Cedric Atlas felt the cool breeze on his face as it swept through the tallgrass around him. He slightly raised his glasses that had been custom-made for his last birthday, with green frames, one lens blue and the other pink—it was, by far, the most expensive item of clothing he owned. He rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to the light, then he lowered them again. It was hard to tell through the filters of his lenses, but the field was considerably less grey than the beach had been. Even in circumstances like these, it was nice to be in a place that was considerably less dreary than the place he woke up in. And definitely less annoying, he thought, still working the sand out of his hair every now and then.
Beside him stood his brother Trius, walking alongside him and grinning and gasping at the sights and sounds the quiet plain had to offer, which seemed to be a very small offering in Cedric’s opinion. Ahead of him walked Shaun and Elis, two people he was slowly adjusting to learning the names of, considering he had always known them as DR and Plants respectively. It was an odd sort of feeling, learning the real name of someone he’d known for a while.
“Hey! Ced!” Trius waved his hand in front of Cedric’s face. “Did you hear me?” Cedric blinked.
“Uh, no.” He looked around, rubbing the back of his neck. “What’d you say?”
“I said this is just like that one show!” Trius grinned.
“That one show?” Cedric raised an eyebrow.
“You know, the one I like!”
“That is...?”
“Uh, it’s got...” Trius placed his hand on his chin and considered. “You know, it’s about these kids at a summer camp who get whisked away to this video game world...”
“Trius, there’s, like, six shows I could name off the top of my head that start with that.” Cedric said exasperatedly. He could only really name three, but Trius didn’t need to know the extent of his hyperbole—it wasn’t like he was going to get called on his bluff.
“Oh yeah? Start naming ‘em, dude!” Trius smiled mischievously. Cedric winced. Of course, he thought.
“Oh my god, what is that over there!?” Cedric pointed off in a random direction. Trius rolled his eyes and very slowly turned around, his face turning mock-horrified as he did so, as though some great beast awaited him when he completed his revolution. When Trius’s back was turned, Cedric quickened his pace, walking ahead of Trius and catching up with Shaun and Elis, who were engaged in conversation.
“... are we even gonna do?” Shaun said, exasperation worming its way into every word she spoke. “I mean, we’re stranded out here. What are we gonna eat? What are we gonna...” Shaun covered her face with her hands.
“Not to worry. I am an expert in these sorts of things. I’ve been on one too many camping trips gone wrong to not survive out here.” Elis spoke with a flat affect, though Cedric couldn’t tell if it was one she was predisposed to or one carried only due to apathy with the situation. “We’ll have to do quite a bit of foraging, though.” Shaun laughed.
“Hey, I didn’t get my Girl Scouts badges sitting around and doing nothing. I can help in that regard, but, like... Shelter? Wild animals? There’s a lot to deal with!” Shaun gestured wildly around her.
“Well...” Elis considered, crossing her arms. “We can figure it out. Besides, maybe there’s civilization around here somewhere.”
“Hopefully...” Shaun ran her hands through her hair absentmindedly. “Hey, do you think—?”
“Shush,” Elis said, eyes suddenly widening.
“Huh? What’s up?” Shaun asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“There’s something that just moved... Hard to tell what it was...” Elis narrowed her gaze. Cedric leaned over, trying to follow the direction of her eyes to find what was moving.
“Hey guys! What’s the hold-up?” Trius asked, catching up to the group.
In response to the loud sound, a creature leapt out of the grass, appearing before the four. It was an amorphous blob, with a green coloration that only barely differed from the hue of the grass. It made a deep, low noise, not unlike a growl.
“What the fuck is that!?” Shaun shouted, pointing at it.
“I don’t—!?” Cedric started, being cut off by a sudden jolt, as though he was pulled into something—and yet his body felt still.
Cedric’s stomach lurched. He clutched it tightly, suddenly feeling nauseous. Scout’s turn, he thought. He looked around. Cedric and the other three were standing in a line, arranged Trius first, then him, then Elis, and finally Shaun—though the last in the line was really the slime. He glanced at his companions. Elis was clutching her head and Trius looked uneasy, while Shaun looked worried but confident. What was happening? Had he always been in this line like this?
“What’s going...?” Cedric trailed off as Shaun started moving.
“I don’t know, but... I think we gotta kill that thing!” Shaun pointed at the creature. Trius leaned out of the line and glanced at the animal.
“Wait! It’s a slime! This is just like those RPGs!” Trius threw his arms in the air in excitement. “We gotta beat the shit outta that thing!”
“That... I think that makes sense,” Shaun said, slightly laughing at Trius’s response. “Okay, uh... Turn? It’s... My turn, I think, right?” She took a deep breath. “Just gotta... move forward!” She took a few steps forward.
“Hey, look at that!” Shaun grinned, glancing over her shoulder back at the rest of the group. “I’m pretty good at this!”
“Good at... moving?” Cedric asked, his stomach starting to feel less awful than it did before.
“Well... I don’t know, everything feels different.” Shaun looked at her hands. “Do you guys feel it too?” Cedric nodded. Elis did so too, and as he turned back to face Trius, Cedric saw him nod as well.
“That’s... Probably a good sign.” Shaun grimaced. “Uh, well... Is it still my, uh, turn?” She considered for a moment. “I think it is...” She stood with her hands on her hips for a moment before turning back to face the slime, who was remarkably still for having Shaun right in front of it. She crouched down in front of it. “So... Can I just sorta...”
Shaun returned to standing upright and stomped on the creature, releasing a flurry of gelatinous substance that painted itself across the tallgrass. She raised her shoe and shook it clean of any slime. In front of her, the slime sat, still mostly intact. She tilted her head.
Healer’s turn, Cedric thought. Shaun turned back around.
“So, who’s up next?” She asked, grinning.
“I don’t know!!” Cedric shouted, throwing his arms in the air in disbelief. “How did you know it was your turn!?”
“I don’t know either...” Shaun crossed her arms. “I just kinda... instinctively knew that it was the turn of the ‘Scout,’ and that because of that, it was my turn.” She considered, staring at the ground before looking up at Cedric. “Hey, d’you think that’s my title or something?”
“If it is, then my title must be Healer,” Elis said. “What a shame. I’ve never liked playing support.”
“Wait! Scout, Healer? These are totally classes! We are in an RPG!” Trius started giggling uncontrollably. Without even needing to look, Cedric could tell he was spinning around and doing some sort of victory dance.
“Right. And this is an enemy. Then if we beat it, we win the battle.” Elis stepped forward.
“Hm,” Elis said, looking between herself and Shaun. “So I can’t move as far as you...”
“Guess not.” Shaun placed her hand on her chin and thought for a moment, looking off to the side. “I mean, if I’m a Scout, then I’m meant to scout ahead, right? Gotta be quicker than you to do that.”
Knight’s turn, Cedric thought, and he felt an interesting feeling in tandem with it. It was like he knew he could move, like some weights he didn’t know were on him had suddenly been lifted.
“Wait, if that’s not me...” Trius started. “Then Ced! You’re a knight!? Awesome!!!”
“I... guess so?” Cedric grimaced. Was he going to have to wear a suit of armor? No, that’d be stupid. Who’d make him do that? Actually, would there be someone who’d make him do that? Surely there was someone who had organized this whole thing, who was putting these thoughts in his head. His head swam with thoughts, but he had to keep things in order—with a deep breath, he stepped forward as far as he could.
Cedric felt something intangible as he stepped forward, standing next to Elis, in the same column in the graph he was subconsciously constructing in his brain. The graph felt condensed in some way, though he didn’t know how to expand it—and yet, he still knew where everyone was standing.
“So... You and Shaun can take four actions a turn, while I’m stuck with three. You must both be quicker, then,” Elis pointed out.
“I guess that makes sense? I don’t know that knights are known for their speed, though,” Cedric said, considering his apparent class.
Bard’s turn, he thought. Cedric turned to Trius, the last member of the party, who beamed.
“I get to be a Bard!? Heck yes!” Trius jumped in the air and pumped his fist, then looked around. “Okay, so do I just...?” He took a few steps forward.
“Aw, what!?” Trius groaned, letting his arms hang limply in front of him as he leaned forward. “I only get to move three? No fair!”
“So, hold on...” Shaun placed her hand on her chin. “Scout, Healer, Knight, Bard, but then we also have letters... Y, G, B, P—those are colors... Wait, ones that line up with the triangle colors! I guess the classes must be rainbow—” Shaun was abruptly cut off as Cedric’s thought registered and another event followed it in quick succession.
Enemy’s turn, Cedric thought, and the slime lunged at Shaun, knocking her backward onto the ground.
“Fucking ow!” Shaun kept herself from falling flat by supporting herself with one arm, pulling her other fist back to try to fend off the slime, though it lunged once more and knocked her flat onto her back. “Jeez...” She looked herself over, with Cedric glancing over as well—she seemed alright. No blood drawn, but there were a few scuffs on her clothes from being pushed over. The slime wasn’t moving forward, at least.
Scout’s turn.
“Alright, sweet! Then it’s my turn?” Shaun swung back her leg and repeatedly kicked the slime, splattering the remainder of the creature into the surrounding foliage. After two kicks, Cedric suddenly felt his stomach lurch as the four appeared to exit battle.
The battle was won! Shaun got 5 XP! The party got 5 XP!
“So, that’s it?” Trius looked around. “I didn’t even get to get near it!” He ran over and looked at the remains of the slime. “... Hey, do you think we weren’t supposed to kill that thing and it was like. A random dog?”
“If that was a dog, we might need to start worrying about radiation mutating the wildlife,” Elis said. She delivered it deadpan enough that Cedric couldn’t quite identify if she was joking.
“But seriously, we did attack it first...”
“Well...” Shaun considered. “I mean, that thing, uh, my brain kinda automatically classified it as a battle. So I think the slime was gonna attack us, but we just got the drop on it first! It’d be messed up if just getting near a slime starts a battle, though.”
“Yeah, I hope that’s not the case...” Trius tsked. “But if it isn’t, I’m excited! We can fight cool enemies!”
“Okay, well, I’m not excited. And I don't understand how you are!” Cedric scoffed, stumbling over his words slightly. “I mean, we're— we're in a video game! Or something! How are you so chill?”
“Well, I mean, obviously, we gotta be working with some amount of like... not realness, right?” Trius looked toward Shaun and Elis, the former of which shrugged.
“It's definitely supernatural,” Elis posited, placing her hand on her chin. “I wouldn't be surprised if our real bodies are intact on Earth and we've just gotten pulled into the game somehow. Or maybe we're frozen in time?”
“Yeah!” Trius grinned. “Either way, I don't think we have to worry, because it's, like, a game! We'll beat it! We beat that slime, and not a scratch on us!"
“Uh, a scratch on me, dude!” Shaun gestured to herself, then paused. “Well, I mean, I feel fine now, but I did get knocked down.”
“Ooh! Do you think we heal outside of battle?”
“Wait, hold on...” Cedric trailed off, looking at his hands. “Then... it’s just a game? Are we even actually here? Maybe we’re all stuck inside the game, or... Maybe I fell asleep! Yeah, that’s a way better explanation. Maybe I... secretly have narcolepsy or something and this is all a dr—?” Abruptly interrupting his speech, Trius smacked Cedric on the back of the head. “Ow!” Cedric looked over in disbelief. “What the hell was that for!?”
“Weeeeeell, clearly you’re not in a dream! I just hit you and it hurt!” Trius grinned smugly, though his expression then turned to one of consideration. “Hey, actually, what if I'm dreaming? Ced, gimme a good smack real quick!”
“Dude, I'm not—” Cedric was interrupted once more, this time by a soft punch in the shoulder—at least, the strength behind it felt as though it was meant to be softened, though the end result still made Cedric stumble. He turned to the punch’s source and saw a smug Shaun.
“Hey, if you were dreaming, then I wouldn't be real—and I dunno, I think I'm pretty real!" She grinned and flexed with one arm, patting herself on the same shoulder. Cedric snorted.
“Sure. I guess it’d be weird for my brain to make up all this, but... The idea that this is real is still more concerning to me!”
“Hey, don’t let my excitement make you think I’m not thinking this is kinda scary too!” Shaun’s eyebrows raised as she spoke. “I’m just... cautiously optimistic. Could be cool, y’know?”
“I agree,” Elis said, nodding. “We have a lot to explore and catalogue. While this is a dangerous situation, this is ultimately a great opportunity for all of us. With danger in mind...” She looked up at the sky, pointing to the clouds. “We still need to find shelter before the rain—” Elis adjusted her glasses and tilted her head. “Well, it’s not so overcast anymore. But we should still find shelter.”
“Hard agree.” Shaun nodded as well. “Maybe there’ll be a thicket or something we can camp out in?”
“Are we camping out in, like, the bushes?” Cedric asked.
“No, like, thicket’s a cluster of trees, right? Dense or something.” She waved her hand excessively. “Ah, it’s not important. Just, y’know, tree cover’s what I’m talking about here.” Cedric nodded.
“Well, I think I see a forest off that-a-ways,” Trius remarked, pointing in a direction Cedric was pretty sure was west, “so maybe we can camp out there! Or, maybe we can make cool tools to build our own house... Would be sick!”
Maybe, but I don’t think it’s good to hedge our bets on that.” Elis crossed her arms, thinking. “With any luck, we can actually find civilization. But the most important thing is finding running water... The forest will definitely be a good place to start. Though we do run the risk of running into local wildlife.”
“Well, we’re running that risk out here. Let’s not forget the fantasy creature slime from two seconds ago!” Shaun gestured to where the group had just fought the slime.
“Are you four just bickering over here?” A voice asked. Cedric turned, identifying it as Zachary’s. He, Matt, and Mitsu had finally caught up to the quartet.
“Oh, hey, guys!” Shaun waved.
“Hey, Shaun!” Matt waved back. Mitsu smiled and waved for a while, continuing to wave as Zachary spoke.
“You fought a slime too?” Zachary asked, crossing his arms.
“Yeah, and we beat its ass!” Shaun flexed with one arm again, grinning. “Oh, wait, how’d your guys’ fight go?”
“A bit rough. We’ve learned I’m the strongest out of us three, though.” Zachary gestured to Matt and Mitsu. “No clue if that’s the same for you four.”
“Well, we don’t know that...” Matt bit the inside of his cheek.
“Sure we do. Two different slimes, I killed one quicker than you and Mitsu did.”
“I wouldn’t call that evidence entirely conclusive.”
“Y’know, for walking up and asking us if we were bickering, you two seem to argue a bit,” Shaun said, cracking a smirk.
“Uh-huh.” Zachary rolled his eyes. “Let’s get moving, yeah?” He moved around everyone else, leading the charge forward and walking over the next few hills.
“Guess we’re following the leader,” Shaun said, scowling but following Zachary nonetheless. The two disappeared over the hills, with Elis, Trius, and Matt following suit. Cedric and Mitsu hung back for a moment, awkwardly standing around. Cedric turned to Mitsu.
“... He’s kind of a dick, right?” He asked. “Not just me?”
“Who? Zachary?” Mitsu replied.
“Yeah. The one who was just a jerk.” Cedric gestured weakly.
“Well...” They began. “He is definitely rude! But it’s not like this is a, um, situation that it does not make sense to be angry in!”
“I guess...” Cedric rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, he’ll probably chill out. He wasn’t that abrasive over Discord.” Mitsu nodded.
“Yeah, that’s what I mean! Now come on, we gotta go follow them!” Mitsu cheerfully bounded over the hill. Cedric followed suit less cheerfully, though Mitsu’s joy gave him a vaguely plucky demeanor secondhand.
Cedric rose over the hill, walking through the grass and staring at where the other five—six, with Mitsu joining them—were standing.
“Dang, I thought you two spontaneously died as soon as we stopped observing you!” Trius joked. Cedric rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, sure. I mean... Honestly, we might respawn, anyways.” Cedric considered. “I mean, this is a video game!”
“Well, I’m not hedging my bets on that,” Matt said, laughing, though he quickly appeared legitimately worried.
“Right, let’s get a move on,” Zachary said, and he began to stride forward.
Over the hill and up on the hill, a large shadow appeared, blotting out where the sun had just passed over noon. The group glanced toward it and reacted with varying levels of concern.
“New enemy?” Trius said, his voice excited but his expression betraying his worries.
“Well, definitely doesn’t look like a, uh... NPC.” Matt paused. “Well, I guess anything here is just a creature of any sort, but that’s...”
Cedric couldn’t tell if the creature had really spotted the group yet. It had come up over the hill, and now it was sitting at its crest. He swore it had two heads, a mane, horns, a tail whipping around occasionally... His thinking paused as he connected the dots.
“Oh, that’s a chimera, right?” Cedric said, pointing at it.
“Shit, like the Greek mythology thing?” Shaun asked, turning her head.
“Yeah, but... Well, I guess chimeras are enemies in some RPGs.”
“Well, we have all seven of us collected,” Elis pointed out. “If Zachary is stronger than most and he faced more slimes, while the four of us only faced one, then perhaps enemy amounts and difficulty scales.” She adjusted her glasses, though she made it a point to finish speaking before she did so.
“Oh!” Trius’s eyes lit up. “This could be a miniboss! Come on, guys!” He leapt forward.
Cedric’s stomach lurched, though less so than the first time he was in a battle. It appeared to be easier the second time around. Warrior’s turn, he thought.
“Shit, that’s me.” Zachary pursed his lips and looked around. “Hold on, why am I at the back of the line?”
“Oh!” Matt looked at Zachary. “It’s definitely arranging us by our color. I had a hunch, but I was unsure why Mitsu came last.”
“Umm, well, white is a mix of all the colors, right?” Mitsu tilted their head, leaning out of the end of the line.
“Yeah, but still, it’s... Well, Trius pointed out it’s because it’s Prism, but then why not have you go first?” Mitsu shrugged in response to Matt.
“Well, I’m taking my turn.” Zachary stepped forward three spaces.
Guardian’s turn, Cedric thought.
“That’s me,” Matt murmured. “Well, are we fighting this thing, then?”
“I don’t see why not,” Zachary said, shrugging.
“It’s just pretty frightening is all.”
“I suppose.”
Matt spoke no further, stepping forward two spaces.
Scout’s turn, Cedric thought.
“Well, I’m excited! I’m about to show off my killer speed.” Shaun skipped forward five spaces. “Plus, if a single slime gives five XP, then imagine how much a chimera will give! We’re gonna be, fuckin’, level 100 in no time!”
Healer’s turn, Cedric thought. Elis stepped forward four spaces without remarking, wary and apparently slightly concerned.
Knight’s turn, Cedric thought. He blinked, realizing that was him. He looked around. Everyone else seemed so brave, so ready to fight, and there he was, anxious. He was usually confident, too. Cedric took a deep breath in, steeling his resolve and deciding to be as brave as everyone else. He forced a grin and took four steps forward.
Bard’s turn, Cedric thought. He glanced back at Trius, who hesitated for a moment before running forward three spaces and giving Cedric a thumbs up and a grin.
“Let’s do this thing!” Trius cheered.
“Yeah,” Cedric said. “I mean, uh, yeah!”
Hero’s turn, Cedric thought. That only left Mitsu, who walked forward two spaces briskly.
“Um, I do have more to go, but I think stopping here is good, so that we are united and everything!” Mitsu nodded.
“Wait, how much further can you go?” Trius asked, tilting his head.
“Umm...” Mitsu thought for a moment, placing their hand on their chin. “I think I can move four more if I want!”
“Hmmmm...” Trius considered for a second as well. “Cedric, you’re, like, the Knight, right? So you’re a DPS!”
“Uh, probably? I don’t know how much damage I deal, but...” Cedric considered. “I think I’m probably both attack and defense, since knights have swords and shields.” Trius nodded.
“Maybe Mitsu could push you forward! If you’re a DPS, then you should probably be leading the charge, right?” Trius offered. “Plus, if you get too damaged, then Mitsu and Shaun can drag you back since I think they have the most speed!”
“Yeah!” Shaun cheered.
“I think I can do that!” Mitsu said excitedly.
“Uh, well...” Cedric rubbed the back of his neck. Remember to be brave, he thought. “Yeah. Yeah!”
“Okay, I will shove you then!” Mitsu paused for a moment. “Um, sorry if I knock you over!” And with that, they shoved Cedric forward three spaces.
Enemy’s turn, Cedric thought as he caught himself from a stumble. He stood upright and took a deep breath, raising his fists as he looked at the chimera. It was still up on the hill, but he had gone up the slope partially, and he was far nearer to it than he had been moments ago.
The chimera stopped looking toward the horizon and flicked its gaze to Cedric. He trembled against his will. The beast opened its mouth.
“Are you afraid?” It spoke.
As if to answer its question, the seven players froze in fear, staring up at it.
Its snake tail whipped a little more, and it moved no further.
Warrior’s turn, Cedric thought, and his stomach lurched, this time not due to any fault of the strangeness of the world of this game, but out of fear.
Remember to be brave, he thought. He calmed himself as the world moved around himself. He stared back up at the chimera. This is a video game, right? So if I die, I’ll just respawn. Or maybe I’ll wake up at home. Maybe this really is all a dream, and it’s just really lucid. Whatever the case, it’s alright if I die, because I’ll just be fine afterwards!
Cedric took a deep breath and resolved: I’ll kill this thing or die trying.