The Real World is Just a Crappy Game

Status
Not open for further replies.
As Arashi rested she couldn't help but realize something,"I can actually feel the pain.If this is only a dream...how can that be possible?It seems there is more going on here than I thought."She said softly to herself.Once she finished healing and recovering her mana she stood up.She stretched a bit and looked around,"Now where should I go?"She said in thought.

Then she waved her hand bringing up her main menu then she selected the teleport option.When the list of locations came up she started scrolling through it to pick one.Suddenly another window popped up in the way,"Something strange is going on.Maybe you should check the egg in your inventory."She read out loud.Then she raised an eye brow,"Huh?What could be going on?"She said confused.Then she closed the window and went back to the main menu and selected inventory.Then she selected the egg and took it out of her inventory.

Egg_firemonster@2x.png

Once she was holding it she could feel it shaking around in her hands then it slowly began to crack open.Her eyes widened,"What's going on? It looks like it's hatching,but into what?"She said surprised and curious.She hoped that what ever it hatched into would have double if not triple the eggs value.Silently she watched as the egg cracked up and shook more violently then she laid it down.
 
When the Rouge caught up to them, Kiku nearly panicked-until Mana spoke to her while making eye contact. Then, before she knew it she was passing Mana and the Rouge, getting closer to the gate while noticing two girls suddenly appear and approach the small group of males. She watched in awe as they fought. 'They must be Yui and Nai....' Was the first thought that came to mind as she watched closely, waiting by the gate silently, eyes narrowing as her body tensed ever so slightly. She began to look for Mana, wondering how she was. Deep down, Kiku wanted to help- but had the feeling that these newcomers had it mostly under control at the moment. She would still jump in if they needed her in any way though, because....they're nice people, Kiku could tell that much.
 
Mana smiled as Kiku made it clear. The rogue looked furious, and now he was going to take it out on Mana. He leaped at her, so she dug in her heels to slow down and tried throwing her body to the side. Unsurprisingly, she lost her footing. Mana tumbled and rolled--the rogue's dagger passing just inches above her--until she finally came to a stop against the closest building.

The rogue smirked down at her as he approached. Before he could do anything, though, a large duel announcement flashed above the street. Mana was a little surprised to find her own name up there, but when she saw the names next to it she grinned. Yui had come to her rescue once again. Like the time they met all over again, Mana thought with a silent chuckle.

Yui didn't waste much time. Even as the rogue tried to decide which opponent he would attack first, Yui launched herself over the ground at blinding speed to score the first hit. That settled it as the rogue countered, and the two entered into a duel--within the duel. Mana pulled herself to her feet, but was so enthralled watching the fight that she didn't think to join in. Yui took a hit from that dagger, but gave him a harder hit right back. The rogue was basically dead already; that last hit had left him immobile.

But she isn't stopping.

Mana leaped without hesitation as Yui spun. She hit the rogue and bore him to the ground just milliseconds before Moegara separated the boy's upper chest from his lower chest. The deadly sword cut through empty air--and a few of Mana's loose hairs. Mana fell on top of the rogue, who was desperately gasping for air. She quickly pulled herself off and looked down at his face: his eyes were rolled back, leaving only the whites exposed.

He just felt his chest be cut open. It's no wonder he went into shock. Mana shook her head, then stood to face Yui. "Be more careful! That could have killed him for real!"
 
"Mana, let's not forget we're in a video game here. No matter how real it seems, the game system still exists. Hence the duel notification. That means respawning is probably also here. Besides, you really want someone like that roaming free? I don't know what he did but he doesn't seem like a particularly pleasant person." She sighed. "Alright he lives. But if he so much as moves an inch, then I'm going to bury this blade so far into his neck that the hilt's come out the other side too." It was a shame too, because Yui had been looking forward to the XP she should have received. In the time she had taken speaking, the knight had moved within attack range. Now that it was close, she managed to get a proper look at it's equipment. She breathed a sigh of relief, though she'd never admit it. The axe and the armour were both high quality, and had probably cost a small fortune, but they still had the gleam about them that suggested the wearer had used them maybe twice at most. It was highly likely that this man's role in combat was to look the part rather than play the part, and his skills probably reflected that. They would look stunning and strike fear into the hearts of enemies, but damage output-wise, they were likely weak. She realised that the knight had probably raised money as a debt collector and hired mercenary more than anything else. He probably hadn't even seen the door to a higher level dungeon yet. That being said, it would still take a lot to take this guy down.

She adopted a defensive pose, sword held at arm's length. She focused solely on the man infront of her, trying to read his actions. She intended to dodge and block attacks for now, to empty his mana pool and to lower his axe's durability as it connected with the ground. She would also tire him out. It would be incredibly difficult to keep up the offense in such heavy armour. She was relatively tired herself just from trying to make sure her right arm didn't get in the way of her left.
 
Mana held her stern glare until Yui gave in. Indeed, it was still inside the game; and it was true that this boy had been about to attack her. But that still didn't justify killing him. With Yui's permission, Mana hooked her arms under the rogue's and hauled him to the edge of the ring. She knelt over him and applied what little first aid she knew: stop the bleeding (wait, there isn't any bleeding in Heaven's Bounaries), check for a pulse (far too faint), listen for breathing (barely a weak wheezing). Mana felt a lump catch in her throat when she saw his health bar inching down.

No! Don't panic, Mana. Um, um... Dr. Marga! With a sharp breath, Mana summoned a persona that could handle the situation. Dr. Marga was always cool-headed and had never let a patient die. This boy would be no exception. The first thing to do was elevate his health. Lifting the rogue in one arm, Mana pulled a potion from her inventory and pressed the vial to his lips. When she tried to pour it, though, the liquid spilled out around his mouth and none went down his throat. Mana frowned and pulled out a second potion. This time she dumped the contents in her own mouth, then covered his mouth with hers and forced it down his throat. His body reacted to the fluid, gulping it down and upping his health.

Mana pulled her head back to check. His health was up to a fifth and his breathing had normalized. His eyes had shut, but now they were slowly blinking open. The very first thing he saw was Mana--and her two bright, magenta eyes. "Relax. Don't move yet." In his weakened state, the rogue couldn't resist her Mesmerize. His body remained slack in her arms, though his eyes shifted around the scene in an effort to remember where he was.

Mana couldn't see it, but behind her the hunter was faltering. He'd adapted to the new system quickly--he had to in order to survive against Nai--but he'd kept one eye on Mana the entire time. At this point, he faced Nai squarely, put up his bow, and conceded his loss in the duel. His name was crossed out in the announcement above them. He ran and dropped at his friend's side. "Takeaki!"

The rogue's eyes focused on his friend. "I told you to call me Akatsuki in-game. Now go away; a cute girl is holding me, and you have no right to interrupt this dream."

The hunter breathed out a massive sigh of relief. "It's not a dream, idiot. She just saved your life, and kissed you full on the lips to do it."

"It was an emergency treatment to save a life," Mana defended. Then she glared down at the rogue with steely eyes. "And if you ever say anything about it, you will never be able to run far enough."

Akatsuki gulped. The hunter nudged him and pointed up at the duel screen. He stiffened, then relaxed again when he saw a line already going through Haldir. Akatsuki withdrew as well, leaving the knight as the last man standing against Yui and Nai combined.

"Give it up, Shogen!" Haldir called at him. "We lost."

"We didn't lose! You gave up, you wuss! Forget you two; I can take them on my own! You're fired!"

"Oh yeah?! Well we quit!" Akatsuki shouted right back. "We'd rather hang out with this bunch of beautiful girls anyway!" He tried giving Mana a roguish grin. She smiled back at him, then promptly dropped him to the cobblestone. "Ouch!"

Dr. Marga was done and Mana returned. "Yui, Nai, good luck! I need to find Kiku... Ah-ha! Kiku!" Mana had spotted her at the edge of the ring, so she ran over to her. "I'm glad you're safe. Don't worry; Yui can't lose to anyone." Mana stood happily beside Kiku, watching the Sunblade with admiration shining in her eyes.
 
Kiku had watched as Mana saved the Rouge's life, then the Archer ran over to them and words were exchanged between them and the third male. Kiku turned to watch the knight battle the two girls; Yui and Nai. She heard her name being called and turned once more to find Mana approach her, reassuring her that Yui couldn't lose. This reassured her, causing her to relax and nod while giving Mana a genuine smile, instead of the small one she was so used to giving everyone else besides her best friend back in the real world.

"I'm glad you're okay, and that Yui can't lose, I was starting to worry that something bad would happen." Kiku sighed. She went back to watching the fight, her smile turning into a small frown. "Oh yeah thanks for the help, Mana." She added, glancing at her from the corner of her eyes, the corner of her lips twitching upward as she spoke. Kiku felt that deep down, she could trust Mana. She began to wonder who else they'd meet while here, as well. Also, how many people were actually stuck here anyway?
 
Last edited:
Yui's focus was intense. She failed to notice that the archer had dropped out, and also that the rogue had left. She stood, watching the knight. She was aware of her breathing and her pulse. They rang in her ears like the ominous tones of the bells that tolled when a fate was about to be decided. An appropriate metaphor, given the situation. She steadied her breathing, and appropriately her heart slowed also, fortunately unaffected by her shoulder wound. She realised she had no idea whether that would heal or not. She really hoped it would, because she kinda wanted to learn dual wielding at some point.

She couldn't tell whether the crowd was actually holding it's breath or whether she had just managed to completely tune out the world around her, though she suspected the latter given she could no longer make out individual clouds. The knight seemed to be in a similar position. It was also concentrating very hard, inspecting it's foe. She couldn't see it's full face because of a visor, but she could see enough to notice a bead of sweat roll down his face. His constitution must have started failing. Yui admired his acting skills. If he had been wearing a full-helm, she would never have noticed that. Apparently Nai had not, as a bolt of night-black lightning streaked through the air and scored a glancing hit on his upper back.

The bolt had knocked the breath out of him, and Yui took the opportunity to attack. She ran forwards, covering the 5 meters in under a second, and jumped right at the last minute, spinning up as she did so, so that her sword gouged a diagonal line across his chest, ending at his left shoulder. She twisted in the air, activating Godsend. She channeled all but 12% of her remaining mana reserves into an attack and accuracy boost, and Moegara's next strike found flesh at the weak-point in his armour between his neck and his shoulder plate, embedding itself several inches in his soft, vulnerable flesh, before being ripped out as Yui backflipped away, putting her entire weight onto the knight's leg, hopefully crushing something in the process.

As she landed, a second and third bolt flew through the air, disconcertingly close to her ear each time. The first hit the knight on the shoulder, just left of where her sword had hit. The second was a solid strike to the face. The third magical projectile was not electricity. A sonic-speed beam of bright white light struck the knight right in the center of his breastplate, waited a couple of seconds, then burst out of the same location on his back - a critical hit from a very intense flame. After the light faded, there was little remaining of the fallen warrior but a smoking metal shell, a charred, low durability axe, and a burnt corpse.
 
Ren was walking around looking at the scenery around her 'This really has to be a dream' She thought as she had continued to explore around, so she could get use to the areas and no where everything is at. "Hm...I wonder.." She had tried to open her inventory which she succeed in doing. Her eyes lit and she smiled brightly seeing she still had her pen and wings. "Well that's a good thing" She said with a smile.

She had equip her wings and pen "I'm sure sure flying in first person view will be harder and scarier when you're not use to than third person view" She said with a sigh. "Well i should at least see what my pen is capable of" Ren said before she had drew a star with her pen, Blue and purple light following after it, she smiled but had soon frown when it didn't work "Yeah...This is going to take time getting use to"
 
Mana winced at the finish. She had to turn away from the smoldering remains; if she looked for more than a glance, she was sure she would vomit. "Akatsuki, is he... dead?"

The rogue looked at her in confusion, then at the corpse. "If you really have to ask..."

"No, I mean dead. Is he still part of your party?"

That set a light off in his head. Akatsuki's eyes flickered left, then widened until they were a pair of saucers. That was all the answer Mana needed; she said it before the rogue could. "He's not online anymore."

"Uh, right. But that could mean anything!" he protested weakly.

"It means he's not part of this world anymore." The words fell heavy, even on Mana's ears. The people near them were muttering as well, several of them sending dark glances toward Yui. Seeing those glares--the hate contained in them, the judgment in their eyes--Mana felt her heart hurting. Drawing herself up to her full height (as miniscule as it was), Mana marched out to confront Yui. She stood right before the tall Sunblade, locked stares for a moment, then began to preach loudly to the entire crowd.

"Thank you for saving us from that man! Just thinking about what he was going to do to us, I-!" Mana's small form began to tremble. Now, before anyone could leave, Mana had to convince everyone standing there that Yui had acted nobly. Now was the time to work the crowd. Now, right now, Mana had to put on a show. "Here we are in a new world--in Heaven's Boundaries, the world that we love--and this man immediately tried to force himself on my friend and I! Had the two of you not stepped in, we... I may have been..." Mana broke into tears. She fell into Yui's front and sobbed, a painful mixture of terror and relief. "Thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you..." She just kept saying it over and over.

Akatsuki and Haldir watched in stunned silence. Around them, the crowd's dark murmurs changed from words against Yui to words against the deceased knight. The players began to disperse, going about their own way. A few even walked to Mana to offer a few comforting words, and to thank Yui for her heroism. Finally Akastuki couldn't take it anymore. "But we were, too-"

"She knows," Haldir stated flatly. Akatsuki turned to look at the hunter, confused. "She could have turned this entire crowd against us. But she put all the blame on Shogen, the one person that can't be punished further."

"But why-"

"For the same reason she dove in front of her friend to save you: so nobody would be hurt. That girl... She's as innocent as a lamb."

Akatsuki remained dumbfounded. Finally he just shook his head. "Stop interrupting everything I say. I like finishing my sentences, you know."

Haldir smiled. "Let's go. We shouldn't stick around too long."

"Eh? I want to stick around. That girl's totally cute, and we've already kissed!"

"Look at her angel and tell me you want to stay nearby."

"...Roger. Well then, adventure awaits! Can we pick up some other girls and run the Desert Ruins?"

"Sure. As long as you promise to not get fresh. Somehow I feel like that girl would know."

"After today, I don't think I'll ever get fresh again. Unless she's super cute and doesn't mind a little skinship."

"Wipe that stupid look off your face. Nobody will join our party if you look like that."

And the two vanished into the crowd.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Takumi
((Took a while :P))

Yui's face softened and she sheathed her sword as she saw the knight's name be removed from the duel marker. She realised, a little to her dismay, that she became a completely different person when she fought. She wasn't the same intelligent, cool person with a twisted sense of humour, she became a sadistic monster, intent only on preserving her own life in the only way she could with such an imbalanced stat distribution. She turned after declining the collection of loot - the armour was too badly damaged to be worth it, and it confirmed her theory - that it was just for show. The AV was incredibly low. The axe on the other hand was quite powerful, but she didn't have inventory space left to carry it and the rest of her items she could probably sell for more in a resource famine.
Upon turning, her eyes widened as an automatic stunned response to Mana's silent appearance in front of her. She had an alien look in her eye, and the words she spoke were also of the unknown. Mana was acting almost completely differently to the person she had encountered earlier (she suspected a day earlier, but the days had become meaningless to her before she had entered HB as a real person). "Hey, are you-" she started murmuring, but she stopped and began smiling lightly as she realised what the girl was doing. She stood there in silence, until after the crowd had begun to disperse. She looked towards Mana. "Hey, thanks for that. If you hadn't convinced that horde then I'd have gained a reputation as a player killer - something I could definitely do without." She waited a second, before continuing. "So, why didn't you let me finish off the rogue then, if you didn't mind me killing the knight?"
 
"Not here," Mana said in a hushed tone. She straightened herself up some, wiping her tears away and forcing a smile. "I want to treat you to lunch! As a thank you." "The show isn't over until we're off the stage," Mana sent in whisper. She took Yui by the hand and pulled her down the street, letting the others follow as she looked for a small diner they could hide in. As she ran, Mana's hand waved about in front of her--navigating her menu. She sent out three friend invites: one to Kiku, one to Akatsuki, and one to Haldir. She smiled as each was accepted.

Mana ground to a halt when she found a small cafe off the main road. Stepping inside, she lead the party to a large, round table in the corner by the window. There was enough space for eight people, so their small group fit comfortably. Mana set herself across from Yui--and Nai, who was at Yui's side by default. Taking a deep breath and checking nobody was around, Mana finally gave her answer.

"I did mind you killing the knight! I told you to be careful!! Our bodies are completely real here. Being attacked hurts! And killing... means they're actually dead." Mana's voice was very small by the end. She shuddered and leaned back in her chair.
 
Yui was somewhat confused as to Mana's sudden changes in character, but she went along with it regardless. She reminded herself to ask who Mana's new friend was at some point. Not long after, she found herself seated on a surprisingly uncomfortable wooden chair in a cafe. Nai immediately placed herself next to her, ever in a good mood, probably elated, thinking that the only reason Yui won the fight was because of her thunderbolt, which in part, was true.
"Hey, don't go saying that like I'm not conflicted about the whole matter. I try to think logically, I don't know if you'd realised that before. On the one hand, I just killed someone, even though I know I wouldn't be doing that if I were entirely my real life self. Which means that the Ragnarok's personality traits are leaking over into my own, which may become a problem given her bloodlust once she's in battle. On the other hand, he was, I'm assuming a terrible person, and I felt strangely good while attacking him. Knowing I had complete power over whether he lived or died. I can't explain it, but ever since I was little I've loved imagining situations when I played with my lego figures - but I was always an evil deity figure who forced the lego figures to take each other's lives to survive themselves."
 
Mana started to protest Yui's rationale--that her game personality was influencing her. The words died in the Enchantress's throat. She could see the exact same thing in herself; just now, she'd performed in front of nearly a hundred people without a trace of stagefright. Because she knew it was a game, Mana's inhibitions were gone. Maybe that's why Akatsuki and Haldir--and maybe even Shogen--had approached Kiku so openly. It's just a game, so it can't hurt. It's just a game, so it's all right. It's just a game, so it doesn't really matter. It's just a game.

But it's not just a game anymore.

Mana shook her head. "I don't know if he was terrible or not. Even if you say he was, there were dozens of people saying you were a terrible person, too. It's not right for us to say that--to make someone the villain." Mana was struggling--genuinely so--to hold back her tears. What had, for a few minutes, been the most spectacular thing to ever happen to her had, in the course of a single fight, become something terrifying. The rules were all messed up, and there would probably be more horrors to discover. This was only the first. "We didn't know. There was no reason to think he wouldn't respawn. But now we do know, so we have to be sure not to kill anyone else."

Was she sweeping Yui's apparent sadism under the rug? Yes. Mana didn't want to see Yui like that. Her brain had detoured most of what Yui said to the deep subconscious and built an unbreachable wall around it.
 
"I agree. We can't be killing people off for the sake of it. In that case, you're in charge of stopping me if I start trying to fully destroy another player. Naturally, I'll try to control myself but I can't guarantee how well I'll be able to do it. I would get Nai to help you, but I think she needs to focus on learning combat before trying to correct anyone else. I don't want her getting hurt because of my own carelessness." She glanced around the table at her current company. Nai was seated to her left, and appeared to have stopped paying attention. She was flicking through the inventory menu. Mana looked close to tears, though, Yui dismissed it as she didn't think Mana was the kind of person to cry over such a matter. There was a fourth that Yui didn't know. She decided she probably had something to do with how the fight started. "So. I guess now that we're in this world, and boss raids have suddenly become dangerous, I suppose we should make a plan. Anyone got any ideas as to where we go from here?" There wasn't even time for Yui to catch a breath before Nai had enthusiastically half-shouted her response. "I say we get food! No one can make important decisions without food!" Yui smiled. "Yeah. After all that I completely forgot I was hungry." So. I guess she was paying attention after all.
 
A meal did everyone good. Mana finally had the chance to introduce Kiku, and she related the events that had lead to that duel. Afterward came the next important step: deciding what to do.

"We should be exploring, don't you think? I want to go back to Florence! The park has this enormous flower garden with all sorts of colors, and the forest has fruit trees everywhere. That, and I still have to fight a lot of Fragrant Lilies to collect Lily Petals. The woman at the magic shop promised me a special armor if I could bring her fifty." Mentioning the magic shop made Mana remember something, so she opened her inventory. "Oh, that's right! It's the same woman who sent me down into that dungeon where I met Yui. I promised I'd show this to Nai, so... here!"

Mana presented a small, blue crystal that glowed faintly at its core. "It's magical, but it doesn't have any information listed. I think it's some sort of magic shield, but I don't know how to make it work. I'd like to ask Beholder, if we can go to Florence."
 
Kiku(after catching up with Mana and her friends as they entered a diner and accepting a friend invite from the lavender eyed girl)sat next to Mana quietly as her and Yui spoke about the knight and so on. She tuned out most of the conversation until she was introduced to the two other girls; Yui and Nai. Kiku looked curiously at Mana when she mentioned exploring, and as she held a small blue crystal and told them what she thought it was supposed to be used for.

"Beholder?" She asked, the name one she hasn't heard of(or at least, possibly). She looked toward Mana as she spoke, her tone as curious as her steady gaze.
 
"Florence? That's where me and Nai should have been heading before the recent events anyway, so I can't see that being a problem. I'm curious about this magic armour though. Could be interesting." Yui glanced at Nai to see if she had any objections. She probably didn't, and even if she did she was much too absorbed in trying to work out what the crystal was to care about any changes to the plan. "Beholder's the thing that gave you that item isn't it? What makes you think it's able to tell you? I admit it was a curious creation, but I don't think it has enough conscience to do that. Then again, the rules of this world seem to have changed quite drastically. Who knows, maybe all monsters do that now?"
 
"Oh, right! It was just Yui and I, so you wouldn't know, Kiku. I found a special quest in Florence, from the woman running the magic shop. It sent me into a dungeon--Yui saved me from the boss there, that's how we met--and then into a hidden passage. That lead to Beholder's home. Crystal Beholder is a big boss, but he's also sort of an NPC. We started to fight, but he used these crystals to create a shield for absorbing magic; and when I broke this one off the wall the fight turned into a conversation instead. He gave me this crystal, and Yui and I left. When I talked to the magic lady afterward, she wouldn't accept it as finishing the quest. She gave me the Lily Petal quest instead." Accelerated as it was, that was the story. Thinking back on it now, a lot of it suddenly made sense.

"I think he does, Yui. We chatted back then, remember? Through the chatbox. I think he's intelligent. I think the magic shop lady is intelligent, too. I don't think everything can be intelligent--the mobs shouldn't be more than mobs--but there will be some special NPCs that are smart. The game left them to help guide us... or something like that. I guess it sounds a little mystical, huh?" Mana scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed about saying something so strange. "But I feel like something or someone wants us to be here. If that's true, that something would help us, right?"
 
"Just an idea, but maybe theres another reason that those NPCs were at least semi-conscious? Maybe there's a higher entity to the game, some sort of deity figure perhaps, the head programmer's avatar maybe, that designed it so that us becoming part of the game was inevitable, rather than just a spontaneous event?" Yui glanced around the room to see if the others agreed.
Nai placed the crystal back on the table a few second after Yui finished, somehow seeing it as a break in conversation. "You know, I think you might be right about this being a magic shield, Mana. If it's a part of the same gem the Beholder thingy used to create a magic shield then I bet it'd be a weaker version of that. Do you remember what it was like? Maybe the gem can be used to create a spell or enchantment that turns the shield on by itself?"

((Quick question that i'm too lazy to go to the OOC for - How is Nai coming across to people? I'm trying to balance having an immature personality with being somewhat insightful.))
 
"Just an idea, but maybe theres another reason that those NPCs were at least semi-conscious? Maybe there's a higher entity to the game, some sort of deity figure perhaps..."

"Not a deity," Mana stated immediately and firmly.

"...the head programmer's avatar maybe, that designed it so that us becoming part of the game was inevitable, rather than just a spontaneous event?"

Mana nodded her head slowly; it made sense. The game was always intended to pull everyone into it. The three days were probably for their bodies; it gave their new bodies time to grow stronger and build muscle memory so they could fight and survive.

Mana retrieved her crystal as Nai set it down. "That's my guess, but without knowing more I can't do anything. That's why we should go to Florence! We could travel through the Ukian Mountains, or we could just take the portal between towns. The forest with the Fragrant Lilies is on just the other side of the mountain, so I could finish up my quest on the way; also, the mountain is level 8-10, so we could practice combat without risk before reaching the higher areas. However, using the portal would be faster, and the forest itself is level 12-15 so the risk is still low. Which would you prefer?" Mana asked, looking at the other three
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back