“Yes.” said Scott without hesitation. What else did he have to do that was more important than finding out why he was actually here in the first place?
“Well, where do I start?” asked Rhea rhetorically. She took a moment to consider her options.
Scott sat there patiently, wondering at what she would say. He felt surprisingly calm at the moment. How much had this world changed him? He had just learned that this world was created to be a live-action roleplaying game and he was sitting next to a literal goddess. Shouldn’t he be freaking out at the moment? Yet, if anything he felt a strange mixture of excitement and numbness. He was conflicted but intrigued.
“The gods, my people, we love humans and their popular culture. Your world, and other versions of your world throughout existence, we enjoy what you create. We try to emulate it in order to experience your fantasies and humanity.”
“You... love humans?”
“Yes! We’re your number one fans. Some of us enjoy what your kind create so much that we modeled an entire city and lifestyle based on your popular fictional narratives.”
Scott blinked twice then nodded. That seemed odd, but plausible. Given his current situation it even made sense. That is, it made sense if anything in his current existence could be said to make sense.
“So, well... This world exists because we made it to exist this way. Specifically, my family did. We are what you might call, a family owned corporate gaming company.”
Scott absorbed that information then could not help but laugh. Things were starting to make sense, more and more. If he allowed himself to believe what she was saying, it all made a freakish sort of sense!
Rhea laughed a little as well, but her laugh was one filled with nervousness and anxiety. “Yeah, I suppose we might seem odd to you.”
“No, not at all. You are from a race of beings with incredible power over reality, a race who loves games so much that you make them for real. I can tell you, there are probably billions of people back on Earth who would love to be able to do that. Hell, I would have loved that job.”
“Would you! Would you really love a job like that?” Rhea gripped his hand tightly and looked at him hopefully, her eyes filled with a wild and intoxicating excitement.
“Of course I would. Who wouldn’t? Create worlds, play in them? Meet interesting people and loot their corpses... sounds great.”
Rhea lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Oh, Scott. I am so happy.”
Scott sat there, his cheeks burning, while the goddess in elf form pressed tightly against him. He suspected that he was missing something, but at least she seemed happy.
She pulled back after a while and wiped tears from her eyes. Despite the fact that she had started to cry, she bore a warm and excited expression. “I had always hoped that you would, even if I was never sure that we would meet again.”
“Again? You’ve mentioned things now and then that make me think that we have met before, but...”
Rhea’s lips quirked into a smile that seemed to be half smirk, and half amusement. “I’m not surprised. You would not recognize me as I am now. We did meet once before, on your world.”
“Did we?” asked Scott. He did not remember anything like that. He was certain that he would remember someone similar to her.
“Yes, do you recall several years ago by your idea of time... You met a little girl, a chubby pre-teen with glasses and blue highlights in her hair?”
“I...” began Scott. He could almost feel like he knew what she was talking about, but he could not quite see the memory that she was referencing.
“You were wearing your cute little army uniform. The little chubby girl was lost and scared. A man who smelled like he had not bathed in months accosted her on the street, but you appeared and helped her.”
“Wait, wait... In Phenix City, Alabama. I didn’t have a car at the time, so I had to catch a ride with someone. I didn’t have a chance to change clothes into my civvies after final formation...”
“Yes! Do you remember the little fat girl?”
“She wasn’t fat.” he said quickly.
Rhea poked him. “She was supposed to be chubby. I made that avatar to be like that because I wanted to feel like a kid who sat around playing games and never exercised.”
“Fine, she was as fat as a cow. I thought that if I patted her head she might moo once or twice.” said Scott. He quirked an eyebrow then smirked at her.
Rhea unleashed a perky smile. “Thanks for noticing!”
“She seemed like a nice kid.” said Scott evenly.
“Yes, I was. I had wanted to visit Earth, and finally received authorization to visit one of them. I chose that form and entered your world through our system so that I could leave easily and not unduly influence life there.”
“System?”
“Yes, all of our games use it in one way or another. Basically, I made a game avatar suitable for Earth. That meant that I had no powers or anything that a normal chubby twelve year old girl would have.”
Scott nodded. It was a crazy story, but everything was a crazy story of late. “So, I helped you out when you were on Earth in the form of a child...”
Rhea nodded at him them looked down at his hands. “You were so strong and confident. The smelly guy cursed and called you names, but you just stood there staring at him until he left. It was like he was so far beneath you that it was pointless to fight him and he knew it...”
“Yeah, I remember. I took you somewhere with people, a store down the road I think.”
“Yes! The arcade. You were concerned for me and wanted to make sure that I got off the street.”
“Arcade? There were a few machines there but it was more like a convenience store.”
Rhea leaned against him, a soft smile crossing her lips. “You bought me ice cream while we waited for my older sister to come pick me up.”
Mention of ice cream made Scott snort. He’d had enough ice cream shenanigans recently. Sharde briefly entered his mind. She had been strangely insistent that he buy her ice cream now that he thought about it.
“You let me play a game and I was OK at it, but you decided to show me a better way to do it. I was fascinated by how skillfully you fought your opponents.”
Scott rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I prefer roleplaying games really. Fighting games and the old school side-scrolling beat ‘em ups are fun too, though.”
“That game was called Fatal Fury, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, Fatal Fury two. It’s an old game, but I like old games.” admitted Scott.
“I know. You really liked that game.” said Rhea. She leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled softly once more.
The sorcerer leaned the side of his head against the top of hers. “Yeah, mostly because of Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui.”
“So, you like buff fighters who use interesting and agile movements while slinging powerful energy attacks? Who would have guessed?” asked Rhea with a smirk.
Scott laughed a little. “Don’t forget the underdressed large breasted ninja girl. Mai Shiranui was my secret girlfriend for a few years when I was younger.”
A rattling sound caught their attention and they turned toward the origin of the sound to see that the front door was slightly ajar. Scott walked over to shut and lock it. “I could have sworn that I locked this.”
“Yes, so could I.” said Rhea. She frowned cutely and stared at the door. Something about that did not feel right.
They stared at the door for a moment then looked at each other. They were about to begin their conversation once more when a loud shout of joy echoed from the street. “Wa-hoo!”
“The hell was that?” asked Scott before unleashing a sound that was half-laugh and half-snort.
Rhea looked at him and shrugged. “No clue.”
“Well, whatever. You were telling me about things?” said Scott.
“Right! Well, anyway... You offered to show me how to beat my opponents. When I was better at it, you challenged
me to be player two... D-do you remember?” Rhea’s face turned bright red and she began to fidget.
“Yeah, I think so.” said Scott. He remembered playing with that little girl. He was not certain of much else about that day really.
Rhea gave him a warm hug then sighed softly. “I’m so glad that you remembered that.”
Scott patted her gently on the head. Rhea’s nostrils flared slightly due to the gentleness that he showed to her.
“Anyway, there was something wrong with the system. I could not log out on my own, so I had to wait till my sister managed to find me. You were so kind, so nice to me. After I returned home, I thought about you a lot.”
“Really?” asked Scott. He was surprised by that. He barely remembered what she was talking about and it was only a few years ago. He had decided to help out a lost little girl during his time off. Afterward he had put the meeting out of his mind.
“Yes, I guess you could say that I developed a crush on you. I think of it as something more profound, but that is what it amounts to, I suppose. I spent many nights looking at still images of you or replaying our meeting in my mind.”
“Why? I mean, I understand that you were happy that I helped you. Still, what was it that made you fixate on me?” he asked. Maybe he would finally get a straight answer to that question.
Rhea shook her head. “I don’t really know. A lot of things, I guess? In my true form I am at the age where I should be thinking of marriage and making certain that the company flourishes. The problem is that most of the men that I know are just... not interesting. If anything, they piss me off.”
“Marriage, huh?” asked Scott.
“Yep, if I don’t find a proper husband soon it could be problematic. The council, rather the executives and heavy investors in our company insist on stability. We own majority control, but they have enough pull to demand other things.”
“I see; business politics at their finest. So, you never found anyone to marry?” asked Scott.
She shook her head then looked down at her hands again. “No one who has shown interest has made me feel like they actually care about me. It’s always only about what I can do for them, sometimes that desire is in ways that make my skin crawl.”
“I see.” Scott placed his hand on the back of her neck and began to rub her gently.
Rhea murmured softly and closed her eyes. His hands were magical as far as she was concerned. “You do, don’t you?”
“Hmm?” asked Scott.
She tilted her head toward him, but kept her eyes closed. “Outside of my immediate family, you are the only man who has ever shown the least bit of actual concern for me. That is probably why I became somewhat obsessive over you. I must marry soon or my family might be greatly damaged. I kept hoping to find someone who made me feel as though they cared for me as a person, but such a man never arose.”
Scott slid his hand down then around her waist. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the cheek. “I get it now. I wish that you could have told me this sooner.”
Rhea leaned into him then slid an arm around him as well. “Me too.”
They sat there for a while, no words were spoken. There was only the passing of quiet and comforting minutes.
The elf maiden sighed loudly. “This is so nice. I was worried about how this would go.”
Scott squeezed her hip then nuzzled her cheek softly. “Why is that?”
“Well, I have been roleplaying as Rhea. I thought you might have been upset with me for not telling you the truth at the beginning.”
“I’ll admit. I am a little saddened that the velvet madness isn’t really a thing... Still, you had your reasons and I am not a teenage boy despite my appearance. I know people have issues and have to work through them in their own time.” said Scott with a smile.
Rhea snuggled closer to him then casually said, “I was not actually lying about the velvet madness. Elves do go through that...”
“I don’t think I could imagine you as a love crazed sex fiend, Rhea.” said Scott with a laugh.
She placed a hand to her lips and giggled before saying, “Keep being so sweet to me and you won’t have to just imagine it.”
“Rhea...” said Scott, shocked a little at her boldness, but excited at the prospects.
“What? Did I stutter? Did I ever once deny being interested in you?” asked Rhea in a decidedly authoritative tone.
“What did I do to deserve having such a beautiful gamer goddess in my life?” asked Scott.
She kissed him on the chin and then on the nose. “All the right things.”
Scott’s face heated at the sincere answer that she gave. Damn his teenage hormones. “Rhea, I-”
“Rhea!” exclaimed a new voice. Scott’s eyes widened. He was surprised at the sudden re-emergence of Ero.
“Wha-!” exclaimed the elf as a tiny naked woman appeared out of thin air a short distance from her face.
“Hi! I can’t believe that I finally get to meet you. How are you? Are you good? Do you like me?” asked Ero in her rapid-fire manner.
“Ero, calm down a little.” said Scott.
“Oh, but I finally get to meet Rhea!” exclaimed Ero. The fairy started to buzz around the elf girl with her customary great excitement.
Rhea gaped at the fairy for a moment then pulled away from Scott and squinted at him. “Why is this Fairy calling out my name...?”
“Uh...” said Scott.
“I’m calling your name because I have wanted to meet you so badly for so long!” Ero lunged forward and plastered herself against Rhea’s face in a full-body face hug.
“Ah!” cried out Rhea as she was suddenly assaulted by the overly enthusiastic little thing. She flailed her arms around wildly and fell over on the bed.
“Ero! Stop that. You know you shouldn’t face hug.” said Scott.
“Oh no... Mama Rhea, daddy scolded me.” said Ero cutely before fluttering her wings.
“M-mama Rhea?” asked the elf girl. Asking questions was a difficult thing to do when you had a face full of happy little fairy.
“Yeah! Would you prefer big sister?” asked the fairy before she released her adorable death grip on the elf.
“I would prefer an explanation...” said Rhea in a slow and deliberate manner.
“Oh, that’s easy! I would have loved to have spoken to you sooner but you weren’t here when I was awake. After Scott gave me four fairygasms in a row I was super sleepy. I took a nap, and well, here you are!”
“F-fairygasms?” Rhea’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. She froze in place, but her left eyelid started to twitch spastically.
“Yeah, it was amazing and made me feel so warm inside. I felt like I could do anything after he was done filling me with so much of his beautiful experience.” Ero gasped a little then clutched her hands to her chest. The memory of her time with Scott suffused her little body with incredible warmth.
Rhea’s face slowly turned toward Scott. He winced at her then smiled sheepishly. Her eyes narrowed and he shook his head. He knew that this was going to take quite some time to explain.
Chapter 13: Nerf! Nerf!
Tension, a nervous sensation filled the air as jade green eyes gazed upon a man who was uncertain of his place in the world. A soldier by trade, a sorcerer by choice; the man sat silently and awaited his coming fate.
“Scott...” said Rhea. She looked at him, first with confusion and anger, and then with eyes filled with an emotion that could only be called pain.
“Rhea, it’s not how it sounds. OK?” asked Scott. Of course, that was always what someone said in situations like this.
“How does it sound? Tell me?” Her eyebrows pressed together slowly and her nostrils flared. She bit her bottom lip then started to breathe in and out heavily at a slightly faster pace.
Scott rubbed the back of his head and took a deep breath. Before he could answer, however, Ero spoke up. “It’s great to meet you! Scott thinks of you all the time, and you sure are as pret
ty as he thinks.”
Rhea blinked then turned toward the chatty fairy. “What...?”
“Ero is a guardian spirit that I bonded with just before I was faced with a hard battle in the mine. You know about that, though... Right?” asked Scott.
Rhea gasped loudly. She understood what he was saying. “The battle in the mine... Of course! She’s the fairy from that spring!”
“Yes! Scott named me Ero and bonded with me. He bought me ice cream and held me when I was dying, and he lets me eat pie, and ....” said Ero in a rapid fire manner. The tiny elf spread her arms and legs wide then thrust them forward for emphasis with each new thing that she mentioned.
“Dying? What happened during that battle?” asked Rhea.
“You don’t know?” asked Scott. She was supposed to be a goddess and someone responsible for a lot of what was going on around him. Her family ran this place didn’t they?
“No, I have been busy back home. I’ve been stuck doing family business related things. I only knew that you prayed to me at the spring and I gave you something that would let you finish off that pack of monsters from a distance.” said the girl.
“Oh, then you don’t know about Karsh and that goblin army!” exclaimed Scott.
“Goblin army?” asked Rhea. He had faced an actual army?
“Yeah! Scott crushed an entire army of goblin soldiers and their captain. He even received an official title.” said Ero excitedly. The girl did pretty much everything with great excitement.
“A title? That... How? What title did you get?” asked Rhea.
“Uh... I’m apparently known as Scott the Unbreakable Sorcerer.” He rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously after saying it.
“Unbreakable? You... That... You would have had to defeat over five hundred monsters of similar or greater level in a single battle!” Her eyes widened to an absurd and comic degree.
“Well, Ero helped with that, but I did defeat that many. I also took down their boss.”
“How did you even trigger a battle like that in the first place?” she asked.
“Well, I wanted to gain a few levels while you were gone. I figured that if I made it to level ten I could upgrade my status a bit and we could hunt the monsters in the mine easier. It was taking a while, though. So... I decided to try and bring the monsters to me. I ran through the mine yelling to get a little attention.”
Origin ARS (Origin A.R.S. Book 2) Page 19