Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Log Horizon. This is a fanfiction used to help with my writing skills and the fact I enjoy writing stories like these. All I own is the ideas used to make this fanfiction and explore Log Horizon and Naruto in a different way. Also, don't own any of the games and anime I make reference to in this story, but still got to give homage to video games since this is technically a video game fanfiction as well.
Warning/Authornote: This is the only warning I am giving for this fanfiction. Log Horizon dives into a lot of questionable themes, some of which includes gender roles, psychological, morals, and sexuality(both sides of the coin, not just homosexuality). I dive into both these themes and the darker ones with this story with it being my style of writing and wanting to give a deeper look into the Log Horizon's universe. However, even though I have this rated R, I don't have any really explicit scenes and such since, well, I personality don't like smut unless it has a purpose in the story. So, fair warning, read at your own risk. If you don't like stuff in later chapters, don't post a review like "Homosexuality is wrong" or such. If it doesn't have any constructive criticism in such reviews, they will be deleted from the review area as I gave the warning in this chapter. I do value people's opinions, it's just I rather keep the review area clean since FFNet is not my main site and I won't be answering reviews as fast as I did in the past. Alright, with this out of the way, onto the story below. Oh, I will be updating this on FFNet Friday mornings weekly as mentioned in the summary.
Edited by mossysauce
What is your desire, Adventurer?
"Boss, pay attention. I'd rather not have you rez the beginners."
Huh?... Oh, right, I'm playing as Las Boss. The pre-teen shook his head, trying to fight the drowsiness making his eyelids sink. He looked at the computer screens before him.
Almost all of them had some sort of complex programs running or some kind of character login screen. However, the screen right before him showed four people, all game character models, standing in some kind of forest. The two younger character models were fighting goblins as the two adult ones stood nearby where they could assist if need to. It was a game the pre-teen knew quite well: Elder Tales, a post-apocalyptic fantasy world MMORPG.
[Sorry. Nodded off for a moment.] The pre-teen typed into the computer, using his foot to move the mouse and click on one of the young characters. His character - a tall, white haired man - used a healing spell to replenish the health of the samurai-looking boy on the screen. He used the other foot to direct another mouse over the other screens, checking the complex programs.
Still no sign of the damn bug keeping the Alpha servers from connecting to the main game server, the pre-teen huffed. He was getting tired of doing all this work just because he was the only one who knew the programs well enough. Need to train some of the others so I don't have to deal with this anymore.
"How long have you been up, Boss?" The pre-teen, referred to as Boss, looked at the other adult on the screen, a classic mage character with a white cloak and glasses. Even his calm and somewhat stoic tone of voice matched the mage persona on screen.
How long have I been up? Las Boss looked around, finding food containers and wrappers littered around him, piled higher than the mess of papers, computer parts, and such that took over the small bedroom. It was a disaster zone. The only clean area was where several computer monitors and towers sat, humming right along with the air conditioners that were helping to keep the room cool. Las Boss snatched up a half eaten sandwich of the top of the pile and bit into it. The bread was slightly stale, but still perfectly edible.
[No clue. A couple of days?] Las Boss typed, hitting the keys hard. He could even feel the bags under his eyes. His whole body felt like it was sagging and ready to just fall over. It was only Las Boss's own will power that keep his body working.
"Wait, where have you been? I would have noticed you playing several days straight." The mage character asked, concern in his voice.
[Been working. Trying to debug whatever is blocking Alpha server from connecting to Elder Tales. Kind of regretting taking up the CEOs' offer to bring the game to my world as the director.] Las Boss popped his neck. His whole body felt oddly stiff and achy despite the feeling that it would melt to jelly the instant he relaxed. Must have been working longer than I needed to be.
"If that was the case, then you should have denied my offer. I shouldn't have asked for your help when you need sleep." Las Boss chuckled at the scolding he was getting.
"Ah, Minori, keep an eye on Touya's HP," The mage said, focusing back on the two younger characters.
"Hai!" A panicked girl's voice came up as the shrine maiden character cast a spell on the samurai character.
[Ma, ma. It's what I get for leaving the bad game.] Las Boss was slamming his fingers into the keyboard. Sheer willpower kept him from slamming a fist into the monitors before him. That and fixing one of his computers would take too much time. Even though there was now a company that made the small parts, he was still working on training people to make said computers.
"Oh, you quit the academy? Why not help us make Elder Tales reach a broader audience." More like work me to my bloody death, bastards! Las Boss thought as he clicked onto his internet menu and opened up a new window on the side monitor. It was a forum for Elder Tales
"Las Boss, you're not thinking of possibly... You know?" The mage character said, serious concern coming from the screen. Las Boss only rolled his eyes.
[No. Even I know Life is a Permadeath game with no restart. Though, there are always loopholes and glitches in any game. Even in bad games like this one I am in.] Las Boss clicked onto the forum window and opened a new thread. What should I start this time? Maybe tease the release of my webcomic that will be published soon for advertising the new updates? Though, I wish there was a way to restart this shit game. Maybe even change it into a much better game that I can play properly.
"Oh. Venting on the forums?"
[Venting on the forums. Hey, what do you think, tease webcomic release and publication or start another forum fiction?] Las Boss frowned at the screen. He was trying to think, but his head felt foggy and slow. Maybe I should hit the hay.
"Idiot! Why are you doing that?" Las Boss jumped, barely catching the bottle of water next to him that he knocked over. Even with the cap on tight, he did not want it to fall and possibly spill all over. Though, Las Boss found he impressed the two child characters with hearing voices of awe. He looked back at the screen, finding he activated an attack spell that killed a goblin in one shot.
"What you doing anyways, [ ]?" Las Boss looked behind him. There were several people standing there. At least two adults and some kids his age. The fact that they seemed to be shadows dancing in the light of monitor made it hard to tell. He rubbed his eyes, looking again with no change. In fact, he could not even make out any details on them. Just blurs of dull colors and shadows seemingly waving in the dim lights.
Either I really need to sleep or the last few weeks have finally killed my eyes. Las Boss turned around, typing into the computer. [Did you say anything? I was distracted.]
"Wow! I have never seen televisions like these." A shady hand reach for one of Las Boss's monitors and was slapped away by Las Boss. "Ow! What was that for?"
"That is quite rude, [ ]-san. By the way, how can you hold yourself up in your room? Even the most solitary insects are slightly social." Hushed whispering went on behind Las Boss, but he blocked it out.
"Stop ignoring us, [ ]! Because of you, sensei won't stop sulking!"
"[ ], I came here to apologize and I want you to return to the academy... I shouldn't have yelled at you."
I am not going to answer back. Speaking is useless. Las Boss thought, frowning with getting no answer from the mage. Though, the mage was one of the silent brooding types, always careful with his words.
Unlike me who kept saying what comes to my mind. My voice has no creditably anymore in this shit game. No matter how much I yell, it has no merit to people playing this game. I can't change anything no matter how much I try. Everything keeps repeating in the same cycle, Las Boss looked at the timer on one of the monitors. It was quickly nearing zero. Ah, that might be why he is not answering. The extension is about to launch.
A demented grin crossed Las Boss's face. Oh, yeah. This should work for a good venting session on the forums. Las Boss clicked back onto the forums window and typed. [The Adventurer's Diary of an Alien Pioneer. Las Boss Fic.] Las Boss paused for a second before a slight chuckled left his lips.
[A view of Elder Tales from the eyes of a real offworlder. However, this unique Adventurer discovers the world of Adventurers and monsters is becoming one with his world. Our hero rushes to find the answers, but can he stop this catastrophe from happening? Or will he fail with grave costs?]
Las Boss nodded slightly as he hit the create button. The forum thread appearing and quickly pinning the thread to the top of the forum for all to see. I'll work on this in the morning once I sleep some. With how I am now, anything I type would be crap. Also need to keep it from being spoilerish of the major new content of the extension.
"[ ]-san, please stop ignoring us. I understand you're probably angry at Umino-san, but you shouldn't throw your ninja career away."
Wait. What did he just say?
"If he is this skilled at technology, no wonder the dope-I mean, [ ] sucks at the academy. There are hardly any classes on technology."
What the hell? Las Boss looked back at the shadows, their figures becoming slightly more defined. He could not tell who they were, but he could still hear them talking. They seemed somewhat happy that he had turned around.
"What a troublesome hobby, [ ]. Probably costs you a lot, too."
"P-P-Please c-ome b-back, [ ]-kun."
Why the hell am I not hearing that label? Las Boss thought, realizing what was off. They were trying to call him by that label everyone in his village said was his name. Yet, each time the shadows tried to say it, nothing came out of their mouths.
An alarm shrilled on the computers and Las Boss snapped his head back to see several programs flashing warning signs. He quickly typed away, bringing the coding up. What the hell? What's happened to Elder Tales? The data's wrong!
"What's going on, dope?" Las Boss only saw all of his screens cut off, just like a power outage. A reel video flashed across all the screens. Odd words in shining flames shined off the black before a white moon appear.
"Guh?" Las Boss suddenly found he could not breath with room filled with water and he was floating along with other things. What the hell?! Las Boss looked back only for his entire sight to turn black. He was panicking around in the darkness, only rushing water went into his mouth when he opened it to breathe.
What is going on?! Las Boss closed his eyes, trying to think of what to do. His lungs burnt for air, yet no matter where he reached he could not touch anything.
"Boss... Boss... Come on, Boss! Cough it out!"
"Gasp!" Las Boss opened his eyes to see two shadows over him. Pain filled his chest, making him lunge upward to hacked up the water in his throat. His lungs burning each time he paused for breath.
"Las, you alright, bro?" a voice asked, the sound of armor clanking. "Sky diving and drowning festival, much?"
"No..gu...?" Las Boss gripped his throat, the burning feeling growing. He took deep breaths, trying to cool his lungs, yet it seem to fuel the fire instead.
"Las Boss, how do you feel?" Las Boss looked at the other voice and his eyes widened. A beady eyed man frowned, reaching for a pouch on his belt under his white cloak. His dark blue hair and simple clothes under the cloak recognizable to Las Boss.
"Sir-uh." Las Boss grunted. He rubbed his throat, still burning even though the fire in his lungs was beginning to cool down. He rubbed his throat with his fingers before putting hand before his face with feeling something off with his hands.
"Ua?" A callused adult's hand, that of a man of a craftsman trade appeared before Las Boss's face. He quickly looked up the hand's arm, finding it was connected to his body. Las Boss shot to his feet and would have fallen over if the mage and other shadow had not grabbed him. Looking down, he noticed how pale his skin was, making his bluish tattoos and dark clothing stand out.
"Hey, take it easy, dude," Las Boss looked at the other voice. It was a knight with a friendly face filled with concern and in full body armor . "You're health is still low."
My health? Las Boss tried to focus on the mage next to him. Several transparent screens suddenly appeared before the mage's face. A menu connecting to various things. Wait... This is, Las Boss trembled with realizing where he had seen the menu before.
"You're seeing the status menu, right?" the mage asked. Las Boss quickly nodded, his throat still on fire even though he felt a slight chill. He soaked to the bone with water as his clothes clung to his skin. "I don't know for sure, but I believe we are stuck within the game. Within Elder Tales."
Elder Tales...The MMORPG. Las Boss glanced at his surroundings. He was in a city of skyscrapers, yet Mother Nature had seized control and reclaimed the land. Buildings were worn, falling apart and brittle with age, yet the plants were vigorous and filled to the brim with life. Akiba... We're in Akiba in the game.
"Las, you okay? You got a weird grin on your face." The voice brought a name to Las Boss's mind. This knight was an old friend who had not been on Elder Tales for two years, the mighty Guardian Naotsugu. His cheerful face matched the jolly voice and personality Las Boss knew from his memories.
"... You do realize this might actually be a dream come true for Boss, the gaming addict." The mage sighed, adjusting his glasses. His voice and appearance matched exactly to what Las Boss remembered as Shiroe, the solo-playing Enchanter, he had been helping just before the expansion. "Especially with how his life has been going. He quit the academy."
"Really! The tenacious Las quitting his dream job?" Naotsugu shouted, recoiling. "That's scarier than a man who hates panties and ladies!"
Academy? Las Boss thought before his eyes widened. In an instant, thousands of thoughts and data flooded into his mind. Labels people had called him, how people had treated him, finding Elder Tales. Yet...
Wasn't... I always Las Boss? Las Boss thought. He still had many of his memories, but there were odd holes; remembering going to an academy and what was taught there, but not exactly what it was called.
As he dug deeper into his memories, he realized what was all missing. All the labels connected to his - technically - name were gone and other such information. Only the generic ones people called him by remained. In fact, the only names he remembered clearly were those of the characters of Elder Tales, all of them, and his own characters like Las Boss.
"Heh...heh..."
"Huh?" Both men watched as Las Boss burst into laughter, falling out of their grip and onto the ground.
"Did Las go whacko?" Naotsugu asked, giving a scared look to Shiroe.
"No. He just realized the situation. You forget he did this even in the chat box." Shiroe said, calmly stating with a slight smile. This only earned him a skeptic look from the knight.
Reset! Reset! Las Boss thought, his lungs once again burning from lack of oxygen. I can't believe it! The shit game glitched out and reset. And it even rebooted as Elder Tales instead of the last shitty game location.
"Boss, let's get to some place safer." Las Boss snapped out of his wheezing laughter, seeing Shiroe's hand outstretched to him. "You need time to rest and recover your health. Save your healing spells for an emergency."
"H...Ty s." Las Boss said, flinching as Shiroe helped him up. He grabbed his throat, feeling the heat from it. Why is my voice not working?
"What's wrong, Las? Why are you not having a shouting to the rooftops in a joy festival?" Naotsugu asked.
"Nu... Sho...fev." Las Boss said, flinching at the pain and burning while trying to speak. He could manage hisses and grumbles, but never a full word.
"There's no debuff. I mean, no sign that this is a direct status effect from the game," Shiroe said, narrowing his eyes at Las Boss, his face serious and emotionless.
"But, if he can't speak, doesn't that mean he can't cast spells?" Naotsugu asked while Las Boss looked at his status windows. Sure enough, no debuffs. Las Boss opened his spell menu, finding he could easily control it with his mind.
Wait. The no combat rule might be still in effect. If I use an attack, it might summon the Royal Guard to arrest me...Ah! This should keep me from summoning the city's security system... Well, if they are still real. Las Boss held out his hand. "Bug Light" Las Boss said, grinning with seeing the little orb of light appear. It was smiling back at him. "A...so...Mmmm." Las Boss hummed, frowning at Shiroe and Naotsugu.
"... No way," Shiroe said, his face becoming grim.
"What? You know why Las can't talk?" Naotsugu asked, watching the ball of light pout at him.
"Las Boss never used the chat system before," Shiroe said, his voice wavering as he tried to keep calm. "How we got here... might have forgot to bring his complete voice."
"Seriously? How is Las suppose to declare his love of the ladies' panties without-Hey! Get this thing out of my face." Las Boss chuckled at the sight of his little light orb stuck to Naotsugu's face before seeing the sacred looks he was getting from Shiroe and Naotsugu, probably due to his sinister, raspy chuckle.
"Let's find a place to regroup and assess the situation." Shiroe said, easily shifting out of the awkward scene. Both Naotsugu and Las Boss nodded before Shiroe lead the way. Las Boss felt odd for a few minutes, wobbling as he walked on his new, taller legs before finding a confident stride.
So, I can cast spells, but can't speak? Las Boss thought, noticing the three of them were not the only people there. Many people were panicking in the streets, wearing armor and the costumes of a fantasy world hero. The people running food stands and such were confused by these odd people's panic, trying to ignore it and go on with their lives. True. I never... No way. Las Boss almost stopped, but kept walking. Both the mage and knight before him did not noticed his slight pause.
The saved data loaded incorrectly, Las Boss thought, realizing his exact issue. He remembered seeing a warning of sorts before the shit game glitched. Thankfully, it's just my voice, but I wonder how bad this corruption is? Oh well, as long as the glitches aren't bad, I don't care. Las Boss simply smiled at the panicked looks of the other players now trapped in the game of Elder Tales. At least compared to the shit game I was in, this is a game I can play.