Arriving above a small village, Rin stops and places the ship into idle mode, which makes it invisible to the naked eye. Then, he goes to his room to equip the custom gear he made: a Bo staff, katana, some custom arrows, and his Dragon bow. Suddenly, someone knocks at his door.
"Bro, I have a question about the gear you gave me. Are you sure it's okay for me to use?" Sasha yelled through the door. The door slides open.
"Of course, if you're going to be traveling with us, you're going to be needing high level stuff." Rin answered.
"I don't think you understand. The game just started and we're using gear that you'd find in a hard dungeon." She explained.
"You have a point, but if you transferred your data from the Murakami servers, then it won't be a problem."
"What?" Sasha said, confused.
"You did transfer your skills, stats, and items, right?" Rin asked.
"I can do that?"
"Of course, every game that I make allows you to transfer your game data. That's what makes our games so unique."
"Okay, how do I transfer my game data?" She asked as she opened her menu.
"If you didn't do it already, there should be an option under your character page. It should say 'data upload'. Press and say your name or aliases." Rin explained.
"Sasha Nakemaru," she said as she presses the button on the menu.
"Scanning the Murakami Games' servers for player data for Sasha Nakemaru." Sarron said as a smaller version of her appeared before Sasha's eyes. "Sasha Nakemaru, aka the Fire queen. Level: 900 Now transferring player's skills, stats, and items to player."
Immediately, Sasha felt the same burst of power and headache Rin felt, symbolizing the completion process of the transfer.
"Wow, that changed your potential level exponentially. It's up by 9000, making you the strongest of us. Congrats."
"Yeah, right. We both know that you and Avery are going to gain a bunch of exp quickly." Sasha said, as she began to breathe hard.
"Hey, take it slow. You just took a lot. You might feel a little bad depending on the skills."
"Now you tell me?" She thought to herself.
Twenty minutes later, Rin walks onto the deck of the airship to meet up with Avery, who was equipped with her custom gear from the previous game she played. Like Rin, she had a Bo Staff and a sword, but she also had two pistols on her sides.
"Where's Sasha?" Avery asked.
"She's resting. She just transferred her player's data from the servers. It took out a lot of her." Rin explained.
"Make sense. The process does implant skills and alters your body to use those skills. So, it would take a toll on a person if they did it in game."
"Huh, you studied over the FIG interface program and understood it? I'm quite impressed."
"Of course, and don't be. I had to learn about all the stuff you invented to explain to people who don't understand."
"Really, huh. And… here I thought the things I invented was simple."
"Right, simple." Avery said, sarcastically.
Rin laughed. "Alright, let's go." Rin said as he ran towards the edge of the airship and jumped off.
"Jumping off into danger like always. Will he ever grow up?" She thought to herself. She laughed. "Yeah, right. His recklessness is the reason why I fell in love with him… why I'll follow him always." She said as she followed Rin.
Racing down, Rin and Avery felt something huge coming at them. Unfortunately, they couldn't avoid it completely as they came in contact with it. Then, It turned around and chased after them.
"Rin! What the heck is that thing!?" Avery yelled.
"I don't know. I made too many things like that to remember this specific one." Rin answered.
"Oh great. We're being attack by something you don't even remember making. The ShadowBorne Protocol is just getting better at messing with us." Avery said as they increased their speed.
"Really, this is pretty simple compared to the Zarthrol invasion in HeroZ." Reo said as he looked back at it. Then, he grabbed his Dragon Bow and a custom arrow from his quiver and aimed at it. "Avery, on my count, fly faster. We have to escape the blast radius."
"What! Rin, you wouldn't da…
"Now!" Rin yelled as he released the arrow, which flew towards the thing at high speed.
"Sh*t!" Avery yelled as she grabbed Rin and flew down faster as if she was trying to smash through the ground.
As the arrow came in contact with it, a huge explosion went off, creating a small sun-sized orb of fire, which engulfed it.
"Woooo! See… easier than most of the stuff we dealt with." Rin said as he lies on the ground, looking up at the ball of fire.
"Yep, it's official. You and I are meant for each other. We both enjoyed that a bit too much." Avery said as she lies on the ground, looking up at the same ball of fire.
"So, is that your way of saying we should get back together?" Rin asked as he looked at Avery.
"As much as I would love that, we can't. Us together could do some immeasurable damage to the world if we're not careful. So, I think it's better we just stay like this." Avery replied as she looked back at him.
"Friends,"
"The best of friends," Avery said as she kissed him.
Thirty minutes later, they reached a city called Sapo. Filled with NPCs and Players, it is easily one of the major cities of the world. Here most of the players could find the easiest of quests and best information about the game. Not to mention, this is the only place where players and NPCs can buy special items called Scrolls. These were used to acquire and store items and skills. However, most of the scrolls were locked due to the user's potential level. Rin and Avery, however, were looking for a storing item, separate from their individual item boxes.
"So, what are we going to do first? We need to find a way to get stronger without standing out too much." Avery said.
"I think that's going to be harder than you think. We're kinda famous among the gamers of the world. Not to mention, we're also two of the stronger players right now. If not, the strongest. And the other players will recognize us."
"How?"
"Well," Rin said, nervously.
"Rin, what did you do?" Avery asked as she glared at Rin intensely.
"First, of all, it's not my fault. We're apart of ShadowBorne, so of course, they'll know. Most of our boss battles were recorded and posted on many social medias. Second, in the city's limits, everybody's names appear on top of…their heads," Rin and Avery sighs.
"You need to get out of here now." Avery said as she pushed him away.
"Yeah, I'm gone. Be careful." Rin said, rushingly as he looked around for the other players. Then, he instinctively kissed Avery, causing them both to have a confused expression on their faces.
"Uh,"
"Just go! Don't worry bout it!" Avery said as she turned away to hide her beet-red blushing face.
"Right, see you back at the base," Rin said as he took off towards the airship, which immediately drew the other players' attention.
Avery, knowing they were going to have questions about the flight function, immediately ran to the Adventurers' Hub. Here is where the players can register for a specific job they want. Whether it's Adventurer, Merchant, Blacksmith, etc, you can register as one here. And like in other games he created, there wasn't a limit to what you could be. It was a free-for-all job fair.
Walking into the hub's door, she immediately drew the attention of all the players and NPCs. And, unfortunately, it started a whole new problem. Some big guys, both players and NPCs walked up to Avery.
"Hey, beautiful, how bout you join our party? We have room for one more." One of the players said as he got closer to Avery's face.
"No thank you. Now if you'll excuse me." Avery responded as she pushed his head away from her face while covering her nose.
"What!? Don't you know who we are? We're the legendary guild, ShadowBorne. You know the famous ones who do the most death-defying acts in Murakami's games. And we're going to be the first ones to challenge the first boss in this world." Another guy said.
"I told Rin we should've prevented people from using our name. Now, these pathetic excuses for gamers are using it to pick up girls." Avery thought to herself. "Listen, AceDestroyer, Zathura," "Stupid names," she thought to herself. "You shouldn't try to pass this sad group of boys as a legendary team. Cause everyone knows, the Shadowbornes has at least four female players in it. Hell, even the vice-captain is a female. At least get a detail that important right." She said before walking through the group. "Oh, and before I forget. Don't try to challenge bosses with potential levels like those… you'll only be killed as soon as you walk in the boss room. Even on easy mode."
"Easy mode? What are you on about girly? MMOs doesn't have modes." Another guy said.
Avery sighed and walked away to the registration counter.
"Welcome, Ri. What would you like to do today?" A computerized voice said.
"Oh, it recognized quicker than I thought. Wait, I thought it was going to be my real name. If my gamer tag showed, then Rin could've come. For a super genius, he is dumb." She thought to herself.
"Ri?"
"Yes, I want to register myself for three jobs; Adventurer, Wizard, Martial Artist."
"Alright, Registering you for the Adventurer job, Wizarding job, and Martial Artist. You can now take requests from the Adventurers hub or anyone who needs help. But please be aware of the difficulty level of the request." The computerized voice said.
"Alright," Avery as she checked her holo-band.
"Would you like to register any other job today?"
"No thank you," Avery said.
"Alright, have a nice day." The computerized voice said.
Avery headed for the exit but was stopped by the same players from before. "What do you want now?" She asked.
"We want a lot from you but for now we'll just take your gear and money. We'll call it compensation for insulting us." AceDestroyer said.
"Really, you completely changed your attitude and personality because I hurt your feelings. I could've sworn the Beta test had an age limit. I'll have to message the GM later." Avery said.
Angry, AceDestroyer and the rest of his party charged at Avery. Moving backwards slowly, Avery decided to not use her weapons. She, then, redirected them away from her and countered each one with ease. But this was expected since Avery had a higher potential level. Suddenly, a giant armored warrior appeared behind Avery. She sighed.
"Stupid ShadowBorne Protocol." She thought as she dodged AceDestroyer attack.
This armored warrior was a golem soldier that detects any ShadowBorne player who was fighting another player in a safe zone and works with their opponent to make it extremely more challenging. Ironically, this wasn't Rin's idea. It was the idea of a battle junkie named JohnnyB, who joined ShadowBorne in a game called HellRiser.
Dodging attacks constantly from the golem, AceDestroyer, and his party, Avery grew annoyed and started her counterattack. Easily knocking AceDestroyer and his party members through the guild's door, Avery was able to focus on the warrior, which was relentless and durable.
Grabbing the Bo Staff from her belt, Avery got into a fighting stance and prepared to fight the warrior. "I'm going to have a nice, long chat with Rin after this." She thought.
Meanwhile, Rin is in the training room, practicing his Bow skills on randomly moving targets. At first, he was struggling to hit one or two targets. But, as time progressed, he was able to almost hit all of them in the center.
"Great, that's enough practice with the bow. I need to practice my other skills." Rin said as he put away his training bow. "What should I practice next? Sword skill? Martial arts? Bo Staff skills? Maybe I should go challenge the first boss? It would be the perfect opportunity to get more exp. Not to mention that first kill bonus drop." Rin said as he walked out of the training room. "Sasha should be waking up soon. I should leave before that happens. Don't want her following me." Rin thought before running towards the exit.
"Where do you think you're going?" Sasha said before Rin had a chance to get to the exit.
"Well, I was going into town to register at the adventurer's guild." Rin said.
"Okay, let's go. I need to do the same." Sasha said, not believing him.
"Okay, let's go." Rin said.
"By the way, how are we getting to the ground?" Sasha asked. Rin smiled as he grabbed Sasha. Immediately, Rin took off running again, dragging Sasha. Running onto the deck, Sasha got worried.
"Bro, what are you…
Rin jumped off the airship and dived towards the city with Sasha in tow. Screaming her lungs out, Sasha thought of multiple words to say to Rin on their way down. Suddenly, they stopped a few miles above the city.
Rin started laughing. "You okay sis?" Rin asked as he tried to hold back his laughter.
"Rin! You self-centered, arrogant ba…
"Woah think about how… Uh Oh. Sasha, tell me… did mom or dad decide to play the beta." Rin said.
"I don't think… wait, yeah. They said they wanted to experience something you created at least once. Oh, crap, they're going to be pissed. I mean Dad already disapproves of your life choices."
"And this is just going to add to those flames." Rin said, with a disappointing tone.
"Right, anyway, let's get to the guild before I lose my mind. You know how I am with heights."
"Right," Rin said as he flew to the Adventurers' guild.
As they arrived, Rin and Sasha seen Avery fighting the warrior golem and a party of players. Immediately, Rin rushed to her side.
"So, what do you want me to do?" Rin asked.
"What are you do… never mind. We need to focus on the golem. It's our biggest challenge."
"Right. Sasha! Handle these players for us while we fight the golem!" Rin said.
"Okay!" Sasha yelled.
Rin and Avery instantly appeared in front of the golem and knocked him away from the others.
"What the fuck!"
"The game just started!"
"How are they capable of producing that much power?"
"No way… Are they"
"What?"
"You know. The ShadowBornes! The ultimate guild that conquers every game they play. And their leader Rin Nakemaru, the asshole who trapped us in this game."
Immediately, the crowd of players rushed and attacked Rin by throwing small rocks at him.
"Are you serious? Can't you see I'm busy?" Rin said as he blocked and repelled the rocks.
"Rin, Focus! The golem is getting back up." Avery said as she grabbed her katana.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have people pelting you with rocks." Rin said as he continued to block the rock. Suddenly, one of the rocks hits Rin in the head.
"Uh Oh," Avery thought as she put away her katana and rushed towards Sasha. "Sasha, hang on!" She said as she grabbed and jumped up high into the sky.
Suddenly, Rin released a wave of energy that paralyzed the other players around him. However, the golem wasn't affected. "You're beginning to annoy me. Die!" He said with a deep, intimidating voice as he focused energy into his hand. He, then, stabbed his hand into the golem armor and grabbed its core. Ripping it out, the golem collapsed. Suddenly, a holographic screen appeared in front of Rin.
"Item required. Warrior golem's core. Crafting material."
"What was that?" Sasha said.
"Do you remember the game Devil Kings' Requiem? The impossible RPG game that everybody said was too hard."
"Yeah, why?" Sasha said.
"You probably didn't make it to the final boss of that game, but if you've beaten it, there was a skill you would have gotten called Kings' Domination. It boosts the user's strength and speed by 1000, and paralyze and petrifies the surrounding players regardless of a Safe zone or not." Avery said.
"Wow, so Rin has an OP skill like that. That's super unfair."
"Well, that's not the only problem. Last time he used this skill, he kinda lost control and decimated anything within his immediate vicinity. Thanks to that, he reprogrammed it to only activate when he gets a head injury in a certain spot. Think of it like a …
"Limiter! My video game god of a brother limited his own skill."
"Limiter, yes and no. He told me its works as a meter to tell whether h… Avery suddenly dodges Rin's attack by a hair. "You di… Just because I dumped you." Avery thought before punching him, sending him flying into a building. "Oops! Sasha, go inside the adventurers' guild. I'll handle Rin." Avery said.
"What! Let me help."
"No! This is ShadowBorne business. Member's only." Avery said.
"But…
Avery leapt away and flew towards Rin. Unsheathing her katana, Avery prepared a powerful attack. "Dragon EXECUTION!" she yells releasing shockwaves, that formed into dragons. Swinging her blade towards Rin, she guided the dragons to attack Rin. However, the dragons were impaled by enormous earth needles. "Should've known that wasn't going to work. Rin is the Alpha of Destruction. Such a move won't work. But we need to take this somewhere else. Preferably somewhere without safeguards." Avery thought before taking off out of the city. Angry, Rin followed.
Twenty minutes later, Avery stopped in a rocky, desert area far from people. Soon after, Rin arrived, blazing angry.
"Dang, I hate that person right now. Why aim for that spot?" Avery thought as she took a fighting stance. All of her gear went back into her storage including her chest plate, leaving behind her black tights and sports bra. "Rin, one chance. Calm yourself down or get knocked down." She said.
He grinned as he sent his gear to his storage too, leaving him in a burgundy muscle shirt and thin sweatpants. He then gestured his hand 'come on', challenging Avery.
"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this?" Avery said before charging at Rin.
Colliding against one another, Rin and Avery created a large crater. Avery, struggling, braced herself and let Rin overpower her. Crashing into a rock structure, Avery felt the air leaving her body. Flying at her, Rin radiated a red burning energy. As Rin got close to crashing into her, Avery dodged upwards. "Rin, you owe me big for this one." Avery thought as she made her way into the sky above the structure. "HAAAA!" She yells as she fires a powerful beam at Rin. She then hears roaring echoing. "Oh, crap. Please don't tell me…" A humongous beast casts a shadow on her. "I really hate that stupid Protocol." Avery said. Suddenly, the beast replicated itself. "Son of a… Rin, we seriously have to talk about that Protocol and its pettiness." Avery thought.
Suddenly, Rin appears behind Avery, still radiating the silver aura. Avery sighed, annoyedly. "Don't worry. Let's postpone our little contest later. We have a deal with this Terrain Beast." He said.
"Terrain Beast? You really made it. Why?"
"I wasn't planning on to release it this early. It was something made for an anniversary event. Heck, I don't even think we can defeat these two." Rin said. Suddenly, the two beasts replicated again, making four.