9 Vol 1. pt. 9 Patch 3.0: To the City of Pirates! (1/2)
It is the party's first night in-game. While Bonekraka and Oleander weren't that impressed just from the sight of the ocean, they can't help but look up in awe at a sky full of beautiful stars and distant nebulae. One of the first things anybody who loves space does in a video game, when it's night time, is look up at the game's skybox. The nighttime sky of a virtual world is almost always far more impressive than in reality, and this is no exception.
The group is lucky as there is not a single cloud to block their vision. Thousands of shining lights of various colors hang in the sky. Constellations, nebulae, comets, local planets – all and more are visibly decorating the space above them. Such a sight is simply impossible to see in reality; this is as close as they can get to ever seeing this in person.
”Saya, is it possible for you to take a screenshot of us from third person?” Fenrir asks.
”You named your assistant 'Saya?' You really are a weeb, Fenny,” Oleander says.
Whoops. Fenrir was so distracted by the night sky's beauty that he asked her out loud.
”Sure thing, Onii-chan!” Saya answers.
Oleander and Serra already know what to do. Serra gets close to Fenrir's right side, and Oleander nuzzles up again his left side while pulling Bonekraka in close.
”3…2…1…”
They all hear the countdown in Saya's cutesy voice, and they all hear the sound effect of a camera snapping afterward. A small window temporarily pops up to show the screenshot. The four of them are standing side by side, and they're all smiling save for Bonekraka. Behind them is a vast ocean with calm waves rolling onto the shore, and above that is a beautiful and brilliant sky.
”Hey, Fenny, I think I heard your Saya,” Oleander says. Bonekraka grunts in agreement and Serra nods as well.
”Really? Let me ask about it,” Fenrir says.
”All willing participants of a planned screenshot will hear a synchronized countdown! They can also get a copy of the screenshot if they ask their own assistants for it, Onii-chan.”
Fenrir relays the information from Saya to the rest of the group. Oleander and Serra let him know that they've saved it as well, and Bonekraka is – well, Bonekraka. Fenrir and Oleander both know that he most likely saved it even if he would never admit it.
With the stargazing and screenshotting session over, the group follows the beach southward with naught but the sky above to guide them. A pair of dual moons orbiting one another has since risen into view. One of the moons has a soft blue color to it. The other moon has an orangish coloring. Each one looks several times closer to this world than Earth's moon. Given how the ocean's waves aren't completely annihilating the coastline, he assumes that their gravitational effect on the ocean's tides is not meant to be realistic. The moons look amazing at least.
Bonekraka grunts and groans every few feet. With how much heavier he is, and how much larger his feet are, any shells or pieces of driftwood that he steps on cause pain equal to stepping on children's building blocks.
”Regretting setting pain to 100% yet, Bone?” Fenrir asks. His question is answered by having a shell thrown at his head which he somehow dodges, surprising even himself.
Nothing particularly eventful happens as they walk down the coast.
”Ugh, my assistant is making my head hurt. I keep asking him stuff about the game, but all of his answers make my head hurt or are too vague. It's like when you read a story and really want to understand how everything works, but the author doesn't even know how it works themselves, so they either don't bother going into detail or come up with some lame excuse to not go into it,” Oleander whines.
”I forget how hardcore of a bookworm you are sometimes. Read anything good lately?” Fenrir asks.
”Not really. I've been busy with classes. By classes, I mean busy with my professors. Professors with an s, as in multiple professors,” Oleander explains with a wink.
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Unfortunately, before Fenrir can ask for clarification about just how he's been busy with multiple professors, Bonekraka holds out an arm from the front of the group to signal a stop.
The three behind the orc all peak around him and see a couple of man-sized crabs digging their claws beneath the sand. ”Looks like they're looking for something. Food?” Fenrir asks.
Each of the crabs' legs is the same height as Oleander, and their carapaces are almost as large as a bear's body! They each have a pair of large, spiny claws that have black tips in contrast to the red coloring of their shells. Their eyes stick out from their bodies on short stalks.
”Those claws are almost as big as I am,” Oleander says in a hushed voice. ”Can crabs even hear?”
Everybody looks at Fenrir for an answer. He doesn't know whether to feel complimented or insulted. ”No idea. Want to go around them, or try killing them? I'm going to be honest with you guys though, I haven't eaten any crab in a really long time and could really go for some right now,” he explains. He's also excited to try out the combat. Just because his main goal is fishing doesn't mean he has no interest in fighting. Plus, considering that the would-be enemy is a crab, and he would be killing it with a spear, he could technically consider this spearfishing.
”Let me try out what I learned during the fight with the boar, alright, Boney?” Oleander asks. Bonekraka nods, letting Oleander go ahead to get into position. Fenrir and Serra look on to see what he's going to do.
Oleander moves into the tall grass bordering the sandy shore, sneaking up through it until he's as close to the crabs as he can get without leaving the grass. It's hard to see the exact details from where the rest of the group is, but they can see long, thin tendrils slowly slithering out through the grass toward the crabs. They look like grassy tentacles slithering like snakes.
”Hey, isn't that kind of too awesome considering we just started playing?” Fenrir asks, but he's not surprised. If anybody is going to be a prodigy in a game where magic is based off of a character's intelligence and willpower, then it's going to be Oleander. Fenrir is better at making long-term plans, but Oleander is the master at short-term strategy and also usually ends up being the one making all the money for the group.