Virtual Duels Intro
I sat in a dark room, the only light being the panel of spells scrolling in front of me at my command. I was nervous as hell because I was almost the best player there is, undefeated as a matter of fact. The only thing that kept me from player rank number one was a tournament consisting of the thirty two best players. The losers have almost everything to lose besides their match. This was no ordinary game match. Unlike the average everyday matches people used to gain combat experience, the losers lost everything. Every spell, every weapon, they were reduced to the equivalent of level 0. At least those are the rumors. That level shouldn't really exist, but that rumor was powerful enough to strike fear into our hearts.
This is the world of Virtual Duels. It's a virtual reality that revolves around, well, duels. They're not regular duels, and the mechanics of the game are bent towards being able to beat a master mage with no ranged attacks. I am a master wizard myself, and my signature spell (everyone is granted a unique ability that no one else has so the playing field is even) allows me to reduce a swordsman's block skill to three for thirty seconds, but can only be used once a match.
Anyway, I continued to scroll through my spells, looking for which one was struck by the Daily Penalty. This feature was hated from the moment it hit because it gives a random attack (spell, combo, etc.) a random downgrade. I found the spell, and exhaled with relief. My Fireball spell was 200% harder to cast. It could've been a lot worse. I don't really like that spell, and my pyrokinetics skill was high enough to counter the effect. I took this time to go over my strategies. I was going up against Oyilla Mechrine, so I had to prepare for a mechanical beat down. I was just about to start organizing my spells when the doors opened. I quickly sorted them by popularity.
I walk out to the arena. It looks exactly like an ancient roman coliseum from the future. I shielded my eyes from the sudden change in light level until they adjusted, then I turned to the crowd and waved, which always seems to drive them crazy.
The coliseum is almost an exact replica of the Roman coliseum from back during their rule. It was 100% intact, however. It also had futuristic cyber lines running through its walls and there were giant screens displaying what the invisible gaming cameras saw in super high definition. The throne was there, but it was empty. It always was, symbolizing that there was no ruler in this world. The crowd was wearing rather futuristic clothes, and they were all anthropomorphic animals or Pokémon. There were some that were dressed as rave furries. It amazes me every day how much detail went into this game. It looks nothing like a virtual reality video game; it looks real.
The announcer introduces me as Arcine (that's pronounced Are-see-nay) Calline (Cay-yee-nay). This name is more or less a giveaway of my appearance and skill set, for I am an anthro Arcanine and an arcane canine. Get it? I sure hope so. I love the Pokémon Arcanine to the point where if I could choose one evolution set of Pokémon to actually exist, I would choose Growlithe and Arcanine.
The opposite gate opened, and the fifth best player in the game, Oyilla (Oi-ill-uh) Mechrine (Mek-ree-nay), stepped forth. He didn't wave to the crowd as he was introduced, not that really anyone expected him to. He was a master mechromancer, which didn't really make me feel any better about winning. He was an anthro bull, and had a nasty signature weapon. This weapon was his Homicidal Chain. It was a circular saw blade on the end of a rather long chain that could spin itself, which is the magic part of mechromancers.
I walked to the center of the arena, extending my hand for him to shake. He showed no inclination of doing so. Instead, he summoned his chain from thin air, slicing a groove into the ground in the process. What a jerk, I'm so beating you senseless. I thought.
I withdrew my hand and blinked back to my original spot in a puff of flames. I summoned my Infernal Staff to help make my fire spells more potent, then got into a ready stance.
"Here are the rules!" the announcer, well, announced. "Anything goes, and the first player to hit 0 HP loses! Good luck to both of you!"
I then decided to taunt Oyilla by spinning my staff and shooting Fireballs in the air at increments that allowed me to create a miniature fireworks display. He followed suit by spinning his chain beside him, carving a groove the ground deeper and deeper each time the blade struck."Beginning in 3..." rang the announcer's voice. I summoned a Fireball to my staff. "2..." I lowered my stance, getting ready to attack. "1..." I lowered my staff to aim at him. "GO!!!"
The crowd went wild as I unleashed a torrent of Solar Flares, each one striking with enough force to kill a bear. Too bad Oyilla isn't a bear. The protective barrier between me and the crowd protected them from my volatile spells as they riddled the body of my opponent.
Oyilla just stood there.
I eventually ran out of Thermal Energy (the magical currency for Pyromages) and had to stay evasive for a second to let it recharge. Thankfully I still have some Cosmic Focus for my Cosmopathy (meteor controlling magic), so I can defend myself if I need to. I couldn't get this one simple fact out of my mind though. My pyrokinesis skill is level 9278, why is it not hurting him much? I glanced at his HP. It only dropped 100 points. That was just the damage of the direct impact. He wasn't even burned, which I expected to happen when you're struck by twenty of my Solar Flares. He extended his Chain's length and swung it my direction. I easily jumped over it and threw a Lesser Meteorite at him. This was the most novice Cosmic Spell on the market. I heard a gasp come from the audience at this realization. They didn't know how I learned about my opponents. No one did unless they fought me. Even then, they were sworn to secrecy because my duels are private, and my learning style is a secret. The audience was excited enough to even witness a duel I was involved in.
The meteorite struck him, and he only took the physical damage, but it was enough to cause him pain, provoking a forced snort from his direction. He turned with a look of rage. I don't get it. Why isn't he taking any fire dama-wait, that cape. Is that really what I think it is? I threw some fire spikes at the cape, they were absorbed by it. The bull anthro laughed when he thought I had missed, but then saw the actual target and his eyes grew to the size of hubcaps. I saw it. He was wearing Hephaestus' Cape. The cape is extremely rare and grants the wearer double Mechromancy skills as well as full resistance to Fire damage.
I smirked and cast a spell I was nowhere near known for. The ground and walls froze over, and shards of ice broke off the frozen barrier. They assembled themselves into a sea of sharp ice spikes and hurled towards Oyilla. He had just enough time to open his mouth before he got hailed on by ice razors. The razors ripped through his cape, and he cried out in pain. He was left with a tenth of his HP and no fire protection. My fur had also shifted to an icy blue during the spell.
This is when he activated his Signature Attack. Everyone had this, and his sucked for the person he fought. It brought down my HP to the same percentage as his, and removed all my armor. I was left in my hoodie and lounge pants. This was what I was wearing in the real world, which didn't count as armor. I panicked and began to unleash more fire spells. My fur began to return to normal as I did. He was blocking them like normal this time, and doing a remarkable job at it too. Unfortunately for him, his HP was still depleting.
Let's end this. I thought. I stopped with the fire and rushed at him with my Arcanine speed. I summoned a Pokémon move, which was my Special Ability: possessing every move and quality that Arcanine has. This was Metal Claw, and it struck him right across the face. This brought his HP down to 1%. I leaped the opposite side of the arena and threw a Fireball in his direction, draining my Thermal Energy as the Daily Penalty took hold. It struck him in the chest and had a great deal of knockback. His health dropped to 0, and his body caught flames and fell to the ground. That's weird. I thought. When someone's HP hits 0, they usually faint for a second then come to in forced peace mode. I walked over to the burning bull's body. It was so realistic, and the flesh was even cooked. I nearly gagged at the sight of this. The crowd didn't care, though. They went wild after the fight had been called and piled into the arena to congratulate me. I logged out before they could.
My real eyes jerked open. I sat up, still adjusting to the sudden change in bodily form. I took off the Virtua-Helm and looked around my room. It wasn't as messy as a regular teenager's room would be, but it had its own share of piles of clothes both dirty and clean as well as a stack of books I never really got around to putting up. I laughed a little at the thought. It would be extremely slow, anyway. Seeing as I'd have to do it like three books at a time. I had extremely weak muscles. In fact, I was born that way. My muscles never fully developed, so I can't lift anything too heavy and my strength grows only as I age. Nothing else would help it along. Even my bladder was crippled. Meaning I have to wear diapers. I'm glad I wore the lounge pants that time, anticipating Oyilla's special ability. It's also why I only fight in private matches. I usually like to talk to my opponents, try to become friends. I also usually don't talk to them in my armor, so I'm almost always in nothing but a shirt, hoodie, and diaper. It's also why I force them to keep it secret. My avatar has strength but isn't toilet trained. If I can't be, why should it?
I got out of bed, changed my diaper, and headed downstairs to the living room. My parents and younger brother were watching TV when I came down.
"Dinner's almost ready, honey. Don't forget to wash up." my mom said.
I replied. "I just did." I then heard a ding.
"That would be dinner." my dad announced. He walked over to our electrical oven and retrieved a freshly cooked casserole. It was my mom's special recipe, too. I was about to comment on the meal when the television grabbed my attention by announcing my avatar's name.
I looked at the TV. Sure enough, there I was, walking out of the gates of the Roman-Tech Coliseum Arena from the Virtual Duels game. "That's already on TV?" I asked.
"Actually, it was live. We watched it while it happened. Fascinating really. Those two fought well." my dad commented."Isn't that the game I got you last year? I hope you're enjoying it." my mom added.
"Well why don't you see for yourself? After all, you saw the first ever match that I've participated in that's gone public." I said with enthusiasm. All the clinking of silverware stopped as the whole table turned to look at me. "What?" I asked.
"Are you telling me, son, that you were in that duel?" my dad spat, bewildered.
"Yeah, I even won. Arcine Calline is me." I explained.
"You're the fifth best player on Virtual Duels? That's so cool, Aaron!" my brother exclaimed.
I laughed a little. "I'm glad you think that." That made me stop and think: I really am the fifth best player now.
"They said it was a stupid move to throw that meteor." my dad commented. "What were you doing then, anyway?"
"Experimenting." I explained. "How else was I gonna find out he was wearing Hephaestus' Cape?"
"Granted, they probably didn't know what you were doing." my dad added.
"How did they react when I unleashed the Arctic Blizzard?" I asked.
"Their reaction was priceless." my brother, Luke, exclaimed. I watched the highlights of my fight. I had no idea this tournament was such a big deal. I'm on TV. I thought.
Then the picture suddenly changed. A breaking news story overtook the screen. "Breaking News: Gamer loses duel and goes into a coma. Virtual Duels player Oscar Peterson a.k.a. Oyilla Mechrine was found in a coma after he lost his duel against Arcine Calline. More on this story as it develops."
Wait, what? I thought...