Cole sat dejected because of what had happened. He couldn't believe his sister had done that to him. However, how could she not, that was how their father had brought her up. To look down on anyone no matter the age. But, as he sat up in a meditation position, he let go of all the worries. He pictured a future where he would get his mother and his siblings out of that old man's home. Although he knew that given the state they were in now it was almost impossible he could still look forward to moving out and then moving his mom after he earned some money of his own.
At that moment, he heard a knock on his door.
"Whaaat!" He said as he stood up to go and open the door. His little sister was standing right there. He had three siblings. A younger brother who was the second born. His name was Jones Noah. After he was the arrogant sister. Her name was Jamie Noah. Then lastly was his sweet little sister whose name was Veryl Noah. She stood before him looking at him with a cute little smile. "What do you want." He asked.
"Your console is here. Mom wants to talk to you before you have it." She said while giggling. He smiled at her and then went to the main house. The structure of their housing was not your ordinary. The main house contained one living room with two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. While outside on the left side of it were three conjoined rooms. One was a kitchen while the other two were his and Jones'. Reaching the main house, he opened the door and then walked in to be greeted by the latest VR capsule.
Once you entered this you would get into a state of subconsciousness while being transported to the game. It came with the latest VR MMORPG game which was fully immersive. This console was not of the greatest quality but it was still good. His mum had gotten it from a neighbour's kid who had refused it saying it to be of low quality. This was Africa so nothing of this price would be returned to the shop, so his mother got it for a much much cheaper price. The fully immersive game was called Fate Online. The company had even decided to add an in-game selling and buying exchange software. This is what made the youths buy this game. The notion that you could earn from just gaming gave them the motivation.
"Here have it though we do need to talk about those gaming hours."
"Uggh" he let out an inaudible sigh as his mother got into lecture mode.
Of course, it was only in his dreams that she gave him anything without rules.
"You are only allowed to use it after you are done with your chores ...". On and on she went. He could only listen and wait for her to hand it over.
"Okay, mom, you know I am always here right?"
"Okay, you can take it out after you are done eating." As he ate, his excitement was visible as a big goofy smile could be seen by everyone. His sister, Jamie, looked at him envy plastered all over her face. Too bad kids below the age of fourteen could not play the game. As he carried the game and the capsule to his room he smirked at her. His room was small but it was all he could ask for as it gave him space and privacy. From the door, one could see that on the left, was his bed that ate up almost half of his room then next to it was the table with a few books placed on it and above it a window giving him the view he always wanted. From the window, one could see a river not far away from their home. A plastic seat was placed right beside the table. He placed the capsule on the right side just beside the door and then connected it to the power socket. It then lit a blue colour on the inside but orange on the outside. Then a metallic voice came from the capsule speakers. <>INSERT GAME DISK<> "oh right". He said then took the disk his mother had given him. He inserted it in the disk slot and then waited. <>GAME DETECTED<> The same metallic voice could be heard. He then opened the capsule door and got in. He relaxed on the comfortable dentist-like chair. He could feel his head being strapped and then he started losing consciousness. Suddenly his vision started clearing and then he saw a systematic status appear on the left side of his line of sight.
[Welcome To Fate Online]
[Name-Cole Noah]
[Nickname-??? (Please note that nicknames will be seen by everyone while you can choose whether to show your real name or not.)]
Many people eventually chose to hide their real names and so did he. He did not want people to start stalking or harassing his family after he earned some fame in the game. It motivated many people to play this game when the management chose to introduce in-game to real-life trade. This game was currently leading in the market as more and more youth and teenagers from all over the world join every day. Initially, his mother did not want to get him the game but after he mentioned that one could earn through gaming his mother became more interested. Something told him deep down that this game was gonna change the world. After a few minutes of contemplating, he finally decided on his nickname.
[Nickname-Astro]
[Nickname Accepted. "You have unlocked access to the status"]
"Wait Whaaaaat! I couldn't view the status before?" He said. On the status bar, he could see categories. Quests, Player Stats, Favours, Skills and Abilities. He then opened the Player Stats bar and he almost let out a shriek out of shock.
[Name: Cole Noah "Astro"]
[Class: N/A]
[Favor: N/A]
[Strength : 2/10]
[Agility: 1.5/10]
[Stamina: 2/10]
[Charm: 1/10]
[Defence: 3.5/10]
[Overall: 2]
[Rank: E]
[Coins: 16 Bronze, 5 Silver, 0 Gold.]
"Whaat!" He shouted and then remembered he was in the game so there were probably monsters near him. Talking about which, he swiped his status panel to the left in a swift motion. Then took in his surroundings and what he could see could only be explained in one word. Sand. "Seriously? Wasn't I supposed to be spawned in a beginner village?" He asked out loud. Thus he checked the map in the top right of his status panel. " Are you kidding me?" He shouted after finding out that the map only showed sand everywhere. Birds could be heard flocking away after he shouted. 'Thud' He looked to the north as he heard the sound of something falling. He knew he shouldn't snoop around but he still did hope to find some clues to his situation. He started walking in the direction where the sound had originated from. Slowly by slowly, he arrived at what looked like an abandoned village. A little far from the village was an oasis that seemed to be reflecting the moon's light. It seemed like it was calling unto him so he went past the village and arrived at the oasis. Just then he heard a system notification.
['Ding Ding' World Announcement: Player Astro has discovered 'The Oasis of Light']
['Ding Ding' World Announcement: Player Astro has discovered 'The Oasis of Light']
['Ding Ding' World Announcement: Player Astro has discovered 'The Oasis of Light']
[ Oasis of Light: Provides the required changes in a player to help them in a future situation that the oasis deems to be dangerous.]
[You have received 5 gold coins for your discovery]
To say he was astonished would be an understatement. His mind felt like it was going to explode at any moment. Players all over the world were wondering who this Player Astro was. Then he received 5 gold from the system. He felt like shouting out but was afraid of notifying monsters about his presence. 5 Gold was a lot of money for a beginner in this game. According to the conversion rate, 1 silver was equal to $1 in real life. Also, 100 Silver was equal to 1 Gold coin. It didn't take a genius to know that this guy had received $500 for discovering this oasis while it normally took a month for the normal beginner to amass a single gold coin. He was really happy to have discovered it but was reluctant to get in so he went back to the village and found a nice abandoned hut where he unpacked. After you entered the game you would be given a beginner pack which consisted of a pair of clothing, medical potions, food, a blanket and a rugged sleeping bag. After taking a look around the hut he had decided to camp here for the night. He took a piece of dried bread from his inventory and munched on it as he thought about how to go about the oasis. After he finished the bread he took a bottle of water from the inventory and hurriedly drank it. Then stood up, got out of the hut and headed toward the oasis. After reaching the oasis he took five leather bottles from the inventory and filled them with water. Afterwhich he dipped his toes into the water followed by his legs and then his whole body. In the process of bathing, he felt a sharp pain in his head and moved his hands to his head to ease the pain to no avail. His body then started emitting a black goo from the pores of his skin. The black goo was impurities being released by his body. After a few seconds of experiencing the inexplicable pain, he fainted. After approximately 30 minutes of unconsciousness, he woke up to be welcomed by system notifications.
['Ding Ding'.]
Hey, guys thank you for reading part one of SOD and feel free to comment and vote. The next part episode/part will be out next Monday. Have A Nice Week.