That said, The World is a very big place. With twenty million players, the number of stories waiting to be told is literally countless. I am simply here to tell a few of those stories, without receiving any compensation beyond what little recognition my peers may grant me.
Story 1: Zawan Shin
Ω Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel
Endless night. An eternal raging blizzard, so fierce one can easily lose sight of one's party. With visibility this low, it is only natural that automapping doesn't work. As if the area wasn't unfriendly enough already, there are the monsters. Between the level of the monsters and the way one can stumble into portals with almost no warning, even skilled high level players can easily die within minutes. In the far reaches of the field, there is a mountain of ice.
It is into this setting that a lone Wavemaster appears. Using every trick in the book, as well as some that are not, he makes his way through the blizzard, past the monsters, fighting only when it becomes unavoidable. He has no interest in these monsters, although if he were to stay and fight them, it would be the ideal way for him to level up. His goal is not down here on the field.
Atop the mountain is the reason he has come here. When one reaches the top, the force of the blizzard diminishes greatly. There are no portals up here, for this is not a place to randomly level up. There is only a single monster, a lone Spectral Dragon. It has stood here, unbeaten, almost unscathed, for months. Many players, alone and in parties, have come here to challenge it. All have fallen, most without doing any damage whatsoever. This is said to be the greatest event in the game, though lately the rumors on the BBS say it is a broken event, unbeatable.
Zawan Shin. There have even been arguments about what the name means. It is generally agreed that it comes from English, but there are two competing theories about exactly what words. On one side, there are those who call it The One Sin, saying it makes perfect sense given the area name, some also analyzing the symbolism behind the dragon. The other side calls it The One Thing, citing the uniqueness of the event. Of the countless fields in The World, there is no other with weather like this, no other ice mountain, no other monster like this one. There are also a few members who have suggested that the name may be deliberately ambiguous, encompassing both theories and possibly more. They are mostly ignored.
The Wavemaster has reached the top. He stands before the dragon, observing it, motionless. It, too, stands still, as if waiting. Suddenly, the Wavemaster snaps into action, launching a half dozen spells in rapid succession. The beast reacts just as fast, its rainbow-colored breath engulfing its attacker. The Wavemaster falls back before the onslaught. Only seconds into the battle, he is afflicted with every status condition there is. Cursed, poisoned, paralyzed, with his magical and physical attack and defense reduced. From this attack alone, his hit points are in the red. And, to add insult to injury, he has not done a single point of damage to the dragon.
It is exactly as he had expected. This matches the reports on the BBS perfectly. He restores his health to near perfect with a few items, and prepares to test his theory. He uses two more spells, carefully selected and timed.
This time, a number appears above the dragon. Fifty hit points of damage, and the Wavemaster is unharmed. He turns and walks away, not trying to continue the battle. He has never completed an event, and is not about to start now. After all, he has a reputation to maintain.
A few minutes later, a new message appears on the BBS.
Subject: I know how to beat Zawan Shin
Poster: WiseGuy
Message: At 15:53 today, I tested a method of beating Zawan Shin. I was able to do damage to it without taking any hits in return. I will not reveal what the method is, as that would make things too easy for you, and would spoil the fun I have reading your reports of failure. Instead, I'll just sit back and laugh, after giving two pieces of advice. First, all the information I used in forming my hypothesis is available here on the BBS. And second, Forrest's strategy is not the way to go.
Have fun.
~WiseGuy
Over the course of the next few hours, thousands of players see the message. At first, many think it may contain the secret, but when they notice who posted it, they realize their hopes were in vain, for this player is known for being singularly unhelpful. His reputation for knowing almost everything about the game is surpassed only by his reputation for never revealing that knowledge in a way that anyone else can use productively. Soon, the replies to the message have formed a discussion of failed tactics, possible strategies, and arguments on what that second bit of advice meant. Before long, the discussion has gone the way of all others on the BBS, bumped off the page by newer posts, and forgotten.
Two weeks later, a new message appears, one that will long be remembered. The net poet known as W.B. Yeats posts a poem proclaiming the victory of Balmung and Orca over the dreaded beast, and giving them the names they will be known by ever after.
And in a field rarely visited, the newly dubbed Descendants of Fianna meet a Wavemaster, who says, It was pretty easy once you figured out the trick, wasn't it?
Author's Notes: This is my first .hack//fanfic, and is based on a piece of canon not many English speakers are familiar with.