Lucy Heartfelt took off her headset. Indeed, she had just completed the pro gamer move of rage-quitting. Dressed in pajamas of blue, she took a breath and grasped the phone on her nightstand before dialing a number.
"What? This early?" A male's voice answered from the other end, annoyed, "Why are you calling me? I hate calls."
"Are you in the game yet? I need reinforcement!" She replied.
There was silence for a moment.
"No. I'm doing my homework."
Her eyes widened. "Summer vacation just started, and it's barely 11am, how are you already doing your homework?"
"Some of us like things manageable, not rushed on the last day. I'll join when I'm done with my work," He said back, matter-of-factly.
"What?! That could take two whole days!"
"Yes."
And the call cutoff.
"Darn you, Arthur. . ."
They had both just turned 14 and only had one year of middle school left, and he was still so studious. Sometimes she envied him. Most of the time, though, she wouldn't trade a morning of gaming for a date with schoolwork. She shivered at the mere thought.
Sighing, Lucy could only place her phone down with silent tears and pull the helmet back over her head. It was black and sleek with a glass face.
She clicked a button on the side.
"Start," She muttered.
Her world became dark. Then light walloped and, a moment later, she was standing in the village of Acron. Players abounded about her and, for some reason, she felt she was being glanced at?
". . .Oi, isn't that the first player to die?"
"Eve, what a fitting name."
"She looks younger than I thought, but that makes sense. When have you ever heard of someone dying in the first 6 minutes of a mmo beginning?"
"That's hilarious, she's the Leeroy Jenkins of virtual reality."
Mutters and whispers rang in the air, and she realized it was due to the name 'Eve' floating above her head. With just a hint of focus on another traveler, you would see their username. They must have done it unconsciously but, drats, her face flushed.
She gritted her teeth.
"Hey, don't call me Leeroy!" She pointed at a male and glared.
"Oh, she's kinda cute. . ."
". . .dude."
"Humph!" Swerving around, she folded her arms and ignored them as she began to pace about the village.
Her starter equipment that should have been hanging by her waist was now gone. Those darn evil devs, she thought.
Players ran about her, kicking dirt as their basic figures moved around the village in a hurry.
She stopped under a two-story, wooden building's shade, escaping the glare of the morning's sun.
"Hello traveler, are you looking for a meal or a place to rest?" A voice traveled out of the establishment, however.
She squinted through the doorway and saw a red-headed, lankly built but tall, man behind a counter cleaning a cup with a cloth and a thin smile. Within the place were several circular tables and chairs going unused.
"Um, no, I have no money," She said hurriedly. Though she also thought, what was the point of sleeping in a vrmmo? "I'm just collecting my thoughts."
The inn's owner laughed. "Then collect away, but please don't block the door."
Lucy quickly nodded and shifted from the door. Though, she thought, no one was coming into the establishment anyway. Not anytime soon. No beginner had money, Gilds, to flaunt. And, by the looks of it, everyone was in a hurry.
"Have you seen it?!"
"Just watched it flap off the roof of the town hall! It's flapping towards the south wall!"
"Fuck, hurry!"
She raised a brow at the voices of the players, then tossed their words aside as she brought up the display screen with a thought. There was a small map at the upper right which could be expanded, and her health and mana bar at the upper left with the icon of a book below them.
She wished for the 'Traveler's Book' to open. It popped up in front of her, like an actual book. It floated just above her left palm. Though it was more of a screen and was akin to a foldable tablet, it had been designed to resemble a black-covered novel on the outside. She thought it was an odd taste for a game, but she actually liked its design nevertheless.
She saw her level 1 avatar on the left flap—its equipment boxes showing only her equipped shirt and shorts—and her bare inventory of 50 spaces on the right. She hadn't even gotten a darn skill yet! Shaking her head, she tapped on a tab far left and her achievements showed.
She tapped on the only one currently listed there.
[Die Hard]
—congrats, you were the first person to die on your server. Though hilarious, the developers find that that is quite sad in its own way.
*Penalties shall no longer befall you after death.
She didn't know if she should be happy or saddened. On the one hand, they were treating her like a noob player by handing out that free modifier on her avatar. She, who had played mmos all her life. How dare they. On the other hand, that was a free, permanent modifier on her avatar! Knowing not how to feel, Lucy simply lost her anger at her death and took a breath.
"Okay!" She huffed as she glared, reigniting her flames in this new world. "Let's begin for real!"
If she wasn't wrong, the beta-testers had complained that there was a lack of direction for players in the beginning, so a couple of starter quests had been made to familiarize players with the game. She had ignored it before, electing to get used to her avatar instead—plus the feeling of swinging a sword, though hard, was exhilarating—but now it was time to be serious.
She tapped another tab and a list of her current quests showed.
"Baby steps huh. . ." She muttered as she tapped the first and only one on the list.
[Baby Steps]
—find Dafy the Duck within the village grounds. The poor bird seems confused and in need of help. Being a duck, however, he flaps about and his location changes every 10 minutes. Hurry up, time ticks and a busy duck waits for no individual.
{Rewards: 10 exp}
". . ."
She swerved her head and glanced at scrambling avatars.
There was no wonder there were so many players running about the village, curses flying at the game developers of Eclipse. What had the last group yelled out again? The duck was flapping towards the southern wall?
"Wait for me!"
The Traveler's Book disappeared from her hand and Lucy sprinted, bringing up the mini-map and checking the compass.
LotsChrono
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/vwKhVUR
Want more interesting stories? Check out my profile.
Lucy Heartfelt took off her headset. Indeed, she had just completed the pro gamer move of rage-quitting. Dressed in pajamas of blue, she took a breath and grasped the phone on her nightstand before dialing a number.
"What? This early?" A male's voice answered from the other end, annoyed, "Why are you calling me? I hate calls."
"Are you in the game yet? I need reinforcement!" She replied.
There was silence for a moment.
"No. I'm doing my homework."
Her eyes widened. "Summer vacation just started, and it's barely 11am, how are you already doing your homework?"
"Some of us like things manageable, not rushed on the last day. I'll join when I'm done with my work," He said back, matter-of-factly.
"What?! That could take two whole days!"
"Yes."
And the call cutoff.
"Darn you, Arthur. . ."
They had both just turned 14 and only had one year of middle school left, and he was still so studious. Sometimes she envied him. Most of the time, though, she wouldn't trade a morning of gaming for a date with schoolwork. She shivered at the mere thought.
Sighing, Lucy could only place her phone down with silent tears and pull the helmet back over her head. It was black and sleek with a glass face.
She clicked a button on the side.
"Start," She muttered.
Her world became dark. Then light walloped and, a moment later, she was standing in the village of Acron. Players abounded about her and, for some reason, she felt she was being glanced at?
". . .Oi, isn't that the first player to die?"
"Eve, what a fitting name."
"She looks younger than I thought, but that makes sense. When have you ever heard of someone dying in the first 6 minutes of a mmo beginning?"
"That's hilarious, she's the Leeroy Jenkins of virtual reality."
Mutters and whispers rang in the air, and she realized it was due to the name 'Eve' floating above her head. With just a hint of focus on another traveler, you would see their username. They must have done it unconsciously but, drats, her face flushed.
She gritted her teeth.
"Hey, don't call me Leeroy!" She pointed at a male and glared.
"Oh, she's kinda cute. . ."
". . .dude."
"Humph!" Swerving around, she folded her arms and ignored them as she began to pace about the village.
Her starter equipment that should have been hanging by her waist was now gone. Those darn evil devs, she thought.
Players ran about her, kicking dirt as their basic figures moved around the village in a hurry.
She stopped under a two-story, wooden building's shade, escaping the glare of the morning's sun.
"Hello traveler, are you looking for a meal or a place to rest?" A voice traveled out of the establishment, however.
She squinted through the doorway and saw a red-headed, lankly built but tall, man behind a counter cleaning a cup with a cloth and a thin smile. Within the place were several circular tables and chairs going unused.
"Um, no, I have no money," She said hurriedly. Though she also thought, what was the point of sleeping in a vrmmo? "I'm just collecting my thoughts."
The inn's owner laughed. "Then collect away, but please don't block the door."
Lucy quickly nodded and shifted from the door. Though, she thought, no one was coming into the establishment anyway. Not anytime soon. No beginner had money, Gilds, to flaunt. And, by the looks of it, everyone was in a hurry.
"Have you seen it?!"
"Just watched it flap off the roof of the town hall! It's flapping towards the south wall!"
"Fuck, hurry!"
She raised a brow at the voices of the players, then tossed their words aside as she brought up the display screen with a thought. There was a small map at the upper right which could be expanded, and her health and mana bar at the upper left with the icon of a book below them.
She wished for the 'Traveler's Book' to open. It popped up in front of her, like an actual book. It floated just above her left palm. Though it was more of a screen and was akin to a foldable tablet, it had been designed to resemble a black-covered novel on the outside. She thought it was an odd taste for a game, but she actually liked its design nevertheless.
She saw her level 1 avatar on the left flap—its equipment boxes showing only her equipped shirt and shorts—and her bare inventory of 50 spaces on the right. She hadn't even gotten a darn skill yet! Shaking her head, she tapped on a tab far left and her achievements showed.
She tapped on the only one currently listed there.
[Die Hard]
—congrats, you were the first person to die on your server. Though hilarious, the developers find that that is quite sad in its own way.
*Penalties shall no longer befall you after death.
She didn't know if she should be happy or saddened. On the one hand, they were treating her like a noob player by handing out that free modifier on her avatar. She, who had played mmos all her life. How dare they. On the other hand, that was a free, permanent modifier on her avatar! Knowing not how to feel, Lucy simply lost her anger at her death and took a breath.
"Okay!" She huffed as she glared, reigniting her flames in this new world. "Let's begin for real!"
If she wasn't wrong, the beta-testers had complained that there was a lack of direction for players in the beginning, so a couple of starter quests had been made to familiarize players with the game. She had ignored it before, electing to get used to her avatar instead—plus the feeling of swinging a sword, though hard, was exhilarating—but now it was time to be serious.
She tapped another tab and a list of her current quests showed.
"Baby steps huh. . ." She muttered as she tapped the first and only one on the list.
[Baby Steps]
—find Dafy the Duck within the village grounds. The poor bird seems confused and in need of help. Being a duck, however, he flaps about and his location changes every 10 minutes. Hurry up, time ticks and a busy duck waits for no individual.
{Rewards: 10 exp}
". . ."
She swerved her head and glanced at scrambling avatars.
There was no wonder there were so many players running about the village, curses flying at the game developers of Eclipse. What had the last group yelled out again? The duck was flapping towards the southern wall?
"Wait for me!"
The Traveler's Book disappeared from her hand and Lucy sprinted, bringing up the mini-map and checking the compass.
LotsChrono
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/vwKhVUR
Want more interesting stories? Check out my profile.
