Reality Collision Online(A VRMMORPG story)

*****

"It wasn't much in the end, huh…" Vermouth sighed in disappointment. "It was only huge and sturdy. Just a bunch of stones, after all, that PebblePile."

Vermouth sat atop the remains of the huge golem she had fought and killed. As Vermouth said, this monster wasn't much of a big deal to her. It kept regenerating itself whenever she hit a part of its rocky body, but once she found its weak point - its head - it was only a matter of aiming, which Vermouth had plenty to spare.

Vermouth hopped off and sent a pulse through [Pulse Radar] once more, when it didn't find anything, Vermouth moved to another place and repeated the same process. It took a solid thirty minutes until she finally found something.

Disappointingly, it was another PebblePile monster. After quickly finishing it off and collecting the rock materials it dropped, Vermouth proceeded higher into the mountains.

Sadly, she only found more PebblePiles, but in groups this time. They weren't much either, even if they were much in the sense of numbers, they didn't fare well against her even with more of them.

"I'm getting bored now, and there is only an hour before dinner yet this is getting nowhere…" Vermouth murmured in quiet exasperation.

Just as she was about to turn around, the ground started shaking.

"W-what? An earthquake? This is a thing in this game?" Questioned Vermouth, quite relaxed despite the natural disaster currently occurring.

To be fair, the shaking is not really that much compared to what she has experienced in the real world. Additionally, this is a game. Even if something were to happen to her in this world, the worst that would happen is she would lose an item from her inventory and some EXP points. And she isn't going to lose an item unless a player killed her! That's what it said in the help section of the interface.

"If only this earthquake would open some kind of cave for me…" She uttered under her breath.

And like they say, "Ask and you shall receivec" as in the same moment Vermouth's sentence left her mouth, the earthquake worsened, sending several smaller pebbles bouncing on the ground. Boulders hanging by the side of the cliffs in the distance fell to the ground, rolling into wherever.

Vermouth fell back into her bum after struggling to stay standing, annoyance etched on her face. Though, aside from her annoyance, she didn't seem to care as much as she should.

That was about to change when the earthquake further worsened, and several cracks started forming on the ground she was standing on. Vermouth visibly paled when the ground not far from her cracked and opened up, crawling toward her way.

Vermouth, in her panic, managed to roll to the side and narrowly avoided the crack that seemed to devour her. It hit a wall, cracking that open too, before stopping in its tracks.

Along with the crack, the earthquake calmed down before slowly coming to a halt. Vermouth stared at the crack for a full minute, as if expecting it to continue and devour her. When it didn't, Vermouth relaxed and stood up from where she was sitting in fear.

"What the hell was that about?" She ended up blurting out. "That was actually really scary. What if I fell into that - Whoa!?"

The ground started to shake once more. Vermouth fell into her rear just the same moment as another crack formed originating from the previous one, crawling toward her at a speed she couldn't hope to dodge.

"Wha?! Whoa! I'm falling!!" Vermouth shouted in her panic as the ground she strumbled on was devoured into the crack, taking her along with it.

"O-One with Mana!" Vermouth shouted to avoid fall damage. She wasn't quite sure if that would help, but right now she has nothing to count on except this spell.

Vermouth rolled the side of a steep wall before hitting the ground in what seemed to be a cave under the crack she fell into, rising dust and debris into the air with her impact and dirtying her and her attire.

Vermouth rose from the ground and exited the cloud of dust she had made, coughing dryly as she did.

"What the hell…" Vermouth muttered in annoyance. "That was the worst bungee jump ever, didn't even have a rope for safety."

Vermouth patted herself down, not that she needed to as the dust simply passed through her. She took some bit of damage though. She guessed it was when she was falling, her totems might have hit something along the way down.

"Now, where am I?" Vermouth questioned, not really expecting a reply as she cast magic missiles and used them to light up the place.

It was a cave, just as she expected. One thing she sure did not expect though, was a huge wall with strange carvings, and in the middle of it all was a huge stone gate.

"A dungeon," an obvious guess. "But that aside, how am I supposed to get back up there? Is there some exit in this dungeon or something?"

Vermouth looked up at the crack she fell into. She could try climbing up, but who knows how long that will take. And she doesn't have any experience with rock climbing in the first place. And this is a dungeon, come on! It's a fountain of loot waiting to be dried of its treasures! And this one has been hidden from the rest of the player base! (She guessed since she didn't see any other entrances aside from the crack she fell into.) It is an untapped treasure trove only she knows of! No way should she pass up on it!

So obviously, there is only one real and logical action for Vermouth to take here. For Vermouth, that is. While still a gamer, Vermouth was actually an FPS gamer much like her sister. She has played some MMOs, but only on her phone, and not to the point that she would have developed a common sense for what to expect. She doesn't have the same common sense as MMO players regarding dungeons. The preparations needed for a successful dive, and the things to expect. The only thing she knows is that there are traps, monsters, and boss monsters. Nothing about floors, floor bosses, puzzles, and all those dungeoneering things that we experts know.

In the first place, how could she be so sure that this is, indeed, a dungeon? Perhaps, her optimism? Or her eagerness to explore a dungeon that no other players have entered just yet?

"Onwards! To Vermouth's first dungeon exploring!" She shouted in excitement as she ran toward the stone gate and pushed it open, sliding smoothly across the ground even with its age.

Vermouth let the magic missiles inside and peeked through the small opening she had made. Just a corridor, nothing as bad as an ambush just yet. Judging the entrance to be safe, Vermouth stepped into the stone flooring, her boots making pleasant silent taps on the ground.

Vermouth turned around and stared at the gate with gleeful anticipation. Just as she had expected, the gate slammed closed. Vermouth tried pushing or pulling, and it wouldn't budge a single inch. That makes it official, she is now trapped in this place with the only available option is to move forward. Despite the seemingly dire situation, Vermouth moved forward eagerly.

Similar to the outside, the inside walls were covered in carvings, even the pillars had some going up to the ceiling, everything was riddled with carvings. Even the floor she was stepping on.

At the end of the corridor was a left turn guarded by a… monster?

Vermouth was confused as she looked at the gem in front of her. It was just that, a gem with a scary face. It didn't make a sound nor did it move, It was simply staring at Vermouth with its glowing white dot for eyes. Its mouth was a simple slit that turned upwards at either end into an eerie smile.

Vermouth's hair at the back of her neck stood on end the more she stared at this eerie blood-red shiny rock. Vermouth looked away and walked down the corridor into the turn, ignoring the scary gem. At the end of the dark corridor was a right turn. Unlike the previous turn, it wasn't guarded by another gem, much to Vermouth's relief. Vermouth turned and walked down the corridor.

If this was supposed to be horror-esque, Vermouth doesn't get it. Not yet, at least. The only horror stuff she is scared of is loud and sudden jumpscares, not some eerily quiet corridors and a smiling gem.

At the end of the corridor was another gem and another left turn, but this one was visibly darker and was no longer smiling. Its mouth was now just a straight slit, while its eyes were brighter. And it was just as eerie and creepy as the other one before.

Vermouth said nothing and simply ignored it again, walking past it and turning left. Vermouth was growing impatient by now. She expected some action-filled exploration, not an endless corridor filled with creepy carvings and gems.

And just like earlier, the end of the corridor was a right turn. Vermouth ignored the similarities and turned right, already expecting there to be another gem at the end of the corridor.

And lo and behold. Another gem. this time though, it was black in color. It was still shiny, but it's just black now. Its glowing eye was now red, and it no longer has a slit mouth. Just eyes now.

Vermouth ignored it and turned left, unfazed by the creepy gem after getting used to it, and growing annoyed by the repetition. 

She wanted to fight, not do a walking simulator! And as expected, another right turn. Vermouth rolled her eyes and turned right. She started jogging in annoyance, expecting to see another gem with some kind of difference to it.

Unexpectedly, there was no longer a gem there, and no left turn either. Just a dark room she couldn't see into.

Excited for the change, Vermouth ran into the room along with the magic missiles that she had recast along the way.

As soon as she stepped into the room, flames burst out of the unlit torches mounted on the circular wall. On the opposite side of the room was a platform, and on top of it was a golden chest! This place was no doubt an arena, and Vermouth held her staff in anticipation, waiting for whatever monster was guiding that chest.

From the darker top of the room fell three objects and made dust rise from the ground. Vermouth wasn't able to see what it was, but she grinned in excitement, finally getting a sense of thrill from this seemingly dungeon of boredom.

Behind the cloud of dust were three pairs of glowing dots, while one glowed a different color. While the pairs on either side were white, the one in the middle was blood red. This is it, the monster that Vermouth has been so eagerly waiting for. Maybe it's some three-headed snake? A hydra? Whatever it was, Vermouth, couldn't wait to find out.

As the dust slowly cleared up, Vermouth gripped her staff harder in both hands, ready to cast her spells. The dust cleared up and revealed the monster that Vermouth will be fighting to its inevitable death.

And Vermouth held back a groan as she looked at the gems in the middle of the room in grim annoyance. She clicked her tongue and scratched the back of her head in annoyance, tapping the ground with the tip of her staff, her totems hitting the floor along with it. Her excitement dropped and disappeared into the ground just like the dust.

Her disappointment was as high as this room's ceiling. So high that you just couldn't see it.

'Whatever, just take the chest and leave. Getting annoyed here is a waste of time.' She thought, letting out another tongue click as she walked past the gems that she so wanted to hit with her staff.

Vermouth stepped onto the platform and approached the chest.

'Whatever's in here is probably trashy, but whatever.' Vermouth mentally cursed.

On top of the chest appeared a message, asking her if she wanted to claim the chest. She immediately tapped yes, and the chest disappeared and reappeared in one of her inventory slots.

'So that's how this place is called. Alright, understandable.'

Vermouth turned around, only to be surprised by the three gems somehow floating off the ground and all staring down at her.

'Well now, that almost made me scream. Don't do that, please,' Vermouth sweat-dropped as she looked at the three creepy gems.

Vermouth ignored the gems staring down at her. Since they weren't doing anything, why should she do something? Just because she's annoyed, doesn't mean she should act on it. She already got the reward she came for, so why get annoyed, right?

Vermouth returned to the corridor she came from and walked silently. Annoyingly, following her behind were the three floating gems, still staring down at her. Vermouth simply did her best to ignore them and started jogging, having enough of this place.

It didn't take long for her to reach the end of the corridors and return to the entrance of the dungeon. Vermouth pushed the gate open, just as smoothly as she first opened it, and stepped out.

"What a disappointment that was…" Vermouth muttered under her breath.

"Well, excuse you! If you were so eager for a fight, then you should have said something!" She heard a hoarse but high-pitched male voice from behind her.

Surprised, Vermouth turned around. Peeking behind the slowly closing gate were the three gems glaring at her. Eyebrows magically appeared above their glowing dots for eyes.

"You talk!?" She replied. "Then YOU should have said something! So I could fight you! I'm coming back, don't let the gate close!"

The gate slammed closed before Vermouth could make it back. In front of her face appeared three interfaces. One attached to the gate and the other three closer in front of her than the one on the gate.

Vermouth's annoyance shot high as she read the messages, ignoring the rewards for the moment.

Not only does everyone now know her because of her achievements(kind of too late for that), but she also cannot get the fight she wanted from those gems! Why couldn't they have just said something!? She gladly would have blurted out curses and fought them! Dang it!

"Hmph. At least the rewards will be good because of its rank," Vermouth muttered before continuing to complain. "If I just needed to be noisy to get some top-tier action, why couldn't they just say so."

Vermouth opened her inventory and took out the chests. One was golden while the other was silver. Of course, Vermouth chose to open the lesser of the two first, leaving the best one for last, as everyone should.

Vermouth tapped the chest with her finger and an interface opened, asking if she wanted to open the chest or store it in her inventory. Of course, Vermouth chose to open it.

The results were definitely satisfactory, she judged after looking at the items' descriptions.

While all the pieces had the same effect of giving her 25 WIS points and 10% M.Atk, what made this set special was its set bonus!

"A good set of armor, finally!" Vermouth shouted in joy and excitement as she immediately put the pieces of equipment on. "I could not get it from a boss like I wanted though."

Her robe was replaced by a grey-blue robe that seemed to reflect light off its surface. Her boring shirt and skirt were replaced by a similar-colored pair of garments. Her skirt was now longer, reaching down to her ankles, much to her relief. Her boots were replaced by a silver pair of boots that had a hard sole and reached up to her knees, tightly wrapped around her feet and legs by cyan-colored laces.

It was cool and much better than her previous ones, that's for sure!

She could already imagine how much longer she would last in fights with this amazing set bonus!

"Now! As for this golden chest!" Vermouth shouted excitedly as she tapped the chest. "Open!"

What she got toppled over the armor set she got. Why, because she just got the best-ever accessory!(Ignore the ones she can't equip right now.)

*****