A/N: I've retconned the first chapter to make it so there's only one account per player.
Thanks to anon for pointing that out!
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He woke up with a splitting headache.
Slowly opening his eyes, he blinked away the sleep.
I'm still here?
Grimacing he brought up his hand to rub his eyes. He was laying down on his back with his other hand on his stomach. The room's silence greeted him again, save for the sounds of the magic equipment.
Isn't the game supposed to be offline now? He rolled onto his side.
Aches flew up his back and he groaned.
Pain? That was never a feature.
Hajime took a moment to look at the game's clock. It wasn't there. The interface on the game's HUD didn't appear. He had nothing in his vision to remind him that he was in a game.
He pulled himself cross-legged into a seated position which brought more pain. He winced as the headache became even more plain. It was as if he was suffering from a hangover. Hajime brought his hands up and massaged his temples before looking around. The room was as he left it. No sign of any disturbances. The equipment remained on their racks and the torches flickered like nothing happened.
Well, let's at least get up. He gingerly stood up, careful to not agitate his head. It wasn't easy. The more he stood up blood rushed away from his head and the more pain he experienced. Hajime took a deep breath and allowed his body to settle once he managed to stand up. Gradually the headache subsided and he rubbed his temples once more before he walked around.
Is this some new patch? Hajime thought. No, it couldn't be. No developer would be stupid enough to say they were shutting down their servers only to launch a new expansion.
As he walked, he noted how he felt every step. His senses were heightened, not just his hearing. His sense of touch allowed him to count the fibers on his clothes and he could see finer details than before as if he had put on glasses for the first time.
Hajime left the armory behind and walked through the guild hall. He didn't know what he was expecting. The rooms were the same, no one in them. The stillness made him uncomfortable with his new senses.
"Hel-." He began to call out but breathed in sharp. His hands grasped his mouth.
Was that voice… female…?
Hajime swallowed.
He shut his eyes tight. "Hello!"
A distinct female voice called out. Hajime's shoulder's slumped. It wasn't a weak voice to be sure, but it didn't have the power behind it that he was used to having with his normal voice.
What the hell happened?!
He moved quickly. His steps, once again, sounded clearly through the hallways.
A mirror! Er, something! Something to see myself with!
He reached the entrance lobby and move through a hallway opposite the one he came from. The transmogrify room was near here. It was a room which players would customize the look of their gear or try out the look of another item they had seen. It wasn't much, but it allowed the player to get a good look.
After a determined walk, Hajime found the room. Various scraps of cloth and accessories were displayed throughout the room to give it the appearance of a dressing room. Hajime stood in the middle of the room and instinctively activated the room's effect His female elf character stared back at him. It reflected like a normal mirror would. Hajime was able to examine his character's face in far greater detail than was ever possible in YGGDRASIL.
Well, at least I can still use some of the features of the game without the interface. I wonder if this applies to everything else?
The facial animation was perfect. It no longer had an uncanny effect. He closed one eye and peered closely at the projection. The eyeball and iris both rendered in stunning detail. For a moment, Hajime could swear that his eyes shimmered. He stuck out his tongue and made a silly face. With his thumbs touching his cheeks he wagged his hands on the side of his head.
"Nyah nyah!" He said childishly, now comically out of place in his mind with the female voice. Hajime laughed to himself.
I don't know what's going on, but this is too freaky to be still a game. I felt pain. My voice has changed and I'm also able to perform emotes that weren't possible in YGGDRASIL. Either the devs have outdone themselves or something weird is going on.
Hajime put a hand on his hip and looked down. His breasts were in his way. He blinked for a moment before his eyes narrowed. His lips drew a line as he processed this information. Hajime looked back up and closed his eyes with a deep breath.
Nope. Not going to give in to base desires. He thought. Besides, ogling this character would almost be the same as ogling your sister. Hajime cringed at the thought.
He stood there while his face slowly contorted into a grimace.
Okay! I've gotta find out! For science!
The transmog room wasn't enough to confirm his suspicions. It only allowed the player to tinker around with cosmetic ideas for gear. In order for Hajime to fully conclude he indeed was in a woman's body, he needed a foolproof test. He needed to get down to his skin and the transmog room wouldn't show a nude model.
I could use hot bath. It'd take a bit of the edge off. Now where could I do that?
It would also help to ease off the aches and pains for sleeping on a stone floor for an unknown time. Inside the guildhall, however, there were no stations for bathing. Hajime walked briskly through the entire complex, trying to find something that resembled bath or basin.
Right, no need for running water. It is a videogame afterall. Wasn't there a pond or lake near here?
He found the entrance but stopped before the exit. It was a hallway that lead nowhere. Though they didn't take part in PvP, they still wanted a small sense of security. The dead end was pure stone, yet the guildhall's limits extended a short distance beyond.
Hajime pulled out his guild ring, a standard item given to each member, and twiddled it on his finger.
He looked at the stone wall with trepidation. Is the outside even the same? Mustering his resolve, Hajime activated the ring and teleported outside.
Hajime blinked, it was daylight outside. The landmark designating the guild entrance was a rock formation beside a cliff face. A faded dirt path extended out into the forest nearby. The greenery was astonishingly vivid to him. The stark details of the treebark and each individual leaf captivated him.
Walking forward, Hajime began his search. So far, everything is looking the same as it was before. Yet, we put the guildhall in as generic a location as possible so that it wouldn't have distinguishing features to make it a target. I'd have to get to some high ground later to check that out.
Hajime brushed aside the shrubbery in his way as he walked off the path. He nimbly moved through the forest with dexterity that surprised him. The elvish traits were coming in handy. After several minutes of hiking, he found what he was looking for.
A small clear pond lay still in the midst of the trees. The top of the water like glass. The water was clean and had no life growing in it. It was perfect for a swim.
I remember once that a guild mate wanted to create a water feature and was experimenting with YGGDRASIL's water creation tools. I think they abandoned the project after a while.
Hajime examined his perimeter from where he was standing.
Well, no one's around. He began to disrobe.
Out of his clothes, his face tensed up and his upper lip stuck out. Hajime's chin was up, extending his neck and he gulped. He clenched and unclenched his fists in anxiety.
You've got to do this! You've got to do this! He then looked down.
Birds and wildlife were given a shock as a girlish shriek ripped through the air.
Hajime's knees buckled and a pained look came across his features.
All gone. It's all gone. He lamented.
He, rather she, sniffed and rubbed her nose.
It's ok, deal with it for now. We can find a way to change you back. She thought.
Steeling herself, she stood up and walked over to the pond. Hajime dipped her foot in the water without any care and yelped from the cold temperature.
That won't do. She thought. Wasn't there an item that could be used for this?
After a moment's thought, Hajime sensed the vague presence of her inventory.
If it's like the transmog room, then this feature can be used in a similar manner?
Acting on instinct once more, Hajime reached out in front of her. After a moment of feeling silly, her hand disappeared through a small dark portal. She reached into that nothing and, thinking about the item she wanted, pulled her hand out.
In her clenched fist was a small wand. It was made from a softwood and appeared to be a simple branch pulled off a tree. It was a wand that could make a water source give the user a "rested" bonus upon use. Pointing the tip down at the water, the magic activated. A short burst of steam wafted from the water's surface.
Ah! There. Who ever said that this item was useless?
Hajime placed the item back into her inventory and stepped into the water. The feeling was divine. She sighed gratefully as she sat down in the pleasantly warmed water. Her aches and pains were disappearing and now her headache was gone as well. She leaned backward against the pond's edge and closed her eyes before sinking down into the water.
She kept her face above the surface but submerged the rest of her body. Her ears filled with water, muffling all sound nearby. With this, she could briefly forget the ordeal of her unwilling sex change.
Hajime floated on her back as he thought. Well, I can safely say this isn't YGGDRASIL since I can do what's only reserved for games with an adult rating. She gagged at the thoughts. This is my sister's character and I will respect it. Don't go getting any lecherous ideas again.
Regaining her composure, she stared up into the sky. I'd better try calling a GM when I'm done here.
Leaves rustled behind her and Hajime stood up. Peering out from the woods and directly at her, several men walked into view. They wore identical uniforms well suited for travel and bore arms with the same insignia that Hajime didn't recognize. Their helmets were open so she could see their faces. She could tell that they were prepared to pounce and worse, all of them wore a lecherous expression.
Did I stumble into an adult game? And what are these? New trash mobs?
"My my, missy. What are you doing out here by yourself?" the man closest to Hajime said in a singsong voice, "You should be more modest sweetie, you wouldn't want unworthy eyes to see yourself exposed." The men snickered as they drew their weapons.
Hajime looked at the men walking close to her and brought a finger up to count them. "Let's see, one, two, three, four, five, six… So there's ten of them and only one of me. That won't be much of a problem."
"I got her stuff!" One of the men raised Hajime's sword in the air. Hajime groaned.
The leader chuckled, "Now, if you'd be so kind as to come with us."
Hajime continued aloud. "If I put a fireball right there, it'd probably take out the whole lot. Ugh, I wish that it didn't take such a high MP cost for me right now. If I was in my usual character I'd take them all out quicker because of more fireballs."
"Huh? C'mon now elfy, we know how to take care of a pretty little thing like you"
"Then again, I could just use magus arcana to give myself [Haste], grab the sword, stab that guy in the face… Nah, it'd leave too much of an opening. Fireball. Definitely fireball."
"Why aren't you covering yourself? You should be terrified!"
"Wha…?" Hajime said.
The leader jabbed a finger. "You're naked and outnumbered. Why aren't you putting up a fight? And what're you muttering about?"
They're talking back?! Hajime stood, dumbfounded.
"That's it! Shoot 'er in the arm!"
A henchman in the back nocked an arrow and drew back. Hajime prepared himself to spring when suddenly a cry of pain came from behind her. She turned to see another man clad in full-plate armed with two-handed sword assaulting the henchman.
"Shoot him! Shoot him!" The leader cried. The archer adjusted his aim for the new combatant and fired.
"[Flow Acceleration!]"
With incredible speed, the warrior dodged and pirouetted to the next henchman to his left. Two men approached the melee and slashed overhead.
"[Fatal Edge!]" the warrior yelled. His sword began to glow as he attacked horizontally. The blade went clean through the armor of the henchmen and they fell.
"Give me that!" The henchmen's leader grabbed the bow from the archer and took aim as the warrior fought his other opponents. After pausing for an opening, the leader loosed his arrow. Another henchmen went down to the warriors attack before he was struck in the shoulder from the arrow. The henchmen stopped and fell back a step. The warrior held still for a moment as if in pain and then turned to face his new enemy.
The henchmen gasped as the warrior appeared unharmed.
"Tch, I'll handle it myself!" the leader said. He pulled out his sword and charged, the warrior doing the same.
"[Instant Counter!]" the warrior yelled when the leader was near.
In a flurry of motion the leader and warrior made contact. The warrior stood straight before the leader fell.
"What, no!" the lackeys yelled.
Hajime, with a deadpan expression, looked between the few enemies that were left. In another moment they were fleeing. The warrior bellowed laughter, "Now don't let me catch your filth near here again!"
"Not bad!"
Not turning around yet the warrior said, "It's the least I could do for a maiden in distress."
Maiden? Distress? "Uh, sure."
Hajime climbed out from the pond and walked over to the dead leader. "Just who are these enemies? Are they a trash mob or something?"
"Trash mob? Uhhhh-"
Hajime began to loot the bodies. "Yeah, like, do they drop any worthwhile consumibles or are they a part of any dailies? There's got to be some worth from defeating them. With the hole, 'Imma gonna rape ya!' flavor text."
Silence.
"Are you-" Hajime turned.
The warrior was covering his mouth and looking away. His face a deep red.
Hajime raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"
The warrior took a deep breath. "Will you please put some damn clothes on!?"