It was now midday as I checked my phone to make sure I didn't sleep too long.
"I know I don't have a job right now but I shouldn't mess up my sleep schedule by sleeping through the day." I decided to get up and take a shower. I just grabbed the first shirt and pants I could find to make an outfit for the day.
I brought the shirt and pair of pants up to my nose for a sniff test. 'Well, they smell clean...'
I hurried to the bathroom and dropped trou. I just decided to kick my old clothes into a pile near the wall instead of taking the time to put them in the clothes bin. 'Too much effort...'
I placed my new clothes on the toilet so that they would be easily grabbed after my shower.
I shifted the shower curtains so that I could get to the knobs and turn on the water.
I could still feel a slight unwillingness to take a shower trying to take a hold of me but I didn't let it change my mind. 'Must...get...clean!'
After turning the knobs I could hear the water coming up and saw it shoot out of the showerhead. I was then doused with cold water as I forgot I was still too close. I immediately jumped back after being chilled by the icy water.
"You definitely don't make it easy to love you, do you shower?"
I completely forgot which knob led to hot water and which one led to cold water. 'A novice mistake...'
I quickly but carefully traverse my way to the knobs and past the rain of icy water. I turned the knob opposite to the previous one that I turned earlier. I slowly willed my hand to now test the water.
I could feel my will fading as I inched my hand closer. It was like something inside of me was repeatedly telling me not to go any closer. 'I can't...let it win...!'
I stuck my hand in the water.
"Ahhh!!"
'Still...cold...'
Moments later, I finally emerged from the bathroom victorious.
"So refreshing! Ah, it's like something new has just been opened up in me. I never knew a shower could make me feel this great. It kinda makes me want to burst out into song~ But, I'm not though. Don't want the neighbors to think someone is getting murdered over here or something."
I sit down at my computer as I have been starting my days here for a while now.
I have really grown very attached to this computer as of late. It has been with me through all of my adult life's greatest and worst moments, after all. 'Yeah.'
I shake my head violently. "Now isn't the time to be lost in thought! I have to hurry and get back online!" 'Yeah, I can wallow in self-pity later. For now, I should strive to level up my character in Arcadian Records Online as much as I can before the sequel comes out.'
Yesterday, I was reading up on some forums for how to beat a quest when I stumbled upon some ads for Arcadian Records Sequel. I tried to read up as much as I could, but there were only a brief trailer and a few tweets about it. Not too much to go on, but I'll take anything I could get at this point.
I even saw some fan art online, but that could just be some OCs or something. Nothing too reliable to go on.
'Ugh! I only just got into the first game now there's a second one! It's because of this bad luck of mine! Of course, it wouldn't be limited to real life, it just had to affect me in my videogames as well.'
I couldn't help but stamp my feet in anger as I began to realize how most of the player base would be gone with this. 'Who would I lord over if all the newbies and greenhorns will be gone with this?!'
There were two sides to Arcadian Records. The story mode is for players who want to experience the story and gameplay found in Arcadian Records. And the online, for players who want to play against real players in the world of Arcadian Records.
I refer to Arcadian Records Online as ARO for short. Much easier, in my opinion.
'If this sequel takes all of the player bases from ARO then who will I show off my cool Dragon Character to?! I can't let that happen! I can just imagine it now. I'm just left all alone with only the NPCs to keep me company...Well, maybe it wouldn't be that bad after all, I did go out of my way to buy those extra items and my own base, too.'
In ARO, players can buy and decorate their own bases based on their level and race.
For example, an elf at Level 100 can buy their own Elven treehouse. Although, it can only be placed in the proximity of an Elven Kingdom. That, in my opinion, is the only flaw.
'If it was me, I would place it in the middle of a human kingdom or something. Gotta show off your power somehow.
In my character's case, I get my own cave base. There wasn't really a flaw to this one as I could put it virtually anywhere except in an already established settlement, of course. I could even move my base whenever I wanted.
'Guess the developers didn't expect anyone to get this far as an unpopular race, huh? Fools! With this base, I could put it near a really faraway questline marker or move in right next to the final boss if I wanted to. Muahaha!! Ahem! But I won't as I like to take my time to enjoy the story, too.'
I just decided to place my base near the starter village as I wanted to roleplay a bit. I like the idea that my character just grew up in a nearby cave and decided to just live amongst the humans one day.
Also, I like to 100% everything in the village before I leave for the capital city of this country.
Apparently, the game features some elements of city-building, too. Well, I guess in this case it would be village-building. Basically, players can build up the villages and small towns they travel to. Doing quests and earning the trust of the villagers or townsfolk will allow you to become a sort of celebrity to them. And as you may know, celebrities are allowed a few perks.
Although I still have to pay out of my own pocket to get supplies and different artisans to come to the village, it still feels rewarding to me. Sometimes, even the villagers will come help or even learn a trade which speeds up the building process even more.
'I have to admit that this game has me hooked. Maybe that is how it got to grow so big.'
Although I didn't help too much in making the game, I still feel a bit of pride in how well this game has been received. 'I wonder how those guys are doing without me...' As I thought that, my phone started to buzz and I heard my ringtone go off as well.
"Exorcise the darkness. Exorcise the darkness."
What can I say? The Ju****u Ka***n opening is freaking lit.
I reach over to my phone and I freeze at the name.
"Josh Mu-Lin."
Josh was a part of our group back in college who wanted to make a game. He was the one who had initially talked me into the idea. He was so cool and personable. I idolized him back then but when the game took off, so did he.
I answered the phone against my better judgment.
"...H-Hello?"
"Hey, can Jacob Armeyer reach the phone right now?"
"This is him..."
"Oh! Hey Jake, barely recognized you! How have you been, buddy?"
'Buddy, he says...'
"I have been well, Mr. Mu-Lin."
"Bro, why are speaking so casually to me all of a sudden. You know me, man. So, just call me Josh, alright?"
"Yeah..."
"So, Jake how goes the job at...I forgot, where did you work again? Well, that doesn't matter, right? It has been good, right? You had got that promotion a while back, right?"
'Ugh! Don't even bring back up that...I still have to find another job soon...'
"I-I don't work there anymore...I was let go a bit more than a while ago."
"What? No way! I thought you were really good at that job, too. Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, I'm good...What is it that you wanted to talk to me about...Josh?"
"Oh, right! Got too carried away for a second there. My team and I had wanted to make a sequel to our game, Arcadian Records. You still remember that game, right? We had worked on it a while back and you had launched the Kickstarter for it, too."
'I can't just tell him I'm actually an avid player of it, right? No, I'll just play it cool and feign ignorance.'
"Arcadian Records, was it? I think I still recall that name from way back when. What about it?"
"We actually found great success from it! It became the biggest indie game of 202X! We were all so happy that day they announced we just had to get everyone who had helped work on it an invitation to the big party we threw."
'I'm sure it was fun and all. But, do you have to rub it in my face! I helped work on it, too! All I got was a stupid letter in the mail with some stupid note in it! It makes me glad that all of that is now in the past where it belongs.'
"Well, I'm getting off-topic a bit. Basically, a while back we decided to make a sequel and have been working on it all this time."
'Big deal. I could have been making a game too if you guys ruin the idea for me. That's why I decided to delve more into web design and software management.'
"But, we've kind of hit a hitch in our plans and had to slow down development a bit. We were supposed to be set to release the game by summer but we may be forced to push the deadline to early September."
'Oh? I wonder what had happened. Not that I could care what happens to them one bit! After all, I'm no longer a part of their team anymore.'
"Oh? That would put a damper on things."
"Yeah, this bug is way too hard for us to find and fix. While we want to, we can't hold off on finishing the final touches of the game in other areas."
"Hm. Hm. Wait...a bug?"
"Yeah, it was too hard for the person we had on it so we were looking for someone more experienced in dealing with bugs and the like."
"D-Did you find anyone yet?"
"Well, everyone had wanted to just make a note of it and save it for later. But, I had heard on the grapevine from some of our newer members on the team that you were a whiz with bugs and knew all the bug fixes. They said you were some kind of Lord of the Bugs, I think?"
"Bug Fix King."
"Yeah, that's what it was! So, when I brought it up that I knew him, everyone was immediately on board with bringing you on board. So, are you in or what? Of course, we will be paying you for your time and we'll follow your rate, too."
The deal was too good to be true. Out of all people, Josh was the one who sought me out and told me he needed me. Of course, I was still skeptical but the chance to shine had finally come and I couldn't pass up on a job. So...
"I'll do it."
"Great! I'll go tell the team and send you the details through email. Thank you for doing this for me, Jake. I know we haven't talked in forever but I really do appreciate you doing this for me."
*Click!*
The phone call ended and I was immediately hit with exhaustion.
"That...was crazy. I didn't think I would hear from Josh of all people. Still, this would be an opportunity to shake the rust off of my hands and make some money out of it, too. For now, though, I'm gonna go back to bed...After all, I have a long day ahead of me."
I make my way to the bed, yawning all the while. I quickly drift off into sleep forgetting to turn off my computer in the process. The blue light still shining over my now unconscious body.