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Volume 2 Chapter 5 – End
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This day marked the 178th Day which Bunny went into the demon realm with her friends. The almost 6 months of RL time equates to almost two years passed within the game. While the trio experienced an adventure that was only known to themselves, time, however flowed smoothly, with many changes happening in the Continent of Versailles and the world.
One of the most important changes, was the building of a Pyramid. As the old king got weaker, he ordered a sculptor to create a tomb worthy of himself. The sculptor, being a player, made a copy of the pyramid. Beside the tomb, he carved a sphinx with the head of the old king. With a tomb ready, old King Theodarren passed away a happy king.
Outside of the game, RR had finally reached a milestone of 2 years old. Instead of having a decline in player population, the game had continuous growth, gathering more and more players from all over the world, enjoying the virtual environment.
Unicorn Corp, the company behind RR hosted a major event to celebrate the game's second birthday. During the single day event, each VR capsules would only cost half its normal price. In addition, every second capsule bought would receive an additional 30% discount.
*****
Miya and Maya were twins. After hearing about the success of the game RR, they had been saving to play the game. RR had a game subscription of 300 dollars monthly, it was expensive, but still affordable by most gamers. The hurdle which delayed many joining the game was the price of the game device capsule, which cost over $10,000.
The twins got lucky when Unicorn Corp decided to do a 1 day mega-sale. With over $9,000 they had saved up, they managed to buy 2 units instead of 1, even having enough to fund the game for a few months.
“Yeah! After 1 year of scrimping and saving, we finally can play RR” Miya exclaimed
“What's more, we get a pair of capsule at lower then the price of one” Maya giggled happily
“You forgot to include the few months worth of subscription that comes along”
“I am so happy, was worried that, Miya being an addict, will hog the game if we share the device”
“Says the other addict...” Miya pouted
“Anyway, now we have a unit each, no more fighting and lets start somewhere together”
“Sure thing, we going the same formation?”
“Yes. I will Tank and you DPS behind... I will become a knight, like Joan of Arc” Maya said dreamily
“Hahaha... silly girl... Joan would be considered a paladin instead of knight, she's a Catholic Saint”
“Knight, Paladin, whats the difference, I really like those metal armors... Anyway, what about you?”
“Most likely archery, either Ranger or Bowmen depends on what the elves have” Miya replied sagely.
“Oh my, elf-fanatic at work here...” Maya teased
“Don't you think being human is too common?”
“What about Orcs, the newest race available” Maya asked
“So, you want to be Joanchiw of Arcibarr tribe” Miya teased
“No way!... anyway where should be start at?” Maya turned the topic away
“Serabroug! At least the forums claim it to be the best place for beginners.”
*****
On the next day, after having their gaming device delivered and connected, the twins were ready to venture into virtual reality using their respective capsules. Miya being the younger by 12 minutes, was forced to sent the delivery people out. When she returned to the gaming room, Maya was already waiting, both girls had decided to dive together.
Inside her capsule, Miya's sight was blocked out, leaving darkness around her. Then a screen appeared before her.
- The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you do not have an avatar. Do you..
“Yes!”
- Select the name of...
“TwinkleBell!”
The twins always used the specific game ID. Maya would be JingleBell while Miya took TwinkleBell. Both had forgotten why they liked such weird nicknames, but they were both happy with those, so neither proposed for a change.
- Select your gender from male, fe...
“Female!”
- Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary thirty-one
“El... *Ding* ”
Before Miya could select her race, there was a loud *Ding* followed by a system message
A player had just unlocked a new race
The Werebeast race (Variant: Rabbit) has been unlocked by the player: Bunny
First 20 players choosing this race will get get bonus fame and obtain a random racial skills that are normally only unlocked at later levels.
Appearance:
WereRabbit have long ears, short fluffy tails, and a pairs of sharp incisors (front teeth).
Racial difference:
- WereRabbits can Hop: Using their powerful hind legs, hopping is faster the running.
- WereRabbits have 'Sense Danger', a skill which allowed them to detect enemies by scent and sound
- WereRabbits have limited classes to choose from.
- WereRabbits have 20% more Agility, but 20% less Wisdom.
“What!... First 20 players get bonus?? Then I want to be a WereRabbit”
- Were-beast, Rabbit Variant selected.
- As the first player to choose this race, you start with +200 fame and the skill Transform
- You may alter your appearance in game. Please state the changes
Miya looked as a 3D model of herself as part rabbit presented in front of her. Other then her normal appearance, she was decorated with rabbit-ears and buckteeth. At her back, right at the bottom of her avatar's spine, was a fluffy tail which stuck out of her default newbie pants.
As with all females of the human species, Miya made an effort to change her avatar into something more adorable, clearing freckles, adding dimples, slightly increasing cup size while trimming the waist. Miya was confident with her looks and figure, so the total change was less then 10%, making her recognizable if she attended offline meets.
- Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined by your actions in the game
- There is only one starting location for Were-beast, Rabbit Variant: Hell Hare Hills, Demon Realm
- Welcome to Royal Road
*Flash*
As light dissipated from her surrounding, Miya found herself in the center of a plaza. Fresh water gushed in a small fountain right beside her, making splashing noises. As her senses got normalized with her surroundings, Miya could only gasp.
“This is…”
The girl was swayed by the sight and sound of countless avatars, consisting of werebeast and animals. All humanoids around her had animal features while giant animals mixed among the crowd without standing out. Some distance away at a grocer stall, a 2m tall Mink holding a basket of fruits was bargaining with a 1.6m half-raccoon hawker. There were also a pair of cats racing down the street, each was 3m from head to base of their tail.
The most bizarre of all was a group of 6 bunny-eared humanoids dressed as guards, patrolling the area. Each was riding a rabbit that was as big as a horse, all of them, including their mounts, were armed in full plate, except the armor was made of something that did not shine like metal.
“Is this wonderland?”
The sight was strange, yet enchanting. Miya was first astonished by the realism of computer graphics, then she was shocked by the inhabitants of the village. She had visited many online resource sites and seen many in-game videos and pictures, which prepared her for the realist environment, but none of those prepared her for the talking animals.
“Unbelievable!”
Miya was taken out of trance by a word spoken beside her. Turning to face the person who uttered that word, she saw a mirror image of herself: Maya. Her elder twin had also chosen the same race, starting at the same place. The lure of having a bonus was too great for her to miss out.
Both sisters had done minimal changes to their avatar, if not observed closely, most people would mistake them for each other. For people seeing them for the first time, finding their difference was next to impossible. Recovered from their initial shock, twins started to chatter.
“What happened to Joan of Arc” Miya couldn't help herself, but teased her sister
“Isn't this like... a thousand times cooler? Ain't you here too” Maya rebutted
“True... but what about becoming a knight, this race has limited professions”
“I don't know, but look at those rabbit riders... I want to be like them...”
“Ohhh... someone going to ride a Rabbit instead of a Horse...” Miya jested
“What about you? I see no archers here” Maya questioned
“Oh? Lets go find out, then we can decide what to choose later”
“If you say so...”
As light columns started pouring downwards around the twins, signifying more players joining as their unique race, the two girls decided to explore their new home called Hell Hare Hills. The twins were the first two players who had chosen this new race, with no information from any sources, they decided to spent time finding things out themselves.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Their first stop for information was the Intelligence Guild. This was the place where NPCs would help players determine their classes. The twins approached the Intelligence Guild first to solidify their understanding of the classes available to them.
*****
Walking out of the Intelligence Guild, the twins wore different expressions. One was smiling while the other was glum. Unlike what was expected, Maya was the one with the gloomy look. She was told that there wasn't a Knight class. The heavily armored Were-Rabbits she saw earlier were Defenders, and what they were riding were other Defenders changed into their rabbit forms using racial skill.
To obtain a ride, she would need to be paired. Furthermore, her partner needed to have the racial skill Transform, so he or she could turn into a mount. Her best option was her sister, but Miya would not agree to play the game as a mount.
Miya on the other hand, had a big smile plastered across her face. Although there was no archery at Rabbit-Land, the instead had Gunners: a profession that was not available to every other race. Skills of a Gunner was almost the same as an Archer with long range damage capability. As Miya wanted a less played race/class, it was an extremely attractive option for her.
“Arrrggg... where am I to find a partner?” Maya groaned
“Why don't you find a boyfriend, I don't think any partner will do, since you will be riding him”
“Bleh!” Maya stuck her tongue at her sister. “I don't want a boyfriend just for playing this game”
“Then you will have to forsake the mount... or maybe you can buy a Horse when we leave this place”
“Boo! How about Miya becomes my mount?” Maya was desperate
“How about you let me ride you instead?” Miya countered
“Arrggg... this is so very stupid!” Maya complained
“Hahaha... Let's go to the Gunner range and check out my class first” Laughing, Miya led the way
****
*Piak* *Piak* *Piak*
Although they were called Gunners, people of the class were not using gunpowder. Instead, they relied on the seed dispersal effect of selected plant pods. Loading flora pods into the specially crafted guns, they shot out seeds which acted as bullets. Best thing, they were not noisy with bangs, rather, the sound was minimum, with the loudest being similar to stepping on a twig.
Plants disperse their seed via 4 main methods: Wind, Water, Animals and Ballochory. Ballochory is a method in which the fruits or pods of the plant stored up energy, then hurl its seed explosively outwards.
One example is the Witch Hazel, which has fruits that drys up after ripening, bending its pod like an arrow. When the dried pod reaches its peak of maturity, it releases the twin seeds within like a bow releasing an arrow, hurling them for an average of 10m distance.
Another example is the Himalayan Balsam, different from the above, it bend its pods without drying and it scatters a cluster of seeds in various direction up to 7m.
*****
Looking at the twins from afar, were 2 people: A girl dressed pretty loudly while wearing earmuffs that looked like Bunny-ears and a boy dressed in plain tunic. She was hugging him from behind, with her hand around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder. Both of them watched as new players started appearing in this little village they had created
“Dear, you sure you don't regret the decision?” The boy asked the girl.
“What's done cannot be undone.” the girl replied nonchalantly
“But... ”
“Shush! Don't worry about the petty things” the girl said while pressing a finger on the boy's lips.
“I am happy as long as I am with you”
“Me too...” he replied lowering his eyes, with a tint of red on his face.
While they were creating a rosy atmosphere around themselves, 2 other people approached them. From their dress code, they consisted of a Priestess and a male Gardener.
“Oh my... you people getting lovey dovey while ignoring responsibilities huh?” the Gardener claimed
“Luke! Just let them be, they took a really long time to be together” the Priestess chided the Gardener.
“What responsibilities?” the girl asked, looking at the approaching pair.
“Didn't we just pass the ownership to Helios making him the King of H3”
“It is called Hell Hare Hill, not H3” The Priestess corrected the name
“Also, we are not free of this place yet. Helios may be the new ruler, but someone has to teach him about civilization and evolution, else the animals will end up living in barrows again.”
“Angel is right, Helios may be a dragon slaying hare, but he is a hare nonetheless. Did you not see the quality of living those Hell Hares have before we come?” the Gardener called Luke added
“But, I know nuts about building infrastructure or ruling a country” the girl complained
“Alan, my brother... don't shrug responsibility” Luke countered and called the girl Alan.
“You still have to lead the animals as War-Leader Bunny, otherwise how can the young ones evolve?”
“Jeannie! You too” Angel pointed at the boy in plain clothing.
“Me?” the boy named Jeannie replied timidly.
“You will have to set up a spy network similar to that of Sera-Farm” Angel continued
“Just because you are in love doesn't mean you can slack off, work work work”
“You... You slave drivers...” the girl called Alan rebutted
“Ha! Slow as ever... took you such a long time to discover Jeannie's identity... even longer to know I am going to work both of you like a slaves for making me suffer.” Angel exclaimed.
“What did we do?” Alan and Jeannie replied together
“Alan as Bunny, not finding out can be understood, but Jeannie is Gene, isn't that a dead give-away with such similar name, not to mention Angel being nearby” Luke pointed out.
“Alright, I am dense... But when did Angel find out?” Alan surrendered
“First day after meeting you.” An answer that shut Alan up for a while.
“What? Lina! Why did you not tell me about it” Jeannie complained at Angel who was Angelina
“What can I say? the boy you like is a cross dresser?” Angel replied nonchalantly
“I waited almost a year for that numbskull to find out, dropping hints everywhere”
“Humph! I guess you are right... but I am not happy.”
“Not happy that your love is with you?” Angel teased, while Jeannie went into quiet mode, blushing
*Crash*
While Angel and Luke were cornering the two lovers, something flew in the sky towards the group. Landing near them with a loud crash, a gray hare wearing a small crown between its ears emerged from the crater created by his landing.
“Supplies!” the gray hare exclaimed towards 4 expressionless faces.
“Helios, the joke is not funny.” Luke exclaimed
“What joke? I am serious here!” Helios answered, while morphing into humanoid form
“I need supplies for making something called a guard tower, so I am here to pick you up”
Helios had morphed into a youth with rabbit ears, standing at about 1.7m tall, with a lean body build. After stretching slightly to get used to his new form, Helios grabbed Luke with his hands, haul him over his shoulders before leaping away, with the Gardener screaming.
After Helios kidnapped Luke, Angel commented with a laugh:
“Ah... Luke has fear of height... he may have it cured by Helios... hahaha...”
“Does Helios not have any common sense? I mean he is the Dragon Slaying Hare that left his legacy as a novel in the library... shouldn't he be like... more human?” Alan questioned
“I guess we still need to help Helios, his really a hare though and through” Jeannie commented
“I am going back first, you two can enjoy your lovely moment a little while longer. We are having a meeting 1 hour later at the castle... Don't be late.” Angel left after saying
With the third wheels gone, Alan went and hug Jeannie from behind again, resuming their watch over the town of were-beast and evolved animals. This was the result of their 1 year effort. This had memories of them with each other without knowing.
Creating the race and making it playable, it was an achievement Bunny (Alan) accomplished. But it was nothing compared to being together with the person his heart ached for. Even if their genders were switched, it mattered little to the two.
To find Love in RL. To find Love in game. To find both directed to the same person.
What more could one ask for?
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The End
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Thank you for reading
Rather then waiting for the story to stale, I guess ending it here will be better.
It had been an interesting time for me writing this, hopefully its the same for you reading it.
If time permits:
I may write the few chapters I planned for Demon Realm
Or I may be writing another piece instead...
But that is assuming I have the time needed to write...
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