“Now, to cover up for your disappearing act if someone sees you, Aurora will give you the recipe for a teleportation spell that you will create through Discovery of Magic. This spell isn't something that was originally intended to exist in the game and isn't part of the list of available spells, but we are going to add the spell to the system and turn it into a beginner level spell.
“We want you to use this spell in public and also to distribute the spell. It has a teleportation range of up to ten miles, but most people will only be able to teleport about twenty yards. The spell is designed so that the more powerful your magic is, the further you can teleport. We designed it this way because you are such a powerful magic user. This way, people who can only teleport twenty yards won't question why you disappear. They will expect someone of your power to be able to teleport such long distances. With this spell being distributed to the populace, everyone will just think you used this spell when Aurora summons you to a hacker. It's the best cover up we could come up with.”
“That all makes sense,” I admitted, “but how do you want me to deal with the hackers?”
“We want you to use your Deletion spell and remove their user accounts.” Roland held up his finger for me to be quiet and I heard a silent however in his finger. “We do have restrictions that we want to implement. We will only agree to hire you and let you keep your account if you agree to these restrictions. First, you are not allowed to use Deletion except to delete a hacker account. No more using it for personal vendettas. Second, your other Trinity Spells, Reset and Suspension, can be used at your discretion, but only as it pertains to your job as a gamemaster.
“If you find someone breaking the laws of the SRU you are allowed to use these two spells, but you will be required to write a report explaining why the use of these spells was necessary. If we deem the excuse in your report to be insufficient, we will suspend your account for a period of three weeks with the provision that you can only return during that three-week period if a hacker appears, so use those spells wisely and sparingly. Also, if you are suspended from your account, you will not be paid during that time as you will be unable to perform your usual duties.”
“I understand.” The circumstances were better than I could have hoped. Not only would I be able to continue my life in the SRU, but I would also get a new job that I love.
I didn't have to think the offer through. I already had my answer, but I couldn't show that much enthusiasm at this time. I had to make it look as though I were contemplating my response.
My head was starting to pound again so I used that to buy some time to think. I asked for some aspirin and explained to Roland about my tension headaches. I'd had them since I was little, and they tended to get worse with stress. The last two days had been stressful enough that I was surprised I wasn't already at full blown migraine status right now. If fact, my headaches had been so common for so long that I was now required by my doctor to have a CT scan done every six months to make sure there was nothing wrong like cancer or an aneurism.
My last CT scan was about a month after I started entering the SRU, so I should be coming up on the date for my next one.
Roland brought me a glass of water and some aspirin. The water was ice cold and just having it run down my throat was enough to give me some instant relief. After taking the aspirin and thanking him I continued our conversation.
“Everything sounds good to me, but I do have a few questions. I know it's your policy to have employees stay within the apartment complexes in headquarters. Do I have to move out of my apartment? Also, what would be the pay rate for my position? I need to be able to budget my income and debts.”
Roland laughed heartily, but he wasn’t laughing at me. I think he was trying to lighten the mood since we’d gotten to the part of our conversation that sounded like a verbal contract.
“Yes,” he admitted, “you will have to live at headquarters and we will have you move out immediately. We will give you two days to pack up your things and then we will come and bring you to your new apartment. Don't worry about your current place. We will pay any penalty you receive for breaking your lease early.
“As far as your pay is concerned, your pay includes room and board. You will not have to pay rent or utilities for the apartment you will be living in as all those expenses are paid by the company. You also won't have to worry about renters’ insurance as the company will replace your items in the event of a fire or theft. You can still get the renters insurance if you want—some of our employees have it as a security net—but it isn't necessary.
“You won't even have to pay for food as we have a twenty-four-hour cafeteria in the center of headquarters. It is a large complex where everyone eats their meals or gets their meals to go. In addition to room and board you will receive a bi-weekly salary of five thousand dollars.
“You will also have a full benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance, a 401k, and pension plan.”
Ten thousand a month! Working for New Tech, New You, I only made around four thousand a month. It was amazing how much they were willing to pay me to work here. Of course, SimTech was one of the highest paying technology companies due to the significant amount of profit they made every year. In a typical fiscal year their net profit averaged an astronomical amount at five trillion, including all subsidiary and overseas holding companies.
I had been very careful with my money, which was why I had a savings large enough to support me for almost a year without a job. I had no loans since my car was paid off, no credit cards, or debts to pay. My only expenses were insurance for my car and apartment, utilities, rent, occasional medical, and daily expenses like clothing and toiletries. I never had to worry about my expenses as they were automatically removed from my bank account every month. Now, half of my expenses were about to disappear.
“I accept the job,” I announced enthusiastically. It took all my will to keep from jumping out of my chair and doing a celebratory dance. “But I would like to negotiate my salary. Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking for more money. This salary is more gracious than I could have ever hoped or asked for. The problem comes in the fact that I will be spending most of my time in the SRU and most of that money will just pile up in my bank account unused.
“What I was wondering is if it would be possible for me to get part of my salary, not in American currency, but in SRU currency. According to negotiated currency exchange rates, one dollar is equal to one hundred gold coins in game. It is quite a pain to have to convert currency in large amounts, so I was hoping we could skip that step entirely.
“I would like to have two thousand of each of my paychecks given to me in SRU gold coins. You could take all of my taxes out of the remainder of my paycheck. I don't have many expenses so taking taxes from a five-thousand-dollar paycheck out of three thousand dollars hard currency won't affect me at all. Then I could use the two hundred thousand gold coins I get every two weeks in the SRU to help my character. I want to be able to purchase a house, build myself a shop, and expand my character into different fields so that I'm not only known as an Avenger, but also as a merchant among other things.”
Roland agreed to my conditions, drafted my contract, and told me to get packed up so that I could begin my job in four days’ time. I had two days to pack, one day to move into my new apartment, and on the fourth day I would be logging in as a gamemaster. One thing we agreed upon was that I would not log into the SRU again until I was inside my new apartment for security measures as I was now a SimTech employee.
Evanasia
My excitement over my new position made it difficult to calm down over the next few days. I used my manic energy to help me get things done. I managed to get my apartment packed up in one day. Since the moving truck wouldn’t arrive until day three of my temporary exile from the SRU, I spent my free day setting my affairs in order.
I chose to keep my renters’ insu
rance. Even if the company would pay for my items in case of fire or theft, there were other things my insurance covered that I kept for security and peace of mind. I called my insurance company to change my living address and informed my landlord of the move. He was pretty upset that I had only given him a day’s notice and I did receive a hefty penalty for breaking my lease.
SimTech was as good as their word. All I had to do was call them with the penalty amount and they took care of the rest.
I called and scheduled my next CT Scan with my doctor and filled out all the necessary paperwork for my new employment.
On moving day SimTech went far beyond my expectations. I’d expected SimTech to send a moving truck. What I wasn't expecting were the ten security staff members who had been ordered to help me move. With all their help it only took a few hours to load the truck and unload everything into my new apartment inside headquarters.
The security staff then stayed and helped me arrange my furniture and unload my boxes. They told me Mr. Evermoss had ordered them to help me through every step of the move so that I wouldn't have to worry about boxes lying around once I started work tomorrow.
When the fourth day arrived, I was so eager to get back to the SRU I was practically shaking with anticipation. I had to make sure I honored Bartholomew's last requests. It was great to have a job where I didn't have to go to the office and could work from my bed. I followed my normal morning routine and after breakfast I jumped into bed. I felt like a drug addict ready for her next fix. My body shook with anticipation as I slid the SRU-visors on and pressed the button to activate them. Each click of the metal bands encasing my head was like another dose of morphine being shot into my body. All of my tension drained as I prepared to enter the surreal world of Evanasia.
I was still outside the forest where Bartholomew had died, and it reminded me why Bartholomew and I had come here in the first place. Jared the Goblin Slayer was no longer a threat, but there were still others who could kill the remainder of the goblins.
I missed all of my friends deeply and couldn’t bear to wait for our reunions. I summoned Zephyra immediately and apologized for having been gone so long. She gave me a frosty hug as ice water tears ran down her face. Like myself, she thought I'd never be allowed back into the SRU again. As we walked into the forest to help the goblins, I explained to her what had happened and how it needed to be kept secret.
The forest we entered was an unnamed one, but the locals had come to refer to it as the demonic forest because of the terrible creatures that resided within. As we marched deeper into the forest, I began to see why they feared this forest. I also saw that they were just superstitious and ignorant of the beings within. The demons in this forest weren't demons at all, but unique creatures. They were not inherently violent, but if provoked they could take care of themselves.
Many of the animals were hybrids, mixing two or more creatures. I wouldn't call them chimeras. Chimeras were beings created by sorcerers and were abominations bound to obey the will of their creator.
These were naturally occurring creatures of this world and acted no differently than animals on Earth. There was one small creature with the front half of a rabbit and the back half of a skunk. I saw squirrels with raven wings and deer with the heads and horns of mountain goats.
I even recognized some of the creatures from mythology. I saw a herd of hippogriffs, creatures with horse bodies on their rear half and large eagle heads and legs with talons on the front. I also saw many other mythical creatures like griffins, drakes, and manticores.
None of the creatures seemed to care that we were here. I felt this strange empathic connection with them. I could sense their emotions and could tell they meant us no harm. As long as we didn’t attack them, they would remain indifferent to our presence. A few of the more docile creatures approached and let us pet them briefly before trotting away.
We made our way quickly, but leisurely, to the goblin village and when we arrived, they greeted us openly. Aurora had already come and advised them of our arrival. This made our task a lot easier. I gathered the residents and told them my plans to protect their village. They agreed to my request that they wouldn't venture outside the forest for their own protection.
I placed a protection spell called Wall of Intentions on their village. It was a barrier that tested people's intentions when they touched it. Those who meant to harm the goblins wouldn't be allowed to enter and anyone whose intentions turned evil while in the village would be expelled forcefully before they could cause harm.
I also made a healing station in the center of the village. It was a large stone block I'd summoned from the earth and enchanted with Divine Healing so that anyone who was placed upon the stone bed would be healed unless fate intervened.
I made a large quantity of necklaces using vines for the strap and normal stones from the earth as the catalyst. I enchanted the necklaces with a protection spell that would keep anyone who attempted to attack the goblins from completing their attack. Magical spells would dissipate before they could make contact and physical attacks would be stopped as if hitting a wall about five feet away at a distance or a few inches away if it was a close range attack.
I explained to the goblins that the spell would only work on people who were attacking them and that it wouldn't stop attacks from animals, so they should still be careful when they were hunting or gathering.
When we'd finished, Zephyra and I wished the goblins good luck and departed amid garbled thanks in the goblin language. I didn't feel like walking across the country to get back to Melodia. Traveling across the land seemed hollow now that Bartholomew wasn't with us, so we planned on heading back to Rolanzo City and using the fountain portal.
As we walked toward the edge of the forest, I saw something glowing red at the corner of my eye and stopped. Up in the trees was a large roc. This bird of prey was about the size of my arm and was covered in red feathers that glowed and shifted like fire. The tips of the feathers were blue, green, and yellow, reminding me of the different colors of flame in a camp fire. It stared down at me with intelligent eyes and let out a loud cry. It wasn't a warning, but an invitation. The bird didn't speak, but that single call seemed to be filled with words that echoed in the back of my head.
In that single call I heard a story weaving together. The bird was telling me that it had seen my actions when I'd attempted to protect Bartholomew, it was sorry for my loss, and that it would like to present me its condolences and a present to show how proud it was of my bravery. It had never seen someone work so hard for one of its kind before and would like to entrust me with a gift never before bestowed. How I used that gift was entirely up to me.
It took me a second to figure out what it had meant by one of its kind. This bird didn't distinguish between species. A dragon was a winged creature and was therefore this creature's kin.
The bird took what it was standing on in its claws and flew down to me. I held my hands out instinctively and it placed a large nest in my hands. Inside the nest were six large, red eggs. The bird rubbed its head against the side of my cheek and let out another cry.
Take care of my children because I won't be able to.
I felt a tear run down my cheek and realized the bird was crying. It started to fly away, but only made it ten feet before it burst into flames. I ran up to the bird, expecting to see a charred carcass, but only found a pile of ashes and a red feathered chick that took to flight clumsily.
I'd just been entrusted by a phoenix to watch after its children since its life cycle was renewing and it wouldn't be strong enough to. It was a great honor, but how do I take care of them? This was something I would have to ask either the elves or Aurora. I cradled the eggs to my chest and kept walking toward town. I'd failed with the goblins, I'd failed Bartholomew, so how could this creature expect me to take care of its children? No, I couldn't think like that. I would not allow myself to fail these unborn chil
dren.
I couldn't walk into town carrying phoenix eggs. People would try to steal them for sure. I placed a protection spell on the eggs and nest, cushioning it against impacts so that no damage would come to it and slid it into my purse with my other items.
I made Zephyra stay invisible again when we got to Rolanzo City about an hour later so that others wouldn't notice her. When we stepped through the city gates we were met with a large chatter of gossip. I heard most of what they were saying even though they tried to be quiet. They didn't seem to realize that my ears picked up noises theirs didn't, not to mention that I now had Nature magic to increase my senses.
People were staring at me with mixed expressions and most of them were negative.
I could tell that some of them loathed me, but most of the faces were full of fear. The only faces who didn't regard me with ill will were the residents of Rolanzo City. Word had spread fast of my efforts to protect this world and my actions in Melodia.
The gossip ranged from questioning why I was still in the SRU and hadn't been deleted for hacking the system to questioning where and how I became so powerful. I was surprised that they'd jumped to that conclusion already with all the assurances from SimTech that the system was unhackable. Still, it was the only natural line of thinking after I deleted two characters and reset and suspended many others.
Most of the players in town avoided me like I was a leper in a time long past. I was surprised that the residents of Rolanzo City, none of whom I'd met before, would come up to me and offer condolences for my loss of Bartholomew and thank me for my efforts in protecting this world. Many proffered gifts of food, money, or other items, all of which I respectfully declined.
Virtual Me- Valkyrie Page 24