Quick note before you start, the game takes place in Britain, hence why all the characters have english/british names. It is not running parallel to SAO, and as such, any name drops or coincidences are done for either my own personal humour or as a jab at it. This is also my first chapter in what I hope to make a long running series, and my first real attempt at writing, so feel free to be as brutal as possible :) And enjoy!
Seven Seas Online: Chapter 1, Set Sail.
October 31st. For years this day had meant nothing to me. Sure, it's Halloween, but I've never been too fussed on the concept. I remember once, when I was 9, going out dressed up as a Pirate. I suppose it was ironic really. As a child, I had dressed up and run around collecting sweets from neighbours, and threatening other kids with a plastic hook, and here I was, nine years later, waiting to be able to sail my own ship across the seven seas. Or more accurately, Seven Seas Online.
Seven Seas Online, the first game to be fully released on the newly release Nerve Gear gaming system. Developed by a man named Achilles Kerrigan, the system used a special kind of technology that had become known as 'Full-Dive'. The headset would intercept brainwaves, and instead of sending them to your real body, they would control a body in a virtual world. Having taken several months of health and safety tests, the system was released, and I had been reading up so much on it, just to try and control my hype for both the system and the game. According to Achilles, he had been developing Seven Seas Online for years, but had to wait until technology was at a state that players could feel like they are actually sailing the seven seas, and his new Nerve Gear was the perfect system to use it on.
Seven Seas Online had a beta several months ago, that only 1000 people were allowed on. These beta testers had 2 months to experience the game, and were promised immediate copies of the game on release, as thanks for their time in testing. I had tried, but failed to get Beta access, but a guy in my year had gotten in, and often disappeared for days at a time, and would looks sleepless on arrival back. We all knew he had spent too much time on the game, but none of us could blame him, we'd have likely been the same. But that didn't matter now. Now we were all getting it, we were all going to sail the seas. Well, all 10,000 of us.
That's right, 10,000, that's the limit of copies, 9,000 if you subtract the beta copies, and only 5,000 copies were actual physical copies. The game sold out in minutes, and even in a place like the United Kingdom, demand was high. Still, that didn't matter, my game was installed, and once 1pm comes around, I'll be able to hop into the virtual world, away from my life here. Words can't measure my excitement right now, in fact, I'm pretty sure I've never been this excited before in my life.
12:59pm. Time's come, I think to myself. I plug in my Nerve Gear, lay down on my bed, my head resting softly on the pillow, sliding on my Nerve Gear, and setting the chin strap in place, tightening it suitably. Pausing as I watch the clock tick over to 13:00pm, I take a deep breath, and utter words I'd waited months to say. "Link Start!"
Immediately the screen in front of me change, and felt my body go limp. Using a digital keyboard, I enter my log in details, and I'm then brought to a Character Customisation page. Ever since the days of the heavy RPGs like Dragon Age and The Elder Scrolls, these games have had huge customisation options, and this one was no exception. You could spend hours working on your perfect character, but I perform my usual tactic, choosing the closest default to how I want to look, and changing minor details such as eye colour, hair type and colour, and basic clothing. Donning a basic black shirt, brown trousers and dark boots, I move to the completion phase, in which I am asked if my character is how I want it to be, and what I'd like to name myself. I've had months to finalise this name, and I've had one in mind for a while. James Graham. James was my father's name, and even though I never met him, I once got to play an old western RPG, which featured a character named Joshua Graham. My mother once looked over and said he sounded like my father, so the two names came together. After clicked enter, the screen in front of me closed, and I suddenly became enveloped in white light.
Light resurfaced in the world, and I found myself in an unfamiliar environment. At the top right of my sight is a small green bar, filled entirely, with the words James Graham next to it. Most RPG players would use simple one word names like Talook or Kirito, but SSO forces you to use a first and last name, but encourages you not to use your own. The bottom right had a small radar like object, whilst some people opt to change it in the game options to a compass for authenticity, I thought it best to leave it like that, to make sure it didn't stand out, in what could only be described as a HUD. I looked down, noticing the clothes I had chosen, along with a basic cutlass sheathed on my left thigh. All I could do was smile. This was it, I had entered the world of SSO.
The town I was in was named after a famous Pirate port, used in many other media forms, known as Tortuga. It was a port no Privateer would be allowed on, Pirates only. Of course, everyone in the game was a Pirate, so quickly the town was highly populated. Because there was only 10,000 players, the game ran on a single server. Pirates of all shapes and sizes darted around me, some running distinctly quickly towards the docks. Most of those must be beta testers, I thought to myself, eager to run out and get started. I, however, decided I would take my time, and went for a stroll.
The port of Tortuga was filled with all kinds of different buildings, ranging from weapons shops, blacksmiths, taverns and inns. Whilst player run businesses were an option in the game, you'd have to save up and buy an empty lot in a town, and Tortuga had none. Players had the ability to make and sell their own products, and as such could charge any price, but if you were to open one in the very first town, some players would struggle to afford any real merchandise, and businesses would quickly go bankrupt. I browsed the many different shops, picking up a few basic health restoring items, like bread and water, with the small amount of money the game starts you off with. SSO uses a currency called 'Gol', pronounced 'Gohl'. Not overly inventive, but at least they tried. The game starts you off with 1000 Gol, having spent 200 on my current purchases, I bought a Tricorn, increasing some stats slightly, and continued travelling around, arriving at the Port with my Tricorn, a new belt, and 100 Gol left.
Arriving at the port left me in awe. So many other players were running up to the end of the port and disappearing. At first I wondered why, but as I approached, I noticed a post on the end of the walkway, glowing lightly in a light blue light. Upon approach, a text box appeared in front of me, with the words 'Want to board your ship?' I didn't hesitate in pressing the blue circle to indicate yes, and I was immediately enveloped in light, remerging on a small Galley in the middle of a small beach. Immediately I realised I was in an area designed for customising my ship, and that I wouldn't be able to sail just yet. Still, I smiled and began looking at the options in front of me.
The first thing was naming my ship, which I spent far too long thinking about. Eventually I went with Icarus, named after my favourite legend. In SSO, your ship name is as unique as your own username, and no one else could share its name. Albeit this meant we could have seen 'Jackdaw994', but the game tried to encourage against it with cool suggestions like BlackWind and StormBringer. Thankfully Icarus wasn't taken, and I moved on to the next stage, colour customisation. Changing the colour of the wood that made up the hull and masts to black, and the sails to pure white, I smiled at my creation. My ship. I then had to pick out NPCs for my first crew, each one bringing unique aspects, and potential quest lines. Later on, players could have other players on their crew, which would bring more skills and efficiency to your ship. With my crew picked out, my ship named and customised, I grabbed the wheel of my ship to finish the customisation phase, but after having done so, I was greeted by another message. 'Congratulations on completing your ship! She's looking ready to sail there Cap'n. Unfortunately, ships cannot leave port until after the first event, 'Truth'. We apologise for any inconvenience. You will now be returned to Tortuga.' I gave out a deep sigh, strange decision to limit players on the first day, but if the game was as amazing as I was told, I'm sure I could wait a little longer.
Arriving back on the Port, I straightened out my Tricorn, placed my hands in my pockets, and strolled back into the streets of Tortuga. I began to notice as I walked, a lot of players looking panicked, some staring for minutes at their menu screens. Surely people couldn't be putting in that much thought into their equipment on the first day, could they? I shrugged. Probably their first time, trying to get a grasp on how stats work. Eventually I came across a tavern, called 'The Cove'. The tavern was nearly empty, with a few scattered players sat socialising. Grabbing a table on my own, I ordered an ale, amazed at how the taste translated in the game.
Looking around the tavern, I noticed two female players together. Both of them seemed to be laughing and enjoying themselves, but things quickly changed. Thing soon changed when they separated, one of the girl giving off a wave as she turned and opened her menu, whilst her friend returned to her drink. Then I noticed it again. The girl's face turned into the same shape of discomfort and confusion I had seen on so many other player's faces throughout the game already. Opening my own menu, I scanned through the equipment and status windows, thinking that maybe there was some glitch or bug in equipping things, but everything seemed to function normally. Then I realised, that the girl was clearly leaving, maybe even…logging out.
My body froze up, could it be possible? Were people failing to log out? My hand shook slightly in fear as I moved down to the options menu, opening it to find 3 basic buttons appear. 'Help', 'Options' and 'Log Out'. At least, that's what should have been there, but the Log Out button was well and truly missing, replaced with a blank white button with no features. Surely it was just a bug, but something so disastrous on the first day wasn't going to help the reputation of both the game and the Nerve Gear. Closing down my menu, I stared blankly at the drink in front of me, pondering what could have caused such a bug. Surely it wouldn't have been in the beta, and if it had it would have been the first thing to be patched. Could it be a problem with the server being too full? No, the game would have just crashed or something. What could it be? I spent several minutes pondering, but as I became suddenly enveloped in a familiar blue light, I knew I was about to get my answer.
As the light faded, several player names and health bars appeared before my eyes. In order to read things like this in SSO, you had to be up close to said player. There are options to make your name private, so that only your friends and party members could see it, but few people had gotten around to it yet. Surrounded by players, it took me a few seconds to figure out where we were. We stood in the northern most section of Tortuga, a place named on the map as 'The Gallows'. From what I had heard, this was the point people would respawn at after dying, and was often busy during the beta. But why were we here? Given the size of the area and the amount of players I could see, I estimated that every player in SSO had been gathered here. But by who, and for what reason?
I forced myself to stop thinking, as a shadow began to form on the platform of the Gallows. The shadows spiralled on the wooden platform, before rising and taking on the form of a man, dressed in a black cloak. But the man had no face, it was if the cloak was empty. Before people could even begin to question it, a voice boomed out of it.
"Good Afternoon players, and welcome to Seven Seas Online." The voice sounded deep, and powerful, and oddly familiar. "My name is Achilles Kerrigan, welcome to my world." There was a pause, as if he was waiting for players to take it into account. Some people looked confused, they obviously hadn't spared much thought to it, but I knew exactly who he was, and how serious this speech was going to be.
"I must first apologise on behalf of my company, as you have been deceived. As of this moment, I am in complete control of this world. I am this world's only Game Master, I suppose you could say I am the God of this world." Was I wrong, or did he just snicker after saying that? "I hope you're all enjoying the game so far, and I apologise to any of you who have not been able to let loose into the open seas. You see, I couldn't allow you to set sail, until you knew what you're heading into, and the dangers ahead of you."
By now, you could see players stifling laughter, assuming this was some mere in game event to kick things off, part of the opening ceremony. But that changed almost immediately. "I'm sure some of you have begun to notice something missing from your Menu; The Log Out button. I assure you, this is not a bug. This is an intended feature of SSO." My body froze up again. A feature? How could something so damaging be a feature? "From this moment on, no one can leave the game. You cannot log out, and you cannot be disconnected from the outside. Attempting to do so will have disastrous effects. You see, the game has now changed. Dying in the game will send a signal to your Nerve Gear, making it destroy your brain. Attempting to remove the gear will also have the same affect." No. It couldn't be possible. There was no way…
But then I remembered my research, a system that uses a type of microwave to intercept brainwaves. Could it possibly be used as a weapon? "As of this moment, the game has begun, and the only way to escape, is to beat the game. Defeat the boss of the Seventh Sea, and conquer the area beyond all seas, and you shall be set free. And one more thing before I let you all go…" In my panic, I'd failed to notice a window that had popped up in front of us, an event item. Every player had the window, and after accepting the item, a small mirror fell into my hand. Staring into it, I noticed a familiar face staring back, but not my avatar. The man in the mirror, was the real life me. Before I knew it, I became surrounded by a light I was beginning to become sick of, only to find I hadn't moved, and yet I felt…different.
Then I noticed, everyone around me seemed less generic and attractive, no real dashing rogues or beautiful seductresses. There were teenagers, middle aged men, some people could even be over 50, filling the courtyard. Looking back in the mirror, my face was still there, but that's when I noticed my body was much less muscular than I had designed it to be, and my hair far shorter. Then it hit me. He's made us all look like we do in the real world, so there's nothing to hide. The cloak began to speak one last time, his body slowly fading as he did. "I hope you appreciate my gift, and that you all enjoy the game. I look forward to seeing you progress through my world. Good Luck." With that, the body finally disappeared, leaving nothing but a tense aura of silence. We all just stood there, in the quiet of the courtyard, the ropes hanging from the gallows blowing gently in the breeze.
Something finally broke the silence. The sound of someone falling to their knees, staring at the ground before screaming out in terror. By the pitch, I could tell it was a young girl, barely old enough to have the game. Following her scream, people began crying out, yelling and shouting in anger, some about meetings they had, food that was waiting, family that would miss them. Before I could even chip in, try to stop any trampling, the light enveloped me and everyone else, sending us all back to where we once were, leaving me at the familiar tavern table, across from the two girls.
The girls were frozen on the spot, tears filling their eyes slowly, but I had no hesitation. I quickly rose, straightening my Tricorn before running towards them, grabbing their wrists and pulling them with me. Out of fear and shock, they followed without hesitation as I rushed south, into the port, before finally turning around, puffing out of breathe. Eventually I manage to compose myself, noticing the two girls looking at me with slight confusion. And that's when I notice it, the younger looking of the two girls, there was no mistaking it. Stood right in front of me, was my younger sister. And I could see the fear in her eyes.
"Amelia…" I didn't know what to do. I had become trapped in this death game, but I never imagined she would be here too. She had moved away to study in Scotland, but I had no idea she'd be in SSO. But that wasn't my major thought. I now had something to fight for, someone to protect in the game. And it was terrifying. "What're you….Why…" I shook my head, immediately opening up a trade window and transferring her my remaining Gol. "Take this, do some easy quests and stay here, you can't go out into that sea, it's too dange-"Before I could even finish, I was cut off by the feel of her palm against my face. Not gentle, a solid, hard hit.
"Don't be such a bloody idiot Al!" My face stung, whilst the game prevents anything from causing any damage in friendly ports, I could feel the sting of her slap throughout the nerves in my face. All digital of course. "What exactly is your plan? To stop me whilst you go running out there and get yourself killed? You're staying here too you blithering idiot, until we get rescued by MI5 or something." I couldn't help but stifle laughter for a second, before returning to being serious.
"Amy…No one is gonna come for us. There's no way they'll let anyone else enter the game, they can't pull us out of it either."
"What if they unplug it?"
"I imagine he came up with some kind of plan if that happens…" I sighed in realisation soon after I had spoken. "The Nerve Gear has an internal battery, chances are when that hits a certain level, it'll fry our brains from the realisation that it's been unplugged for so long." I could see the fear growing ever more in her face, before she shook it off into determination.
"I don't care, we're staying here, that's final!" She stormed off towards the main town, leaving me alone with the other girl, someone I hadn't met before.
"You're not going to stay here, are you?" The girl spoke up, her voice gentler than my sister, but with more confidence. "You fully intend to go out there and beat this bastard's game, aren't you?" I sighed as I turned to the girl, whilst slightly taller than my sister, she still stood several inches shorter than me. Her hair was short, if she wanted to she could probably get away with being a guy. She'd already changed her settings so I couldn't see her in game name, but I knew she must know my sister outside of the game.
"You kidding me? I'm one of the few people who knows exactly who Kerrigan is, and what this game could do. I'm not gonna sit around and wait to die here, I'm going out there to help save us all." I almost sounded confident, but I knew I wasn't. I'd never played this game before, and now I had to live knowing that death in the game meant I'd never get back home. One wrong turn, one boss fight, one missed attack, all it could take to end my life forever. But I wasn't going to let that stop me anytime soon. "You know my sister, will you stay with her?" I was greeted by a slow yet accepting shake of the head, signifying no. "You'll sail too?"
"Aye." I swear she was mocking the game now. "I'll sail, by your side too if needs be, and I'll help get everyone out of here." I couldn't help but question why she was so confident, what her drive was. Even I was questioning why I was going to go out until I saw Amelia, but what's her motivation? What's she after? "So, we going or what?"
I was in shock, quite frankly. "Well, my sister should know really, and I can't leave her here alone." I sighed, she'd disappeared from sight now into the streets.
"Tough, she's not strong enough, you are. If you go tell her, she'll try even harder to make you stay. We don't have long til the other players set out, taking the best loot and quests there are. Hell, the beta testers are probably already at the quest start points. We need to hurry if we're ever going to beat this game." I swear a caught a small smirk as she opened her menu, quickly causing mine to pop up in front of me, reading 'Join a Party with 'Captain Jess Maroon'?'. I hesitated, but after seeing her shoot me a stern glare, I pressed yes, and noticed another health bar appear below mine, with the words 'Cap'n Marr' next to it. A nickname, this girl had taken her time and set up a lot of stuff, but she'd even found time to buy a crimson coloured tricorn. And I had to admit, it suited her dark brown hair, and her brown waistcoat. But now was really not the time to be looking at girls.
Before I could even ask another question, she grabbed my hand and pulled me with her to the end of the port. I was ashamed to admit I've never even held a girl's hand, so to do it for the first time digitally was a little bit sad. None the less, she dragged me on, and I soon found a familiar window in front of me reading 'Board your ship?' Accepting, I found myself stood at the helm of my ship, but instead of the cove I had constructed it in, I was in open seas, a few hundred metres away from a port I recognised as Tortuga. To my left was another Galley, Black with Red sails, belonging to the same girl that had dragged me to my own ship. I could see her at the helm of her own ship, gripping the wheel and looking to me, nodding before yelling out orders to her crew as her ship began to move. I turned back forward, smirking as I placed my hands on the wheel, taking a deep breath. "Let loose the sails lads, let's tame these seas!" I couldn't help but smile a little more just at being able to say it. Sure, I was trapped in a death game, but it was still god damn cool.
Following my orders, the NPCs I had chosen began to move around the ship, some climbing the robes lining the outside, others loosening and tightening ropes port and starboard. Soon, the ship began to tug forward, the white sails catching the wind, following slowly behind the ship with red sails. I found a telescope resting near my feet, picking it up with my free hand, it was automatically equipped, and using it, I noticed the name engraved on the back of her ship. 'Fury'. An interesting, and certainly unique name for a ship. Never the less, together we sailed, out into the open waters of death.
The boy held the wheel of his ship tightly, his black ship laying silent in the waves, the breeze gently sweeping over the ocean waves. He couldn't help but laugh gently as he looked through his spyglass. "Icarus and Fury. Be careful not to sail too close to the sun boy, and she'll lead you right to it." His crew began to laugh with him, each one a unique player, each dressed in their own unique attire, eyepatches, bandanas and tricorns all around. The black sails took wind, and the ship sailed off into a dark cove, with the engraved rear being the last thing to disappear into the darkness. Wrath.