Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

003.1 | The Spring of the Game

Even after a thousand years, the sun still goes up almost at the same hour. The moment the clock struck five, the skies started to change colors. However, due to the remaining radioactive elements present in the atmosphere, the expected color of yellow, orange, and red had become a greenish-blue feathery aurora. Whenever the skies are clear, anyone would be able to see the beautiful scenery.

The large central clock of the city chimed the hourly bell. It is loud and clear, compelling, yet just enough for people to take notice. Once it sounded, one by one, the sleeping city woke up, generating numbers of people coming out from their houses to either go to work or do their daily morning exercise. 

A wealthy neighborhood found in a corner away from the centralized city stood wide greeneries of lawns and decorative plants. Since the change of the Earth, there are only little to few areas where plants could grow. Most of the landmass has been polluted by toxic chemicals, and only a few persistent plants could handle such harsh environments. 

Natural ecosystems have been preserved by the government and were restricted from the public. Therefore, it is safe to assume that most people only know the existence of plants from books and the natural geographic channels shown on the interstellar network. Only the wealthy ones that could continuously support an artificial garden have the chance to see real plants. 

After all, growing plants burn a lot of money. 

One of the most prominent manors, a room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows facing an artificial lawn, stood a good-looking man wearing homely clothes. The loose grey sweatshirt coupled with brown khaki pants made the person look more youthful. The warm rays of the early sun blanched his image with a warm, bright color making anyone see him smile. 

Leon is in a daze as he watched the sprinklers watered the wide lawns. Drops of glistening liquid looked like transparent crystals under the direct sunlight giving off a twinkle of colors before falling to the ground. It only took a few minutes before the artificial land becomes wet and the familiar scent of earth permitted on the air. 

Two light knocks disturbed Leon from his stupor. He closed his eyes to cleanse the calculating numbers to zero. The reason for his daze is due to watching the numbers played by nature. One could say that his most favorite numbers are the ones appearing in a natural environment. 

Leon pressed a button on the small device on his wrist that slid the door open. An old-looking man with grey-colored hair appeared wearing the common gold buttoned black suit, white undershirt, grey striped trousers, and black tie. He made a slight bowing gesture to give recognition to one of the masters on this house. 

"Young Master, the car is ready," the old butler said. 

Leon nodded in response. He made a last look towards the lawn before a curtain slid in to cover the glass window. He then walked out of his room, to which the older man quickly followed. An old maid appeared beside Leon holding a slim black rectangular bag together with three more maids. They tailed Leon up to the door of the manor where a car has been waiting. 

The butler opened the door on the backseat when another car parked just behind them. A person stepped out from the driver's seat. The old butler gestured a bow to the other person while the maids lowered their heads respectfully. Leon gave a smile towards his older brother. 

"Brother, you went home late again," Leon called out. 

"Late?" the older brother sauntered towards him with his hands on his pockets. "It is clearly early in the morning."

Leon shook his head. "Anyways, be careful. Mom has been waiting for you since last night."

The other person frowned. "Why should I be careful? It is just mom."

"Just mom," Leon scoffed. He turned around to take the bag from the old maid. "I have school. I'm going."

"Be careful in the road, young master," the old butler said. 

Leon said his regards and left the place. 

The roads are busy as usual. The morning rush due to people going to work flooded every corner of the city, giving off a lively scene. There are noises of honks and chatter of people everywhere, but it did not annoy anyone. On the contrary, the smiles and interaction exhibited a good relationship between people ignoring the biases that have been once a thing in the past. 

The slim black hovercar caught the passerby's attention as it stopped in front of a golden-painted Gothic gate. Everyone recognized the latest model of the vehicle that is said to worth millions of star coins. Its specs have the newly proven specialized electromagnetic suspension unit that makes anyone droll just by seeing it. 

The currency system has been changed over time. Paper money had become something superficial during the war and had become more useless during the apocalyptic period. The moment the federation established the new system, a new currency has also been implemented. It is through the use of swipe cards with points calculated as star coins.

Star coins are divided into values to simplify the denomination. The most basic currency is the copper star coins that is equivalent to 1 USD in the past. Reaching one hundred copper coins, the system will convert it to a silver star coin. Upon reaching one thousand silver coins then it will become a gold star coin. 

Higher coin denominations would be the purple star coins (10 000 gold coins), red star coins (50 000 gold coins), green star coins (500 000 gold coins), and black star coins (100 green star coins). 

Since the exchange of such amounts would be inefficient, the swipe cards would be in use. The swipe cards are also classified based on the amount stored in them that follows the highest denomination. It means that if the total amount of money inside the card is worth ten thousand gold coins, then the purple status will highlight the swipe card. 

At most, normal people would have gold cards and a few purple cardholders. It wasn't costly to live in the city. For a family of five, ten gold stars are enough for a year's expense. Whereas people wanted to live in a nature-filled environment, such luxury needed thousands of gold coins to afford.

Upon recognition, they wondered who owned the luxurious car. But right just after seeing the passenger, they all just sighed wistfully. If it weren't Leonard Graham, son of one of the wealthiest men in the whole known universe, then they would be jealous. Unfortunately, this guy is a genuine chaebol, and this kind of stuff is somewhat a usual set-up when it comes to him. 

Leon entered the school and went directly to the place where he and Shin will be meeting. He checked his schedules for this day and the last message Shin sent to him. Seeing the meeting area void of that person's presence, Leon made a premonition. Well, he already accepted it upon knowing Shin's habit. 

"No doubt, he's going to be late again."

He pulled the cuff upon his left wrist to recheck the time. It's already seven twenty-five, only five minutes left before the meeting time. Heaving a sigh, Leon slumped his back and just walked off the pathway to look for a place where he can stay and wait. Of course, he could call the other person, but he is sure that Shin will only ignore it and even block him prematurely. 

After walking around for a while, Leon reached one of the school's mini cafeterias. Rows of wooden benches gradually came into view, as well as the shops opening from the sides. He roamed around the shops for a while before settling in an outer door table with two folding chairs a dark parasol for a shade.

Leon took the black bag off his shoulders and carefully placed it on the table. From the inside, he took out a sleek black tablet that resembled a chopping board. As to why such late-technology gadgets still existed in this time, it could be credited to humanity wanting to restore the old features of the objects. However, it shouldn't be underestimated since only the appearance is retained, but its capabilities are much more profound and better. 

One soft press on the power button made a short buzz then he could hear a popping sound. A hologram with a static voice announced its activation telling the user its status. Leon placed his wrist containing a supercomputer compressed in the form of a bracelet and let the hologram scan it. The device recognized the password that changed the interface of the tablet. 

A solid screen is slowly extending at an angle vertically. While waiting for it to finish powering up, a lady in a uniform of white button shirt with long-sleeved open cuffs and a black sleek apron tied around her waist approached him. She is holding a writing pad.

"What is your order sir," the lady asked in a practiced high energetic voice.

"Any recommendations?"

The lady listed out the best of their store. Knowing that it is still morning, it would be weird if Leon orders some candy-colored drinks, so he just only ordered coffee with some treats. The lady goes off after bowing, returned to the shop to attend to another set of customers. Now, the pseudo-laptop is finally logged in.

A screen saver of plants immediately filled the screen. It is a simulation planting screen saver that follows real-time growth. People who could not afford to maintain a garden would buy and make use of these cheap garden simulators. Leon had been taking good care of this virtual garden that has now been filled with fauna. 

There are only a few things potted on the screen, most of which are school software and document-filled folders. Leon wasn't strict to himself, so there are also installed games in the far corner. 

Reaching out the bag, Leon fished in with his hand to search for the Bluetooth mouse that he quickly found. Next to it is a cinch bag the size of his palms. He connected the mouse through the wireless connection, plugged in a transparent USB-looking card, and inserted it into a port. The loading cursor appeared with the connection set-up appearing after. He completed the process, and just by that, he is now connected to the internet - Star Network.

Star Network is the universal interplanetary web that serves as the virtual database of the current generation. It works the same as the Internet of the past but has a higher connection speed and could reach very far - far enough past the Milky Way Galaxy. 

Leon moved the mouse around and pointed the cursor to an animated shortcut icon. Clicking it twice, a window appeared that made a short animation of the company's trademark before leading in a logging-in page. In this window, a password bar plus the copyright logo showed to which he quickly filled up. Hitting the [ENTER] key processed the inputted characters.

Click.

The whole screen went black.

The lady returned with the order. Leon thanked him and proceeded to look at the monitor. Anyone not familiar with this black screen will surely freak out. But Leon knows blacking out only means that it is booting up in this type of game.

It only took a minute before the welcoming message appeared. It is an animation that seems to be a continuation of the scenery before the logging-in page. It displays a wide field of yellow poppies accompanied with flickering wisps of fireflies idly floating in the wind, somehow following the tune of a flute. 

His eyes glinted upon seeing the familiar interface giving him a warm rush on his chest. The floating lights somehow started to aggressively move when a wind blew from somewhere, grazing the poppies sideways. The light materials are then blown by the wind, quickly shifting the animation to the historical clear blue skies nestled with white clouds.  

Gold font with beige colored stone borders appeared, showing:

[Dystopian Tales Online]

Leon took a sip of his coffee. Another logging-in page popped up. This time it is trying to determine the person's character of the game. He typed in his username and password. The game recognized his account, and the character loading screen appeared. Leon leaned on the chair while waiting for the loading bar to finish.

The morning period is about to start, and thus students started to fill the school's hallways. The area where he has been staying is also getting filled with students that are either eating or chatting while waiting for the start of the class. A group of students that are familiar with Leon approached him enthusiastically. 

"Good morning," one of the four guys having light-colored green hair greeted Leon. He took a seat on one of the empty chairs beside Leon. He looked around and did not find the person he expected. "Oh, where's Shin?"

"Guess," Leon sighed. 

"Well, obviously. That guy really isn't a morning person," the guy laughed. "Who made the plan?"

"Certainly, Shin," another one responded. He took a look at the screen of the laptop and saw a familiar interface. "Whoa, I never thought you also play games."

"What game?" A guy with glasses took a closer look. "Ah, DTO? This is quite a famous one. You don't look like someone that plays stuff like this."

"I've been playing this game for years now," Leon honestly said. "You guys are also players?"

"I played it in junior high and high school," the same glasses guy responded. "But I occasionally play it now. I wonder when they will release a new server. I want to apply for a new account."

"I think it's been four-five years, no? But, man, it's been long since that game updated."

The guys chatted with him about the game, but Leon barely listened. Of course, he knows the reason why there are no new servers after its last update. 

Ten years ago, Dystopian Tales Online was released. At the same time, Virtual Reality is also implemented. Leon is one of the participants of this inside game as one of the second-string players. Properly oriented and discussed, it is said that they needed to have at least five hundred players to play it for the project to collect the proper amount of data.

In the sixth year of the release, they reached the five hundred player quota.

"But this game is still cool, though. If only I have a lot of time, I will play it all day and become a pro," one chanted.

"How can you become a pro, dude? You don't have high APM."

Due to the demand for the game, gaming clubs and associations also have risen, turned DTO into a sport. As of now, monthly tournaments and annual championships are held across the world. No wonder everyone wanted to become a pro-player. You will earn money from just playing within these clubs and also the fame of being the strongest.

In this world where violence is f*******n, this is sure a great diversion.

The bell rang for the start of the first class of the day. The students who have classes in the first period prepared for their classes. Some of them who are staying in the cafeteria said goodbyes to their peers who have later classes. This includes the people who are talking with Leon.

"Uh-oh, we got to go now," one of them said.

"Sure," Leon said.

"Let's play the game next time. I bet your level is very high."

Leon just left that last phrase and waved his hand. A crowd accumulated to the area for a while. Students are found running going in their classes while some casually leave the buildings going to their respective lives. Leon looked over at his watch again, but the person he is waiting for is still nowhere close to insight.

"I wonder if he's already awake now," he sighed.

Leon decided to enter some dungeon or complete some quest while waiting for his friend. But, unfortunately, from the requirement needed for Virtual Reality to open, it is impossible for Leon to play this game. Also, the servers for Virtual Reality only open at night, so there's no way he could enter even if he has the equipment. 

This is why specialized cards are given to VR players. Through this card, they can enter the DTO during the day using the same character. 

Some players wanted to play during the day, so while Virtual Reality is under maintenance, they only have to type in the ID and password that appears before the game starts to have their characters be transported from VR to DTO. In addition, experience points [EXP] in both games are recorded as one, so there will be no problem transferring data.

Leon only played DTO during weekends when there is no school and work. So it is his first time opening the game on a weekday. Thanks to that mister late guy, and he has to play it now.

Virtual reality and Dystopian Tales Online both use the first-person perspective. However, the difference in playing DTO is due to the interface and the feeling. Honestly, Leon will admit that playing DTO is harder than VR. Even though he is already familiar with the maps, it's a bit of a hassle to control the mouse, plus pressing some commands on the keys to navigate.

In VR, he only has to turn his head to see the surroundings.

Leon reached out again for the bag and collected his headphones. Now that Shin won't be arriving anytime, he decided to test out some spells or play with some DTO players. Another thing, Virtual Reality players are playing with DTO players in real-time. So it is possible to encounter VR players at night. 

Wearing the headphones, the outside sounds gradually vanished, replaced by a piece of medieval-fantasy sound music. Leon closed his eyes, listening to the score for a while. And when he opened his eyes, a different world appeared. The numbers that he closed in the neutral ground appeared fast-paced, calculating, showing the values of beauty.

[ WELCOME ] [PLAYER LEON-36 HAS LOGGED IN]