Beta Tester Beth: Hundred Day Horde

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Beth Davis is a starving college student doing everything in her power to break the poverty cycle. From donating plasma, doing drug trials, and working at a local diner, she can't seem to get ahead. Until a flier in the school's library catches her eye."Testers needed for a sleep study/VR beta test, earn between $100-$1000."What starts as a little white lie—claiming she has MMORPG gaming experience—results in Beth being sucked into a VR Zombie Apocalypse with no clue how to navigate the system or stay alive.Can Beth live long enough for the creators to figure out how and why her conscious has been fused to the game, or will her death in game result in her death in real life?

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: ColeCox

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 45
Views: 18,676

Reviews

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Community Reviews(3)

Urban Goat HerderRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Beth just can't get ahead. Donating Plasma, taking on drug trails, working a job and still unable to pay the rent she is doing life the hard way. But, it will all be worth it if she can be the first kid in her family to get a college degree. If she can find a way to make her payments.
With pleas for monitary help from her trailer park poor mother, and very little time left in her day, a notice for a sleep study seems like just the ticket. No time left for more work, work while you sleep!
The only issue, the sleep study group is looking for role playing gamers, and Beth has never had time for games. But how hard could it be?
Wait, no one mentioned zombies! Now she battles the dead and learns to face her own fears and doubts in a world made of her dreams... Or is it?
This is a very nicely put together story with a great premise and atmosphere. The author clearly knows the subject matter and has a great grasp of the Genre. Clearly this is one of the better ones on Royal Road and it will go a long way.
ShipTeaserRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The thing that i find very likable about this story is the MC, Beth. She's got a well definied personality, shaped by her upbringing and student life (And we get enough dribs and drabs of those to see that her life has hardly been peachy).
She also fits into the story wery well, as her total lack of gaming experience allows exposition to be delivered without it seeming forced or unneccesary.
The VRMMO itself is a zombie survival/minecrafty type thing, and lends itself well to a creeping sense of dread, which the author excels at, with genuinely spooky and tense passages of prose at times.
Secondary characters are not as clear yet as Beth, but Maverick seems solid, and some of the new characters, like the one intruduced in the most recent chapter have potential...
As for the 'antagonist' he serves as a great foil to Beth, and it is always good to see him get his (albeit temporary) comeuppence.
The only current issue is some of the plot decisions by the antagonist seem... well, dumber than they should... but maybe that's part of his charm. Some of the side characters seem to agree with me as they steer him ruight lol.
Anyway, good story, well worth a read so far!
Youngish OldsterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This is a fun read so far. Good mix of dark comedy, tech dystopia, and zombie apocalypse litRPG (in that order, imo... 😁)
And yes, before you say "zombie apocalypse? wtf- that's so 2020", I'll just point out that this might just be part of the author's intent. After all, as the story reveals itself, we discover that maybe the real zombies are the techbros we met along the way... (yeah- I did that. Shoot me.)
So yep, the MC is a struggling college kid who has survived on her wits and by selling herself as a research subject to pay the bills. Making some quick cash as a beta tester for a dweeby VR game seems like easy money. What could possibly go wrong? Being a miraculously compatible tester? Signing a bunch of test contracts she didn't read? Ending up trapped in the game, with the only help being the techbro CEO who can't decide whether to save her or kill her? Good times ahead.
Writing is solid, story has many layers to it and has kept me engaged, characters are well thought out, and the world is f*cked up enough that it could be our own.
Give it a try!