MaSK

#3: Crow

Chelsea's POV

YUKI
>so do you play many games?

I woke up to a message from Yuki. No 'hi', no 'wanna talk'; just straight to the point. And I do, obviously, play a lot of games; I only leave my house for groceries, exercise, or whenever I feel like going to school. I didn't have to lie about this to keep up my facade.

KURO
>yep, im kinda hardcore

YUKI
>oh, so like shooters?

KURO
>nah
>i mostly play visual novels and single player rpgs

YUKI
>ooh
>how about Arc Fantasy?

Yuki continued to surprise me. That game was old, and only the really dedicated players were left. Maybe I'd met her there before?

KURO
>oh hey, neat
>i do
>thats so cool

YUKI
>kyaaa
>my darling kuro plays it too
> ^-^
> ^-^

Wanting to push our conversation as far away from romance as possible, I attempted to redirect Yuki's train of thought. I didn't want her to fall in love with a fictional guy.

KURO
>wanna play together sometime?

YUKI
>idk, kind of a solo player so if youre not good enough i might leave you behind ;)

A challenge to my gamer's pride.

KURO
>im solo too
>and im good

YUKI
>hmm, lets see if thats true
>come on a quest with me sometime

KURO
>youre on
>whats your avatar like?

YUKI
>i play sword empress

Ohh, interesting! The Sword Empress was a hard class to get the hang of, but she was crazy strong if the player using her was good. Incredibly fast, super good dodging ability, great damage output -- the only issue was her range, which was helped somewhat by her speed but ultimately quite limited. Still, Yuki playing a Sword Empress was further proof that she must be quite good.

KURO
>ohh nice
>all about the damage right?
>i get you

YUKI
>finally someone who understands, hehe
>btw name is yuki233
>you?

KURO
>dark mage
>name is kuromaho4444

This was true, actually. Before I was a guy named Kuro on @SK, I was a guy named Kuro in Arc Fantasy. I chose the Dark Mage class because he suited the type of character I normally play, but over time I leaned into his whole cloak-and-dagger loner look. My @SK name actually came from my Arc character's name -- I had only ever played alone or with strangers online, so nobody I knew in real life would make the connection. Anyway, the Dark Mage was a slow attacker who dished out big hits every few seconds, while being able to stay out of enemies' range. He was pretty sluggish when it came to dodging, but his defensive enchantments aided him in protecting himself. Now that I think about it, Yuki and I would cover each other's weaknesses perfectly if we teamed up.

YUKI
>ooo edgy
>i like it
>but i bet i out dps you

I couldn't help but laugh. We talked at length about our adventures, sending message after message for almost an hour. I wanted to press her for more details, but nature called, and I had to hang the conversation up for a second.

KURO
>bathroom brb

I spun out of my chair and ran to the bathroom, forgetting to close my door.