Who is she?
Rondo wondered, he really curious about the person next to Tira.
Kenta then tapped Rondo on the shoulder.
"Hey, you got time? Wanna walk around the districts here?"
Kenta then saw Rondo staring at Tira and the girl next to her and immediately noticed something.
"Oh, I get it. Good luck, man," Kenta said, walking out the door.
Rondo snapped out of his daze. He chased after Kenta, who wasn't far ahead.
"Hey, wait up. You said you wanted to explore the districts, right? Let's go."
Kenta stopped. He turned around to face Rondo, frowning.
"What's up? Not gonna go hit on that girl?"
Rondo was confused by what Kenta meant.
"What do you mean... 'hit on'? I was just watching them talk," Rondo explained, sounding sure.
"Huh? But you were staring at them for a while. It's obvious you wanted to pick one of them up," Kenta replied with a slight laugh.
"Haha, not really. You're just saying things. Let's just go explore the districts. I'm sure there's something interesting."
"Geez... so it was a misunderstanding. Oh well."
They didn't walk too far before they saw some students busy doing sports. Rondo and Kenta walked around the different fields. In every field, people were playing basketball, volleyball, tennis, and soccer. After looking at the green field with the hot sun beating down on them, they went to the gym.
Inside, several students were also busy with their own thing. A few minutes later, while Rondo and Kenta were busy talking, someone just came out of the changing room. He stood next to Rondo.
"Hey, you guys gonna work out too?" the person asked them. His arms and legs were moving around a bit.
Kenta quickly turned to the person. His face was kinda round, his teeth were super neat and clean, and his body was fit and a bit bulky. He was the same height as Kenta. He had a french crop hairstyle.
"Theo? You're hitting the gym? So diligent," Kenta asked with a little laugh.
"Yeah, gotta. When else am I gonna get paid just for exercising," Theo replied.
Rondo looked back and forth at them, confused.
"You guys know each other?"
Theo then turned to Rondo. His eyes immediately focused on the blinking name displayed on Rondo's jacket.
"Oh, hi uh... Rondo. I'm Theo. You wanna work out too, or no?"
Rondo looked forward. He saw other students lifting weights, walking on treadmills, and some focused on the leg press machine. Some of them were shouting pretty loud. Others were calm and quiet.
He turned his gaze back to Theo.
"Um, I think I'll pass for now. Maybe Kenta wants to try, hehe," Rondo said with an awkward smile.
"Tempting, but I'll also pass for now," Kenta added.
"Oh, alright. Well, I'm gonna go first, then. And hey, Rondo, your shirt is kinda wrinkled. You might also need some perfume and face wash to look fresher," Theo said, looking Rondo up and down. After that, he walked straight to the treadmill.
Rondo immediately sniffed his armpits.
"Do I... do I smell bad?" he asked Kenta.
"I dunno. But that Theo guy is really obsessed with cleanliness. If you smelled *really* bad, he probably wouldn't have just said that—he probably wouldn't even talk to you," Kenta said, walking slowly out of the gym.
Rondo followed beside him.
"So, his standards for hygiene are different from people like me?"
"More or less, yeah."
Leaving the gym, they tried walking a bit further from that district. After walking a few minutes, they found a super big building next to them. It was pretty close, the building's shape was very neat with 4 pillars supporting the front. There was a rhythm of melodious music accompanied by a choir that was really pleasant to the ear.
The closer Rondo and Kenta got, the clearer the sound became. The building's door was quite large. They approached it. Next to it, there was an electric sign that read 'Music District'.
As soon as their feet stepped on the part closest to the door, it started to open slowly and automatically. The sound of the door creaking was silent. The light shining into the building slowly became visible.
Once the door was fully open, they started to enter. There were so many luxurious and antique items as decorations inside. There were neatly displayed paintings of legendary classical musicians.
The sound of a violin was heard faintly as they entered the small hallways. The deeper they went, the clearer the sound. The violin strokes were played so neatly, orderly, and very rhythmic.
Rondo and Kenta were amazed when they saw the contents of the small hallway. Several string instruments were displayed neatly and cleanly.
"Whoa, this looks like heaven!" Rondo said pretty loudly. His voice echoed through the room.
"Shh! Don't be so loud. A place like this really is heaven for musicians. But it's weird, why haven't I seen any electric guitars here?" Kenta whispered, putting his index finger to his lips.
Kenta's hand stroked some clarinets that were resting neatly in a luxurious box. Rondo turned to Kenta. He then lightly slapped Kenta's hand.
"You shouldn't touch stuff either, they might get mad and we'll get in trouble," Rondo whispered.
"You're weird, why can't we do anything here?" Kenta whispered back.
"You're the one who said this is a musician's heaven, right? We're not musicians, it's dangerous if something gets dirty or broken," Rondo whispered back.
"Geez... this is tiring." Kenta walked out, leaving the small hallway.
Rondo, left behind, followed Kenta out of the hallway. They both then walked right out of the building.
They walked away from the building. After walking for a long time, they found a large building full of neon lights. EDM music and sound effects were very clear to their ears. Several students were passing by, going in and out of the place.
Rondo and Kenta started to step into the large building. Their Orlas both started blinking.
[Announcer Voice]
Hello Rondo! Welcome to the Entertainment District.
[Announcer Voice]
Hello Kenta! Welcome to the Entertainment District.
They stopped for a moment.
"Huh, why did it make a sound?" Rondo looked at his Orla, confused.
"Dunno, but this is really cool."
They entered the building. The door was wide open and didn't close. As they went deeper inside, they were amazed.
"Whoa! Isn't that an old-school arcade machine? And, omggg there's PCs, all the consoles, and over there it looks like a special booth. This is crazy, totally awesome!" Kenta said, pointing at the different machines inside.
The sound of gunshots and loud cheers were very clear. The machines were arranged very neatly by category—from 'retro' to 'new gen'.
They walked around looking at the game categories. Kenta asked Rondo to check out the 'retro' category first. When they got there, lots of other students were playing too. There were about 27 retro arcade machines being used. The line was super long and crowded. Above them, a hologram sign read 'entry no-67'.
"Hey, Rondo, you wanna play?" Tira said, popping up next to Rondo while eating popcorn.
Rondo turned.
"Oh, hey Tira. Nah, I think Kenta wants to play."
"Oh, Kenta's here too?"
"Yeah, he's right—"
Rondo looked around, searching for Kenta who had suddenly disappeared.
"Huh? He was just here. Where'd he go?" Rondo said, still looking around.
Kenta then reappeared next to Rondo, holding a candy wrapper.
"Hey, what're you looking for?" Kenta asked.
Rondo turned around.
"Ah, finally. This is Kenta," Rondo said, walking closer to Kenta and Tira.
Tira then looked at the candy wrapper Kenta was holding.
"Hey, isn't this my candy?" Tira said.
"Oh, this is yours? Good, so I don't have to bother finding who it belongs to. Looked like it fell out of someone's pocket," Kenta explained, handing the wrapper to Tira.
Tira took the candy. She put it in her right skirt pocket.
"Oh yeah guys, have you tried the RealNeck VR yet? It's really fun!" Tira invited them, chewing her popcorn.
"Whoa, they have VR too?" Kenta asked, curious.
Tira swallowed her popcorn. She nodded at them.
"Yeah, they do. It's super realistic! C'mon, follow me."
"Wait, what about your popcorn? This place is super crowded and if you put it on a table, someone will bump it. You still have a lot left," Rondo said.
Tira snapped her fingers.
"True. Ah, I have an idea!"
Tira turned around, then tapped another student on the shoulder behind her. The student turned to Tira.
"Are you hungry? I have popcorn, want some?" Tira offered, holding out the popcorn to the student.
"Um... I'm still full, hehe. Sorry, but thanks for the offer," the student replied.
"C'mon... please, just take the popcorn, okay? I'm insisting," Tira said, making a cute face at the student. Her hands were still holding out the popcorn.
The student swallowed. He couldn't resist Tira's cute face.
"Ah, alright, alright. I'll take it. Thanks," the student said, taking the popcorn from Tira.
"Yay! You're welcome."
Tira turned back to Kenta and Rondo.
"Psst, it's that easy being a girl, huh," Rondo whispered to Kenta.
"Psst, yeah. Must be nice just making a cute face," Kenta whispered back.
"Psst."
"Psst."
"What's with all the 'psst psst'?! C'mon, let's go to the VR place," Tira said, kinda annoyed. Her tone was a bit high.
Tira started walking first, leaving Rondo and Kenta. Feeling left behind, they immediately followed Tira from behind.
---
When they got to the VR category, they saw the place was pretty crowded. Next to it, the words 'RealNeck' were clearly displayed.
"Guys, there's one room slot left. Wanna join? It's perfect, max 3 people. The price is 950 GP for one hour," Tira said, looking at the queue number in front of them.
"950 GP?! That's so expensive," Kenta said.
Rondo tapped his Orla.
[Name: Rondo Ernias
Health: Good
Mood: Happy
Growth Point: 517 (Unshareable)
[Status] [Maps] [Friends] [Camera] [Messages] [Notifications] [Settings] [Close] ]
Rondo closed his Orla UI.
"Um, guys. I only have 500 GP left. You two should just play without me," Rondo said.
"Huh? What did you spend it on to only have that much left?" Tira asked, her face full of surprise.
"Um... I ate the 1000 GP meal at the Food Court the other day," Rondo answered.
"1000 GP?! You're such a big spender," Kenta said.
"Sorry... I didn't know I had to be careful with money. I just thought since I could eat something good, I'd buy the expensive one," Rondo said sadly.
"You alien! Geez, what do we do now? Can you transfer GP yet?" Tira asked Kenta.
"Not yet. Um... maybe he can help," Kenta answered, tapping his Orla.
[Eguchii Kenta]
Bro, can you help?
Please, it's kinda an emergency.
[Theodoric Leister]
Yo, help with what?
[Eguchii Kenta]
Can you transfer GP yet?
[Theodoric Leister]
Not yet, you need GP?
[Eguchii Kenta]
Yeah, I do.
But not for me, you know that Rondo guy?
[Theodoric Leister]
Ah, the smelly armpit guy?
How much does he need?
I can't, but my friend here can.
[Eguchii Kenta]
Whoa, seriously? Please help.
Around 450 GP.
He promises he'll pay you back.
[Theodoric Leister]
Ah, okay.
Hang on, I'll talk to my friend.
[Eguchii Kenta]
Okay, thanks.
Kenta closed his Orla UI.
"What'd he say?" Tira asked.
"He can't, but he said his friend might be able to help."
*Bzztt bzztt*
Rondo's Orla lit up and vibrated. Rondo tapped it.
[You just received +500 GP!]
"Huh, it's 500 GP. Didn't you say 450 GP?" Rondo asked, surprised.
"Dunno, who cares. You can just pay him back 1000 GP later," Kenta said with a laugh. Tira laughed too.
"In your dreams," Rondo shot back, annoyed.
"Haha. Well then, let's get in the room," Tira said.
"Let's gooo!" Kenta and Rondo shouted together.
[Hi visitor, please pay before you enter the room.]
A hologram fingerprint UI appeared in front of Tira. She immediately pressed her thumb to it.
[ ✓ Payment successful! 1 slot has been used. Do you want to invite your friends? Max 2 people.
[Yes] [No]]
Tira tapped the 'yes' button. She then typed in Rondo's and Kenta's names. Then, she tapped the 'invite' button next to their names.
Hologram fingerprint UIs appeared in front of Kenta and Rondo. They immediately pressed their thumbs on them.
[ ✓ Payment successful! 3 slots have been used. Please enter the room]
Inside the special VR room, there were 3 chokers lying there, with adjustable sizes. Next to them, there was a digital button they could press. There was also a power on/off indicator shining blue and red.
They put on the chokers.
"You guys ready?" Tira said.
"Yeah."
"Okay, I'm ready."
The three of them then pressed the 'on' button on the side of the chokers. The choker's power indicator changed from red to blue. Then, glass slowly emerged from the choker, covering their entire heads—until their heads were fully covered like they were wearing a helmet. Their vision started to go dark. Slowly, their eyes opened in a fairy-tale land.
[Welcome to the game Knight and Harbringer of Shadow.]