Castles and Champions Pt. 01

The DaemonSoft Chronicles - Castles and Champions Part 1

by gravityyaoi

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WARNING:

This writing may contain slurs, cheating, orientation play, sex with non-human races, transformations, and many other uncomfortable situations and themes that do not necessarily align with the author's actual societal, political, or moral values.

Please do no read if any of these may offend you and refrain from inappropriate comments if the writing doesn't align with your personal views. There are many other more agreeable stories that you can be enjoying.

For all intents and purposes, the characters within are legal age of majority despite any other claims made purely for personal fantasy or entertainment value.

Constructive criticism is welcome when addressed in a polite and respectful manner. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy.

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Background Info:

Vincent Cho - 20 - Junior year of college; currently employed part-time as a trainer

Jason Flynn - 25 - Graduated last year for Accounting; currently employed at an accounting firm that contracts with DaemonSoft, makers of The Pod, a virtual reality gaming system

Sophie - Jason's best friend since high school

Aria - Jason's in-game companion fairy

Brunwin - owner of The Foamy Ferret Pub

Celaena - princess of the Northern Elves

Vincent- human champion Lvl. 72 Asculain the Conqueror

Jason - half-elf mage Lvl. 1 Fenrin Cinderfall

Fellhaven - largest human town of the country Lavora, has a central position in the plainslands of said country

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Castles and Champions Part 1

"I'm telling you, Sophie, I'm just about at my limit. All he does is play that stupid game." Jason peered down into his cup at his reflection before taking a sip.

He and Vince had been living together for the past year since they'd both started their respective jobs: Jason, at a well-known accounting firm, and Vince, a part-time trainer while he finished his kinesiology degree. While Jason was overjoyed to be living together at first, he felt Vince had a lot less time for him lately. Not only that, he'd noticed changes in his boyfriend of over two years...and it all started with that damned Pod.

When Jason landed his accounting job after completing his Master's, he'd asked Vince to move in with him without a second thought. It was a great place, and although his salary could easily cover it and more, Vince insisted on getting a job to help pay the rent. Vince had always enjoyed fitness, and it definitely showed. The 6 foot Korean-American was in fantastic shape, so it took no time for him to get a job applying what he'd been learning as a part-time trainer. They both thought of it as a win-win situation; Vince could workout for free and get paid at the same time, and Jason could revel in the 'fruits' of his labor.

He'd hated to admit it, but Jason knew he was a little vain. Being a slightly shorter, lithe red-head, he took good care of himself and expected his partner to as well, so when he first laid eyes on Vince, it was love at first sight. It didn't hurt his nickname was 'The Korean Stallion' in the campus gay circuit, and after they hit it off, he was pleasantly surprised to find that not one inch of that rumor was false. Needless to say, he'd never been more fulfilled up until then. Well-paying job, hot boyfriend, what more could he ask for?

About a month after starting work, though, Vince had made friends with several straight guys at work. It was nothing unusual for him, but they'd been pushing him to get a Pod and game with them. The DaemonSoft Pod was a new, cutting-edge, virtual reality gaming experience, and the price tag reflected this. A bit much for a newbie's salary, but as luck would have it, Jason's team at the firm had just landed DaemonSoft as a client and all the members got a complimentary Pod. Vince was ecstatic, and Jason was glad he was happy and could play with his friends online now, but ever since Vince installed it in his weight room at their home, it consumed every waking minute of his life outside of school, work, and exercise for the past year. This left Jason largely ignored.

The brunette across from him had heard this all before and held back from rolling her eyes. It'd been the topic of their weekly meet-ups for the longest time now. "I'm not sure why he's so engrossed. My ex played it all the time, but he still made time for me. Why don't you just tell Vince how you feel already? You're obviously not okay with how things are now," she offered for the thousandth time.

"I can't ask him to cut back on something he clearly enjoys so much, I know I'd hate if he asked me to quit reading as much... Besides, he works hard, and I don't want to come across as needy and make him choose me over his friends."

Sophie sighed and tried to think of something new to suggest because getting through to her best friend rationally was obviously a lost cause. "Well, why don't you try playing with him? Maybe you can find out what he likes so much about it."

"Maybe... How could I even do that? He's in the Pod every night, and I definitely can't afford another one."

"Hmmm, let me think... Wait, I've got it! You can use my brother's! I've been taking care of his place while he's overseas, so I can give you the keys and you can use his whenever you want." Sophie dug through her purse pully out a keyring. "Just water the plants for me while you're there, okay?"

"It sounds like you're just trying to dump your chores on me again like when we were kids," Jason said, a stern look on his face.

"Me? I would never!" There was a second of silence before they both burst out in laughter.

Jason finally stopped laughing enough to speak, "Seriously though, I don't know about this. I haven't played a video game in years, let alone virtual reality. Are these things even safe?"

"Of course they are, even I've tried it out. It's pretty easy to figure out. Anyway, I've got to get to yoga. Just take the keys and think about it, if not, you can give them back next week."

"Alright, I'll think about it. Thanks for listening to me vent as usual, dear." They both got up and hugged like usual before parting ways, Sophie on her way to yoga and Jason to get groceries before going home to make dinner.

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Jason reached over to set his glasses on the nightstand. He'd pretty much followed the same routine for the past few months. He'd come home late to find Vince in the Pod, make dinner and leave him a portion, and then shower and read for a couple of hours in bed...by himself. Eventually he'd hear the droning background hum of the Pod cease, then Vince would bound into the kitchen, scarf down dinner, and hop in the shower.

It was usually already 11pm by then and Jason knew like clockwork when to put up his book when he couldn't hear the running water anymore. A few more minutes and in would walk the Asian Adonis himself, short hair slicked back and rippling abs still slightly covered in dew from bathing. Normally this would be a turn-on, but by now it was just tedious. He almost audibly sighed, but restrained himself. Those were the good old days, he thought, even if it made him sound like he was middle-aged.

He still couldn't help staring though. It didn't get much more masculine than this, and Jason would probably still have spent more than a lingering glance even if he wasn't gay. From the pictures he'd seen, Vince had always been built from wrestling in high school, and kept fit ever since, but he'd surely put on more muscle since starting his job. And he knew he sounded crazy, but Jason swore he'd even gotten taller, and that the normally packed boxer briefs bulged more than before. Not that he'd been able to check first hand as they'd basically become celibate most of this last year.

"Hey, babe." Vince said, sliding into the queen sized bed. "How was your day?"

"Oh, same old, same old. A lot of numbers," he said, feigning a chuckle. "How was your game?"

Vince grinned, "Same old, same old." He'd always fancied himself funny, but he wasn't. His charm more than made up for it, though, and he knew how to flash a smile to get you wrapped around his finger. "Well, I'm gonna hit the hay, got an early shift tomorrow. Can you hit the light?"

"Sure." Jason leaned over to put his book in the nightstand drawer, pausing as he saw the keys to Sophie's brother's place inside. He quickly pulled the chain on the lamp, bathing them in darkness, and settled back into bed.

"Goodnight."

"Night, babe." That was all he heard from Vince as they adjusted themselves for another night of sleep, backs against each other. Part of Jason had hoped he'd curl an arm around his body and make a move even though they were both tired, but it didn't happen and soon he heard a soft snore beside him. He knew he had to try something to change this rutt they were in, so he resolved to drop by Sophie's brother's house tomorrow as he closed his eyes.

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The house was large, much larger than he'd anticipated. What did Sophie's brother do for a living anyway? Judging by the size of the house and the fact he was on an extended overseas trip, it must have been something that paid extremely well. She'd never mentioned before, but he figured it didn't matter much since he was benefitting now.

Jason found himself wishing she'd drawn a map for him in hindsight. It took him a little while to finally finish navigating the halls to water all the plants until he finally he'd made his way to what he'd call a 'game room.' Passing by a pool table and a huge flatscreen, he found a doorway that took him to a smaller room off to the side. That was when he saw a familiar sight.

The Pod sat there in all it's glory. Approaching 8 feet tall, the slick, black egg cradled in a sturdy base was almost enough to make his stomach turn. He'd hated the one in his own home, but now he was about to give in and use what he considered a rival for Vince's attention. Honestly, it was an impressive piece of tech from what he'd read, and under other circumstances, he'd be more lost in awe.

Reaching out, he tapped the front of the outline where the door to the Pod almost seamlessly blended in to the rest of it. A screen embedded inside blinked to life and after a small intro animation featuring the DaemonSoft logo, a silhouette of a hand appeared along with a prompt. He'd seen Vince boot theirs up for the first time, so he knew this much at least.

After holding his hand to the screen for a few seconds to let the machine scan his handprint, another screen replaced that one.

'New user detected... Please review and agree to continue with registration."

Typical. A near-endless user agreement popped up. He had enough legal-ese at work, he wasn't going to spend the next hour sifting through this one too. Scrolling down to the end, he quickly signed on a line beneath something or other about 'waiving liability of change to well-being' and hit 'confirm.'

A feminine voice suddenly issued from the Pod.

"Thank you for registering as a new user, Jason. Please pick a game world and then disrobe completely before taking a seat to commence full-body scan and neural uplink."

Disrobe? Did Vince have to do this every time he played? Well after thinking about it, he guessed it was hard to scan a body with clothes on. The bit about a neural uplink was kind of scary, but what choice did he have? He swiped to the left a few times, picking Castles and Champions, the game Vince was always playing.

After another prompt to pick a player race and class, he chose a half-elf mage without any thought and then quickly stripped down to nothing. Just as he heard a hydraulic hiss and saw the door pop out from it's resting place. He effortlessly slid it to the side and peered in. Somehow he'd imagined something more sci-fi, but it was a fairly comfortable looking pleather chair with a headrest that jutted upward to cradle your neck and head. He could see some metal contacts that looked about where his neck would touch gleaming under the soft glow of a blue light overhead.

Taking one last breath of fresh air, he stepped in and settled down into the seat as he wondered how hygienic this thing was. He'd have to remember to wipe it all down when this was over. Almost on cue, the door slid back in place, trapping him inside. Jason silently thanked God he wasn't claustrophobic.

"Preparing for body scan and neural uplink, please remain as still as possible."

A ring of blue light starting at the top of the Pod slowly made it's way down to the bottom. He closed his eyes as it passed in front of his face, wishing he could block out the annoying buzz that accompanied it. Upon blinking his eyes open, the ring of light hit the bottom, and both it and the overhead light flickered off, leaving him in total darkness. Before he could adjust to the pitch black in front of him, he felt an electric sting on the back of his neck and his vision went white.

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Jason blinked. He couldn't believe his eyes. Last he knew he was sitting naked in the Pod, and now he was by a fountain in a bustling marketplace with an imposing medieval castle looming in the background. Glancing down at himself, he found he was wearing clothes, but now he donned a set of Adventurer's Garb. He wasn't sure how he knew that already, but it matched the scenery well enough being made from lightweight leather complete with matching cape.

"Out of the way n00b!"

He turned just in time to see what appeared to be a dwarf in a horse-drawn cart barreling his way. Taking a step backward to avoid the cart, his foot caught his cape and he ended up falling face-first into a puddle of muddy water that had pooled in the cobblestone streets. He knew it was virtual reality, but why did the mud even have to taste real?

"You sure know how to make a good first impression with the ladies, newbie," giggled a tiny voice.

Jason held himself up and wiped the mud from his eyes with one hand and looked around, unable to find the source of the voice.

"Up here!"

He looked toward the sky to see a short, woman with pale blue-ish skin and wings as translucent as a dragonfly's hovering above the ground. Blonde hair with the slightest tinge of strawberry graced her form and almost prevented him from noticing she wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. This made him blush awkwardly at first, but realizing this was a game and she must be some sort of fairy, it made moderately more sense to him. He got to his feet and wiped what mud he could off of his clothes.

"Yeah, uh, I have that effect on people. My name's Jason."

"I know. You can call me Aria, and the pleasure's all yours," she quipped. For someone less than two feet tall, she sure had a mouth on her, he thought.

"Is there something I can help you with? Otherwise, I think I should find somewhere to clean myself up."

"No," she smiled, "I'm here to help you, actually. You see, every new player is assigned a companion fairy to help guide them the first few levels, and from the looks of things, you need it."

"Cute. Sorry for not being an expert my first time in the game. So, Aria, was it? What exactly does a companion fairy do anyway?"

"Give advice mostly. Help point you in the right direction, provide assistance with the less intuitive features for newbies, like in switching equipment and tracking quests. Most of that's done just by thinking about it, though, so basically I'm an NPC that acts as a personal assistant, but with better banter. I can't help you in battle, though, so don't even bother asking."

"Wouldn't dream of it. Anyway, can you point me somewhere I can get cleaned up? I'm looking for someone in particular and need to get moving."

"Oooh, looking to quest with a friend, eh? Know their username or email? I can try to look them up." A small holographic screen popped up in front of her. It didn't fit the setting, but Jason couldn't imagine a more convenient way to do it in-game.

"Boyfriend in fact. His name is Vincent Cho, and his username is...KoreanStallion20." He was hoping that knickname hadn't followed him, but Vince's co-workers found it hilarious.

"Boyfriend?" she rolled her eyes at this, "Lemme check... Found him! Character nickname is Asculain the Conqueror, he's made quite a name for himself online. Level 72 AND an Arena Champion. Impressive. He's blocked his inbox and location from non-friends though, so tough luck. You'll have to find him in person in the game to add him to your friendlist, but that may be harder than you think, especially with your difference in levels. Either way, first place I'd head is across the the square to the tavern. That's probably your best bet for both a towel and info on where he was last scene." She really seemed to enjoy kicking him while he was down. And on top of that, it looked like they'd be stuck with each other for a while.

Jason had wanted to surprise Vince and play with him but it was looking as if he'd have to spend his evening hunting him down first.

"Alright, lead the way," he sighed.

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Even though it was just after noon in-game and poorly lit inside, he could see the tavern was packed to the gills. Jason wondered if all these people were actual players and not NPCs, but there didn't seem to be any clear way to tell. If it hadn't been evident by now, the game was clearly programmed well. Scanning the large open room of humans, elves, and dwarves, he made his way to the bar.

"Well-met, adventurer. You don't look familiar around here. New to Fellhaven?," spoke a burly man drying a metal stein.

"How'd you know?"

"Call it a hunch," the man chuckled, throwing him the rag he was using. "Name's Brunwin. Barkeep and owner of the Foamy Ferret Pub. Occasional quest-giver as well. Take a seat and dry off while I get you a pint, on me."

"Appreciate it." Cleaning off best he could, Jason took a seat at the bar while Aria perched beside him, legs hanging off the bar. He shot her a panicked look when she proceeded to take a drink from the glass of the man passed out next to him.

"What? Don't worry, he's out cold. And even if he wasn't, you're the only one who can see me," she grinned. He wondered if she really wanted a drink or just to torment him.

Brunwin returned and slid a pewter tankard in front of him. He wasn't sure what to expect, not being much for beer in real life, but it tasted quite good for something imaginary. It really was going to take him a while to get used to all this. The barkeep looked at him expectingly, obviously proud of his product and expecting feedback.

"Thanks," he said, after another swallow. "Probably the best I've had. Honestly, I could drink this all day, but I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'll cut to the chase." A bit of flattery never hurt when you wanted something and Brunwin looked content with this.

"Shoot, lad," he said, going back to drying a stein.

"Well, I'm not sure if you'd know him, but I'm looking for someone. Name's Asculain in-game."

"Oh-ho! Bit out of your league, don't you think?" guffawed the barkeep, his belly visibly shaking. "I doubt there's anyone in Fellhaven who hasn't seen him fight in the Arena, though."

"So I guess you do know him," Jason proffered with annoyance. "Well, regardless, I need to find him, so if you know where he might be, I'd be in your debt."

"Hmm... Well, rumor says he's often seen heading into the Forbidden Forest. It's outside of town, just past the southern gate, but heading deeper than just the forest outskirts might prove a bit difficult for a newbie. The deeper parts of the forest are filled with all manner of beast that only the high-level players can contend with," warned Brunwin.

"I'll just have to take my chances then. Thanks for the drink."

Jason rose to get off his chair and get some gold from his pouch, but was stopped by the barkeep's outstretched hand. "The ale and info was on me this time, but see that you do business with us again. And good luck, you'll need it."