Game of guilds game- the game

[Voidus]

 

Voidus writes in red ShadowLord writes in gold

 

Shadow walked through the market streets, stopping every now and then to examine one of the stalls and check their prices. Both health potions and additional summoning stones seemed too expensive to buy until he found a good place to farm some money, but he managed to pick up a few interesting items, a basic oak staff would increase his magical attack power for only 5 gold pieces, and while a cloth robe provided less armour than even the beginners equipment it did provide a boost to magical defence and mana, which was more useful to a shade anyway.

While continuing along, wondering whether or not to sell some of the items he’d picked up like the fur and meat from his trapping, he found a centaur, a player character given the name, and given the expressions he was making it might be yet another person who’d been trapped.

“Stuck?” Shadow asked as he approached.

 

Storm looked at the ghostly figure. He’d long since given up trying to talk to the npc’s, they all responded the same way: with a quest or subtle attempts to make him go away. The shopkeepers were the same way. At least he could talk to this person, ghostly though he was. “Yes, any idea how...” he said hoping against hope that the other player might have an answer.

 

“No idea, haven’t had any messages from the creators and I’m pretty sure I haven’t annoyed any witches.” Shadow said jokingly. “Not sure this all a dream or something, but if it’s not I figure we’d better stick together. Looks like not everyone who plays is stuck either, talked to someone before and I think they thought I was on some kind of drugs.”

Shadows fingers flicked through the air for a moment, sending a friend request to Storm.

“So, want to party up or something? I’m just stopping off at the markets to see if I can upgrade my equipment before I head back out.”

 

Storm winced slightly, the shopkeepers had not been very… accepting of his biology. He did not look forward to speaking with them again. “ I’d really enjoy that.” he said, managing a smile. He could hide any of his emotions better than a man trained to do so. Natural talent didn’t often fail once one had had practice. “Where are you planning to go after your equipment has been upgraded?”

 

He noticed a pinging yellow pulse of light in the right corner of his vision and, almost without thought, brought up his message board. He had a pm from Shadow. Some kind of friend request. He accepted it without a second thought. Shadow seemed nice, definitely friendly, and he was the only person he had met so far that hadn’t given him any uneasy or untrusting looks. He almost looked comfortable, though since he was a wraith he was hard to see properly and could just as easily seem to be in pain as happy.

 

“Well I checked out the west just before and that didn’t end well, might head east and see if there’s anything interesting near that tower I saw.” Shadow replied, looking towards the horizon where a dim outline of some large structure could be seen. “Could be something interesting there.”

 

“That sounds great,Shadow, I’ve been curious about that tower. I wonder if it was, or is, a wizard tower of some kind.” Inside, he still dreaded the shop visit, though that dislike was strongly tempered by his interest and longing for exploration, xp, and maybe,hopefully, some way back home to his brother. And mr. and mrs. borvinchi. “Anyway, when do we start your arsenal and armoury upgrading? Maybe I can do something there as well.”

[Blackhoof]

Damien walked out of the store, wearing a stylish, if coarse and threadbare in its cheapness, black robe instead of his leather armour. As soon as he donned the robe he felt his powers increase, and he knew that this was far more befitting a sorcerer of his ambition.

Xalthus equips Basic cotton robe: Armour: 1, Magic resistance +10%, Mana +30

Whistling to himself, Damien wandered through the market, aiming to leave town and find more mobs to kill, and perhaps players to join up with. As a pure mage, he would need support to avoid being cut apart in close combat. "Oh, right, and I also need to see if anyone knows why I am stuck in this game."

He saw two such potential players very quickly. Some sort of wraith, and a centaur. He walked over to them, announcing his presence in an imperious tone, "Greetings, I am the Dark Sorcerer Xalthus! Would you two happen to be trapped in this game as I am?"

[Elenion]

Amarthion, Faren, and Zandarr packed up camp and began the new day. Between them they had eaten all of the meat from the first Giant Adder, but they still had the meat from the kill the evening before, preserved and packed by Amarthion. Not wanting to spend another day exposed, they looked for a cave in which they could shelter and use as a base in the future. They finally found one located in the side of a large hill and peered at the opening from the shelter of a nearby rock pile, but before they could come near they became conscious of harsh voices below them.

2 Mountain Hobgoblins Spotted!

The Masters of Moria turned to each other and nodded, then charged out from cover of the rock. The goblins whirled to face the charge, but the Masters formed into a spearhead-shape, with the massive figure of Zandarr taking up the middle. Zandarr was the first to make contact, crashing into one of the goblins and hitting it with a well-placed slash.

Zandarr.Rules deals 12 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 1!

The hapless hobgoblin was knocked backwards, and its counter-stroke almost missed its target altogether.

Mountain Hobgoblin 1 deals 0 damage to Zandarr.Rules!

Faren, who was the left point of the spearhead, lunged at the other goblin while it was distracted by Zandarr's charge.

Faren deals 14 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 2!

However, this crafty goblin saw Faren's move and braced himself to block. When that failed, it turned its move into a vicious counterstroke.

Mountain Hobgoblin 2 deals 7 damage to Faren!

Amarthion, who had been running on the right, in hopes of avoiding direct combat, drew his Bronze Hatchet and hacked at Faren's hobgoblin, forcing it back.

Amarthion deals 7 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 2!

Meanwhile, Zandarr pressed his advantage.

Zandarr.Rules deals 14 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 1!

Zandarr's goblin swung recklessly, but completely missed its mark.

Mountain Hobgoblin 1 deals 0 damage to Zandarr.Rules!

Faren, who had had time to recover due to Amarthon's counterattack, redoubled his own attack.

Faren deals 17 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 2!

The hobgoblin ignored this new attack and instead struck back at the attacker with the hatchet. The stroke hit, but not solidly.

Mountain Hobgoblin 2 deals 3 damage to Amarthion!

Amarthion resisted the urge to incinerate the hobgoblin and instead finished it with his hatchet.

Amarthion deals 6 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 2! Mountain Hobgoblin 2 destroyed!

Zandarr grinned slightly as his allies felled their hobgoblin. The hobgoblin, confused by the grin, smiled stupidly before Zandarr wiped the smile right off of its face.

Zandarr.Rules deals 14 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 1! Mountain Hobgoblin 1 destroyed!

Faren and Amarthion stopped their run to assist Zandarr and all three looted the bodies of their foes. They looked up at the cave they were heading for and were met with a discouraging sight: four goblins had suddenly appeared in the cave entrance, listening keenly to try to pinpoint the location of the fighting.

"There's four goblins up by that cave. I wouldn't be surprised if there's more of them in there."

"Even if there is, there probably aren't many. Goblin settlements are small. I'd doubt there's many more than those four left."

"Do you think we can manage these four with our current numbers?"

"Judging by these guys we mopped up, we should be fine. The guards don't look to have bows, and we've got magic and armor on our side. They will be harder to take by surprise, though."

[Edgedancer]

Sam climbed the tree yet again. It was a somewhat repetitive task but at least the view was rather stunning. To one side the fields, land not quite untouched by human hand… or at least coding but nevertheless still more rural and tranquil than anything Sam could find near his home. On the other side was the town and beyond it was unexplored land, bristling with the lure of adventure. He’d congratulate the programmers on making him want to run wild in their world, if he wasn’t actually stuck in it.

And because of that there were more productive things to do than marveling at beauty. Sam did the most practical thing he could at the moment, deep breath, dropping himself head first from a large tree. Then he was falling, obviously, wind catching in his hair and wings and the ground was coming closer and his stomach was lurching, because gravity and he was falling and wings, wings wings wingswingswings.

Samtan’s body moved.

Instinct or at least the closest thing he had for this body took over. Wings stretched out wide, catching air in them, breaking his fall. Slightly unsteady but perfectly unhurt Sam landed on the ground. He wasn’t yet used to his wings and couldn’t actually move them on purpose but he was growing to appreciate them fast. There was somewhat of a thrill to the fall… before the ground came uncomfortably close.

“How about a break?” Artax asked as she slithered up next to him. “I just finished my harvest as well.” It was an offer he accepted gladly and on his partners request he summoned another dodo, which until proven otherwise she assumed to be the same bird, to join them. If it actually was the same bird, it probably was taking its master for a weirdo already, seeing how often he summoned and de-summoned it in a row to grind his skill. Maybe it was having sarcastic talks with the goblin he learned to summon.

Chuckling slightly at the mental image of a dodo goblin comedy duo, Sam seated himself next to Artax, who had her tail carefully curled up on the ground, on the tree stump and the dodo on her lap. She handed him a carrot and both of them had a taste. As far as raw carrots go, it was actually pretty tasty. Nothing special of course but even that much was worth a great deal when imprisoned.

Then she took out another carrot and tried to feed it to the bird. A sight that Sam found slightly amusing.
“What, he’s a valuable member of the team,” she responded after noticing the look he was giving her.
“Fair enough,” Sam responded, “go on have a taste little buddy.”

The dodo went on to eat the carrot and then Sam suddenly had a new item in his inventory. “Huh, I just got fertilizer. Seems like feeding our little friend actually has benefits.”
“Haha!” exclaimed Artax as she held the dodo up to his face. “Ready to acknowledge his contribution to the team?”
“Oh yes, at this point he might actually be more useful than I am,” Sam said while petting the dodo on the head.

Satisfied, Artax pulled the bird back into her lap.
“So what’s next?” Sam asked her.
“I managed to make some potions out of the herbs I grew, how about I plant another set of carrots and go and see if we can do anything with the potions in town while they grow?”
“Sounds like a pretty good plan.”

As soon as they agreed on their call to action they were pushed back on their feet. Not that they stood up on their own, the tree just took that moment to regrow. At least that’s one mystery solved.

[Elenion]

"Did you have to roll a 2 on initiative, Amarthion?" asked Zandarr sardonically.

"You didn't do much better with your 7, Zandarr, and don't forget that Faren got 4."

4 Mountain Hobgoblins Spotted! (and barely spotted at that)

Zandarr saw the goblins when they were only about five meters away, but that was enough time to steel himself against the two in the center.

Mountain Hobgoblin 1 deals 0 damage to Zandarr.Rules!

Mountain Hobgoblin 2 deals 0 damage to Zandarr.Rules!

The others arrived before Faren and Amarthion could react.

Mountain Hobgoblin 3 deals 6 damage to Faren!

Mountain Hobgoblin 4 deals 5 damage to Amarthion!

Zandarr stood still, like a dam before a green and grey tide. Then, like a colossus awaking from its sleep, he swung. Hard.

Zandarr.Rules deals 12 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 1!

Faren took a less-classy but more-effective approach to combat: hit hard and fast.

Faren deals 16 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 3!

Amarthion hated to burn the mana, but as his goblin arrived he drew the Rune of the Glaciers, and sent his opponent stumbling back with its fingers and nose badly frostbitten.

Amarthion deals 17 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 4 using Ice Rune! Amarthion has 50 mana remaining!

The hobgoblins didn't have much semblance of coordination or tactics, but they had the numbers and the attitudes to make up for it.

Mountain Hobgoblin 1 deals 0 damage to Zandarr.Rules!

Mountain Hobgoblin 2 deals 0 damage to Zandarr.Rules!

Mountain Hobgoblin 3 deals 3 damage to Faren!

Mountain Hobgoblin 4 deals 7 damage to Amarthion!

Each hero struck back in turn: Zandarr with a sweeping side-slash, Faren with a jab that hit a slit in his opponent's chestplate, and Amarthion with another Rune of the Glaciers.

Zandarr.Rules deals 14 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 1!

Faren deals 15 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 3!

Amarthion deals 18 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 4 with Ice Rune! Amarthion is out of mana!

The goblins, three wounded but all still standing, attacked again.

Mountain Hobgoblin 1 deals 0 damage to Zandarr.Rules!

Mountain Hobgoblin 2 deals 0 damage to Zandarr.Rules!

Mountain Hobgoblin 3 deals 5 damage to Faren!

Mountain Hobgoblin 4 deals 4 damage to Amarthion!

But now the Masters of Moria were angry, and an angry minotaur, dwarf, and suit of enchanted armor are not the kind of characters that are liable to sit back as they are beaten by a few hobgoblins with bad attitudes. Zandarr hefted his sword. Faren skipped the pleasantries and swung. Amarthion pulled out the old bronze hatchet.

Zandarr.Rules deals 12 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 1!

Faren deals 13 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 3! Mountain Hobgoblin 3 destroyed!

Amarthion deals 9 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 4 with Bronze Hatchet! Mountain Hobgoblin 4 destroyed!

There were two hobgoblins that still stood after this sudden counterattack. One was smart enough to stop hacking at the impermeable suit of armor. The other was not.

Mountain Hobgoblin 1 deals 0 damage to Zandarr.Rules!

Mountain Hobgoblin 2 deals 6 damage to Faren!

Zandarr was done with getting hacked at, although he still hadn't taken any damage, so he hit the one who was still focused on him. Faren and Amarthion ganged up on the other who had attacked Faren.

Zandarr.Rules deals 14 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 1! Mountain Hobgoblin 1 destroyed!

Faren deals 17 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 2!

Amarthion deals 6 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 2 with Bronze Hatchet!

The one hobgoblin retreated from the sudden counterattack, and saw what appeared to be a good target in the corner of its eye.

Mountain Hobgoblin 2 deals 0 damage to Zandarr.Rules!

Zandarr laughed at the goblin's stupidity and hit it back.

Zandarr.Rules deals 12 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 2!

Faren ran in for the finish.

Faren deals 14 damage to Mountain Hobgoblin 2! Mountain Hobgoblin 2 destroyed!

 

The Masters of Moria stopped to tend to their wounds. Faren and Amarthion waited the customary time until their hit points (and Amarthion's mana) finally returned to full. It felt like forever. Meanwhile, Zandarr pulled out a cloth and polished the scratches in his chest-plate.

Zandarr remarked, "Those things were pretty stubborn to defend this cave. Do you think it's full of loot?"

Amarthion replied, "I doubt it. Besides, the real loot to be gained is from them."

"Eh? Then let's raid them and get going. The sooner we get this cave cleaned out and safe to spend the night in, the better."

@Voidus We need loot for this encounter and the previous one.

[Voidus]

Shadow had just finished purchasing the last of the equipment he needed, the consumables had all been too expensive for his tastes but he’d upgraded his clothing into something he’d found thematic.

Shadecloth robes: +1 defense, +10% dark magic resistance, +5% magic damage, Mana +20

The dark cloth fit his image nicely, his shadowy form now hidden even further inside the dark robes. He’d debated between whether or not to get a staff as well but for now he’d decided to stick with the bow, the ranged weapon had done well in his short test and it would be better to have it in case he ran out of mana.

 

"Greetings, I am the Dark Sorcerer Xalthus! Would you two happen to be trapped in this game as I am?"

Shadow turned towards the voice, spotting another player walking towards them, a human mage if his robes were anything to go by.

“Another one? Man, my dreams of being an anime protagonist are vanishing before my eyes. I was really hoping I’d get some kind of cheat ability like dual wielding too, no luck there so far. Well yes as you may be able to tell we are indeed both stuck here too, you know anything about it?”

 

Damien smiled, “Brilliant! I’m glad that I have found some trapped people. All I remember is, like, suddenly going black, you know? Then I opened my eyes and I was surrounded by monsters! Well, players, as monsters I mean. Pretty awesome, actually. You know… we should go on a quest! Too bad we don’t have a tank, and unless any of you have healing spells we don’t have a healer either.”

 

-------

Storm watched the two interact, wary as always around this new person. What had he meant by ‘tank’? Of course he couldn't mean the giant metal machines from the real world, so it must be a piece of gamer jargon. His brother had said that minotaurs could take and dish out huge amounts of damage, and he had called them tanks. That was one small mystery down, on to some bigger ones. “ The tower is over there, I don't think anyone has checked it out yet, we could quest in that place.” He looked at the pale, cruel faced man, waiting and watching for his response.

 

Damien nodded, “Yes, that should do nicely! How about you two wait here while I do a bit of shopping, I’ll meet you back here soon and we can go clear out that tower. Might make a good base, too, in fact.”

 

Without another word, Damien walked off, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

Storm stared after him blinking at his decisiveness. He certainly understood how to get others to obey him. Storm looked at shadow. “ Is that a normal thing for people to do in a game? Or…”

[Elenion]

I apologize for going inactive for a bit. I'm still here; just waiting for an evening where I have time to run a large battle.

[Edgedancer]

For the short time it took her to prepare her seeds and portions, Sam simply watched Artax work. Thanks to the system taking over most of the work, she wasn’t exactly working herself to the bone. Still, she managed to put a surprising amount of earnesty into artificial work. Hopefully it acted as a nice pace of change from the stress this mess had put her under.

Once finished, she slithered up next to him next to the edge of the cliff. “And I’m finished. You want to go now?” She asked.

“I was actually thinking about taking a little shortcut,” Sam responded, while gesturing towards the cliff.

“You want us to jump down there?” Worry has entered her eyes again, as her eyes darted back and forth from the cliff to Sam.

“Pretty much. Don’t worry, I can catch both of us from the fall damage,” Sam said. Seeing how she was still struggling with the choice he extended a hand towards her. “Trust me, the sights going to be breathtaking.”

Artax gave a forceful nod, more at herself than at Sam, and took his hand. Then her tail shut forward and wrapped around his waist. “Just to make I don’t end up squished on the ground on my own,” Artax said while giving him a grave look, less as if she assumed like he would drop and more that she was just really worried about falling.

“Fair enough,” Sam said with a slight chuckle.

Then the two of them jumped over the edge. Yes, this time the fall was long enough to actually appreciate the feeling. Wind rushing in, gravity giving way to a feeling of weightlessness and the rural land at the ground rushing in.

Freedom.

Next to Sam, Artax started screaming full of excitement. Along with wildly gesturing at the scenery bellow them, she also started squeezing with her tail. Not tight enough to actually hurt but it did pull him out of the moment. The scenery suddenly didn’t look like it was simply rushing along anymore. It looked like the ground. The hard ground. The hard ground that he was falling towards. In a fit of panic, Sam started flailing around and in turn ended up jerking around Artax. They turned into an awkward mess of limbs spinning around in the air.

Then they stopped. Thanks Samtan’s wings it was a soft landing and the solid ground under him helped to settle down after the rushing feeling still sitting in his stomach. It took him and Artax a while to untangle themselves from each other, the unfamiliar limbs posing an unused challenge with coordination.

Eventually, both of them managed to be in control of said limbs and were now sitting in front of each other. Artax was the first to also gain control of her actions and started laughing. It was a high and clear laugh. “That was surprisingly fun.”

“Glad you liked it,” Sam responded, giving a little chuckle himself. “We might want to practice that a bit more before giving performances though.”

[Blackhoof]

 

Blackhoof takes purple

Voidus takes black

Shadowlord takes tan

 

 

Damien marvelled at the basic  wooden staff he had bought, feeling its power in his hands. Despite its simple, practical design, he knew it would lead to greater and greater things. After selling the loot he had acquired from his fight, he also bought a simple magic ring that increased his mana. He also bought another health potion and another mana potion, and then he was done.

He was amazed at this game at every turn, he found himself getting used to it.

 

Returning to the meeting place, he found the centaur and wraith waiting for him. “Excellent! Now, let us be off! We have a tower to clear out.”

 

…………………..

Storm nodded his head, and looked at the tower. He was an archer, was that any use in a tower? He decided he didn't care, these friends of his needed him… had they even sent him a friend request? “ Xalthus? Did we ever send you a friend request?”

 

“Oh, no you haven’t done that yet. I will fix that.” With that, Damien sent a mental friend request to the two warriors. “Lets form a Guild, too, or whatever they are called in this game. Shall we be the Warriors of Darkness? The Servants of Shadow? The Reavers of the Spire? Well the last one only applies once we have taken over that tower.”

 

“How about we make that decision after we have, for lack of a better term, been together for a while.” I glanced at the sun. “ we only have thirteen hours left before sunset. When do we get going?”

 

“If we’re all ready, then immediately I guess.” Shadow said, nodding to the two. “Sooner we head out the better. We should work out some tactics on the way too, I’ve got summoning to do a bit of tanking but I usually prefer staying at range for some damage dealing.”
 

Damien nodded, and the three began walking. “I agree. I too am a summoner, perhaps we can use our summons to tank while we throw magic and arrows at the enemies from a distance? Hmm difficult in a tower, but I’m sure we can manage. I can do quite a bit of damage with my spells mwahaha!”

 

The conversation had put Shadow at ease, chatting to new friends on release day, exploring new content, deciding on their party tactics. It was a familiar situation. Well almost, the fact that he could actually feel his surroundings was slightly jarring, actually physically walking while chatting was a new experience for him but he was quickly getting used to it as the trio made their way out of the town and began trekking through the hills.

 

 

The tower loomed in front of them in the distance, steadily growing in size as they approached. Damien was so focused on the prize that he didn’t notice the three hobgoblins lurking in ambush until they had screamed and charged at them. With a curse, the party stopped in its tracks and Damien pulled out a summoning stone in panic. “Summon Goblin!” He cried, and a goblin appeared in a puff of smoke in front of him.

 

I hear Xalthus yell the word goblin and my sword was drawn the next instant. There were short creatures coming close, yelling and some waving swords or pointed sticks. I gasp stepping back as I swing, unused to the things balance, weight, or use. I barely clip one, only nicking it's skin, then it retaliates.

 

Xalthus’ goblin had started its melee with one goblin, Storm had awkwardly engaged with the second, Shadow hurled a magical bolt at the final goblin before it could turn either of the melee battles into a two on one, succeeding in blasting it’s chest with the magical attack.

 

I see my friends, or one of them and a goblin, join the fray and try another slash at my goblin. I manage a better swing this time, leavening a real gash across its skin.

 

Focusing on the hobgoblin attacking his own goblin, Damien threw a bolt of magic at the creature, striking its shoulder with a crushing blow.

 

Xalthus uses Magic Bolt! It deals 17 damage to Hobgoblin

 

His goblin swiped as well, cutting a gash across the larger creature’s chest, eliciting a pained howl.

 

Summoned Goblin deals 7 damage to Hobgoblin.

 

Shadow fired off another magic bolt in unison with Xalthus as the third Hobgoblin entered into its range to attack, he saw the monsters health drop into the red as his second attack hit before his vision was taken up by the large sword swung towards his face.
The feeling of being not-quite-hit was still strange, as though the blow had almost passed through him, leaving a memory of the blow to deal its damage.

Seeing Shadow get hit, even though he didn't start bleeding, made me get angry. I lashed out with my blade, slashing the thing across the face, and hit one of its eyes. This guy had better die fast, I needed to help the others with theirs.

 

 

Damien smirked, overcoming his shock. With a brutal jab, he sent a bolt of magic at his target.

 

Xalthus uses Magic Bolt! It deals 12 damage to Hobgoblin

 

The bolt struck it in the face, knocking it backwards. It staggered, and his goblin took the opportunity, impaling it through the neck. The goblinoid gagged on its own blood, and fell to the ground.

 

Summoned Goblin deals 8 damage to Hobgoblin! Hobgoblin has been defeated!

 

Running low on mana, Shadow sent one final magical bolt towards the goblin in front of him as he tried to backpedal out of its reach, the bolt took a large chunk of flesh out of the creatures thigh, causing it to howl before leaping to attack him once more, it’s eyes frenzied from anger and pain. Whether its anger had made it clumsy or by sheer luck, this time the creatures blow was not even accurate enough to graze Shadow as he switched his bow out.
Xalthus and his summon seemed to have already finished off their goblin but Storm was still engaging in melee with the third.

 

I see shadow pull out his bow and know he's out of magic. I slash and hack at the goblin with increasing fervor, trying to take it down as fast as possible. I manage to hit its side leaving a long gash down its side. In doing so I'm left off balance, and as I try to resettle myself, the goblin hits me, though with less force than it had before. Blood loss is catching up to it.

 

Damien smiled, seeing the other two fighting toe-to-toe with their hobgoblins. “Hmmm…. Sorry Shadow but this kill is mine!” He thought to himself. He threw a bolt of magic, hitting Shadow’s Hobgoblin and exploding its head in a burst of energy.

 

Xalthus uses Magic Bolt! IT deals 12 damage to Hobgoblin! Hobgoblin has been defeated!

 

Damien hid his smirk, and shrugged. “Sorry Shadow, didn’t think I’d kill it with just one shot, my bad.”

 

Shadow glared at Xalthus when his kill was stolen. That HP bar was barely even there! Just the tiniest sliver of red left and it was stolen.

“Snipe.” He muttered, as he casually pulled his bow towards the final opponent. His arrow pierced the Hobgoblin through its skull as it scored its last blow against Storm, the blood of beast and centaur flew through the air for a moment before splashing to the ground and pooling around the corpses of the monsters.

“Perhaps we should go over some ground rules.” Shadow growled, giving Xalthus a pointed glare.
 

I wince as the blood slowly puddles at my feet. “Thanks shadow, he'd have nearly taken me down.” I pull off my shirt and use my hunting knife to cut it into strips I use to bandage my wounds. I then offer some of the strips to shadow before. Remembering that he's a wraith. “Let's keep going. I'll keep a better watch this time.” I pull out my bow and notch an arrow.

 

Damien felt a rush of energy, and yellow light shone from his skin. “I’m levelling up!” He laughed. Something new appeared before his eyes- a series of options, that he could spend a skill point he had just acquired. Fire, Cold, Lightning, Taming….. All looked appealing.

“Hmmm… might go with….. Fire! Always been partial to fire. I’ll burn up the next mob we see mwa ha ha!”

 

He joined the others in picking the bodies clean, his still-living Goblin summon following dutifully at his heels. He looked at the loot they had acquired:

 

Loot: 1x Bronze sword (honed) + 2 damage, 1x Bronze sword, 10 gold

“Hmm nothing too useful for me. Shall we divide this up now or later?”

 

Shadow noticed the glow just as Xalthus did, he silently looked through the available skills he could choose from. Did he try and refine his combat more? Or pick a crafting skill to make money with?

Flicking the air in front of him casually he selected the Taming skill, something to support his existing summoning skills to tank damage was probably the best at this point.

 

(Received 1x puppy)

A message popped onto his screen as soon as he selected the skill, it seemed that this one was separate from the rest of the loot from the battle, a result of his skill selection. He dismissed it for now and turned his attention to his teammates.

“Wait til we have a decent amount before dividing it up, otherwise if we get a rare it’ll be hard to balance out.” He advised as the three continued through the mountains. “Either of you have any gathering skills by the way? Looks like there’s some mining spots around the place.”

 

I start glowing at the same time the others do, and I'm confused until I see the skill tree icon flashing at the edge of my vision. I select it and am surrounded by a web of available skills, too many to choose from. I hear shadows question and finally select smithing, that'll let me mine and make things out of it, though probably not very pretty or functional objects at first. “I think I could mine now. I just need something to mine with.” I look around us, wary since the last encounter, and nocked an arrow.

[Edgedancer]

Once Sam and Artax made it to the city, they had to find a shop to make their purchases in. Now, selling the potions was relatively easy but finding the right shop to buy new seeds was harder. After tackling down various shops that ought to be much more interesting for adventurers, they finally found a little shop selling, among other things, gardening equipment and seeds.  

One of the healing potions sold for 20 GP and new Metlane was 5 GP per seed. Assuming all the seeds would grow into full bloom, they could get twice the money out of every potion. Not necessarily a fast way to make money but a consistent one. Then there was also the matter of new carrots, if only to turn them into fertilizer, and earning back Artax’s 50 GP for the farm.

“So, what next?” Sam asked once they stepped outside the shop.
“Hm, just going back to the field seems like a waste of after coming all the way here,” Artax answered.
“Yeah. How about we take a look at the Guilds?”
“Sounds like a plan.”

Thanks to their earlier search through the town, they had a fairly good idea where the Guilds where. Instead of any of the more flashy Guilds, they first visited the Farmers Guild. The building was simply a large tavern. Similar to the fields outside, there barely was anyone present. Still, it’d be worth it to spread whatever little information they have. Plus, the place looked rather comfortable.

Edited November 20, 2016 by Edgedancer

[DreamLord_Erith]

I was in Hell... literally. Only a short time ago I had put on my new v-goggles and started to play Game of Guilds. Cool bright lights had appeared with words telling me that the tutorial would begin in five seconds,four,three,two,one... and I popped into hell. It wasn't that I was a demon, no, I had created a unique character of dark and light. I am a fallen angel. I looked around noting the tortured screaming and erie howls. Yep, I am in hell. Meteors crashed into random points, and streams of lava infused the ground. A sulfuric stench permeates the air. I retch at that truly awful smell, but I was in a videogame... or, was I? "Oh crap!" I was actually in the game! I was horrified for a few seconds, and then I let out a whoop. I'd always wanted something like this to happen. I had participated in fencing lessons for years and my blade was not so different from a rapier. I instinctively fell into a ready stance, preparing for a demon to rush me or something. Though my level was most likely too low to slay something like a demon. A gog apeared in front of me summoning a fire ball. I grinned broadly and rushed toward the gog. The gog hurled its fireball and I slid to dodge the ball of death. As it passes I feel the heat singe my eyebrows. I hop up and impale the gog... almost. The beast dodges to the right and bites my arm. I scream, the pain of that bite was unimaginable! The venom of a gogs bite seeps into me and I collapse. I reach pitifully for my blade and grasp it. The gog howls a bone chilling howl and jumps at me. I turn around on the ground, brace my blade hilt on the ground. The gog lands on the sword, my blade piercing its heart as it dies on top of me. The thing disappears and new words appear in front of me, telling me about a 'darklight' I complete the action necessary and a dark haze surrounds me, revealing a perfectly healed wound with barely a scar left. Impressive. I appear above a town I see a tower off in the distance, a lake surrounded by a forest, an unfinished portion of the town I was above, to the south is a sea. I look at the forest, a good place to hunt. The forest dwellers may teach me some of their ways and magics. I decend to the cobbles below in an amazing golden light. I look around quickly and set of for the forest.

[Blackhoof]

Damien shrugged. “Mining doesn’t interest me. Let’s just cut to the chase and get to the tower.”

 

 

I shrugged, then I whipped up my bow and shot in Damien's direction. It whizzed over his head, barely nicking one of his hairs, and lodged itself through a bird and into a tree. “Dang it, I'll have to climb to get that. Could one of you get it for me? Please? Climbing might be...difficult... for me.” I spoke conversationally, like I was discussing the weather.

 

 

Damien started as the arrow whizzed by his head. “That could have killed me!” He growled. “Get your own damnation arrow. I can barely climb the stairs let alone a tree!”

 

Shadow smiled glibly as Xalthus was startled by the arrow.

Serves him right for stealing my kill.

He summoned a dodo on the tree branch and got it to peck the bird and arrow from the tree, it struggled for a few seconds but eventually managed it, falling down after the arrow the dodo landed on its head, causing its HP to deplete and its body to vanish again.

“I love the way they’ve made the summons so useful.” Shadow muttered sarcastically before summoning another dodo to gain some more xp.

 

Damien rolled his eyes as the bird and arrow fell to the ground, followed by the amusing thunk as the dodo gleefully killed itself. No wonder they’d gone extinct.

“Well that’s all good, can we get going? The tower is still a ways off, and we have lots of rocks… and hills to climb up.”

 

I walk over to and retrieve my arrow, as well as the bird attached to it. I notice some rosemary growing nearby and I grab some. Then I head back to them, nocking another arrow as I did so. “Let's get going then, the sooner we go the sooner we get there after all, any idea what time it is?” I keep walking to them.

 

Damien nodded and began walking off, nonchalantly saying “Don’t have a watch, do I bro?” over his shoulder.

 

Shadow rolled his eyes as he and Storm followed Xalthus further into the hills. He kept his eyes peeled for any more mobs that they could farm, or maybe some animals he could hunt.

He was just eying off a pile of rocks near the road, wondering whether or not they could be some kind of minable ore when he noticed a slight shift in their form. A second later the rocks coalesced together into a small but durable looking creature which snarled adventurers that had trespassed into its territory. The same sound from behind them showed that they were caught in a pincer between two of these mobs.

A rock hurled from behind managed to clip Shadow as he turned to assess the threat, the attack was strong compared to the hobgoblins from before, even with Shadows natural resistance to the physical attack.
 

Damien yelped as a rock flew towards him, ducking out of the way and flailing as it sailed past.

He turned to the rock golem, anger burning in his eyes. “My turn!”

With that, Damien hurled a magic bolt, striking a glancing blow to its head.

 

Xalthus used Magic Bolt! It deals 15 damage to Small Golem!
 

I twist my torso in an attempt to dodge, even managing to turn the rest of me. Unfortunately, the rock hits me leaving a long, wide, shallow gash across my back. The pain enrages me and I growl feraly, whopping up my bow and releasing one directly into its eye with my snipe ability. I then begin to quickly fire one shot after another in rapid succession until they're too close for me to shoot them.

 

Storm used Snipe! It deals 16 damage to small Golem!
Storm begins to use rapid fire! It deals 3*8 damage to small Golem! (pending next turn from everyone else)

Shadow faced off against the second golem, protecting his comrades’ backs as they unleashed a barrage of attacks on the first.
“Dodo summon, Mark 2!” He yelled at the stone beast as it lumbered towards him.

He dual summoned two dodos to run towards the golem, the tiny birds seemed perfectly happy to waddle towards their impending doom and act as meat shields to delay the golem.
Shadow used ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE, KILLER DODOS! It deals 0 damage to anything.

 

 

Damien suddenly remembered the new spells he gained access to- and they popped into his head instantly. The words, the movements, zapped into his mind like lightning. He chose a spell he thought would be appropriate.

Smiling evilly, he thrust his arms forward with a cry and a roiling ball of flames shot out, leaving a bright path as it struck the golem straight in the centre of its chest. The fire exploded, charring the creature’s body but slowing it not at all as it charged towards him, fists at the ready.

 

Xalthus used Fireball! It dealt 16 damage to Small Golem!

 

But as the stone golem swung its fist and Damien cowered backwards, his summoned goblin charged forward to defend its master. IT took the brunt of the blow, stumbling and striking the golem’s rocky exterior in turn.

 

Small Golem deals 14 damage to Summoned Goblin!

 

Summoned Goblin deals 4 damage to Small Golem!
 

As the golem begins attacking Xalthus, I switch to my blade and take a slash at it. The golem continues moving forward and the metal blade does almost nothing against its stone skin.

 

Storm deals 2 damage to small golem

 

I rear up, like a horse does when frightened, and began to kick at its arm, trying to dislodge it or, at least, deal some real damage.

 

The two birds that Shadow had summoned looked insignificant compared to the descending mass of stone that began pummeling them.

Shadow chanted once more as the Golem swung its fists at the two before throwing his hands forward and unleashing a pulse of magical energy, knocking the creature back before its fist could connect.

Shadow deals 6 damage to small golem, golem stunned for one turn

Dodo1 deals 0 damage to small golem

Dodo2 deals 1 damage to self

 

Damien saw the other two attacking the golems, noting with annoyance how useless Storm was being. “Looks like it would be up to the two magic-users to carry this battle!” He thought to himself, as he chanted and threw a blast of magic at the golem he fought. The bolt smashed it in the head, blowing small chunks away and leaving it looking asymmetric and scarred.

 

Xalthus uses Magic Bolt! It deals 14 damage to Small Golem!

 

His Goblin slashed the Golem, chipping away a chunk of it’s arm.

 

Summoned Goblin deals 7 points of damage to Small Golem!

 

The Golem retaliated with a fatal blow. A massive strike of its hardened fist caved the Goblin’s head in, and blood spurted from the mortal wound as the creature fell to the ground. It twitched, and then dissipated into smoke.

 

The Golem looked up at him. Damien gulped.

 

 

I back away from the golem panting. I was being completely useless, nothing did dealt any damage. I notice Xalthus and his golem. He is going to die, unless…

 

I groan inside as I rush forward and slash the creatures face, distracting it from Xalthus and turning it's attention onto myself. I attempt to cut the creatures arm off as it swings the limb towards me, annoyance written on its face. I fail and the creature hits. I hear a crack and pain explodes from one of my forelegs.

I ignore it and continue my fight, though sweating harder, and being less coordinated with my attacks, than before.

Shadow watched with a certain degree of amusement as the golem struggled to reach the 2 dodos after his magic hit it. But after recovering it turned its head towards Shadow himself, ignoring the two birds which weren’t even damaging it, the beast took up another stone and hurled it towards him at frightening speeds.

Attempting to jump out of the way only resulted in him getting hit mid-jump and flung back as the golem bore down on him.

He hurled another bolt of magic at the creature but it barely slowed as its chest was grazed by the glowing blue projectile.

Shadow uses Magic Bolt! It deals 14 damage to small golem.

 

 

Damien backed away as the Golem charged at him, heavy feet pounding on the dirt. Suddenly Storm was there, intercepting its rocky fist and taking the brunt of the damage. “Maybe he isn’t useless after all….” He thought to himself, and with a word he threw a blue pulse of magic at the creature.

 

Xalthus used Magic Pulse! It dealt 8 points of damage to Small Golem! Small Golem is Stunned!

 

The light flashes past me and hits the golem, stunning it and giving me a few seconds that I desperately needed. I fell into a ready stance, the one that always scared the bullies back home, and raised my blade, breathing heavily.

 

Fatigue mixed with pain and blood loss in strange ways. I felt more alert than I should have, my wound barely throbbing in the background. Suddenly an idea popped into my head, crazy and stupid, but maybe possible. “They're stone.” I mutter. Then I jerk forward and attempt to use the mining ability I'd gotten from smithing with my sword.

 

Storm mined small golem. 17 damage dealt.

 

It barely accomplished anything, though it created a sizeable divot in the stone, knocking off more than I thought it could. I did have a weapon, inefficient though it was. I smiled, readying myself as the stone golem began to regain its senses. “I'd like your head next.” I say. Then I begin to fight again.

 

With an earth-shaking stomp the golem crushed one of the dodos that were running about before it.
Dodo 1 has died
Shadow recovered his footing and fired an arrow at the golem before it could destroy the second dodo.
Shadow used snipe! Shadow dealt 13 damage to Golem 1.
The arrow stuck in between two pieces of stone in the Golems body, how it could deal damage against solid rock he wasn’t sure but the golems glare of anger showed that it was in some pain at least.

 

Damien smiled- the battle was going quite well, and he had barely taken any damage. The Golem before him, judging by its health bar, was on the edge of death. Might as well let Storm finish that one off. He glanced at his mana bar- still plenty left. Hmmm…..

With that, he turned to the first Golem, the one smashing Shadow’s summoned dodos, and fire began forming in his hands.

 

With a roar, he threw a roiling ball of flame at the Golem.

 

Xalthus used Firebolt! It deals 22 damage to Small Golem!

 

The ball exploded on impact, throwing shards of rock and charred embers across the field. The Golem staggered backwards.

 

His mana more than halved in the attack, and he suddenly grew worried that he might run out before the battle was done.

 

I strike the golem again slashing its head from its neck, prompting its body to fall to pieces.

 

12 damage dealt to Golem 2, Golem 2 has been defeated.

 

I then pick up the things head, putting it in my inventory before turning and awkwardly galloping to the next one. I'd need to fix my leg and soon. I reached it and immediately began hacking at it, dealing enough damage to distract it from its intended target.

 

12 damage dealt to golem 1.

 

It turned to me and I once again began to regret my being the only melee person in the group.

 

Shadow threw another pulse of magic as he saw the golem turning to attack Storm, exhausting the last of his mana to buy the centaur another few seconds before being attacked again.
A sudden pain ripped through his head, making it difficult to concentrate as he pulled another arrow out while the golem was stunned.

Shadow used magic pulse!  Deals 4 damage to Golem 1. Golem stunned for one turn!
Shadow attacked with bow, deals 13 damage to Golem 1!

 

Damien saw the other two bashing the last golem, its health depleting rapidly. With a smirk, he joined in, throwing a bolt of magic at it. His mana was nearly exhausted, but that wouldn’t matter for much longer.

 

Xalthus used Magic Bolt! It deals 13 damage to Small Golem!

 

I hit the golem, my sword managing to hack off a fair chunk.

 

14 damage dealt to small golem.

 

The creature regains its senses and swings its fist towards me. I pull back, a memory of pain forcing me to flinch away. I force myself not to move any farther back than I have, barely allowing myself to stay outside of the golems range.

Looking at the last sliver of health the Golem had left, Shadow took careful aim with his bow and released one final arrow.

Shadow used snipe! Deals 13 damage! Golem 1 has died!
 

The beast crumbled into a pile of rocks at last, collapsing onto Shadows second dodo which died before it managed to crawl out.

“That has got to be the most useless summon of any game I’ve ever been in.” He said wearily before collapsing onto the ground to take a break.

Fighting monsters like this was different from fighting them in just a regular game, the exhaustion he felt was more mental than physical but it didn’t make getting up again any easier.

“BRB, AFK.” He said to the other two before laying his head on the ground and closing his eyes.

 

Xalthus saw white light as he levelled up, and smiled. “Mwa ha ha!” More mana! More magic damage! The feeling, the rush of power was… intoxicating.

 

“Lets get to that tower, I want it for my own! Haha!”

[Master Elodin]

I was excited. He had been away for a few weeks, and in that time the new game Game of Guilds had come out. The night he came back home, he began installing it on his computer. He left it open on his desk, made himself a cup of hot chocolate and settled down on the couch with his dog, Bit. His life was perfect, pretty much. He lived with his dog, twelve fish and computer, who all loved him very much, or so he claimed. He hadn't talked in years, as his pets knew only sign language. Tom and Tom the fish twins were having a very lively conversation. He watched them drowsily, drifting in and out of sleep until he eventually fell asleep. He woke up in the morning feeling like a person who had woken up in the morning. He started to make a pot of coffee, then remembered about the game. it was early in the morning, so he could afford to spend a few hours playing before he had to go to work. He booted it up, put on his state-of-the-art virtual reality equipment and.. the world was bathed in red. Shadows consumed him. Suddenly it all came to a full stop, and he saw text floating in front of his face. The tutorial will begin in 3 seconds. Skip tutorial? He skipped the tutorial. Tutorials were for weaklings. He came to the character creation screen, and began to sculpt his mage of unlikely means and malleable motivation. Yes. This game will be fun. Work isn't that important anyways, right? Right? Right.

[Blackhoof]

Blackhoof is purple, Shadowlord is brown, Voidus is black.

 

“I'm not so sure we should hurry on,” I say, focusing on shadow, “do you think we could actually leave shadow here after that battle? If friendship doesn't persuade you, then please remember that he distracted the second golem, and that allowed us to kill the first one. Without him we would be and still might become, dead men.” A thought occurred to me. “Your character is a man but… You are too, right?” I stared at him, the possibility suddenly making me rethink my treatment of him. I grabbed the ore and stone from the golems to keep myself from looking at him and revealing how awkward I'd suddenly felt I'd been.

 

“He also needs to regenerate his Mana unless you want him to try to finish the next mob entirely with arrows.” Shadow muttered while still pretending to sleep.
“And for the record, Shadow does not do crossplaying.”

 

Damien rolled his eyes. “Fine, we will rest. I guess I need to regenerate all my mana too. And no, I’m not a girl. Could someone as good as me be a girl?”

 

With that, he sat on a rock and played with a small ball of fire in his hands.

 

Shadow stared jealously as Xalthus showed off his latest skill. Shadow hadn’t ended up using his taming ability at all during that last fight, the Golems didn’t exactly look like the easiest of tames for his first attempt and the puppy that he’d acquired with the skill had stats just as bad as the dodos did.

“Ah well, might as well call him out while we’re resting.” He muttered, wondering if he hadn’t enough mana.

He activated the skill, emitting a faint whistling noise before a small and undeniably adorable puppy materialized on his chest.

The puppy stood up, staring curiously down at Shadows face, it’s jet black fur matched the transparent darkness of Shadows own skin, making it’s brown eyes stand out all the more as it gazed down at his face curiously.

It yipped softly at him when he didn’t respond to it’s initial curious head tilting but quieted once he started petting its head.

 

I watch as they rest, my rage at Xalthus’s insult towards those of the opposite gender held tightly inside. I then melted away my anger by watching shadow pet the adorable little pup.

 

I sighed, pulling out a few of the strips of cloth I'd gotten from my shirt in our first battle,using them to bind my wounds and using some arrows along with all but three of the strips to make a brace for the leg that had been damaged.

 

I then notched an arrow and kept as close an eye out for danger as I could. “Where are you guys from?” I ask, trying to get to know them better.

 

We'd be stuck here for a long time after all, the way things looked to be going.

 

Damien looked up. “Portland. The Oregon one. You guys?”

 

I thought for a moment, trying to recall. “California most recently… somewhere in sacramento. The Borvinchi’s might make that permanent soon, otherwise…” I stopped.

 

Everything falling into place. They would think I'd run away. I had no real excuse for when I got back there and it didn't seem likely that they'd believe me about this.

 

My eyes stung as I considered getting moved to yet another family, and after getting so close to Sefton. I forced my mind away from that topic, no need to worry about that now. I had two lives to keep safe.

 

That thought made me realize; I'd taken on the role of a sort of body guard. Go figure.

 

“Portland?” Shadow asked curiously. “I knew this doctor from there, wore the weirdest clothes you’d ever seen.”

What was her name again? He wondered idly, trying to recall. Doctor Funtoms? Ah well, it didn’t really matter.

“I’m from Australia originally, moved over to the states to study. Gotta say, I’m loving the lack of lag here.” He remarked sarcastically as he waved at their surroundings.

Damien laughed. “Haha yeah, the graphics are pretty amazing. No loading screens, no lag, no… real life stuff getting in the way.” He trailed off, looking into space. Thinking.

 

After a minute, he looked back up. “So shall we move on? Or is there some mining you wanted to do?”

 

“Well…” I blink surprised at the offer, he'd been fairly self-centered so far. But still… “Sure! I just need to…” my eyes are drawn to a flashing light in my periphery, I'd forgotten the screen behind my eyes.

 

I mentally pulled up the flashing button, and an inventory appeared. Three things were flashing brighter than the others. “Oh, I've got a pick axe. Where'd that come from?” I pull it out, and then I carefully stand up. My leg hurts way less than it should.

 

I practice swing the thing a few times to get used to it, then I walked over to a nearby boulder. I began swinging the pick and hitting the boulder again and again. This had better not be pointless.

 

Shadow watched the puppy he’d summoned curiously as Storm continued mining some nearby rocks. The movements were incredibly lifelike, the eyes, the way the tail wagged, even the faint little snuffling noises it was making.

“What do you guys think actually happened?” He asked, broaching the topic of their virtual abduction again.

“I mean, is this really a game? Everythings so… real.”

Damien shook his head. “No idea man. Like we got sucked into it, like Tron or something. Maybe we need to beat the big boss to all escape? That’s usually how poeple in shows and movies like this do it.”

[Voidus]

Halloween reset

Across the entirety of the game, players rushed to kill monsters, collect resources and craft items. The game administrators had announced last week that they would be performing a full server wipe at the time of the Halloween update, resetting everyones progress to lvl 1. Apparently the game had undergone some tweaks and rebalances to create a more immersive gameplay experience than ever before.

Players rushed to try to get themselves higher up on the leaderboards before the server wipe, eager to leave some last remnant before all traces of these characters were gone.

Finally, at 6:00 PM on Halloween, a server-wide message was logged, thanking the players for their patience. Everyone was logged out while the update was applied to the servers.

And then, at 6:05 PM the first new arrivals entered once again into the town of beginnings. Streaks of golden light fell from the sky, striking the ground at the town square before they resolved into figures of all shapes and sizes.

Some looked down at their hands with a weary resignation, still trapped as they had been before. Still others began looking around in alarm, new victims that had been taken into the game.

The town of beginnings was dark this time, and decked out in holiday-appropriate scenery. Jack-O-Lanterns stood in place of the old street lamps, and a few wandering undead roamed the streets, some with large question marks over their heads to signify quest givers, while others appeared to be more mundane mobs.

[ShadowLord_Lith]

Storm blinked, looking around. Still here... and now everything was back to level one. He grimaced, looking down. He hated this... he wanted to get back to his family. He sighed, looking around. Better get started... he wondered if his old party was still around, or if some of them had been lucky and escaped. Maybe they'd died... he could hope they'd gotten out. For now, he looked around, searching as he equipped his short sword and got ready to defend himself if need be. He'd learned techniques last time at least, and he wouldn't forget those. 

[Ink]

Wister woke up in an unfamiliar place.

The last thing he remembered was pushing yes on his screen, confirming the character he wanted. He sat up, feeling lightheaded. What in the world? This place wasn’t at all like home, but it looked unsettlingly familiar. Something was surrounding his vision, too, and, focusing, he realized it was an HUD. Blinking didn’t make it go away. Then it clicked. 

The world he was in seemed familiar because it was familiar. It was the same world he had been studying for months, preparing for release.

He was in the game.

Panicked, Wister slapped himself, hoping this was a dream. He had been focusing on it a lot, maybe it snuck into his dreams somehow. When his hand hit his face, it didn’t make the expected sound, more of the sound of a drum. Glancing at his hand showed it was made of wood, and a quick once-over of his body showed the rest of him was made of the same stuff as well. 

He was his character. Same name as himself, but completley different in every other way. 

“Oh spirits above...” he cursed. “Why me?” All he wanted to do was play the stupid game, and now he was trapped in an unfamiliar body in a hostile land. Maybe these other people knew what to do? Many seemed just as disoriented as him.

Edited November 3, 2018 by Inklingspren

[The Young Pyromancer]

Larry sat back in his chair.  He was all set up for the game.  He had a swivel chair, because he assumed that the VR would require him to turn around.  He had chips and some water.  He had his laptop, ready to look up any bugs or issues that might come up.  And most importantly, he had the game itself.

He picked up the headset and sensors.  The headset was smooth, with a blue and white pattern and a red logo on the front.  The sensors cinched on easily, with a catch release for fast removal.  The devices were individually powered, and buzzed momentarily when they all had synced. 

Larry had been saving for this game ever since he had first heard of it.  He had only been able to purchase the equipment last week, but he had gotten word that there was going to be a reset today, and so had waited to begin until now.  With a deep breath, he slid on the headset.

At first, the screen was totally black.  A ray of light appeared, then another, until the screen was filled with bolts of light.  It felt like he was in the Millennium Falcon, jumping to lightspeed.  Slowly, a character selection phased into view.  There was an optional personality quiz, which Larry quickly filled out.  It didn't have a lot of the standard options you see on internet quizzes, and it adapted to his answers.  Impressive. 

As he completed the test, a window popped up, with a spread of different icons to click on.  Moving his hand, Larry marveled at the smooth response.  He selected the largest icon, which opened to reveal a status sheet.  A female wraith, huh? Larry thought.  Apparently the test algorithm had determined this the best suited for his playstyle.  He decided to choose this one, as if he didn't like it, he could always reset his character.  He hit the accept button, and he created a username and password.  Surprisingly, no one had used the name he chose.  It was a name from a popular anime, one where the character was trapped in a game rather like the one he was about to play.  He pushed the accept button, and felt a strange sucking sound.  He had disabled the tutorial, as he wanted to learn from scratch.  Plus, his system-generated character was crafting-based, so Larry doubted it would help him much.

A message popped up.  Strangely, the interface seemed to integrate itself into his vision, not appearing obviously unless he focused.  Strange.  Larry turned himself to the message, and grinned.  He had timed his entrance into the game perfectly, and the update kicked into effect immediately after he had appeared.  The surroundings jumped, and pumpkins and decorations sprang to life around him.  Still, something seemed off.  Oh well.  He glanced at the message once again, really reading it.  As he did, a growing suspicion began to swell up inside him.  No, it couldn't be...

(Heh, that name is ironic)

Welcome to the game, Kirito.

Enjoy your stay.

[ShadowLord_Lith]

Storm looked around, noticing a few people around the square. He sighed- better get to getting to know people...

He walked around trying to maneuver appointed various people and look for his previous party, though... He couldn't see them anywhere. He didn't know if that meant he just wasn't seeing them, or... maybe they'd gotten out. He hoped they had. He bumped into an Ent, wincing. "Sorry..." He muttered the word, out of habit. 

Edited November 7, 2018 by ShadowLord_Lith

[Ink]

“It’s fine,” Wister said, noticing his voice much more gruff than it had been. “Wait, you aren’t an NPC, are you? They don’t apologize. Are you... here too?” He asks, turning to face the centaur. This kept getting weirder and weirder. Everything felt just... wrong. Hopefully he wasn’t the only one, and everyone else was just normal players. And... what if he died here? Would he respawn? Or was death permanant? Hopefully he never found out.

[ShadowLord_Lith]

Storm hummed. "No, not an NPC. Yes... if you mean that you can feel the bark that is your skin. I can feel all six of my limbs. You're new... I'm sorry, I don't know much more than you." He hummed, looking around. He saw a female wraith who looked to be in shock. "Oh no... let's go help the other newbie. She seems like she could use a friendly face or two..." He hummed, beginning to walk over to the wraith.

[The Young Pyromancer]

The newly-dubbed Kirito looked around in shock.  He... was in the game?

After shock came wonder.  He was actually in a game.

Or, as the wraith looked down at themselves in astonishment, she was.  This was awesome!

Suddenly, Kirito's face fell.  Her parents, her friends...  She'd never see them again.  The revelation hit her like a wave, her body visibly buckling.  She dropped to her knees, overwhelmed with a strange mix of horror and jubilation coursing through her.  

The being formerly known as Larry didn't know what to feel.

[ShadowLord_Lith]

Storm stepped up close to the woman, humming. "Hey... you alright? It's word, I know, and you're feeling beyond overwhelmed right now, but I would gladly help you, if you'd like that?" He smiled, holding out a hand as far as he could. He was pretty tall compared to most bipedal races... He sighed, used to this. He hoped the ent had followed him. 

[Ink]

Wister took a lumbering step. It felt... weird. His legs were much larger and stockier than they should have been. He had been a scrawny teenager, socially awkward, and people tended to not want to talk to him. So far, this party was him, the centaur and, seeing who the centaur was talking to, a wraith. “We need to find a way out.” He said. “And why we were sucked into here in the first place.” He adds, buisnesslike

[The Young Pyromancer]

Kirito stood up. 

“Yeah, I guess we should make the best of this.  My name is L - Kirito.