Alright, first let's maximize the colony count. I'll get non-monsterized moss within my view. Being in a forest makes this easy since moss is everywhere~.
I wonder if the initial location is a place where it's easy for each species to move around? Are there any other players here?
For now, let's activate colonization.
[Consuming 1 Action Value to activate "Colonization Lv1"] Action Value: 9/10
[Colony Count increased by 199]
[Maximum Colony Count reached]
[Gained 1 Fusion Evolution Point]
Action Value: 9/10
Colony Count: 500/500
Fusion Evolution Points: 3
[Skill "Decolonization Lv1" acquired for meeting specified conditions]
Hm? I've already obtained a new skill. Let me check the details. I see, a skill to release what I've colonized. Why would I need such a skill...?
Ah!? Without being able to release, I wouldn't be able to move at all until someone reduces my colony count! I should probably try this out.
[Consuming 1 Action Value to activate "Colony Movement Lv1"] Action Value: 9/10
Good, now I can move. They mentioned moving the core of the mental life form, but it's basically like moving the player's viewpoint? Alright, next!
[Consuming 1 Action Value to activate "Decolonization Lv1"] Action Value: 8/10
[Colony Count decreased by 250] Colony Count: 250/500
Decolonization can be activated the same way as colonization. But a 250 decrease in colony count? There was quite a lot of moss in my view, so maybe that's why.
Anyway, I understand how to move now. The flow is to colonize moss in the direction I want to go, move there with colony movement, then disconnect from the previous moss with decolonization. And since there's a limit to action value, I can't keep moving continuously.
Isn't this more troublesome than just walking? Well, I'm moss, so I can't walk anyway...
After repeating colonization and decolonization for a while, I spot a target. It appears to be a general organism, a bear. For now, I'll free up some colony count space with decolonization and wait for my action value to recover to maximum. Alright, OK.
Target: the bear ahead. Good, confirmed moss at its feet! First, I'll extend my action range to its feet with colonization!
[Consuming 1 Action Value to activate "Colonization Lv1"] Action Value: 9/10
[Colony Count increased by 200] Colony Count: 450/500
Target, the bear shows no change. Good, general organisms don't notice me. Well, if they noticed right from the start, there wouldn't be much I could do. Next, moving to attack action!
[Consuming 1 Action Value to activate "Slip Lv1"] Action Value: 8/10
Oh!? The bear lost its balance a little! Ah, crud, it's harder to make it fall when it's already planted its feet? Hmm, it's starting to look around cautiously... I'll make it slip on its next step!
Oh, it's taking a step forward while being cautious. Alright, there!
[Consuming 1 Action Value to activate "Slip Lv1"] Action Value: 7/10
"Eek!"
"Yes!"
The bear slipped and fell spectacularly! I couldn't help but want to make a victory pose and let out a cheer. I couldn't make the pose, though... wait a minute, whose voice was that "Eek!" just now...?
"...What's with the 'Yes!'? Who is it, come out!"
There was a very angry bear... a bear monster player. From the voice, probably female... The bear's gaze, which had been looking around angrily, fixes on me. Alright, let's try to avoid being noticed. Yeah, I'm moss, so I shouldn't be found out. No problem!
"Well, well, there's quite an unusual one here? What are you up to, Moss-Kev?"
I was found out immediately!? Not just my species, but even my name!? In this case...
"I'm very sorry!!"
"Excuse me?"
Full-power apology is my only option. My heart is doing a dogeza. But only in my heart. An angry bear is really scary... Just think about it. A realistic bear staring at you with anger!
The bear person didn't seem to expect a straightforward apology, and upon receiving mine, quickly calmed down.
"So, Kev. Why did you suddenly do something like that?"
"Well, um, that is... I was trying to experiment with my skills, thought you were a general organism, made a mistake and accidentally..."
"...? Why would you make that mistake?"
"Huh? Because the cursor display was also that of a general organism."
"...Ah, I see. Kev, you played the offline version, right?"
"Absolutely, extensively!"
"And you didn't properly read the help..."
"...Huh? Ah!? So that's it!?"
Upon the bear person's prompting, I opened the help and immediately discovered the reason.
[About Player Cursors]
"Red Collective" affiliated players are displayed in red, "Blue Collective" affiliated players in blue, "Gray Collective" affiliated players in gray, NPCs and general organisms in green, and important objects in yellow.
In the offline version, general organisms and NPCs were indicated with a gray cursor. It seems I just didn't notice the change in notation... In the offline version too, one cause might be that in the very beginning, you can't distinguish between general organisms and monsters... Unlike other VRMMORPGs, there's no initial town or anything...
In offline, even if you make a mistake, you don't cause trouble for anyone. Yeah, I mustn't forget that this is an online game!
"I'm truly sorry! It's entirely my fault!"
That's why I apologize with all my might! In this game, PK (Player Killing) isn't non-existent, but it's probably intended for opponents with different affiliations. Well, I haven't read the help though.
I could insist that I did nothing wrong, but there's nothing good about becoming enemies with a player who is also affiliated with the "Gray Collective" and is my first encounter on the service's first day.
"Sigh, I understand it was a misunderstanding. It's true that many things seem to have changed. I should be careful too..."
"S-so then?"
"I'll forgive you. However, there's just one condition?"
"...Condition?"
What could it be? This game doesn't have currency, and I don't have any items yet, so I can't prepare an apology gift?
"It's nothing, just something simple. Tell me about that newly implemented moss!"
"Ah, that much is fine."
Yeah, it's understandable to be curious. If someone else were moss, I would really want to know about it too. However, I wouldn't normally tell someone I've just met who could be anyone, but this is a perfect opportunity. If I were in this bear person's position, I'd do the same thing.
"Here you go, then."
Saying that, the bear person sent me a friend request. Ah, she wants me to continue telling her about it in the future. This is also one of the joys of online gaming, I guess. She doesn't seem like a bad person.
"Species: Bear, Ms. Saya, huh."
"Just call me by my name without honorifics. I'll do the same."
"I see. Nice to meet you, Saya."
"Nice to meet you too, Kev."
And thus I quickly made my first in-game friend. It's not hard to imagine that I was bombarded with questions afterward. However, I've just started verifying things. She seems curious about various things, so maybe I should ask Saya to help?