"Welcome everyone and thank you for playing" – John checked his notes one final time as the countdown clock reached zero. With a few clicks, his webcam flipped on and he waved to the dozens of viewers watching from their various streams.
"Today, Edward Montenegro has broken a world record with the creation of his game, Octavius grimoire with special thanks to the "mail man" for his grand prize of ten thousand quantox for any player who manages to get the grimoire on his behalf" John said as a chorus of emotes filled the streamer's chat.
"That's about right John, in two minutes, a record breaking number of a hundred and fifty thousand players are going to be locked into their helmets and ready to search for the grimoire. A few are in it for the book and many are in it for the grand prize. John, enlighten me. What do you think is real, the grimoire or the money?" Daniel asked intrigued.
"Well, both!" John replied.
"Ditto! Anyways, here are the rules to the game;
A player only gets three pauses for the rest of the game
Every pause halts everyone's game
Only a higher ranked player is allowed to unpause any other player's paused state
Once your HP reaches zero, your characters die and you cannot be respawned. So make sure to do whatever it is to stay alive"
A player's HP increases by 5 after each level
"That is all the rules that were communicated to us. Beware, new ones can pop up at any moment during play time" Daniel continued.
"As always, this is John" John announced.
"And I'm Daniel" Daniel followed.
"Welcome everyone and thank you for playing!" they chorused as they signed off.
Alex, Avia, Greta, Aurelia and many other players got out their helmets in preparation for the game. And so the countdown began… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Alex found himself standing in a dark, dense forest underneath a waxing gibbous moon.
"Welcome player, to the village on the edge of the woods" echoed a disembodied voice. "You have been called upon to find the missing parts of Octavius's grimoire. But first, you must choose a name"
"Why didn't I think about this, shit. How am I gonna find Avia?" he thought out loud. "Umm… something Avia would know, umm… 18 in Rehab" he concluded. Then a transparent screen popped up in his face. It showed the following;
USERNAME: 18inRehab
CLASS: NOVICE
XP: 10
HP: 50
PL (Pauses left): 3
BANK: ---
ITEMS: ---
KILLS: ----
"Now, you have to create your avatar" the voice added. Alex then began steadily building his character. The game was set in an advanced tech-based future time, same as their real time and any player could be anything as an avatar. For clothes, he chose a form-fitting biometric bodysuit made of breathable, moisture-wicking fabrics. Discrete panels and implants would monitor vitals without bulky equipment. It also had gloves and boots meld protection and mobility. For accessories and props abound - a slim utility belt to holster tools. His character almost looked like him.
"All done. Now, step into the world of Octavius. Thank you for playing" the voice said as he slowly appeared into a world filled with other players and NPC's. Just then, a massive hologram flickered into existence before the assembly, depicting game creator Edward Montenegro. Gasps arose from all at witnessing the famed creator.
"Welcome and thank you for playing. I am Edward Montenegro, the creator of the game you all are playing. As you can see, it is with delight that I tell you, you all have been granted extra 10 experience points and an extra 50 health point. Do whatever it takes to survive. Do not be too quick to trust. Every player has their reason for joining the game and trust me, they are not going to back down until they get it. Your first quest would be starting in an hour time, so that's enough time to interact, join and/or create allies, increase your HP and XP, collect items and many more. I wish you all good luck as the search would soon begin" With a crackle, the hologram dissolved back into thin air as renewed purpose swelled amongst the players as the stakes were raised.
Alex wandered about trying to look for Avia. As he made his way through the debris of a small building, searching desperately for any sign of his friend Avia, a strange sense of being watched crept over him. Being very much self-aware, Alex forged onward. But as he went by a corner, suddenly another player collided into him from the shadows.
"Watch where you're going!" The player snarled, sending Alex crashing to the earth. Before he knew it, his attacker's blade was flashing towards his throat. Parrying just in time, Alex realized with dread this was no accident - he was under attack. His assailant struck again and again as Alex frantically blocked each blow. But he could feel his HP draining rapidly with each hit absorbed. At this rate, one mistake would mean perishing in this treacherous glade.
Just as Alex's strength began failing, a lithe female figure dropped from the trees, twin daggers slicing through the ray of sunlight that emitted through a cracked hole up in the ceiling. Her weapons struck the attacker mercilessly, biting deep until with a gurgle his body evaporated into thin air.
"Thank you" Alex said with a sigh of relief.
"Anything for an extra XP and item and also sweet cash" she said unmoved by Alex's gratitude. After the player's demise, a screen popped out of nowhere, showing the female players new profile;
USERNAME: ICE
CLASS: APPRENTICE
XP: 45
HP: 49
PL: 3
ITEMS: TWIN DAGGERS, SWORD
BANK: 25 COINS
KILLS: 1
[CONGRATULATIONS, YOU JUST EARNED 25 XP AND 25 QUANTOX FOR THE DEATH OF PLAYER XXX_342. YOU'VE ALSO EARNED HIS PREVIUSLY OWNED ITEM- SWORD. IT HAS AUTOMATICALLY BEEN ADDED TO YOUR INVENTORY]
[ YOU'VE ALSO LEVELED UP. YOU ARE NOW AN APPRENTICE]
Then the screen disappeared.
"Sweet! Off to equip my inventory" player Ice said about walking away when Alex spoke.
"18 in Rehab" he said.
"The fuck am I supposed to do with that?" she asked confused.
"That's my username. But you can call me Alex. That's what I'm called in real life" Alex suggested.
"Well, thank you for being so weak to defeat that guy, cause you earned me sweet points, Ally" she jeered.
"Allies? What do you say?" he asked as he stood up from the ground and went up to her.
"Edward himself said not to trust any player so easily. Why do you think I'm gonna trust you?" Ice asked.
"Cause I've been a fan of what this game is about for years. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. We protect each other. It's a win- win" Alex proposed. Ice gave it a long thought before considering it.
"Greta, that's what they call me in real life" she said as she and Alex shook on their agreement as allies.