Reality Break Ch. 02

Note: Like I said, I'd be starting this once my other story finishes. I implore you to enjoy this story, whether for its story or sex (there won't be a large amount, be warned). Also, I was supposed to have an editor for this story... But she was a no show and I was too lazy to wait.

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"Y-you're serious? Someone's breaking into our servers? That's impossible, isn't it?"

"From outside of the building, yea it is, but someone right now is hacking into the game from inside our building. They're in room three. GET SECURITY IN THERE NOW! I'M NOT ASKING AGAIN DAMN IT!" A voice started out calm, but immediately lost its cool.

Currently, an unknown assailer broke into SonataCorp headquarters where all of the servers and Rebellions' mainframe and interface were located. Basically, if someone wanted to screw directly with Rebellions' programming, SonataCorp HQ was the only place to do it.

"Yes sir, security team two and three are heading there now..." A minute passed. "Sir, security team three has engaged the intruder, they are under heavy fire, no casualties yet."

"Get Hagdorf down to the room, find out what the intruder was after or did. Rebellions has only just been released, we're not about to lose this cash cow to a measly break in."

The subordinate dipped his head and pulled out a smartphone, "Hey, Hags, we had an intruder break into Rebellions. They're hunting him down as we speak. Amazing, right? Someone was actually stupid enough to do that! Still, Riktor wants you to get down to room three and find out what happened. Ok, yea, sure, gotcha."

Half an hour later.

"Sir... Security teams two and three pursued the intruder to the rooftop."

"And?"

"The intruder... Jumped off."

"What? He... Or she, just broke into our building, tampered with Rebellions for god knows what, and jumps of the goddamn roof? What the fuck!"

"Whether is was actually suicide or not we can't tell, it's too dark out. The intruder might have brought a chute or a wing suit for all we know."

"Eh, forgot about those things. We'll get on that damn intruder later, does Hagdorf have what I need to know yet?"

"Let me check. Hags, you figured it out yet? Uh huh, alright, I'll relay that."

"And?"

"Well, apparently, the intruder installed a program into Rebellions."

"What kind of program?"

"It registers as a virus, but the nature of the program that Hags decoded tells us that it takes form in Rebellions as an AI."

"Bullshit..."

"I'm completely serious, sir."

"A fucking AI? A virus as an AI program? Interesting. Where will the AI take root?"

"Well, considering that our HQ is located in the States, logic dictates that the AI will spawn in the North America based continent, probably around Atarea."

"Alright... Send get the mods down there, wait, that's Aria's area, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright, have Aria investigate the AI, track it down. We'll decide what to do when we find it."

-

"NOOOOOOO! BLOSSOOOOM!" Glass cried as his teammate and partner, the Undine mage Blossom.

The reason for his desperate cry was that they were both engaged in an extremely tough battle against a mob boss (mob is general slang name for enemy NPCs, with the boss being the leader. The boss in question was called the "Alpha Wolf".

Each group of mobs, be it wolves, bandits, or even slimes all had a leader, or a boss. The Alpha Wolf was the boss mob of the wolves in this area.

"I'll avenge you! I won't let him get away!" Cried Glass again, increasing the dramatic tension.

Glass stabbed at the biting Alpha Wolf with his Fang Sword. However, the wolf was too fast. It jumped backwards and landed on its hind legs. Right after, it let out a sharp howl, calling its fellow wolves to help it out.

'Glass, I'm not actually dead. I respawned.' Blossom told Glass through the private team chat. 'You can't fight a boss by yourself, just run away!'

In order to talk with friends and teammates, there are private channels available for use where players can talk to each other provided they are on the same continent.

"Hell no! I must avenge you!"

'You do realize that we can just get back together and fight the boss again, right? No player can defeat a boss alone unless they're like at least ten levels above its level. Oh hey, here you are.' Blossom sighed and turned around to look at her partner, Glass. "This is just too funny! Hahaha!"

A beam of light shimmered next to Blossom, once it dissipated, Glass appeared next to her in all his majestic glory. No matter how many times Blossom saw Glass, she could not believe just how handsome he was. The majority of the Elven race models never could barely compare to Glass. Considering how the player models are closely modeled after their actual person, the person behind Glass must be a beautiful male model. Blossom could not her luck when she got the chance to monopolize Glass as her teammate.

"Well, I've more or less gotten used to walking around as an Elf. Still, it's really hard to get used to the stat boosts accordingly." Complained Glass as he checked his base stats.

Currently, Glass and Blossom, while still not at the same level, have gained several levels since they first teamed up. Glass gained six, while Blossom gained half that, three.

"Don't worry! I'll help you get used to this. Just, um, come on more so we can play together." Blossom reddened and looked away while Glass cocked his head aimlessly.

Glass: Level Ten High Elf Rogue, Classification - N/A

Health: 400, Mana: 400

Base Stats: Strength- 8, Endurance- 8, Agility- 14, Perception- 11, Focus- 5, Luck- 15,

Special skills: Fang Bite, Perceptive Evade

Your base stats increased automatically each level; depending on which stat you emphasized your play style during that level. The algorithm that decided what stat went where was not revealed by the company, much to the players protest. Though without a doubt, it was relatively fair for all players, no one could deny that. Luck was the only stat that never increased without the help of items or skills; going by that logic, Glass put all of his initial stat points into luck.

As for Glass' special skills, which he received when gaining his fifth and tenth level: Fang Bite was named after his sword and it allowed a faster than normal stab with any short sword or dagger, it emphasized quickness over damage. Perceptive Evade increased Glass' perception ability in the middle of a fight until his next successfully dodge. It was well known that low perception can be a problem in a fight, and that perception isn't as useful in a fight. So Glass created an ability to counter that.

Blossom: Level Twelve Undine Mage, Classification -- Aeromancer

Health: 350, Mana: 750

Base Stats: Strength- 6, Endurance- 7, Agility- 9, Perception- 14, Focus- 16, Luck- 7

Special skills: Zephyr Launch, Lightning Rod

Blossom's skills were purely air magic based, though she wanted to specialize even further than that eventually. Zephyr Launch allowed a gust of high-pressure wind to erupt from her hands, which she could use to launch herself, other players, or objects. It is a useful, though unpredictable, support ability. Lightning Rod could absorb a certain amount of lightning magic, or natural lightning and store it as extra power.

"Still, this game is really fun. Grinding just levels is one thing, but there's obviously more to do, right?" Asked Glass.

Broken from her reverie of staring at Glass' elegant features, Blossom quickly put an answer together, "Of course, though it would be easier and more fun to do them at a higher level. There are a bunch of professions ranging from trap making/disarming, cooking, blacksmithing, alchemy, poisons, to even caretaking of animals. There's a bunch to do there. There is also PvP, or player versus player combat. You can do that by dueling, team combat, gladiatorial arenas, guild wars or battles, city sieges, and there are plans in development to create a continental battle as an annual event. You can buy property, provided you have the large sums of money for it, and decorate your house or castle, depending on what you buy. You could operate or manage a store that sells weapons, victuals, supplies, armor, and jewelry. You can hunt and tame animals, though that's a profession. Take on quests from the various NPC guilds and organizations. And I'm only touching the surface here."

Between Blossom's words, Glass could be heard saying, "Oh, that's sounds interesting." "Sounds fun for a guy like me." "Fight other players? Awesome!" "Jeez, that's a lot of stuff."

"Well, if we want to do the more serious stuff, we should expand our group. I don't know why, but for some reason normal group sizes can be up to seven." Grimaced Blossom. 'If we do that, I'll have to share Glass... Beggars can't be choosers I guess.'

"Oooh, what's that?" Glass saw something off in the distance while Blossom continued to talk about groups and what they should do for one.

Since he had never played a single video game in his life, Blossom found that his attention was easily diverted by almost anything. However, she failed to notice Glass happily dashing off towards the object of his interest like a deranged deer.

"Considering I'm a mage, and you're most likely going to end to end up as a duelist classification. We will definitely need some a meat bag base warrior to act as a tank. We'll need a healer as well, maybe a druid or a monk, who knows. Uh, Glass? HEY!" It took several long seconds for Blossom to notice Glass' disappearance into the vast world of Rebellions.

"I should find him before he gets into any trouble... Or worse, finds a girl." The pretty Undine mage suddenly found herself worried. "Eh? Why can't I message him? It says Glass is online, and he isn't private..."

"The player you are messaging is not available? What the heck does that mean?! Can't be a glitch, something like this should have been fixed long ago. Ah... I better find him on foot."

-

"Oh shit! My curiosity just had to bring me in the middle of the damn nest!" Glass had found himself located in the main spawn point of a group of NPC enemies. These were not the wolves from before, but Gnolls, diminutive furry humanoids.

Two already attacked Glass, both were equal his level and ready to kill the intruder. Glass used his Fang Bite skill to dispatch the first that clumsily lunged for an attack with its jagged sword.

It didn't kill the gnoll instantly, though it did reduce its HP (health points) by half. Glass then instantly activated his Perceptive Evade, dodging dual attacks from both gnolls. Glass stepped back and ready his short sword. He chopped down at the full health gnoll, taking away a fifth of its health. He barely managed to deflect an attack and retaliate with a quick stab into the first gnoll's face, killing that one by hitting its vulnerable spot.

"Yea! One down, come on!" The remaining gnoll released a loud shriek and flailed its arms at Glass. The gnoll managed to hit Glass once, taking away forty points of health before being grabbed on the shoulder by Glass and stabbed to death. "These guys aren't that tough. We can probably farm them for easy experience. Though they are lower level than I and Blossom."

Swish!

Three more gnolls appeared before Glass, as well as their boss, Ripfur.

The gnolls were the same, ragged clothing and jagged swords. Ripfur however, held a small glimmer of regality. He wore similar clothing that the NPC and player nobles would wear in the major cities and he wielded a long staff with a white crystal embedded at the top.

"Uh oh, I can't do this without Blossom, I'm not nearly high enough level to solo this guy." Glass rationalized the situation quickly and swished his head to both sides, searching for an escape.

"Um, hello?" A new voice entered the scene.

"Who are you?"

"I'm..." The voice, which belonged to a girl, spoke slowly. Without a doubt, this girl was quite a pretty sight. While Glass did not have the time to look at her information, he could instantly tell that the girl was the basic human race. And she was without a doubt a player. She wore the basic clothing all new players started out with, but her level was exactly the same as his, ten.

"Don't bother, let's get out of here first!" Glass shouted to the newcomer.

"Why? Are these creatures not hostile? The girl seemed confused, as if she didn't realize the seriousness of the situation.

Though it was a game, would it not be better to not incur a death penalty?

"You won't be able to do that, not even with me, we're both too low level to take on this many NPCs and their boss!"

"Ah, really? Um, if it is not too much trouble, what is an NPC?"

Glass didn't even try to sound surprised, he wanted to get out of here safely and not incur a second death penalty. "Ahhhh, just come with me!"

"Eh, why? I've been told to eliminate all hostile enemies."

"What in the world are you talking about- WHAT!" Glass swiveled his head, exasperated at the strange questions of the girl. Right when he did just that, Glass witnessed an amazing spectacle that shouldn't be possible for a level ten.

The girl pulled out the starting melee weapons for a ranger, dual daggers, confirming the girl's base class as a ranger. She simply walked forward and cut apart the weaker gnolls that attacked her, leaving four left before her.

"She just killed three gnolls in an instant. What the hell...? That's... Really cool, I wanna help!" Glass flashed a smile under his strange gaze. "I'll help you, if we don't win, we'll at least have had a fun fight!"

The girl cocked her head, confused, but stood by Glass when he came forward. He drew his Fang Sword and blocked the incoming attack from the boss gnoll's guard. He managed to land a score of small attacks, reducing the enemy's HP down to a fourth of its original health. And with a quick Fang Bite attack, the enemy was defeated.

Glass looked to his side and saw the girl already killed two more gnolls, though in the process, she lost about a half of her health with a berserker style of combat.

"Seriously, how do you still have the beginner's gear if you're this good and a level ten?" Glass wondered out loud.

"I guess... Virtual programming?"

"Huh, whatever that is. What's your name, anyways?" Glass almost forgot one of the most important things when meeting someone, asking their name.

"Ah, that. I wasn't designated one. I wonder why?"

"You weren't designated one... What are you- Uh oh, that boss is looking pretty ancy. All right, I'll try to keep it busy; you do as much damage as possible." Glass gave his basic plan to the girl, who nodded in agreement.

"Perceptive Evade... And a quick Fang Bite!" Glass activated those two skills in quick succession.

Ripfur raised his staff and cast a spell. A small wall of mud emerged from around him and absorbed the blow. He pulled out quickly before the mud enveloped his short sword and hand.

Glass watched as the girl circled around with some pretty impressive speed. She saw Glass' drastic situation and immediately slashed Ripfur's back, causing the gnoll to whine like a dog and swipe at his attacker. She jumped back and kept a defensive stance.

"Ah! Thanks, I almost got enveloped by that mud." Glass said honestly while breathing for his very life. The cool sensation of the mud confused his mind for a second. It didn't come to him that he was slowly sinking into Ripfur's clutches.

No matter how many times Glass felt it, engaging in such a thrilling, though painful, battle like this was a powerful rush. The game, Rebellions, was designed to induce sensations of pain when you're cut, bruised, or burned, though to a much lesser degree lest some players feel the reverb in their real bodies. It made people feel like they were actually going to die in dangerous moments. This was just one of many.

However, Glass was happy that such a strange high wasn't the only joy he got out of this game.

Ripfur began channeling, through growls and spittle, his strongest earth spell, Mudslide.

"I don't know what this spell does exactly, we need to stop him quickly!"

The girl nodded and sprinted towards Ripfur at one end while Glass did the same at the other. Only two seconds passed until both players reached Ripfur and struck with their bladed weapons, to no avail.

The boss gnoll's casting speed was too fast, and Mudslide finished. As they were located on a gently sloped hill, the Mudslide came from the higher elevated end. Without mercy, the wall of mud slammed into both Glass and the girl. The impact itself reduced their health by twenty-five percent, a large portion, even considering the power of boss NPCs.

The Mudslide diverted around Ripfur, who was dancing around and snarling in animalistic glee. The two players were carried a small distance before slamming into a large boulder, with the mud continuing to flow onto them, draining their health at a continuous rate.

Safe haven came in an unlikely form. "I guess... Elevation Shift?" The girl was completely calm, despite being pounded by dirty and bulky mud.

The ground before the boulder which diverted the mudflow, sprouted into a wall, sending the mud around the two players.

"W-what'd you do?" Glass was sure that it was one of the girl's special skills, so he asked.

"I did not realize that I could make special skills... So I made one fit to save us." The girl answered as if her words were completely natural. "Elevation Shift, a ranger and mage skill that allows the ground to shift upwards or downwards depending on the amount of mana used."

Glass, while relieved, couldn't help but react with a handsome awkward smile. "Just how did you create a special skill so quickly and convenient enough to save our butts?"

"I don't know. I also created a skill called Long Throw. Please distract the hostile for me."

Glass hesitated only a second before nodding and rushing out from the earthen wall. The Mudslide's duration had ended and what remained was a soft bed of fertile silt. Thanks to his high agility, Glass found it exceptionally easy to slalom his way through the impeding ground.

The enemy boss, Ripfur released a loud snarl and shot forth a flurry of mud bolts. The boss, after using its most powerful spell, found itself low on mana and could only reply on the lost cost bolt attacks. Every spell caster used bolt spells as their basic attack, like Blossom's lightning bolt attacks.

Glass had a decent perception, so he could see most of the incoming mud bolts and deftly avoiding the majority while blocking the others. Two managed to get past and hit Glass in the left leg and heart, reducing his HP to only thirty-four points. His new friend had better pull through or else he would die.

He finally broke into melee range with Ripfur and the NPC and player engaged in a battle of close weaponry. Glass decided to save Fang Bite for later, instead opting for a sliding attack with his Fang sword.

Ripfur had slathered mud on his claws and made them harden, giving him a set of armor-piercing fingers. The gnoll jumped to the side, with difficulty considering it was a mage NPC and not a melee focused boss. No matter the stats, level, or experience, any ranged oriented character was notably weaker in melee combat.

Glass pursued and kept a steady offensive going, not letting the gnoll get in a single chance to attack with his claws. Even so, the higher leveled boss would not give in or let Glass even scathe the gnoll's gnarled robes.

In the back, the mysterious girl was lining up the perfect shot with her Long Throw skill. This particular skill allowed her to toss one of her daggers with guided accuracy at any opponent with a distance dependent on her perception. Glass didn't know the girl's stats, but he could only place his confidence and hopes in the girl now.