.hack//: parable, pt. 1

let's just get the legal stuff out of the way: i do not, in any way, claim for any part of the dot hack franchise to be my own. this is my own work of fiction based in the dot hack saga. i also claim no rights over the name "Otokoyama"; that is the property of the Koto Sake Company. in addition, i do not claim any proprietary ownership over any and all themes relating to "Journey to the West", by Wu Cheng-en. and fyi: this story takes place in the dot hack: G.U., so those of you not familiar with the class system should either check out the games, the series dot hack roots, or look it up on wikipedia. enjoy!

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The internal fan whirred to life as my computer booted up, and the logo of ALTIMIT OS appeared on the screen. My younger brother had just sent me a copy of an online role playing game called “The World R:2”, which was supposed to be the most popular game in the world. I personally didn’t see what was so great about it; it required an M2D, which was the premier accessory of the time, since it essentially replaced the primitive laptop computers. I was never fond of technology, and only had the most basic computer setup so that I could keep my work organized. Then again, special goggles that allowed one to play Tetris and Crimson VS literally anywhere and anytime couldn’t be all bad.
My computer whirred again as the installation procedures began to install “The World”. First it asked for an installation key; without it, the installation couldn’t proceed. Then it asked for all the general information: name, address, phone and email, then credit card information. Once that was out of the way, I began the process of creating my character; I slid on my M2D, and the small screen inside surrounded the entire range of my eyes. It was an amazing experience, like being in a 3D movie with the screen right in front of you. Soon the goggles obtained the connection to the docking port connected to my computer, and a skeletal form appeared on the screen. To the left came the words “Select Gender”; I selected male. “Select species”; I picked human. “Select class”; as I scrolled through the options, I read carefully the descriptions of each one, paying special attention to certain classes:
Adept Rogue: Adept Rogues are eventually capable to equip various weapons and use various magic. However, each weapon must be learned separately and require items, but the training will eventually pay off making them highly adaptable in any situation.
Blade Brandier: Blade Brandiers fight with a sword similar to a katana. It is said that all warrior classes derive from this class. Although their abilities are average, they can adapt to a wide variety of situations.
Steam Gunner: They specialize in long-range attack and are weak against close encounters, but if necessary their guns can be used as powerful melee weapons which keep most enemies away.
Both the Steam Gunner and the Adept Rogue seemed like too much work, with the multitude of attack patterns each one wielded. Thinking back to my days on the Kendo team, I chose to be a Blade Brandier.
Next I was given the option to design my character’s appearance. The system offered me a standard look for a Blade Brandier, but it looked way too stuffy for my taste. I began by removing all the clothing and extra features that I could remove, leaving my character a bald man in his underwear. Starting from scratch, I worked on his head. I decided on a samurai-style ponytail and a sharp goatee, wearing a bamboo hat and thin rectangular glasses. For a shirt, I chose a brown keikogi hanging off the right side, leaving my right side bare; on the right arm I added tattoo of three diamonds on my shoulder and chest, and a gold manacle at my wrist and bicep. Covering my lower half was a dark green hakama, with a yellow flower pattern inlaid in the left cuff, and for my feet, I went with a barefoot look, with geta sandals. Satisfied, I took a 360 degree view of my new online persona; it was perfect. The last order of business was to choose a name. I hadn’t thought about giving my character a name. I got up from my computer and paced around, trying to come up with a name. Then it hit me: I ran to my chair, replaced my goggles, and entered the name “Otokoyama”. Once that was done, the screen went blank, and a gentle female voice said, “Welcome to ‘The World’.” And so, my journey began.
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The first thing I saw when the login was complete was the name of the main area, or Root Town, of the server I was on: ^(Delta server) Eternal City Mac * Anu. I then materialized into a huge stone building, resembling a smaller portion of an old church, with its stone walls and vaulted ceiling and the giant stained glass window letting in the light of the setting sun. In the center of this building was a series of golden rings varying in size, and circling around a blue orb. I had read in the manual that this was called a Chaos Gate: there was one in every Root Town, and it was the key to playing the game. The back story of the Chaos Gate was that of an interdimensional gateway from the Root Town to the realm of monsters; there were rumors that the hairline crack in dimensions that allowed the Chaos Gates to work would sometimes let monsters into the Root Towns, but that could’ve been used to explain a special event in the game itself.
In the room with the Chaos Gate, there were also two stalls; from one stall, a stumpy figure shouted, “Items! Items! Don’t forget items!” From the other stall, the same creature yelled, “Save point! Save point! Don’t forget to save your game!” I approached the item shop, and acquired a few items with the GP I started with, then hit the save point. As I was about to exit this building and explore the rest of Mac * Anu, I heard a tiny voice behind me say, “Umm…excuse me?” I turned around, but it seemed that no one was there. “Excuse me, sir,” said the voice again, this time I discovered that it was coming from a small beast character, draped in purple robes and clutching a small gun to his chest. Based on that, I determined that he was a Steam Gunner. “Is there something I can help you with?” I asked. The child’s eyes began to well up as he spoke. “Well, sir,” he began. “I was supposed to go on an adventure with my sister today. We got separated in town, and…and she told me to come back here if I got lost, and I tried to call her, but…” the child was now sniffling, and I could tell that he was crying through his goggles. “But I forgot how to do that and now I can’t find her to tell her where I am and – “ “Would you like me to help you look for your sister?” I asked in a calming tone. “I may not look it, but I’m new to ‘The World’ as well; I was just about to explore this city, so I’ll help you look for your sister. My name’s Otokoyama; what’s yours?” “I’m Gehdren,” he replied. “Ok,” I said. “Let’s form a party and find your sister.”
For a game that was supposed to be the most popular game in the world, Mac * Anu wasn’t nearly as crowded as I had assumed it to be; still, it was a huge place nonetheless, making it all the easier to get lost. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I didn’t know what she looked like. I asked Gehdren, and he replied, “Well, she’s dressed all in white, with a pointed hat and a big book, and she’s got long blonde hair, and she’s really pretty.” The mention of a “big book” meant that she was a Shadow Warlock, and the mention of her being “really pretty” only increased my zeal. As we entered a part of the town called the Alchemy district, we sat down by a water fountain to rest, since this was the last place Gehdren had seen his sister. I looked at his face, and he seemed disheartened, until the sound of a bell caused Gehdren to peak his head, and his face changed. “Onee-san!” he shouted, to a figure in the distance. As she got closer, the figure of Gehdren’s older sister became clear, and my jaw dropped.
Gehdren’s reference to his sister being “really pretty” was an understatement: her long blonde hair flowed gloriously down to her waist. Her clothing consisted of a pointed light blue witch’s hat, with a sleeveless light blue short robe, and light blue fur boots, and a huge book, which I took to be the Shadow Warlock’s weapon, a grimoire, dangled from a strap around her shoulder. Her figure was incredibly curvaceous, as though she was modeled from a centerfold. “Gehdren, where have you been?” she asked in a heavenly voice. “I told you to call me if we got separated.” “I know,” Gehdren replied, tears once again welling up in his eyes. “but I forgot how to send calls, so I – I – I went back to that gate-thingy to wait for you but then I got scared and alone.” “Easy, little brother,” she said, trying to soothe him as best she could; she had such a gentle voice about her, like the strum of a lute. “Take a deep breath.” Gehdren inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled. “So, I asked this new player to help me look for you.” Gehdren’s sister stood up to look at me. “Thanks for helping him find me, umm…” “Otokoyama!” I interjected. “Otokoyama?” she asked. “That’s an unusual name. My name’s Madam Mimm.” I resisted the urge to snicker, so I just gave her a confused look. “You know, like the witch in ‘The Sword in the Stone’, that old Disney movie.” “Ohh, okay,” I said with a giggle. After a few moments of awkward silence, Gehdren intervened and said, “You know, nee-san, Oto-kun here is a newbie too, just like me.” “Yes, you mentioned that already,” Mimm replied. “Well, I was thinking…” Gehdren twiddled his thumbs. “…why don’t we let Oto-kun join us on our adventure?” “He did help us find each other,” Mimm said. “Mr. Koyama, would you like to join us on an adventure?” “Yes!” I said immediately. Me and Mimm exchanged member addresses, and the 3 of us were soon joined in a party: Gehdren, myself, and Madam Mimm.
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“Just walk up to the Chaos Gate,” Mimm began. “and input the keywords like I told you.” Gehdren approached the spinning rings of the Chaos Gate, warily, then began to input area keywords; these words determined the area we entered. Gehdren eventually settled on a level 1 area called ‘^Expansive Forbidden Grasslands’. “Sis,” said Gehdren. “What does it mean about Symbol Fragments?” “Well, this is a special field-type area,” Mimm began. “Across this area are 3 treasure chests, each one with a Symbol Fragment; when you get all 3, they morph into an item called the Judge’s Symbol, and the door to the Beast Temple opens. There, beneath a floating statue of Folset, the god of law and guardian of the gate to heaven, is the final item chest. It’s usually a useful item, but it can be a rare one if you’re lucky.” “So all we have to do to finish this area is get the Symbol Fragments?” I asked. “It’s not that simple,” Mimm responded. “There are usually a lot of chests lying around any given area, and most of them are guarded by monsters.” I shrank back as if I was a child who had done something wrong. I know I shouldn’t have, but I just couldn’t help it. “Okay, Gehdren,” Mimm urged. “Let’s go!” Gehdren entered the keywords, and we all warped to ‘^Expansive Forbidden Grasslands’.
The area we ended up in was a huge, grassy field, with an endlessly blue sky and the sound of a gentle summer breeze filled my ears. ‘It must feel so good,’ I thought to myself. “Okay, boys,” said Mimm in a dominant tone. “Let’s keep this simple: we’ll find the Symbol Fragments, and take care of any monsters we find.” The way she said it made me feel like a kid being led on a carefully planned path; but, given that she had more experience playing ‘The World’ than I did, I chose to play along for the time being. Before long, we spotted our first chest – surrounded by 3 small goblins. “We need to approach them from behind…” Mimm whispered. “…so that we can take them from behind. Oto-kun, can you target one of them?” I looked at the group of monsters, and I found the targeting lock on one of them. “Get ready to do a sneak attack, Oto-kun.” Suddenly a shot was fired from behind us, which hit one of the goblins for only a few points of damage. We turned around, and Gehdren was standing with his bayonet in his hands, a look of shock and awe on his face. The 3 goblins turned towards us, and prepared to attack. “So much for the element of surprise,” Mimm said with a sigh as she opened her grimoire.
Despite being only level 1, those goblins were pretty easy to beat. But with every swing of my sword, I started feeling as if it were real, like I was swinging a sword in the real world. “Hey, Oto-kun,” Mimm shouted from not far off. “I’ve got a monster paralyzed right here; why don’t you try that Skill Trigger option I told you about?” “Okay,” I replied. Just as I was about to release my skill attack, a shrill cry for help came from Gehdren’s direction, as the last goblin poised itself to attack. Gehdren was shaking, he couldn’t control his weapon, and began simply firing at random, barely missing the goblin. Soon he was out of ammo, as the goblin raised its axe. Gehdren fell backwards, shaking with fear. It was only a split-second; I switched my attack target, and launched my skill. “Sword Flash!” I spoke as my blade penetrated the monster’s chest. Quickly I pulled my blade up, cutting the goblin’s body in half, then reflexively turned and slashed it down the center, cutting the halves into further halves. I stood there, sword still outstretched, for several seconds, then I pulled it back and sheathed it. Gehdren still lay on the ground, a look of wide-eyed awe spread across his face. I extended my hand to him, and slowly helped him up. “You okay, Gehdren?” I asked. “Yeah, I guess so,” he replied, dissatisfied no doubt because he needed to be saved; every little kid has that idea that they don’t need help.
The first Symbol Fragment was easy enough to acquire, but finding the second one was trickier; it was surrounded by giant crabs. “Use your skill, Gehdren!” Mimm shouted. “Rengeki! Long Shot!!” Gehdren’s bayonet cut loose a thunderous BOOM, and the first crab’s shell exploded. “Good job!” I exclaimed. Gehdren had a look of shock and glee on his face, followed by a wide grin. While Gehdren was making mincemeat of his opponent, I wasn’t so lucky. It turned out that basic swords were not that effective against armored creatures. Before I knew it, the beast had knocked me down, and was about to deliver the final blow…but then came a brilliant flash of lightning came down and tore the crab asunder. As its corpse dissolved, I saw the gorgeous form of Madam Mimm, arm outstretched as she had just cast a spell. “You okay, Oto-kun?” she asked. I searched hard to find my voice again. “Uhh…yeah, yeah I’m okay.” “Here, I’ll heal your injuries for you.” And with that, she came right up to me, placed her hand on my chest, and said, “Repth.” A bright light that felt surprisingly warm began emanating from her hand, and my health bar was recovered fully. She looked up at me, and I guess we both were blushing a little. I did, but I don’t know if she did. “Umm…so…” Mimm was desperately grabbing for a change of subject, which came with a loud “Yahoo!” from Gehdren. “Two down, one to go!”
After going through 2 random item boxes, we finally found the third Symbol Fragment. But in that time, I noticed with great interest how Madam Mimm fought; her movements were graceful, and every attack came with a swash of her long beautiful hair. At one point she caught me staring, and I quickly turned away, my face redder than a maraschino cherry. “Okay,” I said. “We have all three Symbol Fragments; now what?” As I said that, the Symbol Fragments began shining, and they melded together to form an item called the Judge’s Symbol. “So, we have the Judge’s Symbol,” I said. “Now what?” Mimm turned to me, and said, “We go to the temple of Folset, of course.” and winked at me. “Aww,” Gehdren groaned. “I wanted to spend more time with nee-san. I wanted to have more adventures.” I could see his eyes starting to well up, and I knew it was a matter of time before he was crying again. Thinking someone should do something, I walked over to him and placed my hand gently on his head. “Tell you what, Gehdren,” I began. “Why don’t you and I go on an adventure this weekend? I was supposed to go on one with my younger brother, but I’m sure he won’t mind me bringing a guest.” Gehdren looked up at me, his eyes wide with curiosity. Then his face broadened into a great smile, and he nodded hard. I turned back to Mimm and said, “Well, now that that’s settled, let’s go get the treasure.”
The outside of the temple of Folset wasn’t as impressive as I had expected: it was simply a giant rectangular building of ancient stones and moss, with a pillar at each corner. Upon entering the main door, we proceeded down a flight of stairs, followed by another huge door. Once that door was open, however, the surroundings became a lot more ornate; the inner sanctum of the temple was enormous, lined with candles flickering beneath blurred paintings. In the center was a wide circular skylight, illuminating a giant floating statue of a purple beast. It was awe-inspiring. “That’s Folset,” Mimm said from behind me. “He’s the god of law, and he guards the gateway to Heaven.” Sitting in front of the statue of Folset was a single treasure chest. We approached it, and before I had a chance to grab it, Mimm put her hands together and began to pray. Gehdren followed suit, while I just stood and watched. “We thank you, Folset, lord of laws, patron of those who follow the path of truth and justice, for the item that we are about to receive. Upon receipt, we ask for your blessing in all of our endeavors, so that we may approach all problems with a calm mind and a steady hand.” She clapped her hands twice and bowed her head, as did Gehdren. “Oto-kun,” said Mimm. “You can have this treasure if you want.” Just as I was about to open it, I stopped and said, “Wait. Why don’t you take this one, Gehdren? I can take the next one.” Gehdren had a wide grin on his face as he opened it and received a new piece of armor. Once the chest was open, Folset’s statue vaporized.
And so we closed the door, and proceeded to the warp point and go home. But just as we reached the warp point, a shot of lightning hit me from behind, and I fell forward. I strained myself to get up, and turned to see 3 other players, all in black, and all looking scary. “Well, what do we have here?” said a female player in a deep, menacing voice. “Looks like we got some noobs here, boss,” said a skinny player on one side of the female player. “Oooh…why don’t we PK ‘em, Bordeaux? I wanna PK some noobs!” A fat player on her other side only folded his arms and groaned. I saw Gehdren, cringing behind Mimm. I was about to pull out my sword, when I received a quick message from Mimm: “Don’t fight them,” it said. “Approach the warp point now.” “Why? What are they?” I replied. “Player-Killers,” she sent back. “There’s no time to explain; it’s up to you to warp us back to Mac-Anu safely.” Her words were stern and demanding. Immediately Mimm released a volley of spells to slow the Player-Killers down enough for me to make my move, and I took the chance and ran for the warp point. But, either they were too strong for Mimm’s magic, or I was too slow, and I was caught in the grip of the skinny player. “Oh, no you don’t,” he rasped. “I want to have some fun with you first.” I spotted, out of the corner of my eye, Gehdren, being approached slowly by the fat player, and Gehdren was crying his eyes out. Mimm tried to calm him, but she was caught by the female player, Bordeaux. “Negimaru!” she called to the player gripping me. “Let’s make this quick; I wouldn’t want the Terror of Death or Moon Tree showing up.” The little guy snickered as his grip tightened on me, as I watched in horror, Mimm being killed, by Bordeaux. I cried out to her, but soon following, a stifled cry of pain came from Gehdren, as he too was snuffed out by the big guy. “And then there was one,” giggled Negimaru, and with a quick swipe of his blade, my health bar dropped to zero, and all went black.
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I awoke some minutes later, my head throbbing. The shock from being “killed”, in a sense, in “The World” had caused me to fall out of my chair, and no doubt the knock on my head was what put me unconscious. I slowly put my chair back up, and sat back down to figure out what had happened. Checking my browser, I found an email from Mimm. I clicked it, and it read as such:
Hey Otokoyama. Sorry about what happened. That’s something you tend to interact with in ‘The World’. They’re called Player-Killers, or Pks. All they do is pick off weak players for fun. The Pks we fought have particularly notorious reputations; they call themselves the Bordeaux group, and they probably set a record for killing new players.
If you don’t want to continue playing, I’ll understand: my brother was so traumatized he ended up crying for 20 minutes before my mother could calm him down. She says he might have to go in for therapy. I think it would be best if you quit playing as well; I don’t like watching people get hurt, especially when it’s for one person’s amusement. Doing it in the Battle Arena is okay because no one’s really getting hurt, I guess.
Goodbye,
-Madam Mimm

<<<<<<<<<<END OF MESSAGE>>>>>>>>>>

I stared blankly at the screen, subconsciously rereading her email over and over. Mimm was an incredibly sweet woman, and these Player-Killers were causing her pain. I knew that I had to do something, so that I could see her smiling again. I wasn’t even sure why I was doing this; perhaps it was love at first sight, perhaps it was only a strong desire for revenge. To this day, I still don’t know why I did it, but I’m glad I did. If you want to know what I did, and how I did it, you’ll have to read the next chapter.