Prisoners of VR

"Meeowww!" The Cats became enraged when one of them was killed. The slap by the large-leaved plant was brutally powerful. The targeted Cat's skull had cracked from the impact.

The attacker had vanished underground, but it seemed the Cats were aware of the perpetrator's identity as they charged in a particular direction.

"What happened?" Trot asked as he couldn't see from his position behind the bush. He dusted himself when a scout ant climbed up his arm.

"There's a Rat Dungeon here. One of them used a Skill to kill a Cat and steal its food." Rahu said and propped Trot up, "They are probably rushing towards the Rat Dungeon. Let's go."

The duo trailed after the charging Cats, tracking their presence through their incessant screeches. The Cats were triggered by the death of their brethren and were now out for blood.

Five minutes later, Rahu and Trot arrived before a small mound barely a couple metres tall. Affixed within it was a portal, situated under a root cluster that formed the words, 'Grass-Tailed Rat Dungeon.'

The portal was barely a metre tall, too small for a person to walk into. Upon seeing the Cats rush through the portal, Rahu muttered after a bit of thought, "Let me go and see first."

"Be careful," Trot said and took hold of Rahu's luggage.

Without any weight to hinder him, Rahu relaxed his aching muscles and crawled through the portal, staring at a narrow cave beyond. There was only enough space for him to crawl through, 'I won't be able to fight here.'

He exited it soon after, sighing as he stared at Trot, "This isn't feasible."

The tunnel was dark and narrow, making it impossible for a human to move through it and fight. Secondly, it was a maze with dozens of twists and turns. Thirdly, this was only in terms of the main tunnels which were at least wide enough for a person to crawl through. There were hundreds of smaller tunnels through which only Rats could move.

Somehow, grass grew in these tunnels, which meant the Rats could attack him anytime using a Skill. He would be helpless to defend against them.

"Is our only option to wait for the Cats to return?" Trot sighed.

"Yeah," Rahu nodded as he hid himself in a secure location, "Hopefully, the Dungeon of the Cats can be raided."

They waited there for an hour. And soon enough, the over thirty cats that had entered the Dungeon began to exit. Their numbers had been reduced to about twenty, some of them which were in a bloody state.

Each Cat dragged a basket seemingly weaved from grass. Contained in each were the corpses of Rats, at least a dozen in number. They had a successive haul of food.

The Cats were exhausted as they dragged their respective haul and proceeded to walk in a certain direction. Upon noticing that, Rahu nodded at Trot, implying the latter to rush in the respective direction and confirm the presence of a Dungeon there.

As Trot sneaked away, Rahu patiently trailed the group of cats and observed their behaviour. Twenty minutes later, Trot returned and said in excitement, "It's the Wood-Claw Cat Dungeon. I found it. But there are too many Cats in the Dungeon's vicinity. We can only raid it after coming up with a plan."

"Great," Rahu smiled and slammed the ground, activating the Skill of Bamboo Spike six times, expending over 210 Brainpower.

As the Cats were exhausted from the battle they had just been through, they were a tad late in reacting. Bamboo Spikes jutted out of the ground and pierced their bodies. Rahu aimed in such a way that each Bamboo Spike pierced through at least three Cats.

Only one Cat survived the ambush which was dealt with by Trot. With that, they gained a bunch of Invoker Crystals, belonging to both the Cats and Rats. Rahu picked an Invoker Crystal from a Cat at random and observed its stats.

[Skill: Wood Nail]

[Grade: Moderate]

[Brainpower: 65]

[Willpower: 12]

[Empower: 3]

This was the Skill used by the Cat to lodge a wooden nail deep into the ground to anchor the dam. It was a Skill that would be useful in a variety of situations, especially in construction. It would save them a lot of time in digging and anchoring wooden pillars for their wall.

Rahu extracted the Invoker Crystals, seeing most of them containing the Wood Nail Skill. He soon found the second Skill employed by the Cats and observed its stats.

[Skill: Wood Cutter]

[Grade: Inferior]

[Brainpower: 10]

[Willpower: 1]

[Empower: 1]

The function of this Skill was to cut into wood. The range was limited, but it was very valuable, especially considering their current situation with a massive need for construction tools. The Wood Cutter Skill would come in handy to speed up the process.

Considering its varied uses, he equipped it immediately. Trot too took his pick from the Skills and also reserved a batch for his friends.

Rahu put a couple of Invoker Crystals in the fist-sized bamboo container slung around Trot's neck, "Logout and check if these Invoker Crystals are brought with you to Larkrood Village once you log in."

"I'll return here immediately." Saying so, Trot logged out. But as Rahu expected, the unequipped Invoker Crystals weren't considered part of his accessory. Hence, when he logged out, two Invoker Crystals fell to the ground.

"This makes things more troublesome." Sighing, Rahu picked up the two Invoker Crystals and stored them. Normally, when they logged out, any equipment on their self was considered as part of their clothes.

As a result, it arrived with them when they logged in to Larkrood Village. But Invoker Crystals weren't considered as part of their clothes. Hence, it was troublesome to hold onto them.

There was no concept of inventory here. Meaning, they can't hide the Invoker Crystals. Anyone could steal them, especially since they didn't come under the logout and login mechanic used by the users to shorten their travel distance, as Rahu and Trot did while searching for Dungeons.

A way to safely store them was to bury them in a safe spot like they were a treasure and hope no one else stumbles upon them. The only other way was to keep them in the custody of someone. But that too posed its share of risks, with trust and accountability coming into play.

After forming a group, they'll transfer the Invoker Crystals to someone online in Worldcraft every time they log out. But if a third party comes to know of this information, they could steal it or beat it out of the person.

There was no law in place at Worldcraft to guarantee the safety of anything. Until now, if someone fell under harm, they'll log out to safety. If someone tried to force their beliefs or self on someone, the victim could avoid it by logging out. When they return, they'll arrive at Larkrood Village.

This logout mechanism was what prevented Worldcraft from turning into a lawless haven for the twisted. But this will change once people come into possession of Worldcraft's wealth-Invoker Crystals.

A user could only equip six Invoker Crystals. If unequipped, the respective Invoker Crystal would shatter. So, any unequipped Invoker Crystal they gain possession of should be carried on their body, which meant it'll be dropped when the user logs out.

"Until a monetary system is installed, owning these Invoker Crystals does more harm than good." Rahu sighed, firming his incentive to kill the Grass-Faced Dungeon Boss ten times. That way, he would gain the authority to install a bank that would act as a safe for the Invoker Crystals and disperse currency using them as a pledge.

It was apparent that Trot understood the mechanic once he logged in to Larkrood Village and failed to detect the two Invoker Crystals in the fist-sized bamboo container slung around his neck. While he made his way toward Rahu, the person in question began to collect Invoker Crystals from the Rats.

[Skill: Leaf Swatter]

[Grade: Inferior]

[Brainpower: 15]

[Willpower: 3]

[Empower: 2]

Not only was Leaf Swatter Skill cheap to use, but it also possessed potent destructive power, even if it could only be used once upon activation. It could be installed in the game they were currently playing at the Grass-Faced Monkey Dungeon to further enrich the experience.

In just one ambush, they harvested a total of 33 Invoker Crystals. 27 Leaf Swatter Skills, 4 Wood Nail Skills, and 2 Wood Cutter Skills.

Among them, Rahu equipped a Wood Cutter Skill and Leaf Swatter Skill, since he felt they conformed to his fighting style. At present, he had four Skills in total: Grass Stick, Bamboo Spike, Wood Cutter, and Leaf Swatter.

Grass Stick was useless as it was just an entry-level Skill. He planned to swap it out once he obtains better Skills.

Once Trot returned, they packed their belongings, scouted the Wood-Claw Cat Dungeon's surroundings, and began to make their way to the Grass-Faced Monkey Dungeon.

"Will this work?" Trot felt nervous.

"Yes," Rahu nodded in assurance as he entered the Grass-Faced Monkey Dungeon and walked past the crowd of people. He entered the forest as his uVR Earth in reality shone jade, causing the Liger to possess his senses.

That was instantly reflected in his Woof character in Worldcraft as Rahu unleashed a predator's bloodlust, causing the monkeys to give way naturally. He calmly walked through the thicket of trees and stopped before a certain tree and looked up, "Will you come out? Or shall I rampage here a little?"

From behind a group of Monkeys on a branch walked out a seemingly unassuming Monkey, without the bamboo crown it originally wore. It was the Grass-Faced Monkey Dungeon's Dungeon Boss, having camouflaged itself among its brethren to watch the activities of the Elven Race.

It stared at Rahu, nervous as its limbs shivered under the killing intent he emitted. It slowly opened its mouth and uttered, "What...do...you...want..."

"Woof?"