game or life

her enxt skills were a stackable buff called multishot. it enhanced the volley ability and stacked with the elemental and technical effects of her special bolts. she saw a passive still that increased her dexterity benefit addinge a dodge save to her battle rolls tha tthe cumputer uses to determine efectiveness. the third revealed skill she could pick from was enhanced dual weilding/dulist archer.

"whats this mean?" she asks linking him the skills she revealed.

"it means youll be stronger. duel weilding is enhanced reducing the side effects of duelweilding by increasing the hit chance of both weapons. duelest archer means your bow crossbow and guns will gain a bonus to their hit and critical value per level. and they are the same skill... that means you can switch between duel weilding and signel weapon combat and still have a buff."

"and this one?" she links the dexterity skill.

"raises your dexterity modifier to increase the bonuses it gives you hit crit and initiative and defense... seems it will also enhance your dodge and armor class too."

"So if I do this that will help?" she types to him as he replies back a yes. This way, she will still get stronger and he will too. Checking over their new moves and abilities leaves them really excited towards this game.

it was her choice which to pick and she cediced to pick al of them instead of maxing one out. she wanted to really do her best and if they keep playing like this she was sure she could max them out in no time.

"So either way, we will do this. We can do this. Right?" he types seeing her reply back.

"Heck yeah we can." she smiled happy at the thought. They will become stronger and stronger so they won't fall at what they do.

he ha dto log off nand get ready for bed. it was a long day and he didnt expect the boutny event he started to think the calander was not showing these events yet and he guessed that the other heroes had a similer event for themselves.

she watched him log off and she decided she would take her time and see how else she could improve her skills with some practice. she went to read some of the guide books she bought for the game to see if she could do anythign to make leveling up faster for him and battles easier for her. she thought she was slow and wanted to get better.

the books told her that her hero was best at group battles like they were doing and god at boss battles wih her powershot. she was reading up more on what she just unlocked and found that if she would use her buff on her first turn she could increase ehr damamage and if she dual weilds she could do even more. that reminde dher of the dual weild skill she picked up and she relaized that if she maxed it out first the disadvantage of it would turn to an advantage by lvl 3 opf that skill. she thoought it was too strong but she had to test it out.

She wonders about the game and it's mechanics. Maybe she was able to figure something else in order to make this work or have it work. She wanted her character to get better over time and it would help her in due time. Maybe later on that should be just as fine. For now, she just keeps writing down a few notes to help her later on in time.

She did take a break from the game and goes ahead with working on something else that should help her later on. Maybe this game was more than she thought and she loved it.

(this is a covnersation between the serer management team)

the heroes certainly are embracing their roles. for some reason the archer hero and the sheild hero wont seperate. are they good friends?"

"we cant figure it out. they almost never tlak and when they do its alway sabout the game and their skills."

"should we unveil the underworld to only the first hero who finds it or all of them.

"all of them. we programmed the underworld to open when one hero finds the door."

"the hidden bosses are unfound?"

"ys boss the sheild hero nearly found one but he turned away at the last second"

"good. these world bosses are very special and we dotn want their lairs disturbed seperate the paths to the others and send the one that was connected into the plains of the starting town. call it a bounty event"

"umm... sir... it already happened the skins are out already"

"how?"

"it seems that the sheild and archer hero stumbled on it and took care of the army by themselves. all of it. even the 10 bosses. and 59 minions to each boss"

"how?"

"well it seems he has been taking advantage of maxing out skills and gaining weapon skills from the weapon enhancement mechanic. the other heroes are doing the same but as they go. it seems he is taking his time and building as many skills as he can."

"has he surpassed any of the heroes? in offense?"

"no but hes getting more offensive capability that he should. we didnt think anyone would sacrifice their defensive buff as soon as it was put on. and since it counts as damage...

"he is using the loss of his air shieild to wipe groups? is it a bug?"

"well no.... we always intended for the sheild to do this but never did we think they would figure it out so soon."

"keep an eye on him. he might be the hero to watch. how is the sword and magic heroes progressing.

"they ere the top level and armor and furhtest along in the story. they seperate and do their own thing but help eachother out. they are also using advanced endgame mechanics."

"i see. and the spear hero?"

"hes balancd and employing som e of the triats that the sheild passed on to him. hes not abusing it like the sheild but he is taking more time to build skills the archer hero doesnt seem sure about what she wants and is following the sheild all the tiem."

"the other heroes are progressing as expected. the?"

"yes sir."

"good let the world bosses near the heros go but dont let their loot be revaled coin and exp only and trash gear. that way nothign seems out of place and they havce togrind the bosses to get what they want."

"yes sir we will have it done and ready for the enxt update."

"excellent"


(back to our two)

her break was un expeced but the sheild hero continued to play and gather skills. there was a shift in the economy that he noticed as mosnte rparts drop in value and just about everythign was dropping in value. the corpse dealer that bought parts was now selling parts and the weapons in the towns seemed to have a cucle. some shops he visited had uncommon gear and upgradable gear now almost like the game vendors were engaged in trate among themselves and were building up as they progressed thorugh the world.

it really was a connected almost living world and the game was producing better grear in older shops encouraging heroes to return or so he thought. maybe the game was unfinished and they had more plans and that made him droo with anticipation.

he didnt try to get stronger or level past her but inevitably he did as he collected monster skills from seletive part infusions to the sheilds. she took her break and when she got back he was babbling bout how mansy skills he gathered and she pouted a bit seeing that he leveled a few more times. she could catch up no trouble but now he had to show her what he did and she quickly forgave him when she discovered he didnt see anything new while she was away.

"You sure it's alright?" he types seeing her type with a thumbs up and a message.

"Trust me, you're alright. Lets just keep playing. We need to see what else we can find out." she replies.

"so what did you find out?" she asks him and he told her.

"also it seems that the arcehr and sheild weapons and gear are behind this development trend because we are so far behind in the story. i dont want to push the main story too fast."

"why tho? why are you so careful?"

"in the past i played final fantasy and woudl celar mor than half the game only to die and lose all that data becaus eo followed the story and didnt grind to level up as the story progressed."

"sooo you are grinding to be agle to stay on top of the story. i get it but if you dont have the gear available doesnt that make it harder?"

"it can and i assure you these secodnary skills are worth it. i found that monsterparts can give us skills like the items. monster skills."

"wait we can learn monster attacks?"

"attacks abilities and even status resistances. i cant learn or put much power into attack but i can maximize my resistances and gain almost any skill form a monster."

"so if i load up my low weapons with monster parts and learn their skills ill get offensive skills and basic enhancements to my own resistances?"

"pretty much."

"neat lets get on with the quests then and get as far as we can. any tiem we run into a new monster we farm it is that your plan?" she asks him and he sent a smiley emoji

" youre good yes that has been the plan since the start i just didnt expect it to work. "

"i will choose my attacks faster i promise."

"ooh good."

they go off together and clean out the second town almost in 3 hours. after that she started to slow down but she keeps trying to keep the pace up but it was gttting hard for her." she was improoving her skills and so far all her enhancements were offensive in nature increasing her utility and elemental effectiveness.

The two kept playing but they were still chatting with one another with the game still going on.

"are you okay?" he asks her

"yes."

"you dont need a break?"

"im fine."

"why dont we log off and try again tomorrow?"

"because i dont want to hold you back."

"its not holding me back im just thinking of you." this was badly mispelled

"i know. im fine. ill log off in anothe rhour lets get to the next village town city or whatever then log out there that way when we log in we have quests and tasks instead of having to collect them." he never saw her type so much and he agreed.

the ran into several new monsters living plants that looked like flowers with teeth. a kind of bat and undead skeletons. the server was in night time and they noticed that undead were common at night and numorous as well. the skeletons could attack twice per turn but were very fragile. the flowers were weak against fire and the batlike shape looked silly and was weak at first. when 3 or more were iin a group the bats formed a stronger monster called the belfry swarm and was hard to hit and take down. they were so strong these werent difficult but they did keep running into the bats and skeletons. he was taking alot of damage and relying heavily on his air shield skill to absorb it but the bats could attack ehr ignoring him completely. lucky her attacks wwere more effective agaisnt flying monsters than most heros.

She sees them having some stronger hits but nothing too bad. She wanted this to go through alright while fighting along side him in this game.

some of her attacks missed the skeletons or dealt minimal damage and she learned that her attacks had a special type of damage. peircing. this was where her arrow types came into play. she had every kind of arrow that she could have at this point and she switched to her impact arrow. this changed her pircing damage into blunt damage and this was more effective against rh e skeletons. she didnt need any help with the bats or the swarm but the plants were trouble. they were strong and could trap him taking his turn away and her as well. their only weakness was fire and her fire arrows were combinded withher power shot skill to maximize ehr effect on them.

with his turn lost eh couldnt blow his air shield and their effects were reduced makingthe fights a bit longer but not dangerous. she was fast enough to dodge most things be he couldnt dodge very well.

The battle was still going strong that she fights and he did too, despite the results of it.

when they finally reachthe town and collect their quests thye searcha gain for other quests then log off.

they still messaged before bed and she was happy they made it so far and he thanked her for sticking with him in the game.

They talked about some other things but mostly on the game. Thinking of new ideas and battle plans that could help them along the way. Not that it was too much or anything for them. They wanted to see just what they can do when playing the game once more. The chatting over the phone was growing from the text messages they they were really enjoying the other's company.

school life was hard. and with it in full swing he was having trouble finihing his work. he was having trouble wanting to finish his work. all hewanted to do was play the game with her and see wher eit took them. he was in colledge and studying in general to update his education. his time on the game was spotty at best for the week and she knew he was spending off hours on the game alone trying ot get as much of his quests done as he could. he wasnt very fast at battles and alot of times he spent 10-20 minutes on a single quest due to the battles or not finding out how th quest worked.

there were th esual gatheirng slaying and finding perople quests but now the peole found had quests of their own. his skill collecting was what he focused on and it seemed like he was making no progress. she had to leave him behind in her questing and move on and that made her and him feel like they were disconnected. he and she continue to talk and text but he was going on a bout school and how he wished he could be online with her but she repeatedly told him to focus on school and not throw it away.

"Either way, you have to stay focused on your main classes man. I get you don't wanna be stuck doing school stuff but you have to if you wanna get good grades. Trust me, it's not easy." she replies after hearing that.

"I know I have to study and work hard but it's just annoying. Having to do surprising quiz and tests. Listening to the same thing from a professor even if you know it already. How in the world do others even do this if that's the case?" he replies back.

"Because it's worth the grade. I know you don't wanna fail because that will lead to you having to work on redoing it all over again and you don't seem to want that right?" she types waiting for his reply. He didn't want to true but it was still annoying.

when he finally returned to the game in long hours he was not far behind. eveyroen seemed ot hit an impass where they needed to work with different heroes to get though. everyone started to think he was azy or useless but heknew the truth. she tried to defend him and was chewed out for it. she knew real life was more imporant that the game and told him to return when he could and he finally did.

the game was gettign darker as the story evolded into an ominous threat from the underworld and troops being trained and assembled in every town and city. these avtive timesmade his leveling nd skill collecting easier and before too much longer he was cuaght up and she was ready to group up with him again.

she missed having his tanky hide betweenher and the monsters since none of the npcs she used could keep up long. his skills seemd to make othe rtanks look like glass and when he and she went against an entire legion of older monsters they already fought she couldnt believe he was as strong as he was so fast.

"you stayed up all night didnt you?" she asks him and he said he did but it was okay because he was on break. "i dont want you to over do it you know that.

" i know but i like to over do it with you. you like the attention."

".///. d-dont say it like that you dummy im not like that."

"oh yes you are. you love how i fawn over you and tease you about your little kinks" something was definitly off like he had abandoned some restraint in his demeanor. he felt alivce and wanted to play around with ehr head and feelings but not to be mean to have fun.

She didn't do anything or say anything from the flirting he was doing, shaking her head to reply something.

"Don't start being silly again. You know how you tend to get." she types.

"Then that proves I'm right?"

"Nope." she types showing a emoji of a smiley face sticking their tongue at him. He blinks seeing that but sighed, still shaking his head to smile.

that told him she knew and even maybe liked it and he stopped only becaus eshe warned him.


they were progressing slower than anyone else and together they scouted out the factions belonging to their respecive heroes and a new enemy type was added. humans. it was different than humanoids and as their introduction quest continues he asked her if she chose her faction yet. she knew he was going to join the sheild faction and he was askign ehr again whish she would pick because she neve rtold him.

"Honestly, I don't know. I want to join one that's pretty cool but I just don't know." she types in the chat but he was confused wondering why she was nervous about picking. He was sure she had many choices or one so what was hard to pick? Was she nervous or was she just having second thoughts.

".....Well, didn't you pick before or did you have second thoughts?" he types back.

"...." She had no response to that and looks at the laptop screen wondering about it herself. Honestly, she wanted to see just how far they can get but even if it means joining different factions. She just looks down still thinking about it.

He left it up to her to decide and he would let her have her choice. They could still party up and worktogether and their factions were advertised to be able to work together as close allies. But it was up to her where she went. The game was challenging and the factions would give bonuses that help.

So that is what they did; party up and see where this would go. Maybe like he said some extra work could help them in the long run with this.

She chose to join the faction for her hero. And she was surprised to receive a low level weapon. As she reads the text for the weapon and did research on the game to learn more she discovered that this was a weapon that would grow into a legendary weapon along with her character.

She wished it wasn't a twin gun but none of her abilities needed to be changed to suit the new weapon. It seemed completely overpowered a she thought about it and she realized that she could have picked twin guns before. She keeps it as a last resort weapon focusing on her bow for main use.

As for him his sheild was overpowered for support and defense. The factions quests were solo only and they meet in game rarely. But they did share a stream platform so they could talk while they played. The faction quest line was hard for her being designed for the twin guns but she got through it with her skills alone. Getting stronger and leveling up her character and the twin guns.

When she finished the quests her faction was allied with his and they were questing together in the main story. As the story progressed they learn about the enemy forces. Some were corrupted animals others were demons and the bosses were anything possible infused with concentrated demon blood or stringer demons. They ekanr of a demon lord the heroes need to fight together against but some could join of they wished


The sword hero chose to join as did the magic hero and their factions gained demons and bosses into their ranks. Making them impossible to attack and difficult to defend against. It changed the game to such a degree that the good heroes had to take out the evil ones in order to complete the game.