Reality Break Ch. 02

"Just stay away from me. You can't even beat me yourself!"

"That gay ass High Elf prick seriously must have fucked something over in your mind-"

"SHUT UP!"

"Whoa."

"His name is Glass, and from what I've seen from him, he's obviously a much better guy than you. Much more good looking, nicer, handsome, kind, and... Well, he's obviously much better than a nuisance like you!"

"Damn bitch!" Demonz walked over and raised his hand in order to slap Blossom. He could dish it out but he certainly couldn't take it.

"Please do not harm my teammate." Scarlet had traversed the distance from the crowd over to the group in less than a second and stopped Demonz' arm.

"F-fucking bitch! Ouch!" Demonz cried out in pain from the intense grip the new girl had around his arm. He couldn't even feel blood flowing to that limb anymore.

"My response banks tell me that you apparently have no knowledge of how to insult someone other than basic insults with 'Bitch'. Please come back when you have gained a suitable repertoire of basic English."

Blossom snickered as she stepped next to Scarlet, "Ouch, burn..."

Demonz wrenched himself from Scarlet's grip and looked around at the laughing audience. Feeling embarrassed, Demonz grew hot with anger. "Fu-fucking bi... You can't go talking like that to a high level member of Archangel like that! You won't be able to play Rebellions peacefully around Sandy Oasis again!" Sputtered out the Changeling player.

While Demonz forced out a selection of unimportant words, Blossom whispered to Scarlet, "How good are you at this game?"

Following suit by whispering back, Scarlet answered as dictated by her programming's honesty. "If you mean for me to engage in a duel with Demonz, I am positive I can easily defeat him."

"I heard that bitch! Fine then, let's fucking duel!" Demonz stereotypically floundered about and sent Scarlet a duel challenge.

"Ah... How do I accept?" Scarlet asked Blossom.

"Oh, a duel request window should have popped up. Just press accept, though check the-"

*Duel beginning- Scarlet [Level 11 Wanderer] Vs Demonz [Level 23 Crypt Knight] and Genghis [Level 15 Smiter].

"Special rules..." Blossom's words trailed off after the duel announcement.

What Blossom meant were the special rules that players could attach to certain duels. Demonz took advantage of those rules and added in the special rule of allowing an extra person on his side.

Demonz simply smirked and readied his battleaxe while his partner for the duel, Genghis, put his staff at the ready.

Before Blossom could protest, Scarlet said in a strangely confident monotone, "Do not worry. I will eliminate all hostiles."

Blossom meekly nodded in half amazement and half admiration. "So cool..." Her words almost seemed out of breath.

In the crowd, which opened up even more to allow for a larger arena for the duel, many whispers and thrilled voices could be heard: "A LEVEL 11 GOING AGAINST a 15 AND 23?" "It's slaughter I tell you." "Yea, man, Archangel's gonna WIPE!" "You guys learned nothing about this game? Other than gear with a moderate amount of better stats, higher levels really only get extra skills. That doesn't mean they can still win." "Such BS, the Wanderer is obviously gonna lose. A cross Ranger and earth Mage classification has no chance against those two." "Crypt Knight and Smiter, the former is a cross Warrior and dark Priest classification... A Smiter is a pure Priest classification." "I think I'll play for the rookie here. Fifty cogs on the Wanderer!"

As with the last shout, many bets were being placed between the numerous players. Most of them were obviously in favor of Demonz and Genghis, but a small few animatedly placed nominal sums of cogs in favor of Scarlet.

All PvP battles began with a countdown of ten to sixty seconds, ten for duels and sixty for full group battles. In rare one on two battles, the countdown began at ten seconds anyways.

10... Scarlet pulled out her dual daggers.

9... Blossom gulped and stepped back.

8... Genghis narrowed his eyes.

7... Demonz licked his lips.

6... A spectator dropped his drink.

5... Pouches of cogs bounced in the air.

4... Blossom shifted her eyes back and forth.

3... Demonz lost some sweat.

2... Genghis decided what to start off with.

1... The crowd grew silent in anticipation.

0... Scarlet whispered, "Long Throw."

A dagger instantly found its way in Genghis' chest, decreasing his HP by a fourth right off the bat. She dashed forward and pulled the dagger out with incomparable speed and stabbed it twice more in different spots of the Smiter's chest.

"Gah! H-Hymn of Protection!" Genghis barely managed to utter out the name of his special skill. A barrier of light surrounded Genghis who recoiled from the pain of being pierced thrice in the chest. Although the sensation was lessened by fifty percent, it still hurt with the pain comparable of a large hypodermic needle entering his chest three times.

Scarlet, seeing the invulnerable barrier, immediately turned her attention to Demonz who had his axe raised. The Changeling player yelled the name of the special skill he was using, "Soul Slash!"

Scarlet raised both her daggers in an attempt to block the skill. Yet the axe passed through the daggers and her basic armor, slashing down her chest and decimating her health by a sixth.

"What's that skill?" A crowd member asked the person besides him.

"A friend of mine uses a similar skill, it let's the player strike at a player's 'Soul'. Basically, your weapon can pass through all tangible objects. It does low damage though because of its cheapness."

Scarlet absorbed the new information as she stepped to the side. Normally a player would cry out in pain, that was what Demonz was thinking. Yet the girl before him completely ignored the pain and kept on moving, what insanity.

Scarlet watched her opponents. She learned two of the special skills both opponents were using. Apparently Genghis' Hymn of Protection gave him an invincible barrier that couldn't be penetrated by anything, not even his magic. Until the barrier ran out, Scarlet knew she could focus her undivided attention on Demonz.

Right now, Demonz decided not to wait and plodded over to Scarlet. He tested the waters by slicing several times at his opponent.

The two engaged in a series of attacks. Scarlet only did so because she wanted to find out what Demonz other special skills were. Eventually, Demonz did just that.

Under his breath so that Scarlet couldn't here (which she did), Demonz whispered the name of his second special skill, "Boiling Blood." However, he didn't aim it at himself or Scarlet, but at Genghis.

The Half Elf player clutched his head in pain as he felt his body grow hot. "GYAAAAAAHHAH! F-FUUUUCK!!!" Genghis screamed and roared as he felt his blood boil. It almost felt like every bloodstream in his body began to flow backwards.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Blossom screamed at the top of her lungs.

Demonz smirked and pulled back his axe. "Boiling Blood, though I amplified the pain a bit accidentally, it damages a player from the inside out while increasing their attack power. I can use it on enemies and allies alike. Now COME ON, GENGHIS! Let's not let this BITCH think she can get the better of us!"

Genghis stuttered over the ground as if in a painful drunken stupor. Twenty seconds passed of tenseness passed until Genghis finally stood upright with bloodshot eyes. Raising a hand, Genghis said in a funereal tone, "Solemn Purge."

A beam of light course through Genghis' fingertips and connected at the palm of his hand.

Apparently the skill required time to charge, as Demonz immediately went on the offensive. He swung his axe like a berserker around, allowing no possible escape for Scarlet. At least he thought that was the case.

"Elevation Shift."

As Demonz thrust his axe and chin forward, a column of stone and pavement erupted from the ground and clocked the Changeling in the chin.

Elevation Shift didn't only shift the earth up, it could shift it downwards as well.

Scarlet had placed two hands on the ground. One for the column of earth striking Demonz in the chin, and the other interrupting Genghis' spell by forcing him to collapse in a brand new pit of murky cement.

Sprinting over to the boiling Smiter, Scarlet moved both daggers to Genghis' neck. "This will be painless." She performed a cross slice with both daggers, reducing the rest of the priest's HP to zero and forcing him to respawn.

"Even with Boiling Blood's boost, I guess he didn't seem like much. Fucking weak little bitch."

Demonz' excessive cursing and insufferable attitude turned off many players in the scene. Some forced themselves to stay, like Blossom. Others either didn't care or remained for the sake of their bets. However, not a single person didn't find themself disgusted with Demonz and his personality.

"Why did you make him suffer?" Scarlet still didn't understand the motives behind the casting of Boiling Blood on Genghis.

"Eh? The hell you're talking about?" Demonz made a disgusted face, "I didn't make him suffer. I made him stronger with my special skill. Now take my Plague Edge!"

Demonz unleashed his third special skill, Plague Edge. His axe's edge glowed a faint green reminiscent of apples.

Scarlet looked straight into Demonz' eyes. "Do you like watching others suffer?"

Demonz attack Scarlet, diagonally slashing. The girl narrowly deviated the attack by pushing it off to her side with both daggers.

"Like I said, I didn't make him suffer. I just gave him a boost. I do it to a lot of people, and it's kinda funny to see their reactions."

Blossom heard a female player whisper to a friend in the crowd, "Why is such a guy so highly ranked in Archangel? Record this so we can report him."

"Boiling Blood hurts people, dearly. Yet you do not care..." Scarlet couldn't comprehend the concept.

"OH, you mean it HURTS them. Yea, I know it hurts people. But c'mon girl! It's for the good of the win after all. I'll use it again... And again, and again, and again, and goddamn again if I need to. Like I give two shits in the end, the pain is only simulated after all. We feel a lot better after we win, obviously, which I'll be doing RIGHT NOW!"

Demonz' axe, infused with the special skill, Plague Edge, managed to land a small cut on Scarlet's waist.

Demonz spoke again, releasing a sick laugh on the side that gravely annoyed Blossom. "Plague Edge gives my axe a coating of any plague or disease and infects my enemy when I cut them. Right now you're infected with Necrotic Tetanus. It's gonna hurt reaaaaal badly right about... Now." Demonz hesitated several seconds until he said the word 'Now'.

Scarlet simply titled her head in confusion. She wanted to say this, "As an AI, I do not feel pain. Shall I simulate the sensation?" But she didn't, as she promised Glass to not reveal her true nature.

"Hey, why aren't you squirming? I should be finishing you off on the ground like five seconds ago."

"Do you enjoy watching those in pain?"

Demonz scrunched up his forehead, "Don't make me out to be some fucking sadistic guy. I can be caring sometimes."

(Yea right... You're such a tool.) Blossom confirmed within her mind.

"I was told to eliminate all hostiles... Yes, you are hostile."

Scarlet seemed to finally realize something in her mind. As if one of life's greatest paradigms was solved within the virtual mind of Scarlet.

"The fuck you're talking about?"

"Protocol dictates that I eliminate all hostiles." Scarlet sheathed her daggers and her eyes turned from her virtual green into a grid. "Accessing the reality of the player, Demonz." Scarlet's right arm glowed a bright sapphire blue with her trimmed fingernails emitting trails of teal.

"Whatever, bitch. I'll just cut up if you stand there. Even if Plague Edge didn't work, I'd easily win anyways." Demonz spun around and gained momentum for his axe.

"Beginning breakdown."

Demonz yelled out the name of his final special skill, "LICH'S GIFT!" A ghostly skull wearing a cabalist's hood and robes appeared behind Demonz. This was his strongest and most powerful skill, he couldn't use it too often in a fight.

Scarlet's entire body glowed various faint shades of blue, no one would notice this unless they were standing right next to her and inspecting her skin.

The spirit Lich behind Demonz cackled and guided Demonz' attack.

Scarlet pulled her palm back as far as her arm would let. She took a single step and entered Demonz' range before his eyes could even register the female's presence.

"The fu-!" Demonz couldn't even let his last full word be a curse word.

Scarlet clasped her blue palm on Demonz's forehead and slammed the Changeling player's body onto the ground. She completely halted his momentum and even broke through his strongest attack.

Demonz body shook as if under the effects of a seizure. Ten seconds passed until what transpired ceased and the duel was announced in Scarlet's victory.

Blossom blinked twice and shifted uncomfortably. No one wanted to break the silence. The awkwardness of the situation could be cut through with a butter knife.

"Wait... What?" A single random voice broke the silent crowd.

-

"IIIIIT'S YOU! Glasie! Whaaat's up girlio?"

"You're drunk aren't you?"

"NooooooyEAPPERS!"

"What the heck does that even mean, Hailey?"

"It meeeeaaaansssss that you neeeed to drink this!"

"I call it the Pistol-whip."

Glasie had gone out to a local bar with her friend Hailey. They went here often because a friend of theirs, Natasha, played bartender on Thursdays and Fridays. While Hailey and Glasie had known each other since high school, they only met Natasha a couple months back at this very bar. Even so, the three had become fast friends.

"Why do you always have to give your weird concoction the most violent names?" Glasie wondered out loud.

Natasha smirked deviously, "Oh come on, it isn't too violent this time. Not like my world famous Prolapse Special!"

"No, that one was just plain disgusting. Just like its name."

"Well, I guess it was good that I didn't make that one public. Would've tarnished what little rep this rathskeller has!"

"Well, give me something at least half decent this time."

"GIVE HER A CINNAMON SCREW!"

"O-Kay! One Cinnamon Screw coming up!"

"W-Wait! I don't like cinnamon..."

The three girls each enjoyed the outing in their own way. Hailey was already drunk, which proved hilarious enough for Glasie and Natasha to take short video clips. Glasie pondered the various quirks and situations she had experienced playing Rebellions as the handsome Glass. And Natasha racked up quite a profitable set of tips for the night.

Eventually, the conversation between the two non-drunk girls turned towards the usual: men.

"Hailey can have any pick of the guys here tonight who want to get laid. She's quite easy when she's drunk."

She rung true, a fairly tall person was hitting on Hailey already. Both were drunk and both were probably going to continue to be so until Glasie or Natasha brought their friend back to the sober side.

"You'd have the hardest time. Guys are always intimidated when they try to talk to you, bartending girls are always the toughest."

"Not so! A guy just has to be nice, semi-good looking, and give me a healthy tip!"

"Isn't that just like a prostitute?"

Natasha stammered at first, "Uh... Well, what about you? Find any good fish lately?"

Rolling her eyes, Glasie answered, "None in real life."

"What's that mean?"

"Well, I've recently begun playing one of those virtual reality games, Rebellions."

"Oh, really? I've heard about that game. Apparently all of the player models, race aside, closely resemble what they look like in real life. I get it now, you found a cute guy in that game?"

"Yea..." Glasie sighed knowingly, swooning mentally at her player model.

"What's that mean, again?"

"Well, there's a player named Glass in that game. He's a super hot elf in that game. I'm not joking when I say I've never seen such a handsome person in my entire life. He's... So... Damn... Hot and cute."

"You don't often put those two adjectives together."

"Well, you know I'm bi, right? Not with you or Hailey of course."

"That hurts my feelings! So am I, your point is?"

"Let's say he has the perfect mix between male and female features. Glass has the graceful and smooth features of us girls and the sharp masculinity of the men."

Natasha imagined the guy Glasie was describing. While the description was vague, it sounded like she said, the most handsome person ever. "Well, I don't know about this Glass guy himself." While polishing a glass, Natasha pointed at a guy sitting down in a chair on the far side of the bar. "But what about him? He seems right up your alley."

The man in question was drinking a beer by himself while looking at the VT (virtual terminal) display. Virtual terminal displays were simple pieces of technology that projected a monitor screen in front of a person. There were public VT displays in every public building. Some people even brought portable ones with them. However, to those who wished privacy, VT displays were not for them as unwanted eyes could see what was being projected from behind.

As for what he was looking at, the man was simply browsing a news website while drinking an average beer. He was at least 180 centimeters tall with a head of short harsh black hair. He had sophisticated looks and a slender body that seemed toned by regular exercise. No doubt that Natasha and Glasie weren't the only ones who had their eyes on him. It's best to strike while the iron is hot, that was Natasha's motto.

"Looks like he needs a refill, go bring him a drink for you and him! Go get 'em!" Natasha slid the surprised Glasie a beer and playfully pushed her along.

"Eh, what?!" Glasie looked at her sides for Natasha. All she found was air as Glasie unintentionally made her way over to the man while her friend had fled the scene since second one.

"...Can I help you?" The man already asked before Glasie even got a chance to speak.

"Um, would like a refill?" Glasie couldn't help but start off awkward.

While she was no stranger to talking to strangers, talking to one for the sole purpose because he's good looking was different for her. The grand total of partners she had been with amounts to four, three guys and one girl. The first two were boyfriends right after high school. Like most hormone infused teens, Glasie introduced herself to sex fairly quickly. Yet she soon learned that such an intimate act was better left for intimate couples, right after a random encounter with her third guy. A couple months ago was when Glasie found that her preference went both ways after a comically funny generic and stereotypical lesbian curiosity romp. The past aside, Glasie preferred guys romantically and didn't mind either gender when satisfying urges.

The handsome guy raised an eyebrow before replying, "Mm, thanks... You're still here?" He exchanged bottles and tossed that rude comment out nonchalantly.

"Excuse me?"

"Ah, shit! Sorry, I was talking to the guy on the VT." Like the man said, he was talking to someone through the VT display. Apparently done with his digital conversation, he slashed away the VT display with the wave of a hand. "Yea, sorry about that. Your name? Mine is Petres." The handsome man named Petres spoke apologetically. He seemed to speak with a quick tone that seemed to go through his words at a quick pace. Also, despite the name, the man did not speak with an accent.

"It's Glasie, with an ie. What were you talking about with that person? It seemed important." In an effort to move the introductions away and the conversation forward, Glasie posed a question.