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Sky Blue: Journey of the Azure Girl Build 1.0.7 Part 1: The Incident


Nanami Touko
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Loading... Booting up... Please input creden-- Thank you for logging in. Please lay down somewhere comfortable. VRX Systems taking over... Enjoy your time in Sky Blue~

VRX... The X didn't even mean anything, they just used it to sound cool. The system was really effective, at least. Stephanie had laid down as instructed, covers lazily draped over her feet. As the system turned on, she felt her body go limp for a moment, before her home avatar took over. It was designed to look almost entirely like her. The game was still loading, then? Must've been a big one... Oh, character creation. "Let's see..." Bringing her 'hands' up in front of her, she started typing out a name... "Nyahrissa. Heh. I'll probably give this game up in a couple of days, so let's not take it too seriously..." Cleric, and... What an old system. They weren't kidding when they said it was going to try and have people relive the oldschool RPG days. This was a JRPG, though? Shouldn't it be more like Dragon Warrior? Heh.

Character creation didn't take her very long, and she didn't mess with settings past the default for very long. A cat race, because cute, cleric, because healing, and fighter subclass, because smashing things with a sword. "Hit enter, and--" The game had loaded, launching her into a bright world... Too bright, she shut her eyes for a moment... Opening them to bustling NPCs and other players. The words 'Welcome to Pastral' scrawled in front of her eyes for a moment, taking a second to look down at herself.

"Wow! I'm cute as heck. Alright, maybe this won't be so bad... Let's see... Inventory." Speaking the word caused a box to appear in front of her, poking through it with her finger like a touchpad. "This is modern, at least." They'd started her with some default armor, a mace. "Feels pretty cleric... Oh, news notification?"

Welcome to Sky Blue! I'm your Game Master, Edwin Marshal. That was the guy who made the game, or the director, at least. There's going to be a special announcement in Voxrest Square-- A map popped up as soon as she read that line, showing her where she was, and where Voxrest Square was. Please make your ways towards there once you've had time to get used to Pastral. All airships to other islands are unfortunately going to be closed until then. You're free to explore the city of Nova Gale to your heart's content, though, and to get used to moving around in the game. See you all in one hour!

That was the end of that... Visit the town then, eh? "Time to get properly equipped."


Almost an hour... The game was really pretty, especially for modern game standards. No lag, no issues so far. 'Nyahrissa' sat on the edge of one of the steps leading down into Voxrest Square. Odd that they called it a square, it was more of a circle, with stairs leading down to a resting area on all sides. Spacious, massive really, definitely more than enough room to fit a huge crowd of players. "Like a coliseum, without the walls to keep the fighters from getting out. Nice design... Wonder what this is all about?" She bit into an apple she'd picked up... The simulated taste was always a weird sensation, she knew it wasn't real, but there was her brain, telling her 'wow, nice apple~'. "Well, we'll find out soon. Only a few minutes, right?" Three, if the announcement timer was any indication. "Can't wait to get out of the boonies and see what the rest of the game has to offer."

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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'Cheap ass boss... oh review this game for the paper, but we're not gonna provide a copy, or a headset! Just keep it together, Allison... this game is gonna be big, and your coverage is gonna get you a cozy executive suite. No more bake sales! No more lemonade stands! Real news, real journalism! It's not like I can be any worse at this game than an actual games journalist would be..' Allison noted to herself, as she slipped her newly-purchased VRX headset on. Settings were all good, she was all plugged in... here we go!

Loading, loading... login. Ah, here we go, character creation. 

'Wow... that's a lot of sliders... I wonder how... oof, no way, just looking at tits that big makes my back hurt... let's go with this... ooh, that's a cute hair colour~' Allison mused, testing and tweaking for a good while before finally settling on something she liked. A cute little kitty in some greens and blacks, geared up and ready to go! Well... not really. Looking at her inventory as she spawned in, Allison... hereby known as Felicity Fortuna, didn't have much on her person. Some starting gold... good enough! Time to go shopping! It seemed that all of the shops were NPC based... the box had mentioned something about a player-driven economy, but the game was just too new for such a thing to exist yet. Picking up the basics of a savvy adventurer... or at least her own vision of one, Felicity couldn't help but notice that what looked like a big plaza seemed to have a lot of players gathered in it...

"That's weird. I wonder... oh." Felicity noted to herself, as she exited out of equipping her new gear, and noticed the news post flagged in her inbox... prooooobably should have checked that earlier. An announcement at Voxrest Square, huh? That was... oh! The plaza that everyone was gathering in, and the announcement was only a few moments away! How convenient... fortuitous, you might say~

"What good luck, nyah~ I wonder what they have to say?" Felicity wondered aloud, allowing the stereotypical catlike inflection to escape her lips, ears a twitching and tail aflutter as she meandered through the crowd with ease towards the centre square.

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'Now, how does this work exactly? Just plug it in and...?' Charlotta sat at her desk, looking over the manual for the VRX she'd just purchased. It seemed simple enough: plug in the jack, put on the helmet, lay down, and start playing. Her body movement would be restricted while she was plugged in, too. 'Not like it already isn't, heh.' Shaking off the bit of dark humor she quickly finished setting up her newest tool of escapism and logged in...

She hadn't expected to see a mirror image of herself serving as the home avatar. She wasn't bad to look at, but she hated it all the same; it reminded her of the world she had just escaped. How had it recreated her so well? Had it done a body scan? Ugh. 'I'll fiddle with this later. I wanna play already.' Once she finished loading into Sky Blue she was faced with the most difficult task of starting a new game: the character creator. Oni was an easy enough choice for her purposes, favoring strength at the cost of dexterity; she wasn't here to shoot things. She fiddled with the height slider, ultimately deciding that, yes, she wanted to be tall, and moved on to less important things like eye and hair color. Still, she spent more than a few minutes making sure everything was visually pleasing; even if this was just a video game, she still needed to look good. 'Now I just need a name... Oni are Japanese mythos, right?'


Charlotta, or rather, Amaterasu strolled through Nova Gale, having completed her quest to spend nearly all of her starting funds. Inn, armory, adventurers guild... typical starter town. Though, experiencing it through VR made it feel new, somehow. Everything was so lifelike! It was as if she was really there. At first, walking had been a bit weird with her new height, but now she felt as though she'd gotten decently used to her new legs. She noticed the time. Wasn't that announcement thing happening soon? 'Should probably be there for that. Launch day announcements usually give important info about the game.' She hurried to the square, something she could actually do in this world.

Edited by Ursali
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Launch day couldn't come soon enough for Charles. School had been as unbearable as ever, even at his last year, he was the target of a prank from that idiot Bernard again, his worst bully. Still, he just needed to grin and bear it until home. It's not like he cared for reputation at school, the only two friends he ever needed were Paul and Alfred, 'nerds' like him. In fact, they were going to start this adventure together now. Probably make a guild, become high ranking players... if the game didn't turn out to suck, of course. Still, it was nice to have something new to look forward.

After chores and food, Charles had started an unrelated game session, waiting for the servers to open and for his friends to get online. Ah! Speak of the devil: Alfred had just logged on.

WeirdAlf: sup bro

WeirdAlf: 15 minutes eh

WeirdAlf: where the fuck is paul man

The fact Paul hadn't been online was bothersome indeed. Charles hoped his friend wasn't going to get roped up by family and miss launch day.

Thankfully, that would prove not to be the case. A couple minutes later, his second of two friends had showed up.

DeusVult73: Mb LOL I got caught up with family meeting

WeirdAlf: ditch them dude lmao

It brought a chuckle out of Charles. His friends were goons (in his mind), but it was nice to share experiences with them. Unlike with most other peers, he'd developed a sense of camaraderie with these two.

Charles strapped the VRX within a minute of the server's opening, laying down on his bed comfortably --time to waste away for the rest of the day--. Within moments, he was greeted with the same prompt as many other enthusiastic players.

VRX Systems takin over... enjoy your time in Sky Blue~

Oh no. The default model was modeled after himself. Charles winced hard, as if coming to face with a mirror. He'd rather have a wisp-like model to start with. The loading felt like an eternity, but the moment the character creator sprang into his vision, Charles's mood improved considerably, and he let out a deep breath. He could finally make an adorable, more fitting avatar. Hmm, what to go with this time?

Most of the stat system felt archaic, before his time, but Charles understood enough to optimize his stats... at least, he was sure he did decent... Couldn't go wrong with an elf wizard. Besides, couldn't go wrong with a cute elf girl either --blond elf or bust--. Accepting the knife ears in his heart, and inputting an appropriate nick --Mystiarin sounded alright in his mind--, Charles hit enter.

In the body of his preferred avatar, Charles was loaded into a familiar zone, he remembered this place from the previews. It seemed like a beginner's zone alright, the first island. 'Welcome to Pastral' displayed in a stylized font in front of him --her, for all intents and purposes--.

"Ah, this is perfect~" Mystia gave a twirl, checking her outfit out, pressing down a finger on her skin --the sensation felt smooth, VR could be pretty cool at times--. "Très bien! Mission magical girl complete~. Now, where are those doofuses?"

The trio had shared their planned nicks before hand, for ease of searching eachother. Always better to start out as a group! That said, none of their nicks seemed valid yet, when sending out friend requests...

Ah, there it was! Paul had joined first. Hmm, human thief, subclass ranger? How boring. His character looked just scrawny as he did in real life. Paul was always the least creative one.

"Really man? You going girl on VR? Don't you think that's a bit much?"

Paul, now Jack Dios, the human (boring...), had also done a search near immediately after coming and checked Mystia's profile out. The elf wizard could only grumble at the scathing words. Paul was always a bit crass... and he was always the one that protested about Charles' little hobby.

"I do what I want, bitch. 'Sides, it's just an rpg, not a creepy sex gane like the ones you play." Mystia flipped her friend the bird, responding in equally immature kind. This kind of beef never did last more than a moment, however. The two were still old friends.

"Sorry I'm late guys! Too many races, I was in doubt. Hahaha!"

Turning their heads, the doofus duo had been joined by Alfred --Alf III, now--, sporting an avatar nearly twice the height of Mystia's.

"Half orc knight? Good, you're gonna be our tank." Bossy, Mystia started making way for what she perceived to be the beginner's city. "We stock up and then start questing, okay? See if we can beat the story fast."


"Hey man have you checked the anmouncement since game start? Thing's real soon, we should go check it out." Paul --Jack-- interrupted their merry exploration to voice some concern. "I think they should give some items away for server start. These companies always do."

"I just ignored that... the longer we stay there the less we grind, we can go back later." Mystia was very much in 'game mode right now, paying only medium attention to her friend's words. "Also don't call me man in-game."

"Fuck off dude, we could've been the bro trio for once but you just had to pick a thot again. Damn it." Paul wasn't having this. Their sense of camaraderie wasvery different between these two.

"Alright, let's calm down." Alfred, as usual in this group dynamic, is trying to defuse their bickering. "It's usually a good idea to check out opening day events, a lot of free stuff."

"Bah, fine. Let's give it a watch." Mystia wasn't about to argue with them when they teamed up. Hopefuly the announcement would keep it short...

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Verner had his day planned out like usual, and now that his chores were done and his client satisfied, he could give Sky Blue another try. The timing couldn't have been better. It was the name that drew him to the beta, but the VRX was what had him waiting around for the final release. He was hoping for something new and innovative at first, like a modern military fantasy game. Think fighter jets versus dragons. Sky Blue wasn't that, but the chance to be able to walk again, to run again, was just too much for the air force hopeful turned paraplegic to pass up. Better yet, though he hadn't tried them in the beta, the avians were, as their name implied, natural fliers. It wasn't a flight simulator, but Sky Blue was close enough and new enough for Verner to make the most of it.

Verner definitely wanted to be an avian this time around, so he started over from the character creation section. He modeled his avian thief after himself as much as he comfortably could, though the anthropomorphic jackdaw was more handsome than he was, at least by Verner's own standards. Slightly clearer skin, more evenly spaced features, jet black hair as opposed to his average blond hair. Their blue eyes just about matched, though Jackdawn, or Jack for short, had slightly more vivid irises by comparison. Verner's hair was a bit long, so he made Jack's hair long as well, even longer in the back, which necessitated a hair tie. He didn't pay much attention to the clothing, figuring that he could address that somewhere down the road.

Once he was finished, Verner headed on into the game. He was back, in this land of floating islands, airships, dragons, and monsters that spawned like rabbits. Looking down at his working, lean legs, Verner couldn't help but smile. He couldn't help but pace around while the welcome message and announcement played for him. Before long, Verner was jogging Voxrest Square had slipped his mind for the moment ...

When Verner finally got his wits about him, he realized that if he wanted to get a good start in this game, he should probably use the gold pieces he had to buy some more equipment. The dagger and padded armor were okay, and that free potion was downright necessary for a fledgling MMO player like him, but this loadout was for killing starter monsters and theft practice. Thief was a relatively safe starting pick, but Verner had no intention of being a wandering opportunist in the long term. Like every other aspect of his life, he had a plan. The beginning of that plan was to do a bit of shopping to round out his inventory, then refamiliarize himself with Pastral and any changes it might have undergone between the last time he was here and now ... and then he'd head over to Voxrest and wait for whatever this announcement was.


The end of that one hour came up quick, but Verner didn't arrive at Voxrest emptyhanded. He'd done some digging and learned from some other players that the starting padded armor wouldn't do him any favors in the stealth department. Once he confirmed he wasn't dealing with a griefer or some other nuisance, he sold the padded armor for leather armor. It didn't feel any better to wear, but he'd thank himself for optimal sneaking ability later, he wagered. He also picked up some gloves to make his intended treetop shenanigans a bit easier on his hands. Verner even found some other interesting things, like a whip. He just had to try it. He found some spears and purchased them too, hoping he wouldn't be too disadvantaged at range. Verner picked up a shield that ought to do him some good in tougher spots. There were a few other adventuring items he'd picked up simply for the sake of having them, a lantern, a flask of oil, a couple of nets for fishing or whatever ... oh and thirty lockpicks. As a thief, he'd feel naked and stupid without them.

There were plenty of others gathering in Voxrest Square for this big announcement, probably a more personal and heartfelt welcome from the developers. Verner had never been a fan of crowds, real or virtual, and was almost desperately searching for a big tree to flap up into to watch from. "Come on, there's gotta be a big one with a nice view ... hey there we go!" Spotting a suitable tree, Verner smirked and reached back to steady his spears. He didn't want them getting caught on any branches when he flew over. That would be embarrassing ...

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"And... Should be right, about--"

"Welcome, everyone!" A voice suddenly boomed above the crowd, silencing most of the chatter. Some people started clapping and a few whistled as the man they could only presume was Edwin Marshal hovered above them all, a big smile on his robed face. "I'm your Game Master, Edwin Marshal, live, and here to give you all an extended welcome to Sky Blue. My company and I wanted to try for a more classic approach to RPGs, like something you'd sit down with your friends and play at a table, grab the dice, set out a map, and..."

Stephanie drowned him out, what a boring speech. Same ol' same ol', 'thanks for buying my game, my game is so great, I hope you enjoy my game.' Apple core finished with, she got up to leave. If this was all the speech was going to be, then she didn't care to hang out for the rest of--

"And that brings me to the Death Game part of this."

"... The what?" Steph felt a chill run down her spine... Which, should've been impossible. This was just VR. There was no way she could've felt something so realistic... And it wasn't just that, things all around were suddenly more, real. More tangible, she could feel her heart beating in this avatar's chest, feel the breeze blowing across the square. It was downright terrifying, turning back to look at Edwin, who was still all smiles.

"Death game?" Someone from the crowd shouted up at him, almost laughing. "Some kinda event?"

"Why, yes! It is an event. An event that may cost some of you your lives." There were some scattered murmurs from the crowd, a few groups of players simply laughing and disregarding this message.

"Ohh, spooky, right dude?"

"Yeah man, 'm so scared, haha!"

"As you should be." Edwin's smile became eerily calm, his stare turning into a light scowl. "You'll all find that you can't log out, now. Feel free to try, I need to see if there are any fringe cases I may have missed."

Steph wasn't liking this one bit. Indulging the crazy man, she popped open her settings menu, scrolled down, and slammed log out... Nothing happened. She hit it again, nothing. More times, the game wasn't letting her disengage, turn off her headset, it wasn't letting her leave! "Wh-What's going on--" And then, the button was gone entirely. Fizzled out of her menu, she scrolled up and down, but nothing. Nothing at all. Worried eyes turned back to Edwin, his smile much wider, the smug look of satisfaction resting on his face now quire apparent.

"I do hope that I have all of your attentions, now. This is very serious, after all!"

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As she ran to Voxrest Square, running behind as it were, the in-game clock hit 4 PM and a pop-up appeared. Seemed like it was the announcement, playing off in the upper right corner of her vision. 'Must be an important announcement if they're forcing it on people.' Well, she wasn't going to stop running, might as well be there 'in person' for it. Show respect to the creator and stuff. She had properly working legs now, so she might as well use 'em. For what it was worth, she tried to listen to poor ole Edwin as he gave the rundown on the game, but she was too busy enjoying her simulated movement and ended up tuning him out for most of the run. She slid to a stop as she arrived in the square, the live feed in the corner thankfully vanishing so there would be no audio overlap.

Edwin had switched gears, now talking about some sort of in-game event, a death game? She wiped the virtual sweat from her brow as she listened, suddenly assaulted by a very real feeling of wetness, as if she'd actually been sweating. In fact, everything started to 'feel' like she was actually in this body. The weight of her armor and weapons on her chest, belt, and back, the aforementioned wetness of sweat forming on her brow, the slight breeze flowing through her hair, the heat and accelerated heartbeat of having just run hard for a few minutes... It even felt like she had working legs. "What the hell...?" She hadn't been feeling this just a few moments ago! Was this a typical VR experience and it had just taken a while for the VRX to link with her senses? If it was, technology had really advanced. Regardless, she was at full attention now and it sounded like shit was hitting the fan hard.

'Can't log out? Now that sounds like a bunch of bull.' There should be safeguards against that kind of thing for exactly this reason. She couldn't believe that a bunch of competent executives would let a PR nightmare like that slip through unnoticed. Still, she decided to humor the man, opening the menu and attempting to log out. To her surprise, despite hitting the button, nothing had changed. She was still in the game. Oddly, she didn't panic, appearing unnaturally serene on the outside. Rather, she felt a cold rage building up. Who did this jackass think he was, trapping literally thousands of people in his game!? Arms crossed, she dared speak to the mad man.

"So what's your game plan then, Mr. Game Master? Can't imagine you'd do something like this just for shits 'n giggles."

Edited by Ursali
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Let's see here... well, it wasn't that complicated to set this up. Very well. As the first time perhaps I should not stay in there for too long... well, maybe I should see how it goes first.

For someone of his age, one would think José would've tried something else to adopt as a hobby for his retirement. Even if it had to be video games, the VR was still thought as too much. Regardless, it was something he was willing to try; and there had been little to be done to convince him out of it. As such, on the day the MMO would become available, he was ready to dive in. As a first-timer on the whole VR business, he was quickly impressed.

Such advancements in technology. What a time to be alive... Even if the statement would likely change to apply to some future date, it was still something he'd think of now.

Character creation for the game soon came up. Now then... He decided on the Knight class, not much of a big decision behind it, though character race was a definite sticking to Human. Virtual game or not, sixty-five years of being one says I'm not stopping any time soon, he chuckled. For appearance itself he was pleased to find he could make himself look as old as he was in reality. Sure, he could've made himself look younger to relive that part of his life again; but to him such a thought was more of a whim he felt little need to fulfill. It didn't mattered as much. For naming it, he went for something reminiscent of his old country. Ocelotlalli. Very Nahua-esque, even if he wasn't sure it was a valid one. He only knew (or remembered) what his maternal grandparents taught him, who were fluent in the language. Eventually, the process was done; and soon found himself in the game world itself.

After reading the announcement, he opted to spend most of the time waiting just wandering around the place. He also took that time to gear himself properly with his starting gold. All in all, he was enjoying it. I know it's not real; but it certainly feels as if I'm quite a few years younger. No matter how good he took care of himself over the years, he was still in that age range where things just started to head downhill. It was a firm reminder. No matter, he had long come to terms with it, after loosing enough family members for one reason or another related to age. Not that it was going to stop him from enjoy a, if virtual, chance at being as active as he once used to be, nonetheless.

By the time of the announcement, he was already waiting in the proper place. Then the Game Master dropped his... bombshell of a news. Unlike most people around him getting worried or starting to panic, he merely frowned. Part of him was still skeptical; but nonetheless was going to hear the rest of it.

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Ooh, this was fun. An announcement from the creator himself. Taking notes of what the man was saying in her journal so she could recount it for her article, Felicity stopped a few moments after her mind recognized the words she was jotting down... death game? Fully paying attention now, but still making sure to write everything for posterity... a chill ran down her spine. Was this game supposed to be able to do that? Everything felt so much more... real all of the sudden.

'But it has to just be a flavour event... right?' Felicity nervously assured herself, as she tested the log out button to affirm as such. Nothing. A few tries and the button was gone. Felicity took a few moments to close her mouth, which was now dreadfully dry. This... this was...

An incredible scoop! She had never heard of an event like this, but it was incredibly well put together! And she would get to cover it personally, probably be the only article in Halifax... maybe the entire Maritimes about it with the inside story!

'Jackpot Allison~! JACK! POT!' She reasoned to herself excitedly, tail wagging up a storm as she stared up in awe at this game master.

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Mystia (Charles) and her friends had managed to get to Voxrest Square early enough by walking a brisk pace. It was less than a minute for the announcement to start. How timely. The place was sprawling with players. Mystia didn't mind attention, but crowded places still triggered anti-social instincts. She hoped this would be brief.

Edwin seemed imposing, in part because he was able to grandstand and make such speeches without a break in his demeanor. Charismatic types were both nemesis and people Mystia begrudgingly respected.

"I hope we get some free potions..." Alf seemed to be intently listening to the speech. Mystia was mostly tuning it out herself, sighing as she found a wall to lean against. Paul shared her sentiments.

"... and that brings me to the Death Game part of this."

Hold up. "The what?" Mystia couldn't get over how out of place that sounded. They weren't even close to Halloween, so that just sounded creepy! She sprung to attention-- "Eh?" And... she could feel the heave of her small chest, what? That kind of sensitivity wasn't there before, it was even out of place for a game like this. It was just supposed to be some old-school jrpg, and, she could feel herself up? Even that knot in her stomach felt like she... he was actually there. "What the fuck?!" Mystia... Charles? was so caught up in his own alien feelings he had missed the shocking revelation about logging off. His attention was only whisked away from his own body when his friend spoke up.

"Hey, this is real. I can't log off!" Paul seemed somewhere between shocked and angry, from his expression. "Who does this guy think he is?" He kept trying to press his logout button, as if force would make the result change... then, the button just up and vanished. He let out a breathless gasp. "--No! Where did he hide that!" Paul kept scanning his menu, growing restless as he couldn't find a way to leave. "I'm supposed to wash the dishes before dinner today! He can't lock me here for a fucking event!"

"Wait, Paul, calm down. There's gotta be a catch." Alfred was always the pragmatic one of the group. Charles really appreciated that his friend could keep calm at a time like this, seriously, but that chill in his gut kept sinking. This was feeling too real, he didn't like real.

"No, dude! He can't do that either way! Consumer rights! I should be able to quit the game whenever I want!" Paul was clearly stressed now, stepping foward, past the crowd. That made Charles' blood run cold, and he ran to catch his friend, tugging Paul's leather jacket.

"D-don't! Paul! Let him be!" Charles' voice was shaking, still that feminine elven voice, but he could feel the words getting stuck in his throat.

"HEY!! BOY GENIUS!"

Charles let out a scared yelp. His body felt so cold. Cold sweat ran through his skin, as he shaked, but did his best not to let go of his friend's jacket. This felt just like school. All over again. The grandstanding bully was making his speech. You don't bring attention to yourself and challenge the bully. They had eyes on them now. So much attention. They weren't hotshots in a fantasy world, they were the wimpy nerds, and Paul made the cardinal mistake. Oh no. Oh noooo... "P-Paul, l-let's get back. Sto, stop..." They couldn't stand up to him, this wasn't a game anymore. Paul didn't care, however, with hands raised to the sides of his mouth, he kept raising his voice, righteous fury keeping him bold.

"SOME OF US HAVE CHORES TO DO! YOU CAN'T LOCK US HERE!"

"P-Paaaaauuullll....." Charles was trembling, this was too much attention. The wrong kind. His blood was running cold.

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"I do suppose a proper explanation is in order. Now--" Before Edwin could get to explaining the situation properly, someone was already barking at him to let them go. "Ah, alright! Someone to make an example out of. I suppose I should've expected that. Now, let's see... This will work." A spear materialized next to him, a flick of the finger sending it flying, and in but a moment...

A piercing sound, a heavy thud, the splatter of liquid. Blood. Paul's shouting was cut short by the sudden impalement, leaving Edwin smiling and laughing, just a bit. "Obviously, none of that blood is real. But, you see, these VRX headsets we're all wearing, they connect to all of your senses. Directly to your brain! Now what they don't tell you is that their security systems aren't all that amazing, and you're all wired up now, as if this entire world is real. I'm sure some of you can feel it already, your breathing, your heartbeats, how nice and warm it suddenly is. VR doesn't do all of that, but VRX, well. The X doesn't stand for anything, but it sure makes a difference!"

Most of the crowd was panicking now as people were realizing they couldn't log out, and that he wasn't lying, things were suddenly very, very real. All of that combined with the body now impaled that had suddenly stopped moving, and people were running.

"No... N-No, what? This is crazy. No! This isn't-- This is just, a shitty nightmare! That's all this is!" Steph couldn't take it, her legs crumbling beneath her as she fell to the ground, staring in terror at their new GM. "WHY!?"

"As for the why of all this... It's a thought experiment!"

"A... A thought... Wh-What, the fuck...?"

"I've always wondered what you people would do-- humans, gamers, your lot --when presented with this sort of reality shift. Are you gonna, band together, and try to save each other? Play the game normally? Start killing people for kicks because, well, it's just a game, after all! I will say, at least," his voice began to boom, as the crowd got louder, "there is a way to escape!"

A lot of people stopped at that, turning back to him, some small hope present in them. "The dungeon in this city, the Labyrinth. It has thirty floors! Beyond those floors is the entrance to the final area of the game, Trauk Cracy." A small window popped up in front of the players, informing them of what this area was. Unexplored, unknown, and unreachable without the right preparations. "Make it down there, defeat the final boss, and everyone gets to leave! It's quite simple, really... The problem is that, if you die, you're dead. Just like our lovely little example down there." The spear disappeared, Paul's body slumping to the ground in a heap, his eyes empty.

"You see, now that everything is 'real', if you die here, your brain will think you've died in real life... And it'll shut down. Tonnes of fun, isn't it? Fascinating stuff, really, heheh. Well, that's all-- Oh!"

Stephanie was hyperventilating at this point, clutching her head and shaking. She barely noticed the popup box in front of her, asking one question. 'Will you maintain your Avatar, or take on the appearance of your real life self?' She smashed Avatar, she didn't want to be here, herself, anywhere. If she could just, treat this like a game, maybe she could make it through this. "You're not, Stephanie, anymore... Nyahrissa is, stupid. Clarissa. You, you have to... You, ahhh, hahhhh..." It was still too much, she'd just wanted to play a game, and now this?

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Verner made it into the tree without his spears catching on anything and ruining him, but the big announcement quickly took a turn for the worse. His sense of reality started to change, and he felt himself becoming more and more 'immersed' in the game with the sudden threat of death looming over them. Things felt more real, and he didn't feel quite as safe as he once did high up in a tree. Being raised a military brat, Verner didn't think twice about Edwin's warning of them not being able to log out, now. He wouldn't have checked for himself if not for all the people below and around him desperately searching their own holographic menus for an easy way out of this late afternoon nightmare. By the time Verner bothered to check and see if he was the exception, the logout button had already disappeared.

"Alright then ..." Verner tried to think the situation through as the spirit of panic settled into the trapped gathering, but aside from hoping the police would catch on to what was happening and find a way to safely shut this whole thing down ... they were screwed, stuck in this Sky Blue game. Edwin didn't leave the crowd in a panic for too long, informing them that there was a way out of this mess. They had a task they could complete to escape back to reality. Banding together sounded like the natural course of action ... for intelligent people, at least. The real world was much more ridiculous than that ... and this was quickly becoming the real world. The old world was irrelevant for now, and all Verner's plans lay in ruins ...

Verner didn't get down from the tree. The place was still too crowded, and he didn't want to be on the ground floor if a riot broke out. His stats weren't ideal for a brawl, no, not even against a bunch of other level 1s. Instead, he kept his eyes on Edwin, trying not to miss any crucial tells or information. Whatever was waiting for them in Trauk Cracy, Edwin was the ultimate problem: A maniac, a murderer, and obviously whimsical. If there was a real final boss after the final boss, it was likely him. "Trick the villain into killing himself cliche ... don't fail us now."

Suddenly another UI appeared in front of him, and Verner groaned at it. "What now ...? Huh? My appearance?" Why give them that option? "... right, whimsical. Let's see ..." Keep his current appearance, which was just a somewhat edgier, jackdaw inspired take on his actual appearance ... or his actual appearance? Verner couldn't help but wonder if his stats would get reworked to account for his scrawny legs, which hadn't moved under their own power in two whole years. Regardless, he did not like the idea of being lean upstairs and a starved husk downstairs, much less appearing to everyone else that way. He wore baggy pants religiously. With little more thought going into his choice than that, Verner opted for his in-game appearance. Jackdawn had just been born.

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Oh! Oh... oh my. Things had just... taken a turn for the worse. The tail of Felicity had ceased it's bemused wagging, as a dissenter had begun shouting, and was quickly put down in a display of blood and gore. If you die in the game you die for real? What bollocks was that, surely... on second glance, that shouter's body sure looked... realistic. She had never seen a game portray a corpse... quite like that. He wasn't getting up, the body wasn't de-spawning so that it could re-spawn at the chapel. 

Did that mean that this was serious? Not an ingame event or anything, but actually... real? No. Don't even think about that, if you think about it, the possibility that it might actually be real will pop into your head, and thinking about that... well that's what will get you killed faster than anything else, if it is. Allison was never happier that she had decided to pick a rather sturdy, but fundamentally long-ranged character... she was not jealous of the squishier folk like wizards at a time like this.

As the next popup arrived, she made a point to actually read it, this time. Keep your avatar, or take up her real life appearance? If she had wanted to look like herself in this place, that had been an option from the start... retain avatar. Immediately upon doing so, she felt... strange. Perhaps it was just everything getting even more freakishly real than it had already been, but... Allison was giving way to Felicity, and all of the catlike fluff that came attached. She felt... dexterous. Amazingly so. Looking up and catching a glimpse of a feathered folk with his high vantage point... if people panicked further and started to riot... which seemed distinctly possible, being off the ground would be better.

Scanning, scanning... a good, solid tree with some sturdy branches. Better than nothing. Slinking through the crowd to it's hefty trunk, Felicity used her newfound feline agility... God it actually felt natural, the hell was this?, to scale the sturdy old tree, coming to rest on a thick branch away from the crowd... and staring straight up at Edwin. 

'Mrr... I can't believe this. I need to keep track of everything though... who else is gonna document all of this?'

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That man is mad, was all José thought.

Quite the understatement, considering things. Specially the live performance of the whole 'die in the game, you die for real' thing. What a twisted experiment. Dread filled him. Retirement was meant to be a more relaxing affair, not getting tangled into a perilous ordeal! He had done enough of those already. In the end, he sighed. Being angry at him would solve nothing. Only by doing what he wanted would set them free, it seems. When the option showed up to keep his avatar or return to his real appearance, he chose the former. I didn't went through all trouble that just to discard it shortly after, he reasoned. That also meant going by his chosen avatar name, Ocelotlalli. Well, they were called 'role-playing games' for a reason, even if that last word no longer applied here.

It was then when he finally took full attention at the further changes brought by Edwin turning things more 'real'. I suppose it was a good thing I chose to remain human, he thought. Still, that included the effects of his stat set-up. It made him reminiscence of his days working the fields. If it wasn't for his appearance, he could almost think he was at least fourty years younger. He certainly felt that way, at least. Except now he wasn't going to pick up tomatoes and the like; but fight monsters, traverse dungeons, that sort of stuff.

He wondered what should be his next move. Would Edwin had something else to say or do? Was it more prudent to get to work right away on preparing for the Labyrinth? Either way, with how most of the crowd looked, perhaps it was best to leave the place right away.

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Amaterasu watched as some upset guy started making a scene. 'No... That's not what you do in these situations, kid!' "Oi, shut the hell-" Her attempt at a warning was too little too late, the shouter being shut up by Edwin himself. That cold rage burned ever hotter, but after what she'd just witnessed there was little she could do to act on it. She wasn't confident enough to call his bluff, assuming that it was one, about death being permanent. Right now, she'd just become another victim if she tried to make a show of opposing him. It was just common sense. Hopefully, that guy's friend wouldn't do something equally stupid.

She couldn't do much other than grit her teeth as the crowd panicked, running for their collective lives. Although she was in the thick of it, she didn't find herself being pushed around by the crowd; none of them wanted to tangle with an Oni, flowing around her like she was a rock in a river. Edwin eventually laid down his terms, ending the panic he himself had started, at least for now. "Beat the game and you can leave? What the hell..." 'How long is this game supposed to be? Most MMOs don't really have a set ending...'

A sudden popup brought her out of her thoughts. "Avatar or real life appearance?" There couldn't be a bigger contrast between the two: one was tall, strong, and healthy; the other was small, weak, and probably wouldn't survive more than a week in this world if her stats adjusted to fit. But would they? There was no way to be sure, and she sure as hell wasn't going to risk something like that with her life on the line. She mashed the avatar button; even if her stats would stay the same she liked this body a lot more already. Her choice made, more of the 'realism' seemed to settle in. Now she actually felt like she was a big, strong Oni. Like she could punch through walls, or something close to that. Like she was Amaterasu now.

"So! Ya got any tips for us, Game Master?"

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Fwoosh.

Before Charles could process it, Paul had been flung away, a spear was thrown with such force that his eyes couldn't follow. "Wh--" He turned behind him, and his voice instantly failed him, chocking on the highest pitched squeal he'd done in his life. The spear har pierced the floor's concrete, sticking out like a tilted pole. Worst of all, Paul was stuck in it, having pierced through his chest. Charles was fairly sure it went through his heart an spine, a lethal attack made so effortlessly...

"Bro..." Paul's strained voice stirred Charles from his shock, rushing to his friend. "I can't... see anything. It' all red." Paul was coughing up more of that virtual blood amidst his words. It didn't seem like he was aware of it.

"H-hold up, bro! I can't let you be-- C-cleric! I-Is there a Cleric in here!" Charles called out for help in his weak, shaken voice to no avail. Most everyone was as panicked as him. His words were muffled out by the rucking. "I-I should have taken healing water, o-or gone cleric! Aaah, aaaauuuugh...!" Tears started running down Charles face, hugging his friend's nearly limp body. Unfortunately, even if this were a game, there was no such way to recover somebody that had taken such a lethal hit, though Charles refused to think it was hopeless.

"N-no, Paul..."Charles felt a presence behind him. Alfred had just come, crouching down to meet his friend's gaze. The rest of the square was in chaos, panic, but right now, the three friends were closer than ever, every other voice filtered out, including the cold-blooded killer's.

"Sorry, bros.... I--" Paul coughed, choking on his own blood. Even an antisocial nerd like Charles knew what this voice was --the voice of a man at death's door. "I-I'm, gonna, go..."

"N-no, you can'th, hhh, ah, f-fuck, Paul... Paul!" Charles' face was a mess, tears streaming down, runny nose. He wanted so, so badly to reject that he was losing a friend.

One of his only friends.

"I-I'm shorry! I'll stohp playin' as a girl-- aah! Next, next game we're all being dudes. We'll be... w-we'll be the best trio ever! S-so, so...!" Charles' words were caught in his throat, hugging his friend's body tight.

"Bro... don't..." Paul couldn't even breathe anymore, his complexion paler by the second, his eyes stared at the nothing in clear sign of complete vision loss, he'd only have a few more moment. "W-we, beefed, but..."

"You are... my best friends..."

The lance had dematerialized, Paul's body finally hit the ground proper, the light in his eyes completely gone. He'd passed on, and unlike in any other game they've played together, Paul wouldn't come back.

"N-nh...!" Charles couldn't even speak anymore, his words were completely stuck, the pain was too much, loud sobs replaced any coherent sentence as he hugged his friend's lifeless digital body.

Charles could feel another embrace, Alfred, far bigger than himself, had hugged him --and Paul's body--from behind, his face showing clear distress, he was as heartbroken as Charles. This would be the last group hug between the three.

The last two of the nerd trio felt almost inconsolable, even after letting Paul's body rest on the ground, Charles and Alfred still couldn't bring themselves to stand up. Charles' tears were the first to clear enough that his reddish eyes managed to read the prompt in front of him. Some popup that decided their grieving was of no importance...

'Will you maintain your Avatar, or take on the appearance of your real life self?'

W-what...?! Real life... no! No! This was too real already! Charles didn't ask for any of this! Not even once! He hated himself, his wimpy self, and came to this game to become a well-liked girl player! That's all he was asking for! Why was the world punishing him for what he wanted to be?! "Aaahh...!"

It was almost immediate, Charles pushed the option to maintain his avatar with as much force as his virtual body could manage.

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"Ah! Glad to see someone taking this seriously. Of course I do! What sort of game master leaves his players high and dry, eh?" Edwin laughed with all sincerity, pulling a book out of nowhere and flipping through its pages. "First off, if you haven't yet, I suggest everyone spends their starting gold on the best equipment they can afford. The NPCs have no idea of what's going on, they're all code, so any attempts to talk to them about this will be met with blank stares. After you've suited up, start leveling~ It's an MMO, after all. Level, do quests, survive, and start exploring the other islands. Play the game! And when you think you're ready to head into the Labyrinth, by all means." He closed the book, as though he'd found what he was looking for.

"The game is entirely fair. Just consider this an iron man run. Hardcore? Whichever term you prefer. One life per character~ One more tidbit about the Labyrinth, every level will give you the details of the boss waiting at the bottom. Plan accordingly! That said..." With a wave of his hand, suddenly, several mobs of monsters appeared in the court, wasting no time in screaming and attacking the players there.

"Here's a gift, from me to you. Some free EXP! Have fun in Sky Blue. I'll see you all later... Or I won't! It's all a part of the game." With that, he was gone, and his minions were left over.

Steph stood up, still wobbly, but she was somehow feeling a lot... Better? She was still scared. This world was horrifying, especially if it was all real, and now they were all stuck fighting monsters. Low level monsters, but it was still a threat! Yet... Maybe it was this, sticking with your avatar thing. She felt, aware, much calmer, and strong. Strong enough to unsheathe the sword she'd bought earlier, and raise up the shield next to it. "Okay... Okay! Fine, you want us to play your sick fucking game, let's play! C, Come at me, you useless mobs!"

Combat Begin!

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Free EXP? That was one way to put it, Verner scowled. Half the players weren't ready for combat, and about half of those that were had clearly been thrown off their game by this ambush. There was nowhere to go, no room to friggin' maneuver! Well, Verner had some room, but not a whole lot. More importantly, he couldn't just hide up here in this tree any longer. Loosing his brand new whip and equipping it in his dominant hand, Verner quickly slapped together an attack plan in his head. Going after one of these enemies with just the dagger wasn't going to get him great results with his inexperience, but disorienting them with the whip first would provide a great opening.

The nearest threat was a kobold, and the nearby players were straight up unprepared. One of them was even swinging their arms at it, trying to get the lizard monster to back off. It wasn't looking in his direction anymore, so Verner hopped down and lashed out with his whip. To his surprise, his stats seemed to kick in right then and there, and he noticed a slight twitch in his wrist that offset his attack just slightly. The results of which were profound. The whip slapped the kobold, wrapping around its neck as Verner closed in from above. He had the most dumbfounded look on his face, but he knew what to do next. As soon as he was close enough, Verner finished off the scaly cretin with his dagger.

"Back me up or get clear," he barked at the nearest players as he worked his whip off from the dead kobold. If there was loot, he'd see to it later. For now, he had to deal with enemies and rightly panicked gamers both at once. Even if no one helped him, Verner could at least maneuver more easily with the square less crowded, and thankfully, he wasn't the only one intent on 'scoring some free EXP.' "Focus ..."

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(Xin is having issues, so):

Charles was still lost staring at the corpse of his friend when the sound of screaming shook him up once again, not only the sound of people's screams but of something else entirely, more guttural. Monsters, one look was enough to confirm it. H-he summoned monsters to kill us? Why... Was that man doing this for his own enjoyment? Edwin was worse than any of the bullies Charles had to deal with in his school life.

For starters, he was a murderer.

Gripping his quarterstaff, Charles pushed himself up to stand. ...Did Edwin increase the square's gravity? It felt harder to push himself up. Perhaps all this mental shock had put a block on Charles, he had to actively put the effort with his muscles.

"Alf...?" Charles had a few tears still running down his cheek, but this was no time to be sorry for himself. Alfred had turned back to an appearance more like his real self, except still with half-orcish features. It seemed like the game still tried to make you follow your race and character statlines to some extent. Alf lifted the corpse of his friend easily, easier than in real life for sure.

"I'm not going to leave him here, let's go. This isn't a game anymore."

"W-wait, Alf..."

In a moment Charles felt his thoughts far clearer, the horde of monsters was disorganized, but they had already spread out enough to block the escape of those that stepped up. "I-I'm going to help them, I'll catch you later." Alf was surprised, Charles wasn't one to put himself at risk for others like that --quite the opposite--, perhaps Paul's death really pulled a number on him.

It was understandable, witnessing more deaths after that...

"I'll catch you outside. Don't die." Alfred stressed his last sentence, hoping it would help, if anything. Alf quickly made a break for it with Paul in tow. Meanwhile, Charles had produced a flame in his hand.

"Begone!" He threw the flame at a nearby sketelon, one that seemed ready to gang up on a woman, hopefully that'd take him--  

"Eek!" Whoa! A shortsword nearly made it for his face. Charle parried the attack partially. Another skeleton had taken notice of him while casting the spell, apparently. "A-ah... stay back!" The skeleton was so strong, ugh, fighting them all would wear down Charles quick...

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"Just... J-Just, swing the thing at the damn lizard. Just swing it!" Whether it was her hesitance or talking to herself, her swing was incredibly wide, the lizard jumping away and scoffing at her before retreating towards someone else. "Sunova... Ah! W-Wait, don't-- AUGH!!" And now she couldn't get that shield up in time, a skeleton towering over her now, having collapsed to the ground with a hefty swing. Her side was bleeding now, the damage clear, and very, very painful. "N-No, no! I'm not-- Someone! H-Help! I don't wanna die!"

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Well now this was happening... lovely. Enemies were swarming the plaza, attacking every which way... she had the high ground, she could have just scampered off to safety, but... goddamn it why was now of all times when she decided to be a hero? She was sure there were plenty of players biting the dust, but there was one in her line of sight, a nervous looking cleric who was practically just a leap's distance away from her tree, and had just taken a nasty swipe from a skeleton's short sword... damn it all. Getting proper footing on her sturdy branch and drawing her rapier, Felicity took a leap, lunging down at the skeleton attacking her fellow Feyline. Her rapier lashed out, slipping between it's ribs, but a quick twist managed to do a good chunk of damage... this wasn't really the best type of enemy for her loadout...

Luckily, it was hard to miss the large oni fighter racing in their direction, and a quick withdrawal of her blade and a bump in the oni's direction with her shield was enough to line up a devastating smash.

"Oww... remind me to keep on your good side..." Felicity remarked with a wince, before stepping towards the fallen cleric and extending her hand to help the girl up.

"C'mon, get up... if you don't wanna die, then take my hand and stand up!" Felicity urged, eyes darting back and forth as the monsters began to clean up solo adventurers, more and more turning their attention to the gathering group.

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Did he really just do that? Drop a whole bunch of monsters on an already cowering, and probably unprepared, player base? Sonnuvabitch. Well, if that was how this was gonna go down then she'd just need to step up to the challenge. She was probably one of the more prepared characters right now, she could probably turn the tides if she did things right. Stop more people from dying. Some people were already fighting back, even that kid whose friend got killed by Edwin. Well, she couldn't very well let them show her up.

A sudden scream caught her attention. A nearby cleric was on the ground, a skeleton towering above her looking like it was going to finish her off. She was strong enough to make a difference now and god dammit she was going to. "Oi! Pick on someone your own size you useless pile of bones!" She yelled, charging at the offending skeleton.  Grabbing her maul off her back, she brought it down in an overhead swing on the skeleton, completely crushing it and driving it into the ground. There was no way that thing was still alive. Well, as alive as an undead could be. As she lifted her maul back up, ready to swing at the next threat, there was barely any skeleton left, most of it had been turned into powder. What was left was sitting in the fresh hole she'd made in the pavement with her swing. 

"Heh. Might've missed if you hadn't shoved, though. Thanks for the assist." Amaterasu replied with a confident grin before turning serious. "Yeah. We might have your back, but if you just sit around you'll just look like a target to them."

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Perhaps high and dry would've been best, José, now Ocelotlalli, deadpanned.

As if the park hadn't been high-strung enough, now there were monsters to deal with. It was a good thing he opted to gear up before coming here. This was the sort of situations to always be prepared for and be able to act accordingly. Unfortunately, the armor he had weighted him down considerably. Not enough to be a hindrance; but he was certainly not running fast any time soon with it. If he was to fight or help anyone here, it would have to be with those nearest him.

As luck would have it, nearby a skeleton almost struck down a catgirl. The monster was dealt with in short order by other players, fortunately. Safety in numbers... I guess it's a good choice as any, then, he thought. He made his way over to them.

"Can you heal yourself?" He knew everyone got a potion as part of their starting inventory; and from her looks, she likely could use a spell as well. However, it never hurt to ask on these things. "We'll cover you, either way."

Okay, sure, he didn't knew if the other two would do that or focus on the monsters instead; but he would do it if no one else. He took a defensive stance, shield and lance at the ready.

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From being alone and terrified, to being helped and surrounded by a group of complete strangers, Steph wasn't sure what to make of this situation. Strength was definitely in numbers, and she wasn't about to say no to aid like this. "Y-Yeah, I can heal myself. Uhm... Thanks..." She took this other cat girl's hand, steadying herself as she got back on her feet. Wow, even an oni. There wasn't much of that skeleton left, now... "So strong... I'll, uhm, I'll get a spell ready." Hopefully nothing would get to her before she could. That tall guy, he seemed like a knight. He even took two more hits for her, wow. She thought she'd been prepared to play, but these people were prepared for even more than that. Either that, or they were simply really good at adapting to situations. I should... Try and be more like them.

"I-If anyone else gets hurt, I'll patch you up!"

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Looking around had probably saved Verner from being caught and taken down by a different kobold. Thankfully, the crowd was breaking up. He could scamper around just fine. Quickly lashing out with his whip again, Verner blinded the murderous lizard in one of its eyes and then rushed in on foot for the knife kill. What should have been an easy throat stab quickly turned into a stalemate, with the kobold catching Verner's arm and preparing to floor him. He countered by jamming the hilt of his whip into the kobold's damaged eye, destroying it completely and forcing the creature to the ground. One more jab into its skull for good measure and Verner was back on his feet again, panting and filled with adrenaline.

"Players are starting to cluster up," Verner noticed, "Better find a group and stick close, I guess ..."

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