Ch2 - Differences

The player's interface is gone and I'm unable to log out because of it. I didn't notice before because I usually focus on the monster while I'm hunting. You may not be able to respond in time if you’re attacked when you’re focusing on your health and stamina bar.

Now that I think back to my fight against Steela, it felt strange, different from usual. Everything felt more realistic. I felt the 'pain' when I was hit, but no fatal hits of course. I just felt the backlash from when I was deflecting some of the attacks that I was unable to dodge.

DHO is a VRMMORPG but the technology is still not advanced enough to be able to replicate all five senses. Currently, there are only two senses integrated into all VR, sight and hearing. There's no sense of touch, taste nor smell. But, pain is a part of touch, right? Is this part of the new update? Has technology finally made a breakthrough in replicating the other senses now?

With that thought in mind, I promptly started to test out various things regarding the other three senses. 

To test the first and most important sense, touch, I tried touching my right arm with my left hand. It actually felt ticklish. In order to finalise and confirm my thoughts, I lifted up my right hand and swung it towards my face with moderate strength. 

"Ow!"

I cried out in pain, as tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes.

Yes, I did just slap myself. I wanted to make sure that I didn't fall asleep halfway through the hunt and started dreaming unknowingly. If someone actually saw me, they would definitely start to doubt my sanity. At least the pain makes me feel a little more awake now...

My brain lagged for a moment while it was still trying to make sense of what happened, before I moved on to test taste and smell.

To test both taste and smell at the same time, I took out a melon bread from my waist pouch.

Most items in DHO are stored in the waist pouch for easy access. It would be annoying if I had to open the item menu from the player's interface every time I needed to use an item, right? Especially when I'm in the middle of a fight.

I then brought the bread close to my nose and took a sniff of it. 

It actually has a faint sweet aroma!

Without wasting another moment, I bit down onto the soft, sweet-smelling bread.

"Mmh! It's sweet!"

The taste of the melon bread is sweet, matching the faint scent of sweetness it's giving out. The once tasteless bread that's used to increase max stamina actually has a sweet taste!

*Gulp* (swallow)

After all the tests I did, I came up with two possible conclusions. 

One: The new update just came in but there are a lot of bugs. One which removed the entire player's interface, which leaves me unable to log out.

Two: DHO somehow or another became real.

Honestly, I'd bet my premium cake on the latter. I hope there is a way for me to confirm this quickly, but for now, I'll just finish up my bread first.

>POV of a hunter<

Around me, are around a hundred of A-rank and B-rank hunters combined. We’ve gathered to chase away the elder dragon that was recently sighted in this forest, or if we are more ambitious, slay it. 

But honestly, even with a hundred of us here, I'm still not confident that we can even drive out the elder dragon from the forest. Normally, only a group of S-rank hunters are able to defeat an elder dragon. There are currently eleven S-rank hunters, but all of them are either too far away, or are already out on another mission.

Nearing the point where the colossal beast was last sighted, we all freeze up as a sudden screeching roar echoes throughout the woods. Birds can be seen flying away in panic from the direction of the roar.

After regaining my senses, I can see everyone tensing up, some of them re-gripping their weapons for the sense of security. At the same time, I can feel drops of sweat rolling down my forehead and the beating of my heart getting faster and louder.

Six hunters, including me, are sent out in pairs to scout ahead of the main party in three different directions towards the roar. I’m paired with my best friend, Thomas, and we’re heading straight towards the direction of the roar.

If we didn't lose a game of rock-paper-scissors, I would not have even dreamed about being the scapegoat to check out the source directly.

"W-what is the meaning of this?"

I mumbled, surprised by the scene which unfolded before my eyes. 

When I turn over to look at Thomas, he has this amazing expression with both his eyes and mouth wide open. I bet he wouldn't even realise it if a fly flew into his mouth.

Just a few metres in front of us is the body of an unmoving elder dragon. I can tell at a single glance that even with a hundred of us, we never would have been able to survive this battle, even if we were just trying to chase it away.

However, what surprised us even more is the figure of a young girl standing alongside the armoured dragon. She looks to be around a hundred and sixty centimetres tall with long silver hair, which falls to slightly below her waist. Her skin is as white as snow, which contrasts nicely with the black clothing she is wearing. Her eyes are shining in a golden colour, as if they are reflecting the colours of the Sun. Wearing a halter top blouse and a pair of hot pants that show off her gorgeous thighs, while her exposed back is covered by a hooded cape, which falls to her knees. Her figure was so alluring that I was unable to take my eyes off her. This girl is what one would call a beauty and it’s no exaggeration to say that she may even be the most beautiful girl in this world. She's wearing this delightful face as she chomps into the bread she's holding in her hand.

Several minutes had already passed before I snapped out of my trance state.

After regaining my senses, I tap on Thomas's shoulder to grab his attention. 

"Wa!…"

Thomas was so surprised by my touch that he leaked out a stupid sounding cry.

I then look back at the girl in panic and froze. The girl is looking right back at us with a surprised expression.

After a few seconds of silence, I can hear an angelic, bell-like voice calling out to us.