William Rutherford the Tenth, last scion of a long-defunct line of nobles were not sure he had made the right choice. Will, as he reluctantly let the young whippersnapper in charge call him, was a girl called Kira. It was not that she was Asian that he minded her being in charge. Not even that she was young and much less female.

  No, the reason why he was not happy about her being in charge was simply that she seemed to be struggling with something personal, and she took it out on the new recruits, like himself.

  William had like many others been put in the horrifying coffins, since the money that his ancestors had earned through the centuries, had long since dried up. His great uncle had been a terrible gambler, who had lost what little the family had left.

  To not saddle a younger generation with the crippling debt he had been settled with, he had elected not to get any children. The nobility title and most of their possessions were gone, so what did it matter that he did not have any children?

  An old man at the age of seventy, he had expected to go to sleep and never wake up again. So he had been rather surprised when he was woken up, only a few months after going into the device. He had been put in a room for a job interview with a young man.

  The hologram of the man had been less than impressive in William’s opinion. Despite being as poor as everyone else, his family had brought him up to act as if he was still a nobleman. The man across from William was tall and large, it could have been imposing, if not for the fact that the man was slouching. For something he was slouched, he was overweight, and he needed a haircut and a shave. Badly.

  “Hello, Mister Rutherford,” the man had greeted him politely at least. “My name is Damian Pryce and I’ve got a job offer for you.”

  “Well Mister Pryce, colour me intrigued, especially since I have little job experience,” William had bluntly stated. Taking a better look at the man. William’s estimation of the man had been, ‘Probably early forties unless he was just looking older than he was because of poor posture and health.’

  The man had given a small chuckle. Despite the slouching and poor posture the man did not seem to lack confidence but was not brimming of it either. “Very few people do these days, Mister Rutherford. Do you mind if I call you William?”

  “Given the circumstances, I think that can be allowed, Damian,” William had responded.

  The man had given him a smile. “I’ve your file here, mostly about your activities in different games. You’ve played a lot of realistic sailing and fishing simulators, is that something you enjoy doing?”

  ‘Obviously, otherwise, I would not have spent thousands upon thousands of hours playing them,’ William had thought with a mental eye roll. Outloud he had just given a small smile and answered, “Yes, I do indeed.”

  “Would you like to make a living doing that?”

  “What? Fishing?”

  “Amongst other things. I’m the guild leader of a gaming guild in a semi-realistic fantasy game, we are going to need experienced sailors. I would like you to eventually become the captain of one of my ships,” the man had said.

  William’s eyes had narrowed. “I don’t like fighting in games. I’m getting too old for that.”

  “That’s okay. I myself aren’t a fighter either. In fact, I spend all my time farming and crafting,” the man, no Damian, had laughed. With a friendly smile, he had continued, “Sailing will bring you into contact with combat, but we’ll find you a First Mate to handle that aspect for you.”

  “What kind of ship do you have?” William had asked, curious despite himself.

  “None yet, we’re still building. We also have a need for your expertise with fishing, gaining another source of food would be nice.”

  “Sounds moderately interesting, but how much is the pay?”

  “The pay is abysmal unless the entire guild performs well. We pay for everyone's MWT and the room at the pod hotel. We expect certain productivity from you in return of course. Every real-life month after expenses have been paid, the leadership sits down to look at the options for the remaining credits,” the man had droned on. “If we choose to pay anything out, all the credits are thrown into one large pool. Every member, or employee to be precise, has one share. Some who do extra work or are in leadership positions, get two shares.”

  “What about the owner?” William had asked with narrowed eyes.

  “That’s me. I get the same shares as everyone else. If the highest numbers of shares someone gets is two, then I get two shares, if it’s four, then I get four.”

  “Seems weird to me, but it’s better than being in these damn boxes, unaware, unfeeling, yet alive.”

  “I’m glad to have you aboard, William,” his new boss had said. “Unfortunately, you’ll have to go into the box for a week or two, while we get everything ready.”

  William had deflated a little on that. After a deep breath, he had given a nod with determination in his eyes. “That’s fine, I understand.”

  “I’m glad you do. I look forward to seeing you in person,” Damian had said and the hologram started to fade.

  “Please don’t leave me in there for too long,” William had whispered as he watched the fading hologram.

  Damian had been true to his word. Almost. William had been woken again, and only a couple of weeks had passed, just as Damian had said. However, for some reason, Damian was not there when they arrived at the pod hotel. From some furtive glances amongst the officers and core members, William had gotten the impression of nervousness.

  All the members of the guild had been given almost free-reign at the food replicators, and William could not help himself, he had ordered a pan-fried seabass with a lemon garlic herb-sauce. It had almost been as good as he had imagined. Like all other food made at the replicator, it had been missing that little last kick. He had frequently thought that the difference in taste and what one expected was a psychological thing.

  It was during dinner that he had seen another person his age. A nice little old lady who was busy herding most of the kids around. He had been enchanted, but he had to do it right. So he had started asking questions, innocuous, and almost asked if they meant nothing to him. It would not be in his interest to alert anyone of his fascination until he had figured out who that woman was.

  Damian had finally trooped up towards the end of the meal, close to the time when the officers said they had to log in. He had offered his apologies. William had been baffled by the change in the man. It had been small differences, but it seemed like he was more confident, he slouched a bit less, and most of all he did not seem as tense.

  When Damian announced his new relationship there had been a lot of congratulating going on. The little girl seemed to have been more ecstatic than Damian and that Mia had. William did not like her.

  Despite never having had any credits to his name, the education he was given by his parents were spotting opportunistic people. To William, Mia reeked of someone with an ulterior motive. Oh, he was certain that she had some feelings for Damian, but William felt they were tied into something else. She just felt fake somehow.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Of course, he could be wrong. He had been wrong before, but he had also been right. His gut instincts about these things had a high rate of accuracy. More than fifty percent. In the back of his mind, he added, ‘Fifty-one percent is more than fifty.’

  They had all left to log in, and that was how William found himself in his current situation. The young woman, Kira, who had been very affable during the meet and greet, was now a boiling pot of fury. He was not certain what had changed between the meet and greet and logging into the game.

  One of the other new people, William had not gotten her name, nervously asked, “Who are the people staring at us?”

  The kid named Masuro, no One-Eyed Dragon, chuckled. “Those are the idiots we keep beating. If not for Dawnguard backing them, they should have sued for peace a long time ago.”

  “Enough chit-chatting, let’s get the fuck out of here,” Kira growled. “Don’t worry about those fuckers. Hei and I’ll take care of them if they get any ideas.”

  “Oi, leave some for me,” One-Eye replied with a fake pout, as they began heading out of the town.

  “The way you keep hiding behind that shield of yours, it’s amazing you’ve not gotten the Coward title yet,” a big man with a large axe teased.

  “I said shut up,” Kira snapped. “New people. Just keep following Mbali, even if the rest of us fall behind. Understood?”

  “Yes,” came the scattered response. It seemed to satisfy her, and they left. It was clear that they were being followed. Soon Kira and Hei vanished from the group, which continued on. Two minutes later William heard screaming from behind them.

  Turning around, William saw that the small group trailing them was being killed in a very efficient manner. He could not help but frown. He abhorred violence. However, he would hold his tongue, because he abhorred being put in the Coffins even more.

  The other new people managed to level up a few times over the next two days' travel, William only managed one level up from Butchery and Cooking. Rabbits were not fish, and he could not figure out how to butcher them, so he let the system do it for him. Though he did the cooking manually.

  When they arrived late on the second day at the village, William was happy. The view, even in the moonlight, was spectacular, and he could not wait until he could fish in the water underneath the cliffs.

  The food served by the guild leader was better than what he had prepared, even gave buffs and everything. He had tasted his own cooking, despite being so level that he did not need to eat. It had been bland. Not that the stew was high cuisine or anything, but it was decent.

  Someone did not think so though. A huge row started over the food, devolving into a screaming match, with name-calling and bigotry. It was not a pretty thing. Damian stepped up and got the waters calmed, with another decent speech. William was ready to admit he had misjudged the unassuming man. He acted more of a leader than he had thought he would.

  He then dragged the instigator to the side and had a very serious talk with the man, Antwon. Everyone thought that was it for Antwon, he had insulted one of the original members; an important core member while Antwon was a nobody.

  To everyone’s surprise, Antwon came back, apologized once more to Ainsley—Robin and Sarah—Marion. William frowned. He preferred those that kept the same name in the real and in the game. It was easier to learn and remember people that way.

  William’s frown deepened when he heard the gossip that spread like wildfire from Antwon. Apparently, Damian had not taken any credits with the latest payout, opting instead to get more people out of the coffins. Admirable, but to William, it seemed a little fake. Like he was trying to boost his standing.

  William was a suspicious fellow. He could not help but wonder if everything had been orchestrated to make Damian look good. He did not want to believe it, because he had not gotten a manipulative vibe from the guy. However, if the argument was not orchestrated, then it was maybe even worse. Because it meant that the guild was not as cohesive as he was led to believe.

  The next morning, tensions were high again. However, it was all focused outwards, not inward. When the birds’ attack came, William could not help but feel afraid. He thought Damian was going to take charge when he shouted an order to Ed, but it seemed like the man stepped back and let the others make the tactical decisions.

  Soon William found himself huddling inside a barn for safety together with all the other crafters and the new members. Even the guild leader took refuge. In William’s mostly humble opinion that was wrong. The leader should be showing that there was nothing to be afraid of. Not that the man looked very afraid, it was more like he was pensive.

  For a while, everything went according to the tactical snap judgement that the party leaders had made, but then one of the birds slipped by the dual axe-wielding Mbali. It started attacking the defenceless and low-levelled people. Each swoop claiming a life.

  “Help us!” they screamed at the fighters protecting the entrances.

  “I can’t leave the door or more will come in here! Pin it down and gang up on it,” Mbali shouted back. They tried to follow her advice, but when each swoop claimed a life, it was not possible. The bird went around for another attack.

  That was when Damian stepped in front of the rest of them, shouting, “Hey, over here, you ugly birdbrain!”

  The bird took the sacrifice and attacked Damian with abandon. William thought he would try to hold it, ward off some blows. Something. However, Damian just stood there, letting it attack. It managed to get two swipes in on him before people started beating it up.

  William heard Mbali shout to the healer. “Get ready to resurrect Damian.”

  “I’m out of mana!” the healer replied frustratedly, bashing away a bird with all her frustration. William looked at Damian, sure the man looked to be in pain, but he seemed almost serene as he stood there and took the damage, then he died. Just slowly collapsed on the ground and started to turn into motes of light. The bird’s carcass joined him a second later.

  It was only another minute before quiet fell over the town. For a few breaths, nothing but silence reigned, then the cheering started outside. No cheering went up inside the barn. They all knew that Damian had sacrificed days’ worth of XP to buy them the chance to deal with that one bird.

  William was startled when he heard someone start screaming, “Why the fuck did you let him die, you stupid cow?”

  “Excuse me?” Mbali replied furiously, with a baffled look on her face.

  “Why didn’t you do your fucking job. Don’t let the birds into the barn, it’s not so fucking hard, is it?” the screamer continued. William saw that it was the woman Damian had started dating, Mia.

  “I did my best, it’s not easy when they’re double my level!” Mbali roared back.

  Mia looked like she was about to retort with another screamed insult when a loud voice cracked through the air from the door. “What the fuck are going on here? Why are you arguing?”

  It was Kira, who still seemed to have a chip on her shoulder for some reason. Mia launched into an insulting explanation. “This stupid bitch let a bird in on purpose—”

  “I did no such thing!” Mbali protested.

  “Cut the insults. What happened?” Kira growled.

  “A bird got inside, started killing us,” the one called Phil butted in. “Damian made himself bait so we could deal with it. He died.”

  Kira looked almost shocked for a moment before she launched into a tirade as well. Berating everyone. More and more people started to join in. William was having second thoughts about this venture, it seemed to him that it was doomed to fail. On the surface, it seemed a fairly well-knit group, but it was starting to fracture. His musings got interrupted by someone tugging his sleeve.

  It was the blind woman, William thought her name was Denise. She indicated for him to follow her. He did so gladly, he had no desire to stay in such a toxic situation. She gave him a shy smile as they walked towards the gazebo where most. “You’re the one that Damian hired to be a captain on our future ships, right?”

  “Yes, why do you ask?” William asked.

  “We don’t have a ship yet, but we have some boats. You’re going to lead a group back to Blackport in them,” she said with confidence and an edge in her voice that belied her gentle demeanour.

  “I am?” William asked,

  “We need Damian back here as soon as possible. If you go there in a boat to pick him up, it will get him here faster, than if we had to gather a group to go get him,” she explained.

  “Get who here faster?” Robin asked as they had reached the group.

  “Damian died, things are falling apart inside the barn, Mia and Kira have gotten into a screaming match,” Nise explained.

  “Shit,” several people cursed. Ed immediately set off for the barn. Robin was about to follow him when Nise held her back.

  “William can lead the boats back to Blackport, but he needs a group to protect him,” she said softly.

  “You’re right,” Robin said. “Our party should be enough. Let’s set out immediately.”

  “How about you gather all the blood hawks and take with you? Damian is the highest level in Butchery, he could use them to recover some of his lost XP,” Nise gently suggested.

  “You’re a peach,” Marion said.

  Robin shouted, “You heard the lady. Gather all the hawks and bring them down to the boats!”

  William looked on. Maybe not all hope was lost, but the situation seemed precarious.