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HC:Pacifist | Ch. 2 - Welcome to AstroTerra
🕑 Added 2023-04-24 15:35:12 +0000 UTCRoth opened his eyes. He was hovering in a dark space. He looked at his hands and tried to move them. Amazing. Other than the ridiculous setting of floating in outer space, he couldn’t tell he wasn’t in the real world. This was an unprecedented level of realism. It was a pleasant feeling, as much as Roth didn’t want to admit it. What boy doesn’t dream of becoming an explorer, an astronaut, or seeing another world? Humanity achieved this through augmented virtual reality.
System Calibrating 15%, 28%...
From what he could tell, the technology of the gaming pods hadn’t changed much since the last time he'd used them. Every time a player entered a new gaming pod, it took time for the system to measure all the biometrics and calibrate. This ensured the best possible gaming experience. Roth tried to imagine the capsule gel slowly adjusting to his body and an IV being painlessly inserted in his arm so that nutrients would go in and his blood could also be cleaned. Of course, that was all he could do. Imagine it. When one was in the gaming pod, it connected directly to the human nervous system. All motor commands were blocked. If one sent the mental command for the arm to move, the gaming pod intercepted it and sent it into the simulated avatar rather than the actual body. Conversely, as the IV pierced his skin, the system intercepted the feeling of pain, and the brain didn’t register it.
Calibration was an important step, especially for hardcore gamers. Games that relied heavily on motor skills were widely popular. The slightest discrepancy could result in a sword being swung too short or a step too long. That was all it took to lose a fight in competitive gaming. Roth remembered with some frustration that this had been one of the few things he hadn’t liked about New Earth. The system often deviated, and he had to fine-tune it every time he PvP'd. It was a pain in the neck. He hoped that they had fixed it in this game. Well, not that he was thinking of doing any PvPing.
Calibration complete.
The stark black became slightly illuminated by increasingly brighter points of light. Stars, he realized. Nothing happened for a while. Roth tried to look up and down to get a 360-degree view. Finally, below him, he spotted a beautiful blue and green gem amid the dark space: Earth. A loud, thundering voice spoke up as soon as he saw his home planet.
“Welcome… to AstroTerra.”
Roth took a moment to think that, since this was outer space, it made no sense that he could hear a voice. It was not logical that he could be floating in outer space without a mask or space suit, though. Oh well. It’s just a game, he thought.
A meteor swooshed over his head. It was ugly, alien, and massive. It menacingly accelerated toward the planet. As planetary defenses were engaged, blasts of energy targeted it. The explosions he saw as the barrage made contact with the meteor shook him. What firepower.
So this means, thought Roth, that the game is in some futuristic setting. I have been in prison for four years, but I am pretty sure we don’t have a planetary defense system.
The powerful energy beams and canon shots didn’t slow the meteor down. The shooting intensified. Rounds upon rounds of shattering shots were fired until the meteor finally gave, cracked, and broke into many smaller pieces. Although much of the meteor was no longer on a collision course with Earth, the smaller meteorites started entering the planet’s atmosphere. They became little streaks of fire showering the planet.
“This was the day that fire rained down from heaven.” Without realizing it, a woman had come to his side and admired the destructive scene alongside him. She was a blonde woman, shorter than he was. She looked ahead and beyond as if she could see everything happening on Earth as if it were right in front of her. Roth realized it had been four years since he had seen a woman.
“The fire rain changed everything. First, we discovered that none of our technology worked as well as it used to. Our cities’ defense shields, jets, tanks, computers, satellites, and submarines… all became obsolete and worthless. Our robots, who served us, became crazy and turned on us. Then, sightings of alien monsters and strange creatures began. Reports of war and burning cities followed. The animals started speaking and developing mutations. We thought that animals would help us defend our planet, but we had mistreated our fellow earthly creatures for too long. They refused to assist us. Finally, in our direst straits, our potential awoke.”
Roth felt vertigo in his stomach as he fell at an incredible, impossible speed toward the planet's surface. He couldn’t stop marveling at the realism of this virtual reality. It was incredible.
“Our children started to show incredible abilities. Super-human strength. Incredible speed. Telekinesis. Energy blasts.” The cinematic went about showing humans performing different feats. Roth understood from his previous gaming experience that this was an introduction to the different classes available to be played in the game. He first saw a big, burly man wearing a metal shield and a hammer. He hit a robot’s arm and broke it into bits. He guessed this was the warrior class. Then he saw someone appear and disappear as if teleporting, then slice another of the robot’s arms in half. He guessed that this was some rogue or thief class. A scene followed where a woman made rocks on the ground levitate and projected them against the machine, causing holes in its fuselage. Maybe some esper class? The video showed someone helping others recover from injuries and forming energy shields around them to protect them. This would be the healer class.
“The rock that fell from space... We now call it Astro. It changed us. It changed everything. We later found out that the rock was made of congealed reality. The elements of creation fractured when the impact occurred, and now the world is divided. Maybe one day we will again unite reality and bring peace to the planet.”
Cool storyline, thought Roth. It was a bit different from the usual fantasy setting. It was a mix of sci-fi and fantasy. The storyline involved mutated animals, aliens, and superpowers. It differed slightly from the MMORPG he had played before going to jail. New Earth was in a medieval fantasy setting. His interest peaked, but soon he forced his excitement to cool.
His aggressiveness had been greatly fueled and sharpened in the previous game he played. He had dulled that blade and buried that part of him. After all his effort, he didn’t want to bring his dark side back or make the same mistakes again. The words Wilson spoke to him in the car echoed in his mind. His mother didn’t want to see him. He felt moisture on his face. Touching it, he found out there were tears. Even in this moment of sadness, he was once again astounded by the quality of this game. Four years ago, you couldn’t cry inside a game. The science involved was too complicated. They had worked that out!
“Welcome to AstroTerra. In this time when we’re so alone, we thank you for being willing to fight evil and make humanity prosper again.”
The blonde woman stared blankly at him. He stared back. She felt like a real person. For a moment, Roth wondered if it was a human actress that they had hired to welcome all the players. But that was nonsense.
“Please ask any questions you may have. I will do my best to respond to them,” she prompted after a few more moments of awkward silence.
“Oh, hi. My name is Roth. What’s yours?”
“My name is Prima. I am the AI responsible for guiding new players. Nice to meet you.”
Wow. After all, it was an AI, but this didn’t feel like it was scripted. The artificial intelligence was so advanced that it was responding to him.
“Let’s see. My first question is: is this a violent game? I don’t like violence,” he said, hesitating, “not anymore.”
“Hmmm. This game is a bit like real life. It is as violent as you want it to be. You can very well spend all your playing hours on the battlefield. On the other hand, some players prefer to be peaceful craftsmen who contribute to the world’s economy and avoid battles. In theory, you could play the game and never once hurt another living soul.”
Roth was interested. He didn’t have a job yet. He was given some pocket money after he left jail to get by for a few days, but it was a meager amount. If he didn’t find work soon, he would starve. Wilson had already paid for the pod. Nowadays, the economy was inseparable from the gaming industry. He might make a decent living by crafting inside the game. Since he was here, it didn’t hurt to check it out.
“Oh, OK. What kind of crafting skills are there? Are there any classes specific to crafting?”
“In AstroTerra, your character’s class differs from your crafting profession. None of the basic starting classes provide any special bonuses for crafting. As for crafting, there are many professions inside the game. You have carpenters, blacksmiths, jewelers, tinkerers, technomancers, cooks, and chemists. These are the most common ones. But there are other super rare ones. It will be up to you to find them out.”
So none of the starting classes provided bonuses to craftsmen. Did that mean that other classes did?
“OK. How many classes are there?”
“There are four basic ones. Warrior, rogue, esper, and support. Each of them can branch out into different ones. Legend says there might be some hidden or unique classes if you search hard enough.”
“How many crafting professions can I have?”
“You can have two crafting professions at a time. No more than that.”
Interesting. Growing up, Roth did a lot of the work around the house. In prison, they also had some trade classes that kept them busy. Some of the things they made in the prison's workshops were sold, and the profits were given to charity. He had found unexpected joy in working with his hands. Perhaps there might be a path for him in this virtual world. If things worked out, he would have to thank Wilson.
“Do I have to choose my class now?”
“No. You can only choose a class at level 10. In theory, you can go the whole game without a class, too, if that’s what you want.”
“OK! Thank you, Prima.”
“Will that be all? Any further questions?”
After some thought, Roth shook his head, signaling he didn’t have any more questions he wanted to ask.
“I will send you on your way now. Enjoy AstroTerra.”
Roth was transported again to the dark space among the stars. He could see planet Earth from afar again. A series of windows appeared in front of him.
“Please select your character’s name.”
“Roth.” After some thought, he changed his mind. “I mean, let’s do Pax.” If he did make a living as a craftsman inside the game, it would be better not to give his real name. He would tell Wilson later.
“Please choose your physical features.”
Roth just selected random and was shown an appearance not too different from his real one. He still looked well-built, but his nose looked smaller, and his eyes were blue instead of brown. He didn’t mind it. A character window appeared next to his avatar.
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Pax
Race: Human
Level: 0 (0/100)
Affinity: [Empty]
Alignment: Neutral
Relationships: [Empty]
Titles: [Empty]
STATS
Hp:105
Energy:105
Weight: [Light] - (2/30Kg)
Running Speed: 100%
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
EQUIPMENT
Head: [Beginner's Hat]
Top: [Beginner's Jacket]
Right Hand:[Empty]
Left hand: [Empty]
Gloves: [Empty]
Bottom: [Beginner's Trousers]
Shoes: [Beginner's Shoes]
Cape: [Empty]
Accessories: [Empty]
SKILLS:
Stat Bonuses: [Empty]
Passive: [Empty]
Active: [Empty]
He was such a noob. It was sad to look at.
“Would you like to start your journey at a random starting point?”
“No, I would like to start in Greenfield Village.”
The darkness erupted into pure light. Roth remembered how earlier he had felt similar when he had left the darkness of prison and made it out into the bright sunlight. As his eyes adjusted, he looked around. He was in a beautiful village. The sky was blue, and the air felt warm and comfortable. But he wasn’t alone.
