For a few moments, Megumi looked down at herself. Changed? If everything was real now, did that mean that gameplay mechanics instead operated like they did in the lore? That made sense... if everything was real now. But on the other hand, why was it still possible to bring up menus? Aaah, this was so confusing! Based on what she'd seen so far, however, she could only assume the NPCs around her were now actual people rather than props, which immediately made the world radically different even without considering anything else. For one thing, there was a lot more of them, even considering that Emerald Odyssey was a game that had been praised for the number of characters it could have onscreen without risking any instability.

"... I... My character is human, so I don't think there's much to change..." Megumi looked down at herself. On one hand, she was glad she hadn't made herself radically different in-game... She really was basically just the same as she had been in the real world. Well, this was a real world now too, but the other real world. But really, if she'd known this would happen, maybe she would have tried to fulfill her wish to be taller and more mature...

Gaaah, thinking about that was just annoying on top of everything else!

"But I guess maybe my spells or something-eh?"

Before she could complete that thought, a message suddenly appeared, popping into existence in front of her.

"Sacchan?!" she cried, wide-eyed. Sacchan was here, too? Her friend had gotten sent here?!

The only thing she could do was try to send a response as swiftly as possible.

To: Hasselback

Sacchan, you're not alone! I got sucked into the game world too, and there's another girl! Everything is real now! I'm in the clock tower plaza, where are you!?

From: DokanMeguMegu-san

@TheMushroomLord@Rin

---

"This is AWESOME!"

So said the excitable naiad as she flew about the forests and plains and basically everywhere, really, trying out battle mechanics and throwing her dagger at objects (safely out of the way of anybody else, of course) in a bid to "sharpen" her skills a little more. The dagger itself was also delightful, a beautifully stylized butterfly engraved into the handle, with shiny, sparkly accents on the holster strapped to her thigh. It almost makes up for the ridiculous amounts of time and money spent worth it--almost. But it wasn't real money, back then, so who really cares?

"Let's see about these abilities..." she muses, activating Butterfly's Gift, a buff that boosts spellcasting speed and mobility, and watches a cloud of ghost-like butterflies rise up and cover her skin with a slight purple sheen. Huh. Pretty cool, but sort of useless.

"Wonder if there's a monster I can kick in the face..."

Exploring the forest for potential victims, Akimoto's curiosity brings her farther and farther away from other players, leaving her alone in a clearing full of mossy rocks and a small stream. Sighing, she sits down next the running water and plays with her dagger for a moment, then puts in back in the scabbard and lies on the ground. It really is weird, thinking about actually being in the game. Now that the initial interest has worn off, Akimoto almost feels like she's in the same spot as before--friendless and alone. How are her parents faring, she wonders? She hopes they aren't too sad about her disappearance, if that's how it is. Maybe she'll reappear years later and it'll have been a week, maybe, or no time at all...

"..."

Suddenly, Akimoto feels a presence behind her. Hesitant to open her eyes, she tries to concentrate on any sounds that are out of the ordinary, and finds that there is a low... growling.

Her heart stops.

Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, she cracks her eyes open until she is looking up through her eyelashes, up into the eyes of the huge, snarling, furry (but not in a cute way), ugly-faced werehound that is standing above her.

"O-oh," Akimoto says, breathless, bare shoulders touching the soft blanket of moss beneath her, turquoise curls spread softly around her, staring into the eyes of what might just be her demise.

But she doesn't freeze. She doesn't panic. She doesn't even scream--no, she only carefully reaches for her dagger, keeping firm eye contact with the wolf--until the moment she throws her hand up and stabs it between the eyes.

Senses suddenly thrown into overdrive, Akimoto pulls her dagger out and rolls out of the way in a swift motion, one that she probably owes to Butterfly's Gift but likes to think is her own doing. The wolf, understandably, is very angry about this, but Akimoto is too fast for him again--she jumps to her feet, hands slick with monster blood, heart beating wildly as she fumbles for a spell, a potion, anything to stop the beast for a moment longer. She happens upon a "shock blast," a small flask that is said to hold liquid lightning, and throws it at the wolf as hard as she can. And then she screams.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

A very shrill scream arises from the tops of the trees.

If one were to be in the forest at this time, this is what they would most likely see: a naiad, wearing a bikini top and a flurry of skirts, hands covered in sticky, burgundy blood, tears in her eyes and generally a mess, sprinting through the woods with a terrifying werehound snapping at her heels. Akimoto is running for her life; how stupid can she be, coming into a monster-infested area without a party!? Also, when does that speed buff wear off? She's dead meat unless she can find someone to save her, and soon!

"SOMEBODY, HELP ME, PLEEEEEAAAASEEEE!!"

It really was a real world.

That was probably a strange way to think of it, but Ewan couldn’t help but marvel at how good the ground felt against his bare feet. Soft grass crinkled underneath, breaking the silence in irregular rhythms, while his shoulders and back, which once incessantly ached, felt oh so light. Featherweight, that’s what it was. With a cloak as breezy as silk and as warm as down, Ewan strode through the verdant abyss with uncharacteristic confidence. Physical exercise was a certain type of emotional doping, and for a short while, immersed as he was in the breath-stealing silence of true nature, Ewan almost forgot the reality of his situation.

Made sense then, for that reality to dropkick him with the force of a nymphomaniac nymph charging towards him with a bloodied knife and a crazed expression.

First thought. Wow, she’s running really fast on those heels.

Second thought. Wait, what’s the point of a dress if it opens up in the front?

Third thought. OH SHIT THAT’S A WOLF SHE’S BEING CHASED BY.

Fourth? NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE!

Rather than doing the standard thing that Ewan would have done, which would be to eloquently eviscerate the Razorfang Wolf with a quick transformation, Minoru turned tail and ran away as well, the panic stretching out his fair features as suddenly, the ground became decidedly less comfortable, his big toe bouncing off a root while a small rock dug into his heel. Superficial pains that were completely nullified by his Halfling nature, but for the Minoru within the Ewan? YEAH NO. Soon enough (no doubt due to him being a short weeny without enough AGI points), the blue babe was running abreast with him, and he joined her in her screaming, feeding off her hysteria as the wolf got closer and closer and…

“I’LL EAT YOU I’LL EAT YOU I’LL EAT YOU I’LL EAT YOUUUUUUUU!” went the crazy bloodlusted wolf.

“I DON’T TASTE GOOD I DON’T TASTE GOOD I DON’T TASTE GOOD I DON’T TASTE GOOD!” went the child-sized Shapeshifter.

And then, the paradigm shift occurred. The screaming, dagger-clutching hourglass-figured blue-haired girl who looked like she was just asking for a wardrobe malfunction surpassed Ewan, long legs carrying her further and further away. Oh no.

Wolves went after the slowest.

Ah.

Well.

It was a good life while it lasted.
@OliveYou

---

---

The memories of an outside world felt distant at this current juncture. Like a kite, his vision soared across a vast landscape in the tall distance, swaying with the subtle gusts of winds beneath his wings. Nightfall would soon engulf the land, monsters were prone to become stronger at this hour, but such mattered little to this elf. He slowly closed his eyes, and his mind returned to him, to his body. The nearest city would be eastward from where he stood. "Alright, come back Admiral." A small humming bird swooped towards his location, began to swiftly shift around Therion's position before hiding within the confines of his cloak. A silent gesture of gratitude, and Therion continued his path forward. Hood up, hands hid among the dark of his cloak like a thief would. It wasn't long before he realized that this would be his life now, perhaps in some part of him he wanted it to be. It wasn't long ago, actually. The moment was minutes before sundown when he and his friend were hunting for boars somewhere in the early levels. Therion had just acquired his 37th level, and overall was just helping the lad get some skins for some armor piece he wanted to craft. It was mindless fun and overall a good time. It was good to be untroubled by the thought of always hiding and swerving across the battlefield just to get critical hits happening.

"You've got enough?" those were the last words Therion spoke before the boy before him nodded and thanked him for helping. A quick look to the main menu, managing and emptying his bags and dismantling items it dawned upon the youth that his log off button was gone. Maybe a bug, was the first thought but then a message popped up asking how to log off from his friend. The circumstances began to feel serious before time slipped through his finger, first an hour, then two, before long he realized that whatever system error occurred was one that of serious nature. It's no problem, perhaps a maintenance call would happen and before long they will have the issue fixed. Removing his headset and going to bed like usual, Therion... of more so Gendou, relied his weariness on the comfort of slumber. Tomorrow would be another day, another adventure.

It wasn't until he opened his eyes that he realized the situation he has been placed upon, the world in where he was in. Fiction had made a full circle. He hands were different, his body too. The usual sluggishness which birthed itself on a morning's stride has shown its absence today. His face, finger trailed the skin and ears which landed into a point, realizing that... He was not Gendou anymore, but Therion. A gasp, a panic, surely this was a dream. Lucid one at that, a pinch on the cheek and punch to the gut. All his strength behind it could awaken him from his slumber, but instead replace the sense of confusion with writhing pain. Gasping whatever air he could to regain composure... Gendou had to accept reality... And reality finally began to taste sweet.

And so, upon this trek unto nowhere, a sound and rustle started to catch his attention. "Huh?" Before a large yell of two individuals began to veil what was once a silent forest into a frenzy. They were running away, surely they were players... in this area there shouldn't be any sort of- The screams grew louder and louder, and the two seemed to have become much more prone to dying than before. Jesus Christ...

Therion quickly took a minute, inhaled a deep breath and allowed himself to vanish within the seams, disusing self and presence from the surroundings. Scent, self and everything alike. He needed to help in anyway shape or form possible before these two... died? Either way, he pulled out his short boy, and positioned himself nearby, as this ravenous creature continued its pace... One, two, THREE!!

A shot was fired towards the beast, a hit into the leg, halting its pace slightly, relenting trying to figure out where it came from. Now the arrow which was once invisible began to show form, as the blood began to over its surface demonstrating the piercing attack.

"Damn it, I was aiming for the eyes. I'll keep it distracted long enough for me to get close to those two. But what to do?" a thought came to mind, Admiral flew off his cloak and towards the two who were being followed, attempting to get their attention, maybe he can make them move towards him to formulate some kind of plan.

@DocRock@Bone Father

"Nice!" Kai said with a grin, giving a thumbs up to Shinon. "I was a little worried you wouldn't actually be open to the idea of giving anything up, so I'm glad. And, if you want, I bet we cold get that pelt turned into a pretty good armour set against... Were white stags ice or electric resistant?"

He stared off into the distance for a moment, lost in thought, before shaking himself back to reality and looking to his two new guildmates once more.

"Eh, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Anyway, yeah, let's get to the fortress!" He said excitedly, before gesturing to them to move closer. "Now, I've only got the one teleport scroll left, but it used to let other people teleport with the user if they stood close enough in the game, so I'm sure it'll work!"

Once the two had gotten within range of the scrolls effects, he used the item, choosing to teleport back to the office he'd awoken in.

"Sooo, welcome to Fort Edenkyte." He said. "Right now, we're just in my office. I'll probably be in here a lot while I work on rebranding us from an evil roleplay guild into a good old family friendly hunters guild. Actually, I should probably let all the npcs we made about the change to our goals... That... has the potential to go really well or really, really bad. While I get to work on that little speech though, I'll let you guys go have some fun. Astra, could you go with Mister Jones and show him around the workshop? And meanwhile..."

Scrolling through his menu again, he found a list of npcs in the guild, and searched for a few minutes until he found the name he was looking for, quickly sending them a message.

Within moments, the monstrous being had arrived at the office, having to crouch awkwardly just to get through the door due to his enormous size.

"My lord." He growled. "You summoned me?"

"Hey, Leedo!" Kai said, giving a small, casual wave to the monster. "Would you be willing to take my friend Shinon here down to the deep forest?"

For a moment, the creature looked surprised at the casual way Kai was speaking to him. However, he quickly regained his composure, bowing his head to the orc.

"Yes, my lord." He said, before turning to Shinon. "Greetings miss, my name is Leidos."

"Don't let the appearance fool you, he's just a big ol' softie." Kai said, patting the horrifying colossus on the shoulder. "He's gonna take you down to the mines, because we actually broke into a giant cavern by accident a little while ago. In that cavern, we found one of those glowing underground mushroom forests, and I mean really big mushrooms. However, there are a few fairly dangerous mobs in there, and they're a bit too dangerous for your average npc soldier. Anyone above level twenty five should be fine though, and with Leedo by your side, you should have no problems scouting out the place. If you're interested, I mean. I'll pay you, and again, there are a few unique monsters in there that you might find interesting."

He turned back to face Indy again.

"Now, like I said before, Astra will lead you to the workshop. If you have any questions, feel free to ask her or shoot me a message."

However, he sighed as he looked back to the desk.

"I might not be able to get back to you right away though. I've got... paperwork... to do... Eugh."

After Kai said to move close indirectly, Indy had done so, and when the teleport happened, he'd braced himself. He felt a tad woozy, in part due to the shift in location, and just how it was well, new and stuff. When it was over, he took in a breath, and slowly let it out. He nodded, half listening to what Kai said, but figuring out the gist of it. Wherever Astra now stood in the room, he'd look in her direction, before the sounds of the approaching Leedos drew his attention. Remaining silent, Indiana studied the armored titan, taking in the information, before looking back to Kai when addressed. "I follow. I don't envy you, that's some paperwork. Hell, I'm gonna have to explain to Meg the situation, if she's aware of the Guild at least...and she's probably gonna be pissed when I get back." That was something he didn't like to think about, how his NPC creation would react to the whole "oh hey that Dark Lord guy who was running around? He's actually just a really good actor, and wants to be a monster hunter instead due to a revelation." Let alone how she'd react to him being late getting back. That would be...fun. He looked back to Astra, and nodded, indicating she could lead the way. "Let's go, can't wait to see the place. That cavern sounds pretty nice too, so I might run over there to check it out. Stay safe."

So whenever Astra turned to leave, Indy would follow, humming a strange tune under his breath. If one knew their American songs...it was Country Roads. Yes, that song. Who knew why he was trying to hum it in a dragon's vocal chords, but give the guy credit, he was at least trying to adjust. And old habits die hard. Onwards to new adventures though, eh?

@Rabidporcupine

[removed]

Seeing as how the apparent tank had found better things to do with his time (whatever that was), the ninja turned to face the healer at her side. Apparently, she had found a pair of boots in that inventory of hers. They were meant for a lower level, but the stats on them weren't something that the ninja was particularly worried about.

"That's... Good, I guess," she said, hesitating on whether or not to praise Viri for finding something like that in the time that it took for that introduction to unfold. "But first, I'm going to test my capabilities in combat. I hope you don't mind a little bit of waiting."

With that, the ninja took a few steps off the beaten path and surveyed the land around her. There were a few boars still sniffing around, and it seemed that they hadn't noticed her. With a deep breath, the ninja drew a kunai from her side and held it in her hand. Despite having never actually thrown a weapon before, something about the motion felt... Natural to her.

With a leap and a flick of her wrist, the projectile landed directly in the eye of a boar, which proceeded to squeal in a mix of fear and rage before it turned towards Deneb. In an instant, it began to charge at her location, only for it to find a bunch of caltrops stuck in its feet.

"Huh. It seems that imagining the skill can invoke it. Convenient."

As the caltrops on the ground disappeared back into the air, Deneb leaped at the boar (which was still apparently in pain) before grabbing the kunai still lodged in its eye and tearing it out on her way past. Landing on the other side of the boar, Deneb threw the kunai back into her inventory before drawing the dagger at her side. With only a second to react, the boar could do nothing as Deneb flew by under its head, dragging the knife along and cutting its throat wide open as she went. The aftermath after the beast fell to the ground and bled out was a bit gory for her liking, but a kill was a kill.

"I guess that's something to note, then. We're not wholly incompetent at combat and won't have to train from scratch, so that's convenient," she said to Viri, taking note of the interface to loot the corpse before using it to take whatever she could from her kill. With that, the ninja sent a note off to the other group still working inside the town before walking back over to Viri's side and equipping the boots she had presented.

"Those sandals aren't as uncomfortable as I had expected, but it's better to be safe than sorry. We're probably fine spending an hour exploring the region for any changes, at least; we can regroup back at town with return scrolls afterwards. Don't hesitate to call anything strange out, though. We want to secure the town as soon as possible."

@Anza

Even if the compliment was a small one, it still made Viri smile a little. "Ah, go ahead," she said, waving a hand as Deneb walked off to test her fighting skills, "It's not as if we're in much of a hurry, after all..."

In the meantime, she could try out one of the pairs of boots she'd retrieved. She bent down out of instinct, reaching down to undo the clasps on her shoes, then hesitated. If things like the inventory work, then... Opening up her screen, she focused her gaze on the boots, and hit 'equip.'

A moment later, they were on her feet. The transition was seamless, so much so that she'd barely have noticed it if she wasn't looking. If it works like in the game, then my shoes should have gone back to my inventory. And once I'm done hiking, I can probably directly re-equip them from there. The minor revelation made her smile again. Confusing and disorientating as this world could be, some parts of it really were convenient!

She took a couple of steps forward, testing out her new footwear, then found a soft patch of grass and sat down, her long legs gently folding under her. From there, she quietly watched as Deneb experimented with some altogether more dangerous mechanics.

Perhaps it was only because of her own inexperience with the game, but Viri found herself looking at the ninja girl with more and more admiration as time went on. She was sharp, she was rational, and she seemed to have an almost intuitive grasp of the game's systems, translating them into this new reality with an ease that bordered on being effortless. The cleric hummed thoughtfully as her bright green eyes followed Deneb's deadly and beautiful dance. Even if we are only a party of two...

A final slash sent blood spraying out of the beast's jugular, and Viri applauded.

... I think I may have found a good leader.

"And the winner is... Deneb!" She rose to her feet, her willowy figure stretching to its full height once more. "Slayer of Boars, the swiftest lady in the land!" Then she leaned forward a little, laughing at her own words. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I let my enthusiasm get carried away for a moment there. But you know, that really was impressive to watch." She met Deneb's eyes with a look of earnest appreciation. "You must have been good at this game before, am I right?"

She looked out over the horizon, at the roads and fields and trees stretching out into the distance, a mountain range barely visible at the edge of her field of view. So much... There was no way they'd cover even a fraction of all that in just an hour. Exploring the area around the town might be possible, but to really know what was out there, they were going to need more people. Although, she thought, glancing once more at Deneb, there is something nice about it being just us two. Even if it is only for the moment.

"Well then, if you're ready..." She strode forwards, the first bold steps of many she would take as they delved into the great unknown.

"... let's see what we can find!"

@PKMNB0Y

Not long after she'd sent the message, a reply popped up. Megu-chan was as prompt as usual, it seemed! And to be honest, Sachiko was actually kind of happy to find out she'd been sucked into the game too. It meant that she'd still get to see Megu-chan, still get to interact with Megu-chan, still get to... The point was she wasn't alone, since her dear friend would be here with her. Sachiko started to-

Well, if I'm stuck in the game I should stop thinking of myself as "Sachiko," shouldn't I? From now on, I'm Hasselback!

Hasselback started to type up her reply.

To: DokanMeguMegu-san

Wow, Megu-chan is in the game too? ＾ω＾ I'm soooooo glad I'm not alone! I'll run right over there, okay! ♪v('∇'*)⌒☆

From: Hasselback

Heh, run... I really can run there!

Giggling to herself, Hasselback broke into a sprint, heading towards the plaza as fast as she could. She'd never have been able to move this fast in real life, and the wind brushing against her just felt so... Aaaah! And there was Megu-chan! It was impossible to miss such a small, cute girl like her! She seemed to be talking to someone, but... But Hasselback couldn't hold back. Maybe because she could never do it before, maybe because she'd always wanted to do it, Hasselback refused to slow down as she approached the two other girls, sights set firmly on the small purple witch...

"Meeeeeeeeeeeeguuuuuuuuuuuu-chaaaaaaaaaaaan~!"

...And before Megu-chan could realize what was going on, Hasselback had practically tackled her, knocking her to the ground as she hugged her tightly.

"Megu-chan! Megu-chan, Megu-chan! I... This is amazing! It's so amazing isn't it! Meeeeeeguuuuuu-chaaaaaan~!"

@VitaVitaAR
@TheMushroomLord

Elyan, in contrast to the insanity that, unknown-st to him, was occurring all throughout the game, had decided to do something far less exciting but considerably more practical. He wandered around for a moment, found another tree with dryer ground than the last one beneath it, and sat down, immediately thinking about what had happened before he woke up in this game.

For some reason, most of it was a blur. He had multiple alcoholic drinks in game, was that the cause of how he felt at the moment? He couldn't remember if he had drunk enough to cause an effect on his character, which he assumed he was now. Was he his character? Or was he directly placed into the game and made to look like his character? He still had the spear, he felt like he had the skill to use it, but was that just a psychological effect of having the spear that his character originally used, of which the character would use to perform various crazy skills...

This was not helping how he was feeling at the moment. Maybe the drinks in game hadn't affected him at all.

So maybe what he did in real life translated into...

His train of thought was interrupted by someone yelling, the somewhat far away noise sending a spike of pain through his forehead. Using his spear like a cane, he managed to get to his feet, and began to sort-of run to the source of said noise. He expected to see someone in a fight. He didn't expect to see two people running away from a wolf, both of whom seemed to have the lungs of someone several times their size. Was it some kind of sound based attack? Whatever it was, it made Elyan's headache worse.

He raised his spear, and threw it like a Javelin at the wolf. A moment after it flew from his hand, he remembered in a instant that his character didn't have any skills in throwing his spear, and even if he did, he didn't know quite yet if he had the skills of his character.

Watching it go through the air, Elyan prayed throwing was something spear users could naturally do in this game. He didn't want to fight with his bare hands. He also hoped it wouldn't hit either of the people being chased.

@ERode@OliveYou

Sometimes, you were lucky. At times like those, perhaps a stranger would hop out of nowhere and throw a knife into the wolf’s leg, slowing it down so you could get some distance.

Other times, you were unlucky. At times like those, perhaps a stranger would hop out of nowhere and throw a spear into your leg, slowing you down so you could lose some distance.

Unfortunately, for Ewan and for (virtual) real life, bad things often outweighed the good, and the edgy nihilism that often plagued the status bars of online forums had more than just a couple kernels of truth in them. When it rained, it poured, and when life gave you lemons, trying to make lemonade out of it would only reveal that those lemons were lemon-shaped grenades. So for all the good done by the black-haired midget’s dagger toss, it was all erased when wuxia man’s spear drove itself into Ewan’s thin leg and almost cut it right off. A numbing paralysis shook through the halfling’s limb before he could even respond to it, and just as suddenly, the boy was falling towards the ground, his face smacking against a tree root. Tumbling twice, he barely managed a panicked yelp before the wolf was upon him, its own injuries superficial compared to his.

There was no pain, really, there was nothing more than pin-pricks. If he had been calm, if he had even had time to remember his avatar had a whole host of abilities that could get him out of this situation, Ewan probably would have done something reasonably half-good.

BUT THIS WAS A WOLF. AND IT WAS RIGHT IN HIS FACE.

“WAHHHHHGGGGHHHHHH,” went Ewan Berrybranch, the fair youth flailing his arms in terror. Each blow dealt single digit physical damage to the wolf, unfortunately, and for all his efforts, he got a bit, meaty chomp on his shoulder.

Who's idea was it to go outside? Yup, definitely shoulda slept in even longer.
@Vulkan@OliveYou@Sync

---

In a span of time it takes Akimoto to get up on her feet and away from the wolf, the small bar placed conveniently in the corner of her vision has been steadily depleting, telling her how many seconds left before Butterfly's Gift runs out and Akimoto trips over her feet and dies and painful, horrible death. One minute remaining. Fifty seconds remaining. Forty seconds--

Thankfully, before Akimoto can make a fool out of herself and become dog food, another scream begins to echo alongside hers, distracting the werehound for a small moment. Akimoto can't really take in much information other than don'tdiedon'tdiedon'tdie, and the short glance she can afford doesn't really make anything clear other than the fact that there is a white-and-red blur racing beside her, but she's thankful for the company. There is something to be said for dire circumstances forging strong friendships.

That is, if they don't die first. Thirty seconds.

Which is why, in the panic of Akimoto's mind, a plan begins to form--a plan that most certainly won't work, yes, but a plan all the same. She's just starting to figure out a way to shout her strategy to the person (?) beside when she realizes the wolf has changed trajectory. Miraculously, even in her ridiculous getup and wobbly high heels, she manages to pass the other running figure, and therefore lose the wolf's interest.

But! Akimoto is a nice person! She can't just let her first shot at a friend DIE! Now, if only she had another one of those lightning shock--also there's a spear flying towards her what.

In a feat of acrobatics that surprises even her, Akimoto bends, twists, and dodges the (Very sharp! Very dangerous!) spear, only for it to hit her companion. Skidding to a stop, heart pounding and breathing heavy, Akimoto can only watch as the spear slices through an ample portion of the child's leg, and suddenly feels very sick. Shaking uncontrollably, she feels the world sway for a moment--but no! Not today!! Forcing the panic down, Akimoto sheds her high heels by cutting their shiny leather straps and rushes up to the wolf in a fit of rage and passion and desire to do at least one good thing before she dies.

"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!!" Akimoto screams, plunging her dagger into the werewolf and giving it a kick in the stomach for good measure, desperately trying to shove the monster off the obviously injured kid. And the thing is, she's never really used a knife before--cutting veggies? Who has time for that?--but right now, she hacks away like her life depends on it. She doesn't even register her arm has been bitten until the red, red blood drips down to her hands and onto her dagger. And then, very quickly, the wolf releases her arm and jumps back, growling and baring its teeth and generally being ugly and vicious.

"I don't think that's good," Akimoto says, watching the wolf keep its distance, keeping its eyes on the small child beside (well, under--Akimoto's using her arm to shield them) her. What's that called? Stalking? Akimoto does not like that. Akimoto does not want to be stalked. "Um, question. Do you have a weapon to fight this thing?"

@ERode@Vulkan

---

---

So when you're displayed with a myriad of things that looks like a circus performance, although lazily executed, you're bound to remain at awe throughout the entirety of it. Therion was confused, if not more so completely disillusioned. There was always some oddities when it came to players in a game. There were always quirks and personalities, but this was... overwhelming to say the least. Which was even more concerning, because this place was a bit at the higher levels, so he wouldn't understand why they wouldn't just use their abilities. Maybe, just maybe... They are noobs? It didn't matter, a spear flung lazily towards the wolf and past him. It was dangerous and he evaded with nary his neck intact. The girt of his teeth kept the yelp from escaping his lips and revealing him away from his invisibility. Welp, guess they will ignore the Admiral, or more so who would even see him through this... chaotic medley of things happening. Well, time to get a bit creative he supposed, he has been stuck on this stupid avatar for a bit so he should be able to do a couple of things to that thing. Before anything happened though, the dancer looking one started to stab the wolf, quiet consistently, like a lot.

Like a lot, a lot. Hacking away at it, furiously in the attempts to save the kid who still seems to be screaming out of his life. Maybe he shouldn't even wear his invisibility, such amount of noise is shield enough for him. Well, it was time. The dancer finally relented and drifted apart from the creature, creating a distance between the two and holding tightly to her dagger in hand, her bleeding seeped across the bite marks in her arm, and now it was time for him to shine. Therion kicked the earth beneath his heal and closed the gap between the two, reappearing from his shroud of invisibility with pyre lighting at the cusp of his hand and slamming into the wolf's chest, before he pushed him away at the cause of a small blast of fire.

"Don't very much know about him, but if you can't beat 'im, blow it up. Uhh, hi. Therion." He introduced himself, pointing at himself as a visual aid, big smile on his face. "Uhm, random question and everything, but... How did you guys even get in this predicament?"

A complicated expression crossed Deneb's face as Viri praised her, and the ninja looked as if she was wavering between correcting the healer on her remark about her being a girl or simply ignoring that sentence. To say that she hadn't been experienced would be an outright lie, but to affirm one thing and deny the other would only bring up problems. of course, the look on her face right now was just as troublesome, which meant that a response was all but necessary right now.

It only made sense, then, that the ninja would simply give a wordless nod in return, acknowledging what had been said and no more. Her party member could interpret her words as she pleased, but the matter of completing what they had set out to do had taken priority.

"Mmm. I'll take the lead, then," Deneb said shortly after, hands at her side as she quietly glanced to and fro across the fields. As far as she could see, the boars seemed to be minding their own business. So long as they weren't the aggressors, it seemed, they wouldn't strike back.

"They seem far more passive than they were in the game," she remarked offhandedly, moving to create a bit more space between herself and Viri as they continued to move. "More hostile enemies should appear the further we get—at least, that's what I'd assume."

A few minutes of walking later had left the boars and their food behind altogether, and the unnatural pressure that seemed to hover in the air around them gave Deneb a reason to be mildly worried. The game had always broadcast messages with flavor text that conveyed similar feelings whenever a field boss had spawned, and nothing being visible to her right now didn't take away from the problem hovering over her head.

"The field bosses in the region... I think the main ones were the Flametongue Bear, Boar of Ara, and the Silver Wolf. As we are now... I don't know how safe it'd be to face any one of them," Deneb remarked, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Can't take anyone away from the infrastructure team to handle this, and I have zero confidence in my ability to take one of these things down as I am now, even with buffs and healing..."

Ignoring the pressure bearing down on her, the ninja crossed her arms and closed her eyes in an attempt to think about the best course of action. To cede ground now might mean that they might lose track of whatever this enemy was, which would put everyone at risk if it drew closer to town. On the other hand, taking the enemy down as they were might be tantamount to suicide without a proper plan.

"Hmm... Ah, this would be so much easier if this was in the game. Kiting any of these three around would've been child's play, but I can't trust my own body to act perfectly despite that field test just now..."

@Anza

At first, Viri thought it was just her. Wasn't it only natural that wandering out into some strange wilderness would invoke a feeling of dread?

As the minutes passed, however, she found herself questioning that assumption. Dread was one thing, but right now the air around her felt heavy, the quiet oppressive, the tiny movements of grass and leaves in the wind somehow frightening rather than soothing. No, this wasn't just nerves. It had to be a phenomenon of some kind, another quirk of this world. And as for its nature... Obviously, it's a warning. Deneb's own speculations merely confirmed her thoughts on the matter.

"We don't necessarily have to fight them," she said, clutching her staff close to her body as if it could somehow protect her. "Our mission was to find and assess threats, not try to overcome them on our own. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to find the boss, and then message its location back to the people in town, maybe track its movements for a while. That way, if it does roam near enough to do harm, they can prepare for it."

Of course, that was easier said than done. Getting close enough to a boss to pinpoint its location would risk drawing its ire, and then they'd have little choice but to kill it or escape. Or be messily devoured, I suppose...

@PKMNB0Y

There wasn't really any chance to respond, to react to what was occurring. Before Megumi could say or do anything, perhaps because of what she was witnessing, the small purple-haired girl was knocked clear off her feet by the sudden tackle-hug from the shield-bearing Hasselback. With a yelp of surprise, the girl was taken off of her feet, hitting the ground underneath the other girl and immediately squirming beneath her. But... Sachiko had really come running here like this? She'd made it so fast, and been able to do something like that...

The tiny girl's hat had come off of her head, rolling and laying near the vampire girl's feet.

"Th-th-this isn't the time for this!" protested Megumi as she squirmed beneath her friend, blushing as she did. "I-it's not like I'm not happy to see you, b-but... I don't even know what's going on! ... I... er..."

For a moment, she averted her eyes, ceasing to struggle as much as she did.

"... You... got here pretty fast... that's good..." half-mumbled the small girl, no longer trying to squirm away. But the situation was pretty serious. Before anything else, they had to try and figure out what was going on and what to do.

@TheMushroomLord@Rin

The moment Megumi received the message Hina began panicking again. Who the hell was Sacchan? Nervousness building up inside her as Hina considered just making a break for it.

'I don't know for certain they're coming here, I should just calm down... but why else would they have sent that message? Oh god they were coming!'

Hina wondered what god she’s pissed off to get herself in this situation as making an excuse and running away had begun to seem more and more like her best course of action. That was at least until the shield bearing girl in question sprinted into view and tackled Megumi into the ground.

Hina's mind raced as she rapidly thought up countless possibilities for how to deal with her current situation without making a complete fool of herself, before instead choosing to panic, freezing like a deer in headlights and making some kind of terrified whimpering sound as she tried and failed to will herself out of existence.

When Megumi’s hat landed at Hina's feet she flinched as though it were some kind of bomb, cringing hard behind her mask immediately after and hoping no one saw her jump as she tentatively picked up the garment, not really too sure as to what to do with it.

@VitaVitaAR @Rin

@Rabidporcupine

"Of course, I need to find work somehow, and besides, so long as I can keep the heads of the monsters I hunt, I'll be more than happy! And I believe White Stags are ice resistant."

Shinon spoke to the man as she stepped closer and prepared to be teleported. Upon arrival at their destination, Shinon looked around. She took a few steps forward before checking things out. She made sure not to wander to far away from the group, but she did walk around the room, exploring it slightly. Upon the arrival of the hulking monstrosity, Shinon reflexively went for her bow, but upon hearing it speak to her new acquaintance in such a respectful tone, she lowered her bow and set it on her back. She listened to the explanation of Danon excavating into an underground mushroom forest and nodded, she knew that it needed to be explored and probably cleared out of monsters. If there were any monsters in there, there were probably plant type monsters down there, but if she was lucky, Shinon might be able to find fairy types of monsters, she could probably make a killing by selling it's parts, the gear she could have made from those kinds of monsters wouldn't be bad either.. and with this hulking monstrosity's help, she was certain she could deal with this mini-dungeon no problem!

"Sounds great! I'll scout the place out and tell you what I find! I'll also bring back any parts of prey that I find! By the way, here's the pelt I got. If you wouldn't mind making it into a cloak for me to wear, I'd appreciate it."

Shinon took out the incredibly clean and pristine, pure white pelt of the White Stag. There wasn't any signs of damage to it and the pelt itself was devoid of dirt and blood, it was obvious it had been a quick and clean kill, along with an amazing amount of skill to skin the stag so easily. Shinon handed the pelt off to her newfound guildmate and looked over to Leidos and gave him a thumbs up

"You can call my Shinon! I look forward to working with you!"

Sho yawned quite loudly as she stretched her arms up in the air holding her eyes closed in sleepy manner. A cold gust of wind enveloped the belly of the young adult giving a short shiver as she confusingly opened her eyes. The heater was on right? She was pretty sure she had turned the heater on just like she had closed the windows. Her eyes softly opened meeting with the murky dungeon like room she was in. This wasn't her room no longer, it was... it was the old dungeon she had walked into in the game. This wasn't a dream and she didn't go into VR either. VR didn't even look this good to begin with.



Joy remarked her weird voice as yet another cold reeling went over her. Her gaze fixed down towards her clothes as she remarked that they had gone. Her old clothes she wore in her room had changed to this new slutty getup. Her armor was barely covering anything! A deep red blush grew over her face as she looked at her large chest. It was clear now, she had changed into her avatar from the game Emerald Odyssey. Joy, no, it was Sho now, right? Sho had been venturing in a dungeon like area when she was about to log off, but apparently the maintenance had done something else entirely. How did that even work? Well no time to argue on that now, she had to find a way back to her old world.

Sho stepped forward with her new longer legs to head towards the exit and almost fell face first onto the ground as she attempted to walk. Her new acquired heels did not really help her with moving around. As a real life girl she never even wore them to begin with. She had to get them off or she wouldn't be able to walk. As she was undoing her stuck on heels her hair kept dragging in front of her face. This was getting tedious. Her character had been fighting in the worst conditions with this stupidly long hair, heels and slutty armor all day. If she was stuck in this new body she had to change this. At least she swore to never make her characters like this again.

Eventually Sho fell to her knees in tired manner not knowing how to get anything done right now. Her heels were stuck, her hair kept going everywhere and she was done with this creepy vibe dungeon area. A sudden sound of monster growling made Sho shriek in terror. If she was in the game... then monsters would definitely be around her and spawn nearby... Sho sat back onto her behind and lightly crawled towards the wall in angst. They were coming for her. Sho fiddled around with the HUD she saw in her face as she managed to pull up some menus she had seen before. Meanwhile monsters started flooding into the room around her. Yet another shriek escaped the slutty dressed girl her mouth as she quickly tapped onto the return button multiple times. A ring of runes formed around her indicating the return spell had worked. A smile of bless went over her face before she noticed the monster still getting at her. Growling and snagging as they were sprinting at full speed towards her. Sho could only watch in terror at how the spell needed time to work. They got closer and closer appearing more viscous and scarier. Sho partially crying in terror teleport back to town in the blink of an eye just before the monsters got at her.

White light blinded her. The teleportation had clearly worked. That much was clear as she heard the sound of laughter and talking around. The sharp sunlight was piercing her eyes. She wasn't used to this. It was hurting her head. Tears were still lightly flooding when she came back to her senses. She put a hand before her eyes as she glanced around. She was back in the town.

Sho watched in awe at the medieval town she knew all too well. There was so much to see and all of it was just as dazzling and amazing as she could imagine… clothes! Clothes, clothes, clothes! Sho thought back about her outfit situation again and quickly thought to herself that clothing must have worked the same way as in the game so the equipment menu. She quickly reskinned her current armor to a simple gothic like school outfit (the one in the picture). She gave a deep sigh and stood up brushing the tears from her cheeks. Time for step two: her hair. She moved all her hair to the front and braided it so that it wouldn't sit in her face so much or obstruct her walking. It was so long in this world.

From the looks of her friends list it did appear that others were here as well, so she most likely wasn't the only one that got transported here. Talking about them, some of them were close. She could see them speaking at the town square close by. It was clear they were PC's instead of NPC's. Sho instinctively moved her feet heading their way.

Once she was close by she wanted to speak up but she could only utter. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. After a few seconds or so she managed to speak up a little but was overdone by Hasselback.



Sho immediately stepped back as a terrified look was glued to her face. Dokan-san was being squeezed to death by Hassel. This was bad. Was she gonna be next, how should she respond, did they even remember her. Sho became more nervous and trembled slightly. What is Sho meant to say!? The only social contact she had was with her mother. Chi was right next to them spectating the scene as well, giving the same dazzled reaction just like Sho.



This was starting to look more like the scenes Sho drew sometimes. She never expected to see it with her very eyes though. No! No time to be thinking about that! Sho her face became bright red as she moved her hands in front of her eyes.