Josh still didn't entirely understand just how he had gotten sucked back into this game again. He'd tried it once, wasn't a huge fan of it, never played it again. But his son, Zack, had seen the game on the shelf and wanted him to show him how to play because it "looked cool" so to speak, and Zack himself was still too young to play any full-VR system games. Though the game had apparently died, but it seemed he could transfer his account to something that was... Essentially the same? He didn't understand how all of this worked, to be honest. Maybe he was just getting old. But he was in, and his son was happy to watch, so this would do.

It wasn't long after that he found out by chance that one of his co-workers played, and now he was roped into... Whatever this was. Since Lightning wouldn't go inside his Pokeball long enough to be brought into the game, Josh would bring his Charizard "Fawkes" instead, as a "Flying Mount" as they called it. Though it sounded like his moves might not work...

Clothed in military garb with a single shoulder pauldron, and an overly large sword on his back, Josh would soon join his co-worker after finding him thanks to this party system thing. Though to his surprise, the kid was actually riding Raikou. Riding actual Raikou. Or well, virtual Raikou.

"Well, I guess dreams come true in virtual reality" Josh pointed out as he approached. "What's the objective, chief? Hopefully something exciting -- my son is watching."

Josh Devlin

-Notes-

Devlin's eyes shifted between the deployment timer and the party list as Blitz walked around the gathering hall. To his surprise, one of his co-workers blipped in nearby. As soon as Dragomir's character's name was added to the list, a message popped up in the center of his virt display, partially obstructing his view of his boss:

LIGHT PARTY filled. Duty will commence in 5 minutes.

"Wow, wasn't expecting to run into you here!" he greeted his Ranger superior, Blitz sounding a cry that sounded distinctively more like a Luxray than Raikou. His companion appeared to be playing a fully martial class, if the giant sword sheathed on his back was any indication. It would be very good at piercing the armor of the dragons they would be taking on. "Before I became a racer, I used to do beta testing for the same company that revived this game. Unfortunately, riding Raikou here won't help me prepare for what I'll need to do to make my dream come true in actual reality. It is fun to fantasize about, though."

As the timer counted down, the others that would be going on the Duty with him gathered around: there appeared to be a pure offensive spellcaster and a pure defensive spellcaster, a Hatenna and a shiny Hatenna perched on the heads of the short male and female. They were equally talkative to one another; Devlin presumed their players knew each other outside the game, just like the two Joshes did. "It's a dragon raid. We're going to have to get to the summit and cut down what's in our way. Unfortunately my build is all about Electric skills, so I'll need to be the one that draws aggro. They'll all be too slow to hit me, though. I'm riding Raikou, dammit. Good luck even seeing me!" he smirked. "Isn't that right, Raikou?" His mount again let out a cry that sounded far more like a Luxray than the electric tiger's thunder-like roar.

As the two continued to make small talk, a DUTY COMMENCED message flashed in front of Devlin's eyes, his vision fading to white as he was transported to a volcanic mountain trail that was quite toasty. A choir-voiced, percussion-focused soundtrack accompanied by the sound of bubbling magma filled the environment around them. His party's current status was always in the lower right corner of his vision. "Alright, let's get climbing."

"I don't know the game well. But my kid wanted to see it, so here I am" Josh remarked with a shrug. He hadn't actually told Devlin before that he had kids, did he? Well, it didn't seem like Devlin had even noticed, he was more absorbed in everything going on. Fair enough. But that cry from Raikou... It sounded like a Luxray, didn't it? Josh blinked a few times as he stared it down... He supposed a VR game wouldn't know what a Raikou sounded like, but its body language looked like that of a Luxray too.

Devlin talked about how he used to beta test for this game. Sounded about right for a kid his age. He would have been the target demographic for a VR game. Others joined them, though Josh didn't recognize them. Par for the course in these circumstances, he supposed. Meanwhile, Josh listened as the kid would explain what they were doing. Which was good. Because he had no idea.

God, he was getting old, wasn't he?

Then they were transported to somewhere else, an experience Josh was still getting used to. With a breath, he would send out a dragon of his own in the form of Fawkes. The Charizard had a saddle that seemed to match the theme of Josh's outfit, making it quite the sight. Josh had also done some work on its functions, using his own tech know-how. He had no idea if that was even legal in the game, but he supposed he would just have to find out.

And it seemed he had brought the perfect mount for the situation, as well. Josh would mount Fawkes and hit a button on the saddle, with an opening being put in place for the sword on his back. Sliding the giant sword neatly inside, he would motion for Fawkes to take off.

Josh Devlin

-Notes-

While Fawkes was swift due to flying mounts being the fastest type of free travel in the game, the electric tiger Devlin sat astride was by far the fastest land mount released so far. It was in a speed class of its own, only rivaled or exceeded by a handful of aerial mounts in the game. Fawkes just happened to be one of them. He held the disguised Luxray's reins in anticipation. "Alright...Raikou! Let's go!" The thundercloud beneath him started sparking with bright yellows and whites, the electricity not bothering the creature's rider one bit. The cat's powerful strides made for a slightly rougher ride than Little Josh was used to with his feline Pokémon back in meatspace. Dragomir and Fawkes were beating him up the mountain by virtue of not having to follow the mountain's trail. He tugged on the feline's reins and dug his heels into his ride's flanks. "Faster, Raikou! Fast-WHOA!"

Devlin lurched back in the saddle sharply as sparks cascaded backward around Blitz, his gallop so rapid it felt...almost foreign to him. It almost felt like he was floating above his mount, what with how fast the run cycle was. If he did this in meatspace, it probably would have been painful. On the Net, though, it felt merely disorienting. Exhilarating, even. The two charged through packs of small dragon Pokémon, many of which were too slow to avoid being trampled by the speeding cat.

After a cinematic leap from "Raikou", Devlin had caught up with Dragomir...just in the nick of time for a red pop-up to come up in the center of his field of view: COMBAT MODE ACTIVATED, accompanied by a change in music to some high-octane rock. He instinctively drew the bolt-shaped Lightning Sword, which crackled yellows and whites with electricity. As he scanned for what triggered the encounter, a medium-sized fireball sizzled Devlin's way from behind.

Devlin felt a strong sensation of heat from behind as he was struck, but not burning. After all, there were two universal rules to full-sim software: first, users had to retain control of their dominant arm, to be able to reach for the cord connecting themselves to the Net and allow them to "jack out" at any time. Second, no full-sim software could legally access the pain receptors of a user's brain. Therefore, developers had to get creative in the way they made their players feel like they were getting hurt without actually hurting them. The knight's eyes shifted back and forth as a trio of red numerals cascaded and bounced in front of him, an indicator of his much damage he had taken.

Being used to navigating these sorts of mountains aboard Fawkes, Josh knew how to scale it quickly through pure efficiency. He knew what turns would reduce Fawkes' speed and when the right time to change direction was if he was to keep the Charizard at a consistent pace. He didn't speak throughout, focusing on what was ahead of him. That was just how he was these days, calm, collected and effective. It made for better morale for his Pokemon as well if he made it clear that he knew what he was doing. If he wasn't panicking, it was safe to assume that he had the matter in hand.

Devlin had a fairly fast mount too though, who knew an AI could generate something that fast? Of course, his lack of knowledge of this game made it so he didn't know that Devlin was actually riding a Manectric with a Raikou "skin", even if the "Raikou" was rather suspicious in its movements and the sounds that it was making.

But then a popup would come into his field of view. He didn't know this game well, but he could take a guess at what the words meant. Josh placed a hand on Fawkes' neck to indicate that they had company, and the Charizard would slow down in response. Then it came -- meteors. Fawkes ducked and weaved without the Trainer's instruction, and it was clear right away why Josh had chosen one of his oldest Pokemon for this. As he didn't know what to expect in this game, Fawkes was the best choice for handling unforeseen occurrences and adjusting on the fly.

But then Josh saw that the kid had been hit. Not knowing how taking damage might impact the kid, Josh would motion for Fawkes to go to him, but they were hit in the side by a meteor in the process.

No pain.

But he felt something for sure, and that told his brain something was wrong enough.

"Oi, kid, you ok?"

Josh Devlin

-Notes-

Devlin's eyes caught the source of the twin attacks: a pair of Turtonator guarding the summit entrance. He had encountered and defeated this type of enemy previously, letting him see exactly how healthy the foes were. They didn't look too strong, but they were strong enough to be worth spending some resources on.



The two mages standing behind the knight knew they had to conserve as many resources as possible for the boss that was looming ahead, spending their time mostly supporting Devlin and his electric mount, though their offensive spellcaster did soften both of them up with an area ice spell. "Let's go, Raikou!" He pointed the Lightning Sword at one of the Turtonator, his Luxray mount charging toward the fire dragon with great speed.

"Be rent asunder, demon!" Little Josh cried as the feline reached full gallop. "STORM STRIKE!" He thrust his electric blade into the fire-breathing dragon. While his display showed the attack as resisted, the electric attack made use of his superior Strength, allowing the two to fell one of them. Now it was Big Josh's turn to clean things up before the intimidating Pokémon got to torch them again!

[attr="class","dragomirpt"]

"You gotta be shitting me."
[break][break]
This game was crazy. While he wasn't in pain or anything, the sensation still disturbed him. And they expected kids to be able to play this stuff? He took a deep breath, bade himself to stay calm and focus on the task at hand. The best thing to do, he decided, was handle this like any other Ranger mission. Even if this was just VR, his senses, his instincts, they would still serve him well here.
[break][break]
It didn't take long for the Ranger to figure out the source of their strife, a pair of Turtonator who appeared to be guarding something. Normally he would say it was a nest or something, but this was a video game with no guarantees that the makers had any level of detailed knowledge when it came to the behavioral patterns of specific Pokemon. Turtonator were imposing, so they used them. That was likely all there was to it and he had to remind himself of that fact.
[break][break]
He sure hoped Zack was enjoying himself watching daddy try to dodge death, he thought as he bade Fawkes to charge forward towards the Turtonator. The mages and Little Josh were speedy and were able to overwhelm the twin ground-dragons enough that once Fawkes would drop him from above, Josh would pull out the large sword and bring it down, slashing at their sides as he still had no mind for lethal blows against Pokemon. While he didn't shout any catchphrases like his younger counterpart, his blade would be coated in a water-like substance just before the blows came about, dealing extra damage in the process. He spun the blade around to ensure he was able to hit them both in succession, effortlessly swinging around the blade like he was born for it.
[break][break]
Of course, he still had to figure out how to get away from them if he didn't fell them right away.
[break][break]

Josh Devlin

Big Josh's aquatic slashes brought the ground-bound dragons to their knees, the feral creatures' bodies fading to nothingness shortly after they were dispatched. He felt compelled to raise his sword arm to strike a victory pose, the electric-type "legendary" sounding a victory roar of his own. He felt a surge of strength course through his muscles, as well, a series of blue messages scrolling across the top of his vision:

Josh is now a level 41 Mystic Knight! || Josh's Elec Affinity has increased by 1! || A new skill has been learned: Ziobarion!

Ziobarion +1         45 TP
Severe Elec attack to one foe.

The skill slots are full. Please select a skill to discard.

"I wasn't before, but I'm feeling fine now! Is what it feels like to level up?" Gaining a level came with a complete refresh, it seemed. He had a decision to make before they could continue on. Ultimately he felt a buff and a debuff for the same attribute were redundant, and gave up the ability to ensnare an entire area with a speed trap. In exchange, he could loose a surge of electricity worthy of his "legendary" steed's name.

The skill Masukunda has been discarded.

With that, the party's healer worked on patching up Big Josh if he needed it, then the electric hero continued to lead the way. Reaching the peak, Devlin saw a long bridge of volcanic rock that looked like it shouldn't have been able to hold up due to its sheer length. He had seen more esoteric worlds back when he was big into video games. Just in case, though, he had to be prepared.

He gathered the two spellcasters around himself, letting Big Josh catch up if he wanted to, as well. Regardless, he began incanting one of the few spells he knew. "Become fleet of foot! MASUKUKAJA!" A tingling sensation not unlike the feeling before a lightning strike enveloped all three (or four) of them, as well as Blitz, and Fawkes if Dragomir allowed it. Those affected felt like they could run or fly like the wind, making the long bridge crossing much faster. The defensive mage could levitate himself and his friend with a floatation spell if the bridge collapsed, and Big Josh could fly, thanks to Fawkes. Josh didn't have that luxury. He did, however, have the fastest ride in the game. And he was going to push that ride as fast as it could go.

Little Josh lined up Blitz to sprint across the long but straight land bridge leading to the range's main peak, where his mini-map indicated the raid's objective--and boss--was. "Alright, Raikou! I think I'm ready! Show me how fast your full speed is!" The electric feline took as many steps back as the environment would allow, crouched, and lunged forward, accelerating at an awe-inspiring pace. Josh had definitely hit the limit on the intensity of feedback the environment was permitted to give; he would have pancaked if he tried this in the real world. "YEEEEEE HAAAAAA!!!" he screamed, the world whipping past him, his skin tingling as his voice echoed. Unbeknownst to them, his echoing cry had woken a sleeping monster at the peak on the other side of the bridge, and one that would not be too pleased to see them...

[attr="class","dragomirpt"]

Josh watched the creatures fade to nothing with a perturbed expression. Of course this was a game, but seeing such life-like Pokemon just disappear tugged at his heart a little. Taking a breath to steel himself with the knowledge that this would continue and he would have to remember this wasn't real at all, he watched with a quirked brow as a bunch of messages began to be marked over his head. Something about levelling up, he didn't really understand this game. Sure, he had played these kinds of games when he was younger, and still did sometimes with his kids. But in VR it was still a little bit... Weird.
[break][break]
He wasn't getting old, he swore.
[break][break]
While the kid was busy with his stats, Josh was focused on what was in front of them. Perhaps it was the Ranger's mindset kicking in, but he figured he could look at "skills" and such once they were safe and the mission was finished. They weren't going anywhere, right? If he knew his games, he could make those calls later when he was of the right mind. Speaking of skills, it seemed that their NPC teammate was working on healing them, which was fine with him. It let him focus on dealing damage. The group came to a bridge that really looked like it shouldn't be holding up. Josh couldn't help but be afraid it could fall at any moment. If only they had a Lapras that could freeze the area...
[break][break]
Little Josh suddenly cast a spell, and Josh found himself almost falling over as his feet became much quicker. Fawkes was the same, and the Charizard flipped over in the air as it moved to return to its trainer. The Charizard looked just as confused as he was. But regardless, Little Josh shot forward on Raikou, so Josh shrugged and mounted Fawkes once more. "Well Fawkes, you heard him. Let's mosey" Josh cheeked as the Charizard seemed to decide to just roll with it and go after them. Though not long after, Josh felt the hairs prickle on the back of his neck.
[break][break]

Josh Devlin

A loud rumbling noise, followed by shaking of the ground beneath him, forced Josh to exercise caution and curtail his ride's breakneck pace before reaching the mountain's volcanic peak. A large, cylindrical rock formation in the center of the bubbling crater gave the Josh and the rest of the party plenty of room to move when they got there. A bright red lens flare obscured a large, dragon-shaped creature that he did not immediately recognize, its cry one he did not recognize, either.

Whatever it was, it had to be the Notorious Monster of the Mortal Dragon Mountain. Its roar drowned out the rest of the ambient sound, and made conversation difficult. Their two other companions waited for Fawkes and Josh to catch up before firing off defensive buffs - buffs they would need for the harsh, blistering heat radiating from the creature's lair. A red health bar labeled "BOSS" stretched across the top of the screen, along with two pop-ups on the left side of the heroes' fields of view:

A magick field has engulfed the party! Characters cannot use Items!

A magick field has engulfed the party, slowly draining HP!

It was indeed correct; with every passing moment, their own health values were rolling like a stopwatch counting down. The rate wasn't alarming; it would take several minutes of idling for them to reach zero, but it was something the healers would need to keep an eye on. It would also make any ailments like Poison and Burn far more lethal. Josh squinted through the red light, trying to identify his opponent before coming up with a battle plan.

[attr="class","dragomirpt"]

Noting that the smaller Josh seemed to be slowing down, Josh would pat the back of Fawkes' neck to indicate for him to do the same. While Fawkes was not skinned in the guise of a Raikou, there was one thing they had. A bond and mutual understanding forged with years of working together. It didn't take much for Fawkes to understand its Trainer's meaning and do as commanded. The reason why became clear, they had reached the peak and the large rock formation at the top looked like one thing Josh did in fact recognize from video games -- a boss area. It was so obvious, it was almost laughably so.
[break][break]
When he saw the massive figure at the center however, he instinctively brought a hand to where his Mega Gauntlet would be, but he felt no Keystone there. Josh grumbled under his breath, remembering that traditional Pokemon rules didn't apply here. Stupid game. He was just going to have to improvise, then. Then there was the things on their screens about no items and HP being drained. "Great. Fantastic" Josh muttered, motioning for Fawkes to take him down. It was white hot, he couldn't use Mega Evolution or any of Fawkes' moves come to think of it, and now this.
[break][break]
"We're not going to figure out its weakness if we don't start trying things, and time's ticking!" Josh called to Little Josh as he leaped off Fawkes' back to land on the rock formation at the center of the crater.
[break][break]

Josh Devlin

[attr="class","dragomirpt"]

He really did have to ask. What in the seven hells was he even looking at here? Josh wasn’t exactly new to video games or anything. He literally developed video technology, of course he was in tune with video games. And sometimes played them as a hobby. While he didn’t as often nowadays with how busy he was, and more often than not was mainly doing so as a means to spend time with his kids, he hadn’t thought he was THAT behind on the times. So a creature like this would normally be no problem…
[break][break]
The problem was that there was a stark difference between seeing them on a screen, and seeing them in front of your eyes as if they were real. His body began to shake as this mutant dragon… Thing, let out its roar. As did Fawkes, it seemed, and he had a feeling that was going to be a problem.
[break][break]
“I never thought until now that maybe, just maybe. I’m getting too old for video games” the ranger jipped as the mages tried an attack they seemed sure would work, but it was all for naught. And then the creature attacked back, and well. That wasn’t good. “TAKE COVER!” Josh called to the ground, taking command as he looked for any shelter he could find from the dragonfire. Rock formations that had been formed from the volcano’s magma movements, or debris caused by the creature living here. He couldn’t normally apply real world logic in games, but he was certainly going to try. Worst case scenario, he would have to use his giant sword as cover.
[break][break]
“If we can’t magick it, we’re just going to have to use brute force” Josh pointed out at that. “I have a flying mount, if someone can get its attention I can make an attempt at bashing its face in.”
[break][break]

Josh Devlin