DOL is an open-world VRMMORPG multiplayer game that allows players to do whatever they can try and want.
As long as they are able to.
And, according to the backstory of the character they are using.
In other words, they can do anything, even killing. However, there are risks and reciprocity that they will have to deal with later.
***
"Hah?"
When Lena – Leen Brawn – entered the game, he was immediately confronted by a crowded people.
"Where am I—"
Leen was just about to check the situation around him when the people walking behind him pushed Leen to the ground.
The ground beneath them was muddy, so Leen soon became full of dirt.
In the midst of his confusion, a transparent screen of the game appeared in front of him.
There is a brief explanation of the character's backstory.
[Character's Backstory: Your village has been destroyed by the Demon King's army. You are a refugee who is currently seeking refuge in a nearby Town. The journey will be difficult and full of dangers, so be careful.]
Leen stood up and looked around.
They were currently moving in groups and rushing through muddy roads in the middle of the forest.
Among them, some even carried swords and spears.
The number of refugees numbered more than 100, with the percentage of young children and women in the group being 80%.
20% of them are adult males who seem to have combat abilities to some extent.
Situation... Is doesn't look good.
A little confused, Leen tried to log out first.
However, he couldn't.
[Players are not allowed to log out during the Event.]
"Event?"
Leen widened his eyes.
Could this be an Escape event?
With his experience in playing many other games, Leen was able to quickly guess what was going on.
In his character's backstory, his village had just been destroyed by the Demon King's army, and they were its refugees.
There are possible hazards on the way. In other words, there was a chance that the Demon King's army or wild monsters would attack them on the way!
"Damn!"
Leen cursed himself for being so unlucky.
The only male character he had had a very bad backstory!
What should I do to survive with this little boy's weak body?
Just as the mud-covered Leen was pondering many things, a man with a sword came up to him.
"You! Don't just stood there, hurry up!"
Leen immediately came to his senses and quickly replied.
"S-Sorry!"
He ran and immediately chased after the group of refugees in front of him.
Even so, his brain continues to work relentlessly in trying to find a solution to his current situation.
Leen remembers his character's abilities.
Other than a Skill called Learning, his character has no other Skills.
And Learning sounded more like an intelligence buff skill than a combat skill, so Learning probably wouldn't be useful at this point.
"Ahh!"
Just as Leen was struggling to find a way to safely complete the event, a girl's scream sounded from the front of the refugee group.
When Leen searched for the voice, he found a girl the same age as Leen's character sitting on the muddy ground and crying.
The other group of refugees did not care about the girl.
The other adult men also only urged the girl to move, but they abandoned her after she remained motionless.
"Where is this~! I don't like this! Riona, help me! I want to Log out!"
Leen stopped after hearing what the girl said.
Log out.
It was a word that was definitely only known by the players.
So, this girl must be an unlucky player like Leen who was caught up in this terrible Event!
Leen quickly turned around and walked towards the girl.
As Leen walked over, he began to notice the girl's unique features.
The hair on her head is light blue.
Due to the mud that covered her face earlier, Leen failed to notice it from a distance.
However, that is not the important thing at the moment.
"Hey, are you also a player?"
Leen quickly asked without caring about the girl's crying at all.
"Huh?"
The girl wiped away her tears when she heard Leen's question.
"Player?"
After processing what happened for a while, the girl finally realized that Leen must also be a Player like her, so she immediately smiled brightly.
"You're also a player!"
Leen reached out his hand and helped the girl stand up in response.
The boy and the girl, both covered in mud, were now standing side by side.
Leen smiled and introduced himself.
"That's right, I'm a player. Call me Leen."
The girl nodded.
"Leen... Okay! My name is Bluevoice."
Leen stared strangely at the girl.
"That's your name?"
The girl nodded, looking embarrassed.
"Player name, yes..."
After their brief conversation, Leen soon realized that they had fallen far behind the refugee group.
"This is bad, we can't be left behind by them!"
Leen pulled Bluevoice with him and quickly ran after the group of refugees.
The ground around the place was muddy, so they had to tread carefully.
Bluevoice's face is a reflection of confusion.
"W-Where are we going, Leen?"
Leen shook his head.
"I don't know. According to my guess, this is an Event that requires us to escape from monsters or the Demon King's army."
Leen then looked at Bluevoice.
"You remember your character's backstory, right?"
"Yes..." Bluevoice replied, "My character is an orphan girl in the village. The village was destroyed by the Demon King's Army who came to attack. So, we're currently on our way to the nearest Town..."
Leen nodded.
"That's right. We are on our way, we haven't really escaped danger yet!"
Bluevoice widened her eyes when she completely understood what Leen was actually trying to say.
"What... What should we do? A-Are we going to be killed or captured by the Demon King's Army?"
When the two of them walked in the middle of the group of refugees, their faces were extremely gloomy.
Leen thought for a moment before asking Bluevoice.
"That's right, can you show me your status?"
"W-wait a minute..."
Bluevoice only had Leen to rely on at this point, so she quickly showed her status to Leen without even asking what Leen wanted to do with her status.
A transparent screen appeared before Leen.
This status transparent can only be seen by the player self and the people he or she allows to see it (including NPCs), so no one else will be able to see it.
[Player Name: Bluevoice.]
[Race: Human.]
[Sex: Woman.]
[Age: 11 y/o.]
[Level: 1.]
[Job:...]
[Strength: 2][Defense: 1][Magic: 5]
[Speed: 2][Stamina: 1][Wise: 4]
[Luck: 15]
[Innate Skill: Conceal.]
Leen quickly focused his gaze on Bluevoice's Skill.
"Conceal? What kind of Skill is this?"
Bluevoice opened her lips to answer Leen's question.
However, at that moment, shouts were heard from the back of the refugee group.
"Demon King's Army!"
"The Demon King's army is coming in pursuit!"
The faces of all the refugees became panicked.
Everyone started running as fast as they could.
Bluevoice was just about to run when she realized that Leen was not moving and was just staring at the sky.
"Leen? What's wrong? We must escape immediately—"
"That's in vain," Leen replied, "This place has been closed by a barrier."
Did I accidentally turn on Hardcore mode?
Laughing dryly, Leen thought so.
However, the DOL does not have a difficulty setting.
He was just unlucky.