The journey from Ash’s biome to mine was largely uneventful. Ash grabbed my hand after we went through the door to her portal room. The blinding light of teleportation remained unchanged, colors and all. There was a marked increase in players moving through the lobby tunnel, though in real terms, that was maybe ten people. Once we were in my portal room, the door to the Forest was still there. I knew that everything that followed the opening of that door, however, would be new. Prepared, I move.
I open the door, the fresh smell of the forest invading the portal room yet again, leaving Ash and I no option but to relax under its soothing fragrance. I turn to Ash and comment, “Your place may be striking visually, but mine gets you before you even see it!”
Ash looks through the door before looking back at me and saying, “Well, I must say that yours is certainly one to bark, but the view has yet to convince me of its bite.”
Unsure how to respond, I walk through the door, pulling Ash along behind me. Entering the space, I find it has a different feel than Ash’s. Firstly, its aspects are nowhere near as prominent. They are still there, and when I focus, they appear just as powerful as the aspects Ash’s biome contains, but the difference is still striking. As we continue to walk, I replicate the technique Ash mentioned when explaining how she had safely determined and tested the bounds of her ability to harmonize with the environment. I let the Flow pass through me without enforcing my presence onto it. Instead, I focused on what the Flow transmitted to me by virtue of passing through my Internal Harmony.
With continuous focus, I began to see the golden ribbon of The Flow as it swivels and swerves through the Environment. Even in keeping the Harmonies separate, they each flowed faster, and with a bit more vigor. I can feel the echoes of each aspect’s imprint on the Flow's nature. The view in front of me transformed as the golden ribbon of the Flow appears as an additional layer to the environment. I can see as it touches the trees, moss, and flowers. I can feel as it flows beneath the earth, touching the roots, rocks, and worms. The feeling of the sun invigorating the flow is passed from the Environmental Harmony to my Natural Harmony is without compare. The brief connection between the environment and myself fades, returning both Harmonies to their natural state. No longer distracted, I dive deeper into the flow, still walking through the forest, Ash’s hand in mine.
After an hour of focus, I feel a pull toward a point even deeper into the forest. Spreading my senses through the Environmental Harmony, I can feel the disturbance that is the portal, as well as a Locus of power in the direction where I feel drawn. I divert a small portion of my focus to update Ash, “I have gotten deep enough to spread my senses through the flow. I am now being pulled toward a locus of power deep in the forest. I can feel the portal's location, so you don’t need to worry about getting lost.”
“Well, continue on then. We spend a whole day in my biome; how could I complain about a few-hour hike in such a lovely forest,” she responds supportively.
I don’t reply, redirecting my focus to the task at hand. However, a small smile does grow across my face, and my stride becomes lighter and more effortless. I alter our path marginally, moving in the direction of the locus with calm, focused movements.
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(Ashlynn Pov)
I watch as Blue continues their journey toward the locus of power they mentioned an hour ago now. Ever since we entered the forest, they have adopted an aura of confidence and self-assuredness that she has rarely seen. She watches as Blue’s form is slowly becoming less shaded, less indestinct, but it is still unclear where it is going. Additionally, with every step they make toward this locus, she can feel Blue’s Harmony strengthen, and the Environmental Harmony resonate with it a little more. ‘I think that, unlike my Harmony, for whatever reason, Blue’s flows around a more central aspect. Maybe there is something so defining that it outshines the others? Whatever the reason, there seems to be more and more mana contained in the Flow the closer we get,’ she thinks to herself.
Allowing the Environmental Harmony to flow through her own, she searches for what they are approaching, and why it exists. It takes some time, though she is not sure how much as she was focused entirely on the search, but Ash knows that what she’s found is what she was searching for. She sees an area where all three of Blue’s big three are present: Peaceful serenity from the trees, Freedom from water, and playful cheer in the earth: the foundation from where the others build. But it’s not only the big three present; the Dark three are also there: Apathy from a stone outcropping, fear from the mushrooms in the dirt, and depression in the many shadows from the tree canopy that seems unnaturally opaque. And yet none of these are the spotlight that made this spot the locus. It’s the hole in the foliage that allows the sun's light through, its light representing both a positive and negative aspect, its light piercing the canopy literally and figuratively creating a beacon.
‘Whatever the negative aspect that the light represents, it’s more defining to them right now than their core personality traits. I can’t even tell what it is between its blinding importance and the fact that it’s two aspects in one feature. It must be some horrible memory from the past, or something about themself that they are so deeply repressing that it came back around and defined their actions anyway. It may even relate to their breakdown before we got to the market,’ Ash thinks to herself, grabbing a tighter hold of Blue’s hand, trying to do what she can to reassure them as they approach their most defining negative aspect.
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(Josh Pov)
As I come around a tree, I finally see the locus. I had lost track of time hours ago, but none of that matters right now. I can feel the raw power radiating off of the locus, and I can feel its resistance to any harmonization before I even try. I know that the environment has been slowly increasing its resonance with me as I approach the locus, reaching a partial harmony a little while back, but I can tell that I can go no further, both in Harmony, or in distance. But I don’t need to get closer, I can glean enough from here. I can tell from just looking what the issue is. It’s something I’ve been somewhat aware of for nearly a year now. Looking at the Locus, it is a small pond, a small waterfall feeding it. The waterfall flows along a rock raised from the ground's surface. The damp ground provides fertile soil for both mushrooms and worms. Finally, the pond provides the space necessary to part the canopy above, allowing the sun's light to shine on its water. Unfortunately, even though I can label the meaning of each and every other aspect of the environment and the feature they are tied to, I can’t decipher the light. I also know the reason for this. It’s because I have no idea what the problem is. I have gone to therapy and discovered my issues with depression, apathy, and fear of the unknown. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find the single issue that seems to fuel them all.
With all that said, this journey was not a waste, as I can sense some outer parts of this aspect. What could be described as aspects of an aspect. I’ll call them impressions. The impressions were not whole concepts, but literal impressions, hence the name. Half-formed thoughts and partial images describe most of what I can glean from the aspect. But even this is progress. It has given me food for thought, and possibly the materials to craft a key to unlock the chains that have held me hostage for years…
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After I had gleaned as much as I could from the aspect, we turned around and walked back to the portal/door. I simply told Ash that I was unable to Harmonize as well, and she responded with a nod before wordlessly providing a comforting hug. It had been something I had needed, even if I was unaware of that fact.
We then walked back to the portal with very little dialogue beyond simple acknowledgments of different features of the environment that stood out, either due to there beauty or their striking nature. Eventually, we arrived at the portal, the void of proper conversation filling when Ash turned to me and spoke, bringing me from the past into the present.
“So, how do you want to go about the whole thing with the combat orb? Both of us go to the same field?” she had asked.
My mind now in the present, I respond, “That… is a good question. I had been thinking that we’d simply make sure to touch our orbs at the same time, but that doesn’t really make sense now that I really think it through.”
“Yeah, I had thought of something similar. Basically, I was thinking that the classes, assuming combat is a class like magic, are on a schedule, meaning that if we touch the orb, we can get something to tell us the schedule so that we can join at the same time. Or that maybe we could choose classes. But then I remembered that none of that had happened with magic.” she relays.
“So your response was to have us both touch the same orb?” I ask.
“I mean, there’s a lot less variables to go wrong,” she responds, shrugging.
“True. I guess we may as well try,” I comment as I walk through the door to the portal room.
Ash comes through right behind, adding, “If not, we can always meet up afterward. On that note, what time zone do you live in?”
“Eastern standard, why?”
“Well, if we don’t manage to meet up after the lesson, or are kicked out due to reaching the time limit, we can set a time to meet in the lobby. Oh, and I’m also Eastern standard, so that simplifies things.”
“Good point. Do you want to trade phone numbers as well?”
“That’s not a bad idea… but are you gonna be able to remember it until we log out?” Ash questions fairly.
“Uhhh, probably not, but mine’s actually pretty easy to remember; there are only three unique numbers in it. It’s 919-###-####. If you manage to remember it, send me a text. With that said, when would be a good time to meet up tomorrow?”
“How about… 8:30 am.”
“Sounds good. Now let's see if we can both enter my endless field,” I say while approaching the odd white and blue orb.
Ash touches the orb first, so we can check if she can enter. As she contacts it, the sound of the system rings in my head.
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[A party member is seeking access to your local access point, this action requires direct approval from the owner, do you approve?]
“Yes.”
[Action approved, allowing entry]
After the system’s message, Ash’s figure starts to glow white and blue like the orb before suddenly disappearing. ‘I guess that worked,’ I note.
I also move to the orb and touch it. I watch as my arm goes white, the blinding glow spreading through my body and down to the floor. Simultaneously, the walls and ceiling of the portal room turn blue. Suddenly, a sky-blue light begins to dominate my vision, blinding me to the point that it is all I see
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Once the sky blue color fades, I find myself back in the infinite field. Ash stands a little to the side of me, and all three orbs are in front of me. Before I can do anything, the system sounds again.
[You have been in the game for 32.5 hours; this is the limit for most players on their first session. Due to having taken an extended rest, you have extended your stay by a minimum of 2 hours. If you continue, you should be able to maintain the full ten hours by the 5th day, allowing you to start sleeping less in the game.]
[Once the system determines that it is no longer healthy for you to remain, you will be kicked out of the game, when you log back in, you will find yourself back in your local access point.]
“System, can I get an estimate of how long I have remaining,” I say quickly, wanting to make sure that the system doesn’t leave before it answers some questions.
[Approximately 138 minutes]
“What happens if I get logged out during a session in one of the orbs,” I say. Immediately after, I try to think of my next question.
[You will be given the opportunity to retake the session, should you choose to.]
“Uhh… can I connect my, er, local access point to the one of player AshenLeaf?” I fumble.
[No]
[Beep!]
“Well, ready to go to combat training?” I ask, turning to Ash. I am already aware that the beep signifies the end of the system’s listening.
“I guess, though I will probably be logged out during the secession if it’s anything like Alrick’s.”
After agreeing, we both touch the yellow orb. Unlike all the other orbs, this one is a single color, which apparently means that it works slightly differently. Instead of building up different colors before blinding you, it skips right to the blinding stage. The second we touch the orb, a yellow light erupts from it, quickly blinding us.
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My vision clears, showing me that I am in a vast stone-walled circle, the interior made of a sandy dirt. Looking around, I see that there is only five other players in the area, denoted by their hazy, indistinct figures. In the center, there is a lean yet muscular man who wears a sort of khaki pants and no shirt, displaying his tanned, chiseled chest and powerful 6-pack abs. He has short black hair and fierce green eyes. His eyes focus solely on the quick, practiced cuts and thrusts of the wooden blade in his hands, each move displaying the musculature of his athletically built arms. Every blow has surprising power behind it, making gusts of wind with every movement. In spite of this, he is seemingly in complete control of the weapon at all times. ‘I may be no martial artist, but that man is most certainly an expert,’ I think to myself.
After tearing my eyes away from the stunning man, I find that one of the players is swinging their head back and forth, seemingly looking for something. I quickly realize there is a reasonable chance that that is Ash. I walk over to them, and they quickly catch sight of my approach. When we are but a few strides distance from each other, they question, “Would you happen to be Blue?”
“Perhaps, would you happen to have a fascination for ashen leaves, perchance?” I ask back playfully.
Instead of responding to my question, she jumps the remaining distance to hug me before hissing into my ear, “Why did you just stand there for so long? I was getting worried we got split up!”
Confused by the dissonance between her actions and words, I look at her arms around me and back to her face, which radiates annoyance and worry, a few times before constructing a response. “Sorry,” I mumble, “I was just looking around and was captivated by the mastery being shown by the instructor over there,” I say while pointing at the sword-wielding man.
Ash looks over, freezes for many seconds, before looking back to me and saying, “Fair… but are you sure it was the sword that had you captivated,” she responds before teasing me.
I push her, ending the hug, then huff, slightly irritated. “No, I was surprised by the grace and power behind each practiced swing of the sword. Sure his physique is the stuff of legends and magazine covers, but his swordplay gives off a feeling that is out of this world,” I respond in righteous defense of myself.
“Buuut… Do you think heeeee’s… Hot!?” She begins speaking, approaching me after the first pause, and whispering in my ear after the second.
The thought manages to flow through my brain without me fully registering its meaning consciously, allowing my brain to respond without my conscious input, “Y-Eep,” but my consciousness quickly catches up, shutting down my mouth before it could do irreparable damage. Alas, I only catch my head's slight nod after it reaches 30 degrees, ensuring its notice. After that, embarrassed silence becomes the only response my brain can output for an extended period.
Ash watches me the whole time, an invisible smirk materializing in her aura, letting me feel the amusement and joy she feels at my shame. After a moment, shock briefly passes through her aura before the previous emotions fade, replaced with compassion and care as she pulls me into an embrace and she says, “Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, my little Blue Jay. I don’t know why you feel scared of finding a conventionally attractive man attractive, but it's okay,” while stroking my hair soothingly as she had back in the meadow.
After a few minutes, my agitation fades, allowing me to calm. Once my mind clears, I hug her back and whisper, “Thanks. It means a lot that you will support me even if you can’t understand why I need it.” After speaking to her, I relax into the embrace, my mood improving with every second I spend in Ash’s arms.
Eventually, we part, finding that the arena now has 23 players within. They’re scattered all over, some having congregated into groups, a few gathering around the likely instructor, and many just waiting in random spots in the sandy dirt.
“Well, it seems there will be more people in this lesson than magic class,” I comment with some artificial cheer to help change the mood.
Ash looks at me briefly, letting me know she fully understands that it was false; only after she has held my gaze enough to be satisfied does she respond in kind, playing along. “Indeed there is. Do you think we should get to know some of them, try to make some new friends to party with at the guild?” she questions.
I ponder her question briefly, considering the different possibilities, ‘On one hand, we probably need more people in our party, particularly since Ash needs to make some coin to help with her issue. On the other, we have no way to actually keep in touch with them because the devs didn’t include a friend function for some stupid reason. I suppose there is no harm in trying though…’
“I think the lack of ability to friend people will complicate that, but I don’t have a problem with giving it a go,” I reply.
Ash seems pleased by this, grabbing my hand as she turns, pulling me along with her to meet new people. ‘Why does she suddenly feel like my over-eager mother wanting to introduce me to all the new kids in the neighborhood,’ I question internally.
We do end up meeting some interesting people before the lesson starts. First is LionsBlaze, who is a shorter guy that has apparently already managed to make the first step on the way to mana manipulation. He says that for him, it was simply a matter of harmonizing with the environment in his Biome, and then he was done. He mentions that Alrick doesn’t do classes on runes till tomorrow. ‘Either we got something seriously wrong with the Harmony thing, or he is ridiculously talented… or a bit of both’. Either way, he says he’s happy to go with us, but he can’t go till 10:00 am tomorrow as Alrick holds his first runes lesson at 9:00 am. We tell him to meet us at the guild at 10:10, and we’ll wait if we get back early from our first class, and he’ll wait if we're late.
We meet a girl named SilkenStep who says she will become an assassin. She has yet to Harmonize, tipping the scales toward LionsBlaze being a genius. She’s happy to join us at 8:30 am. Before we can meet anyone else, a bell rings.
I look up, seeing that the arena has… 10, 20, 30, 45 players now. The Adonis instructor stops swinging his sword, wiping glistening sweat from his sharply featured face. His eyes end sharply, his nose ends sharply, his chin, even his eyebrows end sharply. For goodness sake, a shake of his head to clear the sweat from his flowing black hair reveals that his ears are pointed an-… wait what?
I look closer and… Yep, he is most assuredly a fantasy elf. ‘I guess this game’s fantasy elves are allowed to break from the mold of willowy and frail,’ I comment internally.
He walks a few steps from the ground he was standing on previously; the surroundings of the site where he had stood had been sunken into the ground partially from the gusts produced by his sword swings. Once he arrives at his new spot, he says, “Welcome to the arena. Here you will learn combat, close and far range. I host classes all day, every day. I expect anyone who wants to learn to arrive twice a day. To be clear, I am aware that the realm you are native to runs at a fourth the speed of this one, so I expect that for each of your realms days, you will arrive here twice; otherwise, I will consider you a slacker. If you skip a day entirely, I will not allow you back here at all. You will have to meet with a different one of the martial teachers. But I assure you, I am one of the best that was hired. When you return to the orb, you may select Lenios as your instructor, so long as you follow my rules.”
Speech done, he snaps his fingers, causing weapons racks to appear from the sandy soil. All of them held spears. I look back to the instructor, confused. I notice I’m not the only one. Many are looking between the instructor and the weapons rack, likely also confused by the lack of variety after his speech mentioning all ranges.
“I can sense the confusion you all have. I did not misspeak, nor is the choice of weapons a mistake. It is a representation of where you are on your journey to martial mastery, the floor. I will teach you the spear because it is simple enough that an idiot can use it, and powerful enough to allow you to complete a bronze star mission. I will teach you to use the spear so that, by the end of this class, you will be ready to complete your first quest. Afterward, you can come back to this class, and I will teach you the next step… Now grab a spear; I’m starting the lesson in 10 seconds.”
“10.” Everyone rushes toward the weapons rack.
“9.” The first player grabs a weapon.
“8.” All those within a few strides of a weapons rack have a spear.
“7.” Ash and I, as well as all those within 4-7 strides of a weapon rack, have a spear.
“6. And be sure to spread out.” Those 8-14 strides away have weapons, and all the earlier groups move away from the racks.
“5.” Everyone has a weapon. The spreading continues.
…
“3. Nobody should be within two spear lengths of another person.” Players move to accommodate.
…
“1.” Everyone is now spread out through the arena.
“Okay, good. Now watch as I move, and copy.” He says as he begins the lesson.