- Present Day -
I could faintly hear the rain clear up outside the building. Still staring at the stumbling duck replaying on the monitor screen, I thought about why I was here. The secrets to The Random Angel Generator were somewhere close, and I wanted to uncover them. How could an app create living beings, and why was it sent to me?
During the phone call I had before coming, the office hours stated was between 10 AM and 1 PM and currently, it was midday. "Only 3 hours of work per day?" I thought to myself, wondering how much work could possibly take place in such a short period. I felt the thin outline of an empty wallet inside my back pocket. Maybe I should ask them for a job?
But if what he said on the call was true, then where were all the workers right now? I counted at least 30 computers in this room alone. Maybe I was in the wrong part of the building. I also entertained the possibility that I had gotten the directions wrong.
Suddenly, the bulbs above me turned on one by one, filling the room with a blinding light. My eyes had gotten so adjusted to the dark that it took me some time to find my bearings again. I spun my head around in confusion, trying to figure out what was happening.
"Yo! I see you came in the end." I looked towards where the voice was coming from. Out of the light stepped in a tall, muscular man wearing ill-fitting trousers connected to red clip-on suspenders that laid over a pristine, white, short-sleeved shirt. His polished, leather oxford shoes covered mismatching socks; One orange and one yellow. He ran his hand through his scruffy brown hair before reaching it out to me.
"The name's Zebastian Zalvatore Zacchaeus, but everyone just calls me Zee," he smiled. I couldn't get a read on him. From his build, he looked like he worked out daily, however, his clothing was that of someone who hadn't seen the light of day in a while. I shook his hand, then instantly regretted it as his firm grip almost flung me around the room.
Realising that he had accidentally used too much force, he quickly pulled back his hand and rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. He gave off such a harmless aura that I couldn't help but apologise to him, even though I wasn't the one in the wrong.
My eyes followed him as he walked around and sat at the desk with the computer screen running. He promptly entered the username and password, his fingers moving in such a way that showed he's spent a lifetime around technology and gadgets. The computer booted up, revealing a goose with a birthday hat as his wallpaper. He turned to me and yawned. "So, why now?"
The truth was, I could've come way earlier than today, but being the procrastinator I am, I kept saying maybe next week. However, with my finite BaeBucks running out and limited understanding of how to get more, I could no longer put it off. This was also a good chance to learn more about the app, especially the triggered function. After only using it once, I desperately wanted to know how much power I held in such a little device.
"I had a family issu..."
"You ran out of BaeBucks, right?" Zee completely called my bluff. "Yeah, I figured that would be a problem with this version."
Why keep a broken function in the game then? I frowned, realising the type of guy this person was. Zee and I had something in common, we were both ridiculously lazy. He spun about in his chair as he chewed the end of his pen. Then, as if an idea had flown directly into his head from God himself, he began frantically typing away at his keyboard. As quickly as he started typing, he abruptly stopped, pausing for a second before turning to me once more.
"I guess you have a few questions for me, but let's focus on the BaeBucks issue."
I agreed. With no BaeBucks, there would be no way to even generate an Angel, let alone be able to use it effectively. When I first downloaded the Random Angel Generator, I started with 100 BB, but now I was only down to 20. That was barely enough for one more summon.
"I have a proposition." His eyes twinkled with excitement. "How about I pay you a certain amount of BaeBucks for every additional feature you test out for me!"
I thought about it. It seemed like a fair agreement. Zee could test out his clearly unfinished app through me, and I would be able to carry on using this power. I had no reason to deny his offer and having a relationship with the creator of RAG himself would definitely have a lot of benefits in the long term.
"Sounds good to me," I responded. "But can I ask why you want someone like me to test out the app?"
Apparently, I had said something funny because he couldn't stop himself from bursting out in laughter whilst wiping away tears. "No particular reason, you were just the only one dumb enough to click the link in the email." I stared at Zee as he rolled on the floor, giggling and pointing at me. I'm glad my misfortune and terrible judgment brought amusement to at least someone.
After a while, he finally stopped. He explained to me that the current version of the RAG was a prototype that he created to show investors hoping to gain some backing. However, he needed more proof of concept and that was where I stepped in. He would send me daily 'quests' to complete in exchange for BaeBucks and valuable information about the app and any features.
Zee breathed in, held for a minute, and then exhaled before giving me a stern look. "Since downloading The Random Angel Generator, you've collected 124 data points," He glanced at the monitor. "Let me read out your stats,"
[Number of Angels Generated: 2]
[Number of Times an Angel Has Entered a Triggered State: 1]
[Number of Names Given: 1]
[Average Friendship Score: 77/100]
"Based on what you've been able to accomplish so far, I'll pay you a starting bonus of 100 BB," I looked at the Wallet tab in the app and could see that 100 BB had been deposited meaning my total was now 120 BB. I was pretty impressed with my stats even though I didn't know the significance of half of them.
"I've also added a Statistics section so you can check out your stats and the stats of the Angels you generate whenever you want." Just like he said, there in the top right was a tab called Statistics. "Nice to have you onboard Tester, From today you'll be the first-ever employee of 40 Winks Entertainment."
It wasn't what I meant by needing a job, but I guess you have to start from somewhere. Looking on the bright side, I thought, at least the work hours aren't long. I hadn't had a moment to relax since downloading the RAG app. A lot of exciting and scary things have happened that I could only be grateful for, and it finally seemed like my luck was turning around. People say good things come to those that wait and after waiting for two years, I was absolutely ready for some good in my life. Now that I had this power, maybe I could get revenge on my high school bullies, get a pretty girl to fall in love with me and make millions by joining an agency and fighting in tournaments around the world. My mouth started watering as I thought about all the wonderful food I could buy with millions of dollars. Yet, still in the back of my head, the feeling of being powerless remained. At the end of the day, I was still relying on someone else to fight my battles and fulfil my dreams.
Zee clapped his hands, making a deafening sound that echoed around the room. Again, he looked almost shocked about his own strength and quickly hid his hands behind his back. He coughed suspiciously as if he thought I wouldn't be able to tell where the sound was coming from.
"Alrighty... How about I explain everything about The Random Angel Generator, and if you still have questions at the end, I'll try my best to answer them." I could tell he was excited, like a kid at a science fair waiting to explain his project. I nodded, knowing that if I held out any longer his head would probably explode from the anticipation.
He explained that RAG creates a randomly generated biological avatar which will fight for you on command. This, therefore, means that stats such as agility, strength and stamina are also random for each Angel acquired and are averaged into an overall score. This score, however, can be increased by increasing Friendship with that specific Angel. Activities such as naming it or developing genuine connections can all increase an Angel's friendship.
I had taken out my phone and was writing what Zee had said. It seemed really complicated, but hopefully, after using the app a few more times, I would get the gist of it. "What about the Pure State function?" I asked.
Zee gazed at me. "Only use that function as a last resort. The Pure State puts a lot of strain on an Angel and the app so multiple uses can permanently alter the mental state of an Angel or worse, completely wipe the app's files. However, if a situation arises where you must use it, then the function will provide an Angel with immense power. It strips away code responsible for appearance and emotion and instead puts those resources towards raw power."
I never knew that activating that State was so dangerous. Luckily, I had only used it once before. Now that I had a little more understanding about The Random Angel Generator, I felt more equipped to use the app. I looked down into my phone and gripped it harder. I only had one more question.
"Is it possible to bring a previous Angel back?"
However, before Zee could answer, a small oval object bounced into the room before rolling on the floor and explosively releasing a thick smoke cloud. In seconds Zee and I were engulfed by darkness, unable to even see our own hands in front of us. We both started coughing excessively, confused as to what was going on.
"SHOOT ON SIGHT! BUT MAKE SURE YOU DON'T HIT A SINGLE COMPUTER!"