Level 05: Run

Level 05: Run

Online:\Brygul Planet\Walled Metropolis “Kanpeki Sekai”>

Hatsya and Hatsumi were in the 45th floor, happily free-running. While they’re going through the crowd, other avatars were surprised when the summoned zombies took part in their free-running.

“What the heck, at the second day of this game, we are welcomed by an event like this!” exclaimed by a near-realistic biker orc avatar named Chawchaw.

“I remember many MMOs will love to end their lives with these kinds of events!” chuckled by a super-deformed anime avatar in gold armor named OugonSenshi18.

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, SUCKERS!!!” suddenly exclaimed by the TF2 scout-cosplaying avatar, while being chased by the running zombies.

Many of the non-realistic-looking avatars followed the rest of free-runners, while the remaining nearly-realistic avatars remained in their place, and began gunning down the running zombies. Chawchaw, the biker orc, fired his beginner’s shotgun onto the heads of the zombie mobs. POP! Three unfortunate zeds lost their heads, but five of them are grinning at Chawchaw, outnumbering him.

“I TOLD YOU TO RUN AWAY, YOU SICK BIRDS!” exclaimed by a running, bearded human avatar, donning a Japanese schoolgirl costume named ChakkoNorisu.

OugonSenshi18 unexpectedly came back, only to find out that Chawchaw and the rest of realistic-looking avatars died at the grimy hands of summoned zombies. ChakkoNorisu carried the petite anime avatar out...

At the 42nd floor of the Canopy, the NPCs guarding the building were all overran by the zombies, and many of the cartoony avatars started leaping towards 33rd floor to reduce their running efforts. Hatsya angriliy called his boss,

“Grandmaster, what’s going on here? We just opened this safe zone, and now we’re griefing this place?”

“Haha, Hatsya! You guys started a new reason to play NOAH, and that’s by pulling off a free-running stunt in Kankai! I added those zombies for good measure, to get everyone running!” the Grandmaster wittily answered.

“The heck, dad? Why do you have to put in zombies? This could have been fun without them, you know?”

“Blame Hollywood for that, many games of this generation hopped onto different forms of zombie modes, even though they’re not meant to be in their game. Some say that everything’s fun with zombies” the Grandmaster chuckled.

Beside Hatsya and Hatsumi, two different avatars ,dressed like the famed default avatar of a popular 3d digging and building game, were yelling at each other while running,

“This game isn’t worth calling a WoW-clone, Jebus!”

“And this is way better than Another Life either, Motch!”

Unfortunately, the duo were caught by zombies, while Hatsya and Hatsumi continued running safely to lower floor. Unexpectedly, the floor collapsed, dropping Hatsya and the rest of the avatars to the lower floor.

“D-dad! I-is this scripted!?” Hatsya yelled as they both fall down.

“Gotcha kiddos!” cussed by the male operatic godly voice from nowhere.

“Who the kack is that!” cussed by the spiky rusty brown robot named Skrillegrillah.

“Skrill, that’s the god of this world we’re all in, Eden” Hatsumi answered Skrillegrillah’s query.

The surviving runners landed on 41st floor, and the building began to crumble gradually, as in domino effect. To make situations worse, the zombies began leaping towards the runners. Some of the avatars gave up running, and instead, they attacked the oncoming zombies. Skrillegrillah brought out a pair of automatic one-hand submachine guns.

“Have fun running, anime freaks!” an insulting remark uttered by Skrillegrillah.

The rusty brown spiky robot rushed towards the oncoming pack of the summoned monsters, and unloaded lots of short fiery beams to the packs. ChakkoNorisu and OugonSenshi18 started fighting the rest of the undead. ChakkoNorisu bravely jabbed the undead’s faces, while the chibi golden knight mowed the legs of the zombie packs with his halberd.

Offline:\Estoril Park\Kanlaon Family Mansion>

At the NOAH Core, Orion is disgruntled at how some of the players reacted to his event,

“No! I want to make them run down, why are they trying to kill those zombies!”

Orion approached two of his game masters, and told them kindly,

“Raise the levels of the zombies to the cap, Level 50. I’m sure many will not bother fighting zombies anymore at that rate. We want them to run, and to test Eden’s dynamic world-altering abilities”

The two game masters raised the levels of the surviving zombies to level 50, and the fat game master even giggled while seeing many of the player avatars being walked over by level-capped monsters.

Online:\Brygul Planet\Walled Metropolis “Kanpeki Sekai”>

At the 40th floor, Hatsya and Hatsumi were caught by a nearby explosion due to the building’s collapse. The explosion badly threw them to the lower floor. While mid-air, Hatsya grabbed Hatsumi, and allowed himself to hit the floor.

“Why did you do that for?” Hatsumi asked in dismay.

“Because I love you!” Hatsya confessed.

“Damn it! We’re pre-teens and now you’re talkin’ fast forward, c’mon, starry girly boy!” Hatsumi snapped, and she brashly dragged Hatsya back up.

The two lovers, and the rest of the surviving runners continued heading down, jumping and dashing through obstacles.

“Isn’t this fun, Hatsya?” Hatsumi giggled, as they both jumped from the escalator, landing to the 39th floor.

“I don’t think so!” the well-damaged robot Skrillegrillah rejected instead, and slid down to the 39th floor using the escalator’s handrails.

All of a sudden, a blaring operatic voice spoke to them,

“You’ll all descend, albeit lying on the floor!”

Some of the NPCs started dying due to planned explosions around them. The floors and pillars started falling down. Unfortunately, the avatars at the 29th floor and below were either dead or simply went outside, watching one of the Canopy skyscrapers crumble down.

Hatsya yapped while heading down through the rubbles,

“Hey, mind stopping this already? THIS ISN’T BETTER WITH ZOMBIES!”

“Yeah, and I think you just pissed off the kids who are trying to socialize in this new city of yours!” added by Skrillegrillah.

“Then you guys start fighting zombies for the blue world! Believe in your justice!” trolled by the blaring operatic godly voice.

“Dang, that god is weird! Mind if you just take those two lovers somewhere, and let us live safe?” a space marine avatar inquired with a snide suggestion.

“Okay” the godly voice affirmed.

Hatsya and Hatsumi were warped elsewhere in an instant, and restored the whole building instantly.

“Okay... seems that we’ve done an abrupt yet emergent event” the godly voice apologized to the people who took part in the free-running event instigated by the warped players.

Online:\Brygul Planet\Mt. Yaturnga, “Mountain of Shining Sunflowers”>

Mount Yaturnga, also referred as the “Mountain of Shining Sunflowers”, is the mountain situated in the far west of the Kanpeki Sekai walled metropolis. This mountain is filled with towering baobab trees surrounded by giant sunflowers. The inhabitants in this mountain are mainly Terran animals, and awkwardly, some extremely furry horned bears.

Hatsya and Hatsumi ended up at the summit of Mt. Yaturnga. Hatsumi stared below, then she gasped,

“H-Hatsya, I don’t wanna die here!”
As she tried to move away, she stepped on a newly-spawned small snail. The snail died horribly, and Hatsumi panicked for stepping on one. She lost her balance, and

slipped off from the mountain. Hatsya immediately jumped as well.

“You idiot, you still bothered saving me? Oh c’mon!” Hatsumi complained even she’s at verge of death.

Unexpectedly, they landed at the furry backs of the horned bears. The sleeping horned bears were angered upon impact. 

The awakened creatures grabbed the two, and gradually breaking their backs by being squeezed, thus nearing them to death.

Those furry horned bears are named Nilgrums, which are level 6 monsters often found in Earth-like mountains.

Offline:\Estoril Park\Kanlaon Family Mansion>

Henry frantically pressed the potion hotkeys in his keyboard to restore Hatsya’s HP. He saw Hatsya’s HP back to fifty percent, and all of a sudden, a short string of quick-time commands appeared, utilizing the WASD keys. Hatsya’s owner rapidly pressed the key sequences.

“Many of the MMOs don’t have this feature. Is papa planning to go console-hard?” Henry asked himself after performing the quick-time event combo to free Hatsya from the horned bear’s grip.

Offline:\Estoril Park\Kalantiao Residence>

Hatsumi did the quick-time events first, and even groaned, as if she’s really voicing her avatar in distress.

“I’m not dying on these bears!” Hatsumi yelled as she frantically tap the keys required for the QTE.

Outside her room, Hatsumi’s brother yelled,

“What’s goin’ on there sis!” then he knocked on her door repeatedly.

“No, I’m taking part on a fandub, don’t worry about me! I just have to deliver it nearly true to the character, bro!” Hatsumi wittily justified her grunts.

Online:\Brygul Planet\Mt. Yaturnga, “Mountain of Shining Sunflowers”>

Hatsumi’s online persona is instead thrown towards Hatsya, leaving them both with 15 percent of hit points left.

“Dangit! Our pots seemed wasted” Hatsumi cussed, much to their regret in landing on a spot of horned bears called Nilgurms.

Hatsumi and Hatsya were incapacitated, due to the stun effect provided by the Nilgrum’s body throw, leaving the two open for their first in-game deaths.

Unexpectedly, a slender, tanned anime-styled boy with a javelin, fended off the surrounding Nilgrum bears with rapid spear thrusts.

“Get up, you frail lovers!” assumingly yelled by the tanned young spearman in black leather coat.

Hatsya and Hatsumi drew their weapons, and joined the spearman’s party. The angered sloths of Nilgrums growled, that it gave them fiery red aura. Should any entities imbue themselves with red aura, their offensive capabilities are increased.

“Tch! We’re only three, and you guys provoked a sloth of 12 bears, what are you guys really thinking!” the youthful spearman named Eisen asked.

“It all started with only us free-running around the safe zone, Eisen!” Hatsya answered, while in his defensive fencing stance.

“Then suddenly, everyone in the safe zone are asked to run, because the Grandmaster himself summoned a horde of zombies!” Hatsumi added, while penting up strength to her light hammer.

While they’re talking about the unexpected debacle in Kanpeki Sekai, a Nilgrum leaped towards Hatsya, and tried to scratch him. However, Eisen jabbed the creature’s mouth, and inflicted severe bleeding damage.

“You fancy-pants should run away, your giant needle won’t be doing much!” Eisen ill-advised Hatsya.

Hatsumi rushed towards another Nilgrum, and whacked the horned bear’s head with her hammer. Unfortunately, the stunned horned bear fell on her. The rest of the angered Nilgrums rushed towards Hatsumi. In the nick of time, Hatsya performed a fencing sword Ether Art called ‘Shining Courage’, allowing Hatsya to move faster, as his agility is doubled while the aforementioned Ether Art is in effect for ten seconds. While under the Shining Courage spell, Hatsya slid over the Nilgrum, and jabbed their undersides with his blessed rapier. Eisen exclaimed,

“H-Hatsya, how the heck did you get that skill! I am betting that you bought a book elsewhere in the world!”

Three of the Nilgrums approaching Hatsumi glanced at Eisen instead. The boastful lancer manically smiled at the oncoming horned bears, and roared.

“BRULLENKOMET (Roaring Comet)!” Eisen screamed as he jumped high.

While mid-air, he produced a fiery spiral energy on his javelin, and landed at the group of the Nilgrums, even though Hatsumi is in the way, piled by the stunned Nilgrum. The horned bears struck by Eisen’s Brullenkomet turned into ashes, and Hatsumi is flipped over, and left her nearly-dead, as in five hit points left. Three more Nilgrums sneaked behind Hatsumi, and all of them tried to strike her, but Hatsya rushed towards the scheming trio, and screamed her name loud. The horned bears simultaneously tried to land a critically bleeding scratch on Hatsumi’s ailing body, but the fencing glasses boy took the bloody scratches on his chest, and legs. Those bleeding scratches reduced his hit points down to one, that even a simple trample will mean his first in-game death.

“How sweet yet stupid you’ve done, Hatsya...” Eisen snidely commented as he casually approached the offending monsters. The cocky lancer ran towards the angered bears, and thrust his javelin onto the belly of one of the Nilgrums. Moments after, he side-kicked two of the accompanying horned bears.

Offline:\Estoril Park\Kanlaon Family Mansion>

At the NOAH Core, Orion observed the newly-made map, and he found Hatsya and Hatsumi dying in the new map, while Eisen single-handedly fend off the creatures. Gregorio, the stubby game moderator, asked,

“Grandmaster, is it possible to learn character skills even without skill books?”

“Yes. One way to learn new skills is to help out your friends, or at some point, betray them. I think Hatsya made use of the hug emote motion command to become a damage cushion for his beloved in-game girlfriend” Orion chuckled, then he talked about Eisen,

“Look at that guy in black coat, the more he keeps hitting his fellow party members within his skill range, he accumulates a form of ‘dark art’ for his spear skills. Who knows, that Eisen might play like a crazed sacrificing lancer or something else”

“Y’know Orion, with those nifty gameplay ideas you and your players implement, I can infer that NOAH will be everyone’s fantasy drama studio too” Gregorio cajoled.

“That’s possible, but with experience loss? That’s for the players to find out... Collaborative gaming with players, and emergent gameplay is so far our best bet in beating the competition” Orion the Grandmaster affirmed.

Online:\Brygul Planet\Mt. Yaturnga, “Mountain of Shining Sunflowers”>

Eisen and the lovers eventually defeated the angered Nilgrum mobs, but severely exhausted. The cocky lancer handed out red vials to Hatsya and Hatsumi, and commanded,

“Drink ‘em, lovers!”

The two simply drank the red vials, and they felt revitalized. Eisen simply brought Hatsya over his shoulders, and walked around the monster-less sunflower field. Eisen asked,

“Do you really love Hatsumi? Or you are just showing off?”

“I... I do. I like and love her, Eisen” Hatsya submissively answered.

“Are you willing to pull off that sacrifice offline for her?”

“Oh shoot... Y-yeah, b-but we are not allowed to be formally together as partners”

Eisen playfully leaned Hatsya to a nearby baobab tree, while Hatsya struggled to escape from his grasps. Eisen inquired,

“Say Hatsya, many of the gamers are not recommending that weapon type, but how come you still appreciate that giant needle of yours?”

“I just find it noble, elegant, and a bit suiting for me, as a magic freak” Hatsya smiled.

“You are brave, but rendered foolishly brave because of that weapon type, Hatsya. Go get yourself another weapon, and drown that giant needle thing to obscurity. Before you even lunge that on their faces, they would have plugged their blades on you... Unless you are Asuna” Eisen provoked.

Eisen laid Hatsya on top of the baobab tree’s grown roots, and finally provoked the fencer, pointing the javelin on Hatsya’s forehead,

“Hatsya, get up! It’s time to DUEL!”

Hatsya unsheathed his rapier, and prepared for a duel with Eisen. The lancer’s and the fencer’s eyes aligned, and they started guessing who’ll strike first.

“Hatsya’s a small fry for me, though I want to see him fight a tank-sized monster with his giant needle” Eisen maliciously thought to himself.

Unexpectedly, Hatsya dashed towards Eisen, then tried to be stopped with Eisen’s downward spear brandishing. Just before he reached Eisen’s underside, Hatsya was struck on his left shoulder.

“You are too adorable to be flashily finished, Hatsya. Your angry face, plus your child-like outfit began giving me second thoughts!” Eisen cussed at disadvantageous Hatsya.

Hatsya kicked Eisen’s crotch, and freed himself from Eisen’s impalement,  yet suffered light bleeding damage on his left shoulder. Eisen warned,

“I told you, fancy fencers like you are less likely to survive, even merely from my lowly javelin!”

Hatsumi went to their location and saw Hatsya bleeding, while Eisen laughed at his disadvantage. Hatsya smiled at Eisen and he ran towards the nearest baobab tree. Eisen threw his javelin at Hatsya’s back, but missed. The lancer tried to retrieve his javelin, but Hatsya is already at mid-air, with his rapier pointed dead set towards Eisen’s neck.

“Tch! Oh shi--!” Eisen cussed as he saw Hatsya headed towards him, even with blood from his shoulder gushed out.

The moment Eisen pulled his javelin away, Hatsya already got him. Unluckily, both of them were defeated. Hatsya is defeated due to untreated bleeding damage inflicted by Eisen; Eisen on the other hand fallen due to Hatsya’s well-placed aerial lunge to his neck, that inflicted also bleeding damage, and coupled with high critical hit.

Hatsumi ran towards her beloved in-game boyfriend, and shook him, hoping that he’ll wake up. Moments after, Eisen and Hatsya were mysteriously revived, as it was a friendly duel initiated by Eisen. Eisen left his last words to Hatsya,

“Hey fencer boy, let’s clash again... You are one bad opponent for me!”

Eisen left the game, and the two remained in the sunflower field. Hatsumi irritatedly asked,

“Hatsya, who do you think is that arrogant guy with a spear!”

“He’s just too complacent with his spear skills, honey...” Hatsya commented.

“T-that Eisen’s gonna pay!” Hatsumi yelled, that she angrily hit the baobab tree with her hammer.

Level 04: AFK

Level 04: AFK

Offline:\Sinagtala Relocation Site\Sinagtala Tenements>

Four-fifteen in the morning, Ren woke up early. He may be groggy due to playing NOAH late at night, but the gladness NOAH delivered to him last night is still intact. As he get up from his bed, he thought to himself,

"Hatsya, that blue-hooded guy who banned the hacker right in front of us... I hope I can defend that game like him someday..."

He went to the dining area, and saw his mother preparing a quick and simple breakfast, consisted of salted bread, and mugs of coffee for two. They started eating their breakfast, and began chatting,

      “Ren, I just watched the breaking news last night, it’s about the game called NOAH--”

      “What about it, ma?” Ren asked.

“I’ve been hearing about that around the neighborhood, while you and Butchoy are away, they’re wild about it, like it’s a celebrity!”

“Mom, it’s an online game, like the one depicted on Metanoia movie”

“Ah okay, I’m sure you, and Butchoy tried that game, after it came out eh?” Ren’s mom asked, with her sights on her only son’s eyes.

“Yes mom, it is good... I get to meet people from other countries actually” Ren chuckled, and scratched his head.

“I hope you don’t get too engrossed on the that game, like your BD-Strike and DotA days!” Ren’s mom reminded.

“Ummmm... mom, that game isn’t as too frantic as those games I play” Ren admittedly rebutted.

“Still Ren, never forget that you have school, and your dawn job”

Ren and his mom glanced at their simple wall clock, and she reminded,

      “Oh, you gotta go to Manang Abe now!”

Ren hurriedly went upstairs and get dressed casually for his dawn work...

Meanwhile, at the Kanlaon Mansion...

Offline:\Estoril Park\Kanlaon Family Mansion>

Henry, donning only an oversized shirt, and dandelion yellow fitted cotton short shorts, woke up. He went to his computer and logged into NOAH. The male godly operatic voice spoke to him,

      “Hatsya, would you like to come to my house?”

      “Eh? Oh c’mon, may I talk to you tonight instead?” Henry rejected.

      “All right, sorry for bothering you Hatsya. I have pressing matters to discuss to you”

      “Mind texting it to me?”

      “Wait a minute, I am not that fully advanced to pull off such feat!” the operatic voice laughed.

After talking to the operatic voice, Henry checked his emails, and even his blogs for comments. Moments after, Aling Marisa, the curly-haired mahogany-skinned maid called,

      “Sir Henry, your breakfast will be ready in few minutes!”

      “Okay, Aling Marisa!” Henry affirmed, as he logged off from his computer.

Henry immediately went to his bathroom, preparing for school. Meanwhile, at Iris’ room...

Iris talked to herself while taking shower,

“Hmmm... I don’t know what drove me to play as an enforcer. I honestly don’t play games, but I kinda find it appealing. Damn, I ain’t that kind of girl!”

Fifteen minutes after, Iris wore her school uniform, and went downstairs...

In their living room, Marietta saw Iris and asked,

      “Say, how did you do on your dad’s work?”

“Well honestly, I don’t really play games, but for some reason, I find his game something enjoyable for me”

“How? In spite the fact that the majority of his game is about slaying skyscraper-sized animal-themed battleships in a bright humongous mushroom field?”

“Well mom, not only that but I know you won’t be letting me wear Daisy Dukes, but at least in dad’s game, it virtually let me wear one” Iris admitted.

“That’s interesting to know at least, Iris... Sometimes, you really have to get along with your dad, it’s a part of his business on why we are all on this status, princess” Marietta replied to her daughter.

After their brief conversation, Iris went to the dining area for breakfast. Henry and his brothers came down in their school uniforms as well. The Kanlaon’s boys wore short-sleeved white polo shirt underneath their dandelion yellow three pocket vests, and slacks. While watching TV, Marietta asked Henry,

      “How’s your first day with your father’s world, Henry?”

      “Well... It’s fun to be a game master, mom!”

“I hope you don’t forget to go outside, having friends for real, okay?” Marietta chuckled.

“Yes mom” Henry humbly replied.

Concurrently, at Hatsumi’s home...

Offline:\Estoril Park\Kalantiao Residence>

A short-haired girl, wearing her black skull-printed nightshirt, woke up smiling. She was glad that her livestream performance spiced up by unexpected online encounters last night. The girl went to the bathroom to do her wake-up habits. Moments after, her mother knocked at her door and called,

      “Hatsumi-chan, we’ll have tamago gohan for breakfast!”

      “For a moment, mom!” Hatsumi answered back, while dressing up for school.

Five minutes after, Hatsumi finally came out from her room, wearing her school uniform. Her school uniform consisted of a short-sleeved white school blouse underneath her dandelion yellow school three-pocket vest, and navy blue pleated long skirt. She came down quickly, and followed by her Japanese mother, and her older brother wearing blue-green scrubs. Hatsumi’s older brother, Kenji, asked amusingly,

“Sis, seems that you’re really serious in becoming an online celebrity too eh, like PewdiPie?”

“Yup, and I didn’t know that someone from their company took part on my NOAH streaming last night!” Hatsumi answered.

“Really? Sis, watch out when you go back to the game, and that guy you’ve been swooning right now, could be your future boyfriend!” Kenji teased.

Hatsumi’s mother blurted out,

“Ehem! Hatsumi, I hope you’re not planning to elope with that guy if ever you guys meet offline!”

“Mom, I know that... And in fact, I have other cosplayers trying to court me, only they’ll receive a big N-O, right on their face” Hatsumi rebutted.

The family were at their dining area, ready to eat their breakfast. Their breakfast is a tamago gohan, or simply put: egg sauce over rice. Tamago gohan is a popular Japanese breakfast food made of steamed rice, and raw egg.

An hour after...

Offline:\Estoril Park\St. Augustine College>

Henry, Iris, and Edgar, their flippant-haired younger brother, stopped at the first floor of the Higher Basic Education building. Iris reminded her brothers,

“Henry, Edgar, never tell anyone that you guys are game masters, okay? Or else, y’know, they’ll keep bugging us!”

The two nodded, and then, they went to their respective classrooms. Though, Edgar went to LBE Building, since he’s a 5th grader, whereas Iris is a senior HBED student, and Henry is a freshman HBED student.

Henry went to room 202, and sat in front row of the classroom. While waiting for the class to start, he brought out his yellow yarn-bound writing notebook, to write a short story. While writing, his fellow male classmates stood outside their classroom, seemingly waiting for the class’ prominent personality.

At the stairway, Hatsumi is accompanied by her queer best friend. Her epicene best friend spoke,

      “Hatsumi-chan, you tell me, you like that fancy fencer you met in the game?”

      “Aaaah... nope, b-but I find him attractive, Romeo!” Hatsumi squealed.

      “Oh c’mon, you’re falling in love to a nerdy avatar, girl! Wake up!” Romeo laughed.

The two cosplaying friends were ushered by the rest of her classmates to their classroom. Many of the boys began taking pictures of their famous cosplaying schoolmate, and Hatsumi just winked at them. Their comely cosplaying classfellows sat beside Henry, and Romeo talked to Henry,

      “Henry, what are you writing?”

Henry smiled at Romeo, and simply chuckled,

      “A story about a clowder of cats, on their search for their master”

      “You are writing stories about cats now?” Romeo asked.

      “Yeah, it’s a decent exercise to expand your imaginative realm”

While Henry’s talking to Romeo, Hatsumi playfully flipped Henry’s right earlobe. Far behind them, some of their classmates gossiped,

      “Damn, our class cosplaying princess is with that weird guy in front”

      “Still, she looks cute nonethenless, regardless of people she’s with”

Hatsumi whispered at Henry,

      “Hatsya, I like you”

Henry got startled at her whisper, and Hatsumi took a quick shot of his reaction with her phone camera. Henry finally entertained Hatsumi,

      “Y’know Henry, I like you, and your avatar” Hatsumi confessed.

      “Yeah, you liked me, as your kid-looking knight in shining armor” Henry hesitantly blurted out to Hatsumi.

      “Oh c’mon Hatsya!”

      “D-don’t call me by t-that name in class! I-it’s awkward and girly-sounding for me!” Henry exclaimed.

Meanwhile at Ren’s school...

Offline:\Sinagtala Relocation Site\Sinagtala Highschool>

In classroom 205, Ren sat at the third row, close to the windows. He took one of his spare notebooks and drew his avatar at the back page of his notebook. While sketching, Ren thought to himself,

“How will I raise you up, Rennin? So far, so good out there... Though you are not fitting to be wielding a dagger, I want you to carry a pair of sticks”

Behind him, he heard some of his classmates discussing their first days in NOAH,

“Hey Rico! NOAH’s fun as Dragon Nest, that it felt like we’re no longer just watching our characters pull off flashy moves!” compared by the shaggy-haired schoolfellow.

“Really? Well, I better stop playing LoL and DotA then, if that’s the case!” the bowl cut-haired classmate replied.

“Yeah dude, DotA’s getting stale lately. Almost every internet cafe here in Sinagtala’s playing NOAH!” answered by the frumpy-haired schoolmate.

Unexpectedly, the scrawny shaggy-haired boy sat beside Ren. The face of Neruto44’s player is visually-tainted bruises on his cheeks. Neruto44’s player glanced at his drawing and spoke to himself,

      “Hey, I think I’ve seen him somewhere--”

      “Yeah, that’s my avatar. Who are you in the game last night?” Ren asked the bruised classmate.

      “I am the owner of that damned Neruto44, Pablo! Remember my name, weakling!” Neruto44’s owner cussed, with his right finger poked at Ren’s forehead, and spoke further,

      “You are all really lucky at that time, because you have that nerd in your party!”

“You deserve it, Pablo! The game just went on, and you exploited it right away!” Ren rebutted.

“Damn you! Since you just befriended a game master, you pricks mobbed me to death permanently, you weaklings!” Pablo threatened Ren, and moved to the farther edge of the classroom.

After being threatened by Pablo, another schoolmate sat beside Ren. This time, he has tan skin tone, gelled spiky black hair, and wearing a pair of round prescription glasses. He placed his plastic case filled with his anime drawings, and glanced at Ren’s drawing.

      “Hey, isn’t that Rennin?” the spiky-haired glasses boy asked.

Ren nodded, and immediately asked his classmate’s name, and then the new seatmate introduced himself,

      “I’m Roy Aguila, and you are?”

      “Ren. Ren Hernandez and I bet you are Roy-kun from the first day!” Ren remarked back.

Roy nodded gladly, and he finally sat beside him throughout the class.

Two hours after, and it’s recess time...

Offline:\Estoril Park\St. Augustine College>

Romeo, Hatsumi, and Henry were in one table in the cafeteria, talking about their first day in NOAH,

      “Hey Henry, can you dress up like a rich girly boy tonight in the game?” Hatsumi requested.

      “W-why, Hatsumi?” Henry stammeringly asked.

      “I need you for my first game music video out of NOAH, Henry” Hatsumi simply answered.

Hotaru butted into their conversation,

“She has another friend who wanted to promote her own song, and she’ll use NOAH as her MTV”

“Yeah Henry, I have a friend who wrote a song about rebuilding hope, and you’ll be playing as the dying prince, and Hatsumi will be the headstrong knight, willing to revive you” Hatsumi added.

“Hmmm... that’s interesting, in exchange of severe EXP loss? That won’t be good” Henry tried to turn down her wish.

“Oh yeah, dang... I’m sure you’ll be able to--” Hatsumi suggested, only to be interrupted by Henry,

“Nope, I will not do that. That’ll be unfair to the rest of the players. Let’s just do our best to do the video, and hope that Romeo and our friends will back us up, after our sacrifices for the MTV, okay?”

Hatsumi conceded, and then they finished their snacks.

Meanwhile on Ren’s school...

Offline:\Sinagtala Relocation Site\Sinagtala Highschool>

Ren, and Roy were eating simple bacon sandwiches outside the classroom. While eating, Roy began to talk,

      “Ren, I often see you in the morning, peddling bread. Why do you do it?”

“Well, it’s my way of earning some money for my family, yet keeping small amounts for myself for playing games” Ren admittedly answered.

“I bet your mom knows it already, Ren”

“She did, and she still hoped that I’ll really reduce gaming time anytime soon. However, I ain’t a casual gamer; I’m looking for any game that might net me money by tournaments”

“Well, I think if we go far enough, how about we sell epic, heavily-enhanced goods to other players in real money then?” Roy proposed, even though it is way off from his league.

Several school hours passed, and both parties reached dismissal time...

Offline:\Estoril Park\St. Augustine College>

Romeo, Hatsumi, and the Kanlaons met at the first floor lobby of their school, exchanging short goodbyes, and Iris didn’t expect that Henry will be close to certain people.

      “You are sexy during the launch of the game, Iris!” Hatsumi praised Henry’s older sister.

      “Well honestly, I didn’t intend taking part on my father’s game launch” Iris is disappointed, then she continued,

“Eventually, I find my dad’s project worth trying. His game at least lets us wear things that we can’t really afford to wear in real life, though I am not really used to playing his game as an online high-speed hack and slash...”

Hatsumi and Romeo were amazed that a non-gamer like Iris was able to welcome her father’s project.

      “Oh, I gotta go guys!” Romeo bid farewell to his classmates and friends, as he headed out first.

Hatsumi briefly hugged Henry, and whispered,

“See you online, Henry”

“I will be there, sharky” Henry softly replied back.

Henry’s siblings were speechless as they saw Hatsumi and Henry hugged together.

      “No really Henry, you do like her eh?” Iris thought to herself.

      “This is both better and worse than PBB teens!” Edgar memetically thought.

After their hugging, Hatsumi and the Kanlaons parted ways...

Offline:\Sinagtala Relocation Site>

Ren and Roy left the school together, and treaded the same way home. As they head home, they talk about anything till sundown, until Ren brought something up,

      “I’d like to upgrade my computer, and I think my bread-peddling dawn job won’t make it well”

      “Why don’t you just play at Mang Mario’s internet cafe then?”

      “Nah, as much as I’d like to but, I’d be playing it at my own home”

      “Then how about... you play someone else’s avatars, and get paid per hour?” Roy brought up a decent suggestion.

      “Hmmm... I’ll consider that, but that’s gonna kill our studies if took that seriously, Roy” Ren hesitantly replied, then Roy suddenly talked about Pablo,

      “That guy with bruises is the player of Neruto44 last night, right?”

      “Yeah, and he’s dead serious to diss us as weaklings” Ren answered.

“After all, Ren. Pablo’s wrong in the first place. If he goes back to you, and bully you, I’ll not hesitate to whack him off!” Roy consoled Ren

Moments after, they reached their tenement, and both parted ways to their respective homes...

Offline:\Estoril Park\Kanlaon Family Mansion>

Henry was doing his English assignment in his notebook. While writing answers, he began thinking of playing NOAH to meet Hatsumi online but he continued his assignment. Henry isn’t a type of a gamer that will let himself drop grades to 85 and below in favor to his avatar.

Ten minutes after, Henry was able to finish his English assignment, and tried logging into NOAH.

Online:\Brygul Planet\Walled Metropolis “Kanpeki Sekai”>

The walled metropolis named Kanpeki Sekai, or Perfect World in Japanese language, is built quickly while many of the players are still in the Forest of Rocks. The walled metropolis consisted of five hundred feet tall skyscrapers built to resemble like canopy trees. Each Canopy skyscraper is interconnected to their neighboring Canopy skyscrapers for ease of access for all living entities in the city. Some of the Canopies have parks and resorts, others have military installations, and a handful of the branches have statues of different heroes of NOAH displayed.

Hatsya, donning white short-sleeved fitted frilly polo shirt, blue necktie, navy blue cotton mid-length shorts with suspenders clung onto his shoulders, and shin-high leather boots, waited for Hatsumi to arrive in Canopy 5’s Nippon Skypark. Hatsumi spawned right beside Hatsya, wearing only black mid-length cycling shorts, and deep blue short kimono with a hammerhead shark print on her back.

“Wait a minute... Why are we both wearing shorts?” Hatsya curiously asked.

“We’re gonna free-run in this safe zone!” Hatsumi gladly exclaimed.

“So... we’re like dating, and free-running at the same time? Many came here to slay battleship-sized creatures, gear up, and slay each other for fun. This is kinda rare for me, and for this game to welcome other types of play in this world” Hatsya laughed.

“Ya, Hatsya! I’m tired of fighting creatures. I wanna run around with you”

“Okay, you asked for it!”

The two started sprinting towards the connecting branch back to Canopy skyscraper. They ended up in the 46th floor of the building, dashing through other avatars, and even called the attention of security NPCs throughout the building. Unexpectedly, the whole building’s audio system began playing ‘Levitate’ by the band Hadouken, which even amplified their run!

“See? It’s fun, Hatsya!” Hatsumi taunted, as they both run their way down to the first floor.

The two leaped high, avoiding oncoming security personnel, then they landed behind them. Five more different avatars, led by a cartoonish avatar seemingly imitating Team Fortress 2’s scout, joined free-running too, by trampling the security personnel, chasing the two starters.

Offline:\Estoril Park\Kanlaon Family Mansion>

At the NOAH Core, Orion is alarmed by his employees by showing Hatsumi and Hatsya causing havoc in their newly-built Kanpeki Sekai safe zone.

“Boss, isn’t that your son’s avatar? His girlfriend seemed to start a new type of game!” asked by Gregorio, the stubby co-developer, who now took a game master role.

“Yes. Seems chaotic at first, but good thing that he and Hatsumi were able to start something new for our game”

“I think we better summon a group of parkouring zombies, and make everyone run, and see if their new type of play will work! This should boost our game’s popularity at this rate, guys!” Orion ordered his game masters.