"Yo J, get your head out of your ass and get the crown already!" Stephanie shouted across the open battlefield as she sprinted towards the sea of angry green goblins. I focused my attention on the situation I found myself in then began planning my next moves. I saw the elegant crown that Stephanie was referring to firmly planted on the head of the Queen of the goblins who was thoroughly protected by her army of goblins. I already knew what Stephanie was planning on doing even if we didn't plan this and I knew what she expected me to do. I accessed my inventory then saw the perfect item to use.
"Blinding star!" I shouted so that Stephanie could prepare for it. I waited until she reached the first goblin before I activated the item. It immediately sent a blindly bright light into the air that rendered everyone who looked at it blind for 30 seconds. Just enough time for us to finish the mission.
I ran as fast as I could around the goblin army while Stephanie easily sliced her way through the blinded goblin army. I saw that some of the stronger goblins were already regaining their sight so I knew I had to execute my plan now.
"Steal." I commanded as my ability activated and I immediately directed it at the crown on the Queen's head. My 'Steal' ability allowed me to take an item from any place or player without having to physically take it from them but it had a maximum distance of 50 meters, until I level up at least. The Queen's crown suddenly found itself in my hands so I immediately stopped running.
"S, I have it!" I informed her. Now for the part I hated most. "Item switch." I commanded. That ability allowed me to switch an item I control with another item another player controlled. Right now I was going to use that ability to switch the crown in my hands with the dagger in Stephanie's hand. It worked so I immediately turned around and started running in the opposite direction like my life depended on it. I could hear the Queen's angry cry when she realized that I stole her crown and I could see the army of goblins chasing after me now. I couldn't see Stephanie any more which meant that she had successfully activated her 'Chameleon' ability. It allowed her to blend in with her surroundings perfectly. I immediately opened my inventory and took out one of my favorite items and one of the worst items but the two surprisingly made a good combination; Orb of Protection and the Chain Bomb.
I threw the bomb to the nearest goblin then immediately activated the Orb of Protection. The Chain Bomb is a type of bomb that is perfect for a mindless army such as these goblins. It would latch itself to one goblin then it would have three seconds to link to another goblin. It would do so for as long as possible until it couldn't latch on to another target in time then every goblin affected by the bomb would blow up. That's where the Orb of Protection came in; it creates a five minute impenetrable barrier that would protect me from the goblins and from when they inevitably blow up. I fell to the ground and panted once the see through blue barrier firmly surrounded me.
"Are you in the barrier already?" Stephanie asked me over our communicators.
"Yeah. Have I told you how much I hate this plan?"
"Every single time we do it."
"Just finish up already. The Chain Bomb is busy linking the weaker goblins right now so go take out the Queen and her guards."
"You're stuck in the barrier for five minutes which means that I have five minutes to carry out my plan so stop your damn whining already."
"You're an assassin so you should be able to kill all your targets in less than a minute."
"Sometimes I like to have fun and drag it out you know."
"Just don't die on me. See you in five minutes."
I was stuck in the barrier for five minutes like Stephanie said. I guess I should explain a few things before we continue. Firstly, right now we were in a game, not physically obviously but our minds were. Our bodies were laid out somewhere, mine was on my bed in my room. We were connected to a machine that allowed our minds to enter a game and control an avatar that looked more or less like we did, with a few adjustments, which revolutionized the world. A game that was ultimately called Creation. The machine that allowed our minds to enter the game was commonly known as Link. I forgot what the full name for it was but everyone just called it Link since it was simple and easier to say.
Secondly, this game was like no other game ever created. It took the creators 20 years to make it. This game allowed you to be whatever you want to be. When I say anything, I literally mean anything. The only downside was that you can't change how you looked that much which is why I acquired a magical helmet allowed me to put it on an everyone would see a headless helmet with only two blue lights inside it. Stephanie covered her face with a magical scarf which increased her vision and it raised her defense a little. Many people covered their faces but the majority didn't.
Like I said previously, you could be anything you wanted to be. You could be a humble merchant, bar owner, baker, chef, librarian, artist or even stripper if you wanted to be. On the other side, if you liked adventure then you had to choose a which type of adventurer you wanted to be but you couldn't change it after you have chosen it. Most people chose to be a Knight, Arch Wizard, Arch Priest, Magician or Assassin. You were able to choose two of the categories but they would limit the skills you were able to obtain in each category based on your choices. Stephanie chose Assassin and Magician which was of the top choices for adventurers. I would've chosen it as well if I didn't lose a bet to Stephanie which meant that she would get to choose one of my categories. I ended up choosing Thief (Stephanie's choice, not mine) and Arch Wizard.
"You're spacing out again." Stephanie's voice snapped me back to reality. I saw that she was standing outside the barrier which was now flashing red signaling that the barrier would come down soon.
"Did you kill the goblins?" I asked as I stood up and dusted myself off then straightened my clothes.
"Yep. The bomb killed most of them so I couldn't increase my experience by a lot."
"We're already strong enough. I'm level 46 and you're level 49. That's stronger than everyone else in our little guild."
"Hey, we might be little now but we have two rings so at the end of the season in 4 months we will have players begging to join us. This season's competition is going to make us famous."
The competition Stephanie was referring to was an annual event that lasts exactly one year. This year the competition rules stated that the guild or player with the most rings would win a huge cash bonus and a divine item. The cash bonus alone was enough to make people interested in the competition but a divine item was extra incentive for the adventurers. A divine item was the rarest items in the game and each divine item granted the user a special ability. From what everyone knows, there has only been two divine items that have been discovered. One guild won the Heavenly Helmet in last year's competition. The helmet apparently allowed the user to see their opponents attacks before it happened. A player known as Iron Legend defeated one of the legendary creatures of the game, The Minotaur King, and received the Cape of Swiftness. The cape maxed out his speed statistic which made him faster than any other player in the game. No one knows what the divine item was that was up for grabs in this year's competition but everyone wanted the advantage and if I'm being totally honest, I wanted it too.
Anyway, there was only one way to win the competition and that meant getting the most rings but because the creators of the game are maniacal bastards, they only put 10 rings in the game. To put this in perspective, let's do some math. There are only 8 billion people in the world and right now 3 billion of them are playing this game and that number grows every single day. If only half of the 3 billion are adventurers then that still leaves 1,5 billion people that are doing quests. If only half of those are looking for rings then that means that 750 million players are hunting down 10 rings. The chances of you finding a ring was as likely as winning the lottery but like Stephanie said, we have 2 rings. How we got them wasn't important right now.
"Don't count on it. Remember the last part of the rules."
I was referring to the part that said, 'During the last 24 hours of the competition, each ring would send a beam into the sky until the competition ends.' Yet another reason why the creators were maniacal bastards. One thing I can't deny is that they really have a knack for creating drama during the competition.
"So? All we have to do is find a desert or ocean to hide in for that 24 hours then we'll be safe."
"Like it will be that easy." I said as the barrier finally came down.
"Put this in your unlimited inventory and I will be taking my dagger back."
"Just when it was beginning to grow on me." I jokingly replied as she handed me the crown and I handed her the dagger back. I immediately put the orb and the crown in my inventory and took out two teleporting stones.
"Wow, you really are like a merchant. Your inventory is just an endless box of mysteries."
"One of the few perks of being a thief, the endless inventory."
"Still bitter about me choosing a thief for you I see. You should just move on. It happened over a year ago."
"And I have to live with it everyday, not you."
"Yeah yeah. You know you love me." She replied as she hooked her arm around mine. "And besides, when school starts tomorrow then I will help you find the perfect girl for you this year."
"Like Rebecca who you just had to force me to meet?" Rebecca was my ex girlfriend that Stephanie had set me up with. Stephanie had good intentions at heart but she was the worst judge of character. She wasn't trusting to say the least, a trait we both shared, but a person's first impression for her seemed like all she needed. Sometimes I just wanted to shake her until she could see past the nice person on the outside and see the demon living within.
"I'll admit, Rebecca wasn't such a great idea."
"You think." My annoyance couldn't have been more evident. "Let's just get back to town and out of this open dry land. This game is irritatingly stupid at times."
"Come on, you know you like playing it." Stephanie told as she activated our teleporting stones.
"Answer me this then: where's the logic in putting an army of goblins in open dry land and having players try to get the crown off the queen's head?" I asked as a portal appeared in front of us.
"This game isn't about logic. It's about having fun so have fun for a change." Maybe Stephanie was right. I was always in a foul mood when I played the game but that was mainly because of the limitations to my abilities. Because I was a Thief, there were only 5 offense Arch Wizard spells that I could learn with my level right now and levelling up was the most difficult part for me. There were many defensive spells I could learn but the amount of magical energy it took wasn't worth it. The only other thing that I could do with my Arch Wizard abilities was to summon violent and terrifying creatures but every time I did that then they would end up attacking me as well after they destroyed the enemy.
"it's have to get back to the real world in a couple of minutes anyway. Might as well try to enjoy it." We stepped through the portal and ended up in the middle of the town named Strate then began making our way towards our guild. It was a small town with not a lot of players but we liked it here and we formed our guild here. Stephanie was the leader and I was seen as more of her advisor than anything else.
"Your mom still making you guys have dinner together at 7 every night?"
"They've been doing it since before I arrived. I like this family though."
Let me fill you guys in on something else: my brother, sisters and I are all orphans who were adopted by Mr and Mrs. Claire. They were two regional managers of the Creation and they were both focused on their careers for most of their lives but when they decided they wanted to start a family, they found out that they couldn't Mrs. Claire couldn't bear any children. They then decided to turn to adoption and ten years ago they adopted the four of us.
"I'm glad they chose to adopt you. Otherwise I would have to find some other idiot to terrorize." She said as she gave me a light push.
"One of these days you're going to have to be careful when you push me. Your strength statistic is rocketing."
"Even without my strength, I can still kick your ass."
"Stop dreaming." I replied as we stopped in front of the small brick faced building with long iron doors. Our guild was basically a small congregation of players since there were only 11 of us in total but we helped each other where we could. We entered the building and saw five of our members standing around the noticed board that had all the group missions flashing on it.
"Hey guys." Stephanie happily greeted them.
"Stella, how was your mission?" A younger girl who went by the name of Princess P asked Stephanie. In the game Stephanie named her avatar Stella and I named mine Junkyard. Princess P definitely lived up to her alias since she chose to be an Arch Priest and Arch Wizard and refused to involve herself in any physical fighting. She was good to have on missions since she could provide both long range attacks and long range healing capabilities to those fighting the battle.
"Successful. We got the crown of the Queen Goblin." Stephanie loved bragging about her accomplishments in the game but I didn't mind. As long as they questioned her and left me alone, I didn't really care.
"Was it only the two of you?" Princess P asked us.
"Yep. An army wasn't going to stop us from getting the crown." Yep, Stephanie's ego and her confidence seemed to be inflated in the game.
"What are you guys looking at on the board?" I asked her as I noticed the guys still glued to it.
"A mission to go to the Cave of Gloom popped up. Apparently there are secret chests inside the cave. Lots of other players have already gone so they must've cleared out the cave of all the dangerous creatures so we're going to head to it and see if we can find any other treasures." Princess P explained.
"You guys want to join us?" Rabid Pete asked Stephanie and I. Pete looked like he was as old as Stephanie and I but her wore bulky armor and a massive enchanted wooden shield. That shield was his trump card in every battle and it suited him perfectly.
"I have to log out soon so I can't go with unfortunately." I replied.
"I guess I'll join you guys. I have nothing better to do." Stephanie accepted their invitation and I could see their happiness spike when she agreed. They definitely loved her more than me which is probably as it should be. No one loved thieves anyway.
"Let's go complete our mission first." I reminded Stephanie then began making my way towards the counter at the end of the building. There were three nicely cut wooden tables with matching wooden benches on both sides of each table on either side of me as I walked towards the counter. I heard Stephanie following silently behind me.
"Good evening players." The lady behind the counter greeted us. She was the guild master who was assigned to our guild. Every guild had one and any player could use any guild master even if that player did not necessarily belong to that particular guild but everyone tried to respect each other's boundaries and use their own guild's guild master.
"Good evening." I replied as I took the crown out of my inventory then handed it to the guild master. "Party mission: Retrieve the Crown, completed."
"Congratulations. Your rewards are the Gems of Regeneration. Be sure to enchant that onto your armor in order to receive the best results." The guild master instructed us then disappeared.
"Sweet. I've been needing one of these. Now I can fight without having to worry about my health too much." Stephanie celebrated.
"Just don't forget to be aware of your surroundings at all times and absolutely no dying." I told her as I put my gem in my inventory.
"Yes daddy." She rolled her eyes at me as I began laughing.
"Do you need anything for the mission?" I asked her.
"Please let P use the Emperors Staff. She's stronger now and she has more control over her abilities." Stephanie begged me. The Emperors Staff was a weapon I received on a mission a couple of months ago and I was planning on using it but then I came across a better weapon so the staff was just lying in my inventory. I had a rule that I always followed; if I can use it then I'm going to keep it but if I can't use it then I give it to someone who can. It's not that I couldn't use the staff but I didn't have any need for it anymore but I certainly wasn't going to tell Stephanie that.
"Fine but if she dies then don't blame me." I replied as I took the elegant weapon out of my inventory. "But in exchange, I am going to borrow your books during the year so that I can get the notes."
"You already do that without my permission might I add."
"Well now I have your permission." I handed the staff to her as we smiled. I immediately went closer to her then gently hugged her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow." With that I logged out of the game and woke up in the real world again. My room wasn't anything special. A bed in one corner, a large window covered by blinds, floor to ceiling cupboards covering one section of the wall, a desk by the windows where my laptop was resting on, small shelves next to the desk where I placed my schoolbooks and reading books; all in all a normal bedroom. My siblings on the other hand had more exotic tastes and their bedrooms were basically like their own personal houses. They offered to add some 'life' to my 'dull' room but I liked that I was different from them.
"Stephanie is right, you really do zone out a lot." My oldest sister, Bianca, said as she stood in the doorway of my room. She was a little smaller than me with pitch black hair and a slender build but she was wildly popular with the boys at school. She was going to be a senior this year and I could see that she was going to enjoy every moment of torturing the rest of us at school but we loved each other. Even if we weren't family by blood, we were family at heart.
"I'm just getting my bearings after coming out of the game." I explained then slowly stood up and stretched. "Did you need anything from me?"
"Just came to come fetch you for dinner. You know mom hates it when we're late." That was true. We had many rules in this house which we ended up breaking most of the time but the most important rule that our mother stressed above all else was never be late for dinner.
"You've got to admit though, dinner is nothing if not entertaining." I said as we exited my room. I closed it then joined my sister's side as we made our way down the hall to the staircase then down to the dining room where our mother and father were already seated at the heads of the table.
"Good evening mother and father." Bianca and I greeted them before taking our seats on one side of the table. Our father nodded in acknowledgement as usual. He wasn't really a talker but when it came to Creation then he was the expert and he wouldn't stop talking then.
"Good evening you two. Where is your brother and sister?" Mother asked.
"I sent Alice to fetch Morgan so they should be down any minute." Bianca answered her.
"They still have a few minutes though but let's see if they can make it down in time." I jokingly added.
"They know the rules." Mother stated.
"The two of them alone have broken those rules over and over again. I'm beginning to think they don't really care about it unfortunately." I wasn't trying to cause any trouble for the two of them so I hoped that I didn't unintentionally start something that might divide us.
"You don't seem to follow the rules as well." Bianca reminded me.
"True. I probably should start learning to put the toilet seat down when I'm done." That earned a smile from our parents but also earned Bianca to hit the back of my head. "Come on Bianca, you walked into that one."
"Well you knew what would follow." She replied as we heard our siblings coming down the stairs.
"Hey guys." Alice greeted us. She wasn't all that fond of politeness or elegance and neither was Morgan for that matter but they knew where to draw the line when it came to us. All families fight and we were no different but we always respected each other no matter what.
"Well, we're all here now so let's get dinner started." Mother said as she motioned to a servant standing by the door leading to the kitchen. If I hadn't mentioned it yet, our parents were kind of rich. Creation was a billion dollar game right now and it was increasing it's wealth everyday and our parents controlled the game in our region so they were paid handsomely for their service.
"So, how has everyone's day been?"
"Mine was amazing. I just got the enchanted sword; Tyrant." Morgan happily informed us. He loved playing the game and he was the strongest out of the four of us. He was level 62.
"I'm pretty sure your attacking abilities have maxed out already." Bianca replied. She was like me; didn't really like it but didn't really hate it either. She was level 57.
"That's the only statistic I care about." Morgan proudly stated.
"Anyway, my day was pretty awesome as well. I went to Abby's and hung out with my friends in the real world unlike my siblings who live in the game." Alice really didn't like playing the game all that much. She had an account and avatar that was level 24 but she hardly played the game.
"We don't live in the game. We just like playing it more than dealing with people in the real world. People in the real world suck. At least in the game you can kill them and you won't physically get sent to jail." Morgan did have a point there. The game had rules about players killing other players. You were only allowed to attack someone outside a town and outside a place of residence. If you broke that rule then your avatar would be taken and disposed of by the regional managers of the game which for us was our parents.
"You really are one of the most ruthless players in the game." Bianca told him.
"Thank you dear sister." Morgan said with an amusing smile on his face.
"How was your day Bianca?" Mother asked her.
"Pretty much a regular Sunday afternoon. I played Creation earlier and defeated Geoffrey The Swamp King with a party from my guild so that was kinda cool." Bianca answered her.
"Congratulations." I replied as I held up my fist and she immediately fist bumped me.
"The Swamp King is old news. I've killed him a couple of times already." Morgan didn't have any problem bragging and he loved to rub his successes in our faces.
"You only benefit from killing him once. It's pointless doing it again." I pointed out.
"Pointless but fun as hell." Morgan replied with his a grin that made me want to tear his face off his skull. Morgan and I never really got along with each other. We never did but we always stood up for each other and protected each other when we needed to.
"You really are sadistical brother." I told him as I sighed. "My day was pretty uneventful as well. Woke up, did some reading, played Creation, the end."
"And what exactly did you and sweet Stephanie do in the game?" Morgan asked me. I knew that he had a soft spot for her and he probably truly liked her but I didn't trust him with her. He knew it, I knew it, our sisters knew it and even our parents knew it. Morgan always got what he wanted and I knew that I could too but Stephanie was my best friend and she wasn't something that Morgan could get which probably irritated the hell out of him.
"Stephanie and I did the mission to steal the Goblin Queen's crown." I answered him.
"The perfect mission for a thief." Morgan was definitely taking a shot at me but I didn't care. We were brothers and we were family above all else so I relished in that fact.
"The perfect mission indeed." I agreed as a servant entered the room pushing a trolley with our dinner. He put a plate of food in front of everyone then left the room as quietly as he entered it.
"Dinner is served everyone." Mother announced and we immediately accepted her invitation then began eating our dinner.
"How was your day mother?" Alice asked her.
"Mine was great. Nothing too troublesome at the office so your dad and I had a relatively calm day." Mother answered.
"The calm before the storm tomorrow I suppose. The game is getting a major upgrade tonight from what I heard." I stated. "Any clues as to what the upgrade really is father?"
"Your mother and I can't tell you anything from the game that you can't find out on your own so you know we can't give you any clues as you put it." Father told me. "Your Links will be upgraded while you are at school tomorrow so you will be able to play the upgrade when you return home in the afternoon."
"Why does school have to start tomorrow?" Morgan complained. He didn't really like school all that much. He was extremely rebellious towards it but our parents made sure that he attended all his classes somehow.
"All play and no work makes Morgan a less intelligent being." Bianca stated.
"So you mean to tell us that he actually has intelligence to begin with?" I jokingly asked Bianca causing everyone to laugh except Morgan.
"I'm going to get you guys back for that one." Morgan threatened us.
"Come on Morgan, you deserved that one." Alice said as she tried to hide her amusement. Like I said before, dinner was nothing if not entertaining.