Ned was working overtime for his employer's hardware order whose deadline is in the next 2 days. He had been fixing sets of PCB drives and circuit boards day in and day out and was stressed out from the pressure he's been at for 3 straight days and nights now. His face is greased, his hair never touched water for days, and his eyes carried a heavy suitcase.
"I can't sleep just yet. Get along with it, self!" he cheered himself as he lifts his soldering iron and went on the fix.
His garage in front of his house is his shop and it was still wide open until late at night for the rush orders. He sighed and was about to connect a resistor when he heard someone, crying for help.
"Anyone there? Please help us out!" the kids shouted.
"Aishh, help us out!" Ned was startled that he spills his etching fluid on his PCB board, making his heart skipped a beat. He lost his mind, he was frustrated with a damaged item.
"Uncle Ned!!"
Ned heard the call again.
"Is that Ken and Dave?" Ned whispered to himself. He rushed outside to see what's happening and then he saw the three kids, all beaten up.
They looked up to him with distressed eyes and heavy breathing. Ned knew something has happened.
"Oi, you kids... it's already late, why are you still out there--" Ned said but he choked himself when he saw who the kids are carrying on their shoulders.
"Markus?... Markus, is that Markus?!" His heart skipped another beat and rushed to them crushing and banging everything that caught his feet. He took the unconscious child from the children's shoulders and brought him inside his receiving area (office) and placed him on his couch. "What happened?" his voice fumbled. He wiped the kid's face and saw his complexion turning pale. "His hands are cold"
The two kids were filled with distress that they ran out of air to even speak.
Ken and Brent fell on their knees and sat as they've run for miles.
"Sorry to barge in like this, uncle Ned." Ken finally spoke. "He fell unconscious at the crossing and we can't find anyone for help since the near the convenience store and all the houses we've passed by were all locked and dark."
Ned saw how scared the two kids are so he immediately tried to change the atmosphere. He gave each of them a glass full of water and said, "Good thing you found my shop."
The two looked at him and were about to cry. Their faces are all turning red.
Ned turned his back from them to give them time to breathe and went to his cupboard to get the first aid kit.
"Uhm." Brent slightly nodded, sneezing his nose. "We took the right turn and saw your shop still wide open."
"Coz I'm still working tho." he smiled and pulled a cotton ball from his kit and drenched in alcohol.
"Is he going to be alright?" Ken asked after emptying his glass. He placed it in a near office table and gazed around the shop.
"He's still breathing so don't worry." Ned jokingly said. "Anyways, you two need to dress those wounds. Can you wash them inside as I tend to this little guy first?" he added.
"Hai." The two replied.
"I'm calling your parents to pick you up, too." Ned exclaimed.
"How did you know our home's numbers?" Ken stopped and turned to face Ned.
"C'mon." Ned disinfected Markus' wounds with cotton and placed gauze over them. "We're in the same neighborhood. I've sent calling cards to everyone here and they knew they needed my services so people get in touch," he explained, he sounded boastful that made the kids draw a slight smile.
"Ohhh... I see." Ken nodded and went inside to clean his wounds.
When they've come out from washing themselves, Markus had already changed clothes and Ned was dressing his wound on his side.
"Thanks for taking care of him, uncle Ned." Brent said. He is drying his hand with the towel Ned has prepared and placed it near the counter.
"It's no big deal. His mom asked me to take care of him." Ned replied. "Take a seat here and let me see your wounds."
The two silently obeyed Ned and sat beside the sleeping Markus. Ned dressed their wounds and asked, "So, what happened?"
"Hehe, we have gotten ourselves into a fight..." Ken said shyly.
"But Markus fought for us that is why he's in that state," Brent added.
"This kid doesn't really know when to stop, huh. He's a real pushover, isn't he?" Ned said. "But why did it resulted in a fistfight?"
"It wasn't going to end up like this," Kent explained. "We were just playing ROA but were defeated and those thugs acted so mighty and dragged us outside the cafe for a fistfight."
"I see." Ned sighed. "I'm just glad you were not caught and got no serious wounds."
"...." Ken looked at Markus and said, "Why did he fell unconscious, uncle Ned?"
"I'm not a doctor but I've taken courses in First aid," Ned explained. "He's just tired and was burned out. He's just sleeping, so don't worry about him. This kid's pretty rough."
"Oh, Thank goodness." Brent took a deep sigh of relief. "I thought something bad had happened to him."
Wheels skid in front of Ned's shop and honked 3 times. Brent knew it was his mom's car.
"Thanks for having us and calling our parents, uncle Ned," Brent said.
"No worries." Ned replied. "Just don't get caught in something like this anymore. You might not just have those wounds next time. Take care on the way." he waved his hand and tended to the unconscious kid's wound.
"Sorry." the two walked out and the car immediately went away.
"Bye Markus!" They said in unison.
"Now, now. " Ned said and drenched another cotton he's holding with alcohol. "You cannot fool me with that fake sleeping face, you damn brat!" He applied the cotton on his bleeding forehead "I know you better than anyone else, idiot..."
"That hurts, uncle Ned!!!" the kid screamed. He struggled on his back and tried very hard to get rid of the drenched cotton on his forehead. "Pffft. I really can't lie to you, old man." his face frowned from the pain.
"Of course you can't!" he grabbed the kid's elbow and went to clean the bruises. "Let's get those wounds treated."
"Ouch...aaaa.." The kid stuttered.
"That's what you get when you get yourself in a fight, damn brat." Ned nagged.
"De, what happened out there?" Ned asked with a stern face. "I won't take a silence for an answer."
"We got into a fight," Markus replied, looking away. "I'm pretty sure Ken told you."
"So, you're already awake when we talked about that, huh." Ned patched his wound and said, "A fight." he nodded. The kid flinched and tried to detach from the subject that looked away from the asking guy.
"Okay," Ned sounded convinced "... then why did you have these wounds? And based on Ken and Brent's expressions, that fight was a pretty nasty one." He crossed his arms and stared at the kid. "Now, tell me the truth."
Markus tried to reason out but his attempt to say something was overwhelmed by Ned's aura. He just kept silent and turned around.
Ned turned his back from the kid and dragged the 30inx30in PCB board towards him and examined it. He was working with it until the kids ran into him. Silence dressed the room for a moment until he said, "Aurum, the city of new origins, have a different mode to fight with and settle disputes. No matter how small or how big the problem is, there is only one acceptable solution we can engage."
Markus raised his head and listened.
"To eradicate, well lessen is the right term, the worthless fistfights, and unreasonable wounds, Saesen's decree proposed that all people will resolve any problem through TALKING or through PLAYING." Ned sighed and he felt that the kid turned his back to listen to him. "Thus, the ancient arena where People risked their lives to win was replaced with the VIRTUAL ARENA where avatars fight each other and become a measure of skill in using the computer. That is why every now and then, the ORION has done many improvements on this said arena for the better communication between 2 parties concerned." Ned took off his glasses and faced the kid with a stern look on his face. "That is the reason why everyone is entitled to an ACCOUNT CARD where they can create their own avatar and fight in case something happens. This has a unique chip and a unique key assigned to the person the moment it is activated. That is why having this card is a very big deal and as important as water in this current time. It's like, someone's own identity. Am I making myself clear?"
"I know that much, Uncle Ned." Markus replied. "The teacher at school explained that subject pretty well."
"Then why?" Ned answered sarcastically. He glared at the kid. "You also knew that if the cops caught you fighting, you'll get in big trouble, right?"
The kid nodded and sighed. "It's nothing serious. We just lost a game and they threw punches out of a sudden."
"Now you're talking." Ned grabbed a patch and placed it on the kid's forehead. "Your tears are going to fall right from your sockets, you know. It's okay to cry." Ned teased him.
"I'm not crying." Markus insisted. He wheezed and take all his emotions in.
Ned laughed and patted the kid's head. "Now I know it was not your fault."
Markus raised his head and met with Ned's eyes.
"Don't worry, you guys are the victims here." Ned explained. "Those guys were caught on a cam for sure and the cops will be after them. That made me nervous."
"Seriously?" the kid muttered. His eyes brightened with clearing guilt.
"Ahh," Ned answered. "If you made the first move, I won't know what your mom will do. She'll get pretty mad."
"Speaking of her," Markus looked outside and saw their house, all dark. From where he is seated, he can see the back of their house from Ned's garage. "Mom's not yet home, huh?" he asked.
"Nah..." Ned replied. "I've not seen her yet." He fixed his first aid kit and returned it to the cupboard. "Anyway, don't try to change the subject."
"Tsk." Markus turned his back.
"What game did you played?" Ned asked.
"ROA."
"Ehh… you're good at that game, right? I even helped you with the dungeons and upgrades." Ned said. "Then why did you lose? I'm even helping you to level up."
"That's it," Markus complained. "Though I'm a Templar, those guys are already an Exorcist. Not to mention, they do something I don't understand!!"
"Like what?" Ned asked.
"Like when the time they trapped us at a certain point and they immediately buffed up. That was pretty unfair." Markus complained. "We researched every single method to fight against them and then we lost just because they use, what do you call that?"
"Cheats?" Ned replied.
"Yeah, something like that," Markus said. His eyes were filled with regret and annoyance. "I've caught them using those since we first met." the kid pouted.
"Those cheat codes are not normal cheats, Markus." Ned sighed.
"What do you mean, uncle Ned." the kid asked.
"It's rampant but not all can pull that off."
"What is that?" Markus listened with all ears.
"That's what you call a hack."