The click went through, and the screen loaded for Mickey, showing various sections with headlines and images of scenery.

***

Trailblazers Stand Strong!

Dive Into The Hidden World!

Your tale of adventure begins here. You, one of the brave few who dares see the truest world, write your own tale.

Explore the World.

Meet the People.

Gain Power.

Form Parties.

Forge Alliances.

Claim Realms.

Leave Your Mark.

Be Your Truest Self.

Change Your World; Take Hold Of Your Fate.

Run, sprint, leap, fly, dive, swim across a world more life-like than real life! You are your own limiter!

The Hidden World welcomes all those who find their way to it. Anything is possible so long as your drive carries you. If there is something you want to do, meet the world, and it will meet you.

Traverse the lands, cross the rives, soar through the skies, pierce the dimensions—all to find your calling.

Choose Your Path!

The Hidden World is a world of freedom. Will you be a warrior of legendary valor or a farmer satisfied with amassing a humble fortune and being a pillar of your community?

Will you explore the world or focus your efforts on one area?

Will you be a force for order or an agent of chaos?

Will you improve the world, or will you destroy it?

Will you be content with this world, or will you crave more?

The choice is yours!

The Hidden World will facilitate you!

Build Your Power!

Your power is a reflection of you.

The Hidden World will provide you with the parts; it’s up to you to put them together.

Create Skills, Forge Weapons, Hone Styles, Develop Spells, Combine them all!

Every play-style, for every Trailblazer.

Incredible Modes!

The Hidden World offers challenges more diverse than life itself.

Fight enemies and monsters. Fight other Trailblazers. Hone your craft. Compete in skill-based competitions.

Warrior, hunter, gatherer, fisherman, cook, farmer—there’s a challenge and a reward for every profession!

Reap the Rewards!

The Hidden World rewards those who engage with it. Take your winnings with you when you leave. And then come back and win some more!

More Info…

***

“Huh… So, from what I gathered, this is a pretty open-ended thing? How ambitious… But this section… ‘Reap the Rewards,’ is that the cash prize? I don’t see anything else here.”

Mickey looked around the page and the pictures of the scenery. There were sky-islands, undersea segments with sea-serpents and colorful reefs, there was a picture of what looked to be a starry sky and many lush landscapes.

“It’s really pretty… It kind of does look prettier than real life… Would my computer be able to handle it—Oh, dang it, they got me wondering… They really didn’t tell me much on this page, I just understand that I have the freedom to do whatever I want and that I’m rewarded according to my efforts…”

Mickey relented and clicked on ‘More Info.’

***

The Hidden World

The Hidden World is the true world where people of all worlds come together. Magic, myth, and legend are unified here. Come expand your world.

Start from one of seven realms and explore until you’ve had your fill. There are over twenty realms with new realms gaining admittance every year. How far will you go?

The Foundations of Power

One could try to gain power and influence in the way their home-world allows, or one could choose to take the path allowed by the hidden world.

Engage in the challenges of the Hidden World and reap the rewards, Skill Bits.

With Skill Bits, the power is in your hand. Use the Skill Bits and flesh out your power to your liking!

First Steps…

Upon signing up and diving in, you will be taken to the Unlimited Realm. Here, in this realm, you will be tested, and your profile will be generated. This stage will greatly define your first days in the Hidden World. Come to this stage with your mind open, and give it your best effort. We hope to see you there!

The Hidden World Will No Longer Be Hidden

***

“…I guess… That was slightly more informative, right? At least I learned there are starting areas, and I learned about the first stage… And these Skill Bits are interesting… At least concept-wise… Oh, what the heck, let’s sign-up. The scenery screen-shots are so pretty I kind of want one as a wallpaper.”

Mickey, curiosity piqued, returned to the landing page, and with the blue card in hand, clicked on “Sign-Up.”

“So, this will be pretty basic—better reveal the access code.”

With a quarter, Mickey scratched off the blue film on the back of the card and went through the registration process. It was all standard—the page asked for the code, asked for his email, asked for a password to be created, and then asked for his name and address. If there was one spot that made him apprehensive, it was the address field. Thankfully, it wasn’t a required field, neither was the name field.

“I’ll just stick with email and password for now.”

With those two fields filled, Mickey clicked register. A ding went off immediately, and confetti animations took over the screen—it was a pleasant welcome gesture.

The page took Mickey back to the homepage where he was surprised—

“Oh, it changed.”

Gone was the portal image; the page was now filled with images of people—all very photo-realistic—and had a news stream on the first page along with an Events slide-show. Also on this page was now something called the Tralas Bridge shop.

“Oh, wow, it really came alive. I’m kind of curious. What events are going on now?”

***

Beginner’s Surge!

All Starting Realms are experiencing a surge of energy from the Axis-Mundi.

Experience gained from Infinite Descent, both personal and extra will be increased by fifty percent!

Descent of The Foreign Invader… Again

Trailblazers unite! Foreign Invader, Hjekel is attacking the Milya(L:7) Realm.

Generous rewards will be offered to all those who aid the defense effort.

Note: Penalties will be levied against all those who are found aiding the Foreign Invader, either purposefully or inadvertently.

Personal Realm Chaos!

Personal Realms are under attack more often due to the invasion. Fortify your realms—the Hidden World will assist you!

***

“Darn, those sound really cool. That beginner event—I might not want to pass that up, right? It’ll give me a head-start… How do I play this game?”

Mickey searched the screen and found a “Play” button at the top.

“Seriously? Just like that? Is it a browser game? Is it cloud-based?”

Mickey clicked the button, and a prompt came up.

[Please connect the Tralas Headset.]

Mickey’s heart sank. “Huh?”

[Please connect the Tralas Headset.]

“I-Is this game VR? I don’t have a headset.”

[Please connect the Tralas Headset.]

Tears formed in Mickey’s eyes. He got his hopes up as much as he didn’t want to admit it.

“I-I don’t have the money to spend on an expensive headset… I’m even cutting back on school, man. I—I don’t have the money. It’s for Grandma.”

[Please connect the Tralas Headset.]

The message wasn’t changing—of course it wouldn’t change. But even so, the message was a cruel reminder of the precarious position that got Mickey interested in the game in the first place.

Mickey sniffed and wiped his tears away. “Let’s see what the game requires—maybe the headset is cheap enough that a part-time job can make back the money quickly.”

Mickey made his way to the “Game” page and looked for the system requirements.

“Huh? It only needs the headset? Is it really a browser game?”

Immediately below the one and only requirement was a picture of the headset, and below that was the price.

Mickey’s eyes went wide. “$20,000?” He slumped back onto his chair, his heart pumping. “That’s like twenty times the current price of the best headset. You’ve got to be joking. What kind of game is this? That's insane. It's a pipe dream. Even if Gran was healthy it'd be a ridiculous expense. Hmm?”

Right below the price was a “Can’t afford?” hyperlink.

Mickey apprehensively clicked the button and was taken to a new page. The Tralas Bridge shop.