This update is a lot later than I intended to update this. Sorry about that, been busy with schoolwork.
With a lot of considerable contemplation, I've decided to repeat my previous statement and name my OTPs and pairings. I feel like if it drags on longer, the more people I'll disappoint. Hopefully, you wonderful readers don't stop reading because your favorite pairing isn't here, though.
They will be at the bottom of the page.
Also, this next week starts my Spring Break :D I'm planning to get three or four chapters out during this time~
Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke has been disclaimed.
Chapter 7: Points & Arrow
April 9, 2038: A week after the release of Kiseki World Online.
Midorima Shintarou had just arrived at the game's third island, Aforia.
If he was remembering correctly, it had been about three years since he had last played a game like this.
The green-haired man had just turned seventeen a few days after the first he'd played, another VR called Teiko Revolution Online, had been released.
A childhood friend of his, whom he'd been connected to through familial relationships, had sent the game to him on birthday. Though the green-haired male had promptly left the box sitting in his room to collect dust for an entire week, he could no longer ignore it when he was asked–no–ordered to play it.
And so he did.
In that game, he'd become a Hunter type character, just like he was currently. In Teiko, however, that type of class was more support than anything else. And so, when his childhood friend (who had joined the game about a week before he did) suddenly quit the game, the party they'd formed with a few other acquaintances and players disbanded.
Midorima found it troublesome to have to find a new group of party members he'd most likely loathe the existence of, so the day after his friend quit, he returned the console to its box and placed it deep within his closet–hidden behind a plethora of strange little knickknacks and stuffed toys he owned.
So why was he playing this game now? Because again, he'd been ordered to. Not because he wanted to. And not because he thought it was fun. Definitely not.
The bespectacled man (there had been a choice to keep the glasses when he registered) made his way to the Hunter's town, Phaenari . He had been in the middle of becoming an Archer when he received a short and concise message:
"Shintarou. You are to enter the Beginner's Tournament in the central town. It begins in two hours. You may quit once you've acquired 200 points."
-Akashi
How troublesome. Midorima breathed a light sigh. He had expected this would come up sooner or later.
The green-eyed man hadn't told his friend he'd started playing, but it didn't matter anyways. Akashi always seemed to know what was going on. The Archer (Just turned) wasn't sure whether the red-head was abusing his GM functions or if it was just that easy to read him. Probably both.
But still, he would do as "requested" of him. Just as Akashi could read him, Midorima felt he had developed a rather close grasp of the former. Or at least close enough to balance the scale of what would anger him or not.
And so, the bespectacled marksman proceeded to train for the next hour, leaving Phaenari and taking down one of the map's monsters with expert precision.
He also spent some time thinking back to his days in Teiko.
In that game, it had been impossible to be the strongest unless you were the highest level. Unlike in Kiseki World, all a player's abilities and skills were systemated, meaning things like aim were obsolete. Here though, it made a difference.
Though there was still an auto-guide function for ranged assault, a player's damage also depended on their precision and where they aimed their arrows (or bullets, magic, etc). There was also a gravity bonus, though that one is only for physical weapons, as well as any weak-points an opponent might have.
Midorima had remembered once criticizing Teiko in front of Akashi about these factors. He wondered if his words were taken seriously and materialized here. Perhaps the latter already had these thoughts in mind. Thanks to it though, the emerald-eyed man–in future–would irrefutably become one of the most powerful Archers in the game.
That's a story for later, though.
With his eyes trained on the enemy in front, nimble fingers relinquished their hold on the arrow they held.
Midorima's opponent cried out in pain when the projectile found itself embedded in his chest, HP dropping to about a third of the bar. After a few seconds, it dispersed into data and vanished, leaving no trace it had ever been there.
During the match he was currently in, it was the third arrow he'd fired.
He never missed.
The green-haired man's opponent was a level 19 Hunter who, in lieu of a ranged weapon, chose to use some kind of machete. Midorima thought it was rather boorish and pointless, after all, why would one choose that big barbaric, oversized knife above an elegant bow? Regardless of his thoughts though, the world continues to spin.
Currently, the Archer was in the middle of his fifth match. All of his duels prior had been rather easy to win; at least in his opinion.
While Midorima's opponent recovered and tried to charge at him, two more arrows show from his bow, effectively finding their marks on the Hunter's body. With one last cry of pain, the man disappeared.
"Round 5 Match 24, Winner: Midorima, Time: 00:39"
{Duel won! +23 Duel Points}
As it has been previously neglected, not to mention 100% omitted, the Duel Point system will now be explained.
Duel points were a feature of the game that most players use to determine each other's strength. All players start with 100 of them. When one player kills another, whether in a PvP or an unofficial match outside of a town, they are given a fraction of the fallen player's points. The number a person receives is dependent on the level of their opponent and the amount of points they had, though it was currently impossible to get more than fifty from a single player.
Currently, Midorima was in possession of 209 of these points. Since the amount of weak players was starting to thin out, he surmised he'd be able to reach 300 by the end of the ninth round.
So why had Akashi requisitioned him to earn these points? Because they were part of a larger and more complex system.
Besides Duel Points, there were what was called "Duel Credits", "Mira", and "Guild Tokens".
Mira are awarded to a player on a daily basis, simply for things such as logging in, leveling up, and doing quests. They could neither be given to other people nor traded, but they could be traded into the system for ladomi or the special items the game overseers put on display each week, as well as be converted to Duel Credits.
A player could not challenge another player unless they had Duel Credits; if a person ran out, they had to transmute their Mira into it. It was a way to make sure people didn't just spend all day fighting eachother.
Duel Points won from a fight could further be traded in for what's called Guild Points, or GP for short. In a guild, the accumulated GP was another form of in-game currency that could determine factors such the member limit, EXP bonuses, and any type of purchasable property or land. A Guild could also set what was known as a "Duel Point standard". Something other players would have to meet before they could even be considered unless they were invited to join by a high-ranking official in the group.
Midorima guessed that any guild Akashi created would probably have some kind of set criterion for screening members.
As his time for resting ended, Midorima was transported into a new terrain; something akin to a desert savanna. Tall, dry grass sprouted from the ground around him.
"The match will begin in three seconds."
The faux sun glinted off his spectacled face, too bright for his taste.
2…
His forest-green eyes scanned the area, though even at his height (A respectable 6'3) he couldn't see above the needlessly tall plants.
1…
So far, he sensed no traces of his opponent. This place had to be the least ideal for a player such as him. Never mind the fact that other players could sneak up on him, but both his chances of hitting his opponent with his arrows and the damage they'd were greatly reduced.
0!
Start!
Currently, his best chances would be to stay where he was and let his opponent find him. If it came down to a surprised close-range combat ambush, he had a sabre in his inventory he could use. It was one of the few contact weapons he deemed regal enough to fit his standards.
Thirty seconds into the match and Midorima had still not heard a single sound signaling any foe searching for him. Are they doing the same thing I am? Or are they just searching the wrong place? Perhaps they've found me already and are waiting for me to let my guard down.
He kept his hands on his bow, an arrow pulled back tightly, ready to fire. Even though Midorima was strong, he was still
level-headed enough to be cautious.
The seconds ticked by.
Then, in the corner of his eye, a flickering shadow appeared. Deep green orbs, along with his arrow, pointed up towards the sky.
Far away, a large bird glided through the air. A Vanguard– an avian familiar that belonged to some of the Hunter and Rogue sub-classes.
If it was flying above him, it meant the other player was most likely nearby and would be looking for an opening.
His thoughts were proven correct when a small dagger shot out from behind him. If he hadn't been paying so much attention, it would've hit its target squarely. Still, the weapon nicked him in his shoulder, causing a thin line of blood to form.
[-57 HP, Midorima: {5743/5800}]
He whipped his body around, but came face to face with the aggravatingly tall grass once more.
From his left side, another of the small throwing knives shot out, though this time he expected it and stepped back out of harm's way.
Out from the dry, yellowed plants stepped a comparably shorter dark-haired man with Rogue equipment.
"I should've expected you would dodge that. Now I'm just wasting my knives", the man in front of him said with a smirk adorning his features.
The two studied each other for a moment before the Rogue whipped out a short hunting dagger and set off.
He was quick, even for a Rogue. The green-haired man wondered whether or not he had upgraded to one of the level 2 sub-classes. Probably, but he couldn't tell which.
In a fraction of a second, the smaller man had appeared behind him, dagger poised to kill. Midorima barely had time to equip his sword and parry while the other man continued his high-speed onslaught. Very rarely, an attack would connect loosely and the Archer would lose a bit of HP, though not enough to make much of a difference. Most of it was blocked by his expertly-handled sabre.
The taller man stabbed at the other and jumped back while switching his weapon back into a bow.
Quick as a blink, he drew back the string and let one of the arrows fly into the black-haired man's thigh as he dodged Midorima's first attack. A second arrow shot into his sternum as he was regaining his balance, taking out a considerable amount of his HP. The darker-haired man let out no indignant roar of pain though, just a small groan and the smirk from earlier–which became a sharp-toothed grin. His bright orange eyes gleamed excitedly.
And suddenly, he vanished.
Well, not quite. He just moved quickly. Apparently what had been seen before was not his top speed.
In the fraction of a second, a new wave of slashing was released upon him, and from more directions than one. Midorima realized this person must use the element of wind. The small blade attacking him seemed to cut deeper as well, something the green-haired man guessed was a short-duration buff.
The Archer's HP had gone down to about two-thirds, and he'd only hit the other with a two arrows so far.
"What's wrong?", the other jeered as he slashed, "too fast for you?"
Perhaps it's time to get serious.
He focused on the figure moving around him; His eyes were observant enough to be able to follow the Rogue player's movements without much difficulty. After being hit so many times, Midorima could now find a pattern in his movements and attacks.
He sidestepped a jab, and while doing so pulled back another arrow. The Rogue-type player saw this, and got ready to dodge the projectile; he leapt backwards so as not to be caught at point-blank range.
Instead of letting it fly towards his enemy though, the Archer pointed it up into the sky and released the tautly-drawn string.
The shorter man watched for a second as it disappear into the sunlight, confused, but was forced to pay attention to the fight when Midorima switched his weapon and began to carve away at his HP. Said green-haired man not only blocked well, but could perform an impressive barrage.
All of a sudden, in the middle of a slicing motion, the Archer switched back to his bow and shot an arrow at the ground.
Right at the ground.
And again, the Rogue was confused until thick vines sprouted from the ground and grabbed him, pulling him into a sprawl on the dry, cracked dirt. Admittedly, he wasn't very strong, and so couldn't break through with only strength. He wanted to cut the protruding tendrils, but his dagger had been knocked away and the only other items he had were knives and other small projectiles. He did have some explosives, but they might potentially kill him in a situation like this.
Speaking of potentially killing, he was now wondering why the bowman didn't just make a move to finish him off.
Said man stared down at him for just a moment before speaking in an almost arrogant tone:
"I never miss."
The last thing he saw before the arrow came down, piercing his chest where his heart would be if this were real life, was Midorima's emerald-colored eyes. He thought perhaps they were silently studying his own sunset orbs as he dissolved into the air like sea-foam.
"Round 6 Match 14, Winner: Midorima, Time: 03:17"
{Duel won! +29 Duel Points}
The Archer let out a miniscule scoff at the time. His hand gestured the motion to open the virtual clock. Hmmm… an hour before my next class.
Until that time, he fought in the tournament, leaving when he knew it'd be impossible to be punctual if he didn't.
Right before logging out though, a window popped up in front of him.
Akashi
has sent you a guild membership invitation. Would you like to join "Generation of Miracles"?
"Yes"*
"No"
.
"Yes"*
"No"
.
{You have joined the guild, "Generation of Miracles."}
Back in the real world, a certain raven-haired man removed his VR gear.
Takao sighed for the umpteenth time since losing that match. Even though he went nearly top speed at the end, one of the few things he could do well when not in a group battle, he was caught pretty easily. He was also killed pretty easily, or at least it seemed so as the other barely worked up a sweat during their duel.
Seriously. How do people even get that strong. He was a beginner too!
He placed the headset on his desk, stretched out, and proceeded to the living room; there he found his two flat-mates, sitting on the couch watching some show about some medieval country somewhere.
The dark-haired man flopped down next to Kuroko and whined, "Teeettt-chaaan, I just lost a match for the first time… you should comfort me. We should all go out for some Kimchi or sooommeeething."
The smaller man stared at him blankly, and two pairs of blue eyes met.
"Takao-kun, you can't win every time. Also, I can't hear the documentary."
The raven puffed out his cheeks.
"So mean."
Kiseki World Online: Guilds
Guilds can be made when a person is at least level 20. They have to have a 50k fee for the initial creation. Also, a guild has to have at least five members when it is first made, but afterwards it doesn't matter who or how many leave as long as the guild is not disbanded. Guilds, like parties, also get experience bonuses, which stack with the former.
There are several positions that can optionally be assigned in a guild, though these will probably be described later. All guilds have a total max limit of 200 people. The max number a guild can have when it's first created is 20. Guilds, after a certain point in time, can purchase and manage an island which itself has multiple uses and functions.
Sorry if it feels like I'm skipping around a lot, but this is needed so that I can tie the plot together. And also to explain game functions. Is it getting too complicated? If anyone is confused, you could PM me and I can explain anything you don't understand.
And without further ado: OTP time
God I kinda wanna shrivel up in a hole right now.
MY OTP IS KIKURO. I'M SORRY AKAKURO SHIPPERS. I MADE THIS STORY IN MIND WITH FLUFFY KIKURO, AND I DON'T WANT TO CHANGE IT FOR THE GENERAL OPINION. EVEN THOUGH FOR SOME REASON AKAKURO HAS SOMEHOW EXPLODED AND PRETTY MUCH BECOME THE MOST POPULAR PAIRING HERE IN THE LAST MONTH.
And now I shall watch as I lose much support and many follows and then jump into that hole.
Anyways, my other ships in this story will include: MidoTaka, AoKaga, and MuraHimu. And quite possibly AkaFuri because OH GOD WHAT HAS FANDOM DONE TO ME.
It's cause I read Signal, isn't it?
Anyways, again sorry. And sorry for long author's notes all the time. Summary will be updated with pairings later. Bye for now.
Feedback is always welcome~