VR WARS Volume II - Coalition Army

GLAMOROUS WELCOME

Within a couple of minutes, we were at the gates of the castle, and they were enormous. Over fifty meters tall, with twin towers on either side of it and golden banners swigging all around the walls. I was sure that attacking such a place would be an impossible ordeal. Taking the walls alone could last a hundred years and cost thousands of lives, and yet those gigantic sturdy gates opened to us with ease once the system recognized the carriage and its occupants as guests. Dismissive of our consent, that fortress welcomed us in its entirety, granting us access to its domain and possibly to its wonder hidden deep within. As we made our way inside, what I thought was an unguarded fortress quickly turned into naïve judgment.

Just as the citadel had come within sight, so too did an army of armored knights cladded in armor from head to toe, formed up into a close formation to greet our arrival.

The ringing of bells made themselves noticeable to our ears from afar, embellishing us with a welcome worthy of royalty, and if that had not been graceful enough, falling white rose petals opened a way to us through a maze of imposing guards.

“Make way, men!” A horseman shouted, standing at the front of the army, most likely an officer.

A sudden split in the formation divided the army into two columns, with cavalry standing in the back rows, infantrymen inside, composing most of the army, and crossbowmen and archers at its edges. It was quite a sight to witness. All those soldiers out there were probably NPCs (Non-Player Characters); the Bermuda System controlled these characters via predetermined or responsive behavior, but not real artificial intelligence. In standard RPGs, the NPCs gave you quests, but your interaction with them was minimal as most NPCs had only scripted and automatic texts, so the communication with them was not a memorable one.

The same thing could be said for those breast-plated knights; I doubted they were capable of decent dialogue. Their sole function in this location was probably the protection of the Legends Keep against any threat, a pointless task since there was no way in hell of taking that castle, not up against those high walls or that army of veteran soldiers numbering tens of thousands at least.

The carriage finally came to a halt in front of the palace doors, where a few more NPCs joined our party. An elderly butler dressed elegantly in the traditional black uniform made himself noticeable to us. Blessed with an incredible physique, almost unsuitable for his age, his broad shoulders were thick and inspiring. His hair was entirely white, just like his immaculate beard. And although wrinkles were plainly visible on his hollow face made him seem gentle in appearance, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s. Silently awaiting his command to his rear were, also, seven young maids waiting for us, each one more exquisite than the subsequent much like the color of their hair.

After climbing down from the carriage, it automatically started to move towards what appeared to be stables to our left side. A few more NPCs awaited the return of our crewless vehicle, unlimbering the unicorns from the carriage and scrubbing their hair. An automated action, no doubt, but still important for our immersion in that fantasy world.

Upon noticing our approach, the elderly butler, probably well past his fifties, took a few steps forward; while the maids stood their ground in the far back, he glanced at us for a moment and bowed his head one more time before speaking.

“Your graces, my name is Wilhelm. We have been expecting you. Please state your identity, allegiance, and position.”

“Supreme Commander of the Portuguese coalition Pedro Barreiros and these are my colleagues.”

“Commander-in-chief, Rui Soares.”

“Deputy-Commander, Angelo Carvalho.”

Our companions followed suit in a less honorific introduction until Wilhelm acknowledged everyone. “Very well, please follow me.” Right after finishing the presentations, a pin the size of a Ping-Pong ball materialized and attached itself to our outfits, symbolizing the color of our nation’s flag, an identification tag for everyone to recognize which country we represented.

Though our names and positions were omitted, it was still a nice touch.

Stepping inside the palace, Wilhelm began rambling on some fictional story about the Legend’s Keep and its features, probably programmed in him to kill some time, while we made our way inside, as the place was humongous. I don’t think either of us was really paying any care to the long but incredibly detailed explanation until we reached the main hall, where the NPCs came to a halt. His sudden stop gave a prelude to his dramatic expression, making us all stand at attention. His firm resolve depicted in his eyes gave a sense that the place he was about to introduce was something he took great pride in.

“Behold the Nurendai Hall!” At last, he dramatically exclaimed, giving us a gentle bow alongside the silent maids that had been following us on either side, “A place worthy of Legends.”

It was as if my skin was on fire after hearing that last remark, and that hall indeed transmitted an intensive aura. It occupied at least four football fields, and its structure was even bigger than the outside walls. Supporting the massive ceiling above were sixteen pillars, eight on the left and the right, that looked of ancient Greek design. Both the color of the stone, pure white marble, and the markings on them led me to believe they were copied from the ancient and national Greek treasure, the Acropolis. The exception was that the size of those pillars in front of us was about ten or more times that of Greece's structures.

In contrast to the outside decoration of the golden gates and flags surrounding it, this hall was pure white. Various smaller squares in the walls formed the windows to let the light in. And the ceiling was painted in blue with small white dots resembling those of stars, reflecting brightness, as was Vera’s dress, which seemed to be radiating even more inside of that place.

Never in all my years of gaming had I witnessed such elegance. It was as if we were walking in the palaces of heaven.

“!”

Another thing that quickly caught my attention was the many flags, hoisted along the pillars and stacked against the walls between them—sixteen in total, all the countries that had made it to this stage of the competition.

The last sixteen, and we’ll have to face four of them.

Standing by the side of these flags were two knights armed with spears, guarding the place like it was a treasure. Our banner was the fourth one on the right, and for the time being, like the butler before, I, too, was proud of seeing it, knowing that I was a part of it.

Escorting us until we reached the end of the hall, a set of broad split stairs with gold-colored railings ascended to another corridor. This one was much smaller in magnitude compared to the Nurendai Hall, the art style was also different, and the walls were decorated with numerous frames, but all of these were empty. There were no paintings, drawings, or pictures inside the frameworks, nothing visible. So, a question started to form in my head. What does it mean? Once again, I didn’t need to say anything; our guide quickly enlightened us about the mystery while keeping a steady pace.

“In case you are wondering, these frames have been chanted with a spell to present a picture only when a legend arises.”

“What do you mean by that?” Enquired Rui, but the answer was more than evident. “I thought we're the legends.”

“Nonsense, your grace. You are merely the candidate for that title,” Wilhelm answered, cleaning his glasses in a tissue he took from his pocket. “Only when you face and overcome multiple trials will you be credited with the title legend.”

“So, this is a Hall of Fame, and the frames will contain the winners of each VR Wars competition.”

“Precisely, young master.”

All was clear now.

This place, over time, would be filled with the faces of the leaders who managed to defeat every opponent and climb to the top. Then, they would ascend to that castle, where they would be crowned and remembered for eternity as a Legend. This was rather a bold plan, considering technology was always evolving, and games turned obsolete by the minute. Who could know if this form of competition would even last long enough to fill the first row of frames? Nevertheless, as a gamer, I could only tremble at the fact that the creator of the Bermuda System and PXF had thought so far ahead about the future of his creations. Suppose a game is good enough and proper maintenance and weekly updates keep its system clean. In that case, something like that could indeed be possible to achieve, especially for someone with unsurmountable resources like Von Kluge.

“It feels like we’re getting closer,” Vera warned me, grabbing the sleeve of my jacket with her fingers. “Are you ready for this?”

“I am.”