The Binary World

Year 2030, the world has evolved a lot especially in the field of technology, Earth has already begun the initial stages of Mars colonization. The most advancement was in the field of electronics mobiles, tablets even to some extent laptops are mostly obsolete, i-bands are now more in demand a small device worn around the wrist like a watch with holographic display.

The gaming industry had changed a lot now a day every games are made to be enjoyed with Virtual Reality technology in mind, even the classics of the late 20th century Mario came in VR and has been a huge hit.

Even though the VR technology was invented as early as 1960s but for the next breakthrough in gaming industry came in the form of a VR capsule at 2030, till then no matter what a person did or want the game was just a game but then came the DarkSoft a leading company with VR consoles who suddenly announced the creation of VR capsules which would allow the user not only to play a game but according to them 'LIVE WITHIN THE GAME', it took the world by a storm some called it a hoax, some were eager and many more called it dangerous they said it will lead to schizophrenia, but amidst all those in the year 2030 it was released along with it came the game 'The Embers of Isera', a game made for the gaming capsule by the collaboration of some of the major gaming giants such as AE, TeaStain, among others.

Nathanael food himself staring at a completely white room devoid of any color, suddenly a grave electronic voice chimed in, "First Time User Detected, Calibration test started."

"Move your head to the right, now move your head to the left, look up look down.", as one by one the command came Nathanael moved his head accordingly.

"Track the red dot with your eyes only", "Raise your right hand and now raise your left hand", "Start walking…. Jump...Run…..Read the words appear…..".

A few minutes of calibration later a sound came to his ears, "Calibration completed scanning user body"

Nathanael looked as the a couple of numbers appeared which quickly rose from 00 to 100% as a message chimed in, 'Scanning Completed, Please register the device', during the calibration process he was having a black outline but now he was having his own body in VR space even the short and t-shirt he wore with their color matching in real life.

"Cool", he muttered in amazement so far it was good he raised his finger and bit it before he winced, 'no way I can feel inside the VR space, so far what they have said is true I hope the rest is also true.'

He went and finished registering by putting in his name and this detail and that detail, even his account number.

As soon as he finished his registration he found himself standing in front of what appeared to be a library, he entered the room only to see empty selves except one game place on there, 'The Embers of Isera', he touched it as the option to 'Play' the game floated in front of him he gulped as he touched the Play option which disappeared in a small spark, his vision blinded again as before he found himself standing on a battlefield, various creatures and beings fought against hordes of nightmarish creatures and undead and what not, each side trying to slaughter the other, mages firing salvos of magic, a dragon fell dead cut by someone only to be raised by its enemy as an undead as it threw itself on the allies, the world seemed as if hell itself has descended on it, and from what it seemed the undead and the abominations of corrupted beings were wining as the other side was being pushed back.

A dazzling light looking like the fall of a comet hit the battlefield as a raspy laugh of a hooded figure holding a bleeding head of another by the hair, "The GODDESS of War, Ulene is dead by my hand ahahahah.", Nathanael covered his ears because of the shrill voice as he saw the figure holding the head by the hair spun it as if it was a toy while laughing while the golden blood dripped from it.

The morale of the army of the living reached all time low as weapons fell from their hands many openly wept in fear as a large thunder bolt hit the hooded figure who was send flying away while screaming and cursing.

A couple of figure came into view from the looks of them some seemed to be hurt and strained the one standing in front looked mournfully at the fallen Goddess's head as he spoke his voice spoke send shiver down his spine, "So it seems the end is nigh, come my brethren let the dying embers of this world give birth to a new one.", the people following him shone brightly with him being the brightest before everything went white again as the words 'The Embers of Isera', was lit in flame before he found himself in standing in front of a very beautiful garden.

"Welcome Brave Traveler, welcome to the nexus between the Isera and your world, hmmmm Earth was it not.", came a voice from behind him.

Nathanael spun around as he was greeted by the smiling visage of a blonde woman dressed in a lime green colored toga, a very beautiful woman indeed he coughed in his hand trying to compose himself as he mumbled, 'stupid puberty', before he spoke "If I may ask who might you be my lady."

The woman gave a dazzling smile causing him to avert his eyes which were traveling towards dangerous location as he scolded himself inwardly, 'Stupid hormones and stupid bits of data'.

The Woman spoke without paying heed to Nathanael's crisis, "My name is Saira, but is it not polite to introduce yourself first before asking someone's name."

Nathanael was about to give his name when he realized something, the A.I. is asking for my in game name, as such he cleared his throat as he spoke, "My name is Zeus fair lady, might I inquire where am I and what am I doing in this place?"

Saira: "This place is actually you can say a small stop between the world of Isera and Earth, before venturing into the world of Isera you will have to make a stop here in order to make your body suitable for a life in Isera."

Nathanael: "What do you mean suitable and what is wrong with my body?"

Saira gave a small smile as she spoke, "People of Earth have enormous possibilities but unfortunately you people cannot use Mana, as such we have to update your body a bit, do not worry it is not only painless but I can even make some changes in your body upon your request nothing outrageous mind you, like changing of your gender, but for better mixing of with other races of Isera you may change into any races of Isera."

Nathanael: "May I see what races are available.",as he spoke a holographic projection of a list of race appeared in front of him.

A long list of races was given to Nathanael as he browsed through them,

Elves: Regarded as one of the most beautiful among all other races as well as the race with one of the longest life span they are fast and agile with larger Mana than others, they have a racial bonus of +5% more of Dex, Int and Wis, as well as +0.5% in Cha.

Dwarves: They might be shorter compare to other races like Humans and Elves but their craftsmanship are second to none, normally regarded as only as craftsman's race but they are strong enough to crush stone with bare hands, they have a racial bonus of +5% more of Str, End and Wis.

Humans: Most balance race of all as such having talent in every field as such they do not have any racial bonus, except +1% in Luk and Cha

Nathanael or as according to his in game name Zeus, had played a lot of games as such he scrolled down the list he saw many familiar races like Fairies, Lycans and many more but none interested him until he came across 'High Elves'

High Elves(Premium Content): The elite among elite among the elves being a source of reverence and envy among the other elves, they have a racial bonus of +10% more of Dex, Int and Wis, as well as +5% in Cha.

High Dwarves(Premium Content): The elite among elite among the dwarves being a source of reverence and envy among the other elves, they have a racial bonus of +10% more of Str, End and Wis, as well as +5% in Luk.

High Human(Premium Content): The absolute elite among human with extra +1 per 10 levels in all stats except Cha and Luk which they had a bonus of +5% in Cha and 10% in Luk.

Zeus glanced at those as he mused, 'Premium content' accessed by anyone having VR capsules of Gold level and above which included his machine as well, of the billions of player trying to play this game he knew at least 200 Platinum level capsules were sold and around 10,000 gold level capsules were sold which guaranteed 90% immersion compared to his 100% with a price tagged around $1 million each as for others they were much less with the lowest being the ordinary one set at $5000 with VR immersion of less than 60% but more than any other VR devices.

Then his eyes fell on the words Hybrid written in gold words, he turned towards Saria as he asked, "Lady Saria what is this thing?"

Saria smiled as she replied, "Sometimes due to interracial breeding hybrids are born, they sometimes shared the racial bonuses of their parents but there were times when they shared none. Also if you were to choose the hybrid option you may choose only one of part that is if you chose Elves the other one will chosen through lottery, this is available to everyone except the special races, you must be special for you to have access to them, but you should be careful once chosen you will have one chance for lottery and no matter what you have to take it and once your body is created it cannot be changed."

Zeus sighed as he spoke, "Will the choices be only from this list or there will be other races in it as well because if I recall correctly Isera should have Dragons yet there is no mention about the said race."

Saria's face had a melancholic look as she spoke, "The honorable Dragons are no more, and if there are some still alive they are deep in hiding moreover you are from Earth which according to my knowledge Earth has only humans as such you who have never knew how to fly will have problem with it on top of that Dragons who have the longest lifespan has an incredibly slow growth rate for a child to grow into an adult it takes about a 3000 of human years and unlike other races who will grow as they work harder gaining levels a dragon's growth is very slow you will have to work years before you may increase a single level as such it is not available even if they are stronger than most races."

Saria then gave a smile as she spoke, "Dragons even if being absurdly powerful have very low rate of fertility even if two dragons are married they may not have a single child for 10,000 years as such Elder Dragons, powerful and mighty dragons who had gained the ability to take the form of other races sometimes procreated with others in order for their lineage to continue, the being born from the union have very small chance of success and even smaller chance of gaining any form qualities from their parents often referred to as a 'Deva' are one of the most strongest beings on the planet sometimes even surpassing their parents but they are chances of being born are very low in number. Upon saying that if you choose hybrid there is a chance that you might be able to able to get a chance to become a Deva, which some even refer to as the ultimate being, but such a chance is very small one in a million, also remember there are few exotic races like Merman, or a goblin hybrid or kobold hybrid, which as high as 1 in a hundred chance of forming not to mention some are detested to the point they will be hunted down."

Zeus gulped at that before he spoke to Saira, "Can you please tell me about the Stats before I choose my race."

Saira nodded with a smiling face as she spoke, "Yes of course I would love here if you read this parchment you will understand.", she produced a neatly folded parchment on her hand out of thin air as she handed it to him, "Here please read it."

Zeus took the parchment before unfolding it while reading through its contents,

Your stats determine your strengths and weaknesses. Currently there are eight basic stats and the most common way for your stats to increase is by leveling up.

Doing this may increases them by a small margin, but with each increase in level the rate of stat gain will decrease. Another way to increase your stats is by performing various tasks or quests or through using special items which may give temporary or permanent increase depending on the said item.

The basic stats are as follows,

Strength (STR):

The Strength stat determines the person's overall physical power. This stat affects the amount of damage a person can inflict on another with martial arts, bladed, or blunt objects. It also affects a person's ability to reduce damage when blocking and affects the amount of weight they can lift, or throw. It's very important when one's fighting style focuses on using heavy weapons or brute force.

Vitality (VIT):

The Vitality, also known as the Vigor stat, determines the person's overall health. This stat also affects a person's ability to regain health in and outside of combat and special types of damage from things such as poison, bleeding, paralysis, burns, etc.

1 VIT = 25 HP

1 VIT = .5 HP REGEN Per Minute (Outside of Combat)

1 VIT = .25 HP REGEN Per Minute (During Combat)

Endurance (END):

The Endurance stat determines a person's overall stamina, which affects how long they can fight or perform some form of activity. Similar to Vitality and Strength this stat also plays a role in the person's health by increasing their natural defense when not armored and when blocking an attack by assuring the blocker's poise doesn't break.

1 END = 25 Stamina

1 END = .5 Stamina REGEN Per Minute (Outside of Combat)

1 END = .25 Stamina REGEN Per Minute (During Combat)

Dexterity (DEX)

The Dexterity stat determines the person's overall movement. This stat affects a person's accuracy, evasion, speed, and ability to land critical strikes on an opponent in close, mid, and long-range combat. Dexterity also plays a major role in pick pocking, stealth, use of weaponry and the ability to dual wielding weaponry properly.

Intelligence (INT):

The Intelligence stat determines the person's overall ability to learn also this stat determines the ability to properly use their Mana. This stat also affects a person's ability to regain Mana in and outside of combat and special types of damage occurred from being attacked mages such as illusion, confusion, blindness etc.

1 INT = .5 MP REGEN Per Minute (Outside of Combat)

1 INT = .25 MP REGEN Per Minute (During Combat)

Wisdom (WIS):

The wisdom stat determines the person's innovation, and perception. Wisdom, along with Intelligence, also plays an important role in learning certain skills like trap making and runes along with successfully enabling new variations of certain skills to be created. More importantly, it affects how much Man a person has and also how much resistant a person is from damage due to magic based techniques.

1 WIS = 25 Mana

Luck (LUK):

The Luck stat determines the person's overall chance. Luck is unique compared to all the other stats along with 'Charisma (CHA)' as it is capable of influencing anything from finding or looting random items of various rarities, winning money while gambling, to encounters, and even playing a role in landing critical hits.

Charisma (CHA):

The Charisma stat determines how much a person will be liked by the residents of Isera also known as Iserian. A person with higher Charisma has higher chances of getting more quests and favor much easily than a person of lower charisma, it also helps in case of barter, negotiations or any other times where speaking and interacting with an Iserian is required.

Note: All stats among the basic eight except Luck and Charisma can be increased by addition of stat points which can be earned through leveling up or other means, these two stats may increase by performing certain tasks or quests.

Special Stats:

Attack: STR*N, where N is determined by summation of bonus received because of race and profession. To be noted that this is the base attack of a person without the usage of weapons or any other means, also it should not be confused with magic based attacks.

Physical Defense:

Every 10 STR Grants 3 Points

Every 10 VIT Grants 3 Points

Every 10 END Grants 4 Points

Total Physical Defense is the sum total of all the points in this case it is 10.

Magical Defense:

Every 10 INT Grants 5 points

Every 10 WIS Grants 5 points

Total Magical Defense is the sum total of all the points in this case it is 10.

Note: The attack as well as the defense is the base attack and defense stats which depend on the basic stats as mentioned above, a decrease or increase in the above mentioned particular stats will alter the attack and defense stats. Any item or condition used to add defense or attack will simply add to it temporarily as long as the item and conditions are active, but the reverse is possible using certain items or certain conditions will lower the base attack and defense temporarily.

Zeus read the entire thing as he asked Saria: "Is it possible for me to take this parchment with me?"

Saria: "Yes you may take it with you."

Zeus: "Saria if I may ask what about the skill system in Iseria."

Saria beamed at Zeus's question as she spoke with a smile, "My you know about the right question to ask."

Saria: "Skills can be learned from your mentor when you take on a profession or sometimes through quests or fulfilling certain conditions such as using some skill tomes. Some skills can be learned by everyone where as some skills are restricted by profession but sometimes a few may be learned if you have managed to fulfill some form of hidden condition for that skill. If you are talented enough you might create a skill and according to its usefulness it will be rated as such. The skills in Isera are divided into three categories such as Active, Passive and Supportive, more of which you will learn during your stay in Isera."

Saria spoke with a smile, "So have you decided which race you will be choosing among all the available races."

Zeus nodded as he replied, "I chose the hybrid option with High Elves as one of my choice."

Saria nodded as she spoke, "This choice is permanent there will be no redo so are you sure Zeus."

Zeus puffed up his chest as he spoke, "Of course I am sure."

Zeus had a small penchant for gambling he likes testing out his luck a little bit, like the time a very rare figurine of Boku was given as a gift which was hidden inside a select few cereal boxes, in order to obtain it he had bought 10,000 of the cereal boxes a brand which he hates, he opened each of them all were empty yet a kid a few blocks from his house got it. Such was his luck in his life of 15 years he has yet to win a single thing based on luck yet he shamelessly tried the hybrid method.

He was greeted with a giant wheel of fortune or in his cases wheel of races, on which various races were mentioned each occupying spaces of various sizes, races like High Human or Dragon had very little space where as Goblins had enormous space, he gulped and pressed the start button.

The wheel moved pretty fast as he slammed on the stop button, the rotation slowed as the pointer inched towards a certain choice occupying one of the largest space goblin.

As the choice was made his eyes filled up with tears....