"He's going to hit enrage if we don’t kill him now!” Gray blasted a skeleton with a lightning bolt. He cast one of his new spells called True Strike on Akira. A spell that granted him a higher crit chance and stacked it with his damage buff spell.
Melody was tanking the boss, a lich by the name of Casion. The black walls of his fortress were suffocating as skeletons and zombies poured in from the orifices in the walls. At this point, they had fought off so many minions that piles of bones in the arena. Some of the skeletons were hanging from swinging cages attached to the roof and chucking projectiles at the party.
Gray got hit by a spear that was thrown by one of these swinging skeletons. He was shocked when it even appeared to laugh at him. Madame Cheddar healed him.
“Such is your strength. I have no time for failed heroes!” Casion floated to the top of the arena and formed a black orb in his hands that crackled with white lightning. Once formed, he raised the orb with one hand. The undead minions pulled back. The shadows on their fleshless faces showed fear. Even they were worried about the spell that the Casion was casting.
The party scrambled. Everyone started to throw all manner of ranged attacks at the floating lich to take it out down as soon as possible. As the orb of certain death started to grow, the skeletons and zombies started to get pulled into Casion’s final attack. Gray frame rate dropped once again. He couldn’t even tell if he was attacking. All he saw was a slideshow of bone and dark magic.
The last frame was him being pulled into the center of a singularity by a pair of skeletal hands.
Eventually, the frame rate returned to normal. However, the party was back in the beginning of the dungeon.
“Damn. We’ve been working on this boss for an hour,” Akira slumped over.
“The difficulty of the dungeon is probably meant to prepare us for endgames such as encounters and raids, but I didn’t think it would be such a commitment,” Madame Cheddar crossed her arms.
“I think we should take a break for the day,” Melody said.
“Agreed,” Gray had enough. Not of Casion ridiculous fight, but of the frame drops. He was going to get a new headset.
Today.
After a bit of discussion to plan for their next day to attempt the fight, the Daybreak guild returned to the guild house. There Akira and Madame Cheddar logged off for the day.
Melody stayed at the dining table of the first floor with a frown.
“Still thinking about the boss?” Gray asked.
“...Yeah,” Melody slid down the chair. Her brow was furrowed as she slid almost completely off the chair. “It’s such a stupid boss. How do they expect a party of four to deal with all those skeletons? Then the boss enters enrage by floating up, so a melee like me can’t deal good damage when it really counts!”
“We’ll think of something. Aren’t you going to log off for the day?”
“I might do some fishing. I gotta get some bait prepped.”
“Prepped for what?”
“Getting the giant fish boss.”
“Wait, what level is your fishing vocation at?”
“50. I also got 233 fish logged in the fishing bestiary, so I got the Leviathan,” Melody pulled out a fishing rod that permanently had a tiny school of fish rotating around the handle as if they were pulled by some gravitational pull. “What are you going to do?”
“During the end of the fight, my headset was acting up again. I think it’s time to actually upgrade it.”
“Wait, really?” Melody stood up. “Are you going in person?”
“Not really. I heard that many platforms have stores where you can check out the newest headsets since it’s cheaper to buy online than going in person.”
“Then do you want to come together? I got a newer headset, so I might be able to give some advice about their specs and stuff.”
“That would be great actually. I’ve kinda been slacking on an idea for what to get.”
***
It was a city that never saw the sun, but that’s how its denizens wanted it. They came to this platform for this very reason. They wanted a place where the nightlife never ended. This was a different fantasy than Elrin. Sword and sorcery were replaced by polymer hoodies and oni masks that left trails of light when avatars hopped from rooftop to rooftop. Castles and thrones omitted in favor of ramen stands and dark alleyways.
This platform was called Steel Rain.
Every 37 minutes, there would be a period of rain. It would rain for 37 minutes. The asphalt was made slick. Puddles formed around the sidewalks to create a reflection of the city lights.
Gray appeared right next to Melody. Or rather Alice this time.
“I’ve never been to this platform,” Alice said. “Have you?”
“Not really, but maybe we can walk around after I decide on a headset.”
“Oh, that sounds nice. Let’s do it.”
They pulled up a digital map of the platform and saw the sprawling city that lay before them. The two of them walked over to the brightest store in the city. An endless hallway of phones, headphones, and tablets. However, the premier item was headsets.
They were divided by company and demoed along minimalist desk tables with a small digital pad that labeled all manner of specs such as memory, clock speeds, battery life/being a wired one. The biggest number on the list was the price. For that was usually the ultimate factor.
Each headset was delicately placed on something that was almost like a perfectly cylindrical disc of some space-age material.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Sooo. What are you thinking of getting,” Alice rubbed her hands on her jeans. She would occasionally turn around and glance at the other patrons. Each one was dressed appropriately for the platforms. The two of them were stuck in real clothing. They looked boring and plain in comparison to the techno-renegades around them.
“Well, this one looks good,” Gray reached out for a headset called the VBO 4. It had a mint-colored visor that was outlined by an aluminum frame with a steel finish. Gray took it into his hands. It is almost like a pair of glasses rather than a headset.
“How can I help you!”
“Ah,” Gray jumped back with the headset in hand as a pink-haired girl wearing a spacesuit manifested before him. She looked like the type of person that would draw in the back of her college classes.
“I see that you’re looking at the VBO 4. I am the Centurian’s virtual assistant, Lexi. Would you like to hear the specs?” Lexi hop.
“The VBO series is more of a developer type of headset,” Alice whispered. “Not really a gaming headset. I use them at work.”
“I should look for something else then,” Gray placed back on the dish and started to walk towards another section of headsets. Lexi walked in front of him.
“We have the newest GECKO V! Part of the very popular GECKO series,” Lexi waved her hand and the VBO 4 disappeared and was replaced by a helmet sized headset. It had the same color and everything as the GECKO II. Gray scratched his head. He was tired of lugging that huge football helmet around. He wanted something that was at least a little more compact.
“I’m actually gonna go and look around before making a purchase,” Gray was shocked that Lexi responded by sighing and disappearing.”Got any ideas, Mel-Alice?”
“So weird. I heard more companies are doing that,” Alice explained.
“Making their virtual assistants have emotions?”
“Yeah, the whole thing. They make them into fashionable characters and have them make you feel bad if you don’t buy something from their stores.”
“Ugh,”
The rest of the shopping experience was uneventful as Gray and Alice were bothered by more virtual assistants. Gray was close to returning to old faithful and getting a bulky GECKO V before Alice suggested her own headset, The Nexus. A suggestion from her was enough, so he grabbed the latest one and paid for next day delivery.
Satisfied that the main goal of the day was complete, Gray and Alice left the store. Walking back out into the rain. They sat on the sidewalks and took a look at the other buildings. The movie theater was filled, there was a convenience store that sold steel wire masks, and a clothing store.
Unlike the tech shop, the clothing store sold clothing that was for the platform. A user could buy clothing to wear on their avatar and in real life. Since they weren’t wearing clothes from the Steel Rain Platform, their clothes didn’t get wet. It was only those that had avatar clothing made specifically for Steel Rain that interacted with the weather effects.
“I guess that’s why it’s a free platform. You’re encouraged to pay for clothes and stuff,” Alice looked up at the sky and put her palm up.
“I think it’s cool. It’s almost like we’re strangers to this place,” Gray mimicked Alice’s action. They poked their heads into the clothing store and saw all the jackets, hoodies, sneakers, and coats. Each one accompanied by some carbon fiber accessory or strip of neon.
Gray noticed a digital poster on the glass door, it was the poster of some popstar named Bloodedge. His name was fitting as he had extremely pale skin with ruby colored eyes. He was screaming into a purple microphone as sharp jagged letters stated his next tour.
“Hey Melody, do you like this guy? I know you like metal,” Gray thought it would have been better to just call her Melody.
Alice poked her head around and examined the poster.
“Yeah, he’s kinda popular. He adds a bit more pop to his songs, so I’m not like a superfan or anything.”
“His getup looks cool,” Gray took a closer look. While Bloodedge was the focus, he was accompanied by other literally sharp band members that were wearing spikes and horned helmets.
“Yeah, the whole red eyes. I heard he’s a streamer too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Alice looked up to see an avatar run by them overtop. Some users were probably parkouring around with their buddies.
“Want to go walk around?” Gray asked.
***
The continual rain and the dark streets were nothing like Elrin. It was true. What Gray said. They were strangers to this world of neon and extremely fashionable avatars, but that only made it more fun when they ran around the city. They were able to parkour without fear as there was no fall damage in this world. Failing to catch a railing was a minor setback rather than death.
Gray didn’t know how many hours had passed, but he had a feeling that he was going to get the burns again. They had explored all but one map. In the northern section was a chunk of land that had no buildings. Interested, the two head over. The area began with an abandoned railroad station.
Completely deserted with broken windows and moss running along the walls. There was an old digital sign that may have shown the timetables for departing trains, but it was cracked and lightless. They passed the station and walked the path of the unused railroad tracks.
“It almost feels like a horror game now,” Alice smiled.
“Yeah, are you into those?”
“I love them.”
Walking further along the tracks, the sound of rain accompanied their footfalls as a fog came in. Gray had never walked along tracks in his life. He never risked such a thing in the active stations of a metropolitan city. He almost expected to hear an approaching train, but it silent naught for them and the weather.
They were nearing the edge of the seeable map when they were blocked by a chain-link fence to their left. Behind the fence was not just shrubbery, but a forest. It took them a moment, but then they found an opening in the bottom part of their fence. They crawled on the mud to pass through. A mountain’s path began at the other end of the fence and the two of them slowly went up towards the top of the mountain. It was like that time that they went on the adventure to get Dusk.
The edge of this world was a quaint little cottage atop a mountain. They heard the faint sound of windchimes and a few other players sitting around wooden benches.
Alice and Gray went to the edge of the mountain as the rain came back. From there the two of them saw the city of glass and steel that shined like a prism.
“Wow,” Alice whispered.
“Wait, what are those lines?” Gray pointed at the trails of lights that were encircling skyscrapers and running along windows. “Those are other avatars.”
“It’s almost like a light show.”
Gray sat down on the edge of the mountain and just took in the sight. Alice followed his lead. She kicked her legs off the edge and swung her head a little bit to the left and right. Then pulled away from Gray.
“I’m a little tired,” Alice yawned. “We’ve been here for a while. I just checked the time and it’s 3 AM.”
“What? 3 AM?” Gray shook his own head. “We’re definitely getting the burns.”
“I don’t mind though. It was fun…” Alice turned back to the city. “We kinda only play Elrin, but there’s some many platforms to explore.”
“Getting bored of Elrin then?”
“Never! It’s the place where I really found a nice group of friends. Akira, Kelsy, and Cheddar. Jericho and your cousin that randomly logs on to lay in the field near Willowtown. Everyone’s so cool.”
“Yeah, I’ve said it before, but I’m really glad that I met you.”
“I’m glad that I met you too,” Alice smiled. They looked at each other for a moment and then turned away. Gray looked at his left hand. It was placed right next to Alice’s. It would be simple to just take her hands and say it.
But he wasn’t ready for that. It was an online relationship. She knew Gray Espirit and he knew Melody Lightsong. It wasn’t the same. It couldn’t be the same, right?
Gray remembered the commencement of autumn. How the shadow came back and how all life seemed to be sucked out of him. His emotions were volatile. Besides, it wasn’t a guarantee that she would reciprocate. They were probably just friends in her eyes. Maybe she disliked online relationships. Who would ever see him in a romantic light anyways? He was just some random guy.
Alice laid her head on his shoulder. Gray didn’t notice until he turned to glance at her.
“You keep switching between Melody and Alice so much. Just call me Alice from now on, ok?”