Hello everyone. Starting with this chapter, things are going to be a little different. Think of it as me stretching my legs as this type of writing is actually the kind that I am better at: namely, multiple perspectives. Along with Ruby, you'll also get POVs from Weiss, Jaune, and Blake. I hope you enjoy this transition chapter.
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Rose exited her room feeling more than a little irritable. Again, she had little to no sleep. Had her avatar body been as weak as her real body, she was sure she'd be feeling a lot worse than just irritable.
Look on the bright side, Rose. At least you don't feel completely like shit. She chuckled at the thought.
Across the hall, Crocea emerged from his own room. "Yo," he said with a yawn and a lazy wave. "I didn't get much sleep last night. You?"
Rose grinned. She had someone to empathize with. "Heh. The last time I had a good night's rest was when I fell asleep after Torchlight's meeting. We may be the strongest, richest people in Remnant right now but sleep is one of the few things we just don't have a lot of"
The two walked down the stairs to the inn's common room. What they saw was a crowd of people surrounding what seemed to be some sort of argument. They saw to really tall people they knew in the crowd - Wilting Blush and Milou Akouo. They quickly walked towards them.
"Milou, what's going on?" Crocea asked.
"Hello Crocea, Rose," Milou greeted. "I seems that Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud are having a sort of argument."
Rose stood at the tip of her toes but was too short to see over the crowd. She looked pleadingly at Milou and Crocea, both of whom were significantly taller. They shrugged and grabbed Rose by the thighs, boosting her a whole head over the tallest person in the room. In the center of the crowd was as Milou said: Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud, arguing.
"Like I said, I can't sleep with the lights turned on. The solution is simple: Just don't read in the middle of the night." Myrtenaster said angrily.
"Well, when else can I read?" Gambol snapped. "You never let me do it at any other time."
"Why not just stop reading? It's not like any of the books in this game mean anything"
"No! I've read these books. The lore in this game is rich if you take the time to read about it. The writers spent a lot of time on it and it's only natural that I want to appreciate it."
Rose whispered to the two holding her up. "Whoa. Gambol's pretty passionate about books."
Crocea nodded in agreement. "Yeah she is. Also, something tells me this isn't the first time this has happened..."
"They know each other in real life, remember?" Milou reminded them.
The three suddenly went wide eyed when Myrtenaster unsheathed her rapier and the game's dynamic music system kicked in. "Fine, then. I challenge you to a duel!" Even as she said that, a notification prompt appeared in front of Gambol.
The raven haired girl glared at the prompt, a low growl escaping her clenched teeth. "How petty can you get?" She pulled out her knife. "Fine, I accept."
"Rose, I thought PVP wasn't allowed in this game." Crocea asked.
Rose shook her head. "It isn't. You get penalized for killing other players outside a town's [Safe Zone]. Inside a [Safe Zone], players can't even get damaged. There's an exception to those rules, though..."
As the tribal drums thumped in the background, the crowd backed away from the two, murmuring to themselves about how exciting the morning had become. Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud stood a few meters from each other, maintaining intense eye contact. Between them was a information screen: COMBATANTS: [Myrtenaster] Lvl 21 VS [Gambol Shroud] Lvl 19. STIPULATIONS: The first to bring their opponent's health to 50% is the winner. Under said screen was a count-down timer, ticking down every second.
"In this game, you can have a formal duel with someone. It can be to the death or until past a certain percentage of your health bar. It's the only real way to kill a player in this game with little consequence. It's also the only way you can damage someone inside a [Safe Zone]."
The timer hit zero and the two lunged at each other. There was a clash of steel as a stab by Myrtenaster was deflected by Gambol who quickly counter attacked with a low sweeping kick. Myrtenaster fell to the ground and quickly rolled away, a knife stabbing the ground where she laid a mere instant ago. She then jumped to her feet and spun in a circle, swinging her rapier as she did so, forcing Gambol to retreat. Once again, the two stood some meters away from each other, glaring at one another.
The sweeping kick did a sliver of damage to Myrtenaster and the rapier swing grazed Gambol Shroud's left forearm. They both still had most of their health left.
Rose watched with amazement. "Wow, those two are good." She tapped Crocea and Milou's shoulders. "Hey, I think I'll be able to see through the crowd now. Let me down," she whispered.
"You can still forfeit, you know." Myrtenaster said as the two circle each other.
"You were the one who challenged me. Don't tell me you don't plan to follow through with this."
The girl in white looked like she was about to retort but held her tongue. "Of course I do..." she said instead in a low voice.
The girl in black pounced at Myrtenaster, slowly pushing her back with a frenzy of slashes. Myrtenaster managed to hold her own but was losing a lot of ground - if all she did was parry, eventually she'd have her back against the wall.
"How are you going to deal with this, Myrtenaster?" Rose whispered, eyes still trained on the battle. "Come on, push back..."
Myrtenaster parried one more slash by Gambol Shroud before ducking under a slash and tackling the raven haired girl. Gambol was pushed back a few steps but recovered quickly. Her assault resumed with equal ferocity. Myrtenaster, however, seemed to have anticipated this. She leaned to the side, dodging a slash, and then stabbed at Gambol's legs. The girl in black stumbled froward, face planting into the wall, causing a [Immortal Object] notification to appear at the point of impact.
Myrtenaster's health was still over 90% while Gambol Shroud's was closer to 75%
"It's not too late to give up. You know you can't beat me." Myrtenaster said, a smug grin on her face. Gambol got up, making no comment.
The two lunged at each other once more, locking blades. They both pushed. Myrtenaster was slowly brought to her knees - Gambol seemed to be much stronger. Face scrunched in a frown of exertion, Myrtenaster angled her rapier so that the knife slid down its length. Finally freed from Gambol's weight, she quickly put some distance between the two of them.
Turning around, Myrtenaster quickly raised her sword to guard against any upcoming attack. However, no such attack came. Instead, Gambol Shroud was nowhere to be seen.
She looked around in confusion. "Where-"
She wasn't even able to finish that sentence as a sudden sharp glowing object burst forth from her shoulder. Behind her stood Gambol Shroud, locked in the attack animation for the [Back Stab] sword technique. Myrtenaster's health went from 90% to a little over 10%, signalling the end of the battle.
A large notification screen appeared between them. WINNER: [Gambol Shroud] Lvl 19.
"Whoa..." Crocea breathed in amazement.
Yeah, no kidding... Rose thought in agreement. And literally only one sword tech was used in that battle. She shook her head. When we almost fought back in the forest, I planned to hold myself back and lose on purpose. In hindsight, I'd probably lose even if I went all out...
"So... you won..." Myrtenaster said awkwardly. It seemed like she wasn't used to losing. "So what are you going to do now?"
"Starting today, we sleep in different rooms." Gambol Shroud said curtly, sheathing her knife.
Myternaster blinked. "What...?" She frowned. "But-"
"I won. I say: we here on, you sleep alone."
"I..."
Rose turned around and began walking away. "Guys, this isn't something we're supposed to see," she said quickly. "Agreed" Crocea said, following Rose. Milou and the rest of the crowd began leaving as well. As the crowd dispersed, Rose took one last look back.
Just as Gambol moved to leave with the rest, Wilting Blush grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed back to the center of the room. Myrtenaster stood, looking at the floor, fist clenched at her sides. Gambol frowned, looking between Myrtenaster and Wilting Blush. She sighed and walked towards Myrtenaster, offering a hand.
Rose tore her gaze away, and continued out the room. She had only one word to describe what she just saw. Interesting...
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Myrtenaster stood at the top of [Cypress Town's] bell tower, watching the activity in the town square below. However, her eyes were not really focusing on anything. The was far too preoccupied with her own troubles to care about goings-on of random NPCs and players in the streets.
She clutched the hilt of her sword. I lost against Blake, she thought to herself. Her grip tightened. That in itself doesn't make me upset, though. I always knew she'd catch up to me eventually. I'm actually really happy that she's finally beaten me...
Gambol Shroud is Blake. Blake is Gambol Shroud. I know that for a fact... She closed her eyes, frowning. But why does it feel like they're different people? Why does it feel like I wasn't beaten by her...? How does being in a virtual world change things...?
"Hello again. I'm here, just as you asked."
Myrtenaster looked behind her and addressed the person climbing up the stairs. "Milou Akouo." She bowed slightly. "Good morning."
"Your battle with Gambol Shroud was quite the spectacle," Milou said cheerfully. "Though the reasons for fighting was a little petty."
Myrtenaster raised an eyebrow. "You're mocking me, aren't you?" She asked dryly.
"No no," Milou said quickly. "I didn't mean to offend. I just found it kind of amusing."
Myrtenaster tilted her head curiously. Thinking back, perhaps her pettiness was a bit amusing - not that Myrtenaster would ever say that out loud. Accepting one's faults is one thing - admitting to having them is another. So she made no comment.
"Why didn't you use any sword techs earlier?" Milou asked, continuing the topic of the sword fight an hour ago.
Myrtenaster chuckled. "Honestly? It slipped my mind. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time Gambol and I fought each other. We've never had sword techs available to us before."
"Before..." The red head repeated. "You've had sword fights in real life?"
"That's right. And today won't be the last time we do."
"Somehow, I don't doubt that. I think it's safe to assume that Gambol was in a similar position and only realized she could use sword techs at the last minute."
"Yes, that is a safe assumption."
She smiled and joined joined Myrtenaster in looking over the city. The conversation ended there, leaving the two to stare silently at the NPCs and players down below. After some minutes, Milou spoke up once more, sounding much more somber than she had been earlier.
"What do you think our parents are doing? I'm sure yours is suing Argus for millions because of endangering you like this."
"Well..." Myrtenaster thought for a bit about the likeliness of what Milou said. "You're probably right," she decided. "It would be very much in character for father to do something like that."
"I'm worried about mine. It's been over a week since all this began. It's probably all over the news..." Milou frowned at the thought. "They're bound to hear about it..."
"Well, our parents will more or less be fine. They'll get over it once we get out of this death trap of a video game. Frankly, I'm more worried about Winter. With both Blake and Adam trapped in this game with me, I'm afraid she might think we've abandoned her. The thought of her alone in the house with only father for company..."
"She's your sister, remember? She'll be able to take it - the same way you're handling your being trapped in the game."
"So you say..." Myrtenaster looked up at the sky, clouds obscuring the sun from her view. "Sometimes I wonder, though..."
Milou sighed. "I really wish I never convinced you to play this game. That way, you wouldn't have gotten caught up in all this."
Myrtenaster smiled sadly. "It was inevitable that I'd start playing. You need to see what the competitor has to offer if you want to beat them. I was the one who offered to try the game out for father. It's only a bonus that you're here.
"As for my assessment of the game, well..." She unsheathed her rapier and held it at eye level, noting the weight of the weapon and details on the blade. She then pointed it down to the bustling square below. Her grip became tighter. "This level of polish would be quite difficult to beat. If you ignore the obvious gamey aspects to it, Remnant almost feels real. If father's company is going to try and match this, it'd take them years to come even close. Just thinking of the development costs makes me shudder."
"Well, after an event like this, the market for virtual reality games is gonna take a plunge. This whole trapped in the game situation makes for really bad publicity."
Myrtenaster rolled her eyes. "Well then, once we get out of here, I'll be sure to tell father not to start investing in VRMMO games," She said dryly. "Though I'm fairly certain he has no need of me telling him - it goes without saying."
Milou nodded. "I wonder how they'll react once we get out of here?"
"Who knows? We aren't even sure if beating the game will allow us to leave." She sheathed her blade. "Besides, this game has 100 [Gate Dungeons] to unlock. It could take a long time for us to get that far. Despite Torchlight's attempt to make certain the uncertain, there is still a lot of things we don't know about."
"Well then, we just have to adapt to whatever happens next. It's only been a week since this incident began and look how far we've come already. It may seem small but progress is still progress. We'll be out of here in no time."
"Your optimism is enviable," Myrtenaster said with a sad smile. "Here's hoping for the best."
After those concluding words, they stayed in melancholic silence for a long time.
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Crocea sidestepped a spear strike from Rose. "You know, it's pretty unfair how much more reach that spear has compared to my sword."
"Well, maybe you should have asked someone else to teach you how to duel," Rose said, thrusting her spear forward once more, causing sparks to fly upon colliding with Crocea's shield. "Well?"
Crocea sighed. Really, he didn't have anyone else to ask. Milou was busy doing stuff in town, Myrtenaster didn't seem to like him, Gambol Shroud hasn't spoken a word to him since he met her, and Wilting Blush seemed to have this aura of fear that kept him from trying to engage in conversation with him. Rose was the only player he knew who'd help him. Of course he'd probably have a chance asking some newbies - he had no doubt that they were interested in dueling as well. Still, Rose was a friend, available, and willing - it'd be stupid not to ask her.
So Crocea sucked it up and charged Rose, only to be sidestepped and tripped by a long pole sweeping him off his feet. He fell forward with a thud, his health finally going past 50%. He had lost again.
"Like I said before, you're fighting a player, not a mob. Players don't have a set attack pattern you can exploit. Just trust your instincts and improvise. You can do this"
"Right..."
Sitting up, he watched his health rapidly regenerate, quite thankful that the [Safe Zone] restored health and healed most players of status problems. Within seconds, he was back at maximum health.
He sighed again. That that point, he had lost to Rose several times now. It was like the first day all over again: him failing again and again while Rose patiently gave him advice and encouragement, except, this time, there was no guise of anonymity. Rose knew who he was and he knew her. They were no longer just a stranger helping another stranger out - they were friends. And as such, he couldn't help but feel like Rose had some sort of obligation to help him...
Rose offered him a hand. "C'mon, let's take a break. I'll buy you lunch."
Crocea looked at the gloved hand in front of him. An obligation to help me... he thought. He sighed once more and took the outstretched hand.
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Gambol Shroud prowled the rooftops of [Cypress Town]. Ever since she reached level 10, she had been playing around with the [Stealth] skill during her free time. Rather, she used to. That day was actually the first time she did so in nearly a week.
Ever since she arrived at the third starting town, she had basically been at Myrtenaster's side the entire time. Granted, it was self imposed - she could have left to do what she wanted at any time - but a certain sense responsibility seemed to keep her glued to the girl in white. Even now that Myrtenaster had told her she was to keep away for the time being, she still had an impulse to return to Myrtenaster's side.
Not that she'd be able to do that. Myrtenaster had been avoiding her. She was probably indoors, meeting with her new friends, or out in the fields, grinding mobs until she became high enough leveled that she couldn't receive experience points from them anymore. Either way, she wasn't showing on Gambol's radar, nor would she appear on it any time soon.
That avoidance, plus the duel earlier, were both caused by the mere fact that Gambol liked reading before she went to bed.
It was so stupid. How can a lit candle halfway across the room keep someone from sleeping? It was barely enough light to see the text on the pages. If they opened up the curtains, the light from Remnant's shattered moon coming in from the windows would have been substantially brighter. How could a faint flickering speck of light bother someone so much?
Then again, she hadn't gotten much sleep since they were separated on the first night. That, compounded with her needing to adapt to the environment in Remnant, made for a very unreasonable Myrtenaster. Gambol certainly didn't condemn her for acting the way she did. She was just really frustrated with how things were going.
She lept over the street and nimbly landed on the roof of a small balcony on the second floor. Below her were the NPCs and players doing their own thing, completely unaware of her presence.
She activated the [Detection] skill. Having used that skill a fair amount as well, it was fairly high leveled. It allowed her to see, hear, and otherwise sense substantially farther and more precisely than she normally would. It was a bit overwhelming how much information she was receiving.
A number of player cursors was brought to her attention. Several meters to the south east, in the streets, were Crescent Rose and Crocea Mors. They were about to enter the inn. Nodding, Gambol turned to the next cursor whose name she recognized. To the west, in the back alleys in the shadier parts of town, was Torchlight. He seemed to be soliciting information from someone - or perhaps collecting a debt. She quickly turned away, not wanting anything more with it. Directly below her was Wilting Blush, arms crossed. He seemed to be carrying something.
Gambol shook her head. He always was good at finding her in hide and seek. She turned off [Stealth] and dropped down. "Wilt," she greeted.
"I brought you lunch." He held out a bag filled with a fish, half loaf of bread, and a wedge of cheese.
She smiled and accepted the food. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
Wilting Blush nodded and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Gambol tilted her head curiously. She wondered if he knew where Myrtenaster was. He probably did. He had more than one bag. The other one was probably for Myrtenaster. She debated whether or not to follow him but decided it was best if she left him alone. More than likely, he'd figure out that he was being followed by her and try to evade her - as good as she was at hiding and tracking, Wilting Blush was better - and he didn't even need to use the [Stealth] skill.
So she simply returned to the rooftops and began eating.
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The next chapter will be the beginning of a new arc. Like I said in the last chapter, there will be progress. I hope you all look forward to it. Til my next chapter, everyone. Take care!