Introduction Arc: Chapter 1.
The quiet, relaxing whirring of a ceiling fan and the clacking of the keyboard were all the sounds that could be heard in a dimly lit room. A person was sitting in a gaming chair, facing a giant monitor. The person wore a headset, listening to early-2000s music.
The monitor displayed the game Adventure Fable Worlds: Dragon Lords.
An old browser game that was still around, but not for long. The servers were shutting down today, and many old players had returned to participate in the passing of an era. A dedicated application was used to run the old browser game.
Winterry21 was amongst those players. He wasn't a huge fan player, but he'd often log in now and then to revel in the nostalgia. Winterry21 was standing near a group of diverse players. The sight was heartwarming, old and returning players were gathered together.
The returning players were showcasing their discontinued armor and gear sets, and some were showcasing classes that had long since disappeared. Even for a moment, the community was vibrant. Almost everywhere a player would look, there would always be something new or eye-catching.
The person joined the local chat, giggling as they typed and remembered old memories.
Winterry21:"Oh my god, I used to stare at the subscription window for several minutes back then. I would try to come up with something to convince my parents to buy me a month-long subscription."
Ilovethelakerss:"Yeah, same here. I remember an old classmate of mine who stole his father's credit card to buy a three-month-long Great Adventurer Subscription."
Bossstickman:"I have to log out, guys. It was nice coming back to this game, if only for a moment. I've made many memories here, and I hope everyone has a good life. It really was an honor."
ShadoW_FriEnd: "This game really had a good run. I'd give everything to experience this game again. Nothing can top the golden age of browser gaming."
Sirheorbrine:"2009 was the peak. I remember when the Duel Master class came out. I remember my elementary friend's dad grinding for that class back then."
CavaliersLebronfan777: "Was the necromancer class good back then? It was a subscriber-only class, and I couldn't afford it back then."
SkyEagle1337:"When it was released, kinda. It's a PVE class, and over time, it got nerfed. Now, it's an OG class. Nothing more."
Luckykid1998: "Can someone invite me to a party and teleport me to the final dragon lord? I was never able to beat that boss."
xX_phantomkid_xX: "You need to have a full party for that, accept my request, lucky kid."
The person smiled while reading the players' chat logs, coming back to appreciate the old times. There were a total of 80,000 players playing the game, and it had not seen that amount for almost a decade.
The person then clicked the map on the status bar, teleporting to a house.
The house had little function, mainly a way to entice kids to spend money on digital premium decoration and furniture. It was basically a pretty picture that could be interacted with.
The house was a large castle with several rooms, separated by a loading screen.
"It really is the end, huh?" The person said, clicking the friends list. Almost everyone was offline, save for three people who were in different places. (I barely know these people anymore. The only one that I recognize is my college buddy.)
A timer with a large font was displayed at the top of the screen: the servers were shutting down in 40 minutes. The player count kept increasing as the timer ticked down, causing slight lag spikes.
The person then opened the character page for Winterry21 and looked at the achievements and badges he'd earned. The collection was massive despite the character missing a lot of them.
(I'd sacrifice everything if it meant going back in time and becoming a kid again. My parents were still together, and they gave my siblings and I a simple life.)
(My most significant problem back then was how to avoid the school bullies and how to get noticed by my childhood crush. Now? My biggest concern is how to not lose my mind over a nine-to-five, minimum wage job.)
The person sighed, sipping from a cup of warm tea. He was about to finish the cup when a small notification appeared on the screen, beside the player character. He clicked it, and a confirmation page appeared, prompting him to reset the account to its default state.
A note was displayed on the confirmation page. 'To see where you've started.' It was one of the developers' ways to look at your character when you first created it. Most players have done a massive amount of customization to their characters to the point that the first variation was long gone.
The person chuckled and clicked the yes button. The character was reset, and there it was, the first variation of his character. A white, unkempt hair with red eyes and a static, angry face.
The person smiled. He didn't remember customizing it like this, but that was expected since it was a long time ago. He opened the character page, spotting a genius tag displayed near the fighter class.
"Huh..." The person recognized the tag; memories of old were flooding back. (If my memory is correct, this feature was discontinued and removed. The tags were unbalanced, providing unfair stat bonuses. The only way to acquire it was via luck; a genius tag could appear next to your first class after you're done customizing your character.)
(Most of the time, it was a standard or adept tag. The stat bonuses weren't overpowered BUT a level ten player was almost comparable to a level fifteen player... I think? I forgot.) The person mulled, closed the character page, then clicked the quest book tab.
There, it showed that 70% of the main quest was completed, along with a few side quests. There was a massive amount of unfinished quests, and even now, Winterry21 was still on the quest to kill one of the dragon lords. A quest that has been ongoing for more than ten years now.
A system prompt then popped up. "Hello there, adventurer! I am BRICKS, the Brain Relay Information Computer Key System." A speech bubble displayed near a literal picture of a brick that was covered with blueish light.
(Well, look at that. The first ever brick design, it really was goofy before the coming redesign a few years later.) The person mused, giggling.
Bricks was the first thing that a new player would see, explaining the world and the controls. It was an info-dumping machine that acted as an assistant.
Most saw it as annoying.
The game world was heavily anachronistic, featuring both fantasy and sci-fi elements. It was mainly a kids' game, and the developers incorporated whatever was needed to retain player count.
"You were fortunate before, but fret not, you are still lucky today." The screen shook as something inside the game spoke, glitching for a moment before stabilizing.
"Huh? I don't remember this happening back then. Is this an easter egg?" The person said, finishing the cup of tea. He didn't notice a small purple vortex forming behind him.
"Enjoy the next life." A voice said as the person noticed the swirling vortex behind him, swallowing him in an instant before he could react.