Chapter Two: The Virtual World
STEVEN'S POINT OF VIEW
"My son, this is my world" pagkasabi nito ni dad ay muling nagdilim ang aking paningin bago ko naramdamang natanggal ang helmet sa ulo ko, sabay ng pagbabalik muli ng lahat sa dati. I am once more standing in that room with my father smiling proudly at me.
"Wow. That was... That was... Awesome, dad!" masaya kong komento na hindi pa rin makapaniwala sa nasaksaksihan. Nakita kong inilapag ni dad ang helmet na iyon sa table sa tabi ng computer at muling bumaling sa akin na nakangiti.
"It's called VRMMORPG, Steven. Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game, the first one of it's kind." Paliwanag nito sabay ng paglakad patungo sa dereksyon ko at palabas ng kwarto. Sinundan ko naman siya. "Now, let's go down to business, shall we?"
"Yes dad" Sagot ko namang kaagad dito habang tinatahak namin ang hallway pabalik ng kaniyang opisina.
"I want you to beta test the game, along with 99 more selected players from around the globe to check if the game is indeed ready for launch, or we still have to fix issues here and there." Paliwanag nito bago binuksan ang pintuan ng kaniyang office, at iminostra sa akin ang kaniyang kamay upang pumasok, with him following closely behind me. "But don't worry, it would only last for 2 weeks at naipagpaalam na kita sa university."
Hindi naman ako makapaniwalang lumingon sa kaniya at tumitig. Wow. That was fast. How and when did he managed to do all that? "Wow."
"Yeah. Now, if you would excuse me for a bit, I have to notify the other 99 players that the beta is about to begin." Sabi pa nito bago kinuha ang telepono sa kaniyang bulsa at nagsimulang magdial ng numero bago iyon itinapat sa kaniyang tenga at lumabas ng kwarto, leaving me all alone there.
I was able to find a seat somewhere and took a seat there, lalo pa nga at mukhang magtatagal pa si dad sa kung sino man ang kausap niya. Hindi ko namalayaan na nakatulog na pala ko.
After an hour or two, muling bumukas ang pintuan ng kwarto at pumasok mula rito ang isang grupo ng mga estudyanteng sa palagay ko ay kaedaran ko lang, dahilan upang magising ako at mapukaw ang atensyon ko. Kasunod nilang pumasok ng kwarto si dad na malapad ang ngiti ng namumutawi sa kaniyang labi.
One of them is a girl with long, raven hair braided to the sides while keeping most of her hair down. She was wearing something that looks like a school uniform and was carrying a small backpack with her.
She looks much like a college student like I do even with her simple clothing but to say that she wasn't cute would be a big lie I don't wanna tell her.
She started conversing with dad as soon as she entered the room. Masyadong mahina ang pag uusap nila kaya hindi ko marinig, pero napapansin ko rin ang constant na pagtitig ni dad saakin.
A few more moments passed by, I jolted out of seat ng biglaang marinig ang pagtawag saakin ni dad.
"Stevenson, come here"sabi nito. Napakamot lang ako ng ulo sandali bago lumapit sa kanila na may nagtatanong na kislap ang mga mata."I want you to meet one of your fellow beta testers, Christa"
As soon as our eyes met, parang may kung anong feeling ang nagsprout sa loob loob ko. Her dark pair of orbs stared at my greenish hazel ones.
Feeling ko there's some sort of connection between us which is kind of odd dahil alam kong ngayon lang rin kami nagkita, but still, why do I feel comfortable around her?
"Hi, I'm Christa, Christa Ashe Salazar. It was nice meeting you"she said as she smiled. Wow, what a cute girl she is.
I smiled as well as I extended my hand onto her and introduced myself."The pleasure is mine. The name is Stevenson Kyle Zapanta"
We stayed like that for a moment, smiling at each other as our eyes keep drawing us closer and closer to each other, well its not like I'm complaining or something. We then heard a clap which came from dad who is smiling ear to ear now.
"I want you to meet them as well," sabi nito sabay ng pagkumpas ng kamay patungo sa dereksyon ng iba pang nasa loob ng opisina niya. "There's Bryant, Howard, Clinton and Geranda"
Simpleng pagkaway lang ng kamay at isang tipid na ngiti ang ibinigay ko sa kanila na sinuklian rin naman nila ng ngiti. "So... Mamaya na yan okay? Nandito na daw ang lahat so probably we should go start the testing right?"
With that, dinala kami ni dad sa kabilang silid sa tabi na pinagdalhan sa akin kanina ni dad. It was a large hall with different glass rooms with glass doors ofcourse where white beds could be seen inside.
May mga parang helmet pang nakapatong sa mga ito, (the ones similar to the device he showed me earlier) habang may mga wires na nakaconnect dito sa isang malaking main holographic computer sa may dulo ng room, smaller than the first computer he showed me earlier kung saan nakakita kami ng di bababa sa 15 na mga lalaking naka lab coat na nakatayong malapit dito.
There we're benches around and dad commanded as all to sit down and wait for a bit while they we're setting up the whole place.
Naupo ako kung nasaan ang tanging kilala ko sa mga beta testers na kasama ko; si Christa.
She was calling someone from her phone kaya naupo lang ako sa tabi niya ng tahimik.The girl they called Geranda looked at us, so I gave her a small smile na ikinaiwas naman ng tingin niya, sabay hampas doon sa isang lalaking katabi niya na halatang naiinis na sa paghampas hampas sa braso niya.
"Well kuya, I think I might stay here for 2 weeks..." Sabi ni Christa sa kausap niya sa phone niya.
"Ok, kung ganoon, all you have to do is to stick with him... I know him naman and I trust him, promise, he's a good guy....and I know once you told him about my name, he will surely..." narinig kong sagot nung kausap ni Christa, hindi ko na pinatapos yun at hindi na pinansin yung dulo ng sinabi niya, I don't want to end up looking like a creep here. Tumingin na lamang ako sa ding ding ng kwartong kinalalagyan namin at naghintay.
"I see...thanks kuya" iyon na ang huling sinabi ni Christa sa kausap niya sa phone bago niya iyon binaba.
She then stared at me, I can feel it though hindi ko siya tinitingnan. Gayunman ay nabigla pa rin ako ng biglaan niyang tinapik ang braso ko na kaagad na nakapukaw ng aking pansin at napatingin akong kaagad sa kaniya.
"What?" I asked habang bahagyang nakataas ang kilay.
"Question, Do you know someone
... Kilala mo ba si kuya Tristan?" seryosong tanong nya sakin.
" Tristan? As in Tristan Salazar?" tanong ko naman rito pabalik na tinanguan niya namang kaagad.
"Yeah...he's my kuya and..." Sabi niya kaya napaharap ako sa kaniya at naging seryoso.
"I understand" sabi ko agad kahit hindi pa tapos ang sinasabi niya.
Alam ko na ang sinabi ni Tristan, I guess gusto niyang ihabilin sakin ang kapatid niya. He actually told me about having a little sister pero hindi niya nabangit ang tungkol dito.
"You knew?" Tanong niya.
"Yeah, and don't worry....safe ka sakin" sagot ko sabay wink na ikinasmile niya na may konting blush sa mukha niya. I smiled back at her as well.
We waited for more than an hour for the checking of equipments here in the testing area.
Ayon kasi kina dad, the full dive games are pretty much dangerous and even more dangerous than using an earphone or headphones when your phone is currently charging because it sends your full consciousness inside the game through your brain which is the main function of that head gear; To send your consciousness inside the game by using your brain as well as your five senses.
Pagkatapos ng halos kalahati pang oras, pinapunta na kami ni dad isa isa sa mga glass stations sa palibot ng buong hall at pinasuot na saamin ang head gear.
They even taught us how to carefully attach it to our heads without damaging it or ourselves which I find amusing.
According to them, kailangan lang naming hintayin na mag red at green ang dalawang sensors ng gear bago kami mahiga at pumikit to relax our bodies. Then afterwards, we will be needing to say the phrase "Link Start" aloud which is the magic word for us to start linking our senses with the gear.
After a short briefing of do's and ofcourse dont's, pinapwesto na kaming lahat sa kama habang suot suot ang mga helmets namin. Everyone's ready for the new gaming experience this FBO game could give them, especially me. It has been a long while since I played a video game, I'll definitely enjoy this.
"Please, everyone. Get yourselves ready for my signal. Remember, you will all be needing to say Link Start aloud in order to link yourselves with the device." sabi pa ng isang boses na batid kong kay dad. Everyone laid down on their beds as we all relaxed ourselves and succumbed in the silence enveloping the glass rooms, relaxing ourselves against the soft matress underneath us.
"3... 2... 1..."
That was the cue. Pinikit ko ang mga mata ko habang hinihintay ang huling word galing kay dad so we could finally start.
Link Start!!!!
Pagkasabi ko sa "magic word", agad na naging madilim ang Virtual Screen ko just like what happened earlier at nagflash sa screen ang isang form, asking for a username, a password ofcourse and an in game name. I quickly filled it up ofcourse.
USERNAME: steven_zapanta19
PASSWORD: ********
IN GAME NAME: Aatrox
Then, it vanished at nagflash naman sa screen ang character customization options.
Maraming choices ang pagpipilian mula sa hairstyle, length, color, then eyecolor, size, then skin color, then height.
Nakapaikot ito saakin kung saan nakikita ko rin ang iba ibang mga choices na iyon na nakasuot sa holographic version ko.
Nakaset pala sa default ang character appearance sa simula which I find cool yet creepy at the same time. Medyo iniba ko lang ang itsura ko dito.
Pinili kong magkaroon ng grey hair na may kahabaan, that it covers most of the left side of my face including my avatar's emerald green eyes.
I pressed "ok" when everything is done, just as another screen with different versions of me, wielding different types of weapons materializes in front of me with a bunch of descriptions written neatly below each one of them.
SWORD KNIGHT- Can wield double handed blade, and has a high attacking points and higher speed but also a lower defense than a paladin. Overall a balanced type.
WARRIOR- Can wield axe and double handed axe. Has high attacking points but lower in defense than a sword knight.
PALADIN- Can wield longswords and shields. Has high defensive power and mana for casting protection spells but has lower attacking points as well. The game's basic defensive type.
ARCHER- Can wield bow and arrows of course that focuses on attacking power and critical hits. Has a lower speed than sword knight and a lower defense than a paladin but is more agile for assault and long ranged combat.
I chose to be a Sword Knight since I wanted to start out as a balanced type of player. I instantly pressed on the Sword Knight section from the options and then "ok" before it disappeared once more.
Everything went silent and black afterwards. Hindi na ako kumilos at pumalag sa kung ano mang nangyayari and let it all go. Tutal kung may mangyayari mang hindi maganda, si dad na ang bahala doon. I trust him on this one.
The screen turned white once more and something flashed on my screen.
WELCOME TO FANTASY BURST ONLINE!!
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CHRISTA'S POINT OF VIEW
It all started with a dark screen with nothing on it. No sounds, no lights. Nothing at all.
I waited for a few seconds before I found myself standing in the middle of a dark void. Mayroon akong nakitang nakalutang dito na screen, it was asking for a username, a password, and an in game name which I quickly filled up.
Then a character appearance section menu appeared next, with my default appearance prepared. Hindi ko na lang ito pinakialaman pa at agad na pinindot ang ok kung saan sunod naman akong pinapili ng class.
It doesn't took me a minute to choose from the four choices as I instantly pressed on the Paladin option before pressing ok once more. Things went black again then another good one minute passed by before it all went back to light where it says " Welcome to Fantasy Burst Online".
"Wow..."
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Edited
12/28/18
You might be able to notice some major changes to the chapter, well I had to remove parts of it to strengthen the next ones. Please bare with me guys.