Yaofan had slipped away as she usually did at noon each day, darting through the woods from shadow to shadow at a speed that none of the other survivors could hope to match, only the Vagrant Trainer 'Old Dave' and sometimes Liam when she wasn't stalking were able to truly see her when she didn't want to be found, but she often toned it down simply so the others could train their perception. Not many things were stealthing around for a wholesome reason afterall.
As she disappeared behind a waterfall into a cave she let out a sigh and untied her hair, a quick glance around the dim room revealed she was alone as always and allowed her to move forward through the darkness through twists and turns before the sound of bubbling grew and a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. She stepped out into the [Hidden Hotspring] and unequipped her gear before sliding into its healing depths without wasting time.
She would have to tell the village at some point if she wanted credit for being the one to find it and the Title that came with it, but for now she was glad to have a moment of solitude to get clean from another day of acting as 60% of the entire logistics system of the growing settlement. People would walk up and dump corpses infront of her expecting praise when they really should just learn how to strip and dress it themselves. She may be in a new world but at her heart she was a shut in who hadn't ever dealt with such things in the past and it frayed her nerves. She only maintained her relaxed chill because otherwise it would turn into blind panic again like when she first arrived here.
Kimiko returned from her front door, having waited five minutes for the delivery man to leave after bringing her groceries. She threw the entire bag in the fridge without removing the items and returned to her VR Pod as quickly as possible. Laying down...Syncing...Syncing...Syn...
[Welcome to the New World Traveller!]
Kimiko tilted her head, they must have been trying out some new greetings. The game was still kind of in open Beta so to speak. Before long the glow enveloped her body and with a bright flash she found herself...Not where she logged out, but in the middle of a field with a bunch of other people. "...Some kind of event?" She muttered, pulling up her status screen only to find the single worst and most disheartening result that any gamer could find.
[Level 1]
A nervous laugh escaped her as she looked around...Everyone seemed shorter than normal. Perhaps this was some kind of speedrun challenge or something? People were grumbling and looking around much like her when she heard a voice behind her "Eh, Yaofan. Haven't seen you in years kid." which caused her to startle into the air before turning and look down at Old Dave. The beginner Vagrant teacher, looking exactly like she remembered back in closed beta. "D-Dave. What's going on?" He simply shrugged and gestured vaguely around "The New World"
"Is that like...An expansion? An event?" She continued to a blank stare "Kid what did I tell you about the blue mushrooms." was his response. That alone set off alarm bells - Npcs in starter villages were supposed to be able to answer system questions like that but what further set in stone how odd this was a nasally voice going "Uhm Ackshually the system says everything is normal, no event flags to be found!" To which the Vagrant (Female) turned to the side to see a floating spirit of a face she only recognized in infamy. Yulit. She had disabled that lewd woman ages ago on this character and yet here she was again. "What are you doing here midget? Did my settings get reset?"
At the same time as the moff let out a huff of annoyance she recieved a fist to the gut that sent her reeling physically and mentally. Physically because she truly was level one now and Dave was a fair bit higher even if he hadn't meant to hurt her and Mentally because...It hurt. No dulled VR vague sense of pain full blown realistic pain that she was completely unused to. She immediately started to tear up as she coughed and gagged "The hell was that for Dave?"
"You keep calling everyone midgets and you'll get a lot worse kid. What's gotten into you? We need food or this is going to be a short adventure." Still reeling from the introduction of hyperrealistic pain she barely processed what he was saying. She needed to re-center and try this again...She gestured to pull up the exit menu...And then gestured again, and again. Nothing happened each time. Her lips pursed into a flat line as her brain processed this. Hyperrealistic pain, no logout, NPCs off script, settings changed...
Isekai? Trapped in the Game? There were so many stories about so many varieties of it. Intellectually she knew what was happening but all she could do is whine and rub her sore tummy that still fucking hurt. She wasn't some athlete, wasn't a hunter, didn't know how to fish or survive in the woods, or really... do anything. She was a gamer and nothing else how was she supposed to live in a fantasy world without showers and toilets!
No longer was this Yaofan the only Red Vagrant who had charted the unknown and found the dungeons that everyone mindlessly cleared. This was Kimiko Yuki the useless waste of space. She couldn't even hear the others speaking as she began to sob and run off into the woods, not to return for some time.