by Mars Dorian
She danced into the kitchen, snatched up a ramen soup cup, and stirred the noodles. “I need to power up for my next session.”
“Makes sense.”
I wondered how she could survive in here with all the dust, trash, and dirty dishes infesting the rooms. There must have been a colony of new life forms breeding underneath those piles.
Sparrow slurped a pile of noodles with loud noises. “On a scale one to ten, ten being the highest, how grossed out are you right now?”
She could read my emotions. I wondered about the right word choice, as I had no intention of insulting my generous host. “Do you really want to know?”
She laughed.
“Eleven.”
Sparrow choked on her noodles and cracked up. It was cute the way she moved and wiped away the sparkling brew from her lips. Having a roommate with humor was a plus. “I told you that you were going to hate my place.”
“Hate is the wrong word.”
Sure, the place was a mess. But I had a roof over my head and could access the game. Priorities.
“Believe me, it’s still better than everything I have to face back at home.”
No more annoying Shaina.
No more controlling Mr. Ustinov.
Unfortunately, also no more Mom—for now; in time, the distance would heal our wounds and I’d return; hopefully with real money.
My eyes returned to the pile of stuffed boxes and trash in the storage room. To my left, I heard Sparrow slurping her never-ending streams of noodles.
“I guess I can start cleaning up the space right now.”
Sparrow nodded. “Cloudkiss needs their WarTech back.”
“You know about my current mission?”
“I’ve watched some of your streams. They’re starting to become exciting.”
“Starting?”
Sparrow guzzled more of the ramen brew. “If you think your current quests are exciting, you have seen nothing yet, Mr. Boltzmann.”
With that, she turned around and dumped her empty Ramen cup in the trash—AKA her living room.
“Ready when you are.”
55
I longed for another major session in Fourlando, especially with the bigger missions on the line. But I needed to get this chaos in order. With Sparrow’s help, we sorted out the packages, carried all the stuff she didn’t need into the basement, and swept the floor. Felt like I was conjuring tornadoes. Funny that I was the one that started the cleaning, considering my room back at home looked like a cramped mess slash mini-trash pile. But as the saying goes, there’s always someone worse or better than you out there.
“You’re good at this,” Sparrow said, holding the dust cloth like a rare magic item. “Are you a tidy person?”
I cracked up. “I could answer that, but I’m afraid the reply would destroy the image you have of me.”
“I generally have low expectations of people.”
Piece by piece, the little storage room turned out to be quite spacious. Even better, the place came with a window that had been covered up by a box.
“Since when do storage rooms have windows?”
“It used to be something else in ancient times, but the sands of time have buried its meaning.”
Spoken like a true NPC from the game. When everything was stored away, we wiped the table and set it up in front of the wall. Checked the plugs and cleared the VR set and its smart, adaptable, chest plates. With the dust wiped off, the set looked even more stellar than my old one. My palms molded to the haptic carbon-composite material. “It’s really just one year old?”
“Thirteen months and twenty-two days, to be exact.”
“How many VR setups do you have?”
“You have no idea.”
I really hadn’t. We plugged the VR into the replacement computer Sparrow had kept in case her main unit broke down. “Are you sure you want to give it to me? I thought I was just borrowing it from you.”
She smiled. “I can always buy a new one. As the saying goes, I got ninety-nine problems but money ain’t one.”
She possessed the innocence of a teenage girl ready for her freshman year in college. I found it hard to believe that Sparrow worked as a pro player, making money through the in-game currency and sponsoring. She poured me another tap water with a dash of lemon and called the pizza service. Minutes later, the drone delivery signaled her wristband. Sparrow massaged her ring with an uncomfortable smile.
“Do you mind picking it up? It’s outside the door.”
“Sure.”
I opened the front door and saw the delivery drone ascending into the gray, Boulder sky. Two boxes of hot pizzas awaited us next to the stairs. Back inside, we demolished the pieces like a wolf pack. In the middle of the munching, Sparrow looked at me with curiosity. “What’s your tactic from now on?”
“You mean about the monetization?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I need to improve my viewership. I pretty much tripled them over the past weeks with my escape and solo mission. I just finished fighting a Reepo boss monster in the Aeon Cloister inside the Holiplaze canyon. Balzac rewarded me with a cool new armor and lots of trust. I really hope he’s giving me bigger quests from now on.
“Balzac?” Sparrow asked.
“Have you heard of him?”
She nodded. What a stupid question, of course she knew about Balzac.
“The leader of the Blue Flame. A fascinating faction with interesting options.” She tilted her head in a playful way. “It looks like you picked the right side.”
I shrugged. The right side was the one that provided money for me in the long-term.
“By the way, sponsoring is not the only way to make good money. Trading rare items or credits into dollars is also a viable way.”
“I’d still need to build up my character to both get big quest payments and find rare items.”
“True.”
The conversation was interesting, but my fingers twitched. My body and mind longed for Fourlando.
I needed to use the little time I had available at Sparrow’s place to level up my character. I downed my last piece of hot pizza in one go, wrapped on the gloves, and put on the helmet. Sparrow helped me apply the chest plate armor to my body and adjusted the tightness. A green ‘go’ light clank with a confirmation—music to my ears.
“Yes.”
My heart sang thanks to Sparrow. “Most excellent, but I think you have to calibrate it first.”
She was right. The user interface asked me to look in different directions to where flickering points appeared. It fine-tuned the intensity of the colors, sharpness, and contrast, as well as the 3D effect. My hands had to move in certain patterns to get the movement right. In fewer than five minutes, the system was good to go. We reconnected my player profile with the help of the administrative game AI and synched the computer with the cloud.
A few hours ago, I was fighting with Ustinov for my right to play. And now I gamed alongside a pro player I have only known for a few weeks. Life was officially stranger than VR.
“Do you want to play straight away?”
I put down the helmet and focused on her face. Sparrow wasn’t a beauty in particular, but her unique shape and attitude pulled me in. “Unless you want me to help you with something else?”
“No, that’s okay. You’re on a schedule, after all.”
I wondered if she would kick me out. Her behavior was hard to read. “This used to be a pile of trash only a few hours ago. Amazing what teamwork can accomplish.”
A hell of a lot of work, but the result was presentable; a new, player room scented with lemon-lime.
“If you want, we can clean up the rest of your place tomorrow.”
Her head tilted. “Are you implying it needs to be cleaned?”
I was just about to say sorry when she grinned from elven ear to elven ear. “I’m just fooling around with you, Dashiell.”
She scratched her milky temples. “I better get to work myself. This
house doesn’t pay itself, although that would be rad.” She channeled an NPC mentor from the game. “Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the Mortgage Spirit. The house will pay for itself with a rate of one hundred dollars per minute.”
I didn’t know what to add, so I shut my mouth.
She saluted me and said, “Well, may the Aeons shine a light on your path, fellow Crusader.”
“Thank you… for everything.”
Sparrow walked into her room on the end of the floor. Her feet tapped on the ground like a dancer. Seriously, she acted weird in the sweetest way. Destiny had worked in my favor, at least for a couple of days, but now I had an important fate to fulfill. I checked the VR gear and dove back into Fourlando. It was time to lead the Blue Flame against the Sunblood Syndicate.
56
Fourlando, your lost son is back.
Back in the secret mountain village of the rebel resistance—the lovely Cloudkiss. My avatar ’woke up’ in the inn with the patriotic wallpaper and mechanical objects on the nightstands. I stood up from my bed and could already tell the difference with the new VR suit. My movements, especially the hand-to-eye coordination, worked impeccably. I grabbed a vase and swung it around. I pounded my chest plate and felt the fault vibration of my VR suit massaging my skin. This would mean I’d feel the impact of jabs and shots. It would also mean I’d be a helluva lot more careful when dealing with enemies. Win-win all the way. With better motor skills, I was more effective at fighting my enemies.
I walked out the room and dashed down the stairs. The same clerk from last time greeted me with a shiny smile.
“Good lord, Dash, you sure slept long.”
“You have no idea what I’ve gone through.”
Her face squeezed. “Nightmares?”
“I dreamed of an evil man who wanted to control every fiber of my life and took away what was dearest to me.”
“Oh my.”
She reacted with genuinely shock. I loved that.
“What did you do?”
“I escaped the nightmare and now I’m here, with you.”
Her lips shot upwards. “The best inn of the Cloudkiss.”
It was the only one as far as I knew, but who could resist the girl’s charm? I sure couldn’t.
“Balzac left you a note again. He wants to speak to you as soon as possible.”
“Better get going then. No point in letting the leader of the Blue Flame wait. Have a great day.”
“You too, Dash.”
Outside, the citizens buzzed around the plaza, busy as ever. I spotted a new building, some kind of smithery, and a couple of low-to-mid level players among the crowds. They greeted me from afar but quickly moved on with their own quests. I swore, every time I returned to the village, the place grew in size and popularity. New house upgrades, more folks, new facilities. I wondered if Cloudkiss would eventually upgrade into a mechanized township, but it was too early to tell.
I walked the path around the houses and headed straight for the observatory tower. From now on, the door to Balzac’s holy kingdom remained open to me. The leader of the Blue Flame awaited me on the top floor. He sounded calm and collected, as if he had prepared for his speech five hours prior.
“Dash, it’s been a while. Have you recovered?”
“I’m a new born baby.”
“Oh, that is refreshing to hear. You slept deeply, I assume.”
“Let’s just say I escaped from a problem that was tearing my nerves apart.”
“The hardest challenge in life is the mastery of yourself. Once you solve the internal dilemma, all problems vanish.”
I had no clue what he meant, but I nodded nevertheless. His tone grew serious again, which meant only one thing. “Dash, let’s not waste any time. The Syndicate’s influence is spreading like the Reepo infection itself. Every hour we waste means more innocent people are being oppressed, or worse, killed.”
His slender hands landed on my shoulder plates. I could actually feel the pressure thanks to my new VR suit. “Are you ready for your first main mission?”
All the past days of pain, accusation, sorrow, and frustration had vanished; only Dash, WarTech of the Blue Flame, remained. The way it was meant to be.
“Tell me what you want me to do, sir.”
57
“We’re going to attack the Syndicate where it hurts.”
Balzac went for the Sunbleeder’s jugular. I loved it. He walked toward his e-scroll hanging on the wall next to his shelves and pointed a stick toward a certain township I had escaped from.
“The Syndicate has occupied Varmegarden after the plant sabotage. The entire township is under lockdown; every exit and entrance is being heavily guarded. Strict curfews are imposed upon the poor people.”
I soaked up every word. Amazing how one little sabotage quest could change the course of a township. This truly was dynamic, contextual, game storytelling.
Balzac continued. “Even worse, Varmegarden counts as the nearest township to the Holiplaze for pilgrims and acts as a central trading hub for the upper half of the mainland. If we allow the Syndicate to continue abuse the township, citizens and pilgrims will suffer greatly.”
Plus, the Syndicate’s spread would soon near the Cloudkiss territory. I pondered Balzac’s thoughts and came to my own conclusions. “And upending the Syndicate’s control over the town would gather us support from the local populace and the pilgrims.”
Balzac pressed his lips. “It’s a side effect, yes.”
He cleared his throat. “You have successfully escaped from the township, Dash, but it has changed. The Sunbleeders have established fortified walls to shield it from invasion. They also dispatched suppression troops and armored beasts from their capital. They want to control the township at all costs.”
The leader of the Blue Flame barely found time to pause. “That’s why we’re going to dispatch two assault squads to liberate the town. Alpha Squad will be disguised as independent traders, targeting the main entrance gate to cause a distraction and attract troops away from the core while Bravo Squad sneaks into the township to sabotage the new Syndicate garrison, located near the central plaza.”
It sounded like a risky quest, which meant tutorial time was official over. The real war against the Sunbleeders had begun. “Where are the other members?”
“They’re preparing for the operation and looking for more allies.”
I wondered if Yumi-D and Mort were available. I’d ping them later.
Balzac stepped toward me with a serious look on his face.
“Are you ready to liberate Varmegarden from the Syndicate oppressors? This will mark the beginning of reclaiming our lands.”
The quest updated in my virtual vision, together with a summary of the mission stats. Balzac pretty much explained everything beforehand, so the choice was clear.
Quest: The Liberation of Varmegarden
Type: Infiltration and sabotage
Rewards: 2500 credits + bonuses, EXP, mid-rare items
A no brainer, really. I confirmed the quest. I had gained invaluable experience and a decent skill set to fight the overpowered enemy. And if capable players would join me, I could take on almost any task.
“You’ve proven to be a valuable asset to our cause, Dash. I’m looking forward to your mission performance.”
All the times I had talked to Balzac, he had been living up here alone in his tower. While everyone was busy building the village or questing, he never seemed to step outside. I should have just marched away, but my curiosity was too much.
“What will you be doing, sir?”
His face twitched, as if he never expected that question. “Planning tactics, reading about geo-political issues, and analyzing the Reepo samples.”
His telescope remained on the same spot, its scope pointed at the sky where the crystalized Violet Lunar lurked. Even up here, you couldn’t avoid its gaze.
Balzac said, “This world harbors more mysteries than I have time to debunk them.”
“I’m glad you see it that way.”
I saluted him and sprinted down the stairs. I reached the central plaza in no time and looked at the players gathered around Moola’s gear shop, probably discussing tactics and exchanging items. I quickly upped my pace when two familiar characters entered my sight. The male Lancer spotted me and raised his hand like Julius Caesar, sporting a voice used to giving commands.
“Girl killer, what are you doing here?”
Of all the players, in all the locations and quest storylines existing in Fourlando, it had to be Rokkit. Here, in Cloudkiss.
Unbelievable.
“Hello, Dash,” L’ocean said, standing next to him, wrapped in her TechMage light armor suit. Both her and Rokkit carried advanced gear and weapons. I still couldn’t believe both of them were here in the secret village, a few meters in front of me.
“Have you forgotten my question? I had no idea you were suffering from Alzheimer too,” Rokkit said.
“I’ve been focusing on the Blue Flame storyline ever since I joined a sabotage mission at Varmegarden. What about you?”
“Too long of a story,” Rokkit said. “Watch our player streams when you’re offline again.” His head skewed toward me. “Which you’re going to be very soon.” Did he just imply that I was about to die soon? Well, Rokkit was in for a surprise.
Yumi-D and Mort had also returned, accompanied by three other players I’ve never seen before.
A name, however, sounded familiar.
Wu.
“Is that really you?” I asked the Stalker wearing his adaptive coat.
“Good to see you too, Dash. And yeah, it’s my other character. The Ranger’s done forever.”
“How did you level up the Stalker so fast?”
“I didn’t. He was an older character I picked up again after my Ranger died during the field mission.”
Building one character consumed insane amounts of time. I could never imagine ever using a new one, after all the tears and sweat I pushed into my WarTech. But maybe Wu just played for fun.