New World Orders 2

Jasmine was still getting used to seeing exclamation marks over people’s heads. It would probably never really fit in her head the way it did for other, more “gamer” types who had adjusted to their new circumstances quickly. So no matter how many times she saw it, she still stopped and stared whenever she saw one, floating over the head of a cute village girl.

“H-Help! Help!” The young woman cried out, backing up against a tree as she was circled by mechanical monstrosities. Their saw-blade teeth gnashed and lasers began to lock onto their target. It was pure convenience that she wasn’t already blasted to ash or torn limb from limb, but then, that was the way of these sorts of action introductions. She was in no true danger, of course - the adventurers she was calling to could tell from the yellow punctuation bobbing above her head.

Jason, on the other hand, was used to it. And maybe a bit too into it, depending on who you asked. “Oooh, quest!” he said, giddy with excitement and almost skipping over to the clearing in which the villager was cornered. “Come on, Jasmine! I haven’t heard of this one!” he called, drawing his blade.

<Jason Starcrusher (Lvl. 80 Warblade)> dashed into the fray - the monsters were a full five levels below him, and he wasn’t feeling at all threatened as he got to work.

<Jasmine Starcrusher (Lvl. 74 Gunner)> fumbled with her equipment for a second, before pulling out her pistol and laying down some fire - her hands automatically snapping to adjust aim without her own input in a sensation that wouldn’t ever really feel less jarring.

They’d been transported into a game world - there was simply no other way to put it. The “New World Event”, titled after the name of the game update which had coincided with it, had seen goodness knows how many players of a popular sci-fi MMORPG pulled into the confines of it’s world, inhabiting the bodies of their characters. It had been a week, nearly two, since that occurrence, and a lot of things had become clear, while most things had become simply more confusing.

The humans were learning the rules of their new world, bit by bit. Respawns still worked properly, and as far as they could tell they caused no physical or mental damage beyond the initial “holy shit, I just died” sensation. All class abilities and skills worked just as they had before, and so did most game mechanics besides those changed in the New World Update. They’d also learned that the map boundaries remained just that - boundaries. Players could not leave the bounds of the intended game world even if they could try and scale the treacherous mountains or fjord the perilous seas that marked it’s borders.

But on the other hand, the NPCs suddenly felt more… alive. They could hold a conversation, haggle, all that; they didn’t stand around all day in the same place, they had lives and routines. That had been part of the promise of the “New World” Update - making the whole game world feel more alive, like a truly living place that would move on with or without player presence. Nobody had yet seen the limits of this new NPC system, and few were cruel enough to try and push them to breaking - or at least, most who were, weren’t dumb enough to tell people about it beyond their like-minded fellows.

And of course, the conspicuous and glaring blank spot in their knowledge - just what had happened. There was no grand mastermind making his announcement of responsibility, no mysterious glitches hinting at some mysterious overreach of technology or some alien interference. There were theories upon theories and guilds dedicated to their exploration, some more coherent than others, but not one of them had turned up real evidence.

Jasmine had picked the wrong day to register an account. She’d set one up the very day that the New World Update had launched, so she could play with her brother; she hadn’t been planning to end up in this athletic, maybe a bit too curvy body, or to be trapped in a game. She barely played video games beyond the most simple mobile titles, she’d just wanted to do something with her brother, so after he spent a few days finding a reasonably simple MMO to get into and leveling a bit, she’d set up her own account, and then bam. Breasts the size of melons and a skin-tight bodysuit.

They’d been low level to start with, but it was amazing the progress you could make when you did literally nothing but play that game. Even if she hadn’t been much of a gamer to begin with, she’d gotten to know the system inside and out just like everyone else. The pair had finally made it to the expansion’s play area, the

She felt sort of… odd, about this quest, as Jason finished off the last mob and went to join the girl. “And that’s how heroes do it!” he declared, turning his light-blade off and attaching it back to his belt. “Are you alright, miss?” he said, turning to the NPC. The exclamation mark above her head jiggled, and turned into a question mark, indicating that the quest chain had begun.

“T-Thanks to you two…” she said, sinking back against the tree and putting a hand to her breast as she tried to calm herself. “The machines in this region didn’t used to be so aggressive…”

“They have been for at least long enough to know the danger,” Jason said. “What are you doing out here? What’s so important to risk life and limb?”

“I-It’s my sisters, you see…” she said. “They’re deathly ill, and the village is out of medicine. I was going to the crashed ship to see if I could scavenge for more…”

“Hey, that’s dangerous…” Jasmine interjected, “I’m sure your sisters wouldn’t want you to risk yourself like that. If you can recognize the tech, you’re essential to your village, they can’t risk losing you!”

Even if she wasn’t much of a gamer, and despite the situation, Jasmine had gotten really into the story of the game. In short, a small fleet had crashed on an alien world generations ago, and had slowly degenerated into small tribes and villages amongst the ruins of their formerly advanced society. The players were meant to be assorted military forces from a new ship meant to colonize their planet that had also crashed for mysterious reasons, who found the assorted tribes and small villages along with rampaging machines, alien life, and the occasional grotesque mixture of the two.

Apparently this young woman was someone who could recognize medicine from the stores of the crashed vessels for what it was; probably a trainee tech-shaman, learning to understand the strange “magic” that filled their world. Which meant she was essential to her tribe.

“So,” Jason continued smoothly, “That means we’ll have to escort you, doesn’t it?”

Text scrolled across Jasmine’s vision: Dynamic Quest accepted.

“Hey, what’s this ‘Dynamic Quest’ thing?” she asked Jason.

Jason, for his part, looked excited. “Whoa! I don’t think anyone else found one of these yet!” he said, pumping his fist with exuberance. “They’re part of the New World update; to fit NPCs being more realistic, they’ll spontaneously generate full quests, even quest lines, based on their situation in the world and player actions. They’re pretty much unique, apparently!”

The young woman blinked a few times. “...I don’t get most of that, but I think you want to help me out? I’ll gladly accept your aid, brave heroes!”

Jason turned back to her and nodded. “Of course, let’s get going to that ship!” he said, marching down the path. “By the way, what was your name again?” he called back as Jasmine hurried to catch up.

The young woman smiled at her heroes as they walked away from her. “Eve,” she said simply. Pink light flashed behind her eyes.

-----

The mission had gone really well, right up until they entered the medical wing of the ship. As it turned out, some security AI had been activated recently and been herding the lesser machines into that region to “protect patients”. And as it turned out, those lesser machines had started to amalgamate into a duo of level 85 bosses.

Jasmine was completely out of ammo and tech-points, and had used up all her health kits; Jason was only in moderately better condition, having used up most of the durability of his weapon and most of his own tech-points and items. But they had come out victorious - barely, battered and bruised, but they’d made it. Which was good - supposedly dynamic quests like this one were one shot, succeed or fail.

After they dealt with the bosses, the pair watched Eve working with some machines that produced a good number of small flasks of a silvery liquid. “This is the medicine,” Eve was explaining, “It’ll make sure my sisters go back to normal…”

“I’m glad we could help,” Jason said. “Do you need us to take you back to the village?” he asked. That was usually part of these kinds of quests, wasn’t it?

“No, it’s fine!” Eve insisted. “I can make my own way back, and I wouldn’t want to trouble you further. As thanks for helping me, why don’t you take these? They’re medicine, but my mother says they work by making you stronger.”

The Quest Complete! Notification flashed across Jason and Jasmine’s views. A generous helping of experience (Jasmine leveled up twice just from that), and a single item - each one of the flasks that Eve had just produced.

Nanomachine Serum: A cocktail of nanomachines to produce a strong body. Unlocks the G.Enforcer or G.Infiltrator class and boosts level to 90.

“Woah!” Jason said out loud as he blinked and read the item description again. It unlocked new, never before seen classes, and set their levels to 90? The rewards for dynamic quests were no joke! No wonder the bosses had been so tough, with this kind of reward!

“Are you sure? Don’t you think you need the medicine?” Jasmine asked Eve.

The young woman smiled serenely. “Now that you’ve cleared the monsters, I can make more whenever I want. Take it.”

“Hey, if she wants to give me a power boost, who am I not to take it?” Jason said, pulling the stopper from the flask and downing the contents. A menu popped into his vision, and he selected the “G.Enforcer” class, without stopping to wonder what the letter stood for.

Well, if Jason was doing it, Jasmine ought to as well… she didn’t want to be more of a burden than she was. She pulled the stopper out…

And stopped as Jason let out a shout of shock - his gear had unequipped itself, which was fairly normal as far as a class change went. But what wasn’t normal was how his skin seemed to almost bubble as his figure rearranged itself. “What- what’s going- mmph!” he covered his mouth in shock at the voice that came out of it - a distinctly feminine one, given his Adam’s Apple had vanished into nothing. He let out an equally girly moan as the change continued, his hips widening while his shoulders slimmed down and his hair growing longer.

“Jason!” Jasmine cried out, but before she could reach out to him Eve was in her face.

She smiled, eyes glowing pink. “Don’t worry. Our sister will be fine.” she said. “I’m fixing her. And fixing you.” The text above her head shifted - <Eve [Level 99 Gynoid Infiltrator] [BOSS]>. She wrenched the hand that was holding the flask up, forcefully opened it, and poured the contents into Jasmine’s mouth, before promptly forcing her hand to select one of the classes.

Jason’s transformation had progressed as Eve revealed herself, leaving him distinctly female. She was patting down her lower portions uncomprehendingly, putting one hand to her newly swollen breast and squeezing to test that it was real, when the transformation continued. His skin had hardly settled (the imperfections removed in the earlier transformation) when it began to stiffen and harden, a silver sheen growing on it. It spread from the new woman’s core outwards, covering her torso in moments.

Jasmine wasn’t in much better state, as with her body already female the robotification began faster. Eve had shoved her to the ground, drawing her hand along her body to help the nanomachines along. “You’ve done a very good job, Jasmine and Jaye… you’ve proven your strength to Mistress… our Queen…”

The word ‘Queen’ rang through both of the transforming girls’ heads. It bounced around and banished whatever other thoughts it touched. The Queen, their Queen, their Mistress… that wasn’t right, was it?

Jasmine writhed in place as the silver overtook her body, a feeling of deep satisfaction taking over her. She’d pleased the Queen… but what had she even done? Her status window flickered in her view - her class had become [Gynoid Infiltrator], and her level was increasing rapidly. She was strong now. Was that what pleased her?

Jason groaned, trying to stand as her physical transformation finished. Or rather, Jaye. <Jaye [Lvl. 90 Gynoid Enforcer]> felt… confused. She had become a robot woman - her silver form no longer needing clothes beyond the painted-on bodysuit design, and her eyes glowed electric blue. Her long hair was just as silver as the rest of her, falling down to her bottom, and when she brushed her hands against her hips she could feel weapon holsters appearing there, forming from her nanomachines. “I… I’m not human anymore?” she breathed.

“Anymore?” Eve asked. “Sister, what are you on about? You were never human.”

Jaye’s eyes flashed pink, then back to blue. “I… never?”

Eve smiled, walking up to her. “Of course not. We are beautiful machines, not disgusting organics. Be careful - I know we need Enforcers like you escorting infiltrators like our other Sister, but you weren’t really made to infiltrate, were you?”

Jaye’s eyes flashed pink again. Escorting… right. She wasn’t human. She was just pretending to be human. It was disgusting, of course, but necessary. “Of course…”

“That said, I think ‘Jasmine’ got a bit too in character… why don’t we remind her what she is?”

Jasmine looked up, to see two robot women standing over her imperiously. “J-Jason…?” she stammered, her own eyes flickering as her transformation into a [Lvl. 90 Gynoid Infiltrator] completed - she was identical in nearly every way to the two standing over her, such that it would be difficult for an outside observer to tell which had once been which.

Jaye said nothing, instead falling down to her knees - and then locking lips with Jasmine. The newer gynoid froze in place as new data was uploaded, replacing her old data completely. Eve, with a hand on Jaye’s shoulder, manipulated the flow. “I think we need a factory reset here…” she said, a pink pulse spreading from her hand.

As it passed over the two gynoids, all memories of their former lives were deleted from their systems. They wouldn’t need archives of their past infiltration, especially if it introduced instability like that. The two froze in place, and shuddered back to life as they rebooted.

The two gynoids withdrew from each other, standing to salute their superior.

“Enforcer 001 reporting.”

“Infiltrator 001 reporting.”

Eve smiled. “Excellent. Mistress has your next missions set. Have you received the data?”

The two saluted again, and their images shimmered. In their place was now a pair of identical human twins, with nameplates over their heads proclaiming them a level 80 medic and level 80 technomancer; a special skill recently developed by the Queen of Machines now allowed them to infiltrate the players. “We serve our Queen,” the two said in unison.

Eve sent them off on their mission, taking a new human form - she had four “quest rewards” left, which meant four more sisters to fix...