It had been six hours since she started her world wide research, her eyes were strained and her mind fatigued. Let’s take a break. She gazed towards the far reach of the sky inside the immersive sky hologram projection surrounding her, watching as the sun making its way past the horizon.

Growl. Her stomach grumbled in protest. Ah, its dinner already. She found herself losing track of time. The things that she learned were too overwhelming and yet too little for her to really grasp the situation. Everything had advanced so much in so many aspects of civilization that it was impossible to review through it all in a mere six hours.

She presumed that because of the long period of time civilization itself had to develop and the capabilities of technology to record knowledge resulted in some kind of information overload. Sure, overviews and crash courses of any particular subjects were available but they only touched on the most recent and applicable info. One would have to either spend most of their life studying one subject to really know well about it, or risk appearing as a complete idiot at the presence of another specialist.

One of the most fascinating examples she’d seen was archery. Back in her “modern” time on Earth, archery existed as a somewhat relaxing sport where the contestant only needed to stand still and shoot an arrow at a non moving target board. In Liona, archery was divided into at least 12 major types, ranging from shooting at still dummy targets to wielding advanced force bows and running across a simulated battlefield taking on combat robots.

However, the most vexing problems she had was in the technical field, mathematics and electronics. Not only did she had to relabel the names of formulas, there were mountains of fascinating new discoveries and advancements she couldn’t cram them all into her brain.

She took a deep breath, lets take it slowly. She had time, there were no urgent problem. While what she wanted the most was to look into her past and the reason for her captivity, she couldn’t find away to do that without getting the attention of her new family. Feeling rather constrained, she knew that her browsing history is open for all to see. She planned to set up private proxies but there was a need to make sure that it really was private. Afterall, nothing is more dangerous than thinking I have the privacy only to find out later that I don’t.

The door opened and in came the maid from that morning, pulling her food cart.

“You look quite drained,” she said. “I suggest you take a break. You’ll get a headache sitting so long on the computer.”

“Thank you for your concern but I’m fine.” She gave a tired smile. Can’t she learn how to knock?

“Please make sure you don’t push yourself alright? Mr. Tom would fire me if anything happens to you and I really do like this job.” She gave a mischievous smirk.

The delicious meal refreshed her mental state and she was ready to continue her research. Let the fun begins. Saving the best for last, she started looking up programing languages - the field she was best at.

A good many of them were impressive indeed with their numerous interface options, from using holograms to build blocks of logic like legos to their ability to compile and understand abstract concept, even sentences or paragraphs could be accepted and interpreted. However, she noticed that that was all these fancy frameworks had geared for, accessibility. They were made so that kindergartens and non technical people can use.

“Why the hell would I ever buy this crap!” She facepalmed after looking under the hood of these so called languages. They were so convoluted and inefficient she couldn’t see them anymore than pricy marketing gimmicks.

She knew well that these things existed back on Earth, but to have them fill up most search results was completely unacceptable. She spent more time sweeping the deeper regions of the web before finding the right candidate, ZStar.

Lets see, not so clunky grammar, flexible, good support base and compile on a nice number of platforms. A little outdated but it’ll have to do.

With the language installed, she immediately began to fill every inch of the hologram space with documentations and immersed herself in an ocean of code. She did everything with uttermost efficiency, from relearning the world’s slightly different programing fundamentals to attempting higher structured algorithms. She was also planning on overviewing all other major languages when she had the time. Afterall, she wasn’t there just for fun, her agenda was to gather as much information about her previous family and the world as a whole, and that meant overcoming security barriers by any mean necessary.

However, she began to notice another problem as her studies progressed further. Her mind wasn’t operating as well as she would have wanted. She had much more trouble solving logic blockades and making connections between different sources of information within the code. She knew well in her mind that she had the knowledge and experience regarding these subjects, and yet when she tried to put those into application, she was stopped by an invisible barrier.

Then it came to her, the system notice she had read the moment of her revival stated that the system had restored the memories from the part of her soul that existed on Earth. That meant, in the loosest sense of the word, the memories of her past life was imprinted onto the body of her current one. And simply having the memory of doing something doesn’t mean she could do it again. The brain operated differently from man made computers, it relied on the dynamic connections between billions of neurons, and to be able to be proficient in a particular action, the specific connections regarding said action had to be expanded and strengthened. She was no exception. Why would she ever expect herself to be a coding wiz when the previous her, Emilia Lyon, had never wrote even a single line of code? Her current brain had no pathways regarding the act of writing code at all.

She pondered over the situation. A faint smile lined her lips, that she would have to retrain her brain to the level of proficiency in her past might be considered a waste of time by others, but to her it would mean she can spend more time remastering all the fun and amusing things the technology world has to offer. It was never a drag when she could, from a messy pile of concept maps and drawings, give life to a new and unique game, or finish typing the final line of code for a devastating firewall proof worm.

She looked up the support forum not only because she needed advance help but also she wouldn’t get bored trying to learn everything by herself. To her surprise, she found the IRC - Internet Relay Chat, also existed in that world. She was always fond of the folks on the IRC, they were quite silly at times but very helpful nonetheless.

[Welcome to ZStar support channel. Please follow standard chat rules]

* snowlion95 has joined.

Just finished the run, almost got ganked by some griefers with Mk10 plasmas. Watch your back when you leave k?

How about we party up, where you at?

I’ll be back at HQ in a min.

Hi, I need help with ---. I’ve done everything according to the manual but it doesn’t execute

Hi snowlion95, its a known bug in version 8.5, if you really need it then I suggest reverting to 8.4 instead.

Thanks, sorry for interrupting your game.

Its fine, we’re not even supposed to fill the channel with our game chat but its a bother having to switch channels.

yeah snowlion95, don’t mind our talk. WoM is just something we play to pass the time. Just ask away if you have any questions

* qu4ntumX has joined

what about ---, is it possible to do that with only --- and ---?

someone new actually came to this chat. And I thought it was long dead

And yes you can do that but you’d need --- too. Whats your ign on WoM so we all can hang out?

sorry, I don’t have a WoM account, or any other games for that matter

ah, sorry to hear that. Strict parents?

No, its just that I’m new to computers... in general

wow, and yet you managed to make so much progress in ZStar, thats impressive!

I love to code, thats all

glad to know you’re enjoy ZStar so far. Just remember if you ever want to get on WoM, we’re always welcome to newbies

I’ll remember it

* snowlion95 is away

Alright, back at HQ. d4ve23, want to go for another run?

sure

hi again. I’ve made an account on WoM, ign is Sn0wL10n95. Please take care of me.

lol that was quick. Just do the tutorials and we should be finished with our run by the time you complete them.

Welcome to the club!

She was only checking the game out of curiosity, but for every feature she read, another small part of her was convinced that she should give it a try. The game wasn’t by any means revolutionary or top quality, but its versatility, creativity, and dynamic gameplay kept all kinds of players, from the weekend casual to the dedicated endgame seekers.

The game featured a vast world with only a tiny area populated by players while the rest remained undiscovered. There were not a single NPC, as all towns and cities were player run.

The character creation screen was nothing special, with sliders for adjusting face shape and hair colors. A few finger flicks later and a near perfect representation of herself stood before her. She smiled, taking a moment to observe the realism of the hologram, the her inside the game looked very much alive and real. I know I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but this is just incredible.

She decided to experiment with it more, changing the gender, lowering height and altering facial shape. Chuckling, she stare at the figure which resembled a certain person of her past. It didn’t last long, as more memories flowed through her mind.

“I miss you guys...” A whisper escaped her lips as she recalled her family and the happy moments of the life she enjoyed.

She shook her head, clearing the wistful distant dream. Pull it together, me. She changed the hair color to white and eye to red but kept the male gender and height. Satisfied, she continued to the class selection window.

Please choose an active talent and any two weapons

Already knowing what she wanted, there was no need to read the descriptions twice.

Talent - Blade Dancer

Dance in beautiful steps, flexible movement and having a strong a balance, you will often outmaneuver your opponent and deal steady, deadly blows. Works well using all melee weapons with a weight factor of 2 or less, not suitable for heavier weapons and most ranged weapons except for the bladed bow.

Caution: while blade dancers can handle a large number of opponents at once, you will need great concentration and proficiency. The most efficient tactic is to avoid damage while dealing steady blows. Unlike other combat talents, taking risk is not recommended unless it is well within calculated bounds.

Weapon - Light Gunblade (Class F)

A versatile weapon, capable of standing its own against other forcebladed weapons and can fire elemental projectiles with pinpoint accuracy.

However, because its slashing power is weaker than a same class blade and its firepower inferior to a same class rifle, it is not a popular weapon among seasoned adventurers. However, with skill, it can potentially outmatch both of its counterpart when used well strategically.

Weapon - Bladed Bow (Class F)

Caution: may not be suitable for new players.

This carefully constructed hybrid weapon is by no means outdated. The capacitive electro string allows for arrow propulsion without physical assistant. Designed for stealth, the bow produces even less noise than the best upgraded silencers and has the highest armor penetration rating. However, it is compensated with a lower fire rate due to slower capacitor charging speed.

The bladed part of the bow functions as a forceblade, capable of dealing deadly slashing and stabbing damage. However, like the gunblade, its performance is slightly lower compared to its bow and sword counterpart.

Her choices were rather unpopular but she had always enjoyed unique experiences.

The game brought her to the tutorial grounds. As she was taking her character out for a spin, she realized the controls were surprisingly similar to the games she played in her past. Sure, the hand gestures were new, but she could set it so that she can use a holographic controller or even the keyboard would do. Its designed for multitasking lovers I suppose. She could see the game being popular with those who needs a little stress outlet while working on other tasks.

The servers her IRC buddies chose was a post apocalyptic world. She was only given a pair of ragged jean and shirt and a pair of battered weapons. Beneath her newbie shoes lay an ocean of sand, covering most of everything for as far as the eye can see. Ruins of buildings and cars interwoven each other like trees in a forest.

Interrupting her stroll was a giant worm that pushed itself out off a fallen piece of rubble. Seeing the approaching worm, she stood calmly, preparing for a skill. Sidestep slash. The worm leaped just as she stepped aside while slashing her gunblade horizontally, creating a deep gash across its side. The worm attacked again, Sidestep shoot! She sidestepped, placing the gunblade inside the previous gash and pulled the trigger, a hole appeared on the other side of its body, killing it.

Two humanoid robots jumped through a window from above her. One landed on her front while the other her back. They both seemed very battered and broken. I guess this is the newbie welcoming committee. The one in front swiped its arms, hoping to catch her face, but she leaned back and dodged it by a hairsbreadth, using her momentum, she lightly kicked its legs and stripping it from its balance. As the bot was fumbling forward, she stabbed the gunblade into its chest and pulled the trigger. Without pause, she pulled the blade from the terminated bot and turned around to face other one which was coming at her from behind. She swiped her feet forward, interrupting its running stance and tripping it while holding her blade in place, catching and severing its neck.

That was so cool! While the controls were a bit clunky, she had to admit the animations were mind blowing. Wandering around, she picked up various items from crafting materials to worn out patches of the local map.

Hey, we’re back. Can you find out where you spawned at? Searching all of the newbie grounds will take too long.

I got a piece of rag here that says Alcus city, section 11a

Got it, just sit on the nearest rock and we’ll be there in a jiffy

k

The guys arrived in a junk dune buggy that looked as if someone duct taped a bunch of pipes to a set of wheels. The fiery haired tall and rough looking guy was d4ve23’s character and bit85’s avatar was a blue haired attractive teenage girl.

lol, nice ride xD

well, our better looking ride got trashed by a digger because bit85 over here forgot to park it on concrete ground >.>

wheres qu4ntumX?

hes went off for the night cus family curfew

aww crap, its really late here too. Could you guys just take me back to your base and I’ll call it a day.

sure thing

Their HQ was just as she expected. A bunch of rubble stacked together, with various badly crafted tools and furniture inside. As broken as they may seem, she had to admit they do fit the apocalyptic theme very well.

Logging off, she jumped onto her comfy bed and recalled the day. She thought about the fascinating discoveries of this world and the potential that the technology and she herself can achieve. A faint smile lined her lips. I even made some friends too. It was too good to ask for.

She moved to the soul room and switched to a peaceful meditative environment. As she was slowly dozing away, however.

Warning!

She didn’t have time to read the message before someone yanked her from the bed and covered her mouth.

I'm so tired right now, so I'm just going to get this out there >.And sorry if I get your hopes up, but the MMO won't become a main part of the plot (its more like an interactive chat room that she uses to play with her cyber friends). But you guys can probably guess how our MC will fight based on her class selection

Also, here is the Gdoc link. If you see a mistake or have a question, feel free to comment