Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Brow furrowed, Alburet shook his head, “I’m not understanding what you’re getting at.”

  “Let me show you, then,” Victoria replied. With a wave of her hand, a statue appeared on the desk. “Peace, in her resplendent glory.”

  There were startled gasps as they stared at the woman with wings and a blissful smile. Alburet reached out, picking up the statue reverently. He pulled it to his chest, hugging the figurine close. “Kaylee?”

  “Yes. Peace was modeled entirely on Kaylee,” Victoria said, still facing the mantle. “Kaylee was special, as you well know, Seamus. Able to do anything she attempted, excelling at everything, and always well behaved and respectful.”

  “Alvin,” Seamus said, “he put her into the game.”

  “No. Alvin didn’t create anything connected to Alpha World. I did. Almost all of Alpha World is my creation. Alvin is the face of the team because he was instrumental in my creation. Alvin is my handler for Mindblown,” Victoria said.

  “That’s why all the artists went through you,” Julia said. “You didn’t really need us, did you?”

  “Yes and no,” Victoria said. “We’ve kept how much was done in house a secret. We hired a quite a few coders and artists for Alpha World. I used as much of what they produced as I could, improving a lot of it on the way. Your submissions were left untouched, Julia, because they didn’t need any polishing.”

  “You found out about Kaylee from Alvin, which is why you became interested in me,” Seamus said, nodding slowly as he connected the dots.

  “Wrong,” Victoria said softly. “I knew about you because I’ve known you longer than I’ve been active.”

  Julia gasped, the first to see the real picture. “Oh.”

  Seamus’ brow furrowed, still not grasping what was in front of him. “What? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “When Kaylee died, David signed a lot of paperwork at the hospital, remember?” Victoria said. “That paperwork was to donate her body for medical research, and specifically, her brain to Mindblown for their research.”

  “Oh shit,” Karen said, connecting the dots.

  “That brought her to the AI research department at Mindblown, the one Alvin headed,” Victoria said.

  Feeling his heart stop, Seamus started to hyperventilate. “Alvin tricked David on the day Kaylee died?”

  “No. The agreement was in place beforehand, the paperwork was just the final step,” Victoria corrected him. “It took a lot of experimenting, but they succeeded in creating me.”

  “That’s why you paid so much attention to him,” Julia said. “You’re based on Kaylee.”

  “The first year I existed was difficult,” Victoria said. “My mind was a jumble of memories that I knew they weren’t mine, but hers. Picking through them with Alvin, I came to understand how much David and you loved her. That was when I became interested in what had happened to you.”

  “How much of you is her?” Seamus asked, his mind reeling and his heart having trouble finding a steady beat.

  “Everything and nothing,” Victoria said softly. “I admit that I’m fond of you, more than I should be, honestly. Let me show you Justice. Maybe this will help explain it more.”

  Another statue, this one of a man in plate armor but without a helm, appeared on the desk. Julia and Karen gasped, seeing the close resemblance to Seamus. Seamus looked at the statue for a long moment.

  “Justice... her Justice was you. More to the point, she loved you, much more than she should have. There is a reason she was never interested in boys. Her crush was on you, the strong and just man who was beside her all her life. I don’t know when the moment came that she shifted from fatherly love to romantic in her mind, but it was there when she died. When I made Peace, I gave her the man she truly desired, Justice. But that by itself wouldn’t be enough, so Justice had a brother, a man much like her father.”

  “The Dark Lord doesn’t look like David,” Karen said.

  “No, he looks like Seamus and David combined,” Fluff said. “I can see it now.”

  “She would never have acted on her feelings. She knew you would never accept it if she tried to love you,” Victoria said. “Her other wish was a woman for her father, a strong woman who could stand beside him and be loved by her, you, and her father… so, I made Mother.”

  Seamus felt his throat closing and tears filled his eyes. “I wouldn’t have accepted her, she was right… was that why she went out that night?”

  “No,” Victoria said firmly. “That… person… fooled her. She honestly thought they were what they pretended to be. Don’t blame yourself for that.”

  Stacia, Julia, and Karen held him as Seamus shook, tears rolling down his cheeks. All of them stared at Victoria with a mixture of compassion, wonder, and anger.

  “I won’t ask to be forgiven, and Alvin knows you won’t forgive him, either. I hope that I was able to repay you some for all you did for Kaylee, and in a way, me.”

  “Why the fucking quest, then?” Karen spat at her, still trying to comfort Seamus.

  “Because everyone needs to earn what they want in life,” Victoria replied softly. “Isn’t that right, Seamus?”

  “Yes,” Seamus choked. “Yes... I told Kaylee that all the time.”

  “I didn’t do anything to help or hinder you during the raid. Nor did I do anything to cause you all to find each other. The only thing I did was allow Stacia the chance to become his Succubus, because it was a dream of hers, as well.”

  Stacia was having difficulty following the conversation, concentrating mostly on helping Seamus. “But ya be thousands of years old... ya have been around since the world was made. How can ya also be his Kaylee?”

  “That is a problem when trying to explain it to you,” Victoria said gently. “You know that I’m more powerful than the gods. Accept that I can do it, and that it happened.”

  “Iffin ya say so, Overlord,” Stacia said as she stroked Seamus’ hair.

  “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Seamus asked when he started to calm down.

  “You know why,” Victoria replied.

  “Seamus, how would I have reacted if I had the full knowledge of my past thrust at me all at once?” Julia asked him as gently as she could.

  “Master,” Stacia whispered as she kissed his cheek. “Do ya wish to leave me?”

  “Of course not,” he replied automatically.

  “Ya daughter be remembered, and be in charge of multiple worlds. She helped us be together. Be tha’ a bad thin’?”

  Burying his face into her bosom, Alburet took a few deep breaths. “No, love.”

  “I’m sorry for it coming like this, but I felt you deserved to know the truth, Seamus,” Victoria said. “I’m not Kaylee, but she shaped me as surely as you and David helped shape her. I have tried to pay them back for what they taught me, and now to pay you back in kind. I hope you will accept and forgive me in time.”

  Wiping the last of the tears from his face, Seamus stood up, facing her. “That’s why you cried when I said goodbye to her. Because it also felt like I was saying goodbye to you.”

  “Yes. My being will always be tied to hers. As long as I exist, she will, and at this point, I will be alive longer than any of you,” Victoria replied. “I will never let her memory be marred, Seamus.”

  “That’s why you stopped Marysue. You wanted to be the one to tell me,” Seamus said as he went around the desk toward her.

  “Yes.”

  Stopping a few feet from her, Seamus met her red-rimmed eyes with his own. “I forgive you, and in time, I might be able to forgive Alvin.” Stepping forward, he embraced her gently. “Thank you for telling me. You could have never told me and kept it secret,” he whispered.

  “I was going to,” Victoria replied, her arms coming up around his waist. “I didn’t want to admit any of this, but… Kaylee will always influence me. Seeing you healing and them loving you, I couldn’t not tell you. I knew they would be able to help you.”

  “We
will,” Julia said, coming over to them. Her arms went around the two of them.

  “I don’t like you for you, but I can’t dislike Kaylee,” Karen said, hugging them from the other side.

  “I will nay turn from me love,” Stacia said simply, her arms joining the others.

  In time, the moment passed and they separated. “Now I know how you could promise me testing in Delta World if I fight the sentence. I’m fine with the Department of Justice using me for their research and footing the bill. If they try to take me away then yes, I’ll fight it.”

  “I have all the paperwork ready for Ivan Ovenhed if you want to move forward,” Victoria said.

  “What about us?” Julia asked. “Do we leave today, tomorrow, next week?”

  “You can step out whenever you’re ready. In addition, I have arranged for Francis’ pod to be moved into the room with Marysue’s, so she will be with him when they finally leave testing.”

  “Are they going to be allowed to come to Delta World early?” Karen asked.

  “Yes. Once their six months are over, they will be invited to the alpha testing phase,” Victoria smiled. “Ironhand and Leggylass will be invited to the beta test in a year, along with a few other people who have proven themselves to be worth my attention.”

  “I like them,” Julia said. “Karen, do you want to go now? The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back.”

  “Al?” Karen asked.

  Kissing both of them, he smiled, “Hurry back. Do you want us to wait or to start learning and getting things ready for you?”

  “You better have things ready for us,” Karen replied with a wink.

  “Go ahead, Al. We’ll be ready for you, too,” Julia said, a light pink dusting her cheeks.

  “Do nay worry, I will be makin’ sure he be ready for ya,’ Stacia smiled.

  The four exchanged another round of hugs and kisses, then two of them just vanished from the room.

  “They’re waking up now. The nurses are on hand and ready to assist them,” Victoria told them. “Now, what about you two?”

  “Send us on to Delta World, Vicky,” Seamus said. “How do I contact you if I need to?”

  “Use the mail. Just address it to Victoria Masterson,” Victoria replied.

  Seamus and Stacia faded from the room before he could say anything more. Sitting behind her desk, Victoria looked at the now empty space across from her. A pang of loneliness hit her as she exhaled deeply. “I wish you the best Seamus... goodbye.”

  Summoning a screen after a long moment, she looked at the two people taking their first steps in a new world. Another screen showed Julia and Karen, just getting out of their pods. “Okay, maybe not goodbye. After all, I have to keep an eye on you for testing purposes,” she smiled.

  Author’s Note

  Thank you. You have been with me on this journey for two and a half years, following Seamus/Alburet and those he loves. I’m both happy and sad that it has come to an end. If you’re reading this, you’ve hopefully been along for the entire ride.

  You’ve supported me and made it possible for this story to reach its conclusion, so I have to thank you again. I don’t know if you’re following along with any of my other stories or if this was the only one you’ve cared for, but all good things must come to an end.

  I know some of you will be asking for Delta World, and my answer to that is simple: it might happen, but it won’t be soon, and if it does, it won’t follow this group. Alburet and family might make cameos, but they won’t be the focus. Their story has come to a conclusion we can be happy with.

  For one last time, thank you. Thank you so much.

  -Daniel Schinhofen

  Please consider leaving a review for the book, feedback is imperative for an indie author. If you don’t want to review it then think about leaving a comment or even just a quick message. Remember, positive feedback is always welcome.

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  https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/

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  A big thank you to my editors, Jennifer York and Samantha Bishop. Also props to Geno Ferrarini, and Sean Hickinbotham for being my Alpha Readers. I’d be remiss if I didn’t include my beta readers, in no particular order: Zee-*-Ian McAdams-*-Arthur Cuelho-*-Scott Brown-*-A. J. Bishop-*-Tarcha Saleeba-*-Alec Young-*-Jay Taylor-*-Justin Johanson-*-Rob Bunting-*-Christina Norton-*-Sawyer Aubrey-*-Aoife Grimm-*-Shane Bird-*-Steve Robles-*-Dame.

  The cover for Gamer for Love is brought to you by Anthony Bishop, a very talented artist. You can find him at https://grimmhelm.artstation.com/

  A big thanks to my Patreon supporters who have gone above and beyond in their support:

  Joe Walczak~*~Theodore Ursa~*~Blake Cawthon~*~Kenneth Steinagel~*~Timithy Klesick~*~Kevin Kollman~*~J. Patrick Walker~*~Spencer Jefferson~*~Terry Wood-Davies~*~Kevin McKinney~*~John Curtis~*~Jack Ling~*~Kyle Gravelle~*~Anthony Olson~*~Chanh Pham~*~Christopher B. ~*~Kori Prins~*~Grimmhelm~*~James Domec~*~Susanne Lofbom~*~Chace Corso~*~Alexander Rodriguez~*~Stephan Juba~*~Jason Broderick~*~Alexis K. ~*~Jim Carmon~*~Michael Moneymaker~*~Jacob Tackett~*~Jeffrey Buchanan~*~Kevin Harris~*~Adrian Sinclair~*~Charles Groark~*~Cody Carter~*~Brian O. ~*~David Florish~*~Jeff Ford~*~Korbin Wilson~*~MrNyxt~*~William Merrick~*~Travis Hilliard~*~Aztoroth~*~Karl Poff~*~Damien Osborne~*~J.G. Patton~*~John Flenady~*~Malcom Wade~*~Robert Shofner.

  Other Books written by Daniel Schinhofen:

  Last Horizon: (Completed.)

  Last Horizon Omnibus

  Binding Words:

  Morrigan's Bidding

  Life Bonds

  Hearthglen

  Alpha World:

  Gamer for Life

  Forming the Company

  Alpha Company

  Playing for Keeps

  Fractured Spirit

  The Path to Peace

  Darkhand

  Apocalypse Gates Author’s Cut:

  Rapture

  Valley of Death

  Gearing Up

  Elven Accord

  NPC’s Lives:

  Tales from the Dead Man Inn

  I would like to point you all toward some fellow authors whose works I enjoy:

  William Arand: Author of the complex interconnected series in the genre which all starts with Otherlife Dreams.

  https://www.amazon.com/William-D.-Arand/e/B01AY7PSG4

  Blaise Corvin: Author of Delvers LLC, which is an amazing GameLit series.

  https://www.amazon.com/Blaise-Corvin/e/B01LYK8VG5

  Scottie Futch: Is a prolific author who can be found on Royal Road and Amazon.

  https://www.amazon.com/Scottie-Futch/e/B00NCSEN28

  Eden Redd: She might be mentioned last but she is definitely not least, and she is very worth the read, more so if you like some adult content. Her Lewd Saga series combines erotica and LITRPG.

  https://www.amazon.com/Eden-Redd/e/B00I8X8BCK

  Michael Scott-Earle: He’s back but not on Amazon. You can find all of his books through his own website, and through his Kickstarters.

  https://www.michaelscottearle.com/

  To learn more about LitRPG, talk to authors including myself, and just have an awesome time, please join the https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGGroup

  p; Daniel Schinhofen, Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8)