Ronny nodded, not fully certain Ryan's plan would work. The Titan eased back in his chair and closed his eyes to wait. In the meantime, Ronny couldn't help but ruminate on how his night went.
A few minutes of silence pass between the pair before Ronny couldn't stand it anymore.
"So, you play Frontier Online, right? I mean, that's why I delivered one of Mon-Tech's capsules to your place." Ronny put his feet on the floor and leaned forward, intent on starting a conversation.
Ryan blinked. The giant was awake, thinking when the teen interrupted him.
"Yeah. Did I die once...maybe twice already?" Ryan wasn't sure what happened after John yanked him out of the game.
Did my avatar just fall limp or something?
"What town did you start in?" Ronny was full of questions tonight and every night. The teen just wanted to know.
"Grotto, in the Kingdom of-"
"Aard! I started there too!" Ronny went to celebrate knowing someone in the same town before he remembered what he saw earlier. Ryan was currently out of the game indefinitely.
"Seriously?"
The blond teen nodded vigorously.
"Then why are you out here instead of in the game?" Ryan found it unbelievable that someone would willingly log out on launch night.
Ronny scratched his cheek awkwardly, "Ah, well, I...well, I got lucky and found this tomb, right?" Ryan nodded for the teen to keep going.
"Well, I got screwed. On my way back to the tomb, someone from Shining Star followed me. Pretty soon, the guild's members were all over me, demanding the answer to the tomb entrance's puzzle." Ronny rubbed at his nose, looking down at the black rug on the floor.
Ryan tried to say something, but Ronny forged ahead.
"It's kind of ironic, you know? When I started the game, I was gifted a Talent called Rabbit's Foot. It was supposed to make me lucky," The teen wiped at his nose again, and Ryan noticed how emotional the teen was becoming.
Ryan wondered what a Talent was. Maybe I got Paragon instead of a Talent? Is Paragon the Talent? It's pretty busted, if it is.
"I found the tomb and managed to get in. The puzzle really wasn't that hard. Then that fucking guild spawn camped me back to level one! The town became a freaking cage!" Ronny held himself and started to rock in his seat.
Ryan leaned forward a bit, shoving down the pain as he watched the shaking teen.
"Er...I-I was born in one of the Intelligen Gene camps. Every day it was experimenting and tests. Gene therapies meant to enhance my vision, hand-eye coordination, and brain cell elasticity stunted my growth." The teen couldn't look up from the ground.
Ryan couldn't think of a single thing to say except, "I'm sorry." It was lame, and the Titan knew it.
Ronny continued like he hadn't heard, "So when they caged me in the town, hunting me down three times until I was level one again," the teen hung his head even further, "So I gave them the answer to the tomb's door."
The blond went on to describe how Shining Star never let up. The guild continued to hunt the teen now to ensure he never made it back to the tomb before Spectre claimed the Inheritance.
"I logged out to get away from the feeling...the feeling that I was in a cage." Ronny shrugged and finally looked up at the Titan again, "That's when I overheard the noise coming from your room, and here we are."
Ryan nodded to show he followed along before he offered, "If it's any consolation, I killed Shining Star's guild master, Specter."
Ronny perked up a little when he heard that, "No way!"
Ryan nodded, "Yeah, down in the mines outside Grotto. My party was about to wipe against the guild's raid team when a Hobgoblin boss showed up." The bloody Titan gave a tiny shrug, "I was fighting the boss- couldn't hurt it because of the level suppression- when everything went black."
"The next thing I knew, I woke up on the floor of my room with my brother beating my capsule to pieces." Ryan dwelled on the events a little to stoke his anger, determined to stay awake.
"How did he know you bought it?" Ronny question.
Ryan explained, "My brother uses a watch program to monitor my bank account. Except for a short window before midnight when the program resets. During that window, I uploaded a year's worth of savings and ordered the capsule."
"However, that doesn't stop the program from letting my brother know as soon as it's back online. So he must have flown over to punish me," Ryan wondered aloud, "He had to be on Earth to get to Apostle so quickly- I thought I would have a couple of days before I got a visit." Ryan leaned back in the office chair, trying to get comfortable again.
Ronny pondered for a moment before he asked, "How did Spectre die?"
"I tore off his leg and crushed his head with the blunt end of a pickax." Ryan summarized the battle against the guild leader for the blond. When he described the ability Spectre was using to flicker around the battlefield, Ronny dropped his face into his hands.
"That was supposed to be mine. The Inheritance was for the "Shade Strider," an epic class for an old adventurer I found down in the mines. I only went back to town to grab some rope for the challenges..." Ronny sighed in disappointment.
"Must be able to handle yourself to get down into the mines like that," Ryan complimented the younger man.
Ronny waved his hands, "Not even. I don't like getting hurt, so I just ran away from combat. Except for being hunted, the closest I got to combat was the Agility Trial in Grotto."
"How did you do?"
The teen flushed bright red, "Ah, I went above the highest tier."
Ryan whistled in appreciation, "I didn't check out that trial. How did it work?"
Ronny explained how you stood on one side of a line while others lined up to throw small paintballs at you. As the trial went on, more people were allowed to join in throwing. The teen tilted his head up and puffed his chest out when he bragged about dodging everything until the time ran out.
Apparently, the dynamic vision Intelligen enhanced in his eyes translated to the game as well. Ronny admitted he wouldn't have done well if he couldn't see where the other divers would throw by reading the movement of their shoulders and elbows. Intelligen scientists put the teen in front of throwing machines in real life to test his vision, and the trial was tame in comparison.
His goal was to explore without getting hurt, so the blond wanted as much Agility as possible.
As the two waited for Ryan's financial officer to arrive, they discussed the various feats they'd earned and how they got them.
*****
In Musculo's dark lobby, a disgruntled woman entered the building in a wrinkled pantsuit, muttering about mythical CEOs and crap hours.
The security guard Carl, who waited nervously the whole time, immediately rushed to the woman and tried to usher her to the elevator. The agitated finance officer swore at him and shoved the man away, heading for a coffee machine in the corner of the lobby.
When Carl tried to chase after her and impress the urgency of the matter, he was blocked by a statuesque figure.
"Leave the tired lady alone, Carl. It's obvious some cad called her here so late." A cultured British accent clued Carl in that he wasn't in front of the big boss.
"Aiya, please, you don't understand. The owner asked for her to come," Carl pleaded with the tall trainer.
Aiya St.Claire was the best-paid trainer at this Musculo branch. 2.1-meters tall, the mixed Asian and British woman used to hold several titles in the Battle Circuit until her fall from grace. The lean-muscled woman wasn't quite a Titan and lost several matches in a row when she faced a string of them.
She was famously stubborn and disdained the brass in any company, so mentioning that the owner was here did Carl no favors.
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The raven-haired beauty arched her eyebrow, "And? If they're already waiting, they can wait a few moments for the poor woman to have coffee." Despite her domineering words, Aiya took pity on the guard and shooed him away.
"Go. I'll take her up to the main office. If anyone gets chewed out, it'll be me." She smiled at Carl to assure him they were good, and the guard speed-walked back to his office.
In his office, Carl huddled in silence and tried to wipe his existence from the universe. While he waited, the guard prayed to keep his cushy job.
As Aiya waited for the finance officer to drink her first cup of coffee, the trainer wondered what type of person the mysterious CEO was, certain that he was a prick.
*****
Ryan and Ronny's conversation was interrupted when the office door opened. Silhouetted against the lobby's light, all Ryan could see was a tall and short figure side-by-side.
The student instantly braced himself, certain that John brought his own Titan back to finish the job. Ryan little more than tensed before his body screamed at him, forcing the giant to lean back in the chair.
A moment later, the figures approached, and Ryan realized it was a bookish-looking woman in a suit and a tall, striking woman in work-out sweats.
Aiya observed the supposed CEO sitting in the branch manager's seat in shock. She never expected to find a blood-stained man in the office, let alone a Titan and a tiny blond kid.
The finance officer wasted zero time marching to the desk and sticking her hand out, "Musculo's Branch Finance Manager, Cassie Stafford. I presume you are Musculo's missing CEO?" The woman was unphased by Ryan's appearance.
Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but Ryan suspected this wasn't the first time she'd dealt with a blood-drenched superior. He couldn't decide if that was concerning to him or would be useful.
The Titan stretched a shakey hand to greet her, "Ryan Harringer, I appreciate you coming in so late. Could we speak in private?" He indicated Aiya with his chin.
Aiya cut in, "I don't think so, bud. A mysterious CEO shows up and calls for a woman with his friend at this hour?" She shook her head, "I'm not leaving her alone with you."
Ryan blinked at her, shocked that this stranger implied he would rape anyone. Although, when he considered the circumstances, the reaction made sense. While seated, the Titan didn't look disabled.
A headache began to form as Ryan considered trying to make her leave before he decided.
"Fine, if it makes you feel better, sit on one of the couches." With that, Ryan dismissed her and started explaining what he needed from the finance officer.
Apparently, Musculo kept a form on hand for pay advances. Cassie blanched when Ryan asked for fifty million credits and tried to balk when he demanded the money be placed on a private cheque.
To assure her that he was serious, Ryan stipulated in the contract that a portion of his company stocks would be collateral. If Ryan failed to pay the credits back in twelve months, he would effectively forfeit his seat as CEO and primary shareholder- even if he was still nominally the owner.
Ryan's family only operated by holding majority shares in every company they owned. It just so happened that they owned so many companies as to have insider information everywhere.
Ronny and Aiya looked on in mute shock- neither of them handled money like this before.
They wrapped up the contract, signed, and printed the private cheque using the office's nanite 3D printer.
The entire time Ryan worked with the finance officer, Aiya's expression became surlier.
To Aiya, Ryan forced this woman to come in the middle of the night to embezzle money. She was sure of it because this mysterious CEO was never around. The company had rumors about the man, but she thought this might be the first time anyone saw him in person.
John managed the company all these years and helped himself to the salary even though everything was in Ryan's name. With John's connections to the government, Ryan was hard-pressed to get a new bank account.
In a rush, Ryan thanked Cassie for coming in again. When Aiya and Cassie got up to leave, Ryan waved Ronny over, and the teen helped him stand.
Aiya was frozen in place, staring at Ryan's bent back. The image of an arrogant and privileged CEO fractured a tiny amount. The fact that Ryan was disabled nearly mitigated her hatred for the man.
The elevator ride to the lobby was awkward for all four of them. The two women were hyper-aware of the bloody Titan in the steel box. The elevator seemed smaller for his presence.
Ryan was just trying not to fall over and crush Ronny.
Carl and Aiya waved goodbye to each other on the way out the door. When the bloody duo shuffled straight for the delivery trolley in front of Musculo's building, Aiya froze to watch.
You can't be serious.
The trainer's eyebrows disappeared into her bangs as she watched the disabled Titan painfully fall into the trolley's flatbed.
"Aaalright, onward! I've got one more thing to shock and amaaaze you," Ryan chuckled to himself a little, waving the nano-weave cheque in both hands.
Ronny ignored the Titan's delirium, "You need to go to a hospital, Scarecrow." The teen was afraid Ryan would die of blood loss soon.
Ryan slurred back, "Wee'lll, we're getting to that part of the plan, now aren't we," the Titan pointed up, "To Sherwick's Private Nano Treatments on Level Six!"
Before Ronny could say anything, the giant slumped in the trolley and fell asleep. The teen looked on helplessly for a few moments before he stepped into the pilot's seat.
He then set the auto-navigation and let the trolley drive itself.
Aiya was still frozen in place, watching the bloody CEO get carted away in a delivery trolley. Her worldview shattered a little more.
*****
Ronny gently shook the Titan awake when they arrived outside the clinic. It was fortunate for the pair that the delivery tracks took the mag-lev trolley directly to the building's entrance.
Despite the early hours of the morning, the private clinic was still open. When the pair leveraged Ryan off the cart and into the lobby, the receptionist lept to his feet.
To avoid a repeat of Musculo's debacle, the pair hurried to the counter while the attendant was still in shock.
"Hi," Ryan smiled at the receptionist as best he could, "I would like to pay for the R.N.R. treatment." The giant tried to look his best, but the effort was futile. He'd already left bloody shoeprints on the lobby's white tile.
Somewhere in his shock, the receptionist switched back to "work mode" and sat down to help his new client.
"If sir is here for the Rejuvenating Nanite Rebirth, I will need payment in advance before we call the surgeon here." The solace of routine plastered a smile on the man's face. "If you have prepared the fifty million credits, I can process your information and call him here."
It was rare that the clinic performed an R.N.R., and the receptionist wouldn't turn them away if they could pay. He would even summon the surgeon at this odd hour for that sum of money. Still certain that the Titan would balk, the worker summoned the registration screen and presented it.
Without hesitation, Ryan swiped his Com-Ring through the AR screen, stunning the smug receptionist. Then the Titan held the nano-weave cheque up to the payment screen and watched the details fill themselves out.
When the fifty million credits registered on the screen, Ryan swallowed audibly.
No matter what, paying that back won't be easy. Maybe I'll get to joy-ride for a little while before John tries to kill me. Then I won't have to pay the debt.
Once the details were out of the way, the receptionist asked them to wait in the lobby. Under the worker's glare, Ryan carefully dropped his blood-soaked form into one of their expensive chairs.
The Titan stared at the receptionist and raised his eyebrow. I just paid you a stupid amount of money. Buy a clean chair.
While they waited for the surgeon to arrive, it was Ronny's turn to fall asleep. Despite how bone-tired Ryan was, he couldn't fall asleep again.
The anticipation was killing him.
Finally, finally, I can live without constant pain.
In a daze, Ryan almost didn't register when someone sat across from him.
"Hello, Ryan. You're a hard man to track down." For the second time that night, a cultured British accent reprimanded Ryan.
That voice—
The student looked up, only for his mouth to fall open.
Across from the Titan sat the legendary programmer Roman Monte, wearing the same light grey suit from his interview earlier that night. While Ryan's brain restarted, the programmer studied the Titan's bloody figure.
Ryan twitched his shoulders to cause himself some pain and be sure this wasn't a dream.
"Mr. Monte, I—"
The programmer waved his hand, "That repetition is terrible. Call me Monte." Glasses glinted on the man's face, the faint outline of AR notices visible through the lenses.
"...Monte, why are you here?" Ryan went on, "Don't get me wrong; it's an honor to meet you, but why are you here?" The Titan's world seemed surreal.
How is this happening?
Monte shed his suit coat and rolled up his white sleeves in a show of getting comfortable. Once he was ready, the programmer leaned toward Ryan, eyebrows furrowed.
"Not many know that my interview with Kayla was held here, at Apostle. As the administrator and proprietor of the gaming capsules, I was keeping a close eye on tonight's launch," Monte sat back and crossed his legs, "Low and behold, the same pod registered to Frontier Online's first Feat Holder went offline after sending out a damage signal."
"Of course, I wanted tonight to go off without a hitch. So, when I was informed that a capsule was tampered with while a diver was inside, I looked into you more heavily." Monte began examining his nails like he hadn't said anything creepy.
"How did you look into me? Find me?" Despite the serendipity, Ryan found it hard to trust the programmer's sudden appearance.
Monte answered, not looking up from his hand, "Mon-Tech entered a partnership with Apostle earlier in the year. One of my goals in creating Frontier Online was to give creative space to the most brilliant minds in the next generation- those who didn't have the time outside their studies."
"Since I have access to most student information, I took the liberty of pulling up your file." At that very moment, the programmer had Ryan's file on his AR glasses. The salt-and-pepper-haired man tracked his finger through the air as he read.
"Ryan Harringer. You've been a student here since you turned 16, passing the entrance exams with flying colors. Since then, you blasted through your coursework and now participate in cutting-edge labs, pushing the boundaries of theoretical science."
Ryan listened to the legend summarize his student life, wondering why he was bringing this up.
"A notable recluse; Apostle was excited when another Titan joined the student body- and let down when you turned out to be disabled," the programmer waved his hand in the air, "and so they threw you into research."
Monte leaned towards Ryan again, staring intensely, "My point is, after all this, I'm disappointed in you."
Ryan blinked, stunned.
The programmer went on without pause, "From what little isn't redacted, you work with theoretical energy and superstructures- forces that could better or destroy humanity like your Dyson-sphere project." Monte waved his hands in the air helplessly, "Why won't you use magic? I created the game to stimulate people's minds and creativity! For people like you."
"After watching some of your gameplay, it seems to me that you're trying to throw away your mind!" Monte gestured to his temple and continued to berate the Titan. He was more upset that a huge brain such as Ryan acted like a berzerker idiot than about the pod getting destroyed.
Unable to bear his idol's chastisement, Ryan interrupted him, "Because it's not mine! Magic- Izor- has had an agenda since the beginning. All I have to do is trust him, and boom, he pulls the rug out from under my feet!" Just like John.
Monte raised his hands, "Oh no! Someone invested in me with a purpose in mind! It's almost like every fundamental human interaction ever!" The programmer shook his head at the Titan, "So what if someone has an agenda?"
"People like you and me, Ryan, we're just big, walking brains at the end of the day. That's all humans are. Ever since the first tools humans made, we have adapted and leveraged everything in our environment. Maybe it's time you started to think like the Neolithic."
"You've got the fire, learn to use it, or you'll get left behind by divers who used everything around them. You aren't the only special one, not by a long shot."