Ch. 3 Floor 2

(I originally didn't want to upload this but I felt bad about Galaxy's latest chapter. To make up for it, I write the fuck out of this chapter. Thank you guys for another 9 reviews, that also made me write this, and, your favorite little demon is in this chapter. ;p I hope you enjoy.)

{Rui's Point of View}

-April 22nd, 2041-

I was running to join in on the boss raid but I arrived too late. One player was left behind and he gave me a bored look.

I panted, "What happened?"

He sighed, "The boss was only level 13. If we knew this sooner, we'd have attacked before we reached level 20."

I groaned, "Finding this place was impossible, everyone searched for a month. What was the boss anyways?"

He laughed, "A Beedrill Hive. It was quite laughable. You should have been there."

Those words echoed in my ears, "You're right... I should have been there..."

-May 3rd, 2041-

[Status of the game so far]

Top Player of the Chapter:MiphaGrace

Gender: Female

Level: 39

Class: Icon Channeler

Weapon: Surveyor Catalyst

Skills: 14

Guild: Lord's Servants

Guild Leader: MiphaGrace

Quests Completed: 219

Players left in the Game: 2.53 million

Players that have died: 43,751

Floor Bosses Defeated: 2

Highest Floor Reached: 3

I woke up in my new inn room on the second floor. With a groan, my body pulled itself into a sitting position along the right edge of the bed. I opened my menu, looking through my friends list but froze. I stared at Carly's name, seeing deceased next to her status. It asked if I wanted to unfriend her but I said no.

After leaving my inn, I looked around at the town. It looked a lot like the towns on the first floor except with more stone blocks present. I looked at my hud, seeing my level at 31 with 9,250 Hp. I wore a black T-Shirt with Leather Elbow Pads, Black Shorts with Leather Kneepads. It gives me a bit more armor than my previous outfit since I was able to upgrade it to +3. My weapon also upgraded as well, it's a level 27, green(Uncommon), weapon with nearly 8 times the DPS of my old weapon. As I shuffled through my inventory, I saw a dagger that used to belong to Carly. I even tagged its name as 'Carly's Dagger' to remember her.

Today wasn't about my stats or equipment though, today, I was looking for information. In the town is an underground bar with special NPC's. They have knowledge on many things within the game. Rumor has it, by giving a rare berry to one of them, they're able to tell you anything you want to know.

I asked myself, "Now, where to go."

As I looked around, Jay approached me, "Rui! There you are!"

I looked at his level, seeing it was 25, "Hi Jay..."

He frowned, "Rui... You've been so distant lately. Did something happen?"

I faked a smile, "No, I'm just a little groggy from waking up."

Jay didn't believe me and placed a hand on my shoulder, "You know, you can tell me anything, right?"

I nodded, still smiling, "I know. I have to go, quests and whatnot. Bye."

I quickly turned to leave, making Jay shake his head, "He's still thinking about it..."

-Several Minutes Later-

I reached the spot where the bar supposedly is. It was a dead end with a brick wall but I knew better. Using my detective skill, I was able to look at it closely until a brick moved. I pressed it, watching at the wall began to open with shifting bricks.

I spoke to myself, "Step one complete, now to see if the Iagruv berry is the requirement."

I started walking down a stone staircase until I reached a wooden door. Without hesitation, I opened the door and walked inside a dimly lit bar. Everyone in the bar shifted their gaze towards me, almost all of them being pokemon. The only other human was an NPC bartender cleaning a cup. One pokemon had a brownish red cloak on, only its green hands were revealed. I walked towards it and sat down at the small round wooden table.

I asked, "Are you Silvia?"

She answered me with a very Feminine voice, "Yes."

I pulled out the item, "I have a question for you."

She giggled, "Of course you do. Many men come here to ask me questions. Sadly, I must go soon."

I perked up, "Go? Where are you going?"

She pulled off her hood, revealing herself to be a Gardevoir, "I'm going back home. Gardevoir only live on the 25th floor."

I asked, "Then how did you get here?"

She giggled, "I'm sorry but I can only answer your question in exchange for an Iagruv Berry."

I frowned, looking at my single Iagruv Berry, "I have one of those berries but I must ask this question. Who is Reaper?"

I handed her the berry, "Reaper... It is a program in the game gone awry. It was originally a peaceful program designed to help players cope. In the end, it was corrupted after the game started."

I was shocked, "You know this is a game?"

She smiled, "I can only answer a question in exchange for a Iagruv Berry."

I face palmed, "Damn it."

She looked down, "Reaper... After the corruption, no one knows what Reaper is. Its birth came from the corrupt program. All I know, is that Reaper has its own free will like me."

I gave her a confused look, "Free will? You have no free will, you're nothing but 1's and 0's. You're even programmed to always say that a Iagruv is required to answer a question."

She laughed, almost like she pitied me, "No. I don't always say that. Most of the time, I'm silent because I don't WANT to speak to them. I have freedom over my choices just like you. Doesn't that make me real?"

I smirked at her, "Sorry, a Iagruv Berry is required to answer a question."

She raised a brow, showing a bit of interest, "Oooh, you're funny."

I shrugged, "I try."

Silvia smiled, getting up, "I must leave and go back to my home on floor 25. Good luck."

As she walked past, I glanced at her level, seeing it at level 73. If I could sweat, I think I'd be drenched. A rapier was strapped to her thigh as well, fueling her argument that she is real. When Silvia was gone, I got up and left the bar in disappointment. I didn't learn anything about Reaper other than his Origin. Even that seemed sketchy, especially since Silvia could be lying this whole time.

Speaking of Silvia, "How does she get to travel between floors? Wait, how the hell does she know she's an NPC?"

-Some Time Later-

I decided to take a break today and ate in a Diner. Nearby, Several players stared at me in envy of my level. When I glanced at them, they started whispering amongst themselves. I opened my menu and started setting everything to private. It wasn't long until a man sat across from me.

He looked about 27 years of age with short blonde hair. He wore a red clad of armor that covered his body. A sword, with a ruby embedded in its handle, is draped across his back. He's at least 6 foot 4 if he was standing.

He didn't beat around the bush, "My name is Zack. I need your help."

I looked aside, uninterested, "Why ask me?"

Zack said, "You're Murloc_Rampage, one of the top 100 players in the game. I need your help, my friends are trapped in a dungeon on the third floor."

I shrugged, "It's not my fault, maybe they shouldn't have gone in that dungeon."

Zack clenched his hands into fists, "I'm begging you. They found a hidden passageway that led into a deeper dungeon. They'll die without your help and it's not their fault."

I looked at him, "I think it is their fault or this is a trap. I'm not stupid, plenty of players have tricked others with sob stories."

He frowned, "I know that..."

I sighed, shaking my head, "Fine. I'll help but if you're lying, I'll cut off your head and crush it with my foot."

I saw him shiver and say, "I understand."

While checking my menu, I get up, "Ready to go?"

He got up as well, nodding, "Yes."

We left the diner together, teleporting to the third floor main town.

[Third Floor-Regrul]

The main city on the third floor is call Regrul. It's a town mostly inhabited by traders, inn keepers, and miners. Most of this floor takes place in mines and mountains. I never trusted underground dungeons, so I typically avoided this floor. On the plus side, almost all of the rarest loot is found in the dungeons on the third floor. Pokemon levels are between level 17 to 25 with Bandits spawning at those levels too. The third floor boss is currently being searched for and will, most likely, be annihilated. The first two floor bosses were less than mediocre. Finding them is the hardest part.

I looked at Zack, "Lead the way."

He nodded towards me, running towards the Southern part of town. The run there was easy, nothing attacked us and that's what bothered me. I could tell it disturbed Zack as well but we pressed forward, reaching the cave.

I inspected the area, "It looks clear."

Zack nodded, "Yeah..."

I looked into the cave, "So this is it huh, you sure they're inside?"

Zack said, "I'm sure, it's the last place they... Look out!"

Zack jumped towards me and pushed me out of the way of some falling rocks. I fell into the cave as the entrance was blocked with only Zack's arm visible. The rest of his body is crushed underneath the rock as the arm flinched and twitched until it stopped moving. Then it shattered, showing that Zack had died from being crushed.

I held my head, remembering Carly's death before whimpering, "No... I... I can't cry now. I need to find his friends. They need my help."

Zack paid the ultimate price, so I need to save them. The cave had torches and glowing green stones to light it. I began my journey deep within, finding myself surrounded by Drilburs. They were extremely hostile, causing me to kill all of them before continuing my journey. I watched my map, creating a panel that showed where I've been just in case I get lost. My one handed sword increased to level 2, further increasing my abilities. The search lasted for hours, and, I started to feel like I was going to be stuck here for forever.

I laid my back against a wall, saying, "Maybe I should message Jay for help."

I opened up my menu and looked at my friends list only to get an error message, "What!? Error... you are underground, communication is impossible. ...Oh that's just great!"

With an angry sigh, I started exploring the mine more. More ground type pokemon appeared, trying to kill me. Then I started seeing things... I don't know if it was some kind of gas or from being trapped here. I saw Carly, she was sitting in a tiny room, blocked off by a cave in. The only reason I saw her, there's a hole amongst the rubble. She smiled and waved at me... as if nothing was wrong. I pulled back in shock, looking in to see nothing but a candle. When I pulled away once more, I heard footsteps with a shadow moving around a corner.

I decided to follow it, feeling a chill, "I'm starting to think something is very wrong with this cave."

I followed the sounds, feeling the air get thicker until I reached a door. When I opened it, I was met with a blinding light.

I shielded my eyes, "Argh!"

A gentle breeze blew as the light dimmed down. Once I could see, all I saw was a grassy meadow with a single tree. Underneath it, was Carly. She happily hummed, as if listening to music. She noticed me, using a hand to beckon me to her. I took a step in, watching at the light instantly turned off. When I stepped back, a low growl erupted from the darkness as a Drilbur attacked me.

I screamed in both fear and shock, falling back. The small creature went for my neck, a critical hit spot, but I stopped it. Angry, I took my sword and stabbed the creature's throat viciously, and without relent. Once I stood up, I noticed a path leading deeper into the cave. Without any other options, I precede down the corridor. Yelling and screaming could be heard up ahead. Knowing that could be them, I ran as fast as I could until I reached a large room. Blue torches lit it and the players I was looking for, are laying on the floor with low HP. An Excadrill stood over one, readying its claws for the kill.

"Hey!" I screamed.

It flinched, turning to me as a screen appeared in front of me, "Warning, Floor 3 Boss ahead, level 30 Excadrill."

I snickered, pulling out my sword, "Level 30? Please, this'll be easy."

The screen started blinking, "Warning! Warning! Warning! Warning! Warning! Warning!"

I pressed the button, getting a video to appear, it was Carly, "Opah! I'm so glad you became my friend! You saved my life!... or did you? No, you got me killed. It's all your fault Rui. I realized the moment you were knocked out, how useless you were. You couldn't protect me because you only protect yourself. I hope Fear Reaper Kills you! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!"

The screen disappeared as Excadrill attacked me with a Drill Run. The attack drove me into a wall with the Excadrill still drilling into my stomach. My health bar began to deplete past 50%, causing me to erupt. I threw the Excadrill back, readying my sword but then I saw Silvia walk right by me. I stared at her in shock until she walked right through the Excadrill.

I shook my head, "What's wrong with me?"

"Exca-Drill!" Excadrill ran at me with Metal Claw active.

I reacted in time, using my sword to block and repel his attacks. Each hit took some durability off, a passive ability gained by Metal Claw in substitute of attack damage increase. I activated an attack combo but as I swung my sword, Carly's hand grabbed my wrist.

It stopped me for a second but I pushed through, "She isn't real!" I yelled.

Excadrill took the attacks gracefully, losing only half a bar with 2 and a half left. It glared at me, jumping back as it's claws suddenly sharpened. I took the opportunity to drink a health potion, healing back up to 80% health.

It ran at me, I ran towards it. Without relent, we both attacked each other, boss against player. Monster versus monster. I was not going to die here and I'm not letting the others die.

"Vertex Slash!" I yelled, slicing upward.

A wave of energy hit the Excadrill into a wall, "Exca!"

I ran forward, 'Driven X!' I thought angrily.

In a flurry of crossover slashes, I cut the Excadrill's stomach, inflicting heavy damage until it caught my blade with one hand. I tried to free it but its other hand grabbed my left wrist. Using the razor head, it tried to hit me with headbutts but I dodged them. Using both my feet, I jumped and drop kicked the Excadrill's face. When I hit the floor, I kicked it, backrolling onto my feet, ready to fight.

I saw my sword was close to breaking with both our health in the red, "No more games. This next attack will end one of us!"

I ran towards the Excadrill as it roared, "Excadrill!"

It used Drill Run, spinning with its arms forward, flying at me. I turned away, waiting for the right moment before jumping backward and over it. I spun, my sword extended, and sliced the Excadrill as it flew under me.

I landed on one knee, my blade extended to my right, "It's over."

I swiped my sword and put it away as the Excadrill stood for a moment before screaming in pain. It fell forward, shattering before it even touched the ground. A screen appeared in front of me, saying congratulations. The boss gave me 25,000 exp and 50,000 gold. To make it better, the item drop is an epic rare piece of clothing called Dark's Sweater. I checked it out but decided against putting it on.

I walked over to the players and checked on them. They were alive but unconscious from the Floor Boss. I continued on, reaching an ancient stone door that flashed with blue light marking before opening.

A voice message appeared in my inbox, "Players can now enter floor 4."

I continued on ahead and reached the teleporter. Once the floor boss is beaten, a room with a teleporter opens. It automatically sends players who enter the above floor to a safe zone. A Safe Zone is basically any town a player cannot die in. Before I reached the teleporter, I heard footsteps behind me.

I looked to see Carly smiling, "Don't go Rui. Stay here with me forever and ever."

I started crying, turning towards the teleporter, "Carly is Dead! You're not real."

I took a step towards the teleporter but still looked back anyways. Carly was gone... I walked into the teleporter, my tears still dripping.

-Floor 4-

I appeared in the new town's Central Plaza. It's a large curcular area that acts as the teleportation receiver. I still needed 500,000 exp for my next level up and I needed to repair my sword. So... that's what I did, I repaired my sword and went back to Floor 2 to continue farming.

{Cray's Point of View}

(Real World)

I sat next to my Brother's bed, watching his motionless body as it breathed soundly. My phone suddenly rang, causing me some alarm before answering it.

I said, "Hello?"

It was my executive, "We just got word that a Player defeated the 3rd Floor boss."

I asked, "Who was it?"

My executive seemed excited, "It was your brother, Rui!"

I looked at my brother in shock, 'He's fighting,' I smiled, "That's great news!"

Then my Executive was silent, "He... He got Dark's Sweater..."

I flinched, "Wh...What? I thought we took that out of the game."

My executive swallowed hard, "We did... but it's somehow in the game again. I have a weird question for you."

I was confused but said, "Ask away."

My executive asked, "Why... why can players marry Pokemon?"

I didn't know about this, "They can?"

My executive replied, "Yes, they can and... I feel like I'm crazy for saying this but... it's like they're alive."

I rubbed the back of my head, "They're programs, how can they act alive?"

My executive sighed, "I don't know but they're reacting to everything and one pokemon began traveling. She met Rui today in a secret bar."

I was interested immediately, "What... what kind of pokemon was it?"

My executive was hesitant to answer, "A... A Gardevoir."

I bit my lip, "Is that bad?"

My executive said, "The... The Gardevoir cannot be tamed in this game... Also... They have their Succubus Forms."

I flinched, "S-Succubus Forms?"

My executive whispered, "It was a form long discussed but ultimately rejected for its mature nature. The Succubus form is a Wild exclusive form that turns them Dark/Fairy with an... impulsive nature. If you want the direct approach, they're evil trainer raping monsters. They're supposed to only be on the 25th Floor in a special secluded forest to protect the players. If this Gardevoir, Silvia, left to go to the lower floors, then that proves to be a problem. She never spoke to anyone... except Rui."

I asked, "What do you think this means?"

My executive sighed, "I'm not sure but I do know this. She spoke to him for a reason and enjoyed it."

I swallowed nervously, "Is that... is that bad?"

My executive said, "I don't know..."

(Side note: To all my guest reviewers, I do read you guys and I'm happy when I see you enjoying the chapters. If you want me to remember you guys, try using a name constantly throughout your reviews. I'll probably make a quest list nod on my profile page as thanks. Also, once this story gets 2 more reviews this chapter, the next will be uploaded. I think that's reachable. ;)

(There you guys go. You get a glimpse of Silvia and now know where she'll be in the game. I hope you guys continue to support this. ^_^)