NOIM; Connected Worlds

Although they were awed by Edizon's performance, that didn't stop the two from staring daggers at each other. Edizon at the middle could only sigh to himself... 'These two ladies were truly fierce...' Noticing the facial expression of the two, he immediately thought of something to ease the tension...

*Clap!*

"Everyone sorry for the commotion. Please proceed with what you were doing initially. Again, we apologize." Edizon said in a well-modulated tone. His voice was commanding but it was simply too good to the ears, paired with his charming smile, It was enough to immediately ease out the situation and stop the two from creating anymore destruction.

***

"Wow... Is he the manager? How handsome..."

*giggle* *giggle*

"Hmm... The manager of the Cafe seems okay."

"I know right. Such a young and capable man."

"Ahhh, if only my son could be like him, I'll die with no regrets."

"Julie, my daughter. Remember to set him as your standards. Only a man at his level is good enough for you."

"Mom!"

***

'Tsch, show off.' Isabella could not help but roll her eyes as he muttered to herself.

After noticing that most of the people already resumed with what they were doing. Edizon held both of the women in red's hands and said with a gentle face...

"I really apologize for all of this. Are you hurt anywhere?"

Selena's face turned slightly red. The man in front of her was simply amazing. She shook her head lightly while looking down the floor.

"You should get another pair of pastries, just tell them it's a gift from the manager. I recommend the Cheesecakes on the second layer of the fridge, I made them my self. We'll be going now." Edizon smiled before leaving.

"Thank you..."

*Crackle* *Crackle* *Crackle*

Noticing the scene right before her eyes, Isabella was starting to get more and more annoyed. Her face was already twitching from anger. She didn't try to hide her anger anymore as she was whispering to herself...

'Huh?... You didn't even ask me if I'm alright? What do you like about this bitch anyway?' Isabella looked at Selena from top to bottom.

Noticing that Isabella was staring at the two of them, Selena raised her left eyebrow and portrayed a teasing smile before turning around and walking towards the counter with her companion.

'I really should've beaten this bitch up!'

Isabella took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. After a few moments... She called Alice who was happily watching the scene with William.

"Alice! Let's..."

But before she could even finish, Edizon interjected. His face was as calm as ever, painted with the same gentle smile as earlier. Isabella couldn't help but get more annoyed after seeing the expression of Edizon. She ignored him and tried to go to his left, but Edizon predicted her and blocked the path again. Edizon continued smiling the whole time as he purposely looked at her eyes.

"What the hell is your problem?" Isabella asked in a cold tone. She finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Shall we?"

"..."

'Why should I...' Isabella was lost in thought after hearing Edizon's words.

'This man really just doesn't make sense.' Isabella thought to herself. But after seeing him up close, she suddenly recalled her dream earlier... Her face started to turn a bit red as she noticed that Edizon's hand was already at the left part of her back. She tried to say something but being lost for words she could only allow the lecher to do as he pleased. Edizon invited Alice and William before guiding Isabella towards the 2nd floor.

'Tsch! This womanizer! Why did I even come here? There must be something wrong with my head today.' Isabella was biting her lips as they were climbing upstairs. How could she allow herself to be manipulated so easily?

...

*

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*

Cafe Orathoria, Second Floor.

The scene was filled with silence. It has been four years since then, plus they have barely interacted with each other...

"Isabella your drink." Alice spoke in a low tone, pushing the cup towards Isabella. The cup was already at the center of the table and there was no need for her assistance, she only did it just so she could break this awkward scene in front of her. The three only looked at her for a second before continuing their own business.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"It's nice here." It was Alice again, she continued to break the total silence in the room. But again, there was no follow up. Although she felt embarrassed, she could only mutter to herself...

'Jeeze, what's wrong with these people?' Although Alice was annoyed, she didn't give up and tried to probe another question.

"You guys are gonna go play NOIM right?" Alice asked. Hearing this Edizon and William exchanged gazes before resuming with their own business, Isabella didn't even bother to glance at Alice as she continued surfing the web. Alice's face immediately turned red, she was so embarrassed she wanted to roll down the stairs and continue rolling until she gets home.

...

Looking at the poor Alice, William finally interjected.

"Yes, of course. I heard that you even joined the pro scene of Cresent Skies a few years ago."

"Hehehe... It's just so-so. Our team didn't really win big or anything." Alice replied cheerfully as her mood turned over a hundred and eighty degrees.

Hearing Alice's reply. Isabella couldn't help but roll her eyes. This Alice was just really proud when it comes to her gaming achievements.

Getting excited with the topic, Alice immediately followed up a question. "Have you guys decided on your starting location?"

Hearing this William immediately opened the interface and pointed towards a neutral city between Four Great Kingdoms. "We're gonna start at Lockeguard city!"

Isabella and Edizon were flabbergasted when they saw how quick William was at summoning the interface. They didn't even see him draw in the air. It was as if it was hiding on his palms all along...

"Lockeguard city... Wouldn't that put you guys in a disadvantage?"

"It's just the starting point it won't really matter during the middle to late stages of the game."

"Where did you get that information? Are you a beta tester?" Alice got curious after seeing how confident William is.

"No... But isn't that how games usually are?" William excused himself. He couldn't possibly let Alice know that he came back from the future right?

"Not only that, since Lockeguard City is in a neutral position we'll be able to get quests from four different kingdoms." Willam continued as he pointed at the Four Great Kingdoms around Lockeguard City.

"Hmmm... Good point..." Alice replied as she continued to examine the map. The map of the continent was released at the same time as the announcement for the launch. It was one of the only few information the people had before the launch of NOIM.

"But, so what? There are other cities and kingdoms with the same situation." Alice followed up after adjusting her point of view.

"But think about it... How did Lockeguard City survive in the middle of Four Great Kingdoms? And one more thing, how did these Four Great Kingdoms survive for so long, being surrounded by Empires from all over the continent?"

"Mmmm mmm..." Alice nodded. Although she was a professional gamer, how could she beat William who experienced a whole lifetime playing the actual game?

"So Alice, have you decided the playstyle you're going to use?" William continued asking.

After the announcement of NOIM's date of release. A few mechanics were released to the public aside from the map of the continent. This included how the skill system of Noim works.

Noim has a very flexible and realistic system. Skills can be learned from being taught by a Master or a peer providing that the player fits the requirements. You can even learn new skills during actual combat if you were able to decipher the technique's fundamentals in real time.

Of course, having the same skill with other players doesn't mean that you will be able to deal the same amount of damage. The damage formula will always vary depending on the effectiveness of the execution and the stats of the players. Aside from that, factors from natural laws will also be able to affect the damage formula. Which also includes air resistance, gravity, momentum and even how substances react to each other.

In the end, everything will rely on the player's playstyle. What skills they would learn and how will they utilize it, what Stat type are they gonna grow, what equipments are they gonna wear and so on and so forth.

Of course being a pro gamer, Alice had already taken all of those things into account. She portrayed a confident face before answering...

"I'm gonna go with a Marksman type of playstyle. For starters, my physical prowess and control are not that strong in real life, so I have to settle for something a bit safe. Plus, using long ranged weapons is very versatile and has a high ceiling when it comes to technique and execution. With my talent, I'll definitely catch up overtime... hehehe..." Alice replied in a very fast manner. The excitement was painted all over her face.

"Wow... So you're really up to it huh..." William commented. His hand was catching his chin as she looked at Alice with an interested face.

"Hehe of course..." Alice replied with a cheeky tone. Fixing the hair blocking the left part of her face, showcasing her red cheeks.

...

"Ehem." Isabella scoffed. It hasn't even been 5 minutes since this two started talking and they were already starting to flirt with each other.

"How about you?" Noticing the meaning behind Isabella's action, Alice immediately straightened her back and started the chain.

"I'm gonna go for a Heavy Armor type that utilizes two Greatswords..."

"Isn't that a bit ridiculous..." Alice was beginning to doubt William. But again, how could she know what William has gone through.

"How about you, Bella?" Alice didn't want to ruin the mood so she skipped the details and asked Isabella this time.

"I'm gonna go for some sort of a brawler play style. I feel it's the class that suits me best..." Isabella answered while looking down at the table. A hint of red can be seen on her face. It was really odd for a lady to play such characters. Even while they were playing MMORPGs, they seldom encounter women playing as Knights and Brawlers.

"And you?" Isabella continued the chain, asking Edizon what playstyle is he gonna take.

"I don't know yet. I'll check when we get there. But I'm probably just gonna focus on production and crafting..."

"But isn't that..." Isabella interjected. She had seen Edizon's capabilities earlier and she thought that it would be such a waste if he would play as a craftsman.

After feeling a lot more comfortable with each others company, they eventually decided to all start on Lockeguard City. The four continued chatting until eight in the evening. They had also tried a few more pastries before deciding to call it a night.

...

*

*

*

While the four were climbing up the stairs earlier...

Isabella was still thinking about the scene that happened moments ago. She couldn't help but get upset whenever she recalled how Edizon acted in front of that woman. She started asking in her head 'What was the relationship between the two?'. Finally, she couldn't hold on anymore and took the opportunity to ask Edizon.

"Did you know that girl from earlier?" Isabella asked in a low tone. She was looking downwards.

"I don't know her." Edizon flatly replied.

"..."

"Do you usually treat your customers that way?"

"It was only to ease the situation."

Hearing this, Isabella's face was painted with a splash of red. She was about to follow up an excuse when Edizon suddenly interjected...

"You finally decided to visit. Silly girl." Edizon said with a gentle smile as he rubbed Isabella's head.

"..."

Isabella didn't even bother replying as she sped towards the second floor. Her face was so red, akin to a fresh tomato. She bit her lip as she thought to herself 'Could it be that he had the same dream?'

...

*

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*

The two ladies were heading home after a long chat with Edizon and William...

"Hummm... Hummm... Hummm... Hummm... Hummm... Hummm..." Alice was humming cheerfully.

"You seem awfully happy." Isabella commented.

"Of course it's the launch of the game tomorrow." Alice replied.

"You know it's a virtual reality game right?" Isabella couldn't help but be worried for Alice.

"Hehehe... You know I've been practicing archery for a couple of days now. And I think I'm really good at it. My master even mentioned that I have potential."

"Who is your master anyway?"

"The Internet..."

"..." Isabella didn't even bother to reply as she repeatedly tried to book a cab through the interface.

"Bella, how could you? You can never really discount my gaming skills you know? Strategies, positioning, being a capable leader...

"It has always been the two us playing together. How could you even call yourself a capable leader?" Isabella immediately dissed Alice.

"Bella, have faith in me. Plus, with my extremely attractive figure, finding a party to grind should be easy-yeh."

Isabella rolled her eyes. This lady is really is really just too full of herself. After a few more blocks of humming... Isabella finally decided to share her thoughts.

"Alice, am I silly?"

"Bella... Hahaha... That's ridiculous... Hahahahaha... Oh my God... Wahahahahah!

"Silly girl. Wahahahaha!" Alice laughed out loud as she recalled the scene at the stairs earlier.

"Bella, I'm sorry... I'm really sorry... Nooo... Bella..."

"Anyone help..."

"Wuwu..."

...

*

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*

Cafe Orathoria

William and Edizon were helping the staff clean up. As they were preparing to close the shop.

"What was that?" Edizon asked while he was counting the money bills in the counter.

"What?"

"Did you somehow become a womanizer in your previous life?"

"You know what, I somehow did." Edizon replied nonchalantly while he was cleaning the table.

"Don't worry I won't tell her."

"..." Willam was speechless. This Edizon was really just too sly. Casually trying to probe a question.

...