Magicus Ensis Art Online
Magic Sword Art Online
HP/SAO x-over
Kirito/Asuna HP/Argo

XXXIII

Everyone gulped, the session of D&D had been going for nearly two hours and already everyone was on tender hooks and it was Harry's turn. Harry was playing a Fallen Angel Cleric of Blood; something that had fascinated him. He was a game designer; and if there was any way to make games as realistic as life he was going to dabble.

However; it turned out that the Japanese Government were investigating the same thing. Their team were operating out of a floating turtle-esque, almost Terry Pratchet style base known as 'Rath'. However, they were examining something known as 'Fluctlights', or to most VRMMORPG gamers the multicoloured acid trip as one activated their dive gear of choice.

Digression aside, Harry's character was now occupied with a Lich and Demilich. Kiba had smirked at Harry from behind the DM Screen, due to the recent discovery; Harry had been frantic in looking for any sort of evidence to allow the Japanese Department of Magical Welfare to shut down Rath; Kiba had decided to take over the running of the RP.

Harry was really good at the imagery of combat, but he needed to play. Kiba realised that Harry felt that him controlling the game as opposed to playing. His voice acting for playing an Irish Cleric was amazing. Harry ended his turn after hitting the Demilich with one of his few radiant damage spells "You sir, are an ass. Locking my innocent cleric down."

"Innocent, my ass. You, Harry are the character that needs to be locked down. You're a support character; you thrash us on Overwatch by hitting our Supports."

"Touche. Anyway, Kazuto…your turn."

Kazuto had become a duel wielding fighter, which was to no-one's surprise. Due to some very flukey dice rolls, Kazuto had devolved a little into the Eldritch Knight style of Fighter, coupled with his variant human class and the Magic Initiate Feat, he had become a very skilled if not slightly bonkers Fighter. He moved into combat with the Demilich, that had engaged the Cleric and managed to deal some extensive damage to it.

The group had been playing solidly for nearly six months and due to needing two Dungeon Masters to decide when to or not level players up, resulted in the party of now ten, up to the respectable level of seven. Yes, it was throwing Asuna, Kazuto and Asada in the deep end but considering that Asuna had did the same thing with SAO, the RECT Team had no problems in throwing those two in. Asada, on the other hand had taken to it like a duck to water. With a little bit of jiggery and pokery; a migraine here and there and the involvement of a RECT Data Analyser and eventually her old Eladrin Assassin Striker from 4e had become an Eladrin Assassin Rogue; with a whole bag of unsavoury tricks with modifiers at the minimum of six. Kiba thought Harry's Cleric was bad, he had no idea what Asada was about to do.

Asada grinned, she loved her sharp as a tack Eladrin with quite frankly monstrous level of dexterity which equated to terrifying Armour and Initiative. She ended up dealing a colossal amount of damage to the Lich. Thankfully, the sneak assassination had disrupted the ritual the Lich had been attempting; which Harry had failed to disrupt.

Unfortunately, after their turns, it was Kiba's. Unlike previous turns where Kiba had been inflicting moderate damage, requiring Shiusi; Sato Daisuke, who was running a Life Cleric to keep Harry alive. Inwardly everyone was relieved as Kiba rolled very low and even with a Lich's strong attacks in melee barely scratched the Eladrin and the Eldritch Knight.

Undead were summoned and Sora; activated her barbarian goliath she laid into the minor undead with maniacal glee.

For the next four hours or so, the RECT Industries Game Developing Department, laughed, joked, rolled dice and just generally tried to act like normal people. It was during a quick break where a few went to re-fill plates, drinks, have a quick smoke when Akio; who played a rather bombastic pyromanic fire elemental druid spoke up.

"People, I know I don't possess the some of the skills that you do to assist you in developing games. But I have an idea."

"This should be good." Murmured Nozomi, player id Jashin, however in the dice game she played a Tiefling Bloodhunter. She and Akio were not naturally good friends but the pair could safely have a conversation and snipe each other as friends would but they normally avoided each other. That being said, both being survivors of the Death Game; they knew that they could depend on one another. Nozomi didn't become a badass tarpit fighter for no-reason and Akio definitely had some awesome stealth skills by getting the alias 'The Rat'.

"A superhero game…How it'd work I've no idea. But what if the players had selective randomised choices for their quirk? As in broad categories: mutant, emitter and transformative."

"In essence Boku no Hero Academia turned into a game? You do realise that people are going to flip if they can't have certain powers."

"Tetsutetsu and Kirishima have the same type of quirk…Being hardening, one hardens in skin and the other turns to steel…Anyway, a couple of tutorials to gauge your personality and it'll give you a template of a quirk, i.e. ones from the manga. However, it's up to you to hone and alter your quirk."

Kiba nodded, he was the one out of the them that understood what Akio was getting at. He was tinkering with a Fulldive version of Borderlands. "You mean like the Borderlands, optional talent tree."

Akio, nodded slowly "Three trees but completely different game play style?"

Fumihero grunted. Not the most talkative one, his work on coding and skill with temporary event patches and making the elements and exposure to them felt real. He, ran a Dragonborn Sorcerer; with a homebrewed mantle of the phoenix. "Could work…Horribly disastrous especially if people fuck up."

"If we incorporate some aspects of SAO and AO along with Dresden…It'll be alright. However…" chimed in Sora, a fighter. Sora was one to advocate a policy of us; use what we would play on for best success.

"No, Sora-san. As much as we like your ideas we are not mixing two different codes together, it's painful and makes for easy hacking."

"Harry, you have defences that shut down the hacker's computer!"

"Yeah, it's not worth it." Harry protested.

"People, I need your advice." Kazuto called making him the centre of attention.

"You guys know I work part time for you guys as a coder, developer etc. However, Rath have contacted me and want me to help them on their new project."

Harry cocked his head "What's the Project? What's the pay?"

"Project Alicization, and three thousand yen every four hours."

Harry nodded "I've been meaning to investigate that to be honest, but not had time…Anyway I've heard dodgy things about Rath. I've heard they're dabbling in Soul-tech. All superstition…"

Kazuto nodded "Find out what they're doing with soul-tech and let you know, soul-tech gives you a serious case of the heebeejeebies or something. Due to the nature and content of the soul."

Akio nodded "He's right. From what Harry's told me it unsettles me as well and I do not follow the tradition of everything having a soul or spirit that closely."

Harry had performed a rather old and risky ritual to show Akio the exact position of the soul; ever since that she had shared Harry's rather zealous and over protective nature of the soul. Harry hadn't shown anyone else; the others passed it off of as a holdover from Paganism.

"Just…be careful. Asuna-chan, the moment you don't hear a thing from your boyfriend, you come to me. I'll get the answers."