《E. Clipse(Slow Releases For Now)》 Ethan Clipson Ethan returned home. Relief filled him as he took his fifty pound backpack off and slung it to the floor. He silently beats himself up for being too lazy to stop by his locker. That is why his backpack is fifty pounds, he carries all his school books with him too and from school. He waved away the idea of doing homework like he always does. His parents got a divorce over his grades. His academic success was very important to them but because he got near failing grades his parents would do everything they could to help him. The stress of them trying to make him pass for many years built up until his father started yelling at him. His mother couldn''t stand the yelling anymore and got a divorce. Eventually even the father gave up on him and just dropped by to put food in the house and pay the rent. It''s not like he isn''t able to learn. His IQ is one of the best in the class. He just doesn''t want to apply himself that much. He doesn''t apply himself because he has the strongest understanding of the world and even life itself. Due to him meditating through his suicidal faze. Ethan looks at the bathroom mirror. Long black bangs cover his dark blue eyes. His skin was pale from being in the dark room he calls his own, all day long. He had no acne. He would say he was a 7 on a scale from 1 to 10 he wasn''t bad looking but he wasn''t a model either. Jumping into bed he rubbed his face into his pillow. It felt so good. He drifted off to sleep with thoughts of a more fun world ****************************** Ethan arrived to class. He did almost nothing since laying down after school yesterday. Upon entering the class he took a seat in the back. He was in the sweet spot, a spot in every class that the teacher paid attention to the least. Ethan first mastered the art of blending in, during middle school. He took it a step further in highschool and was practically invisible. The art of misdirection, with the art of self presence manipulation make it so that people never focused on him. The only time he made his presence known is when teachers took role call. In his freshman and sophomore year he was marked absent because the teachers did not notice him. In order to truly blend in to the school environment, he had to expose himself enough to not stand out as a failure but not stand out as someone that could get the work done. Finding the perfect balance was different for each class due to the different teacher''s teaching style. Extra activities also had to be avoided. Due too the schools policy that every student had to be in a club of some kind. Ethan was almost exposed. Thanks to a little magic he did he ran a successful life as a member of the school newspaper. The shadow writer was a legendary figure at Neat High. He would always write about other clubs, referencing specific events in such detail that the everyone knew the shadow writer was there. People tried to even form an investigation club, to find his identity. The only one that knew his name was the club supervisor but she never seen his face. He would check in briefly with the teacher by leaving his stories on her desk with a note. The notes and stories were always signed- (anonymous :p ). Up until junior year when he finally signed his name on his greatest work. (E. Clipson). Sadly his signature was so crude the teacher thought he wrote Eclipse and so ironically his light never shown past the moon that was his nickname. Instead of getting frustrated, he embraced it. With renewed determination the writer of Neat High went on to be known as Eclipse the infamous gamer. In every game he played he chose he won. His online name spread across the world in a week. His real name may never be exposed but one thing he plans is that the name and the reign of the Eclipse in the sky, remain there, above every gamer. After a usual day at school he sat in the hall. There was a lot of whispering. Ethan was curious, never before had this many people from across so many clicks act in a secretive manor. Listening in Ethan heard, "I hit level 3, how ''bout you?" "Eeh?, i only barely made it to level 2," Ethan was surprised. Cheerleaders talking about games was unheard of. Even the science club could be overheard, talking about their levels. The gamers came walking around the corner all of them with their phones out. Everyone that passed them congratulated them. Looking closely Ethan seen what appeared to be a status screen. ------------------------------------------------------ Name Godden Striker Chosen Title Grease69 Level: 7 Race: Draken Patron: Dark Lord Hit points:70 Mana points:35 Stamina points:35 Armor rating:35+(20) Attack:35 ------------------------------------------------------ Stats Strength:8 Speed:5 Agility:6 Defense:5+(10) Endurance:5 Vitality:10 Intellect:5 Wisdom:5 ------------------------------------------------------ Skills Dragonskin: +(10) to defense. Fire breath: breath fire with no cost of mana. Dragon wings: able to fly and glide. Special Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.Deaths Grasp: able to grab things a distance away. ------------------------------------------------------ Equipment/Armor or Damage Villagers shirt/+(0) Leather boots/+(5) Villager pants/+(0) Ring of Armor/+(15) Longsword/+(5) ------------------------------------------------------ Perk Trees (Hidden) ------------------------------------------------------ The stats weren''t that impressive. But what was going on? Did everyone start playing the same game last night? His questions were answered when the lead gamer walked up to one of the cheerleaders and asked for her phone number. And she said yes! What game did everyone play? "Maybe we can meet up on RMO?" The gamer inquired. "I''ll be at the imperial city tonight." The cheerleader responded. Seeing the cheerleader leave, Ethan got up to to follow the cheerleader. Exiting the building the cheerleaders began talking again. "I had to do it okay?" "And leave me behind?" "You know he is in the top hundred players, Maybe he can teach me." "Just promise you will come back for me, okay Anna?" "I will Jessie, don''t worry." They then parted to their different cars. Ethan started walking home. His backpack weighing him down like usual. Determination filled him. What is RMO. ****************************** Arriving home, Ethan was surprised. His dad was assembling something in his room. "Dad?" "Don''t bother me until I''m done." His father snapped. Leaving his father alone he went to the old family computer. He searched up RMO. Real Magic Online popped up right away. The first system to accomplish the full dive was the full dive system, Ethan knew this and even tried it but it was so buggy that he disliked playing games on it. RMO uses the true dive system, lead researcher Dr. Howlitz lead a team of brain researchers to accomplish a better dive system. After accomplishment the true dive''s full potential was only realized with the release of RMO. Which happened 48 hours ago. Dr. Clipson lead the research team after the death of Dr. Howlitz at 78 years of age. Wait Dr. Clipson was his father. Due to cooperation with the game company Rise the True dive system was brought to it''s full potential. "I see you have heard about RMO." His father said from behind him. Ethan turned around. "The reason I lead the team to help Rise release RMO is because of you. There is direct currency transfer between the game and real life. I already know how good you are at games. I seen the leaderboards on your computer while you were at school. With this game you might actually be successful. You have the platinum package from my involvement in its development." His father finally finished. He sat there not knowing what to say. It hit him pretty hard. The reason his father stopped yelling at him was his father''s research. That much he knew. But to also giving him a possibility of a future he would enjoy. He hugged his father. They stood embraced for over two minutes. In that moment they completely understood each other. ***** Closing his eyes his mind entered the full dive system. Platinum package detected. Platinum package began installing. New user detected. Would you like to register? "Yes," Do you already have a Rise account? "Yes," Please enter your account info. Name Eclipse Password ******** No character detected. True dive system registered. Platinum package installed. Would you like to make a character? "Yes," A image of himself appeared. Race selection Most of the races were common. So he scrolled to the exclusive ones. Gold/Platinum Draken-Half dragon Elemental-born of the elements Lich-undead master Pure-half angel Falconian-half bird(special beast type) Mix- one exclusive race and one common race mixed Platinum Demigod-born of a minor god Demon-born from a antigod Shade-a ghost able to take physical form. "I''ll pick Mix Race," Warning mix race will reduce both the weaknesses and power of the exclusive race. Do you wish to proceed? "Yes," Which races would you like to be? "Half Shade, half human" Being half shade you can use return from death once a day if conditions are met, eliminating the need for a respawn point, also able to go to the afterlife at will and return if not dead. Being half human you are able to advance in any skill tree with only moderate difficulty. Is this okay? "Yes," How would you like to start off. Commoner Rich(Gold) Noble(Platinum) "Noble" Which God do you worship? There was a long list of gods, but one caught his eye. "View God of the Eclipse," God of the Eclipse was born from the Sun God and Moon Goddess. Lacks followers and is only worshipped during an Eclipse. Temples dedicated to him:0 Shrines dedicated to him:0 Number of full time followers:0 Has the power to cover the sun in the middle of the day boosting the power of night creatures. People that get his blessing gain affinity in both light and dark magic. "I choose God of the Eclipse," it fits my name very well. What do you wish your name to be? "Eric abbreviated to E. With the last name Clipse," So E. Clipse? "Yes," Please design your emblem now. He chose to make a simple black and white crest in the shape of an perfect Eclipse. ------------------------------------------------------ Name E. Clipse Chosen title Eclipse Level: 5 Race: Half-Shade Patron: God of the Eclipse Hit points: 50 Mana points:50 Stamina points:25 Attack points:5 ------------------------------------------------------ Stats Strength:5 Speed:5 Agility:5 Defense:5 Endurance:5 Vitality:10 Intellect:10 Wisdom:10 ------------------------------------------------------ Skills Return from death: resurrect your body that died. Spirit gate: travel to the after-life.(only at night or when the sun is covered) Astral body: body becomes non-physical, negative effects are paused for duration. Special ability Eclipse: Create a eclipse. ------------------------------------------------------ Perk Trees Shade: level 5 ------------------------------------------------------ "Wait, why am I level 5?" Platinum users start at level 5 so they can leave town right away. "Where is my equipment?" Equipment is generated upon character completion. Any final changes you would like to make? Seeing himself in the mirror, he changed both his eyes black. "There done," Are you sure? Looking again he made one final change. The edge of his irises glowed white, as if his eyes themselves were eclipses. "Yea, I''m done" Character creation complete. Clipse estate added. Connections with the king added. Royal training available. Afterlife estate added.(he figures he got it from being a noble shade) Is your in-game family alive? "No," Two random maids and one random butler generated. Would you like to keep them? "Yes," 5 platinum coins added Would you like to start in your Clipse estate or your afterlife estate? "Clipse estate," World ready will you begin? "Yes," Link started... ****************************** And I am done with the first chapter. This was mainly a prologue. So don''t be sad. You guys can give me advice if you want. Um how do you like the character so far? I tried to base him off me, and how I want to be. Clipse Estate Ethan woke in a big bed. Sitting up he looked around. "Open inventory!"..... Nothing happened. "Status!"......... Nothing again. Ethan was confused. Why did nothing happen? Looking around frantically he noticed a note on his bedstand. Calming himself he opened the note. Dear, Eric Clipse Welcome to Real Magic Online. A few things you will need to know. To log out a person can only do so in the dream realm or the afterlife. To enter the dream realm simply fall asleep. Stats, e-mail, and forums can only be managed outside the game. This is in order to encourage our players to log out. If you die you enter the afterlife. If you die you loose one level. There is no "inventory" to make the game more immersive. If there is any problems, magic call GM can be cast at any time. If you need to know the in real life time tap any surface three times. -GM Looking up he understood. Pretty clever. The way they set up the game to be a real fantasy world. *Knock knock* Ethan stared at the door. *Knock knock* "Sir, are you in there?" That''s right! He has a butler. "Come in." Ethan permitted. The doors opened and an elderly man with the best posture Ethan has ever seen walks into the room. Immediately he bows and as he presents papers to Ethan. "What are these?" He asked himself. "Your proof of nobility," the butler responded as he opened it up. A ring with an Eclipse crest fell out of the envelope. The butler with lightning fast reflexes caught the ring and presented it to him. Taking the ring, he put it on his finger. What to do now?He had no idea. The butler stood straight. "What is the extension of my lands?" Ethan asked The butler kneeled before answering, "The entirety of Clipse valley, including 3 towns and the city of Avalon." The valley was named after him, but the city wasn''t? He had to probe further. "Why is the city named Avalon?" Ethan asked. "Avalon was named after your mother Lady Avalon and her father before her." The butler responded as if he was reading Ethan''s mind said, "The name of valley''s change with ownership." Well that is good to know. Thinking back to the many movies he has seen, Ethan turned to the butler and said "Prepare my horse." The butler lowered his head in response, before standing and leaving the room to carry out his task. Ethan looked around and spotted it. A mirror was built into the wardrobe. Approaching it a magical display popped up. By touching the mirror, his clothes changed. He went from the silk pajamas to some type of fancy furs. He kept scrolling through. Of the ten outfits he had, one caught his eye. Black robes with a loose black hood, made from leather, with a white T-shirt and black pants underneath was now on him. Taking a moment he let it sink in, that here his name is Eric Clipse of Clipse valley.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Your horse is ready, my lord," said a shrill voice from behind. Turning Eric''s heart skipped a beat. There stood what he assumed was one of his maids. She had such a cute face! and attached to it was waving brown hair and fluffy cat ears. At first he didn''t believe she was a beast-kin but looking at her wagging brown tail, he confirmed she was Nyan-kin(cat beast-kin). He noticed her with her hands holding her skirt up and head down. Looking closer he see it. The whitest pair of patties greeted his eyes. Looking away he dismissed her, "Thank you". Exiting his room, he sees a staircase in front of him and two doors one to his left and one to his right. The door on his left said Mary & Viki. The door on his right said Sebastian. He knew right away that Viki & Mary were his maids and Sebastian was his butler. Wait a butler named Sebastian, he must of been really lucky for the random generation to give him this. Proceeding down the stairs, he looked around the entrance hall. It was bare compared to his room, with only a few benches along the walls. The front door was open. There stood Sebastian waiting for him. With a kneel Sebastian asked, "Do you need a weapon?" Noticing that he was ill equipped to start adventuring he replied, "Yes, and rations" Sebastian rang two bells that he retrieved from his pocket, and yelled, "Mary!". Immediately the Nyan-kin jumped from the balcony with a sword on her back and a backpack over the sword. Approaching him she removed the items from her back and presented it to him. Eric strapped the sword to his back. Suddenly he felt his attack increased. He could never get that feeling in real life. His heart started beating faster. This game was going to really be fun. "Give me a tour of my mansion," Eric commanded Sebastian. They left Mary in the entrance hall, alone. Sebastian took him through many rooms, most of which were unoccupied. He was lead into the kitchen. There were many little wingless fairies! "Sebastian, what are these?" Eric inquired. "Brownies, sir" he answered without hesitation. "What are they doing in the kitchen?" Eric proceeded. "Brownies, are fairy-kin. They love cleaning, cooking and the like. Their food is always sweet. But be carful if they bite you, you will be made better in their eyes," Sebastian concluded. "Better? How so?" "They are feminist, looking delicate and beautiful is an improvement to them." Eric began to fear the little people. "They may even change you into a woman." Sebastian continued. "Well let us move on then." Eric''s voice was filled with fear. Sebastian lead him past the kitchen into the winding corridors that was his mansion. Being shown secret passages, and rooms did not compare to the bathhouse. It was wonderful! Marble walls and floors surrounded him statues of nearby, nearly naked mermaids watched the water, as if longing to jump in themselves. "Next the Garden," Sebastian announced. Walking outside he was astounded. There were so many flying-little-glowing people. They were fairies. As cute as they are, starring at them bored him after a while, then he looked to the many different flowers. Some species he recognized: lavender, roses, tulips, and many more. But eventually he stumbled upon a few he did not know. Yes, he was positive, these were fantasy flowers. Some glowed faintly while others changed colors upon his sight, exotic colored humming birds were moving from flower to flower. Approaching the pond, he finally came to the conclusion. This place would be perfect for a date. He suddenly felt lonely. If only someone loved him. That is the downside of remaining invisible. Your social life is nonexistent. Little did Eric know, a girl sneezed, a few towns over in game. Can she get sick in a game? She had no idea. Finishing his tour of the garden he was lead down into the cellar. What was down there was as expected. After which they headed to the main hall. Sebastian opened the front door for him and bowed. Eric walked outside and is greeted by a cloudless sky, two horses, and an armored woman on one of the horses. Looking closer, she was covered head to toe in shiny dark armor. Turning around Eric asked, "Sebastian, who is that?" "Combat Maid Viki," Sebastian answered. A combat maid too! His Otaku side was bursting with joy. Swiftly he made his way to the open saddled horse. Putting his hand out, the horse met his hand. The horse lowered it''s head to him in respect.Is this really a game?,crossed his mind. Throwing himself onto the horse he readjusted his position. He was going to need to get use to horseback riding. If anyone seen how he just got on the horse they would probably laugh. Grabbing the reigns he began at a slow trot. The Combat Maid followed. Approaching the gate to the wall that surrounded the Clipse estate, Eric noticed a stone arch to his left and right.What a nice decoration.Eric officially left the estate and the doors closed behind him. A forest smothered the two of them if it wasn''t for the road they would surely get lost. After a few minutes they were confronted by armed and armored little green men with pointy ears. Both of the horses were spooked causing Eric to fall off. There was no way he could run now. Drawing his sword he prepared for battle. ****************************** Sneezing is sometimes a sign of someone talking about you. A butler named Sebastian is a reference to Black Butler. Combat maid, is a reference to any anime that has combat maids. For more please leave a comment. I strive to improve for my readers. First Town The little green men were prepared for battle. Combat Maid Viki remained fearless. Even her horse was unafraid. Where as his was getting farther and farther away from the upcoming battle. The green men stepped forward. Viki drew her sword, now fully prepared she dismounted with grace. "Target goblin acquired," Viki said staring down the closest little green man. So they were goblins. Knowing goblins to be one of the weakest monsters. With his level bonus and Viki, he should be able to kill a few goblins. Wielding his sword in his right hand, he dashed toward the lead goblin. Performing an upward slash, the goblin parried and thrusted. Eric dodges and gets nicked in the shoulder. This battle was going to be harder than he thought. The goblin, missing his mark, stumbled past him. Seeing his chance Eric did a quick turn, slicing the goblin across his back. He knew it was a critical hit. Going in for another hit the goblin turned around, and in a flash of light his sword hit the ground. Looking at his wrist he noticed it was slit. The tendons were severed so he couldn''t control his hand at all. He was going to need healing magic to fix it. The goblin dived in with it''s sword, sure of victory. True it was fast and he could not block, but he was half shade, using his power he became ethereal. And the goblin passed right through him. Turning around he faced the the goblin. He felt his body return. His ability was limited to five seconds, it seemed he would be able to use it again soon though. Walking towards the goblin he picked up his sword with his left hand. Pinning the sunned goblin down he jabbed his sword into his skull, killing the monster. His health wasn''t very low but he knew even if he was just facing two he would probably die. Looking over, he seen Viki with her left foot planted on the goblins. She took out two by herself. Her level was definitely higher than his. His horse was gone. After collecting the loot he was sorely disappointed. He did a lot of work for only a few copper. Mounting behind Viki they continued towards the city fighting goblins along the way. Viki used healing magic ever time his health dropped to low. He started remembering their attack patterns. Stopping by the town Creek they were able to unload the goods obtained from the goblins. Eric hasn''t been able to identify any players. The NPC''s were so realistic that sometimes, he mistook them for players. Eric walked up to the wall of the tavern, and tapped three times. 12:34AM popped up for ten seconds. He still had a few hours before morning.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The true dive system works while you are unconscious. And helps you stay unconscious. Doctors are already recommending it to sleep apnea patients. Furthermore while you are asleep the game has 5 hours to 1 hour real time ratio. Simply put, you can experience 60 hours of in game time before it boots you off for an 2 hours. If you are forced logged off without being in a safe area/away from others then your avatar remains and is vulnerable unless you have an NPC companion. Its been over a day since he started in game. Taking a break from the goblin slaying, he walked into the tavern. Viki started to tie up the horse outside. He entered the room, expecting it to go silent. But it remained rowdy with. People enjoying their drinks. A few people were sizing him up. Others noticed the weight and shape of his coin bag. Taking out one gold piece he tossed it to the barkeep, attracting more unwanted attention. Apparently few players have obtained gold at this point in the game, and none would spend it in a tavern like him. He was then labeled a rich NPC by the onlookers. This label became a brand when the tavern keeper noticed the ring on Eric''s finger. "My Lord!" He yelled putting his head all the way to the bar. Now everyone had their eyes on him. This attention, was something he wasn''t used to. Some of the shady people had greed in their eyes. Then Viki walked in. You can sense a difference in level when you focus on someone. The greedy people lost hope when Viki stopped next to him. He calmly requested,"We would like to stay a few days, with meals". "Of-of-of course my lord," the tavern keep responded. A waitress walked up to him without fear and said. "Pleased to meet your acquaintance," without bowing. Looking at her he noticed her pale white skin and her black short hair. But what caught his attention was her dead black eyes. "Please follow me," Following the waitress up the stairs he heard the merrymaking start up again. Viki was close behind. The room she lead them to was probably the biggest in the tavern. Nicely decorated too. She closed the doors after we entered. Sitting down he tried to conjure up a fireball, he had enough mana but it didn''t work. Probably because he has no skill level in fire. Switching gears he conjured up a ball of darkness. Turning to Viki he said, "Viki, I''m going to test this on you." "Yes, My lord," was her only response. Unsheathing her blade she was ready to dispel his spell. Her blade was enchanted to be magic resistant. Throwing the black ball at Viki he ball flew straight and was unaffected by gravity. The ball not only flew through her sword but her armor as well. Knocking her back against the wall, she was still standing. "My mana and stamina took huge hits, and aren''t regenerating." She reported the results. So it was a spirit based attack, interesting. After a few minutes of molding his magic he found he could wear it like a glove. Since he was here, he decided to log out for a few and check his stats. Close Call At first he didn''t understand. The landscape was strange somehow, but his mind was in disarray. Was this the dream realm? Several other players were having fun flying and changing their own shape. Most of the players that were here were just goofing off, without worry. Some players were having sparing matches, two were even playing chess. Here was the place that most people dreamed of, quite literally. The dream realm is like a controlled dream. You and everyone else could do anything. But he wanted to check his stats so he logged out. ****************************** The first thing he noticed was, he was tired. Next thing he noticed was the display saying it was 1AM. Getting out he grabbed his phone. According to his dad, all the game info is linked to his account. Username Eclipse Password ******** Immediately he is greeted with level up notifications. Name E. Clipse Chosen Title Eclipse Level: 15 Race: Half-Shade Patron: God of the Eclipse Hit points: 150 Mana points: 150 Stamina points:150 Attack points: 31 ****************************** Stats Strength: 6 Speed: 6 Agility: 8 Vitality: 10 Defense: 6 +(10) Endurance: 5 Intellect: 10 Wisdom: 10 ****************************** Skills Return from death: resurrect your body from the spirit realm. Spirit Gate: travel to the spirit realm, with your body. Astral body: body goes in between dimensions, for 5 seconds in sunlight. ****************************** Special skill: Eclipse ****************************** Perk trees Swordsman Level: 10 Shade Level :10 ****************************** Spells Void ball: damages the spirit only Shades hand: able to grab or damage a spirit with your hand. ****************************** He wasn''t complaining. It was nice. There was a message notification in the top right of his screen. Tapping it a notification popped up [Character Saved]. Deciding to check the forums he found many things. Narrowing it down to Clipse Valley he found something interesting. ----- Rich NPC found! Lord of the new area Clipse Valley was seen inside the town of Creek! NPC is traveling with a level 20ish body guard. Player quest available! Rob Lord Clipse Difficulty: Boss(hard) Level required: 10 Rewards: equal share of gold Players signed up (7/10) Objective: wait outside the tavern in Creek and ambush Lord Clipse. Time expires: ? Posted by: Killer G ----- That bothers him greatly. How would he get out of town alive? Then he decided to write his own post. ----- Lord Clipse has noticed greedy eyes staring at him! He request that people protect him. Quest available! Protect Lord Clipse! Difficulty: PK Level:~~~ Rewards: A gold piece per attacker killed. Objective: Protect Lord Clipse and his belongings. Posted by: Anonymous ----- If he didn''t check the forums he would have died tonight. Not seeing any comments on his post he decided to have a midnight snack while he waited. Pouring a bowl of cereal, he ate in the dark. Checking back on the forums he was surprised. The comments were in the hundreds. -First player versus player quest!Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. -Damn, I wish I was in Clipse valley. -just rob the guy -wait who posted this? -is this legit? - there is another quest to rob him. - the player limit was removed on the Rob Lord Clipse quest. - well I know what I''m picking :p Ethan was worried. He only wanted to give one of his fifteen platinum, but the number of volunteers kept rising. Putting his phone back on the charger he rushed back to the pod. If the battle was over before they got there then he wouldn''t have to pay them. "Start!" He yelled desperately. ****************************** He was back in the tavern. A hour in game has passed. He looked out the window to see a group of 15 and another of 20. The town of Creek was going to get a bloodbath, he could tell. In the bigger group a player was level 20ish and three others were level 15ish while the rest were level 10 or below. The small group on the other hand had two level 15ish players while the rest were 10ish or below. Rushing outside he decided to get this over with. Viki followed close behind. His first player battle would begin. Arriving outside, the smaller group went in between him and the bigger group to begin the fighting. The fighting lasted a few minutes. A few of the weaker players were smart enough to go around the group and attack him. But their sword skill was lacking. When a stronger player got through Viki protected him. After the battle only one person stood on the ambusher''s side. The level 20ish player. The three remaining protectors excluding Viki rushed him. They met death quickly, by one quick swing of his broadsword. He was not only stronger than Viki but had more health too! Viki rushed in, the player committed to a low wide swing. Viki with low stamina from fighting earlier couldn''t jump over the blade, so she blocked it. A crack appeared in her sword as she was knocked a half a block away. Without the strength to rise up, she admitted defeat and stayed there motionless. The broadsword wielder stepped closer to him. He watched as the player''s wounds healed. High speed regeneration. Scales could be seen on his neck and claws on his fingers. Stopping in front of him. He had no choice he had to bluff his way out! Putting his hand to the sky he willed for an eclipse to happen. The sky started to darken. The player noticing this looked to the sky. "Hahahaha," Eric was shocked! The player was laughing. "You think you can scare me? You just ensured your defeat!" The player lifted his arm and said, "Deaths Grasp,". Powers of darkness were stronger in the dark. Eric was suffocating as he was brought up to the face of the player.It was the gamer from school! How did he progress so fast? His name wasGoddenStriker.Godden opened his mouth and his tongue caught fire. Eric used astral body, he slipped out of death''s grasp and was unhurt by the flames. Pouring shade magic into his sword he slashed Godden several times. As he expected spirit magic would still work because it isn''t physical. Smiling he said "Neat," Wait by some strange possibility, does he know that I go to Neat High with him? No that can''t be it. Speaking louder he said, "Neat trick you used there!" Thank goodness. "Eclipse," Godden finished. Eric was back on guard. He knew his gamer name. "Oh, dear dear," he was condescending. "Why so shocked? You made it kinda obvious." Noticing his mana was getting low he turned off his astral body. Now all he had to do was keep him talking until his mana was back. "When Clipse valley showed up near the beginners area, the first thing I did was log out and check the character list." Godden recalls the recent past. "When your character popped up, I knew I had to defeat you." Godden said while clenching his fist. "I can''t let you beat me in this game too!" Godden took a step forward. "Wait Godden!" He said desperately. "You know my name?" Godden was stunned. "Of course," Eric stalled to prepare a lie. "I keep track of all the opponents that were tough to beat." Godden stood there silently for a moment but the asked, "What game?" "Huh?" "What Game!" He has beaten a lot of people in a lot of games. It was time to come clean. "I don''t remember." Wings came out from behind him, and he flew like a spear and his broadsword was the tip. Godden yelled as he approached, "It was Pac-M*n!". He Pac-M*n three months ago when he went to the local pizza place. He happened to have a Sharpie in his pocked so he signed the machine. With two quarters he took the top place on the leaderboards. The eclipse in the sky was almost done. He activated his power Spirit Gate, and like that he left RMO-World and arrived at RMO-Spirit Realm. The players that died were here. After Eric disappeared, Godden crashed into the ground where Eric once was. Coming from the carrefour a figure hides themselves in their hood. "You failed," the figure said. Godden screams in rage. "I swear to you Eclipse! I will find you and destroy your reputation, I will be the ruler of RMO!" ****************************** "Look the NPC is here" Player-1 "Well at least we know who won, so you owe me five bucks IRL" Player-2 Gaming is the one thing he is good at! He was mad at them for thinking that him the god of gamers(self proclaimed title), lost! "I am the Eclipse in the sky! I darken your world and look down on you all!" He burst from the stress of his first close call. "How dare you presume that I died!" They started to walk away without noticing his speech. He lost hope for his people. He naturally had a weak presences. They seemed to be heading to a tower in the distance with a beacon of light. Looking around he noticed that they seemed to be in some black/purple void and paths were made out of floating debris. All the paths lead to the tower. Looking at the other paths he seen other players and even NPCs. Don''t I have an estate here?Heading after the other players he notice how light he felt. The pace that they kept felt kinda slow. "Ugh, I feel so weak." player-3 "Is this your first death?" Player-4 "Yea" player-3 "It''s because we don''t have physical bodies." Player-2 I see so that makes me the most powerful one in this realm. Three wisps appear out of nowhere. They seamed to be some kind of spirit, it was pretty weak but the players around him panicked. "So the Shade Trials have begun!" Player-5 One spirit burst through three players and the players burst into energy particles. The energy particles were absorbed by the wisp. Another wisp destroyed two players heading for him. Panicking he used Shades Hand to catch the wisp and crush it. The energy from the spirit flowed into his hand. The other wisps retreated. Looking at shades hand, he took notice of it''s change into a gauntlet. He tried to dispel it. He couldn''t.It must be because the shade power originates from here. Hiding his arm in his cloak. He continued walking. Just as he hoped, no one noticed him kill the wisp. "Why did the wisps go?" Player-6 "I don''t know." player-1 Player 3,4,5 were dead along with 10 others. Players 1,2,6, and now named 7-12. 10 players were still standing if he included himself. After walking along the path for a while, cloaked figures showed up and hovered over us. We continued forward. He got the feeling they were here for him. He almost came forward to confront them, but several times when their cloak shifts, he swears he sees a shade blade. On top of that, their levels were comparable to his. They were almost to the tower. That is when the player''s started talking about being able to complete the shade trials. Weird, because they only went through one. That is when the reapers took their chance and annihilated the players. A reaper approached Eric and with a swing of its sword, Eric is forced to dodge to the left. Eric spent the next two minutes running from the reapers. Soon he was the only one left. The reapers surrounded him. Then from above, a figure came into being. " What do we have here?" It''s voice literally shook the air. "The Half-Shade is finally here." Eric stayed on guard. The dark figure above him looked more like a shadowy blob than a person. "Where are my manners?" The figure asked him. Suddenly the figure became a black cloud, while it descended upon him. The cloud became a ligature as it enveloped his body. Viand The darkness didn''t last long. It soon faded away. He was now standing in a grand hall of what he guessed was the tower. "Welcome." The figure said as it took on human form. The air no longer shook. "So I''m guessing you are the Doctor''s son?" He became a tall middle aged man with spiked black hair. "Break the immersion, why don''t you?" Eric''s sarcasm slipped out. "Yea, well you already possess shade abilities." He rubbed his head and looked over his should. "I don''t follow." Eric responded. "This realm was made to select candidates for the Shade race. But sadly potentials won''t arrive until someone hits level hundred at least." He attempts to explain. "Are you going to explain?" Eric probes. "Wow, no respect for your elders." He retorted disappointedly. "Anyway you existing is something I didn''t expect. I prepared for someone to pick the Shade race, and someone to earn the Shade race, but not half human half Shade. Purposefully weakening your abilities and spawning in the main world, was something I wasn''t prepared for. So let me introduce myself, I am Spirit World GM Hades." He begins finishing. "Pleased to meet you," he finished with a smile. "A: You talk to much B: You need to be more prepared C: Can you fix my arm? D: What about this afterlife estate?" Eric listed the things on his mind. "Wow, that was surprisingly well organized, you keep surprising me. I''m gonna keep an eye on you." Hades revealed a perverted smile. Eric took a step back. Staring down Hades, he lifted up the shades gauntlet stuck to his hand, to remind Hades of his question. "Ah, yes." Hades addresses his questions, "Your arm is meant to be a full body suit. You will need to kill more soul creatures to gain the power of the suit. It will be gone once you return. As for the Estate, we are here. Your room is up the stairs on the left. The Arena is out back, you can battle other Shades or common spirits there. The gates are out front if you have a specific destination." He finished. "What about food?" Eric asked realizing he was getting bored. "Well of course! What would be your viand?" Hades responded. "Viand?" Eric never heard that word. "Your food of choice." He defined viand. "Well then, can I get a pepperoni, sausage, and olive pizza?" Eric asked. "Why that sounds delicious, mind if I join you?" Hades manifested a pizza. "No not at all." Eric smiled. A notification rang in his ears and Eric ignored it. They approached a table in the corner of the room. Staring at the pizza, he sat down. The anticipation was making him frantic. The pizza was then plated and placed with grace in front of him. Picking it up he smelt it as if it was the white gold known as panties. Opening his mouth the pizza approached at a frighteningly slow speed. Before his jaw was snapped shut the world went black.Really? What the fuck just happened? Good morning Ethan Clipson. ******* Ethan''s eyes were painfully opened, it was bright. The sunrise was directly in his eyes. Looking at the time he was greeted by 6:00AM. He was tired, maybe because he got up earlier than expected, maybe because he was up in the middle of the night. Hopping out of the True-Dive system, he greeted his lonely bed. One thing bothered him as he fell back asleep. He really wanted some pizza. ******* Waking up at 7:10AM he quickly got ready for school. Skipping breakfast he knew he was going to be hungry later. He mounted his bike and took off for school. It felt weird being in this world again. It was almost like getting back from break. He experienced so many hours of game time that it felt weird to finally be back to his routine. Parking his bike behind the trees in the staff parking lot, he started towards school. Today is Thursday on top of it. As it was the previous day everyone in the school was showing off their stats. Except, unlike Godden most students didn''t want to give the tactical advantage to potential opponents, so they kept their skills hidden. Their names, patrons, locations, and even races all varied greatly. Not one person had access to a platinum race like him. Even in the Gamer click there was only three people that had the gold membership. Apparently it cost a lot of money. Everyone had levels ranging from 8-30. Godden had his level at 30, which was 5 levels above the next competitor. Life went as expected, most people still had conversations about stuff other than the game.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Jessica broke up with her boyfriend and Joe quit football. Nothing different than he was used to. He had a paper for the Newspaper Club due tomorrow. But he had yet to decide what to write about, all of the other newspaper club members were doing something on RMO. He on the other hand wanted to focus on real life, because its been a while. Ethan decided to eavesdrop on a group of friends. "Eclipse is playing RMO?" Boy 1 questions. What didGoddensell me out? "What''s so good about him? All he does is write newspaper articles." Girl 1 is oblivious. "He is the one of the top gamers around the world, and no one has seen his face, the fact that our Eclipse and that Eclipse might be the same means he goes to this school!" Boy 2 gets worked up. Boy 1, Girl 1, and Girl 2 stare at boy 3 in doubt. "Why does that matter?" Girl 2 inquired. "Because he is like the superstar of the gaming world." "I know he lives nearby, not that he goes to Neet!" Godden shows up yelling at boy 1. "Sorry!" Boy 1 was getting nervous. Since when did getting powerful in the game mean getting powerful in real life?Ethan asked himself. He had a topic. Getting up he started to investigate it. Good thing his next period was study hall. He decided to work all through lunch too. His stomach protested but he ignored it. ******* After school he dropped by the newspaper club right as Ms. Waltz ran out to use the bathroom. Dropping his story on her desk the title read: Parallel Powers Life Vs. Games He found it was pretty creative. *Bang* the door slammed behind him. "Got you!" She felt triumphant as other voices were whispering behind him. He identified the voice right away, it was Allison, the leader of the newspaper club. Guessing by the voices the other club members were present as well. His main escape route was blocked. Looking at the windows he noticed that two students were stationed there as well. "As you know by now, we got you surrounded. We even have Jonny waiting at Mrs. Waltz''s car, and Jenny is tailing her. You were pretty hard to corner." Allison declared. Did his awareness dull? It did, he forgot to check for lookouts because he wanted to go home and play RMO! He had less than ninety-five seconds until Ms. Waltz was back, if he was lucky. He had to figure out a way to stall them. Seeing how he was hostage he decided to ask "What are your demands?" In a stern voice. "Fufufu, I''m glad you understand your position." The smile that dawned upon Allison''s face sent chills down Ethan''s back, and he wasn''t even looking at her. He snuck a glance at Allison, her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail revealing her angular face and deep brown eyes. The worst thing though, was the Evil smile that was still plastered on her face. The other two students looked uninterested. He couldn''t even see their faces. Looking back at the window he took note of how the students were watching the birds in the trees. It seemed the only person that wanted to be here was Allison. "Now, I want to conduct a little interview." She said cheerfully. "Lay it on me," he played along, "what''s the worst that can happen?" "You do understand that I''m going to expose you!" Allison was still worked up. "I really got to go, you know, RMO." He gave ground. "Aha, so you are Eclipse!" She started shaking. "I thought you figured that out when you trapped me." He teased her. "I mean the gamer!" She was flustered. "Assuming isn''t news." He lit the fuse. Her face got red. Heels could be heard coming down the hall. Allison soaking in her rage did not notice. "Why you little-" she was cut off by him. "Besides, it is I who trapped you." He planted a seed of fear in her. On cue the door handle jiggled causing Allison to panic. Acting quick when everyone was turned away, he open the window all the way and dived into the cupboard. It was a tight space, he hoped she would fall for it. "Open up!" Ms. Waltz ordered. Freaking out Allison was fumbling with the lock. After opening the doors successfully she apologized to the teacher, before turning around. Her eyes were wide with shock, Eclipse was gone! Running to the window she scolded the students that were still staring at the birds. After storming out of the room in a fit of rage, the students let out a heavy sigh. "Let''s go play Real Magic," student one suggested. With those five words, the mood lightened and the students dispersed. After two minutes Ms. Waltz spoke, "You can come out now." Slipping out he asked, "What gave me away?" "Your shirt was hanging out of the crack." Revealing another blunder of his. I need to focus more on real life when I''m here or I''m done for. Giving his thanks to the teacher, he left for home. He got to the parking lot and climbed onto his bike. He began riding out noticing Godden next to Ms. Waltz''s pickup truck, not a very classy vehicle. At first he didn''t know why, but soon realised he was the lookout for Allison. Now that he thinks about it she did start dating him as soon as the game came out. He is probably the reason she was trying to trap him. He didn''t waste time as he spend off for the river path. The river was beautiful. This was the perfect conditions for riding. The breeze was cooling on the warm day. Passing by the Riverside Pizza Parlour, his stomach protested due to his unsatisfied cravings. He kept going for another five blocks before his craving got the best of him. Hey, even gamers got to eat! Turning around, he ordered a sausage, olive, and pepperoni pizza to go. Receiving the pizza he took it to his bike. Wedging the pizza box between his hands and handlebars he slowly rode home, to prevent the instant death of pizza that would be road kill. Arriving home he engulfed four pieces of pizza before diving into the true dive system. 6pm-6am was when servers were online. During the log-in sequence he remembered where he left off. After careful consideration he decided to go back to the main world and raise his level. After all the afterlife area didn''t have high experience monsters. He was suddenly sitting at a empty table. Getting up he walked around. The GM probably knew he was here. Looking at his arm, the gauntlet remained unchanged. He wondered how many spirits it would take to get the full body armor. Probably more than he was willing to waste his time on. The GM did say that it would disappear in the main world right? Exiting the building he approached the stone arches, and was then prompted to travel. The only destination unlocked was his estate. Tapping it the stone arch was filled with a swirling vortex. "Back to square one," he said with a sigh. ****************************** And another chapter was released. I am trying to find a good balance between school life and game life. Thinking about giving him an obsessive girlfriend that..... on second thought forget what I just typed. I would erase it but some people like teasers.