Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

011.2 | Bug Bites

The rare flower could not be taken away, so they unanimously decided to just leave it alone. Since it is a quest item, it cannot be taken out easily. But since a quest can be triggered by certain conditions, it would be better to become careful. Clover took out a glass globe then covered the lovely flower.

"This should not affect the flower," Clover commented positively as he carefully placed the glass above the flower. He waited for a while to observe if there was any reaction. The flower remained in its pristine condition.

Aries studied the glass globe and thought it was familiar. "This glass globe is from the first server?"

Clover nodded.

"In that case, it is fine. Anything from the first server is good stuff, so this will surely not reject it," Aries affirmed.

Leon and Shin presented Aries a baffled look while the twins directly sought the question. It is the first time they heard it. Leon thought of the reason when he remembered what Allen told them before.

"Is it because of the blessing of the dragon?" Leon guessed.

Aries applauded in affirmation. "Something that is blessed should be pure, right?"

They ended the trip with an array enclosing the site. There are only a few people that could enter the area so this array must not affect the other players that much. They left the next day (game's time) and went to the dungeon.

The 200th floor has been cleared so the floor dungeons above this level can directly be accessed. Unlike before, the announcement of defeating bosses had slowed down. This must be because the monsters belonging to the Zwene gate world are exceedingly aggressive as compared to the first one hundred and ninety-nine levels.

Xavier and the other guild members went ahead to secure a floor to clear. They have been fighting fiercely with whatever monsters they encounter on the way while drawing up the map. Their record books are floating mid-air, just hovering on their sides.

This is the likely scenario the Sora found when they arrived to the floor. After the guilds of the Undead and the Humanoid cleared the 200th floor, other guilds quickly seized the proceeding levels. Xavier took dibs on the 205th level. Other players would just pass by without alerting the boss to move on the following levels.

The 201st up to the 2010th floor have the same set-up. It is an enclosed jungle with overgrown vegetation. Trees of unknown species were erected accompanied by long sturdy vines and two meters tall ferns. Various animals inhabited the area with insects as the majority.

Xavier is commanding a large red flower bud to release pollens to the land. Golden specks spewed out from the sealed lips atop which were dispersed to the surroundings with the help of the wind. The pollen directly grew out roots and stems until a more miniature version of the flower bud popped out.

"This ground is now enclosed," Xavier announced to the other people around him. "Let's try to that side..."

The Elven must be overly focused on his job that it is already late for him to realize that a mutated plant beast had sneaked behind him. He is ready to defend himself when a vivid sound of gunshot erupted. The sound is deafening and crisps that made the birds and animals residing around fly out.

Xavier jerked his head around and found a familiar looking teenager brandishing a g*n. He is still in position, holding the front handle with one hand while the bust stayed on his shoulders. His one eye is peering over the eye piece, and the mouth of the g*n is still releasing smoke.

Marcus easily eliminated the beast in one shot. A static sound came out from the fallen beast then a couple of gold coins and drops appeared. Xavier blinked from the sudden surprised before shifting to a smile. He made a frantic ran then jumped towards the twins to give them a fatherly hug.

"My precious children are so good," Xavier complimented the two while handing out some candies."Here, accept my gift of gratitude."

The twins did not refuse the gifts. The adults around them love to pamper them so there is no use of not accepting their gifts. Regardless, these people are second rich generations. Aside from trying to live each day, they also have to spend money.

Clover checked out the surroundings. He had recognized the markings completed by the elf on their way. He recalled the set-up of these floors. There are three bosses dwelling in this area. Like the rules on the Crystal Forest, the bosses in this place can only be spawned under a certain condition.

This is the reason why anyone could roam around without any problem.

"I think we would be able to finish clearing this area today," Shin commented. "So tomorrow we will be confronting the bosses?"

Leon nodded. "Shall we split up?"

There is nothing to worry about the setting of the place, so Clover agreed. However, before he could distribute their tasks, a guild member called out their attention. They're the ones that got lucky when Clover placed the remaining nerve gears on the lottery. The player's name is [JASE-233].

"I... um...", Jase did not expect to receive the attention from many people. He suddenly got nervous.

The members of the Sora Party are genuinely friendly, but nobody could erase the fact that they remain elite players. Nobody would dare to approach them recklessly, afraid that they would look fool in front of their idol. Especially, Clover, who just recently revealed his identity.

Aries assumed his position as the middle man and placed his arms around Jase's shoulders and hooked it. He is the one handing the daily quests to guild members, so the players are familiar to him. Xavier also went to Jase's other side to support him.

"Did you find something interesting?" Aries asked once again.

Jase had calmed down and slowly constructed his words. He said, "I was exploring the western side of the map when I found a narrow passageway. The given map says there should be no entrance on that part, so I decided to crawl down and see what's inside."

"Can you provide the coordinates to us?" Clover asked.

Jase nodded. Aries put away his hand then opened a map. Jase estimated the coordinates and pinpointed it to the map. Clover called out Shin to look at the area. Shin compared the site on his memories and affirmed Jase's words.

"This place... there is a shrub of wild berries and some red colored leaves. Did you identify them there?"Shin asked.

Jase widened his eyes then nodded. "There are indeed wild berries and red colored leaves. The wild berries almost covered the narrow passage. If not me accidentally delivered my weapon away, I will not perceive it."

"Are you really sure that there is only a wall there?" Clover asked Shin again.

"Yes, ah," Shin vigorously nodded."I literally recorded every area whenever you apprised me to look around. This includes the areas that cannot be seen clearly. I walked through behind those bushes before, and I can say that there is absolutely no passage there..."

"D-did you say j-just say that you can remember the maps o-of every floor?" Jase stammered as he pointed at Shin.

Shin winked at him. He pointed his temples to emphasize the existence of his brain. "Of course, I do. I can recall everything here. You... didn't you join the guild three years ago? You are wearing some green and coarse toga on that time, right?"

"I am!" Jase is immensely surprised.

He never thought that Shin had a retentive memory. In fact, people only a few people know this ability of his. Leon, too, since intelligence is not something common. Jase also belongs to the gifted ones with the high intelligence quotient, but he could tell that these people are beyond that.

Leon and Shin are not even part of the prominent officers of the Cassaianne Guild.

"Then let's check it," Clover said.

They went to the area where the passage is discovered. Jase had removed a few bushes from the entrance, so it can be seen properly. The size of the passage is about a meter in diameter. They could enter if they crawl in.

Frass volunteered to come in first. He entered the passageway while measuring the length of the tunnel. Crawling for about half a minute, Frass approached the end of the crawl space. Clover received the message from Frass.

"It is about three meters long," Frass said.

Seeing that there is no danger, everyone followed and crawled in. Leon came in last. The moment he got out from the three-meter passage, he is confronted with bright sunlight. He instinctively covered his eyes to block the light.

Why is there a light inside a cave?

"Here, let me help you," Shin helped Leon to stand.

"What is this place?" Leon looked around as he stood up.

He had brushed the dusts and leaves away from his clothes before he continued watching around. The other side of the tunnel is a wall, so his expectations would be seeing a cave than light. Who would have guessed that it will transport them in another vegetation?

"Something seems weird," he muttered under his breath.

The area looks like the ordinary forest. There are trees of assorted sizes, bushes and tall grasses, wild flowers and creeping vines. The animals and insects are harmoniously making noises in the background producing whatever stuff they could produce. Leon glanced at the small wild flower under his feet. He squatted down to pick it up.

He has been carefully observing the surroundings the moment he came out. The numbers crowded his eyesight as always that converted the state of the objects around him. There is nothing wrong with the numbers. Everything is normal...

Everything is too normal.

Clover projected the map so everyone could see it. He marked the area they entered and estimated the size of the forest. He had already asked Aries to release drones to scan the perimeter while he summoned his goblins to go to the ends of the forest.

"There are no vicious animals around," Aries reported.

He is possessing the monitor that is managing the drones. He adjusted the flight of the drone until it reached the maximum flight capacity. The monitor showed foliage of tree tops that seem to extend to infinity.

"I could not see the edge," Aries bobbed his head as he displayed the monitor to Clover."What do you think?"

"This... my familiars are still running," Clover said as he looked at the outstretched scenery. "That had covered a hectare already."

"Isn't this normal?" Shin commented. "The Redwood Forest is about eight hectares the least. This one must be one of those global forests."

Clover thinks that it is feasible, so he did not reject Shin's idea. He is to open his inventory to buy more advanced drones when he found Leon walking around aimlessly. His eyes were a bit lost as he looked around without certainty.

Xavier is also having the similar reaction. Though the player doesn't have the same muddle eyes like Leon, he is giving the surroundings a puzzled expression. Clover could not comprehend the situation, so he turned around to observe the other Elven people in his group.

Marlene and Marcus are together, and they merely seem to just look around. They did not leave the encirclement and were observing the unfamiliar environment. There is nothing wrong with their usually enthusiastic actions with curiosity on things.

"What's wrong?" Clover called out.

Both Leon and Xavier reacted. Clover could instantly tell that there's something wrong with them. Xavier withdrew his head then looked at the grass under his feet. Clover followed and also looked down. As usual, various wild flowers and grasses are growing out from the ground he's stepping.

"Want to say something?" Frass noticed the abnormality too.

"I'm not quite sure," Xavier shrugged his shoulders."Something is off."

"What is off?"

"I don't know. I can't place my finger on it."

Clover looked at Leon. Leon shook his head ad if agreeing to Xavier's words.

"I also don't know, but..." Leon calculated the normal numbers. "Everything seems too natural."

"Yes, that's the feeling!" Xavier exclaimed. "Don't you feel that everything is absolutely natural?"

"It is?" Clover ignored the drones and the map and proceeded on squatting down.

He touched the grass then grasped it in his palm. Clover bore the familiar feeling of sharp itchiness that seemed to wound him if he will gather the grass. He carefully gathered a few pieces then examined it. A part of his skin became green from the pigment that was accidentally crushed.

This is a grass.

"So?" Frass walked closer beside Clover and seized a piece of grass. "I don't feel anything."

"Yes..." Clover slowly enunciated. "This is a grass-"

A sudden realization made Clover reflexively clench his hand. The gears in his brain started moving like an engine going to live. His surroundings gradually sank out until there's nothing that he could detect but his thoughts. His brain is rapidly calculating numbers.

Frass snapped Clover when he realized that the youth was getting further away. He patted Clover's back as if soothing him from the sudden slap.

"Breathe," Frass ordered."Can you hear me? Breathe."

Clover affirmed his state by breathing. Aries called them out.

"My drone detected an odd fluctuation nearby. The camera showed a standing slab of marble. Do you want to see it?"

"Should we take a look?" Xavier asked.

Clover is thinking if they should proceed. They have already been notified that some areas may appear that is not part of the map. These areas could be places that were not checked when the game is being created or these areas are a chunk of existence from the other dimension.

He could clearly tell that this place no longer belonged to their world, even not inside the game.

So, what is this place?

Clover strode beside Aries and said, "Let's check it. Give me the coordinates."

Frass seized Clover's arms. He looked at the other sternly, clearly stating his refusal. Clover did not back down as he pulled his arm away. Frass already expected this result so he walked ahead and blocked the player. He would allow Clover to do whatever he wanted as long as he won't put his life in danger.

"Let's ask Carter about this first. We don't know what that thing is."

"It's okay. I know what I am doing," Clover retorted.

"No, you don't know what you're doing," Frass grabbed Clover's arm and hauled him towards the tunnel."We will go back."

"Stop pulling me!"

Clover struck his hand away then retreated a few steps. Xavier stepped forward and took the middleman position. Nobody thought that something like this would happen as they silently observed their interaction.

"Listen to me, we are going out," Frass enunciated each word to emphasize his point. "Everyone, we will go back."

"What's the problem with it?" Clover crossed his arms and looked at Frass with a frown. "The purpose of this beta test is for us to see if some areas are not in the map. Now, we found one. We are over here to collect the data."

"I know what you are thinking. Since it wasn't part of the map, what do you think it is?" Frass made a mocking smile that immediately shifted to a tight, straight expression."This place is dangerous."

"It is just a game," Clover shrugged.

"We are talking about your life."

Aries interjected, "What about his life?"

"Guys, calm down," Xavier pulled Frass away from Clover. "Let's not talk about that here."

Frass moved his eyes from Clover to Xavier. "You're always tolerating him."

Xavier sighed, "I am not."

"If you don't want to go then don't," Clover stated a solution.

He walked towards Aries then hooked his arms around him. Aries flinched upon the contact. He did not expect Clover to suddenly touch him like this. Frass wanted to rush over but Xavier obstructed him on time. The guy that looks feeble can actually stop Frass from advancing.

"How about this?" Xavier tried to appease Frass. "We will just go over and take a look-"

Frass glared at him.

"No, stop looking at me like that. You're scaring my heart, okay?" Xavier held his heart to breathe. "So, I was saying, we will just go over and look at it. We will not stay there for so long. Maybe about fifteen minutes-"

"Five minutes," Frass stated.

"What can five minutes do? Make it twenty," Clover suggested.

"Fifteen minutes," Xavier insisted. "You guys won't listen to each other, so you will listen to me now. We will go over and examine it for fifteen minutes. After that, we will go out. All good and happy?"

"I'm okay with that," Clover didn't care as long as he could go.

"And how about you, Frass?"

Frass did not answer. The stalemate continued. Xavier wanted to grant more options when suddenly they heard a scream. It is then accompanied by two gunshots. Clover quickly looked around to search the figures of the twin but he didn't see them.

The twins don't usually go without their permission.

Clover no longer lingered around and hurriedly searched for the source of the noise. The other members also followed. On their way, two more g*n shots can be heard. Aries scanned his drones to see which direction the twins went by.

He swiped the sceneries quickly then halted. He grabbed Clover who is going towards the opposite direction then showed him the video feed. The screen showed a large insect resembling a beetle holding a mangled body on its horns. The said bodies, presumably the twins, are clearly dead.