Zenith Affinity

A bright flash woke everyone, followed by the feeling of falling. The surface of a planet came into view, but the thousands of falling people all slowed as they neared the ground, coming to a nice and easy stop. It was no less terrifying either way.

Azure_Sky looked around, but didn't recognize anyone. But something was recognizable, as the icons above everyone's head came into focus.

A beautiful Myrim woman with light blue skin and purple hair was staring into the distance, a confused look on her face. Above her head were the words, 'Kesa Ivy, Druid'.

A massive Dark Goliath with coal-black eyes and a huge dark beard had 'Dark Hero, Paladin' above his head.

"Solara Sky? Mage?" A regal and masculine voice rang out from behind, a handsome dark elf with silky silver hair contrasting to his dark purple skin, had 'Zedra Stone, Rogue' over his head.

"Solara Sky, that's...my name?" Her voice seemed to shake her soul as she spoke, but she still fought through it, "Are we...inside Zenith?"

"Okay, just calm down," He might have been speaking to himself, but Zedra continued, "This is definitely Zenith Affinity, but we are in the world, isekaid or whatever.”

"Holy shit, you really think so?" another person asked, listening in, showing 'Recker Seven, Barbarian' above his head.

"Yeah, you in a group?" Zedra asked.

"Uhh, yeah, sorry man, this is fuckin' crazy. I need to find my group. Hey, isn't that King evil?" Recker asked, gesturing at the stern-looking man speaking on a stage in the distance, as he walked away.

Zedra and Solara's eyes went wide, but the dark elf spoke first, "Holy shit, the King is evil!"

"What? What do you mean?" Kesa Ivy asked.

"First expansion, he tried to kill everyone," Solara said, shaking her head. Kesa originally started the game in the 5th expansion, and since the main storyline wasn't required to level up or to progress to end game, many people hadn't played the first expansion.

"I think we have a couple of years on that, maybe…if things are the same. They reset the entire story. Anyways, listen guys, get together, come here!" Zedra pulled everyone together into a huddle, "Look, you are Solara Sky, aka Azure_Sky, Right?"

"That you, Touch?" Sky acknowledged while nodding.

"Yup, it's showing our personal character names now, instead of our account names like in the game," Zedra Stone, account name Glacial_Touch, said.

"Wait, Dark...you named your character Dark Hero? You are Dark Hero, Dark Hero?!" Solara Sky asked, including his account name.

"Heh, Dark Hero is Dark Hero, always has been," His voice was completely different, much deeper and carried with heavy bass. He had used that stupid joke so many times, but it seemed to help calm Kesa, who smiled at his antics.

Zedra spoke up again, somehow maintaining his cool, "I already checked my HUD, but there isn't any menu screen, like we can't exit this situation, access settings, or do anything of the sort. This is obviously not a full dive situation as that technology doesn't exist...and we didn't have headsets on, so either something supernatural happened, or I am still dreaming. Does that check out for everyone?"

Zedra shook the shoulders of those he was next to as he talked, emphasizing his statements with physical demonstrations. It drew everyone fully into what he had to say.

Sky was shaking with nerves, and Kesa hadn't said anything but had wide eyes, looking around worriedly. Dark was just looking thoughtful, but worried about his wife, leaving one of his new and massive arms around her.

"So, regardless of how we got here, we have work to do. We need to figure out how to use our stuff, but more importantly, we need to get moving RIGHT NOW," Zedra said urgently, his handsome face was extremely expressive with silver hair framing it perfectly.

"What do you mean?" Kesa finally asked nervously.

"Kesa," Zedra said in response, "Wild_Ivy, right?"

She nodded again, but looked too worried to speak. Dark squeezed her closer, despite being a good 2 to 3 feet taller than her.

"We know what we have to do, and that is to get stronger." Zedra continued, "Think about it, if we don't get ahead, then we will be stuck killing stuff in the starting zone for days, waiting in huge respawn lines trying to catch up, too weak to move beyond. Now, if this is a real world, we have some serious things to consider, like the potential for actual death, we don't know the rules of this world, and they could be harsh or unforgiving."

Zedra let that statement hang, looking into each of their eyes, "Another thing is that people might try to kill us, but if not them, then actual fucking monsters which live in pretty much any direction? This is Ostbury, right?"

"Y-yeah, this is where the game starts," Solara Sky said, finally looking around a bit. There were thousands of people all around, and it was definitely the beautiful starting square in the City of Ostbury. Sky had often spent time here in the game years ago, so recognition of the place was immediate. In combination with that, the wildly fantastical surroundings made it pretty obvious that they weren't on Earth anymore.

It was also clear at just a glance that Ostbury was not a small representation of a city within the game. For starters, the walls in the distance were imposingly huge. They were tall in the game, but here they were hundreds of feet tall, higher than one could walk up in just a few minutes. The skyline in the distance still contained floating islands, fantastical towers, and blue magical constructs, making the scene surreal in nature, but familiar to some degree; they were scaled up to the size of an actual city.

"That's right. Now, the third thing we need to understand is that we can become powerful." Zedra's handsome, dark elven features broke into a huge grin, making him look truly roguish as he said it.

The party was silent as they processed Zedra's words. The crowd around them was growing in volume as people began to process their situation. The King's monologue continued as if nothing was happening, and the players began to realize the situation. Some were panicked or nervous, others looked off into the distance as if in a catatonic state, probably reading windows on their heads up display.

Zedra nodded at Solara, "Sky and I have probably memorized our progression to level 100 entirely, and I know you two won't have any trouble leveling up along the same path." He received a nod from the large Goliath. "We have a good start with our party composition, but we need an Enhancer of sorts to finish things off. We don't get that, we can't make it through Zaphid Caverns at level 15, right?"

Zedra seemed to understand that making their brains work would keep them from panic taking hold, something that wasn't working for everyone.

Sky nodded, "Oh, we do need that, even with our DPS, it's impossible without a good Enhancer. I hope we can find a sorcerer, wizard, monk, bard, or...."

"Yes, but do you know what else we need?" Zedra asked.

"What?" Sky said.

Dark Hero spoke, "We need someone who will go the distance with us. If they bail at a critical time, we could be killed at worst. If this is an SAO situation, then we could be in deep trouble if things go wrong, and fast. Enhancer is usually a boring play style regardless of how it works, but maybe selling someone on an easy fighting style that buffs others will be a smart angle to try."

Sky nodded, "Yeah, the ol’Lightning Enhancer Sorc, such a good class to have, but definitely easy to play."

"You don't have to be good at it or the game, and that is the point we make for someone," Dark Hero said with a laugh. "It will be easier for someone to be an Enhancer and be relatively safe."

"Alright, I want to continue this conversation, but only after we have found our fifth. Then we get supplies and head out. Can we walk and talk? We might get lucky and find one," Zedra said.

"Yeah, Zed's right, we need to get moving before most of this crowd decides to start killing boars in the starting zone, no doubt about it," Sky said.

Everyone's voice was different, but Sky’s was the most jarring, having changed the most with the switching of genders. It went from a slightly nasal and deep male voice just hours ago in Vent-cord, to a soft and sweet-sounding female voice. The interesting part was that she still spoke with the same style of midwestern accent that the original Azure_Sky had, and it showed.

Dark and Kesa stared at her, realizing that it was definitely her.

"What?" Sky asked.

"Nothing, it's just good to know that you are actually Azure_Sky. Your accent is still peaking through," Dark said with a laugh.

Sky laughed as well and shrugged a slim shoulder.

"Alright, keep your eyes up for a sorcerer or someone who could fill an enhancer spot. Let's roll!" Zedra said.

Everyone agreed, holding down the emotional response that so many around them were falling to. They followed Zedra to the Northwest of the square, trying to break out of the crowd of different people. The ridiculous amount of other races made for a fantastical melting pot of people showing a myriad of emotions in response to their new circumstances.

Some people were on their knees, crying. Others were inspecting their new bodies in shock, horror, excitement, or curiosity. Some were emoting like it was a shitty battle royale, while others were already sending random basic attacks into the air or in random directions.

Zedra spoke in the newly activated party chat, the words being sent directly into their ears, "Alright, verbal party chat seems to work. Does anyone see any sorcerers yet?"

“Not yet!” Sky replied, following Zedra through the crowd.

Dark Hero held onto Kesa’s hand as he pulled her behind the other two.

The King was still talking as they searched for their 5th party member, and he should monologue for around 10 minutes after summoning the main character of the story. Just like most MMORPG’s, every Player was the ‘Main Character’ to some degree, each one playing out an instance of their own story while living in the open world.

"That dude is a Sorc right there..." Dark pointed.

Zedra looked at him for a second, "Nope, he's in a party already."

"A monk is climbing the wall over there," Kesa said while pointing up at someone about to find out if fall damage is a thing.

"Let's find someone else, a wizard there...no," Zedra said.

"What about him? He's a Sorc, but he's actually listening to the King's speech," Sky asked skeptically.

"Invite him, I can't see him," Zedra said.

'Atticus, Sorcerer' was above the head of a tall and lean Kainen. The Kainen are an extremely dexterous and agile race whose racial abilities align with that archetype. Also, they are one of the base races that were selectable before the expansions. He lost concentration on the King as he focused on a pop-up screen only he could see.

'Atticus has joined your party.'

"Hello?" The deep and slightly rumbly voice of the Kainen asked cautiously over party chat.

"Atticus? Right behind you a bit, hey dude!" Sky said excitedly, waving at the huge cat-person as she walked up to him.

"Oh, hello. How can I help you?" The cat-like head was surreal to look at; his features looked aggressive and predatory, but his intelligent and sharp eyes didn't have any hostility.

The party came over to the sorcerer, who was wearing a comfortable-looking starting vest that billowed out into robes with a basic wooden scepter slung on his belt. His whole body was covered in a patterned brown and brick-red fur that looked extremely soft. Large whiskers fell from either side of his curious face.

"Hey, so we saw you are a Sorcerer, and if you plan to go Lightning Enhancer...we would love to recruit you for our party!" Zedra asked hopefully.

"Lightning Enhancer? Sorry, are we actually in Zenith Affinity?"

The party mostly nodded, and Zedra spoke up, "We think so. Zenith Affinity seems real…or at least wherever we are is real. We were going to start leveling up and getting used to our new bodies before dealing with the ramifications of being here..."

“Pushing off the existential crises of species and gender until later, so to speak,” Sky said nervously, glancing down at her chest.

Atticus nodded, "I see. Last night I went to sleep after making my character, and all of a sudden I am here in this amazing body! It was strange."

"Same for us," Kesa said.

"As far as your invitation goes, I have no idea how to make a Lightning Enhancer, or even what we should be doing, but I feel way too good to be in my real body," Atticus said while flexing. The extremely lithe and powerful muscles underneath his furry skin rippled. He was taller than all of the party besides Dark Hero, but the Kainen frame didn't allow them to stand perfectly straight with their strange knees. Their frames are lithe and athletic, but they wanted to lean forward. They were capable of running on all fours in-game, giving them greater movement speed than most.

"I hear that. But we know enough to easily put together a build for a Lightning Enhancer. We are all veterans and can teach you how to level, where to go, and how to get good enough to get strong. What do you say?" Zedra asked, throwing his pitch.

"You want to leave before the speech ends?" Atticus asked, seemingly confused, but slowly taking in information. There weren't many people who seemed to be keeping it together. Many were openly freaking out or sitting down with confused looks.

"That speech doesn't matter. We can tell you the gist as we go if you really want to know. If you want to come get strong with us, then right now is the time. We have to get ahead of the other players, but we need you to go as a Lightning Enhancer Sorcerer for our party composition. Is that acceptable?"

"I-I don't know...this seems like a big choice. What even is a Lightning Enhancer?" Worry began to encroach on his smooth voice as he looked at the party. His eyes were large and expressive.

Sky walked up, placing a delicate hand on his arm, "I know what you mean, but if we are really stuck here, and that was quite a teleportation thing we all went through...then we need to get strong. It might be easier to hit the ground running instead of waiting to follow the horde of players while we try to get our heads straight. Come with us, and we will explain everything you need to know about the Enhancer Position, why we need it, and what you need to do to get great at it. So, what do you say?"

The Kainen's worried face stared at Solara Sky as he thought about her words. He looked down at the ground and then nodded, "Alright, I am in."

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

The five had taken off, leaving hundreds, maybe even thousands of other players behind in the packed starting square. The starting gear included enough silver coins to buy bed rolls, basic rations, and even supplies to cook with, precious coins that they would need to spend before heading out of the city. They left in a westerly direction, making their way through the beautiful fantasy city. The people, who were formerly NPCs, seemed real and interested in seeing the strange groups of players, often containing a myriad of different races, running around together.

The starting zones are fairly diverse in the different directions around the massive walls of Ostbury. To the north was the start of a huge range of mountains that just got taller the further they went, finally sneaking into the clouds. A single massive waterfall marked the start of the river that fed into the city from the north, nearly splitting the northern expanse in two. To the east were endlessly rolling golden-green plains with massive stones, jutting out as if placed there on purpose, left to time, they now sat as land markers that made the plains so recognizable.

To the west was a series of hilly, forested areas that eventually turned into valleys split by smaller creeks and rivers. That flowing water came together to drop into the ocean along the coastline that went more out than up to the west.

The south was a huge desert, though it was similar to the grassy plains to the east, as it slowly turned into dry plains of cracked and barren soil, desolate for anyone searching for non-salted water.

The stark ending to each biome was somehow connected with the city, giving players a myriad of environmental choices to enjoy or survive in while leveling, a different prospect while here in the flesh. In a world where everything had been sized up to the scale of an actual planet, the starting zones and their differences were only more strange to see. It didn't change the starting leveling route they had planned; instead, it just increased the length of time it would take to get around.

The group walked through the city, trying not to be distracted by all the opportunities and people. They finally found themselves in front of one of the most popular role-playing locations in the starting city. It was a full-sized Inn, with rooms, bar, lounge, and live entertainment. Players loved the place, and it also happened to be closest to the Northwestern Wall out of all of the Inns in Ostbury.

"We’ve had some fun in this place, eh, Zed?" Sky asked.

Zedra laughed, the rogue stalking forward, "Yes, we have, though I don't want you to get any ideas, we won't be AFK-ing any time soon."

Sky scoffed, as she had often let her character idle outside of the Inn.

That was enough for Kesa and Dark to burst out laughing. For some reason, making fun of Sky would always be welcome in the group.

The courtyard they had just entered was empty of players but had NPCs walking around, signified by the grey names above their heads, with their professions showing instead of their base class. The NPCs looked and acted way too normal to be called NPCs, yet the group could only look at them passively as they got ready to go level up.

They had all entered a side building of the Inn that had a few merchants. Each of them bought the starting field kits they would need while out in the wilderness, including some meal kits, bed rolls, water skins, and even some basic utensils and stuff. After that, the group quickly left the Inn and began to make their way to the west.

"Okay, let's start running and test our stamina levels. I bet Atticus can run longer than all of us!" Zedra said, drawing weird looks from the people staring at them.

"Kainen are built to run. Give me some water!" Kesa's purple eyes sparkled like sunlight across the ocean as she smiled at Zedra.

In many MMORPG's, being able to run indefinitely is a common thing; otherwise, it would take endless amounts of time to cross a map if you are constantly waiting on a stamina bar to refill. Even if some classes used stamina or rage as a fuel source, it didn't count for basic movement, and the same could be said here in Zenith Affinity.

They ran continuously for 15 minutes and were breathing no harder than they would be if they were standing still.

"I don't think I have ever been in this good of shape before!" Kesa said, shaking her head.

Sky looked over to her and laughed, "Right? We play way too many games to stay in this good of shape! Just wait till Atticus here gets movement speed for his Lightning Affinity, we will be zooming!"

"Speaking of, can someone explain affinities? I really am a noob...just had someone buy this for me, saying that affinities are important," Atticus said morosely. "Had no clue that I would actually end up IN the game."

“Let’s get out of the city first, Atticus. It will be easier if we aren’t fighting against the clock. You won’t need to worry about it for a while anyway,” Dark said.

“It's funny cause I have always dreamed of being Isekai'd," Sky said a few minutes later as they turned down another street. "I guess it just hasn't sunk in that it really happened...like this could all be a huge dream."

"Yeah, who hasn't?" Zedra said with a laugh.

Sky continued, "But now that we are here, it is still scary...we need to unlock our abilities asap!"

"True enough, but I only want to get stronger so that I may see more. I mean, look at his place, Sky..." Zedra spread his arms and spun as they jogged through a skinny street, shadowed overhangs with people sitting, clothes drying, and plants growing, all of which gave life to the condensed alleyway. It was an amazing sight as dark brown wood stuck out from the light pink colored stone that made up nearly all of the buildings in the city.

Sky took a second as well, looking up to see a small sliver of her namesake through the overhanging buildings. "It is incredible, isn't it? I mean...are we really here? I have so much physical evidence with my body alone. I have never felt this strong or beautiful, or even comfortable, as I do right now. Now look at me...some crazy angel lady that is on a quest to control the power of the sun!"

"What?" Atticus asked with fear as he had been listening to the two friends talk.

Sky laughed, "I am building a Solar Mage with the Solar, Spatial, and Gravity Affinities, of course, I would try to control the power of the sun."

"But..." he seemed to realign his thoughts and changed his question. "Okay, why are you solar and not something like say...fire or lightning?"

"Solar affinities got buffed and the synergy with Celestials stacks to an obscene amount, especially later in the leveling process," Sky gestured to herself. "I get an automatic racial affinity boost by 50% to any affinity that is light or holy-based or adjacent. That is 50% more than your base Affinity, not a directly multiplicative amount, but it works all the same for Solar Mage. Also, the mage class just got a few buffs, including a lot more Area of Effect damage, making it one of the top AoE classes out there!"

"Affinities...that's right, Zenith Affinity is the game's name. But wait, shouldn't you have wings? You know...as an angel person?" He asked.

Sky smiled, "Not till later, I can summon them at level 25, but can only glide a bit. Then I can hover at 50, while being able to fully fly at 75...but we will be going for flying mounts by then."

Atticus's eyes went wide, "F-flying?"

"Atticus, don't worry about all that for now. This game is pretty unique as far as abilities and combat is concerned. It has a system where you can choose damn near any spell or skill, but you don't get as much out of it unless you have an affinity for it and put points into it to increase the utility and strength of said skill. At levels 25, 50, and 75, you pick your primary, secondary, and tertiary affinities, which will massively enhance your abilities," Zedra explained.

"Right, but you said something about Lightning Enhancer?"

"Yup," Zedra said. "Your first affinity needs to be lightning, and we will work on increasing your affinity percentage as we go. Affinities affect everything from mana efficiency to the power of attacks. You should already have an auto attack on your action bar right now, do you see that?"

"Hmm, [Mana Bolt], yes."

"I have it too!" Sky replied.

"Same!" Kesa said.

"It's pretty much the starter for all casters, an unattuned way of channeling or casting mana. Eventually, you will get a skill that will change it to an affinity attack that will increase in power as you level," Zedra explained as he led everyone down a dark alley that was near the massive stone wall of the city. He was extremely well-versed in the lore and the magic system, something he and Sky share a passion for. But more than that, he had a memory like a steel trap and had found the secret way they planned to leave the city.

"Where are we going?" Atticus asked nervously.

"Oh, don't worry, this is a quick and sneaky way out of the city, and we will level up by the time we get out. It will be like we were never here at all!" Sky said excitedly.

The group was currently hiding in an alleyway as Zedra poked his head out and searched for guards.

"It just helps us remain off the radar of the city guards, while giving us a level or so for free. Don't worry, it's a well-known escape route," Sky explained to Atticus. The base of the Northwestern wall was just ahead, and the coast was clear.

That didn't make Atticus feel any better about it. "Why do we need to escape?"

"And we should be good to go, now!" Zedra said, ignoring the Kainen as he turned a corner and began running up a hidden set of stairs in the wall. The party followed.

The city walls were extremely high compared to any walls they had on Earth, but this is Zenith World, a fantastical place with magical engineering. The walls were as tall as skyscrapers, and getting to the top was only half the battle of their current route.

"Uhhh, guys, I am so sorry...I don't think I can climb this...I-I am scared of heights," Atticus said nervously, his large paw-hands worriedly gripping his [Basic Scepter]. He was looking up the hidden alcove that had slightly sketchy openings, leaving the small staircase exposed to the open air.

Zedra jumped back down the stairs, "Hey, it's going to be just fine. We are going to be extremely powerful, right?"

Atticus had tears in the corners of his eyes, "I-I n-no, I am not actually a guy, or a Kainen...I am a 38-year-old woman who lives alone...there is no way I can do this."

"It's alright, look, Sky? Sky, come here! Sky here was a guy, and look at him now! Ivy...I mean, Kesa had to convince him to drop the boob slider down to 70%," Zedra said with a smile, trying to turn Atticus's spirit around.

"Yeah, it's true, but don’t tell her that I actually chose 75%," Sky said with a stage whisper as she touched her own chest.

"Stop touching them, Sky!" Kesa said as she watched the Celestial.

"What? They are mine!"

"WE ARE IN PUBLIC! YOU WILL ACT LIKE IT!" Kesa yelled.

"Yes, ma'am!" Sky said quickly while fearfully cringing from the angry Kesa, arms at her side.

Atticus seemed to calm a bit, huffing in humor at Sky’s antics, and Zedra took one of his massive paw-lms in his own hand, "Let's go together, the stairs are easy, and the other side is even quicker!"

Sky and Dark exchanged glances. 'Quicker' is a nice way of putting that big of a drop into water. They shrugged, this was the way to go, and it appeared that no other parties had made it this far just yet.

"Alright, together then," Atticus said, collecting his nerves.

"Just wait till we get flying mounts, and we can dive off of these walls like it's no big deal!" Dark said, knowing the exact mount he already wanted to get.

"Oh! I forgot about mounts! I know what I am getting!" Ivy said with excitement.

"Haha, me too!" Dark laughed.

"Let's just focus on these jumps, people! If you fall..." Kesa said. "Well, just don't fall."

"Sky, you are smiling like a mad woman!" Zedra laughed.

"I can't help but feel amazing right now...the wind, the fresh start, the idea of being in my favorite world...I don't know," She shook her head in amazement, "I think I am loving this!" She stepped to an opening in the wall and leaned out as she took in the wind.

Kesa laughed as she pulled Sky back in, "Don't go jumping yet, wouldn't want you to be a fallen angel."

"Oof, that was a bad one, Kesa," Sky said, but couldn't stop laughing. Who didn't love a joke so bad it could be a dad joke?

Kesa had a good look at Sky as they were standing next to each other, "You know, we have never met each other before, but I still feel like I should be seeing a different face."

"I know what you mean...this body is insane, like I don't think I could even hold a conversation with me from my last life," Sky said. "But...maybe it's just because I am healthy right now, but I feel so…right in this body. Also, I don't know what I look like."

Kesa smiled, "I don't want this to end either. Plus, I am going to have to show you how to be a lady now. Proper decorum and everything."

Sky's eyes went wide, "Ah…Let's just worry about getting some levels before all that."

Kesa laughed as she walked past her, "I am going to love this."

Sky gulped.

They made it to the top of the first part of the wall-climb.

"Alright, we will take 10 percent of our HP or so as damage, but we will be able to climb up from within this part of the wall," Zedra explained, pointing to the spot they had to jump across to.

"Oh yeah, this jump...Just make sure to jump further out than up...yeah?" Sky asked Atticus, who looked at her like she was insane, his fanged mouth hanging open.

Sky just ran and jumped the 15-foot gap to the small platform through a large window sill. Kesa and Dark all followed with no problems, filing out into another hidden hallway that had a stairway going up to the top of the wall.

"Alright, Atticus...just relax," Zedra tried to comfort the larger cat man. Atticus wasn't actually listening, just looking down the hundreds of feet to the ground in fear. They really were high up, and the wall went even higher.

Zedra put a hand on his furred shoulder, "Hey...it's alright, we are going to make it past this trial together as a team. The first of many to challenge us in this new life. And now, you are part of it. I wouldn't say I am a leader-"

"You are!" Sky yelled from across the gap.

"Shut up, Sky!" He turned back to Atticus, "But look, I will jump with you, all you have to do is jump at the same angle as I do...together, alright?"

He was shaking, but breathed in deep and nodded, "Right, together."

"Three steps and out, not up,"

"Out, not up," Atticus agreed.

They both jumped after three steps, and Atticus turned the jump into a full matrix-style dive, but instead of rolling, he landed face-first and skidded forward, "Ow..."

Zedra had done some crazy hand vault and spun to his feet as the poor Atticus slid on his face.

"Arrhhh," Atticus groaned.

The rest of the group cringed at the huge wipeout, but helped him back on his feet all the same.

"This will be a good test on how long it takes to regenerate. Normally, it's 10 seconds after exiting combat," Sky explained. "So, 10 seconds after combat has exited, you should get your health back."

Kesa whacked her in the arm, "I am sorry, Atticus, I don't have any healing spells yet. You just need to hold on for a few seconds."

"I counted 10 seconds of 'combat' from the fall, then just 2 seconds until full life," Dark said mechanically, counting off as the time went by.

"Right, we need to know that for escaping things and just disengaging from combat in general. So, let's talk while we climb. These stairs are walled in until we get to the top," Zedra said.

"Sounds good, Touch!" Sky said.

"Hey! It's Zedra now!"

"Sorry!"

"Anyways...Atticus. The plan for leveling is simple: I find mobs as our forward scout, and each of us hits it once. We have an order, and that order continues until each enemy we pull is dead. This is a simple way for us to break through the first tier at obscene speeds," Zedra said.

"Yeah, what's the attack order?" Dark asked as he continued walking up the stairs, basic scale mail clinking with every step.

"Me, Dark, Ivy-" Zed began.

"Just call me Kesa," She said quickly.

"Right, so the attack order is Me, Dark, Kesa, Atticus, then Sky...Got it?" Zedra finished.

"So...how do I attack?" Atticus asked honestly.

Sky was going to make a joke before she realized that she also didn't know how to attack either. Pulling her staff from her back, she spoke as she cast, "[Mana Bolt]!"

A bluish-purple bolt of pure mana formed at the tip of her staff and flew ahead of the group, crashing into higher stairs along the hallway. It just left a glowing blue mark that made the stone glow with heat for a few seconds as it cooled.

"I think I can do it again without saying it," She focused, and another bolt appeared, splashing against the stairs once again. "Okay, I got this. All you have to do is focus on casting or using the base mana attack."

Two more [Mana Bolts] flew off. Kesa laughed as she joined in on the fun.

Zedra put his hands up to stop the mages from continuing, "Alright! We are getting to the hard part. Let's be ready."

The long stairway came to an opening, and they were on top of the wall. The huge city was laid out behind them, truly fantastical in nature.

Airships came and went, like floating steampunk-fantasy ships, with folding sails and magical engines. There were massive towers all over the city, even from the main Palace, a place of gold-accented pink stone. Different species of birds flew above the streets, wildly colorful and unrecognizable. Music was coming from somewhere below them as well, just adding to the fantastical view.

There were floating islands that seemed to be held in place with blue arcane circles. The beautiful morning sun, clear blue sky, and immaculately clean city made for a breathtaking sight.

Kesa took a deep breath, "Wow...we really are here, aren't we?"

"Yeah, look!" Dark pointed.

A floating whale came in, utterly dwarfing a blue whale from Earth many times over, casually flapping a series of 3 fins per side. It was equipped with a whole series of buildings on its back, a beautiful porch that wrapped around the sides. The whale 'docked' at a floating island as if it were a huge delivery platform, its docks reaching out to latch onto it.

"This is amazing, but we need to get going before we get caught!" Zedra said. He walked to the other side of the wall to find a drop nearly twice as far as the one they had just climbed, straight down to a sparkling blue lake. The clear sky and overhead sun reflected off the mirror-like lake, and soft ripples showed the nature of the wind. The drop was so far that it would have killed most people, water landing or not. But this was a gaming world, and huge drops into water were commonplace.

"Yeah, so Atticus...this part seems like a bit much, but we are at full health, and as long as you jump from the circle and don't hit a bird, you will be just fine," Sky said with a terrifying smile.

Atticus took a few seconds before he realized that they indeed meant to jump off the wall, "You want me too..."

"It's really easy!" Zedra encouraged. He remembered being on this wall with old characters, looking down at this lake on the computer screen. It was as nostalgic as it was beautiful.

"Are you insane!? I knew this was a bad idea, you guys are going to get me killed!" Atticus said, anxiety rising.

"It's really going to be alright, you see that right there," Zedra nodded to a glowing circle.

"A blue circle?!"

"Exactly! It's a guaranteed jump that grants experience if you complete it, but you can do flips and stuff to get more. This is a quick way to get to level 2 on the way out of the city. All you have to do is at least three flips or spins on the way down, after you activate the circle, of course," Zedra said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, watch, I'll go first!" Sky said. She walked up to the circle, "Yup, I got the pop-up the second I entered, 'Would you like to take the Wall's Dive Test?' Yes, I would!" She put the staff on her back sling and prepared herself.

With two steps and maximum effort, Sky jumped off the wall, vaulting her legs over her head like a handless cart wheel. With the grace of a professional diver, she did 7 spinning flips with perfect form and landed in a dive.

Atticus watched in amazement at the high dive, something that would have set records or gone viral back on Earth if they managed to survive.

"10 out of 10!" Dark cheered.

"Oh yeah, she's probably the highest level in the game now...this jump is huge when you do it the first time!" Zedra said with a shake of his head. "How about you next Kesa?"

Kesa flipped her purple hair and fixed her deep sea blue eyes on her husband, "I guess I am ready."

She gracefully stepped off the edge after activating the circle. It was just as graceful, if less intense, with fewer flips involved. She landed feet first and swam up to the surface to join Sky a few seconds later. They looked like tiny dots floating in the beautiful water below.

"She did three flips, just enough to hit the second level..." Dark said. Then he also followed suit, throwing his head forward to do a quick front flip, followed by a series of them on the way down, easily leveling up with the experience from the little event.

"Atticus, there is no way to hit anything on the way down, but if you do at least 3 flips or spins, you get enough experience to hit level 2. How are you feeling?" Zedra asked.

"Terrified, but I guess I would rather land in water than go back the way we came..." Atticus said, stepping up to the circle and accepting the quest.

"You got this!"

"Uhh....AHHHHHHHH!!!" Atticus stepped off, slowly flipping twice and spinning once, while screaming the entire way down. A huge splash, nearly as big as Dark's, was the result. It was completely uncoordinated for a species as graceful as a Kainen, and his health went down 15% instead of the standard 10.

"Not bad! Now...it's my turn!" Zedra activated the test, stepped back, and dove off into a spinning series of flips, managing twelve before he impacted the surface.

Down in the water, the party had nothing but smiles as they waited for Zedra.

"Oh. I see! The level up heals you!" Atticus said with a toothy smile to match the rest of the party. The pain and fear of the jump were instantly over as the group swam towards the shore. The beautiful water was warm and comfortable, even smelling clean and fresh. A side effect of the ambient magic.

Kesa was swimming faster than anyone could run on account of her racial bonus as a Myrim. Her movement speed was wildly improved as she took off in the direction of the nearby shore.

"Whoa! Go Kesa!" Sky yelled from her position, treading water.

"I knew she would love that Myrim race, but she doesn't get her full mermaid form until 50," Dark said while watching his wife happily. The huge dark goliath treaded water slowly, but he didn't have any trouble staying afloat, even while wearing armor. Another aspect of the game is transferring over to this new life.

Kesa popped out of the water with a spin and landed on the shore, waiting for the rest to catch up. She had her staff in hand and a smirk firmly in place as she spoke, "Yeah, I can get used to this."

"That was awesome, Kes!" Dark said.

"I didn't get a skill point for that level, did I?" Atticus asked, searching his HUD for any notifications.

"Level three for the first skill point! You get 20 attribute points per level in the first tier, but I don't know the specifics for your race and class, which is what decides the stat distribution. Do you know which skill distribution Lightning Enhancers need Zed?" Sky asked.

"As long as I hear the skill descriptions, I can easily tell you what you need. I can't remember the exact names...It should be easy to figure out, though," Zedra said, thinking about it as they trudged along.

"Great, we have another level of XP to worry about before our first skill choice, let's get to it!" Dark said.

Zedra took off and found their first target, striking it on the rump to initiate combat.

“Of course it’s a boar…” Sky said sarcastically.

Just like that, the first combat the party experienced took place. Zedra ran in and stabbed the side of a boar that was staring off into the distance. The second it got stabbed, the thing squealed like mad, and the small floating health bar ticked down nearly 20%.

Then it ran after Zedra, who vaulted past Dark. He pulled his wooden shield and iron sword out. The boar used a [Charge Attack], blowing back Dark Hero.

“OW! Damn this thing is strong!" Dark yelled as he centered himself again.

The boar took off, circling around as Kesa laughed at her husband before turning and launching a [Mana Bolt].

It hit, followed immediately by Sky's [Mana Bolt], which decided to crit, bringing the boar down to 4% HP.

"Take it down, Atticus!" Sky yelled, ignoring the fact that she was supposed to go last instead of the Kainen.

"R-right.." Atticus held the wooden scepter out like a rifle. Finally, a blue bolt flew off and dropped the boar as it turned back for another attack at Dark.

"Hah! See? Easy as pie!" Sky said with a smile.

"Yeah, that wasn't so bad!" Atticus said, the adrenaline slowly receding.

"Incoming! And you didn’t follow the attack order, Sky!" Zedra said, having pulled the next group of boars.

“Oops!”

Two boars were headed right at Dark, and he was able to get his shield up in time, stopping the charge of the lead boar. [Mana Bolt]s flew in from all sides, but stayed focused on one target at a time. The cooldowns synced, and the party just followed each other’s lead, while Zedra and Dark attacked with dagger and sword.

After the group of boars was cleared, the party exchanged adrenaline-filled gazes, grins appearing on all their faces.

They were already addicted.