Heyyoo. Woah this might be my longest chapter yet! Okay, just to make sure there are no confusions this one is in Mikan's POV. Any other confusions feel free to let me know.
I dedicate this chapter to nix (guest) because that review really warmed my heart and DEVIlishAngel00 because she has been a supporter of this story since the beginning (sorry it took so long to realize that ... hehe) : D
To my other reviewers, you guys are awesome.
nix ~ Aww :3 you are the best, thank you so much. That's like my favorite review out all the ones I've seen. Really warms my heart. I put a lot of effort into this story so it really makes me happy. Please keep reading!
potatochip-chan ~ The love is yet to come my friend! I be sure to make it extra steamy. Until then, give me some suggestions on how to make it "lovey-dovey" cuz I'm an epic fail... :P
Someone ~ okay, I'm sorry. I know ugghh I should've been more clear about that. Since I'm kinda going in a pattern and alternating between Natsume and Mikan it can get confusing even for me. But this chapter is Mikan, that howalon lover xD
Guest ~ Well then, be like that then. Haha jk. I understand, I'll try to be more descriptive and develop my characters even more. In fact there will be even more characters in the next chapter ;)
lilangel25 ~ Yup I will! Keep on reading :)
DEVIlishAngel ~ Thank you so much! Yeah I know bad cliffhanger :C but I'm glad you liked it. I wanna support you like you support me, if there's ever anything ya need I'm here for ya ;) your awesome and hope we can be friends. PS. I just found out, WE HAVE THE SAME BIRTHDAY! GO APRIL BABIES!
Mikan Sakura
Screw my Alice.
The three words I constantly kept muttering whenever I lost battles in the most humiliating ways. In any case, my Alice was embarrassing. Well that's what it used to be. Confused? You're not alone. You should've seen me when it had happened. It went a little like this…
It had been a week since I had met that perverted, hobo stalker that resided in trees. I had grown tired of battling boars and wolfs. Despite their growing strength and quick charges as the levels increased, it was nothing more than the same types of attacks I had dealt with before. Because of that, I had decided to fight the wind wasps that appeared across a stone bridge in a small grove of trees. It appeared like an excellent plan. Since they were small and agile, it would be a perfect way to snag some status points. I realized quickly how terrible of an idea that was.
A wind wasp flew towards me, causing me to instinctively leap backwards. Yet another flew from the side, its black and green striped body glowing an unnatural hue. I tried to activate my Alice, hoping to stop its charge. It barley worked.
"Ahhh!" I screamed as I rolled away from yet another wasp as it flew with its stinger bared for a critical attack. I couldn't get it to stop. Despite the miraculous defense effect my Alice had, it wasn't enough to stop the wind wasps that were rapidly appearing. As soon as I entered a position where I could strike it with a knife I had received from trading, the wasp had vanished and quickly moved to another position. That, along with the fact that their AIs were adapting meant that I was being pushed back, unable to do more than dodge.
Another wasp flew in from above and I ducked, managing to only get grazed. I could see from the corner of my eye that my HP bar had decreased to the middle of the yellow zone. This was very, very bad.
The wasps stopped for a moment, hovering in the air. I was relieved for the briefest of moments before I saw their plan. With eerie synchronization, all of the wasps gathered as one in front of me. My vision was filled with black and green, each wind wasp contributing to a large swarm.
I took a step back. This was not just bad. This was practically game over for me. When that attack connected, I would be dead. Time to say hello to Kami-sama. One direct hit from just a single wasp had sent my HP to red. A combined attack from the whole swarm and I'd be dead before I hit the ground. In that brief lull before the attack, a thought occurred to me.
"Perhaps I should have joined a party or something with that pervert from before."
The wasps attacked, a cloud of green and black surging towards me. On instinct, I leapt backwards again. Half a second after, I realized that I was at the edge of the cliff falling like a bird that was trying to chew off its own wings by flailing them frantically.
I realized another second later that I was now falling at an alarming rate. Instinct took over, that primal fear that all humans had. I screamed.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
At the spur of the moment, I found myself flying! Did I become an angel already? Would my soul be haunting this MMORPG? If so, Persona I'm coming for you first for giving me such a lousy Alice! No wait, I'm coming for that perverted guy first! Wait, what the hell are these ugly, clear, bug-like wings doing on my back? It hit me. I developed the traits that the wasp had! If I have wings then… Ewww! What is this pointy, sharp thing doing on my butt! Curse wasps for having stingers!
Okay, panicky questions later. Kick wasp-ass now. I used my new found abilities and gave the wasps a taste of their own medicine. Hell no, not even a taste. I practically gave them a full two-thousand doses of it! Shuffling backwards, I pricked each wasp while my flying was angling sideways. I bet if I were to video tape myself it'd end up on America's Funniest Home Videos, no doubt about it! I was just about doing the Harlem Shake with these wasp-like skills.
No wasp was shown mercy, it was a matter of minutes before the victory banner had appear and I was bumped up to a higher level. My regular appearance was present and as if on cue, I checked my stats to see how my derpy Alice had evolved.
Player: Sakura M.
Level: 18
Rank: Special Star *
Rabbit Income: 300 each month *
Rabbit (s): 57
Classified Type: Special/Dangerous*
Alice: Nullification/ Stealing*
Huh? Stealing Alice? Dangerous Type? Woah, 300 each month?! I had the urge to do a happy-dance right there but I held it in, just in case some wacko was watching. There were stars indicating what was changed. Apparently, I now had two Alices!
So that's how everything ended up with my Alice issues. I had a tremendous amount of pride in my Alice now. My self-esteem was probably sky-rocketing. A fanfare banner had broadcasted and something was blinking in my status updates. I scrolled over it to find an invitation of some sort.
Congratulations Player!
You are invited to join the legendary guild:
Guardians of the Real.
A guild significantly for Dangerous Alice Types and a chance to fight on the front lines.
To join our guild please attend our meeting at Warrior's Ward Café on the 4th floor.
We'll be happy to see you there.
No way, this was great! Things were going my way now! It's perfect! I suppressed the overwhelming happiness trying to erupt from within and just endorsed a grin from ear to ear. I whipped out my teleport crystal and set the destination for the 4th floor forecasting on going to Warrior's Ward Café.
In a quick flash I was brought to the 4th floor. The town was tranquil at this time of the day, or rather night. Softly lit buildings provided a gentle atmosphere, exemplified by ambient music played by a lone NPC in the plaza. Upon arriving, I looked around taking note of the gruesome looking people here. Men that looked as if they were skyscrapers by their height, eyeliner applied intensely think in corners of eyes I didn't know existed, clothes that revealed so much skin that I didn't know whether it could even be classified as clothing. I shuddered as I continued to walk forward. My gaze fixed on the ground as I could feel several eyes intently watching me. I was disguised and I felt that my new Alice meant for a new beginning. I was clad in an orange cloak, attempting to keep my face hidden due to the incentive that I had completely isolated myself from other players. There was a high probability that some slighted player might decide to drag me outside the town's Safe Area and finish me off.
I entered the café where the meeting was being held and was warmly welcomed. I was even offered a beverage; a sweet drink purple in color. I had only taken two sips of it and already had gone crazy about it. It was delicious! I continued chugging down the drink as the meeting went on. I had four? Maybe twenty-three but who's counting! The room was going violent, people going hysterical with drinks in hand. I even found myself laughing as well! Hmm… I licked off droplets that outlined my upper lip like a mustache.
A tall man stepped onto the platform where the previous speaker was talking and welcomed everyone. There was this indescribable aura surrounding the man who clearly held a form of superiority. A shiver traveled down my back and I stood up straight along with the others in the room. I actually placed my drink down for the first time since entering the café.
The man spoke, "I welcome you all to the guild. A request has been sent to all of your status updates so please accept it and we can begin. Let me explain everything. Once you accept, you will be duty-bound to this guild until the game has been defeated. Dedication, hard work, courage and commitment, all of these traits are required. Everyone will fight and everyone will be protected. If you don't think you can handle this, then speak now and cowardly leave if that is your wish."
A nasty feeling inside of me was summoning. Did I want to quit? Being bound meant there was no escape after accepting but I had to consider the benefits. I opened up the status update and somehow my finger had developed a mind of its own. It was like I had lost control of it. It moved on its own, sliding and touching the accept button. A message appeared two second after, indicating that I had joined a guild.
"Congratulations! This is great news for you have all accepted. I shall call the names of the people who are eligible to run for leadership roles in the guild. The people I call will fight on the 12th floor and the person that conquers that floor will become our vice president."
I yawned, that sure was a long list of names. It took quite a while that I could feel myself getting sore from sitting down for such a long time. I stood up to stretch but was caught off guard when I heard my name being called!
". . . and Mikan Sakura! These people will be eligible to fight on the 12th floor. Please be on your way at this moment."
I abruptly straightened myself, pulling the veil over my face. 12th floor? This should be fun. . . not. It was as if all the previous faith I had in my Alice was stabbed with a straw and sucked up. I didn't have a mirror around me but I swear that if I were to look into one nothing but a wishy-washy, pale, lifeless face would stare back at me. I walked out the door, the whole meeting felt like once I walked it I didn't have a say anymore. Many suspicious looks were thrown my way but I had just disregarded them and shrugged while I continued to walk. A lone NPC played a slow song on a fiddle of sorts, melancholic in nature. If one were to look at the scene at the moment, it would be similar to a lone soldier heading off to battle. In a way, that would be accurate.
I took a deep breath and looked upward towards my goal. Going eight floors above would either be my ticket to Kami-sama or my chance to carve my name into AAO's hall of fame. I took out a teleport crystal.
"Teleport: 12th Floor!"
A soft chime from a bell echoed throughout the town and a blue light enveloped me. It marked the beginning of a teleport, calming and quite relaxing. When a teleport occurred, there was only the faintest sensation of being pulled towards the direction of your destination before you were there. There was only a time delay at a fraction of a second, at most. Convenient transportation, I'd say.
I inwardly sighed, "Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought." I stepped towards the door, God knows what would be beyond it. Just as I was about to enter, I fixed on a famous gesture. I think my rank of coolness just increased by a colossal percentage, because. . . I smirked.
Hello again! So I hope you found this chapter to your liking! so yeah, you guys basically know what happens when Mikan goes to the 12th floor and the next chapter will carry on from there with Nastume's POV. Until then, keep reading and reviewing.
