The room was dark and calm. The was some illumination from the busy street outside, traces of light dotting an unkempt floor and a curled up figure through the blinds.

A song played, an original soundtrack from an anime, cheery and bright. Then the figure stirred, and a hand shot out, blindly reaching for the source – a cellphone. It viciously pressed the side buttons until the alarm, with a sound set ten years ago, cut off.

John got up with a groan and checked the time: 9:53 PM. He had already snoozed three times, but any more and he would be late.

It was moments before the second and last day of the RISE pre-release.

There was a string of notifications plastered all over the glass screen. He tapped open the first thread, a chat from Kevin.

Kevin Huang (19:01): Hey did you see the news?

Kevin Huang (19:07): You there?

Kevin Huang (19:08): It’s RISE, they announced the retail of the helmets, six in the morning.

Kevin Huang (19:08): We should wait in line. With a release like this, the lines will be huge if we don't get there early.

Kevin Huang (19:20): Anyways, I’m heading to the William Street distribution center. Come and find me when you check your messages.

The line would be huge and getting there the day before wouldn’t be uncommon. The biggest problem would be the bitter cold. Also, John already had a helmet and he needed to play tonight.

John Patterson (21:54): Hey. Just woke up.

There was an instant reply like Kevin had already been on his phone, waiting for this moment.

Kevin Huang (21:54): Really? You missed such an important moment. It’s crazy out here. The line is already endless.

John Patterson (21:54): Yeah, I can imagine.

But John didn’t have to: he could simply remember. He joined the game RISE late, but he still witnessed the unending queue when he passed by. And this night was the coldest yet this winter.

Kevin Huang (21:54): These people are prepared. Half of them are dressed like Eskimos and the other half have chairs or tents.

John nodded. The line had been like a sidewalk refuge camp. The freezing queue dwellers would soon resort to the teachings of Prometheus.

John Patterson (21:55): But they can’t compete with you. You have the all-natural blubber.

Kevin Huang (21:55):

John Patterson (21:55): Anyways, don’t bother waiting for me. I’ll be a while.

Kevin Huang (21:55): Okay, I’ll be here, just let me know if you're coming.

John quickly dealt with the other messages, mostly other classmates excited about the same thing. He switched off the phone and tossed it on his bed.

With the three remaining minutes, he popped into the washroom to empty his bladder. He brushed his teeth, mostly just coating them in the minty paste before spitting it out. He finally filled a glass of cold water from the kitchen tap, hydrating his dry throat before returning to the bed.

Excitement coursed through his veins. John would always get a slight exhilaration before logging in, but this time, he had more strength, someone who trusted him, and a real-world problem to procrastinate from.

With half a minute left, he placed the neurode straps over the top of his skull and tightened the collar around his neck. The button was pressed once again.

There was the black screen and a line of white text.

[Server opening in 17 seconds.]

[…]

[You have logged in.]

John opened his eyes, these ones virtual, to the musty, tainted sunlight. He took a breath and stabilized himself against the rocky face around him as the neural link solidified.

He was in a depression in the eleventh stair of the hill, a crack the geological wafer. It’s where he had logged off last night right before the nocturnal mobs would have flooded the crooked landscape.

John pulled himself out. It was time to progress again.

‘But there’s that.’

Last real night, in the middle of his heartfelt conversation, John had scrolled through numerous RISE ads. But he had seen more than he had asked for.

It was a video like any other RISE commercial, the story of a player making a heroic escape, running from hopeless odds – the kind of thing that inspires you to believe that you could be that guy, a legend.

It started in a dark room with a single light source. Well, it was hard to tell exactly if it was a room as the dim illumination couldn’t reach the walls, possibly a cavern. There was a man in a rough coat, and thick trousers, running. The image was shaky, like an action movie, and the adventurer’s face was in shadows, hidden from the bouncing light.

The perspective shifted to a distant observer, where one could only see the azure luminance and the resulting lens flare. The view was suddenly covered by an army of mobs.

Then the light, a magic stone – his magic stone – sailed into the tide of monsters – a tide of bones.

The rest is predictable, obvious.

The stone skidded across the bones, sinking into a cavity made of ribs and hips. The RISE team’s omniscient cinematography ghosted the stone’s path, empathizing the interaction with the magic formations and the resulting detonation.

Like the explosion would have confused the horde, it did John.

‘Didn’t RISE have a good privacy policy?’

Surely, the soon-to-be multi-billion dollar company wouldn’t violate their privacy agreements. Moreover, VR might be in a shady legal area, but no company should be able to create an advertisement using a player’s triumphs, at least not without permission.

‘No, they wouldn’t do that to normal players... But we aren’t normal players.’

This was the pre-release, no player here was normal, and the terms of service would likely follow that trend.

‘The one time I should have actually read the ToS, I didn’t even have the option.’

John had carefully considered the direct consequences of stealing his way into the pre-release but hadn't thought enough about the later consequences. He had been completely ignorant of the possibility of the RISE corporation’s direct monitoring.

But that begged the question: where were the consequences? It would be fairly obvious to any observer that he had an unfair advantage – but there was no ban. And that sparked another even more intriguing proposition. Was someone turning a blind eye, deliberating let his advantage go unimpeded?

This was an advertisement for him, a very evident warning. But it was hard to interpret. Why do it in such a roundabout way? It might be to keep it subtle, off the direct system notifications and any records. It was likely a single person, one with authority, maybe in the advertising department, that wanted John to keep succeeding, and do so consistently for the long-term. As for the motives, John could only guess.

But whatever the reason, John got the message: nothing that might suggest prior knowledge, at least until the pre-release was over. Fighting proficiency and mob killing should be fine, just mostly stay away from special locations and NPCs.

Moreover, it would probably be a good idea to avoid exposing his high-level and skills immediately after the official release. It was probably true that there were additional terms that the other experts had to follow regarding this.

He checked his weapons and character status.

[John]

Class: Starter Thief

Level: 4 (13713/14500)

HP: 139/139

Strength: 9

Vitality: 9

Agility: 13

Dexterity: 14

His dagger and pistol had a durability of 24/50 and 36/40, respectively. The durability didn’t drop too much on these little mobs but when John started stabbing the thick, leathery hide of the elite tainted deer and shooting exotic munitions, the digits would change rapidly. As for his armor, the damage was negligible as John rarely got hit during normal hunting.

He poked his head out, and, making sure the coast was clear, pulled himself out of the crack. He brushed the dust out of his eyes and equipped his weapons.

His current goal was to climb higher up the hill. He could have done so early, but it hadn’t been as efficient. When John hit level five, the amount of experience he would be getting from these rabbits would drop significantly and the experience gained by the higher mobs would become worth the time it took to kill them.

To travel between levels of the hill, players could climb, but it was easier to take a ramp – the one to the next level was just ahead. John brandished his weapons and aimed at a pack of five rabbits blocking the way. They had been at fairly close range, right outside the hole.

They immediately aggroed on him, but at this range, John could hit every shot on a vital spot on the level five rabbits.

‘Rapid-Fire’

John’s hand blurred in repetitive bolt cycling, a mix between the methodical motion of a professional sniper and speed of a revolver sharpshooter.

-37

-22

-47

[A shot nicking the heart has ruptured the target’s aorta, causing massive bleeding.]

-46

[You have slain a Tainted Rabbit]

[You have gained 54 XP]

The bullets perfectly hit the rabbit – in the left eye, neck, heart, and spinal cord – in around a second. The damage was astounding given the 35% damage reduction of Rapid-Fire shots. But then again, the low-intelligence mob hadn’t bothered to dodge against John's practiced aim.

As the first fell, the second reached melee range. This was the skill’s fatal flaw, the long usage time, and vulnerability. It was hard enough to kite with most weapons let alone with twice the fire rate.

-37

-48

[A shot to the left lung and shoulder blade has weakened the target’s stamina recovery and mobility.]

John managed to get two shots, one of them debilitating, before they got too close. As the second rabbit tumbled over, squealing in high-pitched agony, the third, a beast with a red stripe on its back, and the fourth, with huge teeth, engaged.

Red Stripe went for a waist-height leap, which John promptly sidestepped, while Big Teeth went for a thigh bite.

-26

[The target has been winded.]

John stabbed the hurtling, tainted furball in the back, and Big Teeth dropped to the ground. The stab wasn’t very deep, but it was enough to buy time.

John raised the pistol, using the last two shots available in Rapid-Fire’s duration.

The first shot was swallowed by Old Fives – it had been going for delayed sprint, attempting to use its peers’ assault as a distraction – burying itself in the esophagus.

-48

[Severe bleeding has developed in the target's mouth.]

The second shot put down the writhing rabbit that had its lung blown out earlier. There was a momentary blossom of tainted bits.

-67

[You have slain a Tainted Rabbit]

[You have gained 57 XP]

Red Stripe landed, and with swift paws, engaged while the thief was dealing with Fives. With its hops that were – well, like a rabbit – it managed to get on the thief’s back, clawing and biting.

-15

-17

It was difficult for most melee classes to deal with a small foe on their backs due to the swinging and stabbing nature of melee weapons, but gun-based thieves had a good option.

Red Stripe’s crimson eyes seemed to widen as it’s right eye’s field of view was filled by a silver barrel.

-135

[You have done a devastating shot to the enemy, causing severe bleeding and brain damage.]

-1

[Temporary hearing damage due to proximity to firearm discharge has occurred.]

John ignored the ringing in his ears from the shot. He clenched his dagger firmly and prepared to clean up Big Teeth. Meanwhile, Red Stripe was bleeding copiously.

-7

-7

-7

[You have slain a Tainted Rabbit]

[You have gained 54 XP]

As its friend bled to death, Big Teeth went for another vicious bite, this time towards the guts.

-16

John blocked it with his gun arm, taking a bit of damage, but limiting it to a superficial wound. He rapidly shanked the rabbit in return.

-27

-23

-45

The last stab got the monster really good in the head and the jaw loosened, Big Teeth falling to the ground. John quickly shot it before it could scurry away.

-37

[You have slain a Tainted Rabbit]

[You have gained 57 XP]

As for Old Fives, it was bleeding profusely from the mouth, but it managed to stand up and try to attack. John could only thankful that the RISE corporation designed these mobs devoid of survival instinct.

-13

John kicked Fives and held the weakened rabbit by the throat.

-34

-32

[The target has started bleeding]

-37

[Lethal bleeding is developing.]

-36

[You have slain a Tainted Rabbit]

[You have gained 58 XP]

It was simple enough to score good stabs on an immobilized target.

John quickly gathered the drops and stuffed them in his inventory. He wiped his knife on Red-Stripes pelt, darkening the color. He munched on a few crumbs and inserted two more bullets into his magazine before climbing up the ramp.

…

“Hey.

“What do you see?

“C’mon, I want to know too.

“Open your mouth, tell me.

“…

“No, close it, your expression of shock is kind of unattractive.

“You know I don’t have those magic binoculars, don’t be selfish.

“Tell me what you seeeeeeee!”

The priest was getting peeved. He was supposed to be in charge, and this supposed subordinate wasn’t sharing.

“Shut up,” the optical elementalist finally lightly snapped, clear insubordination. She was focused with her hands in a triangular shape in front of her face. There were circles of magic runes outlining a path from her squinted right eye to the center of the gesture.

The priest sighed. The optical magician was lucky that their relationship was casual in private. The guild master would have chewed them out for such behavior. “Fine, let me know when you're done. Just don’t tease me with that exaggerated shock.”

After a few moments, the optical mage deactivated the spell, Zoom, and grit her teeth in pain. She placed her hands on her knees and hunched over.

The priest topped off her health bar and patiently waited for her to catch her breath. “So?”

“My expression is genuine,” she said between gulps of air.

“So?”

“You know those level three and four rabbits in this area? The ones that we struggled to deal with?”

“Yeah?”

The optical mage looked up and gave a weird look that screamed amazement and hesitation. “He solo-killed five of them.”

“What is his level?” the priest exclaimed in surprise. The pair could only deal with two to three, maybe four, at a time.

“Can't tell from this range. Though, it's certainly higher than ours, but so are the levels of those bunnies.”

“So, it’s skill then.”

The mage nodded her head. “His reactions are unnaturally fast, his motions are too precise, and each blow uses his strength to its fullest.”

The priest closed his eyes and thought. “Can you describe the fight in more detail?”

The optical mage did.

The healer considered again and nodded, making a decision. “Do you still want to go to the hill?