Prisoners of VR

In the void hovered a metal platform on which stood Rahu. Before him was a holographic screen, displaying a set of words.

[User Rahu Sastry, select your Worldcraft identity.]

[Note: Once picked, the identity can never be changed. It becomes synonymous with your real-life identity, so choose carefully.]

There was a row of words below in a tiny, ant-sized font, which was no different from the terms and conditions typically attached underneath countless products. Rahu took a glance at it and realised that it could be skipped.

After a thought, he muttered, "Liger."

[The identity 'Liger' is a DOVA Agent's title and is protected by Worldcraft laws. It cannot be granted to any individual.]

'So, even I can't get my own title as a name here?' Rahu thought. It seemed Megasphere intended to maintain the unique identities of DOVA Agents and hence didn't wish for anyone to bear that title, even if it was in Worldcraft.

There was a long list of clauses attached to the identity setup, and one line was dedicated to this. Upon seeing that, Rahu thought, 'Should I go with a cool name or a bullshit name?'

It was a genuinely concerning doubt, that any gamer dealt with. You either pick the coolest of names or be an absolute troll with one. There was no intermediary. And considering his age, Rahu was past the phase of needing to be cool. Therefore, his naming choices fell within the troll domain.

After some thought, Rahu muttered, "Your Momma."

[Identity can only consist of one word.]

"Fart."

[Identity already exists]

"Dumbass."

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[Identity already exists]

After messing around with the names for a few minutes, Rahu finally found a decently troll-worthy name, "Woof."

When the identity was available, Rahu was honestly stunned, "How did people not pick this name yet?"

But since it was there, he would of course snatch it up.

[User Rahu Sastry is now synonymous with the Worldcraft Identity, Woof]

A screen popped up next, asking him to select a race. There was a total of seven races, with each displaying a stat called 'Affinity' next to them. Rahu went through a guidebook attached to it, learning that 'Affinity' indicated how much his thought process was in line with the thoughts of a particular race.

The rulebook indicated that the greater the affinity one had towards a race, the better one could live and function as part of that race in Worldcraft. So, it was pretty important. In the end, the choice still lay with the user.

[Mermen (21.71%), Arachmen (4.08%), Crowmen (6.56%), Elven (22.56), Lizardmen (0.44), Dragonmen (1.21), Dwarven (20.98)]

Since Rahu didn't know the power mechanic of Worldcraft, he chose the Elven race, as his affinity to it was the highest. Immediately, a beam of light fell on him and his appearance changed slightly.

Virtual Reality existed in the individual's brain. Thereby, their appearance in their Virtual Space mirrored their form in reality. A disconnect would cause too many psychological problems resulting from the brain's perception distortion and hence, the option to alter one's physical appearance was never introduced.

Even now, the changes were minimal at best, the degree of change kept within the tolerance limit of the human brain. It seemed the creators of Worldcraft found a delicate line that gave way to a small degree of alteration.

Rahu's ears grew slightly longer and turned pointy at the top. His hair turned dark brown at the base and had a gradient change to green at the ends. His eyes were dark brown in reality, so it remained the same. The only difference was a mild shade of green around them. Finally, his nails changed colour; dark brown at the base and green at the end. The colour change was a gradient in nature and hence, pleasing visually.

This was the extent of appearance change. A mirror flashed before him, allowing him to observe his clothes morph.

A long robe resembling a skirt, reaching below his hips, pointed to the sides. It was a mixture of dark brown and green, the colour scheme of the Elven Race. The pants seemed no different to leggings, just slightly thicker and covered with frills to resemble leaves.

A leafy bracelet appeared on both his wrists, embedded with three gem sockets respectively. Rahu took a step forward and felt the softness of his shoes. They were springy but tough and also allowed air to pass through. So, his feet didn't suffocate.

Rahu brought his hand close to his face and sniffed it, inhaling a scent similar to a tree, 'I smell similar to reality but there's a scent of nature mixed into it. To be honest, it's more pleasing this way.'

[Choose one of the three starting villages: Asrawood, Larkrood, Oakapood]

Rahu selected Larkrood village and disappeared from the void. Following a momentary state of mental chaos, he woke up on flat ground where the grass reached his ankles.

It was an expansive flat plain, spanning more than a hundred kilometres. Rahu got up and looked around, noticing people dressed similarly to him. They were all part of the Elven Race. But strangely, the majority of the people were puking while the remainder were unconscious.

There were a couple hundred Elven Race people in his vicinity and without exception, they were all either puking or unconscious. Just as he wondered what was up with the scene, two screens flashed before him. On the left was a green screen that displayed his location.

[World: Green World Layer (Elven Realm)]

[Location: Larkrood Village]

On the right was a white screen that displayed his personal information.

[User: Woof]

[Race: Elven]

[Affinity: 22.56%]

[Brainpower: 4879]

[Willpower: 141]

[Empower: 16]

Thankfully, there was an explanation attached to the respective stats, allowing him to come to a comprehensive understanding.

[Brainpower: The brain's processing power and energy capacity. It's a direct correlation of your brain in reality. A common man's Brainpower ranges between 10 and 15.]

[Willpower: The strength of one's mind in terms of mental endurance, focus, and mental imagery. A common man's Willpower ranges between 8 and 10.]

[Empower: The potency to exert one's mind onto others, whether living or non-living. A common man's Empower remains less than 1.]

Brainpower could be quantised thanks to the advent of uVR Earths. It was a direct correlation to how long one could use their brain before requiring a rest. As Rahu was a DOVA Agent, his Brainpower values were exorbitantly high as compared to a common man.

When a student studied for an hour without rest, they would feel mentally exhausted. It meant their Brainpower was consumed. If they were to take some rest, their Brainpower would recharge itself over time.

It varied from person to person and depending on how well they used their brain throughout their lives, the value of their Brainpower increased accordingly. The smarter and more mentally capable one was, the greater their Brainpower.

Following it was Willpower, a sheer representation of one's capability to focus and endure any subject or situation. Athletes typically had high Willpower as only through it could they push their bodies to the limit.

Until here was fine, since both Brainpower and Willpower were common factors among people, even before the arrival of uVR Earths. But it was the stat of Empower that caused Rahu to become solemn.

'They went and did it.' A sense of disgust welled up in him. After all, Empower was straight up a representation of how potently one could express their will on another. This was something only DOVA Agents were privy towards.

After all, the basics of Induced Reality were to empower one's mind to the extent they believe it is real and then project it into someone. It was an inborn quality and not many people had it.

That was why the number of DOVA Agents was a mere handful in the entire world, as not many had the strong quality to Empower their mind. The fact that Empower was displayed as a stat here indicated that the goal of Worldcraft's creators was to cultivate more DOVA Agents.

At present, there was barely a DOVA Agent per state. And each DOVA Agent was heavily monitored. But what if thousands of them were to exist in every country? If people on the level of a DOVA Agent casually strolled through the streets in large numbers, society would collapse overnight. "Have they gone mad?"

"Another brethren has joined us, huh?" A voice resounded from behind him, startling Rahu.

'I never noticed his approach.' Rahu turned around in a hurry and came faced with a thinly built man. Dark-brown hair at the roots and green towards the ends. It strangely glowed and seemed to faintly float in the air.

He spanned a height of two metres and possessed pointy ears twice the length of Rahu's. But eerily, even with such a massive figure, his approach had been silent, like a butterfly.

Rahu felt a sense of oppression from the other party, as if he were staring at a superior version of himself. His body felt numb and experienced an urge to prostrate. 'Who the heck is this guy? I can't recognise his face, so he's not a DOVA Agent. Then, is he an NPC of this place?'

Smiling at Rahu's internal struggles, the Elven entity introduced himself, "I'm an NPC created by Megasphere to serve the Elven Race users. I represent the current peak of the Elven Race, the final form of evolution that the lot of you must strive to attain, the Elven King."

"But it seems unlike the others I saw until now, you're on a whole other level." The Elven King patted Rahu on the shoulder. Data streams faintly flowed into his body from Rahu as his eyes shone, "I see, so you're favoured by Megasphere. Then that makes things simple."

"What's Megasphere's goal in creating Worldcraft?" Rahu frowned as he recalled Manav's statement, preparing himself for a world of problems.

"Who knows?" The Elven King coyly tilted his head and snapped his finger. The grass near his toes coiled and grew to resemble the stem of a shrub. The Elven King grabbed it and pulled it out, causing the stem to stop growing and settle to be a stick.

He then clenched it, causing it to shine with a green hue and transform into a green gem, "This is an Invoker Crystal containing the Grass Stick Skill. Place it in one of the sockets of your Leaf Guard and you'll be able to create Grass Sticks as you please."

He gave the Invoker Crystal to Rahu and walked away, "When you're tired, return to reality and rest. As for everything else, figure it out yourself. When you become an Elven King, you may find out the truth. Until then, have fun,"

"Woof."