Rebirth Online World

Icicle: Did I spook you?

Lariette: How can you transform back and forth? What in the world are you?

Icicle: Here, try it too.

Taking my mask off, I forced it on Lariette’s face.

Lariette: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Why am I a lich now?!

Icicle: It’s just a mask, take it off.

Lariette: What a weird thing. Only a shameless, devious person like you could use it to fool people!

Icicle: Mmm, I like those compliments of yours. Are you trying to curry favor with me?

Lariette: I swear you’ll pay for this!

Hahaha, I already like her.
Ambitious people with a sense of pride, what a good mix.
And a deadly one.

Icicle: Say, if in the future I were to bestow unique crafting techniques upon you, would you take them?

Lariette: If it helps my family I’ll make a deal with the devil! Yes, I consider you as one too!

It appears I’ve evolved from a special child into a devil.
Has science gone too far?

Icicle: Mm, I don’t have any right now, but I’ll keep you posted. Now that I think about it, did the Dark Trackers steal anything from your family? Like an artifact or something?

Lariette: Are you really guessing? It seems too wild of a guess!

Icicle: Well, I’ve found this in their treasury, that’s why I’m wondering if they have anything better.

Showing Lariette my newest piece of equipment, [Phantom Emperor’s Exquisite Apparel], she gasped.

Lariette: T-This! It’s most likely from that huge thing that chased my great grandfather! Don’t tell me you’ve killed it too?

Icicle: Hahaha, I wish. I probably can’t even graze whatever was wearing this. Do you know what that creature was?

Lariette: No idea. According to my ancestors it was Dark Trackers’ leader, but who can really say? I wasn’t around back then.

I was counting on some information to boost my stats, but oh well.
Guess I’ll have to find out about it myself.

Icicle: Tell me about what Dark Trackers stole.

Lariette: I-I can’t.

Icicle: I won’t take it, hell, I can even promise you that I’ll return it. All I want to know is what reason did Dark Trackers have to steal your family’s treasure. If I know how Dark Trackers think then I can foresee their next move.

Not to mention that I’ll have something to blackmail you with.

Lariette: *sigh* You’re really pushing it, but oh well. It doesn’t belong to me now anyways. The treasure we had was bestowed upon us by Ferran, Deity of Lightning. We, Tarras family had to make a great contribution for it. It’s a stone containing violent thunder, called [Serr Stone]. This stone has a very powerful ancient creature of lightning element sealed inside it. Serr supports our Tarras family. Not only did the formidable Serr protect us, it even taught us some of its powerful techniques! Unfortunately the [Serr Stone] was used by my great grandfathers to stand up to Dark Trackers. I’m sure Serr is alive, these shadows won’t be able to use the stone nor destroy it, but who knows what they might concoct. As long as it’s not in my family’s possession it’s not safe.

Icicle: Alright, if I happen to find this [Serr Stone], I’ll return it to you.

After I’ve memorized all of its techniques, that is…

Lariette: Really? Thank you!

Icicle: Now then, where can I find this military camp of your friends?

Lariette: Friends my ass! Foolish twerps if anything! Their village is set at the right side of the river. There’s only one bridge leading towards the other shore, when you cross it, you’ll get to the dark side.

Nice pun devs.
So these runaways have built their own settlement.
Let’s pay them a visit.

Icicle: Okay, thanks for everything Lariette, I’ll be sure to properly reward you later on tomorrow. See you, sweetheart~.

*whoosh* *whoosh*

Shit, she’s fast!
Dodging two consecutive slaps, I dashed off through the front entrance.
Eri looked at me with concern, opening her mouth and probably going to ask what I am playing and with who, but that’s when her mom came out, fuming.

Lariette: I’ll get back at you, rascal!

Hahaha, she sure is lively.
When Lariette was talking about the village and the other, more straightforward half of it, I had a map before me all ready.
Whatever is causing it is awesome, love that hidden perk.
Even the exit to the 5th floor was marked!
Yes, the fifth.
I was surprised too, apparently the other “half” of the village is considered as the fourth floor.

Cheeky, sneaky devs.
Moving not too fast nor too slowly, I headed towards the other village across the river.
Wooden bridge spanning at least 8m revealed its magnificence.
I was pretty impressed that people could actually build it.
That’s when I remembered that it’s Virtual Reality…

All of this just looks so real.
No wonder some people confuse the two worlds.
Crossing the bridge, I looked around.

Right below me was a river with a strong current.
I tried to see the end of it but to no avail.
It almost seemed like the river was moving towards the mountains in the horizon.
Yes, towards the mountains. It’s confusing, ‘it should flow the other way around.
Probably that’s the difference between real world and virtual reality, here, in VR, things don’t have to make sense.

It’s not like humans can comprehend magic anyways, we don’t have any in our world.

Aside from the river, I looked at the banks.
They seemed similar, almost like they were mirrored.
I wonder if these two parts were made to be the same, just at the opposite sides.
Would be pretty cool.

On the west side of the bridge there was lush grass, few trees here and there and rolling hills at the distance.
From my estimation these hills are where the villagers take their cattle to graze.
More to the left side, which would be in front of Lariette’s village, I saw some smoke coming off.
Maybe it’s the place where they smelt the metals.
I did see some people with pickaxes, so the villagers sure as hell have some mineral resources over there.

The grass was littered with flowers, weeds and from what I can tell, herbs!
This place seems like a good location to expand to.
If I bring Vanessa and Haruno here they’ll probably become drug dealers…

On the eastern side of the bridge there were many violet and yellow flowers, some herbs I can’t recognize, a swamp and a forest that covered at least half of the area.
Through the upper branches of the trees I could faintly see the mountain peaks.
I suppose that’s where water flows from. I wonder what it actually flows into.

As I was pondering that my steps came to a halt.
Barely discernible barrier was rippling in front of me.
At least I thought it was a barrier, but it was actually a portal.

Not bad.

Walking through the portal, I’ve encountered the “dark side”.
How should I say this… this village was more… militaristic?
There was no palisade like in the Goblins’ settlement but these people had spikes on both sides of the entrance!
What a crude way of thinking it cannot stop monsters nor minotaurs, why waste the time and effort?
I can only wonder why there are no trenches…

If this was real world I would blame the villagers for being stupid, but it’s not their fault, right?
Either the devs were lazy or retarded.
Well, there’s a possibility of them being both.

At least these runaways had a lot of guard patrols.
I was spotted almost immediately.

One of the guards patrolling wearing a full set of armor stopped me from advancing.

Icicle: Um, hello, can I meet with your leader?

Guard: Sure, come with us.

Two of them closed in on me, showing friendly gestures.

*whoosh* *whoosh*

Seeing two blurred maces approaching me, I got knocked out.

…

Guard: …ake up!

Guard2: There we go. Sir, we’ve woken him up.

Where the hell am I?
Ugh, my head hurts.
What is this place? A village?

I was at some plaza, there was a fountain in the middle and a lot of people around me.
Gazing at the ones who were the closest to me, I saw some information.

Huh, it’s those guys?
Fuck, I swear I’ll make you suffer for this!

???: Is that the person who supposedly wished to see me? Why is it a criminal?

Guard: No idea, sir.

Now that I think about it, I forgot to ask who the leader of this bunch was.
Let’s see…

He even has the “leader” in his name…

Zhan: So, what do you want? Did the village send you?

Icicle: Actually yes, they did. Many people are concerned about your safety so they would like to prevent you from this… suicide act.

I can’t tell him the other villagers treat them like idiots and don’t really care, right?

Zhan: Is that how the villagers call it? A suicide act? Hahaha! Idiots who only know how to subsist! What’s the point of living without being truly free? Alright, I’ve made my decision. Beat this person up some more then tie him up and throw him down the river! It would sully our hands if we killed this inhumane scum ourselves. Oh, make sure to attach some kind of boulder to him, so the criminal can’t resurface. That will teach the villagers to keep out of our business.

Villagers: Leader is wise.

Guard: Yes leader.

I didn’t raise any complaints because there’s no reason to.
What am I supposed to say? What could convince them?
“Oh hello, I liberated you from the Dark Trackers, how about you let me go?”
The only answer I would get would be “Thank you, now go to hell.”

…

After getting brutally beaten, of which I made sure to clearly remember every hit, for I will beat those guys at least ten times harder and ten times the amount, I was tied up and thrown into the roaring river.
These guards really did attach a small boulder to me, at least one weighing enough to make me drown.

Nyu rapidly woke up and choked on some water.
Giving me an angry glare there was a translucent blue colored barrier around her.

Nyu: *What the hell are you doing human!*

I was about to speak up but then I shockingly discovered that I can breathe!

Damn, that’s awesome!
At least I can slowly get out of here!

Icicle: *Nyu help me out! Cut the rope that’s holding the boulder!*

The river had a strong current so I had to try balancing myself with tied up body while swaying left and right.
It seems that although I do have ice resistance, I’m not resistant to any non-ice low temperatures!
Shit! This water is freezing!

Nyu: *No! Don’t bother me, human!*

Icicle: *What?! Come on, help me out!*

Nyu: *You made me choke with that water! I didn’t force you into this situation so get out of it yourself!*

Now you’re trying to teach me how to survive in the world?
Biting the hand that feeds you?
Alright, we’ll see how you’ll behave once I get out of here!

Icicle: *Tyxx prepare to be summoned, hold your breath and immediately cut off the rope attached to the boulder that’s dragging me down. After you do that I’ll immediately unsummon you!*

Tyxx: *I told you to summon me earlier so I can help you out with these thugs but yet you refused boss!*

Icicle: *Hmph, I don’t want to have you killed if all I have to endure is a beating. You’re worth more than few bruises. The current of this river is fairly strong. I can’t hold on for long! Now stop sulking and help me out, otherwise I’ll get carried away to who knows where!*

Summoning Tyxx I was already barely holding onto the muddy ground.
When my minotaur appeared, he only managed to cut the portion of a rope that the boulder was attached to.
Unsummoning Tyxx immediately, I wiggled while being swept by the current.

If I couldn’t breathe all of this would be hard, but since I could, it was a piece of cake.
Or should be because it took some time to get free of the restricting binding.
When I finally resurfaced and pulled myself up to the western bank of the river, I was swept far away from my original location.

Nyu’s translucent blue bubble burst.
That little scoundrel, I’ll teach her for not helping me out!

Taking out a whole bar of chocolate I started loudly eating, making sure to munch and let out pleased sounds.
No, not moans, don’t get carried away lechers!

Nyu opened her eyes immediately, as if smelling her favorite delicacy.
With her eyes sparkling, I could read her like a book, her expression meant: “feed me human!”.
Hmph, like hell I will.
Completely ignoring her I ate like a glutton, devouring half of the chocolate bar almost instantaneously.

Nyu: Why aren’t you giving me anything?

Icicle: Oh, you want some?

Nyu: Don’t act so surprised! Feed me!

Placing one piece of chocolate in my hand, I waved it around Nyu.

Icicle: Say “ahhhhh”.

Nyu hesitantly opened her mouth, then I “accidentally” dropped the piece of chocolate on the ground.

Icicle: Oops.

Nyu: I know what you’re doing, human!

Even though she said that, Nyu was still preparing to jump for that piece of chocolate laying in the grass.
I moved my feet and stomped on it.

Nyu: Why did you do that!

Icicle: There was a big bug there, I’m scared of them, you see?

Nyu: Grrrrrrr!

Icicle: Brrr! How cold!

Shaking like a dog trying to dry itself, I made the water splatter everywhere.

Nyu: Y-You! That’s on purpose, damn human!

Nyu was about to swipe me with her paw, but I picked her up by her fur and sniffed.

Nyu: What are you doing? Are you a pervert, human?

Icicle: *sniff* *sniff* You stink, go take a bath.

With a flick of my hand I threw the unsuspecting Nyu into the river.
You can only imagine how angry she was when she crawled back up, sopping wet.

Nyu: You’re going overboard, human! I’ll teach you a lesso-

Icicle: Here, I’ll be merciful. You can lick the wrapping clean. I’m sure there are some remnants of your delicacy there.

Without glancing back, I moved towards the red dot on the map which showed me where the [Minotaur Settlement] was located.

Nyu: Why are you treating me like this, you stinking human?!

Icicle: You act like a moody princess so I will treat you like one. If you have any objections find yourself another “human” who will feed you and tend to your needs. Take my advice and look for a female, I’m sure you two will be a great fit. Maybe you’ll get your nails done together? And go all cuddly-cuddly at night. Quite a prospective future, isn’t it?

Nyu only frowned a little, looks like she still doesn’t understand.

Icicle: You have to realize something, furball. Yes, you’re adorable. But you’re not helpful at all. From time to time you’ll help me, only because you have to and you’ll do it in a lazy way, like it’s a chore. I asked you to wave your paw and help me out a little, yet you didn’t have the time nor energy to do it, but now you seem pretty energetic. Let’s blame adrenaline rush for that. I am hurled into the roaring river, all tied up, yet instead of helping me out you’re outraged that you’re slightly wet! What use do you have? If I can’t depend on you even a little, why should I keep you? You’re strong? So what if you’re not using that strength at all! Hmph, adorable things are meant to be kept at home, on a shelf, and looked at from time to time to bring a smile or lift one’s spirits.

It wasn’t the time to be gentle, so I continued.

Icicle; Say, what use do you have then? You only demand and provide nothing in return. Like an expensive doll. Why shouldn’t I discard you and let someone else “take care” of you? Is it because we’re friends? But friends do help each other, so what is it? Mutualism? I don’t think so. Any ideas, furball?

Nyu: You want me to act nicer, human?

Icicle: No, I want you to let go of your past. You are no longer glorious Nyuva, you’re merely a remnant of a clan that’s non-existent.

Nyu: Sure human *jump*, I’ll let go of my past once you let go of yours.

Landing on my shoulder I saw Nyu’s eyes shining brightly.
Suddenly the ball has been returned to me…
What a sharp rebuttal!

Icicle: What do you mean?

Nyu: That faint killing aura you’re emitting, it’s an aura of a murderer! I’m sure it is unconscious and you didn’t even realize that you’re doing it. But! There’s no way you could have become such an experienced murderer in this world! Not in such a short amount of time. It’s obviously something from your “other world” you mentioned.

How could this situation turn into this?
Now I’m the one being interrogated.

Icicle: I can’t let go of my past, it’s what defines me.

Nyu: Then why are you expecting me to let go of mine?

Icicle: I don’t act like a dick towards you. At least not every single time, you do.

Nyu: So it will be over once I become a little nicer?

Icicle: And somewhat useful, yes.

*jump*

Yup, Nyu just landed on top of my head.

Nyu: Listen well, human. I may be called many things, many which are unkind, but I sure as hell am not useless! If you dare call me like that again I’ll strike your head with my paw so hard, than not even that tiny brain of yours remains on the surface!

Grabbing Nyu by the fur I placed her on my right shoulder again.

Nyu: O-Oi, what are you doing human?! Don’t treat me like that!

Icicle: No, no, no it’s you who should stop treating me like a slave. You did have a head start here, but in my world you wouldn’t even be my direct underling.

*silence*

Nyu: That high?

Icicle: Yup.

Nyu: I suppose we should both learn some decency. *sigh* You humans are always so hard to deal with. I want some chocolate in return for being nice!

Icicle: Tsk, tsk, the pot calling the kettle black.

Nyu: Did you ever wonder why is it “black”? We’re both white.

Icicle: That’s racist. And no, you’re not really white, you’re tanned in your original form.

Nyu: Who’s the racist here? I’m merely reflecting my useless owner.

Icicle: I’m not racist.

Nyu: Are you really?

Icicle: Okay, I am. But I’m not prejudiced!

Nyu: I am.

Icicle: You sure as hell are.

Nyu: I still want my portion of chocolate!

Chatting with Nyu like that I walked towards the portal to [Minotaur Settlement].
My desire for revenge dimmed a little, but soon it was fated to be rekindled and fueled to an even greater extent…

…