Kingdom of Blades Online
The Deal
The obnoxious sound of the school bell brought the entire class to attention. Jason sat up in his chair, blinking to reveal startlingly blue eyes, like the bottom of a glacier. His silver-gray hair was unkempt, but still looked like it fit perfectly atop his head. "Enjoy the rest of your day, students!" The teacher, a pretty little thing just out of college herself, said. At the announcement of their release, Jason hurried out of the room. He didn't even bother to talk to any of his friends before heading home. Today's the day! He thought, grinning to himself. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and headed towards home. Today was the release of the first ever Virtual Reality MMORPG, Kingdom of Blades Online. His friend, Xander had been a beta tester and told him all about it. Jason waited in line two days just to get one of the last 1,000 copies, since only 10,000 had been released. He was drawn from his thoughts when he realized he had made it home. As soon as the impatient teen got inside, he went straight to his room and dropped his bag on the floor. Sighing in relief, he plopped onto the bed. Within seconds, the Enviro-Grid, which was used to play VR games, was over his head and he was shouting the activation command. "Link Start!"
"Link Start!" Moments later, icy-blue eyes opened, taking in the world around him. The game included a HUD, with an hp gauge and the name Issen in the top left corner of his field of vision. Several blue auras announced the arrival of other players into the world of Aegis, the world within KBO. The starting city waited before him. Issen grinned once more. So this is the world I've been waiting for? It was astonishingly real. He held his hands in front of his face, They sure look real, he thought. Upon inspection of his bag, he found a simple beginner's sword and some basic armor. He equipped it, taking a look at himself in a mirror. The armor was a simple plain white, with a light blue trim that matched his eyes. Not bad at all. He thought as he headed into the main district of the city, running one hand through his messy, silver-grey hair. Several players walked beside him, with weapons and armor of their own. However, some of the obviously newer ones hadn't even gotten that far yet. Issen wasted no time gathering a few supplies throughout the city before heading out into the field to get some early training done. The low level mobs were easy targets for Issen and the few other people training nearby. "Phew," he huffed, taking note of how he himself felt exhausted from all the effort, even though he knew it was just the program. It's so strange, having to move to make an action happen, Issen thought to himself as he defended against a low level wolf. The creature howled, swiping at Issen again. He side-stepped to the left, slicing upwards as he did. Before the wolf could react, he followed through by slicing downwards then spinning quickly and slicing the monster from head to tail. The monster roared in pain as it shattered into thousands of blue crystals which quickly faded into the air. LEVEL UP: 3 "Yes!" Issen cheered, throwing his fist into the air.
The sound of a bell ringing spread throughout the field, drawing the attention of most the players. Without warning, Issen found himself transported to what he recognized as the main district within Ash town. Thousands of other players crowded the large area. Suddenly, red panels replaced the previously clear blue sky. Issen gasped in shock as a crimson red liquid began to seep through the panel lines until it looked the sky was raining blood. "Greetings." A booming voice swept across the town. "My name is Evan Reave, the creator of Kingdom of Blades Online." The owner of the voice was a hooded figure floating in the sky. His robe was an ominous crimson red, with gold trim. The fact that you couldn't see his face made him that much more intimidating. What's going on? Issen wondered, struggling to remain calm. He spotted the avatar of his friend Xander nearby. "Alistar!" He shouted, using Xander's in game name to address him. Alistar turned, flashing a smile. "Issen! I knew you'd be here!" His brown hair was spiked like usual, and his light purple eyes seemed to stare right through Issen. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" Alistar asked, rubbing his head in confusion. Issen laughed before replying, "I was actually going to ask you the same thing." Before either could continue the conversation, the figure floating in the sky answered for them. "Some of you may have noticed by now, the log out function has been removed from your main menus." Most of the figures within the area opened their menus to confirm what Reave had just said. "This is not a bug, but a feature of KBO." He continued. "In this game, if your health reaches zero and your avatar is deleted, you die as well." Several players shouted in protest, claiming it wasn't possible. "Of course it is." Reave chuckled menacingly. "In the event of your avatar's death, the Enviro-Grid sends a powerful microwave, frying your brain. The same will happen if the Enviro-Grid is removed from your person by anyone in the living world." By now, most everyone had figured out what was going on. Kingdom of Blades Online, the first ever VRMMORPG had been turned into a death game. "Welcome to my world." The figure floating in the sky laughed once more. "The only way any of you will live to see your friends and family again is if you're able to clear all 100 floors of Aegis. I'd like to make it very clear, though… If at any time throughout this game, your hp depletes to zero, your avatar will be lost forever. Simultaneously the Enviro-Grid will destroy your brain." Nobody within the town said a word, afraid they'd miss anything else important. "Good luck, players." With that, the figure ripped open a hole in the sky, revealing what looked to be the system itself. The cloaked man stepped through, letting the rift close behind him.
"How can he get away with this?!" Issen shouted in protest, turning towards Alistar. Alistar's brow furrowed as he considered the implications of Reave's words. "I'm honestly not sure, Issen." Most the players were running around in panic, colliding with one another. "For now, follow me." Alistar turned, walking down a nearby alley. Issen followed obediently. In short time the two boys found themselves at the local inn. Alistar paid the NPC and they made their way to a room. "We can talk here and figure out a plan." Alistar sat down on the surprisingly soft bed, placing his sword and shield beside him. Issen sat on the bed opposite him, placing his sword next to him as well. "So..?" Issen asked after a few minutes of silence. Alistar looked up with an oddly serious look on his face. "You're not gonna like this," he began, "but I think it'd be best for us to go solo right now." Issen's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?!" He looked at his friend once more, noting the studded royal blue jacket and black pants with a matching pair of black gloves and boots. Alistar had obviously already completed a few quests and was ahead of Issen. He'd been a beta tester, so it wasn't very surprising. Alistar began to explain, but was cut off by the sound of arguing just outside their room. It subsided shortly, and the two focused on each other once more. "If you ever need my help, you can message me and I'll be there. For now, however, it'd be best for you to go without me. You know the system well enough to get by, and I need to be here on the front line for those who don't." Issen's initial anger disappeared. "I get it." He smiled at Alistar. "Then if that's what you think is best, I'll find my way on my own." Alistar sighed, glad that Issen hadn't remained upset. "One day though, I'll be fighting right next to you on the front lines, so don't do anything stupid!" Issen added. "Of course not!" Alistar replied, holding his hand in front of him. Issen took it, shaking it once. "It's a deal."
