This New World [Solo]

[Xeno]

At first, there was nothing...nothing but darkness. Not a single ounce of light, only what seemed to be an endless black pool. Then he opened his eyes. That was when, at long last, light flooded his vision. Xeno had flinched once he was almost blinded, the strong rays from the sun causing his eyes to water. He slowly began to fully open his light brown eyes, and found himself staring up into the bright blue sky.

Wasn't he supposed to be in his room?

Unconsciously, Xeno brought his hand up to his face, examining it as if he never saw the limb before. He remembered now. He had just started up the game, Elder Tale, the second the patch had finished installing. After he made his character and began the game...he didn't recall anything after that. The teen groaned before rising up and onto his feet, since he was apparently laying on the ground. He took a deep breathe before looking around, taking in his surroundings. What the bloody hell?  was his first thought after doing so. A large city. That's where he was. Buildings were everywhere, people were everywhere, even some strange creatures he had never seen before.

Wait... he thought once he spotted multiple fox tails and werecats. That's when it hit him. Apparently, reading up on everything there was about a game before buying it was extremely helpful, and something he should've done more often. "I'm...in Elder Tale?" Xeno whispered, so low that he could barely hear his own words. He brought his hand up to his mouth in what seemed to be a thinking position with the word 'impossible' managing to slip past his lips. The teen looked around once more, now noticing all the alarmed expressions on the faces of other players. Taking a deep sigh, he walked forward, not realizing that his feet felt heavier than normal...

However, he did the minute he tripped and fell on the ground, face first. The groan that came with the fall was one in pain. Sweet, precious pain. A string of light curses could be heard as the 'male' sat up and gently held his nose, which was extremely red. Suddenly, as he was tending to his little injury an impressive number of holographic buttons popped into existence. Xeno's eyes widened in surprise. There was all kinds of buttons and information, from his inventory to his class, level, and hp/mp bars. It would have been a plain lie if Xeno didn't believe the sight was sublime. From the info being fed to him, he could only assume it was the game interface. Having no idea how to close it, the teen swiped at the air and watched as the menu abruptly disappeared. It was as if the thing wasn't there to begin with.

Xeno quickly ran a hand through his hair before ruffling it for a bit, a look of shock taking over on his face. His hair...it wasn't supposed to be that short. After spotting the closest mirror, the newbie dashed towards it while continuously tugging at strands of his hair. Which, for some reason, was orange. Freaking orange. Please don't tell me... The supposed mirror he stopped in front of was the glass of a near by shop, but it was certainly enough for him. He stared at his reflection in the glass and almost screamed. Almost. His mouth hung open yet nothing came out to create any noise. The shock was too great.

Light brown eyes, orange-red hair, the fact 'he' was male...

He looked exactly like the character he made to play the game.

Xeno began to take frantic breathes, struggling to remain calm. This was complete madness. There was no way...he was not supposed to be...well, a 'he'! The teen took a moment to look down at his chest. Flat. He opened his mouth wider to scream again, but like before, there was no sound. Hell, he was beginning to look like that painting with some random dude holding his face and his mouth wide. What was it called? 'The Scream'? Honestly it was a pretty stupid looking painting in Xeno's opinion. So, he really should stop being stupid like that same painting.

What he needed at the moment was answers...

...

Which he would get after finding something to eat.

---

WC: 725
TWC: 725

[Xeno]

Tears streamed down Xeno's face as he munched on his hamburger, a whimper being heard every few seconds or so. "Why...Why does this taste like salt?!" he mumbled through his tears of frustration...and the food in his mouth. He placed his food down onto the table he was sitting at, understanding why it was on the house for adventurers. It was because they wouldn't enjoy it in the first place. Such a thing was too cruel for him... How could he live a life without enjoying the taste of potato chips or crackers? The teen hoped and would later pray that drinks wouldn't be the same way. Orange soda was his life, soda in general was his life. Not being able to enjoy it would be too much for him to handle.

Getting up from his seat, the monk sighed and left the mini restaurant without even leaving a tip. His steps were cautious, as if he was afraid to walk normally. Of course Xeno had tried to the first few times. But, the end result was him landing face first into the dirt. Being even a single inch taller than in real life was truly messing with his balance. He'd have to get used to everything as continued to explore... Suddenly, he paused. Did he even want to explore? Did he have the courage to go through this madness, being trapped in a game he had barely any experience in? He didn't even know if he could die in this world. He clenched his fist and furrowed his eyebrows. Yes, this was madness. This was sheer insanity. What even was the cause of this horrid incident?

That question had brought him back to reality and out of his self doubt. Of course, he still hadn't gone around to ask people about what was occurring. Though this was currently his goal, he couldn't help but feel as if he was forgetting something. Something very important. Xeno scratched the back of his head as his eyes scoured the area, eventually spotting a small group of low level individuals. He had to take his time with this. After all, the teen was never a...people person to being with. Sucking up his slight worry, Xeno marched on over to the group, but almost immediately flinched once they turned to face him. One, by one, by one... It was not long until they were all staring straight at him. Putting on the best cheesy smile he could muster, the monk stopped in front of them and opened his mouth to speak.

"Heeeey...what's, er, up guys?" Xeno greeted, the strained smile on his face beginning to hurt his cheeks, "So, uh, listen. You seeee I wanted to know if any of you, uh, fine gentlemen would know why we're stuck here? Or if you could kinda show me the ropes? I'm a newbie and--hey! Where are you going?!" His words fell on deaf ears as Xeno watched the other players walk away from him, hearing faint things such as 'what a retard, he thinks we would know?' and 'such a nub'. Or even 'let's just go find our friends, guys'. The last sentence set off something in his head, and in a moment's notice he remembered what he was previously forgetting.

His friend.

He forgot about his friend! The one he bought the game to play with in the first place! To imagine that this happened to the guy, and on their birthday too. Today really sucked. Xeno ran a hand through his hair in frustration, already becoming acquainted with its shortness. If he knew anything about one of his best friends, it's that they were able to take care of themselves. Plus, he could always find his friend another time. There were more important things to worry about, such as learning the combat system. Currently, the only method he thought of for doing so was heading outside of the city and battling monsters. As for if he lived or not...he could only hope. The monk took a moment to look over himself, assessing what he had in his arsenal. His clothing was simple and comfortable for him with the red, long-sleeved v-neck shirt, baggy black pants, and laced, ankle-high brown boots he wore. As for his left side, there was a pack of throwing needles.

If he recalled correctly, he picked the monk class. Meaning he was an evasive tank, pretty good for going solo...he hoped.

Xeno took a deep breathe while his eyes hardened before walking in the direction where he believed the city's gates to be.

---

WC: 770
TWC: 1495

[Xeno]

This was a bad, bad, BAD freakin' idea!  he thought rapidly as he dodged another attack from the monster he was currently fighting against. What type of monster, you ask? Why after traveling beyond the city's gates, he managed to stumble upon a seemingly beautiful garden. A garden that had not only garden snakes that he constantly had to evade, but killer slimes. It would have been completely fine if they weren't two levels higher than him, and if he actually knew how to defend himself. However, since Xeno wasn't completely unintelligent, he had set all of his skill hotkeys into one of the many slots he could see before heading out.

The only question was how to use them.

Obviously, he couldn't try and press one of them as if it was a button, for he was too busy dodging the attacks being thrown at him. If it weren't for a monk's high evasion skill, Xeno most likely would have been obliterated by now. C'mon, think! Just think dammit!  The teen scowled as he was forced to jump away from the killer slime, not quite comfortable with the new height he was able to jump to. It was incredible, yes, but he was not able to enjoy it with was currently happening. His mind raced as he watched the monster quickly move towards, trying to cross the new distance between them. What could he do? He had to think of something before the slime made its way over to him.

"Oh, forget this!" he exclaimed, finally coming to a final decision. He would simply wing it and hope for only the best. Xeno then settled into a stance, one that was foreign yet familiar to him all at once. It was the moment of truth. Everything felt as if it was in slow motion as the green slime finally covered the last few inches and shot itself towards him. He was very positive that with the monster being stronger than him, it would take down a good chunk of his health if he didn't do something.

Anything.

As if the scene played through his mind many times before, Xeno waited until the final few seconds until for the attack to reach his position. Then, moving as fluidly as water, he dodged to the right at the last second and slipped past the attack. It was time for him to initiate his plan, plan 'Wing the hell out of it'. He settled back into his previous position and immediately thought of one of his skills <Bullet Punch> Instantly, as his hands began to move in a blur, Xeno dashed forward and quickly arrived in front of the killer slime. Then, one by one, his punches began to hit his enemy. Each the punches brought down the monster's health and it wasn't long until finally, finally, the animation stopped and the slime fell back, before disappearing in a burst of coins and experience.

Shocked from what he just did, Xeno remained still despite twitching here and there. Did he really...? He stood straight up at last and directed his vision towards the sky. The sun had set and was now by the horizon, slowly putting itself into its temporary grave. Suddenly, a triumphant grin appeared on the monk's features. He did it. He defeated his first monster in the game!

Content with his work, Xeno turned to face the direction the main city was in, and walked forward... Now, he could say he was confident in his ability to survive this new world. For now, at least.

---

WC: 596
TWC: 2091

END