Sword and Claw

Book One: Chapter 2

Sora parked his blue car near the sidewalk in front of the Fairview Crest apartment complex. The sun was still setting beyond the neighborhood. He still has enough time to join the group before their raid. He wasn't even tired.

The work kept him busy, taking away his ability to sleep. Good thing he has no work tomorrow.

Sora walked up to the stairs and approached the door. The next-door opened and Mrs.Corman raced toward him, wearing a white nightgown and a hairnet on her gray hair.

"Sora! Why in the hell are you home late?" she shouted.

Sora rolled his eyes. "I am not late. It is still light outside."

Mrs.Corman crossed her arms. "You woke me up while I was sleeping! I should file a complaint against you!"

Sora gritted his teeth, wishing god wasn't protecting her.

If he punched her face, he might get deported back to Japan. Then his parents would scowl him for life. "Sorry."

"Oh sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" She pointed her finger at him. "Do not let that happen again!"

"Yes, Mrs. Corman."

"And no noises tonight! You should go straight to bed!" She stomped back into her apartment and closed the door.

Go to bed? She is not my mother!

Fairview Crest may have an annoying neighbor, but it was the only place Sora could afford. Good thing his VR set doesn't have loudspeakers.

Sora approached his door and unlocked it. When he opened it, the strong stench of potato chips and dirt hit his face. He forgot to vacuum clean his apartment before he left for work. Too bad he couldn't do it now. Mrs. Corman will charge into his place like a rhino.

After locking the door, he switched the lights on and strolled into his bedroom. His computer was next to his bed below the window. On his chair was his VR headset, called the Full Integrator Gear (FIG). He connected the gear to his wireless server, shaped like a black metal motorcycle helmet with a blast shield on the front. It was an old model. The new ones were smaller, but he couldn't afford one of them.

The FIG sets were the state-of-the-art devices that could transport the wearer's mind into the digital realm. The gear works by scanning the wearer's brain to map out the mind in every detail. Everything gets scanned; the cerebrum, the cerebellum, the brainstem, and all the neural pathways without hurting the wearer. After the scan, tiny beams enter the brain to stimulate the nerves, which allows the wearer to feel lifelike sensation from the game. The players can feel everything; taste, touch, smell, pain, and pleasure. With the information scanned, the data uploads into the company's game servers. From there, it goes into the wearer's virtual avatar body, becoming a copy of the wearer while the wearer's body goes to sleep. Digital transportation is safe, but not for long. If the upload takes longer than twenty-four hours, the wearer will fall into a deep coma. If not treated by life-support, the body will die. Although the body dies, the uploaded map will remain in the system with the wearer's thoughts, emotions, memories, and personalities intact. Fortunately, the headsets have safety inhibitors that log the players out after ten hours of gameplay. There are also log out buttons the players can easily push if they want to return to their bodies.

The device became very popular for gamers. They loved living and playing inside their favorite games in their avatars.

Who wouldn't?

Sora took his uniform off and showered in the bathroom before returning to his bedroom with a shirt and boxer shorts on. He picked up the headset and placed it on his bed so he could sit down in front of his computer.

After he switched it on, he accessed the internet and opened the Sword and Claw Online website. The home page displayed a castle on fire, and animal warriors fighting each other.

He typed his username and password to enter his account. In a few seconds, his account page appeared with his character in view.

Rodan

Wolf

Warrior

Male

Level: 20

HP: 200/200

Attack Power: 20

Defense: 11

Mana: 100/100

Action moves:

Parry- Blocks enemy attack.

Swift strike- Light attack with fast speed.

Strong strike- Takes two seconds to unleash one strong attack, dealing extra 5 damage to target.

Abilities:

Howl- Raises attack power up to 20 for one minute. Mana Cost 10.

Spinning blade- Player spin weapon around body, dealing damage to nearby enemies for ten seconds. Mana Cost 5.

Charging stab- Player aims weapon at target and charges into target, inflicting 10 extra damage. Mana Cost: 20.

Gold: 3,000

Equipment:

Large sword- ATP+20

Armor suit- DEF+5

Gloves-DEF+2

Boots- DEF+2

Cape-DEF+2

XP: 0%

Sora's character was a wolf knight in shiny armor. Very tall with large muscular arms in white fur that could mistake him as a gorilla. His silver armor suit was literally shiny with a wolf face crest on his chest. To appear handsome, he made his chin bigger with fur hanging under his muzzle like a white beard. For a charming touch, he gave his wolf character long white hair that could flow in the wind.

Girls who liked furry men might find his avatar very pleasing to approach, but Sora didn't customize his character for that. He enjoyed appealing characters who looked better than his real look.

In reality, he was a skinny Asian young man with messy black hair and small muscles in his limbs. But in SCO, he was a mighty wolf knight who wasn't afraid of any challenge. If Sora had to use his real looks to play a game, he wouldn't play it at all, no matter how popular it could be.

Sora picked up his cell phone and dialed Amy's number.

In a few seconds, she answered. "Hello?"

"It's me, are you ready?" Sora asked.

"Yes. I just got out of the shower. I will meet you at Stanlow."

"Okay, I am logging in now." After Sora hung up his cellphone, he clicked on his character. He laid down on his bed and placed his FIG set on. The gear buzzed on his head as he drifted off into sleep.