It’s been a few days since Cole first played Fate Maker. He intended to dive in again quite soon. He had just finished bathing and decided that he would go back in once he was dressed. To be honest, he found the idea of getting dressed to be pointless; it’s not like he was going anywhere. Lately, the farthest he’s ever been was in the backyard and that’s because his mom forced him to.
He was mostly stuck in his room and he was sure that he’d be insane by now if it wasn’t for Fate Maker. Then again, this wasn’t just his room. As Cole came out of the bathroom, he saw Frank staring at the laptop screen. As Cole rolled closer to Frank’s bed, he got a glimpse of the screen. The only words he made out were “Plague Doctor”. When Frank looked up at him, Cole shifted his gaze from the laptop screen to the towel on his bed.
“Haven’t seen you play in a while,” Cole said. “Everything okay? Hope I’m not hogging it to myself.”
“It’s fine. I’m just busy,” Frank replied.
“What you doing?”
“Researching some stuff.”
“About what?”
“How’s the game so far?”
“It’s pretty good.
“What level are you at?”
“Eight.”
“Such a noob.”
“Gimme a break. I’ve been stuck doing crap quests. I’m not getting a lot of XP for those. And for some reason, there’s always a twist.”
“Because you’re not the center of the story. Not like other RPGs,” Frank said. “Besides that, has anything else happened?”
“Like what?”
“Anything weird. Out of the ordinary.”
Cole thought about it. “No, nothing that stands out. Why’d you ask?”
“Curious. Just be careful.”
“Thought I couldn’t get hurt.”
“If you couldn’t get hurt, then it wouldn’t be fun.”
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“Cole.” His mom came in. “Oh, you’re dressed. Do you want to go for a ride with me?”
“Sorry, Mom, I can’t. I’m meeting up with Daniel.”
“That’s ok, we can pick him up on the way.”
“I don’t think you can drive to Fate Maker mom.”
“Fate Maker? Oh, that game,” she sighed. “Are you gonna play that every day?”
He looked down at his legs and then back at her. “There’s not much that I can do.”
“Well, I’m not gonna let it happen.”
“Tomorrow, I promise.”
“Good.” She left the room.
Once his hair was properly dried, he put on the Immersion Gear and switched it on. After the title screen faded he was loaded into the virtual world. He spawned in his house with a hot bowl of stew waiting for him on the table. Cole knew he couldn’t save it for later so he sat down to slurp it up.
It’s times like these that made him think the game was too realistic. There was no eating mechanism that passed with just the press of a button. Instead, he would have to eat like he normally would. Despite being Level 8, he had yet to learn a skill. He was beginning to wonder if his Macho Dynamo title was bad code.
As he ate the stew, he checked his messages. Daniel sent one an hour ago saying that he logged in and was waiting for him. Not wanting Daniel to wait any longer, Cole tipped the stew to his head and emptied the bowl. Cole messaged Daniel as he left the house but saw him sitting by his door outside.
“Hey, Daniel, hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” Cole said.
Daniel rose. “While I was here, I did some side quests for your villagers. Not much experience points from it, but it passed the time.”
Cole focused intently on the blue circle above Daniel’s head. Once he did, the circle stretched horizontally into a bar. Cole noticed that Daniel’s level increased and he was now level 28. The only reason he could see Daniel’s info was that they were in-game friends. Though, he made it clear that you could judge someone’s level simply by how they fought and what they wore. The more you level up the smoother the sparring mechanics.
“Sorry about that. I was in the shower. Takes a bit longer than usual.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He quickly checked a pop message. Cole couldn’t see the details of course; it was blurred out on his side. But he could tell that Daniel was going through his control panel.
“Is that the guild again? If you have to go, that’s fine.”
“Yeah, they’re planning a group raid on a temple,” he said. “I’m just confirming that I’ll be available.” He closed the panel and looked at Cole. “Have you chosen a guild yet?”
Cole shook his head, “Still looking.”
“You know, I could try to talk to my guild master and see if I can get you in.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll find something that matches up.”
Cole went to the smithy in his village. After failing the same quest two more times the game gave him a new one. He was supposed to turn a tribe of nomads into a functioning village. It took a lot of time but he finally managed to do it. This village was smaller than the previous ones, but he managed to get a capable Blacksmith.
This one, however, was an NPC. When he got there he gave the Blacksmith his sword and some coins. In turn, the Blacksmith gave him a double-sided ax. Cole examined its balance and swung it around as he got a feel for it. He liked it much better than the sword and had wanted it for a while. The good thing about founding a village was that you had certain privileges. One of them being higher negotiating skills and authority.
Yet he wasn’t the chief. He outrightly chose not to be because he thought it would limit his quest pool. After checking his contacts log, he noticed that the chief had requested him. He didn’t need to follow the yellow line this time, he knew exactly where the chief was. They both built this village after all. Shortly, Cole was in front of the chief but for some reason, the chief looked sad.
“Good to see you again, Cold Fate.”
“Good to be back.”
“I’m sure you found the stew left in your house.” Cole nodded. “The villagers came together to make some send-off gifts.”
“Send off?”
“I’ve bragged about you to one of my allies. And as fate would have it, he requires your services.”
“Another quest then.” Cole was sure of it.
The chief nodded. “You’re to deliver this trade package safely to him and then see what else he requires of you. I told him to treat you well since we are very fond of you.”
“Well, then I’ll do it. Duranki.”
“Duranki,” the chief said. “We will miss you, Cold Fate.”
For a moment, Cole believed him. The expression on his face was believable. His words were heavy with emotion. But then Cole caught himself. The man wasn’t real. He was only programmed to say that. The package was four baskets of food that were carried by a donkey. Cole secured the package and made his way out of the village.