In a room cluttered with swords, spears, axes, and bones, hundreds of people gather, picking up a shield here, throwing away a dagger there. Suddenly, amongst the pile of loot, a massive skeleton arm reaches up. SLAM! The arm hits the ground, and a colossal skeleton rises. Its hollow gaze scans the room, promising only death to everyone there. Then, its hand raises above us, ready to slam down.
Wait, wait, wait—did you really think I was gonna start the story there? You came to the wrong place. Just for that, I’m not continuing. No, really, you don’t deserve my story. Go bark up a different tree because I’m not spilling. Ugh, fine, but I’m only doing this once.
It was a regular day, just like any other. I was at school, then boom—Skeleton! Nah, I’m joking. But let’s actually begin.
It was September, leaves were falling, and school was starting. Over the summer, my friends and I got hooked on a new game called *The Lost World is Eternal*. Little did we know, the game had become popular thanks to an upcoming update, but as a true no-life gamer, I’d already hit the max level of 360. At the time, I was one of only 500 players to reach the final quest line. But enough about that—let’s get into the story.
As I, Aeris, walked into my class—a medium-built teen with blond hair—my best friend and partner in crime, Zander, called out. “Yo, Aeris! Did you hear what Starcorp is gonna do with *The Lost World*?!”
I looked up to see Zander basically running at me, phone raised like he was charging me with a spear. “Nah, man, not yet. What’s up?” I mumbled, still half-asleep from grinding quests all night.
If I could go back in time, this would be the moment I’d change, because saying “no” was the worst decision. “No? You said no?” Zander stammered in disbelief. “How do you not know?”
“Yo, Zander, all good? What’s so important? Are they shutting down the servers?” I started to panic, seeing how freaked out he was.
“Only the best update ever!”
"…"
If only I could’ve run away faster. I bolted out the door, down the hall, almost making it to the stairs before Zander tumbled down them like a rhino.
After a quick trip to the nurse's office, we made it back to class. Sitting through the lecture, I remembered Zander’s excitement and whispered, “So, what were you saying about Starcorp?”
Zander sprang to life, like I’d just brought him back from the dead. “Oh my god, thanks for the reminder! So, you know how *Lost World* has been one of the top 20 games for eight years now? But it’s never updated to any of the OWE systems or InterLink tech.”
“I mean, yeah, but it’s a third-person grinding MMORPG. It’s more of a farming sim than an RPG. Why would they upgrade it?” I asked, genuinely confused. Sure, it had cool PvP and an interesting story, but it’s mostly a grind game, not a quest-and-combat game.
“Well, that’s the thing! The final quest line has been almost impossible to finish because every mission is PvP, and with less than a hundred people making it there per server, you can never find anyone to fight. But now they’re making the final zone its own game, focusing only on PvP and quests. And if you die, you have to make a new character.”
I cut him off there—he could go on about the combat updates forever. Mr. Garson yelled at him for talking, but I caught the key part: everyone at max level who reached the final zone by the new game’s release date would get a reward. And guess who met those requirements? Yep, that’d be me.
Now, I know someone will ask about OWE and InterLink. For those who don’t know, OWE stands for Other World Experience. OWE was the first company to develop full-dive VR. At first, not many people liked it, but as the gaming industry slowed down, full-dive gained traction. After a few great games came out, InterLink was created—a military-funded company that developed top-tier VR gear, but it cost an arm and a leg or sometimes, you’d have to sign up to lose one if you understand.
So, “Lost World: True Suffering” was set to launch on the ILT system. Thankfully, my dad, a former general, had connections.
Fast forward six months, and it was time to create a character. Unfortunately, no one from my last run would be joining me, so I dove in alone.
“Welcome to *Lost World: True Suffering*. Please agree to the terms and services.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Boring.”
“Please select a server: Core, Trial, Hell, Torture, Lake Side Meadow.”
“I choose Lake Side Meadow.”
“Warning: Lake Side Meadow has 0.15x EXP gain. Monsters do 6x more damage. Players deal 3x less damage. Monsters have 6x more health. Players have half health.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot Starcorp made this. Never mind, I pick Core.”
“Server: Core selected. Is this correct?”
“YES! Just let me play!”
“Please select a name.”
“Easy enough, Aerian Luris.”
“Name set to Aerian Luris.”
“Character creation: Do you wish to look like your real self?”
“Yes, sure, hurry up.”
“Please pick a starting weapon:
- Long Sword
- Greatsword
- Daggers
- Bow
- Crossbow
- Spear
- Staff
- Axe
- Mace
- Whip
- Shield
- Gun Blade
- Gauntlets
- Throwing Knives
- Hammer
- Chakram
- Spell Book
- Scimitar
Or special select: For player Aerian Luris, as a max-level player who discovered the Dark World, you’ve earned a unique weapon—the Dark Ring. Focusing mana in the ring allows access to dark magic, a whole sub-magic dedicated to you.”
“...I CHOOSE THE DARK RING!”
“Weapon: Dark Ring. Abilities:
- Poison
- Weaken
- Slow
Reach level 80 to evolve the Dark Ring.”
“Oh no. But I have to pick the custom, this is gonna be painful”
“Loading server: Core.”
Seven hours later…
“Exiting server: Core.”
“Time to head to school and convince everyone to join the Core server,” I muttered, logging off without realizing what lay ahead. That Day at school i convinced most of my friends to join, and they convinced some of their friends, and eventually, the whole school was involved.
Eight hours later…
“Loading server: Core.”
“Load failed. The server closed until further notice.”
Sixteen hours later…
“Yo, did you guys see the servers were down last night?” I shouted as I walked in. Heads turned, and the room filled with chatter.
“Wait, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t play?” “You guys couldn’t log in either?”
And that exact moment? That’s when everything started turning south.
YOU ARE READING
The lost world is eternal
FantasyI'm kinda just winging this one, chat gpt is my friend now but I think the story is good enough to be put here so y not? it's about a school that... nvm go read it, I'm not gonna spoil
