Chapter 1
What do you define love as?
Caring for someone? Wanting to be more than friends? Something you feel for someone you want to spend the rest of your life with? How you feel about your family?
Can you use the word love to describe the care an owner has for his/her pet? Most will say yes, I think.
“I love this pen.” Is that statement wrong? I don’t think so except you want to actually date the pen. Now that is just crazy.
At least that’s what I would have said a few months ago.
No. I’m not in love with a pen. Yes. I still consider such an ideology bonkers.
But I’m in love with an NPC.
Well, the game administrator says she’s technically no longer an NPC as she’s now tagged ‘error,’ but you get the gist.
Hello. I’m Allister Newman from the year 3817 and I’m in love with an NPC.
I don’t know if this time machine prototype works but it’s supposed to be able to send some digital data. I’ll test it with my diary.
Settings: →1st century.
I can’t send it any further than that.
[0%...12%...30%...37%...60%...85%...96%...97%...98%...99%...Begining Transfer]
*** *** ***
Wednesday 12th February 3817
It was one of those snowy days, but it won’t stop me from going to school. Well, it depends on what the word ‘going’ entails since school is online and I can just log in from home. Only those who registered themselves as not having computers and suitable internet at home are exempted as they can’t go to the school building to use the computers under the snow.
It's not all roses for them either. They have to stay in school and watch all the videos and read all the PowerPoint slides for today and all the days they missed when there isn’t any snow while those of us who have already checked in today will only have to read and watch materials of tomorrow’s classes.
No, I can’t fast forward videos or skip slides as my overall grade will be affected by the quizzes you take after the video and slides. The quizzes in every subject amount to at least seventy percent of the grade and in worst cases, I’ve heard of quizzed being worth the entire grade.
I could just flunk school and still have a good life as I’ll inherit my parents’ company but, they said I’d either be qualified to run it or don’t get anything. There is no getting a job there.
It’s a game company called IMEX. To manage such a huge business, having nothing but an average or lower high school degree isn’t going to cut it.
Once I’m done attending school via my laptop, I head downstairs for lunch.
My parents are still at work so I’m eating alone. What about siblings you ask? I’ve got none. I’m legally not allowed to have one. The law exists to curb overpopulation and I can’t blame them as the earth’s population as of this year is estimated to be 38.6 billion. Yes. 38,600,000,000 people roam the earth.
The atmosphere has been wrecked so much the weather fluctuates like the gods are playing DNDX. It’s -4 degrees Celsius today but it may be 30 degrees Celsius by this time tomorrow. The population has risen but the land mass is decreasing all over earth as the ice bergs are almost completely gone.
I could warn you all back in the 21st century but you probably won’t listen, or you did and created alternate timeline. Well, I will never know, will I?
Once I’m done, I toss my plate into the dishwasher, and I head back up to my room. I’m about to get some rest when my smart watch starts beeping. It’s the alert for the VR room.
Yes, you probably have started VR back when you’re in but, VR now is way more advanced. You can see, smell, taste and feel via VR calls now. Of course, you can’t eat someone else’s food over a VR call, but you can smell, feel, and even taste it. How does that work? I’m not an engineer so don’t ask me.
VR rooms are like capsules where you enter to maximize the VR experience. Its interior is no different from an empty spacious white room except the VR gear (which is also white).
I put on my gear and answer the call from my parents. I feel like I’m right in front of them. Is that chicken I smell? Dad’s having chicken for lunch again, isn’t he? That’s all he eats. Fried chicken.
“Hi mom. How’s work?”
“Ally. Have you eaten?” My mom asks. She wishes she could be home and I know it but, it can’t be helped.
“Yeah.”
“You’re not eating only pizza again, are you?” She doesn’t want me to end up like my father.
“I had some carrots and freshly squeezed orange juice too.”
“Good.” She nods in acceptance. “The company will be releasing our new game, Utopia later today. I’ve already sent you the latest VR gear. The drone should be arriving soon. I know you’re usually bored since you’re home alone and have run out of games to play so this should be fun. You’ll get to meet a lot of other players there and interact with them.”
“Oh. Kind of like Wema Universe?”
“Yes, but better.” She replies. “If you need anything just call.”
“Mm.”
“Bye sweetie. Have fun.”
“Bye.”
I take off my gear after the call ends and head out to the door of the house. I unlock the doghole so when the drone arrives with my package, it an come in freely. You have to lock it, so people don’t send drones into your home to spy on you.
Yes. More than 1000 years from your time, there are still bad people. Worse now that resources aren’t enough for the high population.
After less than an hour, the new gear arrives. The gear is designed specially for Utopia.
As I d******d the necessary data to the VR room and put on the gear, I can see join the countdown to release.
Hour(s): 02 Minute(s): 41 Second(s) 09…08…07
Chapter 2Hour(s): 02 Minute(s): 41 Second(s) 09…08…07*** *** **Hour(s): 00 Minute(s): 00 Second(s) 06…05…04…03…02…01…00A beep sound can be heard followed by a message.[Welcome to Utopia by IMEX][LOGIN WITH:]The VR room has my account and my parents,’ so I have to choose mine.[Confirm?][Yes] or [No]I choose yes and it uses the devices attached to my body (which are meant to monitor my vitals since some people play VR for so long their health fails. If it goes below standard, the VR will shut down on its own), to confirm m identity.[Scanning][Identity confirmed][Welcome to Utopia, Allister Newman][Creating Utopia IRL Profile][Creation complete][NAME: ALLISTER NEWMANAGE: 17HAIR COLOR: BLACKEYE COLOR: GREENBUILD: SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE BUT NOT SKINNY [RECTANGULAR]WEIGHT:HEIGHT: 5’9HAIRSTYLE: SLICK BACK][IS THIS YOU?][YES] OR [NO]I choose yes and the IRL profile is replaced by In-game profile.[IN-GAME PROFILE][PSEUDONAME: N/A]RACE: N/AROLE: N/AAGE: 17GENDER
Chapter 3 Form 2: Devil Elf HEIGHT: 5’9 HAIR COLOR: BLACK HAIR STYLE: SLICK BACK EYE COLOR: GREEN BODY TYPE: RECTANGULAR Gross…No way. The game took basic characteristics from my IRL form and slammed them on my Devil Elf form. A dark-skinned elf with black slick back-styled hair and a rectangular body type. Nope! The height can’t be changed obviously but let’s make some tweaks. Hair colour from black to white. Hair style from slick back to just long hair. Make it go below my shoulders down to my ribs. Eye colour from green to…I already used blue before. I want to look like a completely different being when I transform. So purple. Body type from rectangular to inverse triangle. Add a little muscle. Just a little. I will get additional stats when I transform to my second form so let me get the looks to match the boost. I look over my profiles and choose to confirm. [Are you sure? Changes in some respects may not be changed after selection] [Yes] Or [No] Just as I’d guess
Chapter 4I have been killing all kinds of monsters with gradually increasing levels for the past three hours and my stats have gone up quite a lot. I may not be able to use my spell for combat and I’m not allowed use my devil form in the training arena but it’s ok.[IN-GAME PROFILE][PSEUDONAME: DEXTER BLOOM]RACE: DEVIL ELFROLE: DEVIL GOD SUCCESSORAGE: 17GENDER: MALETIER: TRAINEETIER RANKING: 000000138/752769283 [STILL RISING AS MORE PEOPLE JOIN]LEVEL: 9FORM 1: HUMAN-LOOKINGHEIGHT: 5’9HAIR COLOR: REDHAIR STYLE: SLICK BACKEYE COLOR: BLUEBODY TYPE: RECTANGULARUTOPIA COINS : 0[STATS]STRENGHT : 5→ 13AGILITY : 10→18STAMINA: 8/8→ 16/16DEXTERITY: 20 →28DURABILITY: 4→12INT: 10→ 18IQ: 128 [STATS CANNOT BE ASSIGNED TO THIS]HP: 10/10→40/50MP: 5/5→45/45SKILL POINTS: 8I haven’t had time to use my skill points as the waves of monsters are never-ending. It doesn’t show how much experience points I have left to go, and it does not give you the option of where to add stats.
Chapter 5: The AdminThe hall (training arena) fades out of view and the next moment, I’m in a booth that looks like the inside of a spaceship. I move my physical body, attempting to walk around the spaceship but my avatar doesn’t move. I can rotate on the spot to look around though. When I’m starting to think the game is bugged, I get a notification.[Choose your starting point]A sphere appears in front of me. It’s a globe but just not earth’s globe. I’m guessing it’s for the Utopia world.I look all over the globe. Anywhere should be fine, right? Nope. Different areas have different terrains, beings, natural resources and so on. So, the area you choose will influence your future development. Just like how those living in the tropics will develop resistance to heat and will want to die if they found themselves in the arctic areas without adequate preparation.I want to gain a lot of power, but I don’t want to be some recluse whose only hobby is levelling up in some mountains. I gues
Chapter 6: Berserker Ape“I was told that I won’t be able to retry the test to master this castle if I fail once. Do you know of any way around that?”The Administrator does not reply immediately.“Firstly, the test has not begun yet. It doesn’t begin until you get beyond that door.What?! I’m already about to die from the people guarding the entrance. What would it be like inside?“If you look at your status window, nothing has been added to your missions’ log. Even if you did manage to get past the door, the minimum requirement would prevent you from mastering this castle.”“Minimum requirement?”“The requirement to master this castle is to be at least Angel Tier. Further information on the tiers and their level designations in the FAQ section.TRAINEE [0-9]NOOB [10-19]GAMER [20-29]INTERMEDIATE GAMER [30-39]EXPERIENCED GAMER [40-49]ANGEL [50-59]ARCH ANGEL [60-69]DEMIGOD [70-89]GOD [90-91]?? [100-??]“I wonder how long it’s going to take for me to get me there.” I sigh.I gu
Chapter 7It’s been about three hours since Utopia launched, and the players are still rising at break-neck speed. While others spawned in towns and cities, I have been walking in the woods. I have used the SOTD skill to get around unfavourable situations such as quicksand and a swamp. Other than that, I’ve been taking in the beauty of this game. The leaves, flowers, insects, and so on. I have hunted a couple monsters I’ve run into and only two were above my level so for the most part it was easy. I didn’t loose a single health point with the help of the SOTD skill since I could attack without getting close as long as my opponent was within my sensory bubble.“Status.”[IN-GAME PROFILE][PSEUDONAME: DEXTER BLOOM]RACE: DEVIL ELFROLE: DEVIL GOD SUCCESSORAGE: 17GENDER: MALETIER: NOOBTIER RANKING: 000064852/000064852 [STILL RISING AS MORE PEOPLE JOIN]LEVEL: 10→14FORM 1: HUMAN-LOOKINGHEIGHT: 5’9HAIR COLOR: REDHAIR STYLE: SLICK BACKEYE COLOR: BLUEBODY TYPE: RECTANGULARUTOPIA C
Chapter 8It’s been about three days (in-game) since I left the floating castle, and I just made it to the city. Cangue City. It is bustling with activity as I can see that in three short days, players have developed a community here. There are various species her and it’s a little difficult to be a 100 percent certain who is a player or not. Some NPCs who are staff have logos on their outfit, but most don’t. Some players are wearing armor or other gear and carrying weapons, but what about mages that are dressed casually? It’s a mixed bag I won’t be able to sort unless I get close and monitor their behaviour. There are varying species too. I chose devil elf that has human form, but some others didn’t. Some players chose to be weird things like orcs. Some are elves, succubus and so on. But human-looking races seems to be most popular. How do you know if a human with a sword may not be an NPC or a player other than interaction? Splendid world-building if I do say so myself.[1 hour in t
Chapter 9It’s been a couple nearly eight hours (in-game) since I left the city to go hunting in the woods. I have levelled up quite a bit. At least that’s what I’d like to say. There are no monsters worth good experience points. I haven’t seen any higher than level 16. At this rate it’ll take a lot of time to level up. Just one more level to change tiers. Sigh.I pause by a stream and drink from it with my hands. My real body probably feels thirsty too. I stare up at the moon in the sky as I eat some food. I bought a ‘Meal Ticket’ worth 1 U coin. Did I have a U coin? No. I bought it on credit, but I’ll pay the system back with three U coins.What is a meal ticket? A meal ticket is like a debit card for the food store in the game. You could also buy directly but 1 U coin worth of food is quite much and if you don’t have the space to store them in your inventory, what a waste. With the Meal Ticket, it will continue to give you food in small quantities until it’s maxed out. Since there