A week later, in a cyber café amidst various tables with multiple computers, a girl wearing a black ruffled skirt and a red shirt that said "Number One Sister" heard a familiar female voice coming from behind the counter. "Evina, why did you get a job? And what the hell is that shirt?"
"Well, it was a gift from Dmitry," Evina responded.
The woman with orange hair and green eyes, wearing a yellow leather jacket and gray jeans, spoke with a look of disgust. "Your brother, I think he has a problem..."
In response, Evina shrugged and said, "Says the owner of a cyber café who seems to wear the same clothes all the time."
"Hey, I like this combination," the woman said, raising her hands defensively.
Evina put her hand on the woman's shoulder, looking at her with a cheeky smile. "So that's why you have twenty of the same jackets?"
With a threatening look, the woman pointed at Evina. "I'll cut your salary."
Evina placed a tablet showing orders from various customers, all with higher than usual prices. The woman, seeing this, sighed and said, "Who would have thought that behind a pretty face was such a manipulative young girl."
"See? You can even cut my salary; I'll earn enough from commissions alone," Evina said, smiling and winking as she leaned against the counter, looking at the tablet screen.
"But you still haven't answered me. Why are you wasting time working here when you should be studying, little girl?" the woman asked, seeing Evina's expression quickly sadden.
"My brother... he's spending all day inside that machine, and even though it's the games he loves, he's not having fun... It seems like he's even started to hate them," Evina said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, her face showing sadness. The woman, looking at the tablet screen, saw that she would earn exactly twelve hundred dollars.
"Evina, you're not thinking of buying Altair for your brother, are you?" the woman asked suspiciously.
"Yes, because whenever he sees something related to it, I see the same smile he had when he played in the Empire... any problem?" Evina responded.
'What a silly girl, but that shirt really suits her,' the woman thought. She smiled and stepped out from behind the counter, taking Evina's hand. "Come, I want to show you something first."
Evina looked at the woman's smiling face, who led her to the second floor where the VIP rooms were located. Inside one of these rooms were various collections of action figures, posters, and other merchandise from the ex-player, Lord of Shadows.
"I always thought that nickname was tacky. I didn't know my brother was so famous," Evina said, looking at the action figures. 'This stuff must be pretty expensive, but she has seven different types.'
Hearing this, the woman widened her eyes in surprise, slowly turning her face to Evina, she spoke excitedly, "Are you kidding? He's the one who popularized the Assassin class after it had been forgotten."
"Huh? Is that really true? I knew he was famous, but not to this level..." Evina said, looking at all the action figures in the room until she saw three physical copies of the game Altair. Before she could say a word, the woman picked up one of the three copies.
"Do you know why I think your brother didn't go after this game?" the woman asked, sighing, looking sulkier than Evina had ever seen her.
"Because he didn't want to be disappointed again, because the gaming world isn't the same. Everything seems manipulated now, the tournaments that were the best part," the woman said, running her hand over the game's cover.
Before the woman could continue, Evina interrupted, saying something that surprised her. "They seem scripted."
"Where did you hear that, Evina?" the woman asked.
"My brother, it's one of the things he says when he watches a match on TV," Evina replied, looking at the game.
"Ah, I see. So, I was right," the woman said, noticing Evina's gaze. With a smile, she said, "I guess I've stalled enough. Take this copy for your brother, but promise me just two things."
Evina approached, taking the game with one hand, looking directly at her. "What would that be?"
"Promise to bring your brother to visit me. I want to talk to him about creating a new world for games," the woman said, patting her on the shoulder before starting to walk away.
"I promise I'll bring him here even if he's tied up, Andreza, hehe," Evina said, looking at the game's cover, already imagining her brother's happy face. "I hope he goes back to normal now; after all, he's a terrible actor."
Inside Dmitry's apartment, inside the virtual reality machine, in a cave with various deadly poisonous plants stuck to the walls, with more than twenty blue wolves with red horns scattered dead on the ground. "A level 40 boss, let's test your intelligence now," Dmitry said.