September 19th, 2027
"This is amazing, huh?"
I didn't think it would be possible, but the Amusphere II had actually managed to top its predecessor's incredible level of immersion. The visuals, the audio, and, of course, the sense of touch, seemed to all be perfectly refined. For once, the virtual world was indistinguishable from the real one. I breathed in deeply through my nose, taking in the smell of the landscape around me. Off to my left, the smell of warm bread wafted outward through the chimney of the bakery. There was a sweet scent of flowers as well.
I felt like I could sit there forever and just take everything in. It was strange, really; flowers, grass…these are all things that we have plenty of in the real world, yet, for some reason, those scents and sights in a virtual environment just seemed to be so much more enticing. I gazed up at the sky, an azure expanse dotted with lazily floating clouds. All around me, people chatted and laughed alongside their friends. This was truly a paradise. I'd been playing this game for a month now, but it just never seemed to really sink in.
"Damn," I groaned, "if I didn't have to worry about keeping the boss off my ass, I might just stay here forever." I forced myself to my feet. This world was a gorgeous place, but I hadn't come here to sit around and enjoy the scenery. I'd come to investigate the game itself: the beautiful and long-awaited Blade Vale Online, the first VRMMORPG to be released on the brand-new Amusphere II.
Ezra, my friend and party member, just laughed at me. "You must really be passionate about games, huh? I mean, this isn't that impressive. Not to me, anyway. That might just be because I'm not familiar with just how much work goes into all this stuff." Ezra brushed the grass and leaves off his robe. With a flick of his finger, he opened the menu and pulled up the quest journal. "We've still got to take down that field boss, you know."
"Yeah, yeah," I said, stretching myself out. "We've avoided it for too long. I just don't feel like dying to that stupid thing and losing my precious XP." I opened the character window. Only 3,700 more experience points to level 25. Taking down the giant wolf boss wouldn't be easy, but the XP and loot we'd obtain through killing it made the prospect irresistible. Dying to it, however, would mean the same death penalties as usual: the loss of two thirds of the experience points you'd accumulated that level, as well as a small sum of gold. The thought of in-game death on my mind, I couldn't help but be reminded of the terrifying Sword Art Online incident. A game where virtual death meant real death made the hefty death penalties of Blade Vale look like nothing.
Ever since that infamous game released in 2022, very few VRMMOs had actually received mainstream attention due to the stigma surrounding the genre and its potential dangers. In fact, that stigma is the reason the Amusphere line of products came to exist in the first place. Designed with safety as its first and foremost priority, the Amusphere and its successor tried to cash in on the fears of consumers who wanted a virtual reality experience but feared the possibility of another SAO-like death game. The sensory information sent to the brain by the original Amusphere was said to have paled in comparison to the experience created by the original NerveGear. After the first few tens of thousands of the NerveGear units shipped and the SAO incident began, however, they were recalled and outlawed. I never thought that a product so focused on the safety of the user like the Amusphere would be able to create a perfect virtual reality experience. My experience with the Amusphere II over the past month had proven me wrong.
You see, online games are both my passion and career. I work (or worked, anyway) for a San Francisco-based game development studio called Event Horizon. In recent months, we've been looking to expand into the realm of virtual reality. For the past month or so, I was to continuously log into Blade Vale Online and report the state of the game's activity and community, as well as study the game's mechanics as potential inspiration for a title of our own. That day, September 19th, marked the 27th day of my investigation.
For now, it was time to get moving. This was the mountain village of Aurus, high in the foothills of the northern mountains. From here, a glance southward would reveal almost the entirety of the continent's southern portion in all its glory: bustling cities, rolling hills, sprawling plains, lush forests, and craggy peaks. That would come later, though. Quests and the like would have me staying in this town for a while. I certainly wasn't complaining. Aurus was a paradise tucked within the peaks and slopes of the mountains, not unlike the legends of Shambhala and Shangri-La.
The boss we were hunting was the Dire Wolf Lord, a giant wolf who took up residence at the top of a hill in a clearing near the middle of the nearby woods. Local hunters had been having some serious trouble with the wolf, as its presence meant an increased presence of standard dire wolves as well. Taking it down would kill the boss permanently: in Blade Vale, the persistent world meant that a dead field boss would never return to life. This function of the game, like many others, was controlled by the Cardinal system originally developed by Japanese game developer and criminal genius Kayaba Akihiko. The system operates independently to manage and control almost every aspect of games that have integrated it. It was perhaps the most important part of the World Seed package developed by Kayaba and released to the public in the months after the SAO incident ended. In the world of Blade Vale Online, the system could endlessly generate new bosses and quests for players, as well as modify the game world to respond to the results of certain quests or player interactions.
Ezra and I reached the forest clearing after about twenty minutes. Before us stood the wolf's hill, a truly fearsome sight. Surrounded by twisted, rotting trees and piles of bones, the hill rose to a large, flattened area; clearly where the fight was intended to take place. At the other side of the raised area was the entrance to a dark cave. Anyone could guess what would happen once someone stepped onto the hill. We were stupid enough to try it. It was why we'd come, after all.
"Alright, Cyril," Ezra said to me, "this is it. Let's give it our best, shot." I nodded, and together we began the ascent to the top of the hill. It wasn't a very long walk. By my estimation, the top of the hill was an increase of no more than fifty feet in elevation. However, in that short time, the change in the landscape was drastic. The forest of coniferous trees and thick brush gave way to a much more desolate biome. Aside from the rough grass, there was nothing living here. Dead trees dotted the edges of the hill. And there, directly in front of us, perhaps two hundred feet away, was the giant den that no doubt housed the Dire Wolf Lord.
"So…do we just wait for it to come out?" I asked. Nothing seemed to be happening. Of course, I knew better than to let my guard down. A player who isn't ready to respond defensively at a moment's notice is, for all intents and purposes, a dead player. For a few moments, the air remained calm. Then, all at once, the battle began.
A loud roar and a gust of air signaled the boss's approach. In less than a second, the massive Dire Wolf Lord's form appeared from its hollow, charging directly at us. The beast had to have been at least two and a half meters tall, and far longer. As it continued its rapid approach, I took note of the size of its claws and fangs, natural weapons that could mercilessly destroy flesh, bone, and the steel of armor and shields. Being the sword and shield user of our duo, it would be my job to tank, or absorb and defend against the boss's attacks so that others could deal damage more effectively. In this case, there was only one damage dealer: Ezra.
With quick reflexes, I drew my weapons, preparing my shield arm for the impact of the first attack. The claws of the massive wolf struck like an oncoming train, knocking me backwards and breaking my defensive stance. The damage to my avatar, however, was minimal. As long as I could continue blocking these attacks, we'd be able to succeed.
I ran back in, swiping at the wolf's front legs to draw its aggression away from Ezra, whose barrage of spells was beginning. As I prepared to block another swipe, a storm of tiny icicles struck the boss's head and shoulder, momentarily stunning it and creating a window for me to perform an arcing upward slash at its face. This instance of damage forced the boss to stumble backwards, giving me an opportunity to attack a few more times before being forced to take up my defensive posture once more.
In the first few seconds, our performance had been impeccable, but the difficulty in defeating this foe wouldn't lie solely in our execution. The fight would be long. So long that we risked running out of stamina and mana before being able to reduce the boss's HP to zero. If that were to happen, we'd be completely defenseless. So the question was not whether or not we'd be able to defeat the boss, but whether or not we'd be able to defeat it before running out of resources.
Already, I began to fear for the worst. Our attacks barely seemed to scratch the Dire Wolf Lord's four HP gauges. I kept up my performance, deftly deflecting blows from both the wolf's fangs and claws. However, the effectiveness of my blocks was already beginning to fade as my stamina bar dipped below halfway to emptiness. Each attempt to defend against the boss's hits was draining more and more of my health and knocking me back further. We were given a short reprieve as the boss backed away momentarily to prepare a powerful attack.
"Block!" Ezra called out. We'd been fighting for almost five minutes, and we were making almost no progress at all. Desperate to finally make some headway, Ezra began to channel his most powerful spell: Inferno. As the wolf struck downward in a vertical line, I intercepted claws, holding him at bay temporarily. The attack was taking its toll, however. My health was draining quickly from the force being applied to me.
With one powerful shove from my shield arm, I was able to force the monstrous wolf backwards. Stumbling to regain its balance, it let out a deafening howl that seemed to shake the whole forest. "Almost ready over there?" I asked in desperation. We weren't going to be able to hold out. My HP was already below 50%. Ezra wasn't even halfway done casting the spell. As the Dire Wolf Lord regained its balance, I braced myself for the next attack, raising my shield high. To my surprise, however, it began to charge the other direction: towards Ezra.
"Watch out!" I shouted, but Ezra was totally helpless and couldn't move while channeling. His robe wouldn't do him any good against the wolf's attacks, and his lack of VIT meant that his health pool wasn't very high to begin with; a glass cannon in the truest sense. I sprung forward, futilely trying to get between the boss and its target, but the wolf, of course, vastly outsped me. Ezra's eyes were wide with shock as the first blow struck him, the claws slashing him, literally, into pieces.
Understanding the hopelessness of the fight, I immediately fled, sheathing my weapons and dashing through the woods as fast as I could. "I'm sorry," I called back. "I'll meet you back in town!" Behind me, the sound of Ezra's avatar bursting into particles of light was an unmistakable confirmation of our failure. His loss would be far greater than an XP penalty, however.
"Where the hell could he have he run off to," I moaned. At the Altar of Resurrection in Aurus, Ezra was nowhere to be found. "He knew I'd be coming back for him…why did he leave?" I leaned against one of the altar's stone pillars. "He must be pretty mad to go running off like that." My stamina was low, so I decided to open my inventory and check for food. I still had a few bread rolls left over from my visit to the bakery earlier. I equipped one and began to eat, the nutritious effects of the food slowly restoring my health and stamina. As the warm taste of the bread filled my mouth, I decided to sit down on the grass, leaning against the altar.
Ezra wasn't the type to get mad, especially not over something as trivial as dying to a powerful boss. Subconsciously, I suspected that something was wrong. I ignored the thoughts, however, and continued to eat my impromptu meal. It was noon in the game now, the sun directly overhead. This high in the mountains, though, it never got very warm. A constant light breeze kept the temperature in Aurus ideal. I was just thankful the in-game time wasn't based off of real time; in the real world, it was about 10:00 PM. The game was purposely designed this way, I'm told. In-game days last a full 24 hours, but the time is inverted from that of the real world, meaning that players logging in at night, the busiest time of day for the servers, would be greeted by a shining sun and warm temperatures. I laughed at the thought of the poor people who only had a chance to play in the morning or afternoon and would never get to experience an afternoon in Aurus.
As I shoved the last bit of my lunch into my mouth, I looked up, noticing a young girl pacing around in front of the altar. Confused, I watched her for a moment before speaking up. "Hey," I said, hopping up and onto my feet. "Looking for something? Or someone?" The girl dashed over to me, eyes wide with fear. What could she be scared about?
"Please," she said, grabbing me by the shoulders, "you've got to help me! I think there's something wrong!"
I stepped backwards, pulling her hands off my shoulders. "Alright, alright," I replied. "Slow down and tell me what happened. What's got you so worked up?" By the look in her eyes, I could tell it was serious.
"My…my friend and I…" she stammered. "We were…out in the field, hunting monsters for a quest. We're only level 5, you see. We wandered too far north, and a bear attacked us. It managed to defeat her and…well…"
"That's alright," I said reassuringly. "If your friend's avatar was killed in battle, they'll respawn back here." At this point, her head was down, facing the grass. Her long hair obscured her face.
"I know that. But…see, it's been half an hour now. I was getting worried, so I tried to log out to call her and make sure everything was alright. When I tried to log out of the game, I…I…" The girl's head turned upward suddenly, startling me. "I couldn't. I think something is really wrong here…" She grabbed me by the shoulders again.
I looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean you couldn't log out?" I asked, by this point pretty frightened myself. I swiped my finger, bringing up the menu. I scrolled to the bottom and clicked on the System tab of the drop down list. Mysteriously, where the button to log out of the game should have been, there was an empty space. Was this some kind of sick joke? That shouldn't have been possible. And yet, looking at that menu, it was undeniable. Somehow, our ability to log out of the game had been disabled. "You're kidding…the button's gone!" My eyes locked with the young girl's. We were in the same situation now.
Just then, I was struck by a jolt of terror. I hurriedly opened my friends list. At the top, a banner displayed the status of my friends: 7 online, 16 offline. I scrolled downward through the menu, looking frantically for that certain name. At last, I found it and my worst fears were confirmed.
Ezra, Level 29 | Offline (Last Online: Less Than a Minute Ago)
Of course, this figure didn't add up, seeing as Ezra's death to the field boss had occurred nearly twenty minutes prior. Of course, I was too deep in shock to realize this. To me, it seemed that there were only two options. Either Ezra had logged out or his character had been deleted. And, seeing as we couldn't log out of the game, the first choice didn't seem too likely. Just then, I had a sudden realization. Why, in such a heavily populated area, had no one resurrected at the altar in the ten or so minutes I'd been waiting nearby? The only explanation would be that they had all suffered the same fate as Ezra and the young girl's friend. I couldn't understand how any of this was even possible. The Amusphere used much weaker signals than the NerveGear, so there's no way the headset would be able to kill someone. It still didn't add up, though. If the device couldn't kill, and we were unable to log out, what could have happened to the players who died and didn't come back?
"That's impossible," I shouted, my hands shaking uncontrollably. "That's not possible! How the hell…how could any of this even happen!? There's no way…there's no way we're stuck here!" I rubbed my forehead with my hands, trying desperately to calm myself down. I couldn't. The gravity of the situation, the possibility of being trapped here and at risk of real death...this couldn't have been real. It had to have been some kind of nightmare. We couldn't be trapped here. Hell, it shouldn't have even been possible. But there was no doubt that I was wide awake and that this was reality. We really were trapped.
I started running back to town, my feet on autopilot. I had to let as many people as possible know about what was going on. It was just like the incident 5 years ago in Japan: a death game. A virtual world that had transcended the line between reality and fantasy by introducing the penalty of real death. Seemingly impossible, but indisputably real. I needed to get back and warn as many people as possible. I wasn't going to let anyone else die. The thought of Ezra's last sight being me running from him in his moment of need came into my head, and I nearly collapsed to the ground, my legs weak and quivering from guilt. But I was stronger than that. My guilt wasn't going to stop me. If I couldn't make it back in time to stop at least one person from going into the fields, I'd never be able to live with myself. To be honest, I wasn't convinced that I'd be able to anyway.