1Chapter 0001: Ascension
Tae's heel slammed down on the angle between the dummy's neck and the shoulder and the inanimate chassis crashed to the floor, where it lay deformed and motionless.
Oops.
The speakers in the room buzzed. "Can't believe you broke another one. Those things are expensive, you know."
"Sorry," she replied, smiling to herself even though she shouldn't, but nothing beat the satisfaction of crunching through the lifeless things.
The blue lights in her suit dimmed, signalling the end of the set. She sat at the rest station in a corner and unpeeled the stretchy material from her skin as Hack opened the door to the recording room. He shook his head at the broken dummy and grinned, his eyes disappearing into the crinkles. "It's fine. That was really good, kid! 98.4% reproducibility across twelve sets." He held out a water bottle.
"Is twelve enough? I can do a few more if-"
"No need with that percentage."
Hack was a genius programmer at Nebula Corporation, or so everyone said. He had the body habitus and permanent hunch of someone who'd sat thousands of hours in front of a screen, but his eyes were kind. Technically, he was Tae's boss, but he was hands-off about it. He didn't get mad when she broke things and sometimes he even let her beat them up for fun.
"Either way, good work. Don't know what kind of training they put you karate kids through, but no one that's been through this room is this accurate with their movements," he rambled.
Tae shifted uneasily. She had been getting better at accepting compliments, but they still made her uncomfortable. A side effect of a lifetime of merciless training and criticism. "What'd you do without me, huh?"
His eyes crinkled. "Indeed. Well. That's it. Go get changed."
"That was our last session, wasn't it?"
"Yep. The Vandals have all their combat skills." He turned around, facing the glass at the back of the room. "This is going to be the coolest race in the game. Good work everybody!" The speakers transmitted the cheers from the recording team.
Tae peeled the rest of the suit off in the changing room. It had bothered her at first – the suit molded to her body in a way that left little to the imagination, but no one in the motion capture department stared or made her feel uncomfortable. Now that she was taking it off for the last time, she knew she was going to miss it and everything it represented: her first job making money independently, the respect of her co-workers, being treated like an adult, like an actual person, instead of a competition-winning machine.
She had saved up enough money to rent a small studio for a few months, but she'd have to find more work eventually. She didn't want to go back to the competitions, not now that she'd had her first taste of independence. Maybe, at some point later in life, if she ever came to miss the ring and the injuries and the accidents and the abuse. It was unlikely.
The life of a normal person was better.
Hack had asked Tae to meet him in one of the conference rooms, so she headed there, opening several layers of security doors with her fingerprint. Nebula headquarters was a magnificent high-tech building, with curving architectural elements and decorative holographic projections. Its glass wall lifts allowed the workers to watch life unfold in the streets below, where normal people rushed and talked and ate and mingled, and sometimes stopped to stare up at the Nebula building in awe like ants in the shadow of a God.
Waiting in the conference room were Hack and Doctor Olanka, one of the senior programmers, which put Tae immediately on guard. In her eight months of work she'd only seen the stiff Doctor once, when she first signed the contract, and back then the head programmer had barely spoken a word.
"We have a surprise for you," Hack said, grinning. "As thanks and a good-bye present. Brass approved it pretty easily, and – it's so cool!" he floundered.
"We finished ahead of schedule thanks to you," Olanka said. "Hard work should be rewarded."
Hack motioned to the helmet set out on the table. "Behold, your very own key to Elesia."
Tae recognized it instantly: the Ascension helmet that allowed entry to the virtual world. "Oh."
She picked it up – it was pristine white, the material smooth like glass and surprisingly light. The Nebula logo was engraved at the front of the helmet with a small silver mark.
"Yeah. I heard you didn't have one, and I figured, we could at least get you the helmet," Hack prattled on. "Your work is part of the world now, it's only right you get to see it. This is the latest generation Ascension gear, it has less than one millisecond of ping and improved proprioception – uh, you'll play the game real good."
Tae gave him a small smile. "I understand those big words now. I've been working here for eight months, remember?"
He returned it. "It went by in the blink of an eye."
Olanka grimaced, a flash of displeasure before her expression returned to its usual stiffness. "Elesia is more than just a game. You will understand soon enough."
Tae turned the helmet this way and that. It looked sleeker than other models she'd seen. Like most children, she had played some VR games growing up. But games were a waste of time, according to her coach, only good for dulling the mind, body and reflexes. So he'd made her drop that hobby like everything else.
It had been at least five years since she'd played – way before the revolutionary and immensely popular game of Elesia went on the market.
Tae wasn't used to presents from authority figures, especially not expensive ones. She'd done a job, and they had paid her – she hadn't expected more. "Um. Thank you, Hack. Thanks, Doctor."
"It is nothing."
Hack was still grinning. "You're welcome, kid. I installed the beta version of the Vandal. You can be whatever you want of course, but I figured you might want to experience the fruits of your labor."
She nodded mutely, still in disbelief.
"It's been basically made with you as the template, so I'm guessing it'll be quite – I think it will suit you. You'll be one of a hundred beta testers until we roll it out to everyone with next month's update. If you find any bugs or anything, let me know, okay?"
"Okay."
Unsure what else to do, she stood awkwardly for a few seconds, until Hack sighed and stepped forward, his arms open. "Don't leave me hanging, kid."
Tae returned the hug, feeling warm, and savored the sensation of physical contact that wasn't hostile for a change (usually, when she got this close to someone, it was because she was trying to knock them out). "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too, kid. Take care of yourself, yeah?"
They stepped back from each other. Olanka stuck out her hand stiffly. Tae shook it. "You are an asset to the company, Miss Tae," the senior programmer said. "We will call you if we need you again."
And that was how Tae's time as an employee of Nebula ended.
Later that day, in her small, tidy studio, Tae stared at the white helmet for a long time.
Her life had always been dictated by the martial arts training. The obsession to win, win, win. There was no time for friends or for games or for pursuing her own interests.
And even when she won, it was never enough, there was always the next match, and the next-
She loved martial arts but she hated everything that had come with it. She just wanted – to try something else for a while. Be someone new, someone other than the quiet girl who only knew how to beat people up on her coach's orders.
And now, she could be.
She slid the Ascension helmet on and pressed the power button on the side, hearing it whizz softly to life.
01000101 01101100 01100101 01110011 01101001 01100001
- Welcome to Elesia. Before you proceed to character creation, would you like to learn how the Ascension gear works?
"No," Tae said. Even a technology-illiterate person like her had picked up the basics after so much time in Nebula HQ. Ascension gear had been tested extensively and used for close to a decade. It was safe.
- Would you like to review the terms and conditions?
"No. Proceed to character creation."
- Understood. Initiating Ascension. Please wait...
Numbness spread from the back of her head like a descending wave, encompassing her entire body, until she could no longer feel the bed against her back or the clothes she was wearing. Her other senses were numbed, too; like being submerged in water that was neither hot nor cold, in complete darkness and silence.
Eventually the darkness receded as the sensation of her own body returned. Seven silhouettes stood in a semi-circle around her. As the seconds ticked by their features gained clarity; all of them were versions of herself, the same frame altered with minor variations. One had long, pointy ears and a thinner body, lanky but somehow managing to stand gracefully. Another was about a head taller, and muscular, with faint blue lines tattooed over the skin. One was about half her height, with large, child-like eyes, another was very small and hovered in the air with insect-like wings, and so on. It was like watching the different possibilities of what she could have been had she been born in a fantasy story instead of plain old Earth.
As the figures completed their loading process, the space around Tae crystallized. She was standing in a clearing, and with her next breath the smell of fresh grass and greenery made her gasp. The sky above was bathed in the golden light of dawn, or maybe twilight, with a few stars twinkling through the glow. Tae marvelled at it. She had never seen stars in the real world - light pollution all over the globe had long ago drowned them out.
So this was virtual reality. The hazy memories she still had of games played in her childhood were nothing like this. Back then, you were able to control your movements within the space, but you couldn't feel anything. Here, she could feel her chest expanding and her heart beating. A breeze was blowing and the pull of gravity and the soft give of the grass under her feet felt just like the real world. Except the colours were vibrant and full of life, like a painting. The green was greener and the sky was richer and everything felt more intense.
When her attention returned to the figures, she found they had refined further. Their stances now held the gentle sway of a living being, their expressions also shifting, including blinks and small gestures. They wore different clothes. Thin-elf-Tae was dressed in long, layered robes with plant motifs, and carried a staff. Tall-tattooed-Tae wielded a glaive-like weapon. Small-child-Tae had several belts and pouches and a hammer strapped to her side.
A blue, faintly glowing crystal ball, about the size of Tae's fist, floated in front of the figures. It was the source of a neutral, incorporeal voice, neither male nor female and without any particular inflection.
- Welcome to character creation. The six races of Elesia stand before you. Each race has unique abilities and skills as well as an affinity for particular branches of magic. This is called racial traits.
"I see seven races," Tae said, counting again to make sure.
- Your Ascension gear has installed the Vandal Beta Test package.
One of the figures – the last one to the right – stepped forwards to face Tae. It was, in a way, the most similar to her human form – same as her current height and frame, with no wings or scales or pointy ears like some of the others.
However, it had shocking amber eyes that seemed to have a glow of their own. The skin on its hands and forearms was pitch black, like they had been dipped in a bucket of ink. The colour blended into her normal skin tone at the level of the elbow. The Vandal stared at Tae with familiar stoniness, her expression emoting less than the other races.
"What are the Vandal's racial traits?" Tae asked.
- Vandals have an affinity for illusion and shadow-based magic. They are able to see in darkness and low light better than most other races. They have access to a wider skill tree of mobility and stealth skills, and empty-handed and light weapon combat skills.
- However, Vandals have harsher restrictions on access to magic and are unable to learn most spells that fall outside the branches of illusion and shadow.
Out of curiosity, she asked the blue orb about the other races. The tiny one with wings was a Pixie, whose racial traits included flight and an affinity for enchantment magic. The tall one with the lilac tattoos was Stormborn, with higher-than-average endurance, strength and magic resistance, and an affinity for wind magic. The one with small iridescent scales over her cheekbones was Merfolk, and could breathe underwater, and an affinity for water and ice magic as well as magical sensor abilities. The delicate Elf had affinity for radiant, nature and life magic and an improved ranged weapons skill tree. The one with flame-like hair was a Pyreheart, with fire magic. The short one was a Halfling, with advantage in crafting-oriented skills and a generalist magic tree and was described as a well-rounded choice for any path the player wished to take.
"I choose Vandal," Tae said.
- Race choice is definitive and can only be changed by deleting your character and starting over from character creation. Please confirm your race choice.
"Confirm Vandal."
All the figures except the Vandal turned to mist and vanished like candles blown away by the breeze. Tae, the Vandal and the floating blue orb were left in the clearing. The Vandal stared at Tae with her unblinking amber gaze. It was a bit unnerving, to be honest, to look at herself in this form, and finally she understood why some people seemed uncomfortable when she stared at them.
- Additional customization options: in this step you may change aspects of your appearance such as sex, facial features, hair colour and outfit.
Tae gave the Vandal softer features to offset the intimidating eyes. She debated the hair for a while. She liked her long hair, but she reminded herself that the point of this was to try new things, to be someone else. She chose short neon-blue-coloured hair. She would never dye it such a bright shade in real life, but this was the virtual world and she could experiment without consequences.
By the end of customization, the Vandal vaguely resembled a prettier punk version of her real self. The choice in outfit was limited to basic starting gear. Tae added a tattered cloak because cloaks are cool.
"Confirm appearance," she said.
- Appearance confirmed.
- Please choose your player name.
"Amber." It was fitting.
- Welcome to Elesia, Amber. Your starting area is randomly assigned among those available to your race. Assigning... You have been assigned to the city of Kram in the Valley of Mists.
The Vandal reached forwards. Tae almost took a fighting stance, but checked herself and stayed still. The Vandal's inky hand touched Tae's shoulder, her expression unchanging.
Suddenly the Vandal smirked, and once more Tae was swept up in a current of numbness.
Pocket Tutorials
Every player has their own Pocket, a small floating orb that accompanies you throughout your travels. Pockets serve as the main user interface. They have a variety of useful functions such as item storage, HP indicators, and tutorial information.