[IC] Summerland

[Kurotsune]

(( Mood music:

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find decent wiccan music? Cause I couldn't find any. Have default adventure music instead.

))

Kizaru Shoze

As you step out of the door, you see yourself in a forest. most of your surroundings are covered by the dense, large trees, blocking off most of your vision. Directly in front of you stands an altar; At this altar, there seems to be someone asleep.

A gigantic bubble appears in front of you: "Move your legs to walk!"

...I guess this is supposed to be the tutorial then? Is this their idea of a joke? Might as well get this over with...

Fayth

You step gingerly out of the door, finding yourself in a large desert. Gigantic dunes of unpopulated sand sprawl around you, and a harsh wind blows sand into your eyes and even into your... Undergarments?! This game just got way too realistic for your tastes. Way ahead of you, atop a dune of sand, you spot some sort of ruins... I guess that's where you're supposed to go.

Oliver

Confidently, you step outside the room to find yourself... In another one. Nice.

Someone got lazy with map development.

Either way, you squint your eyes to better make our the figures in the dark. As you do so, you notice the room is actually a rather long corridor, and something short seems to be sitting at the other end. It's... Waving at you? This is getting creepy.

Squiggly Doodle

Excitedly, you pratically leap out of the room! Only to find yourself in some sort of large garden. Flowers surround you, and their smell is otherwordly. Ecstatic, even. It seems to be making you really hyper! It's like you could just stand here and jump or dance forever! This feels great!

Something catches your eye, though. There seems to be a flower unusually larger than the others. You wonder if it smells as good; Maybe you oughta check it out?

Sattari Dawnwanderer

You step out of the corridor to find yourself in an island of sorts. The water seems shallow enough, I suppose; There are several other, smaller islands, surrounding the one you currently stand in, which is really not that large at all, only being online to fit you and the seemingly mystical portal behind you. In one of the islands there seems to be a coconut tree, which would be entirely non-remarkable if not by the fact the coconuts are golden and the tree seems to be glowing.

Well.

Work a check, I suppose?

[Sutoratosu]

"It's not real....it's just a Virt-Real..." Fayth thought in vain as she shielded her face reflexively with her hand and began to walk- rather haltingly- towards the ruins cresting the dune in the distance, though certain parts of her incessantly protested that no, this was very much real. She held her arm up before her face as she trekked, only partially succeeding in blocking the harsh desert sunlight overhead as she tried to guess the distance between here and the dune; The only thing she deduced for certain though, was that she'd have to do a nice bit of walking... "I wonder... is it possible to die from things like Dehydration or hunger here?"

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

Squiggly Doodle gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"This is amazing!" She shouted out loud as she jumped forward on all fours and found it wasn't any easier to run on all fours. "Guess I'm not a real cat… Yet" She giggled to herself, and got back on her feet. Doodle took a moment to breathe in, and let the sweet fragrance fill her lungs. The beautiful atmosphere was intoxicating, it was easy to forget that it was all just zeroes and ones. She looked behind herself, and found her tail. After a good 3 minutes she figured out how to move it and that amused her immensely. After 5 more minutes she figured out how to move her new cat ears, and how to make them twitch. After 30 seconds she got bored of both, and stared jumping through the flower field. Squiggly stood in front of the flower that dwarfed all of the others. Was this the way to start the real adventure?

[Chevaleresse]

Sattari raised his eyebrows - well, not eyebrows, strictly, but the feeling was the same - as he examined the glowing tree. He stretched his virtual limbs, enjoying the feeling of it, before shaking his head. He had more important things to do here than stretching fake limbs. He wasn't sure of where to start, though, and that tree looked interesting enough, so he started to make his way toward it in an efficient lope, feet making light splashes in the water. As he moved, he checked the straps on his naginata. They seemed to be set up enough, so he could free the weapon if he needed it, but they didn't seem to be so loose that it would slide out randomly.

[Jory]

Kizaru sighed and shook his head. "Tutorial? Are you for real?" he despaired, anxious to get into the meat of the game. "Come onnnn...." he groaned as he moved his legs, walking excitedly toward the altar. Once he took his first few steps, the bubble in front of him disappeared. He used the time to acclimate to his new arms and legs, admiring his lithe physique. "Ohoo-hoo-hoo, this is going to be quite the adventure!" he gushed. He looked more closely at the altar as he got nearer. "The graphics are great. It's almost like I'm really here," he joked to himself as he reached the construction, eagerly awaiting his next objective.

[Tacos]

Oliver's skin crawled when he saw himself spawn into the new world. He'd never experienced virtual reality, so this was a completely fresh realm for him. He did the basic motor skills test, curling his fingers, tensing his fist, shaking his legs, simple things. This is kind of fun. But, I wonder exactly how capable I am with doing things? Is my strength going to resemble that of my actual self, or the avatar I've designed for myself. Oliver shook his head to focus back into the virtual reality. He stood next to the wall and ran his fingers over it, feeling each small indentation and admiring the map developers for creating such a realistic feeling.

But that all changed when he entered the next room. "Are you fucking kidding me? Another room? Whoever hired these map developers deserves a slow and painful death, like being burned at the stake or some shit like that!" He kicked the floor, sending a ripple down the rug. "Not to mention it's dark as shit." Realizing it was partially his fault, he slipped his sunglasses onto his forehead and was able to see slightly clearer. He stared down to the end of the room to see a small figure waving at him.

Ugh, who the hell is this? Don't tell me they're trying to rip off Lord of the Rings with some Gollum or Smeagol type shit. Or is it a fucking leprachaun out for me lucky charms? Oliver thought to himself, not making any attempt to offend the creature before him. Guess I can't advance if I don't talk to it though. He took slow, gentle steps towards the creature, careful not make himself out as an enemy to it.

[Kurotsune]

Kizaru Shoze

Kizaru sighed and shook his head. "Tutorial? Are you for real?" he despaired, anxious to get into the meat of the game. "Come onnnn...." he groaned as he moved his legs, walking excitedly toward the altar. Once he took his first few steps, the bubble in front of him disappeared. He used the time to acclimate to his new arms and legs, admiring his lithe physique. "Ohoo-hoo-hoo, this is going to be quite the adventure!" he gushed. He looked more closely at the altar as he got nearer. "The graphics are great. It's almost like I'm really here," he joked to himself as he reached the construction, eagerly awaiting his next objective.

As you approach the altar you notice the person laying asleep in front of it is a female. A girl not long past her teens, with golden hair, fair skin and dressed in a flowy white gown; The stereotypical princess, you muse. As you stand in front of the altar, you hear a faint giggle from elsewhere.

"Pretty, isn't she?" You realize the source of the giggling is a small imp, floating near your left shoulder. "And yet her beauty is a trick, milord! She is in fact a demoness, and the source of all evil in this place; Oh, behold, milord, for she has turned me into this terrible form! Please, strike her down, and make sure no one ever has to go through this again!"

Huh. This has taken an interesting turn... Maybe you oughta listen to the (w)imp?

Fayth

"It's not real....it's just a Virt-Real..." Fayth thought in vain as she shielded her face reflexively with her hand and began to walk- rather haltingly- towards the ruins cresting the dune in the distance, though certain parts of her incessantly protested that no, this was very much real. She held her arm up before her face as she trekked, only partially succeeding in blocking the harsh desert sunlight overhead as she tried to guess the distance between here and the dune; The only thing she deduced for certain though, was that she'd have to do a nice bit of walking... "I wonder... is it possible to die from things like Dehydration or hunger here?"

It'd seem you underestimated your newfound abilities. Finding the dunes surprisingly easy to navigate. Quickly, you make your way through the sand, and reaching the destined dune; As you reach, a creature sprawls from the floor; It seems to be some sort of centipede, heavily deformed in it's appearance in an attempt to make it look cuter.

"Please help!" It cries out; "There's a giant sandworm devastating our city! Please, you must help us! Please, will you?" The creature pleads, and you peer at it curiously. Well. I guess that's where you're meant to go?

Oliver

Oliver's skin crawled when he saw himself spawn into the new world. He'd never experienced virtual reality, so this was a completely fresh realm for him. He did the basic motor skills test, curling his fingers, tensing his fist, shaking his legs, simple things. This is kind of fun. But, I wonder exactly how capable I am with doing things? Is my strength going to resemble that of my actual self, or the avatar I've designed for myself. Oliver shook his head to focus back into the virtual reality. He stood next to the wall and ran his fingers over it, feeling each small indentation and admiring the map developers for creating such a realistic feeling.

But that all changed when he entered the next room. "Are you fucking kidding me? Another room? Whoever hired these map developers deserves a slow and painful death, like being burned at the stake or some shit like that!" He kicked the floor, sending a ripple down the rug. "Not to mention it's dark as shit." Realizing it was partially his fault, he slipped his sunglasses onto his forehead and was able to see slightly clearer. He stared down to the end of the room to see a small figure waving at him.
Ugh, who the hell is this? Don't tell me they're trying to rip off Lord of the Rings with some Gollum or Smeagol type shit. Or is it a fucking leprachaun out for me lucky charms? Oliver thought to himself, not making any attempt to offend the creature before him. Guess I can't advance if I don't talk to it though. He took slow, gentle steps towards the creature, careful not make himself out as an enemy to it.

As the creature comes into view, it is revealed to be obviously of Eldritch origin. It's appearance is contorted, twisted, deformed. The creature's hyper-realism and the darkness around you only adds to the creepy vibe as it stares at you with pitch-black eyes and a contorted, scary smile. It stares directly at you for a while longer, and then gestures to a door. "Inside, there is a sword and a chained man. Slay him with the blade, and you can keep it."

Squiggly Doodle

Squiggly Doodle gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"This is amazing!" She shouted out loud as she jumped forward on all fours and found it wasn't any easier to run on all fours. "Guess I'm not a real cat… Yet" She giggled to herself, and got back on her feet. Doodle took a moment to breathe in, and let the sweet fragrance fill her lungs. The beautiful atmosphere was intoxicating, it was easy to forget that it was all just zeroes and ones. She looked behind herself, and found her tail. After a good 3 minutes she figured out how to move it and that amused her immensely. After 5 more minutes she figured out how to move her new cat ears, and how to make them twitch. After 30 seconds she got bored of both, and stared jumping through the flower field. Squiggly stood in front of the flower that dwarfed all of the others. Was this the way to start the real adventure?

Woo! Happy! Hyper! Happiness! Joy! Yay! The world is such a happy place! Alright!

You stare deep into the flower and immediately take a huge sniff of it. As you pull your head back, the flower blossoms in front of you revealing a small dryad within. It's body is green and the color of a healthy leaf, and it's... Completely naked. Cool, I guess, if you're into that. It looks at you with blue, beady eyes and smiles. "Hello!" it exclaims.

Sattari Dawnwanderer

Sattari raised his eyebrows - well, not eyebrows, strictly, but the feeling was the same - as he examined the glowing tree. He stretched his virtual limbs, enjoying the feeling of it, before shaking his head. He had more important things to do here than stretching fake limbs. He wasn't sure of where to start, though, and that tree looked interesting enough, so he started to make his way toward it in an efficient lope, feet making light splashes in the water. As he moved, he checked the straps on his naginata. They seemed to be set up enough, so he could free the weapon if he needed it, but they didn't seem to be so loose that it would slide out randomly.

Yes, your sword is functional. Wonderful. Can we move on now? Good. As you approach the mystic tree of coconuty marvel, one of the fruits falls to the ground and breaks open. Inside, you see a small cute fairy. It appears to be asleep. Guess you should wake 'er up?

[Tacos]

Oliver's face contorted in complete disgust when he got a clear view of the creature. I change my mind, this shit is worse than Gollum or Smeagol. He listened closely to the creature's request and threw the idea of killing an innocent man around his head. "And if I don't kill him? What will happen then?"

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

Squiggly's first reaction was to greet the creature. "Heeeeey!" She lifted a hand to wave at it even if it was right in front of her. Then she blinked twice and noticed it was naked. "Put some clothes on..." She covered her eyes and looked slightly to the side. "Jesus, isn't this game censored?" Doodle twitched her ears and uncovered her eyes to look at the creature again. "Although I'm guessing you give the quests for the tutorial or something?" She poked it's stomach with her finger and found it amusing so Doodle did it again. "Huh buddy? I wanna go play the game tell me how to go."

[Sutoratosu]

Well it certainly didn't take long for the fireworks to start... Fayth thought to herself, quickly examining the information that had abruptly appeared on her HUD after the worm had finished, soon after minimizing the message and making a quick mental note for later as she returned her attention to the worm."Alright, I will, sure thing... How far away exactly is it though?" now, granted, She wasn't exactly certain as to how she'd go about killing an obese sandworm on her own. But eh, she'd think of something... sometimes improv was a player's best friend, afterall.

[Chevaleresse]

Sattari sighed. You know, I really don't have time to go through all this nonsense. Time is of the essence. He gazed down at the sleeping figure for a moment, idly wondering if anything had changed. He almost wanted to continue with the tutorial to see if they had made any improvements, but, well, he had priorities. He drew his weapon off of his back and quickly brought the blade down directly at the fairy.

[Jory]

Kizaru looked at the imp, annoyance flashing across his face. "Tutorial mission? Do they think we're children? I miss the days when they just tossed you in the game and left you to your own devices. None of this coddling stuff." The lepus held out his hand. A green circle bordered by mystic runes formed in the air next to it. Suddenly, a vine rose from the ground and snaked its way upward into the caster's hand. It ended after roughly six feet, growing thick bark. He twirled the newly formed staff adroitly. As quickly as he spun the staff he lifted it high above his head and brought it down with both hands, crushing the imp.

[Kurotsune]

Oliver's face contorted in complete disgust when he got a clear view of the creature. I change my mind, this shit is worse than Gollum or Smeagol. He listened closely to the creature's request and threw the idea of killing an innocent man around his head. "And if I don't kill him? What will happen then?"

"You don't get your sword!" The imp chortles in glee. "Are you really going to miss this opportunity? This weapon is special you see? It'd make you unique!" The creature exlaims, gesticulating madly while pointing at the man. "Not to mention, who said he was innocent? No one's ever claimed anything of the sort! no sir!" The creature chuckles again, then stares at the man fervently. "Make your choice."

Squiggly's first reaction was to greet the creature. "Heeeeey!" She lifted a hand to wave at it even if it was right in front of her. Then she blinked twice and noticed it was naked. "Put some clothes on..." She covered her eyes and looked slightly to the side. "Jesus, isn't this game censored?" Doodle twitched her ears and uncovered her eyes to look at the creature again. "Although I'm guessing you give the quests for the tutorial or something?" She poked it's stomach with her finger and found it amusing so Doodle did it again. "Huh buddy? I wanna go play the game tell me how to go."

The creature giggles slightly at being poked, then snaps back to reality. "Wait! I've a super-duper important request to ask of you! Please, please, please pretty pretty please with a cherry on top, listen to me, yes yes!" The creature wails and flails cutely in an attempt to attract attention to itself.

"A creature named the Rübezahl, an ogre, is terrorizing my people! Please, please oh please, help us! Slay the creature! He's just over there!" The small fae points to an opening in the meadow that leads to a steep mountainside. Huh. Pretty sure that wasn't there a second ago. Oh well.

"Please please oh goodness please, you must help us!"

Well it certainly didn't take long for the fireworks to start... Fayth thought to herself, quickly examining the information that had abruptly appeared on her HUD after the worm had finished, soon after minimizing the message and making a quick mental note for later as she returned her attention to the worm."Alright, I will, sure thing... How far away exactly is it though?" now, granted, She wasn't exactly certain as to how she'd go about killing an obese sandworm on her own. But eh, she'd think of something... sometimes improv was a player's best friend, afterall.

The creature points in a seemingly random direction: "That way! It's that way!" And you're off on your way.

...Yet you don't take two steps and a gigantic sandworm emerges from the sand and swallows you whole. You're vaguely reminded of another game by this same developer where your character, an archer-priestess hybrid, was swallowed whole by a gigantic sea-dragon. I guess this is a recurring theme, or maybe someone's decided to single you out. Who knows?

Either way, time to start improvising.

Sattari sighed. You know, I really don't have time to go through all this nonsense. Time is of the essence. He gazed down at the sleeping figure for a moment, idly wondering if anything had changed. He almost wanted to continue with the tutorial to see if they had made any improvements, but, well, he had priorities. He drew his weapon off of his back and quickly brought the blade down directly at the fairy.

With a small whimper, the fae is no more. The creature dissolves into the ground, and a coconut falls in your face.

It hits you, bonks to the ground, cracks open, and uh... You can see... A city inside of it? Man, these people are smoking some crazy stuff to make this game.

Intrigued, you pick the coconut up aaaaaaaand you're sucked inside of it. Huh. You initially muse that the sensation of squeezing through such an incredibly small space must be what being born feels like. And then you immediately realize your life was a lot better not knowing how being born feels like.

Well, you recognize the place; This is Crescendia, one of the Moon Citadels. Deep inside the privacy of your mind, you find it oddly fitting that you'd end up here.

A message appears in front of you. "Please report to the magician's guild to proceed"; Followed by an arrow that seems to move as you do, likely showing the position of the guild. I guess it's time to move.

Kizaru looked at the imp, annoyance flashing across his face. "Tutorial mission? Do they think we're children? I miss the days when they just tossed you in the game and left you to your own devices. None of this coddling stuff." The lepus held out his hand. A green circle bordered by mystic runes formed in the air next to it. Suddenly, a vine rose from the ground and snaked its way upward into the caster's hand. It ended after roughly six feet, growing thick bark. He twirled the newly formed staff adroitly. As quickly as he spun the staff he lifted it high above his head and brought it down with both hands, crushing the imp.

The imp immediately flies to the side, shooting you an enraged glare "How dare you!" It starts. "I kindly point you in the right direction and you reply by attacking me?! Why, I oughta...!" A second strike of your weapon bonks it in the head, crushing it against the floor. The imp vanishes in an all too familiar glimmer of dust.

I guess, next time, he oughta get oughta your way.

The woman sleeping in front of you marvelously splits in half, her insides seemingly composed of shiny-gooey stuff. And then inside of her you see a city.

This game just... Gets weirder and weirder. Well. You approach the portal and the woman "closes" on you, sending you spiraling through her in something that is technically a level of intimacy no human being has ever experienced, you reckon, but then again you are discussing a pseudo-AI, so who knows.

You appear in the city of Wanya, one of the four moon citadels.

"Please proceed to the magician's guild" appears in front of your character. Well, finally, you get to get this over with.

[Jory]

Kizaru smiled. I Wanya get myself over to the Magician's Guild, he mused as he chuckled quietly to himself. He looked at the street signs and set off toward the Magician's Guild, continually impressed by the scale and feeling of realness in the game. He continued walking toward the Guild, observing the city around him as he went. I hope I'll get a good item drop soon. I feel dreadfully underpowered right now, he noted as he saw some guards walk by. I need to at least be able to hold my own against those guys if I'm going to have any chance of beating the harder bosses. Hopefully I'll be able to find a quest or something to help me level up soon.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"Hmmm..." Squiggly put a hand under her chin thoughtfully. Then she shrugged, her eyes closed. "Fine, I guess. Only because you asked so nicely. Plus you are kinda cute, come with me and be my pet!" Squiggly grabbed the creature with one hand, unsheathed her sword with the other one. She ran towards the area the creature pointed towards earlier. "This is the place right? If I beat it, you promise to be my pet alright? Pinky promise." She stuck out her pinky to the creature and giggled."Hey Mr. Rubhole or whatever your name was come on out!"

[Chevaleresse]

Sattari took off at a quick jog, trying to forget what he had just experienced by examining the city as he moved in the direction the arrow indicated. Magician's guild, eh? Quest hub, sounds like, should be able to run into someone there.

[Sutoratosu]

"Oh no, no... there is no way I'm going through this again..." Fayth thought as she struggled inside the invertebrates mouth, moving her hand to her waist and drawing one of the slender, balanced knives from it's sheath. She flipped it end over end in her fingers, gripping it backhanded as she made every possible effort to get over to the side... "Think, think...this thing lives in the dessert, right? And each night like snakes and other reptiles in the same environment burrow under the sand to escape the frigid temperatures- go where some the excess heat of the day was still preserved... though, I don't know exactly if the same logic applies here, but..."

She cut herself off as she focused on the small blade in her hand, Enchanting it to begin to chill the very air around it's hard steel, not stopping until she herself could see a hazy, pale blue mist of sorts beginning to spill off the knife's form "Spread...Freeze!" She mentally ordered the magic as she turned over and shot her arm straight up and over in an arc, lodging the weapon into the side interior wall of the creature's maw... hoping it would work.

[Tacos]

Oliver sighed, realizing he had not much other choice than to listen to the disgusting character. He opened the door and peaked inside, allowing his vision to adjust to the scenery before him.