by Dante Steel
“If you don’t want to play…”
Gary felt guilty. His friend had spent a lot of money on the game for him, and he wasn’t going to be an ungrateful prick about it.
“Nah, I’ll play.”
At first, Gary wanted to make his avatar look like himself, but then he decided that his legs should be stronger. His chest and arms too. Not quite bodybuilder big but stronger than he was in real life. Hey, if he was going to be in a game with monsters and quests without any superpowers, then he needed to have some kind of advantage. He'd take what he could get.
As for his attire, Gary opted for black pants and a camouflage shirt and dark boots. He hadn’t the slightest clue what they might come up against, but he thought blending into the surroundings might be a good idea.
The scene shifted, and suddenly, all kinds of letters and numbers stood before Gary.
“What in the world is this?” he asked.
“You’ve never played a legit RPG before, have you?” Jorge sounded disgusted. “Chico, I’m sorry. You were dealt a raw hand.”
Gary grimaced but said nothing.
“These are our stats. We’re all given the same basic ones. Twenty points in strength; ten in dexterity, intelligence, and willpower; and fifteen in endurance and vitality.”
Gary shook his head. “I have fifteen straight across the board.”
“Huh. Interesting. I just assumed… Ah, well, I have ten points to put in whatever I want. How many do you have?”
“None.” Gary did some quick math. “You need those ten to have the same number of points as me.”
“Ah, okay. That makes sense. Let’s see. I’m a mage, so willpower might be my best bet. I’m surprised they gave me so much strength. Normally, mages are weak.”
“What exactly is willpower?”
“Willpower is one of the ways that magic can be done. It affects how many magic points you have.”
"Would a mage need intelligence too?" Gary asked. His head was starting to swim. At first, he had been annoyed that he didn't have any points to allocate, but now, Gary was grateful he didn't have to worry about figuring out what should go where.
“Hmm. You’re right. I might need more intelligence points to learn certain spells. Man, I really thought I would be something amazing. Why can’t I have had super strength? Or the ability to generate something? Or an enhancement of some kind? But no. I’m just a boring old mage. You know, I’ve never played a mage before? I’m almost always the thief. Sneak around, steal all the best shit, make friends with some brute tank.”
“Are you gonna use your points?” Gary grumbled.
“Oh, right. Sorry, man. I forgot you… Yeah. Half in willpower, half in intelligence. There.”
Immediately, the scene shifted, and now they stood in an armory. Axes, bows and arrows, shields, spears, swords, knives, daggers, maces… so many weapons filled the space, even full suits of armor!
Jorge was there, glancing around. At the sight of his friend in black pants and a white shirt, Gary chuckled.
“What is it?” Jorge asked.
“You. Shouldn’t you be wearing a robe? You know, like any good wizard?”
“Ah, you’re assuming I’m a good wizard.” Jorge winked. He shrugged. “I can always buy a robe if I have to. I’m sure there will be some that will increase my intelligence.”
“A robe increases your intelligence?”
“Yes. Trust me. It’s just how games work.”
Gary scratched the back of his head. If a robe could make him smarter in the real world, he just might be tempted to wear it, fashion be damned.
Jorge strolled over to the wands. As soon as he picked one up, a man appeared as if out of nowhere.
“That will be five hundred rupas,” he said.
Jorge whistled and put it down. He patted the pouch at his side. “I only have twenty-five. Got anything I can purchase for that?”
The man, who was bald and with a massive nose that shifted his entire face when he sniffed, turned awkwardly on his heel and marched over to a dusty corner. A few rusted weapons were there. No canes.
Gary patted his waist. “Why didn’t I get a pouch?” he complained.
“Maybe each superhero class gets a different coin amount to start off with,” Jorge mused.
“And since I’m not a superhero, I get nothing,” Gary said.
“Don’t worry. Maybe you’ll walk into a random building, and someone will just give you a sword to help you on your quest.” Jorge grinned.
Gary thought and thought. He knew this was a reference to a game he had actually played, and he snapped his fingers.
“Zelda!”
Jorge sighed and rolled his eyes. “Link. You played Link. Zelda was the one who needed to be saved.”
“I knew that,” Gary said defensively.
“You’re gonna get yourself killed,” Jorge muttered. “Don’t ever play this without me.”
Gary ignored him. “You gonna buy any of that crap?”
“Nah. Let’s walk around town for a bit and see what we find. If it’s necessary for us to arm ourselves, we’ll figure something out.”
“How am I gonna do that?”
“I don’t know, but if you’re thinking about picking up and smashing random vases, no bueno.”
Gary grinned. "And only jump if there's a block above my head?"
“Sure, if you want a concussion.”
The two looked around for a few more minutes. Then, Jorge led the way out an open door Gary hadn’t noticed at first. Jorge was right. Before them was a bustling town. Many people were milling about. Several were talking to each other.
Jorge strolled about with purpose. “Eventually, you’ll be able to tell who is a player and who is a part of the game,” he said. “Those that are for the gameplay are NPC.”
“Something something character,” Gary guessed.
Jorge laughed. “Non-playing characters. You do know about HP and MP, right?”
“Yeah, hit points and magic points. Hey, if we’re attacked in the game, will we feel pain?”
“Probably. It won’t be real, of course. Die in the game, you won’t die in real life.”
“I’m not worried about dying in real life,” Gary muttered. He glanced up at the sky, a lovely, incredibly blue shade without any clouds at all. “Seems too quiet and peaceful.”
“That’s when you know shit’s about to hit the fan,” Jorge said. “Oh, and if there’s a save point and a lot of potions lying around, you know a boss is around the bend.”
“Save points?”
“With this game, everything is saved immediately. I was just making a joke. Relax! You’re so uptight.” Jorge spun around and faced the shop. “Well, well, well, would you look at that?”
Gary turned to see a woman with boobs bigger than her head. It looked ridiculous, entirely out of proportion.
“I am gonna talk to her.” Jorge started to walk over, but Gary grabbed his arm.
“You do realize that she doesn’t look like that in real life, right?”
"Who cares? I can rub one out later once we're done playing. You can't tell me you're not turned on by her."
“That’s an avatar, not a her.”
“Same difference.” Jorge shrugged himself free and strolled up to the enormously bosomed woman with swag that was so comical Gary had to laugh.
“Thank you,” a soft voice said from behind Gary.
He turned around to see a hooded woman in dark clothing and a cloak. Gloves covered her hands.
“You’re welcome,” he said, “but I don’t know what I did.”
“You stuck up for women.”
“Oh. That. I…” Gary shrugged.
The woman lowered her hood. Her hair was a deep red color, too red to look natural, but her features were otherwise pretty, not beautiful, and proportional. Her boobs were a little on the small side, not that he was looking long.
"Guys aren't the only gamers. I hate all of the games that have the female
characters in bikinis. Come on. You go to a knife fight, a sword fight, a gunfight, any fight, and you show up in a bikini, and you’ll be dead in two seconds flat. No thank you. I’d much rather get a full suit of armor, thank you very much.”
Gary held out his hand. “I’m Gary.”
Her grin was a little tense, and she clasped her hands behind her back instead of shaking his hand. “Elena.”
Gary wracked his brain for something to say and finally blurted, “What’s your superpower?”
Great. Good job, Gary. Now, she’s gonna ask about yours, and she’ll learn just how lame you are.
Elena hung her head. “I’m not the happiest about my ability,” she said haltingly.
Gary shrugged. “Neither is my friend.” He nodded toward Jorge, who was still chatting up… no. A different female. Of course. If one turned him down, Jorge never sweated. He just moved on to the next.
“And you?” Elena asked.
Gary laughed. “Having zero powers in a superhero game? Yeah, I’m not happy.”
“None?” she asked incredulously. “That has to be a glitch or something.”
“Yeah, well, lucky me.”
“Okay, I don’t feel so bad now.” Elena brought her hands back in front of her and removed a glove to reveal a metal hand, the fingers long and sleek, glittering in the sunlight.
“Metal hands?”
“Yeah. Super strong, but the rest of me…” She shrugged. “Just ordinary. Boring. Why couldn’t my entire body be strong?”
“Maybe it will be in time. Put a ton of points into strength. We, well, you all…” Gary spread out his arm to encompass the other players. “You need to grow into your powers. That’s my guess.”
"Makes sense." Elena laughed. "I guess when you think of superheroes, you think kick ass! right from the get-go, you know?"
“You still have a leg, er, fist up on me.” Gary groaned inwardly. That was a terrible joke.
Elena’s smile grew kinda tight again, and Gary glanced over at Jorge. He was still talking to some female players and showed no signs of moving any time soon.
“Your friend looks busy,” she commented.
“Yeah, not busy playing,” Gary said.
Or playing a whole different game instead. Gary shook his head. He didn’t understand the allure of flirting with female gamers. Hell, for all Jorge knew, it could be a guy playing under a female avatar. Any girl in her right mind would know that having an avatar with boobs that would big would attract attention. Then again, maybe some girls did want that kind of attention.
“I’m gonna figure out the next step in the game,” Elena said.
“Mind if I tag along?” Gary blurted.
Elena shrugged, and he fell into step beside her.
They talked to several NPC and learned about random, silly stuff like a woman was pregnant with her twelfth kid, or a man wanted to go out on adventures, but his wife wouldn't let him, or a girl wanted a pony.
“I bet that one of those twelve kids will go missing one day, and we’ll have to find him,” Elena said as they walked away from that group of characters.
“And the man?”
“Maybe he’ll run off on an adventure and his wife will pay us to bring him back home safely.”
“Or she’ll be glad to be rid of him if he’s going to run off on her,” Gary said.
Elena laughed. “True. She’ll pay us not to rescue him.”
“And the girl, maybe she’ll give us something if we find her a pony.”
Rubbing her chin, Elena frowned. “Usually a message will pop up that you have a quest and you can choose to accept or decline it, but maybe you’re right. This is a new game, and they all have different quirks.”
“Like no superpowers for me,” he muttered. “Sorry. I’m a little bitter.”
“Hey, I would be too if I hadn’t been given anything. No sweat.”
The next NPC they approached was a man who was nervously wringing his hands. He didn’t seem to be that much happier when they approached him.
“Hello,” Elena said.
The man looked them over and then clapped his hands. “Are you superheroes?” he asked. “Please, I need your help!”
“What’s wrong?” Gary asked.
“Somebody’s poisoned the water hole!”
Chapter Three
Elena cracked up. Before she could say anything, black words floated before them.
Do you accept his quest?
“Sure,” Elena said.
“Why not?” Gary agreed.
“But I’ll have to do it tomorrow. I gotta run. It was nice playing with you, Gary.”
He couldn’t help grinning.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Really, dude?”
Gary shrugged. “I am a guy, and I never claimed I was perfect.”
“At least you aren’t delusional. That is a plus.” She grinned. “Bye.”
And she just up and disappeared.
Gary glanced around. Huh. That was a little unnerving.
Just then, he realized someone was tapping his shoulder, but not in the game. In real life.
Gary removed his headset, but the game was still on. He felt a little disoriented. His apartment was dim and depressing after the bright, sunny day in town. The game had felt so incredibly real.
“What’s up?” he asked Jorge.
“I have to hit the road,” Jorge said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder toward the door.
“No problem.” Gary was a little disappointed. They hadn’t played that long, had they?
He glanced at his cheap watch, and his eyes bulged. He couldn’t believe so much time had passed. Two whole hours! No wonder he was starving.
“What did you think of the game?” Gary asked.
Jorge grimaced. “I have to admit that I’m not impressed so far. I think it’s dumb that I’m a mage, and you have no powers whatsoever. What a rip off. Mages aren’t true superheroes. And a superhero without any powers? Give me a break, man.”
“I think it’s fun,” Gary said defensively.
“You haven’t even gone out and battled at all yet.”
“Neither have you.”
“Don’t look at me.” Jorge held out his hands defensively. “I wasn’t the only one chatting up females.”
“One,” Gary said. “I talked to one female. And I talked to her. I didn’t flirt with her. How many did you hound?”
“Hound? I never hound anyone,” Jorge said. “What does it matter how many I talked to?”
“Isn’t that part of the game?” Gary asked. “Making friends, meeting new people, playing together?”
“Yes, yes.” Jorge sighed.
“Maybe I’ll be able to gain a superhero ability as I power up. Maybe you’ll be able to gain something else. Honestly, I think being a mage sounds awesome.”
“But it’s not—”
“I know. I know. It’s not a superpower. Still, at least you’re more of a hero than I am. I’m just a zero.”
“I don’t have any spells yet,” Jorge said.
“So, tomorrow, we can play. You can learn a spell. I’ll figure something out.”
“Yes, tomorrow. Don’t play without me. I don’t want you to get killed.”
Gary laughed. “It’s not as if I’ll get killed in real life.”
“No, but still. It’ll be more fun together.”
“Like it was now when you ditched me to talk to girls with fake boobs?”
“Hey, now. A lot of girls in the real world have fake boobs.”
Gary just shook his head.
Jorge rubbed his chin. “Although you kinda have a point. Real boobs feel better than fake ones.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Gary said dryly.
“Please tell me you’ve at least touched a woman’s bosom.”
Gary burst out laughing. “No,” he jested, “I’ve only touched boobs.”
“Good. Adios, mi amigo. Hasta manana.”
Gary waved to Jorge, put the head
set back on so he could log off, and turned off the console. Already, he missed the game, but his stomach was angry with him, and he needed food. And then maybe a nap. Even though he only had to make one trek to move here, he was still tired. He could finish the rest of the unpacking tomorrow.
Chapter Four
The next day, Gary went to work and was surprised to see another man behind the wheel. That was strange. Jorge hardly ever called off.
Once the workday was done, Gary went back to his place. Usually, Jorge would drop him off. Instead, Gary had to take the bus. He grimaced, imagining flies coming out of his wallet. He needed to figure out a budget to make sure that he didn't overspend. No way did he want to lose out on the apartment so quickly after getting it.
After a quick dinner—nothing fancy, just a frozen pizza—Gary logged onto Superheroes Online. He hated that it still flashed Superpower: none. If he had his way, it would change and hopefully sooner rather than later.
Gary was transported to the same spot he'd been when he'd logged off, and he immediately surveyed the town for a certain redheaded hooded woman, but Elena wasn't in sight.
Stupid. Don’t worry about her, and just play the game.
Even though the man was an NPC, Gary still nodded to the quest-giver.
"Can you tell me where the waterhole is?" Gary asked.
“To the north, past a large boulder, by a tree on a hill.”
Kinda strange directions. Gary nodded again and set off on foot. He spied several horses tied up to various trees. Maybe he would be able to afford one someday. Many years ago, he had ridden a pony once, but that was the extent of his riding experiences. Would riding one in the game resemble riding one in real life? Considering that the sun was beating down on him so much that he thought his body might literally be sweating back in his apartment, he figured that riding would have to be similar between the game and real life.
The farther through town Gary walked, the more players he saw. Some already looked like real superheroes, dressed in spandex and capes that hadn’t been an option for Gary when he started. How long had those players been active for? Maybe they hadn’t slept at all.
Before yesterday, Gary never would have understood how a person could be so obsessed with a game that they would forget to eat or shower or even sleep. Now, with how immersive the game was, Gary maybe could understand a little more.
