Dragon X Tempting Fate

I'd like to say that my first experience in game was something unique or glorious. Like maybe, my spawn glitched and dropped me into a high-level dungeon right off the bat, and I fought my way out with my incredible gamer skills. Or maybe, I received some kind of special Unique Skill the moment I spawned in, that would pave my way to greatness!

...Or maybe, I had just read too many light novels. Because what actually happened was, of course, that I appeared in an orchard. It was a very pretty orchard, with tall trees, a cool breeze, and a perfect view of a cozy little village spread across the hillside below.

There was an old man – or rather, an old NPC working as a groundskeeper there. He ran me through a basic tutorial on selecting, equipping, and unequipping skills, then repeated the same two lines of dialogue over and over about needing help, until I picked up a stick – why was it called a Cypress Stick when all the trees around here had apples on them? – and used it to wallop some unusually large rats.

It was too one-sided to even be called a battle. Even if I stood completely still and let them gnaw at my heels, they could scarcely even damage me. Then I'd give them one good, solid whack, and they'd go flying, let out some rather pathetic squeaks, and then disintegrate into motes of pixel-dust.

Thrilling gameplay, really. The stuff of legends.

To make a long story short, the old man thanked me and welcomed me to the village. I tried to ask him for directions, and he just thanked me again.

“Guess that's all the tutorial I'm getting,” I muttered.

He must have heard me, since his dialogue looped and he thanked me again. Walked right into that one.

Sighing, I shouldered my mighty stick, beloved weapon of novice heroes everywhere, and headed down the hillside towards the village, looking over my menu as I did so. My own avatar appeared in miniature before me, and I stopped for a moment to admire my work.

Really, I hadn't changed things too much from my actual self. Okay, sure, maybe I'd made myself a little taller and a little less scrawny, but not to such a degree that I even really noticed much of a difference myself. And as for my facial features, they were... mostly the same. The slightly-curly, red-brown hair I had always resented in real life didn't stand out as much in a fantasy world as it did back in Japan, so I hadn't felt the need to change it. A slight tweak had changed my boring brown eyes to a vibrant gold, with faintly visible black slits down the center of each pupil thanks to my draconic heritage. Really, the only things that particularly stood out were the white scales scattered across my cheeks, the hollow reptilian frills that had replaced my ears, and the crown-like horns sprouting from my forehead.

...That and the tail. I was vaguely aware of a sense of weight tugging at the base of my spine, and if I really focused on it, I could even make it move consciously. But it didn't quite feel like part of myself, despite that. Just thinking about the strange feeling was enough to remind me that I was dreaming right now.

At any rate, my friends were probably already online, and we had planned on meeting up at the base of the orchard hill. Though there were a few players that wandered by, none of them stood out to me. Those two would definitely create something weird enough that I'd recognize them the moment I saw them. And, well, even if I didn't, my own username would probably tip them off.

Well, whatever. Even if I didn't have them added to my friends list inside of the game, I'd already saved their VR contacts. I could have SiLVA drop a message for me in our group chat, and then we could all meet up somewhere –

“Hey, you! You're new to the game, aren't you?”

The sudden voice snapped me back to attention. At some point while I'd been tabbing through my contacts, a pair of players clad in rather distinctive all-white armor had flanked me on either side. One looked to be a warrior, judging by the large battleaxe slung over his back. The other carried a staff, so he was a mage, probably. Either way, they both looked a bit high-level to be flagging down random newbies fresh from the tutorial...

“...Uh... yeah? Why do you ask?”

“We're from the Silver Phantom Knights, the number 1 guild in Althea!” The warrior declared proudly. “It's our duty to help new players learn the basics of the game. So, how about you join us, and we'll show you the ropes and give you some items to help you starting out.”

Call me paranoid, but the way he phrased that made it almost sound like I wasn't supposed to have a choice in the matter. And even leaving aside how shady this friendly “offer” sounded, playing a game I didn't really care about with strangers was the last thing on my to-do list. Besides, I already had a party waiting for me, so even if their offer didn't have some kind of catch, I had no intention of taking them up on it.

“No thanks,” I answered quickly.

“Are you sure? The early game can be very rough, and healing items don't come cheap, so –” The mage tried to cut in with a suspiciously well-rehearsed sounding interjection, but I raised a hand to cut him off.

“Nah. My friends invited me to join them, so I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer.” Answering brusquely, I tried to step between them and be on my way, but the warrior, seeming frustrated by my harsh refusal, just started following me so that he could continue his little pitch.

“Why don't you let us join you, then?” He asked – or rather, insisted. “Maybe we can give your friends some pointers as well.”

“My friends have been playing since launch. They've got their own guild and everything. So if you're trying to recruit them, don't bother,” I tried, but that only seemed to further encourage him. Or annoy him. It was hard to tell which.

“Why not let them be the ones to decide –” He began, but his own companion stopped him, shaking his head vigorously. At least one of them seemed to realize how sketchy their little shakedown looked. Or maybe he was just playing good cop too little, too late.

“Let's stop here, Dain. You're bothering him,” the mage interjected. His warrior compatriot gave a frustrated huff, but seemed to heed his words, no doubt noticing the scowl on my face.

“Oh, come on, Rozas. It was just a friendly offer.”

“Even so, it's not our place to interfere when he has other plans,” the mage chided, then turned back to me, giving a slight bow, and an apology that, while polite, struck me once again as being suspiciously well-practiced. “Sorry if we disturbed you. At any rate, if you ever do need any help, our guild has a branch headquarters in the town square. You can come and ask for anything, at any time.”

“Yeah, sure. I'll, uh, keep that in mind,” I answered non-committally. The two of them beat it in a hurry, but I saw them cast several glances back my way as they left, and that “Dain” guy in particular gave me a pretty fierce glare when he met my eyes.

Guess they weren't used to being told “no.” But, well, that was their problem. It was a big enough game, and there were probably plenty of desperate newbies who'd be willing to take them up on their little offer. I'm sure they'd forget about me soon enough, and with any luck, we wouldn't run into each other again.

“Young Master, you have one new private message. Displaying now.”

<<Hey Kei! We just made it here. You still around?>>

Ah. Right. I had more important things to do. Casting my eyes over the crowd, they very quickly settled on a rather distinctive duo standing underneath a nearby willow tree.

The first was a rather diminutive elf boy with wispy silver hair and large, pale gray eyes. He wore a forest green cloak and carried a rather large bow, giving him a rather classic fantasy vibe.

The second, on the other hand, looked like he'd lifted his wardrobe from some kind of Demon King – or maybe a visual kei band. Though his face was exceedingly plain, with dark hair and eyes you could find anywhere, his attire more than made up for his exceedingly mundane countenance. He wore an absolutely eclectic mix of gear, with bits and pieces of ornate scarlet platemail strapped piecemeal over a three-piece Victorian suit, all topped off with spectacles, a cravat, and a high-collared opera cape.

“...Wait, I thought Vampires weren't available in Althea?” I muttered to myself.

“Negative, Young Master. He's a human. His fashion sense simply stopped progressing after the eighth grade.”

I tried to think up some kind of witty response that would conceal from my all-seeing AI assistant that I had also thought his outfit was pretty cool until she had said that, but before I could think of anything the two players seemed to notice me, and approached. As they came into range, nameplates appeared above their heads, and no doubt, mine appeared for them as well.

Over the elf's head: <<PureGray>>.

Over the edgelord – erm, I mean, human: <<Dairoku>>.

And, over my own head: <<HakuryuuK1>>.

“That you, Kei?” Dairoku asked. “You picked a hell of a name for yourself.”

“Right back at you, Hiroshi. What are you, Oda Nobunaga?” I smirked.

“Well, what can I say? A man's got to have some ambitions.” Then he stopped, realizing how I had addressed him with zero hesitation. “...Or, wait, how did you know it was me?”

“Because Jun did the same thing as I did and based his username on his actual name.”

The elf gave a sheepish chuckle. “What can I say?” He said. “Coming up with good names is hard. Not that you two seem to have had any trouble.”

“Not with the name, anyway,” Dairoku rejoined. “But don't tell me you picked a dead-end race like Dragonkin just to match your username.”

...Actually, I had picked it because I thought it looked cool, but he was the last person I was going to admit that to. And wait...

“Dead-end? I mean, I'm a dragon, right? How can they make dragons bad?”