Ricardo was on summer holidays from the University. He also took leave from the Academy all January, since he was supposed to be on vacations with his family. Therefore, he had plenty of free time to play.
The meeting on Sunday lasted quite a while, so Monday was the true start of roleplaying Milana in Virtual Connection.
Ricardo logged in and was welcomed to the lovely image of Milana reflected on the mirror. Sandro had paid the room in the inn for a month to provide a private place for meetings.
Milana started with just white cloth robes tied with a cordon and straw sandals. She also had a small backpack carrying an empty canteen and a few squares wrapped in aluminum foil that seemed to be cereal bars. He was told he needed to eat every six hours in-game, if he was resting. Of course, with heavy stamina use, he would need to eat more often.
Sandro also left him a hundred golden hearts, which wasn’t much for a Tier 1 player, but it was a lot for a newbie.
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Milana left the inn and went to the plaza. She filled her canteen in the fountain, and then walked to the Information Module. It was a small counter next to the teleportation gate of Torinelo Starter City. Milana appeared through that gate yesterday, after completing her customization.
There were two Non-Player Characters, a young couple, whose job was to guide the newbies. The girl was talking to what appeared to be a cat-girl, so Milana went to talk to the guy.
“Hello, I’m new in this game.” –said Milana.
“Hello, I am Larry.” –said the NPC, with a big smile. –“I am in charge of explaining how to play Virtual Connection, so ask me anything.”
“You can also take the twenty minute walkthrough if you want to. I recommend it.”
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The NPCs in Virtual Connection had an artificial intelligence that was good enough for a simple conversation in their field of expertise, but wouldn’t fool anyone into thinking they were real people.
“No thanks.” –said Milana, thinking that after Sandro’s explanation, the walkthrough would be a waste of time.
“Rather, I was wondering… how can I raise my level quickly?” –asked Milana.
“You get experience killing monsters and doing quests.” –replied Larry.
“So to raise your level quickly, you should get an extermination quest. Then you can get both the monsters’ experience and the quest’s.”
“I see, two in one.” –said Milana, smiling. –“I heard that dating could give you a lot of experience too.”
“Yes, going into an experience date is a good way to level fast.” –said Larry. –“But, right now, even the Tier 0 date will be too much for you.”
“I see. Then who should I ask for an extermination quest?” –asked Milana, going directly to the point.
“For a level 1 player, you should ask Peter.” –replied Larry. –“You can find him at the butcher’s store.”
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Milana went to the butcher’s store and asked for Peter. He was a big man, wearing a white apron spotted with blood.
“Hello, I’m Milana.” –Milana introduced herself. –“Larry told me you could give me a quest.”
“A newbie, huh?” –said Peter. –“Then I shall give you a quest.”
Peter took out a small knife and gave it to Milana.
“You should kill and bring back ten wild rabbit carcasses.” –said Peter. –“If you do it within the day, I’ll pay you a golden heart. On top of the experience, of course.”
“Not a bad deal, huh?” –continued Peter, laughing. –“I’ll even let you keep the knife.”
“I accept.” –said Milana, while clicking on the ‘yes’ button on the pop-up dialogue in front of her.
“You can find the wild rabbits to the left of the road, just leaving Torinelo by the main gate.”
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“Bunny, bunny, bunny.” –Milana called the rabbits.
She was at the rabbit field for ten minutes, and she still hadn’t gotten any carcass. The rabbits came to her when she called, but then she tried swinging her knife. It was really hard to connect to a rabbit. And the few times she got one, the knife just bounced. The rabbit would shake itself off the ground and keep leaping like nothing happened.
This knife isn’t working.
Then Milana looked at the knife and clicked the information icon.
˃ Butter Knife
˃ No level restriction
˃ Deals 0-1 damage on contact
˃ Great knife for spreading butter on a bun. Don’t expect it to cut meat. It's called a butter knife for a reason.
“DAMNED BUTCHER!!!!” –Milana yelled, without care for the world.
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Milana heard a girl’s laughter. It was the cat-girl she had seen before at the Information Module. She was wearing the same beginner robes as her, but she didn’t have the cordon.
“I guess you took the rabbit quest at the butcher’s.” –said the cat-girl, covering her mouth.
“Yeah, I did.” –said Milana. –“But that damned butcher gave me a butter knife.”
“If you had checked the knife before, he would have offered to sell you a butcher’s cleaver for one platinum heart.” –said the cat-girl.
“So I should spend money, huh?” –said Milana.
“Yup, this game is shameless.” –said the cat-girl, laughing. –“There are other ways to level up, but the rabbit quest is the fastest by far.”
“Then I guess I have no option.” –said Milana, resigned.
“Nah, there is another method. I need to deliver my quest, so follow me and I’ll tell you.” –said the cat-girl, winking. –“What’s your name?”
“I am Milana, nice to meet you.” –said Milana.
“Name is Angela, nyan!”
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“By the way, what level are you?” –asked Milana, while walking towards Torinelo’s gate.
“Level 1.” –answered Angela. –“I was just born into this world, nyan.”
“Anyway that I see you, you don’t seem like a new player.” –said Milana.
Angela had the characteristic ears of the cat-man race. Her hair was black, but she wasn’t covered in fur. Besides her long nails and a bulge in her rear that should be a tail, she looked like a cute young girl.
“Well, I just restarted my char.” –said Angela. –“When I started the game, I really wanted to be a cat-girl. But I didn’t feel like spending a hundred dollars on a game.”
“Yeah, spending real money feels wasteful.” –said Milana.
“I know, right?” –said Angela, smiling. –“But as I kept playing I started to regret it.”
“You really like cats, don’t you?” –asked Milana.
“Of course!” –answered Angela. –“They are the cutest, loveliest, most amazing creatures in the whole world, nyan!”
“Then, your other character?” –asked Milana.
“She is gone.” –said Angela, suddenly saddened. –“An extra char costs a whopping two thousand platinum hearts. There’s no way I could spend that much on a game.”
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They got to the butcher’s store. Angela went in and took out ten rabbit carcasses from her backpack.
“Here they are.” –said Angela to the girl in the counter.
“Great! Master Peter will be really pleased. Take this.” –said the girl, giving Angela a golden heart.
“If you can, please keep bringing the rabbit carcasses. Same deal.” –added the girl, winking.
“Did you buy the cleaver?” –asked Milana.
“Nope.” –answered Angela, grinning.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“Then…”
“Let’s go back to the fields; it will be easier if I show you.”
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On the fields, Angela was a true cat-woman.
She got in fours on the ground, making clicking sounds with her mouth.
The rabbits, the easiest monster in the game, were designed to be attracted to sound. Soon enough, a couple of them went leaping just in front of Angela.
Angela flexed her legs and suddenly jumped, catching a rabbit between her hands. The rabbit tried to bite her, but she quickly took a rope from her pocket and tied it around the rabbit’s neck. She pulled the ends of the rope until the rabbit stopped moving. It was dead.
“Wow. That was amazing!” –exclaimed Milana.
“Hehehe.” –said Angela smiling. Her cordon-less robes had gotten tangled, flashing her panties and tail, which was moving side to side.
“So that’s why you didn’t have a cordon on your robes. The view is a little indecent, though.” –said Milana, blushing.
“This is just my virtual body and we are both girls. So it’s ok!” –said Angela, laughing. –“But I could see myself turning into a lesbian for you, nyan!”
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Soon enough, Milana took out the cordon of her robes and started chasing the rabbits. After the first few tries, she didn’t care about showing off her underwear anymore. The few times she got bitten it just stung a little. Unlike the monsters, it seemed the players couldn’t bleed.
The rabbit quest was great for gaining experience. After five hours of play, both of them got to level 7, the limit for that particular quest. And they got twenty golden hearts each.
“That was really fun.” –said Milana, smiling. –“And we leveled really fast too. I wouldn’t have known what to do without you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” –said Angela. –“Gaming is always better with friends.”
“We can’t take the rabbit quest anymore, though.” –said Milana, with a sad face. The last time Angela didn’t tell her that she couldn’t get the quest and helped catching rabbits.
“It’s ok.” –said Angela. –“The fun is just starting, nyan!”
“What should we do now?” –asked Milana.
“Let’s go shopping!!!!”
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Angela and Milana went into the Clothing Shop. It was at one corner of the plaza, a big four store building. First floor had Tier 0 equipment, while the other floors were dedicated one for each Tier 1 class. The basement was for special commissions.
“I was wondering, isn’t Virtual Connection supposed to be set on the Medieval Age?” –asked Milana.
It was a fair concern. Even though all the buildings looked old and ornate from outside, the inside of the store was really big, and you could see mechanical stairs going up and down. In the middle there were the new products on spotlight.
“Not really. You could say it has a little of everything. As long as it’s nice looking.” –said Angela, with a smile.
“Besides, this game wouldn’t be half as fun if you couldn’t go window shopping, nyan!”
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Coming soon… the Magical Girl and Super Saiyan Costume Sets! Release your hidden power!
Greeting Angela and Milana, there were a couple of really realistic mannequins in fighting pose. The girl had a white miniskirt and a pink top with a huge golden heart. She was holding a heart-topped staff. The boy had orange trousers and long spiky blonde hair.
“Welcome to Torinelo City Clothing Shop.” –said to them a smiling woman in yellow uniform. –“My name is Jessica and I’ll help you today.”
“Hi Jessica!” –said Angela, like she was an acquaintance.
Milana was still staring at the costumes. They looked so ridiculous that she didn’t know if she should laugh.
“Those are the new costumes, arriving after tomorrow’s scheduled downtime.” –said Jessica, mistaking Milana’s stare for interest.
“They go over your armor, overriding the looks, but they won’t damage on battle. They even give you additional bonuses!”
“Could she insta-try the Magical Girl one?” –asked Angela, with a mischievous smile.
“Of course!” –said Jessica, snapping her fingers.
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Suddenly, Milana felt enveloped in a soft light, and then her clothes changed over her. Milana looked at her image on the mirror and blushed.
This body really looks well in anything.
“I must say, it really suits you, Miss.” –said Jessica, with sparkling eyes. –“It will cost ten platinum hearts for the one week version, and fifty for a three month one!”
Before returning it, Milana checked her stats. The costume gave +5 to all stats, +12 to Magical attack and a huge +200 mana bonus. She figured it wasn’t that much for a high level player, but it more than quadrupled her current mana pool.
“It has some good stats.” –Milana couldn’t help saying.
“If you are interested, I can show you the costumes we have currently available.” –said Jessica, trying to push them into buying an expensive item.
“We just want to check out the level 7 equipment.” –said Angela, taking control of the situation.
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While walking through the corridors, Angela explained about equipment. Normal armor for Tier 0 characters had either a level 7 or level 15 restriction. And, since it didn’t take that much time to get from level 15 to 20, most people used their level 7 equipment until they could buy class specific items.
“Here we are: the Woman’s Level 7 Clothing Section!” –exclaimed Jessica, recovering from her last setback.
There were rows of clothes of different colors, divided in three sections: Light clothes, Medium armor and Heavy plate.
Though it was signaled like that, even the Heavy plate section was filled with low cut tops and miniskirts.
“You are a total newbie, nyan!” –exclaimed Angela, looking at Milana’s dumbfounded face.
“Haaa.” –said Milana, with her mouth opened. She couldn’t believe one would go to a battle in a tank top and miniskirt, made of metal links or not.
“You know, in Virtual Connection what matters is the stats.” –said Angela. –“If it says it gives you defense, it will protect you even if it looks like a thong!”
“Ok…”
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In the end, all the clothing of each section had the same stats, so one could pick any combination based on the looks. Milana went with leather reinforced blue jeans, a baby blue T-shirt and a leather jacket. The jeans and jacket were considered Medium armor, so they gave a moderate defense without reducing Agility too much. She also bought a pair of white sneakers that she was wearing sockless, since she had spent her whole twenty golden hearts.
Angela was wearing tight leather shorts over black stockings, high boots, a bright pink tank top and a leather jacket that ended just below her breasts. Her tail was displayed in full, coming out from her shorts.
Walking side to side, they looked almost like normal girls taking a stroll in the shopping district.
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“We should eat something good.” –said Angela. –“My satiety bar is getting low, nyan.”
“I don’t know…” –said Milana, worried about the money.
“Don’t worry, my treat!”
Angela and Milana got inside a coffee shop on a second floor with a balcony. The music was a soft violin piece. A perfectly uniformed waiter escorted them to a table, leaving them two menu guides.
“This place is really nice.” –said Milana, appreciating the candelabra hanging over the table.
“Yup, great place for a first date, don’t you think?” –said Angela, smiling.
“Yeah…” –said Milana, being taken by surprise.
“You are just way too cute, nyan!”
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After having tea and an ice-cream cup, Angela excused herself.
“Sorry, I need to go.” –said Angela. –“It’s late and mom won’t let me skip dinner.”
“I see. Thank you for everything.” –said Milana. She was truly glad to have met Angela. It was really a godsend.
They registered as friends and Angela disappeared in a flash of light. Milana decided to call it a day and logged out too.
And just then Ricardo realized he had money all along: the hundred golden hearts Sandro left him.