The official opening of the Virtual Servers was set to occur at midnight by Gandor’s time. For this singular event, it had been announced that the Keeper would personally be playing host. For those fortunate enough to have been capable of buying the new equipment from Darkflame Technologies, they had already gotten themselves ready.

The instruction manual was quite clear on what was needed in order to successfully register an account. First, the user must close themselves off in a room without any pets or other occupants in order to ensure a smooth transition. Then, once the scan had been completed, they would grab their watch and create an account name and password for themselves. Only then would they learn which side was real, and which was virtual.

Naturally, there were some that wanted to try and break this system, but that did not always go over so well… For instance, let’s say that they invite their friend to watch the process, just to make sure that they knew whether they were the real one or not. They wake up, and suddenly see their friend missing… but they still feel real. Everything about their perception screams that they are the real one.

So, they start looking through their house, thinking that maybe their friend had to get a drink or something. They refuse to accept the fact that they are a digital existence, a fake. Because if a lie can feel so real, how can they really know what the truth is?

This is naturally resolved through the memetic agent introduced to the consumer at the time of account registration. Thanks to this memetic agent, the virtual self acknowledges their state of existence, and is more willing to follow the wishes of the self in reality. When some people managed to figure out that there was such a trick, they questioned if it was really ethical.

Thankfully, such questions failed to make any lasting impact, primarily due to the creator of the device being the Goddess of Technology herself, a member of the Greater Pantheon. While some might express discontent at a potentially unethical decision, they would not allow it to become more than that. Nobody wanted to get on the bad side of someone that has been guarding the universe since the dawn of time, after all.

Regardless, once the clock struck twelve, the servers were officially opened. The customers that had already registered their accounts were transported to the Virtual Server of Spica, a vast clearing where they saw the Keeper himself. He was suspended in the air, sitting on a throne a hundred meters above the ground and looking at everyone as they appeared.

At first, he said nothing, as if waiting for the influx of people to halt. One of the greatest things about Virtual was the fact that there was practically no latency, as your virtual consciousness occupied the server you were interacting with. Thus, everything truly happened in real time.

Once the flood of people was reduced to a slow trickle, the Keeper nodded his head. When he spoke, his voice echoed out over the crowd, ensuring that everyone heard him. “I’m sure you all know who I am, so I will not waste your time with pointless introductions.”

“What I am here to do today is to welcome you all to a new world. This is not a world crafted by an almighty hand, but one achieved purely through the techniques available to mortals. Through science, a virtual reality has been created that surpasses anything previously built. Through technology, we have a way to train in safety. Through the efforts of scholarly titans throughout the generations, we have finally reached this point.”

“For some of you, this is an escape, a way to break free from the dull grasp of reality. For others, it is a new avenue to pursue your pleasures, taking your games to a new height. Yet more of you seek to use this realm to hone your minds and bodies. I could ask a hundred people what they wanted from this world, and receive a thousand answers. Therefore, allow me not to ask, but to tell.”

“I’m going to tell you what I want from this. What I hope can be accomplished through the creation and release of this technology. I want the world to become a better place through strength and prosperity, through the unity that can be found in a virtual world. I want you all to use this world to foster friendships and love. Find joy, even in your darkest hour, and find hope when all seems lost.”

“Each and every one of you has the potential to be a king among men, a god among mortals. That is the potential I see in you. With this new world, I hope that at least some of you can rise to that potential. I see this not just as an avenue to play games, but an avenue to live.” The Keeper fell silent as he finished his words, his eyes closing. Down below, silence filled the clearing, as if nobody knew what to say, or even if it was their place to speak.

Eventually, he opened his eyes once again, and they released a golden radiance. “Thus, allow me to first declare the official launch of the Virtual World! May you all find the answers to what you seek.” After saying that, the golden light wrapped around the throne, shrinking in on itself before vanishing from the scene.

This speech was not only for those who had managed to log in on the first night of release. Rather, it was broadcast live across Spica and Lorek, the full video sent immediately afterwards to the other worlds. The words of the Keeper echoed across countless cities and homes.

I let out a groan as I watched the broadcast live, seeing my virtual self speaking from atop the throne. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Tsubaki. “Somehow, I know that the throne was your idea. I don’t know how, I’m just certain of it.”

Tsubaki averted her eyes with a small, innocent smile. Originally, I was just scripted to appear hovering above the crowd, but it seemed that there was a last minute change to the plan. I simply let out a sigh, shaking my head. “I’ve always hated giving public speeches. I can never think of what to say, and one wrong move could leave a bad impression across all of creation that they’ll never forget.”

Lifre laughed at that, grinning towards me. “It’s easy, just imagine everyone naked! Works every time.”

I couldn’t help but shudder. “Imagine millions of people, maybe over a trillion over the broadcasts, all watching me while naked? No, no that does not make it better. Better is the opposite of what that makes it.”

Dana smirked playfully. “I just like to pretend that I’m talking into a mirror, so the only person that can hear me say anything is myself. Of course, that usually leads to me not filtering myself as well as I should, but hey, everyone knows that I’m the ‘kid’ of the Citadel. You can get away with a lot with that image!”

I blinked, looking over at Dana. I knew that she was anything but a child. She had been alive longer than most gods, and had an adult form that she simply didn’t like using. “You are… sinister. Yeah, I’m going to go with sinister.”

It was at that time that my virtual avatar disappeared from the scene. “Alright, let’s head back to Earth to keep the time synchronized.” I said, mentally urging the citadel into motion and activating its world transport function.

Dana stuck her tongue out with a cheeky smile before standing up and giving a light stretch. “I’m going to head over to my workshop for a bit. There’s a new project that I want to get started on, so I’ll see you all in Virtual.” After she said that, darkness wrapped around her body, teleporting her out of the room.

Dana hummed to herself as she entered her workshop, which had been largely remodeled over the course of the last week. Using the Craft domain that she had been given, she created a number of different tools and displays that she simply didn’t have the means of integrating into her workshop before. “Load up the last saved project data.” She called out as the lights in the workshop activated, revealing a smooth, white table.

There was a hum of machinery from the table in response to her command, and a holographic projection appeared. Within the projection, Dana saw the familiar headset that she had used to create her virtual scan. “It’s easier with the blueprint that Ashley gave me, but still… it’s hard to imagine how long it took her to get this working.”

Flicking her wrist, a dozen hidden screws became loose in the projection, parts flying apart to hover in midair. Out of everyone in the citadel, Dana was far more adept when it came to computers, so she had an idea of what she was looking at, and was able to study the design in order to learn more. “Now… let’s change it up a bit. Scrap the visual sensors, we won’t need those. And let’s incorporate the watch directly into the casing.”

She manipulated the projections with her hands, changing the shape of the device before her. It was clear that she was not trying to upgrade the item that Ashley had made, but rather modify it for a very specific use. “Hmm… engrave a mana lock on the outer shell to serve as the perception blocker.”

Once she completed this design, she looked it over with a satisfied smile. Afterwards, she pulled out her communication crystal and dialed a very old number. Granted, she had to personally deliver the crystal to the other party and teach them how to use it, but she felt it had always been worth the effort.

Lil Dana J: Hey, Trials, do you have a minute to chat?

Trials: I don’t have any intruders right now. The others are curious, you don’t usually reach out to me.

Lil Dana J: Yeah, well, I’ve got something special for you! I assume that you heard about the new virtual reality tech that’s just come out?

Trials: We have several dungeon masters in normal society, Dana. It’d be strange for us not to know.

Trials: Though, I must say that we are rather downcast by the reveal. With this new world, people will visit us even less.

Lil Dana J: What if I could get you into Virtual as well, and let you set up dungeons in virtual environments as training simulators?

Trials: …Please elaborate.

Dana grinned as she looked at the message, eyes flicking up to look at the hologram over her table. She knew that it would have a big impact on the dungeon core race for people to suddenly have a better alternative for their personal training. In a way, the dungeon cores were the original training environment that the Keeper had created, followed by Fyor, and now finally the virtual world.

It was manageable with Fyor, given that it was an entirely different planet, so many people did not have the means to casually go there to train. Thus, they could still tackle their local dungeons to temper themselves. However, that would no longer be the case, leaving the dungeon cores all but obsolete.

In an effort to prevent that, she was remodeling the virtual reality scanner with Ashley’s tips into a form that would be usable even by dungeon cores. Given the nature of the cores, the territories that they create in Virtual could even act as virtual servers for them to manage. The way she saw it, this was a win-win for all parties involved.

Lil Dana J: I don’t have it quite finished yet, but it won’t be much longer. Once it’s done, I’ll bring it to you, so look forward to it!