The next day Del, Larry and Gabrielle sat in comfortable leather chairs inside a laboratory. Dr. Ravers was close by with two other assistants. Mr. Toler was also there watching themas they were getting ready to go into the Virtual Reality world.
Dr. Ravers said, "We had sent drones into the Pandora VR world. Sometimes, we see different worlds but most of the time it's a forest and castles. Be on guard, we are not sure what you'll encounter, monsters or aliens. We have everything ready for you. You'll have armor and unlimited weapons and magic. Are you ready? This will be your training."
Del said, "I'm ready." The others nodded in their seats.
"Put on eyeglasses and instantly you'll be transported there," Miss Ravers said.
An assistance came to him and held a tray with several dark glasses laid on it. Del grabbed it. He hesitated for a split second. He saw in his mind his friend lying comatose on his hospital bed, but he relaxed. If he did this, he'll be helping John and himself. Grabbing the glasses, he placed it over his eyes.
Del felt himself falling down a deep hole and then he was inside a futuristic base. Next to him was Larry and Gabrielle staring at him dressed in black leather armor. He held a rifle in his hands. The others also held weapons.
Dr. Ravers face appeared in a floating screen. "We transported at the very edge of our know map. You should be safe. There are no creatures shown on our sensors. Check on your floating monitors. If you wave your hand to to right, your inventory will come up. It's basically point and click. You can equip and unequal your items. In front of you is the main screen showing all you stats and buffers. Depending on the weapon that you choose, your main screen might be different. The rest you can figure out. This is still a work in progress. We will update with your suggestions."
Dell looked at his main screen. It showed his view and the rifles powers and also his own health which was at one hundred percent. He also saw a secondary weapon section. He was equip with a handgun by default. He saw his level was at one.
Del said, "Ok guys let's us do some exploring."
"I'm ready to kick ass," Larry said.
Del waved his hand to the right and checked on his magic. He saw a level one fireball spell. His hand hovered over the spell and was going to use it as a back up weapon but he hesitated. He would only use his weapons for now.
Del asked, "Will we feel pain?"
Miss Ravers said, "Yes. When you go below a certain health points, you will be instantly transported back and you have to wait several hours to play again. Your brain cannot handle being hurt. Go explore."
Her screen disappeared. Del was trying to get used to his screen floating before him, but as he moved forward in this Sci-fi base his screen dimmed and became transparent. He could still see his stats but they weren't blocking his sight.
Larry said, "So which way should we go first?"
They walked down the corridor. Del saw at the bottom right of his sight a small map. It showed their position but not much else. He noticed as they walked forward a map of the structure started to show. He also saw Larry's and Gabrielle's position in relation to his.
He saw a chat feature in the bottom. He wondered if this was a way to contact Miss Ravers. Del started walking in this hallway. In front of him was a round pathway with pipes snaking around the top. Everything was white in color. It looked like a scene from a starship movie he watched before.
Larry said, "Who made you leader? Let me go first."
"Go ahead. After you," Del said.
Larry moved forward. As Larry's avatar moved to the front Del could see Larry's health points and stats. It floated above him.
Miss Ravers voice said, "You can stay in this VR world for eight hours. Our safeguards will transport you out."
Larry said, "Enough talking. Let's fight something."
He held up his rifle and he proceeded forward. The VR world around them with look exactly look like an old 80's sci-fi world. Steam arose in areas and Del could smell an unpleasant scent like burnt eggs. They walked to the end of the corridor and their path opened into a circular area with other hallways leading to other sections.
Del looked at his sensors. There was nothing coming at them, but he sensed something.
Larry hesitated. He choose the hallway to the left and started moving toward it. They walked down the corridor which looked the same as the path they just came from when a red blip appeared on their screen. Larry held up his hand to stop.
The red blip was coming toward them. Larry held his gun forward. Del on his right also got his rifle ready. He had his gun on the trigger. A blue ferry creature came at them. It looked like an alien-looking cat. It's eyes glowed green. The car didn't hiss or attack them.
Gabrielle held out her hand to pet it, but the creature shrunk back and scampered down the corridor. The red blip disappeared on the screen.
Del pressed the chat button. "Did you see that Miss Ravers?"
"Yes we recorded it. We had seen it before with our drone sweep."
Another blip appeared on their screen, but it was colored red but bright yellow.
"Was it that?" Del pressed the chat button.
Miss Ravers said, "You don't have to press that button. The chat button is only if you want to contact in private another person on your team. The yellow marker is for a magical point. Please follow it."
"Was it this magical point?" Gabrielle said.
They moved forward along the hallway. The smell of this place was like oil and something salty and pungent. The light of the corridor started to dim and Del saw sparks on some areas of the wall as if there were an electrical short. The hallway ended and they approach a large room filled with all sorts of plants. The magical signature was a few feet in this new forest area. It was hard to discern what this room because the large trees and ferns covered the large room. It was like an arboretum. Larry hesitated at the threshold of the forest.
Del said, "Keep your eyes open. I have a bad feeling about this."
Del moved to the lead. He held his gun forward, parting some of the leaves to find a path. He looked at his map screen. The fastest way to the magical point was a straight line but the trees blocked their way.
Gabrielle said, "Follow me. I found a small path."
He turned and she was pointing toward an section of small hills and a dirt path. Del thought he would had seen a blue sky, but all he saw was walls in the distance. Del moved toward the path and guided around the forest. They were moving in a perpendicular line from the magical signature. He smelled sweet grass, plants-life, and scented flowers. The forest was gorgeous. A botanist would have a field day trying to categorize each and every plant. They move down the slope until they saw something up on a hill. The item was glowing. It was a glass ball, floating above a barren ground. Larry stepped forward and started up the path.
Del said, "Wait."
Larry didn't listen and trudged upwards. Suddenly, bright angry red dots appeared all over Del's screen. Larry kept walking forward.
Del said, "It's a trap."
A group of flying bats with large sharp teeth, the size of his hand, flew out of the trees and came at them. Del heard the sound of screeching beasts. Larry pointed his gun at the group of creatures and started firing. He hit several of the creatures but there was thousand of these creatures and they kept coming out of the forest. Del and Gabrielle also started firing.
Del said, "We need to fall back. We need to find a better position."
Larry said, "Don't worry."
Suddenly flames erupted from Larry's gun and he killed scores of these creatures. The bats drop down to the floor writhing in death. The smell was unbearable. Del's rifle was set on automatic and he shot into the cloud of beasts. He saw an extra option on his weapon. It was a grenade launcher option. The creatures flew away from them and attacked again.
Del felt pain on his should and arms. Some of the bats attached themselves to his body and started chewing. He grabbed the bats and smashed them with his hands. The swarm of creatures flew again at them. Del shot a grenade at the cloud of bats. An explosion rocked the small glade. The bats instantly disbursed and flew back into the trees. Del and the others were breathing heavy.
He said, "What the hell was that?"
"I don't know," Gabrielle said.
Del looked away from here and looked at the magical ball floating before them. It glowed like a beacon of warmth.
Dr. Ravers said, "Are you guys ok? All your health were lower."
Del noticed his HP bar was a quarter lower than it was before.
"We're fine. We see the magical point. What do you want us to do?"
"Get closer. We only seen this magical anomaly from a far distance."
They ran up the hill and was encumbered by their armor. Del led the way. He watched the trees as he moved forward. The bats didn't attack them. The crystal ball was bright and he held his his upwards to shield him from the light.
Miss Ravers said, "Del, you can stop. We'll do a scan."
Del said, "Gabriel, Larry watch over us."
He heard Larry say something under his breath. He couldn't understand it.
Gabrielle said, "Ok."
Del saw a scanning bar meter on his left. It was going slowly upwards to one hundred percent. As they waited, something big was coming out of the forest. The ground shook and the sound of trees splintering and falling was heard in the clearing.
Larry said, "Something is coming. Hurry up."
Del said, "Miss Ravers can you hurry up this scan?"
"We're almost there. Stay at your position."
A large creature came out of the underbrush. It looked like a large gorilla and alien-demon. It roared and scrambled toward them. Larry was already shooting at it with his rifle but the bullets bounced away from the beast's tough hide. The demon creature shrugged off the bullets and ran at them.
Del in his desperation, held out his his armored hand towards the magical ball.
Miss Ravers said, "Don't!"
As soon as he touched the surface of the magical ball, electricity sprouted and hit all of them. Del grimaced in pain. He felt like hot fire was all his skin and then he was fine. He instantly became stronger more powerful. He had a rush of energy.
A mechanical voice said, "You acquired a new level."
Dell noticed his shotgun also had a experienced bar meter on it. Also he saw extra options. He touched the lighting flame blasts. Also, he saw his magical points also increased. He would have to check it out later.
Del aimed his weapon at the gorilla monster. He stood his ground and fired fire blasts at the monster. The gorilla monster's armor caught on fire, but it kept rushing forward. Georgia grabbed his arm and pulled him away. The gorilla flaming body jumped past them. The flames singed Del's body. They fell on the ground. The gorilla monster roared and pounded its chest with it large hands. It rushed at them. He couldn't lift his weapon and Del tried to move backward. He yelled.
The gorilla monster jumped in the air and was about to stomped at them. When the creature blew up in round of guts and blood. Gabrielle was standing behind him, holding her weapon. Del looked around them. Larry was next to him. He was looking at them.
"Wow," Larry said. "Do you feel better?"
"Yes," Del said. He stood.
Gabrielle said, "We gained more experience."
Del nodded. He wanted to fight more.
Dr. Ravers said, "Ok, folks, you have reached your time limit. You have been in VR world for six hours."
"We have?" Gabrielle said.
"Yes," Dr. Ravers said.
"All right," Del said.