Opening Moves
Contents ( 23)
The Gam3 Book One - Opening Moves
Cosimo Yap
Edited by Aimee Hale.
Cover design by Kit Foster.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright 2016 by Cosimo Yap. All Rights Reserved.
Table of Contents
Arc 1: The Tutorial
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Arc 2: The Guild
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Arc 1: The Tutorial
When the aliens invaded they brought two things of importance. The Game, and paperwork. Lots of paperwork.
-Anonymous
Prologue
"Remember, it's just a game," Icewolf said.
"But it's not," Alan replied. "You told me that the Game affects real life. That if you conquer a planet in the Game, you control it in reality."
"Sure, it's a virtual reality massively multiplayer online role playing simulation that was designed to replace all war, but it's still a game. And you need to treat it like one." Icewolf sat back in his chair. He was leaner than Alan remembered; the light grey jumpsuit he wore fit him like a glove. It was emblazoned with the Omnitech Industries logo, a giant steel pylon being struck by lightning.
Alan shook his head, then stared out the window. The view of San Francisco was gorgeous. If anyone had told him a year ago that he would be sitting in a penthouse suite decked out like a Bond villain's lair six months after aliens invaded, about to enter the virtual reality game that was central to their society, he would have dismissed them as a troll. Yet, here he was. A college student with unkempt black hair. Anonymous, or so he liked to think.
"If you play a game, you play to win, right?" Icewolf asked.
"Right," Alan said.
"So if it was a role playing game, where shit is worth something, you would take anything not bolted down or kill another player for their gear, right?" Icewolf asked.
"If I wouldn't get caught and was playing a rogue-type character, sure, but—"
"But nothing, there are no alignments. You play the Game to win. Don't treat it like reality or just another job, it's not, the rules aren't the same. If you die, you'll respawn. If you kill stuff, you'll get rewarded. If you kill enough stuff, you'll level up. And so on. So throw caution to the wind and act in your own best interest."
"Oh, I know that," Alan said. "I didn't become one of the top raiders in the guild flailing around, but I never imagined that this would be my career path. Not that a college degree is worth much with all the AI running about."
Icewolf opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it once more.