《Age of Gods - A VRMMO Story》Vol. 1 - Entering the Game - Prologue
Advertisement
Darren impatiently sat at his computer, constantly staring at the live tracking service for the package he was expecting. Today was the day his new VR gaming pod would finally be delivered and he couldn't hold back his impatience to get it installed. The rapid tapping of his foot on the wooden floor of his computer room was the only sound echoing in his entire house.
Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes while leaning back in his ergonomic chair, Darren recalled the conversations he had with some of the developers of 'Age of Gods' a few years ago. They didn't contact him because he was some genius programmer or for ideas on storylines or anything like that. In most respects, Darren was just an average thirty-year-old man with a high school education. However, there was a single aspect of his life where he excelled, playing VRMMO games.
He wasn't some super warrior who dominated PvP championships and saved NPC princesses from the forces of darkness. He also wasn't some vile villain that spent all his time wandering the digital realms slaughtering all who crossed his path and conquering kingdoms for his own benefit.
No, he wasn't one of the popular players. He was the man behind the popular players. Whenever a mighty Paladin saved a princess from an evil dragon and slaughtered it, that Paladin was likely using equipment created by Darren. Whenever a vile necromancer summoned an army of the undead and terrorized the living they were likely using equipment created by Darren.
That's right, Darren was one of the most well known and well-respected crafters in any VRMMO he decided to play. He never picked sides, his only interest lay in making items that were more and more powerful. It didn't matter if it was the forces of light or dark using his items, as long as he got to make something impressive. For this reason, Darren would only play VRMMO's that allowed the players to either make custom items or at least customize the appearance of items.
Advertisement
This was why Karonite industries, the leader in VRMMO technology for the last few decades and the creators of the upcoming game 'Age of Gods', had reached out to him years ago. Despite not being an eye-catching star in the eyes of the public, he was still very well known by those who were.
Darren spent months talking with the development team at Karonite, telling them all the things he liked and hated about previous games and the things he would love to see available in future games so he, and others like him, could have the time of their lives making items for people. Lifestyle players like him were the lifeblood of good games and making players like him happy would make the players on the frontlines slaughtering monsters happy as well.
He had no idea how much of his advice the representatives listened to or incorporated into their game, but he was dying to find out. Two years after his conversation with Karonite Industries the pre-order announcement and release trailer for 'Age of Gods' had come out. Darren wasted no time and pre-ordered instantly, even if the game and accompanying VR pod weren't coming out for another six months.
He wasn't a rich man, but for various reasons he had enough in his savings account to live a moderately comfortable life without working. The cost of the game and pod had taken him months to financially recover from though. However, he was certain it would be worth the light meals and lack of social activity he had to suffer through.
Darren opened his eyes and sat back up to stare at the display once more. The live tracking showed that his delivery was only a few blocks away, it had been for the last two hours while the delivery company installed that player's pod. He was next on the list, even if the game wasn't due to launch for another week he was still impatient for the delivery to arrive.
Advertisement
A few hours later the delivery was finally right outside of his house. Without waiting for the delivery and installation crew to knock on his door Darren had already thrown it open. The delivery guy about to knock on the door gave a rueful smile and had slowly lowered his hand. Darren wasn't the first overly excited and impatient customer he'd had to deal with over the last few days.
After ushering in the installation crew and signing some paperwork they got to work and started to install the pod in Darren's computer room. He'd spent a week emptying it out of all his old gear just to make room for the oversized pod. The advances in the technology had made leaps and bounds and this pod was the culmination of several fields. It had everything a player would need for an extended gaming session of up to a week. Intravenous food and water, waste disposal, and most importantly it was comfortable.
The actual installation of the pod only took a few minutes, they only had to bring it into the room, plug in the power and connect it to Darren's data line. What took hours was teaching Darren how to change the supply packs for the food, water, and waste as well as calibrating the machine to his unique brainwaves. It was a painless process, just time-consuming. Once everything was finished the installation crew left and Darren crawled into the form-fitting interior of the pod and pressed the button to close the lid.
Once the lid closed Darren was encased in an utterly silent and pitch black environment. He couldn't even hear any of the machines self-produced noises. After a moment a small screen in front of his eyes had lit up and displayed the word "Connecting...". A few seconds later the displayed had changed...
Game begins in: 6d:8h:34m:26s
Advertisement
I, Kobold: A crafting cultivation litrpg monster story
A Sailor, after getting tossed from his ship in a storm, finds himself waking up in a world of swords, sorcery, monsters, and adventure.This could have been exciting, except that, instead of being a mighty-thewed Barbarian, Powerful Wizard, or wood-wise elf, He found himself in the body of a monster. Not just any monster, but the weakest, most cowardly, and well-known newbie-target, a kobold. Not only is he stuck as the lowest of the low, but he may also need to save two worlds, his new one and the one he came from! (Royal Road Writathon 2022 winner)
8 211Treading Twilight
Reia Welsh was a student Photomancer who attended Decorous Academy for magical knights, typically wouldn't find herself on either end of the bullying stick, which was pretty impressive considering a multitude of authoritative clubs for the social elites happened to oppress and rule the school with an iron fist. But constantly watching such transgressions from the sidelines proved to go against every moral bone in Reia's body. She was a knight, right? And Knights protected people! And as such, she's going to do something about it-but the consequences she might have to face just may go deeper than the school's very own foundations. With only a few months left before graduation, will she be able to change Decorous for the better? Or will conspiracies, twisted ideologies, dark forces, and mystical beasts intercept any chances she has at reaching her goals? Join Reia on her bizarre knight journey. *** And see, as the redhead cowered at the foot of a locker, they petrified him right there and then in a blast of snow-like powder that came out of one of the bully's hands without the single utterance of a spell all there was a blue instantaneous glow...then the kids from Deck 52 walked off all the while goofily wiggling their bodies. "Hey, why don't you dance with us Peter, c'mon do a little dance." "It's just a petrification spell Peter, don't be down..." "Yeah, dude." But of course, the victim couldn't so much as move his thumbs let alone dance a fool.** ⚠️Caution Mature Content ⚠️⚠️Mature Language⚠️⚠️Mild Drug use⚠️⚠️Graphic/Exaggerated Violence⚠️⚠️OverPoweredCharacters⚠️
8 189Eldritch, Fragments from the Abyss
A black monolith stands before my eyes, images and letters of all sort are engraved, some normal, other bizarre, many confuse and contort, pictures of beasts and monsters confuse themself in the thin white letters that are all over the monolith, I realize that they are stories, stories on the Eldrich and unknown.This is not a single story but a collection of short stories inspire by H.P. Lovecraft, E.A. Poe and other writers of strange fiction.Read them in every order that you like. I am looking for an editor, if someone wants to help me avoid typos please contact me.
8 139BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS {km daughter story}
in which love is what ultimately ruins her.ormarian and her father had been separated by a dagger for a hundred years until the night he was set free.[a kol mikaelson daughter story]#1 #damonsalvatore - 05.04.22#1 #stefansalvatore - 25.12.20#1 #kol 16.05.21#3 #elenagilbert - 21.03.21
8 189Song of Rapture
it all a start with the sound of a horn travelling across the world...then 'THEY' came...a tale of the modern era where the human nature reveal itself in many ways...Pride, Love, Hatred, Kind, and the Will...the Will to never give up...Come and follow along the brave frontiers where the world we think we know off, collapse and became anew.Come to the world of the new earth and let the tune of of the world dance within your mind...welcome to the Song of Rapture...
8 57Anon: Goddess of Anonymity
a light-hearted story of a somewhat relaxed Goddess named Anon. She'd honestly prefer to stay back home and read a book, but reality doesn't always go her way. Anon finds herself mixed in unnecessary events in ways more than one that don't suit her shut-in lifestyle.
8 152