Town of Moo Beginnings?!
'Welcome to Utor, town of new beginnings', read the wooden sign ahead, throwing shade over me with the sun shining behind it.
New beginnings?! This is just my normal life if reality is still fucking me though! I grumble internally, mad at just.. everything! On top of that, I'm on my ass, I thought you were supposed to start on your feet when you load in on a cinematic!!
Looking down I realize, oh it's probably because i'd fall straight over.. Right.. Hooves, I touch them feeling the smooth texture like I was running my fingers over very fine sandpaper and the nice soft fur coming up after it.. I try to move my face closer, hoping to also feel it on my cheek.
A digital popping sound comes from my left as another player loads in, they look like a garden gnome. surprised I spring my face up and away from my hooves landing with my arms behind my back in the grass, they ogle me lasciviously, grin and trop forward into town on their tiny legs.
*Beep!* "Moo!" startled again, a noise comes from the right side of my vision. A small figure of Fia holding a sign comes up.
< + Friend Request! + >
"Uhh, receive friend request? moo", I pause.. "Fia please, I don't know how this works moo!" I plead in panic, a message comes up on my front console.
{ Please Press the Icon to Access Said Function! }
I sigh and move my hand out from behind me, the weight of my body pulls me back, I quickly poke the icon and catch my top heavy body before I fall over.
{ Requesting friend request via Pod #2849DA }
[ Please press to accept ]
"I Accept! moo!" I yell, hoping at least this one is voice activated?!
{ Would you like to turn on voice activated commands? }
"Oh god please! moo..", A beep confirms my actions and it also accepts the request for contact.
< Video Call Incoming! >
"Accept the call please. moo '', The Console expands to cover a large space in front of me until I can see a very new sight through the screen,
"Sorry sorry, I forgot to add you straight away! I have the cutest tiny, monotone, Goth Fia. I spent soo long playing dress up, she looks like a doll straight from that Bloodborne remaster that just came out!! It was worth it for the premium costs, that's for sure! wan!".
She opens her eyes finally after her nerd out, seeing the new form of her friend in front of her.
She gulps, and her eyes nearly pop out of her skull. I smile up at her from the grass. I see a small picture in the corner, realizing now, that I didn't exactly choose the clothes that I came in with. It seems I missed a section. I'm wearing a brown split skirt, a gray crop top that seems very tight against my top body due to my leaning back. I'm looking very exposed for a poor gay girl to see.
"Zel, helloo Zelia moo??" I pause for a second.. Did I just say moo?.. It felt so natural that I didn't even grasp what I was saying until now. Zel seems to wake up from her stupor shocked at what just had come from my mouth as well. She starts cracking up and bends over holding her stomach "Ahahaha moo! Lil you said moo! Wan!".
Turning sullen, dropping my head to my chest, "Minotaur's might be based on cow's but I didn't think I had to actually say moo!? moo!" .
Zel Chuckles and shakes her head, "It's one of the features! animal base races get compulsions which means your body's extra parts react to how you're feeling, and take on certain traits. You also end your sentences with a signature sound, you can't turn it off but you can suppress it if you force it. Wan!" She looks very proud of herself as a black tail quickly wags back and forth in happiness.
I finally stop myself to get a look at my very witchy friend. She's now a bit under 5' tall lupine woman with striking white fur covering the fronts and face, moving to a blueish black from the top of her snout and after her cheeks. Her hair is a combination of blue and black with the colors split to the side, her ears stand up straight with a lovely pink inside and white on the front tapering down to black at the back of them.
She's wearing her signature silver chains that I adore, must have paid a premium for the cosmetic addition but I know how important her aesthetic is to her. The dress shows off just the bottom of her bare feet, white again with the same color of black-ish blue sliding up from the ankle.
"Gods Zel you're super pretty! moo!" I smile deeply up at my lifelong friend from the warm grass. Spluttering at me, her white furry cheeks turn a shade of red, the call disconnects.
Oh, I shouldn't have done that, but she really is super pretty. My thoughts turn to what her toe beans feel like… squish.
*Beep* *Beep* *Bee-be-beep* Message after message smack into my terminal harder than Fia on a whiteboard.
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{ Incoming New Messages From ZelAwoo }
New! - Moobrained idiot!
New! - Cow goddess hot assed moron!
New! - DELETE THAT LAST ONE!
New! - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
New! - Dummydummydummydummymoomoo!
New! - Im in public!! dont say those things! i have an aesthetic to uphold!!
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The messages keep coming, before I can process the previous ones, a new one arrives. Finally after a few minutes it stops. The last one being
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New! - Your not on my map so we started in different towns!
Make sure you choose to go to Silver city since it seems like lots of people from the oceanic region are picking it. You only get one starting choice since there will be regional battles later on for events!
Message me when you get there, dont read previous messages! just delete the rest!
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I reply back with 'moo' and a heart emoji which I'm sure annoyed her even more, I could feel her holding herself back from here.
I think I've had enough of just sitting here. I feel the fur of my body one last time and push off a bit and try to balance. I wish I could say it worked the first time.. Or the 3rd, brushing the tears of frustration out of my eyes everytime i fell over, eventually I was on my feet with only a small sway. Gently, I move my feet apart as if I was riding a horse and stabilize myself, using breathing exercises to quiet the bad thoughts in the back of my mind, feeling the balance of my new legs and how heavy my new upper body is.
All these 1's are really doing work on me, I felt sluggish, in body and mind, which is probably why it took me so long to realize that I kept saying moo everytime I opened my damn mouth!
Feeling confident enough to at least start walking, I pass the gates and venture further in. The trees to the side seem bright and welcoming and I see a village ahead.
People of all shapes and sizes congregate around the square, meeting up with friends, making new ones or listening to the NPC in the middle of the throng with a question mark above their head. Looks like that's my first quest!
A Rabbit in a hat looking like they hopped straight out of the Alice in Wonderland VR Adventure, that I watched again and again when Zel's family took me in, was standing in the middle of the square, players were standing around after walking up to them, listening and then walking away with a bag in their hands, it must be instance based as i can't see the rabbits mouth moving, seeing the name above its head i greet the NPC.
"Hello Theobold! frabjous day to you, how are you?", "Good good and frabjous day to you, I'm here with a proclamation from the creator themselves to bring to all that are visiting our realm" They clear their throat and pull out a thick scroll which tumbles to the floor unfolding before them.
"I, Theobold Thislewack the 86th, bring information pertinent to the world of Iselgurd. Under the protection of the great god Artemis, for we are their children and must see to it that we strive in their honor, would request that you see this world, full of life as any other, and be kind to those that strive in hardship of Iselgurd for they have one life, while we have many. Please take this small token bestowed upon you by our protector and lord, inside is also the pass needed to go into the wilderness outside of town, once you have reached level 10 you will be able to choose your starting region! Good day young mooling!" They pass over a small bag and salute me very seriously.
A sparkle showers around me and people look over weirdly at the light that's shining around me. A whisper starts, "Did she just level from the 1st quest? That's weird right? You can't even leave town until you finish it."
Oh, oh no. People are looking at me, panicking at all the attention I move out of the square and into what looks like an inn.
I sit down at one of the larger seats that are made for 'larger builds' and try to calm down, my tail sweeps over the seat and I brush my hand under my butt to make sure I don't squish it.
Finally, checking my Log I see some Notifications waiting for me.
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Notifications
{ 500 Exp Points Received }
{! The scales of the goddess tip in your favor !}
{ Exp Reward doubled }
{ 1000/1000 Max Exp Gained }
{ Level 2 Achieved }
[ Level Up! ]
{ Please assign your 5 status points }
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Surprised as the rest of those people in the square, I clicked on the level up button and it brings up my character sheet for the first time.
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Status Interface
Name: LilMoo
Level: 2
Race: Minotaur
Gender: Female, She/Her
Max Health: 25
Max Mana: 11
Max Stamina: 15
Points remaining: 5
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 1
Constitution: 1
Wisdom: 1
Intelligence: 1
Charisma: 1
Luck: 50
Equiptment
Head: N/A
Neck: N/A
Chest: Basic Shirt
Wrists: N/A
Hands: N/A
Legs: Basic Skirt
Feet: N/A
Weapon: N/A
Off-Hand: N/A
Ring 1: N/A
Ring 2: N/A
Items
100g
Abilities
Passive
Pinnacle of Luck (Unique)
Herald of Nemesis (Unique)
Active
Coin Flip (Uncommon)
Titles
N/A
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It would be so nice to have proper control over my body again! I think as I dump all 5 points straight into Dexterity. I then see below on my character sheet, oh I already have some abilities? Clicking on them one at a time reading what they do, my mind boggling.
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Pinnacle of Luck (Unique) - Passive Ability
Outcomes that require luck have double the change of occuring, Drops, Critical Strikes, Events ect.
'Existance has never been fair, we are only ever a dice roll away from anything happening'
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Herald of Nemesis (Unique) - Passive Ability
The Goddess Nemesis will sometimes interfere in the luck of the world, giving you a better outcome.
'One who has lost it all, balance the tirdes, let there be retribution and enact the fall of hubris'
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Coin Flip (Uncommon) - Active Ability
Flip the coin of Nemesis
Every heads landed increases your next damage on a target by Luck% x Heads
If the coin instead lands on Tails your Luck is reversed for the next 5 minutes.
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Holy Hell in a cow pen what am I even looking at?! 2 Unique passives, only 1 unique of the same name can be acquired ever ingame, I've never seen mention of anything like this on the forums.
People tried to make the most ridiculous builds in beta and generally just ended up hurting themselves in the long run, the saying BBBT 'Bad Build Bad Time', came out of those crazy builds.
Players didn't get any passives with names of gods or with extra status effects for having max points in a single stat, they must have added it after beta finished, i guess you've gotta keep some things secret for players to find.
At least I have something to be thankful for, even if I had to go through nearly an hour of just struggling to get used to my body, all the bad feeling of being useless and being unable to move my body had to keep being pushed down, it felt like the start of rehabilitation all over again.
I start brooding at my table, thinking too much, for the first time in the hospital room, not being able to even open my eyes, hearing the helpless sobbing next to me, the wet on my hand as they pushed their head hard against it..
A laugh at a nearby table jolts me out of my brain before I sink deeper. I'm here now, i just have to keep pushing and life will change, it has to get better.
Standing up more lithe than before, I push myself out of the chair and back through the door into town.
Peeking into my inventory I see that I have a starting amount of 100g. Thinking sadly about my strength stat, maybe I can find something that will protect my fists for now, so that monsters will actually feel something when I hit them, ugh!