Divine Sovereign of the Save State

Tendai Mulambo was promised remarkable things after he graduated, amazing things that only a few of his peers got to experience. Alas, he wasn't among the lucky ones who got jobs as industrial designers and was left with the gruelling stress of being unemployed. Tendai wasn't the type to let life pass him by and the fear of missing out was a huge incentive for him to look for something to do. He managed to get something in the meantime, designing the front-end for websites at a small startup that paid him not much, just enough to live a mediocre life. The upper management and coworkers who were there before him had sizeable amounts in the bag and when he realised how huge the difference in pay was, it distressed him a lot. Tendai knew that as an entry-level employee with a skillset not related to his job that he didn't have the bargaining power to demand a salary increment. He just had to lay low, live below his means and get better at his job.   When Tendai, the slim fit, tall and semi athletic 23year old ebony-skinned man returned from work, he was usually greeted by his young brother, Tapiwa, who was 15years old. His brother was full of excitement, getting ahold of his grocery bags and placing them on the kitchen table. "How was work brother? Did you manage to get me those T-squares and H pencils?" asked Tapiwa. "I show up and the first thing you do is heckle me for stuff. I did get you your goods, but it was hella expensive. Make sure you take care of it or else I will kick your ass." said Tendai. Tendai shows him the bag that has the drawing utensils and proceeds to take out a can of gin soda. Tapiwa notices that and alerts him with a whisper, "Mom is here, you know how she feels about drinking in the house." "I had a tough day today, so I need this." "Brother please, just do it privately, no shouting with mom tonight", he stressed. Tendai was annoyed, but he quickly hid his contraband and decided to go to the living room where his mom was. Tendai's mother was elderly, in her late 50s. She sat on her couch, watching a religious channel, intrigued by the word of the preacher. She didn't notice him until he greeted her. "Good evening mom." "Good evening son, how was work today?" "So so." "Did you talk to your boss to have him raise your pay?" she said, not even darting her eyes at him. "Look, I told you before, I am still new there and it's a start-up. Please don't ask me that again mom," he said, sounding flustered. "Okay. I won't. Your dinner is in the microwave."  "Okay", he says as he leaves.   Tendai takes his food and heads to his bedroom. The alcohol that was hidden in his bag is taken out and quickly imbibed. He reclines a bit and begins to eat, clenching one of his fists as he tries to repress the seething rage in himself. He laments his current financial situation as he eats and then suddenly gets a phone call. He checks the caller I.D and recognises the name. "Hey Rufaro, you good?" says Tendai. "I am good dude. So, I and the boys are having a LAN party at Tonde's house. So, we need one more player to fill up our ranks..." he said before being interrupted. "I am not interested in joining you." "Wait, why? Dude, it's just this weekend. We need a really good player." appealed Rufaro over the phone. "I don't have time to be jamming. I have other concerns like working on a new portfolio. "You're still trying to get hired abroad?" "Duh, of course. My skills are being wasted in this country. I just need to make something a bit more competitive than what I previously had." said Tendai with a stern face. "Okay cool. I get it. Get your dream job goals. So, what happened to the previous applications you sent?" "I got rejected. Some of them gave me a reason which is nice because I now know what to do. So, I need to get that done as soon as possible so that I can make my transition."  "I see. So, what was lacking before, if I may ask you?" said Rufaro, who lowered his voice. "Well experience, but I can't exactly get that in this shitty country of ours, so my only hope is to make a portfolio at the same level of industry-level production work. It won't be easy, but I can have something done in a month or 2, so no games man." "Okay cool. Well just find some time to hang out once in a while. I am sure taking a break will be good for you." "I will rest when it's done. Thanks again but I am not in the right mindset to be jamming." "Cool", said Rufaro as he cut the phone.   Tendai puts his plate aside and reclines. He downs another can of alcohol sets his phone alarm and then takes a 4hour nap to be awakened later by a harsh scathing metal song. Upon waking up, he would take out his computer, drawing tablet and begin to work on some product design concepts, firing up the 3D software and getting work done. Multiple tabs on his browser were opened, with several portfolios of renowned industrial designers present. Upending his situation was all that mattered to him and he couldn't wait to finally do what he had studied in school.   A month had passed, and he had begun another round of applications. The feedback this time was more positive, but the only caveat was that they stressed him having experience. Experience, experience, experience. This form of gatekeeping disheartened him. There weren't any industrial design agencies in his country and surely, he had proven to them that he could make something professional. The rejections affected him to the point that he turned to vices. Alcohol and women; Alcohol numbed the pain; cheap hookers healed his bruised ego. These were luxuries he could afford occasionally, but at the back of his mind, he wondered whether he was good enough. Did he not deserve more because of his skills? This introspection ruminated in his mind, to the detriment of his personal relationships.   "You shouldn't waste your money on alcohol, work on yourself and invest in something sensible!" screamed Tendai's mother who was in tears. Tendai was inebriated, standing in the kitchen as his mother dished out vitriol. Her bitter words triggered something in him, and he began to spout things back at her, "You always apply this pressure on me, don't you think I hate the fact that I am in this place? I want to be better now, but you fucken patronise me with your fucken passive-aggressiveness. I am trying my best." "Son, alcohol isn't the way to go. Give it up. You won't get any progress if that becomes part of your life!" "You never listen, do you? You just think I am inadequate. I am not doing this tonight," said Tendai as he stormed into his bedroom. He locked the door behind him and threw himself on his bed. He could hear his mom crying but gulped more alcohol to numb the guilt. She was right about the booze, but he was in denial and needed to cushion the blow of defeat. As he languished in intoxication, he received a surprise call from Rufaro. "Rufaro now is not a good time," he said, with a slightly muffled tone. "Dude, forget about the timing, I made money playing this MMORPG online. Like a decent amount, the kind that makes you quit your job," said Rufaro in an excited tone. "That s**t happens overseas dude, not in Zim. I am kinda not in the mood.  I had an argument with my mom." "Argument, oh, well what's going on?" "I don't really feel like talking about it," said Tendai. "Well, just come over to my place on Saturday. I know you have been complaining about your job's remuneration, but I think you will like what I have to say. Like trust me, it's good money." "I hope you're not secretly conning me into selling drugs." "Not at all my friend not at all."   Tendai cuts the phone and lounges in his bed. He had recalled ignoring his friend time and time again for the sake of his dream. Losing touch with his boys and missing out on a lot of experiences made him wonder why Rufaro still made an effort for him. If Rufaro was really being for real about the financial opportunities, then he would give it a chance. The last thing he wanted to do is pivot into a career in web development.    Rufaro lived in a small flat close to a pub in the big city. There was a lot of activity around his area and several marketplaces close by. Tendai got himself a cheap burger and made his way to his apartment. Upon knocking on his door, he heard Tapiwa shout from inside, "Wait for 5mins". Within 4mins times a lovely vivacious lady with a noticeable bust opened the door. Tendai gave her a bashful look and was surprised. Rufaro then called him in. Rufaro was a stocky guy, a light-skinned black man who was shorter than Tendai but much wider. As Tendai followed his friend who didn't bother to explain why an extremely attractive lady left his apartment, he began to immediately comment on his friend's home. "Holy s**t dude, when did you pay an interior designer to renovate your home?" asked Tendai as he marvelled at the lavish decor. "Well that gaming money got me inspired to spoil myself, so I decided to make the place look more organised," replied Rufaro. "Who was that really attractive girl who just left?" "That was Ashia. She's a freak. Anyways, just come here and check this baby out."   Tendai follows his friend and is shown a gaming system, akin to something like a VR armchair with nodes on the side. He is dazzled but the contraption before him and gives his friend a look of awe. "How did you get this? No, how much was it? No, holy s**t you have a VR system?"  asked Tendai. "I wouldn't call it a VR system to be exact, it's more like a neuro link." "A neuro link? Please don't tell me some science fiction bullshit. Isn't this just VR gear? Which brand, Oculus?" "Nope, I am being serious, it's none of that. It's hard to explain, but I would rather you try it out. Do you want to give it a test drive?" taunted Rufaro. "Well, sure, I never got a chance to play one of these, but I will give it a shot," says Tendai as her proceeds to move towards the contraption   Rufaro assists his friend in clasping the nodes onto him and putting the headset on him. Tendai gets comfy and says, "The material is rather comfortable." "Yep. So, I am about to boot it up. What you need to know is that this isn't your typical MMORPG. It's kind of a secret thing." said Rufaro in a sly tone. "What do you mean by secret?" "It's an underground lowkey experience, well it's big but not mainstream. Just don't talk about it when you go back home." "If you say so."   The contraption begins to light up and the sound of a fan turning permeates in the background. Within a matter of moments, Tendai feels an unusual sensation in his body. In a distressed voice, he shouts, "Rufaro, what's going on?" "The beginning of something awesome my friend."   Tendai passes out and regains consciousness in what seems like a dark void. UI animations occur in his periphery showing what appears to be a loading screen with Celtic pattern designs. Eventually, an ethereal feminine voice speaks, "Welcome to Uirtus, let your journey towards greatness begin." In a matter of moments, an option appears before him with a text area. The header text prompts him to enter his name. Just as Tendai is about to stretch out his hand to interact with the virtual interface, the name he was thinking of automatically populates. "Wait, did it just autocomplete what I was thinking?" thought Tendai as he marvelled at what was in front of him. An overlay appears asking him to Accept or Cancel. When he thinks to accept, nothing happens, and he then stretches out his hand to press accept. Upon completion, A new interface appears with 3 options: New game, Settings and Exit Experience. This time the navigation process matches his thoughts when selecting. On the new game section, a mirror materialises before him showing him what he currently looks like. He is surprised that he is stark naked and covers his genitals out of embarrassment. On the left side of the mirror appears a section of classes he can choose from and on the right the costume variations. Tendai without batting an eye selects the Tank class and immediately experiences a physical transformation in real-time.   "Wow, this is rather radical," he says, astonished by the change, "I wonder how it feels when I go through the other classes."   Tendai shuffles through the other classes and notices his physique drastically change to accommodate the class. Assassin, Mage and Archer made his body nimble and less bulky. The sensation of muscles expanding and then contracting was an uncanny feeling. After experimenting he reverts to his initial choice of a tanker. Before he proceeds to place armour and clothing on his avatar, he notices the gender slider at the bottom. His curiosity is titillated, and he chooses the female gender option. Tendai immediately experiences a huge shift from the gender bender effect. His p***s wilts and morphs into a v****a, his hips become wider, his chest turns into firm C cup sized breasts. The sound of his bones crackling to restructure itself to fit the selection takes him by surprise. He s surprised at the end to see an attractive woman in front of him.   “This is rather radical,” he says to himself. Tendai is overcome with degenerate thoughts and decides to squeeze his own breasts, anticipating the same reaction he would get from women who he would sleep with. After a few shameful acts, he pauses and realises how foolish he is behaving and then quickly changes back to the male form. Tendai begins to navigate the costume selection and goes through various, Nordic, African, Greek and Roman empire armour. None of them seems to feel comfortable and he goes on for 5mins without picking anything. He ends up on the section of contemporary armour and finds a police SWAT uniform. He gladly picks it and is immediately dressed. An overlay appears, asking him if he intends to Accept or Cancel and he chooses to accept. The UI in front of him begins to disintegrate and the ethereal voice returns.   “Welcome to Uirtus, Lord Obliterator. You will be starting off at the base level dungeon with other fresh players like yourself. Once you have cleared 10 dungeons you will be allowed to participate in the global economy and sell the loot you’re making during this time in exchange for virtual currency or currency of your own choosing. The system will automatically create a bank account for you in which you can withdraw and deposit your earnings. Feel free to check your inventory to know your available resources.”   Once the voice had finished its monologue, the black void disappeared and Tendai materialised in a cave-like structure with other players. There were 3 mage types, 4 assassin types, 7 fighter types and 3 tanks including himself. His periphery vision suddenly generated an inventory overlay with a brief tutorial walking through which section does what. When he saw the stats section, he glanced at it and gained access.   Player: Tendai Mulambo Title: Lord Obliterator Class: Tank   Level: 1 HP: 50 MP: 70 Stamina: 100   Strength: 100 Vitality: 50 Durability: 30 Agility: 10 Intelligence: 110 Detection: 10   “My intelligence is pretty high for a level 1 tank, hmm, I wonder how this game assigns values?” thought Tendai as he noted the value discrepancies on his stats. Others were doing the same and murmurs could be heard in the background.   “How the f**k do I have low intelligence as a mage?” lamented one of the female players. In a matter of moments, a giant goddess-like figure materialised before them as a hologram. The voice that came from its mouth was the same one that Tendai heard when he was choosing his character.   “Dear champions, you may be wondering why there are fluctuations in your base stats. At your base level, your past experiences and competences influence your class’ stats. This will affect even attributes that are innate with the class you have all chosen.” Said the goddess.   “Wait, that’s not fair?” spouted one of the players.   “The weak should ally themselves with the strong and the useful should leverage their usefulness. The dungeon raid will begin.” Said the goddess before she disappeared.     As soon as the goddess disappeared, an overlay with objectives appeared before every single player’s peripheral vision. The notification stated, “Clear all Serpent men and their boss the hydra. Bonus goal: Find the serpent eggs.” Tendai began to wonder how difficult or easy this task would be and started randomly swinging his weapons; the button stick seemed to be imbued with mana, his shield was very strong, and his shotgun also had a magical miasma. Tendai had the jitters and so did the other players around him. It was a combination of both fear and excitement for what lied ahead.   Ahead of them were multiple tunnels and soon enough unintelligible sounds began to echo. The creatures were waiting for them, but Tendai was eager to test out his abilities on them.