---------LEGEND---------
PLAYER/USERNAME
Amber/Davina
Grace/Lasair
-------------------------------

November, 2044

There were still two months left before the start of the Maritime Cup and in the last month of the game they also happened to have to face other players who tried to rob them of the victory against the mini-bosses of the world if not directly being attacked by aggroed monster for the mere sake of annoying other players or make sure they don't disturb them during the battle with a mini-boss on the map. The amount of times Amber had died in these encounters and the fact that she noticed that some wizards carried weapons with them convinced her that if she had been capable of putting up some resistance when involved in close combat she would have drastically increased her survival chance.

It was for this reason that after Amber had to fight with Xia to give her the computer she made for her - and which Xia took with such a passive-aggressive attitude that it almost seemed like Amber had done her more wrong than good. - Amber decided to stop by and visit the only kendo gym in town.

The way of Water seemd like a very poetic name for a kendo gym, poetic, or an attempt to copy Bruce Lee's philosophy. In any case, Amber was welcomed inside by a secretary who asked herwho she was and if she had come for a free trial  lesson. Amber nodded to both questions and so the secretary showed her how to reach first the women's locker room and then the training room, which wit its parquet, the large paper windows on one side and the colors of the walls tried to imitate an ancient Japanese dojo. There were about twenty students who were warming up inside, there, Amber looked at everyone smiling and cheerfully waving a hand towards them, but her attention focused on a student above all, one who looked at her blanching as if she had seen a ghost.

Yup. quite strange.

"Hey there! My name is Amber,” She said as she approached the group, “I'm here to take the trial lesson, please don't be too hard on me! The closest thing to a sword I've ever held to date is a broom!”

Many students laughed, well, that's what Amber wanted. She loved seeing happy people around her and knowing that she was the cause of it pushed her forward in her dream. Among the people who didn't laugh was the red-haired girl Amber noticed earlier who had reacted so strangely to seeing her that Amber thought she was trying to ignore her.

People should never approach others when it's clear they don't want you around, Amber should be polite and do the same with the strange girl.

How about no?

"HI!" Amber approached the mysterious girl, “I'm Amber, can I help you in any way??”

“Uh, n-no…” The girl looked intensely at the floor, trying to evade Amber's gaze, “n-nice to meet you! I'm Grace and I don't need anything, thank you for... for your concern." Grace began to torture some strands of hair with a movement that suggested apprehension, “you just… just look like someone I k-know, that's all.”

That brief exchange was enough for Amber to connect the dots: the voice, the kendo school, the submissive and shy attitude, the fact that Grace had noticed the similarity between Amber and Davina... all this led her to a single conclusion."

“And you sound like someone I know,” Amber said completely casually and without stating anything specifically, “do you happen to like VRMMO-RPGs?”

“W-what?? No!" Grace flinched and waved her hands with open palms at Amber, “I'm too… too busy with ke-kendo to play video games! It would be nice but no, I don't play... yeah..." she went back to looking at the parquet in front of her feet with great interest.

What a terrible liar, typical of Lasair.

The master interrupted them with his entrance into the training room; he was a rather short man with clearly oriental features, perhaps around five feet six inches, he had black hair streaked with many gray streaks and, although not so evidently, there was the beginning of a receding hairline on his forehead. He looked at them all before parting his lips and taking a breath, “welcome everyone, before we begin I welcome Amber, who will be joining us today for a trial lesson.”

The students greeted Amber by bowing their heads and shoulders slightly after the instructor's words, she imitated them by doing the same.

“Tell me, Amber, why did you decide to try our kendo school? What are your expectations?” The teacher asked her, perhaps in an attempt to understand what was the best advice to give her and the right teaching method for her.

“Well,” Amber pursed her lips, okay, that was a little awkward, “I'm part of a team in an online video game and the type of character I created is easily killed when separated from their companions or trapped on the front lines. I'm here to learn how to defend myself enough to be able to be rescued."

Some students laughed, others nodded, to Amber's surprise the teacher was among the latter. The man in his fifties passed a hand on his chin, his dark and wise eyes seemed to study her, "your intent is laudable, there is nothing more noble than being of help to your companions, be it fact or fiction doesn't matter. I have a question: why do you want to try fighting in real life? My youngest son plays and he told me that all these video games have in-game lessons that can be taken without having to take real-life courses.”

Amber already liked that man, "it's my flaw, when I want to learn something I want to do it with my hands... my real hands", she raised her fists in mid-air, "I need to feel that I'm putting energy into it! It's the experience from reality that passes into fiction and not vice versa!"

“I like your reasoning! I hope that after class you decide to come back again, anyway, my name is Tamashiro Hisashi, but just call me Hisashi.”

"Nice to meet you!" Amber said impatiently to get to work, “I'm ready to learn!”

- - -

At the end of the lesson Amber purposely lingered in the locker room, and as soon as the opportunity presented itself, she approached Grace again, "anyway, I'm glad Genevieve passed that sword to you," Amber said in a low voice when they were almost shoulder to shoulder.

“Thank you, but she shouldn't ha…” the words died in her throat when Grace realized that she had answered Amber in a way that confirmed who she was. She's too easy to fool, sometimes. “P-please don't tell Genevieve who I really am!” She begged her almost with tears in her eyes.

“Woah woah! Calm down!” Ambier immediately replied, raising her hands in mid-air in surrender, “I have no intention of telling Genevieve who you really are, to be honest, I have no idea why you two are trying to avoid telling each other who you really are.”

“Does she… know?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Amber replied raising an eyebrow, was Grace really that thick?

“Oh…” Grace lowered her gaze to the floor, apparently she really believed that Xia didn’t know, “so… she's avoiding telling me who she is in real life on purpose. I knew it…"

“I think she's avoiding telling you for the same reason you're avoiding telling her, seriously, what the fuck? Life is short and you two play who confesses first?” Amber asked, pressing her fists on her sides.

“What… what do you mean?” Grace brought her emerald eyes back to Amber, damn, she was very cute.

Amber sighed, “I'm saying you should start taking your friendship outside of the video game, you get along very well, there's affinity between you two, every day you waste pretending you don't know each other is a day of sincere relationships you'll lose.”

What Amber said seemed to have made Grace think since she didn't answer her right away.

Amber had to wait at least twenty seconds before Grace looked back at her after a long pause that was filled with what Amber assumed to be a long series of internal monologues, “you… I-I think you're right,” Grace murmured, “y-yeah, I'll take a step forward,” but then hastily added, “just n-not right away.”

Amber rolled her eyes.

“After the tournament,” Grace said quickly, “when she gets a new VR set so I can see the expressions on her face.”

“And telling her in the real world?”

Grace shook her head vigorously and squinted, her freckled cheeks now as bright a color as her hair.

“Okay, but you have to do it, uh! Otherwise I'll tell her myself..." Amber said threateningly before hugging her, which made Grace uncomfortable just like it did when she hugged her inside LotA.

“Ok! All right! I promise I'll do it!" Grace exclaimed loudly causing a few heads to turn towards them

Amber stopped hugging her giggling and finished getting ready to leave the locker room, closed her bag and gently waved a hand at Grace.

Amber was about to pass in front of the secretary at the gym entrance when Hisashi intercepted her, "Amber, are you by any chance planning to join?"

Amber smiled slightly and nodded a few times.

“Splendid!” He clapped his hands once, rubbing them together, "so, if I may... do you have a quarter of an hour to dedicate to me? If I understand what you plan to do to become capable of defending yourself in this game, I have something to offer you."

Amber had already brought the 'new' computer to Xia, her mother had made all the appointments for the day and she still had free time, furthermore, she was extremely curious. "Agree! I have time!"

And there Amber discovered the perfect weapons for squishy characters: polearms.

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