Dream Realms Online: Spark

Asher Leigh spent the last year running from his mother's legacy. It had been his dream to work alongside her at Somnus Entertainment, where she was hailed as a genius innovator of AI design and architecture. Yet just before he completed his Masters degree his parents got into a terrible accident that ripped them away from him, and he couldn't bare to join the company without her there. He thought he had put that part of his past behind him, but a year later and he's been fired from his job. Before he could fall too far into despair his mother's colleague gives him an unusual opportunity: Help playtest the game that was being operated by the three AIs his mother created, Dream Realms Online. The game was Somnus Entertainment's biggest gamble, the latest installment of their flagship game series that ran using their patented Full-Immersion Virtual Reality system. The others games in the series had been a massive success, but they had all been single-player or limited co-op games within a limited gameworld and set plot. Dream Realms Online is far more ambitious, the world's first Full-Immersion VR MMORPG, an epic fantasy set in a dynamic open world influenced by the choices made by every single player. It wasn't just a city or country, but an entire world--the massive undertaking only possible thanks to the game's three governing AIs that have generated every inch of the world under the direction of the developers. The developers have kept a tight lid on this project, with very little information out to the public yet, and for good reason. Over the last year the AIs have been acting unusual. Creating and modifying aspects of the gameworld outside the direct requests of the developers. Even as they put limitations and restrictions on the AIs, it is clear to the core dev team that they are losing control over the AIs. Asher accepts the offer to playtest the game without realizing the magnitude of the situation he is being placed in--and for better or worse, the AIs have taken notice of him... and Asher hasn't realized that Dream Realms Online isn't the only game he is caught up in... Hey Royal Road Readers, this is my first attempt with actually sitting down and writing something long-term, so I welcome any and all reviews, comments, and criticisms to help with my writing or story telling. I work full time, but I am aiming to try and get one chapter out every weekday (so Monday through Friday). With this being my first real experience using Royal Road, I am also open to doing review-swaps with other new authors and joining discussion groups. My story, Dream Realms Online: Spark, will take place largely within the game world of DR:O, but will still feature out-of-game story aspects. There will be no trapped-in-the-game trope here. You can expect to see a lot of game-mechanics in this story including leveling up, stat points, equipment, and such things for those that enjoy progression fantasy. Thanks to his own choices (and some AI meddling), Asher begins with absolutely nothing, no gear, no skills, not even a typical 'class' and trapped in a dungeon with no tooltips or tutorial. Forced to discover the game's mechanics for himself and 'blaze his own path.' I aim to ensure the progression is gradual, so there won't be any massive jumps in power or immediately starting off over-powered. But that doesn't mean that Asher will be powerless for long. I hope you join me on Asher's adventure into Dream Realms Online, and if you enjoy the story so far it would mean the world to me if you leave a review or comment! Happy reading brave Sparks!