Michael
As more people woke up, they began gathering into multiple groups. There were far too many of them to form a single one.
Earth mages were creating stone benches in circles for everyone to sit on as they discussed the situation.
Sarah and Victor went back out to find more people, after Michael, Luna, and Amber joined one of the groups. The people who were already gathered gave them a rundown of what they knew so far.
First, the bodies everyone has now are the ones they had in the game, appearing exactly as they were the moment the incident happened. Some players had been in the middle of a fight and had injuries. Thankfully, people who could heal managed to take care of everyone before anyone died.
For Michael, this meant that because his character had been an elf woman when it occurred, that’s what he ended up here as.
I’m glad I wasn’t playing around and making a joke character or anything like that at least…
Second, there is no UI at all. Not even one person has been able to access it so far.
Third, everything feels real now, and small tests people performed concluded that everyone’s bodies now experience sensations just as they would in reality.
Fourth, everyone only has basic clothes. Michael hadn’t actually considered that one beyond the initial observation, but it means no one has any of their gear from the game.
Fifth, everyone still has access to their magic, but using it causes an actual physical sensation now. People who used magic more in the game are having an easier time casting spells and are capable of more.
Michael and Amber both did quick tests and found the feeling similar to when their blood was pumping after exercise, though they weren’t left physically tired or anything.
Michael also realized that he would have to approach magic differently, as he was using [Water] now, not [Wind]. Something he noted was that he still had the mana pool of his actual avatar, so it wasn’t as if he had to restart from scratch.
Sixth, everyone experienced the exact same thing. They had all just been playing the game when they suddenly lost consciousness, then woke up in pain in this room. After comparing stories, the only thing they had in common was that they had all been playing on the same server.
And the seventh and final point, was that they couldn’t find a way out of this room yet. There were no exits at all. The structure also seemed enchanted, as earth mages were unable to get very far into the stone in any direction. It seemed that magic of any element or modifier was entirely unable to do anything.
Faint lines in the shape of a massive doorway were discovered along one wall, but nobody had been able to do anything there so far.
As the players continued to wake up, coordinated escape attempts began. People tried everything they could on any surface, but no progress had been made so far.
And then… something terrifying happened. They had to build a bathroom. Something that was most definitely not a necessity in the game.
“Michelle, you’ll be okay, alright?” Amber comforted him. She and Luna were both looking at him with concern.
“I-I know, but…” he began, "that isn’t something I ever wanted to experience.”
“It'll probably feel strange, but it’s not like you’ll be getting harmed or anything.”
“Y-Yeah…”
“And you actually have an advantage.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“You have water magic now. So you can, you know, easily wash yourself with that. And you can probably just whisk away all the moisture when you’re done, too.”
He splashed some water on his arm, then concentrated on grabbing it with his magic and pulling it off. Just like Amber had suggested, he was able to do it. He also tried evaporating it, but wasn’t sure how to go about doing that and didn’t get any results there.
Amber said, “There, see? I actually really wish I had that much right now. I don’t like the idea of making toilet paper out of rocks.”
“Yeah… I guess that is a positive for me. Thank you.”
“You can do it, Mom!” Luna cheered. From the look on her face, she didn’t understand his concerns, but had been worried about him.
He laughed a little at her enthusiasm. “Oh, Luna. Yeah, I’ll be able to do this.”
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Amber
Over the next several hours, everyone else had finally awoken. There were already plenty of people doing their hardest to escape, so Amber was fine with remaining seated. She felt she was needed here rather than attacking a wall.
She was worried about her friend and his daughter. Everyone was inexplicably forced into this strange and stressful situation, but Michael was in a drastically different body than his own. And much to hers and his confusion, he wasn’t feeling any discomfort.
She had some theories about that, but she wouldn’t voice them here. She had known him for several years now, and he had never really shown any signs of gender dysphoria in the past. She wasn’t going to rule out him being trans or anything just yet, but for now, they had bigger worries.
While numerous people attempted everything from brute force to subtle strategy to escape the room, Amber remained here. Together with Michael, they worked on distracting Luna.
An easy way to do that was to practice magic. It felt different now, and using it extensively would result in actual physical exhaustion rather than just an empty gauge on the UI and a low stamina debuff like before.
In Michael’s case, he had to learn how to use water magic more effectively. Because it was fluid, it wasn’t too far off from wind in some ways, so that part wasn’t too hard. But his previous modifier was for cutting things, and his current one results in ice.
So Michael began learning how to use ice with Luna, though in her case, she has to learn magic from scratch.
As for the bathroom, Michael managed just fine. He came out of the makeshift room scowling a little, but didn’t say anything.
“Mom, when can we log out? I want to go home,” Luna said.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know. But I promise you we’ll log out the very second we get the chance, okay?” Michael replied.
“Okay…”
More hours passed, and Luna was now sleeping against Michael, despite all the noise going on. With nothing else for the two adults to do, they talked about their hobbies outside of gaming.
They had been friends for years now, so they already knew a lot of each other’s interests, but hadn’t been able to spend as much time with each other this past year, so this was as good an opportunity as any to catch up.
Amber talked about recent cosplays she’d done, and the details of the costumes and all the careful crafting that had gone into them.
Michael talked about his plans for the various motorcycle parts in his garage, as well as the work he’d done to create, repair, and customize things how he wanted.
It’s nice to finally catch up with him, though I really wish it was under better circumstances.
It was yet another hour later that the lines on the wall began to glow, and a real doorway was forming. People practically stampeded it, but then those in its immediate vicinity began collapsing.
A paralysis debuff… A strong one, too, considering how powerful some of those people must’ve been.
The stampede halted as people considered their options. Some tried long-range attacks from outside the debuff's range, but they were all deflected by a barrier.
The door opened, and a well-dressed, middle-aged man with red hair stepped through, followed by several subordinates.
With his arms behind his back, he spoke loudly, “Ah, good to see all of you awake! Here’s what’s in store for your future: You obey us, and we don’t kill you.”
He spoke in a language that no one in the room had ever heard before, yet somehow, everyone understood it perfectly.
He snapped his fingers, and the subordinates pulled several carts forward. He reached into one and pulled out a metal collar.
Holding it high so everyone could see, he said, “I’ll be back in one hour. I expect every single one of these to be around your necks. For every collar that remains vacant, one hundred of you will be killed.”
He briskly turned around and left the room with all his subordinates behind him. The doors shut and returned to their sealed state.
A moment of silence passed before the cavern erupted into a cacophony of panicked yelling and shouting. Luna held tightly onto her dad, who held her in return.
The paralyzed people began standing back up, and other than some minor aftereffects, they remained unharmed. They looked like crap, though.
Whatever those guys used must’ve on them been pretty nasty to leave an aftereffect like that.
As everyone bickered and argued, desperately coming up with answers and solutions, Michael said, “Amber! Can you hold onto Luna for a minute?”
“What!? Why?! Where are you going?!” she asked.
“I’m not going anywhere, but I’m going to get up and yell some things.”
“What? Why are you…? No, you must have something in mind. Okay.”
Looking at his daughter, he told her, “Luna, I’m not going anywhere, but I need to get up. But I’ll still be right here, okay?”
“O-Okay… M-Mom,” the young girl stuttered.
With Luna safely in Amber's arms, Michael stood up on the bench. As loudly as he could, he shouted, “HEY! IF THEY WANTED TO COLLAR US, THEN WHY WOULD THEY WAIT FOR US TO WAKE UP?!
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“IF THEY COULD PARALYZE EVERY ONE OF US SO EASILY, THEN WHY DIDN’T THEY DO IT?!
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“IF THEY REALLY WANTED TO THREATEN US, THEY WOULD’VE BROUGHT MORE PEOPLE AND DONE SOME ACTUAL DAMAGE! THEY’RE BLUFFING!”
The whole place was in such chaos that only a small amount of people heard him yell, but it was enough. Those words soon began to spread. He stared angrily from atop the bench, and once he saw people beginning to settle down slightly, he returned to his seat.
Michael glanced nervously at Luna, worried he might’ve scared her.
“Mom, that was cool!” Luna exclaimed.
“It was?” he asked in surprise.
“Yeah! I want to yell at people just like you!”
He facepalmed while chuckling exasperatedly. “Luna… Only if it’s necessary, okay?”
“Okay!” she nodded eagerly.
Despite the situation, Amber still managed to joke with her friend, “Yes, you were very cool, Michelle.”
Seems like he’s doing alright, all things considered. I hope he doesn’t break down or something later. Well, if he does, that’s why I’m here.
As they would find out in the coming minutes, Michael hadn’t been the only one who had noticed those oddities. There were other observations that people had made as well, and various theories and plans were forming.
Earth mages were called up to construct walls around the door. And though they were only able to dig around half a meter deep, they constructed pitfalls as well. There wasn’t a lot of time, but they began reinforcing the walls and building more of them. Amber left to go help for a bit, leaving Michael and Luna on the bench.
In the little time they had, rudimentary strategies were formed. No one had any weapons or armor at all, meaning they would have to rely entirely on magic and physical strength. Fortunately, some of the players here were powerful enough to pull off some rather nasty spells if needed.
About half an hour after the mysterious people left, the room began sporadically rumbling, causing dust to fall from the ceiling. The tension that had only slightly calmed down a few minutes ago was now even stronger. Their only exit was currently sealed, and they had no idea what might be waiting for them on the other side.
