Meisters
Chapter 3: Monsters
[ONLINE]
Okay. Calm down. It is just a game. It isn't realistic at all. It has a laughing sun in the sky. It is normal for games, right? Oh man, I have no clue what I'm doing!
Quickly I get up on my feet again and I find people staring at me. A blush spreads on my cheeks and quickly I walk away while I look at the ground. I need to get away from here. I can figure something out while I check this city out.
This is an amazing game. It feels like I am truly here in real life. The graphics are amazing, I can feel the warmth from the laughing sun and I can feel a gust caress my legs. If I couldn't distantly feel my body lying on the couch, then I would really think this was all reality instead of a videogame. It is amazing how they managed to create this.
The crowd seems to reduce as I keep walking. The streets grow emptier and the brick houses seem to turn darker and sinister. The cheery trees that were in full bloom are now naked and dead. Where exactly did I go? I can't hear the sounds of people anymore. All I'm hearing is the sound of my own boots hitting the curbs.
Even the sun is gone. It's covered with clouds and I'm getting the chills of this place. "H-Hello?" I say shakily. "Is anyone there?" I really want to get away from this place. Maybe I should turn around and try to find my way back? Yes, that sounds like a good idea.
As soon as I turn around I hear a gurgling sound mixed with a hiss behind me. Quickly I wipe around and I see the most hideous creature I have ever seen. The creature has long fangs which drips blood from its mouth. It has long red and black ragged fur which misses some at its back and hind legs. The monster's icy white eyes stare at me while it scratches the ground. It's getting ready to attack me.
Without even thinking, I turn around and start running away. I take track on regular basis! I'm used to running away from competition but this is utterly crazy! I'm being hunted by a freaking wolf!
I scream loudly while I hear the wolf running closely behind me. Who am I kidding! This was a bad idea! I shouldn't have started playing this game!
"Get away! Get away! Get away from me!" I yell while I quickly turn a corner and runs into an alley. How am I supposed to fight the beast when this game doesn't even give me any stupid weapons!
I breathe heavily and loudly while I make a quick turn again and I hear the beast run into the wall before it growls loudly and barks. It is after me again. I can almost feel its horrible breath on my neck. That is how close he is.
"No!" I yell and run into a new ally and my luck has definitely run out by now because another beast comes running toward me. I give out a quick scream and I run out of the ally before the beasts get a chance to touch me. I'm growing very tired and I feel the need to stop, but if I do, then I will die. I don't want to die even if this is just a game!
One of the beasts swings its large and bloody palm at me and I'm forced to throw myself to the side. The monster's palm misses me but I come crashing down on the ground. I'm staring into the beasts' eyes and they growl loudly, baring their teeth at me. I breathe heavily and try to backwards crawl my way away from them but soon my back hits a wall. The two beasts are in front of me and they are ready to kill me.
I scream out loudly while I cover my face with my arms. I close my eyes tightly. The beast's claws digs into my skin to then enter my body to then exit. It stings a little and I find my HP bar reduces to zero. My arms fall down and my whole body grows limp. I try to move my arms but I'm unable to. In front of me I see a countdown from one minute. So this is how it is like being dead. I remember some people talked about this.
The beasts bare their teeth at me and surprisingly, they aren't interested in leaving me alone even now when I'm dead. Is this really how it is supposed to be?
The beast which attacked me leaps toward me and if I could, I would be screaming at the top of my lungs but instead I'm staring at the beast with wide eyes.
The monster yelps loudly when a mysterious man kicks the monster away from me in midair. In front of me stands a man with a very long black coat and I can see white messy hair and on his back is a large grey scythe. I didn't know old men played Meisters. From the sounds of those who are in my school, only young people play this game.
Immediately he grabs the scythe from his back and holds it in his half gloved hand. The other beast growls loudly before it get ready to attack the man. I gasp mentally and I want to warn him. The beast barks and leap toward him but the man is ready. He swings his scythe at the beast and it goes through it but leaves a red glow where his scythe went through the beast. The monster whimpers and the man swing again before he quickly turns around and slashes his scythe at the other monster. I didn't even notice the other monster was about to attack him.
The man let out a warrior cry before he swings the large scythe at the two beast and before I know it, they whimper loudly and they turn into the blue blowing sand I saw before. The man turns around toward me while he puts his scythe away.
"You idiot." He says. "This isn't a place for a rookie to be at." He has red eyes and his skin is tanned. He doesn't have any wrinkles or any aging signs at all. So this wasn't an old man, this is an albino? In front of the man some kind of hologram appears and he starts scrolling through it with his index finger. He clicks on a button and the screen disappears and a green crystal appears in his hand. He crushes it in his hand and surprisingly, I find myself able to move even though the countdown hasn't yet reached zero.
"W-what happened?" I ask, still have not shaken off the event with the monsters. "What were they? I was just in town when I accidentally came here and then they came and were chasing me!"
"You were lucky I heard you. Those were Kishins. The area you went inside is an event area. Those kinds of beasts are very special. The higher level you are, the rarer they are while lower level you are, the possibility of running into one is very high." The man explains and offers me his hand. "And by the way, I think you owe me a thank you for reviving you. Those kinds of gems cost a lot."
I grab his hand and he helps me up on my feet. "T-thank you." I say blushing.
The man raises his eyebrow. "How come you haven't equipped your weapon?"
I raise me eyebrow. "What do you mean equip? Do I even have one?"
The man nods. "Yeah, all newbies have one. Didn't you read the guide?"
"What guide?"
He chuckles and he exposes razor sharp teeth. I wonder how he got those. "You haven't read the guide. Man you are bad at this." He lifts his index finger and points toward right a little in front of him. "Look at your right bottom corner, do you see something blinking?"
My eyes wanders to the edge of the corner and there it is, a blinking little square. "Yeah." I press it an immediately a screen comes up before me.
"You should read it carefully. With the bad luck you have you should actually memorize each and every word of it." The man says and I can vaguely see him through the screen. "And while you are at it, leave this area immediately. You don't want to run into those kinds of Kishins again. If you are killed by them and then eaten by them, your character will be deleted."
My eyes widen. "Huh?! But I just made mine! How do I get out of here?" I say and push the exit button on the guide. "You have to help me out of here. I'm completely lost."
The man sighs and crosses his arms over his chest. His eyebrows narrows and he seems to be thinking over his options. "Fine." He says and uncrosses his arms. "I will lead the way. You did help me getting what I wanted by distracting the Kishins."
Kishins. The beasts. "Thank you!" The man puts his hands down in his pockets and starts to walk away. "Come on. With me being around the possibility of running into more Kishins are very low."
"O-okay." I say while I run up to him. I really need to stop stuttering. Be confident for once. "Hey, can you tell me a little bit about the game? I'm totally lost when it comes to it."
"Sure. Why not." He raises his hand from his pocket and points up toward the right corner. "In the top right corner you can see your map and you can click on it to get a bigger and more detailed one. This map is for free but when you have to go to different places you have to buy a map or map one yourself." He lowers his hand and puts it back in his pocket. "This isn't any normal leveling game. For every level you reach, you get two skill points you can put on different abilities. You have to be very careful on where you put them or else you can ruin your character. Even if you have many skill points, you can make your character weaker by putting the skills unwisely."
I nod eagerly. I love learning and I'm making metal notes on every little word he is saying. "How many characters do you have?"
"This is my sixth character. It takes a few to get the hang off how to build your skills for every kind of meister you want to make."
I raise my eyebrow questioningly. "Meister?"
"Yes. Meister. Every player here is a meister. That is essentially what we are." The dark and unhappy part of the city starts to disappear and I start to hear people talking. "I recommend you going warrior. That way you only have to focus on Strength and Defense as your abilities. Mage will be too hard for you."
I pout and we reach the crowded city again even though we aren't at the most crowded part yet. "What if I want to become one?"
"Then you will have to dump this character really soon because you will mess Maka up."
"Huh?!" I say shocked. "How did you know my name?"
He chuckles. "I can see your name above your head." The man stops and turns around toward me. "One more advice, find some people to team up with. You won't be able to survive here all alone." The man takes out a crystal from his inventory and crushes it. An orange light comes around him. "Good luck rookie." The orange disappears and so does he.
"Wait!" I scream and reach my arm toward him but he was already long gone. I didn't even learn his name.