Chapter 8 - New World And New Self

Opening my eyes, I found myself in front of a beautiful fountain in the middle of a Plaza.

The sky is clear and judging by the position of the sun, I can say that noon will come in a moment. Looking down, I saw dozens of Players and NPCs passing by.

And seeing the tall white tower in the distance, I understand, I was in Dungeon City Rishtonbell.

Btw, the white tower has a strange nickname, that is Denbu, an abbreviation of Dungeon Entrance Building. The tower containing gates to the Foltian Great Dungeon.

Back to the moment. Seeing the familiar view of the plaza, there's no mistake, I showed up at the starting point for the Newbie Players.

It makes me nostalgic.

But now, there's something important I need to do right away. I had to mail my friends to ask them to come here. And before that...

"I had to add their name to my friends' list."

With that intention, I moved my left arm to make a light vertical downward swing. I intend to open the Game Menu but...

"Why doesn't the Menu screen appear?"

It's quite strange, Is there a Bug?

I'm clueless and despite repeated attempts to open the Game Menu, the white screen never appears.

I was annoyed and disappointed that the Game Menu didn't work as it should be.

It seems I have to ask Agnisdesmo or the other to send a mail to the GMs. I want those programmers and developers to fix this bug immediately!

I want my Game Menu back.

"Now, what do I have to do to contact my friends?"

I thought for a moment to solve this problem and in the end, I found a solution.

Adventure's Guild has a service to send messages to a Player even if the Player is not on the friends' list. So I will use the service.

Of course, to use that service, one has to pay a fee. And more interestingly, the higher the player's level, the more expensive the cost of the messages delivery service is.

"That means, I have to send a message to Izayoi."

And I walked to the Adventure Guild with a plan that's been decided.

I walked southeast, tracing the sidewalk paved with dark blue stones that were cut into rectangles and arranged to form a beautiful pattern.

The journey to the Adventure's Guild can be said to be fun. That feeling comes to my heart because Rishtonbell has an architecture of the medieval-themed buildings in Europe. Not only classic buildings but the city is also filled with people of different races.

Humans, Elves, Beastkin, and Dwarfs passed by beside me. Their beauty and uniqueness mixed with the weapons and armor they wear make those people in this fantasy world more memorable to me.

Various types of Magic Tools such as Crystal Lamp on street, ornaments floating on the fountain, sculptures that can move on their own, and so forth become a spice that makes this fantasy scene tastier.

Wandering in the town of Rishtonbell made me feel like I was on a holiday abroad.

Vacation to another world!

If there's a travel package like that, I'm sure, a lot of people are willing to spend their money to buy it.

In this fantasy world, I keep walking. At the same time, I observe the NPCs around me. An can say that they're acting weird. Therefore, inevitably, my attention is attracted to them.

The anomaly showed by the NPCs is the fact that they speak normally, they're so expressive, and they can perform complicated activities. What I just said might sound strange. However, normally and supposedly, NPCs do not behave normally.

NPCs are artificial objects, 3D models given a simple program. They can only do a series of activities, give responses, and do behave according to the program implanted in them. Therefore, normally, these NPCs should function by doing simple things and giving repetitive responses.

Seeing these NPCs makes me think...

"Does Ark Fantasy Online had an update?"

Not long after I said that question, I realized another strange thing. Somehow, I feel the heat when walking under the scorching sun!

That phenomenon instantly silenced me.

And then again, I might say something other strange.

But this thing - feeling the heat - should not have happened. I wiped my forehead and there, I saw my palms wet with sweat.

"Something like this shouldn't exist inside AFO!"

VR (Virtual Reality) in today ages can not completely replicate the five senses of human and Ark Fantasy Online don't have details something like sweat.

Dhuk!

"Hey girl, don't stand in the middle of the road!" snapped a man who bumped into me. After voicing his anger, he left as fast as possible.

Seeing the man's reaction and expression, I became unsure if he was an NPC or a player. I suspect that he's a player. but... Why doesn't he have a marker that proves he's a player? Besides, when he bumped into me earlier, why did I feel the touch when he squeezed my ass?

All of this episode was so bizarre to me and it makes me confused!

"...!!"

Behavior showed by NPCs, touch, and heat. All of it came out as if to tell me that I'm in the real world right now. This doesn't make sense considering that right now, I'm in Ark Fantasy Online.

Why the five senses- no! I shouldn't have to think about such a stupid question anymore.

"Ouch!"

It's not a dream. The pain that appeared on the back of my palm after I pinched it state that currently, I'm in the real world... colored with fantasy themes?

"It's not good. I started to panic, I had to find a place to calm down," I said, looking around then started walking.

Time passed and now... I'm sitting at the dining table in the corner of a restaurant. To calm me down, I visited this deserted restaurant. After all, one will have difficulty getting her composure in a crowded place.

So… accompanied by light meals and a glass of fruit juices, I started to find out what happened to me. At the same time, I had to relieve the panic in my heart and set my mind that is in a mess.

First, I've confirmed that right now, I'm in a world similar to Ark Fantasy Online. For me, the world is not real. But the world itself tells me that all of these were real.

I started to consider this fantasy world real because I can feel the pain, my five senses also function well.

It scares me that theory getting stronger because I can do things I shouldn't be able to do in an AFO. I can eat, drink, breathe, inhale the scent of something, and many more.

I say sensible things but because I panicked, all of it sounded so absurd.

Second, I suspect, I came into this world after I made this new Avatar and get into it. Or, just maybe, I came into this world because of an unnoticed mistake when I was being sent to Rishtonbell by Angel?

I don't know.

The theory is dubious because I have no evidence. I just knew the most suspicious situation that probably sends me to another world was when the Angel send me to Rishtonbell.

Number three, it's about my friends. I don't know if they're moving to another side as well. They did not create a new Avatar and they were not being sent back to Ark Fantasy Online by Angel. So... less likely, they moved into this world.

Last... is a fact that I turned into a gorgeous girl who had fox ears and tails.

"... I don't know what to say to this disaster or miracle." I make a bitter smile when I feel the smooth, soft, tenderness of my arm.

The arms were so beautiful and look so fragile. Unlike my quite muscular and rough arms in the past.

My body... of course, they become or may be changed into a new, gorgeous body. Now I have a dynamite body of a superstar and it includes the cute ears and fluffy tail of a fox. This stunning body repeatedly attracts the glances of the men I meet.

I want to examine my body in more detail but... I'm in a public place right now. I don't want to imagine what would happen if I did a detailed examination here. This restaurant can get an R18 stamp if I do it in here.

And yes. Since this world is the real world, I will no longer use Avatar to call my body. I also try not to say NPCs and Players in front of these maybe people I meet.

The last thing that changed was my sense of smell and hearing. They're getting sharper. And therefore, I can inhale the scents that are usually hidden and I can hear the conversations of people who are more than seven meters away from where I sit.

After knowing all of this...

What am I supposed to do now?