5L4Y reclaims his dagger from the tree and looks it over. An idea takes root in his mind. In the spirit of curiosity, he presses the tip of his dagger into the palm of his hand. He draws back quickly as he causes self-damage- the pain feels real. He draws back as he considers the implications of an MMO that has realfeel installed for more than just simple touching or pleasurable contact. He has a feeling this game will carve out a dedicated, but small niche of hardcore players.

He smirks to himself, imagining the looks on the two streamer’s faces right now. They’re probably crying in front of their cameras, just now clued into to the real greatness of Dragon Scythe Online. He nods. This isn’t all that bad.

Just as 5L4Y turns to pick out some more victims, he pops up his stats screen and throws his 10 new stat points all in DEX. He doesn’t need anything else, as DEX holds dominion over attack speed, crit chance, and crit damage: the holy trinity modifiers of smashing assholes and the creation of salty scrubs. Frankly, the fact that his victims will be feeling pain only makes it better for him. The longer he dwells on the fact, the happier he is. He’ll become the embodiment of misery to so many people!

He shakes himself from his trance as he picks out his next target. Just as he focuses in on his next, however, he feels a presence behind him. He swings at the ready, just a second from making the stab, but he thinks better of it.

The person behind him isn’t the sort you find in an MMO, setting, player, or otherwise. Fully dressed in something more closely resembling tactical sci-fi battle armor than anything else, the black suited individual speaks in a voice that betrays a thousand years of purpose spanning across a million realms.

“You kill with purpose,” he starts, “you have hate in you.”

“What’s it to you?” Clark asks, attempting to frame-in the older-sounding man and realizing he’s not just uninspectable, but unselectable — a hacker, maybe?

“I can appreciate an individual that takes charge of himself,” the figure states, gently tapping the assault rifle slung around his side. He offers his hand to shake. “Scribe Ein, O.E.L..”

“O.E.L.?”

Ein scoffs. “Don’t worry about it. You’re here for some real PvP, aren’t you?”

Clark raises a brow as he puts away his blade. “What do you have in mind?”

“Dragon Scythe Online is a game with user interaction unlike any other. The form of the game’s meta shifts based on player skill— it’s a whole new game, not something for the weak of heart. My question to you, Clark Bennett, is do you want to be the first Midnighter on the North American Server?”

The young man draws back. 5L4Y feels truly afraid.

“Hey, man. Are you a hacker or something? I don’t deal with that garbage.”

Scribe Ein shakes his head. “I’m no cheater. DSO is a game beyond everything you’ve ever reckoned. What I would tell you would change everything about how you see the game, and the players within, and I’d hate to have that ruin your experience. DSO is made for the user, after all. So long, and enjoy the game,” Ein says with a nod as he turns about and steps off into the woods.

5L4Y looks to the ground in thought as he tries his hardest to hear Ein’s practically-silent boots stepping along the lush moss.

“Hey,” Clark says, looking up.

Ein stops. “Yes?”

“Show me.”

Ein holds his head high. “I’m having second thoughts myself, young man. Are you sure you’re willing to be the server’s first Midnighter?”

“I guess that depends,” Clark says. “What is it?”

“A unique class,” Ein explains as he turns back to look at the level 3 5L4Y. “Only one exists at any time in the server, and your achievement will be recorded forever. You’ll always be known as the first in North America. Don’t you want that?”

Clark stares forward blankly in thought. “Just what does the class entail?”

Ein scoffs. “Fighting and killing the highest leveled players, NPCs, and mobs in the game. As you can cause actual pain with the realfeel system, you’ll become the most infamous name in online gaming history. I can understand that you wouldn’t be interes-”

“No,” Clark says, his eye twitching ambitiously. “It’s all I want.”

Under his helmet, Ein smiles. “Then answer me this, Clark. Is it better to be feared, or loved?”

Clark assumes direct, deadly eye contact by staring into Ein’s helmet. “People that love you can still treat you like shit, that answer is obvious, man.”

Ein chuckles. “I suppose you’re right. This place can be a world for the strong, and I think you’re just the right man for the job. You see, DSO isn’t just the greatest video game ever made, it’s also the most advanced social experiment ever made. In order to collect accurate data, I have one kicker for you.”

Clark squints intensely. “What’s that?”

“If you accept this class, you won’t be able to log off until you die.”

There’s a pause as the whistles of the woodland bugs buzz through the air.

“I’ve never backed down before. Let’s do this!”