Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

016.1 | The Treasure Trove

The district that should be filled with towering buildings covered with blue modern glasses and sleek walls had become desolate and filthy. It should be considered as the center of commerce and prosperity yet the disparity of its current appearance resembled the ancient Earth during the nuclear winter.

However, there is no ash piling on the ground or objects dying in decay. Instead, a flourishing Great Banyan Tree stood in the middle with roots expanded to the length eye could reach. Its crown covered half of the district in a pleasant shade with dotted lights passing through its elliptical leaves. Unrecognizable square lanterns are attached on its branches like little homes for fairies.

The pristine scenery did not look frightening but mystical as if they have transported into a fantasy world.

The hover car scuttled pass into many buildings and parked nearby the boundary of the outer alarm range. Many uniformed personnel are patrolling around with most of them concentrated on the entrance. The area has been barricaded that blocked most of the ordinary citizens out.

Everyone is excited to go out. Upon their descent, their eyes remained glued to the massive tree that looks more alive the longer they stare. The beauty of nature highlighted its existence that not only attracted a number of birds and animals but also the humans that are hungry for it. A very large tree that is uncommon on the recent timeline is indeed a feast in their eyes.

Though not everyone conveyed the same entranced expressions. Frass agreed that it is beautiful but his priorities never left him dumbfounded. He met with the person in charge of their excursion, the Marshal of the first Legion, Marshal Philippe Carven. Their introductions are brief since they are already familiar with each other.

"Good day, sir. I apologize for disturbing your work," Frass said in a courteous tone.

the Marshal shook his shaved head and smiled amiably. "You don't have to be polite. I am friends with your grandfather, and it is normal for me to treat you like my grandkids."

Marshal Philippe and the current head of the Fosters has a good relationship. They were childhood friends and attended the same primary school. Though, Marshal Philippe went to the military school, they remained friends and become best buddies when they completed their one hundred years of mandatory education. They do not frequently meet now but occasionally they would invite each other's family for a meal.

Tristan's family separated from the main house but they still have a firm relationship. Marshal Philippe only met the youth a few times and most likely will be his first time meeting Adrian. He asked Frass where his nephew was and led him towards the frail-looking man.

Adrian is quite conspicuous amongst the youngsters. The marshal instantly recognized him. Like the other generations, the genes of the Fosters are quite dominant only reproducing children with black hair and irises. No matter how mixed their spouses are, they inevitably result in this template.

The two of them shook their hands. Adrian politely introduced himself.

"You really look like your father," Marshal Philippe said. "But I could see your mom in your actions."

"It's a pleasure to hear that," Adrian said.

Frass called the other members to introduce them to the marshal. They are quite ecstatic to see a remarkable figure and felt timid upon confronting them. The twins have the most reaction even telling the Marshal that their father is a fan of his. It is quite enjoyable to see the youths like this. It makes the sacrifices of the soldiers worth it.

The marshal has been observing the children and noticed they seem to be looking something ahead. He looked at the space in mid-air but did not see anything other than the lofty buildings and quite skies.

"What's the matter?" He asked. "Where are you looking?"

"Well, we are looking at-" Adrian paused. He stared at the big banyan tree then shifted his eyes to the Marshal. "Don't you think the weather is quite gloomy, sir?"

"Gloomy?" Marshal Philippe looked at the skies that are actually getting cloudy. "Indeed, it is getting gloomy. It seems like it's going to rain later."

"Yes, then I guess we shall go now and look at it."

Adrian spoke as if everything is ordinary. He looked at the group that are also looking at him. He vaguely bobbed his head, signaling everyone to act normal. They also heard the marshal anyways, so they already know the drill.

It seems that non-players could not see the massive tree.

The marshal escorted them to a new vehicle. It is heavily guarded having two armed personnel assigned to attend them from the inside and to be followed by more cars on the side. Aries looked around and thought that they are abnormally very guarded.

He scooted over beside Adrian and in a low voice said, "This kind of treatment is much extravagant than the president. Don't you think it is too much?"

Adrian nodded, expressing his agreement. "I also think so, ah. We are tightly guarded."

"Your grandfather genuinely cherishes you so much. To have this kind of parade, who can hurt us?" Aries added. He felt amazed by the parade of officers. The only thing that he needed to worry about is how to not act silly in front of them.

"Why would my grandfather not like me?" Adrian chuckled. "I am the youngest child in the family. Of course, I will be spoiled."

Aries clicked his tongue. Adrian showing off his status is absolutely overwhelming. He, as the eldest of many siblings, could only do nothing but to lament. What is spoiling, ah? Even though he is her mother's favorite, he would not receive this kind of treatment!

They had ridden the vehicle and traversed through the streets. The players did not want to act suspiciously, but they could not help but look at the window. Now that they're closer, they could see the roots and leaves of the tree much clearly giving them the urge to graze them. There are also animals like bunnies and squirrels jumping around, playing, not worrying of predators.

Marshal Philippe is merely silently staying in the corner, keeping an eye on the children. He observed their movements and discovered them looking at something. He could not quite grasp what's giving them this excited reaction. When he looked outside the window, he only saw nothing.

They arrived at the destination.

Adrian went out from the car and looked up. He had not been outside for many years due to his house arrest so this must be the first he will be seeing the company after many years. It's just that instead of seeing the building, what he could perceive is the main body of the banyan tree eating half of the building.

It could be said that Foster's building is the Banyan tree itself.

Adrian: ...

Could they still enter the building? If they could, what about the others? They could still bat an eye if it's only avoiding the scenery. But it is problematic if they are exploring the tree itself. He imagined there would be roots and branches inside the building. They could not avoid them since they could see it.

How to deal with this thing?

"Is there any problem?" Marshal Philippe noticed Adrian massaging his forehead so he thought he must be feeling giddy. He is aware of the child's sickness since he is also there when Adrian got hospitalized when he's still a baby.

Frass could understand the reason of the reaction. He walked forward and assisted Adrian. He said, "He must be dizzy from the ride. It is his first ride after many years. How about enter first to let him rest for a bit?"

They agreed to his proposal. The group slowly entered the premises. Frass clasped Adrian's shoulders and let him lean on him to act for a while. They look like a affectionate nephew and uncle but both are actually vigilant to their surroundings. There are a few roots blocking the doorway that anyone not watching will stumble.

Xavier could see his two family members giving him signal and nodded. He walked in first, purposely stepping on the root to test if it is genuine. His foot got stuck on the enclosed space below the root that halted his forward force. With a pretend carelessness, he stumbled forward completing the act.

In front of the normal people, all they saw is Xavier stumbling on his own. They help him stand while asking if he is alright. Xavier spouted some nonsense saying whatever believable lie. On the other hand, the players could now tell the roots are real.

Then, if it is real, how could the average people just get past through them?

They went to lounge on the first floor. Frass made Adrian sit on the sofa comfortably then walked out to get some water. The other members walked around the room, looking at the tables and magazines. The soldiers think that children are indeed interested on many things.

If only they know they are watching the flowers growing on the roots or the tame animals nested around.

Leon cautiously looked around then went to sit beside Adrian. He has been collecting data the moment he saw the banyan tree. Aries and Shin walked around to obscure them. Adrian motioned Leon to tell his mind.

"The tree is real," Leon concluded. "The numbers I'm seeing is increasing exponentially."

"What does it mean?" Adrian asked.

"The game world and the real world are diffusing. It seems that all this time, the two dimensions are integrating."

They were able to cross the dimension due to the game. Everything seems to be similar but internally things are much complex. Their previous world could not handle the virtual world that's why they remained playing using the machine. This dimension has a higher energy generation therefore make it possible for the virtual world to cross over.

It will undoubtedly become a Virtual Reality.

"How long do you think the integration of the two worlds to finish?" Adrian asked.

"About seventy hours..." Leon calculated. "Yes, at least seventy hours."

It's only three days. Shin sat beside Leon and asked, "What will happen if the two worlds will become one?"

"The things that we can see, they will too," Leon replied. "The portals will also open permanently. The creatures from the game world could easily cross the dimension without any problem."

Shin frowned. "Then, wouldn't that be very dangerous?"

"It is," Adrian sighed. "But it is also a good thing."

"Why is it a good thing? This will only cause us trouble."

Aries squeezed himself and sat between Leon and Adrian. Adrian is forced to move on the corner. The sofa wasn't big, so the four big men sitting on it only made the area cramped. Aries placed his hand over Leon and pulled Shin closer.

"It is an advantage. If the two worlds will thoroughly integrate, then it is possible that we could go back by finding that dungeon room on the second world gate. There is also the high chance of accessing out game character."

Shin nodded in realization. Leon added some input. "This world will also resemble the place that we are familiar with. We could move around easily if that happens."

Frass arrived with a cup of warm water when he saw the four men sitting on the sofa. His face immediately blackened and unhesitatingly scowled at the three. They stood when they saw Frass marching towards them.

"Did you not see the patient?" Frass pointed Adrian. "Did you just actually steal his place? There are more chairs around! Choose them for goodness' sake."

Adrian drank the warm water while rendering the abused people with a mocking look. They are just here to exchange information. They are the one who provided sugar, why are you pitting them so easily? The three looked aggrieved and went to sit on the other sofa but still close to Adrian.

"So, what are your plans? It's not like we could prevent the integration," Aries asked in a low voice.

It's not like we could prevent the integration," Three of the five leaders of Asterisks are here. They could generally formulate a solution even without the presence of the other guild leaders.

"The first server map of the game follows the Project Gaia which uses the real world as the main model. Once the integration happens, I'm sure the guild houses will also appear," Adrian said.

"You're planning to group the players?" Damian asked.

"Yes," Adrian replied. "The guild leaders will recall their players. Good thing, the ones we brought in are mostly officials so there are no homeless players."

"Once the guild houses appear, will we be able to occupy them? What if they are situated to a private property?" Alexander asked.

"If that happens then just send me a message. I can lend my place as a temporary shelter."

They become silent. They are still astounded by the size of Adrian's house. Not even a hundred people could make the place crowded. They decided to talk about the topic deeply next time. They still have to focus on their objective today.

The destination is the uppermost floor where the main office for information is kept. They rode on the elevator to reach the area. Adrian is checking his terminal when he received a message from Jung. It is the information they gathered around the portals in the past five days.

Based on their data, the fluctuation of energy near the portal is high causing their nerve gears to have a reaction. One player went extremely close to the portal that made the nerve gear blink as if it got activated. That person said he was able to see his game character profile for a bit.

Since the portal is the distance that connects the game world and the real world, it is normal for their nerve gears to react. After all, their characters can only appear in the game. The closer they are to the objects from the game, the greater chance they could activate their character.

Adrian thanked him for the information and instructed some words. He is typing his reply when he heard a snore. It was thin at first and thought that someone snorted in the group. But as they go up, the snore becomes mightier that he could already point out its direction. He looked around to see the reaction of the other players and found them having the same expression.

En, it seems that he's not the only who could hear it.

The marshal is standing in front of them so he wasn't able to see the changing expression of the people around him. The elevator is not made up of a reflective surface, so they are safe from getting find out. Adrian turn his head to look at Frass to give him the signal to move. Frass then passed the baton to Xavier.

As usual, Xavier appropriately suddenly acted pressing the button of the floor before the top. The marshal is surprised. Before he could ask some question, the elevator opened. Xavier is in panic as he made a beeline towards the nearby restroom. Marshal Philippe could not leave any children roaming around so walk out together with the others.

"Oof," Damian pretended a cough. "What happened to him? Queasy stomach?"

"Probably," Frass nodded without any problem. "I saw him eating cheese this morning. He is allergic to cheese."

"..."

Adrian looked at Frass as if he had seen something wrong. At least, make it believe he's having allergies! At the least, you could just say he wanted to pee! But Frass ignored his glances and used this time to talk with the marshal to but time. They should investigate what is above.

Adrian understood the message and pretended to just look around to sit. It just so happens that he mark the section of the floor where there are piles of gold and diamond. One look is enough to tell this is a treasure trove?

The loud snoring noises plus heaps of fire...

It seems that he has a gist of what is residing above.