by Seth Ring
If a kilogram was 2.20462 pounds, 100 kilograms would come out to 220.462 pounds, a weight that Xavier would not have any trouble with, even in the real world. His limit was closer to 230 kilograms or just over 500 pounds.
Approaching the first log, Xavier grabbed the two handles set in the middle of the log and heaved it up. Like the rocks he lifted, Xavier could barely feel the weight at all. Apart from brief feedback when he first began to move the object that indicated it had weight to it, there was nothing. It was like lifting a piece of paper.
“How strange, it is almost like the game is compensating for the weight once I prove I can pick it up,” thought Xavier.
The next few logs were the same, and Xavier soon came to the 200 kg log. This was close to his lifting limit in the real world, but so far, he had not felt even the slightest amount of weight from the logs he had been lifting. Planting his feet, Xavier grasped the handles of the 200 kg log and lifted. Unlike the rest of the logs, this one felt heavier, though by no means was it heavy. Tossing it to the ground, Xavier’s brow furrowed. Despite being heavier, the 200 kg log still felt like it was only a couple pounds in his hands.
‘I can’t be that strong.’ he thought to himself.
“Traveler,” Myst interrupted Xavier’s thoughts, “please lift the log at the very end.”
Looking down the line of logs, Xavier saw the log she was pointing to. It looked no different than the other logs apart from the 5000-kilogram weight written on the side. Quick mental math put it at 11,023.11 pounds, over five and a half tons! Xavier’s first reaction was to laugh. Who in their right mind would try to lift that much weight? If the log rolled on him it would crush him! But then the strange reality he was experiencing settled on him, and he began to wonder.
So far none of the weights he had lifted were a challenge in any way. Maybe the 5000 kg log was the same? Now curious, Xavier walked over to the log and rested his hand on it.
“Only one way to find out, I guess,” Xavier thought, squaring up with the log. Placing his hands on the log’s handles, Xavier took a deep breath, his massive fingers curling around them. Immediately, Xavier could feel the difference. The massive weight resisted his pull the way he expected it to and already he could feel himself fighting gravity.
With a low roar, Xavier yanked upwards, his massive legs sinking down into the dirt. It was heavy. Probably, the heaviest thing Xavier had ever lifted! For the briefest moment Xavier was unsure if he could lift the log more than an inch or two off the ground but then his competitive spirit burst to life in his chest and the rest of his body engaged, straining upwards.
A massive burst of strength suffused his muscles, and Xavier pulled the log up to his waist. He had seen bodybuilders lift large weights up over their head in a smooth motion using technique, but Xavier had no idea how to do that. Still, through brute force, he curled the log up from his waist to his chin, his arms and legs beginning to quiver. Panting, Xavier gritted his teeth and powered through, shoving the log up in the air over his head and holding it for a moment before jumping backward, letting go.
With a tremendous bang, the five-ton log smashed into the ground, leaving a large dent where it landed. Xavier clenched his fist in victory, a surge of satisfaction running through him. That was five full tons! After taking a moment to savor his accomplishment, he turned to look at Myst, who was staring at him, her eyes wide in complete shock.
“Well done, traveler,” stammered Myst after she recovered. “You have set a new world strength record! The previous world record of greatest weight was held by Paul Edward Anderson who lifted 2,850 kilograms in a back lift. You have beaten his record by 175%. Would you like to record your name so future generations know what you have done?”
“Hmm? Record my name? Is that like a leaderboard or something?”
“Yes, traveler. We record the names of those who complete monumental tasks so that all might know of their might and glory.”
“Oh.” Xavier thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Nah, I’d rather not. I’m playing this game to get out of the spotlight, not in it. The last thing I need is my name on a public list.”
“Very well, traveler, I’ll keep your name anonymous when we enter the new record.”
“Thanks. Now, can you explain what is going on with these weights? Why are some so light compared to others? It feels like the weight disappears when I lift them up off the floor. Well, except for that one.” Xavier said, his eyes resting on the various logs he had lifted.
“That is a great question, traveler.” Myst took a deep breath. “To understand the specifics of how strength and weight work in Nova Terra we must first examine the way strength and weight work in the real world. After all, Nova Terra is designed to mirror the real world without some of the inconveniences that exist in reality. This interaction can be understood with a simple example. Imagine we have two individuals. Both individuals are adults of average physical ability.
“The first person is equipped with metal armor, a sword, shield, and a pack of supplies. The gear he is currently wearing weighs approximately 25 kilograms. The second person is wearing light clothing. Each person begins to walk around a track. Given the extra weight that the first person is carrying, they will expend twice the amount of energy as the second, unencumbered person.
“Consider what would happen if they walk for two hours. Both will be tired, but the individual who has worn the armor will be more fatigued than his companion. Now, imagine that at the end of the two hours of walking, you asked them to each complete an obstacle course and participate in a life-threatening fight. It is obvious that the second individual will perform better than the first because they have more energy.
“During the early test of Nova Terra, players reported that even walking to task locations with all the equipment they needed to complete those tasks was too tiring. This resulted in an abysmal completion rate. The solution that we came up with was to implement the anti-burden feature. Nova Terra measures your weight and strength and drastically reduces the weight of items that fall below a specific threshold. This allows an average individual to carry approximately four times the normal amount of weight they could carry in the real world without experiencing the burden and fatigue that they normally would.
“Additionally, the weight of any items above that threshold are adjusted based on the strength of the individual and the amount of mastery they show in a particular area. Otherwise, there would be no way for a small or slight person to wield a greatsword or draw a non-composite bow. Since Nova Terra boasts the freedom to play as you want, we wanted smaller races not to be disadvantaged in this area.”
“Huh, that makes sense, I guess,” Xavier mused. “It would be a drag to carry tons of weight around all the time. But there is no way I would be able to pick up a ton outside of this game. Aren’t you artificially boosting my strength? I thought the game didn’t do that?”
“That is a great question, traveler. I’m still processing why you are able to lift so much weight. While there are races that boost the strength of the player, no racial bonuses have been applied to you at this moment. Your strength is an approximation of reality based on physics, your size, quality and quantity of muscles, strength of tendons, bone density, and a number of other factors. All of which were entered via scan when you first entered.” Looking as puzzled as Xavier, Myst clicked around her pad for a couple minutes before shaking her head.
“I see no anomalies in your scan. According to the data we have compiled, this is your approximate strength in a situation where your body has no prior damage. It is worth noting that your bones in the real world have millions of fractures and would not be able to support anywhere near this level of weight without shattering. But should you ever find yourself healthy, you would be able to exhibit this level of strength without issue.”
For a moment, silence reigned as Xavier tried to get his mind around what Myst was saying. So, if he was healthy in the real world, he would be able to lift f
ive and a half tons? Did that mean that after he got out of the pod, he would have that level of strength? Unable to believe it, Xavier shook his head. Regardless, he wasn’t even close to healthy, so it didn’t matter one bit.
“Please browse the list of races available in Nova Terra while your scan is being completed,” Myst said, breaking Xavier out of his thoughts.
“Aren't there more tests for me to do?” Asked Xavier.
“I do not have any additional tests that would present you with a reasonable challenge, traveler. Your physical state is too far outside the anticipated values for any of the tests we have ready to be effective. Thus, I am giving you the option to browse the races while we wait for your scores to be compiled.”
A large window filled with different races opened up in front of Xavier. Seeing that the six basic races were there as well as a button to scroll down, he started browsing all of the options. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Beastkin, and Demonkin made up the basic six races that occupied the world. Each had a racial advantage in the form of a proclivity to a subset of skills as well as a unique starting area. Further down the list were a number of Half races that would allow him to combine the various main races for a price. There were also new races like Seafolk, Feyfolk, Undead and many other fantasy creatures.
Each race came with various strengths and weaknesses, though in all cases, they were small adjustments on the player’s natural abilities. If you were a strong, fit person in real life, you might be slightly stronger by choosing a dwarf or slightly weaker if you chose an elf. But if you were overweight in real life, that would be reflected in your character in the game. That is why people were encouraged to work on themselves outside the game with regularity. After all, any advantage a person possessed in real life could be carried over to the game.
And this was true for everything, not just level of fitness. Influence could be brought into the game through the recruitment of other players, money could be brought in through the massive cash shop and the city of Fantasia, and knowledge was applicable due to how closely the game resembled reality. As Xavier scanned the races, he began to realize that choosing a race was a key part in developing a character who could take advantage of the myriad possibilities the game presented, by leveraging the one thing that all players brought to the game equally - their individual playing style.
CHAPTER FIVE
A full ten minutes went by as Xavier browsed the list with no movement from Myst. Finally, she shivered and spoke to Xavier with an uncharacteristically flat tone. “Your scan has been completed and your race choice has been assigned. Please select your race from the following list.”
Available Races:
Titan
The window in front of Xavier refreshed, and he couldn’t help but blink at it. Gone were all the choices he had been browsing, and in their place a single entry stood by itself. Confused, Xavier looked for a scroll button. Unable to find one, he asked Myst where his choices were. In the same flat voice, Myst said, “Your assigned race choice is displayed in the list. Please select your race.”
“But there is only one race,” protested Xavier.
“Your assigned race choice is displayed in the list. Please select your race,” responded Myst.
“But what about the basic races! Don’t I get to pick one of them?”
“That is a great question, traveler. No. Due to the results of your physical scan, there are no available playable races that fit within the allowance for adjustments to an alternate reality body. Due to the psychological damage that could be done to you when experiencing the difference in dimensionality between your real body and your alternate reality body, you cannot be assigned any race currently playable by player characters. Due to this, the system has chosen a race from within the lore that matches your physiological characteristics and has made the necessary adjustments, so you can play as this race. Your assigned race choice is displayed in the list. Please select your race.”
“Wait, you made a race for me?”
“That is a great question, traveler. No. We adjusted an existing NPC race so as to prevent the balance of the game from being broken and are allowing you and any other player who meets the requirements to play that race. Your assigned race choice is displayed in the list. Please select your race.”
“Okay... I guess I’ll choose my race from the list,” Xavier said sarcastically as he looked more closely at the single race that had been made available for him.
Titan. Even the name sent a twinge of disgust through him. He was playing this game in part to get away from the disadvantages of his massive size, and the game hadn’t even started before he was reminded of it! And what was with locking him out of the other options? Sighing in frustration, Xavier decided to just get through the tutorial. The game representatives and the doctor would be hearing about this as soon as he got out, that was for sure.
Clicking on the Titan, another screen popped up describing the race in more detail as well as displaying the various abilities of the race.
Titan - Unique
Now lost in the mist of time, this ancient race once ruled the world, rivaled only by the great Dragons. Long-lived and immensely strong, the Titans were masters of almost anything they put their hand to and created a far-reaching empire that is still ruled by the Elemental Giants. Little else is known about the Titans, and further information must be unlocked through discoveries in game.
Racial Requirements:
Titan’s Strength: To unlock this race a player must have the strength of a titan.
Titan’s Endurance: To unlock this race a player must have the constitution of a titan.
Accept Race?
Yes
No
“Wait a second. This can’t be right,” Xavier said. “How do I have the strength and endurance of a titan? I haven’t even started playing!”
“That is a great question, traveler.” Myst stopped talking and stared at him.
“Uh. Something must be wrong. May I talk to an administrator or something?”
“That is a great question, traveler. There are no errors. Your body is anomalous, meaning that it deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected. As such, what is standard, normal, or expected cannot be used, and a new standard must be developed. Far from being at a disadvantage, you will likely find yourself the utter envy of all the other players. You are countless times stronger than even the strongest player, you have an excellent reaction time, and you have no noticeable mental impairment. Just because you are different and fall outside the norm does not mean there is something wrong.” Myst fell silent again, continuing to stare.
“Argh! Fine!” Hitting the ‘accept race’ button, a large mirror replaced the race screen, and Xavier was faced with an eight foot, nine-inch tall giant, complete with leather and fur clothing and a massive sword and shield. The only thing that separated the image from being the perfect example of a ferocious fantasy barbarian was that it was his own face that stared back at him.
Selecting a couple options on the side, Xavier was able to see what he would look like in different types of medieval fantasy clothing, including wizard robes and a blacksmith’s leathers. While not the most handsome, Xavier was passably good looking when his skin wasn’t all stretched out, though his size was so shocking to most people that his looks rarely registered. Still, it was a bit strange for Xavier to see this version of himself. He had often avoided mirrors in the real world due to their frustrating reminder of his ugly situation. The rugged strength of the face before him was a welcome sight.
Thoroughly annoyed at this whole process, Xavier tried to use the available slider to make himself as short as possible but was only able to reduce his height to 8’ 5”, a measly 4” below his regular height.
“Please be aware that no additional changes are available due to your avatar already being adjusted by 20%,” Myst’s flat voice commented. “Would you like to accept these changes or reset your avatar?” Grousing in his heart about the li
mits that Nova Terra put on changing one’s self when creating a character, Xavier reset his character and tried modifying some of the giant’s other features, only to find himself coming back to the maximum height setting.
Looking over the powerful and imposing figure in front of him, Xavier mused that maybe it wasn’t so bad to be tall. The fact that the game let him pick up a unique race went far toward mollifying his frustration, and it wasn’t like being large was new to him. After all, he had spent his whole life towering over those around him. Thinking more deeply about it, not being able to see over other people’s heads would be quite strange. He set his height to his real-life height and added some barbaric looking tattoos across his left arm and chest.
“That doesn’t look too bad,” Xavier thought, accepting the changes. Instantly, the robotic body that currently housed him twisted and grew, the metallic skin tone softening and changing to a dark tan. His shoulders broadened, and his chest widened as his height shot up another foot, leaving him towering over Myst.
