by I. Felix
Then, everything blinked white again, and he was teleported to the outside of the castle, back to Giffin, as if nothing had happened.
He felt himself getting hugged. It was May. And then another hug on top of it, this time it was Arche.
"GUYS!" he screamed, so happy his chest felt like exploding. He also felt tears in his eyes but he didn't want to remember all that he had gone through, he didn't want to go through it all again. So, he stopped the tears and just let the happiness of the moment wash over him. "I missed you all so much, so much, SO MUCH!"
"I'm so sorry that we told you that we would be able to chat. I had no idea. They change the rules every time."
"Yes, I know," Blake said. "Not only the rules but each test and challenge are never the same so no one can know anything and get ready for it before it."
"How could you do that, bro? You are the fucking best, I swear," Arche said, more delighted than Blake himself. "How were the challenges?"
"I'm happy that you admit it," Blake said, smug, but then chuckled. "I don't want to talk about those tortures anymore. If I do, I might start crying like a baby and all I want now is to eat fish-o-fillet and sleep and rejoice."
"You don't know the best part," Arche said. "Katie failed on the second floor. It was her fourth time trying."
"And I recorded it all and broadcasted it," May said, her eyes light up. "She's not as good as she thinks she is, is she?"
"Oh, no, she isn't," Blake said, excited. "I wish I could have faced her, though. The last challenge, that they said was the competition between the contestants, was actually a competition against myself. I'll tell you guys later about that. I simply am too excited to handle this conversation right now. Let's drink our medicines, shall we?"
"So, is it real? You really got the medicine?" Arche asked.
"Of course I did. If I hadn't, I'd blow up this place," Blake said, getting the medicine. He gave half of them to Arche.
"Are you sure you'll give me all of this?"
"Without the potions you gave me, I wouldn't be here," Blake said and hugged Arche again, who laughed.
"Glad it was useful. Also, I sold the Card. We're bloody rich, mate," Arche said.
Blake raised his eyebrows, shocked. "Are you serious?"
"Man, five million coins. I've always known that I could be a millionaire. I just didn't know it would be in a virtual reality," Arche said. Blake was so happy that he was almost jumping up and down.
"Let's drink to celebrate," Blake said and got the medicine potion. It was a square flask with a red liquid inside.
He chugged it down and it tasted like strawberry.
Immediately the light appeared around him and he heard the angels singing, leveling up. The same happened to Arche. When Blake noticed, though, he had leveled up 2 levels.
They drank all the potions that they needed to get to level 50 and each got 8 left.
"FUCK YEAH!" Blake screamed.
But before he could say anything, a notification popped in front of him.
"Congratulations. Not many adventurers get to this level. You shall proceed to change your class, talk to your agent about your broadcast channel, and get your Intermediate Adventurer Package from a Kefri. Do you wish to go to your class changing base? Yes/No?"
"This game doesn't even allow us to recover," Blake said. "But I'm going."
"Me too. We can meet again in Pruntire, what do you say?" Arche asked.
"I'm in," Blake said.
"Me too," May giggled.
"Great! See you then," Arche said and disappeared. Blake selected yes and everything went white around him again.
Chapter 20 - The New Class
Blake appeared in a very weird place, one that he had no idea where was. It was like a cave, completely dark and only with some torches illuminating the place. Blake sighed. He couldn't take that anymore, all he wanted was to rest. He didn't want to go through anything again, all he wanted was some kind of vacation and not another test.
He realized he was overreacting and too anxious when he saw what was actually waiting for him:
There were a bunch of Thieves players there. He knew they were players because they had bizarre hats, auras, and mounts. NPCs didn't have that. They were talking, drinking, and party. It was literally a den of thieves. He breathed in relief. He could deal with that.
"Hey, a newbie!" one of the players said, pointing to him. They were sitting on tall benches next to some sort of improvised desk made of clay. They were drinking something like beer and looking very happy.
"HOOO!" everybody around made and drank to him.
"Are you here to become an Assassin?" another player asked. He had long hair and two horns like a sheep's horn.
"Yeah, I guess," Blake said, suddenly unsure of what he was going to become. He noticed he hadn't researched anything about the second class of the Thieves. He thought about how Arche should know everything about his second class. He smiled with that thought. It was weird how they were so different but such good friends.
"It's over there, mate," a girl said. She was wearing different clothes, it looked like a ripped version of the one that he was wearing. It was also dyed pink. She was pointing to a room that looked like a tunnel, empty and dark. Blake was feeling more at ease, so he went there without question.
There was an NPC in the shadows there.
"Are you looking to become an Assassin?" the NPC asked. It was a guy that looked very suspicious. It wasn't possible to see anything but his red eyes for he was wearing a mask and a hood.
"Yes," Blake said.
"I'll see if you're worthy of it," he said and put his hand on Blake's head. Everything that Blake did so far started passing as a very fast movie in front of his eyes. It was so fast that Blake didn't have time to mourn over the bad things he went through nor to celebrate the good ones. "You have killed enough. I give you my blessing. Do you wish to proceed? Yes/No."
Blake selected Yes. A purple light appeared around him and his outfit changed. Now he was wearing black clothes that looked like bandages around his body. Two claws rested on his shoulders. He still wore the same black mask and his hat was unequipped, which indicated it wasn't fit for the class that he had now. He'd need to buy new equipment. His dagger also was unequipped, he realized with great sadness. He loved that shadow dagger. Well, no use crying over spilled milk nor over old daggers. He would get a new, better one.
He was also feeling much more powerful than before. Almost as if he had grown a few inches in height and also got bulkier. He was feeling strong, capable, and he couldn't wait to go out and show off his new power to the world. After all, he was level 50. He could even get more levels as he still had the miracle medicine.
He got out of the tunnel and to the part with the other players. They all cheered when they saw him coming with his new clothes. He smiled, glad.
"Come have a beer with us. What's your name?" the same girl asked, pointing to one tall bench by her side.
"I'm Blake. Nice to meet you. And you?"
"I'm Ramona, and this is Chase, Bertie, Gob," she started pointing and saying names, even though Blake was pretty sure he would never remember those. As soon as he sat down, put his hands on the counter, and thought about what he wanted, a wine beer, it appeared in front of him.
"What's up with his place? Is this some sort of magic place or something?" he asked, surprised. Ramona chuckled.
"I guess. It's our bar, our safe place, that no other class can come to judge us. They don't like Assassins out there, not sure if you noticed. So we come here to chill. I'll add you as a friend. What are you doing right now? Like, quests, leveling up?"
Blake got the notification asking if he wanted her as a friend and he clicked on accept.
"I'm trying to finish the Endless Tower," he said. When he did, they all chuckled at the same.
"Endless Tower? And how's that going so far?" Chase asked, beaming like if it was a huge joke.
"Pretty well. We're in level 4. I know it
doesn't sound a big deal but we're taking it slow. We even got out of it to level up and change classes, and then we go back to it. I just won the Tournament..."
When he said that, all the heads turned to him.
"You mean the Giffin Tournament? How did you do that?!" Ramona asked, impressed. "In my years of playing this game, I could never finish it. It's just too much torture. And you never know what the tests will be."
"Yeah," Blake said, blocking off those terrible memories. "It wasn't easy but I got the miracle medicines as the prize."
"No way," Chase said. "Do you still have it with you?"
"Yeah, I have some left," Blake said, frowning. He was starting to find that talk weird.
"I would like to take a look at it. Do you allow me?" Chase asked, smiling.
Blake frowned again. "No, I just remembered that I put it in the storage."
"Are you sure? Because you seem like you're lying. What? Are you afraid we're going to rob you? Why?" Ramona asked, like a cat that stared at its new prey.
"Yeah. I'm sure. I have to go now," Blake said, leaving the cup behind.
"Why?" Ramona asked, getting up from the bench.
Blake wouldn't stay there to find out if they were being friendly or trying to rob him, so he activated one of the Bird Wings and everything went white for a second.
He appeared again in Pruntire, breathing in relief. He opened his chat, which was right by the Friends part. He saw that Ramona was there, shining in green like she was online. He felt shivers and wondered if he would be able to eventually block her or not. He shrugged this thought off and looked for the chatbox, messaging Arche. A few seconds later, a notification box popped open in front of his eyes with a message from Arche.
"Meet in front of the Kefri," it read. Blake closed it and headed to the South Gate, where he knew the NPC Kefri was.
He could barely recognize Arche because his clothes were completely different. He had long pants that looked a little too big for him, completely purple. He also had a purple robe on the top part, a new shop cart made out of steel. It was bigger and looked more expensive. He had also changed hats, now he was wearing one pointy witch hat. He also had a small leaf coming from his mouth. May looked the same as always, stunning, Blake dared to think. She had shiny golden armor and pikupiku was there with them.
"You look ridiculous," Blake told Arche but he was still so happy to have his best friend there that he laughed immediately after it.
"Have you checked yourself?" Arche answered, arching one eyebrow.
"Yeah and I look like a badass Assassin," he said. "I'm just kidding, bro."
"I was going to give you this but I don't think you deserve it," Arche said, showing two weapons. They were identical, but each one was for a different hand. It was like a big knife mixed with a brass knuckle, in the way that he held it like the brass knuckle but it had a big knife where the knuckles were. It was also purple, releasing mysterious energy.
"What the hell is that?!" Blake asked, mesmerized.
"The best that money can buy," Arche said. Blake tried to get it but Arche moved his hand out of the way, so he wouldn't reach it.
"Hey!" Blake protested but Arche chuckled and handed it to him.
"It's a Shadow Katar," he said. "You need an Assassin weapon now that you're one. Even though you can barely kill a fly."
"Also, by the way, I was almost robbed by a bunch of other assassins, so it's better if we secure our miracle medicines," Blake said. May and Arche looked at him confused. "Nevermind, I explain later. Do we have a bank or something like that?"
"It's VERY hard for Kefri storage to be robbed," May said.
"But it's possible?" Arche asked instead.
"It has happened... but it's always a scandal when it does," May said. "The chances are very small."
"Okay, whatever. Do we have a better choice?" Blake asked.
"Not really," May said. "Robbing an NPC is not easy. They would have to kind of hack the system."
"Fair enough," Arche said and all of them put their valuable items there on the Kefri.
"So, what do we do now? Do we go back to the Tower?" Blake asked.
"Oh, no," May said. "You'll have a meeting with the broadcasting manager soon to set up your channel, learn how to make it rock, etc. Check your Quests tab."
Blake opened it and there it was:
"VITAL QUEST: Go to the Office in Prontera and talk to the Manager on the first floor. No other quest or instance will be able to de done till this quest is finished."
"Okay, that sounds very demanding," Blake said. Arche started walking to the middle of the town and Blake took some steps to follow him. However. May didn't move. They looked back, confused.
"I'm not going... sorry, boys," she said.
"Why not? We need you to hold our hands," Blake said, in a fun way. However, May didn't smile.
"I've been here for so long... I do anything I can to avoid the Manager, so I'll stay right here if you don't mind," she said.
"Fair enough," Arche said, intervening before Blake could protest. "Meet later?"
"You bet. Good luck, my friends!!" May said, showing her thumb up, and smiling from ear to ear in a cute way.
"I'll miss you!" Blake exclaimed, while they turned and kept walking.
The city was as full as always but they were getting used to it right now. They were slowly forgetting their lives on Earth and getting 100% into the game world. It was a weird game, but much cooler and adventurous than their old lives.
They had never been in the Office, even though it was one of the biggest buildings in the plaza. It looked like every other building, however much bigger, almost being the medieval way to do a luxury building in the style of New York. It even had windows where they couldn't see the inside because it reflected the light, just like the offices back in the biggest cities of America.
They entered and the inside reflected how Pruntire wast: many people were there, a bunch of NPCs, each one doing a different thing. Some were forging swords, others were buying potions, and some were even getting the blue light of the levels around them. It was full of life, conversation, even the smell of food. The inside was made of stones and it looked like the great hall inside of a castle. The yellow line that always showed the direction of the navigation was pointing to one of the corridors from the hall. Arche and Blake followed in that direction. The hall was empty and there was only one NPC next to the wall. He was a guy wearing a suit and sunglasses, even though he was indoors. His name was Broadcasting Manager and when Arche and Blake got close enough, a notification popped up:
"Do you wish to proceed to the Broadcasting Central? Yes/No?"
Blake and Arche looked at each other and selected the Yes.
The place was like the castle but with a more modern look. It had a big hall, like the inside of posh bank agencies. It didn't even seem like they were inside a fantasy game anymore. There were many small tables with comfortable leather sofas around it, and the same NPC that let them in was there, talking to different groups at the same time, like if there were many people that looked the same all around.
They sat on the nearest sofa and immediately one of the NPCs appeared.
"Greetings. My name is Manager and I'm the virtual representation of the person that takes care of your body on Earth. I'll also take care of your broadcasting from now on. Congratulations on making it to this stage, only 34% of the players that start in the game do. My goal here is to help you achieve success in your broadcasting, which will give you many benefits in your new life inside Sentinel Online, and also guarantee the stay of your body in Sentinel Company."
When he said that, Arche looked at Blake, seeming a little puzzled.
"What do you mean...?" Arche tried to ask but the NPC simply kept talking.
"To start off, I'll begin explaining how the broadcasting platform works. I've already set up each of your channels," Manager said and a screen appeared in front of their eyes, one for Blake and the other for Arche. Bot
h were the same: it had a place for the video, where they could see themselves at the moment, a place for the chat, a place where they could see the analytics, like subscribers, viewers, likes, dislikes, comments, fanbase, how much merch they were selling, what the other broadcasters were saying about them, and a bunch of other analytics. They also had a small red camera button, which they already knew what it was for, as they saw May using it all the time. It was the vlogging camera.
"The camera records you 24/7 from different angles. Don't worry about your private parts, though, as we keep the broadcasting PG-rated," he said. "Your goal as a broadcaster is to try to keep your audience always peaking with views, likes, comments. To do that, live an interesting life, go on adventures, do different things. It's always good to take a moment each day to do a live stream, talk to your fans, answer the comments, and live chat with them. Our most successful broadcasters do it daily, besides the crazy adventures they go through. I must advise you that, as I said, this is a PG-rated platform, so no obscenities will be accepted. No gore either."
"What happens if we fail to keep our audience entertained?" Arche asked, kind of interrupting the NPC that planned on keep on talking.
"Well... the broadcast is run by ads and that's how we're able to pay to maintain your bodies in the company. Without a minimum monthly quota, we'll be unable to keep your bodies there."
"So, you'll actually kill us?" Arche asked. "I know you can't take our bodies back to Earth. It was a final decision. So, if you can't afford to maintain our bodies there, you'll turn off the equipment."
Blake looked at Arche with bulgy eyes.
"What?" he asked. Arche didn't answer because he was staring at the Manager attentively.
"I am sure we won't have to come to this if you do a good job of entertaining our viewers. Our game is already really fun, much funnier than living real life on Earth, so we did most of the work for you. Go on in your adventures and you should be absolutely fine," the Manager said in a presumptuous way. "You're already peaking with views and this is only your first hour."
"Really? How?" Blake asked, looking at his analytics. He was surprised to see that over 530 people were already following him.