Chapter 7 Beta Phase III

Zephyrion was still fuming by the seemingly useless skill he had received, but he decided to put the matter aside. And decided to ask the system other questions that had been bothering him. "What about defense and magic defense? Can people with, let's say, 3 attack damage still hurt me when I have 9 defense points?"

The system responded immediately:

[No, having 5 defense points can only completely negate 1 attack damage. However, if you successfully block an attack, you will receive less damage. The same goes for magic damage and magic attack] 

Zephyrion nodded his head at the answers and proceeded with his next questions, "What happens when my HP reaches zero? Will I die? And what happens when someone slices my head clean off? What about Stamina? Will I not be able to continue working when it reaches zero? And what about Mana? What happens when this stat reaches zero?"

The system calculated his question and provided an answer:

[As long as the user doesn't have any fatal injuries on their body, they won't die even if their HP reaches zero. However, they will fall unconscious until they have at least half of their HP recovered. When the user receives critical injuries, like a brocken bone, or a flesh wound, they will take more damage and receive debuffs based on their injuries. If the user gets stabbed in the heart or their head gets destroyed or sliced off, they will immediately die.] 

[If Stamina reaches zero, the user will still be able to move, but HP will be reduced instead of Stamina, 1 Stamina point will equal 5 HP when Stamina reaches zero. Stamina won't recover until the user rests.]

[The user won't have any Mana until they increase their Int stat. If the Mana stat reaches zero, the user will be in a weakened state, which will reduce all their stats by half. So the user should make sure not to use all their Mana in one go.]

Zephyrion was shocked by the realism of the stats and their functions. Even though mana didn't really exist, it still sounded plausible to him.

The system screen appeared again and asked:

[User still hasn't chosen a name yet. Please choose a name.] 

Zephyrion didn't have any specific name in mind, so he just used his own name and looked at the status screen one last time. 

[Status] 

Name: [Zephyrion] 

Race: [Human] 

Class: [None] 

Title: [???] 

Level: [1] 

Next lv: [0%] 

Stats:

Hp: [160/160]           Sta: [95/95] 

Atk: [+8]                     M-Atk : [+0] 

Def: [+9]                     M-Def : [+9]

Spd: [+25%]               Sense : [+35%]

Str: [4]

Agi: [5]

Dex: [7]

Int: [0]

Vit: [3]

End: [9]

Wis: [0]

Stat points: [10]

Skill points: [1] 

Aktiv skills: [0/10] 

Passiv skills: [1/15] 

[Learning] 

...

"I will save my stat points and skill points for later, when I need them. Let's first dive into the game," Zephyrion said. He asked the system when he would be able to enter the game.

The system immediately answered:

[User Zephyrion will be able to enter in 6 minutes and 37 seconds. Please wait until then] 

[6:36]

Zephyrion scratched his head and waited patiently until the counter reached zero.

After what seemed like a very long wait, the counter finally reached 0.

[0:00]

Zephyrion stood up and stretched himself to prepare for the game, when suddenly everything in the room turned blood red and multiple error messages appeared:

[%#&!&)(€]

[92?'#=&!#%@]

[ERROR ERROR]

[GAME CAN'T BE ACCESSED]

[FORCED LOG OUT WILL BE ACTIVATED] 

Zephyrion's vision suddenly turned dark, and he felt a jolt run through his body as he was abruptly pulled out of the game. His head was pounding, and his body felt heavy and sluggish. He slowly opened his eyes and realized he was back in the capsule.

Zephyrion struggled to stand up, feeling weak and uncoordinated. He looked around and saw that all the other capsules were opening up as well. As he surveyed the room, he noticed that his friend Kate looked very ill, murmuring incoherently to herself.

Concerned, Layla, Kai and Zephyrion made their way over to Kate's capsule, their movements still sluggish from the after-effects of the full dive. As they reached her, they could see that she was sweating profusely and her face was pale.

Kate looked up at them, her eyes unfocused,

"Oh my god," she murmurs under her breath, "this can't be happening. Everything is riding on this game, and if it doesn't work out, my parents will be screwed."

The three of them suddenly realized the consequences of the beta phase not working. They knew that Kate was the one who had convinced her parents to invest all their money into the game, based on her enthusiasm for it.

Kai put a comforting hand on Kate's shoulder and said, "Hey, don't worry too much. It's just the beta phase. I'm sure the developers will be able to fix the problem in a week or two and start a new beta phase." 

Layla nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Kai's right. The developers can still improve the game, and who knows, maybe it will turn out to be even better than before."

Zephyrion added, "and even if the worst-case scenario happens and the game doesn't work out, we'll figure something out. We're friends and always be there for you, remember?"

Kate sniffled and looked up at her friends, feeling grateful for their support. "Thanks, guys. I just feel really bad about my parents investing so much money into this. I don't want to let them down, because the game won't work."

Kai smiled reassuringly. "You didn't do anything wrong, Kate. We all believed in the game's success. And who knows, maybe it still can be a big success in the future."

... 

Two weeks had passed since the beta phase of Elysium Soul had failed, and the four friends were gathered at their favorite diner after school. They were all watching the news on the TV, and their faces were filled with concern as they heard the latest announcement from the game's developers.

"The game won't work no matter what they do? What does that mean?" asked Kai, looking bewildered.

Layla put a comforting hand on Kate's shoulder, who had been quiet and withdrawn ever since the beta phase had failed. "Kate, are you okay?" she asked, concern lacing her voice.

Kate shook her head. "No, I'm not okay. My parents invested everything they had into this game because of me, and now it's all gone. We're going to be ruined," she said, her voice breaking.

Zephyrion spoke up, trying to offer some reassurance. "Maybe they can find a way to fix it. They're smart developers, they'll figure something out, it will just take some more time," he said optimistically.

Kai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Zephyrion's right. They just need some time to figure it out. I'm sure they'll get it up and running soon," he said confidently.

But despite their friends' attempts to comfort her, Kate couldn't shake the feeling of guilt and worry that consumed her. She couldn't bear the thought of her parents losing everything they had worked so hard for.

As the friends continued to try and reassure Kate, her phone suddenly began to vibrate with an incoming call from her housemaid. Kate picked up the phone and held it to her ear, but her face suddenly went pale as she listened to the news the maid had to deliver. The friends watched with concern as Kate's hands began to shake and tears streamed down her face.

After a few moments, Kate's phone slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground as she abruptly stood up and bolted out of the diner. The three of them were bewildered as she suddenly ran away, but Kai was the first to snap out of his shock and quickly followed after her, while Layla and Zephyrion remained behind, stunned and unsure of what to do.

Layla hesitated for a moment before picking up the phone that had fallen to the floor. She spoke calmly, her voice shaking slightly, "Hello, this is Layla. Can you tell me who's calling and what you told Kate?"

The maid on the other end of the line sounded relieved to hear Layla's voice. "Thank goodness it's you, Miss Layla. Something terrible has happened. Miss Whitmore and Mr. Whitmore have both committed suicide in their room. They lost all their money and were now in debt. Miss Kate is the only one left in the family."

Layla's heart sank as she relayed the news to Zephyrion. The reality of the situation was sinking in for the two of them. They knew that Kate's life was about to change drastically and they were unsure how they could support their friend through this difficult time.

"We have to follow her, Zephyrion. I'm worried about what she might do!" Layla said with a sense of urgency.

Zephyrion nodded his head in agreement and replied, "You're right, I'm also worried. I know that the pain of losing his own parents and it's very hurtful."

Without hesitation, Layla and Zephyrion both ran out of the diner, scanning the area for Kai. Luckily, they spotted him in the distance and ran after him. 

As they kept running, they finally saw Kate and noticed that she was heading towards the train tracks where high-speed trains often raced through. Zephyrion and Layla exchanged worried glances, considering the worst-case scenarios.