Later on that night, Frederick arrived at the bar earlier than usual. He felt a bit woozy in the head, since he drank wine for the second time in his whole life.

“Hey, hey! You in there?” A man in a tux clicked his fingers at the half-awake Frederick.

“Sorry man, I’m just a bit tired. What do you need?” replied Frederick, preparing a glass.

“No, no. Not a drink, I am just try’na tell you something, Fred.” Frederick nodded along wearily, finally recognising his boss.

“So, I know now -- about your family that is. The pay here is probably not high enough for you to support your family. I told your mother all about Magic Mirror, and she decided to put your name into the lucky draw box.”

“Wait what? How is that supposed to help me with funds?” Frederick shrieked, snapping out of his dizzy spell.

“Well, I’m just getting to that. If you were to win the lucky draw, and receive the game and the equipment, you can make videos,” the boss said. Before Frederick can speak again, he continued, “if you make videos, you can get paid for having advertisement slots in them. You can still come work here, if you play the game in the morning. Just think about the outcome, okay? You might not even win.”

Frederick took a deep breath, he can’t take in all this information. “Okay, I guess I need to change my routine again. Blah blah blah, moral of the story: playing games solve all the problems,” he said sarcastically.

“You don’t have much of a choice,” his boss stated.

Due to all the problems in his family, he barely passed high school, and never went to university. Frederick wasn’t well educated, so he couldn’t find a decent job, or even a good university. His boss was right, he didn’t have a choice. If he ever wanted to see his mother again, he would need to earn more money.

“Fine! Fine, fine, fine! I have no fucking choice. I know that. Okay?” Frederick shouted, his hand forming a fist and slammed the table. His anger subsided a bit, his face was glowing hot, with beads of sweat trickling down his hair. He clamped his hand against his mouth, whispering, “Sorry, I’m really sorry. I… I...”

Frederick’s boss patted his shoulders, and handed him a tissue. “I understand you are touchy when it comes to your parents. Sorry, it all came to you at once. Just think about it okay?”

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His boss turned away and started to leave. “Remember Fred, the lucky draw is tomorrow!” He shouted as he walked towards the door.

Frederick looked down. If he were to play, he would have to cancel lessons from the dojo. But at the same time, he might not even win the lucky draw. He really wanted to free his mother from his drunk dad, but… Dojo. There were so many risks of going both ways. If he doesn’t win the lucky draw, he would go back to his normal routine, going to the dojo and working in the bar. He would get enough money to free his mother, but that would take a really long time.

“Hey yo, ye havin’ trouble?” A regular asked, seeing the frustration in Frederick’s face.

“No, not at all,” Frederick replied, forcing a sweet smile.

“That smile ain’t real yo,” the regular said, in a matter-of-fact voice.

“Well… I guess I am over thinking about things quite a bit,” Frederick said, sighing.

“Ayy, have a drink,” the man said. The regular looked like he was in his mid-30’s, with shaggy hair, and a gruff voice. He was basically a replica of a dwarf, except he was much taller.

Frederick laughed, “No dude, that can’t happen.”

“It heals stress laddie.”

“Sorry, can’t - it’s all to do with my history…”

“If ye say so.”

It was getting late, about time he leaves work. Talking to the regular got his mind out thinking about the situation for a while. Perhaps after weighing the pros and cons, getting the machine won't be so bad. It's not like its a high chance anyways, its like a 25 out of a billion.

The next day, Frederick goes and turns on the radio for the lucky draw. The first 22 names were called and Frederick felt better knowing he would not have to break his routine. Then the next name called out…

“Frederick Dare, Frederick Dare, Congratulations you have won yourself an all new delusion VR machine.”