《Chinookan Pacifica》 0. Presage of Power The overlarge rat knew not why she fought nor that she had fought this group of four before, either alone or grouped with others of their kind. She was just a construct of the game, and no great AI with their simulacrum of thoughts and desires. The great rat was naught more than a series of scripts and triggers and conditions. Complex, sure, but a measurable level of complexity, one far below that of the two gate guards watching the distant battle, a battle that had no risk of coming close enough that the guards would need to get involved. A woman in red with wings like the fires of sunrise had first drawn the rat¡¯s attention. It couldn¡¯t comprehend the use of a taunt skill; it just knew that the winged woman was annoying and needed to be hunted. Not for food or for protection, for the overlarge rat was tagged as neutral and wouldn¡¯t initiate fights. But something ¡­ something ¡­ drove the rat to rage. But it couldn¡¯t reach the woman. She made those funny sounds that their kind called speech, sounds the rat certainly couldn¡¯t comprehend, and an extremely annoying stone copy of the woman appeared in front of the overlarge rat. The rat couldn¡¯t comprehend the terms ¡°statue¡± nor ¡°totem,¡± but it did react as it was programmed to, with a sonic shriek and a gap-closing charge into a double strike with its claws. Then it snapped a bite at the stone statue. The rat was powerful, claws leaving gouges in the stone and its bite cracking the statue¡¯s left arm. Not breaking it, and the rat wasn¡¯t aware of the concept of hit points and health bars, so it couldn¡¯t tell how relatively minor of an effect its attacks were having. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. It could tell, however, that the damage was repairing. There was a pulsing green glow that seemed to wash away the gouges, leaving the stone unblemished after every strike. And while the rat wasn¡¯t cognizant of the how, its scripts and triggers and conditions ticked up its hate for the smaller, flying, winged woman, fluttering not far behind the other three. The rat spared a glance at the smaller pest, but its hate was too focused on the red-winged woman and her annoying statue. Once they fell, then the little winged one would be next. But it wasn¡¯t just the rat doing damage. Two of the group fought back. The first was a tall, green woman clad in blue and gold, who lept in, kicked, and flipped back before the overlarge rat could retaliate or counter. The fourth member of the group swung a staff and a curved blade of silver sparkled at its end, slicing deep into the digital flesh of the overlarge rat. The rat had already taken damage from spells and kicks, but this powerful attack sliced its health bar clean away, completely bypassing the enrage mechanics. A condition was met and a script tried to trigger, the rat starting to rear back on its hind legs to launch another sonic attack via its stunning scream, but before it could, the digital form shattered and faded away in the particle effects of death. * * * ¡°One day, that will get old, but those stupid matriarchs have a lot to answer for,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Good timing on that attack, Jazzy. We completely skipped the rage mechanics this time.¡± She flashed a thumbs-up and twirled her staff. ¡°We didn¡¯t need her summoning half the zone in adds again, and that scream attack is very annoying even if it doesn¡¯t hurt that much anymore.¡± Nodding, I glanced at the other two of my group today. ¡°Ka¡¯Moni, Mikachu, let¡¯s see what we can track down today while the others are questing or crafting. Think we can finally find that hidden dungeon?¡± 1. Four Paths ¡°A random race/class combination? Why would anyone think players want something like that?¡± ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to play a random character,¡± Susie explained, ¡°or at least not a fully random character. But it¡¯s the only way to get the OP options. We¡¯ll actually get four different creation paths to choose from, and that¡¯s just one of them.¡± When Susie went into lecturer mode, she went into it full-bore. There simply was no polite way to get a word in edgewise. And not even all that many rude ways, either. Twenty to thirty minutes of exposition later, and I had learned quite a bit about the character creation system in DVI, that is ¡­ Dungeon Veils Interactive. Kind of a dumb name, but it was the hottest new VR game, gameworld, experience, whatever. Don¡¯t ask for what it really is. That¡¯s a whole ¡®nother series of Susie lectures, and I¡¯m not in the mood to relate them right now. Anyway, once a player logs into DVI for the first time, he or she is faced with four different character creation possibilities. First, they could take the so-called Path of Self. That is, their character, such as it is, is themself. Mostly. Human race, of course, and with an appearance that mirrors their real-world self, if perhaps a bit glamorized and idealized. And as for class, it depends on the selected weapon, such as a bow, sword, or staff, or the selected implement, such as a blacksmith¡¯s hammer or alchemic alembic. All basic classes to start with -- fighter, archer, caster, crafter -- with room to diversify and specialize as they level up. But if someone really, really wants to play a certain more specialized class, like paladin, shaman, berzerker, necromancer, whatever ¡­ they can take the second route, the Path of Action. Along the Path of Action, there¡¯s options for some customization such as a paladin¡¯s choice of deity or a necromancer¡¯s starting minion, but race and consequently appearance are chosen by the system, apparently with lore considerations. No goblin paladins or light elf necromancers, for instance. Players also get one reroll of race, in case the randomly selected one -- or its appearance -- is just too undesirable. Mostly, though, people who want to play a certain class don¡¯t care so much about their appearance but only about their abilities, so there¡¯s not a lot of rerolling, three percent or so, and that¡¯s almost always because the random selection gave an opposite-gendered character. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Similar to the Path of Action is the Path of Identity. If someone is deadset on playing a specific race, they can create their character with the common or uncommon race they want, with the appearance they want, but their character class is assigned at random based on lore considerations. Again, no goblin paladins or light elf necromancers. Not too many goblin anythings, for that matter. And, if the random class is just too horrid to consider, the player gets one reroll for a different class. If, for either of the paths, the rerolled option is just too undesirable as well, then the player gets put on the basic Path of Self. There¡¯s apparently less rerolling on the Path of Identity, however. First, classes can be changed over time. Someone who gets a necromancer class can, with effort, pick up skills and abilities for other classes and eventually change their class to something else. Perhaps dark priest or shadow knight. Whatever. For some, putting in that effort is an acceptable sacrifice to be an elf, dwarf, or beastkin rather than a human. And, of course, there¡¯s a particular draw for those who want their character to be a girl even though they¡¯re male in real life. Or to be a guy even though they¡¯re female in real life. For them, it¡¯s better to have a less-than-ideal class than a less-than-ideal body. Susie¡¯s cousin, off in Europe somewhere, is like that. Thus, very little rerolling on the Path of Identity and only a tiny, tiny number drop back to the Path of Self. And, finally, there¡¯s the Path of Fate. Random race, random class, random appearance. Unless you¡¯re desperate to be a certain race or class for which a different Path would be best, there¡¯s not really any major downside to the Path of Fate. After all, if the random result is no good, just turn down the Path of Self and walk away. On the upside, at least race or class will be rare or better, something that no other path can access from the start. And while a rare class may be attained over time, races are a bit more immutable. But with rarity, at least in DVI, comes power. For those aiming to be the strongest, or for fame, or for fortune, that power might be worth the potential drawbacks. Minotaurs, giants, elementals, even a succubus -- these were the results granted to some players who walked the Path of Fate. 2. Initial Plans There were five of us in the planning session. That is, four of us and Susie, sharing her knowledge in lecture form. If she doesn¡¯t grow up to be a college professor, she¡¯ll grow up to be one of those folk that narrate history documentaries. Sometimes, I feel like she already might be doing that in her free time. Clockwise, from Susie, was my sister, Jenna. She was a year older than me, but with none of that big-sister bossiness that is apparently so common in fiction and other families. She¡¯s pretty cool, but don¡¯t tell her I said that. Gotta maintain a semblance of sibling rivalry, you know. My friend Mika was sitting astraddle her chair next to Jenna. A bigger tomboy, you¡¯ve never seen. Mika¡¯s hair was short and I don¡¯t think she ever wore a skirt a day in her life. We met way back in first grade when she launched a flying roundhouse kick into the bigger kid who had been bullying me in the park. And she¡¯s stuck close to me ever since. Mika¡¯s older sister, Naomi, was Susie¡¯s friend, and was sitting next to her on the other side from Jenna. While she wasn¡¯t as rambunctious and energetic as Mika, no one would ever accuse her of being traditionally feminine. She was the quiet and scholarly type, which is perhaps why she got along with Susie so well -- they both had the brains of this circle. That left me, between the sisters. And as the only guy and the youngest (Mika had me beat by three days), I was somewhat the odd one out. But Mika was my best friend, which consequently meant I had been around and friendly with Naomi most of my life, and through Naomi, Susie. And of course, being related to Jenna meant she was naturally a part of my circle as well. Okay, maybe not naturally a part of my circle, but she and Naomi got along ever since they were assigned to be partners in a class project some years back. And when your sister¡¯s friend is your friend¡¯s sister, well either the two sets of friends hate each other, or they hang out. ¡°So. Plans?¡± Mika asked Susie. ¡°Plans? Log in, get our characters, meet up, kick butt, and get famous, right?¡± Jenna answered before Susie could reply. ¡°I meant characters,¡± Mika said. ¡°Who wants to be what? Healer, shieldwall, artillery, that sort of thing.¡± Naomi raised her hand to speak. ¡°It¡¯s going to be difficult to make any firm plans if there¡¯s randomness involved. I¡¯m going to be on the Path of Identity so I can be a centauress. Who knows what my class will end up being.¡± ¡°Lancer, probably,¡± Susie said. ¡°There aren¡¯t a lot of centaurs playing, but the breakdown is about 60% Lancer, 30% some sort of earth or nature mage, and 10% a mix-match of other things, typically crafters or archers of some sort.¡± Of course Susie would have had those numbers on hand; she knew Naomi¡¯s preferences just as the rest of us did. I don¡¯t see the appeal in being part horse, but everyone who knows Naomi knows she¡¯s been into centaurs since she was old enough to have read about them in stories. ¡°A skirmisher-type, then,¡± Naomi nodded, ¡°at least probably. We can¡¯t really plan party composition, but we can make guesses knowing what paths we¡¯re trying for. Suze, what¡¯s your path going to be?¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Either Fate and hope I get a cool crafting job or Action to choose what sort of crafter I¡¯ll be. Maybe a weaponsmith, that might be the best way to support our group and community,¡± she replied. ¡°Oh, be careful if you go Action. What would you do if you got a guy character?¡± Susie shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d deal with it. I¡¯m not Cousin Hilde who walked the Path of Identity in order to be a guy in DVI, but better for me to be a guy crafter on the sidelines than a sword-and-board type gal in the thick of the action. Besides, it doesn¡¯t seem to be hurting James any to be a guy. If he can deal with it,¡± she winked at me, ¡°then so can I.¡± ¡°It would be nice to have a little more balance in the force,¡± I teased back. ¡°Then I¡¯m less likely for people to keep assuming I¡¯m the sultan of my own little harem.¡± I had been expecting Jenna¡¯s rolled eyes and muttered ¡°Ewww, they know I¡¯m your sister, right?¡± I had also been expecting the not-too-light punch on the shoulder from Mika and the startled giggle from Naomi, but I hadn¡¯t been expecting Susie to blush. And from the looks both Mika and Jenna gave her, neither had they. That was ¡­ interesting, but that was a thought to file away for another time, because Susie quickly regained her composure. ¡°Anyway, Jenna, what about you?¡± My sister shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not really interested in being someone else, but magic might be more fun than swords and armor. I¡¯ll be the boring one and stay to the Path of Self from the start. I don¡¯t really have the experience with these sorts of games like the rest of you do.¡± ¡°Nothing wrong with the Path of Self,¡± both Mika and I said in near unison. I gestured for her to explain. ¡°Unless you really, really want to be a specific race or specific class, it seems that path would be the best option because it gives you the most control over your own character,¡± Mika said. ¡°It also makes it easier to plan groups around, too. Susie, what were the numbers again? How many players are on the Path of Self?¡± Susie consulted her notes, ¡°Just under 90%, but maybe 15-20% of them had started a different path and dropped back to the Path of Self when their rerolls or random selections weren¡¯t to their liking.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Mika nodded. ¡°It¡¯s probably the best option for me, too, but I¡¯m going to try the Path of Fate and see if I get something special. Otherwise, it¡¯s Path of Self for me, so I can get a basic fighting class and develop it from there. We¡¯ve got a probable skirmisher, crafter support, and magic artillery,¡± she pointed to Naomi, Susie, and Jenna in turn, ¡°and very likely a healer of some stripe,¡± she patted my arm, ¡°so we¡¯re going to need a shieldwall for the rest of you to hide behind, anyway. James?¡± ¡°Well, yes, probably a healer,¡± I admitted, then winked. ¡°Gotta keep my harem alive, after all.¡± Again the punch, the giggle, the ¡°eww,¡± and ¡­ the blush. ¡°No, seriously, I almost always play healers in games, so it¡¯ll make sense to be the healer in virtual reality, too. I kinda want to try the Path of Fate and see if I get lucky with a rare healer class. Susie, you did say that people starting on the Path of Fate can abandon a result they don¡¯t like and go to any of the other paths instead, right?¡± Susie nodded, ¡°Yeah, but if they go from Fate to Action or Identity, they don¡¯t get to leave those paths to go to the Path of Self.¡± ¡°Okay, so that¡¯s what it will be, then. Path of Fate to start and probably Path of Action for a good healing class once I know what¡¯s available.¡± ¡°And if your good healer class is a girl?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be a tomboy like Mika, and it¡¯ll be Susie¡¯s crafter guy¡¯s harem instead.¡± That got laughs all around and a bigger blush from Susie. 3. Background So. Dungeon Veils Interactive. It was ¡°just a game,¡± but it was also much more than just a game. It was a global phenomenon and not necessarily in a good way. Put it this way -- when DVI¡¯s servers expanded into a new area, everyone there had to play. Or, at least, were ¡°strongly encouraged¡± to do so. I don¡¯t understand the politics behind it -- and it¡¯s always politics behind things at that level -- but governments allocated resources and development to areas based on the performance of the players from that area. Performance being in-game economic output taking into consideration crafting and loot drops. There was a grace period of a few weeks after an area got hooked up before governments switched over to using DVI performance rather than real-world economic and manufacturing performance. That allowed a community to build up a core of players before needing to rely on them. And don¡¯t ask me how it works. I¡¯m no economist, logistics expert, or statistician. I, along with my sister and friends, am just a high school student. Sure, the basics of economy and statistics are covered in classwork, but so are a good many other things that no one ever thought would be relevant, either. So who pays attention to them in school? Anyway, we¡¯re from a series of little towns on the coast, and community blocks used by DVI and the government are for populations of twenty-five thousand of game-playing age. That meant server size was larger than even our whole county¡¯s population even if you counted all the babies, little kids, and decrepit elderly in hospitals and nursing homes. Consequently, our community block, that is server, covered a pretty large geographic area. And game-playing age isn¡¯t just adults and older teens. Some countries out East had lowered their ¡°virtual adult¡± age first to fifteen and then to thirteen in an attempt to get a larger chunk of the allocatable resources, and other governments had necessarily followed suit. So my little sister, who had just turned thirteen last week, would be considered old enough to play. Honestly, she¡¯d probably be better at it than most adults would. I was expecting that she¡¯d outperform most of us even, except maybe Mika. Jocelyn was just that good. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. But all that administrative and logistics behind the scenes to bring a community server online took time, especially in a widely dispersed rural area. After all, DVI VR pods had to be installed (and manufactured and transported before they could be installed), and in many cases -- ours included -- the underlying data networks had to be significantly upgraded. Rural places like us -- the nearest ¡°big city¡± across the river was still under ten thousand people -- were the low end of the totem pole. The more densely urbanized areas had received priority in upgrading and converting to the digital economy. But there was a benefit to not being early adopters. Unlike the big European cities and densely populated Asian areas, we weren¡¯t going into DVI completely blind. Sure, a lot of the in-game specifics were heavily censored and redacted, but there was plenty of basic information about character creation, skills, and so on available. We just hadn¡¯t bothered learning about it until it had become relevant. Well, maybe Naomi or Susie had, but the rest of us were just teens doing teen things. Oh, and lest you think that the game is all there was to do. No, it may supplant allocation of resources at the government level, but a community¡¯s normal economic activity still continued. Day-to-day life still continued. The VR pods replaced beds and DVI replaced sleep -- and as it¡¯s been going on in Europe for over two years, and most of the rest of the higher-density populated areas for over a year, there¡¯s no apparent health problems by playing games while asleep. Just fancy dreaming, with awake-time consequences. In order to be ¡°equitable,¡± the game servers were only accessible at night, also. DVI regulated game time from between 10 pm and 6 am, another reason community servers were small and local. I don¡¯t know what they did for the people like cops and firefighters that had to work nights. Nor for parents of little kids, neither. So, with basically the whole world playing -- minus some of us rural areas still -- you can see why a large chunk of people were on the Path of Self rather than choosing a specific race, a specific class, or letting fate give them something random. Most players weren¡¯t coming at it from a history of being gamers. And even people who gamed, most of them were content with being a sword-swinging or spell-flinging version of themselves. And those paths were pretty darn arbitrary, too. With only one character per player, high randomness, and extremely limited rerolls, even a lot of people who had wanted to be on a different path had ended up on the Path of Self. It wasn¡¯t really fair, but no one ever successfully claimed that life was fair. 4. Yama Destina & The Path of Fate I stood at a crossroads. Metaphysically and figuratively, if not precisely literally. There were four glowing doors floating in the swirling mists of the void. Then again, so was I. Floating in the void that is, not glowing or swirling. Of course I knew which door I wanted. Nothing had changed my mind since our first planning session last month -- I would see what the Path of Fate offered, and if it wasn¡¯t suitable, I would take the Path of Action and customize a healer class for my role in DVI. The Path of Action would allow a class choice a bit more specialized than just the basic healer available from the Path of Self, and of the classes that were known, I was still waffling back and forth on both druid and shaman. There were several other styles of healers but both the classes I was leaning toward had nature themes and regeneration-style spells, and I usually prefered heal-over-time mechanics rather than shielding or big direct heals. The metaphorical sense of the crossroads, thus, was a bit lacking. There was no deliberation or hesitation or weighing of options -- that had already been done before ever logging in. I opened the doorway to the Path of Fate and stepped over the threshold ¡­. ¡­ and onto a path of silver cobblestones spiraling upward through the mists. ¡°Hello!¡± a cheery voice rang out as a young girl materialized before me. Probably a girl, by her voice, but the figure was androgynous. ¡°Welcome to the Path of Fate. I¡¯m Yama Destina -- call me Desi -- and I¡¯ll be your guide today.¡± ¡°A guide? I thought it was just a ¡®here¡¯s what you can be, do you accept -- yes or no¡¯ sort of thing?¡± I asked. Desi laughed. ¡°No, no. That was way back in the early days. We¡¯re several iterative patches of development and refinement of the creation options, now. In fact, we just went Omega on the latest refinement last week with the Skamokawa community server opening.¡± She waved her hands around dismissively. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t matter. You¡¯re here to take a gamble and see what Fate can offer you on the first day of the Chinookan Pacifica community server, aren¡¯t you?¡± I nodded and Desi leaned forward and shielded her mouth conspiratorially. ¡°Just so you know, as the thirteenth person through that door, either your race or class will be at least Ultra Super Rare, guaranteed. The other will be randomly rare or higher as normal for the Path of Fate.¡± That was quite a few more people taking the random route than I had thought, but Mika and Susie had both said they would at least try it, too. Apparently, there were more with a gambling bend to them than just half of one circle of friends. ¡°Is that fair to the others?¡± I couldn¡¯t help myself from asking. This time Desi¡¯s laugh was more of a chuckle. ¡°Actually, we get to keep saying that until there are ten Ultra-Super-Rares accepted. Only two players have so far, so it¡¯s perfectly fair. After that, it is more of a lottery, but I like that you asked.¡± She smiled at me and reached up to pat my hand. ¡°What are you hoping Fate holds in store for you today?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I plan on being my group¡¯s healer, if Fate allows,¡± I said. ¡°If it has other ideas, though, I¡¯m going to back out and go to the Path of Action.¡± ¡°Ah? No special hopes for your race, just your class?¡± With that, I shrugged. ¡°There isn¡¯t a lot of information on rare or higher races, Desi, so I wouldn¡¯t even have much of an idea what to hope for.¡± I was pretty sure that she wasn¡¯t a GM or Dev. It just wouldn¡¯t be feasible to have enough staff to give every new player a personalized guide, probably not even for just those taking the rarer paths of Fate, Action, or Identity. So Desi was probably a construct of the game, personified subroutines or maybe even an actual AI. After all, games still needed NPCs, so whatever AI scripts powered them could likely be adapted in order to manifest guides. So even though the chances of there being a human behind her appearance were small, I was still talking to her as if she were one. If nothing else, natural language processing had come quite a long way in the past few years. It wasn¡¯t just predictive text anymore. ¡°I see. A healer, so you think more about your group than about your personal glory and power. I think I like you. Tell you what, and this isn¡¯t something that we offer until there¡¯s ten acceptances.¡± Desi winked at me. ¡°This is special.¡± She stepped off the cobblestone path and floated in a lazy circle around me. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal. I¡¯ll guarantee that your class will be a healer type. It¡¯ll still be a random choice which one, this is Fate, not some choose-your-own-adventure old-school tabletop-based fanfic, and in exchange, you¡¯ll have a geas, an obligation. Consider it a quest or duty.¡± Then she held up a hand and waggled a finger under my nose, ¡°Ah, but I must say that accepting this offer would also close the door behind you. You would have to stay on the Path of Fate and not be able to decline the character and try again on Action, Identity, or Self.¡± My response was immediate. ¡°I like the idea, Desi, but if that geas would interfere with my friends, I can¡¯t accept the offer. I¡¯d have to just see what Fate can deal me without you tinkering with it.¡± Her smile, if anything, grew bigger. ¡°I was hoping you would say that. Again declining personal glory for the benefit of your friends. I can¡¯t promise that a geas won¡¯t at times be an inconvenience to your friends, maybe they would rather do some other quest than help you on yours, but it wouldn¡¯t ever be harmful or detrimental to them.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to ask them, but I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t mind an occasional inconvenience,¡± I said, stressing the frequency. If anything, they¡¯d probably advise me to take a minor inconvenience as a guarantee for a rare or higher healing class. Jenna might not since she doesn¡¯t know games as well, but everyone else understands that a more powerful healer tends to make more challenging content accessible earlier. Won¡¯t do anything about impossible resistances or enemies strong enough to one-shot a character, of course, but it makes exploring the unknown much safer. Desi nodded. ¡°Then shall I put my fingers on the Scale of Fate for you? Step off the stones of the path and enter the mists with me, where the way is only ever forward.¡± She held out her hand to me. ¡°Thank you, Desi.¡± I took her hand and stepped forward into the mists. The spiraling cobblestone path immediately faded away, and even the shadow of the doorway disappeared. There was no going back, but since I was guaranteed to be a healer and would have had a random race selected for me anyway, there was virtually no downside beyond the future geas and even that was outweighed by the upsides. 5. Daybreak Gleaming I fluttered my wings and reconsidered my earlier assessment. There was another downside. The teasing I was going to get when I showed up as a fairy priestess. Yes, -ess. My character in DVI was going to be a girl. Okay, shapely young woman, albeit not much more than ten or eleven inches tall. Granted, that was a risk I had faced regardless ¡­. Having a female character, that is, not so much the diminutive height. My only hope was that maybe Mika or Susie had such a good class roll on the Path of Fate that they might have had to have accepted having a male character in order to keep the class. Granted, it would have been good-natured teasing rather than anything hurtful -- at least from them. Some of my classmates might try a little bullying, but Mika would knock them to their senses if it got out of hand. But, still ¡­ a figure like Jocelyn¡¯s Barbie dolls, but with wings and prettier hair. Ah well. It was balanced out on the whole by everything else. Either Desi had really interfered with Fate or I had rolled a bunch of nat twenties in a row. Not only was my race Ultra Super Rare, but my class was, well, unique. I wasn¡¯t just a priestess, but rather a High Priestess -- the High Priestess of whom was yet to be determined, however. Technically, High Priestess in and of itself wasn¡¯t a unique class. It wasn¡¯t even a real class, but as Desi explained, ¡°It¡¯s a proto-class, just like any priest or priestess. Someone serving the Skylord is going to have different abilities and inclinations than someone following the Lady Beneath the Waves.¡± ¡°And actually,¡± Desi continued, ¡°None of the Blue, Green, or Grey Pantheons have any priestesses or priests yet, much less High Priestesses.¡± ¡°Really? Why is that?¡± ¡°The Concordance Update added them in five weeks ago. Before that, religious-type classes like priests and templars were assigned to one of the Triumvirate.¡± ¡°But other servers have opened between then and now?¡± I asked. ¡°You said Skamokawa came online last week, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it did. And two others the week prior. But religious classes are very uncommon. People tend to stick to their beliefs from their outside lives. Or they don¡¯t have any beliefs and thus their healer classes are more alchemist and medic than priest or shaman.¡± ¡°I see ¡­. So, do I choose or is it chosen for me? Which god, goddess, or pantheon, that is. You said that people prior were assigned to the Triumvirate.¡± Desi nodded. ¡°You do choose, just as they chose which of the three to follow then. You just have more options. This, and a couple other spots, are where you get to customize your character before playing.¡± ¡°Ah, so which god, which weapon, which starting spells, or something like that?¡± I asked. ¡°Something like that,¡± Desi agreed. ¡°Your choice of which god or goddess to follow will influence your weapon and spell selections. You will choose your deity, a stat focus, and spend any merit or flaw points you have available.¡± So. A god. Or goddess. I wasn¡¯t particularly religious myself, but had often played religious-based characters in games, since that was generally the only way to get a healer-class. DVI, at least since the Concordance Update that Desi had mentioned, apparently featured a wide variety of possible beings of power to follow. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The Triumvirate were the basics, modeled after current and relatively mainstream, real-world religions -- no flying spaghetti monsters or invisible pink unicorns. There was an ¡°Our Heavenly Father¡± sort derived from the Abrahamic faiths, an ¡°Honored Ancestor¡± sort, and a ¡°Judge of the Dead¡± sort. None of the three sounded particularly appealing. Were this a regular computer or console game, I would have probably spent a bit of time looking through each of the gods in all the pantheons trying to find one that was the best fit. Not exactly min-maxing, but rather making sure I wasn¡¯t missing out on a good opportunity by choosing the first thing that caught my eye. However, DVI being VR meant that Mika and the others would be waiting in game for me to finish up character creation. It¡¯s not as if they could be doing something else and wait for me to text them that I was ready to meet up. So, I set myself a limit of five deities to investigate, with the decision to choose the best option of those five. However, I didn¡¯t even make it to all five, as the third goddess that I looked at was the one I chose: Sirae, Goddess of Nature and the Wyld Harvest -- that is, seeds, nuts, and berries rather than fields and orchards. In other words, a bit druid-like, as I had been considering if I had needed to fall back to the Path of Action. ¡°Nature¡± encompassed a lot of things, but regrowth and regeneration were thematically tied to Sirae. As, of course, was life itself. That should make her perfect for me, with my preference for heal-over-time mechanics. ¡°So, as a Priestess of Sirae, sorry as the High Priestess of Sirae, what would my weapon be?¡± I asked Desi. ¡°A staff? A book? A wand ¡­?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a wizard,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re a priestess of nature. You have a connection with the natural world, and that means a connection to all living things.¡± ¡°Um? So I get a summon or familiar instead of a weapon? Wouldn¡¯t that be more like a beastmaster class?¡± ¡°You¡¯re no beastmaster, hun,¡± she said as she continued to float lazily around me. Although, the effect was somewhat spoiled given that I was now much smaller than her ¡­ and already hovering in the mists myself. ¡°You¡¯re a worshipper of Sirae, her High Priestess. That means you get a ¡®pet,¡¯ yes, but it¡¯s a lot more than just a pet.¡± Then, from out of the mists, a white shape bounded out on four legs. As it got closer, I could see that it was a unicorn, though not a creature of flesh and blood. Instead, it was a wooden unicorn, moving in every way as if it were alive, with a flowing mane and tail of spanish moss. The wooden unicorn was small for a horse, being about pony-sized, but its beautifully spiraled horn was at least as long as I was tall ... although as I was now a fairy, that wasn¡¯t necessarily as impressive as it sounded. That spiraled horn was probably an effective weapon, though nothing like a sword, or lance, or polearm. Granted, I wouldn¡¯t have been using a sword, lance, or polearm anyway. Even if I had wanted a real weapon (as opposed to a stat stick to boost casting), a fairy-sized one wasn¡¯t going to do a whole lot of good against anything other than fairy-sized opponents. I glanced over at Desi, ¡°What¡¯s its name?¡± I asked. ¡°The system can randomly generate a name, but it would be better if you chose a name for your pet to respond to,¡± she replied. I looked over the unicorn again, and my only immediate thought was that my little sister, Jocelyn, was going to be insanely jealous. For a while, a few years back, everything she had was unicorn themed, from backpack and school supplies to birthday cakes and curtains. If this had been a regular game, I would have been tempted to name the wooden unicorn after her, but given that we might very well meet up and play together in DVI, that was a non-starter. And for obvious reasons, I couldn¡¯t really borrow the name of her favorite unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. ¡°Um? How does ¡®Daybreak Gleaming¡¯ sound to you?¡± I asked the unicorn. That still kind of was borrowing the name, but it was tweaked enough that it shouldn¡¯t run afoul of name filters. The wooden unicorn looked at me with eyes that seemed far too wise for a living, wooden construct. Then it nickered and lowered its head. I got the impression that it both liked the name and liked that the name was derived, in part, from my little sister¡¯s preferences. 6. Character Sheet (Rie) Name: Rie Race: [USR+] Liall¡¯alana (True Fairy) Class: [Uq] High Priestess, level 0 Affiliation: Sirae, Goddess of Nature and the Wyld Harvest HP: 50/50 (100%) FP: 125/100 (125%) SP: 0/2 Attack Power (----): Ultra-low: 5% Spell Power (++): Moderate: 29% Agility (+): High: 5% Defenses (--): Low: 15% Resistances (+++): Below Average: 22% Abilities [5*/10]: Equipment: This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Accessories: Status: Merits, Flaws, and other Modifiers: 7. Geases After a quick glance at my character sheet, I knew it was time to move on. If I didn¡¯t, I¡¯d either spend too much time asking Desi what everything meant or I¡¯d spend too much time looking into all the help files, explanations, and whatever the equivalent of tool-tips in VR is. There¡¯d be plenty of time later to look into things, once the group was all together. And, like as not, Susie would be able to interpret things for us. So, it was the moment of truth. Or, at least, the lead-up to the moment of truth. Once I flew through that doorway, I¡¯d be in the game world itself, and would need to find the others. Fortunately, we already had a plan for that. The downside of the whole ¡®community server¡¯ concept was that everyone started in the same area. So all the little communities up and down the coast and on the other side of the bay, everyone would have one starting city with the requisite amenities: vendors, quest givers, bind points, guards, arenas, and the like. That wasn¡¯t a downside in and of itself, but rather that all twenty-five thousand or so players would be logging in for the first time at roughly the same time and the same starting place. That, of course, meant that we¡¯d be scattered throughout the city. You can¡¯t really have twenty-five people all spawn at the same point, much less twenty-five thousand. Well, you could in a game without collision detection, but since we¡¯d be in VR, overlapping polygons weren¡¯t quite the same thing. One good thing about being rather late, low down in the queue for opening servers was that there was some information already readily available. The city¡¯s initial layout was basically the same for every server, so we had looked over maps until we had decided on a good place to meet. When I say ¡°we,¡± I mean that Susie had done the research and had told us where she thought would be best for us all to meet. This would be a small park just a couple blocks in from the southwestern gate in the city¡¯s walls. We¡¯d be in a park, rather than a building like a tavern or inn, to accommodate Naomi¡¯s centaur character. Well, that and as high schoolers, we probably still wouldn¡¯t be allowed in a tavern, even if it and our bodies were virtual. That¡¯s our modern society for you, wanton violence, gratuitous sexuality, and economic exploitation are perfectly fine, but a little wine or weed, and the long arm of the law comes crashing down ¡­. Regardless, after an experience with one beachside bonfire boozefest of a party last summer, and the horrible monster of a headache the day after, I had no personal interest in alcohol. I don¡¯t think any of us did, not even Mika with her tough-as-nails tomboy persona. So, no taverns, even if they end up being allowed. So much for the old game-starting trope of ¡°You all meet in a tavern.¡± ¡°Well, thank you for your help, Desi, but now it¡¯s time for me to meet my friends. Or, at least, get to the meeting place and wait for them if they¡¯re slower than I was.¡± I fluttered my wings and executed a mid-air bow with an elaborate flourish. I had thought about trying a curtsey like I¡¯d seen in old shows and read about in fantasy books, but ¡­ having a female body didn¡¯t mean I needed to be especially feminine in my actions. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Desi smiled, waved, and floated backward into the mists, fading out much like the Cheshire Cat. ¡°Remember what I said about your geas,¡± she said, her voice lingering even after her form had disappeared. I nodded. As a consequence of allowing her to meddle with Fate, I had paid for the guaranteed healer class and a better roll than average, by accepting some unavoidable obligations. Two were relatively minor in effect, but would be with me for as long as I was this character. The other was more significant, but once the conditions were met, the obligation would be fulfilled. The actual bigger one I wasn¡¯t too worried about, as it was something I needed to work toward rather than immediately accomplish. The long and short of it was that I had to create a church or temple, more than just a shrine, for Sirae. It wasn¡¯t just the building, either, but I would need to recruit clergy, at least enough of a staff that it could run on its own even when the High Priestess was out adventuring. The whole thing, however, was a long-term goal, something to slowly build toward rather than immediately accomplish in the first week of the server. The other two geases were smaller but no less significant. In fact, one would probably affect my day-to-day life in DVI and the other would likely come up more frequently as time went on. One of those was, well, related to my class as a High Priestess. I would have to assist other followers of Sirae as I was able -- once she had other followers than just me. That didn¡¯t mean going out of my way to find and help people, but if they came to me, I would have to provide what help I could -- within the limits of reason and within the purview of a High Priestess. This, more than any, is the one that might lead to sporadic inconveniencing my friends. And the other? Well ¡­ I was required to be a vegetarian, or rather to eat no meat, whether flesh, fish, or fowl. Eggs and dairy were apparently fine for this fairy. Now, I don¡¯t know how often that would come up in DVI. It may be virtual reality, but it was still a game at its core. That meant that certain things, like needing to eat were probably omitted. If anything, food and drink would likely be for buffs or for speeding up downtime, and surely there would be vegetarian options for both of those. If nothing else, breads and the like. And even that would probably be a bit more of a challenge than it seems. I mean, I do love me some steak, and pork chops, and chicken, and hamburgers, and ¡­ well, as a coastal kid, we had a lot of seafood, too -- especially salmon, but shrimp and crab weren¡¯t uncommon. Oysters and clams abounded, too, but since neither of my parents liked either, Jenna, Jocelyn, and I never had the opportunity to acquire a taste for them. And shellfish were definitely an acquired taste. But the geas only affected the character in the game, not the player, of course. So it, too, would just be an inconvenience or mild annoyance at worst. 8. First Flight I pulled open the map as soon as I had fully materialized in the city. Or, rather, as soon as I had determined that the optional minimap that could hover in the corner of my vision wasn¡¯t adequate for navigating across the city. The full map manifested as a roll of parchment and responded to classic touch-screen controls like swiping, pinching, and zooming. Those were a little difficult to finagle while still holding the parchment open, but whatever its drawbacks, it still beat having a full-screen (equivalent) map pop up and block sight of everything else. After orienting myself with the map, I discovered that I was quite a distance away from our planned meeting point. Not completely across the city, but very nearly diagonally so. My spawn-in location was a small garden adjacent to a plaza very near the northern gate. That, unfortunately, put me a bit more than two miles, straight-line distance, from the meeting point. Taking the streets would be longer, but I had an advantage. Since I was a fairy, I could fly, and so I could take the straight-line route, going up and over buildings rather than around properties and down streets that would almost always be at an angle to the direction I wanted to go. I confess, I didn¡¯t pay a whole lot of attention to the city I was flying over. For one, I was keeping an eye on the minimap, making sure that I continued relatively straight in the direction I wanted. And for another, well, I was flying! Sure, I had hovered around in the mists after my race and class had been determined and before I had finalized the little bits of customization I had been allowed, but hovering midair in what was effectively a fog bank was quite a different experience from actual, honest-to-goodness flight! Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Oh, and being that I was in a hurry, I wouldn¡¯t have been taking the time to sightsee even if I had been on foot. It ¡­ didn¡¯t take that long to traverse those few miles. I had expected it to be close to half an hour, using a rough estimate of walking speed, maybe a little under as I was hurrying. What I hadn¡¯t counted on was that I was fast. Even a seven-minute mile running speed would have taken a quarter of an hour. It took me less than five minutes¡¯ flight to reach the park. But, I guess that makes sense. Humans are pretty slow compared to most other animals -- try chasing down a squirrel or a deer for instance -- and lots of birds can outfly those. Being that I was winged and pretty close to bird-size (well, a good many birds will be bigger than I!), I guess I got to zip along at bird speed rather than scaled-down human walking speed. I bet Naomi¡¯s centaur would be pretty quick, too. And she wouldn¡¯t have to fight gusts of wind like I did. On the other hand, I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with buildings and terrain like she would. I may have been quick, but I wasn¡¯t the first to the park. In fact, there were a couple different knots of people milling around, but my group was obvious. Since Jenna had taken the Path of Self, she pretty much looked just like she normally would have, though maybe glammed up a little. I could easily recognize her as I approached. But Naomi was even more obvious. After I saw the centaur, well, centauress, I was able to identify Jenna waiting with her. A little cautiously, since I wasn¡¯t sure how my sister would react to this form, I descended to hover near them. ¡°Well, I see I¡¯m not the last to make it here,¡± I said. Naomi turned to face me and in an incredulous voice asked, ¡°Susie, is that you?¡± 9. A Sister’s Excitement ¡°Do I look like Susie?¡± I demanded, hands on my hips and wings fluttering a bit faster. ¡°Well ¡­, no,¡± they both said in unison. ¡°But if you¡¯re not Susie,¡± the centaur continued, ¡°then you must be James.¡± Before I could nod, Jenna asked, ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°Because Mika was going on and on about how she¡¯d protect everyone just like she always does, and I can¡¯t see any way a little fairy could be an effective shieldwall.¡± A little reluctantly, I nodded. ¡°In the virtual flesh, at your service,¡± and bowed with the same flourish as I had given Desi. Again, the two girls simultaneously spoke. This time, however, their words were different. ¡°You must¡¯ve got a really good class,¡± Naomi said. But she was drowned out by my older sister. ¡°Oh my gosh! You are SO CUTE!¡± she exclaimed. It wasn¡¯t quite the squeal of a young girl who just found the toy aisle or candy store, but it was close. I fluttered higher and then darted behind Naomi as Jenna made to reach for me. ¡°Jenna! What are you doing!¡± I nearly shouted. ¡°Hey, just because I outgrew playing with dolls several years ago doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t like them anymore,¡± she protested, ¡°And you¡¯re like a living, flying doll. Just the right size and cuter than Tinkerbell and more poseable than Barbie. Jocelyn is going to be soooo jealous. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s got to be a toy store in this city where we can find you some dresses and other outfits.¡± ¡°Jenna,¡± Naomi smothered a laugh, ¡°you¡¯re not going to play dress-up with your brother!¡± She pouted, ¡°Well, when you put it that way. Still, look at him and tell me he wouldn¡¯t look fantastic in one of those Holiday Barbie dresses or something similar. A dark green, velvet gown like the one in the display case in your room ¡­.¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Naomi just shook her head. ¡°Yes, he would. Or she.¡± She looked over her shoulder at me, since I was still keeping her between me and Jenna. ¡°I suppose you gave yourself a different name?¡± she asked. ¡°Well, yeah. I thought everyone was, except maybe Jenna. It¡¯s still a game, even if it is virtual reality and has real world stuff attached to it. So this is still a character, even if I¡¯m piloting her without using a keyboard, mouse, or controller. I called her Rie,¡± I said, giving the name the two-syllable, Japanese-style pronunciation, rhyming with freeway rather than sounding like rye bread. I ¡­ honestly hadn¡¯t spent a lot of time on the name of my character. It was really just based on an alternate spelling of fairy, f-a-e-r-i-e instead of f-a-i-r-y. Then chop off the first half and give it a slightly more exotic sound than just ¡°ree¡± by itself. ¡°No letter ¡®J¡¯? Wait until Mom and Dad hear,¡± Jenna said. ¡°But it¡¯s still a cute name. I like it; it¡¯s a very fairy name. And maybe you don¡¯t think I did, but I did choose a different name than using my real name here. After all, Jenna can¡¯t cast magic spells, but Jazmyn Morgana Starbreeze can. Or, at least, I think I can. I haven¡¯t tried, yet. I have to figure that part out, still.¡± While Jenna was talking, a little system notification popped up in front of me, looking quite a bit like a tiny, intangible butterfly with an exclamation mark hovering above it: ¡°Incoming social request: Noa Leafdancer wishes to add you as mutual friends. Approve/deny?¡± I glanced at Naomi, and she nodded. Then she poked Jenna and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget to send a friend request to your brother if you¡¯re done fangirling over his fairy character.¡± My sister blushed, ¡°Oh, yeah, let me see where that is again.¡± But before too long, another little butterfly appeared with another little incoming social request. I accepted them both, of course. ¡°So, Nao¨C Sorry, Noa, what class did you get? Jazmyn¡¯s a mage of some sort, but what about you?¡± She shook her head, ¡°Not a Lancer like Susie thought I was likely to get. But don¡¯t you think it¡¯s best to wait until we¡¯re all here and just explain our classes all at once? I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ve got to have got a really good healer class, otherwise it¡¯s not very likely you¡¯d be a fairy, but Susie and Mika are both going to want to know, too.¡± I nodded, and Naomi, Jenna, and I made small talk for a few minutes while we waited for the other two members of our group. Well, Jenna and Naomi made small talk, and I answered a question or two here or there while I continued to practice flying. It was much more work to fly slowly than it was to zip across the city. Hovering in place wasn¡¯t that tiring, though, and that was an advantage I had over most birds and other natural winged creatures. We didn¡¯t have to wait too long though. Mika and Susie arrived almost simultaneously, homing in on Naomi¡¯s centaur just as I had, and their entrance and appearance completely overshadowed my own. 10. Class Reveal Mika descended from the sky much like I had. Only, she was much bigger than a fairy, retaining her original height (which was a bit short for a high-schooler, but still much taller than the mere eleven or twelve inches I was). She even looked like herself, mostly -- though, like Jenna, her figure was a bit more glamorized as an artefact of being a game character. The big difference was her outfit. No dress, that would have been more out of character for Mika than it was for me, even. Rather, she was wearing a shiny red leotard, which looked a bit like a long-sleeved, one-piece swimsuit. And a pair of calf-high boots in the same glossy red and detailed with what seemed to be gold trim and inlay. The bigger difference were her wings. Also predominantly red, though shading through oranges and yellows like a sunset over the ocean, Mika¡¯s feathery wings were like that of an angel, but more majestic. No, I wasn''t envious or jealous at all about her wings. Mine were diaphanous and shimmery, vaguely iridescent with hints of glittery jewel tones, leaving a faint trail of sparkles as I flew. Mine were also small enough in proportion to my body to not be cumbersome, though I imagine that every dress or shirt I wore would have to have a very low backline to accommodate them. Mika¡¯s wings, large and majestic as they were, seemed like they would very much be in the way. I wouldn¡¯t want to try to walk through a doorway or down a hallway with them on my back. Okay, maybe I was a little put off that hers were ¡°majestic¡± whereas mine were ¡°cute¡± and ¡°sparkly,¡± but oh well, hashtag virtual world problems. While we were ¡°ooh¡±ing and ¡°aah¡±ing over Mika¡¯s appearance and before anyone could really say anything meaningful, a gigantic crystal ball thundered up and rolled to a stop near us, but not before Naomi and Jenna jumped out of the way and Mika and I flew up quite a bit higher. Better to say crystal boulder than crystal ball. It was about three feet in diameter and more rocky and spiky in appearance than a polished smooth sphere of glass. Just a moment after it stopped, before anyone could do more than get out of its way, the crystal boulder shifted position, and, well, unfolded into a vaguely humanoid form with a pulsating blue glow where a heart would be, and two light blue glowing spheres just under the crystal surface of its head. ¡°Sheesh, I wasn¡¯t going to run you over,¡± the crystal being said with Susie¡¯s voice. ¡°It¡¯s just more convenient to roll than walk. I see we¡¯re all here and that James is a girl, unless we¡¯re still waiting on James and Naomi has a fairy familiar?¡± Naomi shook her head, silvery-blonde ponytail -- the hairstyle, not her actual centaur tail -- swishing and bouncing as she did so. ¡°Nope. James is the fairy. What are you, Susie?¡± ¡°I could ask that of most of you, and in fact I will, but let¡¯s officially group up first, and then we can talk about classes and abilities. And races, at least for those of us that are kind of different.¡± The crystal head swiveled and the light blue glows of Susie¡¯s eyes appeared to fix on Mika. A flurry of friend invites and four group invites later, we were ready to find out what everyone was. Susie, of course, took charge. ¡°I¡¯ll start,¡± she said, ¡°And Jenna, since you¡¯re the only one on the Path of Self, you¡¯ll go last. So, counter-clockwise from me.¡± Jenna nodded. She, unlike the rest of us, was still a human, and her class would -- for now -- be some basic version of a caster. As such, she had the least to explain. ¡°I hit the jackpot, it seems,¡± Susie said, ¡°Legendary race and class. And since it was a cool crafting class, I stuck with it even if the body is a little weird. My race is, well, the word for it doesn¡¯t exist in human sounds. Let me try.¡± Her glowing eye spots narrowed, as if she were concentrating, and a strange rumbling sound emanated from her crystalline body. Skirling around the rumbling was a series of music notes, almost like chimes or bells. Then the sound stopped, and Susie spoke again, ¡°Ah, the best short-form translation would be Cystalsinger, but the whole thing would be like a paragraph. I¡¯m not quite an elemental, but related.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°And your class?¡± Naomi prompted. ¡°That¡¯s even cooler. It¡¯s a class only available to Crystalsingers, which is why it¡¯s a legendary class. It¡¯s a ¡­ Tonesmith? Songsmith? I¡¯m not sure how to translate it. Basically, I can make magic items and weapons by ¡®singing¡¯ at the crafting materials. Metals and stones and gems only, though, so no staffs or wands for the casters unless you want to lug a stone stick around.¡± ¡°Are gathering skills class-based, or can anyone do them?¡± Mika asked. ¡°I don¡¯t remember, and I¡¯m pretty sure neither James nor Naomi are miners, so getting you the materials to work with might be difficult?¡± ¡°I have a basic racial skill,¡± Susie said. ¡°But it is slow and inefficient. I might need to take a better gathering skill when we hit level five. Until then, anyone can gather just like anyone can swing a sword around, but having the skills and abilities makes it easier, faster, and more likely to cheat physics and get good results. It still is a game, after all. Mika?¡± ¡°I decided to gamble,¡± Mika said, ¡°and I went Path of Fate, too, and this is what I got.¡± She spread her feathery wings, and hovered upward without even flapping her wings. ¡°I didn¡¯t get the jackpot you did,¡± she nodded at Susie and landed back gracefully on the ground. And for the record, it was quite weird seeing her in high-heeled boots. ¡°My race is actually more closely related to a phoenix or a harpy than an angel. Only super-rare, not legendary, but it has a good synergy with my class, and that¡¯s an ultra-super-rare variant of a caster-type shieldwall. So I won¡¯t be on the frontlines, but I¡¯ll still be protecting everyone and drawing aggro with spells rather than shields and heavy armor. It¡¯ll probably take a little bit of getting used to, so bear with me if I make mistakes.¡± Then her tone took on a teasing manner as she looked toward me, ¡°Hopefully our healer will be up to the task.¡± ¡°Hopefully,¡± I nodded. ¡°And, yep, as you all can probably guess, I got a good healer class. Well, let me rephrase that. I got a very, very good healer class. Not legendary, however, like Rock-and-Roll over there.¡± I paused for dramatic effect. ¡°But rather, unique. I¡¯m the High Priestess of Sirae, Goddess of Nature and the Wyld Harvest. Um, that does mean I do need to lend aid to other followers of Sirae, if I¡¯m able, so there may be some inconveniences from time to time. And, of course, other High Priestess-y type duties here and there like needing to build and establish an actual church or temple for her eventually. But, in exchange, I¡¯ve got very good regeneration magic and some other healer-themed spells.¡± ¡°Wait ¡®til Mom and Dad find out you¡¯re starting your own religion,¡± Jenna laughed. ¡°They didn¡¯t raise any of us to be nuns.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not starting it, just running it. There¡¯s a difference,¡± Naomi pointed out. ¡°Anyway, what about your race, James?¡± ¡°Liall¡¯alana, a quote-unquote True Fairy, I guess as opposed to pixies and sprites and whatever other little winged girls there may be. Fortunately, that¡¯s not unique. Just Ultra-Super-Rare-Plus. I guess a bit between ultra-super-rare and legendary. Oh, anyway, I don¡¯t get a wand or a staff or a holy book even as my weapon, but something quite a bit different. I¡¯ll show you later. Your turn, Naomi. You obviously made your centauress on the Path of Identity. But what class did you get? You said you didn¡¯t get Lancer like Susie thought you might?¡± Naomi shook her head. ¡°No. Apparently, I¡¯m in that mix-and-match ten-percent group. My class is ¡®Tactician¡¯ -- basically, I¡¯m a buffbot. And that¡¯s my re-roll of a class, too. My first was ¡®Courier.¡¯ You three took all the good luck. We¡¯re going to be an interesting group: healer, shieldwall, two supports, and a basic caster. No server firsts for us. Or maybe three supports, how did creating your caster go, Jenna?¡± ¡°Well,¡± my sister began, ¡°After I chose magic instead of weapons or craft tools and chose combat magic instead of auxiliary or healing, I had to choose an element. And no one ever mentioned elements before, so I wasn¡¯t sure what to take.¡± ¡°Probably something like Earth, Fire, Water, Wind,¡± Susie said. ¡°Those are the classics, maybe with some variations like Lightning, Nature, Ice, and the others. There isn¡¯t much information about the magic system available, just the classes people have.¡± ¡°Oh. So that¡¯s what those symbols must have meant,¡± Jenna said. ¡°I didn¡¯t know. Maybe I should have touched one of them. I couldn¡¯t progress until I chose an element, so I remembered about the periodic table from science class a long time ago. You know, Hydrogen, Helium, Oxygen, Carbon, Uranium, sort of things?¡± We all slowly nodded, and I could see from Mika¡¯s expression that she was thinking what we were probably all thinking: oh no, this is going to be bad, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Please tell me you didn¡¯t choose Uranium, Jenna,¡± I asked on behalf of the rest of us. ¡°What? No! Uranium is only useful if you know how to use it, but it¡¯s dangerous otherwise. And dangerous even if you know what you¡¯re doing. I had to do a report on it in sixth grade. I don¡¯t want to be a mutant supervillain. No, I chose Silver.¡± 11. The First Argentomancer ¡°Silver? How does that work?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know how it works for magic, just that it is my element,¡± Jenna said. ¡°I was hoping someone could explain how I¡¯m supposed to cast spells in this game. It¡¯s not exactly point-and-click or smash the buttons like the games I¡¯ve seen you all play.¡± ¡°It¡¯s voice activated,¡± Susie said. ¡°Well, voice and intent activated. That way you can talk about your spells without actually casting them. But what spells do you have?¡± We had to teach Jenna how to access her character sheet, again basically intent activated, and how to dig deeper into the sheet. ¡°Under abilities, it says two slash ten,¡± Jenna said. ¡°I have, um, Assertive Argentomancy.¡± She sounded out the unfamiliar word. ¡°That¡¯s got a little two after it. Then Assistive Argentomancy with a little one after it. Both are Tier 0. And I have a locked class passive also at Tier 0. It¡¯s called Reflective Meditation and has an ¡®x¡¯ after it instead of a number.¡± ¡°The ¡®Tier¡¯ is the level of the ability,¡± Susie started in on lecture mode, ¡°As you level up, you get points you can assign to level up your abilities or learn new ones. And the number after the ability is how many skills or spells it contains. As the ability levels up, your skills or spells get stronger or you get new ones. So a two after Assertive Argentomancy means you have two spells, probably, in that ability.¡± ¡°And the ¡®x¡¯?¡± I asked. After all, one of my abilities was marked the same way. ¡°It¡¯s an ability that can level up and get stronger, but it provides a benefit of its own rather than being the top-level for a group of spells or skills. Basically a passive that can get stronger,¡± Susie answered. ¡°So why do I have three abilities, but it says two of ten?¡± Jenna asked. ¡°I may not be good at games, but I can count to three.¡± ¡°Sometimes,¡± I winked. ¡°Shush. We¡¯re not talking about chores!¡± ¡°Um, I think,¡± Susie emphasized that word, ¡°any locked abilities, that is abilities you have to have and can¡¯t ever replace, don¡¯t count toward your total of ten. From what I¡¯ve read, almost every single locked ability is because someone is a certain race or a certain class. All my locked abilities are racial, anyway. And those abilities can¡¯t get stronger, so they don¡¯t have that ¡®Tier 0¡¯ in front of them.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°So some people have more skills than others?¡± Naomi asked. ¡°Pretty much. There are trade-offs. Like I bet James has a racial skill that lets him fly, but is probably much weaker than average. His tiny little form isn¡¯t going to be able to carry much weight or wear heavy armor, probably.¡± I nodded. ¡°But things won¡¯t be perfectly balanced. DVI may be a game, but balance and a system of being fair aren¡¯t part of its core tenets.¡± Susie frowned. ¡°It is copying life too much that way, and no one has ever successfully claimed that life is fair. Here, the more rare the race and class, the more and better skills they have. Partially balanced against the more common the race and class, the faster they get stronger and can more easily adapt. You and Jenna will probably outlevel the rest of us.¡± ¡°Is there a level cap?¡± Mika asked, ¡°Where they¡¯ll stop and we¡¯ll catch up?¡± ¡°Not that I¡¯ve heard.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Jenna interrupted, ¡°We were talking about my spells, not about levels. I looked at each ability the way you said, and I have three spells: Silver Slash, Silver Shot, and Silver Shield. That last one is in Assistive Argentomancy.¡± ¡°Very alliterative. But Silver Shot should have been called Silver Bullet. Jenna the Vampire Slayer, like that old TV show,¡± Mika said. ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t vampires supposed to be vulnerable to wood?¡± I asked. Naomi nodded. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s werewolves that are weak to silver.¡± ¡°Jenna the Werewolf Slayer,¡± my sister said. ¡°I like that. Wait. Wait, Jazmyn the Werewolf Slayer. We should be using these character names we made, right? I mean, it¡¯s kinda weird to call James ¡®James¡¯ right now.¡± As one, they all looked at me and I couldn¡¯t help but blush under the attention. ¡°Your sister does have a point,¡± Naomi said. I shrugged. ¡°I guess it is a bit different when we¡¯re actually in the game than when we¡¯re using a chatserver or PTT sidestream. I don¡¯t mind. Let¡¯s see, besides me and Jazmyn, we¡¯ve got ¡­.¡± Naomi was Noa, not a big change to her name and easy enough to remember. Mika used Mikachu, the same character name she used for almost everything despite never having electrical powers. And Susie was ¡­ ¡°Wait, you didn¡¯t seriously call yourself Rockette, did you?¡± I asked in disbelief as I looked back through the friend invites. Susie¡¯s crystal shoulders shrugged. ¡°Call me ¡®Ette.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t think of anything else. None of the names I was going to use seemed right for the race I got, and I didn¡¯t want to keep everyone waiting while I tried to figure out something good. The only other name I could think of was Killishandra Ree, and that would have been like you calling yourself Tinkerbell.¡± Well, I guess I couldn¡¯t complain. After all, my character¡¯s name -- Rie -- came from ¡®faerie,¡¯ so it would have been a bit hypocritical to really dis Susie¡¯s naming. However, I was now definitely not going to mention my name¡¯s origin. ¡°Alright. Ette it is,¡± I said agreeably. ¡°So, shall we exit the city and see about learning how to use our abilities?¡± 12. Zone Wall One problem with our group composition became immediately apparent. We pretty much all travelled differently. I flew, of course, and flew rather zippily about, but Mikachu flew at a much more sedate pace. Ette rolled and Jazmyn walked pretty much as she normally would. Noa walked as well, but a centauress¡¯s walking stride and pace was different from a human¡¯s. ¡°I am not a horse,¡± Noa said, ¡°And saddle or not, you¡¯re not riding me.¡± ¡°Come on, it would be faster,¡± Jazmyn said. She wasn¡¯t whining; it was more of a friendly teasing banter. ¡°And you know if our positions were reversed, you¡¯d be asking me.¡± ¡°If you got to be a centaur and I didn¡¯t, I would have been really miffed,¡± Noa replied. ¡°And I¡¯m still not going to carry you on my back. You¡¯d pull my hair out, trying to use it as reins.¡± ¡°I would not ¡­! Oh, we¡¯re at the gate.¡± The city gate was an arched opening in the stone wall. There were heavy wooden doors at both ends of the little tunnel through the wall, but the doors were flung wide open. A pair of NPC guards were on the inner side of the wall, one on either side of the gate, but both looking more like guides than guards despite their military-like uniforms in the same blue, gold, and white of our high school¡¯s colors. Their lack of military bearing was evidenced by one of them sitting on a crate and leaning against the wall, half dozing with an open book in his lap. And the other had the contents of a picnic basket spread out across another crate, albeit a crate covered with a blue-and-white gingham tablecloth. He seemed more interested in deciding what condiments to add to his sandwich than in watching for whomever may be coming or going from the city. We looked at the guards, back at each other, and shrugged. ¡°Guess we just walk on out,¡± Mikachu said. ¡°Yeah, yeah, go on out like everyone else,¡± the sandwich-creating guard said, waving toward the gate with a hand holding a mustard bottle. ¡°Find a few little monsters, kill them, get stronger, that sort of stuff.¡± He spoke without even looking at us. ¡°That sounds like a quest to me,¡± I said. ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t. I¡¯m not giving you any coins or my lunch to bribe you to do something you were going to do anyway. If you want a quest, get strong enough to do something meaningful. Or find a quest board and see if any shopkeeper or farmer¡¯s daughter or fisherman wants you to kill ten rats or something. Now hurry along, little monsters are waiting for little heroes-to-be like you. Try not to die, now.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°A quest board?¡± Noa asked. ¡°A board. With Quests. Put there by people who want something done. Easier on everyone if little heroes-to-be like you go and grab something off the board rather than pester people at random. Maybe I¡¯ll put up a quest tomorrow, something like ¡®Go away and leave me alone so I can eat my lunch in peace.¡¯¡± He huffed and added a few more sliced pickles to the sandwich he was constructing. ¡°Or if that was too subtle for you, ¡®Scram,¡¯ ¡®Skedaddle,¡¯ ¡®Move along now, nothing to see here.¡¯¡± Mikachu looked affronted and balled her fist. She made as if to step forward, but I flew over and hovered in front of her face. ¡°Come on, now. Picking a fight with a guard is usually a bad thing to do. Even rude ones. They may not look it, but they¡¯re probably zillions of times stronger than we are right now.¡± She huffed and the feathers on her wings seemed to puff up a little before she relented. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m just not used to being treated that way in-person. NPCs with attitudes were always on-screen before.¡± ¡°Or at a game table,¡± Ette said. ¡°Remember the warlock in the last campaign?¡± ¡°Yeah, but that¡¯s different. That¡¯s you putting on an act. This was ¡­. Oh, never mind.¡± Mikachu shrugged and tucked her wings back. ¡°Let¡¯s go, everyone. Perhaps these so-called ¡®little monsters¡¯ will have a better personality.¡± The moment everyone was through the gateway and into the open space under the wall, time seemed to stop for a few seconds. My wings were frozen in mid-flap and I couldn¡¯t even blink. It didn¡¯t last long enough for me to be aware enough to start to panic, though when time unfroze, there was a brief but very intense flash of vertigo, enough to put my flight off course and I nearly bumped into Noa¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What was that!¡± Jazmyn exclaimed. ¡°Zone transition. It paused while I was selecting which instance to enter,¡± Ette said. ¡°We could have gone to five different instances of the grasslands outside the city wall or a private training instance. I chose the latter. Less experience, but since we don¡¯t have to compete for spawns, it¡¯s probably better.¡± Of course, we then had to explain to my sister why it was that Ette got to unilaterally choose where we went. Since Ette had sent the group invites, she was the one who was the group leader. And, of course, the leader chose for the group when such a choice needed to be made. ¡°If Noa¡¯s class works the way I¡¯m guessing it will,¡± Ette said, ¡°then sooner or later she¡¯ll be the leader of the group. Besides, I¡¯m a crafter, not a fighter, so I might not always be going out of town with you.¡± ¡°We have no melee vanguard,¡± Mikachu said, ¡°I may be the shieldwall, but I¡¯m a caster. You may need to be up front, Ette.¡± ¡°Ugh. That¡¯s no fun. At least my Defenses stat is pretty high. But I¡¯d rather be pounding metal than pounding monsters.¡± ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re between a rock and a hard place, Ette,¡± I quipped. She gave me a stoney glare. ¡°Don¡¯t even start with the puns, or so help me, every item I craft for you is going to have cuteness as its primary stat.¡± ¡°Is that even a thing?¡± Jazmyn asked. ¡°Probably not,¡± I said and lowered my voice to a stage whisper, ¡°but I wouldn¡¯t take it for granite.¡± ¡°I heard that!¡± 13. Virgil and Gren The exterior gates in the city wall were also flung wide open, but the two guards stationed there were at least a little more professional in appearance. They looked attentive; their blue-gold-and-white uniforms weren¡¯t rumpled; and they had weapons at the ready. The guard on our right had a sword-and-shield combo, a bit worn but still serviceable, and the other guard had a long spear and a bandolier of throwing knives. There were also three cocked crossbows resting against the wall, though none of the three were loaded. ¡°Ah, look, Gren, some kids who want to grow up to be heroes,¡± said the spearman. Jazmyn and I both frowned. By the way her glowing eyes narrowed, Ette probably did too, though she didn¡¯t have a mouth to convey that expression. We were high school students, not kids, and even teens younger than us -- like Jocelyn -- were considered adults for purposes of DVI. What cause did this guard, who probably hadn¡¯t even existed moments ago, to belittle us? This time it was Mikachu who interceded. ¡°Nah,¡± she said, ¡°Heroes are too much work. We¡¯re just here to have fun.¡± ¡°The playgrounds are back that way,¡± the spearman said, pointing back through the wall to the city. ¡°Out here, there¡¯s little monsters who will make the ones under your bed look like overgrown puppy dogs. Best go back to your dollies and swing sets.¡± Before any of us could say anything, the second guard whacked him across the back of the head with her shield. ¡°Leave it be, Virgil, and drop the attitude. You¡¯re representing the guard and your family out here, and don¡¯t forget it.¡± Then she turned to face us. ¡°Pay that fool no heed. He¡¯s just grumpy because he¡¯s lazy and is afraid he might actually have to work today. We¡¯re here to help new adventurers like yourself, but mind now, we¡¯re not going to come running to your aid if you get in a spot of trouble or bite off more than you can chew. ¡°You see those posts out there,¡± she continued, gesturing toward a series of fenceposts with no fence between them. They formed a semi-circle, or close enough, about a dozen yards in radius from the gate. ¡°That¡¯s our boundary. If you need help, you come running toward us. We¡¯ll aggro any little monster that chases you past it, but mind now, you won¡¯t get any credit for fighting it if Virgil or I finish it off.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°And we ain¡¯t stepping one foot past that boundary, neither,¡± Virgil said. ¡°Not even if you trip and fall and a little monster starts nibbling on your toes just the other side.¡± He rubbed the back of his head where the shield had hit him, and grimaced. Spitting on the ground, he continued. ¡°You gotta learn somehow that the world¡¯s a dangerous place, and once you start venturing off into the wilds where you can¡¯t even see the city, you¡¯re on your own. Best learn the hard way early on.¡± Gren looked apologetic. ¡°A bit blunt, but those are the rules. We¡¯re not allowed to engage little monsters outside our range. Elsewise, the less lazy amongst us might be tempted to go out and clear the whole area, leaving nothing for you to prove yourself with.¡± ¡°And if we¡¯re not here, guarding this gate, then who knows what little monsters would try to sneak into the city,¡± Virgil glared back at the gate and spat again. ¡°And who knows what havoc that would wreak, since the inner patrol aren¡¯t especially vigilant.¡± I thought back to the sandwich-creating guard and his snoozing buddy and had to agree with at least that part of Virgil¡¯s assessment. ¡°What sort of little monsters are we likely to encounter out there?¡± Noa asked. ¡°Big rats, mostly,¡± Gren said. ¡°And a few other rodents of less-than-usual size. The usual-sized ones aren¡¯t monsters, and won¡¯t give you any benefit if you try to fight them. The bigger ones, though. Well, they should be an appropriate challenge for your group. Be careful, though, they might screech and call for back-up. Any one of you -- except maybe the tiny, winged one -- can probably deal with a big rat one-on-one, but I¡¯d hate to be in your shoes if three or four ganged up on you at once.¡± ¡°Because the little monsters would be nibbling on your toes and that means your shoes would be done for, too,¡± Virgil put in. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it quite that way, but pretty much. Good luck out there, ladies, and remember to come running back if you need to.¡± ¡°And watch out for the flappy rats. They¡¯re tougher than they look. There¡¯s a reason we keep crossbows ready,¡± Virgil said. ¡°Flappy rats? Do you mean bats?¡± Jazmyn asked. ¡°No. I do not mean bats.¡± Virgil sneered. ¡°I¡¯m talking about little monsters, not about animals. I mean flappy rats. You¡¯ll see for yourself if you¡¯re not careful.¡± 14. Daybreak Gleaming II We took our leave from the two guards, thanking them -- mostly Gren -- for the advice. But we didn¡¯t progress too far beyond their boundary posts before I called a brief halt. ¡°I know, I know, sorry. But now that I¡¯m thinking about it, I¡¯m going to get my weapon ready now, so I don¡¯t accidentally distract you all by bringing it out once a fight has started. Also, Jazmyn might need to practice equipping her weapon,¡± I said. ¡°Is it just intent like looking at the spells?¡± she asked. And before anyone else could answer, a classic wooden staff with a silvery orb at one end appeared in her hands. She almost dropped it, surprised by the sudden weight. ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s kind of cool. Too bad we can¡¯t do that with textbooks and school supplies.¡± Ette strode over closer to Jazmyn; she chose to walk for short distances, but rolled otherwise apparently. ¡°Later on, once we and you get stronger, your staff will probably mostly be for the effects it grants, such as increased spell power or resistances, and you¡¯ll have so many spells and mana to use the spells, that you¡¯ll never need to swing that stick around.¡± Ette gave as serious a look as she could manage with only two glowing orbs for eyes. ¡°We¡¯re not there yet, so be sure to give these monsters a whack or two if they get too close.¡± Jazmyn gave the staff a few experimental swings and then shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s too big to treat like a softball bat or a golf club, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll figure something out. Now what do you have, Rie, that¡¯s going to be so distracting?¡± ¡°Hmm? This.¡± I focused on the Spirit of Daybreak Gleaming that was equipped to my left hand, willing her to manifest. At first, there was just a faint green glow surrounding my hand, but two heartbeats later, and an echo of hoofbeats sounded from within a swirl of mist that appeared midair. Then, with a challenging whinny, Daybreak Gleaming leapt through the misty portal and landed in front of us, tossing her mane and posing to allow light and shadow to play off her spiraled horn. She seemed to want to show off even more than I had. Ette¡¯s expression was unreadable, but the rest of the girls were visibly impressed. Even Mikachu dropped her stoic demeanor and crowded close to my wooden unicorn in order to pat her side and marvel at her horn and mane. It was a little amusing to see my tomboy friend acting like a preschool child seeing her first pony up close, but, well, Daybreak Gleaning was a unicorn, and magical in a way that a mere pony couldn¡¯t be. Even I wasn¡¯t unaffected by her charm, and I had already seen her before. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°You got a unicorn as a weapon!¡± Jazmyn exclaimed. ¡°You absolutely have to show Jocelyn. She¡¯ll be so jealous!¡± ¡°How does that even work?¡± Noa wanted to know. ¡°How do you use a unicorn to fight?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. We obviously haven¡¯t done any fighting yet, but I would guess she probably fights on her own, accepting maybe some input or suggestions. Kind of like a hunter¡¯s or beastmaster¡¯s pet, but better.¡± ¡°Her horn looks pretty formidable,¡± Mikachu said, ¡°and I wouldn¡¯t want to get kicked by a wooden pony. How do horses fight, anyway?¡± She looked at Noa. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. I¡¯m a tactician. I¡¯ve got two little folding fans, presumably for signaling you all what to do,¡± the centauress replied. ¡°Those war fans make decent clubs, if little, and can be used to block arrows and maybe even slash if the edge of the fanblade is sharp,¡± Ette explained. ¡°But there¡¯s probably also magic in them.¡± Noa shrugged. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll find out when we find some of those little monsters. What about you, Mika...chu?.¡± My best friend¡¯s expression was wry. ¡°I thought mine was going to be the most unexpected, but I can¡¯t compete with a unicorn. Anyway, I¡¯ve got this,¡± she said and a large crystal ball appeared, floating in mid-air in front of her. It was smooth, shiny, and translucent, about the size of a bowling ball but without the finger holes, and the crystal sphere sparkled faintly in the bright light. Ette was interested, but my sister and Noa were still too busy admiring Daybreak Gleaming, and my unicorn seemed perfectly content to be admired. ¡°I bet,¡± said Ette, ¡°that I¡¯ll be able to craft something like that before too long. Not yet, of course, but after a few days of practicing, provided we get enough resources to craft with, I might be able to make an upgrade to that. Well, it isn¡¯t magical or anything, is it?¡± Mikachu shook her head. ¡°No more so than any other newbie equipment. Well, other than the unicorn there. And I can¡¯t imagine getting or crafting an upgraded drop for that. Any ideas, Rie?¡± ¡°Ah, Daybreak Gleaming is listed as ¡®upgradeable¡¯ on my character sheet. Also as ¡®Tier 0¡¯. I imagine we¡¯ll find some way of making her stronger as we adventure, craft, and level up,¡± I replied. 15. Preparation ¡°Well, if everybody has their weapons ready,¡± Ette said, ¡°then perhaps we should see how well we can deal with that big rat over there.¡± She pointed northward, away from the safe area that Gren and Virgil were guarding. The so-called ¡°little monster¡± was far too big to be considered a rat, from my point of view. True, as a fairy, I was quite a bit closer to rat-sized than human-sized, but that beast was quite a bit closer to pony-sized than rat-sized. A determined or slightly deranged child could probably ride the thing. Of course, they¡¯d probably have to watch out for the massive incisors, whip-like tail, and scrabbly claws, but so were we. I edged a bit higher in the air, now a foot or so above head-height for the tallest in our group, and hopefully above easy swiping range, and Daybreak Gleaming broke off from her posing to come and stand at guard between me and the giant rat. ¡°Hold on, let me toggle on this aura, first,¡± said Noa as she flipped open first one fan and then the other. Crimson and white, probably useful for signalling, but they also appeared to be the focus for her spells the way Jazmyn¡¯s staff would for her. Noa said something that sounded a bit like ¡°Nocked and Noted,¡± and sparkles of red light sprung forth from her crimson fan, tracing a wide circle around her. ¡°If you stay within that radius,¡± she said, ¡°you¡¯ll have a small buff to ranged damage.¡± ¡°Oh, that reminds me, I have an aura, too. Let me see if it is useful ¡­,¡± I said and pulled open my list of abilities. Sirean Auras had one spell within its category, but ... the ability itself was a passive, so perforce the spell it granted was also passive. In a manner of speaking, anyway. Like Noa¡¯s, it toggled on -- making it not entirely passive if I had to activate it -- but also presumably like Noa¡¯s, it remained on once toggled. ¡°Sirae, Great Goddess of Nature and the Wyld Harvest, by your grace, please grant upon your priestess and her friends your blessing: ?Prayer of Evergreen Embrace?!¡± It was ¡­ a little embarrassing to have such an activation chant for the spell, rather than just a long cast time after clicking a hotbar, but that was the price of being a priestess or high priestess, I guess. Pity it wasn¡¯t in Latin or whatever liturgical language existed in DVI, if any. It would have at least sounded a bit more impressive. My aura, unlike Noa¡¯s, didn¡¯t have a visible demarcation of radius. Instead, everyone in the group -- Daybreak Gleaming included -- glowed very faintly green before a little swirl of an icon appeared above their heads, and presumably on their own HUDs. ¡°Oh, what¡¯s that do?¡± Ette asked. ¡°Non-combat regeneration rate increase,¡± I said. ¡°Not useful for fighting that monster, but downtime mitigation after. Well, as much mitigation as an unleveled ability from an unleveled healer is going to do, anyway.¡± Ette nodded. ¡°Anyone else with pre-combat spells?¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Jazmyn and Mikachu shook their heads. Noa shrugged, ¡°I do, but ¡­ I can only sustain one of these area buffs at a time. Everything else I have is like ¡®The target¡¯s next attack within fifteen seconds¡¯ or such.¡± ¡°Ah, let me double-check, there¡¯s actually a lot to look through,¡± I said. And there was. Granted, I had given it a brief look-over right after the character was completed, and I had looked into each of the abilities as time permitted while travelling and talking, but I wanted to make sure I wasn¡¯t missing anything important. I had eight spells, after all -- nine if you counted the passive Arcane Faith ability that transformed my personal Mana (MP) into Faith (FP). And that was a bit of a double-edged sword. With no mana, I couldn¡¯t be affected by any ability that drained or debuffed mana -- it¡¯s never a good thing to have your healer hit by something like that during a tough encounter. But, also, with no mana, I couldn¡¯t receive the benefit from anything that boosted mana, either. That included equipment as well as received buffs. And that was why the ability could be leveled up to higher tiers, granting a larger multiplier to the conversion of mana into faith points. Other than that and the Prayer of Evergreen Embrace I had already toggled on, I had seven other spells to quickly look over again. Probably none of them would be needed prior to combat, although once I saw how Mikachu maintained aggro as a caster-based shieldwall, she might get a regeneration spell applied prior to combat commencing. As I re-skimmed my spells, it became apparent that -- as expected -- most were reactive rather than proactive, though I did have two other sustained spells beside the Prayer of Evergreen Embrace. Both of those were under the Natural Protection ability. Orison of Forgotten Frost was a single-target boost to cold resistance and would probably not be applicable to a fight with a giant rat. The other spell, however, provided a smaller resistance against nature-elemental damage to the entire group: Prayer of Dawning Dewdrops. That might be useful. Circle of Thorns granted two single-target spells. Bramble Shield was a short-duration buff that granted the target automatic damage dealt in retribution when being struck by an attack - a useful spell to buff a shieldwall with. The other spell, Barbed Roots, was the only spell I had -- so far -- that targeted an enemy. But while an immobilize would be a nice opener, that was a surefire way to put me at the top of the hatelist. NOT where a healer ever wants to be. Better to let Mikachu get the rat¡¯s attention first. And, of course, there were my healing spells under Wyld Regeneration. I had three, and all of them were a bit different, useful for different situations. The basic spell was Wyld Regrowth, a single-target regeneration spell that unfortunately lowered their fire resistance. Prayer of Wyld Recovery was similar, but it affected the whole group, had a long duration and faster regeneration speed. And ¡­ it was only usable once a day. In case of emergency, break cooldown. The final spell was interesting if a bit niche, but it would probably require a bit of experimenting to get the right timing. Wyld Berry Aura placed a bonus HP buff on the target, effectively acting like an instant heal, but as the bonus HP was depleted -- either through damage received or the buff duration expiring -- the spell placed a short duration regeneration buff on the group. Good for countering splash damage or a little AoE, but not really something to keep up when off cooldown. ¡°As the dawning dewdrops nourish and protect, please, Great Goddess of Nature, bestow upon your faithful and her allies the subtle aura of protection: ?Prayer of Dawning Dewdrops?!¡± This time, the spell effect was a ripple of green light radiating from my outstretched hand and echoing off everyone in the group, again Daybreak Gleaming included. The green ripple faded, and I saw again the icon for the buff appear over everyone¡¯s head. I may have missed some implications or interactions in the quick skim I did of the spells, but the girls were waiting, and even a minute or two seems like a long time when you¡¯re itching for a fight to start. ¡°Alright, if everyone¡¯s ready ¡­? Mikachu, you¡¯re on.¡± 16. One Big Mother Mikachu flew up, hovering in the air above our group with her wings spread out. I still thought it strange that she had bird-like wings, but could hover in place without flapping them. My little wings were beating a mile a minute to keep me aloft. ¡°Alright, you big rodent,¡± she said. ¡°Your mother was a womp rat and your father smelled of elderberries!¡± Almost in unison, we blinked. As did the big rat. ¡°You call that a taunt?¡± Noa asked Mikachu. ¡°Well, ah, not really. But it seemed appropriate.¡± She placed one hand behind her head and laughed, winking back at Noa. Then she turned serious again. ¡°Anyway, I do call this a taunt: ?Bellicosity Induction?!¡± She pointed at the big rat and several dozen sparks streamed from her crystal ball toward the rat. The beast just watched passively until the first spark hit its face. Then it reared up and roared, almost like a grizzly bear. Besides being rather intimidating -- since the rat was close on to a bear in size -- the sonic barrage of the roar staggered us all, even Ette. But even worse, it did physical damage to us all as well. The battle hadn¡¯t even truly started, and we were already down about ten percent health. Time to get to work. ¡°Hold your healing a moment, Rie!¡± Mikachu yelled. ¡°Let me make sure we have its aggro where we want it. Um ¡­ Guardian of the White Flame, Arise: ?Rage Lure Totem?!¡± A pillar of white-hot flame shot up between us and the rat, much closer to us, and when the blinding brilliance faded, a stone statue of Mikachu stood in its place. A thin, almost imperceptible thread of red light connected the statue to the rat. ¡°Alright, you dirty rat, let¡¯s see you take a bite out of this rock,¡± Mikachu taunted. Ette feigned offense, ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Not you. Here it comes, get ready!¡± Noa twirled her white fan and pointed it at Jazmyn. ¡°An opportunity arises! ?False Flag: Redirect Hate?!¡± Her crimson fan snapped shut and she pointed it at Mikachu¡¯s statue. ¡°Go for it, Jazzy!¡± While our tactician worked her magic, it was time for me to do something. Focusing in on the statue, which would hopefully hold the rat¡¯s aggro, I cast first the healing spell I had thought would be niche and situational. But, we had a situation on our hands. ¡°The Wyld Harvest awaits, ?Wyld Berry Aura?! Let¡¯s have that rat¡¯s attacks heal us.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. This time, the spell effect was quite a bit flashier than the first two prayers I had cast. Green, glowing hands, check, but rather than a ripple of light or a spreading green glow, the ground beneath the statue sparkled red and green as if it were Christmas time. Then, the sparkles shot upward and formed a berry-laden wreath of vines that floated above the statue, slowly rotating. ¡°My turn! Let¡¯s see how magic works!¡± my sister exclaimed while my spell effect was still playing out. ¡°Um, intent and voice, right?¡± She narrowed her eyes and pointed her free hand at the charging rat. ¡°?Silver Shot?! Oh? I don¡¯t need to do a chant as well? ?Silver Shot?! ?Silver Shot?!¡± Her spell effects were ¡­ minimal. Just a dart-shaped burst of silver light springing from her hand toward the monster, almost like an old TV show¡¯s sci-fi ray gun¡¯s effect. First one dart and then two more. On the other hand, they seemed to be instant-cast and low or no cooldown, a definite advantage a basic caster archetype had over us more specialized classes. ¡°Careful, Jazmyn, don¡¯t nuke it so quickly that you get its attention,¡± Ette warned, but the damage was already done. And by damage, those three spells had done a little over ten percent of the rat¡¯s health. The first had been affected by Noa¡¯s tactical buff, redirecting the aggro the spell had generated onto the statue that was intended to take the hits, but the other two outweighed the first and Mikachu¡¯s taunt. The rat veered in its charge, angling toward my sister. ¡°Eep! Hey, you¡¯re not supposed to attack me!¡± ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t! ?Bellicosity Induction?!¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s clobbering time!¡± ¡°Daybreak Gleaming, help her!¡± ¡°Come on, come on, stupid cooldown ¡­! There! ?Brace for Impact?!¡± Everything happened at once. Jazmyn raised her staff in front of her, instinctively trying to ward off the attack; Mikachu re-taunted the rat, attempting to pull its attention back; Ette cracked her knuckles and strode in front of Jazmyn; my wooden unicorn leapt forward on an intercept course with the giant rat, and Noa signalled with her fans, dropping the sustained damage buff for a damage reduction buff instead. We were able to reconstruct what happened after the fact with the aid of the combat log, but in the heat of the moment, it was pretty much total confusion. Fortunately, none of our actions really interfered with each other all that much. Ette was far enough forward that the rat bowled her over when it veered back toward the statue, and Daybreak Gleaming shouldered into the rat just as it crashed into Mikachu¡¯s stone likeness. Neither Ette nor Daybreak Gleaming dealt appreciable damage, though the same could not be said for our opponent. Ette¡¯s health dropped another ten percent from the glancing blow and the statue¡¯s health pool dropped precipitously, with more than a third -- and the entire bonus HP from Wyld Berry Aura -- gone in the blink of an eye. Let¡¯s hope the rat¡¯s claw-claw-bite (or whatever) and whiplash tail isn¡¯t nearly as potent as its gap-closer was. 17. Server First The wreath above the statue exploded into light, with motes of berry red shooting off toward us all, statue and unicorn included. With a regen effect on all of us, I didn¡¯t have to worry so much about our health, though now I really needed whatever I could to keep that statue ¡­ alive. Well, intact. Once more I prepared a spell. Casting was so much different in virtual reality than any other games; it was almost more like table-top roleplay, but with us instead of figurines. ¡°?Wyld Regrowth?!¡± No little chant this time, but I could sense the ability go on a short cooldown -- so chain casting the spell on the entire party was, unfortunately, out of the question. This spell effect, however, was perhaps the most dramatic of any of them so far. Ghostly vines wrapped around the limbs and torso of the statue, slowly pulsing with a green glow for each tick of the regeneration effect. I imagine it would be a little unnerving for any of the girls the first time it was cast on them, but the statue didn¡¯t seem to mind. But with the ghostly vines enwrapped around the rock, I could see how the spell would penalize fire resistance. ¡°Stand strong, Guardian of the White Flame: ?Blazing Siphon?.¡± Whereas before, Mikachu had been shouting out her spell chants the same as the rest of us, here she was back to a more stoic demeanor. Less exuberance and more grit, anyway. ¡°My life is your life. My will is your will. My shield is your shield. My strength is your strength. Guardian of the White Flame, from stone you came and as stone remain, solid, unyielding, resolute, defiant. Let none pass by while the Guardian yet stands ¡­.¡± Mikachu¡¯s crystal ball glowed brighter and brighter as she chanted a longer spell. A white flame flickered and danced within the crystal¡¯s depths, and chains of light shot from the crystal toward the statue and wrapped around Mikachu¡¯s wrists and ankles. ¡°?Ultimate Empowerment: Unyielding Guardian.?¡± The last came in a gasp and she slumped in midair. ¡°That should hold its attention for a while. You gals might want to bash away. The faster that rat is defeated, the better. I¡¯m not strong enough to hold it back for long, not yet anyway.¡± My Wyld Regrowth had been fighting a losing battle with the rat¡¯s damage. It kept chipping off and cracking the statue as if it were cheese and not stone -- even with the extra regeneration effect from the expiration of Wyld Berry Aura. Mika¡¯s two spells, however, had turned the tide. The first seemed to be doing minimal damage to the rat and transferring the damage into health for the statue. That was enough to stop the loss of health, but not enough to reverse direction. However, the second spell seemed to make the statue that much tougher. It¡¯s health pool doubled and it started taking less damage from each attack, so that it was starting to slowly regain health rather than lose it. The fight dragged on and on. As the rat focused on the statue, Ette and Daybreak Gleaming attacked it from either side, punches from stone fists on one side and punctures from a wooden horn on the other. Pacing herself, Jazmyn fired Silver Shot after Silver Shot into the rat, taking enough time in between spellcasts to allow Noa¡¯s threat redirection and Mikachu¡¯s taunting to keep her not at the top of the hate list. My sister may not have been a gamer, but she was a quick learner. Meanwhile, I kept both regeneration spells active on the statue. Or, rather, I renewed Wyld Regrowth whenever it expired and recast Wyld Berry Aura whenever it came off cooldown; the bonus health it provided didn¡¯t last long against the rat¡¯s attacks. I was burning through faith faster than it regenerated, but I still had a goodly amount, so I also started trying to maintain Bramble Shield on the statue. Unless you counted Daybreak Gleaming, that was the only way I could do damage to the rat myself. And even then, it wasn¡¯t strictly me doing the damage. Finally, the rat -- which was a much harder fight than we should have encountered -- ticked under fifty percent health, with almost all the damage having come from Jazmyn¡¯s spells. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. It reared back and roared again, and the sound seemed unending. I know I wasn¡¯t the only one who covered my ears. Jazmyn dropped her staff to cover hers, and Noa nearly clobbered herself with her own fans trying to shield her ears. Even Daybreak Gleaming appeared to wince in pain. And as the sonic attack continued, our health dropped and dropped and dropped. I struggled to focus, to try and cast, but it wasn¡¯t until the roar was over and the rat started swiping at the statue much faster than before that I was able to do anything. All our health bars were hovering nearly fifteen percent, and they were likely only that high because of the regen effect from a Wyld Berry Aura. I had one more card up my sleeve. Well, metaphorically. My starting outfit was a sleeveless sundress and a card wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve fit underneath the shoulder strap. ¡°Sirae, in this hour of need, I beseech you. Please grant us your favor and aid us: ?Prayer of Wyld Recovery?!¡± In case of emergency, pop cooldown. And I did. The Prayer of Wyld Recovery could only be used once per day, but if this wasn¡¯t the time to use it, nothing was. Everyone¡¯s health -- including the statue¡¯s -- started ticking up rapidly, but that didn¡¯t mean we were out of the woods, yet. Once more I applied Wyld Regrowth and Wyld Berry Aura to Mikachu¡¯s statue, but as my resources were lower than I liked to have, I refrained from renewing Bramble Shield. It hadn¡¯t been contributing that much damage to the rat, anyway. ¡°Jazzy! Burn through your mana as quick as you can. Don¡¯t worry about pacing yourself. If we don¡¯t finish this rat off soon, we never will. We need damage now, ?Nocked and Noted?!¡± Noa gestured with her fans, and again the red sparkles of light traced a circle around the group. Unfortunately, the rat frenzying wasn¡¯t the only change when it dropped below half life. Like a radioactive isotope spitting out charged particles, it started summoning helpers. These adds were probably the larger-than-normal rats we were supposed to have been fighting -- they were only dog-sized rather than looking like they could give a bear a run for its honey. Still larger than life, but little monsters rather than full-blown ones. But if they were what we should have been fighting, what the heck was the rat we had encountered right out the gate? ¡°Ette, Rie, focus on the adds with me. Keep them off Jazzy. We still have a chance,¡± Noa charged a rat, trampling it and getting a bite on her off-side hock in the process. I directed Daybreak Gleaming to break off from the big rat and join Noa. On the other side, Ette curled back up into her traveling mode and started rolling around, bumping over rats like a giant pinball in a demolition derby. ¡°Mikachu! Do you have any group taunts?¡± She shook her head. ¡°No. We¡¯re not going to survive this. You all need to run. We¡¯re not that far from the guards¡¯ boundary.¡± ¡°I¡¯m out of mana!¡± Jazmyn announced, and the big rat was still close on to thirty-percent alive. It had more than a quarter of its health, anyway. ¡°Jenna! Get back to the guards!¡± I hollered at her, breaking character and using my sister¡¯s real name. But she shook her head and yelped when a rat that had got by Ette bit her leg. She smacked it hard with her staff, but then another two rats jumped at her, and she went down. ¡°No ¡­!¡± And then, demoralized, we fell like dominoes. Noa next, with six big rats swarming her. One might have thought that Mikachu and I would be safe, up in the air, but three of the smaller rats screeched at me, and the quick succession of sonic attacks stunned me and I fell like a maple seed. Mikachu dove after me, perhaps to protect, perhaps to catch, but like a reverse Icarus, she flew too close to the ground, and was tackled by half a dozen rats. And with the Mikachu down, her statue was also down, leaving nothing to keep the big rat¡¯s attention off Ette. Daybreak Gleaming had despawned when I was defeated, so she didn¡¯t even have my wooden unicorn to help her. Our ghostly, intangible forms appeared back in the city, just inside the tunnel through the wall. As we waited for the respawn timer to tick down, we were greeted by a host of unpleasant messages. [Server Broadcast: Rockette and party were defeated by a Tutorial Rat Matriarch.] [Server Broadcast: Server First! Rockette and party were the first to attain a complete party wipe!] [Region Broadcast: Server and Region First! Rockette and party, on the Chinookan Pacifica server, were the first to attain a complete party wipe in the group tutorial instance!] ¡°At least it wasn¡¯t a world first,¡± Ette¡¯s ghostly form grumbled. 18. A Moment’s Consideration ¡°Hey, Gren, look who¡¯s back to get nibbled on again,¡± Virgil sneered as we materialized on his side of the wall again. ¡°Shush, Virgil. Be polite.¡± She smacked him with her shield again, ¡°Now, ladies, I¡¯d like a word with you before you rush out past the boundary again.¡± I wasn¡¯t too keen on being called a ¡°lady,¡± but my fairy character technically counted. I was a priestess, after all, and my figure was anything but androgynous. It was just something I¡¯d have to get used to. The rest of the girls looked at each other and Ette shrugged, ¡°Might as well,¡± she said. Noa and I nodded in agreement. Presumably the guard was going to tell us more than just ¡°don¡¯t forget to run from a bad fight.¡± We gathered around her and she sized us up. ¡°For a bunch of greenies, you put up a good fight, and if you had been a little stronger, you probably could have taken that Matriarch down. Teamwork goes a long way, and a group like yours that works together will have far more success than a group of glory-seekers, each trying to upstage the other. If you stick together, I have faith that you¡¯ll go far and do great things.¡± Gren smiled a little, wintry smile, and then let her expression turn serious. ¡°But there¡¯s absolutely no reason you should have fought that Matriarch when you did. Yeah, you got unlucky that she was the first of the monsters you saw, but you could have bypassed her and tested yourself against lesser threats. Death, here, isn¡¯t necessarily final, true. But if it were, your potential would have been squandered before you ever had a chance to shine. You need to learn to consider your targets and pick your fights, because someday a failed fight will be more than a minor setback.¡± With the emphasis she placed on the word ¡°consider,¡± I had no doubt that it would have been highlighted and in a different text color in a more traditional MMO. A keyword. She looked at us each in turn. ¡°Level 0, all of you. You had no business trying to fight a level 5 monster, much less a level 5 Zone Boss.¡± ¡°A ¡®Zone Boss¡¯?¡± Jazmyn asked. ¡°If you had considered your target ¡­¡± -- again that keyword emphasis -- ¡°... you would have seen that. And while I see that you¡¯re inexperienced, your fellow squadmates should have had a better understanding of that, especially your tactician.¡± The look Gren gave Noa wasn¡¯t quite withering, but it was definitely stern. ¡°How then do we consider, here?¡± Noa asked. Which was a valid question. There was no ¡°/con¡± command to type in nor a colour-coded name floating above their heads. At least ¡­ not by default. If I saw buff icons above Ette¡¯s and the rest¡¯s heads, then perhaps there was a setting toggle that allowed for name displays. But that was something to look into later, since Gren was still talking. ¡°How do your special abilities work?¡± she asked rhetorically. ¡°Intent. Focus. Will.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Like a spell?¡± Jazmyn asked. Gren waggled her hand, ¡°Not precisely. Yes, some people have developed magic or other specialized abilities that work similarly and give more information, but anyone can do the basics. You don¡¯t need magic to walk or a special ability to breathe even if you do to walk through walls or breathe underwater. Now, go ahead and consider me and that lazy buffoon over there.¡± [Gren. ??. Friendly.] [Virgil. ??. Grumpy.] It worked as she said, just a matter of focus and intent. The results weren¡¯t strictly displayed, not even textually on the HUD where the minimap and health indications were, but more like a hint of an image in the mind. Regardless, I knew the results even if I didn¡¯t exactly see them. When she saw the flash of understanding in our expressions, Gren continued. ¡°Now, no doubt you didn¡¯t get to learn my level the way I saw yours. When your target is that much more powerful than you -- ten levels when you¡¯re starting out, but the range widens as you get stronger -- you get very little. But that ¡®very little¡¯ is enough to tell you that it¡¯s a bad idea.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re level ten?¡± Jazmyn asked. Ette elbowed her in the side. ¡°Guards are almost universally high level,¡± she said. Gren just smiled faintly. ¡°Your inexperience is charming. No, I haven¡¯t been level 10 in over a dozen years.¡± ¡°I see that you¡¯re ¡®friendly¡¯ and Virgil is grumpy, but I don¡¯t need to consider you to see that,¡± Mikachu said. Virgil piped up. ¡°I¡¯m only grumpy because someone keeps hitting me with her shield,¡± he said. Probably ¡°condescending¡± otherwise, but I kept my mouth shut. ¡°Now for monsters and critters and other opponents, you won¡¯t get a personality disposition like that,¡± Gren explained. ¡°Instead, you¡¯ll see whether they¡¯re hostile, neutral, or passive. Or a few other things, but that¡¯s not relevant here. You¡¯ll figure those out on your own later.¡± Much of the rest of the explanation wasn¡¯t especially helpful to us veterans of other games, but it was a good tutorial for Jazmyn. Hostile monsters would aggro on sight. Or, rather, within their radius which depended on the monster, the level difference, and a few other considerations, like if they were defending their nest or lair. Passive monsters, on the other hand, would only fight if directly attacked or otherwise provoked. And in many cases, a passive monster would try to run away rather than fight back. In between, and most monsters in the tutorial zone, was neutral. That is, they needed provocation to attack -- which is why that big rat matriarch hadn¡¯t done anything until we had attacked her -- but that provocation could be seeing their ¡®friends¡¯ in combat. Basically adds or linked spawns to put it in gamer terms. ¡°Now, you won¡¯t see much in the way of hostile monsters until you start venturing further away from the city,¡± Gren said, ¡°not unless a defense or raid event is going on, but there are some here in this area. Those flappy rats are hostile, and they have a pretty large aggro radius. Be careful they don¡¯t catch you unawares in the middle of another fight.¡± We nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve taken enough of your time. Go out there, and fight some rats, get stronger, and try the zone boss again later. You were doing well, if slow, for being as underpowered as you were. But, ladies, the next time things turn bad, for heaven¡¯s sake, RUN when it becomes obvious and not when it becomes too late. You weren¡¯t that far from where Virgil and I could have helped you.¡± Thoroughly admonished, we nodded and thanked her for her time -- was she really an NPC or was she a GM in disguise? Then we headed back out into the zone, away from the wall. Feeling a bit cheeky, I gave a jaunty wave to Virgil as well, but received only a sneer in response. 19. Kill Ten Rats ¡°She¡¯s not wrong,¡± Mikachu finally said. ¡°As your shieldwall, I should have signalled earlier when it became clear that we couldn¡¯t hold the fight.¡± ¡°Or me,¡± Ette said morosely. ¡°I was the leader after all.¡± Noa just nodded glumly. She was the one Gren had called out since her class suggested a better mastery of tactics than the rest of us. ¡°Hey, knock it off,¡± I said. ¡°So we wiped? Big deal. It was going to happen sooner or later, anyway -- it¡¯s a video game after all. And all of us, except maybe Jazmyn, knew within moments that the fight was too hard for us. DVI isn¡¯t a Souls-like, right?¡± ¡°Yeah ¡­,¡± the three nodded and said in unison. ¡°So, why¡¯d we do it? A little reckless overconfidence, maybe?¡± I asked. ¡°Maybe for a little bragging rights, shooting for a possible server first?¡± The look Ette gave me was nigh inscrutable but Noa¡¯s wasn¡¯t, and I hastily amended the statement, ¡°A good server first, that is. Whatever. We learned from it. We got to see how most of our abilities worked. We got to see how most of each other¡¯s abilities worked, the ones we¡¯ll be relying on down the road, like Mikachu¡¯s statue ¡­¡± ¡°Totem,¡± Mikachu corrected. ¡°-- totem, which definitely changes the way I work as a healer. And you know, once bitten, twice shy. If we see another Matriarch, we won''t fight her until we¡¯re stronger. Maybe two-three levels, maybe even even with her if not overleveled,¡± I continued. ¡°More like twenty-five times bitten,¡± Noa grumbled, but the girls¡¯ expressions were lightening. ¡°Then twenty-five times shy,¡± I retorted. ¡°Live and learn. Respawn and learn. It didn¡¯t even hurt that much; I¡¯ve taken more damage out jogging with Mika or trying to play beach volleyball with you all last summer.¡± Jazmyn laughed. ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re a total klutz, bro.¡± Then she cocked her head and gave me a funny look. ¡°Or should I say ¡®sis,¡¯ now?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t. Yeah, Rie¡¯s a girl, but she¡¯s still just a character I¡¯m playing. Just as Jazmyn¡¯s your character. And a human girl and a fairy aren¡¯t likely to be sisters here in the game. We¡¯re travelling companions, squadmates, allies, whatever term you want to use outside of blood relations.¡± ¡°Friends?¡± Jazmyn asked. I smiled. ¡°That works, too. Friends.¡± Mikachu spread her wings and hovered up into the air near me. ¡°Well said, Rie. We needed to hear that. At least, I did. It¡¯s always hard on a shieldwall when the party wipes, but I know it¡¯s usually harder on the healer. If you can get past it, I can get past it.¡± Then she looked down at Ette and the others. ¡°Plus, now we have a goal. Vengeance.¡± All three nodded. ¡°But more importantly,¡± Jazmyn said, ¡°having fun while doing it. Anyway, our much-needed pep speech is over. Let¡¯s go kill some easy rats!¡± She was a bit glib, but the smile and thumbs-up gesture she flashed me was sincere. * * * Noa and I had reapplied our sustained powers, and it was only a minute or so deeper into the grassland that we spotted the first opponent of our second attempt. ¡°Big Bad Rat, level 0, Neutral,¡± Ette reported. ¡°Make sure there¡¯s no other rat lurking nearby,¡± Noa said. ¡°Rie, Mikachu, you¡¯ve got better vantage points. Do you see anything?¡± ¡°There¡¯s one a bit further north, also level 0,¡± Mikachu said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s in aggro radius, but that¡¯s something we¡¯ll need to learn. I think I can taunt it if it does decide to join in.¡± ¡°Even against two of the regular bigger-than-normal rats, I can probably keep enough regen going that we¡¯ll be fine. But we don¡¯t want to get swarmed again. I can¡¯t use the Prayer of Wyld Recovery again today.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°I don¡¯t want to assume too much,¡± Noa said, ¡°But meeting the zone boss as our first mob was probably a fluke. This is supposed to be an area for newbies to level up in, not for newbies to get slaughtered over and over in, right?¡± ¡°It should be,¡± Ette nodded. ¡°Then I think we¡¯re not likely to have too many swarms. And I don¡¯t think we¡¯re likely to have too many ambushes. Even that swarm was from summoned adds rather than patrollers,¡± Noa said. ¡°So, we¡¯re ready to fight this one?¡± Mikachu asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Alright. ?Bellicosity Induction?.¡± She pointed at the near rat as she taunted it, and the fight was on. And ¡­ the fight was anticlimactic. With Jazmyn attacking the rat as it ran toward us and Ette and Daybreak Gleaming joining in when the little monster got within melee range, it was over without even really trying. And without Mikachu¡¯s totemic statue being placed to give the rat a target to hit. By mutual assent, Mikachu pulled the other rat with a taunt -- and the fight was just as lopsided. Five-versus-one, when everyone was equal in level, shouldn''t have been a challenge, and it wasn¡¯t. Especially with the amount of damage that Jazmyn was doing. Even considering the boost she was receiving from Noa¡¯s ranged damage buff, she was still doing more than a third of the rat¡¯s health with each Silver Shot. That seemed a bit high, even if a damage-dealing caster was the primary source of damage for a group. So, with a few successes to buoy our spirits, we became a roving, rat-exterminator squad. We did come across a level 1 rat, but it was still a trivial fight. It took a little longer -- Jazmyn¡¯s spell was only doing more than a quarter of the rat¡¯s health instead of more than a third -- but not appreciably longer. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d say magic is boring,¡± Jazmyn said, ¡°but using the same spell over and over with no challenge is, well, kinda boring.¡± She frowned. ¡°A bit like volleyball drill, practicing the same moves over and over without getting a chance at a skirmish or actual match.¡± Ette nodded. ¡°The theory is a bit the same, Jazmyn. Partly it is practicing and developing abilities, becoming familiar with something that is completely new. And partly it is a bit like exercise, building muscles. Once we get a bit stronger, and have more diverse or more powerful abilities, we¡¯ll be able to hold our own against more challenging encounters, like that stupid Matriarch, or who knows what else.¡± ¡°And sooner or later,¡± Noa said, ¡°we¡¯ll be fighting monsters in different places, too, like in caves. That¡¯ll make things more interesting, since positioning will matter much more.¡± ¡°I suppose,¡± Jazmyn said, though she sounded a bit unconvinced. ¡°You do have three spells, don¡¯t you?¡± I asked. ¡°Try using the others and see how they work. I bet that other, Silver Slash was it, is probably a closer-range spell. You might want to practice it, too. You should normally be at a distance from the monsters, but as you saw earlier, that¡¯s not always the case.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do that. Oh, look, there¡¯s another level 1 one over there. ¡°You want to do your statue for this one, Mikachu? That way I can try the other spells and Rie can cast her spells, too? You two haven¡¯t been doing that much on the weak ones.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it.¡± When the rat was well and truly fixated on the Rage Lure Totem, and was taking trivial damage from its application of my Bramble Shield, Jazmyn stepped a little closer to it, keeping her staff at the ready to hopefully block or divert any attacks of opportunity the rat made against her. Then ¡­. ¡°Light of the moon, strength of steel, argent crescent, power made real: ?Silver Slash?! Strike down my foe!¡± Throughout the activation chant, the orb at the end of her staff glowed brighter and brighter, until a silver crescent of light like a scythe¡¯s blade extended from it. When she called out the spell¡¯s name, Jazmyn swung her staff in a diagonal arc and ¡­ cut the little monster clean in two, knocking it from nearly full health to completely dead in one clean swipe. ¡°Whoa!¡± Ette¡¯s gasp of surprise was the loudest, reverberating from her crystalline form, but I think the rest of us echoed her. ¡°Ugh, that¡¯s tiring,¡± Jazmyn said. ¡°Wait!? It already died? And, geez! That took all my remaining mana, exactly. I¡¯m completely out!¡± She sat down and then sprawled out on the grass. ¡°Ugh, I need a break.¡± ¡°Mana exhaustion?¡± Noa wondered aloud. Ette shrugged. ¡°If so, it¡¯s not something that¡¯s made it to publicly available information. DVI censors things too heavily, but I bet now that we¡¯re in the game, there¡¯s probably some internal forums we can access.¡± ¡°Maybe later,¡± Mikachu said. ¡°And a break might not be a bad idea. This is a lot more physical activity than some of us are used to.¡± She shot a glance at me and then Noa. I shrugged, still hovering effortlessly. ¡°Different physiques, different physical capabilities. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s even an endurance or stamina stat, is there?¡± But since we were paused, I pulled open my character sheet and reviewed it. ¡°Nope. Attack Power, Spell Power, Agility, Defenses, and Resistances. Unless it is a derived stat or a hidden one, it¡¯s probably rolled into resistances, I guess?¡± ¡°Resisting getting tired?¡± Ette asked. ¡°Or part of health, or just a stand-alone debuff. Well, we can ask her. Jazmyn, did you get a debuff when you got tired just now?¡± She sat up and shook her head, ¡°No. No little new icon up by the health bar, anyway, not like your regeneration or Noa¡¯s stuff. Those are buffs, right? So debuffs should be there, too, I would think?¡± 20. Ding We rested for a bit longer while Jazmyn¡¯s mana recovered -- as with traditional, on-screen MMOs, it recovered quicker while she was ¡°resting,¡± and probably would have recovered even more quickly if she had food or drink to provide a boost. But, as new players, we didn¡¯t have any consumables. Pity. A few potions, flasks, and on-use items, and we might have succeeded in our first encounter, after all. Or, we might not have. It had still been a slogfest, and the rat having a second-stage wasn¡¯t something we had been prepared for. Still, with the amount of damage that Jazmyn¡¯s Silver Slash spell had done, perhaps it and some consumables would have helped. While I was considering that, Noa asked the question that the rest of us were probably working our thoughts up toward. ¡°Jazzy,¡± she said, ¡°I¡¯m curious. What exactly is the description of that spell?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, let me look at it again. Let¡¯s see, how do I ¡­? Oh, there we go.¡± It took my sister a moment to manipulate that aspect of the interface, but we weren¡¯t waiting long. ¡°Hmm, ¡®Silver Slash,¡¯¡± she read to us, ¡°Melee range. Empower your weapon with elemental silver. Deals 1.5 times normal attack damage as elemental slashing damage and drains available mana to deal additional elemental slashing damage.¡¯ Oh. That¡¯s why I ran out of mana.¡± ¡°Yeah. It was impressive, but probably not something you want to do in every fight,¡± Ette said. ¡°With faster regen, or some mana-regen items or food, the downtime wouldn¡¯t be as significant,¡± I said. ¡°Who knows, I might even get something in one of my abilities to boost mana regen and not just health regen. Jazmyn¡¯s going to need something, anyway, if she continues to chaincast Silver Shot.¡± ¡°I might get something in mine, too,¡± Noa said. ¡°Maybe a sustained power to boost maximum mana or one of my little tactical next-attack buffs that reduces mana costs, perhaps. That¡¯d be good for you, too, Rie.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, not for me,¡± I said. ¡°I have a merit that buffs the amount of mana I have, well, by turning it into something other than mana -- faith. My faith pool is quite a bit larger than my mana pool would have been, but it also means that abilities that affect mana don¡¯t affect me. Buffs, debuffs, even things like plus-mana on equipment grant me no benefit ¡­ or detriment.¡± ¡°That sounds interesting,¡± Mikachu said, ¡°but what about when you level up? Wouldn¡¯t a level up affect mana and so not affect faith?¡± I stretched back out. While the others were sitting on the ground -- even Noa -- I was reclining on the back of Daybreak Gleaming. With my diminutive height, sitting in the grass would have seriously restricted my field of view. Stretching out on a unicorn¡¯s back wasn¡¯t as comfortable as it could have been, however; after all, Daybreak Gleaming was made out of wood. It was a little like lying down on a park bench or the gym¡¯s bleachers. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll find out when we get that far,¡± I said, ¡°but that will be a while. I¡¯m not even halfway to level one yet. Just not a lot of experience from these fights.¡± Ette and Mikachu both nodded, but Noa looked puzzled. ¡°Not even halfway? But I¡¯m about three-quarters there.¡± ¡°Just under halfway,¡± Ette said. ¡°And just over halfway for me,¡± Mikachu added. Noa frowned. ¡°Different experience tables for different classes?¡± she asked. ¡°Possibly. And/or for different races,¡± Ette said. ¡°Remember? The more rare the race and class, the more and better skills they start with. But the more common the race and class, the faster they get stronger and can more easily adapt. It might not be different experience tables, but just experience modifiers. You and Jazmyn gain more experience, or need less experience, to level than the rest of us. And poor Rie, I guess for having a unique class, will be slower than the rest of us.¡± ¡°And I can¡¯t exactly play more to make up for that,¡± I said. ¡°No extra grinding experience while you¡¯re out shopping or studying. I should pout, but my class is too good for that.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, we aren¡¯t always going to be doing everything together,¡± Ette countered. ¡°I¡¯m a crafter. That means there will be times -- and probably many of them -- when I¡¯m going to be focused on crafting instead of coming out of town and killing monsters with you. Plus there¡¯s quests, some of them are for solos or duos. And you¡¯ll have your church to worry about, too.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Yep, but that¡¯s for a different day. A different month or year, even.¡± ¡°Anyway, my mana¡¯s all back,¡± Jazmyn said as she stood. ¡°Are you girls, sorry Rie, are you all ready to fight more rats?¡± A handful of rats later, one of which was a level 2 and was also virtually one-shot by Silver Slash, Jazmyn was lit up by a silver glow spiraling around her when the most recent rat fell dead. The glow was accompanied by a fanfare of trumpets, and we all congratulated her. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Okay. So, um, now what?¡± she asked. ¡°What did you get from leveling up, Jazzy?¡± Noa asked. ¡°Besides a ¡®congratulations¡¯ message? I got a stat point, a development point, and an ability point. If I focus on them ¡­. Oh! I can spend this stat point to raise a stat by a percent, but that doesn¡¯t do much because the stat doesn¡¯t get better until it gets to 100% when it goes up to the next category.¡± She frowned a moment and then shrugged. ¡°You can help me with that in a moment. ¡°The development point can be spent to develop health or mana, to choose a new spell in an ability I already have, or to make it so an ability point can choose freely instead of from a random selection,¡± she continued. ¡°And the ability point lets me choose a new ability. I guess those stop coming sooner or later, because there¡¯s only room for ten abilities, right?¡± she looked toward Ette. ¡°Not counting class and race abilities, yes,¡± Ette answered. ¡°So what do I do, then?¡± she asked. ¡°One of you all should have leveled first -- it shouldn¡¯t be the new player to lead the way. I haven¡¯t really played these types of games before.¡± It was Mikachu who answered. ¡°Even if it doesn¡¯t pay off right away, you should probably start by putting your stat point into Spell Power. As a caster, that¡¯s the most important to you. And the higher it gets, the quicker you can kill things because your spells will be stronger.¡± ¡°I can already kill them pretty quickly,¡± Jazmyn pointed out. ¡°Things will get tougher, Jazzy,¡± Noa said. ¡°Remember the first rat?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to remember that rat!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°But I see your point. Okay, Spell Power it is. Hey! It went up by five percent, not one.¡± Ette nodded. ¡°On your character sheet, do you have plusses and minus after the stats?¡± ¡°Yeah. Spell Power is plus plus plus plus and the others are all just one minus each,¡± Jasmyn said. ¡°That¡¯s why, then. Each plus means a stat levels faster and each minus means it levels slower. Having no plusses or minuses on a stat means it levels normally. I think everyone should have an equal number of pluses and minuses, that is ¡­ they cancel out. Anything that levels faster means something else gets stronger slower.¡± ¡°So, four pluses equals five? That¡¯s some weird math,¡± Jazmyn said. ¡°Yeah, a better system would be showing times and divided by, but you can treat it as 1 stat point with four +1s on it, So one plus one plus one plus one plus one¡± -- she held up one finger at a time -- ¡°makes five percent.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll roll with it. So that means I¡¯d need two points to raise anything else by one percent, yes?¡± ¡°Yep. You¡¯re better off focusing on your strengths rather than shoring up your weaknesses,¡± Ette said. ¡°At least right now.¡± ¡°Alrighty then. What about the development point?¡± Jazmyn asked. Mikachu answered again. ¡°I¡¯d say use it to take a new spell. Sooner or later, probably sooner, you¡¯re going to want to spend some on more mana. Especially with the way Silver Slash works. And once you have more spells, you¡¯re going to want to spend those on increasing the tiers of your abilities so that their spells get stronger or you get access to spells that require higher tiers. But for now, having more spells means you¡¯re less likely to get bored casting the same one over and over. Variety is the spice of magic, right?¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± Jazmyn said. ¡°I haven¡¯t used Silver Shield, yet. So maybe another attack spell from Assertive Argentomancy? Let¡¯s see ¡­. Oh, wow, there¡¯s a lot to choose from. Let me look at them.¡± We didn¡¯t have to wait too long. ¡°Okay Sparkle Storm -- that sounds like a fairy spell, doesn¡¯t it, Rie? Anyway, Sparkle Storm lets me target an area and it quote ¡®periodically strikes all opponents in the area.¡¯ That sounds like it can be fun.¡± ¡°That just leaves the ability point,¡± she said and stretched. ¡°Huh. I can choose a new ability, one of these three: Conservative Casting, that¡¯s a passive with an ¡®x¡¯; Argent Auras with 2 spells; or another passive x called Silvered Spellpower.¡± ¡°What do they do?¡± I asked, ¡°But auras are usually support spells. You might want to choose a passive instead.¡± ¡°Hmmm. Conservative Casting has a chance to make a spell cost less mana and a tiny chance to have it cost no mana. Silvered Spellpower instead gives a chance to have a spell act as if my Spell Power stat was one level higher.¡± ¡°Take that one.¡± The rest of us were unanimous in our immediate reaction. Jazmyn blinked in surprise at our simultaneous responses. ¡°Okay. Why?¡± We all looked to Ette to explain, since she was better at that sort of thing. ¡°First, something like that sounds particularly rare, its effect is very strong. If the choice of abilities is from a random selection, then you probably won¡¯t see that one again. You might not see the others show up again, either, but almost certainly that one won¡¯t.¡± My sister nodded to show her understanding. Ette continued. ¡°I¡¯ve also looked into stats. They eventually cap out at Exceptional, the tenth level of stats. But there is one more level higher -- Legendary -- and you can only get that way via buffs or the like. You can¡¯t raise a stat above Exceptional 99%. But one day in the future, when you¡¯re at Exceptional Spell Power, that passive will let at least some of your spells be cast as if you had Legendary Spell Power.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also a very immediate boost, Jazzy,¡± Noa said. ¡°Certainly not every time you cast a spell, it will be as if you were stronger than you are. But the times it does will be very helpful. That¡¯s probably better than having a spell sometimes cast for cheaper or for free. I know I would usually prefer stronger over cheaper.¡± I nodded in agreement, ¡°It¡¯s a bit different calculus for a healer. Cheaper spells means more heals, and that¡¯s better than potentially wasting the proc on overhealing. But for you, yeah. Don¡¯t say ¡®no¡¯ to free damage.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t more spells be free damage, too?¡± Jazmyn reasonably asked. ¡°Sometimes, but even your boom-boom-boom Silver Shots one after another take some casting time. As long as Mikachu can keep enough hate from her taunting and totem, you doing more damage faster is better than doing more damage slower. And if you¡¯re doing stuff by yourself because we¡¯re doing other things -- more damage faster makes it less likely for the monsters to hit you.¡± ¡°Alright, well, I guess I¡¯m leveled up all the way, then,¡± Jazmyn said. ¡°A powerful level one, infinitely more powerful than a level zero me. I remember that much from math. So, now we find more rats to kill so you all can level, too?¡± 21. Character Sheet (Jazmyn Morgana Starbreeze) Name: Jazmyn Morgana Starbreeze Race: [C-] Human Class: [U*] Caster (Argentomancy), level 1 Affiliation: Elemental Silver HP: 51/51 (100%) MP: 101/101 (100%) SP: 0/1 Attack Power (-): Average 15% Spell Power (++++): Average: 87% Agility (-): Average: 5% Defenses (-): Average: 13% Resistances (-): Average: 62% Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Abilities [3*/10]: Equipment: Accessories: Status: Merits, Flaws, and other Modifiers: 22. Family Breakfast The end of the night and thus the end of game-playing time caught up to use before I had quite made it to level one. The experience bar was completely full, but it hadn¡¯t ticked over to an empty one yet. Jazmyn had leveled again, Noa was almost to her second level as well, and Mikachu and Ette were both level one. But being both a High Priestess and a Fairy apparently meant I leveled much slower than they all did. Of course, if we hadn¡¯t wiped on our first encounter, I would have leveled up by now, too. But, hey, it wasn¡¯t like there weren¡¯t going to be plenty of other days to get stronger in. The downside of DVI being played while our bodies were asleep in the VR pods was that time passed differently for players than it did for our bodies. Instead of being faster than normal, as in all the stories, giving us more time in the game than had elapsed in the real world ¡­ it ran at about 75% speed. The eight hours of sleep in the pod translated to only six hours of time in the game. Well, just under six since there was still the login and log out processes. And today, there had been character creation to eat up a little time. This was, apparently, because one of the functions of sleep was to let the mind rest and allow the subconscious to process information, and it couldn¡¯t do that if the mind was active the whole night in VR-induced REM-like states. Technical mumbo-jumbo explanations aside, this was accomplished by running the game slower, allowing the brain to process things as it needed at the same time it was partaking in VR. That meant we didn¡¯t get the whole eight hours. But, still, it meant six more hours in the ¡°day.¡± That is, the six hours of gameplay while we were sleeping didn¡¯t take six hours of time out of the time at work, school, or other play. Not a bad trade-off, except the whole dystopian do-good-in-the-game-or-your-community-suffers thing. But there was also a do-good-in-the-game-and-your-community-benefits aspect, too. And while we teens weren¡¯t really stressing that the way some of the older folk were, we were probably going to do well enough on average to help benefit the community. Just ¡­ leaving aside that first encounter. Six A.M. and the mandatory logging out and end-of-gameplay for the night came, and I was instantly wide awake and rolling out of the foam-padded VR pod that had replaced the bed in my bedroom. I stretched, but the obligatory early-morning yawn didn¡¯t occur. I guess VR-induced sleep really was refreshing even if we were hunting giant rats throughout most of it. * * * Unlike a normal school morning, breakfast wasn¡¯t already on the table by the time my sisters and I came downstairs. But that was only to be expected when Mom and Dad were also playing. Pretty much everyone was, due to the requirements, except for a few people working in emergency services or the like. And little kids, but that was a different story. Mom and Dad weren¡¯t little kids and they weren¡¯t in emergency services, either. They were both teachers. Mom taught high school math (Trig and Calc, neither of which I had to take) and Dad taught fifth grade. He had started out as a history teacher, but when they filled his position with a substitute teacher during a leave of absence, the only opening unfilled was in the elementary school. He actually claims to like it better. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. But DVI meant that they weren¡¯t up any earlier than we teens were. Granted, we were up and about at least half an hour earlier than we normally would have been, but they were up a bit later than they normally would have been. But, well, we now had a new normal. Dad was humming tunelessly as he fried up some bacon and eggs, though as usual he was cheating on the hashbrowns. We sat wordlessly at the table, waiting. Conversation at the table was generally frowned upon unless we were using it for board games. But beyond that, Mom was grading papers, and grading math papers needed as few distractions as possible. However, she looked distracted. After a few moments, she put down the red ink pen and looked across the table at us. ¡°Morning, kids,¡± she said. But without waiting for a chorus of greetings in response, she continued. ¡°Your Dad and I were talking, now that we¡¯ve seen what Dungeon Veils is like, at least a little, and we want to make sure you kids aren¡¯t getting in too far over your head with it all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Dad said. ¡°The game and the government may consider you adults enough, but when I was your age, I was nowhere near ready to be a responsible adult. Certainly not at Jocelyn¡¯s age, but also not even close when I was your age, Jenna.¡± Both my sisters rolled their eyes. ¡°What your Dad is trying to say is that we don¡¯t expect you to be out there, risking your lives, leveling up, getting stronger, and all that for the sake of the community. There¡¯s plenty enough people that will be doing just that. Don¡¯t push yourselves. Just, you know, it¡¯s a game, so play and have fun. Anything you¡¯re doing is a contribution, anyway, so don¡¯t try and turn monster-hunting into a job.¡± ¡°But speaking of jobs,¡± Dad interrupted, ¡°we might have some chores for you to do for us in the game later.¡± ¡°Jacob!¡± my mother exclaimed. ¡°Don¡¯t count our chickens before they hatch. We don¡¯t have a building yet, much less a business, so the kids can¡¯t assist with something that doesn¡¯t exist yet.¡± ¡°What sort of business and building, Mom?¡± Jocelyn asked. ¡°Your Dad and I are planning to run a patisserie in DVI. Not everyone needs to be front-line soldiers and fighters and whatever. If the behind-the-scenes support is neglected, everyone suffers. And since teachers aren¡¯t really needed, what better way to support people than with pastries, cakes, and sweets -- in a world where no one needs to worry about calories and fat?¡± Mom¡¯s eyes were shining with excitement. And then, almost by magic breakfast was served: bacon, fried eggs -- sunny side up for Mom and Jocelyn, over easy for Jenna and me, and yolkless for Dad -- and tater tots done in the air fryer. But those were all sides to the main course of breakfast, strawberry crepes with whipped cream. Everyone fell silent. Even if the general prohibition against speaking at the table had been lifted for the earlier conversation, the one cardinal rule at the Jacobson household was ¡°No Speaking At The Dinner Table¡± (or breakfast table, as the case may be) and certainly never speaking while eating. 23. Little Sister Breakfast was over and it was my week to help clear the table, so I rose to gather the dishes and pile them next to the sink. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about rinsing them off,¡± Dad said, ¡°I¡¯ll do that when I rinse the pots and pans.¡± ¡°So, a patisserie?¡± Jenna asked. ¡°Does that mean you took or got a crafting class? I don¡¯t think you two or Jojo ever said what you were planning on doing for character creation.¡± ¡°In a manner of speaking,¡± Mom said. ¡°I had too many ideas and not enough information,¡± Jocelyn said at the same time, ¡°so I went with Fate to see what I could get. The guide helped me get a really good class and race, so I took it. But my friends don¡¯t like it, so I don¡¯t know what to do now.¡± ¡°What did you get, Jocelyn?¡± Mom asked. ¡°I don¡¯t remember what the race is called, but I look like a unicorn elf,¡± she began. As I was passing by to collect more plates, Jenna elbowed me in the side and whispered, ¡°You have to show her Daybreak Gleaming!¡± Jocelyn continued, not having heard Jenna. ¡°And my class is Golemancer. I summon little living wooden dolls to do things for me, but everyone thinks they¡¯re creepy, so they don¡¯t want to play with me. I guess it¡¯s okay, though. I have enough little wooden dolls to help me fight and do stuff.¡± ¡°Why do your friends think your golems are creepy, Jocelyn?¡± I asked. ¡°Because they¡¯re small, because they don¡¯t have any faces or features. They¡¯re more like artist mannikins rather than Barbies or LOL or anything.¡± ¡°They¡¯re also your level one summons. When you get stronger in that skill or other skills, you may have more life-like golems,¡± I tried to reassure her. ¡°Or they might just be jealous that you got something so cool and they didn¡¯t, Jojo.¡± ¡°Jealous or creeped out, it doesn¡¯t matter. Becky said she didn¡¯t want me around in the game, and what Becky says, the rest agree on,¡± Jocelyn said. She didn¡¯t sound as bitter as I would have in her situation -- she was more of a loner anyway -- but she sure wasn¡¯t happy about it. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Well, Jocelyn ¡­ I¡¯m already playing with one sister in my group, why not two? A Golemancer sounds neat and helpful, and Jenna and I would be happy to have you with us if you want, wouldn¡¯t we, Jenna?¡± My older sister responded instantly and sincerely. ¡°Of course, Jojo can hang out with us and help us kill monsters. She¡¯ll probably be better at it than me, anyway.¡± She flashed Jocelyn a smile ¡°Besides, you just have to meet up with us at least once, anyway.¡± ¡°What about your friends?¡± Jocelyn asked. ¡°If my friends didn¡¯t want me, why would some older kids want me?¡± Mom and Dad stayed in the background for the exchange, but they did look a bit concerned for their youngest daughter. However, since Jenna and I were handling it, they seemed inclined to stand back and let us try being responsible. Or, rather, continue being the loving and supporting family that we were raised to be. ¡°Well, you already know them, Jojo, and they already know you. I mean, we¡¯ve all played board games together or volleyball or gone to the beach. Three or four years isn¡¯t that big of a difference, anyway. At least, not in a few years.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve known Mika since you were knee-high to a grasshopper, Jocelyn.¡± ¡°Oh! Your girlfriend and Jenna¡¯s friends?¡± Jocelyn perked up. ¡°Mika is not my girlfriend,¡± I reminded her. ¡°A best friend is better than a girlfriend any day.¡± ¡°You can be friends as well as a couple,¡± my sister said. ¡°Look at Mom and Dad. They¡¯re married and they¡¯re best friends.¡± I rolled my eyes and my parents both tried not to laugh. ¡°Regardless, Jocelyn, I¡¯m too young to worry about relationships just yet,¡± I lied. ¡°And so are you,¡± that wasn¡¯t a lie. At thirteen, my little sister really was still a few years younger than the minimum age for dating -- sixteen -- that my parents had set. I wasn¡¯t too young, but, well, I also haven¡¯t been looking. When your best friend is a girl, you have two sisters, and your entire circle of close friends are girls (one of whom is a sister), you don¡¯t really need to be looking for romance in order for there to be women around. It would almost have been easier if I were gay. ¡°Anyway,¡± I continued. ¡°We were talking about you being able to play with us, not about whether or not I have a girlfriend. You know and like Mika, Naomi, and Susie, and more to the point, they all know and like you. ¡°Well, I suppose,¡± Jocelyn said. ¡°But not every day! I¡¯m going to want to do other things besides killing monsters and exploring the wilderness. I want to find a library in the town.¡± ¡°Sure thing. And if there isn¡¯t a library, we¡¯ll help you make one,¡± I winked at her. ¡°Well, maybe not Jenna, she¡¯s not too big on books, you know.¡± That earned me a stern glare, and if I had still been at the table, probably a not-too-gentle elbow in the side. 24. Parental Plans ¡°So, a patisserie?¡± Jenna asked again once the situation with Jocelyn was resolved. ¡°You said you got crafting classes ¡®in a manner of speaking¡¯?¡± This time it was Dad who answered. ¡°It was something we had talked about doing when we were younger, but the opportunity never arose. And it¡¯s surprisingly hard for a new restaurant or food place to get going without a lot of money up front. Too much competition.¡± ¡°But there won¡¯t be much, if any, competition in DVI,¡± Mom said. ¡°At least, not right away. We¡¯ve done some asking around, and the restaurateur families on the peninsula aren¡¯t planning or don¡¯t seem inclined to try in the game.¡± ¡°There will be challenges,¡± Dad said, ¡°even if there isn¡¯t competition. A purely local economy of mostly just NPCs might mean getting the necessary ingredients is harder than it should be. That¡¯s where alchemy comes in.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an alchemist, Dad?¡± I asked. He shook his head. ¡°No. That¡¯s your Mother¡¯s class. Mine¡¯s patissiere, a specialized version of chef.¡± ¡°What sort of abilities do you have, Dad?¡± Jenna asked. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine that cooking does anything like casting spells or such.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong,¡± he answered. ¡°Yep, three of my skills are passives, making cooking easier, but I also have Imbue Ingredient which allows me to make magical foods and Applied Basic Confectionary. That one will let me use ingredients in my inventory to do things like decorating a cake without having to have different frosting tubes and nozzles. Um, once I have the ingredients, that is.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Sounds fancy,¡± Jenna said. ¡°And you, Mom?¡± ¡°An alchemist does alchemy, of course,¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s also synthesis, which is like alchemy, but deals with combining things rather than components.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. ¡°Well,¡± Mom explained, ¡°alchemy usually involves liquid bases. It¡¯s not about turning lead to gold, but more what you might think of as making potions -- or making tea, for that matter. Synthesis, however, is taking two different things and combining them to make something new. Like, oh,¡± she looked around the kitchen, ¡°taking that wooden cutting board and synthesizing it with a block of ice might create a plate that kept anything on it cool. Then there¡¯s transmutation, changing one thing into something else. That¡¯s going to be the most useful one for us at first, I think.¡± ¡°So, like turning rocks into sugar?¡± Jocelyn asked. Mom nodded. ¡°Pretty much.¡± Then her expression got a bit wry, ¡°If it works. Failures can be ¡­ interesting.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Like it looks like sugar and acts like sugar, dissolving in water the same way, but still tastes like rock,¡± Mom explained. ¡°You don¡¯t want to add THAT to your tea.¡± The way she shuddered made it seem as if she spoke from experience. Recent experience, maybe? The discussion continued for a few minutes longer, then Dad brought it to a close. ¡°Anyway, you three need to start getting ready for school. But James and Jenna, let your friends know that you won¡¯t be able to play with them right away tonight. You¡¯ll have family obligations for a bit. Your Mom and I want you three to meet up with us in DVI tonight¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Mom said, ¡°there¡¯s no chores yet, but once the patisserie is running, we¡¯ll certainly have some chores or errands you¡¯ll need to do to help us. But tonight, we need to make sure we have your contact information and you have ours. Plus, I¡¯m curious about your classes and plans, but we can talk about that later. Now go on, gather up your school stuff. I¡¯ve got two more papers I need to grade.¡± 25. School Daze School, of course, was all abuzz with students and even staff and teachers talking about DVI. After all, pretty much everyone had been in the game last night and would continue to log on nightly. We didn¡¯t exactly have the option not to. Nevertheless, the bulk of the discussions, snippets that I heard here and there, were layered with excitement, talking about elves and fireballs, giant rats and spears, martial arts and NPCs. In homeroom, which I unfortunately didn¡¯t share with any of my close friends, the two girls in front of my corner seat were talking about the game. ¡°I¡¯m a Cryomancer,¡± Anna was saying, ¡°I was able to freeze those nasty rats in place and then shoot them with magic icicles. How cool is that!?¡± ¡°Eh, the cold never bothered you anyway,¡± Monica replied. ¡°So funny I forgot to laugh. That movie is ancient. Anywho, what class did you get, Mona?¡± ¡°Oh? I got Cheerleader, of course.¡± Monica Ruuki was pretty much everything you might expect a small-town cheerleader to be: leggy, blonde, and in probably better shape than any of the athletes she cheered for on the field or court. She was, however, not as stuck up as the stereotypes might have led one to expect, friendly to all, and as willing to give an encouraging word to a student studying in the library as she was to any athlete. She was also wearing her cheerleading uniform to class today as there would be a pep assembly fifth hour. ¡°Cheerleader?¡± Anna asked, ¡°Is that even a class?¡± ¡°I took the Path of Action,¡± Monica replied. ¡°The problem is with my race.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Orc. I look like a green-skinned, butch, biker chick with sharp teeth.¡± ¡°Ouch, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Anna winced. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not that bad, except all the cute boys are shorter than me now.¡± Monica laughed. ¡°Not that I¡¯m looking.¡± Then she turned around in her chair, ¡°So, how ¡®bout you, James? Did you get anything interesting?¡± ¡°In a manner of speaking,¡± I nodded. ¡°I got mostly what I wanted, anyway. I¡¯m a healer, keeping Mika and the others in good health.¡± ¡°Ohhh!¡± Anna turned in her chair, too. ¡°That sounds useful. Right now, I¡¯m killing everything quickly enough that they can¡¯t get to me, but if I can¡¯t freeze them in place, they might hurt me. I know you¡¯re taken,¡± her emphasis made it sound like I was in a relationship, ¡°but I wonder if there are other people with healer skills running around.¡± ¡°Oh, probably,¡± I answered. ¡°Healers usually aren¡¯t super-common in games, not the way other casters are, but there¡¯s usually always enough around for most groups. I don¡¯t know how it will work with DVI, though. Maybe more because of randomness or maybe less because there¡¯s a whole bunch of people who don¡¯t usually play games.¡± Anna and Monica both nodded. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Now I¡¯m curious. What sort of skills does a Cheerleader class have?¡± I asked Monica. ¡°I¡¯m a hybrid class,¡± she replied, and I remembered that amongst all her extra-curricular activities, Monica had been into tabletop gaming in junior high. ¡°Kind of part bard and part, well, monk, I guess. I don¡¯t use weapons; I kick things. But I also have cheer routines and inspirations to provide buffs. I bet I get access to a little healing later on.¡± I was impressed. ¡°That sounds like a really good class.¡± ¡°It does,¡± Anna agreed. ¡°Well, if you want,¡± Monica said, ¡°once I get stronger, I can help you cross-class to it. I¡¯ve got a quest to do that, actually. To help train people in my class, but I have to be level ten before I can start it.¡± ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know,¡± Anna demurred. ¡°I attack things at range, so kicking them is not a good addition to my build. But I bet James would make a great cheerleader.¡± I was saved from answering by the bell ringing and class starting. Both girls turned around and gave their attention to the teacher and the announcements starting the day. Given that I was a fairy in DVI, kicking monsters would probably not be a good combat style to add, and the buffs Monica mentioned were probably similar to what Naomi¡¯s Tactician provided, just with a different name. That could go either way. Either they¡¯d overlap and stack, which would be good. Or they¡¯d overlap and overwrite, which would be less good. I did have to admit some curiosity about that quest she had though. It sounded almost like a variation on one of my geases, where I had to create a church for Sirae. Just constructing a building wouldn¡¯t be enough, she would need followers, and that ¡°recruiting others to the same ¡± was much the same between expanding the congregation and training new cheerleaders. In general, homeroom was a waste of time other than the announcements. It was a glorified study hall, and since all my homework was already done, and most of my classes didn¡¯t actually assign homework anyway, there wasn¡¯t much for me to do in the half-hour before real classes began. So my mind wandered, and I doodled in my notebook. It was nothing spectacular -- I didn¡¯t have an artistic talent -- but in between spirals, assorted geometric shapes, and miniature tornados, I also sketched Mikachu¡¯s totem toppling over and squishing a couple rats. And I sketched something that I was vaguely able to identify as a tall, muscular, nun in a cheerleader-inspired outfit standing by the pulpit of a church. Perhaps I was subconsciously considering helping Monica with her quest in exchange for her helping with mine. * * * This semester, I didn¡¯t have hardly any classes with my particular group of friends, though I saw them in the halls quite often. Usually that was because I was going to the classroom they were leaving, but Mika and I had adjacent lockers. I had English class with Susie twice a week, History with Naomi the other three days, and Mika and I had the same PE class every day right before lunch. So I didn¡¯t really get to talk with them much at the start of the day. But that didn¡¯t mean I was quiet. I was friendly with many of my other classmates, like Anna and Monica, even if we didn¡¯t exactly hang out. Then again, while there were several small circles of friends, like mine, our school was really too small to have much in the way of cliques. Or, rather, there was a lot of overlap. The basketball captain was also the debate club captain, for instance. Sure, there were still jocks and nerds and gamers and preppies, but I liked to think of it more as a faction-based environment than a clique or caste-based system. With a high school of only about two hundred students (approximately fifty per grade), everybody pretty much knew everybody else -- certainly in their grade level. So I got to hear about several of my other classmates¡¯ characters. There was Xander who gambled on the Path of Fate and got an odd combination of Frost Elemental and Farmer. He kept the non-combat class because the race was so interesting. Maria and Macy were commiserating over the difficulties of using fire magic to fight -- setting a monster on fire was fine and dandy until you were attacked by a flaming monster that most definitely wasn¡¯t dead yet. Bob was asking for advice on how to make a Fortune Teller class work. That sort of stuff. 26. Gym On my way to the gym for PE, I passed by a a group of junior high students -- the seventh and eighth graders had a separate wing of the building, but there was only one gym, one library, one cafeteria, and one band classroom, so perforce the younger students crossed paths with us high schoolers from time to time. I didn¡¯t recognize them. I knew a few of Jocelyn¡¯s friends, but, well, there was a social gap between high school and junior high, even in a small school. A senior or junior might have classes with a freshman or sophomore, and have the opportunity to get to know the younger student¡­ Or in sports, where freshmen and sophomores might be on the same teams as the older students, and thus have an opportunity to interact with an upperclassman. But high school and junior high shared no classes and shared no sports, so there wasn¡¯t much opportunity to get to know each other at school. One of the students, a gawky redheaded guy, was saying, ¡°I still can¡¯t believe someone wiped their whole group in the newbie zone.¡± ¡°Probably an old person who still thinks games are Minesweeper and World of Warcraft,¡± replied a darker-haired student. ¡°Or a jock. I bet it was a football player who wouldn¡¯t back down.¡± This was said by a Hispanic girl wearing the junior high version of Monica¡¯s cheerleader uniform. ¡°Good behavior on the field, not so much in a game.¡± I wanted to say something, but I refrained. For one, it probably wouldn¡¯t do any good even if I had the time to try and convince them. Maybe this little group would accept an explanation, but where there was one, there were many. I certainly couldn¡¯t go to every school and work center in the county to try and convince them that our party wipe wasn¡¯t the result of incompetence or whatever. And, in a way, the young cheerleader was somewhat right -- we hadn¡¯t backed down when we should¡¯ve -- even though none of us, not even Mika nor Jenna, were what one might conceivably call a jock. And for two, there was a matter of time. There was only a few minutes between classes, and they had a class to go to and I had a class to go to. That wasn¡¯t enough time to put in more than my two cents worth in passing, and why would a high schooler cross that social gap to defend the group without implicating themselves? So I shrugged it off, though it rankled a little that people had a misunderstanding of what happened. Stupid server broadcasts -- there was no need for the game to have told everyone that. So, gym class started with me in a bit of a bad mood. But, if there was one class that I couldn¡¯t stay upset in, it was PE. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. That¡¯s not because I particularly enjoyed physical activity, though hanging out with Mika and Jenna, it was something that couldn¡¯t generally be avoided -- we were at the beach almost every weekend except during winter, and even then sometimes -- though the water was too cold for swimming. And it wasn¡¯t because physical activity was a good way to distract the mind, either. If it was running laps, doing aerobics or yoga, or any of a whole host of other things, there often wasn¡¯t much mental engagement in Personal Fitness Improvement (the official course title, as opposed to Individual/Team Sports, Weightlifting, or a couple other variations on PE that the school offered). No, it was for a simpler reason than that. Out of the sixteen students who took this PE class during fourth hour, it was fifteen girls and me. Granted, that wasn¡¯t the reason I had put the course on my schedule. I needed a PE credit -- our school required four years of PE to graduate, though athletes could substitute two seasons of sports for a year, for up to three years of credit. I wasn¡¯t on any of the sports teams, so four years of PE for me. I took the course because it was the course and hour Mika took her PE credit. It was the one regular class schedule that I got to share with at least one of my friends. Of course, I got some mild teasing at first from some of my other classmates. Nothing to the point that Mika felt she needed to get involved in, but some of the guys were wondering why I took a course that had a heavy focus on yoga and aerobics instead of weight lifting or football or other so-called masculine activities. It took a few of them several long moments to understand when I pointed out that I was the only guy in a class full of girls before there was the knowing looks and the wink-wink-nudge-nudge of understanding and maybe even a little bit of ¡°why didn¡¯t I think of that¡± chagrin. Of course, that also made the harem commentary a little more pointed at times. But nothing in life is free. Besides what should be the obvious advantage (and at times disadvantage) in being the only guy in a class full of girls, there was also a hidden benefit -- I got the guys¡¯ locker room to myself that hour. Nevertheless, I still wasn¡¯t the first person up in the gym. A trio of freshmen girls were standing around, chatting. I waved to them as I crossed the gym floor -- being that the class was fifteen-to-one (sixteen-to-one if you counted the teacher), class always started on the girls¡¯ side of the gym. They waved back, but were otherwise too involved in their conversation to do aught else. I sat on the floor -- not too near as to appear to be eavesdropping, but not too far as to appear to be avoiding them either -- and began to stretch. Half a minute later, Mika sat down next to me. ¡°I heard. Jenna told Naomi and Naomi told me last hour. It¡¯s probably not a bad idea for Naomi and me to get our parents¡¯ information in the game, too, so we¡¯ll try to do that while you all are meeting your Mom and Dad.¡± ¡°And Jocelyn?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course she can play with us! If she were a little older, she¡¯d probably already be part of our group, right?¡± 27. Squad Selection We didn¡¯t get to talk much because the rest of the class and the teacher came out of the locker room all at once, and class was on. After a brief, guided warm-up routine that left most of us breathing heavily, Mrs. Staudenraus -- Coach Carole, as she preferred to be called -- made an announcement that had much of the class smiling. ¡°Volleyball, today, I think. Nothing strenuous. Everyone¡¯s here, so four teams of four.¡± She looked out over the assembled students, and then down at her clipboard. ¡°We have a few people that haven¡¯t been captains in a bit, so let¡¯s have Katy, James, Leonora, and Amy come forward. And you¡¯ll choose in that order.¡± Now there was a double-edged sword -- have the one boy in the class choose the girls for his team. No matter who I chose, besides Mika, someone was going to read something into it. By now, after all these years, whatever they read in to that particular choice was already baked in. Katy was one of the trio of freshmen that had already been in the gym when I arrived. She chose one of the other girls of that trio. Then it was my turn. ¡°Mika, of course.¡± Coach Carole shook her head ruefully, ¡°I keep forgetting to separate you two. Mika was going to be a captain as well. Oh well, too late now.¡± As Leonora and Amy were choosing, I was trying to decide who I wanted on my team. If we were going to be actually competitive, there were plenty of good volleyball players in my class, but the teacher had specifically said it was ¡°nothing strenuous.¡± So people were generally picking their friends rather than who might or might not be the best addition to a four-person team. Katy chose her other friend, and it was back to me again. ¡°Chelsea, I think.¡± The chosen girl looked up, startled. She was perhaps the least athletic of any of the students in this class and wasn¡¯t really part of any circle of friends that I had seen, so she was generally chosen last or close to it. ¡°Huh? Are you sure?¡± ¡°Sure am. Come on, join our little squad.¡± Mika gave me an approving nod as I gestured for Chelsea to join us. ¡°I know volleyball probably isn¡¯t your favorite thing, but it can be fun if you don¡¯t worry too much about missing the ball.¡± ¡°He speaks from experience, Chelsea,¡± Mika said. ¡°Sure do,¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not real good, not like my sister or Mika, but this isn¡¯t the Olympics, so we¡¯ll do fine. We might not win, but that doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t have fun trying.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Th-thank you,¡± she stammered and blushed as she joined the group. While we were reassuring Chelsea, the other captains had chosen their next members, leaving just three girls waiting for a team. I looked them over, quickly. ¡°Monica? You haven¡¯t been chosen yet? Do you want to join our little squad?¡± ¡°Oh, I thought I would be chosen last this time,¡± the cheerleader laughed as she joined us, but that¡¯ll be Alexis since Leo will choose Gwen.¡± ¡°You?¡± Chelsea boggled in disbelief. ¡°Why would you be chosen last?¡± ¡°Katy was choosing other freshmen, her friends. That group always sticks together if they can,¡± Monica pointed out. ¡°And Leo and Amy were both choosing friends or girls with volleyball experience. We¡¯re friendly, but not friends, so ¡­.¡± She gestured wide. ¡°Anyway, here I am.¡± ¡°Now that the teams are chosen,¡± Coach Carole said, ¡°I have another little announcement to make. Tomorrow, we start our Mini-Olympics. These will be your teams for the next few weeks. Remember, this is Personal Fitness Improvement,¡± she stressed the first and third words in the class title, ¡°and your grades will be based three-quarters on how you¡¯ve improved from your benchmarks earlier this year. But the other quarter will be based on how well you¡¯ve helped your teammates improve themselves.¡± Several students in other groups groaned, and Chelsea looked apprehensive. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not fair. Your grades shouldn¡¯t suffer because of me.¡± Monica, with her effervescent encouragement, spoke up before either Mika or I did. ¡°Who said anything about suffering, Chelsea? You might not be athletic by nature, but after three months of Coach Carole¡¯s classes, you¡¯re already in better shape than you were at the start, right? So you¡¯ve already improved. That means you¡¯re probably already getting a good grade in the Mini-Olympics, right?¡± ¡°I suppose,¡± she said, but fell silent when the teacher started speaking again. ¡°There will be prizes for the winners of each event, the overall winner, and the top three most improved students,¡± Coach Carole said. ¡°Nothing fancy, not on a teacher¡¯s salary, but a little bit more than just a gold star. I do have those, too, of course,¡± she laughed, and a lot of the rest of the students laughed as well. Coach Carole¡¯s laugh was contagious. ¡°We¡¯ll alternate free day, competition day, free day, competition day, and so on. Your team can do what you want on the free days - gym, track, weight room, aerobics mats, whatever -- but you¡¯ll do so as a team. Remember, you¡¯re going to be helping each other improve. But for today, let¡¯s have some volleyball! James and Amy, take your teams to the far side. Katy and Leonora, you gals are over here.¡± We lost, of course. 25-7, 22-25, 25-18. Neither Chelsea nor I were up to the levels of Mika and Monica, so it was an uneven team. But Amy¡¯s team only had one player down at our skill level, and the other three were at Monica¡¯s level if not Mika¡¯s. The first set we lost quickly, but almost by unspoken accord, the other team stopped trying to score against Chelsea and me. It still happened, but almost more happenstance and not by malicious design. That¡¯s not to say that they were malicious in the first set, but they had been playing to win. They switched more to a ¡°play to have fun¡± style when it became apparent that we were a bit mismatched. And, by the end of the third set, Chelsea had opened up enough to laugh at her and our mistakes rather than trying to apologize every time. And I counted that as a win. 28. Family Meeting I was ¡­ quite a bit more apprehensive about logging in to DVI on the second night than I had been on the first. Granted, I didn¡¯t exactly have a choice, but now the issue wasn¡¯t just hoping I got a good healer class for my friends group to rely on. Now I had to deal with my Mom, Dad, and little sister meeting me as a fairy priestess. My older sister, Jenna, and none of my friends had a problem with it, but little sisters and parents are different matters entirely. But, it was something they were going to find out eventually anyway, especially since we had invited Jocelyn to be part of our adventuring group. I still didn¡¯t have anything planned to say other than a shrug and ¡°it was entirely at random¡± which ¡­ did, at least, have the benefit of being the truth. So, it was with a bit of mild trepidation that I closed the VR pod around me and settled in for a night of gaming in my sleep. There were a few minutes of grey fuzziness while the systems queued me up for logging in precisely at the regulated time. It was little things like that that really brought home how powerful and advanced the game was. Not the fully simulated, deep immersion virtual reality with a functional world (or section thereof). Nor also the way that us players could control vastly different bodies like my fairy or Naomi¡¯s centaur with no difficulties from the get go. Nor even the fact that DVI effectively added six hours to the day by being played while we slept. Not the grey fuzziness, but rather that the server could handle all twenty-five thousand of us logging in at once. Everything else seemed too far-fetched that it was basically magic, outside the realm of science as I understood it (well, at least as far as a high school student understands science). But login queues and lag trying to get into a game when a bunch of other people are (such as after a patch or a server crash) ¡­ that was my priors, what my gaming experience had led me to expect. But DVI, apparently, could get everyone in the game all at once. That was almost more unbelievable than anything else about VR. * * * My parents had given us the directions to a small, boarded-up shop in the northeast of town. Not an inn or a park where we would be likely to have several different groups of people around, but a little building in a quiet -- and somewhat poor -- residential neighborhood of the city. It was not a place where a lot of players were likely to end up as it was a fair bit out of the way from the gates and main plazas where vendors had their stalls and shops. That meant the two people, a man and a woman, I saw waiting on a bench outside the building were likely my Mom and Dad. I had the advantage of flying across town, above the buildings, rather than navigating the streets and alleys, so I was there quite ahead of either of my sisters. But given things, I also wasn¡¯t going to be the first of us three to arrive, not if Jenna and Jocelyn were going to take a while to get here. It would be better to arrive at the same time or shortly after one of them, probably Jenna -- Jazmyn here -- since I already knew what her character looked like. Then again, there can¡¯t be too many players that ¡°look like a unicorn elf,¡± so maybe Jocelyn¡¯s character would be recognizable, too. In the meantime, I messaged Mikachu. > I think I see my parents, but neither sister is anywhere nearby. Any luck with finding easy quests? The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Since Jazmyn and I were out, at least for a little bit for the family meeting, Ette had decided to look into mining and starting to gather resources to develop her crafting, so Mikachu and Noa were seeing if there were any non-combat quests they could work on in town. Fetch quest, mail delivery, that sort of thing. After all, a shieldwall and a buffer couldn¡¯t accomplish too much combat on their own. >> Nothing really. Just mostly looking around town at the moment, sightseeing almost. The only so-called quest we found was to deliver lunch to those so-called guards inside the wall. We skipped it. > Good call. Oh, someone¡¯s getting close. Doesn¡¯t look like Jazmyn, so I guess it must be Jocelyn¡¯s character. Or a random other explorer ¡­. >> Well, enjoy. I¡¯ll tell you where to find us when your meeting is over. * * * When I got closer, rather than hovering high enough to be unobtrusive, I was able to see the three people with more clarity but also with more confusion. The two who were waiting were likely my parents -- why else would anyone be waiting in an out-of-the-way area like this? One was dressed as you might expect a low-level chef of some sort to be dressed, with basic clothing, a pristine apron, and a little white hat. The other was, well, presumably dressed like an alchemist, but looked more like someone with a low-quality doctor cosplay -- an overly long white trenchcoat over pants and a button-down shirt. The confusion was because ¡­ the apparent chef was a short, vivacious woman and the apparent alchemist was a tall, lanky man. The other person was tall and thin, attenuated even, with a spiraling silver horn growing from their forehead. The rest of their figure was hidden beneath billowing robes and could have been a slender man or woman without prominent curves. They spoke before I could, their voice musical but in that androgynous range that was neither high enough for a woman nor deep enough for a man. ¡°Mom? Dad?¡± Vocal quality aside, their voice conveyed the same confusion I was feeling. ¡°Hello, hello!¡± the woman called out, her voice betraying a hint of a French accent. ¡°With the big, beautiful horn, you must be Jocelyn¡¯s character.¡± The woman¡¯s gestures were expansive and perhaps more than a touch over-exaggerated. ¡°And since Jenna told us she looks like herself, that little fairy approaching must be James¡¯s character,¡± the man said in a soft tenor. He adjusted his monocle and pointed in my direction. I appreciated the distinction between ¡°Jocelyn and James¡± and ¡°Jocelyn¡¯s character and James¡¯s character.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°Call me Rie in the game.¡± ¡°Rie¡¯s a priestess,¡± Jazmyn called out as she exited a nearby alley. ¡°And, geez, the streets around this area are halfway a labyrinth.¡± ¡°High Priestess,¡± I corrected. My (probable?) parents looked at each other, then at me. ¡°It would appear that there are many stories to be told today,¡± the woman said, spreading her arms wide and spinning about. ¡°You can call me Blanchefleur.¡± ¡°And I shall be known as Sage,¡± the man said quietly. Jazmyn looked confused and stopped midstride. ¡°Wait a minute, I thought you two said you were ¡­?¡± ¡°Names first, stories second,¡± Blanchefleur said. ¡°It was your father¡¯s idea,¡± Sage simultaneously replied. Then he glanced at Blanchefleur and shrugged. ¡°She has a point, let¡¯s everybody get each others¡¯ names.¡± ¡°Well, was I the only one who kept a ¡®J¡¯?¡± Jazmyn asked. ¡°It¡¯s Jazmyn Morgana Starbreeze.¡± ¡°Ace,¡± the horned person said by means of introduction. ¡°Ace Arrow, actually.¡± And then they bowed. ¡°My little golems and I are at your service.¡± Five wooden figures -- Jocelyn had been right, they did look like those little poseable manikins we had in art class to use for pose references -- suddenly appeared and copied Ace¡¯s bow. Standing straight again, Ace looked at Jazmyn, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with the letter ¡®J.¡¯ But, do you use ¡®Jazmyn¡¯ or ¡®Morgana¡¯?¡± 29. Family Meeting II Introductions and social message butterflies for friend invites accomplished, we all looked at each other, as if waiting for someone else to start speaking first. Well, I was waiting, and I assumed the rest were as well. Finally, Blanchefleur broke the silence. ¡°Yes!¡± She said with another broad gesture, ¡°It is what it looks like. It¡¯s a game, right? So why not try something a little different?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lot different,¡± Jazmyn protested. ¡°Do we call you ¡®Mom¡¯ now? Or still ¡®Dad¡¯? I¡¯m confused.¡± Sage spoke up. ¡°It¡¯ll still be ¡®Mom,¡¯¡± he pointed at himself. ¡°And ¡®Dad,¡¯¡± he pointed at Blanchefleur, ¡°when we¡¯re not in the game. Unlike real life, you can use our character names here. Or, if you prefer the distinction between adults and adolescents still, you can call us Mr. and Mrs. Jonquil.¡± Again, Sage pointed at himself and Blanchefleur, identifying himself as ¡°Mr.¡± and Blanchefleur as ¡°Mrs.¡± ¡°Not ¡®Madame¡¯ and ¡®Monsieur¡¯?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Non. I¡¯ll use up my French vocabulary too quickly, Mademoiselle Ace.¡± Blanchefleur replied. Ace winced very slightly -- neither Sage nor Blanchefleur appeared to notice -- and interrupted, perhaps a bit forcefully. ¡°Just Ace, please. I don¡¯t need any fancy titles.¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± Blanchefleur fluttered her hands as she apologized. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. Rie? Jazmyn? What would you two prefer?¡± ¡°It sounds funny to be ¡®Madame¡¯ or ¡®Miss Jazmyn¡¯ from you. Actually, probably from anybody, but especially from you two. Using those titles makes it seem like we¡¯re not family. You wouldn¡¯t call me ¡®Miss Jenna¡¯ or ¡®Miss Jacobson¡¯ at home. And maybe not calling Rie ¡®Sis¡¯ makes sense because our characters are different races, but ¡­.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Just ¡®Jazmyn¡¯ is fine.¡± I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯d be a little weird to hear, but I don¡¯t think it will bother me that much if it¡¯s part of your roleplay.¡± I looked at both of my parents. ¡°Being a fairy priestess was pretty much random for me -- I just wanted a healer class and since I got it, I kept it. But the way you say things, it seems you chose your classes and your bodies. I didn¡¯t think we got to do that much customization. I didn¡¯t even get to choose my own hair color, much less my figure.¡± ¡°That,¡± Blanchefleur said, ¡°was your mother¡¯s genius ideas.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Ace, Jazmyn, and I all turned to look at Sage. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Well,¡± he began, ¡°It isn¡¯t actually that complicated. ¡°The Path of Action lets a player choose a class, right? As long as it isn¡¯t rare or higher, like a High Priestess probably is.¡± ¡°Unique,¡± I added. Sage nodded. ¡°Right. So Blanchefleur¡¯s class is an all-female class.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that sexist? Men can cook, too! Dad does all the time!¡± Jazmyn said. ¡°French nouns are gendered. ¡®Patissiere¡¯ is the feminine form of ¡®Patissier.¡¯ Think about the difference between priest and priestess,¡± Sage explained. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°What about your class, then, Sage?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Does it have different forms like hers?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, both in English and French, alchemist and alchimiste don¡¯t change forms. I cheated, and used Russian instead: Alkhimik instead of Alkhimichka.¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re not really an Alchemist but are rather an Alkhimik?¡± I asked. ¡°Is there a difference?¡± He shrugged. ¡°My main skill is alchemy. We just took advantage of what people in other countries already had to deal with.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t races be random, then?¡± Ace asked. ¡°If you were able to choose your class and your sex, how is it that you both stayed human, too? That seems a little against the rules of character creation, to me.¡± Blanchefleur laughed merrily. ¡°I¡¯m no more human than you or Rie is. Human-ish, with some differences. Your horn and ears, Rie¡¯s wings and size, my true form.¡± ¡°Your true form?¡± Jazmyn asked. ¡°This.¡± Blanchefleur spun around, and her figure shimmered as if an illusion were falling away. Her skin was reddish-grey, and her hair long, loose, and green like sunlight through leaves. Her clothing remained the same, except the little white French cap became a wreath of white blossoms. ¡°I¡¯m a dryad,¡± she said. ¡°Apple tree subspecies.¡± All three of us mounted an ¡°oh¡± of surprise. Then, as one, we looked at Sage. He laughed softly and shook his head. ¡°Nope. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m just a normal human. Sorry to disappoint you.¡± ¡°But, that¡¯s like, not supposed to happen,¡± Ace protested. ¡°Isn¡¯t it, you know, more than ninety-six percent of Path of Action are non-human races. All those possible races, and you get human at random?¡± ¡°Uncommon or rare doesn¡¯t mean impossible, Ace,¡± Sage said. ¡°A four percent chance means -- on average -- if one person made a character on the Path of Action every hour, then there would be about one human character a day.¡± Ace furrowed their brow and frowned, clearly not believing Sage. ¡°Don¡¯t make me give you a full statistics and probability lesson, Ace,¡± Sage said. Mother taught high-school math, so Sage could do it, too. ¡°But think of it this way. Four percent is one out of twenty-five. If all twenty-five thousand players had used the Path of Action, there¡¯d be about a thousand human characters, plus or minus a bit because that¡¯s still a small sample size.¡± ¡°I guess if there would be a thousand humans, it¡¯s not surprising to meet one,¡± Ace relented. Then they did a little math out loud. ¡°Well, four percent is four of a hundred, so half and half would be two in fifty, right? That would be two humans in all of my seventh grade. Two point something.¡± Sage nodded. ¡°But not everybody did do Path of Action,¡± Ace said. ¡°Right, so there will be a lot less than a thousand humans that way,¡± Sage said. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be what you would expect, but you also shouldn¡¯t be surprised, either.¡± ¡°I guess.¡± 30. Amalthean Ace The family meeting lasted for a while longer, nearly an hour all told, talking about my parents¡¯ plan to start a patisserie and checking on what, if any, short-, medium-, and long-term plans we teens had. I was half-convinced that my father¡¯s character, Blanchefleur, was likely to be the first member of the church, once I got it established. After all, as a dryad, she was basically a nature spirit and practically in the domain of Sirae already. But that was an issue for another time. ¡°Susie says, sorry, I mean Ette says that the group can get together tomorrow and that, yes, Ace is most definitely welcome to join us,¡± Jazmyn relayed, once Blanchefleur and Sage had ended the meeting and started in on their own plans. ¡°She¡¯s found a way to get started on mining, and wants my help, of all people. Noa and Mikachu are doing some town quests, so we¡¯re kind of split apart for the day. Will you two be alright on your own together?¡± ¡°Mining sounds boring,¡± Ace said. ¡°You can go help with that if you want.¡± I just shrugged. ¡°Unless Ace wants to challenge a Matriarch, and I know better now, I can keep them alive through any low-level fights. But I think we can look for a library first.¡± I fluttered down closer to my little sister¡¯s character and faced them. ¡°That was your big goal, right?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be today, but we can do something, yes,¡± Ace said, and waved Jazmyn off. ¡°Go on, go on, I can keep the little fairy out of trouble.¡± ¡°Hey! That¡¯s my line,¡± I said, but both my sisters just laughed, and Jazmyn headed off down the street. Then, Ace and I were alone. ¡°Thanks, Rie.¡± ¡°Hmm? For what?¡± I asked. ¡°For ¡­ well, for using the right pronoun,¡± Ace said. ¡°Oh. Well, you didn¡¯t say anything so I wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure, but between that name -- you¡¯re not an archer -- and the way you reacted to being called ¡®Mademoiselle,¡¯ I could put two and two together. I think I got five, though, since neither Ace nor Arrow necessitate Enby. I don¡¯t think Mom and Dad know the slang, though.¡± Ace just shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s probably a bad name. I didn¡¯t think about meeting family in the game when I chose it. I don¡¯t want to cause a problem with Mom and Dad.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. I didn¡¯t quite know what to say, but I tried anyway. ¡°Well, to be honest, I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d be meeting them, either, and I was a little worried about how they¡¯d react to my character when they saw what the Path of Fate got me, but ¡­ I also wasn¡¯t expecting that they¡¯d choose to do what I got by random.¡± I shrugged. ¡°And, you see, they didn¡¯t seem to have any problems with it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see at breakfast tomorrow,¡± Ace predicted. ¡°Perhaps. So, Ace, I should ask. Would you prefer me to use the same pronouns at breakfast tomorrow? This seems a choice a bit deeper than just a roleplay preference.¡± Ace nodded and surreptitiously wiped their eyes. Well, it would have been much more successful as a covert maneuver if we hadn¡¯t been talking basically face-to-face. ¡°Thank you. Yes. If you weren¡¯t so tiny, I¡¯d hug you. But I¡¯d be afraid to hurt your wings, too.¡± The only proper response to that was for me to hug them. Well, as best as a doll-sized fairy can hug a taller-than-average unicorn-elf whatever-race-Ace-was. Which was basically my arms around one of their shoulders. * * * ¡°So, just what is your race, then? Also, you said at breakfast that the guide helped you get a good race and class?¡± I asked. The first was just nice-to-know information. The second, well, that had been bothering me a little all day. Just how many people had Fate tipped the balance for? And why? This was the sort of thing that, in the stories, led to a ¡°chosen one, destined to overthrow the evil regime and bring peace to the land¡± epic questline that had nothing to do with developer- or AI-generated quests. It was the plot of amateur books and B-grade movies, and nothing I wanted any part of ¡­ and even less wanted my family involved in. ¡°Let me look.¡± Ace paused a moment, presumably viewing their character sheet. ¡°I¡¯m an Amalthean. It¡¯s a Legendary race. And I have a quest to find out more about my race.¡± I arched an eyebrow and asked, ¡°Really?¡± Ace nodded. ¡°It¡¯s related to the guide, I guess. She told me she could guarantee me a character I liked, but I couldn¡¯t back out and would have to have a quest to do if I accepted.¡± The other eyebrow went up. ¡°This guide, was she a cheery, androgynous young girl, by any chance? Floating around in the mists and asking you to step off the path for your race? Went by ¡®Desi¡¯?¡± Ace¡¯s eyes got wide. ¡°You met her, too?¡± I wonder how many people did. Mika and Susie both took the Path of Fate, but neither spoke of a guide offering them a deal, though Desi had said that the guides were offering a guaranteed USR to the first ten people, so presumably both Mika and Susie had met Desi, or someone like her. I¡¯d have to ask ¡­ later. ¡°Yes,¡± I said and recounted the story of my character creation, being offered a guaranteed random USR and then the offer to tip the scales of fate to guarantee a healer class in exchange for the geases. 31. Yama Destina & The Great Reveal ¡°... and the only thing I really wanted,¡± Ace was explaining, ¡°was a character that wasn¡¯t going to be blatantly male or female. I thought I¡¯d see if I got lucky on Fate before creating a golem or elemental or something similar on the Path of Identity. Since I was guaranteed that and was guaranteed a better than rare class, I accepted the offer. And now here I am, with all my friends thinking I¡¯m creepy.¡± I winced in sympathy. ¡°It wasn¡¯t your little golems that Becky disliked, was it?¡± Ace shook their head and sniffled, wiping their eyes again -- this time with no attempt to be covert. I gave her another patented pixie-sized hug (well, fairy-sized, but with additional alliteration). I honestly didn¡¯t know what to say. You don¡¯t want to dis someone¡¯s friends, even if they deserve it. But you also don¡¯t want to utter meaningless -- and probably false -- platitudes like ¡°everything will be okay,¡± either. So I had to hope the hug was perhaps sufficient. But sufficient or not, it would have to do. Fortunately (perhaps), Fate intervened. Before the situation could become more awkward, we were interrupted. Not by someone coming up to us, or bumping into us, or yelling at us, or anything ¡­ but rather by reality -- such as it is in a virtual world -- bending and shifting around us. The street turned to silver cobblestones, and the rest of the surroundings were lost in a heavy, swirling mist. ¡°W-what¡¯s going on?¡± Ace exclaimed, looking from side to side as the city faded out. ¡°Well, hello!¡± A cheerful voice echoed out of the mists, seemingly coming from all around. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you two knew each other. How convenient!¡± To our right, the mists swirled and parted, and the androgynous figure of Yama Destina materialized. This time, however, she was dressed in a Chinese-styled gown of silver-embroidered, grey silk. ¡°What? You¡¯re not going to say ¡®It must be Fate?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Rie, or ¡­ her player ¡­ is my big brother.¡± Desi laughed. ¡°You got me! No, no. We don¡¯t see anything outside the Great Veil, so pre-existing relationships are opaque to us, though they become clearer as we see how the community divides into groups.¡± That was interesting, and maybe something to file away for later, but we certainly had other more pressing questions, namely ¡­. ¡°Why did you summon us, Desi? I thought you were just a character creation guide, but we¡¯re past that point now,¡± I asked. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Hmm? No, I had said that I would be your guide, not that I was a guide,¡± she replied cheerfully. ¡°Usually, that¡¯s handled by the Umi clan: Cifi, Lani, and Indi. I just take a few people on Fate here or there.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Ace asked. ¡°Why not?¡± Desi countered, still sounding cheerful. ¡°You looked interesting. That¡¯s all. You both had very, very focused but extremely vague desires. That¡¯s not like most of the people that walk the Path of Fate. They usually either have a desire specifically for power, and they don¡¯t care who or what they are to get it. Those people are boring and pretty much don¡¯t need a guide. And most of the rest have no idea what they want, but have too many ideas what they don¡¯t want. They usually end up backing out and choosing a different path.¡± ¡°Then why us and not my friends?¡± I asked. ¡°Both Susie and Mika wanted a specific role, but neither of them cared much about the details.¡± ¡°And did they get what they wanted?¡± Desi asked. ¡°Yes. Maybe not what they thought they would have got, but they Ette¡¯s a crafter and Mikachu¡¯s a shieldwall.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s why,¡± Desi said. ¡°They didn¡¯t need a finger on the scales of Fate. You both did.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ace asked. Desi smiled and looked at them. ¡°You, for instance, wanted a character that was neither male nor female. Nothing else really mattered, though you were hoping for ¡®something neat¡¯ as a class. If Fate had played out as it was scheduled, you would have got one and not the other.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You would have had a pretty rare class, a Soul Cartographer. That counts as ¡®something neat¡¯ in most books. There¡¯s only been fifteen of them accepted so far across all the community servers. On the other hand, your race and appearance would have been blatantly, unambiguously female and feminine -- a Nereid. You would not have been happy with it. Let me show you.¡± Desi opened her arms wide and spun three times around, gathering the mists around her. They resolved into a hazy silhouette around her, then started to develop color, albeit indistinct and washed out. The form the mists took was that of an attractive, long-limbed woman with prominent curves, long flowing hair, and iridescent fins running the length of her arms and legs. She was garbed in a flattering, one-piece swimsuit and carrying a sextant and spyglass. I glanced over at Ace, who was frowning. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± they said, ¡°I would not have been happy to have looked like that. I would have gone to the Path of Identity and found something else instead.¡± ¡°And you would have found something you could live with,¡± Desi said as she dismissed the phantasm. ¡°But it wouldn¡¯t have been as interesting.¡± She fluttered her hands. ¡°And I like interesting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m almost afraid to ask,¡± I said, ¡°but what about me?¡± ¡°Coincidentally, Fate had you marked as a Nereid as well,¡± Desi said. ¡°But you wanted to be a healer and support your group of friends. The class you were Fated for was, well, it translates as ¡®Shackles of the Abyss.¡¯ That¡¯s about as opposite of any healer as possible. So, yes, you probably would have given up that Legendary class and gone on to be a simple druid, beastkin of some sort. Happy as a healer, but again, not as interesting.¡± She clapped her hands, ¡°And now, both of you are still interesting.¡± 32. Daybreak Gleaming III After the handclap, the mists faded and we were back in the city again, almost as if we had never been elsewhere. But the shadows had advanced subtly, showing that time indeed had passed for us in the mists. With all the talk about guides and Fate, Desi never exactly answered why she had summoned us. Perhaps ¡°because you¡¯re interesting¡± was all the explanation we were going to get. ¡°Well, that was ¡­ different,¡± Ace said. ¡°Yeah. Indeed. She didn¡¯t really explain much, did she?¡± Ace shook their head, looking troubled. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it feel ¡­ a bit like cheating?¡± they asked. ¡°She gave us something we weren¡¯t going to get otherwise, and didn¡¯t give that opportunity to other people.¡± ¡°A little bit,¡± I nodded. ¡°But there was a price for it, too. So maybe it balances out. Other people don¡¯t have quests and duties and obligations in exchange for getting what they weren¡¯t going to get, either.¡± Ace still looked troubled, but shrugged. ¡°I guess. Nothing we can do about it now, anyway. I¡¯m just glad I dodged that Nereid bullet, though. What about you?¡± ¡°I could have dealt with the race,¡± I admitted, ¡°if I got a good healer class out of it. But not for an anti-healer, or whatever that Shackles of the Abyss class would have been.¡± I noticed them giving me a funny look, ¡°What? You think a flying Barbie doll was high on my list of what to be? If I can deal with this, I could have dealt with that.¡± ¡°You are, like, the exact opposite of me, Rie.¡± ¡°I guess. Anyway, we were going to look for a library, weren¡¯t we? And then maybe go see how your little golems fight? Did you do much last night?¡± Ace shook their head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t in any hurry to have monsters hit me,¡± they said. ¡°It¡¯s not on a screen anymore.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not as bad as you might think,¡± I reassured Ace. ¡°Not pleasant, but not traumatic, either. Not much worse than a bad day in PE class. You¡¯ll survive. Well, unless you don¡¯t, but then you¡¯ll respawn.¡± I was about to point out that their golems were probably going to be the ones taking the hits for them, anyway, but ¡­ ¡°Hold on a moment, I got an idea.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. > Hey, Mikachu. In your running around the town questing so far, have you seen a library? >> A library? No. But we did pass by some vendors selling scrolls and parchment in one of the market plazas. If anybody knows where a library might be, they should. Is the meeting over? Where are you? We can show you where to go. > Can you send map coords? Mom and Dad are doing their own thing now, and Jazmyn went to help Ette with mining. Since you and Noa are questing, I thought I¡¯d help Jocelyn¡¯s character with their quest. >> Sure. Give me a moment to figure it out. ¡°I was asking Mika if she knew where a library was. She doesn¡¯t, but might have a lead,¡± I explained. ¡°She¡¯s going to send us a starting point, if it works. But while we¡¯re waiting ¡­.¡± My hands glowed faintly green and Daybreak Gleaming leapt through a misty portal to land in the street, wooden hooves ringing against the cobblestones. She whinnied, arched her neck, and pivoted about to face us. Ace¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°You have a unicorn!?¡± the Amalthean exclaimed. ¡°How is that fair!?¡± They reached out as if to touch her, but paused, and gave me a questioning look, ¡°May I?¡± ¡°Of course! She likes the attention. Her name is Daybreak Gleaming.¡± Ace was just as enchanted with my wooden unicorn as the rest of my friends had been. As they ran their long fingers through the moss of Daybreak Gleaming¡¯s mane, I could almost see the young girl Jocelyn had been years ago in Ace¡¯s expression. Then again, I probably looked like that too, when I first saw the unicorn, so I wasn¡¯t reading too much into that. Daybreak Gleaming was just that wondrous. Ace was still petting and patting and fussing over the unicorn when my minimap pinged. >> There. That should be the market plaza the vendors were in. Also, it¡¯s a pain in the neck to extract and send coords. Think trying to pinch to zoom, right-click, WASD move, and swipe right all simultaneously. > Yuck. Sounds difficult. Anyway, thank you. >> Sure thing. Holler if you need anything else. Unfortunately, the ping to the minimap had only given me direction -- the destination was outside the range it displayed. I had to pull open the full map of the city, which was just as much of a hassle to use as it had been yesterday. And ¡­ of course, the plaza was half the city away. Why was nothing ever nearby? Granted, I flew, so getting from point A to point B wasn¡¯t a trial. Obstacles were easy to overcome ¡­ or at least, to overfly. But Ace was on foot. Okay, almost everyone was going to be on foot, but that meant taking the long way there. ¡°Oi, Ace. Go ahead and hop on her back. We¡¯ve got a bit of distance to go, and no sense getting tired walking it all.¡± 33. Ambush Ace had taken absolutely no convincing to clamber up onto Daybreak Gleaming¡¯s back. I hid a grin. Daybreak Gleaming was pony-sized, and Ace was taller than average. There was something almost Don Quixote-like in their disparity of sizes. That, and ¡­ both had unicorn horns -- Ace¡¯s sparkling of silver and contrasting with the polished wood of my unicorn. ¡°How do I steer her?¡± Ace asked. ¡°You don¡¯t. She¡¯ll go where she needs to, which is ¡­ that way.¡± I pointed down the street, ¡°And then south at the next intersection.¡± I fluttered nearby with my map still unfurled. I suppose I could have ridden Daybreak Gleaming, too -- or stood on Ace¡¯s shoulder or something -- but, again, I was flying. Sure, I flew all day yesterday and hovered around during the family meeting today, but the novelty had by far not yet worn off. If it ever would. So, yes, I flew. Even if it meant flying along at a lazy pace in between buildings instead of zipping over buildings and trees to take a straight-line approach. For a while, as we navigated the little side streets of the weatherbeaten residential district, both Ace and I were quiet, other than the ¡°We¡¯ll be turning up ahead,¡± and other navigational comments I provided while plotting our route to the plaza. We were making good time. Well, not in comparison to how I could have flown, but certainly in comparison to a regular person¡¯s walking pace -- even if Daybreak Gleaming was walking rather than trotting, galloping, or any other horsey term of locomotion. The houses gradually became more grand as we travelled -- not that they were anything fancy, but they were more like what you would see on the main street of town rather than the little side streets closer to the harbor. Not the homes of the wealthy or even affluent, but the homes of the comfortable. Despite that, it was oddly quiet and still. There were no kids playing in the yards, no dogs or cats running around, not even other pedestrians going about their day. The homes didn¡¯t look abandoned quite the way they did in the area we had our family meeting, but they were apparently untenanted. Did the NPCs live in another district? Was this just for show or future player housing? Did the NPCs even need homes -- or were they all inactive during the hours we weren¡¯t playing? Normally, I wouldn¡¯t have even considered that in a game. If NPCs had homes, they were for background and not places players would normally go -- unless one was playing a thief, of course. But with how lifelike Gren and Virgil had seemed, not to mention Desi, they had seemed a bit more, well, more than just regular NPCs. Questions for another day, however. I wish some of the answers players had discovered on other community servers had made their way to the internet, but the company behind DVI had a lock on information sharing beyond the very basics. * * * This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. It had taken a while, but we had eventually made it out of that neighborhood¡¯s little labyrinth of side streets and cul-de-sacs and onto a wider, tree-lined avenue. It wasn¡¯t a main street, but according to the map, it was a major cross-city thoroughfare leading from a small plaza north of the east gate to a small plaza north of the west gate. Neither of which were our destination, but following the avenue to the west would bring us closer. The plaza Mikachu had sent coords for was a bit east and south of the western gate. We even saw a few players going about their business. A group of three short, stocky, bearded men -- dwarves of some sort, probably -- passed us, headed east on the other side of the avenue. They didn¡¯t have the look of warriors, so probably crafters of some sort. And that might explain why they were in town on day two rather than out fighting. Well, unless they had a family meeting, too. The trio waved as they passed, but didn¡¯t stop their brisk pace, not even to stare, though Ace and Daybreak Gleaming did apparently warrant a little bit of rubbernecking. But sightseeing and curiosity were not as much motivation as whatever mission the dwarves were on. We encountered a few other solo adventurers, but like us, they were focused on getting where they were going. Neither I nor Ace were inclined to stop for chatter, and it seemed none of the other players were, either. Until ¡­. ¡°Well, well, what have we here?¡± A large man, flanked by two smaller men rushed in front of us, causing Daybreak Gleaming to stop short of running them over. Then again, the big man was as tall as Ace and nearly twice as broad across the shoulders; it might have been difficult to actually go over him without flying. ¡°Please move. You¡¯re in the way,¡± Ace said. Meanwhile, I was preparing for trouble. ¡°As the dawning dewdrops nourish and protect, please, Great Goddess of Nature, bestow upon your faithful and her allies the subtle aura of protection: ?Prayer of Dawning Dewdrops?!¡± My voice was quiet, but the ripple of green light was surely noticeable. I had my doubts that nature elemental resistance would do us any good, the men had the look of brawlers and ruffians, but it couldn¡¯t hurt to have it ready. > Ace, if it comes to a fight, you¡¯ll need to get off the unicorn. Daybreak Gleaming is actually my weapon. >> KK. You go up; I¡¯ll go right. The big man guffawed. ¡°Move? You hear that, lads? This puffed-up, poncy peacock wants us to get out of his way. What do you say to that, lads?¡± ¡°I say it¡¯s too early in the game for someone to have a mount. We¡¯d best take it, probably can sell it for a lot and buy better gear,¡± said one. ¡°Sell it? Keep it,¡± said the other. ¡°With a good mount, I can get started on the knight class early.¡± ¡°If you want to prance around like a fairy princess on a unicorn, do it on your own time, Flynn.¡± ¡°Well,¡± the big man said, ¡°Looks like the lads agree with me. You¡¯re going to be donating that fancy horse of yours to the Redskull Raiders. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Ace replied. The men didn¡¯t seem to notice me. Or rather, they seemed to have immediately dismissed me as being Ace¡¯s familiar or something, since I had been hovering next to their shoulder. They certainly didn¡¯t seem to regard me as a player or a threat. ¡°Oh, it doesn¡¯t matter what you think,¡± the big man said. ¡°It matters what you¡¯ll do. You have two choices. Choice one: Hop down off that horse right now and we¡¯ll only rough you up a little for your rudeness. Or choice two: we knock you senseless, send you back to respawn with a killer headache, and take the horse anyway.¡± Ace dismounted and slipped down Daybreak Gleaming¡¯s right side. ¡°I choose choice three: You jerks go away and leave honest people alone.¡± The big man shrugged. ¡°Your funeral. It¡¯s three against one; you¡¯ve got nothing but pain coming your way.¡± He unlimbered a large wooden club with one hand and reached for Daybreak Gleaming¡¯s horn with the other. 34. Player Versus Player The moment the man¡¯s hand touched Daybreak Gleaming, a zillion things happened at once. [Zone Broadcast: The group, Redskull Raiders, are now tagged as outlaws for 3 days. No PK or outlaw penalty will be assessed for players or guards who engage them.] A dark, roiling, reddish-violet aura surrounded the three men. It wasn¡¯t one of their own abilities taking effect, but rather it was the very demonstrable way the game indicated who was an outlaw or not. Unfortunately, from what little public information there was on other servers, the class of people inclined to turn outlaw almost saw the aura as a badge of pride rather than a deterrent, even if it handicapped them in other ways. ¡°Three against two!¡± A large, green woman in blue and gold leapt into action with a flying kick straight out of a Hong Kong action movie, knocked one of the flunkies over, and landed on him, very nearly using his body as a makeshift surfboard. Friction interfered, and she only sent him backward about five feet, however before she jumped off, landed with a backflip, and stood ready to strike again. ¡°Bullies like you have no place in our community team!¡± Daybreak Gleaming reared up, pulling herself free of the big man, and lashed out with her hooves once I gave her the mental command to fight. Ace meanwhile had darted to the right, between two trees at the edge of the avenue, and their five wooden dolls rushed the other flunky. ¡°Three against EIGHT!¡± Ace exclaimed -- the two of us, their five golems, and my unicorn totalling eight. ¡°Um, NINE, I guess,¡± they corrected as the stranger joined our fight. ¡°Red in tooth and claw, but redder still on thorns I saw: ?Barbed Roots?! I hadn¡¯t used that spell yesterday out of worry of the hatelist, but PvP operated on different rules. Besides, without Mikachu around, it was just going to be the golems and the unicorn that kept the enemies off us, anyway. Nevertheless, I was impressed by the spell. Three barbed tendrils erupted from the ground in a triangle around the big man. Before he could react -- he was still reaching for Daybreak Gleaming -- the tendrils wrapped around his legs, effectively immobilizing him. ¡°What the [beep]!¡± he yelled as he tried to dodge the unicorn¡¯s kick and pull himself free of my spell at the same time. Well, he didn¡¯t actually say ¡°beep,¡± but apparently DVI had a bad word filter, so whatever he had actually said was censored out before it could be heard. I took a brief moment to survey the field of battle, trying to figure out who would need the healing spells first and whether a Bramble Shield on anyone would be a good idea. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Despite his disadvantage in not actually having the element of surprise and being effectively immobilized, the big man was holding his own against Daybreak Gleaming, wielding his massive club as both weapon and shield. Likewise, one of his minions was doing a pretty good job of evading Ace¡¯s golems. It kept him occupied and out of the bigger fight, but they didn¡¯t appear to be doing any appreciable damage ¡­ or really even landing any blows. He was just too quick for them. Ace was staying out of the fray, back between the trees, directing their golems in the fight. The second flunky, however, was in much worse shape, having been caught unawares by the attack from our mysterious benefactress. However, he had a pair of daggers and a decent amount of agility, and she only had her fists and feet. He had already landed at least one slash on her if the red streak on her arm was any indication. So there, as a healer, was my first priority. ¡°?Wyld Regrowth?!¡± The spell had no chant, just the activation and a short cooldown, but the effects were just as dramatic and pronounced as the first time I had cast it. Ghostly vines wrapped around the arms and torso of the green-skinned woman, pulsing slowly as each tick of regeneration undid the damage the ruffian¡¯s blades had caused. Unfortunately, the effect startled her, and she tried to brush them off, accidentally giving the man an opening. He slashed his blades wildly, landing another strike before she recovered and sent him flying with a kick that turned into a backflip. ¡°Sorry, got another spell coming your way,¡± I yelled to her. ¡°The Wyld Harvest awaits, ?Wyld Berry Aura?! Since she wasn¡¯t actually in the group with Ace and me, I couldn¡¯t see her health, but given that she fought at melee range, she needed it more than Ace or I did, though one of Ace¡¯s golems had a blade stuck through its little wooden chest. It wasn¡¯t bleeding, of course, but it¡¯s health had significantly depleted. On the other hand, that lackey was partially disarmed. I cast a Wyld Regrowth at the golem, and turned my attention back to Daybreak Gleaming and the unicorn¡¯s encounter with the bigger man. Just in time to see the spell immobilizing him start to fall apart. ¡°Oh, no you don¡¯t! Red in tooth and claw ¡­.¡± I refreshed the spell, and directed Daybreak Gleaming to disengage. Having essentially three one-v-one fights wasn¡¯t working well for us, but if the big guy stayed immobilized long enough, we should be able to defeat them piecemeal. Daybreak Gleaming reared up, whinnied -- which echoed off the nearby buildings -- and charged the flunky fighting the green woman, shouldering him off-balance just as she launched another flying kick at him. I was strongly reminded of Mika, and how she saved me from a bully with a flying kick of her own nearly a decade ago. This, however, did more than just kick the bigger kid down into the sandbox. The green-skinned woman¡¯s kick connected with an audible crack, and he was down for the count, a little gravestone icon floating above his immobile body. Both body and icon disappeared when he released and was sent to respawn. The other minion¡¯s agility had been serving him well against Ace¡¯s golems, but it wasn¡¯t enough when my unicorn and the green-skinned woman joined that scuffle. Daybreak Gleaming didn¡¯t do much damage on her own -- I guess it would have been too overpowered for me to have had a very effective combat summon in addition to everything else I was -- but she was larger, and harder to dodge. Between the unicorn¡¯s horn, the woman¡¯s kicks, and the little golems bashing away with their wooden fists, he quickly succumbed to the blows and was sent to respawn as well. That just left the big man. 35. Victory and Introductions His struggles against the Barbed Roots had taken their toll. His legs were all scratched up and oozing blood pretty badly, but he looked more furious than in pain. Unlike when we were fighting little monsters, I couldn¡¯t see his health bar to know how damaged he really was, but I was assuming the answer was ¡°not very.¡± After all, the main purpose of the spell was to hold a target immobile. The damage effect was minor, even compared to Bramble Shield -- I was a healer, not a mage. ¡°You were saying something earlier about three against one?¡± Ace asked mildly. ¡°[Beep]! [Beep]! [Beeeeeep]!¡± he yelled and spat in Ace¡¯s direction. Some of those beeps were long enough to filter out whole phrases instead of words. ¡°Someone should wash your mouth out with soap,¡± I remarked. ¡°Unfortunately, we don¡¯t have any soap with us, so I guess you¡¯ll just have to take the same pummeling as your lackeys did. You should know better than to try and take what doesn¡¯t belong to you.¡± Or, at least, to focus on the NPCs and not other players. ¡°Justice and Teamwork prevail!¡± exclaimed the green-skinned woman. ¡°Let¡¯s finish off the outlaw and then grab a celebratory snack.¡± Ace nodded, and gestured, and their five golems charged the man. Unfortunately, he was prepared for that, and though temporarily immobilized by the Barbed Roots, his arms and mighty club were still free. He took a giant swing and hit one of the golems squarely. It shattered and splinters of wood flew everywhere before the golem disappeared. He caught another with the backswing, sending it tumbling into a third and nearly neutralized all of Ace¡¯s attacks. But while he was doing that, Daybreak Gleaming had been circling around at my direction, and charged from behind. This time, the unicorn didn¡¯t use her shoulders to try and bowl him over ¡­ she used her horn, impaling deep into the bulging muscles of his upper arm. He [Beep]ed again, very loudly, and dropped his club. Then it was all over but the shoutin¡¯. * * * ¡°Thank you for your help,¡± Ace said, bowing to the green-skinned woman. Their two surviving golems mimicked the gesture. ¡°Yes, thank you,¡± I said. ¡°I think Ace and I might have had some trouble on our own. It was their first battle, I think, and neither of us are really fighters. You really turned the tide for us.¡± ¡°Eh-heh-heh.¡± It was almost more spoken than a laugh, nervous or not. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t mention it. Injustice and bullies bother me. I just was in the right place at the right time to do something about it. And don¡¯t those idiots know we¡¯re supposed to be working together as a community? Jeez!¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. I hadn¡¯t really been able to get a good close look at her during the battle -- she had been moving around too much and, well, in the middle of a fight isn¡¯t the best time to eyeball an ally, unexpected or not, anyway. But the blue-and-gold outfit she was wearing was, at its base, a short, pleated skirt and a cropped halter top. It just needed a logo or initials across the chest to suggest cheerleader. Green-skin, tall, muscular, dressed like a cheerleader, and fighting with powerful kicks. Of all the people to meet at random in DVI ¡­. ¡°Monica?¡± I asked in disbelief. ¡°Ka¡¯Moni,¡± she corrected. ¡°I Orcified it. Wait, do I know you ¡­? I know you¡¯re not on the squad. Maybe the junior high squad ¡­? Rachelle? Raelyn?¡± Ace turned a giggle into a cough before I had a chance to glare at them. ¡°Rachelle and Raelyn both took the Path of Self,¡± they said. ¡°I heard them talking about it this morning. They¡¯re starting a guild for sorceresses. You should recognize them if you see them.¡± Ka¡¯Moni nodded. ¡°I guess so. I think I should know you both, but I¡¯m drawing blanks. Wait,¡± she looked back at me. Then she shook her head, ¡°No, probably not.¡± ¡°Probably not what?¡± I asked. Ka¡¯Moni shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re the one that cast those crazy healing spells, right?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not crazy!¡± I protested. ¡°Intangible vines wrapping around someone¡¯s arms and body aren¡¯t crazy?¡± ¡°Well, when you put it that way ¡­.¡± ¡°Rie¡¯s the healer, yes. I¡¯m the Golemancer,¡± Ace put in. ¡°There¡¯s only one person I can remember speaking to that told me he¡¯s a healer, and who else besides someone I spoke to could guess who I was? James? Is that you?¡± Ka¡¯Moni asked. ¡°In the virtual flesh,¡± I executed another mid-air bow. ¡°You¡¯re much shorter than I remember you being,¡± Ka¡¯Moni teased. Mercifully, she didn¡¯t comment further on my figure and not at all on my attire. ¡°Well, and you¡¯re taller, too,¡± I pointed out. She laughed, ¡°That I am. So, where¡¯s Mika? It¡¯s a little hard to imagine you as a little pixie--¡± ¡°Fairy,¡± I interrupted. ¡°--as a little fairy, but it¡¯s impossible for me to believe that¡¯s Mika over there. Meaning no offense,¡± she smiled at Ace, ¡°but your style and manner really aren¡¯t compatible with being her.¡± ¡°None taken,¡± Ace replied. They looked like they were going to say a bit more, but shook their head, so I took over. ¡°Ace is my younger sibling,¡± I said. ¡°My parents called a family meeting earlier, so our group is split and doing their own things today. Mika and Naomi are looking around for quests in town. I was going to help Ace with their quest. We were on our way to a plaza a bit west and south of here still when those PK-ers showed up.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll escort you to the plaza then,¡± Ka¡¯Moni said with a grin. ¡°Let¡¯s grab a snack to celebrate our victory, then I can help you with your quest, too, if you want.¡± I looked to Ace, who shrugged and said. ¡°Thank you for your help, Ka¡¯Moni. Right now, it¡¯s ¡®look for a library,¡¯ so I don¡¯t know if it will be an interesting quest to help with ¡­?¡± ¡°Oh, pshaw. It¡¯s no trouble. I¡¯m not doing anything anyway, and I¡¯d feel bad if more people jumped you when I wasn¡¯t around.¡± 36. Plaza-bound And so, our group of two became a group of three for the day. While Ace was resummoning their golems, Ka¡¯Moni and I chatted. I was curious why she was on her own. I would have thought that she would have been grouped up with others on the cheerleading squad, and told her so. ¡°It¡¯s ¡­ complicated,¡± she said. ¡°Yeah, the squad does a lot together, but that¡¯s all squad stuff. Practice, performances, team-building exercises, you know. I¡¯d be like a third wheel on a motorbike if we hung out socially, though. Too much relationship drama, anyway.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± I asked. ¡°Yep,¡± she said without clarifying further. I didn¡¯t press it. ¡°Anyway, they¡¯re all paired up -- they¡¯ve all got boyfriends, except Beth and Liv, and I¡¯d really be a third wheel there.¡± Bethany and Olivia were both seniors and not part of my social circle, but pretty much everyone in school knew them and their plans. They were homecoming queen and queen this year, the first for our small school. They, in the way small-town-sweethearts are, were very much in love and very much already planning their future together. Neither intended on going to college. Bethany would work full-time at her parents¡¯ bed-and-breakfast which she would eventually inherit, and Olivia would be a stay-at-home wife and artist. I had my doubts, but Mom and Dad were all the proof I needed that highschool sweethearts could make a longer-term relationship work. Nevertheless, it really wasn¡¯t any of my business. ¡°Well,¡± I offered, ¡°if you don¡¯t have other plans, and the rest of the group doesn¡¯t mind, you¡¯d be welcome to group with us. We¡¯re a little short on close-range fighters, so you¡¯d fit right in.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan! Hurray for teamwork!¡± she exclaimed, and gave me a dazzling smile -- which, from an Orc, was actually a bit intimidating. ¡°Who¡¯ve you got?¡± * * * The rest of the cross-town journey was uneventful, but adding another person to the cavalcade meant progressing at a walking pace, so Daybreak Gleaming was put away -- you don¡¯t really sheathe a unicorn, even if she technically was a weapon. Consequently, we didn¡¯t encounter any other jealous players trying to steal her. We passed a couple inns, and strangely enough, a small apple orchard, but most of the buildings on the avenue had the feel of administrative buildings, courthouses, guildhalls, temples, and the like. However, none of them seemed to be in use. Were they all relegated for future player use? This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. As we got closer to the plaza, foot traffic picked up. There were more players, but also more NPCs, some running stalls and others apparently travelling from stall to stall. There were even a few guards on patrol -- where were they earlier? Never a cop around when you need them. ¡°Oh! Let¡¯s stop over here,¡± Ka¡¯Moni said, grabbing Ace¡¯s arm and dragging them toward a brightly-canopied stall with cotton candy on display. ¡°We haven¡¯t had that celebratory snack, yet!¡± I probably would have been dragged along, too -- if size had allowed. Still, I flew alongside the exuberant orc and somewhat uncomfortable amalthean. The two almost looked like a couple at a carnival, which was probably why Ace seemed uncomfortable -- too young to date and, from their name, apparently not interested in dating anyway. Ace shot me a glance, and I intervened. ¡°Ka¡¯Moni,¡± I laughed, ¡°you¡¯re making Ace uncomfortable. They¡¯re not used to being dragged by an energetic orc. Besides, we don¡¯t have any money to buy snacks with.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry!¡± She dropped Ace¡¯s arm. ¡°I just wanted to make sure you all didn¡¯t get left behind when I came over here. You can fly over people¡¯s heads, but Ace cannot. You¡¯d get lost in the shuffle.¡± Given that both Ace and Ka¡¯Moni were head-and-shoulders taller than almost everyone around and that while foot traffic had picked up, it still wasn¡¯t a crowd ¡­ > Hey, Monica, just so you know ¡­ Ace is only 13. >> Huh? What? You think I¡¯m flirting? She turned to glare at me and I shrugged. > Whether I do or not, I think Ace thinks you are. ¡°Ace, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m a people person and I tend to get a bit up close and personal. If Rie were taller and walking, I¡¯d¡¯ve grabbed her arm, too. I didn¡¯t mean to make you uncomfortable. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I guess. It¡¯s not you. I just ¡­¡± Ace shrugged. ¡°No harm, no foul, I guess.¡± ¡°So, about the snacks,¡± I interrupted, saving Ace from the difficulty they were having with the apology, too. ¡°Things usually cost money ¡­.¡± ¡°Unless you bought yourself some new equipment, you should have started with a few coins. And probably you got some drops from those stupid raiders, earlier. I did.¡± ¡°But we didn¡¯t loot them,¡± Ace said, back on firmer footing. ¡°You don¡¯t have to,¡± Ka¡¯Moni said, ¡°the game does that for you. I didn¡¯t know it did it for PvP, but I have four more coins that I did before, so they had to have come from somewhere.¡± I checked my inventory and immediately felt like an idiot. All those rats we killed yesterday and that I thought gave no loot because they were in a training instance ¡­ Piles of rat fur, teeth, claws, and other sundry body parts. Small piles, granted, but there they were. Plus twenty-four small wooden coins. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯m buying, then.¡± I said. 37. Inkpot Plaza I licked the last crumbs off my fingers and sighed in contentment. Call it fry bread, elephant ears, angel wings, or whatever -- the virtual version of classic fair food was just as good as if it had been the real thing. This had been lightly dusted with a cinnamon-sugar mixture and had still been warm from being made on the spot. Ace and Ka¡¯Moni were staring at me. Ace was still eating their candied apple, but Ka¡¯Moni had already finished her first skein of cotton candy. She hadn¡¯t been able to decide between green and blue, so I had paid for both. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°That elephant ear was bigger than you are,¡± Ka¡¯Moni said. ¡°Hey, I paid the same amount for my treat as I did for yours. Why should I settle for a tiny treat?¡± ¡°You ate two of them,¡± Ace pointed out. ¡°They were good.¡± ¡°It must take a lot of calories to keep those little wings flapping so quickly,¡± Ka¡¯Moni said. ¡°Oh well, video game logic.¡± If NPC-made fair food was this good, then ¡­. ¡°Now I can¡¯t wait until Mom and Dad open their patisserie.¡± Ace shook their head. ¡°You are going to get fat, Rie!¡± Ka¡¯Moni laughed. ¡°Hey, Ace, just a tip, but you shouldn¡¯t talk about a lady¡¯s weight, even if she is your brother. But, really, a patisserie? I¡¯m interested.¡± So we explained Mom and Dad¡¯s plan for a business, at least what they had shared at the family meeting, plus a little speculation of our own. We didn¡¯t, however, mention that Mom¡¯s character was a guy and that Dad¡¯s was a gal. Finally, we made it to the ping on my minimap, the coordinates that Mikachu had shared. It was a small plaza -- paved with large, smooth, flagstones of various shades of dark grey. In the center of the plaza was a small fountain surrounding a statue of a woman reading from a scroll of proclamation. Throughout the plaza, with no apparent underlying plan, were little stalls and booths. The two closest to us were selling pen nibs and little bottles of ink, but we could also see vendors hawking scrolls, ribbons (for bookmarks, maybe?), leather carrying cases, and quills. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Here is where?¡± Ka¡¯Moni asked. ¡°Here is here. Mika sent me the coords to this place. She figured if anyone knew where a library in town was, that the people selling scrolls and the like would.¡± ¡°Seems like a good guess,¡± Ka¡¯Moni nodded. ¡°Well, then, Ace. Ask around, I¡¯m going to go look over there real quick,¡± she said, inclining her head toward the stall selling ribbons. * * * ¡°Nay, lad, there be no call for libraries like that ¡®round these parts. We¡¯re too isolated out here on the western frontier, and any books be a right royal penny. I do hear tell the mayor has a mighty collection of five books, more than just his tax rolls and book of judgements. Mayhap if you found a temple, you might find a book or two in their possession, but a library? Ach, not in Chipac.¡± Everyone Ace asked, from vendors of quills and inks to vendors of parchment and scrolls, the answer was basically the same -- there was no library and no formal school anywhere in the city. Some private citizens -- important NPCs -- might own a few books, or a small collection of scrolls, but there was nothing like the large collection of knowledge and stories that Ace was looking for. But if there were few books, no library, and no formal school -- why was there a whole plaza of vendors selling inks, scrolls, pens, and paper? A small plaza, granted, but still¡­. ¡°Ah, little lass, ink is the lifeblood of bureaucracy, and scrolls its sustenance,¡± a different merchant replied when I asked. ¡°And how do you think housewives keep track of their recipes and merchants their inventory? Not to mention all the budding young mage apprentices.¡± He shook his head, ¡°There¡¯ll never be enough ink and scrolls in Chipac to sate that hungry beast.¡± ¡°Housewives keep track of more than just recipes,¡± Ka¡¯Moni said. ¡°I never said they didn¡¯t. Now, are you buying or pestering?¡± His voice turned gruff. ¡°Because if you¡¯re not buying, I¡¯m done talking. There¡¯s other folk a-waiting to shop.¡± ¡°Well, someone got up on the wrong side of equality this morning,¡± Ka¡¯Moni said as we stepped away from the vendor. ¡°No luck finding a library for Ace?¡± Ace broke off from the vendor they had been talking with and answered for me. ¡°Unless you count five books in one place, a couple dozen scrolls in another, and a warehouse full of old tax records. These people barely know what a book is, almost.¡± ¡°Now, that¡¯s not quite fair,¡± I said. ¡°This is a low-tech, fantasy setting. If they don¡¯t have the printing press -- or some magical means of duplicating things -- then of course books are going to be more rare.¡± ¡°Someone should invent one, then,¡± Ace frowned. ¡°It can¡¯t be that hard. They did it back in the, what, thirteen-hundreds?¡± ¡°Sounds like you might have another goal to work toward,¡± I said. Unbidden, an image of tiny little wooden golems as a special sort of self-movable type popped into my head. ¡°You might even be uniquely suited for it.¡± ¡°Hmm. Maybe I will. I¡¯ll look it up tomorrow at lunch time.¡± Then, shifting the topic, Ace turned to Ka¡¯Moni and asked, ¡°So, what did you find to buy?¡± 38. Ribbons and Recruits ¡°I got these for me,¡± she said, holding up two wide spools of grosgrain ribbon -- one in navy blue and the other in a goldenrod. Both were almost exactly a match to the colours of her outfit and just as almost exactly a match for our school colors of blue and gold. ¡°My hair¡¯s too short for a proper cheer bow, but I figure I can maybe make a bow for my wrists or use some of the ribbon as a headband, like a movie martial artist since my attacks are mostly kicks.¡± ¡°You said you got those for you. Did you get something for someone else, too?¡± Ace asked. Ka¡¯Moni smiled and held up a smaller, maybe three-quarters inch spool of ribbon. ¡°Sure did. I got this one and another for Rie.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± She beamed a wide smile. ¡°You have such long, pretty, dark hair and that little scrunchie is doing it no justice at all. I¡¯m going to make you a nice, big, bright cheer bow of your own.¡± ¡°Hey ¡­. I may be doll-sized, but that doesn¡¯t mean you get to play dress-up with me!¡± I protested. It ¡­ didn¡¯t go well. Ace was on Ka¡¯Moni¡¯s side, and twenty minutes later, my hair was up in a high, voluminous ponytail with an oversized, golden cheerbow atop my head, holding the ponytail in place. My character sheet also got two changes. The first change was that the Floral Scrunchie equipped to the head spot was replaced by, well, the cheer bow.
Hand-crafted Oversized Cheer Bow (Ribbon) A large bow crafted from ? inch grosgrain ribbon. Stylish, cute, and displays your team and community spirit. The large bow makes you seem less threatening: -1% threat generation. Crafted by Ka¡¯Moni, Cheerleader Trainer and Squad Captain.
So much for the old trope of ribbons providing status resistance. However, it was now my only piece of equipment that provided an actual bonus rather than just cosmetic appeal (other than the ring, but that¡¯s a different story). Moreover, it was a good bonus, too. Sure, a one percent reduction in threat was pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, but it was a start. And if there¡¯s one thing a healer never wants to do, that¡¯s pulling threat off the shieldwall. Consequently, I was going to be stuck with the cheer bow for quite a while, at least until drops or other crafted items supplanted it with better bonuses. Stolen novel; please report. The other addition to my character sheet was a new line under statuses. Right below my three geases, there was another entry for ¡°Cheerleader Aspirant.¡±
Cheerleader Aspirant You have taken the very first step on the path to a new class, Cheerleader. Reach level ten, and you may begin the process to multi-class, cross-class, or sub-class to Cheerleader. Class Mentor: Ka¡¯Moni, Cheerleader Trainer and Squad Captain.
Well, that didn¡¯t need to be mentioned to anyone just now. As for the bow, though ¡­. ¡°Ka¡¯Moni, the description for the cheer bow says it was ¡®Crafted by Ka¡¯Moni, Cheerleader Trainer and Squad Captain.¡¯ You¡¯re a class trainer?¡± ¡°Huh? Well, I¡¯m possibly the only Cheerleader on the entire server, so that makes me the only one in the squad, and therefore squad captain. Which is kind of weird. And I do have a quest to train new cheerleaders, but I have to be level ten before I can start it. I guess that makes me a cheerleader trainer, too?¡± she replied. ¡°How did you get that class to begin with?¡± Ace asked. Ka¡¯Moni laughed. ¡°Path of Action. I didn¡¯t think it was possible, but I wanted to try. If I had got that little ¡®Errrrgh¡¯¡± -- she made an ¡®x¡¯ symbol with her arms -- ¡°as a rejection, I was going to take Bard and then just call myself a Cheerleader, anyway. But here I am,¡± she twirled, ¡°an official Cheerleader.¡± ¡°It is a little bit different than high school, though,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t recall seeing you ever kick anyone at a game or pep rally.¡± ¡°Only ¡®cuz I haven¡¯t needed to,¡± she replied. ¡°Jeez, those people. I hope there aren¡¯t too many more like them.¡± ¡°There probably are,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Games can bring out the worst in people. Anonymity and lack of consequences can be powerful draws.¡± ¡°There were consequences, though,¡± Ace put in. ¡°They got beat and they got marked as outlaws. And they lost some money as drops to us.¡± ¡°I guess. Anyway, besides kicking, what other skills does an official cheerleader class have? You said this morning you had some cheer routines to provide buffs?¡± Ka¡¯Moni nodded. ¡°My abilities are Fighting Footwork, for the fancy kicks. I don¡¯t need a skill to kick someone normally any more than you do to swing a sword or staff, though I bet practice and training helps there. Um, also Team Spirit gives me a couple different long-duration buffs, and Incite Inspiration for short-duration buffs. Also, I have two passives for Acrobatics and Squad Choreography.¡± I raised an eyebrow, ¡°Choreography?¡± ¡°Yep! It¡¯s not really a combat skill. Actually, it¡¯s not super-useful right now at all. Um, it boosts the effects of all cheerleader active skills when performed by two or more cheerleaders. Since it¡¯s just me right now, it doesn¡¯t do anything. But I guess if there were more of us, having a group chant ¡®Defense! Defense!¡¯¡± -- she mimed shaking pom-poms -- ¡°would boost everyone¡¯s defense more than just me doing it by myself.¡± I was impressed, and let my expression show it. ¡°That sounds potentially very powerful,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe not a good starting ability, but definitely something you¡¯d want at higher levels.¡± Ka¡¯Moni nodded. And Ace changed the subject, ¡°Well, if there¡¯s no library to find right now. Do you want to go out and fight some monsters? We should all try to level up, right?¡± 39. Level One Fairy As we approached the gate out of the city, I spoke up. ¡°I don¡¯t know if either of you left the city yesterday, but the zone transition can be a little unnerving. Expect a moment or two where time seems to stop and you cannot move.¡± Ace shrugged and Ka¡¯Moni nodded. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not even noticeable, really, if you go out solo. At least, I didn¡¯t notice anything. But I heard it can be disorienting in a group,¡± she said. ¡°If it''s available, I¡¯m going to choose the private training instance,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a bit less experience, I guess, but no competition for spawns, so it should balance out.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Ace said. ¡°A private instance means no kill-stealers or griefers, either.¡± ¡°Ugh. Can¡¯t they just code something to stop bad behavior?¡± Ka¡¯Moni muttered. ¡°It would be nice ¡­. Usually easier said than done, though,¡± I said. Unfortunately, the solutions usually presented additional problems or exploits of their own. For instance, Heralds of the Eastern Echo had naively tried a ¡°you can¡¯t damage other players¡± approach. That just meant griefers positioned themselves between the attackers and their targets, making attacks bounce off or fizzle off the griefer rather than the target. It became very difficult to play an archer or caster in HEE. ¡°No, the best way to deal with jerks like that is to do what you did, Ka¡¯Moni.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yep. Beat them at their own game. Hold on, here we go.¡± This time, the transition from city to training zone took no time at all, perhaps because I had selected -- via intent -- the training zone before even getting to the zone border. There was no pause required for me to read the list and make a choice. The gate guards on duty today were less talkative than Gren and Virgil had been. They just waved us on with a ¡°run back here if you get into trouble¡± comment. I pointed out the poles marking the border between where the guards would assist and not, and both Ka¡¯Moni and Ace nodded their understanding. I also made sure to tell them about how to consider a target. No sense in a repeat of yesterday¡¯s matriarch battle. Fortunately, our first fight was close to the boundary. It was just a level one Big Bad Rat, nothing special. But, we didn¡¯t have a true shieldwall, so I wanted it to be easy for us to escape if we had to. It was a different mix of abilities, and we hadn¡¯t played together before to be able to anticipate the others¡¯ moves the way the others and I could -- especially Mika and I. But ¡­ it also wasn¡¯t a challenging encounter, nor was it supposed to be. Since the rat was neutral, rather than hostile, we could get into place and start from an advantageous position. Ace¡¯s five little wooden golems surrounded the rat. Their purpose was to keep it occupied and be a makeshift shieldwall. Ka¡¯Moni was near enough to leap into combat -- literally. Ace and I were further back, close enough to them to provide direction to their golems and close enough for the golems to still be in range of my healing spells, but far enough back that we¡¯d have time to react if the little monster decided it hated us more than the golems or orc. I kept Daybreak Gleaming out of the fight, positioned roughly midway between us and the rat. She was the reserve, ready to intercept the rat if it broke toward us, and ready to intervene if adds came our way. The fight took a bit longer than the ones last night, but it was three-v-one instead of five-v-one and we didn¡¯t have the raw damage-dealing power of an offensive caster like Jazmyn. Ka¡¯Moni¡¯s kicks were powerful, true, but it still took four of her fancy kicks plus all the little golems bashing on the rat before it keeled over. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. One rat was all it took. I was surrounded by a spiraling glow of green light that shot upward accompanied by a short fanfare of flutes. ¡°What was that?¡± Ka¡¯Moni exclaimed. ¡°I reached level one, finally,¡± I said. ¡°It was just one fight, though,¡± Ace said. ¡°Plus all of yesterday. Gimme a moment, this shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡± One stat point, one development point, and one ability point. Leveling up wasn¡¯t terribly complicated, but it gave a way to start diversifying builds early. Me, however ¡­ well, there were no other High Priestesses of Sirae (and probably very few High Priestesses in general), so I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about my build being similar to others¡¯ (not a very big worry, granted). Stat point first. That went into Spell Power, bumping me from 29% to 32%. It would be a long time before that went from Moderate to the next higher tier, but none of my stats were going to increase any time soon. With all the leveling up the girls had done yesterday, I had already had plenty of time to contemplate where my development point was going to go. I was, for the most part, content with the array of spells I had to begin with, so rather than taking a new spell, I used the point to increase the Tier of Wyld Regeneration, increasing the effectiveness of the spells in that ability and, in theory, allowing me to choose higher-tier spells in that ability at a future level up. That was where Wyld Regrowth, Wyld Berry Aura, and Prayer of Wyld Recovery were -- my main spells -- and thus the ones I wanted stronger sooner. The ability point, however ¡­ that one I couldn¡¯t plan ahead. The game presented me with a random selection of three class abilities that I could take. And ¡­ all three of them were good.
Charismatic Auras (passive) (x) (requires Divine Conduit) A High Priest or High Priestess is a conduit for the powers of the divine to flow through them to their group. Your presence enhances all beneficial auras affecting allies within (radius) by 5%. Higher tiers of this ability increase the radius and extend the benefit to all active buffs. At extremely high tiers of this ability, your presence suppresses harmful auras and debuffs within the same radius by the same amount.
Daughter of Nature (3) (Chinookan Pacifica variant) Sea, Sand, Shore, and Solitude, the Daughter of Nature ability grants the priest or priestess a balance of water-themed offensive spells and sand-themed buffs and debuffs.
Sustained Faith (passive) (x) (requires Arcane Faith) Faith is the essence and foundation of hope. A Priestess¡¯s faith sustains not just her but her friends, peers, colleagues, and laity. This ability allows you to temporarily reduce your max FP and max SP in order to boost the SP of members of your group. Higher tiers of this ability improve the FP reduction and may allow more than one SP to be shared.
Okay, all three were good, but two were clearly better than the other. There was nothing wrong with Daughter of Nature, but I was a healer rather than a combat priestess, so taking an ability that was half-focused on offense wasn¡¯t my cup of tea. I didn¡¯t need some holy smite of my own when Jazmyn, or Ka¡¯Moni, or Ace, or someone else would be doing the damage for the group. And I most certainly didn¡¯t need to be spending all my faith on offensive spells, leaving nothing remaining to heal with. Probably not a bad ability tree for a less group-oriented player, however. Noa, as a Tactician, provided the group with buffs, both via auras and via the little short-duration reactionary buffs she could provide depending on the situation. I also had to assume that Mikachu would have buffs and maybe sustained powers of her own to make her statue (sorry, totem) better able to hold up against the onslaught of little monsters. Even Jazmyn had had an opportunity to take an aura-granting ability. Then there was Ka¡¯Moni, who besides fighting via kicks had her other cheerleader powers, sustained or not. So I asked Ace and Ka¡¯Moni and sent a message to Noa soliciting input. Their responses were ¡­ unanimous. Ka¡¯Moni was in favor of Sustained Faith: ¡°Five percent doesn¡¯t seem like that big of a deal, and it doesn¡¯t sound like that part gets stronger as you do, but giving everybody else in the group an extra spot for a sustained spell, that enables much more teamwork.¡± ¡°The first sounds good, but more long term,¡± Ace said. ¡°But each of my golems requires an SP to summon. Going from five to six golems is a much bigger increase than just five percent.¡± >> That first sounds like it requires a lot of investment to be worthwhile, though I definitely like the idea of a five percent boost in buffs down the line if it comes up again. However, doubling the number of auras I can maintain right now, that¡¯s MUCH more than a five percent boost. It is a pretty big cost for you, as opposed to doing nothing with the first, but I think it is worth it. Well, it¡¯s a good thing I asked, as my initial gut instinct was to go with a fire-and-forget five percent. 40. Kill Ten (More) Rats So, new ability selected, I activated Sustained Faith. It didn¡¯t have a little chant, but it did take more than a moment of focus and contemplation -- meditation, if you will. And the cost was ¡­. ¡°Yeesh! Fifty of my Faith Points greyed out as being ¡®reserved,¡¯¡± I exclaimed. ¡°And that counts as a sustained power of my own, so it ties up one of the two SP I have.¡± Which meant I could maintain the noncombat regen of Prayer of Evergreen Embrace or one of my two spells from Natural Protection, but not both of them. Well, neither cold nor nature resistances seemed important for the current fights, so Prayer of Evergreen Embrace it was. I wonder if SP can be increased with a development point at a later level, or if I was going to have to find an ability or merit that granted additional SP. Some of it seemed like it had to be tied to class. I had two, Noa had one, and Ace, apparently, had five. ¡°Half of them!?¡± Ace gasped. ¡°Well, I have 125, um 126 now that I leveled. This little ring,¡± I pointed to the simple metal band on my right ring finger, ¡°gives me a bonus to max faith. The trade-off is ¡­ it¡¯s a locked item. I can¡¯t ever replace it with something stronger.¡± ¡°How¡¯d you get that?¡± Ka¡¯Moni asked. ¡°Character creation.¡± I shrugged. ¡°The same way I got wings and this figure.¡± Although, given that the ring was named Favor of Yama Destina, it probably wasn¡¯t quite part of the random race/class combo I got. But given that it was a very powerful boost -- a percentage increase rather than a flat amount -- I wasn¡¯t complaining about the locked status of the ring. Trade-offs. Still, fifty faith tied up was a pretty big cost. It meant I had to be a bit more judicious with my spells to ensure that I had enough to heal with and had enough for an emergency Barbed Roots. That meant ¡­ Bramble Shield was probably out of my rotation and it certainly meant I didn¡¯t need an ability like Daughter of Nature with attack spells in it any time soon. The next two encounters played out pretty much the same way (with one more little wooden golem). That is, we approached the Big Bad Rat and got into position, the golems attacked once the rat was surrounded and we were ready, Ka¡¯moni jumped in and started kicking -- usually a jump-kick to engage and a back-flip to disengage and re-position -- and I kept Wyld Regrowth applied to whichever golem -- or Ka¡¯Moni -- got hit by the rat¡¯s attacks. The problem was, without a true shieldwall to keep the rat¡¯s attention focused on one target, it hit whichever golem it wanted whenever it wanted. Usually it was one of the three golems in the front arc, but the rat¡¯s tail whipped around and hit the targets behind it, too. As well, the rat would sometimes kick out with its back feet, hitting one of the golems. It kept me on my toes, trying to ensure that each golem was kept healed. Proverbial toes. Since I was flying, I wasn¡¯t exactly on my toes to begin with. The third fight, however, we had problems. It started normally enough, surrounding and engaging another Big Bad Rat, albeit a level two little monster. Unfortunately, however, this rat had friends. A linked spawn, perhaps, or just a nearby rat that took issue with us fighting in its field of view. It shrieked a mousy warcry and charged toward Ace. ¡°We¡¯ve got an add!¡± I shouted as I sent Daybreak Gleaming on an intercept charge of her own. But the mousy warcry was repeated as a third rat followed the second in. Bad news, both adds were level two as well. ¡°Two of them! Red in tooth and claw ¡­.¡± While Daybreak Gleaming was charging the first new rat, I activated Barbed Roots to target the second. ¡°Ace, you might want to scoot further away, and can you break off two, three of your golems to help Daybreak Gleaming? And if you¡¯ve got anything else to burn through, you might want to.¡± Ace, so far, hadn¡¯t done anything beyond directing their golems. Granted, providing direction to a squad of six little wooden fighters was close on to a full-time job of its own. ¡°Ka¡¯Moni, now might be the time to use some of those cheerleader buffs?¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°On it!¡± she exclaimed as she backflipped away from the first rat. From her first two strikes and the golems, the little monster was already down nearly a quarter of its health. But that meant it was still several kicks away from kicking the bucket. Ace shook their head, ¡°I don¡¯t have any other skills I can use. You back three golems -- Delta, Cinco, Sixy -- back off and head over there. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, spread out a little wider.¡± We were going to have problems with multiple attackers dealing out damage to at least two separate groups of our defenders. Targeting my unicorn, I reached for a bigger spell: ¡°The Wyld Harvest awaits, ?Wyld Berry Aura?!¡± I hadn¡¯t used it in the earlier fights, since there was no one golem getting hit more than others, but hopefully Daybreak Gleaming could hold the attention of the first add since she had scored a pretty deep gash with her spiraled horn. The rat had to be angry even if its health had only dropped by about ten percent. ¡°Defense! Defense, hold tight! Defense! Defense, let¡¯s fight! Hold the line, Fairy Queen Spirit, Fairy Queen Might! ?Defense!? That was Ka¡¯Moni, of course. I saw the cheer and spell activation of the corner of my eye while I immediately followed the Wyld Berry Aura with a Wyld Regrowth on one of the golems fighting the first rat. Her hands glowed blue and gold, almost as if she were holding phantasmal pom poms. Then the blue and gold light streamed out to spiral around each of us -- three players, six golems, and a wooden unicorn. I saw a flash of a new icon appear next to my health bar, but I didn¡¯t have time to pay any attention to it. Ka¡¯Moni followed up with another flying kick and backflip, helping the golems whittle down the first rat, but when she landed, she struck another pose and started another cheer. ¡°Bump, set, spike the ball! Fairy Queen Spirit standing tall! ?Offense!?¡± This time, the illusory pom poms dissolved into blue and gold sparkles that surrounded the three golems that had joined Daybreak Gleaming. Rather than leap back in with another kick, Ka¡¯Moni began a third spell, cheer, whatever. ¡°You can fight, you can win, we believe in you! You can fight, you can win, we believe in you! ?Inspire Attack!?¡± Daybreak Gleaming received the spiral of blue and gold light from the cheer, but rather than surround her as a buff, it narrowed its focus from the whole unicorn down to just her horn. I had to apply Wyld Regrowth to another golem, but as I did so, I directed Daybreak Gleaming to slash with her horn, rather than try and kick and stomp with her hooves. Might as well use the part of her natural weaponry that was glowing with Ka¡¯Moni¡¯s spell. A quick check showed the third rat was still held by my Barbed Roots, but it was being smart about it. Rather than try to struggle against the spell, it had stopped and was biding its time -- not taking damage from the barbs. The Big Bad Rat was also intently focused on me, ignoring the much closer three golems and unicorn fighting its friend. I was on the top of its hatelist, and wasn¡¯t likely to get off. But as long as I could keep it immobilized long enough for at least one of the other two rats to fall, we had a decent chance. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to go all in, aren¡¯t I?¡± Ka¡¯Moni asked, probably rhetorically, as she didn¡¯t wait for an answer. She did a double backflip to give herself room, then dashed forward. Halfway to the rat, she leaped into the air, but rather than a ¡°simple¡± flying kick, it was a forward leap. Planting her hands on the ground, she flipped forward and up, looking more like an olympic gymnast than a high school cheerleader (well, the move at least -- as an orc, she didn¡¯t particularly look like either), and then ¡­ somehow ¡­ transferred that motion into a spinning, drilling kick as she landed on the rat, slamming its head into the ground with her heels. The Big Bad Rat went from half-alive to all-the-way dead just as Ka¡¯Moni tucked her knees in and went into a tumble that unfortunately bowled over one of Ace¡¯s golems. ¡°Popped a cooldown,¡± she called out, ¡°Can¡¯t do that again for a while!¡± She also took a decent amount of damage from the impact, with nearly a quarter of her health depleted. I hastily sent a Wyld Regrowth winging her way. But that spiraling kick of hers changed the tide of the battle. With all six golems and Daybreak Gleaming on the second rat, and the third being kept immobile by another application of Barbed Roots, it was a matter of finishing them off and taking a breather. Every three kicks or so, Ka¡¯Moni renewed her Offense and Defense cheers, but even so, by the time the third rat dropped, I was running on empty. In fact, three of Ace¡¯s golems had paid the price of my faith expenditure, and the rest were only half alive (well, half not dead) themselves. Even Daybreak Gleaming was looking a bit worse for wear once I started having to ensure that Ka¡¯Moni didn¡¯t get hurt too badly after she pulled the hate of the third rat off me. She wasn¡¯t exactly a dodge tank, but she was doing a pretty good imitation of one. The problem was, when she got hit, her health took a significant blow each time. 41. Six Down, Four to Go Almost as one, we sank to the ground to rest as soon as the fight was over. Or, rather, Ace, Ka¡¯Moni, and Daybreak Gleaming plopped down in the grass, and I fluttered down to land on Daybreak Gleaming¡¯s back where I patted her neck, and fingerbrushed part of her mane. ¡°You did good, girl,¡± I whispered to her. Ace resummoned their fallen golems, and Ka¡¯Moni looked across at them. ¡°You really have nothing other than the golems right now? You sure got the short end of the stick,¡± she said. Glancing at one of the wooden figures, she continued. ¡°Pun not intended, sorry.¡± Ace shook their head, ¡°I have four abilities, but only one lets me do anything right now. Two are passive, but the other has a zero after it. I have the ability, but not spells or skills in it yet. Literally, the only thing I can do is Summon Basic Wood Golem from the Wood Golems ability. Everything else is zeroes or exes.¡± ¡°What are the abilities, Ace?¡± I asked as I continued to praise and pet my wooden unicorn. She may technically be a weapon and may attack according to my intent, but she still deserved a reward for her role in the fight. ¡°Hmmm, they are Golemancer Group Control -- that¡¯s my locked class passive. It¡¯s what gives me the additional SP to summon the golems with. When I tier it up some more, I¡¯ll be able to have a lot more golems out doing things. But five -- six with your ability Rie -- is still a lot to start with, I think.¡± I nodded. ¡°Noa, her class is tactician, only gets one SP to start with, and she has several auras to have to choose from. Starting with five is a lot compared to what I¡¯ve seen other people start with.¡± ¡°Yeah. Anyway, I already mentioned Wood Golems. Then there¡¯s Augment Automata, which will let me buff my golems once I actually have some spells in it. I might have to tier up the ability before I get to take a spell, though.¡± They frowned. ¡°It will pay off in the long run, I think. Just got to get there first.¡± ¡°Yeah, if you can boost the damage they do or reduce the damage they take -- like Ka¡¯Moni¡¯s cheers did -- that would probably help a lot. What¡¯s the last one?¡± I asked. ¡°Golemic Role Assignments. It¡¯s a passive, but I don¡¯t have anything under it yet. It might also have to tier up before I can get something for it. What it¡¯s supposed to do is let me give my golems classes of their own. Then I can have one be a shieldwall, another be a true damage dealer of some sort ¡­.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Ka¡¯Moni interrupted, ¡°and you can have some of them be cheerleaders. Then my Squad Choreography ability can work with them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an idea,¡± I said. But Ace looked unconvinced. ¡°I probably can¡¯t do fancy classes right away,¡± they said. ¡°If I am reading the description correctly, I get one basic class per skill I gain under it. I don¡¯t think ¡®cheerleader¡¯ counts as a basic class.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only R+,¡± Ka¡¯Moni said, ¡°Rare, but not that rare. At least, in theory. I¡¯m actually probably unique on the server right now unless someone from across the bay tried the same thing. Or maybe an adult, someone wanting to relive part of her high school years.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Ace shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll see. Anyway, where did those adds come from? I thought the rats conned neutral?¡± ¡°Neutral just means they won¡¯t attack unprovoked,¡± I answered. ¡°If they see you fighting a friend, I guess that counts as provocation. As for where they came from? Either we -- me -- didn¡¯t have a good enough eye on the area, didn¡¯t notice them hiding in the tall grass, or perhaps they spawned in too close after we had already started the fight. We got through it, though. Your little golems did a good job holding the rats back, and Ka¡¯Moni¡¯s cheers helped reduce the damage they were taking.¡± ¡°Yeah, they did.¡± Then Ace stood up, stretched, and looked at Ka¡¯Moni, who was still flopped out on the ground. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use them before?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t need them before,¡± Ka¡¯Moni replied, pushing herself into a sitting position and stretching her legs. ¡°This time, we did. At least some of them. The inspirations take mana, but so do my fancy kicks. I need to figure out the balance there. The other two, from Team Spirit, they¡¯re sustained powers. They don¡¯t need mana, but they take up an SP and require that the cheer is renewed periodically.¡± ¡°That sounds inconvenient,¡± Ace said. ¡°Well, think about at a sports game. We don¡¯t just cheer once at the start of the match and let that carry the team until halftime or the quarter or the set. Of course, we also aren¡¯t kicking big rats during the game, either.¡± She smiled ruefully. ¡°Another bit to find the balance between fighting and supporting. But it¡¯s only day two. We¡¯ll get there.¡± ¡°The balance will be different with Jazmyn and Noa and Mikachu, too,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Damage, more support, and an actual shieldwall to hold the monster¡¯s attention. But with a bigger group, and a few levels, we¡¯ll also start fighting tougher monsters, too.¡± ¡°True. Well, we¡¯ll see.¡± She rolled forward out of her stretch and bounced into a standing position, too. ¡°My mana¡¯s all back. Ready to fight again? Though, let¡¯s keep it to simple fights for a bit, if we can.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I patted Daybreak Gleaming¡¯s neck and jumped skyward, hovering at head-height for Ace and Ka¡¯Moni. ¡°Let¡¯s head that way a little,¡± I pointed on a path perpendicular to the wall, ¡°out a bit, but not too far. Gotta be able to run back to safety if we need to.¡± While we were hunting down the next little monster, I flew a bit closer to Ka¡¯Moni. ¡°I was meaning to ask,¡± I said, ¡°but what was that about ¡®Fairy Queen Spirit¡¯ in your cheers?¡± ¡°Oh, that? Well, we aren¡¯t the Fishermen right now, nor the Bulldogs from Hilltop, nor whatever they are across the bay. It¡¯s the first thing that came to mind, since you¡¯re the leader. Why?¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯m a Priestess, High Priestess, not a Queen,¡± I said. ¡°Too many syllables,¡± Ka¡¯Moni pointed out. ¡°Moreover, we¡¯re all on the Chipac team, the server team, not the Fairy team, so shouldn¡¯t the cheers refer to the server or city mascot instead?¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s the mascot for the server?¡± Ka¡¯Moni asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Then it might as well be a fairy,¡± Ka¡¯Moni flashed me a smile. ¡°Right? Hey, Ace, don¡¯t you think Rie would make a good mascot? She¡¯s cute and the right size, right?¡± Ace shrugged. ¡°I think Mom and Dad are going to make her the mascot of their patiss-- whatever that word is, bakery.¡± ¡°What! How do you figure that?¡± I asked. ¡°They were talking about calling it the Pixiewing Patiss-- whatever that French word is. Also, you¡¯re too small to do chores for them or take a turn behind the till or whatever they¡¯re planning, so ¡­.¡± ¡°Ugh! Objection!¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t tell me that. Tell them that,¡± Ace pointed out. 42. Character Sheet (Ka’Moni) Name: Ka¡¯Moni Race: [U] Orc (Greenspirit Clan) Class: [R+] Cheerleader, level 1 Affiliation: Chipac HP: 51/51 (100%) MP: 101/101 (100%) SP: 0/2 Attack Power (+): Moderate: 33% Spell Power (++): Below Average: 32% Agility (++): Moderate: 74% Defenses (----): Ultra-low: 89% Resistances (-): Low: 72% Abilities [5*/10]: Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Equipment: Accessories: Status: Merits, Flaws, and other Modifiers: 43. School Daze II I wasn¡¯t the first to homeroom class, but I was still well before the bell. Of course, just like yesterday, almost everything that anyone could talk about was the game. None of the chatter I heard in the halls or from those at the front of the classroom was particularly interesting, however. Or, well, it was likely interesting to them, but nothing I heard in passing would be important or useful to my group. Just people talking about their experiences, reliving their battles, talking about basic skills and even more basic strategy. Sure, I wasn¡¯t an expert-level strategist myself, but I wasn¡¯t the one bragging about sneaking up behind a neutral little monster for a surprise attack bonus. That, like the positioning of Ace¡¯s golems prior to engaging wasn¡¯t something that we were going to be able to do once we graduated from fighting training mobs. Anna looked up from the book she was reading and greeted me as I passed her desk. ¡°You look sleepy today, James. What did you do? Stay up all night playing games?¡± She winked. ¡°You could say that. How¡¯s being a Cryomancer treating you? Still putting the freeze on any rat trying to fight you?¡± ¡°Yep. Icicle Incarceration is treating me well, so I Tiered up its ability, Cryo Control, a second time when I made level three.¡± ¡°Whoa, level three already?¡± I asked. ¡°Three and a half. I hope to hit level five tonight, and then I¡¯ll go further out of town than hanging out near the wall and fighting easy rats,¡± Anna said. ¡°Still, that¡¯s pretty impressive. I¡¯m only a bit over level one. I guess I just level a bit slower,¡± I said. But it might not be just that. It sounded like Anna was in a regular zone rather than in one of the training zones. Maybe the experience penalty we took for being in a safe, private instance didn¡¯t balance out with the loss of experience for competing for spawns in a more populated instance ¡­. ¡°Hey, James!¡± Monica practically bounced down the aisle between desks. Rather than her cheerleading uniform, she was dressed casually in a fitted tee and flare legged jeans. ¡°I had fun last night, thanks! Let¡¯s do it again.¡± ¡°Whoa? Really?¡± Anna exclaimed. ¡°Do tell! When did you start dating!?¡± ¡°Not like that, Nanners,¡± Monica said, shaking her head, though she winked at me. ¡°DVI. I bumped into James¡¯s character in town, helped fight off a few PK-type jerks, shopped, and fought a bunch of rats. Too many at once, once, for a tougher fight than we wanted, but we did okay. I even leveled up.¡± It was the next-to-last fight for the night that she had got the little fanfare -- more of a pop music guitar riff -- and pillar of blue and gold light. Ace, unfortunately, hadn¡¯t leveled before the end of the night; They still had a bit more than fifteen percent to go. Ka¡¯Moni had put her stat point into Agility, which was already Moderate, but it was apparently the closest of her easy-to-upgrade stats to going up to the next category. She said that if she got a point every level, she¡¯d hit High Agility when she hit level 10. ¡°You never did say, Monica, what you put your development and ability points in,¡± I said. ¡°No,¡± she laughed, ¡°that flappy rat interrupted us. I bumped Team Spirit up to the next tier. That¡¯s the one with the sustained cheers. Making those better will be more useful, I think, then improving Fighting Footwork. At least, for helping others. My new ability is Cheering Aura Support. I¡¯ll have to look again at what the skills it gave me were, but it¡¯s supposed to be a bit like that ability you didn¡¯t take.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Yeah, making the effects of cheers on allies better, or something. But it¡¯s not a passive ability like yours would have been.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Anna interrupted, ¡°James, you got a cheerleader ability?¡± Both Monica and I spoke at once. I said ¡°No, a healer ability.¡± Monica said, ¡°Not yet.¡± Anna looked back and forth between the two of us. ¡°Hmmm ¡­.¡± ¡°Well, they are both support classes,¡± I said. ¡°Although Monica is more of a fighter than I am. I could have diversified with some damage, but it¡¯s not what I need right now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I was thinking about,¡± Anna said. I feigned ignorance. ¡°You¡¯ve been reading too many of those novels again, Nanners,¡± Monica said, gesturing to the hardcover propped open, spine-side up on Anna¡¯s desk. I didn¡¯t recognize it, but I wasn¡¯t the target audience for her paranormal and urban romances. Anna, however, seemed to have a different book almost every day. ¡°You can never read too many books!¡± Anna protested. I don¡¯t know if she was leading Anna on, teasing me, or just off in her own world, but Monica took a seat -- on the edge of my desk rather than at her own -- and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. That last one you loaned me was probably one too many.¡± ¡°Oh, that, yeah the premise was a bit unbelievable, a secret fairy queen in Seattle, but I really liked the characters. Jaqueline was a bit flighty at times, but what do you expect a fairy to be? But the guys, all three of them were dreamy. The childhood friend, of course, had the unfair advantage, but I really was rooting for the ¡®white knight¡¯ Ka¡¯ramosh Niamoc.¡± She sighed gustily. ¡°There¡¯s going to be a prequel focusing where he¡¯s the main character. A classic fall and redemption arc. That makes me think the sequel will have Jaqueline and Ka¡¯ramosh together.¡± ¡°As long as it isn¡¯t that corrupt police chief,¡± Monica said. Then she shook her head, ¡°Sorry, James. Didn¡¯t mean to leave you out.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Not my genre, so I haven¡¯t read it. I wouldn¡¯t have anything to contribute.¡± Anna picked up her bookbag and pulled a book out, ¡°Here you go. Give it a try. What else are you going to do during homeroom? Oh, what is your genre by the way?¡± I looked dubiously at the book and didn¡¯t reach for it, so Monica took the book and placed it on my desk next to where she was sitting. ¡°James is more a gamer than a reader,¡± she said. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not entirely true,¡± I said. Monica laughed, ¡°Quest text doesn¡¯t count.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that I read the entire Hardy Boys collection at the library in fifth grade. And a lot of Nancy Drew and a lot of the Three Investigators.¡± ¡°Ooohh, mysteries?¡± Anna exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯ll bring in a different book tomorrow. You¡¯ll like Alex Noir¡¯s Midnight Magic Detective Agency. It¡¯s more of a cozy than one of those with corpses and gruesome details.¡± ¡°Anna! One book at a time,¡± Monica smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s see if he can get through Jacqueline Ever After first.¡± At that moment, the teacher came in. ¡°Miss Ruuki! Chairs, and not desks, are for sitting on,¡± she said with a disapproving glare. And when Monica hopped off my desk, patted Anna¡¯s book and pushed it to the center of my desk, and sat at her own, the teacher continued. ¡°Okay, now that all the desks are properly occupied, we can begin.¡± * * * The bell ending homeroom rang while I was halfway through the second chapter of the book. Anna was right about one thing -- what else was I going to do in homeroom? I would read more, actually, but unlike Anna, I bought my books digitally, and I wasn¡¯t going to get in trouble by looking like I was playing with my phone in class. ¡°See you in gym, James,¡± Monica said with a smile and wave as she headed out the door. I waved, finished the paragraph I was reading, and bookmarked my spot with one of the handouts from homeroom. Anna may flip her books over to keep her spot, and this book already showed spine damage from that treatment, but I wasn¡¯t going to contribute by doing the same or dog-earing a page. Paper books are expensive, especially hardbacks like Anna tended to have. ¡°So, what are you thinking, James?¡± Anna asked as she gathered up her books and papers. ¡°Well, I¡¯m only on chapter two, but ¡­.¡± ¡°Not that!¡± Anna interrupted. ¡°Huh?¡± Anna shook her head and sighed, ¡°Boys.¡± 44. Gym II There were no diversions -- that is to say, overheard conversations about DVI -- on the way to gym today. That was good. I was already feeling a bit self-conscious about only being level one when classmates -- many of whom I would not have considered to be gamers -- were already reaching levels three, four, or five. Sure the family meeting, the unwanted PvP, and the failed first fight had all taken time, but it probably wasn¡¯t enough time that I would have made level two. Certainly not to level three. We were going to have to venture into the populated instances rather than a private training instance, it seemed. Anyway, that was for tonight, though we¡¯d probably talk about it after school when we could all get together. Susie, no doubt, would already have some ideas even if she was going to be more focused on crafting than fighting. The dress code for gym was a bit more lax than for the classrooms, in part because performance clothing and athletic apparel had different functions and requirements from casual attire. True, most of the dress code didn¡¯t apply to me anyway. Or, rather, it did, but nothing I¡¯d normally wear would run afoul of the requirements. But tank tops, which were verboten in class (sleeves were required) and relatively short shorts (not reaching beyond the fingertips, the standard for dresses, skirts, and shorts) were par for the course. In the heat of the summer -- and late spring and early autumn -- I might reach for a pair of shorts, but they¡¯d be almost swim trunks in length. In fact, growing up on the beach and playing a lot of volleyball with Mika, Jenna, and our friends meant I had a lot of swim trunks. But for the rest of the school year, and we were now in early November, I preferred sweat pants to shorts for gym, even when class was mostly indoors. And I eschewed tank tops for loose tees. Just personal preference, nothing against showing a little shoulder. And so it was that I walked up the stairs from the boys¡¯ locker room to the gym in my usual berry red (Jenna called it burgundy) sweats and matching, short-sleeve baseball tee. The front of the shirt was unadorned white, but the back featured a prominent lucky number thirteen in the same berry red. And where a name would normally be, mine just said ¡°Regen R 8¡±; obviously a healer reference. This, and four others like it with different phrases, had been a gift from Mika at the start of this school year. Other than for the athletic teams and squads, the school didn¡¯t mandate uniforms. They had, for a while the generation before my parents and perhaps way back in the depths of history, but too many of my grandparents¡¯ generation had protested the uniforms -- both for ¡°we¡¯ve never done it that way¡± and the not unsubstantial budgetary hit of needing a third series of clothing (that is, casual, church, and then school uniforms) for kids. Consequently, we weren¡¯t required to wear school colors even for gym class. And most of us didn¡¯t. Monica, as a cheerleader, was usually in blue and gold or blue and white. But the rest of us were a veritable rainbow. Mika, for instance, generally wore a pair of hunter green running shorts to gym. And Katy, Kim, and Courtney -- the freshmen trio that seemed to always be first in the gym -- were currently in bright colors: red for Katy, turquoise for Kim, and hot pink for Courtney. Chelsea, by contrast, wore muted colors. She was already in the gym as well, sitting off by herself in heather grey sweats and a baggy tee. I crossed the gym and sat near, though not immediately next to, her. ¡°Hey, mind if I sit here?¡± I asked as I started to stretch. ¡°We¡¯re a group for the next couple weeks, so we should stick together, right?¡± She shrugged, then nodded. ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± She seemed distracted, but started stretching as well. ¡°Thinking about the game?¡± I asked. ¡°Huh? Oh. Yeah, sorta. It¡¯s not what I expected.¡± ¡°Hmm? What were you expecting?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Oh, just ¡­ I wasn¡¯t expecting to have to fight as a crafter. But I need money for supplies and training.¡± ¡°Oh, hey, James, Chelsea,¡± Monica sat to my side, a little closer to me than I had sat to Chelsea. ¡°Supplies and training for what?¡± ¡°Oh. Good morning, Monica.¡± It was a testament to both Monica¡¯s friendliness as well as to the way Chelsea had opened up as part of our volleyball group yesterday that the normally shy and reserved girl greeted the cheerleader right away. She had become a member of the group and not just a classmate going through activities together. ¡°Supplies and training for crafting. I want to design and make clothing, but materials and apprenticeships aren¡¯t cheap.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°A fashion designer?¡± exclaimed Monica. ¡°Would you be up to taking commissions once you get going? Or do you prefer to just make your own designs?¡± ¡°Well ¡­,¡± Chelsea hesitated, ¡°I don¡¯t think there will be enough people interested in buying if all I did was create my own ideas. But I don¡¯t know that I¡¯ll be good enough for commissions!¡± ¡°Everyone got their start somewhere,¡± I said. ¡°And from a game perspective, even beginner crafter stuff is probably an upgrade for someone, and I bet once you figure it out, there¡¯ll be more demand than you can easily supply.¡± Monica nodded, ¡°I bet most people didn¡¯t do crafting. It¡¯s usually that way in games. DVI might be a bit different since most people didn¡¯t normally play games before, either. But you could be one of the very few people making clothes in Chipac. I bet you¡¯re gonna be quite popular!¡± She leaned across me to pat Chelsea¡¯s leg. ¡°So let me get my commissions in before you have a line out the door, okay? And maybe we can help you get started.¡± Chelsea looked a bit overwhelmed and not yet ready to respond, so I added another two bits¡¯ worth. ¡°Susie¡¯s a crafter and she got started on something yesterday. So are my parents; they¡¯re going to run a pastry shop¡± -- Like Ace, I wasn¡¯t going to try and remember the French word -- ¡°and I bet they¡¯ll want uniforms and aprons and such. Also, Mika did some questing yesterday, all in town stuff. She probably has some ideas about making money without fighting. But ¡­ if you want to fight ¡­?¡± Our little group might be growing again. Take the five of us, then add Jocelyn and Monica, and maybe Chelsea. That¡¯s eight, not including parents or other friends of friends like maybe Anna and her Cryomancer. It was sooner than I had thought, but maybe we should look into forming an official guild within DVI as well. But that was definitely putting the cart before the horse. Anyway, Mika showed up just then and -- with a glance at how close Monica was sitting to me -- sat in front of us. ¡°Guess I¡¯m leading this merry band in some warm-ups,¡± she said. ¡°Gotta be ready for whatever Coach Carole throws at us tomorrow for the Mini-Olympics.¡± Monica laughed, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be an opening ceremony first? Parades and lighting the Olympic Flame?¡± From my right, Chelsea¡¯s half-said, half-sung, ¡°We didn¡¯t start the fire. It was always burning since the world¡¯s been turning,¡± ¡°Billy Joel? Very much some dad music there, Chels,¡± said Monica. ¡°Ah, sorry, it just sorta came to mind.¡± ¡°Oh, no probs. Your dad¡¯s got good taste in music, then. Personally, though, I prefer a little bit of The Bangles.¡± She grabbed my hand, ¡°¡®Is this burning, an eternal flame?¡¯¡± Her singing voice was soft but warbly. Then with a wink, she just as quickly released my hand. Fire and flame? ¡°Well, what other response is there than a bit of Johnny Cash?¡± I said. And though I didn¡¯t try to sing, I recited a bit of lyrics myself. ¡°¡®I fell into a burning ring of fire. I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher.¡± ¡°Oh, good response!¡± Monica laughed. ¡°Looks like ¡®there¡¯s smoke on the water, fire in the sky.¡¯¡± Not to be left out of the burgeoning fire lyrics game, Mika put in her own two bits, though her tone was more than a bit wry. I shot her an inquisitive glance, but she just arched an eyebrow and smiled. ¡°I thought the fire was ¡®on the mountain, lightning in the air¡¯?¡± asked Chelsea, both derailing the moment and proving she was already effectively a member of the group. ¡°Oh, the girl¡¯s on fire!¡± Both Monica and Mika had the same spark of an idea and spoke at once, only slightly out of sync. Then they looked at each other and broke into laughter. Mika was the first to speak again, ¡°Well, Coach Carole has seen us for attendance and the day is nice.¡± She stood, ¡°Let¡¯s head out to the track. We can finish the warm-up stretches there, then do a bit of jogging.¡± The rest of us stood. ¡°Don¡¯t all the fire and flames count as enough of a warm up?¡± I asked. Mika bapped my arm. ¡°No.¡± The rest of gym class was then mostly jogging interspersed with stretches, light aerobics, and the occasional short sprint. Mika paired up with Chelsea, slowing her own pace to keep her company and provide motivation and encouragement during the running and jogging. That left Monica to pair up with me. As the class hour drew to an end, we walked two laps as a cooldown before heading off to our separate locker rooms. During the walk, though, Monica had an idea. ¡°You know,¡± she began, ¡°if we¡¯re going to be a team, a mini-team sure, but a team nonetheless ¡­ we should have uniforms or at least matching outfits. What would you all say to team shirts for the mini-olympics?¡± ¡°That¡¯s tomorrow. Is there enough time?¡± Chelsea asked. ¡°Yeah. I can go shopping across the river after practice and get my dad to silkscreen names and numbers this evening when we get back before login time.¡± ¡°¡®We¡¯?¡± I asked. ¡°Sure. James, wanna come shopping with me?¡± ¡°Uhhh ¡­ I expect I¡¯d have to get permission.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll allow it,¡± Mika winked. ¡°Not from you! Mom and Dad probably should know if I¡¯m going out of state ¡­.¡± 45. Permission and Cheer Practice Of course, it wasn¡¯t difficult to get permission. Monica and I stopped by Mom¡¯s classroom after seventh hour in those few minutes between the end of the school day and the start of practices and clubs. Granted, I didn¡¯t have any club or practice to get to, but Monica did have cheer practice. The classroom door was still open after the last of the students had filed out, and Mom was sitting at her desk maybe grading papers, maybe making schedules, you know ¡­ teacher sort of stuff. She looked up as I knocked on the open door and entered. ¡°Good afternoon, James and ¡­ Monica? Did you need something?¡± Monica answered first. ¡°Good afternoon, Mrs. Jacobson. I was wondering if I could steal James this afternoon. We¡¯ve got a little project in class and need to do some shopping across the river.¡± ¡°That should be fine,¡± Mom nodded. Then she gave me a long look. ¡°Should I tell your dad to set one more or one fewer spots for dinner?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Her question seemed a bit of a non-sequitur. At least, I couldn¡¯t find the connection between shopping and dinner. ¡°One fewer, Mrs. Jacobson,¡± Monica said. ¡°We¡¯ll grab a bite somewhere between practice and shopping. There¡¯s a few good places on the way.¡± ¡°Okay. Be sure you¡¯re both back in time for DVI. Enjoy your date. I know you have practice, Monica, but can I speak to James for a moment before you steal him?¡± I blinked. Huh? But Monica just nodded and smiled brightly, ¡°Thanks! We will! James, meet me at the gym when your mom gets done with you, ¡®kay?¡± I was still a little lost, thoughts trying to catch up to the meaning behind certain things, certain terms, like a leaf caught in a whirlwind, but I still had enough presence of mind to nod and wave as Monica practically bounced to the doorway. ¡°I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Monica closed the classroom door behind her as she left and Mom just gave me a long, measuring look. I grew a little uncomfortable under her appraisal, but finally she spoke, ¡°Well, well, well ¡­.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing. Just thinking about how you¡¯re growing up. That girl¡¯s had her eye on you for quite a while, Son. So you finally noticed?¡± ¡°Huh? She ¡­ what?¡± Mom laughed. ¡°Or you didn¡¯t notice and she got tired of being subtle, hmm? You take after your father that way. But ¡­ here.¡± She reached into her purse and pulled out a billfold. Even though the economy was mostly digital, bank cards and all that, Mom was a bit old-fashioned and still carried cash around. She pulled five bills out and handed them to me. ¡°Here. You¡¯re going to want something nicer than just fast food for your first date, James. If I may suggest a place ¡­?¡± I only half-processed her recommendations since my mind was still bouncing all around. Also ¡­ a hundred dollars? That would definitely be even a step above all the nicer mom-and-pop places on the peninsula. With a ¡°Th-thanks, Mom!¡± and an awkward hug, I fled her classroom. Not very far, though. Once in the hallway, I closed the door and leaned against the wall, taking a moment to try and figure things out. A date? Well, I guess in the strictest sense, it did meet that definition, right? Two people going out and doing stuff together. Sure, maybe it was an errand like shopping for matching attire for P.E. class, but ¡­. Well ¡­ was I ready for this? Somehow, I had always thought it wouldn¡¯t be until we all went off on our separate ways to college before I found someone. Being the only boy in a close-knit circle of female friends, I had figured that it would have been difficult to find anyone new. But, well, maybe I was wrong. I shook my head and stood straight. Whether this was a date date or just a ¡°can you help me with a task?¡± date, time would tell. But for now, I needed to head to the gym. Tucking the money in with the little flip case that held my student ID and my own debit card, I headed down the hall. On the way to the gym, I passed Mika, heading to the library to meet up with the others for, well, probably more discussion and planning and strategizing about DVI. She flashed me a quick smile and a thumbs-up. ¡°I¡¯ll let the others know you¡¯ve got a date, James, so they won¡¯t be waiting for you.¡± I blinked. ¡°Did everybody else figure this out except me?¡± She laughed. ¡°Pretty much. Monica¡¯s a good person, though. She¡¯ll fit right in with our merry little band. Anyway, have fun!¡± She punched my arm lightly. ¡°And stop worrying about things. Just be yourself, you know.¡± And with that, our paths split. Somehow, the door to the gym was even more nerve-wracking than the apprehension before meeting the rest of my family in-game last night. But this time, I wasn¡¯t going to hover around and wait for someone else to approach first. ¡°Ah-ha! There you are. What did your mom want?¡± Monica had been waiting just inside the door, on that section of the gym that street shoes were allowed. ¡°Um. She had some recommendations on where to eat out ¡­.¡± ¡°Hmm? Well, I didn¡¯t have anywhere in particular in mind. So we can go with one of her ideas.¡± Monica smiled brightly. ¡°Anyway, here, can you keep an eye on this? I¡¯m going to go get changed for practice.¡± She handed me her bookbag and purse -- both blue-and-gold for school colors -- and gestured off to the bleachers on the girls¡¯ side of the gym. Toward the middle of the bleachers, there was a collection of several other bookbags. Those of the rest of the squad, I assumed. So, I took a seat two rows up, a bit to the left of everything, and waited. My phone buzzed. It was a two-word text from Jenna. ¡°With who?¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. I was in the middle of typing out my reply -- ¡°Monica and I are going across the river to get some coordinated gym clothes for our mini-olympics team.¡± -- when the first of the girls started arriving from the locker room. It was Beth and Liv, and apparently I warranted a startled look as they approached. ¡°James ¡­?¡± Beth began, with much more of a question lurking in her expression. But Liv finished the question for her, or at least, finished a question. ¡°Oh? Are you interested in joining the squad, James? We could use you. There hasn¡¯t been a guy on the squad in quite a while.¡± She looked over at Beth, ¡°Not since your father¡¯s time, right?¡± ¡°Ah. No, no! I¡¯m not nearly athletic or coordinated enough for that.¡± I shook my head hastily. Nevermind that I was apparently now considered a cheerleader aspirant in DVI due to that cheer bow Monica had made, that wasn¡¯t a path I was going to try and walk out here in the real world. ¡°No,¡± I continued. ¡°I¡¯m just waiting for Monica.¡± I held up her bookbag and purse. Beth blinked and then smiled. ¡°Ah. I see.¡± Then in a softer voice that I could pretend that I hadn¡¯t heard, she continued, ¡°So she¡¯s finally made her move, hmm?¡± Ignoring that probably rhetorical question, I had one of my own. ¡°I¡¯m ¡­ I¡¯m not going to make you all uncomfortable, sitting here while you practice, am I? I can wait in the library or something ¡­.¡± ¡°Pshaw. One person watching practice?¡± Liv¡¯s gesture was dismissive, but her tone was still friendly. ¡°James, you are aware we perform in front of the whole school for pep assemblies and in front of the whole gym or stadium for games, right? We¡¯re used to eyes on us.¡± ¡°Erh ¡­ um ¡­ okay, if you say so.¡± ¡°The only one who¡¯s gonna be nervous here is you. Oh, and maybe Monica. She¡¯s ¡­.¡± But the rest of her comment was cut off as the rest of the squad, Monica included, along with the coach came up out of the locker room together. And, of course, they all clustered around Beth, Liv, and me. ¡°Tryouts were two weeks ago, James.¡± Coach Carole said, ¡°But if you¡¯re interested, I¡¯m sure we can make an exception. There¡¯s only been one boy on the squad in the whole twenty years I¡¯ve coached here. We could use a new trailblazer.¡± Again, I had to hastily shake my head. ¡°No, no, that¡¯s quite alright, Coach Carole ¡­.¡± Withering a little under all the attention, I tried a bit of levity to lighten the mood. ¡°Maybe next year.¡± My tone was jocular if a bit forced. That just made the coach¡¯s and squad¡¯s smiles bigger. ¡°We¡¯ll hold you to that," one of the freshmen girls said. Fortunately, Monica came to my rescue. ¡°Okay, girls, enough teasing James for today, okay? We¡¯re going shopping across the river after practice, so I asked him to wait for me, okay?¡± And Coach Carole followed suit, ¡°Alright, Squad, line up.¡± She gestured out to the floor of the gym. ¡°Let¡¯s get you warmed up and limber. Then Autumn has a new routine we¡¯re going to learn.¡± She then proceeded to lead the girls in a much more intense warm-up and calisthenic routine than anything I¡¯d ever experienced in her class. I had never doubted just how athletic the squad was, but now that was more than just impressions. It was knowledge. True, secondhand knowledge from observation rather than firsthand from participation, but still ¡­. Nevertheless, watching their practice was a bit awkward. It felt rude to watch them, but it felt ruder still to try and ignore them. It felt rude -- like staring -- to just focus on Monica, but it also felt wrong to be watching everyone else, too. Being the only boy in a gym class full of girls was different. There, any observation was incidental since I was amongst them, participating. It wasn¡¯t like I was ever ogling any of my classmates even if the general ambience of the visual experience was nice. Here, though, sitting to the side ¡­ it would almost have been less embarrassing to have been down on the floor, warming up and exercising alongside the girls. Nevertheless, a little analytical portion of my mind was taking mental notes as the practice shifted from warm-ups to actual cheer routines. If nothing else, with Monica¡¯s character likely continuing to play alongside Ace, me, and the group, having knowledge of the routines she was likely to use for her cheer buffs and inspirations would help with planning and reacting to the flow of combat. I could see that a couple of the girls were getting a little tired -- the routine Autumn was teaching them was quite a bit more energetic than the average cheer -- and I was sort of itching to cast a stamina-replenishment spell. Never mind that there was no magic in the real world and my character didn¡¯t have that sort of magic anyway -- at least, not yet. Just ¡­ I was a healer and support player, right? It was second nature for me to keep an eye on everyone¡¯s energy levels. I may not have magic here, but ¡­ there was still something that I could do. While I was sure many if not all of the girls had a bottle of water or two in their bags, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be cold by now. And while there were water fountains flanking the gym doors, two fountains for a dozen or so girls would mean that people would have to wait. The cafeteria was right across the entryway from the gym. I could duck over there and pick up some cold water bottles for the girls. And so I did. Leaving both bookbags -- Monica¡¯s and mine -- on the bleachers to show that I¡¯d be back, and leaving Monica¡¯s purse tucked between them, I ducked out of the gym, across first the hallway and then the exterior entryway until I got to the cafeteria. Even though classes were done for the day, there were still plenty of extracurricular clubs and sports going on, so the cafeteria, library, and even admin offices were still open. ¡°Oh, hey, Aunt Judy.¡± I was in luck, Dad¡¯s sister was working today. ¡°I¡¯m fetching water for the cheer squad, do you think I can grab a case from the cooler?¡± The bottled water was normally sold for a quarter each individually, but maybe I could get a case at cost. At the very least, it would be easier to carry back a full case rather than a couple dozen individual bottles. Her eyebrow rose, ¡°The cheer squad, huh? That sounds like a story. Run on back, you know where they are.¡± She pointed off to a side door. And, indeed I knew where they were, since I often helped stow the deliveries of full pallets that they got every week or so. ¡°Ain¡¯t no big story, Aunt Judy. Just waiting for Monica, and they¡¯re all learning a complicated new routine or something. Some of the girls are looking beat, so I thought I¡¯d make sure they had cool water.¡± She chuckled. ¡°There is indeed a story, I¡¯m sure, James. Else why would you be waiting for Monica and not hanging out with Mika? But I¡¯ll get it from you later, when you¡¯ve not got a bunch of thirsty girls waiting for you.¡± ¡°Thanks, Aunt Judy!¡± Hefting the twenty-four pack of cold water, I crossed back toward the gym, but rather than ducking back in and trying to be unobtrusive in my return, I made a little detour to the school concessions at the end of the hallway, just past the the stairwell down to the girls¡¯ locker room. I recognized the senior behind the half-open dutch door, but her name escaped me. Of course, in a small school like ours, almost everybody could recognize almost everybody else and generally knew or were related to them. But, still, not part of my social circle, not two years up from me. Apparently though, she recognized me. ¡°Whatchya need, James?¡± Like the library, gym, and cafeteria, the school concessions was open after class hours to support the staff and students who stayed late for clubs, sports, and such. Unlike those, the concessions was closed during class hours and only operated during the hour before classes, lunches, and the two hours after classes. And, of course, during any home game that used the gym. ¡°Ah, can I get a jumbo pack of granola bars and one of those bags of fun-size candies?¡± I said. Sure, everybody also probably had little pick-me-up snacks in their bags along with water, but ¡­ it didn¡¯t quite feel right to have only water and not snacks as well. Granola because, well, they¡¯re at least somewhat healthy and candy because who doesn¡¯t like a sweet treat after working hard? ¡°Got a bit of an appetite, do you? Twelve dollars, please.¡± I passed her one of the twenties that Mom had given me. I surely didn¡¯t need a whole hundred for just two people eating dinner. And if I did, I did have my bank card with me. Back in the gym, Coach Carole gave me an approving nod as I set the case of water and the snacks down on the lowest rung of the bleachers, but her focus and attention remained on the practice. Then I took my spot back up two more rungs and watched and waited while the girls finished their practice. 46. After Practice It was only about ten more minutes when Coach Carole finally blew her whistle and called out, ¡°Okay, that should be enough for today, girls. Walk it out to cool down, then go shower. If you¡¯re thirsty after all that, and I sure am from watching you, looks like there¡¯s cold water enough for everyone, so you don¡¯t need to rush the fountains. Thank you, James, that was thoughtful.¡± ¡°Ah, well ¡­,¡± I stammered. ¡°I know I¡¯m always thirsty after P.E. class, and that looked much more intense and tiring ¡­.¡± I blushed a little under all the attention, but I continued speaking. ¡°Granola bars and chocolate, too. I know athletes shouldn¡¯t overdo it on sweets, but they¡¯re tiny little packets, only a hundred calories each, so they should be fine, I think ¡­?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Hey, three cheers for James,¡± exclaimed a freshman girl, one of the new members who was looking a little more tired and worn out than the older girls. A loud cheer of ¡°Hip, hip, hurray!¡± reverberated through the gym, and both Beth and Liv did a couple freestyle jumps and flips. Cartwheels, maybe? Ah, that¡¯s a little excessive, don¡¯t you think? After grabbing a water bottle, Monica leaned in and stage-whispered, ¡°Looks like you¡¯re an honorary member of the squad now, James.¡± She flashed me a smile, then started a brisk walk around the gym to cool down. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea,¡± one of the other girls said, though I didn¡¯t catch who. ¡°Coach Carole, the football team and such have a waterboy, right? Why don¡¯t we have one?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± and this was Liv, ¡°that term¡¯s so old-fashioned. What about steward or adjutant?¡± ¡°Or aide de camp?¡± suggested Beth between bites of her granola bar. ¡°Oh, oh, I know ¡­ aide de cheer.¡± ¡°Walk it off, girls. You don¡¯t want your legs cramping after all that,¡± Coach Carole admonished. The last of the girls took their water bottles and a granola bar, and went on their way, and I leaned back and sighed. All that attention had been ¡­ almost as exhausting as if I had been trying to learn the cheer routine myself. Well, probably that was a bit of hyperbole, but it sure felt that exhausting. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Coach Carole grabbed a bottle of water and tossed it to me and then took one for herself ¡­ along with two little packets of candy. ¡°These are actually my favorite, thanks.¡± She sat on the bleachers as well and kept an eye on the squad while they walked. ¡°In all seriousness, James, the girls¡¯ suggestion isn¡¯t a bad one. We could use an assistant, and you¡¯ve got a good head on your shoulders. Twenty years of coaching, and we¡¯ve always made due with the water fountains or whatever we¡¯ve got in our bags. The first afternoon you¡¯re here, and you bring cold water over from the cafeteria. I don¡¯t know why I never thought of that.¡± I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal, Coach Carole. It¡¯s just ¡­ I don¡¯t know. Everyone was working so hard that I thought maybe waiting in line for one of the two water fountains would just be a little aggravation they didn¡¯t need, even if they didn¡¯t consciously think of it. I was just trying to help keep their spirits up.¡± The cheer coach gave me another long, measured look. ¡°And what do you think the squad does? It¡¯s not just celebrating victory or being a bit of motivation or entertainment before the game and at halftime. If things are going poorly in a game -- and sometimes they do -- the squad¡¯s cheers and encouragement help restore flagging spirits. And at away games, when there¡¯s not a lot of spectators on your side, it helps to have someone there, cheering you on.¡± ¡°I ¡­ I¡¯ll have to think about it, Coach Carole. I couldn¡¯t do what they do,¡± I gestured out to the floor where the girls were wrapping up their cooldown and headed to the locker room, ¡°but supporting from the sides, maybe.¡± I shrugged. ¡°But if I do, I for certain can¡¯t afford to keep buying snacks all the time.¡± ¡°Oh, we can expense those out, don¡¯t worry.¡± Coach Carole and I talked a bit more. She was doing her best to try and talk it up, to convince me ¡­ but without putting the pressure on. And I appreciated that. Truth be told, it really wasn¡¯t a bad idea -- colleges and such wanted to see extra-curricular activities and community involvement, not just academics. Granted, I was only in my sophomore year, so I didn¡¯t need to think too much about college just yet, but ¡­ I hadn¡¯t been thinking about it all really before now. Just a teen, hanging out with friends, doing teen stuff. I was kind of ambivalent, though. Any time spent in an extracurricular activity without my little circle of friends was necessarily time away from them. We only had so much time together. While I was still worrying those thoughts, the girls started coming back to retrieve their bookbags and head home for the day, and I had to face a scattering of ¡°Thanks again, James¡± and ¡°See you tomorrow, James¡± before Monica showed up. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting! Come on, let¡¯s go shopping!¡± She picked up her bookbag and purse, and I followed her out of the gym. 47. Across the River Monica¡¯s car was parked in very nearly the farthest possible spot from the main entrance. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt me none to walk,¡± she explained, ¡°and it saves the closer spots for other people.¡± Since my house was only four blocks or so from the school, I walked every day, so I just nodded. I hadn¡¯t needed to take a bus -- except on field trips -- since elementary school. Her car was a small, little hatchback that looked waaaay retro even though it was the latest model when she got it for her sixteenth birthday. Contrary to expectations, it wasn¡¯t blue-and-gold for school colors but a deep pine green that really made the chrome accents pop. ¡°Her name is Cedar Sprite,¡± Monica said as she popped open the hatchback for our bags. With a wink and a teasing tone, she continued. ¡°If you¡¯re good, I¡¯ll let you drive her on the way back.¡± Then she popped around to the passenger side and held open the door for me. ¡°In you go.¡± Once she was in and the car running with the quiet hum of electrical models, I had to answer her. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t have a license yet. Just my permit. It hasn¡¯t been a priority.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, you live just down the street, don¡¯t you?¡± I nodded. ¡°And Jenna and Naomi have theirs, so if the group is doing something, we¡¯re covered.¡± ¡°Reasonable. So, where¡¯d your mom suggest we eat?¡± ¡°Depends. Do you want to eat this side of the river, or over in Oregon?¡± ¡°Anywhere across the river is mostly on our way. Anyplace good here is out of the way, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Well, she mentioned Harbourview if we were in the mood for burgers ¡­? But, yeah, how¡¯s The Brass Rail across the river sound?¡± The place was a step or two above where we normally ate if we ate out, closer to fine dining than family dining, but I¡¯ve heard nothing but good about it. ¡°Oh! I¡¯ve never been there. They¡¯re supposed to be really good. Yeah! Let¡¯s do that.¡± She plugged her phone in and classical music started playing as we pulled out of the parking lot. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind the music,¡± she said, ¡°but I almost always start big trips with The Ride of the Valkyries. It¡¯s just got good get up and go vibes for all that it¡¯s super ancient. Anyway, you and Coach Carole seemed to be talking a lot after practice?¡± ¡°Yeah. She was taking your ¡®honorary member of the squad¡¯ and Beth and Liv¡¯s ¡®aide de cheer¡¯ assistant thing quite seriously.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I told her I¡¯d think about it. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m ready to give up that much free time to an extracurricular, yet.¡± ¡°Diehard member of the go-home club, hmm?¡± ¡°Ah, not exactly, it¡¯s just ¡­.¡± I shook my head. If there was a time and place to say I¡¯m uncertain about spending so much time away from my friends this most decidedly was not it. ¡°It¡¯s just too big of a decision to make spur-of-the-moment like that, based on whimsy and a joke, right? If I say ¡®yeah, I¡¯ll help out,¡¯ and then change my mind a week or so later, that would just be ¡­ you know, a bad situation for everyone, right?¡± ¡°But you are considering it?¡± ¡°Well ¡­ yeah.¡± At her surprised glance my way, I continued. ¡°I probably should start thinking about what I can put on college applications besides just ¡®good grades and plays video games,¡¯ right? Maybe DVI will matter for something like that in two years from now, but ¡­.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I always play a healer, Monica. Supporting a group is natural for me.¡± ¡°Hmmm ¡­.¡± Her tone was doubtful but her smile was even bigger. And the silence after the topic was companionable rather than awkward. After a bit, the topic was changed, and we chatted about school. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Once out of town, and around the bend, the road ran immediately beside the river, the shoulder barely wide enough for a bicyclist or pedestrian between the white line and the knee-high rocky barrier that minimized the amount of waves that would splash up in a storm. ¡°You know,¡± I said, switching the topic after commiserations over a tough history assignment had run its course, ¡°looking out over the river, I have to wonder what it will be like in DVI. It seems a little wrong to picture monsters out here ¡­ or at the beach. I wonder if there will be a lighthouse still at Cape D? I want to fly up to the top of it ¡­.¡± ¡°I got to say, I was a little surprised when I saw you last night, James. Or, I mean, when I figured out that you were you. Can I ask ¡­ what¡¯s it like?¡± ¡°The flying? Or ¡­.¡± ¡°Yeah. Both. I mean, my orc is different but not that different, you know? Taller, buffer, greener. But you ¡­?¡± She glanced my way briefly. ¡°Ah ¡­ first of all, flying is amazing. I know that¡¯s not what you¡¯re really asking, but trust me on that. Knowing then what I know now, if character creation was by choice, I¡¯d be a fairy all over again in order to fly. Of course, I might not need to, there¡¯s others who can fly. Wait ¡¯til you see Mika. But ¡­.¡± ¡°Mm-hmm. Go on?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a game, you know. My priority going in was ¡®I want a good healer class.¡¯ Kinda like you and your ¡®I want to be a cheerleader,¡¯ I guess?¡± ¡°Yeah. I certainly wouldn¡¯t have chosen to be a buff, butch orc, but I guess I have no real complaints,¡± Monica said. ¡°Same here. And I have a really good healer class. If I have to be a girl to heal and support my friends, so be it. It¡¯s just a game, you know. Okay, yeah, DVI is more than ¡®just a game¡¯ with whatever economic mumbo-jumbo is going on above our heads, but still, you know, we log out in the morning and everything is back to normal.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother you to be a girl?¡± ¡°Not really. I mean, it¡¯s not what I would have chosen, right? I didn¡¯t walk the Path of Identity, you know. But, well ¡­.¡± I shrugged. It was a bit hard to put into words, but maybe it was important to do so, not just to answer her question, but to firm things up in my own mind. ¡°My identity is up here.¡± I tapped my head, ¡°It¡¯s not defined by my body, right? I mean, yeah, I¡¯m a little brother, big brother, son, and all that, but those are the relationship words. Just as easily, I could be little sibling, older sibling, child, right? Who I am is ¡­ who I¡¯m connected to, and how. Friends.¡± Then I laughed lightly, ¡°Plus if there¡¯s any guy least likely to say ¡®a boy is better than a girl at blank,¡¯ that¡¯s me. My whole life, all my best friends have been girls. Mika and Jenna are athletic, Susie and Naomi are academic -- and Jojo could easily surpass them in a couple years. Me? I¡¯m average, like Goldilocks.¡± I flashed Monica a smile. ¡°And if we widen the circle a little, there¡¯s you and now your squad, right? I watched the practice; I wasn¡¯t just sitting there flipping through my phone or even reading the book Anna loaned me. I already knew you all were athletes, but after today, I¡¯d bet on any one of the girls in a one-on-one vs any other sports player at school.¡± Monica shook her head a little, not in negation and not in disbelief, but more like she was trying to dislodge the words she needed for her reply. ¡°I think ¡­,¡± then she paused and turned down the pop music that had since replaced the initial classical music track. ¡°Sorry, but ¡®90s Brittney really doesn¡¯t match the mood right now.¡± She sighed. ¡°You might not see it in yourself, James. But even if you see yourself as just Goldilocks in brain and brawn compared to your little circle, you¡¯re anything but average. You¡¯re the ¡­ the heart, the spirit, the glue that binds your group together. And you showed that today, at practice, when you brought water and snacks for the girls. And in gym class when you brought Chelsea into the group. And so many other little things.¡± The ¡°heart¡± and ¡°spirit,¡± huh? That almost sounds like a priest ¡­ or priestess. High Priestess, perhaps? ¡°Your mom was probably joking or teasing you a little when she called this a ¡®date,¡¯ Monica said in an apparent non-sequitur. ¡°But, well, um ¡­,¡± Monica was uncharacteristically tongue-tied. ¡°Ahhh ¡­! Sorry I¡¯m so awkward with this! I¡¯ve never done anything like this before and nothing I¡¯ve read in Anna¡¯s books is helping!¡± She whooshed out a deep breath and came to a stop at the light before the turn onto the bridge. ¡°Sorry this isn¡¯t poetic like movies and songs and stories, but ¡­,¡± she took a deep breath and then finished in a rush, ¡°James, I¡¯ve admired you for a long time and really do want to get to know you better. Can we call this a date? Will you go out with me?¡± Her cheeks were flaming red by the end of the question, and judging by the heat I felt, I had to assume mine were as well. ¡°You¡¯ll have to forgive my awkwardness, too,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve hung out with girls my whole life, but I haven¡¯t dated anyone before, either. But ¡­ yeah ¡­ let¡¯s do call it a date, Monica. I¡¯d be honored to go out with you.¡± The bridge over the Columbia felt like driving into a new chapter of our lives and not just going for dinner and shopping across the river. 48. Reassurance When time was up and we had been logged out this morning, Ka¡¯Moni, Ace, and I were grouped and not too far from the city gates. Consequently, when we all logged in again, we were clustered together, right where our gameplay had ended. Ace gave the two of us a long look, though their expression was unreadable. The hooded robe certainly didn¡¯t help matters. ¡°I¡¯m going to split off now. I¡¯m sure you two want some alone time together.¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± Ka¡¯Moni was immediate in her response before I had even fully processed my younger sibling¡¯s statement. ¡°We¡¯re certainly not going to abandon you!¡± ¡°Ace, if you want to play by yourself, that¡¯s your choice,¡± I said, ¡°but we¡¯d rather have you with us if you want. The group is going to get all back together again today, and you are most definitely welcome and wanted as part of our group.¡± Ace¡¯s expression shifted slightly and I fluttered down to land on their shoulder. ¡°Or, if you¡¯re feeling too shy about meeting a bunch of new people all at once, well re-meeting them, since you already know them all offline, we can stay out here and get you your level up.¡± ¡°What about your friends?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll understand. Friends are important, but so is family. You do seem kinda down, Ace. Did you have a rough day at school?¡± Ace sighed gustily and shrugged and I grabbed hold lightly of the hem of their robe¡¯s hood. ¡°Whoops! Sorry, Rie! It¡¯s just ¡­ it¡¯s just difficult to believe that if my own friends don¡¯t want me around, then why should older kids want me around, too?¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Because you¡¯re a wonderful and amazing person, Ace,¡± I began. But Ka¡¯Moni spoke up as well, finishing my thought. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m an older kid, Ace, and I want you around. I haven¡¯t known you all that long, yet, but after some of the stories I¡¯ve heard today, I sort of feel like I¡¯ve known you for years.¡± ¡°Stories?¡± ¡°Ah ¡­ kind of ¡®first date¡¯ questions.¡± Ka¡¯Moni¡¯s cheeks darkened a little in an orcish blush, and I¡¯m sure mine got a little rosy as well. ¡°We talked about things like childhood memories, holiday gifts, you know. You wouldn¡¯t believe how many times you and Jenna came up in James¡¯s stories. I¡¯m kind of jealous; I don¡¯t have a younger sibling. I feel like I¡¯ve really missed out, growing up without someone like you around.¡± Ka¡¯Moni flashed a bright smile, which -- again -- from an Orc was maybe a bit intimidating. ¡°And we fought well together yesterday, didn¡¯t we? So let¡¯s make it official ¡­.¡± Ka¡¯Moni extended a hand. ¡°Ace Arrow, let¡¯s be friends.¡± There were like two heartbeats of silence, where even the ambient game sounds of wind and wildlife seemed to cease. Then Ace nodded decisively and shook Ka¡¯Moni¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯d ¡­ I¡¯d like that. Thank you. Friends.¡± Then they turned their head a little and looked at me still standing on their shoulder. ¡°And thank you, Rie.¡± ¡°Anytime, Ace.¡± I patted their cheek. ¡°Ah, if you¡¯re ready, I see a couple rats over there. Let¡¯s see about leveling you up?¡± But Ace shook their head. ¡°No, let¡¯s go meet the rest of your friends.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± They nodded. ¡°Yeah. Nobody you¡¯re friends with could possibly be a bad person. Besides ¡­,¡± and Ace¡¯s speech got lighter, with a teasing tone, almost mischievous even. And as I left their shoulder to return to my airborne hovering, Ace continued, ¡°I really want to see Jenna¡¯s, ah, Jazmyn¡¯s face when you two turn up together.¡± 49. The Group Expands As it turned out, Mika and the others were barely a minute¡¯s walk (well, a minute¡¯s slow flight in my case) in from the city gate we were out of, and they had an extra person with them. ¡°Oh, look, Jazmyn, our little fairy¡¯s all grown up,¡± Mikachu said, shooting me a winking emote via text as Ka¡¯Moni, Ace, and I approached. ¡°Uh-huh, uh-huh, coming back to hang out after a long day of romance,¡± my older sister replied. Even Noa got in on the teasing, ¡°You¡¯ve been one of us girls so long, Rie, that we were starting to wonder a little.¡± The centaur winked and gave me a coy look from above the tops of her twin fans. Ette¡¯s crystalline face was unreadable but her eyes sparkled with mischief. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to learn how to craft rings, aren¡¯t I?¡± My cheeks were no doubt brilliantly blushing, but I took it in stride. ¡°Gals, let¡¯s save the teasing for outside the game, okay? I promise, at lunch tomorrow, you can all have at me all you want, but ¡­.¡± One finger went up, ¡°... you should at least wait for introductions before you start teasing Ka¡¯Moni.¡± The second finger went up. ¡°Also, not everybody knows everybody here, so we don¡¯t want people to feel left out, do we?¡± I nodded to the group of five, ¡°Most all you all know Jenna¡¯s and my youngest sibling,¡± I stressed the gender-neutral term, ¡°Ace, here, is their character. Ace is a golemancer, and while their summons are still pretty basic, their little wooden golems did a fantastic job yesterday.¡± Ace bowed with a flourish, and a split second later, their six golems appeared and copied the bow. My new ability was still active, giving Ace an additional SP to summon with, thus the six instead of five. ¡°Ace Arrow, at your service,¡± my younger sibling said, ¡°And thank you for inviting me to be part of your group.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Welcome aboard.¡± ¡°Glad to have you.¡± ¡°What did you think of Rie¡¯s unicorn, Ace?¡± That last was Jazmyn, popping over and giving Ace a hug. Then in a lower voice she continued. ¡°And I¡¯ll do my very best to remember ¡®they¡¯ and not ¡®she,¡¯ but please have patience if I mess up, Ace. I¡¯ve got thirteen years of habit to break.¡± ¡°Th-thanks, Jen-- Jazmyn!¡± Ace hugged her back. ¡°That¡¯s my older sister, Jenna. Jazmyn, here,¡± I explained to Ka¡¯Moni. ¡°She¡¯s our mage and will probably be very glad to have your help in actually doing damage, something the rest of us are a bit deficient on.¡± Then I figured it was time for a little light teasing of my own. Raising my voice a little, so both Ace and Ka¡¯Moni could hear, I pointed out the rest of my group. ¡°The overgrown red chicken is Mikachu, and one day Mika will have a different name in a game and we¡¯ll all die of shock.¡± ¡°Chicken!¡± Mikachu¡¯s voice was indignant, but she sent another winking text emote. > That makes you a hummingbird. ;) ¡°And the off-brand My Little Pony there is Mika¡¯s sister. Call her Noa, here. If you ask nicely, she might give you a ponyback ride, but I wouldn¡¯t count on it. She doesn¡¯t really horse around.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Noa just rolled her eyes. Like Mika and Jenna, Naomi had no problem being teased right on back. Susie, however, I had to be a little careful with. She could dish it out, but really wasn¡¯t great at taking it in return. ¡°And last but not least is our Rockette scientist, but just call her Ette. She¡¯s the brains behind our group, and that must say something about the rest of us if someone with literally rocks for brains is the smartest of us all.¡± That got laughs all around, even from Ette. ¡°Okay, I can¡¯t even be mad about those puns, Rie,¡± she said. Then the blue glows of her eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°If you¡¯re the little sibling,¡± she looked first at Ace then turned her attention to Ka¡¯Moni. ¡°Then I guess you must be the love interest?¡± Bwah. What? Noa whacked Ette over the head with her fans. ¡°Knock it off, Suze. At least let the poor girl introduce herself first!¡± Ka¡¯Moni laughed, though it was a little bit forced. ¡°It¡¯s only been one date. It¡¯s waaaaay too early to be using heavy words like that. Yet. But, yes, I¡¯m Monica, but call me Ka¡¯Moni here. Thank you for letting me be a part of your team.¡± She struck a dramatic pose, almost like she was preparing to launch into one of her little cheer routine buffs. ¡°Justice and Teamwork prevail! And is that you, Chels?¡± She shaded her eyes and peered toward the fifth girl, the other newcomer to the group. I also shielded my eyes and took a closer look at the fifth girl. Sure enough, she looked like Chelsea, though glammed up a little, just like Jazmyn looked like a slightly more glamorous version of Jenna. That was the Path of Self in action. Mikachu, however, answered for the girl. ¡°This is Nona Verthandi, who like Ette is going to be a crafter. I figured we could try and help power-level her a little so she can get more of the skills and abilities she¡¯ll need to really get rolling on her crafting. She is a little shy, though.¡± ¡°Ah ¡­ I don¡¯t know how well we can power-level anyone when we¡¯re all still pretty low-level ourselves, but we can certainly help you. Welcome to our little band, Nona.¡± ¡°Th-thank you for having me.¡± ¡°Well ¡­.¡± I looked around. ¡°So, who¡¯s leading this merry expedition today? Plans?¡± Most of us glanced at Ette, that is ¡­ Mikachu, Naomi, Jazmyn, and I did. The others didn¡¯t quite have our level of experience with her. But Ette shook her head. ¡°Not me. Since I¡¯m a crafter, I won¡¯t always be with you when you go out of town. I think the leader should be relatively consistent from day to day, so that rules me out.¡± ¡°Hmmm. Well, Noa? What about you?¡± She was the other brains of our little group, and as a Tactician, her class seemed suited for leadership. But the centaur also shook her head. ¡°A Tactician advises but doesn¡¯t lead.¡± Before I could turn to the third in line, Mikachu, she spoke up. ¡°I think it should be Rie.¡± Me? But before I could voice my doubt, my best friend continued, ¡°Not only is a healer usually the one with the most situational awareness, having to keep an eye on everybody and their health, you know, but if you think about it, there¡¯s three little circles here, and Rie¡¯s part of all of them.¡± ¡°Um, circles?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s us five, of course,¡± Mikachu said, ¡°that¡¯s one circle. But there¡¯s also you, Jenna, and Ace. That¡¯s another. And finally there¡¯s the four of us from gym class.¡± She indicated Nona and Ka¡¯Moni. I wrinkled my nose in protest, but of course with my diminutive stature, my expression didn¡¯t carry very far. ¡°Well ¡­ okay. We¡¯ll see what happens long term, but if I spend too much time arguing today, then we¡¯re wasting leveling-up time.¡± As I was speaking, I sent out a flurry of group invites -- and a friend invite to Nona. ¡°Well, welcome aboard, everyone,¡± I said. I had been thinking we were gonna skip the tutorial zone today and go out to a regular instance. After all, it seemed that even with competition for spawns, we¡¯ll get more experience out in public. Else why would so many of my classmates and others at school be thinking of reaching level five tonight? But, with everyone, I had another idea. ¡°Let¡¯s try the tutorial zone today. If we get everyone a level or two, how do you feel about taking down that big rat?¡± That got cheers of assent from most of them. Ka¡¯Moni joined it, but Ace and Nona looked confused. 50. The Ratcatchers We waved at the guards in passing, but once in the private zone again, I led my little group on a five-minute hike further into the zone and away from the gate. We pointed out the semi-circle of boundary markers to Nona, and slaughtered any rat that got too close along our trek. Fortunately, we didn¡¯t encounter any Matriarchs just yet. ¡°Okay. Here, I think. Ace, you¡¯ll be key today, if your little golems will work the way I think they can. Do they have a range? How far away can you control them?¡± My little sibling frowned. ¡°I haven¡¯t tried anything too much yet. I don¡¯t know, maybe I need to see them? You want me to pull?¡± Trust Ace to catch on. They were probably the best of all us at gaming, at least the sort of games we all played ¨C somehow I doubted they¡¯d be too into any of those modern duty call of warfare shooters, but MMOs, RPGs, and board games? Jojo had been excelling since they were eight. ¡°If you need line-of-sight, try riding Daybreak Gleaming again? But we are on a little hill here.¡± Then I turned to the rest of the group. ¡°Mikachu? Your totem sticks around until defeated or unsummoned, right? If we set up here¡­?¡± My friend nodded. ¡°Yeah. It might not work in a crowded zone where someone could kill-steal our pulls, but I think I see what your plan is. Yeah, the totem should be able to pull aggro off Ace¡¯s golems.¡± ¡°Good. Okay, Ette, can you be on bodyguard duty? Stick close to Nona. Let her get her hits in, but don¡¯t let the rats hit back.¡± Our crystalline friend nodded. ¡°Crafter solidarity.¡± ¡°Jazmyn,¡± I fluttered closer to my older sister. ¡°Try and pace yourself. It¡¯s gonna be boring, with just Silver Shot, but try and stay above half mana, maybe two-thirds. That way, if things go all south for some reason, you still have mana in the banks to let loose and go wild.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± She flashed me a thumb¡¯s up, and I turned toward our two support characters. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Noa, Ka¡¯Moni? Can you keep your good buffs going? If this works the way I hope, we¡¯ll be fighting constantly. Ace is going to be pulling a lot of aggro with their golems. If glitches happen, they¡¯re the most in danger. Buff priorities are ¡­ um ¡­ Ace, then Nona, then Jazmyn, then the rest of us as you see fit. I¡¯mma try to keep thorns up on the totem, and keep y¡¯all alive if things glitch badly.¡± Centaur tactician and orc cheerleader both nodded. ¡°Get your hits in though, as you can. Ka¡¯Moni, you¡¯ll probably have to juggle your cheers and kicks, especially if we get a multi-pull. Everybody ready?¡± There was a chorus of ¡°aye¡± and ¡°yeah¡± and one ¡°um, what did you want me to do?¡± ¡°Oh, sorry, Nona. You might not have much in the way of attack abilities, but those knitting needles look plenty wicked. Maybe it¡¯s just ¡®cuz I¡¯m a little smaller right now, but I could see them being unpleasant to be poked with.¡± I flashed her a quick smile. ¡°Stab the rats as they come in. I think people all get group experience if they¡¯re close enough, but just in case it does require some actual contribution, you and Ette both need to hit things.¡± She frowned and I continued, my tone more reassuring. ¡°You don¡¯t need to do much. The basic rats and even flappy rats should melt under the attention of a group this size, but if you need to fight to get strong enough to shift completely to crafting, then here we are.¡± ¡°I wish there was another way, but okay.¡± Nona nodded decisively and twirled her knitting needles, one in each hand, stopping them with the point downward like a pair of knives in a street-fighter¡¯s hands rather than a pair of swords for a duelist. ¡°You got this, Chels!¡± Ka¡¯Moni said. ¡°We¡¯re here with you!¡± And then the slaughter of rats began. Ace, as it turned out, could only control one golem outside of line-of-sight, but our little hilltop camp gave us a good view of a wide swath of the grassy wilderness outside the city walls. Ace kept a pair of golems near, patrolling near the base of the rise, ensuring that any nearby spawns would be picked up, another pair further out, ranging in a wide search pattern, a fifth golem ranging back and forth to fill the gaps when one of the others picked a spawn and brought it back, and the final golem searching in the distance, pulling rats back and handing them off to others before rushing off to search for more. Between thorns and kicks and stabs and thwacks and punches and magic silver bullets, we were probably averaging a rat every minute, minute and a half, pausing only to allow one or another of us to level up. Certainly faster than we had managed in smaller groups. 51. Fun New Abilities Everyone leveled. Some more than once. And the abilities we got were, for the most part, fun. Some were more ¡°useful¡± than fun, but that¡¯s the nature of passive powerups, often, like Ace¡¯s new ability.
Sticks and Stones (passive)(x) (requires Wooden Golems or Stone Golems) Your wooden and stone golems are tougher, stronger, and more likely to break bones (that is, do higher damage). The damage resistance of wooden golems increases by 5% (double for stone golems) and the damage of your stone golems¡¯ basic attacks increases by 5% (double for wood golems). Higher tiers of this ability increase these percentages. At extremely high tiers of this ability, additionally grant increased movement speed and special attack damage to these golems.
It might have been nice for Ace to have chosen an active ability or one that allowed summoning another golem, but boosting their stats across the board was a solid improvement. The development point went into Golemic Role Assignments, letting Ace assign a role to their golems. ¡°It only had basic roles so far, Ka¡¯Moni,¡± Ace apologized, ¡°so I didn¡¯t get to choose Cheerleader for my golems yet.¡± ¡°What did you take?¡± ¡°Scout. Any golems in a scouting role move quicker and have a basic ranged attack. Pulls will be much easier.¡± I didn¡¯t get a new development point at level two to tier anything up, but my three ability choices were all good. It was one of the tougher decisions I¡¯ve ever had to make.
Strength in Numbers, Unity in Faith (passive) (x) (requires Divine Conduit) Whether leading an adventure or leading a service, a High Priestess draws strength from her laity just as they draw strength from her. All members of organizations you lead (guilds, churches/temples, adventuring parties, etc) gain an increase of 1% (per tier of this ability) to the displayed numerical percentage of their stats. This can raise the effective tier of the ability beyond normal caps. At high tiers of this ability, double-dipping provides a fractional increase. Additionally, increase your base MP by 1 per unique member of all organizations you lead (no double dipping). This bonus applies before any other modification to MP.
Fairy Flower Magic (3) (requires Liall¡¯alana, Chinookan Pacifica variant, Siraen variant) Glades and Gardens, the Liall¡¯alana are caretakers of nature¡¯s blossoming glory, whether wyld or cultivated. This ability grants the fairy access to powerful phytomedicinal effects whether through alchemy or spellcraft. Sometimes, the difference between a toxin and cure is only the dose and application.
Radiant Beacon (3) (requires Spirit of Daybreak Gleaming) Greater Spirits of the Wyld are more than merely ornamental companions, and while hoof and horn can serve as weapons, at times these Spirits may make use of potent abilities from Beyond the material world. This ability grants special actions that Daybreak Gleaming may be directed to use.
While I wasn¡¯t that big into crafting, I¡¯ve always dabbled, and alchemy was always much more interesting than making a sword or fancy arrow. Healing potions, antidotes, and who knows what else could await in Fairy Flower Magic. But it also said spellcraft, so perhaps the ability would grant new spells or modifiers to existing spell, making use of those phytomedicinal effects. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Daybreak Gleaming was already amazing, and making her better would have otherwise been a no-brainer under most any other circumstance. Since she was a unicorn, I had to imagine that Radiant Beacon would allow her to heal and cure poisons and disease, much like unicorns in the stories. And what healer doesn¡¯t want to expand their repertoire? But then there was also the first one. It might not be immediately amazing since I didn¡¯t actually lead anything yet ¨C except this current group ¨C but having additional base MP which would then become Faith Points as the church eventually was founded and grew would be very useful. Even with just this group of 7 others, that would give me, what, almost 10 extra FP? It would commit me to tiering up the ability as much as I could, though, since a mere 1% boost wouldn¡¯t be all that significant unless it took someone from 99% in one stat to a 0% in the next highest tier. But ignoring normal caps meant that it could, in time, let people I led reach Legendary status, something not normally achievable, as we had discussed with Jazmyn¡¯s ability the first time she leveled. And ¡­ all three of the abilities had to be extremely rare. It wasn¡¯t likely that I¡¯d ever see them again in the random selections as I leveled up. One required my particular weapon, the Spirit of Daybreak Gleaming, though I had to assume it would have been a slightly different variant for those with a different companion spirit. Another required my Ultra-Super-Rare-Plus race as well being the variant for both my server and goddess. And the first referenced a High Priestess, which was a unique proto-class. There could be other High Priests or Priestesses, just not for the same deity. It was like getting a choice of three different uniques, knowing that selecting one meant forsaking the others. Well that might very well be what it was, not what it was like ¡­. Naturally, the group was divided on their advice. Ette and Nona, being crafters, both were in favor of me getting access to some alchemy from Fairy Flower Magic. And, truth be told, it felt like that would have the most utility as well as a good synergy with my role as a healer. After all, we weren¡¯t always going to be grouped together ¨C look at yesterday for example! ¨C and providing my friends and community with healing potions would be a good way to ensure that I could still heal them, if indirectly, when we were apart. Unless that bit about ¡°toxin and cure¡± meant I¡¯d be gaining damaging effects instead. Ace and Jenna, perhaps naturally, were quite keen on making my unicorn even more special. Unicorns were healers, right? And as a companion to a healer, Daybreak Gleaming could be a very effective secondary healer, keeping everyone topped up after splash damage, helping the off-tank deal with adds, and keeping me healed after retribution while I focused on the core healing for the group. If I was going to be leading the group like this more often, having Daybreak Gleaming take over the secondary healing would allow me to spend more of my focus on situational awareness and leadership. But if I was going to be leading the group, wouldn¡¯t it be better to have the ability that made everyone better while I led them? Granted, it wouldn¡¯t do a whole lot for them at first unless someone was at 99% in a stat, but over time as we leveled up and I developed the ability, it could make a significant difference. There were just two problems with it. First, it would require that I spend a lot of development points on it to provide a meaningful bonus. I¡¯d want, what? Ten to twenty upgrades for it? And any development spent there was not spent on increasing my core abilities as a healer. And, as a secondary concern, that really would push me into being my group¡¯s leader. Moreover, the text mentioned guilds. And while that was definitely putting the cart before the horse since we hadn¡¯t even looked up how to start one, I¡¯d almost certainly end up as the nominal leader of the guild due to that ability, right? Naturally, Mikachu, who had suggested I lead the group today, was in favor of the ability. As was Noa, the tactician. Leaving the group evenly divided, two in favor of each of the three abilities. ¡°Ka¡¯Moni? What do you think?¡± As a cheerleader, teamwork was very much her shtick, so I expected her to side with Noa and Mikachu, but she surprised me somewhat. ¡°Hmm? I think you should follow your heart on this one. They all sound very good and very special, perfect for someone who is very good and very special ¡­.¡± A chorus of ¡°Awwww¡±s and a lone ¡°get a room you two¡± from Jazmyn interrupted her. But Ka¡¯moni continued on, ¡°...and I think you¡¯d be happy with any of the three, right? But you¡¯re maybe looking at it wrong, thinking too hard, trying to analyze it. Don¡¯t go with your head, Rie, go with your heart.¡± 52. Character Sheet (Ace Arrow) Name: Ace Arrow Race: [L+/?] Amalthean (*) Class: [SR] Golemancer, level 1 Affiliation: Wood HP: 51/51 (100%) MP: 101/101 (100%) SP: 0/5 Attack Power (--): Below Average: 27% Spell Power (++): Moderate: 15% Agility (+): High: 1% Defenses (--): Below Average: 29% Resistances (+): Average: 42% Abilities [3*/10]: A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Equipment: Accessories: Status: Merits, Flaws, and other Modifiers: