Things weren't looking up today, but Taro hadn't yet counted a day where things were looking 'up' for him. Breathing heavily, his eyes scanned the dimly lit building, searching for his pursuer. Gun at the ready, he slowly walked towards the doorway in front of him, leading to the world outside and maybe, his chasers. Who were they? He didn't know. A gunner with an sniper rifle, and a few traps, maybe. An aspiring sniper? As far as taro saw, they were around level 2, but he hadn't gotten a good look because he was far away.

Taro poked his head outside of the building, only to snap back as a bullet hit the wall next to his face. Taro scrambled back inside. The aspiring sniper wasn't the best shot, but Taro wasn't the best guy and he was at least a level below his opponent. Then there was only one thing to do. Taro stuck his head out again, jumped back as the bullet pinged somewhere near his foot, and activated his only skill. [i]Fast escape![/i]

A burst of speed spurred Taro through the door again, darting across the street. There was that sniper! Taro quickly scanned his level and was upset by what he saw. [i]Level 3?!? Don't level 3s have anything better to do than chase me down?!?[/i] He thought angrily.

No time for complaints, he had 4 seconds of dodging everything left. He darted around the streets, making it as hard as possible for the sniper to hit him. 1 shot, 2 shots, 3 seconds left. Taro turned a corner and looked back. His attacker's position almost out of the line of sight. A final parting shot from the sniper, heading directly for Taro's head, a probable instant-kill shot.

As the bullet raced to end Taro's life, Taro's head shifted just enough for the bullet to pass harmlessly by. Just in time, his skill had ran out as the bullet passed him. He was safe! Or that was what he thought, until the sniper's well placed mine exploded underneath his feet. [i]Wonderful.[/i] Taro thought, tossing through the air as if in slow motion, as almost half of his health bar drained. Taro sighed mentally. He was so weak. he'd learned after the first time he was hit with one that that mine was one of the weaker ones of the average set of mines a sniper could have. It didn't do much damage (apparently) but was easier to set and was relatively easy to come by.

And apparently, 'not doing much damage' was subjective as this apparently didn't apply to Taro. Taro's body flew through the air. He landed on the ground, bounced, landed into a roll, and got to his feet to continue sprinting. He'd have to be careful about those mines. Who knows how many there were. He sprinted across the streets and ran as far as possible away from the sniper who was doubtlessly readjusting his position. [i]That's the 3rd time today.[/i] Taro thought. The 3rd time he'd had to run away from someone he'd been fighting. The first time, he was outnumbered 2 to 1, both level ones. The second time, it was a level 2 who had him out gunned and the sniper made the 3rd. It'd been 2 weeks already and standard players would already have 1 or 2 kills right now, albeit also 1 or 2 deaths. 

The problem was, Taro was too cowardly to risk himself. His only skill was an escape skill, 5 seconds of massive speed and not being hit, and he'd used it as an escape skill for almost every fight he'd been in. He'd somehow built a legend around himself as the hardest-to-kill level 1 ever, also amassing a grand total of 0 kills. 0 Kills, 0 deaths. The stats didn't show it but he'd had a total of 0 NPC kills as well. Part of the reason for this was because he had no friends. his only friend was a tomboyish girl he'd met when he transferred to royal purple academy 2 weeks ago and he didn't even know her in-game name. He never had time to make friends because in the 2 weeks since he'd transferred, he'd been either studying or playing deep ground, neither of which he was very good at.

Taro sprinted well away from the vicinity of the sniper and stopped to catch his breath. A little bit of his health had regenerated and he sat down with a sigh. He should probably ask Reiko-San for help, or maybe he could join a guild. He looked down at his weapon. One thing he desperately needed was a better weapon. He only had his starting pistol and it was extremely lacking in fire power. Maybe if he wasn't such a coward, he'd have some kills by now. He sighed and looked up to the sky.

One thing he knew, he had to change somehow. He had to get kills and become successful. It was necessary for his promise. He was bad at studying and bad at Deep Ground Online, but that just meant he had to change. He had to become a space pirate, no matter what.