“Who are you?” Ra could only blink in surprise.
“Tyrell Forrest. Your escort.”
A notification box popped up in front of Ra asking for confirmation of her character completion. She almost selected yes before remembering she was still dressed in her school uniform.
A few moments later, a girl with sky blue hair and eyes stepped out of the fitting room. She was average height for a young teen with a vaguely athletic build. Opting for comfort and function, she wore a knee length ivory colored coat over a form fitting dark purple long sleeved shirt and black yoga pants.
“Okay, I’m ready now.” The curtain shimmered after Ra stepped through becoming just another part of the wall. She was standing in a small lobby area like that of a hotel with a pair of sliding glass doors across from a manned desk and what appeared to be elevators on the far side.
“Come with me.” Tyrell led her to the desk where a thoroughly bored looking young man suddenly perked up as they approached.
“Dozing off on the job again, Greg?”
The young man behind the desk grinned guiltily. “Nobody comes through so I’m sitting here for hours doing nothing.” He tapped away at a computer for a moment. “You’re Ra?”
“Yup.”
“Will you need a certificate?”
“Yes, and a registration card.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“I can do you one better.” Greg initiated a command and a printer behind the desk spat out something the size of small post card. He handed the card to Ra. “You can’t lose it. Just grab it out of nothing.”
Intrigued, Ra didn’t accept the card from Greg and instead pulled it of thin air. When she wanted it to be a certificate, it was a certificate. When she wanted it to be a registration card, it was a registration card.
“That’s cool. Thank you.”
“It’s nice to finally be able to do my job.” Greg smiled happily and tilted his chair back. “The certificate gives you the authority to command your empire and the registration card is for traveling, buying things, and entering events.”
Of course, these were things Ra already knew. But she still gave him a slight bow of gratitude.
“Tyrell will fill you in if there’s anything else you need to know. That’s all I can do for you.”
***
A sleek transport vehicle awaited Ra just outside the building. The first place she had Tyrell take her was the headquarters.
The headquarters were a squat metal complex outside on a cliff overlooking the capital city. Despite the amazing view, Ra couldn’t help but feel the building was dreary and dull.
“This is just the default. You can always have it remodeled or even moved.” It was if he sensed her unasked question. Then again, as an npc he could very well have been programmed with that capability.
An armed guard awaited them at the entrance. He greeted them as they approached with a dramatic salute.
“I see you brought the...” he trailed off rubbing his chin as if trying to remember something. A notification appeared in front of Ra prompting her to state her title.
“Commander.”
“Right, Commander. How silly of me to forget. I’ll let the other participants know you’ve arrived.”
“Participants?” asked Ra curiously but the guard was currently barking into some sort of communicator and didn’t hear her. These npcs really were too lifelike.