Sucking a deep mouth full of air, I opened my eyes and shook my head in an attempt to ground myself to my own body. Disconnecting from my hometree was always disorienting. No matter how many times I’d done it, I would never become used to merging consciousness with it.
Their limited view of the world based on where they were rooted made them not care about things that didn’t involve them, such as space travel and politics. It wasn’t as if I could telepathically have a conversation with them about intellectual subjects, what mattered to them were the things that directly affected them.
They only coexisted with us because we acted as their wardens in exchange for them to be our shelter, providing us with a home to call our own until we return to nature, in the circle of life.
That was why I needed to warn the bipedal trespasser, and defend them if needed, for their life was my responsibility and mine alone.
CHAPTERTHREE
VIOLA - VIOLENTVIOLET
Strange sounds surrounded me, startling me awake. I sucked in a deep breath and scrambled to my feet, taking in everything around me.
One thing was certain: I was no longer in the Las Vegas E-sports Arena.
As far as my eyes could see, there was lush, dense jungle. The flora was unlike anything I’d ever seen. Its bright colors were reminiscent of my great-grandmother’s collection of Lisa Frank office supplies, which she kept in her basement, and were so bright that they were almost blinding.
While the shape of the underbrush leaves appeared to be similar to those of the nearly endangered rainforest that had miraculously survived and was on the mend, they were much larger, as if fertilized. It was as if I had entered a simulation inspired by the classic film series Avatar, but there were no blue aliens to greet—or attempt to kill—me.
Everything around me appeared to be wild and untamed.
It was almost as if I was in a new AltU simulation... perhaps that was why I didn’t remember ever leaving the arena. Perhaps we were given the opportunity to alpha test a new game simulation within AltU, and I was currently in a session.
If that were the case, this was the most realistic simulation I’d ever played. Perhaps its creators used the same technology that 4D cinemas used to sync the audience’s headsets in their nestpods in order to provide the most realistic experience while watching the hot new movie.
Only the warm air was so humid that I was forming a layer of moisture on my skin, dripping in places where I didn’t think they could even sweat. My brows scrunched with confusion as I inhaled deep breaths of the scent of damp moss and nearby flowers.
It was the first time I could smell something in a simulation.
I sighed as I looked up, my hand over my eyes, trying to see the sky through the thick jungle canopy. Despite the fact that the sunlight was bright enough to illuminate the understory layer and forest floor, I couldn’t find any breaks between the thick leaves above.
Loud bird calls echoed above. I couldn’t find their source, no matter where I looked.
A deep growl erupted in the distance, drowning out the chirping.
My head snapped in its direction, and a shiver of fear ran up my spine. As I took a step back, I clenched my fists and kept my gaze on the thick brush.
It sounded far too real...
“System. Enable my user dashboard.”
Glancing around, I searched for my AltU system’s menu and frowned when nothing appeared.
“AltU. This is violentviolet,” I yelled to the jungle canopy above me. “Activate my user dashboard.”
Frowning, I spun around, desperately looking for anything resembling a menu, but to no avail.
What was the point of running this simulation if the user didn’t have access to the bare essentials? How was I supposed to log out if I couldn’t get to the exit hand scan?
The starting area was lovely, but I knew how appearances could be deceiving. Why couldn’t I find any proof of what I was supposed to be doing? Was it really the creators’ intention to leave no hints for their new users?
Sighing, I cursed myself for putting myself in this situation. Why would I agree to alpha test run an incomplete simulation shortly after winning the World Championship? My mind was already tired from all the time I’d spent in AltU.
Was this the reason I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to be doing here?
My gaze darted around the underbrush, searching for a weapon of some kind. I may have always specialized my character traits into the ranger class, but that didn’t mean I knew anything about survival in the real world. Who knew all the times my father wanted to take me camping would come back to haunt me? My father was old-fashioned, and yet he knew how to survive off the land, whereas my knowledge came from movies and simulations.
I frowned, noticing that the chirping had not returned. That was always a terrible sign, indicating the presence of a predator nearby.
