/~Contrario~/
I've heard them call it many names, The Greater World, the World of Code but here in Nova City, They called it Ascension Code, a game so real, it perfectly blurred the line between reality and fiction. For people like myself born in this world, we have never known what life on earth was like and how we even got here in the first place. A digital utopia where you could be five different versions of yourself, each avatar stronger, faster and more skilled than the last.
You get Five chances at glory.
Five different identities.
Five lives.
And me?
I had just one.
"Contrario Williams," the terminal at the spawn hub blinked coldly,
"Avatar slot: 1 of 1 used. Additional slots: permanently locked."
Yeah. Thanks for the reminder.
The other players didn't bother hiding their feelings as I walked through the marketplace in Nova City's outpost. I could hear some of them laughing. Some pitied me and most of them just didn't care. It was as if I wasn't worth the server space I logged in with today.
"Look, it's the cursed kid!" a voice rang out behind me. I didn't bother turning around. There was no point. At this point, it was getting boring. It was always the same old thing
The Solo-avatar user
The Cursed one
Outcast
One Slot Wonder,
Bug Baby,
NPC Brother
It didn't feel new anymore. At first, I felt pain and had it in me to show these people that I was worth more, but now I just sigh and move on.
"Hey Contrario! Still roleplaying poverty? Want a second-hand dagger? Discount for the digitally disabled!" A salesman by the side shouted out.
Everyone around laughed so wholeheartedly. I just kept walking. I had accepted my fate as the bright star made to make them smile but they didn't see it like that obviously.
They didn't know. None of them knew half of what I went through. I was sure if some of them went through what I did, they would be Nova City's lapdogs like Kyra and Axel.
The "curse" wasn't just some glitch and it wasn't a bug either. It was a choice. A cruel, irreversible one I made years ago, back when the game was still in what I'll call beta state and I was too carefree.
But now? Now I was trapped, and I've spent every day of my life regretting it.
While everyone else carried five avatars with pride, I was stuck in a single body with low stats, limited growth, and a total cap I couldn't break. It didn't matter how smart I played. At the end of the day, it was always the same result. Contrario the loser.
Unless…
No. Let's not go there, I reminded myself. The Ascension Gate wasn't meant for people like me.
As I took the elevator up to the building I was on, my mind was in disarray, thinking of different types of things at the same time. The chaos soon came to an end as I sat on the edge of the skyscraper, getting a good view of the people below me.
"Ants," I said as I laid my back on the ground, staring up at the sky.
"Yoo Stray, what's your current state?" I said as I opened the window of my current avatar.
Stray, a rogue-class build. Level 43 with mid-tier armour, a broken dagger with a fire enchant that barely sparked anymore.
300 Starlos left.
Barely enough for me to feed myself tonight. I guess I'll be visiting Lower Town again tonight, to see if I could get some mid-paying jobs.
"Argh, I hope I don't run into Kyra and Axel again today," I said as I scratched my head with a weary smirk on my face.
Stray.....I knew I didn't need anybody else as far as I had Stray by my side. If tonight ends well, I should be getting a new gear for him. As I closed my eyes and lay there, I dreamt of a world where it was just Stray and I with no one mocking me.
A vibration soon brought me back to my reality. My mini-map glitched, then turned red.
"Incoming raid," I muttered. "It has to be one of Nova City clans..."
I zoomed in. The tag flashed: [VX.HAVOC] — one of the elite Nova City kill squads.
"What the heck, are they here for me? No... not today."
I quickly bolted from the ridge, sliding down the side of the skyscraper toward my makeshift base hidden beneath the ruins of Old Spectra Core near the main outpost. It was nothing much, just a few turrets, a shield dome, and an auto-crafting forge I used for basic resources.
I had barely made it across the outer gates when the sky turned crimson.
"Shit, an orbital strike."
They'd found me.
My forcefield flickered, then shattered like glass.
I pulled up my interface, quickly tapping a string of commands. My Emergency defense. My Auto-turrets came online. I released my sentry drones. Every one of them activated, roaring up to life.
But against VX.HAVOC? I was like Sakura facing Sasuke from that show called Naruto.
"Are you seriously comparing us to anime characters during battle?" Stray shouted.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry"
"They're not here for loot," I whispered. "It looks like They're here for me. but why?"
"Stray, dagger!"
My broken dagger materialized, as I stood in the center of my collapsing base, flames beginning to rise around me. My avatar glowed, ready to die for me again.
But not today.
"So you're now part of them huh, who woulda thought a stray like you would find a clan at last"
A husky voice I dreaded so much spoke from the shadows. He soon stepped out, fully clad in his avatar. Vance Julio, Nova City's trump card. His avatar's eye was crimson red and its legendary Phoenix blade.
He was the one player in Nova City to wield a legendary weapon, he's basically the only legendary player in both servers.
"I....." Before I completed my sentence, I was eye to eye with Vance; I quickly crossed both arms and braced for impact. Before I knew what was happening, with one punch, I was sent flying, breaking through three pillars.
"Rats like you don't talk even when I ask you questions" He said as he jumped to continue his attack on me.
As I lay there amidst the rubble, Stray flickered, and He went off as he had used his all to save me from that first attack. I lay there, my life flashing before my eyes.
As my eyes closed, for a moment, I thought I saw my mom jump in front.
"Ellie, Thunderclap!"
Those were the last words I heard before I lost consciousness. Mom...is that you?