Rebirth Online World

Albatros Company’s Studio, Lisa’s POV

*hhhhrrrrrrnnnnngggg*

Surprised by the sudden turn of events, I heard the alarm go off.
Sirens seemed to howl unceasingly, when the steps of two members of the dev team could be heard in the hallway.
It’s only a developers area, so it can’t be anyone else, right?

Jack: Shit! Did Icicle get into real trouble?

Carl: These sirens activate only when there’s direct danger to user’s life or mental state. He may as well be in trouble.

Reese and Julie who just barged in had sullen looks on their faces.
They were responsible for safety mechanisms, so any resulting death of a player would be blamed on them.
Although their positions were equal, Julie was often telling Reese what to do, so it was clear as day to bystanders who was the “alpha” in their line of work.

Julie: Lisa, what the hell happened here? Who the hell did activate a flagged danger so early in the game?

What was I supposed to say?
That I have a freak here, who unlike other players who level and conquer really dangerous dungeons and monsters, has “fun” slaughtering much stronger enemies?
I would sound like a weirdo!

There are many players who took Icicle’s style of playing, farming their stats before advancing in levels, becoming real powerhouses in the lower levels.
Even if they went against 10 people of the same level, as long as they don’t run out of mana, those players would emerge victorious or at least escape safely.

However, here I had a person who lucked out with a lonesome teacher taking a liking to him, even the Starting Area’s Mage Guild’s Guildmaster Cindy favored him, giving Icicle overpowered items.
Was I supposed to say “You know, Julie, this Icicle has a sentient sword activated only by a special quest, which he has gotten with a 0,01 or 0,001% chance of dropping and the relationship with Water Mage, Vilenne. Actually, it was 100% chance to drop the required item for his class because he was the first to kill a rare monster ten levels higher than him… Then Icicle was told by the aforementioned sword of a location of two strong as hell familiars which he took control of. One thing led to the other and he’s now in control of two dungeons by himself and soon to be third…”

Like hell I can say that!
Not only would I look like an idiot, if they really did check the game logs and investigated properly, my “I’ll help you a little by respawning a dead NPC.” would be found out as well!

Author’s note: Lisa talks about old man Nirvarus, the one who gave Icicle the Water Orb, and his Water Manipulator class at the time.

Arghhh, this is giving me a severe headache.

No matter what, I had to control myself, so trying to sound alarmed yet respectful I pointed at the screen and said.

Lisa: It appears to be a mind attack of sorts, so it’s probably a mental damage category.

Before I even finished speaking, Reese rushed forward, brushed Carl and Jack aside and started furiously smashing the keyboard.
The deafening sirens immediately stopped releasing the ear-piercing sound.

Julie: Anything else?

Julie’s voice sounded detached, but I knew she was deeply worried inside.
As a single mother, her salary was keeping her children fed, if she were to lose her job…

Lisa: Mm, according to our swift investigation, it’s related to Blood Eccentric’s legacy.

Julie’s face distorted and became unsightly.
I looked back at the huge screen above, only to see error after error appearing.
Clearly Reese couldn’t stop the dangerous mind attacks from happening.

Julie: Give up Reese, we can’t do anything about that thing… *sigh*

Reese: It’s that Blood Eccentric once again, huh? That’s so fucked up…

Something was off.
Jack and Carl glanced at me meaningly, as if saying “Ask them boss!”.
It’s funny how they’re suddenly so suppressed.
Two lively, healthy men lack courage to ask a question, what has this world come to?

Lisa: I assume you’ve dealt with this issue before?

Julie: Indeed. There was a case when someone activated this [Test of Blood] or whatever it’s called last month. That person passed it and became mentally unstable. Later on his family sued us, but an expert witness claimed that the person was already mentally unstable when he began playing. In other words, it worked on a psychopath and made his mental illness more severe.

On the screen there was a bar, similar to the one when you’re downloading something, but with a black frame.
Its progress percentage never left the beginning though.
Unable to restrain my curiosity, I asked, pointing at the screen.

Lisa: What’s this?

Reese: It’s a “mental illness progress bar”. After the last incident, both I and Julie worked hard to create an app to estimate the amount of mental damage done to the player. If push comes to shove, we can forcefully disconect the user, but it may cause a shock to the player’s brain, thus it’s a last resort. However, if the amount of mental damage is lower than the one coming from this Blood Eccentric’s content, we won’t hesitate to use it.

Safety measure huh?
Jack and Carl moved aside, not daring to interrupt.
Jeez, they should have some balls.

Lisa: So, is it good that it stays at the beginning, not moving at all?

Julie: Huh? I-It… Reese, are you sure it works fine?

Reese: Let me restart it.

Clicking sounds echoed out, Reese’s speed was comparable to a pro gamer’s APM with how he handled various actions.
However, he was clearly nervous.

Reese: That’s weird, Julie. No matter how strong of a willpower someone has, it shouldn’t be possible to not be affected at all. There’s only one answer coming to mind. That Icicle Whitesnow person had it done to him before, either as a training or in a forceful way. Yet, whichever way it was, he was able to learn to control his inner thoughts and feelings perfectly. I don’t mean it in a robot-like way, because that’s impossible, but he sure as hell looks impervious to any external interference. The only people who have reached this level of mental fortitude would be the high ranked officers, operatives and international spies. Even in their clique it would be rare. But this… it didn’t even move from the green area! It’s as if he’s toying with the whole process, looking at the events as if they were child’s play. Truly remarkable.

Julie: Diamond cut diamond, huh? Seems like our players are truly extraordinary. Just the other day we saw something remarkable happening as well…

Reese: Julie, I think it’s over. Icicle Whitesnow seems unscathed.

Julie: Well then, I guess our work here is done.

Lisa: Wait a second, why can’t we eliminate this dangerous content from the game?

Julie: You know how the company operates, Lisa. I asked for Blood Eccentric’s content removal when it was created, that psychopath of a developer was fired, but the vote to dismiss the content ended up in a draw. According to my knowledge, many people were threatened and suppressed to make it happen, that’s why the attendance for the voting was low, resulting in such an outcome. Later on, at the very finish, when we were desperately needing funds, there was an annex to the contract. We couldn’t remove the Blood Eccentric content no matter what. Me, Reese and few other devs decided to hide it deeply in the game, as a part of side-hidden quests. Yes, it’s a weird name, basically the hidden quests not related to any of the classes. Really difficult to find. Combine it with the need to be chosen as a “successor” of the Blood Eccentric and the chances are almost zero. Heh, at least we thought so, seeing the results they clearly aren’t.

Lisa: Didn’t you try to reappeal the vote?

Reese: Of course we did, who do you take us for? We long to create a great Virtual Reality that is hard to beat, one that can make humans overcome their limits, but not at the cost of their health or even lives! These greedy bastards above directly told us to not involve ourselves in the matter. Seems like someone really powerful is pressing them. If we can’t call a vote, what can we do? The only way we could help out was to minimize the damage.

Julie: That’s enough talk, Reese, we’ve got work to do. It’s good that this player’s life is not in danger. Lisa, I expect you to know how to handle the information we shared with you, don’t you?

Lisa: No need to worry, I do.

Julie: Very well, let’s go Reese. Lisa, keep an eye on the other players as well, our company doesn’t want to have any casualties.

Lisa: Certainly.

When Reese and Julie left and closed the door behind them, I was both relieved and anxious.
Earlier on, when Nizar fought with Icicle, he told me that his aura was almost animal like, one that only people who have murdered a lot of people can employ.
I didn’t believe him, how could a young man like that possibly have such a thing in him?
But when that car stopped and I saw him exiting, not only was that bodyguard polite to him, it seemed like he was worshipping him!
If it wasn’t fear than what was it?

Could it be that Jeremy Grand really has some powerful background?
Weird, he’s not listed in any files.
Hmm…

Wait a second…
That rascal!
What if he used a fake name just as I did?!

Hahaha, what a great start of relationship would that be.
Two fake IDs, trying to hook it up… *snicker*

Jack: Boss, are you oka-

Carl: Shush, idiot, she’s clearly daydreaming.

Not even clearly hearing what they said, I facepalmed so hard that there was a burning sensation left on my face.

Jack: Are you sure she’s fin-

Lisa: No need to worry about me. You were so scared of Julie and Reese before, yet you’ve already recovered? Then get to work!

Carl: But Boss, our shift is almost over!

Lisa: So was mine, but you called me back and now I had to explain myself like I was at fault!

Carl: But boss, you were at faul-

Lisa: Not a single word more or I’ll fire both your sorry asses!

Jack: Oh come on, you wouldn’t do that, would you?

Lisa: Wanna try me?

Without waiting for an answer, I took my bag and coat, then headed outwards, my thoughts focused on what to wear on tomorrow’s date.

…

Zaryoux Temple, Loiterous, FieryRed’s POV

Arghhh, this is so aggravating!
Icicle, that show-off, “let” me participate in his crusade like it was his grace!
Damn him!
Still, it was a chance to fight against some strong monsters, so I couldn’t resist the temptation.

When we entered the [Forsaken Labyrinth], I silently followed the group.
Whatever I said would mean nothing anyways, so why bother?
Seeing Icicle oppressing those villagers, I couldn’t really help them.
Handling Icicle now that the mages are nerfed to oblivion wouldn’t be a problem, unless I go full retard.
But with all these undead around him, ready to do his bidding?
There’s no way!

I have no idea what he had to do to make them like so.
It’s like they’re scared of their own shadows.
Maybe there’s more to Icicle than meets the eye.
His sister, Sylph, looks like such a friendly person, are they really siblings?

Anyways, I followed that scrub Icicle around, arriving at the [Minotaur Settlement] or should I say at the portal leading to it.
Icicle’s “orders” were to wait for a while, then charge in, so we don’t spook minotaurs too much.
At first I was against it, my blood was already boiling, but hearing his reasoning, that we would have to chase every single minotaur around, I obediently waited.
What’s a couple minutes more when I followed this group for at least half an hour?

The time has come, I rushed after the undead before me.
Around a hundred were left behind to guard the entrance in case of some deserters.

Quickly scanning my surroundings, I saw a dimly lit room, Icicle propped on his sword in front, and then a large horde of minotaurs on a rampage, bellowing loudly.
I felt as if I was watching a wildlife documentary, where the elephants were stampeding across the steppe.

Not being disheartened in any way, I rushed after the undead.
Carefully picking an opponent, I caught sight of a perfect one.

Being lively and courageous and being stupid was separated by a thin line.
I rather think of myself as the former, thus the level difference couldn’t be too big.
Summoning my evolved companion, [Black Ironfur Grizzly], I ordered it to attack another minotaur around level 170 or so.

Fighting with a witty opponent felt great.
There were many monsters in Loiterous that I killed, but this was completely different.
My opponent, which was a burly dark brown minotaur with a diagonal scar on its face, looked at me with crimson red eyes as if I was prey!
Not only was it more than twice my level, it was powerful as hell!

I have to say, the pleasure of fighting  against such an opponent was really something else.
Every move that I dodged, every strike that I was able to land, it all filled me with fulfillment.
It was an enchantingly immersing fight, one I didn’t want to end.

Minotaurs’ health bars were huge, back in the day when I was dungeoning with Icicle in the [Desolated Catacombs], it was easy to kill monsters once you knew their weaknesses.
Dealing fatal blows was a possibility too, so it was too easy.
Yeah, too easy…
If I were to go dungeoning alone I would be dead in a jiffy!

But, in a party it wasn’t as difficult as it was supposed to be.
Otherwise, why would the devs change so many things?
Right now, dealing with this [Minotaur Warrior] in front of me was a hell of a challenge, challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed.

According to Faura and her information, which she gathered from who knows how many admirers, there’s a possibility of cutting off limbs or other parts of monsters’ bodies.
It even works on bosses, but special conditions must be met.

I tried to employ this stragery against the minotaur in front of me, hacking away one of its arms or legs would really lessen the burden on me.
Unfortunately, to no avail.
Don’t get me wrong, I was enjoying the fight, but my stamina is not limitless, and it sure as hell didn’t look like I was the one winning!

Dodging overhead swings, then ducking under the horizontal ones, I felt like the two-handed axe the [Minotaur Warrior] was wielding was overwhelmingly overbearing.
Who knows how many hundreds of times have I escaped death?

Using [Observe], I looked with dismay at my opponent’s health bar.
It was still at 90%, rapidly healing.
Goddamn damage reduction!

Feeling frustrated and distressed, I increased the ferocity of my attacks, throwing my whole self out there, into the chaos of a fight.
One strike, two strikes, duck, third strike.

Suddenly…

*rumble*

At the corner of my right eye, I saw some of the nearby undead falling down like bags of bones. Then even their bones disappeared. I assumed they revived in the [Zaryoux Temple].

*grooowl*

I heard a weak growl, with a quick glance I saw my [Black Ironfur Grizzly] dying.
It was not a big deal, but it made me feel dejected.
Bastards!

My quick train of thought didn’t last long.
One of the minotaurs which prevailed in his fight against the undead rammed me with his shoulder, making me unstable.
The next second the [Minotaur Warrior] I was currently fighting with embedded his two-handed axe in my head.

Feeling the pain was making me uncomfortable.
That’s one of the main reasons why females often choose ranged classes.
They’re afraid of the pain.
Men are more resilient, but I like fighting at the front, feeling special.
Besides, as long as you can take the blow and you have a teammate who can heal you, that comfortable, tingling feeling tops it all.

Hehe, I sensed a smug grin appearing on my face, after all, as a [Paladin] I could heal myself!

But that didn’t matter, as I was one-shotted by a critical hit from a minotaur…

And now I’m here, rushing out of the Zaryoux Temple to have my revenge!
I know, I know, it’s a teamwork that matters in battle, but fuck, I was already oppressed!
Did they really have to back each other up?
What was that supposed to be, showing me mercy?
Shit, I won’t thank these scoundrel bulls for that!

On my hurried way out, I realized that Sylph wasn’t there.
Checking my friendlist, she was there, online.
Damn, was I the only one who died?!

Feeling powerless and humiliated, I increased my speed even more.
Even my bear was met with injustice, this couldn’t end like this!
It took me only around twenty minutes to get back to the 5th floor.
Seeing the scene, my heart almost leapt out of my chest.

The battle was over, around forty to fifty minotaurs were changed into undead creatures with formidable postures, their chest bones shaped like a powerful armor.
One word came to mind – majestic!

Apart from my shock, I felt me knees going weak.
There was no longer any outlet for my frustration!

Icicle approached me slowly, then patted my head as if I was a child.
Goddamn idiot, I am your senior! Don’t treat me so condescendingly!
When his voice rang out, my eyes widened and I became speechless.

Icicle: Seems like you’ve died, fierce girl. Say, redhead, would you like to become stronger?

I invested a lot of time in Loiterous, but haven’t really reaped any benefits.
Answering through clenched teeth, I felt my desire to be stronger ignited.

FieryRed: Y-Yes!

Icicle: Even if it means that all of your skills and accomplishments are gone? Not to mention your stats, they may be changed as well.

My stats? My class?
I couldn’t answer readily, I really enjoyed playing [Paladin] after all!
But, after today, it seems like it wasn’t enough.
Since I’m so addicted to Loiterous anyways, why not go big, so I can enjoy even more fierce battles with stronger enemies?

Icicle: You’re hesitating. I see. Never mind then.

What, no!

FieryRed: W-Wait! I want it!

Seeing Icicle’s evil grin, I felt like he waited for me to speak those words out.
Damn bastard, you made me beg, I’ll gut you like a fis-
Huh?

What the fuck is wrong with this prompt!
Nevertheless, seeing his evil grin, I knew he was mocking me for being a coward!
You little brat, just you wait, I’ll show you what I’m capable of! Hmph!
Furiously pressing yes, I saw a new window before me.

T-This…
As soon as I saw the actual class, my jaw dropped to the floor.
I haven’t seen such a description of a class even on the forums!
There were many bragging threads, showing off their unique hidden classes, but this one?
It’s on a whole different level!

My eyes started tearing up, this was definitely not a gift someone like me should receive, especially with the way I behaved from the start.
As I was about to thank that shrewd bastard Icicle, I heard him saying.

Icicle: Don’t dissappoint me, redhead.

Giving out such a powerful class without even blinking…
Could it be that there’s really something more to this cunning fox than meets the eye?

…