There are a lot of things people think or feel when they play games.
For some the appeal is the rush you get when playing. Either from action scenes that pump your adrenaline or from doing something that gives you a good sense of satisfaction.
For others they love being able to live out their dreams or fantasies that aren't possible in their world or their current circumstances.
Then for some they liked getting immersed in the story. They loved following the adventures the characters would get into and felt a strong connection with them.
Sometimes they would even be extreme fans of these characters going far enough to fall in love.
I wasn't so far immersed that I fell in love with a character but I will admit I enjoyed playing games for the story. The game I loved the most was Champion Quest.
A simple game where you go to different dungeons to progress the story and the rest of the time was spent in the academy where the main cast hung out.
There were other activities you could do. Side quests for additional story, hidden dungeons for material farming, and small events to increase affection with characters for special scenes.
The combat was turn based so it was much more about being better prepared than technical skill.
Being someone who didn't have fast reaction times or insane hand eye coordination so turn based games were more enjoyable for me.
Champion Quest ended up being what I spent a good portion of my teenage years on.
I didn't regret it though. The game was incredibly fun and the amount of variety for ways to play kept it fresh. There were just so many different classes you could have and different endings.
Although it was an older game that was outdated in terms of graphics it made up for it with being a well made game.
However there was a limit to how much I loved the game.
If someone asked me:
"Would you want to go inside the game world and live in constant anxiety because you knew the world was destined to end?"
I would have to answer with 'no'. A hundred million times no. Why would I give up my peaceful life in exchange for one where my life was at risk at all times to cosmic powers?
It sounds like a ridiculous question.
And it is.
However I wasn't laughing currently while thinking about it.
I was instead sitting in an amphitheater style surrounded by teenagers I had never seen before. Without the chance to fully understand my situation the door to the room was kicked open forcefully.
A tall woman strode into the room while all the talkative teens suddenly turned into model students. They quickly entered their seats and turned their entire attentions to the front of the room.
My gaze scanned the room for a moment before I finally looked to the front as well.
There were a lot of students with colorful hair.
'A lot of kids dyeing their hair here. My school would never let us have crazy hair like this.'
Then a loud voice assaulted my eardrums.
"QUIET DOWN!"
A ringing slowly entered my ears and I rubbed them in pain.
'No one was even talking??'
However the woman in the front didn't even bother looking at any of the kids in the room. Instead she whipped out a binder and turned a few pages.
Then she started calling names.
At first they weren't names I recognized. She was calling out names in order of some sort of rank that the students had and started at the bottom.
Then as she made her way into the top 20 there was a change.
Because there was a name I recognized.
"Isabelle Elune."
It took me a second to register the name. Then a fair skinned girl slowly stood up in one of the front rows. She had striking silver hair. I could only see her side profile but that was enough for me to recognize her.
Isabelle Elune.
Child of The Moon.
A prodigy who was able to harness the moonlight to use a special type of swordsmanship. She was incredibly powerful but reliant on the timing of the day to use her full strength.
I wasn't concerned about critiquing her strengths and weaknesses.
I was more concerned about where I knew her from.
'Champion Quest...'
My favorite video game and coincidentally the last thing I remembered doing before I woke up here.
'Is it a dream?'
I asked myself.
I discreetly reached under my desk and pinched the back of my hand.
However when the pain reached a point where I felt a warm trickle start down my hand to my fingers I had to admit it.
'This isn't a dream.'
Then I heard other familiar names being called out and I sat back in resignation. It seems that I was somehow in the game and I was in one of the classes.
'There are three classes. 1A, 1B and 1C. Isabelle is in 1C if I remember correctly... No, she was in 1B but transferred later to 1C. That means this must be 1B. The only question is...'
I turned to look at my reflection in the window beside me.
'Who am I?'
I knew all the characters in the story that were named but there were a lot of unnamed side characters too. Classmate A and Classmate B were interchangeable for every non-vital character. However I hoped that I would at least be someone I had played before. I had beaten the game at least once on all the playable characters so I had some confidence if I got someone I knew.
Even if I didn't I had beat the game on all the classes so I had at least that knowledge too.
Fate is cruel though.
I found a wallet in my pocket as I was rubbing the sweat from my palms on my legs. When I opened it my heart sank.
[Lucian Mercer]
There was a student ID that had that name on it.
'I don't know who this is...'
I had no recollection of a Lucian Mercer from my playthroughs in the game, so that led to two possibilities.
The first being that Lucian Mercer was entirely a background character that had no significance to the game or...
He dies early on.
I didn't exactly love the first possibility but I preferred it heavily over the second one.
I was about to sigh when I noticed the room was dead silent and I felt like something was off.
I looked up and was surprised to find out that everyone was staring at me.
I was about to ask what was wrong when a voice broke through the silence.
"Lucian Mercer."
I looked at the front of the class and saw the teacher was looking right at me. Realizing that I was now expected to be Lucian Mercer I stood up and raised my hand.
"Present."
Maybe because I was flustered or nervous, probably both, my response came out a little forcefully. The room was dead silent until the teacher told me to sit down and the next name was called.
Thankfully no one paid much attention to me so I quickly blended back into the surroundings. Using this chance I whispered in a low voice.
"Status."
Then it appeared.
****
[Name: Lucian Mercer]
[Class: Fate Weaver]
[Stats:
Strength: F-
Constitution: F-
Agility: F-
Dexterity: F-
Intelligence: F-
Will: F-
Charm: F-]
[Skills]
[Inventory]
I quickly looked around to see if anyone else could see my screen but thankfully no one looked towards me at all. I closed my system and focused back on the person standing in the front of the class.
A woman I didn't recognize.
But that didn't bother me. There were only a couple of named instructors in the game. Everyone else was simply a part of the background. This teacher must be one of them.
...
That didn't mean they weren't powerful.
I could faintly feel it.
An instinct in the back of my skull that warned me that she was dangerous. That if I were to try to fight her I wouldn't last a second.
Of course there was also the fact that I knew that all the instructors in this school were retired hunters at A-Rank.
An A-Rank hunter would be able to destroy an entire city by themselves.
Handling an F-Rank hunter like me wouldn't require them to even raise their hand. I would disappear before I could even perceive a threat.
Watching her now though it was hard to imagine what she could possibly be like when she fought. She took her job very seriously though. She thoroughly explained where everyone stayed on campus and how to get there. Maps were even displayed on a large screen behind her.
I quickly committed the map to memory as she continued moving on.
"Today we will do a quick aptitude test. While you all were invited to attend the academy that doesn't mean you all are equal. A Hunter's combat ability is only one aspect of what makes them great."
She raised her hand and waved it in the air towards the students. Floating screens appeared in a grid with the point of view of all the students.
"My ability is to connect the visions of my allies. With it we are able to coordinate together more efficiently. My role is not a combat role, but it is important nonetheless."
I simply stared at the screens in wonder.
Magic.
Seeing it in person was fascinating. There was a subconscious comparison I made that it looked similar to things that could be accomplished with technology but that didn't last long. I was soon overwhelmed again by the awe of it. That it was all done without technology fascinated me of the possibilities of other magic.
I thought about my class.
[Fate Weaver]
I had never heard of it but there were a supposed infinite amount of classes. Every hunter had one and to say it defined you was an understatement.
It was argued whether your class was tailored because of who you were or if it was that you changed to match your class.
I thought about what weaving was to me.
The image of my mother entered my mind. My mother from my past life. When I was a kid she taught me to sew. She was a tailor. Making adjustments to people's clothes for a living.
But she was proud of her work.
She showed me how to sew when I was old enough to understand how to be careful with the needle.
It was fun. I enjoyed it so much and the time spent with my mother made it all the more important to me. We would laugh when I would get done with a stitching, only to turn it over and find out that I had messed up from the very beginning.
My mother she knew that I had made a mistake so early on but she let me find out on my own. Her guidance was gentle.
Like her soul.
I remembered when I was growing up I wanted to be just like her.
Until the night she was murdered.