Dungeon Core Online

Chapter 2

James spent the rest of the day at school scanning works on Royal Road. Dungeon Core, after all, was a very popular literature genre on the site, and the game developers had even credited the site as their inspiration for their game. Most of the Dungeon Core novels James found all had similar features, such as a soul imprisoned in a Dungeon Core, tasked with creating a danger filled dungeon for adventurers. The Dungeon Core was usually guided by some sort of small, magical being, who would offer them wisdom on how to grow. From there though, all the authors seemed to take the stories in fun, unique directions, usually filled with countless puns and quips, and plenty of adventure.

By the time school was out, his encounter with the seniors was all but forgotten, as was the dried food on his clothes. School ended at 4pm, and it would take him 15 minutes to get to the bullet train station. Another 15 minutes from there would see him at his stop, and another 10 minute walk would find him home. That meant by the time he got home, he would only have about 5 hours to wait for DC.

After James reached the station, he swiped his wrist over the turnstile, activating the identity chip in his wrist, granting him access to the station. Every human had a chip implanted in their left wrist bone at birth. That chip served as their identity, and everything about them was uploaded into that small chip, constantly updated via the government's unique Wi-Fi signal. That signal, and the chips, were said to be protected through an unbreakable encryption technique. James just tried not to think too hard about the fact his very existence was on that small chip.

He shivered as he hopped onto the train, chasing the thought from his mind, as he used his eyes to pull up his latest search on his AR glasses. After browsing stories on Royal Road, James had pulled up some of the original dungeon core novels, which users on the forums where still actively suggesting. James had set a few aside, and he was trying to figure out which one he should read through the night.

Most families spent the time after school interacting with one another, or going out into the city to enjoy any of the many events that were constantly ongoing. Because of immersion tech, and the booming virtual economy, many people were able to spend their 'waking' hours simply enjoying the world around them. This was because many transitioned to virtual jobs, spending their immersion hours working for V coin, which they used to fund their lifestyles. Those who worked during the day, usually in government jobs, had the leisure of being able to fully enjoy their immersion hours, with what they made simply augmenting their regular income.

James' situation, was different from most though. Both of his parents worked for the government, on some sort of program related to immersion tech. Because of their line of work, James wasn't allowed to know their immersed identities, and he rarely saw them in person. As such, James spent most of his time at home, alone, simply reading or playing games, waiting for the time that he could immerse himself.

Immersion technology was arguably the greatest invention in James mind. The technology grew from programs in the early 2000s such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, and reached perfection in 2042. The finally project, simply labeled Immersion, changed how the world ran. Through Immersion, humans were able to spend their hours sleeping, completely immersed and aware in a virtual world. What's more, since humans were technically asleep while immersed, developers had found a way to create a different flow of time. As such, every hour in the real world, felt like a day immersed.

To an immersed individual, everything in immersion seemed real. A person could taste while immersed, a person could feel while immersed. This was thanks to the direct neural link that the immersion capsule made with the mind. While the body rested, and the mind drifted into REM, the immersion capsule pulled the individual into the virtual world.

For the first few years, it was uncertain how to fully capitalize on immersion technology. Then, following the popularity of the Bit Coin era, V Coin was introduced, and suddenly, immersion technology was not just meant for hardcore gamers, but everyone. People were able to work, learn, and play all while immersed. Many people began learning new skills and trades while immersed, as the technology gave them a safe environment to experiment in. Others began utilizing the extra time to create commodities and begin businesses.

Gamers, who were no strangers to using real money for virtual currency, and vice versa, set up the auction house. There, gamers began selling in game items for V coins, which they could then use to purchase items in the real world, or transfer currencies from one game to another.

Developers were quick to jump on this trend, and began charging not only initial costs to purchase their games or technology, but also monthly subscription fees. However, most users could gain enough V coin through a week of immersion, to pay for their month. If users were good enough, like James, they could earn a fortune over time, which allowed them to simply enjoy immersion. Which is what James intended to do with DCO.

He finished reading his chosen Dungeon Core novel just as his clock showed 9:55pm, and he nearly tripped over himself clamoring into his immersion pod. As he took his AR glasses off, he made a mental note to pick up the next book in the Elemental Dungeon Series, having found the first book extremely enjoyable.

He laid down in his pod, easily getting comfortable as a warm gel seemed to envelop his body, while the glass cover sealed him in. His head sunk slightly into the gel like cushion, and green lights began to light up within the pod. A slight hum began all around him as he closed his eyes, and a moment later, the neural link was established, and James began his immersion.