[Umm. . .Alice has good news and bad news!]
Suddenly, Alice's voice tore through the three idiots meeting of fire and ash. Arthur raised a brow at the suddenness of the AI's introduction echoing in his mind and glanced reproachfully at Lucy.
"Why are you looking at me like I'm trash?"
". . .don't tell me. . ." The boy muttered.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "I know what you're gonna say. She didn't hack the game, okay?. . .at least I don't think she did. She's projecting herself through my network."
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"Right. Of course. And why can I hear her then?"
"Remember how you once borrowed Alice's processing power and skills to help edit your videos for you?" Lucy asked, "How you allowed her to crawl into your network, as well?"
"Right, that makes sense."
As the two butted heads, Worm, who had classified herself as the sensible one of the trio, asked Alice, ". . .what is the good news?"
[The good news is that the fire appears to be dying down. Judging by the reports of furious players being updated on the forums, there appears to be a time limit on natural phenomena such as flames.]
"Right right," Lucy nodded. Glancing around them, she could see that, indeed, though the forest was charred, the flames were indeed dying. "And what's the bad news then?"
[I'm glad you asked, Master!] Alice sounded all too cheerful to be the bearer of bad news. [The bad news is that a player by the name of 'Napoleon Dynamite' has placed a 24-hour bounty on Arthur's head. Using the forums, they have agreed to pay any individual who posts a recording of themselves killing Arthur. This player appears to be one of the collateral damage from the flames.]
"Collateral damage?" Lucy found herself laughing at that.
"A bounty? Now that's interesting. This would be my first one in Eclipse, and my first one in a full-dive mmo, too," Arthur stroked his chin in curiosity, as if the thing in question did not concern his own life.
Worm shook her head at the two lunatics. "Alice, how much is the bounty?"
[Twenty-five dollars per kill, miss.]
Lucy whistled, glancing at Arthur. "Damn. He really wants you dead. You know there's a death penalty in this game, right?"
"Yes, I do. Do you think he would accept it if I said sorry?"
"Are you going to?"
The boy stared blankly at her. Then he laughed as if it was the most ridiculous thought in the world and Lucy found herself joining in. Both of them being hardcore gamers, they didn't remember the last time they had ever apologized for killing someone's avatar.
"Okay, but. . ." Worm muttered, "I'm quite sure players should be headed our way as we speak. Not only are the flames that once impeded them all but gone, most of the foliage in the forest is currently gone as well. Meaning, there's no cover. Meaning, it should be quite easy to find us."
"Right, right," Arthur nodded seriously. "Listen, I have a plan for that."
"And, pray tell, what is this plan of yours?" Worm replied.
"I say we run. Preferably, as far as possible. Preferably fast. And, preferably, hopefully to whatever other town exists in this game."
". . .that's your plan?"
Arthur spread his arms out. "Do you have a better plan?"
"Right, okay, so," Worm coughed, clearing her throat, "I sadly do not currently have a plan but if you'd give me a minute to think for a moment."
"Should I start the countdown now?"
"I'm sure you're aware I don't mean an actual minute, right? I do hope you're aware of that much?"
"Huh, so you're a liar. . ."
"Do you wish for me to attack you too?'
"I'm good."
"Right, so . . .now that I think about it, why don't you simply start another fire?"
"Huh, okay, that's not a bad idea. But would it actually work twice in a row?"
"I don't see why not. Though the leaves are gone, most of the trees still exist. As I understand it, wood does still burn. It can also be a good chance for me to see the fire mechanics of this game in action, as well as how player avatars react and interact with them."
"Wow. . .she's crazy. Lucy, where'd you find this girl?"
". . ."
Lucy looked at the two individuals currently plotting mass genocide of the players after them. She thought for a bit, wondering if there was something wrong with each of their heads. Did they really believe they could take on the entire player population of Acron? Worm seemed to relish in the idea, perhaps chopping up ideas for articles along with her plan for analyzing the game further, while Arthur was clearly thinking 'this is fine'; he was, indeed, used to situations like this.
Lucy rolled her eyes.
"So they want to fight with money huh?" Lucy scoffed, grinning at her own incendiary plan. If there was something she hated, it was rich players who went around swinging their real life assets around. To her, that was an affront to the thrill and challenge of actually playing a game. If there was something she loved, however, it was when someone challenged her, a bloody Heartfelt, with money. "Alice, place a bounty on 'Napoleon Dynamite', make it double what he placed on Arthur."
[Completed, master! I shall also do the honors of paying as I see fit.]
". . .as you see fit??"
At that moment, however, a yell resounded.
"There he is!"
The trio turned to see a group of 5 players running their way, winding through the burned trees. Each of them held a sword in hand, a testament to the fact that a swordsman would forever be a popular class in any game. Perhaps, however, the most noticeable fact of them was that they were angry as all hell.
"Fuck, I'll kill him even if I wasn't being paid!"
"But money is also money!"
The trio stared at one another and each drew their weapons.
[Player 'Alexander the Great' accepted your friend request.]
[Player 'Alexander the Great' accepted your party invite.]
Lucy blinked her eyes at Arthur's character information.
"The heck? How are you already level 5? Didn't you literally just booth up the game?"
"Apparently. . .I got exp from killing the players my flames accidentally burned."
Worm blinked her eyes. ". . .you get exp from killing players?"
Arthur shrugged.
"Really? You get exp from killing players?" Lucy repeated the girl's words in disbelief, astounded at the fact. Then she spoke again, this time, sounding suspiciously happy with a chuckle. "Really, you get exp from killing players?"
"Oh oh," Arthur muttered.
"Oh oh what?" Shana asked.
"They're dead."
"?"
Lucy grinned.
In her eyes, she suddenly saw nothing more than a bunch of fools running towards her, ready to give her free exp. Not only was she currently one of the highest leveled players in the game, she also had the current single best equipment set and weapon in the game—a weapon with a lovely chance to stun, mind you.
Lucy laughed maniacally and charged forward. She dodged a sword swing and slashed as she passed by a player, leaving a trail of blue, the individual suddenly froze in place, half his health perishing in an instant while she moved to the next one.
"You guys really think you compare to me fighting 10 goblins at once and barely surviving?!"
As the players were puzzled, wondering if barely not-dying was something to brag about or not, Lucy slashed, hearing the sweet, sweet, sound of death and exp gain. As one died, she moved on to the next, dodging their blades. Having killed her way through 'Goblin's Outpost' twice now, she understood the battle system of Eclipse far more than most of the current player base. That was to say, right now, these under-leveled players were no match for her.
". . ."
". . ."
Both Arthur and Shana prayed for the souls of the damned players who might as well have been noobs before her. This was nothing more than the rage of a hardcore gamer exploiting a system. The dying players could only blame the developers of Eclipse.
"Remind me never to anger her," Worm muttered.
"Yeah. . ." Arthur nodded. Pondering how they got in this mess in the first place as if it were none of his business. He still seemed lost as to how exactly his magic had veered off its path.
"Are you recording right now?"
"One hundred percent. This would do well for my channel."
"The same for me. For my eventual article, of course."
While they watched their mutual friend battle—no—slaughter the group of players, the two individuals of business acumen suddenly found kinship with one another. Both simultaneously thought: 'Please die for my sake, thank you.'
LotsChrono
To think the first thing 'Eden' will be known for is burning people to death, slaughtering people far below them in might, and then posting it all online for money. . .*shivers*. Anyway, yes I'm back and now with an actual job to boot, so updates may or may not be slow.
Wanna donate to me (or buy my stories) and help a struggling writer out? Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/lotschrono
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Wanna help keep my motivation up? Vote
Want more interesting stories? Check out my profile.
[Umm. . .Alice has good news and bad news!]
Suddenly, Alice's voice tore through the three idiots meeting of fire and ash. Arthur raised a brow at the suddenness of the AI's introduction echoing in his mind and glanced reproachfully at Lucy.
"Why are you looking at me like I'm trash?"
". . .don't tell me. . ." The boy muttered.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "I know what you're gonna say. She didn't hack the game, okay?. . .at least I don't think she did. She's projecting herself through my network."
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"Right. Of course. And why can I hear her then?"
"Remember how you once borrowed Alice's processing power and skills to help edit your videos for you?" Lucy asked, "How you allowed her to crawl into your network, as well?"
"Right, that makes sense."
As the two butted heads, Worm, who had classified herself as the sensible one of the trio, asked Alice, ". . .what is the good news?"
[The good news is that the fire appears to be dying down. Judging by the reports of furious players being updated on the forums, there appears to be a time limit on natural phenomena such as flames.]
"Right right," Lucy nodded. Glancing around them, she could see that, indeed, though the forest was charred, the flames were indeed dying. "And what's the bad news then?"
[I'm glad you asked, Master!] Alice sounded all too cheerful to be the bearer of bad news. [The bad news is that a player by the name of 'Napoleon Dynamite' has placed a 24-hour bounty on Arthur's head. Using the forums, they have agreed to pay any individual who posts a recording of themselves killing Arthur. This player appears to be one of the collateral damage from the flames.]
"Collateral damage?" Lucy found herself laughing at that.
"A bounty? Now that's interesting. This would be my first one in Eclipse, and my first one in a full-dive mmo, too," Arthur stroked his chin in curiosity, as if the thing in question did not concern his own life.
Worm shook her head at the two lunatics. "Alice, how much is the bounty?"
[Twenty-five dollars per kill, miss.]
Lucy whistled, glancing at Arthur. "Damn. He really wants you dead. You know there's a death penalty in this game, right?"
"Yes, I do. Do you think he would accept it if I said sorry?"
"Are you going to?"
The boy stared blankly at her. Then he laughed as if it was the most ridiculous thought in the world and Lucy found herself joining in. Both of them being hardcore gamers, they didn't remember the last time they had ever apologized for killing someone's avatar.
"Okay, but. . ." Worm muttered, "I'm quite sure players should be headed our way as we speak. Not only are the flames that once impeded them all but gone, most of the foliage in the forest is currently gone as well. Meaning, there's no cover. Meaning, it should be quite easy to find us."
"Right, right," Arthur nodded seriously. "Listen, I have a plan for that."
"And, pray tell, what is this plan of yours?" Worm replied.
"I say we run. Preferably, as far as possible. Preferably fast. And, preferably, hopefully to whatever other town exists in this game."
". . .that's your plan?"
Arthur spread his arms out. "Do you have a better plan?"
"Right, okay, so," Worm coughed, clearing her throat, "I sadly do not currently have a plan but if you'd give me a minute to think for a moment."
"Should I start the countdown now?"
"I'm sure you're aware I don't mean an actual minute, right? I do hope you're aware of that much?"
"Huh, so you're a liar. . ."
"Do you wish for me to attack you too?'
"I'm good."
"Right, so . . .now that I think about it, why don't you simply start another fire?"
"Huh, okay, that's not a bad idea. But would it actually work twice in a row?"
"I don't see why not. Though the leaves are gone, most of the trees still exist. As I understand it, wood does still burn. It can also be a good chance for me to see the fire mechanics of this game in action, as well as how player avatars react and interact with them."
"Wow. . .she's crazy. Lucy, where'd you find this girl?"
". . ."
Lucy looked at the two individuals currently plotting mass genocide of the players after them. She thought for a bit, wondering if there was something wrong with each of their heads. Did they really believe they could take on the entire player population of Acron? Worm seemed to relish in the idea, perhaps chopping up ideas for articles along with her plan for analyzing the game further, while Arthur was clearly thinking 'this is fine'; he was, indeed, used to situations like this.
Lucy rolled her eyes.
"So they want to fight with money huh?" Lucy scoffed, grinning at her own incendiary plan. If there was something she hated, it was rich players who went around swinging their real life assets around. To her, that was an affront to the thrill and challenge of actually playing a game. If there was something she loved, however, it was when someone challenged her, a bloody Heartfelt, with money. "Alice, place a bounty on 'Napoleon Dynamite', make it double what he placed on Arthur."
[Completed, master! I shall also do the honors of paying as I see fit.]
". . .as you see fit??"
At that moment, however, a yell resounded.
"There he is!"
The trio turned to see a group of 5 players running their way, winding through the burned trees. Each of them held a sword in hand, a testament to the fact that a swordsman would forever be a popular class in any game. Perhaps, however, the most noticeable fact of them was that they were angry as all hell.
"Fuck, I'll kill him even if I wasn't being paid!"
"But money is also money!"
The trio stared at one another and each drew their weapons.
[Player 'Alexander the Great' accepted your friend request.]
[Player 'Alexander the Great' accepted your party invite.]
Lucy blinked her eyes at Arthur's character information.
"The heck? How are you already level 5? Didn't you literally just booth up the game?"
"Apparently. . .I got exp from killing the players my flames accidentally burned."
Worm blinked her eyes. ". . .you get exp from killing players?"
Arthur shrugged.
"Really? You get exp from killing players?" Lucy repeated the girl's words in disbelief, astounded at the fact. Then she spoke again, this time, sounding suspiciously happy with a chuckle. "Really, you get exp from killing players?"
"Oh oh," Arthur muttered.
"Oh oh what?" Shana asked.
"They're dead."
"?"
Lucy grinned.
In her eyes, she suddenly saw nothing more than a bunch of fools running towards her, ready to give her free exp. Not only was she currently one of the highest leveled players in the game, she also had the current single best equipment set and weapon in the game—a weapon with a lovely chance to stun, mind you.
Lucy laughed maniacally and charged forward. She dodged a sword swing and slashed as she passed by a player, leaving a trail of blue, the individual suddenly froze in place, half his health perishing in an instant while she moved to the next one.
"You guys really think you compare to me fighting 10 goblins at once and barely surviving?!"
As the players were puzzled, wondering if barely not-dying was something to brag about or not, Lucy slashed, hearing the sweet, sweet, sound of death and exp gain. As one died, she moved on to the next, dodging their blades. Having killed her way through 'Goblin's Outpost' twice now, she understood the battle system of Eclipse far more than most of the current player base. That was to say, right now, these under-leveled players were no match for her.
". . ."
". . ."
Both Arthur and Shana prayed for the souls of the damned players who might as well have been noobs before her. This was nothing more than the rage of a hardcore gamer exploiting a system. The dying players could only blame the developers of Eclipse.
"Remind me never to anger her," Worm muttered.
"Yeah. . ." Arthur nodded. Pondering how they got in this mess in the first place as if it were none of his business. He still seemed lost as to how exactly his magic had veered off its path.
"Are you recording right now?"
"One hundred percent. This would do well for my channel."
"The same for me. For my eventual article, of course."
While they watched their mutual friend battle—no—slaughter the group of players, the two individuals of business acumen suddenly found kinship with one another. Both simultaneously thought: 'Please die for my sake, thank you.'
LotsChrono
To think the first thing 'Eden' will be known for is burning people to death, slaughtering people far below them in might, and then posting it all online for money. . .*shivers*. Anyway, yes I'm back and now with an actual job to boot, so updates may or may not be slow.
Wanna donate to me (or buy my stories) and help a struggling writer out? Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/lotschrono
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/vwKhVUR
Wanna help keep my motivation up? Vote
Want more interesting stories? Check out my profile.
