Primblades

Ulrich woke up in the bed at the inn he last stayed at in Aortz, a forested land in the southern area of Continent of Creyoma, where the most dangerous creatures in the wild included actually flying squirrels, wild wolves, and warhawks. He first checked the mirror to see if there was a glitch in the computer’s scan, and if it was his real face that everyone could see. Shaggy brown hair, dark green eyes… no glitches this time. It even got the scar under his left eye from when he was hit with a baseball when he was three or so.

Then he checked his body to see if there was anything wrong with his Avatar’s apparel or any limbs missing. Black hooded coat, no sleeves, Longsword strapped to his back with the hilt over his right shoulder, fingerless leather gloves, baggy cargo pants and combat boots. No glitches there either.

“Game time!” Ulrich said to himself. He went out of the room, paid the fee, and left town to start hunting for EXP. When he got to the forest he drew his Longsword, and waited for the Wolves to jump out.

“Activating Combat Mode!” the computer said in his ears. Over the past four years of playing Primeblades Online, Ulrich learned enough skills to take down a group of five wolves with one combo. He used a simple "slashraid" and collected the goods off them.

“Conflict Resolved!” the computer confirmed. The goods included a rare S-ranked piece of raw meat, and a few crystals he could use for forging. His Craft-class wasn’t a Cook, but he knew someone who was Craft-classed as a Chef he could give the meat to. It was the crystals he cared about. He was about to message Ava when he noticed that someone was clapping behind him.

“Masterfully done, Ulrich,” the man in the suite said. “Level 70-plus Players are always impressive.”

“Who’re you?” Ulrich asked. “You don’t look like a Player…”

“You have an Identification system, don’t you?” the man said. “Use it on me.” Ulrich always forgot about the I.D. He pulled up the scan feature from the Main Menu and activated it on this guy, which only needed a small number of glances. His name came up to be… Wahl? But that’s the name of one of the in-game gods of Primeblades Online. Why would this guy have that name?

“I’m one of the Game Designers, responsible for the game’s upkeep.” Wahl explained as if reading his mind. “You don’t think a game acts like this naturally on its own do you? My name is Agent Wahlen. I need you to come with me.”

“What’s this about?” Ulrich asked. “I’m fairly certain I didn’t break any Rules last time.”

"This isn’t about the Rules,” Whalen explained. “This is about your sister.” Jenna? How could they know about her? She was far from interested in Primeblades Online, or VR gaming in general. And furthermore she was comatose after a cheerleading accident, and though he wanted to get along with her, their personalities were just too different. So… what did they know? Only one way to find out. He stepped forward. He blinked.

Next thing he knew, he was in a building in the real world, a parking lot of a mall by the look of it. He was still in his Primeblades Avatar, so he couldn’t be there in real life… there must’ve been some sort of projector around there somewhere.

“Ulrich? Ulrich Vanes?” A voice said behind him, he turned to find Agent Wahlen waking up removing from his head a Next Gen VR Scanner, which was gonna be called Interface and wasn’t much different from a virtual reality helmet. There was a woman there too, dressed like a secret agent stereotype with blonde ponytail and business suit with sunglasses. The license on her suit said Agent Wilson, probably another designer because there was an in-game god named Wilsa. The man in the wheelchair had the most interest for Ulrich. He was old (like forties old, not grandpa old). His hair was already going gray though, and he was missing a leg. He was dressed like Wahlen and Wilson but without the sunglasses, showing his eyes as blue as code.

“That’s me, and you are?” Ulrich asked. This guy looked familiar to him though.

“I’m not telling you my name until you hear me out for my request,” he said. “And considering how much you talk about your sister in-game you need to hear my request.” Wilson pulled out a folding chair and gestured for Ulrich to sit, which he felt he should’ve. He sat with his legs apart, one hand on a knee the other hanging of the resting elbow.

“Alright, tell me what you want,” Ulrich didn’t like what the man had to say, especially when he heard it. But whether or not he was happy he knew, that’s something Ulrich didn’t know.

“Jenna Vanes is trapped in Primblades Online.”