“Should we continue to Marrow Peaks?” Kayla asked. They drove down the highway, going at max speed. Anton checked the time. It had gotten quite late, and he planned on turning in for the day.
The game didn’t require players to log out in a safe space. If he wanted, he could log out here on the side of the highway. If things didn’t change, Kayla and the LAV would enter pacifist mode. That was under the assumption the game still allowed pacifist mode for when the player went offline. Kayla would still be activated as far as he knew. The idea of leaving his AI companion in a cramped vehicle cabin didn’t sit well with him. She could still be sent to train or do something else, but she would need to go her separate ways from Anton.
“... You want to rest for the day?”
“Yeah.”
It would be nice if she could continue driving to Marrow Peaks, but the game forbids that. Anton checked the map, looking for a city close to him. He wanted to find an inn for the night, bonus points if there happened to be an aerospace company around, even more points if that company didn’t sell expensive stuff. Yes, he was willing to spend a bit more now, but that didn’t mean he wanted to destroy his bank. He found one around thirty kilometers south of his position. He marked the city.
“... Okay,” Kayla said after checking the mark. She took an exit and turned toward the city.
* ••
The city of Murkmar.
As they entered, Anton noticed a flight of two aircraft flying overhead. One smaller jet fighter escorting a larger cargo plane. The two made circling flights above the city. They headed for a simple hotel located on the city outskirts. Buildings made of red bricks lined up on both sides of the city. As Kayla and Anton drove through the scenery, a red and white gate went down and blocked their path. Two red lights flashed one after the other, accompanied by the sound of ringing bells.
A yellow train pulling eight passenger cars pulled into a station left of Anton. It let out a screeching sound as it hit the brakes and slowed down. The gate then opened, allowing vehicles from both sides to pass. Kayla made a right turn and headed to the city’s west side. It took another five minutes before they arrived in front of their hotel.
Anton and Kayla checked in and headed into their room. They entered a room with pine green walls and wooden floors, a large double bed in the center of it. Other than the bed, the room had a bathroom and a simple wooden table without anything else.
“Alright, I’m logging out.”
“Okay,” Kayla answered. Anton went and lay on the bed.
* ••
Once he woke up, he went to his computer. He sat down on the chair and looked through the computer screen. He checked all the files he downloaded. He ran a quick program he made to verify the contents of the files. The program automatically tidied up the files based on the date the server created them.
He left the program to do its thing and went to prepare for the night. After he was ready to turn in, he returned to his computer. He noticed one file sticking out in the midst, one created two years ago. Curious, he decided to test the program, making sure that everything went as planned.
He went through the program and activated the Kayla he had stored on his computer, separate from the in-game Kayla.
‘Hmm? Anton? Where am I?’ he heard Kayla’s voice through his speakers, her avatar floating on the screen, looking around the empty void.
“I’ll explain that later. Do you remember what happened in that forest quest?”
“Of course. We helped reconcile them, right? That’s… not what you’re asking for, is it?”
Anton shook his head. Kayla should be able to see him, as he allowed the program to access his face cam. The little green light beside his camera turned on, telling him that the camera functioned properly.
“... Yeah, I remember. Looks like you did the opposite of what I asked…” Kayla said with a light chuckle.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, it really is. I’m just an AI companion, after all.”
Anton shook his head again.
“Good night. See you… I mean the in-game you… See you tomorrow.”
“Okay, sweet dreams.”
Anton then shut down the program. He made sure that the program saved his recent offline conversation and went to sleep.
* ••
“Morning!” Kayla greeted him after he went online. Anton rose from the bed, Kayla standing beside him.
“Morning,” Anton replied. Anton stood up and stretched his virtual limbs.
“So, where are we going today?” Kayla asked. She went around and stood near the door, but noticed that Anton didn’t move.
“Do you remember what happened last night? After I logged out?”
“Last night…” Kayla tapped her chin.
“You didn’t tell me to do anything, so I just slept,” she replied. Anton purposely made it so that the program used already downloaded files to run Kayla. He decided against running it directly from the game’s servers, in fear of someone catching on.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“What about the forest event?”
Kayla’s face changed when she heard that question. She looked down to the floor, her hands behind her back.
“Of course. We helped reconcile them, right? That’s… not what you’re asking for, is it?” she asked while fidgeting slightly. She glanced at Anton, before continuing.
“... Yeah, I remember. Looks like you did the opposite of what I asked…” she said with a chuckle. Anton then approached her and took her into his arms.
“Anton?” she asked. She let Anton embrace her virtual body.
“I’m sorry,” Anton whispered.
“It’s fine, it really is. I’m just an AI companion, after all.”
Anton then shook his head. He looked into her eyes, the eyes of the AI companion in his embrace. Despite being an AI companion, in theory no different from a cold, hard machine, there was a sense of warmth coming from her eyes. She felt like a real person, capable of thinking and feeling on her own. To something like her, Anton refused to acknowledge the fact that she was nothing more than a machine.
“Anton…” Kayla muttered his name. Anton pulled her closer. Kayla pulled her hand up and hugged him.
* ••
“Whalesark Industries?” Kayla asked after seeing the marking on the map. Anton nodded. Kayla glanced at him.
“Alright, let’s go.”
It took a while for them to reach the company. The company had its base located in an airport fifteen kilometers away from the city. Whalesark itself wasn’t a large military company in the game. It built mainly civilian aircraft and helicopters. It did have several jet fighters for sale, with two helicopter models. As Kayla drove them there, Anton searched for reviews for the two models. One was more of a gunship/transport helicopter. It could carry more cargo along with larger weapons but cost more to buy and operate.
The other was a light helicopter. It had an egg-like fuselage with a capacity for four people. It could carry either TOW missiles, small rocket pods, or machine guns. They couldn’t be aimed and required the pilot to point the heli’s nose toward the target. The TOW missiles did allow the copilot to adjust the missile’s flight, while the machine guns could be pivoted to track an enemy. Both applications required the helicopter pilot to aim the nose at its target, however.
Both models couldn’t use fire-and-forget weapons, weapons that could be fired and track their targets on their own. But the larger one had more armor and heavier weapons. The smaller one lacked such protection. Anton thought about possible engagements. Against most ground and sea vehicles the answer would be easy. If someone tried to attack them, they could just run away.
The same could be said for magic spells. Unlike modern weapons, magic spells’ limited range made them easy to dodge. The game had vehicles that were designed to fight against air targets, but such vehicles would typically operate in a group. They were easier to spot and dodge. The main threat would be other aerial vehicles and beasts. Things like other attack helicopters, jet fighters, or even beasts like dragons posed a much greater threat. Not many people own such weapons, but that meant those who did own them would use them to their fullest potential.
“Which do you prefer, Kayla?” Anton asked. He sent a screenshot of his virtual screen to Kayla. Kayla slowed the vehicle down and opened it on her own virtual screen. She turned from and to it a couple of times, checking the specifications while still keeping some of her attention on the road.
“... Is it distracting?” Anton asked after seeing her repeated glances toward her opened virtual screen.
“Don’t worry,” she answered.
“Should we just get a jet?”
“... Eh?”
“You know. Whalesark had jet fighters as well, right?” Kayla kept her left hand on the steering wheel.
She then opened a separate screen and navigated through it using her right hand. She then sent an in-game link through the chat. Anton opened it, founding an in-game page for Whalesark that showed the company’s jet fighters. They consisted mostly of light fighters. These smaller jets were modified from their civilian training jets. In general, they had upgraded specifications and could carry weapons.
One of them caught Anton’s intention.
A Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) jet fighter. It had two versions, a single-seater fighter variant, and a two-seater training variant. For the training variant, it had the co-pilot’s placed higher, above the main fuselage, making it look like a plane with a tumor. Most of the fuselage itself housed the engine, with the wings facing downward from the top of the fuselage.
The twin-seater variant had limited combat capabilities when compared to the single-seat variant. Another issue would be the range. The aircraft in question could travel a whopping five hundred kilometers… which wasn’t enough. The distance from the eastmost point to the westmost point was two thousand kilometers, while the distance between the north to the south was one thousand kilometers. Even if Anton wanted to go from north to south, he would need to find a stopover, as midair refueling wasn’t in the game. That was under the assumption that he managed to find an airport at the midpoint, and without any issues during their flight.
Anton checked the external fuel tanks that should be able to extend the range to one thousand kilometers, but for some reason, it completely prevented the player from loading weapons onto their plane, defeating the purpose of a jet fighter in the first place. Anton assumed that this wasn’t how a real-world jet fighter operated, but considering the maximum speed of one thousand kilometers per hour, the developers probably didn’t want players to zoom across the map within an hour.
Anton thought for a moment. The limited range may not be that bad, now that he thought about it. It would mean more destinations. He didn’t have any ideas on where to go after Marrow Peaks anyway.
“What do you think about this, then?” Anton asked, sending a picture of the jet fighter to Kayla. Kayla took a look at it.
“The Whalesark T-7 Shwarier… A trainer VTOL aircraft with fighting capabilities… Looks weird, to be honest. Its cockpit is huge, and the way it rose up from the main body…”
“So that’s a no?”
“Ah, no, appearance doesn’t matter. Let’s see…” Kayla squinted her eyes, before immediately looking back toward the road.
“I think we should just stop…” Anton said. Kayla nodded and brought the LAV to the side of the road. Once the LAV stopped, Kayla brought her attention to the screen Anton showed. She then switched screens and started looking for more information regarding the aircraft.
“Good maneuverability, decent loadout assuming we’re not carrying extra fuel, slow when compared to other fighter jets, but could outrun dragons and most flying beasts easily… Well, let’s be honest here. If someone owned a fighter jet, they probably won’t have time to deal with us.”
“But what if they bought it through real-life money? Or what if they’re trying to increase their flying skills?”
“Then taking them on would be easy.”
“What if the one that bought it is a real fighter jet pilot?”
Kayla remained silent for a moment, thinking about her response.
“... Anton, if we’re up against a real fighter jet pilot, whatever hardware we have won’t help us.”
“You got a point, let’s go with this one, then.”
“Okay,” Kayla pressed on the gas and resumed the trip to Whalesark.