Thoughts Color #F660AB
The city seemed somewhat deserted with more than half of its population gone. NPCs were the only ones left with a smile, but even their smiles seemed dulled and forced. Some players were so traumatized by the news, they tried to commit suicide. Of coarse, they simply respawned because it was not an attack from Vyrlo or his minions. Other players were in denial and suppressed the panic they felt. Then, there was the players who rejoiced at the news.
Kissa strolled down the street with a smirk on her face as she headed towards the Bale Forest. Her neko ears were perked up and she nearly skipped with each step. Indeed, the news of being trapped in the game was shocking, however it was far from devastating. In fact, Kissa was rather happy about the news. Life before had been pointless and mundane. However, now she had a reason to live; an objective in her life other than earning enough money to pay the bills. Any fear she should have felt was overshadowed by the ecstatic thoughts of her first mission. She wondered what monsters she might face, and how many it would take to level up. It wasnât long before she was in the outer ring and nearly to the entrance to the Bale Forest.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden voice, from a player she hadnât heard approaching. Instincts took over. Swiftly, she turned on her heel and brought her fists up, ready for an attack. She knew the town was a safe zone, but maybe when you are close to an exist another player could still attack. For all she knew, the invasion on the system could have deleted the safe zone rules, leaving no one in the world safe. With all the chaos that had just transpired, she was on her toes and ready for anything.
âHey⊠uh⊠do you want to team up?â
It took a moment for her brain to process the question. Golden eyes stared incredulously at the player for a moment more before she let her guard down. According to the player-card he was the same level she was, however she couldnât shake the feeling of intimidation. He stood nearly 8 feet tall, while she was only 5 and a half feet tall. The design of the Duneil was odd enough to cause apprehension in most. Gazing up at his face, she examined his features. Despite being tall, eagle taloned, and multi toned, he didnât appear like a villain. In fact, Kissa could smell the scent of earth and flowers on him, as if it was built into his character design. Though, Duneil were creatures created by Vyrlo. Could he, or any of them, be trusted? There was no immediate answer to any of her questions and only time would tell. With that thought, she begrudgingly decided to answer his question.
âSure.â It was simple, to the point. Once in the field, she would try to engage in conversation. Maybe the Duneil would slip up and reveal his true intentions. Shrugging her shoulders, Kissa turned and pointed to an NPC knight, just outside the city. âHe gives quests.â The words were monotone as she spoke them, and she tried to conceal any indication she was still on guard. Without looking to see if he was following, she headed over to the knight. Compared to a regular knight, this one seemed so low in rank, we was nothing more then an errand boy.
âOh good! I have been looking for someone to help me! I canât leave my post but the damn slimes have ransacked the area and now our supplies are everywhere! Is there any chance you can help me? I see you have a friend, so maybe between the two of you you could kill 10 slimes and collect 5 Supply boxes?â
There was a small window that allowed for the player to select âyesâ or ânoâ. After tapping âyesâ, making the box disappear. âYou catch all that?â She asked, glancing over her shoulder to gaze at him once again. His posture hadnât really changed and didnât indicate anything malicious. With no signs of being threatened, she started to wonder if she was just being hateful. Was it the sheer appearance he had to bring about this worry? No, even if he were a human or any other race, she knew she would not be able to trust them in times like these. Nevertheless, his large cyan eyes,slits for a nose, and horns did not make things easier. More than his appearance was the history of the Duneil. If the gods could go as far as to trap players, could they alter personalities of certain players who chose Duneil as their race?
When the Caithe Duine paused for a moment after Munioâs question his tail twitched nervously. Did he pick a bad person to ask? Or was it weird to randomly ask a stranger to work together? It wasnât in other games, but were VR games different? Then the Duine responded positively and Munio couldnât help the relieved grin that twitched onto his face. He followed his new companion to the quest-giving knight and listened as he explained the quest. When the Duine - the sign over her head declared her as Kissa, so he should start thinking of her as such - turned to him he pushed the Yes button as well. Step one of finding his way around this new world, complete. But what now? He didnât even know what class Kissa was. Would she want him to support her or was she another mage? Well, all he could do was ask. âMy class is a mage,â he said. âIf we make a party I can heal you. I do have an attack spell too, so I can fight as well. What do you want to do?â
Kissa stood with a rather blank expression on her face.This could be a trap. She thought to herself, scanning his facial features once again. However, he didnât seem to hold any malcontent or devious plans. If he was planning something, he was damn good at hiding it. She sighed and nodded. âThatâs a good idea. Iâm a Knuckler by the way.â She smirked while bringing up her fist, clad in leather gloves with small bronze spikes on them. They were far from intimidating, it was her only weapon, as of right now. âAlright, so I guess you will be my support?â She asked, turning back towards the entrance and entering the forest. The slimes clustered together only a few feet away from the stone path of the city. Taking a deep breath, she flexed her fingers. I canât get hit. I wont show weakness in front of this guy! Donât get hit! It suddenly crossed her mind that she didnât know his name. Of coarse, she could just click his player-card again and look, but that wasnât much fun. âIâm Kissa of the Fel Forest.â She stated, though it could have sounded like boasting to some. Her player-card wouldnât show the title, since it was self proclaimed, but to her, it was a part of her. A part of who her character.
When Kissa paused again, staring at him intently, anxiety crowded back into his mind. He had to be doing something wrong. Then she agreed and told him her class, relieving the tension that was building up. Munio nodded and followed her into the forest. Slimes oozed all over debris and trees. They didnât look too threatening, but he had to remember he was the same level they were. He opened up his menu and equipped his staff. How embarrassing it would be to go into his first fight without his weapon equipped! âNice to meet you, Kissa,â he responded to the Duineâs introduction. âIâm Munio.â He hadnât thought about giving himself a fancy title. Hopefully that wouldnât make him weird. âThanks for grouping with me,â he blurted. He remembered to send her a party invite after he said that, of course. He sent the invite, ears flat to his skull with embarrassment. âReady?â
She bowed her head slightly to him. He seemed harmless enough and Munio didnât really sound like the name of someone evil. Then again, most villains didnât have evil names in games like these. They had pretty common names or names that meant something good. She pushed the thoughts to the side when the little message box came up, asking if she wished to join Munioâs party. After tapping the yes option, she gazed at him, just as he spoke again. Grouping? Who even says that? Oh gods, is he a newbie to gaming? Despite these thoughts, she held a small smile on her face and prepared for battle. Encountering another player had made her forget how exciting her first mission was going to be. âYeah, Iâll go in firstâ she offered. Clicking around on the various slimes, she found a level 2 slime. Three hits should do itâŠMaybe four. She wondered, hoping to avoid getting hit herself. âYou better not blast me Mage.â She warned before drawing back her fist and hitting a slime as hard as she could.
The pink slime tumbled across the grass, taken by surprise. However, it was quick to target understand it was now in battle and target Kissa. That was the only thing it was quick at. It hopped slower than a turtle back back over to her. It was almost kind of sad how slow it it traveled. Kissa snickered at the sight, readying her second attack. That was when everything went wrong and she lost focus.
While moving her fist up to attack again, she noticed a blob of pink jello like slime stuck to her knuckles. âOh GOD! GET IT OFF!â She screamed, flailing her hands as far from her body as she could. âThatâs disgusting!â She cried, jumping back from the slimeâs headbutt attack. âHEY!â She screamed at Munio, her ears folded flat like an angry catâs. âA little help!â She yelled, dodging another attack from the slime. She knew she couldnât dodge forever, but the thought of hitting the blob again made her skin crawl.
Munio stepped forward to follow Kissa, only to misjudge his new body, falling to the ground again. When he recovered he saw his teammate freaking out about something. Was that a piece of slime attached to her hand? Didnât it stand to reason if you punched something gooey and sticky some of it would stick to you? Confused by the extreme reaction, Munio blinked, trying to understand. He shook his head. Now wasnât the time to analyze the odd reactions of his teammate. It was time to help her. Carefully he circled behind the slime, not wanting to trip again. Pointing his staff at the slime, he cast his Aura Pulse spell. The blast hit the slime in the center, sending a spray of pink goo everywhere. He leapt towards the slime with the intent of slamming it with his staff, but he misjudged the distance and the strength of his new body. He landed feet first in the slime, stuck and unable to get out of the sticky blob. Instead of panicking, he raked at the slimeâs insides with his sharp-taloned toes. While this did considerably less damage than hitting the slime with a spell or weapon would, the system still counted it as an attack, and he managed to get the slime to release him. Now, however, the slime targeted him. It bounced towards Munio, who found his feet sticking to the ground from the slime goo that was still stuck to him. It headbutted him in the torso, causing an unexpected amount of pain for something so squishy.
The slime continued its attempts to headbutt Kissa, which she continued to dodge. The creature was slow after all. A thump caught her attention, and she moved her eyes from the slime to Munio for a split second. She couldnât think of what made him fall, but would ask later. Instead she decided to try and attack the slime again. If he was down, she was the only defense. Summoning courage, she prepared to make contact with the slime again, hoping it would kill it, even though she knew it was very unlikely due to her level. She closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath. I can do this! Leaning down, she thrusted her fist towards the slime.
A blast of slime goo sprayed her from head to toe. Though it had no paralyzing effects, the Caith Duine stood stunned. The sticky jelly like substance against her skin sent a chill down her spine, making her hair stand up. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. This somehow made things worse. Particles of the slime slid down her arms and legs, collecting in the top of her boots and gloves. Her mouth opened but all that was uttered was a tiny screech like squeak. Her neko ears went flat against her head and panic started to fill her. Rapidly, her chest rose and fell and it almost appeared she was hyperventilating. What if this stuff doesnât come off? Where is a bath house to even get clean Her mind screamed, repulsed at the idea of having to wear the grotesque particles for long.
Panic was shifted to rage in a fraction of a second. Her eyes scanned the slime cluster for the one they had been attacking. It wasnât until Munio was being attacked by the monster that she found it. âHell no! He is my kill!â She screamed in furry, darting over to the damaged slime. With all her anger fueling her might, she hit the slime. New goo stuck to her gloves, but rage instigate the continuous assault. âI hate you!â With each screeching word, there was another punch thrown. The monster froze for a second before bursting into pixelated crystals and dissipating. This did not stop Kissa though. She continued to punch the ground a few times where the slime had been, though there was no trace of him now. When he disappeared, he took all particles that had been knocked off. Due to her anger, it took Kissa a moment to realize that she was no longer covered in slime. When she finally did, her actions paused. She stood up right and gazed at Munio with her brows furrowed. âWhat the hell was that?!â She demanded in fury. People in the second ring of town could probably hear her screams. âYou blasted me with that-â Her voice cut out, another shiver of disgust assaulting her spine. âThat stuff..â She cringed at the thought of it touching her again.
Over each of the players the amount of EXP gained was displayed. 51 EXP ; 32 Copper for Munio. And a whopping 38 EXP ; 19 Copper for Kissa.
Munio caught his breath and raised his staff to block the slimeâs next attack. Dang sticky slime goo! Then Kissa lunged at the slime, yelling something angry-sounding. Was he doing something wrong? Kissa had yelled at him to help her. He watched as the Duine punched the slime into a bunch of crystals, then punch the ground where the slime was moments before. Munio lifted his feet experimentally and to his delight found that the slime goo adhering his feet to the ground was gone. At Kissaâs screams he clenched his teeth. He was only helping her! He was about to protest when the rewards for the fight hovered over his head. A moment later the rewards were replaced by a banner declaring he had leveled up. As the banner faded, the news sunk in, and he grinned. He was doing this right! He glanced over at Kissa and found that unlike him, she hadnât leveled up. Great. That probably meant she would start screaming again. âI was only helping you,â he said defiantly. Then, in a softer voice, he said, "But I will try to avoid getting the goo on you next time if I can.â
For a second, Kissa thought of replying, her anger swelling but stopped. It wasnât really his fault and itâs not like it was still on here. Closing her eyes, she sighed and crossed her arms. âYeah, I know.â She replied bitterly. It wasnât easy to expel the anger, even when the logical side of her brain was right. But she tried. Her ears perked up a bit and she forced a smile, though it was pretty obvious it was forced. âI-â She stampered at the apology. It wasnât something she normally did. Matter of fact, it was an extremely rare thing for her to apologies for her anger. People around her either excepted it and knew her well enough to know she was just a hot head, or they didnât stay around long. That was other games though. She was stuck in this one and having a friend would be nice. A mage was pretty good backup too. âIâm sorry, Munio.â She finally said, as if she had been holding her breath while thinking. Him receiving more exp was irritating, but she knew how games worked. He might get more exp this time, but next she might get it. The money part was annoying too. That is when she smiled. Her golden eyes lit up as she gazed at him with a devious expression. âWell rich man, after this quest, you can buy me dinnerâ She snickered and winked. It was the best she could do with her anger. Even if it was a joke, it made her feel better and hoped it would show that she wasnât a character that only felt anger. âHow about we defeat the rest of those-â Her face contorted at the thought of the repulsive monsters they needed to defeat. âslimes.â She squeaked out, shivering slightly.
âI accept your apology,â Munio said seriously, glad that he wasnât in the wrong. When she had paused and stammered, he had been preparing himself for an onslaught of more noise, but she had apologized instead. She was still recovering from her freak out during the fight, so it was understandable that she needed time to control her voice when she spoke. Munio was unaware how hard it was for Kissaâs apology to come out, and he was also unaware that her suggestion that he could buy her dinner was a joke, to which he nodded his agreement. He had earned more money and he had splattered her with goo when she had shown signs of hating it. âWell, one down, nine to go, right?â he said. âWe got this.â With that he pointed his staff to another slime and cast Aura Pulse on it, dealing damage to it and lowering its resistances so Kissa wouldnât have to punch it so much. Now that he knew more of what to expect, he would be able to fight better. More importantly, he would be able to do this teamwork thing that he had struggled with in the past. He felt he had accomplished his mission of making a friend.