This meeting took place three months ago. During the remaining time until the game's launch, Kane often corresponded with Park, whose nickname was "Light Horror." He continued sorting through information, learning the basics, and finally decided on a class. Rogue. It suited him best, both in terms of gameplay and for his purposes. High damage, stealth, ability to crack chests and pass high-level locations without fighting every monster. Park soon invited him to a special forum dedicated to earning money in games. Something like the dark side of all games. No one, of course, leaked the best methods, but the basics were described there. And this was enough for now.
As it turned out, people don't earn only on gear. Information about raid bosses, epic quests, one-time dungeons, and much more. Clans paid serious money for such things. After all, all this led to an increase in their influence. But the biggest income came from video channels run by either clans or individual top players. Income from views, advertising, and contracts was incredibly huge. Many television channels had separate programs dedicated to one game or another.
Park told him about this in one of their conversations, as he had a contract. Although it was a small amount compared to players from the top 100 of any game, it was quite enough for a new apartment, car, and other life luxuries. Games, which previously seemed to Kane like mere amusements, showed themselves from a completely different side, and he wasn't going to stop halfway for anything. If the new game was as they described it, those two guys, then he would succeed, whatever it cost him. He quit his job to take a risk, hoping for his luck.
...
And now, two weeks before the planned launch, advertising for the game began worldwide. This caused a real tsunami in the masses, promising to break all records ever set. Kane, who saw the video on "Videoworld" — a popular video hosting site — expected anything but this. He had already entered many games, thanks to club rentals, trying, adapting, and experimenting, but the gameplay he saw was striking.
That chatterer was right: this game would open a new era of virtuality. Simultaneously, the game's official website opened, where topics with thousands of comments began appearing one after another. The built-in translator allowed freely perceiving and writing messages worldwide. Therefore, every day the hype around the game gained momentum.
The site provided various technical information dedicated to some game aspects. How character development occurs, the number of open races, classes, and much more.
But the main difference from past games was its unique system, which consisted in the fact that the world of "Empyrean" didn't submit to standard rules.
You could be level one but kill an enemy at level fifty or even hundred. But this doesn't mean it was easy to do. On the contrary, almost impossible, the chance that a level one player would kill a level hundred monster was approximately 0.00001%. The higher the enemy's level, the lower the chance to kill it, the lower the level — the higher. The reverse was also true. A level fifty player could easily be killed by a level one monster if they were inattentive. Though infinitesimal, but a chance!
Kane studied everything inside and out, afraid to miss something really important. Two weeks flew by unnoticed. Even before release, the game became the most discussed topic on the internet. And the heads of corporations whose scientists developed AI for this game, although confident in their brainchild, still feared that the servers might not withstand.
It took them about ten years to present "Emperor" to the world. That's what they called the AI capable of infinite operations and being the core of "Empyrean."
"Emperor" became the pinnacle of everything humanity achieved in AI development based on Asimov's three laws. But since it had to have access to the consciousness of millions of people, when creating "Emperor," they introduced a fourth law prohibiting directly or indirectly influencing the consciousness of any living beings.
It commanded AI imitators and more advanced AIs that were responsible for different NPCs. From ordinary mobs to quest NPCs standing atop entire continents. Advanced AIs could develop while not disrupting game balance. That is, an ordinary goblin from a wild tribe could get their name throughout the game and become a chief but couldn't conquer the world unless it was conditioned by the scenario. "Emperor" closely monitored such things. This information, but in expanded form, was provided on the developers' website.
Kane was already lying in the capsule. The neat head recess, to which the apparatus sensors were connected, felt soft to the touch. The guy closed his eyes, and darkness descended upon him. After a few seconds, a small beam of light began moving toward him, as if sucking him somewhere, and an incredible bird's-eye panorama opened before him.
Snow-capped mountain peaks spread below and stretched to the northern plains, where beautiful cities and palace tower spires were visible. Deep blue seas with oceans covered most of the land.
In the distance, one could notice a huge tree stretching its branches to the sky, around which equally large either birds or dragons were flying. The whole world spread out before him was imbued with beauty. A hoarse elderly voice began the story, narrating the prehistory of this game. The voice spoke, and under Kane, the events of those times unfolded.
"Several thousand years ago, in an era when gods still ruled, the world plunged into darkness. The cause was awakened evil. Its followers, faithful to their dark ideals, opened a portal of incredible size from the underworld to this world. Chaos reigned on the continents, and countless victims plunged all inhabitants into fear and despair. After hundreds of years of battles and suffering, rivers of blood and mountains of dead bodies, the Gods decided to fulfill their destiny and, sacrificing their bodies, conducted an ancient ritual, sealing the huge portal.
To prevent the death of their children in the future, they divided this world into a hundred floors, sealing each of them with a particle of their souls. Centuries passed, and people began to forget the horror that once happened to their ancestors. Many began to search for keys to unlock the gates and unite the once-fragmented world. According to legends, when the seal falls from the last gates, the world will become as it was, and the gods will be able to return. Are you ready to believe in the legend and become one of those who will open the gates? But remember: something that was once closed doesn't necessarily need to be opened..."
"Wow!" The young man listened, and shivers ran through him. The story told and shown to him ignited excitement and desire. The backstory really hooked. Everything was so realistic that he began eagerly awaiting the game's start.
Kane saw with his own eyes how the world changed, albeit at an accelerated pace. Living forests turned into deserts, oceans dried up and filled with water again. Entire races died, and new ones were born. Majestic empires plunged into wars, and only ruins remained of them. The guy saw battles of those very gods. Epic battle scenes reflected in his eyes, making his heart stop.
He saw how the world was divided, and how those "floors" were formed. The game, no, something more than just a game, opened its arms to Kane. The scale of work done by the developers couldn't help but impress even the most hardened cynic.
While the guy remained impressed, a menu appeared before him. A beautiful female voice announced:
[Do you wish to create an account?]
"Yes!"
[Body scanning and external data setup in progress, please wait a couple of minutes...
Synchronization complete.]
[Do you wish to proceed to appearance editor or keep your real data for the character? (Note: To protect user's privacy in reality, an encryption function will be applied to the character. More details can be read in paragraph 24, section 2 "On Player Protection").]
"Keep real data."
[Accepted.]
[The game has sensitivity settings for fuller immersion. The higher the sensitivity level, the more realistic the adventures will be. But be careful. Pain received at high sensitivity will be very similar to real. But the rewards for this will be worthy. Decide what you want? Real adventures or just an incredible game? Settings can be changed, but all bonuses, rewards, and titles received during gameplay at increased sensitivity will disappear until you return to the same sensitivity level.]
Kane had already read about this, though rewards weren't mentioned there, it seems.
"What's the optimal option?"
[Optimal is level 50% and below, for those who want to discover a new world, it's worth starting from 60%.]
Weighing all pros and cons, he decided to clarify one more point:
"If the level is 100%, will it harm my real body somehow?"
[No, that's impossible. Everything you'll feel is so-called "phantom" pain. Only your mind is in the game. And only it will be subjected to trials.]
"Good. Set 100%."
[Accepted.]
[Settings can be changed upon new game entry. Choose a race from the provided list.]
The list was indeed large. But he had already seen it on the website, so he didn't examine it carefully. Undead, goblin, half-demon, suldar, dwarf, lizardman, and so on. Scrolling, he carefully searched for the needed race.
"Human."
[Choose class.]
"Rogue."
[You have chosen race and class. Enter character name.]
"White RAVen."
[Chosen name is not taken. Do you wish to choose the floor yourself or prefer automatic distribution? You can choose from first to third floor. Be careful, the higher the floor, the higher the level of its inhabitants. The level of inhabitants on each floor varies within numbers from the lowest, for example, "1," to the highest on that floor, for example, "30."]
"Choose for me."
[You preferred automatic distribution. Loading data into database... character successfully created. Appearance created. Loading complet.... #-Error/#...]
[We wish you pleasant adventures White RAVen.]
"Wait, what just happened?!."
And darkness again. A small flash and he was transported to the starting location.