From The Ashes
"YOU FUCKING BITCH"
A guttural roar resounded throughout the cavern, adjacent to each wall an army numbering into the hundreds, both centralized around 2 players in locked combat.
"Face it, Lance, you're beat"
Raising his camera, Lance looked at the towering opponent in front of him. What was originally supposed to be a duel had turned into a ganking party.
"I mean, going on a rampage against the Biggest guild of a Metropolis wasn't a good idea"
Hearing a feminine voice coming from a burly orc sounded a little awkward, but judging based on appearances is a bad habit to have in Verra. Her name is Buttercup, and she is the #1 Dreadnaught in the entire game, as well as the leader of the guild 'Primordials'
After Buttercup finishes her demeaning sentence a red halo spreads on the ground where Lance is positioned, being a veteran of this game allows for a quick reaction time. After noticing the attack Lance rolls towards the side before using his sword in an active block
"ZZzzp"
Lance got hit by a lightning bolt, gaining the staggered status effect and falling forward toward the cradle of the earth.
"C'mon, Lance, Don't be predictable" Buttercup mocked him in a low voice.
"After destroying our guild warehouse, did you really think that I would accept a normal duel? IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!?" She starts to cackle as she screams the latter part.
Standing up, Lance's avatar starts to shake violently with a shout as his blood starts to rise to a stable 75%. Positioning his body correctly and equipping his shield.
"Even if I won't survive this, I'm taking you with me!" Lance screeched as his body rushed towards Buttercup, shield poised to demolish anything in its way. The ground ripping in his wake as he approached the orc, but just as he was about to strike her down, a small wizard with little to no remaining health teleported in front of his path.
"Fuck"
Lance's body charged through the wizard whom exploded into Ash, withering and falling to the ground beneath his feat
"HAHAHAHAHA... No way you fucking fell for that shit, Dumbass!" She started to cry in laughter as runes started to light up from the mass of people surrounding the two.
Whenever you killed a player not in combat, you would gain corruption, a type of modifier in Verra to demotivate mindless killing. With even a little Corruption you had a chance to drop your weapon or armor. With that kill Lance just passed above half Corruption, pushing him into the realm of an almost guaranteed chance to drop at least one of his equips.
'Well, this is relatively annoying. I hope that I don't lose anything important' These Were the last thoughts running through Lance's mind as hundreds of meteors and bolts of lightning started to bombard his Avatar.
"Phwackk"
Lance's headphones fall from the wall behind his monitor, cascading to a stop beside his feet. Steam visibly rose from the force of the throw.
"HOW DO I LOSE ALL OF MY GEAR!!"
Equipment works differently in Verra compared to other MMOs, instead of raiding dungeons to find maxed gear, you spend time gathering the materials needed before physically crafting the item. And Lance's 'Devil Dragon' Set was one of the hardest gear sets to obtain, his being one of only 3 fully completed sets known throughout the game.
"I SPENT 2 FUCKING YEARS GRINDING FOR THAT SET DUDE!"
Just as Lance was about to start running amok around his apartment he gets a moment of clarity as he hears his a notification coming from his phone. Checking what he had missed while he was focusing on gaming he noticed an email from the studio behind the game.
'Subject: Exclusive Access to The Ashes of Verra – A Token of Appreciation
Dear Lance,
I trust this message finds you well. We extend our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support as one of our esteemed Avatar of the Phoenix Kickstarter backers and for your steadfast presence in the realm of Verra over the past 17 years.
In recognition of your dedication, we are delighted to announce that you will be among the first to partake in our latest venture, "The Ashes of Verra." This groundbreaking VRMMORPG title is set in the immersive world you've come to know and love.
To enhance your experience, a meticulously crafted capsule dedicated to the game has been dispatched to your address. You can anticipate its arrival within the next hour of receiving this message.
We sincerely hope you enjoy your journey in The Ashes of Verra and thank you once again for being an integral part of our community.
Best Regards,
[Steven Rifhas]
[Creative Director of Stalwart Games]
"Holy Shit, is this message for real?"
After thoroughly checking the Sender to make sure it was actually from Stalwart Games, Lance started to bubble with excitement. Verra was already an incredibly immersive game, from the amazing graphics and detailed world environment to the demanding exploration-driven node system the game implemented for content that never feels stale. Imagining his favorite game made to be even more perfect caused Lance to almost faint, luckily for him, his doorbell rang just as he was about to tumble towards the warm embrace of the hardwood floor.
"Hello, is this the address of Lance Smith?" A very snazzy-looking man, dressed in a black suit with a red tie questioned the shabbily dressed Lance.
"Yes, that would be me. Are you the ones with the Capsule I'm supposed to get!" Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Lance started to raise his voice slightly.
"Yes, that is the purpose of our visit. Where would you like us to set up the device?"
Visible disdain can be seen on the man's face as he peers into the apartment of Lance. Although it wasn't dirty, or even messy. It was not nearly what someone would assume a person who could spend upwards of $10,000 on a Kickstarter campaign for a game would live in.
"Uhm, follow me. I think I can make some space in the living room for it, about how big is it?"
Lance beckons the man and his lackeys to follow him inside of his apartment.
"Since the Electronics inside of the device are very bulky, the entire capsule takes up about the area of a Sofa. So it shouldn't be too hard to fit it inside of a living room."
The Man starts to explain certain things as his coworkers start to wheel in the massive box storing the means to connect Lance to the expansive world of Verra.
___
Running his hands along the glassy sheen of the metallic egg-shaped device reminded Lance of how long it had been since he had eaten, having been playing Verra for more than 9 hours straight before he rage-quit and reemerged from his stupor he realized that he might need to make himself some food. While walking to his kitchen Lance started to look up information on 'The Ashes of Verra'.
Apparently, Stalwart Games only posted the trailer of the game an hour before he got the email of his newfound ownership of the capsule that is required to play the game. After rushing through eating his microwave-cooked Hotdog, Lance started towards the Capsule in his living room.
Although the game was not to launch for another hour and a half, the man had told him that there was a desktop mode that he could access, allowing him to do other functions outside of the game, similar to a computer.
Sitting down in the fighter-pilot-esque seat, he was confused as to how he was supposed to turn on the system to enter virtual reality.
As Lance was rummaging around the minimalist environment feeling around to try and activate the pod, the glass tube shut around his cockpit, shelling him inside the capsule.
"Would you like to enter Desktop mode?" A robotic voice echoed around the chamber as a little emoticon appeared on the glass in front of his face.
"Yes Please?" Lance questioned what was happening while confirming his entrance into the desktop mode
" | WARNING | This will forcefully put your body to sleep while keeping your mind activated to enter our virtual environment, this can cause dizziness when waking from the capsule over prolonged periods, 'Proceed' ?"
A warning panel appeared on the screen after the face left, after tapping on 'Proceed' Lance's body started to numb, and his eyes started to droop. Before everything went black.