Lucian Noxlear unconsciously bounced on the balls of his feet, eyes calmly sliding between the cast-iron frying pan, his stand-supported holopad, and his apartment’s modest holoscreen, taking in all the information scrolling across both hard light, holographic surfaces.
He filtered out all the irrelevant noise coming from the holoscreen, impatiently waiting for the announcement the United Government said would be forthcoming at 12pm SUT, or Standard United Time.
With an inaudible sizzle and a soft pop, the lines of fat along the frying streaky bacon exploded, drawing his eyes back to the frying pan. Even as he flipped the strips of pork with a short spatula, he glanced at his holopad, seeing if he had missed anything of interest in his regular group chat.
LLL 💖
- Mornin bitches!!! [11:55].
Fr❄️sty 4 Lyfe
- It is almost the afternoon… [11:55].
LLL 👑
- Language darling. [11:55].
LLL 💖
- Bite me! [11:55].
I Am not-Rob
- If the 2 of u start flirting again, I swear Imma GTFO of this grp fr gd, kapish? [11:55].
LLL 💖
- Single dawg so bitter kekeke [11:56].
■I Am not-Rob has left the group, G@m3rs 4 Lyfe.
■Fr❄️sty 4 Lyfe has added I Am not-Rob to the group.
LLL 👑
- Welcome back. [11:57].
Jonathan (Doe) Smith
- LMAO How many times has Leia made Robert rage quit this week? [11:57].
“I think it’s already the fifth time.” Lucian said while clearly enunciating each syllable, watching as his words were scribed in real time.
Immediately, three messages flared to life right below his.
Fr❄️sty 4 Lyfe
- Good morning Cyan. [11:58].
Jonathan (Doe) Smith
- Hahaha seriously? @LLL 👑 you gotta reign your girlfriend in man. [11:58].
LLL 💖
- Mornin Luca. Y u wake up so late? [11:58].
- Fck off @Jonathan (Doe) Smith [11:58].
Lucian snickered at the last message as he gingerly picked up the cast-iron pan and plated the still-sizzling bacon; streaky pork lining up next to fluffy clumps of egg and right above squares of butter melting on char-toasted bread.
Placing the pan in the sink to the side, he turned on the tap and let cold water flow. Rinsing his hand briefly, he wiped it dry and picked up his holopad while reflexively snapping its stand shut.
He quickly brought up the hard light interactive keyboard before tapping out a reply, calloused digits fluttering across the crystal blue wireframe keys like a dragonfly skimming across the surface of a still pond.
TwIlIght
- Sup @Fr❄️sty 4 Lyfe. @LLL 💖 I woke up a while ago. Was too lazy to respond until now. Cooking brunch currently. [11:59].
- On a different note. Anyone else going to watch the UG’s announcement? Only a min left before it should be starting! [11:59].
Messages flooded in, five of the seven members replying with an affirmative. As Lucian read over the contents of each one, he scooped up a pair of utensils, deposited them on the disposable biodegradable plate, and picked it up before blindly proceeding towards the living room.
Just as he settled on his sole threadbare three-seater couch, the time ticked over to twelve noon. At that exact moment, austere lilac script flashed up on the holoscreen warning of an incoming worldwide announcement even as a cheery melody chimed from his holopad, alerting him of an incoming call.
He hurriedly scrambled, nearly dropping the plate as he placed it down on the low table in front of him before slotting his holopad into the couch-mounted projector beside him, answering the call with a clearly worded command.
“Good Afternoon my fellow citizens of the United Government! What a wonderful day today is, isn’t it Jess?”
A plush pair of couches facing one another appeared on-screen, a sharply dressed man and elegantly dressed woman seated on each, glass coffee table in between. Behind the pair of furniture and people was the United Government’s logo, stamped on the wall of black marble with sharp lilac strokes.
At the same time, next to his couch’s armrest, another screen appeared, this one hovering in mid-air and slightly off to the side. Framed in between radiant blue wires was the projected head of a young woman around his age crowned by a snowy-white braid going around her head and flowing down behind a plush backrest supporting her nape.
“Sup. Is there a reason why you called me, Iona?” He asked while paying half an ear to the starting lines of the back and forth conversation.
Leaning forward, he quickly retrieved his plate and settled it on his lap before forking up a mouthful of scrambled eggs; chewing on it as he awaited a response.
“I thought we could watch the broadcast together, if you do not mind…?”
A refreshingly cool-toned voice chimed in his ears like gentle bells, sharply contrasting the overly bombastic tones coming from the two emcees on-holoscreen.
He vigorously chewed a rasher of bacon before swallowing. “Of course not. Two sets of ears are better than one. Sorry about eating in front of you by the way. I hope you’ve had your breakfast.”
Instead of responding verbally, she lifted up a blue-trimmed white porcelain bowl full to bursting with leafy vegetables and thick, glistening sauce.
Closing his eyes briefly, he tiredly shot her an askance look. “Please tell me that’s not all you’re eating.”
Iona’s lips briefly twitched up into a smile as she lowered the bowl, the fine piece of crockery disappearing out of sight as her expression smoothened back out.
“No need to worry~.” She reassured with a subtle, amused lilt. “I stopped purely eating ‘bunny food’ as you put it, and I will not go back.”
Lucian sighed in relief; glad she wouldn’t be regressing back to her previous archaic diet. Just as he was about to respond, certain words from the holoscreen caught his attention, drawing his eyes and ears.
“…I’m sure our viewers are chomping at the bit by now Jimmy, so why don’t we get into the meat of this announcement?”
“You’re absolutely right Jess! But before we can truly begin, it is my distinct pleasure to invite Ms. Rachael Sterling, our one and only chief spokesperson of the UG!”
An enthusiastic roar of applause erupted from the holoscreen, both emcees joining in as a plain-looking woman, albeit one dressed in a sharp lilac-on-white woman’s pantsuit, walked on-screen and comfortably settled down next to Jessica, the female emcee – though not before firmly shaking the hand of those already onstage.
“It looks like the United Government’s… representative has finally arrived.”
At the reference to Rachael Sterling, Iona’s typically cool tones dipped precipitously, voice cold enough to make it seem like the humid air could freeze over and turn to ice without any prior warning.
He chuckled lightly, throwing a glance at the hovering projection, immediately noticing how her large pale-blue eyes had narrowed ever so slightly, looking more akin to blue ice instead of cornflowers in bloom.
“Your roots are showing again Iona.” He commented with a slight smirk, drawing her gaze while earning a dainty scoff.
“You promised you wouldn’t talk about my background.” She said sharply, even as Rachael Sterling begun introducing herself on-holoscreen with a firm yet soft voice.
He arched a disbelieving eyebrow at her. “It’s just the two of us here. Chill out dude.”
Before Iona could bite back, Rachael Sterling ended her short-lived introduction and started in on the central topic of this worldwide announcement.
“…I don’t wish to waste anymore of your time, so let us get into the meat of the matter, shall we?”
“Certainly, Ms. Sterling. I’m sure you’ve already heard this question thousands of times, but what can you tell us about the New Age of Champions?
“In two weeks’ time, the first and only VRMMORPG backed by the UG will be released to the public at large, but we still know little to nothing about it.”
“That’s right Jess! All we know is that an hour in real life is equivalent to four in-game, and that the UG will be enabling the conversion of in-game currency to actual U-credits.
“But wait, that’s not all! From what the UG has said, abilities, powersets, skills… all that and more are not even restricted by class boundaries, allowing for a freedom of choice never before seen in any previous VRMMORPG!”
As the hosts, James ‘Jimmy’ Woodfield and Jessica ‘Jess’ Wells, played off one another, Lucian bit off another piece of toast, looked over at Iona, and asked, “Did you manage to find out anything else besides what the United Government told the public, by the way?”
Having calmed back down, she cooly replied with a delicately scrunched up button nose. “Rude. Please swallow your mouthful before talking Cyan. As a matter of fact, I have not. I have asked my papa, but he refused to say anything.”
Chewing on another strip of streaky bacon, he swallowed before clarifying, “The old man really didn’t tell you anything? Colour me surprised.”
“And what is that supposed to-“
Before Iona could finish her sentence, she cut herself off, hearing something interesting come from her holoscreen; Lucian doing the same as he focused back on his apartment’s own holoscreen.
“…you James, Jessica. Let me confirm the facts first, James. Like you’ve said, the world in the New Age of Champions, or NAoC as I’ve heard some dub it, runs on a time dilation of 4:1. Furthermore, it is true the United Government will be supporting a conversion of in-game currencies to real world, UG-certified credits.
“I would like to correct you on one of your points, however. While NAoC does indeed allow for an unprecedented amount of customisation, there are still some restrictions woven into the realities of the world – which neatly brings me to your question, Jessica.
“«Forge thy Foundation. Blaze thy Trail. Ascend the mountain of Godhood». I’m sure that citizens around the world have been micro-analysing these three phrases for the last 300+ days. Today, I’ll be shedding some light on the matter.
“Forge thy foundation. Unlike popular games of the last century or so, characterised by classes and skills and the like, NAoC is built on a system of Gems, Shards, and Fragments; each one slotting into apertures dispersed across the body and forming a foundation for future progression.
“Blaze thy trail. This is where things get slightly trickier. While traditional classes are a non-factor, it doesn’t mean archetypes, in and of themselves, don’t exist. Either blaze a trail full of Iron-blooded Domination; of Intrepid Freedom; or of Hoard Agglomeration. I’ll leave it up to your imaginations to try and figure out what each Trail could comprise prior to NAoC’s launch.
“Last but not least; ascend the mountain of Godhood. As with all games, progression is a key factor in NAoC. On that note, if I might go on a tangent for a moment.
“Any who are even peripherally familiar with historical accounts should know of the generation of Champions. Hand in hand with such figures of legend comes Exotic Energy, Exoene for short, a no longer existing source solely responsible for the mythical feats aforementioned figures were purportedly capable of.
“And that, my dear citizens of the United Government, is exactly what we’ll be giving you access to!
“Forge a foundation of Gems, Shards, and Fragments; all to acquire abilities belonging to myth and legend. Blaze a trail of Domination, Freedom, or Agglomeration; with your path being aided by established frameworks in-game. Ascend the mountain of Godhood; a journey that begins with Exoene.”
On-holoscreen, Rachael Sterling cracked open a bottle of water and took a swig, a deliberate pause clearly meant to allow viewers on-set and at home to digest her veritable word vomit.
“Do you have any questions for me, James, Jessica?” At her verbalised signal, aforenamed emcees bombarded the UG’s spokesperson with question after question after question.
Lucian raised his plate and pushed every last morsel into his mouth. Chewing on the scraps of bacon and egg, his mind chewed over what had been revealed in the broadcast; vague as it was.
By the time he finished swallowing his mouthful, he decided against entertaining any further speculation – well aware he wasn’t even close to smart enough to parse out any details besides the obvious.
He pointedly cleared his throat. “So… what do you make of that?”
Meeting his eyes, she delicately hmphed – clearly audible through the projection. “I hate to admit it, but the… representative has painted an interesting picture of what to expect in the New Age of Champions; even if a rather vague one.”
“True. I’m really interested how they’re going to implement Exoene though!”
His excited comment earned him a light, tinkling giggle; Iona’s small hand reflexively coming up to try and stifle it behind her extremity.
“Why am I not surprised by your specific interest.” She commented after recomposing herself. “Do not get too wrapped up in your passion, however. Remember what your purpose is for playing the New Age of Champions, ne?”
“Don’t worry, I haven’t. There’s no way I’ll abandon trying to make NAoC into my new livelihood.”
Iona nodded, satisfied. Bringing a fine huatianxia teacup to her mouth, she took a delicate sip while humming contentedly. Feeling that he could use a drink at the sight, Lucian excused himself and went to grab a carton of orange juice; bringing his greasy plate along to get rid of it.
While opening up his second-hand scuffed up chrome refrigerator, he heard Iona’s muffled voice say something. He cocked his head, wondering what that was all about.
Quickly taking his target juice, he bumped the fridge close with his hip and strode past the wide open door, back to the living room. Even before he could fully cross the threshold, he saw that a familiar person had joined Iona through the holographic projection; someone he confusedly greeted with a short wave.
“Sup Phoenix. I didn’t know that you were back home from your trip to megacorp central…?” As Lucian trailed off, he levelled Iona with a questioning side-eye, only getting a cutely stuck out tongue and brief wink in response.
As if fully aware what his little sister was doing, the man, with short white hair exactly identical in shade, reached down in a flash and gripped her tongue between his thumb and index finger. All the while, his burning red eyes never shifted away from Lucian as he unhurriedly responded.
“It has been a while Lucian. How’s things bee-“
“Lwet gwo uff ma twongue!” Iona squealed distortedly, interrupting Phoenix while making Lucian laugh and smirk in schadenfreude.
“-n? Do drop by one of these days yeah? My mother has been asking after you in recent days.”
Finished with his invitation, Phoenix released his grip on Iona’s tongue and patted her head – wiping off the saliva on his digits in the process.
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times before: Don’t stick your tongue out at people. It is both rude and uncouth to the extreme.”
Lucian dipped his head affirmatively, replying with a jaunty “Got it!” just before the hologram folded in on itself and vanished; Iona flying into a rage and jumping up onto her feet being the last thing he saw.
