Avarice: A LitRPG Virtual Fantasy Adventure

by Jeffrey Thorne

  Shiftily, I realized that a few of them had begun reaching for their weapons.

  “New Player huh? Think you can use the same line twice eh Sea Claw scum?”

  “Sea Claw? W-wait wait, I think there’s a mistake here, I’m not in any faction yet, I really am a new player!”

  I swallowed my suddenly dry throat as I realized that my words seemed to be falling on deaf ears. I knew that PvP was a thing, but shouldn’t there be zones where PvP was not allowed? Or prevented?

  I suddenly remembered just what game I had entered in the first place.

  Then I noticed the man in front of me began reaching for his weapon.

  “Well fuck.”

  I ran.

  I turned the other direction and ran, cursing my breath as the players had decided to take pursuit. This was an entirely different case with the Elf Purists that were nothing but a bunch of low-leveled NPCs, these were players who had higher levels, gear, statistics and equipment. There were higher odds of a snowball dating an ice cone in hell then they were of me actually being able to last against these guys if they were going all out.

  To some relief, I noted that none of them were shooting at me yet, but their distrustful gazes had not boded well at all. I did not understand, it was almost as though they had never seen a new player before. I mean, shouldn’t there have been something to indicate that I was not from a rival faction or gang or whatever trying to sneak into their camp?

  “Shit, this game is totally not new-player friendly.”

  I took shelter in what looked to be an abandoned mall, shattering through glass doors with my arms in front of me, before landing in a roll to conserve momentum as I got up and kept running.

  Maybe I was being hasty, but all at once my mind was now remembering all the warnings I had read about Avarice. About the game now being used by everything from gangbangers to mafias as a form of covert and risk-free meeting zone to conduct all sorts of business. I had written it off as being nothing but mere rumors, because the idea alone seemed like something that a jobless teenager would create as a hoax on troll forums than something that had any real merit to them.

  I mean, come on, gangs using a virtual immersion videogame to run their business and communicate covertly? As a medium in which drugs and weapons could be bought and sold? It sounded far too bizarre to be real.

  Well, until you remembered the sheer benefits the world possessed. Addicts of all sorts would love this place, being able to get their fix without drawbacks. And someone needed to create the drugs and the weed that other players consumed.

  “Well, well, what do we have here?”

  I skid to a slow, gentle stop.

  There was a woman in front of me, a blue-eyed, black-haired dark elf I abstractly noted. I swallowed as I noticed that the ‘armor’ she wore barely covered enough of her body to be decent, as it was consisted mostly of a brisk black bulletproof vest and numerous belts, all somehow connected together to form a ‘skirt’. Long dark creamy thighs drew my attention, but not more so than the large breast that were hidden behind the vest.

  “Who – who are you?”

  “I’m asking the questions here honey.”

  She seemed amused, or at least, I hoped it was amusement that was in her voice.

  “Now, if you tell me who you work for honey, this might go a little easier.”

  “What?”

  I found myself uttering the word before I could curb the instinct.

  “Come on, no need to play dumb. What posse are you in? The Blood Palms? The Sea Claws? The Sun Talons?”

  I frowned. What in the world was up with so many gangs in this place?

  “I don’t work for any gang – I’m just a new player.”

  She stared at me before letting out a long laugh, one which I suppose would have been more amusing if I wasn’t extremely lost.

  “You – you’re serious.”

  I tilted my head.

  “Sorry hun, it’s just been so long since we’ve gotten any new players.”

  She then shook her head.

  “Hun, I’d advise you to log out this instant and burn your immersion helmet and the software, but I suppose it’s a little too late for that now.”

  I found myself frowning again.

  “What in the world are you talking about?”

  “Hun, Avarice is banned in thirty-six countries. Simply owning this software can grant you three years in the slammer. So despite this, why do you think there are still so many players here?”

  The gears began to click in my head, and though I had already come to the conclusion, this was not what I was expecting. I had not thought that the Elf had been telling the truth, about being stuck here. I had assumed that it was just some weird lie to confuse me.

  “Let me guess, we’re stuck in here?”

  She put on a friendly smile and nodded, though there was some bit of mirth to her expression.

  “Hun, by putting on this software, you’re gone. Gone like gone. Your consciousness has been transported into this virtual world, you’re stuck here, forever.”

  I took in a deep breath, making sure that I filled my lungs with air, before I exhaled.

  She shook her head and sauntered towards me, and it took a great deal of willpower not to stare at her swaying hips. I had to focus, to focus on what I was hearing.

  “Hun, the real reason this software is banned is because it transports you from the real world here. This virtual world? It’s an entirely different realm or dimension, and you’re never leaving this place.”

  So, I was stuck here, stuck in this twisted, futuristic fantasy world? Stuck in some post-apocalyptic lawless abyss filled with people in elf and dwarf avatars with no hope of returning?

  Was this why the game was connected to so many missing cases? So people who played the game weren’t abducted, they were sucked into this virtual world to live in forever?

  I laughed. “This is perfect!”

  She took a step back. “A-are you insane? You’re never leaving this place! This is your reality now, this world around you is your reality!”

  I shrugged. “It works for me either way. I can’t get sick here, I can’t age here, I can drink and smoke and fuck around forever. Then once I hit the utopia… shit, this is heaven.”

  She kept staring at me as though I was some foreign alien, and I could not help but grin.

  “Hun, won’t your friends or family miss you?”

  “I don’t have any. I grew up as an orphan, so this world, this survival of the fittest, strongest takes all world suits me just fine. No one is gonna miss me anyway, and I sure as hell am not going to miss my old crummy life.”

  Oh yeah, this was heaven. Of course I still had to reach the actual place of endless bliss, but that was more of a minor annoyance than a real problem. I had enough experience sneaking into arcades and playing their consoles and videogames to know how this world was supposed to work. I had spent hours scrolling through articles on grinding and power leveling in numerous different games. Hell, if I became strong enough, there was nothing saying that I could not become the king of the world. Who was going to stop me? No laws, no rules, no set morals.

  Just sheer avarice.

  The dark elf shook her head at me, and I could not tell what that signified. Was she pitying me? Was she regarding me as some crazy maniac?

  “Well honey, welcome to the game. Avarice: a lawless, monster slaying, loot grabbing, prostitution running, player pimping, drug pushing paradise.”

  I nodded slowly, before something came to mind.

  “Why would anyone bother slaying monsters and getting loot if they came to the game for the drugs and sex?”

  “Because it’s the only way you can get it hun. Almost all consumables are player crafted, meaning that before they can create the stuff that gives you the virtual high, they have to go out and find the necessary materials. Certain areas naturally have these, so people scamper to lay claim there. Others are owned by NPCs, and so you’ll
need to conquer the NPC territory to get it.”

  I rubbed my forehead.

  “Wait – wait, so you’re telling me, if I wanted to create a cigarette, I’d have to go out, fight monsters and hope they drop the materials, before I could craft the cigarette.”

  “That’s right hun.”

  “Alternatively, I could find an area that is filled with the materials, and just take it and make it mine?”

  “Of course, but those areas are owned by NPC territories and gangs, so you’ll have to get strong enough to take them down if you want to do that.”

  I slowly rubbed my chin. “And what if all I want is the free, endless virtual sex?”

  “You’d have to get to the Utopia first hun. Which means having a really high level to beat the nine guardians separating the Utopia from the Dystopia. Which of course means having to play the game, get stronger gear, and get really, really good.”

  Damn these guys had thought of everything. So it all came down to actually playing the game and leveling up.

  “Can’t we just do a mass raid and take out the guardians?”

  “Only three people can enter the gate at a time, so doing a raid to beat the guardians wouldn’t really work, because everyone would want to be the one that went in.”

  Well there went that idea.

  “What’s to stop me from just grabbing an NPC down here in the Dystopia and having my way with it?”

  She gave me a look and I rose my hands up.

  “Not that I would… I mean they are just scripts and codes, but… I’m just asking.”

  “Well… nothing, except that you’ll be blacklisted from entering certain places, buying certain things and NPCs will attack you on sight; anywhere and everywhere.”

  I let out a hum.

  “Can I still get rich in the game?”

  “What?”

  “Avarice, the very name says it’s all about greed, which I’m fine with. What I’m not fine with is the false advertising, it said that if I reached the Utopia I’d be able to live a life as I please. Is that a lie as well?”

  She scratched her head. “Well, no, not really Honey. Part of the reason this place is bearable is because that part is true. You can do anything you want in the Utopia, run a strip club, surf eighty foot tall tidal waves, skydive without a parachute, cook barbecue on lava… anything.”

  That settled it. This world was a paradise.

  “There he is!”

  I swore, my eyes going wide as I remembered that I had been running from certain players before meeting with the mysterious Dark Elf whose name I had yet to even ask.

  “Hun, what did you do? Why are the Blood Palms looking for you?”

  “Nothing! All I did was walk into their territory, but I didn’t even know it was their territory, and the next thing I know, they’re chasing after me!”

  She sighed. “Come on hun, might as well show you the ropes around here before you get yourself killed.”

  “Sinbad.”

  “What?”

  “My name… or moniker. It’s Sinbad.”

  “Oh, that sounds yummy hun. I’m Ayla.”

  It would be a meeting I would not forget soon, as I found myself following after the weird dark elf named Ayla, fleeing from a torrent of bullets and a trigger-happy gang.

  Chapter 4

  Evading the Blood Palms had been a relatively easy task, we simply had to ensure that we moved fast and far enough that they would decide it wasn’t worth it to leave their territory unguarded and come after us. Alternatively, they would think that it was a ploy by some rival gang, to lure them out with a few members while the rest charged against their hideout.

  “So, where did you say we’re going again?”

  “Not so loud hun, these are goblin bandit lands.”

  Goblin Bandits? Well, apparently that was a thing.

  “Anyway we’re heading to one of the best clubs down here in lower dystopia.”

  My eyebrows furrowed. “Clubs?”

  “Oh, it’s an NPC run club honey, but it’s more than just that. You need to get yourself outfitted with some sweet gear? You’ve got it. Want to get some ammo for your weapons? It’s available for sale. They’ve got everything and anything.”

  “Yeah, what’s with the NPC’s here anyway? Why are they so… realistic? I mean, I killed a couple of them not long ago and they almost felt real.”

  She shrugged. “They don’t know that they’re NPCs hun. To them, they’re real people, so they act like real people would.”

  I supposed it made sense in that light, but of course it didn’t make much of a difference to me considering the fact that they were not actually ‘real’. I followed closely behind Ayla, my eyes keened on her form, being a full-blooded dark elf gave her and impressive level of agility, which she put to good use in jumping from rooftop to rooftop. I did my best to follow her movements exactly, lest I find myself falling into an unexpected trap down the way.

  My eyes trailed her form and I found myself unable to stare. Gods she was attractive in a way that managed to take my breath, her dark skin almost seemed to be sheened with some layer of sweat, and my eyes trailed over a particular naughty drop of the liquid that hung on her thighs.

  Sometimes when she jumped, I would catch flashes of the thong she wore underneath the belt-skirt, and it took me a great deal of effort not to question it. Of course, it was only after I caught a few of her own glances occasionally, did I realize that she was fully aware of the fact that I had been checking her out.

  “You know, you don’t seem at all bothered by the fact that I’ve been ogling you all this while.”

  “You’re not the first hun, and you definitely won’t be the last.”

  “So you don’t mind me fantasizing about your body?”

  “As long as fantasizing is all you do.”

  My eyes lingered around her thighs at that.

  “It also helps that I know that I can kill you before you think about trying anything hun, so keep that in mind.”

  I rapidly averted my eyes. “Duly noted.”

  She giggled, and I find myself incredibly intrigued by the sweet sound of her voice. “Oh hun, you’re so adorable, I could just gobble you up.”

  “Well if the urge ever overwhelms you, I have a good idea as to where you could ‘gobble’ first.”

  She stopped and turned around. There was a look in her eyes that I could not quite place, and perhaps I wondered if increasing my Perceptiveness or something would aid me in being able to understand just what in the world was going in Ayla’s mind.

  “And where exactly would that be hun?”

  Oh, now I was liking where this was going. Would this be my lucky day? Would I finally end my five year dry spell? I had not done any real flirting in quite a while, and the last person I had sex with had been some snotty rich girl who had taken me back to her place for a one night stand, and then eventually kicked me out the following morning.

  “Would you like me to show you?”

  I had a challenging look in my eyes, and she seemed to easily rise to the challenge.

  “Only if you can hun.”

  I almost laughed out loud, but I realized that doing that would completely ruin my plan. She probably thought that I would actually take of my pants and show her my dick at this point, but that would be far too crude, and for maximum effect, I needed a bait and switch.

  So instead, I moved forward, my hands seemingly going to my pants. Her gaze seemed intrigued, and at that juncture, I maintained eye contact. Then I moved closer, and closer, and closer until our faces were so close that I could feel her breath strike my chin.

  “W-what are you –”

  There were two ways this could go at this point. Either I would be getting laid, or I would be getting killed, or at the very least, kicked in the groin. In any case, I took my chances and went for it anyway.

  I kissed her.

  I didn’t make it sloppy nor did I make it chaste, instead, it was just a kiss
in which I made full sure that my tongue was the central performer, allowing the muscle to do the heavy lifting of bypassing her lips and her teeth, until I found her own tongue and wrestled it for a little bit of dominance.

  At this point, I could feel a lower part of my anatomy indicate it was interested, and I pushed it aside in favor of ensuring that my tongue grabbed hers caressed it, twirled around with it, mixing my own saliva with hers and claiming her mouth as mine.

  She tasted like vanilla, and it was one of the most heavenly tastes I had felt in a long, long time. Gods, the taste drew me back, it brought up memories and it buried them in that same instant, it was like there was a detonation of flavors in my mouth at that moment, and it took everything I had to maintain utter composure as I eventually detached the kiss.

  “Yeah. You can start by gobbling that.”

  I said, a little bit out of breath, and waited for her response. Considering that she had not pushed me away instantly, I assumed it was a good sign, but I could never be too sure. So all I did was wait to see if this risky gamble had paid off.

  I found the air knocked out of me as I was flat on the ground a second later.

  Fuck. Well, it had been a good life I’d lived.

  What I was not expecting however, was to feel the weight of a body crash on me. I blinked, realizing that she was sitting on my stomach, and before I could say anything, I found my mouth being invaded and the taste of vanilla returned heavily.

  While my kiss had been somewhat soft, hers did not possess that gentleness, rather, there was nothing more than a hot, heaving hunger that I could feel. Her tongue battled mine as our mouths were connected, and I focused on it, the feeling the taste, even as my nose were enriched with her smell, the sweet aroma of honey and beer.

  I was never someone that was slow on the uptake, and I found my hands around her waist in no time, sheer delight rippling through my form as I was finally able to race my fingers down those scintillating thighs that had done nothing but lure me in, tease me, and promised a land of sweet ecstasy.

  She drew back from the kiss, a small line of saliva connecting our lips as we both took in a deep breath of air, and I found that I was out of breath from the length and deepness of her kiss.