One World Apart

Chapter 6: Holes[M]



I wake up, and the sun glares right in my face. I groggily wake up and rub my eyes, and realize that it is 8:00 A.M. Although my body told me to go back to sleep, I decided to not, as I had a genius plan in my mind. 

What if I just jump into the hole?

...

Fast forward 10 minutes, I am now standing in front of the massive hole, staring down into the abyss. There were no monkeys hanging around this time, so I assumed they must be nocturnal animals. So far, many of these creatures seemed to be derived from Earthen discoveries, but the ones which special names seem to have unique characteristics. I decided that it was safe to descend the hole, so I grabbed a makeshift rope to keep me from falling straight down. I slowly inch my way towards the bottom of the hole, but see nothing except darkness. I shoot a bullet at a random wall, and notice that the bullet extends more than it should have if the hole was lined with walls, so I conclude that there were caves scattered in the walls. I see a couple of those monkeys in those caves, but as they were fast asleep, I left them alone...

Just kidding! I equip my activation bullets and instantly shoot 3 of the monkeys in their bulbs and before they could react. All of them explode, leaving behind their weak toxic casing. I quickly pick up these drops and descend further and further into the hole, eventually hitting the floor. As soon as my foot touched the ground, a notification pops up

I check out this new bullet and it turns out that I was able to shoot light from my pistol, which illuminates the area where the bullet stops moving. Quite convenient, right?

After landing, I decide to set up my tent in this area, so no mobs would attack me as I explore. I shoot a couple lumus bullets and the first thing I see is that I am in a massive cave, with 3 paths that split in different directions. As I walked up towards a path, I am suddenly interrupted by two message,

and

So this is where the co-op starts, huh?

And what are Anchor bullets? 

But before I think about that, I call [FMC], and after a while, she picks up,

"What do you want"

So cold! But I just say,

"This area needs co-op, so you're the only person that I could think of."

"First of all, how am I even suppose to help you, and second of all why would I want to help y--"

"What!" I hear her exclaim, she continues

"I got a button which says 'prepare for combat', but nothing is happening...I never agreed to this man...."

It was silent for a bit, until I remember, 

"Do you hear beeping sounds?"

"Uh...yes, it's quite annoying actually."

"You're about to be teleported."

"Huh? Are you serio-"

and she gets cut off. 

Five minutes later, I hear her speak,

"Wow..."

"What do you see?"

"There are scale-like things that are around me, which surround me in a spherical shape. They also seem to be showing some image...."

"Is it just an empty sphere?"

"No--there are lines extending from me towards the top, front, left, right, bottom, and behind of the sphere."

"Hmm, very interesting..."

"I also got a gun, with an infinite number of bullets called 'activation bullets' and 'anchor bullets'"

"I know what activation bullets are, but anchor bullets?..."

"Ah whatever, just tell me, what is going on?"

But before I could answer, a *ding* sounds,

 1. Almost all things are poisonous in this area(C)

 2. Killed creatures leave goo in surrounding areas(C)

 3. To be discovered...

 Rules of Combat:

0. While playing single, Player 1 can change bullets whenever he wants. (C)

 1. Activation bullets only affect activation points on targets(C)

 2. Anchor bullets can be used to create activation points(Anchors), producing one point in mid-air. (C)

 3. You and your teammate take turns shooting Anchor and Activation bullets, with Anchor bullets always shooting first. (C)

 4. After Anchor bullets are set, your teammate can shoot the Anchors with an Activation bullet, activating certain things to happen. (I)

 5. To be discovered...

>

I see that rules 4 in 'Rules of Combat' is labeled as incomplete, meaning there must be something else that could happen.

"Did you get the notification?" I ask her. 

"Yes I did, but I don't know how the rules work..."

"The best way to figure it out is to try! So I'm running in."

Before she could answer, I run into the corridor, and am met with a giant lush cave, with flowers(probably poisonous), some growing as tall as 20 feet, growing everywhere, on the ceilings, walls, and ground. I slowly walk into the cavern and look around the cave. 

"Wow..." I hear [FMC] whisper,

"You can see what I'm seeing?"

"Mhm, its quite beautiful don't you think?"

I keep walking forward and approach a flower, but suddenly, the flower transforms into some animal that jumps at me. I duck my head instantly and turn around, only to see a moving pink flower in front of me. I hear the long-awaited *ding* and see that it is a , in other words, an orchid mantis. These things are known for being deadly: as like what was just witnessed, they blend in perfectly with flowers. Suddenly I hear [FMC] say, 

"Whoa, everything just turned black. Only the sphere and lines can be seen."

I hear this in the back of my head, but didn't process it. I instead pull out my pistol and shoot with an activation bullet, killing the mantis with one shot. But after this shot, my bullet changed to an Anchor bullet, and no matter what I did, I could not unselect it.

"What the..." I mutter, and [FMC] also surprised says,

"My vision of the cavern came back, but while it was all black, I saw purple line being shot, was that you?"

"It was probably the activation bullet I shot, but what bullet do you have right now?"

"I have the activation bullet selected, but I am unable to shoot it"

I look at my pistol and the anchor bullets, and decide to test a theory.

"I am going to shoot 5 bullets in a pentagonal shape, tell me what you see."

"Got it."

I begin shooting these anchor bullets, and noticed that whenever I wanted the bullet to stop, the bullet stops in mid air, creating a gray-ish sphere in the middle of space. I proceed to shoot the last four bullets, in a pentagonal shape, but surprisingly, a line is formed between each of the anchor points after they settle. The lines connect into a pentagonal shape, and I ask [FMC]

"What do you see?"

"There is a pentagonal shape floating in the air at about 20 degrees above eye level, but with only lines and points."

"Exactly as I expected, now try shooting a bullet at it."

"Okay....I just shot the bullet."

I suddenly see my bullet revert to Activation bullets, and see a purple-colored shaded-in pentagon floating in front of me.

... 

"...THIS IS AMAZING! I've never seen such intricate game design in sooooo long. Finally, some fun!"

"Seems like a drag" I hear her mutter under her breath

"You'll enjoy it soon enough, when we get more experience with it."

 1. Almost all things are poisonous in this area(C)

 2. Killed creatures leave goo in surrounding areas(C)

 3. To be discovered...

 Rules of Combat:

0. While playing single, Player 1 can change bullets whenever he wants. (C)

 1. Activation bullets only affect activation points on targets. (C)

 2. Anchor bullets can be used to create activation points(Anchors), producing one Anchor in the air. (C)

 3. Multiple Anchor bullets can be shot with a controlled distance, varying by your imagination, and are connected by lines between the Anchors. (C)

 4. The shape you want the Anchor bullets to connect into vary on your imagination. (C)

 5. You and your teammate take turns shooting Anchor and Activation bullets, with Anchor bullets always shooting first. After an Activation bullet is shot, the bullets in both Players' guns switch. When combat begins, Player 1 is allowed one Activation shot, before beginning with Anchor Points. (C)

6. Both players can see Anchors after they have been placed. (C) 

7. After Anchor points are set, your teammate can shoot at or through the Anchors with an Activation bullet. Your Activation bullets have modes, which can fill, ******. The mode varies on your imagination. (I)

 8. In combat, only Player 1 is able to see the enemies. (C) 

 9. Anchor points disappear after being used. (C)

 10. To be discovered...

>

That, is a lot to process. 

But the combat system....

It's SO FASCINATING!

With so much freedom given when fighting, of course it's going to be hard, but this is what makes games so entertaining! And the amount of cooperation needed...

"Wow..." I hear [FMC] say, but this time, I can tell that she is excited. 

I was also very excited, and started running around the lush cave. I bump into a flower, but the flower was unnaturally hard. I look up, and see that the flower was one of those 20 feet tall flowers I saw at the entrance to the cave. I feel something vibrate against my back and instantly realize that something is off. 

Shoot!

I run as fast as I can away from the flower, but suddenly feel a shockwave through the cave. 

"Whoa, the whole screen shook, what's happening [MC]?"

I only let out three words.

"Oh.....my.....god" 

A *ding* sounds

has just appeared. 


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