VRMMORPG: Dragomancer Reborn

Hiss!

The mechanical sound of gears turning could be heard as the lid of the Dream Pod opened up.

"Haa… It still feels surreal, even after all this time." Arthur took a deep breath as his eyes adjusted to the light.

The scene of tens of Dream Pods around him became clear, as more people started to leave them. 

"I hope you had a great experience with our Dream Pod, dear customers." An announcement could be heard in the Hypnotek Gallery.

Soon clerks could be seen walking around, bringing refreshments with them. 

"Would you like some assistance, sir?" One of the clerks approached Arthur. "Some people can experience disorientation and nausea upon their first use. If you wish, you can take the benefit of our complementary medical services." The clerk said in a professional manner.

"Thank you, but I\'m fine," Arthur said as he stood up from the Dream Pod. "Though I\'ll take some orange juice." 

"Of course," the clerk handed a glass to him with a smile.

Taking a sip of the sweet yet tangy orange juice, Arthur felt refreshed. He sat for a bit while watching the people who were leaving their Dream Pods. For several, it was a bit disorienting, primarily since how intense the link was when one was in Morpheus Online.

Those who had changed their avatars to look drastically different than their bodies would find a disconnect once they were back. Even for those that did mild changes, like in their height, they would still feel weird.

\'They\'ll get normal in an hour or so. The staff won\'t let them get sick or it\'ll be bad for the PR.\' Arthur thought to himself.

His eyes continued to scan the people though, looking for a few individuals of interest.

"They certainly invited the big shots." Arthur muttered as he spotted a tall blond man. "Cohn Myers… Among the top 5 pro players and owner of Spirals E-sports team." 

There was no lack of rich players in the gallery, most of whom had been high ranked since before the existence of Morpheus Online. 

Next, Arthur spotted a brunette woman with a mole on the corner of her lips. She had an irritated expression, but still held the gazes of several men in the room. It was clear that a beauty like her would look good no matter what the expression.

\'Angelica Cook, Heiress of Mystique Cosmetics… Why\'s she even here? Isn\'t it her husband who\'s supposed to be in tech?\' Arthur was surprised to see the woman. 

He wasn\'t that familiar with her, but certainly knew about her husband Argus Cook, who was a Tech Mogul and was possibly one of the richest people in the city. But that wasn\'t the main reason why Arthur kept him in mind.

The real reason was the fact that the man owned one of the top 10 guilds in Morpheus Online, the Golden Glade Guild.

"Is he here too?" Arthur wondered as he looked around. 

He had seen that Angelica Cook had come out of the Dream Pod, which meant that she had been logged into the game too. Though from what Arthur could see, half of the pods were already empty when he had left his.

\'The others might have logged out early or had been forced to log out after dying too many times.\' Arthur reckoned that the same might have happened with Argus Cook.

After a couple more minutes, most of the people had gotten up and were leaving the floor. 

"Guess I should leave too." Arthur said to himself as he made his way to the stairs.

But before he could go past the desk, a store associate called out to him.

"Sir, where would you like for the Dream Pod to be delivered to?" The man spoke.

"Ah, I almost forgot." Arthur had given his address but hadn\'t confirmed it with them yet. "Can you send it on the registered address?" he replied.

"Of course, sir." The associate tapped on his tablet screen and gave a little nod. "It is done. Your Dream Pod V3 will arrive at your address by tomorrow morning." He stated.

This prompted Arthur to take a look at the current time.

\'A bit past 9 Pm. I guess the next time I log in will be tomorrow night.\' Arthur realized it\'ll be past midnight when he reaches home.

Morpheus Online was usually supposed to be played at night when one slept anyways. Today was simply an exception to it since it was the launch day. Though there were people who played it in multiple sessions instead of a single one.

Finished with the confirmation, Arthur went down to the ground floor, only to see that his path was blocked by a crowd of people.

"What the…" Arthur was surprised by the people, only to see that there were also a ton of cameras there.

It was then that he recalled there would be press reports being conducted.

\'This\'ll be a pain to get through…\' Arthur tried to squeeze between the crowd with great difficulty. 

It took him ten minutes before he finally managed to reach a slightly open area.

"Here are the reports, Doctor."

Just as he was about to continue though, he heard a conversation.

"Were there any issues?" A man dressed in a suit asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. There were a few people affected by the normal symptoms but that was the extent of it." A staff member replied.

Arthur had found the voice of the man to be familiar, making him stop. He looked at the man who was being called as the doctor and recognized him.

"He…" Arthur was surprised. "Doctor Furial?" 

His voice seemed to have attracted some attention as the doctor looked at him too. His expression was that of slight confusion before a look of realization appeared.

"A-Arthur? Is that you?" Doctor Furial questioned.

Arthur approached the man, feeling a mix of emotions. 

"Y-yes… it\'s me, Arthur Grey." He nodded.

"You\'ve grown up…" Doctor Furial said with a sigh.