Earth: How did we forget?
Loki was finishing off a glass of water, watching his Xp go up.
[Daily Challenge 1 Completed: +5 Xp]
[920/1000 Xp]
Loki smiled to himself, thinking of the 5 people he had defeated yesterday. He was still smiling when Nishan came up to him.
"Hey," Nishan said. "Daphne told us about your system adding you 20 Xp whenever you defeat someone virtually."
"And...?" Even though they were technically friends, they weren't close or buddies.
"Want to come practice with me? I need to get some practice, so if I beat you, I know I'm still good, but if you beat me, you get Xp."
"Sounds good to me." Loki and Nishan headed to the underground gym again.
Once they were in the game and ready to fight, Nishan chose to fight with his Fire Ability. "What are you going to use?"
"A dagger," Loki replied. "I need to get used to using a dagger if I'm ever going to use Basiliscus properly."
{Ready? 3... 2... 1... Begin!}
Nishan summoned fire arrows and shot them at Loki. He dived out of the way, using his speed to his advantage and running up to Nishan, slashing at him. Nishan dodged, making a fire wall between him and Loki to create some space between them. Loki jumped out of the path of the fire and ran at Nishan again, faking a slash at him before stabbing Nishan in the stomach. Nishan gasped, stumbling backwards, light pouring out of the wound before it healed.
Nishan grunted as the wound healed itself. "Why did you stab me? You know holding the dagger at my throat is enough, right?"
"Haha," Loki rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I just wanted to see what would have happened if this was a real enemy. Looks like you probably would have died."
"Just because this isn't real, doesn't mean I can't feel the pain, asshole," Nishan cursed.
[Secret Combat Quest Completed: +20 Xp]
[830/1000 Xp]
"Looks like I leveled up, too," Loki grinned. "Just another 130 Xp and I'll be at Level 8!"
"How long have we been in Aranea again?" Nishan wondered. "Have we always been here?"
"I can't really remember," Loki shrugged. "And why are you talking so openly about stuff like that?"
"The VR combat system is private, remember? Even the ones who invented this can't see our personal info, it's all scrambled up. That's why so many people use it, because it is guaranteed that no one can find out who they really are."
"Right," Loki shook his head slightly. "How do you know that again?"
"I can't remember either," Nishan replied. "I just know it's real. Anyway, aren't you going to fight more people? You should level up soon, you know."
"Right," Loki said. "I want to have a Random Battle with any Level 1."
{Random Battle being assigned: Player found}
{UltimateSystem will be going up against Phantom_Player}
Loki spawned in another arena, a boy waiting there already.
"Come on," Phantom_Player growled impatiently. "Let's get this started!"
"Wait! What are you using-"
{Ready? 3... 2... 1... Begin!}
The boy lunged at Loki with large mace, bringing it down on where Loki was. Loki managed to jump out of the way before the ground he previously was standing on cracked. The boy lunged again and Loki dodged once more. While dodging a few more strikes, Loki noted that though the boy was really strong, he was about average speed and was extremely rash. Using that to his advantage, Loki taunted, "Come on! Can't you do better than that? You're weak!"
Phantom_Player growled as he lunged once more. Loki dodged out of the way, holding the dagger to the boy's throat.
"... I surrender," Phantom_Player muttered.
[Secret Combat Quest Completed: +20 Xp]
[850/1000 Xp]
"Yes!" Loki cheered aloud, forgetting that someone else was there.
"You think you're so good, huh?" Phantom_Player yelled. "Fight with me a few more rounds!"
He and Loki fought a couple more rounds, Loki winning each time.
They were currently fighting their 7th game, and Loki quickly disarmed Phantom_Player, pinning him down with his own mace.
"Argh! Why do you keep winning?"
Loki didn't get a chance to answer as the combat system rang out.
{UltimateSystem has leveled up}
{UltimateSystem is now Level 2}
{UltimateSystem has now unlocked the combat boosters}
{UltimateSystem is able to equip one combat booster per fight}
"Combat boosters...?" Loki said, not quite understanding.
"How dense are you?" The boy rolled his eyes. "Combat boosters are things like gauntlets, helmets, armor, boots, that sort of thing. Now come one, aren't you going to fight me again?"
"Are you sure?" Loki asked. "i mean, technically you're Level 1 and I'm now Level 2."
"Oi! Are you looking down on me? Huh?" The boy yelled.
"Um, no," Loki said.
"Then fight me, you coward!"
They started another round, Loki, with the help of a pair of boots, finished the fight much quicker than before.
Loki beat Phantom_Player quickly, and his own personal screen flashed.
[You have Leveled Up]
[You are now Level 8]
[10/1200 Xp]
[You have obtained a stat point]
[Where would you like to add the stat point?]
'Add to my speed, please," Loki said, barely concealing his excitement from Phantom_Player.
[Stat point has been added to Speed]
[Strength: 12/12]
[Stamina: 12/12]
[Agility: 11/11]
[Speed: 12/12]
[You have unlocked a new Combat Skill]
[Combat Skill: Weapons: Knife Throw]
[Knife Throw allows you to hit whatever you throw your knife at, as long as the target is within 20 meters of you]
[When using Knife Throw, it will -3 Speed]
[Telekinesis has now been upgraded Invisible Touch]
[You can now move bigger objects with Invisible Touch]
[When using Invisible Touch, it will -4 Stamina]
[Basiliscus is now Level 2]
[Basiliscus 'Poison' effect will not only cut down the enemy's stats and Abilities for 1 and a half minutes, it will also bring down the enemy's health for 20 seconds, -1 Hp per second]
[Mystery Box has been awarded]
[Mystery Box will be stored in the Inventory until Mystery Key is received]
[Mystery Box has been stored into Inventory]
[21 spaces remaining]
"... Hey? UltimateSystem?"
Loki tore his gaze away from his screen, staring at Phantom_Player.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said."
The boy rolled his eyes. "I asked, where are you from?"
"Where am I from?" Loki repeated. "Aranea."
"Oh," The boy said. "Well, were you born in Aranea or did you come from somewhere else?"
"Somewhere else? Where else would I be from?" Loki inquired.
"You know, different worlds? Like maybe Earth?"
Phantom_Player continued listing the names of other worlds, but Loki didn't hear it. That one word rang inside his mind, stirring up memories. Earth.