[Server opening: Approximately 15 minutes]
(...)
That popped up and all I saw was darkness.
-5 minutes later...
(They sure take their time...)
After a "short wait," I could make out some light.
*Fuuuuu
It was a small light that kept getting bigger...
*Fuuuuuuuuushh
The light engulfed my entire field of vision until I could finally see something.
(Is this... a city?)
What I saw was a great wall in front of me, it looked medieval, but if you looked closely, you could see something akin to modern spotlights.
(Magical engineering or something like that?... besides, the gates are closed)
Behind me... a vast plain and further back a forest, probably.
[Before we begin, Let's prepare your appearance!]
[There's an appearance registered in the capsule system. Do you want to use it?]
"Accept," I said decisively.
Isn't it more immersive to have your own face in these kinds of games?
[Appearance loaded successfully!
Remember that, according to your settings, your face will be censored in:
-Live streams
-Videos
-Photos, etc.]
*BZZ!
A light enveloped me, and finally, I could feel my limbs normally.
(The air... feels damn real)
The first thing I felt was the clean air of this place, quite clean.
"How long until the opening?"
"About 10 minutes more or less."
"Hey, look over there, that guy... isn't he speaking our language?"
"Our language is taught all over the world, it's natural."
"Hey! How do you speak so fluently? Foreigner."
At that moment, I noticed other players appearing around me, all dressed the same as me.
A simple white shirt and linen pants, plus... quite unique appearances.
(No doubt the customization tool is quite powerful)
Hair of all colors, different body shapes, etc.
But the most curious thing was...
(Do they all understand each other?)
Regardless of ethnicity or origin, it seemed like everyone could understand each other perfectly.
(Does this game eliminate the Tower of Babel effect?... technology sure does advance quickly)
"Hey, Oriental, how do you pronounce our language too?"
"I ask you the same, Westerner."
Gradually, the other players became aware of this curious phenomenon, and like the social animals we are, they began to chat, mostly in a friendly manner.
(Although... no, let's not dwell on this, not yet)
There's an interesting fact about humanity, this curious fact especially manifests when people from different backgrounds come together in the same place.
"How much longer?"
"About 10 minutes or so."
"Hey! Let's look for some streamers, you know, there must be some famous ones around here."
People started looking for ways to kill time.
And me? I just sat on the ground.
(Let's remember...)
This VR game is a fantasy game with futuristic touches.
According to the main plot, it's about towers of mysterious origin that suddenly appeared in different worlds, which were on the verge of severe scarcity of natural resources.
When the inhabitants of those worlds entered the tower, they found many resources from drinking water to precious minerals, but that was just the beginning.
This is because they encountered other intelligent civilizations seeking the same thing they were, resources.
What happens when you encounter competition in these kinds of situations? Right, war.
The winner earns the right to plunder the loser's home world and obtain all its resources, including human resources.
(Here it says that all civilizations have their evolution path, but they never mention the human paths)
Quite strange, considering the game is aimed at us as the main race.
(I guess they leave it as a surprise or something, you know, a bit of suspense always spices up these kinds of games).
---
-5 minutes later.
[The server is about to start, and it will never be able to stop!]
Just as I was pondering the game's storyline, I caught sight of that notice.
(They sure are confident in their content)
That message seemed quite assertive, considering the competition of VR games at this moment.
(Well, I'll probably play this a lot, at least until summer vacation ends)
"Hey! Look up," at some point, someone said that, and we all looked in the same direction.
(A black dot?)
In the sky, we could see a black dot gradually growing larger.
The black dot became quite large, or at least it seemed that way to us spectators.
Until...
*BOOM!
A loud "explosion" happened in front of us, it was so sudden that no one could react.
*TREMOR!
(Damn!)
The ground shook, it was so strong that even people sitting on the ground like me had to grab onto the grass to maintain their position.
"*Cough, *cough"
"*Cough, *cough. *Cough"
"What the hell was that?! *Cough, *cough"
Everyone wondered the same thing as a cloud of dust rushed toward us.
And when everything cleared.
"Holy shit..."
"Wow, that thing is huge!"
"Is that a..."
(Tower...), I completed that sentence in my mind.
Yes, what appeared in front of us within the wall was a damn huge tower, a tower shining in all colors, something quite strange and curious.
[The server is fully initiated!]
[Welcome to Towers of Conquerors Online, a place where you will fight for your civilization's resources.]
[Next, your civilization will be analyzed to verify its evolution paths!]
And right after seeing that announcement, different lights were fired from the tower toward us.
(Are they analyzing us?, what a curious start)
It didn't take long really, just a few seconds, though...
(Took a bit longer to analyze me?... maybe I'm seeing things)
[Complete analysis, evolution paths have been determined!]
(Let's see... what will it be? Magic? Technology? Something else incredible?)
[Species: Human
Race: Earthlings
Origin: Milky Way, Solar System ####, Planet #### (Blue Star)
Native natural predator: N/D (Not applicable)
Planetary energy system: Absent
Mana compatibility: None (External intervention or specific mutations required)
Civilization: Sub-Type I]
[Available evolution paths!:
-Mutations (Genetic)
-Technology (Artifacts) ]
"HUH? NO MAGIC?"
"No, idiot, technically there is, we're just not compatible"
"I wouldn't say entirely incompatible, you know, look at the chart, you can get it"
"Magic is a late-game thing?"
The moment they saw the technical specs of our race, people started wondering about the absence of mana compatibility, something essential for practicing magic.
(Mutations... like comic book supers?, sounds interesting)
Can both paths be chosen?