Di bi duk! Di bi Duk!
The ringing sounds for a video call played after I called Stivi. It took her much longer to pick up the call making me wonder whether she was in the midst of a battle.
My doubts were soon cleared as a virtual hologram of Stivi appeared before me. She looked frazzled and annoyed and her tone reflected the same.
"What?" She asked curtly as it seemed like she was not really paying attention to the call.
Before I could answer, I heard her shout from the other side of the Video.
"Stop that and leave! You are already disqualified! Anyone else who breaks the queue or disobeys rules will be thrown out without question. This is not a movie. Creating ruckus will not guarantee you a spot!"
Now I remembered.
Stivi and others were holding a recruitment drive for Grandeur Guild's #89 Branch while I worked on regaining my levels.
She had talked about it during lunch but I had forgotten.
After I had caught up to their level, our party planned to leave the Village's affairs in the hands of new recruits and set off for the Elven Forests.
But I had almost caught up to their levels in just one day, when they had not even recruited trainees much less, trained them to handle affairs in the Village.
"You- Why are you Lv4 after just an hour? What did you do?"
Stivi turned her attention back to the Video Call and finally noticed my level.
"Er.. Would you believe it if I said I hunted a Rare-Elite on my own?"
Stivi scoffed contemptuously and her attention was commanded by something on her side once again. A few moments later, she returned and said, "Stop joking Samar. I don't have the patience or ti…."
I took out the Red Fleece and Ebony Horns dropped by the Red-Fleece Ram and shared their stats on screen.
—--
Red Fleece
Grade: Black-Stone
Material
~ Obtained from killing a Rare Elite, Red Fleece Ram.
—--
Ebony Horns
Grade: Black-Stone
Material
~ Obtained from killing a Rare Elite, Red Fleece Ram.
—--
"You- What- How?"
Stivi sputtering for words. Now that was a rare sight but I saw it today after she read the descriptions.
It looked like her face could not decide what to do first - Express her disbelief, display a tiny bit of envy, or show her immense joy and congratulate me.
I enjoyed her dilemma.
When coherent words finally came out of her mouth surprised me but at the same time, I should've expected them.
"Promise me you won't tell my mother that you killed a Rare Elite on your own…."
Stivi whispered conspiratorially, as if afraid someone would hear the news and leak it to her mother.
Having known her for years, I knew exactly what she meant. Indian mothers had this specific way of 'helping' their children to do better. They called it 'encouraging by setting good examples', while kids in question called it 'comparing and nagging'.
As soon as Stivi's mom learned of my achievement, Stivi would not hear the end of it until she also hunted a Rare Elite. Even after that she would forever be reminded by her mom that I had done it before her.
Just like my mom would never stop nagging me if she learnt that Stivi was in a management level position in a Corporate guild like the Grandeur Guild.
We each had things to hide from our mothers, so we had an implicit understanding. The mutual agreement had served us well over the years.
Thus, I did not hesitate to promise. However, I too wanted something from her.
"Done! But I am going to brag about this to my mother…"
"Noo!"
Stivi shouted, losing her composure. She sheepishly smiled at the people around her and glared in my direction.
The reason behind her outburst was simple. Telling my mother was the same as telling her mother.
The favorite pastime of all the mothers on earth was gossiping and bragging about their kids to each other. They had left Earth and settled on Mars and yet their habits had not changed.
Being neighbors, whatever my mother knew, Stivi's mother would know as well and vice versa. If my mother heard of my achievement, she would rush off to Stivi's home with a box of sweets in hand to share the good news.
The outcome would be no different in the end. So, Stivi was obviously outraged by my condition.
"No. You can't tell Auntie… at least wait until I have also hunted a Rare Elite on my own?"
Stivi pleaded with a pout without a care for her image. She looked incredibly cute but not enough to melt my resolve to extort her.
"You know, I have been hearing a lot about how you are in the Top 100,000 Rankers list and you were Lv5 on the very first day of the game itself. I need to show my mom I have achieved something in the game too…"
"Just tell her that I went on a Penance Quest and am still stuck on Lv5"
Our Moms detested Penance Quest as it was equivalent of a prison time in the Virtual world. Considering how big the influence of Virtual World was, it was as good as committing a crime in reality in their eyes.
"Nope. Won't do. It worked out for you and you received rewards too."
I quickly refuted. We went back and forth like this for sometime before Stivi threw up her hands.
"I give up! What exactly do you want?!"
This was what I was waiting for. Stivi sucked at negotiations and I was ready to take advantage of it.
"An R1 position in the Grandeur Guild."
Stivi was an R2 member. Even though she did not have the authority to recruit R1 members, she could ask a close higher up to send me an invite.
It's just that she would have to pay a certain price. If it was too heavy, I wouldn't insist but if it was a smaller favor…
Hehehe! I'd better get that position.
Stivi contemplated her options and then looked at me. With gnashed teeth she said,"Fine! I'll see."
She gave me one last stinky eye and ended the call.