Chapter 2: A Helping Hand?

“Hm-hm, yeah! This looks just alright!”

In Fate Online, for beginners there was a starter point in the middle of all the cities. When they first started the game, the game randomly chose one city before summoning them there. I was no exception. Randomly, I was dropped into the starter point of Pratumira, wherein I faced what the location was primarily designed with.

Mirrors.

Dozens of them, almost obtrusively bursting out from every possible surface, all of them gleaming in the high sun of the world I was in. Perfectly reflective, they really served the purpose they had in mind for the location they were in.

Self-Identification.

It was only reasonable. After all, as much as the players created their own physical models, it was still a little stunning and a bit disorienting to be in a body that was not your own. This problem was not one of my own, as my own appearance in this world was the same as my real one. In time, it would change as my will to let it physically develop allowed, but at that point I would be familiar enough with the body that looking at mirrors would still be unnecessary.

However, that didn’t mean they were useless to me.

“I really look kind of idiotic with that kind of goofy grin.” I stated to myself, carefully studying my own appearance even as the expression dropped off. “But…”

It came back on my face – very easily this time.

“It’s just right!” I grinned at my own smiling reflection. It eased a bit as my expression eased to match my real emotions; I was happy, but not that happy. “Really, maybe with this, people would really become friends with me...”

I placed a hand on the mirror, almost trying to reach out to the other side. Wasn’t it a usual metaphor that mirrors were used to symbolize people’s inner selves?

Maybe this mirror was showing my real self. No, maybe this world was the one mirroring my real self, my real personality inside me that I never managed to express in the world outside. Maybe my real personality was like this image in front of me; playful and cheery.

I took a few steps back. I eyed a nearby rock before walking up to the object and picking it up.

You gained “A Small Rock”!

A Small Rock (Durability: 5/5, Rarity: Inconsequential)

A stone you picked off the street. Now, what are you going to do with it? (Really, what?)

I took a few moments to stare at the window, very much amused and thankful that I spotted the ‘Interesting’ option for my pop-up screens.

“Well, if you really want to know…” I answered back, knowing people would stare at me for doing so but nevertheless speaking back to my pop-up narrator, “Here you go!”

I threw the rock at my window, causing it to fade away at the very touch. But that wasn’t what I aimed for; no, my admittedly-large rock flew quickly to its destination: one of the mirrors.

CRASH!

I ran up to the point of impact, eyes crinkling as soon as I arrived. True to my expectations, the mirror shattered into various shards and powder, the rock itself having cracked from the hit. Internally, I wondered at exactly how hard the one-inch thick mirror was for that to happen.

Ah, oh well. Good thing I didn’t choose to use my body to break it. I was only Level 1; maybe I would get a broken rib or something.

Coyly sitting down to the remains of what once-was-a-mirror, I gave one of the shards a soft touch.

A Glass Shard (Durability: 3/3, Rarity: Inconsequential)

A glass shard you ‘crafted’ through vandalism.

People shudder at the thought of whatever you want this for.

I shook my head at that. This time, I pressed on the powder; softly, as to not damage my own finger.

Powdered Glass (Durability: Incalculable, Rarity: Inconsequential)

Powdered glass. Snort at your own risk.

I raised my eyebrow at the caption, a smile coming to my lips at that. Experiments aside, this was an interesting object. Sitting back, I thought of what I just found out about this world.

This world was simply put, amazing. It baffled me as to how the programmers managed it, but somehow it quantified everything and anything that existed as objects – though, on second thought, maybe there were limits as to living and sentient beings. One simply didn’t pocket people after all. It was extremely heavy on the system resources, no doubt.

My mind boggled at the thought of simulating an entire world. How many Yottabytes were used in this world, just for the objects alone?

Anyways, those thoughts aside, I immediately tore off a nearby poster from a wall and used it to pick up as much of the glass dust as I could, gingerly placing the shards into my inventory one-by-one as I did.

I wasn’t about to leave behind proof of my vandalism behind, no, not at all! And if they seemed to be interesting, potentially exploitable, then that was something very unrelated to my decision to bring them with me!

“Hey, look at this guy. Hey you, are you a newbie?”

Immediately placing the now-package of glass dust into my inventory, I gave the new person a dose of the look I was going to use for the rest of my time in this world of Fate.

I grinned. “Yeah, I am. My name is Rain. Who are you?”

Maybe, these people would be my friends…

“Alright!” One of the new people I met, a blonde lightly armored man who called himself Caelum, pulled me up in front to meet his party members. “This guy’s name is Rain. He’s a newbie at the game, so don’t tease him too much if he trips over his feet every now and then!”

“Hey!” I jokingly yelled back, mockingly offended. “I’m not that much of a n00b!”

One of the guys in front of us clapped. Very sarcastically. “Wow, he knows how to use internet terms!”

“Come on, come on now Tonitrum. Don’t be so mean to the newbie.”

Caelum interrupted his friends before they got into a fist-fight. “Hey, hey! You guys, you know what this means, right? As long-time players of this game-” a strange gleam entered his eyes, “-we should help and teach Rain over here on how to play!”

I snorted. “Do I really look that inexperienced to you?”

Tonitrum gave me his only reply to that. “Yes.”

“Damn.”

I need to get better at this banter thing.

“So,” Caelum appeared behind me again, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Rain, want for us to help you train outside the city? The area nearby only has low-level monsters in it – just a bit of EXP, and then you won’t have to worry!”

A bit surprised at his generous offer to help, I couldn’t help but look away a bit shyly. “But I don’t have much in the way of weapons or armor. It’s not like I could just punch monsters with my fists…”

“Here.” Saelum, one of the other players around me, threw me a knife – which I caught not-too-gracefully. “You can borrow this if you want. And here’s some leather armor as well.”

He then proceeded to pluck out various parts of armor out of his inventory towards me.

I only stood there, shocked. “…You’re all doing this much for me? Someone you barely know?”

Caelum and his friends traded looks before giving me identical smiles. “Don’t worry about it! It’s nothing really – and sometimes, helping people in itself is a reward.”

Nodding in thanks, I started to put on the armor, pressing them one by one as to see their effects.

Gloves of Leporine Leather (Durability: 50/50, Rarity: Low)

These protect your hands! Not as soft as mittens, but no use in grumbling!

Increases Armor by 5.

Increases Attack Speed by 10%.

Pants of Leporine Leather (Durability: 100/100, Rarity: Low)

These protect your lower portions! Feel the tightness and boast your legs to the world!

Increases Armor by 10.

Reduces Physical Damage over covered area by 10%.

Armor of Leporine Leather (Durability: 100/100, Rarity: Low)

This goes on to your chest! Let’s hope this armor protects you much better than what it did for the rabbits the leather came from!

Increases Armor by 10.

Reduces Physical Damage over covered area by 10%.

Shoes of Leporine Leather (Durability: 50/50, Rarity: Low)

This is for your feet! Better wear some good socks!

Increases Armor by 5.

Increases Movement Speed by 10%.

I left the helmet alone. I preferred to have a full degree of vision. I then turned back to my knife, pressing it to check its stats as well.

Leporine Knife of The Rabbit’s Foot (Durability: 100/100, Rarity: Medium)

Weapon blessed by cutting off several dozen rabbit legs for a good luck charm!

Damage: 15-25 Points per Hit.

Enchantment: Increases LUK by 7.

The moment I closed the window, another one immediately popped up: this time, flooding me with even more thankfulness for these new people I’ve met.

Set Bonus Activated!

For equipping 5 Rabbit-related items, you get:

+5 bonus to all Stats!

Now, you can go out to the world and boast your skill in killing these harmless little creatures!

(Rabbit Ears are not considered part of this Set.)

“T-this… I can’t possibly thank you all for this-”

“Ssshhh…” Caelum came by me again, shaking his head. “Let’s just hunt outside the city already, alright?”

Giving them all a thankful grin, I shouted yes. This armor set and weapon practically boosted me up by more than eight effective levels. At this point, there was no need to worry about the low-level monsters outside the city of Pratumira!

“Status Window.”

I hummed happily over the sidelines as Caelum and his party broke out in laughter beside me over something they were talking about. I didn’t even attempt to eavesdrop on them – it would’ve been rude for me to do so, especially with all the help they gave me.

Status WindowName:RainLevel:5Class:NoneRace:HumanGender:MaleTitles:Rabbit Hunter (Gain 5% EXP boost to all Beast kills)-Health:150/150Mana:200/200Strength:3 + 5 (Set Bonus)Dexterity:4 + 5 (Set Bonus)Intelligence:15 + 5 (Set Bonus)Endurance:5 + 5 (Set Bonus)Wisdom:12 + 5 (Set Bonus)Luck:2 + 7 (Weapon Bonus)

+ 5 (Set Bonus)Vitality5 + 5 (Set Bonus)Charisma:3 + 5 (Set Bonus)Equipment Effects:Rabbit Set Bonus! : +5 to all Stats.Stat Points Available: 25

I was only in this game for just over an hour, and I was already well-off.

Caelum and the group – which consisted of a grand total of six people, all of them wearing the same light leather armor – had just directed me to the meadow fields just outside the gates of Pratumira. Almost amusedly, they first directed me to hunt down rabbits.

Saelum had even teased me that I was a ‘rabbit growing fangs’, especially with the armor I was wearing.

I wasn’t amused with the comparison.

Anyways, the first hunt had gone very slowly. Like all newbies, as Caelum had told me priorly, I had found difficulty in even hitting the first little rabbit I found. Curiously, it wasn’t because of the speed of the small creature as I had expected – no, I was certainly fast enough, especially with all the boosts I had with armor.

The reason was the little Pleine Rabbit was so damn adorable.

How could someone dare to hurt such cute little critters, especially with those shiny, beady looks in their eyes whenever people came near? They weren’t even running away! They actually hopped along to get close to whoever came by, rubbing their white fur over people’s legs and generally being cuddly and adorable and-

“Hey, Rain! You have to kill the little guy!”

The rabbit shivered in fright beside me as it heard the K-word. I gave it a calming hug.

“NO!” I cried out a little childishly, turning away from an amused Caelum. “I won’t harm little Fluffykins!”

There was a moment of silence until Tonitrum gave out a loud snicker. Blood rose to my ears in embarrassment – why was it so that I never had pets before? Now, I basically made myself out as a kid to all these kind people I just met!

“Rain…” Caelum gave me what was an attempt to be comforting. It was the twitch at the edge of his lips that made it a failure. “You do realize this is what those rabbits are for, right? Think, Rain. Why would they place such monsters in low-level areas?”

I froze at his words.

Thinking about it, he was right. There was certainly a reason as to why little Fluffykins and the rest of his race existed, especially at such low levels and so close to the city. In fact, I was almost sure all of the initial monsters looked just as adorable as the shaking rabbit in my arms.

It was for the very reason I was here. Desensitization.

No use thinking about it, no amount of reasoning could change the fact that the world I entered was a world of death. People killed. People died. People killed monsters and fellow people alike, people broke all sorts of moral rules in this world of Fate Online.

What more practice than to first kill something so pure and innocent?

A few minutes later, I gave out a sigh. I turned back to the rabbit in my arms, his eyes begging for mercy from me.

“I’m sorry, Fluffykins.”

There was no way I was going to manage to explore this world without breaking through that first mental wall. This world, this wonderful world of realism and fantasy – it couldn’t be survived without learning this first lesson.

A single swing of my dagger – which was no doubt had already tasted blood – little Fluffykins let out one final squeak before he shattered into nothing but pixels.

You gained 15 EXP! You leveled up!

You gained Rabbit Meat x1!

I didn’t get a chance to rest and rationalize what I had done, as immediately right after, all the rabbits in the area had their eyes turn red and their teeth grow and sharpen.

I drew their aggro without knowing it.

A half an hour later, there I was, breathing heavily on the ground, dozens of rabbit kills in my history and just as many rabbit-related items in my inventory in the form of their remains: fur, claw, teeth, and meat.

I took another half hour to finally calm down and give Caelum’s group all the fur for the help they gave.

"Hey, Rain, want to hunt Dirge Wolves this time?"

I tilted my head back to meet Caelum's ever-present charismatic smile. "Dirge Wolves? What are those?"

Caelum grinned, only to holler for his friends. "Hey, you guys! I think we should tell Rain about the Dirge Wolves this time!"

He turned back to me. "So, Dirge Wolves are the only other kind of monster around this area. Their levels are usually between six and nine, but the important thing about them is this: not only are they far more bloodthirsty than the Pleine Rabbits, they move in packs and work as a group."

I nodded at his words. "So, that means it's a way for the moderators to make people form groups? In order to properly hunt them?"

Caelum beamed. "You catch on quickly as always, Rain! So, are you joining?"

Wait.

"Are you..." I couldn't believe my ears, even with everything Caelum and the rest had done to help me. "Inviting me to your party?"

Caelum's reply was simple.

Caelum Sodalicium has invited you to a party!

Yes / No

I pressed 'Yes' like I never did before.

The entire group gave out a large cheer at my action. I couldn't help but give a wide grin at that - they looked so happy, even if essentially I was the weight they had to carry. Shaking my head at the antics of my new... friends, I played a little bit with my settings even as Caelum pulled me by one arm into another hunting spot.

Party members... With me in the group, Caelum's party was now at the number of seven. It seemed that Caleum turned off the equal EXP though - and for good reason. Myself aside, the entirety of the party averaged around the high-50s in the terms of levels, which made me wonder as to why they were in a starting city in the first place.

Baratrum. Caelum. Caendium. Ormentum. Saelum. Tonitrum.

All of their names sounded like Latin, and they also shared the second name Sodalicium. With all of that, the name 'Rain' really felt out of place in the party. Too bad that I didn't know Latin, or else I would've known what their names meant - if they meant anything at all.

I was untimely snapped out of my thoughts when Caelum suddenly yelled out loud again in my ears.

"Hey, Rain! We're here!"

"Here, what?" I asked, finally returning to the reality I was currently in. "Oh, the spawning spot for the Dirge Wolves?"

"What else?" Ormentum, the usually silent one in the group asked. "Is there any other place for us to go?"

"The question was rhetorical." I replied drolly to him and him alone.

For some reason, I didn't like the guy.

"I figured you needed the reminding. After all, you were the one staring at midair for a while now, am I correct?"

Maybe it was the similarity to my real-life persona. Figures. "Touche."

Anyways, ignoring social interactions for the moment as to analyze the situation, I shifted my attention to look for any nearby monsters. It only took me a second to find one - the Dirge Wolf mob Caelum had told me about. After spotting it, I had to wonder how I had missed it in the first place.

Contrary to the adorableness and cuteness of the Pleine Rabbits, Dirge Wolves were at the opposite spectrum of the monster scale. Thick, sharp, and red teeth still glistening with blood from its own bleeding gums were accompanied by a half-corroded, half rotten face. Muscle sinews were exposed to the air as the skin that should've covered them fell apart as these beasts walked. These wolves plainly gave off the feel of the undead.

They were literally blood, rotten flesh, and bones!

I suspected that they were for the opposite side of the desensitization procedure this time. After finally managing to kill the innocent looking creatures like the Rabbits, players still had to learn to stand up to the real monsters - the terrifying ones that had no fear in ripping people into pieces if you crossed them the wrong way.

However, this time I was more prepared.

"So, how do I do this?!" I directed my question with a grin to Caelum, the person I grew closest to in the short period of time I knew my party. "I'm so excited to finally kill real monsters!"

(For some reason, one of my other teammates shivered as he murmured 'Caerbannog'.)

"Great, great!" Caelum cheered me on. "Now, it's easy. You just go out there, aggro it, and we will protect you from all the other wolves. You have to fight that one all by yourself though."

I paused. "Really?"

"Really, really."

This is not optimal for my continued health.

When Fate Online was released for the first time, one of the motto's the advertisers had was:

"It is a fully realistic, exciting world to be in!"

Apparently, they had a sense of humor.

This world was indeed realistic, in a sense of being as realistic a world filled with all sorts of monsters could ever reach. No matter the amount of quests you could find in it or the abnormal population count inside the game - no, the game was 'realistic'. Well, excuse me for initially disliking the realism.

But in the end, I ended up exploiting the realism myself.

The Dirge Wolf pounced as I came closer. I had to jump and roll to the side - a bit painfully, I might add - just to evade the sickly red claws of the animal. Immediately recovering my position, I jumped back to meet the Wolf, my dagger ready to pierce the animal's throat.

Critical Hit! Knife Mastery's level has increased by one!

You caused 60 damage.

Ignoring the window for the meanwhile, I jumped back before the injured animal could strike a counter. Luckily, it seemed that the critical hit had stunned the Wolf, so the moment I was sure I could attack again, I did; this time, in combos.

Lungs. Kidney. Eyes. Belly. More criticals. More hits.

Strike at the weakness!

Through repetitive actions, you received the skill Critical Eye!

I was so overjoyed by the alert of a new skill that the wolf managed to recover. The moment I closed the window, a claw was already near my face, ready to strike back against me for all the pain I had caused the wolf attached to it.

Widened eyes, I tried to jump back.

Failure. In my attempt to evade, instead of fully dodging the attack, I had overextended myself and left my chest to be hit by the animal. The claw came down - bloody, sharp bones and rotten flesh hitting me with the force of a hammer directly over my sternum.

I went flying over to the side, rolling over my side in pain.

This... this was far more painful that I had ever imagined!

I was a normal teenager after all, even with all of my achievements in my studies. I had no way of being able to endure something that hard without screaming out in pain - which I just did. Blood rushed over my veins and my heart started to beat fast as I tried but failed to take the pain.

Maybe I should've reduced the Pain option.

But the wolf wasn't finished and was about to attack, so, steeling my nerves I tried to stand up even under what felt like the entire world over my shoulders. It didn't come easy - my breathing hitched and my entire body went hot as the pain in my chest only rose, just a bit, just a bit more....

Honestly, it felt like torture.

However, I managed to recover before it came close though. Finally managing to raise my dagger to my chest, I eyed the animal's HP bar - just a sliver of red, just a single strike before it's dead. And so, seeing that, I took out one of my secret weapons.

Managing to manipulate my Inventory, I took out one Glass Shard. I flicked it to hit the Wolf's eye.

The animal growled as it dodged, but it wasn't my aim in the first place. As it jumped to the left to evade the incoming glass projectile, it only landed back on the ground to meet my dagger coming for its throat.

The wolf, after bleeding for so long, finally burst into pixels.

You gained 250 EXP! You leveled up!

You gained Dirge Meat!

Good, I thought. Then I collapsed on the very ground I stood on.

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