I remember a quote from another dimension. “What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us.” [i]
I want to eat because it’s been forever since I’ve eaten. Precisely, 5 minutes. Nothing else matter. The quote isn’t even connected to my current situation. I just suddenly thought of it because well, I like thinking about stuff that isn’t even related to me.
Should I make a run for it after I finish eating? No, no. I don’t want to be labeled as a scumbag. I may look like it but I swear I am not…
…well. Ehem.
Let’s just get out of here before they serve all of those. Ah, those foods I ordered really look tasty. What the heck is the player doing, not getting me out of this place? Do they intend to torture me?
Ping!
Oh? What is this glowing thing in front of me? A status board?
╔═══════STATUS════════╗
Name: Leonora Stryker
Gender: Female
Job: None
Title: None
Level: 1
HP: 2105/9999999
Mana: 1087/9999999
Money: 2 Reals
╚═════════════════════╝
It is really a status board!
Hmmm… Reals must be the currency in this game. Anyway, seeing that I only have 2 reals doesn’t help my current predicament at all. Who knows how much those foods costs.
Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!
What’s all that noise?
Ping! Ping!
Huh? Is the status board… glitching?
OH! Is this one of those occurrence? Hmm. The board is stabilizing, let’s see what we have here.
╔═══════STATUS════════╗
Name: Leonora Stryker(VIP)
Gender: Female
Job: None
Title: Old Money
Level: 10
HP: 102790/99999999
Mana: 15784/99999999
Money: 1000002 Reals
╚═════════════════════╝
*Cough* *Cough*
I kinda have an idea what’s going on but to see those upgraded numbers feels amazing at some point. Looks like we got a generous player here!
Let’s see… My HP and Mana increased and seeing that Old Money title, the player must’ve purchased a VIP pass. The level also jumped from 1 to 10.
Am I inside a pay-to-win game? Doesn’t matter. Not like I am the one spending the real money here. Heh~
“Thank you for waiting, customer! Here’s the food you ordered!”
Just in time. I looked at the food in front of me and my mouth immediately watered.
“Thank you! I shall enjoy this food!”
I gobbled all of the food and drank the craft beer beside it.
I slammed the beer mug on the table and burped.
“Puah! That was the best!” I looked at the clean plate in front of me and my body stood up and walked to the counter to pay the bill.
“How much was it?”
The huge man smiled at me and raised his hand.
“That was 100 reals, dear customer.”
Ping!
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I checked the status board again and saw that the reals have been deducted. Looks like it’s been paid.
“Well then, where do I go now, dear generous player of mine?”
As if on cue, a magical circle appeared below my feet and without further notice, I was teleported to a new place.
I looked around and saw some tall buildings and a huge statue in the center so I presume this is the main lobby of the game. What was that place earlier then? For background purposes?
“I bet you need to grind a lot before coming here. VIP players sure have it easy.”
I walked to the statue and stopped only when it’s an arm’s reach. I clasped my hands and bowed in respect. The player probably motioned me to do that. After staring at the statue for no reason, my body moved and I found myself standing in front of what looked like a guild. I entered the building and a woman who is slightly taller than me approached me.
“Welcome! Are you perhaps the novice traveler that was sent as an envoy by Earl Yosef?”
I have no idea Miss Ma’am. Believe me, I have no idea why I am here too.
I gave her a mischievous smile and was about to answer the way I wanted when my mouth opened and said something I have no idea what it is about but still paid attention to it.
“Yes. I am here to deliver a message from the earl himself. Is it possible for us to talk about it with a cup of coffee?”
I just drank a beer, what do you mean by coffee?!
“Of course. Please follow me.”
As we walked through the hallway, I can't help but notice how high the ceilings were. How tall are the people who works here?
We both stopped in front of a huge door and there I saw 2 guys standing beside each side off the door. Oh wow, the ceiling was necessary. These guys are tall! Like 2 and half meters tall! They opened the door and the woman entered so I followed. Another woman was in the room, reading a newspaper while a maid fixes her hair.
"Ah, you have arrived. Take a seat," She said as she signaled her maid to finish her hair. She then walked towards the sofa placed on the center and sat. Next thing I knew is I am seated across the chair she was sitting, watching silently as the maid served me a cup of coffee. I looked at the coffee with dread and picked it up even if I don’t want to.
“The Earl has confirmed the information the guild sent earlier. The distribution of illegal armor appeared to be common in West Gamaras. That is all that he wanted to say. Any further information that you want to obtain shall be sent through Marquess Julian.”
“I see. Thank you for delivering the message safely, traveler. You can now proceed to the front table to receive your rewards.”
Oi, it’s only the beginning of the game. Isn’t it too early to be discussing about illegal stuff? No matter, this is making me curious about the storyline.
I went to the front table to get the rewards and as I suspected, it really is too early. What the heck is up with these huge amount of reals being added to my status board? 20,00 Reals? Just for saying something I don’t even know about? Or is it because the player is skipping all those other chapters by buying a VIP pass?
You know what, dear generous player of mine? Can you read my inner thoughts so I could share a suggestion? Don’t leave your character in the dark shade!!
I sighed as I observe the lady smiling in front of me. A button with three choices appeared above her head.
╔═════════════════════╗
TALK
WHO ARE YOU?
NOTHING, GOODBYE.
╚═════════════════════╝
She began talking so I presume the player pressed “Talk”. I listened to her blabber and according to her, this place is called “ASWAIN” and I am inside the “Odyssey Guild”. A minute passed by when she finally stopped talking. After a few seconds, she suddenly introduced herself to me.
“Hi there! I am Elliana and I am the current guild librarian. If you are interested in joining-”
“Okay! To confirm your registration, please enter your name!”
“Congratulations, Miss Leonora Stryker! You have successfully registered in the guild! Please follow Mr. Trevor as he is the one who is tasked to show you around the building!”
“Waste no time and follow me around, young traveler.”
Huh? What just happened?
“This is the guild-”
“Every guild is required to have this feature. This will be-”
“You are not yet allowed to-”
… I... can feel my veins popping in my head.
LET HIM FINISH TALKING! STOP SKIPPING THE DIALOGUES! I WANNA KNOW!
Dumbfounded, I sighed as I watch the maids preparing something in front of me. I swear I was just inside the guild earlier. What am I doing inside this huge mansion? Did the player also purchase this?
“Madame Leonora, I will guide you to the master’s bedroom.”
I followed her without any words. She stopped walking and opened the huge door in front.
“This will be your room from now on, Madame. Please pull the bell beside your bed if you need our help. I’ll excuse myself then as there are many things that are needed to be done.”
I sat on the bed, thinking about what just happened.
Just… how many chapters did the player skipped in barely 10 minutes?!
Anyway, I’m starting to feel horrible now that I’m coming in terms with the fact I am controlled by someone else. Playable characters won’t die unless the players themselves would delete them, right? How do I make them delete this account then? Flunk every mission until they decided I am of no use because of much bad luck on this character and make them delete the account? No, no… what if they won’t delete it and just abandon it instead? That would also work, I’ll be a free character exploring this world myself.
*thud*
…but what if I will have to stay forever, unable to move, on the place where they abandon me?
AHHH?!!!!!!!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHH?????!!!!!!!!!
[sfx of Leonora's brain exploding]
I’ll rest my brain for now. I think I need that.
----------------------------------------
[i] Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way (1992)