[IC] Brave New World [Gooble 'n' MidnightRose]

[Gooblefly]

The world even smelled good. West stood at the in the center of the town of Braestone, absorbing everything through Lutwin's eyes. Technology had come a remarkably long way since he was small, sitting playing chess on his computer against strangers across the globe. Now, he was standing in a virtual town square, with the ability to breathe in the virtual smell of virtual bread. The science behind it all was... Interesting to say the least and West was curious. Of course, he didn't have time for any of that now, he had better things to do.

Lutwin swiped his fingers across the screen and loaded up a map of the town, one West had edited in his spare time in an attempt to track the fastest way to level up his character for maximum survivability. By his calculations, he would be able to take on the first boss of the first floor within the week if he kept to his schedule. From what he had read online, through leaks and other such material, he had already confirmed that he wanted Lutwin to be a knight. The high armour combined with sword skills would create a fine balance between damage output and defenses, the perfect class for what Lutwin intended.

According to his clock, he had ten minutes before he could get started. The developers of the game had designed some 'opening ceremony' for the game that would signal the town gates opening and the players being allowed to actually explore the world for themselves. West was not one for such trivialities, he would much rather have started completing quests in order to get a head start over the other players, but given there wasn't much of a choice, he had picked a pleasant corner in the square to watch the event. There were a large number of people bustling around, but West didn't concern himself with any of them. This was how he played games, by himself and for himself and he loved it. The other people in the square didn't matter, providing he figured out the optimal way to play. This was nothing more than a large scale brain teaser for West.

The clock tower chimed, an earth-shattering ring so loud that West had to cover his ears with his hand. The people milling around the square began to hush, turning to face the tower as the entrance ceremony began.
"Please be quick..." West mumbled to himself, desperate to get on with the game. At first, nothing happened. The silent square looked around, trying to find any sign of activity in the surrounding area. Then, just as people were beginning to think nothing was going to happen, a single figure appeared in the center of the square, a peculiar looking gentleman wearing a long green coat and a matching top-hat. In one hand, he held an immaculate cane with a golden dragon head on top, in the other he held a sword, the type of weapon so big it could only appear in a video game.

"Welcome, player, to A Brave. New. World!" The man had a deep, booming voice that made the hairs on West's neck stand on edge. The people in the crowd exploded into bouts of whooping cheers. "I am one of the eight geniuses behind this game, we all put a lot of effort into this so we hope you enjoy what we have created for you." He made a grand, sweeping gesture towards the town gates "Out there lies our world where you can fight monsters, duel one another and become the greatest heroes known to mankind! However, there is a catch, something not in any of the manuals!"

Suddenly, West was interested. Something different, something new. A small smile played on his lips as the man continued.
"This world consists of one-hundred dungeons" At this point, a large scale map of the world appeared before him, a hollowed out spherical globe with numerous layers within "And until all one-hundred dungeons are cleared..." There was a pause, the man looked around with a menacing chuckle "You cannot leave the game. This isn't an ordinary game either. The virtual reality headsets you're wearing right this second are designed with a kill switch. If you die inside of the game, or if someone tries to remove your helmet, your real life body will also be destroyed."

The ripple of excitement that had been passing through the crowd suddenly died. Everyone looked up, gawking at the man hovering in front of them, waiting for the punchline that would never come. Wests heart was pounding, his mouth was dry and his brain wasn't functioning correctly.
"I hope you have fun. Remember, we'll be watching you." And with that, the man disappeared and the mob erupted into screams of anger. They shouted after the image, begging him to return ad let them free, obviously scared for their lives. West forced himself to focus, realizing that it wasn't long until this mob turned violent, he turned tail and fled from the scene, aiming for the main gates and escaping the scene.

[MidnightRose]

Ralia, or Brielle off screen, was enjoying walking around the town square. She had never experienced a video game that was so immersive. It was incredible! It had taken her months to save enough for this game and she intended to enjoy it to the fullest. She looked at all the shops of items even though she had no gold yet to purchase any of them. She admired her own armor of a lovely indigo chest piece, skirt and cape. She could not wait to start conpleting quests and getting stronger. She was a Mage and was also eager to learn spells, especially healing. She admired the staff that she was granted that matched with her armor and had a small curved metal piece on the end.

She had already received a few group invites, mostly from guys but a couple girls as well. However she had declined them all. She wanted to get a feel for the game on her own before she began cooperating with other players. She wanted to be free to explore the world as she wished. And she intended to explore every inch of it.

When the bell chimed she was standing by a fountain in the square. She observed the man with the cane and top hat. He seemed odd to her, as if something was off about him. She got a bad feeling about this.

The more he explained the game the paler Ralia became. She felt her hands shaking and gripped her mages staff to steady them. She could feel the panic and unrest seeping through the crowd as the man's speech went on. As soon as he finished speaking the crowd erupted in fear and outrage. She turned and bolted out of the town. She kept running until she was in the forest outside of town. She leaned against a tree, breathing heavily. She slid down to the ground resting her head on her knees trying to focus. "You need to focus, you need to calm down," she muttered to herself.

[Gooblefly]

Keep calm, focus on the plan. West repeated this phrase over and over in his mind. He was scared, he wasn't really used to being scared, and his mind and heart were racing. He had played numerous games in his lifetime and had certainly died in each before reaching the end goal. His plan was in shreds, there was no more trial and error permitted within the game. Every move West made from this point onward, he had to be certain of the outcome. He made himself promise that he would trust only in the numbers. This was still a game, games could be exploited and he would find a way to make himself strong enough to survive. No risks, only numbers. He stopped sprinting and slowed into a jog, swiping the air in front of him and bringing back his map.

Luckily, the first area had been well mapped out by beta testers, meaning he knew exactly which route to take to maximize EXP, but his original plan had accounted for proximity to graveyards. He jogged slower as he moved markers on his map, finally settling on a plains east of the village to start his leveling. The area was slightly higher leveled, but it was out of the way and not one of the beginner zones, which meant he would have almost exclusive access to the mobs there, making it the perfect place for him to...

West was interrupted from his train of thought as a girl sprinted past him in a mage's outfit, obviously in a panic from the town square. West stood and watched as she darted into a nearby forest, running much faster than he possibly could. At first, he thought nothing of it. He shrugged it off, told himself to focus and started running towards the field he wished to level in. But, a slight wave of dread washed over him as little things from his memory started to slot together. He quickly pulled up his map to confirm his suspicions.

The forest before him wasn't exactly a high level area, but it certainly wasn't for beginners either. The zone was listed as having giant wasps, enemies that individually were weak but as a group they could take out any new player without breaking a sweat. Without another player beside her, the girl wouldn't stand a chance. It took West a moment to realize the implications of this. That girl would die is she went too deep into the forest without knowing what she was doing. She would die if he didn't help.

No risks only numbers. He repeated this phrase to himself a couple of times, hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword as he stood, part of him telling himself to leave her, the other to run into danger to save her. After a couple of seconds that felt like hours, he closed his eyes and darted into the forest after her, moving swiftly along the path, eyes open for any signs of enemies. Luckily she hadn't made it far into the woods before he found her, resting against a tree. He slowed to a halt in front of her. He merely stood there, looking down at her for a second, trying to remember how to properly act in this situation, before realizing that there wasn't exactly a social protocol for 'you're going to be devoured by virtual wasps in a sadistic lethal video game'. Instead, he thrust out his hand.
"This area is dangerous. We got to leave. Now please."

[MidnightRose]

Ralia was holding her head in her hands slowing her breathing. She continued to repeat in her mind, "Keep calm, you can do this." When her thoughts were interrupted by a voice her head shot upright. She observed the man before her taking in his armor and sword. He was obviously better suited for combat than a Mage such as herself.

In her panic her brain did not process that he wanted to help her. The only thing going through her mind was that this was no longer a game. She could die all too easily. It was far to risky to be around others. These thoughts swarmed in her head like angry wasps, and the buzzing made his intentions unclear to her.

She gripped her staff tightly in both hands and jumped to her feet. She pointed her staff at him, holding a defensive position. "What do you want?!" She demanded in anger. She very much looked and acted like a scared animal backed into a corner. But she didn't strike at him yet because in all honesty she wasn't sure that she could take him. She didn't intend to let him know that.

[Gooblefly]

The second the girl drew her staff, West's mind turned on. He forgot everything about the death game, and drew his sword on the girl, knocking the staff aside and pointing the blade at her. THey stood in silence, weapons pointed at one another for a brief second, before West realized quite what was happening. He had played so many games where meeting another player meant the two would have to fight, and normally West would be perfectly okay with dueling another person, but this was different. If the two of them fought, only one of them would leave. If he committed to this fight, then one of them would actually die.

He stared into his opponents eyes, summing up this girl. She was scared, like him, he could see it in her. While his own eyes showed little emotion, his hands trembled beneath the weight of his sword.
"I didn't come to fight. I came to help." He spoke calmly and slowly, looking the girl in the eyes as he slowly moved his hand away and sheathed his sword. "M-my name is West... I mean, Lutwin. Fuck, I don't know" He laughed slightly, out of nervousness more than anything else "It's uh, this place is full of wasps, they can be quite tough... I saw you come in. It's dangerous." He stammered, his words were quiet, totally unused to talking to anyone.

After he said his piece, he was suddenly aware of his surroundings again and placed his hand back on the hilt of his sword. this was still a game, he couldn't forget where he was. He listened carefully to his surroundings, the place was practically alive with buzzing. If the two of them weren't careful, the game would be over for them before it even really began.
"Listen, I'd really feel better if we continued this conversation outside the forest." He mumbled, turning and starting to walk slowly away, beckoning her to follow.

[MidnightRose]

When he disarmed her, her heart stopped and she held her breath. She couldn't help but wonder if death would be painful. However death did not come instead he started talking to her. He didn't seem mean in fact he seemed nervous. Perhaps he was just as scared as she was. She slowly lowered her staff and as she listened she studied his eyes. She saw no malicious intent in them and so remembered to breath again.

"West... Lutwin, I've heard that name before..." she thought to herself. When he beckoned her to follow she paused for a moment keeping her back against the tree. Yes this man had chosen not to kill her but could she really trust him? She thought for a moment realizing that he, like her, wanted to survive more than anything else. If he thought this place was dangerous then it would probably be wise to follow his survival instinct.

Finally after a few moments of just staring at him, she slowly nodded. "All right... I'll follow you, Lutwin," she said cautiously. She walked a half step behind them as they headed along the path out of the forest. "I didn't want to fight you either... I'm Ralia, I mean Brielle... I was... scared," she spoke quietly as they continued walking. Even while she spoke she was listening for any movement around them. Between the beasts of the game and players under duress, their chances of being attacked were not to her liking.

[Gooblefly]

West was honestly relieved when the girl, Brielle, started following him. After getting this far, he didn't want her blood on his hands.
"I'm pretty sure everyone is scared." He mumbled, stating the obvious "Keep a level head. It's dangerous otherwise." As he walked, West was certain something about the forest felt... Different. The path twisted and bent in the same way, but the trees felt different. He told himself that it was due to the face that he was approaching them from a different angle, that he was more level headed and therefore less scared, but he was still more cautious with where he stepped.

The two of them had traveled deeper into the forest than West had first realized, the adrenaline had pushed them to run pretty far into the treeline, with no sign of any other players around them. Or so, that's what West had believed. As they turned a bend in the road, West suddenly took a step backwards, walking right into Brielle and blocking her path.
"Someone up ahead." He murmured, raising a finger to his lips. He could just hear the young man sobbing softly to himself, obviously distraught from the events of the square. West wondered quite how bad things were in the town, if people had taken arms up against one another in panic. He wondered if anyone had died yet.

"I think he's okay. If we calmly walk past him we can..." West was interrupted by a sudden, piercing shriek coming from the clearing ahead, followed by a sound West had never heard before, an odd tearing noise followed by the sound of cracking glass. He peered around and was met by the grizzly sight of the boy he had seen standing, a strange crack along his face and an abnormally large stinger lodged in his chest. West could see his health bar, glowing green above his head as it slowly ticked away and then vanished. The crack started to grow, and suddenly the boy looked up, locking eyes with West. He opened his mouth to say something but as suddenly as it had all began, the boy shattered into small, crystal like shards and floated away into nothingness.

West stood, jaw slightly agape, unbelieving of what he had just seen. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry but he knew he didn't have time for that. As the floating shards dissipated, from behind where the boy had been standing stood a large yellow insect, larger than West had ever seen before. The beast locked it's large, orb like eyes with West and took flight, hovering slightly in the air. West started to crunch numbers in his head, the distance between them, how easily the creature had killed the other boy and the nature of wasps. He swallowed, his palms sweating and his arms numb as he pulled the sword from its sheathe.
"We have to fight it. There's no other way." He mumbled to Brielle "We won't be able to get past it, and if we ignore it it'll call for help and more of them will come. If we can't fight one, there's no way we can fight a whole swarm." The beast floated a little closer, West took a step towards it, blade pointed at the creature. The only way out of the woods West knew was through this creature, he had won harder battles before but never had his life been on the line. It was really now or never.

[MidnightRose]

Brielle nodded in agreement as he spoke, "Keep a level head." She repeated to herself. When they heard the boy crying Brielle peered around West curiously. However she had no intention of talking to this person. What if he was just acting waiting for some poor soul to take pity on them so he could... Brielle shuddered at the thought. In these games there were always players who killed other players for fun but would they change their ways now that death was permanent? She wasn't so sure.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the boy being stung in the chest and his painful scream. She watched in horror as his body cracked and dissipated into thin air. The only thing she could think however is: will I die like that? Shattered to nothing? She shook her head trying to focus. There was no time for that.

When West told her they had to fight it she nodded and gripped her staff tightly in both hands. Her face was determined but she felt something wet on her cheek. Tears? She wasn't sure if she was crying for the deceased boy or crying for fear of her own demise. Despite the tears her face remained resolute and she stepped forward with West. "I have a spell that can stun him but only for 3 seconds... Do you think you can strike him in that window of time?" She asked looking over at west. If he wasn't fast enough the spell would wear off and they would be in big trouble.

[Gooblefly]

"Three seconds..." West began to work through the numbers in his head. The world began to slow down and he forgot everything else as his mind processed the situation. This was a low leveled enemy, the chances that it would have many difficult abilities were low, meaning the only real danger was the poison of the stinger. Providing West could avoid that, there wasn't any real risk. However, at the level they were, the poison damage of the stinger appeared to be enough to KO the player, meaning that under no circumstance could he let the Wasp sting him. West took a deep breath as he churned the last couple of numbers over in his head. No, three seconds wouldn't be enough, there would have to be at least one attack before or after the stun began. That meant the two of them would need to co-ordinate their attacks carefully if both of them wanted to survive. A smile smile crept onto Lutwin's face as the final number dropped into place, every possibility having being properly considered. At least, this way, even if he died Brelle would be able to get out.

"I'm going to run past him, when he turns to hit me you've got to hit him with your stun, then throw whatever else you've got at him. That should be enough to take him out. If I'm wrong, I can keep him on me long enough for you to finish it off. If that's the case, sprint to the edge of the forest and head east, it'll be the safest place to level up." He shot her a smile, before twirling the sword over in his hand and running forwards towards the wasp.

No sooner had he started running than the wasp charged him, just as he had expected. The beast readied it's stinger to attack, but Lutwin was ready for him. This was a game, which meant West could exploit the enemies programmed tactics. He raised his armoured shoulder to the stinger, letting the attack clang harmlessly off of the metal armour, thanks to an ability. As he dashed past, he swiped at the beast with the sword, merely grazing the beast but aggravating it enough to force it to turn and face him. Lutwin quickly turned around, facing the creature again. He couldn't block another attack, not right away, now was the time for Brielle's stun to hit. He couldn't wait to see if the spell would be successful, he simply had to trust in the stranger. He readied his sword and charged again, this time readying a heavy blow that would deal massive damage if it landed. His sword began to glow as he charged, building up energy as he sprinted at the wasp. He didn't know if it would be enough, but he had to hope it would be.

[MidnightRose]

Brielle did not like the idea of him basically acting as a distraction because she knew that put him at greater risk. But she also knew that they didn't have much choice. She would just have to trust his judgement if they were going to survive. She bit her lip anxiously when he charged the beast and exhaled when the stinger clanged harmless off his armor.

"Now is my chance!" She thought rushing forward. The wasp had its back to her making it easy for her to cast her spell. The top of her staff glowed violet. An orb of power shot from the staff and enveloped the wasp in a glowing light. The wasps movements slowed to a complete stand still. "1..." Brielle counted in her head charging her next attack. "2..." She prayed her mama would regenerate in time. Her staff glowed white this time. "3!"

She released from her staff a bolt of arcane energy. As the bolt flew the short distance between her and the creature, the wasps wings slowly began to beat up and down. This struck the wasp in the back at the same moment that West's sword hit it in the front. Brielle held her breath. If this didn't work she wouldn't have enough mana to attack again before one of them was hit.

[Gooblefly]

West felt his sword clash against the stunned wasp, just as it was starting to regain control of its movements. He felt the creature give as his sword pierced through the creature as the blow cleaved the creature in two. The wriggling mess of insect parts landed on the ground, smoldering from Brielle's magma blast. West stood, sword still drawn in the clearing, the slight spatter of insect blood staining his armour. This was his first fight, the first time he had put his life on the line. His heart was racing and his hands had begun to tremble again. The body of the beast began to crack and shattered in the same way the boy had before. West watched in a strange state of awe. This had been the singular most dangerous moment of West's life and he had enjoyed it. It was still the games that he had always loved, but now there was a new rush gained from killing monsters, like never before.

"You okay?" He panted, looking over to Brielle. He scanned her health bar, nodded and sheathed his sword "good. Come on, there are more where that comes from." He started moving before she had a chance to answer, moving swiftly towards the exit of the forest. As he walked, he scanned some of his stats. The wasp had given some experience, but not much. It was going to take more than that, a lot more. And, to top things off, this game was vicious. The zone had been marked as difficult, but not so dangerous that West would have expected a one shot kill on a new player. He was going to have to more cautious than he had first believed.

It didn't take long for the two of them to make it out of the forest without so much as a scratch on them when they did West turned to the girl.
"I'm going east from here." He loaded up his map and pointed out the plains he intended to level in to her. He turned to walk away but paused for a second, sighing and turning back. "If you wanted to, we could party up. It's be safer for a while." The words left his mouth before he really knew what he was saying, this was most uncharacteristic of him. He chalked it up to the fear of death, the lingering thought that the next creature he fought could be the last thing he ever did. However, the only thing he really knew was that he would feel safer with the Brielle joining him. It was going to be a long journey to the final boss and it would be easier with someone else helping him.

[MidnightRose]

Brielle exhaled immensely relieved when the creature split in two and shattered on the ground. Her heart was racing a mile a minute and she finally remembered to breath. They had done it! She couldn't believe they had done it! She had been almost certain that they would have faced the same fate as the boy. She was in ecstatic disbelief and barely heard West asking if she was all right. She nodded vaguely and when he walked off she quickly followed after him.

When they had cleared the forest she turned to face him as he started to walk away. She wanted to thank him but she didn't actually expect him to stick around. After all under the circumstances everyone had to watch out for themselves. So she was surprised when he turned back around and offered to team up. She blinked at him surprised by the offer.

She considered it for a moment. If he teamed up with her that would be one more responsibility that she would take on. If she agreed there was no way she would allow anything to happen to him. That made her nervous. This game was scary enough just worrying about her own life much less someone else. She couldn't help her protective instincts though. Growing up with two younger sister had given her a strong sense of protecting those around her. She didn't know if she could handle that responsibility however she had a feeling he was right.

It had taken both of them to take out that wasp, which was a relatively easy enemy. She shuddered to think what would happen if she went off alone. She decided that the safest, best course of action would be to team up with him just until she could get enough experience to play solo.

She nodded in agreement with a small smile, "I think it's a good idea. Thank you for helping me."

[Gooblefly]

West nodded without so much as a second glance, he swiped the air in front of him and loaded up the interface. It took him a second or two to find the invite button, having never looked for it in the past. He found it and soon enough there was a floating blue envelope in front of Brielle, waiting for her to accept it. West wanted to move on, but he was running through every social protocol he could think of right now and he understood that the polite thing to do in this circumstance was to wait patiently for her. He hopped anxiously from foot to foot as he did so, calming himself by running through numbers in his mind.

His previous route hadn't accounted for not being able to revive his character, but hadn't accounted for a partner. He didn't know much about the mage class, so his first step was to watch her battle and learn whatever he could, memorize as many statistics as possible. He had already seen a couple of her attacks, and they were both certainly useful tools now at his disposal. If the pair of them could take out the wasp from before, then the field that he planned on clearing up should be no real challenge. West didn't know much about this girl, but given the fight they had just won, at least he was pretty sure she was good at the game.

West gave up being patient and started slowly walking away, looking over his shoulder to make sure Brielle was following him. This situation was as alien as they came to West, but strategically it was the only thing that made sense. He needed to make sure he got a boost on the competition, and the detour into the forest had already cost him precious leveling time. He was now counting on the panic of the town being enough to grant him and Brielle the lead he needed to be able to survive. The world was dangerous enough as it was, but people in a panic were unpredictable, even for someone as socially awkward as West was. It was easy to learn the patterns of enemies, but People were harder to predict and it was the other players West truly feared.

[MidnightRose]

Brielle watched him pull up the invite and when the blue invitation appeared on her menu she clicked it instantly. When she did a diamond appeared next to West's screen name floating above his head. "Well no turning back now," she thought but she didn't feel anxious. She was terrified of all the other people and beasts around them but where West was concerned she felt... Comfortable.

When he started to walk away she quickly caught up and walked beside him. She was quiet for a moment but finally worked up the nerve to speak. "So... You seem to be very good at strategy. That was a brilliant plan with that wasp," she began slowly. "But anyway what I mean is, because you know how to plan I'll follow your lead. Whatever you need me to do. As a Mage I'm very effective support. Once I level a bit I'll learn defensive spells and even a couple healing spells. I won't be strong in offensive but I'll do my best."

[Gooblefly]

Damn. She was talking to him. West had truly hoped that the girl would be quiet, understand that he didn't really do people, but instead he simply rolled his eyes and put on his best, fake smile.
"I've been told that. I don't know really, my brain has always been able to understand these sorts of things." He explained with a slight shrug, following the path in his mind carefully, wandering off road so they didn't meet anyone travelling in the opposite direction and to make sure they weren't followed themselves. West was confident that no-one would have considered this particular area for leveling in yet, so he wanted to be careful not to alert other people to the possibilities. This plan would only work if it was just the two of them.

A support styled mage, that was original and it certainly piqued West's interest. It had never been a class that interested him much, given the lack of defenses they often struggled clearing harder bosses by themselves, and most people don't consider taking support options, preferring to use spells for high damage and killing creatures. The fact that this girl noticed the supportive potential of a normally offensive class forced West to have a little more respect for her than he previously did.
"It's not normally you meet a support mage," West mumbled to himself as he took long steps, striding up a small mound "That's a pretty ingenious idea. Oh, we're here." He grinned, offering Brielle a hand to the top.

Before them stretched a large plains, littered with wild boars and other basic enemies. But, most importantly, there were no other players to be seen, meaning that every piece of loot or experience they could harvest in this area was theirs for the taking. A smile spread across Wests face as a little exclamation mark suddenly hovered in front of him, he tapped it with his finger and a small box of text appeared in front of him
"As you see the boars of the Fields of Green, your mouth starts to water. You wonder how much the meat inside the beasts would sell for back in town." He read aloud, mostly to himself. Then, he looked up at Brielle "Seems like a pretty simple quest, kill boars and take meat to the next town over. If we're reasonably quick about it we can be the first players there. What do you say?"

[MidnightRose]

She continued the rest of the walk with him in silence, getting lost in her own thoughts. She began to think about the severity of their situation and wondered if she might ever get back home. Would she ever see her sisters? Her parents? Her friends? The thoughts made her extremely somber. "Stop that!" She thought to herself. "You cannot afford to think like that! Keep a level head and do what you need to do," she thought with a slow exhale.

When they reached the mound she took his hand and pulled herself up. When she gazed upon the plain she could help but be impressed. "Wow!" She said aloud admiring the view. She had to admit that this game had the most excellent graphics she had ever seen. The artists has skillfully used color, light and shading to create an environment that was a work of art.

As West described the quest to her she nodded with a smile. "It sounds like fun. Let's do it!" She said excitedly giving her staff a little twirl between her hands. Even though this game had become deadly it was still a game. She loved games and she fully intended to enjoy everything this game had to offer.

[Gooblefly]

West smirked, drawing his sword with a quick flourish and turned around, sprinting towards the nearest of the pack of boars. His mind was solely on the game, he had already forgotten about his life outside of this world. West didn't exist anymore, he was Lutwin, the knight that was going to clear this game single handedly. He flipped himself over the first boar he came to, slashing with his sword as he did so. West could never do things like this, Lutwin was superior in every way. He was faster, stronger and smarter. His sword glowed as he dodged the boars attack, stepping to one side and smashing the blade into the pigs side, obliterating it into a shroud of dust. A sudden wave of warmth filled Lutwin as the number next to his name ticked over to two. His first level up and it felt wonderful.

He spun around and dug his sword into the next boar. The boar struck back, goring West in the side. It hurt, a real physical pain that shot through West, more intense than anything that he had ever felt before, but he didn't stop. His HP bar was still in the green, so he swung his sword again and again, embracing the pain in his side and cleaving through the boar. He didn't need to think here, he just needed to play the game and it was an amazing game. He felt the weight of every strike of the sword, the throb of every hit the pig made. This was what games were supposed to be, an escape from the real world. If the whole game was going to be like this, he wasn't sure he wanted to return to the 'real' world.

This was where Lutwin belonged, away from people in a field of boars watching numbers fly across his screen. He was already learning so much about his new home. Using his abilities were just as familiar to him as breathing was, his motions were fluid and graceful, something he could never be outside. This was what living was supposed to feel like. It wasn't about sitting in a chair looking at a screen, wondering about what people thought and felt about you, it was about leaping around killing boars inside the game. It was about the adventure.
"This... This is the greatest I've ever felt." West whispered between boars, more to himself than to anyone else, but still loudly enough for others to hear him.

[MidnightRose]

Ralia smiled and followed after him, attacking a nearby group of boats. Her fighting style was less acrobatic, less physical but graceful. She could feel the magic pulsing from her chest, flowing to her hands and channeling through her staff. It was exhilarating. This was unlike any gaming experience had ever had.

In real life Brielle had little coordination or grace but here as Ralia she felt elegant and confident. She flourished her staff in intricate patterns sending bolts of energy flying in three directions striking three boars. A boar leapt at her from behind but with a simple twirl and a flick of her staff she stunned it. She took two quick steps before swinging her staff striking the boat down. She felt a wave of warmth similar to her magic and smiled at the number two that appeared next to her name. The first level up was always so satisfying. However this experience made it exponentially more so because she could physically feel the power, the movements, the attacks.

She leapt gracefully to the next group of boars stunning one upon landing. Another struck her in the side and she was intrigued by the sensation of pain. It was so different to experience a game in which she could feel the damage. It added a bit of urgency but also greatly enhanced her adrenaline. She swung her staff swiftly stabbing the point into the boar sending an electric shock through its body until it shattered. At that point the stunned boar leapt up and she slid beneath it striking it in the back with a bolt of magic. She straightened up exhaling happily. She felt so alive!

[Gooblefly]

One by one, the boars fell and after a handful more, West felt the surge again. He culled through the boars one at a time, starting to perfect the art of killing pigs so he didn't take any damage. West's prediction about this field proved to be correct, the creatures were easy enough to handle and because they were technically a higher level than them, they received more experience points as a reward for slaying them than they would most other mobs. It wasn't long before they had reached level four, with just a little more experience before they hit level five. By this point, West was beginning to tire. He had more stamina in this world, but they had been killing boars for around an hour, non stop and it was growing late. More importantly, West was growing hungry.
"I think that's enough boars." West called out to Brielle.

West sheathed his sword and collected his things, double checking that the had enough meat to hand in the quest. With the amount of time the pair had been grinding here, there was plenty. The sight of it made his mouth water slightly. And, then, reality came crashing down. For the past few hours, he had forgotten he was inside a video game, trapped. He had been thinking about logging out, ordering a pizza, but that would never happen. While other people were wondering if they would ever see their families again, West was wondering about his own body. How would it survive? It would need sustenance, to be cared for. Suddenly, he was slightly scared.

He swallowed and shook it off. Lutwin wouldn't be scared by such trivial things, so neither should he. He hoisted a cloth sack over his shoulder with everything he had collected from the boars, planning to sell it on at the next town and wandered over to Brielle.
"Here's your share of the quest stuff." He said, handing her a small package wrapped in cloth "I'm going to go straight to the next town and hand in this quest, you're welcome to join me. If you want to go your own way now, that's fine too."

[MidnightRose]

When Brielld heard him call out she straightened up from collecting meat from a boar she had just killed. "All right," she called back walking over to him. She weaved in an out of the corpses, several of which were starting to disappear in flashes of light.

She was surprised to realize she felt tired and hungry. She would have thought that as a video game character she wouldn't feel these trivial necessities. Then she remembered that this was no ordinary game and the weariness and pangs of hunger she felt were very real. She took the pouch from him with a nod storing it in her bag. She shook her head, "No I'd like to join you. I think it's safer if we travel together. Besides I want to turn in the quest, buy some food and hopefully find an inn. That was fun but exhausting," she said with a grin.

She checked her nap before she began walking with him. After a few moments of silence she said, "So West... Do you play a lot of video games?" She asked curiously.