Red

             Red hair, streaming behind him in a bloody wave, and icy eyes that challenged the blue of the ocean and matched its depth. His skin was tan, yet unblemished. He wore a loose white shirt whose ‘v’ of a neck hung loosely, almost revealing the first letter of an italicized tattoo on this man’s chest. His black pants whipped against the wind as he ran. The terrain was a desert whose sands whipped up around him, threatening to stain the man’s pearly shirt. It was without a doubt the man was headed towards a small building just slightly getting larger as he neared it.

This building hid a town that itself was underground, where the air was cooler. It was but a mere hut that held a staircase to one underground fortress among many. This building, as the red-haired man neared it, was made of straw. It was comparable to the Indian tepees found in children’s books. The red-haired man neared it, and pulled open a wooden door on straw hinges. The rest of the hut was entirely straw, as the red-haired man notices when he opened the door. Directly inside the door stood a man just shorter than the red-haired one. This man had paler skin, and tawny brown hair. He was wearing armor, and a face mask that hid his eyes. His armor was silvery, though obviously made of a cheap metal. Hanging above the man in white letters was: David Moroe LV. 41. The red-haired man coolly assessed David.

“Identification?” David asked, revealing himself to be a guard despite it being printed on his armor in bold letters.

“You know who I am.” The red-haired man challenged in an amused tone.

“Protocol.” David responded.

The red-haired man lunged towards David, plucking away a device the guard had hidden in the palm of his hand. He plucked a ring off of his other hand, drawing attention to it. The outside of the band was plain silver, but the inside held an encryption and a barcode. The text was italicized and read: Ab nihil, sto. The red-haired man pulled the trigger of what looked like a handgun, but what came out was a ret stream of light rather than a piece of tarnished metal. The red-haired man returned the device to the guard David, and waited. A person entered the shack behind him, but he did not acknowledge her.

Above her head was the text: Alizabeth Johansen LV. 37. She was wearing thin and light armor that looked stronger and shinier than the guard’s. She had a miniskirt with leg armor underneath, but hers was made of silver. Her shoes were simple sandals. She held out her wrist before the guard could say anything. Her wrist held a barcode, like the red-haired man‘s ring. This girl was buzzing with excitement, and she wasn’t unattractive. She had waist-length brown hair that may explain why her level was low. Her weapon, a large sword, was removed from her attire as soon as she’d entered. Her head was shaped like an almond, and her eyes were wider than most, giving her an innocent look. Her eyes were the color of amber, and her lips were small and soft.

Almost just beneath the red-haired man’s feet a slab of sand slid open, revealing a staircase that the red-haired man then followed.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” The girl asked in a soft voice filled with wonder. “You’re Red.”

The red-haired man turned, and coolly assessed her. His gaze froze her in her tracks, and she gulped in fear. Sighing, as though he had resigned himself to do something he hadn’t the slightest desire to do, he responded. “I am not red, nor is ‘Red’ my name.”

Confusion spread across her face, and that confusion had only lasted as anger for a split second before the red-haired man smirked and added: “But I am called that quite often,” in an amused tone.

“So it’s true, then. I mean, you must be rich to not have your barcode on your person.  You must be powerful, too, to not be wearing armor when you had obviously been above, where some stronger monsters are.”

The red-haired man turned, stifling a laugh. He walked down the stairs, and just before they parted ways, he said: “Well, as I haven’t the slightest need for money, I figured I could afford it all. The ring, the hair, the leveling.”

“Wait! Do you mean that red isn’t-“

Her voice died. The man with red hair was gone. Her shoulders slumped, and she went to the quest board to try to level up some.

 

The red-haired man was walking, alone, through a tunnel. It was sandy orange and dark brown, and there was sand at his feet. He sighed. He was now wearing a blue coat that matched his midnight eyes but for golden trim, and slacks just a single shade darker. His hair was pulled up in a ponytail with a gold band, and he walked confidently, as a prince might. There was a thin, but long sword at his waist. His tunnel reached a “T”, one end of which was a dead end, the other turned, leaving said dead end invisible. He heard voices, though.

“You sure you need that? A pretty little girl like you would do better as a healer.” A masculine voice said. Red turned to ignore them, but a familiar voice shouted: “Stop! Stop! Please!”

Alizabeth, from earlier. In an instant, Red’s sword was unsheathed. He walked towards them.

“Pardon the intrusion, but I believe the girl has made a request of you.” He calmly said, and three men turned to look at him. They were burly, and big, with the first names: Joe, Marcus, and Pete.

“Who the Hell are you?” demanded Joe, the highest-leveled amongst them at level 50.

“Wrong question,” Red responded. “You should grovel at my feet, stupid 40’s.”

“What was that?” demanded Joe, obviously offended. He was offended, at least, until he realized the stranger had identified the base range of his group’s levels. Then he was shocked.

“H-How did you-? Only cheaters can-!” He broke off twice.

“R-Red… Run away. Leave me here.” Alizabeth smiled weakly.

“Did she just call him ‘Red’?” Asked the one called ‘Pete’.

“Yes, she did.” Red responded calmly. “Though it is a nickname without definition, it’s all I got. That, or tell the world my real name. I find that quite useless, though.”

“Well, are you three going to attack me or run like the cowards you are?” Red smirked, sheathing his sword.

“He just sheathed his sword!”

“Did you see that?”

“He thinks we’re going to run.”

Marcus lunged at Red, but the man simply laughed and stepped to the side. Though he hardly moved a foot, this small step seemed enough to get out of Marcus’s direct line of fire. He flicked the man on the nose, as one might do to a misbehaved pet. “Down, boy.” He commanded, amusement in his tone.

“1000 points of damage sustained. Initiating FAINT sequence. Force logout will commence in… 29, 28, 27…”

A metallic voice had said that, but Red spoke over it as though he was used to it. “So, how about it? Still think I’m going to need that sword?”

Joe looked at Red, then looked at Alizabeth. “I still have my pride.”

“Ah, I see. Then I’ll just remove her from your hands. Congratulations. You just survived an encounter with me. Why don’t you put a few fake cuts on yourself and say they’re scars I inflicted?”

Red was long gone before Joe could answer, and he had taken Alizabeth with him.

 

“I apologize for my misconduct. I do hope I made it in time and you are not physically harmed?”

“You’re a monster.” Alizabeth whispered. “You barely touched him and he fainted and was forced to lock out. What level are you?”

“Well, when you have as much free time as I do, you get so bored that leveling is the only thing you can think of.”

“Who are you?”

“Just call me ‘Red’, as you were before. My true name means nothing.”

“I’m-“

“Alizabeth Johansen, a level 37. I know. Before you ask how, money and EXP points can get you anything.”

“Please call me ‘Liza’. Like in the song about the bucket with a hole in it?”

Red paced back and forth carefully, not knowing what he should do. His expression kept shifting, as if he was considering a vast number of things. “Why were you out there?” He asked in a stern voice, as in: Why were you out there where everybody is level forty or higher, when you’re only a level 37?

“I was looking for something.”

He gave a curt nod, and didn’t press further. “Were you also trying to level up?”

“Well of course I was! Isn’t everyone?”

Red plucked a small knife out of thin air. “Slice my skin open.” He ordered.

She looked at the knife in his outstretched hand like it was about to kill her. “I can’t do that! You’re practically a legend-No, strike that: You are a legend, not to mention you saved me! I can’t just-“

“You can either slice my skin open, or this knife can slip from my hand and land on your foot. If I can inflict 1000 points of damage in one flick, imagine what a dropped sharp object can do.”

She took the knife from him warily and pressed the blade to his wrist. Blood pooled, and she realized the knife must be very sharp to be owned by someone as strong as Red.

+1 Level

They both acknowledged it, then watched as it appeared about twenty more times. Liza was raised to level seventy-four just from slicing open Red’s skin.

Power: 437

Stamina: 219

Speed: 405

ALIZABETH JOHANSEN IS NOW LOGGED OUT.

 

Somewhere in southern California, a girl who was almost identical to her avatar removed a shiny, black helmet. At the foot of her plain, white bed with plain, white sheets sat a girl with darker hair. She had pale, blue eyes and a softer, more ovular�"shaped face. Her eyes sparkled with amusement.

“I saw him.” Liza whispered.

“What? Who?” demanded her friend, who was growing irritated.

“Red. Oh, my god. Red was in a VR game of the day. He talked to me. He… He saved me, and then…”

“Slow down. What happened?”

Liza filled her friend in on the encounter at the shack, and then the reunion at the cave. Her voice trembled. “He was terrifying. I mean, I knew that he was strong, but he was kind, too. He was terrifying, and then calm, and then terrifying again. I think he was trying to be nice, but… He doubled my levels just by me slicing open his wrist.”

“You deserve to be terrified, judging by the fact that you’re playing VRs for over an hour, while your best friend sits at the foot of your bed nearly bored to death! Not to mention, you’re totally drooling over a man who won’t even give you his real name, even though you aren’t single! See, this is why I stick to puzzle games.”

              "H-He was terrifying." Liza repeated. She didn't hear what her friend said next. She was in a haze.

Author's Note

Ehh... I actually did this a few weeks ago. Well, I don't know if I'm going to do something on this or not. Opinions are welcome. Very welcome. Please, please, please! I don't even know if this is worth doing something with, here!