VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne-Chapter 27: Official Launch
The weeks leading up to the launch of Dawn of Divinity were filled with the usual hype building interviews and trailers showing off the gameplay. A lot of the streamers and internet personalities that had attended the beta test seemed upset that they were unable to record their sessions within the test to profit off of, but they still made plenty of comments discussing it.
As time went on and they drew closer and closer to the release date, the excitement only grew. People were practically, and in some cases literally, begging for the chance to experience this new world. Most of all, as some beta testers pointed out and the company was eager to back up, the world was not just for those who wanted to hunt and kill.
There was plenty of game play for those who were more inclined to ’lifestyle’ play types. Your merchants and potion crafters, forgers and explorers.
If you so wished, you could completely ignore any and all combat and simply wander through the world, admiring its beauty and using it as a chance to take a world wide vacation from the comfort of your own home, and for a much more reasonable price.
That thought alone appealed to a lot of the common, non gaming folk. But even still, the gamers across the globe were the most excited, for whatever reasons they had.
A week before the release of the game, the Neural crowns went on sale, and within minutes the first batches were already sold out. It was a pattern that continued for the entire week in the lead up.
No matter how many they made, it was never enough to meet the mouth foaming demand of the public. Even a hundred million wasn’t enough to quell the demand. But thankfully, it wasn’t something that Valerie had to deal with.
With a contented smile on her face, Valerie sunk into the gel padding of her lovely new chair. A relaxed and pleasured sigh slipped from her lips as her entire body was perfectly supported and cushioned by this magical device.
It had been delivered a few days ago, and every day since she had spent far too much time lounging in it. She even slept in it one night, just to feel how it would be if she over extended a gaming session, and she woke up feeling better than when she slept in her bed.
No neck pain, no stiffness. Nothing. It was like sleeping on a cloud. Absolute bliss.
But today she could do more than just lounge in relaxed bliss. Today was the official release of the game. Less than an hour to go, and she would once more be able to return to that wonderful, although sometimes torturous world.
While others had spent their times theorising on the forums, she had been working double shifts and extra days, just to make sure she had enough money to support a few days break from work to truly get lost in the game.
Placing the crown on her head, and giving Jinu very explicit and clear instructions for what he should and should not do, Valerie counted down the minutes until finally she heard the tone of her alarm sounding.
It was time.
She opened and immediately chugged one of the can’s of D-fuel she had so kindly been gifted, before pressing the button on the crown and activating it. A sharp gasp left her lips as her mind plummeted into the Abyss. At the same time her body went limp and slumped into the comforting embrace of the gel chair, as her mind delved into the new world once more.
***
Belladonna’s eyes snapped open as she once more found herself laying in the bed she had awoken from last time. Now that she thought about it, logging off in the bed instead of collapsing in a heap on the floor probably would have been a better idea. She would have to keep that in mind for the next time.
Swinging her legs out of bed, Belladonna rose to her feet and immediately tripped over her bag when she tried to take her first step. Her equipment was also there, folded neatly in a pile, or at least it was neat until she tripped over it.
’Oh right... I asked the brownie to keep my stuff until I returned. I guess this is them returning it.’
"Thank you for that, you can have this as an extra reward for a job well done. Like a tip."
After checking everything was still there and in pristine condition, Belladonna took out an extra strip of jerky and placed it on the bed before leaving the room. Just like she had asked, it was all there and accounted for. The only exception was the fresh meat parcels which had become rotten and not at all fresh.
The Brownies kept them in there, because she had asked them to. But it was another good lesson to keep in mind.
She was a single player gamer mostly, so the thought that time would still pass and food would go off when she logged out didn’t occur to Belladonna all that much. In the future, she would definitely have to remember the freshness of ingredients and spoilage.
Thankfully, the devs had made it clear that there was no time dilation in the game. It run 1 to 1 with the real world. Perhaps not the best for job holders of the world, but these games were rarely designed with such people in mind.
Donning her equipment and slinging her bag over her shoulder, Belladonna headed downstairs once again to find the wizard, as well as dispose of the rotten meat in her bag that had thankfully not mixed with the good meat. No doubt thanks to the Brownies. They really were helpful.
However, the wizard was not working at his desk where she had last seen him, and the skull that he had been tinkering with was missing. In it’s place was a large, leather bound tome.
It took a lot of willpower not to snoop and instead head into the other rooms in search of her mentor. But as soon as she wandered into what seemed to be the kitchen, a meat cleaver slammed into the wooden door frame mere inches from her head.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, she found herself staring down the snarling, rage filled face of a demon.
