Despite the thousands of deaths caused during the debute of VRMMO's, the game genre remains popular as ever. All for the sake of fun, escaping reality, living alternate lives, and now even in the pursuit of money. With the rise of eSports twenty-five years ago, millions have turned a hobby into a literal career. In the beginning, it was turn based strategies, real time strategies, multiplayer first person shooters, and even included MOBAs. Eventually, the money began to drift into MMO PvP, and with the invention of VRMMOs, the money is more plentiful than ever, and players with games like Gun Gale Online (GGO) with a currency that can be traded for real money, more and more players flock to it, seeking to become a professional player, even with the pontential risk of death being proven all too real.
July 2026
Aiden couldn't help but to kick his bedroom door open as he rushed in carrying a sizeable box in his arms. Rushing in, he nearly tripped on his own feet, then stopped and used his heel to kick his door shut. The cat was sound curled up at the edge of the bed, sound asleep.
"Move Ichiro!" he exclaimed, dropping the box on the bed.
The big ball of white fluff bounced in the air, incredibly startled, he regained his composure and looked up into Aiden's dark purple eyes, clearly unhappy.
"Mrrrrrr..." He meowed softly before jumping off the bed to find somewhere else to nap.
Aiden took off the beanie he was wearing and tossed it onto his desk where it landed on his keyboard. Aiden then ripped open the lid of the box he had brought in revealing a styrofoam pad. Tossing that aside, he read the plastic card sitting under it.
AmuSphere.
Aiden let out a satisfied sigh before removing the card and revealing the gadget under it. Picking it carefully, he held it in his palms and examined it from all sides. It was colored white and very sleek with the front holding red tinted piece of glass. It looked like something that one American superhero would wear that shot laser beams from his eyes.
X-Man or something?
He wasn't too interested in American superheroes. He fiddled with the adjustable straps for a few minutes to size the gear to his head. Once it was comfortable he quckly and excitedly plugged the power cable into the wall, removed his navy blue button up shirt and jumped onto the bed, knocking the box off in the process. He removed his earrings and threw them onto his desk as well before switching his AmuSphere on and placing it on his head. The screen began performing all sorts of calibrations and then connected to the internet. Then the message "Ready" appeared on the lens. Aiden smiled and prepared himself for the words he had been waiting to say.
"Link Start!"
The screen suddenly lit up white and as a bunch of colored particles rush towards him then passed him. Suddenly it was dark again. His vision began to materialize but it was very blurry. He blinked, still blurry. He blinked one more time, his vision began to clear and suddenly it snapped into focus all at once. He was standing on a black platform before a metal bridge. Tall dark skyscrapes rose high all around him. People he could only assume were players carried on with their business, a few glancing at him as they noticed him log in. He had finally made it, Gun Gale Online. He had gotten it pre-installed on his Amusphere. He looked down at his attire, a white jacket with black seams, black slim fit pants and black boots with metal tips that his pants were tucked into. He raised his hands to his face to examine them, he was also wearing black fingerless gloves. Running his hands through his hair, it was no longer short and slicked back like he usually kept it, it was longer... much longer.
"What the-..." He peered over his shoulder and saw his hair was dark brown, similar to his normal hair color, but ran halfway down his back. It was very wavy as well.
"Why is-...What, no character creation? Seriously?" He mumbled to himself as he continuously ran the ends of his hair through his fingers. He began peering around at the players around him. Some carried huge weapons and big plate armor, others were carrying small arms and wore cloaks or slimmer, weaker looking armor. He caught a glance at a group of men standing in a circle about thirty feet from him all wearing similar gear smirking at him. It was clear they knew he was a noob. Aiden returned their smirks with a dirty glance. Must be a squad. Well I'm not new to MMOs and I've done a lot of research into GGO.
First thing was first though, he knew he needed weapons and he only had the 1,000 starting credits. He took off running down the road/bridge that lay before him. Many other bridges branched from this main one and he could see shops on either side with lots of players in them. Must be the main hub, I figured I would spawn here, which means the weapon market should be just over there. He thought, looking further up the road. He stopped in front of a larch archway leading into a store. The sign on the arch read "Weapons". Aiden quickly ran inside. The first thing he noticed was a large screen on the back wall filled with images of different weapons and their exchange rates. The scrolling images seemed to just keep going, the same weapon never showing twice. Shotguns, SMGs, Rifles of every kind, Pistols, Revolvers, even some energy swords, you name it, it looked like it was there. He walked up to one of the terminals just below the massive screen. He placed his hand on it, opening the interface to select, buy, and sell weapons. He began scrolling through the huge number of guns. 150k credits... 300k credits... 420k credits... 1 mil credits... All of these weapons were way out of his price range. Shit, how am I gunna get a gun? Best this 1,000 will get me is a revolver, and it's used to top it off. He stared at the interface, frustrated. He knew his best bet to getting experience and money was hunting mobs, but if he couldn't even get a gun at all, how the hell was he going to? Stepping back from the interface, Aiden began peering back and forth, looking for someone he could ask. About two stalls down stood a short girl with blue hair and a white scard. The rest of her attire was an odd green color. Well... Worth a shot.
Aiden closed out the interface on his terminal and slowly walked up behind the girl he had spotted. She seemed incredibly focused on the terminal she was operating but he took a chance anyway.
"A-hem... Um, miss, could I ask you something." Aiden said a little nervously, he placed his hands in his pockets. It was a nervous habit.
The blue haired girl stopped scrolling through the interface and slowly peered over her shoulder at Aiden, her light emerald colored eyes made no attempt at hiding her displeasure of being bothered. There were a few moments of awkward silence. Aiden could feel himself becoming hot under the color.
"Well speak noob... What the hell do you want?" The girl said in an unamused tone. Aiden shifted uneasily.
"Well, I'm obviously new aaaaaaaand I can't really afford any weapons so... Do you think you could tell me how I might be able to fix that?" Aiden replied. He prayed she didn't think he was begging.
"Well I'm not giving you any money if that's what you are asking. Casino tables are next door, go try your luck there." The girl said back. She turned her head back to the terminal making it clear the conversation was over.
"Oh ok, well uh, thanks!" Aiden said, smiling. It quickly disappeared. Why did I even do that, she's not looking at me.
Aiden began making his way next door but stopped and looked back at the girl at the terminal. Geared out the ass, she has to be one of those pros. He continued next door to the gambling den. It was designed in similar fashion to the weapons market but with different gambling games on tables and even some slots. He wasn't sure how this was legal for a video game but he decided against questioning it. He headed to the first table he saw. The NPC standing at it wearing a vest and tie greeted him.
"How are you today stranger? Fancy shooting some craps?" He asked Aiden.
Aiden looked at the NPC a little confused.
"Craps? Isn't that an American thing?"
"Of course! But it was implemented into both servers when the Japanese server was created. Care to try? I can explain the rules if you want." The NPC replied.
"No, I know how it works. Um... Is there an ante?" Aiden asked, sitting on one of the stools set up next to the table. The NPC shook his head.
"Well um, 100 on any 7." Aiden said, holding out his hand for the dice. The NPC nodded again, placing dice in Aiden's hand. He rolled them in his hand for a second before tossing them. 9.
"Oh sorry, looks like the house wins. " The NPC said. Aiden watched 100 credits drain from his account.
Aiden made 4 more bets of 100. losing every one. He stared at his currency counter a little pissed of. Maybe he shouldn't have bet so much. I could aslways just buy credits but... What kind of noob does that? Screw it, do or die time. He thought to himself.
"500 credits. Boxcars." He said to the NPC, picking up the dice. The NPC nodded and signaled him to roll when he was ready. Aiden tossed the dice. The dice hit the other end of the table and tumbled slowly to a stop. A perfect 12. Aiden just stared at the dice on the table, what the hell kind of luck was that?
"Congratulations kid! With your bet and a roll like that, that's 204k! Don't spend it all in one place!" The NPC said while smiling.
Aiden watched as his currency counter jumped to a little over 204k. He was still awestruck, almost paralyised from it. After his shock subsided, Aiden nodded and the NPC and slowly got up and walked out, the NPC waving at him as he left. Aiden headed back to the weapons market. Approaching the terminals once again, he saw the blue haired girl was still scrolling through weapons. Aiden moved to the terminal directly to her right and began t operate it. She noticed he had returned a glanced at him through the corner of her eye, then returned her gaze back to her own screen. Her expression was still that of slight irritation. Sheesh, she really doesn't like me. Aiden thought.
He opened the interface to purchase and began looking through the rifles. He was still unsure what he was going for exactly, but he wanted range combined with power, but also mobility. A DMR, that should do it. He set the filter for Designated Marksman Rifles. Most were still out of his price range of course, but he continued scrolling until he came across that was exactly 200k. A civilian model M14 with an included red dot optic. It was a package deal being sold by another player. Aiden thought about it for a few moments.
"It's a good start, but I wouldn't be able to have a side arm and being a live weapon, the ammo would be a little more pricey. But I could get better loot with PvP. Screw it, I'll take the risk." He said quietly to himself. Without hesitation he pressed the buy button. A large metal canister suddenly materialized at his side. A female voice came through.
"Thank you for your purchase!" It said before the M14 appeared before Aiden, scope already attached. The girl at the terminal next to him immediately turned to look at him as he grabbed the rifle with bother handed and began to examine and admire it. The canister disappeared before them. Aiden spun the weapon in his hands a few times before fitting the stock to his shoulder, pulling back the charging handle and releasing. The weapon was obviously empty but the sound was very satisfying. He peered down the sights and began scanning the room before the face of the blue haired girl appeared in the sight.
"AH!" Aiden nearly dropped the rifle. He grasped it tightly and held it to his chest.
"How the hell did you just buy that?" The girl demanded.
"W-with credits?" He replied a little sheepishly. She immediately crossed her arms, clearly not in the mood for jokes.
"You know what I meant stupid, you were just asking for money like 15 minutes ago and suddenly you come back and can buy a DMR like it's nothing. Don't tell you actually won." The girl was began examining the rifle from where she was standing. It wasn't great but for a brand new player it was a great starting PvP weapon.
"Uh well, you said try the casino tables and I guess I lucked out."
The girl stared at him, then began to look Aiden up and down, then at his weapon before settling on his face again.
"Answer this for me, why the hell did you buy a live ammo weapon?" She squinted a bit.
"PvP of course, why else would I buy it?" Aiden replied.
"PvP? At your level you'll be lucky if you make it eight steps in the wastelands without being picked by a sniper. You'll lose that M14 really fast, I guarantee that. What's your goal here, going for PvP right away?" She continued.
Aiden assumed a more stable and noble stance, placing the butt of the rifle on the ground and holding it upright by the barrel.
"I plan on becoming a pro player and making my fortune." He said with perhaps a little too much pride in his voice.
"Yeah, that's a bit of a pipe dream for you. You don't even know how to playwe hunt. That's typically how solo snipers and marksman PvP. Do you even have any skills?" She cocked her head to the side slightly. Aiden looked down at the floor.
"Well... No."
"Course not..." The girl began rubbing her eyes, not surprised at all.
"But you could show me a thing or two, right? You look like you've been here a long time." Aiden said excitedly, his eyes meeting her face once again.
The girl sighed, very reluctant to answer.
"...Fine, but only because you are brand new and because I have a few friends who would be upset with me if I didn't. But on two conditions. One, keep your mouth shut when I'm talking."
Aiden nodded to show he was understanding, but he was also smiling.
"Two, don't ever-, and I can not stress this enough, don't EVER, touch me. Got it?" She finished, pointing a finger at his face. "Aiden's smile disappeared and he swallowed hard.
"Y-yeah, got it."
"Good, then follow me because I don't have a lot of time." The girl said, turning around a motioning for Aiden to follow her. He did as he was told, slinging the M14 around his shoulder.
"Wait I need to get some ammo though." Aiden said.
"It's fine, we'll get some one the way" She said without looking back.
"Ok cool. By the way, I'm Aide-... I'm CryptoK." He said reciting his username. He almost forgot he was in VR.
"Hm." The girl quietly groaned.
"Can I know your name?" Aiden asked.
"Sinon."
Author's note:
This is just a new story idea that came to mind recently and I decided to have a go at it. This is a preview of it so it is 100% subject to any comments or criticisms you may have, I'm open to it all. If the overall consensus is positive, then I will continue. Thanks for reading, please leave a review, and have a good one!
P.S. You are more than welcome to comment on my formatting as well. I only want to get better.
