Chapter 1: Apocalypse Part 2
"Get down, Akamaru" the boy shouted to his Red Fox Familiar as he took cover behind a wall of an abandoned building. Multiple magical projectiles flew by, as well as one or two arrows.
"What is it, Azato?" the Akamaru asked.
"Its a hunt. We are being hunted by playerkillers" Azato replied, as he took out a rifle and fired back. He had to pull a part back after every shot before he could fire again, but he was fast and used to it.
Various projectiles rained down upon his position, when he started running across the floor to another corner of the building. A few moments later, a fireball hit, vaporizing everything.
Aza brought up his command menu, and looked at all the casting and recasting times. And then, he used a magical item, Living Map of the Ages, to find the positions of everyone around him.
"Uh oh, looks like we are surrounded" he mentioned, looking at all of their movements.
Earlier Today...
"...what the...did I pass out at my keyboard or something?" the boy mumbled as he started to stand up. It was sunny though, which bothered him for a bit. And then, he noticed he was laying in a grassy field. He also noticed he was no longer in his room, and that he was out in the open. But most importantly...it did not look like anyplace near where he lived.
That was when he looked over to a pool of water nearby, and saw his reflection. He appeared to be a young boy, maybe around twelve. It was the same height as himself in the real world, though he was older then twelve. He also has Foxtail ears and a fox tail, though unlike others his a bit more slim, though could still be considered bushy. His hair is an amber-brown, and his eyes are blue. He was wearing a deep blue cloak with red trimming and a hood, a white T shirt, black shorts, brown sturdy boots, and a powerful rifle slung across his back. His height is short, and some of his long hair was tied into a sort of loose ponytail.
In other words...his body now resembled his game avatar, though his game avatar was styled to look like himself as well.
"Eh...ehhh?!" he said, as he looked around and confirmed. Now that he looked around, he realized it. Everything was the same as the MMORPG, Elder Tales. He was inside the game somehow it seemed. Which, given the fact they didn't have any fancy virtual reality or simulation gear, seemed very strange.
However, that did not change the fact that it was true. Everything was the same as the Elder Tales he knew, just...he was inside it too now. He panicked a bit, but calmed himself down and thought about this objectively, sitting cross legged in the middle of the field and zoning out the panicked cries of others who were just realizing what he did.
Okay, lets think for a moment. Is this a dream? No, its too real, too lucid. I can feel everything, hear everything, smell everything. Liklihood of this being a weird dream is low. Lets think then...virtual reality? Theoretically possible, but from what I can hear, it sounds like everyone is confused, and we all appeared at the same time. Plus, none of us know of any full VR simulations like this, and assuming that there are more then just us online, that would indicate an outrageously large amount of people to all kidnap at once and trap in VR machines. Which meant, the only thing left would be...we got sucked into the game world somehow, or a fantasy world created that was based on the game world.
That was the conclusion he came to. Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing which path to go on. Were they sucked into the computers, the servers themselves, or were they sucked into a fantasy world created based on this one? Either scenario in a way relies on things he did not know how to explain. But the ramifications were totally different for each indication. Still, within twenty four hours, he would have a good idea on which theory was more plausible. He just had to wait, and see what happens.
"Right...okay...Menu, open" Azato shouted, but nothing happened. "Okay, so its not a voice command thing. Uhhh...alright then".
He got up, and went towards what looked like an abandoned building. He wanted to get out of sight, and out of mind, so that not only would no one hassle him, but he could test things out without getting embarrassed. Once he had isolated himself, he proceeded to experiment with gestures, until finally, he got his menu open.
"Alright...lets try log out" he said, pressing it, but was denied. "Yeah, I kinda figured as much. Oh, I wonder if the others are online".
He opened up his friends list, and began checking things out. It seemed that some people were listed as offline, but he had a lot of people that were online too. And that was when he saw a familiar name, and tapped it, giving him a call on the telepathic link.
It rang for a few moments, but then finally, it was picked up.
"Oh..Aza, is that you?"
"Ah! Zats! Are you okay?"
"Not really! I am really freaking out over here! I am currently in my place on Tenth Block. Can you come over here, please?"
"Ah, sure! I will be right over!"
It took Aza some time, but eventually, he made it over to Zats place on tenth block. It was a private zone he had, an apartment that could house a few people cozily but comfortably. The Foxtail boy opened the door, having permission to enter the zone, and came across a young maid, cleaning the floor. At first glance, people might think it was a girl, wearing that maid outfit, but it was actually a boy. Zats.
As he encountered him, he saw a box appear in front of him, detailing Zats profile.
Character Name: Zats
Race: Human
Class: Level 90 Assassin
Subclass: Level 90 Elder Maid
Guild: None
Yes, the boy in front of him was a Level 90 Assassin, and a Level 90 Elder Maid. It was an interesting combination, for sure. But he made it work.
Incidentally, he still believed he had to wear a maid outfit when doing maid stuff. It was a prank that he and the others had pulled on Zats, meant to be a lighthearted comment. They never thought he would actually believe it though, or keep following through with it.
"Ah...hey, Zats. So I guess you were online when the expansion hit?"
That was right. Today, the new expansion was activating across the world. As Elder Tales had been created in America (That's a fact by the way, I looked it up. Its American Made), even though the update was going live for the Japan Server at Midnight, America was getting it released at the same time as it was where the game was originally made. They did not know the situation with the other servers, but then again, if the thing he was waiting for did not happen, he doubt it would have mattered who got the update and who did not.
"Hey. Yeah. Everyone else was going to come online too right?"
"Yeah, we all planned to meet up the moment the expansion dropped. So everyone else should be online. You were just the first name I came across".
Zats just kept on cleaning, despite everything that is going on. He didn't even care that while on his hands and knees, the maid outfit he was wearing was the one with a short skirt...and he wasn't wearing any.
"...err, Zats…"
"Ah, would you like some tea?"
"...sure. But you know, I think it would be fine to give the roleplay a rest...and put some pants...on..."
Suddenly, he felt a glare of bloodlust coming from Zats.
"...some of us process stress in different ways. Now...what kind of tea?"
"A...ah...whatever is best".
He then got up, and went to get some tea.
"Very good. Please remember to take off your shoes before you enter any further, and feel free to dress in comfortable clothes".
Eventually, Zats came back with some tea for them both, and they sat around a table. Azato was now wearing some more casual clothes, and was barefoot, having taken his shoes off by the door.
"...and that is my interpretation of what I think is going on".
"So, you are waiting to see what happens, before you decide to choose between one of those two theories and work from there?"
"Yep" Aza said, as took a sip of the tea. "Huh, this is really great tea".
"Thanks! I made it myself!"
"Ah...wait, you made it yourself? Did you forget about the crafting menu?"
"Well...I know we used it a lot back when this was a game, but...I thought it would be way better if I made it myself! After as, I do have the skills to cook, boil, and brew as an Elder Maid anyways! I cant do some cheap thing like that!"
I see Zats is still the same. Whenever we got into a stressful situation during a raid or epic quest, he would always roleplay. Usually in a comical manner too. It really helped relieve everyone's stress levels, although...
"Now, I have been meaning to ask but...why are you not wearing any other clothes besides the maid outfit?"
"Oh...well, in the game, we always had a base under appearance, and set outfits and actions right? And because it was a game meant to be friendly to children, they made it so no character couldn't be naked and always had something on. Well, since I was in my private zone, I wanted to see what would happen...then you called, so I put on a maid outfit quickly and started to clean up".
Aza made note of that. He had already expected they might be able to do things previously not allowed to some degree.
That was when Aza got an alert on the telepathic link, a call from someone else.
"Is it from one of the others?"
"No, its from...someone who I met recently, before everything happened and we got trapped here. A female monk, by the name of Samari Seis" he told him, as he accepted the connection. "Hel.."
"Oh! Aza! Are you okay? You have any idea what is going on? I need your help over here, quickly!"
"Hold on, hold on, just calm down and expl…"
"Hurry, its urgent!"
At that point, he heard a thud, and then the line went dead.
"Zats!"
"Got it!"
The two quickly equipped their combat gear, got their boots on, and headed out the door.
It was already starting to get into the afternoon as they were rushing. There were people of all sorts looking depressed, and some looking outright evil and shifty lurking about, maybe driven mad. There were people trying to do good though, including a major warrior guild called Trueheart Legion, a smaller support guild called Silver Wing, and so on. But it looked like a lot of people were just in despair or shock still. There were whispers though, asking about the status of well known groups, such as the Jantos Six, Blitzbreak, and even some talk of some Tea Party group.
Once the two of them turned the corner, they found themselves in an alley. Big Apple was a bit of an anomaly in terms of player cities. It was one of the largest cities on the server, or in all of Elder Tales, but...it also had combat and monster zones inside itself. It was the only city that had these things, at least as far as he knew. And according to her distress message, she was currently in an area technically inside the city, but still was a zone where PvP could happen, as well as PvE.
This was the Ruined Block, an area of the city technically outside the city. The walls had been ruined, and monsters invaded, so the people constructed a barrier to prevent them from getting in even further while they finished making the Safe Zone in the city. At least, that was the lore behind it.
And as they got closer, few kids, maybe their age, maybe younger, ran past them. Zats, now dressed in his all black combat gear, pulled his hood up and vanished. That was his abilities as an Assassin, Stealth and Silent Move.
Meanwhile, Azato was a Level 90 Summoner. Even though he was young, he had gotten far. And thanks to his race of Foxtail, and how he was able to use it, he was more then able to build himself up pretty well in terms of magical ability.
Turning another corner, he finally spotted her. Keeping another two players at bay to let some new adventurers escape, he saw there were others as well that were going against her. These guys seemed like total creeps.
"What the hell is going on here?"
"These jerks just decided to start PKing people! I think they have gone insane or something!"
"Oh come now...we are not insane...we just wanted to have some fun with these little kids...enjoy ourselves, since we are in this crazy computer world".
"What?"
"Didn't you hear? Some adventurer tried killing himself to escape, and got revived at the Cathedral!"
"It doesn't matter how many people you bring, lady. If anything, you just gave us some new kids to play with".
...these guys are creeps. I wonder if those are the people that those school assemblies always warn us about...whatever...
He immediately brought out his summoning list, but one of them went to attack him before he could finish. That one however was immediately attacked and poisoned by Zats, who had prepared his command menu ahead of time.
He looked at several of his summons, and went for the Undine. Suddenly, behind him, a beautiful woman made of aqua appeared...and embraced Aza in a hug as she caressed his neck.
Everyone looked at that, as Aza went and checked, and saw that the abnormal trait was still there and in effect. Bonded Affection. Something he could not get rid of, a reward for a valentines event in a high level raid. Its purpose was actually to make it impossible for one's summons to be forcibly dismissed or stolen by spells and effects, and gave a minor boost to their combat ability.
"A summoner!"
"Get him quickly!"
"I don't think so! I wont let you past me!"
As she said that, Aza heard conflict from above, and saw that Zats had enganged with another Assassin.
"Looks like our reinforcements have arrived!"
Azato then dodged as a few arrows came flying at him, and ran away from the battle. His Undine also did not last very long either. None of them were level 90s like they were, but they had the numbers, and his Undine was only at Beginner Rank.
In Elder Tales, Skills have a ranking system. They are named after a Martial Arts Ranking System. That System is Comprehension, Beginner, Intermediate, Hidden, and Secret in that order from lowest to highest. Furthermore, the Undine Summon did not have a lot of HP in the first place. Now, he was in a bit of a bind because a lot of the more powerful summons took more time, time he did not have. Although...he did have one at the Hidden Level that was surprisingly fast. He quickly touched the skill on the menu, and summoned it.
"Akamaru, here to help!" the small red fox said, as they ran into an abandoned building. They barely dodged a fireball sent at them, as Azato got out his Caster Gunbolt Rifle. It was a reward he got for completing an epic level quest.
"Akamaru, we need to get onto high ground" he mentioned. If he remained on the ground level, they would be more liable to invade to surround him. But if he went up higher, they would wait and surround the building before going on, since they would be wary of him jumping from the second story and escaping that way.
And so, events played out exactly as he expected. Back to the present, he quickly looked out a window and fired off some rounds.
"They have us heavily outnumbered!" Akamaru mentioned. He was supposed to be a summon that gave various comments, compliments, and alerts, but Azato was pretty sure he was never this chatty.
"BUt they are surrounding us right?"
"Yes, but one of the players must have some sort of tracking subclass, because we have been marked. That's how they have been keeping an eye on our location!"
Azato looked down, and saw that on his ankle was a magic symbol that was glowing, probably from when he was marked. The same for Akamaru's back leg.
"So, it seems pretty desperate then, huh?" he asked.
"Indeed".
"Then, lets kick it up a notch!"
"Give up shrimp! We have you outnumbered, and nothing you can summon can help you against these odds! Two of you wont stop anything!"
Azato smiled. Yes, the Summoner class was only allowed to summon one creature at a time.
Or at least, that's how it was normally, unless you obtained a special skill from a raid like he had.
"Summon Follower: Sword Princess!"
Sword Princess. A skill he had at the Secret Level, and one of the most powerful summons in the game. It was also incredibly popular with the fanbase, and sparked the creation of multiple varients. The one he was using was the Armored Protector Varient, giving it a better defense and attack stat, though in exchange it would last for less time. It was one of the few summons that lasted only for a few moments...but in exchange...
"Ahhhg!"
"It hurts! It hurts!"
"Skythos just got sent to the Cathedral!"
It was very good at taking things out quickly.
However, that was when a few adventurers who had run inside already came up to the second floor.
"Now we got you all alone...lets see how strong you feel once we send you to the Cathedral?"
"Wait...lets take all his gear first, send him back as naked as a newborn babe..."
"You are late. I was expecting you here sooner" he mentioned. This confused them at first, until they got slashed from behind, and were knocked out from a status effect. That was when Zats and Samari came from behind, walking over them. Zats then proceeded to do what they just threatened to do to Azato, taking every last piece of their gear and belongings.
"It will be harder for them to PK if they have no weapons and armor" Zats explained.
"...but you took their clothes too, and their underwear".
"I might be just a bit mad as well. And considering what they wanted to do to us, and other young adventurers, its a just punishment".
"I take it you two handled your own battles then?"
Zats nodded. "As expected, they spent enough time in the game to get to a higher level then new kids, but they didn't really dedicate themselves to it. It was easy for me to defeat the assassin, then help our Samari, before heading over to assist you".
"Seriously though, was that a Sword Princess? And it looked like an enhanced, more powerful version then normal".
Zats then looked at her. "...by the way, who are you?"
"Ah! My name is Samari Seis, and I am a level 90 Monk with the Subclass of Barbarians. And for the record...I really love cute and adorable boys like you!" she said, as she grabbed hold of him and hugged tightly.
Still, Azato was impressed. He had gone on a few raids and epic quests with her before. Her combination of Monk Class and Barbarian Subclass was powerful. As a monk, she had one of the highest HPs of the game, and the Barbarian Subclass granted an ability to absorb HP with every blow, provided increased resistances the closer to death they got, and so on. As a Monk, she chose her subclass early on and decided for it. That said...she was very overpassionate, and tended to love cute and adorable things, characters, and so on. She also got overpassionate in combat as well, and very few people such as himself could get her focus back when she got overzealous during a raid.
Azato then checked the game timer. It confirmed that it was well into the night. It didn't feel like that much time had passed, but then again, there were a lot of distractions today.
"Alright then...I guess we are in a fantasy world based on the game world then" Azato decided, right then and there.
"Wait, what?"
"How can you be sure?"
"Because, even if we were trapped in a game, with our bodies made of software, by some strange incident, the servers would still be the servers. The admins should have been able to contact us somehow, or did something. However, no admin has given any declaration, no messages, nothing. No announcement asking what everyone was doing, no intervention. Basically, if we were on a server, all servers still have a physical location in the world. And they could use those to communicate with us. The Land of Wen, North Wen as this region is, is not on a server therefore...this is a fantasy world based on a game, but we are not actually inside the game itself".
As he explained it, it seemed to go right over Samari's head, but Zats was able to understand it a little...he thought.
"So...we are in another world?"
"Ahhh...this is so confusing!"
"Yeah...well, I dont have all the answers yet" he mentioned. That was when he suddenly got another telepathic call.
"Azato! Azato, is that you? I need to talk to you immediately! Its important!"
And so, it seemed their work was still not done...in their new reality.