Private - First Dive, Maithe Woods, And Honeyhome Village

Clair arrived home after a long days work excited for a change. It was the start of his weekend and he was going straight into the virtual world. Earlier this week he was invited to a new virtual game. It came with a huge warning, but such high raging views. How could he as an avid gamer not at least try this new game? Dropping his bags at the door and make a straight line for his room. He placed the headset over his head and laid down on the bed before booting up the device. He selected the option for the game new Terrasphere it was called.

Upon booting up Clair found himself standing in a very bland room with nothing around but the silhouette of a person. Upon closer inspection he realized it was an exact replica of himself but in a pair of black underwear. A sigh escaped his lips as he stared at the underwear disappointed in the color choice. Touching the underwear opened a menu with colors, this is when he realized it was a creator. This is where he creates his game self of avatar. Excited he went to work. First order of business change the underwear to sky blue, he hated black it was a boring color to him.

Next step he changed his hair color to pink, and eyes yellow. Pulling on his hair made it grow out more increasing the length ever so slightly. Placing both palms on beneath the avatars ears he bought them down toward the chin rounding out his face a bit more and giving him a more feminine appearance. Leaving his build alone as he enjoyed his normal build it was very fitting to him. The final touch was placing his hand on the top of the avatars head and pushing down shorting the avatar by a couple inches. Standing back he nodded in approval of the avatar he had just made. Making a fist and opening it revealed that a small menu that only read ACCEPT as an option.

Upon clicking the ACCEPT button one final prompt appeared in a large box in front of him:

CHARACTER NAME:
Valentine Wylde
​

After typing the name of his character a window appeared that asked if wanted this name. Upon answering yes, a second window appeared asking him what mastery's and vocations he would like to peruse in the universe of Terrasphere. Selecting the three mastery's he found most interesting (Aeromancy, Hydromancy, Pyromancy) and the two vocations (Archaeology, Investigation). Another window appeared and asked him if he was sure these were the choices he wanted. Answering yes caused the scenery to disappear and Clair fainted.

While fainted he could hear a deep echoing voice speaking to him:
"You are Magus!

You posses magic!

You Feel magic!

You Mold magic!

You Control magic!

YOU ARE MAGUS!!!!!" ​

As the voice faded away he woke up to find himself laying on a bed of moss over a rock. The green fluff was extremely soft, and prevented him from even feeling the rock underneath him. Reaching out to touch the green moss part of his hair flopped down onto his face. It was a vibrant pink,and felt soft to the touch. Much like the moss he was laying on.

Slowly he brought himself to a standing position. His body ached, and he felt extremely tired, but that would be expected from the mental force he had put in so far. Looking around there were tree's, rocks, moss, leaves, and a creek surrounding him. The vibrant forest was beautiful with it mix of green, orange, and red coloring. Off in the distant the sound of running water could be heard. Walking over to the running creek he leaned over to see what he looked like. To his surprise he was exactly as he had made the avatar. He was no longer Clair, but was now Valentine Wylde. A wide grin crept across his face as he stood there and admired the scenery around him.

 

Friday, 5:35 pm

It was the day after a terrible gambling run at Pas Vargas. Akio had only managed to keep just enough of his tax return to pay for his fair back home on one of those cross state buses(Like a Grey hound). He plopped himself face first into his fluffy couch and was prepared to let the darkness take hold of him. " Pfft shitty card games...bunch of chee'tahs", he'd say under his breath. For a good while he did sleep, but was disturbed by his wrist watch. It was one of those fancy models which had a holo gram of the other person if they had a program similar to skype or their own hologram watch. He heard what he'd only describe as an annoying anime ringtone blar through the dead silent room.

His dog, aptly named Dog, was barking up a storm. It was hungry and that ringtone also made him agitated. " Alright alright boy, hold the phone k"? He scratched his head and ignored the call as he poured some kibbles and bits into a generic metal bowl, sprinkled with a few bacon flavored dog treats. He looked down at the dog who was sitting obediently with his tongue sticking out. " Tch, who said it was yours"? As he went to place it in the fridge, it whimpered. Akio shot him a knowing glare,but Dog knew better. " good boy", the mini giant would say as he scooched the bowl over to his canine companion.

He then checked the message, which to his surprise was not from his friend at all. It was an invitation to a game called Terrasphere. He squinted and fixated on the part about it being for his safety and scoffed at it. " tch, probably one those assho--", was all he could say before the ring tone blared again.

assho--: Eyyy Aki boy what's up? Did ya get the forwarded message?
Akio: Yea name looks like it's in some funky foreign language. Gonna delete it.
assho--: Nah nah man just give it a try. I just called ya to let cha know. Figured you'd need an escape after your last skitter post. hehe
Akio: Tch thi---
assho--: Just try it. Let's party up later! K bye

Akio saw the hologram disappear into a cloud of smoke. It was his friend Todd, who liked all that kind of stuff. However they were old childhood friends who played games on and off. So far he had never given a bad recommendation and this one was free. So he plopped himself on his couch again and strapped his vr goggles on. The world disappeared and he was left looking at a humanoid figure accentuated by light in a void of darkness. " Hmm", he'd say as he scratched his chin or rather, thought about it.

" Aight let's start with a cute face...right right there we go. Brunette oh baby! Short yes please, and uhhh ninja. Feeling fancy today", he said with a snicker. He was scouring the web and mixing and matching different looks for his character until he found the perfect look, at least to his needs. " Now to name ya...hmm, elane? Nahh...eliz--- too generic. Alana. Sounds coo".

Would you like to randomize your masteries?
​

Akio shook his head and tried to click no, but he was still getting used to the control for getting things set up. Just like many other games he accidentally pressed yes.

Piercing: You will one day pierce the heavens!​

" Wait a second, hold the phone", he shouted in his head.

Incognito: Boxing with you will be like boxing with shadow.​

" God dang it, stop it ffs", he shouted again.

Heroic strength: You will move continents one day!​

" NAh nah man that's terrible! Go back back back"! However as he was frantically pushing the escape button he felt his mind blur for a second. Darkness gave away to light shattering apart like glass. He was hovering for a moment over a tunnel of psychedelic light. " Wait wait can we talk this over game"? But before he could protest further he was sucked into the light as it became brighter by the second, until it came to a head.

​

When he came to, which felt like an eternity in his mind, he was standing in a forest. He tried to cross his arms out of habit, but felt something bouncy get in the way. Akio looked down to find he had breasts, supple bouncy tits which got in the way of folded arms. " Hmm", he said out loud. " Eeep what the fuck"? Although his inner voice was his own, he could hear a woman's voice. He felt around himself and grinned. He left his soft fingers run through his ninja girl avatar from its voluptuous thighs, up to its perky breasts. " hehe whoever coded this crap really had their priorities set", he said as a big grin formed on the avatar's face. A pop up jumped out in front of him. It was a tutorial window asking if he wanted to begin.

" hell no, hate that shit", the avatar said. The pop up came up again saying he could skip it at anytime or cancel it at any moment. " Yea except this one huh"? The avatar's dainty finger pressed yes and instantly a big grid came up in front of him. " ehhh wtf man...oh that looks cool", the avatar grinned and pressed on the spear icon. Immediately it was plopped in the avatar's hands. It was a Brandistock around 5 feet long, made of a fairly light pine. "heh, they did a good job. It feels like a real weapon is in my hands", he said as he plopped it down into the dirt. The weapon hit the ground with an all too real thud and it felt somewhat heavy in just one hand. But before he could begin the tutorial, he heard another thud.

The avatar looked around for a moment before moving toward whatever made the sound. Though it wasn't completely quiet before he was a loud mouth, the thud caught his attention. As he began to travel toward it, the avatar dismissed the pop up with a nonchalant whisk of its dainty fingers and put the spear back into its slot. It took a few moments to bring up the tab at his on his hand, then another few moments to find inventory and find the right command to make ti go back in. Most of this were mental commands since he didn't have a keyboard, so it was rather awkward for the fellow.

Soon enough the avatar was running through the surprisingly empty woods to find what looked to be a pink haired girl. " Ey.. uh girl! What's up? Are you new like me"? The avatar would begin to slow its roll as he waited for a response. However something was lurking near by. The bushes were rustling, but they were too deliberate for just a passing critter. "hmm note to self, look up the beastiary pages...or something", the avatar would say under its breath as it peeked into a different direction.

 

The scenery had kept Val preoccupied from everything happening around him. Excitement swelling within as he stood staring into the distance as though he were in a trance. Fixated on the immense amount of detail they had put into the world. Everything looked, smelled, and felt real. Following this tread he got even more excited as that meant everything most certainly tasted real to. After a few minutes of mind blowing excitement his trance like state was broke by the sound of a female voice.

Turning his head slightly to the side and turning around a look of surprise appeared on his face as he looked over the shorter woman standing before him. Surprise quickly turned into a smile and without warning Val jump forward giving the woman a hug. The question being asked set his mind to the fact that he must not be an NPC. Having read that it was extremely difficult to tell the difference the between PC's and NPC's in Terrasphere, but what NPC would ask if someone was new as they were.

"Yes. This is my first dive." Stepping back a bit afters speaking he put his hand to his mouth. He had forgotten to mess with the avatar's voice setting and new his voice was far more soft and higher pitched then he intended. He easily could be mistaken for a woman through and through now. His voice could no longer be his saving grace. "Oh, dang it. I was so excited I forgot to mess with the voice setting............." Pacing in a circle as he went on a mini rant about how he forgot to mess with the voice setting, and he didn't like the clothes he was currently wearing because it was just a boring white robe. He seemed to have forgotten that there was another person with him, as he suddenly stopped and looked over at the woman surprised again.

"Wanna explore the forest with me? It will be suuuuuuuper fun." With a wink he stuck out his tongue before pulling back in and walking over to the female avatar waiting a response.

The rustling in the nearby bushes had become louder and more frequent. It was deliberate and something appeared to be lurking from within the shadows. One must never forget the game is intended to feel real, and there is no telling what would be prowling in the woods. Just because it was the starter area did not mean it was safe.

As Val stood beside the woman he watched the rustling in the bushes. Two rustles a pause followed by a very long rustle then it would stop for a few seconds. Repeating itself every fifteen seconds or so. Curious about what it was he began to approach the bush. When he came within five feet of the bush a large green slime popped out of the bush and landed before him. Val fell backwards onto his bottom as he looked up at the slime creature before him in amazement.

​

"SOOOOOO COOOOOL!" He shouted as he jumped up turning his head back to the lady who was now behind him. "We should fight it. First monster kill. WOOOOOOO!" The name above the monsters head was orange and read Dire Green Slime. Knowing that from most games orange monsters would be harder he had really hoped that his soon to be partner in the game would help him out with this. Then it dawned on him, he didn't have a weapon, or even know how to use magic. 'Just play it cool.' he mumbled to himself.

 

Friday 6:12 pm

Akio felt what he was assuming a woman plant itself into herself and restrict his movement. " ahh haa right nice to meet cha too strang--er". Meanwhile the rustling started to settledown, almost as if whatever was there had calmed down. Akio noticed the washboard of a chest the girl had and blinked a few times. The stranger pulled back though and began to get lost in its own train of thought. " uhhh right...voice settings"?

The stranger had seemingly been lost in its own thoughts. Then like a switch the stranger came to and invited him to explore the surrounding area. The avatar nodded and turned to the bush that had caught his attention earlier. The stranger was inclined to check as well. Akio raised a hand and said, " eyy before we do that let's check out our sk----illls....", but it was already too late. The stranger had aggro'd something interesting, or perhaps mundane. It depends on your perspective, and to Akio it was more toward the former. The beast which popped out slunk out with a familiar anime sound effect that you'd expect it to have. Its body oscillated as it crept forward, opening its mouth to reveal a dark maw.

" We don't even have ou---who am I kidding it's just a game. Aight you're on stranger! Whoever gets the kill gets some gold or some shit". The avatar closed before he raised his palm up to eye level. "Open.. open stupid bastard", he said under his breath. Then without warning he felt a tingle on the avatar's palm, showing the inventory from before. The avatar pushed the button and with that, a flash of light formed in its right hand, with a loud thud as the base of its pole hit the ground.

" Stand back strange loli, I got this"! A pop up showed up in front of his face as the avatar leaned forward. She quickly swiped it away and took the weapon in both hands. He grimaced along with his avatar. " Pheww that felt like I was picking up something heavy. This shit is coo"! What Akio didn't know was he just refused the assist mode, which could have activated his heroic strength at least.

Like an anime character he took a deep breath before sprinting forward. The weapon was a little unsteady, falling to the ground once as he charged forth. The monster in response roared back and tried to lunge forward. Akio gathered his bearings and stepped back while focusing everything into his arms. " take this"!

The brandistock flew through its maw, for it was a big beast. However it felt like stabbing cement. Akio's avatar's eyes bulged a second in fear, before the avatar took a step back while abandoning the spear. "Tch what the crap". The pole of the weapon hit the ground with a thud, before being flailed around as the monster tried to dislodge it. " Stranger, what do we do now"? He asked, while shrugging. Although never taking his eyes off the enraged beast, who was now slowly encroaching upon them.

 

Stepping back Val watched as the fight unfolded before him trying to make it not appear obvious that he didn't know what he was doing. Quickly making a fist and turning it over he looked through the menu and found inventory, only to be greeted by nothing. He had no items no weapons what was he going to do. Remembering the voice before he awoke in these now god forsaken woods. He paused and searched for abilities.

'Yes.' He mumbled as he now had a listing of six different magic spells. Two in each category of magic that he had selected. Wondering if Terrasphere worked like other mmo's he had played he slotted the abilities to his user interface and clicked the Fireball ability. His avatar began to move all on its own as it made a large circle with both hands slowly coming together to form a ball. Inside his hands he could feel the heat emanating from within when his avatar locked onto the slime creature before him.

Sudden sharp pain meet with his abdomen as the handle from the woman's spear made contact with his side and set him tumbling to the ground. Effectively interrupting his spell cast. Holding his now bruised and aching side he angrily and with out thinking punched the giant green monster in the back. Worst mistake he could make as the green sludge engulfed his hand and slowly began to pull him in.

"Uh......Help...... Help........"The panicked expression gave left nothing to be questioned as the green sludge slowly ate away his hand and pulled him ever so slowly in. 'Skills, there has to be something.' Mumbling to himself as he used his free hand to scroll through the menu's. Accidentally turning on the simulation mode for pain and the assist mode for abilities a scream escaped his mouth.

"AHHHHHHHHH! MY ARM! MY ARM! IT BURNS!" Tears welling up in his eyes as he was now feeling the full gravity of the acid burning through his flesh. Trying to calm himself down he focused on something anything he could. In this case he focused on the words spoken to him. Since the user interface was no longer allowing him to cast spells at the touch of a button he need to learn how to quick. 'You are Magus. You posses magic. You feel magic. You mold magic. You control magic. You are Magus.' Over and over he repeated this to himself until he couldn't bare it anymore. Anger over took him and he focused the anger on his his hand as it began to heat up.

"Fire Touch!" Words flew from his mouth a huge burst of fire erupted from his stuck hand melting part of the slime long enough for him to get free. "Finally, ahh my arm. My poor arm it hurts." Once again over taken by anger he almost kicked the slime but was quickly reminded how that ended for him last time by the ache that rose from his now damage and limp arm.

"RUN! FOLLOW THE CREEK!" Shouting as he sprinted down the creek bed. His right arm just dangling there with random burn marks all over it. After a small bit of running he could see a small bridge built over the creek. Must be a road and it must lead somewhere. "I THINK I SEE A ROAD!" Glancing behind to see if the woman had followed him. Either way once he got to the road he followed it in the opposite direction of the slime monster they fought. After a good fifteen minute walk the forest left them, and exposed a small quaint village.

 

Friday 6:17 pm

Akio backed off matching the creatures advance to keep himself a few steps out of the creature's range. " Ahh kiting, how I love it so...WHEN I CAN DO SOMETHING"! He didn't actually dodge any of the monsters attacks but rather kept trailing to keep the avatar away from the beast and his toothpick of a spear. However there was a change in the monster, whose pupil dilated for a moment as its changed direction. " Hey ya you bedd--ah run...", he said as he looked toward where it was headed. " is it a change in aggro or something"?

He cautiously, but quickly kept pace with the monster keeping a distance of around 3 meters while cupping his hands to call out to the loli, " Eyy loli chick stop it"! He grimaced and yelled out against as it came barreling in on valentine saying, " C'mon kid stop messing around"! Valentine didn't respond, but he had a cool look which left Akio somewhat awestruck at the display. To Akio it was one of his fantasies to case magic and this didn't just seem like a cold animation of a normal video game,but something out of a fantasy novel or anime. But that was interrupted just as the fireball really started to rage between Valentine's cupped hands.

The spear cracked upon him with a harsh thud, sending the little kid flying back like a rag doll. The slime now closing in on him, letting the spear drag on the ground. " Tch noob moment? Did he freeze up? Whatever", he said to himself as he launched himself at the spear. As he did he looked at his palm to see a skills menu, one of them being herculean might. " Tch interesting, fuck no don't need no autocasting bs"! The avatar starting to crack the ground slightly with each step, making thunderous thuds roar throughout the area. For a moment he closed his eyes and grabbed the spear, while stomping hard on the ground to get some leverage.

" Here goes something"!

The spear budged and it budged hard, making the creature pull away from the loli. However in the crucial moment Akio needed to pull it out, he faltered and got winded. He felted the spear leave the avatar's grasp as if it were his own and give his hands some fierce friction burns. The monster paused and narrowed its goofy eyes onto akio's avatar, damn near making him wet himself. " ahaha come and get some stupid"! He thrust himself up with the strength of his arms and legs in tandem and began to run away, but didn't hear anything. The avatar turned to see the boy had once again gotten himself into trouble, but worse. The monster slowly began to move to engulf the loli. Akio didn't understand why, but the way the pink haired idiot yelled gave him a sense of urgency and dread, that he never believed could happen with a mere video game.

He sprinted wordlessly, tunneling in on the spear and wrapped his avatar's dainty fingers around it once more, this time acting on instinct alone. He stomped to shake the area around him as he once again pulled his weapon again. The monster had started to extend itself and began to move to wrap itself around the boy,but instead its somewhat viscous and consistent body was its undoing for the moment. Akio had managed to use his herculean might. Its body gurgled and oscillated like a giant water bed mixed with silly putty. " C'mon kid"!

Just like that, his plea was answered with a light from the other side of the monster and fire that slowly began to engulf it. The monster too distressed to notice him or the boy started to flail about in a faster manner. He knew there was nothing he could do, so he ran. On the other side he saw the loli freed with a rather banged up arm with green residue left over and a meter over his head. It was at 75 percent more or less, while the slime behind them had a similar meter. Something he didn't notice till this moment.

He nodded his head when the pink haired girl(he presumed) said something about a stream. " Whatever your guess is as good as mine! I'm in kid", his avatar said while giving him a thumbs up. The two would sprint in a rush and not stop until they saw the outskirts of a small village. At the last stretch Akio's avatar tripped,sliding hard on its hands and knees. Scrapes which seemed too real filled his field of vision, blood and a stinging he didn't think could be real coursed through his body. His legs felt as if he was really running and his lungs were on fire. Hell even sweat coursed down his avatar's cheeks which felt all too real.

" Damn what the hell is this game"?​

 

The last stretch of woods before the opening to the plains and village the lady following him tripped and crashed into the ground. She appeared puzzled as she sat on the ground looking over her wounds. He understood why, not long ago he too was dealing with the shock of how real this game felt. Reminding him of his arm pain which had all but gone away by this point. Walking over he leaned down and slid an arm under the girls shoulder and helped her to her feet. Shocked by the cuts that now stained her legs.

"It's so real isn't it. Sorry about before, I must have turned on a different setting or something. The pain in my arm went from a ache to full on burning. Hehe" Chuckle escaped his mouth as he rubbed his head innocently. With a big smile he patted the woman on the back. " Well at least we are alive and safe!" Pulling his fist into his body as some form of victory dance.

Slowly both them walked through the last bit of forest and into the open field. Both appeared winded, and now both were injured. Seeming to have lost the slime Val plopped down onto his behind to catch his breath just in time to hear the lady ask a question about the game.

"My friends said the game is supposed to make you feel everything. Just as they used to back when VR first came out, but I didn't expect this." Laying on his back in a patch of grass he stared off into the clouds above. The soft grass embraced him as though it were designed to act as a resting spot or a bed.

"Names Valentine Wylde by the way, but I prefer Val. Nice to meet ya." With a smile he stuck out his hand toward the lady from his current position on his back in the grass. He hoped the lady whom had found him in the woods and ran from the beast would at least introduce herself to him.

With his other free hand he opened the menu and began to cycle through the menus to see if he could find some form of party invite or friends list something. During that time he noticed a small bar at the bottom corner of his user interface that was red in color and just barely over halfway full. Assuming this was his health that beast had done a lot of damage to him in such a short amount of time. It was shocking, but what do you expect when you fight something stronger than you without understanding the game you are in. Looking over at the woman with him he noticed that she had a small red bar as well. Her's was mostly full with just a tiny piece missing, falling had apparently actually hurt her ever so slightly and even took health from her.

Just then it hit him. This smell. This beautiful glorious smell wafted through the air. A growled could be heard from his stomach as he lay there perplexed by the scent in the air. "Do you smell that? Mmmmmmm....... It smells so good." Val stood and inhaled as much as he could through his nose. The scent of freshly baked bread filled his nostril as he fell backwards onto the grass impressed with this beautiful scent. "I bet it's coming from the village. Come on we should go and check it out. Plus uh...... I'm hungry." Standing he looked over at the lady with a cheerful smile.

The verdant plains stretched out before them with a small town resting in the center. The town seemed to be where the road lead with a few farms along its path. It was impressive that the scent of fresh bread would travel this far, but nevertheless it filled the air of the road. Beckoning to travelers exiting the woods for the first time. Leading them into the village, to a meal, a place to sleep, and some work if they wanted to help out.

 

Friday 6:40 pm

Akio had gone with the flow and followed who he considered to be a loli looking girl out toward the edge of the forest. He scoffed at himself internally for such a minor fall, but couldn't fully erase the look of discomfort written on his face as he stood back up. The two came out to a meadow where he finally got a name to place on who he assumed a girl's face. " Val eh, nice ta meet'cha. The name's Ak-- I mean Alana", he'd say as the avatar's hand firmly grasped Val's for a hand shake. " Say.. ya look more banged up than I remember. Perhaps ya took some dot damage. Maybe we sh--wahbalhg what's the rush"?

The avatar stepped back as Val suddenly cut him off and began to go off doing his own thing. Out in the distance, across the meadow was a small settlement. Val being a bit rash, rushed off to the smell of honey and other similar baked good. Akio's avatar squinted at him as he shot him a smile, to which he couldn't help but grin back. " Fine fine whatever. Maybe the food heals ya or something".

As the two hit the streets of honeyhome, they were inundated with the smell of flowers and baked goods. The place was nice and quiet, as if it were in a vacuum. Just a mile back, give or take was a rampaging slime monster and here a seemingly undefended village stands against the forest without a care in the world. Akio's avatar would sometimes attract the attention of people, with his bright crimson robes and cute face. He grinned and waved as if it were only natural people recognized how cute his waifu was." Well you head onto the bakery to get yerself some grub. I'm a see if there's meat somewhere. Too much sweetness. Yuck"!

Although as she said this, the town's temple bell was being rung. Akio jolted up to attention, flinching as he gazed in the direction of the bell tower. Others around him all muttered among themselves, before heading toward it. Only the shop owners manned their posts still, but they did so with worried expressions. " Hmm, these npcs seem awfully real. They actually looked worried"! He began to race off to the temple gleefully, but slowed down after a few minutes of running because of how the npc's around him reacted. It was as if he were looking at groups of actual people who were disgusted by an inappropriate display. Like a gleeful fellow at a funeral or a jester making a mockery of a serious meeting at work. Akio's avatar slowed and he pondered for a moment what was going on while scratching his head with a confounded expression.

"Not from around here huh stranger"? Akio's avatar looked up to see a 5'10'' man looming over him. He was clad in armor, the first person in this town who seemed at all capable of defending the place. A 5 foot long sword was strapped to his back and various knifes were holstered at his hip. The fellow held out a rather imposing hand and said, " I'm the town blacksmith. Name's Dorian". Akio took his hand and gave him a nice firm hand shake, both individuals seemed to be able to match eachother's strength. " The name's Alana. I was quite wielded out Dorian. All these npcs they're so real"!

As the man retracted his hand, he rubbed his chin and glanced at Akio as if he was crazy. " Not sure where you hail from stranger,but these are regular people. Hard working and generally honest folk". He paused and leaned down to look Akio's avatar in the eyes. He retracted a bit by taking a step back,but didn't break his gaze with the fellow."They wouldn't take kindly to being called strange things,but you're wearing some strange garb...so I assume that's just jargon from yer home country right"? Akip looked at him funny and thought himself, Wouldn't be surprised if these were are pc's but dang they take rping seriously. Akio coughed to clear throat and said, " Ahh yea sorry about that fella. Say want to explain what's going on"?

Dorian slapped his shoulder, making him and said, " Sure sure not a problem, my shops right over here near the bakery. We can talk there". With that the two ended up going back a little bit away from the crowds to his shop. Akio stood at the doorway and was amazed by the amount of weaponry on display. " It's all soooo cooool", he said as he absentmindedly gawked at the different swords, axes, and bows on display. " Thank ye kindly stranger, but these are actually low grade weaponry. Nothing too fancy, just enough to let folks arm themselves out 'ere. But back to the point, ya should know them bells don't ring often". Akio found a stool, probably for customers to use to haggle with the owner, and took a seat on the opposite side of the counter. He nodded his head and gave him a gesture to continue. " Yep them bells only ring if there's an emergency. Last time they rung we had an envoy from the frontlines of a war tell us about the young folk who perished fighting for our home. This time however, it's probably due to big bubba".

"big bubba"? He nodded and said, "It's a troublesome slime, has a history with honeyhome. Last time it was spotted it ate a little girl". Akio gulped as if he were listening to one of his horror stories on youtube and asked, "history? Why is it here again and why wasn't taken care of before"? Dorian shook his head and said, "Folk 'round here are simple farmers, tailors, and bakers. We ain't got the magic nor sheer power to take it down". Akio tilted his head, then asked, " well what about asking for help"?

Dorian shrugged and shook his head. " Ehh, city slickers ain't gonna come out 'ere for cheap. They think its a waste of time". Akio paused and contemplated for a moment, before saying, "then what's the sitch? Like y'all seemed to have beat it before, why is the beast a recurring problem"? Dorian gave him Akio a stern look before standing up and staring at the ceiling, in what seemed to be an effort to gather his thoughts. "Priest says it gets stronger everytime we just barely manage to ward it off. Thing started eating chickens, but now it's graduated toward people".

He looked down to glance at Akio who withdrew a little. He laughed and began looking around at his armaments. Without warning he pulled up what looked to be a heavy looking sheathed sword. He tossed it up a couple of times, likely to demonstrate how heavy it was, before tossing it up in an arc toward Akio. The petite avatar reacted by pushing the skill button for Herculean strength. His eyes glowed faintly with a crimson aura as he caught it while thrusting his foot back to create more leverage for which to stand with it. " Hey what the heck man"? Dorian laughed and gave akio a confident grin. He stepped back and dropped the sword and said, " uhh I don't want any trouble Dorian".

"I bet you can do it! You can take care of Big Bubba and save Honeyhome! Take whatever weapon to aide ya in this endeavor, please"! Dorian clasped both hands together and closed his eyes with a scrunched up face. " I just ran from the bugger, what makes ya think I could beat it"? Dorian grinned and said, "I felt in your handshake, though you may beh smol, you got power. With a proper weapon I reckon you could fare well against it. So let's make a deal, I'll help ya prep for the fight if'n ya agree to fight it. Comes with a free weapon"!

Akio scratched his chin and thought about it. " you can teach me how to fight a little better"? He nodded with a confident grin. " Can ya help my dopey air headed friend as well"? He looked at Akio with a puzzled expression and said, "Ya got a wierd way of talking stranger,but yes I probably can find someone who can if I can't". Akio's avatar nodded as he went out the door, " Aight lemme go find my bud. Then we can talk"!

 

The road they had traveled on from the forest lead them directly to the town square. Stones filled the road aiding it in times of rain and snow. Creating an almost gravel type substance to walk on. Which would be painful for one without shoes. Distance from the edge of the woods to town square was about fifteen yards. Presenting as a soothing beautiful walk along the edge of the grassy plains aided in comfort by the scent of freshly baked goods.

A few buildings lined the road as they approach the town center. It was a large circular area surrounded by a few buildings and a large well in the center. The road split into multiple different paths. One path lead further north to a larger hill that had a building at the top of it. Other paths branched off leading out to different homesteads each one supporting a variety of farms that helped support the village. The aroma of freshly baked bread was slowly introduce to the smell of fresh flowers. Creating a symphony of aromatic delight throughout the village and town square. Most buildings were stone made presenting grey in color with some small fragments of green. A few made of wood which were darker in color, made from wood cut from the trees of the nearby forest.

Excitement overtook Val as they walked into the small town. The lack of noise and beautiful aroma intrigued him even more. Each building caught his attention drawing him to the varying degrees of details they each had. Each building in itself told a tale, a story. This only excited him even more to the point that he didn't even realize his traveling companion had spoke him before he walked off. Focused mainly on the scent that drew him to this location he wasted no time in finding the bakers shop. Examining every building he could along the way.

The beautiful scent of freshly baked bread was all encompassing. Lifting his nostril to enlightenment. This scent was rarely ever present in the city from which he came and he wanted to embrace it with all his being. Standing in the middle of the shop he closed his eyes and just imagined what this bread tasted like. When he was interrupted by the quiet, high pitched voice of a woman about half his height.

"Excuse me." She spoke as she stood there behind the counter with a basket of bread in her hands. "Would you like to try a piece?"

"YES!" Words flew out of his mouth before he even realized what was happening.

Quickly he placed a hand over his moth and apologized for yelling. The woman chuckled gently to herself before breaking off a piece of a loaf and handing it to him. Staring at this beautiful crisp piece of bread in his hand. He debated if he wanted to actually consume it and be rid of it forever. Placing it next to his nose he gave a good whiff as he reveled in the scent of the bread. It was GLORIOUS, but the sense of this being a game rushed back to him. Curiosity grew as the desire to know if the bread gave benefits increased. Opening the game menu he searched and searched, but couldn't find anything about the bread. There was no icon, no symbol, and no description even of what was in his hand. His knowledge of this item was exactly what is was before he opened the menu. In fact this was the moment he realized that he didn't even have an inventory option. This game was turning out to be more realistic than he had ever imagined it would be.

The bread however grew colder by the second as he mused about the varying aspect this game lacked. No inventory screen, no item descriptions, and no tutorial, but none of that mattered. What mattered now was this piece of bread. Lifting it to his mouth he took a bite. The bread was moist and warm. Texture however was amazing the soft porous center was encased in a hard crunchy outer shell. Flavors melded as he chewed more and more. A rich earthy flavor filled his mouth with hint of sweetness. Shutting his eyes he embraced the flavor of the bread. Opening his eyes to the sound of the woman's gentle chuckle once again.

"We make the best bread in the nation." She stood there staring with a smile on her face as she continued to place the bread out onto the shelf in a very organized manner.

"Well I can't speak for the rest of the nation, but this is the best bread I have ever had in my life. How much for a loaf?" Asking as he began to pat himself down to find what could be his money poach since he couldn't find the inventory screen. Having no luck he returned to the menu's and continued to search for an inventory screen. This is when he noticed that his health bar hadn't increased in the slightest the bread hadn't healed him at all, but this was what he was coming to expect in this game. Realistic is realistic. "Ummm, actually Ma'am where do I get healed?" He held out his arm as he asked.

"Oh you poor dear. Call me Mads, but what you mean healed?" She asked giving him a quizzical but slightly confused looked.

"Who treats your injuries in the village?" Responding with a bit of confusion himself, but then realizing maybe they don't refer to healing a person as such, or maybe they don't know what healing magic is.

"Well....... there is the village doctor, or you could go to the chapel. The large building on the hill and speak to the priest there. Their blessed by the God's and perform miracles." Her tone remained static but her facial expression turned to concern as she looked down at his injured arm. "Here dear, have a loaf on me." She gave a cute wink with a gentle smile as she handed him a loaf of bread.

"Okay I will. Thank you, Mads" Giving a cheeky grin as he walked away from the young lady.

Exiting the bakery he noticed the mass of people whom had gathered around the center of the town. In his moment of bliss when the excitement of the city had overtaken him. He must have missed something important as everyone was now slowly beginning to disperse from the location with varied expressions going from fear, worry, and panic to the extreme of anger, and malice. Then he remember his friend he came with. Knowing he had mentioned the bread to his friend he walked back into the bakery and asked Mads to tell his friend he went to the chapel. Describing his friend in as great a detail as he could.

Leaving the bakery now for the second he noticed the crowd that was once present and dispersing was now completely gone.People were returning home and starting to lock up for the night. Even though it was still daylight the sun was beginning to set, and for the people of the village it was time to turn in. Still he had his mission before he needed to go to the chapel and get healed, or miracled. Either way he had something to do. Maybe at the chapel he could learn a thing or two about magic here in the world of Terrasphere.

 

Friday 6:50

Dorlan​

After a few minutes of browsing Dorlan's wares Alana placed the blade on the glass and picked up a basic spear. The giant man grinned and looked at her hold it with one hand as easily as a person would wield a normal 1 hander weapon. "Pretty strange Alana, you can do things they only recount in legends and myths", he said with his arms crossed. Akio knew it was because of his class but he played along before getting ready to head out, "Really? What legend are ya talking about"? He rubbed his chin for a second before saying, "I'll have to get back to ya on names, but there's been quite a lot of you recently. Adventurers folks call em. Strong and abnormal. Becareful not to scare the other folk 'round town aight"? Alana nodded and headed to the baker's shop.

Maddy​

Alana stepped forth to find what was expected, just a simple looking building with a bakery sign calling it, "Honeycomb of honey...home...". There was a faint smell on the air which made her a little hungry, but it wasn't until she stepped forth through the front door that a wave of sweet aromas assaulted her senses. Alana paused for a moment and closed her eyes, letting her head tip upward to fully take in the aromas. "Yes? How may I help you little ninja girl"? Akio heard this and scowled at being called little,but then he realized he was literally roleplaying as a small girl. The scowl disappeared with bright red cheeks. The baker's assistant looked onto Alana with a calm inquisitive expression. "Looking fer valentine"?

Alana nodded and said with a finger raised, "yea that little loli is gonna get herself hurt...wait how did ya know I'd be here looking for 'er"? Maddy whiffed her hair once as if to play with it and said, "Well she came by a few minutes ago and is headed toward the town church to get treated", but before Alana could say anything she presented a plate with a piece of bread on it and said, "Here for the road cutey". Alana's red cheeks may as well been slapped with red paint because no one would be able to tell the difference. "uh sure thank you mam". Maddy waved back with a knowing grin and a wink, which unsettled akio a bit. On the one hand she was a waifu, but on the other npc's definitely weren't supposed to be that real. Alana took a bite of the bread and immediately beamed with excitement. " Dang that's fucking good, I'll get more before leaving town"!(Spoiler she doesn't ;-;)

Moving on ahead she saw Dorlan waiting for her with his arms crossed. "Find anything good"? Alana nodded and his grin became wider as he asked, "What about information on your friend"? Alana spit her bread out and squinted at him as she realized what had happened and said, "He's at the church. That's it"! Alana ran ahead and Dorlan said, "Ahh c'mon now it's okay Alana! Be honest with yourself"!

The two rushed through the town as others were starting to lock up for the night. "Eyy what's the rush Alana?", he asked feeling slightly out of breath. She turned to her and said, " I won't be able to rest until I know he hasn't done something stupid again"! It wasn't long before the daunting church now beset by shadow from the setting sun was in full view and casting its looming shadow over them. In the distance a pink haired girl could be seen. " Hey! Hey Val wait up grill! What cha up to"? Dorlan gave her a confused expression and whispered under his breath, "Grill? Don't cha mean girl"?

-----

@Valentine Wylde

 

Val hummed walking on sunshine to himself as he walked from the town toward the church. Blissfully strolling along until he heard someone say his name. The voice came from behind him and when he turned around he was greeted by the short brown haired woman he had come here with, Alana. Behind her was a larger man with dark skin color. He was built like a truck, with very pronounced muscle. Val caught him in his gaze impressed with the man that stood before him before he came back to attention and remember that Alana had asked him a question.

"Oh well I was going to talk to the priest about getting healed, and maybe learn a thing or two about magic. How bout yourself?" Looking over at the large man he began to stutter with nervousness. "I....uh.....sssss....eee... th....a.....t... uh you......f..f....f..found a teacher." Ending his sentence with a heavy cough as he looked down toward the ground and back to Alana trying to avoid eye contact with the man behind her.

Just then a man exited the church and walked over to the group. Nodding at Dorlan before looking down at Val and his arm. The man got down on his knee's and held Val's arm out as he closed his eye's and began to say a quiet and small prayer. No sooner had it finished then a bright light enveloped his arm and slowly began to heal all the burn marks. Opening the user interface showed that his life bar was now being restored. The man stood and nodded towards Val before holding out a hand for payment.

Last for words at the beauty of the healing magic, Val stood there in shock as the man behind Alana stepped forward said a few words and the priest chuckled before putting his hand away. He then leaned in and whispered into Val's ear to go to the church and there he would met a young lady who could help him further understand his magic powers. Once he was finished with what he had to say he bowed before everyone and walked off into the town with a smile on his face.

"Well, Alana and handsome fella I guess my magic teacher is in the church so I'm gunna head on in. Meet you at the Inn when we are both done. 'Kay." Val spoke with a gleeful smile as he went back to humming walking on sunshine and walking toward the church.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

Finally he approached the entrance to the church. The building like most other buildings in the city was made of stone giving most of it a grey color minus a few spots of mossy green. Added to it was the larger chimney at the back of the church which easily added an extra ten feet to the building. The two doors leading into the front of the church were massive and easily twice as tall as he was, but they were surprising light and made of wood. Upon entering the building he was greeted to a large room filled with pews outlining a single walkway to what appeared to be an altar. The whole building was empty save a single soul who sat on their knees at the altar praying.

"Excuse me, I was told that someone with magic experience was in this building, and that they could help me." He spoke as he slowly approached the woman whom became visibly startled by his voice.

The woman startled jumped and shakily turned around to face Val before she began to talk. "Ohhh... my... uh yes there is. Uh I uh am who you are uh looking for." The young lady spoke as she was still shaky and clearly very nervous. "How can uh I help... you? Do you...uh need healing?"

"No, the priest already healed me but he told..........." Stopping himself mid sentence as he began to realize the woman standing before him looked extremely familiar. "Mads?????" Asking in a very confused tone. The young lady before him looked exactly like the lady in the bakery that he had seen. So much so that it couldn't just be a sibling.

"Noooooooo......... I get that alot though. Mads, is my twin sister. I'm Auriel, but uh if you met Mads, and uh have made it here ........then you must be okay." Sheepishly she cracked a smile before walking over to him for first time. She grabbed both his hands and looked directly into his eye's. For what seemed hours they just there interlocked as the young woman stared deep into his soul. Seemed she was seeking an answer and not one she was finding with ease. Before, she quickly pulled back and smiled.

"Your a magus much like myself. Now I understand why he sent you here." Her shyness and nervousness seemed all but vanish, and it felt as though she had every answer she could ever want from him now. "Well follow me to the back and we shall begin teaching you to harness your raw talent." With a nice pep in her step she hurried off and out the back door into a small yard.

 

Friday 7:00 pm

Alana tilted her head for a second as she tracked Valentine's eyes and gestures. She grinned at the same time and knocked on Dorlan's chest plate. " Eyy I think ya got a crush Dorry boy", she whispered. Dorlan started to laugh nervously, unable to look the loli straight in the eye.The three had their banter interrupted by a rather solemn figure who emerged from the daunting church. The priest looked up at the mini giant that was Dorlan with a knowing nod, which also made the warrior nod back in compliance. " Eh ey yoo hoo, what the heck is going---on....", she said as the white light blinded her for a second.

"Let's get a move on Alana. We'll begin your training in the morn aight"? Alana took one look at Val before nodding to the big fella. The two of them strolled back to his shop where she got some sleep with slight hesitation. Akio logged out when Dorlan went to bed, assuming the fella just slept early. So he took the night off and went to deal with his bodily needs such as eating and actually sleeping before diving back in during the morning.

Saturday 6:45 AM
When he dove back in, he awoke to the smell of pancakes and bacon. He was rather perplexed when his real body was full,but his nose was attracted to the food. "Tch if I didn't know better I'd say you were like a man in a woman's body!", he said with a voracious laugh. Alana chuckled and asked, " What do ya mean dorry"? He looked down at the breakfast and said, "Women from these parts don't tend to eat meat or so readily eat it. You remind me of my boys", he said with a slight melancholy.

Alana started to dig in, but carefully until he gestured her to dig in with a sped up gesture with his utensils. "We got'alotta work today so eat up girl", he said with toothy smile, food scraps and all. She chuckled and slathered her food in precious maple syrup that nearly brought a tear to Dorlan's eyes.

Upon finishing they began with simple spear strikes. He presented her with an array of weapons to choose from. "Now now, don't choose the biggest one girl", he said while lifting a rather light mahagony spear. Alana pulled her hand back for a second and watched him lift it without trying, before offering it to her. She nodded and felt how much easier it was to hold than her previous spear. However from what Akio had read online before hand, heroic strength was good for dual wielding two handed weapons." No thanks Dorry, I'm going with two of these bad boys"!

Dorlan closed his eyes as he saw her reach for two of his medium weight, but larger spears. He held his breath and began to mutter something about fixing the floor and shop later, but much to his surprise nothing happened. " Ey Dorry, let's get going". He opened his eyes to see her wielding two weapons, one heavy and the other light. "Looks like its pretty heavy kiddo,but that's impressive none the less".

The two approached a field with a single tree. She was a little winded,but she was focusing on the heroic strength passive and managed to hold the heavier spear steady using her concentration on one arm. "Alright kiddo, step forward and release your first thrust", he said calmly with his arms crossed. Alana nodded and struggled to coordinate herself at first, making that first step the hard part. "Perhaps you could try one weapon first"? Alana shook her head vigorously and faced the problem head on, noting that concentration was only going to get her so far.

For the span of three in game days she practiced the simple stab, each time working on timing the actual thrust right after taking the step. "Good good, remember your greatest leverage comes after the step forward. Especially when it's diffucult for you to hold the weapon"! She shook her head and grimaced, " Shut it old timer". He'd relax on the site with a few crumpets from Maddy while continuing her barrage on the tree until it clicked. Alana pivot her right arm while taking a step with her left leg stomping forward, causing the spear to crash into the tree with incredible force. "Atta b-- girl, keep it up now. I want 100 more"!

A bead of sweat trickled down her face as she continued to practice. With each successful interval of ten, Akio started to notice it was easier for alana to move. Part of the issue was his own lack of synchronicity with Alana and a mental muscle memory sort of deal.

With the fourth in game day she found herself looking at a busted up tree, which had finally cracked down the middle, crashing to the earth. Alana who was covered in sweat and panting propped herself up with the spear at it crashed into the earth with a great thud, causing a cloud of dust to rise in its wake. "Congratulation, you learned how to combine your abnormal strength with a simple stab"! Alana shot him a coarse glare, before falling to her knees. "yea yea need some water". Maddy and a few of the kids who were watching the whole time came out with a small picnic and a pitcher of water. "Congrats Alana", she said with a wink. Alana looked away and said with a grin, " Tch, was nothing".

Ofcourse, with the crash and constant noise, an uninvited visitor would be attracted to the town. It slowly slid its oscillating body toward the town, while rolling over the cluster of feathers and cracked egg shells. The beast roared its ugly gurgle and continued forth to toward Honeyhome under the cover of the forest and its brush.

 

Friday 7:00pm

Val followed Auriel eagerly through the church and out the backdoor. It opened up into a small fenced in area that felt oddly strange to him. He felt uneasy standing here in the backyard of this church. Like something was pulling energy from him.

"This is blessed holy ground. So for magus's it feels strange as it draws in magic. Its the perfect place to practice as your magic cannot harm anything. The ground will just eat it up." With a chuckle and big grin she looked out over the walls of the yard. "Oh its actually rather late. Why don't you spend the night in the church and we will pick up in the morning." With a quick whip of her hips she turned and ran back into the building escorting Val to a small room just off to the side of the main room. The room was just large enough for a bed which was all he would need. "See ya in the morning." The words were spoken softly as she escorted herself out.

Laying himself down he accessed the menu and logged out. Standing from his bed he about his business in normal life. Checked his e-mail first to make sure that he didn't have any word things to do before work on Monday. Showered and then eat dinner before turning himself in for the night. His sleep was rather restless as the excitement from the game kept him from sleeping well, and from sleeping a decent amount of time. He was up rather early the next morning and decided it would be best to go for a run, grab breakfast, and then shower again before diving in.

Saturday 8:45am

All Clair's morning errands took longer than expected. Finally around mid morning he was able to get into the game that had grasped all his attention. Laying down he put the head gear on as his spawned into the darkness that was the eyes of his sleeping character. Slowly he opened them to find himself in the strange room that was in the church. Looking down he noticed his hands were different and hair pink. Once again he was in his avatars body Valentine Wylde. Moving his legs to the side of the bed he stood himself up and walked to the door. Opening it revealed the beautifully lit main room of the church. It was much different during the bright hours of the day.

"Awake at last sleepy-head." A high pitched chuckling voice echoed throughout the large room. As he looked over to his left he saw Auriel standing there jumping up and down waving at him. The shy girl from last night seemed to have faded entirely when she learned he was a Magus.

"Yea, sorry about that." A sly smile rose on his face as he rubbed the back of his head and walked toward Auriel.

"Well no time to waste. Lets get to it." With that Auriel skipped off and through the doors to the back yard of the church. If it hadn't been so late in the morning he would expect she didn't eat, but then again it was rather late.

Following her lead Val walked through the doors and into the back yard of the church. Standing on the grass he took a deep breath and held his hands and strained as hard as he could but nothing. To the side he could hear the young woman laughing hysterically. So he went at it again once again hands out he tried as hard as he could, but nothing.

"Hmmm, divination tells me you have the ability to wield fire, water, and wind. Fire seems to be the only thing you have used previously why don't we start there." She walked over and grabbed one of his hands and placed it out in front of him palm facing the ground. Then with that she stepped back and told him to feel the fire, envision it, and then create it. "It helps to close your eyes at first."

Val closed his eyes and imagined fire. He focused on the feeling of heat, the power rising from within the fire, and then the image of the fire, its design. Then he opened his eyes and he could feel the energy around him. It wasn't fire he felt but rather the natural magically energy floating around. By drawing it into himself he yelled out "Fire Touch!" With a sudden burst the energy in him and burst forth through his hand producing a flame that shot out and scorched the ground. "YES!!!!" He screamed as he started to jump up and down with excitement.

"Congratulations Valetine. Being a Magus is all about feeling the energy and turning it into what you want. Tangible things such as fire and water are easiest." Clapping as she approached him. "Now lets see you throw fire. Same as before feel the fire, envision it, and then create it." She slapped him on the shoulder before walking back to her original spot off to the side.

Val remembered when he first accessed the menu back with the slime and tried to use the fireball spell. He remember his character so some kind swirl motion with his hands and then cupping them over each other to make a ball. Focusing on this idea he stretched out his hands and concentrated. Focusing on the idea of fire, how it felt, how it looked, and slowly his hands began to lite up. Moving them in a circle he cupped them on top of each other and focused on the idea of making a ball of fire. Then suddenly his hands began to burn and the ball within exploded sending him flying backwards into the wall behind him. Auriel quickly ran over and got down on her knees and closed her eyes. Placing her hands over his body she just sat there.

Noticing a small object floating around her. He started to ask her a question when suddenly light burst forth from her hands and enveloped his body. His wounds began to heal and his energy was being restored. After the light faded he felt as good as new. It was as though he had never exploded a ball of fire magic on himself. Smiling she stood and reached down to help him up. "Well lets try again and this time without all the fancy hand motions."

"Okay." Val walked to the center of the yard and held out a hand palm up. Closing his eyes he focused on feeling the energy around him. Molding it into a ball in his hands, from there he focused on fire the feeling, and the image. Opening his eyes he noticed the energy he had gathered into a ball had turned to fire. He could feel the heat of the fireball on his hand as it just barely floated above his open hand. He assumed that when he had his hands cupped the energy became to condensed and burst forth. In this method the energy was not being forced into shape and into fire at the same time. With a swift flick of the wrist he tossed the fireball toward the fence, but the magical energy was devoured before it could even hit the fence.

"Very good, shall we spend the rest of the day practicing these spells. Tomorrow we can work on water." Smiling as she motioned with her hands for him to go again. The rest of the day would indeed be spent on generating fireballs and fire touch. There were many failed attempts but luckily Auriel was there to heal him every time. At one point he had envisioned to much fire during a fire touch and ended up igniting his entire body. That was not a fun feeling at all. Thankfully the church grounds devoured the magic as he did what he was taught in real life. Stop. Drop. Roll. With the day coming to an end Val felt far more comfortable with fire and the general idea of magic as a whole. Going back into the church he returned to his room to sleep and prepare for tomorrow.

Sunday 6:15am

The next morning Clair got on earlier than expected as he couldn't sleep well again. His mind was stoked for this new game and now he was learning the more intricate details of the combat and magic. The magic alone in this world intrigued him. Upon entering the game world he stood as his avatar Val. Exiting the small room he had been sleeping in he startled Auriel as she had just entered the church. She jumped turning to reveal a pastry in her mouth. A rather tasty looking pastry and without a word she handed over a pastry to Val. Then pointed to her mouth to show she was chewing. Swallowing hard she asked him if he was ready for the days training. Val nodded as he was now chewing and both of them walked out into the backyard.

"Today should be easier as you now have a hang for magic. All you have to do now is make it water or ice." Smiling she motioned for him to go out and get to it. Just like the day before he concentrated and formed magic before dispelling it. He stood there for a second and then tried to think of what he wanted to do with water. After all he need an idea an image to use for it. Remember other games he had played he thought about an ice bolt that is a pretty normal starter spell.

Cracking his knuckles he reached out his hand with an open palm facing the sky. Same with how he made a fireball. Concentrating he molded the magic into a medium sized pointed shard. Next he focused on ice what it felt like, what it looked like, and the strength it housed. He could feel the cold air against his hand as he looked over and saw the pointy medium ice shard just barely floating above his hand. "Frost Shard" he stated as he tossed it at the fence. Being a solid surface the church grounds couldn't eat it all before it hit the fence, but once it hit the fence it shattered leaving a small patch of ice shards and frost on the fence.

He had two fire spells so he assumed he must have some kind of other water spell, or at least could make one. Thinking once again about different video games he had played he tried to think of some kind of start spell that was fitting for magic. Then he came up with the idea to a water stream, but this would require a constant supply of magic and water. Focusing he imagined a hose and the water flowing from it, but instead of envisioning water coming out of the hose he envisioned magic/energy. Holding both hands out with wrists touching and hand open he focused the energy there. Then he envisioned the water freely flowing. Imagining the wet cool feeling of the water he concentrated on his hands.

Forming the stream of mana he then converted that into water. The water shot out in a constant steady stream. It lasted a few seconds before sputtering out, but that was mostly due to a lack of concentration rather than a lack of power. The water stream worked, it didn't have much power but it could be used to put out any fires he might have started by accident. Same as the day before he would practice those two spells until dark and turn in. One more day left. One more form of magic to work on.

Monday 7:00pm

It was late, but what could Clair do. He had to work at his normal nine to five job and then had to come home and eat dinner and just relax before diving in. Once, he finally did it was getting dark out in the game. This was the moment he realized that so far the game had equally matched the time of day outside the game. Shocking to Val that this was how the game worked, but also a nice touch. He also noticed that Auriel wasn't in the church, and he didn't want to train without her. Walking around and checking different areas he finally gave up before walking to the back yard. As he entered the back yard he was greeted by the priest of the church.

"I'm told you have a good understanding of being a Magus. Auriel checked in for the night. I'll sleep out here wake me if you need healing." With that statement the priest walked over to a nearby bench and laid down. Assuming that meant Val was to get to it he walked out into the yard and began focusing on his magic molding. Air magic left him baffled as he wasn't sure what he should do for that one. Did he just want to create a wind blast, or could he float with it. So many idea's but how would he form that from energy.

The idea finally came to him a burst of powerful sharp wind burst on a target trapping them in a flurry of wind gust. This idea would require him to form the attack away from his person and without a real dummy to test it on he would just have to watch closely to see if it worked. Focus on a spot on the ground he imagined once again energy forming into a tightly condensed ball. Then imagine what a powerful wind the force of it, the feeling of it surrounding you, and the cool touch of the breeze. Concentrating on the spot on the ground he closed his hand on he focused more on the idea of condensing it. Then he quickly opened he hand as he envisioned it enveloping the area and tearing away at it.

"Wind Burst" Suddenly the ground was ripped asunder as violent winds burst forth in a circular motion for a few seconds and then dispersed. Impressed with himself and the idea he repeated the task again and again. He wanted to find another spell but the night just grew later and he had work again in the morning. Sadly, his real world needs were getting in the way of his progression but this should be enough for him. He at least now was somewhat able to control each of the elements at his command. Now he just had to focus on not over using them as he wouldn't have a healer readily there to restore his energy every time he was out and about using magic.

Tuesday 12:00pm

Clair got to go home early today as he had overtime from the week earlier, and if there was one thing his company didn't like it was paying people overtime. Upon getting home he ate lunch and quickly dove into the game. He was excited to see if Auriel had more training planned for him or if he was going to get to go off and do his own thing. Waking up he walked out of the small and up to Auriel who was praying. Waiting patiently for her to finish he stood behind and examined the church in great detail. A few minutes passed before she finished and stood up. Greeting him she smiled and motion for him to go out to the back yard. She followed closely behind.

"I have nothing special for you today, but just to have you stand here and practice for a few hours. Mads, told me about a friend of yours who has been doing some training. They are going to have a picnic with her and Dorlan around five o'clock tonight. We are going to attend since your training is done as well." With a smile she walked back into the church and left Val to himself to train for the next few hours alone. The few hours of training flew by as though they were mere minutes. The exhaustion of training for a few hours however did not go away quickly. By four Val was beat, and could barely think anymore.

Auriel met him at this time and used some form of magic to restore his energy before telling him it was time to leave, and that they had to make a stop on the way. They walked through most of the town before making a stop at the general store. Here Auriel picked up a few things for the picnic. Val stood by the staring at some object. It was five spherical balls that were see through and held together to from a doughnut shape. "Hmmm impressive huh. This is a focus as we call them. Here." She placed the object in Val's hand before walking and paying the store keep. "A gift from me." Smiling she grabbed him under the arm and ran out and down the street.

A loud thud startled Val and Auriel as they approached the location designated for the picnic. In the distance a large tree had been split in half and collapsed on the ground. At the bottom of the tree stood a smaller figure. As they got closer the figure became more clear it was Alana the girl he had met in the woods, and sitting on a nearby stump was Dorlan. A familial voice rang across the field as he looked over to the right and saw a small group of kids walking toward the location led by no other than Mads.

"SISTER!" Auriel yelled as she ran as fast as she could toward her sister.

"ALANA!" Val shouted as he ran towards the young shorter girl with brown hair that had just felled a tree. "You did this?" He yelled as he gave her a gentle hug. He was happy to see the first person he met was still here in the town with him. Again he tried his best to avoid eye contact with Dorlan. Mads had brought a blanket with her and placed it on the ground before laying out a plethora of different pastries and breads. This was met equally by Auriel placing out a bunch of cheeses and meats that she had gotten fresh from the general store. Auriel brought out a small pitcher of Honeyhome's famous honey mead and poured a glass for each of the adults before handing it to them.

Laughter erupted from the kids as Val told them the story of how he exploded himself with a fireball. Cheerfully he chased the kids around and played a variety of games with them as three other adults ate and caught up with one another. After a few minutes Val joined the group consume as much food as he could minus the meat. He didn't really like meat he had a small piece but not much. After he was full he just lay there on the ground listening to everyone talking and laughing. He had a stupidly innocent smile on his face as he just enjoyed the moment around. Moments like this is what Val lived for but sadly they almost never lasted long.

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A loud sound penetrated the voices nearby. Interrupting all as the bell tower continued to ring. Normally the bell rang once or twice but this time it didn't stop. It just kept ringing. As though it was stuck in a never ending loop. To the far east a large green beast could be seen slowly making it's way toward the town. Through its transparent green body one could make out the shape of a few chickens as the shapes slowly began to disappearing turning in the green translucent form of the monster they were in. The monsters was heading directly for Honeyhome's main square. Anything caught in its path would be devoured and become part of the beast, and this time it seemed angered as opposed to the last time Alana, and Valentine fought it.

 

Tuesday 12:30

Alana turned to see Val with a shit eating grin. Her nose was pointed up and hands at her waist as if she were triumphantly posing before a downed beast. Val being the taller one nearly scooped up Alana as he pressed her against his chest.”haha nice to see you too Valentine”.

The group had their little outing complete with al the important food groups. Meat and sweets, but sadly no sweet meat. Alana was slightly disappointed as her mouth watered thinking about some phillipono food she had once that was salty and sweet. Although for a game world, the food was exceptionally good. The ham fell off the bone and the pastries were to die for.

Amidst the fun came the sound of the town bell ringing, but this time it didn’t stop. “Eyy time to put that training to use Alana...Val. Big bubba is back”, he said with an almost excited tone. Maddy and auriel looked at each other with a feeling of trepidation as one expected, but dorlan seemed to have somewhat of a gallow’s humor about it. “Eyy eyy dorry what the fuck”?

Alana and Val has been hoisted at their waists and brought down the hill with great speed. Dorlan though, had a grim expression and didn’t say a word. After reaching town Alana wiggles free and fell to her knees and palms again. The two of them were surrounded by fleeing citizens, making it easy to find bubba. She grinned and charged down the street to find the 10 feet tall slime, with bits and pieces of dead honeyhomers in its gullet.

Alana paused and stared at hoe much bigger it was than before. Taking a big gulp as Dorlan stood beside her with the same blank stare. “Well...any ideas girls? We gotta get to it’s brain, which should be right under its eyes. See the black thing pulsating under its eyes”? Alana nodded and said, “yep we’re screwed but we got an ace in the hole”, she said gesturing toward Val. “So uh Val, you learned a fire ball spell or something? You know while you were with those church guys”?

Ultimately Alana knew what she would have to do and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

 

Dorlan mentioned something about fighting some beast called Big Bubba after the bell in the city started to ring. Val was confused as to what Big Bubba was and why would they have to put their training to the test against it. Next thing Val knew he was being grabbed at the waist by Dorlan. Whom then proceeded to drag him into Honeyhome to present them to the massive green beast Big Bubba.

Big Bubba green gelatinous body seemed oddly familiar to Val. Then he remembered his arm from a few days prior and recognized the name above his head once again. Dire Slime. It was most certainly the same slime that they had faced off with in the woods. Guess that what Dorlan meant by put your training to the test he meant for them to fight the monster. Val prepared himself.

Then he heard Alana ask him if he had learned how to shoot a fireball. Oh boy did he, he actually learned quite a bit and had so much to show his female traveling buddy. Clearing his throat and with a bright smile he cracked his knuckles before closing his eyes and preparing himself. Holding out his hand palm up he took a deep breath. Upon exhaling his breath became visible as the air around his hand began to chill and within a few seconds a three foot long shard of ice floated above his hand.

Opening his eyes he looked at his target before moving his hand quickly toward the large gelatinous beast. The ice shard flew through the air colliding with the body of the slime, shattering on impact. Hitting the monster dead center the ice shards shattering just spread ice throughout the entire slime. Slowing it froze the beast solid. Turning the beast into a beautiful translucent blue. Setting it up for Alana to make the killing blow if she was prepared. Just one strong hit was all that was needed to make the monster shatter into a hundred tiny pieces, but if she should fail the monster would quickly defrost. In fact you could already see the emerald color returning to the slime.