Leek lay motionless, comfortably upon a grass bed, staring at the sky above him.
He had been transported outside of the dungeon. Sometime during his encounter with Jourmandier, and its breath weapon, Leek had died and been redirected here.
It was a morning.
The Sun was preparing to show itself and bathe everyone in the town of Faerilm, and its adjacent regions, in daylight.
FAO's day-night cycle was just about realistic.
For anyone not caught up in trivial matters, taking the time to appreciate the surreal beauty of this game was not a concern.
Instead of marveling at the technological advancements made possible by FullStream, and other proprietary VR operating systems, they use it to mindlessly escape from their bleak reality.
Sadly this was a likely truth for the majority of players.
The vibrant color range, countless hours of creation, and endless capabilities meant nothing if it was not actively being used to appease their dying individual perspective.
They suffer from Stream Anoxia.
Breathing each day, yet never inhaling what it is they need to continue with a sense of purpose. Slowly consuming less and less, while approaching death without a fight.
Simply closing their eyes to never wake up again when it finally arrives.
A taboo topic in todays climate.
Though he laid casually on the ground he did not forget his friend.
Leek had thought to contact Gray to make sure they met up again. It was likely he respawned in the town of Faerilm. So he shouldn't have been too far away.
Before he had the chance to send a message, Gray's character was pinging that he was getting closer to Leek's location. They were in-game friends and partied together, so unfiltered access to each others location was available at a moments notice.
So, instead of leaving the spot he took a well deserved break in the grass.
...
-ALTgray: "So, when do you plan on getting up? Or were you too scared and decided fighting wasn't your forte!" He was mocking his friend for being incapable of finishing the dungeon. "The loot being lost is a bit of a pain, but tbh it wasn't going to make much of a difference for me anyways."
After moving his head up Leek found a dark-skinned woman standing over him.
Her hair was curly, running down the back of the head and away from the face. The sides were cutely twirled for volume and bounce.
The second thing of hers that caught Leek's eyes were her mostly bare chest and hips.
They were covered by only a thin string bra, lightly frilled for texture, and a nicely form fitting pair of boxer briefs; both being nude color.
His eyes found themselves drawn to this second sight for a bit longer than he'd have wanted.
But his reaction was still a tame one.
- Leek: "Ughh... Gray" He squinted a little, trying to discern whether he was mistaken. "Why is your model a female... and not wearing anything?"
In no more than a three seconds Leek realized his friend, who notably was not a female or feminine person, was this beauty standing inches from his face.
- ALTgray: "Huh?..." The lady quickly looked down, to be met with a lack of armor which previously shielded her from head to toe. "OHHH!" Rectifying the mistake, Gray reequipped the gear he had on, including his generic sword in hand. "They have a smaller hit-box. And do better in competitive play..."
-Leek: His friends answer was not too far fetched, as many gamers would corroborate this way of thinking, but there was something about his pause... "Totally."
Both sat in awkwardness for a little. Spending this time not making eye contact between themselves.
...
..
.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
- ALTgray: "I would have gotten here faster, but there was a ton of commotion in the city. But okay, let's get back to grinding this dungeon." Done twiddling his thumbs Gray went ahead. "Do you need any potions, I picked up some extra!" He pulled from a leather pocket on his side, revealing a bottle containing a red liquid.
-Leek: At the site of this Leek went for one of his own. "No, I still got some. I used like one or two of my [Potion: Health/Higher]'s." His hand immediately materialized one of his, now three, healing potions.
Comparing both of the bottles subjectively. Gray's had a much darker hue, while Leek's was brighter and appeared more like a sweet variation of his.
The containers were not easily discernible, but a keen eye showed more intricate design on the brighter bottle.
-ALTgray: He looked at the potion Leek had, needing no more than a glance to produce his reaction. "Dude, give me that. With the amount of health/armor you have, might as well throw your bids on the ground."
Gray put his hand out. It was clear he was not just giving witty banter, but did insist on his stash of [Potion: Health/Higher]'s be turned over to him.
-ALTgray: "I'll trade you six of my [Potion: Health/Lower]'s for it." His hand was still out in wait. "You want more for it. Or something?"
- Leek: He looked at the trade offer with skepticism. "Here, take them." He brought out all three of his [Potion: Health/Higher]'s, and accepted the offer from Gray.
-ALTgray: "Thr- Um, okay." With a twinge of excitement Gray put these into his leather pouch, refusing to speak on the topic again. "Bet, let's run this again!"
___
Status Page: Leek (17)
[ Skill Points: 5 ]
HP 20 (+2)
SPD 8 (+2)
VIT 14 (+0)
TEQ 3 (+3)
EVN 5 (+4)
SSK 3
[ LUCK: 7 ](+5)
Inventory: (1)Elixir: Vitality/Basic, Coin Pouch: 97, (6)Angora Tails: Rotten, (7)Angora Tails: Fresh, (1)Drawstring Bag: Basic, (9)Shuriken, (16)Kunai, Gauntlet Pair(Pristine), (6)Potion: Speed/Normal, (3)Elixir: Health/Normal, (3)Elixir: Mana/Higher, (6)Scroll: Transcribe/Superior, Glaive(Pristine), Clothing (Pristine), Shoes (Pristine),(+47)Toad Legs: Common/Material, (+7)Toad Tongue: Common/Material, (+12)Scales: Common/Material, (+3)Oral Glands: Uncommon/Venomous, (6)Potion: Health/Lower
___
Strength Of The Weak: |Increases Morale To Subordinate, And Or Lower-Level Companions When Associated With The Abilities User | + To Select AC or HP, Increases Loyalty By (1) With Every (1/2) Difference In Level.
Coldening Feeling:|When Active The User Gains Increased Perception To Nearby Characters/Mobs | Paranoia (1)Stacks With Each Character/Mob In Vicinity While Active, Increasing Hyper-Fixation. Decreases Vitality With Every (2)Stack.
Cut Throat: |Increases The Chances To Land Critical Hits For As Long As Bloodlust (3)Stacks Have Been Placed On The User | Reduces Accuracy And Evasion, The User Becomes Frenzied.
___
+Inventory: (-3)Potion: Health/Higher, (6)Potion: Health/Lower
___
The two began their trek back down into the dungeon.
Having already spent time exploring it, irregardless of Gray's established knowledge, the two needed little time to progress down the floors again.
Monster spawn areas were in the same general area, having an overall centered space, giving a minute sense of difference to their previous run.
Though a significantly denser population of mobs were present on the highest floors. Each descent tapered the amount of enemies they encountered, somewhat reversing the experience typical of the dungeon.
They practically ignored each approaching monster. Neither had to break into so much as a brisk stride to strike them down where they stood.
Few attacks did penetrate the two's offensive-defense, but they did little much than require their natural health regeneration to take over for a few moments.
-ALTgray: "We're getting closer to the part where we wiped. Stay at least somewhat alert please..." His character took a slightly crouched stance, still moving without delay.
A distant noise, getting incrementally closer to the twin demons, could be felt. It subtly vibrated the ground.
Gray saw it likely to have been Jour, preparing to again slay the trespassers of its land.
-Leek: "Eh, I don't think that noise is coming from further down. Its coming from the earli-"
The yell of a kobold cut him off.
"Grrgghr-"
Doing the same, cutting its words short, he immediately threw one of his many Kunai straight through it head, refusing to spare it a glance.
For a moment, before fizzling into experience points, the attack had its body pinned to the cave wall; same as a piece of paper, hung by a thumbtack.
-Leek: His point was a simple one. "As I was saying. I think the noise is coming from the earlier parts of the dungeon. Not from Jourmandier, or his militia."
-ALTgray: His movements stopped before turning to look at Leek. "Are you talking about Jour?" This question had little weight to it. "The dungeons boss is know as 'Jour.' Not whatever you said."
-Leek: "I'm sure, but that's just an abbreviation of it. When I spoke with him it was, and I mean vividly, Your-Man-Deer. So we are both pretty much right."
Leek saw no reason for the two to argue over such a moot point, so he attempted to reengage his duo into the task at hand.
*A growing rumble* far heavier than that of the kobold legion had gotten fairly loud. Piercing even the forethought of sound in the cave.
-ALTgray: "You SPOKE to the damn thing!" A passing feeling of betrayal overtook him during his words, and fled from him nearly as fast. "When did you plan on telling me this??" He knew that the expression was a bit over 'felt' as his friend, Hakeem, would not hold such information from him out of shits and giggles.
-Leek: "Ugh. You were there when it spoke, remember? You interrupted, then it said 'Silence.' And you died on the spot."
Gray had gotten slightly closer to him. He felt momentarily uncomfortable, so stepped back with confusion stricken on his face.
-ALTgray: "Okay. So, the way I saw it was the thing just kept screeching really loudly. I never heard it 'speak.' But... what exactly did it say!"
Even with his attempt at calming down Gray drew closer to his companion. The armor on his body now took over the personal space Leek created with his step backward.
Gray only held himself back when his hands nearly grabbed Leek's clothing.
This all occurred while the sounds of reinforcements came to a head.
-???: "BOY, GIRL! Have your hearts forsaken rationality, and sought out the unknown abyss to pleasure its ignorance!?" This familiar voice was still strong in its commanding tone.
Leek felt for a moment to panic, but was eased by the person speaking to him so condescendingly. He did wonder if his short height had anything to do with this compensating voice of his...
Volun Sarek, the Adventurers Guild Master.