[Achievement Unlocked: Survivor]
Against all odds you have prevailed, faced innumerable enemies and faced precarious life-ending tribulation. The Divine Crucible condones your bravery. The almighty Gods shall recall your name among the myriad mortals.
...
Disbelief and incredulity. Miyagi's hands were shaking as he touched the smooth and slightly humid grass.
'We got away with it… and we got an achievement. C-Could it be, because we managed to 'kill' all of them despite the disparity of levels?' Miyagi, the one with the biggest in-game knowledge, was the first to question. As for Banks, he merely brushed the notification filled with 'BS' aside just so he could rest a little after such a tiring and euphoric event.
"Oi, oi! Maji de!? (Seriously!?)"
The notifications kept ringing, experience abounding for monsters that perished during the chase.
His level increased just by a unit, but considering how long he had been craving to level up and the fact that he had just recently levelled up to LVL10, it could be said... that the amount of experience he received was astronomical.
'All of that without killing a single foe...'
His gaze drifted to the cliff where there was nothing to behold past the trenches, not a single monster. He couldn't help but smile in the most wicked of manners, throwing an insidious glance towards Banks.
'We just discovered something really interesting, Banks-kun...'
**
**
"We managed to survive. I won't be stepping in the forest if lamentations for a good time" Banks breathed heavily, more due to mental exhaustion than physical exhaustion. His level increased to level 5 in one clean swoop.
[Skill Points: 25]
There were plenty of points to distribute but all he wanted was to take away the helmet and have a nice slumber.
'Too much action for one day'.
…
"That demoness was a lower boss! Did you get the EXP?!" By the time Banks managed to stand up, he was tackled down again by Miyagi who apparently couldn't believe still what they had just gone through.
"Get off! Yeah, I did get experience from killing her but why?"
"What level did you reach?"
"Level five. She gave me fifteen thousand-"
"Five… it took me a month to reach level five. And that's me, an experienced player unlike you newbie rookie!"
'Why am I getting degraded after I just saved his ass?' His eyebrows twitched in irritation, a grievance that he portrayed by pushing the elf wizard far away.
Miyagi smiled and didn't take any mind.
"When she struck you; the demoness- no, Valeria... she set you as her objective. The distribution of rewards is complicated but it should be explained properly in the user guide that you receive with the starter pack" The dark elf mumbled before beginning his explanation.
"I see, but you don't have the starter pack, right? how do you know?"
"I looked it up online, and sure enough someone bought the package and published the manual..."
"Oh, an Asian indeed'".
...
If the boss has suffered damage, the party to do the most damage to the boss is the one that gets the prize. If the boss is not damaged (extremely odd scenarios) the party to win the prize is the one the boss had set as its objective.
...
"I guess it makes sense. Who kills a boss without injuring it? Only you, Banks-Kun".
"Her name was Valeria… does that make me the first player to beat a boss in this game?" He asked with pride even though he didn't strike the demoness even once.
'It's not like I planned for her to jump either, Aish… there is really no credit to usurp here'.
"No, that would be me, Banks-kyun!~".
!!!
His behaviour had been odd so far, but when he got tackled to the ground once again, it was then that Banks realised something wasn't right with this Miyagi-sensei.
'He's too touchy-feely with another man!'
A kick to the face later and a decrease in HP had Miyagi laying on the ground, rubbing his cheek.
"Hey, release me! I don't swing that way!"
"You looked quite cool! Like Tarzan!" Miyagi thoroughly ignored his friend, recalling the scene once, twice, thrice... "To draw me by my robes. You couldn't have done that in real life you know? We would have both died. If luck stats were in this game, yours would be maximum!"
"Ugh, I'm heading back to Bellemere, I don't feel like playing any more for today, wait... it should be evening now" All he wanted was his bed, turning his heels Banks intended to leave right away without even the slightest consideration; a sight that made Miyagi twitch his eyebrows.
"Wait! Let me add you as my friend"
A few hand movements after, he received the request.
[Miyagi-sensei wants to add you as a friend]
He could either accept or decline. For a few seconds Banks just looked at the notification while Miyagi started to get irritated.
'They use the word friend too casually in these games' The assassin thought before accepting the notification, much to Miyagi's glee.
"It was nice to meet you, Banks-kun! Let's play again later!"
Having said his farewells, Miyagi started walking in the opposite direction to where Bellemere was, quickly disappearing amidst the bushes after triggering his camouflage. The elf wasn't intending to get into any scourge.
'A pity that they all fell into that river... that loot must have been amazing' He sighed regretfully.
...
A few minutes afterwards, Banks' eyelids opened back in his room. Heart palpitating furiously, recalling the pursuit and the thrill drawn from it.
'That was interesting... I think I'm going to be playing this game for a while more'.
Looking at the time it was already seven in the evening, the sky dark and his stomach empty. Nevertheless, Banks intended to just take a full nap to the next day, that was... until he checked his phone where there was a message from his friend, Tanner.
"We need to talk".
**
**
Japan, Hyogo Prefecture, Kobe.
"Banks-kun wa Kakkoui! Marude Ouji-Sama desu! (Banks-kun is so cool, just like a prince!)"
If Banks were to be in the middle of this room filled with neons, he'd be baffled by many realisations. What lay in the middle of this room filled with figurines, posters and neons. Was a beautiful girl with purple hair dressed in a yellow kitty pyjamas.
She threw herself on her bed and started kicking and rambling in a cute Japanese tone from the countryside.
"That was so exciting! He didn't give up until the end and... they took us out of there, even obtaining an achievement!"
She lifted herself up from her bed suddenly with an aghast expression, her massive breasts took a while to follow the momentum as she took her plushie and ran downstairs, out of her room and into the dining room.
*PA!*
Banging the door open, she scared the heck out of the girl that was preparing breakfast.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Reina!? stop banging on the door!"
The lady was a little older, at least in appearance. Taller, her figure paled a little in comparison to Reina's whose curves were pronounced even within such a pyjama. She was wearing a white shirt and extremely slim shorts that failed to conceal her buxom figure.
"Kurumi-chan! I met a prince!" Reina started shaking the beautiful brunette, taking her away of her focus as she prepared what looked like an 'omelette'.
"Sure, I don't care... sit down. You've been playing that game for days without end and you haven't even been helping us with the tournaments in Bestfallen, if we lose our first rank it is all on you".
She presented her complaints rather coldly and aggrieved, all of the brushed off by an exalted Reina who after putting her plushie on its seat, started to explain to her friend why her incident was way more important than whatever tournament she was talking about.
"Listen, Kurumi-chan, he was American, he was cool, he was athletic, he saved me and he also knows how to play even better than I do!"
"R-Really?" This time the girl was actually surprised, 'It is not easy to beat this girl at a game, moreover... she's been playing since even before the game was launched, how can he be better?'.
"Yeah! He jumped around branches and even drew me across a cliff using his mouth, I've never seen anything like it. I think he does parkour in real life or athletism. W-Wait, triathlon?" Reina mumbled to herself, in the meantime a slice of exquisite omelette was placed in front of her.
"You're just exaggerating. Before you eat, could you call Mana and Rika? They've been playing a 2v2 for a while now" Kurumi started to wash the dishes before even dishing out her and her friend's slices, sadly for her... the girl was still not paying attention.
"Kurumi-chan, I think I like him" Reina fidgeted with a blush.
"What nonsense are you talking about!? You just met him! Moreover... you're cross-gendering and playing as a male character, that's our rule!".
Outrage.
"I'll switch to a female character".
Further outrage!
"You can't, that's our guild's rule!"
"Mou... I'll call Nana-chan and Rika-chan then, you're such a meanie, is it good for you to stop your best friends' first love?" With a puppy face, Reina requested support; the support she didn't receive as instead her bubbly butt was slapped into consciousness.
"Hey!" She rubbed it with grief, there was no respect in this house towards the guild leader. Perhaps because of her usual shenanigans that warranted respect. Even if she was a worldwide renowned player.
"Hurry up, we don't have all day... FaKe challenged us to a duel this evening and you need to prepare yourself, playing Evanescence for too long must have dulled your senses, there are a hundred thousand in the line and it will be streamed, we can't lose".
"You meant FaZe?~"
"No, I meant FaKe".
"Sure! I'll call the girls!".
"Wait, does that mean you are inviting him to our guild 'Kuroneko (Black Cat), Reina?"
"Of course… not. He'd have to move here to Japan and turn into a girl. Those are our rules, aren't they?~"
"Good that you recall the rules that you yourself established, Leader. By the way our helmets are going to arrive next week".
"Wonderful, now we can make our guild in Evanescence too~" Tip-toeing upstairs, Reina was ecstatic, she couldn't wait to play with all her friends and with 'him' again as well.
'I wonder what heights we can achieve before the game becomes mainstream?'
It was not a casualty to say that Mr Miyagi was way more advanced in the knowledge of games than Banks could ever be. If anything, he had no idea of the magnitude of a player he had casually met and had an adventure with throughout the day.
...
Reina Murasaki wasn't just anybody.
Beneath that yellow kitty pyjama concealed a body that could make the brightest pope into the most wicked devil. Behind those purple divine eyes lay a scheming mind capable of dethroning the kings of any game. From an early age, she knew she could be the best and from then on, she had been nothing short of the best, at least in Japan.
She was the guild leader of the Black Cats, a professional gaming group and content house of Japanese origin. Their domain in the region was unquestionable.
Having reached the top 1 or top 2 in many shooters and RPGs, she had naturally grown interested in Evanescence, a pioneer virtual reality game.
She entered the mansion's main room to find a pair of ladies both playing in their pyjamas, equally ravishing and attractive. Their hands tapped on the keyboard like machines ready for war, shattering the other team.
"TEAM BLACKCAT WINS! PLEASE GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO MR. HOLMES & MR WYSSEMBACH!"
The game had just ended as the beauties took out their headphones and lay back, on the other side of the screen a cheer of glory screamed their nicknames, the nicknames of who they believed were a pair of hikikomori hairy older good-for-nothing men.
Little did they know on the other side sat goddesses in pyjamas who just won a tournament, ripped the profits, and then... they were out.
Reina smirked, watching the future... the same degree of obliteration, this time on Evanescence. Who would be able to face the Blackcats?
She knew her answer. Many... because Evanescence was such a game, one so devastatingly good that it would soon be famous across the world. The best of the best would play and she, Murasaki Reina... would finally get some decent competition.
'You said where money is involved there are no games, Banks-kun... Hehehe, how right you were~'.