Chapter One
It was always jarring.
The jump from one reality to another was always unsettling even for those that go through it on a daily basis like Nick did.
Nicholas was definitely one of the veterans of the game, dedicating his entire life to the other reality and as such going through the jump several times a day whenever he needed to take care of his bodily needs but even he needed a few minutes to shake off the disorientation as the large cable directly plugged into the base of his neck released him and he woke up from the massive shared virtual dream known as Bifröst.
Nicholas no longer inhabited the body of a half dwarf half barbarian paladin he felt most comfortable in , in this world he was something much less impressive. The massive frame of the powerful warrior was replaced by a wiry body, a body whilst not being comparable to his avatar's mighty body , was tough in its own way, shaped by years upon years of living as one of the many homeless orphans that grew up at the mercy of the unforgiving streets of New Delhi.
The pupils in Nicholas's brown eyes were constantly dilating and constricting as they always did in the aftermath of logging off from the game but he was eventually able to focus on the rather narrow area of his one bedroom apartment. He didn't even have to move his eyes to take in the view of his sad excuse for an apartment, he could clearly see the toilet, shower head, kitchen sink and bed all at the same time. When the apartment was described as a one bedroom apartment it didn't mean that it was an apartment with one bedroom, rather it meant that the one bedroom was the apartment.
After he was finished looking around at his miserable excuse for an apartment , he pulled himself up from the ragged couch he had found abandoned in an alley and which was coincidentally the only piece of furniture in the room that wasn't bolted down with titanium screws to prevent theft. He moved a few steps , nimbly navigating through the cramped confines of his room with practiced ease until he stood before the kitchen sink which doubled as the bathroom sink. He washed his face with the not so clean water that the faucet expunged. He cupped the cold water with a slight tint of brown visible inside of it and without using any soap washed his face as best he could, soap wasn't something only rich people could afford these days and Nicholas definitely wasn't rich. After scrubbing his face for a while, Nicholas decided that his face was as clean as it was going to get and he looked up to see his own reflection staring back at him in the mirror.
Unlike what his name implied, Nicholas was actually a hundred percent Indian with the classic dark skin and even darker hair typically seen in most Indians. The reason he had a western name was because he had spent the first years of his life in an orphanage run by the new wave Jesuit missionaries sent from Spain and he was named by Sister Mary Livingston, the kindly old woman who had run the orphanage before the church was closed down to make way for the ambitions of one of the many wealthy international companies who ran the world with their immense wealth and uncontrollable appetites.
Sister Mary had named him after one of the happier saints in the bible, one associated with the myth of Santa Claus. Maybe she wanted his life to be one of bringing joy to others, he was never sure, the only true home he had ever known was destroyed when he was just five years old and he never had the chance to ask her before she had vanished mysteriously along with all the other staff members of the orphanage, leaving the children to fend for themselves.
Nicholas automatically raised his hand and touched the silver pendant around his neck as he remembered his time at the orphanage. The pendant had been given to him by Sister Mary just like his name and both had gotten him beaten up on the streets on more than one occasion but since they were reminders of happier times , he had fought tooth and nail against the bullies to protect the only things precious to him, the things that reminded him of the only family he had ever had.
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Nicholas's hand slipped from the pendant to the scars beneath it that crisscrossed his chest, also reminders of memories in his past but ones he would rather forget. The streets of New Delhi were not merciful to the weak and before Nicholas had learned the ways of the street, he had been nothing but a soft target, a favorite past time for the many predators out on the prowl. He had suffered from beating after beating and he was lucky to have made it out alive.
Nicholas was slowly caressed the scars on his chest and remembering all of the shit he had been through as a child when the mirror in front of him started to glow blue and started to play a song by Luciano Pavarotti, Nichols's ring tone.
After Nicholas waved his hand at the mirror, his reflection was replaced by the image of a smiling woman,
"Hello Nick, long time no see. How are you?"
Most people would have been thrilled to have such a pretty woman look at them with sparkling eyes and a coy smile but Nick knew the woman in front of him very well, she might have been a petite and harmless looking beauty that could make the hearts of most men flutter but Nick knew her back from the streets. This 'cute' and 'harmless' girl used to turn tricks near the sidewalk where Nick used to sleep and Nick also knew that her 'customers' usually never came a second time, in fact her customers usually seemed to disappear without a trace. Nick suspected that this girl had probably killed more people than the most hardened murderers and criminals in New Delhi.
"Cut the crap Zara, what do you want?"
The girl pouted making her look even more cute and innocent,"Nicky, why are you always like this? It's almost as if you aren't happy to see me."
"There was some ambiguity? In that case let me clear things up, I am not happy to see you, now spit out out what you want to say or fuck off."
"Fine, if you are going to be like that then I will get to the point, I want you to join my clan. You are one of the few remaining Alpha testers that hasn't joined our side yet. I want you to join the other Alphas and I am willing to cut you a pretty sweet deal for your cooperation."
"You want me to join the Alphas? Well I want world peace and unlimited wealth, sadly neither one of us is getting what we want."
Contrary to Nick's expectation, Zara wasn't upset by his answer , instead the ruby red lips of her cute little mouth curled up into a sinister little smile.
"Hmmm...that is sad, if you aren't part of our clan then we can't really protect you."
Nick started to have a bad feeling as he saw that smile on Zara's face, "Why would I need your protection?"
Zara picked up a tablet and with a flourish presented it in front of Nick. It was a list of the world bosses in Bifrost, a list that Nick and every other serious gamer was very familiar with. It was a list of incredibly powerful monsters in the game that people could fight to get amazing rewards. The list comprised of ten creatures that could easily defeat armies and destroy cities but it also meant that any clan that manages to defeat such monsters would get unimaginable rewards from the system based on the rank of the defeated monster.
And on this list of calamity grade monsters there was a flashing name on the list signifying a new entry.
On the very top of the list in the number one position were two words.
Nicholas - Paladin