Entering Augmented Reality…

“Geez, kid, take a walk okay?”, I said as I made my way to the train. Shouldn’t someone your age be watching magical girls shows instead of someone like me?

“One monster! One monster!”

This is what I get for being a Positiver. Me, as myself I’d be grumpy, but as the Magitective Catgirl Nyaa-chan I have to give in a little. I won’t crack a smile though! Not in real life! No one wants to see a middle-aged man smile!

Then again, I have trouble smiling in Mental World Online too.

“Fine, fine,” as I gave into the grade schooler and thought of the eggs this morning. I don’t want to scare her with something too high level, I’m not cruel. I selected the summon skill. Have at it, kid.

“Thanks mister!”

She was fighting the cartoony eggs with stick hands and legs and googly eyes as I made for the train.

I watched old animation sometimes on the net, she’d probably never seen something like that before.

Cartoons these days is toned down quite a bit. It’s ‘too mentally effective’ they said. I thought the death of free speech when I was a kid was a bad thing. Let people do whatever they want. It’s the internet you know? Just because you pay the server bills doesn’t mean you can police people in their private lives.

I stepped onto the train in a huff. Well, I had a few things I didn’t want anyone knowing about anyways. Maybe they had a point. Dark secrets, dark, dark , secrets that must never be known to this world I pondered as the train took me to work.

“Says you have an account with Mental World Online,” said my boss all of a sudden.

No, I thought. The worst has come true.

“Y-yeah I just play I little here and there,” I muttered. I forgot, the thing I must never forget.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Just turn off the augmented reality feature, okay? No one minds what you do on your off time but when you’re here…” he said. I agreed. I absolutely agreed.

Entering Reality…

“There, turned it off. Sorry about that. I’ll get back to work on the code,” I turned away. Let it end with this please.

“You know I can see connections on the local servers right? I didn’t think you were that absent minded, is anything going on lately?” he said with a tinge of concern in his voice.  Don’t give me that, I know corporate is on your back about ‘wellness’ lately, you liar.

“Ah, you know how it is, just forget to turn it off sometimes,” I said with a monotone. He probably knew I was blowing him off, but what could he do? You’re not my parent.

“Just let me know if anything’s bothering you. I know we don’t talk often but you're one of my best employees, I’m more than willing to pull some strings to make things easier on you.”

Ah, thank you boss, the conversation exit flag!

“Sure, boss. I gotta get back to work.”

I can’t wait to get home.

Entering World Online…

“Kid, what was that?”

I said it to some samurai looking kid named Cowboy. Pick one.

“My, special gauge! It activated! It said I got the Samurai subclass!”

“Huh?”

My catgirl’s face was probably twisted at this point. I’m sorry Nyaa-chan, I have disgraced your image. I worked so hard to get everything just right.

“I got ‘Tsubame Gaeshi’! It’s a skill!”

He was excited, I checked his subclass just to be sure because I thought the system might have shocked him.

No, he’s really a Chaoser Samurai. A mystery, I grinned with the corn stalk sticking out of my teeth. Now that’s a fitting face for Magitective Nyaa-chan. I lived for moments like this.

“Well Cowboy, looks like you’ve got yourself the first of a subclass. If there was one already in the game, I’m sure someone would have found it by now. Must be a silent update. How about you stay in touch with me and let me know how it goes leveling it? Let me know if these bullies here keep bothering you too, I won’t mind helping.”

“I-I don’t know. I don’t really have too many friends.”

Why is he blushing? Oh…don’t tell me. He’s into me? Wow, I’m witnessing one of those horrible awkward moments of youth. I shouldn’t make it worse. Let him believe I’m just a beautiful magitective catgirl, that’s what Nyaa-chan would do!

“Just mail me if something happens. I’m a wanderer, so I’ll help you out if you’re in trouble or somethings wrong.”

“Wow, like a hero of justice! That’s so cool! I want to do that too!”

He’s young, He’s got to be young.

“It’s Magitective Nyaa-chan. See you.”

I gave the two finger salute as walked off with my trenchcoat whipping in the wind and soot of the streets of Hesiod. I can only do this rarely even within the guard of Nyaa-chan’s form.

I’m embarrassed, but the excitement is greater now. A new subclass?

That’s strange though, I heard someone was ganking some kid who kept fighting back. I figured he’d be a little weaker. Maybe I’m wrong about kids these days. I closed my eyes as I teleported back to Hygea. I wasn’t going to tell anyone about a new subclass.

The mysteries Magitective Nyaa-chan finds are her’s alone.