[Gwyddion]

Scalinata di Tredici

< Music >

William went to his laptop, plate of food in one hand and a bag of crisps in the other. Finally, he would be able to play it. Gaia Reborn, it had been available for pre-order for a while now, but at last he could actually join the game. He had already installed the game and created an account, all that was left was to make a character. Even this he had already carefully planned out; The character would resemble him, but he couldn't resist adding on some wolf ears and making himself a bit older than he really was. Even his name was already written down on his notepad next to him: Gwyddion. He typed in the name, and luckily it was not taken yet. "Are you sure you want to create this character?", the game asked him. Of course, he had been planning this for days! And so he clicked the [Yes] button, and then... darkness...

He kept his eyes closed for a while. He must have fallen asleep. But no, there is no way he'd fall asleep when he could finally play the game. Slowly, he opened his eyes again... and quickly closed them again. And opened them again... but still, he could just see the landscape he expected from the game. Not his monitor displaying it, but just the actual landscape. Ruined buildings, moss growing on the streets, tougher plants sprouting from cracks in the stairs in front of him. A single car wreck, more moss than it was metal, lay not far from him. 

William pulled his head back. Maybe his head was simply too close to the monitor. He pinched his arm. Maybe he did fall asleep after all and was simply dreaming. He attempted to remove non-existent virtual reality goggles someone might have put on his head. He moved his finger down, attempting to make a menu appear like they did in the popular anime Sword Art Online. A dark-green overlay appeared right in front of him. Suddenly, it began to dawn on him. His manga would be I died and reincarnated in another world as my MMO character.

He always thought it would be cool to be transported to another world, but now that it actually happened, he panicked slightly to say the least. Then, after snapping back again, he began reasoning. 'My first priority is to stay alive. To stay alive, I need food, water and shelter. I'm in a city, shelter won't be a problem. Water might become a problem later on, but I drank enough just before creating my character. That leaves me with food. If only I had eaten that pizza before creating my character, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20. My best hope is to find some people, and hope someone is willing to share some food with me.'

And so he stood up. And in doing so, he felt something weird. Something he had not felt before. It was as if some part of him brushed against the floor. Which was, of course, not possible. William did not have a tail, most human beings don't, so there is no way his tail could brush on the ground. Right? He tried to feel for his behind, and there he found a big hairy mess. He did have a tail. Of course he had a tail. He had made Gwyddion half-wolf. A faun or something-or-other. He would also have rather unique ears. And then he noticed what he had been ignoring all this time.

This place, this city, it was silent as hell. No cars driving past, no construction workers on the other side of the street, no sirens anywhere. But at the same time, he could hear noise everywhere. The wind, the song of birds, the screams of people, the buzzing of insects, it was all louder to him than ever before. It all weighed quite heavily on him, this giant volume of nature noises. Imagine putting on a recording of nature sounds on a massive sound installation, at maximum volume, and sitting right next to the speaker. And then include the screams and sounds of humans. Wait. 'If there are people making this much noise, there are two options. Either this city is under attack and I am about to save them from imminent danger and become a hero. Or I am not the only one who got randomly teleported to this world. Either way, I better take a look at what the hell is happening here.'

---

Word Count: 752
Total Word Count: 752
Notes: Wew, there we go. A first post, a new world. And already I've written more on this forum than on my latest uni paper.

Thought Color 1979e6
Talk Color 09b558

[Ren]

Today was the day. The day where Ren would start her journey in Gaia Reborn. She bought the game after deciding she needed a more leisurely focused activity. She loved her Kendo practices but they were also very physically demanding. On days where she needed rest she wanted to have something to do. Plus, it would double as an escape for her. She had not lived the best life up until now and thought investing herself in an MMO would be a good distraction from it all. Finally making it home after her day of working she fixes herself up a quick snack and grabs a bottle of water. After sitting in front of her computer she launches the game and is on the character creation screen. She spends a rather long time deciding on things. Finishing her snack and water long before she finishes her character. Eventually she decides to base it on Anael, the Angel of Romantic Love. Her reasoning isn't anything profound. After some internet searching she just liked the sound of the name is all. Deciding to opt against the Enoch race as they seem rather revered in the game's lore and revered is not something she can associate with herself. Even in a fantasy world.

Eventually she got her appearance how she envisioned it. Now it was time for the class selection. She wanted something with a sword because of her love for Kendo, but at the same time... She wanted to incorporate more of Anael into her character. For this reason she opted to pick a Spellblade. She would focus on Air element spells and still be able to fight with a blade without any big investments. Finalizing the rest of her character by choosing the Dancer talent and Pharmacist Crafting Talent, she started the game. Everything went black. When things came back into focus she found herself looking at the game world, but with the distinct absence of her computer's monitor.

'What's going on? This feels way to real to be a game. It's like I'm actually- Wait, I am. Somehow I ended up inside the game world. Am I me, or am I Anael?' After this, she would examine her body. She found out right away that she was in fact, Anael. As hiding underneath her long wavy hair was her long and pointy ears. A distinct feature of the Alv race she had chosen for her character. It was at this point that a smile appeared on her face. 'I'm actually Anael. Then that means... I have a chance to live a different life! Oh but this world is filled with monsters and the like. Will I even be able to survive?' Her lack of self confidence was beginning to rear its ugly head once more. She wouldn't have much time to worry though. For soon she found herself distracted by the full scope of the environment. She didn't get a chance to appreciate it before as she was too distracted from being inside the game world.

The city she was in was in ruins. Abandoned and ravaged. Still it was breathtaking to look at. She had never encountered anything like this before. Having occasionally played games in the past as well as reading plenty of fantasy novels she was no stranger to the world of fiction and magic. This however, was something different entirely. This didn't feel like a fantasy. It felt like reality and it was all she could ever hope for. She had no desire to return home. Nothing was waiting for her there. Well, no one rather. She could further her sword skill here and that was enough. She started wondering about where she would end up calling home in this new world. But decided she first needed to explore to find out what sort of options she had.

Something else would have to come first though, as the initial shock and awe of what happened faded, she found herself hearing the faint sounds of screaming. Screams that seemed human enough in origin. Oh no! Sounds like people are in need of some help. I can't say I know how to fight but... I have to try.  She rushed off to the source of the screams instantly. A rather dangerous habit of hers was to act based on her feelings and she felt like who or whatever was making those screams needed some help. She wasn't sure she'd be able to offer any but that didn't matter. She wanted to at least try. As she ran she was amazed by how her new body felt. The proportions were similar to her real life self. But she was 9 years younger in this body. Not to mention she was Alv and not Human. She felt so free in this new body. Unbound as if shackles had been unlocked and removed. As she found it easy to move in this body she found herself hearing the screams louder and louder with each passing second.

---

Word Count: 835

Total Word Count: 835

Thoughts Color

Speech Color

[Gwyddion]

After having made up his mind to check on the source of the screaming, William decided to take in his surroundings once more. From the amount he read up on the game and its lore, he knew he must currently be in Romalia. He had never been to Rome in real life. There is no way he would recognise any of his surroundings, so he decided to just take it in and learn to know the city as he goes. Looking around, the first thing he noticed was how everything was not just destroyed, but also overgrown. As if humanity disappeared in an instant and nature reclaimed the city. The second thing he saw were the long stairs in front of him. The third thing he noticed was the person running down the stairs, coming his direction at full speed. A girl, long brown hair waving behind her, with a rather sharp-looking sword.

His fight-or-flight reactions always having a tendency towards the second option, the first thing Will did was roll behind the car wreck. He never practiced his rolls, despite practicing judo so much. So it happened that he prepared for a roll, hit his head on the ground, rubbed his head on the spot he hit it, decided rolling might not be the best option after all, crawled on all fours to the hiding spot he just chose, and wished that he did practice his rolls. Now it's just hoping that this armed runner did not see him fail, or rather, did not see him at all. 

After activating his flight response, it might still be a good idea to consider the options for a fight response. 'Time to see what I have to work with. Let's see, how to open my inventory...' The moment he mentioned his inventory in his thoughts, he remembered feeling a small bump on his hips all this time. On his belt, he found a small pouch. 'Nowhere big enough for an inventory, but knowing games...' He opened the pouch, and - as expected - found in there a throwing knife (sure, that fits in a pouch this size), another one (alright, still fits), another knife (getting on the cramped side now), a bandolier for knives (alright, I guess if it's folded up tight enough, that works?), an entire bow (well, maybe it's just a really small bow?), and lastly, an entire quiver with arrows (yup, this was most certainly the equivalent of an inventory).

If the game was anything like real life, and from what he'd seen so far, he hoped his practice in archery would also carry over. And knowing how long he'd trained in his archery skills, he immediately opted for the throwing knives. 'I would empty my quiver without any hits, and seeing how this is a game, it wouldn't surprise me if my archer contained infinite arrows...' Yet upon picking one of the knives from the bag, some big text flashed up on his screen vision: "You cannot use this weapon", and under that: "You need at least throwing level 1, you have level ½". The bow it is. He slung the quiver over his shoulder, nocked an arrow ('why don't these bows have a rest or a nocking point'), and while thinking of how cool it would be to jump on top of the car and hold this person under arrowpoint, he continued to hide behind the car, bow half-charged.

---

Word Count: 573
Total Word Count: 1325
Notes: I just realised after writing this that I remembered my throwing skills stuff wrong, I thought I had level ½ but it's actually 3½, but I'm too lazy to change it
Thought Color 1979e6
Talk Color 09b558
UI Color ffffff

[Ren]

Anael continued her hurried pace towards the source of the scream. Her peripheral vision was taking in a lot of her surroundings too, in order for her to become more familiar with her new surroundings. This would also cause her to notice the boy who fumbled his roll and clonked his head. She let out the faintest of laughs despite feeling bad for laughing at his pain. It seemed like the boy was wary of her. Did he not hear that girl scream? Does he not want to help her? I guess not everyone has it in them to help others. It makes sense after all. How many years was I alone and struggling before gaining a semblance of stability? Far too long. Perhaps it is just the nature of this place. As beautiful as it is, it's in ruins. Laws don't exist here most likely. Still... I won't just stand by and do nothing. I'll help whoever I can whenever I can. Her thinking had slowed her pace and so she decided to hold off on questioning his reasoning for the time being. Instead, she picked up her pace and resumed her full speed sprinting from earlier. Keeping her guard up in case the boy who hit his head decided to initiate an attack.

She grew closer and closer to the sound of the scream and it was then when the finer details of things started to dawn on her. This city was relatively advanced during its prime. The buildings and architecture were something else.  It was next to one of these mostly intact buildings did she see the source of the scream. It was a girl being closed in on by a group of thugs. By the looks of it, the girl was a Person of the Land, and the thugs, who were 2 in number, seemed to be unknown players. As she neared them she readied her sword for battle. The pair of thugs had yet to notice her approach. They were far too enthralled with their current target to notice her approach. They were also likely inept in battle experience if they were still around this place, a starting location, too.

"Dissonant Aria!"

She made her presence to the group known with that fierce opener. While she hadn't experimented with how her skills were activated before hand, it was a safe enough guess and the worse that would have happened was her losing the initiative. The thug she hit lost a chunk of his HP and turned around shouting.

"WHAT THE HELL! WHO DID THAT? I'll KILL YOU!!"

When he noticed Anael, he directed his seething anger at her. Though, upon seeing her figure, his words had... a certain undertone to them that made her sick.

"Was it you? You look pretty fine actually. Maybe now me and my bud here wont have to share."

They had decided to turn this game into their own personal playground. Disregarding everyone else's feelings in favor of their own desires. This did not make her visibly flinch but she was still saddened by their behavior. He started to approach her and she decided to gain some distance. She performs another skill while taking a huge back-step. If they are new to the game like her perhaps they are unaware of her class skills. Particularly the one she just used. Which can hit multiple targets. Which is what she aimed for.

"You two bastards make me sick. I''d rather die before allowing anything like that to happen to me or that girl over there. Galeforce Igniter!"

The two thugs and the girl were both surprised. They hadn't give it much thought before, but Anael was putting herself in a disadvantageous position even when it was clear the one she was helping was a Person of the Land and not a player. However, she is a player. It is very likely she would just be able to resurrect at a respawn point or something. And, real or not, she wouldn't let anyone go through such a traumatizing experience. Her skill had landed its mark. The one she hit earlier was down to about 60% of his HP. While the other one was caught unaware and hit for about 30% of his HP. The first player would heal to almost full HP, using a potion he must've found prior to assaulting the Person of the Land. Still, Anael was determined to see this through. Every second they spent on her was one more second she had bought for the girl too. It was a win win in her book. Okay. Dissonant Aria needs another 5 seconds, and Galeforce Igniter needs 9 seconds. All I got left is Vampire Pipet. That skill heals me though. I should save it. If I need it later and it is on cooldown that would spell trouble. I'll rely on my Kendo skills then, rather than this game for the next part of this fight. That boy from earlier might be a scout of theirs or something. So he might come back them up. I gotta remember to keep an eye out for that.

Anael had started her adventure. Making herself a target against two people who likely had more experience in the game then she did. Her saving grace if it could be called that, would be her countless hours of experience from that dojo. These two likely haven't been in any real fights. She however, has fought against some of the best kendo practitioners around. The only thing causing her worry was the X factor that the game provided them.

---

Word Count: 935

Total Word Count: 1770

Thought Color: a788cb

Speech Color: a33b69

Thug 1 Speech: acb33b

Note: I wasn't entirely confident about the combat portion of this. Please let me know if something needs altering. ^_^

[Gwyddion]

It seemed the sworld-wielding passer-by had now passed by. Still, William knew, you could never be too certain danger had truly gone. Now knowing that his best bet in a fight would probably be his bow, even with his lack of proficiency, he pulled the string back to his chin and came out from his improvised car shelter.  His eyes scanned the square, bow trailing after it. For as far as he could see, no living thing remained in this area for now. He slowly released tension on the string, but kept the arrow nocked just in case.

'Now, it seems no matter what happens in this world, it seems that it might one day come to a fight. Let's see what I have to work with. How did I open the menu agai-'  The menu appeared right in front of his eyes, before even finishing his thought.  'Let's see... Character. Skills. Ehh... Auto Attack? That sounds like something. A skill that controls the user's body... aim for an accurate hit... 100% at 5 seconds... I think I got this. Now, let's check out what the hell is happening out here in the real- fictional world.'

If he remembered correctly, the scream (or screams, he was not quite sure) came from the direction opposite of the stairs. At a pace fast enough to get there in time but slow enough to react to anything that might take some reaction time, he reached a smaller side street with a surprising amount of noise coming out from it. 


"Galeforce Igniter!"

A quick glance into the street gave William a good enough view of the situation at hand. Two thugs were currently battling the sword-wielding passer-by with a second girl rather unsure of what was happening. As he noticed all this, the sword-wielder's sword suddenly started glowing yellow, after which a wave of... energy? flew from the sword, striking the thugs. Will lingered for a second. If he'd join the battle, he would put himself in danger for people he did not even know. But on the other side, this would be his chance to not only test his combat skills, but maybe even make some friends? 

'Let's hope this works. Auto Attack ON!" In an instant, his arms raised up and pulled the string back. Then, his fingers released. An arrow flew from his bow, striking the ruffian closest to him. A health bar immediately appeared above his head, and it seemed the arrow did quite a reasonable amount of damage. Nothing spectacular, but it looked like a good hit from a second arrow could easily do the trick. Then again, this guy already lost more than half his health before William joining the fight, so no need to feel over-competent. 

And so, Will had joined the fight. Not having practiced nearly enough in his archery skills in his previous life, it seemed he would need to rely on the Auto Attack-skill for the time being. But if this went anything like he expected, a two-on-two fight would certainly improve their chances of rescuing the victim of these thugs. 'Wait, when did I choose to save someone?'

---

Word Count: 525
Total Word Count: 1850
Notes: I hope the text gave enough information, but just to make sure: thug 1 is now at about 15%. Will is still about 50 meters away, barely having rounded the corner.
Thought Color 1979e6
Talk Color 09b558
Anael Speech Color a33b69

[ragnorak16]

“What?” Molop asked herself. Looking around, she had just signed in to play but now. She wasn’t in her room anymore. Unlike everyone else around her, she didn’t so much freak out as she did shut down.

“Why is this happening?” She wondered aloud and made her way to a tavern. She wanted a drink. ‘This is just a dream, this has to be a dream’ she told herself over and over in her head. There was an empty seat next to her.

[Takemikazuchi]

Lisa had just gotten back home from her shopping trip. It was the tail end of a rough week for her. She had just lost her home and most of her possessions. Having trusted the wrong person to upkeep her home while she was away on vacation. Devastated by the events, her parents offered her her old room. To which she accepted. To pass the time as she looked for a new job she decided to get into Gaia Reborn. The game had just released a new server based on Italy, so she wouldn't be far behind level wise from the other players. She hadn't had much time to play games lately, but well, she currently had nothing but time. Deciding to make some lemonade out of her situation she starts the game up. First thing first, she needs to make her character. Not wanting anyone who might recognize her character making habits, she decides to base her character appearance off of herself. Well, changing a few things though. Like her hair and eye color, as well as her age. She made herself ten years younger and gave herself snow white hair and deep purple eyes.

Rather fond of her look she proceeds to the next step. Deciding on a class. Well, she usually just ended up going with whatever was needed of her in the past. She never really decided on a class that she wanted to play. After quite a lot of internal debate, she decides on Assassin. Not liking the name too much. As she wasn't too fond of PKing others and whatnot. She did like the sound of the class based on its description though. Deciding to balance out her weapon choices, she goes with a standard sword and then an arsenal of throwing knives for ranged combat. Next was something entirely new to her. Choosing a "Talent". After reading through them and seeing a glimpse of the skills learned from each online, she decided to go with Acrobat. Liking the idea of jumping around and getting to places she normally couldn't. Next was her "Crafting Talent". Like her character class, she had always chosen what her group was lacking. Rather than on something for herself. As she had no particular preference due to this, she ended up liking how the skills a Tailor got paired up with what she wanted to do as an Assassin, and picked that. Finally she was all set and so she started the game, but she felt something odd was happening as the game launched. All she could see was a black emptiness for a time...

What's going on? Did the game start? That didn't feel right. After taking a look around. She realized she was viewing the game as if it was reality. Oh my god! Did... Did I end up in the game world? This wasn't a VRMMO or anything. So what gives? This is all too freaky... After taking a moment to calm down she begins to accept her situation. And, like her housing situation, make the best of it. This was a rare opportunity after all. Alright. No use worrying over stuff I can't change. I just need to adapt to playing like this instead of from a mouse and keyboard. It shouldn't take me too long. I've played numerous different class types back when I had the time. I'm used to learning things. As she was formulating a plan inside her head, she heard a scream. I should go check that out! Wait. It might be some crazy high leveled monster or a PKer griefing newbies for the fun of it. Let's see. What can I do?

She fiddles around for a moment. If this is an MMO then maybe I have a menu of sorts to work with. As if on cue, when she thinks of the menu it shows up in front of her. She a few skills currently. Four of them are ones she choose during her character creation. The rest coming with her race and being default skills. The four she chose were Stealth, Misericorde, Death Throes, and Covert Move. Perfect! Stealth seems like a great way to see what is going on without getting in over my head. How do I activate it though? Wait. Maybe it's like the menu interface. She thinks of Stealth activating, and like the menu, it does. She can see her mana bar dropping steadily. Confirming its effect being active. She the makes her way towards the scream after taking the time to figure all of this out. When she arrives, the sight she sees is something different. A duo of players is being confronted by a beautiful looking girl. She attacked them and seemed to be trying to save... an NPC? Or as they're called in this game, a Person of the Land.

However, her noble act is soon interrupted. A heavily armored human looking thing appears out of nowhere. It's presence likely being some kind of warning. However, it says nothing and the girl proceeds with her attack. The duo retaliates at the same time and then the armored humanoid strikes them all down without warning. Dead, all three of them. This was an MMO so respawning after death isn't an impossibility. However, this wasn't your standard MMO experience thus far. Was that girl truly dead? Struck down for defending an innocent? She had no way of knowing for sure and the whole event left her rather troubled and nervous. For the time being, she was going to treat this life as her only one. When the armored humanoid disappeared she approached the Person of the Land who was saved from the whole ordeal. Wanting to make sure she was alright as it appeared no one else was around. She did notice the arrow from earlier though. She kept an eye out. She had some escape options of things got out of hand though.

"Miss, are you alright? I'm not entirely sure what just happened but.. It seems like you are safe now. Unless you need some further help... I'll be on my way."

With conformation that the person that girl died saving was in fact okay, Lisa, or as she is known in game, Takemikazuchi, headed off. Wanting to explore this place and all it had to offer. Deciding to make the most of this crazy and impossible situation she found herself in. Her next goal was getting used to fighting. She was familiar enough with using a sword. One of her many misadventures growing up briefly saw her compete in kendo among other things. Like judo, wrestling, all sorts of things. Nothing ever stuck. Which is why her natural gift for athletics went underutilized. She simply was not able to retain enough interest. Not liking competing and at the time, not seeing the value in simply learning the skill to expand her knowledge bank. As she turned the corner, she reactivates her Stealth skill. Wanting to lose the trail of whoever fired that arrow. Not knowing if they are friend or foe.

Once she believes herself to be in the clear she deactivates stealth and decides to try out swinging her sword. Wanting to get used to that. As her testing with auto attack lead her to believe it was inefficient. She would be practicing in a ruined portion of the city. Out of sight from the main walkways. She was not targeting anyone with her swings. It was just practice. It still caused her to feel uneasy. Thinking of the armored humanoid that appeared. Seemingly in response to the battle that was taking place. She hoped her practice did not trigger a response from it.

---

Word Count: 1285

Total Word Count: 1285

Speech Color: FF1493

Thoughts Color: 9932CC

Notes: This also served as me removing my Spellblade from the event in favor of my Assassin.

[Gwyddion]

At first, William could not believe what he was seeing. Between him and the thug he just shot, there was no longer merely an empty street. A giant suit of armor, probably bigger than himself, appeared between the two of them. It just sort of... floated an inch off the ground, and was slowly making its descent to earth. Like an angel appearing from heaven. Except, instead of having a holy aura and generally looking nice, this... thing was a lot more intimidating. It landed with a giant clank of a heavy metal object hitting the ground, and just stood there, unmoving. Almost as a beacon of intimidation and a clear warning that if anything were to happen within its range, that anything would only have a short life left ahead of them.

Then he saw the armed bypasser readying another attack, her sword starting to glow. The two tugs in front of her also seemed to be readying their attacks, having just unsheathed their own swords and preparing skills, colorful flames, lightning and other effects flying off of them.All the while, the big suit of armor just stood there watching. At least, until the girl actually leapt at them, right about to strike the two down. "No -!" 
As soon as she left her place, the giant two-handed sword the giant knight had been keeping point-down on the ground started to rise. A moment later, before the girl was half-way to the thugs, it swept after her at a gigantic speed. Not much later, the girl split in two. The sword continued, and quickly after the girl being separated into an upper and a lower half, the same fate struck the two ruffians. But before their bodies even hit the ground, they faded away into smoke and dust. A sad fate to witness...

After the initial surprise of the quick end to the battle, William opened his eyes again. He found the guardian in the same spot as before, yet now facing him. The sword was, once again, pointing downwards, and the suit of armour held both of his hands on the hilt. It looked almost like a statue, one you would see in the real world of famous knights of the round table. Except this one was not just there for decoration, but could actually strike you down. 'No matter what happens, I suppose it's best to not shoot anyone. Especially with one of these things close by...'

After about five, maybe ten seconds of making sure to not move in front of this being, just as Will was about to risk running away, the suit of armour started floating upwards again, and faded out. Just the way it had come, it now made its leave. William now found himself alone in the street, no living being remaining. Everything was silent. He breathed out. He dropped to the ground. He sighed. He heard the sounds of nature returning, leaves rustling in the wind, birds chirping. He was alone. All alone.

All of a sudden, he was overwhelmed by emotions. Fear of the guardian, apprehension of what happens when dying in this world, anger in his inability to achieve anything, relief in the combat having stopped, loneliness... And then it struck him. This was not just a fight. This all started over a girl in the street being assaulted. Where did she run off to?

He ran down the street, quickly glancing into alleys, when he saw her. And another girl. Will prepared himself to approach them, but just when he took another step in their direction, the second girl vanished. Just vanished. He blinked, but just that one girl remained. Odd, must have been a trick of the light or something. For now, he approached the victim of the thugs.

"You okay? I haven't quite seen what happened, but I hope they didn't do anything bad to you." The girl just nodded, still not having recovered from what happened in the past few minutes. "Ah. Well, if you ever need anything again, just scream for help again. I'm sure there's more people like me. I hope. Well, cya. I guess." And so, rather awkwardly, William left once again. For now, best he could do was return to the spot he spawned at and see if anyone else appeared. After all, a big square like that might attract others like him.

And so, William returned where we started this adventure. Already, he had seen a lot of how this world operates, and he hopes he would not have to see it again any time soon. On his way back, he checked the user interface he had seen before, now sure it opens on mental command, to see what he had to work with. Parties, friends, guilds, crafting, there was a whole new world for him to explore.

---

Word Count: 816
Total Word Count: 2666
Notes: This is now what these guardians look like canonically Also, hope you don't mind me making your character disappear with their stealth skill
Thought Color 1979e6
Talk Color 09b558

[Takemikazuchi]

She had been practicing her sword swings for a fair bit of time now. No traces of that armored humanoid to be found. Alright. Seems like that guy only appears when you target someone with your attacks. Good to know. Would've hated to end up like that girl just for practicing a bit of swordplay. I didn't wanna risk practicing out of town and being attacked, but come to think of it... I'd have likely had a better chance at beating whatever attacked me outside of town rather than against that... thing. Her thoughts still going towards what happened earlier. It was a bad sign. Her judgment and reactions would be slowed if she couldn't move past it. Putting her blade away she moves both of her hands towards her face and slaps her cheeks at the same time. Hoping to have slapped the doubt caused by what she witnessed out of her body. She doesn't practice her skills. Fearing that perhaps skills were the trigger for that thing. Rather, she knows enough about them from the description her menu gave. She would save them for a battle. Still, she was wondering where to go exactly. Come to think of it, she chose her Character Talent to be Acrobat. It came with the passive skill known as High Jump. It gave her jumps twice the height of other people. She would put it to good use right now. Jumping to get a survey of her surroundings.

She jumped and grabbed onto a nearby building. She climbed a bit further to reach the top. From her new vantage point she saw the town exit, or entrance, depending on your view point, and decided to head over that way. She makes her descent and then prepares to head out. Believing it was time for her to move on from this area and start her adventure proper. With no signs of the archer around, and the two goons having been killed... She saw no need to continue traveling with Stealth activated. Wanting to save her mana for the very real possibility of combat in her future. The location of the exit fresh in her mind, it doesn't take long for her to reach the end. However, that is when some trouble arrives. A gathering of what appeared to be Landers, was blocking the path out of town. She considers using stealth and sneaking past them all, but decides against it. Thinking maybe this was a quest or something. This was an MMO still after all. She walks up to one of the Landers and talks to him.

"Excuse me, sir? What is going on here? Why are all of you at the entrance to town like this?"

"That sword on your waist... You can fight? Maybe you can help them..."

"What do you need a fighter for?"

"Well you see... A rather troublesome group of bandits have been harassing us as of late. They've made something of a hideout for themselves nearby. We believe it to be in the forest near here. Usually our the guards can handle them just fine. However, there was a bunch of chaos that happened earlier. A bunch of people were freaking out and in the commotion they managed to kidnap a girl. Our guards left to go and face them... But there numbers are unknown. If you would be so kind, would you help them?"

Hearing the story of what happened... She wouldn't refuse them. Especially not after witnessing what she did earlier. For some that might have been why the would refuse this request. She would use it as motivation and try to be more like that girl. Speaking of that encounter... She had not seen the Lander the girl had saved in this crowd? Was she truly so unlucky has to have been targeted twice like this? No. The timing doesn't match. That girl was in town not to long ago. Sounds like the guards have been gone for longer.  She did not want to cause any more worry to the Landers and so... With a deep breath she replied to the man with a smile.

"I'll help them. Should the worst come to pass.. I'll do my best to defeat the bandits in their stead too."

The Landers present would smile in relief. They had found a kind stranger willing to provide some backup for them. As the ones left behind were unable to fight and felt useless. This way at least by sending some help, they wouldn't feel so useless. Takemikazuchi was about to head out. However, she realized something important. That has got to be a pretty big forest. It'll take a while for me to search it... Unless, maybe one of them can help me out a bit? She turns back to face the group of Landers, and asks them all a question.

"Do any of you know where exactly these bandits are hiding out in that forest? I don't want to waste to much time searching the forest when I could be helping the guards."

"Oh! We usually see them going towards the northern part of the forest. Even though most people come and go from the south side. It's safer there. Since they come from the norther part... That must be where they are. It's kind of dangerous there, but I guess a group of bandits won't be scared off so easily. Best of luck, and thank you again for agreeing to help!"

Hmm. By the sounds of it... These bandits must know what they are doing. To be able to operate like they have despite being met with interference from the guards. Not only that, but to have such a coordinated attack right as something chaotic happened. Probably was when some of the more early logins figured out they were trapped. I can imagine most people reacting like that at least. Well, however tough or well organized they are... I'll just have to make it work out by force. She would then head out towards the forest. Starting from the south side. Figuring any monsters she encounters there to serve as practice for the main event. Her showdown with the mysterious player. She makes her way past the Landers and exits the town. Finally on a real adventure. Back at the town the Landers begin to disperse from the entrance. Allowing any players nearby to leave town without them causing a commotion. Allowing them to either help or hinder Takemikazuchi in her quest as they saw fit. Whatever ended up happening, Takemikazuchi would end up revealing herself to some Adventurers finally, and her life within Gaia Reborn would truly begin.

---

Word Count: 1112
Total Word Count: 2397
Speech Color: FF1493
Thoughts Color: 9932CC

Notes: Post has been updated based on what I've been told. Let me know of issues are still present.

[Lucius Arthur Mortimer]

This is it. This is the day Luca's been waiting for. The Pioneers of Arcadia, the long-awaited expansion pack of Gaia Online, is finally coming out. He's been waiting for this forever. He did feel bittersweet - after all, he made many memories in his old server. However, his excitement overshadowed his nostalgia. Besides, most of his friends are transferring to the Italian server, too, so it's not like he won't see them ever again.

"Tell me if you need anything, okay, Lukey?" His mother interrupted his attention span and he gave her a distracted glance.

"Yes, sure mom, don't worry..." he quickly replied. His mother gave him an exhausted smile and closed the door behind her, leaving Luca in complete darkness. Grinning at the utter deviousness of his plan, he pulled out a laptop from under his pillow and laid back down. His parents might think he's sleeping, but he will be playing Gaia Online all night. Suppressing a chuckle, opened the laptop on his lap and started up the game - he made sure to download and install the update before dinner. The character creation menu opened before his eyes.

Hm... let's see. It's too bad I can't transfer characters from other servers. I guess I will just have to make Lucius from the scratch again. Excited, he got to work. This character was like Luca in many ways, but not all. He was everything Luca strived to be, rather than something completely made up. Longer hair... check. Pretty tall... check. Summoner class... check. Don't want to get close and personally acquainted with monsters, after all. After furious tweaking, Luca was finally happy with his creation and clicked the button saying "Create Character". And then... darkness.

After what was a moment, or maybe several hours, Luca felt pressure and heaviness on his legs he hadn't felt in years. He felt down as he opened his eyes, the sudden light blinding him and the sounds and smells of nature overwhelming him.

"Wah!" he managed to let out, but he was already laying on the ground. His nose stung, having hit the earth, and his mouth was full of dirt and grass. He coughed, spitting the unwelcome guests out of his mouth, and pulled against the ground. After he turned around, he noticed he's wearing a robe of some sort.

Did I get hospitalised again? Is this hospital gown? Wait... no... His line of thought was interrupted as he finally took a note of his surroundings. Ruined, overgrown buildings? Car wrecks? Foreign architecture? This is just like the trailer for the Pioneers of Arcadia! Oh, you've gotta be...!

His trainwreck of thinking is interrupted once again, this time by a boy with sandy hair entering the square. With a sigh that was half relief, half frustration, Luca raised his hand and waved.

"Uh... hey! You there, please! Help me!" he yelled out, hoping the stranger was strong enough to help him get up.

---

Word count: 491
Total word count: 491
Notes: If I got anything wrong, please correct me!

Thoughts colour: 2a885b
Speech colour: 4c4cc5
Mrs. Morgan: fc59fc

[Gwyddion]

William was walking and swiping through the menus, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. Anyone who saw him might just be thinking he is lost in thought or solving some complicated calculations in the air. But all this time, William was actually simply unable to comprehend what just happened with the guard-like entity before. 'I just saw three people die. Even if this was just a game. They died. In front of me.'

His eyes stared blankly ahead, and his body had gone full auto-pilot. 'Is this the kind of world I have been transported to? One where people die like it's no big deal?'

'I could have done something. I should have done something.'

'I could have yelled at them to stop. I should have stopped the fight before this happened.'

Faintly, he heard another sound around him. It did not quite register to him, but if it would have, it probably sounded something like a Wah. The sound not breaking through William's currently occupied thought, our ranger simply continued walking like he had before, still staring blankly ahead.

'It's my fault they died. If I had done something, I would never have seen them die like that.'

He saw something lying on the ground not far from him. It had not been there before, before he let those people die. It slowly moved its arm forward as if reaching out for him.

'See, when I'm not here, more people die. There's another person dying right there. All because I was not there to save him.'

But then, instead of reaching out, then dropping its arm and letting out its last breath, the corpse continued to move and waved at him. A corpse could not do that. This was not a corpse yet. William stopped right where he stood, and looked at the corpse. It looked human enough, and not quite as dead as he first thought.

William took another good look at it. It was covered in a white robe, and had black hair. Its blue-silver-ish eyes stared straight at him. 'Just maybe I'm on time this time.'

"Uh... hey! You there, please! Help me!" it yelled at him.

This was enough to finally break William's thoughts and snap him back to reality. He realised that this was an actual person who needed help, and sprinted the last few meters towards them.

"Are you okay?" William reached out his hand to the boy on the ground, pulling him up and steadying him after the other boy staggered a bit.

Finally, William realised. It did not help to dwell on what happened before. He now knew it was not safe to fight in this world, and knowing this, he thought it's best to take it slow and move on to the future. William's journey started once more.

---

Word Count: 490
Total Word Count: 3156
Notes: This was a fun post to write. Just wanted to say that for some reason.
Thought Color 1979e6
Talk Color 09b558
Lucius Talk Color 09b558

[Lucius Arthur Mortimer]

For a second, Luca thought that the boy was under some kind of charm, seemingly lost in thought. However, soon enough, he rushed towards him. A delayed reaction, but Luca was not about to complain about his potential saviour. He was in a real pickle now. This was not like his usual dreams. Nonsensical things happen in dreams, but reality is what is truly overwhelming - the fresh air he hadn't breathed in ages, the glints of sunlight being reflected from shining objects and irritating his retinas... not to mention the restrictive robe wrapped around him. It was all too real, and his only hope was to trust this boy to help him walk.

"I am... I have a disease and can't move my... wait!" He let out as the boy steadied him, but ended up in stunned silence. His legs - they were weak, but they moved. They moved! He just jerked his knee forward! Oh... I am kneeling... He realised he slumped down the moment his saviour let go of him, but he wasn't spread on the ground this time - his legs were keeping him up. Luca couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't believe that he was strong enough to resist gravity's pressure, something he was unable to do at all until now. He took a deep breath, but the air filling his lungs served only as a catalyst for his releasing emotions. As he exhaled, tears welled up in his eyes and a few droplets fell on the ground. He didn't quite understand what was going on, but understanding was the least of his worries now. His heart felt warm, and it was pumping with excitement.

They hold me up. I can... I think I can stand. Maybe I can walk, too? I can be free... and I do not need to be dependent on anyone anymore. They can be free, too... With that, he carefully moved to a sitting position. He looked up and released a burst of laughter, his eyes and cheeks still wet.

"Sorry... apologies for making you go out of your way!" Luca eventually said in a voice pitched higher than usual. He coughed, and put a more serious expression on his face - one that still retained a smile, though. "I just... I thought I had a problem. Well, maybe there is a problem, but... not the one I had in mind. But I do find myself in a strange situation. Whether it is a problem, or my solution... that's a different question." He spoke, perhaps a bit cryptically. He still didn't have a grasp on the situation, but he understood a few things. This place looked like Romalia, and he was seemingly transported into it.

Did my disease get healed? No... He placed a hand on his hair and pulled down. It's long. This is Lucius. I am... Lucius? If I am in his body, I need to make sure not to arise suspicions amongst the locals. Though this fellow might be just like me, a newly created character. I need... more info.

---

Word count: 509
Total word count: 1000

Thought colour: 2a885b
Speech colour: 4c4cc5

[Gwyddion]

Having helped the not-long-ago-corpse up, William released the boy's hand and gave him a small nod. The other guy did not seem to notice, and was rather pre-occupied with maintaining his standing position to notice any such subtleties. The moment William let go of his hand, he slumped in, still standing but only barely.

The boy looked at his legs as if he never had those before. Or at least, as if they were very new to him. And while his eyes started to tear, his face started to smile. 'Maybe, just maybe, this boy just went through a similar experience to mine. Maybe he, too, got moved from -' William's thoughts were quickly interrupted by the boy.

"Sorry... apologies for making you go out of your way! I just... I thought I had a problem."

Well, duh, it looked like you were on the verge of dying.

"Well, maybe there is a problem, but... not the one I had in mind. But I do find myself in a strange situation. Whether it is a problem, or my solution... that's a different question."

The boy's cryptic answer confused William for a bit, as his brain tried to decipher the meaning. Then again, this boy did have this sort of... mysterious look to him. Although his behaviour showed something else entirely.

Not quite knowing what to answer to the other's odd dilemma, Will just started talking to fill the silence. "Well, uh, so... What are you doing here then? Fell from the sky or something, maybe isekaied?" Did I really just say that? Unconsciously, he shook his head just a little bit.

All the time, Will had been silently analyzing the boy in front of him. They wore almost identical robes as the one he was wearing, except theirs having a slightly different color. Not far from him lied a wand and a book on the ground. Sure enough, this person might just be a wizard who fell over his own feet. Would explain the mysterious air around him, and if we're going by standard tropes, he's just introverted...

---

Word Count: 385
Total Word Count: 3541
Notes: Sorry for the long delay and shorter post, I had absolutely no idea how to dialogue
Thought Color 1979e6
Talk Color 09b558
Lucius Talk Color 09b558[/font]

[Lucius Arthur Mortimer]

Luca moved one of his legs up and down rhythmically, watching in amazement. There was no pain, no struggle. This was definitely some kind of miracle. However, a silent voice in the back of his mind reminded him of the situation quickly, and that he was acting weird. He coughed and changed his intonation to the one he's done countless times in the old Gaia Online, though he felt a little silly doing it.

"My deepest apologies for my lack of manners, my dear friend. I would stand and shake your hand, but alas, my legs do feel quite sore right now." He said and threw a flashy smile at his saviour. "I am known as Luca... I mean, Lucius Arthur Mortimer, and I can assure you that I have not gotten hit by a truck to get here." He chuckled and looked around again. He noticed a grimoire and a wand on the ground, not too far away from him.

"Hm, these must be mine. Judging by your attire, you are a ranged fighter, a bowman. And judging by your question, I am assuming that you found yourself in a similar situation to mine." Lucius smiled widely, reaching for the wand and the spellbook. As he touched them, he felt a strange sensation stirring up inside him and the objects. This must be magic. So there is magic after all. I would say that I am surprised, but after having muscular dystrophy just... cured like that, I am not surprised by anything anymore. If this young man is not a denizen of Romalia, it must mean that I am not the only one here. That's a relief. Interacting only with NPCs would get boring real fast.

"Pray do tell, what is your name? Romalia must be a dangerous place, so it would be good to know my allies!" Lucius asked as he flashed him another smile. "I say that it would be prudent to exchange any information we both may possess, and perhaps find a safe zone amidst these ruins - if there is one. It does look quite abandoned..." He ended the sentence with a tint of worry in his voice. He did not remember hearing any details about settlement placement. The smart thing would be to find an inn or a tavern to stay at. More information increases my chance of survival exponentially. I'm very overwhelmed by... everything right now.

---

Word count: 402
Total word count: 1402

Thought colour: 2a885b
Speech colour: 4c4cc5

[Gwyddion]

The guy in front of William seemed to have given up on standing, and now told him how he would stand and shake his hand if it were not for his sore legs. In respone, William nodded and, to at least symbolise a form of greeting, gave a small wave with his hand. It was a weird way to greet someone, but so was the entire situation of being in this city in the first place.

"I am known as Luca... I mean, Lucius Arthur Mortimer, and I can assure you that I have not gotten hit by a truck to get here." Was that... was that an anime reference in response? Surely, if anyone talks about truck-kun after I accidentally blurt out the word isekai like some idiot...

Before William had time to respond, the boy, uhh, Lucius, picked up the wand and book not far from him, all the while babbling on and on. He analysed Will as a ranger correctly, and once again, William only had time to nod and let out a small "Hm-mm" before the other guy continued his talking.

"Pray do tell, what is your name? Romalia must be a dangerous place, so it would be good to know my allies!", the robed boy said. Once more, he flashed one of those smiles at him, both mysterious-looking but at the same time a hint of anxiousness looked hidden in them. Obviously, this guy is just as out-of-place as me.

"I'm... "- what name should we even use in this world? I guess I'll just go with -"Gwyddion, I suppose. Ranger, tailor and... Some roleplay talent or whatever. I guess that should be how we introduce ourselves nowadays?" He reached out his hand for a handshake, then remembered how the other could not stand up yet, and awkwardly pulled his hand away. Why do I always do weird stuff like this...

As soon as Will, or as he now introduced himself, Gwyddion, finished his introduction, Lucius already went on with his rambling. Quite a talker...

"I say that it would be prudent to exchange any information we both may possess, and perhaps find a safe zone amidst these ruins - if there is one. It does look quite abandoned..."

"Well, from what I've seen so far, the town is safe... except for some giant armor thingies... I'm not sure how they work yet, but it seems as if we should be safe if we don't fight. And from the parts I've seen of the town so far, this might very well be one of the better places to be... A small street is where the ruffian thrives... Though I agree, we could choose a better place than the very center of this square."

As Lucius made his attempts to get up, William began telling him about what he discovered so far.

"It seems this... game? has some sort of menu. Just thinking of it seems to open it. And you have a skill auto-attack if you don't know how to use your weapon, and you can see your status and everything..." As he was explaining this, William seemingly swiped through the air. "Oh, and there's even a friends menu right here! If you don't mind..." He once again tapped in the thin air, but if you looked from his eyes, you could see he just tapped Lucius' name on the friends page, and sent him a friend request. He smiled at finally making a new friend.

Just maybe this time, I can prevent another death... Just as suddenly as he had smiled, his face went back to a frown...

---

Word Count: 681
Total Word Count: 4222
Notes: Not quite sure about how my word count is working, it might be counting the font tags and everything too... If it's a problem, please let me know and I'll re-count.
Thought Color 1979e6
Talk Color 09b558
Lucius Talk Color 09b558