Steph and Keith were speechless, as the Chubby Tester Insulted them and then casually walked for the coffee machine.

"You'll regret that!" Steph called out to the chubby man's back.

He gave a look at the hefty Tester's companion who was still laughing, and with a dramatic huff, signalled his friend it was time to leave. Keith followed, and the two upper-middleclass suburban teens Headed towards 'Dive Central.' Steph and Keith had been friends since Freshman year, attending the same High school in Middletown. Steph wasn't the most popular guy in school, but he was in the higher circles. He was a bit on the short side, and average weight for his age. The sandy blonde hair on his head made him look more like a surfer, than a gamer. Steph wasn't athletic, but he was extremely competitive. Keith was tall and thin in comparison, and had dark brown hair cut short and neat. Keith was athletic, and his only interest in games was playing whatever Steph wanted to play. He seemed to enjoy the RPG's a little more, but overall he didn't think much of them. Arriving at the connection station's, that someone had coined 'Diving pods,' Steph and Keith were helped into the pods and they arrived in a lobby moments later.

------

"Those Guild people are in this lobby, find us an empty one." Steph commanded.

Keith wasn't a servant, but he had always done what Steph ordered. That was the dynamic between the pair for as long as he could remember.

"I'm afraid there are no opening's for a new lobby. There are 3 active, that are currently unoccupied."

"Fine, what ever. Just hurry up!" Steph conceded.

Keith picked one of the three at random, and then sent Steph a party invite:

Name: Stephin Roth Level 10

Race: Faerykin (Pixie type) Class: Sniper. HP:220/220 ST:250/250 MP:220/220.

Age: 18 Height: 3ft, 2inches Weight: 75lbs

Stealth:8 Strength:8 Agility:12 Speed:10 Charisma:7 Mercantile:9 Vitality:7 Endurance:6 Intelligence:8 Wisdom:6

Skills: Glide(Racial/Active) (Advanced 08%) Evaluate(General/active) (Advanced12%) Basic sparks (Magic/active) (Novice58%)

Fast shot (Combat/active) (Advanced21%) Puncture (Combat/active) (Novice44%) Bribe (General/active)(Novice67%)

Active effects: +5%crafting efficiency(Racial), +5% magic resist(Racial) +1Int(accessory) +1Agi(Armor) +1Spd(Armor)

Armor base: 20 Damage base:24

Steph, pulled up Keith's stat's and excepted the invite impatiently:

Name: Keith Palazzo Level 8

Race: Faerykin (Wisp type) Class: W Mage. HP:220/220 ST:210/210 MP:240/240.

Age: 19 Height: 2ft, 6inches Weight: 29lbs

Stealth:8 Strength:8 Agility:9 Speed:8 Charisma:7 Mercantile:7 Vitality:8 Endurance:7 Intelligence:11 Wisdom:8

Skills: Glide(Racial/Active) (Advanced 05%) Appraise(General/active) (Novice82%) Major heal (Magic/active) (Advanced18%)

Seamless casting (Magic/active) (Advanced11%) Bash (Combat/active) (Novice34%) Minor Buff (Racial/active)(Novice19%)

Active effects: +5%crafting efficiency(Racial), +5% magic resist(Racial) +1Int(accessory) +1Wis(Armor) +1Vit(Armor)

Armor base: 17 Damage base:18

Steph was two levels ahead of Keith, because the pampered archer always ordered Keith to stay in the back, and support him while farming. Due to his friend's competitive and ambitious nature Steph often got in over his head, and required Keith to pitch in all the same. In fact Steph had even ordered him to choose the same race, based on the rumors of OP builds. Not that he minded, Keith knew he wouldn't even be a Tester, if not for Steph's expensive purchases. A few months ago, Steph had bought two top MMO accounts that were auctioned on the internet. Keith enjoyed his semi transparent avatar, and the thought of using the Flight skill, once Glide had ranked up. Faerykin could walk or use the skill Hover, at the low cost of stamina. Hover, became Glide when it advanced. The features of the more advanced versions of this skill were prohibited in town. Although the basic hovering action, that all three versions were capable of, was not. Steph and Keith began the using the basic version, slowly weaving through the markets traffic.

They were on the way to the blacksmith shop to repair the expensive gear the two of them owned. Keith had a matching set of (common) Wolf leather armor, that he paid extra to have dyed a lovely yellow and green. He also carried a Knotted Cherrywood Staff, that really helped his magic's strength and lowered casting cost. Steph owned an extravagant Silverite Mail chestpiece, and the rest of his armor was a matching set of Void Deer leather, with flat cryspar shards woven in a plated style. His bow was Made of Maple and Its limbs were lined with Altinac, poisoning any arrow he slid across them before nocking. Needless to say the equipment cost them everything they earned while questing, to buy and maintain. Keith even went without meal's on occasion to ensure his friend had his equipment in top shape. Today Keith only had the money to repair his staff, and had already paid the smithy when he heard Steph's plight. Steph had bought an expensive dinner yesterday before logging out, So he was a silver short on his repair bill. When he turned to Keith, he was disappointed to find his friend had nothing to give.

"There has to be away! I must have this armor repaired." Steph cried.

"Well, I need some Iron and the closest source is inhabited by an old Mud Bear. You get me some, and I'll fix your gear." Offered the Smithy.

"Sure, we will go right now!" Steph agreed, "How do we get there?"

"Head North East, and follow the river. Ya can't miss it." replied the Smithy. "...And watch out for Slimes!"

-----

Steph and Keith began to Glide along the river, only landing as required before launching up again. Keith watched the river bank closely, but saw no sign of Slimes. He began to wonder if the Smithy had forgotten to mention that the cave was located in the forest. That wouldn't be a problem for the pair, they had spent many day's farming easier parts of the forest. If there were some monsters that presented a problem, they could always Glide away. As he was lost in thought, Steph had to grab his arm to keep him from launching up by himself. Once Steph had his attention, he gestured to a small cave on the outline of the forest.

Keith focused just inside the caves entrance, and saw what looked like a Dark Elf and a Zombie followed by a Dwarf and a Lizardman. Steph's face looked angry at the sight of this party. He knew Steph well enough to assume he would use his advanced skill Evaluate to obtain the parties class and levels. If the largest level was below 6 or 7, he would cause a scene. After a moment, Steph Walked out where the party could see him and shouted:

"Hey! What are you people doing in our cave!"