A Cat Called Trap

Chapter 4

Piper played with her long blond hair, tying it back into a quick ponytail so it would not cover her face. She glanced around her environment, the virtual environment surrounding her. Buildings built out of stone held together by blocks of mud surrounded the plaza where she currently stood. Other users connected one at a time. A blue window had appeared in the sky showing text for all to see:

〔Welcome to Hamelin.〕

She waited patiently for Kit to log in beside her; she had filled out the form for him so he should have the same starting settings as her, the same location at least.

She laid down on the fountain, drawing in the suns warmth. It felt just as real as the real world. If it weren’t for her clothes changing into the standard beginner clothing in any RPG- Tunic, slacks, and a dagger- She would not have even noticed the change.

The fountain was maybe the size of three adult arm lengths, the crystal clear water spraying out from the detailed cherubs mouth. The water was so clean that it looked unnatural.

『All players have been logged in!』A NPC’s voice came from the center of the plaza, just above the fountain, the cherub’s mouth moving slightly. The players beside her all glanced towards it. Piper however, glanced around at the other players, looking for Kit. If all the other players logged in, Kit should have as well.

『For all Players rules will be as follows.』

Piper hardly listened to the voice.

『All players have a single life.』

A shout of surprise echoed amongst the other players, even Piper had to stand up and lean towards the cherub in order to hear more clearly.

『If your avatars HP lowers beyond the given point, you will experience death. Be careful』

Angry shouts from the other players towards the NPC’s voice nearly nocked Piper into the fountain.

『Do not worry, In case of death y0( w1ll be s4fely logg44%#&2 532^$25』

The voice distorted into an alphanumeric stream, a piercing sound of pain echoing throughout the fountain. The fading sound of the voice only repeated a single word, the voice deepening into that of wicked intent.

『Erro… Error… Error… Error… Error…』

It can be said that humans are remarkably intelligent at the stupidest things; the first reaction to most of the individuals in the plaza was to open their menus and try to log out. They swung their arm side to side, calling the word menu. The people who tried that failed miserably. Maybe a tenth of the players had read the manual, so only a few of them understood how to access it. To open the menu was not a physical action but a mental one.

Piper glanced towards the other players, recalling the right choice of words.

-System Gate-

The reason for this odd choice of words was to prevent players from accidentally calling it open midfight. The resulting menu would block their sight and make it harder to dodge the attack.

A green window appeared in front of her as she mentally stated the command. Green windows much like blue windows revealed data pertaining to the game. However only relevant individuals could see them. There was a small option on the side to reveal the window and make it blue, but no benefits came from revealing your information.

Piper calmly scanned the menu for the logout button to no avail. The only things visible on the window were her almost nonexistent stats and her noobish equipment.

As the other players were told how to access the menu, more and more panicked sounds escaped from the crowd. The fountain Piper was laying next too let out a sharp crack as the little cherub on the top fell into the now murky waters. The clear waters of the fountains drowned in the red color of blood. Piper would have wrote it off as something theatrical, if not for the cherubs broken body that was slowly sinking into the red liquid.