Dagna glanced at her figure on the mirror, a small smile formed on her face as she twirled her figure. Her once natural hair was now synthetic, her brown hazelnut hair laced with gold trims, her clothes made of nanite bots that served as recuperation during heated fights.
Her body slender and we'll proportioned and with her increased height, it was far more appealing to her than before. 'It would seem that Clomere knew what she was doing with this kind of body.' A thought ran through her mind as she shot her arm out.
Her arm began to break open, strips of neon lights shining beneath her false skin before a small beam flashed. Returning her hand back to normal, she made her way to the bed and lay next to Lyssara who was already logged into the game.
...
[{Welcome new player, Dagna}]
A notification welcomed her before looking around, the world around her unlike for Lyssara, it was all code that ticked akin to real life. 'This....I don't even think that I could tamper into this. It's a shame that I can't abuse this.' A face or amazement and helplessness washed on her face.
With a wave of her hand, her statistics were revealed to her.
[{Player: Dagna}]
[{Level:1}]
[{Barrier: 10/10}]
[{Health:20/20}]
[{Innate skill: The Endpoint -The final convergence, everything will collapse into inevitably}]
[{Weapons: Plasma}]
[{Active Skills: None}]
[{Passive Skills: None}]
[{Utility Skill: None}]
[{Charm: The Prodigy Of Tomorrow}]
[Favor: Personally favored by the Creators}]
Lyssara made her way to her, estoc around her waist. "Amazing, isn't it?" She mused with a smile on her face. "It's baffling, even for me. It's a blend of code and... life itself. It's amazing." Her eyes darting all over. "Come on, I want to see how you'll struggle with the first floor."
Lyssara's remark made Dagna's eyes narrow. "Don't estimate my skills Lyssara. I'm sure that I could best you in any combative field without any problem." The air around Dagna reeking of confidence that bordered ignorance. "I doubt it." Lyssara chimed as their figures disappeared from the starting area to the first floor.
"What exactly did Jarren limit you for those wings of yours?" Her question echoing in the caves mixing with their footsteps. "Something about my rate of progress. Damn him halving it!" She grit her teeth as a rat came into view. Dagna flashed a smile and shot a plasma bolt at the beast.
A notification flashed congratulating her on her first kill in the game and a variety of choices. Lyssara watched her as she made her choices, the silence between the two torn with Dagna's cheerful chime. "With these, it won't be long before I clear this entire game."
[{Player: Dagna}]
[{Level:1}]
[{Barrier: 10/10}]
[{Health:20/20}]
[{Innate skill: The Endpoint -The final convergence, everything will collapse into inevitably}]
[{Weapons: Plasma}]
[{Active Skills: Ion Blade}]
[{Passive Skills: Nanite Regeneration}]
[{Utility Skill: Drone Recon}]
[{Charm: The Prodigy Of Tomorrow}]
[Favor: Personally favored by the Creators}]
{Active Skills}
{Ion Blade}
Form a melee blade weapon of pure plasmic energy for close combat
{Passive Skills}
{Nanite Regeneration}
It recovers health and shield regeneration overtime, if low on nanites, body parts will be dissolved for regeneration
---
{Free Utility}
{Drone Recon}
Have an ally drone that scouts ahead to detect for traps, enemies or weak points, can also be used in combat for support and inventory storage.
'Barrier? What is that?' Lyssara's eyes narrowed as she fell in thought. Something she had dismissed the first time but now seeing it once more, it clicked in her mind that it would come to serve as a second health pool for her.
*Tang*
She made move on Dagna, a strike to her chest. "Hey!" Dagna immediately shouted in rage as she leaped back, already bearing the blow of the attack. It wasn't life threatening, a simple tap that brought her barrier from twenty to fifteen. "It's just as I suspected." Lyssara stated as she put her estoc back on her waist.
"Suspected? You could have just asked me what it meant!" Dagna cursed however her rage was dispelled as she saw the rapid rise of the barrier back to full. 'A second health pool in a brutal game like this is a great advantage.' Lyssara concluded as the two kept on with their descent.
Dagna with her ion blade made quick woke be it the bats or the rats which soured Lyssara's face. 'I didn't think that Jarren would be so shameless to let the gap between her and me be so big!' Her eyes locked onto the bat that was bathed in her flames thanks to her artifact.
It was then that it clicked for her. 'Is this what Seryn must have felt when she saw me?' Now with newfound perspective, her sour face quickly melted away as she realized her situation could have been far worse than the arsenal she had at the moment.
The first elite came into view, the stage still the same as before. She hadn't bothered intervening with Dagna's fights unless the enemies charged at her. 'Not to mention with my halved rate of progression, it would be useless for me to kill them anyway.' The fact still heavy on her mind as the two walked in.
The elite Vermin Scourge Gnawback crawled out of it's hole and challenged Dagna. The two traded hits however Lyssara quickly realized that the fight wouldn't last long. 'You didn't have to make her so strong Jarren. Or is this how everyone will be treated upon entering the game?'
A response echoed in her mind that caught her by surprise. 'No, the ones mean to the on the stage have already been chosen, the rest of the world will have to endure what the pawn has. If not worse.' Aware that the game would be allowed to the public, the fact that she had early access was already a blessing.
'Not to mention I'm classified as a personal favorite, I doubt that the rest will have such a privilege.' The more she thought about it, the more at ease she doing the whole situation to be for her. 'Looks like I was rather lucky back then with Callista.' A bitter chuckle escaped her lips as the Gnawback gave a final cry before turning into digital fragments.
Dagna on the other hand didn't seem all that troubled, her body already helping from the injuries she had faced.
[{Player: Dagna}]
[{Level:1}]
[{Barrier: 10/10}]
[{Health:15/20}]
[{Innate skill: The Endpoint -The final convergence, everything will collapse into inevitably}]
[{Weapons: Plasma}]
[{Active Skills: Ion Blade}]
[{Passive Skills: Nanite Regeneration}]
[{Utility Skill: Drone Recon}]
[{Charm: The Prodigy Of Tomorrow}]
[Favor: Personally favored by the Creators}]
{Active Skills}
{Ion Blade}
Form a melee blade weapon of pure plasmic energy for close combat
{Passive Skills}
{Nanite Regeneration}
It recovers health and shield regeneration overtime, if low on nanites, body parts will be dissolved for regeneration
---
{Free Utility}
{Drone Recon}
Have an ally drone that scouts ahead to detect for traps, enemies or weak points, can also be used in combat for support and inventory storage.
Lyssara had noted the entire fight, the drone had been a crucial role in the encounter as it would constantly divert the attention of the Gnawback off Dagna should the situation turn unfavorable for her. Not to mention with her Ion blade, she managed to easily wear out the beast.
'I would be furious to think that she would be able to conquer it so easily.'
[{You have received no experience from the fight}]
The notification made her eyes role as they made their way to the next elite. The chasms still present and unlike before, Lyssara was forced into the fight.
"Cover my right flank, the drone will handle the left while I take care of the Broodmother!" Dagna's order permeated through the air as the fight ensued. Lyssara with her knowledge of the fight easily dealt with the lesser minion, the drone however wasn't as efficient as it was taken down in the exchange.
Lyssara quick on her feet managed to take care of the other side as well leaving the stage for Dagna to deal with the main elite without any interruptions. With the two capable of flight, the chasms below weren't a threat and unlike before, this fight dragged on for longer till Dagna eventually managed to emerge victorious.
"How did you manage to counter the debuff?" Lyssara immediately asked, her brows raised. "What debuff?" Dagna's question baffled her. 'Is it because she's not human that the debuff doesn't work on her?' The realization made her scowl at their difference. 'Damn it.'
She cursed recalling how it was a nightmare for her to deal with the debuff not to mention with the constant pestering of the two lesser minions. The two walked out of the fight, Dagna's health pool now far lower than before.
[{9 out of 20}]
Lyssara noted her guard had tightened, her eyes more vigilant as they cleared the nest of bats and rats. 'But her barrier is full so she won't face the problem of an immediate death.' Every time her barrier was depleted, the enemy staggered back which acted as a window for Dagna to inflict more damage.
'However it would seem that she was out of nanite bots.' Aware that she didn't have an indefinite health pool constantly healing her, Lyssara's expression finally eased. "Due to this body I can't just heal naturally, I need nanite bots! And with my drone gone, this will only be harder for me." Dagna stated before coming to a sudden stop.
"What is it?" Lyssara turned back, her face perplexed at her actions. "There's....something here my sensors are picking up. It could be a hidden hole." The possibility of a hidden stage first shocked Lyssara before realizing the architects of the experience. 'They would do something like that. Looks like I need something to help me identify such passages as well.'
She concluded as Dagna began to probe the walls before a faint click echoed. A piece of the wall moved out of the way, Dagna gestured at Lyssara to take the lead which she involuntarily did. With a new area to explore, her grip on the estoc was tighter than ever.
She summoned a small rat thanks to her Infernal Reclamation skill to gauge the path ahead while summoning a bat to serve as a means of light. The path wasn't long before the two came to a small clearing. "Wait this! I've never been outside!" Lyssara said as she realized that above them was a glass dome and past it was the night sky. However what made it rather odd was the lack of stars, nothing more than a barren sky with the moon gleaming.
Looking all over, a small garden came into view of which the flowers were all dead. The air was thick with death, something she felt in the second floor. 'Maybe there are more ways to get to the second floor other than completing the first floor.' Her mind wondered whether every floor had such a hidden path.
*BAM*
Her rat summon was snuffed out as a figure crashed from the glass dome. It's hollow white eyes locking with the two, it's body composed of nothing but bones. It seemed to have a rat body but way bigger, it's tail had a green light at the end that made Lyssara's skin crawl.
[{You have encountered the secret boss of the first floor, defeat it and gain a free choice of options}]
The notification flashed jolting the two back to the scene. "It would seem that you aren't as useless as I thought you were." Lyssara's remark elicited a scoff from Dagna. "I'm sure that this is the first time that you've been here reading your expressions so can it!" She shot back at Lyssara's jab.
The being let out a chilling high pitched scream filling the air with dread. Lyssara brandished her estoc and Dagna her Ion Plasmic blade. The two ladies ready for the fight to come.