Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

008.2 | Beta 01

Leon opened his computer and placed the headphones in position. Logging in, the notification reached the worldwide server informing everyone that the account Leon-36 is currently logged in. After a while, another notification from a player with the name Shin-18 also logged in. Now thinking about it, he realized that Shin is using his whole name as his account name.

Leon is just a nickname. In real life, he will be called Leonard or Nard by people. Only those who play the game call him Leon by reflex.

He motioned the mouse and clicked for the Disboard chat of Sora. There he found all of the members of the party online. Actually, some of the members are already on the board chatting. He clicked the keys to greet everyone.

"Hello guys," Leon-36 greeted them.

"Hello, older brother Leon," the twins responded in the same greeting.

"Heyo," Lexa-98 called.

"Good, you guys are here," Aud-01 said, referring to both Leon and Shin, who is still typing his greeting.

"What's the catch? You're calling a meeting?" Shin-18 typed in without giving the greeting.

"I have something to say. Let us move into voice chat. It would be much easier to do that," Aud-01 suggested. 

Everyone: Okay!

The other people that are chatting in the Disboard noticed the VC for the Sora Party in the Cassaianne Guild getting filled up. There are only seven people allowed to enter the voice chat. Seeing the famous names, the people started to hype up on the general section telling almost everyone that a famous party is having a meeting. 

Often time, the Sora party would have a public audience when all members were present. Most of the time, they would stream PVP battles between members. There should be an invitation that will let others enter to spectate. However, seeing that the party leader didn't send anything, the small commotion immediately dispersed.

[Aud-01]: Hello, is everyone around?"

[Mars-88]: : waving hand: Present!

[Rene-88]: Hello!

Loud music coming from someone's microphone came in. People in full volume hissed by the sharp sound. Leon, who removed his headset to free himself from the noise, bombarded the chat while tagging Shin multiple times. 

"I'm sorry, that's my fault," Shin instantly apologized. 

"What are you doing blasting your room with loud music?" Aud asked.

"It wasn't my room. I'm using the terminal, alright? So I was going to my room, and my older brother opened his room. That's where the loud music came from. They seem to be having a party."

Everyone looked at their watch. Isn't it still a few hours past noon? 

"Would you like to know what they are doing?" Meeting with silence, Shin inquired. 

"No, just stop, okay.," Leon immediately blocked him. "You won't finish the story for more than a day."

Aud cleared his throat. "Well, we're okay now?"

Shin could not refute even if he wanted to. 

"So today, I called you guys because I wanted to show you something. I'm going to send a picture."

What will this picture be all about? 

Leon excused himself from the board to get some drinks from the fridge. The moment he returned, a picture is already sent. It is loading slowly. The other members are also waiting for the picture to load. He restored the headphones to his ears and listened. 

"I guess this is all about the meeting," Leon announced. 

Marlene raised a question, "What meeting?"

"I heard from Aries that there's a meeting for the top players," Shin responded. "I guess Aud will talk about it today."

Marlene: Oh...

"But is older brother Aud part of the top players?" Marcus voiced out. He didn't mean to look down on Aud. After all, the rankings of the top players are quite close to each other. Aud not being able to get a place is due to being squeezed in between close levels. 

"R-right...?" Marlene thought so. 

Leon reasoned out.  "Of course, he is. He won't receive any information if he is not part of them."

One thing is for sure, Leon hinted Aud. Well, nobody can really hide a secret from him. Currently, Aud-01's level is still at level 300. Though, Leon never believed in it. The feature of the free will of DTO and VR also applies to controlling the level number. Anyone can input any number inside it with only a condition that the only level that the player can input should not be higher than the actual level.

By guessing, Leon concluded that Aud-01 is at least in the four hundred. The same with Frass-02. The two of them are part of the top players.

"That is what I'm about to tell you."

The picture is done loading. It showed headphone-looking gear but without the large circles on edge. Instead, it has a slim edge with small circular-looking rings. It only took them a few seconds to know what it was.

A mild, adult female voice asked. "Isn't that a nerve gear?" Lexa pointed out.

"Yes, it is," Aud answered. 

"What is a nerve gear?" Marlene asked. 

Leon replied, "It is a substitute for the virtual helmet. Instead of having your head covered, this one only needs to be attached to your nape." 

"This is something new, right?" Shin said.  I think this just got out in the market last year."

"Yes. But it seems to have been used for virtual showing the movies. What is the use of this one?" Lexa commented. 

"Maybe we are shifting to a new one?"

"Ah, before that, I have something to change," Aud said. "Starting today, I will be using my main Username. The devs don't want me frolicking around undetected, so I have to clear it out."

Oh? Leon took a sip from the can. He thought that Aud-01 would reveal his real level or something. While waiting, Shin sent him a private message. He opened it on the side. Aud is currently typing some codes from the tapping sounds, so Leon shifted his attention to Shin. He also muted his headphone and microphone just in case. 

"You're right. There must be something about the new server," Shin typed.

"Hmmm? I know. Maybe they're giving us some new gears than using the helmet for maximum efficiency," Leon replied.

"No, I don't mean that. Hear me out."

Leon looked at the main chat. The tapping sounds are still there.

"Spill it."

"Okay, remember I have some friends from the Artisan's guild, right? The members of the upper hand."

"Yeah, what is this all about?"

"You see, from the meeting days ago, the Guild leader also called out a meeting from them. Their guild leader, Allen-38, is part of the top ten players of the game. Actually, the top ten players are called like what you predicted."

"Then what happened?"

"The Guild Leader created an all-out PVP and chose ten players from them. They are handed out the same thing. You said that Aud might be part of the top ten, right? Then maybe he's gonna give us these gears? Though I wonder why only ten."

"I'm not sure, but I think this nerve gear has nothing to do with the next server."

"Huh? Huh? What do you mean?" Shin sent out a confused emoticon.

"From what you are saying, they are only given ten gears. There are five hundred VR players. If it is for the next server, why do they have to choose from the best?"

"Well, that's reasonable... but is there no relation at all?"

Leon remained silent. "I'm also confused. Let's just wait for Aud's instruction."

"Okay."

Leon closed the private chat and returned to the main chat. He unmuted himself. That's when a notice appeared that surprised him. No, not only him but all the players inside the chat. Everyone is making their own surprised gasped as Leon almost choked on his drink when he saw the changes.

"CLOVER?" He yelled.

"Leon shut it. That was loud!" Shin complained about the other line.

"Wha-what! Look, Marcus, it was Clover. Clover is here! Clover," a little girl squealed on the other line.

"Okay, that is surprising. I never thought it was you," Lexa calmly accepted the fact and moved on.

He guessed that Aud-01 is a high-ranking player. Sure, there's the thought he might be Clover, but he didn't believe that it was really him. Plus, now knowing Aud's real status, he no longer needs to guess that his level is on the cap. Only Clover reached level 500 a year ago.

"I'm surprised. I just never expected that he could be you. Well, I rounded it up in some time but... seriously?" Leon spoke his thoughts out then to remain confused.

"At least you expected it. Though, let's just skip over this topic and go straight to my objective."

At least you could have just given us time to recover, Leon complained, but he just let the master continue.

"First of all, I will tell you about the meeting that happened days ago. It was all about the sixth server. According to them, there will be additional world floors and features. But the focus on the next server would be on the second floor."

"Cool. So what is this main attraction all about?" Shin said.

"Pardon? The main attraction?" The side comment caught out Aud.

"Yes, yes, You see, Leon guessed that there would be a main attraction on the second floor."

"Oh, that was quite good. You still don't fail at guessing, Leon. I'll credit you for that," Aud remarked. "Okay, so this main attraction would be Hal's Grand Dungeon."

"A dungeon?"

Aud sent another picture of the group. It was the blueprint of the said dungeon on the Project Gaia scale. Meaning the size of it would be half of the real side of the world. DTO and VR are both following the Project Gaia scale. Though, the blueprint only showed the floors' numbers, not the maps inside them.

"This dungeon will be installed on the second-floor world as the main objective of the sixth server. As for the other floors, I'm the only one who can walk straight up to the sixth floor, so there's no problem with it. I've been scouting the fifth floor for a long time, and the next in line will take some time to reach the floor world requirement."

"So what will we do? Do we have to play on this dungeon or something?" Lexa asked.

"No, rather, we will be fixing something on that dungeon. The date of the release for the sixth server is still unknown. The engineers are still clearing the other floors. However, due to some circumstances, they can't enter the dungeon, so they are making us do it."

"You mean by fixing is to beta test?" Rene-88 asked.

"Yes, we have requested to beta test the dungeon before the sixth server opens."

That made everything clear for Leon now. Of course, the meeting would have something to do with the sixth server. Though, from the 'premonition' that he saw, not anyone can enter this dungeon. He drummed his fingers onto the table. He is thinking.

"Why did you choose us?" Rene-88 asked.

"I agree. I heard the other guilds are doing it through Natural Selection. Why are you choosing us?" Lexa added.

That would be because we are the only long-termed members of the guild, Leon answered the question. And also...

"Other than the head members, you guys are qualified. At most, we have a few members barely reaching level two hundred. Most are at one hundred. I'm not really particular about who has the greater number of such, but I think this group is already on its good form. I can't choose any," Aud-01 answered.

"Then how about the other gears? You have ten, right? Are you going to give the remaining to Ari and Xav?" Shin questioned.

"No, of course not," Aud-01 said. "Actually, I still have four gears left. I will just use the toss in the guild, so whoever gets the high score will get it."

Shin pondered over the answer. From what he can recall, there are seven of them in the group. If ever he gives the gears in each of them, there should be only three left. And why would Aud not give any to Ari and Xav, who is much better than the members of Sora? He wanted to ask Leon about it it, but instead, he stayed and thought of possibilities.

One - If there will be four gears left, then one of the Sora refused the offer. Or Aud himself will have a special pass due to his status.

Two - Maybe Aud counted the members but was unable to count himself in. He will realize it soon and will tell that three gears will be left.

Three - He will not give any to Ari and Xav, maybe because somebody already gave them a gear. It's possible. Those two are friends of the other guild leaders.

Four - Or maybe they refused the offer. Everyone has the choice of joining. In his case, he wanted to experience this beta testing, so he will probably join in.

Five - If none of the above options is the answer, then there's one reason left...

"Ah, Aud, when you said that there would be four left and you won't give any to Ari and Xav, is it because other than you, someone is also part of the top ten in this group and those two included?" Shin asked.

"Probably," Leon answered the line.

"Who is it?"

"Excluding Marcus, he never talked a single line from earlier."

Shin could only conclude the same person. Aud-01 changed his settings so everyone can see his real account and level, but the other didn't. Looking at the list, his eyes darted towards Frass, who has the headset icon on but only listening to them. And for Ari and Xav, it's not worth asking why they are part of the top ten. They are Clover's right hand, so don't judge.

"So when will we start the beta testing?" Lexa asked.

"It would be on this weekend. I already mailed the gears, so you don't have to worry. Once you receive it, please read the instructions carefully. The procedures are the same as usual, but the installation takes time. If you have problems, just call the number I sent together with the mail. It will help you to assemble," Aud said.

"You already mailed it? How confident are you that we will accept it?" Leon asked.

"Why should you not accept it?" Aud replied.

Leon just smirked at the reply. This guy... This guy knows how to play his words well. Of course, anyone would be interested in doing something like this. Plus, Aud has not yet told them the advantages of this beta test. How confident can he get?

Aud explained everything about the project and what they discussed in the meeting. He told them about the privileges and the possible outcome of joining. Of course, this piqued the interest of the members. When they are done, Aud confirmed their application.

Then they asked Frass if he will join Sora or not. The player answered that he would use his gear from the ten that he has. And the other nine would be given to some players only he and Aud know. Leon could just guess that these players are from the first-string players who are not part of the top ten.

Of course, it doesn't mean that you're a first-string player; then, you must be on top. It's just that most of the top ten are from the first-string players. Listing the top ten, somebody from the fourth server reached the top twenty. 

Plus, it's not a requirement for them to always be logged in. Some first-string players would rather play once or twice a week. Some have night shift works, so they can only do it during weekends.

They settled the plan of clearing the dungeons for the beta test. Giving more instructions, they all ended the chat. The twins first logged off, then Frass. The others stayed for personal reasons. Leon is still on the Chatbox. Something is bugging in his mind, and he has to do something about it. With a final yes, he clicked a private chat with Clover.

"What is it?" Aud responded.

"Um... I have something to ask."

"Sure, I'm listening."

Leon positioned himself comfortably, pulling the chair to the side while resting his chin on his hand. One hand is still softly drumming the table. He collected the data in his eyes while choosing the proper words to say. Aud waited.

"Leon?"

"It's all about the sixth server. Opening to the sixth server means proceeding to phase 2 of the experiment, right?"

"Yes."

"Then... can you tell the success of this phase?"

Leon waited for an answer, but Aud didn't utter a single word. He shifted his position, sitting back on the chair on the table with both of his hands supporting his jaws. He looked straight at the screen and saw the numbers beyond the screen. A green matrix of ones and zeroes...

"I'll tell you my statistics... It will fail with 65 percent probability."