"Go! Go! Summons!," Alice said while firmly gripping Abbie's hand. "That is the name of the game that will change your life forever."
"Go! Go! Summons!" Abbie repeated. "Uh... can't you guys think of a better name? It makes me think of a low-budgeted production."
"Low-budgeted production is it?"
"That's the general feel that I get. I just can't put my finger on it."
"Mah~ don't worry about the small details." Alice patted Abbie's hand in a friendly manner. "The important things are the perks of the game. Remember, your dream lover is within the reach of your fingertips. All you need to do is accept it."
"Alright, I'm in!" Abbie happily nodded her head. 'I'm not agreeing because of the promised handsome lover, definitely not. I'm just wondering how the guy who rejected me will react when I walk hand in hand with someone more good looking than him!"
Abbie's eyes sparkled in excitement.
(A/N: Girls who keep grudges are scary creatures afterall.)
"Good! Since you are interested, let's switch locations!"
"Lead the way!"
Alice and Abbie took a taxi and went to the suite that Alice owned. Abbie wondered why Alice didn't just download the game application inside the cafe instead of insisting that they do it inside her home.
"Please, come in," Alice opened the door and invited Abbie inside the suite. "I don't usually have guests, so it might be a bit messy."
Abbie was surprised when she saw how spacious and clean her suite was. The room was carpeted and everything inside looked impressive. The couch, chairs, tables, and ornaments were screaming "I am expensive! Break me and you'll be my slave for life!"
Abbie could even faintly hear an ojou-sama laugh in the background that goes "Ohohohoho!" Everything looked expensive, but there was one thing that made her lips twitch.
Everything was in red!
Yes, everything inside Alice's room was red. The couch, chairs, tables, curtains, ornaments, even the chandelier on the ceiling was red!
"You must really love the color red." Abbie lightly coughed as she glanced at the beautiful lady beside her.
"I don't really like the color, but it's the perfect color to hide bloodstai--, I mean, perfect color to hide dirt." Alice combed her silky smooth hair with a hand. "Well, shall we start?"
Abbie nodded her head. She could have sworn that Alice almost mentioned the word bloodstain, but managed to stop herself in time.
"Open the mobile phone I threw-, I mean, the phone I gave to you."
"Alright!" Abbie opened her newly acquired I-Foam. She wasn't able to proceed further because the screen was locked by a password.
"It needs a password."
"The password is 362534. Just in case you were wondering, those are my three sizes."
I didn't ask ok?! Abbie almost threw the phone at her. What is this? Are you trying to flex? You're flexing right?
Abbie entered the password with a huff. When the password was accepted, what greeted her was an almost blank screen. Yes, there was nothing on the screen except a single application.
The icon was that of a capital G with an exclamation mark (G!). Under it was the name Go! Go! Summons!.
"I just click this icon right?" Abbie asked.
"Yes," Alice replied with a smile. Her eyes were showing excitement and anticipation. Abbie didn't know, but she was Alice's one and only candidate to test the game for her. The company had a strict rule that an agent was responsible for one person and one person only.
Their role was to provide one-on-one support to the best of their ability and help their chosen candidate get familiar with the game.
Abbie clicked the game icon and a series of animations appeared on the mobile screen.
-----
[Welcome to the world of Go! Go! Summons! Please input your full name.]
Abbie Matthews
[Please input your age.]
19
[Please input your Marital Status.]
Single
[Forever Alone Marital Status Confirmed...]
"Hey!" Abbie slapped the mobile screen out of anger. "This AI has an attitude! Call your programmers and fix it!"
Alice chuckled from the side. "Don't worry, your status of "Forever Alone" will be gone after a few minutes. Don't mind what the AI said."
Abbie calmed down when she heard Alice's explanation. "Y-You're right, but still, you should fix this AI so it won't offend your future customers."
"Fair enough. I'll send a report to the Programming Department. Please continue with the registration process."
Abbie grudgingly answered the AI's questions.
[What is your height?]
158 cm (5.2 feet)
[What are your three sizes?]
XX-XX-XX
[Pfft! What are you a pig? You need to go on a diet, my dear! Did your parents let you grow up inside the kitchen? How about you try intermittent fasting? It's quite popular nowadays.]
"O-Oi! Don't slam that phone on the floor!" Alice immediately held Abbie's hand, preventing the girl from throwing the I-Foam in a fit of anger. "Just relax! Yes, deep breaths. Inhale, exhale..."
"Whoever made this script needs to get fired from their job!"
"I-I'll send another report, ok? Just calm down first!"
Alice was able to calm Abbie down after a few minutes. The poor girl just suffered from a heartbreak because of her body size. She didn't want to be ridiculed because of her weight! Not even by an AI!
[Registration Completed...]
'Phew, finally it's over.'
[Please put a drop of blood on the mobile screen to bind this gateway to you.]
'Um? A drop of blood? Isn't this a bit excessive for a game?' Abbie was about to ask Alice for confirmation when the latter brought out a silver needle from her bag.
"Use this and smear a drop of blood on the mobile screen," Alice said with a smile. "Relax, it will not hurt much. Do you need me to poke your finger for you?"
"Is this really needed?"
"It is needed."
"You guys are taking this registration process way too seriously. What is the blood for anyway?"
"DNA verification." Alice explained. "The game needs your DNA to be registered in its database."
"Your explanation sounds like bullshit, but I guess I have no choice if I want to be a beta tester, right?"
"Yes, you're right."
"Fine. Poke me then."
Alice gently used the silver needle to poke Abbie's finger. She then helped the girl smear it on the mobile screen for the verification process.
[DNA acquired. Binding Successful!]
[We officially welcome you, Abbie, to the world of Go! Go! Summons!]
[Do you want to see the tutorial? [Yes/No]]
Of course yes! Abbie pressed on the [Yes] option.
[Sorry. The tutorial is not available at this time. Will now proceed to Story Mode.]
Abbie's forehead was instantly filled with black lines. You asked me if I wanted to see the tutorial and I pressed Yes. Now, you tell me that there is no tutorial. Why the fuck did you even need to ask if I wanted to see it?!
[It's been five thousand years since the great battle that split the continent in half...]
"Hah~ now it goes to the story telling mode." Abbie sighed as she heard the AI's voice.
[Listen up you Pig. You will listen to my narration whether you like it or not!]
"Can I break this phone?"
"If you break it, you will have to pay for it. Do you have the funds?"
"Kuh!"
Alice smiled sweetly. "Since you don't have the money, be good and just listen for now."
[The Great Demon Lord, Hecate, rallied her minions and defeated the combined forces of the Resistance. Humanity and its allies were on the brink of extinction. That is when they proposed to use the Taboo Magic and that was the start of...]
Abbie was starting to get interested in the story of the game and listened seriously to the AI's narration.
[The start of... such a long and boring story! Let's not waste each other's time. Ohohohoho! They're not even paying me enough to do this narration in the first place. *grumble*]
"Here, drink some water. Do you want juice? Or perhaps tea?" Alice immediately offered delicious snacks in order to deflect Abbie's attention from the AI's explanation.
"Wow, your company sure knows how to make a first impression," Abbie said with sarcasm.
Alice pretended that she didn't hear Abbie's comments and offered her a slice of cake. "This is the most expensive cake that you'll find in the city. I hope you find it to your liking."
"T-This is actually not bad."
"I know right?"
[Oi! Since the two of you are just having a tea party, why don't we just jump to the Gacha Summoning already?]
Abbie's ears perked up when she heard the Gacha Summoning. Alice told her that the "Hero" she would draw in the game would be her loyal servant. The company would also send a man that "looks exactly" like him, so Abbie was very excited.
'Having a cosplayer hubby doesn't sound so bad,.' Abbie mused. 'I don't mind as long as he is a looker! I'll make sure to show him off to my girlfriends!'
[Will you summon your Hero? [Yes/YES!]]
Abbie confidently pressed the [YES!] option. She didn't tell Alice, but her luck with gacha games was SSR ranked! She was confident to get the strongest five-star SSR Champion in the game.
She watched in anticipation as a ball of light appeared on the mobile screen. It spun and slowly changed into a myriad of colors. Abbie didn't know that this was the start of a journey that would make her realize that falling in love was not as simple as she thought it would be.