[Player] Alice Reyes, Human, Female, 21 years old.

“Alice...”

She paused to look down at me before continuing. Cupping my chin, pressing down my cheeks like I’m some sort of plush toy. I knew it was a mistake to lay down on her lap. If only I weren’t so sleepy, I’d be..-

“Can you at least think about it? You know what? We still have a few more hours before the launch. Why don’t you think about it some more?”

“It's still the two of us, Alice. What else would it be besides fun.” Isabella stroked the side of my hair as she, for the hundredth time, tried to convince me to join her family’s soon-to-be Guild in NOIM.

As sweet as my best friend is, she can really be persistent for my sake. Overprotective, shielding, and even conscientious sometimes…

My mother often teases me that I’ve redeveloped baby-talking because of our dynamic, but well…

It’s not like I don’t like it.

—- Break —-

“I don’t know, Bella… Fun is chugging down on beer while playing cod till morning… Even more fun if we happen to feel beautiful after waking up.”

“I’m not built for this. Not even the four months of combat training you signed me up for will help with that.”

“So, what’s your plan? A lot of industries will be shifting around NOIM soon. You’re a pro player Alice. You could easily lose your career as soon as the gaming industry centers itself around virtual reality.

"..."

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I couldn’t answer her. To be honest, I still haven’t decided what to do at this point.

One morning and all of a sudden, the majority of the internet was talking about VR. The next thing you know, even major companies, including Epic, announced that they’ll be shifting their games towards VR in the future.

I mean- sure, VR is exciting and all. Being able to experience action and adventure in person is one of the dreams we’ve always wanted to try, but if you look at it from another perspective, unlike Bella, who has been trained by her family since childhood,

I don’t have an edge when it comes to all this. Below average, in fact. Way below the curve to make this my living.

‘I might as well live off my looks if that’s the case.’

— break —

"Look. How about just taking the role of a guild admin for one of our branches?”

"I don't know. After I get fired I guess?"

She sighed before rolling her eyes at me.

“Bella… We’ve tried creating a guild for several hyper-competitive games. There’s no way that will work.

I’ll be like one of those ‘figureheads’ who attends meetings and just agrees or disagrees based on the script they’re handed.”

“What’s wrong with that? At least we’ll be able to play together. We’ll equip you with the best items we have. I’ll even carry you if I have to.”

“You know me. I hate it when someone pulls my own weight. I’d rather go casual than for that to happen. Bella… maybe... I should go at my own pace this time.”

“The Mischevous adventures of the clumsy streamer, Alice. That’s so unlike you.” She chuckled before lightly pressing my cheek.

“Sigh… It really gets complicated when being pretty isn’t enough….”

I feigned distress as I waited for her to punt back.

“Bella?”

Still ignoring me, huh?

*Chomp*

“What are you doing?” She looked at me with gleaming eyes.

“I had no choice. This ish your fawlt for ignoring my blabber.”

*We both giggled*

"Why are you so cute all the time?” She shook my head lightly as she said so. Strangely, she wasn’t even looking at me.

A brief silence held on as I noticed isabella’s eyes. She seemed to be fixated on the area we were driving through. Maybe because there’s something new outside? Or maybe….

‘Shit!’

“Bella, this isn’t the mall.” I stood in panic, looking left and right, trying to guess where we were at. The navigation on my phone confirmed all my fears.

No…

I told you I have a match today, right? We can't be this deep in the city. We'll get stuck in traffic on our way back! What do we do... What do we do….”

She simply looked at me with amusement before staring back at the window.

“We’re still a bit far off, so why don't you take another nap.”

“Bella!!!!!”

…

… …

To be continued