AllFreeNovel
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I joined in the countdown with everyone else in the room, the collective excitement coursing through me. “Three. Two. One.”
I half expected the severs to crash the instant we hit the top of the hour. But we were in the character lobby and then in the opening part of the game, a vast, neon cityscape spread out before us.
“Wow.” I panned my camera around the landscape, and the reality of it all sank in. The men sitting next to me had built this visual. This entire look. The duo across from me, next to Luna, had given so many digital people stories. The guys on the phone had assembled all the pieces to make sure it flowed smoothly, it looked incredible...
It had never hit home before just what was required to build something like this, and my mind boggled as I absorbed it all. Dozens of other characters milled around mine. Aside from Phillip, I had no idea which were employees and which were beta testers.
“Come on, let’s explore,” Luna said.
Correction, I knew exactly who the blue-skinned, short, red headed elf was that stood across from my nekokin. Luna had picked the leather bandages outfit. The character snapped a metal hand, and a spark of blue flickered into sight before fading again.
“Sonya’s going to show us something, come on.” Luna’s character motioned for mine to follow.
The large orc next to her waved, and Sonya said, “hello.”
My avatar waved back, and I followed when they took off. “Where are we going?” It was getting loud in here, with everyone shouting back and forth, and I loved it. Who needed voice chat when we could have a room full of excited gamers? The energy in the air was tangible and delicious.
“I want to play my favorite side quest,” Sonya said.
“Strip club,” Luna added.
Given the nature of the game and the promises made about content I couldn’t help but wonder, “Won’t the strip club be crowded?”
“Not this one. Not during beta.” Sonya’s soft voice barely carried over people shouting spells and directions and cheers.
When we arrived, I knew exactly why she’d said that. It was a male strip club with orcs. The lighting, textures, movement, and sound were all on point. It was incredible.
Sonya’s orc led us to a table in the back of the room, where another orc sat, head in his hands. He wore a leather thong, a studded collar, and nothing else.
“He looks so good,” Sonya said with awe.
“You described him perfectly.” Phillip’s reply was one of pride, and a glance showed his broad smile.
Luna nudged me under the table with her toes. “Talk to him.”
I struck up a conversation with the orc, who spun a sad tale of how his nekokin Dom was missing, and could we please help find him?
Of course I would. I clicked Accept and my game froze, flickered, and vanished, the desktop glaring back at me. I frowned and logged back in, only to have it happen again the instant I clicked Accept on the quest.
“Aww. This is one of my favorite early stories.” Sonya pouted. “Hey, Chris, your code is broken,” she hollered across the room.
Someone stepped up next to her. “Tell me everything that happened, step by step.” Chris looked at me. “You’re not supposed to break the game, noob.” His tone was light, but a hint of irritation lay underneath it.
Luna’s bristle matched mine.
“That’s exactly what she’s supposed to do, twink.” Dustin leaned in, arm pressing against mine.
Twinkcould mean a lot of things. I assumed in this case it was a counter to noob. As in, a long-time player who creates a lower level character and gears them up to the max specifically to stomp on newbies.
Chris’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m giving her shit. Come on, we’re all family here.”
“Dude,” Elliot, the developer from the meeting yesterday, called. “I’ll take their feedback. Keep circling.”
Chris rolled his eyes and walked away.
Elliot spent the next ten or fifteen minutes asking us for step-by-step details about what we’d been doing, asking Sonya and Luna to mimic the steps I’d taken, and doing a lot of tapping on his screen.
With our current plan crashed, Luna, Sonya, and I agreed to a warehouse raid with Phillip, Dustin, and Brandon.
