A system notification woke up Reever from his 'sleep' mode.
[ System has successfully connected to the world community.
Enter the name you want.]
Looking at the message, he was confused. He didn't know what the World Community was. But the system would never harm him without any reason so without wasting time, wrote down the name 'Reever'.
[ 'Reever' can not be used by the player.
Over 20 million players are affiliated with that name.
Please enter another name.]
The system said as soon as he wrote his name. It didn't surprise him; he was a famous player, after all. He thought for a while before choosing his current name given by the system, Bot 067.
The system accepted the name before disappearing for a few seconds before reappearing with another notification.
[ Would the player want to access the world community.]
[Yes/ No.]
He was curious as to what this community was, and he selected yes.
[Player can access the community for five hours only per day]
The system warned before teleporting Reever.
He did not forget to activate the feature that hid his bot insignia.
When the teleportation was done, he found himself on a paved road which led to a city with huge walls and a mesmerizing gate could be seen from afar.
" Strange. This was never in the game. The game was all about matches and ranking up. I have never had of the world community or even see this place in the game." he murmured, before deciding to head to the city ahead of him.
" I wonder how many years have passed after my death. Before I died, the CEO of this game said that the game was updating soon and I tested their first upgrade. It was something like Ascend.Exe, a system that allowed players to feel the game and live in it if I am not wrong.
Come to think about it, I died while I was inside the pod that I was submerged at. I believe that that was the reason why I was integrated in the game and how my reactions and gameplays are better than players who use keyboards and joysticks." he analyzed as he tried to recall his last moments before his death.
He recalled the CEO's words: the system had been designed with him as a framework referral. He couldn't verify it yet—he hadn't met other players from this era.
"First, I need to know how many years passed after my death, but I can not ask it openly as people would start to get suspicious. But I am sure that it might only be two to three years at most."
He arrived at the gates only to find it closed.
" How the hell do I open this gate. It looks massive and I doubt that I have enough energy to open them." he said. as he placed his hands on the huge metal frames.
Just then, the gates opened automatically, and a loud sound was heard.
[ Welcome bot 067, to the World Community City.]
The voice said.
Reever looked out over the sprawling city, a sea of numerous, small modern buildings. One massive, tall building stood at the center, commanding attention as the city's heart. People moved through the streets below, a mix of ordinary people in casual clothes and others encased in impressive full body armor, all of them human inhabitants of this majestic place.
And insignia could be clearly seen attached at their armors and clothings, and were all blue in color. Looking at his, Reever noticed that it was also blue. Previously, the insignia was red, and he speculated that it was an indication that he was a bot.
Blue represented the human players, red the bot player.
Some players looked at him curiously, trying to know what kind of person he was. Luckily his armor was a full body one as those glares made him somehow nervous.
As he was looking around, a young man who had dressed casually approached him."
" Bot 067, nice to meet you. I am sure that you are new to this place so there is no need to worry about anything. My name is Elderwood, and let me be your tour guide." the young man said, as he shook Reever's hand.
" Elderwood. I hope that you are not bullying newcomers and extorting them."a shout rang out from somewhere nearby.
" Shut it you moron." Elderwood snapped , clearly irritated by the slanders destroying his reputation . Clean business was his mojo, not bullying newbies.
" Just ignore him. As I was saying, I will walk with you through this wonderful city and help you out whenever you need me." he said.
"Reever was beyond shocked. He was not sure if the people he was seeing were NPCs or players, but the shout had confirmed that these were legit players.
How was this possible. He thought that he was the chosen one as he was the only one who was a hundred percent integrated into this game.
Call of Duty never operated this way. Players communicated with comms, but this player was using his mouth to speak. But he still had to act natural lest Elderwood noticed his confusion.
"I assume that the project Ascend.Exe was successful. I never thought that it would be accepted by people all around the world. But how? They have destroyed the original storyline of the game by doing this.
Now I'm curious as to how many years passed after my death." he inwardly said, as he analyzed the player before him.
When they shook hands, he realized that they felt real. And warm too. It was like the game had upgraded so much that things like body temperature could be detected.
Elderwood noticed that Reever was silent.
"Man, dealing with newbies sucks sometimes. I bet he's not that rich; this city has probably amazed him. What a day," he muttered under his breath.
" Not to worry, I know this city inside out. I am sure that you have never seen something as majestic as this place, but after a while, you will get used to it." he said, as he patted Reever's shoulders.
" Just send me 100 CP, and I will be at your service for twenty four hours." he stated flatly, as a system notification appeared on Reever's screen to confirm if he wanted to send 100CP to Elderwood.
It surprised him as he never knew anything about CP, or even if he had any. Looking at the amount he had, his mind was blown.
[ The system has awarded you 1,000,000 CP]
He had a million CP, which was more than he expected.
"No worries, Brother Elderwood," he said. " I'll send you a thousand CP if you tell me everything about this city. It's my first time here, and I want the full experience.
I have only studied it online, but seeing it first hand brings out a different feeling." He lied effortlessly and sent the money.
"Thank you, 067! I'll make sure you get the full experience. You bought yourself premium treatment."