Lol there's probably no one reading this apart from my one friend who I asked *cough* forced *cough* to read it. (Hi friend!)

Anyway here's the next chapter because I have nothing else do to (apart from holiday homework...but that can wait)

And as per usual- I apologise about butchering elf's accent

Enjoy!

Kurt

The wind was cold despite it being spring, and though it didn't affect him much thanks to his fur, it was still unpleasant. With practised ease he darted over the mismatched roofs and balconies, careful to avoid those not inside the OASIS.

It was almost comical really, people of various ages and ethnicities acting like mimes unaware that mere meters from them he darted by.

The market, which had a few people still milling about, despite the late hour, was his destination.

When spent roughly half an hour there, pinching groceries from either the customers or the stalls themselves, all the while keeping an eye out for the IOI drones.

No need for them to see what he was up to.

After a decent haul, and numerous muttered prayers of apology, he headed home.

By the time he had finished watering the plants and putting away his spoils light had begun to claw its way over the horizon.

For a calming moment, he let the sunlight flood is small room, and then cringed once he saw the amount of dust in the room.

Before long he heard and saw people begin exiting their homes, and he hurriedly slammed the doors and windows shut.

After making himself a meal, he decided to sleep for a few hours.

It wouldn't do him well to go into the OASIS without all his wits about him.

Parzival

Nightcrawler entered the OASIS a few minutes after he and H turned up to what had become their meeting place.

"Hey Nightcrawler" H said, and the avatar in question raised his hand in greeting.

Parzival glanced at his friend, H seemed to be up to something if the tone of his voice was anything to go by.

"You know, if you're going to be in the OASIS, you're gonna need some coins" H grinned, "and the best place to pick up coins..."

He silently pleaded that H wouldn't say Planet Doom,

"...is Planet Doom"

Damnit

"Zounds hospitable" Nightcrawler replied, "and not ze sort of place I vould go unarmed to"

That was apparently exactly what H wanted to hear, he could practically see the excitement dancing in his friends eyes.

No doubt he was looking for an excuse to visit the planet which in all seriousness was basically a giant shopping centre.

Parzival, in all honesty, hated going there, everything was incredibly overpriced.

Half of what could he bought on that planet could be found elsewhere for half the price, you might just have to compete with a few other players to get to it.

H on the other hand, adored going there, his work meant he had far deeper pockets than Parzival.

Some days he really did envy H.

H

While Nightcrawler was in something like awe, Parzival looked down right uncomfortable.

She did feel guilty, dragging her friend along, but she'd been itching to come back to buy some upgrades.

She lead both her friends westwards, towards what was in essence a town of weapons masters.

Everything was grittier looking once you stepped into that area, part of the aesthetic she reasoned.

While Parzival still looked out of place, Nightcrawler was gaping openly, apparently not giving a shit about the people who had begun laughing at his reaction.

On the left side of the massive area were the more traditional weapons, on the right were futuristic, dotted in between the two were guns and allow ranging from the First World War to the present.

"Zis iz amazing and all, but in case you forgot I'm still very much broke" Nightcrawler stated, practically flinching when he saw the price on some of the weapons they passed by.

"Welcome to the club" Parzival muttered, glancing almost longlinly at a sleek gun that looked far deadlier than it probably was.

"Being the really nice guy I am" she grinned, "I'm gonna but you a weapon or two, of your choosing".

She always felt she could tell a lot about a person depending on what they chose, and in all honesty, she had some money to burn.

"Nein I couldn't do zat!" Nightcrawler responded, as if shocked she would even consider it.

Can't say I was expecting that she thought, even Parzival let her buy him weapons, or at least fuel, when times got really tough.

"If you feel that bad about it you can always pay her back once you earn some coins" Parzival suggested, "and I can assure you H isn't like IOI when it comes to repaying debts"

Nightcrawler chuckled, and after a few moments thought, agreed.

"Now here's the real question blue boy" she said in mock seriousness, "what weapon will you choose?"

Kurt

H seemed fixated on getting him some sort of axe or hammer,

"Like that arcade game" had been his reasoning, "just whack whack whack, no skill needed!"

Parzival on the other hand,seemed more intent on getting him to choose a firearm.

Specifically the one he had stared at longingly beforehand.

He burst out laughing when he saw their reaction once he said he would prefer a sword or dagger.

"Dude you have to know how to use it" H told him as they walked towards a small shop which seemed practically built out of blades.

"H has a point, they look cool and all but unless you've got one that can go through standard armour you're gonna need to actually arm for the gaps in said armour" Parzival added, "If you want coins fast a sword isn't the way to go"

"Trust me mein friends, I know what I'm doing" he replied, "I've dabbled in swordfighting and fencing in ze real vorld"

Neither looked like they believed him.

After a bit of 'browsing', if it could be called that, he settled on two swords which came as a pair. They weren't particularly pretty, but they were functional enough, cheaper than the others, and after Parzival showed him how to access their 'stats', he found them to be satisfactory in damage and durability.

With the purchased made, H demonstrated how to add them to his inventory and how to access them, and they began their trek back to the portal.

Parzival was intending on entering one of the races running that day, he and H, however, had a different destination.

Planet Doom.

And that's chapter 4 done and dusted, I don't think I need to tell you what'll happen in the next chapter.

See you next time folks!

*cricket noises*

...as I said, see you next time!