Akuma, dressed in a roughly hewed uniform draped in black and grey tones fitted his fit and lithe figure, appeared in a flash of heavenly light. Leather boots and gloves fitted tightly against his skin, while a sword and sheath on his hip completed his attire. Head raised high, flashes of unending emotion and excitement shone with distinct clarity in those golden eyes of a king as his crimson hair flooded down his back and a smile of unbridled happiness appeared.

Akuma had arrived to Ionia. Sadly, the moment of splendid revelation did not last.

“Oi! Piss off! I’m trying to get through here!”

“Where da hell you from? Dis is da San Fran region.”

“Stop! Stop! Please stop pushing!”

“Jesus, look at that girl’s body. She must’ve modified it right?”

“I’d tap that in a heartbeat.”

“You’d tap your sister if she let you Roger.”

“Dude! My IGN is Demascus! And no I wouldn’t shag my sister, you freak.”

“I would. God damn is she fit. Especially when she wears those-”

Akuma groaned to himself as hundreds if not thousands of other users of Ascension Online pushed and shoved at each other. Entrapped in a massive wooden pen, for lack of a better word, the players all tried to force their way past the ever growing crowd and toward the exit.

Not one to get annoyed easily, and in fact able to hold in any emotion, Akuma watched those around him with a calculative eye. Eyes of gold brilliance watched with unnerving clarity at the movements of those around him. It took merely seconds before he understood the shifting pattern of movement that occurred as the crowded users jostled for position. Without thought, he moved.

However the action of moving his legs for the first time in over a year went as one would expect. The face of Akuma, killer of The Arena, rubbed against a man’s ass before he ate a mouthful of dirt.

Irritation at his failure in such a modest action raged fierce in his chest. The fiery tornado of wrath in him worsened only as voices of rancorous laughter encompassed his surroundings. As he raised his dirtied face out of the earth, his eyes flashed a fate worse than death to those who did not shut up. A few understood the cue. Most did not.

“Hey friend. Are you alright?”

From behind Akuma, a voice accompanied by a massive hand landed on Akuma’s shoulder. Instincts, honed from over 15,000 hours of training and combat immediately spiked as Akuma moved. Latching a hand of his own over the one on his shoulder, Akuma agilely twisted his body as he kicked his hips up in a motion to raise off the ground and reverse the assailant's grip. Unfortunately, it did not go as intended.

In a weird flopping motion, Akuma, Harbinger of Death, fell face first once more into the mud.

The ensuing laughter was twice as loud as the first.

Rage, white hot and violent, sunk like molten lava into his veins that burned hotter than any pain as shame forced the beginning signs of emotions to crack the implacade and stoic facade that Akauma maintained.

“Wow there friend. You must be new to VR gaming.” Once more, the same incredibly low and baritone voice spoke as two hands grabbed onto his shoulders and lifted him out of the muck and the mire.

Hands, more like the mits of baseball gloves, patted down Akuma’s dirty figure. As the person before Akuma worked to tidy him up, he quickly sized up the man before him. Or rather giant, as man would be a vast understatement.

Easily over 6’ 5, and probably 6’ 7, a giant of a man that was built like a brick shit house hummed a simple tune as he patted down and tidied up Akuma’s attire. Donned in overlapping black cloth that covered the man head to toe, the bulging muscles and immense frame stretched the fabric out. In stark contrast to the midnight black of the clothing, was a dirty blonde beard that would make a lumberjack jealous and above that were eyes of baby blue that spoke of nothing but innocence. The buzz cut mohawk hair that was surrounded by a pattern of beautiful designed tattoos directly on the sides of the mohawk spoke of a different demeanor though.

[ Atlas ]

[ Level 1 Rogue ]

Befuddled by the figure before him, Akuma watched in confusion as the supposed rogue continued speaking.

“You gotta watch what you do in the beginning. From the looks of it, you haven’t played a VR game before.”

Taking Akuma’s silence as a confirmation, Atlas continued speaking as he dragged Akuma with him towards the end of the wooden fence that had corralled all the players.

“You see, in the game we all start with the same stats. Everyone has 10 base stats, no matter the class or how physically in shape you are in the real world. So some things that you could do in real life, can’t be done here until you level up or train. The tradeoff is that you can surpass what you can do in real life by a huge margin! Like being a superhero!”

As Atlas spoke of the game and the possibilities, his voice rose to a pitched fervor. His hands, pushing and dragging Akuma, gripped as tightly as his character’s 10 Strength would allow.

“Stop bothering the kid already bro. I want to get going and can’t stand dealing with noobs. Besides, he can’t even walk properly. He’s like some chicken.”

Cutting like a knife through Atlas’s speech, a voice of feminine fatality spoke in a throaty huff. Tilting his head, Akuma saw a women that appeared straight from a fashion show, or porno, strut next to Atlas. She was the same women the other players were constantly gossiping about.

Smaller than Atlas at 5’ 10, the women towered over most other females in the vicinity. She stood statuesque, long tan legs that were partially covered by the same warrior attire that Akuma wore. Even in the drab color and coarse clothe, the woman looked stunning. Green eyes like a viper stared down Akuma’s own as platinum blonde hair flowed freely down her heavenly face. Ignorant of the stares, the woman walked with a naturally seductive gait that sent her curvy, hourglass figure bouncing in all the right places while her toned arms and legs contracted with each step to show the definition of her body.

[ Persephone ]

[ Level 1 Warrior ]

“Persph, don’t talk like that. If you actually took the time to care and notice, you’d see that he is just like Musae. Also, why must you pick Persephone?”

“Because like Persephone, I am a Queen, and I will crush and annihilate those noobs who try to stop us, sending them to the underworld. Just like I will crush this Akuma look-alike idiot. Look at him bro, with his stupid hair and eyes, trying to imitate the G.O.A.T. He’s lucky I can’t attack him right now and smack him for disrespecting the ‘Little Demon’ by mimicking him. He even has the same name!”

“Yyyaaaaaa.... You do that...” Rolling his eyes and huffing, Atlas turned his attention back to Akuma.

“You must have trouble walking right?”

Before Akuma could answer, or even hide the shock that registered in his golden eyes, Atlas continued on as was his way.

“I only know since I was a Beta tester for the game and met a large number of debilitated individuals who were experimenting with the game to regain motor functions. It actually proved to work really well, but only for those who still had the access in real life to walk again. In fact, it can go even beyond just motor function. My other sister, Masue, is similar in a way.”

Following the head tilt of Atlas, Akuma saw a scene of splendor. A woman of similar features to Persephone strolled behind Atlas. Her dirty blonde hair hung short and just reached past her shoulder blades. However the overlapping layers of hair that were highlighted in a myriad of colors was stunning in the evening suns. Waves of hair accented her perfectly sculpted face where supernova eyes of green, blue, yellow drank in the warmth of the environment while dimples poked out just ever so slightly around her innocent smile. Her figure though, was anything but. More petite than Persephone, the girl that stood a little under 5’ 6 made the modest pale yellow dress she wore hug her sinful figure. Legs, thick and strong, peeked through the opening in the middle of the dress while her wide hips and ungodly ass shook as they carried her gracefully across the dewy grass. Her dress hugged the curves of the rest of her modest and athletic build as she swung her enrapturing figure as best she could through the throng of people and danced in tune to the humming of Atlas.

[ Musae ]

[ Level 1 Minstrel ]

“Watch where your eyes wander creep,” Persephone threatened while glowering at Akuma.

“Musae, her in-game-name of course, is similar to you as she is actually mute. Or rather that’s not quite a good word for it. It’s hard to explain. But she has trouble speaking and interacting vocally with others. So forgive me on her behalf if she doesn’t respond to anything you say.”

While Atlas explained the situation to Akuma, Musae stopped her spinning as she gripped her Class instrument of her choice, a violin, to her chest. Her inquisitive eyes stared at Akuma as she cocked her head to the side and flashed a warm smile.

“Hey! I told you to watch where you’re -”

The words, as biting and stinging as a viper’s fangs would feel, became caught in Persephone’s throat as she watched Akuma flash a series of sign language signals to Musae. Never needing to learn sign language as her sister’s disability only sprouted a few years ago and she could understand everything her or her brother said, Persephone failed to understand what Akuma said. Atlas too watched in undisguised shock as Akuma signed out a series of sentences in rapid sequence

Musae, already smiling at Akuma, froze before her smile bloomed to outshine even the sun. Eyes alight in a joy that could captivate any man, Musae rushed past her two siblings to sign back and forth with Akuma.

From the side, Persephone watched in blank thought while Atlas continued to carry Akuma to the exit, all the while smiling in the boundless adoration one would have for the happiness of their loved ones.

Alone in their own world, Musae and Akuma ‘chatted’ for a brief spell before they were jostled by Atlas. Musae, blushing in embarrassment at completely commanding Akuma’s attention turned forward with the ever stoic and calm Akuma as all four individuals were greeted by a wizened old man. The man, like an aged Gandalf that bent stooped over, was among dozens of other similar individuals who all stood to face the gathered horde of players that sought their attention.

“Ah, welcome! Welcome Travelers. Welcome to Ionia. It is here, in my humble town of Hayton, that your journey begins. Truly, I am grateful for your appearance. Storms of chaos across the continent are brewing as forces spread in untold horror through our lands and those of our past allies. Already humanity faces woes the likes of which have not been seen since the days of eons past. Of the Founding, through The Uprising and The Plague. Time eternal cannot hold what was since lost in the Rupturing of The Alliance a millennium ago.”

The man, shaking now in weakness, rights himself as he stands straighter than before. Emotions, so visible on the aged wrinkles of his face, makes Akuma pause as he struggles to realize that this is just an NPC. Albeit one of unmatched ability.

“Time’s have changed, but our plight does not Travelers. Your journey begins here, and where it ends only you can determine. But the future is better left to those who can shape it. For now, I wish to ask for your assistance. The animals of the Twisted Forest have recently begun exiting the forest in hordes. I don’t know why, but the animals are frenzied and are ruining our, and our surrounding neighbor’s lands. Please, help end their rampage.”

The Quest [ Join the Battle! ] is available

Quest Description

Assist the Town of Hayton is eliminating the enraged creatures of the Twisted Forest. Slay 15 monsters and collect 15 of their Mana Cores as proof of your accomplishment. Meet with your Class Trainer once finished to complete the Quest.

Quest Difficulty

F Rank

Quest Reward

100 experience - 10 Copper

Accept Decline

“Nice! We got our first quest.” Jiggling Akuma who remained in his embrace, Atlas billowed out a laugh as he carried Akuma towards a seating area that surrounding the fenced area. “This quest is super easy, as you can tell by the ‘Rank F’ difficulty. Quests go from ‘Rank F’ being the lowest, and ‘Rank SSS’ being the highest. But I’ve never seen or heard of such a high level quest. The highest I did was a ‘Rank B’ quest with a group of 200 other users, and that was soooo hard. I can’t even imagine what a SSS ranked quest would be like.”

“Anyway,” Atlas continued after setting down Akuma and waving off Persephone who buzzed around in like a gnat as she demanded they go. “We have to go meet with other members of our guild. Or, rather I should say our soon to be guild. I hope everything goes well for you. If you need anything, any help or have any question, just message me.”

User [ Atlas ] has sent you a Friend Request

Accept Decline

“By the way,” Atlas called out over the shouting around him as Persephone dragged his bulging frame away from Akuma. “Check your Settings and your Status screen. It’s easier to pick what Game Mode you want to play on now before you start fighting and an annoying screen takes up your vision. Also, don’t stress about struggling to walk right away. The fastest I saw someone in the beta do it was a week. Make sure you also -”

The last of Atlas’s words were drowned out over the shouting and shoving of thousands of players around Akuma who all tried to push past the game starting zone and into the world of Ionia.

A feeling of mirth welled in Akuma at seeing the comical trio move away. They were quiet the group, and would certainly draw attention. Those two girls alone could have hundreds of men pampering to them, but that wasn’t the reason why Akuma cared. In fact, while the girls were beautiful by any measure, Akuma had seen women of such temperament and looks throughout his career. Many of whom even wanted to be with the ‘Little Demon’ of the arena and see is he truly was little.

No, what intrigued Akuma was them. A girl who couldn’t talk yet played as a musician class that provided buffs. A giant of a man that was a rogue and who had almost as keen an eye as Akuma himself. And the harsh warrior princess who easily held confidence in her gait and the way her body moved as if she had years of experience with a sword at her hip.

A smile split Akuma’s face for the fourth time that day. It would be an interesting game it would seem.