Closed Beta
After watching the trailer, Mike figured he wouldn't be able to sleep all night.
Judging by the promotional video alone, this was an incredibly ambitious production. The character models and special effects blurred the line between reality and fiction. If they're willing to spend this much on a trailer, he thought, they probably didn't cut corners on the game itself.
Besides, the industry was heavily regulated these days. Promotional materials were required to be representative of in-game footage; false advertising carried heavy penalties.
Still, he couldn't wrap his head around how a company with such a grandiose name had managed to produce a high-quality trailer in a single day. Could they have started development before founding the company? It wasn't out of the question. He'd seen "ten years in the making" indie studios come out of nowhere before, but none were as outlandish as this "Ten-Nation Federation."
With these thoughts swirling, Mike opened the game's registration link. A pop-up window appeared, so crude and basic it looked like a relic from the age of browser games.
"Welcome to the Continent of Destiny Closed Beta Registration."
"Please fill in the relevant information…"
Ugh, name, age… why do they need my address and gender? And a facial scan for verification? What the hell? And… my gaming history?
Mike grumbled incessantly but dutifully filled out the entire form.
Registration successful. You are the 8,675,309th player to register for Continent of Destiny. The first closed beta will begin on August 15th at 8:00 AM. A total of one thousand slots will be made available. The selection will be made via a random lottery after registration closes tonight at 9:00 PM.
Please wait patiently and monitor your personal terminal.
*****
"Nearly nine million applicants, and they're only giving out a thousand slots?" DungeonJanitor's eye twitched. He slammed his personal terminal shut. "Are you kidding me? I've never won a lottery in my life. A thousand slots is just a blatant marketing gimmick."
He complained resentfully and decided to go downstairs and crush a whole large pizza by himself. And it had to be the one with extra pepperoni and double cheese.
…
At 9 PM sharp, the atmosphere in Mike's private Discord server was electric. Everyone was waiting for the lottery results.
At 9:01 PM, the dam broke.
[Lucky_Bastard_07]: HOLY SHIT, I GOT IN! A screenshot of the "BETA ACCESS GRANTED" message flooded the channel.
[MemeThief]: Nice Photoshop, bro.
[YourMemeIsMyMeme]: Yoink! That screenshot's my property now.
[Lucky_Bastard_07]: No, for real! I actually got a key!
[Whale_Hunter]: DUDE, check your DMs! How much for the account?! Name your price!
[Lucky_Bastard_07]: Sorry man, it's soulbound to my ID...
[Cries_in_Beta]: Ugh, this is just the closed beta. The open beta is probably light-years away.
[Chad_Thunderock]: Don't sweat it, bro. What if it's all just hype? We'll save our time. I mean, '100% full-sensory immersion'? That's basically living in a new reality... You could probably even masturbate in the game.
[The_Philosopher_King]: Chad gets it. Masturbation is important. It keeps a man sane. I'm a good citizen: I recycle, I pay my taxes, and I masturbate. God's happy. And you can bet your ass that if I get into this game, I'm going to see a lot of cute beastkin girls, and I'm going to be thinking about them.
[Sir_Dies_A_Lot]: I still think it's impossible... but none of the big platform holders have debunked it. With all this hype, they've definitely noticed. The silence is what's weird...
…
Watching the chat explode, Mike opened his email. He swore he hadn't been this nervous even the first time he slept with his girlfriend.
An email from the official Continent of Destiny team was already waiting.
Congratulations, player Mike_The_Goat. You have successfully obtained access to the Continent of Destiny closed beta. Please enter your game pod at 8:00 AM on August 15th and scan your face to activate the game.
"HOLY SHIT, YES!" Mike let out a triumphant roar, stubbing his toe hard on the corner of his desk.
*****
In Snowmantle Citadel, Alistair rose at the crack of dawn. He had to hurry. He was taking a griffin to Silversky Town, on the border of his earldom.
Today, after all, was the day the players would descend. Silversky Town was their first starting zone. As the Lord of Frostfell, how could he not go and join the fun?
[Ding! Player arrival detected. System temporary upgrade complete! View new features?]
A synthetic voice suddenly sounded in Alistair's mind.
"Well, well. This shameless System gets version updates?" Alistair grinned. "View!"
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have acquired the Information Visualization function. You can now view your own and others' information in a data-based format. (Note: You can view most information for targets of a level equal to or less than your own, and partial information for targets of a higher level.)]
An information display? This was an excellent tool. He had assumed it was exclusive to players, but now he had it too—and an enhanced version at that.
Alistair stroked his chin, giving the shameless System a mental thumbs-up. He immediately took a look at his own stats.
[Name] Alistair
[Title] Lord of Frostfell, Count
[Power] Earth Knight, Level 43 (Tier: 41-50)
[Skills] Glory Barrier, Fearless Charge, Lion's Crush, Desperate Will, Greatsword Mastery
[Equipment] Triumphant Paladin Hero Plate (Hero, Unique), Gold Lion Honor Greatsword (Master)
[Reputation: Pyrian Empire] 240,365 ↑ (Your deeds are widely known in the Duchy of Gold Lion, and your legend is spreading throughout the Earldom of Frostfell)
[Reputation: Beastkin] 36 (Barely known)
[Other Reputations] Omitted
"I didn't realize I was such a celebrity. And this arrow must mean it's increasing, right?"
After reviewing his own information, Alistair glanced over at Thorne.
[Name] Thorne
[Title] Count's Personal Guard
[Power] Earth Knight, Level 49 (Tier: 41-50)
[Skills] ???
[Equipment] ???
[Reputation: Pyrian Empire] 13,755 (A powerful knight, deeply respected by his peers in both the Royal Capital and Frostcrest)
[Reputation: Beastkin] 2 (Virtually unknown)