To their credit no one vomited, VR violence, no matter how realistic, can never fill the senses like real death. The smell and smoke from burnt skin and hair hung in the air. The scent of evacuated bowels crawled along the ground. A body sprawled over the altar in the middle of the room. Five more were slumped down in a circle around the altar. Some badly destroyed bodies were near the door and a few fell down against the wall. For a moment the room was as still as a grave. Then, in unison, four mouths sucked in air. The screams of three of the boys and one of the girls shook the dust from the rafters.

                Emi Ito smacked Katuski across the face. Not because he was the loudest, but because he was conveniently close. The screaming promptly stopped.

                “You fools,” Emi’s voice was shaky “now whatever is out there knows we are here!”  She had broken from her normal grace and elegance, the cracks of fear and stress showed on her face. Emi’s pride was the only thing that held her together.

                “She’s right, let’s be more careful from now on. No unnecessary danger.” Ikko followed up with his teammate. He did think that it was very un-Emi like to become so flustered.

                Tim looked around taking it all in while the others talked. Meanwhile, Genzo walked down the steps and took a short sword from one of the corpses. He swung it around and finally struck it against one of the columns in a mock fight. Metal clanged against stone and chunks of carved relief flew off.

                Genzo looked at the sword and stated with an evil grin “unlocked the ‘Short Sword’ skill.” He swung it around a few more times then looked at the group who was gawking at him. “I know this isn’t a game,” he said harshly, “but we still need to loot these corpses. We need equipment and weapons if we want to protect ourselves.”

                “But…” Yuma started to complain but didn’t really know where to begin. She knew he was right, but this fought against her every sensibility. “…there must be something else...” She trailed off.  Everyone else was looking at her as if they hoped she could come up with some way out. But she couldn’t fight against the new reality any more than anyone else.

                If it was anyone other than Yuma, Genzo would have gotten mad. However, he just retorted with a huff. “If you don’t want to protect yourselves, fine. But don’t expect me to look after you. This goes double for those ugly gaijin.” Genzo then continued to unfasten the belt and sheath from the corpse.

                “Plus,” he continued to talk while working, “do you really want to go traipsing around a world of swords and magic looking like that?”              

                Tim didn’t like it, but he agreed that this was a reasonable course of action. He was the second to leave the stage and examine the corpses. The bodies of the deceased were dressed similarly, in dark brown clothes with silver threading and embroidery. The bodies along the wall and near the entrance wore breastplates made of carburised iron. The bodies near the altar wore simple leather armor under long robes. They had swords made of iron and the ones near the wall once held spears.

                As he examined the bodies Tim felt dissidence growing in the back of his mind. They were shrunken, shriveled, and melted inside their clothes. It was as if they were suddenly caught by some infernal heat and became instantly mummified. But the organic materials were the only things damaged. Except for the occasional fluid stain, the clothing and armor were mostly undamaged.

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Following the example, the remainder of the group started to filter out and explore the room. Emi Ito alone stood rooted to the spot. Disgust, horror, revulsion, and fear welled up inside her. She stared at the corpse sprawled on the altar. Her pride broke as she thought about what she needed to do. Ikko Inoue noticed something was wrong and came back to get her. He gave her a sympathetic look and took Emi’s hand. In any other situation, she would have blushed. Emi came back to her senses and pulled her hand away quickly. She turned and walked away with as much dignity as she could muster. Only Yuma, with a little jealousy in her heart, noticed the drama.

McKenzie was being weird again. She had noticed a little crystalline light, and there were several mounted at regular intervals along the walls. It was kind of pretty and she wanted it. She jumped up and brushed the base of it with her fingers, as she came back down she noticed something.

“Hey, I just got the ‘Jump’ skill!” McKenzie announced with pride. The others looked at her just as she jumped up again to grab the crystal. The difference was amazing. With the added skill she leaped like a basketball player. She got up to the crystal on the wall and kept going. Instantly McKenzie developed a three-foot vertica. She landed again, her arms and eyes wide.

“Woah.”

Everyone was as surprised as McKenzie. But Hayata was quick on the uptake and started to jump up and down too. 

“Hey, I’m not getting the skill!” He whined as he jumped.

The rest of the group looked around and gave a few test jumps.

“I wonder why we’re not getting the skill?” Mused Randal out loud.

“Maybe your class doesn’t have that one?” Replied Tim.

That statement gave everyone something to think about. Hayata gave up on jumping and instead picked up a spear that had fallen on the ground. He gave it a quick thrust and green letters lit up his retinas.

“I think he’s right. I just got the ‘Spear Strike’ skill.” Hayata said. He then began to spin and trust the spear with fluid elegance. He laughed like the crazed twelve-year-old he was.

“Hurry up people,” Genzo interrupted, “or we’re going to run out of daylight.” He was already fully dressed with a breastplate and sword at his side. “I don’t want to be stuck out here at night, and I will leave you if I have to!”

Everyone quieted down and began the somber work of looting the dead.

After a few more minutes of rummaging through the room, Randal heaved out a sigh. “I don’t think any of this will fit.”

“Well, you are,” McKenzie jumped up and patted the top of Randal’s head, “this tall.”

“Try a robe.” Said Katsuki as he tossed one over to Randal. “I got one on too, that metal armor just don’t feel right. Ya get me?”

“Aren’t you a mage?” replied Randal.

“Elementalist.”

“And that is why you don’t like the heavy armor.” Replied Tim who was also putting on a robe. “You know, some elements of this remind me of MOBO.”

“Yes, but it was never this real. Maybe in a few more generations. Yuma knelt down before one of the bodies and said a simple prayer.  She then looked over its withered face. The eye sockets were empty and skin was tight and pulled back against its teeth. Large portions of the body were seared black, and around the edges, thin black lightning bolts reached out. “But even then, who’d want to play in a world where this can happen? I wonder what happened to them.” 

“I think we did.” Replied Tim. “Look at that hole melted above the door. You can see traces of scorching along the columns. The marks go lower the closer the columns get to the summoning chamber. Then there are some faint blast marks against the door.” Tim traced a straight line from the hole to the chamber with his finger.  “I’m not sure why this happened, but I think this is how it happened.”

“It happened because of the unwelcome gaijin.” Muttered Genzo.

Ikko ignored him and asked loudly “Is everyone ready?”

Before they opened the doors Emi Ito quietly walked up to Tim and handed him something.

“I think you might be the only one here who can use this.” She said quietly before walking off.

Tim looked; in his hand was a small brass ring. He could feel a tiny flow of energy inside it.  As he stared at the ring green letters popped up. “Assessment Unlocked,” they said. Then suddenly information about the ring started pouring into his mind:

Ring of Protection – Tier Three – Drained.

The captains, Ikko, Genzo, and Randal had gathered in front. With everyone armed and equipped they opened the doors. Cool afternoon air swept over them. A green temperate landscape was laid out before them. The temple they stood in was built on a lonely hilltop. Tall grasses stretched out in every direction. Directly in front of them lay a wide flat valley. At the edges of the valley were thick forests.   Beyond that was a mountain hidden in the haze. The side of the mountain had a peculiar and nearly perfect semicircle cut out of it.

But it was an uncanny valley. Birds called out with strange cries. The trees grew in odd shapes and had leaves that shimmered like metal. Patches of the grass changed color slowly as if sections of the landscape were talking to each other. The air and gravity even felt off.

Tim was admiring the new world when Randal had decided to get snarky with Genzo again. “This is nice and all, but where do we go from here?”

Before Genzo could say anything Emi pointed. “We follow that carriage.”