Domain

Ky took his first steps inside the mysterious Domain, only to find himself entering a black void where the only light present was what entered through the open door behind him. He turned around to see that only he had access to the Domain despite the door being open. The nonplayers on the other side of it seemed to be blocked by some sort of invisible wall that only players, like Ky, could pass through.

The door then shut behind him, completely enveloping Ky in a cold darkness. However, some text began appearing before him, generating a light source that reached about arms-length around Ky.

[Welcome to the Queens Domain! Would you like a tutorial?]

[Yes]

[No]

Ky chose to proceed with the tutorial, compelling the Domain to begin to transform. Ky's eyes followed in awe as the darkness dispersed and his surroundings began to shift before his very own eyes. It was as if he were witnessing the Earth being created by God as trees began growing, surrounding him in a dense forest. He could feel and even smell the grass being formed beneath his feet and the warm sun's glow could be felt on his auburn skin.

'Amazing...'

And that it was.

The Domain was seemingly creating a simulated world around him, one where all five senses could detect every and anything within it. 

[Domains allow the player to grind for EXP, Law/Chaos Points, Skill Points, and Gear.]

'I see. So Hero and Villain Points have been renamed to Law and Chaos Points. It seems like an attempt at blurring the lines between good and evil.'

[Gear is a new system that allows players to increase their stats, which previously were only determined by character level. Gear does not alter the appearance of the player. Here is a complimentary piece of Gear. Please, equip this Gear through the Hero x Villain Online mobile app.]

[Gear Unlocked - (Common) Keeper of Time Crown]

Ky began looking through the app until he stumbled across the new Inventory system, which included a section for Gear. 

[(Common) Keeper of Time Crown]

[TNQ +5]

[Equip Keeper of Time Crown]

Ky dragged the symbol of a crown with what looked like gems etched with the face of a clock into the section beside the head of his silhouette on the app. Once the crown was equipped, his appearance did not change, but his Technique stat did.

[ATK - 2]

[AGL - 2]

[TNQ - 7]

[DEF - 1]

[VIT - 1]

[ATK is one's Attack stat. Raising this will increase how powerful one's physical attacks become. AGL is one's Agility stat. Raising this will increase the player's ability to dodge attacks and perform advanced movements. TNQ is one's Techniques stat. Raising this will increase the player's efficiency with weapons and their respective superhuman abilities. DEF is one's Defense stat. Raising this will increase the player's ability to withstand attacks. VIT is one's Vitality stat. Raising this will increase the player's Health Points and Health Regeneration]

'That's a lot of words. But I get it. When I equip a piece of gear, my stats increase. Seems simple enough.'

[Your character seems to be built toward Technique. Technique builds specialize in weaponry and use their powers to gain the edge on their opponents. They are typically, though not always, glass cannons. In other words, in exchange for advanced control of their abilities and weapons, they lack defensive capabilities.]

[You already have a weapon equipped. Allow us to integrate it into our system]

[Dad's Glock 19]

...

...

...

[Dad's Glock 19 - Integrated]

In Ky's visual field, he could finally see the amount of ammunition inside his father's gun, along with a symbol of the weapon beside his cooldowns. 'The UI is getting cluttered...'

[Certain UI elements can be disabled from the menu.]

Ky furrowed his brows. 'Right, not even my own thoughts are safe from the game. I might as well start thinking out loud.'

[Technique builds can also equip secondary weapons. Please select a secondary weapon.]

[Katana]

[Greatsword]

[Shield]

[Assault Rifle]

[Bow]

[Shortsword]

'Easy choice.'

Ky didn't even bother looking at the other choices as he immediately picked the katana as his secondary weapon. The moment he chose it, a katana appeared strapped to his back. Ky grabbed the handle of his new sword and pulled it from its scabbard. The blade was in pristine condition, such that Ky could see his reflection in the blade that looked so sharp, Ky could see himself breaking skin just by running his finger across it.

Ky then jolted when a practice dummy appeared right in front of him, one made of the same wood from the surrounding trees. 

[Feel free to practice with your weapons until you are ready to conclude the tutorial]

Wanting to give his new blade a spin, Ky gripped the handle tightly and held the blade in front of him as a samurai would. He hadn't any experience with swords outside of pretend play at his friends' houses with mock laser swords, yet when he swung the blade for the first time, it felt natural.

"No way..." Ky whispered as he began mimicking the basic maneuvers that he'd seen in movies and video games. 'This must be because of the technique stat increase, right? I can't do anything crazy, but my efficiency with weapons makes me somewhat of an experienced swordsman. Since my attack is barely at level two, that must be why my physical attacks are still sloppy as if I'd never been in a fistfight. I wonder... if I remove this Gear...'

Ky removed the piece of Gear that he'd just received, moving his Technique stat down by five points. He then readied his blade again, only to find that he was moving much more sloppily than he was before. It was as if he'd never held a blade in his life, which was more accurate to how he would wield a sword if he weren't a beta tester. 'So, my deduction was correct. My stats directly correlate to my skills in certain categories. I better find ways to level up the other stats too then.'

Already, Ky was beginning to understand how this new Gear feature worked. After equipping his Gear piece once more, Ky began practicing and found that he'd regain his skills. After placing the sword back in its scabbard, Ky drew his gun took a few steps back, and pointed it at the target. 

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Though his aim wasn't perfect, each bullet seemed to have hit the target. However, there was something that Ky wanted to test out before moving on. He reversed time by a few seconds before shooting at the target a single time. He hit the chest, however, Ky simply reversed time before adjusting his aim and hitting the target with a headshot. 'I can conserve ammo if I reverse time if it isn't a kill shot.'

Ky practiced for a few minutes, alternating between using his blade and his gun, though when he tried using both at once, he discovered that his Technique stat wasn't high enough for that just yet.

'Alright, I'm ready. Let's do this.'

[Tutorial Complete!]

[Domain Start!]

The area around Ky began to transform and the lush, green forest was no more. Ky found himself standing before a gargantuan mansion where guards armed to the teeth were patrolling around it. 

[Law - Kidnap the Target] 

[Chaos - Kill the Target]

[Bonus - Complete the Domain without alerting anyone]

'Interesting. The new content update said I can level up both Law and Chaos simultaneously, right? That means if I want Chaos Points, I could just grind this without having to harm real innocent people.'

Though Ky wouldn't consider himself a goody-two-shoes, he did have his own qualms about hurting innocent people. However, he did hold the belief that for some members of society, capital punishment was necessary. That said, Clarence was just a school bully and not someone who deserved anything worse than a beating. However, there was no moral high ground stopping Ky from killing this digital target. If he wanted Chaos Points, this was the way to get them.

Ky started for the mansion, hiding behind a bush where a guard was patrolling nearby. 'Okay, as of now I have three abilities. Psychometry, Time Warp, and Time Slow. I can't shoot the guy or else I'll be detected, and I really want that bonus. I've never used the katana on a moving target before, but I'm sure if I use my Time Slow ability, it can make up for it.'

A metallic hiss was heard as Ky drew the katana from his back. The guard remained none the wiser, still patrolling on the other side of the shrubbery. Ky took a deep breath before jumping over the shrubs, compelling the guard to turn to investigate. However, thanks to Ky's ability to slow down time, he was able to stab the guard through the heart, killing him instantly.

[Guard Assassinated: +50 Chaos EXP]

For a moment, though only a moment, Ky could feel a mixture of emotions inside of him. There was fear, perhaps due to taking a life, but at the same time, there was pleasure in feeling himself powerful enough to take a life with such ease. Again, he felt that same uneasy feeling he felt when the game prompted him to kill Clarence, however, Ky pressed on nonetheless. 'They aren't real. Besides, even if they were, I have to press on. I need to learn more about the game. I need to know how I'm the so-called hope of humanity.'

Ky knelt down over the corpse before placing his hand on the corpse's head to use his psychometry ability. He could see the guard's memories, which led him directly to where the target would be. 'Master Bedroom, third floor.' In Ky's visual field, said location was marked, leading him directly to his target. Before leaving the corpse, Ky made sure to loot the body for the keys to the building. 

Ky snuck away, choosing to enter the mansion through one of the side entrances that were locked, but thanks to the key he stole, he simply strolled right inside. It was late at night, so the inside of the mansion was pitch black, however, there were still multiple guards roaming around.

'Okay, I need to find the stairs to this place. There are definitely stairs near the front entrance, but there are definitely dudes guarding them. A place as big as this has to have another way up.'

As Ky scanned his surroundings, he could see a light source coming from beneath a closed door. Slowly, he tiptoed over and ever so gently turned the doorknob and pushed the door forward. Inside, he could see that this room was the kitchen, where just a single chef was preparing a meal. To Ky's luck, there was an elevator that was meant for the chef to easily bring meals to the owner. 'Bingo.' Ky whispered. 

Like a lion stalking its prey, Ky lay in wait for the chef to turn around. The instant the chef turned to tend to whatever was on the stove, Ky lept out from the shadows. The chef, hearing the door opening violently, turned his body to see Ky sprinting at him with a sword. However, there was nothing that could be done to prevent Ky from slowing down time and hitting the chef with the reverse side of his blade, knocking him out cold. 

[Witness Subdued: +50 Law EXP]

'Alright, no blood. Which means I'll be borrowing this.'

Ky began disguising himself as the chef, wearing everything from the white garbs to the tall hat. Before leaving, however, he touched the chef's unconscious body and began peering into his memories using his Psychometry ability. 'There's a code on the bedroom door. 3 1 5 2. Got it.'

Ky grabbed a stainless steel cloche, placed it on a nearby cart where he hid his katana underneath the white cloth that draped over it, and took the elevator upstairs, playing the role of the chef. Though some of the guards looked at Ky curiously, perhaps due to the fact that they didn't recognize him, he kept his head down and proceeded forward. 

Eventually, he found himself standing in front of the bedroom door and he entered the code from the chef's memories. The door opened, and Ky entered the room, finding the target in his bedroom with a few women in lingerie. 'Damn it! There's no way I can kill this guy with these women in the way. I guess I won't be finding out what that stealth bonus is. I guess it's time for a full Chaos run.'