Chapter 5: Learn the basics
When the match ended Novis and Arthur quickly switched control of Novis's body. Novis had been sent to back to the blue lobby room and quickly quit the VR console.
As Novis was taking off his VR helmet, Novis found it hard to directly look at Bill's face. Novis had thought that Arthur would have at least lasted longer, perhaps even beat his brother.
Bill had just taken off his headset and was looking at Novis.
"You didn't have to lie to me, bro."
"Was it that obvious?"
"Everyone when they first play run's towards those towers, there practically a one-shot kill. You'd have to be an idiot to do it a second time."
Novis didn't know what to say, of course, he was embarrassed by the whole situation but he was more upset that his little brother was disappointed in him.
Bill wheeled his chair over towards his desk and opened a drawer. He took out a small piece of paper and handed it to Novis.
"What this?" Novis asked.
"it's a leaflet for VSW lessons. It's mostly full of old people but it will really help you out with learning all the basics, plus everyone there is a beginner who you can practice with."
Novis took the leaflet and put it in his pocket.
"Thanks."
"When you learn the rules come back and we can play again," Bill said with a smile.
As Novis was leaving the room Bill had a question he wanted to ask before he left.
"Novis, you're not in the Kendo club at school or something right?"
"No, I've never held a sword in my life."
"Yeah, I can tell."
As Novis left the room Bill was thinking back to the game they had just played. While in the Game Bill had hidden in the forest so he could have a look at Novis's skills in the game. What he saw surprised Bill, When Novis was fighting he wasn't using any of the game's skills, he had defeated the soldiers just by attacking with his own body.
The soldiers in the game were programmed as real knights with a decent amount of sword skill. For a completely new player to defeat them without the help of the games skill system was unheard of. The only way this could happen is if you had real-life experience. This was why Bill had asked Novis about joining any clubs. The thought of this made Bill happy, perhaps one day they would be able to play high ranking games together.
Novis had left his brother's room and went to his own which was directly opposite. Unlike Bill's room, Novis's room was completely bare. It was hard to imagine it was a teenage boys room. There was nothing in there that showed Novis had an interest of anything, no posters no toys or sports equipment. All There was, was a guitar in the corner of the room that had been gathering dust.
Novis went to lie down on his bed.
"I thought you said you were one of the best."
Arthur knew he had disappointed Novis, after all, they could feel each other's feelings.
"I'm sorry, the tower caught me off guard. After checking out the first two I didn't think the third one would do anything, also they seemed to be a slight delay in my movements."
The two of them remained silent for a few moments until Novis said.
"Hey Arthur, Why do you think I was allowed to hear your voice, I have no interest in swords."
"That's what I would like to know too," Arthur replied.
Novis started to rummage through his pocket and picked out the leaflet.
"Learn the basics, huh, I guess I could go and take one class."
The next day Novis had decided to go to the location that was pointed out on the leaflet. The location was in a shopping mall on the 4th floor. Outside the sign read VSW Training centre.
As soon as Novis entered the training centre a strange smell had wafted into his nose, it wasn't a bad smell but one he had recognised. It smelt exactly like his grandparent's house. Looking around the Novis could see that the clientele was mostly people over fifty.
The actual training centre itself was impressive. In the front, of the room, they had a huge 100-inch display with around fifty seats in front of it. In the back of the room, there were around forty VR headsets similar to one bill had. The Vr headsets were paired in couples on a table, each table also had a Tv screen and a gaming chair.
Novis looked at the people in the back and could see they were having a match. The game was being displayed on the TV screen at their table.
As Novis was standing there in awe a middle-aged man wearing glasses and a suit came up to him.
"Are you here for some lesson's?" The man asked.
"Yeah, I'm here for the beginner class."
"Great, it's rare to see someone your age in here, but I promise you you'll have a lot of fun, the beginner class starts in fifteen minutes if you'd like you can take a seat in front of the display now."
Novis did as the man instructed and waited for the class to start. While he was waiting several more people had come in and sat down. Before the class had started all the seats had eventually been filled up.
Novis was conflicted in what to feel, he was amazed by how many new people were trying to learn the game like him, but was worried for he was the youngest one there.
As the class began the 100-inch screen turned on and displayed the logo for VSW. The middle-aged man who had met Novis at the beginning walked in front of the screen.
"Hello everyone, My name is Paul Snellart, I am currently a Profesional VSW player and in today's lessons I'm going to teach you about the basics of VSW."