Sammy sighed as he wheeled himself towards his computer intent on playing his newest game. He grinned and picked up the case looking at the title, "The World" was printed in big bold letters across the top with a picture of a twin blade and a heavy blade battling against a horde of monsters. He put the disk into the computer, slid the headgear on and logged in going straight to check if anyone had responded to his request for a party.

He nodded as he saw a response and headed to Mac Anu to meet his newest partner. He arrived in a flash of light and looked around at the hustle and bustle of this main town. He walked over to a water fountain and sat against it marvelling at the authenticity and almost seem-less attention to detail the programmers had when they made this world. It was so real, so life-like; when he touched things he could actually feel them as a tangible force rather then just having to visualize them in his mind. When he stood and ran it may have all been in his head, but it felt like he was in FACT running and jumping.

He looked up at the setting sun, cocking his head to one side as he contemplated the vast array of colors the sun painted across the sky. Various blues, pinks, and oranges spread across the clouds in as intricate a design as could be found in any part of the real world and for once Sammy, no Phantom, felt finally home, finally happy. He sighed and stood up and headed off in the direction that he was supposed to meet his first partner. Shivers ran up his spine as a sense of excitement set in. His first ever quest, the first chance he had to go out there and fight monsters and learn the ways of the Twin Blade.

He grinned and pulled out his blade noting the need to buy another. His mind quickly shifted to dreams of glorious battle in which he, the ultimate hero, was always victorious and won the love and respect of everyone that ever lived. He sighed and came to reality and noticed a man a bit farther ahead and assumed this was the one he was here to meet.

He walked forward, uncertain how exactly to approach this person. "Um, hello? Are you the one that responded to my request for a party member?" He asked and started to get a bit frustrated with himself. He was acting childish and shy and to him these where signs of weakness. He took a deep breath and steadied his nerves, ready for whatever response the other player answered with.

(((OOC: This takes place after EC and after a solo afterwards. I do not expect to get rewards for this as I am already in a quest.))

The wind blew through the rustic town of Mac Anu. The sounds of the birds settling down in the late afternoon, returning to their roosts, softly sounded overhead. He had his eyes closed, his chin resting on his interlaced fingers, sitting on a small crate nearby the river that ran through the town. He was listening to the water, to those around him, but most importantly listening out for a certain individual. Fact was, Bane wasn’t here today for any specific purpose, but he was online when he saw what was most likely a newbie had posted a request for a party, and decided to help the guy out.

Bane opened his eyes, standing up and letting his hands fall to his sides as he looked around. There were so many people around, and considering that it was late afternoon, most of these players were probably mostly school kids or adults without jobs, fact was though, that he too was a…Well, actually no. He was a graduate now, with a profession he’d rather not talk about. He stretched and yawned, scratching the back of his head before checking his gear. It was all there, all that was missing was this ‘Phantom’ character.

The Fist Fighter folded his arms, looking around. He had no idea what this guy looked like, or even what class he was, so in reality, there was no real way for him to know when, how or where to meet this guy. The sky was an expanse of orange and pinkish hues, fading to indigos closer to the horizon, it was truly magnificent, and it was a shame that it was all fake. Granted, with the amount of detail put into the game’s design, one could easily get confused between worlds.

"Um, hello? Are you the one that responded to my request for a party member?"

Bane overheard someone speaking to another player close by. Turning his head to the side, he saw a shirtless Twin Blade approach a Heavy Axe from behind, only being brushed off with a simple “Beat it, kid.” Bane looked at the Twin Blade and took in his features, noting specifically that his demeanour and age did not seem to match, so he could assume that this was either a kid with an older looking avatar, or…well, an older guy with the personality of a kid. Either way, it took all kinds to make up The World, so he approached as he would with any other.

He strode over to the Twin Blade, calling out the name Phantom just in case. If it wasn’t him, he’d walk right on by and pretend that he was talking to someone else. If it was, he’d turn and see Bane approach with his billowing white coat flowing behind him with the various layers of clothing worn underneath it. Combat boots would be the cause of the heavy clunking sound heard on the cobblestone pavement if the Twin Blade were to take notice.

Considering that his target was correct, and the Twin Blade turned in response to his name, Bane stopped a couple meters before Phantom, arms folded, and looked down at the Twin Blade with a smirk. ”You wanted a questing partner? Let’s get to work. Considering that you’re looking fairly new to this, let’s go over the basics.” Bane pointed up the end of the street, where a spinning golden ring stood. ”That there’s the Chaos Gate. It allows us to move across servers and enter the fields. First task: We’ll go up to the gate and you put in the key words for the field we’re going to. Try and get a field your level, and we’ll take it from there.

Phantom turned as he heard his name and looked upon a rather tough looking character. He nodded slightly as the man proceeded to explain how to begin and what the Chaos Gate was. He grinned and started to feel a little bolder. "Yeah that seems pretty easy and straight-forward." He said and started to walk towards the Chaos Gate and assumed Bane would likely follow him. "By the way, just so its official, i am Phantom," He said and stuck out a hand.

When he pulled his hand back he looked at the man. "Um, exactly what is your class?" He asked, noticing the obvious lack of a weapon, "And don't you need a weapon to fight the monsters with?" He asked, his excitement starting to build, causing him to speak a little faster then he would have normally. He shut his mouth and took a deep breath, 'OK Sammy, this is just a game, no need to be getting all excited,' he thought to himself as he approached the Chaos Gate.

He stared at the Gate for a few seconds before putting in a series of words. When he reached three words a little box popped up with the information on the area and Phantom noticed that it was for level 7 characters. He sighed and punched in a new set of words, followed by a third, and finally a fourth. He grinned as he looked at the field information on his fourth try. It was a fire world, "Hmmm, Expansive Lifeless Sea of Sand?" He said aloud as he looked over the information for it. "A few buildings, quite a few monsters, and its level 3, that sounds like a nice place to go." He said with a grin and stepped into the gate to be teleported to the area. "This is the place," he said to Bane and teleported to the field.

A flash of light enveloped him and he found himself standing in the middle of a desert landscape. He looked around noting the various buildings spread at random through the area, the occasional cactus spreading its prickly limbs out in what appeared a desperate plea for help. Phantom gulped slightly and started to wonder if he had gotten himself in over his head. He started to walk forward, exploring a little when a monster suddenly flashed into existence about 15 feet away. Phantom felt his body start to shake and he looked for Bane. "OK, now how do i do this?" He asked, his voice displaying more confidence then he felt.

"Yeah that seems pretty easy and straight-forward." As they began to walk towards the Chaos Gate, the Twin Blade stopped and continued speaking, turning to face Bane and holding out his hand. "By the way, just so its official, I am Phantom."

Bane took his hand and shook it once, giving it a firm shake. “And I’m Bane just to make sure we’re on the same page.” He nodded at the Twin Blade and made to keep walking when Phantom inquired as to his class. Bane smirked, stating simply that he’d find out when they got into battle. When Phantom inquired further, he just gave a merry laugh and shook his head with a smile, walking up the stone steps that lead up to the Chaos Gate.

As per usual, the gate was making its trademark humming sound, a gentle and low tone that fazed in and out whenever the large disk rotated. He folded his arms and watched Phantom insert words into the Chaos Gate, seeing some people he knew personally and waved to them as they went to do some shopping. "Hmmm, Expansive Lifeless Sea of Sand?" Bane looked at his Twin Blade partner and quirked a brow, wondering if he needed to give his formal stamp of approval on his selection. "A few buildings, quite a few monsters, and its level 3, that sounds like a nice place to go." Bane nodded and watched Phantom go through the gate, following close behind.

Golden rings descended down upon the pair and whisked them away into the data stream towards their destination. Colours sped past them, and Bane was grateful that this time the field loaded pretty quickly. For soon enough they were standing in the middle of a large expanse of sand. Ruins dotted the terrain, and in between were cacti in different shapes and sizes. Bane walked forward a little, looking around and pulled at the collar of his coat. Fire wasn’t necessarily his element of choice, but he’d surely be fine being the level he was.

"OK, now how do I do this?"

Bane’s attention was brought back to Phantom, and the monster standing before him. It looked like a crap, but meaner. Bane smirked at this and folded his arms; he was going to sit this one out. ”Well, I’d start by drawing your weapons and getting ready to attack. You can either wait for it to come to you, or run up to it and go nuts. You should be fine, but if you run into trouble, just call and I’ll lend a hand.”

Phantom grinned and crouched down, pulling out his dagger like weapon. He looked at it and a twinkle flashed through his eyes, and he looked at the monster. "OK, now this is going to be fun," he said and a feral growl escaped his lips. He ran towards the crab-like monster and ducked as its right claw swung over his head. He grabbed the claw and pulled himself up onto the top of the claw and leaped out right at the monsters face.

He landed on slightly wobbly legs right above the face of the Snip Snap He steadied himself just as a claw hit him in the legs, sweeping him away off of the monster. He landed on the ground and rolled to the right just as the claw slammed into the ground next to him. "Hmm this might be a little more difficult then i had at first expected," he murmured and started dodging the claws of the monster waiting for an opening in its defenses. He grinned as a brief opening appeared and ran forward again using all of his class' formidable speed. He jumped into the air and landed right on the monsters face.

Phantom grinned and balanced on the edge of its shell. "Now your mine," he said and used his Sabre Dance ability. He slammed his Kai into the left eye of the Snip Snap, followed by a second thrust into its right eye. He grinned and slammed a third strike into its forehead and leaped up into the air and started to spin, landing his final blow into its left eye again and used the momentum of his attack to shove his hand farther into its skull. He grimaced and pulled out his hand as the monster started to convulse in pain. He jumped onto its claw and then leaped onto the ground, landing about four feet from the frantically thrashing monster. "See, that wasn't so hard." He said to Bane with a nod and a thumbs up.

He turned and noticed that the monster still hadn't died and was actually coming towards him with a vengeance, its claw hitting him hard in the side and sent him flying to the side. He grimaced and turned his side-way flight into a sort of side flip landing on the sand and sliding a few feet. "You ugly bastard," Phantom growled and readied both of his weapons "Gan Zot," He said and a pillar of rock rose directly under the Snip Snap sending it rolling backwards slightly and this was all the opening Phantom needed. He ran forward, both weapons held behind him ready to slash at a vulnerable spot. "

He brought both Kai forward and started jabbing at the soft parts he could reach, slashing and jabbing in a quick series of attacks that caused only minor damage but eventually those attacks added up and after about a series of 18 to equal a grand total of 22 hits plus one Gan Zot. He panted slightly and gave another thumbs up to Bane. "How am I doing?!" He called to the other player.

He sighed and turned around as the Snip Snap vanished only to be replaced by three goblin looking creatures about 13 feet away. "Oh now this is a bit more interesting," He said and ran towards the front goblin. He threw one of his Kai and watched as it slid nicely into the Goblins throat. He quickly reached the goblins side and pulled out the weapon in a side slash that opened a bigger gash in the monsters throat and followed it up with 3 more hits, two to the chest and another one to the stomach. He grimaced as it refused to die and he slashed again, this time cutting a large opening in its stomach then moved on as he watched it fall.

The second one gave a slight more fight because it was joined by its companion. "Oh I see how this is, your going to gang up on me is that it?" Phantom said with a wicked gleam in his eyes as the goblins slowly circled him. "Well bring it you useless weaklings." He said and went into a blur of motion. He jumped forward, parrying the first goblins attack with his left hand weapon and slashed at the arms of the monster, drawing a thin line across its forearms. The second goblin came up from behind just as Phantom was trying to dodge but didn't quite move fast enough and received a cut on his left side.

He growled in anger and flicked his Kai in his right hand at the Goblin, catching it in the area that would best be described as the arm pit. He followed this with a series of 3 slashes into its chest before ripping his Kai out of its flesh. He grinned as he turned to face the first goblin and ducked in under its attack and stabbed it twice in the stomach and once in the side of its jaw. He slid aside and used both his weapons to push the simultaneous attacks of both goblins away from him and laughed when the angle caused both of them to stab the other. He shook his head and moved in and finished both off by shoving his weapons into their throats and out the back, angling them to pass the backbones so as to miss them and then tore a huge gash as he yanked both weapons from the now dead Goblins.

He turned and took a deep breath as his eyes alighted with a fearsome expression of great joy. "What a rush," He said as he reached Banes side, "what an utter thrill that was. Never could i have figured that fighting like this would be so perfectly wonderful." He said, and slowly started to get hold of himself, the light in his eyes slowly giving way to the knowledge that he would continue to do such a thing as killing monsters as long as he stayed in the game. "I got to tell you Bane, that was awesome," He said and grinned at the big man. "But in your expert opinion how did I do?" he asked with slight trepidation.

Bane watched the exchange between Phantom and the Snip Snap, taking a note of his movements and doing his own scouting as, truth be told, he hadn’t experienced many Twin Blades fighting first hand. The only person he could think of was Talal, and even then, that was a fair while ago. Phantom on the other hand was playing is if he had used a blade his whole life, making few errors, and being only a little over confident when he finished attacking. He was lucky that Twin Blades had superior mobility.

"How am I doing?!"

Bane saw that the Twin Blade gave him a thumbs up, and Bane called back, ”You’re doing good! Stay focused!” and he watched the massacre continue. As the crab fell, Bane noticed a trio of Goblins arriving on the scene soon after, and that made him smirk. The Fist Fighter had a history with Goblins, almost to the point where he could think back and happily recollect his first Goblin killing, oh what a fun time that was… In any case, the slaughter continued with Phantom pulling some rather violent moves but dispatching them all the same.

As the Twin Blade came over to him, he wore a smile, impressed and joyed to his efforts in combat. "What a rush, what an utter thrill that was. Never could I have figured that fighting like this would be so perfectly wonderful." Bane smirked. He remembered those days of his well; to fit in easily and not have to worry about the real world. However, there was more to this game than just combat, and even then, the monsters and other such events made the game a lot more interesting than just an outlet for aggression. With time, he hoped Phantom would get to see the different enemies, and fight the more epic battles once he had some levels and a better gear set up on his character, but time would be the one to determine that. "I got to tell you Bane, that was awesome, but in your expert opinion how did I do?”

Bane could hear the slight quiver in his voice. But at the same time, Phantom wore a smile that showed that he was having a good time, so Bane just put it down to first experience jitters. ”You did good. I’d make sure my enemy was dead before showing my back to them if possible. For now though, let’s move on. Our next stop, the dungeon.” Bane began to walk into a structure nearby, and soon found himself inside on the first floor of the dungeon. While he waited for Phantom to catch up, he walked forwards and observed his surroundings.

The walls, ceiling and floors were all made of bluestone. Mortar joined each block of stone together, but due to age and weathering, the edges of the walls and even on the floor showed that the floor was slightly uneven and the wear had caused discolouration in the stone. From the ceiling hung chains, most of which had been severed so they hung feet above their heads. From deeper within the dungeon, he could hear the soft and wailing moans of what was most likely undead creatures further in.

When Phantom had caught up, Bane explained what they were doing now. ”Okay. Our goal now is to reach the statue at the bottom level of this dungeon. There is a thing called the Gott Statue, and in there are your rewards for clearing the dungeon. We’ll find small yellow circles in here, and when we get close to them, monsters will appear, so be ready at all times. Any questions? If not. Lead the way.”

((OOC please note i had Banes permission to put his response into my post))

Phantom nodded as he heard Bane's response and took note of the not turning your back on opponents before making sure they were dead. He silently followed Bane to the Dungeon and listened to his explanation of what to do and what was what. "Sounds simple enough, this shouldn't be to bad." he said and started walking farther into the dungeon assuming that Bane would follow him.

He made a quick check of his SP and noticed it was only about half full so he decided to take a quick break to fully take in what had happened so far, as well as make sure his SP was full. He used Repth to fill his health and started to stretch. A grin spread across his face as he looked around the area in front of him, figuring the walls to be a little over 5 and a half feet apart, and the wall a little over 7 feet. He crouched low and ran directly at a wall and did a little hop, his feet touching the wall and slightly gripping its vertical surface.

He used his momentum to get him about 4 feet up before pushing off of the wall towards the other one. He flipped and hit the other wall with his feet, bending his body until he was almost flat against the surface of the wall to help absorb the force of his momentum. He looked up and pushed off aiming for the ground about the midway point. He hit and tried to tumble but screwed up and ended up in a heap on the floor.

He chuckled slightly and stood back up, glaring at the wall and tried the move a second time, and a third until he could effectively hit the floor and roll with the attack. After about 15 minutes of practicing he stretched once more and started down the hall again, making sure his SP was full. "Good, now we're ready to rock and roll," he said continued at a leisurely pace until he noticed a glowing about 20 feet down the hall. "Good, now is the perfect time to test my newest idea." he said and moved closer and three monsters appeared out of the light.

He grinned and noticed two goblins, and what looked to be a knight. He shrugged and moved into action sprinting as fast as his legs would carry him down the hall. When he reached about 8 feet away he jumped onto the left wall, pushed off and hit the right wall his feet still moving as they found a slight grip. When he was 3 feet away he jumped off the wall with his Kai leading the way. He grinned as he passed just over the knights shield and weapon and both of his weapons shot out slamming into the soft skin of the neck.

His momentum yanked him into a semi-circle, sending his feet crashing into the side of a goblin and sending it crashing into the wall, at the same time the momentum also sent the swordmanoid spinning and it crashed into the ground. Phantom grinned and stood over the swordmanoid and started stabbing it in the chest in rapid succession and finally ending it with a Sabre Dance attack. He looked up and saw the goblins making their way towards him and he flung both of his Kai with deadly precision, embedding them deep into the chest the goblins. He sprinted forward and grabbed both hilts, his feet powering forward and he used the burst of speed to over-balance the two goblins and ram them into the walls.

He pulled the Kai out and started slashing at the one he had kicked, making sure to place the hits on what he would think where critical points on the body before turning and flinging one of his Kai into the back of the swordmanoid as it started to stand. He turned his attention back to the goblin and finished it off with a quick slash to its throat before turning his gaze onto the second goblin. He moved forward with an almost unearthly grace and slid his right foot under the feet of the goblin and as it started to fall he slammed his Kai into its chest and shoved it as hard as he could into the ground before turning his attention back to the swordmanoid.

He watched as the dagger fell from its back and he quickly focused. "Gan Zot," he murmured and a pillar of rocks formed and slammed into the swordmanoid, ramming him with excessive force into the ceiling and dropping his pretty much lifeless body to the ground. He grabbed his Kai from the floor and turned to see the remaining goblin struggling to pull his other weapon from his chest. "Tut tut little monster, didn't your mother ever tell you its bad manners," he leaned over and grabbed hold of the dagger in its chest and twisted and then tearing a long line down its chest with an audible grunt as he said the word manners, "To try and remove an object that was intended to cause your demise?" he said with a somewhat sadistic chuckle. He took both daggers and rammed one into each eye and with that the goblin vanished.

He turned to see the swordmanoid staggering to its feet and walked calmly towards it. "I see you aren't quite finished yet, well i guess there's only one thing we can do about that isn't there?" He said and started stabbing it with shallow pricks across every exposed piece of flesh until finally it disappeared and died. "Well, I guess that's that then for these guys," He said and wiped his Kai off on his pant legs.

He looked up and grinned at Bane. "I'd say its time for a break wouldn't you?" he asked and sat down and leaned against the wall, placing his Kai blades into their sheaths on their backs. "I guess we could always entertain ourselves for about 10 minutes." He said and looked over to Bane. "So, how long have you been playing?" he asked, and rested his head against the wall, keeping an eye on how his SP was coming along.

Bane leaned against the wall opposite Phantom and looked at him with a relaxed gaze, folding his arms. ”Just over a year. Granted, with school and other commitments, I haven’t been levelling much. Even then, in the times I have played? There’s more than enough excitement going on in this virtual reality.”

Phantom listened to Bane's response and nodded before closing his eyes and relaxing for a bit. After about 15 minutes his SP was full again and he decided to continue. He stood up and started walking down the hall and came to a Tee split in the path, one heading left the other heading right. He looked left and noticed a chest and a dead end so he decided to go right. As he walked down the right path a set of stairs loomed in the distance, leading deeper into the bowels of the dungeon.

He gulped and shook his head slightly before continuing down the stairs into who knows what kind of monsters domain. As he descended the stairs he noticed a slight shiver run along his body causing goosebumps to form along his skin and he realized that in a way he was scared to proceed. He stopped for a second and mentally berated himself for being scared of a game, whats the worst that could happen anyways? He sighed and firmed his resolve and trudged forward, finally reaching the second level.

As he reached the second floor he noticed it was slightly darker then the floor upstairs and he could already see a few areas where monsters would appear off in the distance. He grinned and sped up his pace to get this fight started. As he reached the 11 foot mark a flash of light appeared to reveal what looked like a moth. It hovered in the air on wings that fluttered and caused a slight breeze. Phantom shook his head, what could a bug do against him?" He thought and moved forward only to find out exactly what a bug could do against him. As he approached the bug it started flapping its wings faster and slammed into his chest with enough force to send him backwards a few feet. Man that kind of hurt, and from a bug such as this? Phantom gained a little respect for the moths abilities and got into a more defensive position.

The moth circled around him for several second before darting in and again slamming into Phantom, this time hitting him in the side. Phantom grimaced but struck back, hitting it with a minor scratch along its under-belly. The moth fluttered a little before backing up to try a different, less painful, approach to take the player out. Phantom crouched lower to protect himself, both his blades held at different angles in front of him and he waited patiently. Every opponent had a weak spot, every opponent made a mistake and all one had to do was wait for that chance. Luckily for Phantom the chance didn't take long to arrive, because about 2 minutes later the moth flew in for another strike only to be met by the edge of Phantoms blades as they slammed into its back, dropping it to the ground.

"You know, for a bug your pretty damned annoying." He said and grabbed both of its wings and placed them under his foot and stood on them. "Now, I'm going to do this either the easy way, or the hard way, its up to you." He said and started slashing at the bug. After a few seconds of thrashing the bug got enough of a wing from to push up and slam into Phantoms legs, knocking him over. "I see we are going to do this the hard way." He said with a growl and watched the bug rise into the air before sending one of his Kai into its side and it dropped to the ground a second time. This time Phantom moved up to it and used his Kai to cut a large gap in its wings, preventing it from flying. "Now, I win," he said and stabbed the moth 5 more times until he was certain it was dead.

When he was done he looked at Bane, "Dude, that's was a bit more difficult then i would have expected, shows me to think a monster is weak doesn't it?" he asked with a grimace as he noted that the fight with the moth had cost him 12 hit points. He shook his head and continue on trepidation growing in him as he looked at his surroundings. The entire place had the feeling of desolation and destruction and another shiver ran up Phantoms back. He turned a corner and was hit square in the shoulder by a sword wielded by a goblin. "Oh you ass!" he yelled in anger and stabbed his Kai through the goblins arm and then pulled out the small sword. "You know, I would have taken it easy on you, now your just dead." He said and took a step towards the retreating goblin, hate emanating from the very core of his being. His eyes flashed as Phantom closed in on the goblin. "Stand still," he said until finally he caught the goblin. "Now don't worry, this is sooo gonna hurt, a lot." he said to the monster, anger and hatred could easily be heard as he talked. He grabbed the monster by its arms and shoved one of his Kai through its palms, then started slashing it with wild abandon until the monster died.

When it disappeared he took a deep sigh and tried to calm himself down. He didn't know where that side of him came from, it was just an instant response to what his mind took for pain, even though in a virtual reality world he didn't really feel pain but the basic principle behind it was still there. He shook his head and continued walking, noting that he was roughly at 48 hit points. That damned sword did a lot of damage. He continued through the dungeon finding no more monsters on the second floor, and came to a dead end with a large gold chest in the center, behind which was what he assumed was the statue he needed to activate. He stopped and looked at Bane. "Now what?".