Thursday morning, Ricardo sat in front of his laptop, the screen showing a document that he hadn't used in a long time–a blank RPG character sheet. He had been thinking about Johnny–and his answer to the first question–since the moment he left their date.
When Ricardo thought he had finally gotten a read on Johnny's character–being sure that Mina and him were a real couple–he came out and flatly said that all was a lie. It was vexing. Johnny was the most infuriating being in the whole universe.
No matter how much Ricardo tried, he couldn't reconcile the smug and self-centered Johnny–who claimed that everything within the game was worthless–with the caring guy everyone else though he was. The guy that Minerva had fallen for.
Thus, Ricardo did what he used to when he couldn't figure out a character–create a character sheet. Yet, as he started filling it, he realized it was impossible. As if the same person could be a good-aligned paladin one day, and an evil assassin the next.
He needed two character sheets.
It didn't make sense and it did make sense at the same time. There were two Johnny's–Minerva's and Ilaria's. Which was the real one? That's what he needed to solve.
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Later that morning, Ilaria, again in her combat dress, slowly crossed the streets that separated her from the new Arena district. She wasn't in a hurry–it was still twenty minutes before the time set by Johnny–using the walk to ponder the second question. Should she just ask about the break up directly? Moreover, could she trust Johnny's answer?
Turning the corner of the street, still deep in thought, Ilaria did a full stop as she arrived in front of the Training Hall. It had taken way less time than she expected. She could always do another walk around.
“Here!”
The female voice sounded familiar. Ilaria turned around, coming across a tall brunette, dressed in a green and gold combat dress. She was Johnny's friend from the party.
“I'm glad you could come,” continued the other girl, as she shortened the distance. “Edu shouldn't take too long. Let's get a room.”
Without a chance to escape, Ilaria followed her inside the building. At least she now knew the name of the guy. They crossed other players in the brightly lit hallway. The place was popular. They had to walk to door 32 to get a vacant room.
“Is it your first time in here?” asked the girl, turning around after both of them had entered the roofless enclosure.
“I trained for a bit yesterday.” Ilaria materialized her handbag, taking out her weapon.
“Ah, the One-eyed Wand,” said the girl, a big shoulder bag appearing on her hands. “I guess I should use it too. To be honest, I never got comfortable with it.”
The two girls practiced shooting for a bit, balls of energy streaking across, and getting absorbed by the rubbery walls. Ilaria still couldn't do the two consecutive rebound shots that Mina had shown her. Although, compared to her current company, she was a prodigy.
“You have a talent for this,” said the other mage, her eyes on Ilaria as she spun her shield once more.
The first shot was a success. The second one... The Force bolt hit the edge of the shield, the energy ball rebounding towards Ilaria's face. She jumped backwards, the shield dropping with a clang.
“Now I'm embarrassed.” Ilaria laughed, crouching to pick up her shield.
“You're still way better than me!” The tall brunette smiled sheepishly. “As the top leveled mage in the guild, I'm ashamed of myself.”
“Getting to level 50 isn't that small of an accomplishment.” Ilaria knew she would need months, even taking into account the Dungeon Date's experience.
“If you play daily, you'll get there eventually,” replied the other mage, in a softer tone. “I'm not much of a gamer myself, but I like the idea of belonging to a guild.”
Ilaria shifted her gaze to the door–it wasn't ten-thirty yet.
She ended up giving pointers to the level 50 mage, of all things. Edu arrived five minutes later. He didn't join though. The warrior was content with watching the girls practice while they waited for Johnny.
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“I see you haven't been wasting time.” Johnny entered the room a few minutes past the agreed time, immediately commanding their attention. “Shall we start now?”
“That's why we're here.” Ilaria glared at the new arrival, which only got a wink in response. It was smug Johnny.
He picked up the blue bracelets, tossing them to Edu, before taking the red ones for himself.
“Here.” Johnny tossed one red bracelet to Ilaria, which almost slipped from her hands. The other girl smiled at her as she left to join Edu on the right side's starting circle.
“Do you know the match rules?” asked Johnny, on his way to their starting position.
“Yeah, I trained yesterday.” Ilaria followed, knowing him well enough to not expect any strategy discussion.
“Alright, whenever you are ready.” Johnny pressed the button on his bracelet, which prompted Ilaria to do the same.
The countdown started.
As soon as the horn blared, the warriors from each team jogged forward, shortening the distance between teams. Ilaria defaulted to the strategy she had used with Kyle–waiting a couple of seconds before advancing–to allow her space to shoot.
The warriors predictably clashed in the middle of the room–spear and shield clanging in a consistent rhythm–as they tested each other. Both used big tower shields, their patterns much less dynamic than Kyle and Dave. Meanwhile, Ilaria took advantage of bounce shots to harass the other team's tank from a covered position. The tower shield was bothersome, but Edu's comparatively slower movements made it somewhat easier to aim.
The opposing mage had ran only a step behind her tank, which didn't allow her much flexibility for aiming. After Johnny blocked three of her shots in a row, she had seemingly shifted towards healing. Edu had taken a few Mana bolts already–in addition to a nasty Spear thrust–which had reduced his CP bar to under fifty percent.
“Damn.” Edu grunted as he received yet another Mana bolt. “Mina's merciless.”
Did he...
A ball of light impacted Johnny's left side, his CP's diminishing by a noticeable amount for the first time in the battle. Edu's eyes widened. Ilaria barraged the other team with Force bolts in response. She aimed loosely–even if they hit, they wouldn't deal much damage. It was enough to fulfill her goal, the opposing mage hiding once more behind her tank's shield.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
A minute later, Ilaria's Mana bolts finally knocked Edu out, earning her team the first point.
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Unsurprisingly, the matched ended 3-0 in Johnny and Ilaria's favor. In the third game, the opposing mage had tried to flank Johnny. It backfired. She had only made an easy target of herself, eating a couple of Ilaria's Fireballs in quick succession.
“Sorry,” said Edu, approaching Johnny after having helped his teammate stand up. “I swear it was a honest mistake.”
“Don't mind it.” Despite his words, Johnny's tone deepened like a sinkhole. To his credit, he quickly shifted to a restrained smile. It would be far-fetched to think of Edu using Mina's name on purpose in a meaningless combat practice.
“Ilaria, you are great!” exclaimed the other girl, getting in front of Ilaria in no time. “I never had a chance.”
“I'm still learning too.” Ilaria shifted her glance, meeting Johnny's by chance. She knew she wasn't all that good.
After a bit of chitchat, they started another match. This time Johnny attacked more aggressively–not minding trading hits with Edu–which made their victory even faster. A third 3-0 later, the other team excused themselves–leaving for their daily Dungeon Date–not before promising to get together for another session the next day.
“Well, what do you think?” asked Johnny after they left. The dirt-floored room felt bigger now that they were alone.
“Edu seemed to be alright,” answered Ilaria, fixing her hair. “The mage, though...”
“Flo doesn't like combat all that much. That's her name, by the way.” Johnny winked, taking off the bracelet on his wrist. “Mina, my ex, tried to guide her a few times, but she quickly lost interest.”
Ilaria blinked. He had said it so casually.
“It isn't like I can't mention her. Naturally, people must be talking in the guild.” Johnny laughed. “Although, I admit it did take me by surprise earlier.”
“You hadn't taken a clean hit before that.” Ilaria took out her bracelet too, handing it to Johnny. Flo's shots were clock-like predictable, but Ilaria would still give him some credit.
“It was a good reaction from you, covering with Force bolts.”
“I guess we can make this team work.” Ilaria preferred Kyle's tanking, but Johnny's wasn't too bad. Besides, it wasn't like she had a real shot of winning the tournament in the first place.
“With a few more days of practice, we should do well,” said Johnny, hanging the bracelets on the door. “Do you feel like doing a DD?”
“Not really.” Ilaria didn't care much about leveling anymore. Dungeon dating Johnny wasn't that enjoyable either. There was a reason why she had come today, and it definitely wasn't spending leisure time with him.
“Okay, then I'll listen to it,” said Johnny, turning around with a smile. “What do you want to know?”
What indeed? Ilaria had a few alternatives in her mind. Her first question, contrary to her plans, hadn't given her anything about Mina. It couldn't happen again. Well, Johnny practically said he didn't mind talking about her. It was time to test that.
“Why did you break up with Mina?”
The question was met with silence, Johnny frozen in place.
Ilaria lowered her gaze. Maybe it had been too much. But then, the guy didn't seem to be that delicate. She surely wished she had Amy to get advise from. She would know how to smooth things over.
“That question is kinda rude.” When Johnny finally talked, his voice could freeze a freshly brewed espresso.
“If you don't want to answer, it's okay.” Ilaria risked meeting his stare. Now that she knew him, she couldn't help feeling a bit guilty.
“Never mind, I did say anything.” Johnny shook his head, sending Ilaria a half-smile. “Let's move to a more suitable location. This might take awhile.”
“Okay.”
Ilaria followed Johnny down the hallway, a step behind him. Boisterous parties crossed in both directions–all immersed in worlds of their own–not sparing any attention to the taciturn couple passing by.
As he stepped outside the Training Hall, Johnny turned towards her, like if making sure she was still behind. Ilaria stepped forward–belatedly answering with a half-smile of her own–while positioning herself next to him.
“So that you know, I didn't break up with Mina.” Johnny had started talking while they walked almost side to side, Ilaria consciously managing to not fall behind.
“She broke up with me.”
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From the beginning, Ilaria had thought Johnny was the one to blame for their break up. And he still could be. Regardless, it showed how little she really knew.
They continued in silence, soon entering the residential district, where Johnny's house had been. They walked pass it, turning a corner into a narrow street, which opened into a really big park. Like tens of thousands square meters big.
“Not many people know about this place.” said Johnny, motioning Ilaria to step into the lawn. “Most prefer to climb the hill for the views.”
Almost all the visible surface was covered by evenly-cut grass, its vibrant green sparkling under the sunlight. Islands of medium-height, evergreen trees–with white flowers underneath–gave shade to the wooden benches that dotted the right side of the open extension. It was sparsely populated, being a weekday at noon. Only a handful of couples sitting here and there.
To the left side–the direction they seemed to be going to–the trees got thicker, reeds and shrubs growing underneath. Johnny took her hand as they walked pass the undergrowth, her dress rustling against soft branches. The ground was getting progressively softer under her boots. A little swampy, though it didn't stink like one. It actually smelled great, like jasmine and hay.
“Here we are,” said Johnny, as he stepped aside, pulling Ilaria into the open. The mage, who had been minding her steps, raised her head. A pristine looking lake–water lilies sprinkled on top–filled her sight.
Wondrous.
A snorting noise startled Ilaria, taking her out of the spell. A big, white swan, just a meter to her left, flapped its wings as it took notice of them.
“Don't mind them, they won't attack you.” Johnny laughed, as he guided her towards a fallen trunk that overlooked the lake.
Ilaria sat next to him, looking pass the lake. She could make the shape of The Grinning Flatfish on the other side. It made sense that you could get to the lake somehow.
“Why did you bring me here?” asked Ilaria, as her eyes followed a pair of swans on the water.
“It's fitting. Here is where I saw Mina for the last time.” Johnny's voice was subdued. Definitely unlike someone who didn't care.
“You don't really have to tell me, even if you promised before.” For Ilaria, it was the fulfillment of the plan. Yet, it felt increasingly wrong.
“I guess I do want to tell someone,” said Johnny. “And, as sad as it sounds, you might be the only one to whom I can.”
Unlike Minerva, Johnny seemed to have an outgoing personality and lots of friends. Why did it turned to be like that?
“As I said before, she was the one who broke up with me,” continued Johnny. “Not that I can fault her. Ultimately, we wanted different things.”
“How so?” Ilaria had noticed last time, Johnny enjoyed being cryptic with his answers. He seemed to relish the idea of her trying to decipher the clues.
“I was content with what we had. No. Rather, it was the most I could ever aspire to.” Johnny made a dramatic pause, letting the snorting and wing flapping fill the blanks. “Virtual Connection's beautiful lie.”
“Didn't you love her?” Ilaria struggled to not say what she knew–Mina had wanted to meet him in real life. That was the crux. And no amount of verbal subterfuge could hide it.
“Don't misinterpret me. I did love her. I still do.” Johnny's tone gradually raised, making Ilaria glance at his profile. His eyes were closed, palms over his knees.
“She loved Johnny. And maybe Johnny would have loved her back. But Johnny's dead.”
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They let the warmth of the sun, the whisper of the wind–and the frolicking of the birds–fill the gap between them. Was the real Johnny dead? Who was the guy sitting next to her now?
“That doesn't make any sense.” Ilaria had tried to understand, growing frustrated in the attempt. She knew it was impossible that someone could log into another player's account. The VR machine would never allow that. Johnny didn't sound like he was lying, though. From his demeanor, he really believed what he had just told her.
“I guess it wouldn't make sense to you,” said Johnny, or whomever he really was. The assassin's smile was back on his face.
“Or to anyone. Who's Johnny supposed to be?” Ilaria pressed her hands together, as she tried to not raise her tone. It all had been a farce.
“Don't look at me that way. I'm not that good yet.” He straightened himself, as he shifted to partially face her.
“Johnny certainly existed. And I knew him the best, for he was my older brother.” He continued talking, not a trace of mirth or teasing in his voice. “He died two years ago.”
Ilaria forced herself to look at Johnny. Well, at the avatar that he presented himself as. The highlights of his hair, the gold of his eyes... Had the real Johnny been like that? Why would he pretend to be his brother? Regardless of the motives, he had been lying to everyone–starting with Minerva.