I made my way through the offices from the breakroom and sat back down in my chair. Everyone was relaxing and slacking off. I got most of the work dumped on me because of my ability to process and code faster than everyone. Usually that wouldn't be a problem for me, but it's been crunch time and I've been falling slightly behind.
"Regardless...I didn't get a promotion. Tch!" I kissed my teeth as I spoke under my breath.
As I typed away, I felt a sharp sense of coldness on my neck and jumped in my chair.
"EEP!"
"Hehe! You're so fun to mess around with!"
I turned around to see my old friend and superior Melanie with an ice cube in her hand and the biggest smile on her face.
"I told you not to mess with me when I'm working, Mel."
"I'm sorry! It's just you were so in the zone, I couldn't help it. Besides, I have a reason for messing with you today. Gabe wants to chat with you real quick."
Gabe is our boss. If he wants to chat with me, it's probably because of the code. Usually he just lets me work, but if he sees a major bug with the game, he reports it to me firsthand.
Melanie walked me over to Gabe's office and when we entered, Gabe was playing on a handheld console with his feet on the table. As soon as he saw us, he quickly corrected himself and motioned for me to sit. As I sat down, Melanie stood next to Gabe and our meeting began.
"Here!" Gabe threw a controller my way and I caught it. He turned on the tv next to him and the title screen of the game that we've been working on popped up.
We're a very ambitious indie studio. We're working on a sci-fi first person adventure. Not only are we announcing the game in October, we're planning to release it in December. And then we're releasing a VR version in February. Usually, it at most takes half a year for the devs to come up with anything after their announcement, but once again, our ambition made us strive for this hellish schedule.
As I pressed the start button, the game immediately crashed.
"Makes sense..." I sighed in disappointment.
I did rush it these past couple of nights, after all. A fix lile this isn't going to be easy. It'll take a countless amount of restless nights... I'm getting so tired of this crap.
"Having the game in this state is really bad. The other departments are pretty much done, but we've greatly fallen behind. I'll tell you what, I'll cut you a deal..."
I raised my eyebrow. I won't budge for any deal he wants to make with me. Throughout my entire time working here, he has taken advantage of my talents time and time again. I should've gotten a promotion or even a raise months ago.
"If you're able to fix this game-breaking error, I'll promote you to assistant director."
"HUH?!" Melanie's happy expression changed to one of shock.
"B-BUT DADDYYYYYY! IF SHE TAKES MY POSITION, WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!" Melanie began to hug Gabe.
This is the exact reason I didn't get my promotion. Because this "friend" of mine used her connections as the director's daughter. This and the fact that Gabe knows that the higher ups would see my skills and have me take his job.
However, if he's offering this to me, he must've gotten desperate. I just don't understand his move beyond this. Regardless, I'm not taking this. I'm just gonna finish this game and quit this studio.
"You have all of this power and you're not going to do a thing with it?! You're despicable! You're horrible!" The words of someone annoying popped up in my head and I immediately dismissed the thought. This toxic work environment is proof: Gabe wants to keep his job so he pushes me away. Melanie wants to live a more comfortable life, so she got close to Gabe. Every lives for their own desire. No one thinks about what would be best in terms of merit.
"I'll respectfully decline! Your best bet is to actually get your workers working. The only reason we're in this mess is because you wanted to push all the work on me. Oh look at the time! My shift's over!" I smiled as I rose from my seat and made my way for the exit.
As I left the room, I could Gabe call out to me.
"Wait, Roxanne!"
Don't bother. You've had your chances...
I clocked out and made my way home. Once I reached home, I winded down by taking a shower and eating dinner.
As I entered my room, I looked at the VR headset on my bed.
"It HAS been I while since I logged in. I might as well..." I said to myself.
Once I put on my helmet, I recited the game's neural link command and began to rest my eyes.
When I opened them, I was back in the world of Faramos as Roxline. I looked around the carriage and realized that no one was here except for Violet. As soon as she saw me, her eyes widened.
"ROXLINE! You have to go back and help Matthew! He exposed Polk and Gash for being Anarchy spies and now he's fighting them all alone!"
I'm kind of angry that I wasn't able to figure that out, but whatever. Less of a headache for me. I looked on my map and saw that the rendezvous point was only a couple of minutes away.
"You already know my policy. I'm just the guild repellent. If anyone wants to attack, it's up to you guys to defend yourselves."
"You're the worst for that..." Violet muttered under her breath.
Poor girl. Let this be a lesson to you: the real world is cutthroat. You can try to hide from it in this illusion, but reality will always find a way to seep in.
"We're here." Hermes said at the drivers seat.
As the carriage came to a halt, Violet and I exited it and turned to see the rendezvous point. The scene before us was an interesting one.
"Roxline and Hermes! It's good to see you guys again. We should chat over some drinks."
The woman that stood before me was none other than Lucia. The two features of hers that always stood out to me was her luscious blue hair and her knowing gaze. Her seeming like she always had control of the situation always bothered me.
"You look kind of busy, Lucia..." I mentioned.
Lucia was surrounded by about ten heroes. Each of them with their weapons pointed at her. The leader of the pack was the guild leader of Anarchy, and he was standing a bit ways from the circle. Not only that, but there was a giant worm that laid resting. I could only assume that it had members of Co-live waiting for the queue to jump in. They ARE working with Anarchy for this quest, after all.
Regardless of the situation Lucia was in, she remained calm.
"Oh, this is nothing. Should be taken be taken care of sooner or later. Where's Matthew and Aegis?"
"Aegis is God knows where and Matthew is probably dead."
"Hmmm...nah. That doesn't sound like them. They'll make it here."
"You need to learn to live more in the present, Lucia. The point of the matter is that your knights in shining armor aren't here and if you don't tell us where the kingdom is, we'll kill you and everyone else here."
"You're certainly not killing me..." I warned Meros.
"There's no need to. You don't care about what happens to anyone here. You were just asked to be a deterrent."
I couldn't help but laugh at Meros' correct deduction. "Jeez, Lucia. My motivations are the worst kept secret on this planet-"
"Roxline. Today's the day. I'll show you what I was talking about..."
"You're kidding..." after examining her facial expression, I figured out she was dead serious. I sat down and waited in anticipation.
"Go on then, show me that scenery you painted that day..." I told her.
"Um...what's going on here exactly?" Violet said.
I ignored Violet and waited. What Lucia is referencing is the day we met. It was the first week this game had come out and I already had Peladore and was traversing the forest of beginnings killing low level mobs.
===
"Yo!" she said to me as she came into my field of view.
"I'm only going to give you one warning: if you interact with me any more, I'll blast you into nothingness. I-"
"You're the first player in MFO to get a yellow item. It's the one that doubles your XP, right? Maaaaan I wanted to get that too, but the drop for it is so rare. I'm surprised someone even got it! I'll just want to ask you a question, and then I'll go."
I didn't really sense any malice off of her, and I've been grinding mobs for hours now. I needed a break, so I figured why not entertain her?
"Fine."
She gave me a smile in response and asked her question.
"Would you like to join my guild?"
...
"HELL NO!" I gave her a look of disgust as I denied her.
Did this girl think she was special? Did she think she was the only person to offer me a guild invite? I know my worth. Because of my yellow item, everyone's gonna want me in their group. But why should I bother joining them? I could easily reap the benefits of a free paycheck from this game knowing that I'm not going to die.
"But why not? You have the potential to one-shot Demon Generals! You could single-handedly beat this game and if you join a guild, it'll probably be world's easier than it already is for you."
Even at this moment, she wore that knowing gaze. As if she already knew the words that were going to come out of my mouth.
"I'm simply reciprocating the energy that was sent to me. I'm certain of it. Everyone in this world and the last has their own selfish little agenda to push and if it meant stepping over their own comrades, they'll do it."
"There are people like that...but there are also people that are willing to put everything on the table to save others. People that'll walk right into death's hands to protect the things that are important to them. I'm certain you'll meet someone like that someday-"
"You're messing with me. Those people you're speaking of had some ulterior motive you didn't see." I snapped at her.
"I don't think my father had anything to gain from taking care of his daughter to the very end." Lucia said.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know..." I quickly apologized. Great, now I look like a complete jerk.
"It's fine. I'll tell you what: I'll make sure to show you that scenery. I'll set a stage where you can see firsthand the good in humanity. Aren't you tired of seeing the world in such a sad light? Wouldn't you at least entertain the thought? I'll even make you the vice leader. " She reached her hand out to me and sent an invite as she did so.
It was a mixture of feeling bad about her having to bring up her dead father, and legitimate curiosity. She was right. Although I accepted the truth I arrived at, I didn't want it to be true. Not just the time with Mel, but there are many occasions where my beliefs were confirmed.
But...I want to trust people...I want to have friends and make bonds like everyone else but...I'm scared that the worst will happen and I'll get hurt again...
This'll be the last time. If she doesn't live up to my expectations, I'll give up on the world forever. I'll only trust in myself.
"I only have one condition: If I show you this scene, you have to stay in the guild." She said.
"Fine..."
I didn't think she was going to do it. I figured she was all talk and no action. But in the back of my head, I wanted to believe her.
===
And that brings us to today. If she thinks that Matthew and Aegis showing up is going to suffice, she couldn't be more wrong. They'll just show up to die at the hands of Anarchy. Everything is set against her so I don't see why she still thinks she has the upper hand.
Go on then, Lucia. Show me that scenery that you believe in so fondly. Because if you don't, all of your precious guild members are going to die...