~Real World~

Perry sighed as he looked over his room for the fifth time. He had been released from the hospital only two days ago, but it felt like weeks. Getting used to a wheelchair was the worst part of it- not only was he unable to afford a motorized wheelchair to get around it, but because of that, his arms were often tired and he felt worn out after going a short distance. He wasn’t used to such exertion, and without the ability to drive, either he had to wheel himself about or have someone else drive him around. And with few handicap-accessible cars, it was a tricky situation. He was lucky that the hospital had sent a nurse with him to take care of him. She had one of the cars that he could get into, complete with the elevating platform to help him inside.

Perry hated being trapped like he was, though. After the accident that had cost him his legs and a good portion of his mobility, he had settled into somewhat of a quiet funk, almost to the level of depression. Hundreds of opportunities had slammed shut in front of him due to his paralyzed status. While he had grown accustomed to the lack of feeling in his legs, and the fact that he rarely, if ever, left his wheelchair, it still was unnerving to think too deeply on. It was harder and harder though, as Perry went throughout his day. At school, his old group would either avoid him or talk uncomfortably around him, trying not to stare or be rude and avoid looking at him. It increased Perry’s depression somewhat, though it was offset somewhat by the gift he had gotten while in the hospital. Well, one of the many gifts he had gotten, anyway.

His new laptop, and the copy of The World that had come with it, was all that kept Perry from wishing death upon himself to end his crippled existence. In the game, Perry, through his character Mizu, was able to move around freely, as he had before. Due to the virtual reality that the game existed in, Perry could almost forget what his day-by-day life was like. In The World, he was a perfectly normal person, and he was free to run and jump and do all of the things that he couldn’t do with his useless legs. In fact, on his first time through, he had run all around Mac Anu, regardless of where he actually ran, just to imagine what it was like again. Mizu wasn’t limited like Perry was, and thus, the young man spent more and more time in the game.

Today was no exception, as Perry wheeled himself over to the small desk at the side of his room that had his laptop on it, as well as the headset that had come with The World. In a side-drawer on the left side of the desk, a small controller and cord waited to be plugged in for game use. Perry pulled them out and stuck the plug for the controller into the side of his laptop, and then set the controller aside, on the desk. Touching the small pad near the bottom of the keyboard, the young man wiggled his finger around on it a couple of times, getting his computer out of sleep mode and causing the monitor to spring to life. His background, a single wolf standing silhouetted against a large full moon, was the first thing to appear, followed by the icons that covered the image quickly. There weren’t many at the time- Microsoft Word, for the writing that Perry did to pass the time, the Recycling Bin, and of course, the icon for The World, shaped like a small version of the Chaos Gate.

Perry quickly selected the last of the icons, the one that would get him back into the game that he burnt away his time on. He longed to switch places with Mizu, to be able to feel his feet contacting the cobbled pathways of Mac Anu as he ran down the riverbed. Perry figured that what he really wanted was to be able to move without his wheelchair, without any help. It was like he had lost his independence with his mobility, since he constantly relied on his nurse Eliza for most of his daily needs. He couldn’t even dress himself anymore- and there were even more embarrassing situations that he had to adjust to, like…

Perry’s face turned crimson at the thought, and he quickly slipped on the headset to shift his thinking. As soon as the headset covered his eyes, the young man was greeted by The World’s main screen, showing a picture of Mac Anu’s main bridge with a brilliant sunset shining in the background. A large golden ring surrounded the title of the game, just to the left of the center. At the bottom-right, three options were visible- Login, Forum, and Quit Game. Perry immediately selected the second one, looking to his thread on questing for a new player. He was surprised by how many people were interested in going to a field with a complete newbie. It was likely that they were all low-leveled, though, so it would be fun to quest, since no one would be too powerful.

After viewing the names of each of the people he was to meet, Perry exited the forum and selected the “Login” option, which took him to a new screen. In the center, a large box with the fields “UserID” and “Password” were visible. Perry quickly entered his information into the boxes, eager to get back into the game and the chance to almost move freely. After a quick call down to Eliza, letting her know that he was going to go back to playing The World if she needed him, Perry returned to the game and then filled in the required fields.

~The World~

Three golden rings of light appeared next to Mac Anu’s Chaos Gate as a new character Gated In. Messy silver hair covered two pointed ears, and a pair of golden yellow eyes peeked out from the tangled strands. Slowly, the Blademaster’s clothing formed- a long, button-down blue jacket covered with waves covered a pair of blue breeches. A silver-grey wolf pelt was wrapped around Mizu’s waist as details continued to appear. Two gauntlets, marked with a wave on the back of each, covered the hands. Finally, a sword appeared at his side, completing the set along with a sapphire-studded earring in one pointed ear.

Mizu stepped forward, looking at the town around him, both in mixed wonder and slight jealousy. Why couldn’t the real world be as serene and calm? Why did Perry have to be confined to a wheelchair, while Mizu could run through the streets freely? It seemed so unfair, but after the moment of temporary annoyance, Perry got fully into his character and looked around, tired of thinking of the real world. He was in The World, now, and he had better things to do than contemplate what was and what could have been. For now, he had to focus on the other players that he was to be meeting.

Looking around, Mizu realized that he was the first to arrive, and so likely had a bit of time available before he would meet the others. Naturally, the Blademaster set off running down the streets, since he preferred the faster pace to walking. Plus, not knowing when the others would arrive, Mizu didn’t want to be late for the quest. Haste was his ally here, and he planned on making use of it as he ran towards the Magickry, moving as quickly as possible towards the shopping center. A few players- okay, more than a few players- got in the way during his wild sprint, but Mizu moved around them quickly. He avoided collisions easily as he ran, and arrived at the Magickry in record time. Moving through quickly, the Blademaster picked out five Health Drinks to take with him to the field. He’d need to stay alive, after all. Once that was done, he started back towards the Chaos Gate, where he was supposed to meet the others.

Arriving quickly after another long sprint, Mizu slid to a halt by the Chaos Gate, his booted feet scraping against the tiled street. The screech was a bit annoying, but expected after the sudden stop. After stopping, the wolf-like Blademaster looked around for the others, targeting names quickly as he searched, but coming up empty-handed. Sighing, he walked over to the wall and sat down with his back against it, foot tapping impatiently. He wished the others would hurry and get there, so that he could get to the field… after all, it was time to see what a real quest was like.

~Real Life~

Tom Shenu, age 16, a teenager in the making, stood inside his house, staring out at the storm that played out before his eyes. He was rolled up into a ball, looking outside from his windowsill, staring at the snow as it came down in flurries. All they had had here was snow this, snow that. There had already been two snow days that week, and he didn’t hope for any more than what they’d already had. He had spent his first snow day in that MMORPG game called ‘The World’. It had been fun while it lasted, but he had left it be for a few days, just so he could relax for a bit and actually think about other stuff. He had already finished the numerous projects that were assigned for the four day weekend, and yet, he still felt like there was more left to do. He took a deep breath and hefted a sight. What else was there to do? He could always start playing it again, but it wasn’t like him to pick up a video game only a few days after he had gotten it. After logging off, he had changed the design of his character only slightly. He was level 2 in this RPG now. He had a new staff and all that cast one more new spell, but what else was there to do other then train with different people? He had had a blast, swinging his staff and destroying monsters and such, but was there anything else unique to the game? He thought he had heard the word clan here or there throughout the crowd, but the people in those things were quite the high level. He looked out as a heap of snow crumbled down as a single drop of snow landed on it, making the tall tower of snow that had compiled up in the snowfall down, spreading snow over the driveway once again.

He still hadn’t bothered with the instruction manual yet. He thought that they were going to just teach him the basics of all the stuff he had learned. Was there anything else he needed to know other than getting weapons, armor, items, and rare stuff? He really didn’t understand what it was that he was missing out on that made this online RPG so unique. People wouldn’t be just attracted to just graphics, the real feel, and a good RPG that you could play with your friends…but that was probably the exact thing they were looking at. He really hadn’t finished his dungeon last time, and he had posted on the BBS to help a few players, but that was because he was bored then. He still was, yet he had no idea what he was getting himself into. He sighed. Most things seemed boring until you got into it. Maybe ‘The World’ was like that too. It had gotten some of the best reviews too, and yet he didn’t think it was top notch. He uncurled himself and got up from the sill, walking over to the computer and opening his laptop up.

“Good morning, Tom!” it said as he raised the computer up.

“Good morning, Tom,” he imitated in an annoying voice.

He scrolled down on his computer until he stumbled upon the icon of ‘The World’. He took a deep breath and clicked on it. It was doing an auto log in, which left him to pull on the VR goggles once again. He pulled them on, adjusted the straps, and grabbed the wireless controller that had come with the pack.

“Maybe this won’t be so bad after all,” he muttered. With that, he started it up for the second time.

~The World~

A single golden ring materialized, then another, and another. There was a flash of light and out came the Sage-like Wavemaster named Teishu. There he was again, appearing in Mac Anu in the same fashion as last time. He looked at his new design. He looked like a Sage from Fire Emblem right now…and no one looked like that in ‘The World’ as far as he saw it. He wondered what to do now. Contact Mizu, or go shopping for some items in the game. He shrugged. Mizu could wait, right? He raced off, but slowed his pace as soon as he saw the mob of players in the main plaza. “Great…” he muttered.

He started off to the side, trying to avoid everyone. He ducked as someone’s arm came over, an axe in his hand. He didn’t seem to notice that he had always elbowed another player. Teishu gave him the glare as he walked away and headed off to the shop known as the Magickry. He had seen Healing Potions, Fairy’s Orbs, and all kinds of stuff that might come in handy. Not to mention powerful scrolls. He walked across the bridge, looking at the crystal clean water as it hit the sides. It was like a clean, relaxing river. Maybe he’d go swimming there someday. He chuckled at the thought and walked down the stairs to the Magickry.

He walked around the shop, looking this way and that at the numerous items. He grabbed a few Healing Drinks, a Fairy’s Orb, a few Fortune Wires (seeing as his last encounter hadn’t been so great), and a few other things like a Bolt scroll. He left, leaving his money on the counter. Now he was prepared for some serious questing! He wandered the streets of Mac Anu, wondering if he could maybe recognize anyone who would be questing with him. There was a Wavemaster, him, a Blademaster, Mizu, a Heavy Axe, Chase, a Twin Blade, Nalerenn, and another Heavy Axe, Cineris. That was five people. They’d be quite the mob of people. He just hoped no one would notice the huge mob of newbies. Just as long as they stuck together, they’d be fine. Five was a good party and they could probably stand up against any kind of monsters, really. They had a Wavemaster, and the rest quick or powerful people with giant blades and axes.

Teishu continued on, walking across the bridge and looking around. The various people that he saw were around 5 to 15, pretty high level compared to them, but probably low level compared to those who had reached the max level, 99. He parted to the side of the mob and skimmed the wall, ducking or trying to evade the numerous people who were walking around. If only people knew the power of separation. Teishu walked up the stairs and looked at the huge circular thing known as the Chaos Gate. He gazed in wonder at it, but shook himself awake after a few seconds. People would start staring at him, and being the odd one would be quite scary…

He looked around, noticing numerous people. Mizu would be the person to look for, since he was the one who invited everyone to quest. He looked around. A level 1 Blademaster…aha! He found a Blademaster, but as soon as he walked up close, he saw that his name wasn’t Mizu. He sighed and walked in the other direction, walking around the Chaos Gate and looking at numerous parties. He probably looked like an idiot doing this, but did it really matter to him? He walked around a bit more, finding that he was unsuccessful.

He looked to the wall, and thought he found the person he was looking for. He wore a blue coat and looked as if he was going to be based off of the Rue element. He had piercing yellow eyes that looked live a wolf’s. He was quite surprised at the wolf pelt around his waste, but guessed it was to his liking. Lots of people liked animals. He did too, so was there much difference between the personalities? He thought there wasn’t, but he could’ve been dead wrong. He looked at the sheath that hung from his side and the silver hair that came down. He raised a brow. Maybe this was the guy. He was unique for one thing, but his blade didn’t look all that powerful either. Well, whatever.

He walked up to the man and saw that his name was what he was looking for, ‘Mizu’. He got a bit excited about discovering the person he was looking for. Man, looking for such a common class was such tough work at times.

“Hey, my name’s Teishu, the Wavemaster from the BBS topic. It’s very nice to meet you, Mizu!” He smiled and held out his hand. He wanted friendship between the two. Friendship…was a good thing.

~Real World~

"Pens down, the exam is over."

Finally. Kouji sighed, rubbing his head with his hands. History class. Ugh. At least now the exams were over, for now at least, and he could get back to his usual past-time. Videogames. He slipped his pen back into his pocket, pulled his jacket over his shoulders and left the room. It always felt good to have finished the last exam of the year. He had barely even left the school grounds when one of his friends called out to him.

"Kouji! Hey, Kouji-san!"

Kouji looked over his shoulder to see Izumi, a blonde-haired, lightweight girl running over to him waving excitedly.

"Oh, hey Izumi-chan. What's up?"

"Got a question for you, Kouji. You ever played 'The World'?"

Kouji scratched his neck, thinking for a second.

"'The World'... Oh! You mean that CC Corp MMO?"

"Duh! What other games called 'The World' do you know of?"

"Well, there's 'The Real World'..." he joked, but it seemed to be missed my Izumi.

"Anyway, you should check it out. A bunch of us are going to start new characters and play it. If you get an account, send me flash mail, I'll team up with you! Well, I've gotta go. Dancing practice. Later!"

Izumi ran off, waving as she did, leaving Kouji to contemplate. He did remember playing The World a long time ago. It would be a wonder if his account hadn't been wiped since then, not to mention if his game disc was still up-to-date.

~The World~

Three rings descended near the Chaos Gate in Mac Anu. Sure, he had to go through a few hours of patches, but at last he was up to date and back in-game with his old account. Talk about handy. He scanned the views around him, taking in the views. Graphics engine update? Nice frame-rate.

Kouji tapped a key on his controller, switching into third-person perspective. His old modified model still looked okay, at least, standing tall and sticking out amongst the multitude of Celtic-themed characters and the occasional trench-coated swordsman. Nalerenn, Kouji's character, scanned the area again, looking around for someone matching the description of the poster on the BBS. He didn't need to look very far. They were already at the Gate.

He made his way over slowly, typing in a quick /wave emote before stopping near the group. One looked kind of cool, to him, with the blue-and-gold coat, green boots and smidge of a wolf pelt around the waist, not to mention the silvery hair and striking yellow eyes. The other seemed to want to break from the traditional view of a Wavemaster, stepping away from the robes and into casual clothing. He did have that blue cape that almost looked like one, but it didn't look as long as a robe. It'd definitely be interesting to see him in action.

"So, this is all that's here? I thought there was six or so of us, but whatever. The name's Nalerenn. Nice t'meet you guys."

Are they staring at my model? Kouji thought. They are, aren't they? Everybody stares, at first. Two hundred Yen says they pose the question.