“Well, that would be ideal and eventually it will come out. However, there would be problems and questions if it happened too early.” said Rhea. She poked Ero in the tummy and the little fairy girl curled around her finger in the hopes of making the much larger girl stop.
“Such as?” asked Scott.
“Well, for one we would have to start showing who you are and where you are as part of a public relations campaign. The board would insist, and we would not be able to deny them.”
“This is a problem?”
“Only if you want to have a peaceful life of training and adventuring. If we let it slip that there is a legitimate Earth Human in the world and he is not attached to a closed quest-line... well...” said Rhea.
“Well?” Scott was not sure what the problem would be. Were his people really that big of a deal? Rhea had mentioned that the gods loved Earth Humans, but she had not really gone into a lot of details about that sort of thing.
“You would definitely garner a lot of attention, but not necessarily in a good way.” she said hesitantly.
“Rhea, can you just tell me what you’re worried about?” asked Scott.
“Right, well... It, there’s a lot to discuss. Where should I start?” she asked seriously.
Scott took a breath. He had a lot of questions. “Well, first, can you tell me a little more about the way your family and that board relate to each other? I mean, they sound like a weird cross between business men and some sort of government council.”
She nodded to him. “OK! I can explain that.”
The high elf tapped her chin for a moment then said, “It sounds that way because that’s pretty much how it is. Do you remember that I referred to my family as a gaming empire?”
Scott nodded to her. “Yeah...”
“Well, that is literal in my city. Game companies are the most powerful and influential groups. We exist like kingdoms or empires and rule our area of the city completely. The number of gods who play our games determines the influence that we have.”
Scott accepted that at face value. It was weird, but it made sense if he considered the way Rhea and the other gods acted at times.
“Since we are a company, as well as an empire, we need to act like one for the sake of authenticity. So, we have stock and all manner of people who work for us who do nothing but handle the business end. The board heads up that group.”
“I see, so your family handles what, ARS itself? The board handles the business?” asked Scott.
“Right! See, my family used our powers to build this world and to create the races upon it. We handle concept design, programming, and customer support. The board handles marketing and other things for the most part.”
“For the most part?” he asked.
“Yeah, I mean they obviously get to make input and suggestions for the world because they have to effectively market it. My family has to agree to public appearances similar to heads of state from your world as part of that marketing as well.” said Rhea.
“OK, makes sense... But how does the board have the right to wreck this place?” asked Scott.
Rhea sighed. “Well, they don’t have that right indiscriminately. They have to have a list of grievances long enough to convince an arbiter that they are in the right and a reboot is best for the world and its profit margins.”
“Do they have such a list?” asked Scott.
“Yes, but it is not quite long enough. Even if it was, it would take a few years of arbitration to state a ruling. The arbiters at least understand that the people on worlds such as ARS are real and have a right to exist. So, the decision takes time.” she said.
Scott shook his head. “Damn... Destroy civilizations just like that...”
Rhea reached out and took his hand. “You can stop it, though.”
“How, Rhea? I’m just a man.” The gods who represented the main cause of the issue existed outside the world of ARS. He had no power to cause them any sort of harm.
“You’re my champion, and ... much more than that. There is a way for you to win this and to get the board to back down.” said Rhea.
Scott chose not to ask her how he would do that once more. He waited for her answer.
“The Lords of Destruction are a group of extremely powerful ARS gods. They have power equivalent to a divine-tier avatar in this world. However, they are still natives to this world and there is a way to defeat them.”
“Has no one ever beaten them before?” asked Scott.
Rhea winced. “Well, no. There are several restrictions and quests that you have to undertake to overcome them. Plus one other thing...”
“Yes?” he asked.
Rhea’s face slowly darkened then turned bright red. “T-the champion has to be a player, and...”
“And...” Scott prodded her gently with his words.
“The champion has to be able to produce an heir with the goddess of love...” she said timidly.
Scott nodded at her. It took a moment for her meaning to become apparent. “Wait, you mean...?”
“Yes, that is the true purpose of the champion of Origin. The person with that position must become worthy of marrying the heir to the empire...”
“In order to stop the board I have to...” said Scott. He was certain that his brain had just made a sincere attempt at performing a backflip inside his skull.
“You would have to triumph over many deadly perma-death challenges, become the undisputed hero of the world, receive the blessing of my family, and then ascend to true divinity... and... Uhm... get me p-pregnant.” She practically choked on the last word due to nervousness. It was difficult to speak of such a thing.
“Is that all...?” asked Scott playfully. His words were playful but his brain was performing figurative cartwheels.
“Well, that and then you would have to still have to defeat the Lords of Destruction.” she said with a nervous smile.
Scott was not sure what to say, what to ask. He had just learned a lot about the nature of the world of ARS and Rhea’s true reality. In the end, he simply asked, “So, how do we get started?”
The high elf started to tell him her thoughts on that matter, but she was interrupted by an ear-splitting wail. “Sister!”
The trio, including Ero who had finally stopped hunkering down around Rhea’s finger in order to fend off any tickle-related activities, turned in time to see a red-haired blur streak over and launch itself toward Rhea.
The high elf who had easily defeated Scott in arm-wrestling had no chance compared to the overpowered bundle that bowled her over. “Rhea!” cried the blur in a half-sob.
“Sharde, what is it...What’s wrong?” asked Rhea. She ran her hand down her crying sister’s ponytail.
“H-he’s dead!” wailed the girl.
“Who’s dead?” asked Rhea.
“Fat Scott!” cried Sharde.
Scott mouthed the words, “Fat Scott” to Rhea and she shook her head at him. It was not the time to discuss that.
Ero, however, did not get to participate in that silent conversation. “Who’s Fat Scott?”
Sharde blubbered a little then cried out, “My F-fiancé-ey...”
“Fiancé?” asked Scott loudly. When the heck did that happen?
“Yeah... It was a whirlwind romance.” said Sharde between sniffles.
“Oh Sharde, how did it happen?” asked Rhea gently.
Sharde pulled back then looked at Rhea with an anguished expression. “I let him touch my boobs and he had a heart attack.”
The red-haired girl’s expression turned sour when Rhea made a snickering sound then tried to cover it up. “Hey, I loved him you know.” said Sharde.
“Yeah, I know...” said Rhea softly. She brushed her sister’s hair once more. The ninja girl sniffled a little then snuggled in close. She’d had a traumatic experience.
Sharde pulled out a tissue from her inventory then dabbed at her eyes before she blew her nose loudly. “It was a lovely funeral.”
Rhe
a made a face. Her sister had blown her nose a little too close to her for her comfort.
Scott opened his mouth to say something, but Rhea shook her head again. He kept quiet for a moment and the girls spoke softly with each other.
“The worst part is that I’ve been sentenced to community service.” said Sharde.
“Really? That’s terrible. When’s the trial?” asked Rhea.
“Next week. I start work at my temp job tomorrow.”
Scott could not be quiet any longer. “Your trial is not till next week, but you’ve already been sentenced?”
Sharde glanced over at him then her eyes widened. She began to cry then loudly called out, “Oh, you look just like him except he was faa-at!”
She clutched at Rhea again then started to bawl like a baby. Rhea looked at Scott reproachfully.
“Uh, I think we’ll leave you two ladies alone for a while.” said Scott.
Rhea smiled thankfully at him and Sharde blubbered a little. The sorcerer and his fairy friend left to give them time to speak as sisters.
Sharde blew her nose again then sighed. “No sympathy kisses from him, huh?”
“No, he’s my boyfriend remember?” said Rhea with a smile. That was one of the many things that Sharde had asked Rhea about during the whispered portion of their conversation.
“I know... I know. I just wish I could find a boyfriend of my own. One without a heart condition.” replied the ninja girl before she stopped crying altogether then sighed.
Rhea hugged her sister tight then shook her head. “What kind of community service did they stick you with?”
Sharde sighed. “Alpha Phase World building...”
“Eww, that’s a total pain, or is it fun? Did you get a good world?”
“I dunno. The briefing told me that it’s some recently purchased Earth or other. I only have to put in twenty hours a week.”
“That’s not too bad. What happened to Fat Scott?”
Sharde shrugged. “The arbiter told me that my presence there was erased and his heart attack, at that time, never happened in the new timeline.”
“See, that’s not too bad. At least Fat Scott can live the rest of his life.” said Rhea.
“I can’t ever see him again or go within five hundred light years and twenty-six realities from that Earth for at least five years, though.” said Sharde.
“Oh... I see.”
“Yeah. I felt so sad that I even wrote a song and put it up on the ARS collectible site.”
“Really? A song?” asked Rhea. Sharde sang beautifully, but rarely did so. This was news.
“I wanted to make a tribute to our short, but passionate love.” replied the ponytailed ninja.
“What did you call it?” asked Rhea.
“The Ballad of Fat Scott.” said Sharde before she sniffled loudly.
Rhea made a snickering noise once more and Sharde pouted at her. The red-head said, “S’not funny... I need to figure out how to have a relationship with someone normal.”
“Normal?”
“Yeah, someone nice.” said Sharde.
“Like who?” asked Rhea carefully.
Sharde looked at her sister then sniffled sadly. She pouted at her cutely then widened her eyes and batted her eyelashes.
“Absolutely not. He’s mine. We’re going to start a family soon.”
“Rhea, are you pregnant!” asked Sharde excitedly.
“No, he hasn’t figured out how to do that with me yet.” said Rhea.
“I’m sure he has an idea.” replied the ninja girl while unleashing a suggestive wink.
Rhea giggled at her sister’s antics. “He has lots of ideas, but you know how some of those go.”
Sharde laughed at her. “He should have a few bad ideas about me.”
Rhea kissed her on the cheek. “I can’t say that loving you would be a bad idea, you’re a wonderful person, Sharde. But I’d have to kill him at least three times for every idea that he had. Let’s not get started on what would happen if he acted on them.”
“Sounds fair! Let me go find him.” She turned and started to move away, but Rhea snatched her head back by her ponytail.
“Ow! No fair with the hair, Rhea!” cried Sharde.
“Nope, no Scott for you.”
“But my Scott died tragically... Let me borrow yours for a few days.” said Sharde.
“To paraphrase my Scott, Hell no.” said the blue haired elf.
“That’s not fair... I want a Scott, too.” Sharde pouted cutely at her sister.
“Is my Scott really the one you secretly dream of, though?” asked Rhea.
“I dunno, maybe. I do want to spend time with him and get to know him for real, but he’s not into harems and well... I don’t want to hurt you, even if I’d like it if he’d hurt me a little.”
“Hurt you a little?” Rhea’s eyes widened in surprise.
Sharde blushed at her sister. “What...? I’m a ninja... I like dark attribute things.”
Rhea giggled at her sister. “You want a Tall, dark, and fat Scott?”
“Yes! Of course!” replied Sharde without hesitation. However, she changed her mind a moment later.
Sharde placed a finger to her chin the bit her lower lip. She acquired a thoughtful expression then made her true heart known. “Maybe he’s a dark and mysterious sort of Scott. He might have a tragic past, but only be a little fat. You know, like a cute little Scott teddy bear that I can poke and cuddle. Oh, and hopefully he likes harems and games.”
“So, basically harem batman?” asked Rhea.
“Haremman.” said Sharde with a sage nod.
“Would he have a harem-mobile and haremarangs?”
“Yes, and harem anti-shark spray.” said Sharde. The girls shared a giggle over that one.
“What is it with you and harems anyway? You never used to be into them that much.” said Rhea.
Sharde smiled at her sister. “I don’t know. They just appeal to me. There’s this one guy and a whole bunch of girls who want the one guy. Sometimes he’s a whiny little thing, which I don’t like. Other times he’s all kickass and grr, and sexy.”
“So, you want the grr sexy, harem guy?” asked Rhea with a smile.
“Yeah! That guy is usually surrounded by girls who can kick ass, too, even if he doesn’t want to be. They tend to travel around while they do the aforementioned ass kicking and there is occasional cuddling.” said Sharde.
Rhea watched her sister’s eyes light up as she went into detail about the joys of being part of a harem. It was quite comical and nice to see. Sharde had been a bit introverted in recent years. The fact that the ninja girl had become so animated really set her sister’s heart at ease.
Chapter 20: Hey Sharde
They came by the dozens, the monstrous beasts of the mountains. They came on wing, on scale, and by tip-toe of claw. No matter what method of travel they chose, they all died the same way. They exploded into gore amidst showers of blood. The remains of the once great beasts dissipated into motes of light.
Rhea smiled at her handiwork after receiving her battle report. It was nice to carve her way through her opponents once more. She cleaned off her blade then ran onward in search of the next field of battle. She needed to surpass Scott’s level as quickly as possible so that she could safely drag him up the experience ladder. Otherwise, they would grow too far apart in level and would not be able to fight together properly in the near future. Rhea could easily defeat the monsters here. Scott would not have the same effect on them.
She had slaughtered them by the hundreds in the last three days, but that was only enough to increase her level twice. She needed to carve them up by the thousands.
Meanwhile, Scott labored to battle opponents of his own. His current goal was to train and transfer experience to Ero until she reached his level. If word had not come about the Mermaid queen or the missing mermaids by then, he would start his own training to reach twenty-five.
Rhea had assured him that she could reach l
evel twenty-five in less than two weeks. At that point the level gap allowance would increase considerably and they could rapidly increase his level while training together. Till then, fighting separately during the day would allow him to acquire ability points that he would miss out on if he was quick-leveled. He would need those points.
Scott leapt forward and unleashed a burn spell into a pack of Arvulfs, a wolf-like monster with saber teeth and horns that spat out lightning. The vulfs were flung away by his powerful attack, but they quickly regrouped and spread out.
Three of the blue-furred monsters raced toward him while the rest of the pack split up and came at him from his left and right. Scott knew this tactic well. They had caught him with it before. He had originally attempted to jump back to force them into a group once more but that method had proved less effective than what he was about to do.
Scott quickly equipped his boomerangs then ran forward. While he ran he utilized synchronicity to charge them with two separate spells. The first spell was his water sphere and the second was his flash spell.
His boomerangs flashed outward toward the three Arvulfs in front of him. The leader managed to dodge but his companion was right behind him. He took the boomerang to the face. The water sphere imprisoned it for a split second as the second boomerang hit just after. The flash spell flared out and destabilized the sphere with explosive results.
Electrified water shot out in all directions and caught the other two Arvulfs in the process. Neither of them was killed in that exchange, but they were temporarily paralyzed.
Scott kept moving forward and snatched up his boomerangs when they returned to him. He immediately charged them again. This time they were both charged with the burn spell.
The running sorcerer leapt over a paralyzed Arvulf and kept going. He did not turn until he heard the howls of the creatures behind him. They always howled when they recovered from a status effect.
Scott spun around as soon as his next step was completed. He hurled his boomerangs toward the reformed pack. Dual explosions rocked the area and Arvulfs flew through the air.
Origin ARS 3 (Origin A.R.S.) Page 21
