6 Shift II

     "Ideas for Royal Star? What do you have in mind?" 

     "There is this place people found in the outskirts of the city, we can use it as a spot to level up. Just enough for when we get the chance to fight the Ogre again… we just need to find it." It was hard to tell her since I thought she'd get a little worried. It was going to be a struggle finding it if it got out of the sewers. She looked at me in the eyes. She wasn't at all worried about this. The look she was giving me was the complete opposite. "We'll be prepared next time. I know it." She said reassuringly. If she and I did end up leveling up to level 10, we'd have enough skills, and I'd have my class. We might be able to pull this off given enough preparation and some better gear. 

     "Then, I found some early quests we can complete with a hefty reward with some gold and EXP, even some crafting items." 

     "Speaking of items, what about gear?" She asked. 

     "I was already thinking about that. If we go to the mines just east of the city, near the grinding hot spot, we'll be at the entrance to a mining reserve filled with ore. We just need to get some and take it to a blacksmith. One of the shop owners in the city is a blacksmith so we can just go there and get some better equipment after a bit of waiting. There is an enhancement system in the same. We need to find a shop in the city that can do that, and I know where to find it." 

     "So even with starting weapons we can keep using them for a little while longer than normal. But there's a level cap, for sure." She mentioned. I nodded. The level cap was 15 for starting weapons and armor. Like all MMOs, there are rarities. Instead of names like Rare, Super Rare, Legendary, etc., they are given a letter in this game. It goes from E to A, and S is basically Legendary. Not just that, some have a plus sign to show that it is slightly stronger than normal ranks. So even if you had an E-Rank sword, if it had a plus sign it would be stronger than the average E-Rank. I put the paper back into my pocket. "If we learn how to use the skills of a Blacksmith, then we can make our own weapons and armor." I added. I then stood up and scratched the back of my head. Veronica stood up as well. 

     "Hey! Wanna hang out for a little bit? We can still play tonight. I'm just really bored right now." Veronica seemed pumped after she mentioned the idea of having a little fun while it was still bright out. I agreed and the both of us walked out of the park. Without hesitation, and much to my surprise, she grasped my hand and led me to a bustling part of the city. My family and I were originally from the United States, but we ended up moving across the world to Japan. I know Japanese so reading everything here was a cake walk. We moved a few years ago and my parents learned a bit of it through an instructor. They are getting better little by little. "Where are you from, Veronica?" She had a bit of an accent. When we met, I didn't look a little bit Japanese so she spoke English, and from there I could tell she wasn't from here either. "Oh? I'm from the UK. I lived in England for a bit and I moved here with my family." She responded.

     "Really? Same here." 

     The two of us began to tell stories from before and after we moved. She told me all sorts of stuff like how she enjoyed reading and writing when she was a kid and how I loved drawing. I still do, and she still enjoys reading. But the both of us really enjoyed playing games. Which is why she took the arcade. We walked in and we put in some money for some tokens to play the games. She too had a job, something with working in retail. She returned her hold to my wrist and she took me, against my will, to a dancing game. A pretty popular one anyone would know the game of at first glance. "C'mon! Let's play!" She urged. 

     "I don't dance." 

     "But you will! I promise you that!"

     Forcibly, she had me stand next to her on the dance pad. She put in a token and the game started. A countdown started from 10 and was going down. I started getting nervous, but she was getting more pumped by the second. When it signaled us to get ready, she stared intently at the screen. As soon as it said go, white  arrows came up from the bottom and to the top, where black arrows were positioned and the name of the game was to wait for the arrows to overlap and hit the arrow associated with the direction it was pointing. By the time I figured out everything, she was already thousands of points ahead of me, and I was standing there doing nothing while the arrows were leaving the screen. I started stumbling over myself, having a hard time trying to get a combo going. Every three moves I made a mistake. 

     "How in the hell are you so good at this?" I asked. 

     "I play this game a lot in my spare time." 

     The game felt like it was going on for an eternity. Before I knew it, I was on the floor after tripping myself. I was letting out heavy breaths with sweat rolling off of me. A hand brought itself into few. Veronica offered to help me up and I gladly took it. With her help I stood up. "Damn. You are a master at this, aren't you?" She giggled and shook her head saying, "Nope. I just really like the game. Plus my reaction time is pretty good." 

     "You sure you ain't some Goddess?"

     "I don't think so." She smiled. 

     The two of us then walked out of the arcade. We talked for a little bit more and got something to eat before her and I got back home. I went to my apartment and into my room. Just as I got ready, I heard a knock on my door. When I opened it, Veronica was there. 

     "Um. My parents aren't home and I don't wanna stay home by myself. Can I stay here with you?" She asked politely. 

     She was almost an adult, yet she's scared of being alone. I smiled and patted the top of her head. I said yes and she walked in with her stuff in a backpack with a case in her hands which she used to store her headset. "You wanna play now?" She asked. 

     "Yep. See ya on the other side." 

     I switched on the headset and logged in. In a flash, I appeared in the same spot I was when I logged off: a bench. Veronica was with me too, so she appeared on the spot next to me. Her and I then made our way to the hot spot. 

     The reports were true. This place was littered with monsters, so waiting for any to respawn wasn't a problem. The two of us rushed in, slashing through the monsters in rapid succession. In just a short while, her and I were half way to level 4 (500/1,000)

[ PLAYER: Damon ]

[ PLAYER STATISTICS ]

HP: 160

MP: 160

ATK: 18

INT: 18

SPD: 25

AGI: 17

     I smiled seeing my stats. I was pretty happy with how I was starting out. I just need to make sure I was keeping up with everyone else around me. Most dedicated players probably didn't care about what time it was. So I bet everything that some were already level 10 or something like that. I made a mental note to watch out for those guys. Veronica and I then walked back into the city to buy a pickaxe each. 

     Our next stop: the Mines. 

We needed new equipment and fast. Because of this, we had to just get in and get out as soon as possible. A few chunks of iron ore couldn't hurt, right? I assumed that monsters would be in there, too. The more we went in, the rarer the ore. That was my assumption. 

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