by R. A. Mejia
Looking to my left and right, I see all four other Users that were playing the game. Each is still dressed in the outfits they wore in the game. I look down at myself and find that I too am still wearing short shorts and a yellow polo shirt. Each of the other Users seems to be taking the attention from the crowd differently. Auden revels in it, smiling and loving every moment. Ethan is hunched over slightly and looks like he would rather be anywhere else. Ray and Nancy both seem to tolerate the applause and have polite smiles on their faces.
Rothfus Bobblemaster gestures toward our group. “These are the first Users to have played my latest creation, and boy, wasn’t it a show to remember?” The crowd answers with a mixture of applause and yells of “Yes!” Rothfus continues, “So, now that the game is finished, let’s award the prizes. Coming in last place, but still doing very well, is Nancy.” A spotlight illuminates Nancy, and she squints as Rothfus goes on. “She’ll be awarded 10,000 XP and 1,000 credits.” The crowd claps.
“Next is Ray, whose cheers delighted the crowd and gave his team the chance to push past its limits. He is awarded 15,000 XP, 2,000 credits, and his own pom poms from the game.” Ray’s expression sours a little when he hears about the pom poms, but he still waves at the crowd as they clap for him.
“Next is Ethan, whom the crowd has voted MVP for his last-minute sacrifice. He gets 20,000 XP, 4,000 credits, and an advanced set of nano-circuitry crafting tools.” There is more applause, a flash of light, and a nice metallic briefcase appears on a pedestal in front of Ethan. From his expression, I can tell he is very excited and impressed with his new tools.
“Next up is Auden, who played as the monster.” Auden raises his hands expecting cheers, but instead, he gets a mixture of boos and cheers. He flips off the booers. “Now, folks, don’t hate the player. He did a great job representing the dark side.” A few more cheers come from the crowd. “Unfortunately, even though he was given the best chance to power up, our monster did not win since he did not kill all the Players or prevent them from escaping. But he did earn himself second place in the game, winning 30,000 XP, 7,000 credits, and a pair of Slice’m Dice’m Gloves that bypass 20% of an enemy’s armor when used in combat.” A light flashes, and dark gloves with razor-sharp metal tips on each finger appear in Auden’s hands. He puts on the gloves, and a wicked glint appears in his eyes as he flexes and extends the fingers. It’s gone a moment later as Rothfus comments, “He seems to enjoy his prize, folks. Just make sure that he takes off the gloves before he shakes your hands, ladies and gentlemen.”
Auden laughs at the joke, but his smile doesn’t reach his eyes, and I can see that he’s back in his false charm mode.
“Finally, we come to our first place winner, Anthony Tinoco, who led the players to victory. Anthony is awarded 50,000 XP”--the crowd oohs--“12,000 credits”--the crowd awws--“but for not only escaping, for rescuing so many NPCs and recognizing the hidden social skills of the game and recruiting the counselors to help defend the students, something I’d hoped to keep a secret for a little longer, I award him with the special prize, the skill book: Charm!”
The crowd cheers wildly for me, and Rothfus waits for them to quiet down before continuing. “As a bonus, each User will get to keep the outfit they wore during the game as a special thanks for being the first to play this new dungeon of mine. Thank you, everyone, for watching, and please continue to enjoy the night.”
I’m honestly a bit embarrassed by the counselor getup I’m wearing in this crowd of fancy-dressed people. I immediately use Inspect on the outfit.
1980s Campy Counselor Set
Includes the trendiest short shorts of the 1980s, a breathable cotton blend short-sleeved polo shirt with the collar already popped, and classic, white Van slip-on shoes.
Set bonus: 60% more awesomeness, +10% movement speed, +4 Charisma
Woah. Despite the out-of-place look the outfit gives, that set bonus is no joke. The movement bonus is nice, but I don’t think I have anything that adds anything to my stat, and +4 is a whole level’s worth of stat points.
“Oh, wow, my overalls give me a 30% bonus to all crafting skills and a 2% chance to increase quality,” Ethan says next to me as he stares at the air, undoubtedly checking out the Inspect notification for his own clothes.
While I’m still excited by some of my gear bonuses, I feel a little envy towards my teammate. But one look at his beaming smile washes it away. “Congrats, man. You deserve it. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to get the win.” The statement reminds me of why I agreed to join the game in the first place, and I look over at Auden. “Well, I guess you were right. We really did settle who was the best gamer after all, didn’t we?”
The statement makes his face turn red, but he doesn’t dispute the words. Instead, he turns, making his dark cloak swirl, and petulantly stomps away. The crowd parts for him, and he’s lost amongst them moments later. The rest of the players are shaking hands and drinking with the crowd, who has finally gotten a chance to press forward now that the prizes have been handed out. Several unfamiliar people slap me on the back, and a hot-looking redhead kisses me on the cheek and whispers, “Congratulations, champ! Want to find someplace private where you can tell me about your win?”
The kiss is unexpected, and I don’t know what to say about the offer. I mean, what can I tell her? She and everyone else saw and heard what we did. Before I can respond, though, I feel an arm wrap around mine and turn to see Lillian. She smiles at me but gives the redhead the most scathing look I’ve ever seen. “Beat it! He’s mine. Go get your ‘tips’ from one of the other Players.”
The redhead sniffs, and I watch her shapely figure walk away until she stops next to Ethan. She kisses him and whispers in his ear, and a few moments later, he is walking away with her toward the bar, a huge smile on his face.
“I hope he’s had his shots,” Lillian grumbles.
I turn to stare at Lillian, whom I’ve never heard be so catty before. She smiles sweetly at me again and pulls me away from the crowd of well-wishers. “You did a good job leading your team Anthony. I’m proud of you. Now let me congratulate you properly.” Before I can say anything else, she’s pressed against me, giving me a kiss so passionate that my toes curl, and I’m left breathless once it’s over.
There’s a triumphant smile on her cute little face and a sparkle in her eye as she looks at me. I’m dazed as I stare at her, and I can only mutter, “Best win ever.”
The two of us spend the rest of the night dancing, drinking, and having a rather good time.
Chapter 20
The crisp morning air feels good as I stand outside my apartment. The weather has turned pretty cold recently, and it looks like it might rain later today. Still, it’s nice to just feel normal again after an adventure-filled couple of months. Dungeon diving has been lucrative in terms of both XP and credits, but it’s also a big strain on me mentally and physically. The Halloween party at Bobblemaster’s place left me with a spellbook that I’m honestly not sure how to use. After reading it, I get the notification:
Charm
Level 1
Cost: 100 mana
Duration: 5 seconds
One of the rarer spells in the enchanting class of magic, Charm temporarily allows you to turn foes into friends. The spell raises your reputation with the target to the level of a trusted friend. However, once the spell expires, your reputation will drop significantly. Be wary of using the spell on System Users, who will be notified of the spell. Duration is based on spell level and caster’s Charisma.
Some of the effects of the spell are a little vague. Like, what does being someone’s ‘trusted friend’ for 5 seconds mean? How much will my reputation drop after the spell expires? Will it make the person I cast it on hate me? Or will it permanently tank my reputation? While the potential gains from the spell are interesting, the unanswered questions make me put off testing it until I can dive into my next dungeon.
Jeff yawns as he finally leaves our
apartment, and we start our walk across campus. “This sucks, man. I don’t know why I let you talk me into taking such an early class.”
I smile at my friend. He is a welcome dose of normalcy in my life, but he is definitely not a morning person. We’re only getting up this early so that he can get some coffee from the campus Java Hut, but I don’t mention that. “Come on, Jeff. You keep complaining about it, but you’re learning some great stuff about anthropology, bones, and stuff.”
“Pfft. The only reason I didn’t drop out was because of all the hot social science girls in this class. I’m not really into all this ‘how did they die’ stuff. If I didn’t need the class to graduate, I wouldn’t have signed up.”
I chuckle. Jeff might complain, but he’s actually doing pretty well in the class--at least as long as I help him study and point out his mistakes on our lab work. It’s really not his fault that he doesn’t have the same System abilities or tools that I do.
Before we head to class, Jeff and I first make our way to the Java Hut in order to get him his morning caffeine fix. But as we’re walking, something sets off my All Seeing ability, and I lose one-hundred mana. The loss itself isn’t a big deal since my mana pool is full. The ability is always on as a passive ability and is sometimes set off by hiding animals or some dropped coins under some leaves, but this time is different. Up ahead, wreathed in a blue outline that no one else can see, is a man. He’s wearing brown slacks and a blue-collared dress shirt. Now that I notice him, he looks a bit out of place leaning against the side of the science building with half of his body obscured by bushes. Most of the students are walking past him as if he’s not even there, and I would have too, likely thinking he was some parent or teacher, if not for All Seeing pointing him out. He pulls out his phone when I look toward him, and I notice his gaze follow me as I walk past. I turn my head to Jeff, who is still walking and talking at my side, pretend to listen to him, and catch the man start to follow after me in my peripheral vision.
It could be a coincidence that he’s walking behind me. Memories of being stalked and kidnapped by Jeremy Dolton flit through my mind. Or it could be something more nefarious.
I look around at the other students and think about what I should do if this guy has bad intentions. Fight? No, too many innocent people around would get hurt if I fight here with another User. So, run it is.
I decide to test out if this guy is really following me or if I’m just being paranoid. I tell Jeff to go on ahead, and I slow down and pause for a drink of water at one of the water fountains. When I turn my head to drink, I see that the guy has stopped too. He’s about 20 feet behind me, turned away, and staring at his phone again. I finish drinking the water, but instead of heading directly toward the Java Hut, I walk past it and enter the library. As I pretend to browse through the books, I idly wonder why the college bothers to keep all these physical copies in our super digital age. After a few minutes, I think I catch a glimpse of the man in the suit between book stacks.
I rush out of the library and head directly to the coffee shop. The place is always crowded with students waiting in line. I walk in through the door and hear the bustle of a busy restaurant and students’ conversations as they talk and relax between classes. I spot Jeff at a table and take an empty seat opposite him that faces the glass-windowed storefront. I pull out a textbook from my backpack and pretend to look at it while keeping an eye outside. It’s only a minute before I see the man in the suit. He doesn’t come inside and instead casually walks right past the coffee shop without even glancing inside. The behavior makes me question myself. Could I have been mistaken?
“Everything ok, man? You’re acting kind of weird this morning,” Jeff asks.
I force a smile and carefully put the textbook I’d been pretending to read down on the table and think of a lie. “Yeah . . . Uh . . . I just thought I saw that Marcy chick. I was avoiding her.”
Jeff shakes his head at me, a disappointed expression on his face. “I’ll never understand why you turned down a sure thing.”
The two of us sit and chat for another ten minutes before deciding to head to class. I put my book back in my backpack, and we head back toward the building where our Anthropology class is. While I don’t see the short guy in the suit anywhere, I do notice another middle-aged man wearing a wrinkled suit and sunglasses sitting at a bench, looking down at a tablet. Students ignore him just like before, and I wouldn’t have even paid attention to him if I wasn’t already paranoid and looking for someone in a suit. After all, he could just be an older student or a professor, but he’s conveniently facing the building I have to go into.
“Hey, you coming or what?” The question pulls me out of my own thoughts about men in suits following me, and I turn to see a concerned look on Jeff’s face.
“Sorry, just spaced out there for a second.” With one last glance at the man across the field, I head into class and take notes on the lecture.
My mind is only half there as I try to listen to the professor speak about methods of determining the cause and manner of death. I have my presentation notes already, and I’ve read the textbook twice, so I’m not too worried about missing anything. The idea that someone might be following me continues to bother me. A masked man kidnapped, tortured, and killed me over and over again. He was trying to reduce me back to level 0, where one more death would have ended me permanently. When I escaped, he came after my family. The memory of my mom, Marie, and me fleeing from the masked killer is one that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I clearly remember the looks of abject terror on my mom and sister’s faces and their confusion at why someone would want to hurt them. They didn’t understand that, to some Users, they were nothing more than NPCs in a video game. We escaped to safety, and it was later revealed that the masked man was Jeremy Dolton, a toady of Auden Arschloch. While Jeremy escaped capture, and it was never conclusively proven by the authorities that he was the man involved, I have never doubted that he was acting on the behest of Auden or the Arschloch Corporation. They were among the ones that would have benefited most from knocking me and Monster Smashers Inc. from the Dungeon Games, but without Jeremy in custody, it could never be definitively proven that he was working for them. Since then, the company has publicly disavowed Jeremy.
I try to dismiss the thoughts of Jeremy coming after me. After all, he has a huge bounty on his head and is being hunted by the Oversight Committee, the System’s version of the FBI.
When class is done an hour later, I’m walking out of the building with Jeff and talking about the upcoming finals when I see the same man with sunglasses on the same bench, still looking at his tablet. It’s not concrete proof, but there’s also no reason for the guy to be there for an hour. Since he has not tried to harm me, I decide to take a risk and veer Jeff and me past the man. I only half-listen to Jeff talk about how he’ll need my help to get a study group together or he may not pass the class and use Inspect on the man as we pass.
Detective Pete Falkner
Timore Police Department’s finest detective, Pete Falkner is known for his dogged determination to catch the bad guy and solve the crime.
Likes: Forensic science, an arrogant suspect, evidence.
Dislikes: Criminals and people that hurt animals
Disposition: Calm and Watchful
Bonus info: Don’t let his frumpy appearance fool you, Detective Falkner is always paying attention.
As we walk past, I contemplate the information Inspect reveals. I was expecting a System User, not a detective. I mean, what would that guy be doing on campus, much less following me around? I breathe a sigh of relief that it all must have been my imagination.
“You listening, man?”
My attention is brought back to Jeff. I know that he asked me a question and the part of my brain that was listening recalls that he’d asked if it was ok to have the study group at our place tonight. “Yeah, it’s fine. Invite anyone who wants to study over. I’ll make us some spaghetti to eat while we work.”
People really seem to really enjoy studying at our place. I’m not sure if it’s because of the food I make or because the System skill, Tutoring, I have helps them to retain information and comprehend better.
“No offense, but your spaghetti is weaksauce man. I mean, diced and crushed tomatoes from a can? Where’s the zest, bro?”
I shake my head at the friendly jab. I guess it’s not the food then. “Yeah, you keep telling me it’s not a great recipe, but you’ve yet to make anything better. You definitely don’t mind when I make a big pot, and then you eat it all.”
He chuckles and punches me in the shoulder. “Yeah, I’ll take any food I can get. But you’re right. I should make my famous family recipe tonight for everyone.”
“What, the one you found on the back of the Prego bottle?”
He laughs at the jibe. “No, bro. The one my Nonna taught me. She used to stew her own tomatoes and everything. I’ll pick up the ingredients later and get it all prepared. But that means you have to mix drinks tonight.”
I nod, agreeing to the deal. I may not drink, but everyone else does, and as long as they’re of legal age, it’s no big deal for me to make them something. As the two of us walk toward the food court to get something to eat for lunch, I can’t help but wonder what a homicide detective is doing on campus and if that other short guy was part of it all, or was he there for something else?