Ordinary

Chapter 11: The Jaded Climb

"Daylight."

Beyond the entry desk on the first floor, where the duo had confirmed (or, in Mai's case, bought) their stadium memberships, lay the arena of daily events. A vast field of chaos never-ending: monstrous masses of prodigious size, intertwining with people, scattered like ants across the area, struggling fiercely to slay as many monsters as possible for maximized rewards before the reset. The players fought, pushing deep into the core of the battlefield to reach the more challenging foes. Namely, today's buffet of loot and rank points was sponsored by lizardfolk: bipedal humanoids of various colors, all covered with a layer of protective scales. Many wielded curved blades, some turning to blowpipes and venomous darts as ranged alternatives – standard enemies both Mai and Kaze excelled in trashing, regardless of virtual or augmented environment. Now, the two walked around the red circle on the ground which marked the beginning of the combat zone, having already turned on their headsets.

Mai was focused on playing around with the controller that would soon become her weapon, not dropping it only thanks to the safety band around her wrist. "W-whoops... Well, since we're here, Kaze, do you reckon we should give the daily a shot?" She glanced up to the stretching field, requiring a deep breath to finish her thought. "Could be a good... warm-up for the task that awaits us."

"It's strange." Kaze commented, scanning through the crowd within the circle to try and locate a man in likely a purple shirt, all the while occasionally adjusting the "sacred" circlet on his head. "I never come to stadiums without a proper attire. Don't like fighting in jeans. Messes with my movement."

The epic music blasting from the speakers in the corners of the field mixed with other-wordly hisses, battle cries of overly-immersed young fighters, and the robotic announcer calling time intervals on the floors above, creating a cacophony of overwhelming noise. Nothing new to the Ash Keep grinder. The newly-blessed boy was more concerned with the well-being of the one beside him. It did not take a detective to deduce the plague of Mai's mind. Her senses had zeroed in on a particular collection of players. Even her hands had fallen quietly to the sides and released whatever they'd been holding. She observed as each member eventually perished over the course of a minute, be it due to lack of skill, experience, strategy, or the sheer overabundance of enemies the party had attracted. The barely visible hairs on the back of her neck stood like needles, but that was the only indication of the weight of the past she could clearly recall. Mai was likely already reliving the history buried deep in her rose-garden iris avatar, in a world far more relentless and daunting. On the outside, though, she simply seemed to be daydreaming.

Kaze stepped up beside the entranced. Tentatively, yet somewhat affectionately, he reached out to support her with a hand on the shoulder, but could not bring himself to complete the action.

Instead, in a stroke of confusion and drowning in conflicted conscience, the mouth acted on its own "You don't have to do this today." He said, "The stadium isn't going anywhere, so..."

"M-mm," The girl shook her head, rubbing her eyes with a hand, still unable to turn around and face Kaze. "Don't worry about that. I've already played with you at Horin park, right? What's the difference between then and now? I want to do this. I wanna have fun with you and–"

"And me?" A hand reached around each of the two similar-height speakers. "D-aww, thanks, Mai! Sorry I'm late, decided to bring over a friend last second. Hope it's not a problem."

Ryuusuke Kitamura, the nigh-paragon of carefree quiet life, had arrived. His majestic oak brown hair and stubble highlighted his fabulous face like a lion's mane.

"Oh-uh... Welcome, Dragon!" Mai laughed nervously, "Good to see you in a bright mood."

"Did I interrupt something?"