5.0 - Rock Out

Timeline Zeta

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2012.12.25

13:33:37 Central European Time

The search for additional party members hadn't gone as intended for the members of [ ROCK ] and they finally decided to give up on the tutorial area and take the quest to continue.

After returning to the field of flowers, their next stop was an NPC located near the twin, spiral-shaped, ivory towers that seemed to reach the sky.

The NPC delivered some long winded exposition.

There was no skip command.

“You know, for all the tech they developed, they sure went cheap on the quest system and NPCs,” Natascha complained.

“It can't all be perfect,” said Selena. “But the visuals are amazing. Maybe the dumb NPCs are actually a benefit. It would be weird if they acted too lifelike.”

“That probably was their way of avoiding the uncanny valley,” said Red.

The NPC finally finished his monologue.

A translucent screen abruptly appeared in their field of view.

On its digital displays, three sentences were written:

“You are about to leave the tutorial. You won't be able to revisit. Do you wish to accept, leave the tutorial area, and enter your first trial match?”

Below it, two alternatives appeared, “Accept” and “Decline”.

They all accepted.

Their surroundings faded to white.

Seconds later, they found themselves in an enormous, round white room with a distant dome ceiling. On the other side of the room stood two people: a man with short light brown hair and a woman with long brown hair, both getting into a fighting stance.

A translucent screen with a number slowly counted down from three to zero. After which, a signal echoed throughout the room, signaling the beginning of the match and changing to another five-minute countdown till the end of the match.

Selena immediately used 'Iron Butterfly' to summon two dozen butterflies that spread through the room and positioned three more on the backs of her and her teammates.

Natascha positioned herself in front of Selena.

Red prepared a copy of 'Rhapsody of Fire' using '4 Chords'.

Their opponents seemed to observe their formation from a distance.

Natascha and Red began to slowly close the distance, while Selena kept her position.

The women used a conjured gun, aimed at Red and emitted three projectiles.

The first one missed.

Red dodged the second.

The third hit him dead center.

The bullet-shaped seed gave rise to rose vines, slowly binding Red.

“Should I...?” Selena began to ask.

“Not yet,” replied Red. “I think I got this.”

The flames conjured by Red's copy of 'Rhapsody of Fire' took care of the vines before they could finish binding him.

“At least one of them is hard countered by us,” said Red. “Natascha, let's finish this one quickly.”

Natascha had already halved the distance between their opponents and Red.

“Way ahead of you,” said Natascha.

The man on the opponents' side punched and then kicked what appeared to be thin air, spawning three boulders aimed at Natascha.

She countered with a fiery roundhouse kick that shattered the rocky projectiles.

“They are both ranged fighters,” said Natascha. “I think we have the upper hand.”

Natascha and Red continued to close the distance.

The woman prepared a salve of two bullets and ejected them into Red's direction.

“Wait, we can’t be sure they…” said Red, as he prepared 'Rhapsody of Fire' once again.

He noticed the difference in the size, shape, and texture of the projectiles way too late.

The next thing Natascha experienced was a fiery kick to the back of her head.

Natascha hit the floor, cursing at Red.

Natascha tried to get up, only to be hit by Red once more.

Then Selena teleported Natascha out of harm's way.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” asked Natascha.

“I think they have taken control of Red,” said Selena. “Could be another effect of those bullets.”

“Well, aren't you clever, miss teleporter,” mocked the enemy woman.

“Taking full control of someone with just one hit? That’s cheating!” Natascha exclaimed.

“There are probably some harsh restrictions,” said Selena. “If she really can take over anyone, why didn't she aim at you too while you were down? In fact, why didn't she aim at you at all?”

“I think we found our enemy's brains,” said the man. “I'd suggest we take her out next... but she seems defensive, so we should take our time after completely shutting down their offense.”

Selena teleported closer to Natascha.

“I'll move you behind the enemy woman,” she whispered. “Maybe Red will return to normal if you take her out.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Natascha.

“Oh, strategizing, are we?” asked the woman.

Their opponents came closer by the second, with Red leading their charge.

“Ready when you are,” said the man, as his and the woman’s hands clapped in a high five.

A fraction of a second later, Natascha switched places with a butterfly not too far from their opponents.

She closed the distance, aiming a kick right at the woman's head.

Another fraction of a second later, a bullet shot by the man hit Natascha.