by Dante Steel
Mind. Could he read people’s thoughts? See the future? Have precognition? Set things on fire mentally?
That last one sounded like fun and was something he could test right away. A leaf on the ground would make the perfect test subject but only after Gary dressed. He didn’t bother to put back on his chest plate, but he did put on the rest of his clothes.
“Okay, leaf, no offense, but on fire you go.” Gary held out his hand and imagined the leaf on fire.
Nothing happened.
Disgusted, Gary flung his hand toward the leaf.
The leaf fluttered.
Now, leaves fluttered all the time, but not when the wind was nonexistent, and Gary’s hand hadn’t moved fast enough to cause a gust to force the leaf to move.
Hesitantly, Gary held out his hand and thought about the leaf, thought about moving the blade, thought about lifting it.
The leaf shook slightly and even stood on end, but it would not rise into the air. Still, Gary felt a sense of accomplishment and a sense of fatigue unlike any he had felt before. He was exhausted, wholly and entirely. There was no doubt in his mind that he had been at least trying to use his power.
All right. Now he could try to sleep. Gary laid back down and was just closing his eyes when he again heard footsteps. Hoping it was his imagination still, he kept his eyes shut.
“Gary.”
He groaned, rubbed his eyes before opening them, and sat up. “Haru,” he grumbled.
“Why the long face? You have a power now. You should be happy. We didn’t give many telekinesis.”
Gary gaped at him. “Telekinesis? If I hadn’t been able to steal this ruby, Smaug would have gained telekinesis?”
“Considering his mastery of wind, he can basically move a fair amount of matter already,” Haru pointed out.
“You never should’ve made wizards or mages,” Gary muttered.
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty, I’m afraid. Nothing can be done about it now.”
“Uh, yeah, it’s called a glitch.” Gary moved to stand up, but his stomach rejected that idea. While trying to use his power, he had managed to forget about his hangover headache, but now, it was nearly reaching migraine status.
“We can’t do something like that to affect only one player. There are other mages and—”
“I’m trapped in your fucking game. Do you think I’m worried about a few gamers getting all up in arms?” Gary shouted.
“Just relax, please,” Haru said.
“Yeah, yeah. Easy for you to say. You’re an avatar. You waltz around acting as if you’re doing me some big favor, but you aren’t. I’m not any closer to getting out of here, am I?”
“We are—”
“Working on it. I’ve heard that before. Look, I’m glad I have a power, and the potions are great, but—can I still have access to them?”
“Yes. We’ll change it so only those with your power and level can buy them. The chances of other telekinesis players being your exact level are small. There are only twenty of you.”
“Only twenty.” Gary snorted.
“Considering millions are playing the game…” Haru held out his hands.
Gary pinched the bridge of his nose. “What all am I supposed to do while I wait for you people to get me out of here?”
“I wish I could advise you to remain in any one of the towns and to ignore the monsters, but I can’t. If Smaug continues to grow in power, you have to try to keep up with him and his level. You cannot risk…”
“My life in your damn game?” Gary muttered bitterly. “Yeah, you should have a warning about that. ‘Don’t play this game unless you’re possibly willing to be sucked inside of it.’ Seriously, if Smaug was able to do it on purpose, why can’t you figure out what he did and do it in reverse to get me out?”
“We are doing our level best.”
“Level. Cute.” Gary rolled his eyes. “So you want me to continue playing. Tell me how to beat the game.”
Haru hesitated and glanced away.
“Seriously? You aren’t going to tell me?” Gary was shocked. “That’s not cool, man.”
“I wish I could help you, that I could tell you, but…”
“But what? You’re afraid you’ll get fired, is that it? What about you being afraid about being sued? Have you thought about that?”
Haru rubbed his chin. “Gary, please. You have to understand—”
“What is it with your company?” Gary asked. “How did you know everyone’s fear? How is that even possible? Are we all Guinea pigs to you?”
“It’s nothing like that,” Haru assured him.
"Yeah, well, can you blame me for having my faith in you shattered? You've known about me being stuck in the game for how long? And what about getting Smaug out? Other gamers are going to realize that he's targeting gamers instead of just playing the game like normal. They're going to start quitting, and you'll lose money."
“We are doing our best.”
“Yeah, well, maybe your best isn’t good enough.”
Haru nodded, his lips pursed. “I understand that you’re upset—”
“Damn straight I am! I didn’t ask for any of this!”
“You seemed like you were enjoying yourself earlier.”
Gary gaped at him. “You’re a fucking voyeur, man? What the hell!”
Haru said nothing.
“When exactly will I become a hero? A superhero? How does the game work?”
The Japanese man said nothing for several minutes. Then he sighed. “Complete more quests. That’s the easiest way to gain more power. Eventually, you’ll gain the status of hero then megahero and finally superhero. You’ll have to form a harem—excuse me—team.”
Gary couldn’t help himself. Migraine or no, he jumped to his feet, staggered a bit, and slugged Haru right in the jaw.
To his credit, Haru accepted the hit rather well. Then again, he was only an avatar. He was safe back at his house or in a lab. He didn’t have to worry about his life.
“I hope that jolt felt real good,” Gary snapped.
Haru had the decency to look sheepish. “I’m sorry. That was out of line.”
“You bet that was. I expect to be compensated for that, the girls should be too.”
“I… I’ll see what I can do.” Haru rubbed the back of his neck. “You’ll need a team so that you can face off against the supervillain teams. Each supervillain team you face will be harder and harder to face until you face the ultimate supervillain team.”
“Fucking Smaug should be the ultimate supervillain. Then everyone and their brother will try to kill him.”
“Gary, we cannot condone—”
“It wouldn’t be murder. It would be self-defense.”
“For you, yes, but for the other players—”
“Smaug’s trying to kill them too,” Gary argued.
“Kill their avatars,” Haru pointed out. “That distinction is important.”
“Not to me it isn’t.”
“Again, I understand where you are coming from. He is causing a lot of animosity in a lot of players. I’ll admit that.”
“He’s costing you money so get him—and me—out of this blasted game.”
“We are doing everything we can. Just hang in there, Gary.”
“Easy for you to say.”
Haru hesitated. “I should be going.”
"Good. Go. Do something useful instead of passing judgment on people."
Haru opened his mouth, but Gary brushed past him, bumping his shoulder, and stalked off toward town. He didn’t stop until he had laid down in his spot in the stables and went right to sleep.
When Gary woke, he accepted two things. One, he would one day return home to the real world. And two, Gary would play the game even if only one more time so that he could learn Elena's and Olivia's addresses. He had dreamed of having all three of the ladies at once all night long, and he couldn't stop thinking about the term Haru had used. Harem. Yes, that was exactly what Gary wanted if he was
honest with himself, but how could he possibly explain that to the girls? No. He couldn't. They would force him to make a choice, and he didn't want to have to do that, but if the options were one of them or none, he didn't see how he could possibly lose all three of them. Then again, how could he pick just one?
He knew Nicoletta in real life, although he hadn’t had the hots for her until they started to game together. As for Elena, she had the biggest of hearts, and Olivia seemed so upbeat and happy all of the time, but her past had been so tragic. She was broken, and Gary wanted to make sure that she was truly happy and not just faking it until she made it.
Yes, he had fallen hard for all three ladies. Like he needed another problem outside of Smaug. Granted, he had telekinesis now, but he couldn’t control it yet.
“Just gotta keep moving forward,” he muttered to himself.
And he moved right on over to get breakfast from the tavern. Today was a new day, and he hoped it would be another good one.
Chapter Twenty-Four
After a huge meal that helped to banish his migraine, Gary left the tavern and glanced around. This town was always bustling with people, but they were all newbies. Maybe it was time to move onto another place. Were there any cities in this place? Gary didn't know. Maybe he should see if it were possible to buy a world map.
Haru had said to complete more quests, so Gary went around talking to every single NPC. Was he stalling, hoping one of the girls would show up? Yes, yes, he was. He desperately wanted to talk to Nicoletta. They hadn’t discussed things before he had fallen asleep. Had she slept with him any, or had she waited for him to rest before logging off? Did she regret what they had done? He didn’t, although he did also feel a little guilty. The last thing he wanted was to hurt any of the girls, and sleeping with one of them just might hurt the other two.
Or maybe he was paranoid over nothing. It was possible Elena or Olivia or both of them had boyfriends in the real world. He didn't know them enough. Yet. If given a chance, he wanted to know all about them, their pasts, their hopes for the future, what made them laugh, sigh, curl their toes while making love…
To his disappointment, Nicoletta didn’t show up. Neither did Elena. Just as Gary was about to head off by his lonesome to tackle some quests, someone nudged his shoulder.
“Hey, Gary.” Olivia beamed at him. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Just fine,” he said. “Ale in the game isn’t exactly going to go to my head.”
Actually, it went straight to the wrong head…
And it had affected him, but he couldn’t tell Olivia about that. She didn’t know he was truly in the game, and considering how poorly Nicoletta had accepted the news, he wasn’t in a rush to tell anyone else.
“Good. Well? We were too busy celebrating for you to try to use the Runed Ruby. Did it work?”
Gary grinned. “Yep!”
“Wonderful!” She clapped and jumped. “What’s your power?”
“I need a lot of practice to be able to utilize it properly, but I have telekinesis.”
“No way! That’s awesome.” She gave a saucy grin. “Should I start wearing skirts so you can lift them?”
He waved a hand and winked. “If I wanted to lift your skirt, I could just use my hand.”
Olivia shook her head and wagged a finger. "Nope! You need to use your power. That’s the only way you're going to see what I wear beneath it."
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yes. Think of it this way. You need a perk to practice your power. You should’ve been able to practice and grow in it all along. You’re at a disadvantage, so let me help you.”
Olivia hugged him tight and then dashed over to one of the stores. When she emerged, she was dressed much more like a bar wench than an adventurer or superhero, not that Gary was going to complain. Her top bared her flat stomach, her chest the only part covered in the white cloth. A small poof of detached sleeves lined up on arms level with the top. Her skirt was black and tied up so that it was several inches above her knee, revealing a fair amount of skin.
With a giggle, she whirled around, parading for him. As he crossed over to her, she backed away, shaking her head again.
“No. You have to lift my skirt, remember?” She yanked on a cord, and her skirt fell down to almost her ankle boots.
“Seriously?” He groaned.
“Don’t think you can?”
“Or maybe I wish I had more control so I could lift your skirt already.”
Her wink made him smile, but then he thought of Nicoletta and Elena, and he knew neither of them would appreciate this game Olivia had come up with.
“What’s wrong?” Olivia asked, her playful manner replaced by a more serious tone.
“Nothing.” He swallowed hard.
“Come on. You can tell me anything.” When he didn’t respond, she tilted her head and tapped her cheek. “Is it Nicoletta? I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
“We, ah… I may have… We… I know her in real life and…”
“Are you two dating?”
“Not exactly,” he muttered.
“Are you two fucking?”
“What?” His eyes went wide.
Olivia shrugged. “Well?”
“I wouldn’t call it fucking,” he said.
She nodded slowly. “I think I know what’s going on here.”
“You do?” he asked, surprised. He lifted his eyebrows. “Because I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I understand it myself.”
“You love the attention from all of us, don’t you? I don’t blame you. Even Elena, tough girl that she is, has it for you. Bad.”
“She does?” Gary grinned.
“We’ve talked some. We know that you want us all.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “And?”
She laughed. “And you need to talk to all of us. Together. Don’t you think?”
“Yes,” he muttered.
“Don’t act like you’ve lost the world! I can’t talk for the other two.”
“Fine. Then talk for you.”
Olivia’s grin was huge. “I love everyone. I’m fine with it.”
“With what?”
“With being a member of your harem.”
“Olivia!” He couldn’t help being shocked and amazed by all of this. How was this happening? All three of them were amazing, and he would be lucky to have any one of them. That he might possibly be able to have two or three of them wasn’t something he could even consider despite Olivia saying she was up for it.
And harem meant three. It wasn’t ménage… Considering she had talked to the others and that she said harem made him wonder if that possibility was actually feasible after all.
“What?” she asked innocently. “I’m a grown woman. I can do what I want, and I’ll admit that I’m into guys and girls, so no problem with a threesome or orgy here if we can get the others on board. Where do you live?”
“Philly,” he said, his head swimming.
“I live in NC. I take it Nicoletta is Philadelphia too?”
“Yep. What about Elena?”
“She’s from New York.”
He laughed. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” His heart raced with excitement and then disappointment. They were all on the east coast. They could find a spot to meet in the middle. They could spend time together in real life…
…except Gary was stuck here in the game.
“How’s the rest of your school year going?” he asked.
Olivia threw up her hands. “Why are you changing the subject?” she demanded.
“Because schoolwork is important,” he said. “More so than this game.”
"Maybe so, but I'm the one to decide what I want to do, and who I want to do, and what if I consider spending time with you rewarding? Maybe I finished a paper, and that's why I'm here."
He smirked. “So what you’re saying is that I’m a reward for you.”
“You are. You’re always here. I love that I can log on whene
ver, and you’re here.”
“You don’t think that makes me lame?” he asked, wincing.
“Of course not! Why do a lot of people play games? For the escape from reality. For the means to relax and have fun. For the ability to forget your troubles. For the storyline, the graphics. We all have our own demons back in the real world. This game and others allow us to be able to take control, to be in charge, to forge our own path. Not everyone’s life goes the way it wants to. In a game, you can reinvent yourself.”
Her eyes had darkened at one point, and he knew she was reflecting back on her terrible childhood.
“Is there something else you want to talk about?” he asked.
“About what?”
“About anything.”
“About my past.” She pursed her lips. “Maybe if you lift my skirt,” she teased.
So, Gary tried. He tried and tried. It wasn't easy to do it. He had barely moved the leaf, and that weighed a lot less. His control was terrible. To make matters worse, there was no wind whatsoever today, which meant he had no help.
Of course, Olivia teased him, trying to encourage him, but he wasn't able to. Time and again, he failed. Finally, she bent down and scooped up a small pebble into her hand.
“Try to roll this off my hand,” she said.
“Okay.” Gary exhaled. “I can do this.”
“Yes, you can.” This time, she didn’t wink or make some other kind of flirty comment. She only held out her hand, the pebble perfectly in the middle of her palm.
Gary tried to imagine the pebble rolling. He wanted to push it to one side, but he couldn't think about connecting with the rock. All Gary could think about was Olivia's hand and where he wanted her to place it… He was such a guy, but he wanted her to give him a hand job, a blow job, and even more than that, he wanted to pleasure her, to finger her, to eat her out, to make her come over and over again. Images of her teasing and playing with Nicoletta's boobs or going down on Elena made him squirm. He desperately wanted to have them all, both individually and together all at once. Would he be able to handle them all? He hoped he could be man enough for them all.
“Gary?” Olivia called in a tone that suggested she had said his name several times already.