"If you want to survive from now on, I suggest you follow my lead."
"Hmmm… I guess?"
Carlos was very impressed by how this girl dealt with the situation they faced.
"What do we do now?"
Emilia frowned, making a very serious expression, she looked lost in thought.
"Give me a sec."
She picked up a notebook from her bag and stared intently into a blank page. Suddenly, handwritten words started appearing, as if many invisible hands were doing the work.
"Emilia:
—Check on [Faction] members at school;
—Acquire spellbook.
Carlos:
—Find out information about family and friends;
—Acquire musical instrument;
—Meet Emilia back at [Brasilia TV Tower] at 12:00 PM."
Once words stopped appearing, Emilia grinned and ripped out the page, handing it to Carlos. She looked at the time on her phone and began talking.
"It's 7:30 AM right now. I've been playing this game since I was a little kid. Now it became reality, so I know a thing or two about survival. We must gather more resources and allies to clear as many [Quests] as possible."
"Musical Instrument? Uhm… Actually, those thugs from before took my violin. Why do I need it, anyway?"
"Your [Profession] is [Artist]. Music is their specialty, so once you start leveling up, you'll acquire [Powers] to use stories and songs to influence other people and objects.
"Alright, what do we do now?"
Emilia shrugged and spoke, matter of factly.
"We split up. Since I'm already here, I'll go check on my friends at school, some of them are also familiar with the game like me and might have been included in the system as well."
Emilia opened her [Character Sheet], looked at her notebook, and began tracing her route.
'I can't take the bus like I usually do. I'll have to walk 5km to my school. With my stats, I should be able to move quickly without getting too tired or being penalized, since the terrain is essentially flat.'
She finished her preparations taking a last glance at the map she drew with her new power and dashed northwards, taking a last glance at Carlos.
"Midday at the [Brasilia TV Tower]!"
After running a little over 100 meters, the expected message popped up.
[Marching to North L2 Avenue. Distance: 5km. Roll a D20.]
She was already aware that she didn't need to have the die on her hand, so she just focused on the desired roll.
[16 - You arrive safely at your goal. You manage to take a very effective route through the buildings and save a good amount of time.]
Emilia's surroundings began shifting rapidly and she saw herself in front of her high school, sweating a little for having run the distance.
'Woah, nice! So that's how it feels!'
[8:01 AM]
[Roll Persuasion]
[15 - You successfully convince your target about the veracity of your story, despite your poor Social Skills]
'HEEEY! I know I'm not good at dealing with people but… anyways.'
Emilia sighed and faced the gatekeeper of the school then began talking.
"Sorry, mister Enoch, I missed the bus today, that's why I'm late."
"It's fine, you never get here late, so I'll let it go this time. But don't forget that the gate closes at 8:10 AM, so after that, I'll make no exceptions."
She goes to her homeroom, expecting mister Mota's scolding once she arrived. However, she was surprised to find out that he hadn't gone to school that day. She stood at the door before coming in, peering through the glass and shifting her gaze between each of her classmates.
[Richard, Human Hermit level 0]
[Patricia, Elf Shaman level 0]
[Damien, Half-Orc Hooligan level 0]
[Gaby, Human Beastmaster level 0]
[Frank, Dwarf Champion of the Gods level 0]
All of the [Faction] members had become [Adventurers]. This was much better than she could have expected. The class was a mess, with students talking loudly to each other as the substitute teacher attempted to control the situation. Emilia silently turns the doorknob and walks in, at which moment the whole class becomes quiet and stares at her. After an awkward pause, they resume the ruckus and Emilia sits in her assigned place.
At 10:30 AM, the bell rang and most students leave for the patio to have a snack. Only the [Faction] members remained, exchanging naughty looks.
Frank broke the silence.
"HEHEHEEE! Y'all got into the [Adventure Campaign] as well! What are your plans?"
"Drink a lot of ale, make a lot of money and become strong, of course!"
Damien blurts out, his voice now sounding darker and louder. Patricia and Gaby remain silent, but Richard's words are much wiser.
"We should form a [Party], of course. No one knows exactly what could happen and this 'game' can't be as easy as you're thinking. Has any of you thought about the [Quest] you received? What about our families?"
The [Faction] members discussed the events of the previous day, sharing very similar experiences. All of them met a [Dungeon Master], Gaby, Frank and Damien having met the same one, while Patricia and Richard met different people. Still, all of them woke up with a [Quest], apparently having gone back in time. They found out that all of their [Quests] were identical, the only difference was that the [Rewards] had to do with their [Profession].
"Who's gonna be the party leader? We don't need to think about its name, of course it'll be [Faction]. But we never had a boss among us."
Richard said, looking excited about the upcoming arguments.
"It's simple, isn't it? Let's just roll for it! How about a D20?"
Frank suggested.
Everyone took out their dice and rolled on the nearest desk. They checked the results and a message popped up in front of them.
[16 - Richard
20 - Emilia
16 - Patricia
7 - Damien
15 - Gaby
13 - Frank
Party successfully created! The assigned leader will be Emilia. Richard and Patricia will thus be defined as 2nd rank, Gaby as 3rd, Frank as 4th, and Damien as 5th. Decisions related to the group are weighted by the participant's rank. Please name the ranks.]
And so, the [Faction] members looked at Emilia, some annoyed while others were indifferent. Only Richard showed acceptance.
"Yes, my liege?"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"Urgh, why did I have to be last?"
"…"
"Hmpf."