Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

010.1 | The Five Grand Bosses of the 200th Floor

The mention of the Beta Test on the Disboard became a heated topic. A new category that takes the name [BETA VIRTUAL] appeared on each other accounts to tell the launch of the side game that will become the sixth server in the future. The lucky players who received the privilege to play were ecstatic, while those who could not only cry bitter tears.

Even though [Virtual Reality] is a secret amongst the DTO players, the [BETA VIRTUAL] is practically shown to people playing Virtual Reality. This is because the [BETA VIRTUAL] is just a test game. The higher-ups disseminated the contents and the relative information about the beta test beforehand, so nobody is surprised when they issued it. This was also acknowledged when Clover called out the party at the Cassaianne Guild.

The [BETA VIRTUAL] chatbox is shown to everybody but appeared locked to the non-beta players. They can look at the events inside the chat, but they can't post a comment or share anything. Only those who have access could perform such activities. On the general chat, there was a discussion about the contents of the chat because all of them are overwhelmed with the initial results on the first night.

The maintenance arrived earlier the other day, so they logged everyone out on their accounts. The next day, the players who participated the beta game quickly logged in on their Disboard accounts to share their experience. It all started with one post on the general chat with a player named [Airplane-103], who posted an analysis of the TV's crowded conquest. The usual silent morning chat resurrected the dead accounts of the idle players.

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[Airplane-103] posted:

The following is the rundown of the players who scored their ranks on the initial-night beta test of [Virtual Reality soon-to-be 6th server]. To see, you can view the detailed contents and relative videos of the boss battles on this link. This post has already been approved by the admin [Like-happy-emoticon]. So, fellows, this is very legit!

[Ari-05] - Twenty mentions. Ten Main bosses and Ten Hidden Bosses.

[Xav-11] - Nineteen mentions. Six Main Bosses and Thirteen Hidden Bosses.

[Frass-02] - Eighteen mentions. Ten Main bosses and Eight Hidden Bosses.

[Allen-38] - Twelve mentions. Five Main bosses and Seven Hidden Bosses.

[Jung-55] - Fifteen mentions. Three Main bosses and Twelve Hidden Bosses.

[Melon-45] - Sixteen mentions. Six Main bosses and Ten Hidden Bosses.

[Rios-75] - Thirteen mentions. Three Main bosses and Ten Hidden Bosses.

[PlayerA]...

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Seeing the sum of bosses defeated told the public that they undoubtedly took a blast on the first night. Seeing the Guild Leaders like Arcana and the Thunder Beasts on the list is called for, so they did not doubt. 

But to see the three chief heads of the Cassaianne Guild was sure very surprising. These three did not show up on the TV for ages, and to recognize that they are relatively on a par with the Guild Leaders only holds the fact that they are not weak. But there was one thing that made the players wonder.

Where is Clover?

The fans of Clover refreshed the chat to see if anyone is missing. They read the long list up to the end many times, but Clover's name did not appear. They pressed to the link to see if the player who posted it only missed his name and found the same people. 

They contacted [Airplane-103] to know if they purposely took Clover out from the list. But the player confirmed that Clover never appeared on the last night's TV. This sudden information caused a commotion, even contacting the admin who approved the post.

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[Player-nn]: Where is @Clover? Did he take part in the beta test?

[Player-mn]: Yes. We even greeted him last night. He was with Frass and Xav. Even Ari joined their team.

[Player-xy]: REALLY? Then why did he not appear on the TV?

[Player-ab]: Oooh, I was surprised when he did not appear on the list. T_T

[Player-yy]: @Clover, we waaant ansswwwwweeeerrsss T_T

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Nobody can tell the reason, so the general chat shifted from this topic until the end. Some players who just got up from their beds also joined the conversation. They also shared the same opinion about Clover's silence and thought that maybe he was waiting for a more remarkable event to come. The discussion continued until late morning when that certain someone who received one thousand mentions logged in.

[CSSNN GUILD - CLOVER]: Huh? What?

Clover is one of the idle players with dead accounts. He only shows up in essential times like one time when he announced the party. He often stays to the Sora Party and Cassaianne Guild chats, so his presence is very rare to the general chat. 

When his name appeared at that very moment, everyone suddenly became silent, wondering if the hands of the gods answered their prayers. Clover is still a bit lost as he scrolled the chatbox up.

The person who is the major topic of the chat sat in front of his computer with a bowl of cereals drowned with white milk. He was munching his food without delay, lazily placing the bowl in between his knees as he upped his feet to the chair. The moment is peaceful, with only the sound of the mouse scrolling. Just then, the person suddenly coughed, almost choking on the cereals that he was eating.

"A-are they serious?" A gentle voice asked.

The contents of the comments are all about his absence from the last night's activity. They all ask why Clover did not appear on the TV or why he did not show any remarkable actions on the first launch of the Beta Test. 

This leads people to speculate about some facts to answer their questions. This includes Clover's declining reign over the five servers or a double that used Clover's account to enter the game. None of these is true, but the lack of clarification only fueled the fire.

Clover scratched his head. 

He wondered, do his achievements in the past do not worth anything anymore? 

He calculated the number of times that he showed up on TV versus the current test results. Gathering the number of the recent kills did not even match near the thirds of his medals. Even if they double it, the points are still far from his throne.

Clover is not the reason he could not appear on TV. Because of Aries' provocation, the guild leaders and other well-off players started competing for a spot on TV. 

Aries is one of the best instigators of events causing the mere beta test a contested ground. Before Clover could lift a hand, these people have already rushed out to kill the boss in one strike. He could only watch these bastards as they flock over the bosses that they massacred with no mercy.

Unlike the usual gameplay, the Beta Test only accounts for players individually. There is still no establishment of parties, and they only formed the groups according to the usual setting. This means that even though Clover hosts as the group leader, his name will not be recorded if he did not make any strike at the enemy. 

They divide the Experience points in this game into the percentage of the player's attack on the enemy—more strikes, the greater number of points.

He held no importance of this because he had already reached the maximum cap a long time ago. Instead of stealing the limelight, he'd rather give the opportunity to his fellow members who are still levels behind. Since the EXP in this beta test will be multiplied once converted, it will significantly affect those low-level players that will surely raise their ranks on the next server.

As for Clover, he would be alone adventuring to the higher floors all by himself again.

He did not venture whatever is happening on the general chat anymore and turned off his status. Nobody is surprised to see the god of the game leave without clarifying anything. Clover is a careful man. He always leaves things clean in his tracks. 

Not answering their inquiries means Clover has no comment to say to whatever is happening to him. Since his involvement in recent years has declined, his position as the game's top player still did not vanish.

Later that night, the issue is still as alive as ever since more players are present at night. That's why when Clover logged in to VR to check the guild status before going to the beta test, he was bombarded with emails and private messages. He was playing DTO earlier but had the chatbox locked. His VR account is open because of his status as the Guild Master, and so the number overwhelmed him more.

Players will appear on the Rebirth Stone when they log in, so when they found Clover standing on that same platform, everyone rushed to ask like reporters. Clover did not want to avoid them, but his presence suddenly becoming the center of attention made him tense. He used a very rare spell that only a few people know in front of the crowd as the famous Clover suddenly vanished into thin air.

And what did that do? Not only did it become oxygen to fuel the fire, but it also confirmed that Clover is not taking these rankings seriously. Isn't it too much to use a rare spell to avoid speculations? Plus, Clover can do the Pulse to at least run past the uninvited spectators. This news had reached the other Guild Leaders, which in fact fell to Aries' provocations.

So when Clover entered the Beta game, he was greeted by the leaders of the four main guilds with a smile on their faces. Jung-55 is not particularly smiling, but his eyes tell that he has the same goals as the younger people surrounding him. Clover walked out from behind the server's Rebirth Stone and greeted his fellow players.

"What's up?" That is all he could ask.

These four are part of the first-string players. That's why they already know that Clover, who acted with an alias throughout the game, is the real boss behind the largest guild. But seeing him in his closest form in this world is a first.

Since the Beta Test aims to bring the actual person to the other dimension, the modification of the people based on their characters is only limited to physical features. It is like how the Elven Race affected the player's hair color and the undead transforming a part of the body into bones and muscles. Clover that has the race closest to the Humanoid only changed a bit.

"Pretty Boy," Melon-45 scoffed, acting like a g**g leader. Allen-38, his cousin, is also beside him. He was sizing up Clover.

"Did you not grow? It's still the same since the last time," Allen-38 muttered, adding fuel to the visible fire. He gestured his hand, acting like measuring a proper height.

"Oh, must be, because he is still such a young brother. Don't worry; we will back you up!" Melon-45 continued the words, always supporting the relative. 

Clover only flicks his finger once to activate a spell. If both people are any second slower, the attack could have captured them to a cursing spell that will give them the titles of the first casualty of the Beta Game. The two evaded just in time, hiding behind the calm Elven on the side. Rios-72 heaved a sigh as he gave both reckless players a beating using his staff.

"Stop messing around. Tell him your objectives so we can start before maintenance arrives," Rios-72 said.

The two rascals stopped beating around the bush and faced Clover seriously. One of them opened a map to show the request that they want Clover to help. Just in time, another group of players came out from the Rebirth stone. Coincidentally, it was both Shin and Leon that came in with a five-minute interval. Aries also arrived after some time.

"What's up?" Aries quickly approached the huddled group. The other two followed him behind. "Doing some shady business?"

Shin found the group looking at them as his eyes wandered through the map Melon was showing. Flashes of information flowed inside his mind as folders of data that were compressed in minor details showed an array of codes and lines. Dates went back to the past as it wandered through the time where he met the same outline. He can consider this as deja vu, but the process of remembering is on purpose.

He only needed a second to process the information, and another second to think about approaching the group.

"Isn't that the map for the last dungeon floor in Zwene?" Shin asked, pointing at the map. "That is the floor where five bosses are guarding the entrance for the Terrare, right? The one that caused the greatest number of deaths among the five servers combined."

"Yes, it is," Allen-38 confirmed. "Since we had sneaked up to the 190 something doors last night, we are aiming to finish it until the neutral ground. For that, we are requesting Clover's presence in this activity."

Clover studied the map once and faced the cousins. "Why do I have to go?"

"We need your ability to finish the five bosses," Melon said, shrugging his shoulders.

"We already know the death streak of that place. Though we are still in beta, I assume dying is still a possibility. We don't want to be the first casualties," Allen honestly confessed.

"So... you are dragging me right on the spot?" Clover commented.

"As if we can drag you down," both guys scoffed at the same time. Everyone seeing this agreed that these two are indeed relatives.

Aries made a chuckle and looked around to search for someone. When he did not find the usually straight-faced rabbit bag carrier, he strolled towards Clover and cheekily wrapped his arm around Clover's shoulders. 

The shorter man looked up with a raised eyebrow, asking what this guy doing is. Aries dismissed the look as he shifted the topic before it could start.

After all, it's one of his pleasures to do this without being disrupted.

"How are you able to arrange this group? Jung, you agreed?" Aries asked the older player.

"Of course, he will," Allen reassured. "Of all else, if we want to continue on the next floor, we need someone strong and skilled enough to play the grounds. Some of our members are good, but it's not enough to fight the five bosses. I hope you guys know what I am talking about."

"En," Clover nodded. "I understand. Weren't the Merlin's Box and the Artisan's Guild cleared this floor level before? Why do you need me? Thinking about your levels, you are high enough to handle them."

"PLEASE. JUST.ACCEPT!" Allen kneeled and bowed. "PLEASE."

"WE.WANT.YOU," Melon added.

Clover has the decision, so it's up to him to decide. To why these people wanted him to join their group... well, it must be something about the issue of someone substituting as Clover. These guys know Clover well, so they did not doubt him. But seeing how these people ridicule him...

At least, they are asking him for good intentions.

Leon heaved a sigh, seeing the image of the two guild leaders pleading for approval. If this is not an act of shame, then what else? These guys threw their dignity off to ask Clover out. It must have been hard for them to do it.

Little did he know that the two lost the rocks-papers-and-scissors, so they have to do the job.