Paying To Win In A VRMMO

Vol. 1 Ch. 2

2 - Noble Son, Search

      In recent years, more and more MMORPG players had been opting to enjoy the game on their own, rather than joining a party. They were called “solo players.”

      To find the company of others undesirable even in a virtual space certainly seemed to be the story of the modern era. But as the online world merely reflected the tendencies of outward society, it would be hard to pass judgment from outside.

      Of course, as long as the games were designed to encourage party play, it would be extremely hard to continue solo play on the front lines of a game’s expanding content. Many of the most powerful monsters had stats that were leagues above any individual player, and it was impossible for one person to keep up with the infinitely spawning monsters all alone.

      That applied even more in a VRMMO.

      VRMMOs were played from a first-person perspective, so there were more blind spots than you would have in a traditional third-person game. It was far easier for one small miscalculation to result in you being surrounded by mobs. There were no convenient controller functions for checking 360 degrees around you, either, and the player’s own fatigue was reflected directly in the character’s abilities. Even in the top VRMMO title, Narrow Fantasy Online, you wouldn’t see anyone playing solo on its newest content map, the Delve Necrolands.

      With one exception.

      In the ruined city that stood at the center of the Necrolands, a black shadow raced. Points of armor covered each of the young man’s joints, over a leather jacket — beginner’s equipment. His magic-resistant coat fluttered in the wind as he danced through the land of Delve, flirting with death.

      He clicked his tongue as he cut a bold stroke downward with his sword. The sword — a plain blade, bearing neither inscription nor decoration — flashed, unleashing a spirited spray of blood. A four-digit number popped up before him, and his victim could not even breathe out a curse before it faded away.

      As he pulled back his sword, it sliced through the zombies that were beginning to pile on him from all sides.

      In the game world, no matter how violently he used his sword, the clots of blood would not dull the edge. As long as the weapon had plenty of Durability remaining, there was no reason he couldn’t just keep slashing his heart out. He thrust forward, then brought it up diagonally to his shoulder, opening up a new path before charging forward again.

      Yes, this was the world of the game. The tale of a distant world cut off from reality.

      He was well aware that his real-world self was a small-framed human merely playing the role of this intrepid Fighter. This ultimate warrior, cutting down the hordes of charging demons, only existed here in this virtual world.

      I know that. I know it’s all a lie. A fake. An illusion.

      But being the strongest in a world of illusion still had some value.

      A tool to forget my weaker self. An ideal of strength to aspire to out there in reality. To understand what that looks like, I have to keep fighting.

      And when at last the image of that sword-wielding warrior and the frail child of the real world cowering in the corner overlapped, then...

      Yes. Then there would no longer be any difference between the reality and the fiction.

      A stench arose from the invading hordes around him. Here in Delve, there was only one debuff effect that you couldn’t avoid with “Pain Blocking.” It was a mob-exclusive skill possessed by some of the local monsters: “Stench of Stagnant Rot.” Not only was it unpleasant for the player, it limited the actions the character could take.