Tonto woke to a warm, soft light upon his face and soft green grass beneath him. It wasn't at all what he had expected to wake up to. He feel asleep in his queen sized memory foam sleep number bed, and woke up in a field in a strange place. "Where am I?..." He stood up slowly, holding his head to ensure a headache wouldn't follow is ascent. Gazing around he saw that he was in an open field. Green grass as far as the eye could see. On the opposite side he saw nothing but a vast ocean, salty air brushing against his face. "How did I get here?..."

Tonto held his hand to his forehead, gazing to see if anyone else was around. No hope. Deserted. "Huh." He needed to do something, but he didn't know what. He could wander, but for how long? And how far? With what food? What water? "There has to be a way out of here. Maybe if I slap myself a few times I'll wake?" A few hard slaps and nothing. "Well, damn!" Anger was beginning to burn inside, and it felt...different. "How the hell did I get here?!" Tonto screamed to the tops of his lungs, more anger fueling the magical energy that had begun to surge inside him. The energy his anger was producing was so strong and willed that it actually manifested.

"Why are YOU so angry, Master?" A soft, yet angry sounding voice had asked, announcing the presence of the Angry Spirit that had been summoned by Tonto's mere anger. Tonto turned to the strange apparition, shock upon his face.

"Wha--? How did yo--? Is this re--?" Sentences cut off one after the other, the Angry Spirit smirking the whole time.

"Calm yourself, young one. I know you're shocked, and scared. There's no need." The smirk faded slowly, for the next words were of a serious nature and full of purpose, "Fear not, Master. Your being here is of no coincidence. You're here for a reason, Tonto, and that reason is a great one. You may not yet know your purpose, but in time you shall know your destiny and follow it."

Tonto watched the apparition fade into nothing, dwelling deeply on the words that were just told to him. "Destiny? A Great Purpose? How? Abd what the hell was that thing anyway?!"

Through the looking glass seemed like child's play compared to the journey down the rabbit hole that Vanteus just experianced. Visions of blades, various creatures he and another slew, and princesses to save. It all seemed very grandiose to him with a hint of a melencholy atmosphere, strips of warm colored lights flashed past the images that promised him an adventure to remeber. However it seemed to go backwards each frame growing fuzzier than the last, finally he was dropped over an ocean half a mile from shore from the sky.

The first thing he noticed on the way down was his now black skin, and it seemed like his body had become more resiliant and his muscles compact. His hair fluttering in the air rushing past his face he free fell for some time, as he looked out he noticed a few settlements and places of interest. He decided that going to these places first would be ideal, the moment before impact he felt a halt in his body and then graciously slapped the water with his full body. It still hurt like knives coursing through his body, but at the least he would live. Swimming to shore was safe and uneventful, though he hated the feeling of saltwater on his skin almost feeling sticky.

With touch and sight he checked what all he had on his person. It seemed to be just the light armor, and various knives. In his mind he got a hint to dilute his vision to see the status window in focus. His vision blurred he checked his status thinking 'A speed type eh? More of a rouge then archer, but it seems that I still have some ranged ability.' A few other nondesctript thoughts past by his mind as he looked past his abilities and titles. To test his first skill he pulled his knives with what seemed to be practiced ease, he didn't think that much else was set into his body. He paused for a moment to slash at the air ten times, nothing really happened. He did notice that he was still able to use both his arms as he could in his previous life, and that both hands were just as nimble. He wanted a fight at that moment, though that would most likely have to wait as it appeared to be no creatures to fight in this area.

At the next moment he heard a yell and approached the scene cautiously, he saw the man summon a spirit and question it. After the soul had left its summoner Vanteus sighed and walked closer, being assured that even his vision was greatly enhanced due to the time that was required to sojurn to the apperition. He stop a few feet away "How do you do? I assume you are new to this place?" He asked a fully veiled question, he didn't reveal that he was not from the area. Yet he didn't ask if this person was from this world, as he was unsure as to what was going on. If they were the first here, or even if there were others and he was being hunted against his knowledge or consent.

Tonto quickly jerked his head towards the ocean, a voice surprising him for a moment, "How do I do? How do I do?! I don't know. You tell me. Where are we? Who are you?" Frustration caused him to ramble on for a few moments, lack or air causing him to stop. This gave Tonto a chance to take a deep breath and observe his surroundings a little better. "Sorry about that. I lost myself for a moment. Forgive me."

Tonto turned to the young man who had approached him, "My name is, Tonto. Aside from being in strange, unfamiliar territory, I'm fine. Physically unharmed. Apparently able to summon spirits from another realm. Quite radical, really."

Realizing that some time had passed, rambling again, Tonto composed himself, "Again...sorry. Heh. How are you? What is your name?"

Vanteus wanted to roll his eyes but refrained from doing so, and he did however cross his arms and lean back. The frustration appeared to be sincere... He decided to let go of his suspitions "It is powerfully evident to myself that we both come from a parallel world. I had seen a town over in that direction." He pointed out the destination with his chin. He shook his head calmly "No worries, I supposed that I'm oddly calm for this. You may call me Vanteus." His voice sounding out like sap, hoping to calm his new companion.

Uncrossing his arms he turned to follow the shore and grass his mind not able to loose the figure behind him in his mind. He was guessing it had been a battle sense he had acquired, and two more figures happen to appear with in his vision. It was as though his eyes magnified the pair of creatures with hints to his brain as to their weaknesses. Drawing the two daggers the left one slightly larger then the right, being left handed was a trade up on most enemies. Meaning it was difficult to grasp as most people attacked stronger from the right "Ready to test your acquired talents?" he inquired vigorously.

Smiling all the while his new companion calmed his nerves, Tonto sighed a breath of relief, "Vanteus it is then. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, my friend."

Although his new found powers were a tad bit frightening, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to him being. "Destiny?...Yes...That's what the spirit said."

At any rate Tonto followed about two yards behind Vanteus, the green-grass turning a darker shade as they moved farther from the ocean. Tonto remembered Vanteus saying something about that.

A few moments had passed when all of a sudden Tonto stopped in his tracks, a jolt coursing through his body. A quick, disgruntled gasp escaped from between his pursed lips, eyes squinched tightly shut as a flood of power and knowledge overcame him.

A sigh of relief. His eyes darted open, a serious look upon his face. Tonto had now accepted his fate, embracing his destiny. He relished in the clarity that this had brought him. A feeling he had never felt before: purpose.

He noticed Vantaeus had stopped walking. He noticed that Vantaeus had drawn his daggers, striking a defensive stance. "Well, this should be interesting."

Tonto advanced closer towards Vantaeus, spotting the creatures in the distance. Instantly Tonto was able to gauge their strength and ascertain their weaknesses. Must've been Destiny and Fate ruling in his favor. With minimal effort, Tonto summoned a staff from the Spirit Realm; a Six foot staff made of solid oak and solid black, almost charred.

His next task was to prepare himself for battle, "Shall we play, Vantaeus?" An Angry Spirit, one he had seen before, manifested next to him.

"Well, Master...I told you so." The Spirit was clearly picking at the young Necromancer, but it still had an edge of agitation to it. "Now I can show you what I'm made of!"

Vanteus nodded in approval as the spirit was summoned by the proximity of the creatures of their first battle, a winged insect if sorts flapped about lazily darting this way and that. It's companion was a gel like creature leaving trails of a acidic nature, in his mind he knew which would suit his abilities so he drew away the insect with quicker motions than the slime could handle.

Instantly the slow meander became an intense darting keeping a fair pace with its green husk, scyth like claws reached out to grab at him and only sliced through air. Vanteus leapt to one side striking once, twice, three times each with growing vigor and speed. Though after that seven more blows came breathlessly before he jumped away, his own agility surprised him as the realization came that he had used his first skill.

This time he tried the one listed under special skills consentration flowing into his left hand bestowing a gift of flames to the edge as it glowed cherry red and bright. He gained awareness of the life bar in the upper center part of his vision, it was half way to full obviously being his foes. Again he dodged a more frantic attack, and he himself reached out with then enchanted blade slicing off a wing.

His opponent dipped and faltered before struggeling with no meaning to the ground. Vanteus drove deep the dagger to the head of his downed prey hearing a sound that could only mean he landed a critical hit. Satisfied he looked over to Tonto wondering how he fared.

"A bug and a blob?" Tonto was a little insulted by the weak creatures in front of him. As the battle was coming to an open, all sorts of impulses went off in his head--almost like data being uploaded. A game, perhaps? Who knew?

Red bars above his enemies appeared, signifying a Health Bar with Hit Points. More and more it dawned on him what this realm was like. "This should be interesting indeed."

The flying insect meandered off with Vantaeus, "Should be an easy enough task for ya, Vant. If you do find yourself in a situation...please feel free to call upon me." Tonto snickered as he too confronted his own enemy; a green blob highly resistant to physical attacks and immune to damage dealt by non-enchanted magic.

"Well...I suppose if this little critter, what?...evolved?...it would actually pose a threat." Information seemingly poured out of Tonto's mouth, surprising even himself. "To be honest, even at its low level and unevolved, Vantaeus would have trouble with this little blob." "No matter. I'll lay this unfortunate soul to rest!"

The Green Blob advanced sluggishly towards Tonto; a wicked grin stretched across its slime body. The Slime reared it's body backward, preparing for an attack, and splew sludge bullets in Tonto's direction. There was little time to react, but luckily Tonto didn't have to.

Tonto's Angry Spirit rushed forward, throwing its ethereal arms up in front, palms outward and fingers spread. A tall, oval shaped wall of red energy appeared in front of the Spirit, absorbing the Sludge Bullets from the slime, "You dare attack my Master, Slime? Take this!" A medium sized ball of red energy shot towards the Slime with such speed that it had no chance of defending.

After the attack all that was left was a charred spot on the ground and a plume of smoke, "That....was awesome!!!" Tonto was excited that he almost forgot that Vant was there, "Oh! Hey, Vant?! Did ya see that?....oh yeah." Tonto was more than enough for the Slime, and the insect had no chance against Vantaeus either.

"Those weaklings didn't stand a chance at all."

With a quick motion he cut off the other three wings as well as the claws of the insect, with a bit of practiced evade in his mind these items were already sold. He gathered the items and turned to the area the other two were at "Good job, now collect that slime core..." he trailed in thought watching the slime itself degrade into the ground. He guessed that the acidic nature of it was neutralized as it died, and with little difficulty he strode over to Tonto "We need the gold." he said promptly opening his status window and then inventory dumping the items into thin air.

As neither of them were in a party yet he doubted that his window could be seen. He checked over his skills once again and tilted his head "One of ten?" He asked himself attempting to discern what it could mean next to his abilities. Closing the window he looked toward Tonto intently "Do you know how to open your status window friend?" He asked calmly.

The battles were over all to quickly, but it was to be expected considering they both had extensive skills playing video games from the looks of things. Tonto turned his attention towards, Vant,"Hah! No worries, my friend. I know all about the status window and the HUD above our heads, and the enemy. Plus there's our inventory window, skill menu, and quest log." The wind blew softly against Tonto as he bent down to retrieve the Slime Core from his fallen foe.

There was no lie behind Vant's word, their need for gold quite dire indeed. Tonto remembered his ally say something about a town not to far from their current location, "I assume once we explore more it'll be easier to travel. There should be a universal teleportation system in this realm. Seems plausible at any rate." The Slime Core was actually quite light to be so large--solid too. At any rate, he tossed it into the air and the Core vanished, taking it's place in one of Tonto's inventory slots.

The sun was high above by now and the wind-swept plains had begun to start looking intimidating. It did not matter though--the goal was clear and Tonto's focus was as strong as ever. Skills? Vant's question was obvious enough, but understanding none the less, "One of ten is the level your skill is at. You notice the little bar underneath each of your skills? That's your Experience Bar for your Skills. Each Skill except your Special Skill has an experience bar." Tonto gasped quickly for air, his whole run of words formed from one breath. "Phew!"

"I think we should be heading onward towards that town that you had mentioned seeing across the plains while free falling from the sky earlier." Tonto grinned wide, sure that he was getting on Vant's nerves by now with his persistent know-it-all attitude. "Hopefully....not? Heh..."

Vanteus nodded in approval of the perceptiveness of his companion "That sounds about right, well then shall we continue on our way?" He said nonchalantly pacing himself. He refused to get caught up in others paces, this one was quite... Talkitive though he minded little.

Along the way they fought a few more battles, the last of which he took on a slime using his elemental blade to slay it finding it to have much less health than the flying creature. Or perhaps he simply chose the correct elemental advantage, either way they were reaching the village soon and he saw no inn for reprieve against the on coming night.

Tonto shook his head in approval, following next to Vant, as opposed to following behind him. Tonto never really did like "following" in others foot steps, and whether it was figuratively or not....he wasn't doing it. The sun was setting more and more as the walked on, encountering a few more battles along the way. It really wasn't anything to dispatch a few Slimes and few Insects. Tonto just hoped they didn't encounter anything to serious before they reached the inn that they so deserved after such a long day.

However easy it seemed, the traveling and battling really did take a toll on the Stamina, sleep beginning to to become ever more an essential tool their survival in this "game" world. "I can't wait 'till we reach the town. I hope the beds are decent. Memory foam, perhaps?" Rambling was one of his many specialties and he took full advantage of Vant's silent nature. Tonto was sure that Vant would warm up more as they become closer companions in the quests ahead. "What I'm really looking forward to though is the food. Gosh I hope they have good food. I'd kill for a rack or ribs right about now, " he exasperated, drooling slightly at the mouth. "What about you, Vant? What kind of accommodations would you be looking forward to the most when we reach out highlighted destination?" he snickered lightly, the thought of a highlighted map amusing to him.

@EthTenshi

Vanteus chuckeled lightly "A warm reception, we are not human anymore, and I don't know about you... But in anything I have ever heard night elves are detested. And rightfully so..." he trailed in thought earnestly listening to Tonto. His vision saught the village seeing a few people trudging out the last few moments of their normal day, as though washing out the dregs of their tea.

Upon reaching town he tied his hair back reflexively, as though showing his features would make the towns folk more friendly. It seemed to have worked as they were both directed to a mangy inn. He sighed with slight regret "More like straw mats for us this night." He mentioned more to himself, truthfully he was quite looking foreward to a comfortable place to lay his head, but this would do just fine.

His encounter with the inn's keeper was less than pleasant as he himself had been refused service "Then I shall haunt the front of your inn and drive away any would be customers for the next year, king or serf." the words poured from his mouth in bidden.

Silently he cursed himself and expected a late night call if anything. To his surprise the disgrunteled man allowed him to stay for that night only.