Inside the hall within the NERVE tower where the potential beta testers gathered, Dr. Joe Neons continued to make his speech.
"You will be entering the world of Nexus now. Everything you will need will be provided by your Axon gear, built to answer you on request and make clarifications of any doubts. Because the Axon gear links with your nervous system, all you have to do is think about what you want."
Every one of the interested participants were provided with an Obsidian Alpha gear.
Beth admired her gear as she held it in her hand.
It was beautiful in black colour and matched incredibly well with the black leather jacket and the pair of black jeans trousers that she wore to the program.
She put on the gear and clicked the button that was on the right side of her Axon to turn it on.
She looked like a hot biker girl with the overall outfit, and her long snow-white hair provided an admirable contrast to her all-black attire.
Beth inhaled and exhaled, releasing all the tension that built up in her body and mind as she relaxed herself in anticipation for the beta test.
The silvery linings on the edges of her Axon beamed with white light and shone, brightening up and adding a touch of magnificence to the obsidian gear.
Joe Neons was indeed a man with an exotic taste. With him, everything had to be right and just the way he imagined it.
[00h : 00m : 06s]
"You will be entering Nexus soon," Dr. Joe announced, notifying the participants as he glanced at the giant screen that served as a timer for their task.
«5»
«4»
The CEO of NERVE had told the participants all that they needed to know about their journey to the seemingly virtual world of Nexus, and all he expected from them on return was quality reports or at least something that would help with his research.
«3»
«2»
"Good luck," he said, giving the participants a thumbs up.
The timer, projected on a much larger screen behind the doctor, hit zero across the minutes and seconds sides and the program was initiated.
«1»
«0»
"Let the beta testing begin!"
The transparent glasses that came with the Axons dimmed and turned into black shades and a set of bluish prints appeared on them, with the prints being only visible to their respective wearers.
A message appeared on their shades and triggered the feeling of excitement in the potential players.
[Welcome to the First Launch]
"This is amazing!"
In a matter of seconds, Beth was already feeling like she had left Earth behind and travelled to another world for adventure.
The euphoria was overwhelming and she could no longer wait to experience the virtual world..
Beth and her brothers had played games on consoles but she had never experienced a virtual reality game before.
She did not have the money to get one, not at the expense of her family's well-being.
[Would you like to proceed?]
[Yes / No]
She remembered that Dr. Joe told them that it wasn't compulsory to voice out any commands to their Axons as a thought of whatever they wanted would suffice.
Beth did not waste time before thinking the word 'Yes' in her mind, but nothing happened. There was no response from the gear.
"Yes," she finally spoke up.
Her utterance ushered in another set of prompts that popped up after she had chosen to proceed.
[Link command has been activated]
[Axon-neuronal linking has started]
[Initiating…]
«0%... 12%... 21%... 40%...»
«78%... 82%... 100%»
[Linking has been completed]
Beth felt a sudden, sharp sting at the back of her neck along with a sensation of something sharp travelling down her spine and stopping at her lower back.
This sensation caused her to jerk a little from the abrupt discomfort that endured for barely a second.
The strange feeling eventually localised and settled in her lower back.
That was the feeling from the ongoing Axon-Neuronal Link (A-N Link).
The Axon gear was now connected to her nervous system to allow the ease of transition of commands to the Axon from voice to thought, just as Joe Neons had told them earlier.
A successful A-N linking guaranteed that the [Thought Command] function was activated during the course of a player's gameplay while still reserving the [Voice Command] for players who preferred to use them in certain situations.
[Switching mode of command from voice to thought]
[Switch in mode of command successful]
'Oh! That's why nothing happened earlier. Oh my gosh! This is truly amazing. Never thought virtual reality was this incredible. Damon and Nate will go insane when I tell them about it.'
Beth could not wait to share her amazing gaming experience with her brothers but then she realised something.
'Oh, wait! Damon will kill me for not letting him come along in the first place. Geez! But I cannot keep it to myself. Tch! Might as well give up my life for them to hear my story.'
[Integrating Mind-to-Axon function]
«0%... 20%... 40%...»
«60%...80%...100%»
[Mind-to-Axon function integration complete]
[First Launch starts in 5]
Naturally, Beth's heart began to pound very fast and her blood raced from the adrenaline rush of the new experiences that she was anticipating.
She felt so good, a feeling that her depressing life had made her forget.
—––
A/N: This is the last one, I promise. Lol
PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE IF YOU HAVEN'T