Paying to Win in a VRMMO: Volume 5
Page 12
Ichiro had always been worried that Charles might commit a crime someday. If it meant he would channel that passion of his into a maid robot instead, Ichiro was willing to spend as much money as it took. Pondering his friend’s private fetishes, Ichiro hung up.
“Oh, Itchy, how’d it go?” Asuha asked.
“He wants me to take your picture, Asuha.”
“Huh?!” Asuha seemed flustered, unable to figure out how these things connected. Sera was playing a game with a bored expression, but one eyebrow twitched.
“Now, what shall we do?” Ichiro asked. “We can head to Pittsburgh now if you want.”
“I’m hungry...” Asuha whispered as she stroked her stomach. She had eaten Sera’s meal on the plane as well as her own, since Sera was a light eater, but it seemed even that hadn’t been enough. Did she have a huge appetite, or was she just in the middle of a growth spurt? She was in middle school and an athlete, so perhaps it was just her metabolism.
Ichiro suggested, “Then as long as we’re in Chicago, let’s find a good pizza place.”
“Sounds great!”
“Would you like that, King?” he asked.
“Sure.”
They both seemed very laid-back about the whole thing.
In accordance with the requests of Matsunaga and the others, Iris logged in just before 9 A.M.
She felt like she’d been spending a lot more time in the game since summer break had started. Of course, she’d gone out with her friends when they’d invited her, and on days like that, she would easily spend the whole day without logging in at all. But with her parents out all day for work, there was nobody to scold her for staying cooped up in the house all day, so...
While recognizing that her behavior really wasn’t healthy, she logged in once again today. The truth was, she had a backlog of new designs she wanted to try, and she was hoping to show them to Nem this time. She was sure she’d get another raking over the coals, but to complain about that would be looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Iris opened her eyes to find herself inside the Red Sunset Knights’ guild house, the same place she’d been when she’d logged out the night before. Matsunaga wasn’t in sight, but Yuri was already there.
“Morning, Yuri!” she called.
“Morning, Ai.” The friends exchanged light smiles and greetings.
Yuri was wearing a gi and point armor, with light equipment on her wrists that was part of a Grapper’s style. It was a more mature-looking outfit than she’d worn back when they were first adventuring together. She had asked Iris occasionally to make her new equipment, but Iris couldn’t imagine that her friend’s heroic fighting style would gel well with that year’s on-trend floral patterns. She was also concerned about trying to blend it with her own and the young heir’s high-class(ish) style.
For now, though, Iris was one of the key members of the plan to fight Duplichiro. She was going to send him a string of stinging friend messages to try to monopolize his attention. She was effectively serving as a decoy. Of course, since things were going to get dangerous for her, she’d have Tiramisu, one of the Knights’ commanders, guarding her. Yuri had also volunteered to act as bodyguard.
Yuri was a front-line fighter specialized for offense, but there was a big gap in ability between her and the top-level players. Even if she served as a bodyguard, a single attack from Duplichiro might be able to take her down. While Iris was grateful for her friend’s sentiment, she had initially refused her out of worry. But Matsunaga had said, “Let’s just go with it. It’s only a game, after all,” and had accepted Yuri’s request.
It was true that no matter how badly any of them got beaten, the worst that might happen was that they’d lose their equipment and items.
As examples of people growing too obsessed with VRMMOs and becoming junkies had become more widely known, the tendency of the internet community to disdain people for taking a game too seriously had begun to grow. Matsunaga, for his part, skillfully made use of both philosophies as it suited him: that it was only a game, and that they were pursuing a real-life criminal. Iris had been drawn in by him, too. She didn’t know which side Matsunaga really fell on, but it did seem like, despite the exaggerated concept that they were “arresting a criminal’s avatar,” he was being very easygoing about the whole thing.
“Iris, Yuri, good morning!” Nem logged in with a cheerful greeting.
“Nem... ah, Fuyo. Don’t you have work to do?”
“I finished everything that was urgent!” Nem clenched her hands into fists.
She was the CEO and designer for the apparel brand MiZUNO, and perhaps wasn’t in any sort of position to be devoting this much time to a game, but she appeared to have a surprising vitality.
“Nem, are you okay?” Iris asked. “It’s going to be dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine, thank you. I just remembered this morning that I have Immortal status!”
That was true, now that she mentioned it.
Nem hadn’t acquired her avatar through conventional means; Megumi Fuyo had gotten her friend Azami Nono to design a special character especially for her to go in and pick a fight with Iris. In other words, she was a cheat character. She had a collection of Skills and Arts needed to craft things, no combat capabilities whatsoever, and in addition, she had Immortal status. In effect, she was like a child perpetually left out of a game of tag.
Even so, the mission was going to be dangerous. If Duplichiro assaulted Nem the way he’d gone after Tiramisu the other day, striking her down with terrible violence, it could still be a terrifying experience. And Duplichiro’s own actions with King had proven better than anyone that Immortal status couldn’t protect your mental state.
“I understand what you’re saying.” Nem’s expression became more drawn as she talked to the two of them. “Nevertheless, I cannot remain on the sidelines. To simply stand here while someone uses Ichiro’s account and avatar for such mischief...”
Iris let out a sigh. “Fine. Okay, Nem. There’s not that much we can do anyway... but let’s do our best together.”
“I will, Iris!”
“Morning, everyone.” The door opened and Tiramisu entered. As usual, she had the calming air of a mild-mannered woman.
“Morning, Tiramisu.”
Tiramisu wasn’t alone. A small group of Knights had come with her. Their faces were familiar, but there were none of the few famous players who occupied the top echelons of the player base.
“Allow me to explain our route,” Tiramisu said as she unfurled a map on the desk.
Yuri looked a bit surprised. “They sell maps?”
“The update after the Grand Quest came with a lot of useful items,” Tiramisu explained. “You can buy them in Delve’s NPC shops.”
The map was designed to have a Middle Ages feel to it, but you could also bring up information displays by touching it with your fingertip. It was clearly high technology, but one could write it off as a magic item, perhaps.
As Tiramisu traced the map with her fingertip, the route showed up, displayed in red. They’d be setting out from Delve, where they’d wait for Duplichiro to come after them after caving in to Iris’s provocations. After he arrived, they would then run for the Great Sandsea and take the Sandship north. Their destination was the Doom Range. Here she explained the various points perfect for sneaking and hiding that Tomakomai had discovered over the course of his long days spent in isolation in that area. While repeating provocation and flight where necessary, they’d head for the ravine deep in the territory.
“The canyon is our final destination. That’s where we’ll fight the final battle against Duplichiro.”
It did seem like drawing him out there would keep him from causing trouble with beginner and intermediate players.
“We won’t be entering any cities?” Iris asked.
“Tomakomai advised us on that, too. He said that if we stay too long in combat-prohibited regions, Duplichiro might realize what we’re doing, or even log out.
We need to keep him in the game as long as possible.”
Until they learned what Duplichiro really wanted, none of them could fully wipe away their concerns about their ability to keep him occupied. Iris opened her menu window and checked her friend message history.
Iris had already sent a few needling messages last night, and received replies each time. This had allowed them to confirm one thing:
It was easy to get a rise out of Duplichiro.
As far as Iris could see, her attempts at provoking him were working, but she wondered if making him too angry could cause its own problems. Listening to the others speak made it sound like Duplichiro might have more game authority than he’d even used so far. Iris didn’t know a lot about computers, but it felt to her like if he wanted to, he could steal their accounts, as well.
Then again, it wasn’t good to overthink things.
As Iris shook her head, Nem peered at her in concern.
“Tiramisu, should I send the message now?” Iris asked.
“Yes, I think it’s about time we got started.” Tiramisu opened a menu window as well to check their schedule. “At the longest, this should take us to a bit past 1 P.M. We won’t have time to log out for four hours. Is everyone prepared for that?”
“I’m great,” said Iris.
“I’m ready to go,” agreed Nem.
“I’m fine,” said Yuri.
Tiramisu was phrasing it in a roundabout way, but of course, there was a more crude implication behind it. She was referring to bathroom breaks.
The drive simulation meant that you wouldn’t notice it, but the body was still sending signals at all times, and if things got bad enough, the system was programmed to send alarm messages to the player. If hunger or other biological needs got too serious, then it would go past alarm messages to a total severance of signal. The feeling of going from totally full to suddenly hungry, or needing to go to the bathroom, could be quite a cause for panic.
That was why, if a player was planning to stay in the drive for long periods of time, they had to take care of their physiological functions first. Truly passionate players would apparently drive in a diaper, but Iris had no intention of going to those lengths.
The four of them left the guild house, followed by the handful of Knights. Their role was apparently to help Iris and the others run away, and they were prepared to serve as human shields as part of that endeavor. They were wearing rather shabby armor given their level range, most likely so that they wouldn’t mind losing it to the death penalty.
Iris headed outside while composing her friend message text. She knew that when her mouth opened, abuse tended to pour out of it, but realizing that she could provoke people this cool-headedly made her wonder if she was becoming a bad person. It certainly wasn’t good for her mental state.
“Whoa, Ai, you’re really gonna send that?”
“Iris, that’s vulgar...”
The two had gotten around behind her at some point and peered. Iris unconsciously moved to hide the window. “Hey, don’t look!”
Out on the main street stood a white horse whose saddle had been textured with the crest of the Red Sunset Knights. In this game, steeds were items with very few programmed motions, and there was something creepy about the way it just stood there, stock still, without even fidgeting.
“This is Custard,” Tiramisu said.
It took Iris a minute to realize that was the horse’s name.
Nem tilted her head. “You, Tiramisu, have a horse named Custard?”
“I named it after a horse I like in a manga.”
“I thought Custard was seal brown.”
“Oh, you know it, Yuri? I wanted a dark horse, but our leader said that my color was white, so...”
“Huh?”
Iris mounted Tiramisu’s horse, while Yuri and Nem mounted another. To deflect attacks targeted at Iris, Yuri stood up on the horse’s saddle, apparently intending to mimic something she’d seen in a kung fu movie once.
“Yuri, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’ve got my ‘Equilibrium’ Skill raised to about 50.” Yuri launched into a burst of lithe karate movements, which set Iris’s heart at ease.
At last, Iris received a response from Duplichiro. It sounded like he was nibbling at the bait.
Iris picked her words, calmly and carefully, to slowly fray at her opponent’s nerves. It seemed she had a talent for trolling.
After a few tense exchanges, Iris received this message.
Iris, you’re in Martial City Delve right now, right? Stay there. I’m going to come talk to you directly.
And there was the bite.
Iris fiddled with her menu window, changing over from her messages to her guild member view screen. She was checking the icon next to Duplichiro’s name. He’d previously been in the deepest regions of the Volgund Volcanoes, but now he was “Moving.” She also checked his stats, which seemed to have gone up a little bit from yesterday; he must have hunted quite a number of Lizardmen.
“H-He’s coming,” Iris said nervously.
“Already?” Tiramisu asked. “I suppose he really must be easily baited.”
“Well, given the messages you sent him...” Yuri said.
“Wh-What...?”
If he was heading here straight from the Volgund Volcano region, then no matter how fast he flew, it would probably take about an hour. That seemed like a long time, but Iris was expecting him sooner. Ichiro always had Warp Feathers in stock to get around. Once he got to an area where he could use a movement item, he’d be on them instantaneously. Tiramisu and Yuri had been informed of that, too, and Iris could hear the two bracing for battle behind her.
The Knights members around them broke into whispers. As a group, they looked up at the sky, pointing to a single spot within it. Iris did the same. In the blue, clear sky above the Martial City, a single ray of light appeared. It was streaking right towards them.
“Here he is,” Tiramisu said, clutching her bridle.
Yuri and Nem both gulped.
Like a meteorite, the light collided with the ground at a low angle and bore its way into the main street. There was a flash and a roar, and the ground shook, flushing up a massive visual of dust and rubble... though perhaps to reduce burden on the server, the graphics were less detailed than they had been the last few times this had happened.
“Th-That was fast,” Iris said, doing her best to keep up the bluff.
Beyond the whirling dust cloud, a silhouette smoothly rose to its feet. It flapped its dragon wings to cause a damageless wind effect that blew the obscuring walls of sand away. There was no question: this was Duplichiro. He wasn’t smiling that sticky grin of his; he didn’t have much of an expression at all, resorting instead to the “default face” that suggested no emotional input behind it. Yet she could detect the faintest sense of anger welling up from him.
“I simply wanted to correct your mistake,” he said in the same cool tones typically employed by Ichiro Tsuwabuki. “I asked you not to move, yet I see you were planning on running, weren’t you?”
“Unlike you, I have things to do,” Iris said coolly.
“Nonsense,” Duplichiro said. The way he said that, and nothing more, was just like the real Ichiro. “First, your assumption that I have nothing but free time on my hands is greatly mistaken. It is a truly abstract assumption lacking in objective scrutiny. In addition, I can surmise from interpreting your previous messages that you are intending to anger me. Thus, your observation just now, that I have nothing better to do, has no effect on me. It is a truly nonsense comment. It is—”
“You’re so mad,” Iris said, interrupting him.
“Nonsense. I am not—”
“You’re so mad, there’s steam rising out of your ears. Look, I told you, I’ve got better things to do, remember? Why should I care if you’re mad? The only reason you could possibly think I care is because you’re really super mad. Right?”
“Nonse—”
“Idiot.”
In that instant, Duplichiro silently unleashed a Fireball. Multiple crimson spheres rocketed forward, trailing a flashy visual behind them.
The Knights moved into action, gathering in front of Custard to act as a shield against the Fireballs. The attack probably wasn’t very powerful, but with the weak armor they were wearing, the damage would likely be fatal. Fortunately, the horses that Yuri and Nem were riding avoided any major damage.
“Iris, well done,” Tiramisu whispered. “Keep up the provocations. We need to get out of Delve first.”
She grabbed the reins and kicked Custard in the side. The horse let out a little neigh and started running down the main street. Ahead of them, she could see Duplichiro preparing to meet them. But rather than continue to charge, Custard turned its back on Duplichiro and headed into an alley.
“I knew you were mad, idiot!” Iris shouted.
“Yeah, idiot!” yelled Yuri.
“You... foolish person! Very foolish!” Nem scolded.
Yuri and even Nem had joined in on the provocation. Nem had seemed rather hesitant in her choice of words, but they still seemed to have had an effect on Duplichiro. He immediately spread his wings and flew after them.
The city of Delve was laid out on a grid: even if you ran into a side street, it was always easy to find your way back to main thoroughfare. Tiramisu, while choosing the narrowest routes, tugged at the reins to control Custard’s movements precisely.
Tiramisu’s Horseback Riding and “Swift Rider” Skill levels appeared to be high, which made it hard for Duplichiro to close the gap between them. He seemed to have completely lost his temper, because he continued firing off Fireballs at them as he pursued. His aim was reckless, causing Fireballs to hit the walls and ground around them and spread rubble everywhere.
During the dramatic chase, Yuri served as their shield, repelling Duplichiro’s magic attacks. Having applied “Aura Fist,” her fists were able to execute Weapon Guards against the incoming Fireballs. Out of the indiscriminately-fired blasts, she was able to identify the few that might actually reach them, and deflected them with her chops.