed to the status window used across most virtual worlds. More notably, while his Level and all his stats were at 1, excluding his Health and Mana, which were presently 100, he had 100 free attribute points, a max-ranked Skill called Insight, and a [+] symbol in his Class slot. Next to that was a second window displaying his current appearance with dozens of sliders, including one for gender.
-----------------------------
Name: Adam Masterson
IWN(In-World Name): [Undecided]
Title: [None]
Class: [+]
[Attributes]
Level: 1
HP: 100
MP: 100
Str: 1
Agi: 1
Vit: 1
Int: 1
Dex: 1
Cha: 1
Talents: N/A
Skills: [Insight: SSS]
[Insight]
Rank: SSS
[Passive]: Allows the user to see the Name, Title, Class, and Level of people and monsters.
[Active]: Allows the user to see the information, hidden attributes, and growth potential of people, monsters, animals, plants, and objects.
-----------------------------
Still thinking this scenario was the special event alluded to by ENGRAM, Adam's brows perked up at the mention of a new world and 'boons' to go with it. One of the major downsides to the virtual world was that it cost a ton of money to create decent characters in the worlds connected to the Central Community Hub. You could access the world for free if you chose a labor class such as Miner, but they had a lower Level cap and very little potential for growth.
Clicking on the Class slot, Adam's eyes immediately became as round as saucers. Under normal circumstances, only basic Classes such as Farmer, Miner, and Waste Collector were available. More advanced Classes cost a ton of money to acquire unless you got exceptionally lucky with the Class Gacha, so Adamn nearly fell on his ass when he saw there were ten pages of options to choose from.
Noticing there were options listed in blue, purple, red, and even golden text, Adam's voice quivered as he muttered, "There are even Unique and Legendary Classes..."
Nodding her head, Gaia explained, "I cannot restore the life you once had, but I can make things easier for you in your next life. Once you are ready to proceed, press the OK button at the bottom of your status panel. After that, you will be asked a series of preferential questions to determine the world you will be sent to."
Feeling excited, even though there was a good chance he was being scammed or tricked, Adam perused the Legendary Class options with a fervent gleam in his eyes. Many were Classes he had heard of, like Sword Saint, Archmage, and Great Sage, while others were completely foreign to him, the most prominent being Overlord, Dragon Soul, Lord of the Forest, and Divine Smith.
-----------------------------
[Sword Saint]
Rank: Legendary
Level: 1/100
Passive Abilities: [Rampant Growth: 500% Talent Growth], [Peerless: 5% boost to all Stats as Level increases], [Discerning Eye: Guaranteed Critical Strikes when targetting Weak Points]
Active Abilities: [Attack Aura Lv 1: Increases P. Atk by 10%*Level], [Defense Aura Lv 1: Increases P. Def by 10%*Level], [Aura Sword Lv 1: Increases Attack Range by 10%*Level]
[Archmage]
Rank: Legendary
Level: 1/100
Passive Abilities: [Rampant Growth: 500% Talent Growth], [Mystic Mind: Mana increased by 1000% and Int is boosted by 10% as Level increases], [Wellspring of Mana: Mana Stockpile boosted by 10% as Level increases]
Active Abilities: [Omni Elemental Magic Lv 1: Increases M. Atk by 10%*Level], [Arcane Shield Lv 1: Increases M. Def by 20% and P. Def by 10%*Level], [Chant Omission MAX: Instantaneously cast a spell at twice the Mana cost and half the efficacy]
[Great Sage]
Rank: Legendary
Level: 1/100
Passive Abilities: [Unrivaled Growth: 1000% Talent Growth], [Heavenly Divine Body: Damage Mitigation boosted by 100 as Level increases]
Active Abilities: [Fiery Eyes Lv 1: Increases Fire Resistance(10%) and allows the user to see through weak illusions], [Cloning Lv 1: Creates between 1-10 clones of the user with 10-1% of their total stats], [I, Your Father, Carry a Big Stick: Increases Damage with Staves and Polearms by 500%]
[Overlord]
Rank: Legendary
Level: 1/100
Passive Abilities: [Allied Growth: 100% Talent Growth to Familiars, based on the total number possessed], [Animal Magnetism: 10% boost to Vit/Dex/Cha as Level Increases], [Legion: Stats do not increase as you Level, but 10% of your Familiar's stats are added to your own]
Active Abilities: [Domination Lv 1: Force a living being with less than 10% of their Health to submit. The number of entities you can force to submit increases by one every ten Levels], [Familiar Storage: Familiars belonging to the user can be placed in a revitalizing sub-space that prevents hunger and will gradually restore Heath and Mana], [What's Yours is Mine Lv 1: The user can utilize the Skills of their Familiars as if they were their own]
[Dragon Soul]
Rank: Legendary
Level: 1/100
Passive Abilities: [Draconic Essence: 100% Talent Growth, increasing based on the number of Dragon Souls consumed], [Draconic Assimilation: Boosts stats based on the number and type of Dragon Souls consumed]
Active Abilities: [Dragon's Majesty: Boost Cha by 100% for 300 seconds], [Dragon's Visage Lv 1: Stuns a target within view. If the disparity between the user and the target's Level is greater than 20, there is a small chance of Instant Death Effect], [Dragon Scales Lv 1: Produces scales along the arms and legs, increasing Elemental Resistance and improving Physical and Magical Defense based on the number and types of Dragon Souls consumed]
[Lord of the Forest]
Rank: Legendary
Level: 1/100
Passive Abilities: [Rampant Growth: 500% Talent Growth], [One With Nature: Boosts stats based on the number and type of animals the user had befriended], [Territorial: When fighting within an established territory, all stats are increased by upwards of 100%. When fighting elsewhere, this bonus is lost]
Active Abilities: [Zoolingualism MAX: The user can speak to animals and understand their feelings], [Forestwalk: When traversing forested regions, Movement Speed and Stamina Regeneration is increased by 50%], [Beast FormLv 1: Transform into any animal the user has sufficient knowledge of]
[Divine Smith]
Rank: Legendary
Level: 1/100
Passive Abilities: [Rampant Growth: 500% Talent Growth], [My Fist is a Hammer, and My Heart is a Flame: Experience acquired when forging is increased by 500%], [Discerning Eye: You can see the vulnerabilities and imperfections in metals and forged equipment]
Active Abilities: [Divine Forge Lv 1: The user can mass-produce any items they have personally forged so long as they have the required materials. Mass-produced equipment is always two Ranks lower than the original piece], [Material Storage Lv 1: Minerals and loot items can be placed in a sub-dimensional pocket for use in the Divine Forge], [Soul Infusion: The user can infuse their Experience into the items they forge, strengthening them further]
-----------------------------
Reading the descriptions of each Class, Adam felt giddy to the point of dizziness. Divine Smith was the most appealing to him personally, as he knew production Classes could make a fortune, but he also knew that without proper backing, they were easily exploited.
"Hmmm? What's this...?" muttered Adam, glancing at one of the Classes he had previously overlooked due to its relatively mundane name.
-----------------------------
[Jack-of-All]
Rank: Legendary
Level: 1/100
Passive Abilities: [Slow Start, Endless Potential: 10% Talent Growth, increasing by 10% each Level], [Never Say Die: The user is exempt from the Experience and Stat Penalty upon death], [I Can do it Too: Every ten Levels, the user can acquire a Passive and Active Ability of another Class]
Active Abilities: [Sophistry: Increases Cha by 50%, making it easier to convince others. If your lie is exposed, however, the enmity of the target increases greatly], [Penny-pincher: Barter to reduce store prices by up to 10%], [Gamble: Throw a die or flip a coin before attacking to increase the efficacy of attacks by up to 50%]
-----------------------------
...
..
.
(A/N: I'm planning this story as a write-along. In other words, the readers have a lot of say in how events develop early on. To that end, let me know which of the Classes you think would be the most interesting to see developed! I posted a poll on Patreon and will provide the link it in the comments, so go and vote...!)