Private Eastern Brisshal Training some newbies

[Aaron Marone]

Aaron cracked his knuckles. He'd been hired today to play support for two new players and was at the designated meeting spot thirty minutes early. He was given the names of the players he was working with today, and the goal, but that was it. Feeling he needed to take something of a leadership role, he opened his menu and began composing a message.

Mail

Hello you two! My name is Aaron Marone, I'll be your support today. From what I've been told, you're hunting some wolves today? Don't worry, they're not too dangerous unless you get too many at once. I specialize in healing, defense, and buffs, so you two will be getting most the glory today. You should find my coordinates attached to this message. It will be a bit hard to miss me, look for the guy in big, sorta glowing armor.

He sent the message off with a smile. As he did, he could have sworn he saw a faint red string point off in the distance. He squinted. What is that?

 

[Rakka Deltorra]

Off in the near distance, a tall beastfolk sporting two light blonde rabbit ears gnaws absently on her lip as she tries to parse the information on her map UI with the surrounding in-game environment. Her ears twitch as she flinches at the message notification ding and she hurriedly fiddles with the menus to get it open. "I bet that's him... dammit, I know I'm close!"

She glances around for any sign of nearby players before getting the message open and breathing a small sigh of relief as she clicks the link to input the coordinates Aaron sent. The UI system emits a soft comforting beep and adds a location marker onto the map. The rabbit beastfolk adjusts their position and sets off in the correct direction this time, more south than their prior trajectory. Their progress is cautious though, alternating between checking their surroundings and pausing to consult their map.

 

[Yaxhin]

Today's the day....

Today, Yaxhin will go out and actually put some work into learning this game. It's been hectic just getting used to the UI, to be honest, every game is so different.

They would be lying to say they weren't a little scared of the realistic pain, but... that was also why they followed that link, much to the chagrin of their old roommates.

There's the message!
Aaron Marone... Glowing armor... Fighter type maybe? Paladin, with the healing specialty? They keep having to remind themself it doesn't really matter, classes aren't really a thing here.

They take a good while, studying the map once before they start out, trying to get used to the surrounding forests and commit the path to memory. If anything happens, they do need to know how to get back.
The coordinates serve well, and soon a tall, ambiguously gendered beastfolk is ambling up the path, waving a cheery hello.

"Aaron, isn't it? The name's Yaxhin: Yak-sheen! I couldn't figure out how to reply back... I hope I'm not too late?"

 

[Aaron Marone]

The red string moved, and now Aaron saw its end in an ambiguously gendered beastfolk. Not far from them was another beastfolk. Strange. What did that mean? Putting the question aside, he smiled and waved at the two of them.

"Greetings! I am indeed Aaron. So if you're Yaxhin, that makes you Rakka?"

He pointed at the female beastfolk.

"My plan today is to mostly function as support. I'll only draw my sword if one of you two get in dangers and needs rescuing, but I'll be casting buffs and healing spells on you periodically. To tell you a bit about myself, I'm a paladin, devoted to Tyldr and Endra. Through their blessings, I can even revive the dead, but that won't be necessary today."

Aaron extended a hand toward the beastfolks.

"Let me know if I talk too much. I try to be friendly, but I realize that can come across as overbearing or annoying to some people. I won't be offended if you tell me to shut up."

 

[Rakka Deltorra]

The beastfolk's ears perk up and swivel in the direction of her name. She quickly closes the map UI and rushes over, waving a hand in the air.

"Hi! Yes hello, that's me!"

Once she's closer she slows to a halt and doesn't finish walking the rest of way until the fellow in armor - Aaron, she needs to remember that - stops speaking.

"I'm sorry, I only read up on the overview of this world, not the deities or locations... figured there would be time for that later. Good to know you're that good at healing..."

Her expression goes serious and she crosses her arms.

"I paid you good money for you to teach me, no way in hell am I gonna tell you to shut up."

Her posture relaxes some as she turns her attention to the other beastfolk, perking up some at the sight of the tail.

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm sure you heard Aaron here mention I'm Rakka. I didn't catch your name though, sorry."

 

[Yaxhin]

Yaxhin waves to the other beastfolk as they approach, a wide grin on their face.

"Nice to meet you, Rikka! I'm Yaxhin. Looks like we'll be fighting together!"

Their tail flicks in excitement, and they start somewhat at the sensation. That'll certainly be something to get used to...

"Like they said, you're here to teach me, I'm gonna listen to every word you say. Are the wolves always hostile?"

If they took beast arts and they can't befriend a wolf... Well, they'll just deal with that as it comes.

They turn to the other beastfolk, eager to get going and get some experience under their belt.

"I mostly do nature magic, by the way, still figuring out exactly what that means. What's your build like, Rikka?"

So far, it's just so nice to have the wind and the sun be so real... They can't imagine what sort of foraging opportunities there might be. And maybe, eventually, a space to set down and care for animals?

They turn their attention back to the other two, trying to stay present.

 

[Aaron Marone]

"For the most part, yeah, the wolves are always hostile. I know a few people have tamed them in the past, though, using Beast Arts. I don't know anything about them myself, though, so I wouldn't know how good you need to be before befriending a wolf."

Aaron shifted a bit. He was glad they'd both be willing to listen to him talk, but he wasn't really sure what to say. Fighting wolves is pretty simple. Stick them with the pointy end of your weapon. Or hit them with the flat end. Don't get surrounded? They probably knew that. What was the line between teaching and condescending? He shook his head to clear it.

"Knowing the builds of everyone in your party is important, yeah. Nature magic being another type of support is useful."

When the two had finished sharing their builds, Aaron offers them both a kind smile.

"Right then. Finding wolves is the easiest part."

He stuck two fingers into his mouth and gave a sharp whistle. A series of howls emanated from the forest in response.

"Who wants to take the lead?"

 

[Rakka Deltorra]

Rakka frowns slightly at Yaxhin, but is quickly distracted with taking in what Aaron has to say.

She looks between the two once Aaron finishes speaking,

"Umm... build? Are you referring to the masteries we had to pick during character creation? And forgive me... I recall Geomancy and Hydromancy being options, I don't recall Nature Magic being listed."

She reaches up toward her ears, then decides against it and lowers her hand to lightly cross her arms. One of her ears twitches and she tries to look up at it, only to have it tilt back with the rest of her head. Right, no matter how real this world may seem, it's only a simulation in the end..

Her ear twitches again and she glances nervously at the nearby woods.

"Anything besides wolves we should be worried about for this area? There's not a chance of us running into higher level creatures here, is there?"

 

[Yaxhin]

They can be tamed using Beast Arts!
Yaxhin can't help but grin widely at the thought of that, looking around them for possibly easier beasts to tame, ones that can't hurt them if they fail.

"Oh, I can't wait to work up Beast Arts!"

They turn to Rakka, still grinning, and nod.

"Nature Magic was in the support section, not the defense or the offense sections. I couldn't help but be as close to a druid as possible."

They look to the woods, tail flicking behind them at the sound of the wolves. Given they really can tame them...
They still have to learn to play, and if killing wolves is the first place to start, so be it.
They pull their staff out, taking deep breaths to ready themself.

"I suppose... we should head in, shouldn't we. I can lead the way, if you want, Rakka?"

They look to the other beastfolk, smiling in encouragement.

 

[Aaron Marone]

Aaron nodded at the beastwoman.

"Yep, when people in this world say 'build', they're referring to your masteries and how they work together. For instance, for me, my main mastery is my Guard Arts, with my Divine Magic as a second to provide healing and buffs. My Slashing Weapons mastery is a last resort, as I believe the sword always should be. That said, I'm no slouch there either."

At the agender beastfolk's words, Aaron smiled.

"Sounds good. Lead the way toward the sound of the howling. There's not much tougher than wolves in these woods, so no need to worry too much there. Sure, there are bears, but if we run into one of those I can handle it myself. Are you two using the Auto Assist for combat? I'd highly recommend it at the start. If you focus on what you want to do, the system will move your body for you in fairly close to the best way to do it, and will even chant spell incantations for you. It's good to learn new spells and get muscle memory for new weapons. Honestly, that's probably a better teacher than I could be. It can't do more complicated maneuvers, but again, it's great for learning things at the beginning."

 

[Rakka Deltorra]

Rakka gives Yaxhin a confused look along with a cautious smile. She scratches at her cheek.

"I suppose that's why I overlooked it. Didn't focus too much on support."

She looks relieved at Yaxhin's offer

"You'd do that? I'd really appreciate it!"

The rabbitfolk turns to address Aaron

"That makes sense. I haven't exactly figured out my main mastery I rely on, but I took Pyromancy, Magitech, and Crush Weapons. Think I'll be relying more on Pyromancy and Crush Weapons though. And yes, I'll be using Auto Assist for now."

She tilts her head toward the other beastfolk

"If you're aiming to be a druid, are you familiar with these sorts of games? I suppose there'll be time enough for talking while we're off finding the wolves."

Her ears twitch as she shudders at the thought of running into bears, reaching behind to grip the handle of her battlehammer for reassurance.

 

[Yaxhin]

Those are all good points... they practiced with a staff in real life a little bit, but actually making attacks is entirely different. Besides that, memorizing spells will be a feat in itself. They pull up the UI, carefully making sure the gesture is right, and start looking for that option.

"Auto assist, right. That's... where in the UI? Oh, it's already checked. Awesome. I guess I'll probably be using Nature Magic, most."

They take a good look over their masteries again, while they're in there.

They look over to Rakka, nodding at the beastwoman's question. They are new to games in general, but...

"I've played a couple VR's like this, but it's just easier for me to think of things in terms of classes. Let's head to the wolves, though."

Off, deeper into the woods. Aaron said just to follow the howling, so they make sure they have an idea what they might do first, when-

One wolf jumps out from between trees in no time, jaws dripping with saliva and teeth bared in hostility. Other howls are still clearly audible, as a second wolf steps through on the other side, and a third one rushes from straight ahead.

Yaxhin gulps, eyes wide, and brings the staff to bear.

 

[Aaron Marone]

"Pyromancy and crush is a solid combo. Flaming hammer certainly beats bear claws. Well, bare claws. Probably bear claws too. That... that distinction is hard to make verbally. Bare (he extends his open hand) versus bear (he mimics a bear claw with his hand, and gives a half-hearted roar)."

Awooooooooooooo

The wolves burst from the treeline with a howl. Snarling and clearly hungry, the beasts were clearly looking for a fight.

"Three of them, perfect. Each of you take one, I'll aggro the third and tank it until you two are done."

Aaron locked eyes with the largest of the three wolves. Activating his Taunt skill, he slammed his fist against his shield twice.

Here, boy, come 'ere!

The wolf lunged at Aaron, claws extended, jaws open, and saliva flying. Aaron stepped forward to catch the beast with his shield right under the legs. He ducked and moved his arm over his head, guiding the wolf over him in a smooth arc. The wolf rolled, righting itself quickly and turning back toward the paladin.

Grrrrrrrrrr

"What's wrong, boy? Did Timmy fall down a well?"

 

[Rakka Deltorra]

Rakka starts laughing at Aaron's pantomime, but it quickly cut short as she catches sight of Yaxhin's reaction and the sight of one, no, three wolves. Her ears flatten against her skull as she's frozen with fear as well - the threat before her being too real - but Aaron's clear directions and the thought of it being her friend in need before her instead of a stranger galvanizes her into action.

"Get behind me!"

Rakka calls out desperately to Yaxhin as she firmly takes her hammer into both hands, summoning flames to crackle around it as she races to slam the hammer into the side of the wolf threatening the other beastfolk.

The force of the blow causes the wolf to stagger and yelp in pain as fire licks at fur and flesh, eager for more fuel to keep burning bright. It lets out an enraged snarl, quickly circling around to rush at Rakka.

She grimaces and turns to face the angered wolf, leaving the perfect opening for the remaining wolf to flank her from behind.

 

[Yaxhin]

Yaxhin finds themself just frozen, watching. They're taken aback at how real the wolves look- the way they move is so fluid it doesn't seem programmed!

Their jaw drops. That Taunt is so effective, the wolf by Aaron doesn't have a single moment of focus for the other two.
They should makes sure Rakka is-
Oh- Rakka has it handled. They can actually feel the heat from the fire, hear the whimpers from the wolf as it hits.

This is fantastic!
They watch in awe as the third wolf starts to square up to Rakka's back, and step forward themself.

"Oh, no you don't, puppy!"

They raise their staff, intending to just snap it down on the wolf's head, and are surprised when, instead, thick vines erupt along the forest floor and wrap up the wolf's feet and body, pinning it in place unkindly, by the whimpers the wolf is now making.

The staff comes down to thunk on the Wolf's head, almost in insult at this point.

 

[Aaron Marone]

Claws met steel as Aaron parried a second attack from the wolf he aggroed, and a sound worse than nails on a chalkboard screeched throughout the woods. Oh, how he had missed that horrible, horrible sound. He grasped his holy symbol tightly with his free hand.

"Oh Tyldr, bringer of light. Oh Endra, harbinger of justice. Hear my prayer. Grant unto your servants strength in this dark hour. Let our swords be yours, enflamed by your light. Grant us the power to smite our foes."

Aaron's sword began to glow with a soft light, then Yaxhin's staff and Rakka's hammer did as well.

"See how you like a little holy power backing up your blows. It works wonders against undead and the like, but very little is really fond of being hit by it."

The wolf lunged at Aaron again, this time with its teeth, and he brought up his arm to intercept the blow aimed for his neck. Canine teeth bit down on the flesh of a human arm, and Aaron let out a grunt of pain. It was mostly absorbed by his armor, but the blow still hurt.

"You're a right little bastard, ain't you, pup?"

 

[Rakka Deltorra]

"P-puppy?!"

That's all Rakka is able to squeak out indignantly before the angry wolf in front of her lunges with its fangs bared, which she just manages to parry with sliding her grip on her hammer to shove the shaft into the wolf's open maw. She grunts from the force of trying to keep the raging animal back from snapping at her face.

Aaron's words are lost to her, all her adrenaline focused on the terrifying beast trying to eat her. Just when she thinks her grip is starting to slip her leg rears back to kick the wolf in the stomach as the Auto Assist kicks in, dislodging the wolf's fangs enough so she can twist her hammer firmly away. It's surreal, her body moving but she's not the one moving it, and for a terrifying moment she panics she's trapped in the game. Trapped in this world she's spent less than a day in - but then the momentum from the twist spins her right around into another slamming attack against the wolf - and she's immersed back into the fight.

It staggers back with a whimper, clearly dazed.

The world comes back into focus enough for Rakka to catch Aaron's shout about holy light and to see her weapon glow, and with a shout she adds her flames to the light and springs toward her enemy. She grips her hammer firmly in both hands, swinging it upwards and bringing it down to crush the wolf's head.

 

[Yaxhin]

Yaxhin winces at the sound of teeth on metal, looking over to see the parried blow. At least Aaron seems to be as experienced as he says?

Their heart is racing as they watch the wolf in front of them try desperately to escape, struggling against the now woody vines. They should've read their abilities better, figured out what offensive skills they have in their jumble of support masteries. Now, all they have is a trapped, scared, angry wolf ahead of Them and a regular old stick in their hands.

How are they going to do this?

Bits of Aaron's prayer make it to their ears, but they're startled when the staff begins to glow with radiant light and warm in their hands.

"Ah- thanks!"

Alright, they can do this, come on. Surely there's a basic attack?

They raise the staff, and thankfully the auto assist takes over, but it still isn't a staff attack. They seem to direct the vines, pulling with the motions of the staff, and the vines constrict the wolf down into the ground.

A cracking sound fills the air as the wolf is simply crushed and falls still, silent.

 

[Aaron Marone]

Aaron watched the two beastfolk both deal with their wolves and gave them both a smile.

Congratulations! You've both made your first kill in the world of Terrasphere. You're both fucking murderers now, how does it feel? I'm kidding! I'm kidding. Most of us are pretty sure these are nothing more than just bits of data that don't feel pain and everything you saw was them just emulating it for immersion. Plus, they're wolves, not people, so it wouldn't be murder.

The wolf biting his arm snarled, as if in protest of some sort.

Not now, boy. I've giving them their victory speech. Though, I guess that is a bit preemptive since you're still here. Actually, there's a thought. Yaxhin, why don't you see if you can use your beast arts on this one? See if you can tame it while I hold it's aggro. I'm not sure if you'll be skilled enough to, but it couldn't hurt to try. Like I said, I know nothing about Beast Arts, so you're flying blind with this boy. Uh, at least I think boy.

Aaron bent down to look between the wolf's legs.

 

[Rakka Deltorra]

Rakka grips the shaft of her hammer tightly to keep her hands from shaking as the adrenaline subsides. Did she just kill an animal? What if the monsters here are like the players, somehow with a real creature behind them? She heard the crack of the skull, felt it give way beneath the hammer's blow. There was no way a simulation was this realistic, even with - it, it has to be a psychological trick, right?

She flinches at the sound of the paladin's voice, ears twitching flat for a moment before springing back up again, head snapping to stare at him completely horrified and devastated over the his casual callout of her being a murderer now. Rakka tightens her grip on her hammer, which combined with the blood now staining its head and lightly spattered on her arm bracers, only emphasizes Aaron's comment and not her own angry shout

"I'm not a murderer! And there's no way that thing can be real, stating you're pretty sure isn't good enough!"

She pauses, huffing to catch her breath and then sits down hard, still gripping her hammer tight.