Battle Maiden

Book 1 : Into the Gates of Hell

Chapter 1 : The Boy Blue

*****

Sarah made her way to her table as soon as she left the capsule. Before she sat down, she stretched her stiff body, stretching her arms and arching her back as if she had just woken up from a long sleep. She sits down and grabs her note book.

‘Prolonged usage would pose health problems. Since VR is no substitute for sleep, the brain will still get tired. They tried to solve this by making time goes 4 times faster in the game. This does not help at all. Not in a VR games.’

She jotted down random thought and observation in her note book. She intends to use Virtual Reality as the topic for her final year project. Virtual reality was made possible a couple of decades ago. Since then it has come a long way. No longer do you need a computer the size of a house to run it, it is now possible to create a terminal no bigger than your standard personal computer. With the advancement of technology and mass production, almost every home can afford such a machine. Unicorn corporation jumped at this opportunity, creating the world first ever VRMMORPG, Royal Road. Their gamble and investment paid off as the game soon becomes the world most successful game in history.

'Making time flow four times faster, could it be the brain has to process information four times from normal?'

She checks her computer for statistics that she compiled about Royal Road.

‘Average play time 8-10 hours per day. Amazing numbers. Considering work and school, eating and resting, the rest was spent on Royal Road.’

She begins to write down complicated calculations on her note book, trying to figure out the workload imposed on the brain. But before she could get the answers, she lets out a huge sigh. She realized her pen has run out of ink.

“Damn it!”

She does not have a spare pen. Pens are rare these days, so are books. Almost everything is computerized. Schools and offices have long since adopted the paperless approach. Not that it’s a bad thing, but Sarah is the type that works best with pen and paper. In her university, she is the only one that has text books. In a way, it fits nicely with her image.

Clearly frustrated, she grabs a stuffed bear from her bed. Holding it in one hand, she raised her other hand in a fist. She proceeds to pummel the poor teddy bear with all her strength. After a couple of punches she stopped.

“Mr. Fluffy, you’re too soft!”

“Back to the scarecrow then.”

She lies down inside the capsule and logged on to Royal Road.

*****

The training hall did not have many visitors. Because of that, Graham usually spends his time drinking tea instead of actually training people. There are occasional visitors who wanted to try out the place, but not many returns. Why do boring drills when you can make money and do fun stuff at other place.

*WHACK!*

“Stupid store ran out of stock on pen!”

*WHACK!*

But lately there is this girl who came by often hitting the straw dummy. Instructor Graham was quite surprised to see her the first time, even more surprised to see her return a couple more times. After the 17th day in a row seeing her return to hit the straw dummy, he is no longer surprised. He is now afraid of her.

*WHACK!*

“What kind of book store runs out of pen??!!!”

*WHACK!!*

“I’m not wasting paper!! Those gossip magazines are the waste of paper!”

*WHAAACCCKKKK!!!*

While at first Instructor Graham was thrilled to have a prospective student, he is having a second thought. It’s nice that she comes often and does not give up easily, but her attitude was rather violent.

‘I suppose she is suited for the berserker class.’ Graham thought.

She always leaves when other people enter the training hall. After the fifth day, she no longer minds the instructor presence and started cursing even when he is around. It’s not that she ignored him completely, she just does so when she is hitting the dummy. During other time, she was quite polite, especially when eating together with the instructor.

‘Gah, she’s heading this way. My food, my precious food..’ Graham shouts in his head.

Sera, knowing that the instructor was an ‘honorable knight’, uses this fact to get free meal. No chivalrous knight would eat while a hungry lady is around.

‘I’m eating this guy's food, I could at least be polite.’ was written in Sera's smile, a smile as bright as the sun.

It was a parasitic relationship.

*****

“Where does this go?”

“You connect this one there, the red port. It’s colour-coded damn it!”

“Don’t be mad at me. If I know how to do this myself I won’t call you here. Plus, you’re the one bugging me to start playing this game.”

They were twins, yet their personality was very different. Identical twins, it’s hard to differentiate the both of them if you do not know them. Those that do know them can tell the difference by their demeanors. The older, by four minute, is Scott. The younger is Steve. Steve is way more outgoing than his older brother. He started playing Royal Road the day it was released with his friends. Scott said he’s not interested, as he prefers single player games, to go on his own pace.

It was a lie. He wanted to play, but he did not want to burden his parent. Growing up as twin, their parent always bought them the same stuff. They did not want one of the twins to feel left out. It is good parenting, but it has its downside. Some things you can share, but not a VR capsule. You can take turn, but it is not as fun. Scott knows that their parents would not be able to afford to buy two capsules, plus the monthly fees. Since he knows Steve is very excited about the game, he felt bad that he won’t be able to play due to him.

He managed to convince his parent that two people can play the game using one capsule and subscription. Since they were not up to date with technology, they believed him. Unlike Steve, Scott never lied to them before, so his word held huge credibility to them. This was his first lie Scott told his parents. His second lie to his family was to his brother, Steve. He told him that their parents agreed to buy the capsule for him on the condition that he improves his grades.

For the first time in his life, Steve studied as hard as he can. Even though Scott knows it was a lie, he still joins his brother studying.

He was kind in his own way.

Of course this lie was soon uncovered by his parent. Royal Road became so famous that even farmers at countryside knew what it was. After four month they bought the capsule for them, they learned the truth. However, they were not angry. They were proud even, that Scott managed to make Steve grades increases. They soon came to a compromise, his father offers to buy another capsule, however their allowances is to be reduced. As for the amount reduced, it depends on Steve’s grades on the next test.

“Why does it have to be my grade and not yours?” Steve complains as he connects the power to his brother’s brand new capsule.

“Because my grades are near perfect.” Scott responds in a matter of fact way.

“Well, you’re on your own starting the game. I need to salvage as much allowance as I can.”

“This is connected right? All I have to do now is go in and log on?”

“Yes noob. Send me a PM in game so I can find you later.”

Steve move towards the door before turning around.

“Drink a lot of water, stay hydrated. Don’t drink too much though. Good luck, have fun.”

“Have fun studying.” Scott smirked.

After Steve left, Scott enters the Capsule. A message appears in front of him.

Connect to Royal Road?

Yes||No

“Yes”

*****

The next thing Scott knew, he was surrounded by a huge empty space. There, a feminine voice greeted him.

-The scan on your retina and veins has shown that you are an unregistered player. Would you like to create an account?-

“Yes..”

What else can he do?

-Please choose the name of your avatar.-

Before VRMMORPG, it was common to see weird names in online games. People do it for fun. Scott was not an exception. When he was 8, his first online avatar name was SuperSwordX. Now imagine having such names for a VR games.

‘How ya doing SuperSwordX? ‘

‘SuperSwordX, use your super sword attack!!’

Scott prefers not to remind himself of the past. Everybody have something they regret. He opted for a more normal name, but not his real name. While no stranger to RPG, this is his first experience in VR. At the very least, the name should be done right.

“Spoon”

He grinned.

-Please choose your gender from male, female, or neutral-

‘Wait, you can choose other gender? Neutral? What the heck is that?’

Scott ponders for a bit, but decides against it. It would be too creepy. And his brother would use this against him. His curiosity has to wait.

The twins often try to mess with each others. Playing pranks and tricks is common. Steve once asked a girl out on a date while using Scott’s identity. It can be mean, but there is no ill will behind the pranks. They might be angry for a while, but their bond is very strong. Bromance, is what people call it. There is no BL or yaoi involved. Just bros.

“Male”

-Royal Road has 49 different races. You may choose from 29 primary races available.-

“Human.”

The answer was immediate, since he knew it was the most balanced race available. Scott’s lack of knowledge of the different races made him chose the safest answer. If he wanted to, he could always ask the AI for the lists and description. But he felt impatient, he wanted to enter the world his brother loved so much.

-You may alter your appearance of your avatar in any way you like.-

In front of Scott, a body materialized. It was a perfect copy of himself. The twins’ looks are almost identical, that for a moment he thought it was Steve in front of him. The twins are not bad looking. Easy on the eyes but not too handsome; just a bit above average. However, their status as twins somehow elevates their popularity among girls. You know the way female twins have this attraction to them? It works both ways.

“Change hair colour to blue. Increase hair length”

The changes were almost instantaneous. Scott looks rather unhappy with the results, as the hair did not turn out as he intended.

“Can I have scissors and comb?”

The AI complied. Scott began styling the hair to look like his brother’s hair style. The only difference is that the colour is blue, the colour that Steve loath. Since 13 years old, Scott is always the one to cut his brother’s hair. Steve said he do not trust strangers to hold a scissor near his head. With ample experiences, he cut the avatar’s hair with expert dexterity. It took less than 5 minutes for him to finish styling the hair.

“Not bad. Finish with the hair.”

Scott then added few more minor tweaks to his avatar before finally finishing with the customization.

-Select a city and kingdom you want to start.-

“Random.”

Having spent too much time on his avatar, he decided to make this quick.

-Welcome to Royal Road-

“Can we just go on with it?”

-Tutorial will now start as requested-

“Eh?”

*****

After the tutorial, Spoon appears in the center of a busy road. Since he did the tutorial, he no longer felt awkward of his new body. He quickly left the road trying to find a quieter place. He’s not used to crowds, it made him uncomfortable.

The first thing he did was gather information. He found out from the NPC peddlers that the town he is in is near the center of the Versailles continent. Since it was among the first city users can start off with, its population was rather high.

The fort city of Greyhold.

While not the largest city in the kingdom, its size is impressive. It is the preferable pit stop for adventurers passing to and from the Capital.

“Time to find things to do.”

Spoon starts wandering around for quests that he can do to pass time and gain money. Since he did the tutorial, and had his brother lecturing him about the game, he knows a lot for a beginner. Since he can’t leave the city for a month, questing is the best thing to do. As he wanders aimlessly, he was unconsciously walking toward a building at a remote part of town. Mainly because he dislikes crowded areas and this place seems peaceful enough.

As he enters the building, he saw a lot of scare crows lined. A quick scan on the surrounding, there were two other people around. He decides to approach the nearest person.

An old man with a wooden leg, much like the pirates in cartoons.

“Good morning sir.” Spoon greeted.

The old man head turns, looking at spoon. He instinctively sized up Spoon with his eyes.

“Good morning young adventurer. Here for training?” He responded.

“Training? So this place provides trainings for beginners?”

“Yes, that is correct. Though it has seen few visitors of late. Are you interested?”

“Since I’m already here, might as well give it a go.”

“Splendid. Grab the wooden sword of your liking and start hitting the straw training dummies.”

‘That’s it?’ Spoon thought.

“Gladly.”

‘I’ll know after I try.’

Spoon picked a wooden long sword, and head towards the nearest dummy. He started attacking the dummy, mimicking the other person on the front corner of the hall. As Spoon’s attention shifted to the other person, he noticed that it was a girl.

‘I do not know what the point in hitting the dummy is. Maybe I should ask her.’

Since he was bored hitting the practice dummy, he head towards the girl and greeted her.

“Excuse me, but you’re a player right? I’m new here, can I ask a few questions?”

The girl ceases whatever she was doing and turns to face Spoon.

As she faced Spoon, he was awe struck. The girl is beautiful, the most beautiful girl he have ever seen. Beauty is subjective, but for Spoon, she was definitely the most beautiful. She looked a bit shy, it was not after some time that her lips moved to respond to his question. Strangely, Spoon did not hear anything coming out or her mouth.

‘What is this, love at first sight?’

‘Impossible, such thing don’t exist. It’s just the fact that I have been single all my life.’

‘Still, it should be nice to be friends with her. At least get her name for now.’

‘Damn it. If I ask for her name, I have to introduce myself first. SPOON? Why did I named my avatar SPOON? Just to piss off my brother?! Now that I think about it, it’s petty.’

‘She’ll think I’m weird and avoid me.’

Many thoughts raced through Spoon’s head that he did not realize he was staring at her face for a long time now.

“Are you okay?”

Spoon snapped back to reality, or virtual reality, in this case.

“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought.”

Spoon was very embarrassed right now. But before he could ask any further questions, the old man approaches them.

“Instructor Graham. It’s rare for you to approach me. Do you need something?” Says the girl.

“Haha. Today is a special day for me. Wait, for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Today, you have finally passed the basic training program.”

The old guy, Instructor Graham, hands her a sword before continuing his explanation.

“This is the sword given to all that have passed the training. You have earned it. I have no more to teach you, now you must venture to other place to train yourself. Places other than this place.”

“I still can come here to hit the scarecrows right?”

“NO. You have reached the maximum potential from this place.”

She pouted.

“I’m not here for the stats!”

“You are here for my food! No more!!”

Usually, those who passed the basic training will have high friendship affinity with the instructor. This is a special case. Their affinity is very low.

Spoon stood in place, confused at what is happening in front of him. He came to a conclusion that the reward for the training was a sword. It also seems like the instructor wanted to chase the girl out. He stood still trying to understand what is happening in front of him.

‘This is awkward. I’ll try to change the topic.’

“Can I see the sword?” Spoon suddenly spoke.

He wanted to know if the reward is worth the effort.

“Sure.”

As the sword passed from the girl to Spoon, the weight of the sword felt very heavy on Spoon’s hands. He was holding the sword with two hands, while the girl casually uses only one.

“Item Stat Window”

Hard Iron SwordDurability: 54/54

Damage: 10-14

Awarded to those who completed the Basic Training Program.

This widely-used sword is better than basic type weapons that are available in a blacksmith’s workshop.

+10 STR

Limits:

STR 40+

VIT 35+

‘It requires minimum 40 STR to equip. Spoon only have 10. Given 5 stat point per level, she must be at least lvl 7, to reach the STR requirement. Plus 5 more levels for VIT requirement. She must be at least lvl 12.’

Spoon did not know that you can raise your stats from hitting straw dummy.

“What are your level if I may ask?”

“Level 2. Why?”

Spoon was confused.

“There is no way a lvl 2 can equip this sword!”

The girl simply laughed and explained to him that leveling up is not the only way to increase stats. She began explaining that her stats were raised through repeatedly hitting the dummy. Spoon finally understood that this is a game that rewards hard work. Of course, he did not know just how hard it actually is.

“Well, I’ll need to go now.” Said the girl.

She put the sword in her inventory and walked out of the training hall.

“Thank you for explaining things to me. Perhaps we will meet again.”

There are only two people left in the training hall. The instructor was humming happily while enjoying his bread and tea. Spoon decides to give the training a chance and begin hitting the straw dummy.

*Whack!*

*Whack!*

*Whack!*

“DARN IT!!” Spoon suddenly shouted.

As the instructor heard him shouting, tea was spewed out of his mouth. With wide eyes he looked at Spoon.

‘Don’t tell me he is the same type like the girl.. Please no..’

Spoon smack his sword hard at the dummy.

*WHACK!*

‘I forgot to ask her name!! How stupid could I be??’

*Whack!* Another hit.

‘Wait, the instructor might know her name. I should ask him.’

Spoon stopped hitting the dummy and walked toward Instructor Graham. The Instructor quickly responded with a shout.

“YOU CAN’T HAVE MY LUNCH!!”

*****

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Wrote: Credits goes to Nobody8 and blueshadows13 for pointing out I have mad grammar skillz (not the good kind), some grammar mistakes might still be present. Also thanks to others in the chatango, for giving feedback on all the chapters I throw out in the chat. This includes Vereliosi, Nobody8 and HikaruMichi, which I forgot to credit for their quote in my summary.

I know there are others who read the chapters and gave me feedback, but I just can't remember your names. Go to nearby KFC and say my name, you'll get free fried chickens.