Prologue: Maxed Difficulty

Throughout the years, people from the past tried predicting how the world will come to be, what the advancing technology of humans has to offer, and what awesome features we will see— such as flying cars. But none of those predictions came to life, rather it has become a laugh looking back at how far people have looked at the future.

In the year 2024, instead of flying cars, people have become more sensitive and one simple joke could cancel your time. We didn't thrive technologically but stupidly. Had we used our knowledge for the advancement of our environment and society, we would have achieved what our ancestors thought of the future.

Cryptocurrency became more popular as years went by with people hitting it big while others were missing out on this big opportunity. And of course, the one who benefited the most from the economic growth was the government.

Then, the years went by pretty quickly. What people initially thought was impossible happened right before the eyes of the many through live broadcast. Millions of people were watching online and through television at that time when the first-ever successful full dive VR headset was launched, thus opening the blinds for a new generation of technology.

As expected, at that time, the resources were limited, making the VR headset a gold product only the wealthy could afford. Not until years have gone by and mass production of games and other versions of VR headsets came to be. Different brands and companies launched their own versions and now they are trying a breakthrough in the AR world (Augmented Reality). Although it would take them several years or maybe decades to craft AR into perfection, the world has indulged in the world of Virtual Reality.

***

Life in the province is so much different than in the city where partying, clubbing, and the polluted air that fills the system of everyone isn't a thing.

"It was not as humid as this in the province, ey!" Maverick intoned with a hint of his provincial accent.

He had newly settled in the city after moving away from his hometown to attend college.

"Huh? What are they looking at?!"

With a frown on his face, he stared intently at people who paid him attention. Who would not if he was wearing a straw hat and his favorite pair of clothes with a cute fish design?

"Have you guys not seen an islander before, eh?!"

His nose struck dry air when a passing truck whizzed past him near the curb, causing him to cough relentlessly.

"Fuck you! Whoever you are!"

Screaming crazily in the middle of the sidewalk while flipping someone off gave the passersby the weird vibe, thus avoiding Maverick.

"You should stop cursing, mister. The children could hear you." Reprimanded a concerned lady.

Upon realizing that kids were staring at him like he was some kind of a bad guy, Maverick shrunk and apologized almost immediately as he bowed his head repeatedly.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"N-No need to do all that. As long as you reflect on your actions."

For the last time, Maverick sincerely apologized and waved the kids goodbye while walking away to avoid the embarrassing situation he had put himself in.

In broad daylight, Maverick was roaming around the city, not giving a single thought about how and what people would say to him. All that he wanted to do was get to know more about the place and how different it was from the hometown he used to live in.

"The air here is so polluted that I can feel my lungs becoming unhealthy!"

The loud honking of cars, heavy traffic, and the scorching sun were too much for Maverick, so he decided to go somewhere cool. Luckily, he stumbled upon a mall where bright lights and cold air were coming. The ceiling reached as far as 25 feet and the interior was so spacious. People who were going in and out looked all fashionably up to date.

While looking around, he passed by a store and his image was reflected in the mirror. And the first thing that came to his mind was "plain." From the mirror then down to his clothes, his eyes went, pinching his shirt to give it a better view.

"Not that I care," shrugged Maverick and proceeded to skip across the mall, even though the tiled floor was quite slippery. "Oooh! Lots of beautiful women! Mestizas! Morena girls are still on par!"

With the advancement of technology came sociology, environmental, and ecological growth. The whole world thrives but countries that continue to get worse as years pass by still exist. Disparities between countries still is a thing and will always remain as people stay the same.

"Year 2042, huh?"

What a strange year for Maverick who was born in the time when most of the technology he was witnessing at the mall did not exist until the Great Advancement his parents always told him.

"Artificial intelligence has been integrated into everyday lives, replacing most of the jobs in the lower sectors and even in the higher sector. However, there is still a huge gap between human's and AI's capabilities, which the robots could not drastically fill in."

[On sale! Vector X for as low as 50 dollars! This ocular VR headset is the newest release! Grab it before all of our stocks are sold!]

"Fifty dollars is about a week's worth of groceries! Good thing there has been a huge deflation in market prices! I don't have to worry about budgeting my allowance," which he got from the government as a scholar.

"Look at that guy," said a teen to his friends after seeing Maverick. "He's wearing a farmer's hat!"

"So malls let beggars come inside their establishment..."

"He doesn't seem like a beggar, though."

Despite all of the insults Maverick could hear, he does not give a damn about them. In his mind, nothing was wrong with how he presented himself, therefore continuing with his journey.

"I'd have to skip meals for the whole week if I wanted to buy something as expensive as a VR headset."

Maverick is what people call an impulsive buyer who can't say no when it is most necessary.

"I ended up buying one... My week's worth of food is gone and it's only my first day here in the city."

All Maverick could do was accept how things turned out and go back to his small apartment. He was actually out to buy some groceries, which he did and ended up buying an ocular VR headset as well.

"A week's worth of groceries will have to persist for 2 weeks... At least they gave me a free game I can play with this."

If the eyes are full, so is the stomach, he'd say.

***

The first day of the school year began and Maverick did not have the time to play the free game he received because of the amount of time he spent unwrapping his things and decorating his apartment.

Compared to the schools he attended back in the province, the school he enrolled in this time has the facilities and equipment needed for a better education.

"Do we really have to introduce ourselves in front of everyone every single time? I see that as a waste of time."

Maverick sighed and sunk back to his seat in the back row.

"That will be all for today, class!"

The first day was all about getting to know each other first with no discussion, so the students had the leisure to interact with themselves and probably make some new friends.

"Us freshies ought to have fun, you know?"

Once the homeroom professor was out of the classroom, each and every student went to how they wanted to spend their free time; communicating with their friends, planning for later after school, and some of them fidgeting with their phones and gadgets.

"Hey, have you heard about the new game that's about to launch today?" Began one of Maverick's classmates, excited to tell the news. "A hardcore leveling VRMMORPG with various difficulties depending on the settings!"

"Oh, Ethereal was it? I've heard the pain receptors for the highest difficulty are the same in real life. Imagine being stabbed multiple times or burning alive. That would be traumatic!"

"Right?! I don't wanna die drowning in the sea!"

Strangely, the conversation caught the ears of a natural extremist, piquing his interest. A surreal experience of the fantasy world integrating the reality of suffering into one with lots of benefits and negative effects surely would be a fun ride for Maverick as he imagined how sick his adventure would be.

"You two! Tell me more about it!"

***

Phantasm is a worldwide company that manufactures and produces vast amounts of hardcore games for gamers who like the thrill of difficulty. They have made the best-selling game in the world of fantasy and thriller with monthly active players of 20 million.

And now, they are back for more with their newest game "Ethereal" a hardcore leveling VRMMORPG adventure game where players will choose a level of difficulty they want to play in.

"The settings and play style of the game will depend on the difficulty you will choose. For example, you chose the easy one. You will be teleported to a typical fantasy world as a member of the guild with decent equipment for starters and then you will start your journey."

"What about the hardest?" Asked Maverick, focused intently so as to not miss a single detail about the game. "Like an Arctic setting with cool monster designs?"

"Actually, the devs did not want the company to reveal more details about the settings. They said that if you want to know more, hop on the game and see it for yourself. And the game's server will open today at 2 in the afternoon."

"I see... How much does it cost, though?"

"Around a hundred dollars?"

"A hundred?! That's..." Maverick looked at his savings through his phone and saw the collapsing budget folder he had made for the month. "A month's worth... I'll have to eat bread crust or maybe look for a part-time job."

"But from what I've heard..."

"There's a catch?!"

"Apparently, Z Mall is selling Vector X for 50 dollars with a free Ethereal early edition game."

"Early edition? What does that mean?"

"Oh, you don't know? Like for beta testing. The edition where bugs and changes that needed to be fixed exist."

"So it is not the latest version."

Even though it was not what Maverick thought it was, he was still grateful for receiving a free game.

"But won't those people who played the game earlier than the others have the advantage at the game?"

"Nope. Phantasm completely scraps the early edition and makes huge changes to their games so that it will be fair for everyone. The early edition's purpose is for profit. A give-and-take proposal to players. You buy the early edition for a price and you grind to earn enough to get back your money and have more to buy the latest version."

***

After dealing with all of the instructions needed to be done and preparations, Maverick was finally done and ready to test the Vector X VR headset. He immediately laid down his futon while wearing the VR headset and calmly turned it on via voice activation.

"Vector on..."

In his eyes, the light of the VR headset flashed through the lens, then colorful cinders of engulfing flame played across the void and he was met with a voice.

[Welcome, entrant! Please register your desired name before we proceed.]

The character who was speaking to Maverick was incomprehensible. It takes the form of many and yet none.

"A noteworthy alias... Something that is easily remembered but impactful."

For a moment, Maverick fell into his thoughts, racking his brain for possible usernames he could use.

[Please enter your desired name.]

"Maverick."

[Inputting Maverick. Complete.]

[Scanning Avaris Triad's ID. Complete.]

[Creating Maverick's profile. Complete.]

[Would you like to load Ethereal: Early Access?]

"Yes, please."

Maverick kept his eyes peeled, carefully watching the loading of the game unfold right before his very eyes.

"Amazing..."

He was awestruck, unable to say any words after catching a glimpse of the world that awaited him.

"If this is how beautiful Ethereal is in its early version, I wonder how beautiful it is right now with its changes." He thought to himself as he floated around the place.

[Welcome to Ethereal! Entrant Maverick, you are one of the lucky people who get to play early access to our game!]

[An entrant is required to earn 200 dollars worth of ETHEL to finish the game. Play it to your heart's content and unveil this world's secret!]

Seconds passed and Maverick came across the game's difficulty.

[Choose the difficulty you want to play in.]

[Impassible]

[Easy]

[Moderate]

[Hard]

[Expert]

[Impossible]

[Note that the rewards you can earn depend on the difficulty you choose. Most of the entrants have chosen either "hard" or "expert". Only a few have played on "impossible."]

"Impossible! Let's go for the impossible!"

~