LEVEL 1
LEVEL 1
"Bye, Ma! Bye, Pa! Ingat sa byahe. I love you!" Paalam n'ya sa mga magulang bago sila umalis lulan ng sasakyan na maghahati
d sa kanila sa airport. Ilang buwan na naman ang bibilangin bago ulit n'ya sila makita. It was for him; for his future, they would say.
That only means...
Migo headed back to his room. He was waiting for this time to come. When he entered the room, it was the complete mess that welcomed him. Books and school papers were scattered everywhere. It was as if there was a storm that ruined his room. Lilinis ko na lang mamaya.
Under his bed, he took a huge box hiding on it. Puro alikabok na ang kahon kaya pinagpagan n'ya muna 'yon. Migo's grin widened more in too much excitement.
Here it is!
He opened the box, revealing a helmet-like thing. It was coated with glossy white paint; each of its details were painted with silver. It had the logo of the manufacturer on the front: Fantaxia. It also had a clear glass visor attached to it. Sa wakas, magagamit ko na 'rin itong Dive Gear ko!
This Dive Gear was a special helmet-like device that could bring a user into another dimension. A portal to another world. Dive Gear was used for VRMMO games.
VRMMORPG or Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game was a new hybrid of online game created in the future. This new kind of game had a given set of innovative gaming experiences to everyone. Playing any VRMMO game was like playing in real life. It needed all the user's senses. Hindi lamang kamay nito ang gumagalaw, kung hindi ang buo n'yang katawan. Not the real body, but a player's virtual body inside a virtual space. They could move freely, touch anything, feel anything, hear, smell, or even taste!
Actually, Migo had had this Game Gear since last year, on his 16th birthday. It was a gift given by his mother. Pero hindi n'ya ito nagamit agad dahil sa sumali sila ng bestfriend n'yang si Haruto sa isang football league. Napasali lang naman ako dahil nilagay ng bestfriend ko 'yong pangalan ko sa listahan. But now, he had more time to use it.
Now, let's set up this device.
He took the game chip of the game INTO FANTASY from the box and put it on his gear. If Dive Gear served as a portal to another world, the game chip was the key for it to open. It served as the key to a user to enter the virtual space. On this small chip, everything that they did inside the virtual dimension would be automatically saved and stored here.
Nang maisalpak ang game chip sa gear, naghintay lang ang binata ng ilang minuto sa pagi-scan nito.
Scanning complete!
And it was all done! He had already assembled the Virtual Gear. Now, it's time to join the craze!
Migo laid his body on the bed, in the most comfortable position. Then, he grabbed the gear and placed it on his head. He heaved a thrilling sigh. Excited na excited na ako!
Pinikit n'ya ang kan'yang mata at binulong ang magic word.
"Dive in!"
On cue, Migo felt a strong force pulling his consciousness somewhere. What the hell is going on? He saw different color beams passing before him, and it felt like he was being dragged into another world. Too much excitement crawled all over his body.
Ito na 'yon!
Suddenly, the strong force stopped. Migo saw nothing but complete darkness. Where am I?
A moment after, a floating window appeared in front of him. It had fill-in boxes that he needed to fill up and a keyboard with all these glowing letters.
[ REGISTER ]
Migo punched letters from the keyboard to fill all of the text boxes. Puro mga impormasyonlang tungkol sa user ang nakalagay doon. He tapped the finish button and another floating window appeared.
[ USERNAME ]
Migo bit his lower lips. Hindi ko pala napag-isipan ang username ko!
Sa huli, nilagay n'ya ang IGN n'ya sa mga mobile game na nilalaro n'ya.
"Leviathan."
Leviathan means something or someone that is big and strong. It was also the name of the sea monster mentioned in the bible. This will be my in-game name inside INTO FANTASY; as its meaning says, I should also possess a strong characteristic.
[ CUSTOMIZE AVATAR ]
Having a strong alter-ego, it would require a strong appealing avatar. Should I make it attractive like my face? Hmm. Let's just see what's available.
Lumabas na ang hinihintay n'yang floating window. It had an avatar customization setting, here he could personally stylize his virtual body.
Migo started moving his fingers to customize his virtual body according to his desires.
He made his skin a bit darker— like he was marinated under the sun for some time. His hair was messy and silver; he also made his eyebrows and eyes the color of his hair. Paborito ko kasi ang kulay pilak. On the other hand, he made his nose a bit arched. His jaw was more defined, making his face look slightly ruggi sh. I look much more mature-looking than my actual appearance.
On the body, he made it well-built—far from his real body— it was more like an athlete's body than a body builder's.
Customizing his costume, Migo chose a unique looking armor suit. It had these white silver metals attached to it, such as a chest plate, shoulder plate and heavy pair of boots. Can I take this heavy suit? Baka wala pang isang minuto ay bibigay na ito.
Finally, He finished customizing his virtual body for the game. It was really far from his real-life look. I look so mature here!
Migo's lips pressed into a thin curve. Kinakabahan at ako nae-excite sa magiging paglalakbay ko sa loob ng larong 'to.
A blinding light bloomed in the hollow space. Mariin n'yang pinikit ang kan'yang mata sa matinding pagkasilaw...
[ Welcome to «INTO FANTASY» ]
When he opened his silver eyes, a beautiful landscape had revealed itself. Migo, who was now Leviathan, couldn't stop his jaw from dropping. This is amazing! I successfully entered the virtual world of INTO FANTASY! Gusto n'yang sumigaw at tumalon sa sobrang saya.
He roamed his eyes on this wonderful surroundings. Leviathan was standing in the middle of a wide forest. The gigantic trees stood with might, branches were dancing as the air breeze blew and as the birds from the sky sang relaxing melodies. Plants were spread across the whole place, they differ in color and size much like the flowers.
Para bang nasa paraiso na s'ya o naman kaya'y nasa mundo ng mahika katulad ng mga napapanood n'ya sa telebisyon.
Leviathan's vision had these user-interfaces: Health Bar, Experience Points, Level Status and his username on the upper-left corner; on the upper-right side, it had the map that covered the whole area where he was standing right now.
"Nasaan ba dito ang daan palabas? Kating-kati na ako mag-quest, e!" He started to walk to wander the whole place.
Truth was, Leviathan only had a little knowledge about this game. I'm too lazy to do that and there would be no thrill if I do that, too. Ayon pa sa kan'ya, mas maganda ang karanasan kapag s'ya mismo ang makakadiskubre ng mga bagay sa larong 'to.
Habang naglalakad ay kinakalikot n'ya na ang mahahalagang bagay sa larong 'to. Like how to open his profile and inventory window. Inalam n'ya na 'rin ang button na pipindutin upang makapag-log out kapag nagsawa na sa kakalaro.
It was as complex as it seemed. Inabot ang binata nang ilang minuto para malaman ang mga 'yon sa pamamagitan nang pagkapa.
He stopped for a moment when a floating window appeared.
[ FIRST QUEST ]
Kill 10 mole rats.
[ RECEIVED ]
30 Coins
Daggger
The skinless mole rats appeared all over the place. They had these crimson pairs of eyes and razor sharp claws and teeth. They can devour me once disturbed. Mole rats get aggressive when they are disturbed. "Try nga natin kung totoo," He whispered with a naughty grin. He had to experience it first hand. He grabbed a pebble and aimed his first target. The player threw it directly to his first rat ... and bull's eye! That was
a headshot.
The mole rat's eyes became deadly and dangerous; revealing its sharp claws and teeth. Leviathan gulped multiple times, and it started to run in his direction! Holy, milk!
'Squick!'
The rat jumped through the air. It was about to scratch Leviathan with its claws but he managed to dodge it by bending his body. If I did that in the real world, my back bone would be broken right now.
'Squick!'
Nang makalapag sa lupa, naglalaway na tumakbo sa direksyon n'ya muli ang daga. Oh, no. Leviathan opened his inventory and pulled out the blade knife that he received earlier before the first quest started.
Leviathan didn't expect the sudden attack of his enemy. Malakas s'yang binunggo nito at kinagat ang nakalabas nitong braso. He felt its sharp claws digging and ripping his flesh apart. Leviathan screamed in pain. He managed to pull the rat out of his arm then threw it somewhere. Blood immediately gushed out of his open wound. Mabuti na lang at wala itong lason.
Leviathan's health bar from his upper-left vision decreased. He also felt a sudden weakness. Totoo ngang nakakaramdam ka rito tulad ng sa totoong mundo. Terrifying yet amazing. If ever a player died inside the game, they would be stuck in a hollow space for some minutes then later delivered in a respawn cathedral near this place.
He composed himself then held his blade knife tighter. Blood kept dripping from his open wound. Iiwasan ko na lang makatamasa pa ng isa pang sugat.
'Squick!'
Mabilis na tumakbo ang daga patungo sa binata. Once it was near Leviathan, he made his fighting stance. Wala lang, feel ko lang s'ya gawin. He kicked its face then stabbed his weapon on its head. Its health bar dramatically decreased to 0% then died.
[ 9 LEFT ]
Leviathan stood up and wiped the blood sprayed on his cheek. This game was really exhausting... mentally? It didn't use the physical body so it should be his brain that was exhausted.
The player picked another pebble and threw it to another rat. Once disturbed, it became aggressive. But befre it could harm him, his blade knife pierced through the air and killed it in an instant.
[ 8 LEFT ]
"Way to go—!" Leviathan paused. His virtual body trembled as his chest pounded heavier and harder. It felt like someone poured cold water on him. And next thing he knew, crimson eyes were looking at him as if he was a prey. Their razor sharp claws and teeth ready to rip his virtual body apart...
[ CONGRATULATION ]
You have slain 10 mole rats.
[ Received ]
500 coins
[ NOTICE ]
You have reached level 1!
Strength: +1
Intelligent: +1
Agility: +1
Speed: +1
🎮
Once done doing his first quest in this game, a new place was unlocked. Leviathan could now enter a nearby town called Sapphire Town. Actually, this town was only a part of a wide continent. Ngayon ay nasa Stone Continent ako, this is where every player starts. Maraming town ang kailangan n'ya pang mai-unlock para maari na s'yang makapunta sa iba pang kontinente. I can only unlock new places via doing special quests or through leveling.
Nang makarating s'ya sa Sapphire Town, bumungad sa kan'ya ang tila nakapa-busy na bayan. The structure of the town was like an old German village. May mga newbie player gaya ko na narito. They interacted with one another, pati na 'rin sa mga NPC or nonplayer characters.
Isa ito sa mga magagandang feature ng laro. It allowed everyone to meet new friends and build good memories with them.
Leviathan wandered around the small town. The atmosphere, the people, the landscape- the creators of this game really did their best in making this virtual world to almost mimic the realness of the real world. No regrets in entering this game!
Hindi na n'ya namalayan na nasa town's market na s'ya. There were lots of stalls—ran by NPCs or merchandiser players-here that sold healing potions, health replenishing drinks and more.
Using his collected money, Leviathan went to a store and purchased health replenishing drinks. Kailangan ko ang mga ito dahil maraming quest ang ginagawa ng mga newbie. It would definitely help him maintain his health points in a quest.
"Thank you," pasasalamat n'ya sa tindera. It was now hard to distinguish the difference between virtual reality characters and real people- they were almost the same!
The old vendor smiled. And they are nice! Upon wandering around the whole place, Leviathan found a girl crying at the corner of the town's market. Tila ba naliligaw ito. No one noticed her since mas'yadong maingay at busy ang mga tao. Nilapitan ng binata ang bata. It had no signs that she was a player so he assumed that she was a NPC.
Yumuko ito upang magpantay sila ng bata saka ngumiti. Leviathan caressed her black straight hair. This girl has a doll-looking face making her look so adorable!
"Anong nangyari? Bakit ka umiiyak?" The latter asked. "What's your name, by the way?"
"N-Nita," the girl introduced, "H-Hindi ko makita si Itay. Magkasama kami kanina sa pamimili kaso nabitawan ko ang kamay n'ya at hindi ko na s'ya makita."
Then a window appeared in front of him. Here comes another quest.
[ QUEST ]
Help Nita find his father.
[ Reward]
???
Inalis n'ya ang window at nginitian ang bata. This one will be easy. "Tara na, let's find your father." Wika n'ya dahilan para mapangiti ang bata. Basang-basa ang mata nito kakaiyak
kanina.
"Yehey!"
The quest went easy as Leviathan expected. Habang naglalakad sila ay tinanong n'ya ang bata, si Nita, tungkol sa itsura ng kaniyang itay. She described his father as a tall man with a white beard and hair. And according to the girl, he was a blacksmith.
Together, they wandered each corner of the town's market. Dito lang sila nagkahiwalay ng itay n'ya kaya malamang ay narito lamang ito. Luckily, I've never experienced this. Takot ko lang mawala noon.
"Itay? Itay! Nasaan ka po!"
Lumapit na rin sila sa mga NPC at ibang player kung nakita nila ang kanilang hinahanap. "Nakasuot po siya ng salamin." They described to the NPC they saw. Binaba pa nito ang kahon at napahawak sa baba.
"Mukhang nakita ko 'yon."
Nita and Leviathan's eyes glittered in joy. Finally, someone could lead them to her father!
"Talaga po? Nakita ninyo ang tatay ko?" Tila nagkaroon ng kaunting pag-asang makita ang ama si Nita dahil sa narinig. "Ngunit, hindi ako sigurado, hija." Pag-amin ng kargador.
"Sa tingin ko-tama! Siya nga! Yung taong hinahanap ninyo ay pumasok sa panaderya sa dulo." Saad ng NPC. They thanked the NPC and immediately ran toward the nearby bakery.
Mabilis nilang tinungo ang panaderya. Sa pinto pa lang ay naamoy na n'ya na ang aroma ng bagong lutong na tinapay. As they entered, Nita immediately saw his father on the counter.
"Itay!" She cried. Napalingon naman sa kaniya ang kaniyang itay at sinalubong ito ng yakap. "Nita! Kung saan-saan kita hinanap!" Naluluhang wika ng itay nito. "Wag ka na ulit lalayo kay Itay, naintindihan mo?" Tumango naman si Nita at lumingon sa binatang tumulong sa kan'ya nang may ngiti sa labi. Leviathan smiled in awe. They look so sweet together.
Ang sarap nilang pagmasdan. Ito ang patunay na walang papantay sa pagmamahal ng magulang sa kanilang mga anak. "Itay, tinulungan po ako ng lalaking iyon para mahanap kita." Tinuro ni Nita ang lalaking kasama, nilapitan naman ito kan'yang ng tatay.
"Totoo ba iyon?" The father asked. Scratching his nape, Leviathan replied: "O-opo..."
"Kung ganoon, maraming salamat sa tulong mo."
"Naku, maliit na bagay lang po iyon." Hindi talaga s'ya sanay na pinapasalamatan. Saka kung hindi n'ya nakita ang bata baka naglulupasay na 'yon sa gitna ng daan. "Bilang pasasalamat, iyong tanggapin ito..."
A window appeared in front of him. His eyes widened. What the hell?
[ CONGRATULATIONS ]
You have finished the quest!
[ Received ]
500 coins
Black Blade (rare)
A rare item? Am I too lucky today or what?
The player knew how other players put lots of effort in order to find a rare item or weapon, and look! He got one without any sweat. Yosh!
"Ang dalawang black blade lamang ang maari kong maibigay sa'yo, hijo. Bukas naman ang shop ko sa iyo kung nais mong ipa-upgrade ang iyong sandata." The blacksmith offered.
"Maraming salamat."
Finally, he bid farewell to Nita and his blacksmith father to continue his journey inside the game. He had more quests to unveil and finish.
[ NOTICE ]
You have reached Level 2!
Strength: +2
Intelligence: +2
Agility: +2
Speed +2
[Unlocked] Basic Attack: +1
Leviathan found myself sitting on the bench here on town's plaza while eating a sandwich and enjoyig the beautiful blue sky. There were birds, dragons and other unknown creatures flying up there. This place– this world rather, was so surreal yet it almost felt real. I must say that the people behind this game and other virtual games gave so much effort to create such a fantastic creation.
After having a nice break on the bench, he decided to continue roaming around the town. According to an article he read before, there was a Quest House in this town that gave quests for players. Pero kung mararating ko ang mataas na level, araw-araw ay may matatanggap na akong quest kahit hindi na ako pumunta sa Quest House. For now, he had to go to Quest House to have his quest.
Habang naglalakad, busy ang kamay at mata n’ya sa paghalungkat sa kan’yang floating window. Until, accidentally he collided into someone's body and they both fell on the ground.
To be continued.