The girl's eyes flutter open, taking a minute to adjust to her surroudings as her pupils darted back and forth in curiosity. Indeed, no longer a typical school campus, the floors and walls, the air and even the aura is slightly off. In fact, the prospect of a monster pouncing on her didn't seem too far-fetched; the area seemed very much like a dungeon after all.
"Welcome, potential master." With a shocking suddenness, a voice begins speaking. Blinking, the girl looks up, her eyes scanning around for the source of the voice. Strangely, it sounded as if the voice was speaking from the empty skies above.
"If you are looking for answers, you must first reach the goal. Now, please step forward and proceed." The voice goes silent after that simple instruction, and the female student begins pondering on what lies ahead as she begins jogging along the path ahead, with her effigy following close behind her.
She continues to jog along the given path until she reaches an open space. Her eyes almost immediately notice the strange item fixed in the center of the area. The item appeared to be a floating, transparent cube attached to the ground by a string of data. She eyes it with obvious curiosity, stepping forward to examine it in greater detail.
"The illuminated cube in front of you is called an item folder. Inside of it is a farewell item of sorts for those about to face the coming trial. Touch it and open it," the voice instructs, waiting for her to complete said action.
Bringing her hand towards the glowing cube, she pokes it with her index finger, pulling her hand back in mute surprise when the box magically opens to reveal a small, shiny crystal. Picking the crystal from the box, she holds it up to examine it carefully. As soon as she does so, a small window pops up underneath the item, showing the crystal's name and its properties.
"Ether crystal...so this is a healing item? I wonder when I'll be able to use this," she mutters out loud to no one in particular. Sensing her need to move on, she quietly stuffs the crystal into her pocket and continues forward.
It didn't take long before she sees a weird, dark blue, one-eyed spherical like robot floating in the air. Somehow, the robot gave off the feeling that she wouldn't be able to pass through so easily. Was this thing some kinda attack program?
"Before you is an enemy program. It is programmed to attack on sight. Approaching it will initiate a battle." The student's shoulders go tense at the voice's words. She has to fight this thing bare-handed?
Sensing her fear, the voice reassures her. "But you won't actually fight as you are too fragile. The effigy given to you will fight in your stead." Right, she had almost forgotten about her doll-like companion. Turning her head, she stares at the lifeless being standing behind her.
"Please keep in mind that if your effigy is ever destroyed in battle, you will no longer shield it from harm. To put it bluntly, you will die. So be very careful in battle." The girl's eyes go wide at the mention of dying, and her hands immediately clench into fists.
"But there's no need to be afraid...for now. Just do what I say and you'll be perfectly safe for the time being." Though the voice sounded calm, the girl questioned its use of words for motivation. If anything, the voice didn't seem very sure or convincing of her safety.
"First off, why don't I explain a little bit about the battles you will face?" The girl nods, and the voice begins its explaination.
"There are three basic commands you can issue in a battle for your effigy: Attack, Guard and Break. Each turn in battle is composed of six actions, and you'll need to tell your effigy what your strategy is to be," the voice starts off.
"Battles are again divided into several turns, with six commands being issued each turn. Once confirmed, they'll be executed by your effigy at once. The battle will end once either side defeats their respective opponent," the voice continues.
"The enemy before you should be quite easy to defeat as it will only perform 'Break'. The 'Break' command, which solely focuses on power, shouldn't be much of a problem against the 'Attack' command. Now, use the 'Attack' command to defeat the enemy program." The voice goes silent after those words, signalling the end of its explanation.
Though she's still slightly confused over the whole ordeal, she accepts the challenge nonetheless. Walking over, she eyes the one eyed robot carefully, determined to carry on. Upon getting closer towards it, the robot twitches and senses her presence, acknowledging her as an enemy.
A window pops up in the student's peripheral vision, showing six 'Break' commands already issued by the robot just as the voice had predicted. Before the robot could initiated any of its actions, she types in her commands, with her effigy running forward to initiate them.
With quick, precise blows, the effigy manages to knock the enemy program down, dealing an extra attack with every succesful three blows it manage to nail onto the enemy program before it fizzes and dissolves upon being defeated. The girl has the urge to pump her fist in the air, but chooses not to do so when she remembers that the owner of the voice may be watching through some hidden cameras and instead cheers internally.
"So...how did it go? As you've already founs out from the battle, you can overcome any 'Break' commands that your enemy issues with the 'Attack' command. One thing to keep in mind is that for each turn, you'll have to plan a series of six moves that will defeat your foe. ...The goal is still far ahead. If you must bask in the afterglory of your victory, do so while moving forward," the voice says, its tone laced with a hint of sarcasm. The girl doesn't try to argue back though, and instead obediently moves on further down the labyrinth.
She only manages to jog down a short lane before she comes across another attack program, looking the same as the previous one except that it was mint green in colour. Immediately, she goes on full alert.
"Oh look, here comes another program. You seem nervous. Perhaps you're anxious about fighting in another battle?" the voice taunts, earning a frown from the female student. Indeed, was it said wasn't exactly wrong but it wasn't the time to be teasing her anyway.
"Do not be alarmed. That enemy isn't strong enough to harm you as it is only programmed to use the 'Attack' command. While the 'Attack' command is a potent action, using the 'Guard' command will allow your effigy to defend itself before counterattacking. The 'Guard' command can be used to reduce the damage caused by an enemy attack as it blocks the attack before automatically dealing a devastating counter attack at the opponent, but I trust that you know this," the voice explains. Was it just her or did it sound like it was getting more and more sarcastic as time passed?
"...Now that you know how the battle will unfold, use the appropriate command to defeat the enemy program." Again, the voice goes silent, having finished its explanation. The girl, feeling slightly more confident after the last battle, steps forward just as the enemy program acknowledges her presence, typing in her commands.
Her effigy, responding to her commands, uses its arms to guard against the enemy program's blows before it counterattacks by kicking the enemy program. After a few blows, the enemy program is defeated. She was starting to get the hang of it now.
"Yes, that's exactly right. As you may have already noticed, performing three successful actions in a row will result in a 'chain' otherwise known as an 'extra' turn." While a little late on the explanation, she remains quiet and allows the voice to talk.
"By performing multiple chain attacks, your effigy will be able to perform a devastating follow-up attack on your opponent, which counts as a special additional attack. However, this can only be achieved through three successful actions and while doing multiple chain attacks in the heat of the battle may be difficult, the results make it worth the effort. Now, please proceed." The girl nods, having understood what the voice has been explaining so far.
She jogs down the narrow pathway and turns a corner before noticing yet another enemy program guarding the way up ahead, this time being yellow in colour. Stopping, she takes a moment to predict and decide which action the enemy program will take.
"You should be used to the fundamentals of battle at this point, but I'll walk you through this one last time." One last time? Does this mean that she'll be on her own for the next few battles to come?
"This particular enemy program will only use the 'Guard' command and will do nothing in battle but defend itself against harm. But no matter how stout one's defense may be, it will be naught against the 'Break' command. As such, you can shatter the enemy's defense by using the 'Break' command. Remember, always use the appropriate command for any given situation."
After determining the end of its walkthrough, she walks forward, already typing in the commands as her effigy charges towards the enemy program, taking a stance before it jumps in the air and kicks the enemy program. It continues to repeatedly do so until the enemy program is once again defeated.
"...You have been through three battles and have learnt to use the 'Attack', 'Break' and 'Guard' commands. Someone has intuitive and observant as you must've already noticed this, each of the three commands balances each other out, creating a situation where they have immutable relationships and that no attack is dominant." The girl nods, having alreasy noticed that little detail through the three battles she had just went through.
"What I just covered is the absolute basics of battle and the minimum info you'll need to know. Once you master the basics, all that's left to test yourself in battle and gain valuable experience. Now, please proceed." Following the voice's instructions, the girl swiftly jogs down the path ahead of her, wondering what other trials await ahead.
She continues her all too familiar exercise until her eyes pick up a red sphere from a distance. Halting, she eyes the enemy program cautiously. Although the past three battles have been fairly easy, she couldn't possibly let her guard down.
"All the enemy programs that you've faced so far only used one specific command, which obviously won't happen in a real fight. Like you, your enemies will choose their own actions based on the situation and general observation. Their actions will be very difficult for you to predict at first." Well, at least the voice didn't try to sugarcoat any details.
"As you face the same enemy multiple times, you will be able to read their tendencies and patterns accurately. ...Although considering your lack of fighting experience, I may be expecting far too much from you. But anyway, please try your best." While she didn't particularly want to complain or argue nor was she competitive when it came to stuff like this, there was a small part of her that wanted to prove the voice wrong, especially after hearing its last two comments.
Striding forward, the girl prepares for combat, checking her window to see that the enemy program had three of its actions concealed. However, with quick analysis, it didn't take long for her to figure out a pattern as she typed in her commands. Her effigy takes a stance in front of the program, charging in to initiate the commands of its owner.
A few hits later, and the effigy manages to strike its foe down. "...Good job. Alright then, please proceed to the final room." Final room? That means that her destination is almost within arm's reach. With renewed determination, the girl begins running down the pathway, soon being enveloped by the familiar swirls of data before a flash of light interrupts her train of thought, carrying her body out of the bizarre labyrinth.