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It was morning, and Orvis had just finished getting dressed and was currently crouched by the door. By his feet was his small, old dog, looking up with outward facing eyes, an underbite and bad breath. [break][break]
God he was just the cutest little muffin.[break][break]
"I'll be back soon. Here, take this." Orvis fumbled around with the treats box on the chest of drawers, pulling out a sizeable bone for such a small dog. "Here ya go."[break][break]
Code.[break][break]
And lots of it.[break][break]
Orvis' eyes widened as the pixels, 0s and 1s swirled around him like a whirlpool. It completely swamped the surrounding area, removing it entirely before each pixel lodged itself in place, becoming static in the space around him as reality was rebuilt. It made him dizzy, and when his vision focussed again, he was crouched in the middle of a stone floor with a bone still in his hand. "What?"[break][break]
Looking around, he saw others just as bewildered as he, scratching their heads and squinting their eyes. They were in a museum, not just any, but the natural history museum. He recognised the large diplodocus skeleton when it toured the UK and visited his university city. "Where's my dog?" His expression was calm, but his voice sounded venomous and hostile, though he wasn't speaking to anyone in particular. [break][break]
After a brief delay in looking around, a blue screen flashed before him, somewhat transparent but clear enough to read the text, and see the obnoxious avatar of... Earth-chan?[break][break]
"So did you want to die or not? I'm confused af rn[break][break]

And then more text, like it was coming from a teenage girl with no internet restriction and unlimited energy drink access. Three classes, options that would protect him from the monsters? Orvis wasn’t sure what they meant, and went with one that seemed most explanatory. [break][break]
Monster Rancher selected.[break][break]
And then the notification came. The tutorial notification. The one that told them of their imminent doom. “I don’t understand any of this." Orvis turned to face some people who weren't already trying to escape out of a obviously locked door. "Is this real?"

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[attr="class","landtag2"]Cecilia @open

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Nobody responded to him, everyone was too engrossed in their own thoughts and grounding their own sense of reality. Alternatively, the response that Orvis got was a little more.. Physical?[break][break]
loading egg...[break][break]
The small loading bar popped up in front of him, and quickly reached 100%. With that, there was a satisfying 'DING!' and a large watermelon sized egg spawned into thin air in a cluster of pixels, landing softly into his arms. [break][break]
Blink. [break][break]
Blink. Blink.[break][break]
"How do I change class?" Orvis asked loudly, begrudgingly holding the egg to his chest and looking around. "Can I swap with someone?" [break][break]
🥚 [main★ egg] 1/1[break]
HATCH TIME: 0/10 hours[break]
ESSENCE LOADED: 0%[break]
ESSENCE TRACKER: [.-.-.][break][break]

"TEN HOURS?! But we only have twelve to complete this.. tutorial? What the fuck." A disgruntled Orvis marched over to a green-haired woman, rambling on about modelling and photographers. "You. Excuse me. Swap class with me. I need to get home to my dog. Here, have an egg."[break][break]
Orvis would hold out the large, blue egg towards the woman. It was soft and smooth, like a well polished bowling ball but thankfully a lot lighter. The moment he tried to part with the egg, a notification popped up again.[break][break]

---Error---

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[attr="class","landtag2"]Cecilia

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Okay, so Orvis was realising that giving away the egg wasn't going to be easy. Neither was changing classes. He frowned, his tone so far had been blunt and concise, not really paying attention to the feelings of those around him. But it's not like he had to coddle anyone, this chick was absolutely delusional.[break][break]
But then again, so was everyone.[break][break]
"There is no modelling or agency, or photographers. Are you a model or something? Do you not see the giant blue screens in front of us?" Orvis sighed, "I'm Orvis, I was in a town about two hours away from here... I suggest we figure what's going on." Heading over to a different group of people that seemed to be making a plan together, he would try to insert himself in the conversation.[break][break]
"Hey, you guys going to try and find an actual plan to get out of this place?" They nodded, and made room for him in the circle. They were older, maybe in their 30s, with one of them appearing to be a woman's daughter by the way she clung to her arm. [break][break]
"We just have to find a golden rabbit right? Before the timer runs out." Orvis readjusted the egg in his arms, "We won't actually die right? And monsters will be.. What? A few people in suits or something?"[break][break]
Maybe it was like one of those escape rooms, but some kind of VR world. His thoughts felt jumbled, like he was still trying to wake up from a dream.[break][break]
"Cecelia, right?" A woman in her twenties asked, she had bronze skin and a sleeping mask over her eyes, her hair was curly and bouffant. "Is this some kind of promotional event? Is this even legal?! Where's your manager?"
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[attr="class","landtag2"]Cecilia

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"Oh, it's opening?" Orvis looked across the way, "Finally. We should try to stick together. Maybe try to have some fun with it. I doubt it's actually dangerous."[break][break]

Orvis ran up to Cecelia, thinking about what the other woman said. Now he thought about it, she did look familiar, but he wasn't very up to date with models and celebrities, only the A-Listers that you see on TV all the time. "Hey, how are you doing? Sorry I tried to palm off this egg."[break][break]
Sighing, he tucked the dog treat back in his pocket. He needed to get back home to make sure his dog was okay, "Wait, has anyone tried their phones?" He looked around, a few people nodded slowly but didn't look too pleased. "No luck then?" They shook their head.[break][break]
"Fucking figures."[break][break]
"What class did you choose by the way? Do you think it's like an RPG game? It's a good thing we have such a lot of people with us, we should be able to find this rabbit quite fast!"[break][break]
But the egg was an issue. It wasn't heavy, but it was an awkward shape and too large to hold with one hand. Orvis might be able to catch a rabbit if it was under his arm, but you'd probably need both hands to do so. "I wonder if the the organisers of this event sprayed it gold or something."
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[attr="class","landtag2"]Cecilia

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One by one, they said their names and classes. There was a good mix of people, and if this was anything like the games Orvis' played, they'd be able to have a great synergy between each other. Speaking of which... Orvis opened his menu, a simple feat which just required him thinking about opening it. It was desired, so it appeared. "Ah, this... Helps a lot."[break][break]
His finger ran along the screen, he actually felt some kind of resistance, like it was physical. There were stats, more class info and various option bars at the top of the screen. "Guys, we can join each other's party. There might be perks to it." [break][break]
Thinking hard, Orvis would flick through what little information and buttons there were, before seeing an 'invite to party' option. He clicked it, and it seemed to automatically send a notification to the person in front of him - Cecelia. "Oh, neat." This continued until they reached party maximum of 6. The other members were Hilda, 27, Duelist. Emma, 16, Witch. Greg, 47, Lancer. Aaron, 30, Rogue. Everyone else would seem to make their own parties too, some chose to travel alone entirely. [break][break]
"Has anyone found anything yet?" Orvis asked, while eyeing up the weapons that Hilda and Greg possessed. They apparently appeared when they chose their class: a rapier, and a spear. [break][break]
Orvis got an egg.[break][break]
You can understand the jealousy.[break][break]
"Anyone found anyth-" Words were cut short by the distant sounds of screams. It echoed through the animal taxidermy room, and it suddenly felt like all the eyes of these dead creatures were on them. "What was that?" [break][break]
Orvis tightened his grip on the egg, holding it closer to his chest, a protective instinct kicking in. Emma spoke up, her voice breaking.[break][break]
"It came from the entrance room we were just in, just around the corner..."
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[attr="class","landtag2"]Cecilia

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"W- We're runinng towards the screaming?" Orvis stammered, his voice cracking and mouth going dry. He felt his heart racing, his body quivering. This was no dream, it was a nightmare. The bored and confused atmosphere quickly turned heavy and suspenseful, most of the other 'players' instinctively started holding their breath, their eyes widening in hopes they might be able to sense something. [break][break]
With the dimmed lights, other senses did start to heighten, but Orvis' was never one to be able to see very clearly anyway. In fact, he needed glasses most of the time, especially now. "Fuck." He cursed under his breath, the people starting to run towards the screaming turning into blurry reflections of their former selves, their facial features vanishing as they passed that threshold of 'good vision'.[break][break]

"Stay together, everyone?!" He shouted, but asked at the same time. They wanted everyone to think clearly, to focus and be rational in this situation. What if this is a matter of life and death?[break][break]

For a moment, Orvis thought about turning the other way and running, but that meant being alone entirely. Rather than stay here with the people that chose to stay, he followed the people he just formed a party with. [break][break]
It didn't take long before catching up with them, they had stopped and gathered by the archway to the main entrance of the museum. He didn't know why at first, but things became clearer as he got closer. [break][break]
Blood. People. Orvis gasped and took a step back, seeing the tiny yet lethal arrows wedged in people's throats. Another scream, coming from a well-dressed business woman with a shield in her hands. Surrounding her were three bipedal lizards no larger than a small cat, wielding little wooden swords and bows in their hands. They were somewhat... adorable, actually. [break][break]
"Mlem~"[break][break]
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The trio turned to face the groups of people now arriving from the west wing, gathering by the doorway and staring at the lizards in bewilderment. More and more started arriving, looking at the little lizards as they glanced back, licking their eyes and poking their tongues out. They remained in this position for some time, watching the new players and ignoring the shield-wielder. [break][break]
"Don't just stand there!" She screamed, blood across her face, "Kill them!"[break][break]
There was a pause, and then most people burst out laughing. People finally started to break, or believe this was all just a ruse. "Hahahaha! This is such an amazing prank, great actors too. How did you make the lizards? Are they puppets?" Was the general consensus of what people were saying, and soon everyone started to chime in too. [break][break]
"Yeah, you really had me for a second."[break]
"Okay let's wrap this up, I have to get to work still."[break][break]
"Mlem!"[break]
The lizard trio jumped into action, moving surprisingly fast with such tiny legs. They sprang towards the group, leaping up onto peoples faces, slashing at ankles and firing toothpicks into their shins.[break][break]
The laughter and shock quickly became that of terror and despair.


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[attr="class","landtag2"]Cecilia

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Orvis span on his heel, running away from the small group of murderous geckos. He heard the sound of their feet running across the tiled floor, akin to a wet slapping sound - a distinctive noise of someone running in flipflops. It was jarring, though exciting at the same time. But all Orvis could think of was the sight of pooled blood and pierced throats. "Fuck this, fuck this, fuck this." He repeated, hurrying up the stairs after Cecelia. [break][break]
He was too distracted to realise they were trying to chase the rabbit, and only caught a glimpse of it after the notification blared out, signifying the loss of time.[break][break]

—— TIME REMAINING: 10:00:00 ——

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Stairs collapsed beneath their feet, turning into a slope with no friction. Orvis tumbled forwards, landing on his rear and sliding back down with the egg in his lap. The rabbit escaped somewhere to the upper floors, various doors opening and closing as new zones were locked and unlocked. Orvis saw them below, more little gecko archers climbing up giant skeletons and taking aim. But then there were new monsters added to the mix, larger and more sinister looking, no larger than a toddler but possessing actual claws and sharp teeth. [break][break]
Thankful that he read his abilities briefly already, he knew the name of the only ability he currently had: 'Egg Snatcher'. With no knowledge on how to actually use such an ability, he just held out the egg towards one of the blue raptors and announced it like a spell, "E- Egg Snatcher!?"[break][break]
There was a brief delay, and the raptor across the dinosaur exhibit halted in its tracks and put its hands up in fear. A negative aura of light appeared around it, and then, after a brief delay, it popped like a bubble and turned into a bunch of 1s and 0s. Code, again, which twisted into a DNA helix and snaked through the air. A colourful light of blues and pinks got sucked into the egg, and a little battery icon briefly popped up on its shell.[break][break]
HATCH TIME: 8 HOURS[break]
ESSENCE LOADED: 25% [break]
ESSENCE TRACKER: [Reptile 1★][break][break]
"I- Is that it?" Orvis sat at the bottom of the slope, staring at the egg as it continued to do nothing. The raptor opposite slowly looked at its hands, realising nothing actually happened. With a devilish grin and wicked eyes, it looked up at Orvis, then at the egg.[break][break]
And licked it's lips.
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[attr="class","landtag2"]Cecilia