Beyond Respawn: A Gamer's Rebirth (Volume 1), page 1
Beyond Respawn: A Gamer’s Rebirth
Author: invayne
Editor: Clayden Reid-Stephens
Artist: Marina
Contents:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Afterword
Chapter 1
Huff! Huff! Huff! “Just what the hell is that!?” As I was trying to catch my breath, I looked up at the monster that stood taller than the tallest skyscraper in New York. With flesh-like wings and six eyes, its massive greyish body walked through buildings like a human walks through a pile of autumn leaves, making its way through the narrow streets, destroying everything in its path. Thousands of us stood there under the smoke and debris of what used to be New York. The sheer size of the monster made us seem more like ants than human beings.
Blood flowed down my body from my open wounds as I gazed up at the massive figure. It was as if the gods of old had decided humanity should not exist. But if we do not stop it here, the world itself will end…
I held my sword and readied myself to begin the second attack. The wave of monsters that came with the god-like being was surging towards us without giving us a moment of respite. I took a deep breath and charged forward once again. But I stopped only after taking a few steps as a colossal shadow formed over my head. I looked up to see part of one of the buildings bearing down on me…
*Ringgg!!!* *Ringggg!!!*
My eyes shot open, I could feel the cold sweat on my body. It was the same dream again. This time, it was much more vivid than usual. I took a deep breath as I slowly sat up trying calm my racing heart. Even the ringing of my alarm was not phasing me at this time.
It was the same dream… The same dream I have been having for many months now. It would be slightly different every night, and I could remember them clearly. But tonight was the first time I had ever seen a monster like that in my dream, and vividly at that. These dreams all seemed to have something to do with the game I was currently waiting to play, Mortal Online, a deep-dive VRMMORPG.
While not the first of its kind, it was the first to support some of the most realistic graphics ever made. It was said to use your own dreams to create the world around you, filling your brain with signals that would translate the game world into reality in your dreams. While the concept was not new, it never felt real, and the company Mortal Beyond, the creators of Mortal Online, have stated that it would feel as natural as if you were walking down the sidewalk in the real world.
Being the gamer I was, there was no way I could pass up such a thing, hence why my alarm was set as early as it was. Now that I was thinking about it, I had taken on extra shifts all so that I could buy the equipment needed for the game.
After calming down I rubbed my bedhead, and tried to smooth it out with my fingers as best as I possible could before heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. As for a shower…. It could wait until tonight. I usually shower before bed as it was too much of a pain to do it when I woke. If I had parents who cared and could see me now, they would probably wonder why the hell I am such a slob, but oh well, whatever… Such was the life of a gamer.
At least I was not sitting in my parent’s basement mooching off them. As antisocial as I was, I was still working a part-time job paying for this stupid apartment I got lucky to find. Five hundred a month with everything included in the basement of some old lady’s house. It even came with its own entrance. It was pretty big and took up an entire floor except for one section, but that was all blocked off and was ‘meant’ to be an emergency exit. Although with it locked, I was not too sure how that was supposed to work.
The cool damp room had many pipes lining the ceiling that led up to the first floor. The furnace would kick on and off during the winter which was not too bad since it would keep the whole apartment warm, albeit a little too mild for me at times. The landlord was up in age and seemed to get cold quite easily. While she was nice, I hardly spoke to her. I hardly spoke to anyone for that matter. In fact, speaking to anyone was basically a no-go unless I was in robot mode at work.
With minimal decorated cement walls surrounding me and what seems to be a fairly well-insulated ceiling, accompanied by a cold cement floor, the place was very quiet. Something I truly enjoyed. A quiet space away from the world was not something you could come across very often, especially here in New York. While it was kind of dreary I did have some posters and lights strung about to give it a bit more of a homey feel. Along with some wall-panelling, I found on the side of the road that I fixed up to allow for a few bookshelves.
There was nothing much I could complain about with this place. The only thing I have to deal with was cleaning up the occasional dead rat that will get caught in one of the traps I set up around the edge of the house. Luckily, this only happens once in a great while.
You can say my life is quite simple. I have little to no furniture as it costs too much. What I do have I found on the side of the road. As the saying goes, one man’s trash, is another man’s treasure. I have a small fridge I got on sale, with just enough food in it to get me by until my next paycheck. I have three pairs of pants…. Ugh… Now that I think about it, I really have nothing at all except my computer, which is my treasure. It took me almost a year to build it. Being nineteen and a high school dropout is not easy. I do not know any skills, nor have I learned any. I could learn so much just from watching tutorials online, but I feel it would take away from my game time.
If I had the confidence, I would even stream games as a side hustle. I am not sure how I looked in the eyes of others, but I do not really think I am all that good looking… I guess. I am five foot four, with long black hair and deep blue eyes. I’m not the prettiest girl, but I think if I showed a little skin I might get some of those hardcore simps.
Sadly, unless I have the latest VR headset, I would not be able to stream since no one cared about old-school games anymore. However, this might change once I start playing Mortal Online.
To be honest, even as I walk out the door, I am thinking about that game, not just because it is supposed to be an amazing game but also because of the dreams I have been having. All my dreams to date have all been about Mortal Online, where I am running through the game world and even doing quests. I have even dreamt of reading the forums and seeing the rare loot people would find, even the tutorials on the unique skill quests. I paused my steps as I let out a sigh, “It’s probably just because I am over excited…” I whispered under my breath.
But it is strange.
In each dream I have had since the dreams started, I remember it as if it was just yesterday. I haven’t forgotten a single detail. It might sound strange, but deep down, I have this feeling that these dreams might just be as real as the me of now. Why this is, I do not know. Just one of those gut feelings. However, I do try to push this thought to the back of my mind. The thought of it being real gives me a slight chill down my spine. But if anything I will find out the truth once I start playing Mortal Online.
It was currently winter time so I am wearing a black hoodie with my hood up over my head. My hair hung down along the front of my shoulders and my back hunched. Anyone looking at me would think I am some kind of closed off goth girl or something like that. While I do not listen to goth music. I do listen to game music, although it is nothing more than background noise.
I stopped at the street corner to wait for the walk signal and let out a breath, causing a white fog to escape my lips. “It’s cold….”
The bell to the convenience store door I work at went off as I walked in. A girl around my age stood behind the counter and smiled brightly when she saw me walk in. Not because of me, the person, but because the person who would take over her shift was here.
“Zoe, you’re here.” The girl’s name is Stephanie Langley. She is a college student and also an aspiring actress from what I understand. Not that I care since I hardly say much to her… I only came here for the paycheck.
“Ah… Mm… Yeah…” As always, my words were nothing more than a few mumbles since I am unsure how to act around this girl. This is why I preferred the late shift. I only had to deal with customers.
“You really do not talk all that much, do you?” I just stared blankly at her even though she asked me a question. I really don’t think she is expecting one either. I watched as Stephanie sighed and got her things together. I really did not have much to say. I barely watched TV. I did not follow any idols. I did not go out on the town. Hell, my only friend is my… You could say that my only solace in life is my computer, where I could play games. Playing games allows me to escape the threads of life.
But when it came to games, they were not online. So this made me wonder… Will I be okay playing an MMO? In my dreams, when I started playing Mortal Online, I was a solo player. As time went on, I found I had no choice but to team with other people in order to complete certain quests. After a few years, when things began to change in the real world, I had quite a group of people around me. However, I am unsure if you can call them friends or not.
It makes me wonder if the reason my dreams were so vivid is because the me in my dreams, who could converse normally, is what I wanted to be deep down. But at the same time, that feeling that it is all real still kept giving me a drop of fear that I can not shake. Mainly because the scenes I have seen of people being eaten alive by monsters as monsters began to appear in the real world were heavily vivid in my mind even now.
I am used to it now, but at first, I would get sick to my stomach every time those images reappeared in my mind. The blood and guts that spilled out as stomachs that were torn open were so graphic, and even the smell… This is something else that has been bothering me as well: why could I smell things in my dreams? It did not make any sense, but I could.
“Zoe, I’m leaving. I already counted my drawer and put it in the safe. The keys are in front of you. Don’t forget to lock up when you leave tonight.” Stephanie snapped me out of my inner thoughts, causing me to look up at her retreating back. It took a minute for what she said to register in my mind. Only when it did did I pick up the keys in front of me and stick them in my pocket.
Right… I will be here until close… I couldn’t help but frown. I am currently doing a double shift. Stephanie had an audition to go to, and I jumped on to take her shift since I needed the money. Luckily, I was able to get this shift, or else I wouldn’t be able to put in my order for the equipment for Mortal Online. They begin taking preorders in two weeks. I had to make sure I got my name in and needed to dish out three hundred bucks.
“Hello? Are you mute?” A man stood in front of the counter, making me frown. This is why I did not like dealing with people. Yet here I am, working a customer service job because I have no other choice. Although when it got to be around nine it is so much better. Not as many people came in. Daytime, though… just thinking about it makes me want to run and hide.
I didn’t even raise my head to look at the man who just spoke as I asked: “Will this be it?” Something I have trained myself to do since starting this job. I probably sound like a robot but what can you do?
“No…” The man seemed to be annoyed with me, not that I care. I just said more words to him than I normally do to people who work here. Even my boss does not get so many words half the time. But I have no other choice but to say them. Luckily, it allows me to keep my voice from really disappearing.
My day went by as normal as it could ever go and so did the days that followed. No incidents. No nothing…
⧫⧫⧫
Right now, I am sitting in my computer chair, staring at the clock on my screen with Mortal Beyond’s website up. “Two minutes…”
“One minute….” Biting my nails and tapping my foot off floor. Even my eyes were wide and probably bloodshot as I stared at the clock, watching the minutes tick by. I am sure I looked like some kind of drug addict right now. I had worked hard for this moment. I already had all the money put together to get the game; I even only ate instant noodles this entire month. If I preorder now, I can get the game on the release date at the end of the next month!
I did not know why they were only doing one month’s preorder, but that is beside the point. Right now, I just wanted the stupid clock to strike eight!
I watched the seconds pass by while refreshing the page over and over until… “It’s here!” I cheered loudly, doing a weird dance in my chair while clicking the buttons and filling in my information. The whole process was quick, and in no time at all, I saw an email notification-popup stating that my preorder had been placed.
The equipment for the game would be mailed to my house a few days before the day of release. Now that this is paid, I had to upgrade my internet, which is going to cost another sum of money. But luckily, this is something I could make payments on after a deposit. I do not need anyone to come out for this since it is just an increase in speed. But now I think with everything settled, come the end of next month, after I upgrade things, I will be ready for the game. At least, I hope…
⧫⧫⧫
I found something worse than waiting for the preorder to open up, and that is waiting for the game launch. According to the company, the servers that help relay information are a special kind of new technology that sends out brain signals. This allows for all the information for your character stored on the server to be relayed back to the other users.
This controlled movement, items, armor, and appearance. Everything about the character. All personal data about the player themselves is stored on the device. This meant that the player would never have their personal data out in the open. While this could make it easier for people to hack the system and cheat in-game, due to the way the entire systems works together, if they even changed a single line of code or tried to inject anything into the game, the headset would not even work. Of course, if things go as my dreams have been going, the character's appearance does not mean much of anything since your real appearance would override it once the world started to change.
I haven’t had that dream for a while now. I think this was because of the day I woke up when that building was falling on top of me. My only guess was that I died. Whether the monster was killed or not I have no idea. I only know many people died during that battle. It does make me wonder if such a monster was even killable.
Everything from the game to the monster is imprinted in my mind. It's strange because I can forget many things within just a few days, but ever since those dreams started, I have been able to remember them all.
But what is killing me at this time is the fact that the clock is ticking but not ticking fast enough. This is probably my fault. I have been lying on my bed for an hour now with my headset on, staring at the timer in front of my eyes as if I were possessed.
As soon as I got the headset, I spent almost three hours calibrating it. Normally, it’s only a ten-minute setup, but I was worried that things were not perfect. It scans your entire body as well as your appearance. This enables you to feel more natural in your avatar. You don’t need to get naked or anything like that since it only takes your height, weight, body-build, and facial features into consideration.
“Ten seconds!” I cried out as I kicked my feet up into the air. This was the moment of truth. The time when everything I have been dreaming about would become fact or fiction. If it is fact, then I will use all my knowledge to grow as strong as possible as quickly as possible. If it is fiction, I will just enjoy the game and live out my days as I have. There is nothing else I can do otherwise.
“Two! One!” The screen in front of me flickered, and my vision went black. When my eyes became clear again, I found myself in a very familiar room. I do not know if I had wanted things to turn out like this. Maybe I was hoping for it. But at the same time, I was scared, because the room I was in was the same room I dreamt about, the character creation screen of Mortal Online.
The company never showed the character creation screen to the public and only some videos of the game world. So, I know I had never seen anything about it online. And I know the only place I did see it was in my dreams. Maybe it’s just a coincidence?
If it was just coincidence then what I was about to do was something no gamer should ever do. “I will just keep my real appearance. No changes.”
I was standing in front of a mirror that reflected back my body and my original appearance. In my dream, this was also the same. They used this as a basis for all characters.
“Are you sure?” A voice echoed through the room. I paused and looked at myself. I was definitely not the prettiest girl on the block, that was for sure. After staring at myself for a while, I went to answer yes when a thought came to mind. I do remember some people bringing their in-game appearance out of game. I was not sure what they did but I think it was some kind of cosmetic item. I never asked since I had never looked into the cosmetic stuff, so I can only make an assumption. There were not many people who had a change in appearance, but maybe it was something worth looking into. It had to be something that came about before things became real.
With this thought in mind, I decided to do a mix. “Can you mix my current appearance with that of a Dark Dragon race?”
The image before me began to change, and soon, a new me stood in front of me. I looked around at myself and nodded my head in appreciation for what I was seeing. I could feel both the horns, wings, and tail. They even felt very natural to my body, as if I had always had them.
“Not bad… Can you replace the Dark Dragon with a Fox-Kin?” I asked. I did not expect a response since I would not get one. I looked at the fluffy tail and the cute ears on top of my head and nodded in appreciation. To be honest, looking at myself as a Fox-Girl made me wonder if I looked cute or not. For some reason, it seemed to match me. While I did like the Dark Dragon, this seemed to match me much better. But I was still unsure; there were still a few races I wanted to check out.
