The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 20: Progress. (Part 3)

Side Story: The reviews.

Erin Storm

"Hey everyone Erin Storm, storming in again," the cheerful girl waved to the camera smiling charmingly. She had a sweet appearance that was purposefully provocative in an innocent way. A tight shirt that accentuated her figure but modest enough not to show skin. Her trade mark dark green dyed hair had a streak of natural black running down the front giving her a unique look that had so far been very marketable. Right behind Crozen, she was the number two streamer when it came to Areithia Online and the current North American Champion.

She continued hefting a box into the view of the camera, "On today's stream I'm going to go over my take of GrayTech's new Virtual Body Helm and let me tell you there is a lot to talk about. First up the package comes with the device itself, a few handy accessories and for those first adopters a collectable letter. Rumour has it that a few may have even been signed by the elusive A.Friend."

Erin showed off the boxes contents one by one, remarking on the quality and feel, "When it comes to it the VBH gives you gameplay almost perfectly similar to that of a VRP. Coming in at less than a third of the cost it's definitely worth it. That being the case it does need a decent computer to run background applications, so if you like listening to music, watching videos or recording in the world of Areithia there will be an extra cost. The biggest difference you're looking at however is comfort. Don't get me wrong, the VBH is comfortable to put on and use but it's not so much like lying down in a VRP. Long gaming sessions may just get you a little sore depending on your own setups."

For the next few minutes Erin described her own experience with the VBH before finally showing how to use it.

"And there you have it. The straps fit nicely on the average person. If you're bigger or smaller in size, you may need to order some additional accessories to make it more comfortable. Just one thing, do not activate the helmet while standing. Your body will go mostly limp so make sure you're comfortable first! Now let's get into Areithia."

Crozen:

"It's ya boy Crozen here, welcome to the stream." The ever vibrant Crozen faced his camera with a strong smile. "Now you've probably seen a few reviews of GrayTech's VBH going around. Erin, The Doc, Garder, all of them received a review copy of the VBH. You're probably wondering if I got one. You know, me being the number 1 streamer of Areithia and all. To answer that, no, I did not receive one."

Crozen sighed as if he could do nothing, "Looks like GrayTech has decided that I'm not worth it and I'll have to wait for the actual first batch. If I had to say, I think our Friend might have pulled a few strings. Well don't worry about it, my review will come later. Now let's get to gaming." Unbeknownst to his viewers Crozen himself had refused the VBH, stating he would rather the one from the first batch. He smiled to himself, anything to start drama and get the attention coming his way.

End Side Story:

**

I sat on the couch at home along with Vanter, Endi and Aria. We were waiting for the announcement stream to start. It was the last day of March and Areithia Limited had only put out news for the announcement a few days prior. For the most part I knew what was coming however with what had changed already, I wasn't expecting to be exactly right.

The countdown ended and like the previous update announcement, the stream was hosted by Cher and Larry. Cher appeared a step ahead of her partner and waved at the camera.

"Hey hey everybody! Welcome to the long-awaited tournament announcement stream! We've got a lot to cover so we're getting started straight into it."