The Depth Online

[Kestrel]

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Entering TLO v0.75.

Current date is Mon, 31-06-2034
Current time is 0:06:29.34

Welcome to...​

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---

THE DEPTH ONLINE​

---

A few dozen excited voices, the smell of grass, a gentle breeze and the view of already a hundred players standing within green plains in front of you. As you log in for the first time into The Depth online, all your senses are triggered and this is what they tell you. A virtual reality so real, you've never experienced before...

You stand in an area called the 'Landing Site', or so it pops up in a small screen hovering before you. It is no mystery as to why it bears that name; behind you stand spaceships of various shapes and sizes. In front of you the sights are of flat grasslands for miles on end. Bugs, looking similar to tinier versions of dragonflies, buzzed around the blades of grass around your ankles. The temperature is a little warmer than pleasant, and there isn't a single cloud in the sky. In the far distance, forests, hills and even dunes could be see; the landing site appeared to be a crossroad of lands of sorts. To those looking up, they would see not one but multiple moons. Some so close to the planet itself they cast their shadows far off in the distance... On the ground, the area is filled with people. Other players, most likely, all logging in for the first time, as well as various tents and portable communication masts...

The energy of the crowds was very excited, impressed by the virtual physics as well as eager to explore this new world. Many players gathered near the tents, around models that appear to be NPC's who answered questions and showed off small maps and artifacts that had been found in the area. Other players were already making parties or heading out of the starting area. The same freedom befalls onto you; to learn, socialise or explore. What will you do?

---

Barong
26/26 HP | 13/13 MP | 1/10 XP​

---

"Fresh air, just like I remember it."

From the second he'd found himself logged in, Lance, felt the stress of daily life ebb away. No longer was he in his apartment with the curtains closed and an answering machine full of messages of worried friends and family, he deleted before he listened to them. Now, he was in a new digital world and that breath of fresh air was just what he needed to get his mind off things. In this world, he wasn't Lance Giraud the jobless entrepreneur, but Barong; a gunslinger that could run like the wind.

After taking all the views in, Barong found himself edging between one of the crowds to get an ear in. The NPC who stood in the middle, was a woman of small stature, with white hair in pig-tails and an outfit that could best e compared to a flight attendant's. "Welcome, travelers, explorers and settlers, to the planet-side." She said, starting of her story just like various other NPC's at other tents. She explained about the world of TLO, how it was a recently discovered planet and up to the players to explore, build and expand on it. She even showed off a few strange objects, which looked like expertly refined onyxes, embellished with straight blue lines that looked like veins.

Barong listened with half an ear, as his eyes traveled the crowds. He could just taste the excitement in the air, and it brought a smile to his face. The NPC even seemed like a real person, with little slip-ups in her speech and, according to some other players he overheard, had adopted variations in her speech since the last explanation she gave. Impressive, Barong thought, but he hadn't signed up for the beta-test just to check out the NPC's. Barong wanted to play the game, and so he removed himself from the crowd and looked around to find himself a higher ground.

Barong found one in the shape of a box with a digital label saying supplies that popped up when he got close. "Sure pay attention to detail," Barong mused. "Hard to imagine I'm only ten minutes in." He climbed the box to tower above the other players, some of which already turned his way. Good, Barong thought, then took a breath and shouted "Who wants to join me in exploring! I'm looking for a party to get this show on the road!"

 

[Mac the Impaler]

| Azymus | Level 1 | Regenerator |
| 30/30 HP | 11/11 MP | 1/10 XP |
______________________________________________________

A fresh, unexplored world. Full of wonder and mystery and treasure. ​

​

And it's all ours.
​

It looked much like any other starting zone, Azymus mused to himself. Useful NPCs - Check. A handful of tutorials - Check. Bunch of level one players wandering around - Check. Hint of adventure on the horizon - Check.

It didn't feel like a starting zone though. The world felt alive. He could feel the sun on his face, smell the scent of wildflowers on the wind and practically taste the excitement in the air. Azymus found himself mirroring the grin that everyone seemed to be wearing as he wandered around the compound, admiring the detail on the ships and absorbing as much information as he could. Looking at some of the stuff the NPCs were displaying he got curious about the status of his own gear, bringing up his menu whilst listening to the old guy in front of him.

"Hmm, just a basic set of armor, one weapon, no stat modifiers. Pretty standard stuff. I'll have to replace this soon."

His eyes flicked back and forth across his UI as he flipped through the tabs on his menu, mumbling to himself as he read.

"Skills... basic offense, basic heal... looks like they scale, hmm..." Flick. "Stats... blah blah..." Flick. "Blank..." Flick. "Blank... fine then..."

Closing his menu and looking around, Azymus saw that some of the other players were already moving away from the Landing Site. Most were in groups, but some had wandered off to explore by themselves. The MMO standard 'Looking For Group' calls had already started to fill the area as more and more people wanted to head out, one dreadlocked individual even going so far as to climb on a supply box to get attention. Deciding to just go with his instincts for now, he ignored the gathered crowds and headed out to get his first real taste of this world. The XP was bound to be better going solo.

 

[Crispy]

---

Calice
34 / 34 HP | 10/10 MP | 1/10 XP

---

​

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

The popping noise of virtual reality as Calice stretched his arms behind his back was a nice touch. He spent a minute testing the movements of the character, reaching around and bending at the knees seeing how high he could jump. The bulk of it felt good and was a welcome surprise. The warmth of the basking sun and wisps of grass scratching against his armoured boots was something Calice hadn't anticipated when he'd entered the game. He spent a bit more time looking at and playing with himself before setting off.

He called up his stats and dismissed them with a faint smile. This was repeated with skills and the map as well as a social listing. Friends, an ignore list and a party and guild field as well. Nothing spectacular, but it was all there just like you would expect. Other than a few familiarization dialogues the NPCs didn't carry any pertinent information and with no set direction either Calice picked one and started walking through the motley cluster of ships towards whatever was beyond it. Blocking his path though was a slew of supply crates and a single PC atop one of them shouting out to everyone gathered around his feet.

"Who wants to join me in exploring! I'm looking for a party to get this show on the road!"

The man, for you had to assume everyone online was a man, had a point. People jumped at the call an easy dozen offering themselves to the adventure that lie beyond the supply crates. Calice thought of doing the same but deferred to take the direct approach. Muttering the word social he drew up the menu and immediately invited the pedestal gunman to his party.

 

[Pyralithia]

Skia Ippotis|Berserker/Tank
30/30 HP|10/10 MP|1/10 XP
​

"A world outside of the world, where you can be anybody you want without a worry..."
​

Opening her eyes the virtual world came int Sapphira's sight, it was so lifelike yet not that it almost felt like a dream rather than a game. Lifting up her arm she clenches and unclenches her gloved fist, even the movements felt like her own, though stronger. 'Guess thats due to me being a man in this world....and a Berserker/Warrior problay helps..' a slow smile spreads against his lips as his eyes scan the area, players of various kinds already gathered in the starter area, NPC's too. 'Time to test out this world' After flicking through his stats, inventory, abilities, and all that Skia walks to the first NPC that seemed to be the "introduction" for this part of the game. Too impatient to listen to the girl for long she jogs over to where some crowds were, a few players already calling out for groups.

'Hmmm a group could be a good thing....No i'll go solo for now' Passing by the crowds of players into a reasonably empty area Skia slides his 2 pitch black swords out from their black sheaths crisscrossed across his back, examining the decent but lowbie weapons shes amazed by the detail put into them. 'Demonic Blades huh?' taking an offensive stance he slashes and slices the swords through the air with ease 'Even the weight and balance feels real...this is amazing!' Grinning he straightens back up and slides the swords back into their sheathes, adjusting the armor a bit he notices his helm isnt equipped yet. 'Hmmm, guess I can wait till I get out of the starter area before equipping it' His crimson gaze looks up to the clear sky 'What to do now....'​

 

[Hitomi Forsyth]

Litari
{23/23 HP} {15/15 MP} {1/10 XP}

Litari Lights was her username, even though she knew using her real name online wasn't the best idea, at least nobody knew her last name, she had planned it that way of course. She had even made her character look a little liker her, except with longer blonde hair and brighter violet eyes. She didn't look entirely like Litari Loriana; which was her real life name. She had chosen the duel classing of an Elementalist/Cleric, so she goes through her skills, stats, inventory, and the basics, she equips her newbie items which gave her a really 'mage' look, of course she didn't mind the simple cloak of silk nor the staff that had a flame carved into it's rounded top, the weapon was called 'Flare's Light' and she could see why from the design.

Litari barely paid attention to the NPCs but when someone hollered about wanting others to travel around with her hand shot up; she was a Mage of sorts after all and would probably need to be paired up with someone to make it through the game, at the start, the curse of being a mage. "Oh well..." She mutters this under her breath before raising her voice and hollering above the crowd so the person would hear her. "Hej! Hur mar du? I will join you sir!" She had called out to him in her heavily accented Swedish but her English bore her accent even more, of course in the bright colors she wore she would stand out in the crowd of people; so she hoped anyway, it was one of the reasons she had chosen this look.​

 

[Rainjay]

---

Blazentra
26/26 HP | 14/14 MP | 1/10 XP

---

Opening her eyes into this new world was... astounding.

Carolina could hardly believe her eyes as she emerged into this virtual reality world, immediately stretching out her arms as if to embrace the air around her. It was warm, but not too warm, providing a welcoming feel. The area looked real, with graphics that she couldn't describe as graphics, but as reality. The entirety of the world around her was amazing, probably one of the best games she had ever played. She already was eagerly awaiting exploring this vast new world, entirely open for her taking.

That meant she had to get straight to business.

She ran through her starter stats and equipment, scanning over the low grade items with a look of dissatisfaction. In the last game she had played, her character was maxed out to the extreme, equipped with the best of armor and weapons she could find, and was a member of a local guild group that met up in person every Friday. Here, she was a complete newbie. She hated starting from day one, but there was also a thrill to it, in a way. There was a lot to gain in competing against hundreds of other players from anywhere and everywhere, all of them starting from the very first stepping stone. It gave her a chance to quickly rise up to the top and be one of the best. It was her favorite game to play.

She promptly turned from the NPCs that were, while incredible and very realistic, extremely boring, and began to scan the players around her, looking for one that stood out to her eye. First things first; find a party to join. An elementalist/cleric most definitely needed to join a party to get anywhere. Sure, she could heal herself while she fought, but it was always easier to have a tank to help things through. She also had no idea what types of enemies or dungeons this game could hold. It would be easier to begin exploration with a group, although it would grow to be a disadvantage when the real competition between players began. She spotted a man standing atop a box labeled 'supplies', listening to him as he called out,

"Who wants to join me in exploring! I'm looking for a party to get this show on the road!"

A group of players had already begun to crowd around the quick-acting man, and she soon joined them, approaching with a confident smile. "I'll join, too. If you'll have me, of course."​

 

[Kestrel]

---

Barong
26/26 HP | 13/13 MP | 2/10 XP​

---

Within mere seconds after his call for a party, an invite from a character called Calice popped up in front of Barong. "Hah, figures." Barong mused to himself, as he playfully slapped his own forehead. With a quick tab on the button in front of him, Barong joined Calice' party. He could see in his display that Calice was a knight and soldier, as well as his HP and vital information. Barong assumed that was the same vice versa. Though the party window, Barong opened a chat channel to speak to this Calice telepathically, so his words wouldn't be lost in the sea of sound the crowds made.

"Hey Calice, this is Barong. Good to meet you!" He said cheerfully, though as he stared from atop his soapbox, he couldn't quite see the knight. "Can you move out of the crowd a bit? I can't find your character!"

Shortly after, two mages, by the names of Litari Lights and Blazentra offered them selves to the party also. "Of course, we'll be glad to have you!" He shouted back at them, before turning back to his party chat, asking Calice, the party-leader, to invite the two.

"Elementalist-clerics, eh?" Barong noted, when the two new names popped up in the party window. "Looks like we have ourselves a party." He reckoned through the party chat. "Good to meet you, my name is Barong. Looking forward to exploring with you all."

 

[Crispy]

---

Calice​

34 / 34 HP | 10/10 MP | 2/10 XP​

---

​

As Barong joined the party the others standing around grasped what had happened. Rather than take it personal the bulk of them made their own parties and went their separate ways. Slow going Calice moved around to the rear of the supply crate, a small isolated nook without any other characters dawdling too near. At Barong's words Calice found the two spell casters he was after and sent them each an invite in turn. He looked the party information over from the tab it brough up and gauged everyone's roles. He knew he was a tank, no doubt about that one, but both elementalist/clerics fit a broader role that made them versatile and in higher levels likely in heavy demand. Barong on the other hand seemed to be a pure DPS character meaning that the party ought not have any trouble defeating enemy mobs.

"My name is Calice, good to meet you all."

Though he had by default been given the status as party leader Calice didn't understand if it gave any privileges over the others. Evident that he could invite and kick while they couldn't there didn't seem to be anything else. Content with their group he asked the only real question there was.

"So, where do we start?"

 

[Rainjay]

---

Blazentra
26/26 HP | 14/14 MP | 2/10 XP

---

Shortly after calling out to the to-be party members, she was sent an invite, to which she promptly accepted as she followed the group to a quieter place. She began running through the basic stats that she could see from each new party member, one being a ranger/thief, another being a knight/soldier, and the final member being like her, an elementalist/cleric. Well, certainly nobody was going to be dying in their party, not for a long time. It felt like a good overall group to her; they had their tank, damage dealing, healers, and the special skills that only the ranging/thieving type characters could provide to a group.

"So, where do we start?"

The one named Calice spoke up after the first one did, Barong. She quickly worked through how to set herself to the party-chat and offered her own greeting.

"Blazentra, call me Blaze. Seems like a good party to me. Although nobody here really knows where we're going, do we? We should probably just explore around until we find something, I gather." She suggested, glancing around at the open field. Some people already seemed to have begun to disperse, searching for monsters to slay and dungeons to explore. Hopefully they would stumble across somebody who could trade them goods or something, too, or perhaps they would have to craft all of their gear in this game. She hoped not. The last time she had played a game with that particular set up, she gave up halfway through- it was too time demanding for her attention. Carolina would find herself putting down any game if it wasn't rewarding enough after a certain point in time. Although, with this game, everything felt so much more personal. It would be hard to put down regardless.

"Maybe over towards that forested area? We could find some mobs there, probably, although it'll be overrun soon if there are any," There probably was going to be at least a small collection of people that made their way over to the forest, although in all likelihood it was going to be more like the entirety of the players population. Forests just felt like the right place to go to in a game like this, and they certainly seemed nicer than a desert- if she could feel the warmth in the air already, lugging through the desert would be nearly as bad as it would be in real life, and she had no desire to go there quite yet.​

 

[Mac the Impaler]

| Azymus | Level 1 | Regenerator |
| 30/30 HP | 11/11 MP | 3/10 XP |
______________________________________________________
​

This world truly is beautiful

Azymus had been walking for a while now, admiring the wave-like patterns the wind made in the grass and taking in the sounds and smells. The starting area was behind him now, lost amongst the see of rolling grass, ahead he could see the edge of a forest but his MMO instincts told him he wasn't ready to venture there yet. Instead, he kept wading through the grass, not really looking for anything but keeping an eye out for everything. He had just crested a grassy knoll when he saw it, movement in the grass near the base of the hill. As he focused in on his target, a list of health bars appeared on his UI.

Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆

Curious, and slightly wary, Azymus approached the group of 'Harenn' for a better look. They appeared to be rabbits. Big Rabbits, about the size of an Alsatian if he had to guess, with over-sized ears twitching back and forth. Other than that they were unremarkable, for an MMO anyway. They were standard starting zone fodder if their levels meant anything, and one star out of a possible five must mean they weren't too dangerous. Decision all but made, he readied his Knuckler and began to charge down the hill towards the group of Harenn. Before he had covered half the distance they were all stood up and looking at him, ears twitching at attention, then the two closest broke into a run to meet his charge, while the other 3 spread out behind them.

He met the one charging on the left first, swinging his arm upwards and slamming it right in the chest as it leaped at him. A red number eight appeared in the air between them and its health bar drained to a sliver of red. The second one jumped and raked him with its claws as it sailed past, a red 2 floating in its wake. Azymus spun and punched it as it landed, sending it sprawling with another red 8 depleting it health bar almost fully. Turning back, he saw the first Harenn regain its footing and move to attack him again. One punch later and it went rag-dolling into the grass trailing sparkles, followed shortly by the other.

Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆

The remaining 3 Harenn chose this time to attack, the first one charging and getting punched squarely in the face, the second trying to catch him off balance but missing him as he sidestepped and getting a fist in the back for its trouble. The third got him while his back was turned, hitting him for 3 damage and then hopping back out of danger. It was the Level 2, the one that hadn't taken a hit yet. He quickly disposed of the two wounded Harenn as they turned to attack him, keeping the last one in his sights, before he turned and began his charge.

Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆

Then, it did something he wasn't expecting. It rose up on its back legs and let out a cross between a scream and a bark, the high-pitched sound visible as it called to its allies. He heard half a dozen answering calls before more Harenn started showing up.

Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆

"That's cheating." He spat at the calling Harenn. "This time, you die first!"

 

[Kestrel]

As Skia wandered away from the landing site, he would hear a strange sound. He could see a figure, clad in red, engaged in combat ahead of him. Then, from behind, the same sound he'd heard before echoed through the air. Several dog-sized jackrabbits suddenly passed by him, racing towards the battlefield. On his UI, Skia could see they were monsters called Harenn, and they were about to gang up on the one solo player in the distance...

---

Barong
26/26 HP | 9/13 MP | 4/10 XP​

---

After their acquaintances, the group set out to explore. Following Blazentra's suggestion, they headed towards the woods to the west, but it'd be a while before they would arrive. The new-found party traversed the grassy plains for a few minutes, as Barong whistled and occasionally made a comment about the environment. "I think the summer right here is better than the one we have in France. It's been raining for two days straight now." He mentioned, as he stared at the clear sky. Although Barong enjoyed the weather and environment, he was getting a little anxious for some action. He would get his wish.

Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆​

A group of ten jackrabbits at the size of small dogs appeared to be grazing before them. Six of them were level one, the remaining four level two. Barong smirked, and announced to his party what he spotted. "Look ahead, fresh XP." He mentioned in the party chat, wondering if the Harenn would be able to hear him if he spoke out loud. They were still several meters away from the family of monsters, and they were rather spread out as well.

"I have a plan," Barong began as he drew his gun, then needlessly twirled it around his finger. If this worked like any other MMO, the monsters would come for them when attacked. Barong also hoped they'd take the fastest path towards the party, and group together. Plus, he wanted to try out his skill...

"I'll pull all six of the level one's. When they come close, Blaze or Lit can light them all up with a big spell. Calice, can you be prepared to deal with the others if they draw close or well, don't die?"

Barong stuck out his gun as he waited for an answer, registering all his six targets before pulling off his Bullet Volley skill, but as his aim registered the last target, completely contradictory to Barong's expectation, the skill fired off and sent a bullet to each of the six level one Harenn! "Whoa, not what I meant to do!" He called out, "Not so fast, anyway! Thought I had to confirm my shot!"

But as expected, the level one harenn ran towards the party now. Not as expected were the level two harenn who, after a short moment of hesitation, followed closely behind them. As predicted though, they formed two clusters; perfect for a well-placed AoE... But that second batch of rabbits could pose a problem. Barong drew his gun and started firing shots at the ones in the back. Should they get to close, Barong could always run away, hopefully breaking up the harenn if he could hit a few of them so they'd follow him...

 

[Crispy]

The day was quite nice compared to the week prior. A drudge of rain had soaked the earth and mud churned under the tires of Jesse's car as it trudged its way out of his driveway. He'd had the complete intentions of abandoning the dreary overcast today and loosing himself in the new VRMMO beta he'd gotten access to. Apparently someone had other plans though as the system he used wasn't working. Not good enough with computers to fix it himself he sent off an email to a friend of his that was. The good news was that it could be fixed. Of course it would have to be in a few days when the part came in. Sighing in frustration Jesse asked if his friend knew of anyone that would lend him theirs to use. He doubted it but Jake came through yet again. He thanked his long time friend and promised to pay back the favour.

That was the reason for the old, now classic, 80's luxury K-car knock off revving to life and heading out onto the open road. Jesse didn't quite live in the sticks, but he wasn't in a subdivision either so he had an hours drive to get to where he needed to be. Jake had told him about his friend Mikami, a university student he played online with fairly often. Jesse tried to recall if he'd ever seen her in game but between the two of them neither could think of an instance. Nonetheless Jake assured his friend that she would most likely have a second system he could use and he was fairly certain she'd gotten beta access as well. If this didn't pan out Jesse didn't know what to do short of selling off his beta access for some quick cash or waiting the six days and spending some cash to play a new game a few months before it released.

As he drove down the road, the exhaust rumbling in the background of some old tunes blaring loud and free, Jesse sent an email to Mikami.

Hey, I'm Jake's friend. He goes by Mattius online most of the time. He told me to get a hold of you about a spare VRMMO system. I got a beta for The Depth Online but my machines busted so I was wondering if you could help me out. He said you had a beta too so maybe we can help each other out in game too.

- Jesse

His phone sent off the email with a quiet whooshing sound as his car rumbled under an overpass into town. Even if the girl didn't have a spare system for him to use Jesse figured he could kill some time in town and might be able to find the part he needed in a pawn shop or computer fix-it store.

It wouldn't be until an hour later that Jesse's phone would receive a message. It was a rather awkward one as well; it showed no sender, it just mentioned a location;

Local campus. Third lane right, second house, third floor. Front door is open. Knock thrice.

And that was it; the end of the mysterious message.

Sitting in a parking lot eating a hotdog and fries he'd bought from a food truck Jesse turned to his phone as it lit up and shook violently on his seat. Wiping the mustard and ketchup from his mouth he brought the phone to his face and read the message over. Knock thrice? That was a bit out of place. It sounded as though he'd been recruited by some medieval assassin brotherhood. Regardless the chuckle it brought from him was a hopeful one as well. If Mikami, for he assumed it was her that sent the message as there was no sender name, was willing to do him this favour who was he to judge how she spoke. Finishing the rest of his hotdog in one large bite Jesse whirled over the engine and headed to the campus to seek out the mystery sender.

When he arrived at the home he brought the car into the driveway. Turning it off he knew whoever was inside probably hadn't heard him. It was nestled tightly between two others and had built upwards when it couldn't fatten itself any further. Curtains covered most of the windows, but the front door was left open, loud music blasted from the inside and the windows shaking from the bass. Climbing the small steps up to it Jesse, for some reason feeling nervous, knocked thrice on the door, despite it being open. Stepping down a single step he waited for someone to come answer.

He was met by a young man in his early twenties, whose most apparent traits were that he probably worked out every day and had never heard of sun-lotion. "The door is open, chap. You must be new around here." He said, twisting a baseball cap on his head sideways. "I'm Joey, welcome to the party." And Joey extended a hand. "Come inside and get yourself a beer. Plenty in the fridge"

Taken a bit aback by the gorilla of a man Jesse nonetheless was accustomed to these kinds of people. They frequented the drag strips when he was younger and were, once you got over the general alpha attitudes of them, nice people. Reaching out to shake the mans hand Jesse walked through the doorway following Joey.

"Thanks for the offer but I'm good. Friend of mine says a girl named Mikami lives here? That right?"

As great as the tunes were Jesse preferred older rock ever since his father refused to let anything other than the classics play in the garage. The party was mid string it seemed, people sat on the couch drinking beers and generally enjoyed themselves. They waved at Joey and he returned the gesture smiling back at them.

"Mikami?" Joey muttered, a bit dumbfounded. It took him a while to understand. "Oh you looking for Kana! I don't know her last name, man. Third floor, it's all hers. Just eh… Knock thrice. She doesn't open up for anything else."

Further indoors, the house was a mess. There was obviously a party going on, if that wasn't already obvious from the music, as not just Joey's couch, but also the staircase and apparently bathroom were hang-out spots. At the top of the second pair of stairs, there was a hatch with cardboard glued to it. On it was written; "Shut the fuck up."

When passing through the hatch, it could be seen it wasn't just that which was covered in cardboard. In the tiny space Jesse entered, absolutely every inch of the floor was. Even the walls were isolated. About two steps from the stairs was a door, filled with headlines cut out of news articles. Morbid ones, such as "Woman drowns six month old son" and "Terrorists claim 24 lives in bombing". The door itself was spray-painted black, although the edges and the heck, traces of pink could be found.

The job getting through the stairway was hardly anything compared to creeping silently along the cardboard, shoes shuffling slowly as Jesse second guessed coming through the hatch. He was revoking his favour to Jake when this was all said and done regardless of whether or not he got to play the game. This was a bit much and he felt he should have at least been warned that what he would be walking into. In all likelihood Jake never knew and would never understand.

Jesse skirted his eyes over the macabre clippings and now, more nervous than before, knocked thrice. He waited silently, the thrall of bass downstairs slightly muffled allowing him to hear his own breath. He swallowed forcefully as on the other side someone opened the painted door.

The door slowly opened, and a girl peeked from behind the gap. A small chain that kept the door from opening too far was shortly removed and the girl opened the door completely so that Jesse could step in. She was about 5'4 tall, of asian descent but with an oddly pale skin for her heritage, large bags under her eyes but most notably a scar that went all around her neck. She studied him for about twenty seconds without uttering a single word, before she finally invited Jesse to enter her room.

"Come in." She said, sounding rather indifferent, closing the door the moment Jesse did. Her room was, like the hallway, covered in cardboard, although there were some rugs here and there she stood on with her bare feet. The girl skipped over the cardboard on the floor, as if playing it was lava, before she dropped herself in a large, wheeled office chair. She looked at Jesse dryly, as her eyes slid from top to bottom.

"Take off your shoes." The girl spoke plainly, as she rolled her chair over the cardboard floor to a large, classic chest and began rummaging inside of it.

Listening to the small woman Jesse slipped off his shoes and set them neatly by the door. Inside her room was strange to him who lived alone without the bothers of others. The cardboard did well to muffle the noise but the steady drum of the bass was still audible. Standing quietly Jesse waited to see what Mikami was digging out of the chest.

It was a VR headset, and older model that had obviously been tinkered with. The girl turned it around, refitting some wires and blowing off some dust. She leaned as far out of her chair as possible, reaching to a drawer underneath a desk, on top of which a massive three screens stood. From the drawer, she took a screwdriver and opened a few parts up to check on them.

"Jesse Wilcons, I''m Kana." She spoke at her own leisure, not even boring to look at the man, instead focusing her eyes on the old VR gear. "You're lucky I owe your friend a favour. TLO beta is almost starting up. I don't want to miss a minute of it."

Kana turned the headset again, seemingly checking if she'd forgotten anything. Which she did, as Kana dove back into the old chest, mumbling some technobabble that might as well have been an alien language. "Oh yeah," She suddenly mooted. "There's some chips on the desk. Help yourself. This'll be a few minutes."

Kana didn't lie when she said it would only be a few. She got out of her chair with the gear, skipped over the rugs on her bare feet again and offered the headset. "She's old, but she works." Kana added, as she handed it over to Jesse. She only held onto the cord, which she pulled along back deeper into her room and plugged into an outlet below her desk. "That should be it, just in time." Kana mentioned, as she pointed at the clock. "Ten minutes for launch. You can dive here, if you want. I know you won't make it back home in that time."

Taking the headset from Kana with a cautious hand Jesse looked it over. Tampered with and worked over the bit of tech seemed to be in fair shape and it did work as she promised. He turned it over a few times in his hands and wondered if it would fit on his head, then realized it was far more likely to electrocute him before it was too tight.

"Thanks for the bed." Awkwardly silent Jesse looked around the room trying to find where he would sleep before speaking again. "May as well jump in the game then shouldn't we?"

 

[Pyralithia]

Skia Ippotis|Berserker/Tank
30/30 HP|10/10 MP|3/10 XP

Skia's crimson eyes widen from beneath his helm as the giant Jackrabbit flew right passed him, narrowing his eyes he slides the Demonic Blades from their sheathes. 'Harenn huh? lvl 1-2, well time to test the combat I guess' Wielding the black swords at his sides he dashes forward toward the player clad in red that looked like they were about to get ambushed. He couldnt move super fast like a rogue due to his heavy armor limitations but he managed to reach the group of Harenn now surrounding the player within a few moments. Still dashing forward she uses the momentum as she attacks the Harenn going for the one clad in red's back, slashing one sword up at a angle for the Harenn's backside it hits causing 8 damage. Before it can react she stabs it through the middle with her other sword in the same fluid motion. That seemed to do the trick as the Harenn's hp bar reached zero collapsing at his feet with a few sparks. 'Even though this is just a game the combat is amazing, it feels so lifelike' A bit consumed with admiration for the game he lets his guard down for a moment letting a lvl 2 Harenn rake his back with their claws. Growling as he sees a red 3 float up above him before fading away he quickly spins around slashing the Harenn at the same time causing 9 dmg, it jumps back before charging back in along with another lvl 1.

Grinning she meets the first Harenn with a swift kick to the face making it yelp and fall back, a red 6 floats up. The Harenn she had dmged already before attacks next leaping for her, she thrusts her sword at the last second running it through. Letting the monster fall from her sword she attacks another at the side of the player, with just one slash to the side the lvl 1 Harenn perishes a red 14 floating in the air.​

 

[Hitomi Forsyth]

Litari
{23/23 HP} {15/15 MP} {2/10 XP}

It was a bit sudden, Litari had accepted the party invite and followed then everyone else began to leave; she didn't say much of anything else as she followed behind Barong, Calice, and Blaze who's names she had barely caught and she hadn't even had the chance to introduce herself to them, but being a team player meant dealing with impatient people sometimes. Litari had still been trying to take in the beauty of the world when they had all begun to move, but she decided she'd have time to admire it later when they eventually had to relax.

When they came across the creatures called Harenn she had been a little surprised but didn't give it much thought, as MMO monsters were wont to do they ganged up on the one who had attacked first and with a 'tch' under her breath, her first spell was not an incredibly weak one from the way she had looked at the stats so she makes a bit of a face and turns to Blaze. "Hej, Blaze! Let me get the group of Level 2 Harenn! Help Barong!" She was feeling fairly confident and held her hand up a small fire forming in her palms that grew into a larger fireball that she tosses at the four level 2 Harenn, it lands in the middle of them and explodes outwards in a ring of fire that goes 1 meter out and causes the level 2 Harenn to be knocked down as well, but when the Harenn get back up Litari gulps a bit and calls out to the other member of their party. "Um, Calice help me out here please!"

{12/15 MP} {3/10 XP}​

 

[Rainjay]

---

Blazentra
26/26 HP | 8/14 MP | 4/10 XP

---

Blazentra followed along with her party, stepping through the grasses with her her staff in hand. It was a bit strange to feel herself holding it, and idly wondered how, in a virtual reality game, she would use it to fight. "Up in Canada, it's okay. Can't expect much. I much prefer it here, though." She said as a list of scattered names began to appear on the horizon.

Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆

Harenn, huh? So that's where all the newb fodder was. They seemed to be classified on a level system- a clearly distinguishable one, she thought, if it only went up to five. Six level ones, four level twos. Seemed easy enough, but you never knew when you first started up a game. They could call up a bigger enemy to help them, or perhaps they attacked in endless waves. In that case, a cleric would definitely come in handy, but she wasn't sure how long she could keep up healing and attack spells with only a single MP pool to draw from. While AoE's and clerical skills were definitely not foreign to her arsenal of skill, she had never played the two simultaneously. Perhaps if it was a big enough mess she could start again later.

"Look ahead, fresh XP." Barong said, looking at the weird rabbit-like creatures. "I have a plan. I'll pull all six of the level one's. When they come close, Blaze or Lit can light them all up with a big spell. Calice, can you be prepared to deal with the others if they draw close or well, don't die?"

"Seems good," Blaze offered in response, readying herself and eyeing their targets. She would wait a moment, and plan her attack. Even low level mage attacks could be mini-AoE's sometimes- they didn't always target one enemy, and she was about to find out if hers did. After Barong launched his attack, he hit, but didn't kill all of them. Strangely, his attack hit several, instead of one. Her lips raised in a smirk as she began to summon her own spell, lamely labeled "Water Blast", raising her staff and arms in what felt right, creating the magic that she thrust towards the group of level one's heading towards the group, leaving the level two's to Litari as suggested. She launched the attack twice, the small blast radius necessitating two attacks to knock down all but one Harenn, which could be dispatched quickly. Trusting that somebody else nearby would kill it, she turned her attention to the level two's.

"One last level one-er. Can anybody get a single attack on it?"

Harenn♂ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆

-6 MP​

 

[Crispy]

---

Calice
30 / 34 HP | 6 / 10 MP | 4 / 10 XP

---

​

The walk was pleasant and the visual effects on the game still hadn't dulled to Calice. He was keeping a lookout trying to spot any movement, but as the waves of grass swayed he was lost in simply watching the environment. Even when people promised virtual reality they always seemed to forget the little things. A breeze, annoying bugs, even the smell of the fresh outdoors, this game had thought of it all. Hearing Blaze say something about Canada Calice nearly asked her where she was from, but an enemy mob interrupted his half hearted focus.

Having never agreed to be the janitor Calice found himself without much choice as Barong fired off a volley. The Harenn, for none had been defeated, separated into two groups while the strongest of the flock stayed at the rear. After the first shots from Barong Litari followed with a quick attack to the higher level rabbits. The flames threw back a dazzling light and Calice felt the heat from them. He wondered how well he would have fared against the same attack, and then pushed the thought from his mind. As Blaze felled the two weaker groups Calice saw his opening.

Inhaling deeply he gripped the longsword with both hands, the left gripping only the pommel. Without a shield yet he would have to rely on the sword to do everything for him, though he doubted at such a level that he would be massacred by a plain mob, especially being a tank. He remembered his skills and thought of which to use. By how easily Blaze had defeated the weaker ones he assumed that the others weren't doing too well either making Rally a bit useless for the time being. Charge was still a valid option and so he took it upon himself to point the tip of his sword at the foes and push forward.

Astounding even himself with the force from his step Calice watched his sword plunge into one of the level 2 Harenn almost instantly. Dead from the blow the oversized rabbit fell at his feet and the knight regained his posture and faced the remaining four enemies. If he was going to have to pick which to hit next it made sense to take out the bigger targets, but the smaller one acted faster. Jumping towards him at an impressive speed Calice swung his sword in an arc from the high left to the low right and caught the beast in the center of the strike. Thrown to the side it collapsed as it struck the ground.

His heart beat like a drum. The combat was something he hadn't experienced in any game before. It was genuine and his attacks felt natural even though he hadn't the clue on exactly how they worked. This exhilaration plastered a broad grin on his face as he readied himself to face the last three enemies. Anticipating an attack from the rest of the group to hit at least some of them Calice lead another charge, this time not relying on the skill, and found himself engaging the left most cretin. It moved quickly to the left, his right, then tried to rake the claws along Calice abdomen. Backing away he was too slow and felt them cut into him. Without thinking he brought the sword overhead and smashed it down onto the Harenns head killing it.

Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆​

Actions

Calice, Charge (120% STR damage) vs Harenn♂ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
[1.2*(10-3) + (0-0)] = 8 Damage.
Harenn♂ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆ defeated.
Calice - 4 MP.

Calice, Attack vs Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆
[(10-2) + (0-0)] = 8 Damage.
Harenn♂ - Level 1 - ★☆☆☆☆ defeated.

Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆, Attack vs Calice.
[(7-12) + (4-0)] = 4 Damage.
Calice - 4 HP.

Calice, Attack vs Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆
[(10-3)+(0-0)] = 7 Damage.
Harenn♀ - Level 2 - ★☆☆☆☆ defeated.

 

[Mac the Impaler]

| Azymus | Level 1 | Regenerator |
| 25/30 HP | 11/11 MP | 6/10 XP |
______________________________________________________
​

Time for a Mach Punch

Azymus grinned as his intent and the skill launched him forwards, his fist trailing energy, and slammed the Harenn Level 2 into the air. A red star flashed up with a golden number 30 in the middle, 'Critical Hit' written in gold beneath it. Stunned by the amount of damage he had done, he was caught off guard as several Harenn charged him from behind. Turning to meet the oncoming charge, he found four dead Harenn and a warrior not too far behind them. Giving the warrior a quick nod of thanks, he turned to fight the two remaining Harenn, both level 1. They were circling him warily, waiting to see which way he would move so one could get him from behind.

Clever.

Choosing the one on the left, he charged towards it, winding up a punch as he ran. After a moments hesitation, the Harenn leaped at him, only to catch his fist with its face. Sliding to a halt as his enemy tumbled away, he pivoted, swung his arm wide, and caught the second Harenn with a backhand as it tried to attack him from behind. Both Harenn being heavily wounded, it was simple for Azymus to finish them off with a punch each. Turning to face the other player, he was surprised when a small text-box appeared on his UI.

______________________​

BATTLE REPORT​

______________________​

Enemies: Harenn​

Kills: 10​

Rewards: 1 XP​

______________________​

"These mobs are only worth a tenth of an Experience Point? I guess it's going to be a slow grind for now."

Closing the text-box and walking over to one of the dead Harenn, he smiled when a -LOOT- icon appeared above it.

Some things never change

Activating the -LOOT- button, a list appeared of everything he had just looted.

-LOOT-
-Raw Harenn Meat x1
-Harenn Fur x 3
-Lucky Harenn Foot x1

Now, looking down at the dead Harenn, only a small text-box appeared.

| Harenn - Corpse - Level 1 - Skinnable |

"Hmm, I wonder..." he mused as he poked the Harenn corpse.

| You do not have the 'Skinning' Skill - You cannot harvest this object |
​

He made a 'Tch' noise in disappointment and then turned to go and loot the other dead Harenn. They all dropped almost the same things, so he ended up with 31 Raw Harenn Meat, 33 Harenn Fur and 4 Lucky Harenn Feet. Seeing that the other guy had finished fighting too, he walked over to thank him.

"Hey, thanks for watching my back, dude."

Looking around at the dead Harenn, he figured that this guy knew what he was doing.

"You seem pretty tough. Wanna team up?"

 

[Thundor]

[Thunder: Level 1, Techno Master. Stats: HP - 24/24, MP - 14/14, 1/10 EXP]

Objectives: N/A​

Logging in was a great experience, introduction meant everything in terms of presentation. An incredible feeling rushed over Kami as he entered the virtual reality and became Thunder, the 'Techno Master' of sorts. That's what he referred to himself as, anyway. It was funny, how no one seemed to really have named themselves anything once they were able to dual-wield two classes at once, so he decided to be the first to do that. As the Techno Master, he felt off, of course this was mainly due to the robotic arm he had now, but he would get used to it, for the character probably had, too. Now logged in as the character, he could do what he wished and decided to check through his character's information.

"Alright." Thunder said to himself. "I don't got much, but I guess I could be worse off. I'd say I'm more in the middle, as far as how much of a chance I have to survive, anyway. I got everything I need, I suppose." Taking a look around, he found mostly NPC's left in the starting area. "Typical. Everyone wants to start exploring. Man, talk about expected." However, something caught Thunder's eye, an unusual thing that should be there was not. Deciding to close his inventory screen quickly, he kept this in mind for now. There was probably some message or announcement or some reason that was there, but he didn't see it as a problem. Thunder took in a deep breath with his nostrils to make sure, followed by letting out a breath with his mouth. Sure enough, it felt like he had just entered into another world. Let the game begin.

Deciding to explore the starting area first, Thunder started to walk around the place, looking at whatever players were left and all the NPC's he could see. He loved how everything felt real, brushing his hand against a building he felt alive here, he felt like he was in a completely new body that he had, in a sense, created. However, exploring wasn't going to get him that far, so he sought out where the starting NPC was. Listening to her words and explanation, he felt like he was getting an explanation from a real person. It was clever and a nice touch, but Thunder knew that it was just part of the game, not an actual person. "Alright, thanks for all that. I think I'll do just fine here." Walking away from the NPC, he looked for a shop to settle down in and wait. His objectives were the first and most important thing to get down right now.

First Objective: Get a lab. This was the most important one above all others, this 'lab' he had in mind would be his base of operations to work from. This world was so large and expanded, he could probably find one somewhere.​

Second Objective: Find a partner. To survive, he needed someone who he could trust not to backstab him, who wouldn't get in the way of the first objective and someone who could help him survive above all else. Without this, he was surely doomed.​

Third Objective: Acquire better things. In any game such as this, it would become important to acquire better weapons, better armour, things that would help him survive. Survival was the most important key right now, he knew at any time he could be backstabbed or sneak attacked, but how to pull this off was going to be difficult.​

"With my objectives in mind." Thunder whispered to himself. "My legend begins."

 

[Kestrel]

---

Barong
26/26 HP | 9/13 MP | 7/10 XP​

---

Thanks to his team-mates quick actions, Barong's oversight was quickly covered. Their spells and slashes made quick work of the rabbits, leaving only two with a sliver of health behind. Moving a little to the side as to not have Calice between him and the harenn, Barong aimed two shots at the tiny monsters. Litari had conveniently knocked down for him to pick off, "Bang, bang." Barong smirked, as he pulled the trigger of his gun twice; one for each remaining Harenn.

With all health bars depleted, Barong playfully twirled with his gun before putting it back in it's holster. Shortly after, a results screen popped;

[dscroll]

BATTLE REPORT

Kills: 10
Battle EXP: 1

Barong
32 harenn meat
24 harenn fur
4 lucky feet

Calice
21 harenn meat
25 harenn fur
3 lucky feet

Blaze
29 harenn meat
29 harenn fur
2 lucky feet

Litari
23 harenn meat
23 harenn fur
5 lucky feet​

[/DSCROLL]

"Won't you look at this. That went well." Barong concluded, turning to the others. "Good game, team. But those are a ton of items. I hope we don't have an item limit..." He mentioned, checking his inventory. "This went pretty well. How about we scour the place a little more? There has to be something bigger to grind on."

 

[Hitomi Forsyth]

Litari
{23/23 HP} {12/15 MP} {5/10 XP}

"I hope there would be something bigger, this doesn't seem to be worth it...though it is curious...do the ones who get the kills get the items? That makes sense I guess I'll just have to hit more than that next time." Litari didn't seem disappointed, she was quite thrilled that she had discovered exactly what her Fireball skill could do. From what she could see on the party screen nobody had been injured horribly. Of course they haven't Litari, they were weak use your brain! She scolds herself internally, but of course her constantly checking on her team mates would be the reason she would make an amazing Cleric. "There...aren't any items really huh...? No way for me to recover my MP then...tch, guess I'll have to be a bit more conservative with my magic..." It was a mutter mostly to herself but her team mates would hear it and it was a decent warning to Blaze as well.

"Well at least it seems we work well together, alldeles?" She finished her sentence in some other language, she had a fairly bad habit of falling into her original language; English was secondary for Litari and it was obvious in how heavily accented her English was. Though the accent was hard to place. "Aye, I'm completely willing to look for something stronger to fight with, even if I'm a mage, I think I can use a small normal attack without eating up MP..." Litari falls silent now going through the information and help section of her menu; she was studying to find out exactly how the world worked here now that they were standing still for a moment.​