2nd Character/
Haruka Muzuhara's Situation
.: 1 :.
My place stank to high heaven. Why? Well, because I slept next to the garbage dumpster again. How could I be so lazy? More important, why was I such a screwup?
I walked into my workroom and stared at my two laptops. The faint glow from the screens cast eerie shadows on the wall. On one computer was a shareware text editor program; on the other, the Reader's Plus dictionary, with over forty-six thousand entries. Sitting on the comer of my desk were piles of unread Western books and other reference materials including The Random House English-Japanese Dictionary and Sanstido's New Concise Japanese-English Dictionary. I don't know why I kept the two dictionaries since I stopped using them long ago. The e-dictionaries, with advanced search functions and portability, were much more convenient.
I needed these books and programs for my job as a translator. Unfo[runareiy, I just bungled my latest project all to hell, and my deadline was rap idly approaching. All I could do was stare at the clock, watching the hours tick away.
I sat down at my desk.1n the spirit of procrastination, I clicked on the ALTIMIT OS icon and placed the goggle Face Mount Display, or FMD, over my head. The internal speakers vibrated with sound. For a moment, I was able to escape from looming deadlines and pestering editors and even my dark, cramped two-bedroom apartment. I was able to escape from reality and enter The World.
Mac·Anu
My avatar, Hokuto, was a cute, scantily clad teen witch with a pointy hat. She was known as a Wavemaster or spell caster. She was my second character and a novice. Because she looked considerably younger than me, I used special voice modulator software to make myself sound younger. Using these types of devices was part of the fun of roleplaying in The World.
I had just logged in when I noticed a Long Arm (game talk for a spear user) named Albireo in the water capital of Mac•Anu. He stood on the second float balcony of an old building siruated along the tiver. It wasn't his character that drew my attention, but rather his spear. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before, and I knew most of the weapons of The World pretty well. I zoomed in and studied its unfamiliar features and intricate markings.
I just had co learn more, so I pulled back far enough to examine the character who held the spear; he had brown skin and shiny black hair, trimmed in a wolf-cut. He wore a sleeveless scale-mail tunic, which meant he could've been a fallen knight. I didn't think he was a mercenary or a bandit because of his spear, which usually symbolized order.
My curiosity got the better of me. I had to know more about this weapon and its ownet. 1 approached his home cautiously. T he fact that he even had a home meant he was a wealthy high-level player. I was trying to think about what to say to him when the lively theme music for Mac·Anu abruptly stopped and switched to a dangerous battle song.
"Ah!" I uttered in surprise. The chat software picked up my voice automatically and displayed it as window text.
Hokuto: Ah!
How could I forget thac today was the day of the Monster Invasion? Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Monsters usually don't appear in roOt towns like this one, but once a month, a massive horde of hideous creatures breaks through the spiritual barriers and attacks. Unfortunately, Hokuto, my character, was a first-level weakling.
Suddenly, several goblins appeared, each one glaring at me. I targeted the front door and quickly knocked.
Albireo: Who's there?
A familiar voice from the other side answered.
"Help!" I shrieked, panicking. "I'm being attacked by a goblin creature! It's about to kill me! HELP!!!"
A moment later, I met Albireo.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login