A/N: Enjoy
Day 1:2 Quit Game
"—is going on?!"
David is back in the garden, clutching the side of his avatar's head in confusion and staring downwards into space. He squeezes the skull, fingers ruffling his hair and feeling the strands and not feeling the VR gear!? He rubs his eyes with his wrists, letting out an exasperated groan while his panicking heart beats so loudly he almost can not hear his thoughts.
In a game world? But that's impossible! I probably just fell asleep while waiting! Fuck that's it! I fell asleep and this is a dream. A super lucid dream or something. Oh shit, maybe I can actually fly properly this time!
Because it is not the first time David has a lucid dream or nightmare and he actively knows about it. It is hard to distinguish between a dream and reality when a person walks through familiar spaces, neatly built and provided by the mind's experiences. Those dreams tend to be about school lives or weird zombie apocalypses and it always feel good to sock an evil Roy Mustang in the face because you don't tell your evil scientists to poke someone with a zombie syringe—
But the matter is that David is having a vivid dream of RWBY and RNO. Just that thought and—the idea that it is so lucid that he can feel things—that he can possibly try to fly again in a lucid dream excites him. So he shoots right up to his feet, assumes an old Superman pose from the 40s comic book and fly!
…
…
His feet are staying firmly on the grass.
Okay, maybe the dream is just so lucid that David's mind knows that Superman-flying is not possible. That deflates his mood quickly. He will be pissed he needs a flying-related Semblance since it is a RWBY-RNO dream. He drops his legs and fall onto the garden bench again.
Leaning back as far as he can on the small backrest of the bench, David watches the sky as it lightens up to the early morning brightness. This is nice…The puffy white clouds drift on lazily. David can not say he has spent a lot of time just enjoying the stillness of life as time passes on, but he can certainly enjoy this.
…
…
…This is boring. When is the dream going to end?
David leans forward and cups his hands on his face, rubbing it tiredly and exhaling heavily. He sits his head on a palm supported by the elbow on his knee, watching a yellow butterfly fluttering above a flower bush. His eyes follow the insect's movement as it goes about its day and perch on a leaf for a moment. Once it is satisfied with whatever it was doing, it lifts off once again and flies in the top-left direction. David follows with his eyes until he can not go any further.
The HP (Health Point) bar is missing...He thought. He continues to stare to the upper-left corner of his vision for another few seconds before his mind catches up to the thought. He sits back up and looks about his vision, taking note of how 'clean' his sight is. The UI (User Interface) is missing! How did I miss that?! He breathes deep and exhales, then looks around one more time: The HP and AP (Aura Point) bars that take the upper-left corner is gone; The row of buttons and the minimap on the upper-right is missing; The quick-skill and quick-item slots at the lower-right have taken a vacation; And finally the chat box on the lower-box has faded away since 4 a.m.. His vision is crisp and clear, despite that he is not wearing his glasses for his short-sightedness.
Okay, so what if the UI is missing? It is a dream, so maybe I'm just not dreaming of the UI. David rolls his head and massages his neck, relieving some of the soreness from staying in a position for too long. His fingers curl in, nails scratching lightly on his skin. He blinks as the feeling spreads from his neck. Maybe I can—He sets his sights on one of the many trees.
David does not know what tree it is—he works as an industrial area, not a botanist—but it is thick and tough like a proper tree is. He raps a knuckle on the bark, feeling the roughness of nature, then reconsiders his thought. Maybe…maybe not…He sighs, then knocks the tree with his forehead. He feels the impact reverberate in his skull, but nothing else after. He pulls back and frowns, rubbing the point of contact on his forehead. Light knocks ain't gonna work. "Okay!" He sighs, pulls back, then headbutts the tree.
His skull rattles, his ears ring, his vision doubles and spins, then he feels the pain. "Fffuuucckkk!" He fell on his knees as he grabs his head, trying to keep himself from falling out of the world. He pants hard, taking in as much oxygen as he can, one hand on his head and another holding onto the tree as support, watching the grass spin and reset in his vision, slower and slower as seconds passed. Once it finally did stop spinning, David picks himself up on wobbly legs and collapses back on the bench.
Waking up via pain had not work but instead gave him a mild concussion. David gently massages his forehead until the pain recedes before looking at his fingers: No blood, so his forehead skin did not split on the tree bark. Man, Aura's awesome. Too bad it only reduces blunt damage by half. Indeed, for that is the combat mechanics of the game, a balancing factor for the idea that instant-death mechanics are bypassed through the invulnerability provided by even a single point of AP. And in the light of this point and in this case, it does not seem to protect internal organs as well.
Back to his current situation: It looks to David that the idea of this being just a gigantic, vivid dream is further and further away. Yet it does not explain the how or why of it. David is always intrigued by the idea of being stuck in a video game, thanks to anime and manga like 'Log Horizon', 'dot hack sign' and the recently released 'Overlord'. He is not exactly motivated by his current living standards, so from time to time he daydreams about the possibility of such an occurrence.
Be careful what you wish for. What are the chances of something like that to actually happen to him?
"So what am I supposed to do now?" David ruffles his hair and thinks aloud. There is no UI for him to access anything. He does not know anyone in this world, except the characters from RWBY but they do not know him. He can not just waltz right up to someone and act like their long lost best friend. Fuck, is this like 'Overlord'? Am I the only person? Or 'Log Horizon'? He do not know. Everyone despawned in his sight back at the corridor when 4:00 a.m. struck. And until now, he has not seen any other person except Ruby Rose...Is she still an NPC? Probably not. I need to stop thinking like this is a game, 'cause it's not anymore…or is it?
Whatever, fuck that for now. What exactly do I do first? David taps a finger on his teeth, trying to recall what he learned from the examples he had seen. Everyone from the anime seem to start with the options first, okay let's try this… …Menu?
Nothing happens. He tries again aloud, but has the same result.
"Options? …Nada. What did the button look like again? Aarrr…oh, a cog! Cog! Menu! Shazzam! Hallelujah! Malaphaso!" He even lifts a hand, palms up like he is expecting a hologram. "…No dice. Fuck!" He scratches the back of his skull. "What else is there? [Main Menu]"?
Something popping up right in front of his face shocked him for a moment, causing him to throw himself back. He almost rock the bench off, but David manages to slam his favourite seat back onto its legs. After recovering, he looks at what has appeared so suddenly in front of him with no concept of personal space.
The 'window' is translucent, allowing him to look pass and see the brushes rustling from the small breeze that is picking up. The edges are rounded off, but that does not matter because David's hand did not encounter resistance when he put his hand through it. The borders of the 'window' and each selectable menu buttons are coloured in sky-blue, which was—is—the colour settings he saved when he was messing with personalisation one random day. The letters remain black in colour, since it is much easier to read on a blank background. Finally, he reads each button on the [Main Menu].
Main Menu
[Resume]
[Character]
[Inventory]
[Scroll]
[RemNet]
[Options]
[Quit Game]
David's eyes widen when he set his sights on the last button. His fingers attempt to hit that button before he realises he is doing it, then curses when he recalls that those buttons are untouchable by physical means. "Uh, [Quit Game]?"
A new 'window' pops up with the header 'Quit Game?' written at the top. In the middle, within the text box, it reads: 'Are you sure you want to quit?' Which is followed by two options: '[Yes]' and '[Cancel]'. David hesitates as he reads the line again.
'Are you sure you want to quit?'
'Are you sure you want to quit?!'
It has not looked so ominous until now. It is just a genuine question that the developers put to entice players to stay longer and play the game. It has never looked as much as a threat of death like it does currently.
Fuck, stop it! David shakes his head. It's just text! I see this every day!
Despite that, David does not immediately say the word and ends up thinking about it further. It is not like he is the 'loser' in the real world: Anime seems to highlight that in abundance for the protagonists. But David has a fairly good life. Sure, he does not exactly like his current job, but the company is alright and his family is there; Sure, he is not in a relationship with anyone, but he has good friends like Renault, Tammy, Mei-Ling and members of his Guild from another game, which he kept in contact with since years ago; He certainly enjoys watching RWBY and playing this game, but they are not the ones he lives for and swears to.
But I'm in a game! How many people can say that they lived a game!
Which, to be fair, is also true. David honestly believe that he needed a vacation of some kind: Overseas, or some extreme sports, or just meet with his friends but that also means going overseas…Maybe hanging out in this…Whatever this term fits this game world…real-life-into-game? Trope? Delusion? Perhaps this is the vacation he needs.
David scratches his head again. He still believes he is in a lucid dream of some kind. Ah whatever, if I wake up, I wake up. Till th—
"Don't quit the game!"
The ultra-loud shout that erupted from behind him shocks David. He jumps out of the seat, immediately trips on his feet trying to stand and falls through the shattering 'windows', planting his face hard into the pavement. He thought he has just broke his nose.
"Ah, shit bro, sorry, you alright?"
What the fuck? David groans and pushes himself up. "Yeah, all good." His rapidly beating heart slows down to a heightened pulse after he looks up and accepts the Screamer's hand, pulling him back to his feet. "Dude, what was that?" David pinches his nose: He was wrong, it has just being dinged. Aura's awesome.
The unkempt, brown-haired man rubs his throat. "I think it's my Semblance." The man has a deep, rougher voice than David's. "I don't know how to control it."
David invites the Brunet to the bench he just evacuated from with a pat on the seat. "'Warcry'? So you're a 'Barbie' build?"
The rough-faced man—wearing plates riveted on mail over his body and shoulders, vambraces with gauntlets and what seems like more plates on cloth for leggings and sabatons. Hanging on his back is an assault rifle mounted on a long and large hilt, with two blade-prongs positioned 'above' and 'below' of the rifle, likely collapsed for safety and transport—nods. "Yeah, 'Strength' and 'Dexterity'-'Vitality' built. Never heard anyone called 'Barbarian' as 'Barbie' before…" He takes the offered seat and looks apologetically at David. "Sorry about that just now. I had to stop you from doing the same thing."
"Yeah, it's fine. I just didn't expect someone to yell from behind me out of nowhere." At least this PC has confirmed for David that his situation is unlike 'Overlord', but closer to 'Log Horizon'. "So what happened? Was someone with you?"
The armoured man looks away from David. "There was." Yeah, David guessed that. "Another player, not someone I know. Much like you, we discovered how to access the menu and saw the quit button. And he immediately did so while I hesitated…" The man trails off, his armour shuttering as if he is shaking…Oh right, okay, he is shaking with fright.
"Alright, something bad occurs to those who quit the game." David figures he will just summarise it for the man. "Got it, I won't—"
"His face blew up."
David's eyes widen as he sucks a breath in. What did you say?! He turns away from the brunet, trying to not imagine how it would look. He just starts opening his mouth to get it over. "Fuck, I guess that's to do with the VR gear?"
"I think so."
"You using one?"
"Yes. I assume you are, as well."
David once again lay back on the rest, looking up to the sky as the clouds float by. And to think that he nearly quit the game too. He sighs, and rubs his eyes.
…
…
Are you sure you want to quit?
A/N: Thank you for reading this!
(Edit 11/4/19: Minor edits. 'Shout' has been renamed ''Warcry'.)
(Edit 15/4/19: Minor edit - Expanded the Barbarian's armour description.)
Mechanic note. The literations will be altered (by chapters) as things are expanded through the fanfic.
User Interface (UI) - 1st literation
[Game-sense] An interface that Players can interact with via Touchscreen function or Cursor button. Health and Aura points are represented on the upper-left corner of the screen. Menu buttons and mini-map/radar function to the upper-right. Quick-use and Quick-skill buttons are on the lower-right. Chat window is on the lower left.
[Current Situation] Does not exist.
Menu selection - 1st literation
[Game-sense] A drop-list of options for Players to access certain functions of the game. Within Options - Settings, Players can set to 'Quick-Menu' for easier access to functions or 'Main-Menu' for a cleaner-looking UI.
[Current Situation] Requires PC Hunters to call out for each functions. Some options seem to be inaccessible.
Aura Point (AP) - 1st literation
[Game-sense] Numerical value of a Hunter's (PCs and NPCs) Aura, acting as a Shield against Damage, absorbing it first before Health Point (HP). While at least 1 point of AP remains, the Hunter is invulnerable to Death attacks. Blunt is partially reduced by AP, including impacts from environmental attacks. Mental ignores all AP.
[Current Situation] Does not prevent internal organs from Damage. Does not mitigate status effects. Does not prevent instant-death attacks (by VR gear?)
Semblance - 1st literation
[Lore-sense] Manifestation of one's innate and personal power as an ability unique to each individual, with the effects varying greatly from user to user. The nature of one's Semblance is noted as representing an aspect of their character. However, a person's Semblance can be similar to the Semblances of their parents or other family members. Not everyone discovers their Semblance despite being an active fighter, such as Roman Torchwick. (Source: RWBY Fandom Wiki)
[Game-sense] PCs obtain their Semblance determined by their Character Building Stats.
[Current Situation] No changes.