Ludere online

Brendan rubbed at his eyes and adjusted his blue light blocking glasses, the flickering light of the monitor reflecting in their lenses. His fingers flew across the keyboard, navigating through pages of forum posts dedicated to Ludere Online. Excitement thrummed through him, a familiar energy he hadn’t felt since his favorite author released the 721st, and regretfully final, book in a beloved fantasy series. He scrolled past threads filled with speculation about character classes, the intricacies of the game’s magic system, and rumors of hidden quests and legendary artifacts.

His gaze lingered on a particularly heated debate about the difficulty of mastering the in-game languages, or conlangs. Some players argued they were unnecessarily convoluted, comparing them to the notoriously complex conlangs of Alluring Realms’ Sarari Online– a game so intricate that dedicated guilds had yet to fully decipher its linguistic structure, even with Alluring Realms offering a prize for the first complete dictionary. Brendan, ever the pragmatist, found the idea of wrestling with alien grammar less than appealing. He chuckled, picturing players struggling to order a virtual beer in a language that sounded like a cat throwing up hairballs. Brendan shook his head then tabbed over to another page, clicking on an outline of the class system.

‘there are your normal and common classes that you expect to see, just like in most other games but then you have specializations and class designations. Specializations have stronger abilities in their field, tossing away the wide array of potential skills that the originating class offers. I.e. rather than a mage they become a warlock, a summoner, or an elementalist etc. each of which can further specialize if the player so chooses. A swordsman becomes a knight, a paladin, a duelist, and again each of these can be further specialized. You don’t even have to stick to one class, once you hit a certain level or milestone for the class you can pick up another class. Though you want to make sure there is synergy between any/all additional classes you pick up.

That’s where the designations come in, they help with multiclassing and party building. Classes designated as "active" are the heavy hitters or at the forefront of the action. Their skills are things like actively attacking. These are your tanks. Your knights, druids, hunters, and swordsmen. Classes designated as "passive" are usually in the rear allowing other peoples, spirits, machines, or objects to fight for them. Think mage, summoner, rogue. That sort of class, DPS set ups. They aren’t front line and shouldn’t be pulling aggro. Finally, classes designated as "reactive" are a sort of combo/hybrid of the previous in that they are usually passive but react to influences and become passive or vice versa. So a person may not actively seek a fight but will jump to the front if one raises. Or they may actively seek a fight but slip to the rear once the fight begins. These are versatile but tend to be those with high draw backs such as the cryogenisis or pyroclasm type mages or they are classes that can only be gained by merging highly synergistic classes you have multiclassed into.’

Brendan tabbed again and skimmed through the stats information. ‘Hygieian Meter: This meter monitors your actions, thoughts, and perceptions within the world of Ludere Online to affect the way you interact with the environment and other players. The meter’s rating reflects your overall mental and emotional well-being within the game. A high rating indicates mental fortitude, a positive outlook, and strong resistance to negative influences. A character with a high Hygieian Meter will be perceived as healthy, vibrant, and charismatic by other players and NPCs. They will also benefit from increased resilience to fear, despair, and mental manipulation. As with any stat you can “train” to be higher through quests or NPC trainers and there are actions and status effects that can detract from the stat.’ He frowned and muttered to hisself . “So this thing tracks my mood? That’s… weird.”

Brendan switched tabs, bringing up the official Ludere Online website. The homepage, a dazzling display of hyper realistic graphics, promised an unprecedented level of immersion. A banner at the top announced the launch of the open beta in a few weeks. Brendan had already secured his spot. He wished he could talk to mark about it all. He was always better at coming up with how to game the system, especially when there were odd mechanics like the hygieian meter.

A pang of guilt twisted in his gut. The memory of Mark’s disappearance, the unanswered questions, the whispers of a connection to Ludere Online… it all felt like a tangled knot he couldn’t unravel.

He pushed the thoughts aside, focusing on the anticipation bubbling within him. Ludere Online represented more than just an escape; it was a chance, a slim hope that he might find some clue, some trace of Mark within the game’s intricate world.

Brendan glanced at the clock. He had promised Marie, one of the lead developers and a surprisingly compassionate soul in a sea of tech-obsessed personalities, that he’d arrive at the Alluring Realms facility early to go over the final pre-testing procedures. He closed his laptop, a wave of nervous energy washing over him, and headed out the door, his thoughts already lost in the digital landscapes that awaited him.

Brendan closed his laptop, the glow of the screen fading as he shut the lid. A wave of nervous energy washed over him, a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. He glanced at the clock, its digital face glowing a harsh red in the dim light of his apartment. He was running late. He had promised Marie, one of the lead developers on Ludere Online, that he would arrive at the Alluring Realms facility early. Marie, a surprisingly compassionate soul in a sea of tech-obsessed personalities, wanted to go over the final pre-testing procedures with him.

Brendan quickly shoved his laptop into his backpack, along with a worn copy of the Ludere Online player's guide and a notebook filled with scribbled notes and forum posts. He had spent countless hours researching the game, pouring over every scrap of information he could find, trying to make sense of the complex mechanics and the rumors of hidden quests and legendary artifacts. Ludere Online represented more than just an escape; it was a chance, a slim hope that he might find some clue, some trace of his missing friend, Mark.

He rushed out of his tiny apartment, locking the door behind him. The hallway was dimly lit, the air thick with the scent of stale cigarette smoke and burnt popcorn. He hurried down the stairs, his footsteps echoing in the silence. Outside, the city was already stirring, the pre-dawn light casting long shadows across the narrow streets. He hurried toward the bus stop, his breath misting in the cool morning air.

The bus arrived, its brakes hissing as it pulled to a stop. Brendan climbed aboard, finding an empty seat near the back. The bus was crowded with commuters, their faces pale and drawn in the harsh fluorescent light. Brendan leaned back in his seat, trying to ignore the jostling of the bus and the cacophony of conversations swirling around him. He closed his eyes, focusing on the anticipation bubbling within him.

The bus rumbled on, eventually reaching the outskirts of the city. The Alluring Realms facility loomed ahead, a sprawling complex of gleaming steel and glass, a testament to the company’s ambition and technological prowess. Brendan’s heart hammered against his ribs, a nervous tremor running through him as he stepped off the bus. He took a deep breath, the air tinged with the antiseptic scent of the lab, and tried to ignore the slight tremor in his hands.

He walked towards the main entrance, the glass doors sliding open with a silent hiss. Inside, the lobby was a hive of activity, developers and technicians hurrying to and fro, their voices echoing in the cavernous space. Brendan approached the reception desk, his heart pounding. It had been a long day—weeks of interviews, tests, and probing questions, all culminating in this moment.

"Brendan?" The receptionist, a young woman with bright pink hair and a name tag that read “Stacy”, looked up from her computer screen, a welcoming smile on her face. "Marie's been expecting you. She's in room 23. You’ll just go down this main hall here and take the first two lefts."

"Thanks," Brendan mumbled, his throat suddenly dry. He followed Stacy's directions, navigating the labyrinthine corridors of the facility. He passed labs filled with humming servers and flickering monitors, offices with doors closed tight, and conference rooms where groups of people huddled over tablets, their faces illuminated by the cold glow of the screens.

He finally reached room 23, a large, sterile-looking room filled with a singular gleaming black pod. Brendan’s heart hammered against his ribs. This was it. The culmination of weeks of anticipation, of sleepless nights spent poring over game guides and forum posts, of a desperate hope that somewhere within the intricate lines of code and the pulse of alien-like technology, he might find an answer.

He found Marie near the back of the room, hunched over a tablet, her brow furrowed in concentration. She glanced up as he approached, a warm smile spreading across her face.

"Brendan! You made it! Sorry for the wait, just finishing up some last-minute calibrations."

"No problem," Brendan said, trying to sound casual despite the butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

"Alright, let's get you prepped," Marie said, gesturing the pod. "Have you had a chance to review the consent forms?"

"Yeah, I skimmed them," Brendan admitted.

"Skimmed them?" Marie raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk on her face. "Brendan, these are important documents. We're talking about full sensory immersion here, a level of realism that's never been achieved before. We need to make sure you understand the risks involved."

"I know, I know," Brendan said, feeling a flush creep up his neck. "It's just...there's a lot to take in. All those clauses about potential side effects, psychological impact..."

"I get it," Marie said, her voice softening. "It can be overwhelming. But trust me, we're not going to let anything bad happen to you. We've got the best team in the industry, and we've taken every precaution to ensure your safety." She paused, her gaze meeting Brendan's. "But if you have any concerns, any questions at all, at any point, please don't hesitate to ask."

Brendan nodded, feeling a surge of gratitude for Marie's reassuring presence. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the nervous flutter in his stomach.

“Okay, so, what’s next?” he asked, determined to project an air of confidence, even as his heart hammered against his ribs.

"Next," Marie said, her smile returning, "we get you into the game."

Brendan's heart hammered against his ribs, a nervous tremor running through him as he eased himself into the pod's cool embrace. The haptic feedback gel of the pod molded around him, a silent, soothing pressure. He took a deep breath, the air tinged with the antiseptic scent of the room, and tried to ignore the slight tremor in his hands. It had been a long day—weeks of interviews, tests, and probing questions, all culminating in this moment. he was finally getting to the thing he had most anticipated since mark first mentioned it. He had just assumed it would be long after release before he had the chance. He had put up with being poked, prodded, the lab techs stealing samples from him and irritating sensors all for this moment. He was finally getting to try Ludere Online, to lose himself in a world built on whispers and legends, a world promising an escape unlike any other. To finally find answers.

He'd agreed to this, thrown himself into the melee of beta testing, not just for the money—though God knew he needed that with his student loans hanging over his head like a guillotine—but for the hope it offered. The hope that somewhere within the intricate lines of code and the pulse of alien like technology, he might find an answer. this job offered more than money, more than stellar benefits. It offered answers.

His best friend, Mark, had vanished a year ago, last seen entering this very building, last seen disappearing into the depths of whatever world Dave and his team were building. With a grin he laughed quietly to himself, slipping on the helmet that would track and react to his brain waves while sending the related data to a storage server where it would be analyzed for potential improvements. It immediately adjusted to fit his head, the weight of it barely noticeable as he leaned back to relax fully before cursing. Brendan blindly groped around, mentally kicking himself for not doing this before slipping the helmet on and wishing that the helmet had built in cameras that could display the surroundings or some sort of window, until he finally found the button to close the pod. He pressed it and the newness of the pod was once again evident in the small click it gave as he did then the door to the pod closed. The hydraulics gave a small sigh as the door closed fully, wrapping him in perfect darkness as everything began to boot up with near inaudible clicks and whirs. He made a mental note to mention exterior helmets to the staff though surely there weren’t any others who would make the same mistake he had.

Brendan shifted in the gel not entirely sure what he should do with his hands as he settled deeper into the seat, absentmindedly scratching at the sensors on his chest before shrugging and just laying his hands across his stomach.

"Alright, Brendan," a voice crackled through the pod's speakers, pulling him back to the present. "Just a few more adjustments and we'll get you situated. How are you feeling? Any discomfort?"

"All good here, Marie," Brendan replied, trying to keep his voice even. Marie, one of the few developers who seemed genuinely concerned about the well-being of the testers, had been a reassuring presence throughout the preliminary tests.

"Excellent. Before diving into the game, let me know if you want to tweak any default settings. We have options for pain relay, sensory input, even nightmare difficulty—"

"Nightmare difficulty?" Brendan cut in, curiosity piqued. The term sparked a flicker of unease, a prickle of something deeper than just game mechanics.

"Ah, yeah," Marie chuckled, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "It's... intense. Dave's vision, you know? He wanted the game to be as real as possible, to push boundaries. But it's entirely optional. You can adjust it anytime."

"I'll... stick with the standard settings for now," Brendan said slowly. He wasn't sure he wanted to confront the potential horrors of "nightmare difficulty" just yet. He had enough nightmares of his own.

Brendan mentally tapped the English (American) option then flicked through the other language setting options until he found the secondary language options where he turned off all of the in-game local languages, setting them to English as well. Learning another conlang was not what he was here for, though there were no doubt those who would relish the challenge or even just those wishing for a deeper immersion that would set their games to use nothing but the in-game languages. He snorted at the idea. Some games had conlangs that were so easy a casual player could pick it up with next to no effort while others were insanely difficult to master. One example was another game that Alluring Realms had recently released shortly before announcing the open beta sign ups for Ludere Online. Known as Sarari Online, an immensely complex sci fi MMORPG, had conlangs so difficult that players had yet to create a full dictionary much less decipher sentence structure despite entire guilds being dedicated to the effort. Alluring realms had even gone so far as to make a contest out of it.

He followed Marie's instructions and the text prompt that hovered in his vision, adjusting minor settings like language preferences and movement sensitivity. With a final nod, clicked to accept his changes.

The world dissolved into a blinding white, then solidified into a vast hall of shimmering mirrors, each reflecting a different form, a different possibility. Brendan, taking a deep breath, stepped forward, the echoes of his footsteps sharp in the silence, and began to explore the possibilities that awaited him.

There was a second blinding flash and sensations flooded his system. Gooseflesh rippled across his skin as the sensation of full body pins and needles shifted to a cool refreshing breeze that smelled subtly of lilac and juniper. When he was able to look around and process his surroundings Brendan found himself standing in an expanse of white, with nothing more than a plain mahogany table and chair. Both of which sat about five feet away from him and for a moment he was back in the homebrew campaign where his DM had slipped a mimic into the tavern and it had methodically killed off every NPC in the vicinity while he and the other players had desperately tried to locate the killer only to be eaten. A red opaque dialog box popped up on his left side as he looked at it, pushing the memory aside.

<“Please take a seat.”>

He sighed, waving the box away to dismiss it. Trudging over to the chair, he pulled it out to sit down. How long had the other new beta testers told him this portion took? The dialog box returned with a pop! Spraying pixels like a small confetti cannon. He frowned at the effects, hopefully it was a one off or it would get annoying really fast.

<“Please stand, then jump twice”>

Doing as told, he stood. Slowly pushing the chair out to the side, he then jumped twice. Confetti popped again! Yep, definitely going to be annoying. That would be the first thing he put in the paperwork when he logged out. The moment his feet hit the ground just as the text in the box changed.

<“Please run in a circle”>

Well, it hadn’t indicated how large of a circle. So he ran a quick lap around the table, coming to a jerky halt when he misjudged his footing. This caused him to stumble over a chair leg. It was then, after tumbling to the ground that he actually looked at himself and noticed that he was a bright canary yellow. He stared at his hands, rotating them slowly, before sliding his gaze up his arms then down his torso and legs. He huffed a small laugh. It seemed that upon further inspection he actually looked like an old crash test dummy. He rolled his eyes and shook his head at the bad joke. This was a test run after all Brendan sobered as the next dialog box popped up.

<“Please move freely and test out the movements until the sound of the chime. This box will automatically minimize however the button contained will remain within sight as a small icon. If something is not as it should be, please press the icon to flag the development teams for assistance. Various objects and creatures may spawn for you to interact with or explore during this time. You will also be allowed to create your character at this juncture. You should take advantage of this, as it may affect later gameplay, in-game reputation, and even how your skills or magic may activate.”>

As Brendan finished reading this he heard a faint rustle. In response, he looked around, the dialog box minimizing from his view to a small icon on the left in his peripheral vision. He watched in stunned silence as grass and dirt began to spill out in waves around him. Mighty oak trees sprouted from nothing growing to massive sizes with a long suffering tired groan while juniper trees sprouted, its trunk and branches fully forming before giving a shiver and sprouting needles sending another wave of their strong smell wafted over to him. The sky took on a deep blue hue like that of a fresh spring sky as if someone had dropped dye into water, and a large orange sun rose from a previously nonexistent horizon to hang heavily overhead. The warmth slowly rose to a comfortable temperature as a whispering wind breezed through the now tight canopy of trees causing the light that pierced it to dance around him. He blinked, taking a slow deep breath as he turned in a complete circle to look around.

He was snapped out of his awe as he turned back to see the old chair and table sink into the ground, quickly replaced by a small cabin. He quickly scanned it and mentally listed the notable features. One, maybe two rooms. Wooden cracked clay tile roofing. A thin jutting chimney that looked to be made with hand shaped black mud that released weak tendrils of smoke, a closed door that hung limply from worn hinges and appeared to be made of a single large piece of weathered wood. Arching a brow he looked up as birds began to call, he shook himself refocusing before he walked over to the cabin, a small gravel path racing from his feet to the door as the simulation worked to complete the picturesque scene until finally crunching filled his ears as the rest of the audio kicked in, the sound of grinding rocks and stones grumbling from beneath his feet began to filter up with each step he took.

He placed a hand on the door, and gave it a slight push. Surely this early in the game a cabin in the woods would be harmless. Right? The hinges complained weakly with age as the door slowly swung open, small wood splinters biting at his hand from the weathered wood and he winced quickly looking around the interior. The cabin was a single unfurnished room with no window, empty aside from a small wood burning stove. It gave off a dim red light, while radiating a relaxing warmth. Just as Brendan was about to turn and leave a new window popped into existence to his left only blocking a small portion of his vision, the icon to flag the development team still visibly overlapping it. He turned to fully look at it and squinted.

<“This is a way-shrine of Oelia, step inside to begin character customization. Your character cannot begin the game until a preset has been chosen however basic unaligned skills or magic can still be learned and trial quests or exploration to gain world relevant lore or reputation completed. Once you have completed character customization, you may enter the game or continue the trial but cannot return unless you create a new character.”>

He smiled wide, bouncing on his toes lightly eager to finally see the races that had been speculated about in all those forum posts he had read, he hadn't even found anything about them in the company provided booklet he had skimmed or the online forum posts. He rushed deeper into the cabin, standing beside the small wood stove and faced a wall that shimmered. Slowly 8 frames melted out of the wall, each had ornate frames of varying styles and held a unique face with vastly different scenery behind it but a passing glance showed none offered any information. Maybe he had to focus on them or intend to learn about them?

Giving it a shot he frowned when nothing happened, sighing as he looked closer at them. If he wanted to learn more he would likely have to go out and do tutorial quests to learn lore or read books while within the game itself. He was leaning towards the latter option, he just wanted to dive right in and get started.

The first picture frame was a plain human who looked smug and rakish, his cool blue eyes and sun tanned skin glittering while a wind tugged at short messy locks. Boring and too generalist in stats if this game was like any other RPG. There was rarely ever anything special about humans in these games beyond extra points to allocate, less restriction on classes or some overly complicated lore. No, he definitely wouldn’t be choosing this.

The frame neighboring it held a proud and noble Elf, he had flowing black silk hair curtained beneath a shining veil with almond shaped hooded grey eyes that cast an odd light from beneath the sheer fabric. Too overdone. While elves tended to have a higher aptitude for magic they were usually played more than most other races and you always ended up hearing the same insults like knife ear or pretty boy. Brendan also didn’t relish the idea of wearing the headdress that looked too much like a bridal veil.

The frame next to the elf was a powerful and severe looking goblin, his tribal tattoo and paint markings taking the place of hair that was shaven close to the scalp. Many piercings glittered from his ears and bulbous nose. Just. No. Definitely not.

Beside that a fierce and feral feline face with flowing burnished golden fur and separate eyes. Next was a grinning canine face with mischief glinting in its eyes. Another no on both counts.

Next in line was a reptilian face with cold indifference and burning eyes. A solid maybe he may come back to. As was the one that sat next to it, a Draconic face, with a hungry smile and a secret twinkling in its vision somehow looking vaguely like the elf had despite being a different race or at least a variant.

The last looked much like a human, but somehow different in a way that he couldn't put his finger one it beyond the glittering crystal embedded in his forehead and the odd pupil shape. Likely another no.

Standing there for a moment, he took his time considering. It looked as if there were still spots on the wall for more options but these were all that were currently available to him. He looked between the Reptilian and Draconian figures before reaching out and tapping the draconic face. One by one, each of the pictures on the wall were replaced with variations of the draconic option with even more frames rising from the wall. There were a slew of narrow, hungry looking ones with dull neutral colored scales in various patterns. There were those whose eyes shone like candles or had overly long teeth that poked between their lips. Some options had curling rams horns, of which some were with the tips capped in gleaming gold or silver. Some horns appeared to have bits of gems piercing them or delicate looking nets of thin chains woven between them with small glittering beads among the chains. There was one type with scarlet feathers sprouting from his crown that looked as if they may go down the back as well, one had splashes of silver on his ebony scales looking like a far off nebulus. There was one with thick scars and rippling pectoral muscles that danced beneath golden scales as he breathed. One coated in patterns of sapphire and ruby scales that twisted down his arms and neck, a set of cream colored nubby horns protruding from the ridge of his eyebrows.

With a slight frown, he looked over the pictures consideringly before settling on one with a simple face. This one was absent of all adornments but possessing a solid overall color on gleaming scales. Surely if he decided to get piercings, feathers, or horns there would be a way later once he was in game. If there wasn’t, then it’d be better to stick with a simple character rather than have an eyesore. He snorted thinking about how one of his former roommates had started out a game with a female avatar that was a real eye bleed inducing nightmare to look at not realizing the game didn’t let you change appearance or even create a new character so ended up stuck with it until he finally quit the game over a year later.

This decision made all the pictures melted back into the wall replaced by an aged looking quilt that hung from the ceiling made out of patches of various colors. He immediately touched the rich emerald color to the far right without a second thought, and stepped back as the quilt turned to water. Cold water splashed over him in a frigid wave making him gasp. He felt every muscle in his body tense, and he couldn’t help but close his eyes. A rather surprised high pitch erupting from the back of his throat as the sensations rolled over him in a wave. When he opened his eyes, a tall antique mirror stood before him and a new dialog box popped up to his left. All other options now having gone.

<“You have chosen to play a Male Cataphractan, Is this correct? If you accept this you can still change your choice until you leave the tutorial zone.”>

>Yes

He looked at himself in the mirror, turning and flexing to get a better look at the character. The emerald-green scales rippled across his chest and arms noting he was only in basic underwear in the process. He turned and glanced at his back, where short black spines ran down his back and across his shoulder blades in a T shape. The spines spreading across his shoulder blades looked sharp despite being relatively small. He looked dangerous. Brendan smiled wide then pushed the button indicating that this was the character he wanted.

The mirror grew outwards on the sides, versions of his character with different armors, outfits and weapons appearing. Growling he voiced his opinions. “Can I just, I don’t know, say I want to be a fire mage? Here I’ll even input my name so we can get through with this. P-A-G-A-C-C-O. Or heck, you know what how about just P-A-G. There’s no way that either of those have been picked so there, we good?”

He stood with his arms wide, waiting for something to answer his questions. When nothing happened, he sighed. “No wonder everyone complains about this part of the game”

Pag rubbed his temple and looked at the mirror watching as the figures moved as he did. This had to be the most convoluted way to do character creation. What’s with all the transitions? It just seems like overkill, or as if some dev wanted to show off, if you asked him. Why waste so much effort on the tutorial of all things?

“Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that I'm being paid I’d have already logged out. This is so-” He shook his head, biting off the sentence and thinking about Mark he forced himself to focus once again.

To his left were what appeared to be the classes that focused on magic. While the right held the obvious melee fighters, these were an automatic no for him. The center appeared to be more generalized or even hybridized classes. Behind each of the classes represented, there seemed to be silhouettes of others. Maybe classes that would be available later or specializations of some sort, or were those he could gain access to by doing tutorial quests? None of it was at all helpful without more information. He glanced to the side where the icon sat and mentally tapped it. A small box popped up in front of him.

<”What is the nature of your issue? Please select one option and give a detailed description and any related details pertaining to actions or events that may have led to the incident.”>

>Complaint, Control Issues, Game Error/Glitch, Inquiry.<

Brendan, no he had to get in character. He was no longer Brendan. Pag tapped the complaint option then filled in the small box with details about how he thought the helmet should have exterior cameras, how the confetti explosions at completing what was within the tutorial dialog boxes may have been amusing the first time but was definitely was irritating after that, and how he really disliked the overly complicated character creation before submitting the form. Sighing he padded to the end looking over his options one last time, uncertain what some of the other magical classes were and seeing no evident way to get information he and tapped on what appeared to be a mage if the hat and robes were anything to go off of. There seemed to be a momentary lag then Pag blinked in surprise as the glass puffed into a noxious purple smoke that flew into his face, filling his nostrils with the vague smell of burnt rubber. He waved his hands in front of his face, swiping at the smoke and trying to force it away. His hands grew increasingly warm with each swipe as the fog evolved from harsh purple to a deep caustic black. A wave of mind-numbing exhaustion swept over him, forcing him to fall back and sit on the ground. His ears rang, sounds reaching him as if he were deep underwater, and he was unable to make sense of anything.

He sat on cold dirty cobble stones. Wait, when had those gotten there? Pondering this, thoughts parsing as if he was slogging up hill in molasses, he sat there watching the scene around him while unable to form even a vague semblance of coherent thought at a speed that they would have actually been useful. Squat, two-story buildings roared with flames as rampant fire tore into the dry timber that groaned and cracked pulling the building inwards sending fingers of flames dancing skywards as they spewed embers angrily. The blaze blackened the dull grey stones as thick greasy smoke rolled out from the buildings.

People ran, obviously screaming even as the roar of the flames swallowed their sounds. They held onto each other, to children, or what little of their possessions and pets they could carry as the inferno grew until Pag was the only one there. Odd-sounding sirens began to wail through the waves of heat that rose off the stones and wreckage. Demanding voices barked all around him giving what he assumed to be orders at the fleeing people. Or were they aimed at him? Pag mumbled incoherently to himself as he motioned to bring up his character info. A slight sound of static buzzed, the fields populating out of order. Cringing Pag was finally able to form an intelligible sentence.

“What the hell-” He stopped mid sentence as he looked at the information in confusion.

Player Name: Pagacco Level: 1

Class:Mage

Subclass:None

Profession: None Specialization: None

Currently Active Title: Enemy of Soohan

Most used Skill: Flames

Alignment: Inflammatory

Health: 110/110 [R:10] Mana: 110/110 [R:10] Stamina: 55/55 [R:11]

Points Earned: 0

Reputation:

Soohan:Blood Feud (-9999)

Attributes:

Strength:10 Constitution:11 Dexterity:10 Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 11 Charisma: 10 Piety: 0 Luck: 10

Karma: -10

Combat:

Attack: 10 Accuracy: 5 Agility: 10 Speed: 5

Critical: 0.21 Endurance:5 Focus: 12 Defense:10

Magic Def: 10 Armor:0 Hygieian Meter: 0

Active Status Effects:

Bleed I (Minor) - Nude

Abilities:

Flames - Beginner 2

Titles

Enemy of Soohan

>Yes<

Pag sat there for a moment then selected no, staring at the information as his mana refilled, the mind numbing fog and ringing slowly fading. “What the fuck just happened?”

“What an apt question” A gruff voice snarled from behind him.