SniperBus
Queen of Snails
[Patching... 65% Complete]
[Patching... 100% Complete]
[Compiling data...]
[Welcome back to Avarice, please log in below.]
[Username: DoorwalledDoorAndWallCompany]
[Password: *******************]
[-Enter Credentials-] [Cancel]
[Logging you in...]
With a subtle click the augmented reality projector whirred to life. It was a strange, perfectly smooth white orb, hovering in the air over a black box lined with gold edges. Laid into the glass floor beneath it were cables extending to each corner and wall of the room, where they then ran up the wall and connected back to each other in the center of the ceiling. Instantly, the orb started radiating a warm glow, and shot beams of light into each wall and each corner of the room. Immediately following, this same orange glow rushed through all of the cables at once, flooding the room in light. Seconds later, he put on his alternate reality goggles, and he was a Spectator on the streets of Avarice.
It felt good to be back.
For the Avatars, they would simply see a small, wispy red orb floating through the air, with a single orange dot in the middle of its "face" that represented which way the spectator was looking. But for spectators, their whole body was rendered in real-time, allowing them to freely move across the world of Avarice, immune to all harms and frights that may come before them. They could mingle with fellow spectators on the streets- which Avatars could hear bits and pieces of- and wander to whenever and wherever they pleased. And, if they were interested, they could immediately warp to any ongoing battle or point of interest in the entirety of Avarice, in a matter of moments. All of this was implemented by Nytech mere days ago as a way to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Avarice, yet it felt as ingrained in Avarice as combat itself. And oh, thought the man, does it feel so good to be a part of it all.
The man walked down one of the side-streets of Avarice's main city, Spectacle, passing billboards, Entities, fellow spectators- everything swirled past him at once. Everyone in Avarice has their own goals, their own missions, their own lives. In a sense, he had been dropped into a second world; it was so hard to imagine that everything he saw before him was simply an augmented-reality projection, that it was all 0's and 1's and everything in between in some massive machine in Nytech Inc. headquarters. It was easy to get lost in the immersion of it all- in a sense, that was the point. Avarice was more than a sport; it was an escape, a place where spectators and Avatars alike could lose themselves in the infinite sea of options and choices. In a word, it was suffocating, but it was suffocating in a way that was so unbelievably stunning and brilliant. He ducked quickly as an Avatar zoomed straight over his head, off into the distance. Immediately, three others pursued after them, ripping through the air on hoverboards. He shook his head and kept walking; he was a man on a mission, after all.
After a few more minutes, he finally caught his eye on what he had been searching for- the main arena of Avarice, in the heart of Spectacle. It was a massive, floating structure, thousands of feet in the air. Around it, clouds swirled quickly, blowing around at high speeds. The Coliseum itself was colossal in a sense that could not be described; it was if an entire country had uprooted itself from the center of Avarice and decided to float in the sky, projecting out battles currently happening at all angles, complete with popularity rankings of the most well-known Avatars, closing scores of recent battles, and all manner of statistics for the casual and hardcore viewers. But in the center of it all, lasered into the sky itself, was printed out plainly: Avarice Anniversary Event, celebrating five years going strong! The man gestured in the air, beckoning some unseen force, and immediately audio started playing next to his head.
"Welcome back to Avarice, Jackhan Hardvon! Are you interested in the Avarice Anniversary Event?"
He nodded.
"Today marks the fifth anniversary of Avarice! As with every year, we're spending the next three weeks celebrating the sport of Avarice with the biggest and most incredible showcase of skill, passion, and beauty in the world: the all-inclusive Avarice World Championship! The rules are always the same: every Avatar, despite popularity, must participate in a series of single-elimination group fights; as soon as an Avatar loses- they're out! After group stages, Avatars that have distinguished themselves or gathered enough wins to move on go on to the double-elimination challenges- and after that, the triple-elimination duels for the finals! This tournament showcases everything we love our beloved sport: the teamwork, the grueling quests, the heart-wrenching battles for victory against all odds, the triumphs, the defeats! And for those three weeks, spectators like you get to soak it all in and watch it all! In fact, we even..." The audio kept playing, and Jackhan stood there, nodding along excitedly. Even though all he did was stand on the sidelines, this whole atmosphere made him feel so.. strong.
---
Vyn looked up, eyes piercing into the words written above the entrance to the corridor. [Avatar Waiting Room]. None too happy about this whole turn of events, he stepped through the doorway, and a red wall of translucent energy phased into existence behind him, blocking him from leaving. He shook his head, sighing, and moved further into the room. He swung his gaze around, catching sight of [Waiting Room 4217B], as well as several familiar faces, the [Fight Sign-up Board], and a myriad of different places to sit while waiting for matches to be called. "Why can't I just relax in my room, watering plants.." He muttered, walking over to the [Fight Sign-up Board]. He angrily started mashing the Board's buttons with mechanical fingers, which caused the sharp sound of metal-on-glass to slice through the room. "I don't get why every Avatar has to be assigned to this stupid tournament, set up just for the sake of grandeur and spectacle..." As he said this, the floor was consumed by a pale-glue glow, and a dull chime sound rang out. On the floor was printed [Avatar ID 0034] & [Avatar ID 33102948] vs. [Avatar ID 1112] & [Avatar ID 7815]. Wordlessly, the four of them left the room, which was briefly filled uncomfortably with the audio of thousands of cheering and screaming spectators, before the sound was killed by the exterior door materializing back into place. "All I gotta do is sign up for a fight I can't win, throw the match anyhow, and then I'm done with this stupid tournament and I can get-" he was practically hitting the board by this point- "back to my life." And with one final punch that shook the wall, he signed up for the first available two-versus-two fight, which was currently empty.
Vyn sunk into the nearest chair, staring at the ceiling while turning his fingers into caricatures of the spokespeople for the Avarice Anniversary Event. "Never before seen battlefields" He mocked, hitting his left hand caricatures with his right hand carica-fist. "New, improved and exciting modes for the fights" He mocked, once again slamming his right metal fist into his left hand. He sprouted a second caricature out of a different finger in his left hand, which promptly said "and don't forget, our new spectating system makes everything feel so much more ali-" And with that, Vyn detached his left hand, angrily throwing it into a nearby wall, where it promptly clunked onto the ground. "I'm so done!" He whispered, shaking his head.
Around Vyn, the room had Avatars of all shapes, sizes, and likenesses. Whenever the Avatars felt ready, or whenever they got to the waiting room, they would walk up to the [Fight Sign-up Board], choose an available group fight, and then wait for their round to be called. Such was the way the World Championship went. If you won enough group phases, you went on- if not, you went on about your life and tried again next year. Though, for most Avatars, it was an incredible opportunity. And again, for most Avatars, it was one they would never really be able to grasp.
--
AVAILABLE FIGHTS
[Free For All] - 3 slots remaining [Solder, ?, ?, ?] Mode: Elimination (last Avatar standing wins!)
[2 versus 2] - 3 slots remaining [Vyn, ?, ?, ?] Mode: Elimination (last team standing wins!)
[Free For All] - 2 slots remaining [Lost Sword, Volleyball King, ?, ?] Mode: Item Capture (get the item through the portal to win- anything goes!)
[2 versus 2] - 2 slots remaining [Dan The Motor Man, Stanley The Steam Elemental, ?, ?] Mode: Search and Destroy (each team has a Metal Reactor Core- destroy the enemies' while protecting your own to win!)
[Patching... 100% Complete]
[Compiling data...]
[Welcome back to Avarice, please log in below.]
[Username: DoorwalledDoorAndWallCompany]
[Password: *******************]
[-Enter Credentials-] [Cancel]
[Logging you in...]
With a subtle click the augmented reality projector whirred to life. It was a strange, perfectly smooth white orb, hovering in the air over a black box lined with gold edges. Laid into the glass floor beneath it were cables extending to each corner and wall of the room, where they then ran up the wall and connected back to each other in the center of the ceiling. Instantly, the orb started radiating a warm glow, and shot beams of light into each wall and each corner of the room. Immediately following, this same orange glow rushed through all of the cables at once, flooding the room in light. Seconds later, he put on his alternate reality goggles, and he was a Spectator on the streets of Avarice.
It felt good to be back.
For the Avatars, they would simply see a small, wispy red orb floating through the air, with a single orange dot in the middle of its "face" that represented which way the spectator was looking. But for spectators, their whole body was rendered in real-time, allowing them to freely move across the world of Avarice, immune to all harms and frights that may come before them. They could mingle with fellow spectators on the streets- which Avatars could hear bits and pieces of- and wander to whenever and wherever they pleased. And, if they were interested, they could immediately warp to any ongoing battle or point of interest in the entirety of Avarice, in a matter of moments. All of this was implemented by Nytech mere days ago as a way to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Avarice, yet it felt as ingrained in Avarice as combat itself. And oh, thought the man, does it feel so good to be a part of it all.
The man walked down one of the side-streets of Avarice's main city, Spectacle, passing billboards, Entities, fellow spectators- everything swirled past him at once. Everyone in Avarice has their own goals, their own missions, their own lives. In a sense, he had been dropped into a second world; it was so hard to imagine that everything he saw before him was simply an augmented-reality projection, that it was all 0's and 1's and everything in between in some massive machine in Nytech Inc. headquarters. It was easy to get lost in the immersion of it all- in a sense, that was the point. Avarice was more than a sport; it was an escape, a place where spectators and Avatars alike could lose themselves in the infinite sea of options and choices. In a word, it was suffocating, but it was suffocating in a way that was so unbelievably stunning and brilliant. He ducked quickly as an Avatar zoomed straight over his head, off into the distance. Immediately, three others pursued after them, ripping through the air on hoverboards. He shook his head and kept walking; he was a man on a mission, after all.
After a few more minutes, he finally caught his eye on what he had been searching for- the main arena of Avarice, in the heart of Spectacle. It was a massive, floating structure, thousands of feet in the air. Around it, clouds swirled quickly, blowing around at high speeds. The Coliseum itself was colossal in a sense that could not be described; it was if an entire country had uprooted itself from the center of Avarice and decided to float in the sky, projecting out battles currently happening at all angles, complete with popularity rankings of the most well-known Avatars, closing scores of recent battles, and all manner of statistics for the casual and hardcore viewers. But in the center of it all, lasered into the sky itself, was printed out plainly: Avarice Anniversary Event, celebrating five years going strong! The man gestured in the air, beckoning some unseen force, and immediately audio started playing next to his head.
"Welcome back to Avarice, Jackhan Hardvon! Are you interested in the Avarice Anniversary Event?"
He nodded.
"Today marks the fifth anniversary of Avarice! As with every year, we're spending the next three weeks celebrating the sport of Avarice with the biggest and most incredible showcase of skill, passion, and beauty in the world: the all-inclusive Avarice World Championship! The rules are always the same: every Avatar, despite popularity, must participate in a series of single-elimination group fights; as soon as an Avatar loses- they're out! After group stages, Avatars that have distinguished themselves or gathered enough wins to move on go on to the double-elimination challenges- and after that, the triple-elimination duels for the finals! This tournament showcases everything we love our beloved sport: the teamwork, the grueling quests, the heart-wrenching battles for victory against all odds, the triumphs, the defeats! And for those three weeks, spectators like you get to soak it all in and watch it all! In fact, we even..." The audio kept playing, and Jackhan stood there, nodding along excitedly. Even though all he did was stand on the sidelines, this whole atmosphere made him feel so.. strong.
---
Vyn looked up, eyes piercing into the words written above the entrance to the corridor. [Avatar Waiting Room]. None too happy about this whole turn of events, he stepped through the doorway, and a red wall of translucent energy phased into existence behind him, blocking him from leaving. He shook his head, sighing, and moved further into the room. He swung his gaze around, catching sight of [Waiting Room 4217B], as well as several familiar faces, the [Fight Sign-up Board], and a myriad of different places to sit while waiting for matches to be called. "Why can't I just relax in my room, watering plants.." He muttered, walking over to the [Fight Sign-up Board]. He angrily started mashing the Board's buttons with mechanical fingers, which caused the sharp sound of metal-on-glass to slice through the room. "I don't get why every Avatar has to be assigned to this stupid tournament, set up just for the sake of grandeur and spectacle..." As he said this, the floor was consumed by a pale-glue glow, and a dull chime sound rang out. On the floor was printed [Avatar ID 0034] & [Avatar ID 33102948] vs. [Avatar ID 1112] & [Avatar ID 7815]. Wordlessly, the four of them left the room, which was briefly filled uncomfortably with the audio of thousands of cheering and screaming spectators, before the sound was killed by the exterior door materializing back into place. "All I gotta do is sign up for a fight I can't win, throw the match anyhow, and then I'm done with this stupid tournament and I can get-" he was practically hitting the board by this point- "back to my life." And with one final punch that shook the wall, he signed up for the first available two-versus-two fight, which was currently empty.
Vyn sunk into the nearest chair, staring at the ceiling while turning his fingers into caricatures of the spokespeople for the Avarice Anniversary Event. "Never before seen battlefields" He mocked, hitting his left hand caricatures with his right hand carica-fist. "New, improved and exciting modes for the fights" He mocked, once again slamming his right metal fist into his left hand. He sprouted a second caricature out of a different finger in his left hand, which promptly said "and don't forget, our new spectating system makes everything feel so much more ali-" And with that, Vyn detached his left hand, angrily throwing it into a nearby wall, where it promptly clunked onto the ground. "I'm so done!" He whispered, shaking his head.
Around Vyn, the room had Avatars of all shapes, sizes, and likenesses. Whenever the Avatars felt ready, or whenever they got to the waiting room, they would walk up to the [Fight Sign-up Board], choose an available group fight, and then wait for their round to be called. Such was the way the World Championship went. If you won enough group phases, you went on- if not, you went on about your life and tried again next year. Though, for most Avatars, it was an incredible opportunity. And again, for most Avatars, it was one they would never really be able to grasp.
--
AVAILABLE FIGHTS
[Free For All] - 3 slots remaining [Solder, ?, ?, ?] Mode: Elimination (last Avatar standing wins!)
[2 versus 2] - 3 slots remaining [Vyn, ?, ?, ?] Mode: Elimination (last team standing wins!)
[Free For All] - 2 slots remaining [Lost Sword, Volleyball King, ?, ?] Mode: Item Capture (get the item through the portal to win- anything goes!)
[2 versus 2] - 2 slots remaining [Dan The Motor Man, Stanley The Steam Elemental, ?, ?] Mode: Search and Destroy (each team has a Metal Reactor Core- destroy the enemies' while protecting your own to win!)