Demetri’s face softened completely and his eyes dropped to the floor.
“Are you serious?” he asked at last. He took her hand.
Mia nodded. “I’m sorry I lied. I guess part of me wanted you all to myself, and although she’s stuck in the video game, it was hard for me that she was taking your attention all the time. I wanted to help you, too. You looked so tired and stressed, and...we know what a good stress reliever is right?”
Demetri flushed, and they both laughed.
“I like you too,” Demetri said. “After spending years analyzing couples and individuals and working out their kinks, and getting the inside scoop on how couples work, you’d think I’d get it a bit more, wouldn’t you? I know how hard it is to admit you like someone. It’s not what I came here to do, but seeing you in that cafe, and all the time spent together? This whole thing has felt like a dream.”
“A good dream, I hope?” Mia winked.
They smiled at each other then, Mia finding her way onto Demetri’s lap as they said more sorrys and kissed until it all felt better. After a while, Demetri offered to make them both some tea. As the kettle boiled, he rested his hands on the work surface and watched Mia as she sat up and wiped her eyes.
She turned coyly, leaning on the arm of the chair as he pottered around and fixed the tea. He came back and she stood, allowing him to sit once more before resuming her place on his lap, her arms around his neck.
Demetri stared for a long time into her eyes before acknowledging the prickling feeling that Mia still had more to tell.
“What?” she said, pulling back to look at his whole face.
“There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
Mia exhaled. “It’s scary how you can see through me, Doc.”
“I’ve told you, don’t call me ‘Doc.’” Demetri grinned. “The last thing I want to be doing when I’m doing...you...is thinking about the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the country as she traverses a VR game.”
“I thought you were into that.” Mia winked.
Demetri’s face straightened.
“Okay, but you might not like it.”
“I’m a big boy, I can handle it.”
Mia sat back and took a deep breath. “I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the bug reports have been seen by the dev team and they’re making progress in fixing all of the problems Chloe and the others have raised. Pretty soon they’ll run a patch, and they’ll be able to change their appearance throughout the game. Level ones won’t be able to discover or harness mythical weapons and enchantments thanks to intervention from the gods, and when a player is logged off, as long as they’re in a safe place, their avatar won’t suffer any damage.”
“That’s great news. That means that the beta test is working, right?” Demetri said. “So no more pain for the players either?”
“See, that’s one of the things. Since Chloe is our first tester and is the only player currently in total-immersion VR, it means we can’t run the patch for her until her time is up. The guys will receive the advantages but Chloe won’t.”
“So Chloe will still feel pain, but everyone around her won’t?”
“Oh, no. The others will,” Mia explained. “But a vastly reduced variant of it. Nothing more than a scratch or tickle.”
Demetri blew out a mouthful of air. “I don’t know how I’m going to be able to tell her that the next time she suffers immeasurable pain and dies.”
Mia nodded sympathetically. “You might want to double up and add that, due to the success of the initial weeks of testing, Praxis Games is moving ahead on the national primary rollout of the game. Pretty soon the game is going to be alive with new players.”
“That’s good news, right?”
Mia sighed. “And with that, they’ll be opening the public live-streaming channels. Every player is going to be searchable and watchable. Pretty soon, Chloe Lagarde’s adventure is going to become a whole lot more public.”
Character Sheet
Bio
Character name: Chloe (click to select a new character name)
Level: 10
Class: Click for more information on selecting a character class.
Race: Human
Stats
HP: 275/275
MP: 200/200
Stamina: 345/345
Active effects: Null
Attributes
Strength: 22 (+19)
Intelligence: 6 (+13)
Dexterity: 20 (+16)
Endurance: 25 (+18)
Etheric Potential: 9 (+21)
Skills
Languages: Human
Acrobatics: Lv 3
Armed Combat: Lv 1
Cooking: Lv 1
Crafting: Lv 1
Creature Identification: Lv 4
Dark Vision: Lv 4
Dual Wielding: Lv 2
Experimental: Lv 1
Fishing: Lv 1
Hand of the Gods: Lv 1
Herb Identification: Lv 1
Sneak: Lv 4
Swimming: Lv 1
Reckless: Lv 4
Available Points: 4
Skills-dex
Skill increased: Acrobatics (Lv 3)
Congratulations on performing a full triple rotating front flip while falling. Front flips can be quite the crowd pleaser. There are some who make an honest buck performing tricks, like jesters and acrobatic hobos. Welcome to their ranks.
Bonuses: +5 dexterity
(NOTE: Increases in skill override any previous bonuses gained from the skill).
You’ve unlocked a new skill: Armed combat (Lv 1)
Good job. You can now fight stuff. Y’know, s’long as they’re low level, like bunnies and stuff. Let the battles begin!
Requirements: Acquisition of first weapon
Bonuses: +1 strength
You’ve unlocked a new skill: Cooking (Lv 1)
Rip out some herbs, shove in some meat, add some fire and there you go! Now you can cook basic recipes with a decreased chance of setting the damn thing on fire. Go you!
Requirements: Cook your first meal
Bonuses: +1 dexterity
You’ve unlocked a new skill: Crafting (Lv 1)
Those who can craft gain a fair advantage in Obsidian. Create your own armor from leather. Make your own weapons. Or continue paying others to do it because at this level, your chances are still relatively slim.
Requirements: Create your first item
Bonuses: +1 dexterity
Skill increased: Creature Identification (Lv 4)
You can now view the HP of your opponents with a simple cast of this skill. Watch their health decrease in the form of a progress bar as you hack and slash your way to victory.
Bonuses: +6 intelligence
(NOTE: Increases in skill override any previous bonuses gained from the skill).
Skill increased: Dark Vision (Lv 4)
The night is fast becoming your mistress. Dark shapes become more refined, night terrors lose their fuzz, and oh the pranks you can play as you dissolve into the darkness and lead your friends astray.
Bonuses: +5 intelligence, +8 etheric potential
(NOTE: Increases in skill override any previous bonuses gained from the skill).
You’ve unlocked a new skill: Dual wielding (Lv 2)
Many don’t understand the diversity of battle style that dual-wielding has to offer. Some stumble across this by chance. Like you. You’re a chancer, right? Now you can combine both magic and the physical in battle. Boop!
Bonuses: +2 dexterity
You’ve unlocked a new (unique) skill: Experimental (Lv 1)
Your mind works in mysterious ways. In the heat of the moment, you choose to take the path less...well, never traveled. Continue working on this skill, and your experiments will become more successful and less likely to backfire with each level gained.
Bonuses: +1 intelligence, +1 dexterity, +1 endurance, +1 etheric potentia
l
You’ve unlocked a new skill: Fishing (Lv 1)
See those things in the water? They’re fish. You can catch them. Well done.
Requirements: Catch your first fish
Bonuses: +1 dexterity
You’ve unlocked a new (unique) skill: Hand of the Gods (Lv 1)
Well, dear mortal, you have earned the favor of the gods. Guiding your hands, the gods can do terrible and wonderful things. Summon the use of this skill when you’re in a dire situation and the gods will lend you aid. The results of this skill may vary.
Bonuses: +7 etheric potential
You’ve unlocked a new skill: Herb Identification (Lv 1)
No more walking around and throwing the first thing you find into your mouth. The world is full of dangerous plants and shrubs. Identify them with a simple look.
Requirements: Study herb-lore from a practitioner
Bonuses: +1 intelligence
Skill increased: Sneak (Lv 4)
Whether ducking from friend or foe, you’re becoming one with the shadows. Keep hopping across darkness puddles, and soon you’re sure to be as invisible as...well, an invisible person.
Bonuses: +4 dexterity
(NOTE: Increases in skill override any previous bonuses gained from the skill).
You’ve unlocked a new skill: Swimming (Lv 1)
The water is fine, come on in! Swimming is a great skill to have in Obsidian and can grant you passage to many of the realm’s hidden pathways. Not a level 1, mind you. You’ve got a ways to go. Get practicing.
Requirements: Take a dip in the water
Bonuses: +1 dexterity
Skill increased: Reckless (Lv 4)
Did you really just throw your body over a dwarf like he was a landmine? Can’t say we’ve ever seen that before. Here, have a bonus.
Bonuses: +13 strength, +7 endurance
(NOTE: Increases in skill override any previous bonuses gained from the skill).
Quest-dex
Open Quests
Quest unlocked: A Fallen Goddess
The Goddess of Retribution, KieraFreya, has fallen from grace. Her form has been divided and scattered across the land of Obsidian. For eons she has lain in wait, hoping for an adventurer who is brave enough and strong enough to unite the pieces of her armor once more and restore KieraFreya to her former glory.
Find all [x] pieces of KieraFreya and return her to the gods.
Difficulty: 10/10
Rewards: 100,000 exp, + rare items (locked).
Accept quest: Y/N
Quest unlocked: A most bloody request
Someone has it out for you. Find the sender of the death note in Nauriel and discover what truly lies behind this request.
Difficulty: 3/10
Rewards: 2,000 exp
Accept quest: Y/N
—————————
Complete Quests
Quest complete: Walk the Deathwalk of the Gods
You’ve done it! You’ve outwitted the trolls, trodden through the realm of fire, swum the unforgiving lake, and emerged victorious through the fractal labyrinth of death. You’ve truly proven yourself—
#ERROR404
—a champion among champions—
MISSING_SEQ
REBOOT_POPUP
—Carry on, adventurer Untitled, and soar to ever greater heights!
Bonuses: 10,000 experience + Bracers of KieraFreya
Quest unlocked: We didn’t start the fire.
Some idiot has lost control of his flames. Help him to put out the fire before the whole house is burnt to cinders.
Difficulty: 1/10
Rewards: 50 exp
Accept quest: Y/N
Quest unlocked: Crossing the language barrier
There are many in the Oakston village who can speak your language. There are, however, also many who can’t, and this might become tiresome for you.
Unlock new quests and interactions in Oakston by either learning a new language or finding an interpreter. The rewards that you gain will be based on the choices you make.
Difficulty: 2/10
Reward (Interpreter): 100 exp
Reward (Learn a language): FAILED
Accept quest: Y/N
Quest unlocked: Where’s the shaman?
You’ve quite the inquisitive mind. You’ve found the shaman’s house, but the shaman is nowhere to be found.
Use your powers of curiosity to track down the shaman before the poisonous gas that has been filling your lungs from the Deathbell flowers sends you into your final slumber.
Difficulty: 4/10
Rewards: 500 exp, Final slumber potion recipe
—————————
Failed Quests
Quest unlocked: One of us
The chief has summoned you to her chambers to accept a permanent position as part of the tribe. The tribespeople of Oakston may be basic, but there is opportunity for growth and development here. Learn from local experts, hone your skill under the tutelage of others, and make Oakston your home.
Difficulty: 1/10
Rewards: 5,000 exp, Title unlock (Oakston Villager), New language (Tribal: Primitive).
Spells-dex
New spell acquired: Deic Light (Lv 1)
Thanks to the gods, you have been given Deic Light. Cast this spell to summon a powerful column of light to dispel enemies who associate themselves with the darkness.
Requirements: n x 100MP (where n is equal to the number of seconds taken to cast the spell)
New spell acquired: Purple Blaze (Lv 1)
Congratulations on learning your first spell! Now that you’ve taken your first foray into the realm of the etheric, you’ll be able to call upon the mystical and the unexplained to aid you in the heat of battle.
Requirements: n x 20MP (where n is equal to the number of seconds taken to cast the spell)
New spell acquired: Resurrection (Lv 1)
There are a great many forces at work in this realm. Though many choose to pursue the path of the light, magic can be found in the path of the darkness. While life is sought and clung to with iron claws, death is the inevitability that comes to all.
Or so it would seem.
Summon the powers within this spell to bring the dead back to the living. Higher tiers of this spell will allow control of the dark forces of the dead, while lower tiers will allow the resurrection of fallen comrades.
A note of warning: there are those within the realm of Obsidian who frown upon the dark arts. Be wary of your surroundings before toying with the gods of darkness and snatching away their prizes.
Requirements: 100% player’s MP
(NOTE: The Spell of Resurrection can only be cast once within a 48-hour period)
New spell acquired: Volt Shock (Lv 1)
Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening! You can now summon the power of electricity to inflict damage upon your enemies. Find creative, unique ways of using this skill as you develop and grow.
Requirements: n x 30MP (where n is equal to the number of seconds taken to cast the spell)
Chapter Thirty-Five
The very air changed the moment they stepped into the room, a dark cloud hovering over them as Hugo held the door open, allowing his wife to enter the boardroom first.
The room was extravagant, a testament to the years of hard, grinding work the pair had put into their enterprise. Not a speck of dust hovered in the air or rested on the glass panels covering the walls, nor the marbled furniture that bordered a long black-glass table.
There were enough seats for 40 in that room. A large white wall at the room’s farthest reaches featured the charts, tables, and presentations that had been given in the room over the years by a range of the finest entrepreneurs the city had to offer, as well as a few weak-willed, knee-knocking saps who left with their tails tucked between their legs and their pride shattered.
This room could make or break a person’s career. The patriarch and matriarch of the Lagarde family knew t
hat well, and had always been careful not to let their egos or pride destroy their humility. They gave people chances. They may have ended people’s reigns, but they always did their best to rule with a fair hand.
Olympus. That was the name the room had colloquially been given by those in the Lagarde empire. The holy throne room where the gods of the enterprise sat and ruled. Billions of dollars made. Thousands of employees’ lives changed.
And now one man sat alone, back straight, briefcase on the table in front of him as the Lagardes approached.
“You’re early,” Hugo said, his voice deep and commanding. Not a question. Rarely a question.
Demetri squeaked the chair back, rising and nodding curtly as the two swept into the room and took seats opposite him. He waited until Hugo and Helen Lagarde were settled before returning to his own.
“Aren’t I always?” He smiled.
Hugo nodded, his straight expression unfaltering. It was something he had developed over the years—a true poker face, unreadable by any save his wife. He sported a short gray beard, and his hair was combed back sleekly. Beside him, Helen crossed her legs, her own hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her makeup was modest but flattering. Their suits were tailored and designed to match and complement each other.
They were a true force to be reckoned with.
“Tell me, Mr. Smythe, any news about my children? I trust there are no problems or concerns?”
Demetri opened his briefcase, filing through a stack of papers covered in the scrawls that he had set down after the sessions he’d had with the Lagarde siblings over the past week.
Running through the notes one by one, Demetri listed the complaints and successes he had uncovered. Hector Lagarde was as happy as sin, relishing his investments in the Tesla program and bringing in so much return, it made Warren Buffet look like a coin collector. He did reveal that things had taken a sour turn with his wife Aisha. According to Hector, their arguments had increased in frequency because his tightly-packed business schedule often conflicted with any dating arrangements they made. Even though Hector kept explaining the importance and chaos of his role in the company, Aisha’s patience was wearing thin.
Hilary Lagarde had recently flown to China and was exploring the notion of further investment in a range of makeup products that were free from animal testing, eco-friendly on all accounts, and would lower the standard cost of beauty products by a margin of at least 10% across all developed countries.
Collecting The Goddess (Chronicles Of KieraFreya Book 1) Page 25
