[Welcome to Origin!]
[You have spawned in Village #2091. Your adventure starts here but where it ends is entirely up to you.]
[Generating your unique talent...]
[...]
[Talent: Permanent Buffs! SSS-Rank Awakened.]
I opened my eyes slowly. I felt the feel of the bright sun hit my retina and the unfamiliar sting of the light.
"It's been so long since I've seen the sun... I don't remember it hurting this much."
I stood in the bustling newbie village basking in the sun while others around me hurried about their business.
I was in the VRMMORPG Origin. A breakthrough in technology that allowed people to enter a game where everything was simulated. From every pain to every pleasure.
Of course there were safeguards in place that prevented people from experiencing too much, but that could be adjusted.
There were other VR games that had the same effects but the thing that made Origin unique was that it could simulate things to anyone. This included using it for rehabilitation or therapy. People who had been in an accident that left them crippled could enter the game to experience walking so that when they went back to the real world they could easily replicate the sensations they felt in the game. Allowing for faster rehabilitation.
There were also many people who used it for therapeutic reasons. They could indulge in all their different urges like binge eating and drinking without having to actually ruin their physical bodies.
Even more amazing was that there was a recent case where they found that someone who was in a coma was able to enter the game.
That is what drove me to ask my parents to buy me an Origin gaming pod.
My name is Solomon Smith.
I am blind and have been in a wheelchair since I was born.
I was only legally blind when I was a child but the condition worsened over time. It was when I was in the 2nd grade that I fully lost my ability to see. It was devastating at the time and paired with my legs that didn't work I had to have constant care.
Thankfully my parents made sure I was taken care of.
My caretaker was an older woman named Hilda. I loved her like family, and I am incredibly thankful for her care, but truth be told I want nothing more than to not have to rely on her. I just wanted to be able to do basic things by myself.
'Now I can.'
Opening my eyes again I finally managed to adjust enough that I could start taking a good look at things in front of me.
The first thing I noticed was the screen that appeared in front of me.
I knew enough about games to known that this was part of the game aspect of the VR. Some people, generally older but sometimes just casual experience seeking, ignored the game aspect and just tried to enjoy themselves like this were another world.
I wanted to enjoy myself but I would be lying if I said that going on adventures in a fantasy world wasn't enticing.
I had heard that everyone received a randomly generated talent after they create their character but I didn't know much about what kind of talents people received. SSS sounded cool though and the idea of permanent buffs sounded like it would be good.
I closed the windows as I finished reading them. After which I took a look around to figure out what I wanted to do. Since the game had so much freedom, which was a massive draw, it didn't provide much direction.
"So I have to explore on my own."
But first... I needed to figure out how to walk.
I had been listening to some recordings of rehabilitation therapists doing physical therapy for people to learn how to walk again so I tried putting their words to practice.
First focused on feeling my legs. Which after focusing I realized how heavy legs were.
I had been sitting down for 16 years now and couldn't even feel my legs during that time.
My heart raced as I felt a foreign feeling and looked down to see my leg slowly raise from the ground.
I smiled widely as my world slowly turned.
I ended up hitting the ground hard on my side. I received a lot of stares but most people just kept moving. It was a well known thing to see in newbie villages that people would occasionally struggle with standing or walking.
I couldn't be bothered worrying about what other people thought of me though. Right now I was just euphoric from being able to move my legs.
Although I thought I would react more from slowly losing my balance but I wasn't even aware until after I was falling.
I spent an hour just learning how to walk but thankfully it wasn't terribly hard after I got a good feel for it.
"This reminds me of the books I've listened to where a character is a martial arts prodigy and their comprehension is so good they just pick things up quickly. Maybe I'm a walking prodigy?"
I laughed to myself when a message appeared in my vision.
[Someone has messaged your pod.]
[From: Hilda
Dinner is ready, Solomon, your parents are waiting for you.]
Realizing that I had spent a couple hours now in the game I decided it was a good time to go back to the real world.
"Log out."
Immediately my vision turned black and I felt myself return to a small cramped pod. I heard a low hiss as the top of the pod lifted slowly and a warm voice entered my ears.
"Welcome back Solomon."
I tried opening my eyes but I was still looking at the same empty black expanse I was so used to now. I moved my hand down to my leg and tried touching it.
"Mm... I really am back. I can't feel my legs again."
"That's..."
"It's okay Hilda. It just makes me more excited to go back. Let's head down."
Gently Hilda picked my frail body from the pod and placed me in a wheelchair. After I was situated she began pushing me along. After a familiar trip through the house I eventually heard soft voices coming from a room. Hilda pushed open a door and the voices were much clearer to me.
"Solomon! My sweet boy!"
I heard the sound of cutlery being set down on plates as a chair scraped lightly against the floor.
"I'll take him Hilda. Please sit down and join us for dinner."
"Thank you ma'am."
The scent of a flowery perfume entered my nostrils. The familiar perfume my mother has been wearing for the past five years. She had started to wear the same perfume so that I could tell who she was from smell alone. She pushed me to the edge of the table and I felt her sit next to me.
She began to feed me little by little until I finally managed to convince her to let me feed myself.
She complained that it was one of the few joys she still got to experience but after my insistence she finally relented.
As I was stabbing a piece of steak and bringing it to my mouth my father finally spoke.
"So... How was that Origin game?"
I could feel the tension fill the room. We had all been extremely expectant of the system since it had so many good reviews, but it was hard to believe it could do everything it claimed it could.
However I slowly set down my fork and smiled in my parents direction.
"It's incredible. I saw the sun. I walked..."
I could hear the faint sound of my mother sniffling. I knew my father as someone who was generally stoic and hard to read was showing a faint smile from the way he spoke.
"That's wonderful Solomon. Maybe your mother and I will join you in the game if we have free time."
I sat up a little straighter.
"That would be fun! I'll make sure to get strong enough in game that we can enjoy ourselves!"
My parents and I spoke about different things for a while longer. Eventually dinner was ended when my father received a business call and had to leave. My mother could tell I was excited to get back to the game world so she told Hilda to bring me to my room and help me in my pod again.
I gave her a hug before I left and headed to my room.
Once I got into the pod I felt my senses dull and the vents turn on in my pod.
[Welcome back to Origin!]
I opened my eyes after the familiar warmth of the sun was on my skin. I was still sitting on the ground where I had logged off earlier. Recalling the sensations earlier I started to stand up and once I was steady I started walking slowly around the village. There was so much to see. Time in the game moved faster than time in real life, something about tricking our perception of time to make us feel like we were in the game for days when we have only really been in the game for a few hours, and it was now the early morning in game.
Players were still walking around but NPCs were only just now starting their days. I walked around listening to the bustling conversations around me. Most were about going leveling with their friends or quest advice. I listened as I walked.
Finally after exploring the village a bit I decided to go grind some mobs. I wanted to make full use of my talent so I wanted to try fighting some monsters.
"First things first I need to gear up a little."
I opened the forum feature in game and looked over some starting guides. Since the game had so much variety the contents of your starting quests could be completely different from others but they all followed a general theme.
>Find villager who has a 'problem'.
>Kill said problem.
>Profit?
"It says that when they give you the quest they offer you a free weapon you get to choose from."
So I went to the edge of town and watched some people coming back from hunting. I started here because it seemed faster than walking around town myself looking for quests.
I saw a group of obvious newbies coming back with bright smiles on their faces. I followed them and saw them talk to an NPC that had a lot of people crowded around them.
I waited until I saw a break in the crowd and walked up to the NPC.
"I haven't seen you before. You must be new."
I smiled lightly. The AI in this game was incredibly well reviewed. Many claimed the characters seemed so unique and almost life-like in their responses. So I treated it like a real conversation.
"I am new, you're right, I was hoping to find some work. Something to either gain experience fighting or some odd jobs to make some money."
"Hmm... Well I don't feel comfortable sending you to do something too difficult.. How about this? I'll give you a small test. Kill some rabbits for me outside of town, and if you do well I can recommend you to join a group to deal with the wolves later on."
"That sounds totally reasonable. I'll go deal with those rabbits now and come back to you."
"Whoa there sonny! You can't just go fight those rabbits unarmed. Here, I have some spare weapons, choose one of these to arm yourself."
A screen then appeared before me.
[Pick one:
-Copper Sword
-Wooden Bow (x20 Wood Arrows)
-Wooden Staff]
I wasn't confident in my ability to fight right now, mostly because I could barely walk, and so I decided to pick the obvious option.
[Gained Wooden Bow]
[Gained Wood Arrows x20]
"Come back here once you have killed 10 rabbits."
[Quest: Kill 10 rabbits.]
[Reward: 10 Gold]
I waved goodbye to the NPC and headed towards the quest marker that appeared on my map. I followed the arrows and headed to the edge of town. After a short walk I arrived to an open field with rabbits hopping around. There were several groups of players already there but there were more than enough rabbits for everyone.
I stood on the edge of the clearing and summoned my bow. A quiver appeared on my back with arrows in it. I had never used a bow before but I had listened to books before. Taking an arrow in one hand I knocked it into the bowstring. The small notch on the end of the arrow fit perfectly on the bowstring. Then I rested the arrow on the bow and turned my head up. I looked around for a good target and when I found a rabbit that was somewhat by itself I raised my bow.
"Fuuu..."
I pulled the string back with two fingers and took aim. The bow shook in my arms slightly but I tried my best to hold it steady. When I felt the arrow was on target...
*thwang*
The arrow shot forwards!
Covering 10 feet in less than a second.
*thump*
The arrow fell straight into the ground next to the rabbit I was trying to hit.
I slowly lowered my arms.
"Everything is so hard in this game... Well, I guess this will take me a while, better get to practicing."
****
All the players in the field outside of Village #2091 were watching as a player walk back and forth collecting arrows then walking back to his spot away from the rabbits. He then shot 20 arrows. All of which missed. Then repeated the same process.
One player with a wooden sword walked up to another holding a bow.
"Hey, is it really that hard to shoot a bow?"
The player holding the bow shook his head.
"No. You just have to use the [Shoot] skill and it will hit the target like 50% of the time. He must not be using the skill which is why it's so hard for him. He's trying to learn how to shoot a bow for real."
A look of understanding crossed the swordsman's face.
Everyone nearby who heard the archer's words looked at the other newbie with a mix of reactions.
Some felt admiration that someone would try something so difficult, while others felt that he was being foolish since this was a game and he was essentially making things harder for himself.
Solomon however didn't notice their stares. He was so engrossed in learning archery that he didn't see anything else other than his arrows and the rabbit he had deemed his mortal enemy.