Feyre

A loud cheer erupted from the crowd as she stepped up to the podium. It was a nice feeling, being the center of attention, no matter how brief it ended up being. Feyre was, for all intents and purposes, the lead developer of this release. She, of course, was aware that, in actuality, it was Mikael who was the actual Lead Developer but, alas, he was not actually competent enough to string together a basic print command let alone lead the development of the game. And by God what a game it was going to be. These new graphics were near impeccable, and not only that but a billionaire had gained interest and decided to just empty his pockets for the company. The budget had grown so exponentially that they'd basically been working overtime for 3 hours a day 6 days a week just to get the game ready for beta testing.

The day was finally here, she was basically hopping from one foot to another for hours before going up onto the podium to give a speech to the new testers. She was just as excited as them, if not more so, since she was the one making big bucks if it all went well. Standing in front of them was intimidating but she was the center of attention for almost 500 guys, some of which actually had a major following on one streaming service or another. She waited for the cheering to die down, quelling any nerves she had and beaming at the men who would become her main source of income in the future.

"Gentlemen, and any of the rare ladies, that are sat before me. It is my greatest honour as a Developer to be able to present to you..." A slight pause for effect as always "Araska Online: The Remnants of Eurani!"

The crowd lost it. Eurani was perhaps the most played game in the world when it came out and still nothing has beaten it's record for the most players online at once during the first worldwide event. She smiled, a rare and genuine type of smile. She stepped back and raised her arms as banners fell on either side of her and the screen, once hidden from view by the darkness lights up. The cheers somehow grow even louder, the crowd was positively thrilled as far as she was concerned.

"And now the slightly more boring bits such as our TOS and the other things that are mere obstacles before you join us in Araska..."

Feyre left through a side door. The Beta Testers had been left in the massive hall to play a customised tutorial and she was, quite frankly, exhausted. Her cheeks were aching like never before. She had never had to smile so long and wide in... well in forever. She pulls out a little box and lit a cigarette as she walked towards the main road. It was late and her head was throbbing in her skull like her heart in her chest.

"Phew... I needed that..."

She looked around before starting to cross the road. She didn't see the man give a thumbs up. She didn't hear the truck hurtling down the street on the wrong side of the road, not until it was too late anyway. She tried to run but her legs gave out. Falling to the tarmac she screamed in fear. Then she screamed in agony as a 10 ton metal monstrosity slammed into her, instantly shattering her left arm and leg like a hammer on china. Her torso and head were next, slamming into it and causing extreme pain comparable to how someone might feel if they'd inhaled a bullet ant and it bit them over and over and over. It was either by some miracle or some cruel trick of fate that she didn't die instantly. Her screaming gave out quite quickly as all wind was ripped from her and all thought torn from her as her head slammed against the road with a splat.

She couldn't tell what was going on. Distantly, or closely, Feyre heard a woman's voice cry out but she ignored it. The overwhelming sensation of pain was too much to care about some traumatised witness. She couldn't tell if what happened next was said out loud or in her head and she didn't really care either.

Damnit... It was all going so well... God it hurts... why does death hurt so much? Wasn't i suffering enough with all these overtime hours? Oh... what's going to happen to the game? I miss Eurani... Araska was going to be my masterpiece... my magnum opus... the best of the best... and now Mikael will ruin it...

There wasn't any drifting off to peace for Feyre. Nope. Not for her. She was aware that maybe in her final moments she should have thought about her family but... wait... she was aware? How was she aware? What did this mean? Was she in some sort of afterlife? Was she going to be sent to hell for not accepting Jesus Christ as her saviour? She didn't know and at this point it was obviously too late to convert. So she waited.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

And waited.

And waited...

pop

The first thing she realised was the inky blackness, that she'd assumed to be her afterlife, was gone. Now she was surrounded by empty chairs and little round tables. No living being in sight, Feyre tried looking around and realised she was in her favourite cafe. Well, a poor mock up of it at least. Looking out the window she saw the inky blackness from before but before her train of thought could piece anything together she was tugged by something immaterial and forced to sit down.

"Greetings to whomever it may concern."

A neon green cat was sitting in front of her. How hadn't she seen it before? Hang on if she was dead shouldn't she be meeting a hot guy or girl that will offer to send her to the afterlife after a ni8ce cup of tea? She'd read enough manga to at least realise how cliche her death was. Shouldn't she get compensated for that?

"You met all the requirements so you are going to Eurani in order to fight in The Great Massacre and change the tides or something anyway-"

She ignored the cat's monotonous voice kind of tuning it out. Until she realised what it was saying.

Wait... what if I need the information this Neon Cat was important?

Then Feyre started paying full attention, albeit far too late.

"- So that's it. No questions please. Okay goodbye."

*pop*

Feyre was asleep. No pain. No clothes. No dead weightless feeling. She jolts awake.

"What the hell!? Where's my stuff!?"

A little note flutters from the breeze and lands perfectly on her lap. It read.

"Greetings Worthy traveler. You have been especially chosen to fulfill the greatest Quest of all. Slay the Demon King. Enjoy your stay in Eurani!"

Feyre was... well unhappy. She kind of wished she'd listened to the neon green cat now. Also, did that thing say she was in Eurani? She hated her past self for tuning out the cat. That was when she got a proper surprise. A light grey screen with a crude drawing of her appeared floating in front of her.

[CHARACTER]

[Name: Feyre Agrifiti]

[Level: 0]

[Class: D̷̘̺̕e̷̺͖̚ͅv̷͇̜̽͑e̶͓̬͊͑̐l̴̖̍̚o̶̻̘̍́p̷͔͈̎͒ë̵͕̭̣́r̶̰͐]

[Abilities: Acting {0}, Coding {0}, Swordplay{0}]

[STATS]

[Strength: 0]

[Athletics: 0]

[Flexibility: 0]

[Mana Potential: Ö̴̻͙͊v̴̟̺̪͛e̶̡͕̺͛̔͘ṙ̷̤͈̦̕͠f̸͛͘͜ļ̴̤̻͋̔o̸̘̚w̶͍͑ ̴̩̋E̸̜̳͛͋̽r̷̳͆͒͜r̵̢̯͇͗̍o̸͕̗͐̎r̸̥̣̳̓̈͝]

[Mana: 0]

[Perception: 0]

[ACHIEVEMENTS]

[OtherWorld Hero: 0% bonus to D̸̥̗͖̎̚e̷̟̽͝v̵̡̱̏̽e̷͈̎̾͑l̴͕͉̻͗̈́̋o̶̪̽̀̈́p̴̨̃̚͠m̴̘̲̈́͛͝ĕ̴̝͕̬͗̕n̸̝͓͔̎ẗ̸͙̱̟́̚ ̵͉̆̓a̵̺̺̮̿̈́b̷͉̍í̴̡̞ḷ̸̃́i̵̝̅̆t̴͍̖̄͑͘i̸͖̦͂̍̽é̸̗̖̾̚s̴̞̾͆]

[QUESTS]

[Defeat Demon King: 0/1]

[Survive]

Feyre looked at the screen for what felt like eons.

Developer? That's not a class in Eurani... At least it wasn't when I played.

Then she looked around.

Should probably have done this sooner... damnit I'm completely vulnerable to the elements right now...

She scowled at the surroundings until she saw something under a bush. She stalked closer until the unmistakable glint of light reflecting off metal spooked her and she lunged forwards. Just in case it wasn't friendly. She wasn't entirely sure but she certainly didn't think she'd be somewhere nice even if she was a hero... especially if she was a hero. Feyre looked long and hard at what she saw. It looked like some Larp clothing. Nothing any woman with dignity would wear unless going to a convention or Faire. But Feyre was desperate. She picked up the old fashioned tunic and leggings and tried to get into them. They were perfect. Suspiciously so. She hated not knowing what was going on.

"Stupid!"

Feyre jumps. That wassn't her voice. It could not be her voice. She had left that voice changer behind when she stopped streaming herself playing Eurani. Suddenly it all clicked, she was not stupid. She works out what's going on. She was in the game now.

"Eurani huh? Wonder if any other players are here... and what time period it is... maybe i should try surviving first. What's the first rule of survival? I think it's water but it could be shelter. Oh well! No point dwelling on it!"

Suddenly a system message assaulted her eyes again.

[SYSTEM]

[Congratulations Hero! The Demon King is Slain! Experience Gained!]

Feyre stared. She was reaching for whatever the metal she saw could've been but she didn't care to know. She just stared at the System message.