To The Stage : Part 1

Whoosh.

The soft hum of the moving metro was interrupted by Mary's voice.

"Please choose an IGN."

Mary had been repeating the same message for the past 15 minutes.

Heather couldn't think of one, couldn't think of a name that would fit her as she traveled this world.

Something cool? Something random? Something that holds a meaning?

Heather just couldn't come up with one so she let Mary repeat that same sentence over and over again.

"Please choose an IGN."

Except this time, as the metro neared the school, Mary added another sentence.

"You cannot enter an area without an IGN. Please choose an IGN."

Heather panicked.

I have to choose a name. What do I choose, what do I say, what-

The metro's intercom suddenly came on.

"This metro is nearing Carmele High School in 10 seconds. 9.....8..."

"Please choose an IGN. You cannot enter an area without an IGN."

"6....5...."

With time running out, Heather said blurted out something randomly.

"I dunno, Myriad Alter!"

What the heck did I just say!??

"Okay. Your IGN name is ."

"The train has arrived. Please leave through the door on the right side."

As Heather stepped off, mind wheeling over what she had just blurted out, she realized something and quickly said, "Add an underscorse between the two words!"

"Sorry, your IGN has already been decided. It cannot be changed until you recieve the item ."

Damnit.

Oh well. I'll just have to get the item later, Heather thought.

As Heather walked through the front entrance of the school, a new voice spoke in her head.

"Welcome to Carmele High School! Would you like to turn on story-mode?"

"No."

"Okay! Would you like a tutorial of the area?"

"Yes."

Even though she already knew everything about Carmele High School, taking the tutorial would better hide her.

Following the tutorial, Heather absentmindedly walked from one classroom to the next.

Each classroom held a different purpose.

Second floor classrooms were almost all exclusively story-mode.

Third floor classrooms created the market with each classroom selling and buying different items. First floor classrooms were duel arenas.

The cafeteria served as a rest point and no duel-zone since you could not challenge anyone in the cafeteria.

The stage served as the finale zone for both story-mode and any competitions hosted in the school itself.

The gym and adjacent sport fields were practice zones.

The principal's office was where missions would be given out.

While Heather was listening to the tutorial and was exploring the gym area, a sudden annoucement was made.

"Player has been challenged by Player . Duel will commence now in Classroom 1-4."

A duel already? Who the hell is and why did they challenge someone already??

Heather quickly left the gym, following a massive crowd of players eager to watch the duel.

As the crowd neared Classroom 1-4, Heather quickly realized that not everyone could fit into the classroom.

Trying to see above the heads of other players, all Heather could was the muffled sound of voices and the occasional clang of blades.

After a few minutes, the annoucement came on again.

"Duel has been completed. has won. Player , please decide your award."

What? This fast? How good is , Heather wondered.

And then.

"Player has asked Player a question."

"Player is a ! Congratulations to Player . You will recieve an award tomorrow. You cannot ask the question again for a month."

Ba-dump.

Heather felt a single drop of cold sweat drip down her chin.

A has already been found and it's only the first day. Which has this kind of skill? Which could identify a so quickly??

Suddenly, the crowd split in two, creating a single opening in the middle.

The sound of footsteps seemed to echo around Heather as a single player.

walked down the middle of the crowd, everyone's eyes on this strange player.

His character was tall with blue-streaked dark black hair. His eyes were two different colors, one gray-ish silver and the other a deep blue. His clothes were still that of a beginning player yet the air around him seemed to stop moving.

As walked through the crowd, his eyes glanced over the players.

As if he was looking for another , Heather realized. She gulped and fought to maintain her composure and wiped away the drop of sweat.

When brushed his eyes over her, Heather simply stared back undaunted like everyone else.

His eyes. There was a tint of hardness and certainty, at such a level that only existed in one known hunter.

He's . I've already found and kind of met the most dangerous in D.O., Heather thought.

continued his walk through the crowd before disappearing in the distance.

As soon as he left, the crowd instantly began to mutter among themselves.

"That's ! That has to be!"

"Look at him! He's so handsome, OMG."

"So that's the best . Truly, he lives up to his name."

Heather simply said nothing, quickly making her way back to the gym.

It seemed that was already on the move having discovered a so quickly.

Heather would have to act fast to obtain the item that would guarantee her own safety if only for a little while.

I must get it. I must complete the mission that will give me the item, -Theatre Mask: Lie-. How many missions will I need to complete before I get that mission?

Heather paused, thinking through the math.

1 unranked mission for E rank, 5 E missions for D, 10 D for C, 15 C for B, 20 B for A, 50 A for S, and 80 S for SS. So that would be a grand total of 181 missions.

Heather paused for a second to check a notification that had appeared.

"You have been assigned an unranked mission! Please go to the principal's office to begin!"

I'll have to start now and grind all 181 missions as fast as I can.

The faster I do them, the faster I can get out of here and go the Black Market.

Heather took a deep breath before making her way towards the principal's office.

Opening the door, she slammed her hand on the principal's desk, startling the few players who were also in the office.

"I'd like to accept the mission *Catching Mice*."