[h1][center][u][i]Prologue[/i][/u][/center][/h1]

"Nii-saaaaan... How much longer do we have to walk? My feet hurt!"

"Not much further Suto, and we haven't been walking for that long, please try to tough it out," Doku replied patiently, an amused smile on his lips. Since leaving the town earlier they spent all of an hour out in the fields, getting some training in before noon. While most other players saw fit to panic or remain in town he'd felt it necessary to embrace their situation; like many things in life you couldn't expect it, and the difference between those who succeeded and those who failed was initiative. Sure, comparing a death game to the education system of Japan wasn't really a fair comparison but the same ideas still worked.

Suto let out another sigh and folded his hands behind his head, his eyes drifting around the field to get a feel for what was going on. Not many players had done what they did and went out into the fields, most were too scared. Truth be told he'd probably have been among them had Doku not agreed to join him, though babysitting might be a better way of putting it. 

"We didn't even do that much today! If we're going to go level up then we need to kill more boars," Suto complained again, his eyes drifting skyward with a huff, "We need to be the top levels to clear this thing! I still think being trapped is some freaky joke though. I mean they can't really do that right?"

"I don't know, if it's a hoax then its an elaborate one. We'll wait and see what tomorrow brings." When was tomorrow? For that matter how long had they actually been in the game? Time was not parallel between this world and their own, he couldn't recall how the cycle worked but he was certain it wasn't a 1:1 ratio. Unsettling in more way than one, they would have no real knowledge of what was transpiring outside of this game for some time. The way they had it explained to them it meant the game would have to be cleared, what an absurd notion. Single-player games were cleared, but an MMO? If this were truly some warped scheme to keep them prisoner here, a plot in of itself that seemed half-baked, Doku couldn't fathom how long it might take to free themselves.

Starting City loomed just before them now and players were beginning to come out in droves now. After the initial shock of the announcement it seemed many appreciated what this meant for them, that progression and leveling up was their only way to free themselves of this virtual prison. Parties were forming as well as groups of four or even more were heading into the Grasslands, taking up what few monster spawns there might be available. Sure, leveling may become everyone's priority, but with this sudden influx of players and so few beasts it was going to be a painfully slow process. That was unless you went a bit further out as they had done, take a chance further from the town to find more sparse hunting grounds; in time those too would become overrun, but if he and Suto could keep ahead of the frenzy then they'd be leveling far easier.

"H-Help! Somebody help me!" 

Two hours into the game's launch and already panic had reached an all time high, the threat of actual death causing most of the player base to seriously consider staying put. Those who did sum up the courage to leave the safety of the town found themselves confronted with death, funnily enough in the form of creatures once though fodder. The notion of dying to a boar or wolf when just a game was humiliating, but you'd live another day. Now if you fell to one of these creatures, a very real possibility, you'd not only look like an idiot in the process but lose your life for it. Not exactly an illustrious carving on a tombstone, now was it? 

Upon hearing someone's cries Suto looked in the direction of the sound, spotting a lone player being attacked by a pair of wolves. Gasping he drew his dagger from its sheath and took off from the road towards the player, ignoring his brother's calls to remain put. He couldn't just watch someone die, not if that was how the game worked now. Within striking distance of the wolves he activated his most basic skill, <<Vorpal Strike>>, dashing straightforward and leaving a purple particle trail behind him. Catching one of the wolves from behind he inflicted extra damage thanks to an inherent skill of his, enough to nearly kill it in one blow. On cooldown now however Suto was faced with both wolves turning on him, the other player far too panicked to help out. With both beasts growling at him Suto tried to force his body to move for another skill, finding it unwilling to do so. As both wolves let out a howl each lunged at him, shutting his eyes as he waited for them to strike and instead hearing the whimpers of both beasts.

Doku had to really push himself to reach his brother in time, managing to activate his <<Cleave>> skill before Suto was struck. An upward swing, his greatsword caught each wolf in the abdomen and launched it high in the air, killing the first and leaving the second critical. From playing earlier he'd managed to level up, and as the wolf came down he activated his second skill, <<Shoulder Charge>>. Leaning his body forward he took one step and drove his weight into the beast's side, sending it flying to the ground before shattering into a dozen shards. Breathing a sigh of relief Doku let his cooldowns refresh before standing upright, promptly admonishing the random player with an angry glare.

"Watch what you're doing, otherwise people are going to die because of you," he warned, walking over and pulling the other boy to his feet.

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to, it was a mistake!" the boy stammered, bowing to Doku and Suto, "Thank you for saving me! T-Thank you!" Fighting back tears he then quickly turned and ran back towards the Starting City, clearly not prepared for this.

Doku watched the boy run off, pushing past others as he made a frantic dash for the safety of the town. "Tch... Trying to run solo is an idiotic move," he remarked, shaking his head as he eased his greatsword onto his back again. 

"We saved him though! And I guess you saved me, so... Everything worked out, right?" Suto asked, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head. His expression changed then to an amused one as he stepped closer to Doku, winking and nudging his side with an elbow. "I thought you didn't believe this was real, what's all this about getting killed, huh? Does that mean you were wrong?"

Doku narrowed his eyes at Suto before sighing, pinching his brow as he hung his head. "I'm just being safe. Until we know for sure we shouldn't take things lightly. Now come on, let's get back to town."