Azukai
Zuki
Blue Springs: International Airport
1:00 PM, give or take a few minutes.
May 31st, 3032
Parrot Parfait
With neither customs nor baggage claim being a necessity, the arrival process for each tester was incredibly simplified. The time it took to exit the plane and reach the guide waiting for them in airport lobby was in a matter of minutes--a truly unheard of experience at any international airport.
"Welcome to Blue Springs." Every guide would have begun to say. "Rest assured that your luggage will be delivered to your shared-housing residence in its entirety, barring any incidents outside of our control. Originally, I was supposed to escort you to your residence as well; however, due to a unforeseen sever error we are currently very behind on registrations. I do apologize, but we must be on our way to the main facility to get you registered into ICE. There are a large number of players arriving in a short window of time, and only so many technical assistants." Once again, every guide would have dawned a similarly apologetic expression after explaining the situation. "Once again, I do apologize, but for now, if you would please follow me. There is a private subway line connecting the airport to Realm. It is the fastest way to arrive."
As promised, there was in fact a private subway tunnel located adjacent to the public system. It was accessible through an authorized-personal only entrance that existed prior to the subway's ticketing gates, and inevitably led into a rather luxurious waiting platform. Once arrived, the guide would have given a small goodbye before returning to the airport's lobby in preparation for the next arrival. Marble tiles lined the freshly waxed floor, while each of the walls were covered in a cohesive mural that depicted a scene from ICE's gameplay trailer--the four players in horizontal combat against one of the red-eyed dog monsters. To add to the luxury, a sleek custom subway with only two cars waited for their soon-to-be departure.
"Welcome to Realm's Private line." Yet another guide would have said upon any new arrival. "Please make your way into any of the two cars. Once inside, feel free to choose any seat and enjoy any of our complementary beverages and snacks. Once settled, please ensure that your controller and renderer are affixed to your body, prior to the train's departure. The train is equipped with an generalized calibration Access Point and will serve as your first experience in Artificial Reality. Other than that, mingle with the others and enjoy your trip."
-----------------------------------------------
Realm Industries: Private Subway Line
1:30 PM
May 31, 2032
"Please be seated. The Train will be Departing shortly."
At exactly thirty minutes past the hour, a system announcement filled every car with an ordinary pre-recorded, male voice. Nonetheless, the sudden interruption was rather pointless, as the acceleration of the train soon proved to be unbelievably smooth. Even standing, one wouldn't have noticed the train's departure any more than someone who had already been seated. What would have been noticed, however, were the internal changes that began to occur after a couple of minutes had passed by.
A gentle hum, akin to faint white noise, began to fill the cars, as the so-called generalized calibration access point began its boot sequence. The initialization process took yet another couple of minutes before the hum faded away and a soft, blue light began to fill the air. On contact with this light, every renderer and controller would have sprung to life--signaled by a small blinking LED on the side of the renderer, and the 'Waiting for Source' message that appeared on the controller's screen. Once every device was online, the voice returned; this time with much more useful and exciting information.
"All devices have been successfully connected to the generalized calibration access point. Please prepare for the rendering of artificial reality. As it is your first time, you may experience some minor symptoms, including mild discomfo--Zztsdfdsthe...zZdtsfsme.........................."
Mid-sentence, the pre-recorded announcement suddenly became a garbled mess with hints of a feminine voice leaking in-between the male's gibberish. Soon, however, only static remained. It was a rather peculiar occurrence, but one that gave the participates no time to consider what had happened, as a blinding white light exploded throughout the cars. It soon became apparent that the aforementioned mild discomfort was a total lie--the true symptoms being a pounding headache, loss of balance, and even nausea to the point of potentially throwing up. To make matters worse, neither the light, nor the symptoms seemed to fade, and the very surroundings seemed to grow both turbulent and unbearably loud. This continued for what felt like an eternity until every just stopped.
-----
The surrounding environment was both familiar, yet incredibly foreign. All of the participants were still in the train cars, but gone was any chance that they were still functional. The plush seats were mangled and torn, the once-pristine walls were battered and corroded, and most of the frosted glass was either shattered or missing. Somehow, the now-dangling lights of the car were still somewhat functional; though the light they produced was very faint and often flickered in an ominous way. What once was the rear of the second car was now a portal that swirled with a myriad of colors and had a holographic announcements in bold red text:
YOU CANNOT LOGOUT
IN A DUNGEON
Sure enough, the sound of a low growl could be heard outside of the train where a dog-like monster was sitting on the platform. Thankfully, it seemed to have no interest for the players inside of the cars and remained patiently still. Back inside the train, each of the players remained only somewhat unchanged. The same outfits from before still clothed their bodies and any items they were carrying, would have been still found on their person. The biggest change, however, was the new sensations coming from their own self. Now affected by the stats, each player would have had a different sense of being--in some ways potentially sturdier, stronger, more dexterous or agile, and in other ways potentially weaker. Those with mana sense would have immediately felt the pure essence of power existing in the very air which surrounded them, waiting for them to attempt to manipulate it at will. The renderer was also gone and the controller had become a far more intricate device. Rather than resemble a smart-watch, it was like a futuristic bracelet that stretched across half of the forearm and had a series of options spread across its now-elongated screen. From left to right, there were a total of six selectable options with the option to logout also disabled here as well.
Player Info | Social | Inventory | Map | Quests | Logout: Disabled
"Welcome to the World of ICE. As part of your calibration process, you have been selected to participate in a hidden dungeon. This is a specialized instance that has been scaled to match you current levels. Using the controller on your wrist, you may check your current stats, skills, and inventory; however, for the purpose of this event, you have already been pre-sorted into a party..."
There was a small pause before three UI windows appeared in front of every player, also in their preferred language, with one depicting player info, another with the party list, and finally one with the current quest objective.
Party 1:
Broad Meadows Station
Recommended Level: 2
Time Limit: 90 minutes
Objective: Defeat the Fallen Alpha
Rewards: ???
Failure: ???
"You have one minute until the doors open and the dungeon commences. To assume a combative state, simple say or think the command Equip Gear Set." The voice added once an appropriate amount of time to scan the details of the UI had been given. Immediately following her second announcement, a timer appeared on each of the cars' dangling screens.
0:58 Seconds Remaining
1:00 PM, give or take a few minutes.
May 31st, 3032
Parrot Parfait
With neither customs nor baggage claim being a necessity, the arrival process for each tester was incredibly simplified. The time it took to exit the plane and reach the guide waiting for them in airport lobby was in a matter of minutes--a truly unheard of experience at any international airport.
"Welcome to Blue Springs." Every guide would have begun to say. "Rest assured that your luggage will be delivered to your shared-housing residence in its entirety, barring any incidents outside of our control. Originally, I was supposed to escort you to your residence as well; however, due to a unforeseen sever error we are currently very behind on registrations. I do apologize, but we must be on our way to the main facility to get you registered into ICE. There are a large number of players arriving in a short window of time, and only so many technical assistants." Once again, every guide would have dawned a similarly apologetic expression after explaining the situation. "Once again, I do apologize, but for now, if you would please follow me. There is a private subway line connecting the airport to Realm. It is the fastest way to arrive."
As promised, there was in fact a private subway tunnel located adjacent to the public system. It was accessible through an authorized-personal only entrance that existed prior to the subway's ticketing gates, and inevitably led into a rather luxurious waiting platform. Once arrived, the guide would have given a small goodbye before returning to the airport's lobby in preparation for the next arrival. Marble tiles lined the freshly waxed floor, while each of the walls were covered in a cohesive mural that depicted a scene from ICE's gameplay trailer--the four players in horizontal combat against one of the red-eyed dog monsters. To add to the luxury, a sleek custom subway with only two cars waited for their soon-to-be departure.
"Welcome to Realm's Private line." Yet another guide would have said upon any new arrival. "Please make your way into any of the two cars. Once inside, feel free to choose any seat and enjoy any of our complementary beverages and snacks. Once settled, please ensure that your controller and renderer are affixed to your body, prior to the train's departure. The train is equipped with an generalized calibration Access Point and will serve as your first experience in Artificial Reality. Other than that, mingle with the others and enjoy your trip."
-----------------------------------------------
Realm Industries: Private Subway Line
1:30 PM
May 31, 2032
"Please be seated. The Train will be Departing shortly."
At exactly thirty minutes past the hour, a system announcement filled every car with an ordinary pre-recorded, male voice. Nonetheless, the sudden interruption was rather pointless, as the acceleration of the train soon proved to be unbelievably smooth. Even standing, one wouldn't have noticed the train's departure any more than someone who had already been seated. What would have been noticed, however, were the internal changes that began to occur after a couple of minutes had passed by.
A gentle hum, akin to faint white noise, began to fill the cars, as the so-called generalized calibration access point began its boot sequence. The initialization process took yet another couple of minutes before the hum faded away and a soft, blue light began to fill the air. On contact with this light, every renderer and controller would have sprung to life--signaled by a small blinking LED on the side of the renderer, and the 'Waiting for Source' message that appeared on the controller's screen. Once every device was online, the voice returned; this time with much more useful and exciting information.
"All devices have been successfully connected to the generalized calibration access point. Please prepare for the rendering of artificial reality. As it is your first time, you may experience some minor symptoms, including mild discomfo--Zztsdfdsthe...zZdtsfsme.........................."
Mid-sentence, the pre-recorded announcement suddenly became a garbled mess with hints of a feminine voice leaking in-between the male's gibberish. Soon, however, only static remained. It was a rather peculiar occurrence, but one that gave the participates no time to consider what had happened, as a blinding white light exploded throughout the cars. It soon became apparent that the aforementioned mild discomfort was a total lie--the true symptoms being a pounding headache, loss of balance, and even nausea to the point of potentially throwing up. To make matters worse, neither the light, nor the symptoms seemed to fade, and the very surroundings seemed to grow both turbulent and unbearably loud. This continued for what felt like an eternity until every just stopped.
-----
The surrounding environment was both familiar, yet incredibly foreign. All of the participants were still in the train cars, but gone was any chance that they were still functional. The plush seats were mangled and torn, the once-pristine walls were battered and corroded, and most of the frosted glass was either shattered or missing. Somehow, the now-dangling lights of the car were still somewhat functional; though the light they produced was very faint and often flickered in an ominous way. What once was the rear of the second car was now a portal that swirled with a myriad of colors and had a holographic announcements in bold red text:
YOU CANNOT LOGOUT
IN A DUNGEON
Player Info | Social | Inventory | Map | Quests | Logout: Disabled
"Welcome to the World of ICE. As part of your calibration process, you have been selected to participate in a hidden dungeon. This is a specialized instance that has been scaled to match you current levels. Using the controller on your wrist, you may check your current stats, skills, and inventory; however, for the purpose of this event, you have already been pre-sorted into a party..."
There was a small pause before three UI windows appeared in front of every player, also in their preferred language, with one depicting player info, another with the party list, and finally one with the current quest objective.
Party 1:
| Tae S. | Soloman M. | Jay J. | Desmond A. | Pierce H. |
| Defender | Fighter | Scout | Acolyte | Fighter |
Active Quest
Broad Meadows Station
Recommended Level: 2
Time Limit: 90 minutes
Objective: Defeat the Fallen Alpha
Rewards: ???
Failure: ???
"You have one minute until the doors open and the dungeon commences. To assume a combative state, simple say or think the command Equip Gear Set." The voice added once an appropriate amount of time to scan the details of the UI had been given. Immediately following her second announcement, a timer appeared on each of the cars' dangling screens.
0:58 Seconds Remaining
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