5 2. 5v1 Me, Noobs
Strolling through the barren highway full of empty, broken-down cars, I finally found a sign.
[] Rest Stop in 5 miles []
What excited me more was the golden "W" symbol with the red background right below it. The famous go-to destination for any famished travelers or Japanese schoolgirls who want to hang out after school: WcDonald's. I'd kill someone for some fries and a can of Bepis right now.
I checked my Stats. I had a lot of SP after leveling up 17 times, so I invested all of what I had into Speed and Stamina. Maybe I should've saved some to spend on actual Skills, but I really needed to get there ASAP.
In around 3 minutes, I found the rest stop. Close by, I saw it... the promised land.
I dashed into the store to find no employees or customers. An empty WcDonald's? How could that be?
I grabbed a paper cup from the counter and walked over to the soda fountain. Free Bepis.
I did some more scavenging around the kitchen and wolfed down anything I could find. Not really what I was expecting, but at least I'm getting it all for free. It's not like I even had money anyway.
Suddenly, I heard some noise coming from outside. It sounded like a group of people walking down the highway.
I needed to find a way to get back home, but it's been so long since I've talked to anyone outside of my family that I couldn't get myself to just walk up to them to ask for directions. For now, I just watched them from a distance in front of the WcDonald's entrance, nibbling on my empty Bepis cup.
The group was comprised of 5 people, each geared with various equipment. It looks like people are already starting to form parties.
The blonde boy with the hefty red armor seemed to be the leader. He mumbled something to his party members, who would then cackle like little maniacs.
The group came to a halt and looked around. One of the party members, a boy with long, stringy brown hair looked over to my direction and we made eye contact.
I immediately turned and walked back into the WcDonald's building, but I heard the stringy-haired boy holler "there's someone there!"
The group rushed into the building, and I had confront them.
"What are you doing around here, buddy?" asked the blonde leader.
I didn't really know what to say, After all, I don't know what I'm doing here, either.
"No response? You retarded or something?"
I still didn't respond. I couldn't even make eye contact with the guy. I hate people like these who just try to talk to you directly and won't leave you alone when you ignore them.
"Well, fellas, it looks like this is our next one!" the stringy-haired boy declared, after which the other party members started cackling again.
"Wait, what do you mean?" I finally asked.
"Oh, so you can talk," said one of the other party members in an obviously condescending tone, "but you're still too slow to figure out what's going on, aren't you? You still don't know anything about the PvP mode, either."
PvP mode? Orpheon had a PvP Arena, but never something called PvP mode. What's that about?
Quickly, I opened up the menu again. Sure enough, there was a new icon: PvP.
"So you know how to use the menu? Good job, at least you aren't all stupid," said the blonde boy.
I was getting increasingly tired of these insults. Paying no mind to them, I tapped on the PvP icon, and a new window appeared.
[]
PvP Rules:
In the second phase, two types of PvP will be available: Ranked PvP, which takes place in the PvP Arena, and Open PvP, which is conducted within the open world without the need for a PvP Arena.
In Ranked PvP, each player's Level and Skills will be set to be equal. Battles will be 1v1 and available only in the PvP Arena. PvP Ranks are divided to: Rookie, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Master, Grandmaster, and Conqueror.
In Open PvP, PvP mode will be available. All players will have PvP mode disabled by default. Players who enter designated PvP zones will have PvP mode automatically enabled (this cannot be disabled again without leaving the PvP zone). While PvP mode is enabled, players can inflict damage to, as well as be damaged by, other players (those with PvP mode enabled still cannot damage or be damaged by players with PvP mode disabled). Any time a player is slain while in PvP mode, the player who slew that player (or landed the last hit before their death) will obtain a portion of their Skills and Items.
Note: Death while participating in Open PvP counts as a death in the game, so exercise caution when participating in this mode! Additional note: Monsters can enter PvP zones, but not the PvP Arena.
[]
"Hey, you listening?!"
I looked up. While I was reading, the party had already drawn out their weapons. So this is how it's going to be.
I drew out Ascalon. Normally, I would think of running away first. I couldn't even face them when they were talking me down.
But while reading the PvP information, I realized that it doesn't have to be like this anymore, because this is my game. Back then, I would back down because I knew while I was a loser in real life, in the online world, they would be the losers. But now, this IS the online world. This is my world, and they are the losers here.
Plus, I know I'm far ahead of these players even if they started playing the game a few hours earlier than I did. I just slew an equivalent of 10 Perytons while these plebeians probably spent hours trying to boost their levels and gear.
The leader of the group charged first.
[] Skill: [DEF Breaker] activated by Unknown Player! []
I swiftly dodged to the side and he rammed into the wall.
"Did you see that?" one of the party members whispered. "How did he dodge that?"
It looks like investing all my SP into Speed and Stamina was a good idea. I was starting to feel pretty confident, and I figured it was a good time to finally say something back to them.
"A offensive debuffing skill right off the bat... I don't know how you already managed to learn that, but now that I know you mean business, I'll have to put you peasants where you belong."
The stringy-haired boy's face went beet-red and he charged at me, swinging his quarterstaff.
His speed was still no match for me, though. He kept swinging and missing as I jumped around, effortlessly avoiding every hit.
"Now!" he hollered, and a sudden sizzling noise came from behind.
The three other party members! They all had their staffs pointed towards a large ball of energy. This guy was just trying to buy time while they charged the spell!
[] Spell: [Triangle Flare] activated by Unknown Players (3)! []
The stringy-haired boy ducked downward and the ball of energy blasted towards me.
I dashed sideways and the energy ball proceeded to obliterate several WcDonald's tables.
"That missed? Damn it! Cast it again!" hollered the stringy-haired boy to the three mages.
The boy proceeded to approach me again, but this time I jumped at him first.
[] Skill: [Dragoon Spin] activated! []
The boy tried to duck, but was scraped by the side and shrieked in pain.
While he was prone, I hastily brought up the menu and went back to the Cash Shop.
[] Purchased [Shard of Deflection]! []
With the Shard in hand, I waited for the mages to finish casting.
[] Spell: [Triangle Flare] activated by Unknown Players (3)! []
[] Item: The effect of [Shard of Deflection] activates! []
Before the sizzling ball of energy struck me, it was blocked by an unseen barrier and deflected back towards the three mages.
Obviously, they weren't expecting this at all, and by the time they tried to run away, it was too late.
[]
[Shard of Destruction]
Consumable
Deflects 1 offensive Spell cast on the user in the opposite direction with 75% of the power of the original Spell.
[]
I didn't think I would have to get the deflection item so early into the game, since most lower-level monsters don't have Spells. Then again, it's not like I expected to be involved in a PvP fight this early, either. With the mages reduced to atoms, I only needed to deliver the finishing blow to the leader and this stringy-haired rat, who was watching the whole sequence while using his healing items.
"Damn you!" he screamed.
[] Skill: [Omni Boost] activated by Unknown Player! []
[] All stats of foe are boosted by 20% for 60 seconds! []
What the hell? A Legendary skill?
I see. This guy's one of the original Orpheon players. I should've known with his greasy, disgusting hair and all that.
The leader rose up from the crumbled wall.
"You... You'll pay..."
[] Skill: [Retribution] activated by Unknown Player! []
[] Title: The effect of [Conqueror] activates automatically! []
[] When player is in combat with two or more opponents in Open PvP, increases all stats by 50% and activates [Absolute Rule] until the end of combat or until activation conditions are no longer met. []
[] [Absolute Rule] : reduces opponent's stats equal to (10 x total number of opponents within 5 meters of player)% and inflicts the [Fear] status to every opponent within 5 meters of the player. []
Whoa, what's this? I didn't know about this.
From what I'm reading, though, it looks like these guys are going to be dead soon.
