Having carefully made his way back to his bunker, Doug Carlton threw the heavy backpack off of his shoulder and emptied the contents onto his countertop.
Dang it! More beans!
Doug shook his head in annoyance. All that effort for just a few measly cans of dark red kidney beans. He hated kidney beans! No matter what way he cooked them, they always caused him bloating and cramps. And the cramping was even worse when he'd tried in the past to eat them straight out of the can. It was one of the worst possible meals to eat prior to joining an in-game raid. After all, what else can you do when you're trapped for weeks on end in a cramped underground bunker? Especially when the only TV broadcasts are all just a bunch of religious fanatics touting that it's the end of the world.
He'd have to figure out a way to get his hands on a better variety of food from that stash in the park. But that'd have to wait until later. He was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to dive back into the game. He knew he had one last can of corn in the pantry, so that'd have to be a sufficient meal for now.
As he opened the can, his thoughts returned to Brittany. He kicked himself constantly for not looking for her inside that police station when he had the chance to save her life. Never before had he felt such a connection with a woman, and now she was gone. No doubt she got incinerated by the blue bolts of lightning in that freak storm like all the thousands of other people who disappeared. If only he hadn't been such a coward!
There was one thing for sure that seemed to coincide with all of the disappearances. For weeks he dug through the Conquest gaming forums for answers. It seemed that the only gamers to survive the storm were the few who either were too paranoid to get the augmented reality surgical implants like Doug was, or were among those who were unable to afford the expensive surgery so they were limited to using old-school virtual reality (VR) methods to play. Either way, it seemed suspicious that not a single person who underwent the surgery survived the freak storm.
After wolfing down the can of corn, Doug plopped down on the sofa and strapped on his VR headset and pulled on his haptic gloves. The game loaded with the familiar chime with the CyberBolt Entertainment logo, followed by the Conquest game logo hovering in mid-air with the opening music. His character sheet appeared on screen, and he did a double-take.
Conquest: Player Stats
Name | @Andrex
Class | Warrior
Level | 1
Experience | 0
XP to next level | 50
HP | 100/100
Mana | 100/100
Strength | Total: 1 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 0 | Bonuses: 0
Agility | Total: 1 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 0 | Bonuses: 0
Stamina | Total: 1 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 0 | Bonuses: 0
Intelligence | Total: 1 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 0 | Bonuses: 0
Willpower | Total: 1 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 0 | Bonuses: 0
WTF?! Where are my stats?!
Doug stared incredulously at the screen, hoping it was a glitch of some sort that was delaying the response time of the server. But the beginner-level stats remained. He pulled the visor off of his eyes and held down the reset button on the side of the unit.
There. That should do it.
He strapped the headset back on and watched the unit reboot.
C:>CyberBolt.exe_
A string of coding sped across the screen. Moments later a familiar chime with the CyberBolt Entertainment logo appeared once again followed by the music-box like hymn of Conquest with its accompanying logo. After a brief moment, the game's logo disappeared and was replaced by a message:
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MMO | PVP
He selected MMO and checked the "Save this setting" box below it. Once again he pulled up his character sheet. It was still showing him at a beginner level.
Seriously?! What gives?
In frustration he swiped away the stats and took in the beautiful landscape of Conquest. He sighed in dismay, and shrugged his shoulders. It really sucked to have to start all over again, considering he had attained Level 52 already. He'd have to file a complaint with CyberBolt customer service later.
I guess worse case, I get to see how quickly I can Level Up again.
The Level 1 player attire was obnoxious. Just a mere loincloth hanging around his waist, barely enough to cover his privates. And the primitive spear was hardly much of a weapon. He'd have to find some armor and better weaponry ASAP.
Doug clutched the spear's shaft tight and looked around at the serene lay of the land. The realistic nature of Conquest was so different from his current reality in the dimly lit bunker that the game made him feel as though he had entered a secret portal into a brilliant new world full of colors. The green mountains, the thick canopy of a large swathe of trees that stretched for leagues on one side and the grasslands sloping down the other, the muddy roads — everything reminded him of movies he had seen about alternate universes. Every time he logged in he felt enamored by the game's beauty and detail. The euphoria was addictive.
It was calm and relaxing, whereas real life on the outside since the storm had become downright unbearable and borderline apocalyptic. He desperately needed a way to escape reality, and he wasn't alone. There were many other gamers like himself that needed the escape into Conquest, an addictive game unlike any other.
Suddenly a familiar squeak erupted and a four-legged creature covered in fur lunged forward with its claws.
Threat Detected: Level 1 Rabbid
HP| 100/100
Strengths: These small rabbit-like creatures are rabid and can inflict an Instant Kill to lower-level players by biting them.
Weaknesses: Unknown
Doug reacted instinctively, catching the small creature in mid-air by launching the spear in the direction of the sound and skewering it with his spear.
Impale: Easy
Instant Kill [+5 HP]
Skill Unlocked: Impale
Delivers an Instant Kill when in close range. Chances of longer range accuracy are 25%. Greater chances for Instant Kill increase with higher levels. Requirements: Level > 1, Agility > 1, Stamina > 1, Intelligence > 1
"Nice catch!" a voice said, coming up from behind.
He turned and saw the avatar of another player approach, also wearing a mere loincloth.
"Thanks." Doug said immediately sizing up the new arrival, "Are you a noob, or did your avatar reset back to beginner level too?"
"Yeah." He shrugged, "It's all over the forums. Rumor has it there was some kind of server crash, so all players have been relegated back to beginner level."
"Wow." Doug shook his head incredulously, "Are they going to be able to fix it?"
"I doubt it." the man sighed, "From what I've read on the comms, CyberBolt came forward with an official statement about an hour ago and lot of players are pissed."
"What did the statement say?"
"It should be in the alerts section on your HUD." he shrugged.
Doug toggled through the HUD settings and saw a red indicator with an alert message. He clicked on it, and his screen filled with the official statement.
A message from CyberBolt Entertainment Inc.:
We apologize for any inconvenience this server disruption may have caused you. Our programmers will continue to try and pinpoint the reason behind this data loss 24/7. We can’t guarantee when lost player data will be recovered. For now, please enjoy 1,000 credits to spend as you please in CyberBolt Virtual Store. Thank you for your patience.
"That doesn't sound very promising." Doug scoffed.
"No, it doesn't." the player agreed and held out his hand, "I’m Jacob."
“Doug.” he shook his hand, “But just call me Andrex, my gamer tag.”
Doug saw his gamer tag @JacobtheArcher in his NeuReality HUD.
"Jacob the Archer, huh?" Doug teasing him on his gamer nickname, "Where are your arrows? You’re no good as an archer without them, are you?"
"Yeah, I suppose not," Jacob sighed with despair in his voice. "It's just... what's the point? We lost everything. All those hours of grinding and for what?"
Doug patted him on the back. "I get it, man. It sucks. But we can't alter the events. All we can do is restart, and see what happens."
Jacob shook his head. "It's not that simple. We were both so highly leveled. But we’re at the beginning again. It's demotivating."
Doug chuckled lightly. "Well, I guess we need to get creative. Experiment with new techniques, move into new zones of the game, establish new relationships with others."
Jacob's face remained grim. "Sure, easier said than done. Let’s give up and start playing something else."
Doug frowned. "Come on, Jacob. Don't give up just yet. We can do this."
Jacob's eyes narrowed. "What's the point? Even if we manage to recover where we started, who is to say that the game won’t crash again and wipe us out? It's not worth the risk."
Doug hesitated, unsure how to answer Jacob’s negativity. "I... I don't know. Maybe you're right. But we will never know unless we try."
Jacob sighed again. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just frustrating, you know? But ok, let’s try it. See where it takes us."
"That’s the spirit." Doug smiled: "Let's go kill some monsters, okay?"
? Copyright 2023 R.M. Mulder. All rights reserved.
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