Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

003.3 | The Spring of the Game

Teleportation only takes a few seconds. The screen only blinked for a while, and the scenario in front of Leon-36 changed. A wide field of red and orange dunes filled his eyesight coupled with ruins of ancient Greek buildings. Blue cloudless sky occupied the horizon, exposing a large sun in its glory. 

Leon-36 squinted, subconsciously raising his arms to cover his eyes. 

Floor 100 is a desert area with dynamic dunes moving every five seconds. Even now, he could see waves of sands going up and down in a spiral, covering and exposing buildings and monsters hiding underneath the fine sand. No players would dare to walk in this dungeon without proper preparation, or else the sand cycles will trap them.

The area he teleported is a neutral ground of the floor located on a vast ruined coliseum. The surrounding area is protected by a barrier that calms the sand cycles around it, preventing the dunes from entering the ground. Game NPCs flock in this area, creating a small gathering place for players. 

Leon-36 wasn't able to see Aud-01. He walked around searching for the player when he heard a clamor. He searched for the source of the noise then found people gathering at the coliseum's entrance. He also found a familiar figure mingling with the crowd. 

There are other players on the scene that made Leon wonder. Only a few players would go online in the morning, and it would be lesser for people to go down to the dungeons. It is a weekday, so there should be much lesser players. What are these people doing here?

"There are already players here," Leon-36 stood beside Aud-01. "Oh? Why is the Arcana Guild here?"

"I'm not sure," Aud-01 shrugged. He did not look surprised by Leon-36's arrival and even lean closer until they are shoulder to shoulder. "I don't remember an event relating to this floor. They are just probably exercising."

"Exercising? At this hour?" 

"There's nothing wrong with that. We are even here to play. I see no difference at all."

He- he does have a point. Leon-36 watched the known high officials from the Guild Arcana and pondered. Last night, he remembered that another guild named Thunder Beasts cleared the 386th floor. Arcana, this competitive guild, will surely try to conquer the next floor to prove their power.

Arcana and Thunder Beasts are both large guilds. 

There are five prominent guilds in the game called [ASTERISKS]: Arcana, Thunder Beasts, Artisan's Guild, Merlin's Box, and the Cassaianne Guild. These guilds are owned by a certain race, which means that all the members belong to the same Race. 

To be specific, the Arcana Guild is for the Elven Players, and The Beast race owns Thunder Beasts, Artisan's Guild holds priority to the Humanoid Race, and the Merlin's Box is for the Undead players. However, the fifth guild, Cassaianne Guild, doesn't have any racial qualification as it accepts any players. 

There are speculations that the Cassaianne Guild is meant for the strongest race of the game, The Half-lings. But since this race consisted about only one percent of the whole population of the game, so it was trashed and had become a general guild for all. 

Each guild has its own set of qualifications. Aside from the race tag, other conditions such as level requirements and payment for entrance are also included. There are four guild race events in a year with a generous amount of prices for the top players. The guild leaders would wish to have members that could contribute well to win the race. 

The Guild Arcana priorities players with an Elven Race and at least five Elven Archetypes. It has a membership of 100 gold coins and should contribute at least two hundred gold coins per month. It has a minimum level requirement of twenty. 

The currency in the game is divided into three: copper, silver, and gold. There is one hundred denomination for each. One hundred copper coins will be converted to silver. One hundred silver coins are equivalent to a gold coin. Earning coins is relatively easy. At least, a regular player could earn five hundred gold coins in a month. 

To understand:

1 copper coin = most basic currency

100 copper coins = 1 silver coin

100 silver coins = 1 gold coin

Another Guild, the Thunder Beasts, accepts players of the Beast's origin. One beast archetype is accepted, but it should be set as the primary archetype. Other requirements are that the players should be at least level thirty and should be able to contribute two hundred gold coins per month. The player will be given privileges if they could submit ten Saber Tooth upon applying.  

The Humanoid race owns the Artisan's Guild. In this guild, only humanoid archetypes are accepted. Though it might look strict and difficult to have all the archetypes under this race, it is quite reasonable since fifty percent of the game's population are of the Humanoid Race. 

There are also many humanoid archetypes that the sum of the archetypes of the other races could not compete. Handling a thousand players made the guild leader's headache, so they set it in that way to lessen the number of participants. If not, they would surpass the Cassaianne Guild for having the most number of people basing on race. 

Only several people would only choose the humanoid archetypes without worries, so the number lessened drastically. 

There are not many requirements. There is no membership fee, and the player could apply once they are eligible or once their guild function is open. Only players that wanted to get on the ranks have to contribute at least five hundred gold coins and accessories per month. Of course, this will be changed during the guild race, where fifty percent contribution for low-level members is required. 

Merlin's box accepts anyone with the undead race. Any race but has a majority of the undead archetype is also accepted. It wasn't rigorous in this guild since there are only a few undead players. The entrance is free, but the player should be at level 50. All members are required to have at least fifty gold coins contribution per week. 

Last but not least is the Cassaianne guild. 

The Cassaianne Guild owned the overall ranking as the wealthiest and most number of members in the game world. It has over five thousand members with a hundred new applications per day. There are no requirements in this guild, and known for their 'Free Admittance' advertisement. 

This guild is quite a casual one and treated as the 'guild for all' since it accepts all walks of life. Players could also easily leave the guild without any termination fee. Most of the players from the other guilds started in this area, and after reaching the required level, they would resign. 

Players are required to contribute at least ten gold coins per week. Those that wanted to enter the higher ranks have to undergo tests and must be able to contribute at least five hundred gold coins per month. It is said that the guild leader can contribute an average of ten thousand gold coins per month. 

The Sora party is registered under the Cassaianne Guild.

"These guilds are sure crazy to clear floors," Aud-01 commented.

"And there's our guild that never even tried clearing a floor once," Leon-36 added.

Indeed, the Cassaianne guild never cleared any floors before or seriously join any events. Though guild parties often broadcasted during play-offs, it wasn't to the extreme of winning the championship. Just having their name listed on the string of players is enough.

It's not because the members are weak... err... well, actually they are. 

The majority of players in this guild are beginner players or those with dead accounts that only go online once a week. As it is being used as the beginner's guild, they will leave the guild once they reach a specific level. The average level of the players inside the guild is between thirty and fifty - both belong on the lower spectra. 

However, there are also quite a several high-level players, especially those of the higher ranks. It's just that these people are very idle. For example, the guild leader ranked as the top player of the game has the most wins and fastest clearing of floors and defeating bosses. It's just that this guild leader only appears on the leaderboard after some people completed the quest first. 

Thinking about the guild's most vital members, Leon-36 glanced at the person beside him. This guy recruited him to join the Sora party under the Cassaianne Guild's flag. They both belong to the higher ranks and are considered quite famous in the game. It wasn't clear to him about Aud's position amongst the guild's high rankers, but he had some guesses in his heart. 

Probably, this person is...

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise. The crowd's encirclement quickly dispersed when a giant scorpion beast suddenly rushed in their direction. However, Aud-01 didn't move and just waited for the raging beast coming. Leon-36 also has no intention of avoiding it.

The scorpion beast's tail made a frenzied bolt around, piercing the ground or players that get caught. The members of the Arcana Guild that were trying to toss the beast are either beaten by its long arms or the swing of its tail, throwing them out of the periphery. 

The beast went closer and closer, but the two people did nothing but watch. The scorpion's eyes flashed red, it's tail coiling in an angle ready to give a poisonous sting to one of the standing players. But before the sharp needle could hit Aud-01, a quick blink flashed by. 

A person stood in between Leon-36 and Aud-01. 

"Good morning," he said. 

A folded fan halted the tip of the monster's sting needle. A strong force pushed the surrounding air away, creating a ripple-like figure pushing the players out. The weak people are directly tossed away by the backfire while those of the mid-level strained a bit. Aud-01 and Leon-36 that were in the eye of the attack did not least get affected. 

The beast trembled as it is trying to force its way forward, but somehow the folded fan is holding it very well. The person holding the fan leisurely squinted his eyes, looking at the beast as if it didn't fit anything in his eyes. He is more interested in the people standing beside him. 

"We seem to have disturbed the Elven Guild Master," Aud-01 amiably said. 

"No worries, it wasn't that important," the said guild master has [RIOS-72] imprinted as its name. 

It is indeed trifling. The monsters in this dungeon floor are strong, but they were no match to the people already triple their level. This beast caused a disturbance due to the trainees that were careless in their formation. He is only here to watch them over. 

Leon-36 watched his fellow Elven wearing eastern-styled elfish clothes dominated by white, green, and black colors, which easily pushed the folding fan forward, causing the beast's long tail to c***k. Rios-72 then opened the fan in a smooth sliding motion releasing a potent force that split the beast in half. 

The beast's figure only laid on the ground for a while before it emitted a flash-less light before disappearing in sparkling specks of dust. The game system announced the end of the game and congratulated a series of names. Aud-01 made audible applause as if to show that he is amused.

However, Rios-72 did not mind the praise, closing the fan in a snap, then placing it under his chin. He gave the clapping person an inquiring look with narrowed eyes. He had known that Aud-01 is often found online 24/7. Seeing him present isn't strange, but not all the time; this player would approach just anyone. 

"I wonder what these two gentlemen are doing in here?" The elf asked. "Looking for sceneries?"

"What scenery can be seen? If it is not sand, it's the sky. There's nothing to see here." Aud-01 scanned the area around and the horizon beyond. "Actually, I am more interested in the guild master's business."

The Elven Guild Master chuckled, opening the fan, then fanned on himself gently. The locks of his pale blonde braided hair swayed with the bit of air, giving the Elven man a more magical look. Leisure can be easily spelled out from his relaxed composure that made Aud-01 slightly sleepy. This demure of Elven is really very contagious. 

"Of course, if we would like to acquire the rights of the next floor. Those bastards really did outwit us in the bet," the elf somewhat said such words in a soft tone. Leon-36 suddenly felt his ears itchy. 

"Obviously," Aud-01 shrugged knowingly.

"Well, if it is that someone that wanted it, I won't hesitate to take a step back," Rios-72 blinked to Aud-01 meaningfully. The other person also gave him the same expression. "Don't want it?"

"Uninteresting," Aud-01 tossed the idea quickly. "Then we will leave. There's nothing to do here."

The two talked a bit of pleasantry before they departed. The Elven Guild Master guided his team to continue training while the two players huddled to the floor's elevator. This elevator is placed on every floor once it has been cleared. It is a free transportation device used inside the dungeon if the players wanted to jump levels.  

"Looks like we can occupy this floor. Want to move up?" Aud-10 asked excitedly. He had always wanted to play on the higher levels, but Leon-36 has something important, so they could not have longer gameplay. 

"Alright. Then let's go to 125th," Leon-36 nodded. 

They entered the elevator that resembled its old version, where extendible iron bars in criss-cross were used. A crisp ting sounded inside the vehicle the moment they entered the lift. In a second, two images vanished that are then transported to their desired game place.