As the character creation window hovered in front of Lira, she began to explore the interface. Rows of race options scrolled past her fingertips, each preview avatar rotating slowly as it loaded. Elf. Tiefling. Half-Orc. Dwarf. Rori leaned in immediately, her breasts pressing against the edge of the console as she excimed, "Ooooh, that one has horns." Lira replied, "That's a Tiefling," and continued scrolling. Then she stopped, her eyes widening as the next avatar formed slowly. Dragonborn. The model, assembled piece by piece before her, gleamed with silver scales and curved horns in the sunlight.
Rori's hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall of pink locks, and her eyes sparkled with excitement as she reached out to touch the screen. "A bit on the nose, don't you think?" Lira's cheeks flushed slightly as she hesitated, then shrugged. "It's the devil you know versus the one you don't." Rori's lips curled into a pyful smile, and she leaned in closer, peering at the screen. Rori tilted her head, "That metaphor is doing a lot of work." A few feet away, Kainen stood quietly with his arms folded, his eyes fixed on the distant castle. His gaze drifted to Lira, his eyes lingering on her slender neck and the curve of her shoulders.
As Rori continued to explore the interface, she discovered the muscle slider. "Oh my god, there's a muscle slider," she excimed, dragging the slider upward without hesitation. The preview avatar changed instantly, its shoulders broadening and arms thickening.
Kainen's gaze returned to Lira, his eyes drawn to the way her hair fell in loose waves down her back. He felt a flicker of interest, his attention caught by the subtle animation of her avatar's tail as it swayed.
Lira gnced over, curiosity briefly overriding her focus. "Are you making yourself stronger?" she asked cautiously, her voice husky and smooth.
Kainen's eyes lingered on Lira's face, taking in the delicate features and the sharp jawline. He felt a surge of attraction, his gaze drifting down to her lips, which were parted slightly as she concentrated on the screen. Behind him, Rori's voice rang out again,
"Oh wow, you can adjust the horns." Lira blinked, "Really?" The model changed slightly as she adjusted the slider, the horns growing longer and more elegant. Kainen's gaze returned to Lira's avatar, his eyes drawn to the silver scales that seemed to shimmer and glow in the sunlight.
As Lira finished adjusting her Dragonborn model, Kainen's attention turned to the character creation process. He knew the interface like the back of his hand, but something about this felt off. Kainen quickly gazed at both of the girls' screens.
==============================
PLAYER STATUS
==============================
Name: Rori
Race: Human
Css: Barbarian
---------------------------------------------
Strength: 16
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 12
==============================
Seems right. Kainen thought to himself before turning his attention to Lira.
==============================
PLAYER STATUS
==============================
Name: Lira
Race: Dragonborn
Css: Ranger
---------------------------------------------
Strength: 13
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 16
==============================
The system paused a moment, then a strange glitch appeared, followed by another prompt.
==============================
Scanning Soul Structures
Dormant Cores Detected
Adjusting Stats
==============================-
Rori's stats began to change right before her eyes, her strength and dexterity climbing upward, but it didn't stop there...
==============================
PLAYER STATUS
==============================
Name: Rori
Race: Human
Css: Barbarian
---------------------------------------------
Strength: 18
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 15
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 14
==============================
"Did I just get stronger?" she asked, staring at the screen in wonder. Lira's stats began changing as well, her screen flickering briefly as the numbers adjusted upward.
==============================
PLAYER STATUS
==============================
Name: Lira
Race: Dragonborn
Css: Ranger
---------------------------------------------
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 15
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 18
==============================
Kainen's gaze lingered on Lira's stats, his eyes drawn to the high charisma score. He felt a surge of interest as he noticed the way her avatar radiated confidence and poise.
The cheerful chime sounded again, and the windows vanished. Everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. Rori cracked her knuckles, grinning from ear to ear. "Well, this game is awesome." Kainen continued staring at the empty air where the interface had been, his mind still reeling from the anomalies. Something is very wrong. He tried to process what had just happened, but his thoughts were a jumbled mess. Did I miss something? Was that a new patch? No, there would have been an announcement. Did I see something like that before? His memory flickered, and he remembered the day he created his own character, two years ago. There had been a dey, a small one, barely noticeable. He remembered thinking the system had gged for a moment, but had it said something?
==============================
ERROR - Unknown Racial Signature Detected
==============================
The system suddenly corrected itself, Rori's race line changed from Human to Dhampir.
Rori leaned closer to the floating window, "Huh, what's a Dhampir?" The field around them had gone strangely quiet, the only sound the rustling of the grass in the wind. For a split second, nothing happened. Then the reaction hit, a sharp gasp rippling through the nearby pyers. One man, standing a few yards away, froze mid-step. "What did she just say?" Another pyer spun around immediately, "Did that say Dhampir?" Someone else backed away instinctively, "No way, that's not a race." The whispers spread quickly, confused murmurs turning into uneasy tension.
Lira's interface flickered again, a second window appearing in front of her.
==============================
ERROR - Race Already Present
Hunter's Guild Alerted
==============================
The crowd reaction was immediate, someone swearing loudly, "Guild alert!!" Another pyer took a step back, "Oh hell no." Several avatars flickered and vanished as people logged out, the panic spreading across the field like wildfire. Kainen's gaze drifted back to Lira, his eyes lingering on her face as she stared at the screen in confusion. He felt a surge of protectiveness, his attention caught by the way her eyes seemed to sparkle with concern.
Kainen slowly rubbed a hand down his face, his voice calm and quiet, "We need to leave." The situation was spiraling out of control, and he knew they had to get out before it escated further. He gnced at Rori and Lira, his eyes locking onto Lira's face. "Now." His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he turned away, his expression calm and collected.
