by Mars Dorian
He stepped closer. The platform seemed to shiver.
“Even during our first mission on the Western Crescent, I knew you were a merc. A flake, but a merc nonetheless.”
“I can see it in your eyes, Dash. You’re a moneyman. You want to maximize your profit and don’t give a damn about a lunatic’s rebellion.”
In a strange way, Wedge was right about that. It was as if he could anticipate my real world desires, which was impossible.
I mean, he couldn’t know about my life struggles, could he?
“Dash, watch out,” Yumi-D said over the comm.
She supported me with cover fire from her deck. Wedge stepped back, almost fell through a hole, but then fired his bladezooka at me. I barely evaded the blast and almost fell through one of the many holes on the deck. A quick glance to the other platform showed me that Wu and Celeste had safely made it to the other side with Yumi-D and Caspian.
The idea from before ignited. I jumped over the next hole and targeted the hanging bridge. Wedge laughed before he pursued me, aiming his bladezooka on the go. “What are you doing, Dash? You can’t run away from your destiny.”
I tossed exploda mines a few meters in front of me. One stuck to the ground plates of the hanging bridge, the other glued to the railing.
Wedge stepped on the other end and launched another shell volley at my direction while I remote-detonated my explodas.
Yumi-D and Wu gasped when the hanging bridge collapsed under my boots and Wedge and I fell into the abyss.
41
“Dash!”
She thought I was crazy.
Maybe a little—just enough to stay creative.
Fact was I had a harpoon; Wedge didn’t.
So during our fall, I aimed my gun glove at the deck high above me and fired off the harpoon. The dart connected to the underside of the deck while Wedge slammed into the earthy ground, hundreds of meters below me. All I could see was a red stain before I chainlinked myself up to the platform where Yumi-D and Wu both helped me on board.
“You’re one crazy bastard,” Yumi-D said with elation in her voice.
Even Wu expressed a rare smile. “First the proximity mine detonation in the forest, now the plunge into the abyss. Your penchant for suicidal attacks warrants a visit to the psychiatrist, Dash.”
“It’s all about calculated risks. And knowing your character class inside out.”
Back on the platform, I found Celeste and Caspian arguing with each other. The mood was surprisingly hostile after our epic win.
“What’s the matter, you two?”
Celeste fired first. “Caspian was hiding from the battle while I put my life on the line—again.”
She turned to me. “Remember the time when you fought the Thornbasher in our Holiplaze cloister?”
“How could I forget? I still feel the thorns ripping through my back.”
“Back then, Caspian cowered in the corner while we teamed up to defeat the monster. It’s always like that.”
Her twin brother turned red and squeezed his fist like someone wanting to let off steam but being afraid to do so. “What? I helped Yumi-D improve her aim and even increased her fire rate.”
“He did,” Yumi said, probably to deescalate the argument.
Celeste slowly but surely relaxed. The moment for my burning question arrived. “Speaking of helping… what was that force you unleashed on the deck? I didn’t see you using any Reepo-powered staff.”
Celeste released a girly smile. The anger from before vanished. “When you’re in tune with the Aeonlight, you don’t need the Reepo.” Her gentle fingers formed into a fist. “All the magic is already inside of you. One simply has to channel it.”
Cheesy as hell, but hey, after an intense battle, I welcomed sugar-coated dialogue. It softened the edges.
Wu stood near the railing and observed the platform that had plunged into the lower deck. Workers and rescue teams had arrived, busy helping the citizens and tourists still suffering from shock, and I counted eleven guards with low armor stats being spoken to by the mayor.
Wu said, “I suggest to leave this zone before the Syndicate sends backup forces.”
He was right. The boss battle had depleted my inventory. I even feared Odin coming personally, but that would have been overkill.
I prayed the game AI wouldn’t go nuts on me like that.
Our team took the lift toward the lowest floor of the forest tree town. Yumi-D and the twins went straight to the stable to retrieve our fowls. Wu and I looked for Wedge’s and Cadfael’s corpses to snap our goodies. The boss NPC bodies still lay around, including the blood lakes coloring the foliage around them.
Not a pretty sight, and yet, the desire to loot reigned.
I immediately snatched up the captain’s massive bladezooka.
Weapon: Military Bladezooka
Type: Heavy exploda gunblade
Attack speed: very slow
Range: Close to mid-range
Ammo: 20mm shells
Ability:
> explosive damage
> area damage (+3 meters)
> 25% Knockback chance
Slots: 2x
Sweet. Maybe I could use Balzac’s free weapon upgrade to make this baby even more powerful. Wu received the tactical twin blades from Cadfael.
Good deal.
“Happy about your finding?”
“Very much so,” Wu said. “The guy’s twin blades have better damage stats than mine and even come with free slots.”
His eyes gleamed, or maybe it was the shiny reflection of the new toys. I was glad the tactical blades compensated for the meager quest rewards. I looked at Wedge’s pale face and the dead look in his eyes. Technically, he was yet another boss NPC, but the way he looked right now, with his arms twisted and the crimson blood leaking from his cracked ankles, he looked like a real human being.
A part of me regretted having fought him, but he left me no other choice. Too bad that a merc like him didn’t want to negotiate.
Meanwhile, Yumi-D and the twins approached us on their fowls. “C’mon Dash. Let’s hit the trail. The mayor’s guards are swarming the area.”
Up high in the tree decks, a group of guards gathered and pointed their gloved fingers down at us.
I quickly took the fowls from the commercial stable and joined my team for the journey home to Varmegarden. The ride back was surprisingly quiet. Wu and Yumi-D talked over the group chat, mentioning Rokkit and his rise to fame, while I focused on the twins riding next to each other with shoulders slumped.
“Are you guys all right?”
Celeste looked up first, like always. “You’ve helped the Preshaar fight back the Sunbleeders on the Western Crescent and now you helped defeat their high-ranking officers. I’m afraid the Syndicate will be very mad at you.”
“It’s the story path I’ve chosen.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“It’s a complex world.”
I pictured Colonel Odin, standing in his office, hearing about today’s news and throwing his glass against the wall, calling for my head. In a different game storyline, I might have continued to work for him. But thanks to my recent actions, the Blue Flame Rebellion was in full swing.
Something in my gut told me I was going to see Odin again.
Very soon.
42
After we collected our quest rewards, I logged off and dropped into my chair in the store room. Despite the intense boss fights, the quest turned out to be all right. We received our money, our skill rewards, and the weapons, not to mention the level up.
Even better, we had defeated a huge group of Syndicate soldiers including the officers while the first REAL money of my pro career trickled in. Almost two thousand, which was little compared to most pro players, but better than zero like my previous income.
I could finally pay rent and share costs with Sparrow.
Yes.
Speaking of my unusual roommate; she sat cross-legged on her c
ouch in the living room, flipping through channels on her wall-screen.
I wondered about joining her and upping our relationship status. Tension still lingered in the air, but at least she didn’t throw passive-aggressive statements at me. I fixed myself a bowl of fruit muesli with lychee pieces in the kitchen when Sparrow’s gentle voice caught my attention.
“Your favorite guy is on the news.”
Her phrasing turned my stomach upside down. I grabbed my bowl and hurried to the coach in the living room, which was somewhat cleaned up. No more piles of manga magazines and Gundam toys littered the floor.
The good news stopped there.
None other than Ben Ustinov appeared on the wall-screen, wearing his uniform and smiling like a boy who had pulled off the trick of the century. A press conference was going on, full of officials and reporters. The breaking news label scrolled across the lower section of the menu, blinking like an in-game damage warning. A deep, female voice provided the news I did not want to hear.
“…the government has created a new federal division battling online addiction and the growing influence of VR technologies. Ben Ustinov, former CAPA member and veteran field agent of Colorado, was elected to become the director of this new institution.”
Ben Ustinov walked toward the pedestal like a president readying for his grand speech. Dozens of journalists and citizen reporters filmed his speech with their wristbands and camera drones.
Sparrow offered for me to sit down next to her, but my limbs froze. I stood glued to the spot as Ben Ustinov spoke into the voice amplifier on the screen.
“We live in truly exciting times. Printers are able to produce food now, renewable resources power one third of our energy needs, and virtual reality throws us into unknown worlds.”
I already hated his intro, but kept my ears open for the rest of his speech.
“…and let me say—there is no doubt that virtual reality has been an interesting technological experiment so far, but it has also opened the door to unprecedented dangers. Dangers which our society has neglected in favor of commercial interests.”
Pause.
“As a proud member of CAPA, the Cyber-Addiction Prevention Agency, I’ve helped countless of VR-addicted men and women escape the abusive VR environments that had destroyed their real lives. The victims were unable to function in society and were financially and emotionally exploited by corporations, all in the name of profit.”
He slipped in a dramatic pause to ensure that every reporter in the room paid attention to him. They already did.
“Let me tell you something you already know—fake three-dimensional worlds are divorcing citizens from reality and allow shady organizations to manipulate the mind of hapless citizens.” He pulled up a graph with countless stats. Nifty SFX for the audience back home. “But it gets worse. The term fake news has reached a new meaning when giant corporations can drown you in a world of propaganda that feels more real than life itself.”
One reporter held up a camera stick with built-in mic. “What exactly do you mean, sir?”
Ben’s face turned into a grimace. “Mind control.”
Some of the reporters chuckled. I didn’t.
I knew his rhetoric.
“This is no laughing matter, ladies and gentlemen,” Ustinov said. “It’s a common fact that our minds have difficulties telling the difference between fiction and reality. Citizens may think they’re playing a harmless fantasy game with friends when in fact they’re being manipulated through a carefully orchestrated mix of audio-visual stimulation.”
“By who?” another reporter asked.
“Corporations, well-funded interest groups, and shady organizations that hate our democracy… the list of abusers is endless.”
He paused again. “Our citizens could be swayed into buying a certain product, arouse hatred against vulnerable groups, or worse, they could be swayed into voting for an authoritarian president. Let’s face the truth… virtual reality is an effective brainwashing tool.”
Silence buzzed in the room. Ben smirked. He seemed to cherish the tension he had created. “That’s why it’s our duty to protect the mind of our citizens. Especially those who are socially neglected because they can’t protect themselves.”
The reporter with the cap asked again. “Are we talking about regulations? New laws that limit the type of VR world creation?”
“You will see soon.” Ben waved everyone goodbye and motioned to leave. “Let me just add this… thanks to the gracious budget granted by our president, we will have the funding and tools to combat the abuse of VR technology. I suggest you all subscribe to our feed to stay in touch with our latest developments.”
And with that, Ustinov stepped away from the limelight while every reporter in the room threw more and more questions at him.
The crowd longed for more clarification.
I had enough.
Sparrow looked at me with invisible question marks popping around her moon-shaped face. “What does this mean for the Crystal Crusade?”
“I have no idea. But if Ustinov’s involved, it’s going to be bad. Very bad.”
“Ugh.”
“Double-ugh.”
Sparrow switched to a funky Anime series where space elves and orcs fought each other in orbital ship battles. It was a fun series, but it couldn’t distract from the real-life horror movie I just became a part of. Ben had burned himself into my membrane, and every single cell of mine worried about his upcoming move. Granted, my WarTech had upgraded to Level 19 and I finally earned real money, but I also realized that my offline life may become my greatest battle yet.
Dashiell’s war goes into the final round
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