AGE
19
PRONOUNS
She/her
SEXUALITY
No
CLASS
Wanderer
UNSORTED
|
Aug 17, 2022 22:21:09 GMT
Post by Rika Blakeley on Aug 17, 2022 22:21:09 GMT
Her shift was finally finished. Rika trudged back to her room with a sigh. Perhaps tomorrow she'd have the wherewithal to do something, anything, other than heat up a meager dinner of instant noodles and browse TikTok for a few hours before passing out in bed. Maybe she'd start looking for a job again. A way out of this dead-end place. Maybe she'd at least think about it.
She unlocked the door, stepped over the threshold... and the world shifted.
The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't indoors anymore. The sun shone high in the sky, and before her was a vast expanse of desert. She rubbed her eyes. Had she gone outside for something and forgotten about it on the way here? But where was here?
The second thing she noticed was a crowd of maybe a dozen people, clustered around a computer terminal.
As she pushed her way through, she took notice of her surroundings. To the left was a stretch of grassland followed by a large pond with some rock-looking formations sticking out of it. To her right was what looked more like a tropical forest. Off in the distance ahead, a large mountain range loomed, a stark contrast to the blue sky.
On the terminal was a single message:
=TUTORIAL: CAPTURE THE FLAG=
FIND THE 🏴
PLANT THE 🏴 ON THE ⛰️
DON'T DIE
11:58:02
The image of the flag in question was blue and white. It reminded Rika of the British Union Jack, except not quite. As she stared at the message, the timer at the bottom slowly counted down.
"What the fuck?"
Then a second message popped up on Rika's cell phone. It had better not be the same rude asshole from earlier, she thought, remembering the one that had interrupted her shift. As she brought up the lock screen on her phone, her eyes widened again.
Twelve noon, tomorrow? Where the actual shit am I?
Ok, calm down, Rika. You've clearly been kidnapped and sent off to... somewhere... but you're still alive, and you don't appear to be hurt or tied up or... god, this has to be some sort of hallucination, right...? That's the only logical explanation.
"Am I dreaming?" she screamed at the sky.
When the sky didn't answer, she glanced back at the message.
The System has offered you the choice of these three classes. Please reply with the name of the class you wish to play as.
1. Dust Devil
2. Wanderer
3. Scorch Wizard
"Class? Play?" Capture the Flag... that was a children's game, wasn't it?
She turned to the crowd. "People! Can... anyone... here... explain what the fuck is going on?"
The message remained open on her phone, taunting her. |
|
AGE
21
PRONOUNS
He/Him
SEXUALITY
Asexual
CLASS
Miner
UNSORTED
|
Aug 18, 2022 22:48:44 GMT
Post by Alfonso Gerudia on Aug 18, 2022 22:48:44 GMT
 Alfonso Gerudia Things finally started to settle down for Alfonso. He now lives in a quiet area in rural Japan, some way North of Tokyo. It was peaceful, and calm. The birds awoke him in the morning, almost singing a lullaby, serenading him to have a wonderful feeling of euphoria. Today is another day of stillness for Alfonso. Agatha is greeted in the morning with a bowl of cat food and mixed insects. Alfonso has been living off the money that was kept in his tool bag, and the remaining jewels he sold. He bought a dainty village house and became a farmer. He grows tomatoes and blueberries, and cultivates his crop plots all on his lonesome. It feels cathartic to him. Reminds him of what he once had. “What a pleasant breeze on the horizon. Oh my today shall be enjoyable, do you not agree Agatha?”. The mammal looks up to its master, and then looks back to its food to scoff down the remains. Alfonso then reaches for his modified pickaxe, and heads out to the fields to till the soil. As he strikes the ground, Alfonso notices a distinct change in the smell and texture of his crops. He looks up, and he stands in a barren, arid land, much like the African wastelands he once roamed. There appears to be a differing expanse of land depending on the direction you look. It seems as though he has been transferred to some place that is akin to a hub, along with a multitude of other people. The people seem to be gathered around a central point, and are worried somewhat. Alfonso walks over to see some sort of podium sporting a glowing screen with written language on it. He thinks for a moment about the language, but he cannot seem to understand it. Instantaneously, the writing turns to English, reading: - The System has offered you the choice of these three classes. Please reply with the name of the class you wish to play as. 1. Miner 2. Geomancer 3. Golemancer “Well I sure do not know much about such petty games, but if I were to pick, it would be a miner but of course.” His face turns from a smug look to a quick fluster of worry. He turns around, looking frantically for something that he seems to have lost or forgotten. A low grunt and a nudge in the back of his calf made Alfonso gaze upon the ground. To his relief, there stood the small mammalian friend Alfonso loved so dearly, Agatha the aardvark. However, something seems odd about her. She is now wearing some form of spelunking outfit, with pockets and satchels attached. “Something extraordinary is occurring at this very moment. Perhaps I shall enquire from this crowd if they have an inkling in the scenario currently afoot.” Alfonso then hears someone who asks the group before him. They are quite short in stature, with pink hair and a dirty face. Alfonso walks up to the fair maiden and asks her “Spare me the niceties and tell me what exactly is going on. How is it possible for me to have just appeared abroad in less time than spent thinking about breathing?”. |
|
AGE
19
PRONOUNS
She/her
SEXUALITY
No
CLASS
Wanderer
UNSORTED
|
Aug 29, 2022 22:21:30 GMT
Post by Rika Blakeley on Aug 29, 2022 22:21:30 GMT
Rika looked up... and up... and finally made eye contact with the person who had just addressed her. He was dressed in dingy work clothes and had an odd way of speaking - though it was clearly English, it was an accent she did not recognize. She narrowed her eyes at him as she parsed his question. "You think I have any idea what's going on here? And--" She had only just now noticed the man's animal companion. "What even is that? Some kind of..." She squinted. "Overgrown armadillo?"
She let out a snort. "Clearly someone knocked you out and kidnapped you, too. It's the only real explanation for how we suddenly found ourselves here without remember how we got here. What is the last thing you remember, anyway?" She held up her phone. "Did you get a message like this, too? What's it even about?"
"It's for your character class," another voice would pipe up. Rika turned and saw a woman striding toward them. She had long brown hair, a voluptuous figure, and was dressed in a similar way to the first man - it reminded Rika of the African safari, to be honest. As she watched, the woman pressed some buttons on her cell phone, and a pop-up message appeared above her head: Sheila Irving. Level 1 Sorceress. "Like an RPG," she said, although Rika could only stare at her blankly. With a sigh, she clarified. "It affects what kind of powers you have."
Still skeptical and confused, Rika turned back to her phone screen. "I guess..." Her finger hovered over the Wanderer option, and she gently tapped it. She did seem to have wandered a long way from home. In a shimmer of pixels, the message disappeared.
And something changed. She wasn't quite sure exactly how or what, but her feet felt sturdier, any soreness in them was gone, and the sunlight beating down on her head no longer felt as oppressive. It was an odd sensation, to say the least. Where her usual phone apps had been was now a menu. Still keeping an eye on the others, she flicked through the new options, curious as to what had changed.
There was a lot of text to read in the section labeled "inventory." Rika stared at it, fascinated.
Sheila turned to Alfonso. "Have you formed a party yet?" she asked. "This tutorial zone seems pretty big - I think it's safer if we stay together instead of wandering off on our own. I tried to talk to a few of the others, but they wouldn't listen to me."
Alfonso Gerudia |
|
AGE
21
PRONOUNS
He/Him
SEXUALITY
Asexual
CLASS
Miner
UNSORTED
|
Aug 30, 2022 10:52:15 GMT
Post by Alfonso Gerudia on Aug 30, 2022 10:52:15 GMT
Alfonso Gerudia Alfonso raises his hand to scratch his head in confusion. To his surprise it is met with a hardhat atop his skull, which holds a candle at the front of it. He looks down once more upon the person in front. He raises a hand in gesture as to offer a handshake, leans down and mutters: "I am not to be so sure as of yet whether you can actually hold your own in sticky predicaments, however there would only be but one way to find out." This was clearly a gesture to work together somewhat, but Alfonso comes across as rather shrewd. Perhaps he is just worrying about what comes next. Perhaps he sees something in the young lady that stands out from the crowd, other than her bright pink hair of course. Alfonso stands above the woman, like a statue over a child, awaiting some kind of response from them. "My name is Alfonso. If we are to survive this upcoming Pelava of mayhem, I suggest we figure out a solution head on, together. Never mind these other lackeys around us, they would much prefer to sit in an office, clipping paper and booking finances. What say you team up with me, I assure you, it will be an unforgettable experience. |
|
AGE
19
PRONOUNS
She/her
SEXUALITY
No
CLASS
Wanderer
UNSORTED
|
Sept 1, 2022 22:58:32 GMT
Post by Rika Blakeley on Sept 1, 2022 22:58:32 GMT
The man extended a hand to her. Rika hesitated a while before reaching out and giving it a firm shake. She was still skeptical of the whole situation. This man was a stranger to her, and she didn't have as much confidence in him as he seemed to have in himself. She took another look up and down. Despite his posh way of speaking, it was clear he hadn't let his muscles go to waste, as he hefted the pickaxe with ease. She wasn't sure what use his pet was going to be, but she had a few ideas. Food, for one. Or a distraction.
"Fine," she said. "I'll team up with you for the time being." It wasn't hard to find the menu option to form a party, and she presented the offer to Sheila, who eagerly accepted, and to Alfonso. "So what do you do, exactly? It looks like my class lets me shoot fire out of my hands. According to this wall of text." She presented the cell phone again. Sheila explained to the pair that she could form magic into balls of energy and shoot them at opponents. The two women would then wait for Alfonso's answer.
"Which way should we go to look for the flag?" Rika asked.
Just then, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from the forests to the south.
"How about... not that way."
Alfonso Gerudia |
|
AGE
21
PRONOUNS
He/Him
SEXUALITY
Asexual
CLASS
Miner
UNSORTED
|
Sept 3, 2022 20:51:03 GMT
Post by Alfonso Gerudia on Sept 3, 2022 20:51:03 GMT
Alfonso Gerudia He looks over to Rika and smiles as he accepts the party request. He lifts his head a little and exclaims in a proud voice "I am simply the best miner there is or was. No one stands up to my prowess with a pickaxe. This here is my little helper, Agatha. She is an aardvark, and she is the only family I really have anymore. I would implore that you find it best of interest to keep her safe, as she is quite important to my very existence. " He looks down at the creature, grinning ear to ear. He truly does care about his pet more than anything on the planet. It is evident that the aardvark plays a huge role in the class of Alfonso. He then goes on to explain that he can use his pickaxe to deal damage to lots of enemies at once by slamming the ground with it. "I have a feeling no matter which way we go, there will be a way to the flag we need." |
|
AGE
19
PRONOUNS
She/her
SEXUALITY
No
CLASS
Wanderer
UNSORTED
|
Post by Rika Blakeley on Sept 5, 2022 0:00:20 GMT
Sheila has left the party.
"I'm sorry..." the woman was saying. "I'm sorry... I just can't abandon someone when they're in need of help. So if you're not going, I'll have to go on my own." She turned stiffly toward the southern forest, and jogged off in that direction. Rika watched her fade into the distance. She didn't try to run after her, or call out to her. She'd made her choice. Hopefully it wouldn't get her killed.
Agatha the aardvark. So the weird animal had a name. "How about you keep an eye on your pet, and I'll try not to get between it and the enemies," Rika responded. She'd never had one growing up, and honestly it didn't appeal to her terribly much. Especially an odd animal like this one, that she'd never heard of before this weird kidnapping incident, much less had any idea how to take care of. No way was she going out of her way to risk her neck for it, or anyone for that matter.
When Alfonso didn't suggest a direction to head in, she turned and headed north, into the grasslands. They parted easily for her, and her pace was largely unhindered. Scanning the horizon in every direction, she could see desert to the left and the beach to the right, but no flag anywhere. There were sparse trees growing in the savannah, a little further on; maybe the flag would be hidden near one of those. She made for the nearest tree, a gnarled and twisted thing, and an unknown amount of time later, she would reach it.
None too soon. A howl echoed across the grass, and Rika could see a yellow dog about the size of a coyote, teeth bared and drool dripping from its lips. Three more figures stirred, to its sides and behind; a pack.
Rika backed against the tree. The lead dog-monster bounded forward.
Alfonso Gerudia |
|
AGE
19
PRONOUNS
She/her
SEXUALITY
No
CLASS
Wanderer
UNSORTED
|
Sept 16, 2022 3:30:47 GMT
Post by Rika Blakeley on Sept 16, 2022 3:30:47 GMT
Rika drew her gun, leveled it at the lead dog, and fired.
Nothing.
She slammed her finger on the trigger again and again, but it was stuck. Like her gun was being locked out by one of those fancy fingerprint sensors you saw in science-fiction TV shows. "What the fuck?!" An angry snarl manifested on her face. As the dog closed in, she took a step backward, and felt her back slam into the rough bark of the tree. She looked around frantically. Alfonso, Sheila, and for that matter no one else was anywhere to be seen. What the fuck do I do? What was all that she had read earlier-- what her "class" did? As she racked her brain in a panic, the lead dog lunged. And so did Rika.
She caught the dog in the side of the mouth with the gun. Teeth smashed against fist as blood - her own blood - flew. Two solid kicks and the lead dog was whimpering, lying panting on the grass. Rika broke away from the tree and tried to put as much distance between herself and the remaining dogs as possible, but they were gaining, slavering at the mouths in anticipation of chomping down on their prey. Her hand throbbed. She couldn't risk doing that again. She turned to face the dogs - too close now - and frantically seized upon a word she had remembered reading. "B--barren?"
Power gusted forth from her hands, a whoosh of mana that combusted into flame and lit dogs - and grass - alight.
She didn't stay to watch. The dogs caught directly in the blast writhed in pain and anguish, while the others scattered in all directions, trying to stay ahead of the wildfire now spreading in all directions. Rika turned and booked it, her hardened sole passive of no avail to her here as she pushed herself to her limits. She ran until she couldn't see anymore from the tears flooding her eyes, until her lungs were burning, and when she was finally forced to stop and gasp, what she mercifully inhaled was lungfuls of clean air instead of tainted smoke.
Before her was a vast expanse of water. She could see rocky reefs leading into and over the top of it. After a particularly uncautious maneuver left her with her knee sliced open, she learned to go slowly, and keep her bare skin off the sharp rocks at all times.
As Rika explored, a lump of darker blue caught her eye. Something was floating in the water. Upon closer inspection, it was a scrap of cloth with a pole attached to one end, and scattered white stars printed on the cloth. She had found it. The flag from the terminal! She reached an arm down to the water's surface to grab it, when something made her stop short.
A slowly spreading pool of blood beside it. |
|
AGE
19
PRONOUNS
She/her
SEXUALITY
No
CLASS
Wanderer
UNSORTED
|
Sept 20, 2022 3:01:56 GMT
Post by Rika Blakeley on Sept 20, 2022 3:01:56 GMT
Something was in the water. Of that much she was certain.
There was no sign of a corpse; it must have slipped beneath the waves. Rika thought back to all of the ocean-dwelling predators she'd seen on TV. Man-eating piranhas? Sharks? One thing was for certain though. She had to get the flag. But she had to do it without attracting the attention of any predators.
Her injured hand throbbed. Rika looked down at it, saw fresh blood coating her fingers. If she got close, whatever was lurking under the water would no doubt smell the blood and be attracted to it... wouldn't they? Perhaps she could use this to her advantage.
The gun, fortunately, could still load and unload; Rika swiftly extracted a cartridge and rubbed it all over her injured hand, coating the metal with slick blood. She then lobbed it into the water as far as she could. She heard the splash, then stared down darkly at the surface of the water. Was there movement? No fin poked up through the surface of the water, but she thought she saw something all the same. Then it was over, and peace apparently returned to the vast expanse of water.
Rika threw again. Again and again. Five cartridges disappeared below the waves until she was certain she had done as much as that would do. She had to go for it. She leaped out onto the rocks, her feet swiftly propelling herself forward without looking back, until she drew up adjacent to the flag. Making sure to reach out with her undamaged hand, she snatched the end of the flagpole and jerked it up.
The flag was waterlogged, and that made it heavy. Droplets splashed all over Rika as she lifted it into the air with a tremendous heave. As she looked down at the rocks below, she thought she saw one of them blink.
Dragging the flag behind her, she didn't look back until she had reached the relative safety of the shore again. |
|
