"Do you really have no limits, or are you just too conceited to see them?"
Cypher's fingers hovered over the keyboard, the cursor fixed over the hyperlink in the anonymous email. This was a challenge, and what a way it would be to seal his 1000th win. His mind raced with a mix of skepticism and excitement, strengthening his resolve he clicked the link.
"Nothing?"
He wondered aloud in his empty room. Suddenly, his monitor went black, followed by a faint white glow with several green codes racing vertically across his screen.
"What the...?"
He began, but froze. The screen's glow intensified, blinding him. He felt a gentle tug on his mind, falling into a trance as his eyes began to mirror the glowing symbols on the screen.
The world around him faded, and when his vision returned, he found himself standing in a vast, ethereal chamber. The air filled with an otherworldly energy, and the walls glowed with a soft throb. Above him, a holographic interface appeared, displaying a welcome message in bold, glowing letters.
[WELCOME TO UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES]
[....]
[INITIALIZING PLAYER DATA]
[VERIFYING PLAYER EXISTENCE]
[VERIFICATION COMPLETE]
A look of confusion crossed Cypher's face as he shook his head. One moment he was still staring at his monitor, the next, he was here, in a phantom void looking at floating texts. He waved a hand through it, it simply passed through without resistance.
Another line of texts formed in his field of vision, slower this time.
[PLEASE INPUT USERNAME]
"Username?, wait a minute" he responded In shock
"Calm down Cypher, think", he soon told himself.
He closed his eyes, letting the present fade and replaying the moments before everything went wrong. He had been sitting on his gaming desk, hovering his cursor over the invitation link to...
"UP!", he screamed, a chill running down his spine.
The last thing he saw after he clicked the link was the white screen and racing codes across his monitor, then he was here.
"...So I didn't black out," he murmured "I was loaded."
The realization dawned on him, this was neither a prank, nor VR. He wasn't playing the game, he was in it.
Taking a moment to soak in the surreal environment, Cypher stood erect, drawing a deep breath. His eyes fixed on the welcome text. One choice, that was all this was, a choice.
"I... am not losing before i even start," he said, his voice low and steady
"Not here, not now, not ever."
He exhaled slowly, letting his determination wash over the doubt. He turned to the floating keyboard that materialized before him and typed in his username.
BLINK
[USERNAME CONFIRMED]
The confirmation line faded, replaced by another panel.
[SELECT YOUR RACE]
A second interface appeared, presenting an infinite list of races. Cypher's eyes widened as he scrolled through the options. Some alien, some quite familiar to him.
Elf
Orc
Dragon
Djinn
Nephilim
Vampyr
Werewolf
Ent
Yuan-ti
Titan
Verdant
Demon
Otsutsuki
Primordial...
And and countless others, each with unique starter perks and trait linked skills. He swiped through them, his eyes barely keeping up with the stream.
A thought kicked in, scrolling quickly, his eyes locked on one he'd saved for his 1000th tournament, the race to seal his achievement of God Status.
Celestial.
He tapped it.
[.....]
Nothing happened, no light, no response.
He tried again, holding his palm over the option. Still, nothing.
"You've got to be kidding me?" he muttered, stepping back.
Frustration was beginning to creep in, but then he noticed it. A subtle difference between the names. Every other race was dim and barely perceptible. Only Human radiated.
His heart slowed, his mind catching up to the situation.
This isn't a glitch, it was rigged
He looked at the details, all stats 10, no extra ability or starter perk. As expected, humans were fragile, weak, everyone knew that, and certainly whoever sent that invitation.
"No one just gets into something like this by accident. This wasn't random, someone... someone knows exactly what they're doing"
Human
He tapped it. The panel gleamed
[RACE CONFIRMED: HUMAN]
[Starting Stats: All 10]
[Trait: Null]
[Skill Slot: 10]
[Skill: Null]
He stared at the floating confirmation, angered, his hands itched for revenge.
But then, he let out a sigh. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. This was a challenge of great significance, the ultimate test of his skill and strategy.
"Well, if they're behind this," he muttered, a growing excitement evident in his tone,
"then they messed with the wrong player."
He stepped closer to the panel which faded into thin streaks of light. A new message appeared.
[ENTERING GAME WORLD]
The darkness around him dissolved, the emptiness squeezing inward, pulling him toward a single point, and then.
TUNNN
A light surged, engulfing him entirely. He floated, and for a moment, he felt relieved.
Then,
Snap.
The world snapped into focus.
Blink found himself standing on firm ground. He looked up at the sky, clouds, trees far as the eyes could see. The air gave a feeling of warmth, filled with the scent of grasses. He looked down at his hands, now those were the hands of a human, he felt a sense of familiarity.
Everything looked alive and real. The sound of rushing water nearby soon caught his attention, Blink followed the sound to a stream. And leaned, angling for a glimpse of his appearance.
The reflection staring back was the definition of a Top level Avatar. He looked to be in his mid 20s, his face sharp and refined, long silver hair spilling over his shoulders. and his eyes, once dull brown, now glowed with a piercing gold tint.
"At least they nailed the looks," he said brushing through the silver strands of his hair. He stood up to inspect the rest of his body, but the excitement reduced slightly as he looked at his clothes. He wasn't wearing something impressive. An outfit that defined generic fantasy, a plain beige tunic and dull brown leather trousers, tucked into basic calf-high boots. He had nothing else, no armour, nothing extra. But he hadn't expected much either.
DING!
A system notification symbolmaterialized in his vision, he tapped on the panel. A menu expanded.
[AVATAR INFO | INVENTORY | MARKETPLACE | SETTINGS]
He tapped on the Avatar Info. A 3D representation of himself appeared, the info scrolled beside the avatar.
[Player Name: BLINK]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 1]
[Health Points (HP): 100/100]
[Mana Points (MP): 100/100]
[Stats:]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 10]
[Perception: 10]
[Mind: 10]
[Skill Slots: 10 (Empty)]
[Experience Points (XP): 000]
"Okay, basic stats, no surprises here."
He flicked to the Inventory tab. The panel showed only a single item.
[System Interface Access - Status: ACTIVE].
With a curious double-tap, the icon expanded into a sub-menu. To his surprise, two distinct versions of the system's operating software were listed.
One was labelled Legacy Build, with an archaic looking icon. The other was a gold icon highlighted with a checkmark, System Interface: Pre-Release Build (v.2.0). The pre-release version was currently active.
"So, it hasn't been released yet. Does that mean I'm its only user?." He thought.
DING!!!
[New Notification: Market Update - Global]
Blink immediately looked up, a system notification had just popped up, interrupting his inventory exploring. A Global Market Update. He swiped to the Marketplace Tab, a rather odd feature was displayed.
[Global- 5000 new items]
[Personal- 7 new items]
Blink stared at the screen, a bit of confusion evident in his face.
"A personal marketplace tab?." This was unusual, in other games he played, the market place was a single, universal hub where everyone participated. A personal market place meant a private economy just for him. Blink however, chose to explore this later. The global market would be filled with opportunities and information.
Ignoring the 'Personal' tab at the moment, he tapped the 'Global' panel on the interface. The panel vanished with a chirp, and the space in front of him began to fracture.
A phantom door emerged before him. Massive and translucent, it was made of golden light, with several green codes running across, its surface glitching and restructuring.
"Well then, let's see how far this goes." He said, an excited spark returning to his eyes.
He stepped forward through the door, emerging onto a vast suspended bridge of colorful light that stretched towards the golden gates of a city. Standing in awe of the world building and architecture, he wasn't there yet, but he could see the towers of solid gold and crystal alloys rise in uneven levels above the fenced region. Several banners hung, showing districts of specialization.
High above the central square, the tallest building in the market place, the name UP GLOBAL MARKETPLACE revolved.
"Wow, so this is..."
"MOVE IT!." A sudden impact slammed into his shoulder. The voice was gruff, reeking of disgust.
Blink stumbled half a step, his gaze breaking instantly, the charm of grandeur was replaced by a chaos of rushing motions. That was when he realized he was standing at the center of the walkway.
Figures paced past him to and from the marketplace,
"watch it!"
"out of the way, kid!"
They barked as they brushed past him, the crowd swarmed like ants.
THUMP, THUMP!.
An armored Nephilim walked by, each step shaking the light bridge, SCREECH!, a dragon roared as it flew past. Robots, caped superhumans, elves, monsters, all moved with intent. And there he was, a mere human, standing in the midst of it all.
"This place..." he whispered. "It's insane."
"Lost little one?." A shadowy figure reformed before him like a smoke.
"Uhmm...," He stuttered, feeling the immense pressure from the masked figure.
And then.
Tap.
A firm grip caught his shoulder, pulling him towards the edge of the walkway.
"Hey Blink, It's you isn't it?." A feminine voice asked.