Chapter Text
ACT I : The Beginning of a Journey
The night has already set down, the darkness clouding the swift movements of the short woman climbing up the back gate and making her way inside the premise undetected. Her steps echoed into the empty hallway in soft yet unmistakable pit-a-pats as she neared her destination. Her hood covered her features though the darkness already shielded her frame in shadows. She had to be quick, it was her only chance.
The jingle of the keys in her trembling hands made her flinch, at any moment the security guard would round the corner as per the schedule she had taken time to create after weeks of observing and analysing. He would be coming from the left, all the way down the large hallway while she could make her escape by running to the right and losing him as soon as she took the close turn. Yet, her nerves were eating her alive.
“Fuck, which one.” The hooded figure whispered as yet another key did not fit in the hole. She had worked her ass off to steal this set of keys from the security office but failed to consider the sheer bulk of the object as a shiny array of twenty keys greeted her.
She was focused, half struggling to open the door to the secluded and enigmatic ‘STORAGE ROOM - 172’ and half anticipating the tell-tale light coming from the left as the guard would come to complete his round.
It seems that all her calculations and careful planning failed to account for third parties crashing on her as quiet steps fell into her deaf ears until a heavy hand landed onto her shoulder with a low voice sending shivers down her spine.
“What are you doing ?” It was there, the disapproving tone and the distinct frown etched on the barely visible face as the inherent darkness concealed most of her features.
The flash of light coming from the stranger’s phone mimicked the flash of panic in her own eyes, accidentally dropping her keys and bumping the girl in the process with her phone falling in a muted thud.
It all happened so quickly, as the hooded girl squatted down and grabbed both the phone and the keys while already preparing for her escape… just a matter of time… 1, 2, 3-
“YAH STOP RIGHT THERE!” The flash on her left and the manly scream was her cue to bolt.
The loud resounding sound of footsteps matched the erratic heartbeat in her ears as she made a run for it. The school campus was her playground, knowing each and every turn of the maze-like building while the frantic cacophony of screams tailed hot behind her.
That was… until she was floored to the ground in a powerful tackle nearly knocking the wind out of her lungs. A heavy body settled on top of her and hands wrestled her grip on her closed fists. When did an animal hunt the campus ground ? Last time she checked, their old security guard could barely run a hundred meters before stopping to get a breath.
“Give me my phone back you thief !” The low voice grunted, trying hard to grab the device she had accidentally taken along with the keys. Yet the hooded figure was quick to defend herself, putting up a fight as her legs desperately screamed for flight. This was bad. This was risky. Crap crap.
Another set of loud thumps were echoing not far and it didn’t take her any longer before shoving all the content in her hands towards the girl who reacted just as expected. Worst comes to worst, she won’t let herself be caught that easily.
“You both ! What are you doing ?!” The security guard caught up, panting heavily and shining his bright flashlight onto the pair.
“Sir ! I caught a thief and she-“ the hooded girl took her time standing up to look at the proud girl that had a husky voice which didn’t match her youthful puppy face. Puffing her chest up as her varsity jacket proudly sat on top of her shoulders, one hand clutching her phone and the other holding an unmistakable set of keys…
“pff hero complex…” she coughed up, once finally able to breathe properly after being literally getting pounced on by the jock.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY KEYS ?! YOU BOTH, TO MY OFFICE. NOW !”
She will never forget the flabbergasted face and mouth gaping expression that drew itself on the seemingly knight in shining armor… she might have failed her mission but she won’t get dragged down alone. Especially not without that girl who ruined her plans, now glaring at her while she only smiled innocently. Served her right.
__________
The empty classroom smelled of dust and unmistakable dried up teenage hormones. Saturday mornings were usually laze and daze but not for the council president who glared at the particularly bright smile her friend sitting at the front row was sending her way.
“I can’t believe you convinced me to do this.” The council president sighed, adjusting her tie around her prim and proper school uniform. The navy blue vest encasing the white button up shirt and the hairband keeping her long black hair tidy.
”Don’t say that, you love me too much Minnie-yah.” A poor excuse of a wink was sent to the tall girl standing at the front.
”Unfortunately… How did you even get detention? Aren’t you the school’s icon, Miyeon ? I thought everyone liked you, teachers included.” Minnie questioned, still not believing the fact her questionable friend landed herself here after three years of charming her way out of trouble. There is a first to everything apparently.
“Not telling.” Miyeon blushed in embarrassment before sticking her tongue out jokingly.
“I’m calling Jinyoung to take his shift back.” Minnie deadpanned, packing her papers and preparing her exit.
The sharp screech of the chair made the girl sitting all the way back flinch a little. “No, no, no- okay I’ll tell you.” Miyeon took quick strides towards her friend, grabbing her by the arm and forcefully sitting the Thai student next to her.
Minnie just smiled and batted her eyelashes, patiently waiting for the juicy tale.
“So…. I was running late for class yesterday and you know how Ms. Kang already warned me to not be late again for her class.” Miyeon started, her voice getting a little lower in resignation as the events of the day prior replayed in her head.
“Yeah yeah, go on.” Minnie nodded, it was public knowledge that their princess was crowned with the most tardiness instances, almost always showing up to morning classes 10 minutes after the bell rang and in her good days she could be knocking on the door a full hour late with an ad-worthy perfect smile.
“Well, I only had 1 minute to make it on time but I ran into Mr.Kim walking with Some other old geezers. I toppled over but… My hand accidentally aimed toward him to catch myself… but because he is short I grabbed his hair and still fell on the floor.” Miyeon continued, her eyes casting downwards as the climax of the story was left hanging.
”Oh my god ?! Did you rip his hair out or something? You know how our Dean is proud of his hair, he will kill you.” Minnie voiced out in shock.
“Did you know …. That he wears a wig.” Miyeon finally dropped the bomb, opening one eye to see Minnie processing that information before suddenly bursting in laughter.
“NO WAYYYYY !!! Oh my god, so you literally snatched our Dean’s wig off ?? Nice aim, Miyeon. Bullseye!” The council president exclaimed, clapping her hands as if she had witnessed the greatest show in history. Oh she wished she was there to see the whole thing unfold in front of her own eyes.
”Stop, he made me swear to not tell anyone or else he will expel me for a whole week. He also made the people witnessing this whole thing sign a NDA paper or something… in the end I was late and Ms.Kang got me in detention. I swear pregnancy made her more sensitive.” Miyeon sighed, slumping on her desk in defeat.
“I mean… you’re already lucky Mr.Kim didn’t add to that detention.” Minnie patted her friend’s shoulder in empathy, still recovering from her laughing fit.
“You tell me about it… Imagine if Jinyoung came to oversee us too, I would die on the spot.” Miyeon pouted, nose scrunching in anger as the name of her ex rolled off her tongue leaving a bitter taste in its wake.
“He would so rub it in your face.” Minnie agreed, remembering their breakup earlier this year with the vice-president crying in the council room for days on end after his sweet princess called it quits. Since then, Jinyoung had been so remorseful and always tried to frame Miyeon for whatever thing she had done.. which wasn’t much. Miyeon might be the popular school princess, she was like a Disney character who could not harm a fly. Needless to say his attempts at revenge fell short of evidence.
“Enough of me, what about them ?” Miyeon changed the subject as her ex was just a bitter memory adding up to her already bitter predicament. She not so discreetly nodded her head behind to the other two girls in the room, unfamiliar with the whole getting detention thing.
“Hmm, that one, Shuhua, got caught by Mr.Lee for sleeping in his class. When he called her out she only replied with a snore.” Minnie told, eyes falling on the black haired girl softly sleeping on the desk, arms crossed which covered her face from view.
“Seems like it.” Miyeon could only smile a little at how fitting it sounded.
”And her at the back-“
SHRAAACK- the door opened in a loud bang startling the two seniors out of their gossipy spree. The security guard, Mr.Im, appeared holding a girl by the back of her light blue varsity jacket and softly yet purposely pushing her inside the classroom in an exasperated manner.
“I was telling you, Sir. I caught the thief and SHE shoved the keys in MY hands. I was heading home after rugby practice but forgot my jacket in my locker !” The loud girl complained and by the look on the old guard’s wrinkled face, it wasn’t the first time he heard this.
“Sure. Just enjoy your detention, Song. Next time don’t forget your jacket and don’t roam inside the school at night.” The guard waved dismissively before closing the door and leaving.
The Chinese girl’s face turned yet another deep shade of red at the injustice, eyes setting on the girl at the back who simply waved at her with the same damn smirk as last night, masking the slight surprise with amusement.
“YOU ! I swear you are-“ The Chinese girl was stomping her way toward the frail girl with a gray hooded jacket covering her uniform, long raven hair framing her sharp face.
“Alright, Yuqi take a seat, I will take attendance.” Minnie intervened, grabbing the fuming girl by the shoulder and redirecting her towards a chair with a firm grasp. Yuqi could only groan exasperatedly before finally dropping herself next to the slumbering Shuhua.
Now finally able to carry on with her work, Minnie stood in front of everyone and cleared her throat.
”Cho Miyeon ?”
”Yes.”
”Jeon Soyeon ?”
”hm..”
”Song Yuqi.”
”Yeah.”
”Yeh Shuhua”
In the awkward looming silence, Yuqi shook the other girl awake who somehow managed to sleep through the whole mayhem until now. A little disoriented, the Taiwanese girl glanced around in confusion before uttering a soft yet audible “uh” making Minnie snort at the youngest girl.
From her seat at the front, Miyeon uttered a soft yet honey-voiced “cuteee” as she could only stare at the unfamiliar girl still regaining her bearings from the table across the room.
“Alright, everyone is here. So, today we will be cleaning the storage room. You will all be dismissed when the room is fully cleared up since the management office told me they wanted to throw away the stuff inside to convert it into a new club room.” Minnie explained while motioning for everyone to follow her.
The bunch made their way down the hallway quietly with Yuqi dragging a tired Shuhua along under the attentive eyes of the campus princess finding the sight too endearing. The walk wasn’t long but the emptiness of everything made it seem excruciatingly long as time seemed to pass by slower. The array of red painted lockers and the dusty staircase leading to the first floor was uncannily silent unlike the usual unyielding constant fuzz of school grounds.
They stopped in front of a room and Minnie opened it swiftly in one quick motion as she fished a key out of her pocket “Here it is.”
The overwhelming smell of dust matched with the wave of gray particles floating upon the opening of the room making more than one cough and frown at the respiratory assault. It was a disaster. Straight out of a horror movie, clean freaks beware. Papers all over the floor, cardboard boxes thrown around the room as the shelves contained a set of random objects with some dangerously dangling at the edge as if wanting to commit suicide off a cliff. The royal blue couch at the end of the room was covered in a thick layer of almost black dust and the white curtains were left half drawn up only offering limited lighting inside the storage room.
But in the silence of it all…”room 172…” Soyeon mumbled, finally regaining vitality before diving head first in the hell hole.
”I didn’t know someone would be enthusiastic about cleaning.” Minnie voiced out in surprise. “Well, imma check on you later so have fun guys.”
The council president’s escape was short lived as Miyeon’s ever so precise and fast hands gripped her shirt with a plastic perfect smile “Minnie-yah, help us… you will be off duty sooner if you lend us a hand.” And Minnie never hated her sweet talking friend so much before.
XXXXXX
Cleaning was going well for most part. The couch was dusted and the boxes on top of it disposed of in the trash. The papers on the floor were gathered up for most part and grouped together depending on their content. Some utterly useless jumble mumble in what looked like alien language, some game rules of sort for a game yet to be found in the chaos of the place and other about an unfinished and fragmented story that did not interest Minnie one bit.
“Yah… why does it feel like I work more than you here.” Minnie scolded at her friend who was prettily sitting on the couch, alternating between looking at her phone and looking at the Taiwanese girl who was shifting through a box for any important stuff before throwing it out in a repeated sequence.
“What ? I took care of the couch.” Miyeon stated matter of factly.
Minnie’s retort was cut short as a crash could be heard from the other side of the room. The sight of Yuqi pinning Soyeon against the wooden shelf made the student president stand up in alert, ready to intervene and dismiss a possible fight from breaking out.
”Yah ?! Not only you get me into this mess but you aren’t helping us out too???” Yuqi growled with an accusatory voice, hands clutching at the grey jacket engulfing Soyeon’s figure making her seem so much smaller than she actually is.
Since she entered the room, Soyeon who at first seemed to be taking the whole clearing task seriously, was more into looking and throwing things over her shoulder when they didn’t catch her attention. Grouping a few papers in her corner before looking through other boxes and leaving them once she couldn’t make use of their content, often leaving them unorganized while ditching things adding up to the mayhem around.
”Yuqi calm down.” Minnie ran to them followed by a worried Miyeon with Shuhua making her way toward the crowd after hearing the commotion.
”I can’t stand her; she is absolutely infuriating.” Yuqi screamed, letting go of an unfazed Soyeon who just brushed it off and went back to ruffling through the wooden shelf once more.
”I get it but it doesn’t excuse you for using violence.” Minnie reprimanded softly, trying to take control of the situation.
The sound of several objects falling on the floor caught their attention and here was Soyeon just scanning the shelf, dropping most of its contents on the ground in urgency.
“I swear to god can you stop-“ The Chinese girl groaned in annoyance, hands coming up to grab the loosely hanging hood and pulling the defiant girl back with a stronger than intended tug.
A dusty box fell on the floor, its content spilling ungracefully with strangely shaped dices rolling down and a folded piece of cardboard laying down on the floor, its surface scribbled in weird scriptures and decorated with medieval looking houses, trees and castles.
The silence in the room was the only thing accompanying the bright shining purple light coming from the folds of the map as it almost eerily started to move and unfold itself with uncontrolled and sudden jolts before opening up revealing a board game surface.
The group could only watch in horror as the uncanny event unfolded itself with the dices now floating around in the room and circling the board. The faint rumble of drums getting louder each passing second, installing fear in everyone, each percussion sent a shiver down their spines. The crescendo only a testament for their imminent doom.
“What the fuck.”
The light clouded the place in blinding purple as the group squinted their eyes to no avail. Drums now echoed like cavalry marching forward to the battlefield, the sudden wind picking up, the dices still flying around them as the board lost its map appearance, replaced by a seemingly black hole leading to the cosmos and beyond. All at once the dices were absorbed in a vortex force pulling and sucking anything in its wake.
The room returned to its original self, a board game placed in the messy center of the room with no one in its vicinity to play the game.
___________
The loud and throaty screams echoed in the air… literally, as they fell down the sky at an increasing speed. Crashing into clouds leaving human shaped holes in the cotton like cumulonimbus.
“We’re going to die !” Shuhua yelled in fright as the tree line came to view which was only answered by more ear piercing shrieks from the rest. Clearly not helping the situation.
The landing was … far from smooth. Miyeon remembers colliding into a thick branch right in her guts before slipping off into more foliage and finally hitting the ground in a less than graceful thud.
She heard another person landing next to her and she tried to get up to check on the group but it seemed like the heavens had other plans… unjokingly, as a body dropped itself on top of her ribcage placating her right back to the dirt.
“OOOF.” The oldest of the bunch could only let out as the overall experience made her dizzy and sick in the stomach. Her insides squashed into a purée of organs and bones.
”Arghhh… what the hell.” She heard a familiar voice and it didn’t take much longer for Miyeon to push the offender off of her. Minnie just rolled off, sprawled out on her left trying to recover from this fall.
”You alright ?” Shuhua asked, being the first one to get up all the while holding her chest in hopes to calm her nerves down from her impromptu skydiving session.
“I guess so…” The unmistakable sharp voice from behind answered as Soyeon dusted her purple pants.
On the other side Minnie was checking on her limbs, still very confused by this whole ordeal…
“It… doesn’t hurt.” Miyeon addressed the elephant in the room once she was able to sit up.
“That’s not how I imagined free falling from the stratosphere to feel like.” Shuhua commented as she took a look around her, the dense vegetation extending all the way to the horizon.
“Where the hell are we though ?” Minnie questioned, finally able to move around and inspect their surroundings.
“Definitely not on school grounds.” Miyeon replied as she also started to analyze the situation they were in.
”No shit Sherlock.” Minnie deadpanned.
While this whole ordeal should be alarming, the noise coming from the south only made them realize a little detail that had escaped the squad so far.
”Shit, where is Yuqi? ” Shuhua asked, eyes darting around anxiously as the sound resembled her friend’s voice.
”Fuck”
The group ran towards the source of the cacophony, a mixture of screams of terror and bestial growls greeted them. Yuqi was found behind a bush a few meters away, pinned down by a large bear with bloody red eyes, saliva drooling down and teeth baring at the Chinese girl.
“Yuqi !!!” Shuhua screamed in horror at her friend, rooted on her spot wide eyed from shock.
“Yo you stinker !” Someone yelled as a rock was thrown at the bear who lost its focus on its prey underneath.
Yuqi took that opportunity to push the bear over, despite it being three times her size, effectively shrugging off the beast who growled in anger. It was them against a giant black bear. Only one way to proceed…
“Run !”
The five of them scurried away though they could hear and feel the predator hot on their tail. Miyeon and Soyeon being the ones leading the pack, dodging tree barks and large rocks while Minnie was slowly lagging behind… That was until she tripped over an unearthed root.
“Unnie !” Yuqi screamed but it was too late, the bear was close and ready to pounce. With bated breath they all waited for the inevitable to happen.
”LEAVE !” The voice resounded as if echoing through an imaginary cavern, itself imbued with a mystic sound that could make anyone tremble in its wake.
And just like that, the bear came to a stop, almost comically braking with its butt on the ground before taking a sharp U-Turn and walking off as if nothing happened.
The group only managed to heave out a relieved sigh while processing the whole thing… getting mauled by a bear was not on their wish list of the day. Though one might argue that being parachuted from the sky without a parachute in a whole new world would also be out of expectations.
“Did it just listen to Shuhua ?” Miyeon asked, still stunned by the whole running for their life thing they had barely pulled out.
“I guess so..?” Soyeon answered just as dumbfounded.
“Dear lord, I almost became bear food.” Minnie was seen praying on the ground, eyes bulging out.
XXXXXXXXX
The five of them found a more secluded area to settle and assess this whole predicament. The sound of chirping birds was such a contrast to the heavy atmosphere surrounding the five high schoolers.
“This is not Seoul… where are we?” Yuqi asked as the unrecognizable place was slowly starting to annoy her.
“Well… Not Seoul.” Shuhua replied from her spot on the ground, eyeing the floor as if it would give her the answers to the flurry of questions violently forming in her mind.
”Very helpful.” The Chinese sarcastically bit back before noticing something strange. “Why are you wearing a green cape with funky leather straps ?”
“You are one to talk. You are wearing leather armor with a blue shirt underneath.” Shuhua retorted with a snort, finally looking up to her friend.
Soyeon silently took a glance over the group, just as confused and perplexed. Miyeon had a dark green tunic with a golden breastplate and intricate leather gloves while Minnie adorned a long white gown accented by gold decorations running past her knees along with a heavy leather bag on her back and a golden ferroniere gracing her head, the bright orange gem decorating her forehead and catching the sunlight in a warm glow. Looking down at herself, her dark purple pants contrasted with the black hooded cape attached around her shoulder with a nice silver clip on her chest.
“We are in a game.” Shuhua mumbled out her conclusion.
“What the hell shu ? Did you hit your head too hard ?” Yuqi frowned at that, not letting her friend spew more nonsense as her hand came closer to check on her friend for possible concussions or external wounds.
“I think she’s right though.” Soyeon voiced out in agreement, herself having come to the same reasoning. From their last memory in the storage room to now… this was the only ridiculous idea that held up.
”Oh you better shut up-“ but the Chinese couldn’t say another thing as Soyeon just moved past her to crouch down near Shuhua, completely ignoring her.
“What do you think ?” Soyeon asked the youngest who was slightly taken aback by the sudden attention.
“It seems like some sort of DnD… the dices earlier and the board looked like it. I don’t know much about this game but if it’s like any other video game ....” Shuhua trailed off unsure, it’s been a while since she had last settled down to play video games. Yet, she had seen and heard of this kind of board game that was adapted to digital platforms.
“Then there should be a gaming interface.” Soyeon finished as the group silently listened to the two of them like they sprouted a second head.
“System: Stats.” Shuhua blurted experimentally before gasping loudly in fright, not expecting it would work.
“What ?” Minnie asked in curiosity, feeling left out from the possible breakthrough.
“I’m a Druid ?” Shuhua frowned at nothing in front of her, leaving the others completely confused.
“Everyone, say the same thing as Shuhua.” Soyeon instructed and they all chorused together. She herself cringed, feeling very nerdy for playing along but if they were indeed in a game, they had no choice but to abide by the rules of this new world.
A mix of spooked shrieks and amazed ’whoa’-s filled the ambient space between as they all started reading the magical pop up interface that appeared in their field of view.
“Can I see yours ?” Minnie said in a daze, not believing what she was reading. How come her eyes seemingly had integrated technology implanted in her retina, showing something akin to a phone screen right there and then.
All of a sudden, the interface in front of Soyeon materialized for everyone to see, which made Minnie come and check the words for herself.
Soyeon. Lvl 1 Halfling Rogue
___________
Strength - 15
Wisdom - 8
Intelligence - 24
Stamina - 18
Charisma - 7
Dexterity - 26
———————
Ability: swift hands. Can lockpick and steal with bonus dext stats.
“How did you do that ?” Miyeon asked as she huddled closer as well, intrigued by the newfound discovery.
“At the bottom corner there’s a share option, if you focus on it, it will appear.” Soyeon explained and the rest followed suit.
“Ah !” Miyeon exclaimed, startled as the brown, parchment-like screen appeared in front of her, looking more physical than it did before sharing it to everyone. Her curious hands came to touch it only to pass right through.
“Miyeon, show me your ears.” Minnie demanded from behind her shoulder.
”Uh ?” Miyeon obliviously complied. If the ruddy red hair wasn’t already contrasting with her usual dark brown locks, it was the pointy ears that caught everyone’s eyes as they poked out like a sore thumb in the perfect picture image.
”You’re an actual elf.” Soyeon commented in amazement, still taking everything in.
“What the hell ?!“ Yuqi’s voice came like thunder and everyone looked at her like she was mauled by a bear once more.
“What ?” The red haired elf asked in alert.
“I have less intelligence than all of you ?!” The Chinese girl complained, totally outraged.
Yuqi. Lvl 1 Human Knight.
_________
Strength - 25
Wisdom - 8
Intelligence - 4
Stamina - 21
Charisma - 27
Dexterity - 6
——————
Ability: Warrior’s rage. When fighting against more than 1 enemy, gain more strength and dexterity.
“Sounds accurate.” Soyeon shrugged before looking at the rest of the group’s profile, Yuqi’s rant falling on deaf ears.
Miyeon.lvl 1 Half Elf Ranger
___________
Strength - 18
Wisdom - 14
Intelligence - 10
Stamina - 25
Charisma - 16
Dexterity - 21
——————
Ability: Bullseye. Conjure infinite arrows.
“Bullseye uh ?” Minnie smirked slightly before adding “Are you going to shoot everyone’s wig off ?”
“Oh shut it. Why did they give you such a nice ability…” Miyeon replied with embarrassment, her hands still touching her newly elongated ears in terror.
Minnie. Lvl 1 Human Cleric
____________
Strength - 12
Wisdom - 23
Intelligence - 14
Stamina - 13
Charisma - 14
Dexterity - 10
———————
Ability: God's Favourite. Can channel Sol’s power and grant protection to party members and conjure devastating attacks.
“Well… can’t help it, I’m everyone’s favourite.” Minnie winked playfully, half glad that she didn’t undergo physical changes and half confused by what all these foreign words meant.
“Yeah yeah, I hope your god loves your over inflated ego too. Anyway, what about you Shuhua ?” Miyeon waved her off with a disgusted expression adorning her face, pointy ears angled a little more downward before perking up when turning to look at the quiet youngest.
“Nothing big…” The girl shrugged, making her own interface visible for everyone to see.
Shuhua lvl.1 Half-Elf Half-Faerie Druid
__________
Strength - 20
Wisdom - 22
Intelligence - 13
Stamina - 19
Charisma - 9
Dexterity - 15
Skills: talking to animals, cooking, driving, sailing, navigating, tying knots, herb collecting, potion making [Open to Expand]
“What the hell, why do you have so many skills ?” Yuqi blinked trying to swallow the bitter pill that she got defeated in that area as well.
“Yeah, most of us have only one or two… Why did you get so many ?” Miyeon commented, frowning at hers being Elven language -whatever that meant- and horse riding, all of which some of the group could also achieve.
”What about your ability ?” Minnie asked, noting that Shuhua’s wasn’t showing unlike the others.
“Oh … I don’t think I have one.” The younger one answered, looking away at Soyeon intrigued by her own interface. “I think we should form a party… if that’s how this game works.”
As if on cue, an invite popped on top of their profile screen reading ‘Soyeon.lvl 1 is inviting you to her party’ and Shuhua smiled a little at the sight. So far it was like what she expected. But it seemed like her glee wasn’t shared by all.
“I don’t wanna join.” Yuqi grumpily sulked.
“Then don’t.” Soyeon coldly deadpanned.
“You-”
“Woogs, if this game works like I know… we should stick together. The bear earlier could have really eaten you up and I don’t know if we can afford dying here.” Shuhua explained with a caring undertone.
“Oh we can’t… look at your forearm. Those are our lives.” Soyeon added. “We can’t die more than three times each.”
Everyone took a glance down at their own arms and as a matter of fact, three large black rectangular wedges were imprinted on their skin like ink on white paper. In the corner of their eyes a small note reads:
’Life: once all depleted it’s game over’
“What is game over…?” The oldest of the bunch asked warily, unfamiliar with the terminology.
“Well… we are all transported into a video game. By gaming rules, game over means we die.” The rogue explained and concealed a laugh seeing Yuqi’s name popping up in the party soon after.
Most of them found themselves reading more and exploring all the possible features of the interface. Even trying more controls, seeing which one worked and which didn’t. However, the school president couldn’t seem to understand whatever was presented in her own profile. The words are unfamiliar and the annotations also seem a little foreign to her.
Glancing around, they were still in the middle of nowhere and they had just nearly avoided becoming a nice snack. “Right… now what ?” Minnie broke the silence, anxiously waiting for someone to suggest a plan lest they actually become food for whatever might be lurking here.
”We walk until we find something ?” Shuhua answered equally as lost, finally closing up the several tabs she had opened up and refocusing herself to their surroundings.
”I think we should go back to our spawn area. We diverted from the original road because that loud jock here couldn’t help but become a tasty treat for Winnie the Pooh.” The party leader announced while standing up and tapping her light leather boots on the ground.
“Yah ! I landed RIGHT in front of a black bear ! I wanna see you fighting off a beast ten times your size, you dwarf.” The knight growled in annoyance, poking an irritated finger into the rogue’s shoulder accusingly.
“This Halfling, save your ass, remember. Now move it, we need to either find an npc or trigger a quest.” Soyeon corrected, giving a helping hand to Shuhua as the youngest towered over her at full height.
“Which way though ?” Minnie questioned, eyes lost in the green expanse.
“I have navigating skills, I can walk back to our spawn I think.” Shuhua said, her pale face blushing slightly as everyone looked at her expectantly. Unsure that this would work but at this point anything could come in handy.
But it was their leader’s smile that reassured her a little “lead the way.”
XXXXXXXXX
“So… here we are.” The Druid said when they encountered a faint dirt road cutting through the dense nature landscape.
[Spawn area: All players are immune to magical and physical damage]
“I think we can walk down the road and try to find an nct or something.” Miyeon nodded toward the rugged pathway with a serious expression, trying hard to immerse herself in this new universe.
“Npc, Unnie… Non-player characters. NCT are singers.” Shuhua corrected with a giggle and screw her elvish ears as Minnie could see the redness matching her bright ruby hair poking out in embarrassment.
They all continued down the uneven route, the sun seemingly stuck high up like time was frozen in place, unable to continue its natural course. The forest remained dense and if they were without the obvious road and Shuhua, it would be hard to differentiate tree #1 from tree #2834.
The uneventfulness of it all was both reassuring but also very worrying as anything could happen once they reach the end of the road. This unknown was like a looming sword above their heads. While two of them seemed knowledgeable in video games and fantasy world building, the two eldest shared a sense of discomfort at the unfamiliarity of it all.
[The Evergreen Groove]
“Help !” The screams coming from further down the road was the sign that they were out of safety’s reach, if the sudden heavy feeling in their bones wasn’t enough of a warning. The spawn effect disappeared from everyone’s status while the drums played softly in the back of their mind.
Soyeon, as the fastest among them, seemed to suddenly be dashing ahead totally leaving the rest in the dust while Yuqi and Minnie only felt unbelievably slow compared to the other members of the party.
The scene looked hilariously familiar, a big black bear -that they definitely haven’t seen before-, with a now visible health bar showing, cornering a very mundane looking man in a brown tunic against a tree, screaming for help.
{New quest: Save the traveling merchant from the beast}
“Oh my saviours ! Please grab the bear’s attention by performing a triggering action !” The man screamed almost robotically, a finger away from the sharp teeth of the brown bear.
It didn’t take long for them to understand what was happening and Yuqi grabbed a rock nearby and threw it at the black mass, almost knocking it off its paws from the sheer strength.
“Ooouh, nice throw ~” Shuhua commented with a smile, their specs seemingly more reflective now outside of the safe zone.
“Thanks, I was part of the baseball club. You know my dad taught me when I was 3 years-” The knight boasted while rolling her wrist in pride, forgetting that they were in the middle of a fight .
“Watch out !” The man hollered when the bear charged their way with a mighty roar, Yuqi almost getting caught in its jaw if it wasn’t for Miyeon’s fast reflexes while Soyeon easily dodged the incoming beast.
“Shit now what ?” Minnie cursed, trying to figure out a way to defeat the bear in their current state.
Her answers have been answered as the merchant continued on its rant. “Extend your dominant hand to the side and focus on your hands to draw your weapon out !”
“Whoa a real life tutorial. Our profs should take notes.” Yuqi snickered, a large wooden longsword forming in her grasp.
“Now coordinate your attacks to defeat the bear !” The man added, voice still as monotone as it was one bite away from death.
Soyeon went first as her small and used up double daggers drew small cuts across the thick pellet of the bear. Miyeon’s attack followed, instinctively taking a step backwards while her hand came to the bow string as an arrow conjured itself from thin air before shooting her shot straight into the bear’s side. The angered beast roared and next to its reddening health bar, a small blood droplet appeared which indicated a bleeding status effect when focusing on it.
It seemed like it was the bear's turn now, it turned to look at Yuqi, licking its lips and took urgent steps towards her.
“Yah Winnie you have something against me ?” She screamed, readying her wooden sword in front of her though her shaking arms betrayed her inner anxiety.
“When allies are in danger, cast a protective spell to protect them from incoming attacks !” Another instruction was shouted at them and it was Shuhua calling out to Minnie, their cleric, to take action.
“Ah w-what do I do ???” The Thai girl stuttered, watching the bear ridiculously walking toward Yuqi in slow motion.
“Just, I don’t know, wave your staff at Woogs and chant something ?” Shuhua said unsure, as she herself didn’t understand how spells worked yet.
Lifting her heavy golden and solid white quartz staff, the orange gem embedded to its crest glowed softly and a list of words with different effects written next to them appeared in her view. “P-Protego ?” She said unsure and motioned the staff towards the trembling Yuqi.
A gleaming orange light emanated and a blue transparent shield covered Yuqi’s figure like a veil dropping on her figure. The bear now regained its original speed and took one swing at the knight which was blocked by the blueish magical cover, shattering like powdered glass, glinting and disappearing into thin air. Yuqi, startled, used her sword to par the incoming blow which never came…
Shuhua was next and she used her fist to strike at the yellow blinking spot on the bear’s neck, a critical hit announcement rewarding her choice as the health bar lowered to half by now.
“Great ! Now, afflicting status effects on an enemy can help you in battles. Some spells and attacks can give your target a desired effect often at the cost of mana or items. Other effects are offered by special actions or weapons.” The merchant, clearly out of danger and free to run away, stood still against the tree, continuing its introductory monologue.
Soyeon took to it like a fish to water, quickly willing a bottle of poison in her hand that was given to her for tutorial purposes before using it on her daggers and swinging them at the beast. Yet another effect adding up next its declining health bar.
Miyeon on the other hand drew another arrow and fired… only to miss, almost hitting Minnie who yelled back a very shaky yet angry “YAH, I DON'T HAVE A WIG BULLSEYE.”
Once recovered from her near death experience, courtesy of Miyeon, the Cleric took her time to analyze her skillset and decided on a buffing spell “Forte” for Yuqi.
The immediate effect was pretty satisfying, her body lighter, hands gripping the wooden sword in a tight grip and finally delivering a blow to the hungry beast. “Ah, payback !” She shouted, sword coming down on the bear’s head and knocking it out cold, utterly stunned.
“Now ! Finish it with a final blow !” The man hollered like a cheerleader on the side.
Shuhua finally drew a rusty scimitar and plunged it straight to the bear’s neck, squinting her eyes at the obvious gore only to open them wide when a little trumpet tune played alongside an end-battle interface popping up to show the exp gained.
“Yah ! Why did Shuhua get more ?” Yuqi complained, the striking 27 exp looking back at her compared with the 40 Shuhua gained.
“She dealt the most damage and the final blow. Now stop being a sore loser.” Soyeon explained, walking toward their youngest to offer a fist bump.
The merchant suddenly appeared in front of them in the middle of their celebration, his features so realistic it gave goosebumps down Minnie’s arms as he went on with his narration.
“Thank you heroes ! You saved me from this ferocious beast. I’m Tuto, a traveling merchant from Ilthar. The roads have been increasingly dangerous with the crowning of Al’Pensir, new king of the country of Sarion in the west.” Tuto, explained in an overly immersive voice and Miyeon swears she can hear the dramatic background music if she strained her ears just a little.
“Rumor has it that he got his power from a contract with the fallen god, Sumbra. There has been talks of the devil’s return and many are terrified of the possible war raging on. The Sentinels of Dawn have been squashed according to Milthic’s forces, losing the only artifact able to vanquish and seal Sumbra.” He continued, hands moving in almost unrealistic sets of movements. “You heroes should investigate this threat ! Seeing you in action, I am sure you can retrieve the artifact and banish Sumbra back to the shadows !”
“I shall give you these as a reward for your help.” Tuto suddenly turned to Minnie who flinched, a little startled, as her eyes strained on the white words popping in her vision.
x1 map
x2 health potion
x4 apple
x36 gold
“I have already annotated the map with the closest destinations that could help you in your quest. If you have any questions do ask me. Best of luck heroes and may Sol’s light guide you.” He saluted stiffly before straightening up again and walking mechanically towards the tree he was spending his time against for the past 15 minutes while they worked to kill a bear.
“What did you get Minnie ?” Miyeon demanded a little curious.
“Hmm potions, apples, gold coins…” The cleric replied, hands diving into her bag.
“Could you take out your map ?” Soyeon eagerly smiled.
Ruffling through the large leather pouch, her hands came across a rolled up parchment “Hmmm, here.”
The old paper unfolded easily showing a large mass of forest and a few roads leading to two yellow points. The edges of the map remained grayed out and the two video game enthusiasts started discussing their future plan of action.
On the other hand, the cleric took a few strides toward the unmoving man still glued to the tree bark. “Tuto, can you tell me who Sol is ?” She asked, still perplexed by this recurrent name popping up in her own profile and skill set.
“Ahhh servant of Sol ~ are you testing my faith in our god of light ? My allegiance to his grace will remain unshaken despite Sumbra’s growing power.” He replied, fist bumping his chest with a determined smile before returning to his default stance.
“Do you know where we are ?” She continued to question.
“The Evergreen groove, a dense forest inhabited by dangerous beasts and home to the Elven clan of Alvenguard. To the north you shall find the Pilths Harbour which could help you in your quest.” He answered just as enthusiastically.
“How to exit this game ?” A voice from behind demanded and the cleric turned to see their knight hovering around in curiosity.
“Thank you heroes ! You saved me from this ferocious beast. The roads have been increasingly dangerous with the crowning of Al’Pensir, new king of the country of Sarion in the west-” The man made grand gestures and the same dramatic melody could be heard playing once more.
“No I mean, you know ? Quit the game ?” Yuqi’s husky voice tried to stop his monologue but it was useless, Tuto was stuck in his own monologue.
“He is an npc, he can only answer a few set of questions and maybe give specific info when interacting with different classes. I doubt he is even aware that this is a video game.” Shuhua explained with a concerned tone, the reality that dawned on them floating around like an untold truth.
“So… we need to finish the game to exit ?” Miyeon voiced their silent worry.
“That is our best lead so far.” Soyeon nodded.
“-The Sentinels of Dawn have been squashed according to Milthic’s forces, losing the only artifact able to vanquish and seal Sumbra. You heroes should investigate this threat ! Seeing you in action, I am sure you can retrieve the artifact and banish Sumbra back to the shadows !” The npc finished his rant and returned back to his awkward standing stance, emptily looking at the group of 5 in front of him.
“Yah ! You ! Where is the logout button !?” Rough hands tried to grab Tuto but the man didn’t flinch, smiling at Yuqi’s face like he saw the light of the day.
“Ahhh hero, what can I do for you ?” The merchant innocently asked as if he wasn’t pinned to the tree by something far more dangerous than a hungry teddy bear.
“How to get out of here ?!” The ever so hot headed knight roughly shook him, easily lifting the taller man a few inches above ground with her gargantuan strength.
“Thank you heroes ! You saved me from this ferocious beast. The roads have been increasingly dangerous-” The familiar sentences flew out of his mouth, unbothered by his, more than undesirable predicament, in the hand of a fuming Yuqi.
“Yah-” And before she could punch his unnerving face, a gentle hand dropped on her shoulder, silently pleading her not to cause more trouble.
“As a rule of thumb, any unfamiliar words he uses can be questioned.” Soyeon sighed, trying to gather more information on this new and outlandish universe they quite literally crashed into.
“Fine… Tuto, who are the Sentinels of Dawn ?” Yuqi let go of her grip on the babbling merchant's shirt, right as he was done with the repetitive litany.
“The Sentinels of Dawn, heroes from another realm who set foot to defeat Sumbra. They had the Blood of the Sun, an artifact said to repel even the darkest shadows. However, there have been words of their demise at the gates of Sarion.” Tuto gravely told, his voice low and almost somber in contrast to his bright and hopeful one from just a sentence ago.
“Who is Sumbra ?” Yuqi took the lead in the interrogation, the questions flowing naturally as if her brain was made for such a task.
“Oh, daughter of darkness and twin to our bright Sun. Sumbra, once face of the moon, delved in dark magic and has been consumed by the shadows she now wields. Sol‘s grace banished her to the underground world but her power still roams this world.” The man shivered, eyes gleaming in sheer fear. But it was quickly erased by the annoying smile “Ahhh hero, what can I do for you ?”
“I want to punch him.” The knight mumbled as she turned to the rest of the party, her anger barely quelled, leaving hot embers in the pit of her stomach.
“We should head to our closest destination. He gave us the location of a small tavern not too far away.” The leader instructed, leaving Tuto to stare at them.
“Do you think we can also have a map… in case we get separated?” The red haired elf inquired. A short moment later, a pop up notification appeared in her view.
[Map shared to party]
“Did it work ?” Shuhua was the one speaking, map in her hand with a focused look on the invisible screen in her eyes. Everyone nodded, relieved to be able to access this feature. “Good, since we are sharing, my cartography skills will update and add to the map as we walk.” The youngest added, slightly relieved.
“Pff nerd.” Yuqi snorted at her friend.
“Shut it Woogs.” Shuhua rolled her eyes but still barked a playful giggle.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Unlike before, it seems like the day was finally progressing toward the pending night as the sun could be seen slowly vanishing behind the tree line. They have been walking for a significant period of time now, the sheer difference in their specs showing the more they followed the never ending dirt road ahead.
“Can we… catch a break ?” Minnie’s voice sounded from behind, halting Miyeon and Yuqi who somehow seemed to be unfazed by their sudden trek through the dense woods.
It was a stark contrast, while Shuhua was the most well rounded member of the group, placing herself in the middle of the pack, Miyeon somehow ended up leading forward due to her strangely fast legs without even breaking a sweat. Behind her was Soyeon, equally rapid with her steps but undoubtedly growing tired. Yuqi on the other hand was as fresh as a daisy but was unable to catch up with the rest. Minnie was left to stand next to her, feet dragging across the dirt in exhaustion.
“The sun is setting, maybe we should make camp and start over tomorrow.” Shuhua nodded in agreement, the sunset just a warning for the night to come.
Being an ever so coordinated group, Miyeon and Yuqi were tasked to gather some wood for the fire while Shuhua went on a walk to look for any herbs and whatnots leaving the two less endurant members in a safe spot a little away from the road and into the protective arms of the forest.
“Ah.. I swear, this is unfair.” Minnie complained as soon as her friend came over and dropped a pile of branches on the ground.
“What is ?” The campus princess asked, unaware of her struggles so far.
“How come you can walk this fast without even being tired. Back in our world you can barely run one lap for PE.” The school president pointed out with false animosity, Yet still very much offended by this drastic power up she got.
“Well, at least you are God’s favourite.” Miyeon's snarky retort only managed to vex the cleric further.
“Oh whatever Bullseye.” Minnie threw a rock at her friend who easily dodged it and started laughing, her full belly giggles uplifting the group as they gathered around.
“Minnie, can you try to light a fire ?” Soyeon asked, pointing at the messy pile of wood.
The council president sat up, looking at the wood like it personally offended her. Maybe if she visualized Miyeon’s face there, she would make it work better. Scanning through her spells she picked the only one that could potentially work for the task at hand. “Luminare !” She said, her staff glowing and emitting a sun beam right onto the branches.
The group remained silent as they watched their cleric at work… “If you wanna start a fire with sunlight we might be there until tomorrow.” Yuqi broke the veil of silence, the thin sunray barely doing anything to the poor gray branch. The beam itself was as thin as a thread while a faint column of smoke could be seen. She might pulverise the wood before setting it on fire.
“Just wait.” Shuhua shushed her, after all.. they had no other options to choose from.
It took a ridiculous amount of time for the wood to finally burn up, Minnie was left sweating from the extended effort as the small and lowkey pitiful flame mockingly danced in the middle. “I hate this game.” The girl whined and flopped on the ground completely out of mana.
“It’s.. better than nothing.” Miyeon tried to comfort her but really, she also felt the strain of their low capabilities and lack of survival skills slowly taking a toll on her mental state.
“I found more fruits while walking around… I don’t think we have more resources than that.” Shuhua said while taking out a set of berries and pears.
“Great… Now we are going vegan.” The Thai girl sobbed.
XXXXXXXXX
The night has set sooner than they had expected, the now grown campfire keeping the biting cold at bay. The darkness around them offered very limited visibility and Yuqi had been looking behind her back more than once in case Padington wanted a bite of her as well.
The party has been silent, some falling asleep to the quiet sound of the forest’s lullaby, others studying their abilities alongside more functions the game offered while Miyeon just stared at the fire, its crackling brightness appeasing the waves of doubts crashing in her mind. The whole isekai experience just happened so fast she hadn’t been able to really swallow the extra-dimensional pill, finding herself dissociating more often than not.
“Can’t sleep ?” Shuhua spoke up, breaking the calm status quo.
“Oh… hmm not really.” Miyeon could only shake her head no, arms hugging around her knees tighter. Unlike her, Shuhua has been in her element so far, explaining game mechanics and taking the lead when no one was able to. The younger girl barely showed any sign of weakness or struggle, seamlessly navigating them through this magical world.
A weight covered her shoulders and the soft fur tickled her exposed neck as the Druid uttered a soft “Here. I looted that from the bear earlier, thinking it could be useful.”
The fur blanket was comforting, like a protective embrace that shielded her from the unknown all around. She might appear aloof but this whole situation was eating her alive, she wasn’t knowledgeable in fantasy and even less in gaming. She couldn’t aim for her life and here she was stuck with a creaky wooden bow and arrows just poofing in her hands out of nowhere. Most importantly, it seemed like no one was affected by all of these. Well, hello ? They were all transported in a foreign dimension with no clues how to go back, let alone survive here. Yuqi was slightly enraged at first, never one to like being placed in uncomfortable positions, but she adapted to the reality and had been accepting this ordeal quicker than everyone thought she would, only grunting a “let's get this done asap. I can’t miss practice later.”
Minnie was the same though she would always complain about her low specs and envy the others for their more hand-to-hand abilities while she had to read through paragraphs to make head or tails of her powers. She didn’t say anything about going home nor her worries, simply joking at the fact that they were living a terrible manga plot to which Soyeon added that it would probably have a terribly long and ridiculous name.
Talking of which, Soyeon had been taking everything in perfectly, almost as if she had expected this to happen, carefully studying her character and leading the team with a determined glint in her eyes. While Shuhua was the one providing help for gameplay mechanics, Soyeon was the driving force leading the group in their journey so far. Much to Yuqi’s dislike, it was undeniable that the shorter woman had natural leadership skills like she knew how to lead them to the end of this game.
Meanwhile, Miyeon felt so out of place.
“I wanna go home.” The elf mumbled with a sigh, unable to cry yet her heart broke at the realization that she was a whole dimension away from her safe haven, where she knew how to fit in with no stupidly long ears on the side of her head.
“They all do… We just don’t know how. Yuqi might look chill right now but I know her, she is terrified. But she understood that for now, progressing forward is our only way to get more information and go back.” Shuhua answered, her voice was cold as usual but it brought a sense of warmth just like everything surrounding Miyeon right now, the blanket, the fire..
“But what if we never make it…” she finally said the one thing everyone avoided addressing. It was a possibility, none of them knew how this world worked and who knows what happens once their life bars all disappeared. Will they die or return to their world like it was just a bad dream ? None were brave enough to test this theory yet.
A gentle tug on her shoulder made her lay down, the thick fur cushioned under her back as she looked at Shuhua questioningly. The youngest wasn’t all that different from her appearance back in the real world, the main one being her striking blonde hair framing her face, emerald eyes staring straight back at her and the matching pointed ears replacing the more human looking ones. “Look up.” The Druid mouthed quietly.
The stars in the sky shone like she had never seen in the past, red and purple seeming to melt into deep blue as white dots littered the cosmic canvas. It was breathtaking.
“We don't know much of this world, but we can appreciate its beauty for now.” The low whisper mixed with the whistle of the midnight breeze
So they just watched the sky, pushing back doubts and worries in the face of the unknown ahead. The uncertainties and fear lost in the undiscovered galaxies and bright satellites decorating the night. The air filled with the fire camp’s ashes as its soft orange glow repelled the shadows around them behind the trees, the bushes, the rocks.
“We are just at the beginning of our quest. If we all work together I’m sure we can finish this. So let’s just rest a lot so we are ready for what’s coming next.”
Miyeon found peace in the foreign constellations, the rustle of the leaves and the warmth of the blanket protecting her from the frigid grasp of cold air. She found peace in her party members, their strength and presence in this journey they are all a part of.
But Miyeon found the most peace in verdant eyes and blonde hair, whispering comforting words, stronger than any blankets and warmer than any flames.
_____________________________
“When are we reaching there ?” The husky voice grumbled once more.
“You have your own map.” The Druid deadpanned for what seemed to be the nth time already.
“This is so boring, I swear it’s all that midget’s fault.” The knight pointed her wooden sword at the rogue in accusation, words carrying the edge her weapon was missing.
“And how is us being trapped in a fucked up DnD wannabe game my fault exactly ?” Unlike her harsh words, Soyeon’s voice remained calm and posed as she maintained her pace.
“Well, if you didn’t put me in detention I wouldn’t have been here to begin with.” Yuqi huffed at the memory.
“You do know that you walking to campus on a Saturday morning screaming that you weren’t at fault for that incident is what got you that detention.” The halfling replied, a tired sigh leaving her lips.
“What ?! Weren’t you also given detention because you got caught by the guard ?” Yuqi’s brain went high wire trying to understand what the other girl was implying.
“Actually, Soyeon got detention for regularly skipping classes.” Minnie interjected, being the only one that knew why the rogue was there for Saturday detention.
“What ?! Didn’t the guard say-” Yuqi’s face was one for the record, mouth slack in shock.
“If you weren’t screaming so much that night, you would have heard that I was the one getting detention because he knew I skipped class that week while he gave YOU a warning for being on campus past authorized hours.” Soyeon finally shed light on that fateful night after getting caught by the security officer.
“Whoa, your whining and crying annoyed him so much you got detention. Nice one Woogs.” Shuhua giggled at her friend.
“So you’re telling me if I didn’t come, I wouldn’t have been in this mess.” The puppy faced girl said, growing more embarrassed by the second.
“Wow you can think.” The rogue sarcastically scoffed.
“Yeahhh… Mr.Im texted me that you were causing a scene in his office that morning and asked if I could take you for detention too.” Minnie nodded as she explained how this all came to be.
“Oh guys ! I see something.” Miyeon’s voice cut their banter short as in the distance, a brown wooden inn could be seen.
And with that, their adventures begin as they roam the foreign lands of this mysterious fantasy world in search of a way back home.
{To be Continued}
A/N: Hey there !
This is an unplanned surprise prompt I’m offering you all. It is inspired by Jumanji if you could tell by the opening but I also wanted to explore the idea of fantasy world building. So here is a somewhat DnD au from someone that knows very little about DnD.
If you are an expert in that universe please don’t come at me with pitchforks as I am simply inspired from the game and universe. I have no idea how this whole thing works but hopefully it will be okay….
Since I have another draft with a fantasy setting, I wanna see how well I deal with this style of world building.
Unlike my other works imma be writing this very loosely and without too much thought behind the chapters. If they come out long or short will be a surprise. I am not even sure of what I wanna do for the rest of their adventure since I only have a loose timeline of events.
I wanna keep this story short if possible (short in my standard aka idk).
If this story does well I will consider finishing it, for now it’s a silly idea that I wanted to explore.
It will also be less of a romance and more of a fantasy/action story.
I hope you liked the idea so far !
Another note, yes Soojin is missing here but I already know how to introduce her later on don’t worry I did not forget her.
this is all for me, I need to return to my lectures that i have pushed aside despite midterms coming up T-T
(This is a work of fiction that is in no way and means portraying reality and therefore not intending to force an idea upon the characters I created. I won't take criticism that isn't constructive and blind hatred. It is a work made for people who enjoy reading fanfics as shipping doesn't mean seriously believing that the individuals used as inspiration are truly in a romantic relationship.)
Thanks for reading and support the story.
Don't hesitate to vote and comment.
Mew21
Ps: sorry for all orthography and grammatical errors.