"This looks like the stuff we wore in class," Steven pointed out.

In his hands, he held a headgear, which he borrowed from Zero, who had earlier stated that he had 'tons', whatever that meant.

"Yeah," Mayo agreed. She had her own VR headset, but Zero suggested borrowing his, since his were the 'latest version', whatever that meant.

"Don't tell me we're doing another project."

"No," Mayo denied, "We're teaching you to fight,"

"In a video game," Zero added, softly.

"...And what better way to learn than through a video game?" She finished.

"Ok, but how does a video game teach you how to fight?" Steven asked. His eyebrow raised to a side and then down again.

"You'll see." Mayo smiled and sat down in a bean bag chair that she had dragged from her room.

Steven shrugged and lay on his bed. He put the headset on, and closed his eyes, expecting nothing much. A while later, the system booted up, and he was met with a title screen, or more accurately… area. The place seemed pretty bare except for a title that blinked in front of him:

- - ["Welcome to N0T Online."] - -

'Wow, that is the lamest name I've ever heard.'

"Hey, well it's the most popular game in the market. Clearly, it works, so don't bash on it." An AI mascot greeted him.

"What about 'Dilf Life'?"

"I don't know how that game grew so fast." A slight indignance in its voice, "Already 2nd in popularity and only created this year. It's not even a VR game! Uh-hum, we're getting off track!"

He looked at it. The mascot was a computer-looking robot, with blinking dots for eyes and cute, stubby little legs. Its head and body seemed too big to be balanced on its legs, like if he knocked it over, it wouldn't be able to get back up.

"My name is Tin. First time playing?" It asked him.

He nodded his head. Tin then prompted him with a window to create login credentials, which he filled in. After completing some of the miscellaneous tasks, including some… 'Disclaimer?', he was asked to create an avatar, either by randomizing his looks, picking from hundreds of starter accessories or… he pressed the default option at the side.

Nothing changed in the mirror.

"Perfect." He remarked.

"Alright, I'm ready to play," He told the AI assistant, which nodded. The room collapsed and broke, and a bright light shone around his surroundings. The world he saw seemed to expand, and when he blinked again, he was now standing in a city area on the streets. The area was decorated with cyberpunk lighting, with cool, pigmented tones highlighting his skin and clothes.

He looked in front of him and saw a UI, or user interface, cueing him in on a tutorial. Not caring for it, he dismissed the option, skipping it all together. Around him, he saw other players dressed like they were in a cosplay convention, but he didn't know any of them.

It was then that he realized that the trio had never discussed a plan to meet up.

He groaned in frustration and decided to find a place to sit. He realized that if he closed his eyes, he could fall asleep in game, which was a bit weird to think about. It didn't seem long before…

Someone tapped his shoulder.

He looked to see Zero, except the white-haired boy was wearing what seemed to be a skin-tight, dark carbon-fiber suit, with holsters and accessories on his legs and arms, partially covered by a long coat and scarf he wore. Looking closer, he could see the belt that tied the coat in, which gave his outfit a nice bodice. He was sure there were hidden weapons that he couldn't see.

"Wow, you look like a dork." Steven complimented, touching the fabric.

Zero scratched his head.

"Where's Mayo?" Steven asked.

"She's coming over now," he answered.

A while later, Steven saw a figure descend from the sky. As the girl touched down, he realized it was Mayo. A pink gem now glinted on her forehead, a stark contrast to her familiar bl/e hair. But what truly struck him were her eyes, once g_lden, now a vivid pink that seemed to sparkle with a new intensity.

He took in her attire, casual yet functional: blue sweatpants, black combat boots, some accessories on her arms, and a sleeveless, lavender turtleneck, which was uniquely tailored to allow two huge, transparent wings to pop out. She donned wings behind her—butterfly-shaped wings, transparent and shimmering like the ones worn by dragonflies.

Steven looked at their usernames:

'0' and 'Sylvatica'.

"How did you get a single digit as a username?" He asked Zero, who shrugged as a response.

Steven then looked at Mayo and mimicked an old English accent, "Lady Sylva, please brief me on how this game shall improve mine combat abilities."

Mayo laughed. "Well 'n00b123', the VR headset is linked to your neural pathway. A couple years ago…"

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Short version please," Steven pleaded.

"The way this game's power system works is pretty cool: got different ways to play." Mayo condensed, "You can play like a traditional game, with levels and skills, or you can use your actual real-world abilities, or hey, even mix the two."

She pointed to herself and Zero. "We are going to use our real-life abilities."

"Can I use the game skills?"

Mayo looked at him.

"I'm guessing that's a no." Steven muttered, "So, where we going?"

Zero spoke softly, "To a 'PK' area."

"W-woah, wait now. Doesn't P.K. stand for player kill? Why a PK area? Aren't there ranked matches?"

"Life and death is the best teacher." Zero said, in that gentle, matter-of-fact voice of his. He continued, nodding thoughtfully, "You need to learn what pain feels like."

"Can I at least get a weapon?" Steven called out, hopelessly, as the two started walking away.

A lo-o-o-ng while later, the three of them logged off the game. Steven took off the VR headset, his hands trembling. He was about to hand it back to Zero, but was told to keep it.

What happened in that game? He shuddered, the memory lingering behind…

- - -

| Subject: Fun Video Recording!

Attachment: xx_xx_xx.mp4

Duration: 59:42

Message: Provided by, yours truly, Dieze. |

0:00…

It started when they arrived. The area was an abandoned ghetto, with warehouses and houses that were falling into decay. As soon as they entered the area, Steven dodged to the side, as someone shot at his feet. It was like everyone there wanted to kill him, which was unfair considering he was a 'n00b' with zero equipment.

He had asked Zero why they shot at him even though they had no good equipment to drop, but the other boy simply told him, 'well, the game's pain system's quite realistic', whatever that meant.

A while later, he turned his head to realize that both Mayo and Zero were no longer beside him.

Fantastic.

He crept along the shadows, hoping to escape unnoticed when he sensed something flying towards him. Not wanting a repeat of the situation with Bull E., he quickly jumped away, crashing into the ground.

The wall cracked where he had been standing.

A boy with a tall, buff stature was looking at him with a malicious grin. He pulled his hand out from the wall, causing it to shake softly as loose pieces fell out.

"Well, what do we have here," he smiled, staring at the boy at the ground.

"A beginner," Steven answered, never taking his eyes off the poor wall. "Wow… look at that wall. Dang, you're cool. Y'know, I was looking for someone strong to teach me the ropes of this game."

"Sure," The boy answered, his face grinning even more. "My name's 'xxKnobCrusherxx'."

"Nice name…" Steven slowly stood up.

'xxKnobCrusherxx', never dropping his smile, took a step forward, leaning his whole body forward. Then, in a sudden burst, he began to rush straight ahead, right at...

"Oh shucks," Steven muttered, turning around to run. Unfortunately, the other boy was much faster. Knowing he couldn't outrun this, he crouched down as low as he could and dodged between the guy's legs.

Or at least he tried to, but the 'Knob Crusher' kicked him in the stomach before he could make it to the other side.

Steven flew into a wall, coughing loudly, almost unable to breathe. It was like someone had taken a hammer and slammed it into the most sensitive part of his organs. He gasped for air, tasting iron in his mouth. A second later, he spat out… pixel cubes.

'Oh, come on? Censoring the blood, but not the pain?' He complained.

Steven looked back at the other guy who took slow steps toward him. He tried to walk away, but it took all his energy to… collapse on the floor.

Knob Crusher grabbed him by the front of his neck, squeezing it tightly with his hands, and causing him to choke. As a reflex, Steven clawed at the arms, gasping. He wheezed, managing to whisper: "Wait, I have… lots of money… Do you want… money?"

"Money?" Knob Crusher looked appalled, and his grip slightly loosened.

In that short second, Steven kneed him in the…

- - -

He opened his laptop and checked the assignment: read and annotate the textbook.

Anyway, where was he?

- - -

The Knob Crusher scowled, and let go of Steven. Steven punched him in the face, but he was sure it didn't do much. There wasn't much point in running now… he wasn't even sure he could get far.

The gruff boy looked at him with pure hatred in his eyes, raising his right arm to plummet Steven into a pulp, but before he could, a knife shot into his hand.

Knob Crusher yelped, and Steven took that as his cue to crawl away.

"WHO IS IT??" He roared loudly. He viciously snapped his head to the sides but didn't seem to notice anyone.

He looked back at Steven with bloodshot eyes, who had managed to get back on his feet.

Steven groaned. He raised his hands to guard himself and tried standing in a defensive stance...

A while later, he found himself dead. He saw a respawn screen flash into his view as he lay in his body, unable to move. A split second later, he heard a thud. He could hear other sounds now, as someone gently picked up his head and fed him a drink.

Coughing, he sat up straight. He looked at his hands and then at the person who had rescued him.

The person who saved him had familiar, dark red eyes. Steven soon realized it was Zero, who wore a raven-colored hood that covered his white hair, and a black mask that hid his face up to the bridge of his nose. At night, the guy could almost pass off as invisible.

Nearby, a very still Knob Crusher lay on the ground. Steven gave his thanks, but…

"I'm just here to revive you." Zero blankly stated. He walked over to Knob Crusher and pulled out a tranquilizer dart, and Knob's fingers twitched away.

- - -

An hour later...

Bloodshot eyes stared at the laptop screen, his homework was done. Dieze had decided to help him, by mentioning more and more trivia:

[Dieze: "Interesting Insight: Mechs with Emotional Interface Systems can gauge their pilot's emotions and adapt their combat strategy accordingly. Now, that's empathy!"]

[Dieze: "Did You Know: Mechs with Bio-Synthetic Armor can heal damage during combat? It utilizes nanotechnology to regenerate material at the molecular level. Nature meets machine!"]

[Dieze: "Calculating Fact: Mechs equipped with Stealth Harmonic Fields can become invisible to radar but produce a soft humming that's detectable by cats. Feline friends or foes?"]

'I'm done!' Steven sighed, ignoring his AI friend. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from his head. He looked at his work. It looked back at him like it was angry that a chicken had scribbled its feet on it using dirt and mud.

He wasn't smart enough for this. Steven wept internally. Actually, he wasn't sure if he could stand the fighting either. It took an hour for Zero to finally nod, and let him escape the fight. The worst part? More people had joined in.

As Steven slumped into his chair, someone knocked at his door. He opened the door to see Zero and Mayo.

"We got you lunch," Zero said sheepishly, with his hand rubbing the back of his head. He held a big takeout delivery bag. Mayo waved.

"I ordered more food, it'll be on the way." Zero added.

Steven looked at the food. He gingerly took it and opened it. Inside was this premium, deluxe-looking full-course meal that looked way too expensive for high schoolers to afford.

"Dude, you're the best," he grinned at Zero, forgetting what had happened earlier.

The two waved goodbye, and Steven closed the door and began eating. But only a short while later, the doorbell rang again. He could hear a voice call out: "Delivery,"

He looked through the peephole, seeing a pretty girl who had her hair tied in a ponytail, holding more food in her arms.

Steven opened the door and picked up the food. As he was about to close the door, a guy opened the door from the staircase and called out her name, which sounded awfully like Jean.

"Hey 'ack-hole', I told you not to follow me here." The girl glared at the guy. "Didn't I tell you not to bother me while I was at work?"

"Oh, come on, Jeanne," the older guy called out, "I didn't mean to…"

His voice trailed off, noticing Steven.