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Book 1: Captives of a Wicked System
Story by: TwistedFilms
Floor 1 - Horunka Outskirts
I kept a close eye on the Feral Wolf as I rapidly maneuvered my way through my inventory screen, manipulating the menu with practiced ease. The rabid creature was snarling and growling at me, a steady stream of drool dripping from its jaws. The floating health bar above its head indicated that the monster had lost a little over half its HP since our fight began. Most of this damage was due to lucky hits I had been able to score whilst dodging the Feral Wolf's easily predictable attack patterns.
Shifting my weight from one foot to the other, I felt the wolf's hungry eyes tear into me.
Medium-length black hair had been brushed to the left in an arch to keep it from getting in my face during combat. Onyx eyes scanned through my inventory, taking stock of my supplies.
Damnit. Only two Health Potions left. Damnit all.
I would have to make them count. Discarding my menu, I once again reverted my attention to the beast standing before me. Bloodlust shone from its eyes, and a small icon next to its healthbar informed me that the animal had just received the "Enraged" status effect. I vaguely remembered that whilst the beast was in Enraged-mode, it would receive a buff to its damage and speed, outweighed by a negative effect that would cause it to attack with wild abandon, taking little regard for its own safety. This would provide me with plenty of opportunities to strike.
Seeing the beast tense up, I immediately fell down into a low crouching position with my sword pointed out and upwards from my body. I knew this particular attack like the back of my hand at this point.
Moments later, the Feral Wolf lunged in a desperate charge, oblivious to my secret strategy. As the animal came within my reach, I jabbed my sword forwards with surprising speed, effectively impaling it. The weapon cut straight through its soft belly, splashing warm blood on my hand and arm. As its healthbar rapidly depleted, the wolf let out one final ear-piercing shriek before exploding into a shower of tiny fragments.
With my arms shaking and my torso covered in blood, I couldn't help but chuckle as I watched the last remnants of the wolf disappear into the air. The stupid creature had practically killed itself by jumping on my sword.
I had been fighting these mobs all morning, in order to work up the Cor I needed to upgrade my somewhat weak armor. As of now, I had finally gathered enough to return to the Town of Beginnings. A familiar feeling that every MMO gamer worth his salt had experienced at some point flowed through my body: the excitement of finally being able to upgrade your gear.
Sadly, the moment of elation did not last. It never did. The crushing realization always returned, always came back to remind me that every day spent in here was a day lost in the real world. As I returned my sword to its sheath, I looked up at the afternoon sky, the trees around me casting long shadows across the ground. The sun was about to set.
Standing there, it all seemed so real. The wind blowing through my hair, the smell of grass and greenery in my nostrils, and the comforting weight of the sword on my back. If I didn't know any better, I could've perhaps thought this to be the real world. To be fair, what was really the difference?
Everything around you is made up of 1s and 0s.
As much as I tried to convince myself otherwise, this wasn't my reality. I was living inside of a virtual simulation. What I was seeing in front of me wasn't actually real.
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