Prologue - Part 2, Leet Hunter
Written by: CS-Masyet
Uploaded on: December 21, 2017
Gracia U-ungh... Where am I now...?
Gracia "E-eek! It's cooold!"
Upon noticing I was now inside a frozen cavern, I instinctively hugged myself for warmth. However, after doing so, I noticed something odd.
Gracia "Huh? My clothes feel strange... And what is this lens-like thing attached to my face?"
I looked up, and saw a clear piece of ice, one that seemed to show my reflection. But what I saw was very different from what I saw on the screen beforehand...
"Jasper"
"... I-is that me...?"
All I had done to change my appearance was to give myself new clothes and change my hairstyle a bit, but it seemed as though the game decided to give me a couple more things on top of that. I was wearing some black-shaded lenses on my face, which would occasionally flash a few numbers in front of me. I was also wearing fingerless gloves on my hands, similar to the ones I would wear when practicing archery when I was little.
"Jasper"
"Oh, what nifty attire! I quite like this; it even helps me hide my identity even further!"
"Jasper"
"Ohohoho~!"
After I was done looking at my "transformation" in the ice mirror, I decided to leave and go through an opening in the cavern to see what I would find. It led outside up above a steep cliff, and a flurry of snow immediately hit my face as I left the cave.
"Jasper"
"A-a-augh! I-i-it is e-even colder o-o-outside!"
Not being able to stand the cold snow any longer, I headed back into the cave.
"Jasper"
"Well, it seems with all that snow everywhere, I will not be able to explore outside this cave. But then how will I be able to leave this place? I do not see any other ways out of here... If only there were someone here that could assist me..."
"Jasper"
Come to think of it, I decided to play this game in the first place because Butler said I could easily make friends here. So why am I alone? Why was there not a single person here to greet me once I had arrived?
"Jasper"
"Hellooo!? Is anyone there?!"
I called out, but I got no response.
"Jasper"
So I really am alone in this cavern... Does this mean I have already failed? Without making a single friend?! This just cannot be!
??? "I heard you, dude!"
"Jasper"
"Eh?!"
Suddenly, someone dropped down from the sky and greeted me with a smile.
???
"'Sup!"
"Jasper"
"My prayers have been answered! Someone has come from the heavens to save me from this icy prison!"
???
"Heheh, what?! No dude; I just came down here from the small passage up above us. See that hole?"
He pointed upward at a hole in the wall in a corner of the cavern near the ceiling. It was high enough that I did not notice it until he brought it to my attention.
???
"I dropped down from up there."
"Jasper"
"Fascinating! So that is how you are supposed to leave this room?!"
???
"Yeah, that's right..."
???
"... But wait, if you didn't know that, how did you even get here in the first place?"
"Jasper"
"I do not know. I was in a room where a screen gave me many questions about making my character, and afterward I was sent here."
???
"Making your character? Does that mean you're a newbie?"
"Jasper"
"Um, 'newbie'?"
???
"So the game spawned you here then, huh? Jeez, talk about unlucky. It's bad enough you ended up in the Snow Sector, but this high up too?"
"Jasper"
"Is starting the game here not normal?"
???
"Of course not. The game spawns you based on your current location in the real world. Where do you live, up in the mountains?"
"Jasper"
"E-eh, something like that..."
"Jasper"
As much as I would like to tell him that I live in a golden mansion, I cannot, as that would reveal my true identity...
???
"I see... Well anyway, let's get you out of here... Uh, hm..."
???
"By the way, what's your name, dude?"
"Jasper"
"M-my name?!"
"Jasper"
"U-um, it is Jasper. J-Jasper Roopsgar..."
???
"Jasper Roopsgar, huh? That's a pretty neat name! What weapon did you pick?"
"Jasper"
"Oh, I chose a bow..."
???
"Interesting choice! I don't see many people here use sniping weapons."
"Jasper"
"I have some previous experience with a bow, so I thought it best to pick this weapon because of that."
???
"Really, now? I guess everyone's going to have to watch out for the new pro archer, huh?"
"Jasper"
"Naturally! Hohoho~!"
???
"Wow, aren't you confident! Don't get too cocky, now!"
"Jasper"
I still do not understand what exactly you are supposed to do in this game, but with my skills, I am sure I will have no problems being the best!
???
"Since you chose the bow, I wonder how you decided to arrange your stat spread."
"Jasper"
"Er, 'stat spread'? You mean those numbers I saw before?"
???
"That's right. If you don't remember how you arranged them, you can check it on your profile."
"Jasper"
"Um, how do I do that?"
???
"It's easy. Here, I'll show you..."
???
"Open Profile!"
The boy exclaimed while holding out his open hand in front of him, and a small, slightly transparent screen appeared in front of him.
"Jasper"
"O-oh!"
???
"Here, take a look."
He moved his finger in my direction and brought the screen in front of me. It showed game information about him on it. This is what it said:
"Name: Leet Hunter. Gender: Male. Weapon: Pulse Rifle. Level: 14. Stat Spread: HP - 150, P.Atk - 13, E.Atk - 10, P.Def - 16, E.Def - 15, Speed - 11, Range - 9, Luck - 9. Special Ability: Gradually heals the HP of allies and self and increases all of their stats by 10% for one minute. Passive Ability: Doubles Speed when running toward an ally that's in danger."
"Jasper"
Most of this is nothing but a confusing mess to me, but what I am most curious about would probably be...
"Jasper"
"U-um, why does it say your name is 'Leet Hunter'? What does that mean...?"
???
"Heheh, yeah; I'm not surprised you would ask me about that... It sounds kind of silly, I know. I thought of it when I was younger, and haven't thought of a better name since, so I've stuck with it all this time. You can just call me 'Hunter', if you want."
"Jasper"
"I-I see... Very well, then."
"Jasper"
I do not really understand, but whatever...
Hunter
"Alright, enough about that. Let's take a look at your profile, next."
"Jasper"
"U-um, wait a moment. Something just occured to me..."
Hunter
"Hm? What's up?"
"Jasper"
"Everyone's profile has their name listed, correct? And they can show it to whoever they want?"
Hunter
"That's right... Why do you ask?"
"Jasper"
"If that is the case, why did you ask me for my name directly, instead of just asking to see my profile? It is not something worth hiding from anyone, is it?"
Hunter
"Not really. In fact, a lot of players share their name and other information about themselves by showing their profiles to everyone..."
Hunter
"But personally, I prefer doing things the old-fashioned way."
"Jasper"
"Why is that?"
Hunter
"Well... When I'm trying to make friends, I prefer talking to people directly about everything, whether that's in the real world or this virtual one. It makes things more personal. Know what I mean?"
"Jasper"
"F-f-f... Friend!?"
Hunter
"Yeah, that's right. I know we just met, but there's no reason we can't be pals, right?"
"Jasper"
Unbelievable! I was not even trying, and yet I have already made a friend! How could I have had so much trouble with this before now?!
"Jasper"
I suppose this game must make it easier for everyone else to detect how amazing I am! I will have my army of friends before I know it! And I will rub it in that spiky-haired neanderthal's face!
"Jasper"
"Ohohohoho~!"
Hunter
"Hunh?! What's gotten into you all of a sudden, dude?"
"Jasper"
"O-oh, it is nothing. I just felt so jovial after making a friend in this game, is all...!"
Hunter
"Ah, I see! I'm glad I made you so happy that you felt the need to laugh like that, heh!"
"Jasper"
I must be careful; it is very possible that this boy was present when I introduced myself at the commoners' school earlier today... I cannot let my new friend find out who I am just yet!
"Jasper"
I must do my best to pretend I am a fellow commoner...
Hunter
"Hey, since we're friends now, why don't we add each other to our friend lists?"
"Jasper"
"Friend list? What is that?"
Hunter
"It's exactly how it sounds; it's a list of people you've made friends with in the game. You can use it to locate or message someone that's far away... or closeby, if you really want to for some reason."
Hunter
"To open your friend list, you can say 'Open Friend List'. But since you want to check you stat spread anyway, you can just open it from your profile menu."
"Jasper"
"Alright. In that case, I shall do so right now!"
"Jasper"
"Open Profile!"
Like Leet Hunter has done previously, I yelled out and held my hand in front of me, and a screen similar to his appeared. I moved it slightly towards him so he could look at it as well.
The screen displayed this: "Name: Jasper Roopsgar. Gender: Male. Weapon: Brass Bow. Level: 1. Stat Spread: HP - 100, P.Atk - 11, E.Atk - 11. P.Def - 10, E.Def - 10, Speed - 10, Range - 12, Luck - 11. Special Ability: Doubles own arrow's critical damage chance and allows the user to shoot arrows through walls and obstacles for one minute. Passive Ability: Can see foes that have been succesfully hit by an arrow through walls and obstacles for 15 seconds."
Like with Leet Hunter's profile, a lot of what I read confused me, but I immediately noticed something strange with part of it.
"Jasper"
"What?! The numbers are different from before!"
Hunter
"Really? How so?"
"Jasper"
"U-um, the number near 'HP' was not quite so large... And some of the other numbers are slightly bigger as well."
Hunter
"How did they look before?"
"Jasper"
"Every single one had a 10 next to it. I did not know how I was supposed to change them, so I left them alone... Was that bad?"
Hunter
"On the contrary; leaving them like that makes your character very balanced. That gives you no particular advantage, but also doesn't give you any particular disadvantages, either. That's especially great for you, since you're a newbie."
Hunter
"Anyway, your stats look different than what you saw before for two reasons. The first is because of how HP works in this game."
"Jasper"
"I apologize, but I do not have any idea what 'HP' actually means..."
Hunter
"Really?! But it's a basic video game term... Oh well."
Hunter
"HP is short for 'Hit Points', aka your health in the game. You need to make sure it's as high as possible at all times, because once they reach zero, you'll be KOed."
"Jasper"
"KOed?"
Hunter
"Erm, you'll be knocked out. Depending on the mode you play, that means you'll be kicked out of the match or you'll just respawn at your area's loading point. You'll learn more about that once you actually play the game."
Hunter
"Anyway, about what makes HP different from the other stats. Every stat has what's called a 'base value', which you can change when you start the game and when you level up. When you level, you can increase one stat by one point. However, unlike the other stats, HP's actual value, like the value you see in your profile, is actually 10x that of its base value. So, for example, if you choose to increase HP by one point after leveling, it's actual value will increase by 10."
"Jasper"
"Oh, I see! In that case, increasing HP over the others is the best option, right?!"
Hunter
"Hahah, no way! HP is important of course, but the other stats are just as vital, even if they seem 'smaller' than HP."
Hunter
"Speaking of which, if you weren't familiar with the term 'HP', does that mean you don't know what the others mean, either? I can give you a brief rundown of what they all mean too, if you'd like."
"Jasper"
"Thank you; I-I would really appreciate it..."
Hunter
"It's no problem, don't worry about it. Anyway, 'P.Atk' is short for 'Physical Attack' which determines how much your regular attacks will do against your opponent. Regular attacks would be stuff like gunshots, sword slices, and your normal arrows. 'E.Atk' is short for 'Energy Attack' which determines the strength of energy-based attacks. Exploding projectiles like missiles use E.Atk, as well as laser-based attacks. I believe archers can use an equal output of both regular and energy arrows, so balancing your P.Atk and E.Atk was a good idea."
Hunter
"'P.Def' is short for 'Physical Defense' which determines how much damage you take from your opponent's regular attacks. The higher your defense is, the less damage you'll take. By the way, as you might've guessed, your opponent also has a defense stat, so if they have high defense and you have low attack, you won't do much damage to them. 'E.Def' is short for 'Energy Defense', which works the same as P.Def but with energy-based attacks."
Hunter
"'Speed' determines how fast you can run and how fast you can use your attacks. In your case, your arrows will fly off your bow really quickly if your Speed stat is high. That might make it hard to control how well you can hit your foes with them, so be careful about increasing this stat. 'Range' determines how far your attacks can go. Also, normally, if you attack a foe from too far away the amount of damage you do is decreased, but increasing your Range will lessen the amount that it lowers. Since you're an archer, this might be the stat you'll want to increase the most. Lastly, if you're lucky enough, your attack will do 'critical damage', which makes it do more damage depending on your own P.Atk or E.Atk. The higher your Luck is, the higher the chance this will occur. Oh, and it also decreases the chance a foe can crit you."
Hunter
"... And that's all of the stats. I hope my explanation was easy enough to understand..."
"Jasper"
"It was really helpful, Mr. Hunter! Thank you very much!"
Hunter
"Don't mention it! Got any other questions?"
"Jasper"
"Well, you mentioned earlier that there were two reasons my stats changed. What is the second one?"
Hunter
"Ah, that's right! We ended up getting so sidetracked that I almost forgot about it! Whoops!"
"Jasper"
"It is my fault for lacking so much knowledge about this game... I am sorry..."
Hunter
"Hey, don't worry about it dude, it's cool! Anyway, the second reason your stats changed is your weapon."
"Jasper"
"Huh? Why would my bow change my stats?"
Hunter
"Because each weapon needs and uses most of your stats differently, it'll give you some bonus points in some stats to help accommodate that. Five extra points, to be precise. For example, my pulse rifle gives me 1 more point in HP, P.Atk, and E.Def, and 2 more points in P.Def. Your bow apparently gives you 1 more point in both Atks as well as Luck, and 2 more points in Range. Which makes sense, since it's a sniping weapon."
Hunter
"Also, your bonus stats don't affect the base value of your stats, so keep that in mind when choosing stats to increase when leveling up."
"Jasper"
"I see... I think I understand everything now..."
"Jasper"
"Thank you again for explaining all this to me! I could have been in quite the predicament if I had not known all this beforehand. I really appreciate it!"
Hunter
"It was no problem... But how come you were so unfamiliar with this, anyways? It's strange to see someone try this game out without prior knowledge of basic video game terms..."
"Jasper"
"U-uh, um... T-that is because..."
"Jasper"
I do not want to tell him I have absolutely no knowledge of gaming whatsoever! That would be extremely embarrassing!
Hunter
"... No, never mind. Forget I said anything."
"Jasper"
"Eh?!"
Hunter
"That was too personal of a question to ask... I'm sorry. I promise I won't pry about that kind of thing again."
"Jasper"
"Um, okay..."
Hunter
"But enough about that, let's add each other to our friend lists and finally get out of this cavern already."
"Jasper"
"Alright!"
"Jasper"
Leet Hunter is such a nice guy... I am so glad I made friends with him!
"Jasper"
Thanks to his assistance, I, Gracia Moneyrich, shall impress everyone with my knowledge and skills and will make even more friends!
"Jasper"
Ohohoho~!
--
With the help of my new friend, I was able to climb up the wall to the cavern's exit, and head out of the cave. Unlike the other exit, outside of this one was clear of any snow.
"Jasper"
"What a wonderful clear, blue sky! I am so overjoyed to be finally free from that frigid prison!"
Hunter
"Heh, were you really in there for that long?"
"Jasper"
"But that is very strange... Why is it snowing on that side of the cave, but not this one?"
Hunter
"Oh, that's to help block off a currently restricted area. There are some events that let you fight AI-controlled monsters there, but there's nothing like that going on at the moment."
"Jasper"
"I am sorry, but I do not really understand..."
Hunter
"Ah... Well, when an event like that does happen, I can show you then."
"Jasper"
"Alright, thank you!"
"Jasper"
"But it is still very troubling that they would make it so difficult to exit that cavern..."
Hunter
"Well, you normally aren't supposed to spawn in there like that... You just weren't very lucky..."
"Jasper"
"I am very glad you showed up to help me, though! If you had not decided to come to this area, I did not know what I would have done!"
Hunter
"Actually, you've got my friend to thank for that. He's the one who decided to come here and explore this area today."
"Jasper"
"Your friend?!"
Hunter
"I came here with two friends, as a matter of fact. When we reach the Snow Temple, I can introduce you t-..."
Suddenly, another person popped out of the ground, covered in snow.
"Jasper"
"GYAAAAHAAAHH!!!"
It startled me so much that I fell to the ground.
Hunter
"... Speak of the devil..."
???
"What a relief. I've finally located you..."
Hunter
"Huh? You were looking for me...?"
"Jasper"
"W-why did you have to appear from the snow in such a manner?!"
I had asked him while getting up from the ground, my heart practically trying to escape from my chest.
???
"Do you really need to ask? It's because I'm a ninja, of course."
"Jasper"
"U-um, do ninjas typically perform such actions...?"
Hunter
"Uh, were you answering Jasper's question, or mine?"
???
"Hm?"
The ninja boy turned to look at Leet Hunter in slight surprise.
???
"Ah, Lancer. How long have you been there?"
Hunter
"The whole time!? And how many times do I have to tell you my name is Hunter, Kaze?!"
???
"So you found someone else before me... Interesting..."
"Jasper"
"So, is this Kaze ninja fellow your friend, Hunter?"
Hunter
"Yeah, he's the friend I mentioned earlier; the one who had the idea to come here. He can be a bit... er... absentminded at times, but he's a good guy."
Kaze
"Tell me, what's the name you gave yourself in this game?"
"Jasper"
"Uh, Jasper. Jasper Roopsgar..."
Kaze
"Jasper Roopsgar, huh? ..."
Kaze
"... Interesting..."
"Jasper"
This boy is kind of strange...
Hunter
"... Oh, right. That reminds me... If you're here that means Lyrica probably isn't back at the temple yet either. We should message h-..."
Kaze
"Already taken care of."
Hunter
"W-wha?! But how did you...?"
Kaze
"Because I'm a ninja, of course."
Hunter
"I don't get what you being a ninja has to do with anything, but whatever..."
Hunter
"If there's nothing else we need to do, let's all head for the temple."
"Jasper"
"Alright. But what exactly is this temple place...?"
Kaze
"Any sector's temple is usually the central area where everyone gathers to party up and fight each other. You'll see when we get there."
"Jasper"
"I see..."
"Jasper"
Wait a moment, did he just say fight each other?! Just what kind of game is this...!?
To be continued in Part 3... >