Fantasy Jigoku Fūkei Online

[Siren77]

Jigoku Fūkei Online
地獄風景
koala marshmarrow T The Huntsmans Hunter Felis

Welcome, to the world of Gods and Monsters! Brave Adventurer, the land of Metsu calls upon your aid to help vanquish the evils that have plagued its floors. All sorts of destruction and tyranny lay about its land now, and it is up to you and your team to destroy it! There is not much time, go now and find your destiny!

July 14, 20XX - JFO Launch Date
FLOOR 0

Link Start!​

 

[Felis]

Macaria
(Tamara Mayer)

Class: Sorcerer
Element: Earth

Location: Room before Floor 0
Interactions: -
​

Finally! Finally, finally, finally! It's finally going to start! Giddy with anticipation, Tamara checked the row of digital clocks with different time zones on her desktop PC's screen once more to make sure that she wasn't dreaming today was really the launch day she had anticipated for several months now - ever since she had pre-ordered her game copy. While she had played the one or other MMORPG, this would be her first time entering a VR one - up to now, she had used her still almost brand new Reiki Gear System only for a few tests with to see if she would get motion sickness and how the controls worked.
1:30 p.m. - in about 30 minutes, the registration would go online, enough time for the last preparations.

Homework for next week - done, the student started ticking off her mental checklist, Physical needs - taken care of for the next several hours, done. She took a sip from the glass on her desk anyway. Reiki Gear System - I only need to put it on, done. 'Do not disturb' sign - I put it up, and also asked my parents to not call me for dinner today, so... I did all I could. Done. Tamara didn't have the highest hopes for this - most likely, her family would not agree to her plans of playing for the rest of the day and evening on this first day of JFO and unplug her at bedtime at the latest if she didn't log out herself. "It's unhealthy to spend so much time using electronics," they would say - unless it was for school or work, of course, then suddenly it was acceptable. Anyway... that should be all, so I'm good to go, she concluded.

To pass the remaining 25 minutes before she could sign up, she opened the latest technology news articles in her PC's browser, and as expected found several mentions of JFO's launch. Jigoku Fūkei Online - Tamara was really looking forward to seeing what sort of game it would be exactly. Aside from a few general descriptions and screenshots (which looked stunning), she hadn't found much information aside from that it was supposed to be great. Maybe if I could read those Japanese articles on gaming? she wondered. Her Japanese was not sufficient to read them, though, even though she had taken a few classes - foreign languages were encouraged in her tourism business oriented family, after all. Luckily, the game came in various localizations, so that shouldn't be a problem later on. But the name... wouldn't it translate to something like 'Hellscape'? I'm really curious...!

Might as well set myself up by now, Tamara thought with another glance at the clock lineup, then went to lay down on her bed and put on the VR system, booting it up. After being greeted by the usual, parameter-checking system startup, the loading page of JFO displayed, informing her that there were still a few minutes left before registration would start. This gave her time to think what sort of character to play and what to name them. Of course, she had pondered on that for many weeks by now, but while she knew she wanted the most magic based class there was, she hadn't decided on a name yet. She had narrowed her choices down to several options from Greek mythology she found appealing, though.
Let's see again... Artemis, Rhea, Achlys, Macaria, Phoebe... Trying to come to a final conclusion, the girl started another process of elimination. Artemis was nice, but overused. Phoebe was too common in RL for her to actually go with it, she wanted something different. Achlys, personification of misery, goddess of poison would probably fit well with the JFO theme, but... it was a bit too much, wasn't it? Tamara always strived to take things lightly in a game, and impersonating doom and gloom itself didn't fit with that. Rhea... she liked the sound of it, but mother of the Olympic deities - again too much. Macaria was the option she had left on this list. Not very well known, daughter of Hades and embodying a 'blessed death' - sounded just fine.

By now, registration was finally enabled. Virtually tapping the corresponding button, Tamara was directed to the welcome message. "Welcome to the world of gods and monsters!" From there, she navigated through the sign-up process. New account... Pre-order code... good thing I saved it to the memory already, how should I remember those random characters? Insert code from system memory. Name: Tamara Mayer. Username: Macaria. Gender: Female. Password... She took a moment to think of one, then entered and repeated it. Done. Then next is... character creation!

The magic based classes were Oni, Sorcerer and Healer. Tamara discarded the thought of Healer immediately - she didn't want the responsibility of her teammates on her shoulders, that was better suited for those who weren't already carrying as many expectations offline. Or maybe for those who enjoy doing that sort of thing. The Oni was a magic based tank, and while interesting in its own right, 'real' magic is what she had come for, and 'real' magic is what she would take. "Sorcerer," she told the program out loud.

As for the element, she wanted it to go with the concept of her character, so she basically had three options for her underworld theme: Fire, Darkness and Earth. For this Sorcerer, she wanted to take the one she hadn't used in a game before. "Earth," she selected.

"Choose your weapon," the game instructed her, presenting her with an array of wands, rods and staves, each looking impressively magical. Even though these must be the basic weapons, they are so detailed! she marveled, brushing her fingers over each of the weapons before they came to rest on a comparatively plain one: brazen with only a few decorative rims, and a large glowing yellow crystal in a construction of the same metal the top. "This one," she decided, grabbing the staff.

The only thing left now was her character's appearance. This was one of the easiest steps for Tamara: She wanted to be herself, but not herself.
Basing her character on her real looks, she darkened the skin slightly to a Mediterranean tan, brightened her dark brown hair to a shade just dark enough to be brown instead of blonde, then shortened it even farther and straightened the curls. As an extra, she gave herself a tiny braid made from just one strand of longer hair. For her face, the only thing she changed were her eyes, making them rounder, more childlike, and an intense light amber. On her body stature, she reduced her already small curves to look almost completely androgynous and took off another few centimeters of height.
The result might have been an even younger version of herself, just returned from a long beach holiday, with dyed hair and colored contact lenses. "I'm finished," she concluded the character creation.

"Welcome, Macaria. You will be transported to the entrance to Floor 0. Good luck on your travels, the game's voice told her before falling silent. It's really starting! the girl realized as her surroundings started to change and she felt a little dizzy, both from the shifting visual and exhilaration. From here on out, this will be my second life for the next... however long I'll play this game. Barely able to contain her excitement, she entered the room that had finished forming, taking her first step as Macaria.

 

[marshmarrow]

ASYL // NINJA // LIGHTNING // 19

Finally.

It was here.

Calixta stared at the sealed package containing the least economically sound purchase she had made in her lifetime. Always sensible about her budget, she had stowed away nearly a month's worth of pay in order to cover the cost of pre-ordering the newest and most innovative VR hardware on the market, with Jigoku Fūkei Online already installed. Setting it on her desk, she procured a box cutter and quickly tore through layers of tape, cardboard, and packaging material, eager to finally see her Reiki Gear System with her own eyes after staring at it for weeks on a computer monitor.

When she found it, she resisted the urge to touch it. After a moment of admiring it, she carefully lifted the headset out of the box. Appraising it like a jeweler with a diamond, she turned it around in her hands to inspect for scratches or impurities. The sleek plastic and glass shone a lustrous blue-silver-black in the late afternoon light. It was pristine. Lightweight, designed to look more like a mask than a helmet. Peering into the box, she found the console and what looked to be a specialized cable, not unlike a phone charger or an HDMI cord. The instruction booklet was left neglected at the very bottom.

Laying each piece of the system delicately on her bed, Calixta felt the full weight of the consequences of this purchase, as real as the hardware in front of her. She was going to burn in Hell for her greed, if her family didn't tan her hide first. Even though she lived alone, she rarely felt independent from her large family. Her relatives sometimes did a better job of keeping her on a leash than her own parents, much to Calixta's chagrin. Her euphoria, however, quickly outweighed her fear of disappointment as she set up the console on her nightstand and connected the headset, placing it over her eyes as she laid flat on her bed. Discarding the Health and Safety pamphlet, she closed her eyes and let any regret melt away with her senses.

"Link start!"​

An odd grid came into focus, replacing her bedroom wall, one her hand didn't cast a shadow onto after extending it forward. After getting through the initial calibration and agreeing to the terms of use, a floating keyboard and a disclaimer appeared at her fingertips:

This is the name that will be shown to other players of Jigoku Fūkei Online!
Choose wisely.​

The last sentence unsettled her. In this world, usernames were more than just player tags. It was an identity. Blinking, she quickly typed in what she considered to be her "go-to" nickname. It wasn't personal, but it had a nice meaning: noble.

Tapping the ENTER key, another text box appeared hovering just in front of her line of vision.

Welcome, Asyl, to Jigoku Fūkei Online!
Please answer these questions as accurately as possible to have the best playing experience.​

Calixta, now "Asyl," quickly entered her gender, which prompted further description of her body type and coloring. She frowned as she moved the cursor to the very bottom of the permissible height gauge. Recreating her skin, hair, and eyes in-game was much more interesting. Replicating the texture and style of her waving blonde hair proved to be a challenge, but she was satisfied with the end result. As a final touch, she let a loose lock fall between her brows before moving on. She picked out a skin tone closest to her own before adjusting her facial features and eye color. She made her shade of green more interesting by adding golden flecks; after all, she was permitted to take some creative liberties in a fantasy game.

She nodded in approval as she gazed at her avatar, and confirmed it was the design she would like to have saved. Usually she spent a painstaking amount of time customizing characters, but using herself as a guide really helped to cut the process into a reasonable half-hour.

Select combat class, element, and weapon.
Your weapon may be adjusted or upgraded as you earn EXP, complete quests, and find items.​

Gazing at the choices before her, Asyl calmly selected the "ninja" class with a lightning element, as someone who preferred playing fast and offensive. She could feel her element jolt and clash within her virtual body, leaving her to feel dangerous and exhilarated. She felt like an elastic band pulled to its limit, on the verge of snapping. If she felt this power at only Level 1, she couldn't fathom the sensation of growing even stronger. Not until she reached a high enough level. The minimal defense would be easily covered by some effective armor, but until she earned it, she would have to manage.

An array of weapons lay out before her after she confirmed her choice, and she took a moment to feel each one in her hands and thoroughly read their descriptions before taking the throwing knives, known as "kunai" in the game. Unlike kunai in the real world, however, they had a blade at both ends, and the hilt was placed in the middle. They were wickedly sharp, and she was attracted to the way she could hide quite a number of them in her garments to attack unsuspecting opponents. They didn't hinder her movement, either, a problem she would have faced with a heavier weapon relative to her physique.

She looked down at herself, in lightweight armor instead of a sundress, with knives in her hands instead of a controller. No more than an hour, she promised herself as the grid evaporated into bluish-white light.

Character customization complete.
Entering Floor 0 of Metsu...​

© penumbra

 

[koala]

Loading game for MIHO. . .

"Honoka-chan!" A womanly voice exclaimed, her voice echoing its way up the stairs and into a small bathroom. "You have a package!"

In the bathroom was a rather short young woman in stature. Her hair was a long and silvery shade that barely passed her waist, straight bangs covering her rather large forehead. While a short layer of hair normally framed her slender face, it was pinned back with few old pins so she could brush her teeth with ease. Upon hearing her mother's words, however, Honoka's head shot straight up from the sink with wide eye staring back at her through the mirror. A package? The silver-haired girl thought to herself before asking aloud, "A package?"

After a few gurgles, Honoka messily wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve and burst out the bathroom door. Her feet appeared to be moving as fast as a wheels on fire, inevitably leading ot her clumsily falling down a few steps. Wincing and ignoring the fleeting pain, she refused to slow down as she sped her way towards the front door. Her mother, Emily, was standing with a small box in hand while wearing a curious expression.

"Is this the new game you were talking about?" Emily asked, handing the box to her daughter which was readily snatched away. Although Honoka could feel the frown that began to mark her mother's face, she could tell it was also dissipating as quickly as it had threatened to appear. Emily was well aware that nothing could stop the young adult from playing her games, so there was really no point in getting upset. It'd only lead to the girl being even quieter than normal, which almost seemed impossible to those that didn't know her.

"Yes." Honoka responded, eyes sparkling in contrast to her somewhat stoic face. Grabbing a pair of nearby scissors, she began to unbox the package as if her last meal were in it. After throwing some lose pieces of cardboard here and some Styrofoam there, a single piece of paper laid in the center. In an instant, the sparkle in her eyes began almost too dazzling to look at as she removed the code to her knew life. Her mother, on the other hand, only sighed at the exhibition and urged Honoka to go try out whatever new shenanigans she was so keen on taking part of.

Without another word, Honoka darted up the steps--almost falling again-- and shut herself in her room. It only took her a couple minutes to memorize the promo code and it wasn't long before she was laying down and her virtual helmet was on. Unlike a lot of people, Honoka had one of the older versions of the Reiki Gear System due to personal preference. The newer ones were a bit too flashy in appearance with their neon greens and blues. She much preferred the simple gray and white helmet, even if it was a bit bulkier. At least it was only half of a helmet though so she could lay down without and issues.

Once the RGS was turned on, Honoka was immediately transported to a gritty place. She read the promo code and soon a colorful, fantasy loading screen appeared while cinematic music surrounded her. Skipping through all the warnings and terms of conditions like any ignorant, experienced gamer, she was soon engulfed in a blue light. A moment of blackness took her to an almost digitized location. She was standing on top of an illuminated platform as the color blue was all around her. White sparkles seemed to fly by like waves and it wasn't long before a screen popped up.

Honoka was asked to fill out some basic information, such as her real name, age, and the username she wanted to sport during her entire Jigoku Fūkei Online experience. Of course, she stuck with her signature screen name: Miho. It was a combination of the first two letters of her first and last name, which really wasn't creative. Many of her friends had pointed out her lack of creativity when it came to such things, which was why her virtual self also happened to look exactly like her real self. The only difference was she was a few inches taller and had short hair rather than long. Other than that, it was silver hair and blue eyes all the way.

Are you ready to continue to class and weapon selection?

The words popped up in front of her and her hands moved to touch the glowing 'yes' under it. A variety of magical- and fighting-based classes soon appeared and her eyes immediately wandered over to a virtual version of her in sorcerer attire. Honoka bit her lip as she debated on whether to go with her usual class or try something new, and she eventually decided on the ladder. After walking towards the version of her in samurai gear, her body was engulfed in a small light before it disappeared. Of course, to match the samurai theme she grabbed the great sword instead of the battle axe or hammer, which soon found it's knew home in a hilt on her back.

Spoiler

Are you ready to continue to elemental selection?

This time Honoka said the word "Yes" aloud and she was moderately surprised when the game complied. It was knew for her as most of the VR games she played required her using her hands in some form or fashion. That feeling of surprise soon left, however, when many elements began to surround her. The girl's crystal blue eyes were immediately drawn to the floating ball of ice and when she grabbed it, it was like the ice disappeared and flowed into her body. It felt extremely real, meaning JFO was about to get good reviews from a very happy player.

Once she confirmed she was happy with her character, the blue color and sparkles seemed to fall downwards and was replaced by black. She could feel her body being transferred somewhere as the words Welcome, Miho. You will be transported to the entrance to Floor 0. Good luck on your travels. filled her ears.

Suddenly, she was taken to a place that was completely gritty and black. The only thing she could see was herself with a small light appearing to glow around her. Soon, hundreds to possibly thousands of light rays began to appear and she could see players appearing in their spots. They all looked as awed and confused as she was. Awed because they were playing the game of the century and confused because they were literally surrounding by nothing except themselves.

Current Appearance: Relatively the same. She's only a few inches taller and has short hair.

Location: Room before Floor 0

Date: July 14, 20XX

Game Time: Unknown

Time: Undisclosed, probably around 8 AM in Tokyo

Mentions: -

Interacting: -

 

[koala]

Loading game for KANE. . .

Sitting in the bedroom of his London apartment was Ashton Hemmingwell. He had an excited look to his aqua-colored eyes as he sat with something new and shiny in his hands. It was the latest Reiki Gear System with a blue visor and the newest Reiki game already synchronized into it. The man had spent enough for a month's rent for the two things, all because he was such an avid Reiki fan. Ever since he could remember, Ashton was following the Japanese creator's every move. Although that was rather difficult considering how secretive and reclusive the guy was. Most of the announcements were made by his people.

In all honesty, Ashton told himself he'd quit gaming so much after living alone. His addiction was really bad for his wallet and his health, but he really couldn't stop himself this time. Something deep inside him cast a spell saying he had to purchase Jigoku Fūkei Online, even if that meant being on an extreme budget for the next few months. The game was revealed to possibly be one of the best in the century and nothing was going to stop him from experiencing that, even the tiny voice in his head that screamed "NO."

Finally, the man slipped on the visor after plugged in the RGS and making some minor adjustments to his laying position. Like most people, he skipped through all the warnings in bitter excitement as he waited for something to happen. Then it did. His virtual body was engulfed in a strange light that seemed to make his body feel light and airy. Ashton's body floated upwards until he was met with a white, illuminated floor which he gently stepped on. Immediately, he was brought to the generic information screen where he filled out his name, age, and gender, and the most important thing of all: his username.

Guiding his fingers over the correct words, the female guide asked if he was sure he wanted the name "Kane." Responding with a sweet, sultry "yes." The name bored no real importance to him in regards to literal meaning. It was just the name of one of his old canine companions that he had as a child. The dog's death put him into a temporary state of depression, which he managed to bring himself out of thanks to gaming. Kane was probably the reason he was such an avid geek in all honesty and weirdness.

In no time Ashton selected his class, a priest, and he was rather surprised to learn that he didn't get a physical weapon. His weapons were in the form of spells which he got to choose three out of five basic ones to start off with after decided on his element: light.

The first one he chose was Heaven's Glory: a healing spell that can either completely heal one person or partially heal several or all party members. He decided that had to be the first one because all healers need a spell that catered to their title, even if he'd learn the spell later on.

The next spell was Sun's Wrath: a spell that blinds enemies, allowing a brief moment to deal some critical hits. Ashton knew that would come in handy for his teammates and for whenever he was stuck in a mind and need to escape.

The final spell he chose was Solar Burst: a quintuple shot of light bolt attacks that deal moderate damage. That was the spell that really surprised him, as it was considered offensive. Most healer-type character he played on other games were only support based. The only offensive spells they had involved physically hitting something or minor spells that involve poisoning or intoxication.

Are you satisfied with your character? The system asked, which Ashton readily said yes to. Although he wasn't really happy with his appearance. They didn't really have a hairstyle he wanted so he ended up keeping the one most similar to his. His hair was his real life length, but it was place into a low ponytail with an ugly brown piece of string. Not the most appealing to the eye, but he knew that after some leveling and gold-earning, he could buy some decent equipment and maybe visit a barber.

Welcome, Kane. You will be transported to Floor 0. Good luck on your travels. A very realistic, female voice said as everything began to disappear around him. The blue background with sparkles tumbled downwards, replaced by a gritty screen of black. He was thrown into a state of shock as his body began to transport somewhere, his eyes following the wave of his virtual body's disappearing pixels.

And before he knew it, he was in a black, empty space with only other players like himself. Without even realizing it, he had bumped into a girl when he transported and he silently blamed it on the game for its faulty loading. With a small, gentle smile Ashton apologized, "Sorry about that."

The purple-haired girl laughed and waved both her hands and head from side-to-side, "Don't worry about it! It happened to me too!" She presumed to explain what happened to one of the newbie samurai. It was a bit awkward since she was considerably short and he considerably tall. She would've faceplanted his butt if not for the large hammer dangling off his back. The story was quite humorous and Ashton let out a quiet chuckle.

"Wow, that's just bad luck." Ashton smiled before continuing to speak. "I'm glad I found someone to talk to though. I wonder how long we'll be in this place." The currently black-haired man looked around, eyebrows scrunching slightly as he tried to make out all the different figures. There were simply too many, however, and he found himself blinking rapidly in order to soothe his burning eyes. The girl, on the other hand, seemed mildly amused by his curious state.

"Me too," she began with a nod, "and I don't know. I read on one of the official forums that this is some kind of room before we enter a training floor. A training floor. Can you believe that? Most games just have us randomly spawn in battlefields." The girl shook her head as she crossed her arms, prompting Ashton to notice she wasn't carrying a physical weapon. That meant she was a priest like him and he found that all to coincidental.

"Wow, you're a priest like me," Ashton said, his kind smile almost reaching from one ear to the next. The two began to talk more and eventually introduced themselves as Kane and Alura. Although it was a bit soon, the man was happy he got to make a friend. They clumsily figured out a way to befriend each other by bringing up the holo screen and scrolling through them. Of course, they couldn't see each other's but Ashton managed to explain to her where the friend's list was located.

Current Appearance: Taller and buffer with black hair. Still has aqua eyes and hair that falls just above his waist

Location: Room before Floor 0

Date: July 14, 20XX

Game Time: Unknown

Time: Undisclosed, probably close to midnight in London

Mentions: -

Interacting: Alura (NPC)

 

[Siren77]

“Ack!..... DAMNIT!....... sunavaBITCH!” A young, black hair, blue eyed man slowly inched by his way up a set of stairs. Having just returned to his apartment after a long workout at the local gym, Kaizo Mishima was experiencing the unfortunate consequences of the ever dreaded and constantly memed leg day. Gripping the assist handle, Kaizo grunted with ever step he took up the stairs spouting curses and all sorts of other vulgarity. Not that it mattered, after all when in the comfort of your own home who’s gonna care? Eventually, the dark haired boy reached the top of the stairwell and began waddling his way down the hall past his bathroom and into the singular bedroom in the small apartment.

Stripping off the majority of his workout clothes, Kaizo grabbed a towel from his cupboard and retraced back to the bathroom where he took a brisk shower. After all he had something important at to take care of, something he’d been waiting several months for. Once he was dried off and dressed in some comfortable clothes, Kaizo turned his attention back to the dual monitor computer on his desk which featured a wallpaper of his favorite Street Fighter character Akuma. On the desk next to it sat his custom made and previously pre ordered Reiki Gear System. It had a sleek red polish with a grey subcolor to make for a badass looking rig. It was currently downloading his once again pre ordered version of Jigoku Fūkei Online. One fifteen minutes remained before the system went live and he wanted to be one of the first to play it. While he was currently attending college, it was his off track meaning he wouldn’t have classes for the rest of the Summer. Besides working out, he never had much to do so Kaizo would spend a majority of his time dedicating himself to the game.

A lot of money had gone into purchasing both his custom RGS and his copy of JFO, but fortunately he had previously won a Street Fighter VII fighting game tournament to which he received a 10,000 Euro prize. While most of it went toward paying off some of his debt, he used a good 30% blowing it off on his custom made system for no reason other than he hated color scheme of the systems. No offense to Gouki Reiki. Schedule free, responsibilities taken care of, and download complete. Kaizo was ready to waste the rest of his day on the game. Adjusting everything to a comfortable setup, Kaizo lied down in his bed and slid the visor over his eyes. Taking one more deep breath, the man grinned to himself before activating the terminal. “Link Start!”

As he was pulled away from reality, Kaizo felt himself manifest in an eternal whitesoace followed by a menu popping up requesting he input a username that would serve for his avatar for the rest of his gaming experience. He figured it best not to change things up and went about his old method of taking the first four letters of his name and reversing the order. User Accepted, Welcome Ziak. Please design an avatar, choose a class, weapon, and a magic element. These are important to gameplay, so choose wisely as they cannot be changed later.

Unlike most users on the RGS, Kaizo made his avatar look almost exactly like him barring a few differences. This was because on the chance that he met someone IRL from the game, he didn’t want to be completely unrecognizable. While this is quite impractical, most of Kaizos good friends were met over video games so it’s for the best. Now the changes he made to his character we’re replacing his cold and almost empty blue eyes with a set of piercing Crimson iris’ that almost seemed to glow. Next he changed his jet black hair to have dirty blonde streaks in it. Lastly, is the mroe confusing one. Unlike what most male players do, Kaizo actually toned down the muscular scale on his character. So instead of looking 6’ and 195 lbs, it as more 135-140 lbs. There isn’t any specific reason for this other than Kaizo doesn’t feel like he needs to impress anyone on this place. Because when in the RGS space size doesn’t matter.

Once he was satisfied with his characters looks, Kaizo accepted the changes and moved on to the class and magic selection. As the six classes aligned themselves in front of Kaizo, he couldn’t help but be awed at how intricate and amazing each class was on their own. But one class for sure stood out to him and that was the Ronin class. Upon touching the figure that had Kaizos avatar dressed in a lighter form of plated armor, it was on to the weapons. Not even thinking about it, the young man chose dual blades because two was better than one. An array of dual blade sets appeared and Kaizo swipes through before finding a pair that suited him perfectly. They were dubbed the Blades of Destruction, which sounded cool and all but they were just like every other weapon save for their design.

Lastly was the choice of Magic, and never having known darkness to be an element Kaizo choose it out of pure curiosity although he wasn’t quite sure what sort of abilities could come with dark. Whatever the case, he was still psyched for it all.

Once everything was accepted and entered, the game took a second to load before text appeared on the screen. Welcome Ronin Ziak, you will now be transported to Floor 0 for Tutorial with your team. What the hell? Team? I never knew the gameplay would be centered around group work. Of course after some contemplation Kaizo realized that the classes on their own were sort of useless. I’m fine with this, but if I get paired with a bunch of uncooperative assholes then I’m applying for a reassignment. As the black, empty, and half loaded pixel world came into view before him. Kaizo began his first stages in becoming Ziak. Looking around, there was hundreds upon thousands of other characters loading in and looking as Starr struck as he was. This place was amazing! They weren’t even in an actual area and the background still felt so real and alive! This truly was Goki Reiki’s greatest accomplishment yet. Upon close inspection to floor 0, invisible walls could just barely be made of between all of the groups of people. Kaizo himself was sectioned off with a few people who he assumed to be his new teammates. They all looked friendly enough, time to get off on the right foot. Approaching the ones that had already loaded in, Kaizo waved. “So, you all must be my new team members. It’s nice to meet you all, I’m Ziak.”

 

[The Huntsmans Hunter]

"So today is the day." Dae-Hyun said as his eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the sunlight, a vague smile covering his face as he looked at his phone as in to confirm this statement. Since the announcement of Jigoku Fūkei Online or JFO as its more commonly known as Dae-Hyun had been counting down the days, hell he even went as far as to use all his holidays at work to book nearly 3 months off just so he could sit at home and binge play this game without any concerns. Dae-Hyun looked at the time and he still had about an hour or so until launch time so now was the dreaded waiting game. Tieing back his long hair into a ponytail he decided to go and make some breakfast he had already set the download going the night before so he didn't have to worry about that being a problem.

As he finally finished his breakfast and looking at his clock it was only about 10 minutes till start time so he decided to move over to his gaming room...which was once meant to be a living room but he didn't need that so he changed it to his gaming room. Quickly taking a seat on his sofa he thought about how lucky he was for doing his national service earlier otherwise he could have missed this moment. Glancing at his clock again the time was going so slow he was going to log in at 5 minutes to launch just so the launch scenes and everything else was out of the way. With 7 minutes to launch Dae-Hyun decided to get everything set up. Pulling the lever on his sofa it reclined, it was so useful for the Reiki gear system as he found that sometimes while playing on his bed he would come back to the real-world with a sore back but the recliner sofa got rid of that problem.

As he finished getting everything set up his alarm finally started going off which meant one thing...launch time was 5 minutes away. Getting comfy he finally placed the Raiki Gear System on "Link Start" as Dae-Hyun spoke he was sent to the startup sequence. "Welcome Back User Twenty-Fifth Night." As the words of the system spoke the excitment slowly began to fill Dae-Hyun's mind he had the system in English as he spent the time to learn the language he enjoyed testing himself in games that had an English option. Looking at the time it had taken a minute to get past the start-up scene. Looking over his list of games he finally came to just what he was looking for Jigoku Fūkei Online and a small panic hit Dae-Hyun...5 minutes left on download, it seemed his internet choked at some point.

Those five minutes seemed to take a lifetime but in those five minutes he had in mind his avatar design and that he wanted to play some sort of magic class hopefully a close-ranged magic class something like a spell-blade or even a magic tank like a paladin in other games would be what he had in mind. As the download finally finished he finally started the game. Even the games Launch screen got points from Dae-Hyun. As it asked him his username he didn't even hesitate and put his go to "Twenty-Fifth Night" and luckily it hadn't been taken. Next up was his avatar design but luckily he already knew what he was going for. A relative tall muscular, fair-skinned body that is covered with large battle scars along with his face with a single scar, he has long gray hair, with grayish eyes.

Spoiler: Current In-game character

Confirming his appearance he was brought to another screen this one was the class screen. He quickly read over the class until his eyes landed on what he was hoping for. The Oni a magic classed Tank but what more interested him was gauntlets as his weapon, he was curious that if real-life martial arts could affect the games system in anyway. Having served in the military he was taught Teukgong Moosool so he wondered if he could use that in the game. The next option was choosing a weapon and he didn't expect it to be like how it was, he half expected everyone to get a set starting weapon but oh boy was he wrong. An armory full of gauntlets appeared in from of him. It didn't take him long to pick what he liked.

Spoiler: Weapon

As the next and final choice came before he took his time before deciding on what type of build to go for as his magic would help determine that. Ice to him sounded like it was made for debuffing, fire offensive, light supportive, darkness utility, Earth defensive, lightning...hmm lighting was more tricky speed and offensive. He finally decided on fire deciding to go for a DPS off-tank build rather than a full tank. He was given a chance to look back over everything and eventually accepted. He was proud of his character and his choices and believed this would be a fun character to play.

"Welcome Oni Twenty-Fifth Night, you will now be transported to Floor 0 for Tutorial with your team." As the system talked confusion hit Dae-Hyun's mind wait...team how strange still it makes sense alone the classes leave a lot of gaps alone but together they fill them. Maybe the tutorial is made so everyone learns the system both alone and how the classes work well together, it's not like you'll be stuck with these teammates the whole game...right? As the confusion wore off Dae-Hyun began looking around and other than the huge amount of players what struck him was that each group of players seemed to be separated by invisible walls given away by small but visible floating pixels. Glancing around his immediate area he noticed a group nearby that didn't seem to be cut off from him taking a guess that was his team. Walking over to them he gave them a slight wave deciding against using his talkative nature for now...at least until the tutorial was over, no point scaring them off just yet.

 

[koala]

Loading game for KANE. . .

(I will begin referring to my characters by their username.)


Without any warning, something had moved Kane and Alura apart and the once gritty, black nothingness turned into something that looked like a half loaded pixel world. It felt and was extremely odd. Their feet were still flat on the never ending floor, but it was like they add magnets attached to their soles were were attracted to opposite ends. The black-haired, aqua-eyed man looked back at his new friend with a confused expression, only to see that same expression being confirmed. She was as clueless as him.

Kane began to walk over, however, his right foot stopped halfway as it was pressed against a somewhat transparent wall. It was mostly invisible until it was touched, which sparked a wave of grid-like patterns to spurt around the stimulated area. From what his eyes allowed him to see, it appeared everyone was blockaded into multiple groups ranging from two members to even ten or more. The whole situation was strange, but his confusion was met with loud words that range throughout the pixelated world like an announcement:

"Team training will begin in T minus 10 minutes."

Kane stopped glancing around and focused his attention on the group of people in front of him. His eyes went from one person to the next and he counted a total of six individuals, including himself. From what he could tell, they all had different weapons and he could only assume that meant they were respectively different classes. The only thing he really needed to figure out were their names and elements, which would be much easier than expected as he wasn't the first to speak up.

A man with black hair with blonde streaks and eyes the color of rubies immediately caught the English man's eyes, considering the stranger's appearance was a bit vivid. “So, you all must be my new team members. It’s nice to meet you all, I’m Ziak.” He said with a wave, to which Kane smiled at. He didn't really know what language Ziak spoke, but he knew that JFO had some kind of translation system embedded into it. That meant regardless of what language his party members spoke in real life, he only heard English--his native language-- and they only heard their preferred language.

Stepping forwards, Kane offered a small head nod and lightly placed his hand against his chest. "Hello, everyone. My name is Kane. I'm a priest and my element is light. I hope we get along well as a team." The male's aqua-eyes seemed to sparkle as a calm, gentle aura radiated off him. His smile was gentle and he appeared to already feel comfortable with his new team members. He turned his attention to where ever needed, nodding as he came to process everyone's name, class, and element in no particular order. It was just how he came to file it in his own head.

"Ah," Kane suddenly said as he brought up his screen after everyone finished introducing themselves, fingers appearing to move randomly to anyone that wasn't himself. From his point of view, however, he was sending everyone an invite to become friends with as well as a party invite. "I thought adding everyone now and forming a party before the training begins seemed like a good idea." Kane explained as he peered at his screen. Under the party option, he could see all of his new teammates' names, faces, health, and stamina--important for the future since he was a priest. He had to keep up with everyone's status in order to help them.

Another thing he found interesting was that he could now see everyone's health and stamina bars by just looking at them. It sort of appeared above their head and seemed to fade in and out of existence when he looked at them and looked away. "Wow, that's so interesting." Kane chuckled as he closed his hand, therefore closing his holographic screen.

Current Appearance: Taller and buffer with black hair tied in a ponytail. Still has aqua eyes and hair that falls just above his waist

Outfit: White tunic, khaki pants, long brown boots

Location: Floor 0

Date: July 14, 20XX

Game Time: Unknown

Time: Undisclosed, probably close to midnight in London

Mentions: -

Interacting: Miho, Ziak Siren77 , Macaria Felis , Asyl marshmarrow , Twenty-Fifth Night T The Huntsmans Hunter

 

[Felis]

Macaria
(Tamara Mayer)

Class: Sorcerer
Element: Earth

Location: Floor 0
Interactions: edit: basically everyone, _{but since I forgot the tags when I posted, I'm not going to type them out now and confuse people with a new notification}​

Upon her transportation to Floor 0 being complete, Tamara couldn't help but gape, a louder than intended "Huh?" escaping her open mouth. The scene before her certainly wasn't what she had expected - not that she was disappointed, though. Darkness stretching to all sides, with some artifact-like details, and just enough spatial structure to discern an up and down, the place looked as though she had stepped inside the game, completely into its data and coding structure - only there was barely anything there.

Well, barely anything besides the ever growing and growing amount of players filling the seeming void. Colourful hair, unnatural eye colours, tiny characters wielding huge weapons, muscle-packed giants - there was every sort of design present, and yet they coexisted in this dark space without anyone looking out of place. And every single one of them looked so real! Not just the detailed, realistic physiques - though some players had altered their proportions to appear more cartoonish, they still looked like they could be actual, living people -, or the flawless textures, but also the way they moved made Tamara feel less in a game than in another world. She realized that this was probably due to their player's way of standing and walking translated onto the character rather than certain sets of animations being displayed for every action.

So what about myself? the girl wondered, looking down her own body. She hadn't paid attention to her character's armour or clothing during creation, but she was not surprised to see she was dressed in some sort of tunic and trousers: she did choose Sorcerer, and magicians usually got cloth armour. The colors, warm ochres, may have been randomly selected, fitted to her element or just been the standard look. She liked them.
Although Tamara had no way to check her own appearance, she happily noted that her settings had probably translated correctly into the game, seeing her unusually tan hand.

Slowly growing more comfortable with her surroundings, she tried moving around a little, relieved to find she wasn't just imagining solid ground under her feet. A few little steps to the left, a few little steps to the right... She lifted her arms, conscious of the weight and texture of the staff she had chosen in one of her hands. Just as though I was really here! A broad smile spread across Tamara's face as she started to twirl around.

When she grew dizzy after a while, she stopped and inspected the players around her more closely. There was a short girl with golden hair, a silver-haired girl with a greatsword, a tall, black-haired man in conversation with a tiny girl with purple hair, another man whose black hair was streaked with blonde, and a tall, muscular man with grey hair who had appeared just before, to name only those in the nearest vicinity. None of them seemed to be sorcerers, though, and even casting her gaze farther, Tamara couldn't make out too many other staff-users in the crowd. Did I go ahead and pick the unpopular class again? she wondered, giggling to herself. Well, if they didn't like classical magic, it was their call.

While taking in the 'scenery' for the second time, the girl noticed that there were lighter pixels strewn around the space that kind of sectioned it into smaller areas. That must be why I thought it looked cyberspace-like, she realized.

Lost in thought, Tamara jumped a little when a voice suddenly rang out over the indistinct chatter all around. “So, you all must be my new team members. It’s nice to meet you all, I’m Ziak.” Turning around, she made the speaker out to be the black-and-blonde-haired guy she had noticed before and saw the grey-haired man approaching as well, waving his hand.

"Huh? Team members? Are you talking to me? What team?" she blurted out, confused. I haven't signed up for any party or anything yet! How come there's a team? Admittedly, she had just jumped into the game without reading the instruction manual, but... Wait. Something started to dawn on her. "Ohh! So these," Tamara gestured at the faint walls, "separate us into teams? Sounds good enough! Yay for forming groups and all-" She realized someone else was starting to speak and broke off as the black-haired player introduced himself. When Kane had finished, she spoke up again. "I'm Macaria, nice to meet you too, everone," Tamara smiled.

Seeing Kane working the game's holographic menu, she felt a jolt of apprehension wash over her as she remembered that she really hadn't read any manual - if the commands for the menu were different from the standard RGS ones she had tried out some days ago when she was testing her system, then... She quickly repeated the movements for calling up the interface, then sighed softly with relief as a holographic window opened in front of her. Inventory, Team, Stats... everything seems to be there, Tamara concluded, then closed the screen again, looking back to the group.

 

[marshmarrow]

ASYL // NINJA // LIGHTNING // 19

This is insane.

All around her, hundreds of players from every walk of life gathered to orient themselves into the game, talking and laughing and showing off their avatars... and dozens more arrived every second in flashes of light. Floor 0 was hardly anything more than a dome-shaped hub, the exact size impossible to measure as it seemed to expand to accommodate the playerbase. In any other situation, she would have felt overwhelmed by the amount of people, but she was determined to distinguish herself as a top player.

Even in its simplicity, the atmosphere was breathtaking. The vibrantly-styled players created a stunning visual contrast against the dark space. White sqare-shaped flecks floated freely in the air, and as Asyl reached out to touch one, she was surprised to feel an invisible barrier within arm's reach. Taking a closer look at other the other players beyond her wall, she realized they were all standing together in pairs or groups with meters of space between them, not as one big crowd. Some demonstrated the same surprised reactions as they were separated from friends or friendly strangers. Either no one, including herself, read the instruction manual, or team-based strategizing was never disclosed to be a primary part of the gameplay. It seemed they were all going to experience the tutorial in their select groups.

“So, you all must be my new team members...”

Turning around at the sound of a voice, belonging to a Ronin named "Ziak," she sized up the five other players she had been assigned to. Naturally, she was the shortest, but she was pleasantly surprised by the fact there was an equal number of boys to girls in the group, and that each seemed about as thrilled to start as she was. Her gaze flitted from one player to the next, and she nodded in approval. They were a well-rounded group, each player with a different class and something good to offer, including herself. She was especially intrigued by the tall priest, known as Kane, who lacked any kind of weapon. While she had heard magic was used in this game, she would have thought it needed some kind of conduit similar to the rod another one of her teammates carried. She introduced herself as Macaria.

The ninja smirked, realizing it was her turn as she walked closer. "Likewise. I'm Asyl, don't wear it out." She glanced expectantly at a visibly older, scarred player who didn't bother to introduce himself. While his name and numbers were clearly visible for all to see, it was rude to just stand there without a proper greeting. She decided to let him off easy in the end, not wanting any bad blood to exist between her and the first players she interacted with in JFO. Turning sharply on her heel, she faced him, an eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Sorry, I just didn't seem to catch your name. You are...?"


MENTIONS: Siren77 Felis koala
INTERACTIONS: T The Huntsmans Hunter

© penumbra

 

[Siren77]

Ziak

• The Ronin

location: Floor 0; Tutorial Space
mentions: koala Felis T The Huntsmans Hunter marshmarrow
interactions: A general address to all

Well then... this is interesting...
As everyone introduced themselves one by one, Kaizo couldn’t help but smile widely at his newfound team memebers. They were all so unique and amazing, almost to the point of thinking his own character lackluster in comparison. But he tried not to let himself think to lowly of himself, as he knew if he wanted to be a functioning and useful character for this unit he’d have to be confident and competitive as ever if not more than usual. “It’s so good to meet you all! I hope we all can work well together in this game!” Though he sounded a little over enthusiastic, Kaizo didn’t care considering he had been waiting for this game for months upon months. And now that he was here it still surprised him, the team mechanics especially so. He didn’t mind though, as due to the games built in translation he was speaking in all of ther preffered languages while all he heard was perfect Italian.

No one specifically stood out to the Ronin, other than the Ice Samurai by the name of Miho. Despite the heavy, slow, and powerful class. The girl (assuming she was that way in really life) had made an avatar for herself that was quite small and didn’t at all look the part. Of course, that’s what made her so unique. Twenty-Five on the other hand fit the description of an Oni so well. Gruff, well built, plenty of scars, and powerful looking. Everything a class based around a demon should look like. As much as Kaizo wanted to continue geeking out about his team, the game interrupted his thoughts. Team Tutorial; 2 Minutes.

“Looks like we’re running out of time. Here, let me just...” Kaizo pulled up his own digital interface to which he accepted all the friend requests received in his mailbox. Once finished he then sent requests to everyone that hadn’t sent him one already. Health bars popped up above their heads one by one. Seeing as he’d be spending a lot of time with them in game he’d want this to be more convenient. Let’s see if I can work some magic here. Kaizo set about going through the multitude of options available for the in game interface until he found the setting he desired. DISPLAY TEAM HEALTHBARS. The young man activated the option and set the health bars in the bottom right corner of his screen. The full green health bars could be seen next to a small avatar of their individual characters.

Once finished, Kaizo found he was a little behind on the conversation and interactions. Admittedly, he was a little dissapointed in himself for somehow losing the normal talkative flow he normally had when it came to gaming. Then again he had been out of the gaming scene for a little while due to him having finished all of the games he’d downloaded on his RGS, which left him with nothing to play. He’d have to make up for his errors later however, as time was coming short.

Koala ​

 

[koala]

Loading game for MIHO. . .

JFO really wasn't what she expected, and the confusion in her face seemed to intensify as she looked from one side to the other, one face to another. People were magically being guided into pairs and groups, all appearing as lost as she. It wasn't until she focused on a tall, black-haired man as he attempt to return to his friend that she realized what was going on. They were being placed into teams, and the voice that rang throughout the floor confirmed that.

Ten minutes... Miho thought, standing in one of the corners of her "team's" training zone. She was so deep in thought, scolding herself for not reading the game's manual, that she failed to realize everyone was introducing themselves. If it weren't for Kane's quick-thinking in adding everyone to a party, she would've have known any of their names or classes. That would've been a real embarrassment and her teammates would've probably thought of her as a dunce. However, a dunce was a somewhat accurate word to describe her. The only time she wasn't completely useless was during battle and her personality generally change completely during those times.

Miho was giving each person a decent glance over, noting their overall appearance and weaponry. Everyone was wearing the generic tunic and pants, which was the outfit most newbies started off with. Of course, the style and colors were somewhat tweaked depending on their class and element. In her case, her top was a faint blue while her trousers were close to navy. The cool colors were a bit overwhelming for her, but at least they weren't an obnoxious pastel shade.

Realizing she'd failed to introduce herself, Miho quickly stepped closer to everyone. She felt Ziak's gaze on the back of her head, prompting her to make eye contact with him before immediately looking away. With her her hands touching, she offered a 90 degree bow and officially introduced herself. "I'm Miho. This is my first time playing a warrior class, but people tell me I'm a different person when in battle so hopefully I do a good job." The corners of her lips curved slightly and she offered a quiet laugh, hopefully to relieve some of the stranger tension in the air and make up for her lack of voice.

Current Appearance: Relatively the same. She's only a few inches taller and has short hair.

Location: Floor 0

Date: July 14, 20XX

Game Time: Unknown

Time: Undisclosed, probably around 8 AM in Tokyo

Mentions: Ziak

Interacting: Everyone

 

[Felis]

Macaria
(Tamara Mayer)


Class: Sorcerer
Element: Earth


Location: Floor 0
Mentions: everyone, I think
Interactions: Ziak Siren77 , Miho koala

​

Tamara nodded as the shortest of the characters in their team introduced themselves, repeating all the names that had been stated so far in her head to remember them. Ziak, he's the dual-wielding ...ronin? In all honesty, she had only skimmed the information on the physical based classes, so now she wasn't completely sure if she was remembering their weapon types - and thus, her currently only visual cue to distinguishing between classes - correctly. Kane, the black-haired priest. Asyl, the one who only introduced herself now. A ninja, maybe? And the others... an oni and a samurai, from the looks, but they haven't said their names yet, I think.

As she hear Ziak speak up again, she interrupted her memorization to reply. "Likewise, likewise," she beamed enthusiastically, slightly bouncing up and down on her toes, then repeated her sentiment by adding "I'm really looking forward to it!", without addressing anybody in particular. If she appeared over-excited to any of her team members, she didn't notice it, her focus being divided between trying to not fall behind on the conversation and not to be sidetracked by the little details in her surroundings that still continued to amaze her.

However, up till now, Tamara had barely given any thought to how to actually play this game, or even use the menu further than her quick test earlier whether she was able to call it up. In her excitement from the relative novelty of spending time in VR and from in this unusual environment in particular, she had not even noticed Kane had added everyone to a party, and neither had she made use of the option to display anyone's info or health bars. Luckily, at least the last of these shortcomings was about to change.

As she received the friend request from Ziak following the new announcement, the game informed her of this with a 'ping' sound that she didn't overhear now (like she did at the time the party was formed), and a small dialogue window prompting her to accept, decline or decide later. After Tamara tapped "Accept", his names and stats popped up in her vision (seemingly by default), along with a new dialogue window asking her whether she wanted to display this information for all party members. Selecting "Yes" despite being unsure whether party and team were even the same thing, she slightly shook her head at herself - she really shouldn't have got carried away by her exhilaration so much as to not get acquainted with the interface of a still unfamiliar VR system past the most basic commands. She called up the menu screen again with the same movements as before and tried out some of the various options until her teammates' data displayed in a way she could both see it well and it wasn't breaking her immersion.

At least I now know I don't have to worry about not being able to remember everyone's names right from the start, Tamara thought and then realized she needed to pay attention to her own in-game name more - I'm Macaria here, I need to react to that name now. Best that I start to try thinking of myself as 'Macaria', too, she reminded herself.

A sudden movement caught her eye and she snapped out of her thoughts, just in time to witness Miho's bow. Although she briefly wondered about that somewhat uncommon way of introducing oneself, Macaria hurried to reply, "Nice to meet you! And don't worry about it! I have played magician classes before, but never in VR, so it's kind of a first for me too. But I'm sure it'll work out somehow if we try. Right?" She looked to the group for reassurance, hoping they would join in trying to cheer up the seemingly timid samurai. After all, this is a game, so we should all have fun playing it. Else there is no point in us being here, is there, the girl mused.

 

[Siren77]

[div class=header]Training Commencing: Prepare for Battle![/div]



As the electronic voice rang out among the entirety of Floor 0, everything beyond the walls of which our heroes could see faded away. The room in which they were contained appeared to grow, providing more room for battle to take place. As the party prepared for battle, the stray pixels in the room began swarming and assimilating into larger masses while the electronic, female voice returned.

“Flying Type enemies are some of the more troublesome mobs in JFO, and can only be attack by ranged classes such as the priest, sorcerer, and ninja. However, when they are up close in an attack, close ranged fighters can deal damage.” As the voice finished speaking, three purple bats appeared in the dark sky of Floor 0. Their cartoonish appearance wasn’t exactly something expected of the game. Our heroes will notice an alert go off in their HUB menus.

[div class=sub]New Information Available: Skotadi Bat[/div]
[div class=info]Enemy Count: 3[/div]

The Skotadi Bats had yet to initiate a fight, meaning the mobs weren’t entirely done spawning. There was more to come. Yet again, the various pixels in the room swarmed together to form another three masses in front of the Skotadi Bats but this time on the floor. “Ground Type enemies are some of the more common mobs in JFO and can be attacked by any and all players barring that are willing and able. There are some mobs who will not attack unless provoked, and that works with both flying and ground enemies.” Once more silence followed and the bunched up pixels became something more tangible, that of course being three slime-looking creatures. Yet again their cartoonish look seemed rather odd.

[div class=sub]New Information Available: Slime Abomination[/div]
[div class=info]Enemy Count: 3[/div]

“Wave 1, engage battle!” [/div]
[div class=watermark]Koala [/div]

[class=header]font-size: 25px; text-align: center; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;[/class] [class=base]box-shadow: 0px 0px 20px 10px #B5DAFF; background-color: #183B5E; border-radius: 20px; height: 500px; width: 500px; margin: auto; overflow-y: auto; padding: 15px; font-size: 14px; color: #FFFFFF;[/class] [class=sub]color: #FFAF87; text-align: center; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;[/class] [class=info]text-align: center; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;[/class] [class=watermark]font-size: 9px; font-family: Times New Roman; text-align: center; padding: 5px;[/class]

 

[Felis]

Macaria
(Tamara Mayer)


Class: Sorcerer
Element: Earth


Location: Floor 0
Mentions: -
Interactions: -

​

Before any of her teammates had time to answer, the game's voice announced the start of the training stage, and everything in Macaria's surroundings beside the cubic segment containing her party members and herself. Instead, some of the barely noticeable stray pixel started clustering together, eventually forming two groups of enemies, while the tutorial announcer voice explained their differences. As everything else in this game, both the bats and the slimes looked convincingly alive, and the sorcerer found her excitement spiking up yet again.

But... how do I actually do this? the girl wondered as alerts with the monsters' names, count and health popped up in her visual interface. Not for the first time, and probably not for the last time, she felt a pang of regret for not having bothered to read any manuals. Using physical weapons seemed fairly straightforward, provided you had a general idea of how to wield them. But since there was no equivalent of calling forth magic in the real world, Macaria was a bit lost.

Maybe I just shake my staff at the monster? she wondered, gripping her weapon tightly in one hand and raising it. It did not feel any different than before, but that didn't have to mean anything. Focusing on one of the dark purple bats - after all, the announcement had recommended that ranged fighters take out the flying enemies -, she waved the staff energetically up and down.

Nothing happened.

"Well, this is a bit embarrassing," the currently clueless sorcerer giggled softly, then started going through other options for casting spells she knew of from a large set of fantasy stories. "Umm... Abracadabra? Alakazam?" she attempted incantations, though she didn't expect much success with them. Her incompentence was doubly infuriating because she had played mages before, but had been to focused on selecting, aiming and timing her attacks to pay much attention on her character model's movements back then. No wonder it looked like this class wasn't popular. Maybe I should just ditch my magic and clobber these enemies on the head with my staff, Macaria thought in a short burst annoyance, though she wasn't so frustrated or desperate to actually go through with it yet.

There had to be a way to properly fight for her as a sorcerer. So far, this game had worked fairly realistically. Although her physical body stayed still, the intent to move caused her virtual body to move. The intent to speak caused her to speak. The intent to open the menu, combined with the intent for the gesture to do so, caused the menu to open.
So if I think 'magic' and move 'magic'... She would try.

Macaria took a deep breath, then held her staff up next to her head in one hand and raised her other hand as if starting to wave hello. Though her element was Earth, the most clichéd magic was shooting fireballs, so that was the movement she was going for. One... two... Shoot magic! she screamed in her head, thrusting both her arms forward.
An ochre-coloured beam of light, looking as if thousands of dust particles were dancing in the blast, shot out of her staff, but missed the girl's target by a large margin. Still, the sorcerer's face lit up. "Whoops. But I've got it now, I think," she chattered on as she took proper aim this time.

Magic! Another beam of energy shot forth from Macaria's weapon as she repeated her movement, connecting with the first of the three Skotaldi Bats, enveloping it in a cloud of yellow-brownish, shiny particles as the spell dissolved after impact.

 

[Siren77]

Ziak

• The Ronin

location: Floor 0 - Training Stage
mentions: All
interactions: Macaria Felis

A Ronin Is Born
Once the enemies had spawned and the introductions had been made, Kaizo tightened up his stance and unsheathed the dual swords from behind his back. Feeling the grip of them in his virtual hands, they felt so ready to him. The fiber of the hints and the edge of the blade felt so tangible and alive. Gouki had promised this to be the most immersive experience yet and he had delivered. Kaizo didn’t have much more time to admire the game as the battle had begun and some upbeat battle music had started up. The score for this game was incredible.


Flying enemies would be better attacked by range classes, my swords are downright ineffective against them. Best to focus on the slimes. Looking to his companion Macaria, Kaizo saw that she was getting the hang of her abilities and had shot a projectile at one of the bats. “Nice work! That energy bolt looks incredible!” My Turn Kaizo thought to himself with a grin on his face.

Taking the red blades firmly in hand, Kaizo dashed in at one of the three slime abominations. Despite their size, they felt so light in his hands. As he unleashed a flurry with the red blades, they danced around cutting in and out of the slimes gelatin form. Despite his attempts at attacking, the blades cut in like butter but once removed the slime reformed and continued moving along. Simple slices aren’t gonna cut it, I need to make it so it can’t reform. Taking a step back, Kaizo jumped high into the air and slammed both blades straight down. As they cut through, the blades eventually reached the ground beneath. Pulling back in case the enemy was still functioning. Kaizo waiter for a split second to see if the attack worked.

Koala ​

 

[koala]

KANE & MIHO Collaberation. . .

The atmosphere changed dramatically as female voice filled Floor 0 once again. As Kane listened to the explanations carefully, his eyes observed the seemingly transparent walls around them expand. Everything and everyone outside of their area disappeared as pixels began to form on one end of the room. As intrigued as he was, the man knew it wasn't time to fan boy over the amazing soundtrack that faded in.

While the instructor was still going over explanations and everyone else was preparing their weapons, he remembered that he didn't have his own. How am I supposed to help then? Kane thought frustratingly. Letting out a quiet "Ah", the raven-haired avatar quickly pulled up his holoscreen and found the skills section with ease. After reading up on the descriptions once more and how to use them, he decided to test out one of his attack skills.

"Solar Burst!" Kane exclaimed while he looked at one of the Skotadi Bats. Nothing happened. He said it once more in that general direction, but again nothing happened. Scrunching his eyebrows, he looked down at his curled fists and opened his hands with his palms upwards. "Solar Burst?" Suddenly, a quintuple amount of light bolts shot upwards and disappeared into the transparent barrier. Kane, on the other hand, jumped and quickly thrusted his hands further away so the shots wouldn't hit his face.

"That's so cool," came a soft, feminine voice from behind him.

Kane turned around and smiled at the silver-haired woman. She returned the smile as she smiled approvingly, nodding her head slightly like a child in complete awe. The man felt extremely proud of himself for figuring out how to use his skills, even if it just meant unclenching his fists and pointing his palms in a general direction.

Feeling more confident in helping his teammates, Kane pointed his palms at one of the Skotadi Bats once more and chanted "Solar Burst!" Immediately following his words, five bright bolts shot parallel to the floor and hit one of the bats. According to the description of both creature and skill, it should receive moderate damage and begin attacking him. Instead, the monster began to prepare and swoop down to the nearest player and that was Macaria.

"Look ou-" Kane began before he was cut off by someone running passed him.

Miho had already saw the bat begin to attack Macaria and quickly sprung into action. While her sword was a bit heavy--something she knew she'd have to see a blacksmith for--the young woman ran with it over her right shoulder and managed to place herself between the bat and the mage. Even though she blocked one bat, however, another one swooped down and scratched her across her left arm. She immediately winced, but she didn't lower her greatsword.

"Are you okay?" Kane asked from where he stood, to which Miho nodded. "Go help Ziak. I will take care of the bats with Macaria and heal everyone afterwards. I'd heal you now, but then I'd run out of mana."

Miho strained her neck in his direction. "Don't worry, I understand." Miho responded before looking at Macaria and smiling. Nodding her head slightly, she dragged her sword over towards the ronin before her eyes spotted a slime coming for him. Feeling the desire to protect the man like she had her other teammate, the Japanese woman sprung forwards and swung her sword down on it. The Slime Abomination made a slight hissing sound as it split in half before reconnecting itself and retreating back towards its companions.

Pouting slightly, Miho made a contorted face as she tried to think of what to do next while making her place besides Ziak.

Current Appearance: Taller and buffer with black hair. Still has aqua eyes and hair that falls just above his waist

Location: Floor 0

Date: July 14, 20XX

Game Time: Unknown

Time: Undisclosed, probably close to midnight in London

Mentions: All

Interacting: Macaria Felis , Ziak Siren77