“We’re passing through a restricted area!” Trefor said as the Dragon ascended to a particular cluster of clouds. “You ready?”
Van held on tightly and he felt some kind of force press against his body as they flew through the restricted area. The Dragon effortlessly glided through and headed toward the clouds. As they got closer to the clouds, Van noticed that the fluffy white objects were nothing more than an illusion. Instead of clouds, there was a large silver platform with a massive building atop of it. The building seemed to arc all the way up into space. Van squinted as he looked at the towering structure. Its design seemed strange, even foreign. It looked like it was something that belonged in a space game—not in a fantasy world. There were numerous windows, the entrances were steel. It was perfectly polished, and he could see figures behind the windows, but couldn’t see any details.
“What is this place?”
“One of our observation stations!” Trefor said as the Dragon gingerly landed on the ground. It lowered its head and allowed Van and Trefor to climb off.
Van gazed up at the tower in wonder. He had never seen anything like this before, and he was genuinely surprised to see something like that in a fantasy game.
“Come over here—take a look at something,” Trefor said as he walked to the edge of the silver platform. Van followed along and glanced down. He could see the entire continent itself, but it was covered with wires and circuits. Sparks of electricity shot across the continent every few minutes. He didn’t particularly understand what he was seeing, but it looked cool.
“We call this the Big Board. All of our programming abilities, our interactions, our event timings, our observations... we can see it all from here. That building? It’s full of programmers and professional gamers. People who are making a living. People who are going to be in the New World.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Van asked. He had been following the conversation, up until Trefor had said they’d be part of a New World.
“It’s curious, isn’t it?” Trefor asked as he sat down on the platform, letting his legs dangle over the continent. “How detailed this game is. What was the last VR game you ever played?”
“Oh, it was some crappy game—Starfighting and Lasers, I think it was called,” Van said as he sat next to the paladin. He gazed out at the brilliant yellow sun as it began to come into view. Morning was coming soon, and Sleep Time would be over. Maybe then he could get out of the game and away from all of this.
“And how realistic was it, compared to this?” Trefor asked.
“Not even close.”
“It’s crazy, right? I mean, I stretch my hand out, and I look at it and I feel it. I feel each and every sinew and fiber of my body. I stretch my arms and feel the tension released from the muscles. I breathe, and I experience the sensation of air coming in, despite the fact that I’m laying catatonic in a pod somewhere.”
“It is just short of a miracle,” Van replied.
“It is, it really is,” Trefor said. There was a short period of silence before he spoke again. “How do you think they built this game?”
“What?” Van asked.
“What company would have the resources to make a game this powerful? And think of the cost, too. I mean, even if you factor in the cost of the gear and the game subscription itself, you’re looking at people paying less than a few hundred a year for a world that is beyond realistic.”
“I don’t follow what you’re getting at, Trefor,” Van said.
“It’s just weird that some company, a company that no one has ever really dealt with before, would create something this… perfect. And then they turn it into a game? Strange, right?”
Van slowly nodded. “Yeah, now that you mention it, it is kind of strange.”
“What if I told you a secret?” Trefor asked. “Would you promise not to tell anyone?”
Van nodded, feeling a knot in his stomach.
“Draco’s not particularly… in the game business. They’re in the simulation business,” Trefor said. “And there’s a whole point to this, my friend. A whole point. And it’s not about leveling up or getting the next best gear.”
“What’s it about then?” Van asked.
Trefor grinned. “Survival. You notice what’s rewarded in this game more than anything? Leadership, teamwork. Survival skills. Politics. Not grinding, not loot grabbing, and definitely not spawn camping or player killing. No, this entire game is built for one reason, and only one reason: to find the strong.”
“Why?” Van asked.
“Well, it’s quite simple,” Trefor replied. “Draco isn’t just looking for some people who are incredible at playing a video game. They’re looking for real bona fide badasses. They’re looking for people they can depend on. This whole thing? It’s just one big test. A test to find those who are going to be the right kind of people for the job.”
“What job?” Van demanded. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Slow it down with the questions, buddy. I’m getting there. Here’s the deaclass="underline" Draco wants the very best of the best, and they’ve developed this system to find them. A professional player is someone who Draco considers to be a worthy candidate. So, when players like myself are invited into the system, we end up learning a pretty interesting amount of information. We’re shown an awful lot. And I’m not going to lie—it was pretty scary when I first heard about it. It was disconcerting, even worrisome. But after I really looked at the pros and cons? After I heard the pitch and learned the story? Well… let’s just say I fell right into rank and file. Draco’s not just about games, Van. They’re about changing lives for the better. They’re here to change the world.”
“Okay, so they’re a good company to work for, I get it,” Van said.
“Work for? No! We work with them. Draco doesn’t want to be our overlords; they don’t want to tell us what to do. They want us to be a part of this great project. To change the world and see it brought to a new light,” Trefor said. His voice had grown startlingly convicted, and Van could see the excitement in the man’s eyes. Whatever the hell he was babbling about, Trefor had firmly bought into the ideas.
“I see... So, what, pray tell, does Draco want to do with this world? How do they want to change it?” Van asked, growing more and more uneasy.
Trefor just chuckled in response. “Come with me,” he said as he stood up and strolled back toward the massive building. The steel doors to the building slid open as Trefor approached, and then he walked right through. Van shrugged to himself and followed after. With him stuck inside the game and being thousands of miles up in the air, there wasn’t any way for him to escape such a situation easily. He just hoped that Sang would be able to contact him soon.
Despite his skepticism, Van gasped as he walked into the building. He could see that there were thousands of desks floating in the air, and there were thousands of people busy working at the desks. Upon each desk was a computer that didn’t look too different from the type that Van had; the workers were working with an intense fervor. Each one was sitting in a floating chair and paid no mind to the world around them. There were men and women, but they weren’t dressed like fantasy characters; rather, they wore the kind of clothes Van would see in an office setting. He couldn’t see their screens, but he wondered what it was they were doing. “Computers in a game?” Van asked.
“Well, Draco asked themselves a long time ago, why bother using a physical space? It’s a lot easier to have a decentralized workforce all logging in to the game and doing their jobs from here. I mean, look at how productive we are! Impressive, isn’t it?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Van said as he looked around at all of the employees.
“We’re doing some incredible things at Draco. Absolutely incredible. Follow me!” Trefor said as he walked through the building. It didn’t seem that there were any levels, as the floating desks just allowed all of the employees to be in one area. Trefor brought Van over to a large table. The table had a map on it, but it wasn’t for the content of Oirthear—rather, it was a map of Earth. Van cocked his head as he noticed numbers and percentages drawn out over each country.