*>Welcome to Virtual Martial Arts.*
When the title sequence played, Jisha was reminded of how primitive full-dive VR of this age was. Her consciousness was in the game, but it wasn't fully immersed. If she paid attention, she could still feel her real body. Because of this, all of her senses were dulled in-game.
Though she could complain all she wanted about this, the fact was that it was the most realistic full-dive VR experience before Synergy. To the residents of the current world, this was the pinnacle of virtual reality.
Jisha watched as the primitive title screen appeared before her. She smiled bitterly when she saw the small number of options.
*Well, this tech will become a novelty soon. Better experience it while I can.*
The in-game options were as follows:
1v1.
2v2.
5v5.
Sandbox.
Custom/private games.
And that was it. Though each of the first three game modes had a "casual" and "ranked" version, it didn't really increase the number of options.
Her username on this account was "Fae Sol" as well, and her 1v1 rank was "Yellow Belt".
It was the third-lowest rank in the game. She was also unranked in the other game modes. Jisha only vaguely remembered messing around in the sandbox mode which was a testament to how little she'd actually played.
*Hm...*
"Fae Sol" was a username that Bren would recognize. Since the VMA account under the username "Brent" was verified to be his, all she had to do was ask VMA's "Brent" if Synergy's "Brent" was the same.
Jisha tried sending this user a friend request. But...
*>This use has friend requests disabled.*
*Yeah... I figured this would happen.*
Being a prince of a country was almost like being a celebrity. If he enabled friend requests, he would be showered with hundreds of them daily.
She needed to figure out another way to contact him.
And she knew just how she would do it.
Brent's rank in VMA was "Black Belt". Though this was the highest named rank in the game, this rank was separated into subdivisions known as "degrees" with 1st being the lowest and 9th being the highest.
His 5v5 rank was exceptional - he was a fourth degree. However, his 1v1 rank was merely a first degree.
If Jisha could rank up to first degree in 1v1s, she could potentially find a match against Brent. It was a complete luck-based gamble.
*This is a terrible plan. But it's for research purposes!*
There were other ways to contact him like private chat rooms for verified royalty accounts. But where was the fun in that?
Jisha logged out of her Fae Sol account and created a new one with the name "Allunae". She didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to her Synergy account, so she naturally needed a different name.
The avatar was not nearly as customizable as Synergy's - there were only a couple sliders and options to choose from. But she settled on ordinary features except for ice-blue hair and crystal blue eyes.
*I can't believe most of the default settings look the best...*
It was quite the difference from Fae Sol's green eyes and maroon hair.
She also opted to use a voice changer. Again, it wasn't as sophisticated as Synergy's; if one really paid attention, they would be able to tell something was off. But at least her voice wouldn't be recognized as Jisha Slyker's - this was the most important thing.
After skipping the tutorials, Allunae was ready to play.
Jisha immediately queued into a ranked match.
Warmup? Practice? These were unnecessary. Playing against low-ranked players was more than sufficient!
Since Allunae was a new account, Jisha had to play in "placement" matches against lower ranks. Based on the win/loss record of the 10 placement games, the system would assign her a certain rank.
The system almost immediately found Allunae an opponent. The player population in the lower ranks was the highest, so games could be found within seconds.
It took several more seconds for the map and lobby to load. It wasn't a long wait time by objective means, but it was something Jisha wasn't used to seeing.
Finally, she was greeted with a grid of several options.
*>Select your class.*
*>30*
*>29*
*>28*
...
There were only 7 main classes.
Swordsman, Juggernaut, Archer, Elemental Mage, Battle Mage, Hunter, and Healer were the "meta" options.
However, there was an unconventional 8th class: "Unarmed".
The first 7 classes all had four abilities. Unarmed, however, had none. It was objectively the weakest class and was only used for martial arts simulations in custom matches. However, there was a community of Unarmed ranked players since it was a niche endeavor.
*Sounds fun, but let's warm up with... let's see... How about Archer?*
*>Class locked in: Archer*
*>3...*
*>2...*
*>1...*
*>Welcome to Solo Duels.
*>Allunae (Unranked) vs Naya Sangre (Orange Belt ★★)
*>Map: Stone Ruins*
*Two-star orange belt? Ah, that's right.*
For a second, Jisha was confused when she saw the stars. But she quickly remembered that each "belt" was also separated into subdivisions with 1 star being the lowest and 3 being the highest.
For example, even though they were of the same belt, a 3-star Orange Belt was better than a 1-star Orange Belt.
This opponent was an Orange Belt of 2 stars and was therefore a relative beginner at the game. The two lowest ranks, White and Orange Belt, usually consisted of new players who were just learning.
Since body movement was full-range in VMA, martial arts were realistic to a degree. Even if Jisha somehow missed her arrows, she could still punch her opponent to death. This was why she opted to play ranked immediately - new players were an ideal warmup!
As Allunae and Naya Sangre loaded into the map, Jisha took a moment to observe her surroundings.
The number of maps in this game was impressive for something 11 years ago. As someone who only played this game briefly, there was no way she knew any of them. So, she would have to adapt every time and hope to memorize the maps along the way.
The current map, Stone Ruins, was exactly how it sounded. The ground was made of cracked gray stone as far as the eye could see. Some areas had rotted more than others and vegetation sprung from the cracks.
A bit of a distance away were crumbling pillars of various sizes. And towards the left was a stone building that was practically demolished.
It was a simple map, but it still contained features that could be used to one's advantage. In other words, it was perfect for beginners to learn how to use terrain during battle.
Jisha finally glanced at her opponent to discern their class.
Naya Sangre was a female crimson-haired Fire Elemental Mage.
*Right...*
When Jisha saw this, she was reminded of another of this game's quirks.
The class "Elemental Mage" wasn't one but rather four classes. If you chose to be an Elemental Mage, you could be of the Fire, Ice, Terra, or Wind element. All four of these classes pretty much had the same abilities, but the status effects they applied were slightly different.
As a newcomer to VMA in this life, Jisha had no idea what the other classes' abilities were.
*>Fight!*
*I barely even know what my abilities do, but it's time to learn as I play!*
Each ability (fortunately) came with a description and cooldown indicator. But before she could finish reading them, her opponent cast a spell!
Naya Sangre raised her crimson staff in the air, and a ball of flame materialized at the tip. After taking careful aim, the fireball shot directly towards Allunae!
In Jisha's opinion, this player was extremely slow at aiming. However, it couldn't be helped if one was new to the game or didn't play often.
*I wonder if I can interrupt the cast?*
Sometimes, if a mage-type class was in the process of casting a spell, the spell would uselessly dissipate if they took damage. Seeing this snail's pace of a spell cast, Jisha could have easily fired an arrow in the meantime. However, she wanted to know what her opponent's abilities did. So, she waited for Naya Sangre to fire it.
Allunae and Naya Sangre had spawned 20 metron away from each other. Naya fired her spell as soon as the battle began, so this fireball had to travel 20 metron to reach Allunae.
*... It's slow. Maybe around 5 m/s?*
In other words, the fireball would take 4 seconds to reach Allunae. This was more than ample time to dodge a ball that was roughly the size of a human head.
Allunae simply stepped to the side and watched the fireball pass her. A second later, the fireball collided with a stone pillar and detonated with a bang! A flame erupted in a 5 metron diameter with the fireball at the center. Not long after, the stone pillar creaked as it toppled over to the side.
Amidst the dust and crashes, the stone that used to be part of a tower came to rest on the ground.
"Ahhhh, dammit, it didn't work this time!"
*What was she even trying to do? Anyway... destructible terrain?*
Apparently, a fireball could destroy these stone pillars.
What other abilities could destroy what other types of terrain? What types of terrain could even be destroyed? How many types of terrain were there? These were all things top players likely knew, but Jisha didn't have the slightest idea.
*Looks like this game's more complicated than I gave it credit for...*
She anticipated reaching Black Belt without a single loss, but now she wasn't sure. If her opponent knew a map well and abused some "cheese" exploit, she could very well lose.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Thanks for looking over there, idiot!"
As Jisha was lost in her thoughts, she realized she wasn't even facing her opponent anymore. When she turned around, several small fireballs the size of a human eye were hurtling towards her.
*There's too many of them for it to be an ability, I think... Is it a basic attack?*
Basic attacks didn't consume resources and were the most superfluous method of attack. Every class had one. Allunae, as an Archer, could fire an arrow without using an ability. And this Fire Mage could spray these tiny fireballs without a care in the world.
Naya Sangre's basic attacks flew at Allunae nonstop. As they approached her, Jisha realized she'd been careless. These miniature fireballs were just as slow as the large one from earlier, but there were so many of them that it was impossible to dodge them all!
*Whoops...*
Allunae was the the first one to take damage in this match!
*-5*
*-5*
*-5*
Three haptic feedback pulses emanated from where Allunae was hit. Jisha quickly glanced at her HP.
*>HP: 985/1000*
*Huh.*
When she realized that these spam fireballs hardly did any damage, Jisha no longer felt stupid about getting hit. It was objectively impossible to dodge all of the spam. If they did any more damage, it would likely become overpowered!
Jisha couldn't remain silent after being taunted by an Orange Belt. She was still getting pelted by these nonsensical basic attacks.
"You're welcome! Now, how's this?"
She chose to test out the Archer's first ability.
Snipe!
Its name, like the rest of her abilities, explained itself very well. All "Snipe" would do was shoot a laser-thin arrow at a rapid velocity.
Allunae nocked an arrow and raised her bow, and a red indicator appeared where she aimed. With the red dot trained on her opponent's forehead, she let loose!
The high tension of the bowstring launched a projectile that was four times faster than the fireball.
At a distance of 20 metron, Naya had a second to react. An average person had a reaction time of less than 0.3 seconds. However, this was only if they knew what they were doing.
"Ah, what?"
Somehow, the Snipe caught Naya off guard. She fumbled with her staff and attempted to cast a spell. By the time a wall of flame erupted in front of her, the Snipe's arrow already reached her forehead.
*-200!*
"Whaaaaaaat?"
*What the heck?*
Even Jisha was surprised by this high damage value. Snipe's description said it dealt up to 100 damage if it landed. But she quickly realized that a headshot likely gave double damage.
"Firewall", or some similar name, was apparently another of the Fire Mage's abilities. Since this wall of flame obscured vision, Naya had likely tried to cast it before Allunae fired her Snipe.
*She probably wanted to hide behind the wall so I couldn't see her...*
Obviously, this plan failed. Naya's HP was down to 800 from 1000.
*>HP: 955/1000*
Allunae was unsurprisingly in a much better state than her opponent. And funnily enough, by casting a vision-obscuring wall, Naya blocked her own sight as well...
Now, the spam fireballs were extremely easy to dodge, and Jisha decided to load another of her abilities: Quickdraw. Before the wall of flame dissipated, Allunae snuck closer to her target.
*Hehe, the element of surprise.*
The fire wall went down, and Allunae loosed her bow once again.
*Xiu xiu xiu xiu xiu ...*
Five arrows left the bow in quick succession. And with Jisha's aim and her proximity of less than 15 metron, all 5 arrows met the same fate.
Headshot!
*-40*
*-40*
*-40*
*-40*
*-40*
Just like that, another 200 HP was shaved away from Naya.
"What the heck, damn smurfs!"
"Uh... I promise it's my first time playing."
"Like I believe that! What's your actual rank?"
Jisha had no response to this. With her martial arts experience in real life combined with countless hours of VR gaming experience, there was no way she would be bad at VMA even on her first try. However, the player in front of her would never believe her. So, she decided to make something up.
"... Third degree."
"Bullshit. What's the name of your main account?"
*Wow, there's really no winning here, is there?*
Jisha prepared her third ability, Volley, as a sign that she was done talking. But before she could fire...
*>Winner by Forfeit: Allunae*
The Stone Ruins map around them disappeared and was replaced by a post-match lobby.
Jisha was slightly surprised at Naya's decision.
"You don't even want to *try* to fight back?"
"No. And how dare you use a girl avatar as a boy! Hmph!"
*What? That came out of nowhere.*
"... I am a girl..."
"Really? Then why does it sound like you're using a voice changer?"
"... You have good ears, I guess..."
There were a lot of things Jisha wanted to say but couldn't for obvious reasons. But she did empathize with Naya Sangre in a way.
Girls were less likely to play fighting games than boys, so when a girl met another girl, a kinship was immediately formed between the two.
Men in the Northeast were also likely to be mocked for using female avatars, so when Naya saw a female avatar, she probably felt like she'd met a friend. However, this hope was dashed when Allunae was actually a "boy".
*Hmm...*
Jisha wanted to prove to Naya that she was really a girl, but she couldn't just reveal herself as the First Princess of Slyker.
*I guess it can't be helped.*
Jisha sent a friend request to Naya Sangre.
"If you don't believe me, that's fine. But don't you want a Black Belt on your friends list? I sold my original account, so I had to make a new one," Jisha said as she made up a story on the spot. "I'll reach Black Belt on this account pretty quickly, I promise."
Naya Sangre gave Jisha a sidelong glance. And after a few seconds of deliberation, she accepted the friend request.
*>Naya Sangre has accepted your friend request.*
"... You better keep that promise or I'll just unfriend you."
*She definitely has an attitude. ... Not like I'm much better, though...*
"Don't worry about that. But this was my first placement match, so give me some time."
"... Okay."
With that, Allunae exited the post-match lobby and queued up for another ranked match.
Prev | Next
Comments
Post a Comment