In a spacious room filled with advanced technology and incredible holograms that were being recorded by various scientists, there was a group of people being led by a tall, skinny, middle-aged scientist.
"And here we are. These are the VR capsules we'll have you beta testers sit in and test our game. If you have any issues with the game or the capsules themselves, please let us know in the feedback forum. Does anyone have any questions before we start?" The middle-aged scientist asked, having short black and gray hair and wearing a lab coat with black shoes.
He gestured with his hand toward twenty large, oval-shaped metal devices with a handful of buttons on the side. When he pressed a button, the door of the large device, the capsule, swung open from the bottom to the top.
When it opened, the middle-aged scientist saw the reactions of the twenty people in front of him, who varied in ages. There were some that were very young and those very old. They all wore a white and golden slick uniform that hugged their bodies, highlighting their varied figures.
"Wow, these are so cool!"
"I know, right? Like, they're totally going to be cooler after it's all finished."
"I hope that we'll get to choose what color our capsule is going to be. I'm choosing green for mine."
"You youngsters are worried about trivial things. I'd like to see how lifelike the game's going to be."
The beta testers knew that the game they were playtesting for was a VRMMORPG spin-off of the game StarBlade Ops, a computer game where there are attackers and defenders with a variety of different game modes. The game was filled with characters who can wield swords, shoot guns, use bows and arrows, and things of the like. There were also magic characters who could wield various magic types that changed the style of every game.
In any case, the twenty people, the beta testers, talked among themselves in front of the middle-aged scientist, discussing openly their initial reactions and hopes for the future of the game.
One of the beta testers in particular was especially quiet. It was a young man with raven-black hair and purple eyes. He was neither tall nor short, and he had average looks that made him hardly noticeable.
While everyone was discussing openly, he panicked in his thoughts, 'Oh, no. It's finally here. I didn't actually think I'd get picked to be a beta tester. Well, I guess they probably picked me for exactly that. To see the perspective of what an average player might experience in the game,' he thought.
On the back of his uniform was his first and last name written in black text. It read, "Soren Voss."
Soren looked and saw several other scientists, twenty of them, bring each beta tester to their assigned capsule, Soren included. When they reached the capsule, the scientist explained what each button does before telling them to have a seat in the capsule.
The scientists asked for any feelings of discomfort, and when everything was ready to go, they pressed a button that closed the capsule's lid.
Watching the lid slowly fall and close, the beta testers were becoming excited and looking forward to what they'd be able to see in the game. Once the lid was closed, they kept mental notes for later when they gave their feedback on the capsule and the game.
Nonetheless, when the scientists began booting up the game for everyone, something unexpected happened.
"Oh, no! There seems to be a malfunction with Capsule 17!" said a scientist who read the readings off a hologram. It showed important information regarding the capsule's functionality to see if it's running smoothly.
To the side of this hologram was another that showed the person inside capsule 17 was receiving a severe electric shock that was highly lethal.
The scientists saw an electric shock flicker off capsule 17, causing smoke to rise in the air. It became very hard to breathe, and the scientists quickly aborted the boot-up process and pulled everyone out of the capsule.
As for the person sitting in capsule 17, everyone could see an average-looking young man with raven-black hair wearing a white uniform with the name "Soren Voss" on the back.
Two scientists lifted up the unconscious Soren and immediately called for the medical staff that was on standby, waiting to administer first aid if needed. Thankfully, they instantly rushed forward and helped him as best as they could before putting him on a stretcher and taking him out of the room.
The beta testers all looked at this with mixed reactions. Some were worried and felt pity for Soren, while others were filled with irritation, as they couldn't get to play the game because of this.
Of course, Soren didn't care about any of this, as he found himself being in a comatose state for several months.
...
Several months later, in an ICU of an advanced, futuristic hospital, Soren had been lying on a hospital bed ever since the start of his injury from the capsule. His family, consisting of his stepmother and two stepsisters, had visited him as much as they could while wishing for his recovery.
Every now and then in the mornings, afternoons, and at night, doctors and nurses would come and check in on him. There was no significant damage to his body or his mind, but they couldn't figure out what caused his comatose state. Not even the best medicine could help him, so it was all on him to wake up.
One morning, Soren was still lying on a hospital bed, and the morning nurse had walked in to make sure everything was going according to procedure. She would check his vitals, change the IV drip if needed, and make sure everything was in order.
However, this morning was different than normal. When she was exchanging the IV drip, she casually glanced at the average-looking young man on the hospital bed. It was unsure what she was feeling. Pity? Indifferent? The nurse didn't know, but suddenly she saw something completely unexpected.
Soren's eyes had twitched, and a moment later, they slowly opened and showed a blue color, much different than the previous purple. The nurse saw this and found it odd. In any case, she quickly checked to make sure he was fine while she told his doctor that he had awoken from his coma.
Looking around the room, Soren found himself becoming confused. 'I'm in a hospital? Why? I was just about to enter the game a moment ago...' he thought, clearly unaware of how much time had passed.
It was only until a handsome young doctor who came in with a relieved smile on his face, telling Soren what happened and how he ended up in a coma, did Soren finally realize and feel bitter. "I see..."
Of course, Soren was a bit upset that he was in a coma for several months, but he was more upset that he didn't get to beta-test that game. To any gamer, being able to participate in something like this was absolutely godsent, especially if the VRMMORPG game was a spin-off of a gamer's favorite computer game.
Unfortunately, he wasn't able to beta-test it because of the incident, so he could only patiently wait for the game's release. Soren felt very bitter since he had been waiting for this for quite a while now.
'Ah, whatever. It's not like I'm dead. I'll be able to play it when it comes out.' Soren heaved a dejected sigh but ultimately accepted the circumstances. It wasn't like he could do anything about it, anyway.
The handsome young doctor discussed some things with Soren before calling his family, of whom would be arriving soon later.
After an hour of patiently waiting, Soren saw three beautiful women enter the room. One was a middle-aged woman with long brown hair and hazel eyes, wearing a women's black blazer jacket, a white buttoned blouse, a black pencil skirt, black leggings, and black high heels.
This woman was Soren's stepmother, Susan Harrington. She was a professor at one of the top magical academies in the galaxy, the Astralis Schools of Magic.
She walked over to Soren, with her high heels clicking against the marble floor. She hurriedly arrived and brought Soren into his embrace, surprising him. This was the first time she expressed such affection ever since he's known her.
'Of course, she was very kind and nice to me, taking me in after my father's passing, but we've never hugged or anything like that.' Soren thought, thinking that she must've been very worried for him, much to his surprise.
But a warmth spread through his heart, realizing that it wasn't so bad being worried over. In any case, Susan pulled away and cupped his face while showing a concerned expression on hers. "Soren, how are you feeling? Doctor, can we give him something to eat? He looks rather thin."
The handsome young doctor smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's fine for him to eat. However, let's keep it in moderation because it's been several months since Soren had eaten."
With a relieved smile, Susan nodded and asked the doctor if he could fetch someone a meal for Soren. After that, two other beautiful women walked over, with one being kind and graceful, while the other was a bit awkward and tomboyish.
The graceful young woman with hazel eyes, resembling much like Susan, had long brown hair neatly braided. She wore the Astralis's academy's uniform, consisting of a white buttoned blazer, a white skirt, black leggings, and black pump heels.
This woman was Sophia Harrington, Soren's younger stepsister. She attended the Astralis Schools of Magic as a first-year student, soon going into her second year.
She looked at Soren with kind eyes and smiled in relief. "It's good that you're awake, Soren. We were worried sick for you. Isn't that right, Ava?"
Ava Harrington, Soren's older stepsister, is a beautiful tomboy woman with short brown hair and hazel eyes as well, resembling both Susan and Sophia. Ava was Sophia's twin, but there was a stark contrast between the two that made it obvious who was who.
Ava wore a black hoodie, gray sweatpants, and black sneakers on her feet. Her expression expressed awkwardness; obviously she wasn't really good with words. But one could tell that she was a bit happy that Soren had woken up from his coma.
"Yeah. Hey." She simply said it with a nod. This made Soren smile, and he nodded in return. He thought, 'Ava was never good with words. It's okay, though. I know she doesn't mean anything negative by it.'
When the family was finally reunited, Susan smiled and asked the doctor when he could be discharged from the hospital. With positive news, the doctor claimed that he could be discharged as early as tomorrow, considering nothing unusual happened within that time frame.
As for Soren, he had a more important question. "Doctor, how early can I play video games? I don't have to wait long, right?"
To this, the doctor nodded his head and smiled. "You can play as early as you go home. Again, this is if nothing unusual happens. We'll monitor you throughout the day and night to see if there are any sudden effects from waking up. If everything goes smoothly, you can play whenever you want. Though our general advice is to please keep things in moderation. Yes?"
Soren chuckled and nodded. "Yes, Doctor. I will."
However, in reality, Soren thought, 'Yeah, I'm going to be playing SBO all night when I get home.'
In a few hours, Soren's family left, with Soren now being monitored by the hospital staff to keep aware of his condition. This continued throughout the day, night, and into the next morning, and thankfully, nothing unexpected happened within his condition.
Soren was finally discharged from the hospital, with him having to get checked up every month for a checkup. As Soren left the hospital after getting picked up by Susan, Soren texted his friends and told them that he was now awake.
However, within a few moments, he received a text message back, with his friends asking him if he wants to head over to a PC cafe to catch up and play SBO.
After getting the okay from Susan and making sure that he comes home earlier than usual, Soren was driven and dropped off somewhere in a large, bustling city.
...