Login 0: "The World R:2"

My friend once told me over lunch break about a game he had been playing for quite awhile. An MMORPG game called "The World". He claims it was the best game he's ever come across, being a pretty hardcore gamer himself. Since I was also a hardcore gamer like him, I was intrigued to listen.

He told me many stories of how he created his character, Keino, a twin blade user with short, cropped red hair; tight blue armor with green markings and gray spiked boots. He told me how it was really cool starting the game, but also kind of lame that since he just started he was considered a "noob" which is short term for a "newbie" player. A player that had just started "The World". So in order to grow out of that name, he quickly began to level up his character, meeting new people to join parties with and exploring more parts of "The World".

He asked me one day if I'd like to start playing it as well, but I was quick to politely decline his offer. I told him I was too busy trying to find a job and start making a living in society after graduating from a top university last year. Though I never started to play myself, I was always interested in hearing my friend's stories about his adventures with his character Keino. But I didn't know in a couple of months something devastating will happen that will affect and change "The World" forever.

It was in the news in the year 2015. There was an enormous fire that occurred and heavily damaged the data of the MMORPG, "The World". Despite that most of the data had been destroyed, CC Corp, also known as the CyberConnect Corporation that had created "The World", had begun working on another game to replace it.

When they released it in the real world, players of the previous "The World" weren't fully satisfied when they found out that they would have to start from scratch; not being able to access they're previous file from "The World" that was destroyed in the fire. There was much debate and talk over the release of the new version of "The World". My friend, being disappointed that he lost his character Keino who he grew to love very much, thought about giving the new version a try. But he'll create a completely new character; deciding to leave his beloved twin blade Keino in the previous "The World". This replacement game came to be known as "The World R:2". A revision of the previous "The World"; that I will soon be playing myself.

About two years later, I had landed myself a job that will bring me not only a place in society, but also a place in the MMORPG "The World R:2". While I was browsing a local bulletin in a hot sticky week of mid July and sighed with dissatisfaction for a reasonable job, a young man noticed what I was doing and came up to me, asking if I was interested in a job at CC Corp.

"CC Corp?" I questioned, "You mean the gaming company that created the MMORPG "The World" and also the new revision "The World R:2" that was released last year?"

"Yes, I see you are well informed about us," the young man laughed.

"I have a friend who used to play the original "The World", and now playing the new revision, I'm not a player myself, but hearing about "The World" so much stirs curiosity in me to research about it even further."

The man paused and examined me for a moment. Finally, he asked, "How would you like to be hired in CC Corp as a part-timer?"

"Huh?" I almost didn't catch what he said, but getting a job (even if it's part-time) at the well-known CC Corp was like getting a golden ticket to some unknown world filled with mystery. Although, it could be just a regular business job involving computers and one of the world's most global online games.

"You look diligent enough, as well as knowledgeable, to work with us. We'll even give you a copy of "The World R:2" for your computer as an added bonus. You only have to work some small jobs for us in the company as well as in "The World" itself. You're free to play "The World" as a regular player so you won't have to feel that you're only in it for the job. Are you interested?"

I thought to myself for a moment. I was fascinated with hearing about "The World", but who knew I would start playing it now as the second revision. Not only that, but also at CC Corp, that created "The World" itself. Sounds interesting enough; I was getting bored of the real world itself anyway trying to fit myself in the jigsaw of reality..

"Sure, I'll take you up on your offer. When do I start?"

Login 1: Welcome to "The World"

Installation complete

*click*

Character create:

Name: Andante
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Class: Blade Brandier

*click* COMPLETED

Logging in...

Welcome to "The World"

Delta Server, Root Town Mac Anu

After spending time installing the game on my laptop, I finally was logging into "The World" that I had heard so much about. My PC, or Player Character, is a Blade Brandier, with long black hair tied into a braid, wearing a white, one-sleeved long coat with blue trim, blue shorts with a red belt fastened around it, loose buckled black boots, and painted black markings on the sleeveless arm. I chose the name Andante for my character, even though it sounds boyish for a female character. The name refers to a music term meaning "Walking tempo". The reason I chose that name was because I wanted to take everything slow and easy in a walking pace while playing the MMORPG "The World", not rushing into things. My adviser in CC Corp, who will be playing with me in "The World" as a male Steam Gunner PC named Welk, complimented that it was a good name for my character.

I warped in by the Chaos Gate, a warping device that can be used by players in the game to transfer to places such as other servers, towns, fields, and dungeons, inside the dome of Mac Anu taking a good look around me.

"Wow, the details of this game look pretty good." All around me I could see other players walking in and out, talking to each other, or using the Chaos Gate. Moments later, I heard someone laugh beside me. I turned to see a golden yellow haired player dressed in a red tunic with black buttons, matching black pants, and red shoes.

"Hey there, Andante," he smiled.

"You're...Welk?" I noted. Common knowledge is that players address players by their PC's name and not their real world one. It's for courtesy and privacy. Even though I know the player behind the PC Welk, I still address him by his PC name. I knew who he was right away because before logging in he had informed me via email what his PC looked like so I would be able to find him.

"That's right! Allow me to be the first to say to you, Welcome to The World."

"Thanks," I say back to him. We quickly exchange member addresses with each other in order to use it for specific functions such as forming a party, short mailing one another, or simply using private chat. Welk has already been playing the world as a regular player, and also as a system administrator for CC Corp. Since he's had more experience with this game, he plans to show me everything it's got. "So what are we doing first?" I ask.

"We'll plan on leveling up your character later, since you're new. How 'bout I show you around town?"

"Sure." We started to head outside of the dome to where the rest of the town is. By the time we got the central district where the majority of players were spending their time, Welk stopped for a moment.

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong?" I ask noticing his stop.

"A message from another system administrator," he whispered to me in private chat so other nearby players wouldn't hear. "Apparently there's an area they want me to check out for a bug in the system. Seems urgent..."

"Want me to come with you?" I offer, though I wasn't sure what much help I would be being a new player to "The World" and also a new employee to CC Corp.

"Thanks, but since you've just started this game the area might not suit your level. Plus, I'm unsure of what this bug might be, so it could be dangerous. Sorry, but can you explore the town on your own?"

"Sure, no problem. Be careful on your assignment," I tell him as he heads back to the Chaos Gate.

"Thanks. I'll try to get this done as soon as possible. Let's meet back here in a while."

"Okay," I call back and then he left. Although it felt a bit exciting to be left to explore on my own, I wasn't sure what to do first when I suddenly heard a yell.

"Huh?" I look over to my right and a saw a short, round, and pink beast PC being surrounded by three other PCs that looked bigger than him. The yell may have come from the beast PC, because it looked like the other three were pestering him. Whatever the case, they sure didn't look friendly at all. This doesn't look good, I noticed. But what am I supposed to do? I didn't have much confidence yet on playing "The World". I recalled hearing about players like these guys, classified as "bullies" of "The World", although PKers are their more "formal" name.

"Huh?" One of them stopped for a moment and to look at me. Oops, I thought, guess I must've been staring at them for too long. "Who's this?" one of them scowled. "Another noob we can pick on? Ha ha, our lucky day!"

"..." as soon as they uttered that word, I felt an itching, upset feeling crawling up my back, but remained unresponsive. I've heard the term "noob" before from my old friend. Already, it didn't make me feel happy. PKers, or rather, Player Killers, I thought, since it didn't seem like they have any manners around here picking on new players.

Player Killers…players that hunt, bully, and pester other players in "The World".

"What's the matter?" one of them taunted, "Too scared to speak?" They all looked at me, including the beast PC. He still looked scared, but he might just be relying on me to help him out. I wasn't sure what to do, but I already got myself into this situation that escape seems nearly impossible and I had a feeling this guy needs my help. Not just as a system administrator, but also as a player.

"Tch," I respond letting my anger boil in control, "as if!"

"What?"

"You three must be PKers, judging from that attitude. Let me just tell you one thing: you guys don't interest me one bit. You guys may be strong, but doing this kind of stuff to other players here seems dirty!"

"Why you!" one of them darted forward and motioned to grab me by the neck. I composed my face despite their action so not to give in and look like a coward. I prepared myself for any action they planned to make, but before one could do anything to me, they all stopped and looked up for a moment. "Darn, perfect timing for our master," the PKers spat. They shoved past me and ran. "We're not done with you yet, noob, but remember this! If we ever cross paths again, it will be a fight!" Then they were gone.

I motioned my PC to brush off the spot that they shoved by my character. Not too bad for my first encounter with a PK. I wasn't nearly afraid as I should have been, since it's known that in "The World", PKing in a town usually isn't allowed. But I would've been ready, whether they would PK me or not. Though I did wonder why they stopped and what the meant by "master". I'll have to ask Welk about it later.

Then I remembered about the beast PC. He was still in the same spot he was in before, so I rushed over to him.

"You okay?" I ask. Looking up closely, he doesn't look nearly as strong as the PKers, but his character is a little higher level than me. By selecting his character with my controller, I could see his name and class. His class indicated he was a Shadow Warlock.

"Y-Yeah, thank you!" he exclaimed.

"No problem. Those three were PKers, right? What are they doing picking on someone like you?"

"Oh," he looks kind of down but answers, "They enjoy picking on people like me, and since I'm a beast creature I'm easy to pick on. It happens to me a lot lately."

"That's not right," I sigh. I knew I've had some experience with bullies in the real world myself, so I understood what it must have felt like to get picked on. Though since I was pretty tough, I could handle them pretty well. When my friend who introduced me to The World told me about the times when his PC has gotten PKed (the term of being killed by a PKer), I asked him, then why don't you ever go report about it or something so you won't be bothered again? He lightly laughs about this and responded, The World doesn't really have any concrete rules. That's why there are PKers roaming about. There are some people who act up against them, but most people are too afraid to deal with them. Some don't even care, as long as they don't get PKed themselves. They only pick on people lower than them, so if I get up to a higher level they'd probably stop. He still told me though that he doesn't favor the fact of PKing others, even though he can't do much about it.

Snapping out of my past, I asked, "Anyway, so what's your name?"

"Oh!" he suddenly brightens up, "I'm Gaspard! Nice to meet you!" While I could merely look on his PC to find his name, it felt more appropriate to do introductions directly in conversations.

"My name's Andante. I just started playing this game," I tell him, "I was supposed to look around town with someone, but he had some urgent business to take care of so I'm stuck on my own."

"Hey," Gaspard suddenly says as if he's gotten an idea, "since you saved me from those PKers, why don't I show you around town!"

"Y-You sure? I mean, I'm still a level 1 character and you might have some other business you need to-"

"No no, it's alright. Helping newbies of "The World" is what our guild does the best!" he smiles. Though only minutes ago he was surrounded by PKers, he smiled like he could take anything on.

"Huh? Your guild?" According to my knowledge, a guild is like a club that a player can form. With each guild, there's the HOME where the guild is located, and each guild has a guild master. The guild master's usually the player who formed the guild, but the role can be passed down to other players if they pass the Guild Master Certification Event given by a grunty, that supposedly manages the guild as well. If you pass the event, you'll be accepted as the guild master. Many guilds are created and serve many purposes.

"Yep! I'm part of a newbie-support guild named Canard! Currently there are only a few members, but you can join too if you'd like! Since you're new to playing "The World", right?"

Welk may take awhile, and joining a guild might not be so bad since it's true that I'm still at level 1. I'll be able to meet more people as well.

"Sure," I agreed and we exchanged member addresses.

"I'll take you to our guild so you can meet our members, and then we can go have some fun playing "The World"!"