Gracia Moneyrich's Grand Search For Friends!
Prologue - Part 3, Lyrica Bell
Written by: CS-Masyet
Uploaded on: December 21, 2017
After spending much time crossing many snowy mountains, we had eventually made it to a clearing where a rather tall tower was located. A lot of people wearing similar attire to the three of us were gathered around it.

"Jasper"   "What is this place?"

Hunter   "Actually, this is the temple I was talking about."

"Jasper"   "R-really?! I was not expecting it to look like this!"

Kaze   "Indeed. It looks a lot more like a tower, or even a castle. But almost every sector that has a building like this as its central area calls it a "temple" for some reason. Even though most of them don't even look like actual temples..."

Hunter   "Maybe the game designers wanted to make each central area look unique, but also wanted them to be easily identifiable for players new to each sector, so this was their compromise?"

Kaze   "Normally I'd think that thought would hold some merit, if it weren't for that one certain sector that doesn't have any sort of building as a central area..."

"Jasper"   "'One certain sector'? And just what would that be...?"

Hunter   "A-ah, you don't need to worry about that right now..."
Hunter   "Anyway, we need to check if Lyrica is here. Can you try locating her on your map, Kaze?"

Kaze   "You want me to check for you...? You have her on your friend list as well, don't you?"

Hunter   "I just thought you'd want to do it this time, but if you really don't want to, then I ca-..."

Kaze   "... No, leave it to me. For this is one of a ninja's many duties."

Hunter   "..."

Kaze opened up his map, and began searching for his and Hunter's other friend.

"Jasper"   "I do not mean any offense, but Kaze seems like a very... um... difficult person..."

I told Leet Hunter quietly so Kaze wouldn't hear.

Hunter   "You have no idea..."
Hunter   "But still, even if he can be hard to talk to, and can be kind of a pain sometimes, he's still a pretty cool guy. And he's an important friend to me."

"Jasper"   "Really?"

Kaze   "... I don't recall me agreeing to be your friend, Lunter."

He said to us suddenly, while still checking his map.

"Jasper"   "W-wha!? You heard us?!"

Kaze   "I heard every word of your conversation."

Hunter   "Ah right, I forgot how good your hearing is, Kaze..."

Kaze   "There's no point in trying to hide anything from me, for I..."

Hunter   "... am a ninja. We know."

Kaze   "I was actually going to say it's because I have good ears... But yeah, that too."
Kaze   "By the way, I've located Lyrica. She should be here soon."

Hunter   "How soon?"

 ???   "Hey guys!"

An unfamiliar person happily greeted us from a fair distance away, and came running towards us.

Kaze   "Now soon."

Lyrica   "It's about time you two got here! I've been waiting for sooo long!"

Hunter   "Really?"

Kaze   "I contacted her to meet up with us here, but she had happened to have already made it back anyway."

Hunter   "Gee Kaze, thank you so much for only mentioning that now."

Kaze   "I apologize. I didn't think it was important to bring up, so I didn't bother telling you."

Lyrica   "Well whatever, that doesn't matter anymore! I found something pretty neat while exploring, and I wanted to show you right away!"

Kaze   "Oh? Is it better than what Meat Muncher found?"

Hunter   "Leet Hunter!"

Kaze ignored Hunter yelling at him and pointed in my direction.

Lyrica   "Ah, right. I've been wondering for a while... Who are you?"

"Jasper"   "O-oh, I am Jasper. Jasper Roopsgar. Today is my first time playing this game, and I ended up stuck in a cave up in the mountains... until Leet Hunter saved me, that is."

Lyrica   "You spawned there?! Oh, you poor thing; I'm so sorry!"
Lyrica   "But I was able to meet you thanks to that! Let's take advantage of this encounter and be friends, Jasper!"

"Jasper"   "Sure, okay!"

Hunter   "By the way, you said you had something you wanted to show us? What was it exactly?"

Lyrica   "Does it even matter at this point? Developing new friendships is much more valuable than any treasure I've found!"

"Jasper"   "I completely agree with that, Miss Lyrica! Ohoho~!"
"Jasper"   My home is already full of riches, after all! But none that have anything to do with friendship - yet!

Hunter   "Yeah, I suppose I agree as well... B-but..."

Kaze   "I don't value friendship at all, so I'll gladly take whatever you found off your hands if you wa-..."

Lyrica   "How rude! Why'd you have to go and ruin the moment, Kaze?!"

Lyrica sighed in disappointment at Kaze's behavior.

Lyrica   "... Whatever, fine. Even though a certain someone doesn't deserve to see it, I'll show you guys what I found now."
Lyrica   "Open Inventory!"

She placed her hand in front of her and yelled, and a screen I had not seen before appeared before her.

"Jasper"   "I did not know you can do something like that!"

Hunter   "Ah, that's the 'Inventory' screen, where the stuff you get from exploring and the prizes you get from winning fights is stored. Sorry I didn't explain it before; I figured I'd teach you about it once you'd actually gotten an item."

"Jasper"   "That is alright, Hunter. I am already very thankful for the things you have taught me already!"

Kaze   "There's also value in learning things on your own, as well. It's not necessary to hold his hand throughout the whole game, y'know."

Hunter   "I know that! I just figured he should know about the basics of this game, at least."

Kaze   "Okay, then. I know how you can be, so I felt I should let you know..."

Lyrica pressed on one of the boxes on the screen in front of her, and a strange, glowing stone spawned in her hands.

Lyrica   "Sorry to keep you all waiting! Here it is."

Hunter   "Lyrica, is that a Cyber Stone?!"

Lyrica   "That's right!"

"Jasper"   "What is that? Is it special?"

Lyrica   "Sure is! You can do many things with Cyber Stones, depending on their color. This one is yellow, so you can use it to change the stats of your weapon."

"Jasper"   "Change its stats? You can do that?"

Lyrica   "It's possible that you may like the look of the weapon you have, but not like its stat spread. Normally you'd have to look for a new weapon, but if you don't want to do that, you can use this stone to change its stats to your liking."

Hunter   "They're fairly rare though, so actually finding one is pretty lucky."

Kaze   "The stats of a weapon are all that matters; its appearance is irrelevant. Getting more weapons isn't very difficult, so it's practically worthless..."

Lyrica   "Figures you'd say something like that, Kaze! Why don't you try actually having some fun for a change!?"
Lyrica   "... Then again, that attitude is probably why you're the highest level player amongst the three of us..."

"Jasper"   "Really?! He is?"

Kaze   "It's nothing to be impressed about. Level alone doesn't determine combat skill or ability. For example, someone could level simply by being in a skilled group, and then choose to increase stats that they don't need. Keep that in mind."

"Jasper"   "Um, alright..."

Hunter   "Hey hey, aren't you the one doing the hand holding now, Kaze?"

Kaze   "Shut up. If you're going to spend so much of your time coddling him, there's no harm in me sharing a bit of knowledge myself, is there?!"

Hunter   "O-okay, sooorry. No need to get so mad..."

Lyrica   "... Oh hey, I've got a great idea!"

Lyrica handed the stone to me.

Lyrica   "Here~!"

"Jasper"   "Whuh? Are you... giving this to me?!"

Lyrica   "Yep, that's right! Since you just started the game, your inventory is empty, right? This can be your first item!"

"Jasper"   "B-but are you sure? This stone is hard to find, right?"

Lyrica   "It's okay! I already love my weapon, so I don't really have a use for it right now, so you can have it. Take it as a sign of our friendship!"

"Jasper"   "Okay, thank you very much!"

I accepted the yellow Cyber Stone from Lyrica.

"Jasper"   "But still, I feel kind of bad taking this without giving something in return..."

Hunter   "It's alright. We're friends, so you don't have to worry about that sort of thi-..."

Lyrica   "Wait a moment!"

She suddenly yelled, startling Hunter and I. Lyrica began to eye me curiously, then walked behind me to look at my back.

"Jasper"   "U-um, can I ask what you are doing, Lyrica...?"

Lyrica   "Just as I thought, that's a bow isn't it?!"

Kaze   "I think that's pretty obvious..."

Lyrica   "Don't you get it?! Jasper picked a sniping weapon!"

Hunter   "Yeah, I thought that was pretty unusual for someone to pick when first starting out, but it's nothing to make a big deal about..."

Lyrica sighed, slapping her forehead.

Lyrica   "Honestly, you two are so dense! How do you not understand? He's just the kind of person we've been looking for!"
Lyrica   "Jasper, would you consider joining our group?"

"Jasper"   "Huh? Group?"

Hunter   "Hold on a second. We don't know if he isn't already planning on making a group with his friends, or if he even wants to join a group at all..."

"Jasper"   "Actually, I do not know what a 'group' is for, and I do not have any other friends that play this game..."
"Jasper"   I do not have any other friends at all actually, but that is too embarrassing to admit...
"Jasper"   "... But it sounds really interesting! What is this 'group'?"

Hunter   "Well, when you join a match alone, you're randomly teamed up with other players to fight alongside. But if you want to team up certain people, you can form a group. Some players only make temporary ones, but for the most part, players always group with the same people, like us."

Kaze   "Matches are usually '4v4', so we always have to look for one random person to join us if we want to play together. Not to mention our team isn't very good with long-range opponents, so we usually need to find a sniper in particular in order to have any chance of winning. It's kind of a pain, actually..."

Lyrica   "That's why it would be really great if you joined our group, Jasper! We're already friends, and we can help you learn how to play the game and help you level faster if you do! Won't you consider it?"

"Jasper"   "Fighting alongside friends..."

Hunter   "I don't know if Jasper would be up for that so early on..."

"Jasper"   "..."

Kaze   "He looks all for it to me..."

Hunter   "It might be a lot of responsibility for him. He'd be our only long-range fighter, so he'd have to help protect us as well as himself..."

Lyrica   "Well, pretty much every type of fighter has to do that, right? I don't see what the big deal is."

"Jasper"   "I do not understand much about this game, but I think I would like to try this 'group' thing!"

Lyrica   "That's wonderful! We finally have a fourth member of our group!"
Lyrica   "To be honest, I was kinda hoping we would end up getting another girl, but oh well..."

"Jasper"   Actually, I am a girl, but I cannot tell you that yet... Sorry, Lyrica...

Hunter   "If you don't like being in a group with us, you can leave whenever you want. You don't have to feel pressured to stay or anything."

"Jasper"   "Do not worry, Hunter. I am fairly skilled with a bow in real life, so I am sure I will have nothing to worry about!"
"Jasper"   "Ahahaha~!"

Lyrica   "Heehee, you sure found an interesting person to join us, Leet Hunter! I can't wait to see how he fights!"
Lyrica   "By the way, Jasper, to join our group, first say: 'Open Group List'."

"Jasper"   "Okay!"
"Jasper"   "Open Group List!"

I opened up the group menu in the same fashion as I did the others.

"Jasper"   "U-um, there is not much here... What do I do now?"

Lyrica   "Don't worry, I'll take of the rest. I've still got my inventory menu open, so I'll just quickly do this..."

Lyrica waved her fingers on her screen, and a text box popped up on mine. It said "'Lyrica Bell' has invited you to join her group! Accept?" Of course, I chose yes.

Lyrica   "Yay! Now you're officially part of our group, Jasper!"
Lyrica   "Oh, since you've already got your menu open, let's add each other to our friend lists, too! Do you know how to switch menus?"

"Jasper"   "Yes, Leet Hunter taught me before. It's the heart-shaped one, right?"

Kaze   "... Hold on. There's no need for that."

"Jasper" Lyrica   "Huh?" "Whuh?"

Suddenly, my menu switched to the friend list by itself, and another text box appeared. This one said: "Kaze Nagareboshi has sent you a friend request. Accept?"

"Jasper"   "Whoa, I didn't know you could do that!"

Kaze   "Heat Lunger didn't teach you this?"

Hunter   "No; I prefer doing it from the map screen, because it's less intrusive..."
Hunter   "... And it's Leet Hunter."

Lyrica   "Wait, Kaze; when did you open up your menu?! I never heard you do tha-..."

Kaze   "... It's because I'm a ninja, naturally."

Lyrica   "U-uh... huh?"

Hunter   "I don't feel like we'll get a better answer out of him than that..."

Kaze   "... So, are you going to accept the friend request or what?"

Kaze was obviously talking to me then.

"Jasper"   "E-eh? Oh, right..."

I chose to accept it, naturally. Lyrica sent me one as well, and I also accepted hers.

Lyrica   "Great, now we're all friends, too~!"

Hunter   "Although it's unusual for you to send a friend request so casually like that. Didn't you say before that you don't value friendship?"

Kaze   "Imbecile. I only did it for convenience, nothing more. Just like with the two of you."

Lyrica   "Hmph, don't be like that, Kaze..."

Hunter   "Now that you have us in your friend list and are in our group, you can look at our profiles whenever you want, without having to ask us to show you our menus. Naturally, we can see yours whenever we want to as well."

Lyrica   "I'd like to see your profile, Jasper. I'm curious as to how you made your stat spread!"

"Jasper"   "I want to see the both of your profiles, too!"

Kaze   "Be my guest. But don't forget to put that stone in your inventory, first."

I stored my stone in my inventory menu, and after Leet Hunter taught me how, I took a look at their profiles:

"Name: Kaze Nagareboshi. Gender: Male. Weapon: Ninja Knive. Level: 22. Stat Spread: HP - 120, P.Atk - 14, E.Atk - 12. P.Def - 11, E.Def - 11, Speed - 23, Range - 10, Luck - 13. Special Ability: Turns self invisible for one minute. Attacking foes from behind while in this state doubles P.Atk and critical chance. Passive Ability: Deflects projectiles that use E.Atk if attacked with own weapon, even when thrown."

"Name: Lyrica Bell. Gender: Female. Weapon: Bell Bazooka. Level: 13. Stat Spread: HP - 150, P.Atk - 9, E.Atk - 13. P.Def - 15, E.Def - 17, Speed - 9, Range - 10, Luck - 8. Special Ability: Completely heals the HP of all allies and self and slowly regenerates their health for one minute. Passive Ability: When being attacked by foes while healing allies, cannot be stunned and take half the amount of damage that would be taken normally."

"Jasper"   "Oh, your level is really high, Kaze!"

Lyrica   "Yeah, he spends a lot more time playing than we do."

Kaze   "... I have my reasons."

Lyrica   "Because of that, people are often surprised that Hunter is our group leader instead of him."

"Jasper"   "Ah, you are the group's leader, Hunter?"

Hunter   "Heh, yeah... Well, it's more like Kaze dumped the position onto me."

Kaze   "I'm simply not fond of that kind of thing. Lantern Hunter's more suited for the job, anyhow."

Hunter   "Okay, seriously; you weren't even close that time. Are you doing this on purpose or what?"

Lyrica   "Hey Jasper, did you see the name of Kaze's weapon? It's pretty funny, huh?"

Kaze   "It's not funny at all. I searched for so long to find a weapon suitable for a ninja like me, only to find one with a typo in its name... It's very aggravating..."

Hunter   "Maybe they'll fix it in a later patch..."

"Jasper"   "But wait, your weapon is supposed to be a knife, right? I thought you are supposed to shoot things in this game..."

Hunter   "Normally, yeah. However, Kaze's is an assassin's weapon..."

Kaze   "A ninja's weapon."

Hunter   "Well, in this game, people usually refer to your weapon as an assa-..."

Kaze   "It is a NINJA'S weapon."

Hunter   "Fine, whatever!"
Hunter   "Anyway, while most players fight with shooting weapons, Kaze and players like him fight with close range weapons. Players like him need to rely on speed in order to do well in a game like this, though."

Kaze   "I can throw my knife, though."

"Jasper"   Oh, so that is why his "Speed" stat is so high...

Lyrica   "Okay, I think we've talked enough about Kaze and his weapon... I want to see what Jasper can do!"

"Jasper"   "But like I already said, I have never played this game before..."

Lyrica   "So let's play right now! Let's all go look for a match, guys! With Jasper here, I'm sure we'll find one really quickly!"

Hunter   "Already?! But Jasper just got here; shouldn't we teach him more about the game first?"

Kaze   "Haven't you taught him about the game enough already? Besides, I think it'll be a better learning experience for him by actually engaging in combat."

Hunter   "But with our difference in level, we might end up fighting against players too experienced for Jasper to handle..."

Kaze   "... Don't worry. I have an idea."

Before Hunter could get another word in, Kaze began to walk toward the tower's interior entrance.

Hunter   "Hey, where are you going?"

Kaze   "I'll take care of it. I'll message you when I'm done."

He entered the tower and disappeared.

Lyrica   "That, Kaze... Always doing things on his own..."

Hunter   "Well, let's leave it to him, I guess..."

To be continued in Part 4... >