Chapter Text
The year was 2058, the world was broken, and he was having the shittiest day ever.
"Good evening sir" The AI from his house greeted him "Do you wish to turn on the news?"
Mike scoffed.
"No, Sam" He said without energy.
As if he'll ever be interested in watching the news, if it wasn’t just the freaking climate change causing floods and tornadoes it was the aftermath of the nuclear wars, he did not need any more negative things for this day.
Rubbing his eyes, he approached his kitchen counter and poured himself a drink.
"Sam, did I get any messages while I was gone?" He asked while he looked out of the window of his apartment, it seemed that today was going to be a rainy day.
"Actually yes, sir"
"Really?!" The news that his personal AI just gave him excited him "Did I get scouted for a big project? Is one of my old clients back again? They surely miss having a delver as big as myself on amazon"
‘Delver’ was the unofficial name of his career, technically it was called ‘virtual entrepreneur’ or something, but everyone referred to them as delvers. They were experts who earned their living by playing video games: Selling rare items in the black market, helping people clear content, slaying powerful bosses, bringing down top tier players, all of that for cash. His job was basically a combination of a bounty hunter and a mercenary, people hired him to do the tough jobs no one else wanted or could.
Mike had been a delver for almost a decade, ever since he dropped out of college, and had worked hard to earn his place as one of the top tier delvers of the world. Online he was known as arthur, one of the best delvers in mmorpgs and fantasy games.
Until recently.
"No sir, I've received a message from Mr. K" His A.I. interrupted his inner dialogue
His mood immediately decayed.
"He finally answered huh? Well let's see what that coward has to say" He pressed some buttons on his phone and the message appeared on his main screen.
Mike
I apologize for not being in tough these past few weeks, things have been crazy here. There is no easy way to say this, but our usual clients are not happy about you at all, and if they find out I helped you they will cut me out too, you know how it goes.
I’m sorry man, there’s nothing I can do
I think it would be better if we don’t see each other for a while
It’s over -K
“Piece of shit!” He tossed his vase to the side as he read the message, it shattered in a lot of pieces.
Mike was on a losing streak, he had messed up three long time missions for highly important contractors just because of some stupid mistakes. He knew he could get out of this if he just took some time and switched to lower jobs, but apparently the people who he had let down spread the word around that he had lost his edge, and started advising other contractors against hiring him. He thought that it would be a temporary fluke so he let it slide for a while, but the rumors got stronger until he couldn’t find a job even in the lowest areas.
“Stupid bitch! With all the times I’ve helped you! Well, that’s it, I’m at rock bottom ”
K had been his manager for a long time, he always got him the best jobs and they always communicated well, so Mike thought that he would stick around and help him, how stupid of him.
With all the money he gained as a delver he had enough to live comfortably for a while, but he hadn’t gotten a job in months, who knew how long he could keep going like this?
“Well fuck me…”
“Is everything alright sir?”
He didn’t bother answering to his AI, instead he marched towards his room in silence. Opening the door he saw his stuff was the same as he had left it this morning: messy and disorganized. There were papers scattered on the floor and his bed was still undone, but he didn’t pay attention to any of it. There, in one corner of his room, there was a machine connected by many wires,it had an oval shape and it was bigger than his king-sized bed.
“My ARK” He sighed with nostalgia.
ARKs were the best virtual reality console on the market, which is to say the only one. Instead of those retro headsets people used it allows you to upload your consciousness in a virtual space. I basically allowed you to experience everything through your five senses. Upon seeing it his eyes flashed towards the memories of his former glory, they told him he still had much to give
He knew what he had to do, even though he didn’t like it.
Three days later
“...and that’s why I’m here” He finished his tale to the man in front of him.
After some deliberation he decided that the best move would be going with a public agency. It would not pay as much and he would not be able to freely choose his jobs like when he worked on his own, but at least this way he could guarantee some cash while he cleared his reputation.
So now he was at the offices of a big company who hired delvers for several jobs: Linex. It was one of those media companies that climbed up the cooperative ladder when video games took over reality, becoming like gods in the super-late capitalism. Even though they started as mere console companies, these past decades they skyrocketed to almost every single aspect of life, becoming one of the biggest monopolies in the country.
“Oh really?” The man who he had spoken to smiled “Sounds like you are in trouble”
In front of him there was Tybalt Ferguson, an influential person inside the company and a massive dick, he had tried to recruit him several times in the past but he never accepted. It hurt his pride to come begging to a guy like this but he maned it up and did it anyway.
"My my, that's quite the sad tale" He fidgeted with his pen as he rocked his chair "And to think that even the great Galahad has fallen into disgrace, what a pity" at this point he wasn’t even looking at him, he was just searching for something in his drawer.
Mike bit the inside of his cheek to contain his anger. He knew that Tybalt was using his known username, the one that had held so much prestige and glory in the past, to taunt him, but he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.
"Hey this reminds me of something, do you remember two years ago when I asked you to come and work for us? Do you remember what you said to me?" Mike did remember, but he didn't want to talk about it.
"Listen. I know that I behaved wrongly in the past, if I could fix that I would, but I can't. I came here to see if the offer was still open, if it isn't I'll see myself out, I don't wanna waste your time" He tried to phrase it as best as he could.
Tybalt pulled what he was looking for from under his desk: A comb
"You are desperate, aren't you?" he started combing his curly white hair in front of him, as if Mike wasn’t even worthy of his full attention.
"Well I wouldn't put it that way" He was doing everything he could to not let Tybalt's words get him.
"Really? When was the last time you logged on to one of your games? I know that K took all of your accounts when they cut ties with you"
Mike grinded his teeth, it was true. Whenever a Delver signed a contract with a private manager most times they gave away the rights of their own account in games, this was insurance to make sure they respected the contract, it was a shitty deal, that was why people rarely did it. He still had access to a lot of in-game objects that he had stored on his personal vault over the years, but if he wanted to log in in any game he would have to start from zero, which was like torture for a guy like him.
"I know chronic gamers like you" He continued, looking at his nails "It's like an addiction. You probably are itching to be back in the field, doing the only thing you seem to be capable of doing, you should be begging me to-"
Mike couldn't take it anymore, he walked around the desk, lunged forward and grabbed him by the collar of his suit, lifting him from his chair.
"Say one more word, I dare you" His nose was flaring.
However, Tybalt didn’t seem intimidated. In fact he looked amused
"My apologies, I did not mean to offend you" He still had his smug grin on his face "Can you let go now?"
He did it with a grunt.
"Like I said, I came here with a proposition. If you just want to mock me then I'll save us some time and leave"
"Oh nonsense, friend, you'll always be welcome here! I just wanted to mess with you a little bit. My company is always hiring new recruits, I think our delver teams-"
"Strike force" He interrupted him.
"Huh?" Frank looked at him, perplexed.
"I know that you are gathering a small, elite team for a big fucking job soon, I don't know what it is about but it sounds like the perfect job for me, I want in your strike team" At least he didn't lost his guts.
He expected him to be surprised, or try to deny it, heck he even expected him to get angry and start to ask how the fuck did he manage to get confidential information. But he didn't expect him to smile in such a weird way, he almost felt like he should run away from it.
"Are you sure ? Our strike team might deal with… some unusual challenges"
"You said it yourself, I'm desperate" He knew that he would eventually come to regret this, he was only expecting this to be a temporary thing.
"Fine then… let's settle the details of your contract"
One week later
It had been incredibly tedious, but after one week Mike managed to reach an agreement with Tybalt's lawyers regarding his contract, usually he'd leave this to his private agent but that wasn't an option for him right now. The deal that he made was pretty standard for his position, the pay was decent and they would take care of everything he needed as long as he worked for them. On the bad side all of the jobs were chosen by the company so he couldn't pick whatever he liked, nor refuse when they sent him to a mission.
He could work with most of those just fine, it's not like he had an option anyway. But there was one thing that he hated the most from this: He couldn't pick his coworkers.
"Alright team! Let's gather around for a quick briefing!" Their coordinator announced cheerfully.
Right after he signed his contract and moved to the company's facilities he was asked (more like ordered) to attend a meeting with the rest of the strike team. He knew that this was really important, for this job he needed to know who and what he was working with, but a big part of him really did not want to be here, he was more of a solo player.
So now he was in a computer room sitting in a wheeled chair around five other people, forming a circle in the room. One of them was their manager(because of course Tybalt wouldn't be here to supervise, he doubted he'd ever see the guy enter this place), an old white man with a fake smile and a balding head, the other five were going to be his teammates.
"Alright everyone, I know we all want to end this as quickly as possible. First of all, we'll have a round of introduction amongst each other, okey? My name is Paul and I'll be your manager, you will report to me and I'll be handling all of your missions and corporate stuff like that"
"So you are our babysitter then, got it" One of the other men in the room said. He looked young, maybe in his early twenties, with asian features and blonde hair. He was leaning back on his chair and looking really mischievous.
Paul sighed.
"You can think of me as whatever you want but I am your superior, do not forget that" He casted his eyes around threateningly.
No one dared to speak a word.
"Good. Now that's settled with, why don't we start with the round of introductions? Do we have any volunteers?" No one moved a muscle and he grunted "Fine, I'll choose myself. What about you?" He pointed to the person at the opposite side of him, a young man with spiky black hair and tanned skin.
"That's acceptable" He got up from his chair and addressed the rest of them "My name is Alex, greetings everyone"
Mike felt as if he was in an anonymous alcoholics meeting and we were supposed to answer 'Hi, Alex'. Some seconds passed and he didn’t utter another word, he didn’t even sit back again, he just stood there looking at them with that awkward face.
"Could you tell us a bit more about yourself?" Their manager asked, hoping for a little more interaction.
"Oh yes, sorry” He cleared his throat “I have been a delver for the past four years, I'm experienced in several strategy games, but that is not the only genre I'm proficient at. I sincerely hope we can all work well together" He said all of this without any hint of emotion in his tone, just with a forced smile plastered on his face that made him look like a robot. Some people might say he looked weird, but Mike could see that his black eyes were attentive to everything that was happening. It was clear to him that he just struggled with social interactions "Some of you may know me already, my online alias is Chronus"
Mike raised an eyebrow at that. The username Chronus was known for making detailed guidelines on how to beat hard levels.
"Thank you Alex, you can sit down. Now, how about you present yourselves in a clockwise order.So, what about you?"
He pointed towards the guy that had interrupted him earlier.
"Hah! I don't need any of you losers to know my real name, the only name you should be concerned about is my online ID" He said smugly "I want you guys to remember this name whenever you ask me to save your sorry lives! I am the legendary apollo!"
Mike froze upon hearing his statement, Apollo was a delver well known for being an online bounty hunter and a high rank in several shooter games. He had actually tried to hunt Mike and claim his reward in the past, but failed every time, since then he had been antagonizing him a lot in the online forums and outright harassing him by demanding a duel.
"You have got to be kidding me, him? My luck is getting worse"
"Hmm, such an impressive background" Alex said after a while "But this is an incognito mission, as far as I'm aware. That means that we won't be able to use our normal aliases to avoid attracting attention, so it would be useful to know your name"
"What?" He looked baffled about that, then he turned to paul "Is that true?"
*sigh* "Yes mister Apolo. We explained everything to you via mail and you agreed to it"
"Ugh fine. If that's the case then you can call me by the new username I'll pick for the game, until then just call me Apollo"
Everyone stood silent with that, it seemed that he did not make the best impression.
"Ok he might be a dick but his skills are no joke, so maybe it won't be so bad? It all depends how much we are required to cooperate with each other"
“Good, let’s keep it going” He looked at the person to the left of Apollo “What about you, sir?
The fellow in question was a really tall brunette man. His curly hair fell on his shoulders and there were a few pimples on his tanned skin. He was wearing a green camouflage jacket over a white shirt and some light green cargo pants. The feature that defined him most was the bored expression on his face as he slumped over his chair, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
"Uhm, hi. My name is Tobias” He said with a forced smile “But you guys can call me Tob, my online alias xxDoomslayer2xx. I am very good at sports games and shooters" He announced quickly and then slouched back into his chair.
They just stared at him expecting him to say something else. It wasn't that those weren't unusual categories but he didn't mention his experience and time being a delver, not to mention that his name was… odd, to say the least. Usernames worked as an introduction card for delvers so most took great care when thinking of an alias to use for business, most of the time those weren't even the same as their names in video games (because it was really hard to come up with a name that wasn't used by anyone at this point) but that didn't matter to them as long as they had something to help capitalize their status.
"Are you kidding me?" Apollo said after a while "'XxDoomslayer2xx? Does that mean that 'xxDoomslayerxx' was taken?"
"Hey man, don’t be a dick. Do you know how hard it is to get an original name these days?" He sounded embarrassed.
"Well… how long have you been a delver?" Mike shifted subjects to ease the awkwardness.
"Oh, I've been playing for all my life” He started picking his nose while he spoke, as if he wasn’t in a room full of people “But I've only been a 'pro' for about four months, well three if you count how long the registration took, those bureaucrats really love their paperwork, don’t they?" He said lazily, unknowing of the situation he put himself in.
There was an upheaval in the room as everyone started complaining. Apollo started screaming, Alex facepalmed, and Mike grinded his teeth in frustration while Paul attempted to defuse the situation. Tobias, for his part, decided to ignore the situation and focused on his nails.
“A newbie? Really?”
“Are you kidding me, Paul? This was supposed to be an elite team!” The asian guy screamed, outraged.
“I-I can assure you that Tobias’ talent is the real deal, our scouts struck gold when they found him” Paul looked really nervous, even though Mike suspected that he had seen this conversation coming.
“Yeah! 1v1 me in any game if you want, you’ll see how good I am” He boasted proudly, not realizing that this only showed his unprofessionalism “I’m like… what was that word the instructor called me? A rogue demon?” He scratched his chin to think.
“A rough diamond” Paul supplied.
“Yeah that! I’m really good!” He exclaimed proudly.
“The issue here is not about your skill” Alex intervened “There are things that can only be discovered with experience, which is something you really lack. If you only needed to be good at games to become a great delver then everyone would do it”
“Exactly” Apollo agreed “If we take you to missions we are going to waste teaching you the ropes and that would slow us down, basically you are a deadweight to us” He turned to face paul “Boss, we were promised a team filled with experts, what is this?”
“Now now, I’m certain that mister tobias will be a great addition to the team, his skills will surprise you! And I’m sure that he’ll pick up things at a quick pace” Paul tried to calm them but it was clear that he didn’t even believe his own words.
“This is bullshit!”
As they all kept rambling, a terrifying idea came to Mike. He slowly raised his hand to ask for permission to talk, Paul managed to calm the others and pointed at him.
“Yes?”
“Tob, what’s your last name?” Asking for a full name was a big no-no in Delver culture for a bunch of legal reasons, but he figured the noob wouldn’t know about that.
“No, sir wait!” Paul tried to stop him but it was too late.
“Uhm, Ferguson. Why do you ask?” He said without knowing he dropped a bomb in front of everyone.
Everyone in the room groaned, and with a good reason. Ferguson was a renewed name in charge of the same company that just hired them all, he knew that because Tybalt had the same name, it was probably him that put Tobias here because he was his family.
“Agh, a nepo baby” Apollo said with disdain “Well that explains things at least”
“What do you mean by that?” Tobias seemed offended by that statement.
Mike just sunk into his chair, this was going from bad to worse.
“Can we just- can we just get back on track?” He pointed at the person at the right of Tobias.
A red haired person with a pale complexion and freckles stood up and looked at them. They were really muscular and tall with an imposing build, which was something rare for delvers. Alex wasn’t sure about their gender, their broad shoulders and flat chest made him believe that they were a man, but their wide hips and lack of facial hair or an Adam's apple told him different. Their round face was set into a fierce scowl, as if warning people to not mess with them.
"Hey, my name is Cris and my online name is Boudica" They said in what he recognized as a scottish accent "I have almost a decade in this job by now and I've been workin' for this company for a year. I have no preference on any type of game and I assure you that I can dominate in every genre" They looked around as if daring anyone to contradict them “Also, before anyone asks about this, yes I’m a woman, don’t be weird about it”
She sounded like a rough person and he couldn't blame her. This industry treated women like shit and female delvers needed to toughen up if they wanted to survive on this environment, which created an interesting secondary effect: Since it was so hard to progress in this career as a woman, finding one among the high ranks of delvers alone was enough proof of her ability, only someone with real skill could thrive on that condition.
"A recognized guide maker and a highly ranked female delver, I can work with that!" This was turning out better than he expected. Apollo might be a jerk but he was a professional, so maybe he won’t bother him while they went on missions. And if all of them had that kind of skill they could make up for the newbie!
“Wait, no way, why would they let a woman here?” Tobias asked as he pointed an accusing finger towards Chris.
Or so he thought.
“Oh boy here we go” Mike just buried his face with his hands and braced himself for the incoming shitshow.
“Excuse me?!” He could hear the anger in her tone.
“Yeah, I thought that you were a dude. Did you crossdress to get here? And why is no one saying anything about this?” Tob looked around as if all of them were crazy “Are you guys ok with letting a woman ruin this operation?”
“OH that’s it you little shit!” She lunged at him and grabbed him by his shirt’s collar.
“Wait, no!” Paul tried to defuse the fight but it was too late.
It took a bit of time (at one point all of them had to jump in to make sure that she didn’t kill him) but eventually she let him go. After he caught his breath Paul had a long talk about how Boudica had been an employee for a while, how they were a ´progressive company´and they didn’t allow any kind of harassment or misogyny at work. Eventually it got through his thick head that he was going to get kicked out of the team if he said stuff like that, Mike could see that he didn’t like it but he still managed to held his tongue for the rest of the meeting
"Thank you Cris, you can go back to your seat" The manager announced after a while. Paul then tried to lift their spirits with a smile and turned to Mike "And you, sir?"
Mike gulped and realized that he was the next in line. He wasn’t looking forward to doing this, especially since he was in front of Apollo, because of his tarnished reputation, but he guessed it had to be done. Taking a huge puff of air to steady himself, he rose from his chair.
“Hello everyone, my name is Michael. I have been a delver for over a decade, I specialize in mmorpgs and other fantasy games” He took a long breath before going into the next part “It's possible that you guys have heard about me already, my online alias is… Galahad”
There was a moment of silence before everyone reacted in a different way. Boudica cheered, Alex clapped and Tobias just looked at him confused.
Meanwhile, Apollo laughed at him.
“Hahaha! No way! Is this the mighty ‘Galahad’ that has given me so much crap over the years? Look at you! You always acted like a tough and mysterious guy in the forums, but you are just a decrepit old man! I am even taller than you!”
“Old?! I’m barely 32! I don’t even have any grey hairs!”
“What? You don’t have any comebacks? You always thought that you were so much better than me, but now when I actually am in front of you, you remain quiet.*tsk* *tsk* Typical gamer attitude, you are only brave in front of a screen”
“You little-”
“That’s a lie! I never claimed that I’m better than you! We never talked!” He shouted while pointing at him.
“Then why did you ignore me and refuse all of those duel invitations, eh? Too afraid that I would knock you down from your pedestal?” He asked with a cocky smile.
“No! I just don’t take kindly to harassment. You flooded my inbox and made multiple accounts to stalk me, I wasn’t going to give you what you wanted”
“Ugh, really?” Boudica asked with a raised eyebrow “Obsessed much?”
Apollo sputtered a ton of indignant excuses.
“Uhhh, pleased to meet you? I’m at a loss, are we supposed to know him?” Tobias interrupted, looking confused.
“The name Galahad is pretty famous among delvers” Alex explained to him “That username has countless records on his name in every video game genre and the bounty for his head is on the hundred thousands”
“Ahh, thank you” He honestly did not know how to handle that.
“Don’t stroke his ego, haven’t you heard the news?” Apollo interrupted with disdain “Apparently mister pro over there messed up several missions so badly that he got shadowbanned from ever receiving a contract from major leagues, and now- ouch!”
Boudica had enough at that point. She got up from her seat and pulled his ear hard like a mother scolding her child.
“And now instead of having his own private agent he has to take orders from a company like the rest of us, don’t you realize that we are at the same level? If you mock him for that you are insulting all us as well” She let go of him and returned to her chair.
“Hmm, whatever” He said while rubbing his red ear.
“Well at least she can keep him in check, it will be good to have her on the team”
*Sigh* “Alright” Paul looked extremely defeated, it seemed that he had expected a swift round of presentations without any conflict “Let’s just end this, we have one last person here, yeah? Why don’t you present yourself so I can brief you guys about the mission”
The last one of them was to his left, sandwiched between him and paul. This person was wearing a grey vest over a white hoodie and long sleeved black pants that hid their appearance quite well, Mike couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman, just that they had a slender build and an average height. The stranger sighed and pulled up their face to reveal themselves, and once they did the rest of them gasped.
“Oh wow” Boudica said.
Apollo whistled and for once Mike shared his enthusiasm over something, their last member was a gorgeous woman! She was a petite bombshell with black curly hair falling down to her round face and her ebony skin was pristine. She waved around shyly as she unbuttoned her vest, without knowing that she was letting everyone else see that she had curves beneath that layer of clothing.
“Uhh finally, it was getting way too hot for that” Mike could notice that she had a distinguished British accent. She put her hair behind her shoulders and sat up straight “Hello everyone, I’m becky”
“Greetings” Alex saluted cordially and the rest of them waved.
“Hello! I’m so happy to be working with another girl!” Cris said with glee on her face and he couldn’t help but share her enthusiasm, having another female delver that managed to thrive in such a misogynistic environment with pure skill was welcome “What’s your delver name?”
“Ahhh” Becky seemed sheepish suddenly.
“And what was with the incognito get up you had?” Apollo asked “Are you someone really famous that wasn’t trying to get recognized? Because your face doesn’t ring any bells”
“Well I can explain about the hood later, but as for my experience… I’ll have to admit that I’m new to the craft”
And with that, it was like another bomb dropped on the room.
“Oh, come on!” Apollo yelled, exasperated.
“Really?” Cris grunted. It seemed that her enthusiasm had vanished.
“Another person that enters our ranks due to their privileged name, I assume” Alex commented angrily and then turned towards their superior “Paul, I have to admit that it’s getting annoying”
“Now here is where you are wrong, mister chronus” Paul eagerly corrected him “Miss Rebecca over here is of great importance for your mission, since she was the one who hired us to do the job”
“Oh?” This was a new development.
“Yes. I have been a programmer and a game developer working in a big company for several years, I… found something that required the help of a delver team, that’s why I hired your agency” It was obvious that she was trying to avoid talking about the specifics of the mission.
“We were already planning on sending a strike team to a particular game, and since it was the same one she required assistance with we let her join” Paul finished explaining
“So you are going to be like our administrator?” Mike asked “Like a co-chief with Paul, right?” That was a bit unusual but it made sense.
“Actually, no” Their supervisor became visibly nervous again “She was the one that shared with us relevant information about the mission and gave the company her aid in several projects, because of that she was offered a reward. Rebecca wanted to belong to a delver team, so the higher ups among the company granted her wish”
“Are you for real?!” This time, Mike was the one who exploded. He got up from his chair and walked towards the older man “So we have to babysit her as well? If she wants to be a delver so much, why don’t you put her in one of the lower teams then? You are basically insulting all of our years of work by putting newbies in this ‘elite’ strike team!”
“The reason why she is here it’s because if it wasn’t for her we wouldn’t have this mission. The executives thought that she deserved it, there’s nothing I can do to change it. Now please, go back to your seat” Paul seemed unfazed by his outburst.
He huffed but didn’t say anything else.
“Let me assure you, Mike” Becky started talking when he went back to his seat “I will not be a burden to the team. I’ve studied game design all of my life and I know everything that should be known about coding” She tried to reassure him, but it didn’t work.
“You are making the same mistake as Tobias” Alex said “Programming a game is not playing a game. Nothing that you could do is equivalent of the experience of a delver”
“Well, there’s no use in crying about it now” Apollo intervened in a relaxed tone “If the execs want her to be here there’s not much we can do, so I say we roll with it”
Mike was 100% sure that he was ok with that because she was a pretty girl.
“What about you?” Alex asked Tobias “Are you going to complain that we have two women now?”
“Uhh no, learned that lesson” He held his neck and gulped “But I guess it’s ok with her. I mean she is important to all of this, not to mention that she actually looks like a girl, that’s bonus points in my opinion”
“I heard that!” Chris sent him a death glare.
“So, I guess you are our VIP member, huh?” Apollo kept going and smiled cockily at her “Does that make us your bodyguards? Don’t worry, we’ll keep you covered”
Yep, this just confirmed his theory. He wasn’t thinking with his head.
“Actually yes, in a sense” Paul interrupted his flirting “All of you have some missions in this, but she has her own. Part of your job is to help her research inside the game”
Mike raised an eyebrow at that. It was suspicious to say the least.
“This is horrible. I’m going to be dealing with the biggest asshole in our community and two newbies, and the worst part is that I got in this situation myself”
“Well, speaking about that, are you going to tell us which game we're going in?” Tobias asked, trying to defuse the tension
That made him finish moping. He might be in a bad spot right now but he wasn’t going to be defeated by this, if anything this was just another test of his skill. Regaining his focus, he looked at their supervisor expectantly.
“For this mission you people will be granted an early access copy of The tale of Gaudium”
One more time the room went silent.
“No way!” Tobias said with excitement “Doesn’t that come in a few months?”
The rest of them nodded in agreement this time. Gaudium was one of the most successful games of the past years, it was an ambitious project: A fully immersed VRMMORPG with a unique class system and an open world. The company that was developing them had already done other single-player and rpgs in the past with the same universe, and now they were making their big leap into the MMO genre and, according to the results of the previous alpha test, this was some material for the game of the year.
“Yes, that’s why I said early access” Paul stated with an annoyed look “The beta test will begin in a month, but a few lucky companies were offered an early peek for their delver teams”
“What are we doing in there?” Mike asked.
“Since this is a new game it’s uncharted territory, so one of your jobs would be exploring the game: Dungeon runs, item drops, optimal builds, shortcuts, NPC locations, Raid bosses, and even ways to exploit a game mechanic, your job is to find any kind of important information and bring it back to us, so we can sell it to our clients”
“So we are making guides?” Alex asked.
“Something like that. You are also supposed to secure the top places of the competitive scene in our name: Combat arena, raids, dungeon records, capture the flag, and any multiplayer mode inside the game should have your name on the podium. If you can manage that our guild will be famous before the game even begins”
“Wow, that’s a lot” Chris said.
“I agree. You can’t expect us to do all of those things in a month, especially since there’s only six of us and two don’t have experience” Alex argued.
“That seems like it’s your problem” Paul shrugged.
“Wait a minute” Mike suddenly had a bad thought “You said that other companies were also sent an early access copy for their delver teams, does that mean that we will be competing with them?”
“Exactly”
“Well then if you guys cared about that stuff so much you should have hired more people!” It was unrealistic of them to expect that this small group was going to accomplish all of that against tons of other pros.
“Sadly the early access came with a few restrictions imposed by the companies. There are limitations on how many delvers a corporation can send” Paul explained.
Mike groaned and pulled his hair in exasperation, what has he gotten himself into?