Beginner Quest

May 2nd 2018

Ryuuji’s ‘fans’, as people would call them, surround his desk first thing in the morning. The group slimmed down over the week with there still being a few consistent classmates. Despite their encounter the day before, Sun doesn’t acknowledge Ryuuji, still choosing to only talk with her two friends, and Ryuuji does the same. Neither felt any reason to change how they interact at school.

Time goes by and before they know it, school is over for the day. Ryuuji has work so he says bye to his fans and rushes out the door, simply telling them he has to be somewhere and can’t hang out.

Once he reaches the station, he spots Sun waiting for the same train he is. She lives near his work so of course this would happen. I’m going to start seeing her everywhere now, aren’t I? He goes to a different door, hoping she won’t notice him.

However, try as he might, the flow of the crowd leads them right next to each other. Ryuuji hides his face with his arm as he holds the railing, but Sun notices immediately.

“What, are you following me now?”

“You know exactly why I’m here.”

Ryuuji’s disgruntled response is followed by silence. Always finding the train rides to be boring, it only lasts a few minutes with Ryuuji being the one to speak up. He figured they may as well have a conversation if they’re stuck together.

“So the game, Starfight, do you play it?”

Although she’s still reluctant to associate with Ryuuji, the same as the first day he arrived at school, Sun doesn’t feel the need to lie like she did with her friends when it’s just the two of them talking.

“Yeah I do have a character, but I only play with my one friend.”

“Do you want to play sometime?”

Sun unwillingly overheard many conversations in class and even though they basically only ever talk about the game, he never once asked to play with any of them and vice versa. Why would he offer to do so now?

“So you won’t talk to me at school, but you will in a game?”

“Well first of all, not talking at school is your choice. And if we are going to run into each other on this annoyingly long train ride then we might as well have something to talk about.”

Snide comment aside, his reasoning is simple, though Sun can’t help focusing on how spoiled he is. She may end up regretting this decision, but goes along with his idea.

“Sure, I don’t mind. We could meet at…what’s it called again?” Having difficulty remembering the name of one area where your character spawns when joining the game, she takes a minute and then blurts it out, “The Fountain of Truth?”

“That works. I can be on around 11:30 tonight.”

“That’s a bit late, but I suppose one night is fine.”

With their agreement to play complete, the rest of the train ride passes quickly, with them each going their separate way once they arrive at their destination.

Later that night, Ryuuji removes his shoes right when he gets home and rushes to his room, trying to avoid looking at his father who is most likely asleep on the couch anyway. The time is 11:30, the exact time they decided to meet up. He starts his computer and places his headphones on and opens the game once it’s ready.

“I hope I’m not making her wait.”

The game screen then begins to load. There are many stars that steadily disappear until it turns into a clear night sky. The login or create account options then appear as well as the title; ‘Starfight’.

Ryuuji logs into the 3rd server and chooses to appear at the ‘Fountain of Truth’ like they promised. Although they didn’t specify what server, this is the one most typical for players on this part of the globe.

The area consists of a large white fountain in the middle of a town, with old stone buildings and a cobblestone road. After waiting a bit, he then realizes he doesn’t even know her username. Luckily there aren’t too many players in the area at the moment, but none appear to have a name he thinks she would use.

Isn’t it usually the girl who is on time? Then there’s what he didn’t consider before. Or did she never actually consider playing with me in the first place? She doesn’t seem like that type of person, but it’s not like he knows much about her. In comparison, he never thought his father would become an alcoholic either.

Ryuuji decides to wait and as it hits the 10 minute mark, he’s close to giving up. That’s when a character with the username ‘Sunshine’ logs in. It’s a hunter wearing an outfit with a blend of yellow and orange, carrying a white and gold bow. Convinced it has to be her, Ryuuji laughs at the fact that she used her real name. He requests to communicate with her through the game, adding a note with his name ‘Ryuuji’ so she knows it’s him and it’s accepted right away.

“Sorry I’m a bit late! I lost track of time.”

“I almost thought you stood me up.”

“No way, I would never do something like that. Instead I just wouldn’t have agreed to play in the first place.”

Ryuuji stated that with sarcasm, trying to hide that it’s how he actually felt, but is happy to know he was wrong. Although they can’t see each other, only listening through their headsets, Ryuuji can still sense the sharpness of her tone. It’s a reminder to be careful with what he says.

Now that they’re both here, they need to decide where to play. Ryuuji analyzes their levels as he considers different dungeons.

“It looks like you’re a hunter at level 42? That’s not bad at all. I’m level 73.”

“Is that what my character is? I always forget since I just let my friend pick my class anyway.”

As the conversation unfolds, it becomes obvious Sun is a total beginner. She then says something that pushes him over the edge.

“And it looks like you’re a swordsman?”

“Not even close!! I’m a super cool ninja class.”

Sun looks over the character design, observing a black and red jumpsuit with a white headband, no visible weapons, and the username AkaNinja. That could be a ninja design, but she is still confused.

“I’ll admit I’m stupid with this game sometimes, but as far as I know there’s no ninja class.”

“That’s why it’s cool.”

Not getting a clear answer, Sun can only sigh. Ryuuji ignores that and explains his ‘origin story’ as he would put it, his voice full of confidence.

“There actually was going to be a special ninja class, but the idea was scrapped. My dad knew I was really disappointed so he programmed this special character just for me. You must have heard rumors of the mysterious ninja, right?”

“No, not really.”

Disappointed by her lackluster response, Ryuuji’s initial excitement deflates, Right, she only plays with her friend so I shouldn’t be surprised.

“That’s cool of your dad to do that, even though you seem spoiled enough.”

“Yeah, that was back when I still respected him.”

Hearing that, Sun is reminded of Ryuuji’s vague comment at the grocery store the other day. This is only the third time they spoke with each other, and she still doesn’t know his situation, but all of these hints indicate something isn’t right. As she considers whether or not to ask him about it, Ryuuji brings her focus back to the game.

“Let’s go to the Cavern of Discord.”

“Sure! I don’t think I’ll be much help though.”

The Cavern of Discord is a dark cave with many twists and turns that could easily make any player feel lost. It has various quests of all levels. The lower the level, the easier it is to find.

Ryuuji chose one with the suggested level of 25, to defeat a mud golem. He quickly discovered it was a bad decision with Sun’s lack of experience in the game being worse than he imagined.

She called the water sprites that light up the cave ‘fireflies’ and barely knew any spells, let alone carry a weapon besides the bow on her back. It turned out to be a difficult battle and, while they were able to complete the quest, they were left with very little health.

Not one extra item dropped either, almost making this a complete waste. The total reward was 2800 meel, but since Ryuuji did most of the work he received 2200, while Sun only got 600.

“Wow I can’t believe we made it without any deaths. That job was tough.”

Despite doing very little, Sun still feels she put a good amount of effort into beating the monster. Ryuuji tries to hold back his frustration, but ends up raising his voice,

“Not only was that a low level mission, but the monster was ridiculously easy and you call that tough?!”

However, Sun remains unfazed, “I told you I wouldn’t be much help.”

“Haven’t you ever tried learning any spells? Skills? Or doesn’t your friend teach you anything??”

“No we usually just talk or I cheer for him as he fights. I don’t even understand the difference between spells and skills.”

“He should have at least taught you that. Skills enhance your speed, attack, defense and can be placed on weapons depending on the class. Spells are used to attack and heal and stuff like that.” Ryuuji tries to explain the basics, but is quickly worn out. “This is too much for one night…although you didn’t do much I’ll still give you half the reward if we play again.”

“You can keep it. I don’t need money.”

“It’s not MONEY, it’s MEEL and yes you do! I don’t know what your friend was thinking, but I’m gonna make you a player worth teaming up with!!” Ryuuji declares.

“Fine, you can tutor me next time. Will I see you on the train tomorrow?”

“No, I have off until Saturday.” Ryuuji says in a calmer tone.

“Then I guess I’ll see you around.”

Sun waits for Ryuuji’s response, hearing a simple “See ya” before logging off.

Now alone in the game, Ryuuji looks over the meel reward. They each received their fair share, but he isn't satisfied with that. Considering her meager knowledge of the game, Ryuuji figures she didn’t read how much the reward was and will just give her the rest of it. That way she can use it to forge a simple blade at least. He then removes his headset and sits back in his chair to stretch.

“Seriously though! I don’t think I ever returned from a low level quest with such little health before. Besides a close-range weapon and upgraded bow, I guess I should think of some spells too. She has the basic skills, not that she knows how to use them.”

After pondering for a few minutes, Ryuuji decides to log off and get ready for bed, unaware that everything is about to drastically change.

********************

Starfight Tips;;

Players can choose 2-4 words for their username, at least 2 letters each, and the combination is accepted as long as it hasn’t been used before. Players also have the option to keep the spaces or combine the words into one.

There are 4 classes to choose from: Hunter, Swordsman, Mage, Rogue. Each has their own set of skills, spells, and weapons that can be used, but some can overlap to another class.

The ‘Fountain of Truth’ is the most well known spot in the game. It’s the area where players arrive once their character is created, and is one of 6 locations where you can spawn when first logging in.

Skills are used to enhance a player’s speed, defense, or attack and can sometimes be used on weapons depending on the class. They can reach up to level 30.

Spells are considered physical attacks, but can also heal or protect like a barrier. They can reach up to level 50. Only Celestial Spells can go beyond that at level 60.