Trinity Online

By Joshua Dickinson

Trinity Online is the premiere Virtual Reality game in the world. Set in an immense world, the game is set in a world of magic and mystique with a background of ancient technologies, all influenced by the religious beliefs of it's creator, and his children.

When John Tranis received a VR-Pod with a lifetime subscription to Trinity Online, He had no idea of the adventure he would become a part of, nor just how much it would affect the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joshua Dickinson
• Release date: Mar 29, 2019

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Trinity Online

Copyright 2019 Joshua Dickinson

Published by Joshua Dickinson at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Contents:

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

A Message from the Author

Prologue

The world of Trinity Online is filled with: majesty, mystery, adventure, and an awe inspiring virtual environment. It is a world more than ten times the size of Earth, filled with over 1000 playable races and more than 2000 classes. The majority of these playable classes and races are either unknown or not yet found. This world is a wondrous blend of high fantasy on a backdrop of ancient technology now lost, for the most part. This incredibly rich and detailed world is governed by three extremely powerful A.I. created by just one incredible mind. But the most incredible thing about it is that this game has captured the attention and devotion of the world without any beta test, and before it was even released...

Jonathan Andrew Tranis continued his presentation before the class, finishing only that one paragraph clearly before the stuttering kicked into overdrive. He got about halfway through the required presentation before the jeering became too noisy, and the teacher had to dismiss him in order to restore order to the classroom. The 17 year old brown haired, brown-eyed boy was thin and stood at 5 foot 9 inches. He wasn't particularly good looking as far as anyone in the class knew and was terribly shy, leading to him being made fun of by most of the kids in his school. Even many of the nerdy kids used him to make themselves feel better. Unfortunately, this only served to further increase his shyness.

John was very quiet most of the time and rarely talked to anyone, even his family rarely heard him speak. The few times he tried to speak more than a sentence ended up like this, with him stuttering like crazy, and everyone who heard it made fun of him. Even his own family members would at times make fun of his stuttering, though rarely. John would be considered fairly handsome without the glasses, and given he gained the confidence to look people directly in the eyes, but then, almost no one knew this. In fact, rarely did anyone see the shy young man's face through his hair. After shyly returning to his seat, he passed the rest of his day quietly, or would have if not for the bullying.

He was tripped at lunch, causing all his food to fall to the cafeteria floor. What's the matter Johnny boy? Can't talk normally in class, and now you trip over thin air? The cafeteria erupted into laughter after the boy who tripped him said this. John looked up to see the son of the school's chairman glaring down at him imperiously. Trash like you isn't needed here, the bully proclaimed. John looked around to see his sister looking his way with a look of utter disgust on her face. He looked back down, and began to gather up the food, then proceeded to the trashcan to throw it away before leaving the room quietly. Pussy, someone called out after him. Needless to say, he went without lunch.

Miraculously, the rest of the day passed uneventfully, but John walked home dejectedly .

***

John, is that you, he heard his mother call as he walked into the house.

Yeah mom, it's the recluse, his sister yelled to her knowing he wouldn't respond.

John didn't bother looking her way as he started up the stairs. He still clearly remembered the disgusted look she had while glaring at him at lunchtime. It was a heavy blow.

Dinner will be done in an hour, she called out to the two of them as John continued up the stairs to his room.

After going into his room he closed and locked the door, dumped his backpack by his desk, and collapsed onto the bed. When will it end, his father could hear him say from the other side of the door. He made his decision at that point. . .

Chapter One

Andrea Tranis watched her brother go up the stairs while grinding her teeth in frustration. Why had she said it that way, and WHY COULDN'T HER BIG BROTHER STAND UP FOR HIMSELF!? He used to be so outgoing, and cheerful. He was always helping others, and always the center of attention, and not in some no good way like now, with that no good son of a chairman! He always protected her back then, that was 8 years ago now.

Andrea was 15 months younger than John, and quite the beauty. Long straight black hair that reached her shoulder-blades framed her cute oriental face, and blue eyes. Oriental was just what the dumb boys at school called it, she was actually of mixed Japanese decent, and would be roughly 3/4 Japanese. Her skin was slightly darker than her brother's Caucasian, and Native American skin. Their facial features contrasted greatly; between his angular jawline and straight eyes, and her gently curved jawline and exotic slanted eyes. In fact, it would be hard to confuse them as being brother and sister instead of thinking they were complete strangers. Andrea knew that, in fact, they were genetically unrelated, she had found out three years ago. John seemed to not realize this so, she decided not to mention it.

People have a tendency to reject those different than themselves and when their family first came together she was rejected by the other kids and even many of the parents. The community was one of those small, out of the way communities back then and comprised completely of Caucasians. The adults weren't very aggressive toward the young girl's face but their twisted values rubbed off onto their kids. The situation started with small things but quickly escalated. It eventually led to a situation no one would have dreamed would happen. She still remembered the strong back of one boy fighting to protect her against ten boys who should have, by all rights, been able to overpower him easily. Her brother had fought to protect her with all he had, and against all odds, managed to hold them off until the parents had come and broke up the fight. Like all children, Andrea had forgotten much and didn't remember most of that time, but that one memory had stayed fresh in her mind despite her forgetting the rest.

This incident turned out to be the turning point for the town. The adults realized how their attitudes were affecting their children and changed the way they acted, which in turn changed the attitude of their kids, especially after they were reprimanded. When the town's attitude changed it began to grow and quickly became a small city thanks to to efforts of several companies. Eight years later the outgoing, popular boy had disappeared, leaving a shy, often abused young man behind.

***

John, his mother called, supper's ready, come help your sister set the table.

He got up slowly, went to the dinner table, and began to help place the plates and silverware on the table silently. The food smelled very good and his stomach growled aggressively. Why did I have to miss lunch, he thought in embarrassment. After finishing setting the table, his sister sat down while John silently helped move the food to the table, his stomach sounding out several times while he did. Thank you honey, his mother said smiling as they sat down.

When are you going to stand up for yourself against those bullies, Andrea growled angrily. She couldn't bear it anymore.

S-Sorry, was the only thing he said.

DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE SORRY, she yelled, tears flowing down her face. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO SEE THEM DO THAT TO YOU!

Now, now, calm down dear, their mom interjected.

HOW CAN YOU TELL ME TO...

Because he's the one hurting the most, said a deep powerful voice, and I'll thank you to not raise your voice at the dinner table. Their father had arrived at the table.

Rea, her mother spoke after giving her a moment to calm down, getting mad because you're frustrated at your own inability to do anything for your brother won't help either one of you. She had been seen through.

BUT...

No buts young lady, their father's voice rang out calmly, a lot of power behind it, Getting mad at them, and taking it out on your brother, won't help either of you, and it certainly won't help him to face them if all you do is nag at him. Just calm down for now. Let's eat, and we'll talk about this later, alright? I wanted to talk to the two of you after dinner anyway.

Kay, she finally relented, but all throughout dinner she was sulking.

***

After their meal was finished, Andrea and John helped clean up. She was still sulking, and wouldn't look his way at first, John could only think that she was still angry at him. Even though he didn't like having this beautiful girl mad at him, he wasn't sure what to do to appease her. He was completely caught off-guard when she suddenly turned around to face him and the words, Sorry, can you forgive me, came out of her mouth as she glanced at him shyly.

*Ba-bump* His heart jumped as he, for once, looked straight into her eyes. He was at a loss for words. It took a few moments for him to think of anything to say, and by this time she appeared to be rather flustered and possibly about to become angry again. Seeing this, John hurriedly replied, I-It's my f-f-fault. I-I-I sh-sh-should b-be t-th-the o-one to a-p-apologize. His stuttering became quite strong due to his hurried answer. He was floored once again when she started to giggle, and then smiled brilliantly.

She suddenly hugged him, and John became flustered even further. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might jump out of his chest. Why was he feeling this way toward his sister? I need to calm down, he told himself. Next thing he knew she was laying her head against his chest. Wha...

Tehehe, your heart's beating like crazy, she said now staring up at him with a peaceful smile on her face. Her large breasts pushed against him making even more of an impact as he looked down at her face. Ugh, why was she acting so cute now.

Come on in here you two, they heard their father call them from the family room.

We'd better go see what daddy wants, she said somewhat reluctantly, and moved away in a seductive manner.

She's definitely teasing me, John thought wryly as he followed after her. This was the first time she had ever done this before and he couldn't help thinking that she didn't really mean it. Still, somewhere in the back of his mind he thought, Did she really mean that?

His sister on the other hand was walking away, her face bright red as they headed into the family room. Why did I do that!? Unlike him she had no doubt as to whether she really meant what she indicated with her actions.

***

The Tranis's family room wasn't huge but it was a decently sized room, they kept TV out of this room, as they intended it to be a place where they would spend time with family and friends talking, and even playing old fashioned board games together. As such, there was a lack of any kind of electronics in the room, and the family rule was for no such devices to be present there. John didn't carry his cell phone around the house since he had no friends, and only his mother, father, and sister registered as contacts, but Andrea had plenty of friends so she put hers on the storage shelf outside the room as they went in.

As John passed her heading into the family room he thought he noticed a bit of reddening of her cheeks. Is she blushing? As he entered the room he was reminded of the stark contrast between this room, and much of the house. The mid-sized rectangular room had a large couch that seats four opposite the door he had just come in from. To the left side of the room was a couch meant for three where their parents were currently sitting. In the middle of the room was a fairly large square coffee table with small benches on the door side, in between the large couch, and the coffee table. Sit down, Nathaniel Tranis, their father, said, indicating the love-seat opposite the couch they were sitting on.

John sat down on the right side of the love-seat, and their parents waited for Andrea to sit down as well before beginning. It was a very nerve-wracking position for Jonathan as the love-seat was quite narrow, due to their lovebird parents' preferences, and the two had no choice but to be touching. Even though he tried not to look, her large breasts were quite visible since John was looking at the coffee table out of shyness. After seeing his cheeks redden Andrea couldn't help teasing him, Pervert. John panicked and, not finding the words, flailed his arms around trying to absolve himself of guilt. This reaction was rather hilarious, and Andrea couldn't help giggling.

Calm down son, Nathan said with a wry smile.

Their mother, Marie(pronounced Ma-ree-eh), giggled as well before saying, She's just teasing you honey.

John gave a sheepish look, then sat back down. The next thing he knew she grabbed him, and hugged him exclaiming, You're so cuute! She giggled once more before sitting back down, this time she felt even closer than before, though he decided it must just be his imagination. In truth, she had gotten closer due to the hug but, if she realized it, he didn't say anything, so neither did she.

Coughing lightly, Well, then let's begin, their father said. First things first, we intended to tell you both this part on Andrea's 16th birthday, but since it's just over two months away we have decided to tell you a bit early. He paused after having said this, You two are not really siblings. After seeing the look of shock on John's face, a face they hadn't seen in a while, he sighed, I expected that response from Andrea instead of you.

I saw the charts for the two of us at school one day, and they just didn't add up, she said as John now looked her way in shock. After all, our racial backgrounds are listed differently, his is Caucasian and Native American, and mine is listed as Japanese and Korean descent, my guess is close to 3/4 Japanese.

That's correct, her mother said while John sat there dumbfounded. I kind of figured you had found out, she continued as their father raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt. I imagine you have some questions or at least will by now John?

S-S-S-S-So w-w-we're n-n-not b-b-broth-ther a-and s-s-sis-ster? His shock was evident, and they all patiently waited before all three nodded. He turned toward Andrea, and asked his next question, Th-th-then, ear-ear-earl-l-lier?

Her face went beet red. I, I meant it, she said shyly, I, I really do think you're cute. I always tell the other girls at school that you're the cutest guy there, but they never believe me. They just think I'm a bro-con, and maybe I am, but I think you're the coolest guy there too. She said as she got redder, and redder. That's why I can't stand when they treat you like that. That boy Tommy, the chairman's son, especially. Why don't you stand up to him? This time her voice wasn't disgusted but sad, and a bit lonely, You won't even let me have lunch with you.

You're still keeping that promise son, Nathan asked in wonder. Marie looked like she wanted to ask the same question.

Y-yeah. This time he wasn't flustered.

You don't have to keep that promise anymore, Marie responded, I haven't worked with that man in six years.

W-what! Andrea was shocked, You're keeping a promise from 6 years ago!?

Eight years ago, Nathan corrected, just after that incident. After that, and after your mother started working for the current chairman of the High School, we made him promise not to fight anymore. Your mom started teaching him martial arts at that point. Why?

Everyone picks on him because he won't fight back! And that jerk Tommy constantly trips him or worse! Even the nerdy kids pick on him!

Their father, and mother both looked shocked. Start sticking up for yourself young man, said their mother angrily. That's an order.

B-but what about Andrea?

She can handle herself, Marie responded, She's better in Martial Arts than you are, even though you're far better with swords than she is. Next time they mess with you, LAY THEM OUT!

Don't hurt them too badly, and don't hit girls, but do as she says, Nathan agreed. Now let's get back on track. John, Andrea, I want you two to decide what you want to do. If you decide to go out with each other we'll give you our blessings, but no hanky-panky. I also wanted to give you some time together in an environment we can trust, and hopefully give John a way to open up. So, I have decided to give you both access to Trinity Online. We haven't told you this because it was confidential, but I got permission to tell you two that I was the one who designed the safety devices for the pods they use. As such, I have been given two pods for the game, and two lifetime subscriptions. The pods will be arriving tomorrow, and I want you two to help me set them up.

Andrea looked over to see John's eyes sparkling, it made her kind of jealous.

After a moment John thought of something, and decided to ask their mom and dad. One thing I don't understand, if her background is Japanese and Korean, why is her name Andrea? He said glancing at her.

Oh that's easy, their father answered. He wrote something down on paper and pushed it across the table. Her name was Reiya. It's spelled like that. We changed it hoping she'd have an easier time here with the name Andrea. He turned toward the young girl. Your father had left her before you were born and you were her ray of light that helped her to make it through so she made up the name and gave it the meaning 'Ray of light'. He looked between the two of them, We'll setup the pods tomorrow after you get home from school. . . Oh, and we've talked to your teachers and informed them that after tomorrow you'll be taking a leave of absence for a month.

***

Norton Coolidge walked into a special room in the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Systems main building's basement. The company that ran, and created, Trinity Online was more commonly known as SuperCal, but it's founder, and creator of the three A.I. that ran and protected the game, referred to it by the word he remembered from a certain movie he saw in his youth, and the wonderful meaning it's creators had for it. He was well along in years, and had named the company something nostalgic. After stepping into the room a number of hologram machines turned on and a trio of attractive young girls around age 13 to 18 appeared.

Good evening father, the eldest of the three greeted him, the other two also greeted him in like manner.

Good evening girls, how was your day, he responded.

It was fun, Luna, the youngest of the three A.I. answered in a childlike manner. She was rather childlike in physical characteristics as well.

There were no problems I could detect, how was your day father, Elga, the second eldest, and the one with the largest chest, responded. She had a gentle disposition, and it could be seen in her mannerisms and speech.

The players were well behaved today, Rino, the eldest daughter replied. She had a mature image and behavior, though she could be a bit icy at times. You could call her a cool beauty. Her chest was notably smaller than Elga’s, but still quite a large size. She stood a good foot taller than Luna, and four inches taller than Elga.

The three were all beauties, but for whatever reason had dog ears and tails.

Good, good, he responded, Has Tranis received his pods yet?

Yes father, Rino responded, they haven't been connected to the network yet, but they arrived this afternoon.

Good, I asked him not to connect them until at least tomorrow. He left a message saying his son and daughter would be using the pods. Send them two more with lifetime subscriptions Rino, I want to let him enjoy the game his efforts made possible. Oh, and let's prepare a surprise for the two children. I hear John is 17, is like an angel, and always talking about Trinity. How about we make the Angaellis race available for him... and, as a twist also make the Cyber Knight available to him? Andrea is 15, also tends to take care of others, and is 3/4 Japanese. So, why don't we make the Hime class available to her, and let her choose the Daemon race? You three can give them a weapon, or armor, of your choosing, make it Ego type, and level from 1 to 10,000 by gaining experience, just like them. Only one weapon or armor to each of them though. The reason for the last sentence was to keep them from giving one from each of them.

Yes father, they all said excitedly, and began discussing among themselves what each of the two should get.

It was interesting to see even Rino get excited but Norton soon excused himself, and left to prepare for the next day. They were set to activate the module that included the races, and classes, he instructed them to make available and he'd better make certain there would be no issues. This game was meant for the players but was also meant to benefit his daughters. All three of them needed to be able to agree on the one to inherit his legacy after all, and the players needed to enjoy the game.

***

The next morning John and his sister had a cheerful breakfast together, and then headed to school. Classes were uneventful, though everyone in their two classes were surprised that they were so cheerful, and his classmates were surprised that they could now see his face. Most of the girls in his class were stunned at how handsome he turned out to be, they had been totally oblivious after all. The chairman's son was conspicuously absent, and no one seemed to feel like picking on John for once, so school was quite enjoyable. It was the first time the two of them had lunch together at school in quite a long time. . .

When school let out the two of them met at the gates and rushed home together. Her friends almost didn't recognize John, and looked at each other in shock. They had finally seen his smiling face, and they had to agree that her brother's looks were quite good, though they didn't see things the same way she did.

***

Once the two arrived home they put their belongings in their rooms, and then found their father in the study. He helped them setup their pods in their new game room, and connect them to power, cooling, and the network. John needed little to no assistance with his, but his dad still enjoyed the time spent with his children. After they were done he sent them off with a, Have fun, and then went back to work in his study.

So, how do we work these things, Andrea asked.

You sit down here, pull this thing down to cover your forehead. Then, press this button to close the capsule part's lid, and then just say 'Start-up', John explained.

Oh, what starting city do we want to start in, she asked next.

Agremore Castle, he responded without pause, It's the only place where every race, and class, can start at, which isn't surrounded by a large city. We'll meet in the town square, we can use our normal looks but change hair and eye color as we wish so we can still recognize each other but keep a little anonymity.

I see your stuttering is gone.

It's funny, it stopped, and I'm really excited. That doesn't usually happen, he responded, I guess it's because I get to spend time with you, and finally play Trinity Online!

The way he said it made her feel really special. I'm gonna use my original name, Reiya. You?

Andaros.

Andrea nearly broke into tears, he had mentioned the name of the hero in the play the two wrote together as kids. He remembered. See you in-game. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before they entered their pods.

Once he was setup John heard himself, and Andrea say start-up at almost the same time. Then the world went white.

***

John awakened in a white walled room. So this is the start-up room of Trinity Online, He thought to himself.

Welcome to Trinity Online, John Tranis. What would you like your avatar name to be?

That wasn't supposed to be the introductory phrase, and how did the voice know my name? Oh well, at least it asked what the character name was, maybe the unit was just specially programmed. Andaros, he responded without much hesitation.

A hidden race has been made available to you: The Angaellis race is available, would you like to use this race?

Uh, sure. That was the wrong phrasing, what is going on?

A hidden race has been made available to you, The Cyber Knight is available, would you like to use this race?

Snickering was heard in the background You just said race instead of profession, someone whispered.

Sh-shut up, he'll hear you, yet another voice said, and it's class, not profession.

Who's there, John said looking directly toward where the three voices came from.

Eh? John heard the three voices respond in unison.

Come out please. I assume you have a good reason for this, he told them in a gentle voice. A beautiful girl about John's age, with gray dog ears and bushy tail appeared. At a DD-cup she had about the largest chest he had seen on anyone other than Andrea. No correction, Reiya. And the other two of you too please? Next came a mature looking girl with black hair and ears. She stood about four inches taller than the first girl. She was quite the beauty too, and seemed to be a C-cup. After that, appeared a petite, blond haired girl who appeared to have an A-cup. She was likely in her growth phase assuming an A.I.'s chest could grow. I assume you three are the A.I.s who control the game? What's going on, he asked confused. I'm guessing this hasn't happened to anyone else?

Well, not quite, we're talking to your sister too, on the other channel, but I didn't screw up yet over. . . OH CRAP, I was talking on both channels at once! The buxom silver haired girl started out fine but then realized her mistake.

Ah, anyway I'll take the Cyber Knight class if you suggest it, John said, What did you want with me?

We wanted to see what kind of person you are, said the second girl to appear, who also appeared to be the oldest. I'm Rino, the one who keeps messing up would be Elga, and this is Luna, she indicated the other two girls.

S-sorry, Elga said, her face practically glowing red.

It's alright, he responded. For appearance I'd like my own, with no glasses, in addition to silver hair, and eyes.

Um, what would you like for starting point?

Agremore Castle for my sister, and myself, he told her. Our parents wanted us to spend the first month together.

Elga giggled before saying, Your sister just said virtually the same thing. These A.I. were incredibly complex to be able to show such human emotions. "Oh, before I forget, you've qualified for a special reward due to your choice to be an Angaellis Cyber Knight. A special Cyber-suit suit that won't interfere with psionics, or magic. Our father hopes you enjoy this special gift for the first person to choose this race/class combination. Oh, and a special reward from me for my mistakes. She kissed him on the cheek and an incredibly ornate looking ring with a large Emerald embedded in it appeared on the ring finger of his left hand. John was stunned, what did this mean?

Welcome to Trinity Online, we hope you enjoy your time in our world, the three girls said in chorus. Then the world filled with all sorts of light...

Chapter Two

Andaros felt as if he had opened his eyes after a long period of having them closed. That brief moment of being overwhelmed by the brightness, and splendor, of the world around you was the only way he could think of to describe the sensation he was feeling. Witnessing Trinity Online's breathtaking beauty for the first time was truly like stepping into another world. He was so surprised, and engrossed, that he didn't move out of the way before someone bumped into him.

Hey, watch it buddy, said a gruff voice before the owner turned toward him. A look of utter shock appeared on the man's face as he craned his neck up to look at him.

He seemed pretty short to John. Wait, why is everyone so short?

Good afternoon, Master. . .

***

Andrea Tranis looked around after the initial start-up sequence. She was in a large white room with no one else present. Weird, isn't there usually someone in the room? Also, why didn't the system asked me whether I wanted to create a new account? This seemed highly out of the ordinary.

Welcome to Trinity Online, Andrea Tranis, a female voice resounded around the room. The voice sounded quite gentle. What would you like your avatar name to be?

Reiya, she answered hesitantly. Was this some kind of special capsule?

How would you like your appearance?

Same as my own, but light aquamarine hair and green eyes, her brother liked green after all, while her favorite color was silver.

A hidden race has been made available to you, would you like to use the Daemon race or one of the 50 default races?

Um, I guess I'll use the Daemon race, Reiya responded after a bit of thought.

The voice seemed to pick up on her indecision, If you're not certain I can display the particulars of the race, or advise you on the positives, and negatives, of the race.

Um, then I'd like to know the positives, and negatives of the race, Reiya responded.

There is only one negative listed for this race, that is a negative five to divine resistance. There are two positives listed for this race, one is the ability to learn and use all offensive magic, regardless of the class you choose to become. The second positive is +100 mana per level, on top of the normal mana for the class.

Reiya brightened up a bit, divine resistance was important for going up against the Mythical class creatures later in the game, that much information had been released by SuperCal, but the negative resistance wasn't something that couldn't be overcome. The ability to learn and use offensive magic regardless of your class, however, was invaluable. With such an ability you could be an offensive healer or a magic wielding tank. That mana bonus per level could also allow a non-mana-based class to use those spells. I'll take the Daemon race.

A hidden class has been made available to you, would you like to use the Hime class, or one of the 50 default classes? Or would you rather abstain from a class until you find a suitable one?

Um, she was having a hard time deciding.

I can advise you on the type of class and any positives or negatives it has if you would like, the voice said gently, or display the default information of the class.

I would appreciate some advice then, Reiya answered honestly.

Hmmm, okay then, the voice answered as if it were looking over the class information. The particulars of this class are those of a healer, and buffer of the highest class. The Hime specializes in Divine buffs, particularly Divine resistance. It also specializes in healing buffs, specifically those that trigger regenerative heals, or cure diseases and poisons. There are no particular weaknesses in the Hime class itself, but the Hoshiyo Hime, and Tukiyo Hime class advancements have some minor negatives. These negatives are coupled with the ability to use special abilities only available to the given class. All Himes start with a formal Hakama, as their equivalent of armor.

Then I would like to use the Hime class. She waited for the next query but what came next was a surprise.

Well, not quite, we're talking to your sister too, on the other channel, but I didn't screw up yet over...

She couldn't believe what she was hearing so she interrupted, Who are you talking to? Who's there?

OH CRAP, I was talking on both channels at once! The voice went silent for a moment.

Please come out, Reiya responded, "I won't say anything, but I'd like to see your face.

May as well sis, a second voice came out, and with that a young girl with golden hair, dog ears, and matching tail appeared, she was quite cute.

Yeah, another voice responded. After all, you've already messed up, a girl who looked to be a grade or two older than Reiya appeared, she had black hair and ears, her tail wasn't visible, but she guessed she probably had one as well. After all, we may as well see how she reacts to us.

Oh, 'kay, said the first voice and then a VERY cute girl with silver hair, ears, and tail appeared.

I'm Rino, this is Luna, and the one sulking over there is Elga, said the black-haired beauty.

I'm not sulking, said the buxom, silver haired girl as she pouted a little.

She's just sad she messed up the lines for both of you, Luna said running up to her. Where would you like to start.

Sorry, Elga said shyly.

It's okay, Reiya responded patting Elga's head after walking over to her, and I'd like to start in Agremore Castle, like my brother.

Thank you, Elga said.

It's okay, she responded, so are you girls the three A.I. who govern Trinity?

This is the first time we ever revealed ourselves to anyone, and we're already two for two on recognizing us for what we are, Rino said wryly. Well, anyways, we're giving you an ego two handed sword, which is usable by someone who has chosen to be a Daemon Hime. That's a gift from our father for the first to choose that race/class combination. Can I see your left hand a second, she asked. When Reiya raised her left hand she tapped her ring finger, and suddenly an ornate diamond ring with quite a large rectangular diamond set in the middle appeared on that hand. That's a gift from the three of us it's a pair with the ring Elga just gave your brother, though, to be fair, his can pair up with multiple rings. Rino showed Reiya the ring finger of her left hand, and the others then each show theirs in turn, all three were blushing slightly. This isn't a wedding ring, so don't worry, Rino said after seeing her face cloud a bit. We're not into polygamy, though honestly, being able to link his ring with up to seven others may be a bit much , Rino complained while looking down at the blond haired girl, not to mention those other options you added on.

But, she responded sadly, that way he can protect more people.

Protect, Reiya latched onto that word, she wasn't sure why, but she felt that was important, But, why the ring finger of the left hand, why not the right? The only ring she could think of a woman putting on her left ring finger was a wedding ring.

Supposedly our father set them up that way because of two reasons, Luna said, surprising Reiya, There is supposedly a vein leading directly to the heart on that side, and an old tradition states that the male would sit the woman he cherished to his left while his heir would sit on his right. I think that was what he told us. So, the ring is on the left hand, the link protects the one, or ones, connected to it as a result. Though, I accidentally set it to seven possible connections, so we decided to take up three of them since we want to play too, and interact with everyone. We've already setup our avatars with the race, and class, Daddy made for us so we'll join you in Agremore castle.

Wait, John, I mean Andaros and I are supposed to spend the first month real life time together, she frantically responded, that's what Daddy wanted us to do.

If it's that, Rino replied, Our father asked us to join you. After all, we don't know the ways of the world, and he wasn't sure who else he could trust to look out for us.

But, Reiya tried to come up with an excuse, don't you three need to run the server?

That was the same thing I asked, Rino responded, with a sigh, but father said he'd already set up subroutines to handle the majority of things separate from our control, kinda like a subconscious, so that we can play. I don’t know that his explanation makes sense, but he is our father. Anyway, while we're playing we won't have any say in the running of the server, it'll be like it's running automatically. He went on to say he could handle the harder stuff and he needed me to watch over my sisters, so I couldn't stay behind.

She seemed kinda sad saying this, so Reiya decided not to push the subject, I guess it's fine then, she said giving up, So you three are gonna play chaperon...

Who said anything about playing chaperon! Reiya didn't expect this response from Rino, and stood there shocked. After a moment Rino frantically explained her response. S-sorry, it's just that father forbade us from playing chaperon, and told us the point of this was so we could have fun for once. So, we're just going as girls. He said he okay-ed it with your dad, would you like to talk with them?

No, it's okay. I thought it sounded too good to be true when he sent us in here by ourselves. I guess they agreed on this ahead of time. Have you let my brother know this already?

Not yet, we wanted to surprise him, Elga replied. We'll all be starting in the castle anyway due to our classes. So it wouldn't be much of a surprise for you.

You can't tell him though, Luna said, Papa said he would let Andaros know not to say who we are around others.

I guess that'll be fine, why don't we get started, Reiya said, then the world went black. . .

***

When it first came out, a lot of companies questioned the safety of Trinity Online. The developers of the game, however, had already considered the fact that their competitors would try to keep the game from taking root. The CEO had another party create the interface systems for the pods, and make them immune to tampering both from the SuperCal side, as well as by any other individuals. Furthermore, they had decentralized assembly, and had the designs made such that seven separate companies would produce the parts. Each portion of the machine's design was never seen by SuperCal, nor by the company who assembled the final product. Furthermore, the cases for all seven portions were set with multiple tamper-proof seals and checked by a government agency to ensure that no one could tamper with the machines, and cause any harmful effects to the players. Each of the seven companies was also put under strict quality control standards as a further measure.

The man responsible for the design of that system was Nathaniel Tranis. He had further designed several parts which were separate from the rest of the system but monitored activity in such a way that they would shut down the system, and force eject the occupant in the case of a system failure. In the case of a life threatening emergency they would also trigger an emergency call. This attention to detail had already saved numerous lives. As such, Trinity Online enjoyed a stellar reputation and was quite popular with the old and middle-aged, as well as the younger generation. No other VR game had ever experienced the level of popularity it currently held.

Trinity Online was heralded as a marvel of game engineering. Three highly advanced A.I. had been used to create the game environment, and govern over it. The attention to detail in the design of the pods had allowed the developer further freedom to make it as real as possible without causing danger, or allowing the developers, A.I.s, or anyone else the possibility of causing harm to, or trapping players in the game. As such, the three A.I. were given free reign in creating the world, it's histories, it's peoples, and an incredibly huge amount of other details.

Ultimately, the three decided on a fantasy world with a history involving an extremely high tech civilization. Relics of the past could be obtained by the players and players could even combine these technological relics with magic or psionics. This process was performed by the scions, powerful creations of the ancients who held the knowledge of ancient technology, magic, and psionics. Certain scions could even combine all three, but items with Egos could not be obtained this way. They were exceedingly rare things, and not even the scions knew how they came about. They could modify Ego items, but could not instill an Ego into anything.

The world itself was one of natural beauty, it was a massive world and no one had traveled it's width and breadth. In fact, in the 2 years since it's release to the public, no more than four percent of it's lands had been explored. Fifty out of the 1000+ races had been opened up as default races, the rest were still available as hidden races, but the odds of one being available were astronomical, so most people didn't even try to get one. Of the 2000+ classes fifty were also open as default classes, although the chances of one of them coming up as a hidden class were a little more than double, the odds against that were still exceedingly high. The fact that they could sometimes be found by special quests made a hidden class much more likely for a player to have than a hidden race.

This just goes to show how vast the world of Trinity Online is, but the biggest draw for Trinity is the marvels one could find even in that four percent of the world that had been explored so far. Massive ice caverns, dynamic vistas, majestic peaks, and more that the world was covered with. There were even marvels that could be seen, but not one player had ever successfully reached. One such place was a massive floating island named Asgard after Norse Mythology. In truth, it was a massive floating continent more than an island. This technological marvel had buildings reminiscent of Norse designs and so the continent had been called Asgard. Can you imagine a flying continent, and then imagine ACTUALLY SEEING ONE?! This is just one example of the wonders present in Trinity Online.

Of the lands currently explored by players since it's release, there are the coastal kingdom of New Famore, it's area is actually more mainland than coast, but it currently has the only three port cities. It covers the largest amount of acreage of all the lands currently known, though not by much. The land of Genis to the east of New Famore is a massive area of flatland surrounded by here-to-fore insurmountable mountains. Between the two major lands of Faramore lies a small kingdom with a small open area of habitable land and two narrowed valleys on either of the other two kingdoms' borders. Whereas the other two kingdoms are rather peaceful, this land is heavily contested by monsters and bandits, thus the citadel of Agremore Castle plays a strategic point in the defense of the civilized lands. Of the four smaller cities that grace the lands of Avelin, the fortress of Agremore Castle stands near the last valley in the Queendom of Avelin.

One might wonder why John would point his sister toward this city under siege but the fact is that it was currently the only population smaller than a city, in all the lands, that accepts entrance for characters of all classes or races. The citadel doesn't come under siege all that often, and more often than not, is attacked by smaller squads or troops of low level bandits or goblins. Very rarely there is a spotting of a Dire Wolf or other such high leveled creature. These encounters are still dangerous, but are much less so than a high leveled siege army.

***

Andrea woke up to the sounds of a servant girl asking her to wake up. Oh. . . Please wake up Your Highness, Her Majesty will be quite cross with me if a princess such as yourself is not present for breakfast. She sat up to find a servant girl rushing around to prepare things for her. A dress that was far too daring was laid out and prepared for her.

I won't wear that, Andrea responded after a moment.

Wha, the servant girl was panicking, Bu-but Her Majesty instructed me to ready a dress for you. The girl looked very small and very scared at this point.

Please prepare my dress Hakama, Reiya responded in a gentle voice, she didn't want to embarrass her, but the dresses she could see had far too deep of a cleft in the front for her tastes. She might want to impress Andaros, but she didn't want to reveal that much of herself. None of these dresses would suit me.

Bu-but you would look absolutely stunning in this dress, she replied shrinking back more and more. A-and, Her Majesty forbade me to let you use your Hakama today. Her voice was sounding smaller and smaller, After all, today is the day that Duke Engle's son is coming to the court . . .

GET ME MY HAKAMA! The yell startled the timid servant so much that she did as she was told in a panic. Reiya quickly and expertly put the outfit on, gathered her things in her inventory, and finally grabbed the dress the servant had laid out and put it in there too. She then rushed out of the room with the servant girl chasing after her.

Wait, she cried, Her Majesty will punish me for sure!

I will not be paraded around like some prize to be won! Reiya was livid, what was with this. She was only in the game for a few minutes, and already some ruler of a kingdom whom she didn't even know was trying to sell her off to some noble she didn't know nor care about. I'm not some horse.

Display map! Reiya consulted her map and headed to the dining room. When she approached the dining room the guards visibly shrunk, but the butler in front of the door seemed unaffected. He simply instructed the guards to open the door after giving Reiya a disdainful look. She ignored the man and entered the room.

The Princess Reiya, the butler said in a perfectly professional manner.

What is the meaning of this, A young girl's voice rang out, I specifically ordered that Princess Reiya wear a traditional dress, why is she wearing that thing. Reiya turned to find a girl of about nine years old sitting in the queen's seat at the head of the table.

SHUT UP, Reiya yelled. Everyone froze as they waited for the angry response they expected from Her Majesty. Before she could respond however, Reiya launched into a tirade of her own. That's what I want to know! You think you can pawn me off like some kind of bargaining chip! Well guess what, you can't! I do not belong to this kingdom, and I sure as hell don't belong to you! Don't you dare think you can choose someone for me!

W-Who do you think you're talking to like that! The queen was angry after her outburst, but Reiya simply glared at her, silencing any more protests she had. Her royal guards stood with hands on their weapons but didn't dare move a muscle against a princess of another kingdom, unless she attacked first.

After a moment a voice interjected into the silence. She's right Your majesty, Rino's voice said in an icy tone. The room became even more tense for a moment before she spoke again. Calm down Reiya, a princess must always hold her composure, the tone was lightly reprimanding but still managed to quench her anger. After all, now Reiya had allies here. Standing there were the three she had recently met, they were also wearing Hakama. All three were trailed by obviously dismayed female attendants.

Your majesty, a gentle voice said after a moment, Reiya recognized it as Elga's, we are not part of your kingdom. We are simply in your care until we can prepare to face this world ourselves. Her voice became a bit gentler after she said this. I appreciate your efforts but they were mistaken. all we require is a bed, food, and basic training. Now, can we put this all behind us? We wish to enjoy breakfast, and then we have some business to attend to in town. Our companion is likely waiting for us in town. Also, this is dress attire where we come from. Her tone became noticeably reprimanding. So please, do not refer to our Hakama so disdainfully.

V-Very well, the young Queen Isnaal responded reluctantly, Please excuse my lack of courtesy. With that the argument was over, and they settled down for a meal that was far too ornate for Reiya, but she gratefully ate anyway. After dinner, Queen Isnaal pulled her aside, after a moment of indecision she said, Sorry, while looking down at the ground. I-it's just . . . it's such a waste, you have such a beautiful body . . . just like my sister.

Reiya hugged her suddenly, You are sooo cute! Then she patted her gently on the head, but I already have someone I love. May I keep it and wear it for him some day? A nod from Isnaal was answer enough. Thank you, I'll introduce him to you later.

Is, is it the companion you mentioned earlier? She said stepping back and looking up at her.

Reiya nodded, He's the most gentle man I know, far too selfless for his own good, and honorable to a fault, she smiled wryly, He's all I could ever ask for.

Let's go Reiya, we need to meet up before he gets too impatient, Rino spoke up.

W-would you mind being my friend, Isnaal asked shyly.

Sure, Reiya said brightly, Do you mind if I bring Andaros to the castle?

U-um, sure, Isnaal responded. I-if you want you can have him stay here as a guest. If he needs training he can train at the barracks and peruse the library as he likes.

Reiya brightened visibly, and then hugged her once again, Thanks! I'd better get going, see you later!

Isnaal smiled and cried out, See you later! You have to let me meet him, as they left for town.

***

Marie Tranis was a bit distracted. Was everything okay with her children? Were they enjoying themselves? Were they behaving in a proper manner? The thirty year old mother of two had given birth young. She had nearly lost the child due to shock from The Father leaving her. She somehow pulled through and gave birth to a darling baby girl, who became her strength and was the light of her life. Later she had met a widowed man with a boy fifteen months older than her daughter, fell in love, and married him. Though she was of Japanese decent Marie was raised in The United States.

She had two heritages, and at first had no idea what to do, eventually she acted out, got in with the wrong crowd, and met the wrong guy, this lead to an early pregnancy and said guy leaving town never to be seen again. She was trapped between a rock and a hard place, and began to truly hate her dual heritage, but her daughter became a positive influence.

When she looked at the darling girl she couldn't help but feel the desire to protect her. That protective instinct allowed her to get through this time until she began to understand more about her parents, and herself through their interactions. Four years after her change of outlook she met Nathaniel Tranis, an electronic engineer working on a very special project for a game company, SuperCal. As she got to know him, Marie came to learn that he had a son fifteen months older than her daughter, it was then she said something that would change their lives forever, Would you like to go on a picnic together? You can bring your son, and I can bring my daughter. From there the date, time, and place were set, and they met the next Saturday.

For some reason Marie really wanted to impress Nathan, she even planned to prepare a bento using all her cooking skill, but unfortunate, life is not so simple. The tempura batter wouldn't stick well to the shrimp, the miso soup was sweet, the tamagoyaki (a rolled omelet) were burnt, the summer pickles weren't pickled, the baked salmon was over-cooked, and the onigiri were misshapen, the only thing that came out alright were the apple rabbits. She was so nervous she messed just about everything up. Nothing was dangerous, but it certainly wasn't a good start. She thought no one would eat and it would be a disaster, but then John, despite his shyness grabbed an omelet, and began to eat. She expected to hear complaints from him, but instead he had immediately grabbed, and tried, a bit of the tempura, he seemed to actually enjoy it. Next he grabbed some only lightly pickled vegetables, and ate them happily. Nathan did the same thing and so did Andrea, who was at that time named Reiya. Before long all the food was gone, and she was crying happily. She fell in love with John that day, and with Nathan not long after. The two soon became a couple and six months later they married, she had known him for one year at that point.

Nathan turned out to be a big sweetheart who helped her to fully accept, and even appreciate, her dual heritage. John was a shy kid, but once he came to know you it was like watching a rose bloom. John and Reiya grew to be very close. Marie and Nathan had her name changed to Andrea hoping it would help her, or maybe out of vanity, she wasn't sure anymore. John opened up and appeared to have become outgoing in order to protect Andrea, but was still the same shy boy on the inside. He protected his now sister from the bullies in their new school. Even when that incident occurred and he was faced with ten other boys, he stood strong for her. That was when Marie first started entertaining the idea of giving her daughter to him. She made him promise not to fight anymore after the uproar about the children calmed down some, and began to teach him the martial arts she had inherited. After that he had returned to the shy boy from before. She shook her head after hitting the mat, she should concentrate on the match...

***

Nathaniel Tranis sat at the desk in his study thinking. When he was told about the kinds of things the kids at school did to John, and how he never argued or fought back, he had been shocked. After hearing the story he contacted the school Chairman, and had a long conversation with him about what had been going on at the school. Jason had assured him he would look into this, they were friends after all. Nathaniel had thanked him, and apologized that their first conversation in so long had been about this. How long had it been since they had last talked? Nathaniel had lost track, he had been meaning to contact him again before he learned of this, they had been inseparable as kids after all.

He sat in his study thinking about the times he good-naturedly teased John when his stuttering sounded like some Pop or Rock song he had heard before. He hoped his indiscretion didn't adversely affect his son. He decided he should talk with him and apologize for those times the next time he saw him. It was possible it had hurt him and he hadn't said anything, especially if he hadn't said anything no matter what the bullies did to him.

Chapter Three

Andaros felt as if he had opened his eyes after a long time of having them closed. That brief moment of being overwhelmed by the brightness and splendor of the world around you was the only way he could think of to describe the sensation he was feeling. Witnessing Trinity Online's breathtaking beauty for the first time was truly like stepping into another world. He was so surprised and engrossed that he didn't move out of the way before someone bumped into him.

Hey, watch it buddy, said a gruff voice before the owner turned toward him. A look of utter shock appeared on the man's face as he craned his neck up to look at him. He seemed pretty short to John, wait, why was everyone so short?

Good Morning Master, a male voice echoed in his ears. He tried