The new immersive VR game, twilight, had hit the world like a tsunami. Nobody expected the rumors about it being 100% realistic, mimicking the normal human body and movements to be real.
Everyone thought that it was just another ploy for those big gaming companies to advertise their product.
But Twilight was so realistic to the point that it even recreated pain in real life; but to a much toned down degree.Everyone kept saying that the NPCs were also able to learn and adapt to different situations.
Rin was standing in line at the big gaming store in his area waiting for his turn to get himself a VR set.
The game had been out for about three months now, but the number of new users buying the game never diminished. The line at such stores only kept growing longer.
Rin, being a gaming addict, wanted to get his set much sooner than this but with how high the VR sets sold for. He had to save up for it first.
Of course internet cafés existed and with how popular immersive games were, everyone could gain access to Twilight.
But Rin didn't want that. He knew that although the price for an internet café spot wasn't that high but with how he usually spends long hours on games, the costs would eventually pile up.
It was rather fortunate that he had school that kept him occupied for the past three months.
With summer break on its way, that was to begin by the end of the week,Rin wanted to familiarize himself with the game first.
As the line got shorter and shorter, commotion broke a the front of the line.
Rin made it a habit to ignore issues that didn't necessarily involve him.But he suddenly noticed that his desk mate back at school, James, was somehow involved in it.
James at school was the talkative nerdy type, but since he never spoke directly to Rin. Rin never spoke to him either.
Suddenly the other party consisting of three slightly brawny boys started beating the shit out of James.
No one in particular wanted to step up and confront them. But at that moment James unfocused eyes met Rin.
A look of wallowed defeat etched deepin his eyes.
'sigh'
With a slightly annoyed sigh, Rin decided to confront the bullies. " Hey, I think thats enough" Rin said as he approached the three.
The person who seemed to be the leader of the three gave Rin a dirty side glance before saying " Wait your turn, hero"
And as he was about to continue hitting, James' face. He felt someones hand grip him tightly on the wrist.The grip was unbelievably tight that it became painful real fast.
' what the hell!!' the leader screamed internally as he pivoted his neck sidways only to see that the one who held his hand back mid motion was the hero that spoke up earlier.
" I said that's enough " Rin repeated as he tighten his grip even further. But surprisingly the bully managed to stare him down with a straight face.
Rin had to admit that this bully had some awesome willpower.
The other two bullies seeing that this dumb kid dared to hold back the leader's hand wanted to step foward only to be stopped by their leader.
" Jim, Freddy we're leaving" the leader said coolly before yanking away his arm and turning around, hands inside his pockets, while walking off. Rin didn't fail to notice that the bully's wrist was bruised and couldn't help but snigger.
" Are you alright boss" Rin suddenly heard
'Boss?? what's wrong with this kid' Rin remarked internally as he turned around planning to get back to his spot in the line.
He had no intentions of getting all buddy buddy with James, especially with how much James usually talks. He was a certified yapper.
Seeing that his savior, Rin, was ignoring him James made a decisive move and gave up his front line spot just to stand with Rin.
Obviously Rin was a little bit annoyed by this, but he didn't voice it out.
"Thanks for saving me back there boss" James said, his second attempt to strike up a conversation.
" Just call me Rin, don't make things weird" Rin replied with a somewhat tired look in his eyes.
" I didn't think you were the type to play games. But considering how popular Twilight is, it's understandable infact it would be wierd if someone didn't play it..."
James started yapping, but Rin was too unbothered to stop him, unless he started actively disturbing him. A few moments later it was Rin's turn at the counter.
The lines were moving relatively fast because almost everyone that came to the store, came for the Twilight VR set. Most of the time was actually wasted on the payment processes and other after sales services.
Rin was really lucky because apart from his VR set, only half a dozen remained. That meant that only the six people behind him would have the chance to acquire the set.
The rest would have to wait for restock which would take a day or two. Of course some die hard fans of gaming had been camping outside the store from the beginning but most of those people had already acquired their set.
The remaining people mainly consisting of normal gamers couldn't spare two days of camping and waiting outside.
After paying for and receiving the set, Rin realised that James had not yet left and was waiting for him outside the store despite receiving his VR set first.
But before Rin could say anything, James waved goodbye " we should play the game together sometime"
Since Rin's house was located in the opposite direction, he turned his back and started walking.
Today was the last weekend before they started thier last week of school. Then summer break.Rin only planned on creating his gaming character and familiarizing himself first.
After getting to his house, which was a bit run down but still in good condition, Rin noticed that no one was home.He lived with his mother and sister. His dad had died two years back working in the mines.
Working in the mines was extremely dangerous and non beneficial since most of the money earned by miners would ultimately be pumped into health care.
His father traded his health for the well being of his family but soon bit the dust due to a number of reasons including his neglected health.
Since mining work involved a lot of risks involving workers, investors created such a devious loophole in their contract that prevented them from paying insurance for the workers.
Many people knew that working in the mines was akin to a death sentence but since it was always the most readily available job, it was still extremely popular.
This also prevented the government from getting involved since workers walked into the dragon's den by them selves.
Opening the door, Rin immediately saw the wrapped meal on the dining table with a note from his mother with a heart sign on it.
He could help but smile, his mother always did this even though it was not really necessary.
That made him all warm inside.
He knew that his mother had left for work and that his sister,Jane, was still at school.
Quickly clearing his meal, Rin made his way to his room and unboxed his VR set. It looked like a motorcycle helmet with a futuristic design.
At the side, it had a compartment sticking out. Apparently that it's power supply system.
Don't get me wrong the VR set used electricity as it's power source but the power was not fed directly into the head gear but rather it passed in the specialized compatment first.Some power was also stored in the specialized compatment allowing the players to continue gaming incase of a blackout.
Imagine being in the middle of an important quest then suddenly your logged off. Talk about bad luck.
The head gear had the word 'twilight' imprinted subtly on the side.
Rin had already read the manual multiple times online while waiting for the day he bought his so he didn't waste anymore time and put on the VR helmet while laying flat on the bed.
Rin pressed the small button at the side of the helmet to power it up and immediately felt like his consciousness was dragged somewhere unknown.