New Acquaintances

Island, on which she was, is a closed area made for a tutorial purposes. That is, now she’s entering a normal server with whole game content and other players. Due to high volume of online players, system has to transfer them in batches, so the whole server won’t blow up. Developers predicted that and made special loading screen, which won’t affect your brain, so you can rest meanwhile to enjoy the game longer, while it can take several minutes to load.

After around 20 minutes of waiting, loading screen disappeared and it got blackout.

Hotaru felt again weird like when she was on a boat. She tried to open her eyes, but it was hard for her, almost like she was trying to wake up. She made it after no time. After quick looking around she realised that the boat suddenly got bigger and there are more people on it. Head was spinning a bit, so she put her hand on forehead.

„Are you okay?” someone has asked.

By the voice Hotaru could tell it was a man's voice. She turned head in his direction. Voice absolutely didn’t fit the owner. His character looked young, he might be around Hotaru’s age. He had dark thick short hair with bangs slightly hiding his forehead. He was looking at her with his big green eyes.

„Yeah, got a bit dizzy. Besides that I’m fine.”

„If you say so...”

„Um, do you know where are we now?”

„On a ship heading to Port Town Nagato.”

„Nagato? Oh, Port Town... But...”

Hotaru connected the dots and everything seemed clear now.

„Oh, right, right, I completely forgot... How do you know the name of it anyway? I don’t recall anyone mentioned it anywhere.”

Man realised he messed up and he laughed nervously.

„My bad. My friend was a beta tester and he knows a thing or two, but I won’t tell anything more.”

„It’s fine, I’ll find out myself.”

He got a little surprised that she wasn’t interested in any useful info. He possess some knowledge, while his friend told him the most basic and useful things, but he was asked to not share those info with anyone.

„Sorry, may I ask you something?”

‘Did she change her mind?’

„Sure, what is it?”

„Sorry for being direct, but you have... an interesting voice? I don’t mean anything bad, I was just surprised...”

„Is it? I thought it’s quite normal.”

„Ahaha, it’s just...”

„What’s your name?”

„You mean the in-game one?”

„Yeah.”

„You can’t see it somewhere above me?”

„No. Can you see mine?”

She looked up and see nothing above his head. That’s something unusual for her, while in other games you can see nickname.

„No.”

„So, what’s your name?”

„Ayane.”

„Mine is Hachi, nice to meet you.”

„You too. Umm... why Hachi?”

„Despite common opinion, it does not come from a dog. It came from my birthday – 8/8.”

„Oh, right, I got it.”

„What about you?”

„Huh?”

„Your name.”

„Ah. I had a friend named Ayane.”

„Kind of memento?”

„N...no... I just like this name.”

„Right. What made you to buy this game?”

„Guess same thing as for everyone. It was pretty hyped, everyone was talking about that. I wanted to give it a try.”

„Have you played this type of games before?”

„On Gear no, only on PC. I haven’t been much a fan of it, while I was thinking it’s something like VR, but frankly it’s totally different.”

„Same here. My friend I mentioned earlier was very into it and he persuaded me and other friend to buy it and play together.”

„Oh, so you’re with friends?”

„Yeah, but I haven’t seen them here. Probably they are on other ship.”

„Probably.”

„What class did you get?”

„Warrior.” she answered with huge disappointment in her voice.

„Warrior? Lucky you!”

„In what way I’m lucky? I didn’t even want that!”

„What did you want?”

„Mage.”

„Oh.”

„Huh?”

„Actually... I wanted to get a warrior, but... got a mage instead.”

Hachi wasn’t pleased with that as well.

„Ah... I feel you. Fancy exchanging?”

„If it would be possible then yes.”

„Why did you want a warrior?”

„Let’s say I have some certain skills and I wanted to try them here.”

„Oho, you’ve got some experience in swordmanship?”

„Kind of... I used to train kendo a lot...”

„Had any success?”

„No, not really.”

„You sure?”

Hachi is a bad liar, she could read from him that he’s lying.

„I don’t really like to brag about it.”

„It’s fine, if it’s something you can be proud of.”

„I actually participated in national championships.”

„Hey, that is a success! Just the fact you’ve been there!”

„Eheheh...”

„You mentioned that you used to train.”

„Yeah... Trainings were draining too much time. While I had a school I had time, but now – not really.”

„So you already graduated from school?”

„Some time ago.”

„Eeeh, so you’re older than me.”

„How old are you then?”

„I’ll be 18 this September.”

„Yeah, I’m older then.”

„How much?”

„4 years.”

„4 years... Must be nice to be an adult.”

Hotaru looked up to the sky. Adulthood for her comes with freedom of choice. She wouldn’t have to be dependent on her parents.

Hachi, as an adult, didn’t understand what’s so nice about it, but he recalled how he was thinking when he was her age – to be an adult and to do whatever he wants without anyone whining. Being an adult is not an easy task. Plenty of responsibilities comes in package with it, but definitely you’re gaining this freedom of choice.

„It depends, for now I don’t really have time for nothing during the year, only on summer holidays. Studying takes too much time, uh.”

„What are you studying that it consumes your time so much?”

„Economy. Time management too.”

„That’s pretty ironic, isn’t it?”

„Yeah, it is.” Hachi laughed.

„I wonder how long we will sail like that.”

„We should see the shore very soon.”

„Is the town big?”

„It is. If I’m correct, it has population of, more or less, ten thousands. Not including players, of course. And whole town is stretched, not centred in one place, which makes it even bigger.”

„That’s still impressive for a port town, or city.”

„If I remember well, Nagato is not that huge comparing to many other cities.”

„Are there any comparable to Tokyo?”

„Hmm...”

Hachi was put in thought. His knowledge based on what his friend told him, but he didn’t recall anything related to that.

„Nah. It would be an overkill for a server, don’t you think?”

„Now that you mentioned, yeah.”

„I think the biggest has 100k, but I might be wrong.”

„It’s still impressive that they were able to do it.”

„Yeah.”

„Going back to your friend – how will you know it’s him, while you wouldn’t be able to see his name?”

„Oh, he told me actually how his character will look like. He’s pretty generic if it comes to any customization. Just picking pre-made one and that’s it.”

„Ah, he’s that type... Is yours pre-made too?”

Hotaru was curious since she met him while it was quite unusual for her to see a man playing with such a character. Mostly women would pick them, while they prefer cute characters. She saw one guy having one and he was an „onee-chan" hunter. Unfortunately, she was in the same guild as him. That guy had a wild attitude, but knew his stuff.

„No. Actually, I didn’t have anything in mind, so I clicked random and... only made some minor changes to it.”

„Oh, so you haven’t made it by yourself then.”

„Why would you think I would do that?”

„Umm... I just reminded one guy, who made similar character to yours, only just to get attention of girls...”

„Oh, I know this type. But wait... Did you really think I made him like that on purpose?”

„Umm...”

Hachi got questioning face. If it would speak for itself, it would say „Are you serious?”. Hotaru instantly regret saying that.

„Sorry! I didn’t mean anything bad! It’s just... uhh... you know...”

„It’s fine, I’m not mad. It’s actually hard to make me angry. Also, we don’t really know each other. And to be honest, I detest such individuals like mentioned guy.”

„Any particular reason?”

„They’re just giving me headache.”

Suddenly everyone on ship got excited from certain reason.

„Is it a harbor?”

„We’re already there?”

„Finally!”

„This ship is making me sick...”

„Seems like we’re almost there. I wonder if they have changed something in there.”

Everyone's eyes were at slowly appearing harbor. Even from that much distance one could notice how big this town was. From afar many different ships were coming in and out. That’s where is the main port for goods. Hotaru's ship was heading to different port on the other side of town.

„Any plans after arrival, Ayane-san?”

„Guess I’ll have a tour around the town, then... Then probably I’ll be leveling up, gaining skills and getting better with my longsword.”

„I’ll give you an advice, but, don’t tell anyone, ok?”

„Sure, I have no intention of doing so.”

„Okay.” he got a bit closer to Hotaru. „If you want to level up, you need to visit Guild first.”

„Really?”

He nodded. „Game won’t let you to level up until you’ll register with Guild. I’ve heard that people not registered were scamming people while doing quests for them. That’s why you will hardly get any quests when you’re a newbie. Registering with Guild guarantee you job, money and reputation, while for townspeople is a protection against scammers. If you’re sure of your weapon, then you can go to Guild, but some people are using this to check if certain weapon is good for them, so they don’t have to worry later about getting Reset Stone.”

„Is it for resetting your level and skills?”

„Only skills. While using certain weapon you gain abilities. You’re using longsword, right? Let’s compare to sword. They have mostly same or similar abilities, but they may deal different damage or be different in other way. Same as longsword has unique abilities, which sword doesn’t have and vice versa. That’s why some people decide to spend some time using a weapon and if they don’t like it, then use different one etc. While you’re not in Guild, you can use this tactic as much as you want, but after registration you gain one Reset Stone, so you have one chance to change your mind.”

„You mentioned that there is a way to get more of these stones.”

„I’ve heard you need to do very annoying quest if you want one.”

„I don’t like annoying quests.”

„That’s why you get one stone for free.”

„Yeah, pretty fair. Thank you, Hachi-san.”

„Stop with this -san, just call me Hachi.”

„Okay, Hachi.” said unsettled.

„That’s better, Ayane. You don’t need to be formal in the game.”

„Hachi, why you suddenly change your mind?”

„With what?”

„With sharing your knowledge about the game. I thought you won’t spill anything more.”

„Hmm... You seem to be a nice person. I’d feel guilty too.”

Hotaru couldn’t find words to respond him. She was surprised that someone thinks she’s nice.

„Oh, we’re getting to port. I think I have enough of sea for a long time.”

Hachi seemed relieved by that. Hotaru could take a closer look to town. It was indeed huge. People says the harbor represents the wealth and importance of a town. There were already three different ships besides one on which were Hotaru and Hachi. Port was very busy with players' arrival, hundreds of people were already there and more ships were on their way. Girl was amazed, she just reminded herself that it's her first time at the sea. It's actually second, but she forgot about it. Watching sea from ship wasn’t that exciting.

„Ayane, we just docked.”

„Oh, right, sorry, I was just thinking.”

„It’s fine, after you.”

They came down from the deck, Hotaru wasn’t sure which way should they go.

„Are you friends somewhere there?”

„They said they’ll be near town centre, Guild is not far from there, I’ll show the way.”

„After you then.”

Town centre was actually not far from there. While they were walking she was looking at buildings around. They were very beautiful, she never have seen such ones in Japan. They reminded her ones from Southern Europe, she wasn’t sure if they were in Italy or Portugal. All around terraced house wherever you look. Main roads, like one on which they were, was much wider than side roads, on which even a simple vehicle couldn’t drive due to width. Both were made from rocks or similar looking tiles. Everything was well maintained. Hotaru didn’t know why, but she felt like she was really in a town near sea.

„Architecture got your eye?”

„It’s so pretty there. It reminds me a bit of cities in Southern Europe.”

„Have you been there?”

„No, I just saw photos, but I want to go there someday.”

„Europe is quite far from Japan.”

„I know, but maybe some day I’ll be able to go.”

„Sure. Oh, we’re close to centre.”

„Is it because vehicle can’t go there?”

„Yeah, road is divided here as you can see.” he pointed out the stone pillars in front of them. „Can you see the fountain right in front of you?”

„Yeah, it’s not that far.”

„We’re heading there.”

„They will be there?”

„I suppose.”

Nagato was a wealthy town, so the view of luxury shops weren’t a surprise there. Most of them are located in one area, but some were here, on the 1st Avenue. You could find here any shop you wanted. From simple convenience store to luxurious shops with clothing and such. Down to street many exotic flowers were planted here due to specific climate in this region, which makes it a popular spot to hang out.

1st Avenue along with Orangery at the end of road are top spots for tourist to visit in Nagato. Orangery is a park, but due to unusualness of this place, it’s a very popular spot.

For Hotaru it was like a dream to be in such places and see it with her own eyes. Hachi noticed that, but he couldn’t share same enthusiasm as she had, while he wasn’t that much interested in it.

They reached the big fountain which connects 1st Avenue with 2nd Avenue.

„And so we are here. I wonder where they are.”

„Who we looking for exactly?”

„A man and a woman. He probably looks like a generic person, while she probably made another cute character.”

„I think I got it.”

It wasn’t even a second when Hachi found them.

„There they are. Hiro! Maya!”

He waved to them. They noticed him, waved back and slowly approaching them.

„That was quick.”

„Yeah.”

„So, we’re splitting up here?”

„Umm... Ayane?”

„Hm?”

„Maybe you want to join us?”

„Huh?”

She didn’t expect such offer from Hachi. First of all, they barely knew each other from not even an hour, also she didn’t know his friends. Secondly she wanted to focus on self-development, mostly on using her weapon, while fighting enemies who can move will be harder. If it would be a normal MMORPG where you don’t have to really worry about fighting, she probably would accept an offer, but this game is much different and she wants to take it more seriously.

„I just thought about it and wonder if you want to join to our party. It will be much easier to acquire better loot from mobs. Also, the more the merrier, they say. So, what’s your decision?”

While Hachi posed the question, his friends came up, but didn’t say anything. It took a pressure on Hotaru, but she knew the answer.

„It would be really nice, but I have to pass for now. I want to focus on self-development and get better with my weapon. Maybe at different time.”

Hachi thought she would join them, that’s why he was a bit surprised by her answer. If that’s her decision, then he’s okay with that.

„Okay, it’s fine. Can I at least add you to my friend list?”

„Sure.”

Hachi opened game panel by hand motion. Depending on what option are you looking for, you may either open your menu or open interaction menu when close to other player. To add someone to your friend list, you have to be close to that person and simply use interaction menu. Invitation will be send to this person and she just need to confirm or decline it.

„We will be in touch then.”

„Yeah.”

„Oh, Ayane, if you will be looking for a Guild building, you just need to go through 2nd Avenue on the right and then turn left. Then just go this way straight to the Guild, it’s huge, so you won’t miss it.”

„Sure thing. Thank you for everything, Hachi. See you later and good luck.”

„And to you. See you later.”

She said goodbye to his friends as well and headed straight to the Guild to check its whereabouts. Hachi watched her leave, his eyes followed her until she was out of sight.

„Got friendzoned, bro?”

„What?”

„I feel ya, I feel ya.” Hiro patted Hachi's shoulder. „It happens.”

Hiro’s known for his weird sense of humour, but people eventually got used to it. Hachi mostly doesn’t react to him, unless, like a moment ago, he will draw conclusions from nowhere. Similar thing is with Maya, but Hiro tries to not taunt her while he knows she would get more upset than annoyed from that. The presence of another girl near Hachi was making Maya awkward. She tries to get his attention from longer time, but it seems like he doesn’t see it at all and now a complete stranger appeared achieving what she wanted to achieve, making her more withdrawn than before.

„I wasn’t even hitting on her. I asked her if she wants to join us.”

„Huh, it’s basically the same thing!”

„Maybe for you.”

„Oh, c’mon, c'mon, you know I’m having on you! Anyway, what’s with your appearance?”

„What what’s with it?”

„I mean...” man looked up closely on him. „That was the last thing I would anticipate from you.”

„I randomized it, just changed minor things.”

„Right...”

„I like your character, Hachi-kun.” said shyly Maya.

„Thanks, Maya.” he responded with a smile which made her embarrassed.

„Well, you gained your first fan here.”

Hachi slightly laughed. „By the way, what have you got guys?”

„You mean which class?”

„Yeah. I’ve got mage.”

„Warrior here!”

„Of all people...”

„Like I had any influence in it!”

„What about you, Maya?”

„M-mage as well.”

„Uff... So, in this case-"

„Maya already said she will be a healer.”

„Did she? Maya? Are you sure?”

„Y-yes. I’m not good as a damage dealer, so it would be better if you’ll be one, Hachi-kun.”

„You know, Maya used to be a top tier support in one game we've played! People were fighting for her! You couldn’t find a better one!”

„Hiro-kun, please stop...”

„But it’s true! You don’t have to be humble of that, everyone acknowledged your skills, lass.”

Maya was a shy girl, so any compliments were making her uneasy. She indeed was providing a great support for her team and everyone wanted her to be in their team not only because of her abilities, but also because of her herself. While her support was invaluable, that was all she was able to do. She hasn’t been born for a fighting, so she was giving out this role for everybody else. Hachi was trying to be fair towards Maya and wanted to gave her an different option, but Hiro knew Maya better and he knew she won’t be able to fulfill her role in this game. She had problems in a simple MMORPG on PC, so Full Dive will make it even worse.

„Anyway, Maya, you’re sure, yeah?”

„Yes, yes.”

„Ok. So, what now? Any ideas?”

„Round around the town and to the Guild? I want to check up if they changed anything here.”

Everyone agreed for that and went along the 1st Avenue.