Authors note: Sorry there was no chapter yesterday i was way to tired to write anything worth reading to be honest. I want to change the pacing of the story soon i feel like we need more excitement and developments. Please comment and rate where ever you see me lacking or feel i should focus. as always thanks for your time and here's today's chapter:

Simphiwe and all the other players are being driven down a long wide drive way. In this world the road is not made of normal tar but rather a special material that seems like rock but is extremely smooth without losing its ability to create friction. The road was a light grey color with holographic lights functioning as lanes and directive signals. Whether it was the signs and lights at intersections or simply large signs on the highway everything in this world which displayed a message was made through holograms.

The buildings to were made with advanced looking material. As Simphiwe got closer to the building he realized that it wasn’t made from any type of concrete or brick but rather from metal. The metal had a very cold and smooth texture to it; the closer you got the more you noticed that it wasn’t grey but rather had blackish tint to it. Combined with the light barely visible white glow of magic that rose from the surface gave the building a strange and impenetrable feeling.

The building had many large windows all over it; some were see-through others were not, and if you were paying close enough attention like Simphiwe had you would even notice some see-through windows becoming blocked out as people entered the rooms inside; whilst others become see-through again as the workers seemingly left. Most people working here were dressed in a type of slim fitting jump suit. The suits were all dark blue with a lighter blue lining were the zips, collars and cuffs were. They had on dark back boots with the bottom part of their jump-suits seemingly tucked under those boots. They had no gloves on the suit except a select few who wore black gloves and were practicing their shooting. The suit ran up at least half their necks with a badge woven onto it that looked like a white eagle and a name-tag over their right chest area. These guys seemed like the foot soldiers.

Then there were those who seemed like commanders. They wore the same type of jump suit but theirs had more things sown onto it. Badges and the like decorated their suits. They also had large white markings on their backs; some were crosses others were circles, and even some fires symbols. These probably indicating their respective groups or squadrons.

Soon they reached the front entrance which had a massive circular road in front of it where all the other roads and cars all came together. Signs indicating that no park was allowed here were plastered all over. If you were looking from a helicopter you would see a large circular road right in front of the building with linear thin building extending from the entrance to the center of the circular road. This building acted as a drop off point for most the soldiers and had a bridge built over it that could be accessed from lifts built into each terminal cars would stop at. This meant that soldiers could get out their cars and walk into the building using the bridge without slowing down or interfering with the cars leaving the entrance.

The outer most lane however was mainly for VIPS. It didn’t connect to the bridge but rather went straight to the large entrance of the building where a busy drop-off point could be seen before it circled out of the place. The players were now being dropped off directly into the entrance through this VIP pathway. The entrance was huge and had a square shaped covering with pillars supporting it. There were many sliding doors leading into the building lining the front portion. From here the type of uniforms seemed to vary even more as there were not only soldiers but what seemed to be office workers.

These office workers wore business suits similar to the ones worn on earth but with no bottoms that Simphiwe could see. Though they had no bottoms Simphiwe could clearly see some people opening and closing their blazers which were held perfectly in place by whatever they were using. He noticed that there were no watches and no bags or phones being carried around; though once again he also saw people talking into a strange light that would appear over their mouths.

Driver: “This is our drop-off point; inspections will happen once you get into the compound and your guides will be waiting for you once your inside. We’ve placed magic markers on all of you for security and convenience so your guides will immediately know once you have arrived and the doors that you are allowed access to will open once you get close enough and press the open bottom. Your orientation will be handled inside, once again it’s been a pleasure to serve you all and good luck.”

All the players thanked the driver and climbed out the car.

Jeff: “Looks like the door to the far left is ours, that’s about the closest one” said one of the guys Simphiwe’s been talking to.

Simphiwe: “Feels weird that we’re all wearing casual clothes whilst everyone else is dressed so formally.”

Mark: “Ha, don’t get to attached to those pants, check the schedule they gave us it says we’re going to be getting our uniforms during this orientation.”

Silvia: “Oh wow you actually read that thing, Mark I’m impressed you don’t look like the type hey.”

Mark: “What type? I’m a real serious man you know. I hate wasting time and take everything in my life seriously, work, games and bedroom play.” Mark added with a wink.

Silvia: “Ahhh damn once again I judged you too soon, sorry Mr. workaholic-perv I’ll hold back from now on.”

Simphiwe and Jeff started laughing at Marks point blank rejection.

Simphiwe: “But this place is pretty cool hey, I really can’t seem to get enough of these graphics.”

Jeff: “Same here, the dull grey colors really make you feel… kind of squashed, and the atmosphere is really busy and heavy, but it really suits a military base.”

Mark: “Really can’t give the developers enough credit for this. I’ve been for only about an hour and it feels so insanely real, I’m glad I’m on the beta this game is going to blow up real fast once its realized.”

Silvia: “Yeah, even the people in this place feel so real, its unnerving actually…”

Silvia had a similar appearance to her name, she was silver, she said she found the Citomols, the race she choose very interesting as they were a type off reptile like aliens. Everyone was confident that she was a woman as the game didn’t allow you to change gender. The developers said it would conflict to much with your real body. She wore a white tank top, and silvery skin that had extremely small scales giving her a smooth but also soft appearance. She also wore long black pants and blue sneakers. She had a young looking face with slightly puffy checks and small soft lips that were a bit whiter in comparison to her skin. Her nose was petite and in good proportion with her face and she had beautifully blue eyes with white hair for her eyebrows. Her head had similarly white hair that was tied back in a ponytail and reached down to her shoulder blades. She had a curvy body with wide hips and a well-endowed chest, but she wasn’t fat as her waist was slim and had signs of muscle on it. All in all, she was a stunning beauty so long as you didn’t mind her racial traits which might have even made her look more erotic to some.

Mark was a large man with broad shoulders and a muscular figure. He was a human with a light brown tan and a military haircut. He wore a tight grey shirt with jeans and white shoes. He had an average face but with a strong jaw and muscular features. His nose was quite large but only seemed to emphasize his stature and strength. He had dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes.

Jeff was an average sized person. Race was of mutated human as he described. He was a skinny guy with pale skin and wore a blue open hoody, red top and jeans with black Tommy's (a type of shoe). He had a nerdy face with a pointy nose and brown hair and eyes.

Simphiwe seemed the most fittingly dressed of the group. He wore a collared shirt buttoned up to the top and suit pants with formal shoes. Dr. Konrad had given him these clothes saying that what he was wearing before was to inappropriate.

The inside was just as big as the outside; the ceiling was high and the interior looked organized but still clustered despite its size. There were rows of personnel going through inspection and signing into work. Simphiwe felt that this place really took security seriously. Each one of the four walked through a scanner that released a red light. They were asked some minor questions and directed to a corridor of the left. They entered the walkway and found a man and a woman who greeted them and asked them to follow.

It had been many months since Thabo had been stuck inside the golden vault that created his vacuum prison. From the outside if you were to look at the scene you would only notice a strange ghostly figure flickering in and out of existence. There Thabo floated in the middle of the vacuum not even able to make a sound nor move. His meditation continued by didn’t seem to make much progress.

*Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus* *Focus*

I feel like I’m playing a ridiculously sensitive game. Every thought seems to affect this little point in my soul. If I get frustrated it will seemingly vibrate; if I’m too happy or energetic, which is rare, it will release to much energy and feel hot; if I’m too stimulated with dirty thoughts it seems to hum in a low repulsive way that seems to crawl all over you; if I get tired it will fade and lose contact with me; only when I’m absolutely calm will I be able to hold onto this ‘heart’ of mine. The test however is not that easy, I need to hold onto it for an unknown amount of time with complete and utter focus. Right now is my maybe one hundredth try and I’ve been holding it for 3 days straight. Every mistake I make will reset my work.

4 hours later…

The hardest part about this is blocking out unnecessary thoughts; as a normal human we’re prone to let our minds wonder and usually our emotions will follow.

One day later…

Patient is a virtue. Clear mind clear heart. *Breath in* hold… *Breath out*

2 days later…

The goal is in sight… just believe.

3 days later…

Just do, don’t think, don’t feel, just be, calm undaunted-

1 week later…

There is no obstacle that one cannot overcome with hard work and dedication.

2 weeks later…

My soul is becoming more clear and focused. I’ve realized the trick to this test. I need to hold on till my soul becomes fully focused but that’s not all. It’s practically impossible to feel nothing for all of eternity so I need to allow myself to feel within certain boundaries. That way I’m not so constricted but don’t lose control over my heart…

1 month later…

I’m almost there, I’ll breakthrough in another week.

2 months later…

Damn progress is slowing as I advance. I realize now the true function of the heart. Just like in our bodies the [true heart] of the soul controls flow. It seems that my soul was all murky not because I couldn’t focus it properly but because my flow was pathetic and clustered. Now my circuits, which are the souls blood vessels that carry energy around, are much more visible and defined. Parts of my soul which were difficult to funnel energy towards are now well supplied. And I feel my magic circulation speed has improved by leaps and bounds.

3 months later…

……………………………………………………………………………………………………. huh?...............This is strange. I’m oddly calm. It feels like I’m in a deep sleep but am still very attentive to my surroundings……. huh…. I think I’m done…………. My soul is clear of most the muck that was blocking it. This feels strange, lets rest a bit before I continue with the next soul point.