Yvvaros: The Digital Frontier (2 page)

The box recommended that he sit down to fully utilize the feature. Just by lifting his legs up and down at different rates and angles, he could move forward, side to side, and backward. More complicated actions like jumping and climbing also worked, though they were limited by what he could do in a chair.

The way the cameras picked up the movements of his arms and hands was what really got Luke excited. He knew from watching gameplay footage of Yvvaros that the combat was real time and skill focused. It was up to him to figure out how to use his weapon to attack and block. Everything from a sword, to a spear, to a crossbow operated very differently in-game.

The one thing that Luke had forgotten to account for was the size of the game. He clicked over to the Yvvaros website and bought the game through their web store, but it was huge. His computer had more than enough room for it, but it would take some time to download.

He spent a few hours doing the best that he could to distract himself, every minute taking what felt like an excruciatingly long time to pass. He watched a couple episodes of the Yvvaros TV show, wondering just how close to the lore the game would stick, and tried not to let his anxious excitement make his foot tap incessantly.

Finally, the download finished. Luke clicked through the installer like a madman, agreeing to the terms and conditions without reading them and making an account using his email and standard username. He clicked through the log-in gate, and finally, the screen faded to black.

“Welcome to Yvvaros.”

The headset was still sitting next to Luke's laptop as he went into the character creation process. He was surprised by the graphics, which were more detailed and realistic than any game he'd ever played before.

I guess I should have expected that, with all the hype.

There was only one playable race in Yvvaros, human, but the customization options for it were massive enough to be essentially limitless. For the most part, Luke designed his character to look like him.

He made the body slightly taller and more muscularly toned, but the face and head were modeled after his own. When he was satisfied with what he'd created, he clicked to the next screen.

Yvvaros was a class based MMORPG, meaning that Luke had to pick a particular role for his character to play. Previews of the game had mentioned that the nature of the in-game combat gave players a great deal of freedom when it came to fighting styles.

There were four main class options to pick from – Warrior, Mage, Rogue, and Healer. Luke thought about which one would suit him best for only a moment before deciding to be a Warrior.

It had been a while since he'd played an MMORPG, but frontline fighting had always been his style.

Each primary class was subdivided into dozens of minor categories, everything from relatively standard options like Soldier and Knight to more exotic choices, like Samurai and Berserker. His eyes scrolled down the list, coming to rest on one particular subclass that looked interesting, Sword Saint.

What exactly is a Sword Saint, anyway?

Luke clicked on the class and saw a description of it pop up on his screen.

SWORD SAINT: The Sword Saint is a master of edged weapons. He can use unique spells to imbue his blades with different types of magic.

It was a vague description, but something about it appealed to him. He chose it as his character’s class, and then the starting stats selection screen popped up.

The attribute system was not all that different from other RPGs. He started with a value between 10 and 18 for his Strength, Agility, Speed, Endurance, Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma, and Luck. For his class, they varied a bit, with Wisdom and Intelligence being on the lower side at 12, and his Strength, Agility, and Speed all being between 16 and 18.

Luke had 5 freely assignable attribute points to spend. He dropped one into Strength,  another into Agility, and a third into Speed. He put the last two into Luck, figuring that it had been a while since he'd played an MMORPG and he would need as much of it as he could get.

The screen also had an empty text box for him to enter his character's name. Luke thought for a moment and then entered “Kato.” It was always the name he picked, and he took it from the similar sounding name of an ancient Roman statesman that he'd learned about in his freshman year English class.

Finally, he reached what looked like the last screen in the creation process. He carefully examined everything he'd picked out for his character, and then finished with the set up, clicking on the play button in the lower right-hand corner.

His laptop screen dimmed to black, and then a pop-up appeared telling him to press enter once he'd put on his headset.

Finally! Time to find out what all of the hype is about.

Luke put on the headset and then hit enter.

He almost jumped out of his seat in surprise as a world appeared in front of him. He saw other people around him, all of them dressed in steel plated armor, or chainmail. The sky above him was blackish gray, crackling with thunder and lightning strikes. The ground was barren and battle-scarred, reminiscent of the outskirts of a forest after a wildfire.

“Hold your ground!” A heavyset man in a long chainmail shirt was at the front of the group, his hand gripped tight around the middle of a horizontally held spear as if trying to fence something back.

“They're coming!” screamed another soldier. “Don't let them break through to Stark Town!”

Luke, or rather, Kato, looked down at his hands. He realized that he had a sword in one of them; it swung effortlessly. One of the soldiers was a little too close to his blade, and Luke saw a health bar flicker into existence above his head. The accident earned him a contemptuous glare from the soldier, but that was it.

His own health bar, along with a blue bar and a green bar that he was unfamiliar with, was in the bottom left-hand corner of his field of view. Rather than taking him out of the experience, they felt natural, and he almost didn't even notice them at first.

Luke didn't have time to look at them for long. Emerging from a darkish fog a couple of hundred feet in front of him and the other soldiers was a horde of strange looking, humanoid monsters. Luke tightened his grip on his weapon and felt his heart begin to beat faster in his chest.

I feel ridiculous for being this nervous. It's just a game, no big deal.

“Charge!” The heavyset soldier began leading them forward, and one of the men behind Luke bumped into him as the group started to move. It made him feel as though he'd been knocked off balance, and not just in the game, but in his body back in his bedroom, too.

He began to run, moving his legs to carry him forward as the instructions with the headset had explained. His heart was racing even faster now, and something about how fluid and efficient the motions were made him want to laugh with delight.

The feeling only lasted for a couple of seconds as he drew closer to the group of monsters. They were unlike anything he'd ever seen in a video game before, nightmarish black skinned creatures with twisted faces and limbs that were too large to be in proportion to their bodies.

“For Kantor!” yelled the soldier at the head of the charge. The call was echoed by the rest of the group, and Luke felt his mouth forming the words and speaking them out loud without giving it a second thought.

The monsters fought without any weapons of their own, swinging massive claws attached to muscular arms. Luke held his sword in front of him and moved forward defensively, at least at first. He watched the others fight and suddenly understood Ben’s excitement. This wasn't like other games.

The battle was freeform and frenetic. Comparing it to other MMORPGs that he'd played would have been like comparing a scripted theater production to an improv troupe. The way the soldiers squared off against the monsters was unnervingly real, each of them staring each other down as they fought for their lives.

One of the men next to Luke fell from a blow to the neck. His body tumbled to the ground limply, and blood spurted out of the wound as though from a faucet. Luke trained his eyes on the man and a life bar appeared above him, down to the merest sliver.

There must be something I can do, or some healing item that I can use, right?

Before he had time to find an answer, more of the monsters were pushing into the group. Luke realized that he couldn't just stand there, and began swinging his sword in the space between him and the quickly approaching creatures.

One of them was within striking distance, but hopped back, just out of his reach as the blade came close. Luke swung again and watched the creature watching him. There was intelligence in the way it moved that was unnerving.

“We won't give up!” yelled a soldier from his left. “Force them back, at any cost!”

At any cost? Really?

Luke made himself remember that it was just a game, and moved forward toward his enemies. He wanted to get an idea of what his sword could really do and saw a chance as one of the creatures near him turned to strike another soldier. He pushed forward and swung the blade down in a killing arc, cutting into the creatures back. It let out a twisted cry as purple blood began to ooze from the wound.

TYMIAN: One of the monsters of Yvvaros, or “Yvvarites”. Highly intelligent, often hunting in large packs. Tymians live in caves and are rarely seen during daylight hours.

Luke felt satisfaction with his kill, but along with it came a strange realization of his own power in the game world. He could cut into the creatures, and they would bleed just like anything in real life. It was hard for him to know that and not be affected by it, especially with realistic examples of simulated violence all around him, screams, and nightmarish howls filling the air.

Two creatures approached him from the right. Luke lifted his sword to catch a claw strike as it came toward his shoulder and then immediately swung at the other one. The first one attacked again, managing to strike Luke before he could block. His vision flashed red, and the health bar in the corner of the screen lost a third of its length.

That much from one hit? Damn, I'll have to be
-

Luke didn't get a chance to finish his thought. Another vicious strike came at him from a blind spot, and his health bar shrunk down to a dangerously low level as it made contact. He tucked his shoulder and rolled on the ground, quickly standing up among the other soldiers and regaining his bearings.

“This is it, soldiers.” The heavyset man was still alive, his previously gleaming chainmail shirt now spattered with purple blood. “We die today for Kantor to live another day.”

He let out a roar and charged forward with what was left of the men. Luke followed and realized that there were only a few allies left standing against the uncountable number of monsters surrounding them.

One of the creatures was hobbled over the fallen body of a dying soldier. Luke had a clear shot at its back and took the opportunity to stab his blade squarely through the monster's shoulder blades. A health bar above its head drained from around half to nothing, and a small empty bar in the corner of Luke's vision went up by a notch.

5 XP GAINED

Luke managed to cut through two more of them with quick, accurate swings of his blade. He was charging toward a third with his sword lifted high above his head when one of the creatures threw itself onto him, knocking him to the ground. The last thing he saw was the monster's grotesque face, its mouth overfull of razor sharp, blood covered teeth. His vision shook and then filled with red before slowly fading to black.

Luke felt nauseous. He understood exactly what had happened, but his mind rebelled against what it saw, even though logically, he knew that it was just a game. He wanted to close his eyes and lie down, mimicking what had happened to his character to break with the cognitive dissonance he was experiencing.

“Just relax, you're going to be okay.” A soft, feminine voice was suddenly in his ears. “You are in the Temple of Rygon. Our healers have brought you back. You're lucky to have a bound soul, especially after heading into a battle like the one you faced.”

RYGON: The seekers of the Universal Truth and the keepers of soul magic. The main religious faction of the humans of Yvvaros.

Luke’s vision slowly returned. He could see a high roof above him, and curious colored glass windows. It was clearly some type of temple, a place of worship and apparently, revival.

“The continent of Yvvaros is a harsh land.” The voice was coming from a tall, blonde woman dressed in a white flowing robe. “Many sacrifices are required from its inhabitants. And we thank you. The battle that you fought down there prevented Stark Town from being overrun by Tymians.”

Luke shook his head, and slowly climbed out of the bed he was lying in. Something about the woman’s mannerisms made him vaguely aware of her status as an NPC, one of the AI-controlled actors in the game world.

“I am the High Priestess, Azalene. You are safe up here, in the floating city of Kantor. I cannot thank you enough for holding the front line on the surface. The sacrifice you made, along with the other militia members, will not be forgotten.”

HIGH PRIESTESS AZALENE: The matriarch of the Temple of Rygon, binder of souls and channel of the Universal Truth.

It dawned on Luke that all of the men he’d fought alongside with in the battle had been NPCs. The whole thing had essentially been a glorified tutorial, a little more integrated and subtle than those found in many games, but effective.

“Your health has been restored by our magic, but you still are fatigued from the battle.” Azalene smiled at him and reached for a plate on a table next to her. “Here, eat this. It will restore your stamina.”

Luke took the plate from her and looked at it blankly.

How exactly do I eat food in this game? It’s not as though there is a button I can press or anything…

Feeling a little foolish, he picked up a slice of bread from the plate and examined it. It looked just like any he’d seen before in the real world. He opened his mouth as he brought it up to his face.

10 STAMINA RESTORED

The bread disappeared, and the screen briefly flashed green. Luke noticed that the stamina bar in the bottom left corner of his vision had been slightly replenished. He felt satisfied, not just from having figured it out, but also from the very act of “eating” the food. It was a very strange sensation to wrap his mind around.

“Your stamina can only be regained through eating,” said Azalene. “If you grow fatigued, you will begin to lose Health and Magicka.”

Luke glanced down at the last status bar on his screen, which was a dark blue. He assumed that it was Magicka, but was still unsure of what it was or what exactly it was used for.