Chapter – 1

18 months later....

“Say Aah!” (Alicia King)

“What am I!? An 8-year-old?” (Alexander King)

“But Alex, Mommy wants to feed you!” (Alicia)

“What’s wrong with you?” (Alex)

“But Mommy has been busy and she wants to feed her little boy!” (Alicia)

“Who are you and what have you done to my cool mother!” (Alex)

After the accident and the corresponding surgery, Alex had been told, by his doctor that he was paralyzed. The accident had affected his spinal cord and he had been lucky to only be paralyzed. The doctor had also said to not lose hope. He mentioned that maybe in five years it would be possible to start healing him. Till then, he had to live with being paralyzed and stuck in bed.

However, it had not been all that bad. After being released from the hospital 6 months later, he had practically lived in ‘Virtual Space’. He became a guinea pig for his father’s 99% Realism Project. The reason his father had left it at '99%' was because '100%' realism would mean the removal of things like 'Status Windows'.

He didn’t hate it. For one thing, he got paid for it as he did actual product testing. Another benefit was that in the 'Space' he was no longer paralyzed. He could run, jump, and fall. He also regularly played the VR games. He met up with the five elders in-game and informed them of his current state. What had surprised him was they actually came to visit him in real life! Some of them lived really far away, yet had made the effort to visit their (now crippled) Guild Master.

Another change that had occurred had to do with his sister and Hayley. Before the incident, Hayley and his sister had been really close friends. Hayley had come to visit regularly, almost breaking down and crying the first few times. However, his sister was very hostile to her, mostly because she believed Hayley to be at fault for her brother's accident. The hostility didn't last too long and had been resolved in a cat fight which ended with a lot of sobbing and apologizing.

Hayley and Alex had become closer over the past months. They hadn't started dating yet, but Alex was planning to ask her out but kept putting it off. A big change that happened was that everyone in his family and Hayley had jumped into VR games, something most of them were unfamiliar with, just to spend time with him.

Sophia had become 'nicer' to Alex. "Probably realized the 'mortality' of her twin", Alex had reasoned. She had also become addicted to VR games after she started playing them. Her fans had quickly caught onto this fact and had tried to find her in these games.

Marcus hadn't changed. He visited Alex more often but had behaved the same, joking with him and encouraging him to watch 'forbidden' videos. Alex was grateful to Marcus for being the same, and not treating him differently out of pity or sympathy.

The weirdest transformation had been that of his mother. The 'cool' and collected businesswoman had turned into the extremely loving and caring mother of two. Both Alex and Sophia were uncomfortable with the transformation of their mother. Alex's father was indifferent to the change like he knew exactly what it was about. And that's how we come to the present situation of Alex's mother trying to spoon-feed Alex.

"Mom, it's fine. I can do it my....*sigh*...fine." (Alex)

"Say Aah!" (Alicia)

"If you don't stop with the weird voice, I'm going to ask Soph to feed me, Mom." (Alex)

"Fine. Here." (Alicia)

"So, how's the development coming along?" (Alex)

"Well, you should know better than I do, seeing as how you beta-tested most of Mundus." (Alicia)

"Hey! Whatcha guys talking about?" (Sophia King)

"Wait wait! Is it about that chi-" (Marcus Healy)

Sophia and Marcus barged into Alex's room as Alex and his Mom were discussing the development of the game that Ouroboros was working on.

"EHEM! We were talking about Novus Mundus." (Alex)

"Oh! When is the game going to be released?" (Marcus)

"Hehe! I am soo excited about that!" (Sophia)

"Well, we are planning to release it in about 2 months after announcing it day after tomorrow." (Alicia)

"Wow! I can't wait!" (Sophia)

"Novus Mundus! 'New World' is kinda a bold name, Mrs. K" (Marcus)

"Well, I've personally been in there. 'New World' is kinda an understatement." (Alex)

"Is that so? Hmm....So Guild Master, what's the verdict?" (Marcus)

"Chaos!" said Alex with an evil grin on his face.

2036 CE, April 11

On this day, Ouroboros announced the release date of Novus Mundus, a game that changed the face of VRMMORPGs. A beta test was not announced for the public to access. According to sources, the company had beta tested the game through private contracts. However, due to the reputation and power that stood behind the game makers, no one doubted their claims of 99% realism. Touch and Smell, two of the senses that had been the bane of VR game makers worldwide had been finally conquered by the researchers at King Technologies. The world waited in anticipation for the release of what could be one of the greatest games of the decade.

2 months later.....

2036 CE, June 11

Alex was carefully lifted into his VR Capsule by his sister and Marcus. From today onwards, Alex was more or less leaving the real world. His father had his capsule specially crafted for him which was also integrated with a life support system which would last for at least a year before being 'refueled'. This didn't mean that Alex wouldn't be able to come back to the real world. If he chose to he could return anytime he wanted. However, he preferred staying in a world where he could actually move. It had taken his father over a year to perfect the VR system to suit Alex's needs.

Alex was feeling extremely nervous and excited as he laid down in his capsule. Marcus grinned at him, "Happy Birthday, you lucky sucker! These things are bloody expensive, you know? Even if I got a 'King Family Discount' which I had to pay for with se-" Sophia elbowed him, "Shut up! Anyway, happy birthday bro, see you soon!" With that, the both of them scampered off.

Alex's father frowned while looking at their fleeing figures. He sighed, "Well, happy birthday kiddo, enjoy my creation!" Alicia smiled, "Happy birthday Alex, we'll see you in the game as soon as possible alright?" Then they too fled in excitement and anticipation of playing the game.

"*Sigh* So much for that. [Capsule On!]" (Alex)

The capsule lid shut on Alex, he felt blackness and then....

Welcome to Novus Mundus

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Hello! This is the author speaking! I know I've been quiet so far......I'm very shy and insecure in my own work...so I just decided to let people read first and talk with them later. Now this 'story' is part of a project I am working on for a class in college. There you have it, two dangerous words- college and project. DON'T WORRY!

I plan to write this story for some time. However, I cannot guarantee regular updates. That depends on what inspiration I get and how much time I can invest. Now, I know some of you have actually read this, so I am hoping that you, at least, comment a bit on this story or this chapter. I NEED feedback. I want to improve my skills so I can give you guys a better story. But please, I am a little insecure, don't be too harsh. :-P

Adios! Ciao! Alvida!

Author out!