[IC] Full Dive: CyberDream

[Blaze Gamma]

Vic stared at the screen to his computer as he looked at his character statistics.

WingViper
Level 15
HP: ...
Stamina: ...

He smiled. It had taken a couple weeks, but he was finally at a high enough level to join a party and go on some quests. He was practically shaking with mirth as he went to put on the helmet and log into CyberDream proper. He slipped the helmet past his dirty blonde hair and over his eyes, which he closed as the system prepared, reading his brainwaves and translating them into a code relay, disconnecting his mammilian brain from his body, leaving the reptilian portion in control of his vital functions while his mind drifted into the game.

~~~~~

Wing opened his eyes from a bed in what was basically a set of communal barracks. He quickly headed out with a smile. It was time to join his first party in CD, qne he honestly couldn't wait. He nearly ran over a shorter player as he headed to the mission board. It was an introductory dungeon, for players who were level 15 and had never partied in CD beforre. The first 15 levels were all about getting used to the game systems. Enemy locks, guided weapon use, automatic reloading, automatic aiming, Wing had gotten used to all these things by level 10 of course, but he knew they were systems designed to help newbies to the genre, and eventually he would be able to turn off those options as needed.

The best players of FDMMOs were able to perform better than the aided movements were, and Wing was no slouch. Not that it mattered, since the aids were locked to use until reaching level 50, but when he got there...

He chuckled as he entered an instanced lobby, designed like the back of a troop carrier. He was a little annoyed that the game itself had locked his EXP until he completed this mission, but he didn't mind. The game certainly had enough polish to help newbies out, which was surprising, especially for a Free to Play. Hell, it had more polish than a lot of full subscription games. Even more shocking, the game didn't try to sell on microtransactions or follow the pay-to-win model. It was certainly weird.

Still, Wing wasn't complaining. The game was so open for customization that he was having a lot more fun with it already. Finally it was time to get into the game for real. There were six more spots in the carrier for new party members, who, unfortunately were chosen by a random global matchup system. He remembered reading that the matchup system took play data over the first 15 levels, choosing parties who could play consistently together if wanted, by compiling data on play times, general log in/out times, and even character builds, automatically putting together a well balanced team.

Still, Wing couldn't help but wonder what sort of people the system would party him with.

[Shikaru]

Alexis Snow

Alexis had been walking to the mission board, excited that she had finally reached level 15 and could finally enter quests and stuff with other players, almost nothing could ruin her good mood. That was, until she was nearly trampled and knocked over by someone that was either clearly more excited than she was or simply didn't care about other players. "Jerk!" She shouted, flipping him off.

Of course, her words met nothing but pixels as the man was transported to an instance. She sighed walking over. She was by no means the most skilled player, but she felt she was still pretty good and wanted a chance to show others.

First thing she had to do was get past the introductory quest. Barely containing her excitement she practically punched the holographic 'Accept' button. She was instantaneously transported to the back of a troop carrier...with the guy that had nearly trampled her.

She glared and crossed her arms "You could watch where you are going, you know?" She spoke. She didn't figure it would be all to hard for people to not run into her, especially with the hues her clothes were. I mean, c'mon, who can't see bright pink shorts?

[Mr_pink]

Driftl0rd776, more commonly known as 'Jason' sat, staring at the glare from his computer screen as it played loud new wave music and more importantlydisplayed his Full Dive character's stats.

Driftl0rd776
Level 15
Health: ███
Stamina: ███
He loudly crunched cereal as he leaned back on his old and half broken chair. He sighed, at this rate he'd never get all the cool flame embroidered weapons and would be stuck with the stock sniper rifles for all his in-game life. How would people know he was better than them without a decal that didn't really even matter? He scratched his chin, putting his bowl down next to his computer monitor. If he wanted that decal then he'd better start gaming, otherwise he'd have to settle for nought. He picked up the helmet and practically knocked himself out with the force he put it on with.

---

Driftlord leaped out of the bed, holding his slouch hat securely onto his head as he sprinted out of the barracks and to the mission board. He quickly accepted the mission, and was subsequently transported onto what looked to be a troop transporter containing two other people.
"Sup' nerds and/or noobs" He said confidently, his accent coming through as obviously as a jack hammer.
"Any of you guys got any decals yet? I'm really wanting to get the flame decal for my rifle" He said, motioning to said rifle as he did.

[mewgirl99]

It had been a long day, but Alana wasn't going to let that stop her from enjoying her game. Not too long ago, she received the VR system and became absolutely indulged in this online MMORPG, one that she'd never heard of and could recall being told that it was brand spankin' new. Regardless, it seemed like it had taken an eternity for her to finally reach level 15, which pulled her out of the "newb" category. At least, she thought. What it did mean, she knew, was that she could, at last, join quests and parties with other players.

As she sat at her desk, she cracked her knuckles and began the process of logging onto her account. Then, she reached over and plucked the VR helmet from the far-right side of the table and secured it onto her cranium. It was her day off from work. She was going to enjoy it.

-

When Mewgirl appeared on screen, rising from a virtual bed, it surprised her a little bit. She'd forgotten that this was where the game opened. Immediately, she headed outside of the building and approached the mission board. Of course, there was only one option for her current level. She was filled with enthusiasm and excitement as she selected it and was taken to an area where three other players were waiting with her.

"Hello," she said just as she'd heard the words flame decal for my rifle.

[Shikaru]

Alexis Snow

Alexis simply waved and smiled at the two new people, giggling a bit at the Scotsmans accent when he said 'noob'. At-least these people seemed more friendly than the man that had decided Alexis was a new form of sidewalk.

"Hey." She told them smiling, waving excitedly. The team was actually filling up quite quickly, Alexis expected a bit of a wait seeing as how most of the players were either advanced or too new to join.

"Um, no I don't have any decals yet..wish I did..I want that pretty pink one for my P-90." She told the Scotsman, holding up her sleek black P-90 momentarily. "What about you?" She asked Mewgirl.

Strange how she was one of the few people to play the game with a normal human name, especially given it was VR, but eh to each their own, she thought.

[CLIW]

Naomi wasn't feeling up to much today, especially because there were blizzard conditions outside and the thermostat never seemed to be warm enough during the winter. Huddled under three quilts she gave another glance at the papers and notebooks spread around her desk. All the worked seemed to be finished- but she'd planned this "outing" for a week now, and being able to stretch out a pair of perfectly fit virtual legs was worth the consequences she'd get from forgetting a problem or two. She rubbed her hands together eagerly and grabbed the VR helmet, eagerly fitting it onto her head. She logged in and, as she sometimes called it, entered the dream.

--

Lyonesse rose from her digital bed and stood up, wiggling her toes. It had been a spell since she'd started playing, yet the magic hadn't worn off at all. She grinned widely and equipped her armor, feeling a little weighed down but otherwise extremely cheery. Level 15. She'd achieved it, and this was her chance to start the game for real. She bounced from one foot to the other and took a deep breath. Of course, she ran every chance she got while in-game, but it still felt strange when she didn't have time to get used to it.

She sprinted out of the barracks and entered a lobby, wasting no time. There were people waiting there already, and she had a good look at each of them for about a minute, assessing them. Not quite staring. Well, maybe staring a little. Not a bad team. Or so it looked.

"Hello," she said, meaning for her greeting to be louder. It instead came across as something slightly louder than a whisper. A little embarrassed, she hung back. She would get to know her teammates when things got going, she was sure of it.

[Blaze Gamma]

Wing looked up and frowned with a weak laugh. "Sorry, just a bit excited. It's been a while since I've done any party quests." He said, addressing the first entry. It was mere seconds before others started piling in. He couldn't help but laugh a little at the scotsman's comment.

"You know they had a level 1 flair quest, right?" He asked, pointing at the bandanna tied to his arm. "You probably could have gotten a decal from that." He laughed. As they were inspecting their guns, he drew a long-sword. The blade was black, made with high carbon steel according to the in game description. Held its edge until the weapon was almost out of health, but the moment it ran out, the blade dropped to no attack at all, breaking into pieces. Still, he liked the little rookie weapon.

He resheathed it, then held out his Panzerfaust. "Heh. You're lucky though. I've got shit all for access at low levels. This thing's low accuracy and only gets one shot per carried unit. Literally one and done." He sighed. "Takes up most of my carrying capacity... If I carry more than one I can't even carry stim packs or aid kits," he sighed.

It was around that time that a fifth player entered the transport. "Hey, come on in!" Wing spoke. "Oh, and I'm WingViper. Real name Vic. Call me Wing though." 'And I swear to God, I'll cut the next person who calls me Vic Viper...' He thought to himself, prudently not speaking the last line.

[Urbanliner]

"Dammit, those non-Full Dive games distracted me too much..." A man sitting on a comfortable semi-sports bucket seat facing a computer muttered.

He quickly proceeded to close the somewhat primitive game he was playing, booting another application which displayed some kind of stats of "Ars_Magna", indicating they have reached level 15, and some indication of their statuses such as health and stamina. The man seemed to smile a bit before he swiftly reached out for a helmet-alike object, fitting it into his head with speed.

What the man saw next was a ceiling, which wasn't his room's one, but still familiar to him. He knew he was lying on a bed, quickly waking up like if it was his bedroom before making the bed he was in. He then sprinted outside and located a board with a holographical "Mission Board" sign, noticing a small holographic screen appear in front of him. He quickly decided to touch a red row which was nearly on top of the screen, before touching the "Accept" button which appeared on the screen, completely ignoring the "Refuse" button near the button the man touched.

Soon, the man realized he was in an area which seemed like the back of a troop carrier, seeing five people there.

"Hello everyone, sorry that I almost got late." The man apologized.

[Shikaru]

Alexis waved at the new arrivals to their little group, which now made their group full. "Hey." She told them. "And no worries, we were just talking to pass the time. I don't think it would've started until the party filled anyway."

"Since we're all gunna be in this mission together, what do you guys specialize in?" She asked, looking from person to person. "I specialize in healing and hacking, kinda fun."

Alexis didn't really know much else to say, she didn't really know these people well enough to carry on a decent conversation.

[Urbanliner]

"Healing and hacking? They can be really helpful when it comes to enemies who rely on nanomachines to attack enemies. By the way, I specialize in shields. For both protection and offense."

The new person briefly and awkwardly smiled at everyone near him, noticing a surprisingly even ratio of male and woman, counting the new person himself. Suddenly, a stream of somewhat perverted thoughts started flowing into his mind;

"Wait, so each man is to be paired with at least one women? Does that mean romance? My friends might've told me that most players use their actual gender, since being a female character aren't a pleasant experience, since most, if not all of us are used to having a male body and being in a body that we aren't used, doesn't feel good... But whatever, I'll just take this chance and make the ladies hopefully fall for me at least online."

While the thoughts weren't directly spoken and he was attempting to look away from everyone, the new person's eyes and mouth would end up revealing what kind of thought he was having, to observant people.

[CLIW]

Lyonesse smiled a little, feeling a little better now. She reminded herself that she was not the same person here as she was in the real world. These people didn't know her other identity... her real self. The short, brick-shaped sheepish physics major confined to a wheelchair. She looked to Alexis, happy to have a question to answer and a conversation to participate in, even if her involvement in it was minimal.

She waited politely and quietly for the user "Ars_Magna" to respond. Shields. Useful. He'd be an asset. She hoped. She felt a spark of nerves and forced herself not to show them: after all, she was someone else now.

"I suppose I'm a sharpshooter," she answered her tentatively. "More into bows and arrows than guns and all, but I can fire three at once. I think. ...I've never actually tried that trick yet, but we'll see soon, yeah?"

[Blaze Gamma]

Viper laughed a little. "Nothing any good for actual battle at low level, that's for sure," he said, regarding the question of specializations. "I guess technically I'm a tank," he laughed. "I doubt anyone here has as much HP or Stamina as I do. I can take damage like nobody's business... I also have some real heavy artillery," he explained.

He then looked to Magna and couldn't help but smirk. He'd seen that look before. "So, how many kids do we have in the party?" He asked. "Need to know how much I'll need to curb my language.

After a while, it seemed nobody else was coming. "Well, I guess we'll be it." he explained. "So, if you're ready, We can all set ready status."

[Shikaru]

Alexis all but slapped Magna for the obvious thoughts he was thinking judging by his facial and hand expressions. The obvious look of disgust was there, but she didn't slap him, yet.

Sighing she spoke "Ready when you guys are." She was truly excited, her first mission with real people. She hoped se wouldn't mess up, but she most likely would find a way.

[Urbanliner]

Hearing two women mentioning the word "ready", the man which had some perverted thoughts in front of women was snapped back to the virtual reality, only to notice he had partially ruined his plan by his thought, judging from the expression of the blonde woman which looks like she is in his mid-to-late teens, just like the man with perverted thoughts.

"Ready." The man looked away from others again while slapping himself in the face, acknowledging it was a bad first impression to the women.