May 03, 2014: Second Saturday after NOAH’s launch, late afternoon.
OFFLINE:\Philippines\Makati City\Tejeros BLISS Garden>
The kids flocked inside Mang Mario's puny, fully-booked internet cafe, watched NOAH players' in-game adventures. The smell of sweaty internet cafe patrons, a little pine air freshener, and fried street foods clashed in the windowless, air-conditioned room. Young gamers around Ren & Ynes exchanged profanities, like those over-drawn teleseryes on TV.
Ren and Ynes shook each other's hands as their combined party defeated the first World Boss. "We did it, Ren! We're meant to be together after all!"
He gave her a narrowed look as he navigated his avatar back to Kanpeki Sekai, "We're meant to be together?"
Ynes winked at him, "Together in a party, Rene-boy!"
Roy heard their conversation as he browsed his colorful anime art website. I feel giddy each time I see them together! He noticed them tickled each others' sides, They're cute to look at, how I wish I get closer to Ann, just like them. He opened one of his online comics and showed to Ren and Ynes. "I made a comic out of you guys!"
They took a peek of Roy's comics. She spotted a brawler character based from her appearance and pinched Ren's shoulder, "Look at that! That's pretty much like me!"
Ren chuckled at her, "Well, he made superhero characters out of us"
Roy looked back, "Yep, because you guys are simply awesome!"
"Do you play NOAH, Roy?" Ynes asked.
"Nope." Roy shrugged his shoulders, "But I drew about that game before, and now I saw how it's played"
IN-GAME:\NOAH Online\Freedom's Cradle Star System\Briarwelt Moon\Walled Arcology 01 Kanpeki Sekai>
The humongous gorilla with missile launchers exploded into golden dusts. Fallen vehicles and avatars dissolved into green crystals, then they shot up to the skies. The forests around Kanpeki Sekai remained in flames, in spite of the peoples' victory cries over one giant creature. The skies formed spotlights above everyone who fought the Tsar Kongbomba. An ominous female voice spoke to the avatars,
"Your efforts in vanquishing the Tsar Kongbomba have rewarded you worthy presents"
Rennin noticed an orange-sparkling golden rapier with sweeping guards, 5 miniaturized megaphones, and a white metallic, single-barreled blocky shotgun spawned as he popped out his holographic inventory interface. He saw white-haired Hatsya fluttered above them.
"Hatsya! I got something for you!" he waved the [Golden Swept-Hilt Rapier] at Hatsya.
Hatsya fluttered around the battlefield without any response. He chased the floating white-haired boy and yelled at him for the second time, "Hatsya! You want this sword? It had good bonuses!"
Sheesh! What a snob. He stowed his new-found weapon back to his inventory and dashed back to his teammates. Altynes showed her gauntlet topped with a blood-bathed gorilla skull, and covered with golden sparkles!
"Lucky you, Ynes!" He said at Altynes, even if the players themselves sat beside each other.
"It's a heroic-grade [Gorilla Thumper], Ren! All I need now is another pair of this gauntlet" she winked at him. While they boasted their new loot, the large horned humanoid pig howled at the groups of warriors around him.
It snagged one of the players' tanks with its large, rusty and bloody meat hook from its crane arm. As the tank fell under its clutches, its drivers leaped out and while at free fall, they blasted its scarred fleshy sides with their firearms. The monster did not flinch in spite of large blotches of red damage marks formed over its skin. The monster trampled them as they landed on the ground, and roared in victory.
Rennin and Altynes zigzagged at fast pace, as they avoided the monster's spat acid blobs. "Oi! Where are the tanks!" she screamed as she performed a heavy punch on the monster's shin.
In spite of the flashy & bone-cracking attack, the boss shed a tiny amount of hit points (HP), yet it remained firm. The fat monster, referred in-game as the Pudgin the Cranky Butcher, whipped Altynes away, and flung the tank onto other parties' vehicles.
Rennin thought as he thrust his earth-powered sticks onto its knees in speedy succession. Each strike popped out tan-colored starbursts and four digit numbers for damage. He ended his attack with a jab on the monster's knee. Chunks of earth materialized upon impact and petrified its leg.
OFFLINE:\Philippines\Makati City\Tejeros BLISS Garden>
Ren struck the movement keys in quick succession as he commanded his avatar to tumble sideways. The monster on-screen stomped the ground then flung his avatar away by its shockwave.
"Y'know, you're even luckier to have that weapon, Ren" Ynes patted his shoulder.
"Na-ah! I only got this by chance, Ynes!" he laughed as he drove his avatar in circles, and spammed left-click attacks at the monster's legs.
As he played the game, his old 3310 vibrated and rang at his desk. Not now, mom! Not now! An older NOAH player at his left yelled at him, "Please shut your phone up!"
The other player in the opposite cubicle joined, "Answer the phone!"
IN-GAME:\NOAH Online\Freedom's Cradle Star System\Briarwelt Moon\Walled Arcology 01 Kanpeki Sekai>
Rennin's malahurat stick expelled sand-colored auras, and he jabbed the monster's knee pit. I hope you'll never ever walk again, fattie! The monster unleashed a strong toxic cloud on its surroundings. Its attackers' movement stopped, some of the avatars dropped down.
A dying Orcish avatar cried at him, "Get the hell out of there, noobs" then it fell unconscious. Like a bug-sprayed cockroach outside the gaming world.
Despite of the warnings, he struck the monster's buttocks. As he tried to land a final earth-enchanted strike, the monster ate him instead.
Altynes pulled off a five-hit combo punch on the monster, but she suffered a toxic damage over time within its range. The monster squished her with its decayed feet.
From a distance, Hotaruu aimed his blue-sparkling [Quartz-tipped Iron Staff], and fired a fiery laser on the monster's belly. "Why did you guys even dare to solo that thing inside the toxic cloud" he told Rennin and Altynes by telepathic means.
Masshu rushed toward the monster's knee and mashed its kneecap with her gold-sparkling, giant pick out of Tsar Kongbomba's fang [Kongbomba's Mashing Fang].
OFFLINE:\Philippines\Makati City\Tejeros BLISS Garden>
Ren picked up his cellphone and looked at his missed calls. Oh noes, it's his mother, Desiree. I knew it! He told Ynes, "Please watch over my avatar and my seat, okay? Gonna call mom"
"Sure, Ren" Ynes nodded, as she controlled her avatar back to the boss battle.
He headed outside and called his mother on the phone, "Mom, what is it?"
"Have you emailed your dad?" Desiree answered.
"No, not yet" he scratched his head, "Ynes treated me two hours, for gaming only"
"Don't change the subject, son." she cleared her throat, "Tell dad to Cloudtalk with us tonight, and you'll cook our corned beef tonight!"
"Okay, mom" he ended his call, and headed back to his cubicle.
He went back on NOAH and saw Rennin dead inside Kanpeki Sekai, and an effeminate-looking young boy sat over his avatar. It can't be! Since when PKing's allowed inside towns? I have to tell Hatsya about this! He respawned his avatar again back to Kanpeki Sekai's city square, and met the same perpetrator: Sirius. Just who the heck is this guy?
IN-GAME:\NOAH Online\Freedom's Cradle Star System\Briarwelt Moon\Walled Arcology 01 Kanpeki Sekai>
Rennin and Sirius gazed at each other's eyes, then pointed their weapons on their chests.
"Did you just kill me?" he asked Sirius.
Sirius' eyes narrowed and jabbed his xyston on his face, "There's no playing killing rule here, I poked you!" As Sirius' polearm reached his face, he parried it with his pair of Mahentoy's Malahurat sticks.
"Life's unfair, huh? Even in this game, cheater!" he glared at Sirius, "Let's fight outside then?"
"CALL!" the horned effeminate-looking kid cast an attack-up skill and reddish cyclone auras enveloped his forearms.
They headed to the burning forest, in spite of the world boss' imposing presence.
Sirius landed a flurry of strikes on Rennin, but his blue-haired adversary landed a double stick strikes on its belly. That blow is worth a critical hit in big red two-digit numbers.
Rennin cracked a smile and strafed away from the lancer kid. He cast another earth-based energy to his ironwood sticks and stabbed the ground.
The ground shook Sirius and three rock pillars flung him to the sky. While in mid-air, Sirius displaced darkened Ether on his weapon and pierced through Rennin's chest. Black and red crystalline fragments gushed through the blue-haired escrimador's chest.
Pixelated blood stained Rennin's blue basketball outfit, and the virtual bleeding made him kneel on the dirt.
Sirius kicked at his bleeding rival's butt, "I'm entertained, Renni—" until Esthrill shot his head with a charged laser shot from her azure [Matanglawin's Scoped Laser Sniper Rifle].
"Damn you, trappy boy!" the petite pink-haired sniper wore a wide grin as she approached Rennin, her wounded party member.
If that was a first-person shooter, Sirius could have been sent back to Kanpeki Sekai. Too bad, they're in an online role-playing game, that many head shot attacks only mean crippling visions, dizziness, confusions, or any other debuff that doesn't lead towards death.
Sirius expelled another Ether on his xyston and spun around like a top. As Esthrill cured Rennin's wounds, the dark spear gashed her back, and she piled over Rennin.
"Did you even call a princess in shining armor, Rennin?" Sirius tilted his head, "Or actually, Ren?"
Rennin and Esthrill got up from the attacks.
She jumped backward and shot Sirius' knees, "Rennin, tank me!"
Rennin raised his sticks and cast a weapon reach-enhancing buff skill. His ironwood sticks grew a half of its size, and packed with more earth-based damage. He chased the spear-wielder and struck its shoulders thrice.
Sirius cussed as he took the three earth-powered blows, "Damn you cheapskates!", then he lunged his spear on Rennin's belly.
Hatsya noticed a flashy exchange of white, black, and tan starbursts below him. Ren, Derek, what the hell! He clenched his fists as he saw his offline friends, or his game's players brought up their friendship issues in their game. He sucked back his rainbow aura and dived to the ground, with his rose rapier in hand. Sorry sis, I must do this!
His white hair turned back into navy blue as he descended toward the dueling scene.
Altynes, Masshu, Eizien, and Hotaruu ran away from the Pudgin boss for their dying comrades in the burning forest.
Rennin and Esthrill stood at each other's back and held their virtual wounds, as Sirius walked towards them with a grim smile.
"Guys, you look sweet." He licked his dark xyston's tip, "I bet you're that close offline too, Ren!"
"Do not bring our offline relationship on this game, Derek!" Rennin pointed his ironwood stick, as its extra damaging powers waned out.
"Oh really, Ren?" Sirius raised his charged dark spear until a blazing kampilan struck his neck.