It wouldn't be enough to just sing to herself of course. The talent tree specified that enemies could be affected as well. Time to serenade some bonefish, she supposed.

Fortunately, their rock had orbited around to the higher-level side of the zone, so the fish were scaled up to give her some XP. Speaking of the boneheads, there was a school of them.

Prepared to swim off in case she angered the horde, she hesitantly began singing the chorus of first that came to her mind.

You complete me.

You deplete me.

You repeat me.

You tear my soul out,

I can't even shout out,

After the first few notes, a ghostly shell appeared around her, pulsing in time with her changes in volume. The skill's effect radius?

The swarm crested the edge just as she reached the loudest part of the chorus. Instantly a flood of debuff icons filled her view.

Action Log: You have inflicted 12 Prime Albonecore Tuna with Siren's Call

-5% max hp

-10% swim speed

+5% damage taken

Erin's song sputtered to a halt when she ran out of lyrics. The debuff icons rapidly faded, and the fish swam by unbothered.

This is quite the debuff - especially with DoTs on top.

She immediately went into the talent tree and tapped three points into Vicious Solo, and one into Earworm. She was going to do some AoE Karaoke.

She brought up her on-screen browser and loaded up a music addon, toggling the on-screen lyrics.

The next school swarmed around her like a thrash concert. Screamy songs had never been her favorite, but it seemed oddly appropriate as she belted out Vanderlost's "Monsterland". It took two rounds of the song to finish them all off, but the flood of half-xp made it worth it. The combination of a snare and a move speed buff made it pretty easy to kite the fish, who were made for short-range ramming.

She sighted on another group, and loaded up "No Man's Grace". She kicked it off with a harpoon this time. She practiced singing with shooting this time, hammering off a few shots before kicking away to safer distances. The one point she had in Earworm made the process much easier, as she didn't have to continually sing to apply the effect. She was like a backup singer, punctuating each line with the muted clack of her weapon.

And no man saves me!

And no one braves me!

The meaty thud of her last bolt punctured the chorus. The swarm was dead, and she needed bolts back. The flood of experienced washed through her, and she leveled up. She was definitely going to catch up to Jonah at this rate.

I have freed myself!

But you are still a slave

And there is no price to pay

No one left to save

It didn't seem to matter how much she abused her voice, the notes came crystal clear. The rumble of the deep was a constant bassline, the thump of her harpoon gun a drum. It was awkward at first, singing and operating the weapon, but practice paid off.

And we are given what we need,

What we need is eyes to see

Eyes to see

Eyes to see

She sank the point from level 8 into Earworm, less so for its effect, and more to unlock the advanced talents at the next tier. She was really digging the underwater bard vibe, surprisingly. She had grinded her way up to 9 in no time, and finished out the lower tier of Siren. She didn't have time to look at it now though, because it was time to meet Valens.

Back in the real world, she wrangled her hair into a rough ponytail. That would have to do for Valens- he'd seen her looking worse.

She stomped into her boots and grabbed her keys, and then she was off. She lived downtown, but was in a fairly nice neighborhood, so she didn't worry too much about being alone and on foot. The bar was a short walk from her place - one of the reasons it had become their favored haunt. She hadn't been to the place in months.

She and Valens had had chemistry, oh yes. Things had been going hot for the better part of a year when she invited him to move in. Big mistake. Turns out you learn a lot about someone by living with them - outside the bedroom, the two of them weren't on the same page on anything.

They'd tried to end it like adults, but hanging out with him was awkward as hell. She'd taken to burying herself in work until the Jonah situation had come in and put everything into a new perspective.

Valens worked with full immersion tanks for long-term occupants. It was a growing market in the retirement sector, and it paired well with the booming VR industry.

Of all the people she knew, Valens was the closest thing she had to an expert on what had happened to Jonah.

She crossed the street with a tide of other pedestrians. She was nearly there now, and she still had no idea what to say. The whole thing made her sound like a crackpot, and she was afraid he was going to laugh in her face, shared history or not.

The hostess at the front welcomed her. "It's been a while since I've seen you here! Want your normal table?"

"Yes, please - and if you could let my friend know I'm waiting for him, that'd be great."

She didn't have to wait long. Valens showed up a few minutes later, concern on his face. The waitress was right behind them.

"Hey, long time no see," she said lamely. Turning to the waitress she said, "I'll have a beer- something craft and hoppy."

"So, we're drinking," Valens said. "All right, give me a stout."

As the waitress departed, Valen's looked at her expectantly, "Well? Safe enough to talk now?"

Erin blew out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Well, I'm not sure where to start."

"At the beginning, naturally."

"Well, it all started when I got this weird message at work..."

She told him everything, in detail. They finished their beers and went through several more before she was done. Valens prompted her throughout but didn't interrupt her.

"That's quite the story," he said once it was done.

"Do you believe me?"

"I do - you wouldn't lie about something like this, and you aren't delusional. I can see why you brought this to me now though."

"I don't know what to do! I'm trying to help, but it feels like I'm putting a bandaid on a severed artery."

"I bet he doesn't feel that way. Seems like you've helped him out a lot. You've moved him from hell to purgatory, at least."

"It could be heaven though. The freedom of it - it's really something."

Valens put his hand on his chin, considering. "Have you tried IP tracing his location? Could give you more info."

"I've been afraid to run any commands on him in there - figure he's being monitored."

"Think he could run them?"

"Maybe. What would it tell us?"

Valens nodded and said, "Could tell us if he's located on-site, or overseas or something."

He paused and added,

"If he's on-site, I might have a solution for him."

"A solution?"

"Yeah, my spare time lately has been free, so I've been tinkering with some tech. I think I can hook up a full-immersion unit if I had to."

"So you're saying if I can find him, you can keep him alive?"

"Right - he'd be a new tenant at the shop. It's amazing how far the technology has come these days - he's just a little ahead of the curve."

"That just leaves the hard part- extracting him," she said morosely.

"I hate to say it, but I think the only thing to do is go to the police. This is human trafficking, after all."

Erin sighed, "I was afraid you'd say that. Do you think they'll be subtle enough?" She was picturing armed officers bashing in the front door. "Do you think they'd even believe me?"

"I guess you'll need some proof then," Valens said. He scratched his head. "You realize, this doesn't go well for you right?"

"I realize," Erin said. "I just don't see any good options anymore. I can't just let this stand, you know?"

"Well, in case you need a job soon - I could use a good coder with your credentials at the shop. I'm expanding into new markets, gonna need new software."

Erin wasn't sure how she felt about working for a former flame, but her work connections were about to be scorched earth. The choice appeared to be work for the ex or work for the ones who kidnapped and tourtured people for profit. Was there no other options?

"Thanks, Valens" she said instead. "It's good to know you have my back on this."

"Don't thank me too much," he said with a wry smile. "I'm already drooling over the thought of having a pre-optimized human server in my debt and locked-in to my platform."

Her eyes widened, "You'd use him the same way they would?"

"No, nothing like that," Valens said patting his hands in a calming gesture. "Nothing he didn't agree to, and no torture. But he could really make a difference in this field, and he's gotta do something with his time. He's got... basically forever now."

They both went quiet at that. After a time, Erin spoke up, "I've been recording our time in-game. If I post it anywhere though, they'll be on me like white on rice. All they have to do is track down my character's account, and it's over." She'd be out of the game and out of the company, no way to help Jonah, and no choice but to take Valens up on his offer.

"I'll think on that. There has to be a way to use it as evidence without leading back to you. Can you send me what you have?" Valens asked.

Erin said, "I'll do you one better - I'll grant you access to my private stream. Then you'll get the new ones as I make them."

They didn't have much left to say. They paid their separate tabs and bid each other farewell.