Game On

Chapter Two: "Tutorial"

Together they rushed out of the stone gates to the city. They could see a few groups of gamers running farther ahead, but they didn't stop as animal spawns appeared. Glancing at the map in his hand, Sean navigated Mark off the road to what he believed was a more secluded spawn point. The thick forest kept them out of sight, while the shallow river allowed them to think in a calmer atmosphere. Sitting on a large boulder on the riverbank, Sean examined the map as he told him aloud. "According to the map, there are a lot of cities in Midgard. It appears to be the largest realm of the Nine. Native language is... the common tongue. It's home of the Human race and the spawn grounds seem to be ranked one through one hundred." Mark stood over in the open grass, swinging his long greatsword lazily. Pausing, Mark looked over his shoulder and asked him curiously. "This area is level one?" Double checking, Sean nodded and added lightly. "Ya. According to the map, this area is the lowest power level in Midgard."

Raising his sword, Mark shrugged out. "Oh, good. Then I won't feel bad about this." Sean jerked his head in his direction to see Mark charging up his swing before bringing his greatsword down on a large turtle. The turtle's shell split down the middle and the turtle jerked as it died. Its body didn't disappear. It stayed crumpled on the ground before Mark's feet. Nudging it with the tip of his sword, Mark asked Sean nervously. "It didn't vanish?" Rolling his eyes, Sean put his map away before accusing him lightly. "You didn't play the tutorial, did you?" Draping his sword over his shoulder, Mark blurted out to him honestly. "No. I prefer to learn on the go. Did you?" Licking his lips guiltily, Sean averted his eyes and mumbled out. "Of course, I did. And you didn't need to charge your blade for that. You destroyed the materials you could have gotten from it." A little screen popped up over the turtle's body, drawing Mark's attention to it. Waving the screen away, Mark hefted a sigh as he grumbled out. "So, I did..."

The turtle's body then faded away as it despawned. Casually, Mark made his way over to Sean and asked with a smirk. "Alright. Tell me what I did wrong?" Sean discreetly bit his bottom lip, turning his head enough to hide his slight heated cheeks when he informed him. "You're an Aesir, Mark. Did you not even read your character traits?" Sean risked a peek at him to see him puff himself up and proudly state out. "Nope. I just looked in the mirror and liked what I saw. Figured the rest would come later." Rolling his eyes, Sean groaned out as he leaned back on his hands before exhaling out in a soft whiny tone. "Mark..." Mark tapped Sean's bare shoulder, asking more seriously. "Don't do that. Just tell me." Staring up at the sky, Sean regaled to him from memory. "You're an Aesir. The principal race of Norse Deities. Your skills lie in your inhuman strength and your in-depth knowledge of war. You're basically a tank compared to the other races. A barbarian of sorts." Sean didn't have to look at him to know that he was grinning.

Lazily looking at him, Sean narrowed his eyes on Mark's grinning face. Puffing himself to his full height, Mark smugly stated aloud. "So, what you're saying is that... I'm a god?" Rolling his eyes, Sean sat up, uttering under his breath. "I'll never call you that." Chuckling, Mark dropped a hand on his shoulder, whispering close to his ear smugly. "You will." Sean's heart slammed into his ribs and goosebumps sprang up along his arms, but he remained as still as a statue. Mark pulled away from him, asking him coolly. "Alright. So, my charge is too much for a level one. Good to know. I'll try something lighter." Sean exhaled the light breath that he'd been holding, then risked looking at Mark with vulnerable eyes. He hated that he felt so different whenever he played games with Mark. He felt so close to him and yet so far away. Another turtle spawned in, slowly making his way between a set of trees. Hefting his sword, Mark approached it and Sean called out in a tender voice. "Mark don't strike until you see your skill marker show up. It will look like a red slash or a red dot on the part of the body that you should hit for a critical and perfect hit."