《Virtual Connection (textnovel version)》 Intro: A thousand dollars’ worth. ¡°Wow!¡± ¨CClara exclaimed with light in her eyes. ¡°So that¡¯s a thousand dollars¡¯ beauty, huh?¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, taking a detailed look. ¡°I hope the expense is worth it.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo in a soft voice, looking at himself in the mirror and blushing. ¡°You know, if you were already spending on a full customization, you could have gone all out and gotten cat ears.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, stifling a laugh. ¡°Don¡¯t tease him. He¡¯s doing it for a good cause.¡± ¨Csaid Clara, winking. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Yea, I know.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, taking another look. ¨C¡°And he did much better than I imagined.¡± Ricardo still couldn¡¯t believe it. He was never a big gamer. Of course, he still needed the virtual console, but he only used it to try his designs for engineering class. Besides, when he got it, he swore that he would never pay for anything in a game. And he just spent a thousand hard-earned dollars in Virtual Connection. What could cost that much? Well, for starters, unlike his average real life self, what was reflected in front of him was a perfect beauty. A girl. Day 0: The troubles of a teenage girl Yo quiero que escuches la imagen de mi alma que te ama y te adora como una aventura que nadie ha gozado. Tu nombre quedar¨¢ grabado para ser dichoso con tu falso amor.* ¡°Ahh, so that¡¯s what the song really says.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva to herself, while laughing at her phone¡¯s screen. Her laughter soon changed into crying, thinking of how the world kept having fun at her expense. January 1th, Year 2028. Location: Lima, Peru (South America). Minerva, age sixteen. This year would be her last year of secondary school. Any normal schoolgirl would be having fun every day, enjoying the last summer break of her school life. But she couldn¡¯t, not after going through a nasty break up. Her first love lasted exactly for a year. And it ended seven days ago, December 25th, 2027. *I want you to listen to the image of my soul who loves and adores you as an adventure nobody has enjoyed. Your name will be engraved to be jolly with your fake love. Lyrics from ¡°Suspiros¡±, a popular Peruvian song whose gimmick is that this phrase is sung really fast like a thong twister.
Ricardo was already tired of his sister¡¯s crazy antics. He could hear her talking to herself, laughing and crying like a madwoman. Their parents were worried, even though they decided to give her space. A wait and see approach. The family vacations overseas were on hold too. Minerva wouldn¡¯t go, even after begging for them all year long. Without her, the main instigator, it would be pointless. Today was the seventh day and things didn¡¯t seem to get better. He was currently baking a chocolate cheesecake, his sister¡¯s favorite. ¡°Cake won¡¯t be enough.¡± ¨CRicardo murmured while passing by her room. The problem is he really didn¡¯t know what Minerva¡¯s trouble was. He just knew it had to do with something she did in her virtual console, the night of Christmas.
I guess I really need to do it. ¨Cthought Ricardo, while going through his mom¡¯s cellphone agenda. Here it is, Amelia Vela. She was his sister¡¯s best friend. He really didn¡¯t want to talk to that person; just thinking about it gave him the creeps. But if it was she, she would definitely know. What else to say, not even cheesecake worked. And he was getting desperate.
¡°Ricardo!¡± ¨Cexclaimed a high pitched voice on the other side of the phone. ¨C¡°And I was here thinking it would be really nice to talk to you. Happy New Year!¡± ¡°Happy New Year.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, obviously not amused. ¨C¡°I called to ask about Minerva.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Ahh, I see. But I won¡¯t reveal my best friend¡¯s secrets.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, playfully. ¨C¡°Not even to dear brother.¡± ¡°Have you talked to her since Christmas?¡± ¨Casked Ricardo. ¡°Not after I called your house to salute everyone. I sent her a Happy New Year email, but she didn¡¯t reply.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°I thought you were already overseas, on your vacations.¡± ¡°I wish we were.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo. ¨C¡°But Minerva won¡¯t go.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia. ¨C¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± ¡°Yeah, I wouldn¡¯t believe it either.¡±
¡°I see, then the worst thing happened.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, suddenly in a serious mood. ¡°And what would that be?¡± ¨Casked Ricardo. ¡°I wonder if I should tell you.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°Minerva didn¡¯t say it was a secret, but I don¡¯t think she would like you knowing.¡± ¡°Please, you don¡¯t know how it has been since Christmas.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, pleadingly. ¨C¡°She walks like a zombie through the corridors.¡± ¡°And you can hear her in her room, laughing and crying at the same time.¡± ¡°Oh, so it got really bad.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°Then I shall tell you. But don¡¯t let her realize you know.¡± ¡°Promised.¡±
¡°Do you know about Virtual Connection?¡± ¨Casked Amelia. ¡°Is it a virtual console game?¡± ¨Creplied Ricardo. ¡°Yup.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°It¡¯s a fantasy dating virtual console game.¡± ¡°Is that what Minerva has been playing?¡± ¨Casked Ricardo. ¡°She has been playing since December, a year ago.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°And got married in-game six months ago.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Ricardo. Now it was his turn to be surprised. ¡°Well, in-game marriage isn¡¯t that unusual since it gives you a lot of bonuses.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°But it makes you unable to date any other person other than your spouse.¡± ¡°And divorces are expensive.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo. ¨C¡°So it means Minerva and this guy are really close to each other.¡± ¡°Any way that I see it, it¡¯s love.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°Or it was. Something must have happened.¡± ¡°By any chance, is that guy living in Argentina?¡± ¨Casked Ricardo, putting the pieces together. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia. ¡°Minerva was going to tell him about the trip in the Christmas event.¡±
Now Ricardo knew. Amelia logged into the game and tried to private talk to Johnny33, Minerva¡¯s husband. Well, ex-husband. He didn¡¯t reply, even though he appeared logged in on the dating service. The family logs told the story. He divorced Mina17, Minerva¡¯s character, in Christmas night. And he left the family circle soon afterwards. So the jerk played with his sister for months, even got married to her. And left her the night of Christmas, after she told him she was going to visit him. There is no way Ricardo would leave things be. He didn¡¯t know how, but he would make him pay. Johnny33, you will meet your doom. Day 1: Milana ¡°So that¡¯s the plan.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, with his trademark full smile. He was Ricardo¡¯s friend since grade school, and even then his smile was like a movie star¡¯s. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo. ¨C¡°And it will cost me a thousand platinum hearts, worth a dollar each.¡± ¡°I feel your pain.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro. ¨C¡°When Clara asked me to play Virtual Connection with her, I thought: ¡®great, a free game. I will save tons on date expenses¡¯.¡± ¡°Boy, I didn¡¯t know how mistaken I was.¡± ¡°Yeah, the game is a cash grab.¡± ¨Csaid Clara, laughing. ¨C¡°But, besides that, I think Sandro¡¯s plan isn¡¯t bad. It isn¡¯t like we have any other idea.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do it.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, not convinced. ¨C¡°I mean, I have never been known for my acting skills.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry that much. Amelia will help you, won¡¯t her?¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, grinning. ¡°Uhh, I am not looking forward to it.¡±
The virtual console was a virtual reality household system. It consisted in a helmet that connected the brain directly to a computer, making possible to move a virtual body with the thought as if one was moving in reality. It started in the first years of the 2020''s as a way to experience building models. As the technology advanced, it made possible to create games and simulators. First, the machines were so big and expensive that they were only available to use in fairs and amusement parks. But, in the last couple of years they finally were miniaturized enough to be available in normal houses. That started the virtual console game revolution. Virtual Connection, launched for 2026''s Christmas season, was a mix between a fantasy role playing game and a dating site. It was free to play if one wanted to play a single human character who looked exactly like your real life self. Minor customization cost ten platinum hearts. Medium customization, which also allowed picking the elf, vampire or cat-man race, cost a hundred platinum hearts. Full customization, worth a thousand platinum hearts, allowed you to change anything and everything about your character. Including sex.
Sunday afternoon. Having talked to Amelia, the plan was already set to start. Ricardo went to the Virtual Connection homepage and started to input his credit card number. He double checked the amount of platinum hearts on his cart, a thousand. He unchecked the in-game credit card charge option. Well, after I click here, there¡¯s no return. Then, all that was left was putting on the helmet and starting. ¡°Welcome to Virtual Connection International. Explore, fight and date in the fantasy land of true love!¡±
¡°Finally got here.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, panting. ¨C¡°I ran out of return scrolls, so I had to run.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, still smiling. ¨C¡°He just got in here too.¡± ¡°Yeah, it seems he made a lot of effort.¡± ¨Csaid Clara, with an appreciating look. They were currently in a rented room in the inn of Torinelo Starter City. Torinelo was popular among the Latino community, since it was the base for the biggest Spanish-speaking guild in Virtual Connection. ¡°Hello¡±. ¨Csaid Ricardo, with a bashful voice. ¡°Oh my god!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, breaking into laughter. ¨C¡°You are stunning!¡±
Even though it was the first time they met in-game, they all recognized each other immediately. Sandro didn¡¯t spend a single penny in customizing his character. Not that he needed to, his well-toned body, tanned skin, short brown hair and trademark smile were plenty enough. In-game, he was named SanDiego81. Clara just used a minor customization to get a couple centimeters taller, fix her nose and grow her breasts as much as she could with that. With her curly light brown hair and green eyes, she was cute in her own right. Her character was Claire04. Amelia was an elf. That alone was worth a hundred dollars, even though it didn¡¯t make a change in game mechanics. Her hair, brown in real life, was in a long blonde braid. Her eyes, brown too, were now blue. And of course, she had the pointy elfish ears. Her chest seemed too big for a slender elf, but that was the one part she didn¡¯t change. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your in-game name? Mine is Amy21.¡± ¨CAmelia asked Ricardo. Even though she had customized her character, Ricardo could easily distinguish Amelia¡¯s voice, face and expressions. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°My in-game name is Milana77.¡±
Ricardo wasn¡¯t as athletic as Sandro in real life. He was of average height, short black hair and dark brown eyes. Since he was busy with his studies at the University and his part time job teaching in an Academy, he was pale skinned all year long. For Milana, after he checked female sex, he saw himself and nearly fainted. It looked like he was in drag. So first, he started growing his hair. As it started growing, it curled, so he straighted it out. He rounded his face and reduced his nose. After smoothing his skin, his paleness contrasting with his dark hair didn¡¯t look bad. Having done that, he began putting curves on his/her body. Now, it finally started looking like a she. He tried with big breasts, but medium ones looked better for him. Then, he started fine tuning his legs and arms. All in all, it was more than an hour tinkering with his character¡¯s body, but it needed to be done. Ricardo wasn¡¯t going to spend another thousand dollars to do it again. Milana should be the ultimate beauty of Virtual Connection.
¡°We should start by explaining Milana the basics of Virtual Connection.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, taking out a virtual whiteboard. ¡°Could we log out and meet at your house?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¨C¡°This is giving me the creeps.¡± ¡°No, no, no. You should get accustomed to your new body.¡± ¨Creplied Sandro, smiling. Milana looked at Clara and Amelia in turn, her puppy eyes were a thing to behold. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± ¨Csaid Clara, evading her eyes. ¡°Let¡äs get started, San Diego!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, clearly enjoying the situation.
¡°As a role playing game, Virtual Connection is really simple. You only have three stats, Power, Vitality and Agility.¡± ¡°Power affects your Physical and Magical attack, though no one knows what the conversion ratio is exactly.¡± ¡°Vitality affects your Health, Mana and Stamina, while Agility affects your Speed, Dexterity and Evade chance.¡± ¡°All stats go up by one when you get a level. If you die, unless in a duel, a tournament or a date, you lose one level and the stats corresponding to that level.¡± ¡°The skills come into skill modules that you can equip one at a time. You can only use the skills that are in the skill module you are currently equipping.¡± ¡°The current game has a level cap of 50, divided in two tiers. Tier 0 goes from level 1 to 20, and is like a pregame of sorts. You can only use basic two-skill modules.¡± ¡°If you go into dates, do quests and such, you should finish it in about fifty hours. By the way, you can only date unmarried characters of the opposite sex.¡± ¡°After that, you take a class advancement quest and get into Tier 1¡­¡±
¡°All that sounds fine, but I don¡¯t think I should waste time leveling, since that¡¯s not why I am in this game.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, still surprised at the sound of her own voice. ¡°Well, you know, Johnny33 has been playing since the start of the Virtual Connection international server.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro. ¡°And he must have been dating almost every day, so he should be at the level cap.¡± Dating with my sister, that *** ¡°Yup, Johnny and Mina were at the level cap.¡±¨Csaid Amelia. ¡°The game menu won¡¯t even show people in a different Tier when looking to pick up a blind date.¡± ¨Ccontinued Sandro. ¡°As you get closer in level, the compatibility increases, so your name will start climbing in the search results.¡± ¡°And how do you know that?¡± ¨Casked Clara, with a scary face. ¡°I asked my Virtual Connection information source.¡± ¨Canswered Sandro, nervously. ¡°By the way, what level are all of you at?¡± ¨Casked Milana, suddenly worried about the amount of time the plan would take.
SanDiego and Claire were at level 41. Even though they didn¡¯t play too much, they dated in-game a lot. Besides, they got married just after completing their level 20 class quests. The marriage experience bonus made them level steadily. Amy was still at level 35, even though she started playing at the same time as Minerva. ¡°Why are you at such a low level?¡± ¨Casked Clara, surprised. ¡°Well, I started the game to play with Minerva.¡± ¨Canswered Amelia. ¨C¡°Then we met Johnny, and started leveling together.¡± ¡°Soon they hit it off, so I felt like a third wheel.¡± ¨Ccontinued Amelia, with a sad voice. ¨C¡°I tried to keep playing by myself, but I got bored quickly.¡± ¡°Anyway, you don¡¯t need to get to the level cap to try asking Johnny out.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro. ¡°Yeah, if you input the right preferences on the dating profile, you should appear on Johnny¡¯s first page even with ten levels of difference.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what to add later.¡± ¡°But first, you should get out and gain a few levels.¡± ¨Cadded Sandro. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want a disappointing first date.¡± Chapter 1 (and 0) Q&A Thread Chapter 1 (and 0) Q&A Thread "Spoilers ahead!" Here I''ll try to explain about the style of writing and some stuff that might be different from most fictions on this site. I''ll also answer questions pertaining the chapters 0 and 1. (I''ll pm the one who asked the question whenever I answer it) 1. What''s a cellphone novel? Why is this a cellphone novel? A cellphone novel is a novel written and meant to be read on a cellphone. They started in Japan, and they are popular among young adults. The most popular topics are centered around romantic fiction, whose authors and readers are mostly young women. And this is a cellphone novel because I really wanted to experiment writing one. A virtual reality setting needs quite a bit of description text, so that forced myself to some data dump entries. I am still not sure if a cellphone novel is the best medium for this story, to tell the truth. Though I''ll keep the game fairly simple, so the relationship aspect takes the spotlight. 2. That game is awful, where is the godly AI that creates unending quests and skills? People who are used to RoyalRoad-like settings will find Virtual Connection as a crappy fremium game. And with reason, it is a crappy fremium game. In this story, virtual reality wasn''t the lifework of a genius, but an evolution from our current technology. So the first implementations are still raw. Virtual Connection is firstly a dating site, masked as a game, so the cosmetic aspect has taken precedence to the gaming. And, as everyone knows, you need to attract women. Men will go wherever the women are x). 3. What''s the plan exactly? Crossdressing? As I see it, when writing a fiction, you need to establish the setting first. At this point you will commit to the stuff you know wouldn''t make sense in reality or that breaks the natural laws. Once you set the exceptions, all the rest should abide by those rules, or common sense. I know the plan seems iffy, but I consider it part of the setting. Even if I didn''t write it out, it''s obvious that it involves Milana dating Johnny in some way. Later you will learn more about the true motivations of the main characters at this time. Wait and read ;) The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. 4. Why are the chapters so short? It would be so easy to fill them and up the word count... Since cellphone novels started using SMS, they had an inherent character limitation. I know I am not subjected to that limitation, but the short chapters are the essence of the cellphone novel genre. That''s why I have taken the effort to trim each chapter to the bare minimun, since the idea is for the reader to fill in the blanks. I am not going to describe everything that the MC sees or thinks and I''ll skip stuff that doesn''t help to move the story. Right now, because of the data dumps needed to set the story, I know chapter 1 doesn''t resemble at all the lightness and fluidity of a real cellphone novel, but next chapters will be better at that. At least, that''s what I hope :) And now the poll. I already finished posting the first chapter, in cellphone novel-length installments. I also posted chapter 0 all at once (it was written in parts, so it is divided as such on the thread). I know this site''s mobile functionality is sorely lacking, so I really haven''t been posting from my cellphone. And you probably aren''t reading me from one. Even so, this is meant to be a cellphone novel. Anyway, I could keep posting it in installments, or post them first on textnovel.com and later here when the chapter is finished. I must say this isn''t a democracy. This is my fic, so I ultimately decide what to do. Even so, I really want to know your opinions. Posting on two sites will take me more time, so I will only consider it if that option has an overwhelming lead. I''ll keep the poll until I finish posting all the second chapter. *poll closed* I am keeping this post as it for now. As you know from the description, Virtual Connection is a cellphone novel, now being posted at textnovel.com. Here I post full chapters when they are done there, as an archive, and to let people who want to read a fiction in the "normal" way to get their fix. No spoilers from textnovel in here, please :) Day 2: A cat in her turf Ricardo was on summer holidays from the University. He also took leave from the Academy all January, since he was supposed to be on vacations with his family. Therefore, he had plenty of free time to play. The meeting on Sunday lasted quite a while, so Monday was the true start of roleplaying Milana in Virtual Connection. Ricardo logged in and was welcomed to the lovely image of Milana reflected on the mirror. Sandro had paid the room in the inn for a month to provide a private place for meetings. Milana started with just white cloth robes tied with a cordon and straw sandals. She also had a small backpack carrying an empty canteen and a few squares wrapped in aluminum foil that seemed to be cereal bars. He was told he needed to eat every six hours in-game, if he was resting. Of course, with heavy stamina use, he would need to eat more often. Sandro also left him a hundred golden hearts, which wasn¡¯t much for a Tier 1 player, but it was a lot for a newbie.
Milana left the inn and went to the plaza. She filled her canteen in the fountain, and then walked to the Information Module. It was a small counter next to the teleportation gate of Torinelo Starter City. Milana appeared through that gate yesterday, after completing her customization. There were two Non-Player Characters, a young couple, whose job was to guide the newbies. The girl was talking to what appeared to be a cat-girl, so Milana went to talk to the guy. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m new in this game.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°Hello, I am Larry.¡± ¨Csaid the NPC, with a big smile. ¨C¡°I am in charge of explaining how to play Virtual Connection, so ask me anything.¡± ¡°You can also take the twenty minute walkthrough if you want to. I recommend it.¡±
The NPCs in Virtual Connection had an artificial intelligence that was good enough for a simple conversation in their field of expertise, but wouldn¡¯t fool anyone into thinking they were real people. ¡°No thanks.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, thinking that after Sandro¡¯s explanation, the walkthrough would be a waste of time. ¡°Rather, I was wondering¡­ how can I raise my level quickly?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°You get experience killing monsters and doing quests.¡± ¨Creplied Larry. ¡°So to raise your level quickly, you should get an extermination quest. Then you can get both the monsters¡¯ experience and the quest¡¯s.¡± ¡°I see, two in one.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°I heard that dating could give you a lot of experience too.¡± ¡°Yes, going into an experience date is a good way to level fast.¡± ¨Csaid Larry. ¨C¡°But, right now, even the Tier 0 date will be too much for you.¡± ¡°I see. Then who should I ask for an extermination quest?¡± ¨Casked Milana, going directly to the point. ¡°For a level 1 player, you should ask Peter.¡± ¨Creplied Larry. ¨C¡°You can find him at the butcher¡¯s store.¡±
Milana went to the butcher¡¯s store and asked for Peter. He was a big man, wearing a white apron spotted with blood. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Milana.¡± ¨CMilana introduced herself. ¨C¡°Larry told me you could give me a quest.¡± ¡°A newbie, huh?¡± ¨Csaid Peter. ¨C¡°Then I shall give you a quest.¡± Peter took out a small knife and gave it to Milana. ¡°You should kill and bring back ten wild rabbit carcasses.¡± ¨Csaid Peter. ¨C¡°If you do it within the day, I¡¯ll pay you a golden heart. On top of the experience, of course.¡± ¡°Not a bad deal, huh?¡± ¨Ccontinued Peter, laughing. ¨C¡°I¡¯ll even let you keep the knife.¡± ¡°I accept.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, while clicking on the ¡®yes¡¯ button on the pop-up dialogue in front of her. ¡°You can find the wild rabbits to the left of the road, just leaving Torinelo by the main gate.¡±
¡°Bunny, bunny, bunny.¡± ¨CMilana called the rabbits. She was at the rabbit field for ten minutes, and she still hadn¡¯t gotten any carcass. The rabbits came to her when she called, but then she tried swinging her knife. It was really hard to connect to a rabbit. And the few times she got one, the knife just bounced. The rabbit would shake itself off the ground and keep leaping like nothing happened. This knife isn¡¯t working. Then Milana looked at the knife and clicked the information icon. ? Butter Knife ? No level restriction ? Deals 0-1 damage on contact ? Great knife for spreading butter on a bun. Don¡¯t expect it to cut meat. It''s called a butter knife for a reason. ¡°DAMNED BUTCHER!!!!¡± ¨CMilana yelled, without care for the world.
Milana heard a girl¡¯s laughter. It was the cat-girl she had seen before at the Information Module. She was wearing the same beginner robes as her, but she didn¡¯t have the cordon. ¡°I guess you took the rabbit quest at the butcher¡¯s.¡± ¨Csaid the cat-girl, covering her mouth. ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°But that damned butcher gave me a butter knife.¡± ¡°If you had checked the knife before, he would have offered to sell you a butcher¡¯s cleaver for one platinum heart.¡± ¨Csaid the cat-girl. ¡°So I should spend money, huh?¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°Yup, this game is shameless.¡± ¨Csaid the cat-girl, laughing. ¨C¡°There are other ways to level up, but the rabbit quest is the fastest by far.¡± ¡°Then I guess I have no option.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, resigned. ¡°Nah, there is another method. I need to deliver my quest, so follow me and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± ¨Csaid the cat-girl, winking. ¨C¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I am Milana, nice to meet you.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°Name is Angela, nyan!¡±
¡°By the way, what level are you?¡± ¨Casked Milana, while walking towards Torinelo¡¯s gate. ¡°Level 1.¡± ¨Canswered Angela. ¨C¡°I was just born into this world, nyan.¡± ¡°Anyway that I see you, you don¡¯t seem like a new player.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. Angela had the characteristic ears of the cat-man race. Her hair was black, but she wasn¡¯t covered in fur. Besides her long nails and a bulge in her rear that should be a tail, she looked like a cute young girl. ¡°Well, I just restarted my char.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°When I started the game, I really wanted to be a cat-girl. But I didn¡¯t feel like spending a hundred dollars on a game.¡± ¡°Yeah, spending real money feels wasteful.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°I know, right?¡± ¨Csaid Angela, smiling. ¨C¡°But as I kept playing I started to regret it.¡± ¡°You really like cats, don¡¯t you?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°Of course!¡± ¨Canswered Angela. ¨C¡°They are the cutest, loveliest, most amazing creatures in the whole world, nyan!¡± ¡°Then, your other character?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°She is gone.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, suddenly saddened. ¨C¡°An extra char costs a whopping two thousand platinum hearts. There¡¯s no way I could spend that much on a game.¡±
They got to the butcher¡¯s store. Angela went in and took out ten rabbit carcasses from her backpack. ¡°Here they are.¡± ¨Csaid Angela to the girl in the counter. ¡°Great! Master Peter will be really pleased. Take this.¡± ¨Csaid the girl, giving Angela a golden heart. ¡°If you can, please keep bringing the rabbit carcasses. Same deal.¡± ¨Cadded the girl, winking. ¡°Did you buy the cleaver?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°Nope.¡± ¨Canswered Angela, grinning. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the fields; it will be easier if I show you.¡±
On the fields, Angela was a true cat-woman. She got in fours on the ground, making clicking sounds with her mouth. The rabbits, the easiest monster in the game, were designed to be attracted to sound. Soon enough, a couple of them went leaping just in front of Angela. Angela flexed her legs and suddenly jumped, catching a rabbit between her hands. The rabbit tried to bite her, but she quickly took a rope from her pocket and tied it around the rabbit¡¯s neck. She pulled the ends of the rope until the rabbit stopped moving. It was dead. ¡°Wow. That was amazing!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana. ¡°Hehehe.¡± ¨Csaid Angela smiling. Her cordon-less robes had gotten tangled, flashing her panties and tail, which was moving side to side. ¡°So that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t have a cordon on your robes. The view is a little indecent, though.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, blushing. ¡°This is just my virtual body and we are both girls. So it¡¯s ok!¡± ¨Csaid Angela, laughing. ¨C¡°But I could see myself turning into a lesbian for you, nyan!¡±
Soon enough, Milana took out the cordon of her robes and started chasing the rabbits. After the first few tries, she didn¡¯t care about showing off her underwear anymore. The few times she got bitten it just stung a little. Unlike the monsters, it seemed the players couldn¡¯t bleed. The rabbit quest was great for gaining experience. After five hours of play, both of them got to level 7, the limit for that particular quest. And they got twenty golden hearts each. ¡°That was really fun.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°And we leveled really fast too. I wouldn¡¯t have known what to do without you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°Gaming is always better with friends.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t take the rabbit quest anymore, though.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, with a sad face. The last time Angela didn¡¯t tell her that she couldn¡¯t get the quest and helped catching rabbits. ¡°It¡¯s ok.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°The fun is just starting, nyan!¡± ¡°What should we do now?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°Let¡¯s go shopping!!!!¡±
Angela and Milana went into the Clothing Shop. It was at one corner of the plaza, a big four store building. First floor had Tier 0 equipment, while the other floors were dedicated one for each Tier 1 class. The basement was for special commissions. ¡°I was wondering, isn¡¯t Virtual Connection supposed to be set on the Medieval Age?¡± ¨Casked Milana. It was a fair concern. Even though all the buildings looked old and ornate from outside, the inside of the store was really big, and you could see mechanical stairs going up and down. In the middle there were the new products on spotlight. ¡°Not really. You could say it has a little of everything. As long as it¡¯s nice looking.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, with a smile. ¡°Besides, this game wouldn¡¯t be half as fun if you couldn¡¯t go window shopping, nyan!¡±
Coming soon¡­ the Magical Girl and Super Saiyan Costume Sets! Release your hidden power! Greeting Angela and Milana, there were a couple of really realistic mannequins in fighting pose. The girl had a white miniskirt and a pink top with a huge golden heart. She was holding a heart-topped staff. The boy had orange trousers and long spiky blonde hair. ¡°Welcome to Torinelo City Clothing Shop.¡± ¨Csaid to them a smiling woman in yellow uniform. ¨C¡°My name is Jessica and I¡¯ll help you today.¡± ¡°Hi Jessica!¡± ¨Csaid Angela, like she was an acquaintance. Milana was still staring at the costumes. They looked so ridiculous that she didn¡¯t know if she should laugh. ¡°Those are the new costumes, arriving after tomorrow¡¯s scheduled downtime.¡± ¨Csaid Jessica, mistaking Milana¡¯s stare for interest. ¡°They go over your armor, overriding the looks, but they won¡¯t damage on battle. They even give you additional bonuses!¡± ¡°Could she insta-try the Magical Girl one?¡± ¨Casked Angela, with a mischievous smile. ¡°Of course!¡± ¨Csaid Jessica, snapping her fingers.
Suddenly, Milana felt enveloped in a soft light, and then her clothes changed over her. Milana looked at her image on the mirror and blushed. This body really looks well in anything. ¡°I must say, it really suits you, Miss.¡± ¨Csaid Jessica, with sparkling eyes. ¨C¡°It will cost ten platinum hearts for the one week version, and fifty for a three month one!¡± Before returning it, Milana checked her stats. The costume gave +5 to all stats, +12 to Magical attack and a huge +200 mana bonus. She figured it wasn¡¯t that much for a high level player, but it more than quadrupled her current mana pool. ¡°It has some good stats.¡± ¨CMilana couldn¡¯t help saying. ¡°If you are interested, I can show you the costumes we have currently available.¡± ¨Csaid Jessica, trying to push them into buying an expensive item. ¡°We just want to check out the level 7 equipment.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, taking control of the situation.
While walking through the corridors, Angela explained about equipment. Normal armor for Tier 0 characters had either a level 7 or level 15 restriction. And, since it didn¡¯t take that much time to get from level 15 to 20, most people used their level 7 equipment until they could buy class specific items. ¡°Here we are: the Woman¡¯s Level 7 Clothing Section!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Jessica, recovering from her last setback. There were rows of clothes of different colors, divided in three sections: Light clothes, Medium armor and Heavy plate. Though it was signaled like that, even the Heavy plate section was filled with low cut tops and miniskirts. ¡°You are a total newbie, nyan!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Angela, looking at Milana¡¯s dumbfounded face. ¡°Haaa.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, with her mouth opened. She couldn¡¯t believe one would go to a battle in a tank top and miniskirt, made of metal links or not. ¡°You know, in Virtual Connection what matters is the stats.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°If it says it gives you defense, it will protect you even if it looks like a thong!¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡±
In the end, all the clothing of each section had the same stats, so one could pick any combination based on the looks. Milana went with leather reinforced blue jeans, a baby blue T-shirt and a leather jacket. The jeans and jacket were considered Medium armor, so they gave a moderate defense without reducing Agility too much. She also bought a pair of white sneakers that she was wearing sockless, since she had spent her whole twenty golden hearts. Angela was wearing tight leather shorts over black stockings, high boots, a bright pink tank top and a leather jacket that ended just below her breasts. Her tail was displayed in full, coming out from her shorts. Walking side to side, they looked almost like normal girls taking a stroll in the shopping district.
¡°We should eat something good.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°My satiety bar is getting low, nyan.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¨Csaid Milana, worried about the money. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my treat!¡± Angela and Milana got inside a coffee shop on a second floor with a balcony. The music was a soft violin piece. A perfectly uniformed waiter escorted them to a table, leaving them two menu guides. ¡°This place is really nice.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, appreciating the candelabra hanging over the table. ¡°Yup, great place for a first date, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¨Csaid Angela, smiling. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¨Csaid Milana, being taken by surprise. ¡°You are just way too cute, nyan!¡±
After having tea and an ice-cream cup, Angela excused herself. ¡°Sorry, I need to go.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°It¡¯s late and mom won¡¯t let me skip dinner.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you for everything.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. She was truly glad to have met Angela. It was really a godsend. They registered as friends and Angela disappeared in a flash of light. Milana decided to call it a day and logged out too. And just then Ricardo realized he had money all along: the hundred golden hearts Sandro left him. Chapter 2 Q&A Thread 1. I am confused. I was reading chapter ## and suddenly all dissapeared. What happened? This fic just got restructured. Don''t worry, nobody got fired :D. It was supposed to be a cellphone novel, but this site isn''t really suitable for posting a lot of short installments to be read on a cellphone. A few people complained so I put a poll on the first Q&A thread. I know a lot of people who read this fiction didn''t vote, but the ones who did were mostly in favor to change to normal length chapter postings. So I just did that. You will find all the installments for chapters 1 and 2 on their respective thread. Go check them out x). 2. Why are the chapters so different in length? They don''t have a defined structure either... Chapters here aren''t meant to be chapters. They are just compilations of a series of cellphone novel-length installments, which all came to happen on a single day. So, if a day has more post-worthy events the chapter will be longer, and otherwise. To reflect this, the chapters have been renamed to days. 3. What will be the new schedule? I liked the daily postings... This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.The schedule on the new main site will be the same as it used to be. At least one installment per day, more if I feel like it :P. Royalroadl just got demoted to an archive, so I''ll only post here when I finish with a chapter. I estimate it will be like once every two weeks, but it really depends on the chapter length and my posting frequency on the other site. Sorry! 4. New site? What new site? Since royalroadl doesn''t seem to work for a cellphone novel, now I am posting this fic on textnovel.com, a site designed for cellphone novels. I''ll post on royalroad the whole chapters after they are finished on textnovel. So the people who want to read it like a ¡°normal¡± fic, can do it. Here is the link for the story: http://www.textnovel.com/story/Virtual-Connection/17922/ Go to chapter 36 to read Chapter 3: Getting the skills (1) [or click in last, if you do it within a few hours since posting this XD ] And this shall be the last Q&A thread, since now each chapter will have its own thread. Please, no spoilers from textnovel in here. Comment in there, or wait until I upload the whole chapter. Read you later! Day 3: Getting the skills ¡°Ok, here it is.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, clicking on the pulsing red button floating on the upper left corner of her view. ¡°Finally!¡± ¨Cexclaimed a voice next to her ear, which she recognized immediately as Amelia¡¯s. ¡°Amelia?¡± ¨Casked Milana, for a confirmation. ¡°Parapapapa¡­ Congratulations!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia. ¨C¡°Yesterday I tried to private talk to you all day long.¡± ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t notice the button.¡± When he logged off the night before, his cellphone had ten lost calls. All from Amelia. ¡°Are you at the inn?¡± ¨Casked Amelia. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Creplied Milana. ¡°I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, laughing. ¨C¡°Don¡¯t dare to move!¡±
Amelia, or Amy, her in-game name, entered the room panting. Unlike her leather armor from the other day, now she was wearing a V-necked top and a black miniskirt. ¡°Is that your armor?¡± ¨Casked Milana, a little embarrassed. ¡°Well, it¡¯s technically armor.¡± ¨Canswered Amelia, with her index on her lips. ¨C¡°Level 7 Light clothes!¡± ¡°Figures¡­¡± ¨Csaid Milana, realizing people in a game would dress a lot more daring than in real life. ¡°Do you like them?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, spinning on her stilettos. ¡°Anyway, you were going to tell me how to get a weapon.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, changing the topic. ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, frowning.
¡°To get a weapon you should go to the Fighting Dojo, the Rogue Syndicate or the Mage Academy.¡± ¡°There, you pay ten platinum hearts and they will teach you how to use the weapon of your choice.¡± ¡°At the end of the class, they will gift you a level 7 basic weapon and a 2-skill module. You can buy additional modules in there too.¡± ¡°For weapons, you need to go to the Weapon Shop. They are really expensive, though.¡± ¡°The basic weapon is more than enough until your class change, so you shouldn¡¯t worry about that yet.¡±
¡°So it all goes back to paying.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, no longer surprised. ¨C¡°I guess I should have checked the in-game credit card charge option.¡± ¡°Hahaha. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°You can get your first weapon for free if you complete the introduction letter quest.¡± ¡°But it would be a good idea to check that option in the future. You wouldn¡¯t want to be on a date and then realize you ran out of money.¡± ¨Cadded Amelia, laughing. ¡°Yeah, that would be bad.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, with an embarrassed laugh. Amelia¡¯s eyes clouded for an instant, but quickly regained her usual smile. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±
The introduction letter quest consisted in helping the guys at the Information Module deliver messages around. It was designed to get new players to know the location of the most important buildings in the city. There was a city map in front of the fountain, with the important locations marked. Amelia followed Milana around, indicating the right direction whenever she seemed lost. ¡°Finally, that was the last one.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, breathing deeply. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to run, you know.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, whose feet hurt because of the stilettos. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, grinning. ¡°Now you should decide if you are going for the Fighting Dojo, Rogue Syndicate or Mage Academy.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¡°It won¡¯t affect your class later, but getting used to your weapon of choice is important too.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°What would you recommend?¡± ¡°Hmm. Johnny is a sword and shield Fighter, so I guess you should go for the Mage Academy after all.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¡°Mina was a hybrid mage.¡±
Since Milana had to take the classes alone, Amelia left her at the Mage Academy. But not before teaching her how to call for a private talk. ¡°Hello.¡± ¨Csaid Milana to the guy at the counter. ¨C¡°I am here to learn the combat basics.¡± ¡°Welcome to the Mage Academy. I am Marco.¡± ¨Cthe guy introduced himself. ¨C¡°Do you have an introduction letter?¡± ¡°Yes. Here it is.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, taking out the letter. ¡°Glad to meet you, Miss Milana.¡± Marco stood up from his chair. The mage was wearing a blue cape over cream colored robes, which made him look even taller than he already was. He took out a thin wooden staff from behind the counter and gave it to Milana. ¡°All staves and wands have a normal attack that doesn¡¯t use mana and can be cast chantless. We call it ¡®Force bolt¡¯.¡± ¨Csaid Marco. ¡°At the beginning, it will be easier if you say its name when shooting. Later, only imagining it on your head should be enough.¡± ¡°First try shooting the target on the rear wall.¡± ¨Csaid Marco, pointing towards a line of targets. ¨C¡°When you get three bull eyes, come back here.¡±
Milana was doing her target practice, when she noticed the pulsing red button. She pressed it, expecting to hear Amelia¡¯s high-pitched voice. ¡°Hi Milana. I wonder if you already forgot about me, nyan!¡± ¨Csaid a voice next to her ear. ¡°Hello Angela.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°I am currently doing the basic training at the Mage Academy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°I just finished the Rogue basic training.¡± ¡°Should I meet you after I finish here?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m going out in a bit.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°But I¡¯ll be back tonight!¡± ¡°Ok. By the way, what time is it for you?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°Right now it¡¯s 4pm.¡± ¨Canswered Angela. ¡°Really? It is 4pm here too.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°What a coincidence!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Angela. ¡°I wonder if we live close to each other.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°That would be nice.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¡°Sh¡­ I got to go. See you tonight, nyan!¡±
After finishing the target practice, Milana received a basic two-spell module from Marco. It had the ¡®Mana bolt¡¯ and ¡®Healing touch¡¯ spells. Mana bolt dealt about three times the damage of the Force bolt, but it took twenty mana per use. With her current stats, she could only use it twice. She couldn¡¯t try Healing touch, but the description said it was a low level healing spell. And that ended the Mage Academy basic training. She kept the thin wooden staff that she was given at the beginning. I guess I should call Amelia.
¡°So you already finished with the basic training.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°Just wait in there for a bit.¡± ¡°Are you busy?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°No, no.¡± ¨Canswered Amelia, flustered. ¨C¡°Hmm¡­ could we meet at the plaza instead?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°But if you are busy¡­¡± ¡°I already said its ok.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°See you soon!¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
After waiting for ten minutes, Amelia finally arrived at the plaza. She was wearing calf-length black pants, a strapless yellow top and ballerina shoes. ¡°Did you just buy that?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°It¡¯s your fault, you know. Making a girl run in high heels.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, pouting. ¡°Hehe.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t laugh, geez.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, breaking into laughter too.
¡°I got the basic skills and weapon, and yesterday I bought my level 7 armor. What should I do now?¡± ¨Casked Milana. Amelia and Milana were walking while sharing a popcorn bag. The few cereal bars Milana started with were gone long time ago. They didn¡¯t taste too good either. ¡°You could level a bit more, or maybe try an experience date.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia. ¨C¡°At your level you might beat the first wave.¡± ¡°How many waves does it have?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°The Tier 0 exp date has ten waves, including a boss.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°And if you beat the boss, you get a leisure date ticket.¡± ¡°Leisure date?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°You can choose between Arcade, Karaoke or Dancing!¡±¨Cexclaimed Amelia, smiling. ¡°The game moves you and your date to the place of your choice, where you can do individual or cooperative games for half an hour.¡± ¡°Interested?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, teasingly. ¡°Not really.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°I would have to date a guy after all.¡± ¡°Hahaha. Forgot about that!¡±
Dinner time was approaching, so Milana decided to leave the date business for tomorrow. ¡°Could you keep me company for a bit?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll be glad.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, beaming. ¡°I want to buy a present.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, suddenly bashful. ¨C¡°Something a girl around your age would like.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, lowering her gaze. ¡°Where should we go?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°There¡¯s only one place: the Accessory Shop!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, walking ahead.
The Accessory Shop was a small two-store building. The first floor had several glass cases with assorted jewelry. It had the same distribution as the Clothing Shop. Tier 0 equipment on the first floor, Tier 1 on the second, and special commissions in the basement. ¡°Accessories with good stats go for thousands of golden hearts.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°If you don¡¯t care about that, you should browse among the unrestricted stuff on the back.¡± ¡°I should check those then.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, with a nervous smile.
Milana looked at the display on the back. There were tons of little trinkets, like bracelets, rings and medals. They looked cheap compared to the jewelry on the glass display at the front. ¡°Do you know about her preferences?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, since Milana seemed lost. ¡°She likes cats.¡± ¨Canswered Milana. ¡°Look here.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, pointing to a white cat hairpin. ¨C¡°It even gives a +1 to Speed!¡± ¡°It looks good.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, a little worried to look at the price. Sixty golden hearts.
Dinner passed by silently. Minerva ate without talking and went back to her room. Amelia had tried a lot of things in the last couple of days, but Minerva wouldn¡¯t go out of the house. After eating, Ricardo returned to his desk carrying his credit card. I guess I really need to do it. ¨Cthough Ricardo, while checking the in-game credit card charge option in the Virtual Connection site. He knew the damned game would keep trying to make him and his money part ways. And he didn¡¯t want to depend on hand-me-downs from Sandro either.
Milana kept looking around the Accessory Shop, while waiting for Angela. Prices for jewelry were really ridiculous. A +50 mana earing set cost two thousand golden hearts. Converted into platinum hearts, it amounted to more than a hundred dollars! Finally, a quarter before 9 pm, the red button started to pulse. ¡°Hi Milana!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Angela¡¯s voice. ¨C¡°Sorry, took longer than I expected.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°See you at the plaza?¡± ¡°Alright!¡± ¨Csaid Angela.
¡°Here!!!¡± ¨Ccalled Angela, waving her hands. She was wearing the same clothes she had last time. Now the plaza was full of people. You could see smiling couples meeting up. ¡°Quite a nice atmosphere, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¡°I didn¡¯t notice before, but the game clock seems to be the same as ours.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. While she was having dinner in real life, the sun also set inside Virtual Connection. The city lights gave it a romantic feeling. ¡°Yup, Torinelo City has the same time zone as us.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, laughing. ¡°That¡¯s why I chose it, nyan!¡±
¡°Actually, we don¡¯t have much time.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, while walking. They were currently going up a boardwalk, towards a small hill inside the city. It seemed to be a popular location, since a lot of people were going in the same direction. ¡°Do you have to sleep early?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°Nah, I am on my winter break.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, winking. ¨C¡°But the scheduled downtime will start in an hour.¡± ¡°Ahh, what the clerk mentioned.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, remembering that time. ¡°Yup, the game closes for an hour to fix bugs and do updates.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C It happens once a week, on Tuesday night for us.¡±
On the top of the hill there was a scenic overlook. Couples were sitting on blankets, talking in low voices while looking at the stars. ¡°This is my favorite place in Torinelo, nyan!¡± ¨Csaid Angela, taking out a blanket. ¡°Please sit down.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, blushing. ¡°Just before starting the weekly downtime, there is a special event of sorts.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¡°Event?¡± ¡°But it only lasts for a minute, blink and you¡¯ll miss it!¡±
The night sky in Virtual Connection was full of bright stars. And, unlike real ones, you didn¡¯t need to stretch too much to distinguish the shaped constellations. ¡°The small one at our lower left corner is called ¡®The White Cat¡¯. Isn¡¯t it awesome?¡± ¨Csaid Angela, with a big smile. It was truly incredible; you could even tell where the whiskers were. ¡°That reminds me¡­¡± ¨Csaid Milana, taking out a small pink box. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¨Casked Angela, excited. ¡°Here.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, putting the box on Angela¡¯s hands. ¨C¡°Just a little thank you for all your help.¡± ¡°Oh, a white cat!!!¡± ¨Csaid Angela, putting it on her hair. ¨C¡°And it even has a small bonus!¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t that good.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, getting embarrassed. ¡°My old headpiece has a level 30 restriction, so I¡¯ll use this for a while, nyan!¡±
Two minutes before 10 pm, the couples started to get up. Angela took Milana¡¯s hand and made her stand. ¡°It will start soon.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, putting the blanket on her backpack. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Think of a wish, nyan!¡± Suddenly the sky got brighter as stars started falling, leaving a trail of light. It was a meteor shower. Amazing. Milana was lost in the view. In a minute people started to disappear one by one, as the system disconnected them. The last thing she saw was Angela¡¯s smiling face, surrounded by a brilliant light. Day 4: Magical Milana Next day, Milana met with Amelia at the inn. ¡°Finally, today will be your first date!¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, grinning. She was dressed in a green summer dress, with low heeled sandals. Milana, of course, was still using the same clothes she bought on the first day. ¡°Maybe I should go and level for a bit.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°I only get one free experience date a day and I don¡¯t want to waste it.¡± ¡°But dating has other perks.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, smiling. ¡°If the guy likes you, he will buy you stuff and help you level!¡± ¡°Ahh, so that¡¯s how you play this game.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, with a serious tone. ¡°I was joking, jerk.¡±
At the end, they decided to take the wild hog extermination quest. Wild hogs were level 5 pig-like monsters with sharp tusks. Milana had to kill and bring back twenty pairs of tusks, for a three golden hearts payment. ¡°Help!!!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, running towards a laughing Amelia. ¡°Dagger slash!¡± ¨Cyelled Amelia, killing the hog immediately. ¡°If I kill them you won¡¯t get any experience.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, still laughing. ¨C¡°They won¡¯t drop the tusks either.¡± In Virtual Connection, monsters more than seven levels apart didn¡¯t give experience, or drops. ¡°I know.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°It¡¯s just that the Force bolt deals way too low damage.¡± ¡°You have Mana bolt, don¡¯t you?¡± ¨Casked Amelia. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, depressed. ¨C¡°But with my current mana pool I can only use it twice.¡± ¡°Tough luck.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¡°How did Mina level?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°Well, she played with Johnny and me.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°She used her Force bolt to attract the hogs, then Johnny would tank and I killed them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all she did?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°She also healed Johnny whenever his health dropped.¡±
At her current predicament, Angela¡¯s figure came into Milana¡¯s mind. She had been checking her friend list all day, but Angela hadn¡¯t logged yet. Still, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the cat-girl would do. The hogs were a lot bigger than rabbits, so wrestling with them on the ground was no good. Then she remembered the rope. It was actually the cordon of her beginner robes. If I can somehow restrain the hog with it, it won¡¯t matter if it takes ten Force bolts to kill it. Her gaze somehow fell onto a group of bushes and she had an idea¡­
¡°HELP!!!¡± ¨Cyelled a disheveled Milana, running towards a ¡®rolling on the floor laughing¡¯ Amelia. Well, that didn¡¯t go like she had thought. Milana had secured one end of her rope to a bush. She held the other end tied in a running knot, while shooting a Force bolt to attract a hog. Since the rope was so short, she had to get really close to the hog. After running around the bushes for a bit, she caught a tusk with her rope. Now I got you. Milana was taking out her staff to kill the hog, when with an impulse the hog jumped on her. The small bush wasn¡¯t strong enough and the hog had uprooted it. ¡°KYAA!!!¡± ¨CMilana squealed like a true girl. Milana fell with the hog over her. It ripped part of her jacket and T-shirt with its teeth, before she got up and ran. While running she tripped and fell again, the hog clawing its tusks on her bottom. Her health was really low when Amelia finally got up and one-hit the hog.
¡°Really good plan, brilliant! ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, laughing out loud. ¡°It went a lot better in my head.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, lowering her gaze. ¡°I bet.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, still laughing. Milana was sitting on the ground, in a safe zone, waiting for her health to recover. Her clothes were in tatters. Even one of her sneakers had split when she tripped. ¡°Anyway, you should put something on.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°You look like you were ravaged by a savage beast.¡± ¡°I was.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, pouting. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you help me sooner?¡± ¡°It was just too funny.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, with a singing voice. ¨C¡°You yell was priceless!¡± ¡°I was scared.¡± ¨Cadmitted Milana in a low voice. Her sorrowful gaze and encroaching figure made an impact. Milana totally looked like a princess in distress. ¡°Ok, I am really sorry.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, evading Milana¡¯s gaze. ¨C¡°Now cover yourself. You are making me look like a bully.¡± Milana put on her beginner robes, the only other clothes she had. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the city.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¡°As an apology, I¡¯ll buy you new clothes.¡±
While walking towards Torinelo City, Amelia took a couple of peaches out of her handbag. ¡°Here, let¡¯s eat while walking.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, giving Milana one. ¡°So that¡¯s your backpack, I didn¡¯t notice before.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, taking a bite of her peach. ¡°It carries a lot more than you would imagine.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, smiling. ¡°It¡¯s magic, huh?¡± ¨Csaid Milana, already in a better mood. ¡°As everything. ¡° ¨Csaid Amelia, winking. ¡°By the way, there is a pulsing yellow button on my sight, where the private talk one used to be.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°Since when?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, surprised. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¨Canswered Milana. ¨C¡°It might have been there since I logged today.¡± ¡°The yellow button means a System message.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°You should check it out.¡± ¡°Ok, pressing the button.¡±
¡°Dear Milana, we hope you are having fun on Virtual Connection.¡± ¡°Since you have spent a thousand platinum hearts during this month, we are giving you a free sample of a new item in our shop.¡± ¡°Enjoy it!¡± A long golden box fell onto Milana¡¯s hands. It felt light. ¡°Wow, first time I have seen that.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¡°It is a complimentary gift. For having spent a thousand dollars on the game.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, recalling the hole in her credit card. ¡°Open it!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia. Inside there was a 7-day Magical Girl Costume Set.
¡°Mana bolt!¡± ¨Cyelled a beautiful girl, dressed as she just came out from a TV screen. Her heart-topped staff shot a pure white sphere. The wild hog received it directly and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving behind a pair of tusks. ¡°That was so cool!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, clapping. ¡°This costume is truly overpowered.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling against herself. ¨C¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do when it expires.¡± With the costume¡¯s bonus, Milana could shoot twelve Mana bolts without running out of mana. Also, the hogs that she would usually need three shots to kill were dying in one-hit. When she first received it, Milana was embarrassed to try on it. But then she remembered costumes override the clothes visuals and she was more ashamed of the current state of those. So she tried it on, and suddenly felt a lot stronger. Since she was already there, she couldn¡¯t help but to shoot a hog. Surprisingly, she killed it.
With the help of the cash shop item, Milana finished collecting the tusks in no time. ¡°Now you should return to the city to deliver the quest.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°And then we should go shopping!¡± ¡°With the costume, even the beginner robes should be enough.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¡°Maybe, but you should dress up for your date!¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, with a mischievous smile. ¨C¡°Right now you are strong enough.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t I level with just the hogs?¡± ¨Casked Milana, hopeful. ¡°Remember the plan.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia, with a grin on her face. ¨C¡°You should get used to dating as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll do an experience date.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, resigned. ¨C¡°But first I¡¯ll get a couple of levels with the hogs!¡± ¡°Ok, ok.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°After our lunch break, we¡¯ll go shopping.¡± ¡°And then, dating!!!¡±
Amelia left early, but Milana was confident enough to keep leveling alone. It was already a quarter before 2 pm when a blue button began to pulse. Shoot. Just three more and I¡¯ll get to level 10. She tried to ignore the button, even though she knew it was an Outside call. That meant mom was tired of waiting, and probably mad at him. One more, I¡¯ll do it! Then the screen went white. Milana had been forcefully disconnected.
¡°You, wash your face and get down immediately.¡± ¨Csaid his mother, angry. ¡°We have a guest.¡± Ricardo stood up and did as was told. He knew it was late, but he had been so close¡­ Going down the stairs, he saw that everyone was already sitting. Minerva, mom and a smiling Amelia. ¡°Hello Ricardo.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, with an angelic voice. ¡°Hello.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, taking his sit. ¡°Hog hunting?¡± ¨Cwhispered Amelia when he got close. ¡°Ricardo, you should apologize for making our guest wait.¡± ¨Csaid mom. ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, mom.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°It was I who came on short notice.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even say.¡± ¨Csaid mom. ¨C¡°You know you are always welcomed here.¡± ¡°You even brought us cake.¡±
Amelia has mom totally on her pocket. She even calls her ¡®mom¡¯, for crying out loud. ¨Cthought Ricardo, while munching on his lunch. Their meal passed in a constant talk, mainly among Amelia and mom. Minerva just gave short responses when asked anything. ¡°You should go out the three of you together one of these days. It is your summer break after all.¡± ¨Csaid mom, while eating her cake. ¨C¡°I¡¯ll drive you if you want.¡± ¡°That sounds great.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, enthusiastic, looking at Minerva from the corner of her eye. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t feel too well.¡± ¨Cinterrupted Minerva, excusing herself. ¡°I guess I should be going too.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, deflated. ¡°Do you need a lift?¡± ¨Casked mom. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¨Canswered Amelia. ¨C¡°Besides, I¡¯ll make a stop on the way.¡± After Amelia left, mom closed the door sighing. ¡°She is such a nice girl, don¡¯t you think?¡±
¡°Enjoying yourself, don¡¯t you?¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, with a big smile on her face. After lunch break, Milana reconnected with a quarter health bar. Thankfully, the hogs weren¡¯t strong enough to kill her in the 5 second penalty for disconnecting. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. I shall take revenge on you lot! ¨Cthought Milana, starting to shoot hogs again. She leveled with the first one, but she still needed a few to finish the repeatable quest. Soon she started to make poses while shooting, even winking after a successful attack. And that¡¯s when Amelia appeared.
¡°You could have told me you were coming for lunch.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, embarrassed. ¡°Hehe.¡± ¨Claughed Amelia. ¨C¡°I did it on a whim.¡± ¡°I was walking by a pastry shop, and thought Minerva would like some cake.¡± ¡°I get it.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, suddenly saddened. ¨C¡°Sorry that Minerva wouldn¡¯t accept the invitation. Good try, though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep trying!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind if it was only us, though.¡± ¨Cadded Amelia, teasingly. ¡°I wonder what mom would think if she saw you like this.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, grinning. ¡°She sees you as such a smart, demure and humble girl.¡± ¡°I do have the best grade average of my class, thank you very much.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¡°See what I say?¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¡°Hahaha.¡± ¡°Just so you know, I am only like this with you.¡±
After delivering the quest, Amelia and Milana went to the Torinelo City Clothing Shop. ¡°I guess I should take off the costume.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, changing in a flash. ¡°Geez, you have such a nice skin.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, laughing. Milana¡¯s robes had ripped when she was forcefully disconnected. Of course, they had been hidden by the Magical Girl costume. ¡°I swear. Whoever developed this game must be a pervert.¡±
Having finished shopping, Amelia and Milana were walking towards the Dating center. It took around an hour, but they finally could settle on two clothing combinations. The first one was black leather reinforced form fitting jeans, with a sleeveless white top and a cherry-toned leather jacket. That went with a pair of black low boots. And the one she had on. A short aquamarine one-piece, with white shoes and leggings. Milana had been reluctant to buy that one, but she had to admit it looked gorgeous on her. ¡°I should change into the other clothes.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°Those have better defense after all.¡± ¡°Nooo. These are your battle clothes!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia. ¨C¡°Don¡¯t worry. Armor won¡¯t degrade on a duel or date.¡± ¡°But, I thought the other ones were¡­¡±
¡°Ok, now you just need to click on the ¡®Instant blind date¡¯ button and the system will match you.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. In the Dating center you needed to fill a questionnaire to register for the first time. It was for the matchmaking system to calculate your compatibility with potential date partners. Then, the system would calculate your best matches with the people who were logged at the time, among registered players. Those results were in a list you could check at the center. To date someone, you could try to contact anyone on the list, or press the ¡®Instant blind date¡¯ button. That would connect you with the best match among people who had done the same. ¡°Well, here goes nothing¡­¡±
Red button started to pulse, but now it was heart-shaped. Milana stared at it. Closing her eyes, she extended her arm and pressed it. Actually, Ricardo didn¡¯t have much dating experience in real life. And to do a blind date as a female was totally out of his comfort zone. ¡°Hello.¡± ¨Csaid a male voice in her ear. A couple seconds passed. ¡°Hello.¡±
¡°I am Natsu.¡± ¨Csaid the boy. ¨C¡°I am currently level 9 and I just finished my basic training.¡± The voice wavered a bit. It was probably his first ¡®blind date¡¯ too. ¡°I am Milana, currently at level 10.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, now with a light smile on her face, since she noticed the guy was more nervous than her. ¡°Are you ready or do you need some time?¡± ¨Casked Milana, as taught by Amelia. After the first contact, a pink button with ¡®go to exp date¡¯ would appear. When both pressed it, they would be transported to the date instance. ¡°I am ready.¡±
¡°Hello again¡± ¨Csaid Milana, with an uncomfortable smile. She was in danger of breaking into laughter. Both Milana and Natsu appeared on the center of an ornate ballroom. The pink button now read ¡®start¡¯. ¡°You are really cute!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Natsu, openly staring at Milana. Natsu was a short boy with brown eyes. The rest you couldn¡¯t know. He had long spiky blonde hair, and his chest was uncovered. It was unnaturally ripped. Super Saiyan.
¡°So you got a costume?¡± ¨Casked Milana, to break the silence. ¡°Cool, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¨Csaid Natsu, proudly. ¨C¡°It has good stats too.¡± ¡°It must.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, laughing a little bit. ¡°When I saw it at the store, I thought I must have it.¡± ¨Csaid Natsu, happily. ¨C¡°Getting these muscles for real would be impossible.¡± No kidding, dude. ¡°Wanna touch them?¡± ¨Casked Natsu, pointing to his chest. ¡°I think I¡¯ll pass.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°By the way, what weapon do you use?¡± Natsu extended his hands¡­ ¡°KAMEHAMEHAAAA!¡±
¡°You are a mage?¡± ¨Csaid Milana, a little disappointed. Having a party of two mages wasn¡¯t ideal. What came out of Natsu¡¯s hands was a small white sphere. In other words, a Force bolt. ¡°The costume overrides the staff visuals.¡± ¨Csaid Natsu, beaming. I guess I need to use it after all. We need all the help we can get. Milana changed into her own costume.
¡°Wow! You look like the real thing!¡± ¨Csaid Natsu, excitedly. ¡°Since we are both mages, we should attack non-stop since the beginning.¡± ¨Cinterrupted Milana, repeating Amelia¡¯s advice. ¡°If we are stingy with the mana, we risk getting overwhelmed. A close-quarters fight is game over for us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll protect you with my life!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Natsu. ¡°Protect yourself. If you die, I¡¯ll probably be dead soon afterwards.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, all businesslike. She had gone through several scenarios with Amelia. In all of them, one death meant certain failure. And finally, the exp date started.
First wave: Ten rabid rabbits. ¡°Force bolt should be enough for this round.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, thinking Natsu should have similar stats as her. ¡°Ok.¡± ¨Csaid Natsu, shooting a rabbit. They were bigger and more aggressive than wild rabbits, but they died in one shot all the same. ¡°Yeah, we did it!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Natsu, after clearing the first wave. There were 30 seconds between waves, so they had a little respite. Maybe their last one.
Second wave: Nine frenzied hogs. ¡°Time to use Mana bolt.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, killing a hog. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± ¨Csaid Natsu, doing the same. Third wave: Eight crimson bears. Milana killed the last hog, as the bears started to appear. Now they should try to kill as much monsters as they could before dying in a blaze of glory. ¡°Let¡¯s shoot them together.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, pointing to the one in front of them. ¡°Mana bolt!¡± ¨Cyelled both of them, shooting two white spheres. The bear received them and died. ¡°2 o¡¯clock!¡± ¨Cyelled Milana, shifting to the next bear.
Fourth wave: Seven twilight bats. Just as they were killing the last bear, the bats appeared. They were more difficult to aim at, but they died in one Mana bolt shot. Trouble was, they didn¡¯t have too many of them left. Milana killed three bats quickly before running out of mana. Natsu was in the same trouble, and there were two bats left.
Fifth wave: Six cursed lizardmen. The first humanoid monsters, they had a dark green lizard skin and held crude bone daggers. ¡°Let¡¯s change to hit-and-run.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°Focus on not getting hit.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± ¨Csaid Natsu. Both of them only had Force Bolt now. Which was fine, since it was the one attack they could do chantless. They started to shoot together the monster which was the closest, to immediately run away. Like that they killed one lizardman and the two remaining bats, before the next wave appeared.
Sixth wave: Five blood-eyed lizardmen. The new enemies were lizardmen with slings. They had to run non-stop to evade the melee lizardmen, so they didn¡¯t have the luxury to focus on the ranged attackers. Another of the persecuting lizardmen finally died, but it would be the last one. The stones were raining on them, reducing their health quickly. Lizardmen didn¡¯t care if they hit their own kin. And then Milana was hit on the side and fell. Seventh wave: Four goblin fanatics. The new enemies started to appear, but it didn¡¯t matter anymore. She saw the lizardman as he was swinging his dagger, and closed her eyes. ¡°Argh.¡± ¨Csaid Natsu, who fell over her legs. He had received the hit and instantly died. Fool.
They reappeared one after the other in the now empty ballroom. ¡°So you died too.¡± ¨Csaid Natsu. ¨C¡°Sorry I couldn¡¯t protect you.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t need to.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°It was obvious that at our level we would be killed at some point.¡± ¡°You were awesome!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Natsu. ¨C¡°Do you date a lot?¡± ¡°I mean exp date.¡± ¨Cadded Natsu, blushing. ¡°That was my first date.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, laughing. ¡°Wow!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Natsu. ¨C¡°You must be a genius!¡± ¡°Haha. Not really.¡± ¡°My friend taught me everything about it.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°She has been playing for a long time.¡± ¡°Still, you are awesome.¡± ¨Csaid Natsu. ¨C¡°Can I add you as a friend?¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Even though Natsu wasn¡¯t too good as a date partner, she didn¡¯t dislike the boy.
Back in Torinelo City, Amelia was sat on a bench, waiting. ¡°It must have been a good date, to last this much.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, laughing. ¡°We lasted until the lizardmen.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°I heard the seventh wave announcement just before dying.¡± ¡°Wow, you are really good at this!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia. ¡°On my first date we died with the bears.¡± ¡°It was all thanks to your advice, and this costume.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, embarrassed. ¡°My partner also had one.¡± ¡°I see, still. The lizardmen are level 15, and the ranged ones level 16.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°So it should have netted both of you quite an amount of experience.¡± ¡°Yup, I got to level 11, half way to leveling again.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. Milana checked her friend list one last time, still no Angela. ¡°I guess I am calling it a day. I don¡¯t want to miss dinner, since mom must be angry about lunch.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°Sorry about that.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, smiling like an angel. Day 5: Partying Next day Ricardo woke up with a purpose: he would get to level 20 before his cash shop costume expires. It was obvious all the advantages it gave. If he wasted the chance, he would have to either take more time leveling or spend more money. And he had to get back to his job at the end of the month. ¡°Ok, today I''ll finish with the hogs to get to eleven and then ask about the next challenge!¡± And with those thoughts, Milana made her appearance.
After delivering her last hog extermination, quests at the butcher were over, so Milana returned to the Information Module. ¡°Hi!¡± ¨Cexclaimed a cat-eared girl. ¡°Hello Angela.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, who was just going to talk to the NPC. ¡°What level are you now?¡± ¨Casked Angela, with a smile. ¡°Just got to level 11.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, not knowing if that was good or not. ¡°I didn''t think you would level that fast, nyan.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, laughing. ¨C¡°But it will work alright. Want to join us?¡± At that point, Milana realized there was a tall guy with a sword next to Angela. Even though he was taller than her, he looked young. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, realizing Milana''s surprise. ¨C¡°I didn''t introduce you.¡± ¡°Here is Kyle, my little brother.¡±
¡°Don''t introduce me like that!¡± ¨Cexclaimed an embarrassed Kyle. ¡°Ok, ok.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, laughing. ¨C¡°Lady Milana, here is my dear brother: the warrior Kyle.¡± Milana couldn''t help laughing too, even though she knew it was hard on the kid. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°And if I have to say something, you don''t look small at all.¡± Kyle''s face got redder, if that was even possible. ¡°My name is Milana. I just started playing, so Angela has been of great help to me. Pleased to meet you.¡±
After introducing themselves, the group decided to go training. Angela was level 9 and Kyle level 8, but in a party they would be capable to beat monsters several levels higher. They got out of the city from the north gate, walking 30 minutes towards a rocky formation. ¡°We are at the lizardman caves.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°On the first floor there are only melee ones. We just need to be careful to not pull more than a couple.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, taking out his shield. ¨C¡°I might be new to Virtual Connection, but I have been playing games forever.¡± ¡°Good to know.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, pointing to Milana. Kyle blushed again.
The lizard grinding at the cave went really well. The tank''s job was arguably the hardest, but Kyle wasn''t joking about his gaming experience. He pulled the lizardmen with just the exact distance as to not lose them, but without taking unnecessary hits. When he got them to their designed spot, Angela would start dagger slashing one while Milana helped Force bolting the other one, healing Kyle whenever he needed. As the hours passed, Kyle increased the number of pulled lizardmen. Thanks to the costume bonuses, Milana could even kill a lizard with Mana bolts, with mana to spare for healing. But she did realize that if she didn''t have one, she would need to party like this just to be able to train.
¡°Whew, that was quite the workout.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, putting out his shield. The party had been training for about four hours. For Angela and Milana it wasn''t hard at all, but Kyle was tired. Besides, it would be time for lunch soon, so they needed to find a safe spot to log out. ¡°What do you think about Kyle?¡± ¨Casked Angela, looking at him sideways. ¡°I really don''t know much about games.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°But I do realize he is really good.¡± Kyle was in a corner apart from them. ¡°If you haven''t dated yet today, what do you think about dating him?¡± ¨Casked Angela, with mischievous eyes. ¡°And what about you?¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°I, too, haven''t dated yet today.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¡±But dating my little bro is somewhat...¡±
The group took their lunch break together. In the afternoon, Angela was going out, but Kyle would relog to do the free daily experience date with Milana. They had leveled quite a bit. Kyle was now level 12, while Milana got to level 13. Just when Milana relogged, a pulsing red button welcomed her. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Hello!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia. ¨C¡°Sorry about this morning. I had to do some paperwork for school.¡± ¡°Don''t worry.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°I am already thankful for all your help. So just log whenever you feel like.¡± ¡°Where are you?¡± ¨Casked Amelia. ¨C¡°Shall we meet up?¡± ¡°Just now I am waiting for my date.¡± ¨Canswered Milana. ¨C¡°But we can meet afterwards.¡± ¡°Who is he?¡± ¨Casked Amelia. ¡°His name is Kyle. He is the little brother of a girl I met on the first day.¡± ¨Canswered Milana. ¨C¡°He is a really good tank, so I think it will go great.¡± ¡°Lucky!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia. ¡°He just arrived.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°Alright then, good luck!¡±
¡°Hello again.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle. He logged already in his full combat suit. Heavy armor, short spear and a round shield. ¡°Hello.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¡°Angela told me about this experience date.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle. ¨C¡°But let me confirm.¡± ¡°She didn''t show you the actual date?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°Nope.¡± ¨Canswered Kyle. ¨C¡°She takes this dating thing way too seriously.¡± ¡°She won''t date her own brother.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, laughing. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Actually, I don''t think she will date anyone besides her boyfriend. And he didn''t restart his char, so that will take some time.¡±
After reviewing the mob waves, they planned their strategy and went off to the date. First wave: Ten rabid rabbits. Milana killed them singlehandly, and without wasting any mana. As she was now, they weren''t any challenge. Second wave: Nine frenzied hogs. Milana killed most of the hogs, but a couple got to the center, where Kyle took care of them. Third wave: Eight crimson bears. This time Milana could only kill three of them, but Kyle pulled the rest all the same. He started going in circles, to minimize the damage taken. Milana only had to cast healing touch once. Fourth wave: Seven twilight bats. This round was tricky, since the bats were fast and difficult to aim. And Milana wanted to save her mana for later rounds, so she had been forcing herself to only use Force bolt. ¡°It''s ok, I got them¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, being followed by five bats. The other two were already corpses under Milana''s feet.
Bats had taken their time, but they were finally disposed of, just before the next wave. Fifth wave: Six cursed lizardmen. The lizardmen were actually easier than bats. Kyle pulled them like a pro, and Milana could take her time frying them with Force bolts. Sixth wave: Five blood-eyed lizardmen. This was the wave for which Milana had been saving her Mana bolts. Just as they appeared, she killed them starting with the right side. As she was doing that, Kyle ran to the left side to aggro those. Their plan was to prevent Milana from being targeted. And it was successful. She evaded the lone stone that came to her just at the beginning of the wave.
Seventh wave: Four goblin fanatics. Goblins were smaller than the lizardmen, but way faster. They attacked with daggers, but they could also use they teeth and claws if they saw the chance. Kyle pulled them as fast as he could, relying on Milana''s Healing touch. She wanted to save the last of her mana for the next wave, but the priority was not letting Kyle''s hit points lower too much. Eighth wave: Three goblin shamans. They heard the next wave''s announcement as Kyle finished the last fanatic. Inmediately, Milana shot a Mana bolt to one of the shamans, while Kyle got to the other ones. Fortunately, the Mana bolt was a critical hit, which dealt more damage and left the shaman stunned. Then, Milana shot again to kill it, switching to heal Kyle just in time. Thankfully, the shamans were weak to physical damage, so Kyle could kill them with Milana''s backup. ¡°Just two waves to go!¡±
Ninth wave: Two troll guardians. With Milana''s mana almost depleted, she would need to focus just on support. Kyle pulled the trolls with ease, but their defense were really good. And the level difference meant that Kyle would need healing everytime he got hit. They killed one with a combination of Spear attacks and Force bolts, but the boss wouldn''t wait much more. Final wave: The Troll King. The last guardian was still at half health, but the King appeared anyway. He had a massive tower shield and a spiked club. If they killed him, they would gain tons of experience, and even a leissure date ticket. But Milana and Kyle weren''t thinking that far, they were just having fun immersed in the heat of the battle.
¡°That was amazing!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana. She was panting, but happy. ¡°Such a pity we couldn''t beat him in the end.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, who couldn''t help smiling. When the King arrived, both started to run in circles, trying to hit the guardian whenever they could afford it. Sadly, the King had good range, so there was a point in which they couldn''t flee anymore. They realized it and made a last ditch effort, killing the guardian. Out of stamina and mana-depleted, they just embraced death by clubbing.
They reappeared at the safe point next to the cave''s entrance. Milana got to level 15, halfway towards 16. The date amounted to more than a couple of hours of grinding. ¡°Now I should go, my virtual body is really tired.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle. ¨C¡°I hope we can have another go at the King someday.¡± ¡°Of course, I would be glad.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, still smiling. ¨C¡°Thank you, and see ya!¡± And then Milana took out a return scroll to get back to Torinelo.
¡°You got to see the King?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, excited. ¡°Yeah, got to see him, and got beaten to a pulp with his club.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, laughing. ¡°Anyway, for just having started playing a few days ago, you have done quite a lot.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°Maybe you are a genius at this game afterall!¡± ¡°Haha. The genius is Kyle.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°His tanking is a thing of beauty.¡± ¡°Did it make your heart flutter?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, teasingly. ¡°Don''t even joke about that.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, laughing. ¡°Anyway, you should keep dating him.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¡°You might even clear the level 20 date before the end of the week.¡±
After their short meeting, they decided to log out and rest for a bit. Amelia would visit in the evening, to spend time with Minerva. Ricardo could just hope for the best, while he prepared a few games they probably wouldn''t get to play. Meanwhile, Amelia was out buying some sweets. And window shopping. Even with Virtual Connection, she felt like going out for a bit in the real from time to time. Contrary to their expectations, Minerva did play for a bit. And even flashed a half-smile against her will. Some progress. Day 6: Date and date (and date) Next day, a pulsing red button welcomed Milana in Torinelo City. ¡°Hello?¡± ¨Canswered Milana, expecting Amelia''s voice on the other end. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¨Csaid a nervous voice on the other side. ¨C¡°It might be too early for you, but I''ll be going out all day...¡± ¡°Hello Kyle.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°And don''t worry, it''s already ten in the morning.¡± ¡°Would you try another exp date with me?¡± ¨Cfinally asked Kyle. Milana was sure he would be blushing furiously on the other side. ¡°I''ll be glad!¡±
This time things went even smoother. They blitzed to the goblin shaman round, in which Milana used mana for the first time. The levels gained the last time did matter a lot. Ninth wave: Two troll guardians. With a fresh Kyle and Milana''s mana pool three quarters full, they were in a much better position than last time. Just as they appeared, Kyle went towards the left one, while Milana shot a Mana bolt to the right one, to immediately run behind Kyle. He was dodging full time, while using his Taunt to keep them attacking him. Milana was Mana bolting both of them alternately, to not aggro them. They killed them one after the other with a few seconds to spare.
Final wave: The Troll King. ¡°Here it comes!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, overly excited. ¡°Lets do it!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Kyle, with a confident smile. The Troll King was 3 meters tall gray humanoid monster, with big hands and hard skin. It was dressed in a simple copper armor, holding a tower shield of the same material and a club with metal spikes. Contrary to appearances, the King was actually pretty agile since it could spin its shield at will. Kyle approached the King sideways from the shield side, so that the troll would need to spin around for hitting him. Milana shot him while moving behind Kyle. She knew one hit from the club could be fatal. The troll did try spinning, but Kyle anticipated that and kept moving towards its shield side. His job was to get between the troll and Milana, taking the least amount of damage possible. Trolls had high physical resistance. So if anything would bring him down, it would be Milana''s attacks.
The Troll King got tired of spinning around and went for a shield bash. Kyle couldn''t evade that, so he defended with his shield while jumping backwards and to the left. Even so, he lost quite a bit of Hit Points. Milana''s mana was at the quarter mark but she didn''t hesitate on healing Kyle. The troll finally had time to spin around and try to club Kyle. He reacted using his shield to slide forward, hitting his foe in the knee. Milana kept shooting at the King''s uncovered head while he tried to kick Kyle. He defended with his sword, making a deep cut on the troll''s right leg but taking the hit directly on his chest. He flew and hit the wall and would have died if he wasn''t healed before.
Milana didn''t have much mana left. Kyle needed healing but he had lost his sword and shield. Even if she healed him, he wouldn''t resist much more. She decided to use up all the mana she had left and try to kill the troll herself. Sorry Kyle, this is just a game. The troll had been aggravated towards Kyle, so he went for the finishing blow, leaving Milana alone. She expected that, shooting the troll on its uncovered neck while it hit Kyle with the club. Kyle died. Milana shot her last Mana bolt.
Wow Kyle and Milana were looking at each other and smiling. They couldn''t do anything but that. The shot of adrenaline was just too much to handle. They were still in the ballroom of the experience date. At the time of the challenge, the room had a dark and heavy atmosphere. Now a warm sunlight came from the windows and you could hear soft string music. In the center of the room, a bright yellow crystal was floating. The leisure date ticket.
Finally, Milana took a step forward and pointed the crystal to Kyle. ¡°Take it.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle. ¨C¡°You killed him in the end.¡± ¡°No, I can''t possibly do that.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°You are really awesome. I know someone like me normally wouldn''t be able to get that far.¡± ¡°But then...¡± ¨Csaid Kyle. ¨C¡°This should be your first chance to do a leisure date.¡± ¡°Yours too, silly.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, laughing. ¡°Say what, we should go together.¡±
What have I done. Milana was talking with Amelia while eating an ice-cream at the place Angela took her before. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°So you asked a guy out.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, openly laughing. ¡°It was in the spur of the moment!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana. ¨C¡°We had just defeated the boss after giving it all. And he wanted to leave the ticket for me, even though he looked like he really wanted to use it.¡± ¡°When is your date?.¡± ¨Casked Amelia, teasingly. ¡°Tonight.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°He is busy all afternoon.¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¨Casked Amelia. ¡°We haven''t decided yet. I hope for arcade.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, with a dreadful feeling. ¡°At least wear your dress!¡±
Ricardo logged out for lunch and took a stroll around the city. He felt a little cramped in his room. In the game he had been walking through the countryside, exploring and fighting, but he still needed some real-life fresh air. The local mall was a few blocks away, so that was his aim for the afternoon. ¡°Hey!¡± ¨Cexclaimed an overly excited, high-pitched voice. Yikes, it''s Amelia.
¡°I thought you would be leveling in Virtual Connection.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, going towards him. She was dressed in a yellow blouse and white pants. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail. ¡°Hello.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, making a double-take. He was already used to the elvish Amelia, so he was surprised with the sudden change. ¡°Do you miss Amy''s blond hair?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, grinning. ¡°It would look weird.¡± ¨Canswered Ricardo. ¡°Are you shopping?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, walking next to him. ¡°Not really. I was just feeling cramped in my room all day long.¡± ¨Canswered Ricardo. ¡°Then come with me!¡±
Ricardo followed Amelia towards the main concert area. ¡°Didn''t know there was a performance today.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, realizing where were they going to. ¡°Lately, every Friday there''s something in there.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°I guess it''s only a summer thing.¡± ¡°And what are we watching today?¡± ¨Casked Ricardo, now intrigued. ¡°I don''t know!¡±
The performance was a Peruvian folkloric group, both musicians and dancers. The musicians were in the scenario and the dancers stayed in a corded square at the public''s level. They were performing Afro-Peruvian music, coupled with very energetic dancing. ¡°And now, as the last part of our show, we invite people from the public to dance with us!¡± Ricardo laughed, thinking that watching people try to dance was always fun. But then, he felt someone pulling his hand, and suddenly he was inside the corded square. He sent a look of despair towards the smiling imp who was holding his hand. ¡°Hehehe¡±
¡°That was really fun.¡±¨Csaid Amelia, while sipping on her strawberry smoothie. ¨C¡°And don''t dare to deny it!¡± ¡°Ok, ok.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, flashing a smile. ¨C¡°I concede.¡± They were drinking refreshments in a coffee shop. After the dancing they felt warm and tired. ¡°I didn''t know you could dance Afro.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¡°Mom always makes me dance in family parties, so I can fudge it.¡±
¡°Such a pity I didn''t take advantage of that when you were my dance date.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, faking a sad face. ¡°I don''t know if that counts.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, smiling. ¨C¡°I was your date just until they finished taking the photos.¡± Minerva and Amelia''s Pre Prom Party took place a couple of months before. The day of the party Amelia''s date cancelled on her. She planned to go without a partner but Ricardo''s mom forced him to ask her. At the end he went with her just for the commemorative photo''s sake. ¡°You did ask me, with a pink rose in your hand!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, laughing. ¡°Yeah, mom kinda forced me into that.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, with a embarrassed laugh. ¡°Anyways, I really appreciated it.¡±
After their impromptu outing at the mall, Ricardo and Amelia parted ways to their respective homes. He needed to get back somewhat early to eat dinner, since he had an appointment. His first leisure date in Virtual Connection.
¡°Hello.¡± Kyle was already waiting next to the plaza when Milana logged in. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans. ¡°Hi Kyle.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, who was wearing her dress because of Amelia''s insistence. ¨C¡°Did you wait long?¡± ¡°No, I just arrived.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle. Isn''t this as clich¨¦d as it goes? ¡°Let''s go!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, while failing to stifle a laugh.
The couple moved to a circular room with three exits labeled as: Dance Hall, Karaoke Box and Amusement Arcade. ¡°Which one do you like?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, eying the arcade one. ¡°Let''s try that one.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, walking towards the Amusement Arcade exit. ¡°I want to see how good are you with those.¡±
¡°Shoot!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Kyle, while moving his character down the screen. ¡°I''m trying to aim but it''s hard.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, pressing the joystick repeatedly. ¡°Doesn''t matter; I just need you to cover me.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, while throwing a granade inside a building. The Amusement Arcade had a lot of different machines. Besides the video games you could even play some mechanical classics like whack-a-mole. ¡°Seems like we won.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, watching the ending animation on the screen. Milana wasn''t amused since the game had been way too easy for Kyle and she didn''t get to do much. ¡°Lets play that one.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, pointing to a white rectangular table.
¡°Yeah, now this is my type of game!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, after scoring another goal. They were at their second match of air hockey, the first one ending 7-0 in Milana''s favor. Kyle had started with a really awkward grip on the mallet. After the first three goals, Milana insisted on guiding Kyle''s grip and motions, so he could at least hit the puck in a straight line. ¡°Finally!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Kyle, after scoring his first goal. Milana was afraid Kyle wouldn''t enjoy the game after being beaten so soundly but she had to commend his tenacity. Second game ended 6-1, Kyle smiling regardless. ¡°I wonder if you are a pro in this.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, after being scored by a double bank shot. ¡°That was a lucky shot.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, laughing. ¡°I intended to do a regular bank shot but my grip slipped a bit.¡±
¡°Knew it¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, after hearing the buzz. Kyle and Milana were sitting in a big fluffy couch sipping from their complimentary refreshments. After the very spirited match of air hockey, they chose the trivia challenge for the date''s finale. ¡°If it''s a consolation, I would have also chosen cheetah.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°Who could have thought bats were so fast.¡± ¡°It seemed too easy of a question.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, with a guilty smile. ¨C¡°I guess that was our last game.¡± ¡°Yeah, we got like a couple of minutes left for the date instance.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, finishing her drink. ¡°I wonder if we get anything from this.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, looking at the wall clock. ¡°I wonder too.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°Friends haven''t told me anything about items or such.¡±
*ding* Just after the clock signaled the end of the date instance, a yellow envelope appeared in front of them, while the rest of the room turned gray. ¡°I guess we should open it.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, while touching the floating envelope with her fingernail. It opened, showing three pictures of the two of them during the date. First one showed Kyle focused on the arcade machine screen, while Milana was mashing the joystick button furiously. Second one was when the both of them were looking at each other incredulously just after the double bank shot. Third one had Milana smiling at Kyle''s guilty face after botching the last question of the trivia challenge. *Do you wish to keep the pictures?* These are actually really good. I wonder how do they do it. ¨Cthought Milana, while pressing the ''Yes'' button. A photo album appeared on her lap, the pictures floating and inserting themselves inside. Day 7: The mother of all lizards Saturday morning, Milana, Amelia, Sandro and Clara met at the room in Torinelo City Inn to be updated of the progress of the plan. ¡°So, all in all, Milana is halfway through level 15 and has already beaten the tier 0 exp date.¡± ¨Csummarized Amelia, proudly. She was wearing a dark green dress jacket and mini skirt combo, giving out a professional vibe. ¡°That''s really good progress. Seems we won''t need to powerlevel you afterall.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, genuinely surprised. ¡°See, I told you.¡± ¨Csaid Clara, tracing the pattern in Sandro''s sleeve with her finger. ¨C¡°This game is too simple for him.¡± ¡°Yeah, he has always been the smart one.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, feigning jealousy. ¡°Stop, stop, stop.¡± ¨Cinterrupted Milana, frowning. ¨C¡°You can resume your flirting after the meeting is over.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¨Creplied Clara and Sandro at the same time.
¡°You know, I''m still surprised you accepted Sandro''s plan so easily.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, mischievously. ¨C¡°I wonder... Maybe you wanted an excuse to play as a girl?¡± ¡°No way!¡± Milana and Amelia were walking side by side in Torinelo City shopping district, after finishing the progress meeting. ¡°But I can''t deny it''s been kinda fun.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, suddenly bashful. ¨C¡°It''s like I''m just starting to understand how it is on the girls'' side.¡± ¡°I wonder.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°You have always been on the oblivious side.¡± ¡°Guilty.¡±
¡°Hello!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Jessica, coming to meet them at the door of the Clothing Store. ¡°Hello Jessica.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia. ¨C¡°We want to look at the Level 15 Light Clothes.¡± ¡°Great!¡± ¨Csaid Jessica. ¨C¡°Follow me.¡± ¡°I still don''t know if this is really necessary.¡± ¨Cwhispered Milana to Amelia. ¨C¡°It won''t take much time to get to level 20.¡± ¡°Don''t worry, level 15 equipment is still worth a pittance for a high level player.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia, smiling. ¡°Besides, you can''t ever have too many clothes!¡±
After buying a couple outfits, they logged out for lunch. This time Amelia did warn him that she was coming, so Ricardo promptly logged out, took a shower and went down to the dining room. ¡°Hello sweety; you didn''t have to.¡± ¨Csaid a smiling mom, receiving a boxed cake from Amelia. ¡°It''s the least I could do.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia, half-hugging mom while winking towards Ricardo. ¡°Hello Amelia.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, half-smiling. ¡°Could you call Minerva for lunch?¡± ¨Casked mom to Ricardo. ¡°Going.¡±
¡°I never knew that Ricardo could dance Afro!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, laughing. After finishing lunch, the four of them were eating the cake and talking. Minerva was dressed in a pink summer dress and had taken the time to press her hair. ¡°He doesn''t seem like it but he''s actually a really good dancer.¡± ¨Creplied mom. ¡°I wouldn''t say really good; I can pretend competence.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, a little embarrased. ¡°I wish I had known for Pre Prom party!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, feigning regret. ¡°Well, now you know.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, smiling. ¡°There''s still Prom party left.¡± ¨Cadded mom, standing up to collect the dishes.
¡°Are Ricardo and you, like, going out?¡± ¨Casked Minerva, suddenly serious. ¡°Maybe?¡± ¨Canswered Amelia, playing dumb. Both girls were in Milana''s room for their first time in weeks. Clothes were thrown haphazardly in a corner of the room, plates and glasses accumulating on the nightstand. ¡°Are you for real?!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Minerva. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I dunno.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia, making her best dumb blonde impression. ¡°Have I ever told you how infuriating you are?¡±
Having left Minerva in Amelia''s hands, Ricardo promptly logged into Virtual Connection. A quick browse of his friend''s list told him both Angela and Kyle were connected. ¡°Hello!¡± ¨Creplied Angela. ¨C¡°I''m with Kyle; do you feel like going to the lizardman caves again?¡± ¡°Alright!¡±
This time they went all the way to the second floor. Unlike the first floor, here the lizardmen appeared in groups of four to five, often including a couple of ranged attackers. ¡°This time you should let Kyle engage them before shooting.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°Or you''ll get hit.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± ¨Creplied Milana, staying back with Angela. The lizard grinding went on for about an hour, the party advancing steadly towards the back of the floor. ¡°And here we are.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, excited. ¨C¡°This door opens to the boss room.¡± ¡°Can we beat it?¡± ¨Casked Milana, worried. ¡°Yup.¡±
The boss room''s door closed behind them with a thump. At the front was the biggest, fattest lizard Milana had ever seen. It was even taller than the troll boss from the exp date. ¡°The Lizard Broodmother.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°Lovely, isn''t she?¡± ¡°I don''t know if I''m more repulsed by her mud crusted skin or her dirty drooling mouth.¡± ¨Creplied Milana, with a disgusted expression. Kyle quickly set into his previously designated place, covering them as the vanguard. The lizardwoman got up with a roar and picked up it''s spear. Kyle, who was waiting for that, ran towards the boss, intercepting the spear throw with his shield. ¡°Now!¡± ¨Cyelled Angela. The Mana bolt impacted the Broodmother directly in the chest, making it step back. Angela, who had been going around the other side, jumped the boss with daggers in both hands. The cat-woman slashed her foe twice and hopped backwards, as the spear came flying back towards the Broodmother''s hand. They continued attacking the boss in the same way until it''s hit points got halfway down. At that point, the Broodmother stepped down from it''s raised dais with the spear in her hand. Kyle went forward to engage it, blocking with his shield while trying to stay in front of the girls. Milana alternated between shooting and healing, chipping at the boss''s hit points. Here it comes.
Suddenly, the walls at the sides of the room started moving sideways, revealing ten big, light-pulsing, crackling-sounding eggs. ¡°Don''t mind them.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, while running towards the closest egg. ¡°I got it.¡± Angela frantically slashed the lizards from the right wall as they emerged from their eggs. The lizardlings were fast but weak, falling easily to Angela''s daggers; she didn''t even bother to evade their claws. She finished them just in time to intercept the left side ones, who were approaching Milana from the back. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¨Casked Milana, glancing sideways. ¡°Don''t worry; they won''t kill me.¡±
¡°Lucky!¡± After Angela killed all the lizardlings, the Broodmother had become enraged, dropping it''s spear. It began thrashing wildly, attacking with claws and teeth at Kyle. Angela finished the boss with opportunistic strikes while Milana kept Kyle alive. It fell down in a burst of light, leaving it''s spear floating behind. ? Blood spear of the lizard tribe ? Level 17 shortspear ? Retrace (This weapon can be recalled to your hand after five seconds) ? The spear of the matriarch of a lizardman clan, coated in the blood of all it''s previous owners. ¡°Is it really ok for me to take it?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, looking towards Milana. ¡°Yeah, take it.¡± ¨Creplied Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°I don''t have any use for a spear anyway.¡± ¡°Thank you, Milana¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°That rare drop is the best weapon for a tank under level 30.¡± ¡°Nice!¡± ¨Csaid Milana, glacing worriedly towards Angela. ¨C¡°By the way... Are you sure you''re really fine?¡± ¡°It just feels a little itchy!¡±
¡°I didn''t think I would ever see the Naked Ninja in action.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, laughing. ¡°Naked Ninja?!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, dumbfounded. Angela, Milana and Kyle were back in their usual coffee shop in Torinelo City, sipping cold drinks. ¡°That''s how she is called in her guild.¡± ¨Cadded Kyle. ¨C¡°You can imagine why.¡± ¡°I can see it.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, stifling a laugh. ¡°You know...¡± ¨Csaid Angela, a little peeved. ¨C¡°When the game was just starting, we farmed that boss for days. And I would always end up with my clothes all in tatters.¡± ¡°So I decided: instead of wasting gold in buying new armor every time, I''ll just fight naked!¡±
¡°We have been leveling really fast.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, after noticing she had leveled twice. ¨C¡°If we keep at it we''ll get to level 20 in no time!¡± ¡°Such a pity winter break is almost over.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, regretfully. ¨C¡°I still need to level once to be able to use my new spear.¡± ¡°That''s as good as done.¡± ¨Creplied Milana. ¨C¡°We just need to date!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Creplied Kyle, bashfully. ¡°By the way, I can''t play tomorrow.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, apologetically. ¨C¡°But you two can still train together without me.¡± ¡°Is Dave coming back?¡± ¨Casked Kyle. ¡°Yup.¡± ¨Canswered Angela, smiling. ¨C¡°And I should be a good girlfriend.¡±
After finishing their drinks, Kyle excused himself for bit, promising to log back soon for their daily exp date. ¡°What plans do you have for level 20?¡± ¨Casked Angela, now that they were alone. ¨C¡°Are you gonna be a mage?¡± ¡°Yeah, I''m already used to it.¡± ¨Creplied Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°Watching you two fight has made me painfully aware I wouldn''t make it either as a warrior or rogue.¡± ¡°You would do just fine.¡± ¨Creplied Angela. ¡°Besides, Kyle and I are pros!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¨Casked Milana, dumbfounded. ¡°No way!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Angela, laughing. ¡°You are so cute!¡±
Kyle logged back after a bit, dressed in full armor. This time the exp date went without a hitch, both being higher level and more experienced than before. It felt anticlimatic, after having to give it all to barely beat the boss last time, to now kill it almost effortlessly. ¡°That was it.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, dissapointed. The leisure date ticket was floating in front of them, suddenly not feeling that special anymore. ¡°You should take it.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, after a few seconds of silence. ¨C¡°I got the spear afterall.¡± ¡°Then I''ll keep it.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, raising her hand to touch the yellow crystal. ¡°Did you level?¡± ¡°Yeah, now I can use the spear.¡± ¡°Great. See you tomorrow?¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± ¡°Goodnight¡± Day 8: Going out ¡°How did it go with Minerva yesterday?¡± ¨Casked Milana, sipping an iced mochaccino. She was having a virtual breakfast with Amelia, since they couldn''t talk last night. ¡°Great!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia. ¨C¡°She''s getting over it.¡± ¡°I still can''t believe she agreed to go out for lunch.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, excited. ¨C¡°We have been trying for a long time... Well, two weeks, but it surely feels longer.¡± ¡°I think Minerva has been ready for a while.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, playing with the straw of her smoothie. ¨C¡°She was just waiting for an excuse.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°And what did it?¡± ¡°Let''s say we caught her attention.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia, cryptically.
¡°Whaa...¡± As Milana was re-asking, the red button appeared suddenly on her display, startling her. ¡°Sorry, I just got a private talk notification.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, flustered. ¡°Kyle?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, teasingly. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, deflated. ¨C¡°Angela isn''t logging today, so it''ll be just the two of us.¡± ¡°Do you want me to go with you?¡±
¡°Hi, my name is Amelia.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, with a beaming smile. ¨C¡°I''m glad to finally meet you!¡± ¡°Hello, I''m Kyle.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle. ¨C¡°Glad to meet you too, Amelia.¡± The girls were meeting with Kyle at the central plaza before deciding where to go for leveling. ¡°By the way, I won''t be able to party with you since I''m already level 35.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°But I can give you some advice; even save your lives if it comes to that!¡± They finally chose to go to the goblin burrows on Kyle''s suggestion. They wouldn''t be able to beat the boss without Angela but they could still level effectively in the ground floor. ¡°Just try to take on groups of less than six.¡± ¨Csuggested Amelia. ¨C¡°Those small patrols tend to only have one shaman. If Milana can kill it from distance, it shouldn''t get too dangerous.¡±
¡°Now.¡± ¨Cwhispered Kyle. He was crouching next to Milana, looking over a rock towards an ongoing patrol. ¡°Mana bolt!¡± The magical girl jumped over the rock and shot the shaman point-blank. At the same time, Kyle was circling around to get between Milana and the rest of the goblins. The dagger-wielding goblins turned with a hiss and jumped to attack Kyle. The shaman was knocked back from the Mana bolt and Milana shot it again to finish it. Kyle defended against two goblins with his shield, repelling the third with his sword. The fourth one was slashing his armored right leg but he could take it for a bit. Milana, having just finished with the only ranged menace, healed Kyle twice before bolting the closest goblin. She continued shooting and healing alternately, Kyle knocking back the goblins one at a time with his shield to let Milana have a clear shot.
They kept fightning small patrols for a while, dispatching them easily. Even when caught unawares by a second shaman, Milana reacted quickly enough for them to get away without needing Amelia''s help. ¡°I must say you have great coordination.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, admired. ¨C¡°No wonder you already cleared the Tier 0 exp date.¡± ¡°It''s all thanks to Kyle.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, laughing. ¨C¡°I''m just riding his coattails.¡± ¡°Nah, you might not realize it yet.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, serious. ¨C¡°But you''re actually a really good mage.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°People think being a mage is easy, just stay in the back and shoot.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, awkwardly. ¡°But that''s not all there is.¡± ¨Ccontinued Amelia. ¨C¡°A good mage should be aware of the battlefield at all times and react accordingly. Since you are protected at the back, the mage is responsible for quickly directing the party''s actions if a problem arrises.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°I''m glad that I haven''t been dead weight afterall.¡± ¡°Sorry, I should go ahead.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, apologetically. ¨C¡°I need to get ready for today''s lunch.¡± ¡°Yeah, that''s true.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°See you later.¡± ¡°Bye¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
¡°Do you know each other in real life?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, curious. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Canswered Milana. ¨C¡°Actually, we are eating lunch together today.¡± ¡°Then, are you leaving too?¡± ¨Casked Kyle. ¡°She''ll be coming to my house first.¡± ¨Canswered Milana. ¨C¡°So I still have some time.¡± And, since I''m not really a girl, it won''t take too much time to get ready. ¡°Enough for an exp date?¡± ¨Casked Kyle. ¨C¡°I''ll be going out in the afternoon, so it might be difficult to meet again later.¡± ¡°Alright.¡±
Kyle and Milana beat the exp date easily again, clearing all the rounds as they appeared. They couldn''t wait to try the Tier 1 exp date. ¡°Finally level 18, just two to go.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, after storing the leisure date ticket. ¡°Yeah, this exp date has gotten really boring.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¡°Tomorrow I''m going back to school.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, suddenly serious. ¨C¡°I won''t be able to play as much as in these last few days.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¨Creplied Milana. ¨C¡°I still have a few weeks of summer break left myself but I''ll have to cut my gaming time after that.¡± ¡°I guess you''ll outlevel me soon.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, awkwardly. ¨C¡°When I finally get to level 20, I hope we can do an exp date once in a while.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana. ¨C¡°I''m looking forward to doing the Tier 1 exp date with you; I don''t think I''ll ever find a better tank willing to go with me.¡± ¡°That''s kinda hard to believe.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, deflated. ¡°Anyway, it isn''t like we won''t get together anymore.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, trying an encouraging smile. ¨C¡°Are you logging in tomorrow?¡± ¡°I guess I can play for a bit in the afternoon.¡± ¨Canswered Kyle, half-smiling. ¡°See you tomorrow!¡±
¡°Hello!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, hugging mom, Minerva and Ricardo one by one. Everyone but father were already outside, waiting for him to take out the car. ¡°It''ll be the mall''s food court afterall.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, mockingly. ¡°We can''t ever agree on a restaurant, so it''s the best option.¡± ¨Csaid mom, apologectically eying Minerva. ¡°Don''t look at me.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, frowning. ¨C¡°If you really want pasta or BBQ ribs, I can stay at home and order delivery.¡± ¡°Food court is fine.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, flashing an angelic smile. ¨C¡°The best is that we are all together.¡±
¡°That cake must have more calories than my hamburger.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, looking at Minerva''s tray. ¡°Definitely.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, pretending to whisper to Ricardo''s ear. ¨C¡°Surely defeats the purpose of having salad for lunch.¡± ¡°I eat cake because I had salad for lunch.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, defensively, while cutting a small piece of her whipped cream-covered, marmelade-filled chocolate cake. ¡°Staying beautiful is all about making compromises.¡± ¨Ccontinued Minerva, in an sagely voice. ¡°Yes sensei.¡± ¨Cdeadpanned Amelia. ¡°Now you know.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, half-smiling, while standing up and leaving. Her sky blue summer dress fluttered in the distance. ¡°Her mood seems to be improving.¡± ¨Csaid father, taking advantage of Minerva''s toilet break. ¡°Thank god!¡± ¨Cexclaimed mom. ¨C¡°I was at my wits'' end.¡± ¡°I need to go back soon.¡± ¨Csaid father. ¨C¡°But you youngsters should stay and have fun.¡± ¡°Yes, we''ll do.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, decidedly. ¡°Karaoke?¡±
¡°Ese sufrimiento, que te hace llorar.*¡± ¨Csang Ricardo, finishing the song. He was sit next to Amelia, Minerva on the side of the karaoke box. ¡°Bravo!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, clapping. ¨C¡°Enrique Iglesias is so dreamy.¡± ¡°Isn''t he like 80?¡± ¨Casked Minerva, mockingly. ¡°He''s just around 50.¡± ¨Canswered Amelia, indignant. ¡°Besides, I have always liked older guys.¡± ¨Cfinished Amelia with a smile. ¡°Amelia and I have sung for a while.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, passing the microphone. ¨C¡°Minerva, your turn.¡± ¡°I guess I should.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva in a small voice, while going through the songlist. ¡°Oh my god.¡± ¨Cwhispered Amelia to Ricardo, as the song was starting. ¡°Party girls don''t get hurt, can''t feel anything, when will I learn...**¡± --- * ''That suffering, that makes you cry.'' Lyrics from ''Duele el coraz¨®n'', by Enrique Iglesias. ** Lyrics from ''Chandelier'', by Sia.
Minerva proceeded to perform a downright awful rendition of Chandelier. She began with a small off key voice, getting louder as she went along. When she got to the belting, she started crying as she sang. Ricardo and Amelia just stared at her, not knowing what to do. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, her makeup running down her face. ¡°Don''t be.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, holding Minerva to her chest while patting her back. ¡°I guess we should call it...¡± ¨Cstarted saying Ricardo after a couple of minutes. ¡°No, we have time for one last song.¡± ¨Cinterrupted Amelia, smiling saintly. ¨C¡°Let''s sing together.¡± ¡°Yeah, I''m ok now.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, looking apologetically at Amelia''s blouse. Amelia looked up the song and passed one mic to Ricardo, keeping the other one with her, while side-hugging Minerva. ¡°El amor es as¨ª, desde que te conozco...*¡± ¨Cstarted singing Amelia, looking towards Ricardo. I guess I''m singing Gianmarco''s verses. After Amelia finished the first verse, she signaled Ricardo to continue. ¡°El amor es as¨ª, s¨¦ que somos amigos...**¡± ¨Csang Ricardo, getting into character. As the song picked up, Minerva starting singing too, finishing with the three of them in unison. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, smiling without restraint. --- *''Love is like this, since I met you...'' **''Love is like this, I know we are friends...'' Lyrics from ''El ritmo de mi coraz¨®n'' by Gianmarco and Grupo 5. Day 9: The fun of the game Ricardo woke up that Monday to the sight of his sister clad in yoga pants passing through the hallway. ¡°Hello, I''ll be back soon.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, running down the stairs. ¡°Ok.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, drowsily walking towards the bathroom. Seems like she''s getting better.
Milana logged in Virtual Connection and she suddenly didn''t know what to do. She had gotten accostumed to playing with Kyle and she didn''t feel like trying to level alone. On the other side, she had only two days left on her 7-day magical girl costume and level 20 was within sight. Not even Amelia''s online; I guess I''m on my own today. She decided to go to the in-game internet caf¨¦ and look up for recommendations as to where to level. New Year''s Day had just passed by but the oficial forum was already all decked out in pink and hearts. And she saw it again, the announcement that had started everything a week before.
We are glad to announce that Virtual Connection 2.0 will be released in time for our most special holiday ever: Valentine Month''s Dating Extravaganza! The event will start after February 1st''s scheduled downtime, also introducing all the new features of version 2.0, and last until February 29nd. A whole month of quests, minigames and new dating dungeons to play while you look for that special someone. Fight new valentine mobs and score exclusive event items like never seen before! Also, for those who already met their destined one, during Valentine''s Month we''ll be having the first Virtual Connection Couple Tournament! It''ll be a worldwide event in which every couple will compete for winning incredible prices. And since true love doesn''t know about levels nor items, all couples will have the same chances in the arena. You''ll just need to get to Tier 1 and register before February 1st, so if you haven''t gotten to level 20 yet, go out and level! To help everyone to prepare for this event, we''ll double the experience gained in the daily date dungeon after January 4th''s scheduled downtime and until the event goes live. We''ll be revealing more about version 2.0 new features and the upcoming events soon. Thank you for playing with us during this past year and we hope you enjoy Virtual Connection 2.0!
A lot had happened since Sandro first showed her the Valentine Month''s event announcement. The plan was madness, utter madness. But, reading Johnny33''s post in the guild forum later, Milana couldn''t help herself; she needed to do something. Even if the plan failed, which was highly probable, it still made her feel like she was making a difference. Too late to worry about it; I''m already commited.
Milana was lazily sniping bats when the red button appeared. ¡°Hey!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia. ¨C¡°Are you leveling much?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, while shooting another bat. ¨C¡°I''m at the Everdark Forest, killing bats; experience is awful compared to hunting with Kyle.¡± ¡°Yeah, leveling in a party is a lot quicker.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°Anyway, I just logged to tell you that I''ll be going for lunch.¡± ¡°See you soon!¡±
¡°Restarting the gym is such a pain.¡± ¨Ccomplained Amelia, while cutting a piece of her steamed fish. ¡°No pain, no gain.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, holding a piece of celery in her fork. ¨C¡°Besides, who told you to skip two weeks of training?¡± ¡°Going alone is boring.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia, pouting. The girls had restarted going to the gym that morning and now were eating a special low-carb lunch; Ricardo and mom were having pasta. The former was minding his own business, trying to not catch the dieting girls'' attention. ¡°I''ve been told you are playing Virtual Connection nowadays.¡±
Ricardo got startled by Minerva''s statement. He raised his eyes to look at Amelia, who was mouthing a ''sorry'' while smiling. ¡°Yeah, I started about a week ago.¡± ¨Cadmitted Ricardo, looking at Minerva worryingly. ¡°Don''t stare at me like that.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, laughing. ¨C¡°If you want to play, just play; maybe you''ll finally get a girlfriend.¡± ¡°I''m ok; for real.¡± ¨Ccontinued Minerva, since everyone was staying silent. ¨C¡°I''m not playing that game anytime soon but you don''t need to tiptoe around it.¡±
¡°She took it better than I feared.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, one shotting a bat without looking. ¡°Yeah, I''m so glad she''s back.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, smiling. ¨C¡°Even if she''s a pain sometimes.¡± ¡°Are you telling her about the plan?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, suddenly serious. The two of them were at the Everdark Forest: Milana was sitting in a tree branch, waiting for the bats to come out of their cave, Amelia leaning on the trunk of that same tree, stealth activated so bats wouldn''t notice her. ¡°Are you crazy?!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, missing a bat for the first time. That one flew straight towards Milana''s face before dropping down in a swoosh. Amelia picked up her dagger and returned to stealth as if nothing had happened. ¡°What were you going to do if she had wanted to meet you in-game?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, amused. ¡°I don''t know.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, downing yet another bat. ¡°That''s why I didn''t want her to know!¡±
¡°Hello! Wanna go training together?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Of course; I''ll be glad.¡± ¨Canswered Milana with anticipation. She couldn''t help but smile when listening to the voice at the other side. ¡°Great; I''ll drag Kyle right away.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°See you in the plaza!¡± ¡°They logged in.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, excited. ¡°Alright, then I''ll be leaving.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¡°Bye!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana before dissapearing in a flash of light; never noticing the pair of bats laying on the ground.
¡°Goblin burrows is it then.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, smiling. ¨C¡°Going for the One-eyed Wand, huh?¡± ¡°What''s that?¡± ¨Casked Milana, dumbfounded. ¡°A rare drop from the goblin boss.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, looking at Kyle knowingly. ¨C¡°The best weapon for a hybrid mage around your level.¡± The three of them were walking side by side, Angela in the middle, leaving Torinelo City through the east gate. ¡°I see.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, thoughtful. ¨C¡°Can we beat it?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± ¨Canswered Angela, excited. ¡°Might be close though.¡±
With Angela available, the party blitzed through the ground level of the goblin burrows, taking out any patrol appearing in their way. Two shamans weren''t too much trouble since Angela could take on one of them. ¡°Second floor; now you should be careful.¡± ¨Csaid Angela. ¨C¡°Since we don''t have too much time, we''ll go directly to the boss room. We''ll avoid any patrol we can but, if engaged, killing the shamans is priority.¡± ¡°So, the same as we have been doing?¡± ¨Casked Milana, confidently. ¡°Yeah, but now we might get three or four of them at the same time.¡± ¨Canswered Angela. ¨C¡°You might get targeted, so it''s imperative to kill them as fast as we can.¡± ¡°Milana and I will take out the shamans without worrying about anything else.¡± ¨Ccontinued Angela. ¨C¡°Kyle''s job is to distract all the melee attackers and to not let them attack us.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¨Csaid Milana and Kyle in unison.
Their first second floor''s fight went as well as it could. Angela noticed the patrol before turning a corner, so the group could target the shamans at the back first. At the signal, Angela jumped on one shaman, killing it in two slashes, while Milana shot the one next to it. The other two shamans turned around and shot at Angela. She avoided one shot, taking the other one in the leg, before landing on the shaman with daggers in both hands. Milana quickly finished her target, turning around and shooting the unattended shaman. She took a quick look sideways; the dagger-wielding goblins were getting really close but she trusted Kyle. Without time to spare, Kyle shield bashed one goblin while body slamming the one closest to Milana. Seizing the opening he had just created, he positioned himself firmly between the melee goblins and the girls. The last shaman was readily bolted and then it was just picking out the goblins one by one, while healing Kyle before it got dangerous. ¡°Not bad.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, nursing her bootless left leg.
They continued taking out patrols in the same manner, going straight through the burrows towards the boss room. It got dangerous a few times, Angela''s recklessness in full display. In the last fight, Milana had to get in between her and the shamans to heal her, almost getting shot herself. ¡°You really should be more careful.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, reprehending Angela. ¨C¡°Last time you were within a sliver of your HP bar.¡± ¡°Don''t be so serious.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, not remorseful at all. ¨C¡°We are fighting in an area designed for Tier 1 players, of course it''ll get dangerous.¡± ¡°That''s the fun of the game.¡±
The boss room''s door. Milana looked without saying anything. Things had gotten awkward after Angela and Kyle''s discussion. Suddenly, she didn''t know if fighting the boss was a good idea anymore. ¡°Here''s the boss, the One-eyed Summoner.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, smirking. ¨C¡°I say we try it; I know we can beat it.¡± ¡°But maybe Kyle wants to play it safe and call it a day.¡± ¨Cadded Angela, looking towards him. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¨Casked Kyle to Milana, ignoring the needling of Angela. ¡°Since we are already here, I want to try it.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, smiling uncomfortably. ¡°Alright.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, preparing himself. ¡°Then it''s decided.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, excited.
The One-eyed Summoner was a tall goblin clad in dark brown robes, sat in a throne in a raised dais at the back of the room. After the door closed itself, the boss stood up, pointing his wand towards the middle of the room. ¡°Go!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Angela, running towards the middle-right side of the room while Milana took the left side. Kyle run right through the middle, striking the goblin as it appeared. Angela and Milana took out their targets too, quickly jumping back before the next summoning. The boss summoned three waves of three goblins each, which were quickly dispatched by the party. After the last one, the girls took cover behind Kyle. The One-eyed Summoner suddenly opened his right eye. It was bright red, pulsing light from within. Suddenly, the boss raised his ruby-topped wand, shooting straight at Kyle''s shield. He grunted, sliding back from the power of the shot. ¡°I''ll go now.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, running towards the boss with a mischievous grin in her face.
Angela got to the raised dais just before the room was flooded with goblins. Now there were twelve dagger-wielding mobs between Kyle and Milana, and Angela and the boss. Milana quickly shot the ones closest to the dais; she couldn''t let them target Angela. The dagger-wielding cat-girl engaged the boss in a frenzy. She slashed and whirled with reckless abandon, not caring about the wand strikes she was receiving. Kyle and Milana got into their familiar grinding: Kyle in front, pushing back the goblins one by one, enabling Milana to shoot them cleanly from the back. She was worried about Angela, wincing each time she got hit, but she couldn''t afford to get distracted; Kyle needed her full healing attention. Milana ran up of mana after killing the fourth goblin, leaving eight to gang up on Kyle while she drank a mana potion. Hopefully, he could endure the hits for a bit. In the raised dais, Angela was still fighting the boss within a sliver of her hit points. If she gets hit again, it''ll be all over. And then Milana started running.
Kyle noticed Milana passing by and quickly made some space, receiving a slash in the back for his troubles. He had to let go of his spear to drink a health potion, which hopefully would be enough. Having the summoner in front of her, Milana didn''t waste time and shot it. The boss got knocked back, giving Angela time to drink a potion. The One-eyed Summoner, also freed from Angela''s frenzied slashing, turned towards Milana and shot her. Milana tried to evade to the right, getting hit in the leg; she inmediately shot again. ¡°It''s enough; get back.¡± ¨Cyelled Angela, jumping the boss again with her daggers. Milana drank a health potion, saving her mana for shooting, and started targeting the melee goblins. Kyle had tried to go around but he was quickly being overwhelmed. Another one bites the dust, seven to go.
¡°That was so thrilling!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Angela, sitting in the former summoner''s throne, her leather armor cracked and falling to pieces. Following Milana''s intervention, Angela got just enough health to barely finish the boss. Fortunately, Kyle resisted enough to let Milana get back into position. After that, it was just a matter of time to mop up the leftover goblins. ¡°We were really lucky to pull it out.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, serious. ¨C¡°And even so, it was because Milana went against the plan and charged forward to save you.¡± ¡°She''s like a guardian angel.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, grinning. ¨C¡°No wonder you''re so fond of her.¡±
¡°It''s a pity we couldn''t get the wand.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, still a little self-conscious. ¡°We can''t always hit the jackpot.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. Angela had excused herself a while ago, leaving them alone for their exp date. It was a mindless grind at this point, the two of them killing the mobs while chatting casually. ¡°We can try it again tomorrow.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle. ¨C¡°Angela should be up to it.¡± ¡°I thought you didn''t approve.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, one-shotting a bat. ¡°I don''t know how to feel about it.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, spearing a goblin. ¨C¡°If we fail, we''re just going to lose a level; it isn''t like we''re gonna die for real.¡± ¡°Yeah, just a game.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, bolting a shaman. ¨C¡°Even so, getting hit doesn''t feel great.¡± ¡°You could never tell by looking at my sister.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, laughing. ¡°She''s unlike anyone I''ve met before.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, bolting another shaman. Day 10: Going on 20 ¡°Do you think you''re leveling today?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, playing with her daggers while in stealth. ¡°Not anytime soon if I have to depend on these.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, shooting a bat just as he left the cave. ¡°Tough luck.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, catching a dagger from behind. ¡°Why are you here again?¡± ¨Casked Milana, bolting another bat. ¡°My real body aches all over.¡± ¨Canswered Amelia, pouting. ¨C¡°At least while I''m logged I can move without wincing.¡± ¡°Tough luck.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, killing yet another bat.
¡°You beat the One-eyed Summoner?!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, dropping a dagger. ¡°It was really stressing, and exciting...¡±¨Csaid Milana, bright eyed. ¨C¡°We are actually going again today.¡± ¡°Seems like you are enjoying yourself.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, picking up her dagger. ¨C¡°I guess you are aiming for the One-eyed Wand.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, casually shooting a bat. ¨C¡°It would be great if it drops.¡± ¡°By the way, are those daggers also a boss drop?¡± ¨Casked Milana, just noticing the dagger going up and down. ¡°Yeah; they''re from the Winged Reaper.¡± ¨Canswered Amelia, casually catching the dagger. ¨C¡°The boss of those bats you''ve been exterminating.¡± ¡°I think Angela uses them too.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, downing a bat without looking. ¡°The level cap was at 35 for a long time.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, throwing both daggers at the same time. ¨C¡°Most people who started playing at that time hunted for the boss drop weapons.¡± Amelia caught the daggers one after the other before continuing talking. ¡°They aren''t the most powerful, but each one of them has a very convenient ability.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia. ¨C¡°These ones, for instance, have something called Sure throw.¡± ¡°What''s that?¡± ¡°When you throw them at your enemy, they will always land blade-point first. If you, on the other hand, throw them to yourself or an ally, you receive them hilt in hand.¡± ¡°Catch!¡±
¡°Were you two in Virtual Connection?¡± ¨Casked Minerva, while cutting a piece of brocoli. ¡°Yeah, trying to finally get to level 20.¡± ¨Canswered Ricardo, munching on his chicken breast. ¨C¡°Killing bats is a chore.¡± Minerva, Amelia and Ricardo were lunching in a healthy food restaurant since mom was visiting a friend. ¡°You should get a party to train.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, eating happily. ¨C¡°And Amelia doesn''t count; she would tank your exp.¡± ¡°He does have a party: a tank and a dagger rogue.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, playing with the veggies in her plate. ¨C¡°They beat the One-eyed Summoner yesterday!¡± ¡°Are the rest Tier 1 players?¡± ¨Casked Minerva, surprised. ¡°They are even lower level than me.¡± ¨Canswered Ricardo. ¨C¡°But they are amazing; I''m glad I''m a mage, because there''s no way I would be able to do what they do.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, nostalgic. ¨C¡°When I was around your level, we couldn''t beat it before getting our class.¡±
¡°Hello?¡± ¨Casked a male voice through the cellphone. Ricardo was walking back home alone after having lunch. ¡°Hello Sandro.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo. ¨C¡°How are things at the academy?¡± ¡°Busy, really busy.¡± ¨Canswered Sandro. ¨C¡°You know, adding your hours to mine makes it a full-time job.¡± ¡°Sorry about that.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo. ¡°Don''t worry; as long as I''m being paid it''s fine.¡±¨Csaid Sandro, smiling. ¨C¡°You must come back for February, though; Clara won''t forgive me if I spend all summer working.¡± ¡°Yeah, I''ll definitely do.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo. ¨C¡°With what I spent at the game, I''ll need to save as much money as I can.¡± ¡°I''ll return your classroom to you gladly.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, laughing. ¨C¡°How''s the game going?¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I think I''ll be leveling to 20 tonight.¡± ¨Canswered Ricardo. ¨C¡°I guess I''ll be doing the class change quest tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°And then, you''ll start the second phase of the plan.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, grinning ¨C¡°Your first meeting with Johnny is probably the biggest hurdle in the whole thing.¡± ¡°I''m dreading it since the start.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, nervously. ¨C¡°I don''t know how to act ''charming'', more if it''s with that guy.¡± ¡°When I imagine his smile, I feel like punching him right between the eyes.¡± ¨Ccontinued Ricardo, letting his anger show. ¡°And stomping his nuts for good measure.¡±
¡°Ready?¡± ¨Casked Angela, expectantly. ¡°I guess so.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, nervously. Kyle, Angela and Milana had cruised through the goblin warrens, getting to the boss door in half the time of the day before. ¡°Don''t worry, I have leveled since last time.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, smiling. ¨C¡°Besides, I was rusty.¡± ¡°Today I''ll show you!¡±
The One-eyed Summoner opened its eye for the first time in the fight; Kyle was already set in place, the girls covering behind him. The shot went directly towards them, Kyle resisting it stoicly while Angela prepared to sprint. Just after the red light began to dim, the cat-girl jumped right ahead and started towards the dais. Milana set herself two steps back and to the left. ¡°Shoot!¡± ¨Cyelled Angela, as she stepped onto the raised dais. As the shadow of the dagger-wielding goblins started to appear, Milana shot the centermost pair one after the other. The goblins grunted and went directly towards the room''s center, where Kyle was waiting. Angela engaged the summoner successfully, spinning and slashing with her daggers. She twisted and turned, evading most of the wand strikes. She couldn''t step back though, since that would let the boss shoot at her, so she was forced to take some hits. Milana and Kyle got into their familiar rhythm, the later taunting the mobs and evading or blocking most of the attacks. Milana paced herself, shooting the goblins whenever she could get a clear shot, and healing Kyle as needed. She also paid attention to Angela''s health bar; it seemed like she wouldn''t need any help this time.
¡°She''s really good, isn''t she?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, while blocking simultaneously with his shield and spear. ¡°Yeah, she''s wondrous.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, shooting left and right. With only eight melee goblins left, the two of them went through the motions while admiring the fight in front of them. Angela had a third of her health bar left, the same as the One-eyed Summoner. ¡°This is my first VR roleplaying game, though.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, touching Kyle''s back with the tips of her fingers to cast healing touch. ¡°Angela had been bugging me to try Virtual Connection for a while.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, kicking a goblin that had gotten too close. ¡°But it sounded like a crappy fremium game marketed to girls.¡± ¨Ccontinued Kyle, shield bashing another goblin. ¡°It looks like one.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, giggling while killing the goblin Kyle had just pushed away. ¡°Yup.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, blocking a thrown dagger with a spin of his spear. ¨C¡°But it''s surprisingly deep; watching the video of Angela''s guild defeating the Christmas Event''s raid boss convinced me.¡± ¡°I guess she''s that impressive.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, looking towards Angela. ¡°Not only her, some of the guys in her guild are pros in other games.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, taking the chance to finish an injured goblin with his spear. ¡°Pros, like in professional players?¡± ¨Casked Milana, surprised. ¡°Yup.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, recalling his spear while blocking with his shield. ¨C¡°And Virtual Connection might get a professional league soon.¡± ¡°For real?¡± ¨Casked Milana, finishing another goblin. ¡°It seems version 2 is all about introducing competitive leagues.¡± ¨Canswered Kyle, bashing one of the only five goblins left. ¡°Dave just returned from a recruitment meeting for a future VC professional team.¡±
Angela kept twisting and spinning, piercing and slashing; she knew it would be close. The One-eyed Summoner had been the top farming target for their party about half a year ago; Dave needed that wand afterall. They had beaten it for the first time when they were around level 22, being one of the first teams to try the fast melee approach. Of course, after dozens of repetitions and armed with rare boss drop weapons, there was a point in which her old character could probably finish it with her eyes closed. As she lost herself into the fight, she was slowly getting back that feeling. Her armor had already broken into pieces, no longer contributing with any defense, and her health bar was getting dangerously close to the one-hit death zone. Not like it would get to hit me again.
¡°Sorry Milana; no wand.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, smiling with satisfaction. ¨C¡°I guess we''ll need to come back tomorrow.¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± ¨Claughed Milana. ¨C¡°You were even more awesome than yesterday.¡± ¡°I''m finally returning to form.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, grinning. ¨C¡°Getting used to this new char is taking some time.¡± ¡°By the way, did you get to level 20?¡± ¨Casked Angela. ¡°Not yet, but I''m very close.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°The exp date might do it.¡± ¡°Are you joining a guild after finishing your class change quest? ¨Casked Angela, expectantly. ¨C¡°If you don''t have one in mind you could try mine.¡± Kyle, who had been standing to the side checking his stats, suddenly turned his head towards the girls, listening attentively. ¡°Thank you for the invitation.¡± ¨Creplied Milana, ruefully. ¡°But I''m already committed to a guild.¡±
¡°Did you level?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, after picking up the leisure date ticket. ¡°Yeah, finally.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, relieved. ¨C¡°My Magical Girl costume expires today, so I kinda made it my goal to get to 20 before that.¡± ¡°I see, congratulations.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°Are you close to leveling too?¡± ¡°I got to 19 after defeating the goblin boss.¡± ¨Canswered Kyle, bashful. ¨C¡°So it might take a day or two.¡± ¡°That''s not bad.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, trying an encouraging smile. ¡°I guess not.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, half-smiling. ¡°Are you going to join Angela''s guild?¡± ¨Casked Milana. ¡°Yeah, I intended to do so since the beginning.¡± ¨Canswered Kyle. ¡°I see.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, sadly. ¨C¡°I''m sorry; I already promised to join Amelia''s guild.¡± ¡°Don''t worry.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle. ¨C¡°It isn''t like we can''t train together every now and then.¡± ¡°Even if we aren''t in the same guild.¡± Day 11: Becoming a Mage ¡°Hello, I want to be a Mage.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. Wednesday morning, Milana logged in and went to the Mage Academy first thing in the morning. She approached the counter with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation. ¡°Hello Miss Milana, I see you already got to level 20.¡± ¨Canswered Marco, the Mage Academy''s NPC. ¨C¡°If you really want to become a Mage, you''ll have to prove your worth.¡± *ding* Mage Academy''s class change quest (Tier 1 Level 20) Phase 1: Collect and deliver 20 midnight bat''s fangs. Phase 2: Collect and deliver 10 goblin shaman''s staves. Phase 3: Get 5 bullseyes in a row at the Mage Academy''s practice field. *Note: Completing the Mage Academy''s class change quest will overwrite your Tier 1 Lvl 20 class. If you have an incompatible subclass, you''ll also lose access to it.
¡°So boring; this feels like Groundhog Day.¡± ¨Ccomplained Milana, while shooting a bat. ¡°Yeah, it''s like the game knows where you have been training.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, laughing. ¨C¡°And it''s giving you another chance for remembrance''s sake.¡± ¡°Next it''s the goblin shamans.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, one-hitting another bat. ¨C¡°I''m half-minded to just leave that for later, when I go with Angela and Kyle for the goblin boss.¡± ¡°You know you won''t.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, smiling. ¨C¡°You''ll want to try your new skills as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, giggling while killing yet another bat.
¡°Minerva''s calling.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, while finishing the two last goblins with thrown daggers. They had gone to the goblin burrows after collecting the fangs in the forest. Since they didn''t have a tank available, Milana was going around sniping the shamans, while Amelia dealt with the aftermath. ¡°Can you stall her for a bit?¡± ¨Casked Milana, pleadingly. ¨C¡°I only need one more staff.¡± ¡°Ok, I think she''ll understand.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia, winking.
In the afternoon, Milana logged once more and went to the Mage Academy to finish his class change quest. The girls had gone out together for lunch and shopping, so she was alone for the time being. Alright, here comes the last one. Milana furrowed her brows and stared intently to the bullseye in front of her. When she collected the last staff from the shamans, she had thought the rest would be fast. But she didn''t account for something: there were several different practice targets, and the quest used the furthest one. She pointed her staff sideways, with the top leveled to the target. She had failed the last shot on three different chances before and her frustration was growing. *ding* You have finished the third phase of the quest: Mage Academy''s class change quest. Return to the Mage Academy to collect your rewards.
¡°Fireball!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, while roasting a hog on the spot. Hahaha, take that piggy! She was giggling and bouncing on her feet, already used to the heels of her boots. Now that she didn''t have her costume anymore, her black and red dress fluttered as she moved around hunting for new prey. After becoming a Mage, she got a free three skill module. In addition to the Mana Bolt and Healing Touch spells, it had the Fireball, which was a more expensive and powerful single target spell that dealt fire damage. And looked cool as hell.
¡°They won''t give you any experience, you know.¡± A male voice called Milana from behind. She recognized it immediately, flinching as she turned around. ¡°I know.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, guiltily. ¨C¡°Just trying my new spell.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°It''s good that you''ve been enjoying yourself.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, eying her from top to bottom. ¨C¡°You look really nice, by the way.¡± ¡°Good to know.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling bashfully. ¨C¡°It doesn''t feel so good coming from you, though.¡± ¡°Anyway, I just wanted to check on you before your induction.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro, grinning. ¨C¡°Tomorrow''s the big day?¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, fidgeting. ¡°Don''t worry too much.¡± ¨Csaid Sandro. ¨C¡°I''ve been told you are doing a wonderful job.¡± ¡°No one would guess that you aren''t really a girl!¡±
¡°Wow, you look firey!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Angela, after meeting Milana at the goblin warrens. ¡°My Magical Girl costume expired last night.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, showing off. ¡°But I finally became a Mage.¡± ¨Ccontinued Milana, choosing a suitable target. ¡°Fireball!¡± The shrub in front of them got caught in a blaze and instantly burned out.
¡°Lets rest for a bit." ¨Csaid Angela upon arrival to the boss room''s door. ¨C¡°We''ll wait until Milana''s mana bar is full.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¨Creplied Milana and Kyle in unison, sitting at both sides of the cat-girl. This time they had mowed down the goblin patrols; two, three or four shamans, it didn''t matter. They all got one-hit in Fireball''s firey glory. ¡°Did you read yesterday''s VC announcement?¡± ¨Casked Angela, looking towards Milana. ¡°Ahh, yesterday was the scheduled downtime.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, flustered. ¨C¡°I was so excited about my class change that I totally forgot.¡± ¡°They previewed a mount system for version 2.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, materializing the in-game tablet. ¡°Here.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, while passing the tablet. ¡°Wow, the pegasus looks really nice.¡± ¨Csaid Milana. ¨C¡°I wonder if I would be able to shoot from it.¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, shrugging. ¨C¡°They only showed the animations.¡± ¡°More importantly, they''re letting us do the daily date dungeon twice a day for the rest of the month.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, smiling mischievously. ¨C¡°As long as you do them with different partners.¡± ¡°It seems like they really want a lot of players to join that Valentine''s tournament.¡± ¨Cadded Kyle. ¡°And married players?¡± ¨Casked Milana, wondering of the implications.¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± ¨Claughed Angela, while answering. ¨C¡°Those are the only ones who can date the same person twice.¡± ¡°They even have a sale on wedding suits and dresses!¡±
¡°Damnit! I was so sure I had timed the turns perfectly.¡± ¡°It didn''t drop the wand this time either.¡± ¨Cadded Angela, standing in her not-quite-wrecked armor. ¡°Don''t worry about that.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, taken aback at Angela''s outburst. ¨C¡°If you want to train in other place, we don''t have to stay here on my account.¡± ¡°You''re so sweet.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, walking towards Milana with a serious face. ¡°Sorry; I didn''t intend to scare you.¡± ¨Ccontinued Angela, touching Milana''s cheek while forcing herself to smile. ¡°I think I should log out now.¡± ¡°See you tomorrow!¡±
¡°Were you surprised?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, looking at Milana with concern. ¡°I guess I was.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, standing still in the same place Angela left her. ¡°She wasn''t mad at you.¡± ¨Cadded Kyle. ¨C¡°My sister''s really hard on herself and gets frustrated easily.¡± ¡°She has always been so nice and cheerful.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, trying to smile. ¨C¡°It seems she can get angry too.¡± ¡°Angela doesn''t have any close female friends in real life.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle in a soft voice. ¨C¡°She has always been a gamer gal, having to prove to everyone that she fits in with the guys.¡± ¡°That sounds rough.¡± ¨Creplied Milana in a monotone. ¡°She looks really happy when she talks about you.¡± ¨Cadded Kyle, looking at Milana pleadingly ¨C¡°I hope you can still be good friends with her, even if she''s brash or uncouth at times.¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¨Creplied Milana, looking away guiltily.
¡°I guess I should log out too.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, gesturing with his hand to make his controls appear. Milana and him had been standing in an uncomfortable silence for awhile. ¡°Don''t you want to do the exp date?¡± ¨Casked Milana, suddenly realizing she had taken it for granted. ¡°Now that you changed class, you should try the Tier 1 date dungeon.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, raising his eyes towards Milana. ¨C¡°Even if you don''t clear it, it''ll give you more exp than the Tier 0 one.¡± ¡°How much do you need to level up?¡± ¨Cinterrupted Milana, calculating in her head. ¡°Not that much.¡± ¨Canswered Kyle. ¨C¡°Maybe I''ll level if I do today''s two exp dates.¡± ¡°Then I shall be your first for tonight.¡±
After a bit more of persuasion, Milana and Kyle finally went on with the exp date. ¡°It feels nostalgic.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, while shooting the bats as they appeared. ¡°Gonna miss the little batties?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, mockingly. ¡°Hahaha, I might.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, finishing the last ones. ¨C¡°I must have killed hundreds of them.¡± ¡°Such a great bat-killer will be sorely missed.¡± ¨Cadded Kyle, laughing. ¡°You bet!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana. ¨C¡°Next girl should at least two-hit them; and no misses!¡± ¡°She could miss one or two.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, pretending concern. ¡°Then they would fly towards her face.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, raising a finger. ¨C¡°She might even go: ''KYAAA! Take them off me!''¡± ¡°That would be a very girly thing to do.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, casually spearing a lizardman. ¡°Are you saying I''m not girly enough?¡± ¨Casked Milana, grinning while burning a lizardman to a crisp. ¡°Nah, you are quite girly.¡± ¨Canswered Kyle, smiling while one-hitting a goblin with a thrown spear. ¡°But Angela is my reference; make of that what you will.¡± Day 12: Guild induction ¡°Ready?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, taking Milana''s hand. The two girls were standing in front of the guildhall of the ''Torinelo City Workshops'' guild. They just had a quick virtual breakfast and went there first thing in the morning. Amelia was dressed in her rogue battle armor, taking the event with a serious demeanor. ¡°I guess I am.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, steeling herself. Her black and red dress didn''t leave any doubt about the gender of the body within. Amelia hadn''t been in the guildhall since Christmas Eve but she had already coordinated with the Guildmaster about today''s meeting. Despite Johnny being technically an officer in the guild, it was highly improbable for them to bump into him at this time. Here we go. The ''Torinelo City Workshops'' was a casual guild with around a hundred active members, mostly from Spanish-speaking countries. Contrary to its name, it wasn''t a crafters'' guild; very few people knew exactly why the Guildmaster named it as such. The guildhall was a white one-story building in the outskirts of Torinelo City. It had a frontal reception area, a pair of private offices to the sides and a covered arena at the back, which was the default for a low level guild. ¡°Hello Amy!¡± ¨Cexclaimed the Guildmaster, grinning with open arms. ¨C¡°I thought you had surely quit already; you have been stuck at level 35 for ages!¡± ¡°Sorry Wanora; I have had a lot of things on my mind.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia, hugging the Guildmaster. ¡°And this one should be the new inductee.¡± ¨Csaid the Guildmaster, looking towards Milana for the first time since they entered the guildhall. Wanora, the Guildmaster, was a tall, busty girl dressed in white and blue robes, with a striped hairband of those same colors over her long, dark-brown hair. ¡°Ahh, sorry.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, flustered. ¨C¡°This is my friend Milana; she just became a Mage.¡± ¡°Hello; I''m Milana.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, bowing. ¨C¡°Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Such a cute girl!¡± ¨Cexclaimed the Guildmaster, getting closer to Milana. ¨C¡°Are you a hugger?¡± ¡°Ehh...¡± ¡°As you will soon notice, this guild isn''t too hardcore; we are just having fun among friends.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, inviting Milana and Amelia to her office. Wanora''s office was decorated in the same white and blue motif prevalent in the whole guildhall. The back wall was covered in shelfs with several sports implements within. ¡°Here''s the guildbook.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, moving her hand to materialize a thick old-looking tome which opened to a blank page. ¨C¡°You just sign on it and we''ll own you.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, taken aback. ¡°Hahaha.¡± ¨Claughed Wanora, while going around. ¨C¡°Just joking; it never gets old.¡± ¡°Don''t worry.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, reassuringly. ¨C¡°It will just confirm your membership. It''s true that the Guildmaster will be able to know when you''re logged in and your level at all times but that''s all.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, still distrustful, while sitting down on the chair in front of the book. When Milana touched the book, a fountain pen materialized in her hand. *ding* You have come into contact with the ''Torinelo City Workshops'' guildbook. Signing on it will confirm your membership to the guild. *Note: You can''t join more than one guild at the same time. If you leave a guild you''ll need to wait a week before joining a new one. Milana signed her name with big capital letters. ¡°Congratulations!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Wanora. ¨C¡°Now you are an official member of ''Torinelo City Workshops''!¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, as she stood up, since the other girls hadn''t sit down. ¡°A hug?¡± ¨Casked Wanora, opening her arms. ¡°Okay.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, hugging Wanora reluctantly. ¡°And now you should take some time to visit the guild forum.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, separating from Milana with a full grin. ¨C¡°Are you single?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¨Canswered Milana, dumbfounded. ¡°Perfect; we have a kind of event going on.¡± ¡°I''m sorry about what happened with Mina.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, materializing a pomelo soda can. ¡°Want one?¡± ¨Cadded Wanora as an afterthought. ¡°No thanks.¡± ¨Canswered Amelia, making a expression of disgust. The two girls were sitting at opposite sides of the desk in Wanora''s office, Milana already gone from the room. ¡°I''m glad you didn''t quit for good; I thought you two would surely leave the guild.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, taking a sip from the can. ¡°I don''t think Mina will be coming back.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, her usual smile gone as Milana left the room. ¨C¡°If she ever comes back to the game, I''ll probably leave the guild too.¡± ¡°I wouldn''t fault you for that.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, taking a chug from the can before throwing it towards a basket set in a sidewall. ¡°Anyways, the point is: I understand you might be angry at Johnny; I admit he could have worked it out better.¡± ¨Ccontinued Wanora, apologectically. ¨C¡°But he also has his issues...¡± ¡°And I can''t tell you about that; frankly, as the Guildmaster, I shouldn''t stick my nose in a couple''s relationship problems.¡± ¨Cquickly added Wanora, stopping Amelia from voicing the obvious question. ¡°Alright.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, looking Wanora in the face. ¡°Then there shouldn''t be any problem in fulfilling my request.¡± So this is the one. After leaving the meeting with the Guildmaster, Milana toured the deserted guildhall''s reception area. The sidewalls were covered with long note boards. Most notes were about recruiting for training parties or boss hunting parties. But in each wall there was a big central poster, a sky blue one to the right and a pink one to the left; Milana went for the later. Torinelo City Workshops'' Speed Dating Club Open all January! Did you hear about the Virtual Connection Couple Tournament? Of course you did; everyone should be beaming with excitement. Or not; maybe you don''t have a partner yet. If that''s the case, don''t worry! We are here to help. The Speed Dating Club accepts sign ups for every single (in-game) member of the guild who wishes to find a partner for Exp Dating, the Couple Tournament, or even for life. How does it work: The speed dating rounds last around 6 minutes per person, in which you''ll have the chance talk privately with prospective partners. After the time is up, you will mark if you are interested in dating that person. Next day you''ll receive a private message with the names of your matches, so you can contact them and try exp dating, leissure dating or just going out for a coffee. It all depends on you! And every week a lucky couple will get a free leissure date ticket from Guildmaster Wanora''s stockpile! When and where: Every Friday of January, from 8 to 9 pm TCT, at the private lounge of ¡°The Grinning Flatfish¡± of Torinelo City. Signups: For girls, here! (Boys should sign in the blue poster ;) Organizers: Johnny33 and Wanora01. ¡°So, did you sign up?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, fetching a pair of apples from her handbag. ¡°Yeah, as planned.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, catching the apple from Amelia. ¡°Did you sign up too?¡± ¨Casked Milana, taking a bite from the apple. ¡°Nope.¡± ¨Cquickly answered Amelia. ¨C¡°I''m not interested in dating new boys; besides, it''s better if Johnny doesn''t see me around.¡± The girls were walking back towards Torinelo City after talking to Wanora. Milana had scanned through the guild forum in the in-game tablet but, apart from the Speed Dating Club thread, nothing caught her attention. ¡°By the way, have you ever done speed dating?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, with a mischievous grin. ¡°I haven''t.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, evading eye contact. ¡°Wanna practice?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, using her most angelic expression. ¡°I guess it could help.¡± ¡°Hello; I don''t think I''ve seen you before?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, with a confident smile. ¡°I''m Johnny; very pleased to meet you.¡± ¨Cadded Amelia, getting closer and grasping Milana''s hand. The two girls got a private table for two at ¡°The Grinning Flatfish¡±, a white tablecloth restaurant in Torinelo City. The room had cream colored walls covered with oil paintings and a bronze candelabra on the table; the wall opposite to the door had a wide horizontal window which opened towards a lake surrounded by flowers and white swans. ¡°Nice to meet you too.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, surprised at Amelia''s characterization. ¡°My name is Milana; I just joined the guild.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Not as fancy as ¡°The Grinning Flatfish¡±, huh?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, taking a bite from her chicken sandwich. ¡°Nope; but it''s satisfying in its own way.¡± ¨Canswered Ricardo, munching on his hamburger. ¡°Virtual reality food is like chewing gum, it tastes great but it always leaves you wanting.¡± ¨Cadded Minerva in a sagely tone while looking at her salad with regret. The three of them were eating lunch at the food court of the local mall; for third day in a row mother couldn''t make it for the midday meal. ¡°Well, it would cost a hundredfold to eat at a place like ¡°The Grinning Flatfish¡± in real life.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, smiling. ¨C¡°So we should seize the chance!¡± ¡°Looking at things like that, it does make sense.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, pensive, while eating a bunch of fries. ¡°Did you two go together?¡± ¨Casked Minerva, coming with a sudden realization. ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¨Creplied Amelia with an impish smile. ¡°I should join you next time.¡± ¨Cadded Minerva, before Ricardo could finish chewing. ¨C¡°VR food doesn''t have any calories afterall.¡± ¡°Are you coming back to Virtual Connection?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, enjoying the worried look on Ricardo''s face. ¡°Maybe; I mean, it would be a waste to get into another game when I already have a max level char.¡± ¨Creplied Minerva, spearing a cherry tomato with her fork. ¡°Are you going for the wand again today?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, taking a bite from her hot apple pie. ¡°Yeah, that''s the plan.¡± ¨Canswered Ricardo, spooning his strawberry custard. ¨C¡°They should log in around 5 pm.¡± ¡°That wand took us like two weeks of grinding for it to drop.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, wistful. ¨C¡°Those boss drop weapons have less than 5% drop chance.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, thoughful. ¨C¡°I guess getting the spear from the lizard boss at the first chance was really lucky.¡± ¡°Incredibly lucky!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia, grinning. ¨C¡°We got my daggers on our third try, though.¡± ¡°And we were thoroughly thankful for that.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, smiling. ¨C¡°That boss was super annoying.¡± ¡°Yeah; flying and blinking all around the room.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, gesturing with her hands. ¡°And then suddenly diving down to backstab you.¡± ¨Cadded Minerva, spearing the cherry on top of her cake for emphasis. ¡°I know, right?¡± ¡°Did you try the Tier 1 date yesterday?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, while looking at her minimap. ¡°Nope, I decided to wait for Kyle to level.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, flustered. The girls were walking along Torinelo City commercial street. They had decided to shop around for a few new changes of clothes for Milana''s dates. ¡°Really? I didn''t think you would get so attached.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, raising her eyes to look at Milana with a half-smile. ¡°It''s just that... Well, I have been looking forward to it.¡± ¨Cadded Milana, blushing. ¨C¡°And I''m sure it will be dissapointing if I just do it with a random guy that the AI matches me with.¡± ¡°You know you''ll need to at least date Johnny.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, disapprovingly. ¨C¡°And you really should try to date a few more guys from the speed dating event, as practice, and to not alert Johnny that anything is amiss.¡± ¡°I know, I know.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, contrite. ¨C¡°But that''s tomorrow.¡± ¡°Let me enjoy my date today.¡± Around 4:15 pm the pulsing red button appeared in Milana''s display. She got startled and almost dropped the handbag she was looking at. ''Hello, are you busy?'' ''I''m shopping, but I''ll finish really soon.'' ''If you want to do it now, I''ll be around the fountain.'' ''Yeah, I''ll go there in a bit.'' ¡°Is your date already here?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, smiling playfully. ¡°I guess he is.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, flustered. ¨C¡°They usually log in later.¡± ¡°He must have been looking forward to it as much as you.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, grinning. ¨C¡°Don''t make him wait too much. And take that purse, it''ll be my gift.¡± ¡°The beginner''s backpack clashes awfully with your dress.¡± ¡°I thought you couldn''t log in until later.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, after meeting Kyle at the fountain. ¡°I ran from school and logged just after getting home.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, bashfully. ¡°Hahaha; that explains it.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, unable to stifle her laughter. Milana couldn''t fault him though. She had walked the fastest she could from the bag store. No running though; she didn''t want Amelia to tease her any more than she did. ¡°Did you already try it yesterday?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, still red-faced. ¡°Nope. I was tired. And I didn''t want it to be a dissapointment.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, getting flushed. ¡°But I did research into it!¡± ¨Cadded Milana, enthusiastically. ¡°I did too!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Kyle, beaming. ¡°Then it should be the first time for both of us.¡± ¡°Ready?¡± First wave: Ten nightmaned direwolves The first wave was against melee mobs, so Milana took cover behind Kyle as they had planned before. Nevertheless, she was ready to start with a fireball as soon as their enemy appeared. Unlike the Tier 0 date, the Tier 1 experience date scaled up or down the number of mobs in each wave according to the average level of the couple. Milana and Kyle being at level 20 meant the least possible mob number. ¡°I like dogs but those look like meanies.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, taking a look at their materializing foes. The direwolves were huge, even with them being in all fours Milana had to raise her head to look at them in the eyes. ¡°Yeah, I bet they beat up cute puppies and steal their food.¡± ¨Cadded Kyle, getting into a guarding stance. ¡°Bad doggies shall burn in hell!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, laughing as she shot the first fireball. Second wave: Nine skinshredder hawks Kyle was still engaging a couple of direwolves when the new wave started materializing. Milana had her mana pool at half and was drinking a mana potion since being at level 20 meant she couldn''t be stingy. ¡°Sorry, I''ll have to rely on you for those.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, still chipping little by little at the last direwolves'' HPs. ¡°Don''t worry.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, grinning. ¨C¡°Those fat birds will get roasted in no time.¡± ¡°Fireball!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, as she shot the closest winged menace. The meter tall brown hawk with oversized claws screeched in the air before erupting in flames. It started to fall down in circles, as the ones closest to it noticed Milana and prepared to dive, claws in front. Milana shot another fireball before taking cover with Kyle, who was still at it with the only surviving direwolf. A hawk barely scraped at Milana''s back before Kyle''s spear forced it to take flight again. Milana mana bolted the direwolf, finishing it, while Kyle kept circling to prevent the hawks from diving. After Milana fried a third bird, the spear''s deterrent wasn''t enough and three hawks dived for them at the same time. Milana inmediately shot at the one towards her left, Kyle throwing his spear towards the rightmost one while taking cover with his shield against the last diving hawk. That one made a 180 degrees turn and joined the one that had evaded Kyle''s throw. ¡°I don''t think I''ll be able to get them with the spear.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, while willing his weapon back to his hand. ¡°Making them flee is good enough.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, readying another fireball as the other trio of hawks prepared to dive. Third wave: Eight ethereal nightmares The nightmares, horses with legs finishing in shadowy clouds of fog, started to materialize in front of the couple. Milana and Kyle were bracing for another hawks'' dive attack and couldn''t afford to even glace at their new enemies. ¡°Are you ok?¡± ¨Casked Milana, drinking a health potion. Her dress was completely ripped at the back. If she could bleed, she would be covered in the crimson liquid. ¡°As fine as I could.¡± ¨Canswered Kyle, smiling as he drank a potion himself. ¨C¡°I got one this time, two more to go.¡± The hawks turned around for a final dive; the nightmares were rapidly approaching. ¡°Fireball!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, frying a hawk. Kyle threw his spear at the other one, making it flee. And just in time, since the first couple of nightmares were already within breathing distance. ¡°Arghh, and I just healed myself.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, still shaken. He had shield-bashed the nightmare coming from the left, but his spear wouldn''t make it back in time; he had to block the other one with his right forearm. ¡°Here, here.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, touching his neck softly. The two repelled nightmares moved aside to make room for the next pair of charging steeds. This time Kyle had his spear back, blocking both of them while suffering a manageable amount of damage. ¡°Sorry, I won''t be able to counterattack.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, grunting from the effort. ¡°It''s okay; we''ll go as far as we can.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling as she burned the last hawk out of the air. Fourth wave: Seven heartbroken otterflies ¡°So cute!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, as the new foes materialized: dark colored otters with butterfly wings on their backs. ¡°I don''t think we''ll last much longer.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, deflecting another double charge of nightmares. ¨C¡°Try to kill one or two of them before we are done.¡± The eight nightmares were still alive and mostly undamaged. Milana had to use her healing touch nonstop to keep Kyle''s hit points outside danger zone. ¡°Alright; see you on the other side.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, withdrawing her outstretched arm. The mage girl used her recently freed hand to drink a mana potion and stepped back, aiming at the closest otter. It squeaked and flew around Kyle, being awarded an encounter with a big ball of fire. ¡°Ky... Argh.¡± ¨Cgrunted Milana, as she tried to shake away the otterfly clawing at her chest, finally killing it with a point blank mana bolt. Kyle tried to look at her with his perimetral vision but failed; he couldn''t do anything about it anyway. The nightmares were still contained for the time being, his HPs decreasing steadily. Milana was half-kneeling, recovering her breath, when another otterfly dived for her face. She fireballed it down with a well aimed headshot. This time she didn''t hesitate and finished it with a mana bolt; her burned and scratched chest felt like she was continuously zapped by static current. The five remaining otteflies decided to dive down at the same time, three towards Milana and the rest against Kyle, who had less than a tenth of his HPs remaining. ¡°Fireball!¡± ¨CMilana half-yelled, half-grunted as she took down the centermost otterfly. The other two clawed her at her shoulders, as she resisted the pain and finished the burning critter. Kyle died stoically, not making a sound, and Milana just closed her eyes. ¡°Was it like you expected?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, smiling in his fully recovered armor and body. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, grinning while catching her breath, her chest still throbbing with the emotion. ¡°Didn''t it hurt getting clawed?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, eying Milana. Of course, she had been completely cured and her armor mended when she respawned. ¡°It did, but not unbearably so.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, still breathing heavily. ¨C¡°I think I''m starting to understand Angela.¡± ¡°Don''t become a battle junkie like her, please.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, feighing reproach. ¨C¡°That would be really unladylike.¡± ¡°See, complaining again.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, playfully. ¨C¡°Surely your next girl will be a fluffy, squealing little princess.¡± ¡°Maybe...¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, thoughful. ¨C¡°You did squeal, though.¡± ¡°I didn''t.¡± ¨Cquickly denied Milana. ¡°You did.¡± ¨Creaffirmed Kyle, smirking. ¡°You tried to cover it up, but I heard it.¡± ¡°Hello...¡± ¨Csaid Angela, tentatively extending her hand towards Milana. ¡°Hello!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, smiling while taking the outstreched hand firmly in her own. ¨C¡°I''m not that delicate. Even Kyle''s always complaining about my lack of girliness.¡± Kyle had logged out after the exp date, logging in again after ten minutes with Angela in tow. ¡°Hahaha.¡± ¨Claughed Angela. ¨C¡°Don''t mind his nagging; he positively adores you.¡± ¡°Angela...¡± ¨Cstarted Kyle, blushing furiously. ¡°Today he spent all lunch break complaining about this other mage girl he exp dated with.¡± ¨Cadded Angela with an impish grin. ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°I was wondering, being a tank you are always getting hit, don''t you?¡± ¨Casked Milana, after finishing the last goblin of the patrol they found on the way. ¡°Yeah, that''s how it usually works out.¡± ¨Canswered Kyle while dislodging his spear from a scrap of leather armor. The path towards the One-eyed Summoner was like a walk in the park, the party members chatting and laughing as they dispatched the mobs in their way. Angela, still at level 19, was the squishiest of the group, but she didn''t mind getting a little roughed up. ¡°Doesn''t it hurt?¡± ¨Casked Milana, worriedly. ¨C¡°When the otterfly got me before, my chest felt like it was being zapped.¡± ¡°That must have sucked.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, raising his eyes to look at Milana. ¨C¡°The simulated pain level in VC depends on the percentage of your hit points suffered. I get hit constantly, but the damage is really small compared with my HPs.¡± ¡°Therefore, he really isn''t that selfless.¡± ¨Cadded Angela, smiling. ¨C¡°Anyway, the pain ceiling of this game is probably close to what you described; I can barely notice it anymore.¡± ¡°Unreal.¡± ¨Cwhispered Milana, while looking at Angela''s ''dance'' with the One-eyed Summoner. Kyle and Milana were sitting on the floor, watching Angela go at the boss. They had finished the normal mobs early but they wouldn''t dare to interrupt their duel. ¡°She hasn''t been hit yet.¡± ¨Cwhispered back Kyle, watching with admiration. Angela kept twisting and turning, whirling and slashing; she could feel exactly how long were her limbs and the precise time it would take to move them from one point to the next. That was what the top VRMMORPG players called ''complete body synchronization'', and what she could never achieve with her old character. The cat-girl kept at it for a few minutes that seemed to stretch into hours; her mind completely focused in anticipating each of the boss''s movements. A final slash did it and the One-eyed Summoner dissapeared in a flash of light. Milana and Kyle started to clap; Angela''s HP bar still at a hundred percent. ¡°Congratulations, that was the most amazing thing I''ve ever seen!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, before noticing that Angela had started crying in her place. Day 13: Speed Dating ¡°That looks great!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Amelia as Ricardo entered the room. ¡°I guess it''s fine just for a day.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, looking at the tray with greed. Friday afternoon, lunchtime, no mother in sight. After getting to the first milestone of the plan, Ricardo wasn''t feeling like leveling solo in VC, so he decided to cook for a change. ¡°Ham and spinach lasagna, I hope you enjoy it.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, putting down the tray and serving the food, dividing it in three equal portions. ¡°This is really good.¡± ¨Csaid Amelia, smiling as she ate. ¨C¡°You should cook everyday.¡± ¡°Ehh...¡± ¨Cstarted Ricardo, before being interrupted. ¡°You can''t eat like this everyday; do you know how many calories are in here?¡± ¨Casked Minerva, looking at Amelia reproachingly. ¡°By the way, what''s up with mom?¡± ¨Cadded Minerva, before taking a forkful of lasagna to her mouth. ¡°I guess she is still busy with that project she was helping with.¡± ¨Canswered Ricardo, while cutting a perfect square in his plate. ¡°She said she''ll tell us about it tomorrow.¡± ¡°How did it go with the training yesterday? Enjoying throwing fireballs?¡± ¨Casked Amelia, after eating her last piece of lasagna. ¡°Now that we have two Tier 1 players in the party, it was way too easy.¡± ¨Canswered Ricardo, who had already finished. ¨C¡°And our rogue is amazing, she finished the boss without getting hit a single time.¡± ¡°Wow, that''s like top player skills.¡± ¨Csaid Minerva, still eating. ¡°Yeah, she restarted her char but she''s a veteran.¡± ¨Csaid Ricardo, smiling. ¨C¡°She has helped me a lot.¡± ¡°Did you finally get lucky with the wand?¡± ¨Casked Minerva, while scooping the last bits of food of her plate. ¡°Nah, it was another miss.¡± ¨Creplied Ricardo, standing up to collect the dishes. ¨C¡°But I don''t care that much about it; I have been fine playing with the basic staff.¡± ¡°I''ll give you mine.¡± ¨Csuddenly said Minerva, Ricardo freezing in place for a second. ¡°Shall we log in now?¡± ¨Cadded Minerva, with an uneasy look. ¡°Don''t worry; we already decided to have another go at the boss today.¡± ¨Canswered Ricardo, nervous. ¨C¡°And as I said before, I''m just a casual gamer so it isn''t like I ''need'' it.¡± Minerva had been insistently curious about Virtual Connection lately so Ricardo had seen it coming. At some point he would have to meet his sister in-game, but the later the better. ¡°Here we are again.¡± ¨Csaid a grinning Angela while staring at the golden-rimmed door, the One-eyed Summoner waiting on the other side. ¡°To think we were one hit away from being wiped out the first time.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, wistful. ¡°I bet you are glad we took the risk at that time.¡± ¨Creplied Angela, smirking. ¡°Ok, I admit it.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, smiling. ¨C¡°Are you close to leveling up?¡± ¡°Yup, I should level after beating the boss.¡± ¨Canswered Angela while checking her character screen. Milana had been sort of dejected all along the way. She was worried about the speed dating event and Minerva''s wish to meet her in-game wasn''t helping to lessen her anxiousness. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, looking worriedly at Milana. ¡°Yeah...¡± ¨Cstarted to answer Milana. Beating the low leveled mobs had been so easy that her mana bar hadn''t lowered from the three quarters mark at any point. ¡°Before going in I wanted to say something.¡± ¨Cadded Milana, steeling herself. ¨C¡°It''s obvious that we have outleveled this place for some time. Since Angela is probably leveling up after this, let''s make today''s our last run.¡± ¡°But you don''t have the wand yet.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, raising her eyes. ¡°It''s true that we probably could get a bit more experience in other areas, but if we are gonna do mindless grinding it''s better if we have a purpose.¡± ¡°Don''t worry about that.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, firmly. ¨C¡°My sister used to play this game and she just told me she would give me hers if I didn''t get it.¡± Of course Milana would rather not have it come to that; she couldn''t evade Minerva forever, though. Well, who knows, the wand might drop this time. ¡°Ok, let''s make this a memorable one!¡± ¡°You didn''t need to refrain.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, laughing as she put her daggers away. ¡°No way!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana with a twinkle in her eye. ¨C¡°I wouldn''t dare to mess up your masterpiece!¡± The party beat the One-eyed Summoner soundly; Angela didn''t get hit at all while dueling the boss. The cat-girl sported a relaxed smile all the way, like she had taken a huge weight off her shoulders. ¡°Such a pity, no wand today either.¡± ¨Cadded Angela, still smiling. ¡°Yeah, I did notice.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, unworriedly. ¨C¡°It would have been too perfect.¡± Milana knew that meant she would need to come clean with her sister, but her friend''s happiness was infectious. Besides, one part of her was excited about spending time with Minerva in Virtual Connection. ¡°Did you finally level?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, storing his lance and shield in his briefly materialized backpack. ¡°Yup, got to 20.¡± ¨Canswered Angela, doing the victory sign with her fingers. ¡°You''re such a dork.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, stifling a laugh. ¡°Hahaha, Kyle''s calling me a dork.¡± ¨Creplied Angela, openly laughing. ¡°That''s how I know.¡± ¨Cadded Kyle, breaking into laughter. ¡°I guess this is it for today''s training.¡± ¨Csaid Milana after the laughter subsided. ¡°I really want to do my class change today so I''ll be going solo.¡± ¨Csaid Angela, grinning. ¨C¡°But you two feel free to continue without me.¡± ¡°I have an event later so it suits me.¡± ¨Csaid Milana with a playful smile. ¨C¡°Kyle, wanna date now?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¨Canswered Kyle without blushing. He was already used to having a pretty older girl asking him out for a ''date''. ¡°Got it.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, watching a flaming hawk dropping from the sky. ¡°That was the last one.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, setting himself on one side of the room to prevent being surrounded. This time Kyle managed to eliminate the first wave before the flying foes'' appearance, which Milana just finished. Next wave would be several degrees harder so having a clean slate was comforting. Third wave: Eight ethereal nightmares ¡°Horsies incoming!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, while taking cover behind Kyle. The closest pair of nightmare charged towards them, Kyle blocking both with his shield and spear. ¡°Take a shot if you have the chance.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, while getting ready for the next ones. ¨C¡°I can take a couple of charges without getting in the danger zone.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, aiming over Kyle''s spear arm. ¡°Fireball!¡± Fourth wave: Seven heartbroken otterflies Milana had just finished a second nightmare when the otterflies appeared. From the leftover horses only a couple more were anywhere close to dying, since she had been aiming only towards Kyle''s right hand. ¡°As we planned, now I''m stepping back.¡± ¨Csaid Milana with a mischievous smile. ¡°Do as you must.¡± ¨Creplied Kyle, bracing himself for the next nightmare charge. Milana aimed and immediately shot a force bolt towards the closest otterfly. It squeaked and fell back, unnoticed by the mage girl who was already shooting the one next to it. Shoot, shoot, shoot... ¡°Fireball!¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Shoot, shoot, shoot... ¡°Fireball!¡± ¨Cexclaimed a serious Milana while spinning in place. The otterfly fell down burning as Milana restarted the round from the rightmost one. ¡°I''ll be going down soon.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, preparing his spear to attack. There were five nightmares left and he was aiming to reducing them to four. Milana just answered with a smile, not that the warrior could see it from his vanguard position. She kept counting otters in her head as she shot, waiting for the damaged one to come up. Kyle thrusted his spear towards his designated prey just before their charge would collide with him. The rightmost nightmare impaled itself, falling down while the other one impacted onto the warrior''s shield and turned around. The next pair of nightmares began their charge as Kyle dislodged his spear. With his health bar almost depleted, he kneeled in place, turning his head towards the deeply concentrated mage. ¡°Fireball!¡± ¡°Those nightmares are just way too strong!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, pouting. ¡°They are level 27; it would be weird if they were a pushover.¡± ¨Creplied Kyle with a relieved smile. ¨C¡°Anyways, we did better than I expected; you aim really fast.¡± ¡°You see, if you have seven otterflies in a circle it''s fairly easy to calculate the angle for shooting.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, tracing lines over her palm. ¨C¡°I was more concerned about forgetting which one I had to fireball.¡± ¡°So that''s what worried you so.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, laughing. ¨C¡°You looked like a zen master, frowning while shooting with downward eyes.¡± ¡°Hehehe.¡± ¡°The date almost got me to 22, the bonus exp adds a lot.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle while checking his display. ¡°Yeah, normal grinding feels like a waste of time.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, who was already at 23. ¨C¡°And I guess I should log out for dinner now.¡± ¡°I''ll probably try to use my other daily date; I can''t let you outlevel me too much.¡± ¨Csaid Kyle, smiling bashfully. ¡°Don''t worry about me; have fun.¡± ¨Creplied Milana with a confident smile. ¡°Are you using your second date too?¡± ¨Casked Kyle, curious. ¡°Who knows?¡± Woah, this is amazing. Milana had arrived ten minutes before eight, immediately taking the elevator towards the private lounge of ''The Grinning Flatfish''. As the door opened, she could see a breathtaking roof terrace with two-person tables placed all along the edge of the building. ¡°Hello!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Wanora, approaching Milana in a long-sleeved navy blue dress with a white scarf. ¡°Hello Wanora.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, letting herself be hugged by the overly affectionate guildmaster. ¡°I''m so glad you decided to come.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, materializing a white handbag. ¨C¡°We don''t have too many guild activities, so this one is a chance for you to make your guild debut.¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± ¨Csaid Milana, crouching in her violet cocktail dress. ¡°Here it is.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, pinning a nametag on Milana''s breast. ¡°To speed up the introductions, everyone has this nametag.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, pointing towards hers. ¨C¡°It has your name, class and level. That way if you''re only interested in nabbing a good exp date partner, you can check out your compatibility at a glance.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, reading Wanora''s nametag. She was a level 50, as expected... ¨C¡°Are you a rogue!?¡± ¡°Yup; wanna have a drink?¡± ¡°We even have free drinks, this event is really fancy.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, sipping a strawberry mojito. ¡°Yeah, and the best is...¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, getting closer. ¡°You can''t get drunk in Virtual Connection.¡± ¨Cwhispered Wanora to Milana''s ear. ¡°Hmm... Wouldn''t it make drinking pointless in the first place?¡± ¨Casked Milana, crooking her head. ¡°Nah, it gets you to the mild buzz state and then stops. It''s magical!¡± ¨Cexclaimed Wanora, taking a chug of her drink and leaving the empty glass on the bar with a clank. ¨C¡°Another vodka greyhound, please.¡± ¡°What''s that?¡± ¨Casked Milana, looking at the pale yellow drink. ¡°It''s just pomelo juice with vodka.¡± ¨Canswered Wanora, smiling. ¨C¡°Wanna try it?¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¨Creplied Milana, taking the glass and sipping the cocktail. ¡°It''s bitter.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, frowning. ¡°It''s an acquired taste.¡± ¨Creplied Wanora, happily sipping her greyhound. ¡°Shouldn''t you get back to welcome the participants?¡± ¨Casked Milana, still nursing her first cocktail. ¨C¡°It''s already eight.¡± Certainly, it was already the time for the event. Even so, there were only Wanora, Milana and the bartender in the whole rooftop. ¡°Don''t worry, you were the only newbie tonight.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, smiling while holding her third greyhound. ¨C¡°Guild members know that Johnny always arrives at least 15 minutes late.¡± ¡°So it''s like that.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, scowling. ¡°Don''t mind it.¡± ¨Csaid Wanora, laughing. ¨C¡°He''s the one paying for the venue; we need to be accomodating, don''t we?¡± ¡°I guess...¡± ¡°Everyone, welcome to Torinelo City Workshops''s Speed Dating Club!¡± ¨Cexclaimed a tall guy dressed in a black tuxedo and a violet tieless shirt. ¨C¡°For the new ones, I''m Johnny, an officer of the guild and the host of this event.¡± At 20 past eight, Johnny finally made his appearance. He entered the room with a confident smile, tucking his shoulder length chestnut-colored hair behind his ears, it''s golden highlights sparkling as he moved under the lamplights. ¡°Tonight we have 12 girls and 11 guys, so Wanora is sitting out this time. Such a pity for her fans.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, winking towards the bar, where Milana, Wanora and couple of high level guys from the guild were standing around. ¡°Is it ok?¡± ¨Cwhispered Milana. ¡°Don''t worry; I''m here just for the free drinks.¡± ¡°Hello, nice to meet you.¡± ¨Csaid a short guy in a blue blazer and jeans, before sitting in front of Milana. ¨C¡°My name is Roberto; you can call me Rob.¡± The speed dating event was managed by private chat with something called dateBOT. Each participating girl got a table number, in which they would be sit for the duration of the event. Guys would get assigned to a random table at the beginning and then rotate clockwise when the time''s up. ¡°Hello Rob.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, taking a glace at Rob''s nametag. ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± ¨Csaid Rob, forcing a smile. ¨C¡°It''s really hard to get a steady date partner as a male mage.¡± ¡°It wasn''t that.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, stifling a laugh. ¨C¡°This is my first time speed dating ever; I just don''t know what I''m supposed to do.¡± ¡°You don''t need to worry.¡± ¨Csaid Rob, taking a gulp of his rum and coke. ¨C¡°For starters, I''m pressing ''Yes'' after our time''s up, no matter what.¡± ¡°That''s reassuring.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, looking at Rob''s eyes. ¨C¡°You know what? I''ll do that too.¡± ¡°Woah, I might have broken the system.¡± ¨Csaid Rob, laughing. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling. ¨C¡°Did you speed date before?¡± ¡°Only at last week''s event.¡± ¨Canswered Rob, taking a glance at Milana''s nametag. ¨C¡°I would like to get a regular date partner but most girls want a warrior.¡± ¡°You got it tough.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, taking a sip of her drink. ¨C¡°I did date a mage once.¡± ¡°How did it go?¡± ¨Casked Rob, wistful. ¡°Not too well.¡± ¨Canswered Milana, laughing. ¨C¡°But we were beginners; I think now I would do it much better.¡± ¡°I''d like to take you up on that.¡± Here he comes... Following Rob, Milana speed-dated a couple of high-leveled guys. They were mostly agreeable, but it was easy to realize that they weren''t that interested in dating an unexperieced mage. She didn''t put much effort either, looking sideways from time to time, towards the real motive of her participation. ¡°Hello Milana, welcome to the guild.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny with a perfect smile on his face as he took the seat in front of her. ¡°Hello.¡± ¨Creplied Milana, a bit taken aback. ¡°Sorry, I just knew it.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, with a twinkle in his eyes. ¨C¡°There''s only one new girl tonight and there''s no way I would forget someone like you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, with a nervous smile. ¡°I''m Johnny, by the way.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, raising his glass and drinking. ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, smiling despite herself. ¡°Are you having fun tonight?¡± ¨Casked Johnny, leaving his drink in front of him. ¡°Yeah, Wanora told me you are providing for the venue.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, sipping the last of her mojito. ¨C¡°That''s very kind of you.¡± ¡°It''s my pleasure; I''ve got more golden hearts than I can possibly spend alone.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, laughing. ¨C¡°You can get a new drink directly from the table, just press the button on the right side.¡± ¡°What are you drinking? It looks really pretty.¡± ¨Casked Milana, pointing towards the pale violet cocktail on the table. ¡°This one is a color-changing martini.¡± ¨Canswered Johnny, swirling his glass. ¡°Color-changing...¡± ¨Csaid Milana, confused. ¨C¡°Is it magical?¡± ¡°It could be; you should check it yourself.¡± ¨Canswered Johnny, winking. It was irritating how he could manage to do such a perfect wink; a normal person would look stupid if they tried. ¡°Alright; it''s free anyway.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, pressing the ''drink order'' button. A four-button display appeared in front of her, named: reorder, favorites, keyboard input, voice input. She pressed the last one and said: ''color-changing martini''. Her empty glass dissapeared from the table, a martini glass filled with a deep blue drink taking its place. ¡°It''s blue.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, dumbfounded. ¡°Yup, as it should be.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, stifling a laugh. ¨C¡°You see that small pitcher?¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± ¨Csaid Milana, just noticing a little jug filled with a pale yellow liquid next to the glass. ¡°Pour it over.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, amused. ¡°Ok.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, pouring the pitcher''s contents over her drink. As the liquid mixed with the glass contents, violet swirls started to appear, slowly turning it into the violet cocktail that Johnny had. ¡°Hmm, so this is the magic.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, a little dissapointed. ¡°All the drinks in this place are real life replicas.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, taking a sip of his drink encouragingly. ¨C¡°I first saw this one in a cooking show.¡± ¡°Tastes like diluted cough syrup.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, frowning after taking the first sip of her drink. ¡°It isn''t for everyone.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, laughing. Milana was getting flustered, fidgeting with her fingers along the side of the table. I''ll be damned... ¡°That one''s good too.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, as Milana voiced the name of her new drink. ¡°And it tastes nice to boot.¡± ¨Cadded Johnny, winking conspiratorially. Milana had decided that she couldn''t force herself to finish her violet martini, ordering a blue hawaiian in replacement. The drinks were just bits of data, so she didn''t feel guilty about throwing an almost full cocktail down the drain. ¡°Ahh, much better.¡± ¨Csaid Milana, sipping from her blue hawaiian. ¡°Indeed.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, leaving his sky blue cocktail on the table. ¡°Really!? So you don''t even like it!?¡± ¨Cexclaimed Milana, completely flabbergasted. ¡°Well, if you think about my image, wouldn''t you say ''a violet martini just suits him''?¡± ¡°And then, Wanora just stuck the gargoyle''s head down the salamander''s throat.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, mimicking with his hands. ¡°Did it work?¡± ¨Casked Milana, excited. After the drinks switcheroo the mood had completely changed. Milana had asked Johnny to tell her of an embarrasing story as a punishment, yet he wasn''t fazed, and she just got into it despite herself. ¡°In a way.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, guiltily. ¨C¡°We didn''t get wiped out by the salamander''s fire breath...¡± ¡°But...¡± ¨Csaid Milana, prompting Johnny to continue. *ding* ¡°Time''s up.¡± ¨Csaid Johnny, flashing a winsome smile. ¡°I hope we get to talk again soon.¡± ¨Ccontinued Johnny, doing another of his perfect winks before taking his leave. ¡°...¡± ¡ú *Do you want to contact Johnny33 through private message?* ¡ú YES Whats next for Virtual Connection A preview from Chapter 1 of Virtual Connection: Ilaria
Ricardo had always considered himself the epitome of normal. He studied, worked, went out with friends, like every other undergraduate student; that he didn¡¯t depend on the VR machine for any of those was a plus. Thus, he couldn¡¯t help scowling when his group project members decided to finish their last in person meeting early. Shortly after being outvoted, he picked up the wireless projector and left the study room. He navigated the corridors with ease even with the added bulk on him, the library building almost empty at this time of the year. A week before Christmas Day, the discordance between the snowmen decorating the walls and the radiant summer sun in the sky was at its apex. Ricardo got halfway out of campus when he was pulled from behind. ¡°Hey, are you done for today?¡± He didn¡¯t have to turn around to know whose voice it was; only Sandro would take those kind of liberties with him. Just a glance¨Ctanned skin, shoulder-length brown hair¨Cfor confirmation. ¡°I guess I am. Apparently there¡¯s an unmissable tournament tonight.¡± ¡°With so many different games, you can bet there¡¯s always something going on.¡± Sandro got in line, matching Ricardo¡¯s quick but short steps.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Whatever. Tomorrow they¡¯ll be watching replays and chit-chatting in prichat while I try to stir the ship.¡± Contrary to his words, he smiled. Even under less than ideal conditions, he could guarantee earning high marks. After a couple of blocks, Sandro drank the last sip of water from his sports bottle, shaking it uselessly. Such a pointless gesture, it only reminded Ricardo of his skin sticky with sweat. They surely were going to break the temperature record once again this year. Of course, if his group had stayed in the study room for another hour as planned, he wouldn''t need to be walking under the heat. ¡°Every year the summer gets hotter, and to think we are supposed to have a mild climate.¡± Ricardo looked ahead, the trees on the street too small to provide any relief. ¡°I heard in Argentina it¡¯s even worse.¡± Sandro looked at him and grinned. ¡°Probably. Makes me want to reconsider that whole thing.¡± Ricardo laughed, drying his forehead with a paper napkin. He joked, but it would be their first family vacations after a long time. His sister Minerva was the one pushing for it, so there¡¯s no way Ricardo would miss it, even if he didn¡¯t have any particular interest in the location. ¡°Anyway, it seems I unexpectedly got some free time. Wanna go for a couple of drinks?¡± ¡°Sorry, I have a prior engagement.¡± Sandro looked away. ¡°Clara?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll be in VC.¡± ¡°Is that better than the beach house?¡± ¡°Of course, the beach doesn¡¯t have me.¡± They kept walking in silence, the noisy streets of Lima filling the void. Saturday evening, lots of people returning home, lots of people going out. Maybe more the former than the later, considering virtual reality¡¯s surge in popularity. ¡°I know you don¡¯t play VR games, but¡­¡± ¡°If you know don¡¯t say it.¡± Ricardo looked up, reading the numbered signposts. ¡°Clara wouldn¡¯t mind you joining us every now and then. Just saying.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll happen, but thank you anyway.¡±