ICE! Online Chapter 1, a yuri!!! on ice fanfic

ICE Online

Summary: In the virtual reality game ICE Online, Katsuki Yuuri is a demonic-looking angel Cleric who is actually quite bad-ass . . . at least according to his Warrior friend Phichit. Yuuri just wants to level up quickly without running into random Mob Bosses, though he certainly wouldn't mind it if he ran into his idol, top player Viktor Nikiforov. That is, he thought he wouldn't. Yuuri wasn't too sure now, especially when the man had . . . all but glued himself to his side?!

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own this awesome anime. Not even in my dreams do I have that privilege . . .

CHAPTER I: the demonic scythe-wielding angel cleric

It was barely morning. Sure, the sun had been shining through his windows for a while now, but Yuuri was still in that state of mind where he was chasing dreams and not that very awake. He was seeing moonlight silver in hair form and a pretty cerulean sea that was ice cold. He was dreaming of shining white armor in which dark blood could never tarnish. He was imagining―

"Yuuri, why the heck are you still in bed? Come on, wake up now sleepyhead!"

Someone evil snatched away his heavenly warm blankets as a ruthless cold finger poked his cheeks. Groaning in displeasure, Yuuri turned over to escape the torture and continue sleeping. After all, it was finally the first day of his break and he didn't want to wake up just yet!

"Come on, my precious, idiot brother," the bemused voice of the cheek-poker continued as they ignored his pitiful whimpers. "I stood outside for five hours in line just to get us both a copy of . . ."

Yuuri mumbled incoherently and snuggled even more determinedly into his pillow. It was probably just one of his sister's stupid Korean dramas―

". . . of ICE! Online!"

Suddenly, Yuuri didn't feel as sleepy as he did before. Scrambling to get untangled from his blankets and falling out of his bed, the boy stared at his older sister and the bag in her hands in total disbelief.

"What?"

"Reality is broken. Game designers can fix it."
― Jane McGonigal

It was the late 20XXs, and technology had advanced far beyond what humanity had first predicted. Once-cool holographic images were commonplace now in every large city, and with the invention of sleep-based game machines the explosion of virtual reality games was unsurprising. But it was only after the sudden fame of a new company did online gaming become ever so more popular.

Thus, ICE! Online, the final product from that new company, was currently the hottest topic for, well, people of any and all ages. Though the realism of virtual reality games kept rising, it was the first time any game could boast a staggering realism level of 99%. Previously, it had been completely unheard of, and the whole world waited with baited breath for the game to be released.

But when pre-ordering came about, ICE! Online sold out within seconds. Regular people didn't even get a chance to purchase the elusive game. Now, it was considered to be almost impossible to buy it, especially if you were not close with the game makers themselves.

So . . .

"Mari-oneesan," Yuuri gaped in complete shock as he stared at the game, the actual game, in his shaking hands. Did his dear older sister sell a few organs in order to buy it? "How did you manage to get your hands on this?"

"Psh-aw," Mari scoffed gently, uncommon excitement overriding her usual laid-back habits. "I happen to have some connections, unlike you, little bro. And . . ."

The other woman reached up to ruffle Yuuri's hair, the slightest hint of guilt within her eyes. "I never ended up giving you a birthday present this year because I was so busy. So I thought this could make up for it."

"O-Oh," Yuuri blinked rapidly to clear his eyes of tears. Everyone knew how excited he had been for the game, and in turn how devastated he was when he couldn't get a copy. "You really didn't have to, nee-san."

"No, but I wanted to," Mari corrected him with a smile before prying open one of the packages. "And we wasted enough time talking. Let's start putting this together! Now, where's the manual . . ."

In all honesty, ICE! Online was, at first glance, quite similar to all the virtual reality games Yuuri had tried out in the past. The manual had all the same instructions and warnings: don't remove the helmet of an unconscious gamer without medical supervision, don't try playing the game while drunk or sick, don't use damaged equipment . . . it hadn't been long before both siblings got the gist of things.

"Here," Mari said as she helped him set up his console. "You're still sleepy, right? I have an early shift today but you can start playing. You are on your holiday, after all."

"Thanks!" Yuuri gave her grateful smile as he picked up the game cartridge and inserted it carefully into the game helmet. Hugging her sister goodnight, the boy laid back onto his bed (with his cozy blankets that he snatched back this time!) and put the helmet on.

. . . Please wait . . .

. . . Downloading ICE! Online . . .

16%

28%

43%

69%

84%

99%

. . . Download Completed . . .

And then, with a big flash of light, everything went black.

"Um," Yuuri opened his eyes before blinking in confusion as he stared at the void of complete darkness. Why was everything so dark? Was the game cartridge defective? Oh no . . . Yuuri felt his heart skip a beat at just the thought. If that was the case, it would be a few hours before his family finds out and brings him to the hospital . . .

However, his surroundings began to change as soon as those scary questions ran through his head. At first, Yuuri thought it was because of his bad eyesight, but that couldn't be the case since there was no need for glasses in his mind. Squinting reflexively, Yuuri felt his mouth drop open in surprise as snow began to fall from above.

Wow. Yuuri could actually feel the individual snowflakes falling onto his exposed skin. Though he had never doubted it, the game really was at the 99% realism level. Sighing in contentment, Yuuri closed his eyes and tilted his face up, mouth open in a childish attempt to catch a snowflake on the tip of his tongue . . .

And then something exploded right in front of his face. Screaming in both surprise and fear, Yuuri shielded his face before taking a few frantic steps back.

". . . Donnn!"

. . . What . . . ?

Curious, and since a few seconds had passed without something hurting him, Yuuri cautiously peeked out of his hands before, oh, um.

"Don!" A . . . bowl of katsudon (?) with chubby hands and feet and wings yelled as he . . . it . . . flew around in the air. After it zoomed around a few times, it slowed to a stop in front of Yuuri's gaping face.

"Hello there, and welcome to ICE! Online! Since this is your first time playing, please give us a few moments to scan your body and record the data. This way, you will be able to enter the game immediately next time you put your helmet on!"

". . ." Yuuri stared blankly as the scanning process (complete with pretty neon glowing lights) started. The starting NPC . . . was a bowl of katsudon? With a heart-shaped mouth?

. . . Who the heck were the game makers for this game again? They certainly had a different sense of humor.

"Scanning is completed! Welcome . . . Y-Yuuri? Ah, Katsuki," The katsudon bowl exclaimed happily. . . though did it just stutter? "Now you may begin creating your character. Please remember that you only have one chance to create your character, in order to preserve the realism of the game. Once created, your race, name, and appearance cannot be dramatically changed."

Which made a lot of sense. Wow, 99% realism indeed. Not that Yuuri re-rolled a lot in his other games, so it didn't really affect him.

Smiling at the katsudon NPC (it never hurt to be nice, even to non-living entities), Yuuri nodded his head in agreement. "Okay, begin!"

The black, empty void surrounding them became less empty as the place was suddenly filled with realistic and seemingly living characters. Each one walked forward slowly, languidly posing as if they were models on a runway.

Yuuri . . . Yuuri felt his eyes swirl, feeling completely overwhelmed. The races varied greatly, from elves to humans to dwalves. There were fairies, demons, and angels. There were also beastmen and spirits, with what looked to be a dozen subcategories in each.

. . . Why were there so many choices?! What should Yuuri even pick?

The race specifics were similar in every game, so there was no need for Yuuri to ask the NPC for advice. For example, humans were known for their all-roundedness. The jack of all trades, so to speak. On the other hand, elves and fairies were known for their nimbleness, with fairies having an advantage in magic and elves an advantage in trades like thievery . . .

"Umm," Yuuri started slowly, still feeling quite dumbfounded. If he had been with Mari, he would have decided on a race that would be an advantage for a class opposite to hers. For example, a Support-Type like a cleric if she had picked to be a Warrior, or vice versa. Though Mari had never decided to be a Support-Type before.

Hmm. It was nice to be well-rounded like a human, but it was harder for them to find a party which was essential for later levels. But on the other hand, if Yuuri wanted to be a cleric, he couldn't expect to survive the early stages without a party if he wasn't well-rounded . . .

Dilemmas, dilemmas.

"Could I see myself as a human, first, please?" Yuuri asked as he nibbled nervously on his lower lip. Despite his misgivings, that was the race Yuuri usually picked, so he didn't think he would feel comfortable suddenly becoming a rock or a tree. Especially when the game boasted a level of 99% realism.

"Sure!" The katsudon chirped, sounding eager. Immediately, a mirror image of himself, but in a fantasy-traveler's garbs, appeared and walked forward. The potential beginner stats floated beside the semi-transparent and realistic image.

Yuuri frowned at those potential stats, having second thoughts once more. He liked being all-rounded, he really did. But being a human meant dramatically lowering his potential at any job he eventually chose. He still remembered the last time he had played with his sister, when Mari had died during their most important boss battle because human-him was just that less skilled in healing . . .

But on the other hand, if he wanted to be a better healer this time, he would have to be―

"C-Could I see myself as an angel?" Yuuri asked with a stutter, a bit sheepishly as he turned away from his human self. Immediately, human-him disappeared in a flash before another figure stepped forward.

And, oh.

"The other humanoid races are automatically given a 30% increase in beauty," the NPC explained and answered Yuuri's unspoken question, sounding almost breathless. "But wow."

Yuuri agreed with him. Wow.

Angel Yuuri walked over slowly. Or more like, strutted over slowly, hips swaying to an imagined sultry melody despite his delicately angelic features. Silky and long black hair fluttered in the non-existent wind, caught by the same breeze as his pretty white wings. And his eyes. His eyes were two pretty pools of shimmering emotion.

Again, wow. Was this really Yuuri? Even with a 30% increase of beautification, Yuuri never saw himself as someone beautiful. After all, it was common to beautify yourself in games and in every other game he had played before, an automatic 70% increase in beauty applied.

But he had never looked as stunning as . . . that.

"Okay!" The katsudon NPC (who Yuuri was starting to suspect was not a NPC after all) started loudly, tone an octave higher than before. "Your race will be angel, right? Then it's decided!"

Wait. What?

Yuuri certainly hadn't decided that just yet.

Yuuri blinked dazedly. "B-But, the wings. They're so big so they must be annoying to have around, right?"

"Not at all!" The not-NPC ―a GM perhaps?― exclaimed cheerfully. "For the beginner levels, they act more as accessories. And afterwards, when you get stronger and more used to them, it may be even possible for you to fly!"

"B-But I . . . but . . ."

Yuuri frowned. It wasn't that he didn't want to be an angel, because he really did, but how was he supposed to fend for himself in the beginning? Despite Mari buying the console for herself as well, it wasn't like she was going to take a lot of time off playing it. And she certainly wasn't playing now, where he probably needed her the most.

"What's wrong?" Katsudon asked, tone now a bit worried. "Are you afraid of heights or something?"

But on the other hand, being an angel meant he could potentially fly. That was so cool.

"No," Yuuri said with a small sigh. "But I'm not playing with anyone right now, so how am I supposed to level up as an angel . . . ? Especially if I want to be a cleric . . . ?"

"Oh!" Katsudon said in understanding before flying around Yuuri's head. "The classes are much more flexible in ICE! Online! So you could easily be a very strong, offensive healer."

What? Yuuri blinked in surprise. That was another first in the long history of virtual reality games.

"Please," Katsudon begged, probably mistaking Yuuri's silence for a no. "Just look at angel you! It'll be such a waste if you don't be an angel! And, if you're afraid of not finding a party, I'll protect you, Yuuri!"

Wait. What.

"How can a katsudon bowl protect me?" Yuuri blurted out in disbelief. Then again, what character was the GM anyway? A katsudon spirit? How does katsudon bowls even fight?

Good question. Maybe they used their rice as bullets to shoot their enemies to death?

"What?" The GM asked in confusion, pausing for a few moments before breaking into sudden chuckles. "Oh! You see me as . . . kat-su-don? A pork cutlet bowl, yes? Well, as one of the people who helps newcomers log in, we take the image of whatever the player likes. That way nobody would be able to find out our true identities."

The katsudon bowl gave Yuuri a wink. Wow. Yuuri didn't even notice the GM had eyes.

But still, to get an offer (even if it may be fake or just pleasantries) like that from a Game Master, Yuuri felt completely honored.

"Okay, I guess," Yuuri started shyly, ignoring the other's enthusiastic cheers. "Thank you."

"No problem!" The GM hummed before angel-Yuuri became more solid. "Do you want to change your hairstyle or height?"

Yuuri blinked. Oh, right. And now, the fine-tuning started. Good thing Yuuri never really liked changing his image too much. "Could I see myself with redder eyes?"

"Sure!" Immediately, angel-Yuuri's eyes turned into a dangerous red. Paired with the ebony-black locks and the pale skin, Yuuri wasn't sure if people would call him angelic or demonic. "Wow, that's perfect!"

Giving the GM another shy smile, Yuuri took one more look at his character before nodding. He didn't see any need to change his image any further.

"Done?" The bowl twirled around in the air in what seemed to be excitement. "Okay! What continent would you like to be born in?"

". . ." Yuuri stared. Uh. There were continents?

"Any is fine . . ." Yuuri started faintly. Maybe he should have read the manual more thoroughly . . .

"Great! Randomized it is. Have fun and enjoy the game then!"

Suddenly, the angel-him lunged forward to meet him and the floor beneath Yuuri's feet disappeared. Squealing in alarm, Yuuri looked up just in time to see the katsudon bowl fade away, the pixels turning into snow that dispersed into the air.

"Remember, Yuuri! If you need any help, just give me a signal!"

And then Yuuri started to free fall.

"AHHHHHH―"

. . . Why couldn't his wings help him now?!

"Ouch!"

Yuuri tumbled to the ground before he blinked at the very blue sky he had just fallen out of. Surprisingly, nothing hurt despite his less-than-stellar landing, not even his poor back that he had landed on. Wings twitching gently, the boy gingerly sat up before he looked around in curiosity.

He was in . . . an empty marketplace? His now long, black hair fluttered in the breeze as Yuuri decided to stand up. The place looked deserted, and for the first time since his sister gave him his non-answer, Yuuri wondered how the older woman had gotten the game.

This was a beginner village, for crying out loud! And the game only launched a few hours ago. So why was nobody here?

"Hmm," Yuuri muttered before he cast that thought out of his mind and took some cautious steps forward. He felt immediately satisfied; it really was as realistic as real life. "Oh, right! System!"

Good thing Yuuri remembered at least that from the manual he had quickly flipped through. Immediately after he said the word, his basic stats became visible to his eyes.

[Name: YUURI KATSUKI | Gender: MALE]

Again trying to replicate the realism of the real world, the skill points was randomly distributed.

[Level: 1 | Race: ANGEL | Class: NONE | Reputation: 0 | Unspent Skill Points: 0]

[Health: 50 | Mana: 60]

[Abilities: NONE]

Yuuri beamed, pleasantly surprised at the stats he had gotten. The upper limit for each category was 10, so his stats were extremely good, especially for a would-be cleric. With such high Intelligence and Wisdom stats, magic casting would be a piece of cake. And the high Agility meant that he would be able to dodge most attacks!

Happy with that, Yuuri closed his stats and instead opened his pouch, manually, this time. Immediately, the stats of his clothing became visible (basic Angel Robe; +1 DEF, basic pants; +2 DEF). Reaching into the pouch, Yuuri withdrew a small sword (ATTK +1).

It was just as expected. All newbies were provided with the most basic of equipment and the plain sword he had in his hand was the epitome of basic.

Putting his sword and his pouch away, Yuuri began walking aimlessly to the edge of the beginner village. Now that he had familiarized himself with his new game character, it was time to do some leveling up. But . . . where would the first monsters be at? A field, perhaps . . . ?

"Bloop, bloop."

Yuuri blinked at the sound before looking up. And, oh wow, hello there. The hills beyond the golden gates of the beginner village was dotted with . . . flying slimes. No, seriously, the slimes had tiny little angel wings that somehow defied physics and aerodynamics by keeping the huge slimy bodies up.

Yuuri blinked. Well. He found the beginner monsters, at least. Maybe thanks to his high luck, but that thankfully was one thing down. Trotting over to the hills quickly, Yuuri took out his small sword again. There were some slimes . . . sunbathing on the ground? Wow, did slimes suddenly replace birds or something? Sneaking quietly up on a golden slime and squashing the slight guilt in his heart, Yuuri lifted his small sword and . . .

(Attack Successful, Flying Slime HP -5)

Not giving the monster a chance to attack him back, Yuuri began to viciously stab at it.

(Attack Successful, Flying Slime HP -5)

(Flying Slime has died, YUURI's experience has increased to 5/10, YUURI has learned a new ability ― Slice)

Yuuri gasped, a bit out of breath and feeling quite surprised. As a healer, he almost never got his hands dirty like this, and killing something himself . . .

It wasn't actually all that bad. If anything, it was amazing stress relief. With a determined look in his gaze, Yuuri took a deep breath as he dashed forward to another slime, and then another, and then another . . .

(Attack Successful . . . Attack Successful . . . Attack Successful . . .)

(Ding! System Notice ― YUURI has reached Level 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . . 5 . . .)

(Ding! System Notice ― YUURI has learned a new ability ― Continuous Strike)

After finally finishing up the last slime on the hills, Yuuri sat down with a big huff. That had been . . . fun. Exhilarating, even, and Yuuri could now see why his sister had loved being in the front lines so much despite her low pain tolerance.

Stretching, Yuuri stood up again before taking a step toward the village ―

(Ding! System Notice ― YUURI has picked up Basic Knife; ATTK +3)

Wait. Yuuri blinked before looking down. Whoops! He almost made such a careless newbie mistake! He forgot to pick up the scattered loot!

Rushing around to grab the things from the ground, Yuuri began putting on any clothing loot (Basic Ring; +2% Mana, Angel Wing Hair Pin; +1 DEF) that would help increase his stats. In addition, the boy had also managed to get around two hundred coppers, and even a few jelly snacks (+10 HP).

Nibbling on one such jelly treat, Yuuri opened up his stats once again. After leveling up so many times, he probably had a ton of skill points to assign.

[Name: YUURI KATSUKI | Gender: MALE]

[Level: 10 | Race: ANGEL | Class: NONE | Reputation: 0 | Unspent Skill Points: 27]

[Health: 100 | Mana: 160]

[Abilities: Slice ― Ability Level 2, Attack Power +6%, Continuous Strike ― Ability Level 1, can attack continuously up to six times]

Yuuri hummed before, with some thought, emptied most of his skill points into Intelligence and Wisdom. He didn't forget to add some into the other categories, however. If Yuuri wanted to survive the beginning without a party, he would have to be able to protect himself.

Thus, his new stats became . . .

[Name: YUURI KATSUKI | Gender: MALE]

[Level: 10 | Race: ANGEL | Class: NONE | Reputation: 0 | Unspent Skill Points: 0]

[Health: 100 | Mana: 160]

[Abilities: Slice ― Ability Level 2, Attack Power +6%, Continuous Strike ― Ability Level 1, can attack continuously up to six times]

Humming again in delight, Yuuri closed his stats before he re-entered his beginner village and looked around. Class changes were at level ten, right? Yuuri vaguely remembered that from the game manual. But the village was quite huge, and Yuuri didn't know where he should go to change his class in order to become a cleric . . . Luckily, a NPC with a floating HELP screen was sitting on a bench. Walking toward the NPC, Yuuri sat down beside them before giving them a hesitant smile.

"Ah," the NPC woman spoke up when they lifted their head and saw him. "What's wrong, dearie? You look so glum! Don't worry, just tell your Aunty all your sorrows!"

. . . Again, who made the game again? Why was it so weird?

"Um, Aunty," Yuuri started nervously. "I want to be a cleric. Where do I go to become that?"

"Oh, you're ready now, sweetie?" The NPC exclaimed, sniffing wetly. "You're all grown up. Level ten already, huh? Why do the little ones always grow up so fast . . . ?"

Yuuri sweat-dropped before subtly interrupting the NPC's sudden monologue. "Um, changing classes?"

"Ah right," the woman nodded. "To become a cleric, you must go to the east side of the main square. There should be an apothecary there. Go in and speak with the healer. He will be the one who will judge your abilities."

Yuuri nodded. Made sense. Thanking the NPC for its time, Yuuri set off to do just that.

When he reached the shop he was told about, the boy made his way inside. Another NPC manned the front desk, this time a gorgeous man who gave him a vague and dreamy smile.

"Hello! Welcome to my shop. Are you here for some healing potions?"

"Oh, no," Yuuri responded amicably. "I'm interested in becoming a cleric . . . ?"

Immediately the NPC's face lighted up before he settled into a solemn air.

"Really? That's great! However, a cleric is a hard profession to be in. You must be able to heal and have the heart to save, but you must also know when to give up. Are you sure you wish to become a cleric?"

Yuuri nodded, even as he turned the words over in his head with a smile. They were quite fitting and special, as clerics were usually seen as the weaker players. "Positive."

"Alright," the NPC smiled again. "I can see your resolve is strong, but is it strong enough? Before I bless you to take on the difficult duties of a cleric, go to the Forest and collect five angel rose petals for me."

"What?" Yuuri blinked in surprise. "What are angel rose petals?"

"Just petals from the most beautiful flower!" The NPC exclaimed. "Don't worry, you will recognize them for sure!"

(Ding! System Notice ― Quest: Class Change CLERIC accepted!)

Yuuri sighed before giving the NPC another small smile. Quickly, he made his way to the forest before looking for the flower petals the NPC had wanted . . .

Angel rose petals. Were they just regular roses? White roses? Roses with wings? With the bizarre things Yuuri had seen so far, any of the options seemed possible. Yuuri sighed again as he kept his eyes on the greenery. And why did the NPC say he would recognize it in the first place?

Walking through another thicket of bushes, Yuuri shook his head to get rid of the leaves . . . before freezing.

Whoa. Okay, he could now see why the NPC had been so adamant about him recognizing the angel roses. Gigantic roses made out of white feathers filled the area, and Yuuri could hear the soft voices of a choir singing in the background. Quickly going over to the nearest flower, the boy plucked five feathers before placing them gently into his pouch.

(Ding! System Notice ― Angel Rose Petal: OBTAINED!)

With that out of the way, the boy retraced his steps and hurried back to the apothecary. Making his way to the NPC once more, Yuuri took out the feathers, er, flower petals, before handing them over.

"I've collected the five petals," Yuuri smiled. "Can I become a cleric now?"

"Wow," the NPC took the feathers and inspected them. "Your resolve shines through loud and clear, my dear angel."

All of a sudden, a flash of white light surrounded Yuuri as the choir from before started singing once more.

(Ding! System Notice: YUURI's class has successfully been changed to CLERIC!)

Beaming, Yuuri immediately called up his stats once more just to double-check.

[Name: YUURI KATSUKI | Gender: MALE]

[Level: 10 | Race: ANGEL | Class: CLERIC| Reputation: 0 | Unspent Skill Points: 0]

[Health: 100 | Mana: 160]

[Abilities: Slice ― Ability Level 2, Attack Power +6%, Continuous Strike ― Ability Level 1, can attack continuously up to six times]

"As per the rules," the NPC started as the feathers in his hands disappeared. "Now that you have changed classes, we will gift you your first weapon. You can choose any weapon, and only the Fates will decided if you get something useful. In addition, you can choose three new abilities. These abilities include Light Shield, Wings of Light, Heal, Charming Manipulation, Good Luck, Light Arrow, Light Beam, Light Strike, and Blinding Light. Or you can choose a surprise ability!"

Yuuri blinked rapidly at the sudden overload of information. Well, first off, he needed a weapon. But. Yuuri wanted to be an offensive cleric. Was there even a weapon for that profession? . . . Was there even such a profession?

"Umm," Yuuri started slowly. "Is there an offensive staff type of weapon for a cleric?"

"Of course," the NPC beamed. "There you go, it's already in your inventory!"

(Ding! System Notice ― Eros' Gift: OBTAINED!)

Quickly, Yuuri opened his pouch, and drew out . . . and again, whoa. It was a thin golden staff with a fancy blue jewel on top, and small angel wings on both sides. To be honest, Yuuri would have thought it to be based off a random magical girl's anime, however. The bottom of the staff was a reaper's blade.

Wow. That was really kind of cool.

"Excuse me, little angel?" The NPC asked, shaking Yuuri from his admiration of his new weapon. "Have you decided on your three skills?"

Yuuri quickly put his weapon back before thinking over his options. As a cleric, he had to learn Heal for sure, and since he didn't have a party, learning a shield spell over a buffer would be smarter. But the last ability . . . Yuuri bit his lower lip. Any basic and offensive Cleric spell was always extremely weak, but it would be good if he could learn at least one . . .

Well, Yuuri's luck was pretty high, right?

"Can I learn Heal, Light Shield, and a surprise ability?" Yuuri asked at last.

"Of course!"

(Ding! System notice: YUURI learns 3 new abilities – Heal; Ability Level 1/ Light Shield; Ability Level 1, DEF +15% / Star Shower; Ability Level 1)

Yuuri blinked. Star Shower? What was that? The icon beside the ability identified it as an offensive spell, which was good, but wow. It took up 50% of your Mana points. That was utterly crazy, so hopefully it would be crazy strong as well.

Thanking the NPC and going back to the Village Shop to stock up on Mana potions, Yuuri was just about to step into another higher tier monster ground, wolves this time, when―

"Ah! Help! Someone, please help!"

Yuuri froze. Looking up, he blinked in surprise as he watched a lithe dark elf run away from a pack of five snarling wolves. Wow, it was the first time Yuuri saw another player . . . though he looked like he was in trouble. On the bright side, elves had the highest agility like fairies out of all the races. On the not-so-bright side, it seemed like this particular elf was getting tired. It didn't seem likely that he would survive the monster pack without some outside interference. Thus, rushing forward and taking out Eros' Gift, Yuuri closed his eyes in slight fright before he swung the scythe-end rapidly.

(Attack Successful, Wolf HP -25)

(Critical Attack! Wolf HP -100)

(YUURI has killed Wolf, YUURI's experience has increased to XXX/XXX)

Panting, Yuuri didn't even stop for a second before he whipped around and skewered his second wolf.

(Critical Attack! Wolf HP -100)

(YUURI has killed Wolf, YUURI's experience has increased to XXX/XXX)

Turning to his third wolf, Yuuri noted with relief that the dark elf had taken out one wolf himself and was now vigorously battling the last one. A few slashes of his scythe later, and his third wolf was a goner.

(Ding! System notice: YUURI has reached level 11!)

Well. That went fast. Sighing in relief, Yuuri turned toward the bedraggled dark elf and quickly cast his first Heal spell on him.

"Ah," the dark elf said in surprise as he turned around to face Yuuri. Suddenly, the boy's eyes started to sparkle. "Y-You're a cleric? And you can fight like that?"

"Oh," Yuuri started sheepishly before lifting Eros' Gift. "Yeah, but its mostly thanks to the weapon I randomly got."

"It looks so cool," the dark elf said reverently before he suddenly snapped out of his sparkly mode. "Oh, sorry! My name is Phichit Chulanont and I'm a level ten dark elf! I'm on my quest to become a Warrior."

"It's nice to meet you, Phichit," Yuuri said with a small smile. "My name is Yuuri Katsuki and I'm a level eleven angel. As you know, I'm a Cleric."

"A very kickass cleric!" Phichit, and the boy was quite cute, if perhaps a bit younger than Yuuri, beamed. "Um, ah, Yuuri, after I become a Warrior would you form a party with me?"

Yuuri gaped in astonishment. Wait, what? Did he just hear what he thought he had heard?

"System," Yuuri said softly as his stats became visible once more.

[Name: YUURI KATSUKI | Gender: MALE]

[Level: 11 | Race: ANGEL | Class: CLERIC| Reputation: 0 | Unspent Skill Points: 3]

[Health: 120 | Mana: 190]

[Abilities: Slice ― Ability Level 3/Attack Power +8%, Continuous Strike ― Ability Level 2/can attack continuously up to seven times, Heal ― Ability Level 1, Light Shield ― Ability Level 1/DEF +15%, Star Shower; Ability Level 1]

Yuuri hummed. Since he leveled up to level eleven, he now had three new skill points to assign. On one hand, he would like to boost his lowest stat, Strength. On the other, he had Phichit with him now so it would probably be wiser to become a better healer.

Assigning his skill points respectively, Yuuri studied his new stats with a satisfied smile.

[Name: YUURI KATSUKI | Gender: MALE]

[Level: 11 | Race: ANGEL | Class: CLERIC| Reputation: 0 | Unspent Skill Points: 0]

[Health: 120 | Mana: 190]

"Yuuri!" Phichit skipped toward him, smiling brightly. "I'm a warrior now!"

"Congratulations, Phichit!" Yuuri smiled back as he closed his stats. The boy was supposed to collect ten Wolf Fangs for his quest, but apparently he had accidentally aggro-ed a whole pack of wolves in his enthusiasm. To be honest, Yuuri thought it was a bit unfair how his Quest to become a Cleric was so much easier, but, well. He guessed it made sense.

"So, what are our plans now?" Phichit asked as he took one of the jelly snacks Yuuri offered him. "Do you want to stay here and level up? Or do you want to explore?"

Yuuri bit his lower lip. If he was by himself, the boy would have definitely stayed in the beginner's area to level up. Though there were stronger monsters outside that gave better experience points, as a Cleric Yuuri wouldn't be able to kill them easily enough for it to be an advantage. If he had been with a strong party, it would have been different. But just with Phichit . . . Yuuri was afraid that he would fail to save both of them if they were attacked . . .

"Let's just stay here for now," Yuuri decided with a nod. Better be safe than sorry. And it wasn't like his new companion minded; Phichit happily agreed before he suddenly perked up.

"Could we go back to the wolves? I think they're the strongest monsters around the beginner's area."

Agreeing with the boy, Yuuri followed him back to the wolves again. This time, Yuuri opted to take a more . . . Cleric's role as he watched his companion take a wolf on.

Phichit really was quite cute. He had dark skin, characteristic of a dark elf, and short, dark hair. Instead of Yuuri's basic Angel Robe, Phichit wore simple clothing woven out of dark, leaf-like material. Phichit also chose a thin, rapier sword as his weapon and unlike Yuuri's amateur attacks with his scythe, every one of Phichit's moves looked beautiful and choreographed. With his race and his class, Phichit would probably become a Dark Knight once they got to their class specializations.

(PHICHIT has killed Wolf, PHICHIT's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX, YUURI's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX)

Yuuri suspected that his new friend probably took fencing lessons in real life, and was probably very good at it too. After all, anyone who managed to get the game was extremely wealthy and influential, anyway. With the exception of himself, of course.

"Yuuuuri!" Phichit whined as he turned around, panting slightly from exertion. "I know I'm quite dazzling, but stop watching and come fight with me! It's less boring that way!"

"But . . ." Yuuri started hesitantly. He remembered how some of the more hardcore gamers hated it when clerics or even mages tried to butt into their battles. Would Phichit be the same? "I'm a Cleric . . ."

Yuuri should have never doubted his newfound friend.

"Like I said, you're a badass Cleric," Phichit retorted, eyes twinkling. "And you have nerves of steel for running in to help me take on a Wolf mob. I'm not that familiar with scythes, but I'm quite good with a types of blades! So I can teach you a few things."

". . ." Yuuri felt speechless.

"A-Ah, of course," Phichit began, slightly nervous. "Only if you want to! I mean, I'm awesome enough to protect both of us if you just want to heal―"

Beaming, Yuuri took out his weapon and rushed in to spear a wolf.

(Critical Attack! Wolf HP -100)

(YUURI has killed Wolf, YUURI's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX, PHICHIT's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX)

Phichit perked up again and whistled. With a bright grin, he ran in again to back Yuuri up. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

(PHICHIT has killed Wolf, PHICHIT's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX, YUURI's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX)

(YUURI has killed Wolf, YUURI's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX, PHICHIT's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX)

(PHICHIT has killed Wolf, PHICHIT's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX, YUURI's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX)

(YUURI has killed Wolf, YUURI's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX, PHICHIT's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX)

(Ding! System Notice: YUURI has reached level 12, YUURI's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX, / PHICHIT has reached level 11, PHICHIT's experience has increased to XXX/XXXX)

(Ding! System Notice ― YUURI has learned a new ability ― Scythe Swipe)

(Weapon: Eros' Gift level up – Weapon Level 2, attack power +15, Mana +15%, heal power +15%)

After a long session of killing wolves, both Yuuri and Phichit sat down before going through their System Notices and collecting the loot. They had managed to demolish all the wolves in the area, and since it took a while for them to re-spawn they were safe to relax for the moment.

"Congrats, Yuuri!" Phichit cried as his eyes brightened. "You're level twelve now!"

[Name: YUURI KATSUKI | Gender: MALE]

[Level: 12 | Race: ANGEL | Class: CLERIC| Reputation: 0 | Unspent Skill Points: 0]

[Health: 150 | Mana: 220]

"And you're level eleven," Yuuri added with a smile as he finished assigning his new skill points. "Congrats to you too―"

"OH MY GOD!"

Yuuri jumped, startled as his companion suddenly sat up with wide eyes. For a moment, Yuuri thought that they had miscalculated the timing and some wolves had already re-spawned, but a glance at the landscape told him that it was not the case.

Phichit turned to him, eyes sparkling. "Yuuri! Your weapon leveled up!"

"Huh?" Oh yeah, his weapon did level up. "Wow, it did. That's not very realistic . . ."

"Who cares about if it being realistic or not?" Phichit was almost bouncing in his seat now with excitement. "Yuuri, only godly-level growing type weapons level up! Those are almost impossible to get!"

Eyes widening, Yuuri took out Eros' Gift and stared at it. It looked a bit different now, the previously dull jewel now a shinier dark blue. In addition, did the blade get longer . . . ?

"Wow!" Yuuri blinked. "Wait, that means I don't have to buy better weapons!"

Phichit nodded. "Yeah! Wow, Yuuri, you're so lucky."

"I guess," Blushing, Yuuri turned toward the loot they had collected. "So, how should we split this?"

"Hmm," Phichit picked up a Wolf Fang and a Wolf Claw. "Do you think I can take all of these? I think there's a Quest where I can use them to upgrade my rapier."

"That's fine," Yuuri agreed easily. Okay, yeah, he was still a bit over the moon with his dear weapon. Because, just think of all the money he could save! "You can take the Hunter Boots as well. It fits your class more."

Phichit picked up the boots before cocking his head. "Are you sure? This is a good drop though . . . In that case, you get to keep the money and the Pet Egg!"

Yuuri blinked as he stared at the random Egg they had found. The money was nice as the wolves paid better than the Flying Slimes from before, but an Egg . . . The Pets in the games from before were never too realistic . . .

Then again, this game was nothing like the games Yuuri had played before.

"Sure, I guess!" Yuuri said as he took the Egg and the silver coins. "But, um, how do I hatch it?"

Phichit gave him a disbelieving look.

"Man, Yuuri, did you even read the game manual? All you have to do is drip a few drops of your blood onto the Egg. It should crack and whatever comes out of it would recognize you as the Master."

Blushing again in embarrassment, Yuuri took the knife he had from before and made a small cut on his thumb. Ignoring the slight pain and letting a few drops of the red liquid fall on top of the pale egg, Yuuri squeaked in surprise when it began to glow.

Um, was it supposed to do that? Again, this didn't seem very realistic . . .

Suddenly, the egg cracked open and a brown blur smacked into Yuuri's face.

(Ding! System notice: Egg Successfully Hatched)

"Woof!"

"Hey!" Yuuri giggled slightly as a pink tongue kissed his nose repeatedly. Sitting back up and ignoring Phichit's laughter, the boy stared, stupefied at the tiny puppy in his lap. "You look a lot like . . ."

"He's so cute!" Phichit smiled as he petted the puppy. "Check its stats, Yuuri!"

Yuuri nodded as he cooed at the frankly familiar puppy.

(Ding! System notice: Please give your new pet a name)

"Mm," Yuuri mumbled, staring at the adorable creature. A name? What should he name it? Nothing really came to mind, and Yuuri could only think about how the puppy resembled the dog of . . . "Vicchan."

(Pet owner: YUURI KATSUKI | Pet name: VICCHAN | Level: 1)

(Health: 40 | Mana: 60 | Unspent skill points: 0)

(Strength: 6 | Agility: 10 | Intelligence: 6 | Willpower: 7 | Wisdom: 10)

(Abilities: Fetch― Ability Level 1/increase rare drops by 5%, Bite― Ability Level 1/Attack Power +5%, Growl― Ability Level 1/Reduces opponent attack power by 5%)

Wow. A dog had the same agility stat as he did. Yuuri blinked. And his abilities were quite good and useful too. Yuuri felt like he had lucked out.

"Vicchan?" Phichit asked with a bewildered stare. "Why Vicchan?"

Yuuri flushed. And he had been hoping that Phichit wouldn't ask. ". . . It's short for Viktor."

"Viktor?" Immediately, Phichit's smile turned a tad teasing. After all, any gamer, light or hardcore, would recognize that name. "Viktor Nikiforov? That Viktor?"

Yuuri groaned and buried his red face in Viccan's fur as Phichit laughed brightly.

"I never knew you were a fan, Yuuri! Ah, ha ha don't look so embarrassed! I am a big fan of his too!"

Viktor Nikiforov could be considered as an icon for virtual reality gaming. Well, his very pretty face probably helped out with that too. Ever since the boy was sixteen, he had already been at the top of any VR game player rankings. From the pitiful first attempts of virtual reality gaming to the last hottest game, The Life, Viktor had always been the strongest player. No other could have ever matched him, and not for the lack of trying. By now, every game company would have signed a contract with the man to use his pictures in order to promote their games.

He was famous, charismatic, and the God of gaming. A living legend, really. And saying Yuuri was a big fan of the man would be a severe understatement.

Viktor was probably what had gotten Yuuri into virtual reality gaming in the first place. It all started off when Yuuri was twelve, where he was playing with his childhood friends Yuuko and Takeshi. They were having one of their daily slumber parties, and were casually fighting for the remote on the couch when he came on.

Viktor, glorious Viktor, long-haired and delicate and already the top player of a dinosaur VR game. He had advertised the game, showed off his flashy armor and strong attacks, and . . . and . . .

And Yuuri was hooked. Well, to be fair, both of his friends were too.

Virtual reality games were quite expensive then, well, they always cost a pretty penny, but all three of them took time to save up their allowances in order to buy the games together. And when they finally tried it out . . . casting his first spell had been magical.

So yes, Yuuri might have a slight obsession with Viktor Nikiforov. Not that he would ever admit it, even if his walls ―covered with numerous posters of the man― would tell you otherwise.

"Do you think Viktor is playing ICE! Online?" Phichit asked curiously as he swung his feet back and forth. They were sitting on a bench after they had gone back to the village. Mostly because Yuuri needed to go stock up on Mana potions once more, though Phichit did take the chance to buy some food.

"Hmm," Yuuri started as he stared at one of his Mana potions. The colour of the potion was clear but it changed every time he moved the bottle, and all in all it looked quite pretty . . . "I doubt someone as influential as him in the gaming world didn't get a copy of the game."

"That's true," Phichit nodded. "Have you ever met him before?"

Oh, Yuuri wished that would happen. However, he had never become strong enough to do so, not in a single game. In addition, it wasn't like the man had ever opened the doors to his extremely exclusive Guild.

"No, not really. How about you?"

Phichit blinked at him, looking surprised before he grinned again. "Actually, yes. I met him once but it wasn't in-game."

"Really?" Yuuri felt himself gaping. "Wow. How did you know it was him?"

After all, Viktor was notoriously known for not getting caught by the media, despite his extremely large fan-base. Nobody knew how the real Viktor looked like, and many suspected that the man was actually an NPC created by the gaming companies.

"Hmm," Phichit hummed. "Let's just say that its impossible to miss Viktor, in real life or in a game. Anyway, enough about him! I kind of need to get going."

Yuuri blinked before looking at his clock. And, whoa, whoops. His little nap turned to be something much more and it was almost noon.

"Yeah," Yuuri conceded with a huff. "I should probably go too."

"See you later?" Phichit asked with a tentative smile. Yuuri immediately nodded before bidding his friend goodbye. They had already exchanged contact information, after all.

"Sure!"

Logging out of the game, Yuuri felt his surroundings fade to black before suddenly, he was blinking up at his room ceiling. Or, rather, a huge poster of the great Viktor Nikiforov.

Letting out a sigh, Yuuri took off his game helmet before stretching. Phantom sores from the game pained his poor feet, but they quickly disappeared when Yuuri stood up. Putting the game helmet to the side gently, Yuuri stared at the posters that dotted his walls before walking out with another sigh.

He needed to get some breakfast, and then he had to go take over his shift from Mari. There was no use staring at Viktor's images like he used to as a kid.

After all, despite it being his dream . . . it wasn't like Yuuri would ever get to meet his idol, right?

. . . Loading File . . .

Continue?

(YES/NO)

AN: AKA the longest chapter I have ever written! Clocking in at over 8k, wow. Anyway, I'll be going back to the horrors of school soon, so. Wish me good luck for my exams this month!

Here's another YOI fic, but this one is a virtual reality game fic. I believe every fandom should have a couple of these, ha ha. This was inspired by Sword Art Online and Half Prince!

Thank you for checking this out and please also check out my other YOI fics~ /winks/ Your support is very much appreciated.