"Notice: you have risen to level 2. HP, MP, and SP have increased by 10 and all other stats have increased by 5. You've acquired 10 skill points. The skill, Fire Magic, has risen to level three. You can gain more spells. You have acquired undead mantis' eyes x2, undead mantis' poison sac x1, and undead mantis' sickles x2."
"Um, brother, what can I use all of those things from the mantis for?" she asks.
"Hm… you can sell them or use them in alchemy to make your own potions and stuff like that. I suggest that you use your blood drinking skill to recover your health by the way."
"Okay. Blood Drinking!"
The blood that's assembled over Eris's head is guided into her mouth, and the young vampire gains a warm feeling in her mouth and in throat and also tastes sweetness on her tongue. She watches as the green gauge in her heads up display fills in the missing area, and the same goes for her purple bar.
"So drinking blood refills my HP and MP? I didn't know that. By the way, brother, am I supposed to taste the blood that I drink?"
"Yep. The game is supposed to be incredibly realistic. But don't worry. It's not like you'll taste anything bad while inside the game. What did it taste like?"
"It tasted sweet, kinda like strawberries. And that was very surprising considering that it came from a nasty bug," she says with a sickened expression, "Anyway, how can I get new spells?"
"Say, 'System Store: spells.'" Arthur answers.
"System Store: spells!"
Another panel appears in front of Eris. This panel seems to show 3 different tree maps. They all start off with a single circle on the bottom and then branch off into three different branches each one with more circles. The circles also have names underneath them. Eris assumes that these names are the names of the spells.
"The thing that's in front of you right now is a spell tree. The three spells that you have right now are the weakest of the three types of magic you have. In order to get new spells, you have to go through the tree and get your spells one at a time."
Eris presses the circle for the spell that comes out after the fireball spell and reads its description, "'Fire Arrow, a spell in which an arrow made completely out of flames is summoned and is launched towards the target. Has a 10% chance of inflicting burn or bleed on the target.' So I have to get this one next in order to get the rest of the spells on the tree?"
"That's right. And the closer the spells are to the top, the more powerful they are, so don't be surprised if you're going to learn some incantations soon. And don't forget about your gift box."
"Okay, how do I get to it?"
"Say 'Inventory.'"
"Inventory!" the vampire repeats.
The panel in front of her disappears and a new one takes its place. This new panel has a list of items in Alexia's avatar's possession including the materials from the monster and the gift box. She presses on the gift box and a question appears, "Would you like to open the gift box?" Eris presses the yes button.
"Notice: You have received the gift box from 'Big Brother.' You have acquired 1,000 gold coins, skill points x100, Lesser-Grade Healing Potion x10, Huntress' Shirt x1, Huntress Skirt x1, Huntress' Boots x1, Huntress' Gloves x1, Huntress' Blade x1, Ruby Necklace x1, Ruby Earrings Pair x1, Ruby Bracelet x1, and Ruby Tierra x1. Notice: the gift box came with a message…" the voice changes from a female monotone voice to the voice of Eris's brother, "Happy Birthday Alexia. I hope all of this helps. Love Arthur."
Eris smiles warmly upon hearing her brother's message, "Thank you, Arthur."
"It was no problem. It's actually pretty easy to get a custom game card made when you own more than 70 percent of the shares in a company."
"But are you sure giving this stuff to me is right? I kinda feel like it's cheating," says the little vampire with a concerned tone and expression.
"It's not like you have any OP skills with the items that I give you. Life is about challenges. If I gave you a bunch of stuff that made this game easy for you, then it wouldn't be any fun. The stuff in that gift box was just to give you a bit more of a boost so that you don't struggle too much. After all, you're still not completely used to your body in the game yet," Arthur says.
"Hehe. Alright then. Thanks again, Arthur. Inventory!"
For the next few minutes, Eris equips the new gear that she got from Arthur onto her avatar. The little vampire girl now wears a black shirt, dark red jacket, a frilly, dark red skirt that goes down to her knees, black leather boots that almost reach her knees, and black leather gloves that almost reach her elbows. She also wears a silver tiara with a red jewel on top of it, as well as a silver necklace, a bracelet, and earrings with the same red crystal. Finally, the sword on her hip has a dark wood handle, an almost black hilt, and a black steel blade with a fuller that runs past the middle of the sword and that glows red.
"I love this outfit!" Eris says in a cheerful voice.
"I'm glad. It gives you more defense than your original outfit and the swords gives you a bit more power with your magic attacks. Plus I know that red is your favorite color."
"Hehe, thank you so much. I'm going to fight so much that I'll be the number one player in the game!" she says with a confident smile.
At that point, the young vampire begins a mass slaughter of any and all monsters in the area. Surprisingly to her brother, Alexia is extraordinarily quick to adapt to her avatar's speed, strength, reflexes, and senses, almost as if she were made to be in her game body. No matter how many are gathered, the monsters are either cut into pieces by Eris's sword, torn to shreds by her claws, or completely destroyed by her magic.
Arthur is just staring at the screen, watching through his sister's eyes as she cuts down every beast she finds. The young man is utterly shocked by his kid sister's ferocity in battle, as well as her strategic sense. She is not just going around and attacking senselessly like a berserker, but is actually putting thoughts into her strikes. Such as aiming for the monster's main form of attack or even their legs and then going in for the final blow. However, it's not just her fighting that shocks Arthur, but also the fact that he can hear her laughing as she cuts down her enemies.
"When did my little sister become so violent?" Arthur asks himself nervously.
The hours pass, and Arthur teaches Alexia how to log out of the game and wake her body back up. She does as he instructs, and wakes up. She quickly takes off the head set, and looks around to find that nothing in her room has changed. Her brother is also still sitting in a chair beside her bed with a smile on his face.
"So how was it?" he asks.
"This is the coolest thing ever! I love this game! I'm going to play it every single day! I'm already at level 25!"
"25?! I knew that you took out a lot of monsters but still."
"Keep in mind that I have been playing for the past…" she looks over at the clock, "... 6 hours. And I only come out of the game now because I have my tests and dinner at 7 o'clock."
Arthur looks out the window, "Yeah. The sun is starting to set. Unfortunately, I have to get back to my apartment. But, I'll be back tomorrow evening."
"Sounds great," Alexia answers with a smile.
Arthur hugs his sister, "I love you, Alexia."
"Love you too," she says, hugging him back.
Arthur leaves his sister and the nurses come in to take care of the frail young girl. As the nurses check her condition, Alexia can't help but feel like something's missing. It's like she left something, a part of herself, in the game world. But she maintained her hopeful smile for the thought of spending another day inside her new world tomorrow.