"Hahaha...! I knew something like that would happen!"
Seeing this, Dharr couldn't help but laugh.
"What the hell just happened?"
On the other hand, Brookie was confused. In the real world, he was an expert darts player, so he knew exactly how to throw things. Though throwing a ball was slightly different from throwing a dart, the experience of seeing projectiles flying from your hand was shared across both activities.
Brookie turned to Dharr, who seemed like he knew what was going on.
"Haven't you noticed how weak a level 1 body is?" Dharr pointed out.
"Huh... Now that you mention it..."
Brookie then realized that his throw had a lot less power behind it than if he were to throw something in real life. After all, though they weren't world-class, Dharr and Brookie both had strong bodies in the real world. The level 1 bodies they were piloting were indeed weaker than what they were used to.
"Try again, Brooks."
"Hmmm... Alright."
The Green Slime was now only 5 metron from them, so Brookie was able to hit it accurately this time.
-9
It didn't die in one shot, but Brookie wasn't fazed. He lined up another shot...
-12
... and hit! The green blob exploded into a white mist, startling Brookie.
"Haha, I guess it is your first time seeing a death animation."
Dharr casually picked up the slime's loot while Brookie stood in wonderment as the white light was absorbed by his body, increasing his XP bar slightly.
"Grinding mobs in an RPG is something I've done so often, but actually being here and doing it myself, with these hands... It's a different feeling," Brookie said.
"Yeah, it is. You can't describe it with words, right?"
"... Yeah. I guess this is what Stein was talking about."
"Ok, enough of that. You're not missing again, okay?"
After another minute or so of walking through the forest, they heard some leaves rustling behind them.
Hearing this, Brookie instinctively went on full alert.
"Who's there? ... Oh, it's just another slime."
"Really, you got scared of a slime? Hahahaha...!"
"Man, shut up. I've never been in a forest before, so this is all new to me."
Wanting to avoid further embarrassment, Brookie lined up his shot and fired at the slime, which was roughly 15 metron away.
Though he still missed, it was clear that Brookie had adapted better to the new body he was controlling.
He immediately threw another pellet, and this time...
-11
It was a direct hit.
"Not bad!" Dharr whistled.
Brookie smiled as he lined up another shot, once again hitting the slime directly.
-10
The slime exploded the same way and his body absorbed all of the light.
*>+1 Copper*
In a similar fashion as earlier, his mind received information that money was added to his coin pouch. As he wondered how much money he had, more information was relayed to his mind.
*>Coin Pouch*
*>Copper: 11*
"What are you standing there for? Go pick up its loot. You killed it, after all," Dharr encouraged.
"Oh, right."
Brookie walked forward to where the slime had disappeared and found a small green blob in its place.
As he picked it up, he could vividly feel the sticky gelatinous texture of the item he was holding.
"This is interesting, too. Never have I even considered what loot from mobs feels like..."
"Hurry up and put it in your inventory. We'll be here forever if you dawdle. You seem really interested in everything all of a sudden when you were so detached earlier. What's up with that?"
Brookie stared at the slimeball in his hand while they walked forward. After pondering Dharr's question, he gave a response.
"... I've always wanted to travel, but I never had time. I've always wanted to go around the world and see, hear, and touch different things. I've always wanted to experience what's out there with my own five senses. Of course, there are VR simulations of various locations, but they're not that great. It's also not the same as experiencing the journey yourself. I think... this game can provide some sort of replacement for that desire."
"..."
Not expecting the answer to be so deep, Dharr remained silent as they walked forward.
After several more minutes in silence, Brookie noticed something odd.
"Hey... Why haven't we seen another monster yet?"
"Uh... That's a good point. I'm not sure, but we don't really have a choice but to keep going."
"And... What's that?"
Noticing something else different, Brookie became excited.
"I... don't know."
This time, even the beta tester Dharr didn't have an answer.
"Should we go take a look?" Brookie asked.
"Uh... Sure."
The two of them walked forward to inspect the unusual phenomenon. When they got near enough to clearly see it...
"Whoa..."
"This is... unsettling to say the least."
In front of them, the grass was turning a shade of black, and the flora were dying. In the distance, they could even see hints of purple peeking through the wilted trees. It was as if they were looking into a different world.
"So... Do we check it out?" Brookie asked.
"I'd rather not..." Dharr apprehensively replied.
"Just because you don't know what it is doesn't mean you have to be scared of it, man. You were probably a beta tester because you wanted to gather some knowledge about this unknown world, right?"
"..."
Dharr didn't respond to what was basically the hard truth.
"Look at it as I do; it's the unknown. We're discovering something for the first time. There are new sights, sounds, and everything else to experience. Even if you don't want to, I'm going in."
Dharr wanted to rebut by saying fear of the unknown was completely reasonable, but before he could, Brookie was already striding towards the anomaly.
With a sigh, Dharr tagged along behind him.