"I can't write [battlereports] like this too often, or my wife and Great Dane/Dobermann mix puppy are gonna hang me by my nuts."
-YourRoleModel
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| Battlers Chapter 2 | | | Author: | | | IP: | sdn-ar-0XXXX | | Date: | 06/06/00 10:06 | | Game Type: | Other | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 6, Min: 6
Lifetime Rating for RadariG: 5.8000 |  | -----------------
Battlers Chapter 2
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by RadariG. Heh.
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The last time he entered this building, Jeremy was on top of his career. The very thing that he worked so hard for had been taken from him and now looked to be in a position to make U-W millions. Maybe billions. It had that potential, anyway.
The U-W building was designed to serve the whims of style. Spinning stairwells and useless crystal obelisks decked the entry hall. Some sort of music played softly, sounding like an abused form of Bach . . .
"Jeremy!" a black suited man interrupted, "How's it going, my man?"
"Hello Kenin," soberly responded Jeremy, "I have a meeting with Mr. Respin."
"Of course. I'll show you to his office."
"I know the way."
"Mr. Respin expressed that I should escort you personally."
Jeremy sighed. "Why? Does he think I'm here to sabotage his plans?"
Dodging this latest query, Kenin responded, "This way, Jeremy."
They walked to the silver elevator at the far end of the room, which was surrounded by a frame of ivory. Jeremy tried to think of a time when he didn't think of the company as flagrant resource wasters. In the elevator, Kenin pressed the button for the 21st floor, which had Brent's name engraved under it. Almost instantaneously, the car moved up the shaft at a speed that thrust Jeremy down for a few seconds. The opposite happened when it stopped, as Jeremy felt his heel lift up, leaving him standing on his toes.
"21st floor," a computerized female voice announced, "Office of Brent Respin."
The door slid open to reveal a white-haired man sitting in a leather recliner, reading the morning paper.
"Afternoon, Brent," said Redman.
Respin's office was designed for hundreds of workers, but when downsizing caused an entire floor to be fired Brent simply took down all the cubicle walls and set up his office furniture around the elevator exit. In every direction there was emptiness, which gave an understandable sense of eeriness.
"When sceptics rush in, they are skeptical about unrelated things," dawdled Respin, "but I don't think you should underestimate what we have here."
"I'll be the judge of that when I see my demonstration," quipped Redman.
"Enough of this, Jeremy. Aren't you at all interested about what we have been up to?"
"Interest shouldn't be confused with zeal."
"You talk far too much. Are you ready?"
Jeremy nodded, careful not to show his overwhelming desire to see the program. Kenin led him to what appeared to be a standard interface chair, much like the one he had been strapped into the day before. After having a seat, he looked to the side, as Respin punched at a laptop hooked up to the seat.
"Here you go," Respin confidently said, almost in a whisper.
Jeremy didn't hear the last phrase, not because he couldn't, because he was too utterly focused on what was rapidly passing into his brain. Of all the games he had played, this alone felt as if he were being totally immersed in it, just by logging on.
Suddenly he was in the game. The rapid influx of information stopped, and there he was, standing in the middle of an empty valley. Nothing he hadn't seen so far, which made him wonder when the great and wonderful aspects of the game would arise.
"There are three basic types of people in the FightSim, Jeremy," Respin's voiced echoed, "First of all there is the civilian. They take a job and work it until they are ready to exit. When they come back they can take the same job or a new one, whatever they need to do to earn their energy."
"Energy?" inquired Redman.
"All transfers of assets can be performed in energy. It's kind of like silver coins, where they used to melt them down and turn them into silverware. When times got rough, they could change the spoons back into coins..."
"Only here, everything can be transformed into energy and back?"
"Exactly. Anyway, the second type of unit is the militant, a member of an army. This utilizes the basic social echelon system of any military force, and when a user comes back they are expected to rejoin, or start over in their quest to eventually become a general."
"Alright. I think I know what this last one is..."
"Bet you do. Battlers. They fight for the energy of the fallen battlers they conquer. Battlers can store energy elsewhere like any unit, but the more energy the better the battler."
"Typical nomadic warriors, right?"
"In many ways, yes, but we expect them to band together into clans, fighting for power in cities, countries, and so on. Your demonstration will be that of the battler. We're going to give you 10,000 units of energy and a move list to practice with in that valley there."
"Move List?" asked Jeremy, but before he could get a response he suddenly realized he knew several energy manipulation moves, "Oh."
Concentrating, Jeremy formed some of the energy into a ball, which he held in his hands for a minute, then threw with incredible force into the ground fifty feet in front of him. As soon as the ball hit the ground, an explosion the size of which normally comes from dynamite radiated out towards Jeremy, throwing him backwards until he could regain control.
Smoke was everywhere, and Jeremy was immensely excited. Using a sound-wave attack, he shattered a nearby boulder, after which he jumped ten feet into the air and propelled himself into the ground with an earth-shaking impact. As he tried to use more energy in a beam attack, he stopped, in realization that he had used all of his energy.
"Can I please have some more energy?" he quickly asked the valley.
"Not today, Jeremy," it responded, "I need to talk with you outside."
And just like that, the battler awoke in the chair, panting with pure zeal to continue.
"I take it you liked it?" asked Respin.
"You're a freaking genius, Brent," smiled Redman,"This is a damn masterpiece from what I just saw, and I think there is much more, am I right?"
"The interface is user designed, so there are literally infinite possibilities."
Jeremy need not respond in any way but to smile looking up at the ceiling. What a fool he had been, he thought, to doubt Redman. All previous quarrels he had with the CEO were gone from his mind. The thought entered his head that those misgivings left quite quickly, but that idea, too, exited with a puff of mental smoke.
to be continued...
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