Lillian seamlessly logged into the game, encountering no technical hiccups. As her virtual surroundings materialised, she found herself in a realm filled with flat stone slabs and a vibrant array of differently-coloured slimes. A colossal tower, constructed from jelly-like green slime, loomed ahead, its density creating an imposing presence.
Strategically placed in arbitrary locations along the walkways were segments of squeezed blue slime, adding an element of surprise to the terrain. The buildings featured a simple 3D aesthetic reminiscent of classic games, each made from thin layers of ivory slime.
The windows of the buildings were an opaque dark grey, blocking any view into them. It seemed deliberate, as if they were placed there to conceal activities inside intentionally. This added an element of mystery, leaving one to wonder what might be happening behind them, but the walls were see-through, so mission failed there.
Surrounding the area was a towering wall of pink slime, not merely a barrier but also contributing to the overall visual appeal. Scattered across the landscape were various pools of purple slime, some with cascading waterfalls above them, creating a visually captivating tableau.
This was all pretty and nice. I knew that for live events like Mask, the location was chosen automatically by a dumb algorithm. But when you joined games on your own, you were supposed to be automatically assigned a partner—meant to be a companion. Yet here I was, alone and on my lonesome.
"I'd better stay hidden and perhaps look for Kai or Eliza because they are the only two I really know who are participating in this event and whom I can trust. Surely, they have already entered the game. I felt lost without Larisa by my side—well, technically, she was at my side—in the VR booth. I should just take the VR headset off and see her again, but doing so would forfeit the game, and that would disappoint all my...
She glanced at the corner where the eye showed the number of people viewing, and it displayed a flat 0. She finished her internal thinking with a big sigh. "Viewers," she concluded the thought in her head. Then, a sense of relief washed over her as another thought emerged: "Perhaps the glitch bugs are causing havoc, and the game is encountering some glitches. In reality, I have a million people watching me. The sheer number of spectators might have caused my viewer counter to crash."
So, I needed to be entertaining and put on a show if I wanted to keep all these viewers, but I had to avoid being careless and dying within the first 10 seconds of playing. I checked my stats, and they were all abysmal, but my Luck stat was always high. Do I really have a high Luck stat? I didn't even have a partner, and I spawned in the middle of nowhere, so I highly doubted it. My Evasion and Vision were my other two stats, which I couldn't argue with. Despite these strengths, my overall stats were lacklustre, with Luck and Vision being my highest stats, but they were still low for this game. The ideal way for me to play was to focus on combating small AI monsters and avoiding interactions with humans.
Therefore, my strategy was to run, hide, and play smart.
I chose one of the default outfits for my VR character to maintain a subtle presence and avoid standing out. The attire was a charming bunny-maid ensemble, complete with an animal-like collar adorned with a pink bow and generously sized bunny ears that gracefully flopped around. I didn't have a Dinglebarry, and not having one puts me at a considerable disadvantage.
I knew Kai and Eliza had set out to create their own Dinglebarry before this event; the two of them wanted to spend more time today and play catch-up, which was perfectly fine with me. I had enough of Eliza last night to last me a lifetime, as well as all of an afterlife.
Oh, the sheer excitement of imagining what Kai and Eliza would conjure up. I was certain, with a 50% level of confidence, they would create something epic! Like a ferocious elder beast-mega monster-killing machine that also happens to be super-duper cute!
It seemed that all the slime in this area, with different colours, had different properties according to their colours. A title flashing "Gloopers Paradise" informed me of our location. Paradise wasn't paradise without sun and a beach, but I was too tired to question their motives.
I closed the menus and suddenly noticed, just before they completely close, that the eye presenting the 0 viewers has moved! I was convinced that the eye just winked at me! I reopen the menu and find the eye was fully closed, leaving me outraged. Were they winking at me? The eye was completely closed! Are they asleep? Are all my viewers asleep? My 0 viewers are all asleep?
Well, fine then. If that's how you want it, enter boring Lillian mode! I wouldn't do anything to entertain you now! So, blah in your face! I'm just going to search for a four-leaf clover in the 'natural-looking grass' right here, with the grass growing right at the cement slab. I stared at the beautiful stands of grass, repeating as if it had been cloned, copied, and pasted over and over, in a very intricate and artistic manner. I tried to touch the grass, but my hand just goes right through it. These amateurs can't even apply hitboxes correctly to stuff! "Amateurs!" I screamed. "You guys can't do anything right!"
(•ω•)