Atlas Rising a LitRPG gaming adventure, page 1
Atlas Rising
Divine Genesis, Book 1
Blake Severson
Copyright © 2021 Blake Severson
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-7344475-5-2
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
End Notes
Books by the Author
Final Stat Sheet
Chapter 1
The Gaming Center
Atlas Remere stood on his toes and peered over the crowd. The line into Gaia Corporation’s newest gaming center stretched over a hundred yards. With a heavy sigh, he dropped back down. I’ll have to wait forever to get in, he sulked.
Gaia Corporation made a name for themselves with the most innovative Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online games in the last decade. Their last game, Destiny Fall, still boasted a record number of players with its haptic feedback system and patented Full Motion suit. It was the first true VRMMO to allow one-for-one movement in a suspended mobility system.
Atlas turned to face his best friend, Keenan.
“You know what you want to play as yet?” Atlas asked in excitement.
“Not sure. They’ve been so vague on the game details it’s hard to decide. We don’t even know how the combat system works yet. Gaia told us a handful of the races but even they said it wasn’t the full list.”
“But just think about it! A true full immersion VRMMO with no more suits. They even made it sword and sorcery style gameplay. It can’t get much better than that!” Atlas rattled on, the anticipation killing him.
“I’ll have to reserve judgment until we hear more,” Keenan told him cautiously.
Atlas heard a commotion and glanced to the front of the line. The center doors opened and people moved forward, visibly excited as they quickly shuffled through.
Atlas and Keenan followed the line and edged forward. He kept expecting the line to stop as the building filled, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. The line never stopped its flow and before long, they stood at the doors of the colossal structure.
The sleek lines and bright silver metal shone in the sunlight as they passed the enormous glass doors and walked into an amphitheater style entryway. Fine works of art hung from the ceiling in displays of crystal. It took Atlas a few minutes for them to resolve in his mind.
“Keenan, those are crystal sculptures of some of the greatest champions in Destiny Fall,” he blurted as he grabbed his friend’s shoulder.
He spun him and pointed at the figure of a large orc hanging from the ceiling near the entry, “That’s Farr Drot. The number one player and highest ranking orc chief in the entire game. I heard he killed an entire tribe of humans by himself in a legendary quest.”
“Ooh, ooh, and that one’s Darlana Windstrider. She led the coup of the elven city of Gladenspring last fall,” Atlas squeaked.
“Geez,” Keenan whispered as he pushed Atlas’ hand from his shoulder, “Don’t nerd out so hard in front of people. There are actually ladies here. You know I was never a big fan of Destiny Fall, anyway.”
Atlas stared into his friend’s brown eyes and stuck his tongue out, but fought to calm himself. He managed some success but still bounced around as they continued through the room. Every statue in the area resembled something from gaming history, and every picture on the walls shone with vivid scenes of historic battles in his favorite VRMMO games.
The two filtered through with the crowd when Atlas noticed the line split as everyone approached. Eight massive freight elevators sat at the end of the hall. Each looked to hold well over a hundred people at once. The attendant at the front of the line addressed them as soon as they approached.
“You, the one with the short brown hair, to elevator four. You, with the long dreads, elevator six.”
“But sir, we want to go to the same place so we can play together,” Atlas said.
“That’s not how this game works. Everyone spawns in a unique location. Even if you sit side by side in pods, you still may be on the other side of the world in the game. No matter what, you’ll have to search for your friend,” the man said as he motioned for them to continue forward.
Atlas turned to Keenan and shook his head, “Oh well, we’ll find each other in game. Good luck, man.”
They bumped fists and then walked to their assigned elevators. Atlas looked around at the eager faces, and his hesitation about leaving Keenan quickly faded. The building excitement from those around him was infectious, and he found himself with the familiar flash of eagerness again.
It took another fifteen minutes for the elevator to fill to capacity, then the operator motioned for everyone to back away from the entrance. Large steel doors slid closed with an eerie silence and the elevator hopped before descending. The trip down felt like an eternity. Atlas couldn’t begin to guess how far they’d traveled beneath the surface.
Their elevator came to a halt, and the doors swung open to reveal an auditorium with rows of seating. A raised platform with a podium stood at the front, along with two men in white lab coats that waited for their arrival. Everyone neatly filed into the room and grabbed the closest chair. The elevator doors clicked shut and all the attendants sat waiting.
A man in a lab coat approached the podium. He stood a little under six feet tall and had short black hair, streaked with gray. His walk was a little stiff, like he had hip problems, but he trudged his way to stand in front of the small microphone.
A few taps on the mic with his hand confirmed it was live, and he started his speech, “Welcome to Gaia Corp! I’m Kevin Ingram. I’m the Director for Immersion Pod Facility Z, and one developer of the new Limitless VR interface you will experience in our new game. I know you’re all excited to get into the game and experience it for yourself, but I ask that you bear with me for just a little while longer.”
Mr. Ingram looked around the room and remained silent until the murmur of excitement settled back down and the room was mostly quiet, “We are supremely happy that you’ve chosen to come play this new game with so little information available. Destiny Fall was a tremendous leap in video game technology, and we’ve done everything possible to keep this one a secret. It’s with great pleasure I finally announce the name of the game you will soon enter,” he said with flair as he picked up a small wireless device and pressed a button.
An enormous banner unfurled from the ceiling and fell to cover the entire wall. Atlas stared in wonder at the assortment of characters shown on the banner. Twenty distinct races of people adorned the banner. Elves, Dwarves, and even Beastkin appeared on the large canvas and each held a wide assortment of weapons. He spotted everything from knives and swords, to bows and staves. He even swore he saw a musket in the mix. All wore an equally diverse set of armor and clothing. Fabrics, leathers, metals, and even many others he couldn’t identify stood displayed on the characters. The top of the banner was the exciting part. After a year of hype and development, he finally laid eyes on the name of what he was positive would become his new obsession. Divine Genesis.
Cheers rang through the room as everyone took in the sight. Atlas watched as random people high-fived around the room in excitement. Mr. Ingram called for everyone to settle down so he could continue.
“We want our players to discover most aspects of the game on their own, so we will only provide small snippets of information to help you. Tutorials won’t be offered and most of the mechanics you need to investigate yourself. I’ll only stress that you can do anything you put your mind to in this game. Since it’s a full integration with your mind, there are no physical limits to what you can achieve. Craft anything you want, cast spells, swing swords, sit around all day and carve wooden figures. You can do whatever you put your mind to,” he explained to the looks of shock around the room.
Atlas turned toward the young woman on his right. She had an asymmetrical bob hairstyle that came to her jawline. Her hazel eyes turned to regard him with the same look of disbelief he felt.
“Did I hear him say no tutorial? No guidance?” Atlas asked.
“I think so. Unless we’re both hearing things,” she responded with a grin.
“We won’t send you in completely blind, though. I will tell you basic details of the game. You will enter and choose a class and race. These details will decide the general area you will start. It also decides your base abilities and bonuses. Choose carefully h
Grumbling echoed around the room as people protested at the idea. I love playing alts. Atlas complained as he slouched forward and rested his chin on his hands.
“Also, I’ll stress there are no limits on your skills,” Mr. Ingram reassured them. “You won’t need alts to spread your skills across. No matter your class or race you can learn any weapons skill, any armor skill, or any craft. Certain combinations carry penalties based on specific criteria. For instance, a wizard trying to wear plate may encounter difficulties and spell penalties unless you get certain items.”
Atlas perked up at that. What items could allow people to overcome specific downfalls like those? Can it have something to do with specialized classes?
“And now, the cherry, or in this case cherries, on top. Players in the game can earn the chance to become company executives at Gaia Corporation,” he announced and the entire crowd turned silent. Everyone stared at him as though he’d gone insane.
All at once, multiple voices rang across the room, peppering the man with questions. Some announced loudly how they would be the next executives, while others proclaimed someone at the company must’ve gone insane.
“Everybody, calm down!” Mr. Ingram yelled into the microphone. The volume of his yell caused the speakers to buzz and screech slightly from the feedback.
“We will not reveal any details about that program, but the next announcement might interest you even more. We have worked over the last year to solidify market agreements, and currency in the game will have direct value in the actual world. Retailers will begin rolling out Divine Coin purchases in their businesses. The prices will fluctuate slightly with the market, but we’ve striven to make the conversion simple. Each copper coin is roughly one cent. One hundred coppers equal a silver and one hundred silver equal a gold. For those mathematically challenged, a gold coin is worth an average of one-hundred dollars. You can cash out your in game currency with us directly to convert it to standard money or spend it with the supporting retailers.” Mr. Ingram said before another explosion of sound rocked the room.
Cheers and hollering echoed off the walls, and Atlas had to cover his ears because of the volume. The room went pitch black for a few moments and fell silent. When the light returned, a smiling woman in a lab coat walked away from the light controls near the edge of the room. How does that always work?
“Be careful here because you can die in the game. You will respawn, but there are consequences. With that last warning, let’s get you guys into the Limitless rigs,” he told them all as multiple security guards in uniforms directed people through a door in the large room. Everyone filed through and Atlas diligently followed behind.
The group wound through multiple hallways before finally coming into an enormous space. Tiers of flooring rose from the sides, giving the appearance of movie theater seating. Ten pods rested on each of the flat platforms. The line of people filtered up the steps and groups split to each tier to stand beside their respective pods. Atlas reached his floor, and they directed him down the line. When he finally stood by the pod, he marveled at the design.
The egg-shaped contraption had a glass top, and the padded inside looked like a fluffy cloud. A helmet rested in the space with a large tube extending from it and into the back of the pod. The device itself rested on a small, circular platform that kept it from sitting directly on the ground.
As Atlas approached, the glass front swung open. A female technician stood near the pod with a clipboard and a smile. She gestured for him to enter and he slipped into the confines. The seat was comfortable, and the fabric breathed well. His original fear was the bulky material would make him sweat horribly.
“What’s your name, sir?” the attendant asked.
“Atlas, Atlas Remere.”
“Good to meet you, Atlas. I’ll be the one starting the interface for you. It’s a quick procedure. I need you to sign these release forms first,” she said as she handed him the clipboard. Atlas glanced at the first page and saw what looked like a standard Terms of Service agreement. Common on every game and piece of software he’d ever seen and scrolled through and accepted faster than the computer itself could usually acknowledge. The second page worried him for a moment. The title on it showed Medical Release.
“What’s the medical release for?” he asked.
“When you go into suspension, we will insert intravenous lines into your body to keep it hydrated and healthy. This release merely asserts we won’t administer any medicines or chemicals of any kind unless in an extreme emergency and directed to do so by a board certified doctor.”
Atlas reflected on that. Kinda scary. I guess they have to keep our bodies going somehow.
“How long can we stay in at a time?” Atlas asked.
“We allow a maximum immersion of two days. After that you’re not allowed to re-enter for at least twelve hours.”
“Holy crap! I can stay in the game for two days before I have to leave?”
“Sure can,” she said with a smile. “Questions?”
“Uh, how do I go to the bathroom while stuck in there?” He asked as he nodded toward the pod.
She giggled at the question before responding, “We equipped the pods with nanotechnology that allows them to slow down the metabolic rate of your body. It almost freezes time for your physical body as you stay in the game. Because of this, you won’t have to take care of those specific functions. I will tell you a trip to the bathroom will definitely be one of the first things you do as soon as you log out.”
Atlas thought about the situation and just shrugged. They are obviously smarter than me, so I guess I should just enjoy the game.
“Then I can’t think of anything else,” he told her.
She walked up and placed the helmet over his head. The inside appeared to be lined with something resembling microfiber, and it felt like millions of tiny hairs as the device slipped on. The woman moved and adjusted it until it fit just the way she wanted and stepped back.
“As soon as the interface finishes, I’ll insert the intravenous lines and then close your pod. When you log out, someone will be here to help you out of the pod. Enjoy your time in Divine Genesis,” she told him with one last wave as she walked to the side of the pod and pressed a series of buttons on a small control panel.
Lights flared to life around the pod and Atlas squinted his eyes at their brightness. A low humming noise filled his mind before his vision went black.
Chapter 2
Divine Genesis
Atlas watched a kaleidoscope of colors swirl in his vision before the space turned a solid gray and a screen popped up in front of him. He looked at the screen carefully as it floated in the space.
Welcome to Divine Genesis. Please proceed to the portal on your left to choose a class.
As soon as he finished reading the text, a portal of blue energy with streaks of silver lightning appeared to his left. With a shrug, Atlas stepped through. He entered a room that looked like a walk-in closet. Arrayed in front of him were a large assortment of people, but all stood with an eerie stillness. All twenty of the races were visible in this room, and there was a male and female variant of each.
Their forms lined the area from shortest to tallest. A glance at the short side of the line showed him some familiar sights. Two sets of dwarves and what looked like some kind of vulpine character sat near the end with their short stature. Out of curiosity, he walked to the first set of dwarves and a box appeared.
Mountain Dwarves
Racial Abilities:
• 5% increased chance to find items when mining.
• Endurance - Stamina drains 15% slower when doing strenuous activities.
Description: Mountain Dwarves live underground in mountain ranges and are known throughout the world for their skill in harvesting ore and gemstones. Their smithing skills are typically better than almost any other race in terms of craftsmanship.
