original

Blood Trace

Chapter 1: Happy Birthday!

Dante's phone Vibrated and he looked at the screen. A text notification popped up and seeing who it was, he quickly tapped it.

The text was simple. "Almost here?" it read.

The text was from one of his friends, Amada. They were all supposed to get together and hang out at the beach that day. He imagined Amada in her swim suite and turned red. He's had a crush on her for as long as he can remember.

"Dante!"

Hearing his name snapped him out of his daydream as he looked up. A pretty elf was waiting at the counter with his coffee. He accepted it with a smile glancing back at the Gnome working the machine. Gnomes were technological geniuses, throwing in their own brand of magic into the machines they build. The coffee at this shop was the best in town, offering all sorts of magical enchantments to put the pep in your step.

"Hey Pop, how's it going?" Dante said to the gnome

Poppip "Pop" Gizmander is a happy gnome, always smiling when he is around his machines. His Apron is stained with Coffee and magical residue. He sees them as badges that represent how much he loves his work.

"Oh it's going great there Dante. Hey I just got a fresh shipment of those Charisma Crystals you like. Want a pack?" Pop asked

Dante smiled and got excited. Charisma Crystals are a magical topping that enhances your confidence. Pop enchants his coffee machine with his own spells but the sprinkles are different. They are a magical ingredient. The effects of the Ingredient last 24 hours and is very rare.

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks" Dante said

The polite young girl who gave Dante is coffee handed him a small pack of pink crystals. He slipped them in his pocket and left with a wave. As Dante left Pop's He clicked the heals of his shoes together. Dante's shoes were a basic brand enchanted with a weak anti-gravity spell. Soon Dante was hovering about half an inch off of the ground, gliding on down the sidewalk as if he were skating. He passed kids on hover scooters as small personal aircrafts flew above his head. As Dante arrived at the transport stop, he pulls out his phone and answers his text.

"Almost. Had to stop at Pops first." Dante replied

As he put away his phone he sits down on the bench at the stop. He opens his pack of crystals and pours them into his coffee. After enjoying a few sips, his phone vibrates again.

"Cool... but there is a change of plans. No beach today :("

Dante frowned. He had been looking forward to this for over a week. Tomorrow is his birthday, and he wanted to have his friends over. His parents, however, told him that he would be too busy on his birthday, so he should plan for the day before. This confused Dante. He didn't know what would make him too busy to have a party on his birthday. But his parents wouldn't tell him why he would be busy, and that he would just have to wait and see.

"Okay... where are we all meeting then?" Dante asked.

"Meet us at the Arcade" Amanda replied.

At this point the Transport aircraft had just arrived. It was a long metal tube with windows along either side. It could fly, but not as high or as fast as the private transport ships. Dante looked at the text and realized he could just walk, as the Arcade was actually pretty close to Pops. So Dante reactivated his shoes hover ability, and started off towards the arcade.

As Dante was getting nearer to the arcade he noticed some people picketing in front of a Spartan Distribution Center, holding signs saying things like "Elementals Are People Too!" and "End Slavery". Spartan is a giant Company involved in everything from online shopping, streaming services, and even act as middlemen to allow vendors to sell items from the Spartan website. A lot of Humanoid Rights Activists have been putting pressure on Spartan for their use of different elementals in the process of shipping. The main arguments are that Elementals are summoned and worked against their will, even though they are living, thinking, feeling beings.

Dante crossed the street and passed the protest, not interested in getting roped into a cause he didn't know much about. He had never actually seen an elemental except in pictures. He had no idea if they were as Humanoid as the protestors said, so he decided he wouldn't get involved either way.

He skated a few more blocks and finally arrived at the arcade, Game Master, and walked inside. He could see the flashing neon signs floating through the arcade, advertising games and snacks. As he walked around searching for Amada, Dante felt a hand on his shoulder and he spun around. When he spun around he saw the faces of his friends. The one who put his hand on Dante's shoulder was Perry.

Perry is a tall, blonde, muscular human who liked like he belonged in heavy plate armor, wielding a sword and shield on a battlefield. But quite to the contrary if you asked Perry what he wanted to be, he would point his thumb to his chest proudly and say "I'm a mage". Due to advances in technology and magic, magical abilities had been unlocked in everyone, merging with their DNA as to be passed down generation to generation.

To Perry's left was a Dwarf named Finnegas with deep black hair and a beard down to his waist, even though he was only 15. Perry is like any other Dwarf, He loves his axe as much as he does his beard. His beard had gold and silver rings braided into it, and all the signs of proper grooming. His axe looked equally well kept, always gleaming as if polished regularly.

And on the other side of Perry was Amada. Amada is a wood elf, with red hair, freckles, and deep green eyes. She wears simple clothing most of the time, but Dante thought she looked pretty no matter what she wore. Amada loves animals and nature, and today she had with her a chipmunk she had recently befriended. It looked around at all the lights on its hind legs, standing on Amada's shoulder.

Dante in comparison always looked shaggy. Short black curly hair, pale skin, and a lanky body not good for much. At least that's how Dante felt about it. He dreamed of graduating from military academy as an officer, fighting valiantly against the Shadow Armies. But because of his awkward skinny body, he realistically didn't see that happening.

"About time ye showed up." Finnegas said in his deep accent.

"Yeah sorry, I overslept. What happened to the beach?" Dante asked drinking the last of his coffee and throwing it away.

At this Perry looked embarassed. "I got an ear infection last night. The healer put a ward in my ear to stop airflow from bothering it, but she said I can't go in the water for a few days." Perry explained.

"Ha!" Dante laughed "A big guy like you brought down by an ear infection, no way Pear."

"Stop teasing him and lets play some games." Amada said, stifling a laugh.

With that the friends wandered around, deciding what games to play. Ever since The War of the Races began, battle games became more and more popular. Most games were played in VR, such as the battle SIMS, the dueling pods, and the War Games. After playing around in the battle SIMS and playing a round of War Games, the friends decided to head to the Dueling Pods.

Each pod contained Classes that fit different fighting styles, and gave you abilities based on that class. There were Spellcasters, Swordsman, Berserkers, Rogue, and Healer. Each of these had their own subclass. Dante always wanted to be a Paladin, protecting others and wielding a holy light in his sword. So he chose the Swordsman class and the Paladin subclass. His avatar formed in Heavy Plate armor, with a sword and a shield. He was much taller as his avatar, and much stronger. Even with his added strength, these games came down to skill, and that was one area Dante was lacking.

Dante wanted to be a great swordsman, and practices all the time. No matter how much he trained or how hard he tried, he could never quite get his body to move the way he wanted. He watched hundreds of videos, bought countless tutorials, but still couldn't wield a sword properly.

Choosing random match, Dante was paired with an opponent. He took a deep breath and walked out from the waiting area into the Virtual Arena. Spectators could look on from the stands, but this match had no one watching.

As Dante stepped out he could see his opponent also entering the arena. He was large, with his muscular chest unarmored, and he wielded a very large two handed axe. A Berserker. Dante didn't see the appeal in the Berserker class. They fought wildly, with no discipline or control. Not like a Paladin, who abide by strict training and fight as wisely as possible.

As the two were staring at each other a loud buzzer went off. Right away the Berserker rushed forward, letting out an animalistic roar. Dante raised his shield and readied his sword, seeing how fast his opponent was he knew couldn't dodge his large weapon. He would have to take his chances guarding. He cast a protection spell on himself to bolster his defenses and lifted his shield to meet the blow.

BANG

With a blast of power Dante was pushed back, and somehow tripped on his own feet. Reacting quickly the Berserker jumped up and slammed his axe into Dante's head. Dante saw a light and he was back in the waiting room. His match was over, just like that, he lost. Disheartened Dante decided to exit the VR pod. His friends were still in matches but he didn't feel like playing after losing so horribly.

The others were in the pods a while longer, obviously playing multiple matches. Dante just waited, not wanting to wander away from his friends. Eventually everyone was out of their pods.

"Holy crap is that what time it is?" Perry said looking at his phone.

"Well we bet'r be off. I need to Polish my beard and axe soon." Finnegas said.

"You guys are leaving already?" Dante asked a little glum.

"I'll stay, I don't have anything to do." Amada said

"Yeah you guys stay and play some games. I really do have to get home to take my medicine." Perry said.

Dante felt a little happier, knowing he would get to be alone with Amada. "Alright guys, I'll talk to you later." Dante said calmly. If it wasn't for the Charisma Crystals he would be too nervous to say anything without it being obvious.

As Finnegas and Perry leave, Amada looks at Dante and asks "Are you ready?"

Dante looks at Amada with the most serious expression "I was born ready."

The two look at each other seriously for a moment, the burst out laughing as they walk to the back of the arcade. In the back of the arcade was a lone machine, with two bows magically linked to it. behind the Machine was a large screen, showing the level you were playing. The bows had no arrows, but when you released the string, an arrow would fly on screen to the spot you were aiming. Motion censors would detect if you were out of range, and if so, your character takes cover to dodge incoming attacks.

Amada is great at this game, a natural archer. she would duck in and out of screen, shooting off multiple arrows. When Amada would shoot, something would die. In contrast Dante was terrible at this game. He had no idea how to aim a bow, and most of his shots would miss wide. On occasion he would get lucky and hit something, but not usually what he was aiming at.

Regardless of how bad he was at this game, he loved playing it with Amada. She made everything more fun to Dante, even if he would never do it alone. Just watching her Laugh and smile while dodging attacks and taking out monsters made Dante have a good time.

A couple of hours later the two were finally too tired to keep pulling the bowstring. Unlike the VR games, this game required you to use your own body, and after a while it takes its toll. The two walked out of the Arcade, and back towards their houses. Dante and Amada lived next door to each other, so they walked together.

As the two neared their homes, Dante decided to reach out and try to hold Amadas hand. Normally he would never try something like this, but the Charisma Crystals were still affecting him. He slowly reached his pinky out, touching her hand lightly. To his surprise she didn't move her hand away. She actually moved her hand over his, lacing his fingers in hers. Looking up he could see Amada was blushing with her head down. Her Chipmunk on the other hand was looking straight at Dante. It gave him the creeps.

They walked along in silence, the white sun setting in the distance casting a bright pink hue to the sky. Soon they arrived in front of Dante's house.

"So you want to come in and hang out?" Dante asked.

"I'd like to but I really should get home." Amada said quietly.

"Well I guess I will see you later?" Dante asked.

"Definitely." Amada replied.

And Amada leaned in and kissed Dante quickly on the lips. Blushing furiously she walked off around the tall hedge separating the two properties, her chipmunk staring at Dante with an odd look. Before rounding the corner Amada turned back to Dante.

"Happy Birthday Dante." Amada said, then disappeared.