Guilds Online R: Ch.1

So, this is a story I've been thinking of writing for a while. I have a bunch of stuff written at the bottom to explain stuff about my knowledge of video games.

Long story short, I don't know much about video games, so I'll attempt to write this with as much as I know about games. If any of you know more about video games and see something wrong with the game mechanics, please tell me, otherwise I'll never know.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this, and yes, I am still writing I Hope She Treats You Well. That story won't be done for a while...

If you have any questions or comments, review or pm me and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Constructive criticism is also welcome.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Love Live or the concept of VRMMORPGs or the Amusphere.

"Onee-chan, I'm going to the market. We don't have any vegetables..." she mused as she scanned the fridge.

"Why don't we just eat without vegetables?" I suggested, but I already knew her retort.

"Mou, onee-chan, that's not good for you. You have to eat vegetables." and...there it is. "Anyway, I'm going to the big supermarket so I'll be back in a few hours." she said as she took her wallet and put it in a small handbag.

"Okay. Be safe, alright?"

"Hai~" she was about to turn the doorknob before she turned back to me. "Make sure you're done when I come back, okay?" she asked softly, her blue eyes filled with nothing but sympathy.

I made a sound of acknowledgement, avoiding eye contact with her. She wasn't obliged to care for me, yet she did so on her own accord. As much as I wanted to express my gratitude to her, I know my pride wouldn't let me.

I sighed, walking across the small living room into our shared bedroom. There wasn't much. Inside was our small bed that was in the far corner with a dresser across from it. Beside the bed was the window and our desk. The view from the window wasn't really a sight to behold either. Nothing could be seen but a trash filled alley from the fifth floor of our apartment. Atop the desk was a lamp, my old computer, my Amusphere and some textbooks from school. We decorated the room by painting an orange strip of paint halfway through the, otherwise, white walls. We also had a red, oval rug at the center of the room, including some posters littering the walls.

Her posters consisted of school idols and professional idols, as well as some of the boy bands she liked. Mine, however, were posters of some of my favorite video games. The posters ranged from MMOs, RPGs, and some VR games. My favorite though, pinned above our desk, was the VRMMORPG Guilds Online that was released a few months back.

I walked over and took the Amusphere in my hands, giving the machine a sentimental stare. It was but a cold, hard machine that meant nothing to me, but also meant so much. I don't know where my mind would be without it...or Yukiho.

I sighed heavily, looking at the time before setting it on my head, and laying on my bed. I stared at the ceiling for a while before closing my eyes, and allowing my mind to be taken by the wonders of this cold, hard machine.

"Link start."

The darkness that enveloped my vision from closing my eyes was soon banished by a white space filled with a multitude of colors. In a few seconds time, those colors blended into different shades and tints, giving color and shape into the virtual reality that surrounded my metaphorical figure.

Opening my eyes to expose my blue orbs to the new world, I felt like a different person – a new, better person. Here, I didn't have to worry about the reality that I existed in, but wasn't present in. I didn't have to think about what the future had for me in that world. I didn't have to indulge in the issues of my present life in that world. I didn't have to remember what I had known of in that world.

And that made me happy.

I strolled through the complex town in which I spawned in. Players and CPUs alike spoke vibrantly throughout the streets of Ragaron. Players were running around, conversing with their party and guildmates about missions to complete, and hunting grounds to, well...hunt. CPUs were either filling the roads with stalls to sell goods, or in the taverns serving other players.

I, myself, was more of a solo player in this world. In the few months I had played in this game, I hadn't involved myself with other people. Whether it was because I wanted isolation or it was because I didn't want to trouble people with my life, I didn't know.

Walking along the stalls, an amber necklace caught my eye. I found myself attracted to the color, and I just couldn't stop looking at the gem. It was a simple oval shaped stone that was wrapped in thin, clean metal, giving the necklace an elegant look to the overall plainness. I normally wouldn't bother with pieces of jewelry such as that, but I found the urge to purchase the good. Something about the color drew me to it, filling me with a feeling I have yet to feel from an individual, let alone an inanimate object.

"How much is this necklace?" I asked the woman at the stall.

"5 silver pieces." she replied, her virtual eyes brightened at my inquiry. The price itself was pretty reasonable, but I imagined something of this craft to be a little over 1 gold piece. She seemed to see my confusion because she spoke further. "I have had the necklace for some time now, but no one has been interested in it, which is why I lowered the price value."

I nodded, musing over what she said. "How much was it originally?" I asked while opening my inventory to extract my Bag of Reel.

"1 gold piece." I took out 1 gold piece and handed it to her before gently taking the necklace, grasping it by the chain.

"Keep the rest." I offered a small smile before walking off towards the fields. Normally I wouldn't do something like that, but something about the necklace had me do so.

Entering the fields just outside the town, I stared down at the necklace. Looking at it now, the color really didn't suit me. My hair was a ginger color, my eyes were bright blue, and my armor had an orange shade to it. I sighed before storing it in my inventory for some use in the future.

I glanced at the top of my screen, seeing I had about 2 hours before Yukiho would be home. I decided to just go into the forestry to train a bit.

I equipped my shortsword and trekked over to the forest. Not many players were around since most went on missions with their fellow mates, but there were a few here and there. Most were either new players getting used to the game, or players around my level, gaining experience by killing the monsters that lurked in the underbrush, in the trees, or even those that roam confidently in the open.

I approached a Green Wolf that was one of those spawns that roam around, thinking they won't be killed. Although, the Green Wolf is the weakest of the species, so they aren't hard to kill off. Some can be quite cunning, though.

Apparently it sensed my presence because it snapped towards me, its teeth bearing through its long mouth. It growled lowly before running to lunge at me. I drew my blade quickly, slashing its incoming claws and sidestepping to avoid the flying mass of flesh.

It growled at me, showing its full mouth of jagged teeth as it leaned heavily on its left paw. My sword had cut along the bottom of its right paw, making it hard to walk, or even stand on it.

It roared angrily before lunging at me again. Apparently this Green Wolf was really stupid. I ran forward, only to raise my blade to stab through the flesh of its underside. To ensure its death, I ran along the bottom with the blade, causing its virtual blood to be split on me.

Before it even hit the ground, it dissolved into pieces of blinding white, giving me experience points and droppings from it.

Before I could do anything else, I saw another Green Wolf approach me slowly. I then sensed others and as I turned in my position, I saw that I was surrounded by a pack of Green Wolves.

I smiled at the sight. I was free here, free to do what I liked. Here, I didn't have to worry about the reality that I existed in, but wasn't present in. I didn't have to think about what the future had for me in that world. I didn't have to indulge in the issues of my present life in that world. I didn't have to remember what I had known of in that world.

This was the place I lived for.

This was the place where I didn't have to worry about who I was.

This was my reality; my virtual reality.

So, this was the first introduction. I will probably do one for each character, but I'll put multiple in one chapter just to speeds things up. Did you readers like this, though? I wanted to introduce the mindset of the characters in pieces like this. If you didn't like this, I'll just start the development of the story with the next chapter. If you did like it, I'll make more of these while building up the plot.

This is kind of like an introductory chapter to see if readers will like something like this. And just for reference, this will not be like SAO in which the characters are trapped within the game. I simply used the concept of VRMMORPGs and the Amusphere.

Also, I am not the most knowledgable when it comes to video games (which you can probably tell from the posters Honoka has in her room). Although, I've wanted to write something like this for a while, so I'll try to make use of the internet's vast information base when it comes to video games and such. If any of you see an issue with the game mechanics in this story, it would be good to point it out to me, otherwise I wouldn't know.

I'm simply taking my limited knowledge of video games, a bit of guidance from my cousin, and some reference from anime and tv shows to write the game mechanics. Hopefully I don't screw up too much...

Anyway, make sure you tell me if you liked this, or if you didn't like it. Insight from you readers is always helpful. Thanks for reading.