“Alright. Where are we off to now?” Kayla asked with excitement.
“You sure are excited after that cup of hot chocolate.”
“It’s delicious! I feel all fuzzy and warm now.”
“Well, good, then. The area I’m planning to go next is somewhere colder,” Anton said, leaning beside the Five-Seven. He opened his virtual screen and tapped a location on the map.
“... Marrow Peaks?”
“Yep.”
Marrow Peaks, a location eight hundred kilometers west of Mitte, close to the western borders of the world, a popular spot in the game. Known as the ice world, the in-game lore described it as the center of an ancient kingdom.
“We’re heading directly there or…?”
“Let’s stop by the cities along the way. I don’t think ten hours in this thing is comfortable.”
“Roger. Should we depart?” Kayla asked.
Anton nodded and the two reentered their vehicle. Anton sat in his usual spot while Kayla backed the Five-Seven out of the parking lot, before making her way through Mitte. She drove straight, past the intersection that headed to Rodley. She continued on and made a turn right, following a windy road down to the lowlands. From there, she followed the road west. Anton decided to relax while still watching the cameras, careful of attacks now that they drove outside the peace zone.
City outskirts in particular were risky because of their traffic. The further someone is from a city, the less likely they would be attacked, but at the same time it meant that they were farther away from peace zone, cover, or repair stations, so they still needed to be careful.
“If only pacifist mode still exists…” Anton muttered.
He wouldn’t be in this cramped vehicle if he could go around without worrying about others shooting at him. He then noticed a small dot coming from the distance, flying low above the ground, kicking up dust as it went. It approached his position, and within seconds, he heard the loud sounds of a jet engine flying right above him.
He reflexively closed his ears. Within seconds, that jet fighter disappeared, flying away into the horizon.
“Just as you mentioned it…”
“Yeah.”
Luckily, other than the loud sound ringing in his virtual ear, the pilot seemed to be no more than just a stunt devil. Had the jet flown any lower, he might have found himself back in Mitte’s Adventure Terminal, another hefty cost on his tab. Kayla switched lanes and headed for the highway. She then merged lanes, paying attention to her surroundings. Once she settled in, she pressed on the gas, the Five-Seven increasing in speed. It took a while longer for it to accelerate. Being a large and heavy vehicle, Kayla put extra attention to driving. Anton felt as she swerved left and right, going through the middle of traffic.
Only NPCs follow the rules. A common saying existed in video games, saying that a player wouldn’t want to waste time on the road following road rules. Not long after he thought about that, Anton saw another player, driving a semi-truck, speeding down the highway. It approached Anton from behind, towing a container behind it. Like Kayla, it swerved left and right, dodging the traffic. They moved between NPC cars, occasionally greeted by loud horns from angry NPCs. One of the weird things people could only see in a game. A semi-truck and a LAV racing each other wasn’t something people could see in the real world, after all.
Anton watched as that semi passed them, its long trailer shaking as it as the semi threw it around, holding on for dear life.
Hoooonk!
The truck roared its horn, as if celebrating the fact that it managed to pass Anton. Anton simply watched as the truck, faster than his Five-Seven, accelerated away. The Tarup 57 had reached its max speed, one hundred kilometers per hour. The truck, despite pulling away rather slowly, was still faster.
“We lost, huh?” Anton asked from his seat.
“Yeah. This thing isn’t built for racing.”
“Neither is that one.”
Kayla chuckles at Anton’s words. Despite saying that, Anton prioritized safety. If he died, he would find himself back in Mitte. No matter how fast they went, they couldn’t reach their destination if they kept dying over and over again. Anton leaned back on his seat again. To the north of them, mountains stood tall above the horizon, while to their south, a large port city stretched near the waves.
Anton started looking for things to do. His vehicle couldn’t go any faster, the engine placed in front of him screaming at the top of its lungs, propelling the heavy vehicle forward.
Should have taken some speed upgrades.
Anton thought. He opened up his in-game market and looked for the vehicle. He checked the online order page for it. Ordering online cost more, but it gave him a good rough estimate on how much upgrades cost.
… Maybe I don’t need to hold back? But…
He didn’t want to be caught, nor did he want to destroy his in-game finance. He didn’t want to force himself to take quests, either. But, at the same time, he felt that going on the road like this, while cheaper, took too much time. Not even an hour had passed since he left Mitte.
Bored, Anton headed to the rear of the vehicle. He then opened a hatch and stood straight up. The Five-Seven’s interior was not high enough for an adult avatar to stand up straight in. As a result, Anton found his face being hit by the winds as the LAV sped down the highway. He couldn’t see much, however. The turret that housed the vehicle’s 25mm cannon blocked his view. He ducked back down and closed the hatch.
“We’re going to be like this for a while, huh?” Anton asked. Kayla checked the in-game GPS.
“A few more hours… I guess…” Kayla said, with gaps in between her words.
“That doesn’t sound reassuring.”
“I’m not trying to.”
Silent fell upon the LAV. Anton returned to his seat, but as soon as he sat down, he noticed the engine going silent. He could still hear the rumble it made, but no longer the high-pitch scream it let out when it was in full power.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“You say you’re bored, right?” Kayla asked.
“... I didn’t say anything like that.”
“Well…” Kayla didn’t say anything else, but Anton could feel the vehicle slowing down.
“Did something… oh.”
Anton saw two people standing on the side of the road with neither of them wearing yellow armbands. Anton opened the map, checking to see if there were any villages or settlements nearby. He came out empty. This particular section of the highway didn’t even have a single building, let alone a city.
Kayla continued slowing down, but she didn’t stop. Seeing them, the two girls, or more accurately, the one girl closer to the highway, started waving faster. She wore a simple pink shirt with blue shorts with pink shoulder level, straight hair, while the girl behind her wore a light blue dress. She had light blue glasses on her face with long black hair.
“So…?”
“You really want to help?”
“Yes,” Kayla said with confidence.
“Fine… let’s help them.”
“Yipee, thanks,” Kayla stopped and pulled out beside them.
What are you thanking me for?
Anton thought, letting out a chuckle. He crawled forward, kneeling behind the driver’s seat. They stopped in front of the two girls. Kayla opened the driver’s hatch, poking her head out.
“You two need help?” she asked.
“Ah, Sis, can you help us get to Norbva?”
“Sis…” Kayla muttered what the girl said before letting out a sweet smile. Beside her stood another girl, standing farther away. Kayla turned around, trying to look at Anton who hid behind her seat.
Anton opened up his map. Norbva was located fifteen kilometers to the northwest of their position. Thinking that it wouldn’t take long, Anton gave his approval.
“Okay, we’ll take you there. Hop in,” Kayla pointed toward the rear of the vehicle. She opened the rear door, allowing the two to enter.
“Thank you!” the girl replied. She returned to her friend and pulled her away.
Anton prepared his weapon, just in case they tried something funny. They crawled in, and noticed Anton kneeling behind Kayla. Anton turned around. He changed positions, sitting down on the metal floor facing back toward the two girls. The two girls noticed him, the one behind her letting a little shriek. After seeing that, Anton kneeled again, and whispered to Kayla’s ears.
“You guard, I drive.”
Hearing that, Kayla moved up from the seat. Anton sat down and gripped the wheel. The layout looked similar to normal vehicles in a way. A screen behind the steering wheel displayed several cameras providing a view of the vehicle’s surroundings, with screens and instruments on the sides beside that screen showing various information about the vehicle. Anton then closed the hatches and continued down the road. He updated the map so that they made a stop at Norbva.
“Thanks for the ride Sis… and Mister…”
Do I look older than Kayla?
Despite wondering about it, Anton decided not to bother. Anton closed the hatch and started driving.
“No problem. How did you two get stuck there anyway?” Kayla asked.
“Her friends from college wanted to play together, but we chose the wrong spot when we started.”
New players?
It had been quite some time since Anton last saw new players in the game. He didn’t interact that much with other people in the first place, especially not new players.
“Really? So you’re walking from your spawn point to Norbva?”
“No, that’s not the case. We rented a car to get from Okcra. We didn’t pay much attention to our spawn point anyway. What we do know is that we were five hundred kilometers away from our target. We can’t afford the rent.”
“That’s far.”
“I know, right? Ah, by the way, my name is Sophie.”
“Umm… I’m Charlotte.”
“She’s shy, so I hope you excuse her.”
“I’m… I’m not shy!”
You sound like you’re shy.
Anton commented from the driver’s seat. He kept the LAV at eighty kilometers per hour and tried to not swerve too much.
Are they all new players?
It would explain why none of the friends came to pick up those two… or maybe, they were coming. They just decided that Norbva would be the pick-up point. Regardless, all of it was none of Anton’s business so he decided to keep silent.
“I see. I’m Kayla, and he’s Anton.”
“Ah, you two look close.”
“We are,” Kayla answered with a cheerful voice. Anton realized that so far, he could only hear Sophie’s voice, with Charlotte saying one or two words every now and then.
Guess she’s really shy.
Anton had no intention of changing that, though. It had nothing to do with him.
He exhaled, realizing just how boring driving eighty kilometers per hour on a straight, virtual highway could be. The sounds of the screaming engine helped hide the conversation behind. He could still hear it, but not clear enough to understand the context.
The virtual world should be a place where things that couldn’t be done in the real world were done, like speeding a few hundred kilometers per hour, for example. Some called it escapism, others described it as a world better than real life.
Anton didn’t have much of an opinion on it, he only cared about building memories within Kayla. As the girls started talking about various things, including what ice cream flavor tasted the best, Anton thought about the days when he spent working on Kayla, on the AI companion system in general.
The AI companion had been developed as a separate entity from the game, so that it could be added to other games without much modification. As long as Anton had the AI’s base program and Kayla’s memories, then she would be fine. When he first worked on this project, he didn’t expect that making the AI separate from the game would benefit him in this way.
It gave him a bittersweet feeling. If the game shuts down, Kayla would no longer be able to experience the world, but she would still be able to live and recall the data she gathered from her time. Like a ghost that could no longer interact with the world, only able to recall old memories before its death. In the end, she was no more than an AI program, a product of human intelligence, but her existence here, speaking with the two girls behind him, it all felt real.
While keeping his eyes on the road, Anton checked his quest screen, making sure that he didn’t accidentally take an in-game quest. As expected, nothing showed up on his screen.
“Have you been friends for long?” Kayla’s question brought his mind back from its long journey. Anton rested his body into the driver’s seat, thinking that he should take it easy. He lowered the speed down to seventy kilometers per hour, thinking that those three probably wouldn’t mind.
“We’re… in the same class.”
Anton heard that sentence, but he was too focused on passing a car that it didn’t register with him who said that. As the girls continued their talks about education, Anton checked the map and slowed down. He took the exit on the left and made his way off the highway. The road took him on a different way, now heading North. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived in Norbva.
“By the way, you know anything about this quest? It’s called Seekers of the Forest,” Sophie asked.
“Seekers of the Forest?” Kayla repeated her question. Anton felt like he heard that quest name somewhere. Some quests do have quest names, especially those that had some story in them. Quests that carry the story of this world, in a way.
“Kayla, had we played through that one before?” Anton asked.
“Is that the one that involved those white-clothed ninjas?”
“I think so.”
He remembered something about the quest. Something stuck in his memory, but he couldn’t remember exactly what. He did remember struggling through a quest. It was so hard to the point he outright cheated by adding funds to his account. At the time, it was still a legal move because of his status as an employee. He forgot what exactly made him struggle, but he could clearly remember almost failing to complete the quest. He was unsure whether that quest he had in his mind was this one, or something entirely different.
“Why do you want info on that quest?” Kayla asked the two girls.
“Well… our friend accidentally accepted it…”
…
Not again.