We opened our eyes and removed our VR Headsets. We all took in deep sighs.
"Now that was some game" I said.
"That was some impressive Training Simulation. Looks like there's no way for us to locate one another's continents just yet. Our maps only allow us to view areas we have explored at least once in the past such as our usual Hunting Grounds and things of the sort" Concordia said.
"What did you think of the game Ciella?" I asked.
"I sure learnt a lot. The time we spent in there almost feels like a lifetime but we don't seem to have spent much time in the Real World" Ciella said.
"Must be the doing of a Time Knight. They probably stretched our experience of time in the Virtual World and scaled it to a few minutes in the Real World" Mitsuki realized.
"I enjoyed the exploration and tutoring systems. Forgive me for saying this Arlene but certain parts of the game were even more thorough than your tutorials" Ciella admitted.
"No offense taken. Our parents, I mean, the elder Dream Knights have way more experience than we do. I believe they intentionally made the System wide-scale to allow us to zone in on specific interests and gradually customize our own play styles" Arlene said.
We looked around. It was apparently Night time. We left the second floor and descended to the first. It was crowded with a multitude of XCalibur AOP fans and fans of the Pendragon Boutique and Kirisawa Game Studios.
"Looks like the event has begun" Concordia's eyes suddenly lit up.
Keiran laughed and pointed to her while secretly whispering to me,
"The enthusiasm of a true gamer" he said.
I laughed.
"I'm pretty excited myself. Most of my training and Dad's back when he was young occurred in the XCalibur series" I said.
"Yeah, that game Mom kept smashing" I said with an amused smirk on my face.
Ciella, Ariel and Saito laughed.
"Okay, let's enjoy the event. Seems a lot of Gamers have gathered on the Bridge for the launching of the Game" Concordia said.
We walked to the Bridge and watched the event. There was a lot of talk concerning the histories and alliances of the two families without going into too much detail concerning Dream Knight Stuff. Things concerning Dream Knighthood were transliterated into alternate concepts and settings that everyone could relate to.
After the launching, the Gamers present were allowed to experience some level of Gameplay. Those with greater awareness of the Dream World were allowed to experience various degrees of the special functionalities integrated into the Game in proportion to their level of awareness. These functionalities were completely invisible to everyone else. It wasn't really an issue of the elite versus the ordinary as it was an issue of security and safety. These special features could only be experienced after the explicit approval of the gamer so they were in a sense Terms Of Service. They were simplified into light queries which the gamer could easily read and consent to.
After that, we left to enjoy the launching of the Game in our various ways. Keiran and Concordia left for an Archery Ground. Saito, Mitsuki, Arlene and Ariel left to study features of the Game applicable to Medicine and Weaving. Ciella and I meanwhile stood on the Bridge overlooking the surrounding River. The surface of the River had been decorated with Lights, Golden Lights that flowed all around the two islands. These Lights were coated in reinforced insulators and shielded beneath so that they didn't interfere with the habits of the organisms living in the River. They also took up minimal space on the surface of the River to avoid interfering with the River's Oxidization Levels. On the Western Pendragon Boutique, they flowed Counter-Clockwisely. On the Eastern Kirisawa Game Studios, they flowed Clockwisely. They lighted in sequence beginning from the top of the Bridge connecting both islands and ending at the bottom of the same Bridge. When the last lights faded, Pillars Of Fire erupted on the ground close to the Bridge's Railings to serve as a barrier between the Bridge and the River. They flowed Westward from the Kirisawa Game Studios towards the Pendragon Boutique. Fountains Of Water erupted on the Ground starting from the Railings of the Bridge close to the Pendragon Boutique and flowing Eastward towards the Kirisawa Game Studios and its Pillars Of Fire. When they intersected at the centre of the Bridge, the Water flowed in spirals around the Pillar Of Fire creating a pathway everyone could walk across without getting injured because they were shielded by insulating glass-like fabrics.
Ciella and I stared into the Sky, at the Stars.
"You know what's missing from this scene?" I asked Ciella.
She shook her head. I clapped my hands and clones of myself appeared each bearing a different musical instrument.
"Some good ol' Disney Music from 'Tangled' about 'Seeing The Light'" I said.
Ciella laughed.
"Didn't know you were into Classical Romance" she said.
"Just because I can kick an Armoured Tank into the Sea doesn't necessarily mean we guys are all about brute violence you know?" I said with a laugh as my clones played the music.
Ciella held my hand and rested her head on my shoulder.
Meanwhile, Concordia had picked up a bow and a quiver and was practicing Archery in the Archery Grounds.
"Think your margin of error has improved much since we last dueled?" Keiran asked Concordia.
"I thought you were going to teach me how to apply my Elemental Affinities to my Archery" Concordia complained.
"I have been teaching you. Do you recall how I keep repelling your shots?" Keiran asked.
"You knock them off course with a Whirlwind Wall" Concordia replied.
"Why do I resort to a Whirlwind Wall instead of a Wall Of Wind?" Keiran asked Concordia.
"The streamlined nature of the arrow will dull Wind Resistance and my arrow will hit" Concordia said.
"That there is the application of Wind Element to Archery. Why would arrows move slower through Water than through Air?" Keiran asked Concordia.
"Density, Pressure and Water Resistance" Concordia replied.
"Which is why harpoons are mostly made out of…?" Keiran asked Concordia.
"Steel, instead of Wood, and speed amplified through the spring-like mechanism in a gun" Concordia realized.
"That's how you apply Water and Earth Elements to Archery. Earth can increase the Weight of your Arrows and dull Wind and Water Resistance, Wind can Lighten your Arrows to enhance Speed and by integrating Water into your Arrows, you can regulate their Speed. You've already mastered Wind. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be a very proficient Archer. You began to master Earth the moment you began to alter the composition of your Arrows" Keiran explained.
Concordia smiled.
"Thank you Keiran" she said gratefully.
"Well, we're friends and allies. If I fail to help you become stronger while I can, it would be my fault if anything happened to you on the battlefield especially if I could have taught you a skill that could have prevented an injury but didn't. It's another thing though if I tried to teach you and you refused to be taught" Keiran admitted with a laugh.
Concordia seemed surprised by his statement and then a look of admiration temporarily came over her.