Level UP

Stepping through the tall grass of the area, the party of Mimiru, Bear, and B.T. kept their eyes to the grass, clearly looking for something. "Bear, are you sure this is the right place?" Mimiru asked, stretching her arms overhead. "I'm positive. I used to come here myself to watch others do this. Many consider it tradition." he answered, still peering into the surrounding carpet of green.

"It seems silly. Why do people choose such a rare creature that gives such low experience to battle?" B.T. asked, lifting her gaze from the ground to look at Bear. He looked up at B.T. with a confused expression and replied "You mean you don't know?". B.T. shook her head in response, then turned and asked Mimiru "What about you? Do you know also?". "Yeah.. it's kinda neat, yet silly too..." she answered with a hint of frustration, then continued "...supposedly the first person to accomplish this, did it with this particular creature, in this area." "A friend of Balmung no less." added Bear. "Really now.." B.T. mumbled to no one in particular.

They pressed on through the grass, the breeze ruffling the blades like a wave. "I wish Tsukasa were here for this." Mimiru sighed, thinking about the silvery haired Wavemaster. "It would be nice, but it's not necessary to force him back into The World if he doesn't want to. Frankly, whenever I log in I feel a bit nervous myself thinking about what happened to him before." said Bear as he cracked his knuckles. "I wouldn't be surprised if he never touched another game that used advanced sensory input..." B.T. told her. "...that had to be a scarring exper-"

Her sentence cut off as she noticed Bear motioning for quiet. He had spotted what they had came for and was now stepping back, motioning for B.T. to follow. "This is it Mimiru... you shouldn't have a problem. Good luck." the man told her, smiling like a proud parent. "This is your big moment!" B.T. encouraged. "I will! It's taken a long time to get here, one little monster won't stop me." Mimiru told them, lifting her steel weapon into a ready position. She stood for a moment, staring at the creature in the grass, then stepped forward to meet it.

She stepped in front of the monster, blocking it's path to wherever it happened to be headed at the moment. "Alright, let's do it!" Mimiru shouted, lifting her sword over the blob, then plunged it downward to vanquish it. As her weapon pierced the slimy creature, she shouted in victory, then suddenly stopped realizing that nothing had happened. Her experience level was still the same, and the enemy hadn't vanished around her blade as it should have.

It began to glow a brilliant white, slipping away from the sword that had been planted into it. The shape and size of the gelatinous creature started changing, growing larger and assuming the form of a skeleton with a scorpion-like tail, and a pointed helmet on it's skull. After the transformation was complete, the brightness surrounding it died, leaving a beige tint behind.

The brown haired Warrior let out a growl, lunging forward with her blade. "Need some help? Or would you rather we stayed back?" Bear yelled, smiling to himself. "I'll be fine!" came an answer from the cacophony of blade and bone colliding. "You planned this?" B.T. asked with a grin. "Not really. I was hoping that she didn't know though. Very few players ever go out of their way to fight one of these, and those who do for this sort of thing usually keep it a secret." Bear told his comrade.

Mimiru ducked under the arm of her foe as it swung at her, aiming her own attack at it's legs. One of the creature's knees folded backwards with a crunch, sending it down onto it's other. Using this opportunity to attack, she thrust her blade towards the skull of the crippled skeleton, a hiss escaped it's tongueless mouth, and it deflected the incoming blade with a snap of it's tail. A few seconds, and another sickening crunch later, the leg was back in it's normal position, and the battle raged on once more.

With one last strong slice, Mimiru swung her weapon causing the air around it to sing. She lowered the blade, and shielded her eyes as the skeleton's tail went limp and a blinding light emanated from it's body. With a loud "POOF" and a blast of purple smoke, the monster was gone, leaving behind only it's helmet which was already fading back into the programming of The World.

"LEVEL UP!" Mimiru shouted ecstatically, holding the weapon that had destroyed the enemy high over her head. "Maximum Level achieved." Bear said smiling. "Congratulations Mimiru, you've reached the pinnacle of power for your class." B.T. told her, shaking her hand. "Does this mean you're done with The World?" asked Bear, an inquiring look on his face. "No way! There's still too many adventures to have! Now let's go back to town and sell all the junk we picked up!" Mimiru happily answered, as she started plodding towards the chaos gate.