World of Eternia: The Match

By Antony W.F. Chow

No, the players are not stuck inside a gaming world. And there is no permanent death. The World of Eternia is a litrpg genre story where in-game events have real life consequences, just like in the Hollywood film, "Tron."

The Match is a sequel to The Prize, but may be read as a stand-alone novel. The previous book focuses on a group of players called "The Strangers," and their adventures inside the virtual reality based fantasy gaming world, World of Eternia. The Match offers a peek behind the curtains, and focuses on two ruthless company heads and their machinations to move their respective gaming companies forward. Their bitter rivalry finally comes to a head when one decides to challenge the other to a public match, with control of their respective companies as the ultimate prize!

World of Eternia: The Match offers 91,000 words filled with role playing game action, corporate espionage, and characters of questionable ethics and morals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Antony W.F. Chow
• Release date: Dec 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311451590

Antony W.F. Chow

Calling himself a "literary chameleon," Antony W.F. Chow is an experimental writer who enjoys the intellectual challenge of writing in a wide variety of genres. His latest book is a platonic, Christian romance novel titled "My Date With Eric (A Sweet Romance Novel)." He is a longtime resident in the hometown of the New York Mets MLB team. He is best known for his online article on spotting counterfeit Japanese anime figures. He is also known as the author of Broken Hearted: A 9/11 Story, available for PC, Mac, and Linux. An unauthorized webcomic version is available on Google Play.

Book preview

Foreword

The litrpg genre has exploded in popularity in recent years. Some credit goes to Sword Art Online, the popular 2009 Japanese light novel series turned manga series turned anime shows in which real life players became trapped inside a digital gaming world. However, older readers may recall 1982’s Tron film, which explored this theme some two dozen years earlier.

The World of Eternia series is closer, in spirit, to the earlier Tron movie, where actions taken by real life players inside the digital gaming world resulted in real life consequences. Thus, the reader is encouraged to keep an open mind, and to avoid comparing WoE series to the Western equivalent of SAO that have frequently popped up on digital and paperback shelves lately.

With kind regards,

Antony W.F. Chow

December 14, 2015

Chapter 1 – Expansion

Whoosh! The warrior sees the staff coming down on his head, and instinctively raises his shield. Clang! The blow is surprisingly heavy and the defender starts feeling an uncomfortable buzz in his left hand. The warrior tries to jab at the now wide open opponent in the midsection with a sword thrust. The tip of his blade goes off course when a Tonfa suddenly knocks his blade downward, hitting nothing but air.

The staff wielder twirls her feet like a ballerina to her right, yielding the fight to her comrade.

The newcomer to the battle twirls the Tonfas in both hands, demonstrating a high degree of proficiency with these Okinawan martial arts weapons.

The defender steps back as he examines the Tonfa more closely. Made of red oak wood, the length of the long arm is some twenty inches long, with the short handle about a third of the way down. It is the first time he has fought against a Tonfa fighter; thus the warrior is tentative in his approach against the newcomer, a petite girl with a slender build who is bouncing slightly up and down on her toes like Bruce Lee. Let’s test her, the warrior thinks as he swings his long sword at her midsection.

The Asian looking girl holding the sticks suddenly stops twirling them, and she easily hops away from the path of the sword slash. The new opponent turns the Tonfa stick in her right hand outward, so that her reach is extended by half her arm’s length. She quickly counterattacks with a jab of the Tonfa at the warrior’s face.

The defender sees the counter and quickly raises his shield to block the jab. Suddenly, the warrior’s shield is jerked to his right, badly exposing his left side. Before he can react, the warrior feels a light tap against his left kidney. Ping! The Tonfa stick smacks against his steel plate armor, and does minimal damage. However, the knight immediately realizes that a full powered thrust would crush his armor into his flesh and cause a massive reduction in his avatar’s health bar.

Yield? a girlish voice asks.

The warrior drops his long sword. Yield, he sighs. Peering down over his left shoulder, the warrior sees that a Tonfa has been flipped around, so that the handle has gripped the edge of his shield. That’s how I got exposed like that, he thinks ruefully.

Clap-clap-clap! Well done, Alice! a female voice says, praising the Tonfa fighter.

I just got lucky, Trish, the Tonfa fighter replies modestly while looking at her sister, the staff wielding monk.

Not luck. It took some skill to pull that trick on my shield, Wesley notes as he bends down to grab his sword from the ground. You jabbed at my face to lure my shield up. While I lost sight of you for a split second, you flipped your other Tonfa stick to grab it by the shaft. And then you used the stick handler to grapple with my shield and pull it into my sword arm. Your tactic left my arms tied up and I became vulnerable to a strike at my side or back, the ex-Marine verbalizes the replay in his mind.

The petite fighter bows in acknowledgment.

Wesley bows back just as deeply. He turns to face the Eternia Development & Entertainment, Inc. (EDE) representative, who has been watching the fight from the sideline.

The EDE employee is wearing a long sleeve, navy blue shirt, blue shorts, and black tights, along with a blood red cape that denotes his in-game status as a representative of the King. Only officials of the Kingdom are allowed to wear this cape; the penalty for violating this edict is death and permanent ban from the online game, World of Eternia (WoE). Any noticeable lag in your reaction time? the game representative asks the beta tester regarding the new Virtual Reality equipment.

Wesley shakes his head. If anything, it seems like my avatar’s reaction time decreased slightly and allowed me to move faster in the game. It's exciting to see how the game has evolved from a basic dungeon crawler game with a VR element to now include a real life combat simulator. In fact, I think this oriental expansion and the multiplayer online battle arena (‘moba’) especially for WoE will be excellent additions to the game, the beta player offers his opinion.

Mark Whitney, the project manager for the expansion, smiles at the comment. I’m glad to hear it, Wesley. Richard will be pleased, he replies.

Wesley frowns slightly at the mention of Richard T. Gibson, the enigmatic founder and CEO of the company. Wesley was merely a member of the player group, The Strangers, when the party was invited to participate in a special campaign to celebrate the first year anniversary of the online launch of the game last year. The Strangers successfully defeated the evil Regent of Castle Eternia, and lifted the Curse. Among the prize was a one year consultation contract with EDE. Wesley, a retiree from the military, had some free time to help EDE test new product developments, like the upcoming oriental expansion and the new virtual reality equipment. However, none of the four members of The Strangers particularly like Richard, and they have been suspicious of his motives ever since they met him at the conclusion of the ground breaking anniversary campaign.

Mark, we’re logging out now, Trish says.

That’s fine, the project manager replies. Please write up a report of your in game experience, especially any lags in the motions of your weapon and personal movement during your fight with Wesley. Also, please note any discomfort in using the new equipment, he adds quickly before they log out of the server.

Yes sir! the two girls reply in unison and log off, leaving the two men behind.

They seem kind of young to be full time employees, Wesley remarks, hoping that Mark will talk about the two players a bit. The company comes across as rather secretive to the retiree, who has had plenty of experience with being kept in the dark by his higher-ups back in the military. However, Mark seems to be genial and more willing to share information with company insiders, and it appears that the manager has begun to view Wesley as one of them. Wesley smiles to encourage the EDE employee to talk.

Yes, they are, the manager chuckles. They’re both teenagers located in China, he reveals. They are interns; no make that externs since they work through a virtual office in Shanghai, China, rather than at our company headquarters here in Seattle, Washington, Mark corrects himself. They are currently attending a Chinese university, and getting school credit for assisting us for several hours each week. The Asian market for Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (‘MMORPGs’) is huge, and Richard views this market as a critical area of growth for our company, Mark expounds a bit on the company's strategy for expansion.

Is that why WoE is having an oriental expansion, in order to attract Asian players to the game? Wesley speculates.

Mark shakes his head. Not particularly. WoE is the world’s first Virtual Reality based MMORPG, and this in itself will attract gamers from Asia, not just China but also South Korea and other countries in the Southeast Asia region. The oriental expansion is meant to introduce a wider variety of new weapons, armor, equipment, spells, and yes monsters and campaigns for our players to explore, he explains. Think of it from a business perspective. In order for a company to grow, it could either get new customers for existing products, or new products for existing customers, or both, he continues his impromptu lecture.

I’m assuming that the revenue from the sales of the expansion will be plowed back into the company for development of further expansions? Wesley asks pointedly.

Mark shrugs at the question. I’m not on the Board of Directors at the company. So I can’t tell you how the company will spend its sales revenue from the expansion. But I would assume that will be the case.

The ex-Marine nods. Fair enough, he says. Anyway, I should get going myself. I have some errands to run.

Mark nods in return. I appreciate your assistance.

Don’t mention it. Ciao! Wesley says. A moment later, he logs off the server, and his avatar winks out of existence.

Mark turns to look at the dirty looking man sitting under a tree nearby. He appears to be a drunk and asleep. At a distance, the man appears to be a Non-Player Character (NPC), but Mark knows the truth is anything but that. The man has disheveled, long hair, and an empty tankard is on the ground beside him. What do you think, sir? the project manager asks with great politeness.

The drunkard raises his head, and makes eye contact with the project manager. The man has sharp looking dark brown eyes that reflect keen intelligence-and something more. Put up with him as long as Wesley and his Strangers continue to prove useful to the company, the man replies curtly. He sighs inwardly. The problem with getting assistance from outsiders is that often times they are simply too nosy for their own good. Why should they be concerned with how the sales revenue will be spent by my company?

The CEO shakes his head. At least the four of them have not leaked any details of the upcoming expansion, or post pictures of the redesigned virtual reality equipment on social media. So I’ll give them that, he thinks begrudgingly, or else I can use the leak as cause to terminate the consulting agreement and kick the four of them out the door. Either way I win, he smiles smugly to himself. In any case, I have to be careful in limiting personal contact with Wesley; he's the charismatic, natural born leader type who can sway others to his point of view. if Wesley disagrees with my decisions and turns rebellious, he will create problems for the company. Continue to keep him at a distance, and let intermediaries deal with Wesley directly.

Yes, Richard, the employee acknowledges the order, oblivious to his employer's concerns.

Chapter 2 – A Retired Life

As Wesley McMillan pulls the virtual reality head gear off his head, he feels a hot breath on his left cheek. Blinking his eyes, he sees that his wife, Melissa, is kissing his face. He feels a sudden rush of euphoria as a life time of love with this wonderful woman pours into his heart. What’s that for? Wesley asks gently as the petite woman sits in his laps, while he is still seated at his computer desk.

Oh I don’t know, the woman, in her late fifties but still radiant with life, stares her dark brown eyes into his blue eyes. A gentle smile begins to creep into her light brown face, which has been marred by the passage of time. She leans her head into his neck, feeling the weight of her beloved husband’s rugged chin resting comfortably on top of her skull.

I’m sorry, Wesley begins to apologize when he realizes that she is feeling lonely.

Shush! Melissa puts a finger on his lips to cut off the apology. She had been worried about her husband, and how he would spend his time once he retired from the military. If Wesley is playing a fantasy game, then he isn’t visiting dating websites and cheating on her. So she is willing to let him indulge on his new found hobby, at least for a little while, if it allows her marriage to stay intact. However, this doesn’t mean that she will let him forget what he has. . .

Wesley wraps his arm around his wife, enjoying the warmth of their still strong, healthy bodies. God, she’s more than I deserve, he thinks guiltily.

Are you still playing the game? Melissa asks.

You mean World of Eternia? Yes, I am, Wesley replies with surprise at the question. His wife usually allows Wesley some degree of privacy; she prefers not to pry into his affairs. Why would you think I was playing something else? he asks.

Well, for one thing, your equipment is different from before. Also, the times you’re logged in has changed from last year, the wife points out. Even though she doesn’t talk about it, Melissa still keeps tabs on him when he’s in the house.

It’s that obvious? the husband grins.

Melissa reaches up with her right hand, and pinches her husband’s left cheek. She feels the rough skin, and bristles of his day old facial hair, brown colored with a small smattering of gray.

All right, all right, Wesley gives up. Where do I begin, he ponders for a moment as he thinks back to the campaign that The Strangers had participated in last year. Do you remember last year, when I was logged into the game for almost an entire day? he asks.

Sure, the wife replies. How could she forget? Wesley was logged in for a good ten hours that one time. She became worried when he skipped dinner, and seriously considered pulling the plug to turn off the computer. Instead, Melissa decided to sit next to him, and waited until he logged off to demand an explanation from him.

However, Wesley was too exhausted when he finally took the virtual reality equipment off his head. He just slept in his chair, and she couldn’t get anything out of him. Whenever she brought it up afterwards, her husband just said it was confidential and never talked about it.

Last year, my player party received an invitation from the game developers behind World of Eternia to participate in a special campaign to celebrate their one year anniversary. It took us a long time, but we did end up finishing the campaign, the husband explains.

So what did you win? Melissa asks point blank. What matters to her most is the prize involved, rather than his exploits in a game that she knows nothing about.

Wesley grins at the question. A one year consultant contract, he answers quickly, anticipating her reaction.

Huh? she says in befuddlement. What the heck is he doing?

The campaign was an elaborate job interview by EDE, the husband explains patiently. The developers were seeking players to help them with both game and hardware development.

So that’s why you have new stuff attached to the computer? Melissa asks.

Yup, Wesley says nonchalantly while eying the visor on the table along with the gloves, the thin arms sleeves, and slippers. The company gave me new virtual reality equipment for beta testing. It’s supposed to be lighter and improves motion detection. This is not available on the market. And we had to sign confidentiality agreements. That’s why there aren’t any posts on social media of this new visor, for example. Middle management at EDE actually wanted me to use this equipment at their offices in Seattle, Washington. But R&D argued that the equipment needs field testing in a normal player environment, rather than at a research lab. The CEO finally stepped in and approved allowing my access to their 2.0 VR hardware outside of their company’s facilities.

The virtual reality gear is definitely lighter than the old equipment, and more importantly, wireless. He is no longer required to sit close to the desktop computer to play the game. In fact, Wesley could see new applications for this 2.0 VR hardware, particularly in sports like golf, surfing, and boxing. He is old enough to remember playing Mike Tyson’s Punchout on the original Nintendo Entertainment System console, and he would be interested in playing a virtual reality version of this game. I should bring this up with Mark, he reminds himself. At least the project manager is more open to suggestions and new player ideas, compared to Richard, he notes.

So how much are they paying you? the wife asks, not at all shy about the topic of compensation. Their house could use a new roof, and the front yard could use a little bit of sprucing too if there is any money left over.

You mean money? he asks, knowing exactly what she has in mind. Nothing, the husband replies sheepishly. Wesley knows that nothing gets his wife as excited as talking about making money and spending money.

Melissa pokes him in the ribs, with a slight frown on her face.

Hold on, he adds quickly. The company is giving us small ownership interests in exchange. Each party member is getting one tenth of one percent share in the company, he throws out.

And what are the odds that this game developer of yours will turn into a billion dollars company like a Google or Apple? Melissa asks, as doubt takes hold in her tone of voice.

Slim, he readily concedes. Wesley is not a finance guy like Lucious, who was the lone holdout briefly when the owner of the company made the consulting offer to The Strangers. Still, the potential is there for Eternia Development & Entertainment, Inc. to be bought out by a larger gaming company or even a tech giant like a Facebook or Amazon. In that case, my stake should be worth quite a bit of dole, Wesley notes.

I hope your shares will help pay for a new roof, the wife says gruffly.

Me too, the husband replies as he gently strokes her dark, chestnut hair.

Chapter 3 – Workaholic

Thud! The heavy stack of papers makes a loud noise on the desk. Here you go, Luke, the female intern says with a cheerful voice and a mischievous grin, as if the pretty college senior needs to announce the obvious to the unfortunate recipient sitting behind the desk.

Thank you Jennifer, Lucious Trevis replies with a genteel tone of voice, hiding his mild annoyance at her. She’s enjoying this too much, he thinks while his eyes remain glued to the spreadsheet on his computer screen. To be honest, he doesn’t know which annoys him more – her use of the name Luke rather than his given name Lucious, or her mischievous nature. Either way, he does not see her as a proper fit with the serious company culture, and Lucious will emphasize this point in his evaluation of this college intern with the human resources department.

Jennifer Woosley turns away from his desk without comment. Why does Luke hate me, she wonders silently as the intern tries to put some distance away from Luke’s desk, while desperately holding back her tears. She’s been spending the entire semester trying to get this cute looking guy to open up, but Luke has been downright frosty. Even though he’s a bit on the short side, at around five foot two inches tall, Luke is young and handsome looking with a robust bronze colored, smooth looking skin, thick dark brown hair, and matching eyes. He’s easily the hottest guy in the office, by far! When he looks at her, he seems to burn with an intensity that simply makes her swoon!

Jennifer finally makes it to the rest room, and quickly turns on the faucet to splash some cold water on her face, even though it ruins her mascara. How could she flirt with Luke if he absolutely refuses to socialize with Jennifer? Even worse, she has a feeling that Luke will give her poor grades in his evaluation of her work once the internship ends. Jennifer pulls her head up to look in the mirror, and sees Ellen Mateo, the office manager!

The middle-aged woman is dressed conservatively, in a dark brown lady’s jacket and matching pants, comfortable red colored ballerina flats, with a creamy colored blouse with the top button unbuttoned. Her long sandy hair is bundled and neatly pinned to the back of her head. What’s the matter, Jennifer? Ellen asks while giving the college intern a reassuring hug.

The twenty year old shakes her head, while wiping her tears.

It’s Lucious, right? the manager asks. She knows Jennifer has a crush on him; it’s obvious to everyone in the office. While it IS against office policy for co-workers to date, Ellen wishes that Lucious would lighten up a little and treat the impressionable, young intern nicer. I’ll have a talk with him, don’t worry, she says with warm reassurance to the young woman.

No! Jennifer quickly replies while pulling her head up to stare at the office manager. I just need to learn to be more professional at work, like him, she explains. I don’t want to get Luke in trouble, she thinks.

Ellen smiles warmly, understanding exactly what the intern is thinking. Look, I’m just an office manager. I’m not Lucious’ boss. He doesn’t report to me. I’m just going to tell him to lighten up a little, she says. Ellen sees the intern open her mouth to defend him, and quickly raises a hand in front of the intern's face to stop the younger woman from speaking out. I’m not the only one in the office who thinks he needs to lighten up. He’s a cold fish to everyone, and no one really knows what he does after work. He’s really aloft and keeps to himself. Lucious is not fitting in well with this office, even though he's been here two years already. I’m going to use you as an excuse to talk about his attitude. That’s all, the office manager explains.

Jennifer sighs. I can’t talk you out of it? the college intern asks with resignation as she slowly sways her head from side to side.

Nope, Ellen grins as she washes her hands.

Fine, the intern sighs, and starts reapplying her makeup around her eyes.

The office manager grabs some paper towels to dry her hands. As she pulls on the door handle, she says without looking back, Don’t take too long. Ellen leaves the rest room without waiting for a reply from Jennifer. The door closes gently behind her.

Ellen walks briskly, making a beeline straight for Lucious’ desk. Hey there, got a moment? We need to talk, she says.

Lucious looks up and peers at Ellen through his designer glasses. What is it now, he groans silently. Unfortunately, he can’t simply blow off the office manager. While Lucious reports to Derek Mills, his immediate supervisor, Ellen is a twenty year employee in the company who has personal ties with upper management, including his boss. She started out as a personal secretary, and moved up the ranks in the support staff. If Lucious makes Ellen unhappy, his boss will hear about it. Lucious pulls off his glasses. What can I do for you? he asks calmly.

I bumped into Jennifer in the ladies room, and she was crying. Do you know anything about that? Ellen asks bluntly.

Lucious’ eyebrows shoot straight up. Um, no. Should I? he asks in befuddlement while his mind races to his last encounter with the intern when she dropped the stack of research papers on his desk.

Ellen crosses her arms and looks at him sternly. You are aware that she likes you, right?

Lucious adjusts his collar uncomfortably without answering the question.

I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ then, the middle-aged woman replies tartly at his non-answer. While I’m not suggesting that you should go out with her or anything, you could act a little nicer to Jennifer. She is a girl, you know, the office manager reminds him.

Lucious raises his hands in the air with his palms facing the ceiling, and shrugs helplessly. What am I, an ogre? He resists the temptation to retort with a sarcastic remark to the older woman. I’m sort of seeing someone right now, and I just didn’t want to lead Jennifer on, he tries to explain his predicament with exasperation.

Ellen smiles at the revelation. It’s actually the first time the guy has talked about his personal life. The office manager savors her little victory for a quick moment, and turns her game face back on. I understand that you’re uncomfortable with being somebody’s crush. But at the same time, you need to be more professional in how you handle these interpersonal issues. You’re not a robot, right? she smiles.

Of course not, he bristles at the comment.

Good, Ellen nods. Try to be nicer to the interns. That’s all I’m asking from you. Jennifer and the other kids will be gone before you know it, she adds, reminding him that the college internship program will end in a few weeks.

Yes, ma’am, he salutes. Lucious puts his thin, silver framed glasses back on, and turns his head back to the computer screen; he starts to work on his report again.

Thusly dismissed, Ellen quietly walks away from the financial analyst’s desk.

Chapter 4 – Long

Distance Relationship

Hey honey, the long, luscious raven haired woman flashes her dazzling smile in the computer screen.

Hi Diana, Lucious replies while staring back at the screen. A small webcam is strategically placed above his computer monitor, allowing the two to continue their long distance relationship through nightly chats over the internet.

Diana Lombardi picks up on her boyfriend's glum mood right away, even though they are thousands of miles apart, with her in Seattle, Washington and him in New York City. What's wrong, honey? she asks gently, hoping that he won't get too annoyed with her prying.

The handsome man frowns slightly. Is it that obvious? he asks quietly, deftly avoiding giving an answer to her question.

The psychology doctoral student folds her arms and leans back on her chair, while maintaining her stare straight into her webcam. Hey buster, you're not getting off that easily, she quips.

He stares back at her.

After a few seconds, Diana shrugs her shoulders. Well mister, if we're just going to stare at each other, I'd much rather work on my doctoral thesis instead, she says. The woman starts to reach for the mouse on her desk to close off the chat program, when Lucious interrupts. Wait!

Keeping a straight face, she coyly looks back at the screen, and waits for an answer.

The young man grinds his teeth for a moment, and finally spits out an answer, Work.

What about your job? she presses him, not at all satisfied with his succinct answer.

Supposedly I made an intern cry today, he admits.

Diana's eyes widen and blink several times as she processes the answer in her mind. I thought he got chewed out by his boss, she thinks to herself. Quickly regaining her composure, she tries to imagine the scene. What did you do to her? she asks, suspecting that the