Hello, ladies and gentlemen, Spiceracksargent001 here, and this is something of a new side-project I've set up. ELFI, take over for a sec.
ELFI: Of course, Captain. This story came about from an idea that has been in the Captain's mind for some time now, and the result is this story, which will run parallel to Phoenix Champion's Yu-Gi-Oh Virtual: Alpha Gear Chronicles. Spice has already consulted with Phoenix himself if this was fine, and has gotten Phoenix's approval for this.
Spice: Thank you ELFI, I can take over from here. Huge props to Phoenix Champion for letting me do this. Phoenix, if you're reading this, you are awesome. Thank you, so much for letting me do this. You are my inspiration, not just for this, but also for Remnant's Skybound Striker. Keep up the good work, dude, I always look forward to more of your work. As always, folks, constructive criticism is welcomed and highly appreciated, and if any of you want to bitch about what I'm doing here, just know that I have Flame Shield in my arcane repertoire. Alright, let's get started!
Hello there, everyone, the name's Cloud Skywind, and today marks my first day in a new life in Virtual Reality. You're probably curious what that means, right? Allow me to explain.
I've been hearing about this relatively new company lately called Data Life, who, about 5 years ago, pretty much took the concept of Virtual Reality and turned it on its head. How, you may ask? Instead of putting on a helmet or something like that and playing a video game like normal, they send you straight into the Virtual Reality world, with a startling attention to detail. How startling? From what I've heard, a woman can get pregnant in one of Data Life's VR worlds, have a kid, and if the woman leaves the VR world, she'll come out with a flesh-and-blood human child at her side.
Sounds crazy, right? Had a hard time believing it myself when I first heard about that.
Data Life's made a few different VR worlds over the years, Medieval Fantasy, Space Age Fantasy, Monster Girls, a Pokemon World - which was how I learned about Data Life in the first place; I've been a fan of Pokemon since Gen 1 - and, more recently, one based on the Yu-Gi-Oh card game, which convinced me to give their VR a try.
I'll admit, it's been awhile since I last played Yu-Gi-Oh, so I'd scrounged around for my own playing cards, since I heard that everyone going into the Data Life's Yu-Gi-Oh world can enter with a level 4 or below monster as a "starter monster", until I found the one I wanted, my Harpie's Brother.
I've put together a sort of Wind Attribute rushdown deck since the time when I, myself, actually played Yu-Gi-Oh, and Harpies are a key element of that deck. I know he's been officially renamed "Sky Scout" to clarify that he's not actually a Harpie and doesn't benefit from their archetype, but back when I played, he was called Harpie's Brother, and I honestly prefer the old name. It has a certain ring to it that fits this master of the skies much better than Sky Scout ever will in my opinion.
Anyway, as I was heading in to sign up for the Yu-Gi-Oh world, I kind of ran into someone while thinking about how I wanted to set myself up in this Virtual World. "Oh, sorry," the person I ran into said in a feminine voice, prompting me to turn my attention to the person in front of me. She was about my height with fair skin, blue eyes, and white hair that flowed down to her waist. Her attire, from what I was able to see, consisted of a simple, white t-shirt, light blue hoodie that she was currently wearing like a cape, and a skirt that started as white as her shirt, but faded to blue as it went down to just above her knees.
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," I apologize before holding out my hand for a handshake. "Cloud Skywind."
The girl blinked before smiling a little and taking my hand. "Diana Dust, nice to meet you," Diana says, introducing herself, before noticing the card in my off hand. "Are you signing up for Data Life's newest VR World too?"
"Yeah, it's been awhile since I last did anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh, though, so here's hoping," I reply with a shrug. "What about you?"
"Same, though I still play," Diana replies. We then head to different receptionists, reading what info was readily available.
"Type and Attribute…? What's the deal with that?" I ask.
"Well, you know how all Yu-Gi-Oh Monsters have a Type and an Attribute, right?" The receptionist asks, getting a nod from me. "Players basically get the same thing upon entering this Virtual World. Your Attribute not only affects the color of your starting outfit, it also gives you a single ability that takes effect regardless of your Type. Your chosen Type also influences how your character can transform as he levels up and the abilities he can gain."
I nod with a hum before looking to the terminal and begin typing in my info.
Name: Cloud Skywind
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Attribute: Wind
Type: Spellcaster
Now, for anyone curious why I chose to be a Wind-attribute Spellcaster, it's because I've always had a fondness for air as an element, and by choosing Spellcaster, I'll be able to use my favorite element as a tool for making my way in this virtual world. Air is the Element of Freedom, after all. It may not be the most popular element to use in most RPGs, but a master of the element is someone to be feared on the battlefield. Because most people who think elemental magic think of the archetypal "Elemental Trinity" of Fire, Ice, and Electricity, when a good aeromancer comes along, they break the mold and play by their own rules, with the only true limits being their imagination, their morals, and being in a vacuum.
"Done," I say after checking to make sure I got everything right.
"Alright, now, you may select one monster to start with when entering the virtual world. This Monster must be at or below level 4 to be considered valid."
"Harpie's Brother," I reply instantly, handing the card to the receptionist.
She looked surprised that I had one of the original English releases of his card, but nodded before handing me Harpie's Brother and an I.D. card. "Thank you, sir. All you need to do now is step into one of the digitalizers, and you'll be good to go. Enjoy your time in the virtual world!"
I nodded and looked to see that Diana had also just finished. "So, what are you going in as?" she asked as we made our way to the digitalizers.
"Wind-Spellcaster, you?" I reply while opening one of the digitalizers.
"Water-Zombie," she replies, doing the same. "See ya in the VR."
I nodded before stepping in and placing my I.D. card on the scanner. After the scanner finished, my entire world faded to blue.
When I could see again, I found myself standing in a dark room.
"Welcome, to the tutorial zone," a deep, disembodied voice called out. "Here, you will learn exactly how this world works."
After the tutorial said this, an object materialized before me. It looked like one of those Duel Disks from the anime, but smaller and with three slots. "This is a Bracer. Though it's appearance varies depending on the player's Type, all Bracers hold the same function. This is your Inventory, Monster summoner, Trap and Spell activator, Phone, Map, Enemy Analyzer, and much more."
The Bracer then floated away and found itself on the white silhouette of a man that faded in as the Bracer floated away. "To summon a Monster, all you need to do is put the card on the Bracer to summon it." To demonstrate, the silhouette put a card on the Bracer, which was followed by a Celtic Guardian appearing next to him.
"Players and their Monsters have separate Life Points," the tutorial explains. "Life Points are determined by Level multiplied by 100. Attack and Defense points are determined by the Monster's original Attack and Defense divided by 10. Unless actively defending, a Monster's Defense Points are treated as having been further divided by 2." Following this explanation, the two figures disappeared. "As you defeat wild Monsters, you gain experience points equal to the Monster's level times 10. To level up, a player must accumulate experience points equal to their level times 100. Monsters must acquire 1000 EXP to level up, meaning players level up more quickly than Monsters."
After the explanation of how experience works, Trap Hole, Call of the Haunted, Pot of Greed, Burning Land, The Book of Magical Spells, Rising Air Current, and Turtle Oath appeared in front of me.
"Trap Cards are single-use only, with few exceptions, so after using a Trap, you must find or buy a new one," the tutorial explains, the spell cards fading out. Then the Traps fade out as the Spells return to full color. "The same applies to most Spells. Continuous and Equip Spells are multi-use, but require a cooldown between uses. Field Spells unlock new areas on your World Map for fast travel if you have not been to the location already, while Ritual Spells are located throughout the world, requiring you to first locate it before you can obtain and use it."
The cards then vanish altogether, being replaced with two treasure chests, though one was of much better quality.
"In addition to Ritual Spells, Loot Boxes can also be found throughout the world. These Loot Boxes yield Gold and the occasional recovery card. Similar chests, referred to as Treasure Boxes, can be found on the open road, and often yield cards of a rarer quality," the tutorial explains before the two chests disappear.
"Lastly, to obtain new Monsters you must buy them, obtain them as drops from fighting monsters, or, if you are the same type as the Monster, by talking with them and convincing them to join you. "That's all you need to know for now. Further tutorials will be available in the 'Help' section of your Menu when it is appropriate, now get out there, and have a fun new life."
With that, my vision faded to blue once more.
And with that, the first chapter comes to a close. Now, I'll be honest, I haven't played Yu-Gi-Oh since I was a kid, so I'm gonna be going off of the wiki and the animes (when I can get around to re-watching them) for much of what I'm running on for monsters and cards. Hopefully, I can make a story you all can enjoy despite this, so here's hoping. I'd especially like constructive criticism for this story because of my current lack of experience with Yu-Gi-Oh, every little bit counts.