Jade
"I see, so that's the game's lore," I said, reading the webpage on my computer screen. "Basically, there are four major divine domains: savagery, metal, death, and madness; and each has its own set of sub-domains, gods, monsters, and cults. The main story is that the planet's surface got completely wrecked by wars between these cults and gods. Now, Vanguard, one of the last remaining nations, is trying to broker peace, but various factions have their own agendas... Or something like that." I stretched thoroughly before heading back to bed and putting on my full-dive headset once more. "Anyway, it's been an hour and a half, so..."
I logged into the game and found myself alone atop a dark hill, with a commanding view of the macabre valley below.
"Yeah, they've already left," I confirmed. "Right, time to set the stage!"
"Hehehe... Are you going to kill the valley's necromancer all by yourself?" asked Armadeiro, the imp, as he crawled out of my pouch and perched on my shoulder.
"Nah. For starters, I'm not exactly a great fighter."
"Guihihi, suuuuure."
"I'm not lying, you know? Thinking fast is my specialty, sure, but without the right tools, I'm not all that deadly," I explained, aiming the grappling gun built into my left arm at a tree and firing. Like a certain superhero from the past, I swung through the trees with the speed and agility of an ape, firing a new grapple just before I hit the ground. "Actually, that handsome guy in our party could easily kill me, you know?"
"Really? He looks so serious I thought he was a bit of a blockhead, guihihi."
"Guhuhu! You're not entirely wrong about that!" I said. I made the return trip much faster than when I had walked the path to the dungeon; I reached a river, where I tossed my gear-shaped shield into the water and used it like a board, propelling myself forward with my grappling hook weapon in an absurd version of wakeboarding.
"And he's coming after you with blood in his eyes. I get it, you're going to set a trap to take the guy out before he becomes a problem, right?"
"What? No, no! I don't want him to die! Actually, I want to have some fun with him!"
We were plummeting down a waterfall when I spotted a massive demon-pterodactyl flying ahead. Without a second thought, I fired my grappling hook at the monster, which was conveniently flying more or less in the direction I needed to go. The creature roared and thrashed as the hook pierced it, but it kept flying, too terrified to give up its aerial advantage.
"W-What? What do you mean? I don't get it."
"Basically, Armadeiro, that's the man who hates me more than anyone else in the world, and I have no doubt the only reason he followed me here was to kill me," I said, unable to wipe the grin off my face.
When the demon-pterodactyl started veering off the path I wanted it to take, I retracted my grappling line and pulled myself up to the monster, easily climbing onto its back. The terrified beast barely tried to shake me off, flying at an increasingly steep angle toward the ground, but when I jammed a screwdriver between its shoulder blades and forced it to tilt its wing to correct its flight path, I could control it almost as well as my old work vehicle.
"And that's exactly why I want to play with him so much! Just like the old days! There's so much I want to show him, so many ways to have fun! Ah, I'm so excited I'm practically drooling!" We could already see the many colonial-style houses and the cathedral towers of Meicaminho when I said: "That's precisely why I won't let anyone stand in our way."
"Who... Who is this poor soul who's caught your interest?" Right where I imagined I'd find them, I spotted my targets leaving the bank where I'd opened my account first thing that morning.
"My brother!"
"BOOM!" The pterodactyl slammed into two Air Force NPCs before they even realized what was happening; I avoided the collision by firing my grappling hook at a nearby tower.
I climbed down from the tower I'd been hanging from before the attack and walked through the cloud of dust toward the impact site.
A certain [Medic] didn't look quite so attractive anymore, covered in a censored version of blood and half-buried beneath the body of a massive flying monster.
"H-Hmm... So... it really was you," she said, breathless. "Of course it was... I should have known. T-The banker said... he said no one had deposited that amount you stole without an explanation... B-But he never said no one had deposited an even larger amount with a suspicious explanation."
"Clap, clap, clap!" I applauded.
"Congratulations! You solved the mystery, hot [Medic] lady! I'm the one you were chasing..." I crouched down in front of the woman before continuing: "It's such a shame that with your deaths, no one will ever know about this."
"No... No!" The [Doctor] followed my gaze to the freckled, usually smiling soldier, who was now unconscious and protected by one of her arms. "No! He doesn't know-!"
"Bam!" I reduced the unconscious NPC's hit points to zero with a heavy, enormous wrench.
I'm sorry, but I can't risk leaving loose ends.
"NOOOOO!" The [Doctor] turned to me with the purest expression of hatred, tears streaming down her bloodied and dusty cheeks.
I silenced her the next instant with a shot from my special revolver.
Before the few socially inept players who were online at two in the morning on a weekday in the square of a medium-sized city could appear, I sheathed my weapons and disappeared into some alley.
"For all that is profane..." The imp whispered, gaping. "You are the most insane and cruel person I have ever seen in my entire life."
[Congratulations! Your relationship level with Armadeiro has increased to: Friend! As a Friend, Armadeiro will fulfill small favors without the need for reciprocation], I was notified. I also noticed that I had unlocked the [Classes]: [Traceur (Exceptional)], [Surfer (Exceptional)], and [Beast Tamer (Exceptional)]
"Hey! Thank you!"
"Where are we going now? Shouldn't you be heading back to that hill as quickly as possible, so you don't get separated from your brother?"
"We have time, he... is a busy guy on the other side. Instead, I have to collect some favors..."
Game Over ☠
Peridot
It was nearly seven-thirty in the evening when I finished dinner and the dishes, and finally had time to log back in.
"Welcome back," Norma smiled at me.
"Good evening," I nodded. "What about Anelise?" I noticed her name was grayed out in the party window.
"She's still offline. Maybe we should go ahead without her?"
"Usually, dungeons are too hard to complete with just two people," I shook my head.
Besides, I have my suspicions about that woman...
Fortunately, we didn't have to wait much longer for our third party member: with a flash of green pixels, Anelise's body suddenly materialized in front of us.
"Sorry for the delay, everyone; I had to take care of some work stuff," she apologized.
"It's fine; we didn't have to wait long," I said. "Are you two ready?"
"Ah, yes. My relic here is itching to punish some sinners."
"Haha, this is going to be fun!"
"Let's go" confirming our readiness, I led our charge down the valley.
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Author's note: I won't post tomorrow because I'll be away from the computer. However, on Monday, there will be 2 chapters :D