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Thread: Infinence

  1. #1
    Mushmom XxKiraYamatoxX's Avatar
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    Default Infinence

    Meh, lost inspiration for AoM. Hopefully I won't this time. I might continue AoM if I get any ideas, but for now, I'll be working on this new one.

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    Rating: Possibly PG-16 for violence, suggestive and sexual themes. Possibly, since I'm not sure yet.

    Disclaimer: I own this story and therefore, it is not allowed to be copied or published without my permission. This story is here purely for entertainment purposes. All resemblances to existing stories, games or other media are completely coincidental and unintentional.

    Also, Infinence is in no way a real game. It is a figment of my imagination, and as such, please do not go searching around for a game of this name, for it does not exist, neither do most of the technology for it.

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    Prologue


    Infinence. There was no doubt it was the ultimate online RPG game. It was named so after the nature of the game that allowed for infinite possiblities in both the gaming environment and character variety. Created in 2048 by the V-Corp company, the system alone had taken 10 years to design and build, with a powerful supercomputer at the very core.

    The game was played by using a special headband outfitted with nerve receptors that could tap into the player's brainwaves. The brainwaves could be transferred by the headband to the supercomputer through a satellite connection almost instantaneously, and the supercomputer would process those thoughts into the game itself.

    The advanced system allowed for players to customize and move their characters with extreme detail, although existing characters, be it from other games, movies, or other sources could be loaded in. In the case that a character was taken from an existing source, the supercomputer would run a search for pictures of the character and build the character based on them, considering that the pictures were similar. The abilities of the character would also be reproduced inside the game.

    It let its players become anyone or anything they wanted to, except for those that had godlike powers. A character's appearance could be changed in-game, even after creation, just by having multiple people, including the person that wanted the change, think about that particular change at the same time. The supercomputer would automatically filter out any changes that were too excessive to prevent misuse of the system.

    Game environments were created as seen fit by the supercomputer, following the wishes of the players. They could be changed the same way a character appearance was changed, only with more people thinking about the matter. The level of detail was very close to that of the real world, sometimes causing Infinence to be viewed as 'another reality'. Winds blew, water bubbled, bushes rustled just as they did in the real world. Anything happening to the character in the game would also be felt by the player, providing an almost lifelike sensation and adding to how 'real' the game felt.

    The supercomputer's incredible processing speed of 2 exabytes per second, while allowing it to run the game very smoothly, also served as an anti-hacking system. Any hacker attempting to hack the computer would have the hacking system counterhacked and destroyed. It was completely impossible to outhack the supercomputer because of that, and the fact that it was constantly upgrading itself.

    V-Corp constructed an automated plant around the supercomputer to allow it to build more electronic components as needed, even programming the computer enough to let it scan for system glitches and fix them by itself. In this way, the company created the perfect computer. The processing speed grew by the hour as more processors were built.

    Infinence received countless awards for its ingenuity, which no other company in existence could replicate though countless had tried. It garnered world acclaim in no time at all and captivated the hearts of all its players. No single online game was better than Infinence, many players stated, despite the fee of $50 per month.
    Monster Hunter Tri Status:
    - Hunter Rank: HR1 (Yay, me noob)
    - Favourite Weapon: Switch Axe
    - Current Most Proficient Weapons: Switch Axe, Hammer
    - Current Armour: Barroth Set + Lagiacrus Set
    - Current Most Hated Monster: Rathalos
    (Stop flying, wings fer' brains!)

  2. #2
    Mushmom XxKiraYamatoxX's Avatar
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    Chapter 1

    I raced across the prairie, panting as I did. The sounds of the feet of rampaging rhinos behind me was nearly deafening, they were hot on my tail. Why had I even gone so near to their nest anyway!? I shook those thoughts and abruptly turned to the right, heading for the woods nearby. Those beasts couldn't follow me through woods...

    Most of the rhinos overshot from momentum when I turned, causing some of them to fall on their sides after failing to brake. Some saw me turning early and changed course accordingly. Still, I had lost a good portion of the previously 100-rhino herd. There were only about 40 chasing me now. But 40 is enough to trample me flat, heck even just 1 could do it, I reminded myself. It wasn't exactly a comforting thought.

    It took me a few minutes to reach the woods, but by then, the rhinos were only a hair's length behind me. The moment I entered the cover of the woods, the rhinos slowed down and started walking slowly. As I suspected, they couldn't just charge into the woods. I quickly ducked behind a bush and closed my eyes, beginning the logout procedure. There was no way I was going to sit around here and let the rhinos kill my character.


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    "Logout successful." the computer-generated voice rang around in my head as I took the V-band off my head and laid it on the table beside my bed. It was a good thing there were no side-effects to health from frequent usage of it, otherwise my parents wouldn't even let me play Infinence. The wall clock in my room read 11 p.m, usually the time I went to sleep. I couldn't afford to be late for school, or the teacher would scold me again......

    I found myself getting up just a few minutes later for a little walk around the room. My parents would be sleeping by now, giving me a chance to put on the V-band again... just that I didn't want to, otherwise I'd probably get up late the next morning. My room was big enough to fit in a desk, a closet and a bed, with enough space for me to move around in. A few books were scattered about the desk; I hadn't bothered tidying it up since I didn't read much nowadays.

    My eyes turned towards the mirror hanging on the wall between the door and the closet; it was one of my most prized possessions. I walked up to it and looked into it.

    Staring back, was the face of a 16-year old girl with neck-length black hair. She had rather large blue eyes and a small nose, with a simple pink-lipped mouth. Her pajamas clung loosely to her relatively short body with an ample bust. It left much to be desired, but at least some boys found it attractive. Sighing, I threw a glance at the V-band lying on the side table. My Infinence character was so much more attractive than I was; I had created it as such. To myself, my outward appearance was just that of an average girl, but I actually wanted... more. The game world could fulfill that desire as long as I stayed in, which wasn't really that long each session. Plus, I had stuff to do sometimes.

    I went back to my bed and laid down on it, stretching my legs one last time before closing my eyes and falling asleep. At least, I wanted to fall asleep, but something kept me awake. What, I wasn't sure, but it didn't keep me awake for long. I dozed off several minutes of sheep counting later.


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    "DIIIIIIIIIIING!!!"

    "DIIIIIIIIIIING!!!"

    "Oh, just shut up!" I reached out towards the side table and slammed down on the alarm clock, at which point it stopped ringing. There was nothing like serene peace......


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    ... Except that it sometimes came at the cost of valuable time. By the time I got up again, it was 7:45 a.m; School started at 8. "Waaaah!" I wasted no time jumping out of my bed and flinging open the closet door. In just a little under 3 minutes, I was rushing down the stairs clad in my school uniform. A minute later, I hopped onto my hoverbike outside the house and sped off down the road.

    The speedometer on the bike read 40 km/h, faster than the 33 I usually did on normal exercise routines. Then again, this case was different. I was pedaling as fast as I could, so fast that I felt my legs shaking violently. Was this my limit...? I took the corner of a T-junction fast enough that I nearly slammed into the wall on the other side of the road; Hoverbikes had no friction problems compared to normal bikes, although hoverbikes were faster because of that. No friction problems equaled wide turning arcs, but I had gotten used to it. It wasn't exactly the first time I had been late after all.

    I slid the bike into a slot in the bike shed just as the bell rang. Dashing into the block with my classroom, I pushed past a few students just heading out for physical education lessons. "Watch it!" one of them yelled. "Sorry!" I hurriedly apologized and turned the corner, nearly bumping into a teacher. "You're late!" he noted. "Sorry!" I repeated the previous word as I reached the door leading to my classroom and turned the doorknob, rushing in.

    At least, I nearly turned the doorknob, only my fingers slipped. I ended up crashing into the door. "OWWW!" I cried out, rubbing my forehead. It felt like that same time I accidentally walked into a tree in Infinence. Painful.

    The door swung open, revealing my homeroom teacher, a middle-aged lady that wore her hair in a bun behind her head. She was just slightly taller than me. "Miss Traya Wilson! You are late for class!" she nearly yelled, face as red as a beetroot. One of the reasons my classmates liked to call her Beety. She only did it when she was mad, which was an especially bad sign to me right now.

    "SORRY I'M LATE, TEACH!!!"

    I barely had time to turn around before a guy came rushing into the class, crashing into me in the process. His head knocked against mine, sending me falling to the ground. Before I blacked out, I felt my head hit the floor face-down and a heavy weight landing on my back.


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    "My head..." I moaned, rubbing it. What happened just now? I got up to look around. Greeting me was a completely white room with several cabinets arranged around it. The cabinets were filled with bottles of medicine, suggesting that I was in the infirmary. The room wasn't the only thing greeting me; there was a smirking short-haired guy with a marker in hand standing beside the bed I was lying on.

    "Julian. I wonder what you're gonna do with that marker......" I stared at the marker. It was a black one. "Just don't move for a while. I'm gonna show you REAL art!" he grinned, uncapping the marker. Wait. Was he going to do what I thought he was? Paint me...? Seriously... that was dumb... and childish. I tried reaching out to grab the marker, but he just grabbed them with his free hand and held them together, restricting my arms' movement. "Let go!" I started kicking and shaking my head, denying him a chance to paint my face. Not that shaking my head was going to help much, if that marker touched my face; it was still going to paint me.

    "I don't think the person on the receiving end of that marker will think its fun."

    That voice... I knew that voice! "Hey Traya. Long time no see," he waved at me from the doorway. "Scotty!" I smiled. The same age as me, Leon Scott Kennedy, or Scotty as his friends liked to call him, was the only childhood friend I could remember. Mainly because he kept screwing things up when I was around. He was wearing his usual leather jacket over his school uniform; luckily the school allowed it. I was surprised that he was in my school......

    Julian seemed to get a little annoyed, and left me alone to walk over to Scotty. "So what if I wanna paint her? I'm a little bored right now, you wanna fight, tough guy?" Julian walked around the distinctively thinner Scotty. My friend was tall and thin, with eyes as green as grass in a meadow. I knew challenging him was a bad idea, he could kill a person in at least 30 ways. Martial arts was one of his strong points; he had sworn to protect his mother from ever being mugged again, training himself with that resolve.

    The two ended up in a staring match with each other. There were a few tense moments of silence. but Julian broke off first. "Bah. Just you wait," he walked out the door.
    "I expected him to hold his ground," I smiled at Scotty as he walked over. "Yeah, well, I gave him the look," he stared into my eyes. I stared back. His green eyes definitely showed his prowess at martial arts... somehow. I didn't know how, but Julian probably ran off because of that. "By the way, how did I end up here?" I asked.

    "Ehm... Sorry. I kinda ran into class in a panic because I was late, and by the time I saw that you were standing there, it was too late to brake. You fainted when your head hit the ground," he sighed. I reached my hand up to my forehead, feeling a strip of soft material. "Bandaged. You're lucky you're not dead, or even scolded. Mrs. Beety grilled me bad when I got up..." he rubbed his ears. Got up...? "Wait. Did you fall on me?" I whispered. His red face was enough of an answer to the question. I found myself blushing as well, and turned away to hide it; it would be bad if someone saw this.

    "Let's change the subject. What are you doing in this school?" I turned back towards him.
    He replied, "I was about to ask the same thing. I transferred here from my middle school. You know, the one I went to after we split up after grade school."
    "How long has it been? Three years?"
    "Yeah. Quite a long time," Scotty stared out the window, "Oh yeah. The school bell rang a few minutes before I walked in on that guy trying to paint you. School's over for today. Teach asked me to pass on your homework by the way. And she also advised you not to black out before even starting class."

    "I'll ride home with you, just in case he tries to pick on you again," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder out the window, pointing in the direction of the bike shed. "You got a bike?" I blinked in surprise. "I never told you I didn't have one. I'll wait for you at the front gate," he smiled and walked off as I got out of bed.

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    I calmly walked over to the bike shed with my hoverbike and rode it out. This hoverbike, in particular, was equipped with fingerprint scanners on the handlebars. It was coded to my fingerprints, so no one else would be able to ride my bike. The moment I got onto it and closed my hand around the handlebars, the hoverbike's engine activated and I cycled backwards to exit the shed. The engine of hoverbikes powered only the hover part of the engines. To conserve power and maintain the exercise effects of bicycles, the pedals powered the frontwards/backwards movement fan at the back of the bike. It was pretty much a mini-hovercraft.

    "Yo," I could see Scotty waving at me from the gate, sitting on a hoverbike of his own. His hoverbike was one with gears, typical for him since he was the type to like exercising. "So where's your house?" he asked as I got closer to him. "56, Carew Street. It's not exactly a big house... hehe," I smiled, taking off abruptly. As expected, he caught up in no time. "Mind if I pop in for a visit sometime?"

    I replied, "Nope. Normally, my parents aren't that fond of people coming to visit me, but seeing as they know you, it shouldn't be much of a problem." He gazed at me for a few seconds. I could see that he was trying to ask another question, but he shut his mouth and put his gaze back on the road. What had he been trying to ask...? "I'll just drop you off, then head back home. I'll come some other day."
    Monster Hunter Tri Status:
    - Hunter Rank: HR1 (Yay, me noob)
    - Favourite Weapon: Switch Axe
    - Current Most Proficient Weapons: Switch Axe, Hammer
    - Current Armour: Barroth Set + Lagiacrus Set
    - Current Most Hated Monster: Rathalos
    (Stop flying, wings fer' brains!)

  3. #3
    Complication. Kon's Avatar
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    Go on updating D: I need moar of this awesome fic

  4. #4
    Jr. Necki gutterball930's Avatar
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    OH OH cool MAKE A CHAR LIKE THE MATRIX YEEEEEAH YEAH
    ok sorry you write it im in the middle of writing one




    what kon thinks when looking at RE
    Kon. says:
    there is leon shaving uuuh saving her
    http://timbucktoe.myminicity.com/
    please help me grow
    http://timbucktoe.myminicity.com/ind

    Spoiler!

  5. #5
    Lord over All masterchocobo's Avatar
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    Epic already.

    I'd like to play an MMORPG like that.
    I feel so acknowledged now that I've seen 17 people quote me in their sig. And 4 unfortunately.

    Hot girl here:
    Spoiler!

  6. #6

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    It'd totally trash Maple. Definitely. xD

  7. #7
    Mushmom XxKiraYamatoxX's Avatar
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    Chapter 2

    I cycled into my house's garage and slid the bike into the slot set aside for it, firmly locking it onto the floor with the magnetic floor there. Afterwards, I exited the garage and walked up to the front door, knocking on it softly. "Anyone home?" I called. Nobody answered. Parents were probably out, although the car was still in the garage... should be just a walk. I unlocked the door by placing my fingerprint on the scanner pad, and then swung the door open and entered the house.

    My living room was kept quite tidy, as usual. The TV set at the wall was off. We almost never watched it though. I wondered why we still had it around. Maybe for novelty purposes, the thought surfaced in my mind. Why was I even thinking about it anyway? It was just an average household appliance. Ditching all thoughts about the TV, I dashed up the stairs to my room, closing the door behind me as I went in and launched myself onto the bed. Moments later, I was putting the V-band on my head.

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    I was still in the bush from yesterday's rhino chase, so I clambered out of it, brushing the leaves out of my sleek, silver hair and pulling a twig out of the hem of my black leather miniskirt. It was barely short enough to cover my hips, even exposing part of my crotch line, but my character had a pair of legless shorts inside to cover that up; I was pretty much bare-legged here. "I hate rhinos," I mumbled, dusting my top down. In reality, it was just a black leather band around my chest, only wide enough to cover the bottom of my character's large bust. It was no surprise many guys were attracted to me, although there were a lot more girls wearing similarly revealing clothes in Infinence.

    I had always thought of myself as a relatively unattractive teenage girl in real life. That came about as a result of my book-obsessed past, where I almost didn't care about my outward appearance. Friends brought me out of that past, which I was glad for. Come to think of it, reading was actually quite boring. How had I actually gotten embroiled in books back then? It was also because of this that my grades were dropping.

    The pouch hanging on the belt around my miniskirt acted as my inventory in the game, since it required all characters to have a pouch or bag to store items in. The interior expanded as the character's level increased, so the characters almost never had to worry about running out of storage space. There was always a map of the world in it that updated itself as the character explored new places and entered foreign areas. Some other items such as a game guide would be inside when players first logged onto their characters. I had thrown mine out a long time ago.

    I pulled out the folded map from my pouch, unfolding it and checking it. It showed the continent of Caria on it, with my current position indicated in the very middle of the map by a red dot. I placed a finger on it and moved it around. The displayed portion of Caria moved together with my finger, allowing me to see the parts of the continent that weren't shown. "Right..." I tapped the square indicating a town nearby to the south; I was on a prairie on the east side of Caria. A dotted line appeared on the map, stretching from my position to the town. An arrow also appeared in the air in front of me, showing the direction and distance I needed to walk to reach the town.

    "Here, girl!" I blew a shrill, high-pitched whistle into the air; the only action needed to summon my mount. Mine was a black hawk I liked to call Reena. With a loud squawk, the familiar shadow appeared on the ground beside me, and Reena descended onto the ground there. She was big enough to carry two people on her back, meaning I could give rides if I wanted to. I rarely did though. Mounts were available from level 30 onwards, with only people level 50 and above receiving flying mounts. My character was level 109. There was no specific level limit in the game, so I knew a few people with characters over level 1000. Usually, they had played since Infinence began.

    I climbed onto Reena's back and grabbed the reins attached to the bridle around her head. She squawked, but didn't object to the added weight. "Let's go," I reached forward and patted her on the head. "Got it. Galbard Town, right?" she replied. In Infinence, ridden animal mounts could talk and develop relationships with players. It was important to have a good relationship with a mount so that it wouldn't disobey orders. Sometimes, badly-treated mounts would run or fly off in a direction that the rider had no intention of going in. I once saw a giant eagle drop its rider in the sea and fly off towards the horizon. That one made me laugh until I got a stitch in my side.

    Mounts could also be ridden into combat or asked to provide support if the relationship between it and its rider was good enough. Even so, there was a risk that the mount would get hit. If that were to happen repeatedly, the mount could get injured or even die without immediate treatment. I never flew Reena into combat, she only stayed up high to drop rocks on my foes. As such, we were quite good friends, since she never got hit or injured. Each mount had its own distinct personality, influenced by the player most of the time.

    "Yeah. Those rhinos are gone, right?" I smiled. Reena nodded and took off with a beat of her magnificent black wings. Another beat took us in the direction of the town, still marked by the arrow in mid-air. Guiding arrows were only visible to the player that created them, so other people wouldn't see one floating around in mid-air in front of someone else. Mounts could also see them, so they knew where their riders needed to go.

    "So how was school today?" Reena turned her head around to ask. "Got late for it. Teacher would've scolded me to the end of the world if it weren't for one of my childhood friends crashing into me and knocked me out," I replied. Mounts with good relationships with their riders would be able to read part of their rider's thoughts if they were in close proximity to each other. In this case, I had been thinking about Scotty at school. Reena didn't appear to have read that. "I see. Well, at least you didn't get scolded too much," I thought I detected the faint hint of a laugh in her voice. It was almost the same as my voice, only slightly more high-pitched.

    Nearly 15 minutes later, we descended to ground level in front of the town and I let Reena fly off into the sky to look for food on her own. She preferred to hunt for her own food since it offered more of a challenge to her and it kept her instincts sharpened. I would have done the same if I were her... The town guards carefully looked me down as I walked past them into Galbard. This town was built around a deserted castle that had long since began to collapse. That castle's expansive underground area now served as a dungeon for treasure hunters, though it was quite dangerous to most.

    Each town had a bar in the middle, serving as a gathering place for people looking for jobs and the civilians themselves. The one here was built so it leaned against the ruined castle walls, so treasure hunters gathered here before entering in parties. I pushed the door open and entered. Surprisingly, the place was rather quiet today, with only four or five patrons inside. An old man sat at a table near the entrance, absorbed in a newspaper and a glass of beer. His companion, another old man was talking to him, but he didn't seem to be listening.

    I casually strolled up to the job board on the wall beside the bar counter and leaned in for a closer look. There were only a few jobs here. Galbard looked like it was going to become a sleazy town. How popular a town was was usually indicated by the number of jobs on the bar's notice board and the condition of the bar itself. Still, the Sharp Eyes ability assigned to hunter/huntress characters by default picked up an envelope carefully hidden behind an existing notice. Only a small corner popped out.

    My heart raced as I extracted the envelope and opened it. Missions in envelopes were always Secret Missions, special missions that had a higher risk than normal ones, but had better rewards and popularity stat changes. There were two popularity stats in Infinence, Honor and Infamy, shown by a bar in a character scroll in storage areas. Both were measures of how characters completed missions and cancelled each other out, but Honor was the positive stat, increased by performing missions by following the given rules. The opposite applied to Infamy. If a character gathered 100 Infamy points, that character would receive an 'Outlaw' title, which allowed other players to kill the outlaw without first initiating a Player versus Player or PvP request, gaining Honor points in the process.

    Dead players could be resurrected by one of three methods. One, a Rejuvenation Stone. Rejuvenation Stones were one-use only stones that were very rare, and thus expensive. Only one of these stones could be in any player's inventory at the same time, but it would automatically resurrect the owner if he or she died. The second method was by using a Resurrection Spell, available only to high-leveled players by performing a secret mission. Very few could cast that spell, and it could only be used once every 2 hours. Third method was by paying $10 in real cash. Most people used it.

    Some resurrections had their limitations as well. A dead player could be resurrected immediately if one of the three methods were used, but Outlaws could only be resurrected after a full day. 3 days, if they gained more Infamy points while having the Outlaw title. The title expired after 12 hours if the player survived during that time, be it offline or online. An Outlaw could only log-off after an hour bearing the title, and even then, he or she could only do it without anyone watching and in a deserted location, designated Hideouts on the world map. Hideouts changed every day, and were only visible to Outlaws. That way, players couldn't just camp existing Hideouts to hunt Outlaws for Honor points. Outlaws were publicly announced 15 minutes after they gained enough Infamy to obtain the status, and only after that time were Hideouts shown on the map.

    I read and re-read the letter inside the envelope, my eyes wide open. The mission was to assasinate the boss of a local gang that had been causing trouble, with a 4 million gold reward for completing the task and a 500 thousand gold bonus for every gang member killed. Popularity stat changes as Secret Mission rewards were never shown, making it kinda risky for people to take them, since an Infamy gain from one was usually enough to give a player the Outlaw title. "Accepted," I clenched the letter in my fist. When I opened it, the letter was gone. I threw the envelope into the dustbin.

    There were already enough potions in my pouch to take on a dungeon solo, so I didn't bother restocking. Instead, I went to the blacksmith's to have my longbow repaired. My longbow, which was almost 2 meters in length, was made out of composite titanium, with several black crystals set into it to increase attack power. It was usually in my quiver, together with a large stock of diamond-tipped arrows. The dwarven blacksmith in this town could repair almost anything that was made out of metal, thankfully. Some blacksmiths couldn't repair weapons made out of certain types of material.

    =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

    "Reena, standby for this. I'll kill the guy quietly," I let Reena fly off again. She hovered overhead, watching as I checked my load of arrows. I was crouching on a cliff overlooking the gang's hideout, a cave in the side of a mountain near Galbard. The letter had been very detailed, describing the hideout location and even the gang itself. It numbered 13 people including the boss, allowing for their operations to be conducted rather stealthily, without the hassle of having large numbers.

    My plan was to snipe the guy from the cliff I was on. It was just close enough for me to get an accurate shot with the help of my Sharp Eyes ability. Simple and easy. Assuming the wind stayed constant. In fact, it was almost too easy. I had expected more of a Secret Mission. As I watched carefully, I noticed several people coming out of the cave.

    They were more or less wearing the same clothes, but two stuck out among that mass of red. A middle-aged man wearing business clothes and another guy in a red vest, equipped with several accessories. I couldn't hear what they were saying, I just nocked an arrow to my longbow's string and aimed down for the guy in the red vest. The other one looked rather out-of-place, since he was the only one not in red. Probably someone not in the gang, although I wasn't sure why he was there.

    "That's Galbard's town chief," Reena landed beside me. "What's he doing there?" I stared at him in surprise. He was talking with the gang boss, who didn't seem to be all that interested in what he was saying. "Whatever you do, don't hit him. Things could get ugly if you did," the hawk stared at me. "I know," I adjusted my aim as they moved towards the forest nearby. Something wasn't right. Galbard's town chief... why was he there? If they reached the forest, I wouldn't be able to shoot him... not from where I was... I had to do it quick.

    "There," I whispered as I let the arrow fly. Both Reena and me watched the glittering diamond tip of the arrow as it cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. Several seconds before impact, I felt a gust of wind blow from my side. "Crap," I cursed and nocked another arrow to the string, firing it quickly with adjustments to my aim to suit the wind, now blowing from the opposite direction. It also meant... that the arrow already in the air would miss...

    But I never expected the arrow to hit the town chief right in the head. It was an instant kill for him. Before the gang boss had time to turn around to look, he was toppling down together with the chief, another one of my arrows in his head. "Up there!" I heard someone yell. "Reena, run!" I shouted, picking up my bow and dashing off down the cliff as gunshots rang out. Without a word, or a squawk, she took off. There was no way I was going to let her get hit. Especially by rifles, which the gang had apparently been armed with.

    What worried me most was the fact that I had just accidentally killed the town chief. To confirm it, I pulled out the character scroll in my pouch. As expected, the indicator on the popularity bar now pointed to the number -100 on the red half of the bar marked 'Infamy' and the title under the bar read 'Outlaw'. "Argh!" I picked up the pace, dashing down the only slope leading to ground level. Already, I could see some members of the gang chasing after me from the direction of their hideout. Ironically, I needed one right now. I only had 15 minutes before my Outlaw title was publicly announced, and a full hour to survive until I could log off......
    Monster Hunter Tri Status:
    - Hunter Rank: HR1 (Yay, me noob)
    - Favourite Weapon: Switch Axe
    - Current Most Proficient Weapons: Switch Axe, Hammer
    - Current Armour: Barroth Set + Lagiacrus Set
    - Current Most Hated Monster: Rathalos
    (Stop flying, wings fer' brains!)

  8. #8

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    *applause* Update please, I'm trying my best as well, under constant crashing.

    Edit: Up to paragraph 2, no mistakes, and we actually get to take a peek at the "ancient times"; you could describe the view from her window though.

    Edit: Up to paragraph 4, again no mistakes. This time, it's set in the world of Infinence... one question: if the MC wasn't interested in studying, how come she rushes for school?

  9. #9
    Complication. Kon's Avatar
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    Denunciator, because she's afraid of punishment?

  10. #10
    Mushmom XxKiraYamatoxX's Avatar
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    Chapter 2 done. Wow, that was long. How's it so far?

    I'll be heading off to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow on vacation, won't be back until 8th of December. Sorry to leave you guys hanging at a cliffhanger. ;)

    Chapter 3

    An arrow to the head was all that was needed to take down a gang member, but they didn't let me do it easily. Firing on the go, they forced me to keep going. No chance to turn around and launch an arrow, otherwise I'd get shot at. Their bullets could fly close enough for me to feel the trail of wind they left behind. A rock up ahead offered some cover, but I had barely gotten to it before one of the goons fired a rocket at it and blew it up. Smart guys.

    The only thing I could do was run, run and run. This valley seemed to go on forever...... Not to mention it was getting narrower and narrower to the point where I had very little room to maneuver. If this went on, I'd probably end up having to pay for my character's revival!

    Suddenly, an explosion up ahead threw me to the ground and brought pieces of rock tumbling down on my body. When I looked up, the valley had been blocked by a rockslide... "Damn," I swore, getting up. A bad position to be in, especially with a bunch of thugs after me. They were closing in with wide grins on their faces. I planted a sneer on my face and readied my bow. This was gong to be tough.

    "Isn't it kinda rude to pick on a beautiful lady like that in a place like this?" a new voice echoed through the place, causing the thugs to look around in bewilderment. A disembodied shadow right in the middle of their formation caught their attention and they looked up to get a mouthful of black leather boots belonging to a figure cloaked in black. It was obvious that he was a warrior-type character; he carried a massive sword on his back. I couldn't really see anything on him other than his face, and it was the face of a teenager. Who knew how old he was in real life?

    "This is none of your business! Scram!" one of the thugs pointed at the newcomer. He simply planted his feet and grabbed his sword, "It's my business if you guys are picking on her in numbers like that." I simply stared at him as he gave his sword one mighty swing. Half a second later, all the thugs were stuck in the valley walls. He sighed, put his sword on his back and proceeded towards me. "You okay? Can't believe how smart the AI can get sometimes......" he offered his hand to me.

    I accepted the hand and let him pull me up, but suddenly, his eyes became unfocused, as if he was staring off into space. I knew the signs; the announcement had been made. Only the Outlaw didn't know that it had been made, and the people who had received it would see an image of the Outlaw in his or her mind. In this case, it was me. A really bad situation to be in. Ironically, right after being rescued.

    I quickly whistled to summon Reena, knowing that the warrior would be unable to follow me into the air without a mount. Even if he did, it would take a while for his mind to accept that he had just unknowingly rescued an Outlaw. Without wasting time, I leapt onto my faithful hawk's back right as she landed and took to the air. Looking back, I could see the guy just... stare after me as I flew.

    "Doesn't seem like he's too happy about helping an Outlaw," Reena remarked mid-flight. "It won't be a problem for him, he did it before the announcement got out. Right now, we need to keep flying for about 40 minutes, then we touch down and try to find a Hideout. At least we'll be safer up in the sky," I drew my bow, checking it. No damage, meaning no maintenance needed and no weapon performance suffering, which in turn meant dealing with pursuers easier. The only way to keep my head out of the water now was by not killing anyone, so I could only use non-lethal weaponry.

    No problem. The concussion blow skill could stun anyone or anything instantly if it landed in the right spot. For humanoid characters, a headshot would stun them and another while stunned would knock them unconscious for a few minutes; enough to escape. Hopefully only humanoids would come after me. I wasn't really so lucky.

    Two flying manta rays rose out of the clouds behind us, their riders nocking arrows to their bows. "Dive!" I shouted. Reena complied, performing a downwards barrel roll that would've thrown off any inexperienced rider. The arrows missed quite far. "They'll have a hard time finding us in the clouds," I told my mount. She seemed to nod; I couldn't tell since I was too busy watching our pursuers. Another barrel roll took us into a cloud. The arrows stopped, but I still felt insecure.

    Half a minute later, a gust of wind blew the cloud away. One of the manta riders had used the gust spell.

    "Try to hold steady," I patted Reena. She didn't reply or do anything else. Turning around, I aimed my bow at the manta on the right, firing off a concussion arrow. It flew just a few centimetres under its intended target. Shooting while flying was rather tricky...... "Drop me off, we'll lose them on the ground," I told my mount. She performed another roll that took us several feet over a large forest. When the mantas tried to follow, one of them lost control mid-roll and plummeted into the trees. The other one stayed on.

    Looking back again, I could see the rider doing something to an arrow. From a distance, it looked like he was tying something onto it. But that was for normal people without the Sharp Eyes skill. For me, I could see that he was tying a bomb onto it. Right after he finished, he nocked it to the string of his bow and fired. "Hard right!" I nearly yelled in panic. If that hit me......

    Luckily, the bomb detonated a few metres away from us. Unluckily, the shockwave threw me off Reena and disoriented the hawk herself temporarily. She managed to recover, but she could only watch as I fell towards the forest under me. "Just go! I'll manage!" I told her through the telepathic link we shared. She nodded and flew off into the distance as I turned towards the ground and stretched my limbs out in a skydiving position to present a larger profile for lift to act on and slow my fall down.

    I slowed down just enough to grab a sturdy tree branch before landing, putting my weight on it. It barely managed to hold; my feet were almost touching the forest floor when it broke. I tumbled to the ground in a controlled roll, breaking out of it a few seconds later to dive into a nearby bush. Bushes made better cover than nothing at all, and it wasn't like I had a choice. There weren't many rocks big enough to hide behind in a forest like this, although it was right at the foot of a mountain. I just had to wait a few more minutes for Hideouts to start showing on my map, or I could try and look for one myself. There was a pretty good chance of one being inside a cave at the foot of mountains......

    Right as I was about to climb out of the bush, my ears caught the sound of leather on grass. Instinct led me to shrink back in and curl myself up into a ball to minimize the chances of someone looking in and spotting me. Even so... I'd still get my cover blown if someone kicked the bush. "She can't have gotten far, split up and search for her!" I heard someone shout. Did he have friends with him? Or was it just a scare tactic? Either way, I wasn't going to get intimidated. My eyes darted around, searching for more places I could take cover in.

    Except that I didn't need to. When I touched the ground under me, I felt a patch of... some kind of material that was definitely not earth. Looking down and examining it closer, I could see that it was wood. It had been delicately carved, so it was obviously not from some nearby fallen tree. Moving the earth around it aside revealed a cleverly concealed trapdoor with an iron handle. "Lucky me," I grinned, pulling it open.

    It didn't open into a Hideout, it actually led into a tunnel, which I was now racing through. Hopefully there wasn't anything bad on the other side... if there even was one. Staying in the bush ran a higher risk of being found compared to moving trough this tunnel unless the exit was out in the open. Then again, why would bounty hunters check in tunnels they weren't familiar with when their target was hiding in a forest? I dropped the thought. Running was more important right now.

    There was an underground stream right in the middle of the tunnel that I easily jumped. It seemed to come from above ground; one end of the stream sloped upwards. There was also light coming through a tunnel there... I spared it a glance, wondering if I could climb out there, but I shook it off. It would be hard, since the rock bank of the stream was very slippery and sharp, meaning I could injure myself if I wasn't careful. Not a good idea, so I went on running.

    I was almost beginning to think that I would never see the light of day in Infinence again when the tunnel abruptly ended at a shaft with a ladder leading upwards. Smiling, I grabbed onto the rungs and started climbing. This ladder had obviously been left alone for a very long time; the wooden rungs creaked badly and some even broke as I ascended. The darkness didn't make it any easier although I could still feel the rungs. There was a skill called Blind Fighting I could access, but I hadn't bothered studying it. After all, I wouldn't be getting into fights in complete darkness very often. Those few I had gotten into, I had used thermal goggles bought from a store. The dark tunnel? That wasn't a problem since it was completely straight with no curves, so I didn't bang my head as I ran.

    The ladder led up a run-down wooden shack in the middle of the forest. I hoped no one was around as I kicked the door open and ran out, checking the time on my character scroll. It had been a little over an hour from when I went into Outlaw status, meaning I could now see Hideouts on my map! Rejoicing, I pulled it out to see that I near the very foot of the mountain, with an X mark representing a Hideout about a kilometre north away, at a place also marked as a waterfall at the foot of the mountain. Why a waterfall?

    Orienting myself using the route planner, I started off in the direction of the Hideout after stowing the broken pieces of the shack door inside the shack to cover my tracks. A crude method, but my pursuers could probably figure it out if they saw the door kicked out instead of in. Better safe than sorry anyway.
    Monster Hunter Tri Status:
    - Hunter Rank: HR1 (Yay, me noob)
    - Favourite Weapon: Switch Axe
    - Current Most Proficient Weapons: Switch Axe, Hammer
    - Current Armour: Barroth Set + Lagiacrus Set
    - Current Most Hated Monster: Rathalos
    (Stop flying, wings fer' brains!)

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