Level Twenty

Level twenty, that final bit of exp gained from the mission reward, gave them the level they needed. "We finally reached it." Detrix squealed.

"I sure hope it's worth it," Fluffles responded, her motivation still pretty low.

Detrix nodded. "It will be, come on, let's go to another world."

"So, how do we get to another world?" Fluffles asked.

"Well, it's a gate powered by magical stones. We have to buy a stone, use it on the gate, and it transports us to that world." Detrix gave the quick version of how the gates to other worlds worked.

They went to the vendor and bought a metal key with a gemstone in the center. "This doesn't look like a magic stone," Fluffles pointed out.

"The magic stone is inside the key. Each world probably has its own method, but they all involve a gemstone, in some way." Detrix led Fluffles to the blocked building from earlier. With them meeting the level requirements, the guard doesn't stop them, and they pass by without a word.

The inside was poorly lit, with only the moon illuminating it. A large desk rested against the wall beside the elevator, and because of the moonlight, only the NPC's pale skin and yellow eyes could be seen.

"Are you here to register a guild, use the transporter, or fight in the arena?" The NPC asked.

"We're here to use the transporter," Detrix responds, prompting a slow nod from the NPC as they push a button on the desk. The elevator doors open as Fluffles and Detrix get in.

"I do hope you return soon," The NPC smiled as the elevator doors closed. As the elevator descended to the basement, it opened to a large metal archway, and before it was a pedestal with a keyhole.

Detrix was the first to approach the machine, "here, I'll show you what to do, and you can follow after me." She took out the key and pushed it into the slot, turning it until it clicked. The machine let out a roar as a green portal appeared, she waved to Fluffles before running through, causing the portal to disappear.

Fluffles was up next, pushing the key into the lock, and as she turned it, the gem within the key darkened as the portal appeared. Running through felt very anti-climatic, as she immediately appeared on the other side with the portal closing behind her.

She saw a familiar pedestal, it looked like the same one from before, but the gate it was attached to was much bulkier, lacking the sleek metallic look with gears and pipes all around it.

"How was the portal trip?" Detrix asked.

"Fine? Nothing happened, so I'm a bit disappointed." Fluffles replied, looking around the empty stone room.

There were stairs in front of them instead of an elevator that led to a church-like building. Lamps ran along the walls and a carpet that went to the exit.

Outside was much brighter than in the urban world, but there wouldn't be much sun, as the smog in the sky was blocking out the light. The buildings looked older as well, with smoke coming out from them.

"What kind of place is this?" Fluffles wondered.

"This is steampunk, gears and pipes on everything," Detrix mocked.

Fluffles looked around, seeing a stone road and lamps lining the street. The cars were much older, having a more compact look compared to the urban world. "So, where is your friend?"

"Hmm, she should've met us here. I added her as a friend in case this happened. Give me a moment." Detrix looked through the menus to find her friend's name. "Oh, she's level nineteen. She's probably doing a quest of some kind."

"Should we go meet her?" Fluffles suggested, wanting to explore a bit more of this world.

Detrix nodded as they followed the roads leading to the slums. Unlike urban fantasy, where the slums had the safe zone and downtown was ruled by enemies, steampunk was the opposite. Downtown held the safe zone, and the slums had enemies. Those enemies consisted of either slum dwellers or thrown-together robots.

They attempted to avoid the enemies, dispatching the more agro ones that blocked the path as Detrix stopped near an alley. "It says she should be right around here."

"Where?" Fluffles looked around, not seeing anyone else.

An explosion down the alley blasted a player into view. They were on the ground, rolling and coughing, before looking up at Detrix and Fluffles. "Oh, Detrix, Hi."

"I see you're as graceful as ever, Ashfire," Detrix joked.

Ashfire stood up and brush herself off. "The best way to kill lots of enemies is to gather them around you and bomb them."

"And blow yourself up in the process," Detrix shakes her head.

Ashfire turned to Fluffles and lift up her goggles. Her character model was lightly tanned with brown hair tied to the back and wore a bunch of brown leather, from the corset down to her leather boots. She started to throw a grenade up in the air, catching it in her hand like the idle animation she enjoyed in other games. "My name is Ashfire, and I'm a- Guh!"

Fluffles tackled Ashfire to the ground mid-conversation, knocking the air out of her. "Why did you do that?" She wheezed and looked over, seeing Fluffles playing with the grenade as a ball. "What the hell is wrong with her?" Ashfire groaned.

"She's a cat," Detrix answered, her friend giving her a confused look as she helped her up.

"I can see that she's a cat, but why is she acting like that?" Ashfire asked again, which caused Detrix to giggle. Ashfire, like many other players, assumed Fluffles was playing the role of a cat.

"I expected something like this. Here." Detrix opens a trade menu giving her a gun with a laser scope.

"Did you buy this weak thing or keep it on your for a while?" Ashfire asked

"I had it just in case, it was an early drop I couldn't equip," Detrix explained.

Ashfire was confused by the transaction. The weapon's origin didn't matter as long as the weapon type matched your class. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Now point the gun near Fluffles, don't aim at her," Detrix ordered as Ashfire equipped the low-level gun.

The laser from the scope appeared beside Fluffles as she played with the grenade, like a ball. It didn't take long for her to notice the laser and completely forget the grenade she was playing with, "It's back!" Fluffles shouted and pounced at it before seeing the light move away, "It's still so elusive!" She tried clawing at it, but her nails only scratched the stone ground. As the light went to a wall Fluffled pounced at the wall, starting to growl at the light.

"Understand now?" Detrix asked as Ashfire continued to move the laser around, seeing Fluffles chase after it. "Don't play with it too long. If she understands where the laser is coming from, it'll lose its charm."

"Yea, I'm starting to understand what you mean by cat." Ashfire was still puzzled by this development. "How can a cat play an MMO?" she asked out loud as Detrix only shrugged, having no answers as Ashfire unequipped the weapon, causing the laser to disappear.

"Ahh, where did it go?" Fluffles became confused, looking everywhere before looking at the others. "Did you see where it went?"

Both of them shook their heads as Fluffles became a little disappointed. Ashfire realized that the grenade was still on the ground, and quickly picked it up before Fluffles tried to play with it again.

Fluffles was dumbfounded about the missing laser before she looked over to Ashfire, "who're you again?"

Ashfire stared at Fluffles, unable to believe what she heard, "you tackled me to the ground and forgot who I was?"

"I was paying more attention to the ball in your hand, sorry." Fluffles apologized before looking around, "where did it go?"

"That wasn't a ball that was a grenade." Ashfire corrected.

"The grenades back in the other world weren't so round," Fluffles pointed out.

"These are my own creations, and as I tried to explain earlier, I'm a machinist. I get bonuses on my crafting, and making explosions is my specialty."