by Oliver Mayes
“Maybe we should get a doctor?”
His superior threw up his hand irritably and turned to leave. Damien garbled out his thanks.
“Th-thank you so much for pu-pulling off my headset! That’s the funniest thing ah-aaaaah-aaaaaAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA—”
Looking extremely grumpy, the agent stomped out of the door, leaving his subordinate to hurry after him. Damien removed the headset so he could laugh properly, loud and hard, and was just about recovering when Lillian strode into the room. She caught his eye and returned his borderline manic grin.
“You saw it, then? Congratulations! I uploaded our footage to your profile myself, but this one’s a bit more popular. I guess you can see why.”
Damien might have been lying in a hospital bed, but he’d never felt better in his entire life. He managed to rein in his smile and fixed Lillian with the most serious gaze he was capable of producing. Which was not even half as serious as he felt the situation merited.
“I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you so much, for everything.”
“You’re more than welcome. By the way, you’ll be staying under observation here until tomorrow. I’ll bill the agents outside for your stay. By midnight tonight, you’ll officially be the competition winner. Try not to get into any more trouble before then, huh?”
Damien jangled the handcuffs against the rail.
“I’ll try not to.”
Lillian smirked, poured a fresh cup of water and set it at his bedside.
“I have to get back to work. You have any problems, hit the buzzer and I’ll be there.”
She headed out and Damien turned off his headset and put it on the bedside table before lying back to beam at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, and it wasn’t long before he was deeply and peacefully asleep.
It was dark when he woke up. He blinked as the IMBA set rang out a calling tone at his bedside. He fumbled it with his free hand, jammed it on backward in the dark, then laboriously removed it while muttering angrily.
The calling tone rang on throughout without pause. By the time he’d got the headset on, he was awake enough to appreciate the seriousness of the caller ID.
Voice Chat Invitation: Mobius_Adler. Gamer I.D: 0000001 A/D
Oh. He checked the time in his HUD. It was 00:02. The competition was over. He hadn’t known what to expect. Maybe a polite email, or a visit and a handshake from a Mobius representative some time later in the week. He certainly wasn’t prepared to take a call from the CEO of Mobius Enterprises. He couldn’t exactly reject it, either. The time ticked over to 00:03. Keeping him waiting any longer would be a bad idea. He accepted the call.
“Hello?”
“Congratulations on winning the competition, Damien Arkwright.”
The man's tone was light and airy, as if he were calling simply to chat about the weather, but his voice was deep and self-assured. Damien swallowed, he hoped not audibly, and tried to remain as polite as possible.
“Thank you very much, sir. It wasn’t easy.”
Adler chuckled at that, something between a hum and a laugh.
“No. It most certainly was not. I must admit, I’ve been watching your exploits with great interest. I’m a big fan of yours!”
Damien had no idea if this was true or simply rehearsed, but it was a nice thing to say either way.
“Thank you, sir. Coming from you, that means a lot.”
There was a loud clap and Adler continued a little faster.
“So, on to business! As the competition winner, I am pleased to inform you that you’re the winner of the 100,000-credit prize. I would also like to extend to you the opportunity to become an official streamer for Saga Online. Your victory over Aetherius was remarkable, but it has left us with…. something of a vacuum to be filled in the advertising department. I would be very grateful if you were to take on this role. Especially since you are directly responsible for the vacuum in question.”
“I’d be very happy to become a streamer for Mobius Enterprises.”
There was another loud clap over the line.
“Excellent! I shall have an employee come and visit you with a copy of the contract in the morning. Please take your time to read the details and make sure you are satisfied before you sign. As you are technically a minor, it will require the signature of an adult custodian along with your own. Will that be a problem?”
Damien considered his position carefully. Although he didn’t want to be rude, there were a number of problems he still had and this was a unique opportunity to solve them.
“About that, sir, there are a couple of things I should tell you about my current circumstances. I’d be very grateful if you could help me.”
“By all means. I shall assist if I am able. What circumstances are you speaking of?”
Damien paused. He knew Adler was more than able of assisting him with his problems. Whether he would follow through with his word was another matter entirely. He took a couple of breaths to steady himself. Then he made his gambit.
“My mother is currently in hospital, waiting for a new heart. I would like the prize money to go directly into paying for her operation, including a bionic heart, as soon as possible.”
He’d been worried, but there was another loud clap. Adler was doing a startlingly good impression of a magic genie.
“Done. I will put my aide onto it immediately. He will send an email asking for the details and you can hash it out between you. What prize money is not used to fund the operation will be sent to you at a later date. We can wait with the contract until your mother has recovered for her to countersign on your behalf. Is there something else?”
Adler had responded immediately. He probably already knew about the situation and had the solutions lined up. Damien made his second request more tentatively.
“Thank you, sir. In fact, there is. I am also in hospital. I had a seizure after someone removed the IMBA set your employee, Kevin, sent me for testing.” There was a pause this time. Adler did not seem inclined to fill the gap. Damien waited as long as he dared before rambling on, explaining everything about CU and how they had presumably pressured Kevin in some manner, ending his story with the IMBA set being torn off his head.
When he finished, there was another silence, but this one had a different quality. There was a palpable tension over the line. When Adler’s voice came back, it was stiffer than before.
“I am very sorry to hear that. I will of course have the headset returned to the R and D department, where they will face severe repercussions for their poor judgment. What is your request?”
Of all the people who’d suffered in the wake of Damien’s actions, there was one who had suffered more than the rest. He’d never have an opportunity to make amends like this again.
“I would like Kevin to continue his role as my handler with Mobius Enterprises.”
The silence was deafening. The blood rose in Damien’s ears, but he held his nerve. The time ticked over from 00:15 to 00:16, yet still neither of them spoke.
Finally, Adler gave his answer.
“Kevin has already been dismissed following his interaction with CU. If what you tell me is true, his dismissal was based on false pretenses. To the best of my knowledge, CU came to my HR department stating that Kevin was aligned with dangerous criminal elements.”
Damien was gobsmacked. So that’s why Kevin had been fired. Lillian had been right: ‘beardy douchebag’ fit the bill perfectly. His temper was already rising when Adler’s voice came back calm and crystal clear.
“However, given the 'criminal' in question was a homeless sixteen-year-old boy, I believe their accusations of aiding and abetting were overblown. Kevin should not have been fired for such a minor infraction. I’ll see to it he is brought back to the company and that the matter is fully investigated on our end. Whoever oversaw retrieving you clearly had a swollen sense of importance. An official complaint against CU will be lodged by Mobius; that should be enough for them to back down. I doubt they want
to risk a protracted legal battle.”
Damien realized he’d started crying, an escape of his nerves and fears in the face of Adler’s overwhelming support and generosity. He was going the extra mile on this for sure.
“Thank you. I really can’t thank you enough.”
“I’m only doing what’s right, Mr. Arkwright. Besides, I can’t have our new top streamer embroiled in a trumped-up case with CU. Rest assured, the matter will soon be behind you.”
Damien sighed with relief.
“In return,” Adler suddenly continued, “I am going to insert a non-disclosure agreement into your streamer contract, asking you not to mention the unfortunate experience you had testing our headset. Your valuable insight has prevented a catastrophic PR disaster for Mobius Enterprises. I would prefer to avoid any bad publicity stemming from this incident, especially since you’ll be working with us in the near future.”
Damien could see that this was a very shrewd decision, but he didn’t hesitate to give his reply.
“Of course, sir. Thank you again.”
“You are a very interesting young man,” Adler said. “I shall watch your career with great interest. My aide will message you shortly. Until next time, Mr. Arkwright.”
The call ended. Damien pulled off his IMBA set and sat in the darkness, breathing heavily. He’d done it.
Aetherius had been dethroned. Damien had won the contest. Kevin would return to Mobius. His mother would be taken into surgery as soon as possible. The money he’d won would pay for the best doctors and the best new heart. Still, there was always a risk with these things. But it was now out of his hands.
He’d done all he could, and though slightly nervous, Damien closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep. For the first time in a week, he wasn’t worried about tomorrow.
Epilogue
Days later, Damien stood outside another hospital room door, his mouth dry.
“She’s still exhausted from the operation,” a young doctor said. “But you can go in.”
Lillian gave him a small nudge. “Go on.”
Damien swallowed the lump in his throat then opened the door. There she was, lying on the bed, her head elevated by a mound of pillows. Damien ran to grab her hand. She looked so frail; little more than a shade. Yet the moment she set her eyes on him, color entered her cheeks and she gave him a huge, brave grin.
“Hello, Damien.”
It was hopeless. The tears spilled down his cheeks, all his fear and longing expelling itself in an unstoppable flood. He pulled up her hand and set it against his cheek, the tears spilling over them. She stroked his face as she started to cry as well. They remained like that for a few minutes, none of the doctors daring to interrupt.
It was Cassandra who spoke first.
“How did you manage this? You didn’t ask your father for money, did you?”
Damien shook his head, then choked out a single laugh. If only it had been that simple.
“No, I didn’t, but… well, it’s a long story.”
Cassandra arched an eyebrow. “It’s not like I’ve got much else to do.”
She looked at him expectantly, but it was clearly a struggle to stay awake. She was halfway through stifling a yawn when her eyes widened again.
“Have you been able to study?” she added in a very motherly hurry. “You know the exams are coming up.”
Damien’s eyes widened. Now? She wanted to do this now? Despite himself, he blew out a sigh of relief. She was definitely on the mend.
“Not exactly, but there’s a good bit of money on the horizon for me. You don’t need to worry. Rest for now, I’ll tell you all about it when you get home.”
“That’s… that’s so… wonderful.” She yawned deeply, eyelids fluttering to fight back sleep.
A gentle hand fell on Damien’s shoulder.
“Let’s come back later,” Lillian said.
Damien nodded and gave his mother a final smile. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said. Her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling gently.
Damien rose and left with Lillian. A great weight, one that had been resting on his shoulders from that fateful moment in the kitchen, finally fell away.
He felt like he was in a dream, wafting through the hospital corridors on the way back to the waiting room.
Somehow, everything was going to be OK. All because he had never given up and was good at doing the thing he loved.
Playing Saga Online.
Afterword
Hello again from the Portal Books Team,
On behalf of Oli, we’d like to thank you so much for reading Occultist: Saga Online. This book was a headache at times but one we’ve all poured blood sweat and tears into, Oli most of all. For a debut writer we are simply blown away by him.
Oli currently lives out in China and so his connection to regular social media channels can be patchy but he’d love to hear from anyone who has enjoyed his book. It would mean the world to him.
One way to reach out is over Facebook and if you join the Portal Books Facebook group you’ll be able to find him in there:
www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGPortal/
Like many out there, Oli’s dream is to one day write full time. Another way you can help him out is by reviewing a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.
Reviews really do make all the difference to a book’s success on Amazon. A brief two minutes of your time can help an author in immeasurable ways.
Finally, if you’d like to sample FREE content from our other incredible authors you can do so by signing up to the Portal Books mailing list. Doing so right now will grant access to the sci-fi novelette Survivors from the Nova Online Series.
www.subscribepage.com/survivors
By signing up you’ll also be the first to hear about all our titles such as:
Bone Dungeon by Jonathan Smidt
God of Gnomes by L. M. Hughes
Mastermind: Titan Online by Steven Kelliher
Battle Spire (A Crafting LitRPG Book) by Michael R. Miller
The Nova Online Series by Alex Knight
Aether Frontier by Scott McCoskey
Dungeons of Strata by Graeme Penman
Cryoknight by Tim Johnson
For more general discussions about the genre, these groups may be useful to you.
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Best wishes,
The Portal Books Team
www.portal-books.com
More LitRPG from Portal Books
Portal Books will release 8 new titles this year - it’s going to be a big one. But out right now is the sci-fi themed LitRPG, Warden: Nova Online.
“Imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit, Kaiden's only hope of early release is in serving as a Warden in the game-world of Nova Online.
It’s available on Kindle Unlimited and on Audio.
Also out now is Battle Spire: A Crafting LitRPG Book
Battle Spire is a meeting of World of Warcraft and Die Hard, using crunchy LitRPG mechanics with a heavy focus on crafting. Readers can expect to find in depth item and spell descriptions, along with stat tables and profession recipes.
It’s available on Kindle Unlimited and Audio will follow soon from Soundbooth Theater!
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Copyright © Oliver Mayes, 2019
Published by Portal Books, 2019
The right of Oliver Mayes to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of
both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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