Chapter 2: Crafting, Realizations, and Trouble

It was the fourth day in game for Aurion, the VRMMO that had just released, promising huge updates, lots of flexibility, and a giant world that one could spend decades exploring and still not get everywhere. There were thousands of player cities that existed, but one of them was called Arkrell. ANd inside Arcrell, existed the guild of Silvercrest, with a singular member, Ryuu.

That Ryuu was currently putting his new equipment to the test. With his latest modications and upgrades, he was now working on getting to a higher level, since a lot of people were already way higher then him. At the moment, he was level fifteen himself.

And so he was raiding a mine in the mountains near Arkrell, that had become a Dungeon full of monsters.

"Arc Blast!" he shouted, casting his spell and releasing huge amounts of lightning in front of him. He was decked out in his new gear, as he had tried to make it stylish and awesome looking as possible. In the end, he think he did a pretty good job, though his brother always said he was abnormal. This was likely because the first RPG he played, he made a build that was so abnormal he nearly broke the limits on reason.

Speaking of which, his brother was playing at the moment, but he had not gotten in touch. He was thinking about doing it, but there were some error codes regarding connections and such. It seemed the time acceleration might have increased too, but aside from general notices, nothing was said, so it seemed to be fine.

While time was accelerated this much, calls would absolutely never get through though, and even texts were a bit difficult it seemed, unless it was to other people in game.

He thought about this while he launched another Arc Blast at a few Diggerpedes. They were like Centipedes, but they moved faster and had a drill like horn on top of their head. They were a common enemy in the mine. There were a number of players earlier, but deep in with dangerous enemies, he was the only one there.

He then formed a massive magic spell of his own creation. So long as you had the Skills, you could actually create your own magic spells, limited by your intelligence. Because of that, it was a good thing he boosted it. Higher intelligence meant more complexity, and he was at 70 now.

For instance, he was using Wind Magic to map the area around him, while also using lightning as well as support magic to cover himself in a lightning barrier, which would protect him and damage enemies that attacked him. His HP was also up to 40, so he didn't die so easily.

As for why he chose this dungeon, that was simple.

"Ah! Look at these new minerals and metals! Flame ore, Lightning Ore, Wind Ore, not to mention Mythril Ore and Terrantium! Oh, and here is some rubies! Gemstones like this are great for storing magic! Oh, and here are Emeralds, and Saphires! Ahh, mines made into dungeons are great. From what I remember, based on the lore, they are basically infinite generators, because energy is created by Dungeon cores to spawn protectors, and the leftover magic is what forms the loot such as weapons and such. Basically, they create something from nothing...supposedly, its old Empire tech".

After that, he made sure to harvest quite a bit with his new magic bag, which had increased size and provided some other great perks, like Anti-Theft magic.

He looked over at the room that held the boss, and prepared his staff.

"Well now, it seems like this is pretty low level if a newbie like me can beat it...though, I think I have gotten pretty strong. It helps to have good gear".

Although, the fact I harvested that airship for scrap was clearly a bug if I ever saw one. I got way too much money early on, and my equipment is fairly high spec. That said, since I didn't go into combat in the beginning, I do think there are lots of people stronger then me. Not to mention, there were all the people who Beta-Tested, like niichan…which means that I am nowhere near the top. Either way, I have a lot of things to do...

He then noticed the time. If he remembered, based on the latest notifications, maybe an hour has passed in the real world. But several days passed in here, the game world. No, it might not even be an hour, the acceleration got increased further.

"Man, this is so much fun! Alright, lets do this! Boss time!"

He slapped his cheeks, and charged right into the boss room. Inside, he saw the Great Guardian, also known as a Dungeon Boss, form in front of him. It was a giant scorpion with tentacles, and it looked really angry at him.

"Ah...Barrier! Status Effect Barrier! Multi-Layered Barrier! Aegis Barrier!"

He casted multiple barrier magics as he dodged the stinger, which broke the ground. The exit was also sealed, so the fight had begun. However, even though he avoided a direct hit, poison shot out from the impact and hit him, causing his HP to lower. However, the poisoned condition was repelled by his Status Effect Barrier.

"Arc Blast!"

He shot another lightning blast, which seemed to harm it, but also annoy it. It didn't even lose an eighth of its HP, as expected of a boss.

And then, its tentacles came right at him. He created multiple barriers to block, while releasing another lightning blast along with a wind blade at the enemy.

However, despite its massive size and the fact it was a Scorpion, it dodged. Ryuu did not expect Scorpions to be such expert dodgers.

As such, he had to fire off multiple attacks at once in different ways to counteract its dodging ability. He also tried to use his new ice magic to create an Ice Wall, obstructing its movements, but it crashed through like it was nothing. It lost some health though.

Meanwhile, large energy blasts were fired from its stinger now.

"Seriously?! I suppose something like this should be expected of the last boss of a dungeon" Ryuu said as he ran around dodging them. That said, his agility was not that high, Dexterity helped a little, but he still got hit a few times, his HP dropping each time.

"Alright...lets do this! Arc Tempest!"

He then fired off a far more powerful and dangerous magic, which used a lot more MP but was faster and stronger. The scorpion had no time to dodge, and the HP that it had left was slashed drastically. Ryuu did not miss the chance, and fired off a second one, quickly finishing it off. And then, he pulled out a knife.

"Its harvest festival time!"

And he proceeded to harvest all of the materials he could from the boss, raiding it until it was completely harvested.

Afterwards, he went towards the loot chest, and opened it. Inside was a pair of goggles, a few rare gemstones, a sword that was radiating light, and some ingredient items. There was also a belt, that apparently let you have a Scorpion tail and be able to attack with it.

Ryuu was not too interested in it, but he collected all the loot anyways, just in case, and decided to leave the Dungeon.

As he was leaving though, going up through the levels, he heard crying. And so, he rushed forward to investigate.

This crying...no NPCs are here, so a player? That's weird, I wouldn't expect a player to cry, just turn back...

As he analyzed and thought about it, he reached the room, only to see a strange sight. Rather, in front of him was a completely naked blue haired boy, surrounded by Fire Ants. He knew the VR games allowed for quite a bit, but he had to admit once again the detail they put into bodies was amazing. It was like he was flesh and blood actually naked, and he was sure acting like it.

Well, then again, he had a strange idea of what was going on, but he wanted to confirm it. He took out his staff, and unleashed a powerful flurry of wind blades, dicing up the fire ants. They were only this far down because they liked to swarm, so if you had someone with a decent magic skill, you could take them out with one spell.

The blue haired boy looked at him, still embarrassed. Well, it might not just be because of that.

Rather, there is only one reason an adventurer, a player, would be down here butt naked.

"Hey, hey. Its okay. Im not with...whoever did that" Ryuu said, trying to calm him down. Yes, Ryuu realized it immediately. More then likely, this boy had gone with a group into the Dungeon, but then when they got this far in, they pinned him down, stole all of his belongings, and left him here. He is surprised that the boy didn't use the Call Moderator button, however...

As expected of a game that was just released. Its totally unusable right now, huh?

The function was not working at all. Ryuu checked just now himself.

Ryuu took out a spare set of clothes, and offered it to the blue haired boy. Seeing his kindness, the blue haired boy accepted.

Afterwards, he heard the explanation. Apparently, he had been invited to the group because the blue haired boy, whose name was Toko, was a Magic Swordsman, and they wanted a good adaptable vanguard to push through the Dungeon. However, they ended up attacking him, robbing him, stripping him, and leaving him down here. Ryuu had not died himself, but from what he understood, the pain was severe. Furthermore, after that, they watched monsters attack him before throwing him down a hole deeper into the dungeon.

Basically though, those guys were scum,

"I see...then, lets go deal with them" Ryuu said. "Although I cant say I am that high level, I have good gear, and if we work together it should be fine".

"Eh? But, didn't they leave?"

"No, they are probably waiting at the respawn point".

"Do those even work? From what I understand, no one has died yet...people keep freaking out when they get close and running away...I guess like myself, their instincts take over".

Ryuu felt like something strange clicked in his mind, but he ignored that for now. He cast various barriers on himself on the off chance that the feeling he had was that they were being spied on.

Ryuu was not sure what those idiots were thinking, doing this to another adventurer, but he would make them suffer. Even if its an adventurer's job, life and death situations should not be so easily toyed with.

"By the way...what is your race?"

"Oh, I heard Elari get some lore bonuses, so I went Elari".

"Sweet! So did I! Want to join my guild?"

And then Ryuu asked that while leading him out of the dungeon all of a sudden.

"When do you think that brat will appear?" one of them asked.

"Well, we still dont even know if it will work" another one said.

"Tsk, all this trouble just to test out the legends of resurrection" the third said.

The trio was gathered around a stone tablet that looked old. Supposedly, this was set up to help adventurers escape death in dangerous situations. However, since no one had actually tested it yet, no one was sure. And every time someone got close to death, they would use potions or escape. Granted, no one had gotten serious yet, but still.

They wanted to see it first hand, although...

"Seeing that brat's tears was also enjoyable".

"I think we got some good money on his belongings from the nearby shop" one said, holding a bag of coin.

"Sure is taking awhile. We left that brat totally naked and unarmed, how long does it take for him to die".

"Oi, maybe it doesn't work after all?"

As the three said that, the doors to the mine suddenly shot open...and several wind blades came at them!

The trio tried to dodge, but received a lot of injuries and damage.

"Well now, so this is the scum, right?"

"What the...who the hell are you, brat?"

They glared at the red haired boy as he emerged from the dungeon, his red eyes glowing as magical power built within his body.

"Hold on...isn't that the infamous legend...Red Flare?! That crazy powerful mage?!"

Red Flare? What are they talking about, I dont use fire magic that often...although my hair and eyes are red, and a lot of my clothes are too...but no, Red Flare is definently a name for someone who uses fire magic as their main, not me...

Although confused by the nickname and likely case of mistaken identity, Toko came up behind him, looking a bit worried still.

"Arc Blast!" Ryuu cast, sending lightning bolts at the three of them.

"Its the Crimson Lightning!"

Eh?

Ryuu's brain failed to process what they just said, as he cast his next spell, Ice Tornado. Using both Wind and Ice Magic, it pretty much devastated the trio and sent them flying...

"...they will probably be okay, right?"

"Yeah...probably..."

"Lets just...go back to town".

Was my lightning really...better ask...

"Erm...was my lightning really red?"

"Yeah, it was a cool crimson color!"

Ahhh! I got some weird nickname somehow!

And so, Ryuu sulked like that as Toko followed him to join the Guild and see the Guild Hall.

"Woah...this is amazing!" Toko said as he looked around the place. Rather then a guild hall, it looked like a personal home, although with a lot of smithing and forging stuff. In the back, he even saw a machine with many robotic arms that looked crazy and cool, but also a bit scary, so he fell down in shock. "Ahh! What is that?!"

"Ah, that's a magical assembler. Using the arms to help, a magical field is generated in the center where components float around, and it helps assemble them with precision. Well, you need a certain dex level to use it though".

"Dex? So then, you are mainly a crafter? But that attack power...are you level 40 or something?!"

"Nope, just level...ah, I am level 17 now. I have more points to distribute. Hmmm...Ill put some more into dex, a few into agility, and the rest split between intelligence and wisdom".

"Ah...how high is your dex?"

"Its over 200 now".

"...that might be the highest dex stat I have ever heard".

"Anyways, feel free to make yourself at home...ah, actually, can you sync up your library and data with the archive? It only has my stuff in it right now".

"Ah, sure. The connection to the Link Satelites did seem to be down" Aoi said, though his words seemed to dip into the lore a little. Well, Ryuu could understand that though, as they both went with Elari for bonus lore. Knowing things about the world they were in was fun and good, after all.

Although, there was a weird feeling about some of the things going on.

He had caught himself more then once wondering if that was all a dream or something, or memories accidentally implanted by the Cocoon. Silly things like that. It couldn't be helped, the world was so real.

Either way, Ryuu decided to show him a bit by making him a brand new sword from Angelsteel, also making use of the materials he hunted from the boss in that dungeon. He also dyed it blue for Toko's personal taste, with some white etchings, and added in the Scorpion stinger to give it that powerful beam attack. He also made some light but protective armor, since it seemed he was more the fast and magical type of attacker, though he had decent attack power as well. His main stats seemed to be Strength, Intelligence, Agility, and he put some into Endurance and HP. He was also level 10.

For the record, aside from some beta testers, there was no one over level 30.

Either way, the two of them had worked up a sweat, so they decided to head to a local bathhouse. After arriving, they entered the changing room and got undressed. Toko was a bit calmer and not embarrassed this time since it was a bathhouse, and he hadn't been stripped by others, but it did make him remember that moment a bit so he was a bit embarrassed as a result.

After the two washed each other's backs and washed off, they entered the baths and relaxed.

"Ahhh....sooooooo good".

"Agreed".

As the two enjoyed the bath for a bit, Toko then muttered something.

"To think they made it so realistic, you can even sweat. Although it does make baths like this feel more satisfying..."

Ryuu had to agree with that, relaxing for a bit, when he noticed something. It was minor and clearly healed, but Toko had a scrape on his shoulder.

"What happened there?"

"Ah...that was from when I got hit into the dungeon wall".

There were also other marks on both of them, from the general wear and usage of equipment, injuries and such that had been healed. They weren't even scars, would obviously heal...however...as they enjoyed the bath, something about that kept bothering Ryuu.

Even as they got out of the bath, wrapped towels around their wastes, and had some milk, something was gnawing at him.

"Hey, Toko. Before we have dinner, can we go back to the guild really quick?"

"Sure...what is it?"

"Just...a hunch..."

The two got dressed after that, and headed back to the guild building, specifically the library. Among the books in there, was a transcribed Rules and Information book about the game itself, Aurion. He scanned through all the pages, checking and rechecking. But no matter where he looked, it was not there.

"Hey...Ryuu, what is it?"

"I dont see any mentions of it...although there is a scar system, its for major wounds. Nothing about sweat either...or a few other oddities I noticed..."

Ryuu brought up his menu, and looked for it. In all the excitement, plus given the acceleration inside the game, he doubted anyone had really tried it yet. Then there were the odd memories, and feelings. And so, he checked it.

But nothing happened. It was just null, even though everything else on his menu could be touched, that button did not work. Just like the Call Moderator button.

"...Ryuu?"

"Toko...the Log Out Button, its not working".

"What?!" Toko exclaimed, bringing out his menu. Certainly, leaving aside the error messages, it acted as if it did not exist. "Wait wait...are you saying we might be trapped inside the game?"

"Possibly...although...this game itself....something feels off".

"What do you mean?"

"I cant be sure...this entire situation seems impossible...but, there should be a place where in-game moderators are. In every city, one exists. Admin Tower. If its a serious issue, and the Call Moderator button isn't working, then that place has players with moderator status, usually game developers themselves or people they hired, to help fix critical issues. We need to head there at once".

"That...might be a problem..." Toko said.

Admin Tower. At least the one in Arkrell, had changed severely since the beta. In fact, one was sure it was probably a bug, or maybe a warning to say that they were busy? Either way, there was definently something weird about it.

After all, it was now listed as a Dungeon, one right in the heart of the city. Its ranking was difficult, and no one had yet to try it. However, Ryuu understood he could not back down.

Armed with the latest and most upgraded gear, he and Toko would challenge this dungeon and reach the top. Although there was no guarentee, there had to be a moderator up there.

"I would like to recruit more people, but...we dont have the luxury of time..." Ryuu muttered, as he and Toko stepped towards the door.

"Well then, would you mind at least teaming up with us then? Since we also have business to discuss with the people at the top" the voice of a man said behind him. The two turned around, and saw that there was a man wearing mythril armor and wielding a large mythril sword, someone who clearly had to be a beta tester as his level was 40.

The leader of the Keepers of Dawn Guild, Arsmosis. And behind him was a girl wearing a white robe and a cane, and a larger man with a shield.

Although it was their first meeting, the two guildmasters looked into each others eyes...and they understood immediately, and agreed to the teamup.

He...is also aware of the oddities.

And so, this party of five went and challenged the Dungeon, Admin Tower.