3. Welcome, Players, To The World Of Neon Solaris
Initially, the first floor of the game would not be opened until a certain number of people entered. The beta testers knew this, and they made it their mission to find the hidden items they knew of. Even if some were useless, they could still be worth money, and having coins early in the game was a real advantage.
Out of the three who had learned of the fortune teller trick, one was the number one player in Neon Solaris—Noble Zero. He had gained his popularity because of how quickly he climbed the tower floors as a newbie. The second was The Dragon, a pragmatic player who always wore his pride on his sleeve. The last was The Snake, a female player who always kept to herself.
The three had no desire to meet each other in the game at least not so early. In the beta version, they appeared as their avatars, but here, they had their real faces, and Matteo was not ready to have his identity known so early. And it was not like he could reconfigure his face.
He was starting to miss the set-up screen now.
"Hey! I'm talking to you, brat."
The voice that boomed belonged to a twenty-year-old man with fine blond hair and bright blue eyes.
Matteo instantly knew who he was. The Dragon. Of course, he would come first, he thought. He would recognise his voice anywhere.
During the game Matteo rarely spoke, when he needed to he would use a voice changer ability, the same could be said for the snake but the dragon he wanted to be heard above all others.
Memories of his never-ending whining caused Matteo to shiver slightly.
Matteo pretended to be clueless as he backed off slowly. "What? I'm just here to see my fortune. I wanna know how strong I can get."
The blond-haired boy stared at him long and hard. It wasn't uncommon for some players to fall for the ruse, but he couldn't be too sure. And since there was no way he could link this scrawny high school boy to his rival, he cast aside his suspicions.
"Scram, you weasel. It's not like you have any coin to pay her anyway," he boomed.
Matteo apologized and left, but in his mind, he was determined to make The Proud Dragon pay.
Returning to the road that led into the main square where he had been summoned, he didn't bother looking for any more bonus items—they were probably gone.
The most annoying thing about the first few levels of the game was that most item locations were known, except for discoveries made in secret by high ranking beta players. The higher the level of the game, the less likely it was for information to be common knowledge.
Matteo, known as Noble Zero, had been the last remaining player in the game, making it all the way to floor twenty-five. The difficulty level of the game at that stage was unbearable, but he kept that knowledge to himself.
As he walked back to the square, he saw more people than he had expected—over a hundred, at least.
A few minutes passed before a bright light beamed above their heads, projecting a huge white figure. The beta testers recognized him as The Game Master, the in-game guidance system.
"It's starting," Matteo thought to himself.
Looking around the crowd, he could easily tell who the beta testers were. They were mostly veterans, and from the looks on their faces, they weren't as shocked as the first-timers. Even if they showed excitement, it was controlled.
As Matteo stood there, he heard someone mumbling behind him. He recognized the voice instantly—it was The Dragon.
"Shit, someone already took the bonus items. All three. I know it's that damn Noble Zero. If I get him, he's dead."
Matteo filtered further through the crowd, putting more distance between himself and the angry Dragon. I think it's better if I stay away from the mad reptile for now. He told himself.
The Game Master might have appeared like a saint or an angel, but the veterans who had beta-tested the game knew better. He was far from benevolent. While not the main antagonist of the story, he was close to it in his harshness, brutality and cynicism. To newbies, this might have seemed like hell, but for veterans, it only motivated them to get the job done.
The Game Master wore a huge white crown and a flowing Roman-style robe that concealed his entire body. His eyes looked down upon the players like a shepherd watching over a flock of sheep, but the deep smile on his face—along with the flash of ill intent in his eyes—told another story.
"Welcome, players, to the world of Neon Solaris."