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Forgotten Lands - Chapter 38 (Book 1)
🕑 Added 2024-02-20 11:00:07 +0000 UTCIt didn’t take much effort to exchange contacts with Melanie. She was more than willing to give Zayn her number. Once they finalized that they would meet up to dive into the Tower of Nature later their shopping spree ended rather quickly.
Zayn purchased three Olympus Pods. Their latest model had a Nutrition Solution storage that could support the players for staying online in Forgotten Lands for almost three months. Besides the massive storage, the manufacturer added a safety feature in the event their supply of Nutrition Solutions depleted and the Player couldn’t leave the Gaming Pod for some reason.
If the safety feature triggered, the Olympus Pod would issue a system alert and inform the manufacturer to send authorized professionals to deal with the problem immediately. Hence, the Players wouldn’t be starving to death because of the lack of Nutrition Solutions
Since his mother was always worried about their well-being, Zayn decided to spend three million Credits for each Olympus Pod to integrate the safety feature and an enlarged Nutrition Solution Storage. His mother wouldn’t have to worry too much about them, especially since most virtual gaming pods also function as a Health Cabin with additional Forgotten Lands’ feature.
This was also the reason why some people felt that it was the best idea to lie inside the virtual gaming pod to recover from an injury while enjoying the benefits of playing Forgotten Lands all day round.
“You were lucky that we had three Olympus Pods left. They’re as technologically advanced as the Underworld Pods and cost only a third. But then again, the Underworld Pods have other additional features and look better. If you buy an Underworld Pod, it’s usually for the naughty features and the polished black color,” The salesman said, rubbing his hands in exhilaration. It had been a while since he completed such a big deal.
“Ignore him. The Underworld Pod is the same as the Olympus Pod. At least, that’s what my father said,” Melanie interrupted. She smiled at Zayn and pointed at the displayed model. The specifications of the Olympus Pod were white, and its dimensions were pretty simple. However, it was a little bit bigger than Zayn recalled being 2.8 meters long, 1.7 meters tall, and 2 meters wide with various screens, health monitoring devices, and slots to insert the Nutrition Solutions.
Zayn just smiled at Melanie and thanked the salesman. He gave the salesman his home address to have the gaming pods delivered and paid the fee to have it set up as well.
Melanie received a call from home after they left the shop, and they went their separate ways. She looked a bit sad to part but they would meet soon again in Forgotten Lands.
Zayn checked his phone and saw a message from his father. He sent him the name of the restaurant they went to while he was busy flirting.
His mother had already ordered for everyone when Zayn reached the restaurant. He sat down next to his brothers who shook his excitedly.
“How was your little date?” Percy laughed.
“Our family’s prince saved the damsel in distress. What a heroic young man we have in our little family!” Nicolas added on top.
Zayn cringed but he looked down onto the plate because his parents were staring holes into him as well. He tried to ignore his brothers’ comments, but that was increasingly more difficult once his father and little sister joined the conversation as well.
Meanwhile, his mother asked him who that girl was, how old she was, and what career she pursued.
Zayn could hardly enjoy the luxurious food and he was overjoyed once they returned home where they were already awaited. Zayn didn’t hesitate to approach the company hired to set up the Olympus Pods and led them inside. He busied himself with the workers to avoid his family for the next hour. Afterward, he purchased some well-preserved Low-grade Nutrition Solutions that would last three Olympus Pods for two weeks.
“To remind you again. The Olympus Pod will provide you with as much energy and nutrients as your body requires. The connection will be active at all times and we will be informed once something malfunctions. There is no need to call us. We will be on our way, or already in front of your house, before you realize that something is wrong,” The worker explained to the whole family.
“The Olympus Gaming Pod is capable of stimulating the body’s muscles, preventing the body from weakening even after you play for several days. This specific pod has also been developed to develop the potential of a Player’s brain, as well as restore and enhance your physical fitness. It will feel like you are getting stronger and smarter as you play. Don’t be alarmed by this. It’s normal since you’re indeed getting a little bit stronger. At least, that is what has been noticed over the last few days. Many Players of Forgotten Lands noticed particular changes in their physique and their ability to memorize.”
The last portion of the explanation was related to a particular function of the Gaming Pods. They assimilated a portion of a Player’s portion into their physique even before the Players manifested their Heart Deck in reality.
However, that function was something mankind would find out much later.
Zayn thanked the workers for their timely arrival and their fast and precise work. He gave them a generous tip for their hard work and went to his room, ignoring his family’s curiosity about his encounter with Melanie Zetner.
They wanted to know more, but Zayn was not willing to gossip. It was about time to test out the Olympus Pod and finish the last preparations to dive straight into the Tower of Nature!
Zayn didn’t stay idle and opened the HUD of the Olympus Pod. He entered the pod and lay down comfortably after he inserted the Data Card with his Player information. The Olympus Pod scanned Zayn’s body to verify the information and notified him that he could enter the game on command.
Zayn closed his eyes and entered Forgotten Lands once again. As he entered the game, he felt something sharp – a needle – prick him. The fluids of the Nutrition Solutions were injected intravenously to achieve an immediate effect.
Once Zayn opened his eyes again, he found himself back in Forgotten Lands. However, the difference was tremendous. The rustling leaves and chirping birds sounded hyper-realistic, the fragrant smell of wood and flowers swirled around him and the sensation underfoot was realistic as well.
The synchronization rate of the Advanced VR Helmet had been incredibly high already, however, the realism paled in comparison to the hyper-realistic 97% synchronization rate of the Olympus Pod. It was not yet at 100% but the real deal would happen soon enough once Forgotten Lands turned real.
Zayn willed some Cards into effect while walking around. He unsheathed the Shanyt Axe and executed some simple attacks. His movements were more fluid than before and his senses perceived everything around him, including the minor details he missed before.
‘This will make everything a lot easier.’
The Advanced VR Helmet would have been enough to play Forgotten Lands and earn a fortune, but it was not going to be enough for the tasks that awaited him in the next few months. If it had been possible to buy a Gaming Pod with a 98% sync rate instead of 97%, Zayn would have bought it, even if the price was ten times as heavy. It might not sound like a lot, but one percent could make a difference between life and death.
For others, it might just seem like a game, but Forgotten Lands was an opportunity for Zayn. A golden opportunity to make right what went wrong in his first go against the Primordial Pantheon.
Now that he completed his first medium-sized goal – by purchasing the Olympus Pod – it was about time to spread out his feelers and search for ways to destroy unstable World Bridges, unseal anchored portals, and grow much stronger than he had been in his first go.
‘The Tower of Nature. What do I remember about that old thing?’
If not for Melanie’s invitation, Zayn would have forgotten about the Tower of Nature until news about it would have reached him. Fortunately, his old comrade reminded him, though Melanie was not the same as she had been before.
Now that he recalled the Tower of Nature, and that he was going to raid the dungeon with Melanie, it was about time to remember some details and start preparing.
‘The Tower of Nature is a tower filled with lifeforce. On the outside, it looks like a thin, elongated tower that had been abandoned for centuries. The Arylin Forest’s flourishing greenery covers the entire tower, which is how it was given the name.’ Zayn recalled.
The Tower of Nature was a pretty simple Beginner Dungeon. It had some basic traps, but the biggest challenge was to annihilate the monsters residing inside. The monsters were neither strong nor weak. Their numbers were a hassle but it was possible to deal with them with some teamwork.
The most interesting aspect about the Tower of Nature was that the Tower scanned the Players’ Foundation before they entered – a maximum of 5 Players. The average from all Foundations would be taken as a measurement for the Tower to determine which Monsters it could release to give the Players a valid chance to conquer the dungeon.
At least, that was what would happen for Players who chose the Normal Difficulty before they entered the Tower of Nature. Normal Difficulty had a small chance to drop unique loot such as special weapons, exotic Cards, and Ranked Weapons drastically. However, the probability was close to nil. To have a valid chance to procure high-quality equipment, one would have to pick Hard Difficulty at the very least.
Recalling some special drops from the Tower of Nature and why it had been so popular, Zayn’s eyes widened slightly. He seemed to recall that the Tower of Nature belonged to a Grandmagus, who was also a Researcher and Mad Scientist. He had a large hidden library that could only be entered at the hardest difficulty level of the Tower of Nature.
Once he recalled the hidden library, Zayn knew what he had to do.
He had to conquer the Tower of Nature’s Nightmare Difficulty!
