The strange font seemed to call out, louder than before. More eager. He could feel his eardrums ringing from the imaginary volume.
The words lacked the volume of the first line but they carried a deepness, an attention, that dragged him in. Hypnotic was the only way he could describe the sensation. The screen had his attention and he was not sure he could look away.
When the words began to fade he thought, naively, that it was over. That the noise would at least knock down a few levels, to go from booming to ringing.
It did not.
It got worse.
His phone screen opened from deep within, unfolding to a pristine view of the Earth. The planet spun lazily with hyper-realistic detail, specks of light too few to be cities dotted the continents. Framing the globe were eight icons, symbols whose meaning seared themselves into his retinas at a glance.
Despite this, despite how intuitive it seemed, the App still decided it needed to spawn a little cartoon character. It spun into existence from the corner of the screen, waving a comically large gloved hand. It's only hand. The rest of its body was a light blue sphere with the ancient emoji of :).
[Hi there!] The character chippered, the :) flapping to and from :D as it spoke. [My name is Nav and I'll be your tour guide to the Champions Network!]
It raised its hand unto a fist, as if to cheer, with the eight icons glinting in the background. Some, Hiro noticed, were grayed instead of the deep blue of the others.
[Now!] The little character yelled in its not-voice. The words stood out clearly in his mind, even as the ridiculous thing stroked its imaginary chin and paced across the screen. [I'm sure you're all wondering what this App is and what it's for. Well, to put it simply, it's exactly what it says it is! A Network to connect the Champions of the World!]
Nav shrunk in size, allowing Hiro to see the whole screen again. To see the lights of the globe grow all the brighter. One of them caught his eye, the sole light on the east coast of the United States.
It was familiar. It felt so very familiar.
[That's right!] The ball of excessive energy bounced, literally bounced, in excitement. [You are the Champion of the World! Well, one of them. One of a hundred and fifty three to be exact. It's a bit of a numbers game but most countries have at least one Champion. Some have more but that's only because they have more to protect!]
It made a small shrugging motion before moving on.
[There is going to be a lot to protect in general but that's why the Network is here! To create and prep individuals who met our algorithm's criteria! You all possess the mindset and abilities to-]
Nav went on for a bit, seminar talking and ego boosting with every word. Hiro quickly grew tired of it. He was just beginning to wonder if there was a way to skip all inane talk when Nav froze.
[If you need further help I'll be right over here.] The little character gave one last :) before rolling into the corner, shrinking into a dark blue dot. A dot that Hiro readily ignored, it had been completely too chipper for his taste.
Now he could look at the App in peace.
The globe was still spinning lazily at the center of the page. A 'map of Champions' if he made his guess right. Three lights in the US but only one each for literally every other country in North America, even Canada and Mexico. Was there a discrepancy because of population? He was half tempted to turn Nav back on to find out but quickly decided against it.
'Was this a game?' He wondered. The grayed out icon of a man's silhouette in the upper left corner that rang
His finger hovered over the button before trailing down to another grayed icon. An unfurled scroll with a cycling circle over it.
At the bottom of the row was yet another gray icon. A book that read
The last of the grayed out icons was a shopping cart that he didn't need ringing words to know it was the
From there all the other icons were blue and 'available '. He honestly ignored the other three and focused in on the blue speech bubble that screamed
If any of this was real and not some fevered delusion then there would be something there. Hiro couldn't even imagine some scam artists going so far as to fake an entire chat log just to mess with him. No one would waste that much time on a joke. Right?
The page took no time to load, there was barely a flash of the CN logo before the forum pulled itself up. There were only a handful of threads but Hiro suspected there used to be more if there were titles like ‘Consolidated “What’s going on?/Is this for real?/WTF! Thread’. Hiro figured that might be the best place to start, he was fairly sure the ones labeled ‘This Is So COOL!!’ and ‘MAGIC?!?!?’ were going to be less than helpful.
The oldest post was only a day old.
■ ‘Consolidated “What’s going on?/Is this for real?/WTF! Thread’
(OP) Champion: England - March 12th, 2018
Is this for real? Cause this is something straight out of an anime. Quest? A stat sheet? A skill list? Seriously, did I get hit by a truck and not notice?
Champion: South Korea - March 12th, 2018
I am now Han Jihan, my destiny has been realized.
Champion: USA (West) - March 12th, 2018
That manhwa is trash.
Champion: Brazil (North) - March 12th, 2018
Why is this in Portuguese?
Champion: South Korea - March 12th, 2018
@USA (West)
You shut your lying whore mouth!
Champion: China (Zhōngnán) - March 12th, 2018
@Brazil (North)
It’s not. An autotranslate maybe?
The Cantonese is coming in very well.
Admin - March 12th, 2018
(OP) Champion: England - March 12th, 2018
Ok, who are you and how the bloody fuck do you know my name!?!?
Admin - March 12th, 2018
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Hiro rubbed at his eyes, his headache finally fading. Leaving him only with an obnoxious sense of frustrated confusion. The thread answered none of his questions and honestly only left him with more, one mirroring the Champion of England's to a T.
Who was the Admin? Were they the ones who made the invasive App? And how in the world had it given him such a headache? Better yet, why?
Was it even related?
The other threads were about as helpful as the first. They were all full of excited disbelief and speculation. Speculation the Admin did little to clear or clarify on. All the mysterious figure did was refer everyone back to the
Hiro was not too far from excited himself but there was a distinctively different emotion sparking in his mind. What he was instead was curious. The forum threads were building, fighting against consolidation as people, Champions, vied for attention. Every one of them was expressing a giddiness that Hiro frankly could not wrap his head around.
Why were they acting like this? Was it some sort of hypnotism? Were his headaches from earlier because he was fighting them off?
Or were they targeted? The App had all but admitted it with Nav. 'People who met certain criteria' was what the mascot had said. They certainly seemed to fall over themselves looking around the App. Especially the
He eventually backed out of the forums and returned to the homepage. The globe still spun but his eyes trailed over to one of the icons. A quill poised to write, the apparent symbol for
Out of curiosity he clicked it, not giving it much thought. Something he regretted as a sudden blare reverbed in his skull.
"Ahhh!" He hissed, his hand going to his eye as if expecting pain. Thankfully there was none, just the attention grabbing blare. An alarm to make sure one noticed something important.
The App sure loved its not-noises.
[!MAIN QUEST!]
*Defend the infrastructure and lives of modern civilization at all costs!*
*Real time quests and rewards will be generated for this purpose*
*Failure to attempt these quests will result in stripping of Champion status*
*To act in counter to their quest will lead to dire consequences *
"What is this? Is this seriously a videogame?" Hiro wondered, "All of this for a game?" What kind of bull was that? And what did it mean by 'dire consequences’? For what? Being a terrorist?
Obviously there were consequences for that!
The next category of quest rolled up the screen without fanfare, not even a ding. An honest relief for Hiro's poor head, he did not need another headache.
[Starter Quests]
*Showcase your abilities to the world and unlock the
Reward: Gain a Class based on your Skills!
*Abnormal plants, animals, and even insects have been appearing across the world! Track and record 15 such interests in your area. Unlock and fill the
Reward: Monetary prize will be distributed based on the recording's level of detail.
*Unlock the
Reward: Greater magic awaits you at the completion of this task.
*Sharpen your skills and reach a higher level! Unlock the
Reward: Gain your first Title!
Hiro tossed his phone away in disgust, clicking his tongue as it clattered along the dashboard. "It really is a game." He shook his head. "All that for a glorified ripoff of Pokémon Go. What the hell?"
He tapped his finger against the steering wheel then he started his car. Hiro did not like being messed with, he hated not having answers.
Especially when they were so near.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The drive back to the hotel was made longer by the steady and constant ding of his phone. Notification after notification sounded off, more than a little odd considering he had turned off the sound ages ago. No guesses were needed to know which App was going off.
Arthur had better have some answers for him.
It was barely past eight when he arrived. The hotel was already fairly busy with cars pulling in and out, people coming and going with the early hour. Hiro knew it was probably too late. He knew that Arthur was there on a business trip, probably, and was likely already off doing God knows what. Still, Hiro had to try.
Try and fail in the face of a smiling blonde.
"I'm sorry but we cannot give out a client's personal information." She said with her forced smile firmly in place. The smile of a service worker, he knew it well and sympathized. He still asked, he had to.
"I get that. I really do, but I need to talk to him." Hiro reasoned, some of his frustration starting to leak into his voice. "If he's still here I'd appreciate it if you called him down."
"That is not our policy sir."
Hiro took a breath, letting it out slowly and keeping his temper. "How about I leave a message? Could you pass that along?"
Her smile still strained at the edges but she agreed. "Of course sir." She said in the same chipper monotone that made him think any note he wrote was not going to make it to Arthur. He still left one. A quick jot on hotel stationery with his phone number.
There might be a visit from the police in his near future, always a pleasant experience, but he had to know. If there was even the slimmest chance for answers he was going to take it.
Though he would probably be keeping his distance for a while, just to be safe. He did not want to come off as some sort of crazed stalker. Well, more than he already was.
'Shit' He thought, 'I probably already messed this up.'
He rubbed at his forehead, frustrated at the dead end. While not his only lead it had been his most immediate. He could only hope his second idea would not be as much of a flop as the first.
Hiro pulled his phone out as he drove. He gave the screen a glare as that golden CN popped up again, a little 2 sticking out obnoxiously in its corner. His phone opened right to the App as soon as he unlocked it, not even bothering to ask for permission this time around. It just went straight to its announcements.
His first Skill was [Driving], something that gave him a snort of amusement. Of course. They were probably tracking him with his GPS. Hiro saw no point in turning off the App, the Network would probably turn itself back on. Damn invasive thing.
Hopefully, his next stop could help him with that.
"Yeah, I have no idea what's going on man." The clerk said, the third one called over since Hiro showed up.
Hiro honestly did not know what he expected. People working at phone plan stores probably only knew the specs of the phones they sold and not the actual programs. The fact they had called other people over had given him a brief bit of hope but that had quickly fallen into a pit.
"I thought that maybe it was using your phone's facial recognition but you don't have one, the phone’s too old." He gave an apologetic shrug, as if he just gave an insult, then kept talking. "I literally can't find it anywhere in the program. I can't see it if you're not touching it, which, again, is weird. There's not even a fingerprint sensor on the thing and the Bluetooth is off. If I didn't know better I'd think you were messing with us."
The look he gave Hiro said that was exactly what he believed. Hiro did not rise to that. Instead, he gave his thanks and began to leave with his phone.
The clerk called after him, "Sir! You ARE due for an upgrade, eligible even! We could sign you up for a new phone today."
Hiro worked at a car dealership, part time, and he knew the sound of someone desperate for a sale. He had not known that phone clerks worked on commission. Seemed ridiculous but here they were.
He started to "grind" his [Driving] skill, or so the forum called it. The other Champions, and god was that pretentious to even think, called it. "Grinding a Skill". Skills were things to be chased after, to get. As if they were Pokémon going for that next level.
Hiro shook his head as he hit the backroads, getting around some of the midday traffic. He was heading north, back to his old college. George Mason may not be known for its computer programs but he had friends up there, probably. He dropped out over a year ago, nearly two… And he was not exactly at his best when he left on what was supposed to be his break year.
Hiro sighed as the memories started to boil to the surface. Hopefully, someone would still be willing to help him out.
The roads of Virginia were peaceful on his way out of Steelsworth. Farmland broke up an increasing expanse of trees. He saw a few antlers but no deer seemed brave, or dumb, enough to try crossing the roads. Yet.
Still, it was peaceful. He even rolled down his windows, enjoying the new spring air. The wind was cool and the air warm. This would be a nice drive, something to take his mind off of everything for a little while.
Though he noticed something as he drove.
There were a lot of antlers in the tree line. More than he had seen during last year's rut. They were also all fairly low to the ground, real low, laying on their bellies low.
One of them raised their head and twitched a long ear.
Hiro had to slow his car. Then he pulled onto the shoulder, coming to a stop.
He could not have seen what he thought he had seen. There was just no way, it was impossible. He looked back but he couldn't see them from where he stopped.
He could, and maybe should, have gotten his car moving and kept driving. Gotten to the college and see if anyone could help him.
Instead, he got out of the car. It was a numb experience, his skin felt fuzzy and his mind half blank from the sheer absurdity of it.
But there they were, noses twitching and standing on their hind legs as he approached. Long ears up and alert behind a set of antlers.
Jackalope.
There were jackalopes in Virginia.