Mad Jester here. Sorry for the incredibly long wait. I had to memorize 12 pages of music for an event and then had finals. I still have two finals this week, but in essence, I am done! I believe you can expect another chapter in 3 days. I also found something interesting about how the Best Rated works. So I would appreciate if you guys made some honest reviews.. In all honesty, I don't believe that this story deserves four stars in its current shape. Drop a comment, vote, and a review and I will be pleased. Thanks!

Abrum reread the information window that appeared in front of him. This was a momentous point in time. This was the decision that would decide how his character would evolve henceforth. Thus Abrum thought about the decision carefully and deeply.

‘Since it is a race specific class, it is logical to assume that the class will augment the power of my new race. This is supported by the fact that it offers Moonlight Energy to power my new racial skills. But what is with the name Moon Strider? A very vague name that doesn’t describe whether it is a class based on melee, magic, or manufacturing. Even if it is a racial class, there is still the dangerous possibility of it being one of those joke classes, with no potential. Then, I would be stuck with it.’

These were the possibilities that played out in his mind. Some might find it surprising that Abrum would consider this choice instead of just accepting thoughtlessly. Abrum was sharp in some areas, and a completely and hopelessly dense in other areas.

Abrum sat thinking in the moonlight, with the sheathed katana in front of him. He finally came to the irrefutable fact that lay before him. If he didn’t accept the class, he would lose access to the racial abilities he had come to rely upon. The blades were his only weapon that he possessed other than the katana, and considering the damage it had caused him, Abrum was reluctant to even touch it again. However, this was only a side motivation. The main drive that pushed him to accept this mysterious class was a steadfast passion that was tempered in the flames of loss. He wanted to become stronger so he would be able to protect Lilith. He knew she would revive because of the Mark of the Angaellis, or well, Mark of the Moon now. However, even though he realized this, it was only natural for him to feel pain and guilt watching his beautiful companion being ripped to pieces. What gnawed at him even more was he was unable to do anything to stop it. He wondered if she would forgive him…

Abrum’s finger stretched forward and accepted the new class, and thus opened a new door on his journey and redemption. After accepting the class, four simple notification boxes appeared before him, and he read them quickly. His face lit up like a Christmas tree after reading the first two boxes. But after reading the next two, his face turned ashen. He glanced apprehensively at the katana at his knees. Cautiously, he picked it up by the night black scabbard, purposefully avoiding the ribbon.

“Geez… I am too tired to deal with this!” Abrum shouted exasperated into the dark night. He shook his head. So enacting the best solution to fatigue, he went over to a tree and lay beneath it to sleep. He made sure to set the katana a safe distance away. For reasons that will later be explained, he made sure he lay surrounded by moonlight. After getting comfortable, he closed his eyes and released himself into the oblivion of sleep… and one of the bodies began to stir…

*Richard Strollonhoff’s POV*

He sat in that same chair he had been for the past few days, always watching, an impassive pagan deity overlooking his realm. Sitting upon that simple hospital chair, he thought of himself enshrined on a magnificent throne overlooking the realm he had created, watching the one he had benevolently given a chance. This is how Richard Strollonhoff thought of himself. A god, a deity, a supreme being ruling over the insects called players in his realm. What did he care for the players that were being cheated, bullied, or sexually abused? His legal team was the best, because money can buy almost anything. If charges were brought up, they would take care of it. But charges would never be brought up, Richard was careful. No one would dethrone him. No one… He was quite literally playing God in the realm of Atreides. The saddest thing was, he didn’t realize he was only playing God. He actually believed he was God in this realm. He watched the insect that was named Abrum drifted off to sleep.

Richard smiled and took out his phone from his pocket. He dialed a number and put the phone to his head.

“Proceed with the update… also I want player #@65%[email protected] to have the stats reset, level, everything”

A moment of silence, and then Richard responded in a cold low voice

“Whether the insects live or die is my decision. I decide if they are hunted by the whole continent of Atreides or they are loved. And if I want a player reset to level one, you will follow my orders. Don’t forget, since I am the head of the development department, to you: I am god. So if you want to be able to feed your family, you will listen to orders or I will have your head understand?!”

By the end, Richard’s voice had become that of an angry tyrant. His words carried a lethal edge and he was screaming. He hung up abruptly and stood up from his throne and abruptly left.

On the other end of the line, that currently nameless person put the phone down on its cradle gently, and muttered

“Sure… head of developing… while you were at the parties… who do you think made the game… It sure as heck wasn’t you… You…god? Don’t make me laugh…. God isn’t someone like you…” and he strolled out of his cluttered office to fulfill the orders of the Tyrant.

And all of this was unbeknown to Abrum as he simply slept, in the moonlight. Thus, the 2 and a quarter hours past in real life, but in game, the night passed peacefully… or it would have if there hadn’t been all the bodies stirring. However, the night passed relatively uneventfully.

*Abrum’s POV*

He was having such a happy dream. It was such a warm place. He was playing with his two dogs in a large field. His two huskies were fighting over the squeaky toy he had been throwing. He watched them with a smile. He had raised them since they were puppies, and he loved them both dearly. He was having such a wonderful dream… and then he awoke into the newly updated world.

There was one thing that immediately caught his attention. There was something warm and furry sleeping on his chest. It was apparently big because it also covered his arms and his legs, which somehow got spread eagle. He craned his neck to gather information about the situation. His face changed from one of confusion to one of pure happiness and joy.

His previous thought that it was only on animal on top of him was incorrect. There were a total of 11 little wolves on him. They were on his arms, his legs, lying to the side of him and leaning against him. A warm smile crept across his face as he looked down at his chest. On top of his chest, there lay a little wolf curled up, it’s cute little face partially hidden behind that lovely fluffy tail. Its little chest rose and fell as it breathed in and out.

Abrum was in heaven at this point, He loved canines, felines, even bovines (not aves though. Birds were scary…)! Dogs and cats were fluffy… And he loved cows just because. However, whenever he thought about birds, crows in particular, he was reminded of a semi-traumatic childhood experience *shiver*.

Seeing the little wolf on his chest, his first instinct as a human being was to hug it. He strained his muscles against the bodies of the wolves, trying to hug the embodiment of adorability that lay on his chest, however, his arms moved about an inch, but no more.

Extremely confused and unhappy, he looked at his arms, looking from what was restraining him from embracing the bundle of cuteness that lay sleeping. His eyes alighted upon the gravity cuffs that he received from Aleqe. These very cuffs were stopping him from fulfilling his instinct of hugging the fluffball that was on his chest. He was extremely confused at why he could not seem to lift them. With Aleqe’s hell training under his belt, he had been easily able to lift the cuffs that were around his ankles and wrist.

However, no matter how he strained against the shackles, he could not budge them. As he struggled, quietly of course as not to wake the little wolves, he noticed a small box. As if heralding the changes of the new world, instead of the characteristic blue that was used for messages, it was a bright yellow. Inside the box, it read in fat little bubble letters: Update 2.1.

Abrum willed the message box to open and he read the message with a grave face.

This update has introduced some minor changes that should not affect gameplay very much at all. There were three corrections to the system

1: A menu layout along with a different status window layout

2: Minor adjustments to certain boss mechanics

3: Minor adjustments to certain players’ stats to maintain the balance of the game

Thank you all for your support thus far. Go forth, and may your way be lit, your swords thrust straight, your arrows fly true, and your magical prowess grow ever further.

Sincerely: Developing Team.

Abrum saw the third “minor adjustment” and a feeling of unease welled up inside of his heart.

“Status Window” Abrum whispered out in a low voice. One of the little wolves stirred at this, but went back to sleeping peacefully.

Status WindowName:AbrumAlignment:NeutralLevel:1Class:Moon StriderRace:Silver AngaellisGender:MaleTitlesNoneFame:NoneInfamy:None-Health:100 / 100[/ tr][tr]Mana:100 / 100Stamina:100 / 100Moonlight Energy:534-Strength:10 (-5)Agility:10 (-5)Satiety34%Intelligence:10 (-5)Vitality:10 (-5)Leadership:10 (-5)Luck:-5

If Abrum had the ability to facepalm, he would have. Those “minor adjustments” as the developing team called them rendered his hours of hell training with Aleqe meaningless. All that pain and suffering, being beaten with a stick while blindfolded in the name of training was useless now. However, what really pushed his buttons was not the resetting of all his stats, but the fact that he still retained the negative 5 luck. It honestly infuriated him.

‘Are you kidding me?! Strollonhoff… what is this?!’ Abrum fumed silently in his mind.

With his stats reset back to level one, it was impossible to move the cuffs. Abrum resigned himself to lay beneath the fluff piles and rest a bit more. He decided to review the system messages he had received about his new class, from last to first.

For your unique class, it is required that you wield the sentient katana, Tsuki as your primary weapon.

Due to the nature of your class, you will experience a 50% decrease in stats during the daytime. However, also due to the nature of your class, your stats will experience a 50-200% increase depending on the phase of the moon.

Abrum shook his head and sighed. The status decrease was one heck of a hurdle. With his level currently at one, along with the fact of the status decrease, he would have trouble fighting even a rabbit without dying. Of course, victory against a rabbit would be assured with the strange katana, Tsuki; however, as stated before, Abrum was reluctant to touch the katana again.

‘Isn’t having a required specific weapon much too restrictive? MMOs are supposed to offer freedom… Choosing a weapon is a huge part of the game. So restricting me to a single weapon is a bit too restrictive isn’t it?’ Abrum complained in his mind. He then cleared up his grumbling attitude, as it wasn’t helpful or right. He continued reading the boxes

Obtained capability to hold Moonlight Energy. There is no currently relevant limit to the amount of Moonlight Energy you can store at one time. You can gain Moonlight Energy by sitting in the moon’s gentle rays. The current rate of absorption is 100 Moonlight Energy per hour. This rate can be augmented using the skill Moonlight Meditation. It is next to impossible to obtain Moonlight Energy anyway except for the method mentioned above.

He was happier about this message box. This meant he could accumulate 1000 Moonlight Energy if he was just sleeping. He had only managed to accumulate 534 Moonlight Energy the previous night due to the fact he acquired the class roughly half way through the night. He continued reading, and the next two boxes were simply skill acquirement notifications.

You have gained the skill {Moonlight Meditation}

You have gained the skill {Moon Bolt}

You have gained the skill {Moon Step}

Abrum opened the window for Moonlight Meditation. It simply was a skill to augment his intake of Moonlight Energy. At level one, it increased the Moonlight Energy intake by 25%. This was satisfactory in Abrum’s eyes. It would allow him to have a total of 1250 Moonlight Energy every day. The Moonlight Meditation would only continue to increase in effectiveness as it leveled up. He reviewed the information for Moon Bolt. It was a bolt of compressed moonlight. It cost 25 Moonlight Energy and was a decent mid-ranged attack as far as he could tell. Abrum opened up the skill window for the Moon Step. A smile crept across his face as he read through it, seeing something he could use in his current situation.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Moon StepBeginner10%The three forms of the Moon Step are by far the most definitive of the Moon Strider class. These forms past on from generation to generation have arried to you now. Use them well.

First Form: New Moon: Turns the body incorporeal, reducing damage received to almost nothing. However, the first form is extremely taxing upon the body. Allows the user to pass through solid objects and for solid objects to pass through the user. If the skill is deactivated, by choice or otherwise, while an object is still passing through the body, the damage will be incredibly painful as the organs, joints, tendons, blood vessels, and skin are forcefully displaced. The pain system will be raised to 50% of the actual pain if this situation occurs.

Cost: 25 Stamina per second.

Second Form: (Sealed): (Sealed)

Third Form: (Sealed): (Sealed)

If the first step made him incorporeal and able to pass through objects, then he could use the skill to free himself from the cuffs. Abrum was apprehensive of the pain increase. He was not a person who took pleasure in pain, nor did he take pleasure in the pain of others. His heart hurt more when he saw other people in pain than when he was in pain. He was content to lie there, trapped for a time, but then an image came into his head. That of Lilith’s death, dying in front of his eyes as he could do nothing to stop it. This pushed him to the brink. He knew he only had four seconds. Four seconds, otherwise he would be in excruciating pain. Thus, he muttered under his breath

“First Form: New Moon”

4 Seconds left

His body turned to a dark mist, and all the little wolves that were on him plunked to the ground.

3 Seconds left

He sat up quickly and pushed himself up with his arms

2 Seconds left

He stood up, and checked all over, starting from his head to make sure nothing was still inside of him.

1 Second left

He realized there was a little wolf curled around his leg and he jumped with all his strength to avoid it.

0 Seconds left.

He collapsed to the ground with a thud, panting heavily. All his stamina had been consumed in those four seconds. Basically the only skill he had obtained were draining and could only be used practically if he strengthened his body. He collapsed panting, resigned to lay among the cute guardians for the time being.