Khlong San, Bangkok
23:06
Pratch stepped out of the stationary sky train. In his left hand, he was carrying a green fabric handbag. It was not particularly large but it manages to keep the arm-length box inside without tearing a hole in the bag. It is just barely squeezing out, making it look almost comical. On his right hand was the Guide book for the world of Godsbound Online. He finished his meeting with Eyes about 3 hours ago and had decided to spend time reading the book, just so he would know what to expect once he dropped into the world.
Pratch knew about video games in general, he even grew up playing it. But the last game he played was back when he was in high school. Technology had developed to the point where now you can play the game without moving your physical body but using just only your mind instead. That is all the modern VRMMORPG is about. And so why was so many people were hyped for this game if it was just another one of that regular VRMMORPG? The answer was simple; the graphics resolution.
For the longest time now, the graphic resolution was the biggest issue in the VRMMORPG industry. The higher the resolution and graphics the game is, the higher the processing is required. And so it heavily affected the gameplay. The regular VRMMORPG titles nowadays run at about 24-30 frames per second, if you are running it on the highest-spec-possible in 2042. And the result wasn't even that great: pixelated shadow renders, post rendering requires about a minute before it finishes rendering, character models were still made of polygons. Many developers find rendering an actual video or photo into a human brain was unconscious was possible, but rendering an entirely interactable landscape into the mind while retaining all its realistic graphics and speed was just impossible with the current technology. That's why the game was so overly-hyped to the point that not only just by the VRMMORPG fans but by developers, programmers as well as scientists from all around the world, how did a rookie indie game developer achieve what they couldn't? But to Pratch, he wasn't interested in all of that. The only thing that he cares right now is the basics of this game.
"If you can't walk properly then you will bound to trip when you run" reminding himself of a quote he heard in the past.
He looked up from the pages he was currently occupied with realizing that he was already halfway from the sky train station to his house. It has been over 17 years since he last walked around this neighbourhood, naturally many of the details from his memory and the reality does not match. Many of the old apartment blocks were now replaced with a new and modern flat, especially the one that is currently located to the left of him, on the other side of the street. A big bright holo panel at the front of the building displaying: "ลองรัก ลองได้" which translate into " Try love, Try sex". Giant neon spotlights showered the whole building and the streets, painting them pink and blue. Ladies and guys in little clothing stood all around the buildings, exposing their smooth, inviting bodies to the passerby.
Under normal circumstances, Pratch would definitely take a visit to one of these establishments find a "partner" to accompany him through the night in bed, as he had done so multiple times before in the past. But he there are currently 2 things stopping him from doing so. Firstly, he is currently in the middle of reading his book; he wouldn't be able to concentrate while accepting love from the girls. Secondly, he is currently feeling very disturbed by a certain discovery. Back when he was a child, he would often come down to this street with his mother to buy dumplings from a certain granny, whose face he can't quite forget due to her sweet and gentle smile she would often show him when he would immediately stuff the pork ball into his mouth. That certain restaurant used to stand where the pleasure establishment currently stood. Now the aroma in the air that used to smell like that sweet soy sauce that would cause your mouth to drool ceaselessly has transformed into a lingering scent of cheap perfume. Pratch was disturbed to find yet again another childhood's favourite place to be ruined by time.
He decided to plop the book back into his handbag. He didn't want it to get doused by the horrible smell of cheap perfume. He also decided to take a shortcut back towards his house. All he had to do was turned left towards the alleyway here then keep walking forward until he reaches a T shaped intersection. Just beyond the intersection was his house, the final destination of his journey from the train station. Pratch turned his body into the alleyway, one noticeable change right away that he noticed was that the smell was immediately replaced by a horrid stench of exposed pipes and sewers.
This further irritates Pratch's mind, (So you replace granny's dumpling treasure with a sex shop but not bother to fix this damn pipe way for the last 17 years? Great job, government! Very cool!)
Having finished sarcastically cursing the government in his head, Pratch walked further into the alley. Hey reaches an opening that leads to a small one-way street. Now all he had to do was keep walking forward until he reaches the crossroad.
"I'm home"
Knowing fully well that nobody would reply back, Pratch still said it out the moment he stepped his foot inside. For some reason, he felt his chest was warmer when he said that. Coming back to this house, the very same house that he had lived in for the first half of his life, made him feel that he had finally come to a full circle of his life. He certainly made the right decision, the decision that he made over 20 years ago. Had he not made the decision, perhaps he himself, as well as the house, would no longer be in this world.
Pratch walked the hallway filled with dust and head straight towards his room on the second floor. The door's hinge creaked as he tried to pry the door open. What he saw now was just his teenage years' room, shabby bed sheets retained the same shape he remembered he had left them all those years ago, the wardrobe that was left untouched which probably is filled with dust by now, the ceiling light which also probably died out long ago was still there. And then there was his old desk. On top of his old desk was a mismatching object to the rest of the room. There was two new computer monitor as well as a motherboard underneath the table, both colored black all the way, untouched by the dust. And also leaning on to the desk was his CryTech Intervention rifle case, with a sticky note sticking on the top of it with the message, "I hired some Anon workers to help move these, it was a VIP service so no information was disclosed. Enjoy the game!"
Pratch pulls up his phone:
00:18
He put down the box on to the bed and immediately start setting up his device. According to what Eyes said, the server went online today at GMT:+0, the keys can be used at any time during the beta test period. But Pratch knew one thing that he must never do, that is to never underestimate a gamer's growth speed. According to the guide book, a player's level is capped at a maximum of 300. The server went online for over 17 hours already, who knows what are the first group of players' level now? Since Pratch was already at a disadvantage against the overwhelming number of players, he must not be catching up to them in terms of level as well.
He reached for his phone to call for a certain number, almost immediately the receiver picked the call.
"Hey, I am about to connect, ran me through the process thoroughly"
"Sure thing, P. Just place the phone on top of the PC and I'll be with you"
"So have you read the book?"
"I covered the gameplay and all the mechanics already, I will learn the lore by myself in this game"
Pratch placed his phone on top of the PC, for an instant he saw a spark in between the motherboard and the phone.
"Alright, I have entered your PC. I will begin pairing your Headset to the computer." said Eyes in a synth-wave-like voice, from the stereo speaker next to the computer.
"Pairing completed. P, you got one new mail from the client."
"Open Mail. Read them for me Eyes", said Pratch as he turns on the headset.
"Mail: May the fire of Shirudal instil your spirit with righteousness.
Thank you for accepting our request. We have transferred you the first payment. For being the first to accept our request, we have the authority to bestow upon you great gifts. Please redeem these codes before you create your avatar"
Pratch listened to the message closely but then he got curious. How in the world did they obtain redeeming codes? The game just went online and there are already codes to be redeemed?
"Eyes, are there any leaked redeeming codes online?" asked Pratch as he begins to wear the headset.
"Not that I know of. Damn the clients might've been one big of a fan so much so that Novidia gave them freebies"
Pratch started to doubt the credibility of these codes. Are they something that would cause the game to glitch or anything? But he cast those doubt away in a blink of an eye. He's a professional in this line of work, and he must always listen to the demands of his clients. There's only yes or no in this situation. And in this case, although he still has some questions, he will inquire them from the client later. It is a 'YES' from him.
"P, redeem them for me. I will connect to the server right now"
"Sure thing. Find someplace to lie down comfortably, or otherwise, you will wake up with a spine up your ass" replied Eyes teasingly.
He could see through the virtual head set a loading bar, with a progression at about 30%.
"Wait. Will you be joining as well Eyes?"
"Yep, I am actually joining right at the same time as yours. But remember that from here on out it's up to you. I will not actively take part in your mission. But, if you ask me nicely, perhaps I might be able to help here and there" explained Eyes
"Well I hope we won't get to fight each other"
"Why? Afraid you'll lose P?" taunted Eyes
"heh, I don't want to traumatized you with my amazing sets of skills"
"You sure talk big for somebody who doesn't even know how to set up a PC in this day of age"
"I see you are still-"
Pratch forget to pay attention to the loading progress bar that came to a complete 100% and immediately loses consciousness as he enters the world of virtual reality.
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