by A. J. Markam
My heart froze.
I hadn’t thought that they would be able to watch my every move – and I hadn’t considered that I’d potentially been making a pornographic movie for them last night.
“But what…?” I asked.
“The thing was, there was a feedback glitch in the monitoring system, so we couldn’t see or hear anything.”
I don’t think I’d ever been so relieved in my entire life.
And yet… there was also a feeling of unexplainable loss.
All I had left of her were my memories. Not even a picture.
Not even the goodbye letter she’d written me.
“The upshot is,” John continued, “we have no idea what happened to you in there. So… what happened?”
I stared off into the distance, my heart aching.
That line from the poem echoed in my brain:
Better to have loved and lost, than never loved at all.
Everything I’d experienced proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt.
I smiled wistfully.
“… I met a girl.”
44
It took a few hours to recover, but some chicken broth and lots of water did the trick. Once I regained my strength, I felt amazingly refreshed – as though I’d taken the longest nap in the history of the world.
Which I kind of had.
Once I was feeling better, the company debriefed me. I told them everything that had happened – although I left out the more intimate details between me and Alaria. Other than that, though, I covered everything from the time I arrived, up through the point where I gave Stig his freedom and exited the game.
Everybody in the room listened quietly, even respectfully.
Except for the Bro dude from Sales.
“Dude, what’d I tell you! You had six days at 24 hours a day doubletime!” he hooted. “And you got to hang out with a smokin’ hot chick! Is this the best job in the world, or what?!”
I had to agree with him there.
To smooth over any ruffled feelings, the company not only gave me my pay for the full amount of time I’d been in the game, but an extra $10,000 bonus. Provided I signed a bunch of forms that absolved them of all liability and promised I wouldn’t sue them.
I signed them happily and took the check. It would go a long way to fixing my financial situation in the real world.
I didn’t tell them that even if they had never given me a penny, it would’ve all been worth it. Everything I’d experienced back there had been priceless.
At the end of the debrief John asked me, “Would you consider going back in?”
“Into the game?”
“Not just the game, but the long-term system. You’re basically our most experienced immersion QC guy at this point, and you came through with flying colors.”
I thought of Alaria. John must have misinterpreted the heartbreak on my face, because he quickly added, “I know it’s a little early to be asking that, and you probably have a lot to process, so just give it a little time. Sleep on it for a couple of days.”
“Do I have to play the same character?”
“No, we can start you off from scratch… although it would be very helpful if you kept on playing from where you left off.”
I thought back about all the misery I’d seen – and some of the misery I’d caused. I thought of the plantations, the mines, Stig… and Alaria.
My stomach clenched at the thought of ever forcing another demon to wear a collar for me again.
“Do I have to play a Warlock?” I asked.
“No… not if you don’t want to.”
I knew they just didn’t want me to sue them, so they were being extra accommodating.
But I wasn’t really sure how I felt about any of it. The pain was still fresh, and part of me never wanted to go back into the game ever again.
“Let me think about it,” I said.
“Of course. Take a couple of days off and decompress.” John smiled. “You’ve been through a lot.”
He had no idea.
45
I spent the next several days just taking it slow. I paid off my landlord, got my life back in order… and then I just started wandering around my neighborhood.
It’s funny… everywhere I looked, I saw places I’d hung out with my ex-girlfriend Amy. The coffee shop, the park, the corner bar, her favorite restaurant… there were so many places that I associated with her.
But where it used to hurt when I saw them before, now I didn’t feel anything. No pain. They were just places. Some of them even had really nice memories attached to them.
But I didn’t have anything to remember Alaria by.
That was what killed me. It was like everything I had experienced with her was a dream… maybe even like she was a dream.
The only thing I still had that told me it was real was the ache in my heart.
I was at home one night, sorta kinda watching television, when I looked over at my computer system. The rig I had for OtherWorld wasn’t nearly as advanced as what they’d had back in the lab, but it was enough. Enough to make me feel like I was really there, if I chose to go back.
I sat there for five minutes looking at the system… and then I finally made my decision.
I got up, put on the gloves and headset, and lay down on the couch.
When I logged on to my account, I saw my hunter, my warrior –
And a Level 10 Warlock named Ian.
Holy shit.
The company must have linked it with my regular account.
I hesitated for a long moment – and then I pressed the button to enter the world.
There was a rush of black, and suddenly I was standing in the hallway where I’d left Stig.
My imp wasn’t there, but someone else was: a cleaning lady who looked like a giant fish. She was walking up the stairs when I reappeared, and she froze in place.
Then she started screaming, “He’s back! He’s back!” as she ran down the steps.
Uh oh.
I hoped I hadn’t stumbled back into some sort of counter-revolution or something.
As I descended the stairs after her, I came down to the main room – where Grok and a dozen other demons were waiting.
As soon as they saw me, they cried out in pleasure and clapped their hands in thunderous applause.
“You returned! We were hoping you would!”
I looked around at them in shock. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is going splendidly,” Grok smiled, “but that’s not why we hoped you would return.”
Suddenly, from far off in the hallway, a familiar voice croaked, “Boss! Boss! Boss!”
Stig broke through the forest of demon legs and rushed over to me, a scroll in his hand.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d ever come back,” he wheezed with a giant smile on his face.
“Stig – what you still doing here?”
“No time to talk, boss. This just came in by raven two hours ago.”
He handed me the scroll, and I unraveled it.
The familiar handwriting pierced my heart as painfully as it had when I saw her first letter.
But this time the message was a little different.
Dearest Ian,
I think I’ve made the most horrible mistake of my life.
I’m in terrible danger – and I hate to do this, but I am begging for your help.
Please come to Kvartos and find Mirk in the Netherworld Tavern. He’ll know how to find me.
If you really do care for me – and if you can forgive me – I need you. More than I’ve ever needed anyone.
Help me, Ian-Wan Kenobi.
You’re my only hope.
Alaria
Every bit of pain in my heart suddenly transformed into joy.
“Good news, boss?” Stig grinned.
I looked down at him – and narrowed my eyes. “You already read it, didn’t you?”
“No, boss,” he said, but shook his head ‘yes.’
“Oh yes.”
“Look… I know I set you free, and you don’t have to say ‘yes,’ but would you please – ”
“Of course, boss,” he grinned.
I grinned back at him. “Alright, then. Are you ready, Stig?”
“Oh yes, boss.”
“Then lead the way.”
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I have another LitRPG you might enjoy called DEAD MAN GAMING. No sex, but it's a pretty cool story about a safecracker who has to infiltrate the Russian mob, who are posing as a bunch of orcs in a video game.
DEAD MAN GAMING
Copyright 2018 A.J. Markam
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
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Edition: April 2018
