“Are you sure you don’t want to try and sneak over here?” his father asked over holo-chat.
“I told you, I can rotate the view and see the game like I’m right there with you,” Blake assured him before he stuffed another protein bar into his mouth.
“Yeah, but you won’t be able to eat the spicy wings I made!”
He swallowed and replied, “As tempting as that sounds, I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”
“Well, maybe your mother will find Oliver before the game starts, and he can join us.”
Blake nodded absently as he adjusted his new armor. Briefly, he considered informing his father of his deeds and rewards.
No, it’ll just make him worry.
Three days had passed since he gained the Elite Solo Warrior achievement. In that time, he had completed six more level one scenarios. He now had over three hundred million nano saved up, and had replaced all of his armor and his longsword.
His original blade had become horribly chipped from the battle against the Hardened Shell Ursa, and he was very happy to replace it with an upgrade. The new longsword was not only sharper and stronger, but would self-repair as well. With the new function, he would not have to worry about a dull edge, or chips marring the surface.
However, the best addition to his equipment was a ring which increased his Physical Stamina by two. With the increase to his healing factor, his chest wound was completely healed as if the injury never occurred.
Unfortunately, the rest of the rewards were not the most useful to him. He stored those items in the fire tower atop the table and planned to distribute them to the combat teams he would recruit in the future.
“I can’t believe I actually get to watch this,” Blake admitted as he threw another empty wrapper to the floor.
“Why’s that?”
“Well, for years, it was all everybody could talk about, at least after Invasion day. I always felt like I missed out since I was working at the time.”
Peter snorted. “It’s just a game.”
“Yeah, but you have to remember, the world is going to go to hell. Talking about life before Invasion day will be a huge distraction, and the last Mega-bowl is something most people shared. My friend, Montgomery, would reenact the entire last quarter with a soccer ball because we didn’t have a football.”
His father nodded. “How’s the hunger?”
Blake held up his collection of protein bars. “These help, but I’m going to run out in another day or two.”
“It’s so crazy how you can eat so much and look so thin.”
“Just think of it like a tapeworm.”
Peter shuddered. “Am I going to get like that?”
Blake shook his head. “No, only combat classes can enhance their attributes directly.”
“What other way is there?”
“Well, there are achievements, titles, and armor with attribute bonuses. Not to mention, temporary increases from spells, potions, or enhanced food.”
His dad perked up at the mention of food. “Wait, you can get stronger just from eating food?”
Blake nodded while he swallowed. “Yeah, with how much you like to cook, I figured you might want to choose chef as your class. The higher level enhancements you can add to the food last for hours and will really help the combat teams.” He smirked. “Not to mention make you a nice bit of nano for your trouble.”
“Why don’t I start now?”
Blake sighed. “Like a lot of things, we have to create a faction first. You need a faction hall to choose a non-combat class. And, even with the class, you can’t do anything until we unlock the associated building and construct it.”
“That’s… odd.” Peter frowned.
Blake shrugged. “I didn’t make the system, I just know how it works.” After a moment, he added, “Kinda. I didn’t exactly pay a lot of attention to faction management before.”
When his stomach rumbled again, despite the five protein bars he shoved inside it, he sighed and began to unpack another meal. At this point, he was sick of eating. If he were able to eat bacon, donuts, and ice cream instead of the dehydrated ready to eat meals, he might have a different opinion. But, he was stuck with salty meat paste, or dry protein bars for the time being.
I really need to get my class. This is ridiculous.
As he cooked his sixth meal for the day, the game began. Just as he was told in his past, the first half was incredibly boring. Miami almost immediately scored a touch-down, and then nothing else of note happened until after the half-time show.
Blake and his dad laughed at the comedic commercials, and groaned at the horrible pop song performed after the second quarter. The game was just starting to get good, Cincinnati had the ball and was running it down the field, when he was notified that his mother was calling.
He quickly added Donna to the holo-chat. When Peter saw her worried expression, he asked, “Are you okay, honey?”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “It’s Oliver, I found him.”
His father leaned forward on the couch, pretzels and the Mega-bowl forgotten. “Where? Is he okay? He’s not hurt, is he?”
“I don’t think he’s hurt, but I don’t know for sure. They won’t let me see him,” she whined.
“Who won’t?!” Peter yelled over the television.
“The police,” she explained. “They arrested him days ago.”
Blake frowned as he searched his memories. As far as he could tell, in his past life, his older brother had never been arrested. It was something else that was different this time around, and that troubled him.
“Why did they arrest him?” his father asked.
“Supposedly drug possession, but that doesn’t make any sense! Weed is legal in the state.”
Blake finally spoke up, his voice grim. “It’s my fault. He was never arrested in my past life. This is just retaliation from the sheriff. I bet they even planted something on him”
“It’s NOT your fault,” his mother corrected him. “It’s that man’s fault! He’s the one breaking the law to harass us.”
“Your mother’s right, son.” his father added. “You can’t take the blame for this.”
Blake did not agree with them, but kept his thoughts to himself. Instead, he asked, “Can’t we bail him out or something?”
Donna’s mouth twisted, as if she ate something sour. “Sure, for a hundred thousand dollars.”
Peter’s jaw dropped. “For drug possession!?”
She nodded in disgust.
“How soon can we cash out the bet money?” Blake asked.
His father frowned. “I don’t know, but it would be Wednesday at the earliest. Maybe we can go to a bail bondsman tomorrow morning? If we show them our winnings, they might put up the money for a fee.”
Donna shook her head. “They always want ten percent, and we don’t have ten grand lying around anywhere.”
“They don’t take credit?” Peter asked.
“I’m sure they do,” she replied. “But our credit’s almost maxed out.”
Blake’s guilt returned. Between the supplies that had gone to waste by the airport, the enormous amount of food he required, and the bills for the restaurant that were no longer being covered by income, his parents were in greater financial stress than ever before.
At least the bet will take care of that.
“Why didn’t he call us after he was arrested?” his father asked.
“Oh, I already asked them that,” she replied. “They wouldn’t answer my question. Just restated the price of bail and hung up on me.”
“So, he has to sit in jail until we get the money?” Peter asked in exasperation.
She nodded.
His father promised to find a solution the next morning, when businesses reopened. They all knew nothing happened on Sundays. Especially during the Mega-bowl. His mother drove home and joined Peter on the couch.
The game finished exactly how he predicted.
At least that didn’t somehow change.
When his father checked the website, he confirmed they won the maximum amount allowed in Arizona, a million dollars. Everyone was relieved the gamble paid off, yet there was no celebration. The mood had soured when they discovered Oliver’s predicament, and no amount of money relieved it, even if it allowed them to bail him out.
----------------------------------------
“So, what do you think?” Donna asked as she stood in an open field.
Blake smiled. “I think it’s perfect for us.”
As she predicted, they were unable to get a bondsman to cover Oliver’s bail the next day. The money was in the process of being transferred, but would not settle until Thursday.
His father had also informed them that they would not receive the full million. The betting site automatically withheld twenty-nine percent of the winnings to cover for state and federal taxes.
Regardless, seven hundred thousand dollars was more than enough for their needs. Once his parents discovered there was nothing they could do for their oldest son except wait, they focused on finding land for the faction.
Blake absently checked the map to ensure he was safe as he leaned against the tree on the Ursa planet. When he saw the three remaining Ursa were still nowhere near his position, he resumed his holo-chat inspection of the property.
He was in the midst of a combat scenario when his mother contacted him. She had found forty-eight acres of flat land only a mile and a half from the fire tower he now called home. Most of the property was open grassland, but fifteen acres of the parcel were wooded.
It was surrounded on all sides by roads and houses, but still had plenty of privacy. The edges of the property contained vegetation which blocked direct vision. Only the entrance had a fully unobstructed view of the property beyond the gate, and that could easily be resolved by the construction of a privacy fence.
Best of all, the owner agreed to let them build a structure on the property. Of course, they would construct far more than a single structure, but by the time he found out about the extent of Blake’s plans, it would be too late.
It had everything they wanted.
Once the first three months rent was transferred and the lease was signed, they could begin construction of their faction town.
Now I just have to get to a billion nano.
Blake currently held seven hundred and forty million unused nano. He checked his calculations. Every day since he upgraded his Solo Warrior achievement to Elite, he had completed two level one combat scenarios. That averaged out to a gain of ninety million nano per day, which meant it would only be another two and a half days before he reached his goal.
“You don’t think we need more land?” His mother asked, interrupting his thoughts.
Blake shook his head. “No. That will be plenty for the next few months. We don't need to expand until after Invasion day.” He shrugged. “By then, who owns the land won’t matter.”
Donna frowned. “It feels wrong just taking his land like that. He’s owned it for over forty years now.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, we’ll offer him a place in the faction on Invasion day. That kind of safety is priceless.”
“I suppose that’s fair,” she replied, doubtfully. After a moment, she shook her head and changed the subject, “Your father says we can bail your brother out tomorrow. We don’t want something like this to happen again, so we’d like you to do whatever you have to, to get him in the Collective.”
“Of course.” Blake agreed as he unwrapped a snack bar. “What time? I want to make sure I’m not in the middle of a scenario,” he explained.
“First thing in the morning. I believe they said seven a.m. was the earliest we could come by.”
“Do you want to meet on the trail again?”
Donna nodded. “I suppose we’ll have to since we’re still being followed.”
Blake swallowed his food and asked, “Speaking of that, how did you lose your tail?”
His mother grinned. “Your father dropped me off at the salon. I went inside and waited until the cop followed him before I walked here. It’s only a half mile away, so it’s no big deal. I figure I have another thirty minutes before I need to head back.”
“Nice,” he grinned. After he finished his snack, he rose to his feet and said, “Okay, I’ll see you guys tomorrow morning. I need to get back to the grind.”
“You stay safe, Blake.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” he promised.
“Love you.”
“Love you too, mom. Bye.”