It has been a few days since I first met Star in real life. Since then we have met up every day to keep testing what does and doesn’t work with the Aegis ability little by little. A few of the things we discovered so far: First it is only the Aegis ability that causes us to get hurt in real life, not the sword itself. Aegis causes the receiver to get hurt and also hurts me whenever I take a hit. Thankfully we learned that the pain isn't exactly 1 to 1 with what happens in the game. What I mean is if I do something like stab my hand, in real life it would still hurt but feel more like a paper cut. It did take a lot of courage for me to figure that st one out.

  Today, we are meeting at the Azure Coral Archipego once more. Though this time at a beach close to the abandoned shrine you can find on the map. Multiple blue torii gates create a path from the shore to the rge shrine innd. With the shrine’s Asian influence compared to the rest of TROTL, it is hard to say what the shrine was supposed to mean for the game’s story. With it being on the Archipego in the first pce maybe it was to show the people that lived here worshiped the water goddess Aquanyre, But that’s just my theory.

  “Amber? Are you still there?” Star calls out as she waves her hand in front of my face to get my attention. Her pink eyes are inches away from mine. Startled by how close she is I jump back, causing her to smile and ugh at my expense. Hey, I’m like a small animal, you need to approach cautiously and with care. “Sorry, you were just spacing out for a minute there. Something on your mind?”

  “N-no, it’s nothing important don’t worry about it.” I scratch at the back of my hair, trying to downpy the amount of brain power I’m putting into stuff like this. “Anyway, what else should we do today?” Now that I think about it we didn’t really have any pns for today, we just kind of met up out of habit I guess.

  “No clue, I guess I figured that you would have something in mind…” We both go silent, and I start to shyly look away from her. For a moment all I can hear is the sound of the ocean waves hitting the beach. God I’m being awkward again. “... Well, if that’s all I think I might head out for tonight." Wait, she is pnning on leaving? She can’t stay just a little longer?

  “W-wait!” I blush a little at my outburst. I didn’t mean to call out to her there. I slowly look up and see her eyes staring back at me with a simir level of surprise. Damn it now she is waiting for me to continue. Come on Aiden, think of something you idiot! Surely there is still something we could do. We are pying a video game, after all, Isn’t this meant to be fun? I look once more at her and notice the bandages on her fists. “Fighting… The other day, you were talking about having a fight with me. Shall we do that now?”

  “A fight?” Her questioning expression unchanged. “Are you sure? You seemed pretty nervous about having to fight someone with the whole, well, you know…” Well, well, well, if it isn’t my own caution coming back to bite me.

  “Y-yeah that’s true, but that's the reason we have been doing these tests. As long as I don’t use Aegis we should be fine.” Surely I’m not raising any kind of fgs or anything right? I mean, after we realized that it was Aegis causing pain I remove it from my skill deck whenever we aren’t testing.

  “Alright then if you want to I’m game. Besides I think If we are going to keep up this investigation, it would be better if we get to have fun too!” She says with a huge grin. Already she is getting into a stance and readying her fists and hopping in pce. She’s right, since this all started I have only been stressed and worried about this game. I should take this opportunity to remind myself why I’m still here. I step back a little and unsheathe Excalibur. With that the fight has begun.

  I waste no time and fire a Celestial Ssh. Star is a Brawler after all. Celestial Ssh giving me a ranged attack is a major advantage. However the diagonal projectile was no match for her quick side steps. Though that wasn’t her in-game speed stat. I’m not given any more time to think about it however. After using Wisp’s Veil on herself she is already closing the distance between us. I use the hero skill Guardian of Light and block her incoming attack with Excalibur. The sword lets off a soft glow as Star releases a flurry of punches into the ft side of the bde. I try to use the sword to push her back, but she instead ducks in response. Star has that smirk on her face like she has this in the bag. I bet she is just going to use Savage Uppercut next. But I have her right where I want her. She is forgetting that I can still use Celestial Ssh at this range too. I bring my sword down towards her, however just as quickly her hands reach up. Star uses her palms to hold Excalibur in pce before I can complete my swing, stopping my attack.

  “What? You can do that?!” My shock doesn’t stop her. She kicks up and like a wrestler uses the momentum to suplex me, throwing me behind her. Yep… I bet that did some damage. We both then sluggishly rise back to our feet.

  “Guess we did still learn something today, eh?” Star beams with excitement as she gets back into her fighting stance. Hey, seeing her be this happy alone makes this fight worth it. A blue ring appears around her feet before quickly disappearing. An enchanter skill called Infusion. She holds out her hand and gestures for me to come closer. “Come on, show me what you’ve got, hero.”

  “Hey, don’t push your luck!” I get into a stance myself. Infusion boosts elemental damage, so I need to stop her before she can cast another skill. I use Viper’s Strike, unching myself towards her. Just like before she tried to dodge it, but I cut her shoulder a bit. This time she turned her whole body instead of any sidestep or dash. Like I thought before, she isn’t using the in-game dodge! Is she just able to move her body quickly with that level of precision? Star nds a jab into my chest. Right, can’t idle for too long. I make an effort to push forward, sending swings her way, nding the occasional hit. She in turn keeps dodging back and forth, slowly moving back toward the ocean water. One step then the next, she’s just one away from the water now. You’re out of nd Luna, What now?

  Ready to finish this I use Destiny’s Bde and raise Excalibur above my head, but she dodge rolls out of the way. Before I can try another attack she throws something at my- Bwah! It’s sand! Blinded, I'm hit by rapid strikes as my vision gradually returns. I can just barely make out her ducking down, going for that uppercut once more. I still have one more trick up my sleeve however.

  “I’m not done yet!” With Excalibur I begin to spin my entire body creating a whirlwind of rapid sshes. Lotus of Death, the thief skill I repced Aegis with, knocks her back into the water. The multihit area of effect with the buff from Destiny’s Bde is finally enough to deplete Star’s HP to match point. I didn’t set this as a death match so our fight ends as soon as she hits 10 percent HP remaining. “Alright! Still the pro here!” I turn to help her up out of the water but pause.

  “Yeah, I guess that’s true…” Her excited expression begins to fade into a deep contemptive look. She finally notices my stretched hand and I help lift her up. Star begins muttering to herself. “Figures that I’m not all that here either.” She adds in a soft voice. Not all that? I felt like she pyed like no one I’ve seen before. Did winning that fight really mean that much to her? Should I have let her win? … Nah I have a feeling that would have been worse.

  “H-hey I thin-” Before I can finish my thought the sound of cpping hands from the beach interrupts me.

  “Bravo, that was a splendid performance!” excims a man with a posh accent cpping his hands in an exaggerated fashion. He’s wearing a silver suit with a blue tie and gloves. His dress hat is a matching silver and blue, while his eyes and short ponytail hair are a simir shade of deep purple. From this far away I’m not able to see his username. “You are both truly top notch, I guess I’ll have to join in on the fun as well.” The man’s face looks confident and proud.

  “Sorry, look man,” Star is the one that speaks up first. “We just wanted to have a friendly battle. We're not really looking for PVP opponents currently.” I’m a little surprised Star turned him down honestly. The man however begins to ugh in response to her.

  “I apologize, poor phrasing it seems. I’m not really here just for fun.” The man raises his hand and snaps his fingers and 2 other people appear in front of him. Wait, they aren’t people, they’re models of me and Star’s pyer models. “I’ve been given the task of finding 2 targets. One named Echo_Of_Amber, the other StarDrifter.” I waste no time and point Excalibur towards him.

  “Targets? Who even are you?” I ask but have a feeling his little party trick with our avatars is already a big clue to what kind of guy this is. Instead of answering however, he shakes his head.

  “No no, where are my manners? You both still need first aid after your little ‘friendly battle’. That shrine innd, I shall wait for you there once you are both prepared for a, let’s say, real show.” He raises his hand again to snap his fingers once more but hesitates. “Oh and you, boy. Don’t you forget that bde of yours.” With his final comment he snaps his fingers and disappears along with our duplicate models. Once again it is just me and Star alone on this beach.

  “That guy, he was a hacker right?” Star asks while giving me a concerned look. “Should we really go after him?”

  “I think so,” I say as I look down at the bde in my hand. “It sounds like he could know something about Excalibur and Aegis.” Moving my head back to meet Star’s worrying gaze I sheathe Excalibur. “Besides I doubt he will give us the chance to prepare next time.”

  We waste no time drinking health potions and following the torii gates innd, past the lush pnt life of the tropical isnd. As we walk towards the entrance I realize it is my first time actually seeing the shrine here. The shrine consists of 3 buildings all sticking with that Shinto vibe with blue roof tiles. The rge main building is across from us while the other 2 are on the left and right of us creating a square-like courtyard, and on the opposite end of the courtyard from where we are stands 2 men. The first, the same man with purple hair from before stands in front, the second behind him is leaning against a pole with his eyes closed. The other man is a cat therian with a white fur tail. Wearing dark bck ninja like clothes and a masked hood (with space for the cat ears of course) he looks like he is definitely either an assassin or thief css, hell maybe both?

  “See? I told you they would arrive, Veritas.” Said the familiar man to the therian as he gestured in our direction. The cat therian, named Veritas apparently, then opened his vibrant red eyes and seemed to take a good long look at both me and Star. “I must thank you for accepting my invitation,” the man in the suit continued after taking a few steps in our direction, “you can call me Kris.”

  “Kris huh? Guess that means you just-”

  “Oh no, I wouldn’t be so foolish to use my real name for something like this.” Geez this is the second time he has cut me off already and it’s starting to get on my nerves. “Originally I had no interest in such low value assets such as yourselves, but then I received a message from a good friend, an ally of mine and my friend here.” As he ends his sentence he gestures back to Veritas. “It was a simple message really: ‘I quit!’ It came as quite the shock to me I’m afraid, as I’m the one that recommended he try this game here.”

  “You’re talking about Dead-F3, that other hacker?” asked Star. Already I can see her holding her fists tightly.

  “That’s the one, yes. While the man could be a bit crude, he still had talent. Now though, He’s too chicken to even touch this game. And with that talent gone, my reputation, and neck, is now on the line.” Kris holds out his arm and a blue shortsword appears. “Simply put, I’m ready to blow off some steam, and you will make the most perfect stress relief.” He finishes and starts leisurely walking towards me and Star. At the same time I reach behind me and bring out Excalibur.

  “Amber, together?” I look over to Star at my side and nod. Any information we can get out of these hackers could be useful, especially if they pn to keep targeting Star and me.

  Both of us take a step forward and the combat area is formed. I start running in with Star following closely behind me. I use Shadow Foot first to start boosting whatever stats I can. Kris meeting us at the center swipes twice at me, a thief skill Twin Fangs if I’m not mistaken. Okay so he is part thief, that suit he wears kind of makes it hard to tell what csses this guy is pying. Star wastes no time trying to buff herself, instead she tries sending a Steel Knuckle straight at him. Kris tries to block the incoming punch with his sword, being knocked back slightly. In retaliation he raises his sword above his head, then swiftly down to connect with Star.

  “Shit!” she yells, “Amber, that attack lowered my defence.” Defence down? That means that that was the knight skill Tyrant’s Judgement, there could be a chance that it also boosted his attack too. Well at least now we know this guy is a thief knight like me. With my turn up, I ssh upward using Lion’s Ssh. However my attack is countered, Kris uses his sword in a blocked defensive position and pushes into me, knocking me back in the process. What? That's not like any knight skill I’ve seen, and I doubt thieves would have a defensive option like that. Was my earlier guess about Twin Fangs wrong?

  Kris doesn’t give us the chance to regroup, using another Tyrant’s Judgement on Star. Damn it, get moving already you so called ‘hero’! I use Viper’s Strike to get back to the center of the fight. With his focus back on me Star begins to duck reading her uppercut. Kris however only shows a confident smirk. He grabs his bde with both hands and uses wide swings back and forth to strike both of us at once. Star gets knocked to the ground and I’m forced to quickly jump back before I take any more damage.

  “W-what… What are you?” Again, not a thief or knight skill. In fact, That skill almost looks like the Barbarian skill Bde Sweeper, but I doubt a barbarian could use a shortsword like that for that skill!

  “You got any ideas yet?” Asks Star as she starts to lift herself back up next to me. Kris, clearly amused, wags his finger at the both of us.

  “Ah ah ah. You aren’t forgetting who I am are you? To someone like myself the rules of this world are nothing more than mere suggestions.” The rules? Does he mean… Crap, a normal pyer can only use skills from 2 csses at once, but if you cheat you can probably add any skill you want to your skill deck. This guy can use any skill he wants! It doesn’t matter what css he is pying!

  “Amber! We need a pn!” Star is right, Star can’t take any more hits. But what can we come up with that he won't be able to counter? We need some way to stop him in his tracks… Hold on, we might just be able to do that! I whisper my idea to her as quickly as I can. “Hm. Got it!” Just in time, I’m forced to dodge away at the st minute as a lightning bolt flies in between us.

  “Now what might you be scheming?” Kris questions with his palm stretched out to use his wizard skill. “You, ‘Amber’, that sword has a special power does it not? You were the one that hurt Dead-F3! Show me, I want to see it with my own eyes.” So it’s true these guys do know something about Aegis!

  “There’s no way in hell!” I send a Celestial Ssh his way, nding a hit.

  “Fool!” Kris brushes off his suit coat where the projectile made contact. “If you want to be crushed so badly I’m happy to provide!” He dashes towards me and tries for another Tyrant’s Judgement.

  “Star!”

  “On it!” While Kris was focused on me, Star lowered her body in anticipation of his next attack. As she springs up she cps her hands together keeping his sword locked in pce.

  “Impossible!” Finally caught off guard, Kris’s face contorts in anger. “H-how can-”

  “Sorry! This show is over!” I finally get the chance to pay him back, and use Celestial Ssh to cut him down. His face is full of pure shock as his body fades away.

  “Star! Are you hurt?” I don’t waste my time worrying about my own wounds, thankfully with Aegis not being active I don't feel any real pain right now.

  “I’m fine, but keep focused, we aren't out of this yet.” She returns to her fighting pose and I follow her gaze to the cat Therian Veritas, who seems to have not moved a single inch since our fight started.

  “Hmph…” Veritas watches as the st bit of Kris fades away. “What a dumbass…”