Mark was laughing uncontrollably while listening to Anna rattle on about her life growing up, the interests she has and the things she planned out for her future.
"Well if that's what you want to do, then I must say that you are very good at it."
Mark rubbed his chest to calm himself as he sipped the orange drink he ordered earlier. Anna made him laugh so much that he started to tear up.
"You're very good."
Anna pushed her chair back, stood up and curtsied in front of him as it was done in medieval times.
"Well, thank you, kind sir. That would be two hundred bucks."
Mark chortled again. "No problem, my lady. Your performance deserves it."
Mark reached for his wallet and opened it to get some cash for Anna. Anna could not help but peer into the leather Mark held in his hands, her eyes narrowed and she shifted her attention quickly between the wallet and her newly found companion with her mind a tad concerned about what she saw.
At the moment Mark moved his attention to her, Anna hurriedly turned her face, nervous and worrying that she had been caught, she gulped down the drink in front of her in a hurry.
"What's the matter?" Mark asked, placing his palm on top of her hand and rubbing her softly.
Anna chuckled nervously. "N-Nothing. Oh no! It's nothing. Don't worry about me."
"Excuse me, Mark. I need to use the restroom... like now... ish."
"Sure, sure. Don't let me be the reason a damsel like you would be in distress."
Anna chuckled nervously at his poorly crafted joke before waltzing her unsettled self away from him and into the cafe.
"What the fuck!" she murmured under her breath while making a face as she walked away.
Anna played the ancient 'I'd like to use the bathroom' card to get away from Mark.
But what happened? A minute ago she was infatuated by his young handsome face that was betoned by his corporate dress, now she was disgusted and wanted to just get away.
Anna actually went to use the restroom but not for the use that restrooms were built for. She entered a free spot and locked the door behind her, resting her back against it as she rubbed her face with dismay plastered all over it.
"What the fuck!" she murmured again, this time she slammed her hand on the door of the toilet.
"What... the... actual... fuck!"
She opened the door slightly and peeked outside to be sure she was the only one in the restroom and then locked it back.
Anna packed her long purple hair into a bun with a band of rubber she was wearing and started to breathe deeply, in and out, as she tried to calm her nerves. She was getting agitated by what she had seen in Mark's wallet.
"How did he get those?" she wondered, glancing at the ceiling of the restroom.
....
....
In the parallel universe, the virtual world of Alderix.
"Yes! Take that! Bow before the greatest! Bow before Eve Nyx!"
Eve Nyx slashed the last of the small pack of ogres into upper and lower halves. The minute she was done, Synapse popped up like a stalker.
<< Notification >>
The 'Notification' bar beamed in blue light.
"Open notification," she instructed Synapse with a thought.
<< Eve Nyx Has Slain 10 Level 2 Ogres >>
<< Side Quest: Liberate The Pinana Village Has Been Completed >>
<< Eve Nyx Has Earned +200 EXP From Completing The Side Quest >>
<< Eve Nyx Has Earned +100 Coins Per Ogre >>
<< Weapon Upgrade: Upgrade Short Knives To Sword >>
"Tch!" Eve scoffed, "No skills or level ups, stingy much? I wonder when that would happen."
The ogres that she had slain crumbled into dust, leaving a crimson diamond-shaped gleaming crystal floating in the air, one from each of the ten of them.
"What are these?" she wondered, as she grabbed hold of one.
The crimson gem impressed into her palm and entered her body before engulfing her in a shining pillar of light. Eve yanked backwards in shock from the unusual occurrence.
<< Eve Nyx Has Absorbed A Mana Core >>
<< +20 Mana Core Points [MCP] Earned >>
Synapse came through once more by offering her the information she requested for.
<< Mana Core >>
<< Mana Cores are gems with mana stored within them. Every creature capable of using magic has a mana core from where mana is produced and harvested for usage. Mana Cores come in six different colours - Crimson, Purple, Azure, Silver, Gold and Obsidian - with each one granting a different amount of MCP and rarer to find as you go up the scale >>
"So a crimson mana core like these ones is the least and gives only 20 mana core points. That's not a lot considering I need more than 1500 MCP to assess my fire magic."
Eve sighed in disappointment but still proceeded to absorb the rest of the floating red gems before they, perhaps, disappear and leave her with no benefits.
"Open avatar profile."
Her avatar profile dropped down and she could monitor her progress so far.
<< Avatar Profile >>
Name: Eve Nyx
Age: 23
Sobriquet: [None Achieved]
Race: Elf
Level: 1
Grace: ??? [To Unlock In 'Tower of Babel']
Grace Type: ??? [To Unlock In 'Tower of Babel']
Class: Sorceress
Mana Type: Fire [+1600 More MCP To Tier 1]
Skills: ??? [None Achieved]
Inventory:
- Short Knives (2)
- Sword
Coins: 1500
Experience Points [EXP]: 340
Mana Core Points [MCP]: 400/2000
Life Points [LP]: 200
>>
She was pleased with the level of her coins and her experience points but not so much for her mana core points, considering that her character is classed as a sorceress, it was not a good development in her opinion.
She was yet to have assess to any reasonable spell. All she could do at best was make sparks of fire, that was the limit of tier 0 fire manipulation in Alderix.
Before she can handle real flames even in the smallest sense, she needed to be at least tier 1 and that required that she garnered 1600 more mana core points.
"That grind will have to wait."
Eve stretched her arms over her head and bent her back to ease her tensed muscles. She felt a bit relaxed and then she yawned. She was getting tired.
"I have played enough for today and I have an early shift tomorrow. Can't afford to lose my job over this."
"Synapse, avatar profile."
Her avatar's profile unfurled again and she glanced over it, searching for the 'Log Out' tab she had seen when she first arrived at the AnteRoom.
"Huh? Where is the logout button?"
Eve looked very confused and switched to voice command.
"Synapse, log me out."
<< Command Failed >>
"What the fuck is going on here!"