The bartender blew his whistle. Two buff guards grabbed me by the arms. "Hey! Let me go!" I yelled. The guards ignored me.
I was redirected to a secluded room. They tied me with ropes.
"What's wrong with you, getting a drink without even paying?!" one guard interrogated me. The other guard slapped me with great force. "I-I'm sorry! I was just oblivious!" I said in my defense. "Don't think you can get away with this the easy way. We don't take freeloaders!" the guard shouted.
I was sweating nervously. Was I about to get beaten up by cops just because I haven't paid for a drink? "What other punishment do you give to people who don't pay?" I asked.
The guards were baffled. They started poking their heads and walking around the chair I was wrapped with.
"Wait here as we think," one guard said. He shut the door.
I was alone, only accompanied by the ropes tying me, the chair I was attached to, and the blinking lightbulb.
I started tilting back and forth. My hair started tickling me. What enraged me even more was that my glasses fell off. How am I supposed to read without them?
I stayed put and tried to entertain myself. I started hopping, which made the chair fall in front. Is there anything to do now?
The guards came back in the room. "What did you do here?" one guard wondered, placing his palm on his forehead. "I tried to entertain myself..." I mumbled. One guard fixed the chair, causing me to sit normally.
One guard put my glasses on. "You gotta be careful, ma'am, about your glasses," one guard warned me.
"We found a dreadful way to pay us what you owe," the other guard said.
I was worried by that. What was it?
"You're earning it through battles and stuff," the guard continued, cracking his knuckles.
"Battles?" I whined. "Isn't there any other way?"
"Sorry, ma'am. Just adventure or something for a day," the guard continued once again, smirking.
"So...what are the mechanics?" I asked.
"You gotta lot to learn, kid," the other guard replied. "Just take this Light Sword," the guard continued as he untied me and gave a lightweight sword. "Thanks," I said, bowing my head and walking out of the room. "Have a safe trip," both the guards said to me.
I had a whole lot of training to do.
I walked around the city full of flashing neon lights, which made me dizzy. Fortunately I found a stray young man teaching a kid how to swordfight. He had shiny, black hair, the face of what would look like a perfect boyfriend, and a tuxedo (which, I don't think, is recommended during a swordfight).
I gleefully and confidently ran towards the young ma. "Could you teach me how to swordfight?" I asked. The kid picked up his sword and left.
"OK. But first..." he starts as he clears his throat. "...my name is Xavier Voclain. But please, call me X," he continued in his sexy French accent.
"Let's start, shall we?" X suggested as he pulled out his wooden sword. "Sure," I affirmed. I suddenly drew out my sword and started practicing with him.
During and after the session, sweat emerged from my body at a sonic rate. X didn't even produce a drop. "You're a very passionate lady," he commented. "Come back here tomorrow until you get it right. Just remember: an enemy's strength is also its weakness."
Days passed (which kinda hard to tell, because the sky was permanently black with the green lines), and after all that, I was ready. "Well, I'm going to, like, a forest or something," I said to X. "Take care!" he bade farewell.
As I entered a forest, the sky and landscape changed drastically. The sky was blue, and the buildings disassembled and transformed into trees.
I encountered my very first enemy: a vine with snake eyes. When I concentrated my vision at it, letters started to fade in and say "Stealthy Vine". It slithered like a snake and hopped like a frog. I sliced it quickly. The Stealthy Vine was enveloped in an aura of light. As it exploded, it dropped one coin and something called experience. I've heard of those before, so no one has to lecture me.
Soon, another Stealthy Vine spawned and jumped towards me. I quickly minced and got my moolah. I happily retrieved my coins and gave them to the man who works at The Looter.
"Sure. OK. Bye, for now," he told me. I swiftly ran towards the door. I wasn't sure why, but the cloaked guy (whose only uncovered part was his belly) from earlier started chasing me.
A girl with odd hair (the left half of it orange and the right half blue, as with the eyes) unexpectedly jumped into the scene. She pulled out daggers from her sleek black outfit and stabbed the cloaked man in the stomach. The stomach turned red.
He whipped me with his cloak. I sliced it quickly, leaving a red hand and stomach exposed.
"What kind of person is this?!" I asked the girl in a panic. "It's an enemy that randomly appears in buildings. They're called Chromachs, and can be a nuisance for new players," she lectured me whilst fighting the Chromach. "They're named for their color-changing ability and exposed belly."
Along with his tattered clothes, the Chromach couldn't take anymore. He fell on his feet, out cold. His body burst and dropped 20 coins and 25 experience.
Maybe we should fight along together!" I suggested. "What's your name?"
"My name's Tsubaki Akiyama," she answered. "You must be Phoebe Gabriels."
"How do you know?" I asked in utter shock.
"Have you fought your first enemy yet?"
"Yes. I have. I wondered what the name was, so I stared."
"That works for players too."
We shook each other's hands and walked side-to-side.
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