Legendary

The tournament was scheduled to start the following Saturday. We ended up meeting at Seiji’s every evening after school, except on Friday when I worked. He was nervous at first, but once we started discussing the game, he switched to ‘Hargrave mode’ and was mostly his normal self again. I could tell he improved a bit the more we got together

During that short week, before the tournament, we were introduced to the final two legendary players. Helping me with training apparently became a chore after just a couple of days and, playing in person, it was much more difficult to ignore Steve’s whining.

September 18th 2018

In his apartment, Seiji is sitting at his own computer while the other two are at the short table. Defeating dungeon after dungeon; dragons, snakes, giant sharks, it starts to take its toll. Hunting for rare items is far more exciting than simply helping someone level up.

“This is really boring.” Steve says while lying his head on the table.

“Maybe we should take a break.” Ryuuji says in agreement.

“We made some good progress. I don’t mind stopping here for now.” Seiji says.

“Thanks for your permission, Sir Hargrave.” Ryuuji lays on his back, looking up at the ceiling.

“You’re the one who needs it the most. Better make up for it later.”

Ryuuji grumbles at Hargrave’s orders. He has a point, but having to deal with snide comments like that, he almost considers continuing alone.

Then follows a moment of silence with none of them able to come up with what to do next. It’s only 7:15 pm, giving them some time before they would normally stop. They don’t want to enter any more dungeons for now, that much is for sure. Seiji then makes an offer that Steve won’t refuse.

“Do you want to see if we can meet MaxwellPippin?”

Prepared for the incoming fanboying, both Seiji and Ryuuji place their hands over their ears. They’re still able to clearly hear Steve shout;

“Another legendary player?! Hell yeah! Let’s go!!”

Knowing the worst is over, they lower their hands and let out a sigh.

Seiji sends a message to MaxwellPippin to see if they can meet at his guild, MPB. The name stands for ‘MaxwellPippin Brigade’. It must not have taken him long to come up with that name. Ryuuji thinks to himself.

Residing in eastern Canada, his timezone is practically the opposite of Japan’s, meaning it’s early morning where he lives. To their surprise, it doesn’t take him long to reply with an invite. Once they accept, they’ll arrive right in the guild.

“Just don’t embarrass me.” Seiji says while staring directly at Steve.

“Yessir Hargrave sir!” Steve shouts.

“I don’t think you got through to him.” Ryuuji says, repulsed by his response.

Seiji starts to regret his suggestion, but there’s no going back now. He mentally prepares himself before hitting ‘accept’.

They are immediately transported to the MPB guild in a meeting room where MaxwellPippin is waiting. Although he speaks English and not Japanese, the translation option is already enabled, making communication easier.

“Hey! Thanks for coming so quickly!” Max says.

“Your speed is more surprising, isn’t it early where you live?” Seiji asks.

“It’s fine, I’ve just been up all night!” Max says with a hearty laugh.

That’s typical with most gamers and of course the legendary players are no exception.

“So these are your Colosseum buddies? Nice to meet you, rare people Hargrave enjoys playing with.”

“That’s an exaggeration, but nice to meet you.” Ryuuji responds kindly.

“This is so cool!! Not only am I meeting the legendary hunter, but to be immediately invited to the guild even. I remember reading that you opened this right after you reached the level when you’re allowed to do so. All of this, just to guide lost players.” Steve speaks a mile a minute, in awe of what he sees.

“How about you calm down?” Ryuuji says.

“You should learn to appreciate rare moments such as this.” Steve preaches.

MaxwellPippin realizes he has a true fanboy before him. He has high energy himself, but not of this level. He can't help questioning how Hargrave, who dislikes interacting with most players, wound up joining a party with him.

“Can I ask you about a rumor relating to the legendary players??” Steve asks.

“Sure, but I can’t promise an answer.” Max says.

“It is said that your username, MaxwellPippin, is based on your real name. Is that true?”

“Hmmm I don’t like my first name so I do have people call me Max, which is part of my name.”

“That’s a shame because MaxwellPippin is such a cool name.” Steve says.

“Isn’t it? Not nearly as cool as Hargrave though.” Max says.

“I’d say they’re about even.” Seiji says.

Back in the apartment, Ryuuji looks at Steve and then glances at Seiji to observe their glee. The fanboy is one thing, but he’s never seen Seiji enjoy talking to anyone other than their group of friends.

“To be honest I’m surprised to hear you get along so well with Maxwell, Hargrave. He seems similar to HeroHiro.” Ryuuji says.

“That is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me.” Steve takes in the praise.

“Shut up.” Ryuuji says with a scowl.

“He’s the easiest to get along with. You’ve seen QueenofSnow, and LuxeDeLore is very quiet. We even have our own in-game greeting. Should we show them?” Seiji asks.

Max agrees without a second thought. In the private message tab, the two open ‘specialized greetings’. After clicking on one and choosing each other’s characters, Hargrave and MaxwellPippin then proceed with the greeting. It consists of various high fives and fist bumps, finishing off with them spinning around and one last high five.

This leaves the onlookers speechless. Meanwhile, Max and Seiji can only laugh. They both know how silly it is, and don’t remember why they created it, but it always amuses them.

“I wish I recorded that.” Steve says, “Can I at least know what it’s called?”

“ ‘Da Bomb’ because we’re both so cool.” Max says in a smooth tone.

After having enough of the strange atmosphere, Ryuuji backtracks and begins to wonder about the events occurring before him.

“What are we doing here again?”

“We got bored helping you level up.” Steve reminds him.

“I was surprised to see RedShinobi is only level 72. No way will you be a match for QueenofSnow at this rate.” Max observes.

“It will be hard, but I think we can manage. I just wish we didn’t lose Flora.” Seiji says.

“Well, I’m rooting for you. Someone has to put her in her place.”

The list of players against Queen continues to grow. Since she primarily plays with her friends, it’s true that not many are subjected to the full extent of her personality. That alone makes it easier for regular players to deal with her. However, meeting her in-game a few times within the year, or even living with her, those currently present become exhausted just thinking about her.

All of a sudden, they receive an invite from the legendary player LuxeDeLore. It’s random, but there’s the possibility that they noticed the group and was curious about what they were discussing. Ryuuji then sees the invite leads to a dungeon.

“Maybe he needs some help?” he asks.

“She probably already defeated it by herself.” Seiji says.

“...it’s a level 120 Goliath.” Ryuuji says in disbelief.

No matter how good you are, there’s no way that can be done by one person.

The two legendary players discuss this between themselves before deciding to accept. After doing so, they are transported to the dungeon containing the high level Goliath, defeated solely by LuxeDeLore.

“I can’t believe you were right.” Ryuuji says.

“This is officially the best day of my life.” Steve says.

“Konichiwa, minnasan.” Luxe greets in Japanese.

The voice is extremely soft, one almost impossible to hear. Though they’re most surprised by what she said. This is the first time they heard her speak a language other than French and English. They then hear a giggle.

“Sorry, that’s all I know. Since Hargrave and Queen started talking in Japanese recently, I couldn’t help wanting to know what they were saying.”

“It’s not worth it.” Seiji bluntly says.

Luxe knows Queen simply enjoys teasing people, but still wanted to try. She already doesn’t say much in their meetings and figured it would be a good way to become more involved. Although she’s not too fond of Queen either.

“To think the last legendary player is a girl.” Steve says.

“I’ve always referred to her as such.” Seiji says.

“But the character is male and there’s a rumor someone heard her talk in a deep voice!” Steve explains. “Though people also say no one has heard her talk, making people assume the player is a boy.”

“I’m just really shy.” Luxe admits.

Her soft, feminine demeanor causes Steve to relax. It’s as if she’s an angel gracing him with her presence. Despite not caring for most of this adventure, Ryuuji can’t help feeling the same.

With two rumors resolved, Steve feels the utmost amount of joy. He doesn’t plan to tell anyone about them either. The rumors are just one thing that makes the legendary players cool. Instead, he will keep them as his little secret, another thought that brings him joy.

“So you’re fighting Queen in the Colosseum? Did you fall for her taunts?” Luxe asks.

“No. I originally joined for fun, but then it became more personal. I’ll leave it at that.”

With how they often interact, it almost seemed to the other two members as if they knew each other in real life as well, but that only happened recently. Something Seiji could do without.

“I hope you win.” Luxe says.

“To have two legendary players on my side. It feels pretty good.” Seiji says.

“Here’s what you have to consider: would you rather hear her brag that she won, or whine that she lost?” Steve asks.

That makes them all cringe. No matter what happens, they still lose.

“Maybe we should avoid meetings for…a few years.” Max says.

“At least you don’t have to deal with it like I do.” Seiji sighs.

Luxe then breaks the turmoil with her soft voice. “Well, I just wanted to wish you and your teammates good luck.”

“Thanks.” Seiji says.

Couldn’t she have just sent a message? Ryuuji keeps to himself, not wanting to get yelled at for ruining her blessing.

“Now let’s disperse before Queen notices us gathered and gets jealous.” Max is quick to say.

“Agreed. Until next time.” Seiji says.

“Bye~” Luxe says.

The trio arrives at their original training area. Meeting LuxeDeLore was unexpected, but it wasted enough time to dispel their boredom. There are no plans to continue for tonight though. Ryuuji stretches his back, with his arms reaching as high as he can before preparing to leave.

“I will say, seeing you weirdos gathered in one place makes me feel more normal.” he says.

“I think I may switch to team LuxeDeLore now.” Steve says as he walks out, thinking back to her beautiful voice.

“Please do. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Seiji says, quickly shutting the door once they’re out. They can hear him lock it immediately after.

Steve wants to complain, but is left facing the door. He will have to save it for tomorrow.

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

Starfight Tips;;;

-Legendary Players

------MaxwellPippin is a male who resides in Canada and plays a hunter. He created the guild MPB after reaching level 25. The original purpose was to meet new friends, but over time it became a place for lost players to receive advice or aid from its members. As a result, it’s the largest guild in the game, overshadowing all others. He organizes requests and delegates the work between the volunteers. Many believe he is paid by Komi Company for the work he does. He has neither confirmed nor denied it. [True name: Preston Maxwell]

------LuxeDeLore resides in France and plays a rogue. Although the character is male, the player’s true gender is unknown since no one has heard their voice. They always remain quiet in parties, only utilizing the chat box. Luxe has come up with many unique strategies that allow them to defeat high level bosses single handedly. Even in a party, they do most of the work. Although players respect their strength, very few choose to join Luxe due to them reaping most of the rewards. [True name: Sophia Duval]

Specialized Greetings are only used between two players, but can be shared with party members or even all gamers if the creator wishes. Players have the option to choose up to 6 gestures and sequence them in any order they prefer. It’s one of the lesser popular features in the game.