《Lion's Quest: Undefeated》
Chapter 1
I always cherished the silence before a death match. It was the time for me to dump my thoughts, seek memories of my previous matches, review my game plan, and think about my parents. I wasn¡¯t really into all the New Age positive-thinking self-help bullshit, but the silent moments had always helped me with these high-stake duels.
The clock on the wall dinged, and the doors to my locker room opened to the tsunami of my entourage. Seven men swarmed over me as if I were a magnet. Two were my trainers, two were my bodyguards, and the last was my cornerman; Dini Hayes. He muscled his way to me first.
¡°My man! Champ! Champ! How you feeling?¡± Dini¡¯s weathered face wore a big smile when he asked the question.
¡°You just saw me ten minutes ago.¡± I felt a smile come to my lips, and the man began to rub my shoulders.
¡°I know, Champ, and I missed ya for ten minutes. Your muscles feel good. You¡¯ve got power in them! Powaaah! Gonna take this fool out! No one beats the Champ! You hear me? No one!¡±
¡°Thirty seconds!¡± one of the studio executives yelled at me from the doorway of the locker room. He was one of the corp suit types. Complete with slicked-back hair, a fake smile, dead eyes, and a suit that cost more than most people¡¯s yearly rent.
¡°You¡¯ve got this, Leo.¡± My best friend, Garf rested his hands on my arm. ¡°Gonna be easy mode.¡±
¡°Pew, pew, QQ for the entire nation of Korea, bro. This guy¡¯s going to commit seppuku after you curb stomp him.¡± Jax was my other best friend, and he laughed as he sat on the locker room bench next to me.
¡°That¡¯s Japan, bro.¡± Garf rolled his eyes at my other friend.
¡°So? You¡¯ll kick this guy¡¯s ass so bad he¡¯ll turn Japanese, and then he¡¯ll commit suicide with a katana through his stomach.¡± Jax made an exaggerated motion with his arms across his stomach as if he was cleaving himself with an invisible sword, or he was rowing a canoe. His long blond hair swung around wildly with the motion.
¡°Dude, that is so fucking wrong,¡± Garf put his hand over his face and sighed. ¡°Koreans and Japanese are totally different, and you don¡¯t commit seppuku with a katana, it is a long sword. You use a tanto.¡± Garf actually was Korean, or at least, his great grandparents migrated over in like the 1980¡¯s or something. He was more American than anything else, but I knew enough about Asian cultures from playing their video games and watching their TV shows to understand that you didn¡¯t get the two ethnicities mixed up.
¡°Tanto? Isn¡¯t that the guy with the Lone Ranger?¡± Jax asked with a bemused smile.
¡°Ten seconds!¡± Mr. McPlasticCorpman yelled from the doors, and he opened them to reveal the long hallway leading to the stadium.
The roar of the crowd sounded like the song of all the oceans amplified a hundred times.
¡°Robe on!¡± Calic, my physical trainer, shouted as I rose from the bench.
The thick, pure white, velvet shroud fell over my body, and Calic took his turn to pat me on the shoulders. He was quite possibly the most muscular black man on the planet, but I supposed that was expected since he was also one of the best muscle and movement coaches in the United States. He was a man of few words, though, and he said nothing else as the entourage walked out of the locker room and toward the stadium.
The roar of the hungry crowd was even louder in the concrete tunnel, and a dozen cameramen sprinted toward me from the open area of the stadium.
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡± The chanting filled my mind to euphoria.
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡± I breathed in strength and felt my muscles flex as I walked.
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡± The cameras were on my face now, but I walked through them, and the lenses parted like the Red Sea.
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡± The stadium lights were turned off so that the crowd could get pumped for my arrival. As soon as I walked out of the locker room corridor, the air filled with explosive fireworks, laser light shows, and a deafening siren wail of electric guitar music.
The crowded stadium went insane.
I almost wished that I had worn earplugs. The sound was a few notches below deafening, and I struggled to keep from wincing. I¡¯d dealt with much worse pain in my life, and I managed to keep my trademark smirk glued to my face.
I raised my fists in the air, and the crowd¡¯s intensity almost boiled over.
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡±
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡±
I felt Dini tug on my robe, and I continued my walk of forty yards toward the center of the stadium. There was the digitally lit battle ring, and the two omni stations where my opponent and I would battle for dominance.
The ravenous crowd reached out their arms in my direction, but the tunnel was too wide for anyone to touch me, and the sides of the path were lined with armed security dressed in riot gear. A few women somehow managed to scream my name over the din, and I saw some of them raise their shirts to show me their breasts. I was able to ignore them, however, and even a sprinkling of a dozen panties didn¡¯t distract me from walking to the center of the stadium.
Jin Eun Kyung was already in the battle ring, and he had an entourage of eight men and three women standing behind him. The championship officials were also there, and they gestured for me to stand in my spot, exactly two feet away from the Korean challenger.
Hands pulled my robe off, and I felt a bunch of palms smack me on the back. I stood now only in my skintight Omni suit, and the crowd¡¯s roar had subsided a bit so that the officials could begin.
My eyes met Jin¡¯s, and I studied the man. Perhaps ¡®man¡¯ wasn¡¯t the correct word. He was little more than a kid. He was only nineteen years old and had apparently bragged to his nation that he would enjoy his first alcoholic beverage after he took my title. Even though he was young, his body was made of mahogany, and his Omni suit hugged his muscles as if it was painted on.
The material of his suit was as white as the robe Dini had pulled away from my shoulders and had the Korean yin-yang flag symbol painted on his chest. My own suit was black, and I had the stars and stripes on my back.
Jin was as old as I was when I first became world champion.
The announcer¡¯s voice caught my attention. He had already introduced Jin, but the audience didn¡¯t need much of a reminder. The Korean was something of a phenomenon and had come out of nowhere late last year. He¡¯d flawlessly defeated every international opponent in the last year. Even Ivan Tsatsouline, who had been Russia¡¯s champion, and my top rival, for the last three years.
¡°In the red corner; standing at six feet and two inches, and weighing in at two hundred pounds even. Returning for his tenth world championship title, in his own hometown New York City! In the Bronx! The reigning World Champion of Astafar Unlimited! The One. The Only. The Master. The Victorious. The Undefeated. Leo, The Lion, Lennox!¡±
Now I did wince as the crowd screamed my name. They had upgraded the old Yankee Stadium to fit in more people, and Astafar Unlimited had decided to hold the World Championships here, partially because of the new and improved stadium and partially because I had grown up in the Bronx, and they figured it would get more people to come to the event at a higher ticket price.
They were correct. There must have been over a hundred thousand people in the stadium, and the seating area climbed the sky like a tidal wave of rainbow sparkling water. Earlier this year they had thought about renaming Yankee Stadium after me. No one really played baseball anymore, and the last memories of the sport were long forgotten. The New York mayor had asked me if I wanted the honor, but I had declined. My father had once spun me the tales of the old game. I didn¡¯t feel as if I deserved to take the name from the city landmark.
The announcer gestured to the line between Jin and me. We stepped up to it and shook hands. The man was a hothead, and I wasn¡¯t surprised when he pushed his chest against mine.
"Lions make their women hunt for them. Your career will be over in a few minutes,¡± he hissed as he pushed his nose against mine and glared into my eyes.
I laughed.
Maybe Jin had expected me to get mad or to throw an insult back at him, anything but my laughter. My smile threw him off, and one of the officials stepped between us and pushed our chests apart with his arms. The crowd loved the exchange, and I kept wondering if they could possibly scream any louder.
¡°The battle is three rounds. Each round will have a small time assignment where the fighters will be allowed to pick their skills. Gentlemen, please take your places in your omni stations and prepare for battle!¡± The announcer raised his hands and elongated the word ¡®battle¡¯ so that it lasted half a minute.
¡°He is going to pick the Arcane class,¡± Bantog said as my entourage huddled around me. He was a small Filipino man who was my fighting instructor. Bantog probably weighed one hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet, but the man was a master of practically every martial art on the planet, and I once saw him bend Calic around like he was forming a pretzel out of raw dough. I had hired him six years ago, and his knowledge of the Filipino weapon martial arts, along with the historical European martial arts, kendo, and fencing, had helped raise my professional game level to heights I¡¯d never dreamed possible.
¡°He might do Summoner, but I agree with Bantog,¡± Garf yelled over the screams of the crowd.
¡°Doesn¡¯t matter what he picks, Leo¡¯s gonna smash him, but I¡¯m picking DaggerDancer class,¡± Jax said with a smirk.
¡°Champ!¡± one of the officials yelled and pointed to my omni station. I nodded at him and then entered the wire mesh of the machine.
The techs attached the visor to my head first, and then pushed the audio buds against my ears. Then they tightened the movement brace against my stomach. They asked me to check the running pad, and I executed the required set of running, jumping, squatting, and strafing check patterns on the mobile platform under the omni station. The green lights flashed on my eyepiece after I finished the test, and the techs moved to attach the sensors to my triceps, forearms, and gloves. Then the techs asked me to test my upper body movements, and I complied with the standard test sequences of swings and blocking movements.
¡°Skill selection starts in ten, nine, eight, seven,¡± the announcer began to yell, and the crowd counted with him. My visor tinted, splattered with white, turned to a string of flashing data terminals, and then the universe of Astafar Unlimited materialized around me.
I was in the avatar selection screen, and I saw that the branding and background had been updated to show the World Championship games. My avatars floated in the sky like Shaolin monks that had achieved enlightenment, and I walked toward the one I almost always used. It was one of the Corina race themed ones. Half human and half cat looking. Mine, in particular, had a large mane coming off the back of his head and shoulder area.
¡°Three, two, one! Let¡¯s get ready to rumble!¡± The announcer shouted, and I could hear the crowd scream past the noise-cancellation technology of my ear pieces.
I stood in a dusty stone room lit by only a dim lantern. A dozen different tables lined the sandstone walls. Each table bore the weapon sets of the various classes. I would have four choices for each off hand, four choices for my main hand, or I had three choices if I wanted to pick a two-handed weapon. Each piece of equipment had different effects on the various skills that I could use, and my avatar would be able to carry two unique sets of equipment.
The selection timer appeared in the air. The lettering was a digital clock display, but the numbers burned with a detailed fire, and it began to count down from thirty seconds.
I walked to the Defender-class table, and my body was suddenly wrapped in a gleaming suit of full plate armor. The Astafar Unlimited programmers had created special armor for my tenth world series, and there were etchings of lions all over the silver plates I now wore. The Defender wasn¡¯t a class I had ever played in a World Championship, or that anyone had ever seen me play. In fact, it was known to be the worst class for one on one dueling. It did almost no damage, and only had a series of de-buffs, bleeds, and skills that served to soak up damage in dungeon crawls. I was known for playing a two-handed ax-wielding Zerker class, or a DaggerDancer, or even a Distorter.
I grabbed an iron shield with my left hand, then a dagger with my right. The game accepted my selection and the weapons appeared on my hips. They were weightless of course, everything was virtual in the game, but I felt some satisfaction when I saw them on my body.
I next reached for the two-handed maul. It was a massive looking weapon, and there were more lion designs on the side of the metal head. Most players of Astafar Unlimited would believe that the maul was the only useful way to play a Defender class since the weapon added the occasional armor breaking and stun chances to strikes, but they argued that it was too slow to swing for most duels.
They were correct, but I picked the weapon regardless, and held my arm in front of me so that it looked like the virtual weapon¡¯s massive weight rested on my armored shoulder.
The clock was at twenty-four seconds.
The tables crumbled into dust on the floor and a wooden display shelf sprung from the ground in front of me. Astafar Unlimited had over six hundred skills to choose from, but a player was only allowed to use eight ¡®active¡¯ skills, which could be triggered, along with two ¡®passive¡¯ skills, which were always working.
Build crafting was a giant, complicated part of Astafar Unlimited and the developers were constantly tweaking skills to ensure that the gameplay stayed fresh. I had spent countless hours of my life analyzing, debating, and testing various skill combinations with the different classes. I was fortunate that Garf and Jax were both world class players, and they understood the skill combinations of these games better than I thought the game designers actually did.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Eighteen seconds.
I lifted my left hand to the wooden panel and gestured at the skills that hung suspended on the shelf. As I pointed at each one, they illuminated with either a white or blue glow. The white meant that they were base skills that any class had access to use. The blue meant that they were unique to the Defender class. I closed my fist as I pointed to the first one, and I saw it fill an icon slot at the bottom of my visual space.
Slot 1- Unleash the Red (Base) - The next attack will cause the target to bleed weapon damage x 1 for 30 seconds. (Dagger- Bleed lasts for 90 seconds and can stack 5 times) (Maul- Target has a 50% chance to be stunned for 3 seconds) - Skill has an 8 second cool down.
Slot 2- Flick (Base) - Toss your weapon at the target causing 50% weapon damage. (Dagger - causes Bleeding) (Maul - Target has a 25% chance to be stunned for 3 seconds) - Skill has a 10-second cool down.
Slot 3- Trip (Base) - Attack your target¡¯s legs causing weapon damage x 0.5 and slowing them for 5 seconds. (Dagger - causes Bleeding) (Maul - Target has a 25% chance to be stunned for 3 seconds) - Skill has a 12 second cool down.
Slot 4- Passive Aggressive (Defender) - If your next attack hits, your target¡¯s damage is reduced by 40% for the next 10 seconds. (Dagger - causes Bleeding) (Maul - Target also attacks 10% slower for the next 10 seconds) - Skill has 14-second cool down.
Slot 5- Shield of Justice (Defender) - for the next 5 seconds, all damage received is reflected onto the attacker. (Iron Shield- ends all movement debuffs on you) (Maul - skill not available) - Skill has 15-second cool down.
Slot 6- Lawful Seizure (Defender) - Your next attack has a 90% chance of removing all of the target¡¯s buffs. You will acquire these buffs for half of their remaining duration. (Dagger - transfer your debuffs to target) (Maul - you gain the buffs for their full duration)- Skill has a 10-second cool down.
Slot 7 - Justice is Calling! (Defender) - Battle cry, all opponents within a 40-foot range are pulled toward you. (Iron Shield - ends all movement debuffs on you) (Dagger - Target receives 3 stacks of Bleed) (Maul - Target is stunned for 3 seconds) - Skill has 10-second cool down.
Slot 8 - You are Guilty! (Defender) - Battle cry, target opponent¡¯s debuffs last twice as long. (Iron Shield - ends all movement debuffs on you) (Dagger - all bleeds last another 30 seconds) (Maul - each skill on cool down has a 50% chance of being reset) - Skill has a 20-second cool down.
Slot 9 (Passive) - Lawful Evil (Defender) - If your target is bleeding, you gain 15% of the bleed damage as health.
Slot 10 (Passive) - I am the Law (Defender) - 20% damage resistance, debuffs have a 20% chance to not activate on you.
There were ten seconds left on the clock, and I stepped toward the exit door of the prep room. Maybe I should have felt nervous, or I should have felt the adrenaline coursing through my veins like a molten fire, but I only felt the same sensation that had plagued my mind for the last year: Boredom.
Jin couldn¡¯t see my skill selection, but the world would once the timer reached zero, and the doors opened to the arena. Dini would then tell me what class and skill selection Jin had picked, and he would coach me through the battle. Well, in actuality Dini was the only one on my crew with the microphone that would communicate into my ear piece. Jax, Garf, and Bantong would scream at my cornerman, and he¡¯d process their recommendations, the battle, my movements, and then distil his strategy into what he said into the earpiece. A lot of fighters would use multiple feeds of audio from their coaches, but I always found it too distracting to have a bunch of people screaming in my ear, and Dini was the corner guy who Jax, Garf, and I used when we did our World Championship Team Battle events.
We¡¯d already beaten Germany for that title a few weeks ago.
¡°Champ! You got this! Feel good! Ahhhh! You will control the man, Champ! Control him!¡± Dini¡¯s voice was half angry shout and half joyful laugh. I didn¡¯t know quite how he did it, but I was convinced that he was the secret weapon to my victory. Perhaps he wasn¡¯t so secret; the man was courted daily by other teams and organizations for his corner work, and I knew that plenty of offers exceeded what I paid him, but we were friends, and I did pay the man millions of dollars every year.
The doors opened, and I heard the screams of the crowd through my earpieces again. The Astafar Unlimited designers had created a new arena for this match, and I didn¡¯t know quite what to expect when the duel began, but I was still a little surprised by what I saw when the virtual door opened.
A bridge of white marble stretched for sixty feet over blue sky and fluffy white clouds until it met with a high column of stone that extended like a vertical wall. A white marble staircase hugged the alabaster polished rock there, and I sprinted across the bridge toward the steps while I dropped my hands to my waist to weapon switch to the dagger and iron shield.
¡°He¡¯s running DaggerDancer, Champ! Mobility build! He guessed you were going to be running your usual! Oh, Champ! You gotta hear this crowd! They don¡¯t know what you are doing!¡± Dini was giggling in my ear piece, and I only grunted when my feet hit the stairs.
The older VR games had set a limiter on how fast your avatar moved through the game world, but Astafar Unlimited had changed the industry when they decided to enable players to move as fast as they could spin the traction pads of the omnidirectional station. The idea caught on like wildfire, and soon the entire world was playing the game. In many ways, the technology was a blessing. Every gamer was in good shape from walking, running, crouching, jumping, and fighting through the virtual world.
The stairs spun around the massive, towering sky column for hundreds of yards, and there was no guardrail on the right side, just a long, long, long drop to the ground of the virtual world. I could make out the shape of Astafar Unlimited¡¯s main continent ¡®Corbya¡¯ below me, and I could see the ¡®Valon¡¯ string of Islands off of the coast.
I had reached the top of the stairs before Jin did, and I was a quarter of the way across the arena before I saw his Yamman lizardman avatar poke a scaly head above the edge of the arena. He carried two short swords in taloned hands, and I tried not to smile when Dini yelled his encouragement in my ear.
¡°He is nothing before you, young man. You are the Champ! The Champ! He¡¯s not going to know what hit him!¡±
Jin¡¯s arm flashed, and a red colored dagger spun across the arena toward me. It was his class¡¯ Red Bullet skill, and I triggered Shield of Justice a fraction of a second before the spinning dagger hit me. The weapon bounced off my shield like a ping pong ball, and then sped back toward Jin. I always turned off the damage numbers on my user interface display, but I kept the health bars active, and I saw about an eighth of his health drop. It was a surprisingly rookie move for Jin to make, and the attack was going to leave him stunned and bleeding for a few seconds.
I smashed into him like a virtual freight train.
Except that my build didn¡¯t have any real heavy hitting skills. My dagger struck him a split second after I triggered Unleash the Red and I saw the bleeds stick to him. Then I used Passive Aggressive, and another stack of bleeds was added. I triggered Trip as Jin¡¯s first attack hit me, and I decided not to bother trying to block his strike with my shield. He used Blind Blade, and the entire world went an opaque gray as the effects of the blindness came to my headset. I could tell that his attack triggered after my snare slowed him, and I knew where he stood, even though I was blinded. I used Lawful Seizure and then swung my dagger to where I knew Jin was still snared. I didn¡¯t feel the weapon hit, of course, but there was a slashing sound in my audio, and my blind was transferred to my opponent while I gained his enchantments.
The DaggerDancer class didn¡¯t have many self-enchanting skills, sometimes known as ¡®buffs,'' but one of the most powerful was an activated skill named Rage of the Shadows. It gave an increased attack speed and increased the chance of a critical strike. The buff was actually able to self-renew itself with every critical hit, and DaggerDancers could continue to eventually stack up to ten copies of the buff on themselves for a crazy high damage output. I wouldn¡¯t be able to use the skill to add more stacks of the buff, but if I got lucky with my critical hits, it would be possible to hold onto the buff for the length of our fight.
I stepped to the side, and Jin¡¯s twin swords snaked out to where I had stood only a moment before. His avatar had black smoke over his eyes, and I burned through all of the rest of my skills that weren¡¯t on cool down to stack up a bunch of bleeds on him. Then I dropped my hands to my waist to switch to my maul before I used You are Guilty! I got a bit lucky with my resets, and all of my grayed out skills popped back into color to let me know I could use them again.
¡°Yeahhhhhh Champ! You strike! You dodge! Pivot! Destroy!¡± Dini¡¯s voice was shouting in my ear, and I stepped behind Jin to attack a few more times with my maul.
Jin¡¯s health bar was at the halfway point now, and every tick of the clock saw the bleeds rip another 5 % of his red life bar away. I¡¯d taken a bit of damage from his first hit, but Lawful Evil had given me it all back with its vampiric properties.
Jin¡¯s stuns cleared, and he used Dark Step to teleport thirty feet away from me. I knew that he had the skill on his bar since it was standard on these builds, and I switched back to shield and dagger before I executed Justice is Calling! My battle cry pulled him back to me and added a bunch more bleeds to his hefty stack.
The Korean challenger was in trouble. Most of the standard DaggerDancer builds relied on heavy upfront damage combined with evasive skills. There were a few healing type skills that a player could equip for the class, but they diluted the damage per second and quick strike abilities of the class. Jin had counted on me playing one of my usual classes, and he had thought that he could beat me in a game of quickness.
His only hope was to attempt and burst me down with a quick series of strikes, but I switched back to my maul with a hand drop, triggered Passive Aggressive again, and made a massive overhead swing. Jin sidestepped the attack easily, but I had expected him to try and avoid the attack. I brought the back handle of the weapon around to tap him quickly on the shoulder, and it activated the triggered debuff.
Even with the 10% attack speed debuff, the lizard avatar went crazy with dual short sword attacks. The maul was a terrible weapon to parry with, and though it didn¡¯t weigh anything in my virtual hands, the game mechanics made it so that you could only use your chosen weapon as quickly as the rules allowed. If we were using real life fencing foils I could have blocked every one of the Korean man¡¯s strikes, but moving my hand that fast with a maul would do nothing.
It didn¡¯t matter that I couldn¡¯t parry.
I am the Law gave me a 20% damage resistance, and Jin was debuffed with a 40% damage reduction along with a 10% slower attack speed. I also continued to heal from the many stacks of bleeds on him, and his life ran out a few moments later.
I was at 95% health.
¡°Leo The Lion wins round one!¡± the announcer shouted over my ear piece, and I heard the crowd echo through his microphone.
My vision blurred to a rainbow swirl of pastel colors, and when they became organized, I was standing back in the prep room in front of the skill shelves.
The timer appeared again, but it counted down from sixty seconds instead of thirty.
¡°Champ, you are fighting strong!¡± Dini yelled.
¡°What should I switch out?¡± I asked.
The second round was always interesting. Jin had no way of knowing what I would pick for my class and skills, so he had made an educated guess based on my previous matches. Now that I had mixed things up, and picked a class that no one had thought was suitable for dueling, he had to come up with an entirely new game plan. He was going to have to either change his build to attempt to kill me even quicker while mitigating my offense, or he was going to have to change his skills so that he could survive longer. On the flip side, he knew that I knew of his choices. I could also change my skill set build during this round break. Then all the choices that he would make would have been for naught. Winning the first round really put me at an advantage, since Jin had to react to my victory by trying to guess if I would change my winning build or not.
¡°Switch out Lawful Seizure for Eye for an Eye, Champ!¡±
¡°Yeah, that was what I was thinking.¡± Eye for an Eye was a Defender Battle cry skill that returned 60% of the damage that I took to the attacker for five seconds. It was slightly different than Shield of Justice because I still took damage with Eye for an Eye, and it wasn¡¯t a 100% return, but now that I knew Jin was playing a DaggerDancer, Lawful Seizure wasn¡¯t that useful.
¡°Replace Flick with Severe Sentence, Champ. It is too redundant with Justice is Calling!¡±
¡°Got it,¡± I said as I took out the ranged throw and switched it with the melee attack.
Severe Sentence was a Defender attack that always did critical double damage. If I used a dagger, it added a bunch of bleeds and snared the opponent, if I used my maul it knocked back the enemy. It was probably the only useful skill on the Defender class for direct damage in duels, but I hadn¡¯t wanted to include it because I was worried that Jin would play an Arcane or Summoner class. If he had picked one of those, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to get near him without the aid of the Flick skill.
¡°Go to your quiet spot, Champ. I¡¯ve got the words for you. Can you feel the power in your body? Can you understand that the universe is not just around you, but inside of you? It is, Champ. The universe wants you to win. No one can beat you, Champ. You¡¯ve got the mind. You¡¯ve got the body. There is nothing in your way. Do you see yourself winning?¡±
¡°I do,¡± I said to Dini.
¡°Say it louder, Champ! This place is roaring with your fans. They all want you to win. Can you hear their love, Champ?¡±
¡°I do,¡± I shouted a little louder into the microphone that was positioned on my VR helmet.
The doors opened to the bridge, and I sprinted toward the steep staircase that wrapped around the wide pillar of stone. I ran up the stairs quicker than my first time, and my legs gave me a pleasant sensation of exertion as I reached the top. Jin hadn¡¯t emerged from his side of the stairs again, and I continued my sprint toward his side of the arena.
¡°He¡¯s hiding on the stairs Champ. Be careful!¡± Dini warned as I got half way across the hundred foot arena.
I saw Jin¡¯s lizard avatar poke his head above the stairs, and then he hid again. I guessed his strategy was to get me to come down the stairs, where he could use his daggers or short swords to rip me to pieces. The strategy was probably a bit better than his alternatives since Justice is Calling! wouldn¡¯t be able to pull him out from behind cover.
There was no timer on these matches, but I didn¡¯t want to wait for too long. The developers often warned that they had ¡®mutations¡¯ that would affect the world after the two-minute mark at random. It could be anything from a shrinking arena to the wind that would push us off the top. They could even change around combat rules so that damage was doubled, or skills recharged twice as fast. Anything that messed with the dynamics of the game skills would probably aid Jin more than me since his DaggerDancer class was heavily leveraged on being able to quickly roll through all of his skills for big bursts of damage.
I held my shield and advanced to the edge of the arena so that I could try and look down the stairs. My opponent was ten feet below me, but he jumped up so that he could see the edge of the top flat part of the arena.
Then he turned into a puff of smoke.
¡°Watch out Champ!¡± Dini shouted, but I¡¯d already guessed what was about to happen, and I sidestepped without even looking behind me.
I was just a touch faster than Jin, and he missed his attack on my back. I guessed that he meant to use the single knockdown attack that was available to the DaggerDancer class. It was called O Goshi and would have launched me off of the edge of the arena. Shield of Justice wouldn¡¯t have helped me since it only reflected damage, and neither would have Eye for an Eye.
I reached down to my waist and switched to the maul. Then I spun on my heel and triggered Severe Sentence as I swung the two handed weapon. Jin¡¯s O Goshi attack had caused him to step to the edge of the arena, and my dodge had been perfectly timed. My own blow smashed right into Jin¡¯s scaled back, and his avatar launched into the air as if he was being pulled on a zip line. He tried to twist in mid-flight, but it was too late, and he fell off of the arena.
I stepped to the edge and watched his form break through the clouds below. A few seconds later it faded from the view. I wondered for a second if they would actually log him out of the game, move him back to the prep room, or just let him fall for the half a minute it would take to smash into the distant game world ground beneath us.
¡°Champ! Champ! You did it!¡± Dini¡¯s scream of joy brought me back to the arena, and I heard the cries of the crowd penetrate the ear pieces I wore.
I raised my maul into the air and smiled.
¡°For the tenth year in a row! Leo the Lion has held onto his title!¡± the announcer screamed.
I felt hands tear at my suit sensors and someone pulled off my visor. Jax, Garf, and Calic helped get me out of my omni station, and the announcer ran over to raise my arm up to the gathered crowd.
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡±
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡±
My friends were hugging me now, and I gestured to them with a bow. The crowd knew who Jax and Garf were and I heard their names being screamed out along with mine.
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡±
I looked across the battle ring and saw Jin step out of the omni station. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he buried his face into the shoulder of one of his trainers. I could understand the young man¡¯s agony. His entire country was watching him, and he had failed.
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡±
Garf took my other hand and raised it in the air, and Jax grabbed my other from the announcer. The crowd went beyond insane, and it looked as if a mass of fans were pushing aggressively against the two deep wall of armored security.
Now there would be interviews, and more interviews, and after parties, and then more after parties. I probably wouldn¡¯t get to sleep for two days, but maybe that was okay. We had all planned on taking a few weeks off, and our manager had booked us a resort stay on some private island somewhere in the Caribbean.
I tried to force a smile to my face, but I failed. I knew the truth about my career, and it saddened me somewhat. What would I do with the rest of my life? Where would I go? Could I find another purpose?
Jin had been the best in the world, but the battle had been too easy.
Could I find a new challenge?
Chapter 2
¡°Leo, you just won the Astafar Unlimited World Championship for the tenth year in a row. What are you going to do now?¡± the reporter was one of those plastic blonde women that appealed to most men.
¡°I¡¯m going to Disney World, of course,¡± I said. Then I remembered that the advertising contract said I was supposed to smile, so I did.
The crowd laughed, and a dozen other reporters screamed their questions simultaneously while they pushed their microphones into my face.
¡°Hey, all you crazy kids, the Champ has had his fill of questions, and we¡¯ve got a bunch of parties that we have to attend. Give him a break!¡± My manager grabbed onto my arm and then plowed through the ranks of reporters as if he was one of those ice breaking ships in Antarctica.
The crowd groaned with disappointment, and a few of the reporters still tried to ask me questions as I passed, but Sal gave them the ¡°tough old Jew look¡± as he called it, and they retreated as if he¡¯d set off an area of effect blast.
¡°Look Champ, we¡¯ve got a lot of shit to do tonight. I know you want to stay and chat with your fans, but you will never guess who I was schmoozing with in the VIP box.¡± Sal finished pulling me out of the long stadium tunnel, and we were suddenly in the open parking lot. There were thousands of people crowded around a barricade of security in riot gear, and they tried to reach through the wall of armor to make a grab for me.
¡°Leeee Ohhhh!¡± they screamed along with hundreds of camera flashes.
¡°Who?¡± I yelled over the crowd as I leaned into the short, balding man.
¡°Guess Champ!¡± He gave me a charming smirk and then nodded to one of the bodyguards who held the limo door open.
My two bodyguards were ex-Navy SEAL, and they were both almost the size of Calic. They were good men and had been part of my entourage for the last eight years. It wasn¡¯t as if I felt that I really needed any protection, but I did get plenty of death threats from stalkers, and the CIA had once met with Sal and I to tell us that they suspected that a few governments were more than a little interested in making sure my string of victories didn¡¯t continue.
¡°Ahh! I can¡¯t wait. The President!¡± Sal did a little dance in the limo seat as the two of my bodyguards entered the limo to sit next to us.
¡°Oh, Arensto? He had spoken to me before the match started,¡± I gave him a wink and a smile.
¡°No, no, no Champ. Not the president of Astafar Unlimited, the President. Of the United States.¡± He made an expression that reminded me of the Cheshire Cat from that old Alice in Wonderland cartoon.
¡°Whoa, he was here?¡± I asked as the limo started to move. I saw the crowd break free from the wall of guards and begin to chase my car. My two bodyguards; their names were actually Chester ¡°Chip¡± Smith, and Daniel ¡°Dale¡± Steward; tensed slightly in their seats as the crowd got within a few dozen feet of the bumper, but then my driver sped away, and they both relaxed.
¡°Yeah, it was kind of hush-hush, but Arensto, President Efron, and I were talking all about your next career moves.¡±
¡°What career? There is no one left to fight,¡± I sighed and glanced out the window. I¡¯d grown up on the streets of the Bronx, but I hadn¡¯t been back in almost eleven years. It felt weird to be here, especially in this fancy limo.
¡°There will be a new challenger next year, but probably not Jin. I don¡¯t think that kid has the stones to battle you again.¡±
¡°Where are Jax and Garf?¡± I asked. We had passed one of the diners that the three of us used to eat at when we were broke high school kids. The place was named Tony¡¯s Spot, and it served a mishmash of pizza, hot dogs, Greek food, and Asian noodles.
¡°They are already at the party. Oh, here is your phone and wallet,¡± Sal said as he reached into his jacket pocket and passed me my personal items.
I glanced at my phone and sighed. Over six hundred text messages, and two hundred missed calls. I didn¡¯t recognize any of the numbers, and I reasoned that it was time to get a new cell phone number.
¡°Which party?¡± I asked as I stared out the window. We passed one of the playgrounds that Jax, Garf, and I used to play basketball in. For a while, the three of us were sure we were going to be pro ballers, but then we had started playing VR games, and the combination of the physical activity, teamwork, and fantasy world had pulled us in and never let go.
¡°It¡¯s one that Katney is hosting. The tabloids went crazy last month when they photographed you two together. That helped me raise the price of the Nike promotional ad spot. I¡¯m thinking that this will fuel the fires a bit more.¡±
¡°If you say so,¡± I said again with a sigh. In a few minutes, we would be out of my borough. I guessed we were heading to lower Manhattan because the driver was heading out of the east side of the Bronx to cut into Brooklyn.
¡°Hey Champ, what¡¯s wrong? I thought you liked Katney? She¡¯s the hottest singer alive right now. You two together is like Cleopatra and Caesar.¡±
¡°She¡¯s fine, I guess. I don¡¯t even know her, Sal. We had dinner that one time, then we met at the airport last month randomly.¡±
I didn¡¯t want to tell Sal that the beautiful girl had bored me to tears during our dinner, and I hadn¡¯t returned her calls since. When we happened to run across each other at the Los Angeles airport last month, we had done a quick photo session with the crowd, and she had told me that she was a bit upset at me for brushing her off.
¡°So what else is wrong, Champ? How can I help ya? You look down, you should be happy. Ten years in a row. Your name is up there on the wall with all the sports greats. It is etched in stone and filled with gold, my man.¡±
¡°I dunno Sal, I¡¯m just... I¡¯m just bored. I know it is stupid.¡± I looked out the window and saw the apartment tower that I used to live in with my parents.
¡°You aren¡¯t stupid, Leo; no one can play like you. You¡¯ve got it all, the strategic mind and world class fitness. Everyone wants to be you--¡±
¡°Hey, tell the driver to stop,¡± I interrupted.
¡°Wait, what? No, Champ, we have a bunch of appearances to make. I¡¯ve got this party, and then two more we need to go to after.¡±
The Jewish man leaned forward in his seat and waved frantically as I unbuckled my seatbelt.
¡°Text me the address. I¡¯ll call a car and meet you there. I just want to go for a walk in my old stomping grounds,¡± I said as the limo slowed and pulled next to a curb.
¡°No, Champ. Everyone is going to be expecting you. We¡¯ve got all the A listers there man! You are going to leave me hanging!¡± Sal looked pretty upset, and I felt bad for a few seconds. He¡¯d been my business partner since I won my first tournament. The man had secured my love and trust after he broke into my training room, told me that he was ¡®the toughest, fastest talking, best video game playing manager-Jew this side of the pond¡¯, and challenged me to a duel in Astafar Unlimited. I¡¯d kicked his ass, of course, but he did much better than I expected.
¡°I won¡¯t be that late. Stall them for like an hour. Tell Garf and Jax to cover for me.¡± I opened the door, and Sal sighed. Maybe he knew me well enough to understand that I needed to be alone for a bit.
¡°Want us to come too, Champ?¡± Dale asked as I stepped out of the car.
¡°No, I¡¯ve got my hoodie, no one will recognize me here,¡± I said as I raised the cowl of my sweater.
¡°Champ, you just won the World Championships. You could walk down the street in rural Patagonia, and they would know who you are.¡± Dale shook his head with a sour look.
¡°Yeah, but they aren¡¯t going to expect me walking around outside of Yankee Stadium after they saw me drive away. Look, I¡¯ll be okay Dale. I¡¯ll just go visit my old house, few other places, then I¡¯ll call a car. Be at the party in half an hour. If you are with me, I¡¯ll definitely stick out.¡± I closed the door before Dale could respond, and then I knocked on the roof of the limo.
The car didn¡¯t move at first, but once I started walking it continued to roll down the street away from me.
Then I was alone.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled the device from my pocket. Sal had texted me the address, along with a long message begging me not to take too long. I tapped on the screen a quick reply back, and then put it back in my pocket. The time was close to ten at night, but I knew that Tony¡¯s Spot was an all night hole in the wall kind of diner. Or at least, it was some dozen years ago.
I walked past a man and woman chatting about my recent battle, but the couple didn¡¯t even spare me a glance, and I realized that I had been holding my breath. I let it out with a chuckle, and then rounded the street corner to face the apartment building that I had once lived in. The place looked as it had before, with an ancient looking brick surface, broken fence, and half the light bulbs out of the lamps on the building. I recalled the building had been made in the 1970¡¯s, and it didn¡¯t look as if it had gotten any sort of facelift in the last eighty years.
I continued on my walk and came to the playground where Garf, Jax, and I had spent most of our pre-teen years. The courts were empty, cracked, and three of the four court lamps weren¡¯t working. Perhaps the scene should have upset me, but I hadn¡¯t spent more than a few minutes thinking about basketball since I¡¯d quit it cold turkey to play Astafar Unlimited.
I continued my walk on the streets of my hometown. There were some loud party noises emerging from the buildings lining the street, and I guessed that people were celebrating the USA hat trick of wins over the rest of the world. First, our All-Star team had beaten the other nations in the Dungeon Run event. It was a timed effort that required a party of adventurers to clear an unseen area the quickest. We had bested the other nations by a good three minutes, and some of the teams believed that we had cheated.
Then we had beaten the other nations in our team arena challenge. This event was multiple rounds and carried through a different types of deathmatch, capture the flag or assault modes. Garf, Jax, and I had dominated again, but it was almost expected after our performance in the Dungeon Run.
I let my mind wander to the duel I had just fought, and I lost track of time. My feet stopped on their own, and I looked around in surprise. I was standing in front of Tony¡¯s Spot, and the scent of freshly baked pizza seeped out of the cracks under the glass door. My last meal had been this morning, and my stomach growled with frustration.
I kept my head down when I stepped into the tiny red and white themed diner. There was no one else in the place, but I didn¡¯t want to freak out the single waitress standing behind the cash register.
¡°You have to order and pay before you sit down. There is a sign right there.¡± The girl pointed to a piece of paper that was laminated and taped to the wall by the door.
¡°Oh, okay,¡± I said as I stepped to the cash register.
¡°You have to take your hoodie off for the cameras. We keep getting robbed.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve got a really bad cold,¡± I lied, ¡°Here is my cash. Can I have a personal pepperoni, sausage, and mushroom pizza? Ahh, two dirty dogs, and one of Tony¡¯s tofu ramen bowls.¡± I opened my wallet when I talked and handed the girl a crisp hundred dollar bill.
¡°Take out or eat in?¡± she asked as she keyed the register.
¡°Eat in. I¡¯ll sit in the corner if you don¡¯t mind. Hey, keep the change.¡±
¡°You sure?¡± She raised an eyebrow. She was kind of cute, but looked like she still wasn¡¯t old enough to drink.
¡°Yeah. Oh, can you get me some water, and maybe a coffee?¡±
¡°You got it.¡± Her previous look of annoyance was now replaced with a smile.
I walked to one of the small booths in the corner and sat with my back to the wall. The waitress soon set down a cup of coffee and a plastic cup filled with ice water.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
¡°Been super slow because of the match. Did you watch it?¡± she asked.
¡°Yeah. Had a pretty good seat, actually.¡± I continued to stare down at the red-painted table so that the girl couldn¡¯t see me.
¡°Wow, I heard tickets were going for a few large. Even in the nosebleed sections. Probably worth it. Leo is amazing. Did you get a good look at him?¡±
¡°Not really, sorry,¡± I said.
¡°Ahh too bad. Don¡¯t say sorry to me. If I¡¯d have been there, I probably would have ripped off my clothes and tried to rape him. He¡¯s so fucking hot.¡±
¡°Ramen up!¡± a voice sounded in the back of the restaurant, and the girl turned her head.
¡°Let me go grab your noodles,¡± she said, and I watched her walk to the far counter.
The waitress set the bowl on my table and then moved back to her position behind the register. There were still no TVs in the diner, and I was kind of glad. I imagined that every news station would be playing my interviews, and I just wanted to be somewhere away from the game.
Away from my life.
I was stupid to be feeling this way. I had accomplished everything I ever dreamed about. Of course, I had worked hard to get here, harder than anyone else alive, but I had always been fueled by my thought of the next challenge. I had wanted to be the world champion. I had wanted to be the grand champion. I had wanted to win for ten years in a row. I had everything I wished for, but now I didn¡¯t know what I would do with myself.
The battles weren¡¯t even hard anymore.
Sure I¡¯d done my work. I hadn¡¯t slacked off in my training. I¡¯d maintained my disciplined regimen and had listened to my coaches. I did everything I needed to do to ensure that I would win my tenth time.
What now? Eleven wins? Fifteen? Twenty? Thirty?
Did it even matter anymore? I had more money than I could ever spend, and I¡¯d fulfilled all my dreams.
I wasn¡¯t even thirty yet. Was the next step to start a family? Should I get married? Have kids?
Should I just retire?
¡°Anyone sitting here?¡± A woman¡¯s voice tore me from my reverie.
¡°Excuse me?¡± I hadn¡¯t even taken a bite of my ramen yet. I was still staring at the steaming bowl, and I could see the shape of perfect legs wrapped in business suit slacks.
¡°Anyone sitting here? Can I join you?¡± she asked again.
¡°Uhh, there are other tables.¡± I gestured to the empty diner and my eyes slowly climbed up her long legs, to her perfectly shaped hips, narrow waist, and rounded chest. She was wearing a gray pinstripe suit that probably cost more than the diner''s month rent.
¡°Yes, but I want to sit with you, Leo,¡± the woman said as she slid into the booth opposite me. Her movement was graceful and catlike.
¡°I was looking to be alone.¡±
¡°Why is that? I imagine the world thinks you are partying at the moment with your blonde singer girlfriend,¡± the woman snickered.
¡°I¡¯ve got your hot dogs and pizza,¡± the waitress said as she set the food down on the table. ¡°Are you ordering anything? You have to order at the register.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll have what he is having,¡± the woman in the suit said. She handed the waitress a hundred. ¡°And you can keep the change also, just give us some privacy.¡±
¡°Damn, lucky night for me,¡± the girl said as she snatched the bill and shuffled back to the other side of the diner.
The food looked like it was made mostly of grease, and my mouth watered at its fattening scent. My diet consisted of lean proteins, green salads, and starchy carbs. I couldn¡¯t remember the last time I¡¯d enjoyed a pizza or a hot dog. It was probably three years ago. I didn¡¯t want to be rude to this woman and eat before her meal came, but I was ravenous.
And she was also sitting down uninvited.
¡°Ten years in a row. Quite an accomplishment,¡± she said as I grabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite. It tasted better than I imagined, but I felt like some sort of jail inmate eating all hunched over my food.
¡°I don¡¯t know how you found me here; do you want an autograph or something? As I said before, I really just want to be left alone.¡± I crammed the rest of the slice of pizza into my mouth and relished its greasy-cheesy-meaty flavor.
¡°Oh, I know what you want. I believe that you might not actually know what you want.¡±
¡°Listen, lady, you aren¡¯t the first woman to throw herself at me. I can appreciate your boldness, but I--¡±
¡°Here is your coffee, your water, and your ramen. Pizza and dirty dogs will be up soon,¡± the waitress interrupted my words when she set down the items on the table.
¡°Thank you,¡± the strange woman said, and the waitress walked away.
¡°I¡¯m not trying to throw myself at you, Leo,¡± the woman whispered so that the waitress wouldn¡¯t hear.
¡°Seems like you are to me.¡± I grabbed another slice of pizza and crammed it into my mouth with two large bites.
¡°No, I¡¯d like to offer you a job,¡± she said.
¡°No thanks. I¡¯ve already got a job. Too many actually,¡± I said around the mouthful of food. This was just like I was at an afterparty. I¡¯d be trying to eat and relax while women offered me their bodies, and men offered me business opportunities.
¡°Too many?¡± the strange woman asked as I grabbed my penultimate slice of pizza.
¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand.¡±
¡°Try me. I¡¯m not as dumb as I look, although you haven¡¯t looked at me yet.¡± The woman chuckled a little, and her comment actually made me lean my face upward so that I glance at her from under my hoodie.
I had seen plenty of beautiful women and expected all of the afterparties tonight to be filled with them. In my younger days, I had enjoyed their attention and had probably partaken of their affections too voraciously. But now I was hardly impressed with a woman¡¯s beauty. Every single woman I encountered now was beautiful, and it tended to make them all seem average.
Yet this woman was strikingly gorgeous.
I had already guessed that her body was well proportioned from glancing at her legs and waist, so I wasn¡¯t surprised when the rest of her shape was revealed to me. She had the long, lean, athletic proportions of a dancer, and her tight business suit accented the fullness of her perfectly shaped breasts through her coat. The woman¡¯s skin was a creamy mocha color, and her neck extended elegantly from her shoulders to meet her jawline. Her thick black hair framed a well-proportioned diamond shaped face, and I found my eyes drawn up her features until our eyes met. They were a strange violet color, but she didn¡¯t seem like the type to indulge in all the crazy body modifications that my parent¡¯s generation had. I guessed the woman was wearing contacts or the shitty fluorescent light in the diner was playing tricks on me.
You could have put a pair of feather wings on this girl, and she probably would have been a greeter at the pearly gates.
Then she smiled at me, and I wondered if some leathery wings, horns, and a tail would have been a better fit.
¡°You like what you see?¡± Her wicked grin did actually make my pulse quicken, and there was no hiding the fierce intelligence behind her strange amethyst eyes.
¡°You know you are good looking, and I know you are arrogant,¡± I said as I matched her smirk.
¡°Ha!¡± she let out a short laugh. ¡°And you were telling me about your too many jobs.¡±
¡°Parties, TV interviews, magazine interviews, and photo shoots. They actually want me to make an appearance at Disney World this time, my manager wants me to go to this island to schmooze with some dignitaries and their families, and I have to train for the next championship.¡±
¡°Sounds exhausting,¡± she agreed and nodded her head in sympathy.
¡°I don¡¯t want to be rude, but I really would enjoy some alone time. I don¡¯t get much of it.¡± I reached for the last piece of pizza, and then ducked my head under my hood when the waitress set the beautiful woman¡¯s food on the table.
¡°This looks delicious. I heard a rumor that you don¡¯t even eat carbs.¡±
She picked up one of her hot dogs, leaned over her plate so that she wouldn¡¯t get any of the onions on her suit, and took a bite. I realized that I was staring at her lips, and I forced myself to look at my own food. The waitress had retreated to her spot behind the register again. I wondered if I should just ditch the food, and leave this strange woman.
¡°Ummmm, this is wonderful.¡± Her moan was a bit distracting, and I picked up my own dirty dog to occupy myself.
It wasn¡¯t just that she was beautiful; there was something else about her that I found attractive. She¡¯d only been speaking with me for a minute, but she had this fierce power that radiated from her, and those eyes were distracting.
¡°It¡¯s good,¡± I agreed after I took a bite.
¡°You used to eat here when you were growing up.¡±
¡°Is that a question, or a statement?¡±
¡°Maybe both?¡± I glanced up to see her playful smirk. Yes. She was dangerous.
¡°You seem to know a lot about me,¡± I said.
¡°Doesn¡¯t everyone? But I am probably the only one who knows you are here.¡±
¡°How did you know I was here?¡± I asked with some actual interest.
¡°We have a game we are developing,¡± she changed the subject, and I tried to quiet my anger.
¡°I¡¯ve heard this over forty times. You think it is going to be great, but you want me to endorse it, play test it, support it, put my name on it. No. Not interested. You can leave now.¡± I wasn¡¯t going to let this woman force me to walk out of here without finishing my meal.
¡°But this is going to be great. This game is like nothing the world has seen.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve heard that every time a developer pitches me. Go tell your boss that you tried, and compliment him on hiring you to make the pitch. You are my type, but I¡¯m not interested in playing anything but Astafar Unlimited.¡±
¡°Awww, I¡¯m your type? I was worried that my womanly powers would have no effect on you. They say you live like a monk,¡± she pouted and then took another bite of her onion covered hot dog.
¡°At first I thought you were smart, but the longer you sit here, the more you change my mind. Please leave,¡± I said.
¡°Have you ever heard of Arnacript?¡± she asked while she chewed.
¡°No,¡± I sighed. ¡°Damn it, you win. I¡¯ve beaten the best in the world, but I thought I could just sit here and enjoy my meal while you tried to sell me on your game company. I admit defeat, and now I will give you the table.¡± I set the second half of my hot dog down and stood halfway.
¡°We do Alzheimer¡¯s treatment,¡± she said, and I stopped as if someone had used a stun effect on me.
¡°We¡¯ve had a sixty-percent reversal rate. Would you like to hear more?¡± One of her perfectly shaped eyebrows rose, and her lips twisted again into a smirk.
¡°Sixty percent?¡± I whispered the question, and I felt my heart hammer into my chest.
¡°The treatment is somewhat experimental, but it involves the game we are designing,¡± she continued.
¡°I¡¯ve never heard of Arnacript, and I know about all the different firms that are working on curing Alzheimer''s,¡± I said.
¡°We are taking a new approach. It is a combination of pharmaceuticals mixed with full sensory virtual reality immersion.¡± She gestured back to the table with her right hand and then picked up a slice of pizza with her left.
I sat back in the booth.
¡°But everyone would be talking about this. No one has a cure. How can you be--¡±
¡°We still have a lot of work to do,¡± she interrupted me with a raised hand. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be prudent to go public now, but I take it that this topic interests you?¡± Her full lips smiled to reveal perfectly set teeth.
¡°You know this topic interests me. Don¡¯t be coy.¡± I sighed and tried to relax. My nerves were electric, and I had to force my hands to stop shaking on the table.
Sixty percent.
It had been almost six years since my parents had remembered me.
They were in a home. The best care center in the country and I spent most of my wealth on either treating them or donating to companies that were focused on a cure. I visited them every month, but each meeting had become more painful, and the last few had been even more difficult because they couldn¡¯t even remember each other.
They were only in their fifties.
¡°Why don¡¯t you come visit our facilities? I¡¯ll show you what our current treatment is doing; you can talk to some of the patients, and maybe play a quick game? We are using a new immersion station that you will really enjoy.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s say that I am suspicious. Companies have tried all sorts of tactics to get me to come and visit them. They would figure that as soon as they got me on their property, or in a room, they could try to finagle some sort of sponsorship deal.¡±
¡°Oh, I know Leo. That is why I came to see you myself. I figured that it would be better if I made the presentation, instead of some lackey.¡± She wore her smile well, and it made me wonder about the layers of the woman¡¯s intellect. She was definitely charming.
¡°I¡¯m supposed to be impressed by you? I don¡¯t know who you are. Listen, I¡¯m sorry. I am really busy. Why don¡¯t you reach out to me through my manager once your team publishes their results? I have a team of doctors and scientists that I work with, and I¡¯d like for them to speak with you before I get involved.¡± A part of me wanted to agree to visit her facility, but I¡¯d been burned too many times in the past, and I guessed that this was another setup.
¡°Well, that is unfortunate. Perhaps you will change your mind in the next few days. We are upstate, and I can have a jet bring you in a few minutes. We even have some luxury living facilities, and several wonderful chefs, in case you wanted to spend a few nights on holiday. We will take care of everything.¡± She looked around the diner and smiled again. ¡°Here is my contact info.¡± The beautiful woman pulled a rectangular piece of paper from inside of her jacket and held it out to me from across the table.
Our fingers made contact when I took the card, and her skin felt as nice as I thought it would. I put the thick piece of paper in my pocket without looking at it, and I could tell that my action annoyed her.
¡°Thanks. Now if you please. I¡¯d prefer to be alone,¡± I put my head back down, and then grabbed my ramen fork.
¡°Of course. I hope to hear from you soon,¡± she whispered as she stood from the booth.
¡°Just get your research published and reach out to my manager. I¡¯m sure you know his name and have his number,¡± I said before I slurped some of the noodles from the still-too-fucking-hot broth.
The woman turned to walk away, and I couldn¡¯t help but gaze at her tight butt and dancer¡¯s legs. That suit did look really great on her, and I wasn¡¯t used to women wearing that type of clothing around me. The diner door opened, and I heard a strange whirring sound from the street.
¡°Whoa!¡± the waitress screamed and pointed at the door.
I looked up and almost shouted with the girl.
A jet pod had landed right in front of the restaurant.
They were starting to be a bit more common, but I still hadn¡¯t seen one up close. I knew that the President flew around in one when he needed to get somewhere fast, but the sleek flying vehicles cost more than I made in a year, and the plane was still out of reach for most of the wealthy. This one was white, like the thick robe I wore before my match, and I saw the side hatch of the thing spread open as if it was turning into a bird wing.
The woman extended a long leg into the floating plane, and then she slid her perfect ass into the seat. The parts of the wing closed like an old SLR camera shutter, and then the jet lifted into the sky as easily as I would stand from the booth.
Then it was gone.
¡°Holy shit! Did you see that?¡± the waitress yelled to me, even though it was obvious that I had seen the jet pod.
¡°Yeah.¡± I tried to sound calm as I spoke, but the scene was impressive. Talk about leaving in style.
I realized that my fingers were digging into my pocket, and they fished the card out before I could actually think about what I was doing.
Zarra S. Zerne
President
Arnacript, INC.
The cardstock was thick, and I noticed that there was a magenta colored layer of paper sandwiched in between the white. Her name, title, and the company were all in a nice black font, but the address and phone number underneath were etched in the odd magenta hue. The address pointed to a street named after the company in Albany, New York.
¡°Who was that woman?¡± the waitress asked, but then her mouth hung open as she seemed to see me for the first time.
¡°I¡¯m going to go,¡± I said with a sigh.
I grabbed the last hot dog off of my plate, slid out of the booth and began to walk toward the door.
¡°Wait, wait, are you--¡±
¡°Have a good night.¡± I winked to the waitress, and then pushed my way through the door.
I still had Zarra¡¯s card squeezed between my fingertips, and I used the same hand to dig my phone out of my pocket while I finished off my hot dog. A few presses on the device summoned a car to take me to Sal¡¯s party, and I felt a little pang of joy when I thought about handing the card to Sal. My manager was a wizard at getting information. I knew that my clever business partner would be able to get me a ridiculously detailed report of Ms. Zerne¡¯s history, her company, and her ¡®cure¡¯ for the disease that had taken my parents from me. Sal had done this before with some of the weird stalkers, and I figured that I would know the grade Zarra had got in her high school freshman math class before we left the Big Apple in a few days.
Sometimes, it did pay to be the world champion.
Chapter 3
¡°Champ, I couldn¡¯t find anything,¡± Sal said as he walked into my hotel bedroom without even knocking.
¡°What do you mean?¡± I¡¯d just jumped out of the shower and finished putting on a pair of blue jeans.
¡°Your new girlfriend. This Zarra Zerne. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. It¡¯s like she doesn¡¯t exist.¡± The short Jewish man looked more than a little angry.
¡°How is that possible? Where did you look?¡±
¡°Champ, I did all my usual stuff: I called my people, I called their people, I asked Chip and Dale to call their people, I hired people to call people that could fucking call people that knew other people¡¯s people. Shit, Champ. Short of calling President Efron and asking him if he can give us someone from the FBI, I got nothing.¡±
¡°I thought you knew a bunch of Feds?¡± Garf shouted his question out from the living room of my penthouse suite.
¡°I know the Feds, the spooks, the men in black, my tribe in Mossad, I even used a fucking magic eight ball. You know what the damn thing said?¡±
¡°Ask again later!¡± Jax yelled from the other room.
¡°Ask a-fucking-gain later,¡± Sal spun his arms around in the air as if he was a raging windmill. ¡°I¡¯m gonna scream.¡±
¡°Did you try calling the phone number? What about the address?¡± I asked as I put on a dark purple t-shirt.
¡°Called the number and got a secretary. ID¡¯d my phone; she knew my name before I said anything, and she asked if they could send a jet pod to pick you up.¡±
¡°Dude, I want to take a ride in a jet pod. Let¡¯s go!¡± Jax yelled from the other room.
¡°You checked the building out?¡± I asked as I walked into the bathroom. I¡¯d already put my toiletries in their small case, and I tossed the bag back through the doorway. It landed in my suitcase perfectly, and I did a little fist pump.
¡°I had people swing by and do some digging. The building is a fortress-looking thing. The corporation owns it outright. It was built ten years ago. All I have are pictures of the place from the outside.¡± He held up his phone, but I shook my head and grabbed the rest of my clothes from the room.
¡°What time does our flight leave?¡± I asked as I put the last of my possessions into the single suitcase.
¡°An hour. We¡¯ll get there early, which is fine. The client paid for us to have a private jet to Orlando.¡±
¡°And we have interviews tonight?¡± I asked with a sigh. It had been two days since I won the World Championship, and I hadn¡¯t had a chance to do more than visit the hotel gym with Calic.
¡°Nope, tomorrow afternoon. Calic said he had big plans for you early tomorrow morning, so we need to get settled over there. We¡¯ve been partying for two days. Time to get back to work!¡± Sal rubbed his hands together with an evil smile, and I laughed.
¡°How fast do you think one of those jet pods could get from Albany to Orlando?¡± I asked.
¡°I¡¯m not sure, probably less than forty minutes,¡± Sal said.
¡°Twenty-two minutes!¡± Garf yelled from the other room.
¡°Damn, this girl must be stupid hot!¡± Jax sang out, and Garf started laughing.
¡°Champ, you can¡¯t go to this place. We¡¯ve got to get settled in Orlando, you¡¯ve got to train tomorrow morning, and then you¡¯ve got the exhibition match. They want you to spend a day at each different park after that.
¡°She isn¡¯t a girl, she is a woman.¡± Garf¡¯s voice shifted an octave lower, and Jax started howling.
¡°Hey, assholes, shut up! I¡¯m trying to work here. You are two grown ass men!¡± Sal took the three steps back out of my doorway and started yelling at my best friends. It was too late, however, and they were already giggling past the point of no return.
This was probably a dumb idea, but I hadn¡¯t stopped thinking about Zarra¡¯s offer. Perhaps some of it was a desire to see the strange and sexy woman, but I was more interested in finding out about her Alzheimer''s cure. If it would only take me a few minutes to get there, and a handful more to get to Orlando, I didn¡¯t see much risk in spending the rest of the day touring Zarra''s company. It wasn¡¯t even lunchtime yet.
I wanted her story to be true.
I didn¡¯t care about the game. Astafar Unlimited had the best programming talent in the world backing it, and any other game company was at least ten years behind in technology. No, I just wanted to see if she was actually curing this brain disease.
I dialed her number while Sal was momentarily distracted.
¡°Hello, Leo,¡± Zarra¡¯s voice answered after the phone rang twice. Her face appeared on the screen of my device, and I tried to convince myself that this idea was merely for educational purposes.
¡°Uhh, I didn¡¯t expect you to answer.¡±
¡°Why not? You are calling my number.¡± She smiled and raised her left eyebrow a bit.
¡°My manager said that--¡±
¡°Are you still at your hotel? I will have our jet pod come to get you.¡±
¡°Yes, I was wondering if you could give me a ride back to Orlando tomorrow morning,¡± I felt stupid for asking.
¡°Of course. We would love for you to spend the night with us. I¡¯ll have your suite ready. Will any of your entourage be joining you?¡± She looked off screen for a second, and then her attention returned to me.
¡°No, just me.¡± I knew Sal would just pester me the entire time; my two friends were super secret Disney fanboys, and I knew they had girlfriends waiting for them in Orlando. I thought about asking Chip or Dale to come, but the two bodyguards had been working overtime for the last two weeks, and I didn¡¯t want to bore them with this quick trip. I doubted I would even need to spend the night. I¡¯d probably find that the woman was lying, and then demand that she return me to this hotel immediately.
¡°I am excited to show you our research. If you step out to your balcony, the jet pod should arrive in eighty seconds,¡± Zarra said.
¡°Wow, that is quick,¡± I grabbed my suitcase off of my bed, and walked to the other side of the massive room.
¡°It is only a two-minute flight. I sent it as soon as you told me you were at the hotel.¡± She winked at me with a violet eye.
¡°Champ, where you going?¡± Sal suddenly realized that I was walking away from him.
¡°I am going to visit Arnacript¡¯s labs, I¡¯ll meet you all in Orlando tomorrow morning,¡± I said to Sal, and then I turned back to my phone.
¡°See you soon,¡± I said to Zarra. She nodded slightly and then my phone cut off.
¡°Champ, you can¡¯t go. This is really fishy, and we need to be at--¡±
¡°I love ya Sal, just let me do this. She promised to show me something unbelievable, and I doubt that she will deliver, so then I¡¯ll come right back. I might only be gone for an hour.¡±
¡°She¡¯s gonna show him something un-beeee-lievable!¡± Jax yelled from the other room.
¡°Leo, it is called a vagina, and all girls have one,¡± Garf said over the sound of Jax laughing.
¡°But, I hear that if you go to some places in Singapore, girls have both vaginas and di--¡± Jax choked out through a string of laughter.
¡°What has gotten into you two this morning?¡± Sal turned to yell at them, and his face turned purple.
The situation was somewhat comical outside of their teasing. Garf was half a foot shorter than me, but he weighed the same and was made almost entirely out of muscle. The Asian man had once lifted Sal into the air over his head when the much smaller man had told him that he couldn¡¯t return the British team¡¯s trash talk during the World Championships four years ago.
Jax was a hair taller than me, and he looked like he belonged on Hitler''s Aryan genetics handbook. He lacked some of my bulk, but he was mostly legs and could run like a cheetah after he did thirty pull ups. He was currently wearing his blond hair in a long ponytail, and it made him look even more like a Viking.
¡°I¡¯ve got my phone. I¡¯ll call you if I need anything. I think the jet pod is here.¡±
¡°Ahhh, Champ, don¡¯t leave. Come on.¡± Sal turned back to face me, and my two friends jumped into my room.
I opened the doors to the balcony of my suite and saw the jet pod descend from the sky above. It floated a foot above the veranda, and the side opened up like I had seen it do earlier with Zarra.
¡°Wow!¡± my three friends shouted behind me, and I carefully set my left foot into the hovering, alien-looking craft.
¡°I¡¯ll call you if I need you!¡± I waved to them, and the three men waved back. Then I set my butt in the thick leather seat, and the multipart wing-camera-shutter door irised closed behind me.
The inside of the jet was larger than I expected. There were four seats that faced each other in pairs, but they were spaced out a little bit more than what I would have guessed a helicopter of the same size would have been. It almost felt as if I was inside of a large sedan, and the front two seats were turned around to face the back two seats.
¡°Howdy Champ!¡± A woman¡¯s face appeared on a drop down screen in front of my chair. She had short, dirty blonde hair, and a splattering of cute freckles on her face.
¡°Hello,¡± I greeted her.
¡°I¡¯m Renee Vacca, and I¡¯ll be your pilot for our short trip. I¡¯m coming at you from the control desk here at the Arnacript Campus. Can you buckle your seatbelt please?¡±
¡°Oh, sorry.¡± I grabbed the belt parts and put them together.
¡°Thank you, I have to admit. I¡¯m a little nervous right now. I¡¯m a huge fan. Huge fan.¡± She smiled slightly, and I felt the aircraft lift through the air before my eyes could actually register that we have moved away from the hotel building.
¡°Thanks.¡± I forced myself to smile as the pod spun in the air. I risked a glance out the window and saw that we levitated well above the tops of the tallest skyscraper. ¡°This thing is safe, right?¡± I asked.
¡°Sure. I mean, I¡¯m not actually in the aircraft now, so, that assurance probably doesn¡¯t mean that much to you, but I¡¯ve gotta say that, not only would I feel really, really, really damn bad if I killed you by accident. I would definitely get fired. Like super fired. Really bad fired. Then I¡¯m sure the world would find out that I crashed the jet pod you were in, and I¡¯d probably get murdered until I was a pool of blood.¡±
The ground started to race below me, and I felt my stomach spin with confusion. My back pushed against the comfortable leather of my seat, but then I felt the pressure begin to relax from my chest. I risked another glance out the window, realized that the ground looked like an impressionist painting of mostly browns, and decided to focus on the empty seat in front of me.
¡°-- believe she had bet against you. Can you believe it? I was all like ¡®Mom, you know that Leo is the best there is, was, and will ever be?¡¯ But now she has to do all the chores around the house for the next six months.¡± Renee had been talking, but I¡¯d lost the first part of her sentence when she accelerated.
¡°Are you from California?¡± I asked.
¡°Kind of! Lived there until I was twelve, then the family moved to Texas. Hill Country area, you ever been?¡±
¡°The Championship match five years ago was in Austin, but I didn¡¯t get a chance to leave the hotel or venue.¡±
¡°Ahh, yeah. I remember that one. Sorry, I¡¯m like, really nervous and am blabbering. The good news is that we are here!¡±
I felt the aircraft slow and then drop glide slowly downward. We were above a massive building that almost looked like a futuristic castle made out of gray concrete. Part of the roof opened up like a trap door, and the vehicle descended into the maw of the massive structure as if it was a tiny fish falling into a whale¡¯s mouth.
Maybe this wasn¡¯t such a good idea. Maybe I should have brought Chip, or Dale, or one of my friends. Granted, I was in very good physical shape, knew over twenty different martial arts, and played a virtual fighting game for a living, so my two bodyguards weren¡¯t exactly necessary.
But I couldn¡¯t outfight being trapped in a building that looked suspiciously like a high-security prison.
The tinting on the windows seemed to lighten, and I saw the interior of the hanger when we descended. There were two more jet pods parked on the polished floor, as well as a larger fixed wing jet, and a fleet of black painted vans. All of the vehicles had the magenta Arnacript name and logo painted on their sides, and the logo looked like the cross between a brain and a planet.
¡°Thank you for flying Air Arnacript. Please remember to unbuckle your seatbelt, and don¡¯t forget any of your belongings,¡± Renee said in a rather monotonous voice, and I wondered if she was reading a script.
The pod stopped moving, and the door slid open. I unbuckled the seatbelt, grabbed my suitcase, and then peered out the door. It looked like the craft was sitting on some sort of landing gear, and I didn¡¯t have to worry about exiting while it hovered.
¡°Thanks for the ride, Renee,¡± I turned to look back at the screen.
¡°Oh, well, ummm, you are welcome. Maybe I¡¯ll be assigned to take you back home. I can¡¯t wait to tell my mom.¡± Her freckled face turned a dark shade of red as she spoke.
¡°Mr. Lennox,¡± a voice called to me from outside of the jet. I turned toward it and saw an older man, dressed in a dark black suit. He was a few inches shorter than me, but his gray hair was thick, long, and he looked as if he maintained his body.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
¡°Hi,¡± I finished stepping out of the aircraft and moved toward the man with my hand outstretched.
¡°Pleasure to meet you,¡± he said as our palms touched. ¡°I am Casper Protter, the vice president of operations here.¡±
¡°Nice to meet you.¡± His grip was stronger than I expected.
¡°I want to show you around, but we have some paperwork to do first.¡± He gestured across the hanger to some distant doors, and we walked toward them. ¡°You can leave your suitcase by the jet pod, and someone will take it to your room.¡±
¡°NDA stuff?¡± I asked as I set my luggage on the hanger floor. It was normal procedure to sign a non-disclosure agreement before I got a glimpse at new technology.
¡°Exactly.¡±
¡°Should I have brought my lawyer?¡±
¡°It is just boilerplate stuff really. If you have any questions, we have no problem sending the jet pod to pick him or her up. Did you enjoy the flight?¡±
¡°Yes, it was much faster than I expected.¡±
¡°It can go up to three thousand miles per hour.¡± The man smiled as he spoke. ¡°We actually just recently acquired the fleet.¡±
¡°Had to cost a pretty penny,¡± I said, but the man only smiled at me and then opened a thick steel door.
¡°President Zerne is finishing up a few phone calls. She is sorry that she couldn¡¯t meet you in the hangar.¡± He led me down a colorless, and sterile hallway to a glass-walled conference room.
¡°Oh, that¡¯s no problem.¡±
¡°If you¡¯ll take a seat here. I¡¯ll show you your itinerary for the rest of the day.¡± I followed his instructions and sat on a brown leather seat at the glass table.
¡°We expect the paperwork to be quick, but we can be flexible if you need to speak with your lawyer.¡± He passed me a thick slip of paper with a timetable printed in bold lettering. ¡°We have allocated a few hours to show you our research. That will include a tour of our medical facilities. Then we¡¯ll have an hour-long lunch with a Q and A session. Afterward, we will show you our full immersion VR station, and you can test our game. We think you¡¯ll really enjoy it, so we¡¯ve allocated five hours for that activity.¡±
¡°The game is still in its early Alpha phase. So we would welcome any feedback you can offer us,¡± Zarra¡¯s voice yanked me away from my study of the itinerary.
The beautiful woman had snuck in while Casper spoke, and we both rose from our seats to greet her. She wore a houndstooth patterned pencil skirt that hugged her curves as if it was made out of plastic wrap. Her blouse was a pastel salmon color, and the hue seemed to accentuate her tan skin. The shirt seemed to make the strange color of her eyes even brighter, and I found myself trying not to fall into them when we shook hands.
¡°I am very happy to see you, Leo. I am sorry about the delay,¡± she apologized. The lighting in the room was better than in the diner where we had first met, but I still didn¡¯t see a wrinkle, blemish, or oily spot on the woman''s skin. It was hard to tell her age exactly, but I guessed that she was in her late twenties.
¡°Mr. Lennox and I were reviewing the itinerary, but now we need to move onto the documentation.¡± Casper opened a black case and handed me a digipad.
¡°Excellent,¡± she said as she lowered herself into the chair next to me. She smelled faintly of night jasmine and honey.
I took the device from his hand and began to read. My lawyer was actually Sal¡¯s cousin, but I had seen enough NDAs to know the basics of what I was getting myself into: ¡°don¡¯t tell anyone about what you see here or we''ll sue you¡±. I finished reading the legal speak and didn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary, so I didn¡¯t think I needed to call her.
¡°This looks fine.¡±
¡°Sign at the bottom with your finger, and then push that same finger against the sensor on the bottom for your print approval,¡± Casper said, and I followed his instructions.
¡°Next is the medical release form,¡± the suited man said as the pad displayed a new block of text.
I didn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary on this either. It was summarizing that I couldn¡¯t sue them if their VR system or game did any damage to me. I hesitated for a bit, only because Zarra had hinted that some of the game was in the alpha phase, but if their new fangled full immersion machine seemed too dangerous, I just wouldn¡¯t use it.
I signed the bottom and then approved it with my fingertip.
¡°Anything else?¡± I asked.
¡°No, that is it,¡± Casper said as he took the digipad from me.
¡°We will show you around now. Please follow me,¡± Zarra seemed to levitate out of her chair. She was wearing a tall pair of black heels, and I tried to keep my eyes from all the wrong places of her backside.
For the next thirty minutes, the three of us walked around Arnacript¡¯s main building. Zarra and Casper kept the conversation flowing with a tasteful mix of background on the company, explanation of the various departments that we visited, and personal introductions. The last part probably ended up taking a little longer than Casper expected, and I could see some annoyance on the older man¡¯s chiseled face. The company seemed to have over a few thousand employees, and my hosts eventually had to tell their people that I couldn¡¯t do individual photo ops with them.
The history of Arnacript Incorporated was typical of any pharmaceutical or software company. The two founders each came from a different segment. One was looking for a cure for Alzheimer''s, and the other had a long resume of consulting with VR companies that were trying to beat Astafar Unlimited. As Zarra was telling me their story, we walked into an area of the office complex with significantly nicer furniture, Greek looking sculptures, and potted fern plants. I had been on many company tours, and this looked to be the foyer to the usual executive office suites.
¡°These are the founders. Mikael and Sabella Zerne,¡± Zarra gestured to the large painting that hung near us.
¡°Your parents?¡± I asked the obvious.
¡°Yes, they would like to meet you later for dinner tonight,¡± Zarra said with a wide smile. ¡°I know it is very sudden, meeting my parents after only our first date, but¡¡± Her smile turned into a smirk.
¡°I look forward to meeting them. Can you show me the medical facilities? I want to speak with the patients that you have cured.¡± I felt a flurry of emotions battle in my stomach, and I tried to keep my face impassive. I could admit to myself that I was attracted to Zarra, and that I was partially here to see more of her. But the picture of her rich parents made me realize that I needed to keep our relationship professional. I¡¯d grown up poor, and had worked my ass off to become world champion. I didn¡¯t think there was any way I could develop a romantic relationship with a woman born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
Nepotism just didn¡¯t sit well with me, even though I knew it was the way that most of the world worked.
¡°Of course, Leo. We will need to leave this building and head to the next one. Right this way.¡± I followed her and Casper down a few more halls, and then we came to a security checkpoint.
There were two men in suits pacing beside a metal detector. There were also weird airlock doors behind the checkpoint. Perhaps the men wouldn¡¯t have been intimidating, since they were both smaller than me, and I was used to being around Chip and Dale, but both of them had military looking auto-shotguns hanging from their shoulders.
¡°What¡¯s with the muscle?¡± I asked my hosts as I nodded to the gorillas.
¡°We work with younger patients, and sometimes their condition makes them violent. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen it with your parents. The guns are loaded with sandbags, in case a patient has a violent episode.¡± Zarra frowned as she spoke.
¡°You don¡¯t need to leave your wallet, but please leave your phone. Seeing the device sometimes disturbs our patients,¡± Casper said.
¡°I get it,¡± I handed my phone to the nearest gorilla, and he set it down on a far desk. The other one gestured for me to walk through the archway.
¡°And the metal detector?¡±
¡°We once had an employee forget that he carried his pocket knife. One of the patients grabbed it, and two of our doctors were seriously injured,¡± Zarra said as she walked through the detector behind me.
¡°Ahh,¡± I said with a nod, but her story sounded strange, and the hairs on the back of my neck started to stand on end. Sure, some people in the later stages of Alzheimer''s or Dementia could become violent, but most of that happened because they had hallucinations, or had nightmares that they believed were real. The amount of security here seemed absurd.
There were plenty of drugs that could treat those negative symptoms.
But then again, I was an athlete, and not a doctor. If Zarra was saying that they had success treating this disease, I needed to have an open mind for as long as it would take for me to determine that she was full of shit.
Okay, so maybe I didn¡¯t have that open of a mind.
We walked into the first air lock portion of the tunnel into the next building. The two goons moved to the doorway, and pressed a switch on the side wall. A thick steel door with a small glass window slid into place, and the door on the opposite side of the chamber opened a few seconds after.
¡°And an airlock?¡± I asked my two hosts with a raised eyebrow.
¡°Our facilities are near a major highway. We don¡¯t want patients to somehow exit the building and get hurt,¡± Casper explained with a nod.
"Also, it isn''t uncommon in this day and age for corporations to steal from each other. They even hire ex-military or criminals to do the work. Our research here is valuable, and I need to protect my employees, patients, and shareholders. The security might seem a bit overbearing, but it is necessary. I''m sure you understand," Zarra added.
"That makes sense."
Unlike the drab gray decor of the business side of Arnacript¡¯s facility, the treatment area beyond the airlock was a polished white. Every surface looked as if it was brand new, and the hallway seemed to stretch out into forever as if it led to heaven.
¡°This place seems huge,¡± I said as we walked across the flooring, I almost thought it was marble, but my shoes didn¡¯t resonate with the same sound as they did with stone, and I guessed that they were just some sort of polished dense rubber.
¡°We have built it for success. In five years we hope to be able to house two thousand patients at a time, spend a few months treating them, and then return them to their families as if they never had any form of mental disability.¡± Zarra¡¯s amethyst eyes seemed to sparkle as she spoke, and it did seem to me that the woman was passionate about her work.
¡°This way, Mr. Lennox.¡± Casper pointed to a double swinging door, and I followed the suited man. We were in a common room that was maybe half the size of a football field, with a ceiling that was made out of muted skylights, couches scattered into small hexagon shapes, leather reclining chairs, tables with board games, and small clumps of waist-high plants.
Calming music flowed through the large room. I saw that a grand piano sat in the far corner, and a well-dressed man was playing the instrument. I didn¡¯t know if the furniture or plants were arranged in some secret feng shui matrix, but something about the room combined with the sunlight and the piano playing put me at ease, and the tension in my muscles relaxed a bit.
¡°We have a small group of patients who are on the path of recovery. They are waiting to speak with you,¡± Zarra gestured across the open room to a group of eight people. Two of them appeared to be doctors, or at least, they wore white lab coats. The other six were dressed in comfortable looking cotton uniforms and wore slippers.
¡°Is there anything I shouldn¡¯t talk about?¡± I asked as we walked toward the group.
¡°No, you can speak of anything, but I would prefer that you don¡¯t get into too much detail about our game. I don¡¯t want you to have any preconceived notions of what is in store for you.¡± I could tell that she was trying to use her Sexy Wicked Grin ability on me, but I was definitely building up a resistance.
The doctors were male, and they gave me the look of adoration that I had seen too many times to count. As soon as we neared one of them cleared his throat and then spoke to the six patients.
¡°We have a special guest meeting with us today. Do any of you know who Leo Lennox is?¡± The doctor finished talking as I approached and Zarra gestured for me to sit on the couch next to her, opposite the patients.
¡°I know! He is the champ!¡± The speaker was an older black man, maybe in his late seventies, and he beamed at me.
¡°Hey, grampa, nice to meet you.¡± I held my hand out, and he shook it gratefully.
¡°Champ of what?¡± a woman asked. She had long gray hair with some pink colored bow ties in the loose braids.
¡°He plays Astafar Unlimited. Everyone knows the champ! Best there is, was, and ever will be,¡± a tiny Asian woman said from the far end.
¡°Ahhh, thank you¡ Becca,¡± I said after I glanced at her sticker name tag.
They all seemed really nervous, and a few of them made quick glances at Zarra. Most of them did smile, though, and I figured that they were either excited that I was here, or they knew that Zarra was in ultimate charge of their treatment.
¡°Leo had some questions for all of you,¡± the mocha skinned beauty said as she rested her hand on my bicep.
¡°I do. Can you all tell me about your recovery?¡± I asked
¡°It has been wonderful, Champ,¡± the older black man that I had shaken hands with said. He sat up a bit on the couch, and I could see his name was Sam. ¡°I used to forget stuff. Well, that¡¯s not entirely correct. I used to remember the wrong stuff. Know what I mean?¡±
¡°Yeah. I do,¡± I said and tried not to think about my parents.
¡°I¡¯d think dreams were real, but they weren¡¯t of course, and then I wouldn¡¯t understand where I was. The crazy thing is that I can look back at all that now, and I know that I wasn¡¯t in my right mind. I knew I was sick. That normally doesn¡¯t happen with this disease. You just get worse and worse.¡± He smiled and nodded at me when he finished.
¡°How is this game helping to cure you?¡± I asked, and the group of elderly patients all started speaking at once. Their voices were an excited babble, and I could only pick out pieces of the spaghetti bowl of conversations.
¡°One at a time please,¡± a doctor raised his hand, and the patients quieted.
I noticed that one of the men hadn¡¯t really spoken yet, and he sat at the edge of the couch farthest away from me. I tried to make eye contact with him, but as soon as he saw me look his way he turned his eyes down to his hand. There was something he was hiding in-between his fingers, and the man quickly put them to his sides.
¡°It¡¯s made me whole,¡± Becca said. ¡°It is like nothing I¡¯ve ever played before. My body and mind felt so strong afterward.¡±
¡°Have you played Astafar Unlimited?¡± I smirked at her.
¡°Champ, I mean you no disrespect, but Astafar Unlimited is to Ohlavar Quest as riding a tricycle is to have sex with your soul mate.¡±
¡°Haha, so you are saying that I¡¯m in for a treat when I try it?¡± I asked.
¡°You haven¡¯t tried it, Champ?¡± Sam looked surprised, and the other patients also seemed shocked, except for the guy at the end.
¡°No, not yet. I was going to after lun--¡±
¡°What are you doing here talking to us? You gotta go play!¡± Sam¡¯s eyes sparkled, and he clapped his hands together. The five other patients agreed with him, but I was keeping my eye on the man at the end, and he seemed to just be going through the motions.
He definitely didn¡¯t want to be here.
¡°What do you think? Is it a great game?¡± I turned to the man.
¡°Sure Champ. It almost feels real, and I think about returning every second. My memory has come back, but my son passed away a few years ago, and I don¡¯t have any other family. I feel like the NPCs in the game are the next closest thing. Do you know what I mean?¡±
¡°I can understand that, Jacob,¡± I said the man¡¯s name as I saw his tag. ¡°I¡¯ve been playing Astafar Unlimited for so long; I think I know the names of every NPC and their dialogue tags.
¡°Oh, but Ohlavar Quest is different. It is--¡±
¡°Can you all talk about what you are planning to do tomorrow?¡± Zarra cut Jacob off with her question, but the man looked grateful for the interruption.
¡°I¡¯m going to play some Ohlavar Quest after breakfast. Then do lunch, then my grandkids are coming to see me. Joshua is eight and Sue just turned four,¡± Becca¡¯s eyes lit up with the kind of joy that someone with Alzheimer''s couldn¡¯t emulate.
A few other patients replied, but their stories were similar. They were all looking forward to playing the game, and then visiting with family at the end of the day.
¡°Are all your families local?¡± I asked them.
¡°Yes, Arnacript is paying for them to live nearby,¡± Casper said, and the patients nodded.
¡°I am going to take the Champ from you all now. We have to eat lunch and then he will be doing his first play of Ohlavar Quest.¡±
¡°Champ you are going to love it!¡± Sam said, and the rest of the patients nodded their heads.
Zarra, Casper, and I stood from the couch, and the patients all jumped to their feet so that they could give me a hug or shake my hand. Jacob was the last one to say his farewell, and when he shook my hand, I felt him press a piece of paper into my palm.
¡°Ahhh give me a hug!¡± I pulled the man in close and used the movement to put the message he had slipped me into my pocket without Zarra or Casper seeing me.
¡°Thank you Champ,¡± the man said as I pulled away from him. His eyes looked teary, but before I could ask him what was wrong, he turned from me and walked toward the piano player.
¡°We have a faculty cafeteria on the opposite side of this facility. Arnacript has a wonderful chef, and I believe you will find your lunch very enjoyable,¡± Casper said as he gestured for me to follow him back toward the hallway out of the common room.
¡°Sounds great. I am starving.¡±
¡°Our chef has been looking forward to preparing our meal. Although, he is a little upset that I only gave him a two-hours'' notice. He¡¯s of German descent, so you know how they are about timetables.¡± Zarra had walked up next to me and slipped her arm through mine.
¡°Ha, yeah. I¡¯ve battled and worked with plenty of Germans. Hey, I could use a restroom break before we go to lunch. Is there one nearby?¡± I asked.
¡°Yes, there is one across the hallway,¡± Casper pointed to an unmarked doorway once we entered the corridor outside of the common room.
¡°Great, thank you. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll wait for you here,¡± Zarra said. Her lips formed a sincere smile, and I noticed that she had a slight dimple on each of her cheeks. I didn¡¯t think she could get any prettier, but the indents added a slight cuteness to her otherwise sultry beauty.
I ducked through the doorway and found myself in a shorter hall with a janitorial door and two more doors for the restrooms. I pushed through the men labeled one and into the tiled bathroom. The place had a sink, urinal, and stall. I didn¡¯t see any cameras on the ceiling, but I went into the stall anyways.
I pulled down my pants and sat on the toilet liner before I reached into my pocket. My fingers connected with the folded up piece of paper, and I pulled it up to my lowered face so that I could read it between my legs. If there was a camera over the stall, the security people would think I was just squeezing out a really big log, and I gave a slight grunt to add to my acting.
They need you to complete the quest.
Don¡¯t trust the purple eyes.
You can save them Champ.
Fast for power.
The writing was little more than a scrawl on the back of what looked to be a blank medication slip. I guessed that Jacob meant the Ohlavar Quest game. Or was it something else? A quest in the game? I could guess who he meant by the purple eyes, and yeah, I knew that I didn¡¯t trust Zarra. Who was ¡°them¡±? The patients at Arnacript? They had all seemed really happy, even Jacob had smiled when I asked him about his treatment and the game. The last line made even less sense. I understood that the velocity of a strike could equal power, and a lot of my martial arts training had worked in a nice balance of speed combined with strength. Why did an aged Alzheimer''s patient want to give me fighting advice?
I read the four sentences a few more times and looked for some code in the way that the letters were written. I didn¡¯t find one and then realized that it had been about five minutes since I had entered the bathroom. I took one last look at the note and tried to commit it to memory, and then I ripped it up into very tiny pieces, tossed it into the toilet bowl between my legs, and stood from the porcelain throne. A short flush later and the evidence was gone.
I washed my hands and then exited the bathroom. Casper and Zarra were waiting for me in the hallway, and I made sure I gave them my biggest smile.
¡°Sorry about the wait. Let¡¯s do lunch,¡± I said as I held my arm out for Zarra to take again.
¡°Of course, we are so glad that the Champ is here,¡± the woman said, and I followed Casper to the cafeteria.
Chapter 4
¡°That was one of the best meals I can remember indulging in,¡± I said as I leaned back in the chair of Arnacript¡¯s Treatment Wing Cafeteria and made a show of rubbing my abs.
I wouldn¡¯t have really called it a cafeteria. The atmosphere, seating, waiters, and food made it feel like a one or two star Michelin restaurant. The sign above the place had indicated that it was a ¡°Cafeteria¡± though, and I wondered if they did that to make it feel as if it was a workplace environment. They had served me Japanese style cuisine, and the miso soup had been so good that I¡¯d asked for two bowls.
¡°Thank you for the compliment, Champ.¡± The chef was dressed in the full white uniform, including the puffy hat, and he bowed deeply after I spoke. He had a slight German accent, and I wondered if he had spent a lot of time in Japan to get the cuisine authentic.
¡°It is well deserved. I¡¯ve had wonderful meals all over the world. That was really exceptional.¡±
¡°Now you are flattering me. Thank you, Champ. Since you seem to be in such a good mood, would you mind signing this for my son?¡± The man pulled out a hand-sized picture of me from inside his white jacket. It looked like it was taken during the celebration of last year¡¯s World Championships.
¡°Sure. What¡¯s his name?¡± I asked as I took the picture. I didn¡¯t have a pen on me, but Casper handed me one from his seat across the table.
¡°Jason. Thanks, Champ.¡±
¡°Thank you for the meal,¡± I said as I handed him the signed picture.
¡°How about I take a look at your game?¡± I said to Zarra.
¡°Oh, I thought you would never ask,¡± the woman purred from her seat next to me. I¡¯d been able to fight my attraction to her during our meal, but my resolve was starting to crumble, and I wanted a chance to escape from the woman.
It wasn¡¯t just that Zarra was pretty, or beautiful, or sultry. She was unbelievably charming, and once our meal had come to an end, I realized that the conversation at the table had been mostly about me. Well, me and the treatment of the Alzheimer''s patients.
Zarra had explained that her game helped the patients by creating new neuro pathways in their brain as they played. It was kind of like learning a new language, or a new skill. The experiences of the game world helped their brains regain the youthful vigor the disease had destroyed. I had heard experts speak on the effectiveness of brain training and mental exercise before, but most believed that this was only helpful as a preventative measure and would do little more than delay the progression of decline once the disease had already taken hold. Zarra''s research and the experiences of her patients seemed to prove otherwise.
¡°We have the Ohlavar Quest VRIU ready for you in a private suite. Techs are standing by,¡± Casper said as he stood from the table with Zarra.
¡°VRIU?¡± I asked
¡°Virtual Reality Immersion Unit. You have never seen anything like this,¡± Zarra said as she led me out of the cafeteria.
¡°I¡¯ve heard that before.¡±
¡°I know you have, but you are about to experience something that only a few have. Ohlavar is an amazing world,¡± Zarra said.
¡°Yep, yep, yep. Heard that too. Be ready for disappointment. I¡¯ve broken many a game designer¡¯s heart when I¡¯ve told them that their baby was ugly.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t perfect; we have a lot of work to do on the interface. As I said before, it is in very early alpha phase. We would appreciate any feedback you could give us, but my goal is to have you work with us long term to develop something that can be both marketable as entertainment, as well as help cure mental illness.¡± The woman¡¯s voice trailed off, and she turned away from me.
¡°Do you have family with Alzheimer''s?¡± I asked the pretty woman. When we spoke to each other, it was as if Casper wasn¡¯t even there.
¡°Yes, my grandmother. She passed a few years ago.¡±
¡°I see,¡± I said, and I felt my opinion of the young woman warm. It appeared that we were more similar than I had thought. This disease didn¡¯t care if you were rich or poor.
¡°Here is your suite, Mr. Lennox,¡± Casper said as he opened a door with an ¡®LL¡¯ sign attached to the metal.
The three of us walked through the door and into the greenish-blue living room of the apartment.
It was a bit smaller than the penthouse of the hotel that I¡¯d left a few hours ago, but it was probably five times the size of the tiny apartment in the Bronx that I had grown up in. The living room had a couch, TV projector and white wall, dining table with four chairs, coffee table, large kitchenette, fridge, dry bar, and a padded leather recliner chair. The furniture felt very contemporary, and I wondered if they had hired a designer to coordinate the pieces, teal paint, and artwork.
¡°Your bedroom is in there, along with the master bathroom,¡± Casper said as he pointed to the side room on the right. ¡°Your luggage has already been placed on the bed, but they didn¡¯t unpack it for you.¡±
¡°Thanks,¡± I said as I glanced into the room. My single suitcase sat atop a king sized canopy bed, and for a second I thought about asking Zarra to share the sheets with me tonight. Ugh. I needed to get her out of my blood.
¡°Through here is the lab room where the VRIU unit is kept. Let¡¯s introduce you to the team,¡± Casper opened the door in the living room that was opposite my bedroom door, and gestured for me to enter.
I walked past the older man with Zarra, and almost skidded to a halt. The door that Casper had opened looked like wood from the side of my suite¡¯s living room, but in reality, it was a four-inch thick piece of steel. I saw several locking mechanisms on the edges of the door jamb, and the holes on them dug deeply into the matching steel walls.
¡°Shit, you have some security here.¡± I pointed to the locking holes as I stepped through. It looked like bars could come out of the wall and then slide into the door to keep it sealed shut. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up again. I knew that megacorps often had extreme security measures, but this seemed a bit heavy handed for a hospital. Then again, if Zarra did have a working cure for Alzheimer''s, it would be worth billions of dollars. I could understand why she would want to keep information, or patients, from spreading the word until their testing was done.
¡°As I mentioned earlier, we work with some younger patients that have extreme cases. We have to be able to quarantine areas until we can get someone to calm them down. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve had that experience before? Where someone with Alzheimer''s became violent because of a memory or because they were disorientated?¡± Zarra sighed as she spoke, and I nodded at her words.
My parents were sometimes violent when they didn¡¯t believe that I was their son.
I tried to push the memories of my last visit with them out of my head but failed. My dad couldn¡¯t remember me at all, but my mother only recalled me at five and she screamed at me not to force myself on her. She¡¯d tried to claw at my face, but the orderlies had rushed into the visiting room and sedated her before she could do any damage. It was one of the worst visits, but that was how it tended to work with Alzheimer''s. There were good days and bad ones.
But even good days could go sour in a few minutes when they suddenly lost their memories.
¡°Hello team, we¡¯ve brought you Mr. Lennox,¡± Casper said after he closed the door to my suite.
There were three other people in the room: two women and a man. The man was standing over a metal container that looked like a large coffin. I realized it was actually a small pool, and it was filled with a dark liquid that he appeared to be analyzing with some sort of probing device.
The two women were sitting behind a thick glass wall. One of them wore glasses, and I could see the light of a dozen computer screens reflect on the lenses she wore. Part of the glass wall was actually an open door, and as soon as they saw us, they shuffled out from behind their computer terminals with shy smiles.
¡°Hey Champ, My name is Ky Witta. I¡¯m a VRIU service tech. I was just getting this baby ready for your first game experience.¡± The man had almost leapt in front of the two women so that he could introduce himself to me. He wore thick metal glasses, had a shaved head, and gave a firm, but sweaty, handshake.
¡°Nice to meet you,¡± I said as I returned his smile.
¡°Hello Leo, I¡¯m Doctor Dimopoulos. I¡¯ll be performing a short medical examination on you, and monitoring your vitals during your game session,¡± the first woman said. She was older, maybe in her fifties, and her olive skin combined with her curly brown hair made her Greek name fitting.
¡°Nice to meet you. Why do I need my vitals maintained during the game?¡± I raised an eyebrow and looked between Zarra and the doctor.
¡°It¡¯s just our procedure for the first dozen times that someone logs into Ohlavar Quest through our VRIU. It is a new technology that we are still testing. If there is an equipment failure we want to ensure that no ocular damage occurs,¡± Dr. Dimopoulos spoke the words with practiced ease, and I wondered how many times she had said them.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
¡°Hi Leo, I¡¯m Jennifer Green. I¡¯m a software engineer. My job is to ensure that our AI is following scripted quests, and to pass the feedback onto our development team.¡± This was the girl who wore glasses. She had a cute face, blonde hair that was tied back in a tight bun, and she wore a gray tailored pencil skirt suit combination under her white lab coat.
¡°Nice to meet you,¡± I said as I shook her hand. ¡°I¡¯m probably going to be breaking Zarra and your hearts today.¡±
¡°Oh? Why?¡± I guessed that the blonde woman was my age; maybe a year or two younger, and she pushed up her glasses and scrunched her nose when she asked her question.
¡°Leo is convinced that our game is terrible.¡± Zarra smiled at us and let out a short laugh. ¡°But I think he¡¯s about to have a change of heart. Are you ready?¡±
¡°First I need to take his vitals,¡± the doc said as she pulled a stethoscope and digital tablet out of her coat. ¡°Leo, can I have you sit on this stool over here?¡±
¡°Yep. No problem,¡± I said as I sat on the stool next to the strange coffin container.
¡°I¡¯ll need a few more minutes to calibrate the VRIU juice.¡± Ky took a few steps back to his previous position and inserted the strange rod into the liquid.
¡°Juice?¡± I asked him as he stirred the inky liquid.
¡°It¡¯s a Newtonian fluid, especially balanced to match body temperature and create resistance.¡± He looked up to me briefly when he spoke, and then he made a sharp jerking motion with the rod. Glanced at a display on the end of the handle, and then glanced at the glowing side panel of the large coffin container.
¡°Lean forward please,¡± the doc commanded. She lifted up my shirt and put the cold pad of the stethoscope against my back. ¡°Breathe in deeply and exhale all the way.¡± I followed her instructions while I watched Ky make another few slashing motions with the submerged paddle.
¡°Wait. I need to be inside of that coffin?¡± I asked after I breathed in again.
¡°Yes. I told you it is the latest in full immersion. When you are inside of the VRIU, you¡¯ll have full use of your body. The liquid will sense your movements and translate them into the game. I don¡¯t want to reveal any more of the technology until you get your first taste, but you¡¯ll understand how it works as soon as you enter the game world,¡± Zarra smiled reassuringly as she spoke, but I didn¡¯t particularly like the idea of lying in the strange black liquid.
¡°How will I breathe?¡±
¡°We have an air mask that also serves as the visual and audio feed. You are going to love it.¡± The lavender eyed woman nodded as she spoke, and I thought again about the note.
Don¡¯t trust the purple eyes.
¡°Okay, blood pressure time. Please relax.¡± The doc attached a digital blood pressure monitor that wrapped around my bicep like a live snake and then started squeezing. Thinking about dunking myself in the pool didn¡¯t sound very relaxing to me, but after fifteen seconds the device relaxed and let out a tired beep.
¡°Okay, the last step is that I need to attach a monitor to your wrist,¡± the doctor asked as she placed the watch-like device to my arm. As soon as she tightened the strap, I saw lights glow on the small screen.
¡°The VRIU juice also gives us some biofeedback, but we like to have a second source of data to ensure there is nothing out of the ordinary,¡± the doctor said.
¡°Is there a suit that you want me to wear?¡± I asked the five of them. I couldn¡¯t smell anything from the liquid in the tub that Ky stirred, but I imagined that the black looking ooze would stain my clothes.
Sal would be freaking out right now, and tell these people that there was no way I would be dipping a toe into that vat of juice. I should probably be doing the same, but the five of them seemed extremely excited that I was here, and while I sensed some weirdness with Jacob¡¯s note, I didn¡¯t get a gut feeling that these people were trying to hurt me. Even the dour Casper had a smile on his face.
¡°That is something we are working on. The VRIU works best when the user is naked,¡± Zarra said the words quickly, and her amethyst eyes glanced back to the strange vat.
¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± I said.
¡°I¡¯m afraid I am, we have a privacy alcove you may use to disrobe, and a switch on the VRIU controls the tint of the glass where we will be monitoring you. Once you are ready, Ky will help you get the headset on.¡± The five of them had tensed with Zarra¡¯s words.
¡°That is really weird, I don¡¯t think th--¡±
¡°Look, Leo,¡± Zarra put her hand on my arm, and I was conscious of the fact that I actually wasn¡¯t naked, but they all wanted me to get naked.
¡°I realize that I¡¯m asking you to get out of your comfort zone with this. I will guarantee that you will enjoy this experience. This is the future of video games.¡±
¡°Fuck it,¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve come this far already, and you¡¯ve all been more than hospitable. Show me where this modesty wall is.¡±
¡°Fantastic, you won¡¯t be disappointed,¡± Zarra said again.
¡°Yeah, okay. Let¡¯s do this.¡±
The tension in the room relaxed, and the three women, along with Casper, moved behind the glass wall where the long computer terminal sat. Ky pointed to a side area a few steps past what they called the VRIU. I saw that part of the room was kind of an optical illusion. The walls looked like they were made of steel, but their surfaces were brushed, and the corner by the dark liquid was actually an alcove with mirrored walls on the outside. Unless someone stepped past the VRIU, they wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that the changing area was back here.
¡°You can stack your clothes on the shelf there. Then you can come out, and I¡¯ll help you step into the VRIU,¡± Ky said as he gave a last stir of the strange liquid.
¡°Sounds good,¡± I said as I started to take off my shirt.
I wasn¡¯t actually too worried about being naked in front of everyone. The skin tight omni suit I wore left little to the imagination, and Jax had once shown me a tabloid magazine that had us standing on a team victory podium. The magazine had highlighted our junk so that the readers could see how big we were. I also had a tidal wave of paparazzi following me everywhere, and there were dozens of photographs of me stepping out of a shower when I¡¯d forgotten to close the blinds to a window.
¡°Alright. I¡¯m ready.¡± I stepped out of the alcove and noticed that the glass door of the next room was now opaque.
¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to have you step into the unit first. Grab onto the handrails. Yeah I know, you¡¯re probably the fittest dude in the entire world, but I don¡¯t want you to slip and smash your head against the side.¡±
¡°Got it. What is this ¡®juice¡¯ made out of again? It doesn¡¯t smell of anything.¡± I grabbed the dark metal tubes on the side of the tank and then put my foot inside of the black liquid.
¡°The specific mixture is about to be patented, so I can¡¯t share the secret with you, but the quicker you move, the harder it resists you. It is what gives us the--¡±
¡°That¡¯s enough, Ky,¡± Zarra¡¯s voice came over the speaker in the room.
¡°Yes, Ms. Zerne.¡± The man smiled sheepishly.
The liquid was strange. I thought that it would have been like water, but it was much thicker. Not quite mud, but the strange goop did seem to resist my movement into the tank. The other sensation that felt odd was its temperature. I almost couldn¡¯t feel the stuff because it was set at exactly the same heat as my body.
¡°There are some steps where your feet are, Champ. Just walk down them a bit to get into the deeper part,¡± Ky said, and I followed his instructions.
¡°This isn¡¯t bad.¡± I laughed as I settled into the resistant sludge. It was much deeper than I expected, and the top of the liquid came up a bit past my shoulders as I stepped to the bottom.
¡°Yeah. It is kind of therapeutic. Helps relax the mind. So here is the switch to return the observation wall to normal glass.¡± He pointed at an electronic dial on the top area of the pool. ¡°Press it now please.¡±
I followed his instructions and then turned to see Zarra and her employees standing behind the glass.
¡°The idea is that you¡¯ll be able to do all this yourself after I show you the procedure. Here is the VRIU mask,¡± Ky said as he lifted the black metal half helmet from behind the steel lip of the pool. It looked similar to what I¡¯d wear when using an omni station for Astafar Unlimited, only those were a smaller goggle shape.
¡°Alright, so you want to bite onto the mouthpiece. You¡¯ll still be able to talk into it, but it will take a bit of getting used to.¡±
Ky put the helmet over my head, and then he tightened a bottom piece over my jaw. I¡¯d been snorkeling a handful of times, and the mouthpiece fit into my mouth in a similar fashion.
I couldn¡¯t see anything. Or really feel anything. The liquid in which I stood felt as if it was part of my body. I was suddenly disoriented, and I heard my heart begin to pick up tempo through my ears.
¡°Test, test, test. Champ, can you hear us?¡± Jennifer asked through the helmet.
¡°Yeeehhaam,¡± I tried to say around the mouthpiece.
¡°We are almost ready to get started. Just thirty seconds.¡±
¡°Oak ayyye. I finnk I ale red hay see a proogggame ith errr gaay meee.¡±
¡°What was that, Leo?¡± Zarra asked.
¡°I already see a problem with your game.¡± I had to move my mouth differently to speak into the tube.
¡°What is that?¡±
¡°This whole set up seems expensive and complicated. It takes me less than a minute to suit myself up for the omni station. How much is this tub? How about the liquid? You¡¯ve got a doctor monitoring my vital signs. How are you going to mass market this?¡±
¡°People will buy once they play, Leo,¡± Zarra purred into my ear through my helmet. ¡°Just wait until you play.¡±
¡°I¡¯m ready. I¡¯ll read him through the starting procedures,¡± Jennifer said.
¡°Don¡¯t bother. He¡¯ll be just fine,¡± Zarra said.
¡°But, Ms. Zerne. He isn¡¯t starting at the temple. He¡¯ll be out--¡± the blonde woman¡¯s voice cut off suddenly, and there were about ten seconds of silence. It was a little disorienting because I couldn¡¯t see anything out of my helmet, and I couldn¡¯t feel anything around my body. It was as if I was suddenly robbed of my senses.
¡°Sorry about that, Leo. When you spawn, you will be in a small grove of trees outside of one of the small cities of the game world. You won¡¯t have any clothes on, but there will be a chest near you with some starter equipment.¡± Zarra sounded like she was smiling through her voice.
¡°Okay. How does class selection work? Do I get skills or magic?¡± I asked.
¡°I want you to just experience the game. Oh, but one thing, and this is important. As I said before, the game is in early alpha stage. It is really just a huge sandbox where the AI has built the world and managed the characters. We haven¡¯t incorporated much of the battle system in yet. So try not to fight. It just isn¡¯t balanced properly, and you¡¯ll probably lose. Just put on your clothes, and walk out of the trees. You¡¯ll see the city about half a mile in the distance down a dirt road. You can walk there, talk to the people, and when you want to logout of the game, you can come back to the grove of trees and lay down by the chest. Then we will turn off the VRIU. Understand?¡±
¡°Yes. I get it.¡±
¡°You can actually log out by laying down anywhere and closing your eyes for twenty seconds, but we would prefer you do it in the grove,¡± Zarra instructed.
¡°Okay. Let¡¯s get this over with,¡± I said. I felt like I was starting to go insane with no other sensation than Zarra¡¯s sultry voice in my ear. I couldn¡¯t even feel if I was getting aroused or not.
¡°Okay. Champ. Get ready for Ohlavar Quest,¡± Jennifer said.
¡°Five, four, three, two, one, logging in.¡± Her voice seemed to become more distant with each number, but after she said her last word nothing happened.
I waited for what felt like a minute, but I only saw the darkness of the inside of my helmet.
¡°Is something supposed to happen? Did your game crash?¡± I sighed. Figures. All that build up and then it breaks. They were probably going to try and convince me to try tomorrow morning. After they made their programmers work all night to fix whatever was wrong with the system.
¡°Hello? Zarra?¡±
There was no answer, but I heard something strange. It sounded like wind, and leaves, and birds. The game¡¯s visuals must have broken, but the audio was starting to come in. I reached up to touch the helmet and gasped. It wasn¡¯t on my head anymore, and the only reason I couldn¡¯t see anything was because my eyes were closed. I opened them, and all of my breath left my body as if I¡¯d been hit in the stomach.
I was in the game world, and it was like nothing I had ever seen before.
Chapter 5
As Zarra had explained, I lay in a grove of trees. I was on my back, and I felt the firmness of the ground the moment my eyes opened. The trees were fantastic looking; like maple trees, with big, wide leaves, but the trunks and branches were gnarled like the kind of oak trees that would be found in California. The bark was a deep brown color, but parts of the wood flaked off into grayish pieces. Their leaves were green, but as the wind whispered a gentle breeze, I noticed that the top part was a strange purplish color.
Then I gasped as I realized the obvious.
I felt the ground underneath me.
I was sitting upright now, and the dampness of the grass was apparent on my bare ass. I reached my hand down and pushed a finger into the soft dirt. My fingers felt the resistance, the small amount of dampness I¡¯d expect for grass to hold, and I pulled them away to see mud on my fingertips.
¡°Holy shit.¡±
They had done it. They¡¯d figured out a way to add tactile feedback to a game.
Astafar Unlimited had some feedback, of course. I could feel the platform of the omni station when I ran on it, and there were feedback vibrators attached to the sensors, so that when I hit something, my limbs felt a brief shake, but there was nothing like this in any game I¡¯d ever played.
I moved the pointer finger of my right hand and pressed it into my left arm. I felt my skin and the pressure at both places, and I let out a whistle. Then I was amazed that I could actually whistle in the game.
¡°Wow, wow, wow.¡±
I lay the palm of my hand to the dark green grass and pushed myself to my feet. I stood easily and did a few stretching movements while I looked down at my naked body. I hadn¡¯t been able to pick an avatar, so I had guessed that they would use a generic one in the game, but I noticed the various scars on my knees from playing basketball growing up, and I glanced at my hands again to see the familiar scars from years of martial arts training.
How did they get my body so perfectly? It must have something to do with the VRIU juice that I was currently floating in. The liquid was probably able to determine my exact body composition and then translate it into the game. It was kind of a genius idea, and I felt bad for mocking Zarra¡¯s game a few minutes ago. Yeah, I guessed that this system was going to be expensive, and maybe only the rich would play it, but I was already impressed by the tactile feedback. Even if this was just a sandbox game, I would think that people with money would want to get a chance to play.
Something tickled my foot, and I looked down.
It was an ant.
¡°Holy shit. Holy shit.¡± I couldn¡¯t stop from smiling, and I let out a laugh. This game was fucking amazing. I reached down with my hand, and the insect ran onto my finger. I could feel it crawl across my skin, and I saw all of its legs move just like real ants would.
It was fantastic.
I didn¡¯t think graphics like this were possible. The amount of detail on the ant, my skin, the grass, the trees, and the sky was unbelievable. As a test, I shook my hand quickly and tossed the ant from my skin. The sensation felt real, and I had to let out a short laugh of amazement.
So maybe I owed Zarra an apology.
When I thought about the beautiful woman, I recalled her instructions to me. I glanced around the small grove and saw a chest a few feet behind me. It was made of a simple light colored wood with metal hinges. The metal had a light greenish patina on it, and I guessed it was copper. I spent half a minute looking at the tiny details of the green swirls, touching the wood of the chest, and giggling like an idiot to myself before I finally opened it.
Inside was a pair of unbleached underwear of the ¡°tighty whitey¡± style, a light brown tunic with a leather lace tie in the top half of the front, and matching pants. These both felt as if they were made of a thick cotton, and I rubbed them in-between my fingers to enjoy their sensation. They even smelled great, as if they had just been laundered and dried with a lavender dryer sheet.
I could smell.
¡°Holy shit,¡± I said again as I inhaled. I could smell the soap of the clean clothes; I could smell the wood of the chest, and the copper smell of the metal. The dampness of the grass and the bitter scent of the soil underneath were now apparent. I didn¡¯t know how this was possible, but I guessed that they must have been distributing the scent into my helmet. The technology had been around for long enough, and a few of the other games I had test played tried to use the system, but they¡¯d never been able to make it smell real enough, and the systems seemed to be too extreme.
I put on the underwear, pants, and shirt. The material felt nice against my skin, and they looked as if they were handmade with high-quality fabric. I could even see some less-than-perfect stitches on the seams. The attention to detail everywhere was mind boggling, and I was more than a little impressed with what Zarra¡¯s company had done. Astafar Unlimited had wonderful graphics, and even though the game was almost fifteen years old, they continued to patch new visuals in every month.
Zarra¡¯s game looked a thousand times better.
It was maybe a little too vivid. The colors were really rich, and the visuals seemed to glow with an internal light. It was probably just a stylistic decision, though, and I realized that the only reason it was kind of throwing me off was because I was so used to Astafar Unlimited¡¯s more muted color palette.
There was a pair of socks and boots at the bottom of the chest, and I put them on to complete my outfit. I didn¡¯t see any weapon inside of the chest, and it was a bit annoying. I knew that Zarra had told me not to get into combat, but I kind of expected some sort of starter sword, or dagger, or staff, or anything that I could have used to beat something. I wanted to get a small taste of what little they had set up for the combat system.
A flock of small brown and blue birds flew through the trees and chirped at me. I studied their movements and shook my head again. There were all sorts of non-aggressive fauna and flora in Astafar Unlimited, but if I watched the birds and ground creatures for long enough, I could see the redundancy in their programmed movements. The AI in Ohlavar Quest must have been cutting edge, because the birds moved as if they were real.
The leaves of the trees swayed once more in the breeze, and I marveled again at their rustle. There was a lot of movement, sound, smell, and color going on at once, and I made a mental note to talk to Zarra about the hardware that was running the game servers. I also wanted to talk about the AI, but I doubted that the woman would spill any of the secrets. Most game developers regarded their Artificial Intelligence, and their game engines, as their secret sauce, and engineers practically signed their NDA agreements with the blood of their first born.
¡°Time to find this village,¡± I said to no one in particular. I couldn¡¯t even feel the breathing tube in my mouth anymore, and I figured that the body temperature fluid I floated in was doing a great job of numbing my mouth feel.
There wasn¡¯t a clear trail out of the grove, and the tall reach of the trees was preventing me from seeing the sun. I could tell that it was day because of the bright light that peeped through the strangely colored leaves, but I could only guess at the time. I didn¡¯t even know how the time worked in the game. Astafar Unlimited made fifteen minutes in real life equal an hour in the game, so a player could get a full pass of a day within six hours.
That was another oddity about Zarra¡¯s game: there were no heads up display or user interface. I couldn¡¯t see a time or date counter on the corner of my vision. I didn¡¯t see my hit point or magic meter. I didn¡¯t even see a way to open my inventory. Maybe they were trying to go ultra real, and they expected players to carry their equipment in actual packs. It was a risky move for sure since a lot of players wanted to suspend an aspect of real life when they played. They didn¡¯t want to feel like they were encumbered by the gear or treasure that they picked up, and inventory management was something that Astafar Unlimited had kind of done away with.
I picked a direction to walk and threaded my way through the closely nestled trees. My passage disturbed a family of squirrels, and the rodents took to the trees with a twitter of over exaggerated anger. I paused my walk to stare at the creatures. They had leopard-like spots on their brown fur, and their tails were way longer than I would have expected. As I watched, one of them reached out its tail to the branch above. The limb wrapped around the tree and lifted the creature while it snickered at me.
¡°Funny,¡± I said with a laugh. It was little creatures like these squirrels that would make a lot of players fall in love with the game world. There was a huge subculture of pet collectors in Astafar Unlimited, and they would go to great lengths in order to acquire and train their virtual pets. There was even a competitive side of the game, but it wasn¡¯t as popular as the World Series, and I had never really competed in that aspect.
I soon reached the edge of the grove of trees. The spot sat on a bit of a hill, and I was able to survey the land. I was again impressed by the graphics of the game. The light from the sun was a beautiful yellowish color, and its rays seemed to warm my shoulders when it fell on me. The sky was a dark blue, and there was a large purple planet with an orange Saturn looking ring sitting on the horizon. I thought it was a cool touch, but a lot of gamers really wanted a traditional fantasy environment, and I guessed that they would think the near sitting planet would make the scenery too science fiction feeling.
My eyes took in the field around me again. It looked like a standard setting of long wheat colored grass. The stands came up to my waist, and I ran my hands over some of the tips. They tickled my palms, and a breeze made the field sway like it was a blonde ocean.
¡°Wow, so pretty.¡± It felt weird to talk to myself, but I guessed that Zarra and her team would be able to hear me. I bet she was probably smirking like the cat that ate the canary right about now, and I knew I¡¯d hear her say ¡®I told you so¡¯ a few dozen times when I dined with her parents tonight.
The fields stretched for miles in each direction I could see, but I did notice that I appeared to be in a valley. I couldn¡¯t see past the group of trees behind me, but in the other three directions, I saw the steep angles of large mountains. The tallest grouping had some snow on top of the teeth, but all three ranges looked impressive. They had a dark gray, brown, and purple hue to the distant rocks, and it definitely made me feel as if I was in a unique fantasy world.
There was a distant plume of smoke drifting where the horizon of the mountains met the sway of the fields, and I spotted the city that Zarra had mentioned. The beautiful woman had also said that it was about a half mile away, but it appeared to be twice that distance. Then again, I didn¡¯t quite know if my vision was measuring the correct distance in the game environment.
I walked through the field toward the distant plume of smoke. The individual blades of grass slid across my legs and arms, and I couldn¡¯t wipe the damn smile off of my face. It just felt so real. I didn¡¯t know how Zarra¡¯s team had been able to program all of this, and I almost wanted to logout right now so that I could talk with her.
After a few minutes of wading through the grass field, I noticed a dirt road cutting through on my right side. I made a direct line there and was soon walking on the wagon wide path toward the town. The dirt had evidence of wheel tracks and hoof prints that might have been made during rain. It didn¡¯t look like it was a simple graphical texture, and I kicked some of the dirt with my toe. The edge of a raised part crumpled off, and I was able to stamp it down into place over a dent to change the texture of the road. It was a nice touch that I think most players would love, but I wondered how much resources their graphic engine was going to consume. You could make small changes in Astafar Unlimited, like cutting grass, or trees, or breaking walls, but the map would fade back into place after a few hours. The ¡®feature¡¯ was real to provide relief to the game¡¯s engines, and a lot of gamers didn¡¯t like that they were unable to permanently change the game world. Then again, I¡¯d just stamped the road flat, and it might revert back to its original texture in a few minutes. I would have to ask Zarra how it all worked over dinner.
I continued my walk on the road for another minute, and then I heard the sound of a horse behind me. I stepped off the road and turned to see a mule drawn wagon bouncing down the path. The vehicle was moving about three times my walking speed, and I noticed that the animal had a pair of curved horns on its head so that it resembled a ram-mule creature.
¡°Hi,¡± I said as I waved to the driver. The man sat on the wagon bench and held leather reins in his hand.
¡°Greetings, whoa,¡± he pulled on the reins and slowed the beast that pulled his wagon. It still reminded me of a donkey because of its big ears and squat stance. ¡°You heading into town?¡± the man asked once the wagon stopped. His face was covered by a wide hat, and I couldn¡¯t really see his shape under the large western style duster that he wore.
¡°Yeah, I was just walking there now.¡±
¡°Walking there? You don¡¯t have any packs? Where are you from?¡± His accent sounded strange. Like a New Zealand accent, but the vowel sounds were shorter.
¡°I just arrived. Starting out in the game. I don¡¯t see your health bar above your head. Are you an NPC?¡± I smirked as I talked.
¡°NPC? Starting out? You are a strange one. Do you have any weapons?¡± He asked with a careful nod. I had guessed that the man would ignore my reference to a non-player character.
¡°Nope. There wasn¡¯t one in the chest. They told me not to get in any fights for my first session.¡±
¡°Ahh, that makes no sense at all, but if you promise not to speak anymore crazy talk, I¡¯ll let ya ride with me into town.¡± He patted the bench next to him.
¡°That is nice of you. Thank you,¡± I said as I climbed up the wagon.
The bench had some springs on the bottom of it to give it a suspension, but the wood where my ass sat wasn¡¯t that comfortable, and I felt the jarring of the wagon through my teeth when the man cracked his reins. This VRIU was absolutely incredible.
¡°What is the name of this town we are heading toward?¡± I asked him after we¡¯d been moving for a handful of seconds.
¡°Cutno,¡± the man laughed ¡°you are a strange one huh?¡±
¡°Yep. How many NPC--people live there?¡± I asked.
¡°Grrrr about six thousand. Maybe less.¡± He had made a growling noise before he spoke, but it didn¡¯t sound hostile. It was more like he was clearing his throat.
¡°Are there any quests for adventures?¡±
¡°Ha! So you are an adventurer?¡± He bobbed his hat covered head as he chuckled.
¡°That¡¯s the dream, isn¡¯t it? Help people, slay monsters, get loot and more power. Then become the hero of the world.¡± I smiled at the man after I spoke. This was an NPC conversation that was remarkable. Arnacript¡¯s AI writing for their NPCs was rather amazing, and I didn¡¯t know how it was creating such a fluid response. This almost felt like a real conversation.
¡°There is always work to be had. The news bulletin will have jobs for all types,¡± he said.
¡°What types are there?¡± I asked. Zarra had been coy when she¡¯d spoken about the game, and I wanted to know more about the classes available to me in the world. I guessed that I would have to find a trainer so that I could pick one. Would I be able to pick multiple classes?
¡°Types?¡±
¡°Yes, classes of adventurers. Like warriors, or mages. What type of professions are there?¡±
¡°You mean magic? Grrrr, I suppose most are Body. I can do a little bit of it myself. Helps when I need to lift my goods into the wagon.¡± He gestured with a thumb behind him, and I picked out the shape of boxes under a canvas blanket.
¡°What kind of goods are you selling?¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
¡°Spices. I¡¯ve traveled from Arnicoal.¡± He paused after he spoke, and I wondered if he thought I should be impressed.
¡°How far away is Arnicoal?¡±
¡°Grrr, you¡¯ve never heard of Arnicoal?¡± He turned away from his donkey to gaze at me, and I saw that his eyes looked like a cat¡¯s. There were a bright green and had an oval pupil.
¡°Sorry friend. As I said before, I just arrived here. I don¡¯t know much of anything,¡± I admitted.
¡°Grrr, and your accent is all weird. Good thing we are only in Cutno. If we were in Arnicoal, they would think you were some sort of country bumpkin, even though I¡¯ve never heard country folk speak like you do.¡±
¡°I come from one of the largest cities in my land,¡± I chuckled at the covered man.
¡°Where is that?¡±
¡°New York City! Ever heard of it?¡±
¡°Can¡¯t say that I have, and I am well traveled. As I said, you are a strange one, but you seem likable enough.¡±
¡°Thanks, friend. I didn¡¯t get your name earlier.¡±
¡°Artus Osher, is my name. Of the Osher trade clan,¡± he said proudly.
¡°Nice to meet you, Artus. I¡¯m Leo Lennox.¡± I held out my hand toward the man, and he glanced down at my fingers.
¡°I¡¯ve not heard of the Lennox clan. Grrr,¡± he said as he cautiously held his clothe-wrapped hand out like mine.
¡°There aren¡¯t many of us.¡± I completed the handshake, and his eyes opened with surprise.
¡°Why are you touching my hand?¡± he asked.
¡°It¡¯s a handshake. People do it when they first meet each other.¡±
¡°Leo, you know I am fenia? I¡¯m surprised you are touching me. Not that I mind, but your kind normally doesn''t like my kind.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what a fenia is, Artus, but I like you,¡± I smiled at the man.
¡°Ha. Well, okay.¡± He let go of my hand and then pointed a wrapped finger down the road. ¡°We approach the gates of Cutno.¡±
I followed his fingers and saw the city. There was an eight foot stone wall around the vast perimeter. I couldn¡¯t see much past its walls other than a large keep that sat on a hill in the middle. It seemed pretty standard fantasy fare, and I was somewhat unimpressed with the visual, but that was probably because everything else in the game had blown me away.
¡°You should be careful at the gate, friend Leo. The town is somewhat unreceptive of newcomers. Grrrr, perhaps you shouldn¡¯t speak to them as you spoke to me? They might be confused. I know I am,¡± Artus said.
¡°That¡¯s good to know. Although, I am surprised a starter town wouldn¡¯t welcome new adventurers. Seems like it would create a negative first impression for new players.¡±
¡°You mentioned you were looking for work?¡± the man asked.
¡°Yes! Do you know of any quests?¡± I asked. The gates were about a hundred yards away now, and I could see a pair of guards wearing chain mail and holding spears at the entrance.
¡°I need someone to help me unload my wares and load up my other trade goods. I¡¯ll pay you a few coppers, and if you don¡¯t have a place to sleep tonight, you can curl up here,¡± he said as he patted the bench we rode on.
¡°That is a great offer! I¡¯ll probably be going back home at night, but I will gladly help you with your boxes,¡± I said.
¡°Excellennnnnt,¡± he kind of growled at the end of the word, and I noticed that some orange fur was poking through the wrapping around his neck area.
¡°Has it been three months already, Artus?¡± one of the guards called out as we approached.
¡°Geelant, is that you? Ha! Looks like your beard is finally coming in,¡± my new friend waved as he stopped the animal that pulled on his wagon.
¡°Yep. Haha,¡± the guard laughed and stroked his beard with the hand that wasn''t holding onto his spear. The two men were human, and they seemed happy to see Artus.
¡°Who is with you?¡± the other guard asked somewhat suspiciously.
¡°He is Leo, of the Lennox clan. Grrrrr,¡± Artus introduced me. ¡°He¡¯s helping me unload my boxes.¡±
¡°Ahhh. Be careful. Halafast¡¯s son is still around,¡± the second guard said.
¡°I don¡¯t want any trouble. I¡¯m a businessman. I just want to sell my spices and move on.¡±
¡°Ehhh, you know that isn¡¯t how it works. After you had left last time, Kimmel was going around to all the bars saying that you didn¡¯t pay your taxes.¡±
¡°I always pay my trade taxes. I just didn¡¯t pay him his ¡®protection fee.¡¯ He¡¯s a prick.¡±
¡°Yeah, but, once he finds out you are back in town, he might come visit you,¡± one of the guards said.
¡°How would he find out I¡¯m back?¡± Artus asked, and the two guards looked at each other with a shrug.
¡°Ahhh, come on guys. Grrrrr,¡± my friend¡¯s words sounded slightly annoyed.
¡°It¡¯s just dang hot out here in the sun. I¡¯m really looking forward to a beer at the end of the day,¡± the second guard said.
¡°If our friend were to buy us a round, I¡¯d quickly forget that he was in town,¡± Geelant said with a shrug.
¡°Grrr, you two. Fine. Here,¡± Artus reached into his coat pocket and threw each one a coin.
I watched the exchange with more than a little interest. This NPC dialogue was crazy. I¡¯d never been in a game where the conversation sounded so real. I kind of wanted to step in, and tell the guards that they couldn¡¯t extort my friend, but I was more interested to see how the actual shakedown went down. Then I wondered if my inaction would be judged by the game¡¯s AI as dishonorable. It might think my character¡¯s alignment was evil or self-serving, and maybe it would begin to adjust the encounters so that I faced darker quests. I didn¡¯t see any display or user interface hints as to what I should do, and I realized that I was kind of lost without some of the usual quest remarks. I¡¯d have to bring it up with Zarra when I returned.
¡°Thanks for the beer, fenia,¡± the second guard said. Then he spit on the ground and gestured for us to enter the city.
¡°What was that all about?¡± I asked as we cleared the gates and moved past the guards hearing range.
¡°Usual treatment for my kind. Grrr. Joke¡¯s on them, though. I had a silver ready for each of them, and they took copper. Ha!¡± Artus let out a growl-laugh, and then he angled his wagon into the main thoroughfare of the city.
The buildings and roads inside the walls reminded me of one of those old-timey German or Dutch medieval designs. There were a lot of squat stone homes supported by thick wood beams, thatched roofs, and decorative architecture. It was quaint bordering on beautiful, and I found something fun to look at in almost every direction I turned.
The citizens were the best part. They were mostly human, but I noticed a few elves and dwarves. They walked through the city streets with purpose, nodded to each other as they passed one another, exchanged pleasantries, and only gave a passing glance at our cart. Some of them carried baskets; others carried tools, but most were moving as if they had a destination in mind.
Cutno felt like a real city.
Cities I would find in Astafar Unlimited felt like a traditional video game environment. Yes, there were NPC citizens, but they seemed to mill around the buildings, streets, and stores without real purpose. Some of them would occasionally have a conversation with another NPC, but it was a canned exchange, and I¡¯d spent so many years of my life playing the game, I had all the scripted lines of the various characters memorized.
The NPCs in other games were just there for environmental flavor, and they served no other purpose than to make the players feel as if the world were pretending to be alive.
Ohlavar Quest felt alive everywhere.
The game¡¯s AI was beyond extraordinary. I almost wanted to log out right now, and then congratulate Zarra on blowing my mind, but I wanted to keep playing more, and I was starting to understand the gleeful looks that the patients had made earlier when they talked about the game. It was easy to see how someone could get addicted to a world like this.
Our small wagon passed a group of three guards walking the other direction on the cobblestone street, and Artus turned away a bit and seemed to sink into his seat. They glanced at us briefly as they walked by, but I didn¡¯t get a feeling that they were interested in harassing us. The exchange made me shake my head with a smile. This was like real fucking life, only I was in a video game. I was actually reading the faces of the NPCs to try and figure out what they would do. Absolutely amazing.
¡°Arrrr right Leo, here is the place.¡± Artus turned the wagon down a narrower side street. The path could probably fit another cart the same size as my friend¡¯s in its width, but it appeared that the cobblestones were beginning to angle upward, and I saw more of the castle in the distance.
¡°Jerjay¡¯s shop. They have the first shipment. Can you keep an eye on the merchandise? I¡¯ll go in and let him know it is here.¡±
¡°You got it,¡± I said as I leapt from the wagon¡¯s bench.
Artus walked with a strange looking gait, and he entered into the door of a shop. There was a hanging wood sign over the door that read: ¡°Jerjay¡¯s cooking supply.¡±
I stood by the back corner of the wagon and amused myself by watching the NPCs walk on the main avenue. Every few minutes one would turn the corner and walk up my street. I greeted each one as they passed me, they each returned my greeting with a smile, and they all had very unique features. Different clothes, hats, shoes, faces, stances. It was remarkable.
¡°Alright Jer, I¡¯ve got four crates. We¡¯ll carry them in for you,¡± my friend said as he exited the store with a short human man.
¡°Thanks, Artus.¡± The human¡¯s cheeks were a rosy red, and his apron was covered with what looked like cooking oil.
¡°These four, Leo,¡± Artus pointed to the first four crates nearest the back part of the wagon. ¡°They are quite heavy, I¡¯ll grab this side an--¡±
¡°I got it,¡± I lifted one of the wooden boxes up and out of the wagon before my friend could open the back hatch. It felt like it weighed only a few pounds.
Both Artus and Jer stared at me with amazement, and then the shorter man gestured for me to follow him inside.
¡°You can set it in the back here,¡± he said after I¡¯d walked in through the doors, and past the front counter. The store was filled with manual type cooking gear that would have been useful if a home didn¡¯t have electricity. There was a cleared spot in the storage area at the back, and I set the crate down where the store owner gestured.
Artus had the hatch down when I returned, and he was trying to push one of the crates to the edge by himself.
¡°I¡¯ve got this, don¡¯t worry buddy.¡± I pulled the crate he was touching to the edge, and then I jumped up on the wagon. Then I picked up the other two crates, stacked them on top of each other, and lifted them at once.
¡°Whoa! Careful Leo! Don¡¯t hurt yourself!¡± he begged.
¡°It¡¯s fine, Artus, it really doesn¡¯t weigh anything,¡± I said as I walked with my load back to the shop.
I realized there was no quest progress bar, and while I didn¡¯t think it was a deal breaker, it was something that a lot of players preferred so that they would know exactly how far through the quests they were. I¡¯d have to bring it up with Zarra when I logged out.
¡°Well, don¡¯t drop anything either. Grrrrrr, ohh. Please don¡¯t!¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine. This is really light.¡± It felt like I was carrying empty cardboard boxes, and I had to bend my knees a little to fit the top of my load under the arch of the front door.
¡°Your man is strong, Artus!¡± Jer said once I had set the three boxes down.
¡°Yes, thank the Body,¡± my friend¡¯s strange eyes were wide, and he had his hands clasped nervously.
¡°Alright, I¡¯ve got your coin,¡± Jer handed the other man a bag, ¡°and I¡¯ve got your crate of pans here.¡± He gestured to another crate, and then he looked at me.
¡°I¡¯ll get it,¡± I said as I squatted down and hooked my fingers under the wood.
¡°That¡¯s real heavy kid. But you seemed to--¡±
I had thought that this box would actually weigh something, but it felt only a few pounds lighter than the spices I¡¯d just hauled in.
¡°Well, there you go. Artus, you should think about starting a circus show with him, he doesn¡¯t even look like he is breathing hard.
¡°It¡¯s really not that heavy,¡± I smiled at them as I exited the store. This was kind of a cool touch that Zarra must have added to the game. They were probably making the players stronger than the NPCs so that they felt a little more heroic. I¡¯d have to talk to her about the settings because it was possible that they had me too strong for a new character.
¡°Where to next?¡± I asked after I set the crate in the wagon.
¡°It¡¯s in another block of the city. Gonna take us a little under ten minutes to get there,¡± Artus said as he closed the hatch with a wrapped hand.
¡°I¡¯ll see you in a few months,¡± Jer said to my friend. ¡°Hey, watch out for Kimmel Halafast. He asked about you the last time you were here.¡±
¡°What did he say?¡±
¡°The usual. Said he didn¡¯t want your kind in the city. Said you weren¡¯t paying taxes, and that none of your kind ever did.¡±
¡°Grrrr. Thanks, Jerjay. I¡¯ll be heading back tomorrow morning.¡±
¡°Maybe you should leave tonight?¡± the short human asked with a shrug, ¡°but then again, your tall friend there seems capable of taking care of himself. Just be careful. Okay?¡±
¡°I will be. Thanks.¡± The two men nodded at each other, and then my friend jumped back into the wagon.
I joined him up on the bench, and the horned donkey started to move up the incline of the cobblestone hill.
¡°We¡¯ll stick to the side streets, just in case,¡± Artus explained.
¡°Why is this guy Kimmel mad at you?¡±
¡°His father is the lord of the city. He¡¯s the fifth son, and thinks he is the tax collector, or the captain of the guards, or whatever title he believes he should have in order to get his way.¡±
¡°So he is a bully?¡±
¡°Grrrr. Suppose so. I know you said you aren¡¯t from around here, but it¡¯s not uncommon for my kind to get harassed. I half expect it. Still, I don¡¯t want any trouble. I didn¡¯t have enough money to pay him last time he came around, and it made him upset. I brought extra this time, so if he shows up, I can pay him off. I¡¯d prefer to just do my business, and then get out of the city by tomorrow morning.¡±
¡°Couldn¡¯t you leave tonight? Like Jer asked you to?¡±
¡°One of my clients is a farmer that is a few dozen miles out of my route. I¡¯m going to send him a Mind Message to come meet me, but he won¡¯t be able to come until tomorrow morning.¡±
¡°What is a Mind Message? Wouldn¡¯t it be worth it to go out of your way if it meant that you wouldn¡¯t get harassed by this asshole?¡± I asked.
¡°Ha! Asshole. That is a good description for Kimmel. I like that word. I¡¯ve never heard anyone say that insult before.¡±
¡°Where I come from, we say it all the time,¡± I laughed.
¡°Mind Message is magic that reaches someone,¡± Artus explained.
¡°Oh, that makes sense,¡± I said with a nod. I guessed that it was probably the game¡¯s internal messaging system. Zarra¡¯s developers must have decided to make it so that it cost the players money to send private messages or instant mail.
¡°I might be able to go out of my way, but it would add another day or so to my travels. This client likes to talk a lot. If I go and visit him, he might not want to let me leave. Grrrr.¡±
¡°Might be better than extortion,¡± I shrugged with a laugh. I could tell that this lord¡¯s son Kimmel was probably going to show up in the next few minutes. The storyline of the game was a bit heavy handed, and I felt that the designers were dropping too many hints about what was going to happen next in this quest. It was still great, and I figured that most players would love it. I was just used to playing these games, and had been on too many ¡°escort quests.¡± Zarra had asked me not to fight, so I guessed that there would be a way that I could talk Kimmel out of whatever violence he had in mind for my friend.
¡°Here is the next stop, Leo. Just one crate.¡± Artus pointed at a box in the middle of the wagon. ¡°Can you move that to the lip? I¡¯ll have you bring it in after I talk to Mitkia and send my message.¡±
¡°Sounds good,¡± I said as I climbed into the back of the wagon.
¡°Be a few minutes.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll watch the wagon. Don¡¯t worry,¡± I assured him as I shifted the crates around.
¡°Thanks, Leo,¡± he said.
I watched him walk into the door of a small home. The door was painted a bright lavender color, and the edges of the roof were lined with hanging pots that appeared to be filled with herbs.
I opened the tailgate of the wagon, pushed the crate to the edge, and then sat with my feet dangling off of the wood. I felt as if I could watch the hustle and bustle of the city for weeks, and I didn¡¯t mind waiting. After a few minutes, Artus came out of the lavender door, and he gestured for me to bring the crate.
¡°You can set that on the counter here,¡± a woman said as I walked inside with the crate.
¡°This good?¡± I asked as I set it down on her counter. The home had shelves of herbs, bags of spices, and an array of crystals hanging from several hooks behind the counter.
¡°Yes,¡± the woman said. She looked as if she was in her fifties, she was very pretty and kept her long gray hair braided over one shoulder.
¡°Thanks, Mitkia,¡± my bandaged friend said to the woman.
¡°No, thank you. You always bring me the best quality-- who is this?¡± The woman seemed to notice me, and her eyes opened wide.
¡°I¡¯m Leo Lennox,¡± I said. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± I held out my hand.
She grasped my fingers quickly, and her grip was surprisingly strong. The inside of her home had a few windows in the front, but the curtains were closed, and there wasn¡¯t much light in the place. The dimness made her eyes seem to glow a dark blue, and I felt my breath catch in my chest.
¡°Why are you here?¡± she whispered.
¡°I¡¯m uhhh, helping Artus deliver his goods.¡±
¡°No. No. No. No.¡± She shook her head, and her face seemed to have lost all of its color.
¡°The young man has been helping me, Mitkia. He¡¯s a good soul.¡±
¡°He isn¡¯t trained. Leo is your name?¡± The color seemed to have returned to her face.
¡°Yes, umm ma¡¯am,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t know how you addressed an elder in the game, but I figured that ¡°ma¡¯am¡± was safe to use everywhere.
¡°Don¡¯t use the Body, Mind, Light, or Shadow. Do you understand?¡± her whisper was urgent and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.
¡°I don¡¯t really know what you are talking about. Is that magic?¡±
¡°Leo isn¡¯t from around here, Mitkia. Said he comes from York City or something. Have you ever heard of that place? Grrr, grrr, grrr.¡± It sounded like Artus was laughing.
¡°No, I haven¡¯t, but now you must leave,¡± the woman said as she pulled her hand away from mine.
¡°Will do. Thank you again, Mitkia,¡± Artus tapped my shoulder and then he gestured for us to walk out the door.
¡°Is she a magic user?¡±
¡°Yes, she does Mind exclusively. They can be a little strange sometimes, and moody, so don¡¯t let her comments bother you.¡±
¡°She said ¡®Light¡¯ and ¡®Shadow¡¯. Are those also types of magic?¡±
¡°Ha. Grrr. Grrr. I never thought I¡¯d have to teach someone the basics of magic. I can hardly use Body.¡± Artus shook his head as he stepped on the edge of the wagon and hoisted himself onto the bench.
¡°I¡¯d love to learn,¡± I said as I joined him on the seat. The sun was warm, and the heat on my neck took some of the chills out of the hairs there.
¡°You need a real teacher then. Grrr. I¡¯ll explain it simply. Hmmm. So there are four types of magic. Oh, I know!¡± he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a piece of scrap paper. It looked like it had a shopping list.
¡°See. It is like a circle or a cross. At the top you have Light, then on the other side of the axis, you have Shadow. To the left you have Body. To the right is Mind. It doesn¡¯t really matter with the layout. I¡¯ve seen Mind written on top, and Light on the Right. Body and Mind are always on opposite sides. Same with Light and Shadow.¡±
Artus drew on the slip of paper with a piece of charcoal while he talked. The drawing looked like a compass rose, with the top being Light, bottom Shadow, left pointing at Body, and the right pointing at Mind.
¡°Seems simple enough,¡± I said. ¡°Let me guess, you can have magic that uses both Light and Body, or Light and Mind, but you can¡¯t have both Light and Shadow?¡±
¡°You got it, grrrr, and you can¡¯t have both Mind and Body.¡±
¡°How do I learn the spells?¡± I asked.
The design of the magic seemed really simple, which kind of excited me. Astafar Unlimited had spells assigned to each class, and while they had a common class theme, I didn¡¯t like how contained the system felt. Something like this seemed as if it could be mixed and matched with the different axis of magic to make it more interesting. I was also glad they weren¡¯t going with the whole ¡®Air, Water, Fire, and Earth¡¯ elemental trope since the idea of a ¡®Mind¡¯ or ¡®Shadow¡¯ element seemed really interesting. Maybe I would play a mage in this game?
¡°You have to find a teacher. You can learn spells yourself, but it could take years to uncover one, so I hear it is better to learn them. I also hear you can discover them.¡± The bandaged man flipped his reins again, and the horned donkey started pulling the wagon.
¡°Discover them?¡±
¡°Sure, there are plenty of old ruins. Left over from the Time of Heliotrope.¡±
¡°Was the Time of Heliotrope when a bunch of powerful mages warred with each other and almost destroyed all life?¡± I asked with a smirk. Okay, maybe Zarra was throwing too many tropes in here. I guessed that most people would like it, though.
¡°Yes, grrrr. So you do know something about it?¡± he asked.
¡°I just guessed.¡± I smiled at him. I didn¡¯t really know what ¡®Heliotrope¡¯ meant, but the way my new friend had said it made me think it was destructive. ¡°So these mages were really powerful? More powerful than the ones nowadays? And there are lots of treasure hunters searching for their old relics?¡±
¡°Ha, Leo! You and your adventures. I don¡¯t really know anything about that. Could be possible. I¡¯m just trying to sell my spices, and not have to--¡±
¡°Artus!¡± a voice screamed in front of us, and we turned to see who shouted. It was a tall, blond man wearing a light shirt of gleaming chainmail, a long sword, and an angry facial expression. He was flanked by three other men who were also armed, and the citizens in the street began to duck into the alleyways.
¡°Pay Kimmel Halafast all of my profits,¡± Artus finished with a sigh.
Chapter 6
¡°You owe me-- the city, money,¡± the blond man said as he slowly strolled toward the front of our wagon. He wore a green sash over his chainmail, and I saw that it had a shield with a strand of wheat embroidered over the shoulder area.
¡°Kimmel, I register my taxes when I get my license. I pay all my--¡±
¡°Shut up. I¡¯m not going to let you wriggle out of this one, you dirty fenia.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want any trouble,¡± Artus said with a slight whine.
¡°What are you delivering? Spices? What else you got in there? How many coins do you have?¡± the man asked as he stepped near the donkey. His three minions walked behind him, and their mouths were all upturned into self-satisfied smirks.
Fuck. I hated bullies.
But then again, these were four armed and armored bullies. Had this been Astafar Unlimited, I could have taken them out easily, even with generic player versus player gear, but I didn¡¯t really even know what level I was in this game, or what level Kimmel and his goons were.
¡°Is there some way we can work this out?¡± I leaned over the front of the wagon so that Kimmel could see me better.
¡°What? Did you bring a guard with you this time, Artus? If there is anything I hate worse than fenias, it is fenia lovers. Disgusting.¡±
¡°I¡¯m his assistant,¡± I offered with a shrug of my shoulders. ¡°Do you have any sort of documentation that allows you to claim his property?¡± I thought about what Sal would have said if he was in this situation.
¡°No, I don¡¯t need documentation. I¡¯m captain of the guard. He hasn¡¯t paid his taxes.¡±
¡°Is the captain of the guard responsible for collecting taxes?¡± I asked Artus.
¡°No, it is actually the license and commerce representatives.¡±
¡°I am serving as a license and commerce representative today,¡± Kimmel snarled.
¡°But you have the documentation? If you don¡¯t, it would seem like you¡¯d just be taking property that wasn¡¯t yours. That sounds like theft to me.¡±
¡°Shhhh,¡± Artus hissed at me.
¡°Are you calling me a thief?¡± The three men standing behind Kimmel opened their eyes in surprise.
¡°No, I¡¯m just trying to understand the situation,¡± I said.
¡°Here is all you need to understand, fenia lover: he owes money, and I¡¯m here to collect. So unless you want to bleed out on the street here, you¡¯ll shut your mouth hole, and go back to licking your friend¡¯s fur.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay Leo. I¡¯ll just give him my money,¡± Artus sighed.
¡°No, fuck that. You traveled all this way to--¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt, Leo. Grrr,¡± Artus whined.
¡°Damn it. Fuck. She told me not to fight.¡± I felt frustration build in my stomach. This was not a good game mechanic. I didn¡¯t see how a new player would be expected to let their friend get robbed without fighting, and I guessed that these guards were all higher level than me. They did have nice looking swords and polished chain armor. Most of these games had newbie quests along the lines of killing ten rats or bunnies. Not fighting four armed men without a weapon.
¡°Go look inside the wagon,¡± Kimmel ordered his minions. He seemed to have realized that I had decided not to fight.
¡°I just have some more spices, and some pans to trade back at--¡±
¡°We¡¯ll take a look, and take what we want. How much money do you have?¡± Kimmel snarled.
¡°Uggggh,¡± I seethed. This was just a game, and I knew I¡¯d been a bit tongue in cheek earlier when I kept talking to Artus as if he was an NPC, but the shakedown was really bugging me. The AI had done a good job of making me like the character, and I didn¡¯t want to stand around while he got robbed.
I knew Zarra didn¡¯t want me to fight, but what was the worst that could happen? She said that the game was just a little unbalanced, and I would probably lose. Whatever, I didn¡¯t care if I had to respawn. I didn¡¯t want to sit here like an asshole and let my friend get strong armed.
¡°Nope, you aren¡¯t taking anything.¡± I stood from the bench and felt my heart begin to race. I had no idea how the combat worked in this game, and I was probably committing virtual suicide.
¡°Are you daft? We¡¯ll kill you.¡± Kimmel looked a bit confused.
¡°I don¡¯t care--¡±
¡°No! We are sorry! Leo, sit down.¡± Artus pulled on the sleeve of my starter tunic, but I just ignored him.
¡°No.¡± I pointed down at Kimmel ¡°Fuck off asshole. Leave my friend alone.¡±
¡°Did you just call me an asshole?¡± the blond man¡¯s eyes widened and his jaw set.
¡°Fuck you. I sure did. Asshole.¡± I emphasized the last word.
¡°Kill him,¡± the man ordered his three goons, and they pulled their long swords from their scabbards.
The three swordsmen were positioned on the sides of the wagon. There were two on my right side and one on the left. Kimmel was still standing by the donkey, and he hadn¡¯t bothered to draw his blade. It was a usual boss scene, and I guessed the bully was going to let his minions do all the work.
I jumped from the bench and moved to stand on top of the crates at the back of the wagon. The two on the right approached first, and they made half-assed poking motions at my feet with the points of their swords. It seemed as if they really didn¡¯t want to kill me, and they might have figured that I would surrender if they stabbed me in the legs a few times.
They were wrong.
I sidestepped the first set of thrusts, and tiptoed across the crates as if I was playing the hot lava game. The one on the left stepped a bit too close to the side of the wagon, and I swung my leg out to kick him in the face.
I¡¯d kicked him at probably about a quarter of my strength. It was more of a quick side stomp, and I expected him to fall back from the edge of the wagon. Instead, his head twisted around at a disgustingly wrong angle, and it sounded like someone had just snapped a wooden broomstick in half. He dropped to the ground, and his smashed-in head twisted around his neck so that his dead eyes were facing the sky.
Whoops.
The two swordsmen on the other side couldn¡¯t see their friend, but Kimmel could, and he let out a shriek that reminded me of the shower scene in the classic ¡°Psycho¡± movie. The blond man pulled out his sword as he screamed, but it looked as if he considered fleeing.
For half a second, I wondered how the looting system in Ohlavar Quest worked. Would I be able to take the guard¡¯s sword? Would I be able to take his armor? Would it take me a long time? In Astafar Unlimited a player had to kind of kneel next to the corpse, and then a three-second timer would pass before a ¡®loot¡¯ window opened. I could move items into my inventory by clicking on them in the opened window, but I couldn¡¯t equip new items or weapons during combat. It just took too long.
I decided not to risk jumping off of the wagon. The game had felt beyond real up to this point, but the last thing I needed was to make a grab for the dead fucker¡¯s sword and then have a progress bar suddenly spring up while Kimmel walked toward me with his own blade at the ready.
Instead, I decided to keep my favorable position on top of the wagon and grab the top of the crate I had carried from Jerjay¡¯s shop. The wood ripped away in my hands as if I was tearing open a potato chip bag, and I threw the lid at the two men on the right side of the wagon. They both ducked with a surprised yelp, and the wood fragmented into a hundred pieces when it smashed into a brick wall behind them.
The inside of the crate was filled with various pots and pans. Some were made of ornate copper, but most were the old fashioned cast iron that my parents had cooked with while I was growing up. I wrapped my fingers around the handle of one just as Kimmel shoved his blade at me from the side of the wagon. His angle wasn¡¯t perfect because he was three or so feet below me, and I managed to whack the point of his weapon away with a smack of the cooking instrument.
Hey. There wasn¡¯t any progress bar when I opened non-corpse containers. Good to know. The two men on the other side of the wagon circled around to the rear hatch. They each made sword thrusts, but their effort wasn¡¯t coordinated, and I smacked them both out of the way with half shield-half baseball bat movements.
¡°Leo!¡± Artus yelled, and I spun to catch Kimmel¡¯s upward thrust. The swing of my pan made a dull ringing sound when it connected with his sword, and the weapon spun free of his hand. It flew to the side of us and skipped down the street a good thirty feet.
¡°Ahhh!¡± the man¡¯s screech almost hurt my ears. I¡¯d have to talk to Zarra about making the first ¡®boss¡¯ a little less whiny.
I jumped away from the other sword thrusts and landed next to Kimmel on his side of the wagon. The man reached for a dagger on his belt, but I dabbed his hand with the cast iron pan, and he yelped again.
¡°Call off your men,¡± I said as I pressed the pot to the man¡¯s throat. I figured that I¡¯d be able to end this battle really quick if I snagged the lord¡¯s fifth son, and his wide-eyed expression made me think that my plan was probably going to work.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
¡°Stop!¡± he shouted as he backed up hastily. He didn¡¯t move as fast as me, though, and I just walked forward with the pan at his throat until his back was pressed against the stone frontage of one of the houses lining the street.
¡°Tell them to drop their swords,¡± I commanded as the guards rounded the wagon.
¡°Drop your swords!¡± Kimmel screeched, and I heard the two pieces of steel land on the cobblestones.
¡°You¡¯re such a little shit. Fucking bully,¡± I seethed at him.
¡°Please, don¡¯t hurt me.¡±
¡°Leave my friend alone. He¡¯s not bothering you. He said he paid his taxes. Stop harassing him.¡±
¡°Yes! I¡¯ll leave him alone. Please don¡¯t hurt me,¡± he gasped as I put a little more pressure on his throat.
I could actually feel where the pan in my hand pressed against his Adam¡¯s apple. The tactile feedback was amazing. I couldn¡¯t fucking believe it. Kimmel¡¯s facial expression was also incredibly realistic. I could even see beads of nervous sweat running down his forehead.
¡°Okay, get the hell out of here. All three of you,¡± I said as I pulled the pan away from his neck
¡°You killed my man!¡± Kimmel pointed at the guard I had kicked.
¡°You want me to kill you? Get out of here.¡± I swatted his butt with the flat bottom part of the pan, and he yelped in pain as if he was a dog that just got his tail stepped on.
The blond man backed away from me, and the other two guards moved to pick up their swords. They pointed the tips of their blades at me as they stepped around their dead friend, then they flanked their boss. The three of them moved to where Kimmel¡¯s sword lay in the street, and then he picked it up as he glared at me.
¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done that, Leo. Kimmel will just get more men and then com--¡± Artus¡¯ growl caught in his throat.
A group of almost twenty guards ran around the corner and turned onto the street.
They were forty feet beyond Kimmel, and the blond man turned to them with a cry of relief.
¡°He murdered my man! Arrest him!¡± he shrieked as he pointed at me.
I threw my pan at him.
Maybe it was a dumb move, but I figured that one of two things were about to happen: I¡¯d either be able to pick up the sword at my feet, and then run away with the chance that I could maybe fight some of the guards once the ¡°mob train¡± lost interest, or I wouldn¡¯t be able to pick up the sword, and I¡¯d probably get smashed by the wave of armed NPCs. Either way, Zarra¡¯s programmers had done a great job of making Kimmel Halafast a hateable villain, and I wanted to get one last dig at him before I tried to leave the scene.
The skillet flew out of my hand like a vertical spinning Frisbee. I kind of thought I would miss the man since he was thirty or so feet away, and I was throwing a god damn frying pan, but the piece of cast iron connected with his face as if I¡¯d chucked an asshole-seeking missile. There was a cymbal like clang, his blond head snapped back, his face exploded into a burst of brain-blood-skull bits, and the pan bounced high into the air like a tennis ball hitting a wall.
Okay. They¡¯d definitely made me way too powerful to start out.
There was a sudden silence on the street; as the guards, Artus, Kimmel¡¯s two goons, and a few observers stared at the cast iron skillet bouncing on the cobblestone streets for a few seconds. The pan finally came to rest near one of the sidewalks, and once it¡¯s ringing had stopped the entire street exploded into movement.
¡°Run Leo!¡± Artus yelled as the twenty city guards drew their swords.
I bent over to grab the long blade on the cobblestones next to me and prayed that there wouldn¡¯t be a loading time. There wasn¡¯t one, and I picked up the sword as quickly as I would have picked up a weapon in real life.
¡°Run, Leo!¡± my friend yelled again.
I followed his advice, and sprinted down the nearest alleyway. There were a few citizens of Cutno lurking there, and they shouted with surprise when I dashed past them. The path here was narrow, and I figured that I would stand the best chance of evading them if I made a quick turn to deny them line of sight. I saw a break in the alley some fifty feet ahead, and I grunted as I commanded my muscular legs to power me there.
It was somewhat difficult to run with the sword in my hand, and I wondered if there was a command I could use to make it drop into my inventory. I actually didn¡¯t know if I even had an inventory system past the pockets on my starter pants, so I figured trying to shove the blade in my pockets, or doing the drop kind of movement that I would use in Astafar Unlimited wouldn¡¯t work.
I made the corner and ran between stone walls that were only a few feet apart. I saw that the path I was on continued for maybe fifty yards, and I guessed that I could make it there before these guards got to me, but then I looked up and noticed that the roofs of the two buildings were only twenty feet or so high. I got an idea that seemed kind of crazy, but it would also let me test out the game environment in a way that I thought would be interesting.
I ran forward, but instead of putting my next step on the ground, I pushed the side part of my foot against the right wall, then I did the same with the left. I had done plenty of parkour stuff during my training, and while I couldn¡¯t compete at a world class level in that sport, I was talented enough to perform a parallel wall run.
I rose in the air with each step and then made a final leap to the roof of the left building. This one had clay made tiles, and I rolled past the stonework gutter. I had half expected the run to require a bit more effort on my legs, especially with the sword in my hand, but I didn¡¯t even feel winded by the movement. I still took a deep breath to steady my nerves and waited for a few moments before I got to my feet.
¡°He went this way!¡± I heard a guard¡¯s voice yell from down below. I crept away from the side of the roof and then carefully stepped across an alley break to another home with a thatched roof. This one was a little bit trickier to navigate, but I was able to climb to the top, and then step into a third home with stone shingles.
The sounds of the guard¡¯s shouts grew fainter as I moved across the rooftops, and soon I was a good distance away from the street where I¡¯d killed Kimmel. As I walked carefully on the roofs, I thought about the game design of the escort quest. The whole thing hadn¡¯t been planned out that well. The concept had been fine, and Artus was a great NPC, but it had really gone sour once Kimmel showed up. There didn¡¯t seem to be a clear dialogue tree that would enable me to convince the man not to extort my friend. I knew I¡¯d made a mistake engaging them in combat, but I didn¡¯t know how to prevent the shakedown. I¡¯d been playing VR games for most of my life, and there was no question that I was the best in the world, so if I couldn¡¯t guess at how to accomplish a goal, the average player would really be stumped.
Zarra had told me that the game was only at the sandbox level of development, so it was likely that this was just the basic outline of a quest that would become well-polished upon release. It still bugged me that I couldn¡¯t help Artus out, but maybe that was the point. He was a great NPC, and I¡¯d really made a wonderful connection with him. He had been designed as super friendly, and he¡¯d offered to help me first with a quest. I could see new players getting attached to him easily since I felt a lot of fondness for him.
Thinking about the fenia made me consider what my actions should be for the rest of the escort mission. Had I actually failed the quest? Or had Artus slipped away from the guards and continued on his merry way? I didn¡¯t really have another destination in mind for my rooftop travels, so I decided to alter my course a bit and check to make sure that my friend had made it to his third destination. Maybe the AI would have made the NPCs forget about me, and I could jump back into the quest as if I hadn¡¯t abandoned him.
I picked my way carefully across the small city''s rooftops, and then made it back to the street where I had killed Kimmel within a handful of minutes. The blond man¡¯s body was still in the street, as was the other goon whose face I¡¯d kicked in. Both corpses were surrounded by a few guards, and it looked like they were deciding what to do. Artus¡¯ wagon was there as well, but a city guardsman was in the process of climbing into the bench, and I watched him flip the reins to make the horned donkey walk forward. I didn¡¯t see my friend anywhere, but then I noticed a group of guards about a hundred yards ahead of where the wagon was heading.
I backed up from the spot on the roof where I peered down on the street and then ran as carefully as I could toward the group of guards. It took me half a minute to catch up to them, and I saw that they had captured my friend.
¡°Please. I didn¡¯t do anything. I¡¯m just a spice trader,¡± Artus said to the guards in a voice that made my heart ache.
¡°You were aiding a murderer. But not just any murderer. We all saw him kill Lord Halafast¡¯s son,¡± one of the guards said.
¡°Leo was attacked; he was just trying to defend himself. Please. I had nothing to do with this.¡±
¡°I saw it differently, as did the twenty-three other guards. We saw this ¡®Leo¡¯ kill Kimmel, and then you warned him about us. Party to murder. You will stand trial in front of Lord Halafast.¡±
¡°No, wait, please. I¡¯ve been doing business with Cutno¡¯s shops for over ten years. I¡¯ve never caused any trouble. I didn¡¯t want Kimmel to die, but he was attacking my friend for--¡±
¡°So this Leo is your friend?¡± The man asking questions appeared to have a nicer uniform than the other four guards, so I guessed he was the leader.
¡°He was helping me unload some goods. Grrrr. Yes, he was my friend, but I just met him a few hours ago.¡±
¡°This doesn¡¯t look any better for you fenia. You¡¯ve gone from helping a murder to saying he is a friend, or that he worked for you. Did you both conspire to murder the Lord¡¯s fifth son?¡±
¡°Grrr. No, I didn¡¯t! Please!¡± Artus started to pull away from the guards, but one of them grabbed him by the face and pulled him back into their clutches.
Artus¡¯ hat fell off from the movement, and the bandages that covered his face tore loose in the armored grip of the guard. I let out a gasp when I saw that he looked like a humanoid cat. His fur reminded me of a dark orange and gray tabby, and his face looked fully feline. One of the guards punched him in the stomach as soon as the hat fell off, and my friend let out a growl of pain as he fell to the cobblestone.
¡°Fucking fenia!¡± another guard yelled as he kicked a thick leather boot into my friend¡¯s stomach.
Artus let out another terrified growl, and he curled up into a ball when a second guard kicked him in the back. Anger ripped through my stomach, and I thought about jumping down on the street to fight the men that beat my friend, but I knew I¡¯d probably get killed by the four guards, and then have to respawn back at the grove of trees. Then I would miss where they took the fenia.
I waited on the roof and tried to keep my rage in check. Maybe this was all part of the planned quest?
The guards finally pulled my friend up to his feet, and I could see blood dripping from his cat nose. He wasn¡¯t moving, and each guard grabbed an arm so that they could drag him down the street. The guards seemed to think that what they had done to Artus was funny, and they laughed as they took him through the city.
I followed them from the rooftops for almost a half an hour. Finally, they reached a squat brick building that sat next to a large city fountain. I guessed that the building was a garrison because of the bars on all of the windows. The men pulled Artus inside, and they parked his wagon near the alley behind the building.
I quickly made my way around the city roofs until I could get on top of the garrison. I made sure to walk on the thicker edge parts of the tiles, so as to not disturb the guards inside, and I soon found a window where I could lean down and try to eavesdrop.
¡°I¡¯ll file the report. Did you send a runner to Lord Halafast?¡± I heard a voice say inside.
¡°Yes, sir.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure the lord¡¯s private guard will come pick up the prisoner in the next few hours. Go out and find this Leo. If we can¡¯t catch him, Halafast is going to have my head. Go now!¡±
¡°Yes, sir!¡± a bunch of voices shouted, and the door to the garrison opened beneath me.
Four guards ran out and back toward the area of the city where I had killed Kimmel. I wondered if there were anymore guards in there beside the captain NPC, but I really didn¡¯t have a way to look inside without jumping to the ground. This roof wasn¡¯t really that high, and I realized that a few of the citizens were looking in my direction with puzzled expressions on their faces. If the guards that ran out of the building had bothered to turn around, they would have seen me.
I pondered what to do for a few moments. It was probably a good time to logout. I had dinner plans with Zarra and her parents. I wanted to talk to them more about the game, their graphics engine, and the AI. There were a zillion things I wanted to ask them about, but most of all, I wanted to apologize to the beautiful woman for not taking her seriously. From what I had experienced so far, this game was fantastic. It needed some tweaks, and there needed to be more of a video game user interface, but I loved every other part of it, and I knew that they had a winner on their hands.
Would Arnacript¡¯s game usurp Astafar Unlimited and become the most popular game in the world? I would bet my money on it, as long as they could get their VRIU low in cost, and could fix some of the stuff I would tell them about.
I jumped from the garrison building and climbed to a higher roof. This looked like a church, and I found easy handholds on the uneven stone of its walls. Once I made it to the roof, I found a flat spot to lie down. Zarra had asked me to go back to the grove of trees to logout, but she had also said I could just lie down and close my eyes for twenty seconds.
I lay on the stone tiles, closed my eyes, and slowly counted to twenty.
Chapter 7
I opened my eyes, or at least I thought I did, but the world was still dark. There was a beeping in my ear, so I guessed that I was back in the VRIU, and I reached my hands up and away from where I thought my body was. I didn¡¯t feel the edge of the tank where I had thought it would be, and I heard the beeping increase in speed. Then I felt something grab onto my hand, and cold air kissed my shoulders.
¡°I gotcha, Champ! One second. Let me get this helmet off of you.¡± Ky¡¯s voice sounded distant through my headset, but I soon felt the tension release from the back of my skull.
I spat out the breathing tube as Ky pulled the helmet from my head, and I blinked a few times to get used to the dim light of the lab room.
¡°Can you press the privacy button, Champ?¡± Ky asked with a nod toward the side of the tank.
¡°Yeeeaahhh,¡± I said with a chuckle. Now it felt a bit weird to talk without the tube in my mouth. I must have gotten used to it during the game.
I found the button to dim the glass to the observation room, and then I turned to make sure that the glass actually darkened. I caught a brief look at Zarra, Jennifer, and Dr. Dimopoulos before the glass dimmed, but I still wondered if the privacy glass was actually keeping them from observing me.
¡°Okay, let me help you out, Champ. This will get easier the more you do it. Grab this bar over here,¡± Ky motioned to the long tube of metal, and I grasped around the bar. ¡°Follow the steps out. Please be careful. I don¡¯t want you to fall.¡±
¡°I¡¯m good,¡± I said as I climbed out of the vat easily. The black liquid of the vat slid off of me like slick gel, and it almost felt like I was walking out of a Jacuzzi.
¡°There is a robe over in your changing area,¡± Ky said. ¡°You can put it--¡±
¡°Leo, would you mind speaking to us before you take a shower?¡± Zarra¡¯s voice came into the room through speakers that I couldn¡¯t see.
¡°I would love to. How long do we have until dinner with your parents?¡±
¡°We missed dinner, unfortunately, but they will be happy to join us for breakfast,¡± Zarra said.
¡°Missed dinner? Huh? What time is it?¡±
¡°It is almost eleven at night,¡± Zarra said.
¡°How? Wasn¡¯t it like two when I first logged in? How did nine hours pass?¡± She must have been kidding with me.
¡°Let¡¯s talk after you put the robe on, Leo. Unless you want to talk naked. I wouldn¡¯t mind,¡± her voice turned to a purr.
¡°Ha, fine.¡± My clothes were where I had left them in the little privacy nook, and I donned the thick gray robe that I found hanging there.
¡°I¡¯ve got the robe on,¡± I said as I stepped from behind the mirrored wall.
Ky had started to stir the black liquid of the VRIU with his paddle, and he reached down with his right hand to flip the privacy switch. I saw the glass in the next room become clear, and then Zarra came out from behind the monitors with the doctor.
¡°Leo, I¡¯m going to give you a quick check up. Please take a seat,¡± Dr. Dimopoulos said as she pointed to a stool.
¡°Sure. I understand the need for all the examinations. That was more than a little intense.¡±
¡°Did you like it?¡± Zarra asked as she pulled a stool from the wall of the lab and sat on it.
¡°I think you know that I did,¡± I said with a laugh.
Zarra crossed her lovely legs as she perched on the stool, and the hem of her skirt inched up her flawless thigh dangerously. I was thankful that the doctor shone a flashlight in my eyes because I probably would have gawked like some sort of sex-starved high school boy if not for the light.
¡°Did you have any nausea or dizziness when you played?¡± Dr. Dimopoulos asked as she turned off her flashlight.
¡°No. Not at all.¡±
¡°Good. Your vitals were very calm during the game. Do you feel dehydrated or hungry?¡±
¡°No. I can¡¯t believe nine hours have passed. It felt like only a few,¡± I said as I reviewed the game experience.
¡°It¡¯s probably been a long time since you were so enchanted with a game,¡± Zarra said, and I saw her lips curve into a smirk.
¡°That could be.¡± I nodded and reviewed the session while the doctor took my blood pressure.
It sure hadn¡¯t felt like nine hours. I knew I had spent a bunch of time in the grove looking at the grass, dirt, birds, squirrels, and trees before I finally put my clothes on. But maybe that had only been an hour. Then I¡¯d walked toward the city, and met up with Artus. Was that another hour? The city had been a mile away or so. I could do that walk in twenty minutes at a leisurely stroll. Let¡¯s assume half an hour because I was looking at the grass, the road, and the mountains.
How long had it taken for Artus to drive the wagon through Cutno and reach his first stop? It hadn¡¯t felt like more than another half hour, so now I was at two. Something wasn¡¯t adding up correctly. If nine hours had passed, I would have been hungry, or thirsty, or at least had to take a piss. I felt as if only an hour or so had gone by.
¡°He¡¯s looking fine,¡± Dr. Dimopoulos said after she finished with my blood pressure.
¡°Thanks, Trina. I think you can head home now,¡± Zarra said.
¡°Sounds good. What time do you need me here tomorrow?¡± the older Greek woman asked.
¡°Whenever you usually get here. Leo isn¡¯t going to be playing tomorrow,¡± Zarra shrugged.
¡°I¡¯m not?¡± I said, and I realized that I¡¯d forgotten all about a poker face.
¡°My parents would still like to meet you for breakfast, and then you said you needed to be somewhere in the morning? Orlando was it?¡± Her lavender eyes seemed to twinkle under the LED lights.
¡°Yes, I need to be there a few minutes before ten in the morning,¡± I sighed.
¡°So that is all we can do tomorrow.¡± Zarra shrugged her shoulders.
¡°Okay.¡± I tried not to let my annoyance sound through my voice.
¡°Ky,¡± Zarra looked over at the man stirring the black liquid. ¡°I called the cafeteria and let them know that the Champ just logged out. Can you run over there and grab him some dinner?¡±
¡°Sure thing Ms. Zerne,¡± the man said, and then he turned to me, ¡°Do you want anything in particular?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not super hungry, but I guess I should eat. I try not to do carbs, so maybe just some meat and veggies. I¡¯m not that picky.¡±
¡°You liked the miso soup at lunch?¡± Zarra asked.
¡°Yeah, I really did,¡± I said as I tried to match the woman¡¯s brilliant smile.
¡°Cool. Got it. I¡¯ll be back in a few,¡± Ky nodded to both of us and laid his paddle down on the side of the tank.
¡°I¡¯ll leave as well. Leo, I hope we meet again. It was a pleasure,¡± Dr. Dimopoulos held out her hand, and I shook it.
¡°Thanks for taking care of me, doc.¡±
Ky and the woman exited the door on the opposite side from my suite, and I watched the door slide shut behind them with an authoritative sound.
¡°So now that we are kind of alone,¡± Zarra whispered, and I turned back to look at her.
¡°And I¡¯m almost naked?¡± I asked with a laugh and pointed to my robe.
¡°I¡¯m actually still here,¡± Jennifer called out from her seat behind the computer screens in the observation room.
¡°I know, Jennifer. Can you take some notes? I¡¯m going to grill the Champ here.¡± Zarra winked at me.
¡°You got it, Ms. Zerne.¡±
¡°What were your overall impressions, Leo?¡±
¡°Wasn¡¯t my hint earlier enough?¡± I laughed again. ¡°I owe you an apology.¡±
¡°No need to apologize. I understand where you came from. My promises were a sonata that you¡¯ve heard too many times.¡±
¡°Yeah, but I do feel bad. This game is great. I¡¯m . . . well . . . I¡¯m in awe,¡± I admitted.
¡°What were your favorite parts?¡± she asked.
¡°There are a lot Zarra,¡± I laughed. ¡°The graphics, the sounds, the tactile feel. It was beyond anything I¡¯ve ever experienced. It really felt, just real. I could even smell in the game, it was amazing. How did you get the scents? It was so wonderful. Ha. Can I apologize again? I feel like I should have asked Ky to bring me some crow to eat.¡± I realized I was kind of babbling, but part of me didn¡¯t care. The game was so damn good.
¡°No apology necessary. I am delighted that you loved it. What else?¡±
¡°The AI is amazing. How long did you take to develop it?¡±
¡°Ohlavar has been a project of ours for many years,¡± Zarra gifted me with a wide smile, and it actually looked like her cheeks flushed a bit with my compliments.
¡°So that is the name of the AI? Is it an acronym for anything?¡±
¡°On-line Holistic Learning Advanced Variable Alternate Reality. Yeah, I know it is a mouthful. Dad named it, and he wouldn¡¯t listen to me explain how difficult it would be to market big words.¡± She laughed, and I found myself smiling along with her.
¡°Ha. Maybe the name doesn¡¯t matter that much. I swear I just sat and watched the birds fly around for half an hour, or something.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure you did. How did you like the NPCs?¡±
¡°They were great. Artus is a wonderful first encounter. He seemed so genuine. I tried to throw him off with some game terminology, but he didn¡¯t break character.¡±
¡°Ohlavar creates characters like that all the time. I¡¯m glad you liked him. We¡¯ve never seen him before, so he was new to our team as well.¡±
¡°How does it create such believable NPCs? Kimmel seemed a little over the top, but I really disliked the man. He certainly came off as a spoiled lord¡¯s son.¡±
¡°We have to keep some secrets from players.¡± She winked at me. ¡°It is very much a sandbox now. The characters are created, and brought into the world, and then allowed to form their civilizations. We will insert the players into the game at more of a ¡®starter¡¯ area. We just wanted you to get a feel for what a small city would look like,¡± she explained.
¡°It felt real. I¡¯m sure you saw me just people watching. I still can¡¯t get over it. The NPCs in the city felt alive.¡±
¡°Yes.¡± She beamed at me. ¡°This is the usual feedback we get from new players.¡±
¡°How did you develop the world? I noticed there was some kind of racism toward Artus¡¯ people. Fenia? Was that what they are called?¡± I asked.
¡°Yes. So I¡¯ll give you a little hint, but then I¡¯ll have to hold onto the rest of our secrets. We began the game world about five hundred years ago. After this cataclysmic event that ¡®wiped¡¯ out the world¡¯s history.¡±
¡°Was this the ¡®Time of Heliotrope¡¯ Artus spoke of?¡±
¡°Yes,¡± she nodded. ¡°We realize it is a common fantasy trope, but it gives us some flexibility to add dungeons, bosses, loot, and the past that we can more easily manage. We¡¯ve got a bunch of that backstory planned out, but we don¡¯t want to reveal it all to players as soon as they login, we think it will be more interesting if the community discovers it together. Ohlavar just started creating the world from that point, and it has let the culture evolve using Earth-like examples. So we think it will be relatable to the players, but also be exotic enough to keep them interested.¡±
¡°That is really smart,¡± I said as I considered her words. ¡°I¡¯ve got to say that I¡¯m interested in the world.¡±
¡°And you haven¡¯t even scratched the surface. You haven¡¯t even scratched a scratch on the surface. The AI has some incredible events, quests, and well,¡± she smiled widely and let out a little chuckle, ¡°let¡¯s just say I¡¯m really happy that you got to play.¡±
¡°So you mentioned that this was a sandbox. So I guess that you loaded a unique instance for me?¡± I asked.
¡°Well, no.¡± She frowned a bit. ¡°The world is persistent, and the time is matched to real life hours, so the AI will keep running the environment, even without players. We decided to go against instanced sessions, because we want it to feel like a real world, and not a game. We feel that the graphics are cutting edge, and--¡±
¡°So, what is going to happen to Artus?¡± I felt my stomach sink.
¡°What do you mean?¡± she raised a perfect eyebrow.
¡°What will happen to him? The guards captured him. Before I logged out, the captain guy said that Lord Halafast¡¯s men would take him.¡±
¡°Well, what do you think will happen?¡± She shrugged.
¡°Fuck no. They will kill him? He didn¡¯t have anything to do with the fight. That is fucking dumb,¡± I felt my anger rise when I thought about my virtual friend getting executed because of me.
¡°Maybe. Fenia¡¯s aren¡¯t liked much in the world. There might be a trial, but if you think he¡¯ll get executed, he probably will. I¡¯m sorry.¡± She frowned.
¡°Ugh.¡± I got up from the stool and started to pace the floor of the lab. I kind of felt sick to my stomach.
¡°Since we are on the subject, how did you like the combat?¡± she asked.
¡°It felt real. Zarra, everything felt real. That¡¯s probably why I am so pissed off about Artus. I really, really liked the guy, and he gave me my first quest. Now he¡¯s going to die because of me. Oh,¡± I stopped pacing and gave her a sheepish grin. ¡°I guess I wasn¡¯t supposed to fight huh?¡±
¡°No, but I forgive you.¡± She smiled. ¡°Any comments about the combat? Anything we could do better?¡±
¡°Yeah, but let¡¯s start at the beginning. I¡¯ve got a bunch of feedback. Some of it is just nitpicky, but I think some will help you appeal to gamers that are used to playing Astafar Unlimited. I¡¯m assuming that is the market you are going to go after?¡±
¡°Sure,¡± she said with a nod. ¡°Go ahead, Jennifer is listening and taking notes.¡±
¡°So, first feedback is that I didn¡¯t like the lack of a user interface,¡± I said as I sat back on the stool near the beautiful woman.
¡°I can understand that. What specific visuals or commands were you missing?¡±
¡°Just everything. I didn¡¯t know what time it was, I didn¡¯t know if I had an inventory. There was no map overlay or even a compass. When I did Artus¡¯ quest and unloaded the boxes, there was no progress meter over my head. There weren¡¯t any life bars and no way to see the damage I did to the NPCs.¡±
¡°Fair enough, but before I dive into a response. I¡¯ve done plenty of research on you. There are countless interviews where you said you didn¡¯t actually like Astafar Unlimited¡¯s UI, and you had turned off most of it.¡±
¡°Well yes, I turn off the detailed combat report, and the damage numbers popping up on screen. I turn off pretty much everything but health bars of NPCs, players, or monsters within twenty feet or so. Unless I target them with a missile weapon or magic outside of that range. I still keep the game time, compass, and I always have my little mini-map up so I can draw on it for the rest of my group. Although, Jax often draws dicks on the team map for laughs.¡±
¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen a bunch of his interviews. He is quite a comedian.¡± The beautiful mocha skinned woman giggled. ¡°We really want the players to think that it is real. This was my mistake. I thought that you wouldn¡¯t mind the lack of UI visuals.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
¡°Ahh okay. But you have them?¡±
¡°Oh yes. We can have a map, compass, clock, health bars, and do damage numbers-¡±
¡°What about inventory? I was kind of confused about the way it worked.¡± I realized I¡¯d interrupted her, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind.
¡°We are going to make it a realistic inventory. The game will only allow a player to carry what their stats and backpack space allows. There won¡¯t be any windows or any easy management systems,¡± she explained.
¡°I think that is a mistake,¡± I said.
¡°Why?¡±
¡°A bunch of other games have tried that, and it doesn¡¯t resonate with players. It is too cumbersome to pack everything, and to only be able to hold a small amount of loot. Players really don¡¯t like it.¡±
¡°I can understand your points, but do you think players would get used to it if the rest of the world felt so real? I know about some of these games that you are referring to, and they aren¡¯t as realistic as Ohlavar Quest.¡± Zarra bit her lip casually, and I could tell that she didn¡¯t agree with me.
¡°It is a possibility, but let¡¯s look at Astafar Unlimited. When you level up, you get some more inventory space, and you can buy other equipment to get inventory space. You need to understand how important progress is in these games. Players have to feel like they are getting better with every hour they are investing. It needs to feel like life, only the players want to feel like strong heroes that have quantitative improvement tiers. Having an inventory system just like real life, with a player having to make these hard choices about what to bring, even at the top levels, will be unappealing. Advanced players don¡¯t want to have the same inventory space as a new player. Does that make sense?¡±
¡°Yes, of course. Thank you for your feedback. What if we made higher level characters stronger so that they could carry more gear? Or what if we made items that could act as magical bags?¡±
¡°Like the whole ¡®Bags of Holding¡¯ stuff? Sure that could work, but you have to make them level required. You have to think about progression with every item, quest, and sweep of the game,¡± I said.
¡°Got it. That makes sense, and it is something my father often talks about. I¡¯m excited for you to meet him tomorrow morning. What other feedback do you have for us?¡±
¡°It sounded like you didn¡¯t log me in at a true starting area. Are you going to have a place where new players can get more accustomed to the game and combat? Maybe with an NPC helping them?¡±
¡°Yep. We have the whole ¡®kill ten rats¡¯ thing planned. But we will have a more advanced mode where players can start a bit past that point. It might be similar to your experience. We think that could be fun for players who want a challenge.¡±
¡°Did you start me with higher than normal stats? I felt really strong when compared to the NPC guards. Artus seemed amazed by my strength.¡±
¡°Ummm. I¡¯m not sure. Jennifer? Do you know?¡± Zarra looked over my shoulder toward the observation room.
¡°Yes we did, Ms. Zerne,¡± the blonde woman responded over the speakers.
¡°There you go,¡± Zarra smiled at me.
¡°There needs to be a way where I can see my stats and stuff. How do you plan on doing levels and skills?¡± I asked. My stomach actually growled a bit, and I realized I was starting to feel hungry. Thoughts about food reminded me about the in-game smells that I had experienced, and I realized that Zarra hadn''t given me an answer about how they got that combination of scents in the game so realistic.
¡°We have a stats screen. I just didn¡¯t enable it for your play. The stats are going to be based on our magic system roles,¡± she said. She didn¡¯t speak for a few more moments, and then a coy smile spread across her full lips.
¡°That sounds kind of interesting. Can you tell me more?¡± I asked Zarra. The pretty woman¡¯s purple eyes flashed past me to look at Jennifer, and then she fixed on my face again.
¡°Sure. A little more, because you are so charming. Do you remember the magic system?¡±
¡°Uhhh. Body, Mind, Light, and Shadow? Artus only spoke briefly about it.¡±
¡°Good. I¡¯m glad you remembered. So Body will have ¡®Brawn¡¯ and ¡®Quickness¡¯ beneath it. Mind will have ¡®Intelligence¡¯ and ¡®Willpower¡¯. Light will have ¡®Perception¡¯ and ¡®Charisma,'' and Shadow will have ¡®Comeliness¡¯ and ¡®Luck,''¡± she explained, and I couldn¡¯t help but think that the woman must have been investing all of her real life stat points in Shadow and Light.
¡°And you get stat points when you level?¡± I asked.
¡°Well¡ yes and no,¡± she frowned. ¡°We were thinking about doing away with levels, but you and my father keep talking about game progress. So we think we need to have it. We have been talking about a kind of progress reward system outside of levels.¡±
¡°Players really like levels. It puts a clear label on the results of their effort,¡± I said.
¡°Yes. I understand. It is good to hear this from you in addition to my father. You are both telling me the same thing.¡± She let out a quick laugh. ¡°We might do something for when people have spent a hundred progress points on stats then they get a level. My dad likes my idea because character development will happen in smaller and quicker batches.¡±
¡°So you¡¯ll be giving them the drug more often. It is a good idea,¡± I said with a nod and a smile.
¡°Players will pick where to put their stat points, and it will cost more to increase them as they get higher. That will help keep people from ¡®min/maxing¡¯ stats. Magic usage will be given a bonus depending on what the base stats total under each of the four types,¡± she explained.
¡°So if I spend a lot of my points in Brawn and Quickness, my Body magic will be stronger?¡± I asked.
¡°Yes, or it will be stronger than someone who doesn¡¯t spend points in those stats with the same spell casting ability. There will still be opportunities for players to focus on magic instead of physical combat. Attacking and casting spells will all be considered skills, which will get more powerful through usage in-game.¡±
¡°Hmmm. Players might not like that either. That creates an environment where casual players won¡¯t feel that the game is fair to them. Some people will only be able to play a few hours a day, and they won¡¯t like that gamers with a lot of free time will acquire skills quicker,¡± I explained.
¡°That is going to happen in any game. Players that have more time are going to gain levels faster, get more loot, and whatever. The only way we can ensure that casual players have a good time, is by creating a bunch of wonderful content for them to experience at all stages of the game. The AI has already done that. The patients you met only play for an hour or so a day, and they can¡¯t wait to login. There are so many tasks to help with in the game world. There is plenty for each player to do, and a bunch of unique items for them to acquire. A lot of games make the high-end content the only place where powerful items can be found, but we wanted to ensure that new players would be able to find epic loot and wonderful quests in their own sphere of adventures.¡± Zarra gestured dramatically with her hands when she spoke, and I could tell that the beautiful woman was really passionate about this subject.
At the end of the day, that single quality tended to be what made these types of games successful. If the owners of the development company felt passionate about the players and game, it was probably going to do well. Zarra¡¯s desire to have her game perform were obvious to me, and I guessed that her baby was going to be able to kick Astafar Unlimited off its podium, even without my help.
¡°Haha. Okay, I believe you.¡± I held up my palms in surrender. ¡°To your earlier point, casting spells, or fighting, or whatever skills get better the more I use them?¡±
¡°Yes. Just like in real life, however, we made the progression a bit faster, and there are some magical items you can use to increase their skill. One of the aspects that we do have to work on is the base experience of the player. This is part of the reason you are here testing it now.¡±
¡°Oh?¡±
¡°Yes,¡± her lips curved into a sultry smile, and I felt my pulse quicken. ¡°Leo ¡®The Lion¡¯ Lennox. Some say you are not just the best gamer to have ever lived, but also the best athlete, martial artist, and strategist.¡±
¡°That is totally overblown. I¡¯m just a gamer. Games aren¡¯t a contact sport. I know some of my fans want to put me on a pedestal next to the world¡¯s best athletes, but they are wrong. I¡¯ve never taken a real punch in the ring. Well I have, but it was just for training. I¡¯ve never run a touchdown, or taken elbows on the basketball court during a playoff. I¡¯ve never ridden hundreds of miles on a bicycle every day for a month. I¡¯ve never broken my foot against another dude¡¯s shin and then had to kick a soccer ball, so I could pay rent. The people that played those sports are real athletes.¡±
¡°Are they? Most people don''t even play football, or box, or ride bikes anymore. I don¡¯t want to argue the semantics of your title, but we can look at what you have achieved so far in your career. There is no doubt in my mind that you will have the highest real life base stats of anyone that will ever log into Ohlavar Quest. The AI bases its logic off of those inherent stats, and it will tweak your ingame stats to reflect that.¡±
¡°Are you saying that because I¡¯m strong in real life, I¡¯m strong in the game?¡± I asked with surprise.
¡°Kind of. The thing is, we don¡¯t want to go the other way. We want this to feel real for players, and then we want them to feel heroic. If you could deadlift five hundred pounds in real life, but only fifty in the game; would you want to play that game?¡± she asked with a raised eyebrow.
¡°Hell no,¡± I admitted.
¡°But if you could deadlift a thousand pounds in the game? Would you want to play more?¡±
¡°Okay, you got me. I understand,¡± I chuckled at her. ¡°But I still feel like I was a bit too strong in the game, at least for starting out. I don¡¯t know how much those crates weighed, but I lifted them really easily. When I kicked that guard in the head, he just died, and I hardly put any effort into the attack. Maybe if I actually had a lot of levels above the NPCs that would have made sense.¡±
¡°How do you know you didn¡¯t have a lot of levels? We didn¡¯t show you your stats.¡± She winked at me.
¡°Okay, fair enough.¡± I laughed. ¡°One last thing I really didn¡¯t like about the game. Well, it is still bugging me honestly,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°The quest with Artus and Kimmel. I feel frustrated that I wasn¡¯t able to get out of that escort quest without fighting. I didn¡¯t see a clear dialogue tree where I could have gotten him to leave the fenia alone. So I did what I thought was best, but now Artus is probably going to die. I dunno. I¡¯m just frustrated by the outcome. I can see you losing players over it.¡±
¡°I understand. A lot of our quests are just sandbox events randomly created by the AI. It will learn from you as well. It wants to make the quests challenging, but not frustrating.¡±
¡°It needs to keep me addicted. I get it. I just wish I could restart the quest and pick different outcomes,¡± I admitted with a sigh.
¡°This is good!¡± she laughed. ¡°You were really attached to Artus, huh?¡±
¡°Yeah. I liked him a bunch.¡±
¡°We are doing a good job then, but it is just a game. None of it is real. You probably liked him a bunch because you always played the cat race in Astafar Unlimited.¡±
¡°That could be.¡± I laughed. ¡°You¡¯ve done a great job. The world and the NPCs do seem real. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever felt this way about a game NPC. It is a bit frustrating,¡± I laughed and felt my stomach growl again. Ky would probably be back in a few minutes with my food.
¡°So let us talk about that for a bit, but first, is there any other critical feedback you have?¡± Zarra asked.
¡°No. I think that is everything, and it sounds like you¡¯ve already puzzled through a bunch of it.¡±
¡°Yes. We actually have all the changes ready. We could log you in tomorrow with them. If you didn¡¯t have plans in Orlando.¡± She gave me a wicked grin, and I considered what Sal would say if I just didn¡¯t go to Disney World tomorrow. There was no doubt that he would lose his mind and call the President to get the military to find me or something.
¡°Yeah. I do have to go. World Champion commitments and such,¡± I sighed.
¡°Jennifer, can you leave us alone for a few moments?¡± Zarra called out toward the observation room.
¡°Yes, Ms. Zerne,¡± Jennifer called back.
I turned my head and watched the pretty blonde woman adjust her glasses and then walk out from behind the glass. She gave me a shy nod and then left through the door that Ky and Dr. Dimopoulos had.
¡°Now that we are alone,¡± Zarra¡¯s purr ticked up my spine, and I turned around to look at the beautiful woman. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the future.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± I tried to keep my emotions in check, and I crossed my arms over my chest. What was it with this woman? Yeah, she was pretty. Okay... Beautiful. Okay¡ one of the sexiest women I¡¯d ever spoken with, but she was also a bit arrogant and entitled. She should be turning me off a lot more than she was turning me on.
¡°I want you to work with me full time on Ohlavar Quest. Well, I should say that my parents and I want you to work full time with us.¡±
¡°It is a great game, but I have a bunch of commitments, and--¡±
¡°Quit them,¡± Zarra interrupted me.
¡°It isn¡¯t that easy.¡±
¡°Why not? Leo, you are bored. I can tell. Why were you at that diner in your old neighborhood? You are losing yourself to your title. You aren¡¯t challenged anymore. I have a colossal challenge for you here. Think about what we could do together,¡± she said with a careful smile.
¡°I don¡¯t see why you need me to work with you full time. I just played for nine hours and gave you a bunch of feedback. It seemed like none of what I said was a surprise to you. The team just hadn¡¯t implemented it yet. I don¡¯t know how else I can help you, and I do have commitments to Astafar Unlimited.¡±
¡°I appreciate your feedback, but you are correct, it isn¡¯t anything that we haven¡¯t heard, and we can have those changes ready tomorrow, but I want you to work for me for a couple of other reasons. Will you allow me to explain?¡±
¡°Uhh of course,¡± I smiled at her.
¡°On top of the Alzheimer''s treatment, we want the world to have an overarching quest to it. Hence the name.¡±
¡°Okay,¡± I said, and I started to think about my parents. I had been so caught up in the game that I¡¯d forgotten about the treatment aspect of Zarra¡¯s virtual world. As soon as this stuff in Orlando and the island get away Sal had planned, was over, I would spend some time investigating Zarra¡¯s treatment methods.
¡°We want the players to search for relics of this ancient past. There are fifteen of them located throughout the world. There are hints about their location hidden in the lore of the world; other hints are hidden in dungeons, or other quest areas. Retrieving each relic will be an epic quest in itself, but once all the relics are brought together, we will declare those players involved the winners. We¡¯ll give them a bunch of money for ¡®beating¡¯ the game, and then we will reset the servers and start again. Ohlavar will randomize the world and events, and the players will have an entirely new experience to play. This will keep the game fresh for a long time. We think we have a business model that will return us revenue for forty or more years.¡±
¡°Hmmm. That could work, but a lot of players will be mad if you reset the server and they lose their progress.¡±
¡°Maybe. Or maybe they will look forward to a new experience. We¡¯ve also thought about bridging their stats and gear over to their next characters. It is something we still have to figure out. The main goal is this quest to find the fifteen relics. That is what I want you to do,¡± she uncrossed her legs and then re-crossed them with the other thigh now on top, and I struggled to keep my eyes on hers. Damn she was hot.
I was going to take a cold shower after this conversation.
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°We are worried that the game might be too hard. We think that we want players to be able to beat it in three or four years. If it takes too long, people will get bored with it. So that is the real reason you are here. We want you to play the game, and gather all of the fifteen relics.¡±
¡°You want me to just play test the game full time? Why? You don¡¯t need--¡±
¡°We¡¯ve got a little over two years until we will be ready to launch. We need to finish some of the medical stuff we are working on, submit to lab testing, and then do a bunch of infrastructure upgrades before we can have everyone in the world accessing the system. To be honest, I¡¯m extremely frustrated about how slow this entire process is going. The AI that my father and his team have developed is amazing, and they have run a thousand and one simulations to guesstimate when human players will be able to finish the game, but I don¡¯t like the idea of a live launch where the game company doesn¡¯t even know how the players are going to fare. If you can work with us, play the game full time, and get the relics, we would be able to mine all that data. We could tweak the quests, encounters, NPCs, etc. The game would launch with so much more polish, and we would have a much better timetable.¡±
¡°What if I can¡¯t find these relics by the time of launch?¡± I grinned at her.
¡°That is also useful data. If Leo Lennox can¡¯t do it, we¡¯ll know we need to rebalance stuff with the AI. Or not. It will at least give us some true data points from the best video game player the world has ever known.¡±
¡°You flatter me.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Zarra, listen, I really liked your game. No, I love your game, and I want to login right now, especially when you told me about the persistent world and that Artus is probably going to get executed. But even if I want to work with you, making this transition into retirement would take me six months. My manager has my life planned for the next twenty seasons,¡± I laughed.
¡°There are always solutions to problems, Leo. Oh, I didn¡¯t even talk money.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think the money really matters. I just can¡¯t do it,¡± I said.
¡°How much do you make a year now? Fifty, maybe sixty million?¡± She asked.
¡°Yes,¡± I said hesitantly.
¡°We are offering you a ten percent ownership in Arnacript and a seat on the company¡¯s board. We can send you the financials on our company, but we are conservatively estimating more than three hundred billion a year in revenue. The spot on the board will also have an aggressive salary that you¡¯ll find similar to what you make now.
¡°Wow. Ummm, really? That seems pretty substantial for just a playtester,¡± I said as I tried to wrap my mind around the money she just presented to me.
¡°And, if you are willing, we can begin treatment of your parents. I¡¯d say it would be free of charge, but you would own a piece of the company, so you would just be using your own treatment and doctors,¡± she said as her beautiful face took on a sympathetic emotion.
I thought again about my parents. In reality, there wasn¡¯t a day that went by when I didn¡¯t think about them. I didn¡¯t know if I trusted Zarra¡¯s treatment yet, but her offer was very appealing. Hell, she probably could have gotten me to play test the game with my every free moment if she had offered to treat my parents.
But something wasn¡¯t quite right.
I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it. Maybe it was the way my hairs had stood on end when I¡¯d read the strange note in the bathroom. Maybe it was the way she seemed to know everything about me. Maybe it was the security doors, or the armed men here, or that she was throwing a stupid amount of money at me. Something just seemed wrong. Even the game was too perfect to be real. What was that saying about something too good to be true?
The game was amazing, though, and the thought of escaping from the grind of Astafar Unlimited sounded more than a little enticing. Could she really heal my parents? Would I be able to get those fifteen relics?
¡°I¡¯ll need some time to think,¡± I said. It was always the safe answer.
¡°Oh, of course, I have--¡±
¡°I¡¯ve got dinner for the champ!¡± Ky shouted as he entered through the lab door wheeling a dinner cart.
Zarra¡¯s smile dropped from her face, and her eyes seemed to glow with anger. It was just a quick flash of emotion, and I almost thought I¡¯d imagined it because her smile was back on as soon as I blinked.
¡°I got you all of God¡¯s creatures to eat. Beef, fish, fowl, and vegetable.¡±
¡°Thanks, Ky, I¡¯m actually starting to get really hungry.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s set Leo up in his room. Was Jennifer outside?¡± Zarra asked.
¡°Ummm no, Ms. Zerne. I didn¡¯t see her.¡±
¡°Okay. Leo, I¡¯m going to leave you for the night. Thank you so much for the feedback. Breakfast will be at seven so we can have a few hours to talk with my parents. Should I have the operator give you a wakeup call?¡± She fluttered her eyelids at me, and I began to think I imagined her getting angry when Ky interrupted her.
¡°I¡¯m used to getting up at the crack of dawn to start training, but yeah. Have them call me to make sure I¡¯m awake.¡±
¡°Fantastic. I¡¯m really looking forward to introducing you to them. Enjoy your dinner, and sweet dreams.¡±
¡°Thanks, Zarra. I¡¯m glad I came,¡± I said, and the beautiful woman blessed me with another perfect smile before she left through the lab door.
¡°Okay, Champ. Let me push this cart into your room. Can you get the door?¡± Ky asked.
¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡± I opened the heavy steel door on the side of the lab by the VRIU and held it so that the man could push my food into my room.
¡°I just brought you a ton of stuff, and the bottom is a cooler with a bunch of different drinks, mostly water.¡±
¡°Thanks. So have you played the game yet?¡± I asked as I took the lid off of one of the trays. It looked like turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes.
¡°No actually. But I¡¯ve seen the videos. Looks like a lot of fun.¡±
¡°Did you watch me play?¡± I asked as I grabbed a turkey wing and took a bite. As soon as the salted skin hit my mouth, I realized I was starving.
¡°Ummm no. Sorry, Champ,¡± he said.
¡°Did you eat? Looks like you brought a lot of food,¡± I said around a mouthful of turkey.
¡°I grabbed a snack while I waited for them to make you dinner. I¡¯m good.¡± Ky seemed a bit nervous, and he glanced back into the lab room as if he thought someone was standing in there.
¡°Ahh. So you didn¡¯t see me work for Artus.¡±
¡°No, Champ. Was that an NPC you met?¡±
¡°Yep. Fenia. I got into some trouble, killed Lord Halafast¡¯s fifth son or something, and then Artus got captured by the city guard. They think he is an accomplice. What do you think they will do to him?¡±
¡°Most humans don¡¯t like fenias. What city were you in?¡± Ky looked at me with a smile, but I saw his eyes go back to the lab.
¡°Cutno,¡± I said around another mouthful of turkey. I wondered if the same chef that cooked my lunch had made this. The man was a culinary master.
¡°Yeah. I think that city is kind of backwater. They¡¯ll probably execute him.¡±
¡°Jeeze. Harsh. Kind of pisses me off,¡± I set down the turkey leg and grabbed a fork. Then I noticed the bowl of miso soup, and I decided to drink it next.
¡°Well, you could always log back in and try to save him.¡±
¡°I can?¡± I asked
¡°Well, I dunno for sure, but they aren¡¯t going to kill him immediately. They will probably try to figure out where you went. They might interrogate him for a week or two. They don¡¯t know you can just log out.¡± Ky laughed nervously. ¡°Anyway, Champ. I¡¯m a huge fan, and I want to stay and keep you company, believe me, but I need to finish my work on the VRIU and then head home. Wife doesn¡¯t like that I work with so many good looking women, and she always gets suspicious when I¡¯m out late.¡±
¡°I feel ya. Thanks for chatting.¡±
¡°Yeah. I hope I get to see you again. Take care.¡± Ky smiled at me, and then made a quick walk to the lab door. He nodded at me one last time and then closed the door behind him. I heard a lock turn in the metal, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end again.
I took a sip of my miso soup, set it down, and then walked to the front door of my suite. The door opened easily to the hallway, and I took a quick look around to ensure there wasn¡¯t anyone watching me.
Maybe I was just paranoid.
I walked back to the food cart, grabbed the miso soup, and then sat on the nearby couch. I¡¯d have to wake up in half a dozen hours, but I didn¡¯t feel tired. I just felt hungry.
And I wanted to log back into Ohlavar Quest.
Chapter 8
¡°So, when is the wedding?¡± Jax smirked at me as he tied back his blond hair into a short ponytail.
¡°Ha. Very funny,¡± I said as I pushed my arms through the sleeves of my tight lycra USA team uniform. Zarra¡¯s jet had dropped me off a few minutes ago, and Sal had dragged me into Disney¡¯s corporate stadium locker room so that I would be able to get ready for the demonstration match.
¡°You leave suddenly, spend the night, meet the parents, and come back to your friends all fuzzy eyed. Am I going to be your best man?¡± Jax wiggled his hips as he reached back to yank the uniform out of his ass crack.
¡°Pretty sure I¡¯m going to be the best man. I¡¯m more organized,¡± Garf winked at his blond friend.
¡°See, this is where you are wrong. Organized dudes are the ushers. They have to know where to seat people. The fun best friend gets to plan the bachelor party. I¡¯m thinking Rio. Remember when we were there a few years ago. Those girls were kaaa rraaaay zeeee!¡±
¡°That does sound fun. I wouldn¡¯t mind going back there,¡± Garf leaned back on the locker room bench and raised his arms with a sigh. His uniform stretched over his chest and exposed his muscular torso.
¡°It¡¯s settled then. I¡¯m the best man, and Garf gets to tell people what side of the church they should sit on.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not getting married, asshats,¡± I laughed at them.
¡°But you should. I want to go to Rio.¡±
¡°So go to Rio! Ya, dick.¡± I finished putting on my uniform and did the same movement Jax had to pull the back part out of the crack of my ass. I didn¡¯t really understand why they made us wear such tight outfits when we did tournament or display matches. Yeah, I knew that the women audience liked it, but it wasn¡¯t like we were riding bicycles or swimming in pools and needed to worry about air flow. The running on the Omni Station was all performed over the circular treadmill, and I could have done it just fine with a loose pair of gym shorts and a workout shirt.
¡°You ready?¡± Garf asked as I finished yanking the lycra out of my butt crack.
¡°Yeah. Who¡¯s doing what?¡± I asked them.
¡°I¡¯m not sure. Sal didn¡¯t say anything. He was too busy freaking the fuck out because you weren¡¯t here at eight,¡± my Asian friend said.
¡°I called him to tell him when I would be here,¡± I sighed.
¡°I think these guys need to DPS. It will be a clusterfuck if we let them tank or heal,¡± Jax said as he poked his head out of the locker room door. The sound of the waiting crowd poured into the room, and it reminded me of an angry ocean.
DPS or Damage Per Second was an ambiguous gamer term. In this instance, Jax meant that he wanted the two tag alongs to just stick to doing damage. The role was important, but it wasn¡¯t as important as soaking up the damage from the monsters, also known as tanking. Nor was DPS as important as healing.
¡°I¡¯ll heal. I¡¯ll do a Wiccan,¡± Garf yawned.
¡°Did I DPS last time? I think I did. I¡¯ll tank. You guys fine with Defender?¡± Jax asked.
¡°Cool with me,¡± Garf replied.
¡°Yep. I¡¯ll do Beastman,¡± I said.
¡°Ohh I was hoping you would. The crowd will love it,¡± Garf said.
The Beastman class wasn¡¯t exactly loved by players. It did a lot of damage, but the class used a claw weapon in each hand, and it was exhausting to play. It also had almost no escape skills that could be equipped into a slot, and they could die easily if a monster or other player targeted them. Observers loved the class because it was high movement, and as long as there was a skilled player tanking- or keeping the focus of the monsters, the Beastman class was fun to run around with.
¡°Alright, guys. I wanted to introduce you all,¡± Sal said as he walked in with two men dressed in lycra uniforms. ¡°Champ, Jax, and Garf; this is Jake Cushing and Billy Iger.¡±
¡°Nice to meet you guys,¡± I said as I shook both their hands.
¡°Nice to meet you too, Champ. I¡¯m a huge fan,¡± Billy said.
¡°He isn¡¯t as big of a fan as I am,¡± laughed Jake as he shook my hand. ¡°I¡¯m a fan of all three of you actually. This is really exciting. My kids are in the front row.¡±
My friends shook hands with the two men, and the four of them started talking about the strategy for the upcoming demo. These two were high-level executives in the corporation, and Disney was paying us to walk them through one of the harder dungeons in Astafar Unlimited while their employees watched.
¡°Ahhh, they aren¡¯t mad that you were late,¡± Sal whispered in my ear while the other four men talked.
¡°I wasn¡¯t late.¡± I stuck my tongue out at him.
¡°If you aren¡¯t early you¡¯re late, Champ,¡± Sal let out a laugh. ¡°So how did this thing go in Albany?¡±
¡°Did you read my email?¡±
¡°I glanced through it. Then I got confused by all the zeros they listed. These guys are lying. No way they have that much money.¡±
¡°I did see a bunch of jet pods in their hanger. The place was a fortress.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s talk about it in a few days when we are laying on the sand drinking colored drinks.¡±
¡°Sal, you never want to talk about work when you are on vacation,¡± I smiled at my friend.
¡°Naw, Champ. I just don¡¯t want you to talk about that stuff. You need your break. I¡¯ve got your back twenty-four seven.¡±
¡°These guys are going to DPS for us Leo,¡± Garf called to me, and I nodded.
¡°Got it, did you go over the strategy with them?¡± I asked.
¡°Yep. They are good to go.¡±
Who ever played the healer normally ran our strategy. It made sense for us because that player would be watching the battlefield, looking at their teammates¡¯ health, and observing the flow of monsters. Everyone else was too occupied either doing damage or trying to keep the monster¡¯s attention away from the people doing damage.
The five of us walked out of the locker room and down the long hallway to the stadium. The roar of the crowd wasn¡¯t as loud as the World Championship rounds, but the stadium here probably housed ten thousand people, and I didn¡¯t see a single open seat. There were rumors that Disney had tried to buy Astafar Unlimited in the first five years that the game operated, but the owners hadn¡¯t sold.
There was an announcer, one of the pretty blonde women that acted in a bunch of their TV programs. She introduced the Disney guys first, and I realized that the two men were CEO and president of the company. I looked over at Garf and Jax with surprise, but my two friends were waving at the crowd. Well, Garf was waving at the crowd, and Jax was blowing kisses with each hand.
Once the woman finished introducing us, and the crowd had screamed for a handful of minutes, the five of us moved to our Omni stations and connected to the harness. Then we put on our headsets, and the crowd stared at the visual monitors that surrounded the stadium.
¡°I¡¯m opening a private channel,¡± Garf said after we loaded the dungeon.
¡°Why?¡± I asked as I saw that he had moved Jax and me into his private channel. We could still hear the other two men talking, but we would have to press on the team channel button to speak with them.
¡°Oh, I just wanted to talk about your trip some more. It¡¯s not like we have to pay attention during this run. We¡¯ve done this dungeon thousands of times, fuck, I¡¯ve soloed the damn thing at least a hundred times. Jax, go pull the first group of mobs,¡±
¡°Yes sir. Thank you, sir,¡± my other friend said, and I saw his heavily armored avatar dash around the first corner of the dungeon.
¡°So, really, how were her parents?¡± Garf asked as Jax back-peddled around the corner with four armored lizard warriors beating on his shield with saw-toothed swords.
¡°They were¡ I dunno, weird.¡±
Garf created an orange diamond icon over one of the lizard warrior¡¯s heads, and I dashed to attack it from behind. One of the other men, Billy I think, was playing a Daggerdancer, and he stood next to me while we attacked the creature¡¯s back. The mob died to our blades in two seconds and then we moved to the next monster that Garf marked.
¡°What do you mean ¡®weird¡¯?¡± Jax asked over the sound of weapons hitting his armor and shield.
¡°They didn¡¯t talk a lot. They were nice and all, but I got the feeling from Zarra that they had a lot of input in the game, especially her father, but the man didn¡¯t seem to want to talk about the development process. It was probably because I hadn¡¯t agreed to work for them.¡±
I replayed the breakfast conversation in my head as I spoke. It felt as if Zarra¡¯s parents had none of the personality that their daughter did. They certainly had the good looks, they were just really reserved. Probably because I hadn¡¯t agreed to sign the contract and work for them.
¡°They asked you to work for them?¡± both of my friends asked at the same time.
¡°Jinx! Ohhhhh got you!¡± Jax shouted.
¡°Are you eleven years old? It¡¯s adult time, and I¡¯m trying to talk to Leo about this girl he wants to marry,¡± Garf laughed.
¡°Ugh, fine. I¡¯m going to go pull the next group to us.¡± Jax still had a lizard mob beating on him, and the creature frantically smashed it¡¯s sword into the back of his helmet as he walked away.
¡°Yeah. They want me to test their game for the next year. Before they release it.¡± I dug my claws into the armored back of the lizard pounding on Jax and watched the monster¡¯s life bar drop. The Beastman class added a small buff every time I connected a hit that let me attack faster. It meant that the class ended up doing a significant amount of damage the longer combat lasted, so it worked really well for boss fights. I wouldn¡¯t really spin up to speed with these smaller trash mobs that died after only a few dozen hits.
Each of my attacks triggered the vibrations on the Omni station sensors. They made my hands shake, but the sensations felt ridiculous after my time in Ohlavar Quest, and I kept thinking of the NPC that I had kicked in the face. That had felt real, the vibrations I felt now just seemed like a poor imitation of a much better game.
The graphics were also bugging me. I had always thought that Astafar Unlimited had some of the best graphics of any retail game, but now that I had played Ohlavar Quest, I could see where my old game was severely lacking. The lizard mobs had no facial expressions, their teeth didn¡¯t look sharp, and their jaws hung open at the same angles. I could see the pixels at the edges of their saw blade swords, and they just looked like clones of each other. All the NPCs in Zarra¡¯s game, even the town folk, had looked unique, and I kept thinking about the various facial expressions that the AI had given Kimmel during our interaction. They had spent a lot of time just to make sure that a minor boss looked-ultra realistic.
¡°Test their game? Did you play it at all?¡± Garf asked.
¡°Yeah. It needs a tiny bit of polish, but I¡¯m kind of in love with it.¡±
¡°What?¡± Both of my friends sounded surprised.
¡°Jin--¡± Jax began
¡°Shaddup and go pull more mobs!¡± Garf shouted, and the armored avatar ducked back around the first corner to grab the third and final group of lizardmen.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
¡°It¡¯s just really damn good. It feels like real life. I don¡¯t know how they did it, but damn guys. I¡¯d bet money that they will take a serious chunk of the market from Astafar Unlimited. Maybe not all of it, but dang.¡±
¡°What¡¯s so good about it?¡± Garf asked.
¡°I¡¯ve got the NDA I signed. So I can¡¯t go into detail. It just feels like real life, only it is this great fantasy world.¡± I was slaying monsters with ease now, and the class buffs were allowing me to move faster against the weapon swing limits of the game.
¡°Can I play it? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard you get excited about a game since this one,¡± Garf said.
¡°I wanna play also. Wouldn¡¯t it be sweet if we could all jump in and play test it for a year?¡± Jax said.
¡°Yeah, that would be cool.¡± I thought about what my blond Viking looking friend said and then considered my last conversation with Zarra. After we had enjoyed breakfast with her parents, she had walked me to the jet pod and given me a printout and datapad with the terms of their contract. Then she had reviewed the feedback I had told her last night about the game, said it would be improved in the next day, and asked me to seriously consider her offer.
I would be able to find the fifteen relics much faster with the three of us playing together as a team.
I also knew my two friends would love the game. Heck, they would probably never want to log out. Jax loved fucking around with NPCs, and Garf was the kind of guy that knew all the lore of Astafar Unlimited. He even wrote fan fiction in his spare time. Of course, it wasn¡¯t really fan fiction. He was so famous that he actually got his stuff published and made good money from the novels. He would be really interested in learning all about Ohlavar Quest¡¯s history.
I knew both of them would be blown away. Just like I had been.
¡°Alright. We are clear,¡± Garf said in the general party channel.
¡°Wow! That was so fast! I¡¯ve never made it past this room,¡± one of the men laughed.
¡°You are in good hands with us,¡± I said, and I saw their avatars nod.
We moved through the dungeon at a casual speed. The three of us could have gone a lot faster, but we didn¡¯t want to risk one of the mobs killing the guys that hired us for the exhibition, so we played the encounters as safe as possible. Soon we were at the first boss battle. It was a giant lizard death knight warrior that was half decaying flesh and half skeleton. The monster carried a giant war hammer, and his smashing attack could take out an entire party if they weren¡¯t careful.
¡°Stand where Leo stands and attack when he does,¡± Garf instructed the two men playing with us, and they ran to stand near me as I flanked the giant boss mob.
The lizard death knight charged at us with a roar. The cry had once seemed real to me, and this encounter had amazed me with the cool design of the boss, but now I was only thinking about what Ohlavar Quest would have for big boss monsters. The swings of this boss were easy to anticipate, and we jumped away from his charge easily.
¡°I¡¯m hitting Pray to Ancestors. Jax, you got me?¡± I asked as I dashed to the lizard¡¯s back. The skill multiplied my damage and added more speed buffs. It also made it more likely for the monster I was attacking to want to turn around and hit me. This was often called aggro or when the monster focused its attacks on a target. If you were a damage dealing type class, you didn¡¯t want to get aggro. If I did, I would probably die and have to respawn so Jax would have to work to keep the boss¡¯ attention.
¡°Yeah, hit it,¡± he said.
I triggered the skill and started smashing my claws into the undead beast. The buffs quickly began to stack on me, and I felt the throttle of the game increase so that I could attack quicker. Soon it was at maximum fluidity, and I was hitting the virtual air as quickly as I could shadow box. This was the only class in the game that could attack as fast as a human could. I heard the crowd scream through my helmet and I felt my mouth curl into a smile. That would be one aspect I would miss if I retired from Astafar Unlimited. The feedback of the crowds was a whole drug in itself.
But I was bored of the fame as well. This was fun; playing with my friends and getting immediate feedback. But always having paparazzi in my face, not being able to date anyone without seeing it on the cover of every magazine and watching news footage of my face on all the news stations was exhausting. I hated that I felt this way. It was what I always wanted.
Be careful what you wish for.
The thudding in my arms became almost a consistent vibration as my fists spun with punch attacks. I couldn¡¯t have hit this fast without Jax¡¯s incredible skill at the game. He was making sure that the giant lizard death knight didn¡¯t turn around to smash me, and I knew that I would feel a lot better about retiring if I could bring my two best friends to play with me in Ohlavar Quest.
Would Zarra let them play test? Would she pay them the millions that they were already making? Could I give them some of my interest in the company?
Was I actually thinking about this seriously?
The boss fell, and I heard the screams of the crowd penetrate my helmet.
¡°Hey, you two are pretty good. The five of us missed our best team time by only six seconds. That was when we were with Sonya Sun and Jimmy Tran,¡± Garf said on the team channel.
Sonya Sun and Jimmy Tran were ringers who we often played with. We didn¡¯t use them this year during our team tournaments because Sonya just had her first child, but they were both good friends and wonderful teammates who I¡¯d played with for five or six years.
¡°Thank you!¡± one of the men, Jake I believe, said with exuberance. ¡°We¡¯ve been practicing for the last month. But you three are doing most of the work. Especially the Champ.¡±
¡°I couldn¡¯t do all that damage without Jax. He couldn¡¯t do his job without Garf keeping him alive. It¡¯s a team effort,¡± I said.
¡°Let¡¯s see if we can beat our best time on the final boss. I think we¡¯ve only got six more groups to pull,¡± Garf said, and the other two men nodded.
¡°So Leo, do you think your fianc¨¦ will let us play with her game,¡± Jax asked after we¡¯d plowed through the next group of lizard fighters and lich warlock summoners.
¡°I can ask her,¡± I said as I dodged a fireball from one of the monster warlocks. I used to think that the flames in this game looked amazing, but now I saw their tiny pixels, and I knew that I couldn¡¯t feel the heat of the magic as it almost hit me.
¡°Notice how he didn¡¯t correct fianc¨¦,¡± Garf remarked to Jax.
¡°Oh, I noticed,¡± the Viking man said, and then he started to hum Here Comes the Bride.
¡°I think I changed my mind about asking her,¡± I groaned, and my two friends chuckled.
¡°Okay, last boss fight. This guy is a lizard warlock. He is going to summon giant death knights that are about half as powerful as the first boss. Jax is going to tank them and kind of lead them around the map counterclockwise. Don¡¯t kill any of those death knights. If you do, the warlock boss will hit us all with powerful lightning bolts. Just focus your damage on the big lizard warlock. The area will also fill with lava, and then poison gas, and then slime. There are little safe zones on top of the pillars. Make sure you follow Leo to them. Understand?¡± Garf asked the two men after he explained the strategy.
¡°I think we¡¯ve got it,¡± one of them said, and the other nodded.
¡°Okay. Jax, ready? Leo, ready?¡± Garf asked.
¡°Yep,¡± we both replied and then we dashed into the boss room.
The big lizard-lich-warlock spawned in the middle of the crypt area and then went to summon his three guardian death knights. Jax and I were already pounding on him before the first one was summoned, and my friend disengaged from the main boss for a few seconds so that he could whack the knight with his mace. Then he returned to hit the boss three more times before he went to hit the second knight that was summoned. Then he was busy keeping the knights from smashing the rest of us, and couldn¡¯t contribute any damage toward the warlock.
That was fine. The secret to this boss was not killing the guards, and as long as a healer could keep the party alive through the light spells that he cast, the damage dealers of the group were free to do their thing.
¡°Lava coming,¡± Garf warned after I¡¯d used a bunch of my damage skills and had ripped almost half of the health from the warlock.
¡°Over here,¡± I told the two executives, and they ran to me as I jumped on the edge of one of the columns. The lava filled up the area we fought in, and we all took refuge at three different platforms. The real challenge with this part was that Jax couldn¡¯t dodge any of the lizard death knight attacks while the lava was flooding the room. So he had to use all of his defensive skills and rely on Garf¡¯s healing to keep him alive.
The lava wasn¡¯t hot.
The smoke didn¡¯t choke me.
The ground didn¡¯t shake, and the death knights¡¯ screams didn¡¯t deafen me. These were just bigger versions of the enemies we had fought on the way here, and I was suddenly struck by how lazy the game designers were. Everything I saw in Ohlavar Quest was unique, from the road to the sky to the birds to the homes to the clothes the people wore. The NPCs were the most unique of them all, and while I hadn¡¯t really seen any monsters during my brief play time, Kimmel, his three men, and the guards that chased me had all appeared differently.
Astafar Unlimited felt bland and repetitive now.
¡°Damage back on the boss,¡± Garf ordered, and the three of us sprinted back to slam our weapons into the warlock.
We repeated the steps two more times when gas and slime filled the room. Then the giant boss let out a final spray of death magic before he died. I had warned the two tagalongs before he shot his final spray, and everyone managed to avoid a last second party member death.
¡°Ahhh, missed our best boss time by ten seconds. Still a great job,¡± Garf said.
¡°If you two ever decide that this whole ¡®running Disney¡¯ thing isn¡¯t working out, you might have a career in pro gaming,¡± I said to the two men. Both of them laughed and then the five of us logged out of the demonstration game.
Assistants helped us all get out of our Omni stations, and then the five of us bowed to the stadium crowd. The dungeon was normally a two-hour run, but we¡¯d been able to finish it in thirty-two minutes. There were already replays starting on the screens, and some people had brought their own helmets so that they could plug into the system and toggle between each of our point of views during the replay.
¡°What is next?¡± I asked Sal as he led the three of us off the stage and through the tunnel toward the locker room.
¡°You¡¯ve all got some interviews, and then we are heading to one of the parks for some photo ops. They want to get you with all the characters,¡± Sal explained to the three of us.
¡°And then we are leaving tomorrow?¡± I asked.
¡°Day after. Another day of park hopping. Then we are heading to the Caribbean. Gonna be great, boys!¡±
¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it,¡± I said.
We walked into the locker room, and the four of us stopped short. A well-dressed man sat on one of the benches. He was flanked by two military-looking gorillas dressed in suits, and he smiled at us as soon as we walked in through the doors.
¡°President Arnesto?¡± The four of us asked at the same time.
¡°Hey, gang. I just saw the demo. You three looked great,¡± the President of Astafar Unlimited LLC said with a smile. His skin was a dark coffee color, and he wore a brown suit with a mustard bow tie. He was always a snappy dresser, and I felt an incredible respect for the man that had built my favorite video game.
¡°I didn¡¯t know you were going to be here, Arnie. Why didn¡¯t you say something?¡± Sal asked.
¡°It was kind of a last-second thing, Sal. Sorry for surprising you. I know you hate that kind of stuff. Hey, I know you all have an interview waiting in the lobby once you get changed. Any chance I can take a walk with the champ for a few minutes while you all handle some interview questions?¡± Arnesto looked at me and unleashed his perfect smile.
¡°Yeah. I guess that is okay.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll walk with you both,¡± my manager said.
¡°Sal, I just need a few minutes alone with the champ. We aren¡¯t going to be talking any numbers or anything. I just need his advice. Cool?¡±
¡°I guess¡ Just for a few minutes?¡± Sal obviously wasn¡¯t okay with this, but Arnesto was a powerful man, and while he couldn¡¯t end my career with a command, he controlled all aspects of the game I made my living off of.
Not that Arnesto would ever want to end my career. I¡¯d known the man as an uncle for ten years. He seemed almost as committed as Sal was to making sure I flourished as a competitor. If I did good and continued to win, the game got more subscribers and made more money. Garf, Jax, and I were practically the multi-racial poster boys for the electronic sport.
¡°Yeah. No worries, Sal. Let¡¯s take a walk, Leo,¡± President Arnesto nodded to his bodyguards.
There was another door on the side of the locker rooms that led to the shower and secondary equipment rooms. We walked through the narrow hallways for half a minute, and I waited for the man to speak.
¡°Listen, Leo, I know you are bored,¡± he finally said as he gestured to a bench.
¡°No sir, I¡¯m not bored.¡±
¡°Oh, come on Leo. You haven¡¯t called me ¡®sir¡¯ in like eight years, and I know you are bored.¡±
¡°Haha. Okay, Arnie,¡± I sighed as I sat down next to him. ¡°Maybe I am a little bored. But it doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m still in it to win. This is my job, and I¡¯m not going to be that guy that is ungrateful for the opportunities I¡¯ve been afforded by you and your game.¡±
¡°Hmmm,¡± he nodded and looked at me with his polished smile. ¡°So you wouldn¡¯t ever think about retiring?¡±
¡°I ahhh. Where is this coming from?¡± I asked as my heart began to pick up pace.
¡°Leo, I know about this Arnacript company.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve play tested a lot of games Arnie,¡± I said with a shrug, and I tried to keep my poker face. I guess I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised, but the man had never talked to me before about play testing other games. He wasn¡¯t a fool. If anything, he was a genius, and he understood gamers and the virtual reality game market better than anyone else alive.
Was he afraid of Arnacript¡¯s game?
He probably should be.
¡°We¡¯ve got some stuff coming down the road with Astafar Unlimited. You are going to love it, Leo. We are making another huge improvement to the graphics, and we are working with the Omni stations so that they give better tactile feedback. The game is going to get some new dungeons, difficulty levels, and a few extra classes.¡±
¡°Sounds great,¡± I said, but I didn¡¯t really feel any excitement.
¡°I¡¯ve never really brought you in at a development level. This was my mistake, and I want to change that moving forward. No one knows this game like you; well Garf and Jax also. I want to bring them into the fold as well, but I want to make sure that you are on board.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure what that means.¡±
¡°I¡¯d like to give you a piece of my empire. I told Sal I wouldn¡¯t talk money, so I won¡¯t right now. I just want to know if the idea interests you. I don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll lose your title for another five, maybe six years, but who knows? It could be shorter, could be longer. Do you really want to be the champion for twenty more years? Let me tell you about age. It sucks. I can only play for a few hours before I just get too tired of all the running around.¡± Arnie laughed, and I found myself chuckling with him.
¡°So here is the thing, Leo,¡± his face turned suddenly serious. ¡°I don¡¯t know what they offered you, but I¡¯ll do my best to beat it. I just want you on my team, for a long time. Please tell me you will consider it?¡±
¡°I will, Arnie,¡± I said with a nod.
¡°Great! I¡¯ll send some stuff over to Sal. Let¡¯s talk after your vacation. I¡¯m probably going to swing by the island for a couple of days, but I didn¡¯t want to talk business then. I want you to take time off and not think about anything. Then we can start fresh when you get back. I really want to show you all the stuff we are working on. You are going to love it.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure I will,¡± I smiled at him and tried to keep my heart from racing. How the fuck did Arnesto know about my trip? How did he know it was competition?
He must have heard the talk between Garf, Jax, and I.
I almost put my hand on my face. I should have known that the chat channel wouldn¡¯t have been entirely private. All that stuff flows through their servers. I guess it didn¡¯t make that much of a difference. If anything, there was more money and development work on the table now. Maybe I could have Sal play both sides off of each other.
The situation still felt a little weird to me, and I wondered if Arnesto had spies in Zarra¡¯s company. Maybe he knew how great her game was.
¡°I¡¯ll let you get back to your interviews, and I¡¯ll see you on vacation.¡± The man held out his hand, and I shook it. ¡°I¡¯m glad we had this talk. It makes me feel a lot better about your future.¡±
¡°Yeah, me too,¡± I said as I forced a smile to my lips.
The smile dropped from my face as soon as I turned my back to the man and walked toward the locker room. His choice of saying ¡°your future¡± wasn¡¯t exactly comforting, and I suddenly wished that Sal had walked with us.
My decision just got a bit more complicated.
Chapter 9
The two days in Orlando crawled by at a snail¡¯s pace. I felt as if I was just going through the motions of the interviews, appearances, and signing events. My mood further angered and depressed me. I should be thankful for everything that I had been given by Astafar Unlimited. There wasn¡¯t a man on Earth who wouldn¡¯t have changed places with me, except for maybe Garf and Jax. But they were my two best friends, and I knew that they had struggled to stand in my shadow for the first year when we all became famous.
Instead, I just thought about quitting.
I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about Ohlavar Quest and my NPC friend Artus. Thoughts about Zarra, her offer, and what it would mean for my future enticed my imagination. I puzzled over the strange note warning me about the purple eyes. Granted, Jacob was probably still sick with his mental illness, but the writing made me think that Zarra was up to something diabolical, even if the woman hadn''t given me any reason to think that way.
I also thought a bunch about my parents. It had been a year since I''d been able to have a real conversation with them. I missed them so much, but I had been terrified to visit them after the last episode when my mother had thought I wasn''t her son and had tried to attack me. Could Zarra deliver on her treatment? Other than Jacob, the patients I had spoken to had seemed to have made a happy recovery from their illness. They spoke about seeing their families and had plans for the future. Would my parents be able to recover? The idea kept me awake at night, and my dreams had been filled with childhood memories of their love.
I also couldn¡¯t stop thinking about President Arnesto¡¯s strange threat. Well, maybe it wasn¡¯t a threat, but the more I thought about his words, the more I believed that the man would not be happy with me if I decided to work on a new game.
In some ways, I was looking forward to Sal¡¯s island vacation. I needed to relax and lie on the beach for a week. In other ways, I wasn¡¯t looking forward to the trip. Sal had some high-powered foreign dignitaries scheduled to ¡®party¡¯ with me every day while I was there. He said he was going to do a good job of making sure I still got some rest, but I didn¡¯t know how I would be able to relax with a bunch of diplomats and their trophy wives buzzing in my ear all day.
More than anything else, I wanted to log back into Ohlavar Quest and find out what was happening to Artus.
¡°Alright, Champ! Just a quick drive to the airport, then we¡¯ll be on the plane to the island!¡± Sal¡¯s words jarred me out of my reverie as he sat on the leather seat next to me.
Garf, Jax, Chip, and Dale, slid into the limo after my manager. The four men were arguing about one of the latest Astafar Unlimited dungeons. Garf, Chip, and Dale were trying to convince Jax about a build they all preferred with the team makeup, but my Viking friend wouldn¡¯t have any of it.
¡°It won¡¯t have enough DPS, it is a bad idea.¡±
¡°It will be okay, it is safer because the second boss has that area of effect attack. If we use your build we¡¯ll all wipe at that part and--¡±
My cell phone buzzed in my pocket, and I fished it free of my jeans. I got random text messages, phone calls, and requests to connect from people all day long. I had wanted to get a new number, but I just hadn¡¯t found the time since the championships, so I just ignored the phone. My friends¡¯ conversation didn¡¯t interest me, though, so I decided to check and see if any of the messages were more engaging.
-Champ. This is Ky. Sorry, I¡¯m texting you. I got your number in the company database. It is about Artus. Can you text me back?-
The message made my breath catch, and the voices of my friends seemed to fade into the background noise of the limo¡¯s movement across the road.
-Hey Ky, what¡¯s going on?-
I messaged him back.
-So I kind of did something bad, and I could get fired, but I thought you would want to know. You can¡¯t tell Ms. Zerne, okay?- He wrote.
-What¡¯s up? Why would you get fired? For talking to me?-
-Well, that too. She¡¯s worried that you won¡¯t work with us. She doesn¡¯t want anyone reaching out to you. It is about your fenia friend. I asked one of the patients to go to Cutno, which was kind of a big deal since she was eight hours of travel away.- He wrote quickly and then there was nothing for what felt like a few minutes.
I almost replied to him to make sure he was okay, but then another message popped up on my phone.
-They are still looking for you, but no one has heard anything or seen you since you killed the lord¡¯s son on the street. They offered a reward, but of course you aren¡¯t there to catch. They are going to execute Artus in four days when the sun sets. Sorry champ, I remembered you said you liked him.-
I closed my eyes and leaned back into the leather seat of the limo for half a minute. Then I looked at my phone and typed a message.
-Thanks for letting me know. Just a game right? The AI made a great character.- I wrote as my stomach clenched. Why was this bothering me so much? Maybe it was because, at the core of it all, I always wanted to be a hero. That was why I played these games and worked so hard at the sport. I wanted to bring hope and help those less fortunate. Was it arrogant? Maybe, but growing up poor had taught me that role models and heroes were all that some people had to comfort their woes. I made a lot of money, but most of it went to care for my parents or various charities. I didn¡¯t need the money that Zarra offered me, but I could do a lot of good with it.
And I wanted to play Ohlavar Quest.
Most of all, I wanted to cure my parents.
-Yeah. Okay. Just wanted to tell you. Don¡¯t let Ms. Zerne know please.- Ky texted back.
-Thanks for letting me know. Your secret is safe with me. Talk to you later.-
¡°Everything okay, Champ?¡± Sal asked from his seat next to me.
¡°Yeah. It is okay. Hey, how long of a drive is it to the airport?¡±
¡°Ten, maybe fifteen minutes. We¡¯ve got a private jet that the resort is lending us for the trip, and--¡±
¡°Ask the driver to pull over for a second,¡± I said to Sal.
¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong?¡±
¡°I want to stretch my legs.¡±
¡°We just got in the limo five minutes ago.¡±
¡°Yeah, but I need to walk for a bit.¡±
¡°Champ, what¡¯s wrong? You¡¯ve been acting weird for the last few days,¡± Sal whispered to me as he leaned into my ear.
¡°I just want to take a little walk and make a phone call.¡±
¡°It¡¯s this girl, isn¡¯t it? Champ, nothing good ever comes from getting caught up with a girl that is half as pretty as you say this one is. I haven¡¯t even bothered to study her offer. She¡¯s just trying to scam you.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not going to sign her contract. I just want to talk to her for a couple of minutes.¡± I leaned over Sal to press the button on the divider glass, and the screen descended.
¡°Hey, buddy. Can you pull over for a minute?¡± I asked.
¡°Sure, Champ. Anything you want.¡± The car started to slow, and my friends looked at me with confusion.
¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Garf and Jax asked at the same time. Jax¡¯s eyes opened wide, and it looked as if he was about to say ¡°jinx,¡± but Garf shot him a glare.
¡°I need to take a little walk. No big thing. You guys stay in the car, we¡¯ll be moving in a few minutes.¡±
¡°Huh? Why do you need to--¡±
¡°He wants to chat with this girl,¡± Sal groaned. ¡°Talk some sense into him.¡±
¡°Meh, not when he gets like this. He¡¯s just gotta work it out,¡± Garf said as he crossed his thick arms over his chest.
¡°I agree. We¡¯ll wait here.¡± Jax winked at me.
¡°You two are just trying to piss me off,¡± Sal rolled his eyes at them.
¡°Naw, Sal, we love you too much. We just don¡¯t want to piss Leo off. He can get stubborn.¡± Jax stuck his tongue out at our manager.
¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± I said as I scooted past Chip and opened the door to the limo.
¡°Want us to come with?¡± my bodyguard asked.
¡°No one is going to come after me right now. I''ll be ten feet from you,¡± I said to him as I stepped out of the car.
We had parked on the side of a well-manicured road by some estate homes. There was a nice sidewalk path that was flanked by strips of Florida green grass. I thumbed on my phone and then typed in Zarra¡¯s name before I clicked to call.
¡°This is a surprise,¡± the beautiful woman answered after three rings.
¡°I¡¯m wondering if you are ever surprised,¡± I said with a chuckle. Had she told Ky to call me? It seemed like that would have been manipulation of the psycho level, but the warning from Jacob''s note ran through my mind again. Maybe that was part of the reason I was calling Zarra. I wanted to see if she would say something about Ky, or hint at her game.
Fuck, maybe I was just being paranoid. It had been a long time since I''d felt attracted to a woman.
¡°Sometimes. By a certain handsome man in particular,¡± she purred.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°Flattery doesn''t work on me,¡± I said with a laugh.
¡°Who says I am speaking about you?¡± she returned my laugh.
¡°So now you are trying to make me jealous?¡±
¡°Is it working?¡± she asked, and I was glad that I didn¡¯t have the video feed up on my phone.
¡°Maybe.¡±
¡°Ha! There you go and surprise me again. I thought you were supposed to play hard to get?¡± She laughed again.
¡°It is women that are supposed to play hard to get,¡± I said. Damn. I couldn¡¯t wipe the smile off of my face. I did enjoy talking to Zarra.
¡°I¡¯ve always preferred to be the hunter, but enough with the flirting. What can I help you with today, Leo Lennox, world champion of Astafar Unlimited? I thought you were supposed to be on a tropical island somewhere in the Bahamas?¡±
¡°Yeah. I¡¯m on my way to the airport right now.¡±
¡°And? You miss me? Or do you miss my game?¡±
¡°Maybe both. I thought you just said enough with the flirting?¡± I asked with a laugh.
¡°It is hard to stop with you, Leo,¡± she said, and I felt a pleasant shiver travel down my spine. Damn. This woman knew how to push my buttons.
¡°I¡¯m wondering if I could play again,¡± I said once I¡¯d gained my composure.
¡°You can play as much as you want when you sign the contract. I¡¯m counting on it actually.¡±
¡°No, well, I want to play for a few days. Or something. Without signing the contract.¡±
¡°Ohhh. I see,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that will be impossible.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Your NDA was just for that one session.¡±
¡°I can fill out another NDA. That isn¡¯t a big deal.¡±
¡°It kind of is to our lawyers Leo. They have warned me about showcasing the game to anyone that isn¡¯t on our payroll, especially someone who is so committed to our competitor.¡±
¡°But I¡¯m not working for your competitor. I¡¯m just the world champion.¡±
¡°Oh, I¡¯ve told them. You know lawyers. Tough to please. Same with my parents, they specifically told me that you need to sign before you login again,¡± she sighed.
¡°Are you saying that I can¡¯t come over and play because your parents said ¡®no¡¯?¡± I smirked as I asked.
¡°It is more that they feel that we¡¯ve gone on enough dates already, and now they want to see the ring. Honestly, I do also. I¡¯m looking for a commitment. A girl has to stand her ground on these things, or guys will just take advantage.¡±
¡°I only played for a few hours. I wouldn¡¯t really consider that a thorough experience,¡± I said with probably more annoyance than I wanted to hint at.
¡°It was more than anyone else that isn¡¯t an employee or a patient. I¡¯m sorry Leo, but you¡¯ll need to sign on with us if you want another taste.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± I said, and I wished that I had turned on the video feed for the call so I could see if she was smirking.
¡°I¡¯m afraid I am. Sorry, Leo,¡± she said, and she did sound honest.
¡°That is kind of¡¡± I was about to say ¡°fucked up,¡± but I decided to bite my tongue.
¡°Hmmm?¡± she asked.
¡°Nothing. So, you are sure there is no way you¡¯ll let me play again?¡±
¡°Maybe, but you haven¡¯t really convinced me that you aren¡¯t just stringing me along.¡±
¡°Me? Stringing you along? What are you talking about?¡± I tried to relax the hand that was clutching my phone. It seemed as if my suspicions were correct, and she may have asked Ky to call me so that she could dangle the game as an incentive to sign.
¡°My deal is more than fair. I¡¯m a little miffed that you didn¡¯t sign it right there. I bet you haven¡¯t even looked at the contract or reviewed it with your manager. Have you?¡±
¡°Well, no. I haven¡¯t had the--¡±
¡°I¡¯m interested in forming a lasting partnership with you, Leo. You seem to be looking for a good time,¡± she sighed. ¡°I guess this is my fault.¡±
¡°Your fault? Wait, I am interested in--¡±
¡°See, I kind of let my emotions get in the way. You¡¯re clever, smart, successful, and handsome. You¡¯ve got women and game designers throwing themselves at you every minute of every day. I just got a little too hopeful that you¡¯d pick me, and my game.¡±
¡°Whoa, slow down a second, Zarra. I haven¡¯t looked at the contract because I¡¯ve been swamped with the stuff I¡¯ve been doing in Orlando. I haven¡¯t stopped thinking about the game, or you, for the last few days. I will read the contract, but I can¡¯t just make a decision this quickly. I¡¯m going to need to wrestle with my manager, and talk it over with my best friends.¡±
¡°Oh.¡± She was silent a moment, and I waited for her to speak again. ¡°Ahhh. Did you say you¡¯ve been thinking about me too?¡± She asked with a nervous-sounding laugh. ¡°Sorry. I guess I laid it on a bit thick there. Don¡¯t answer that question.¡± She laughed again, and I felt some of the tension in my shoulders relax. I really wished I¡¯d turned on the visual for the phone.
¡°We haven¡¯t spent a lot of time together, but I really liked Ohlavar Quest, and I¡¯m more than a little interested in the woman that helped create it,¡± I said. Her earlier words had changed my mind. Zarra was just trying to get me to join her company. I didn''t believe that she was really manipulating me like some sort of criminal mastermind. That damn note was making me paranoid.
¡°And I¡¯m more than a little interested in you, of course. I mean, work first, and all that. I want you to sign the contract and play test my game, but we¡¯d end up spending a lot of time together, practically living together, and I think there would be a chance--¡±
¡°Living together?¡± I cut her off with my question.
¡°Ahhh,¡± she sighed. ¡°You didn¡¯t read the contract. Read the contract, please. We want you to live on campus for the duration of your play testing.¡± She¡¯d lost the cute overtones of her voice, and her tonality was all business, with a side of annoyance.
¡°I promise that I will read the contract, but what can we do about me playing before then?¡± I asked.
¡°Leo, I like your persistence, but I¡¯ve already told you my answer. Why is this so important to you? Just read the contract, sign it, and then you can play as much as you want.¡± She sighed.
¡°It is going to take me a few weeks, maybe even a month to--¡±
¡°I don¡¯t believe that. Aren¡¯t you your own man? Or is Sal your babysitter? If you want something, don¡¯t you just take it?¡± her voice purred the question.
¡°Yes, but Sal and I have been together forever. He takes care of me, and I need to get his opinion on the--¡±
¡°So let me take care of you, Leo, or don¡¯t you trust me?¡±
¡°We just met, Zarra,¡± I laughed, ¡°but I like you, and I want to get to know you more. Even if I don¡¯t sign the contract, I¡¯d still want to ask you to dinner.¡±
¡°Hmmm, I don¡¯t want to think about you not signing on with me. Sorry, Champ.¡±
There was silence for a few moments, and my brain scrambled to find another pitch for her to let me play.
¡°So if there is nothing else, I¡¯ll let you go. I need to get back to work. Call me if you have questions about the contract, but I can¡¯t let you play before--¡±
¡°I¡¯m worried about Artus. I guess that was why I called,¡± I admitted.
¡°Artus?¡± she asked.
¡°Yeah. The fenia spice trader that gave me the first quest. He got captured by the guards at Cutno. I accidently killed the lord guy¡¯s son, and he is going to take the rap for it.¡±
¡°So?¡± she asked.
¡°So? He¡¯s going to die because of me. It just doesn¡¯t sit well. I want to log back in, and try to rescue him.¡±
¡°Leo, I am thrilled that you are so into the NPCs of my game, but it is just a game. He¡¯s not really alive. Ohlavar created him. He¡¯s just ones and zeros in a virtual world.¡±
¡°He felt alive enough to me. Listen, Zarra. It just isn¡¯t sitting well with me, and I know it sounds stupid, but I did love your game, and I¡¯m puzzling through my career choices right now. I want to work with you, but I just need more time. Artus doesn¡¯t have more time. They might kill him any day now. If you can let me play, I would really appreciate it.¡±
¡°Hmmm, I like the sound of you ¡®really appreciating it.¡¯ But I am kind of wondering what that means, quantitatively. Perhaps you could elaborate on the subject?¡±
¡°I¡¯d owe you a favor I suppose.¡±
¡°Doesn¡¯t sound very quantitative, Leo.¡±
¡°Well, what do you want?¡±
¡°I want you to sig--¡±
¡°Besides me signing your contract right this second,¡± I said with a laugh.
¡°I suppose I¡¯d want other things, but you aren¡¯t a whore, are you?¡±
¡°Uhhhh,¡± her question took me off guard. I hadn¡¯t planned on her actually asking me for sex so boldly.
¡°I¡¯m kidding! I wish I could see the look on your face,¡± she laughed lightly.
¡°Oh.¡±
¡°Here is a deal, Leo: One of my jet pods can come get you in the next few days, or right now if you want. Then you can come login and save your virtual friend. I don¡¯t even know how you would do that with only starter equipment, or really, why you care so much, but after you are done I want you to either sign the contract, or I want to end communication with you.¡±
¡°End communication with me?¡± I fought against a gasp.
¡°Yes. I can¡¯t have you breaking my heart multiple times. There are other pro gamers I can work with. You¡¯re just the best. But I don¡¯t need someone playing with my emotions. So you¡¯ll have to make a decision as soon as you log out, or I never want to see you again.¡± Her voice was surprisingly firm, and I kicked myself again for not turning on the video.
¡°You have to be joking,¡± I said.
¡°No. I¡¯m not. I¡¯m serious. I¡¯ve got a schedule, Leo. This is a business first. The medical treatment is one aspect of it, but it isn¡¯t going to work for us if the game isn¡¯t perfect. So, while I am somewhat infatuated with you, I have work to do. So, either shit or get off the pot.¡±
¡°Wow,¡± I said with surprise.
¡°So what is your decision?¡± she asked.
¡°I¡¯ll still need to think about--¡±
¡°Fine. Call me when you are ready for the jet pod, or call me if you have questions about the contract, but don¡¯t call me to flirt anymore. Okay? It is a distraction that I don¡¯t have the willpower to refuse.¡±
¡°I guess--¡±
¡°Bye, Leo,¡± she sighed, and then I heard the dial tone on my phone.
¡°What the fuck was that?¡± I said to myself as I looked at my screen. Yep. Zarra had hung up on me. My ego roared against my skull like my namesake, and I had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself. I couldn¡¯t remember the last time a woman hung up on me, but maybe I deserved it. Was I really toying with her emotions? Was my request to play without signing the contract a little too presumptuous?
I took another deep breath and thought through the conversation again. I tried to look at it from Zarra¡¯s point of view, and I realized that I probably was being a bit of an ass. She was offering me a huge lump of cash, ownership in her company, and keys to her virtual kingdom and all I had to do was play her video game and try to beat it. Yet I hadn¡¯t even bothered to read her contract, and I was asking her to go against her parents and lawyers¡¯ advice.
Yeah. I was probably a dick.
I walked back to the car with a cold lump in my stomach. Dale stepped out of the limo and held the door open for me, but I just leaned my head inside.
¡°Sal, can I talk to you for a second?¡± I asked my manager.
¡°Of course. We can talk on the drive to--¡±
¡°Privately. Can you get out of the car?¡±
¡°Leo, you¡¯re killing me. We need to get to the airport on the double. I know you¡¯ve got a thing for this girl, but--¡±
¡°Stop,¡± I held up my hand and sighed. "Can you please step out of the car for a second so we can talk?¡±
The short Jewish man followed my instructions with an annoyed look on his face. I gestured for him to walk with me, and we moved a few feet from the limo so that Dale couldn''t hear.
¡°What''s going on?¡± he asked.
¡°Sal, I need you to read that contract.¡±
¡°Champ, I don''t need to read it to know that it is full of baloney. I¡¯ll get to it after our vacation.¡±
¡°Sal, I love you. So I¡¯m saying this with all my respect and love. Fucking have that contract read and red-lined for me by the end of our plane trip, or I¡¯m going to be taking the jet back to the States. Understand?¡±
¡°Where is this coming from? Leo, you know I love you. I''ve always taken care of you. You are like a son to me. This deal is all sorts of stinky. Maybe you don''t realize how much shit I protect you from, but this is just like the other--¡±
¡°I know you protect me, but you admitted that you haven''t read the contract. I''m coming off as unprofessional when I talk to this woman. She''s offering me a lot of money, and I need you to do your job.¡±
¡°Leo, my job is to--¡±
¡°Your job is to manage my career, and this deal sounds lucrative. They are also offering to treat my parents.¡±
¡°Is this about your parents? We''ve got them in the best treatment center in the United States. There is no way this girl has better Alzheimer''s stuff. What¡¯s really going on? I¡¯ve always had your--¡±
¡°Sal, I know, just please read the fucking contract okay? Don¡¯t talk, don¡¯t meander, just read it a few times, red-line it, and then let me know what you think afterward. I¡¯m disappointed that someone offered me this much money and you don¡¯t already have it done.¡±
My friend met my eyes. I could see he was hurt, but he knew I was right. At the end of the day, I was still his boss, and he really should have been digging into that contract. He should have been staying up late to pore over it with my lawyer, and he should have been calling all of his contacts again to investigate Arnacript Inc. with the new information. Instead, he hadn¡¯t believed me. I didn¡¯t blame him for that since I would have had trouble believing my story about the company¡¯s wealth, but he should have still done his diligence.
¡°I¡¯m on it, Leo. Shit, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t work on it sooner. I¡¯ll have an update for you by the time we land on the island. Let''s get back in the car. I''ll get on it right now.¡±
We returned to the limo and climbed into the back seat. Garf and Jax both looked between Sal and me, but they must have guessed what had happened because they didn''t say anything.
Dale closed the door once he sat inside and the limo sped away. Sal didn''t look at me; instead, he just pulled his digital tablet from his briefcase and stared intently at the screen. A pang of remorse danced through my stomach, and I almost thought about apologizing to my friend. I couldn''t remember ever chewing him out over something, and the feeling wasn''t something I was used to, but then I decided that I would work it out with him, and probably apologize a bunch, once he had finished his research.
I wasn¡¯t going to make the mistake of talking to Zarra unprepared again.
Chapter 10
Sal had his nose in his computer for the entire length of the trip to the tropical island, and even when we checked in at the resort, my manager told me he was going to be holed up in his bungalow for a few hours so that he could call his cousin about some of the legal stuff in the document. Part of me felt a little bad that I had to crack the whip on my friend, but another part of me felt like I¡¯d been an asshole to Zarra.
Jax and Garf¡¯s girlfriends met us in the lobby after we had checked in at the resort. They were both models for this high-end lingerie-swimsuit company, and they had brought half a dozen of their beautiful model friends to hang out with us for the week.
¡°Hey, ladies!¡± Jax greeted them, and his girlfriend, Sonya, introduced me to the women that I didn¡¯t know.
I tried to remember all of their names out of politeness, but my thoughts were elsewhere, and I only had enough energy to give each of the women a brief smile. They were all stupid beautiful, but I¡¯d been around plenty of underwear models, and none of these girls interested me as much as Zarra. What was it about that strange woman? She made me feel like I was a high school kid crushing on his first girlfriend.
¡°Sorry we ran a bit late,¡± Garf said as he gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. Her name was Monique, and they had first started dating after she was on the cover of the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.
¡°That¡¯s okay sweetie. Sorry, I couldn¡¯t stay with you the whole time at Disney. Had to do that quick shoot,¡± Monique said with a wink.
¡°We are going to head down to the infinity pool. You three should put on your swimsuits and join us,¡± Sonya said. She was Ukrainian, and her accent was a blend of stoic Russian and softer ¡®H¡¯ sounding Polish.
¡°Sounds good,¡± Jax said.
¡°Yep, see you all in five minutes,¡± my Asian friend said as he nodded toward the side of the lobby that led to our private bungalows.
My two friends and I walked out of doors and into the tropical sunlight of the resort property. We caught up to the men that were taking our luggage to our rooms, and the three men asked if they could get autographs once they brought our bags to our suites.
¡°I¡¯m going to hit the gym for an hour,¡± I said after we had walked for a handful of minutes behind the resort porters.
¡°What? Dude, this is vacation time! You don¡¯t need to work out. Besides, did you see Monique and Sonya¡¯s friends? Daaaammmmmmn dude.¡± Jax scrunched his nose at me.
¡°Just for an hour, then I¡¯ll meet you guys. I need to work out some aggression,¡± I sighed.
¡°Leo, is there something wrong?¡± Garf asked.
¡°No, what do you mean? I just want to lift some. I haven¡¯t worked out in three days.¡±
¡°Yeah. It¡¯s called a vacation. Calic isn¡¯t even here.¡± Jax rolled his eyes as he talked.
¡°More of a reason to go lift now. I don¡¯t want to do it later. Calic is going to fucking hurt us when we get back. You guys know this right?¡± I laughed. Our buff trainer didn¡¯t like breaks, and he¡¯d been pissed off when Sal said he couldn¡¯t kick my ass during my vacation.
¡°So you aren¡¯t being all aloof because of this new girl?¡± Garf asked.
¡°Naw. I¡¯m cool, guys.¡±
¡°Okay,¡± the Asian man said as he glanced at me suspiciously. ¡°But be quick okay? Cause I¡¯d like to echo what my ever so eloquent friend Jax said earlier about the four hotties that our girlfriends brought. Daaammmmmmn. Pretty sure you are going to forget about this other girl and her game in the next few days.¡±
¡°Ha. Maybe.¡± We had made it to a courtyard area with four bungalows facing each other. The group of them were right next to the sand and about two hundred yards from the ocean.
¡°Everything is clear, Champ,¡± Dale said as he stepped out of the bungalow I guessed was mine. I saw Chip walk out of one of the other ones and nod to us from across the small grass quad area. Both of the bodyguards were on my payroll, but I asked them to watch out for Sal, Jax, and Garf when the four of us were together.
¡°Thanks, bud. I¡¯m going to change into some workout clothes and then hit the gym. Do you know where it is?¡±
¡°It¡¯s back past the main lobby building. I¡¯ll take you there.¡±
¡°Naw. That¡¯s okay. Take a break for a bit,¡± I said as I followed the porter carrying my bags into my bungalow.
¡°Champ. I know you are on vacation, but Chip and I are not. Let us do our job.¡± The big ex-SEAL frowned at me when he talked.
¡°Ahh fine, but you¡¯re going to spot me okay?¡± I laughed.
¡°Looking forward to it, Champ. I¡¯ll go let Chip know.¡±
¡°Ask him to keep an eye on Sal. I don¡¯t need both of you to spot me,¡± I said as I signed the porter¡¯s photo of me and gave him a tip.
¡°Got it. Don¡¯t leave without me.¡± My bodyguard walked out with the porter.
I changed out of my jeans and polo shirt and into my workout shorts and shirt. Then I gave the ocean a long look before I walked out of the door of my bungalow. Dale was waiting for me, and he led me back toward the lobby on the other side of the resort.
The place was pretty empty. Sal had told me that the owners of the island had comped all of our rooms, but they were charging Sal¡¯s ¡°guests¡± an inflated rate so that the resort would be semi-private for the week. I only saw the staff and a few rich looking couples following their porters to their own bungalows.
¡°Jax and Garf¡¯s girlfriends are at the infinity pool. Any idea where it is?¡± I asked Dale as we walked past the lobby.
¡°It is on the other side of this fence, Champ,¡± the muscular man said as he gestured with his finger. ¡°The gym is up ahead.¡±
¡°I see it.¡±
¡°I already checked it out. You¡¯ll be happy with it. I¡¯m guessing they bought some stuff because they knew you were going to be here. All the iron looks new and polished.¡±
¡°Excellent,¡± I stepped into the gym, gave it a look over, and smiled.
The space was large, covered with black padded floor mats, and the ocean facing wall was made of glass. There was a towel cabinet, water cooler, half a dozen treadmills, a few exercise bikes, ellipticals, and one of the full body vector machines that were supposed to automatically work out every muscle in your body. The company had asked me to be their celebrity endorsement a few years ago, but I¡¯d tried the unit and thought it sucked, so I refused their money. The room was empty of other resort guests, but a TV hung on each of the four walls, and they all played dance music set to Astafar Unlimited''s in-game scenes.
¡°Ahh, here is the good stuff,¡± I said to a smiling Dale when he led me past all the bullshit machines.
In the corner of the room was a squat rack, a bench, an assortment of bars, a stack of bumper plates, a deluxe rack of dumbbells, an army of kettlebells, and a heavy hanging bag. This was my church, and it had been too many days since I¡¯d given a confession.
¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± Dale asked.
¡°You gonna lift with me?¡±
¡°Sure thing, Champ.¡±
Dale was a strong fucker, and his mental game was tough, but his job didn¡¯t involve spending four hours at the gym every day and eight hours of playing a virtual video game. I also didn¡¯t have Calic screaming at me, and I was supposed to be on vacation, so I decided that a lighter than usual session would be appropriate.
Dale wasn¡¯t wearing great workout gear. He carried a pistol all day, every day, and was wearing a large polo shirt to conceal its bulk. He was also wearing tighter than optimal cotton pocket shorts and those topsider boat loafer shoes. He was an ex-SEAL though, and the man didn¡¯t have a problem doing any of my warm up floor exercises.
¡°Pull-ups first,¡± I said as I jumped up to the squat rack and grabbed the top. I did them ¡°L-sit¡± style with my toes pointed, and my legs tensed out in front of me so that they were parallel to the floor. As soon as I finished my twenty, I dropped back to the ground and gestured for my bodyguard to take his turn.
¡°I¡¯m actually not in the mood for a vacation. Don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve been working hard these last few months,¡± I said to Dale. My bodyguards were good for therapy sessions. Both of them were really smart dudes who didn¡¯t sugar coat anything.
¡°Eh,¡± he grunted as he finished his last few pull ups and then dropped to the mats. ¡°Sal says you need a vacation. He¡¯s a smart guy. Also, I agree with him. Ever since the championship you¡¯ve been kind of off.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked as I grabbed onto the bar and lifted my chest up.
¡°You haven¡¯t been smiling as much. Or joking as much, but I can understand that all these public appearances are fucking annoying.¡± He laughed for a second. ¡°Last Thanksgiving I was hanging out with the family back home. Little sister was there with her fianc¨¦. I hadn¡¯t met the guy yet, but he seemed nice enough. Kept bugging me about you. I don¡¯t think people realize how much work you put in. They just think you play video games all day and have fun. Even when I broke down how many hours you train, and that you never take a day off, the kid still had stars in his eyes. These people only see your fame, and they don¡¯t see your struggle.¡±
¡°Yeah. It is work,¡± I said as I dropped back to the ground.
¡°So you need a vacation sometimes. Even if you love what you do, it helps to take a break from it for a few weeks out of the year. You don¡¯t ever take a break. I¡¯ve seen plenty of burnout with the SEALs. I can recognize what you are going through.¡±
Dale jumped up to do his pull ups, and I thought about what he said. The door opened to the room, and I turned to see a woman walk into the gym. She was gorgeous, tall, athletic, blonde, and wearing tight yoga pants. She flashed me a quick smile, put on her headphones, and then adjusted one of the stationary bikes by sitting on it a few times and then moving the saddle. I wondered if she was one of Sonya¡¯s model friends from the lobby that I didn''t recognize. I hadn''t paid much attention to them.
¡°What¡¯s next?¡± my bodyguard said as he dropped to the ground.
¡°Let¡¯s do some military presses.¡± I walked over to the dumbbell rack and grabbed a pair of hundred pounders.
¡°I¡¯ll hit it when you finish your set,¡± Dale said as he glanced at the woman on the bike. She was completely ignoring us, but my bodyguard was used to groupies throwing themselves at me, and he positioned himself to intercept her if he needed.
¡°Okay,¡± I grunted as I did my presses.
A man came into the gym, and I saw Dale tense for half a second. The newcomer had gray hair, with a slightly bent back, and he smiled at us with a wrinkled face. The man walked over to the far side of the gym and then took a spot on one of the treadmills there.
¡°You¡¯re up,¡± I grunted as I set down the dumbbells back on the rack. I was lifting about twenty pounds lighter than I normally did, and I was only doing half the usual reps. My blood was still pumping through my heart, and I was starting to feel the euphoric sensation of a great workout.
¡°I¡¯m okay for a bit.¡± Dale¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t quite a whisper, but he wasn¡¯t speaking loudly.
¡°Something wrong?¡± I asked between breaths.
¡°Naw. We are good.¡± The bodyguard smiled at me, and then nodded back at the weights. ¡°Go hit it again.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
I grabbed the weights and did ten more presses with them over my head. I could have probably done more weight on a full-length Olympic bar, but doing the movement with dumbbells was better for my supporting shoulder muscles since they had to work to keep the weight balanced over my head. I finished the set, put them down, and actually felt as if I could do another four sets, but I didn¡¯t want to have a hard workout before the pool.
The door to the gym opened, and one of the resort staff wheeled in a towel cart. The man had dark islander skin, and he turned his attention to the towel cabinet without looking at us.
¡°Leo, let¡¯s go,¡± Dale whispered.
¡°Huh?¡± I asked as I grabbed the dumbbells again. ¡°We are just getting started.¡±
¡°Yeah, but let¡¯s get out of here. Set down the dumbbells please.¡±
¡°Why? What are you thinking?¡± I turned to face the space of the gym. The other three people looked completely harmless. Well, the woman looked like she was capable of easily breaking hearts.
¡°When was the last time you were in a room with people that didn¡¯t immediately want your autograph?¡±
¡°Huh. Well, if you--¡± Sal stormed into the gym, and I stopped mid-sentence. His face was red, and it looked as if the man had been running.
¡°Leo! Thank Yahweh. We gotta talk right now,¡± he said as he walked across the gym.
¡°What¡¯s up, Sal? What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked as my eyes were suddenly drawn to the resort worker stocking the towels by the door.
The man pulled something out of his cart, and the world slowed around me.
It was a black pistol with a silencer attached to the barrel.
¡°I¡¯ve been making some more calls about your girlfriend and her company. Listen Champ, you--¡±
¡°Get down!¡± Dale expected this, and he jumped in front of me as the uniformed assassin raised the pistol toward us.
¡°Shit!¡± I shouted.
There were some popping sounds; as if the towel man was going to town on bubble wrap. The dumbbells in my hand bucked back against my chest as they blocked the bullets that the assassin shot through Dale. I gasped with surprise when the weights hit me, and I felt my torso jerk backward. I was suddenly off balance and backpedaled to keep upright.
The back of Dale¡¯s white polo shirt was covered with bloody holes, but the ex-SEAL was still standing, and he pointed his own gun at the shooter. An unsilenced gunshot rang out in the gym, and I saw the other man¡¯s face disappear into a cloud of brains, blood, and red skull fragments.
¡°Are you okay?¡± Dale shouted as he looked back over his shoulder at me.
¡°I think so,¡± I stared down at the dumbbells clutched to my chest and saw small pockmarks on the surface of their polished bumpers. The giant hunks of iron had just accidently saved my life.
I dropped the weights and dashed to my guard¡¯s side. Dale¡¯s shirt was mostly red now, and his blood was dripping all over the black rubber tiles of the gym like rain.
Then I noticed Sal.
The small Jewish man was lying on his back six feet from Dale. He was on his side, and I saw that he was clutching his chest and stomach. A crimson dribble escaped from his fingers, and my friend¡¯s face was white.
¡°No!¡± I forgot all about my guard and stepped over to Sal. ¡°Dale, Sal is hit!¡±
¡°I know. Just gurraggh!¡± the ex-SEAL choked, and I turned my head back around.
The blonde woman had cut Dale¡¯s neck wide open with a knife.
He reached up with one hand to try and stanch the wound while he dove backward toward where Sal and I were. I also saw that the old man was running toward the body of the assassin that Dale had shot, and he dove toward the gun in the dead man¡¯s hands.
Shit. This was all sorts of bad.
Dale seemed to realize that the other man was reaching for the uniformed assassin¡¯s gun, and he made a last shot with his own pistol. The boom echoed in the small room like a canon, and the bullet took the old man in the shoulder. The assassin spun around like a tossed football, and he crashed on top of the mostly faceless corpse of his partner.
The woman dove toward Dale and her knife plunged into the muscular man¡¯s chest at the heart. I had no doubt in my mind that my friend was already on death¡¯s door, but the woman¡¯s attack sealed the deal, and his body immediately went limp.
I kicked out with my left foot and hit her in the face. She was a pro, though, and she twisted her neck at the last moment so that the attack landed mostly on her cheek. She kind of leaned back with the movement, and yanked her blade out of Dale¡¯s dead body with an upward slash that almost cut my hamstring in half. Fortunately, I¡¯d guessed that she would do that, and I¡¯d yanked my leg back as soon as I struck her.
We both jumped to our feet, and I moved so that I stood between the woman and Sal. I doubted that my manager was actually her target, but I wasn¡¯t going to let her kill my other friend. I raised my hands over my face at an angle, hunched my back a bit, and took a few deep breaths to steady my racing adrenaline.
Part of me screamed with grief. Dale was dead, and Sal was probably on his way there, but another part of me, the cold warrior that was a world champion video game player, worked at light speed to puzzle out my victory.
The situation looked grim.
They were often underrated, but knives were one of the most deadly hand weapons. They were small and easy to conceal. They made no sound when one attacked with them, and they could do an incredible amount of irreversible damage in only a few seconds. In some ways, I would have preferred to fight someone with a pistol at this close of range. Guns were only dangerous if you were standing directly in the path of the bullet, and I could easily trap a gun away from me, disarm an opponent, and then beat them to death. Knives were almost impossible to trap without getting seriously cut, and an opponent could move their arm to attack at almost any angle. Knives were fucking scary, and someone trained in a martial art that specialized in short blade work, like Filipino Silat or Kali, were top of the food chain in the martial arts world.
But that was just in the martial arts world. The real world was a whole lot more complicated and brutal. When I had hired my trainer, I had interviewed hundreds of martial artists from all over the world. Everyone wanted to work with me, and they were all world class teachers. I had started off each interview by asking the men and women to take off their shirts. They all had gleefully complied to show off their chiseled torsos, but they had failed to realize what I was looking for.
When Bantog had taken off his shirt, I knew I¡¯d found my teacher. The man wasn¡¯t very muscular if anything his body was old and sagging in areas, but his chest, arms, and back were covered with hundreds of scars. The older man had seen some serious shit in his life, and there was no doubting that he had applied his martial arts training to real world situations.
My prediction ended up being correct, and the man had taught me more about martial arts, defense, and killing than I had ever thought I would learn.
Now it was time to apply it outside of a video game.
The pretty blonde woman hunched over slightly, pulled her right arm with the knife close to her breast, and then she extended out her left arm a bit. It wasn¡¯t a bullshit martial arts stance or something fake I would see in movies. My opponent knew how to handle her weapon, and the sight made me relax a little. She was still going to hurt me, but I had practiced against this stance for hundreds of hours, and I could live through the conflict if I got lucky.
There were really only three strategies when fighting with a knife against an unarmed opponent: The first was to just surprise them and kill them quickly with dozens of stabs or cuts to vital areas. She¡¯d kind of done that already to Dale, so that left her with options two and three. If she had been a man and weighed roughly the same as me, she would have just tackled me football player style. It wasn¡¯t elegant, but it was very effective, and how most knife fights in prison went down. It would be too hard for me to fend off her grapple and the knife stabs at the same time. I¡¯d die, and all the martial arts training or real life experience in the world wouldn¡¯t help save me.
The supermodel assassin hadn¡¯t decided to tackle me because I outweighed her by a hundred pounds. She was smart, and she knew she had time on her side. She was choosing to kind of duel me while standing. It meant that I¡¯d be able to bring more of my training into play, and I guessed that the trio had planned for me to be killed by the gunman. The woman and the other man were probably just there to help dispose of the bodies or assist if something went wrong with the initial attempt.
She jerked her right arm forward a bit, but I saw through her feint, and didn¡¯t bother to move my arm to block. Her left arm punched toward me, and I knocked it out of the way with my right palm while I kept my eyes on her knife shoulder. She stepped toward me with a quick thrust, and I twisted my stomach away while I slapped down with my left hand. I caught the top of her forearm with my slap, and the blade went wide of my body. She tried to slash it upward as soon as I hit her, but I¡¯d moved my palm back up and then I smacked the outside of her wrist again to push her right hand across her body. For half of a split of a second, I thought I was about to trap her hand, but she danced a few steps away from me, and I didn¡¯t want to risk reaching for her blade.
The woman hunched over slightly again and took up her fighting position. I was actually standing in almost exactly the same stance, but I didn¡¯t have a knife tucked close to my right torso. Her blue eyes were cold and calculating. They were the eyes of someone who had done this before. They were the eyes of someone that knew she had all the leverage and plenty of time to carve me to pieces.
She made a slow reach for my left arm, and I smacked her hand away quickly. If she grabbed onto my wrist, bicep, or shoulder, she¡¯d instantly start stabbing with her blade, and I¡¯d be dead in less than four seconds. What I really needed to do was get her to extend her knife past her body line so that I could try and trap the weapon. It was probably going to be next to impossible. In the movies, the ¡®bad guys¡¯ always stood with the blade outstretched and ready for the hero to knock it free. Real knife fighters kept the blade chambered against their bodies, like this woman did, and would only bring it out to stab when she¡¯d opened my defenses with her left-hand attacks.
¡°Not going to work, bitch,¡± I growled at her when she made a third grab attack that I knocked away. I figured that I might be able to get her mad or something, and then she¡¯d let emotions get in the way and slip up, but she didn¡¯t acknowledge my words.
Her blue eyes did glance to her left slightly.
I feinted to look to the side, and the woman moved to snatch my arm again. I had guessed that she was trying to distract me with her eye motion, and I almost smiled when she fell into my trap. As soon as her fingers dug into my forearm, she jerked her right arm forward. I twisted my body to the side with an explosive movement and then punched out my right arm. I felt her blade cut across the side of my stomach, but I¡¯d managed to flip my arm upside down across her throat so that my palm faced the roof of the gym. My bicep cranked around her thin neck like a snake, and I grabbed onto the front of my shirt to keep the choke hold locked.
She moved to stab my arm with her knife, but I twisted her neck down, and her stomach bowed out. If the pretty assassin had kept her left hand on my arm she might have been able to keep me tied up, but she had let it go to try and pry away my modified guillotine choke, and it meant that I could reach my left hand over to grab onto her knife wrist.
Now she was fucked.
The woman was surprisingly strong, but I had her bent back so that she couldn¡¯t get any power from her legs. My left hand grabbed over her hand, and I started to pull the blade away from my right arm.
¡°Muuurrgh!¡± she gasped through my choke, and she tried to kick out her legs so that we¡¯d tumble to the ground. The movement backfired, though. I was strong enough to bear her weight with my single arm, and her movement just increased the pressure on her own neck.
The woman¡¯s arm struggled against my grip, and I pulled the dagger toward her chest. My rage and hate seemed to add incredible strength to my arm, and I felt the tip of the blade penetrate the front of her tight lycra workout shirt.
¡°Muuuuummm!¡± I guessed she was trying to scream ¡°no,¡± and I stopped myself from pushing the tip of her knife into her chest. I wanted to kill her, but then the cops wouldn¡¯t be able to interrogate her and find out who she was working for. The other assassin was dead, and the third was--
I glanced over at the second male assassin and saw that he had crawled to the silenced pistol. I had been so focused on protecting myself from the knife-wielding woman that I had forgotten that the third assassin might have lived through Dale¡¯s last attempt to defend me.
I lifted up on the woman¡¯s neck and kind of pushed, kind of carried her the forty feet across the gym. She let out another choked screech, but the man¡¯s hands wrapped around the grip of the pistol and time slowed down again. I was sprinting as hard as I could, and I slammed the woman¡¯s back on top of the man before he could point the gun at me.
Her hand let go of the knife, and I pulled it from her limp fingers. The man was underneath her, and both of their limbs were tangled together like an octopus. He twisted to point the gun at me, and I twisted to find a spot where I could stab him. I was suddenly staring at the business end of the silencer, and I ducked my head out of the way half a second before I heard the weapon make a popping noise.
My right hand grabbed his gun wrist through the woman¡¯s legs. I managed to do a rowing like move and yank the man away from her. We fell onto the open tile away from the bloody corpse of the first assassin and I wrapped my legs around him in guard position.
Then I brought my newly acquired knife into play. I stabbed at the man¡¯s head, neck, face, and shoulders until I¡¯d lost count of my attacks. Blood was all over my shirt, arm, and face. It was obvious that the man was dead, but I gave him one last stab through the skull before I kicked him off of me.
I rose to my feet with a growl of anger and stalked to the woman. Hundreds of different flavors of rage spiraled through my head, and I readied the knife with a dark hope that she would give me a reason to act upon my emotions. I half expected her to beg for her own life, or to try and fight me again, but the woman didn''t move when I grabbed her shoulder.
"Fucking shit!" I roared.
I didn''t know if I''d accidently snapped her neck when I fell with her onto the other assassin, but there was no mistaking that her blue eyes were dead. I reached my trembling and blood-soaked fingers to her neck. Yep, no pulse. Fucking shit fuck damn it.
Then I noticed the tattoo on the side of her neck.
It was small, maybe the size of my thumbnail. It looked like a five-pointed star, only the corners were rounded. Inside of the shape was another five-pointed shape colored in with light tattoo ink, inside of this design was a third tiny five-pointed shape that was darkly colored with the ink. The tattoo wasn¡¯t familiar to me, and I thought it looked like a flower.
I moved back to the man I''d stabbed in the face, and I checked to see if he had the same marking on his neck. Unfortunately, I had really done a number on his upper body with the knife, and the dead man was covered with wet blood. It would take me precious minutes to wipe him clean and look for the marking.
Sal didn''t have minutes, and I kneeled on the floor next to him.
"Hey, buddy. It''s okay. It''s okay," Sal''s chest and stomach were bleeding profusely, and his face was whiter than a cotton sheet.
"Leeee-oooh," he whispered through chattering teeth, and I grabbed his bloody hand.
"It''s going to be okay buddy," I lied as I blinked away tears. No. It wasn¡¯t going to be okay. The hole in his chest was right next to his heart. I looked around the gym and wondered why no one was here yet. Hadn''t they heard the gunshots?
Were there other assassins? Did they send people after Jax and Garf? I gulped down a mouthful of terror and wondered if the entire resort had been invaded. Sal had told me that there would be a bunch of political bigwigs from around the world here this weekend. Was this some sort of giant organized terrorist attack?
"I''m going to check the door. It''s going to be okay, Sal. Just stay awake. Okay?" The small man blinked at me, and I let go of his trembling hand.
I crawled across the bloody tile to the door of the gym. I stayed low and then cracked open the door. There were a few people walking outside in their tropical leisure outfits. They didn''t seem to even know what had happened in here, and I guessed that the gym might have been sound proofed.
"Hey! Get help! There has been a murder!" I yelled at the group as I pushed the door open all the way. The resort guests stared at me with dumbfounded shock, and I realized I must have looked like a walking horror movie. I was covered in blood, but most of it wasn''t actually mine.
"Get fucking help! Hurry!" I yelled at them again before I went back to my friend''s side.
But Sal Gordon was dead.