Fantasy World Come True [Solo]

[Jace]

In every fantasy shows, kids and teens are always transported into a fantasy world to save the world or to help someone and as the show progressed, they often missed their old world including their parents to the point they wanted to go home. However for a kid like Kyle Winton, his only wish was to go to a fantasy world to escape from his current life. The reason why? It was not because he was an orphan or have abusive parents. But his parents only saw him as their spokesperson and model instead as their own son and he knew this wasn't a misunderstanding as he not only had arguments with them about his life, but also overheard them about wanted him to be the successor of their company and be a perfect "miracle child" for the public to see.

But he didn't want to be the miracle child of the Winton family, he just wanted to be a normal kid playing games with his friends. And as he stared at the Elder Tale patch window on his computer screen, he still wished to whisked away into a world away from his current life in loathed for so long until a voice from his headphones spoke to him. "Hey, Kyle! Our game's all patched up! Are you ready on your end?" Upon he saw his patch window was still at 90%, Kyle replied to his friend online through his microphone. "Mine is almost done. Just a few seconds more until we're logging in." He wasn't allowed to play video games, but considered that he wanted to escape from his parents and life for an hour, he had to disobey his parents for once just to play with his friends. "Man, I can't wait to see you in the game, Kyle. Still, isn't a Sorcerer class is a bit cliche for you since you're smart and all?"

"I know, but it is my favorite class. Besides, I don't like playing as a Bard or Assassin and I'm stink at Warrior classes. Also, I wanted to have an offensive role in battles." If he remembered correctly in the shows that one of his friends recommended, the smart guy often stayed behind the frontlines and he didn't want to be one being a support role. "Well, whatever you choose is up to you. I'm still happy you have to join us." When his patch window hit 100%, the PLAY button appeared on the screen, which he knew it was time to enter with his friends. "Looks like I'm all set in here. I can't wait, I'm playing Elder Tale for the first with you guys." His friends voiced in agreement as one of them said, "Same to you. And one more thing, Kyle..."

"What is it?" He asked over the microphone as he prepared to click button. "Nice to have you back, buddy." Upon he heard those words, he slowly smiled at this before he said, "I might be in trouble, but I wanted to see you guys one more time." Unknown to him, this was the last time he saw his bedroom and his current life...

----

"What happened?"

He groaned in pain as he remembered what happened. After he logged into the game, he suddenly collapsed just before he can find his friends' avatars. It was odd since he was healthy and wasn't tired since he skipped studying. Not only that, there was no one in his bedroom that time, so an intruder couldn't attacked him from behind. However as he opened his eyes, he was completely shocked at where he was. Standing right in front of him is not only the scenery of blue sky and sunlight, but also broken buildings covered in moss and overgrown plants and trees. "W-Where am I? Why am I not back in my bedroom?" But as he scanned around his new surroundings, he gasped in shock at the buildings he saw behind him. "Big Ben? Parliament Building? And St. Pancras Station? Impossible! That would mean that I'm in a post-apocalyptic London! But time travel is completely fictional. How in a world did I get here?"

Before he can question further, he realized that he was holding something on his hand as he looked at the object, which turned out to be a long staff with a gem embedded at the top. "Huh? I don't remember having this staff before." And without any warning, holographic-like windows appeared right in front of him, which caused to startled the 11 year old boy. As he regained his composure, he took a closer look at them as he noticed something familiar. Not only there are familiar MMORPG elements such as Friend List, Inventory, Skills, and Mini-Map, but also he noticed the status screen and it's contents. "Jace? Half-Alv? That's the same as the game I'm playing. It would be impossible, but..."

"I'm in the world of Elder Tale."

He can't believe this, but this was his only theory for now. Because when he looked around, he realized where he was: The highest floor of a broken building. "Great. Might as well start before it's getting late." He groaned in dismay as he started climbed down the stairs of the building.

WORDS: 872 (Solo Word Count Limit: 872)

GOALS: To find out more about where he was.

[Jace]

He never was the physical type or the most athletic as he was raised inside his own home without any physical activities. Because of this, Kyle spent 3 hours climbed down 22 floors of the ruins of an office building. And as he reached outside it, he panted in exhaustion and dropped onto his knees to take a few seconds of rest. "If my parents allowed me to have any physical activities like basketball... I would have got here in a shorter time." And as he looked at the ruins of the streets in what he knew as Elder Tale's London, he wondered that if this was really the remaining ruins of the capital city. "Still, this is a dream come true. I don't believe all of this since it's impossible, but this world is like I've dream of. A fantasy world where I can be a magic-wielding and escape my life and my greedy parents. And after that, I might stay here doing what I want. I don't know how or why, but at least my wish came true, sort of..."

Now that he thought about it, he did a double check on his status screen when he noticed his portrait. "Wait a minute. Is that me?" He then scanned around the area for a mirror until he found a pond near some broken cars, now overgrown in moss and plants. When he looked at the pond's reflection, he was shocked to saw himself, which he has now has blue eyes instead of his usual brown eyes and now wore a white coat with a black belt unbuckled, black shirt, silver tight pants with blue belt, and dark blue boots, which his eyes widened in shock. "Unbelievable, my new appearance is the same as my Elder Tale avatar. Does that mean I got turned into my avatar when I got here?" He knew it was impossible, but considering his current situation, it was his only theory for now. "In that case, my current body right now turned me into Half-Alv or something. I somehow can never get used to this game's lore or the story."

Then just before he got used to this, he suddenly heard some screams as a voice shouted, "Where are the GM?! Who in the right idea to send out in here?!" Wondered who just screamed, he then turned around in confusion until he was shocked to saw many people in armor, robes, and leather clothing with their swords, bows, staves, and other weapons gathered in the streets of the ruined city, which they are completely confused and angered at their sudden summon in this world. Most of them are crying because of this while some of them ranted and demanded the non-player characters or NPCs as he and his friends called them about calling over the admins or game masters about this problem. Nevertheless, Kyle was horrified to realize that these people must be the players of Elder Tale.

"No way, when I asked to be in the world of Elder Tale, I didn't meant bringing these players along for the ride!" He thought as he was still horrified by this development, until a struck of realization hit him. "But wait, if those players got in the same way as I do, then that means..."

"MY FRIENDS ARE SUCKED INTO THIS WORLD AS WELL!!!"

He wanted to get away from his parents, but he didn't want for his friends to leave their loved ones and he disliked to ignore this. "I need to find them before they will do something that I will regret forever. But how can I find them in this crowd?" Wanted to find his friends fast, he tried to think of a solution as he browsed through to what he now called "Interface" right in front of him so he can find something to help him communicate his friends. However when he did found a Friend List as he remembered it's functions through the game's website, he groaned in dismay to find an empty list since he was still a new player. "No good. Without any friends on my list, I can't use that voice chat feature. Think, Kyle! How can I locate them?" As he thought harder, he suddenly remembered something before they logged in the same time.

----

"Wait, should we tell him about our characters' appearance so we find each other?" One boy's voice asked through his headphones. "We might, but there might be players using the same avatars as we do and shouting on public chat isn't exactly a good idea." Another boy's voice answered, which Kyle grew worried about this. He never knew finding them inside a video game would be tough, and he wanted to team up with them right after he logged in. But when he saw the night light on his wall, his eyes widened in realization. "What about I cast a skill?" Kyle said through his microphone. "A skill? I don't know about that, Kyle."

"Well, I will only use one of my skills as a beacon and since I have this skill called the Serpent Bolt, I think it should work since no one expects a fire spell in the sky. Also after I saw you in action in the Japanese server, I noticed that most characters made some stances when they cast a spell. So you guys might able to see me in a stance while most of the avatars are doing there business. Is that okay?" His headphones became silent after this, which he became worried. He was not exactly a normal kid as his intelligence was equal to a high school student and since most of his friends are the same age or 2-3 years older, so he wondered if he weirded them out. However, instead of disgust and shock, all of them voiced their approval as one of them said, "I never thought of that before. But let's try that on the monster field so you can use your skills, okay?"

Now happy and relieved at his friends' approvals, Kyle thanked his friends for their support. "Hey, stop with the thank yous, Kyle. We're all friends, right?"

----

"Right." He muttered as he reminisced his memory of his friends' approval. "I know you guys are panicking right now, but I hope you didn't forget my plan to find you." Even if he remembered their promise to go to a monster field to find them, he opened the skill menu and as if he was clicking on a game interface, he tapped the skill he wanted, which caused him to change into a stance where he wielded his staff like he was ready to fire a projectile. "That's weird, but I'll go with it." As for his target, he knew where to fire as he wanted it to be a beacon. "That streetlight near the train station should do. Serpent Bolt!"

To his surprise, a blue-purple lightning bolt shoot out from his staff, which hit the streetlight as it remained as a static energy, much to Kyle's relief. "Good, that should help them find my location." He then head to the streetlight in order to wait for his friends to find it.

WORDS: 1203 (Solo Word Count Limit: 872+1203=2075)

GOALS: To find out more about where he was and find his friends as well.

[Jace]

As the electricity continued to cackled into the streetlights, Kyle sat down on the pavement floor and waited for his friends to find it. Yet, he wondered that if they forgot it since they are focused on panicking or finding a way out from this world. However, he knew that they can act more than that and he knew they are not the type to panic. He knew because they were the ones who made him escape his boring life. Sure, being an only child of a rich family with his IQ equal to a high school student was very nice, but being homeschooled and not meeting children at his age was a big drag for him. But, if he didn't met them, he would have stuck in his uneventful and questionable life. And despite his parents banned him on video games and card games, he never lost his bond to them no matter what.

"It's been a few years since I've met them." He muttered as he stared onto a bright blue sky above him, which he never knew the beauty of it despite it might have been based on a video game. "I never knew they wouldn't give up on me quickly after that. I wonder how and why they didn't stop meeting me despite my parents grounded me and confiscated my cards and games." From their first meetings to the time he got the UK version of Elder Tale, his friends managed to get in contact with him in any situation, yet he was grateful for their actions.

----

2 years ago...

While waiting for his parents' conference at the hotel's meeting room, Kyle sat quietly on a chair reading a book about the French Revolution to pass the time. However, his quiet time was broken when he heard some noises behind him. As he turned around, he saw some kids watching two young boys played a card game against other of some sort. At first, he didn't care about them as he tried to return to his reading. But his curiosity got the better of him as he put down his book and approached the kids to join them to watch the game. "I wonder what card game are they playing anyway? Bridge, Old Maid?" Upon a closer look, he noticed not only the boys are somehow concentrated at their hand, but he was surprised to see that the cards aren't playing cards, but cards that have pictures of fantasy monsters and characters.

"Huh?! These cards only have fantasy characters?! What are they playing anyway?" He thought as he continued to watch the game, which one of the boys put one of the cards and declared an attack. Yet, it confused him even more. What does a card game involved attacking his opponent anyway? As his curiosity grew and grew, he took a closer look at the table, only for the boy to stop him and whispered, "Hey, you can't barge in while they're playing!" Kyle was surprised at the boy snapped at him. It was a game, but he didn't need to shout at him. "Um, sorry. It's just that the game they were playing, I don't hear anything about cards "attacking" to other opponent. Is it a variation of Solitaire or Uno?"

"Solitaire? Uno? You gotta be kidding, right? This is a trading card game where you used those cards as monsters, items, and spells and knock your opponent out in the game to win." Kyle was even confused than ever. He didn't knew about that game, yet the boy acted like he was supposed to know. "Sorry, but I don't know about that game." That wasn't the only thing he could say. "I don't know why is it so special anyway." That wasn't the best words he can come up with as the boy became a little angry at what he said. "Not special?! Dude, have you been in a rock lately? Every kid in our school are playing it. Did your classmates or friends played it as well?"

"I would, but the truth is... I don't go to school or have friends. In fact, I was homeschooled."

The boy was not the only one who was surprised, but his friends and the boys playing stopped and stared at the young boy. It was too late to correct his words, so he explained everything about himself to the kids. Yet instead of an expected reaction of bullying, the kids expressed their awe as they started to asked questions about his IQ and his achievements. He didn't like his homeschooled life, but one of the perks of being an intelligent child was creating achievements, which allowed him to tell them with little hesitation. And to his surprise, the kids wanted him to play with them. At first, he hesitated at this when he learned about the game's rules, but he suddenly enjoyed this as he played a few rounds against some of the boys.

And as time passed, the children not only became his first friends, but he started going out from his mansion everyday just to meet his friends. And ever since, he played trading card games and collecting them with them along playing their RPG video games along with MMORPGs. That's where he learned about Elder Tale...

----

"Kyle... Kyle, are you still there?"

As he opened his eyes, he was quickly startled when he stood up, which he realized that he must have dozed off. However, he was surprised at the person who woke him up. It was a young boy wearing a samurai armor and a headband around his black unkempt hair, which he recognized by his face. "Randy, is that you?!" But the boy responded in a hearty laugh and said, "The name's Ryuzaki now in this game! And I didn't know you had to use your plan in the middle of this craziness." Kyle smiled a little at his friend's positive attitude, considered their situation on being trapped in the game. "Yeah, I wanted to make sure to see you guys okay. Besides, you guys are somehow trapped in here just like me."

Kyle smiled in relief, which he now knew that he was not only alone anymore, but his friends are safe. "So where we go now, Kyle? Or should we say "Jace"?" A young girl that wore a witch-like outfit approached him, which the young prodigy smiled in determination. "I think we better start by explaining to me what happened after you got dragged in."

WORDS: 1087 (Solo Word Count Limit: 872+1203+1087=3162)

GOALS: To find out more about where he was.

[Jace]

One by one, his friends explained what happened after they were sucked into the game. Randy or Ryuzaki as he liked to call himself, told him that he woke up along with some of their friends, Allen, Maylene, and Damien at the central area of the city. As for his other friends, Edward and Lilly, they woke up near the Westminster Abbey, the Cathedral of this city. If he remembered correctly, that's where players are revived after they were killed during the battle, but he was not so sure about it with their current situation. In fact, he wondered if death was permanent in this world like his own. Nonetheless, Kyle told them about his situation, which they were little amused at this since he was transported at the top of the building, much to his embarrassment. After they laughed for a little while, they knew it's time to get serious about this as Ryuzaki asked to Kyle what will they do now.

"Well, the next thing we should do is that go around and gather information, but let's not go out of the city for a while." Kyle said to them. "I'm still worried about the death in this world, so for now, it might be unwise just to leave the city." Some of his friends agreed while some was disappointed at first, but when they imagined the dangers, they decided to agree as well. "After that, we should find an inn to stay for a night. I doubt we can return back in the real world for a while." This time, all of his friends nodded in agreement as while they missed their parents right now, it's best that they should follow what Kyle just said right now. As he said before, rushing in blindly will cost their lives.

"Okay. But one advice, Kyle. I think you should call yourself "Jace" for now." Ryuzaki said to the young prodigy. "I know we're stuck in a game right now, but should you call yourself in your in-game name since you're in your avatar's body and it's fitting for this setting." He did have a good point, he has no reason to call himself "Kyle Winton" in this world now. Plus, it will be a pain when recognized him as the son of the rich couple instead of being a newcomer of Elder Tale. So calling himself "Jace" might be best for him and his friends now that he has taken on a new form. "Good idea. I don't want to be swarmed with people who only interested in my relations to my parents anyway."

With that taken care of, Jace and his friends are about to head off until they heard some kind of ruckus nearby. Being curious at what happened, Jace run towards to source as his friends followed him. When he reached to that source, he found two players argued with some non-player characters or NPCs for short. If his memory was correct, the NPCs are called People of the Land or Landers for short in the game while players are called Adventurers. But for some reason, the Landers are somehow afraid of the Adventurers after they harassed their shop, something that he never expected from NPCs. Usually, they didn't react to this since they are automated AI, but they quickly reacted in fear as if they have real emotions.

Yet as his friends are disgusted at how those players treated the Landers since they are trapped, Jace became very worried at them, which was weird since he felt empathy to some AIs. And when they tried to grab the young lady, that was the last straw. Much to his friends' surprise, he quietly approached the older Adventurers and said, "Unless you don't want to be humiliated, I suggest you better step away from the shop and tell me what's going on in here." As he expected, the Adventurers stared at him in disbelief until they started to laugh at him. It was okay for them to laugh as they didn't knew about his true skills yet. Yet, he was quickly annoyed at their attitude to young players like him. "Why should we listen to a brat like you?"

"Trust me. I don't know how to battle in Elder Tale yet and I'm still 11, but I can still able to shut you two up." His voice was still mature, yet the older Adventurers still doesn't took him seriously. "Like we ever listen to you, you little brat!" His friend agreed with him and said, "Yeah, how about you go back to your playpen before we have to kill you?" Upon they heard those words, Jace's friends became horrified at this as Maylene said, "Come on, Jace! It's too dangerous to fight these guys!" Damien nodded in agreement to her words before he said, "Yeah, you said it yourself! We don't know if we can even revive like in the game!" Ryuzaki then stepped up as well and said, "Although they're irritating me a lot, they got a point there. Besides, I don't want to fight some bozos who want to vandalize the game."

"Did you call us bozos, young brat?!" That remark was the last straw for the older Adventurers when Ryuzaki said, "Yeah. You want to hear it again, chickens?" Completely furious, they quickly charged onto Ryuzaki and his friends, much to their horror. But knew that this will happen, Jace smirked at this and said, "Gotcha." He then purposely dropped his staff and used it to trip one of the rude Adventurers. After that, he stomped on the other Adventurer's foot before he knocked him out with his recovered staff. "Guys, grab them before they recover!" Although shocked at the sudden turn of events, the boys complied to his order as they used their combined forces to pin down the rude Adventurers before Ryuzaki happily shouted, "Nice job on the take down, Jace!"

"Actually, I should thank you, Ryu. If you haven't insulted those guys, my quick plan might break down. Besides, all I did was whacking and tripping them with my staff." This wasn't bragging for him. Despite his high-school level IQ, Jace can formulate any plans on the go as long no one's pressuring him, which made him a good strategist despite his age. However for the Landers, they were still depressed after what happened as the young lady said, "I-I'm sorry you children have to go through all of that." At the tone of his voice, Jace wondered if they are NPCs. Nevertheless, he was not the type to ignore his manners. "It's okay, Ma'am. Can you tell me what happened?"

The lady and her father explained everything to him, which revealed that they owned a small bookstore until these Adventurers who initially tried to buy their items, which to their shock that they announced that the items they're looking for are out of stock. However, it soon turned into vandalism as they started to harass them to the point of vandalism if Jace and his friends haven't interfered. "Strange, NPC stores usually don't sold out some items. Usually, player stores are the only people who can sold out." Damien's words made Jace more suspicious. If that's true, the world that they thought to be Elder Tale isn't what they thought to be. But then again, it was still a theory when Edward told them it might be a special quest. Regardless, he didn't want to abandon their help. Maybe he can try to solve their problem for now and make sure this will never happen again.

WORDS: 1266 (Solo Word Count Limit: 872+1203+1087+1266=4428)

GOALS: To find out more about where he and friends was.