Chapter 040: Into The Game

Within the sky-like chamber was a being of monstrous appearance, proportions and (most frighteningly of all) strength that was at least equal to the other factors. A being that had grown to become something akin to a world-wide urban legend upon earth. Something that elicited fear from everyone to gangbangers on the street to billionaires in their modern ivory towers as well as political & military leaders.

It was akin to a force of nature that promised death to those who facilitated injustice… Of course most of the population believed it to not only be a boogie man but one that simply killed for the sport of it.

Something that was not entirely false yet also not completely true.

"Wechuge" was an entity that indeed enjoyed tearing the throat out of a human - at least as much as the next mythical creature - but it at least chose its primary prey carefully. More specifically; they purposely chose those that either got in its way or were sinners. Well usually the former was also a sinner.

Especially since most of those that the elk monstrosity mostly focused on the rich thus powerful who obviously could not resist the call of crime. And they took pleasure in that. There was nothing as thrilling as watching a man fall apart as everything they treasured was slowly torn apart right in front of their eyes before finally ending them. The look of horror in their eyes when all their hopes turn to terror… Nothing short of addicting.

It was easy to instil fear when you were a 15 foot tall figure cloaked in a deer-like skull instead of anything resembling a human. Made worse by being cloaked in black flames (causing distortion effects to flitter across one's vision) while three crimson flames sat behind its trio of hollow eye sockets. Flames that narrowed as it looked around the settings selection room for Love Heart Online.

"ㄒ卄丨丂 丨丂 几ㄖㄒ Ꮆㄖㄖᗪ."

| This is not good. |

Although the diagram of the world known as Axis in front of it was fine… Nothing else was.

Cracks had formed all around the "sky" with no signs of stopping - slowly spreading out to engulf more of the one bright sky into its oppressive emptiness that hid behind the colourful veil. A sight that made the monster unusually hungry for some reason. Still they realised that there was movement in there and that finding themselves in somewhere unknown would mess up their carefully laid plans.

Glancing toward the character settings, where all this started, made the beast let out a sigh despite the lack of lungs (or much of anything). They tried to look around for a way out but attempts to call on the AI in control of sign up proved to be very much unsuccessful. Staying to see what would happen also would be quite nugatory. Leaving them in quite the difficult spot.

"爪ㄚ 千丨尺乇 匚ㄖㄩㄥᗪ 卩尺ㄖᐯ乇 ㄩ丂乇千ㄩㄥ 卄ㄖ山乇ᐯ乇尺 丨 ᗪㄖ 乃乇ㄥ丨乇ᐯ乇 ㄒ卄卂ㄒ 爪ㄚ 乇乂卩乇尺丨乇几匚乇 卄卂丂 乃乇匚ㄖ爪乇 爪ㄚ 乃卂几乇..."

| My fire could prove useful however I do believe that my experience has become my bane... |

A fact that made the creature unwilling to act out irrationally as their flames could potentially destabilise what was causing the problem in the first place. Instead it chose to look around. Trying to find anything that could possibly help them out of the situation nevertheless they ended up coming out with nothing.

That was until a familiar notification popped up once again.

"¿̵̻̱͝~̸̰͉̆̀̒͝ʍ̴̧̻̤̤́̈́͆̈̑͜o̸̫̠̬̤͋͐̎͠͠Ņ̸̦̰͊̀ͅ ̶̹̣̄̐̔͋̚ʇ̷̛̥̂̇n̶̩̮̥̓͜ọ̴̍͛̏̀͝q̶̞͇͚̭̏̈́̄∀̶̡̼̩̭͇̈́̏͘ ̴̞̣̰̭̫̂ʇ̸̭̯̄̈̑̚ɥ̴̗̳̪̇͆́̒̊ƃ̷̠̯͈͍͚̏ᴉ̴̧̺̖́͜ɹ̶̧̙̪̄̋̿̾͜ ̶͍̫̤͉̆͝ǝ̶̞͙̕ʇ̶̡̖̝̤̦͌̾ɐ̵̭̝͚̤̆͌̈́͝ͅɹ̴̼̠͙̇̏̀̀͠Ɔ̴̳͎̉̏͜͠ͅ ̵̼͙͍͊̏̈́͒̌∀̷̖̂̇̍̎ͅ ̷̼̮̫̝͓̓̚ǝ̶̛͙͔̜͔̒̅͂̂ʞ̶̩̝̜̤̽̓̿̃̿ᴉ̵̢̙̓̀͌̆́͜˥̶̛̬͇̻́̓̅͠ ̴̲̬͉͕̓͂̂̔̽p̷͔̗͌̅͐̈́,̶̨̟͆̐́̾͝n̴̟̝͎͊̋͛͊́o̴̟̟̐͠ͅ⅄̷̹̣͎̒ ̵̜̱̲͖̏ʞ̸͈͍̻̕͝u̷̪̚͝ᴉ̴̲̒ɥ̷̳̼̅┴̴̱̓̓̈́ ̵͔̯̥̟͂͜I̶͙̪͌̄͑̆̑"

That monster did not exactly look pleased at being asked a question like that however this was also the only interaction it was able to have with the game. As such it had no chance but to shake its head before lifting one of its spindly alabaster limbs. Their sharp claw-like finger slowly stretched out to press on the flashing button which depicted a black crate covered in red arcane circles etched upon each surface. An oversized wizard with a stitched on face sat atop the box.

Pressing the button caused a upscaled version of the crate to appear on the system screen; shaking around only to have the hat fall over to completely engulf the crate. Said crate vanishing under the head gear in a seemingly impossible manner. Moments later the hat blew off with a yellow glow.

"ㄒ卄乇丂乇 ㄒ卄丨几Ꮆ丂 匚卂几 卂匚ㄒㄩ卂ㄥㄥㄚ Ꮆ丨ᐯ乇 丂ㄖ爪乇ㄒ卄丨几Ꮆ Ꮆㄖㄖᗪ?"

| These things can actually give something good? |

A light that brought astonishment to the monster who, in return, stretched out its hand as if to grasp the reward for which it had received. Soon its skull-face seemed to quirk up in a menacing smile as those unnatural fangs (especially on its decomposed elk-akin face) clacked against one another. Soon turning back towards the globe of Axis for which it malevolently cupped in its two clawed hands; causing the screen to build up static.

"千ㄖ尺ㄒㄩ几卂ㄒ乇ㄥㄚ 爪ㄚ Ꮆ乇几丨ㄩ丂 卄卂丂 千ㄖㄩ几ᗪ 卂 丂ㄖㄥㄩㄒ丨ㄖ几... ㄒ卄丨丂 丂Ҝ丨ㄥㄥ 山丨ㄥㄥ 匚ㄖ爪乇 丨几 Ɋㄩ丨ㄒ乇 ㄩ丂乇千ㄩㄥ 千ㄖ尺 ㄒ卄乇 匚ㄖ爪丨几Ꮆ ᗪ卂ㄚ丂!" 

| Fortunately my genius has found a solution... This skill will come in quite useful for the coming days! |

With those horrifying words; the cloak of chilling fire expanded to consume the beast as it flew towards the globe like a meteor from the abyss. Taking little time to breach the atmosphere of the planet to quickly approach an area near the ocean. Not realising that a few void filled cracks had already begun encroaching upon the edges of that very planet…

Nothing that the system couldn't fix however those repairs would forever change the planet below.

Something that would certainly get in her way.

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The rattling of the train was almost melodic as its dulcet tones possessed the ability to let any weary soul settle down and quickly learn to enjoy the wonders of time flowing by.

Of course, the music was not restricted to merely the clattering of the tracks of limbo, as that gramophone released the mellow polyphonic tune. A foreground of gentle string that covered the gentle soothing voice that could lul even the Asura to fall into its embrace. Although it did not take for one voice to outshine all the others - making a choice that allowed it to even overcome all the instruments - yet never seeming frantic nor argumentative,

Obviously the listener to all of this was a certain bespeckled conductor cum psychoanalyst. Out of everyone's eyes the respectfully dressed individual… Did about what one would expect. Surrounded by the childish drawings all over their office; they simply enjoyed a moment of peace with a good book and an even better cup of tea. 

Taking full advantage of the freedom they now found themselves with; having no worries for their charge now that she had finally entered into the "game". Only two people within the room as they delved into the world of words. Not even sprites floated around for once - letting the consultant fully embrace solitude for a single rare moment of time.

It must have been a very good book as even that inviting smiles of theirs followed along with the emotional intention of the author. Their expressions flashing with all sorts of emotions. From enthralled, contemplative, to concerned, sad then finally surprised and thankfulness.

Though (as they closed the book to take another deep sip from their teacup) they could not help forming another ruminative countenance as they considered the underlying meaning of the novel they read.

"Truly an interesting introspective into the role gluttony plays in our lives; it may indeed seem like a sinful behaviour to those like us who can proudly throw away the desire to feed ourselves. However, to those who are far from well off and alone in the world, it is not a desire. A need that can lead to them becoming something truly beautiful no matter how much they struggle with their fleeting physical form…"

Letting out a deep sigh as they proceeded to take a deep long sip from their still faintly steaming tea with a look of appreciation across their face. Their other hand moved to softly caress the book as they leaned back to fully enjoy the brief moment of calm they had. 

That was until a certain voice broke their silence. "I have never heard someone have such a deep introspective into 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' jehehe~."

"If one cannot understand the foundations how can they enjoy the classics?" 

Fortunately an argument about the literary merit of "The Hungry Very Caterpillar" did not get the chance to take place as a familiar masked impish buddhist burst into the room. Quickly making sure there were no little spirits floating around (which they soon confirmed). Turning toward the two in the room to speak. "We have a newly developed problem of monumental scale… More specifically, both of you have a major issue that necessitates solving. Like now."

"What problem could be so bad with that brat finally unravelling her little plan on that world~♪" The intimidating figure spoke like a wolf enjoying the sight of their prey fumbling about in front of them.

Even the glasses wearing conductor shook their heads. "They have been preparing all this time-"

"The genre of the world changed."

""What?!""

At this point the spirit let out a sigh, placing their cup down with a *clack*, while the other person grasped their face while rolling around in annoyance at the sudden changing situation. Ultimately it was the respectably dressed entity who finally decided to ask the obvious question. "We'll need to visit at least the System in charge of managing this… Thankfully they are upon this train thanks to it being the best way to make connections to various realms & dimensions. But what genre did she enter?" 

"Well…"

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The shadowy fireball came down (onto the unsuspecting world) swiftly approaching a slight outcrop into the vast oceans on the planet. Although the monster did make note that the amount of water suddenly appeared to be far lesser than they recalled. Almost Making them believe it to be a completely different planet due to the landmasses being nearly unrecognisable as a result. That water level of the entire world had gone down thus allowing for previously hidden aspects to be revealed.

Though, as far as they could tell, the world was neither hotter or colder than previously expected.

Either way they could hardly ponder as the time required to do such was not currently available… On account of hurtling towards the ground. Not to mention that there still seemed to be a lot more ocean than on earth yet also more land than the world it initially came from - a veritable adventure paradise. 

Getting closer to the earth of Axis allowed for the Wechuge to realise they were actually speeding towards a very busy looking city. They did not know every city available on the planet, let alone the many worlds that the game allowed one to future at current and in the future, but they at least recognised this as being a major port city located across the drink to the nation to the one they hoped to settle into. Not the best start to the game but certainly not as bad as it could have been by far.

At least not yet.

It soon became apparent that they were not about to arrive near the city - they were going to crash right into the city. There was a brief moment when they considered landing outside the city. That was quite short lived, however.

Soon crashing into the city with a cataclysmic *BABOOM* that shook the city as their black flames blew throughout the city. Any piece of magic engraving, even those upon the impressive stone brick exterior walls attempting to defend the city from the various outside threats, found themselves becoming so unstable that they were ruined while those stronger straight up exploded. The abyssal comet itself landed within a back alley between two towering concrete buildings. 

Glancing around - from within the burning shadows it was located - led the beast to see that the alleyway had a lot of trash & broken glass across the ground. There were some bins of varying strength yet they smelled suspiciously. At the moment, however, the monster could not find itself focusing on all that.

"Welcome To The World of Axis; A "Fighting" & "Hack 'n' Slash/Beat 'em Up" Crossbreed"

Finally that AI voice called out… But it was not what the beast wished to hear.

"ヨ尺ヨヨ~廾丹山!"